investment

Central Banks Repatriate Gold: How Will This Affect Investors?

"Germany made an even bigger splash than Japan in the gold market recently with its surprise announcement last week that the Bundesbank would begin repatriating gold reserves held overseas. The central bank said it wanted to keep more than 50% of its gold reserves at home, up from slightly less than one-third currently. With that in mind, the Bundesbank will move all its gold reserves now held in Paris back to Germany, and reduce its reserves held in New York City. And Germany isn’t alone. There’s talk that the Netherlands and Azerbaijan will also repatriate gold reserves." Continue reading →

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ECB’s Weidmann: pressure on central banks risks FX competition

"Loading central banks with more tasks and pressing them to pursue more aggressive monetary policies could risk a round of competitive devaluations, European Central Bank policymaker Jens Weidmann said on Monday, citing pressure on the Bank of Japan. Weidmann is the latest in a string of policymakers worldwide to warn of the threat of a 'currency war' as central banks pump out cash to support their economies, reducing their value in the process." Continue reading →

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China’s Securities Regulator Says Stock Intervention Needed at Times

"China’s securities regulator said intervention in the nation’s stock market is necessary at 'key moments' because it isn’t mature. 'Volatility is high and don’t forget, China is still a developing country,' Xinhua quoted China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Guo Shuqing as saying at a national securities and futures supervision meeting. Net share purchases by China’s social security fund were 42.8 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) last year and totaled 42.7 billion yuan by qualified foreign institutional investors, Xinhua cited Guo as saying. They were the biggest net purchasers, Xinhua reported." Continue reading →

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SEC Bars Egan-Jones From Rating The US And Other Governments For 18 Months

"It is refreshing to see that the SEC has taken a much needed break from its daily escapades into midgetporn.xxx and is focusing on what is truly important, such as barring outspoken rating agency Egan-Jones from rating the US and other governments. From the SEC: 'EJR and Egan made a settlement offer that the Commission determined to accept. Under the settlement, EJR and Egan agreed to be barred for at least 18 months from rating asset-backed and government securities issuers as an NRSRO. EJR and Egan also agreed to correct the deficiencies found by SEC examiners in 2012." Continue reading →

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The Best American Cities for Economic Growth

"So, you want to live in a place that is likely to grow. You want to own a home there. You want to own 20 more in 20 years. Where should you move to? If you want a large city, you should move here. If you want a smaller city, you should move here. Are a lot of them in Texas? Of course. Does Texas have a state income tax? No. Is the weather good? Yes. Is real estate cheap? Yes. Are people armed? Yes." Continue reading →

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North Korea grants rare citizenship to American businessman

"The US boss of a joint venture run by North Korea and the Unification Church of South Korea said Tuesday he has been granted rare honorary citizenship by Pyongyang, in a bid to encourage new investment by him. Park Sang-Kwon, CEO of Pyeonghwa Motors told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that he received the citizenship in Pyongyang last month. 'This means that North Korea has acknowledged the trust they had put in me. They were also encouraging me to start new projects in the North, more freely and aggressively,' Park was quoted as saying." Continue reading →

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California Entrepreneurs And Angels Socked With Absurd Retroactive Tax

"For many years, California entrepreneurs and investors have taken advantage of the deduction. But now the state has apparently decided that it no longer needs to encourage entrepreneurs to start and keep their companies in California. So it is eliminating the tax deduction. Far more startling, the state is eliminating the deduction retroactively--going all the back to 2008. In other words, anyone who sold their California company in the past 5 years and took advantage of the tax deduction is now going to have to pay the tax. With interest!" Continue reading →

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David Galland: Lessons from the Argentine

"In today's missive, I plan on sharing just a few of the lessons learned since moving to Cafayate in the Salta province in scenic northwest Argentina. It's my hope that my observations will be of use to you in getting through the challenging times still ahead for the major developed economies. That's because, as I probably don't need to tell you, the Argentines have almost unparalleled experience in surviving the regular financial crises their government has proven so adept at creating. In fact, since Juan Perón took office in 1946, not a single ten-year period has passed without being molested by a serious crisis, and often more than one." Continue reading →

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The Case for the Bitcoin Cryptocurrency

"Bitcoin takes the basic theorem that anything that be done with a trusted authority can be done without a trusted authority and applies the theorem to the combined fields of cryptography and currency, which is now known as cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency that exists today. Bitcoin is a free open source peer-to-peer electronic cash system that is completely decentralized, without the need for a central server or trusted parties. Users hold the crypto keys to their own money and transact directly with each other, with the help of a P2P network to check for double-spending." Continue reading →

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China may cut U.S. debt holdings

"China’s sovereign wealth fund, which has more than $480 billion in assets, could cut holdings of US Treasury Bonds as they are becoming a less attractive investment, state media said Tuesday. The Shanghai Securities News quoted Lou Jiwei, chairman of sovereign wealth fund manager China Investment Corp (CIC), as telling a conference in Hong Kong on Monday that the US economic recovery had made other investments appealing. China has the world’s largest foreign exchange reserves and according to US government figures is the largest foreign holder of US Treasuries with $1.16 trillion at the end of October last year, the latest available statistic." Continue reading →

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