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November 8, 2012, Santiago, Chile. At some point or another, anyone who is even remotely paying attention to reality will likely reach two critical moments of awakening in their lives. The first is what I call the “Aha! moment”. This is the point at which people realize that there is something terribly, terribly
November 7, 2012, Santiago, Chile. There are a lot of things one could say about the election results… but very few things that are worth saying. One point that I absolutely must make is this– after December 31st, – Income tax rates are going up – Capital gains rates are going up –
November 6, 2012, Dallas, Texas. It’s really hard to ignore what’s happening today; the election phenomenon is global. Over the last several weeks, I’ve traveled to so many countries, and EVERYWHERE it seems, the US presidential election is big news. Even when I was in Myanmar ten days ago, local pundits were engaged
November 5, 2012, Dallas, Texas. Just over 400-years ago today, a group of 13 conspirators was caught trying to assassinate King James I of England and blow up the House of Lords in what became known as the Gunpowder Treason. If you’ve ever seen the movie V for Vendetta, you know the story.
November 1, 2012, Los Angeles, California. After an almost uninterrupted period of decline over the last few years, US home prices now have some positive momentum. For one, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities has seen its highest increase in more than two years. In addition, JP Morgan CEO Jamie
October 29, 2012, En route to Los Angeles. Greetings from Hong Kong International Airport; just a quick note today as I’m just about to hop a plane bound for California. Before I head out, I wanted to tell you about an interesting trend we’ve been seeing and hearing about from our business colleagues
October 26, 2012, Yangon, Myanmar. How quickly things can change. It seems like just yesterday that Burma was de facto part of the axis of evil. At the time, the military junta was jailing any and all dissidents. The country was heavily sanctioned. Hell, they even based the plot of the final Rambo
October 25, 2012, Singapore. We’ve discussed at length the importance of owning precious metals. The financial system is so full of insolvent banks and bankrupt governments, and gold is one of the few assets that you can own which is not simultaneously somebody else’s liability. Now, there are no shortage of products out
October 24, 2012, Singapore Legendary oilman T. Boone Pickens famously calls America’s oil imports ‘the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of the world.’ Pickens is referring to the money that is paid each year to oil exporting nations, particularly those in the Persian Gulf which raked in around $100 billion last
October 23, 2012, Singapore I never thought I’d see the day. Two years since the HIRE Act, FATCA, and Dodd-Frank became law and threw global finance into a tailspin, two foreign banks have finally stood up to Uncle Sam. Let’s review briefly. The HIRE Act was originally drafted in the early days of
October 22, 2012, Bangkok, Thailand [Editor’s note: Tim Staermose, Sovereign Man’s Chief Investment Strategist, is filling in for Simon today.] When it comes to investing in Asia, the two countries which soak up the vast majority of investment chatter are India and China. And with good reason, they’re the two largest economies in
October 19, 2012, Bangkok, Thailand One major assault against liberty over the last two years has been the steady erosion of online privacy. From Obama’s ‘kill switch’, to ACTA, SOPA and PIPA, to stasi tactics against people like Kim Dotcom, hardly a month goes by without some major action against Internet users. It’s
October 18, 2012, Bangkok, Thailand “Wherever you may be in the world, you will feel the unstoppable force of a new Asia.” So goes the advertising platform for DBS, the largest bank in Southeast Asia. These people know -exactly- what’s happening right now: wealth and power are shifting East. This is something that
October 16, 2012, Pattaya, Thailand I’m one of those idiots who pays into a health insurance plan month after month, year after year, and never goes to the doctor. In fact, I’ve had my current plan for years without ever filing a claim. The only reason to have it is the unlikely event
October 15, 2012, Bangkok, Thailand [Editor’s note: Today’s letter is an excerpt from the edition of Sovereign Confidential that will be published this afternoon.] Let’s step away from the noise for a moment and look at the big picture. This isn’t about doom and gloom, or fear, but objective facts. Undoubtedly, the Western
