My name is Shawn Ozbun, and our goal is to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the world of Gold and Silver by providing you with current news and precious metals pricing.
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Let's have a look at our precious metals pricing for today.
Gold - $1232.22 UP $2.89
Silver - $19.65 UP $0.13
Platinum - $1374.00 UP $11.50
Palladium - $741.00 UP $1.50
Weekly News Wrap-Up 12.6.13
The big story is, once again, the tensions in the East China Sea and the newly made Air Defense Zone created by China over the Senkaku Islands. This is primarily a dispute between China and Japan. Both countries say the islands belong to them. They are believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. Vice President Biden was sent to both countries to calm tensions. The U.S. says it has sided with Japan, but it seems to have backed off demanding the Chinese drop this air defense zone that stretches for 600 miles. The dispute is far from over. People like multi-billion dollar fund manager Kyle Bass think this could lead to war. China and Japan both have severe financial problems. China and Japan are the number one and number two holders of U.S. Treasury debt. If either country gets mad and decides to sell their debt, it could cause a financial calamity here in the U.S. Sounds like a lose-lose to me if things turn violent.
Finally, Detroit has been cleared for Federal Bankruptcy. This means union workers can have big cuts given to their pensions. Some of these folks have written comments on the USAWatchdog site and said they opted out of Social security and only have their pension. This is the problem when you get everything you ask for and nothing you were promised. This was a known problem for years. The bankruptcy judge said, “Detroit could have and should have filed for bankruptcy long before it did.” This is what it looks like when you can no longer borrow money to pay your bills. Professor Laurence Kotlikoff said this week, “America in Worse Fiscal Shape than Detroit.” Read More...
Detroit and the impact on pension reform
‘Nothing distinguishes pension debt in a municipal bankruptcy case from any other debt.”
These thirteen words come from a ruling this week by US Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes. In strictly legal terms, they’re part of a larger decision that does little more than confirm the obvious: Detroit is bankrupt.
But make no mistake. The judge has set off a seismic shock that will reverberate far outside Detroit. For he has confirmed something fairly radical in the world of public employees: the law applies to workers for a bankrupt city much the same way it does to workers for a bankrupt company.
Even for those who think this common sense has been a long time coming, it’s a tough hit for Detroit city workers at or near retirement age. Not only does it mean they’ll get less than they were promised, the news comes late in their lives, at a time when they have little way to make up for it. And they won’t be the last, given the unfunded pensions across this country. Read More...
Tax Per Mile Scheme Surfaces Again in Congress
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) is introducing legislation that would nearly double the 18.4-cents-per-gallon federal gas tax that is traditionally used to pay for federal transportation projects.
Blumenauer's bill would increase the gas tax by 15 cents, matching a proposal that was included in the 2011 Simpson-Bowles budget reform recommendations.
The legislation would result in drivers paying an extra 33.4 cents per gallon on their purchases, in addition to state taxes. Read More...
Ron Paul: Bitcoin could 'destroy the dollar'
he digital currency Bitcoin promises all these things. And while it's far from achieving any of them -- its value is unstable and it's rarely used -- some have high hopes.
"There will be alternatives to the dollar, and this might be one of them," said former U.S. congressman Ron Paul. If people start using bitcoins en masse, "it'll go down in history as the destroyer of the dollar," Paul added.
It's unlikely that Bitcoin would replace the dollar or other government-controlled currencies. But it could serve as a kind of universal alternative currency that is accepted everywhere around the globe. Concerned about the dollar's inflation? Just move your cash to bitcoins and use them to pay your bills instead. Tired of hefty credit card fees? Bitcoin allows transactions that bypass banks. Read More...
Citi: Bitcoin Could Look Attractive To Reserve Managers As A Complement To Gold
Citi's Steve Englander Addresses 5 key responses to his previous more negative view on Bitcoin.
1) Bitcoin is a generic payment system as much or more than a specific store of value and has tremendous advantages over current payments systems
2) Its run-up in price represents dissatisfaction with central banks and money printing and the desire for a currency not driven by political opportunism
3) First mover and networking economies of scale advantage will make Bitcoin and a couple of other internet moneys dominate Internet money in the future
4) It can keep growing as long as there was a group of individuals and businesses willing to accept it
5) It’s a tulip bubble and will collapse
5) Tulip bubbles
About 40% of the comments I received argued outright that Bitcoin and similar internet currencies were bubbles, or tools to evade taxes, or conduct illegal activity. Basically, the view was that the Bitcoin appreciation reflects a mixture of greed and optimism, as in Boileau (1674), “A fool always finds a greater fool to admire him." The major issues have been touched on above – replicability, susceptibility to government interference, security vulnerabilities outside the ‘ledger’ level, inability to reverse any transaction, dependence on reputation, fragility and so on. Those who think this is the internet in 1997 should recall that the NASDAQ was back to 1997 levels in 2002, and even briefly touched 1996 levels, so getting in early may mean getting in really early. Just as with the railroads and Internet, it may revolutionize society more than it makes money for investors.
Bitcoin and other Internet currencies are viewed by some as a Beanie baby fad and by others as revolutionizing the financial system. Market acceptance of alternative currencies now looks to be growing a lot faster than the pace at which the supply of Bitcoin and Bitcoin wannabees is expanding the Internet money supply. That is unlikely to persist over the medium and long term, but for now it looks as if it would take a major scandal, security breach or heavy-handed governmental intervention to derail it. Read More...
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[Disclaimer] Shawn Ozbun is not a licensed financial adviser, there is risk associated with all investment including gold and silver. You should seek advise from a licensed financial expert before making a purchase.
