Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: May 11, 2012 Reporting From: Undisclosed Location

Notes from the Field

Date: May 11, 2012
Reporting From: Undisclosed Location

Former US Republican presidential candidate Michelle Bachmann receives the Sovereign Man dumbest person of the week award for obtaining… then almost immediately renouncing… Swiss citizenship. I’ll explain:

Bachmann’s husband is a Swiss national; they’ve been married since 1978, and as a result, Bachmann eventually became qualified for Swiss citizenship as well.

She recently received confirmation of her citizenship from the Swiss authorities, a fact that was reported in some mainstream media outlets. Bachmann was subsequently criticized by her political opponents for engaging in such ‘un-American’ activities.

[This is a bizarre assertion, by the way, as the country was built on dual nationals...]

And so, just two days after the story broke, Bachmann renounced her Swiss citizenship yesterday, announcing that she is a “proud American citizen.”

This is, by far, one of the dumbest things that somebody could do. It’s possible to both be a proud citizen AND have a backup plan. Patriotism doesn’t mean blindly going all in.

Having a second passport provides a great deal of opportunities, from new banking and financial relationships to a having a fallback option for another place to live.

It’s like an insurance policy… something that you many never ‘need’, but you’ll be incredibly thankful you have in case you ever do.

And as citizenship is often conferred generationally, your progeny will also be able to enjoy the benefits. In this way, it’s like having an insurance policy for all of your future descendants. Not a bad deal.

A Swiss passport is definitely one of the best. You can travel almost anywhere visa-free. It’s a great place to have the option to live some day. The economy is actually functional. Oh, and there are no men in caves plotting to kill the Swiss.

Obtaining Swiss nationality, though, requires a great deal of time and patience; it takes well over a decade to qualify, apply, and receive citizenship, and slightly less time if you’re married to a Swiss national.

Only a handful of people are lucky enough to become naturalized Swiss citizens, and giving it up is like throwing away a winning lottery ticket…

Ironically, after her political tenure is over and Congress has managed to finally finish off the US economy, Bachmann may, having renounced Swiss citizenship, find herself one day trapped in the environment of financial repression, capital controls, and steep inflation that was created by the government she once served.

The rest of us don’t have to end up this way.

For millennia, governments on the slide have resorted to plundering their citizens in order to maintain the status quo and keep the party going a little while longer.

History is full of examples, from the Roman Empire (which resorted to direct confiscation of people’s agricultural stock) to the Greek government of today (which is now simply nationalizing people’s bank accounts in its sole discretion).

The folks who stick around waving the flag and bombastically proclaiming their patriotism just end up getting abused. Thinking, creative people have a plan B.

Today this means taking steps to diversify internationally, including obtaining a second passport.

Now, I put boots on the ground all over the world. Just in the last two months, for example, I’ve been to 14+ countries from Venezuela to Thailand to Canada to Peru.

In each of these places, I’m constantly looking for the best opportunities– lifestyle, investment, business, employment, banking, medical, personal, etc.

Residency and citizenship is high on my list… and what I can say is that it’s definitely getting harder by the day. Governments are starting to realize that a passport is one of the scarcest resources in the world, and as things continue to get a bit crazy, demand is growing.

Scarce supply, rising demand; we all know what this means. Bottom line, it’s getting harder:

- St. Kitts, generally considered a foolproof economic citizenship program, recently raised their already high price for obtaining nationality.

- In Uruguay, the standards are now very strict, and the government wants you to really prove your value to Uruguayan society. They’ve even hired a special team to go around the country to check on your physical residency.

- In Singapore, the flood of EmployeePass applications has made the government reconsider this residency program after having already discontinued the high net worth Financial Investor Scheme.

- For residency and citizenship in Paraguay, the government keeps modifying the procedures for application, and it’s taking much, much longer than it used to.

There are a lot more examples, but its true: obtaining foreign residency and getting naturalized is really getting harder.

Nobody else is going to tell you this. In fact, the plethora of idiots running around ‘selling’ passport services who have no earthly idea what they’re talking about is only spreading misinformation and making matters worse.

In reality, there are still some high quality options available, several of which I will review at the end of this month on our SMC members-only teleconference.

To give you an example, Brazil and Chile are both excellent, off the radar choices. But you really need to have the right support, someone who actually knows what s/he is doing.

The biggest lesson is– do not procrastinate. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll be grandfathered in under the old rules. The longer you wait, the higher the likelihood that an option won’t be available any longer.

Something to think about.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com

PS. Don’t forget that the application deadline for our 2012 Liberty and Entrepreneurship summer workshop is on Tuesday, May 15th. We have students applying from all over the world– 39 countries and counting, as diverse as Indonesia, Macedonia, India, Brazil, New Zealand, and the United States.

Young people– don’t miss out on this opportunity. Go to BlacksmithCamp.com for more details.

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: April 26, 2012 Reporting From: Santiago, Chile

Notes from the Field

Date: April 26, 2012
Reporting From: Santiago, Chile

“Should we crawl into bed with the IRS?”

Thanks to the steady barrage of US government regulation ranging from the obtusely  insipid Dodd-Frank financial reform to the impossible-to-implement Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), banks everywhere have to make this decision.

In short, Congress has arrogantly passed legislation to control foreign banks on foreign soil. FATCA, for example, requires that every single bank on the planet enter into an information-sharing agreement with the IRS.

Banks that don’t comply will face severe penalties, including being subject to a steep withholding tax on funds sourced through the US.

In the long-run, Congress will have put the final nail in the coffin of the US banking system as the market will simply establish an alternative destination to source, clear, and transfer funds.

For now, though, many banks are simply walking away from US customers altogether… throwing their hands up and saying “we would rather not do business with this entire market rather than deal with Uncle Sam ever again…”

To be clear, this is a bank-by-bank decision that each one is making individually. And we’re seeing -a lot- of banks around the world, from Singapore to Panama to the Cayman Islands, say ‘thanks but no thanks’ to US customers.

But, as the saying goes, whenever one door closes, another one opens. OK, maybe not exactly 1 for 1… but there are still plenty of options around the world where US taxpayers can establish foreign bank accounts to diversify their savings abroad.

Not a bad place to visit your money…

[As an aside, establishing a foreign bank account is one of the most important steps to take in order to safeguard your livelihood. It's critical to move a portion of your savings to a jurisdiction that is not under the control of the bureaucrats in your home country, so that your funds cannot be frozen with a single mouse click or phone call.]While I’m not able to list (for the most part) individual banks, the following jurisdictions have multiple banks that are still happy to work with US customers. I should know, I have an account in most of these places:1) Andorra. This tiny low-tax nation nestled high in the mountains between France and Spain has long been a favorite of well-heeled Europeans. Today, despite all the turmoil in the rest of Europe, Andorra has one of the most well-capitalized banking systems on the continent.

2) St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This country is more famous for being the filming location for Pirates of the Caribbean rather than as an international banking center. The banking sector is still quite small, and as a result, banks are still willing to do the extra paperwork required to deal with US customers in order to boost their balance sheets.

3) Mongolia. Perhaps one of my favorite places in the world to bank, you can get paid upwards of 13% interest in Mongolia, easily the fastest growing economy in the world.

4) Belize. Even though it’s just a short flight from a number of cities in the US, several banks in Belize will open accounts for US citizens through the mail without you having to leave town.

5) Hong Kong. One of the original international banking centers, Hong Kong remains one of the most efficient places in the world to bank. It’s cheap, it’s fast, and you have unfettered access to opportunities in mainland China. Many of the big name banks, including HSBC, will still open accounts for US citizens.

6) The Bahamas. With the local economy already so closely tied to the United States, most banks in the Bahamas have made the decision to stay in bed with Uncle Sam rather than rock the boat.

7) Chile. Among the most well-capitalized banks in Latin America, Chile’s banking system marches to the beat of its own drum. It’s very difficult (though possible) to open an account without obtaining residency first, but fortunately it’s a straightforward process to obtain residency in this thriving country.

8) Turks and Caicos. Like the Bahamas, T&C’s economy is heavily dependent on the United States for trade, tourism, and its financial sector (which constitutes 30% of all economic activity). While a few private banks have closed their doors, some larger multinationals (like Scotiabank) still readily accept US customers.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

FYI – A thumbnail sketch of a Founding Father – Thomas Jefferson…..via E-mail from a Friend

Thomas Jefferson

This is amazing. There are two parts. Be sure to read the 2nd part (in RED).

Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.

At 5, began studying under his cousin’s tutor.

At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.

At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.

At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.

At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.

At 23, started his own law practice.

At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.

At 31, wrote the widely circulated “Summary View of the Rights of British America ” and retired from his law practice.

At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.

At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .

At 33, took three years to revise Virginia ’s legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.

At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.

At 40, served in Congress for two years.

At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.

At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.

At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.

At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.

At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .

At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation’s size.

At 61, was elected to a second term as President.

At 65, retired to Monticello .

At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.

At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia and served as its first president.

At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: “This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone.”

“When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe .” — Thomas Jefferson

“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” — Thomas Jefferson

“My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” — Thomas Jefferson

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” — Thomas Jefferson

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.”

– Thomas Jefferson

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” — Thomas Jefferson

“To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property – until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”

I wish we could get this out to everyone!!!

I’m doing my part. Please do yours.

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: April 10, 2012 Reporting From: Singapore

Notes from the Field

Date: April 10, 2012
Reporting From: Singapore

View of Marina Bay, Singapore from my 39th
floor hotel room

The flight from Bangkok to Singapore is a quick 2-hours south down the Malay peninsula… though it might as well be 2-years given their differences; Singapore and Thailand are about as distinct as Switzerland and India– it’s yin & yang. Order vs. Chaos. Safety vs. Insanity.

I spend a fair amount of time in both places and tend to get this question a lot– which is better for living in? Which is better for basing a business? It’s a tough question, but I’ll try.

Singapore (like Switzerland) is essentially perfect. Everything works. It’s efficient, clean, and ridiculously safe.  Crime rates in Singapore are incredibly low, and violent crime is almost unheard of. This is extraordinary for a place with so much ethnic diversity.

The economy here is perennially strong; I’ve often written that Singapore is ablaze with opportunity for workers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors who are willing to trek across the Pacific.

Best of all, the government runs a very flat, transparent operation. There’s hardly anything you can’t do online, and bureaucracy is minimal. Taxes are also extremely low as Singapore is locked in a never-ending battle with Hong Kong over low-tax bragging rights.

For almost all of the expats I know who live here, Singapore is the -only- place to be. It’s great for families, finance professionals, and entrepreneurs who don’t want to slog it out in the mud with UNICEF in some third world country.

On the other hand, Singapore could also be described as vapid, or even sterile. Nightlife is a bit dull, and nothing terribly exciting happens. People work, earn, and shop. Most of the key areas around town lack character and soul; it’s a bit like new Las Vegas in that way.

On an intellectual level, Singapore definitely ticks all the boxes. There are few other places on the planet, if any, which offer access to so many amazing opportunities, economic vibrance, social stability, and extremely high living standards.

As a friend of mine told me this evening, “I love it with all of my head…”  It’s a rational choice. I usually tell people that Singapore makes a great home… for your money.

On a deeper emotional and spiritual level, however, it may fail to resonate. For my personal taste, I need a bit more picante in my life.

In this capacity, Bangkok is the polar opposite of Singapore; it’s a freewheeling, in your face, super-corrupt wild west. In many ways, Bangkok is like the Tangiers of Asia– a place that attracts international arms dealers and beach-going tourists alike.

Last night while out with some friends, a relative newcomer to Thailand started a question, “Here in Bangkok, can you–”

“– Yes,” we interrupted. In Thailand, the answer is always yes.
Anything goes.

The culture is also completely different. Despite Thailand’s reputation for revolution and debauchery, locals are fundamentally peace-loving Buddhists. They’re comfortable in their poverty and find happiness in simple pleasures.

In Singapore, society tends to be dominated by money– making money, investing money, spending money. This entire country is practically designed to promote financial success above anything else. It’s no coincidence they’re among the wealthiest people on earth.

To borrow from Warren Buffet, doing business in Thailand should come with a warning label. I tried it once a few years ago… it’s not pretty. The business environment in Thailand is based on coercion, corruption, and deceit. In Singapore, it’s all about the market.

Bottom line, in Thailand, you’re going to be in for a wild, roller coaster ride… especially when the King finally kicks the bucket. You can expect months of turmoil as the royals, military, and politicians wrestle for control of the country.

In Singapore, you can bet on a very stable, comfortable future where job prospects and other professional opportunities are bound to be plentiful.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: April 9, 2012 Reporting From: Bangkok, Thailand

Notes from the Field

Date: April 9, 2012
Reporting From: Bangkok, Thailand

One of the things that sets Thailand apart from nearly every other place on the planet is how absurdly cheap things are given the high quality of service.

This becomes crystal clear to even the most casual observer who wanders in to one of the country’s thousands of massage studios, where, for a whopping $5, a local will put his/her heart and soul into rubbing your feet for an hour.

This isn’t something that most people in developed countries would do at any price. And yet, here in Thailand, there is no shortage of folks happy and willing to make those knots go away for the price of a Frappuccino.

Another area where this price/quality anomaly is apparent is in healthcare. Private medical and dental care in Thailand is top notch… in many cases (as I will explore below) far superior to what you might receive back home. Yet it costs a fraction as much.

It’s not just in Thailand; several countries across Asia– South Korea, India, Singapore, and even mainland China– have emerged as the top places in the world to seek treatment. The reasoning is quite simple.

1. Cost is obvious.

Prices for complex procedures are typically half as much as western prices. Bumrungrad International Hospital, Thailand’s most famous medical tourism destination, has a great site publishing median prices for many common procedures.

Total hip replacement, for example, runs about $18,500 in Thailand… versus about $40,000 in the United States. Breast augmentation at Bangkok Hospital will cost around $3,200… versus $5,000 to $15,000 in North America and Europe.

The cost savings also carries over to pharmaceuticals, from blood pressure medication to OTC analgesics. I was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend and bought a pack of Tylenol plus throat lozenges at a local pharmacy for just $2.

2. On that note, many pharmaceuticals are frequently available over-the-counter in foreign markets.

Any gringo who has ever been to Mexico or Panama may have noticed everything ranging from Codeine to Viagra to Amoxicillin available for purchase OTC. It’s similar in Asia.

3. The quality of care overseas is often unparalleled.

Marquee hospitals in Asia (like Bumrungrad) are more like 7-star hotels than anything else– exquisite lobbies, concierge service, gourmet restaurants, luxury accommodations, nurses that are more like butlers, etc.

You’re not just some number in a system– you receive a great deal of personal attention from physicians, not the typical ‘slam, bam, pay the man’ that people in the west are accustomed to.

Not only is this approach refreshing, it also tends to improve the quality of treatment when the doctor spends more than 30-seconds with you.

4. There is no FDA.

One of the most important things to understand about healthcare overseas is that cutting edge, life-saving technologies are embraced without being regulated to death.

Without doubt, western governments (led by the United States) are stifling medical innovation. The regulation is too much of a hassle, and it’s just too damned expensive to negotiate the maze of FDA trials.

As such, there is a wider range of treatment options available overseas… especially in Asia.

To give you an example, a new surgical approach which combines focused ultrasound with magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to eradicate certain cancerous growths without actually having to operate on the patient.

This could potentially be a game changer… for the rest of the world. You’re not going to see it in the US for quite some time, if ever, thanks to the FDA.

Another area that the FDA has stifled is gene therapy. While genetic researchers languish in the US, China has pulled ahead as the clear global leader in genetic therapy, treating everything from cancer to Parkinson’s.

This is usually a huge surprise for people who have been conditioned to believe that the US has the most cutting-edge treatment in the world.

5. Asia is also the epicenter of traditional, non-western medical care.

If you’re not one to get pumped full of drugs when you get sick, Asia is home to some of the world’s earliest healing methods. And again, you’re not going to see herbs and supplements being regulated out of the market.

6. Privacy is far greater overseas.

When you’re dealing with a private hospital in Asia, there is no government healthcare system monitoring your records… no insurance conglomerate looking over your shoulder marking down pre-existing conditions.

7. It’s fun.

Naturally, when you can hop on a plane to receive top quality medical treatment, save a bundle of money, and visit a beautiful, exotic country in one fell swoop, this is an experience you definitely want to have.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: April 5, 2012 Reporting From: Hanoi, Vietnam

Notes from the Field

Date: April 5, 2012
Reporting From: Hanoi, Vietnam

[Editor's note: Sovereign Man Chief Investment Strategist Tim Staermose is filling in for Simon today.]

For the past eight days I’ve been spending time with friends in Vietnam; I’ll be leaving in a few days to link up with Simon in Thailand, but for now, I’m really impressed by Vietnam. The country has a great deal going for it.

In the ancient town of Hoi An and the capital city Hanoi, the lifestyle is generally very laid back and relaxed.  Excellent cafes and restaurants, offering both local fair and foreign food, are everywhere. Nearly all offer free, reliable WIFI connections.

Prices are very reasonable even in the fancier western-style places, and they border on ridiculously cheap in the local ones.  For a great lunch today of grilled pork and rice noodle soup accompanied by a huge plate heaped high with fresh local herbs to accent the flavors, friend and I paid $3. Total. For TWO.

In Hoi An, a popular tourist town about thirty minutes’ drive south of Da Nang, at the northern end of what was once South Vietnam, our group of five adults and five children dined out in style each evening. We always ordered multiple courses, and several rounds of drinks. Yet the bill seldom exceeded $100.

A fifteen-minute taxi ride to the beach from our hotel in town cost $3.75.  In Hanoi, the metered taxi rate works out to about $0.85 per mile.  And the drivers I’ve dealt with have all been scrupulously honest.

Another thing that’s very noticeable here is that no one expects tips. I suppose it may have been different if the Americans had won the war.

Taxis may be plentiful and cheap, but in order to really explore any city, I prefer walking. And though the weather here can be hot and humid, Hanoi has many lakes and is actually very pleasant to explore on foot.

It also feels extremely safe. My friends here have three young daughters aged from two to six. When I went out with them, the two older ones were able to ride their bikes around their neighborhood without a care in the world.

My friends rent a 3-story, 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with a courtyard and several balconies for just $1,150 a month– HALF what I pay for a tiny 2BR apartment in Hong Kong.  And that’s in the up-market Tay Ho (West Lake) district popular with wealthy locals and expats.

Looking around Vietnam today, it’s hard to fathom that forty years ago the United States was still fighting an incredibly costly ideological war over what was then a communist backwater. Thankfully, Hanoi was left largely intact. The Americans never mounted wholesale bombing campaigns over the Vietnamese capital.

Of course, before the “American War,” as they call it here, Vietnam was a colony of France. And while many ordinary Vietnamese suffered under the colonial regime, French colonial influence undeniably left some positives behind.

The wide tree-lined boulevards, lakes, and magnificent colonial architecture, as well as the vibrant cafe society which define present-day Hanoi, are largely a product of the French colonial legacy.

Bottom line…  Hanoi has a lot to offer if you have the ability to live the PT lifestyle, either because your job is location-independent, or because you have the financial means to support yourself from passive income.

And that applies whether you’re carefree and single, or you have a young family like my friends who are based here. For the right person, the quality of life you can enjoy here for the small amount of money you have to pay is really very difficult to beat.

Until next time,

Tim Staermose, Chief Investment Strategist
Sovereign Man

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: April 3, 2012 Reporting From: Hong Kong

Notes from the Field

Date: April 3, 2012
Reporting From: Hong Kong

Six centuries ago, when London and Paris were irrelevant,
plague-infested backwaters, and New York City wasn’t even on the map,
the greatest city in the world was Nanjing– the capital of the Great
Ming.At the time, Nanjing was not only the most populous city on the planet,
it was also the pinnacle of civilization. Art, science, technology, and
commerce flourished in the Ming Dynasty’s liberalized economy, which
constituted a full 31% of global GDP at the time.(By comparison, the US economy is roughly 25% of global GDP today…)

Taxes were low, the currency was strong, and overseas trade thrived. For
a time, Nanjing truly was the center of the world.

Over the next several hundred years, the tide shifted. The Ming Dynasty
fell, and power was transferred further west to the Ottoman Empire, and
eventually to Europe which had finally emerged from the Dark Ages as the
most advanced civilization on Earth.

Pointless crusades and inquisitions gave way to a surge in medical,
technological, and scientific breakthroughs. By the late 17th century,
western civilization had asserted its primacy in the global pecking
order.

This phenomenon has lasted for several hundred years now… but as
history has shown repeatedly, power centers frequently shift. The world
is now witnessing yet another transition of power, this time from west
to east, as the US-led western hierarchy suffocates within its own
debt-laden Keynesian fiat bubble.

Most westerners refuse to believe it. They can’t envision an era in
which the west doesn’t lead the world… in everything. And yet, that
time is already upon us. Perhaps nowhere is this more pronounced than in
finance:

1) Hong Kong, from whence I write this missive, has been home to the
most public offerings in the world ever since overtaking New York in
2009. In 2010, more than $57 billion was raised in Hong Kong IPOs,
roughly twice as much as New York.

From Italian luxury house Prada to the luggage maker Samsonite to Swiss
metals house Glencore to the US handbag maker Coach, big names have been
attracted to Hong Kong. Rovio, the creator of the popular Angry Birds
game, is expected to list in Hong Kong as well.

Whereas it was once the obvious choice to list in the US (or London),
Hong Kong has now become the best option for most businesses seeking
public capital.

2) According to the Financial Times’ Banker intelligence unit, Singapore
leads every other major financial center in the world in financial
sector foreign investment.

The top three, in fact, are Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Singapore
receives more financial sector foreign investment than New York, London,
Frankfurt, and Switzerland combined.

Money goes where it is treated best… and the market is telling us that
Singapore is the right destination.

3) According to a new study from the Inter-American Dialogue, China is
now dominating emerging market development finance, especially in Latin
America.

In the past, countries like Brazil, Ecuador, and Venezuela went to the
World Bank and IMF when they needed money. But now these vestigial
organizations of the old western hierarchy are becoming a sideshow to
Chinese financial muscle.

The study shows that, since 2005, Chinese banks have loaned more money
and made more loan commitments to Latin America than the World Bank and
International Development Bank combined… and they’re doing it at
higher interest rates.

Why? Because developing nations have figured out that when you take the
World Bank’s money, you have to put up with them telling you how to run
your government. Chinese bank loans don’t come with political strings
attached.

It’s extraordinary that this is happening in the US’s backyard.

4) The most obvious sign of Asia’s rise is the perhaps now forgone
conclusion of China’s currency becoming a new global reserve option to
compete with the dollar and euro.

Every month it seems, there is a new move to loosen China’s once-strict
currency controls and open up– new central bank currency swaps,
renminbi (RMB)-denominated futures contracts in Chinese exchanges, the
introduction of RMB accounts at non-Chinese banks, non-Chinese companies
issuing bonds in RMB, etc.

In fact, if you want to mark your calendar on the day the West concedes
to Asia, it will be when the US government begins issuing Treasury
securities denominated in renminbi.

None of this means that North America and Europe are falling off the
edge of the earth. What it does mean is that the old system is being
reset, and the rules being rewritten.

It’s not the first time in history that such a shift has occurred, and
it won’t be the last. This change is nothing to fear… merely something
to accept, embrace, and prepare for.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: March 29, 2012 Reporting From: Santiago, Chile

Notes from the Field

Date: March 29, 2012
Reporting From: Santiago, ChileIt wasn’t too long ago that nearly every human being lived their entire lives without traveling more than 10-miles from home. For the small handful of people who actually did venture out, you could make it across the globe with no official documents whatsoever.This began to change rapidly in the 1920s. The newly formed League of Nations began meddling in the business of international travel and worked to standardize an international identification document that would be required by travelers to cross most borders.The ominous phrase, “Papers, please”, was born from this standardization.

These days, international travel is big business for governments. Think about all the massive bureaucracies that have been created as a result of national borders: Immigration checkpoints. Customs. Border patrol. Passport offices. Even the IRS is involved in passport application procedures.

As much as it would be nice to go back to the days when people were free to criss-cross the world without such inconveniences and indignities, this just isn’t going to happen. So since we can’t go back to a zero passport world, the next best solution is a multiple passport world.

Let me explain.

Nearly everyone on the planet becomes a citizen of some country at birth… either due to the citizenship of their parents or the country that they were born in. Most people live their entire lives with this sole citizenship, and usually reside in the same country.

In a way, this is akin to having all of your eggs in one basket– living, working, banking, etc. in the same country of your citizenship. And history is full of colorful examples of those baskets breaking… from economic hardship to social turmoil to natural disaster to all-out genocide.

Ultimately, the concept of having multiple citizenships is about having more baskets… and spreading your eggs around. It means having more flexibility, no longer being constrained by the limitations of a single country. For example:

1) Safety. As I’m fond of saying, nobody ever hijacks an airplane and threatens to kill all the Lithuanians. There are no evil men in caves plotting terrorist attacks against Uruguayans. Nobody is burning Panamanian flags in the streets of Pakistan to protest innocent deaths at the hands of Panama’s fleet of unmanned Predator drones.

Simply put, some nationalities are a bit more high profile due to the actions of their governments. Others aren’t.

2) Travel freedom. Did you know that a US or Canadian passport isn’t particularly useful to travel to South America? US and Canadian citizens have to obtain a visa, in advance, just to travel to Paraguay! Or Brazil. Plus Argentina and Chile both charge ‘reciprocity fees’ on arrival (since the US and Canadian governments do the same thing.)

Other nationalities are welcomed with open arms. Singaporean citizens, for example, enjoy visa free (or visa on arrival) travel to nearly every country on the planet. Singapore is the only passport in the world that commands visa free (or visa on arrival) travel to the US, UK, European ‘Schengen Area’, China, and India.

Further, did you know that you can be barred from traveling to some Middle Eastern countries if you have an Israeli immigration stamp in your passport?

Once again, multiple passports means more options, and more freedom… in this case, the freedom to travel.

3) Business and investment freedom. If you’re a US citizen, foreign banks don’t want to deal with you, foreign brokers don’t want to deal with you, and most foreign investors don’t even want to risk getting in bed with you.

FATCA, Dodd Frank, etc. all make it too difficult for foreigners to deal with US citizens; nobody wants to risk the IRS or SEC knocking on their door. As a result, many US citizens have been kicked off the boards of foreign companies, had their foreign bank accounts closed, and been disallowed from buying into lucrative foreign IPOs.

Having another citizenship normally circumvents these hurdles.

4) ‘Citizen benefits’. If national healthcare is your thing, there can be a lot of benefit in having a second citizenship– in many cases, you’ll enter the public healthcare and pension system, giving you a potential backup in case you need it.

5) Relocation and work possibilities. With a second citizenship, you’ll always have the right to live and work in another country. Imagine, for example, having a European passport, entitling you to work anywhere in the EU. If you’re living in the US or Canada now, that could potentially open up an entire new line of lucrative opportunities to pursue.

6) The insurance policy. Ultimately, having a second passport is like having an insurance policy. You might not ever need it… but you’re going to be really glad that you have it in case you ever do.

Again, history is full of catastrophic events that have caused tremendous turmoil in nations… and people who have been trapped inside with no way out have had their lives turned upside down.

A second passport can be that ticket out… safe passage for you and your family to a new place where the opportunities are better, safer, and brighter. It’s a scenario that no one can really imagine… but history shows that few people ever do.

You probably have the foresight to understand that the western world is entering another period of severe turmoil.  You might even already be thinking about second citizenship. If so, I really want to encourage you to take advantage of my exclusive Emergency Offshore Survival Kit. The Emergency Offshore Survival Kit is a crash course… everything you need to know to begin taking action on important steps like obtaining a second passport. Click here to read more about it, as well as our limited-time special offer that expires tomorrow.

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

Sovereign Man, Notes from the Field Date: March 20, 2012 Reporting From: Santiago, Chile

Notes from the Field

Date: March 20, 2012
Reporting From: Santiago, Chile

Quietly, and with little fanfare, President Obama signed a “National Defense Resources Preparedness” Executive Order on Friday. As the name suggests, the order intends to shore up the country’s national defense resources in advance of a national emergency.

To be fair, this is not the first time that such an order has been written. Presidents Bush (II), Clinton, Reagan, and even Eisenhower provided directives in the same spirit as President Obama’s order– providing some level of government commandeering in times of national emergency.

In the past, these orders have related to things like production capacity for defense contractors, or giving FEMA authority to resolve disputes between other departments in federally designated emergency areas.

President Obama’s order, however, takes things much, much further.

(1) The order vastly expands the role of Homeland Security… as if these knuckleheads didn’t already have too much influence in people’s lives. Apparently highways, shopping malls, airports, bus stations, Wal-Marts, hotels, train stations, etc. aren’t enough for DHS. Now the Secretary of DHS will:

a) “advise the President on issues of national defense resource preparedness”.

This one is really clear. Under normal circumstances, matters related to defense would fall under the Secretary of Defense… or perhaps the National Security Advisor. Giving such responsibility to DHS suggests that the government is expecting an emergency from within.

b) “provide for the central coordination of the plans and programs… under this order, and provide guidance to agencies assigned functions under this order…”

DHS now has authority to direct the emergency preparedness of every other government department. The Secretary of Homeland Security has effectively become the Emergency Czar.

c) have oversight of “all other national defense programs, including civil defense and continuity of Government.”

In case it wasn’t clear before, the people who molest children and radiate travelers will have total and complete control in some event defined as a national emergency in the sole discretion of the President.

(2) The order further provides for an effective nationalization of the entire US economy in the event of an emergency.

The Secretary of Labor, for example, will “collect and maintain data necessary to make a continuing appraisal of the Nation’s workforce needs for purposes of national defense” and then “formulate plans, programs, and policies for meeting the labor requirements of actions to be taken for national defense purposes.”

In other words, the Labor Department becomes the Ministry of Plenty, and all the good little citizens will be forcibly reallocated to other jobs. This turned out really well for the Soviets.

(3) The purpose of this order, for example, is to “take actions necessary to ensure the availability of adequate resources and production capability, including services and critical technology, for national defense requirements;”

It goes on to list ‘adequate resources’ to include things like:

(i) “all forms of energy including petroleum, gas (both natural and manufactured), electricity, solid fuels… solar, wind, other types of renewable energy, atomic energy”, etc.

(ii) “all usable water , from all sources, within the jurisdiction of the United States, that can be managed, controlled, and allocated to meet emergency requirements…”

(iii) “all commodities and products… that are capable of being ingested by either human beings or animals…”

(iv) “drugs, biological products, medical devices, materials, facilities, health supplies, services and equipment required to diagnose, mitigate or prevent the impairment of, improve, treat, cure, or restore the physical or mental health conditions of the population.”

Hmmmm. Food. Water. Energy. Medicine. Security. All the stuff that human beings need at a basic level to survive. Except that Obama’s executive order puts all of these resources under control of the government and allocates them exclusively to meet the needs of government.

In this capacity, we are all merely subordinates to the interests of the state… and it should be absolutely clear at this point where normal people stand in the grand pecking order: Citizens are resources to be exploited and sacrificed in order to ensure the continuity of government.

In the event of some catastrophe, you will be stripped of basic resources so that the government can survive. A free society cannot exist under a system in which the state exercises such control… or has the authority to exercise such control.

Taken in conjunction with the NSA’s new Utah spy center (which will collect and archive the complete contents of every email, tweet, Facebook post, Google search, phone call, and text message) and the National Defense Authorization Act, it’s clear that the Obama administration is expecting trouble from within.

And with good reason. By every possible calculation (except flat-out fraud), the US government is completely insolvent, and its balance sheet is growing worse by the day. The dollar is beginning to be seriously challenged as the global reserve standard, and every effort politicians make to ‘fix’ the economy only makes things worse.

As a matter of convenience, people are willing to deal with a lot of pain. They’ll suffer through wars, recessions, and all sorts of national unpleasantness. But the moment that rapidly decaying economics and shortages prevent people from being able to put food on the table for their families, they rise up. Just look at the Arab Spring.

This is all playing out with nearly perfect historical precision. Time and time again throughout history as once great empires accelerated their declines, governments have taken steps to protect their interests against the people.

In the past, they have imposed curfews, disarmed the population, curtailed civil liberties, and declared national emergencies, usually against some great faceless enemy from abroad who threatens their way of life.

As it turns out, though, our great faceless enemy is not some mythical boogeyman living in a cave, nor some angry brown person who hates us for our freedoms… but the very people within the system who’ve taken an oath to ‘support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’

Have you hit your breaking point yet?

Until tomorrow,

Simon Black
Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com 

This article appears courtesy of SovereignMan.com: Notes From The
Field, a free newsletter dedicated to individual freedom,
internationalization, asset protection and global finance. For a
complimentary subscription, visit http://www.SovereignMan.com

HOPE & CHANGE….Here you are..is it what you were looking for????

After three years of Obama … Here’s your change! January 2009 TODAY % chg Source Avg. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S. $1.83 $3.44 84% 1 Crude oil, European Brent (barrel) $43..48 $99..02 127.7% 2 Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel) $38..74 $91..38 135.9% 2 Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL $3.56 $6.33 78.1% 2 Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL $9.66 $13..75 42.3% 2 Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. $13..37 $35..39 164.7% 2 Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall 7.6% 9.4% 23.7% 3 Unemployment rate, blacks 12.6% 15.8% 25.4% 3 Number of unemployed 11,616,000 14,485,000 24.7% 3 Number of fed. Employees 2,779,000 2,840,000 2.2% 3 Real median household income $50,112 $49,777 -0.7% 4 Number of food stamp recipients 31,983,716 43,200,878 35.1% 5 Number of unemployment benefit recipients 7,526,598 9,193,838 22.2% 6 Number of long-term unemployed 2,600,000 6,400,000 146.2% 3 Poverty rate, individuals 13.2% 14.3% 8.3% 4 People in poverty in U.S. 39,800,000 43,600,000 9.5% 4 U.S. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings 5 9 n/a 10 Present Situation Index 29.9 23.5 -21.4% 11 Failed banks 140 164 17.1% 12 U.S. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate 89.76 82.03 -8.6% 2 U.S. Money supply, M1, in billions 1,575.1 1,865.7 18.4% 13 U.S. Money supply, M2, in billions 8,310.9 8,852.3 6.5% 13 National debt, in trillions $10..627 $14..052 32.2% 14 Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation’s history. Over 27 times as fast. Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane. 27 times faster, it would be doing 7,555 MPH! Sources: (1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor; (7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC; (13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can’t think of anything? Don’t worry. He’s done all this in 29 months — so you’ll have about 11 months to come up with an answer. Every statement in this email is factual and directly attributable to Barrack Hussein Obama. Every bumble is a matter of record and completely verifiable. I WONDER HOW MANY WILL FORWARD THIS?    “You can’t fix stupid, but you can vote it out.”