Thursday, May 21, 2015
Breaking News - ANTHONY RENFROW GUILTY!
GUILTY TO COUNT 1 OF FEDERAL INDICTMENT - CONSPIRACY
It is official and justice has been served. A courthouse confidant and watcher just advised us that Internet Scoundrel, Anthony Renfrow plead guilty this morning to Count 1 of the Federal Indictment in connection with 14DailyPlus.com.
The Judge ordered a presentence background investigation.
Count 1
14. Paragraphs 1-13 are incorporated as though fully set out herein.
15. Beginning in or about March 2006, the exact date being unknown to the Grand Jury, and continuing to on or about May 16, 2007, both dates being approximate and inclusive, in the District of Kansas and elsewhere, the defendants, ANTHONY RENFROW and WILLIAM “BILL” FOX, knowingly and intentionally conspired and agreed together and with each other, andwith other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury to commit the following offenses against the United States: wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1343; and engaging in monetary transactions greater than$10,000, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1957.
Object of Conspiracy
16. It was a part and object of the conspiracy that RENFROW, FOX, and their coconspirators, willfully and knowingly devised a scheme to defraud investors through14DailyPlus.com and to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and, for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud, knowingly and intentionally caused to be transmitted by means of wire communications in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals, and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme to defraud individuals in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1343.
17. It was a further part and object of the conspiracy that RENFROW, FOX, and their co-conspirators, knowingly engaged in monetary transactions by, through, and to financial institutions, affecting interstate commerce, in criminally derived property of a value greater than $10,000.00, through deposits, withdrawals, and transfers of U.S. currency, funds, and monetary instruments, such property having been derived fromwire fraud, which is a specified unlawful activity, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1957.
Manner and Means
18. It was part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com established an Internet website that appeared as though individuals could make investments and reap large returns.
19. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com falsely promised 14% per day return on the purported investment.
20. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com solicited investments in amounts up to $9,000 cash.
21. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com falsely promised a greater return on the investment if more money wasinvested.
22. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com encouraged investors to reinvest all returns into the program.
23. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com regularly conducted conference calls via telephone and Internet to recruit individuals, encourage more investments, and reassure the soundness of theinvestments.
24. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14 DailyPlus.com deposited the invested funds into their personal accounts.
25. It was further part of the conspiracy that the founder and promoters of 14DailyPlus.com used the invested money for personal purposes and did not pay out returns to the “investors.”
Overt Acts
26. In furtherance of this conspiracy and to effect and accomplish the objects of it, one or more of the defendants or conspirators, both indicted and unindicted, committed, among others, the following overt acts in the District of Kansas and elsewhere:
Recruiting “Investors”
a. During a conference call with Matt Becker, Renfrow assured14DailyPlus.com investors their funds were safe and that no one would lose their funds or investment despite the delay in payments being made to the investors. Renfrow asserted the delay in payments of returns was due to problems associated with the Internet payment entities, and nothing more.
b. Fox recruited Eric Fellows to become part of 14DailyPlus.com by making an “investment” in 14DailyPlus.com, and then earning a “return” on that investment by merely viewing advertising sites established through14DailyPlus.com. The “earnings” were to be credited to the “investor’s” online account and it was recommended that earnings remain in the account.
c. Renfrow reported to Charles Lunsford that investors were not being paid because cyber thieves had compromised 14DailyPlus.com’s E-Gold account, so the funds were not available to be disbursed.
d. Fox told Aubrey Meyer that she could earn a 40% return on her investment with 14DailyPlus.com, and was assured she would at least get her initial investment returned.
e. Fox personally placed a telephone call to Robert Montgomery to congratulate him for recruiting others to join 14DailyPlus.com.
f. Renfrow personally met with James Oliver in Sacramento, California, and showed Mr. Oliver office space as a means of satisfying concerns whether 14DailyPlus.com was a legitimate business. Mr. Oliver participated in conference calls with Renfrow, who provided various reasons for lack of payments to the investors. Renfrow’s explanation for lack of payment included a tale that his E-Gold account had been “hacked,” so Renfrow was awaiting pay-out from another investment to then satisfy payments in 14DailyPlus.com.
g. During a conference call with Russ Pitts, Fox stated he had made$250,000 in six months through 14DailyPlus.com, and that his mother-in-law had made $60,000. Fox told Mr. Pitts that participants in 14DailyPlus.com would not be paid if they did not recruit other people to join 14DailyPlus.com.
h. During a conference call with Russ Pitts, Renfrow directed people to not refer to 14DailyPlus.com as an “investment.”
i. During a conference call with James Rizqalla, Renfrow reported problems with the 14DailyPlus.com website, which required some reorganization and delays in payments.
j. Fox recruited Art Ruby to become part of 14DailyPlus.com andencouraged Mr. Ruby to make the investment with cash.8
k. During a conference call with Art Ruby, Renfrow stated everyone who participated in 14DailyPlus.com would be paid, and when a participant in the conference call had specific questions about payments, then they were accused of not being a “team player,” and threatened with having their account closed. Explanations by Fox for delays in payment included health issues for Renfrow, SafePay Solutions, Inc. not releasing funds, or glitches with the Internet payment system.
l. During conference calls with Willis Smith, Renfrow encouraged people to invest with 14DailyPlus.com, and assured the participants that no one would ever lose money because the initial investment would always be returned. Renfrow explained payments were delayed until more people invested with14DailyPlus.com, so the capital fund would be increased and allow for returns to be paid.
m. During a conference call with Don Stroh, Renfrow stated no one would lose their money in connection with 14DailyPlus.com. Renfrow explained investments could be made by sending a wire transfer to Renfrow’s personal Bank of America account from the “investor’s” bank account or directly depositing funds into Renfrow’s Bank of America account at any local Bank of America branch.
There are 13 pages to Count 1 but by know, you should understand that magnitude of the violations of trust and confidence involved.
It is always a great day when internet scammers are caught and prosecuted. The Cloud of doubt and complete misrepresentation may finally clear from the Iraqi Dinar and the Dinar community.
Information and People For Diligent Outcomes
Iraq’s Missing Money
May 21, 2015 in Politics, Security
By Walid Khoudouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq is passing through a dangerous phase. There is a lot of waste and corruption and little transparency in state institutions. The security situation is deteriorating. And lately, there has been negative information about Iraqi officials responsible for the oil revenues during the last years. This has led to the dangerous situation that Iraq is [now] in.
It was shown that during the first week of May, the Iraqi parliament received, all at once, the final accounts of the eight years of the rule of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the 2006-13 period to “review and approve them.” This means that the previous years’ accounts had not been reviewed or approved. And parliament is now being asked to approve them all at once after Maliki lost the prime minister post.
The move to approve all the past years’ final accounts is considered an illegal act according to the norms of parliamentary systems and traditions. The main role of the legislative branch is to review and approve the previous year’s accounts, and then approve the new year’s budget submitted to parliament by the government or the executive branch. This is already provided for in the Iraqi constitution.
Earlier this year, parliament member Magda Tamimi declared that she was preparing studies indicating that hundreds of billions of dollars are missing from the state’s annual budgets during Maliki’s reign. Tamimi has access to state financial figures because she has been a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee during the current and previous sessions. She is conducting a study on corruption in state institutions.
State budgets for the years between 2006 and 2013 were submitted, but not the budget for 2014. This is not strange, since the parliament at the time did not agree on the 2014 budget. And there was no budget for that year, which means that it is not possible to calculate and audit the budget of that year.
Page 2
Now there is fear that the major political blocs in parliament would agree to approve at the time all the final accounts for the past years and issue parliamentary resolutions in this regard. Sabah al-Saadi, a former member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, reportedly said that the budgets of the past years “have been spent but there is no reconstruction of infrastructure, no investments, no fixing of the electricity, no housing, and no solution to the water scarcity or other problems. …
The budgets that were spent from 2006 to 2012 amounted to $614 billion. That is in addition to the 2013 budget, for a total of $727 billion. This is enough money to build a completely new Iraq.” It is also noteworthy that the Iraqi parliament has failed to approve the 2014 budget and has returned it several times to the Council of Ministers to make amendments because of the presence of many irregularities.
The loss of hundreds of billions of dollars a year — in light of the extreme poverty that the country is still suffering from — is a major scandal. According to statements by current senior officials, there were many “spacemen” during Maliki’s rule. “Spacemen” are individuals that get registered as employees in the civil and military institutions but who do not show up for work or perform any work in official bodies while getting paid their monthly salaries. The top official in the state and the commander of the armed forces throughout this period was Maliki.
This information raises many questions, including: Will the chairman of the finance committee in parliament, Ahmad Chalabi, seek to obtain the approval of the parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri to start an investigation into this matter? Will the matter be discussed in public hearings of the finance committee and in the presence of media and civil society organizations?
In the absence of transparency, who is the ultimate beneficiary of these billions of dollars? Are they only Iraqi politicians, or was a large part of the money transferred to neighboring countries — especially Iran and Syria — to help those two countries bypass the international embargo imposed on them?
If the money were sent to only some politicians, this means local politicians have accumulated huge funds, which they can use in future political campaigns to return to power. If the money was transferred to neighboring countries, it means that the previous government paid for its survival throughout the period by helping Iran spread its regional influence and by helping the Syrian regime stay in power.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2015/05/iraq-economy-state-budget-missing-billions-dollars-maliki.html
By Walid Khoudouri for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News.
Iraq is passing through a dangerous phase. There is a lot of waste and corruption and little transparency in state institutions. The security situation is deteriorating. And lately, there has been negative information about Iraqi officials responsible for the oil revenues during the last years. This has led to the dangerous situation that Iraq is [now] in.
It was shown that during the first week of May, the Iraqi parliament received, all at once, the final accounts of the eight years of the rule of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the 2006-13 period to “review and approve them.” This means that the previous years’ accounts had not been reviewed or approved. And parliament is now being asked to approve them all at once after Maliki lost the prime minister post.
The move to approve all the past years’ final accounts is considered an illegal act according to the norms of parliamentary systems and traditions. The main role of the legislative branch is to review and approve the previous year’s accounts, and then approve the new year’s budget submitted to parliament by the government or the executive branch. This is already provided for in the Iraqi constitution.
Earlier this year, parliament member Magda Tamimi declared that she was preparing studies indicating that hundreds of billions of dollars are missing from the state’s annual budgets during Maliki’s reign. Tamimi has access to state financial figures because she has been a member of the parliamentary Finance Committee during the current and previous sessions. She is conducting a study on corruption in state institutions.
State budgets for the years between 2006 and 2013 were submitted, but not the budget for 2014. This is not strange, since the parliament at the time did not agree on the 2014 budget. And there was no budget for that year, which means that it is not possible to calculate and audit the budget of that year.
Page 2
Now there is fear that the major political blocs in parliament would agree to approve at the time all the final accounts for the past years and issue parliamentary resolutions in this regard. Sabah al-Saadi, a former member of the Parliamentary Integrity Committee, reportedly said that the budgets of the past years “have been spent but there is no reconstruction of infrastructure, no investments, no fixing of the electricity, no housing, and no solution to the water scarcity or other problems. …
The budgets that were spent from 2006 to 2012 amounted to $614 billion. That is in addition to the 2013 budget, for a total of $727 billion. This is enough money to build a completely new Iraq.” It is also noteworthy that the Iraqi parliament has failed to approve the 2014 budget and has returned it several times to the Council of Ministers to make amendments because of the presence of many irregularities.
The loss of hundreds of billions of dollars a year — in light of the extreme poverty that the country is still suffering from — is a major scandal. According to statements by current senior officials, there were many “spacemen” during Maliki’s rule. “Spacemen” are individuals that get registered as employees in the civil and military institutions but who do not show up for work or perform any work in official bodies while getting paid their monthly salaries. The top official in the state and the commander of the armed forces throughout this period was Maliki.
This information raises many questions, including: Will the chairman of the finance committee in parliament, Ahmad Chalabi, seek to obtain the approval of the parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri to start an investigation into this matter? Will the matter be discussed in public hearings of the finance committee and in the presence of media and civil society organizations?
In the absence of transparency, who is the ultimate beneficiary of these billions of dollars? Are they only Iraqi politicians, or was a large part of the money transferred to neighboring countries — especially Iran and Syria — to help those two countries bypass the international embargo imposed on them?
If the money were sent to only some politicians, this means local politicians have accumulated huge funds, which they can use in future political campaigns to return to power. If the money was transferred to neighboring countries, it means that the previous government paid for its survival throughout the period by helping Iran spread its regional influence and by helping the Syrian regime stay in power.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/business/2015/05/iraq-economy-state-budget-missing-billions-dollars-maliki.html
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Five Major Banks Plead Guilty to Felony Charges Over Currency Rigging
Five of the world’s largest banks will plead guilty to felony charges and pay fines totaling nearly $5.8 billion following a multi-year investigation into allegations the banks banded together to manipulate global financial markets, the U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday.
Four of the banks – Citicorp (NYSE: C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Barclays PLC (NYSE: BCS) and The Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) -- will plead guilty to conspiring to manipulate the price of U.S. dollars and euros in foreign currency markets and the banks will pay fines totaling more than $2.5 billion.
According to federal prosecutors, traders at the four banks charged in the FOREX scheme referred to themselves as “The Cartel” and used online chat rooms to communicate with each other.
The fifth bank, UBS AG (NYSE: UBS), will plead guilty for breaching an earlier non-prosecution agreement in connection with a long-running investigation into manipulation of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) and other benchmark interest rates. UBS will pay a $203 million fine, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Separately, the Federal Reserve imposed fines of more than $1.6 billion on the five banks for “unsafe and unsound practices,” among the largest fines ever imposed by the Fed. Barclays will pay an additional $1.3 billion in fines in settlements with the New York Department of Financial Services, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority.
Forcing the banks to plead guilty to felonies as part of the settlements is a relatively rare technique for federal prosecutors, who have been criticized in recent years for not coming down hard enough on big banks in the wake of risky and often-illegal activities that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in a statement: “The penalty these banks will now pay is fitting considering the long-running and egregious nature of their anticompetitive conduct. It is commensurate with the pervasive harm done. And it should deter competitors in the future from chasing profits without regard to fairness, to the law, or to the public welfare.”
But Chicago securities attorney Andrew Stoltmann said the punishment has more bark than bite because the banks got regulators to eliminate much of the sting from the penalty during negotiations.
“In exchange for pleading guilty and paying these hefty fines, the banks demanded that regulators not ban them from certain business practices,” said Stoltmann.
“These accommodations render the plea deals effectively useless. The pain of an indictment comes from banks not being able to, as a felon, engage in certain lucrative business practices. By getting the SEC and Labor department to ok the continuation of these business practices, the pleas are not very meaningful,” he added.
According to plea agreements to be filed in federal court in Connecticut, between December 2007 and January 2013, euro-dollar traders at Citicorp, JPMorgan, Barclays and RBS used an “exclusive electronic chat room and coded language to manipulate benchmark exchange rates,” the Justice Department said.
Traders allegedly rigged by the markets by manipulating two major daily rate “fixes,” the 1:15 p.m. European Central Bank fix and the 4:00 p.m. World Markets/Reuters fix, according to prosecutors. Third parties collect trading data at these times to calculate and publish a daily “fix rate,” which in turn is used to price orders for many large customers.
The Justice Department said “The Cartel” traders allegedly coordinated their trading of U.S. dollars and euros to manipulate the benchmark rates set at the 1:15 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. fixes in an effort to boost their profits.
The traders also used their exclusive electronic chats to manipulate the euro-dollar exchange rate in other ways, prosecutors said. For instance, the traders manipulated the euro-dollar exchange rate by agreeing to withhold bids or offers for euros or dollars to avoid moving the exchange rate in a direction adverse to open positions held by co-conspirators. By agreeing not to buy or sell at certain times, the traders protected each other’s trading positions by withholding supply of or demand for currency and suppressing competition in the FX market.
- Citicorp, which was involved from as early as December 2007 until at least January 2013, has agreed to pay a fine of $925 million.
- Barclays, which was involved from as early as December 2007 until July 2011, and then from December 2011 until August 2012, has agreed to pay a fine of $650 million;.
- JPMorgan, which was involved from at least as early as July 2010 until January 2013, has agreed to pay a fine of $550 million.
- RBS, which was involved from at least as early as December 2007 until at least April 2010, has agreed to pay a fine of $395 million.
Barclays, according to the Justice Department, has agreed that the bank violated a principal term of its June 2012 non-prosecution agreement that settled the government’s investigation of the manipulation of LIBOR and other benchmark interests rates. Barclays has agreed to pay an additional $60 million criminal penalty based on its violation of the non-prosecution agreement.
In addition, the Justice Department has determined that UBS violated its December 2012 non-prosecution agreement resolving an earlier LIBOR investigation. For that UBS has agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $203 million.
$5.1B loans to banks have been allocated by Central Bank of Iraq
Central Bank of Iraq has reportedly allocated $5.1 billion in loans for governmental and private banks throughout the crisis-hit country in a bid to keep a handle on inflation.
Central Bank general manager Ali Allaq told, "The central bank is accountable for monitoring possibilities before the emergence of economic crisis and its priority is to keep the market stable inside and outside the country and also help boost the banking system which is one of the important sectors after the oil sector."
He added, "A while back, the economic committee of the Iraqi parliament called on the Iraqi ministries to open bank accounts in the private banks in Iraq to help boost the economy. But it seems like Iraq's finance ministry is reluctant about the economic committee's decision because they think they do not have to deal with private banks, only the governmental ones."
According to Allaq $4.29 billion of the loans will go to the Industrial Bank, Agriculture Bank, and Housing Bank and the other $841 million will go to the private banks. On January 21, the Iraqi Cabinet approved a $102.5 billion national budget for 2015 based on a projected oil price of $60 a barrel and projected deficit of $19.1 billion. But oil prices have dropped from around $100 last year to less than $50 this month.
Central Bank general manager Ali Allaq told, "The central bank is accountable for monitoring possibilities before the emergence of economic crisis and its priority is to keep the market stable inside and outside the country and also help boost the banking system which is one of the important sectors after the oil sector."
He added, "A while back, the economic committee of the Iraqi parliament called on the Iraqi ministries to open bank accounts in the private banks in Iraq to help boost the economy. But it seems like Iraq's finance ministry is reluctant about the economic committee's decision because they think they do not have to deal with private banks, only the governmental ones."
According to Allaq $4.29 billion of the loans will go to the Industrial Bank, Agriculture Bank, and Housing Bank and the other $841 million will go to the private banks. On January 21, the Iraqi Cabinet approved a $102.5 billion national budget for 2015 based on a projected oil price of $60 a barrel and projected deficit of $19.1 billion. But oil prices have dropped from around $100 last year to less than $50 this month.
Updated 19 May 2015 | Soruce: Rudaw |
Monday, May 18, 2015
China's yuan edges up on 15-month high midpoint
May 13, 2015 11:21 PM
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) set the midpoint rate (CNY=SAEC) at 6.1093 per dollar prior to market open, the highest level since Feb. 18, 2014, and 0.05 percent firmer than the previous fix at 6.1123.
The spot market (CNY=CFXS) opened at 6.1997 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.2017 around midday, 0.04 percent stronger than the previous close.
Analysts broadly forecast the yuan was likely to follow Beijing's guidance to remain stable in the short term despite the latest round of economic data shows that China's economic performance continues to be disappointing.
For instance, Chinese banks made 707.9 billion yuan (72 billion pound) worth of new loans in April, much less than expected, as slowing earnings growth and rising bad loans made lenders more cautious despite government calls to help support the economy, data published on Wednesday showed.
The offshore yuan was trading 0.01 percent firmer from the onshore spot at 6.2012 per dollar.
(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Saturday, May 16, 2015
China’s Yuan May Draw $1 Trillion on Getting IMF Reserve Status
People’s Bank of China officials have called for the IMF to include the yuan in its reserve basket -- which consists of the dollar, euro, pound and yen -- in a review later this year. An inclusion could spur as much as 6.2 trillion yuan ($999 billion) of net purchases of China’s onshore bonds by end-2020, Standard Chartered estimates. AXA Investment Managers says about 10 percent of the $11.6 trillion of global reserves will flow into yuan assets. It didn’t give a timeframe.
“What is significant is the seal of approval by the IMF that the yuan has internationalized as a reserve currency,” Aidan Yao, senior emerging-market economist at AXA Investment, said in a briefing in Hong Kong on Thursday. “It could trigger a reallocation of global reserves portfolios.”
China is making the yuan more freely usable in order to be included in the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights basket, PBOC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in Washington on April 18. The currency failed to qualify in a 2010 review.
The yuan reclaimed fifth place in global payments this March, according to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Standard Chartered said the Chinese currency has a 60 percent chance of getting reserve status this year.
‘Meets Criteria’
“The renminbi broadly meets SDR criteria,” Standard Chartered analysts including Becky Liu and Eddie Cheung wrote in a research report Friday. “Even if the decision to include the renminbi is deferred, we see a high degree of certainty for inclusion in 2020, or possibly earlier via an interim review.”The dollar has a 41.9 percent weighting in the SDR basket, and the euro has 37.4 percent, according to the IMF website. The pound commands 11.3 percent and the yen’s share is 9.4 percent. The yuan can get a potential weighting of about 13 percent, according to an estimate by Bank of America Merrill Lynch in March. HSBC Holdings Plc said in an April note that the yuan’s share could be 14 percent, reflecting China’s importance in global exports.
“SDR inclusion in 2015 would likely have a significant market impact, driving an immediate sharp increase in global diversification into renminbi assets,” Liu and Cheung wrote.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Plunged in May by Most in Two Years
Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in May by the most in more than two years as Americans’ views on the economy dimmed.
The University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment dropped to 88.6, the lowest since October, from 95.9 in April. The 7.3 point decrease was the largest since December 2012. The outcome was lower than the lowest estimate of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
News that the world’s largest economy stalled last quarter shook Americans’ outlook, while the tick up in fuel costs since early March also contributed to the gloomier perceptions. While slightly lower than in the prior month, households still held relatively upbeat views on incomes, a sign spending will be sustained.
“The decline was widespread among all age and income subgroups as well as across all regions of the country,” Richard Curtin, director of the Michigan Survey of Consumers, said in a statement. “To be sure, the recent decline in consumer confidence does not indicate an incipient downturn in consumption and residential investment. Rather the data indicate a reluctant acceptance on the part of consumers that economic growth will remain near the same lackluster pace recorded during the past several years.”
The median projection in the Bloomberg survey of economists called for an unchanged reading at 95.9. Estimates ranged from 91.4 to 97.5. The gauge averaged 88.8 for the five years leading to the last recession that started in December 2007. The average for 2014 was 84.1.
The sentiment survey’s current conditions index, which takes stock of Americans’ view of their personal finances, fell to 99.8 from the prior month’s 107.
The measure of expectations six months from now decreased to 81.5 from 88.8.
“The data nonetheless suggest that consumers remain optimistic about their future personal finances and have maintained their buying plans are reasonably favorable levels,” Curtin also wrote.
Americans expect the inflation rate in the next year will be 2.9 percent, compared with 2.6 percent in the April survey. Over the next five to 10 years, they expect a 2.8 percent rate of inflation, compared with 2.6 percent in the previous month.
The labor market continues to underpin consumer spending. Payrolls climbed by 223,000 in April following a 85,000 gain, and the jobless rate fell to 5.4 percent, the lowest since May 2008, according to Labor Department data released last week.
Wage gains, though, remain tepid. Hourly pay was up 2.2 percent in April from a year earlier, holding within the narrow range tracked over the past four years.
The Michigan sentiment report shows a bigger retreat in confidence this month than other measures. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 43.5 in the period ended May 10, the lowest level since early March.
Recent reports indicate consumers remain reluctant to open their wallets. Sales at retailers barely budged in April after a 0.2 percent drop from January through March that marked the first quarterly decline in almost three years.
Store chain results reflect some of the weakness. Quarterly sales trailed analysts’ estimates at Kohl’s Corp. and J.C. Penney Co., the retailers reported this week.
Automobile dealerships have had better luck as cheap fuel costs boost demand for large and luxury sport utility vehicles and overall sales remain strong. Cars and light trucks sold at a 16.5 million annualized rate in April after 17 million the prior month, according to industry data from Ward’s Automotive Group.
The University of Michigan preliminary index of sentiment dropped to 88.6, the lowest since October, from 95.9 in April. The 7.3 point decrease was the largest since December 2012. The outcome was lower than the lowest estimate of 68 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
News that the world’s largest economy stalled last quarter shook Americans’ outlook, while the tick up in fuel costs since early March also contributed to the gloomier perceptions. While slightly lower than in the prior month, households still held relatively upbeat views on incomes, a sign spending will be sustained.
“The decline was widespread among all age and income subgroups as well as across all regions of the country,” Richard Curtin, director of the Michigan Survey of Consumers, said in a statement. “To be sure, the recent decline in consumer confidence does not indicate an incipient downturn in consumption and residential investment. Rather the data indicate a reluctant acceptance on the part of consumers that economic growth will remain near the same lackluster pace recorded during the past several years.”
The median projection in the Bloomberg survey of economists called for an unchanged reading at 95.9. Estimates ranged from 91.4 to 97.5. The gauge averaged 88.8 for the five years leading to the last recession that started in December 2007. The average for 2014 was 84.1.
Sizable Decrease
The index has shown bigger declines than in May in only 20 months since the monthly surveys began in 1978.The sentiment survey’s current conditions index, which takes stock of Americans’ view of their personal finances, fell to 99.8 from the prior month’s 107.
The measure of expectations six months from now decreased to 81.5 from 88.8.
“The data nonetheless suggest that consumers remain optimistic about their future personal finances and have maintained their buying plans are reasonably favorable levels,” Curtin also wrote.
Americans expect the inflation rate in the next year will be 2.9 percent, compared with 2.6 percent in the April survey. Over the next five to 10 years, they expect a 2.8 percent rate of inflation, compared with 2.6 percent in the previous month.
Gasoline Prices
Regular gasoline cost $2.69 a gallon at the pump on Thursday, according to AAA, the biggest U.S. motoring group. While the price has ticked up from a six-year low of $2.03 reached in late January, it is below the $3.64 consumers paid at this time last year.The labor market continues to underpin consumer spending. Payrolls climbed by 223,000 in April following a 85,000 gain, and the jobless rate fell to 5.4 percent, the lowest since May 2008, according to Labor Department data released last week.
Wage gains, though, remain tepid. Hourly pay was up 2.2 percent in April from a year earlier, holding within the narrow range tracked over the past four years.
The Michigan sentiment report shows a bigger retreat in confidence this month than other measures. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to 43.5 in the period ended May 10, the lowest level since early March.
Recent reports indicate consumers remain reluctant to open their wallets. Sales at retailers barely budged in April after a 0.2 percent drop from January through March that marked the first quarterly decline in almost three years.
Store chain results reflect some of the weakness. Quarterly sales trailed analysts’ estimates at Kohl’s Corp. and J.C. Penney Co., the retailers reported this week.
Automobile dealerships have had better luck as cheap fuel costs boost demand for large and luxury sport utility vehicles and overall sales remain strong. Cars and light trucks sold at a 16.5 million annualized rate in April after 17 million the prior month, according to industry data from Ward’s Automotive Group.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Gold and Silver are on the Move - If you want my opinion, now is a great time to buy gold
I believe now is one of the best times in the past two decades to be a U.S. dollar based tangible asset investor…period.
GOLD CHATTER...
We are at the bottom of gold investor sentiment for quite some time. Frankly, gold is reviled right now.
Since gold hit its all-time high over $1,900 per ounce in September of 2011, the gold market has been quite weak. And, the stock market has been on a tear.
As a result, we’ve seen a number of firms go out of business and many more struggle not to follow suit. In the process, profit margins have been trimmed to the bone. This is a buyer’s market.
That’s excellent news for gold buyers.
Key technical resistance around $1,180.00 per ounce to the downside has held despite repeated assaults.
Around $1,180 per ounce is key technical resistance for gold and the bears can’t seem to hold below this technical resistance level.
The U.S. dollar is strong but is under assault.
As discussed in our "IMF October Surprise" and other factors, moves afoot that may replace or significantly dilute thee U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. And, when that happens, everything changes (including your standard of living) which will shift drastically to the downside.
That’s excellent news for gold buyers.
SILVER CHATTER
Between January 2, 2009 and December 31, 2012, the price of gold increased over 90%, while the price of silver increased over 160%. In addition, there is a compelling argument for silver investing because the economic and monetary fundamentals in place today are even more bullish than the conditions of the 1970s when the silver price exceeded $50 per ounce. Yet today's market prices, at well below the $50 level, are a mere fraction of levels projected by silver industry experts for the future.
Worldwide market demand for silver is growing, while supplies of silver are quickly disappearing.
New high-tech uses for silver will further strain already-tight supplies in the future. World demand for silver now exceeds annual production and has every year since 1990, depleting above-ground stockpiles of silver. The U.S. government, once the largest stockpiler of silver on the planet, dumped billions and billions of ounces of silver onto the world market over the years, resulting in depressed silver prices. Today, that government silver hoard is gone, and now the U.S. government is a buyer of silver at prevailing world silver prices.
For these reasons and many more, the silver market certainly appears to represent an outstanding investing opportunity.
BUYING OPPORTUNITY
Compare your price to ours and consider the buying opportunity that we offer...
1 oz. 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar-NGC MS63 @ $59
1 oz. Pre 33 Gold Saint Gaudens NGC MS64 @ $1575.00
1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs @ Spot + $35
1 oz. Provident Gold Bars @ Spot + $12
1 oz. Silver Canadian Maple Leafs @ Spot +$3
715 oz. "Junk Silver" US Coins, $1000 Face Value @ Spot + $2.50
1 oz. Provident Silver Bars @ Spot + .95
NOTE: The law prohibits us from giving personalized investment advice.
GOLD CHATTER...
We are at the bottom of gold investor sentiment for quite some time. Frankly, gold is reviled right now.
Since gold hit its all-time high over $1,900 per ounce in September of 2011, the gold market has been quite weak. And, the stock market has been on a tear.
As a result, we’ve seen a number of firms go out of business and many more struggle not to follow suit. In the process, profit margins have been trimmed to the bone. This is a buyer’s market.
That’s excellent news for gold buyers.
Key technical resistance around $1,180.00 per ounce to the downside has held despite repeated assaults.
Around $1,180 per ounce is key technical resistance for gold and the bears can’t seem to hold below this technical resistance level.
The U.S. dollar is strong but is under assault.
As discussed in our "IMF October Surprise" and other factors, moves afoot that may replace or significantly dilute thee U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. And, when that happens, everything changes (including your standard of living) which will shift drastically to the downside.
That’s excellent news for gold buyers.
SILVER CHATTER
Between January 2, 2009 and December 31, 2012, the price of gold increased over 90%, while the price of silver increased over 160%. In addition, there is a compelling argument for silver investing because the economic and monetary fundamentals in place today are even more bullish than the conditions of the 1970s when the silver price exceeded $50 per ounce. Yet today's market prices, at well below the $50 level, are a mere fraction of levels projected by silver industry experts for the future.
Worldwide market demand for silver is growing, while supplies of silver are quickly disappearing.
New high-tech uses for silver will further strain already-tight supplies in the future. World demand for silver now exceeds annual production and has every year since 1990, depleting above-ground stockpiles of silver. The U.S. government, once the largest stockpiler of silver on the planet, dumped billions and billions of ounces of silver onto the world market over the years, resulting in depressed silver prices. Today, that government silver hoard is gone, and now the U.S. government is a buyer of silver at prevailing world silver prices.
For these reasons and many more, the silver market certainly appears to represent an outstanding investing opportunity.
BUYING OPPORTUNITY
Compare your price to ours and consider the buying opportunity that we offer...
- The Vietnam Dong: 0.0000570240 (Fifth Third Bank)
- The China Yuan: 0.1828400000 (Fifth Third Bank)
1 oz. 1921 Morgan Silver Dollar-NGC MS63 @ $59
1 oz. Pre 33 Gold Saint Gaudens NGC MS64 @ $1575.00
1 oz. Gold Canadian Maple Leafs @ Spot + $35
1 oz. Provident Gold Bars @ Spot + $12
1 oz. Silver Canadian Maple Leafs @ Spot +$3
715 oz. "Junk Silver" US Coins, $1000 Face Value @ Spot + $2.50
1 oz. Provident Silver Bars @ Spot + .95
NOTE: The law prohibits us from giving personalized investment advice.
OUTPOST PROVISIONING LLC (the “author” and “publisher”) gathers, acquires, develops, aggregates and analyzes, legal, corporate, investment opportunities, economic and political intelligence and information (the "intelligence" or "information") which it distributes and broadcasts in its web sites, blogs, briefings and reports, solely for education and general informative purposes, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The intelligence and information is by no means intended to be tax, legal or investment advice and is not to be used or relied upon as tax, legal or investment advice, and is not provided or published for such purposes whatsoever.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Central Bank of Iraq to print 50 000 dinars currency ...the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) cannot delete the zeros...
Shafaq News / The parliamentary economic and investment commission said that the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) cannot delete the zeros due to the unstable economic situation, as pointed out that the bank will solve these problems and will print a new financial banknotes worth 50 000 dinars.
“The commission hosted the CBI director , Ali al-Alaq and they discussed issues concerning the provision of liquidity and increase demand for the dollar as well as the disparity in the exchange rate,” The commission’s member , Methaq Hamdi, stated in an interview for Shafaq News.
Hamdi said that al-Alaq is regarding these issues, as a new financial banknote of 50 000 dinars will be printed , indicating that the Bank delayed printing 100 000 dinars further.
http://english.shafaaq.com/business/14240-central-bank-of-iraq-to-print-50-000-dinars-currency.html
Parliamentary Commission of Economy confirms Cancel to delete the zeros and replace it with the currency of 50 thousand dinars category.
http://www.ahraraliraq.com/index.php?page=article&id=41583
قالت مصادر برلمانية وأخرى مقربة من البنك المركزي العراقي، إن لجنة حكومية مختصة انتهت إلى قرار بطباعة عملة نقدية ورقية جديدة من فئة خمسين ألف دينار (42 دولاراً)، في ظل التحديات التي تواجه الدينار العراقي وقوته بالسوق المحلية والعالمية.
وقالت عضو لجنة الاقتصاد في البرلمان، نورة البجاري، في مؤتمر صحافي، الأربعاء، إن لجنة متخصصة شُكلت من البنك المركزي، قررت إلغاء فكرة حذف الأصفار من العملات النقدية من فئة ألف دينار و10 آلاف دينار؛ كخيار اتخذ سابقا لمواجهة التضخم وتحديات العملة العراقية، وذلك بسبب عدم استقرار السوق ووضع الدينار نفسه الذي يتعرض لانخفاضات مستمرة أمام الدولار.
وأضافت البجاري، أن اللجنة قررت عوضا عن ذلك طباعة فئة مالية جديدة بقيمة خمسين ألف دينار. وتعتبر أعلى فئة نقدية بالعراق هي ورقة الخمسة والعشرين ألف دينار، والمعروفة بالورقة الحمراء.
ويعاني المواطنون العراقيون، خاصة التجار، من مسألة البيع والشراء حيث عادة ما تحمل ثلاثة أكياس كبيرة من العملات النقدية العراقية لشراء سيارة متوسطة السعر.
ويتطلب شراء جهاز تلفزيون بسعر نصف مليون دينار حمل كيس متوسط أو امتلاك المواطن جيبا كبيرا، يمكنه من وضع المال به إذا ما كان المبلغ من عملة نقدية فئة ألف دينار أو 250 ديناراً.
وأكدت البجاري أن 'البنك أجّل طبع فئة المائة ألف دينار إلى إشعار آخر، لحين انتهاء مشروع طباعة فئة الخمسين ألف دينار'.
Parliamentary sources and others close to the Iraqi Central Bank, said that a government committee concluded that a competent decision new cash paper currency printing of fifty thousand dinars category ($ 42), in light of the challenges facing the Iraqi dinar and the strength of local and global market.
She said a member of the Committee of Economy in Parliament, Nora Albjara, in a press conference on Wednesday that a specialized committee formed from the central bank, decided to cancel the idea to delete the zeros of the coins from the category of thousand dinars and 10 thousand dinars; as an option taken previously to combat inflation, and the challenges of the Iraqi currency, and that because of market instability and put the dinar, which itself is under continuous declines against the dollar.
She Albjara, the Committee decided instead to print a new financial category worth fifty thousand dinars. The highest category of cash in Iraq is twenty-five thousand dinars paper, known red paper.
And suffering Iraqi citizens, private traders, the question of buying and selling, where usually carry three large bags of Iraqi currency cash to buy a mid-priced car.
And requires the purchase of a TV at a price of half a million dinars tote bag or an average citizen to own a large enclave, he can put the money from him if the amount of class thousand dinars or 250 dinars cash currency.
Albjara confirmed that the 'Bank for printed hundred thousand dinars category until further notice, until the end of print the fifty thousand dinars class project'.
Silver Mine Supply Is Running Out of Steam...In 2015, silver demand should tick higher
WSJ 8:33 am ET
May 6, 201
After 12 straight years of gains, global silver production is expected to fall in 2015 as lower prices take a toll.
Silver mine production rose 5% in 2014 to reach 877.5 million ounces, the 12th successive gain and a new record, according to the World Silver Survey, published by industry lobby group The Silver Institute and metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS.
But this year will see silver output decline amid a dearth of new mines and as aging operations see their production fall, the report said.
“We’re just not seeing the investment in new mine capacity that would be needed to sustain continued record peak production,” said Andrew Leyland, an analyst with GFMS who worked on the report.
Falling silver prices are behind the trend. Silver prices tumbled 20% in 2014, and fell 36% in 2013, exceeding the losses in gold and other precious metals. In the year through Tuesday silver prices rose 6.2% but remain close to the five-year low of $15.365 a troy ounce set in March.
Read entire story, http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/05/06/silver-mine-supply-is-running-out-of-steam/
BACK STORY
Dr. Raymond E. Lombra, Professor of Economics at Penn State University, has just completed another evaluation of data on the performance of rare American coins over the past 36 years. Previously, Professor Lombra had conducted a similar analysis for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. House and Senate.
2014 Findings
Over a 36 year period, high-end rare gold coins are the place to be. It is quality that counts. Always choose quality rare coins over a truck full of lesser metals. Rarity breeds success in this market. High-end rare gold coins can not only outperform stocks, but prove to be a great addition to an investment portfolio.
Over the best three-year period, Professor Lombra found that, far and away, rare gold coins were the place to be. High-end rare gold coins outperformed all other assets classes during their best three years.
The best one-year performance vehicle data showed staggering results for rare coins. Nothing else came close.
The results continue to suggest that over the longer run, including rare U.S. coins within an existing portfolio could improve investment performance.
Most importantly, when compared to stocks, rare coins are less volatile/risky without sacrificing overall return.
Information and People For Diligent Outcomes
COMPARE:
May 6, 201
After 12 straight years of gains, global silver production is expected to fall in 2015 as lower prices take a toll.
Silver mine production rose 5% in 2014 to reach 877.5 million ounces, the 12th successive gain and a new record, according to the World Silver Survey, published by industry lobby group The Silver Institute and metals consultancy Thomson Reuters GFMS.
But this year will see silver output decline amid a dearth of new mines and as aging operations see their production fall, the report said.
“We’re just not seeing the investment in new mine capacity that would be needed to sustain continued record peak production,” said Andrew Leyland, an analyst with GFMS who worked on the report.
Falling silver prices are behind the trend. Silver prices tumbled 20% in 2014, and fell 36% in 2013, exceeding the losses in gold and other precious metals. In the year through Tuesday silver prices rose 6.2% but remain close to the five-year low of $15.365 a troy ounce set in March.
Read entire story, http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/05/06/silver-mine-supply-is-running-out-of-steam/
BACK STORY
Dr. Raymond E. Lombra, Professor of Economics at Penn State University, has just completed another evaluation of data on the performance of rare American coins over the past 36 years. Previously, Professor Lombra had conducted a similar analysis for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. House and Senate.
2014 Findings
Over a 36 year period, high-end rare gold coins are the place to be. It is quality that counts. Always choose quality rare coins over a truck full of lesser metals. Rarity breeds success in this market. High-end rare gold coins can not only outperform stocks, but prove to be a great addition to an investment portfolio.
Over the best three-year period, Professor Lombra found that, far and away, rare gold coins were the place to be. High-end rare gold coins outperformed all other assets classes during their best three years.
The best one-year performance vehicle data showed staggering results for rare coins. Nothing else came close.
The results continue to suggest that over the longer run, including rare U.S. coins within an existing portfolio could improve investment performance.
Most importantly, when compared to stocks, rare coins are less volatile/risky without sacrificing overall return.
Information and People For Diligent Outcomes
Gold and Silver Buying Opportunities Direct from
OUTPOST PROVISIONING (while supplies last)
COMPARE:
- Pre 33 Gold Saint Gaudens NGC MS64 @ $1500.00 (subject to change) versus prices of $1,626.00 and $1704.00 from two major suppliers.
- "Junk Silver" US Coins, $1000 Face Value (.715 troy oz.) $13,500.00 (subject to change) versus prices of $15,500.00 from a major supplier.
- Gold Bars 1 toz. $1,210.00 (subject to change) versus prices of $1,227.00 and $1,234.00 from two major suppliers.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Will You Be Ready For The IMF October Surprise?
On or around October 20th of this year, the International Monetary Fund is expected to make an announcement that could throw the financial markets into turmoil and trigger a transfer of wealth that pales in comparison to anything the past three or more decades.
The approximate date and nature of the announcement was revealed recently by someone with access to the IMF's meeting schedule.
Twice a decade, the executive board of the IMF meets to reassess the world's major reserve currencies…and the IMF control the world’s reserve currencies...
And during the week of October 19,2015, it is believed that the IMF will reveal to the world a NEW reserve currency…
The announcement will trigger a chain reaction throughout the financial markets and billions and trillions of dollars will begin moving around the globe – some assets will crash and burn and some with scream to the moon.
Seldom do opportunities come along with the potential of being a worldwide transformable market event So...read the PDF and stand by for more information.
Read more at https://sites.google.com/site/outpostprovisioningintranet/investment-information?pli=1
Coming Soon!
How To Take Advantage of The October Surprise by Acting Now!
Information and People For Diligent Outcomes
IMF says may agree on $800mn loan to Iraq in weeks
Iraq has requested financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and agreement may be reached within weeks on a loan of about $800 million (529 million pounds), a senior IMF official said.
Iraqi finances have been hit hard by the plunge of oil prices since last year as well as by the Islamic State insurgency. The government has projected a budget deficit of about $25 billion this year, in a budget of some $100 billion.
Aid from the IMF could ease the pressure and by increasing investor confidence, help Iraq raise money from other sources. Baghdad has said it plans to issue $5 billion of debt in its first international bond sale for nine years.
"Teams will work on the issue in coming weeks. We hope we can reach a conclusion relatively soon," Masood Ahmed, Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, said in an interview.
Ahmed said the aid would probably come in the form of a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and would be "relatively small, about $800 million or so".
An RFI is a facility created by the IMF to provide quick financial assistance and economic policy advice to member countries with urgent balance of payments needs. An RFI loan should be repaid within 3-1/4 to five years, according to the IMF's website.
The RFI might pave the way in the longer term for a larger IMF lending programme for Iraq, if that were needed, Ahmed added. Such a programme could involve more extensive economic policy commitments by Baghdad.
Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters last week that Baghdad would obtain a sovereign credit rating to facilitate the bond issue. The government has also introduced or is planning measures including a local currency bond issue to banks, taxes on some consumer goods, and public wage cuts.
Source, https://www.zawya.com/story/IMF_says_may_agree_on_USD800m_loan_to_Iraq_in_weeks-ZAWYA20150506081950/
Iraqi finances have been hit hard by the plunge of oil prices since last year as well as by the Islamic State insurgency. The government has projected a budget deficit of about $25 billion this year, in a budget of some $100 billion.
Aid from the IMF could ease the pressure and by increasing investor confidence, help Iraq raise money from other sources. Baghdad has said it plans to issue $5 billion of debt in its first international bond sale for nine years.
"Teams will work on the issue in coming weeks. We hope we can reach a conclusion relatively soon," Masood Ahmed, Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, said in an interview.
Ahmed said the aid would probably come in the form of a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) and would be "relatively small, about $800 million or so".
An RFI is a facility created by the IMF to provide quick financial assistance and economic policy advice to member countries with urgent balance of payments needs. An RFI loan should be repaid within 3-1/4 to five years, according to the IMF's website.
The RFI might pave the way in the longer term for a larger IMF lending programme for Iraq, if that were needed, Ahmed added. Such a programme could involve more extensive economic policy commitments by Baghdad.
Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters last week that Baghdad would obtain a sovereign credit rating to facilitate the bond issue. The government has also introduced or is planning measures including a local currency bond issue to banks, taxes on some consumer goods, and public wage cuts.
Source, https://www.zawya.com/story/IMF_says_may_agree_on_USD800m_loan_to_Iraq_in_weeks-ZAWYA20150506081950/
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