Investment/Trends

Vancouver to see first Bitcoin ATMs installed

"According to The Canadian Press, Vancouver-based Bitcoiniacs is one of the first to pre-order five US$20,000 RoboCoin Bitcoin ATMs. The ATMs work by asking the user for a Bitcoin wallet identifier, usually in the form of a QR barcode. Money is then deposited into the machine, and after deducting a nominal transaction fee, the wallet is credited in Bitcoin. Bitcoiniacs' brick-and-mortar shop already deals with cash to Bitcoin transfers, but so far requires appointments to be booked to conduct such transactions. RoboCoin is competing directly with New Hampshire entrepreneurs Zach Harvey and Matt Whitlock, who are already accepting pre-orders for their own $5,000 Bitcoin ATM." Continue reading →

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Poland Confiscates Half Of Private Pensions To “Cut” Sovereign Debt Load

"Well, once you nationalize private assets, the public debt will lindeed appear lower than it was before confiscation: we give them that much. End result: 'The Polish pension funds' organisation said the changes may be unconstitutional because the government is taking private assets away from them without offering any compensation.... 'This may lead to the private pension systems shutting down,' said Rafal Benecki of ING Bank Slaski.' But best of all, in the aftermath of Cyprus, we now know what the two most recent European blueprints for preserving the myth of solvency are: bail-ins, which confiscate deposits, and pension fund 'overhauls', which confiscate, well, pension funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoland Confiscates Half Of Private Pensions To “Cut” Sovereign Debt Load

Rebalance To Buffer Crises?

"Sovereigns may save themselves at the expense of citizens. Poland has withdrawn $37 billion in government holdings from national pension funds to pay down sovereign debt. Its markets dropped 4.8% the day the news hit. Given relative GDP size, a similar take here would be north of $1 trillion and laws have been prepared to bail-in major banks. Many cities already are bankrupt and pension funds are at risk as pensioneers and bond holders battle over the remains. Those who buy the official narrative are riding in a ticker-tape parade on which Central Banks are showering confetti. When the dreamers awake, they will be looking at a demonic jack-o-lantern." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRebalance To Buffer Crises?

Gold And Silver Safe Haven Status Displayed

"The era of stable bond prices and stable income disappeared six years ago and is unlikely soon to return. Another storm-maker is the debate on the debt-ceiling which like many things is now hidden by the cloud of dust the government has chosen to make over Syria. Only four years ago the Secretary of State dined amicably with the latest 'Hitler,' Bashir Assad and his wife. That datum is pertinent to markets because it indicates the often irrational and shifting agendas of our diplomatic - financial echelons. Recognizing this allows one to adopt a defensive position and select growth areas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold And Silver Safe Haven Status Displayed

Polish Gold to be Repatriated?

"Poland currently owns around 109 tons of gold deposited abroad. Most of the reserves are stored in the UK. In the face of financial crisis, every major country should keep gold within easy reach. Therefore, the Polish gold should return to their homeland – say the initiators of the 'Give Us Our ​​Gold'. The vast majority of Polish gold reserves are currently at the Bank of England, and went there before the Second World War. In order to put pressure on the Polish National Bank, advocates have launched an action entitled. 'Give Us Our gold'. Among the partners are the Mises Institute of Poland. Organizers cite the example of Germany, which has decided to bring its provisions into the country." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: When Gold Will Really Start to Glitter

"After telling readers how awful it was, now the mainstream press is back to neutral on gold. Barron's recently ran an article titled 'Gold Regains Its Glitter'. Markets make opinions. Gold is up about 17% from its June low. Opinions on it are becoming more favourable. But you ain't seen nothin' yet. The central banks of the major developed economies are engaged in massive debt monetization (aka 'QE'). If they all start to taper their bond buying, they risk resurrecting the calamity they're trying to avoid - a deflationary depression (at least in their minds). So, they've got to keep going. The markets...and the economy...depend on it. You wanna see something really glitter? Just wait! " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: When Gold Will Really Start to Glitter

Goldman Sachs Buys Gold; Tells Public to Sell

"Gold declined sharply in early April. That’s when Goldman Sachs issued a “sell” signal Then Goldman began quietly to buy shares of GLD, the ETF for gold. It now owns 3.7 million shares. It looked like a great call. The rubes who believed the report shorted gold. They made money. Briefly. Gold continued downward, bottoming at $1192 in on June 28. Meanwhile, Goldman was buying gold all the way down. Now gold is around $1400, and Goldman is sitting on a pile of shares of GLD, bought at rock-bottom prices. Watch what they do, not what they say." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoldman Sachs Buys Gold; Tells Public to Sell

Morgan Stanley execs mocked value of securities before sale to Taiwan bank

"Financial services giant Morgan Stanley may be facing charges it perpetrated a massive fraud in the sale of mortgage-backed securities, but no one can accuse the firm of lacking a sense of humor about it. Last month, e-mails surfaced in a 2010 New York civil fraud case showing that the firm’s executives sold the instruments to a Taiwanese bank for hundreds of millions of dollars knowing the impending collapse of the US housing market made the securities a hazardous investment – and they laughed about it." Continue reading →

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Blackstone rental bonds revive fears of mortgage-backed crisis

"The private-equity firm Blackstone and Deutsche Bank are considering selling the first bonds backed by home-rental payments. The new security shows Wall Street financial engineering, blamed for deepening the financial crisis, has become more creative. Blackstone is among the firms that have spent billions buying homes out of foreclosure, helping to bolster demand and strengthen the US housing market, the WSJ reports. The private-equity giant has spent $5.5bn buying more than 30,000 houses to rent out. It is now working with Deutsche Bank to create securities tied to about 1,500 of the properties to form a rental bond deal worth up to $275 million." Continue reading →

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S&P calls US lawsuit retaliation for stripping AAA rating

"Standard & Poor's on Tuesday blasted a $5 billion fraud lawsuit by the U.S. government as retaliation for its 2011 decision to strip the country of its AAA credit rating. The McGraw Hill Financial unit was the only major credit rating agency to take away the United States' top rating and the only one sued by the Department of Justice for allegedly misleading banks and credit unions about the credibility of its ratings before the 2008 financial crisis. In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., S&P said the lawsuit attempts to punish it for exercising its First Amendment free speech rights under the U.S. Constitution but also seeks 'excessive fines' in violation of the Eighth Amendment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingS&P calls US lawsuit retaliation for stripping AAA rating