investment

Peter Thiel & Founders Fund lead $2m funding round in BitPay

"Apart from ex-PayPal boss Peter Thiel, the fund’s advisers include Napster founder and Facebook adviser Sean Parker along with ex-Google and SpaceX staff. The company was started in May 2011 by two graduates from Georgia Tech. Their aim is to make taking bitcoin payments as easy as credit card transactions for businesses. It takes a set fee of 0.99 per cent on automated transactions. BitPay claimed 1,900 new merchants signed up in April and it continues to sign up over 100 new customers every day. It is currently processing around $5m of Bitcoin transactions per month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Thiel & Founders Fund lead $2m funding round in BitPay

How to Spot a Market Top

"The wide array of optimistic extremes in sentiment measures includes several readings that exceed the extremes of 2007, when the Dow made its previous high. With a finishing structure that Elliott Wave Principle describes as occurring at 'the termination points of larger patterns,' the market is ripe for a decline of historic magnitude. The sudden, loud chorus of market bulls, which has grown to a full-blown crescendo, fits perfectly with the terminal stages of a major advance. This chart shows the stunning breadth of optimism extending to every class of investor." Continue reading →

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U.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change

"Clearly the U.S. banks, presumably including U.S. bullion banks, are not positioning as though they believe there is a great deal more downside left in gold futures. If they did or do believe that gold could probe even lower than the $1,320s, they are not positioning for it in COMEX futures. That does not necessarily mean they are 'right,' but it is a window into how the largest, best funded and presumably the best informed traders of gold futures on the planet - the U.S. banks - are positioning, both for their own book and for their clients." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Banks Buy Gold Futures in Dramatic Position Change

Switzerland to sign free trade agreement with China

"Switzerland has reached an agreement on details of a free-trade pact with China and expects to sign a deal in coming months, the country's economy minister said on Wednesday. 'What we currently have is a deal at the technical level,' Johann Schneider-Ammann told a news conference in Berne. He said exact details of the agreement would be given once it has been signed in the next few months. China is Switzerland's third biggest trading partner after the European Union and the United States, and the pact covers industry as well as agriculture. More details may emerge when China's Premier Li Keqiang visits Switzerland next week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwitzerland to sign free trade agreement with China

Mt. Gox Funds at Wells Fargo Have Been Seized

"Not only have Mt Gox funds been seized from the Dwolla account, but according to the warrant issued for that seizure, a separate seizure warrant was issued to allow Homeland Security to seize the funds in the Mt Gox account held in the name Mutum Sigillum at Wells Fargo. It appears that Mt Gox has been shutdown for all practical purposes in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMt. Gox Funds at Wells Fargo Have Been Seized

Donations, lobbying by high-speed traders on the rise

"High-frequency trading firms increased their campaign contributions to federal lawmakers by 673 percent from the 2008 to the 2012 election cycle, according to a report that sheds light on their political connections in Washington and efforts to impact policymaking. It compiles the campaign and lobbying records for 48 different firms like Citadel Investments, Getco, Knight Capital (KCG.N), Virtu Financial LLC and Tradeworx which engage in high-speed trading, a strategy that uses lightning-fast computers to search for ways to take advantage of tiny price moves in the marketplace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDonations, lobbying by high-speed traders on the rise

Doug Casey’s Primer on Internationalization — International Man

"Doug Casey's International Man Network is a highly-actionable and practical service for new and experienced freedom-seekers, investors, adventurers, speculators and expatriates who are looking to make the most of their personal freedom and financial opportunity around the world. Become internationalized to reduce the political risk of being dependent on any single, and potentially desperate, government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoug Casey’s Primer on Internationalization — International Man

Calculating the ROI of a 4-Year College Degree

"People tend to assume that getting a college education is a good financial investment. But a new Brookings report 'Should Everyone go to College?' finds that the actual value of a 4-year bachelor’s degree can vary dramatically depending on factors such as field of study, type of college, graduation rate, and future occupation. The more selective the school, the higher the return on investment (ROI) as calculated by Payscale. The bad schools are pretty bad, as Payscale found that 1 in 5 have a negative ROI over 30 years. The lifetime earnings of a graduate also varies widely with the type of major and subsequent occupation." Continue reading →

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CEO of World’s Biggest Bond Fund: Government Has Rigged the Game Against Investors

"Investors are being haircutted by at least 200 basis points judged by historical standards, which in the past offered no QE and priced Fed Funds close to the level of inflation. Large holders of U.S. government bonds, including China and Japan, will be repaid, but in the interim they will be implicitly defaulted on or haircutted via negative real interest rates. . . . Future haircuts might even include a wealth tax. Are gold and/or AA+ sovereign bonds good as money? Usually, but capital controls can clip you if you’re not careful." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCEO of World’s Biggest Bond Fund: Government Has Rigged the Game Against Investors

Investors can’t beat the machines: Computer-dominated trading takes over

"The implication of all this for individual investors is straightforward: Don’t trade. Short-term trading has become so dominated by Wall Street’s computers that individuals—and professional managers—almost certainly will lose out to them over time. The obvious alternative, experts say, is to buy and hold diversified index funds with very low expenses. Odean says some of the poorest performances in his studies were turned in by traders who were the most confident of their abilities. This led them to trade even more often and incur even more risk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInvestors can’t beat the machines: Computer-dominated trading takes over