Like Lehman Brothers before it, Cyprus may well come to be seen not so much as the cause of further crisis but as yet another symptom of the ‘long emergency’ that continues to suffocate the western economies. We would describe this emergency as, fundamentally, an inevitable crisis triggered by an unsustainable explosion of credit; western banks and western governments are now like Macbet... read more

I had the chance yesterday to speak with Fernando Aguirre, author of a book entitled, “Surviving The Economic Collapse“,  based on his first-h... read more

Global investors had to muster the courage to keep calm as news of Cyprus’ proposed partial theft of all bank deposits took Wall Street by surprise, closed the country’s banks and drove the price of gold higher. The idea was intended to capture a portion of the $31 billion in bank assets held by Russians. According to the Financial Times, Cyprus has developed a “well-earned reputation... read more

The monthly figures for the US dollar components of Austrian, or True Money Supply, for February are now in. TMS plus excess reserves amount to the quantity of money that can be drawn down without notice, including time deposits that in practice can be instantly drawn down without notice, only foregoing interest. This is shown in the long-term chart below. read more

IN 2013, we find many financial markets around the world still immersed in the depths of an economic crisis. A crisis that will see central banks in battles amongst themselves, going forward into the year. Today's unbacked fiat currencies are at the root of an emerging global monetary problem. While the talk of "recovery" in recent months now populates headlines, the desperate actions of po... read more

Germans are right to be worried about their savings because the euro bailouts will make most of them poorer in the long term -- through higher inflation and lower payouts from life insurance and pension schemes. Why can't crisis-hit nations follow the Cypriot example and make rich depositors pay a share? Nearly half of all Germans fear for their savings -- and with good reas... read more

Any currency in a monetary system is a fabricated construct. A simpler way to explain this is to say it has value simply because we believe it does. Through the centuries – in historic cultures like that of Yap Island who used giant, immovable stone disks for commerce, to today's United States, whose Dollar fiat currency exists primarily in digital form – ... read more

(Reuters) - Cyprus reached a last-ditch deal with international lenders on a 10 billion euro ($13 billion) rescue plan to avoid economic meltdown, agreeing to close down its second-largest bank and inflict heavy losses on big depositors. The agreement came hours before a deadline to avert a collapse of the banking system in fraught negotiations between President Nicos Anastasiades and heads... read more

Today Egon von Greyerz, who spoke with King World News from Switzerland, warned that the global financial system could fail at any time now. Greyerz, who is founder of Matterhorn Asset Management, also said the Cyprus disaster is now set to engulf the world. Below is what Greyerz had to say in this remarkable interview: Greyerz: “Eric, Cyprus is a momentous event. Losses could be in the te... read more

“The returns of cash are terrible. So as a result of that, what we have is a lot of money in a place — and it needed to go there to make up for the contraction in credit — but a lot of money that is getting a very bad return. That, in this particular year, in my opinion, will shift. And the complexion of the world will change as that money goes from cash into other things. ” — Ray�... read more