Bitcoin

"Even though bitcoin is volatile, it's still safer than the national currency," said one young 'tech-savvy' Venezuelan, who as Reuters reports, is looking to bypass President Maduro's dysfunctional economic controls. "I'm teaching people to use bitcoin to bypass the exchange controls," said Gerardo Mogollon, a business professor who styles himself as 'Dr. Bitcoin Venezuela,' speaks at conferences and appears in online videos to urge Venezuelans to adopt the crypto-currency..."Bitcoin is a way of rebelling against the system."

Almost everyone is expecting much higher yields in the near term, but a 30-year drop in yield toward 2.5% should be considered as a possibility for these 8 reasons...

• Liberian Rubber Farm Becomes Sanctuary Against Ebola (WSJ)
• The World’s Most Powerful Central Banker: Janet Who? (BBG)
• Islamic State moves into south west of Syrian Kurdish town (Reuters)
• Waldorf to Be Biggest Chinese Property Purchase in U.S. (BBG)
• Spain Seeks People in Contact With Ebola-Infected Nurse (BBG)
• Hong Kong protests at crossroads as traffic, frustration pile up (Reuters)
• Immigration: Grim Caseload at the Border (WSJ)
• China Cuts Thousands of ‘Phantom’ Workers From State Payroll (BBG)
• U.S., U.K. Regulators Push to Settle Deutsche Bank Libor Case This Year (WSJ)
• Wall Street Moles Go to NY’s Top Cop, Spurning SEC Cash (BBG)
• Pimco's outflow headaches only just beginning (Reuters)
• Japan Lawmakers Flag Need for Exit Strategy as Yen Falls (BBG)

Bitcoin is so last year.  The price of it in dollars made a new low for the year today.  Is the dollar's future as bleak as it looked?

• Ebola Patient Fights for Life as Contacts are Monitored (BBG)
• GPIF Unlikely To Announce New Portfolio Until November: Delay Could Rattle Investors Hoping Fund Will Invest More in Stocks (WSJ)
• High risk Ebola could reach France and UK by end-October, scientists calculate (Reuters)
• Neves to Face Rousseff in Brazil in Surprise Comeback (BBG)
• Hong Kong democracy protests fade, face test of stamina (Reuters); A Hong Kong Protest Run on Fumes and Instant Noodles (WSJ)
• Putin Clans Said Gridlocked Over Arrest as Sanctions Bite (BBG)
• Surging dollar may be triple whammy for U.S. earnings (Reuters)
• Lloyds Said to Cut Thousands of Jobs as CEO Cuts Costs (BBG)

Same old, same old. Treasury yields are lower (futures prices higher); USDJPY (and thus S&P futures) are higher (though 110.00 is once again offering notable resistance); and gold is getting 'handled' lower. The divergence between stocks and bonds from Friday's jobs number is holding for now but it is gold that has been smacked to $1183 - near a four-year low: $1180.50 6/28/13, then back to Aug 2010). Silver is down 1% to March 2010 lows. Despite US equity exuberance, Asia-Pac stocks (ex-Japan) are down 0.3%.

The Mindful one does not seek to change the world; he seeks to change himself.

• Hong Kong protesters stockpile supplies, fear fresh police advance (Reuters)
• Protesters stay out on Hong Kong streets, defying Beijing (Reuters)
• Traders Turn Up Grilling Sausages at Hong Kong Protests (BBG)
• Ukraine Army Sees Worst Day Since Truce as Battles Flare (BBG)
• Islamic State uses grain to tighten grip in Iraq (Reuters)
• For Putin Ally, U.S. Sanctions Only Add to Anti-Russia Conspiracy Theory (WSJ)
• Coinbase Leads Move to Bring Bitcoin to Masses (BBG) - good luck
• Austria Cracks Down on Spies -- and Jihadis (BBG)
• EU Believes Apple, Fiat Tax Deals Broke Rules (WSJ); Apple’s Irish Tax Deal ‘Engineered’ to Boost Employment, EU Says (BBG)

Just say no!!

An interesting week for the evolution of Forex!  

Is the US dollar really strong now? We explain why your measuring stick can massively distort your perception away from the reality of facts and truth.

• Obama orders U.S. airstrikes in Syria against Islamic State (Reuters)
• Obama Relying on Mideast Allies to Counter Islamic State (BBG)
• Scotland Nationalists Claim U.K. Oil in 40-Year Campaign (BBG)
• Scottish Polls Embolden Catalans Pushing Rajoy for Vote (BBG)
• Royal Bank of Scotland: RBS will leave Scotland if voters back independence (Guardian)
• Most Hedge-Fund Managers Are Overpaid, Unigestion Says (BBG)
• China Inflation Softens to Four-Month Low (WSJ)
• Munger Hosts Groupies, Mocks Wall Street, Praises Buffett (BBG)

While hardly able to match the wit, sophistry or, allegedly, satire of yesterday's MarketWatch grandslam in market insight "Why This Stock Market Will Never Go Down", we are confident readers will enjoy the following interview from none other than the Nobel prize winner in Keynesianomics, Paul Krugman, who in this interview with Princeton Magazine, had some comments on bubbles, inflation,  student loans, minimum wages, artificially low rates, the Fed's dual mandate, and, of all things, Bitcoin.

On the day when Apple unveils "Apple Pay," enabling hackers to now get access not only to actor selfies but to their credit card numbers too; following smaller online retailers' lead - such as Overstock - the world's biggest marketplace, Ebay, has announced its PayPal unit will begin accepting bitcoin for payments. As Bloomberg reports, Ebay said at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference, "over the coming months we’ll allow our merchants to accept bitcoin. On the consumer side it will be a sleek experience." As we previously noted, Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne's comments that "once we and some other major guys start accepting it things could change very quickly," and Ebay seems to agree, adding "we're at the right time for this, and to see how to propel it forward." Bitcoin prices have not reacted to this news as the virtual currency has become considerably more stable in recent months.

We believe independence terrifies some people because it requires a human being to challenge the unknown and take responsibility for the consequences if he fails. Followers trade in their mental and spiritual freedom to governments, oligarchs and gatekeepers so that they never have to face these difficulties. Sometimes, they are simply lazy. Sometimes, they lack confidence in their own abilities. Sometimes, they are just cowards. In any case, the result is the same: a life of relative ease riding the tides in a vast school of self-serving minnows but always prey to the ever circling sharks. We say don’t be a minnow; man-up, and build something of your own.