The Achilles heel for bankers is physical gold and silver, and it’s exposed!

As many people who have been buying gold and silver are well aware the “paper market” (COMEX, LBMA) price of gold is used in determining the price for physical gold and silver. This has lead to many people claiming the price of gold and silver is easily manipulated. It’s been rumored for some time leverage on the LBMA is around 100 to 1 (contracts vs. physical). This in essence, allows [...]

Three “global” dividend ETFs with big 7%-plus dividends

From ETF Trends:

Risk and returns often go hand-in-hand, and income hunters who are willing to stomach a little more risk can look overseas for attractive dividends in globally focused exchange traded funds.

With the Federal Reserve depressing yields on U.S. government bonds, investors have branched out to riskier investments for yields. [Surveying the Dividend ETF Landscape]

“What we have is money that had typically gone to fixed income now coming into equities,” [...]

EL-ERIAN: Unhedged Stock Market Investors Will Pay A High Price For Taking Excessive Risk

Mohamed El-Erian – Putting It All Together

 

In Part IV of the series of reports from the 10th annual Strategic Investment Conference, presented by Altegis Investments and John Mauldin, Mohamed El-Erian ties together the views of the previous presenters. You can read the previous presentations by clicking the links below.

Part I: Niall Ferguson – The Great Degeneration

Part II: Jeff Gundlach – Why Own Bonds At All

Part III: A. Gary Shilling – Six Realities [...]

Tech bubble bursts for five founders of start-up who were left to split just $36,000 after firm is sold for $82million… and one only gets payout of $99

Bloodhound technologies formed in the mid-1990s
Founders eventually left the company and venture capitalists invested
Company grew for a decade before being bought out
Investors received huge windfall while founders received virtually nothing
Founders now suing in a Delaware court
Story is typical of entrepreneurs who fail to secure future ‘rights’

 

It’s the dream of every internet startup founder to sell their company for millions of dollars.

But not everyone can make a quick buck like Facebook [...]

The whole world is talking about gold

This is our third release from The Real Asset Report. Here we take a look at how, despite calls that the gold bubble is finished, the whole world is still talking about buying gold.

by Jan Skoyles, TheRealAsset.co.uk

Read any financial paper or website and they’ll tell you that the ‘gold-bubble’ is over. This opinion appears to be based solely on price and not much else.

When you look at short-term price action on its own [...]

This is what Congress was doing on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing…

Congress quietly repeals congressional insider trading ban!!!

Both parties and both houses of Congress hated the disclosure portion of the law so much that it was repealed on Friday without debate—the measure was sent to the president by unanimous consent. The ordeal took about 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House, according to official records.

The STOCK Act would have required members of Congress, their aides, and other [...]

Obama: ‘The Truth Is, Our Deficits Are Already Shrinking’

In his weekly radio address, President Obama explained the budget he’ll rollout next week, and said, “the truth is, our deficits are already shrinking.”

“My budget will reduce our deficits not with aimless, reckless spending cuts that hurt students and seniors and middle-class families – but through the balanced approach that the American people prefer, and the investments that a growing economy demands,” said Obama.

“Now, the truth is, our deficits are [...]

Foreign Cash is Now Bidding for “Rat Infested” Homes in America’s Latest Housing Bubble

by Michael Krieger, Liberty Blitzkreig:

I’ve been following closely the recent attempts by the domestic oligarchy in charge of the corporatist-facist state we call America to create a new housing bubble for several years now.  For a little while, I was merely confused as to how prices were starting to rise when college graduates have no jobs and are six figures in debt, while at the same time real incomes are dropping [...]

The Ongoing Death of the Euro: 1929 in Slow Motion

by Christopher Quigley, Financial Sense:

It is hard I am sure for Americans to fully comprehend the disaster that played out in the recent Cypriot Euro debacle.

To get a feel for the panic that was swirling about in Europe the week before last I include a quote from the Irish Independent of 22nd March 2013:

Irish property speculators fear for cash in Cypriot account.

“A group of up to 30 Irish property speculators have [...]

REPORT: Germany Spends $110 Billion to Delay Global Warming by 37 Hours

Bjorn Lomborg claimed on John Stossel’s television show last night that money isn’t being spent well to combat “global warming”:

“The Germans are spending about $110 billion on subsidies for these solar panels,” said Lomborg. “The net effect of all those investments will be to postpone global warming by 37 hours by the end of the century.”

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/claim-germany-spends-110-billion-delay-global-warming-37-hours_712223.html

White House Credits ‘Let’s Move’ for Halting Childhood Obesity Trend

Secretary of State John Kerry gave his first major foreign policy speech today. In his address, delivered at the University of Virginia, he discussed tackling climate change.

“We as a nation must have the foresight and courage to make the investments necessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep for our children and grandchildren: an environment not ravaged by rising seas, deadly superstorms, devastating droughts, and the other hallmarks of [...]

Kerry Gives First Foreign Policy Speech — on Climate Change

Secretary of State John Kerry gave his first major foreign policy speech today. In his address, delivered at the University of Virginia, he discussed tackling climate change.

“We as a nation must have the foresight and courage to make the investments necessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep for our children and grandchildren: an environment not ravaged by rising seas, deadly superstorms, devastating droughts, and the other hallmarks of [...]

Dump These Two Financial Time-Bombs Before They Explode

sovereign-investor.com / By Evaldo Albuquerque / February 6, 2013

I’ve been watching two funds with a combined $29 billion in assets under management, and 489 million outstanding shares and the chances are you have at least one of them sitting in your portfolio, possibly both.

Last year, both funds returned about 12%. And they’ve both had positive returns for the past four years.

In fact, they’ve returned an average of 16% during that period.

Because of [...]

Peter Schiff: Retirement Will One Day Soon Be As Rare As Single Income Households

from Fox Business, via Eduardo89rp:

Peter Schiff: The Real Fiscal Cliff Is Dollar Crisis! Buy Gold! Buy Silver! Own Real Things!!!

 

Obama Admin Looks To Control Americans’ $19.4 Trillion In Retirement Accounts

Remember that old phrase, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help”?

Well, it looks like we are hearing it again, at least on the issue of keeping Americans’ retirement funds safe.

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a [...]

No-Money-Down Mortgages Are Back!

Some affluent buyers are getting the keys to their new home without putting a penny down.

It’s 100% financing—the same strategy that pushed many homeowners into foreclosure during the housing bust. Banks say these loans are safer: They’re almost exclusively being offered to clients with sizable assets, and they often require two forms of collateral—the house and a portion of the client’s investment portfolio in lieu of a traditional [...]

These could be the top 20 dividend stocks to own this year

From The Passive Income Earner:

I have a brand new stock in my value screening this month! It’s a relatively new dividend-paying company, an innovative and a trend-setting company. It’s also massive and was the largest company in the world until the company failed to impress investors. Guess it yet? Yes, I am tracking Apple and it’s on the list of value stock at the moment.

Top 20 Dividend Stocks – Technical [...]

“Apple’s glory days are now behind it,” said FBN’s Shebly Seyrafi

Following last week’s revenue miss, FBN Securities’ Shebly Seyrafi on Thursday morning declared: “Apple’s glory days are now behind it.” (And that’s the view from a bull, mind you.) If that’s true, as many seem quick to believe, it leaves Apple open to the kinds of scrutiny of its cash that has plagued Microsoft for a long time.

Apple ended the quarter with $137 billion in cash and investments, more than [...]

Fleeing California Taxes? Get In Line (Leaving is not that easy)

Is it any wonder that many small and medium sized businesses are moving out of California? In the recent elections, California Voters Sock It To The Rich. As the Wall Street Journal noted, some are promising businesses a better life elsewhere. Being courted must be refreshing but it is important for a company and its owners to have reasonable expectations and to budget for drilling down into California’s rules.

After all, [...]

Philadelphia Mayor Declares Economic Warfare on Gun Retailers

Financial Terrorism: Firearms sellers to be blackmailed into conforming to gun control

Paul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones
Infowars.com
January 17, 2013

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has declared economic warfare on gun retailers, threatening to treat them like businesses who traded under Apartheid in South Africa, by withdrawing investments in companies that refuse to stop selling semi-automatic rifles and blackmailing retailers into becoming front line facilitators for gun control.

READ MORE

China sovereign wealth fund may cut US debt holdings

from South China Morning Post:

 

China’s sovereign wealth fund, which has more than US$480 billion in assets, could cut holdings of US Treasury Bonds as they are becoming a less attractive investment, state media said on Tuesday.

The Shanghai Securities News quoted Lou Jiwei, chairman of sovereign wealth fund manager China Investment Corporation (CIC), as telling a conference in Hong Kong on Monday that the US economic recovery had made other investments appealing.

China has the [...]

Follow The Money While The Monetary Skies Already Red: Investors Buying 50 Times More Physical Silver Than Gold, Massive Amounts Of Physical Gold And Silver Have Been Flowing To Asia, And A Failure Is Likely And Imminent On Comex And In The Silver Market Due To Shortage

ERIC SPROTT: WHY ARE INVESTORS BUYING 50 TIMES MORE PHYSICAL SILVER THAN GOLD?

By Eric Sprott

Why are (Smart) Investors Buying 50 Times More Physical Silver than Gold?

As long-time students of precious metals investing, there are certain things we understand. One is that, historically, the availability ratio of silver to gold has had a direct influence on the price of the metals. The current availability ratio of physical silver to gold for investment purposes [...]

Three Reasons the Fed Announced QE 4

Do you find the Fed’s announcement of QE 4 confusing? After all, why would the Fed engage in more QE when it just announced QE 3 three months ago? In this excerpt from my latest issue of Private Wealth Advisory I outline the real reasons the Fed announced more QE (virtually no one I’ve spoken to understands this).

I also explain which investments will profit from this monetary madness and how [...]

Solutions to solve the Fiscal Cliff and decrease national debt! ((Also post your own suggestions here))

As we all know here in the US there are a lot if changes that could happen December 31 due to the agreement president Obama made to raise the debt ceiling. This could be catastrophic and weaken our already fragile economy. Debt can be reduced if the best decisions are made to stimulate the economy and promote spending and money making by Anericans whole decreasing spending and dollar wasting by [...]

Carson Block: Giving up on China–gov’t protects frauds

Carson Block, founder of Muddy Waters Research, spoke with Bloomberg Television’s Stephanie Ruhle and Tom Keene on “Market Makers” today about his report on Olam International and said that he’s lost interest in betting against Chinese stocks.

 

Block, who compared Olam to Enron, said, “China has gotten harder in the sense that the government has really taken the side of the frauds. The government is working with a number of these [...]

OBAMA DEMANDS TAX HIKES

President Obama called on Congress on Friday to reduce the deficit in “a balanced and responsible way” in his first public remarks since winning reelection.

The president said Congress should extend the current tax rates for 98 percent of Americans, but raise taxes on households with annual income of more than $250,000.

Obama did not talk about higher tax rates in his speech, but said he would not accept a deal that [...]

Taxpayer-funded ‘green’ company investigated for fraud

It was one of Barack Obama’s favorite green-energy companies. And green-energy companies, according to the president, are one of the best ways to facilitate economic growth.

Well, yesterday, The Denver Post detailed the criminal investigation of Abound Solar, a defunct solar-panel manufacturer in Colorado that was run on taxpayer “investments,” for securities fraud, consumer fraud and financial misrepresentation.

Abound shuttered its Colorado plant during the summer and filed for bankruptcy, leaving “125 workers without [...]

Another Lehman moment? A start to Australia Bank runs? Auditors gave Banksia Securities a clean bill of health less than four weeks before its collapse!!

Just image how many American Financial companies are insolvent at the moment and are being given “clean bills of heath.”

Auditors gave Banksia Securities a clean bill of health less than four weeks before its collapse last night, its latest accounts show.

The non-bank lender’s fall into receivers’ hands has left thousands of investors in limbo over the fate of about $660 million in investments.

On September 27, accountants signed off on accounts [...]

AUSSIE FINANCIAL DOOM: Banksia Financial Group GONE!!

Thousands of hard working Aussies are in serious financial doom after the collapse of Banksia Financial Group..

RETIREES, schools and sporting clubs are in shock and fearful about the fate of their investments following the collapse of Banksia Securities.
Thousands of people hundreds of millions of dollars in losses after the shock collapse of Banksia Financial Group. Receivers McGrathNicol took charge of the non-bank financial firm, based in Kyabram in central Victoria, [...]

Surprising development in Japan could have a huge impact on the silver market, for a long time, silver demand was dependent almost entirely on one industry

From Jeff Clark, Senior Precious Metals Analyst, Casey Research:

… After the Fukushima disaster, Japanese authorities wanted to cut the nation’s dependence on nuclear energy. Approximately 30% of Japan’s power was generated by nuclear before the catastrophe; now the focus has shifted to other green energy alternatives, including solar.

The new tariffs might work. The suggested rate of 42 JPY ($0.53) per kilowatt hour (expected to be maintained for 20 years) is [...]

BREAKING INTEL: China in closed door negotiations to purchase Mexican crude oil without using $

Sources inside the Mexican government refuse to confirm that the Mexico government has been in secret negotiations with China over possible crude oil sales to China without using the US dollar.

China officials claim meetings held with the Mexican government and Petróleos Mexicanos (or Pemex) are for investment and economic growth inside Mexico. Crude oil purchases fall under this heading however officials on both sides in the past have stopped short [...]

A rare “high-yield” dividend stock you might want to consider

From Dividend Growth Stocks:

Many of our expenses like utilities and mortgage payments are on a monthly cycle. It is nice when we have monthly income to match up with the monthly expenses — which is why investments that pay monthly dividends are so popular. Just because an investment pays a monthly dividend, doesn’t necessarily mean it is a good fit for investors in dividend growth stocks.

Those of us that invest [...]

A change to this little-known tax law could CRUSH commodities

From Bruce Krasting:

A tax lawyer I know sent me a link to an article about a tax ruling. I’m thinking “Boring, who cares about that?” Then I read the article. A few lines jumped out:

Commodity prices could come under severe pressure if the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) decides to revoke previous rulings.
 
Without the tax exemption, mutual funds would have to restructure or liquidate their holdings. 
 
The resulting liquidation would put [...]

Make your grandchild a millionaire … by putting aside ‘just £240 a month for 18 years’

With the pensions crisis looming large over Britain, people are beginning to realise that they need to start saving for retirement earlier than ever.

And according to investment platform operator Skandia, it is never too early to start.  

The company has revealed that grandparents putting just £240 a month into a pension for their grandchild can make them a millionaire by the time they’re 60. 

Make your grandchild a millionaire: new research shows [...]

How to find value-priced dividend growers in an expensive market

From The Dividend Monk:

An observation from various articles I’ve been seeing [with] increasing frequency this past year has been that dividend stocks, in general, may be overvalued. The articles of course have a range of quality, with some of them going so far as to call dividend stocks a bubble, with others using more reserved and nuanced observations.

It’s certainly an observation worth considering. After all, the Shiller P/E of the [...]