'You Can Take That To The Bank' Used To Mean Solid

     I don't hear it so much anymore, but when something was the real deal; it was genuine; it was solid, like the Rock of Gibraltar; it was noteworthy, people said, 'You can take that to the bank.' There must be a reason this expression has fallen out of our everyday lexicon. I wonder what it could be.

      Could the reason have something to do with Brazil, the largest economy in South America, is teetering on the edge of collapse?

     Could the reason we don't use banks as an example of solidity anymore have something to do with Italian banks which after using bail-in tactics to confiscate savings accounts from their depositors are still scrambling to shift bad debt packages around to try to stay afloat and causing riots in the streets?
      Could the reason have something to do with Russian President Putin calling for another bail-out for Vnesheconombank, Russia's most important bank lender to cover a $3 billion payment coming due on $20 billion in foreign currency debt? This on top of $2.9 billion in debt left from the Olympics?
    Or, might it have something to do with complaints and accusations brought by German Finance Minister Schaeuble against the ECB for causing more problems than it has solved and even managed to put German pension funds in danger? 
     Perhaps recent remarks by former US Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers that 'those who think they are endowed with magical powers to manipulate society have created a complete mess and they are too brain-dead to realize the consequences are devastating.' 
     Any or all of these conditions have changed attitudes toward banks in general. They are also, no doubt, reasons more people are converting savings dollars into physical gold. 
     I too have begun to protect my savings with gold. If you'd like to know how, I'm happy to tell you. In the meantime...

Read. Learn. And enjoy your day.
     
     

    

Water, For Example

Water, for example, seeks its own level.

Water cleanses, refreshes, nourishes.

Water transports.

Water feeds.

Water carries minerals wherever it goes.

Water, for example, carries gold.

Be like water.

I Just Learned What The World Needs Now Isn't Love, It's...

     1965. Jackie DeShannon's recording of Burt Bacharach's song 'What The World Needs Now'  is such a hit it's covered by Dionne Warwick two years later, and by Diana Ross in 1994. 

     2016. Germany's Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schauble tells the Central Banks of Europe and the United States what the world needs now is a healthy interest rate. He blames the ECB for the popular backlash against policies that have depleted the returns on savings of millions of Germans. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and her coalition partners the Social Democrats are losing ground to  the populist Alternative For Germany movement. Herr Schauble is quoted as saying to ECB President Mario Draghi, 'Be very proud: you can attribute 50% of the results of a party that seems to be new and successful in Germany to the design of this [monetary] policy.' 

     Add to the mix the news of the 10-year US Treasurys reported recently reported as 1.72%. This rate is below the consumer price index of 2.3%, so the real rate is -0.58%. A glaring contradiction of Ms. Yellen's claims about the non-existence of negative interest rates in the US. However, the US is not alone. Germany's 10-year yield is below 0.1%. Guy Haselmann, head of US interest rate strategy at Bank of Nova Scotia  expects the US 10-year yield to sink to 1.25% before the end of 2016 from a recent 1.72%, noting the previous low of 1.40% occurred at the height of the 2012 euro crisis. He also mentions the possibility the rate could test sub-1%.

     Bond declines explain a lot of what's happening in the markets at present. Stocks have been flat or slightly up, while gold is posting a 17% gain for 2016. When bond real rates go negative, the cost of holding gold evaporates.

     Zhiwei Ren, managing director and portfolio manage at Penn Mutual which hold $20 billion under management, said he would sell Treasurys if the 10-year yield hits 1.5%

     Central Bankers and government leaders converge on Washington, D.C. next week for the Spring meetings of the IMF. A real love-fest to be sure, but what the world needs now is prayer. And with an increase of 17%, I am glad I'm getting paid to save with gold. If you want to know how you can, too, I'm happy to tell you, but in the meantime...

 
Read. Learn. Watch. Take action.

The Market Forecast Is The Best Reason to Buy Gold

   
     

5 Things Everyone Ought To Know About Gold

     Everyone says saving money isn't as easy as it used to be. Some people are intrigued when I tell them I save by converting my currency into gold. Other people shake their heads and dismiss my efforts as nonsense without a clue as to what gold is. This article isn't for them because they're locked into an outdated way of thinking about money and scrimping to try to save some for emergencies, for college tuition, or retirement. No, this article is for the people who understand the world has changed, that banks don't pay interest on savings accounts anymore, that an economy based on debt is moving them deeper into debt along with it. 5 Things Everyone Ought To Know About Gold is for people who are tired of their money slipping through their fingers and sense there must be a way to shore it up.

     The 5 things you ought to know about gold are:

1.) Gold is money. Like the five dollar bill in your wallet, it doesn't grow or multiply on it's own. People do not invest in gold; people own gold, the same as they own dollars, pounds sterling, or euros. Gold is a vehicle to contain and preserve value. While the price varies due to currency fluctuations, gold's buying power remains constant. 

2.) The US may not be officially on a gold standard, but gold sits in the shadows of the Fed balance sheets to keep the figures out of the red. As James Rickards writes in his book THE NEW CASE FOR GOLD, the gold certificate account listed on the Fred's ledger amounts to $11 billion based on 1971 valuation. However, current a mark-to-market brings this hidden asset to more than $300 billion. Mr. Rickarts goes on to point out the US gold holding consists of  about eight thousand tons of gold. While the US is not on a gold standard in the historical context, it does rely on gold support.

3.) Gold certificates are not the same as owning physical gold. Gold certificates, like dollars have been over-printed. In other words, there are more certificates than there is gold available for payout should all of the certificate holders decide at once to cash them in for dollars.

4.) Already the markets show the decline in the value of the dollar and the increased price of gold. Gold is a reliable, solid asset.

5.)  According to Mr. Rickarts, Mike Maloney, Robert Kiyosaki, and Bo Polny gold should represent at least 10% of your wealth strategy. They all advise converting currency to gold now.

The Value In Small Gold Bars

Can Reading Make You A Prophet? Yes.

     'Read the writing on the wall,''  a lesson from the Bible's Book of Daniel is especially relevant in a high-tech world. Daniel, a Jewish student living in Babylon during the 5th century B.C. captivity, was known among this peers as a spot-on interpreter of dreams. When mysterious handwriting appeared on a wall in the king's chambers, Daniel was summoned in the hope he could offer some insight to the meaning of the message. Daniel informed the king his reign was nearing an end. The king was slain that very night. Herein is a lesson in the power of reading, comprehension and application.

     Modern technology fetches data in seconds. Data is collated in seconds more. Decisions to buy or sell are made and lives are changed. Why is someone who reads noteworthy?

     The answer is in the person's reading material. Geoffrey Abbott, a fund manager at GCA Capital reads the annual letters to investors from CEOs. By his thirtieth birthday at the end of May, he will have read 3,000 of them. The letters provide a snapshot of the CEO's perceptions of his company and his philosophy, as well as successes and goals. A dating profile, if you will, which hopefully will go beyond 'poking' into a solid relationship with investors. It's a statement beyond number crunching of the short term and long range goals to express the vision of the CEO for his company. Vital information to possess. 

     Yet, Geoffrey Abbott's task is newsworthy and that says he is unique. Numbers provide a snapshot of a company at any single given time. A collection of those snapshots can demonstrate a trend, but the story of the company comes from the written word. From the written plan comes the action. 

     Reading is knowledge. Knowledge is power. 

   
     Read. Learn. Take appropriate action.

The Karatbars Philosophy

The Dollar --It's What's For Lunch

    US Dollars continues to dwindle not only in pockets, but also in value. Mainstream media proclaim this is a good thing. Look at the lift to the markets. Commodities, energy and risk bonds are thriving. At the same time, investment firms like Sunrise Capital Partners are buying euros and Australian dollars as they bet against the US Dollar. SCP are not the ones making such wagers.
     A weaker dollar stands to erase the benefits of the push-down on commodity prices, and according to Ira Iosebashvili writing for The WSJ, punishing emerging markets including China and fueling a brutal shakeout in the US  energy sector. Ultimately it's American consumers who bear the weight as they watch the power of their paychecks shrink.
     The key takeaway here is the US Dollar comes somewhat blindly to the banquet of the world economy. This time,  not as a guest at the table, as the main course. Perhaps it's time for individual consumers to order from a different menu. How about a nice helping of solid assets topped with Gold?
     Gold. The better remedy to acid reflux, gas, and bloating. Before consuming Gold, please contact your friendly Karabars affiliate. Symptoms of  owning physical Gold include, but are not limited to feelings of euphoria, security, and confidence in the future regardless of volatile circumstances. People who join Karatbars have been known to be filled with a strong desire to help others. Please watch this video before you or anyone you know misses this opportunity to feel better.

Currently The Highest Recommended Pain Reliever

Truth As A Kaleidoscope

     Yesterday's morning news cheered the rise in the NYSE. Hooray! they shouted, the market experienced its highest rise in 6 years. Consumer confidence was said to be up as well. Hooray! Hoorah! Ha-hooey!

     Underneath the banter a reason for the market increase was whispered. Investors are pulling out of hedge funds. The pull-out amounts to $15.3 BILLION during the first two months of 2016. A significant amount of money which investors have to put somewhere. Hence, the market rise. A move not motivated by confidence, but rather a method of cost-cutting. Hedge funds command sizable fees for the service they provide. What puzzles me is how investors who have depended on the astute maneuvering of the hedge fund managers think they can out maneuver the masters of the game. Sounds to me like Monique has donned a new pair of earrings and a fresh lipstick and taken to walking the streets again.

    Stocks may have rebounded, but as today's morning news reported, the US markets closed down yesterday, way down. Market volatility has insightful investors hedging their bets. The smart money is on a market collapse. As the market goes, so goes the dollar.

     Another bellwether of times to come, of course, comes from banks and mortgage lenders. New mortgage activity is down, so the push is on for equity loans. The banks want people to start taking cash out of their homes for home improvements. Property values are increasing (possibly because the inventory is stalemated?) and the banks want to stake their claim. Home improvements do indeed create jobs and increase sales of manufactured products, but shouldn't $119,790 as an average line of home equity loans make us the tiniest bit nervous in light of the increased betting on a market collapse?  The key lesson from RICH DAD, POOR DAD is that a house is not an asset unless it brings more money in than takes out. I tell you, that hog Monique really gets around. 

     RICH DAD author Richard Kiyosaki, Bo Polny, Mike Malloy and others strongly recommend converting cash into precious metals like gold and silver. Gold is real money. Goods and services have been purchased with gold in every century in every culture, in ever country of the world. Another recommended solid asset include farmland. However, for city dwellers like myself, gold in small spendable amounts of 1g. to 5 g. is far more practical. 

     As you can imagine for obvious reasons, Monique won't go near farmland. Gold and silver makes her lips break out and swell. Not a good look for a pig without a kaleidoscope.

Escape the Hog Here