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Russia's economy is crashing and its currency appears to be in free fall. The ruble plunged by about 12% Monday, meaning it's lost nearly 50% against the dollar this year. Early Tuesday in Russia, the central bank hiked its key interest rate for a sixth time this year to 17% from 10.5%.

SWISS VOTERS overwhelmingly rejected a so-called gold standard referendum. They were right to do so. The wording of the referendum revealed a major obstacle to any return to a genuine gold standard: ignorance of what makes such a system work. The proposition was actually focused on the levels of Switzerland’s gold reserves, not on an actual return to a gold standard. But it was seen as a step in that direction. The purpose of a gold standard is to keep a currency stable in value. Other currencies not on a gold standard may go up or down vis-à-vis the gold-linked...

For most of my career in international investing, I had always placed a great deal of faith in Switzerland's financial markets. In recent years, however, as the Swiss government has sought to hitch its wagon to the flailing euro currency and kowtow increasingly to U.S.-based financial requirements, this faith has been shaken. But this week (November 30th) a referendum in Switzerland on whether its central bank will be required to hold at least 20% of its reserves in gold, will offer ordinary Swiss citizens a rare opportunity to reclaim their country's strong economic heritage. It's a vote that few outside...

. It appears the rumors are true. Islamic State is set to become the only 'state' to back its currency with gold (silver and copper) as it unveils the new coins that will be used in an attempt to solidify its makeshift caliphate. ISIS says the new currency will take the group out of "the oppressors' money system." As Zaid Benjamin notes, ISIS releases details of its new currancy with golden 1 & 5 dinar, silver 1, 5, 10 dirham and copper 10 & 20 fils It seems Alan Greenspan may have been on to something after all... "Remember what...

Tyler Durden 11/07/2014 For some reason, the Council of Foreign Relations, where ex-Fed-Chief Alan Greenspan spoke last week, decided the following discussion should be left out of the official transcript. We can perhaps understand why... as Gillian Tett concludes, "comments like that will be turning you into a rock star amongst the gold bug community." Greenspan (Uncut):(Click to the site to see the video) TETT: Do you think that gold is currently a good investment? GREENSPAN: Yes... Remember what we're looking at. Gold is a currency. It is still, by all evidence, a premier currency. No fiat currency, including the...

Ruble Rout Accelerates as Russia's Central Bank Stands Aside Reuters Nov. 06 2014 18:15 Last edited 21:33 The Russian currency plunged almost 4 percent against the U.S. dollar Thursday amid relentless selling pressure after the Central Bank announced it was limiting market interventions to defend the ruble. The ruble dropped to 46.7 versus the dollar early evening in Moscow, a historical low, while also falling below the mark of 58 to the euro for the first time ever. The declines mean the ruble has fallen over 40 percent against the greenback since the start of the year.

Greg McKenna, Business Insider Australia November 3, 2014I was listening to one of my favourite bands, The Smashing Pumpkins, over the weekend. And it struck me that the opening chorus to “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” is probably how noted stock market bears around the globe feel right now after the massive rally from the October lows and the BoJ’s extra stimulus on Friday which sent stocks and the US dollar much higher. In “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” lead singer Billy Corgan opens up with haunting lyrics: The world is a vampire, sent to drain. Secret destroyers, hold you up to...

November 02, 2014 MISES Marcia Christoff-Kurapovna writes: The story of the destruction of the German mark during the hyper-inflation of Weimar Germany from 1919 to its horrific peak in November 1923 is usually dismissed as a bizarre anomaly in the economic history of the twentieth century. But no episode better illustrates the dire consequences of unsound money or makes a more devastating, real-life case against fiat-currency: where there is no restraint, monetary death will follow. "It matters little that the causes of the Weimar inflation are in many ways unrepeatable; that political conditions are different, or that it is almost...

Police confiscating Americans’ hard earned cash, as well as a wide variety of other valuables, without an arrest or conviction is a disturbing and growing practice throughput these United States. Since cops get to keep the seized funds and use the money on pretty much anything they want, the practice is becoming endemic in certain parts of the nation. The theft is often referred to simply as civil forfeiture, or civil asset forfeiture. Incredibly, under civil forfeiture laws your property is “guilty until you prove it innocent.”The extent of the problem came to my attention last summer after reading an...

Maybe the U.S. economy, a weakling for the last six years, is finally starting to flex some muscle. We’re referring to the return of King Dollar. For those who haven’t been paying attention, the greenback is in the midst of a rally not seen since the 1990s. It’s racing past the euro, the yen, and other currencies. Investors worldwide are buying the equivalent of stock in America, Inc. If the rise in the dollar’s valuation is sustainable, it’s welcome news for the stock market, for fighting inflation, and for U.S. growth prospects. Ronald Reagan said it best: A strong dollar...

Russian authorities told people not to panic on Tuesday as the battered ruble plunged to record lows, floored by tensions with the West over Ukraine, new sanctions and falling oil prices. The national currency fell to 38.82 rubles per dollar after weakening on Monday to below 38 against the dollar for the first time. It also broke through the symbolic level of 50 rubles per euro for the first time in several months. The ruble has slumped as investors fret about the impact of ever more stringent Western sanctions on the economy, which is already teetering on the verge of...

I’m sure you’re familiar with the famous quip, erroneously attributed to Einstein: Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. Well, this Sunday, Swedish voters have the chance to go insane — or to prove that they learned their lesson the first time around.Swedes are going to the polls on Sunday to elect a new government. And there is a very real chance — let’s call it what it is: a very real risk — that the country’s former government, the Social Democrats, will reclaim ultimate power in the Nordic nation.If so, the change in leadership would...

Money launderers will increasingly move away from the US dollar to the renminbi as US authorities continue to crack down on international banks’ AML systems [says] Freddie McMahon, director of strategy & innovation at Anomaly42, a specialist in AML and terrorist financing. “The dollar is becoming increasingly high risk and it’s a level of risk money launderers are proving less willing to take...the renminbi is off the beaten track and affords a new level of camouflage for criminal transactions." “The irony is that proactively countering the money launderers represents an unprecedented opportunity for the Chinese authorities to make the renminbi...

Imagine this scene: “Everyone in the country was in shock. People’s net worth had devalued more than 53% overnight.” “The value in savings accounts dropped in half and neither merchants nor consumers knew how to react because they had never been through something like it before…” This is how an American business executive described living through Mexico’s devaluation of the peso exactly 38 years ago on September 1, 1976. Looking back, it was so obvious. Mexico had a mounting debt, destructive policies, and a woefully unsustainable fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. All the writing was on the wall....

On Thursday morning, the European Central Bank surprised markets with a raft of stimulative measures including cuts in interest rates and the commencement of asset purchases. The news sent the euro currency much lower, but currency expert Boris Schlossberg of BK Asset Management identifies another reason why the euro could call even further: fresh concerns over a European Union breakup. ECB president Mario Draghi, in announcing the measures, mentioned that the vote was not unanimous. The strongest economy in the eurozone, Germany, is widely expected to have dissented. "It's a very, very tenuous union in many ways, and we see...

Tyler Durden 08/26/2014 After spending time in Argentina, BofA's Marcos Buscaglia is concerned... The perception of many locals is that the risks of an economic/currency crisis before year-end have increased significantly. This compares to a view they had before of a muddle-through till the 2015 presidential elections. Policy decision-making is ever more concentrated, and the administration has radicalized, but the severe economic downturn will change political incentives in 2015, in BofA's view. With the official peso rate at record lows once again, the black-market Dolar-Blue tumbled to over 14/USD - a record low indicating dramatic devaluation ahead (which of course,...

The Ukrainian hryvnia just made a new low against the U.S. dollar. On Tuesday, one dollar bought 13.4 hyrvnias, with the hryvnia losing more than 4% against the dollar just today. The latest drop in the currency comes amid reports that Russia is sending a convoy of 280 humanitarian aid trucks into Ukraine, according to Reuters.

For many Americans the country of Mexico conjures up images of a third world nation. The poverty, lack of basic services, and extreme violence has left the populace so desperate that thousands of people on a daily basis head to the United States for a better life. But according to Future Money Trends, all that could change in the near future as key Mexican financial leaders and politicians have been working to institute sweeping monetary change that, if implemented, could unleash a global power shift of epic proportions. “Take just three or four men out of the ‘anti’ group,” says...

Tyler Durden 07/06/2014 Submitted by Adam Taggart via Peak Prosperity, This week's podcast sees the return of Mike Maloney, monetary historian and founder of precious metals broker GoldSilver.com. Based on historical patterns and the alarming state of our current monetary system, Mike believes the fiat US dollar is in its last years as a viable currency. He sees its replacement as inevitable in the near term -- as in by or before the end of the decade: All of this is converging with the crazy experiments the Federal Reserve has done. I absolutely believe that there are economic consequences to...

Bitcoin fanboys have long cheered the fact that Bitcoin global transfer capabilities at cheap prices make using Bitcoin, as a method of global money transfer, superior to any other transfer system, on the basis of cost. Enter Richard Branson. Sir Richard Branson is providing funding for London-based money transfer start-up TransferWise, reports FT. It has raised $25m to expand its marketing efforts, with Sir Richard contributing a significant but undisclosed share of the funds. He was joined by existing shareholders including Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, venture capitalists Index Ventures and Kima Ventures, the investment group co-founded by the...