France is now proposing that all emails and data leaving the EU should be taxed. This is their response to the NSA. Meanwhile, Europe has backed off and allows Google and Facebook to share all info with the NSA refusing to protect European citizens at least until 2015.

In Germany, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat have decided to increase the VAT on silver coins and bullion. From January 1st onward, the tax on silver coins in Germany will jump from 7% to 19%. This new tax rate applies to silver bullion coins as well as collector coins. The change in the VAT rate […]

QUESTION: Martin, why do you often talk out of both sides of your mouth about Gold?  You might say Gold can go to $12,000 per ounce, but it is headed to $600 first. Isn’t gold in permanent backwardation?  I believe the previous record for Gold backwardation was 3 days near major lows, but aren’t we […]

QUESTION: Your insight into the Saudi’s supplying the chemical weapons and arms to the Syrian Rebels long before anyone even had a hint of that was astonishing. I recently met someone in London who worked at your City Office. He said even Margaret Thatcher would ask you what was really going on in Russia. He […]

The Debt Ceiling Crisis has done far more damage than anyone suspects. It has drawn attention to the Sovereign Debt Crisis by highlighting the national debt and then the “Conservatives” are targeting the Republicans who voted to end the shutdown. While it may be admirable that someone is trying to address the debt crisis, shutting […]

Britain is privatizing the Royal Mail because the internet has reduced the use of mail for letters. The workers are striking as always trying to freeze the economy in one place. Packages are still required, but things are changing drastically. The bulk of mail these days in the USA is junk mail. The Post Office […]

France goes out of its way to fight the Business Cycle in every aspect. They are now seeking to enact the Anti-Amazon law, who some have regarded as the destroyer of book stores. It may be true that Amazon and the internet in general is contributing to the change in the economy from eliminating local […]

  My father was a lawyer. I studied law. When you do, you are not taught how to OBEY the law, but really how to GET AROUND IT without violating the “letter of the law”. The reason I am being hard on lawyers here is simple. They are trained in the law and assume if […]

    U.S. agents have shut down what became known as the Silk Road Bitcoin Site where hackers and drug dealers sold their illegal wares using Bitcoins, and arrested founder Ross William Ulbricht this week on charges of money laundering, conspiracy to commit drug trafficking and other crimes. The government is after Bitcoin and focus on […]

The Federalization of Europe is underway. One day after the elections, the ECB is already dictating that they are taking over supervision of banks and are hiring 1,000 to 2,000 people to monitor 130 banks. Deutsche Bank, in the meantime, has come out and advised Germans to short the Euro and go to the dollar. […]