Category: General

Banks preparing for reopening in Cyprus

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Cyprus has imposed limits on money transfers and hired extra security guards to prepare for the reopening of its banks, which have been shut for almost two weeks to avoid a run during the country's financial drama.
A banking official said Wednesday that new controls will include restrictions on large-scale transfers from the country's two largest and most troubled lenders, Bank of Cyprus and Laiki, when they reopen Thursday. Both are being restructured and big depositors face losses of as much as 40 percent.

Authorities are looking to increase the daily withdrawal limit from 100 euros to 300 euros (from $130 to $386), while payroll payments will be allowed in order to help businesses, which saw a huge slump as people cut down on their spending amid the uncertainty swirling about the banks. Continue reading "Banks preparing for reopening in Cyprus" →

A Bubble Bigger than Housing Is About to Pop

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The most devastating market events are those that no one sees coming.

Take what happened to the Lehman Brothers in 2008, for example. Up until the last minute, virtually no one could have imagined one of the country's leading investment banks would file for bankruptcy. The housing market crash was the same way. The Street believed housing prices would never go down.

With the market totally blind to the growing risk in each investment, anyone who had investments in housing or with Lehman Brothers suffered huge losses.

Despite these tough lessons, there is now another epic bubble developing and the market is ignoring this one too.

In fact, this bubble is so big, the 2006 housing bubble and the 2000 bubble pale in comparison. And when it pops, it will hit the most conservative portfolios the hardest. Continue reading "A Bubble Bigger than Housing Is About to Pop" →

Get Ready to Profit from the "Return of the Consumer"

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After a stunning 15% surge since mid-November, the market has struggled in the past month, trading up and down in a tight 1% band. Problems in Europe have reignited and many on Wall Street are expecting consumer spending to weaken during the rest of the year. It is all making the case for a bull market very difficult, except for a key report the U.S. Federal Reserve recently released.

I am not talking about the Fed's stance on interest rates, or whether it will maintain record bond purchases. This report is even more important because it concerns the driver to 70% of the nation's economy and, despite current bad news, it's pointing straight up.

But first, a bit of background... Continue reading "Get Ready to Profit from the "Return of the Consumer"" →

A look at the eurozone's 5 bailouts

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Cyprus' bailout deal is the fifth agreed on so far in the 17-strong group of European Union countries that use the euro since the debt crisis began in late 2009.

Here's a look at the rescue programs:

GREECE - Greece has received two bailout packages from its eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund. Its problems began in late 2009, when the government admitted that public debt was far higher than official statistics showed. That led it to accept a bailout package of 110 billion euros (worth $142 billion today) in May 2010. When it became clear that bailout was not enough _ because the economy kept weakening _ a second bailout was clinched in February 2012 for another 130 billion euros. That included a writedown on the value of Greek government bonds to lighten Athens' debt burden. Continue reading "A look at the eurozone's 5 bailouts" →

Read This Before Investing In Commodities

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I want to show you the best way to invest in gold and other commodities. But there is something you need to know...

Commodities are risky. One of the riskiest things an individual investor can attempt.

It's estimated that 95% of individual commodity futures traders lose money. That means 19 out of 20 walk away with less than they started. 

You see, commodities trading is not investing. It's speculating that prices will move one way or the other. That's akin to gambling in my book.

Really, the only people that make serious money in commodities trading are the brokers. They pocket hefty commissions from clients that speculate on gold, wheat, oil, cattle, lumber and even coffee.  Continue reading "Read This Before Investing In Commodities" →