investment

A million engineers in India struggling to get placed in an extremely challenging market

"Somewhere between a fifth to a third of the million students graduating out of India's engineering colleges run the risk of being unemployed. Others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications in a market where there are few jobs for India's overflowing technical talent pool. India trains around 1.5 million engineers, which is more than the US and China combined. However, two key industries hiring these engineers -- information technology and manufacturing -- are actually hiring fewer people than before. Frustrated engineers are taking jobs for which they are overqualified and, therefore, underpaid. A few exceptions have even turned to crime." Continue reading →

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Honduras Startup City Redux: from RED to ZEDE to … Freedom?

"The legislation triggered fierce opposition by municipalities, which feared competition. Those objections were answered in floor debate by the observation that municipalities could themselves convert to ZEDE, winning all the same advantages. On June 12, 2013, the ZEDE legislation passed by a vote of 102 to 26. In broad terms, the ZEDE legislation authorizes the creation of startup cities that will operate under the supervision, but not direct control, of the central government. The ZEDE might not sound much different from China’s special economic zones or Dubai’s International Financial Centre, but the Hondurans have authored a daring new approach to governance." Continue reading →

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Germany: Parliamentary inquiry declares Bitcoins tax-exempt after one year holding time

"Thus, the digital money from the Treasury treated differently than, for example, stocks, bonds or certificates. All of these asset classes are subject to withholding tax of 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge and church tax. In bitcoins falls after a holding period of one year on the other hand, no such tax. The tax exemption of capital gains in Bitcoins findings of a parliamentary inquiry that has provided to the federal government the FDP financial expert Frank Schaeffler and the 'world' exists. 'It is good that investments in Bitcoins is finally legal certainty. Private profits from the sale of Bitcoins are tax-free after one year,' said Schaeffler." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany: Parliamentary inquiry declares Bitcoins tax-exempt after one year holding time

Bitcoin Exchange Berlin to Open on Saturday, June 29

"More and more people in Germany know that the Euro system will inevitably collapse, so they want to be prepared for what comes next. Germans are especially sensitive, as we went through two major monetary disasters in the last century, and the Euro will surely be the next one. So many people now think about getting their savings into gold, silver and Bitcoin. Platoon Kunsthalle is an ideal site for the Bitcoin Exchange Berlin as it serves as a communication consultancy specializing in mobilizing cultural movements and community events." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Berlin to Open on Saturday, June 29

The Secret to Picking Winners in ‘Submerging Markets’

"With investors already on edge as global markets came unglued last week, China picked a fine time to engineer a credit crunch. Drowned out in the noise about Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s tapering talk last week was the fact that half a world away, China’s banking system was caught up in a cash squeeze. Short-term lending rates tripled as the financial system essentially froze. It was frighteningly reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis in the U.S. Hedge fund managers and economists have long warned of a potential bursting of China’s debt-fueled real estate bubble, a replay of our own subprime crisis. Could this be the beginning?" Continue reading →

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EMC raises $5.5bn via corporate bonds to fund share buybacks

"The sharp shift in Treasury yield rates over the past few weeks means time is of the essence for those companies looking to undertake a capital return program and fund it with bonds. The rate rise increases the cost of funding and limits the ability to take advantage of an arbitrage between the current lower cost of issuing debt versus paying dividends on shares they could otherwise buy back with the fund raising. 'There is the obvious arbitrage there,' said one head of debt capital markets at a Wall Street bank. 'Why pay a dividend in the 3% to 5% range, when you can issue bonds at 2% or less and buy back those shares?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEMC raises $5.5bn via corporate bonds to fund share buybacks

Euro Pacific Capital Global Investor Newsletter – June 2013

"The central premise of Abenomics seems to be that the Bank of Japan could succeed in pushing inflation up to 2% without raising the rates on long-term debt. To do this, one would have to assume that bond investors would accept negative interest rates, even while a falling yen was eating away at principle. Such an outcome is not consistent with demonstrable human behavior. If the investors didn't play ball, it was assumed that the Bank of Japan could step up their quantitative easing and buy the bonds that investors were rationally selling. But the BoJ is already buying 70% of the new government debt." Continue reading →

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Get Out of Muni Bond ETFs Now

"The biggest exchange-traded fund tracking the $3.7 trillion U.S. municipal market is selling at its deepest discount ever to the value of its assets. The $3.5 billion iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund, known as MUB, touched $100.42 (the net asset value is 105.3). This is the lowest since April 2011 according to, data compiled by Bloomberg. The move reflects yields on benchmark 10-year local debt climbing as high as 2.68 percent , the most since October 2011. The plunge follows investors pulling $1.86 billion out of U.S. muni mutual funds from Jan. 1 through June 19, Lipper US fund Flows data show." Continue reading →

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Marijuana Stocks: How to Legally Invest in the Ultimate Cash Crop

"In short, we just don't know enough about these businesses yet to make a low-risk investment. Does this mean you shouldn't look into Medbox or Cannabis Science? Not necessarily. But investors would need to treat the position as money taken to the casino -- speculative and expendable. As time goes on, and politicians continue to be influenced by the more than 70 percent of our nation's population who believe pot should be legal for medical purposes, the marijuana industry will be seen more and more as a "legitimate" business. For opportunistic investors, there will be some incredible investing opportunities. For now, though, just chill, dude." Continue reading →

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