Greyerz – Gold to Hit $3,500 – $5,000 in 12 to 18 Months

from KingWorldNews:

Today Egon von Greyerz told King World News, “The credit bubble we’ve had, for at least 40 years, is going to accelerate dramatically, and the failures in the system will continue.” Egon von Greyerz, who is founder and managing partner at Matterhorn Asset Management out of Switzerland, also said, “I see gold reaching $3,500 to $5,000 in the next 12 to 18 months.”

Here is what Greyerz had to say about the ongoing financial crisis and where we are headed: “There is a fire in almost every country in Europe. The US is going to catch fire also. There will be a catalyst coming soon, probably some concerted action of QE or money printing between the Fed, IMF and the ECB. That will happen as a result of the economies, worldwide, collapsing.”

“Just look at the unemployment. We’re looking at 25% unemployment in many countries. The US is at 23% (unemployment) if you count it correctly. Youth unemployment is 50% in many countries. This is a disaster for the world and the social side of this will be terrible.

Egon von Greyerz continues @ KingWorldNews.com

George Soros' Best Investment Advice

Today we have a guest post from Williams Equity Analysis who have graciously allowed us to post their piece in its entirety from Seeking Alpha: The Best Investment Advice George Soros Ever Gave. Here it is:

"Economic history is a never-ending series of episodes based on falsehoods and lies, not truths. It represents the path to big money. The object is to recognize the trend whose premise is false, ride that trend and step off before it is discredited." ~ George Soros

Think about that statement for a minute. For everyone who is in the so-called bear camp, and thinks the current "recovery" belongs in quotation marks, this is an exceptionally meaningful quote.

Of course, everyone who has been bearish on the markets since 2009 has largely lost money, and been quite aggravated in the process. Had trillions in stimulus and quantitative easing not been injected into the economy (the big banks for the latter), our economy would have simply restructured and our markets would have bottomed at values far lower than they did. Bearish market participants have been investing with the philosophy that this will still happen. (more)

5 Best Countries for Offshore Banking

When we hear the term “offshore banking,” it often conjures up images of the overly-wealthy elite or sly, nefarious criminals hiding away millions of dollars from prying government eyes. But the way offshore banking is portrayed in the movies is not the reality.

Opening an account offshore is not illegal, as many people wrongly believe. In fact, many offshore financial institutions are considered safer than many domestic banks. Most foreign banks offer absolute privacy guarantees, as well as security to protect your assets.

Banks in the United States are limited in the amount of the interest they can pay to customers. Many offshore institutions are able to offer higher interest rates to their clients. In many US and European banks, the governments have too much control, to the detriment of the countries’ citizens. Because of this, the government can step in to freeze your bank accounts and assets indefinitely.

Some countries are a better choice for offshore banking than others. Here are the top five countries to consider if you want to put a portion of your money into a foreign account and what you need to open one.

Dubai

Dubai has a premium banking sector that serves local, expatriate and offshore clients. It is said that the privacy policy for Dubai banks is even better than that of Swiss banks. There are also no taxes in this country. To open an account, you will first need to find what the minimum balance is for each bank. You will need to provide a copy of your passport, a visit visa, proof of address, bank card from your country of residence and maybe a letter of recommendation from a UAE resident.


Singapore

When you open an account in Singapore, you are investing in one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, while at the same time protecting your money and saving on taxes. This country has the lowest tax rate in Asia. The typical minimum required balance is $1,000. You need to have your passport, proof of address, and maybe even your taxpayer number (SSN) for your country of residence. Accounts can be held in any currency, even gold.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong has a strong banking infrastructure. Banks do not require formal approval from the government for opening accounts. The minimum balance is $3,000. To open an account, you will need your passport, proof of address, and possibly a reference letter from a banker. Sovereign savings accounts in Hong Kong can also be held in any currency including gold.



Switzerland

Swiss banks are best known for their strict privacy policies. Since 1934, laws prevent bankers from divulging any client account information. Only recently have US law enforcement officers been permitted to get information in the course of a criminal investigation (including tax evasion). Some accounts may be opened with as little as $3,500. You need to have a passport, recent utility bill to establish residency, residence permit to set up an account.


Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands have no direct taxation. The minimum balance is usually $5,000 to open an account. You will need a letter of reference from your home banker and deposits cannot be made with cash, but with check, wire transfer or bank draft. You need proof of identity and a notarized copy of your passport, character reference and any additional documents requested by the bank.

A Bottom In Housing?

The housing market has turned—at last.

The U.S. finally has moved beyond attention-grabbing predictions from housing "experts" that housing is bottoming. The numbers are now convincing.

Nearly seven years after the housing bubble burst, most indexes of house prices are bending up. "We finally saw some rising home prices," S&P's David Blitzer said a few weeks ago as he reported the first monthly increase in the slow-moving S&P/Case-Shiller house-price data after seven months of declines.

Nearly 10% more existing homes were sold in May than in the same month a year earlier, many purchased by investors who plan to rent them for now and sell them later, an important sign of an inflection point. In something of a surprise, the inventory of existing homes for sale has fallen close to the normal level of six months' worth despite all the foreclosed homes that lenders own. The fraction of homes that are vacant is at its lowest level since 2006.

The reduced inventory of unsold homes is key, says Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic, a housing data-analysis firm. For the past couple of years, house prices have risen in the spring and then slumped; the declining supply of houses for sale is reason to believe that won't happen again this year, he says. (more)

QE3: Coming This September?

By Bondsquawk

The minutes from the June FOMC meeting indicated that a few of their members were ‘either favoring or willing to consider additional easing if conditions weaken’. They even suggested that additional easing may occur ‘sooner than later’. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch Morning Market Tidbits by Ethan Harris:

“We expect that the outlook will be weak enough to warrant additional Fed easing by the September 12-13 FOMC meeting; we look for Fed officials to both push out their forward guidance on rates until at least mid-2015 and to launch QE3.”

There was growing pessimism in the FOMC as well:

“They also shifted their assessment of risks to be even more negative — more supportive of additional easing for most members — than in April’s minutes.”

Members also recognized a potential threat to headline and core inflation risks skewed more the downside. The minutes also noted that members would be more willing to consider and warrant easing under the following conditions:

“(1) The recovery loses momentum;
(2) Downside risks were significant;
(3) Inflation would persistently undershoot the Fed’s target.”

Bank of America in its reports also stated:

“In the SEP, 2 members said their forecasts were conditioned on additional asset purchases, and 2 others said they would consider such a response. If all members’ policy projections were conditioned on a downside scenario, we would expect more would indicate they favored easing, consistent with the minutes.”

The Fed is likely to explore additional policy options. Based on the minutes it was noted that Fed was “to explore “new tools” to support financial conditions — likely meaning liquidity tools, rather than direct lending or targeting a long yield”.

Bank of America’s report also noted:

“Members wanted “a better understanding” of how asset purchases might impact market functioning, although “members generally agreed” that the risks of disruption were currently low and the benefits outweigh these costs.”

Going forward we can expect the Fed to take necessary actions if the economy becomes weaker. We will have to wait for the minutes from the July FOMC meeting.

The Looming Student Loan Bubble

Almost half of all student borrowers were not making payments. 1 out of 4 in debt repayment past due on student debt.

from My Budget 360

The aggressive growth in student debt is setting the country up for another debt fueled bubble. Higher education costs have expanded so quickly that Americans now carry $1 trillion of student debt. Most of this expansion has occurred in a time when the return-on-investment for a college degree has fallen. Over the last ten years student debt outstanding has grown from less than $300 billion in 2002 to $1 trillion in 2012. The cracks in the student loan bubble are already forming with large numbers of students defaulting on their loans. And the pipeline is only increasing. Almost half of all student borrowers are not making payments. Many are in school and many are simply unable to pay. Yet with a weak economy the prospect increases that many younger Americans are going to enter a market where job growth is weak yet student debt payments are high.

Continue Reading at MyBudget360.com…

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE COLLAPSE OF FIAT MONEY, THE BAD NEWS IS…

PEAK OIL & THE FALLING EROI:

This chart from my PEAK SILVER REVISITED article says it all. The downside of the PEAK OIL chart is bad, but not as bad when we factor in the DECLINING EROI. Basically, as energy gets more expensive to explore, drill and produce more and more of the percentage gets eaten up by the process leaving less for market.

That is why we will see PEAK SILVER much sooner than later. Furthermore, the collapse of FIAT MONEY and going back to a GOLD BACKED SYSTEM will not keep the world’s economies from imploding. That is why I differ from some of the rhetoric put out by the AUSTRIAN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS….. they fail to comprehend the peaking of global oil and the falling EROI.

I have to say, every passing day I wake up and the CRAP that I have to read or see on the BOOB TUBE just makes you wonder how we made it this long as a species. As you all realize, I have a passion for understanding energy. I believe energy = money. That is why I have the EROI ICON next to my screen name. It means ENERGY RETURNED ON INVESTED. (more)

How Your Bank Account Could Disappear

On the same morning we hear that ¼ of Wall Street executives think that fraud is a necessary part of “doing business” in the financial sector, we hear of a second “MF Global”. The U.S.’s so-called regulators are now reporting that somewhere around $220 million in customer funds is “missing” at a financial institution known as PFGBest; once again closing the barn door after all the cows have run off.

With at least one out of every four bankers at U.S. Big Banks (that’s how many admitted to being crooks in the survey) thinking that stealing is part of their job descriptions, it’s very important for people to realize how little protection there now is between these thieves and your bank accounts. Based on the writing of a number of other individuals with more expertise in these markets, it is apparently an inherently fraudulent banking process known as “rehypothecation” which is allowing the mass-plundering of accounts at U.S. financial institutions, with other Western financial regulatory authorities also rubber-stamping this relatively new form of bankster crime.

Rehypothecation is a heinous practice permitted by the pretend-regulators of Western markets, where financial institutions are allowed to pledge their clients’ funds as collateral to cover their own gambling debts. I say “inherently fraudulent” since few of the clients of these financial institutions would ever knowingly enter into contracts with these gambling-addicts where their cash could be used to cover their bankers’ gambling debts. (MORE)