investment

Police Raid at Deutsche Bank World Headquarters

"Frankfurt raid at Deutsche Bank: Before the Twin Towers are ten VW team buses and two large Mercedes buses of the Federal Police, in the foyer, five riot police taken a position. Tax inspectors and officials in suits and ties and black arm bands with the word 'police' rush out of the elevator into a conference room. They wear heavy black briefcase, a staff member described the start of the raid as 'martial'. Against five unnamed employees of Deutsche Bank warrants were issued, total is now calculated against 25 bankers. It now not only going to tax evasion, but also to the charge of money laundering." Continue reading →

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U.S. Construction Hits 37-Month High

"Ben Bernanke's mad money printing is making its impact. Analysis of October's construction spending patterns by the Associated General Contractors of America found ongoing building expenditures running at a $872 billion annual rate. That's up 9.6 percent in a year – and the highest level of activity in 37 months. Residential efforts ran especially strong: New single-family construction hit its highest mark since November 2008; multifamily construction hit a three-year high; and home improvements ran at a five-year high. This is all a Bernanke manipulated boom---next stop price inflation 2013." Continue reading →

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A Desperate US Mint Testing New Metals to Make Coins Cheaper to Mint

"The Federal Reserve has so debased the value of the dollar that it is now very expensive for the U.S. Mint to buy buy and use copper, nickel and zinc in the coins it produces. Currently, a penny costs more than two cents and a nickel costs more than 11 cents to make and distribute. A 400-page report presented last week to Congress outlines nearly two years of trials conducted at the Mint in Philadelphia, where a variety of metal recipes were put through their paces in the massive facility's high-speed coin-making machinery. But the Mint couldn't find any good replacements. Evaluations of 29 different alloys concluded that none met the ideal list of attributes." Continue reading →

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The Hidden Cost of Oil

"Prior to its $130 billion social-spending spree, Saudi Arabia needed oil prices somewhere north of $70 to balance the kingdom’s budget, according to the International Monetary Fund. Now the per-barrel cost is reportedly approaching $100. Russia needs something close to $120. Social costs also play a similarly large role in Bahrain, Kuwait, Venezuela, Iran and elsewhere, where oil revenue accounts for up to 90% of domestic income. The United Arab Emirates, for instance, needs oil prices in the $85 range to balance a budget larded with social programs. Tiny Bahrain needs about $119." Continue reading →

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JP Morgan Admits That “QE Will Offset Almost All Of Next Year’s Government Deficit”

"Since the Lehman crisis, the Fed has been purchasing Treasuries and Agencies at a $500bn per year pace. This flow, which is equivalent to around 3.5% of US GDP, has offset more than a third of the government deficit since the end of 2008. In other words, QE purchases meant that the QE-adjusted government deficit has averaged 5.8% of GDP since the end of 2008 instead of 9.3% for the actual government deficit. This week’s Fed announcement means that this QE flow will double from a $500bn pace currently to $1tr. Coupled with a projection of a lower government deficit next year, to around 6% of GDP, this means that QE will offset almost all of next year’s government deficit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJP Morgan Admits That “QE Will Offset Almost All Of Next Year’s Government Deficit”

Here Are 15 Countries With No Income Taxes Whatsoever

"On the table in today’s political debate is the concept of raising taxes on some, or even all Americans (should the fiscal cliff kick in). If this bothers you, here are eleven countries that you would (hopefully) never, ever have to worry about paying an income tax in." Continue reading →

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Detlev Schlichter: “Watching your money disappear” – Speech to senior representatives of the UK pension fund industry

"I believe disappearing money will be the major event of the present decade, and it will not just have major implications for your business, it will have grave consequences for society at large. The money itself may not in fact disappear (although some of it probably will) but money’s value will disappear, moneys purchasing power. This will not be the result of an act of magic but will simply be the consequence of our monetary arrangements and the established course of policy. Future historians will be surprised that anybody could have seriously contemplated a different and much happier outcome for today’s system of unconstrained fiat money production." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetlev Schlichter: “Watching your money disappear” – Speech to senior representatives of the UK pension fund industry

Bloomberg: Smart Money Is on Geithner to Replace Bernanke

"Geithner was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2003 to 2009, the critical years leading up to and including the financial crisis. He has never worked on Wall Street. By design, the New York Fed has traditionally been the most powerful of the Federal Reserve banks, because of its proximity to the powerful Wall Street banks that it regulates. And Geithner played a major role, along with Bernanke and then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in the bailouts of Bear Stearns Cos., Merrill Lynch, American International Group Inc. (AIG) and in the decision to allow Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to go bankrupt." Continue reading →

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Japan’s Shinzo Abe prepares to print money for the whole world

"Mr Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won a landslide victory on Sunday, securing a two-thirds 'super-majority' in the Diet with allies that can override senate vetoes. Mr Abe said he would 'set a policy accord' with the Bank of Japan for a mandatory inflation target of 2pc, backed by 'unlimited' monetary stimulus. 'It's very rare for monetary policy to be the focus of an election. We campaigned on the need to beat deflation, and our argument has won strong support. I hope the Bank of Japan accepts the results and takes an appropriate decision,' he said. He has already threatened to change the Bank of Japan’s governing law if it refuses to comply." Continue reading →

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The 12 Gold Bugs of Christmas

"None of these parties think the gold bull market is over, nor the price too high. They recognize the implications of a world floating on fiat currencies, and that government 'solutions' to debt and deficit spending will significantly – perhaps catastrophically – dilute the value of currencies, the fallout of which has yet to materialize. As for me, I think that the longer the malaise continues, the more likely the breakout is to be both sudden and dramatic." Continue reading →

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