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India's foreign exchange reserves shrink to $283.64 billion

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India's foreign exchange reserves, including gold and special drawing rights (SDR), which is the reserves currency with IMF, fell to $283.643 billion during the week ended 18 December, from $285.742 billion a week earlier, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its weekly statistical report.

The dip was largely on account of a fall in foreign currency assets, which declined by $2 billion.

Changes in foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of other currencies held in its reserves such as the euro, pound sterling and yen, the RBI said.

Gold, Dollar and Euro: A Love Triangle into 2010

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By Dian L. Chu, Economic Forecasts & Opinions

Gold hit a 7-week low on Dec. 22 from recent optimistic data of the U.S. economy. For example, U.S. existing housing sales jumped more than expected, and GDP grew at a 2.2% rate in the third quarter, the fastest pace in two years, amid a larger-than-expected downward revision. The upbeat news lifted the dollar and pushed yellow metal prices to below the $1,100 benchmark.

WORLD FOREX: Dollar Slips Vs Euro In Thin, Pre-Holiday Trading

By Don Curren
OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

TORONTO (Dow Jones)--The dollar ended lower against the euro Thursday, continuing its recent retreat against the common currency but trimming its losses after better-than-expected jobs data helped restore confidence in the U.S. recovery.

The dollar, which rallied broadly earlier in the month, gained modestly against the British pound and ended little changed against yen and the Canadian dollar.

Thin trading flows and the expectation of continued unsettled market conditions next week after the Christmas holiday left market watchers unsure of the near-term direction in the major currencies.

"We've seen a bit of a pullback in the dollar in the last day or two," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities in Toronto.

"I think we still need to get through this Christmas and period and see what happens next year to work out if this is a sustained [U.S. dollar] rebound or just a short-term reflection of year-end position squaring," he said

all men are not created equal

even bleeding heart environmentalists (people who believe the environment is the major factor in how one develops) have to admit that people have some amount of innate ability which comes from their genes. ever see an african or papuan pygmy competing in the worlds strongest man competition? i haven't either.

many studys funded by the pioneer foundation have shown twins raised apart have more similar intelligence than ordinary siblings, half siblings and adopted siblings raised in the same house.

there was even a study conducted by the university of texas which found a genetic predisposition to crime from studying adoptees compared to their natural and adoptive parents. i actually need to get a copy of that and see if they controlled the results for intelligence.

the fact is, there are very real fundamental differences in intelligence which can not be changed by any amount of education. (research the G factor) people who lie on the bottom of the intelligence distribution cannot do what society expects of them. this constant press to improve schools is bull. the problem with the schools is that the current crop of students are not of the same caliber as the students of the past. they are incapable of ever acheiving what is demanded of them.

"it's the people, stupid"

Bill Clinton's famous campaign theme coined by James Carvelle was "it's the economy, stupid", to remind everyone to continue to focus on the economy rather than get sidetracked by the media into other areas.

I think we should realize when confronting social issues and problems, "it's the people, stupid". Educational failure, crime, vandalism, welfare, you name it, it all comes down to the people who are responsible for these problems. The reason these problems have been exacerbated is as simple as demographic change. The America of today is populated by a different people than the America of yesteryear.

To expect policy change to have any appreciable effect is to be completely naive. The only thing which can improve these problems is a new people. A people more like the people of America past. This won't happen by merely holding to the status quo, nor will it happen by trying stop demographic change now to maintain present levels. Improvement in our social problems can only come from revolutionary change and a willingness to rollback the damage which has been done to the historic American population.

It won't be easy, it won't be accepted by the democracy, but it can be accomplished by the remnant of the American nation once the democracy fails from it's own decadence and mediocrity.

american immigration

i found the ABC reality show "homeland security" to be quite interesting. on one episode they allowed all sorts of arabs and mexicans in, but, one english woman who had a visa was denied entry. she was coming to visit her brother after the death of her mother but because she brought her kitty and some old family photos the "american" immigration officials decided she was planning to overstay her visa so they sent her back.

this is your america, folks. all your heroes on fox news support legal immigration, which means the continued flood of foreigners overwhelming the historic american nation. meanwhile people from the historic roots of america are denied.

you no longer own your country, your government does not represent you, and your "conservative" heroes are merely shills who fool you into believing that the republicans are on your side.

Fuck you America

Or, Fuck you American elitist pretenders who have screwed up the economy and financial markets. Hedge Fund Manager Andrew Lahde of Lahde capital managed to earn an 800% return by betting against the financial mess created by the greedy jews on wall street. he has shut down his hedge fund, is quitting the industry and is going to enjoy his winnings. my kind of man, congratulations andrew, you beat them.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

afraid obama will take your guns? catch 22

i hear many people afraid of obama taking their guns.

why do they need guns? well of course to fight a tyrannical government.

so, they say we should vote for mccain, because he won't take our guns.

of course, if he doesn't take our guns, we have no use for them.

now if obama takes our guns, then we would need them, right? but we wouldn't have them.

of course, this would all break down if someone would use their guns, instead of turning them in or hiding them.(i hear many people talking about hiding guns)

i can guarantee you americans are no different from british or austrailians. when obama says turn in your guns, some will do, many will take as their act of defiance hiding them or burying them. who will actually use them?

this is not a rhetorical question. like it or not, january 21 2009, obama will be the first mulatto president of the united states. (that we can prove, jimmy carter seems questionable)

if on the 22 of january obama issues an executive order, "American Safety and Security Protection Against Certified Terrorists act", ASSPACT act for short, what will you do?

will you be willing to risk your job, home, spouse, kids, your comfortable life where you can come home after work and relax with very little fear of jack booted thugs busting in your door. this would be no easy fight, over in a week. this would be no cakewalk with few casualties.

this would mean killing police and soldiers that yesterday you taught your kids to respect. think the soldiers and cops would join the cause, don't bet on it. this would mean being in a fight and being hunted until enough joined you to destabilize the government, in a country where 70% think you should not have any "scary" weapons.

would you? would you fight for your guns? would you fight tyrannical government? few in history have been willing to pay the price.

most will comfort themselves by saying, "i'll hide my guns, say i lost them or sold them at a gunshow, but when things get "really" bad, then i'll fight".

for most, that day will never come, ask the austrailians.

the bailout

as to the "bailout", the idea really is not a bailout but a liquidity boost. the idea is to create a market for mortgages and derivatives. the treasury would buy them at current devalued prices with the real possibility of making a profit a few years down the road when the markets stabilize and recover. the real problem came not in straight mortgages but in derivatives of the mortgages. i would pay you X dollars for the first 5 years of mortgage payments or X dollars for the interest payments the first seven years or so forth. the problem is there is not exchange market for this stuff, it's all over the counter (individual to individual with no intermediary)

the big problem right now is the credit markets drying up. banks are afraid to loan to other banks and corporations are afraid to park their cash anywhere but treasuries. consequently fed bill interest rates are dropping near 0% because of the demand and corporate paper rates are going through the roof.

two weeks ago the fed acted with euro central banks to basically save the money markets by injecting $200 billion. yesterday they did it again to the tune of $600 billion and today the japanese did $200 billion. we are at 1 trillion in injections in two weeks. the credit systems has been on the verge of collapse for two weeks. no credit means businesses can't borrow money for inventory or payroll, which means they can't offer credit terms to sell their merchandise.