– Protect Your Savings With Gold: ECB Propose End To Deposit Protection – New ECB paper proposes ‘covered deposits’ should be replaced to allow for more flexibility – Fear covered deposits may lead to a run on the banks – Savers should be reminded that a bank’s word is never its bond and to reduce counterparty exposure – Physical gold enable savers to stay out of banking system and reduce exposure to bail-ins -...
Read More »Forget the Bogus Republican “Reform”: Here’s What Real Tax Reform Would Look Like
The point is to end the current system in which billionaires get all the privileges and financial benefits of owning assets in the U.S. but don’t pay taxes that are proportional to the benefits they extract. As has been widely noted, the Republicans’ proposed “tax reform” is not only just more BAU (business as usual, i.e. cut taxes for the wealthy), it’s also not real reform. At best, it’s just another iteration of D.C....
Read More »What President Trump and the West Can Learn from China
Expensive Politics Instead of a demonstration of its overwhelming military might intended to intimidate tiny North Korea and pressure China to lean on its defiant communist neighbor, President Trump and the West should try to learn a few things from China. Photo credit: AP - Click to enlarge President Trump meets President Xi. The POTUS reportedly had a very good time in China. The President’s trip to the Far East...
Read More »FX Daily, November 15: Dollar Slides
Swiss Franc The Euro has fallen by 0.07% to 1.1661 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 15(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates The euro and yen are extending their gains, casting a pall over the US dollar. The euro is extending its advance into a sixth consecutive session, which is the longest streak since May. It is approaching last month’s highs in the...
Read More »Credit Suisse Fined $135 million for Malpractices
The bank has had various disputes with US authorities in recent years. (Keystone) Credit Suisse bank has been ordered to pay a fine of $135 million (CHF134.5 million) to the US authorities after an enquiry into the Swiss bank’s practices in setting foreign exchange rates. The figure was reached in a consultation between both parties. The bank confirmed the fine, as well as its willingness to pay it, in a...
Read More »Swiss justice minister calls for commodities crackdown
Switzerland's justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga is part of the country's executive body (Keystone) - Click to enlarge Following revelations in the so-called “Paradise Papers” of questionable deals done by Swiss-based commodities companies in Africa, Switzerland’s justice minister has said that the country – historically hands-off in regulating the sector – needs new legislation to force those companies to...
Read More »The Fetid Swamp of Tax Reform
The likelihood that either party will ever drain the fetid swamp of corruption that is our tax code is zero, because it’s far too profitable for politicos to operate their auction for tax favors. To understand the U.S. tax code and the endless charade of tax reform, we have to start with four distasteful realities: 1. Ours is not a representational democracy, it’s a political auction in which wealth casts the votes that...
Read More »Weekly Technical Analysis: 13/11/2017 – USDJPY, EURUSD, GBPUSD, EURGBP
USD/CHF USD/CHF, November 15(see more posts on EUR/CHF, ) Source: economies.com - Click to enlarge USD/JPY [embedded content] USD/JPY with Technical Indicators, November 15(see more posts on USD/JPY, ) - Click to enlarge EUR/USD [embedded content] EUR/USD with Technical Indicators, November 15(see more posts on EUR/USD, ) - Click to enlarge GBP/USD [embedded content] GBP/USD with Technical Indicators,...
Read More »Precious Metals Supply and Demand
See the introduction and the video for the terms gold basis, co-basis, backwardation and contango. A Different Vantage Point The prices of the metals were up slightly this week. But in between, there was some exciting price action. Monday morning (as reckoned in Arizona), the prices of the metals spiked up, taking silver from under $16.90 to over $17.25. Then, in a series of waves, the price came back down to within...
Read More »FX Daily, November 14: Euro Rides High After German GDP
Swiss Franc The Euro has risen by 0.22% to 1.1646 CHF. EUR/CHF and USD/CHF, November 14(see more posts on EUR/CHF, USD/CHF, ) Source: markets.ft.com - Click to enlarge FX Rates Sterling is trading in the lower end of yesterday’s range and has been confined to about a quarter a cent on either side of $1.31. On the other hand, the euro has pushed a bit through GBP0.8950 to reach its best level since October 26....
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