money

Sterling crisis looms as UK current account deficit balloons

"Some of the reasons for this need little explanation. Low growth has undermined attempts to reduce the fiscal deficit, which remains one of the highest in the OECD. This in turn is likely to lead to the loss of Britain’s prized triple A credit rating this year, making the UK comparatively less attractive to overseas investors. What’s more, capital flows from the eurozone to perceived 'safe havens' such as the UK are slowing as the crisis eases. There is also evidence of elevated concern among investors about Bank of England money printing." Continue reading →

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BitPay Banks $510K In Investment To Become PayPal for Bitcoin, Already Has 2,100 Businesses On Board

"What makes Bitcoin so interesting is that it flies in the face of payment models that we’re used to today; it’s a push model rather than a pull one. When you give a website your credit card and billing information to buy something, the company is pulling money out of your account. Giving up that personal information isn’t the safest thing, and Bitcoin allows you to 'push' the money to a company to buy something. This means that no personally identifiable information goes with it, making eventual identity theft and fraud nearly impossible during the transaction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitPay Banks $510K In Investment To Become PayPal for Bitcoin, Already Has 2,100 Businesses On Board

Illinois Bill to Register Buyers of Gold and Silver Coins

"It had to come. It has been introduced in Illinois, the most anti-gun state in the USA. 'Creates the Precious Metal Purchasing Act. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall obtain a proof of ownership, create a record of the sale, and verify the identity of the seller. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall not pay for the precious metal in cash and shall >record the method of payment. Requires the purchaser to keep a record of the sale for one year or, if the purchase amount is over $500, for 5 years.'" Continue reading →

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Barter and Alternative Currencies Growing in Greece

"The issue of tax reporting is brought into the article – and an insinuation is made that people are dodging taxes by using these systems. But so far as we can tell, such systems need central bookkeeping, which is one reason why we figure the United Nations has been a supporter of them. Gold and silver are far harder to track for personal usage than barter/currency systems that use a centralized bookkeeping system. Are Greeks turning to gold and silver as well, as those in Zimbabwe have done once the economy collapsed? We would bet gold and silver are finding their place alongside such barter/currency systems." Continue reading →

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U.S. Inflation Since 1775 And How It Took Off In 1933

"Yesterday at the American Economic Association's 2013 Annual Meeting, Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff offered a paper titled Shifting Mandates: The Federal Reserve’s First Centennial. The paper included a cool chart of inflation since 1775. The authors argue that inflation didn't take off until the U.S. went off the gold standard in 1933." Continue reading →

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Iraq unearths 1,400-year-old gold coins

"Iraqi archaeologists have found 66 gold coins that are at least 1,400 years old, officials said on Monday, adding that they hope to put them on display in Baghdad’s National Museum. Many of Iraq’s archaeological sites have been vandalised and encroached upon in recent decades, but especially in the years following the US-led invasion of 2003. The capital’s National Museum was also looted in its aftermath. At the time, nearly 32,000 pieces were stolen from 12,000 archaeological sites across Iraq, and 15,000 others disappeared from the National Museum in Baghdad, according to official figures." Continue reading →

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Krugman Gives the Thumbs Up on the Minting of a Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin

"Should President Obama be willing to print a $1 trillion platinum coin if Republicans try to force America into default? Yes, absolutely.[...] So if the 14th amendment solution — simply declaring that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional — isn’t workable, go with the coin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKrugman Gives the Thumbs Up on the Minting of a Trillion Dollar Platinum Coin

IMF OK With Capital Controls, Inflationists Shrug

"The International Monetary Fund endorsed nations’ use of capital controls in certain circumstances, making official a shift, which has been in the works for three years, that will guide the fund’s advice. In a reversal of its historic support for unrestricted flows of money across borders, the Washington-based IMF said controls can be useful when countries have little room for economic policies such as lowering interest rates or when surging capital inflows threaten financial stability." Continue reading →

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Japan plans ‘nationalisation’ of factories to save industry

"Premier Shenzo Abe is to spend up to one trillion yen (£7.1bn) buying plant in the electronics, equipment, and carbon fibre industries to force the pace of investment, according to Nikkei news. The disclosure came just a day after Mr Abe vowed to revive Japan's nuclear industry with a fresh generation of reactors, insisting that they would be 'completely different' from the Fukishima Daiichi technology. Mr Abe's Liberal Democrats have already lambasted the central bank, threatening a new bank law unless it adopts radical measures to pull Japan out of deflation – including a growth target of 3pc for nominal GDP, implying massive monetary stimulus." Continue reading →

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Don’t Show Bernanke This Chart Of Gold Loans In India

"The chart shows the staggering eightfold increase in India's gold loans 'which monetize the idle gold in the country', in just four short years. In short it proves that in India, gold is the only real money, and is the only fallback option in a country where inflation is still rampant, and where even simple peasants prefer to keep their wealth not in the local paper currency, which has been losing its value aggressively in recent years, but in the shiny metal. Must be 'tradition.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDon’t Show Bernanke This Chart Of Gold Loans In India