History Repeating

Jim Rogers: ‘Run for the Hills’ Now, I’m Doing It

"The EU/IMF raiding bank accounts in Cyprus to bail out the country's financial system sets a dangerous precedent and investors should 'run for the hills' said investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings. Rogers said that with Cyprus, politicians are saying that this is a special case and urging people not to worry, but that is exactly why investors should be concerned. 'If you're going to listen to government, you're going to go bankrupt very quickly,' he added. 'I, for one, am making sure I don't have too much money in any one specific bank account anywhere in the world, because now there is a precedent,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers: ‘Run for the Hills’ Now, I’m Doing It

Whose “Provocative Actions”?

"March 28 2013 - US sends nuclear-capable B-2 bombers to SKorea; March 26 2013 - U.S. Army learns hard lessons in N. Korea-like war game; March 20 2013 - U.S. flies B-52s over South Korea; March 19 2013 - S. Korea, U.S. carry out naval drills with nuclear attack submarine; March 17 2013 - Troops remember sacrifices of Cheonan sailors; March 12 2013 - First day of SK-US military exercises passes without provocation; March 8 2013 - Air Assault Course increase 2ID capabilities; March 8 2013 - 'Frozen Chosen' Marines; March 6 2013 - S. Korea says it will strike against North’s top leadership if provoked." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhose “Provocative Actions”?

U.S. will ‘respond’ to North Korea’s provocations, says Chuck Hagel

"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that the United States was 'prepared to deal with any eventuality' from North Korea and warned that danger from Pyongyang was on the rise. 'We will unequivocally defend — we are unequivocally committed — to that alliance with South Korea as well as our other allies in that region of the world,' Hagel told reporters. 'We will be prepared...to deal with any eventuality,' Hagel said after the United States flew two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a mission over South Korea. 'We must make clear that these provocations by the North are taken by us very seriously and we’ll respond to that,' Hagel said. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. will ‘respond’ to North Korea’s provocations, says Chuck Hagel

U.S. sends anti-missile destroyer near North Korean coast

"The USS Fitzgerald, which had sailed to South Korea as part of recent exercises, has been sent off the southwestern coast of the Korean peninsula instead of returning to its home port in Japan, a US defense official said. Pyongyang in February tested a nuclear bomb and has declared itself to be at a state of war with US-allied South Korea. The United States previously took the unprecedented step of announcing test bombing by nuclear-capable state-of-the-art B-2 bombers. It has also deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of an ongoing exercise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. sends anti-missile destroyer near North Korean coast

Could the Government confiscate your gold?

"Roosevelt's 1933 gold raid is well documented but it's often forgotten that in 1966 Britons were banned from holding more than four gold coins or from buying any new ones, unless they held a licence. It's not just gold that governments can confiscate – pension assets can be in the firing line, although usually only in emerging markets and in extreme circumstances. In recent years, private pension schemes have been nationalised in Argentina and Hungary. Could such a scenario happen today? And if they did confiscate all private holdings of gold, would it be enough?" Continue reading →

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Marc Faber: Not Even Gold Will Save You From What Is Coming

"When you print money, the money does not flow evenly into the economic system. It stays essentially in the financial service industry and among people that have access to these funds, mostly well-to-do people. It does not go to the worker. I just mentioned that it doesn't flow evenly into the system. So we are creating bubbles and bubbles and bubbles. This bubble will come to an end. My concern is that we are going to have a systemic crisis where it is going to be very difficult to hide. Even in gold, it will be difficult to hide." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarc Faber: Not Even Gold Will Save You From What Is Coming

Cyprus and the Unraveling of Fractional-Reserve Banking

"The 'Cyprus deal' as it has been widely referred to in the media may mark the next to last act in the the slow motion collapse of fractional-reserve banking that began with the implosion of the savings-and-loan industry in the U.S. in the late 1980s. This trend continued with the currency crises in Russia, Mexico, East Asia, and Argentina in the 1990s in which fractional-reserve banking played a decisive role. Even more than the unprecedented financial crisis of 2008, however, recent events in Cyprus may have struck the mortal blow to fractional-reserve banking. For fractional-reserve banking can only exist for as long as the depositors have complete confidence." Continue reading →

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U.S. flies nuclear-capable stealth bombers over South Korea

"The United States said two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers flew 'deterrence' missions over South Korea on Thursday. The deployment of the stealth bombers was clearly meant to deliver a potent message to Pyongyang about the US commitment to defending South Korea against any aggression as military tensions on the Korean peninsula soar. It came shortly after the North severed its last-remaining military hotline with South Korea. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told his South Korean counterpart that Seoul could rely on all the military protection the United States has to offer — nuclear, conventional and missile defence." Continue reading →

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War Without End

"There has been much in the news over the past two weeks commemorating the 10th anniversary of the beginning of the pre-emptive Iraq War. The above YouTube video commemorates the ending of an even greater conflict, World War I, which began in 1914 and ended in 1918. This is one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching documentaries you will ever watch, especially the never-to-be-forgotten recitation of the Siegfried Sassoon poem, Aftermath, by actor Jeremy Irons at the end of the program (which garnered an Emmy Award)." Continue reading →

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What Happens After the Housing Bubble Reflates?

"This Forbes analysis is actually a fairly sophisticated analysis on how realtors decide whether houses are a good buy or not. The article concludes that houses may be cheap to buy given current conditions. Now, the larger question begins to percolate: Are houses cheap because of fundamental economic factors or for monetary reasons? After all, if central banks print lots of money – as they have been – then people are making more money. There will surely be a housing bubble given the rashness of central banking actions. Whether the dollar itself will survive upcoming monetary events is the larger – and even more serious – question." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Happens After the Housing Bubble Reflates?