Free Republic

After a big flop with Chrysler, Cerberus finally has a winner on its hands. Even better, right-wing gun nuts have another shot at profits. I can’t wait. Baltimore – I live in a neighborhood where guns are common. I like it that way. Last night, the lady of the house and I decided to enjoy what may be one of the last warm evenings of the year on the East Coast by taking a short hike along the river that flows just two miles from our front door. While meandering along the water and dodging groundhog holes, we heard the...

Deutsche Bank and other financial institutions manage complex funds that buy up Americans' life insurance policies and pay their premiums in return for their payouts. But angry German investors are finding that Americans aren't dying as quickly as expected -- and that only the bankers are making a buck. snip -

The US banking system will lose some 1,000 institutions over the next two years, said John Kanas, whose private equity firm bought BankUnited of Florida in May. “We’ve already lost 81 this year,” he told CNBC. “The numbers are climbing every day. Many of these institutions nobody’s ever heard of. They're smaller companies.” Failed banks tend to be smaller and private, which exacerbates the problem for small business borrowers, said Kanas, who became CEO of BankUnited when his firm bought the bank and is the former chairman and CEO of North Fork bank. “Government money has propped up the very...

Iran has unveiled plans to invest around $75 billion in its two major gas fields by 2015 to exploit their huge undeveloped reserves. Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seyfollah Jashnsaz said that the country would finance a $40 billion investment in the South Pars gas field in a five-year plan to produce some 28 billion cubic meters of gas annually from the field. Iran and Qatar share the largest gas field in the world in the Persian Gulf, where the Iranian part is divided into 24 phases. Jashnsaz also noted that a $25-billion investment is planned...

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) is proposing a “windfall” tax be levied on “so-called retirement accounts.” “Who has the wherewithal to put money into these types of accounts?” Pelosi rhetorically asked. “I’ll tell you who—the rich. With unemployment soaring and businesses facing bankruptcy, people who can afford to put money into an IRA or 401k obviously have more than they need. Such selfishness must not be permitted to stand in the way of the President’s goal of equalizing incomes.” Pelosi characterized IRAs and 401ks as “tax dodges” rather than retirement plans. “Social Security is the nation’s...

I think it is great that one of CNBCs most popular commentators is creating a segment on how to "Obama Proof" your portfolio. First pick, get out of the US and buy BHP due to growth in China

Sorry to post this vanity, but I was wondering what investment ideas people had in our changing country. I'm relatively young, have a little 401K, or 201K money, and am seriously considering putting a major amount of it in a fund that tracks the price of oil. It seems like the with such a business unfriendly environment, the old investment rules may not apply anymore. Any thoughts?

More than 100 members of Congress—past and present—as well as congressional campaign committees and the national parties benefited from political donations from the political action committee or employees of Stanford Financial Group since 2000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm’s head, R. Allen Stanford, on Tuesday with orchestrating a $8 billion fraud. Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal reported on Stanford’s status as an “international cricket sponsor, Washington political donor and private banker to Latin America’s wealthy.” President Barack Obama was the third-ranking recipient among lawmakers, with $31,750 collected from company employees during...

CNBC's Rick Santelli this morning at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange With tongue only partially in cheek, a CNBC analyst on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange this morning responded to President Obama's proposed $275 billion deficit-financed homeowner bailout plan and other massive spending measures with a call for a new "tea party." Rick Santelli, in a nearly three-minute rant that drew approving hoots and comments from nearby traders, said the Obama administration's promotion of bad behavior must be causing the founding fathers to roll over in their graves. "We're thinking of having a Chicago Tea Party in July," Santelli...

With job losses continuing to mount, tens of thousands of laid-off workers are now turning to their 401(k)'s, IRA accounts and other retirement savings to keep their families afloat. However, individuals considering a premature distribution from their retirement savings should be wary, know their options, and develop a strategy before withdrawing from these accounts. If they don't, they may find themselves subject to a larger than necessary tax burden. Most individuals are aware that ...

Gold demand has risen to 3,659 tons: WGC Commodity Online LONDON: The global economic meltdown has propelled a surge in demand for gold jewellery, bars and coins that the demand for the yellow metal has risen to touch 3,659 tons, says a new report from the World Gold Council (WGC). The Gold Demand Trends, compiled for WGC by GFMS Limited said that investment demand for gold, including gold exchange traded funds (ETFs), bars and coins, was 64% higher in 2008 than in 2007. ”This is equivalent to an additional inflow of $US15 billion. Demand for gold bars and gold coins...

As reported at Socialist Worker.org, a Communist website: Socialistworker.org February 9, 2009 STUDENTS AT the University of Rochester (UR) and their supporters from the community occupied a campus building February 6 in solidarity with the victims of Israel's siege of Gaza--and in a matter of half a day declared victory after winning important concessions from the administration. The university agreed to a public forum to discuss UR's financial policies, and its investments in Israel and companies that do business in Israel. It also promised support for a campus-wide fund drive for Palestine, donations to Gaza of surplus supplies, and international...

One day in the early 1960s, Arnold Gingrich, Esquire magazine's founder and editor-in-chief, phoned his stockbroker with an unusual request: Gingrich needed a cashier's check for $12,000 right away. Would the broker please sell some of Gingrich's stocks? The stockbroker complied. But when it came time to hand over the check, the broker said to Gingrich, only half-jokingly, "I hope you haven't gotten some girl in trouble." Gingrich assured his broker that that was not the case, but declined to reveal why he needed such an amount—$84,953.73 in 2008 dollars. Months later, Gingrich encountered his broker at a social function....

I actually started looking at because Mrs. FD said she wanted to buy some Mexican Centinenarios (not a good idea IMHO -- you lose too much value from raw gold prices). But that started me looking at gold in general and gold bullion. Historically, gold had done pretty well -- it doubled in the last 5 years and even went up bout 20% in the 5 years before (not bad but a portfolio that did that well would b well-regarded indeed). Has anyone here invested directly in bullion (I am too fiscally conservative to mess with futures and the like)?...

The Obama administration backed off Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s statement last week that China is “manipulating” its currency. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden said the administration has made “no judgment” on whether the Chinese have manipulated their currency, an accusation that would have international legal ramifications. “The policy of this administration is going to be to say to China, which occasionally the last administration was reluctant to do. `You're a major player on the world scene economically, and you've got to play by the rules that

It is hard to believe, but a majority of Americans (including Christians and conservatives) seem oblivious to the fact that there is a very real, very legitimate New World Order (NWO) unfolding. In the face of overwhelming evidence, most Americans not only seem totally unaware of this reality, they seem unwilling to even remotely entertain the notion. On one hand, it is understandable that so many Americans would be ignorant of the emerging New World Order. After all, the mainstream media refuses to report, or even acknowledge, the NWO. Even "conservative" commentators and talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh,...

I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich’s testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus money. The Berkeley professor engaged in academic fantasy land talk about getting all the cash out to workers as quickly as possible — a pipe dream debunked by the CBO report I mentioned in my column yesterday. Even more noteworthy, however, were the comments Reich made about which workers deserve the stimulus bucks most. Reich’s proposal exposes the lie that the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic infrastructure for the good of the economy. No, what...

An 82-year-old businessman was charged Thursday with running a Ponzi scheme that took in at least $17 million from a clientele gleaned largely through ads in Catholic newspapers. Richard Piccoli of suburban Buffalo declined to comment after appearing in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with mail fraud. He was ordered to return Tuesday for arraignment. He could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, moved to freeze the assets of Piccoli and his 33-year-old company, Gen-See Capital Corp. Investigators said Piccoli guaranteed annual returns...

Our society tends to see things as black and white, good and bad, and, economically speaking, rich and poor. Like the small town in the Old West, we see the economy as a zero-sum game; there’s only room in this town for one sheriff. This type of thinking promotes the idea that if you are making money, you are taking money. And if you have money, you made someone else poor. The sheriff, in this case, the financial regulator, rides in with a pen and paper a’blazing to try to right the wrongs of this limited economic vision. But, the...

Corporate bonds will be among next year’s best investments as real estate and equity markets remain in the doldrums, the chief executive of Mashreq Capital has said. “Things have fallen down to levels where it is difficult to think that they could really get a lot lower,” Abdul Kadir Hussain said of the region’s debt markets. “In that environment, where interest rates and volatility are likely to stay low, you can easily get 10, 12, or 15 percent total return on the blue chip, stronger names.” Kadir believes an economic recovery will start in the second half of the year,...

Is the author of this complaint any relation to Madoff. They appear to have the same last name.

The New York Times is criticizing Ave Maria Mutual Funds, whose Web site promises “smart investing and Catholic values.� Now, I'm not getting into the merits of the company which I don't know. I don't have the money to do much investing anyway. But the Times Editorial Staff used a little story about Ave Maria as a jumping off point to make a political point about the Church. Ave Maria says it is designed for people who want to put their money “in companies that do not violate core teachings of the Catholic Church.� It says it screens companies using...

Doing the kind of investigative reporting we should expect from the major media, a financial research and consulting firm has released a major analysis of the “credit crisis” that concludes that the claims made by Treasury Department Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to justify a socialist takeover of the financial industry were demonstrably false. The analysis, Flawed Assumptions about the Credit Crisis: A Critical Examination of US Policymakers,concludes that the result of the unjustified massive federal intervention in the economy could be similar to the economic crisis in the Weimar Republic of 1922, where disastrous hyperinflation...

I am often asked what is the best or safest way to get exposure to precious metals. To be sure, there is a dizzying array of options from owning and storing the physical metal yourself to buying junior mining stocks. But the current crisis of confidence, brought on by the collapse of institutions that nobody thought could fail and the most recent $50 billion Ponzi scheme, has investors looking at safety and wealth preservation more than ever. Buying physical gold and silver gives the owner definite possession, but comes with high premiums and the necessity to store and protect the...

As startling as a $50 billion Ponzi scheme is, more staggering has to be the SEC's failure to catch the scheme years ago...Harry Markopolos, who years ago worked for a rival firm, is a money manger and a fraud investigator, wrote to the SEC in 1999 about Madoff after researching Madoff's supposed stock-options strategy and was convinced the results likely weren't real. "Madoff Securities is the world's largest Ponzi Scheme," Markopolos, wrote in his 1999 letter to the SEC..Markopolos didn't stop there. He pursued his accusations over the past nine years, dealing with both the New York and Boston bureaus...

Over the next year, the U.S. government will need to borrow somewhere in the neighborhood of $1 trillion, the most ever by far. Estimates go as high as $2 trillion, depending on how quickly the economy cools and how fast tax revenues fall. The simple question most of America has not asked is this: Where is the money going to come from? The federal government already knows the answer to that question, and it has implications Americans are not ready for but will soon be faced with. America is going cap in hand to Middle East oil exporters. What government...

AugustReview.com [Editor's note: members of the Trilateral Commission and companies with Commission representation appear in bold type.] Since 1973, this writer has made inquiry as to the location and ownership of the vast stores of monetary gold (400 oz., .999 pure bars) in the world. There has not been a formal audit on Fort Knox, for instance, since the Eisenhower administration. Official statistics on gold holdings are often contradictory. Getting plain answers from any Central Bank in the world, including the Fed, is virtually impossible. This paper points out a pattern of manipulation that has been clearly observed by many...

BEIJING (AFP) – China's top envoy to high-level economic talks with the United States urged Washington Thursday to make sure Chinese investments in the US economy were safe. "We hope the US side will adopt every necessary measure to stabilise its economy and financial markets and ensure the safety of China's assets and investment in the United States," Vice Premier Wang Qishan said. He made the remark in prepared comments at the start of two days of Sino-US economy talks in Beijing that he is co-chairing with US Treasury chief Henry Paulson. At the end of September, China officially became...

A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts. Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily IZVESTIA published on Monday: "The dollar is not secured by anything. The country's foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only...

Shariah-compliant banking, sometimes called Islamic banking, is growing in popularity in the Western and Islamic worlds. But critics say American interest in the system at a time of economic crisis is opening the door to increased Islamic influence in the American banking system. Worse yet, some fear the banks may be helping to finance international terrorism. In Shariah-compliant banking, lenders may not charge interest and investors cannot make money from forbidden industries like gambling, alcohol, pork and pornography. Selling debt, devising derivatives and short selling are also prohibited, and investments must be closely tied to actual assets. In the U.S.,...

Democrats in the U.S. House have been conducting hearings on proposals to confiscate workers' personal retirement accounts - including 401(k)s and IRAs - and convert them to accounts managed by the Social Security Administration. Triggered by the financial crisis the past two months, the hearings reportedly were meant to stem losses incurred by many workers and retirees whose 401(k) and IRA balances have been shrinking rapidly. The testimony of Teresa Ghilarducci, professor of economic policy analysis at the New School for Social Research in New York, in hearings Oct. 7 drew the most attention and criticism. Testifying for the House...

Washington, DC: A new interfaith, bipartisan coalition of public policy organizations, human rights activists and religious groups, the Coalition to Stop Shariah, will hold a press conference Thursday morning, November 6, to challenge the U.S. Treasury Department’s sponsorship of a training seminar for government employees on managing U.S. financial assets in compliance with Shariah Law. Shariah Compliant Finance is a program that has been described by its leading practitioners as “financial jihad” against the United States. Leading members of the Coalition will be holding a press conference at the National Press Club’s West Room at 10:00 a.m. They will be...

This logic, the cardinal said, "was till now that of maximum gain, and therefore the most investments possible directed toward obtaining maximum benefit. And this, according to the social doctrine of the Church, is immoral," since the market "should be able to benefit not just those who invest capital, but also those who participate in the step of making it grow, that is, those who work."

For those who don't know, here's what it is in a nutshell: Employee 401k contribution are automatically deducted from their paycheck each pay period. This money is taken out before the employees paycheck is taxed. The contributions are invested at the employees direction into one or more funds provided in the plan. Employers often "match" employee contributions, but are not required to do so. While the investments grow in the employees 401k account, they do not pay any taxes on it. The individual is using his or her property to ensure a prosperous future before the government has a chance...

At 60, retirement slips away By J.D. MULLANE Staff Writer His pension jeopardized, his 401(k) savings sliced in half by roiling markets, Walt O’Connor is a man in crisis. At 60, retirement has slipped from his grasp. “Been doing a lot of thinking about my situation,” he said, as we sipped coffee in the kitchen of his Croydon home. “There’s my real life savings, there.” He pointed to a wall. On it — a framed photograph of his five smiling children. “I guess I forgot what’s important,” he said. He is barely able to speak for about a minute. “I’ve...

My wife wants to own at least $10,000 of gold. She has never trusted stocks much, and recent events have made her more concerned. I have told her about the Gold ETF (symbol: GLD) and about gold futures contracts, but she does not want "paper". So I suppose we could buy gold coins or gold bullion and store it in a bank safe deposit box or a safe at home. How do the Freepers who invest in gold do it? How do you sell when the time comes? We are of Indian origin. Indians (especially women) cherish gold. As India...

OK - the markets are crashing. Things are not going to get better no matter what the government does. I think there are three scenarios in the next 1-5 years. ---------- Scenario 1: We have a hard recession. Stocks to start (slowly) getting into would be: 1. Little to no debt and well run 2. Are profitable 3. Make or produce things people want no matter what 4. Pay a nice dividend 5. OR Bonds that are safe and pay a nice dividend (like munis in well run states) This would include energy, food, tobacco, alcohol and minerals (gold, silver,...

Swedish clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz has been given the all clear to open an outlet on the swish shopping street Champs-Élysées. H & M beat off the vociferous objections of Paris city council. France's top administrative court, the State Council, rejected an appeal by Paris city council which moved in January to block a store licence granted to the retailer, according to deputy Paris mayor Lyne Cohen-Solal. "We are completely powerless" to stop the spread of big chain stores on what is touted as the most beautiful avenue in the world, she said. The city has now exhausted all...

With the economy and money and the preoccupation (along with their veneration) joining the ranks of other "dark signs of the times" I offer this little glimmer of insightful light. Contrary to the delusional adage: "You can't take it with you" --- quite to the contrary --- we most certainly can, and do, take it with us. That is, our money, but more precisely, "our greed for money". Or, to use the more universal and timeless wording for money as found in the Scriptures, - "silver and gold". So let it be known --- "WE CAN TAKE IT WITH US"...

I have inherited a coin collection, How do I go about getting info on the coins and appraised? I am in the process of trying to catalog and photograph the coins. Any info on who to contact or FReeper’s with this interest or knowledge,would be greatly appreciated. TW

As a long time market follower I am observing what is happening in the market with interest (and agony!). I have watched other downturns (2001, 1998, 1987) and read about others (1929). We all know that market panics are part factual and part psychological. In other panic periods, CNBC and other press outlets would roll out industry leaders such as Warren Buffett to calm the public. Where is the leadership today? Sure we have problems but remember the root of the problem – mortgages. Even if we recognize that banks made stupid loans, deadbeats took on mortgages that they had...

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- [The Reserve] has put a seven-day freeze on redemptions after the net asset value of [shares of its "Primary Fund"] fell below $1.

Ok, Barack wants to raise the capital gains tax from 15% To 20-28%. Last time I checked that's a minimum of a 33% INCREASE in your capital gains taxes per YEAR! You have got to be kidding me! That means if you make $10,000 in a given year on your hard-earned investments, you will pay an extra $3300. per year to help support the government and the wonderful programs that "support" your lifestyle and future existence. I for one, think this is the most idiotic plank that has ever laid over over any platform.

With yesterday's announcement of the most massive federal bailout of all time, it's now official: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage lenders on Earth, are bankrupt. Some Washington bigwigs and bureaucrats will inevitably try to spin it. They'll avoid the "b" word with vengeance. They'll push the "c" word (conservatorship) with passion. And in the newspeak of 21st century bailouts, they'll tell you "it all depends on what the definition of solvency is." The truth: Without their accounting smoke and mirrors, Fannie and Freddie have no capital. The government is seizing control of their operations. Their...

Jamie Dimon Goes Insane: "People Who Pass On Rumors Should Go To Jail"* Hilary Lewis | Jul 8, 2008 3:09 AM JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon is usually a font of wisdom, but if he actually means what he's quoted as saying on Charlie Rose, he has gone temporarily insane: Reuters: JP Morgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said U.S. regulators should investigate whether people betting on Bear Stearns' stock falling deliberately brought down the investment bank. "Where there is smoke, there's fire," Dimon said in an interview with Charlie Rose on PBS, televised on Monday. "I think...

AN AUSTRIAN man who lost a six-figure sum in bad investments has admitted killing five family members with an axe to spare them the "disgrace" of financial ruin. The 39-year-old public relations consultant, identified only as Reinhard S, walked into a Vienna police station at 3.20am yesterday, and told the duty officer: "In my apartment are my dead wife and my dead child." The man said that, after killing the two, he drove two hours to Linz, where he killed his father-in-law and his parents. After trying and failing to hang himself, he turned himself in. Vienna police confirmed the...

WASHINGTON - Cindy McCain, whose husband has been a critic of the violence in Sudan, sold off more than $2 million in mutual funds whose holdings include companies that do business in the African nation. The sale on Wednesday came after The Associated Press questioned the investments in light of calls by John McCain, the likely Republican presidential nominee, for international financial sanctions against the Sudanese leadership. Last year, at least four presidential candidates divested themselves of Sudan-related holdings. According to McCain's personal financial disclosure, Cindy McCain's investments include two mutual funds — American Funds Europacific Growth fund and American...

I have a theory that if you took all the money in the world and divided it equally among all the people's of the world, it would end up in the same pockets as it left 5-10 years from now. The rule here is that money goes where it can earn it's highest return and be guaranteed to return. That clearly isn't Wall Street. The sub prime stuff made the underwriters and issuers a fortune and the investors nothing. Investors like pension funds and super wealthy individuals have been there and done that and my sense is they are not...

The world is teetering on the edge of the worst recession for a generation, according to the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, the world’s third-largest sovereign wealth fund. Tony Tan, executive director of GIC, which has estimated assets of more than $300bn, told a global staff conference: “We could be facing a recession which is longer, deeper and wider than any recession that we have encountered in the last 30 years.” He added: “The financial and investment markets will be extremely nervous and volatile over the next one to two years. “Instead of the rising tide which [has] broadly benefited...

I was filling out my DuPont proxy this morning and came across a shareholder proposale regarding global warming. At first I rolled my eyes and then laughed when I read it. This proposal is right up the alley of any Freeper who doesn't believe in global warming. If you have Dupont common stock or know someone who does, tell them it and remember to vote YES on Proposal 4!