Investment/Trends

The Endgame of State/Local Government Pensions

"During the past 30 years of financialized abundance, the benefits and pensions promised to public employees were increased substantially. Public unions are a powerful political force in many states, and in eras of rising tax revenues, it's an easy political decision to increase public employee benefits and pension payouts. The rising stock and bond markets generated huge profits for the public-employee pension funds, enabling them to grow without taxpayer contributions. The effortlessness and persistence of this growth encouraged the mindset that pensions would be paid for via the magic of ever-rising markets." Continue reading →

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Renewed fear of global recession as companies rein in spending plans

"Growth in spending on machinery and investment by the world’s 2,000 biggest companies has begun to contract for the first time since the Lehman crisis, led by sharp falls in China and a near collapse in Latin America. Company spending plans are watched as an early warning gauge for the economy. The drastic falls in large parts of the world doom hopes for strong recovery later this year, and even point to a recession risk.The International Monetary Fund has cut its global forecast for this year to 3.1pc, sharply downgrading Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India and Mexico, as well as Italy and Germany." Continue reading →

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The Hidden Edge of Junior Mining Companies

"The problem with investing in natural resource projects, says Rick Rule, is that there’s a very low chance of success for any individual property. 'When I was in university, some forty years ago, the experts claimed that roughly one in three thousand mineralized anomalies (exploration targets) would become a mine,' Rick explained. 'With those odds of success, any particular property has a pretty slim chance of being worth something. The way people are successful in this business is by identifying the opportunities with the best characteristics – and having the ability to quickly figure out what’s in the ground.'" Continue reading →

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Fed Puzzle: The Massive Collapse in Money Velocity

"With the velocity of money plummeting, it's clear that something in the fractional reserve banking system is broken -- the money remains trapped in the financial system. Yet another indicator of this is the Fed's Money Multiplier, or an indicator of how the money injected in the banking system is multiplied by lending and economic activity. That's reached new lows recently too, indicating that the fractional reserve system is not living up to expectations. This means that traders with access to large amounts of cheap trading capital can continue to make big bets as the Fed supports their access to capital -- but small businesses can't get the same access to capital." Continue reading →

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100-year-old Wild West silver certificate lassos $2.6M at auction

"Would you spend $2.6 million for a certificate for $1,000? A rare, century–old silver certificate bearing the likeness of 19th century politician William L. Marcy was sold to an anonymous buyer for that lofty sum, which auctioneers at Stack's Bowers Galleries say is a record. 'Only two exist of this type, the other being a treasure in the National Numismatic Collection in the Smithsonian Institution,' Stack's Bowers said in announcing the sale. The certificate was issued in 1891, at a time when silver miners, Western mining companies and some Western banks were objecting to the government's decision to adopt a gold standard." Continue reading →

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Your Personal Gold Standard

"There isn’t a central bank in the world that wants to go back to a gold standard. But that’s not the point. The point is whether they will have to. I always tell people who say we’re not on the gold standard that, in a way, we are. You can put yourself on a personal gold standard just by buying gold. In other words, if you think that the value of paper money will be in some jeopardy, or confidence in paper money may be lost, one way to protect yourself is by buying gold, and there’s nothing stopping you." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin a Refuge For Argentines Tired of Government’s Currency Despotism

"Bitcoin's popularity in the U.S. is gradually rising as it branches out from tech-savvy and libertarian circles into the mainstream financial world. But who may benefit most from the technology are residents in countries like Argentina, where independent observers estimate inflation at 25 percent and the government imposes strict capital controls. The price of Bitcoins in Buenos Aires are about 30 to 40 percent higher than those in neighboring Uruguay, and last week, a Bitcoin Meetup brought 150 Argentines to the nation's capital to discuss the advance of the technology in the country." Continue reading →

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Is This the Future of Bitcoin?

"When it comes to Bitcoin, the fast-growing 'digital currency,' there are good ideas, bad ideas and pie-in-the-sky ideas galore. All of these were on display Thursday night when more than 300 Bitcoin investors and entrepreneurs gathered at Microsoft’s (MSFT) sleek, marble-lined offices in New York City to show off their Bitcoin-based business ideas, munch on free pizza, and ruminate on the future of virtual currency in the company of other enthusiasts. Bitcoin has inspired a range of potential businesses, from physical Bitcoin ATMs to trading platforms, to services that pay videogamers in Bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul Interview with Charles Goyette

"It would be impossible to find someone in Washington who knows more about monetary and fiscal policy, the Federal Reserve, free markets, Austrian economics, and gold and silver than former congressman and presidential candidate Ron Paul. From warning about the consequences of Nixon’s abandonment of the dollar’s ties to gold, to alerting the country to the calamity that would be the Iraq war, to his statement in Congress describing with shocking precision in advance just how the housing bubble would inflate and burst, Dr. Paul has demonstrated that his views must be taken very seriously, indeed." Continue reading →

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Kyle Bass: “The Next 18 Months Will Redefine Economic Orthodoxy For The West”

"The topics he focuses on are Central bank expansion (with a mind-numbing array of awe-full numbers to explain just where the $10 trillion of freshly created money has gone), Japan's near-term outlook ('the next 18 months in Japan will redefine the economic orthodoxy of the West'), and most importantly since, as he notes, 'we are investing in things that are propped up and somewhat made up,' the psychology of negative outcomes. The latter, Bass explains, is one of the most frequently discussed topics at his firm, as he points out that 'denial' is extremely popular in the financial markets." Continue reading →

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