A Visit with My Hong Kong Banker

Re: A Visit with My Hong Kong Banker

Jason,

You are reading the right stuff, but as to advice on iinvestments, well, best
get that from a pro, I think we are all amateurs here.

I heard one pro say at least 10% in hard metal, no more than 30%... sounds about
right... but it seems to me the more important asset to own is your own
business. Get that going...

John,

This is definately a coming problem that I would like to be prepared
for. (falling dollar/ fiat money) Although I am just starting out, I
feel that I will have the tools to weather this.

My question is this... can you (or anyone else) please point me to
some articles and books that will help me get a better understanding
of what I can do to begin preparing for this?

Is holding gold or silver a good idea? Real Estate? Other currency
that is on a gold standard?

I guess I need tips and strategies that I can learn about.

I am currently reading the article by Rothbard "What has Government
Done to Our Money." http://www.mises.org/rothbard/rothmoney.pdf

Thanks for the tip by the way.

Jason

--- In spiers@yahoogroups.com, "John Spiers" wrote:
>
> Shall I share another wee story?
>
> I sit with my banker in Hong Kong, and yes, my account has an
investment module attached
> which allows trading in any foreign currency, allows me to hold
currency in any
> denomination, buy gold and store it in Hong Kong Shanghai Banking
Corporation (HSBC)
> vaults, and trade securities on the Hang Seng. Just like any self-
respectiing cab driver in
> Hong Kong would have.
>
> I am pleased to hear this.
>
> Except, she notes, as a US citizen, I may only hold hong kong
dollars, using the ATM and
> write checks. And I can use my atm card to withdraw RMBY out, but
it is RMBY after
> conversion from HK$, Well, heck, I can do that with my Bank of
America ATM in Hong Kong.
>
> It appears the price of having a banking license in USA, HSBC will
not allow US citizens to do
> what they let any other Hong Kong account holder do. I guess the
thinking is if Americans
> can get out of USA currency and invest easily through Hong Kong,
they will.
>
> (Question: is there any US citizen on the list, who is not a dual-
citizen, who has a non-HSBC
> bank account in hong Kong, who is allowed to do all the investment
goodies thru his
> account? I wonder if this is just HSBC policy.)
>
> I expressed consternation over this, and she seemed pleased.
>
> Yes, everyone knows at some point the dollar will get hammered. Of
course, if the Fed cuts
> interest rates later this year to get the republicans re-elected,
the real estate boom will take
> off again for a while, but the crack-up will be all the worse
afterwards. Anything can happen,
> so it's best to be positioned to deal with anything. Putin is
recommending Russian resources
> be sold in rubles, not dollars, so it seems everyone is positioning
themselves for a dollar
> crack-up eventually.
>
> Yet, even though we can see the truck coming down the sidewalk, we
are not allowed to step
> out of the way, as we see with HSBC policy.
>
> On the other hand, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank is allowed to be
the #1 Mortgage
> handler in USA. Extremely few people know this, because rankings
are expressed in
> originations. But whether it's a mortgage banker or mortgage
broker originating the loan,
> they all bundle up the loans and sell them off immediately. These
mind boggling sums are
> handled in the bankground, with HSBC as a major player, When the
dollar gets hammered, a
> foreign company will have quite a bit of control over what happens
to you and me.
>
> Well, gold crossed $720 today, and silver may cross $15.00 today so
those investments still
> seem to offer protection, but the problem is the govt has seized
that asset before, during the
> last big government-caused financial disaster. Sigh.
>
> If things do go bad, happily there will be enough of us to say, "
there is an alternative."
>
> John

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