We’ve warned investors for a while that the war on cash would lead quickly to the war on gold. Now it’s happening in India. On November 8 , Prime Minister Modi declared that popular 1,000 Rupee and 500 Rupee notes were illegal. Those denominations are roughly equal of $20 and $10 bills in the U.S. Holders were
The “Impossible Trinity” is an economic concept developed by the great economist Robert Mundell in the early 1960s. Mundell said that a country could not have an open capital account, fixed exchange rate, and an independent monetary policy all at the same time without causing a reserve crisis. The idea is that if you have
This article explains that cyber-financial warfare is not a futuristic scenario; it’s happening now. After the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Russia. These sanctions were regarded as an act of war by Russia. The Russians retaliated by launching large cyber-attacks on major U.S. banks, which temporarily shut down
In the Great Depression (1929 – 1940), money was so scarce that local communities made coins out of wood with various denominations and the names of local merchants stamped on them. These could circulate in exchange for goods and services at participating merchants. It was really a form of credit, but it served to keep
The Turkish lira is another currency that has collapsed in recent months. Citizens of Turkey have dumped lira in exchange for dollars and stuffed the dollars under their mattresses exactly as some U.S. citizens did during the Great Depression. President Erdoğan has taken a slightly different approach than India, Zimbabwe, and others who have declared
We’ve seen the movement toward a cashless society take root in India, Sweden, other parts of Europe and the United States. Now the call is being heard in Australia. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the leading media channel in Australia, features an in-depth interview with Harvard Professor Ken Rogoff, author of the new book, The Curse
Governments are relentless and highly creative when it comes to taking your money. India has shut down the banks. Zimbabwe has offered worthless “bond notes” for hard currency (see story above). Turkey urges citizens to hand in their hard currency for local currency, but does suggest gold as an alternative. Other approaches to seizing citizen accounts include
By now, readers are familiar with the decision by Indian Prime Minister Modi to make the most popular bank notes illegal. The equivalent of a $20 bill and $10 bill (1,000 Rupees and 500 Rupees) were declared by the Indian government to be no longer legal tender. This set off a wave of panic in
Amid all the euphoria about Trump’s big spending plans comes a reality check from the U.S. consumer. In this article , you’ll see that in-store retail sales for the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving fell 3.5% compared to the prior year. It is true that more sales are happening online and that bargains are available beyond the traditional “Black
The idea that the Fed is immune from politics is a myth. The Fed is acutely aware that its “independence” is really the creation of Congress — and what Congress giveth, Congress can take away. Pressure has been building on Capitol Hill for years to audit the Fed, and hold the Fed accountable to some rule to
