Tag Archives: Sudden Outbreak of Common Sense

Gold: The One Commodity Buffett and Bernanke Just Don’t Understand

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“While reading through the bullion site for Britain’s Royal Mint, I came across some highly unexpected commentary.  While the likes of Ben Bernanke, Warren Buffett and others here in the States offer inane commentary on the uselessness of gold, the 1,100-year-old Royal Mint had this to say:  Gold is the ultimate store of value.  Gold is the original and still the most far-reaching global currency.  Gold is perhaps the ultimate form of insurance.  And, yes, the Royal Mint put those words in boldface.  That should tell you something — namely that gold bullion, at today’s lower prices, is an asset you should be adding to your portfolio.”

http://thesovereigninvestor.com/gold/gold-commodity-buffett-bernanke-dont-get/

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China-U.S. Visa Deal a Problem for U.S. Immigration Consultants

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“A deal to ease visa requirements between China and the U.S., combined with Beijing’s crackdown on corruption, spells trouble for the industry serving Chinese who want to emigrate.  That business is already under pressure as countries such as Canada shut down programs that effectively allowed rich people to buy citizenship. China is the top source for investment-based immigration in countries such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, Cyprus and Portugal. Chinese looking to buy permanent residency sometimes pay tens of thousands of dollars in fees to the agencies, which are based in China and overseas.”

http://online.wsj.com/articles/china-u-s-visa-deal-a-problem-for-agencies-helping-chinese-emigrate-1415900300

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U.S., China mutually extend visas to 10 years to boost trade, tourism

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“Under the deal, which the United States will put into effect on Nov. 12, both countries would extend the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, the White House said in an accompanying statement. Student visas would be extended to five years from one year.  The extension matches what is currently allowed for citizens of nations with close relations with the U.S., such as European countries and Brazil.  A senior U.S. official said the visa agreement would allow the United States to tap into the fast-growing market of Chinese tourists traveling abroad.  It will also make it easier for Chinese businesses and investors to get involved in U.S. projects.”

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/10/us-china-usa-visas-idUSKCN0IU0Q020141110

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China’s stock market finally opens to foreigners

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“Starting on Monday, investors anywhere in the world will able to purchase shares of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It’s yet another sign that China is opening up its economy.  Previously, only a select group of institutional investors that met certain qualifications had access to Shanghai’s $2 trillion market.  The bad news is the new program, known as the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect Program, is a bit clunky for everyday U.S. investors.  A typical American can only buy shares in Shanghai by first going through a broker in Hong Kong who then must go through the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which is linked to the Shanghai Exchange.”

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/11/investing/china-stocks-market-open-up/

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Russian Stocks Stagnate, but Moscow Exchange Shares Soar

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“One Russian issuer just bucked the trend in impressive fashion: the exchange itself. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) last week sold a nearly 12 percent stake in MOEX in a private placement worth some $500 million at 60 rubles, or some $1.75, per share. The issue was four times oversubscribed. Aside from signaling investor demand, MOEX stressed that the transaction brought its free float above 50 percent for the first time — bucking another trend in statist Russia, where other promised privatizations have been delayed for years. The MOEX placement was arranged by Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co., along with Russia’s Sberbank and VTB Capital.”

http://www.institutionalinvestor.com/Article/3359817/Banking-and-Capital-Markets-Banking/Russian-Stocks-Stagnate-but-Moscow-Exchange-Shares-Soar.html

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Firestone Did What Governments Have Not: Stopped Ebola In Its Tracks

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“Firestone detected its first Ebola case on March 30, when an employee’s wife arrived from northern Liberia. She’d been caring for a disease-stricken woman and was herself diagnosed with the disease. Since then Firestone has done a remarkable job of keeping the virus at bay. It built its own treatment center and set up a comprehensive response that’s managed to quickly stop transmission. Dr. Brendan Flannery, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s team in Liberia, has hailed Firestone’s efforts as resourceful, innovative and effective.  Currently the only Ebola cases on the sprawling, 185-square-mile plantation are in patients who come from neighboring towns.”

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/06/354054915/firestone-did-what-governments-have-not-stopped-ebola-in-its-tracks

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Jim Rogers says Korea to unify within 5 years

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“I wanted to go to Rason because that is where the Russians just rebuilt the railroad across Siberia into Rason and that is where they are rebuilding the port. Rason is going to become the most important port in Asia in the next decade or two. If you put goods on the train in Rason, they get to Berlin two weeks earlier [than the current alternative]. Putin knows this, the Koreans know this, the Chinese just put in a railroad across China and Kazakhstan to get things to Europe much faster so geography is changing as we speak. You wouldn’t know it if you watch (American TV).  I went to the market, you could get anything. Stuff that I don’t even have myself.”

http://www.futuresmag.com/2014/10/10/rogers-says-korea-to-unify-within-5-years

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Ukraine ratifies E.U. pact but backs expanded autonomy in rebel areas

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“Ukraine’s parliament ratified an agreement Tuesday to deepen economic and political ties with the European Union, moving ahead with a plan that sparked an uprising by pro-Russian rebels and led to Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula.  But in a move seeking to ease tensions, Ukrainian lawmakers also passed legislation to grant greater autonomy to eastern Ukraine. It’s part of a wider peace deal seeking to end a conflict that has claimed more than 2,600 lives and sharply escalated tensions between Russia and the West.  The E.U. must now take steps to formalize the association with Ukraine, which would deepen economic and political ties with the 27-nation bloc.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/09/16/ukraine-ratifies-e-u-pact-but-backs-expanded-autonomy-in-rebel-areas/

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Video Killed Trust in Police Officers

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“Of course young people growing up with YouTube will trust police officers less. The many videos of brutality don’t lie—and they confirm that, sometimes, cops do lie.  Even more often, they hold their tongues.  Any doubt that excessive force by law enforcement is a widespread problem can now be laid to rest in a single hour with nothing more than access to YouTube.  Start here or here or here. Or here. Or here. Or here. If you keep searching, you’ll come to the conclusion that this sort of violence is epidemic long before you run out of video confirmation. Then remember the vast majority of these incidents are never videotaped.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/police-officers-havent-earned-our-instinctive-trust/378657/?single_page=true

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After Banning Pinball 80 Years Ago, Oakland Will Finally Legalize It

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“And here you thought games like Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto had it rough: 80 years ago, pinball — yes, pinball — was a seedy, controversial business. So controversial that thousands of U.S. cities passed laws making pinball machines illegal, including Oakland, California, where you might be surprised to find the game remains a criminal matter on the books to this day. That’s about to change, says the San Francisco Chronicle, which writes that Oakland is set to formally un-ban pinball at last, though it’ll be seen as a symbolic move: pinball machines are alive and well across the city, notes the Chronicle, and the ban hasn’t been enforced for decades.”

http://time.com/2912494/california-town-that-banned-pinball-80-years-ago-will-finally-legalize-it/

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