money

China plans to allow yuan trade settlement for individuals this year

"China is looking into how individuals and small businesses can settle trade using yuan this year, a People's Bank of China official told Reuters on Monday, potentially opening a massive new conduit for Chinese currency to flow into global markets. At the same time, by allowing individual traders and companies, Beijing can help eliminate the risk of currency fluctuation for individuals and small enterprises in the import/export sector. Chinese individuals are only permitted to exchange the equivalent of $50,000 per year for use in overseas purchases or investments, but many companies have managed to get around these restrictions through trade." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina plans to allow yuan trade settlement for individuals this year

Year of the yuan: China’s explosive currency goes global

"Degenerating credit quality across the board has prompted asset managers to turn to the yuan, a currency that 10 years ago was completely off limits to foreign investors. An HSBC forecast projected that by 2015, the yuan will become one of the three most used currencies in global trade, in league with the dollar and euro. The report, issued in April, also foresees a third of China’s cross-border transactions being carried out in yuan. China has been making a concerted effort to establish itself as an international currency reserve. China already has agreements with Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan allowing trade to be settled in yuan instead of dollars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYear of the yuan: China’s explosive currency goes global

More countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

"Of the 160 countries that settled payments with Hong Kong and the mainland last month, 47 had at least 10 per cent of their transfers made out in the yuan, according to SWIFT, a global member-owned co-operative servicing financial institutions. The number of countries 'crossing the RMB river', or having at least 10 per cent of payments valued in the yuan, grew 9 per cent in the nine months to April this year, SWIFT said in a report yesterday. Italy and Russia are among the major adopters of the yuan. Other places where the currency is increasingly popular for payments include Britain and Singapore, the organisation said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

Venezuela inflation soars to record monthly high 6.1%; 35% annualized

"Last month's consumer price rises, up from 4.3 percent in April, took Venezuela's annualized inflation rate to a startling 35.2 percent, the highest in the Americas. A lack of hard currency has left businesses struggling to import key consumer products. Long queues at shops, and even scuffles, have become common as Venezuelans face shortages of basic goods from toilet paper to wheat flour. A devaluation of the bolivar currency in February, and heavy government spending throughout 2012 when Chavez won re-election, have exacerbated price pressures in Venezuela, which has for decades suffered high inflation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVenezuela inflation soars to record monthly high 6.1%; 35% annualized

The biggest scams in Bitcoin history

"The Bitcoin world is a lovely place graced by anonymity and (almost) zero government interference. However, a while ago – when people didn’t know Bitcoin so well and security was less important – these characteristics made the currency prone to scams and theft. Here we unearth some of the greatest scams that have hit our favorite digital currency and hope that users will avoid suspicions situations in the future. Stay safe!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe biggest scams in Bitcoin history

Kipochi launches first Bitcoin wallet in Africa with M-Pesa integration

"This enables Kenyans to receive money transfers from the diaspora in an easier, faster and cheaper way, compared to using banks and money transferring services such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Kipochi is a light weight easy to use BitCoin Wallet that allows users to receive and send BitCoin all over the world. Even for people using simple low cost feature phones. M-Pesa currently accounts for 31% of Kenya’s GDP. M-Pesa, the leading mobile payment system in Kenya and in the world, more than 70% of Kenya’s adult population uses Mpesa for small transfers, such as cash between family/friends, paying domestic help, utility bills etc." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKipochi launches first Bitcoin wallet in Africa with M-Pesa integration

In London, the next wave of Bitcoin growth will be led by startups and innovation

"At Bitcoin London this week, it was clear that it would be the next wave of innovative startups that might be able to eventually move Bitcoin from an experimental currency into a more mainstream financial force in London. The event highlighted some of the bigger Bitcoin startups, which have launched exchanges or apps, as well as newer players, like a Bitcoin conversion machine maker, which is looking to install its first box in the Fall. Britons in general seem more keen on Bitcoin and, for those that have heard of the cyber currency, 40 percent of them trust Bitcoin as much as British sterling, according to a recent survey. That’s compared to 16 percent in the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn London, the next wave of Bitcoin growth will be led by startups and innovation

Bill Bonner: What I’m Doing With My Money Now

"Family offices have for hundreds of years been protecting and growing family wealth, based on a number of unique long-term investment strategies. They've also been helping families pass on their wealth through the generations. The skills necessary for building wealth – including the habits and the customs that allow you to hold onto it and pass it along to the next generation – can take a long time to accumulate. Why are the Swiss so wealthy, for example, and the Bolivians... or the Zimbabweans... or the Albanians... or the Baltimoreans... so poor? The Swiss have the habit of wealth; the others do not. There are some skills that take more than a generation to acquire." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: What I’m Doing With My Money Now

Gideon Gono is Not Disappointing Me

"I have just started reading former Zimbabwe central banker Gideon Gono's book, Zimababwe's Casino Economy. It is meeting my expectations. So far I have learned, he has four children, Passion, Prince, Pride and Praise. He has an undergraduate correspondence degree from Rapid Results College and in the book, he slams critics of his honorary PhD degree from the University of Zimbabwe. In a Krugman-would-be-proud fashion, Gono informs in the book, that toward the end of his reign as head of the central bank, inflation hit 231 million percent annually." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGideon Gono is Not Disappointing Me

Campaign to Salvage Central Banking

"LeBor himself rehearses the history of the BIS in this interview and points out how it probably should have been shut down several times. Certainly after World War II it should have been shut down because the leadership engaged in communication with Germany's wartime corporate cartels. These cartels were specifically assured that their profits would be protected if they cooperated with the BIS and other allied authorities. It was a secret deal that would have caused immense outrage in Britain and the US if publicized. It never was. The BIS is obviously more than the 'bank of banks.' It is a command-and-control mechanism for the entire globalist machinery of finance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCampaign to Salvage Central Banking