Investment/Trends

Japan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

"Japan expects to spend a record $257 billion to service its debt during the next fiscal year, a document obtained by Reuters showed, underscoring the huge burden created by the government's borrowings. That will be up 13.7 percent from the amount set aside for the current fiscal year, reflecting the ministry's plan to guard against any future rise in long-term interest rates. Years of fiscal stimulus to revive a stagnant economy and surging social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have led to Japan running a record 1,000 trillion yen ($10 trillion) in public debt, double the size of its economy and the biggest among major industrialized nations." Continue reading →

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Argentina rejects court order to pay ‘vulture fund’

"Argentina has said it will continue to pay back debt on its own terms, after a US appeals court ordered the South American country to hand $1.47 billion (1.1 billion euros) to two hedge funds holding its defaulted bonds. Buenos Aires’ defiant stance is just the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute over government bonds it defaulted on in 2001. Facing bankruptcy at the time, the country struck a deal with almost all of its creditors to restructure its debt at a discount of nearly 70 percent. Argentina has claimed that the court’s decision would spur the other 93% of creditors who previously agreed to a deal to also demand full repayment, thus forcing the country back to bankruptcy." Continue reading →

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Can Indian Temple Gold Help the Rupee?

"At a time when nothing seems to be able to stem the Indian rupee’s decline, a novel idea to boost the currency is doing the rounds: use the tons of gold stashed away in people’s homes and in temples. There is no firm estimate of how much gold is held by Indian temples, but it is believed to be several thousand tons. Jamal Mecklai said banks could pay interest for gold, and then sell a large portion of the stock in the domestic market. London Bullion Market Association Chairman David Gornall told The Hindu Business Line newspaper that the Reserve Bank of India could swap the 200 tons of gold that it had bought from the International Monetary fund in 2009, for dollars." Continue reading →

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Marc Faber on Gold & Debt

"We have had a meaningful correction in gold. From $1921 in September 2011 to less than $1200 at the bottom is a fairly large correction. But in longer-term bull markets, these kinds of corrections do occur. We had a 40-50% correction in 1987 in equity markets. But the bull market lasted until the year 2000. Looking at the fundamentals, looking at how debt will continue to increase and how central banks will continue their monetization not only in the US but on a worldwide scale, I assume the price of gold will trend higher. Most likely we've seen the lows below $1200. Eventually we will be over $1921. The question is, Will it be this year or in five years? That I don't know." Continue reading →

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PM Volatility Masks Impending Rise In Metals And Miners: Don’t Sell Out

"During the 12-year PM bull market, gold has tracked the increase in the US debt ceiling. The break of the past 15 months closely resembles the 2008 correction in PM prices that occurred even as the debt ceiling got a massive lift, one that the current incumbency has increased. With the national debt nearly $7 trillion above the level of January 1, 2009, PM prices have resumed their secular rise, increasing 18% since the June 26 lows. It resembles the initial rise of PM prices early in 2009. If gold continues to approximate the rise of this debt as it has for twelve years, by 2016, it will hit $3500/oz." Continue reading →

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How to Hide Your Gold and Silver

"Taking physical delivery of your gold or silver is often the most rewarding part of the purchasing experience, as it gives you, the bullion investor, a fuller understanding of the real value of tangible monetary assets. Like many of our bullion customers, we typically choose to take physcial delivery first and then secondly store additional purchases of gold and silver at one of the many segregated gold vault and silver storage locations we offer. Because we are such proponents of taking physical delivery first, we have compiled a few creative storage solutions based on voluntary, anonymous, customer feedback." Continue reading →

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‘Robin Hood’ band of ‘left-wing activists’ nabs school supplies from shop

"A Robin Hood-style band of Spanish left-wing activists openly stole cart-loads of school supplies from a supermarket on Friday, promising to distribute them to needy children. More than 200 members of the Sindicato Andaluz de Trabajadores (Andalusian Union of Workers) emerged from a Carrefour supermarket in the southern city of Seville pushing about 10 shopping carts brimming with exercise books, pens, felt-tips and dictionaries. They loaded the back-to-school supplies into vans and left. School materials 'expropriated' this time would be given to needy families in the next few days, the union said in a statement, describing it as a 'symbolic act for equal opportunity'." Continue reading →

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How Do You Like Your Central Planners, Bookish or Flamboyant?

"I knew Yellen in grad school and have encountered Summers in person, and I agree fully with these characterizations. But the Economist’s editorialist misses entirely the bizarre, indeed grotesque, context of this discussion. The Fed is the world’s most powerful government economic planning organization and its decisions affect the lives and prosperity of millions, if not billions. All this will hinge on the personality of one person? How about a system in which authority is decentralized, power is limited, and nobody cares who calls himself 'Fed Chair'?" Continue reading →

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How to Make More Money than a Venture Capitalist

"I've taken to calling them growth capitalists (GCs), since that's what they do: fund startup companies through the all-important rapid-growth periods. Instead of placing thousands of bets on charismatic founders with a slide deck and a dream, growth capitalists focus on a different niche: profitable or near-profitable companies with rising revenues that need access to significant capital to grow to the next level, but are too small for public stock or bond offerings. By doing so, they've actually taken a page right out of the VC playbook. Chasing the 1,000x return grand slams, most venture capitalists aren't interested in dealing with companies that are already established—even ones they funded early on." Continue reading →

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Understanding & How To Avoid Bank Fees While Traveling

"It is important to understand & learn how to avoid bank fees while traveling. Avoiding credit card fees, currency exchange fees, and foreign transaction fees while traveling overseas is important in order to save money for more trips and adventures. In this travel tips post we are going to cover the main fees charged by banking and credit card institutions. The fees can be broken down into three types; ATM withdrawal fees, foreign conversion fees (which can also be tied into credit card fees), and exchange rate fees. Its quite easy to avoid paying bank fees while traveling once we understand the structure of how banks charge customers for service." Continue reading →

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