Monthly Archives: May 2016

John Hussman: The Coming Fed-Induced Pension Bust

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“What’s quite unfortunate, in my view, is that the strong realized past returns of the past 25 years are now actually being taken as a justification of current, unrealistically high pension return assumptions. This, in turn, encourages continued underfunding. This inclination appears to be wholly encouraged by Federal Reserve policies, and threatens to amplify an inevitable pension crisis in the coming years. The realized past returns of this period have been strong precisely because they have robbed from future expected returns. The tide will turn, as it always has in complete market cycles across history, and as investors discovered during the market collapses of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009.”

http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc160523.htm

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Billionaire Soros Cuts U.S. Stocks by 37%, Buys Gold Miner Barrick

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“The firm disclosed owning bearish options contracts on 2.1 million shares of the SPDR 500 ETF Trust, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, with a face value of $431 million as of March 31.  Soros also bought bullish options contracts on 1.05 million shares in the SPDR Gold Trust, which tracks the price of bullion. What’s more, the fund took a stake in the world’s biggest producer of the metal, Barrick Gold Corp., worth $264 million at the end of March, the filing showed. Soros acquired 1.7 percent of Barrick, making it the fund’s biggest U.S.-listed holding.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/billionaire-soros-cuts-u-s-stocks-by-37-buys-gold-producer

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Brazil’s latest WhatsApp ban pushes users to other encrypted messaging apps

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“Even during the short time that Brazil’s ban on the Facebook-owned app was in effect, people still found other ways to access the type of encrypted messaging features that triggered the block in the first place.   Several rival apps that offer encrypted messaging services reported a surge in Brazilian sign-ups, which highlights how the growing ubiquity of private messaging apps makes it hard to stop people from using them.  U.S. legislation introduced by senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) last month would require companies to help to unscramble encrypted communications for the government if passed.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/03/brazils-latest-whatsapp-ban-is-pushing-users-to-other-encrypted-messaging-apps/

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Homeland Security to subpoena Techdirt over an article comment

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“This week, Techdirt’s Tim Cushing published a story about the Hancock County, IN Sheriff’s Department officers who stole $240,000 under color of asset forfeiture.  Digger, a Techdirt commenter, remarked, ‘The only ‘bonus’ these criminals [the Sheriff’s Department officers] are likely to see could be a bullet to their apparently empty skulls.’  This prompted the Department of Homeland Security to contact Techdirt and ask whom they should send a subpoena to in order to get at the identity of Digger. Masnick is worried that the subpoena, when and if it arrives, could come with a gag order, so he’s publishing now.”

http://boingboing.net/2016/05/06/homeland-security-want-to-subp.html

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Bruce Schneier: Economist Detained for Doing Math on an Airplane

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“Economics professor Guido Menzio (yes, he’s Italian) was taken off the plane, questioned, cleared, and allowed to board with the rest of his passengers two hours later.  This is a result of our stupid ‘see something, say something’ culture. As I repeatedly say: ‘If you ask amateurs to act as front-line security personnel, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get amateur security.’  On the other hand, ‘Algebra, of course, does have Arabic origins plus math is used to make bombs.'”

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2016/05/economist_detai.html

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Don’t become a casualty of the War on Cash

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“The 21st century has seen the emergence of a war unlike any other. On one side of the battlefield are governments, banks, credit card companies, central banks and other financial institutions. On the other side . . . cash and anybody who uses it.  While proponents of a cashless society would have you believe that terrorists, drug lords and criminals are the only people who would ever use cash, there are more people than you would imagine on what seems to be the losing side of the war.”

http://nomadcapitalist.com/2016/04/27/the-war-on-cash/

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