The Coming One World Currency

Martin Armstrong writing from May 2009
(Cdn dollar page 17)

http://armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/one-world-currency-509.pdf

Brookfield (BAM) seasonality

Source: http://www.equityclock.com/2014/11/06/stock-market-outlook-for-november-7-2014/

Thoughts from Peter Grandich

Source: http://moneytalks.net//peters-content/13785-election-eve-thought.html

Here are six Conundrums of socialism in the United States of America:

1. America is capitalist and greedy - yet half of the population is subsidized.

2. Half of the population is subsidized - yet they think they are victims.

3. They think they are victims - yet their representatives run the government.

4. Their representatives run the government - yet the poor keep getting poorer.

5. The poor keep getting poorer - yet they have things that people in other countries only dream about.

6. They have things that people in other countries only dream about - yet they want America to be more like those other countries.


These three, short sentences tell you a lot about the direction of our current socialist government and cultural environment:

1. We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics.

Funny how that works. And here's another one worth considering...

2. Seems we constantly hear about how Social Security is going to run out of money. But we never hear about welfare or food stamps running out of money? What's interesting is the first group "worked for" their money, but the second didn't.

Think about it.....and Last but not least,

3. Why are we cutting benefits for our veterans, no pay raises for our military and cutting our army to a level lower than before WWII, but we are not stopping the payments or benefits to illegal aliens.

Am I the only one missing something?

Delisting from Toronto Stock Exchange

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investor-education/my-shares-are-worthless-now-what/article16287668/

Can a taxpayer claim a capital loss when a stock plummets in value and then is delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange? I bought a small amount of a mining stock a while back and it’s now worthless, but I didn’t sell the stock and so I assume I am out of luck when it comes to claiming a capital loss.

Good news: Even though you didn’t sell the shares before they were delisted, you still may be able to claim a capital loss – either now or in the future – depending on the status of the company.

According to Section 50(1) of the Income Tax Act, there are three scenarios in which a loss can be claimed:

the company went bankrupt during the year
the company is insolvent and subject to a “winding-up order”
the company is insolvent; it no longer carries on business; the fair market value of the shares is nil; and “it is reasonable to expect that the corporation will be dissolved or wound up and will not commence to carry on business.”

If one of the above three situations applies, the investor can deem to have disposed of the stock at the end of the year “for proceeds equal to nil and to have re-acquired it immediately after the end of the year at a cost equal to nil,” the Income Tax Act states.

Why the bit about reacquiring the shares for nil?

Well, if the shares happen to increase in value at a later date (unlikely, but not impossible), the investor could potentially realize a capital gain and have to pay tax.

According to a TD Waterhouse bulletin, because there is no form for making a Section 50(1) election, investors should attach a signed letter to the tax return stating that they want Section 50(1) to apply to the shares. “For returns that are electronically filed, all elections and supporting documentation must be submitted in writing,” TD Waterhouse says in the bulletin (available at tinyurl.com/kpoy2sg).

Your broker may be able to facilitate an even simpler solution. For investors holding delisted (and presumably worthless) stock, some financial institutions will agree to purchase the shares for a token amount (a penny per share, for example) and then charge the client a nominal fee so that the net cost to both parties is zero.

“This allows the client to use the transaction slip from the sale for tax purposes,” TD Waterhouse says.

“It is important to understand the potential downside of utilizing this procedure: If the ‘worthless security’ ever revives itself and becomes relisted and tradable, you would have given up all ownership rights by selling the shares to the financial institution.”

When I asked my own discount broker, BMO InvestorLine, about its procedure, I was told that delisted shares can be disposed of using a “deed of gift” form. Essentially, the client agrees to give the broker the worthless shares and the disposition appears in the client’s transaction history with a value of zero. This provides a record that can be used to claim the loss for tax purposes.

BMO’s deed of gift form states that it is the investor’s “responsibility to determine whether the gift of the securities constitutes a disposition within the Income Tax Act (Canada) which would allow the donor(s) to realize a capital loss.”

So take heart: If the company you own goes bust, you can still claim a loss on the shares even if there is no market for them.

If I may leave you with one other piece of advice: Try to invest only in stable, profitable companies with a history of paying dividends. That will reduce the chances of finding yourself in a similar situation again.

Follow John Heinzl on Twitter: @johnheinzl

How Stoopid of ME

I've learned that changing your mind is one of the most difficult things we do. It is far easier to fool yourself into believing a falsehood than admit a mistake.

I've learned that people are terrible at predicting their own emotions. You will be more fearful when the market is crashing and more greedy when it is surging than you think.

I've learned that strong political beliefs in either direction limit your ability to make rational decisions more than almost anything else.

I've learned that short-term thinking is at the root of most of our problems, whether it's in business, politics, investing, or work.

I've learned that debt can cause more social problems than some drugs, yet drugs are illegal and debt is tax deductible.

I've learned that finance is actually very simple, but it's made to look complicated to justify fees.

-more can be found here: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/06/11/im-just-now-realizing-how-stupid-we-are.aspx

Mining Report

Gold miners to slash reserves as price drop forces revision
Written by Rachelle Younglai – Mining Report for The Globe & Mail
Monday, 10 February 2014 10:16

After years of costly mistakes, the new chief executives of Barrick Gold Corp. and Kinross Gold Corp. have ushered in an era of austerity in the precious metal sector.

The results of their labour will be on display when Canadian mining companies report fourth-quarter earnings this week.

Investors are already expecting gold producers to reduce their bullion reserves, write down more assets and record lower profits.

But the bad news may soon be ending with companies adjusting to the lower gold price.

“The worst is over,” said John Ing, president of investment firm Maison Placements Canada Inc. in Toronto.

That doesn’t mean the picture will be pretty this quarter.

Barrick CEO Jamie Sokalsky told investors that the company will use a $1,100 (U.S.) price to calculate its unmined gold. That is down sharply from the $1,500 price assumption used to calculate last year’s reserves.

That could slash more than 10 per cent from the miner’s stockpile of 140 million ounces of gold in the ground, which is equivalent to 20 years of production at the current rate of seven million ounces per year.

Toronto-based Barrick will also record another writedown on its troubled Pascua Lama mine in the Andes and likely take additional impairment charges on mines that have become too expensive to run.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. of Toronto is expected to cut its reserves after using a $1,490 price assumption for its mines that have a shorter life.

Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc., too, is also expected to cut its reserves.

Kinross may record another write down on one of its mines. And fellow Toronto-based miner Iamgold Corp. has said it will produce less gold at higher costs.

But investors have been warned and now they want to ensure that companies follow through on plans to bolster their financial position.

“We’re going to be looking for material improvement on the cost side,” said Rick Rule, chairman of Sprott U.S. Holdings, who has spent years investing in natural resources.

Gold producers spent last year learning to live with the falling bullion price.

The yellow metal is now trading around $1,250 an ounce compared with $1,700 last year, squeezing margins and requiring companies to overhaul operations.

Miners that used to spend as much as $1,400 to dig up an ounce of gold have had to find ways to cut production costs. “The alternative is that they begin to go extinct,” Mr. Rule said.

Barrick and Kinross, two companies that have been badly wounded by high-priced acquisitions, took some of the most aggressive measures to rein in expenses.

Kinross CEO Paul Rollinson reduced capital expenditures to below $1-billion this year and has repeatedly said the miner will not expand its problematic Tasiast mine in the Mauritanian desert unless it is economical.

Barrick halted construction at Pascua Lama and raised $3-billion to pay down debt.

Iamgold reduced capital expenditures, exploration and its dividend.

RBC Dominion Securities said companies will see benefits if they can improve their cash flow and show that they are disciplined with their capital. “Those with deteriorating balance sheets are likely to struggle to attract investor attention,” RBC said in a research note.

In a sign that investors are getting comfortable with the weaker gold price and are starting to reward companies for austerity measures, the gold mining index is up 16 per cent so far this year, outperforming the bullion price, which is up 5 per cent over the same time period.

Last year, the index dropped 47 per cent, while the price of gold fell about 30 per cent.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/gold-miners-to-slash-reserves-as-price-drop-forces-revision/article16770442/

Martin Armstrong

Some notes from a Martin Armstrong interview on November 2, 2013

* we need to see gold under $1,000 to get the perma-bulls bearish

* to turn gold we need to see interest rates start rising

* long term, gold will run up into 2032

* if gold goes below $1,000 in early 2014, that will be the low

* worst case - gold will make the low in 2015

* next crisis will likely be pension funds; starting late 2015 going into '17 - '18

* risk of gov't seizing all pension funds

* expect short term correction in stocks

* major high in stock market mid to late 2015; correction after that

* sizable rally of 50% and possibly a double
(prior to this interview the SPX high was 1775 in October 2013)

* short term the commodity bull is over; production needs to be reduced at the bottom in order to set up for the next cycle. Next cycle for commodity boom will largely be after 2016

Interview conducted by Michael Campbell and broadcast on CKNW.

Coins, rounds, bars

golf

An actual sign posted at a golf club in Scotland.

1. BACK STRAIGHT, KNEES BENT, FEET SHOULDER WIDTH APART.

2. FORM A LOOSE GRIP.

3. KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!

4. AVOID A QUICK BACK SWING.

5. STAY OUT OF THE WATER.

6. TRY NOT TO HIT ANYONE.

7. IF YOU ARE TAKING TOO LONG, LET OTHERS GO AHEAD OF YOU.

8. DON'T STAND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF OTHERS.

9. QUIET PLEASE...WHILE OTHERS ARE PREPARING.

10. DON'T TAKE EXTRA STROKES.

WELL DONE... NOW, FLUSH THE URINAL, WASH YOUR HANDS AND GO OUTSIDE, AND TEE OFF.
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