The Peter Schiff Show Tuesday 12/10/2013

Stefan Molyneux is guest hosting today's show. ObamaCare's Next Legal Hurdle. Stephan Kinsella, patent attorney & director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom, on how ObamaCare still fails any reasonable legal test, whether anything constructive may come from the Apple/Samsung battle, and why entrepreneurs needn't worry about their intellectual property 

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George Soros: It’s Time to Make Justice Central to Development

George Soros recently intervened in the post-2015 debates, noting the need for universal access to justice. He identified four target areas issued considered crucial for post-MDG success by the  legal empowerment movement:

“1.        LEGAL IDENTITY: Being recognized as a person under the law is critical to everyday life. You need it to send your children to school or to receive medical care. State-issued legal identity documents, such as birth registrations, are usually needed.

2.       ACCESS TO INFORMATION. People should be able to find out about the laws and regulations that govern their lives.

3.      Both individuals and communities need to have their PROPERTY RIGHTS protected. Giving communities protection against land grabbing and the misappropriation of natural resources would be a great contribution to the fight against poverty.

4.       People need access to LEGAL SERVICES, both at the community-level and in formal justice institutions like the courts. For access to justice to be fair, people need to have legal aid—either through lawyers or through paralegals.”

Read More @ post2015

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Here is How You Buy Stocks Like Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett's single greatest piece of wisdom and advice, at least in this investor's opinion, is this: When buying a stock, imagine you're buying the whole business.

In Buffett's 1988 letter to Berkshire Hathaway  shareholders, the Oracle of Omaha listed his six criteria for buying a business. Could great investing really be about following those six steps? Let's put this theory to the test. 

Today, I'm going to use Buffett's six essential criteria for buying a business to help better analyze regional banks U.S. Bancorp , Fifth Third Bancorp , and Regions Financial .

Today, I'm going to use Buffett's six essential criteria for buying a business to help better analyze regional banks U.S. Bancorp , Fifth Third Bancorp , and Regions Financial .

Read more @ dailyfinance.com

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Faber : Market to drop 20% in 2014

Marc Faber admits that he got stocks wrong in 2013, but now says that a drop of over 20 percent is likely, with CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis and the Futures Now Traders. 

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George Soros Donates Funds to Help Heat Schools in Greece

Greek students have had a rough winter in extremely cold classrooms due to the lack of heating resources, resulting from local authorities who are simply unable to cover the unbearable cost of heating oil. The organization Open Society Foundation, founded by the great American investor George Soros, offers donations worth millions of euros in oil so that children can sit in a warm classroom.

Schools in the 2 biggest municipalities of Greece have been lucky enough to have their oil tanks filled thanks to Mr. Soros’ donations.

The municipality of Thessaloniki has accepted up to 90 tons of oil since March 2013, for schools and other institutes. The municipality of Athens follows with a total of 40 tons of oil. Next in line is the city of Naousa, considering that students have to take lessons in polar temperatures. The mayor of the town, Mr. Tasos Karampatzos, despite the reactions and disagreements on the parents’ side, has already contacted the Foundation and asked for an oil supply that would cover the needs of the region’s schools.

Source @ greece.greekreporter.com

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The Whole U.S. Economy Is Based On Debt

Our whole economy in the U.S. is based on debt. Its based on borrowing to consume, borrowing to speculate. The government is financing itself based on debt, all these checks they are mailing out are based on debt.

The rates need to be practically zero in order for anybody to afford servicing the debt. That is how enormous the debt is and when the FED eventually lets interest rates rise, everything comes crashing back down, much worse than 2008.

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Marc Faber: Taper will be Very Cosmetic

When they introduced Quantitative Easing one (QE1) in November 2008, my view was that this would be a permanent stasus, in other words that we would go up to QE99 and that they would not abandon the asset purchases. Now there has been talk about tapering for the last 6-8 months, but in my view if they taper, it will be a very cosmetic gesture and on any sign of further economic weakness, or if asset markets decline again like the stock market drops 10-20 percent they will actually increase the asset purchases. My sense is that the Federal Reserve will continue to buy assets in order to try to support the asset markets. - inmoneycontrol.com

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway acquires Hartford UK variable annuity business

Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway firm, has purchased Hartford Life International Limited (HLIL) in a transaction valued at approximately $285m.

Read more @ warrenbuffettbulletin

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Jim Rogers: I prefer silver because silver a cheaper investment

"At the moment I'm getting neither Gold nor Silver. But if I have to take a day I prefer Silver because silver a cheaper investment," 

Read more @ jimrogersbulletin

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They Bravely Chickened Out

Earlier this week Congress tried to show that it is capable of tackling our chronic and dangerous debt problems. Despite the great fanfare I believe they have accomplished almost nothing. Supporters say that the budget truce created by Republican Representative Paul Ryan and Democratic Senator Patty Murray will provide the economy with badly needed certainty. But I think the only surety this feeble and fictitious deal offers is that Washington will never make any real moves to change the trajectory of our finances, and that future solutions will be forced on us by calamity rather than agreement.

Read more @ peterschiffbulletin

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Water shortages a crucial issue in China: Jim Rogers

American investor and author Jim Rogers says water shortage is the biggest problem in China. The country's water resources are limited but reuse of water is still insufficient and groundwater is being overexploited, reports ifeng, the financial news site run by Phoenix New Media in Hong Kong.

War, famine, civil war or recession can be overcome but drought cannot; people cannot build a society or a country without water, the investor said during an interview with the media.

Read more @ jimrogersbulletin

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Soros Soars Thanks To Sarepta Therapeutics and Towerstream Corporation

Today’s midday gainers are Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT), Towerstream Corporation (NASDAQ:TWER), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP) and daily losers are IAMGOLD Corp (NYSE:IAG), Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH), Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd (NYSE:TRQ).

Read more @ georgesorosbulletin

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BNSF CEO Rose shifts role, renewing Buffett succession talk

NEW YORK, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc's BNSF Railway Co has moved Chief Executive Matthew Rose to an executive chairman role, renewing speculation he might be in line to replace Warren Buffett at Berkshire's helm.

As executive chairman, Rose, 54, will work on organizational planning, market positioning and public policy at BNSF over the next decade, the company said on Wednesday.

Carl Ice, 57, will replace Rose as chief executive at the nation's largest railroad, starting on Jan. 1.

Read more @ warrenbuffettbulletin

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Can Mutual Funds Invest Like George Soros?

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- George Soros and other star hedge fund managers famously made fortunes by betting on global trends. Global macro funds can range widely, holding foreign currencies one year and U.S. stocks the next. But the macro strategy is hard to execute, and not many managers have succeeded. Most mutual funds that have tried the macro game have failed and shut their doors. For mutual funds, the strategy is particularly difficult because managers cannot use the leverage that hedge funds employ.

Read more @ georgesorosbulletin

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Jim Rogers: "US Heading for Disaster. Be Prepared"

"These guys are academics and bureaucrats. I suspect the first time they do come to their senses and start to cut back it will lead to some kind of correction, markets going down everywhere. So they will panic and they will start printing again.

Read more @ jimrogersbulletin

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Jim Rogers : How to Protect Your Portfolio in 2014

Read more @ jimrogersbulletin

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The “Small” Solution to a Big Tax Problem by Marc Faber

If the government levies taxes on landowners, retailers, corporations, and individuals, it is far from certain that the targeted interest groups will actually pay the tax. Depending on a variety of factors, they may be able to roll over or shift the tax to other people (tenants, consumers, workers, etc.) either partly or entirely. As Alfred Marshall said: “There is scarcely any economic principle which cannot be aptly illustrated by a discussion of the shifting of the effects of some taxes.”

The Swedish Nobel Laureate, economist, sociologist, and politician Karl Gunmar Myrdal also contended that the results of taxes can “diverge greatly” from the intentions. (All government interventions in free markets lead to unintended consequences.) This was already obvious to David Ricardo, who commented: “Almost all taxes on production fall finally on the consumer.”

Read more @ marcfaberbulletin

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Soros Partners with Cheney in Halliburton Deal

Billionaire oil tycoon George Soros, who recently endorsed Hillary Clinton for President, has recently teamed up with one of his nemesis, former Vice President Dick Cheney to invest big-time cash on Halliburton. Mr. Cheney is a former CEO of the corporation, which has been villified by Leftist organizations such as Moveon.org.

According to American Thinker, Mike Boyer, writing in the Passport blog of Foreign Policy Magazine, notes the gigantic stake George Soros has taken in Halliburton, the epitome of evil in the eyes of his left wing friends:"

Halliburton accounts for 3.5% of Soros' hedge fund, which signifies its fourth-largest holding.
As reported by American Thinker, "Soros' position in Halliburton is reported to be his first, which means he bought it with a full understanding of Halliburton's reputation. Soros may not see a problem with profiting from a company that has been accused of everything from sweatheart deals to cooking the books to serving U.S. troops lousy food in Iraq. The real question, however, is whether MoveOn.org, the Center for American Progress, and other organizations that have benefitted from Soros' charity will see a problem with accepting money earned off Halliburton shares?"

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Jim Rogers: I Cannot See A Crash Anytime Soon

Right now we have all these people printing so much money. So, I cannot see a crash anytime soon. I can see corrections, I can see the markets going down a bit and for a while but with all the money printing everywhere in the world and no constraints on Congress now, Congress gets free to spend as much as they want to...They have moved the debt ceiling, they are afraid to do anything about it. So, with all the money printing and all the spending everywhere in the world, this could go on for a while. 

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Faber : I think it’s too late to Buy US Stocks

I think it’s too early to move into emerging economies, and I think it’s too late to buy US stocks. They (US stocks) may go up another 10%, maybe even 20%, but the risks have increased significantly and I don’t think equity investors in the US, aside from a short-term trading opportunity, will reap very high returns in the future. Now, compared to equities in emerging economies and equities in the US, what is really incredibly depressed are mining companies. My preference has always been to own physical gold, but I have to say that at this level the mining companies are relatively good values. - in businessinsider 

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People Pay too much Attention to GDP Growth Figure

Q: I know you are not very gung-ho on emerging markets as a whole, but what is your view on India in specific? Would you have a target for the Nifty that you can share with us? The domestic cue that we are working with would be the state assembly elections and the national elections later next year. Would that change your opinion or maybe help your view towards India in specific? 

Marc Faber : We are down in India from the early 2008 high by 40 percent in US dollar terms, in other words adjusted for the currency movements. We are not down 40 percent in rupee terms, but in dollar terms. I think that people pay too much attention to GDP growth figure etc and should rather focus more on individual companies. The problem in American economies is that a lot of money has flowed in and it has boosted the valuation of essentially very liquid stocks or big market cap stocks whereas smaller cap stocks are reasonably priced. So I think there is an opportunity in India, whether the index will go up a lot or not that I do not know, but for the active investor that does not buy the index, I see an opportunity. - in moneycontrol

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