money

Still strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

"Despite the recent imposition of new restrictions by the Reserve Bank of India on the provision of gold loans, banks and non-banking financial corporations, report continued growth in the sector. And, citizen demand for such loans has two institutions cozying up afresh, by filing applications to open up new centres. India's largest pure play gold mortgage player Muthoot Finance has applied for a banking licence and maintains it can easily launch a commercial lending business with over 2,000 branches. While Muthoot Finance aims to cater to the small towns and villages, IndusInd bank will instead focus on the metros and will cater to self employed individuals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStill strong Indian demand for gold loans keeping banks interested

Indian government again urges Indians not to buy gold

"India's Finance Minister P Chidambaram has appealed to the people, once again, to moderate their demand for gold. While insisting that the government would not rule out a complete ban on gold imports, as has been discussed in some quarters, he pointed out the precious metal has cost the nation $50 billion in foreign exchange. Stating that there is a long time attachment to gold in India, the minister asked, '... can we for sometime moderate the demand for gold?' Asking investors to cut down on their purchases as a starting point, Chidambaram suggested buying 10 grams of gold if one was inclined to buy 20 grams of gold." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian government again urges Indians not to buy gold

Why Can’t We Party Like It’s 1905?

"So, do you think life was nasty, brutish, and short in 1905? The Wright brothers were flying for 30 minutes at a crack; Einstein was upgrading the laws of physics; telephones and electric lights were being installed all across America; Henry Ford was getting the final pieces in place for his moving assembly line and Model T; radio was being developed; art was flourishing; and the world was more or less at peace. People in 1905 lived in heated homes, refrigerated their food, had access to professional physicians, traveled the world, read daily newspapers, watched movies, and ate just about the same foods we eat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Can’t We Party Like It’s 1905?

FATCA, fluctuating exchange rates, and the Expatriation Game

"It’s like the old British Fox Hunt. Instead of hunting foxes, the world is now hunting U.S. persons. Your objective is to NOT be captured. The consensus is that, over the long term, the U.S. dollar will depreciate relative to other currencies. This means that it will be worth less relative to other currencies. As the U.S. dollar depreciates, fewer Canadian dollars are required to purchase (what don’t we say $2,000,000) U.S. dollars. This means that the faster the U.S. dollar depreciates, the faster U.S. citizens abroad will become 'covered expatriates'. Notice that you are NOT doing anything yourself. It’s just that the the U.S. dollar is depreciating." Continue reading →

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Lessons from Economic Crises in Argentina

"Just about every single thing that you could do to screw up a country, they have done. It is comical to see the extremes they have gone to. They are really completely out of control and the country is spinning off into la-la-land. Frankly, I love living right in the midst of all of it. There is a lesson to be learned from all of this, and I think it is a very important one. When it comes right down to it, any government – not just the Argentine government, but the US government as well – will simply do whatever it thinks it needs to do to keep the status quo intact, with no moral or ethical considerations." Continue reading →

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Swiss thousand-franc note is a hidden treasure

"Swiss banknote circulation is the second highest in the world behind Japan and more than double that in the United States or the euro zone. Swiss National Bank spokeswoman Silvia Oppliger explains this by the fact that holdings and use of cash remain popular, and that many people still withdraw cash in order to pay their bills at the post office counter. 'People consider using banknotes to be very practical. Also, the wish for privacy has always been high in Switzerland,' Oppliger said. 'Using cash for payments is one manifestation of this.' Switzerland so far has no plans to investigate the use of its CHF1,000 note, let alone discuss its abolishment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss thousand-franc note is a hidden treasure

India to settle oil trade dues with Iran in rupees

"India will settle all oil trade including USD 1.53 billion in dues with Iran entirely in rupees after the US-engineered illegal sanctions against Tehran blocked all other payment routes. In June, India along with China, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Taiwan won a 180-day waiver from the US sanctions against Iran's energy sector. Indian Ambassador to Iran D. P. Srivastava said on Wednesday that New Delhi is determined to continue cooperation with Tehran despite the illegal US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia to settle oil trade dues with Iran in rupees

Granny’s Gold Bars Are Key to Vietnam Push to Boost Dong

"The target of Vietnam’s campaign to stabilize its currency is in the locked bedroom wardrobe of retired civil servant Vu Thi Huong: gold bars. Huong is among millions of Vietnamese who hold an estimated 300 tons to 400 tons of bullion to store their wealth -- valued at as much as $19 billion at domestic prices and equal to official U.K. holdings -- a legacy of more than a century of war, revolution and economic turbulence. The central bank wants to convert the hoard, much of it smuggled in, into dong deposits to strengthen the currency, which has slid 21 percent against the dollar in five years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGranny’s Gold Bars Are Key to Vietnam Push to Boost Dong

Why South Africa’s Currency Has Been Getting Destroyed

"The South African rand (ZAR) is getting absolutely brutalized lately. The currency has fallen from levels around 9.00 against the U.S. dollar just three weeks ago to levels around 10.00 today. 'The key negative risk from headlines out of the mining sector wage negotiations is playing out in a text book fashion – alongside plummeting gold prices and rising [U.S. Treasury] rates – creating a perfect storm for ZAR,' write Bank of America Merrill Lynch currency strategists. The ongoing unrest in South Africa's mining sector – which relies heavily on exports of gold and other metals – is dragging down the country's economy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy South Africa’s Currency Has Been Getting Destroyed

Senior Italian parliament economist on Ludwig von Mises and the current economic crisis

"The vision Mises had about inflation as an illusion imposed is not so far from the Ricardian idea that government bonds are not net wealth, since future generations will have to bear their burden. Inflation and public debt, then, are two sides of the same coin, because they create substantial intergenerational redistributive effects that policy makers cannot evaluate ex-ante. We are realising today how accurate Mises was in his predictions. Mises had these issues clear in his mind and implicitly warned central bankers of the risk of losing money to its real meaning and of exposing the economy to the risk of currency devaluation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenior Italian parliament economist on Ludwig von Mises and the current economic crisis