Monthly Archives: September 2014

Venezuela’s newest shortage: breast implants

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“Beauty-obsessed Venezuelans face a scarcity of brand-name breast implants, and women are so desperate that they and their doctors are turning to devices that are the wrong size or made in China, with less rigorous quality standards.  Venezuelans once had easy access to implants approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But doctors say they are now all-but impossible to find because restrictive currency controls have deprived local businesses of the cash to import foreign goods. It may not be the gravest shortfall facing the socialist South American country, but surgeons say the issue cuts to the psyche of the image-conscious Venezuelan woman.”

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/venezuelas-newest-shortage-breast-implants

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Uruguay bans all cash payments over US$5,000 as of next year

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“Uruguay yesterday sanctioned its Financial Inclusion Law, which will ban cash payments worth more than US$5,000 as of May 1 next year. Property transactions and car purchases will thus have to be made through banking mechanisms.  The measure will affect thousands of Argentines who have snapped up properties across the River Plate, primarily in the summer-favourite destination of Punta del Este.  The recipients of income from rent contracts already in place before May 1 of 2015 will have to declare a bank account to which the funds should be deposited.  In addition, all taxes will have to be paid electronically, regardless of the sum that is owed.”

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/168152/uruguay-bans-all-cash-payments-over-us$5000-as-of-next-year

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Hiding dual citizenship now a criminal offense in Russia

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“According to new legislation, any Russian citizen who acquires another nationality must inform their local migration office within 60 days of receiving dual citizenship. President of the Constitutional Committee of the Federation Council Andrei Klishas proposed that Russians holding dual citizenship should be required by law to inform the authorities of their second citizenship and punished for hiding it.  If Russians are discovered to have intentionally concealed a second citizenship, they may have to pay a fine of 200,000 rubles ($5,530) or be obliged to perform 400 hours of community service. Moreover, Russians also have to inform the authorities about any children’s second citizenship.”

http://rbth.com/society/2014/08/12/hiding_dual_citizenship_now_a_criminal_offense_in_russia_38929.html

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European Parliament Calls For Excluding Russia From SWIFT System

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“In a resolution adopted Thursday, the European Parliament called on the EU member states to consider excluding Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) financial transaction system.  This spring, Russian authorities started searching for ways to decrease Russian financial markets’ dependence on SWIFT, when a number of banks were hit by Western sanctions.  SWIFT binds together 10,000 financial organizations in 210 countries, providing the infrastructure for $6 billion in interbank operations every day. The vast majority of bank-to-bank transactions are conducted via SWIFT.”

http://en.ria.ru/business/20140918/193052405/European-Parliament-Calls-For-Excluding-Russia-From-SWIFT-System.html

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Fresh sanctions will freeze big foreign oil projects in Russia

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“Fresh U.S. and EU sanctions imposed on Moscow will bring an abrupt halt to exploration of Russia’s huge Arctic and shale oil reserves and complicate financing of existing Russian projects from the Caspian Sea to Iraq and Ghana.  On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegas and Rosneft, banning Western firms from supporting their activities in exploration or production from deep water, Arctic offshore or shale projects. Projects now in jeopardy include a landmark drilling program by U.S. giant Exxon Mobil in the Russian Arctic that started in August as part of a joint venture with the Kremlin’s oil champion Rosneft.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/14/us-ukraine-crisis-russia-oil-idUSKBN0H90CV20140914

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Bill Bonner: Everyone HATES this ultra-cheap market

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“What do you do when when US stock valuations are so high?  Well, you need to find markets that aren’t so pricey. Such as the Russian stock market!  There, the trailing P/E is under 6.  You’re thinking: ‘Hmm… Russian stocks are treacherous. Everybody says so. And with the war in Ukraine and the sanctions regime, they could go much lower.’ But we don’t presume to know – neither what is really going on now… nor what it will mean for the future. Neither in Russia nor in the US.  All we know is that our calculations tell us you get more value per dollar in Russia. And our ‘moral’ rule tells us that you don’t make money speculating on the future, but by buying wisely in the present.”

http://bonnerandpartners.com/everyone-hates-ultra-cheap-market/

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Beta Is Boss

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“Most investors have no clue about the importance of beta. Instead, they spend most of their time thinking about how to get exposure to stocks, bonds, etc, not about whether they should own them in the first place.  As regular readers will be aware, US stocks (in general at least) are richly valued right now. And that means long-term returns are likely to disappoint.  So, what are the alternatives?  For example, does it make sense to be in bonds?  Unfortunately, the answer is that the same forces that have been pumping up stock market valuations have been pumping up bond valuations too.  One of the most telling charts in finance right now is of the 10-year yield going back more than 200 years.”

http://bonnerandpartners.com/beta-boss/

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Bill Bonner: Too Busy to Read Ben Graham? Do This Instead…

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“How do you figure out how much a stock is really worth? Read Ben Graham and David Dodd’s 1934 classic, Security Analysis. Everything you need to know is there.  No time for Graham and Dodd’s tome?  Well, our STS (Simplified Trading System) is about as simple as it gets. Buy when the Dow is selling for under 10 times reported earnings. Sell when it trades at over 20 times reported earnings. Otherwise, do nothing. (That’s the hard part.)  Your editor likes STS because he doesn’t have the temperament for detailed stock analysis.  Will it work for you?  No one knows. All we know is that it worked in the past.”

http://bonnerandpartners.com/busy-read-ben-graham-instead-market/

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Bill Bonner: The Best Wealth Building Advice You’ll Never Take

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“For most people, investing is not a good way to make a fortune. It is just a good way to keep… and maybe grow… a fortune.  You make your real money by providing real goods and services to others. It is not realistic to think you can make much money, while you sleep, from the hard work and enterprise of others.  Here’s our investment philosophy:  1) Think a lot. Do a little.  2) Always buy low. And for safe measure, buy very low.  3) Never believe anything a salesman says about an investment. There’s a good chance that he is ignorant, dishonest or stupid. Or all three.  4) Be reasonable. But take a swing at a grand slam pitch from time to time. Heck, it’s not just about the money; it should be fun, too. [..]”

http://bonnerandpartners.com/best-wealth-building-advice-youll-never-take-investing/

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Now’s a Terrible Time to Own This Popular Investment

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“Steer clear of bonds when the yield on the 10-year Treasury note is under 2.5%… the average yield on investment-grade corporate bonds is just over 3%… and the average yield on junk bonds is just over 5%.  As Kathleen Gaffney, portfolio manager of the Eaton Vance Bond Fund, warns, credit markets today are ‘extremely overvalued.’  Although extreme valuations are poor market-timing indicators, they’re a big killer of long-term returns.  There are only two possible outcomes if you’re a bond investor.  Either you buy a bond and hold it to maturity. Or you buy a bond and sell it on to another investor before it reaches maturity.  And either way, investors are blindly taking big risks right now.”

http://bonnerandpartners.com/nows-terrible-time-popular-investment-bonds/

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