Free Republic

If nothing else, bitcoin was supposed to protect people from governments that were destroying their own currencies — governments such as Venezuela’s, where inflation is said to be somewhere around 49,000 percent right now. Lately though, bitcoin hasn’t fulfilled that mission. Not unless you think being down 81.6 percent, as bitcoin has been down since last December, counts as “protecting” you from the 99.6 percent losses you would have taken on your Venezuelan bolivar during that time. Which, if you do think that way, tells you more about the soft bigotry of crypto expectations than it does anything else. The...

I have a friend who is a genuine legend in the currency trading business. He retired last year, but before that we worked closely together at one of the largest hedge funds in the world where he was a founding partner. We were talking about politics early in the 2008 presidential campaign and he said that while he preferred a Republican for the well being of the country, the mercenary side of him could be content if the Democrat was elected as well. Hearing him say so really surprised me. My friend was a financial supporter of the “American Enterprise...

If any of you are currency traders,I'd appreciate a bit of information about the (Russian) ruble: Has anybody been "shorting" it of late ? If so, who (primarily)? Thanks for any help !

WASHINGTON -- In the 1988 Hollywood hit "Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis, a group of "terrorists" take over a Japanese banking institution in Los Angeles, hold hostages and make demands for release of "political prisoners." But it turns out the terrorists aren't really terrorists. They are bank robbers trying to make off with the fortune in the bank's vaults. Could it be Osama bin Laden has seen "Die Hard"? That is a question Scotland Yard and other law enforcement agencies are actually asking themselves following the July 7 London transit system attacks that killed 54 and injured scores more as...

Ok, I am frustrated. My 401K only offers twice a year changes in investment programs. I feel like a sitting duck. I am sitting here strongly desiring to create a hedge against the possibility of a severe attack occurring in the USA between now and the advent of Ramadan. I don't want to hear from dead enders or prophets, I want to hear from investors. My HarrisDirect account can purchase all sorts of investment products. I could go with straight shorting of stocks but I think I want to do a mixture of shorting, gold stock investing and investing in...