Saturday, March 29, 2014

Singapore Coin Fair 2014

North korean gold coins. A bet on the eventual demise of the regime:



Photo with legendary billionaire investor Jim Rogers:


Last but not least, a gift for my special person:





Saturday, March 22, 2014

Fed removes goal post

Of course, as mentioned before, they need new excuses to continue printing.

They've changed policies over 10 times in the past few years. Watch out for a reversal of QE-tapering or a new QE program in the later part of this year.


The Federal Reserve gave itself room to keep borrowing costs low at least until next year by dropping a linkage between the benchmark interest rate and a specific level of unemployment:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-19/fed-links-rate-outlook-to-range-of-data-drops-6-5-threshold.html

Buffett Rule! Not!

So much for the buffett rule. 

Berkshire May Avoid $400 Million Tax Bill In Graham Holdings Swap:

http://www.thestreet.mobi/story/12529683/1/berkshire-may-avoid-400-million-tax-bill-in-graham-holdings-swap.html

Abenomics fail

Blow for Abenomics as Japan's economy grows less than expected:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10687325/Blow-for-Abenomics-as-Japans-economy-grows-less-than-expected.html
========================================================
Misery Index Rise to 33-Year High on Abenomics:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-11/misery-index-rising-to-33-year-high-on-abenomics-japan-credit.html
========================================================
Japan Trade Deficit Exceeds Forecasts as Tax Rise Looms
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-19/japan-reports-bigger-than-forecast-trade-deficit-for-february.html
========================================================

I've been a critic of Abenomics ever since it started. Keynesians make mistakes after mistakes and never learn from history.The worse part is that it adversely affects so many ordinary people.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

World money-printing championship

And a new world record was set too!

Spend our way to prosperity!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-09/global-debt-exceeds-100-trillion-as-governments-binge-bis-says.html

This will end badly


Sunday, March 9, 2014

Hypocrites!

I don't condone Russia's behaviour but look who's talking:

“You just don’t invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests. This is an Act of Aggression that is completely trumped up in terms of its pretext. It’s really 19th Century behavior in the 21st Century.” – US Secretary of State, John Kerry on Meet the Press, March 2, 2014.

Purchasing power of british pounds.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/household-bills/10682471/Inflation-history-table-How-the-price-of-everyday-items-changed-over-40-years.html

Purchasing power of british pounds.

Wages and dollar measured in terms of coca cola.

http://www.sovereignman.com/finance/no-inflation-friday-the-dollar-has-lost-83-3-against-13759/

Wages and dollar measured in terms of coca cola.

Real unemployment rate

Donald Trump: “We’re Becoming A Third-World Country”
http://www.westernjournalism.com/donald-trump-becoming-third-world-country/

Trump validated what I've always said!

[Real unemployment, the famed entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate estimated, is as high as 22 percent. Dishonest calculations, however, suppress the real results of Barrack Obama’s disastrous economic policies. “When you give up looking for a job,” he explained, “it’s like they consider you employed.”]

Note: I am not anti-US. Far from it. I just like to bash mainstream economists who don't do their homework and who misinform.

Russia and China rush into North Korea

Russia is writing off $11b of North Korean debt and is investing $1b into the North Korean economy. The Russians and Chinese are rushing in

The Fed needs an Austrian economist in their team



Fed Staff Suddenly Saw U.S. Economy in 2008 Needing Low Rate Era
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-07/fed-staff-in-2008-suddenly-awakened-to-downturn-briefings-show.html

The Fed needs an Austrian economist in their team.

China allows default

The last time i checked, China had been printing $250billion worth of yuan a year. This fuelled lots of artificial growth. Now is payback time. Hope the chinese dont make the mistake of bailing people out... 

China allows first corporate bond default

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101474300


Good. Refreshing! Let the market choose winners and losers.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Savers fight back!

Funeral to 'mourn the passing of the UK saver'

http://fw.to/MMdWFaP

Bring on the r3VOJution good people! But protect urself and those around you first. 

So much truth in what Simon Rose has to say in this article about savers.

US 'growth' not the same as before

No Signs US Catching Up With Growth Trend, Stiglitz Says
http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/stiglitz-economic-growth-United-States/2014/03/05/id/556343

Of course, this has got nothing to do with our econs nobel prize winner stiglitz's inflationary policy recommendations. (note the sarcasm)

Mistake wasn't deflation. It was bailing people out.

ECB May Repeat Japan Mistake That Triggered Lost Decade
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-05/ecb-may-repeat-japan-mistake-that-triggered-lost-decade.html

The mistake was bailing out everyone in sight and not letting the competent people gain market shares.

Ben cashes in

http://www.zerohedge.com/print/485643

which is more ridiculous... the person who spouts bs or the people who paid him $250k to spout bs?
P.S. you can buy a perfect book that explains economics by Peter Schiff, for a fraction of this cost.

Pollution

"many environmental problems are not caused by "market failure" but by government’s failure to enforce property rights."

Socialism and pollution:
http://disq.us/8hf0wz

Recovery!!... not

2012: GDP +2.8%
2013: GDP +1.9%

Late 2013: 
Obama: "This is the year that the recovery becomes real."

(Of course, if inflation is measured properly, the GDP numbers will be much lower.)

Shale....not

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-27/dream-of-u-s-oil-independence-slams-against-shale-costs.html

Crude oil needs to go higher for shale to be competitive.

It's non-interventionism, not isolationism.

Kerry decries 'new isolationism', says U.S. acts like poor nation
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/27/us-usa-kerry-isolationism-idUSBREA1Q06S20140227


it's not isolationism Kerry. Heard this word too often... It's non-interventionism! Besides, you don't have money!

N.Korea tidbits

N.Korea tidbits

-Looks like Internet services have been set up within the Kaesong Industrial Complex in N.Korea.

-People are getting their hands on lots of foreign currencies (USD and more recently, RMB) ever since the revaluation of the N.Korean Won in 2009, which had wiped out the savings of millions of people.

-The won has lost 99% of its value against USD in the black market (USD has lost 99% of its value against real goods in the past century).

-It appears that the 'underground' economy is now larger than the 'official' economy, fuelled by foreign currencies.

-Hope I beat Jim Rogers into buying N.Korean gold coins in a month's time.
 
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