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Post by 3bid on May 3, 2016 19:09:53 GMT -5
TTIP-off? Greenpeace leaks confirm protesters weren't kicking up a fuss over nothing
Published time: 3 May, 2016 11:59 | RT
Is there anyone left who supports TTIP? After Monday’s leaks of the negotiation texts by Greenpeace which exposed the extent of US demands surrounding the deal, it’s doubtful. If there had been any remaining uncertainty over the dubiousness of the proposed US-EU trade agreement, the 248 pages of leaks have now removed it. TTIP was already controversial, but it may soon be the political hot potato that no one wants to touch.
Race to the bottom
The leaks reveal that the deal includes provisions which would allow American corporations to exert huge influence over European regulatory laws, potentially weakening public health and safety standards to fall more in line with those in the US. And the kicker? While the US would be granted all of this influence over EU law and standards, there would be “no guarantee of reciprocity.”
In practice the deal, if it was signed the way it stands, would give American companies much the same level of influence over and input into EU regulations as European companies have. If EU nations passed laws raising standards, American companies would be able to challenge them. If that seems like an arrangement that benefits one side more than the other, it’s because that’s exactly what TTIP is. No wonder some UK residents aren’t exactly delirious over the prospect of remaining part of an economic bloc that would consider a deal like that.
But the texts released by Greenpeace expose not only new demands, but efforts to fundamentally change the face of Europe’s basic safety standards, including “details of specific threats” like the “plan to end Europe’s ban on genetically modified foods.” It’s a race to the bottom on public health and safety, according to the director of Greenpeace EU.
In another particularly interesting revelation, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that Washington was threatening to block the easing of European car exports into the US in an effort to force the EU to buy more environmentally risky US farm produce.
And, if you were among those concerned about the effects of TTIP on previously agreed efforts to combat climate change, the Greenpeace leaks will have done nothing to mitigate your worries — as none of the 248 pages of leaks made any reference to the supposed global effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions, despite repeated assurances from the European Commission that this would be a top priority.
No deal?
The reasons for the secrecy surrounding these negotiations are now crystal clear. It’s not hard to decipher why the European Commission had placed a 30-year ban on public access to the key negotiating texts. If Europeans had known exactly what was being bartered over, there would have been even worse uproar. Now they do. It is a black mark on Western “transparency” and democracy that it was left to Greenpeace to provide the first real insight into how this trade agreement is being negotiated.
But what the leaks also reveal is that a deal is still nowhere near being done. The documents don’t represent a completed text, as Europe’s commissioner for trade Cecilia Malmstrom wrote in a blog post on Monday. They represent the negotiating positions of both sides. Malmstrom argues that this makes the “alarmist headlines” nothing more than “a storm in a teacup.” On that she is wrong. Huge divisions and sticking points may remain, but the fact that Europe could even consider “negotiating” around safety standards to benefit American companies is beyond comprehension and certainly newsworthy. Malmstrom vehemently denied that any trade deal would ever lower Europe’s level of consumer protections — and it was a pretty steadfast denial on the face of it.
Maybe her next blog post will see her admitting either that this was a lie, or that the deal is headed nowhere but the trash bin, because given what we know of the US’s negotiating tactics, it will be one or the other. You don’t negotiate with the exceptional nation and expect to come out with much to your name.
EU leaders had already been waning in their enthusiasm for a deal in recent weeks — a promising sign that perhaps there are still some things which Europe will refuse to be pushed around on. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls had previously warned that if TTIP did not preserve France’s quality of life, the chances of an agreement would fall. Germany’s economy minister has publicly called Washington out for refusing to make concessions. Looking at the fallout from these leaks, it wouldn’t be surprising if that theme continued.
The bogeyman cometh once again
Unfortunately, this is the point at which I must again mention Vladimir Putin. My apologies for the seeming irrelevance; but the powers that be simply refuse to leave him out of anything at all. Anyway, apparently he hates TTIP — which obviously, is a reason for you to love it. James Stavridis, former NATO supreme allied commander, dedicated a whole article to this in 2014. As yet another attempt to fear-monger by casting Putin as a winner or loser in something, it obviously misfired because it’s highly unlikely that any of the hundreds of thousands who have in recent months taken to the streets over TTIP, actually give a toss what Putin thinks of it. Not that this would stop the deal’s few fans from doing their utmost to involve him in the debate regardless. In April, Judy Dempsey, editor of the Strategic Europe blog at Carnegie Europe, decided to have a go herself.
A weakened transatlantic partnership is “to Russia’s benefit,” she says, and TTIP will strengthen that partnership. This is rather strange because the transatlantic partnership had been going pretty strong there for a good while without TTIP. But now, Dempsey warns, the debate has been “hijacked” by a “highly organized” anti-TTIP campaign tinged with “anti-Americanism.” Imagine the horror of highly organized protesters marching against a deal they believed would harm their democracy. Abominable indeed. But it’s all Putin’s fault, because Russia is running a “sophisticated propaganda campaign that does everything to publicize populist and [Eurosceptic] movements and anti-US sentiments.”
Only 17 percent of Germans and 18 percent of Americans think TTIP is a good thing — and it’s nothing to do with it being a corporate power grab that spells bad news for both Europeans and Americans. No, no. It’s all because of Putin’s propaganda.
A friend of mine who hasn’t kept up with the controversy surrounding TTIP asked me what all the fuss was about yesterday. I explained, in brief, what the Greenpeace leaks had revealed. Her response was simple: “But, why would we sign up for that?”
Good question.
www.rt.com/op-edge/341677-ttip-leaks-greenpeace-deal/
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Post by imSINGLEruRICH on May 4, 2016 17:38:45 GMT -5
OT? Denison Mines NEWS! thanks.... sammyhagar DIAMOND JEDI Post by sammyhagar on 7 hours ago Denison Mines Announces CAD$10 Million Bought Deal Offering of Flow-Through Common Shares TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 3, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX:DML)(NYSE MKT:DNN) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Dundee Securities Ltd. and TD Securities Inc. as co-lead underwriters and joint bookrunners, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (together, the "Underwriters"), under which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a "bought deal" private placement basis, 12,200,000 flow-through common shares of the Company (the "Flow-Through Shares") at a price of CAD$0.82 per Flow-Through Share (the "Issue Price") for total gross proceeds of CAD$10,004,000 (the "Offering"). The Company has granted the Underwriters an option to offer for sale up to an additional 20% of the Flow-Through Shares, at the Issue Price, exercisable in whole or in part at any time for a period of up to 48 hours prior to the closing date. The Underwriters will seek to arrange for substituted purchasers for the Flow-Through Shares in one or more provinces of Canada. The closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about May 20, 2016 and is subject to the completion of formal documentation and receipt of regulatory approvals, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE MKT. The Flow-Through Shares issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities legislation. The Company intends to use the gross proceeds of the Offering for "Canadian exploration expenses" (within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada)) related to the Company's Canadian uranium mining exploration projects in Saskatchewan. The Company has also agreed to renounce such Canadian exploration expenses with an effective date of no later than December 31, 2016. About Denison Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 350,000 hectares in the eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 61.55% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Internationally, Denison owns 100% of the Mutanga project in Zambia, 100% of the uranium/copper/silver Falea project in Mali, and a 90% interest in the Dome project in Namibia. Denison has recently entered into an agreement with GoviEx Uranium Inc. (GXU:CSE) to sell its African interests, with an expected closing date in May, 2016. Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the financing and the anticipated closing and use of proceeds thereof; exploration activities, plans and objectives; and the proposed sale of the Company's African assets. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the "Risk Factors" in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 24, 2016 available under its profile at www.sedar.com and in its Form 40-F available at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in its expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation. Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered, sold or resold in the United States. Denison Mines Corp. David Cates President and Chief Executive Officer (416) 979-1991 ext. 362 Denison Mines Corp. Sophia Shane Investor Relations (604) 689-7842 www.denisonmines.comTwitter @denisonminesco richfree DIAMOND JEDI 5 hours ago 144r and **RUNNINGRICH** like this. Post by richfree on 5 hours agoSounds like the continued forming of one BIG HAPPY CONGLOMERATE!
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Post by 3bid on May 5, 2016 2:18:02 GMT -5
Fed pushing us to financial catastrophe worse than 2008 - billionaire investor
Published on May 2, 2016
Since the crash of 2008, the world economy seemed to be slowly getting back on track. However, more and more voices - among our guests as well - are warning the public about a looming cataclysm in the financial world. How damaging will the new collapse be? What is leading the world into a global turmoil? And when the flames rise up, is there going to be anyone this time to pull the international community away from the brink of global war? We ask a legend in the world of investment, a co-founder of Quantum Fund - Jim Rogers is on Sophie&Co today.
SS: Jim Rogers, a legendary man in the world of investment and trading, co-founder of the Quantum Fund - welcome to the show, it's really great to have you with us!
JR: I am delighted to be here, Sophie.
SS: Welcome to Moscow. Alright, Jim, so "a mess for both American and world economy" - that's what you predicted. What it is going to be like? Is it going to be just as bad as 2008?
JR: No, Sophie, it's going to be much worse: you should watch RTTV, it would be much worse.
SS: Tell me.
JR: We had a problem in 2008, because the debt was very-very high. Now the debt is much-much higher, all over the world. Next time we have a problem, it's going to be worse than 2008. You should be very worried, you should be very knowledgeable, and you should get prepared.
SS: I am not as knowledgeable as you are in questions of economy and finances - so tell me, how bad are we talking about? I mean, you've been talking about this impending recession for a while now, ready to strike the U.S., for instance, but, you know, we see American economy picking up, the unemployment rate is going down, so - why does it keep postponing itself?
JR: Wait, wait. First of all, you are listening to government figures. You remember the Soviet Union, the government had a lot of numbers, they were very good. The U.S. now puts out a lot of figures that are not legitimate, accurate figures. Look at unemployment, what do they do? For instance, they just stopped counting many people, said they're not looking for a job anymore - so the numbers are artificial in the U.S. Yes, some parts of the U.S. economy are doing very well. If you're on Wall St. or if you're in finance, you're doing fine, because the government has been printing a lot of money and a lot of debt has been put out. But you go to Texas, go to the MidWest - they're not doing well at all. Most of the country is not doing well.
SS: Alright, but give me something concrete - when do we have to expect this crisis to hit and what's going to cause that meltdown?
JR: Sophie, for the last 18 months in the U.S., most stocks have been going down. The average is a fraud, because of the few big companies that make the average go up and that's because the government, the Fed Reserve, Central Bank is printing a lot of money. Stocks are going down in the U.S., most stock are down. So, the signs are already there. Now, unfortunately, they're not visible, they don't make headlines, so it's already happening. Parts of the country are in recession, stock market, most stocks are going down - it's already happening.
SS: So, if you look at the efforts of the world's financial planners and central bankers, I mean, their efforts to invigorate the economy aren't really working - what is working? What could work without the government interference?
JR: Without government interference, wouldn't that be wonderful. If we might, we probably would've been finished with the problems of 2008 or not, but most Americans will tell you that the economy is not better now. Their lives are not better than they were in 2008, or even 2005. Most Americans do not have a better life for a long-long time. If you ask me what to do, first of all you should abolish the Federal Reserve. Now, Americans had three Central Banks in our history, the first two disappeared... You can get along without a Central Bank as we have. This Central Bank is a disaster, they've been printing a lot of money, they've been running up a staggering amounts of debt. So, the first thing that we need to do is to abolish the CB, which is unlikely, or, tell them to stay out of the way, tell them to stop printing money, tell them to stop building up the debt. That's the problem in the U.S. Sophie, the U.S. is the largest debtor nation in the history of the world. Not the largest in the world, the largest in history of the world - and the debt is getting worse. This is not a good situation!
SS: So, you're thinking abolishing the CB is going to improve the situation on the market?
JR: This particular CB. Now, the world without Central Banks has problems too, but this CB is making all of our lives much worse, and the next crisis, and the one after that, if we survive the next one - it's going to be really, really bad. And, what you asked before, "what that means?" - that means bankruptcies, that means currency turmoil, that means stock markets dropping a whole lot, that means interest rates going much higher - it won't be fun.
SS: I just wonder, how many crises you have seen in your lifetime? I mean, are they all the same, you always get bankrupt and you always...
JR: But, America was a creditor nation in my lifetime. When I was a kid, America was a creditor nation. Since 1987, America has become a debtor nation, and now, in 30 years, we've become the largest debtor nation in the history of the world.
SS: So are crises getting worse and worse as your life progresses?
JR: Yes, yes. That's because of me, I guess I'm getting older and causing the problems!
SS: So you also said that, "when economic trouble arrives, it inevitably leads to war." Now, we see some major world powers, and they are all in the economic crisis. Are we doomed to see war happened?
JR: Yeah, watch RT, don't you see what is happening?
SS: What kind of war do you see? I mean, world today is very different from world 20 years ago or 50 years ago. So, what kind of war do you see?
JR: I certainly hope we won't see World War Three. We certainly hope. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, mankind throughout history is always coming up with big wars. Let's hope it continues to be proxy wars - I mean, you know about Afghanistan, you know what's been going on in the world, you know what America did in Ukraine...
SS: But this have been going on forever, it's not a new thing. I mean, countries change, locations change, but the logistics don't change.
JR: The reason these things are going on is because economic hard times are around the world. Japan is in recession, Japan is one of the largest economies in the world. The Japanese government will tell you they're in recession. Several European countries are in recession. We have hard times in many parts of teh world, and that's one of the reasons we're having strife. The whole Middle East.. In the last ten years, nearly every country - probably every country - has had some major crises. This is all because the world economy is bad and debt is building up!
SS: We keep also hearing about a major crisis in China. But their growth still stands at 7%, which is pretty impressive. Should we really be worried?
JR: I don't hear about a major crisis in China. China's in better shape than most countries these days. It does not mean China's not going to have problems.
SS: Just to say, that some people like to blame China's slowdown on world's economic problems. Is it fair?
JR: I know! And they're trying to blame Russia on Ukraine. You know, some people try to do all sorts of things, you know.
SS: They do.
JR: It's absurd, and some people listen to some of these... propaganda is unbelievable all over the world. China trades with most of the world. Japan's in recession, it's one of their major customers; if your major customer is in recession, you're going to suffer too. Korea's one of them, Korea is having problems, many parts of Europe are having problems. So, when your customers have problems, of course you have problems. You can't blame it on China, China is the victim. But it doesn't matter. We are all in it together, Sophie, and we all are suffering and we all going to suffer more in the future.
SS: But, I'm thinking, back in 2008, China was in a really, really good shape. It was doing the heavy lifting when the crisis hit the world. Who's going to do heavy lifting this time around when the crisis comes?
JR: What happened in 2008: China didn't have much debt. They had a lot of money saved up for a rainy day, and when it started to rain, they started spending money. This time, Sophie, China has a lot of debt itself. It's astonishing that China has built up so much debt in just the last 8 years. So, China is not going to be able to help as much this time as they did last time. Who's going to have to do the heavy lifting?
SS: You tell me.
JR: I told you - be worried and be prepared. There's nobody left. The Central Banks are going to print as much as they can, the governments in the U.S. and other places are going to spend as much as they can, but eventually, the Market's going to say: "we don't want your garbage anymore, you're printing all this paper money, you are putting out all these bonds - no! No! We're not going to take it anymore".
SS: I remember last year, President Obama said that U.S. should be writing the rules of the global economy and not China. First of all, are there any rules in global economy? And, who's really to take the lead, if not China? Can America do the heavy lifting?
JR: America will, for the most part, because many people think that America still is the dominant economy, it is the largest economy in the world.
SS: So, it is - objectively speaking, still, right?
JR: It's the largest economy in the world right now - but it's also the largest debtor nation in the world, and most of the growth in the past few years has been based on debt. Sophie, you give me a trillion dollars, I'll give you a very good time. You and me will have so much fun, if you give me a few trillion dollars. But the hangover, the headache is going to be so horrible, because somebody has to pay for this, and America's debt is going through the roof. So, yes, America's leading the world economy, but it's all based on printed money and borrowed money. In the end, it's going to be a disaster for all of us.
SS: So, obviously, when the crisis hit, people tend to look for safe havens, and a lot of people still think that "safe haven" is the dollar: they like to save their money in dollars, not in euros, not in yens or roubles - in dollars. You don't think so? Why not?
JR: I actually own a lot of U.S. dollars, just because of what you've said. Because everybody thinks that the U.S. dollar is a "safe haven". It's not, America's the largest debtor in the world history, but people think it's still a safe haven and they want to...they're not going to buy euro as you said, they're not going to buy the rouble, they're not going to buy other currencies in the world, so they're going to flee to the U.S. dollar. My largest currency possession is the U.S. dollar.
SS: So what do you need them for? You're just going to sell them when the times are better?
JR: That's my plan, I hope I got it right. You know, then we're going to have a really good time if the dollar goes up, like I think it will, hopefully I'll be smart enough to sell my U.S. dollars, as it gets overpriced, could even turn into a bubble, and then I got to do something with my money.
SS: When do you think that'll happen?
JR: Later this year, next year.
SS: Oh, so it's, like, a close perspective.
JR: Yes, it's 2016. I told you to be worried! Get prepared! And by the way, I just want you to know, speaking of currencies. A week before that, I bought Russian government bonds in roubles.
SS: Wait, wait, we will get to the Russian bonds, but first - we see foreign governments, actually dumping U.S. debt at a record rate. Why do we see this diminished appetite from overseas? Do they just need the cash?
JR: Sophie, I'm not the only person who knows that the U.S. is the largest debtor in history, and debt is going higher and higher. Other countries see it, but many other need the money - Russia needs money these days, you know, China's trying to cut down its dependence on the U.S.. China's entire foreign currency reserves...
SS: I was going to say - China and Japan - I mean, they own trillions in American Treasury, even Russia has increased its investment in the U.S. debt. Do they not sense the trouble? Do they not see that it's the biggest...
JR: ..Debtor nation in the history of the world? Well, the Japanese need money, they're in recession. Many countries need money, but the holdings of the U.S. government debt is declining, you're right. More and more governments, for whatever reason, are reducing their holdings of U.S. government debt - and they're wise.
SS: So, U.S. dollar is slowly forfeiting its position, right? Could something else take its place? What could it be?
JR: We need something to compete with the U.S., because it is a terribly flawed currency. Now, you look around the world and there's nothing on the horizon, except, possibly, the renminbi. Renminbi is a huge economy, it's not a huge debtor like many other countries, so the renminbi is the only one I can see. Now, the renminbi is not convertible, so it's an absurd statement, but, it is becoming more and more convertible, more and more freely tradeable, and as that happens, it's the only currency that I can see that will replace the U.S. dollar or begin to compete with the U.S. dollar. It takes a lot of time to get rid of old currencies.
SS: Right now, as we speak, what is safe in terms of commodities? Is gold safe, for instance?
JR: I own gold, I hope I still have it here, yeah, I have gold.
SS: Can I have it?
JR: You can look at it - just a proof to you that I have gold. I even have some Russian gold in here.
SS: Nice coins.
JR: There it is, Russian gold. So, I own some gold, but I am not buying gold now, I haven't bought gold in a while, I expect a better chance to buy gold, sometime in the next year or two, if the dollar goes up, gold may go down. But, if it goes down, I hope to buy a lot more gold, because eventually gold is going to go through the roof. As this turmoil increases and people lose more and more confidence in governments, more and more confidence in paper money, they're going to look for something, and gold and silver will be a couple of those places. If you're looking for something right now - agriculture.
SS: Wait, you believe that the future is in agriculture, that farmers are the billionaires of the future - but why farming? I mean, it does seem like it's a step back in history, no, rather than the other way around?
JR: Sophie...
SS: Just like going back to gold, or going back to typewriters, because everything is wired, and the only safe way is to typewrite things.
JR: Do you know how to drive a tractor?
SS: No, I don't. I don't even have a driving license.
JR: Really? Not even a car?
SS: No.
JR: Motorcycle?
SS: No.
JR: Oh my Gosh, I don't know if I ever met anybody...
SS: I'm the old-fashioned type. So tell, why farmers, why are they the future billionaires?
JR: For many periods of history, we had moments when farmers, when the agriculture people were on top, followed by people on the financial types, and others were on top, going back to the farmers - people who produce real goods. This has been going on for thousands of years. All these cycles come and go. Now, agriculture has been a horrible business for 30 years, the average age of farmers in America is 59. In Japan, it's 66. In Canada, it's oldest in recorded history. The highest rate of suicide in the UK is in agriculture. Millions of Indian farmers go... This is a terrible business! Horrible business and it has been for over 30 years. More people in America study public relations than study agriculture.
SS: So where is the future in agriculture?
JR: You're supposed to buy low. Didn't your parents teach you to buy low and sell high? Agriculture is the disaster. Now, either it's going to get better or we're not going to have any clothes or any food at any price. The turn is coming. Agriculture in Russia, for instance, right now, is becoming very-very exciting, very-very profitable, you should go out and learn how to drive a tractor! I'm telling.
SS: I might, after this interview. I don't want to be left without clothes.
JR: And where we're going to get our vodka?
SS: I know.
JR: I mean, for goodness' sake!
SS: I'm going to go and learn how to drive a tractor after this, I promise. Alright, tell me in broader terms, where should be people looking to invest geographically, whether it's agriculture or business, or finances?
JR: I have sold short the U.S. stocks and I have sold junk bonds, low-grade bonds, in the U.S., I own shares in China, I have shares in Russia, I bought Russian government bonds, several days ago. These are places that I am looking at, I am looking at Kazakhstan as a place to invest, Iran I'm looking at, Nigeria I am looking at.
SS: Tell me about Iran, because, you know, it's out of the international isolation, it's a huge untapped market...
JR: Yes, very young - something like 2/3 of people are under 35 years old, it's a very young country with lots of people, over 70 million people.
SS: Where exactly they should be investing in Iran, in what fields?
JR: You can invest in oil if you want to, but...
SS: That's obvious.
JR: If you invest in Iran oil, you're investing in oil whether you want it or not. Anything - they've been under sanctions for a long time, they want everything. Tablecloth, soap - whatever you know about, you go to Iran and invest in those things, or buy shares on Iranian stock market. It's still difficult for me, as an American, so you should go there, before the Americans get there. It's wonderful for you, you're Russian...
SS: I couldn't beat them in Cuba, and now it's too late...
JR: You don't have to compete with the Americans in Iran.
SS: But talk to me about Russia - you keep saying that you like invest here, but the rouble is losing its value and the general opinion is that it's not a good place to invest. Why is it good to invest in Russia right now?
JR: The Russian stock market is the most hated stock market in the world.
SS: Not only the stock market, Jim.
JR: What else, the country, the women? What are you talking about! Anyway, I like to invest in unpopular places, unpopular stock markets. I have learned in my career, that if you invest in things which everybody dislikes, you're probably going to be very well off 2, 3, 5 years later. I can remember just about every country which has been very depressed at times, if you buy - it turns around.
SS: So you expect the rouble to rebound?
JR: It already has started rebounding. It's rebounded, I except that the rouble will not go down. The rouble is in a process of making a bottom. Oil is in the process of making to bottom, therefore the rouble, but - Russia now has things which are replacing oil, agriculture is booming in Russia now, for many reasons, some artificial but some real. So there are other things that are going to replace oil in the future.
SS: So, yeah, about oil - you've said in January that oil prices haven't hit the rock bottom yet, but now they're rising. Should we expect them fall again?
JR: The prices did go down dramatically after I said that, and it did hit a bottom. What normally happens, Sophie, is things go down, we had a big drop, it hits a bottom - and then, what we call in America a "dead cat bounce" - it bounces right there.
SS: So what's going to happen not?
JR: You had the "dead cat bounce", and then it goes back, it tests the lows, and then it's the end - it's at the end of the big collapse and then it starts going up again. That's what's going to happen.
SS: So where we are right now? We are at the first hike?
JR: We had the dead cat bounce...
SS: Okay.
JR: We're probably going to have some correction, it may go higher, but it probably will go lower for a while, feel around, test the bottom, that will be the bottom, and then 2 or 3 years from that it will be higher again.
SS: So the rebound is in 2-3 years.
JR: Maybe sooner, probably this year or next.
SS: But I'm thinking, cheap oil...
JR: I wanted to tell you one thing, Sophie - I'm the world's worst market timer. I'm the world's worst short-term trader, so I don't know. You watch RT and you can find out the exact timing of these things, I am terrible at it.
SS: Okay, you're just like a good clairvoyant, because when they predict the future, they say right away - "We're good but we can't see the time".
JR: I didn't know that's what they've said.
SS: That's what they say.
JR: That's what they say? Well, okay.
SS: So, back to the oil, I'm thinking, cheap oil is actually good for a global economy, no? Isn't cheap energy a driving factor for growth in giant countries like China or India?
JR: It's absolutely, and more people then consume energy, then produce energy, there's no question about that, it's better for all of us. But, in the meantime, many people are suffering - Russia, Nigeria - many people are suffering with lower energy prices, but overall, the world is better off with low-energy prices.
SS: So, what do you think is in store for the emerging economies like Brazil, India?
JR: There are many-many emerging economies, so there's no generalization.
SS: Who do you think will take the lead?
JR: Coming out of this?
SS: Yes.
JR: China.
SS: China isn't quite an emerging economy. I am talking about the emerging big economies.
JR: First of all, China is the next great country in the world. The XIX century was the century of the UK, the XXth century was the century of the U.S., the XXI century is what's going to be the century of China. So, you have children?
SS: Will have soon...
JR: Okay. Horosho. Then be sure, your children learn mandarin, because it's going to be an extremely important language in their lifetime. I have two girls, both speak perfect mandarin, because I am preparing them or the XXI century. Now, you say it's not an emerging market - okay.
SS: I mean, not anymore..
JR: Okay, that doesn't matter. Let's see... Conceivably, Russia, certianly not Brazil. Kazakhstan - amazing changes, positive changes are taking place in Kazakhstan. Amazing, positive things are happening in Nigeria. Not Brazil.
SS: India?
JR: If you're going to visit only one country in your lifetime, Sophie, go to India. But, it's not a good place to invest. Not with my money anyway. It's got the world's worst bureaucracy - many reason.
SS: Worse than in Russia?
JR: Yeah, the Indians learned bureaucracy from the English, and then they took it to a higher plane.
SS: Took it to the whole new level, huh.
JR: The whole new level, it's astonishing what the Indians can do. I mean, Russian bureaucracy is a nightmare, there's no question about that. You should have been here when there were Soviets - oh my God, was it a nightmare! It's getting better, but it's still bad, you're right.
SS: I want to talk a bit about the upcoming elections - Donald Trump is doing so impressively well, who would have thought? He may even get the Republican nomination, and who knows, he may even make it to the White House!
JR: He might win, yes.
SS: So it will be the first time we'll have a businessman at the helm of a state. Do you think that will change anything? Having a businessman being a President?
JR: If Donald Trump does what he says he's going to do, we're going to have trade wars with lots of people, such as China, such as Mexico, probably Russia, who knows - and trade wars have always led to bankruptcy and, often, led to war. So, if mr. Trump does what he says he's going to do - I've told you to be worried. If mr. Trump wins and does what he says, you'd better be panicked, because the world is really going to fall apart. It is an absolute disaster, the worst might happen and we might have big wars at that point. Now, one thing about it, Sophie - you have job security, because journalists have to report it, somebody has to report to us what's going on and if this is all very bad, which will happen if he does what he says, it's going to be really, it's going to be a terrible world. I worry about my little girls in that world.
SS: I'll make sure to report on it. Well, Jim, thank you so much for this delightful interview, it's been a great pleasure having you with us here, in Moscow, in our studious, hopefully we will see you soon. We were talking to Jim Rogers, one of the most famous names in the world of trading and investment. We were discussing where the world economy is heading and where we should be investing our money. That's it for this edition of Sophie&Co, I will see you next time.
www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/341575-financial-catastrophe-global-economy/
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Post by 3bid on May 10, 2016 1:56:55 GMT -5
Obama: TTIP Necessary So As To Protect Megabanks From Prosecution
Authored by Eric Zuesse,
On May 7th, Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, or German Economic News, headlined, "USA planen mit TTIP Frontal-Angriff auf Gerichte in Europa” or “U.S. Plans Frontal Attack on Europe’s Courts via TTIP,” and reported that, “America’s urgency to sign TTIP with Europe has solid reason: Megabanks must protect themselves from claims by European investors who allege that they were cheated during the debt crisis. … The U.S. Ambassador to Italy has now let the cat out of the bag on this — probably unintentionally.”
In this particular case, the megabank that’s being sued isn’t American but German, Deutsche Bank, which the U.S. Ambassador to Italy has cited as his example to defend, perhaps so as to appeal to Germans to protect their megabanks against lawsuits from foreign investors (such as Italians) who complain. In that case it was investors in the Italian city of Trani, population 53,000. The smallness of the city was an issue the Ambassador raised against the suit’s having been brought there.
Reuters headlined on May 6th, "Italian prosecutor investigates Deutsche Bank over 2011 bond sale”, and reported that, "An Italian prosecutor is investigating Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) over its sale of 7 billion euros ($8 billion) of Italian government bonds five years ago, an investigative source told Reuters. A prosecutor in Trani, a town in southern Italy, is investigating because Deutsche Bank allegedly told clients in a research note in early 2011 that Italy's public debt was no cause for concern, and then sold almost 90 percent of its own holding of the country's bonds.” The U.S. bond-rating agencies are also subjects in this suit, because Trani had relied upon their ratings of those bonds.
The Obama Administration (through its Italian Ambassador) seems thus to be saying, in effect, that unless TTIP is passed into law, Europe’s megabanks (and the U.S. bond-rating agencies, S&P, Moody’s and Fitch) will be able successfully to be sued by cheated investors, just as has been happening with such American banks as JPMorgan/Chase and Goldman Sachs in the United States, which — since TTIP hasn’t yet been in force anywhere, including in the U.S. — were forced to pay billions to cheated investors. Apparently, Obama would be happier if those suits had been impossible in the U.S. The argument here, though only implicitly, seems to be that TTIP is the way to protect megabanks and the bond-rating firms. It concerns specifically the selling of sophisticated derivative investments.
If this is the argument behind the remarks by Obama’s Italian Ambassador, John Phillips, he’s obliquely warning Europeans that unless TTIP gets signed, their megabanks might similarly be forced to pay billions to investors who were cheated. As quoted by Reuters, he said that, in the U.S., it's "highly unlikely that such a case would be brought outside the major financial centers, where prosecutors have both jurisdiction and expertise in securities fraud prosecutions,” and that megabanks need the protection that’s provided by such prosecutors, since they possess “expertise in securities fraud prosecutions.” Phillips was clearly implying that small-city prosecutors (such as are allowed to prosecute such cases in Europe) aren’t such “experts,” as are needed in order to protect the megabanks. Reuters characterizes Phillips’s argument as asserting, “Italy’s justice system was deterring investors.” However, no clarification of the meaning of that statement was provided by Reuters.
DWN alleges that under the TTIP such a court-issue would probably not even have been raised but would simply have ended before an arbitration panel, in which the aggrieved investors exert no influence and where it would be almost impossible for these investors’ rights to be protected.
Another example is cited, where the German city of Pforzheim successfully sued, at the Federal Court of Justice, the U.S. megabank JPMorgan/Chase, and where that court allowed Pforzheim to seek “accumulated damages of 57 million euros.”
Under TTIP, a megabank fined this way might in turn sue the nation’s taxpayers to restore the megabank’s ensuing loss of profits. If the cheated investors win, taxpayers might thus end up bearing the cheated investors' losses. Under TTIP, the fined company would be arguing that the law under which it had been fined is in violation of TTIP and thus constitutes a violation of that treaty, so that the violating government is obliged to be paying the fine — the law against fraud would itself be violating the fined company’s rights. If the three-arbitrator TTIP panel rules in the megabank’s favor, the government would need to pay the fine it had assessed against the bank, and no appeals court exists for any of these arbitration-panels’ rulings — these rulings are final. Obama and other proponents of that system, which is called ISDS for Investor State Dispute Settlement, say that it’s a more efficient way of handling such disputes. In international commercial affairs, it not only eliminates appeals courts, it gradually eliminates democracy, by fining the government into ultimate submission to these three-person panels of international-corporate-accountable arbitrators.
On the same basic idea, Benito Mussolini was praised for “making the trains run on time.”
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www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-08/obama-ttip-necessary-so-protect-megabanks-prosecution
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Post by 3bid on May 10, 2016 13:24:19 GMT -5
Free Market fallout: America's suicide rate approaching parity with Russia’s
Published time: 8 May, 2016 | RT
Old stereotypes die hard, and none more so than those involving Russia, where the population, as the Western media reports in a uniform voice, is disappearing under a black wave of alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide.
However, the reality will surprise a lot of people. As of April 2016, the Russian suicide rate actually dropped 7.2 percent as compared to the same period in 2015, putting the level at 15.4 per 100,000 citizens - the lowest level in 54 years.
Meanwhile, recent statistics are shining a disturbing light on the suicide situation in the United States, where Americans are silently suffering under a brutal winner-take-all economic system that takes no prisoners.
But first a look at the Russia's comeback story.
Russia rebounds
In his April 2005 State of the Nation address, Vladimir Putin famously described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical disaster of the century”.
The West's chattering classes, never missing a chance to portray Russia as an aggressor, jumped on the comment as proof that the Kremlin was harboring deep-seated “imperial ambitions”.
However, a less cynical reading of Putin’s comment is that he was describing the challenges the Russian people faced in adjusting to the trauma of moving from a planned economic system to the dog-eat-dog world of free market capitalism.
Russian suicides hit its peak in the ultra-violent 90s – Russia’s version of Chicago Gangland 1920s - when the rate broke the record at 42 per 100,000 in 1995 (for some perspective, the suicide rate during the Great Depression was around 22 per 100,000).
Given the truly desperate situation the country found itself, it was understandable that the world had trouble shaking off the idea that Russia was destined for the graveyard of nations.
“The consensus wasn’t just that Russians killed themselves too frequently, but that this was both a worsening problem and that it was broadly reflective of the broken and corrupted state of society,” Mark Adomanis wrote in a recent Forbes article.
The key word here is ‘consensus,’ which Merriam-Webster defines as “an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group.” In other words, ‘consensus’ can be just a polite way of saying ‘conformity,’ which the Western media wears like a straitjacket whenever the subject relates to Russia. Thus, it is no surprise the Western media failed – or simply was not allowed - to observe that a new trend was emerging regarding Russia's suicide rate, which has been dropping by an average of about 4.8 percent per year since the turn of the century.
The United States, meanwhile, has witnessed about a 1.5 percent annual increase.
“The reality… is that, over the past two decades, Russian and American suicide rates have converged,” Adomanis noted. “Rapidly,” he added.
In 1999, 10.5 of every 100,000 Americans committed suicide. In 2014, that number surged 24 percent to 13 out of every 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention; 42,773 deaths in the United States were attributed to suicide – a 30-year high and twice the number of Americans who died from homicide.
Suicide by economic policy?
There are some telltale signs indicating that the spike in US suicides is directly linked to the yawning income chasm. As America’s super-rich gobbles up the lion’s share of the wealth pie, the once proud middle class has two choices: accept the ravages of a free market system on steroids, or ‘throw in the towel.’
Here is brief, grim appraisal as to how the average US family has fared in the wage war since 1970: “Fully 49 percent of U.S. aggregate income went to upper-income households in 2014, up from 29 percent in 1970. The share accruing to middle-income households was 43 percent in 2014, down substantially from 62 percent in 1970,” according to statistics from Pew Research.
“The 21st century has not been kind to average American families,” inequality.org concurred. “The net worth — assets minus debts — of most U.S. households fell between 2000 and 2011.”
Meanwhile, the wealth gains of by the golden 1 percent over the same period have been simply astonishing: “In 1982, the “poorest” American listed on the first annual Forbes magazine list of America’s richest 400 had a net worth of $80 million. The average member of that first list had a net worth of $230 million. In 2015, rich Americans needed net worth of $1.7 billion to enter the Forbes 400, and the average member held a net $5.8 billion, over 10 times the 1982 average after adjusting for inflation."
In a nutshell, the economic climate of the United States bears a striking resemblance to the robber baron days of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, minus the off-shored factories. And although the economy in Russia has also seen better days, suicide rates there are leveling off, not taking off.
US recession morphing into nationwide 'depression'
Now the question must be asked: Is it just coincidence that US suicide rates began to surge by 2 percent a year starting in 2006 (double the annual rise in the earlier period of the study), just two years before the US experienced its ‘Great Recession’ – the greatest economic setback since the Great Depression?
Although the Obama administration resorted to bail-ins and bail-outs to prevent the global economy and the “too big to fail” financial institutions from going over a cliff, precious little was done for millions of Americans who were suddenly faced with the prospects of evictions, foreclosures and prolonged unemployment.
Today, the situation with the US economy remains perilous to say the least. Consider just two statistics: The total mortgage debt outstanding amounted to approximately 13.8 trillion U.S. dollars in 2015, which debt-saddled Americans are struggling once again to return. This debt burden is nearing 2008 levels when the 'Great Recession' hit with a vengeance. Many experts are predicting it is just a matter of time before the next 'big one' makes landfall.
At the same time, university graduates are finding it a real challenge just returning their student-loan debts, especially when so many can't find jobs upon graduation.
According to Market Watch, “the $1.2 trillion in student loan debt may be preventing Americans from making the kinds of big purchases that drive economic growth, like house and cars, and reaching other milestones, such as having the ability to save for retirement or move out of mom and dad’s basement.”
Meanwhile, the only real growth happening on Wall Street comes courtesy of the US Federal Reserve’s quantitative easing (QE) program, which has (recklessly, many would argue) pumped billions of dollars into the economy. From this massive slush fund, US corporations are buying back their own stock, thereby creating the illusion of prosperity. The only thing Americans got from this foolishness is an $18 trillion national debt that has zero chance of being returned.
Here is Zerohedge’s grim summary of the situation: “Surely the economy would be kick-started by: three rounds of quantitative easing and forward guidance; a record Federal Reserve balance sheet; and an unprecedented increase in federal debt from $9.99 trillion in 2008 to $18.63 trillion in 2015, a jump of 86 percent [...] But the economic facts of 2015 displayed no impact from these massive government experiments.”
So how are millions of Americans dealing with this monstrous slab of depression pie on their plate? They are gorging themselves on anti-psychotic medication, which the US pharmaceuticals are only too happy to supply in industrial-size quantities. Indeed, the top-selling drug in the United States is an antipsychotic, happily named Abilify.
“To be a top seller, a drug has to be expensive and also widely used,” Steven Reidbord M.D. wrote in Psychology Today. “Abilify is both. It’s the 14th most prescribed brand-name medication, and it retails for about $30 a pill. Annual sales are over $7 billion, nearly a billion more than the next runner-up.”
Now that’s some mind-numbing pill-popping for Americans, a national pastime that is not shared by their Russian counterparts.
Could that be part of the growing US-Russia suicide divide?
Whatever the case may be, America’s and Russia’s suicide rates continue to converge, and if current trends hold, Russia looks set to turn the corner while America may be heading for some truly bad times, thanks to an economic system that is rigged to protect the biggest organizations - the corporations and banks - as opposed to We the People.
....
Robert Bridge is the author of the 2013 book, Midnight in the American Empire, which discusses the dangers of runaway corporate power in the US.
www.rt.com/op-edge/342289-free-market-fallout-us-suicide/
Studies Show Austerity Policies Exacerbate US Suicide Epidemic
Monday, 25 April 2016 | Truthout
According to a new study from the National Center for Health Statistics, the suicide rate in the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade-and-a-half.
Adjusting for age, it jumped 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, with the biggest increases coming after 2006. Thirteen out of every 100,000 people now kill themselves, making suicide one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the entire country.
This is a serious public health crisis that needs to be fixed, and while we can't bring back the people we've already lost, there is something we can do as a country to make sure even more people don't take their own lives.
And that something is to stop supporting right-wing austerity policies because economic deprivation is one of the contributing factors that drive people to take their own life.
Seriously, I'm not kidding. It's a well-documented sociological fact.
Numerous studies have found a strong connection between right-wing economic policies and suicide.
Recent research from sociologists David Stuckler and Sanjay Basu, for example, found that suicide rates in both the US and UK increase when working class wages and wealth decline. Things were particularly bad during the recession period here in the US when, according to the study's authors, there were 4,750 "excess" suicides.
Another study, this time out of Australia, discovered a similar pattern in that country. It found that almost 35,000 extra suicides occurred when the "Tories" (Australian slang for right-wingers) controlled the government.
This isn't just something that happens in the English-speaking world, either.
When right-wing austerity policies began to ravage Greece in 2010, the suicide rate jumped almost 18 percent. In Athens alone, it soared to 25 percent.
The same thing happened in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. In a rush to switch the former communist country over to the free market, economists forced it go through shock doctrine-style privatization. The result was a sharp rise in suicides, heart attacks and alcohol deaths.
Obviously, right-wing economic policies don't cause every suicide. Some people kill themselves because they have already-existing mental health problems. Others kill themselves because of the shock of sudden personal tragedy.
But even so, there's no question that right-wing economic policies, otherwise known as Reaganomics, worsen these problems.
When people are unemployed, underemployed or working dead-end jobs for starvation wages, they're more likely to suffer from depression. They're also more likely to resort to hard drugs to help them cope with the pain of economic deprivation. Meanwhile, the compounding effect of austerity cuts to public health services exacerbate the situation.
There's a dark irony here, because Reaganomics is itself form of slow-burning national suicide.
Think about it: Reaganomics has crushed the unions that created the middle class, bankrupted the federal government with massive tax cuts for the rich and sent our trade deficit sky-high with so-called "free trade deal" after "free trade deal."
Oh yeah, and thanks to deregulation, Reaganomics has also left us much more vulnerable to financial crises, like the one that almost completely took down the world economy eight years.
So whatever way you look at it, right-wing economic policies are a raw deal.
Not only are they killing our country, they're contributing to the reasons why more and more Americans are killing themselves.
Even if you don't care about things like, you know, good wages and fair taxation rates, that fact alone should make you angry. It's time repudiate Reaganomics once and for all.
By the way, if you're having dark or suicidal thoughts, you're not alone. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 to speak to someone who can help. It's open 24/7.
www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35785-studies-show-austerity-policies-exacerbate-us-suicide-epidemic
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