Following the golden rule: Iran & Venezuela prime examples of intrinsic value of money vs. gold

Once again, gold has proved itself to be the most reliable safe haven as more and more citizens in countries hit by US sanctions are hoarding the metal in an effort to protect their savings from collapsing national currencies.

Rising demand for gold in Iran and Venezuela has sent prices for the precious metal to unprecedented levels while local currencies depreciate daily.

As of the end of July, gold prices in the struggling Latin American state saw a 3.1-million-percent increase against the beginning of the year, with an ounce of the yellow metal surging to 211 million bolivars ($1019,45). Venezuela is currently fighting the worst economic crisis ever, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expecting inflation to reach a colossal one-million percent by the end of 2018. The skyrocketing inflation that is unavoidably dragging down the Venezuelan bolivar is forcing people to buy up gold to keep their savings from disappearing.

Venezuela is currently the subject of various penalties imposed by the White House over alleged violations of human rights and of undermining democracy. Americans are banned from investing in newly issued Venezuelan bonds and the country’s state-run corporations. Caracas sees this “economic war” as one of the key reasons for longstanding crisis in the country.

At the same time, the latest decision by the US to partially re-impose sanctions on Iran has boosted demand for gold in that country, as its citizens are looking to protect their wealth against the devaluation of the national currency.

Earlier this month, the unofficial rate of the Iranian rial plummeted to a record low of 112,000 against the greenback. In less than a year, the value of the rial has nearly halved. While the official rate is around 42,000 rials, it is very hard to buy a buck at that rate.

In the same period, prices for gold in the Islamic Republic skyrocketed amid increasing demand, with the price of an 8.13-gram coin going from $346 in January to $379 at present, fixing a 9.5-percent increase.

Earlier this week, Iranian authorities announced a relaxation of foreign exchange rules, allowing exchange offices to buy and sell hard currencies for purposes such as foreign trade. The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic gave importers of non-essential goods access to hard currency brought by exporters with exchange rates to be set by the open market. The influx of currency reportedly won’t be limited or taxed.

https://www.rt.com/business/435701-iran-venezuela-gold-rule/

Tech billionaire arrested in Las Vegas hotel on suspicion of drug trafficking

Broadcom co-founder and former CEO Henry Nicholas III has been arrested in Las Vegas along with a woman after police found two cases of hard drugs in his suite at the Encore hotel.

Las Vegas Metropolitan police reportedly detained the tech billionaire at 10:40 pm on Tuesday. Also arrested was Ashley Fargo who, according some media reports, is the ex-wife of a Wells Fargo banking heir. The police arrived at the request of hotel security.

Nicholas couldn’t get into his room and, after security assisted him, they discovered Fargo laying on the bed unconscious with a semi-deflated balloon in her mouth, reports the tabloid news website TMZ, citing law enforcement sources. Apart from the woman, police found two suitcases that reportedly needed to be inspected under hotel rules.

The inspection revealed that one of the cases was full of marijuana, while another contained various narcotic substances, including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy. Some of the pills were reportedly stamped with Winnie the Pooh.

This is not the first time the billionaire had a run-in with the law. Ten years ago, Nicholas faced felony securities fraud and drug distribution charges, which were later dropped.

Nicholas and Fargo have been released from custody, according to the police. The former was released on his own recognizance, according to David Chesnoff, the billionaire’s attorney, who said his law firm is investigating the circumstances of the arrest.

Chesnoff is one of Las Vegas’ best-known defense lawyers, having represented celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Bruno Mars and Motley Crue singer Vince Neil.

Henry Nicholas III founded Broadcom with his doctoral advisor Henry Samueli in the spare bedroom of Nicholas' Redondo Beach condominium in 1991. They each invested $5,000 of their own money to get the business off the ground. They took the company public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1998. He left the firm in 2003. Broadcom was later sold for $37 billion. Forbes estimates Nicholas’s net worth at $3.6 billion.

Broadcom Inc. is a designer, developer and global supplier of products based on analog and digital semiconductor technologies within four primary markets: wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage, and industrial & others.

https://www.rt.com/business/435605-nicholas-tech-billionaire-drug-possession/

Rothschild worried about new world economic order

Jacob Rothschild has voiced concern about the global financial system that was established after WWII. The billionaire banker points to the US-China trade war and eurozone crisis as the key problems putting economic order at risk.

“In 9/11 and in the 2008 financial crisis, the powers of the world worked together with a common approach. Co-operation today is proving much more difficult. This puts at risk the post-war economic and security order,”Rothschild warned in his investment trust's half-year results commentary.

In economics, the post-war order is usually refers to a monetary management system which led to a rise of the US dollar as a dominant currency.

“In the circumstances our policy is to maintain our limited exposure to quoted equities and to enter into new commitments with great caution,”Rothschild added.

Rothschild’s RIT Capital investment has a historically low 47 percent exposure to the stock market. The banking dynasty is concerned that the 10-year stock market rally could be ending.

“The cycle is in its 10th positive year, the longest on record. We are now seeing some areas of weaker growth emerge; indeed the IMF has recently predicted some slowdown,” the investment banker said.

Rothschild pointed at “potentially destructive” debt levels in Europe and trade wars as major problems for the global economy.

He added, “problems are likely to continue in emerging markets, compounded by rising interest rates and the US Fed's monetary policy which has drained global dollar liquidity.”

According to Rothschild, the lack of a co-ordinated, international response to global challenges was unlikely in an era of populist and protectionist leaders such as US president Donald Trump.

https://www.rt.com/business/435490-rothschild-new-world-order-stability/

Rothschild Bank caught up in money-laundering scandal

Switzerland’s financial regulator has accused Rothschild Bank AG and its trust subsidiary of violating anti-money laundering law in relation to 1MDB, the troubled Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

According to the regulator, both Rothschild Bank AG and Rothschild Trust AG failed to check where assets from a client came from. The firms reportedly disregarded signs that the funds could be connected to money-laundering and took the money anyway. The companies run by the Rothschild family are also accused of reporting on the issue too late.

“Specifically, they were in breach of due diligence, reporting and documentation requirements,” Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said in a statement. “Finma will appoint an audit agent to review enhancements already put in place by the institutions.”

“We constantly strengthen our systems and procedures and are determined to continue to do so to identify and combat the increasingly sophisticated financial crime faced by the industry,” the bank’s spokesperson told Reuters in relation to the claims by FINMA.

An investigation into alleged illegal practices by 1Malaysia Development Berhad was launched as early as in 2011. Top management of the institution is under suspicion for reported embezzlement of funds designated for state economic development projects. The FBI joined the case three years ago with investigators from Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, the UAE, the Seychelles and Australia also involved.

The probe led to the arrest of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak earlier this year. The top official was accused of alleged breach of trust and abuse of funds.

https://www.rt.com/business/433993-rothschild-caught-money-laundering-switzerland/