It really does feel as though Christmas is being used an excuse not to do anything! Volumes have been poor for a while but recent trading questions whether we really need to open five days a week. No-one expected the BOJ to light the fuse and that was reflected in todays price movement. Early losses […]

QUESTION: I loved your mention of how our money is not “printed”. You are THE ONLY financial expert to mention this. And you can’t understand our economy without understanding Electronic Money. I researched this 3 or four years ago and came up with, .003 physical currency vs the rest as Electronic Money. I later stumbled […]

  Its that time of year again, when volumes are less than comfortable and many just working half-days. We saw a mixed Asian response to the US tax reforms, but to be fair we have seen plenty of upside already. Most core indices edged lower even with currency also losing ground. The Nikkei did managed […]

Trying to actually use Bitcoin in the economy is anything but something that will replace any government currency. The transaction fees are outrageous typically 3 to 4 times that of a cash withdraw from an ATM. In this video, a journalist tries to actually use Bitcoin. The pizza ends up costing him $76.16 and the fee […]

We saw a bit of a rebound in Asia today, after yesterdays decline. Shanghai and Hang Seng both up around 1%, Shanghai outperforming the HSI. Markets were keen to see rallies for the US markets and especially ahead of the much expected FED rate rise, due later today. We are seeing yields in US treasuries […]

The EU is now developing strict rules for carrying cash when traveling to non-European countries and returning to Europe. The revision of the First Cash Control Regulation from 2005, which stipulated that EU citizens should register cash in excess of € 10,000 when leaving the EU or when returning to the customs authorities have to, […]

A strong session from Asia to open the week with Hang Seng and Shanghai both higher by 1%. Having seen a brief wobble at the start of trading, the move was quickly rejected and we traded from strength to strength. Energy, Tech and Financials were the leaders for the day with volumes actually increasing slightly […]

QUESTION: You have said that coins were still fiat and not tangible hard money. Nobody else has said that. Can you support that statement? DS ANSWER: Of course. During the American Colonial period, there was a shortage of silver in particular in Britain. The British imposed restrictions on what coins could be used to pay […]

Asia started where the US markets off and confidence ahead of payrolls Friday, a government shut-down averted and hopes riding high for a BREXIT deal – which ran on the back of Sterling’s strength. For the Nikkei it felt important that we saw a 1.5% rally today taking us back to returning a roughly flat […]

The Trump Tax Reform is a very major deal. There are seven brackets in today’s individual tax code. The Senate version of the Trump Reform is not a windfall for the rich lowering their bracket from 39.6% to just 38.5%. The seven tax brackets currently are: 10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%, and 39.6%.  Changes […]