The Central Bank of Russia has sold $3.1 billion in US Treasury bills as of February, reducing its investment in American debt to the lowest level since March last year. Moscow still occupies the 16th position among the largest holders of US government bonds. Russia has cut its holdings for the third consecutive month. [...]

The time will come when you won't be able to buy a cup of coffee without being traced, warns investment guru Jim Rogers. To control people, governments will increasingly seek to hunt down cash spending, he adds. “Governments are always looking out for themselves first, and it's the same old thing that has been going on for hundreds of years. [...]

A report by the UK House of Commons library has warned that the continued accumulation of wealth at the top will fuel growing distrust and anger over the coming decade unless action is taken to restore balance. According to the report, seen by The Guardian, if trends seen since the 2008 financial crash were to continue, then the top 1 percent will hold 64 percent of the world’s wealth by 2030. [...]

Muammar Gaddafi wanted to shatter the dominance of the greenback in the Middle East by introducing gold-backed dinar, but failed. China has a chance to finish what he started, one industry expert has told RT. “Ideas related to oil trade in currencies other than the dollar arose more than once.  [...]

The Wall Street Journal is accused by its employees of attempting to suppress its own story after a senior editor allegedly tried to bury a deep dive into the 2008 global financial crisis and its aftermath. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published on Tuesday a graphics-heavy in-depth study on the aftermath of the world-shaking 2008 financial crisis, particularly noting that banking and investmen [...]

The American electric-car company Tesla will be bankrupt within four months unless its CEO Elon Musk “pulls a rabbit out of his hat,” according to hedge fund manager John Thompson. “Companies eventually have to make a profit, and I don’t ever see that happening here,” the head of Vilas Capital Management told Market Watch. [...]

The historic launch of the long-awaited trading of Chinese crude futures this week has stirred up a heated debate among analysts as to whether the new commodity product will prosper or flop. Some market analysts expressed doubts over the success of the petro-yuan, citing Beijing’s yearning for total control over trading as one of the key reasons for a potential bust. [...]

China is the world's biggest crude consumer and buys most of its oil from Russia. However, most settlements are still in US dollars. The launch of the petro-yuan now allows Moscow and Beijing to use national currencies instead. China and Russia are actively reducing dependence on the dollar in bilateral trade. In October 2017, Beijing launched a payment system for transactions in yuan and Russian [...]

The gold accumulated by China and Russia could be seen as part of a strategy to move away from international trade denominated in US dollars, according to Singapore’s BullionStar precious metals expert Ronan Manly. Manly exclusively told RT that there is a shift occurring regarding the two countries building up their gold reserves, to perhaps returning to gold-backed currencies in the future an [...]

The US, the world’s leading debtor nation, has reached another questionable milestone in its seemingly headlong rush into economic oblivion. The combined debt of the United States has topped $21 trillion for the first time, according to government statistics, following an announcement a mere six months ago that the debt had hit $20 trillion for the first time. [...]

Central banks around the world have been building up their gold stockpiles to make sure they are stored on soil they can trust. The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) says it is bringing back three tons of the country’s gold reserves stored at the Bank of England in London, Gold Seek reported. The move to repatriate 130 million dollars’ worth of gold from Budapest previously stored on Britis [...]

A first in global capitalism, US citizen consumer credit card debt has now topped $1 trillion. For the first time in history, consumer credit card debt in America has risen above the benchmark $1 trillion measure, according to Washington DC-based online personal finance website Wallethub.com. [...]

In January, Russia’s Central Bank (CBR) increased its holding of gold by almost 20 metric tons to 1,857 tons, hitting a historic high and outstripping China in gold reserves. But why does Russia need so much gold and how does it help the government to level currency risks? Russia’s international reserves amount to $454 billion, gradually approaching the target level of $500 billion set by the [...]

Recent changes to the US’ tax rates coupled with its current-account shortfall are creating stormy waters for the greenback and there is already evidence that the ship is letting in water. Bloomberg financial journalists have stated the greenback “is under the siege”, citing what they call “twin deficits”. So what’s the evidence? [...]

Russian financial institutions and firms are ready to work without SWIFT's interbank cash transfer services, according to Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. “Certainly, it is unpleasant, as it will prove a stumbling block for companies and banks, and will slow down work. It will be inevitable to deploy some aged technologies for information transfer and calculations. [...]

A new study from advocacy group Tax Justice Network reveals that Switzerland is the world’s most-corrupt country, with a “high secrecy score of 76.” It’s followed by the US and the Cayman Islands. [...]

What’s sometime referred to as ‘shadow bankers’ have been running the economy and drafting US domestic economic policy since Trump took office. ‘Shadow’ banks include such financial institutions as investment banks, private equity firms, hedge funds, insurance companies, finance companies, asset management companies, etc. [...]

The greenback has touched the lowest level against major global currencies since 2015. This comes after the US treasury secretary announced that Washington favors a weak dollar in trade.  Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Steven Mnuchin said that a weaker dollar “is good for us as it relates to trade and opportunities.” [...]

World’s richest 1% bagged 82% of global wealth in 2017, while poorest half got nothing – Oxfam The inequality crisis is worsening, according to a new study by global charity Oxfam, which found that the world’s richest 42 people own the same amount of wealth as the poorest 50 percent worldwide. [...]