Banking – Page 4

Bank robbery in Cyprus; depositors set to have up to 10% of funds seized

Julia Dixon on March 18, 2013

Like most of Europe, Cyprus and it’s banks are in trouble.

In a bailout deal with the Eurozone Cyprus’s bank account holders are being forced to pay the bill…not troubled bank bond holders, depositors. “The illusion that depositors don’t need to yank their money out of threatened banks because they’ll be protected has been shattered.”

Come Tuesday morning Cyprus’s bank account holders could see their balance shrink as much as 10%.

GoldMoney: QE for dummies

Julia Dixon on February 9, 2013

The Banking/Monetary system is both staggeringly simple, they push a button to create new money, and ridiculously complex, fractional reserve ratios, treasury bonds, interest rates, open market operations, M1, M2, etc.

In a new GoldMoney post PeakProsperity.com’s Chris Martenson helps to explain one part of this bizarre system, Quantitative Easing.

“Despite its sophisticated-sounding name, QE is nothing more complicated than the Fed buying ‘assets’ from commercial banks and other private financial institutions. I put assets in quotes because the Fed does not buy things like land, Stradivarius violins, diamonds, gold, or silver from these institutions, but rather various forms of debt.”

GoldMoney: Why price inflation will take off

Julia Dixon on February 5, 2013

Alasdair Macleod explains how “preference for money” impacts price levels and what role a shift in preferences will play in a ‘virtually certain’ new banking crisis.

“We are all aware, through application of logic if nothing else, that if you increase the quantity of money, prices will increase as that extra money is spent. What is less appreciated is that prices can change dramatically due to shifts in preference for money over goods.”

The new Ripple, a decentralized exchange, a payment system, and a currency all its own

Julia Dixon on February 5, 2013

Out very soon, the new version of Ripple has has undergone a dramatic renovation.

Ripple was created by Ryan Fugger in 2006 as a trust network where people can grant each other credit, and anyone can ‘be their own bank’. The project has since been acquired by a team of developers including Mt. Gox creator Jed McCaleb. Ryan’s trust network is still there, but it is now one feature of a much expanded system.

The new features of the soon to be open source software include the possibility for a decentralized currency exchange, a p2p transaction network, “Gateways” for bringing other currencies into the system, and Ripples (XRP), a new digital currency.

Central banks could be pressured into competitive devaluations

Julia Dixon on January 24, 2013

Reuters is reporting that the Bendesbank chief, Jen Weidmann, is concerned that central banks are being pressured to pursue more aggressive monetary policies that could risk a “currency war”.

Iowa now accepting some tax payments via Dwolla

Julia Dixon on January 24, 2013

According to Fast Company, Iowa has begun accepting some tax payments via Dwolla. The cigarette stamp tax, which generates around $100 million for Iowa, will be the first tax that Iowans will be able to pay via Dwolla. However the Governor, Terry Brandstand, says he’d consider expanding Dwolla payments to other fees and taxes in the future as well.

The Economist: Airtime is Money – pre-paid mobile phone minutes as currency

Julia Dixon on January 21, 2013

In a recent article, The Economist takes a brief look at the continued, and growing, use of mobile air time as money in many African countries. It would seem that banks everywhere, Africa included, just can’t give people what they want. Mobile air time holds its value and can be transferred in small amounts quickly and anonymously.

GoldMoney: Alasdair Macleod’s Outlook for 2013

Julia Dixon on December 31, 2012

“I have not faced the prospect of a new year with so much trepidation as when I contemplate what is in store for 2013. Systemic risks abound, which of themselves are not the main story, only milestones on the road to final currency destruction, unless governments somehow regain their senses.”

Economic Policy Journal: 50 Reasons For The Separation of Money & State

Julia Dixon on December 24, 2012

The Economic Policy Journal’s Chris Rossini list “50 thoughts to help reach a very important conclusion: That money must be completely severed from State control. Our economic lives literally depend on it.” Read More about Economic Policy Journal: 50 Reasons For The Separation of Money & State

GoldMoney’s Alasdair Macleod: Goodbye to Liberty

Julia Dixon on December 16, 2012

I think of money as simply a way to measure and store value, particularly the value of people’s time energy and effort. When the way in which you measure value is being manipulated and the method by which you store your productive value is being eroded, the implications for ‘liberty’ are frightening. This distortion of value is disruptive to people’s ability to interact with one another rationally and productively.

This frightful thought has not been lost on GoldMoney’s Alasdair Macleod who today writes “The US, UK, Europe and Japan are all implementing economic policies that must ultimately result in the complete destruction of their currencies; and if you destroy the means of exchange of goods and services, your people will starve.”