money

John Browne Explains the Great Game

"Of countries that have to make something, like the Swiss – the Swiss have got a heap of granite with icing on the top of it and yet they're one of the richest countries in the world. It's the people that do this stuff. It's the people and the leadership and if they believe in something they do it, and the Germans, too. They believe in hard work but what's more, they believe that the hard work of today's citizens should be kept intact so that those hard working people, when they retire, should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. The Anglo-Americans say the hell with the future, the hell with children, the hell with grandchildren. We want that money now." Continue reading →

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EMU plot curdles as creditors seize Cyprus gold reserves

"First they purloin the savings and bank deposits in Laiki and the Bank of Cyprus, including the working funds of the University of Cyprus, and thousands of small firms hanging on by their fingertips. Then they seize three quarters of the country’s gold reserves, making it ever harder for Cyprus to extricate itself from EMU at a later date. The people of Cyprus first learned about this from a Reuters leak of the working documents for the Eurogroup meeting on Friday. This seemed to catch the central bank by surprise. Officials said they knew nothing about it. So who in fact made this decision?" Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: $10,000 each in two suitcases

"Price controls didn't work for the Romans. They didn't work for the Germans. They didn't work for the Zimbabweans or any of the other hundreds of governments that have tried them. But who knows? Maybe they'll work for the Argentinians. But inflation is just getting started here. The rate is officially about 10%. Unofficially, it's 30%. Officially, you can trade a dollar for 5.4 pesos. Unofficially, you'd be a fool to do so. The black market rate is eight to the dollar – and more. So what do we do? Every time we come to Argentina we bring the maximum - $10,000 each – in $100 bills. Then, when we need to buy things, we trade our dollars on the black market." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers: ‘I Suspect They’ll Take the Pension Plans Next; I’m Taking Preparations’

"I was able to reconnect for an interview with legendary Quantum Fund manager and commodities bull, Jim Rogers. This was an especially groundbreaking interview, as Jim shared thoughts on what governments around the world will be taking next, and what he’s doing right now to protect his personal bank accounts following the Cyprus collapse. With respect to which assets governments will likely be coming for next, Jim said, '401k plans, IRA’s, and pensions plans which the government knows about [may be next]…They’re rationale would be, ‘Well most people haven’t been doing well in their IRAs and pension plans for the past several years, so we’re going to help you.'" Continue reading →

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Meet the Bitcoin Millionaires

"Many Bitcoin tycoons are devoting themselves to expanding the currency’s reach. Yifu Guo was a digital media student at New York University when he began mining some of the first coins, occasionally cashing in a few to help pay his rent. After he recognized Bitcoin’s potential, he quit school and founded a company called Avalon, which sells hardware built solely for the purpose of mining Bitcoins. Tony Gallippi is CEO of BitPay, a payment processor he co-founded in 2011 that enables online merchants to accept Bitcoins. He says he includes Bitcoins in his investment portfolio along with stocks, bonds, and real estate." Continue reading →

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These Startups Are Betting Everything on Bitcoin

"BitInstant is just one of several Bitcoin startups attracting funding from established venture firms and investors at a valuation in the millions. Coinsetter, a New York startup working on a foreign exchange trading platform for Bitcoins, recently raised $500,000 led by Tribeca Venture Partners and SecondMarket at a valuation that we hear is in the 'low single-digit millions.' Coinbase, a startup that provides a digital wallet for Bitcoin transactions, has raised $600,000 to date from Y Combinator, IDG Ventures and others. (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twins who had a disputed role in the founding of Facebook, are also big Bitcoin investors.)" Continue reading →

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FDR Pulled a Cyprus on the American People 80 Years Ago This Week

"This week marks the 80th anniversary of FDR's decree, writes the Daily Bail. It remained the law of the land for more than four decades. Only on Dec. 31, 1974, was it finally repealed by Gerald Ford. Below is a full copy of the Executive Order." Continue reading →

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Detlev Schlichter: Global economic policy now firmly in the hands of money cranks

"During the early honeymoon between ‘Abenomics’ and financial reality, the idea of printing yourself to prosperity is likely to have imitators, with the UK being a prime candidate. In terms of total indebtedness, the UK is the one industrialized country that can compete with Japan, meaning it is in the same supersized debt-pickle. Over at Threadneedle Street, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Paul Tucker, openly fantasized about negative interest rates recently, outgoing Governor Mervyn King voted for more QE (overruled), and Governor-elect Mark Carney promises to be, well, – flexible. Bottom line: desperation is spreading. Watch this place!" Continue reading →

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Subprime ABS Securitizations Are Back As Absolute Worst Of The Credit Bubble Returns

"The $604 million issue from consumer lender Springleaf Financial, the former American General Finance, will bundle together about $662 million of loans secured by assets such as cars, boats, furniture and jewelry into ABS, according to a term sheet. Some loans have no collateral. Personal loans haven't been a part of the mainstream ABS market since securitizations from Conseco Finance Corp. in the late 1990s, according to Michael Dean, co-head of Fitch Ratings' ABS group. That market dried up as the recession hit and, under the weight of bad subprime loans, Conseco filed for bankruptcy in 2002." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Should Get Ready for an Attack

"The coming attacks will be publicized rapidly – with stories and releases prepared ahead of time – and will paint the worst possible picture. Afterwards it will be seen that the first loss estimates were wildly high, but that won't matter to the people who see the headlines on the evening news. Joe and Jane Obedient will believe the worst. This is all manipulation, obviously, since people are being ripped-off in government money, on gigantic scales: millions of thefts at once. But, such is the state of the West at this sad moment: The large abusers are sanctified and the innovators are demonized." Continue reading →

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