Investment/Trends

Insatiable appetite for gold fuels India’s smuggling industry

"Indian gold smugglers are adopting the methods of drug couriers to sidestep a government crackdown on imports of the precious metal, stashing gold in imported vehicles and even using mules who swallow nuggets to try to get them past airport security. Stung by rules imposed this year to cut a high trade deficit and a record duty on imports, dealers and individual customers are fanning out across Asia to buy gold and sneak it back into the country. Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore are the latest hotspots as authorities crack down on travellers from Dubai, the traditional source of smuggled gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInsatiable appetite for gold fuels India’s smuggling industry

Debt hits 200-year high; IMF warns of ‘savings tax’ and mass write-offs

"Much of the Western world will require defaults, a savings tax and higher inflation to clear the way for recovery as debt levels reach a 200-year high, according to a new report by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF working paper said debt burdens in developed nations have become extreme by any historical measure and will require a wave of haircuts, either negotiated 1930s-style write-offs or the standard mix of measures used by the IMF in its 'toolkit' for emerging market blow-ups. Financial repression can take many forms, including capital controls, interest rate caps or the force-feeding of government debt to captive pension funds and insurance companies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebt hits 200-year high; IMF warns of ‘savings tax’ and mass write-offs

3 Urgent Steps for the Ultimate Strategy in 2014!

"There’s no doubt we’re living in crazy times. Despite a slight reduction in the amount of unbacked money it prints every month, the Fed is still burying the world in unbacked paper dollars. Despite a 'budget deal,' the massive federal debt is nearing the $18 trillion mark and annual deficits are still massive. Despite the trillions Washington has poured into the economy over six years, growth is still sub-par. Despite Washington’s claims to the contrary, the real unemployment rate, measured the way our government used to, is still 13.2 percent. Yet this year alone, the S&P 500 has hit nearly four dozen new all-time highs in 2013. So what’s the wisest wealth-building strategy in times like these?" Continue reading →

Continue Reading3 Urgent Steps for the Ultimate Strategy in 2014!

Bill Bonner: Avoid This Popular Stock in 2014…

"All eyes have been fixed on the stock market in 2013. But one of the most significant moves has happened in supposedly 'safe haven' bonds. Mom & Pop investors who rushed out of the stock market and into bond funds have been burned. In 2013, investors holding the iShares Barclay’s 20+yr Treasury Bond ETF lost 13.5%. This is strange, because the Fed has been supporting the long end of the Treasury market with $540 billion of Treasury bond purchases under QE3. If this is how long-bond investors are rewarded with the Fed set to buy another half trillion dollars of long bonds next year, it doesn’t bode well for bond bulls. Our advice: Steer clear of T-bonds in 2014." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Avoid This Popular Stock in 2014…

Bill Bonner: Should You Turn Bullish in 2014?

"As far as we know, as long as the Fed keeps pumping, prices for stocks, Andy Warhol doodles and Manhattan apartments will keep going up. But that doesn’t mean any of them are good investments. Stocks, for example, are an option on a bigger Fed-induced bubble. But they’re not cheap. A simple look at the 12-month “as reported” P/E for the S&P 500 will tell you that. Could this continue? Yes, of course. Or, it could blow sky-high. Yes – 2013 was one for the history books; 2014 almost surely will be, too." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: Should You Turn Bullish in 2014?

Now China … Reasons for Printing Money Abound

"The tightening talk we're listening to is just for public consumption. The whole system of recovery is based on equity appreciation stimulating employment (which it does ineffectively at best). The big central banks around the world are all pumping money in unison. We will always be told that bankers are concernedly moderating money flows. But then, at the first sign of trouble, the taps are turned back on. In fact, they are never REALLY turned off. And there will always be a reason to push the volume of money even higher. They are planning a big Wall Street Party. The top men always seem to find reasons to print more. Until the world is swimming in currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow China … Reasons for Printing Money Abound

Bitcoin exchanges shut shop in India

"BuySellBitCo.in CEO Mahin Gupta refused to comment on what would happen to the investment that went into BuySellBitCo.in. However, the exchange’s website pointed out that it was suspending operations until a clearer operating framework could be found. 'Post the RBI circular, we are suspending buy and sell operations. This is being done to protect the interests of our customers and in no way is a reflection of Bitcoin’s true potential or price,' the trading platform said. Another trading platform, INBRTC, claimed that the 'only option now was to suspend services until further arrangements could be made.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin exchanges shut shop in India

Economist Mag Defends Fed With an Ode to the Dead

"Today, powerful people situated strategically around the Fed are protecting that institution and its members. But times are not what they were. There is the Internet to contend with and a mood of informed populism in the US that does not bode well for a continued Fed coverup. Thus, the Fed faces an institutional conundrum. The public pressure on the Fed in the long run will surely not let up. In fact, it may subside a little as the Fed tends to this latest stock market bubble, what we have called a 'Wall Street Party.' But when the party is ending and insiders (and hopefully you, dear reader) have drunk their fill of the bubbly and retired, there will be Hell to pay." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEconomist Mag Defends Fed With an Ode to the Dead

Paul Craig Roberts: Manipulations Rule The Markets

"Until a whistleblower speaks, we cannot know for certain, but my conclusion is that the Fed understands that it must protect the dollar from being driven down by QE and that the orchestrated takedowns of gold are part of protecting the dollar’s value, and perhaps also the cutback in QE is a part of the protection by signaling an end of money creation. The Fed also understands that it cannot forever drive down the gold price and that it cannot forever pour liquidity into stock and bond markets. To retreat from this policy without crashing the edifice requires successful orchestrations. Therefore, we are likely to experience more of them in the days to come." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Manipulations Rule The Markets

Even more smuggled gold enters India

"In the biggest ever catch at the Hyderabad airport, customs officials have seized 18 kilograms of gold and arrested three people. The trio had arrived from Singapore and were hiding the gold bars in their trousers and shoes. In another incident, officials of the customs department recovered gold hidden in dates from a man who landed at the Pune International Airport. Investigation revealed that the seeds of these dates had been replaced with gold beads wrapped in black packets. Gold seizures have almost doubled for the period 2013-2014. Whistleblowers who help bust illegal gold shipments can get a bigger reward in India than those who help catch cocaine and heroin smugglers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEven more smuggled gold enters India