Opinion: Moscow and the Scarecrow of World War III
The Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying that ground intervention in Syria could result in a third world war at the Munich conference. Despite the seriousness of this statement, no one paid any attention to him because…
Takara: A Bitcoin Geocaching Game
Here’s another Bitcoin gem: Takara One of the things I like to do with my kids is to go geocaching, a game where you get the geolocation and a set of clues for a hidden treasure and then go looking…
UBS Hedge Fund Leverage Drops to 2009 Lows
“ We see six signs of capitulation flows data,” begins UBS’s weekly European Flow Watch research note sent to clients yesterday. According to the bank’s analysts, the six signs of capitulation in European equity markets in European equity markets are:…
Negative interest rates, explained
Negative interest rates might sound boring but they’re a hot topic among central bankers and market watchers right now. Below-zero rates started in 2009 when Sweden’s Riksbank became the first central bank in the world to push interest rates into…
What Happens When a Country Takes an IMF Loan
Immediately on assuming power in mid-2013, the government rushed for an IMF loan to stave off a default when depleting foreign exchange reserves of US $11 billion covered less than six weeks of imports. The reserves now stand at around…
Author of Upcoming Blockchain Book awarded Order of Canada
One of Canada’s most innovative intellectuals has been awarded one of the country’s most respected civilian honours. Don Tapscott, whose writing in such books as 1997’s The Digital Economy foresaw the drastic change the Internet would wreak on business and…
We should be so lucky as to have China’s crash
E-commerce has taken a stronger hold in China than in most major economies. Walt Disney Co.’s $5.5 billion (U.S.) investment in doubling the size of a Disneyland Shanghai, which will re-open in June, is a bet that China’s current tourism…
Market Flight To Gold Has Even Mark Cuban ‘Confused’
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban says the recent turmoil in global markets that has sent stocks plummeting around the world has him baffled and moving money into gold. The Shark Tank host revealed Thursday that he bought a good deal of…
Korean Bank Partners with Bitcoin Service for Remittances
For a change, it seems like a bank investigating blockchain tech might be getting it right. CoinDesk is reporting that Kookmin Bank in South Korea is linking up with Coinplug, a services company that has regularly been raising investment funds…
The World Is Turning Japanese [Chart]
The World Is Turning Japanese [Chart] Nearly a year ago, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda described the unlikely inspiration behind Japan’s unprecedented monetary stimulus: Peter Pan. I trust that many of you are familiar with the story of Peter…