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Protect Your Savings With Gold: ECB Propose End To Deposit Protection 

November 19, 2017

Protect Your Savings With Gold: ECB Propose End To Deposit Protection 

– 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

EU deposit protection scheme

It is the ‘opinion of the European Central Bank’ that the deposit protection scheme is no longer necessary:

‘covered deposits and claims under investor compensation schemes should be replaced by limited discretionary exemptions to be granted by the competent authority in order to retain a degree of flexibility.’

To translate the legalese jargon of the ECB bureaucrats this could mean that the current €100,000 (£85,000) deposit level currently protected in the event of a bail-in may soon be no more.

But worry not fellow savers as the ECB is fully aware of the uproar this may cause so they have been kind enough to propose that:

“…during a transitional period, depositors should have access to an appropriate amount of their covered deposits to cover the cost of living within five working days of a request.”

So that’s a relief, you’ll only need to wait five days for some ‘competent authority’ to deem what is an ‘appropriate amount’ of your own money for you to have access to in order eat, pay bills and get to work.

The above has been taken from an ECB paper published on 8 November 2017 entitled ‘on revisions to the Union crisis management framework’.

It’s 58 pages long, the majority of which are proposed amendments to the Union crisis management framework and the current text of the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD).

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Prepare For Interest Rate Rises And Global Debt Bubble Collapse

November 9, 2017

 Prepare For Interest Rate Rises And Global Debt Bubble Collapse

– Diversify, rebalance investments and prepare for interest rate rises
– UK launches inquiry into household finances as £200bn debt pile looms
– Centuries of data forewarn of rapid reversal from ultra low interest rates
– 700-year average real interest rate is 4.78% (must see chart)
– Massive global debt bubble – over $217 trillion (see table)
– Global debt levels are building up to a gigantic tidal wave
– Move to safe haven higher ground from coming tidal wave

Source: Bloomberg

Last week, the Bank of England opted to increase interest rates for the first time in a decade. Since then alerts have been coming thick and fast for Britons warning them to prepare for some tough financial times ahead.

The UK government has launched an inquiry into household debt levels amid concerns of the impact of the Bank of England’s decision to raise rates. The tiny 0.25% rise means households on variable interest rate mortgages are expected to face about £1.8bn in additional interest payments whilst £465m more will be owed on the likes of credit cards, car loans and overdrafts.

The 0.25% rise is arguably not much given it comes against backdrop of record low rates and will have virtually no impact on any other rate. However it comes at a time of high domestic debt levels, no real wage growth and a global debt level of over $217 trillion.

Combined with low productivity across the developed world, experts are beginning to wonder how the financial system (and the individuals within) will cope.

After a decade of seeing negative real rates of interest many investors will be quietly celebrating that they may be about to see a turnaround for their savings. Many hope they will start being rewarded for their financial prudence as opposed to the punishing saving conditions of the last decade.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How Gold Bullion Protects From Conflict And War

October 19, 2017

How Gold Bullion Protects From Conflict And War

– Gold and silver’s historical role in conflict shaped the world today and the modern financial system
– Gold played an important function in the great conflicts up to and throughout the 20th century
– Gold and the effective use of bullion played a crucial role in the outcome of the American Civil War
– Gold was an important economic agent in both World Wars, conferring a huge advantage on the allies
– In a world beset with risks of war both in the Middle East and with North Korea, Russia and China … gold will protect

Gold and silver have played important roles during periods of conflict and have protected people but also protected nations and conferred power. HSBC Chief Precious Metals analyst James Steel has written a fascinating piece for this month’s Alchemist about this.

The article takes us through the major wars and conflicts from the 15th century to modern times. Each major war serves as a reminder that success is as much down to the management of bullion and finance as it is about the role of gold and silver.

…the way bullion was used, moved, stored and shifted had profound effects on long-term economic or military success. Indeed, the role of gold and silver in wars not only in influenced the shape of the world today, but laid the foundations for the modern financial system.

When managed effectively we see how important gold and silver were for victorious countries. Central bankers and politicians of today should use the following historical examples of military successes to appreciate the importance of a strong source of bullion and conservative financial planning both in and out of peacetime.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Yahoo Hacking Highlights Cyber Risk and Increasing Importance of Physical Gold

October 8, 2017

 Yahoo Hacking Highlights Cyber Risk and Increasing Importance of Physical Gold

– Yahoo admits every single one of 3 billion accounts hacked in 2013 data theft
– Equifax hacking and security breach exposes half of the U.S. population
– Some 143 million people vulnerable to identity theft
– Deloitte hack compromised sensitive emails and client data
– JP Morgan hacked and New York Fed hacked and robbed
– International hacking group steals $300 million
– Global digital banking  and financial system not secure

Hacking

Imagine there was a chemical disaster at a factory. The surrounding water and air supply are affected over hundreds of miles. Thousands of people, if not more, are affected.

There would be a national response. Governments would step in to ask why this had happened, how it was going to be dealt with and how it would be prevented.

More importantly, those affected would be notified with immediate effect. The responsible company would not set up a website inviting potential victims to log on with personal details in order to find out if and how badly they have been affected.

And if the company did do this then people and the government wouldn’t stand for it.

Imagine that another disaster happens a few months later, at another company. But it turns out the dangerous chemicals have been leaking into the environment for possibly the previous three months.

No-one knows the extent of the damage.

There would be uproar.

Yet there seems to be little reaction when the equivalent happens in the cyber world. Just this week, less than a month after the Equifax announcement, Yahoo have admitted all 3 billion accounts were compromised four years ago … four years ago …

This is just another example of repeated data breaches that have compromised the personal data and lives of billions of people.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

 Gold Standard Resulted In “Fewer Catastrophes” – FT

September 29, 2017

  Gold Standard Resulted In “Fewer Catastrophes” – FT 

300 years ago last week on the 21st September, 1717 Sir Isaac Newton, Master of the Royal Mint of Great Britain, accidentally invented the gold standard.

Last month it was the 46th anniversary of President Nixon ending the gold standard. Since then the world has existed on a system of fiat paper and digital currency. It works so badly that it has lead to the global financial crisis, unending debt issues and a dramatic devaluation in sovereign currencies.

Despite this, much of the media and central banking system remain supporters of the current financial and monetary status quo.

They are so convinced that the time before fiat money was a disaster that anyone who suggests otherwise is labelled a gold-bug and told to move along.

Last week, there was a glimmer of light when the Financial Times’ Matthew C. Klein uncovered some 18-year old research into the gold standard and a recent speech by a Bank of England economist.

Mr Klein although a young man has quite an impressive journalistic c.v. He writes for FT Alphaville and Bloomberg View about the economy and financial markets.

He previously wrote for the Economist magazine and before that, Klein was a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), where he spent more than two years studying the history of the Federal Reserve and the intellectual history of monetary economics.

Going off gold did the opposite of what many people think

Klein writing in FT Alphaville draws on research from former economics advisor to President Obama, Christina Romer:

Imagine you can choose between living in two kinds of societies:

  1. Dynamic world prone to wild swings and big crashes, but ultimately more growth in the long run
  2. Safe and stable world with greater consistency, less volatility, and much lower risk of catastrophe

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Pensions and Debt Time Bomb In UK: £1 Trillion Crisis Looms

September 22, 2017

Pensions and Debt Time Bomb In UK: £1 Trillion Crisis Looms

 

There is a £1 trillion debt time bomb hanging over the United Kingdom. We are nearing the end of the timebomb’s long fuse and it looks set to explode in the coming months.

No one knows how to diffuse the £1 trillion bomb and who should be taking responsibility. It is made up of two major components.

  • £710 billion is the terrifying size of the UK pensions deficit
  • £200 billion is the amount of dynamite in the consumer credit time bomb

How did the sovereign nation that is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland get itself so deep in the red?

This is not a problem that is bore only by the Brits. In the rest of the developed world a $70 trillion pensions deficit hangs heavy.

We are all in this boat because we apparently didn’t learn from the massive man made crisis that was the 2008 financial crisis.

The ‘we’ is referring to UK individuals who are on average holding £14,367 of debt. It refers to the pension fund managers who are ignoring the fact they hold more liabilities than assets. It refers to banks and mortgage and loan providers who give loans to people who are already indebted and who will struggle to pay the debt back. It refers to a compliant media who do not have ask hard questions about irresponsible lending practices and cheer lead property bubbles due to getting significant revenues from the banking and property sectors.

And,  ultimately the ‘we’ is the government who peddled such terrible monetary policy that it has brought us as close to nuclear financial disaster as we have been since 2008.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Cashless Society – Risks Posed By The War On Cash

October 23, 2016

Cashless Society – Risks Posed By The War On Cash

Cash is the new “barbarous relic” according to many central banks, regulators, and some economists and there is a strong, concerted push for the ‘cashless society’.

cashless_society

Developments in recent days and weeks have highlighted the risks posed by the war on cash and the cashless society.

The Presidential campaign has been dominated for months and again this week by the power of information that has been gathered through unconventional means – whether due to email hacks, leaked microphone tapes or even late-night twitter rants.

Both presidential candidates have got things to say when it comes to the gathering of information and both are for it. Hillary Clinton sees a thin line between national security and your personal privacy. Donald Trump has openly said that he is open to mass surveillance and as he puts it, putting the country before personal liberty.

Neither candidate is afraid to say that they support information snooping and gathering for the sake of national security. In the ‘punch and judy’ show that has been the U.S. election, important financial and economic matters have been eschewed in favour of salacious allegations regarding alleged sexual advances etc.

Access to your information is one thing, it is how it is read and what is done with it that is pertinent. In a cashless society information replaces cash. How that information is interpreted is entirely subjective and the chances of any recourse when someone has misread your cash transaction seem to be increasingly slim.

Trump_&_Clinton

This information gives more power to unaccountable banks and corporations. It removes power and liberty from individuals and small to medium enterprises.

Opinion is divided among economists and there are many economists who share our concerns about the risks of the cashless society.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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