Investment/Trends

David Galland: Wars and Rumors of Wars

"This article is about why I think interest rates are heading higher, viewed through the context of the politics of the US government's next war. While I'd prefer to convince the world to change its course toward a more peaceful future, given the futility of trying to do so, I'll use my time with you today presenting data, analysis, and a few opinions about the economic consequences of the march toward war that US policy is now set upon. The chart below combines defense, veterans benefits, homeland security, the State Department, and defense-related interest payments, to create a more comprehensive picture of our military spending." Continue reading →

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Filling the FATCA void

"The overwhelming consensus back in the early days of the last century, was, ‘Why would an American want to leave their country?’ Yet out of today’s seven million US expats who are abroad, over one thousand this year alone have also chucked away their national identity. They have done so due to the impending FATCA rules which threaten their own financial planning continuity, cutting off access to channels of advice and financial management. The reporting restrictions to the American taxman - the IRS - that FATCA places on all non-US companies dealing with US clients are now deemed far too complex and costly for large institutions to comply with." Continue reading →

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Gold and Syria

"We are confronting authoritarians with such an appetite for power that they become afraid to wield it for fear of losing it. It is a subject fit for a Dostoevsky or Shakespeare. It was a cause for rejoicing when the British Parliament refused the Queen’s Prime Minister authority to let slip the dogs of war on Syria. It was the first such refusal since 1782 when, incidentally, Parliament voted down further war against the rebellious American colonies. It will be a welcome sign of a dawning realization that the U.S. Empire has exhausted itself financially and in folly if the House refuses to pass Obama’s Syrian war resolution. But if it does approve another front in the U.S. Mideast war, buy gold with both hands." Continue reading →

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Making Rent With Bitcoins and Rentalutions

"Rentalutions, a Chicago based company is bringing the relationship between landlords and tenants into the digital age. Established April of 2012 in Chicago by Ryan Coon, Laurence Jankelow, and Dylan Lingelbach, Rentalutions aims to streamline the traditionally old school rent payment process. The service, which ranges from $5 to $150 a month, allows landlords to view credit reports and background checks, collect rent online, and to create and sign leases. As for tenants, they are able to make online rent payments and request maintenance services. The twist? Rentalutions is the first of its kind to enable tenants to pay their rent in bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin entrepreneur Voorhees doubles down in Panama City

"Erik Voorhees, the man who founded Bitcoin casino SatoshiDice for 45 Bitcoin and sold it a year later for $11.5 million worth of the currency is doubling down on the industry. Although Voorhees isn’t publicizing how much of the 126,315 Bitcoins he personally earned, he is investing them in startups tied to the virtual currency rather than cashing in the coins. At the moment, Voorhees is in Panama City running his new company, Coinapult, launched in April 2012, that lets users send Bitcoin via email or SMS. 'We moved down here because our target market is the developing nations, and the unbanked population (which is massive),' he wrote." Continue reading →

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Paypal freezes $45,000 of Mailpile’s crowdfunded dollars

"The product aims to let users keep their mail local and under their own control rather than relying on Google, Microsoft, or another cloud e-mail provider. The crowdfunding campaign has exceeded its goal and things appeared to be going well for the company—until last weekend, when Mailpile's Brennan Novak awoke to a notification that Paypal was canceling his debit card and freezing his Paypal account, apparently on suspicion of fraudulent activity. Paypal will be keeping the funds frozen for a full year or until they have a verifiable 1.0 release of their product. Alternately, Paypal said, Mailpile could provide Paypal with 'an itemized budget and your development goal dates' for the project." Continue reading →

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‘More profitable than cocaine’: Peru is top source of counterfeit US cash

"Peru has in the past two years overtaken Colombia as the No. 1 source of counterfeit U.S. dollars, says the U.S. Secret Service, protector of the world's most widely traded currency. Over the past decade, $103 million in fake U.S. dollars 'made in Peru' have been seized — nearly half since 2010, Peruvian and U.S. officials say. The phony money heads mostly to the United States but is also goes smuggled to nearby countries including Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador. Counterfeiters earn up to $20,000 in real currency for every $100,000 in false bills they produce after expenses, the investigator said." Continue reading →

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Local Television Beats the Internet?

"Television has the reach of nearly 89% of the total U.S. population. The only thing that comes close to matching television’s reach is the Internet — currently hitting 73.1% of the population. Local television websites continue to draw in new viewers, and ad dollars have followed. Local online advertising revenues nationwide are up over 175.19% over the past five years — 1.3 times higher than the overall growth of Internet advertising spending. Companies are using excess spectrum to roll out additional channels that are even more tailored to specific viewer groups. This sets up whole new revenue streams that advertisers and content providers are eager to work with." Continue reading →

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Privacy fears cause more to cover online tracks

"The Pew Research Center report said 86 percent of US Internet users have taken some steps to avoid online surveillance by other people or organizations. 'Our team’s biggest surprise was discovering that many Internet users have tried to conceal their identity or their communications from others,' noted Sara Kiesler. 'It’s not just a small coterie of hackers. Almost everyone has taken some action to avoid surveillance. And despite their knowing that anonymity is virtually impossible, most Internet users think they should be able to avoid surveillance online — they think they should have a right to anonymity for certain things, like hiding posts from certain people or groups.'" Continue reading →

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Germans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

"With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places. The customs districts bordering Switzerland turned up 20 million euros of undeclared cash last year. In the Bavarian border town of Lindau, where officers once caught a man with 25,000 euros stuffed inside a gingerbread house, 2 million euros of undeclared bills were discovered last year. German border agents also hunt for stacks of papers that point to secret accounts. 'To hold a binder with lots of bank statements, that’s quite a good feeling,' said Georg Kruegers, a German customs officer." Continue reading →

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