by Pete Veslick

Anyone who has money to invest is hurt by low interest rates. If you want to buy things on credit such as a car you might like the interest rates where they are now but people who have money sitting around are not happy. Right now the saying time is money does not really apply to bank cds and other investments where you make money by lending it to banks.

The people that are hurt by low interest rates are those people that like to invest in bank certificate of deposits (CDs) and other investment that are guaranteed by the government. Government bonds would also fall into that category. Seniors often have their money in this type of safe investment vehicle because they need to be guaranteed that they will not lose the money. In exchange for the low risk, they are willing to make less …

Deja vu all over again… are stocks just following the 2008 playbook?… Bill Jenkins shares his favorite global currency… Gold bugs beware: Gold chart forecasts a sell-off… Yet league of famous funds (and Chris Mayer) are buying up gold stocks… Plus, are we reading this right? A bank bails out the government?

We’re scanning markets of the world today and scratching our heads… haven’t we heard this before? There was a scare at the start of the year – banks were in trouble, the housing market was crashing and unemployment was rising. The S&P fell at a rate unseen in a long, long time. But then,a sucker’s rally! The worst was likely over, they said… stocks were oversold. The U.S. consumer, China and oil companies promised to lead us out of this mess. And of course, the current administration’s new multibillion stimulus

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Alex’s Notes: It is interesting to watch history repeat itself. What we are witnessing has happened before.

Unfortunately, desperate attempts may temorarily fix the problem, but long term its is just a bandaid.

All paper currencies that are backed by nothing end up failing, because they are backed by nothing. There is no real value behind them.

A currency MUST be linked to something of value for it to retain value. Otherwise, its just another measure that will constantly devalue over time.

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In Detroit, three downtown businesses have created a local currency, or scrip, to keep dollars earned locally in the community.

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.

Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.

The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a

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Alex’s Notes: It is interesting to watch history repeat itself. What we are witnessing has happened before.

Unfortunately, desperate attempts may temorarily fix the problem, but long term its is just a bandaid.

All paper currencies that are backed by nothing end up failing, because they are backed by nothing. There is no real value behind them.

A currency MUST be linked to something of value for it to retain value. Otherwise, its just another measure that will constantly devalue over time.

***************************

In Detroit, three downtown businesses have created a local currency, or scrip, to keep dollars earned locally in the community.

By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY

A small but growing number of cash-strapped communities are printing their own money.

Borrowing from a Depression-era idea, they are aiming to help consumers make ends meet and support struggling local businesses.

The systems generally work like this: Businesses and individuals form a

...

You’ve bought some physical gold – congratulations! We think you’ve made a wise decision. And yes, we’re referring to physical gold that you’ve taken possession of – not electronic gold, ETFs, Perth Mint Certificates, etc. Those are all good choices, but your portfolio is incomplete until you have some coins or bars under your direct, physical control.

Personal possession of real gold adds to your security by giving you privacy and portability. It’s gold that no one has to know about, and you can carry $50,000 worth of it in one hand.

But where do you keep this best-of-all type of gold without undermining the advantages?

Let’s assume that you’ve bought the gold over the counter, for cash, from a coin dealer, probably in a nearby town, who doesn’t know you. So you are starting out with absolute privacy – no credit card charges, no canceled checks, no shipping records.

1. Safe Deposit …

The intricacies of the financial crisis is not well understood by all and sundry. The explanation below arrived in my inbox just in time to share with you for light weekend reading and to assist in debunking the myths of the crisis.

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Berlin. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics - to drink now but pay later. She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans).

Word gets around and as a result increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi’s bar.

Taking advantage of her customers’ freedom from immediate payment constraints, Heidi increases her prices for wine

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The fraud scandal surrounding Allen Stanford and his consortium of investment firms grew to shocking proportions today (Thursday) as it spread its tentacles from the United States and the Caribbean to Latin America and Europe.

The sordid web of allegations against Stanford grew from outright fraud and security violations to possible connections with Mexican drug cartels, money laundering, and canceled cricket matches as people scrambled to get their money back from firms linked to the Texas billionaire.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Security Exchange Commission, already reeling from the shock generated by the alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme fraud blamed on Wall Street veteran Bernard Madoff, could offer no assurances that more scandals would not occur.

When asked whether there would be more fraud cases of the scale and scope of Madoff and Stanford, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters: “It’s hard to say. I’d like

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strongFinancial News/strongbr /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscow br /08 December 2008 br /br /Increasing competition from new entrants and sharp falls in equity prices are driving down the margins of Russia’s sub-custody banks.br /br /The recent arrivals of Sweden’s SEB and France’s Société Générale, plus the increasing participation of Russian banks such as VTB and Gazprombank, are forcing fees downward but bringing greater segmentation and opportunities for niche providers.br /br /Natalia Sidorova, head of securities services at ING Wholesale Banking in Moscow, said: “Margins are decreasing, which is inevitable in a busy market like Russia driven by competition. Fees used to be about 20 basis points but have come down significantly in recent years.”br /br /Serhiy Berezhny, head of trust and securities services at Deutsche Bank, agreed but said high fees could still be charged depending on the volume of client assets. br /br /He said: “Different clients are ...

As larger financial institutions struggle with fancy financial instruments and rescue packages, there are many smaller banks in the US that continue to loan and make money as they can. The local bank, where the loan officer actually remembers your name, is doing well and looking to capitalize when and where it can. As with any business in difficult financial times, there are losses to be had, but these types of banks have stepped up to lessen them.

Macatawa Bank Corp., a Michigan Chartered Bank, operates 26 FDIC insured retail branch offices throughout western Michigan. The company has been experiencing solid growth and expects to open additional retail outlets in its Grand Rapids and Zeeland/Grand Haven markets as conditions warrant.

In most respects, Macatawa Bank is the local bank that a community can depend upon for all its banking needs. It was there for a consumer’s first home or business

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Nashville Bank & Trust Company (NVBT) announced its third quarter results Thursday, sustaining what FDIC guidelines call a “well capitalized” bank. Third quarter net income for the local bank was $66,000, with year-to-date net income exceeding $362,000 – after income taxes of $224,000 were paid.

The bank’s 3Q net income in 2007 was $454,000, with an income tax benefit rolled over after posted losses in prior years. Year-to-date non-interest income was $1,837,000 compared to $1,487,000 for the first nine months of 2007. The bank says this increase was due mainly to continued growth in the bank’s wealth management business where revenues grew by 23 percent in the first 9 months of 2008.

Total assets increased by 21 percent to $151 million in the last 12-month period. In that same timeframe, total loans increased by 37 percent to $120 million. Deposits increased by 23 percent to $129 million. With these numbers the bank’s

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