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Category: currencies

The IMF and Washington’s South American politics

(what the GEAB said in September 2019) In reality, the IMF is not up to the refinancing challenge implemented by its creators. Indeed, how can it face the 22 trillion US public debt and repeated threats of US non-payment? Nor is it able to cope with the debt problems of the major European states or, […]

Hong Kong 2025: A suburb of Shenzhen

Between a USD-pegged currency (the HKD) and the reaffirmation of its Chinese nature after its handover in 1997, Hong Kong lies right at the heart of the famous trade war between the United States and China. This context largely explains the island’s economic difficulties, creating the conditions for the well-known troubles. A longer-term perspective also […]

2020: IMF, a collateral victim of the US-China trade war

It’s not only Hong Kong that finds itself in the middle of the crossfire of the US-China trade war. The IMF may also be on the list of collateral victims of the great tectonic plate movement currently at work. In recent years, Beijing has increased its voting weight and added the Yuan to the basket […]

African Union: The end of the CFA franc (from the GEAB 110 / Dec 2016)

Africa! The second largest continent in the world after Asia, both in size and population[1], and also one of the poorest[2] is shaken by internal conflicts and wars. But above all, it’s a continent with one of the youngest age pyramids in the world[3]; so many opportunities open for the future and for hope in […]

The virtualisation of the European financial system: towards a new stage of disintermediation

The IMF and the international financial institutions are preparing reforms of the international monetary system, which must also take into account this double injunction of efficiency (thus of modernity and openness to the world) and of acceptability (thus respect for sovereignty). We have already drawn our readers’ attention to Christine Lagarde’s very important speech last […]

Investments, trends and recommendations (May 2019)

– Air transport in Europe: Don’t bet your shirt on this – Yuan: Quick!!  – Dollar: Discount on US staff! – Gold: Back to the standard _____________________________ Air transport in Europe: Don’t bet your shirt on this Low-cost airlines are being forced to cut more and more services that large companies are able to provide […]

Where gold is needed

In terms of trust, gold has a unique profile: it is the only ore that is generally believed to be precious enough to maintain its value over time. Unlike diamonds, for example, it is impossible to make fake gold. Admittedly, the intrinsic value of gold is essentially symbolic, if we think about it; not much […]

Modern money: The march towards a cashless society

There has been much talk in recent years concerning the perceived move towards a cashless society – an increasing tendency to remove physical cash from general circulation and replace it with more modern, electronic forms of payment. This trend is now being increasingly shown through the difficulty in accessing cash together with a push from […]

Why blockchain and cryptocurrency might cause problems?

Four major issues have put the central banks and tax administrations on alert: The decentralised character of blockchains: Most blockchains work thanks to a global network of stakeholders, including developers, miners, network nodes (with a copy of the registry) and blockchain users. In this context, it is difficult to address an individual entity to require […]

The attack on gold as money

For most of recorded history, gold has been the central sign and store of wealth and the more abundant silver has been the coinage of the people. This continued as the basis for sound money right up until the start of the 20th century. Gold bullion was held as bars by national banks and silver […]

The Agricultural crisis and rural exodus: A major challenge for Indian society

The crisis of the agricultural sector One sector experiencing a serious crisis, to which demonetisation was unable to respond, is agriculture. More than half of India’s population lives in rural areas, and agriculture, although it is no longer the main source of income, remains central[11]. Still, demonetisation had a positive effect by transferring subsidies directly […]

Gold – A ‘Barbarous Relic’ or a proven store of value?

What international role does gold play today and do recent market trends and new avenues for investment reaffirm the case for including gold in a balanced portfolio? With the holiday season over and stock markets around the world still reeling from a volatile end to 2018, many investors will be wondering where best to store […]

African Union: One road, One continent, One currency. The end of the CFA franc

Africa! The second largest continent in the world after Asia, both in size and population[1], and also one of the poorest[2] is shaken by internal conflicts and wars. But above all, it’s a continent with one of the youngest age pyramids in the world[3]; so many opportunities open for the future and for hope in […]

Investments, trends and recommendations (Apr 2017)

Euro-diversification As part of our forecasts mentioned above on the probable reform of the common currency, we recommend people to “diversify their euros” simply by placing part of any liquid savings in euros in banks from various countries of the monetary zone. With online banks, all this is transparent, extremely quick and free of charges […]

Investments, trends and recommendations (Sept 2017)

Peer-to-peer economy 0 – Traditional Economy 1 In this GEAB bulletin the article dealing with the Airbnb and similar businesses shows that the “traditional” economy has not yet said its last word, although the peer-to-peer economy as a whole has a very bright future. A few years ago or even recently it was particularly wise […]

Weak signals: Trends in a changing world

The Food Blockchain Waste, traceability requirements, increased food risks, decentralised production, the costs of this global food-industry, consumer prices: Consumers and industry players are becoming increasingly demanding about transparency within the agri-food sector, the origin and composition of products and the processes involved in their transformation. Manufacturers, producers, suppliers, distributors and consumers: We are living […]

Investments, trends and recommendations (Apr 2018)

– Oil / Gas: Good news for the producing countries – Iran: Not much longer – Frontier markets: Opportunities in sight Oil / Gas: Good news for the producing countries The announcements about attacks on Syria, followed by the trilateral US-GB-FR attack itself, have raised bench mark oil prices to their highest in the last […]

Investments, trends and recommendations

– Paris: watch out! – Emerging countries: Taking the plunge in Yuan waters – Raw materials: Oops! – New finance: yours to experiment with Paris: watch out! Between ‘Grand Paris’, world capital of luxury, European financial hub and the Olympic city in 2024, Paris is about to rise through the ranks. The sleeping beauty of […]