Geopolitics

Visa, Mastercard block US-sanctioned Russian banks

"International payment system Mastercard has stopped serving clients of seven Russian lenders, after the US issued sanctions against it regarding Russia’s position over the Ukrainian turmoil. Rossiya Bank was blocked by both Mastercard and Visa, with the latter also cutting ties with Sobinbank, SMP Bank and Investcapitalbank. Washington’s move is meant to put pressure on people they see as members of President Vladimir Putin’s 'inner circle'. The bank’s owner, Yury Kovalchuk, is on the list as well, as an individual. Visa and Mastercard have a record of bowing to political decisions from Washington, most notably in blocking donations to the WikiLeaks whistleblower website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVisa, Mastercard block US-sanctioned Russian banks

Ukraine’s Gold Reserves Secretly Flown Out by the New York Fed?

"The unconfirmed source quoted by Metal.com, says that the operation to airlift Ukraine’s gold had been ordered by the acting Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk with a view to safe-keeping Ukraine’s gold reserves at the NY Fed, against a possible Russian invasion which could lead to the confiscation of Ukraine’s gold reserves. The National Bank of Ukraine estimated Ukraine’s gold reserves in February to be worth $1.8 billion. According to William Kaye: 'That would amount to a very nice down payment to the $5 billion that Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland boasted that the U.S. has already spent in their efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and put in place their own unelected government.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUkraine’s Gold Reserves Secretly Flown Out by the New York Fed?

Jim Rickards: Decline of the Petrodollar System is Good for Gold

"The petrodollar system is collapsing for two reasons. The US has abused its privileged reserve currency position by printing trillions of dollars in an effort to create inflation. More recently, President Obama has taken steps to anoint Iran as the regional hegemon of the Middle East, and to ease the way, in stages, toward Iran's possession of nuclear weapons capability. This is viewed as a stab-in-the-back by the Saudis and the Israelis and will lead quickly to Saudi Arabia obtaining nuclear weapons from Pakistan. There is also a newly emerging alliance among Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, and Russia. The new alignment will have no particular use for US dollars and no reason to support them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rickards: Decline of the Petrodollar System is Good for Gold

Cameron Announces U.K. Plans for Debut Issue of Islamic Gilts

"Prime Minister David Cameron said the U.K. plans to become the first country outside the Muslim world to sell a Shariah-compliant bond as soon as next year. Cameron laid out his government’s intentions in a speech to the World Islamic Economic Forum in London. The Islamic bonds, known as sukuk, would be valued at about 200 million pounds ($320 million). Cameron also said London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) is creating an Islamic market index. Islamic bonds are typically backed by assets or cash flow because of the religion’s ban on interest. About 60 percent of the world’s sukuk is issued from Malaysia, according to Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCameron Announces U.K. Plans for Debut Issue of Islamic Gilts

China’s State Press Calls for ‘Building a de-Americanized World’

"Key among its proposals: the creation of a new international reserve currency to replace the present reliance on U.S. dollars, a necessary step to prevent American bumbling from further afflicting the world, the commentary suggests. 'The cyclical stagnation in Washington for a viable bipartisan solution over a federal budget and an approval for raising the debt ceiling has again left many nations’ tremendous dollar assets in jeopardy and the international community highly agonized,' says Xinhua. 'The world is still crawling its way out of an economic disaster thanks to the voracious Wall Street elites,' it adds. It’s not a new refrain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina’s State Press Calls for ‘Building a de-Americanized World’

Catherine Austin Fitts: Moral Investing and the Coming Equity ‘Crash-Up’

"Take a look at different predictions that gold is going to increase significantly in value. All those predictions assume that the monetary inflation is going to spill into commodities. And what you're watching instead is the G-7 have been essentially building a corral that forces the horses to run out through the stock market. That's why I call it a crash-up. I think one scenario we're looking at is the possibility of a crash-up scenario where that monetary increase is funneled into the equity markets. One of the most important questions there is, can you get the global population interested in investing in equities? Because the long bond market bull is coming to a close." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCatherine Austin Fitts: Moral Investing and the Coming Equity ‘Crash-Up’

It’s official. America’s Suez moment has arrived

"Britain had once been the dominant power in the world. But years of unsustainable finances and economic decline changed all of that. By the end of World War II, Britain was nearly bankrupt. But reality hadn’t set in yet. They still saw themselves as a superpower. British policymakers were still at the peace table. They helped set up the UN, divide up Germany, and even influence the new global financial system at Bretton Woods. Reality finally hit during the Suez Crisis. It became clear that the UK no longer had the economic fortitude or international standing to do as it pleased. And with the US opposed to the invasion of Egypt, the British government had no choice but to withdraw." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s official. America’s Suez moment has arrived

United States military deployments – Wikipedia

"The military of the United States is deployed in more than 150 countries around the world, with 172,966 of its 1,372,522[1]active-duty personnel serving outside the United States and its territories. Most of these overseas personnel are deployed in combat zones in the Middle east, as part of the War on Terror. The following are countries, listed by region, in which U.S. military personnel are deployed. The most current numbers are based on United States Department of Defense statistics as of December 31, 2012.[1] These numbers do not include any military or civilian contractors or dependents. Countries with fewer than 75 U.S. personnel deployed are omitted." Continue reading →

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Meanwhile, This Is What Putin Is Doing…

"It will come as no surprise that amid the Mother Theresa acts, The Telegraph reports that Putin is readying delivery of more S-300 air-defense missile systems to Iran and will continue to discuss 'working together in the nuclear energy sphere.' Combine that with experts' views that Russia's plan to dismantle Syria's stockpiles of mustard gas, sarin, VX nerve agents is a long shot; initially 'sounding attractive, but very quickly, operational problems could derail obtaining international control, much less actually destroying the arsenal.' It would appear, despite all the chatter, that Putin is increasing his power-base in the region." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMeanwhile, This Is What Putin Is Doing…