Archive for June, 2008
« Previous EntriesParaguay: The Greatest Hydro Energy Exporter on Earth
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008Regular Peter Mac readers will know that for some years (since 2004 to be precise) I’ve been visiting the landlocked South American heartland of Paraguay. It’s a de facto tax haven with no personal income or capital gains taxes. It’s possible to obtain a second passport from Paraguay after as few as two [...]
The Multi-Trillion Dollar Bank You Have Probably Never Heard Of
Thursday, June 19th, 2008What bank recently set a record by processing transactions of more than $10 trillion per day?
This bank, founded in 1997, is owned by a Swiss company which in turns owns what the bank itself describes as a UK “shell” company, which in turn owns the bank itself, which is regulated in New York but has [...]
Grandpa on the USA Housing Crisis
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008While many in the world are either worrying about the impending collapse, or gloating about the recession in the US, here’s a new perspective (mostly the observations of a bright friend who from time to time mails things like this out to his list…) who is doing just what he says the last paragraph.
There are [...]
Why don’t Offshore Banks want business from US residents?
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008That’s a question I’m frequently asked by my readers and clients.
The answer is “regulatory risk.” It’s simply impossible for most offshore banks to comply with American requirements, while keeping in line with their policies, their local bank secrecy laws, and what their customers want.
Of course it’s not that they don’t want the business. It’s that [...]
Canada crackdown on Gold Economy
Saturday, June 7th, 2008This is interesting. It’s from the Toronto Globe and Mail. Think about the second paragraph:
Canada’s financial intelligence agency warns that criminals may be exploiting Internet-based companies that convert cash into electronic gold, exposing a new front in the international effort to restrict terrorist financing and money laundering.
While other channels of money laundering are successfully being [...]
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