Free Republic

KEY TAKEAWAYS The European Commission wants to hand Ukraine $300 billion seized from Russia. Doing so likely would sound the death knell for the dollar and eventually the euro. The message from the EU and the Biden administration is crystal clear: Western financial markets are now a dangerous place to park your money. The talk of seizing foreigners’ assets is exposing these dollar-denominated loans as less than safe. Indeed, they’re more of a liability. Confidence in Western financial markets has already been shaken enough by the 20% devaluation of the dollar over the last few years. But now the European...

In the midst of all its other woes, the Islamic Republic of Iran has just suffered the worst economic collapse of its existence: the Iranian rial has lost 30% of its value overnight.

Zimbabwe has introduced a new currency, the ZiG, as announced by the new Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, John Mushayavanhu, in his long-awaited 2024 Monetary Policy Statement. The introduction of the ZiG, which stands for “Zimbabwe Gold,” marks a significant shift in the nation’s financial landscape.

If you plan to deposit $10,000 or more into your checking account, there are a few things you should consider first. By law, banks have to report deposits that exceed a certain amount. Not only that, but many bank accounts come with maximum deposit restrictions. You may also be subject to certain fees when making such a large deposit. If you frequently make large deposits, you should also watch out for any potential scams or fraudulent activity. But even if this is a one-time thing, it’s still important to know about these factors and how they might affect you. Banks...

~snip~ As part of a longstanding campaign to stop printing and even recall existing $100 bills, the New Republic wrote, “Benjamins are the favorite currency of criminals and almost no one else.” Rich tax evaders, corrupt foreign officials, money launderers, counterfeiters and other bad actors hoard them, but the law-abiding masses rarely use them except for overseas travel or special occasions. As far back as 1976, an economist named James Henry called for an end to the $100 bill in an article in The Washington Monthly because — even nearly a half-century ago — it was the preferred currency of...

Global bank messaging network SWIFT is planning a new platform in the next one to two years to connect the wave of central bank digital currencies now in development to the existing finance system.. The move, which would be one of the most significant yet for the nascent CBDC ecosystem given SWIFT's key role in global banking, is likely to be fine-tuned to when the first major ones are launched. 90% of the world's central banks are now exploring digital versions of their currencies. Most don't want to be left behind by bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, but are grappling with...

SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — A state representative will introduce a bill before the Louisiana Legislature that could establish gold and silver as the state’s currency. Generations have passed since legal tender was last created in the state of Louisiana, but Representative Raymond Crews, a pro-gun, pro-life, combat veteran Republican from District 8, is submitting HB 714 for consideration. If passed, the bill will once again establish gold and silver as currency in the state. Prior to its closure, the U.S. Mint in New Orleans stamped more than 427 million gold and silver coins. The last time it minted coins was...

On March 9, 2022, President Biden quietly signed Executive Order 14067. Buried inside this order is a sinister provision that could give the government unprecedented control over your money and freedom. In fact, this provision sets the stage for: * Legal government surveillance of all US citizens * Total control over your bank accounts and purchases And the ability to silence all dissenting voices for good. It’s no wonder Fox News called this “a deeply troubling development.” Still, most Americans have never even heard of Executive Order 14067. That’s why today, Jim Rickards – a world-renowned economist and former advisor...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) special agents along with Colombian customs inspectors and Colombian National Police (CNP) officers seized approximately $11.2 million Wednesday at the port of Buenaventura, Colombia. The seizure was the result of a joint investigation conducted by the CNP and ICE Attaché Bogota. The U.S. currency was hidden in two shipping containers, each containing 20 big bags filled with ammonium sulfate. Sixteen of the 40 bags contained $700,000 in $20 dollar bill denominations. The containers departed from the port of Manzanillo, Mexico, destined to the west coast port of Buenaventura, Colombia. According to...

KEY TAKEAWAYS Biden’s unprecedented freezing of U.S. dollars owned by a foreign central bank has fundamentally jeopardized the currency’s hard-won reserve status. Janet Yellen dropped a bombshell last year, casually admitting that not only is de-dollarization happening, but Americans should expect more. At a minimum, it’d be multiple years of double-digit inflation like we’re used to seeing in third world countries. At worst, it’d be a full-blown Weimar Republic. America’s political establishment has less respect for the U.S. dollar than our foreign adversaries. That was made clear when Tucker Carlson recently interviewed the Russian strongman President Vladimir Putin, who clearly...

Weekends and holidays are the perfect time to catch people off guard…Like a street thug committing a mugging, capital controls blindside most people—otherwise, they wouldn’t be effective.The government declares a surprise bank holiday and shuts all the banks—mere hours after they denied they were even thinking about such actions.They impose capital controls to stop citizens from taking their money out of the country.Cash-sniffing dogs, which make drug-sniffing dogs look friendly, show up at airports and border crossings.At this point, your money is like a lobster in a trap. It doesn’t require much imagination to see what comes next.Once a desperate...

Over his 54 years as a financial analyst, Richard X. Bove perfected the art of grabbing attention. Through thousands of newspaper interviews, cable news appearances and radio segments, Mr. Bove turned what can be a dull, by-the-numbers career into a more showy one. Weighing in on the economy and the inner workings of Wall Street, he often bucked conventional wisdom and made enemies along the way. By his own recollection, he never turned down a media request; American Banker once called him “the country’s most quotable bank analyst.” Last week, a few hours after completing a spot on Bloomberg television,...

“In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught.”- Hunter S. ThompsonAccording to the FBI, you may be an anti-government extremist if you’ve:a) purchased a Bible or other religious materials,b) used terms like “MAGA” and “Trump,”c) shopped at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Cabela’s, or Bass Pro Shops,d) purchased tickets to travel by bus, cars, or plane,e) all of the above.In fact, if you selected any of those options in recent years, you’re probably already on a government watchlist.That’s how broadly the government’s net is being cast in its pursuit of domestic extremists.We’re all fair game now, easy...

@TheInsiderPaper WATCH: Trump says he will never allow creation of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

Isn’t it interesting how Sweden’s doing a bit of a U-turn? I mean, who would’ve thought the right-wing government there would be all for keeping physical cash alive and kicking? So, get this – they’re not just talking about it; they’re considering making shops accept cash, going against the whole global trend of going cashless. It’s like they’re saying, “Hold on, we still want the option to use good old-fashioned bills and coins, thank you very much.”

One of the things I keep pointing out about the transnational elite is that, for the most part, they aren’t hiding who they are and what they want. It’s not some deep, dark conspiracy. They are proud of what they are doing. You can go to the websites of major corporations, universities, our federal government, or most conveniently the World Economic Forum and see what kind of dystopia they have planned for you. Basically, it boils down to this: let your betters run your lives, and by the way, we are your betters. If you find it surprising that people...

A digital public infrastructure (DPI) would give governments the power to implement systems of social credit that can determine how you travel, what you can consume, and how you will be able to transact with your programmable money. ... The United Nations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and partners of the Rockefeller Foundation are launching their “50-in-5” campaign to accelerate digital ID, digital payments, and data sharing rollouts in 50 countries under the umbrella of digital public infrastructure (DPI) by 2028. ... With a virtual launch event on November 8, the 50-in-5 agenda billed itself as “a country-led advocacy...

Ten members of the banking community are working with the New York Innovation Center (NYIC), which is part of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to explore the feasibility of the regulated liability network (RLN) — an interoperable digital money platform. The proposed RLN would use distributed ledger technology to improve financial settlements and would include central banks, commercial banks and regulated non-banks, the participating firms said Tuesday (Nov. 15) in a press release. “The 12-week PoC [proof of concept] will test a version of the RLN design that operates exclusively in U.S. dollars where commercial banks issue simulated...

WASHINGTON (TND) — Now is a good time to check that $2 bill stuffed away in a drawer or old wallet. The unique currency has been in circulation since the 1860s but some people are finding them to be upwards of $4,500, according to U.S. Currency Auctions. Several editions of the bill have been in circulation with the most recent being designed in 1963, the U.S. Treasury Department notes. Some feature Thomas Jefferson's face, Alexander Hamilton or America's first secretary of the treasury. A bill's worth depends on several factors including if it was in circulation. Uncirculated bills with red...

Iraq will ban the US dollar from the start of next year as the global movement against the greenback gathers pace, one of the country's top financial policymakers told Reuters. People won't be able to withdraw cash in dollars or use the greenback in transactions from January 1, 2024, Iraqi central bank director-general of investment and remittances Mazen Ahmed said in an interview with the outlet.