offshore-finances.com

This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

Palash Ghosh (The Wall Street Journal): US, overseas stock correlation too strong to last, November 24, 2009.
The correlation between US and foreign stock markets, even the emerging markets, has become so strong as to render almost meaningless the concept of geographic investment diversification and asset allocation.
Craig Torres (Bloomberg): Fed officials … [visit site to read more]

In my last post I indicated that the US Dollar was poised to rally because of excessive bearish sentiment. Many market analysts had opined that the stage was set for a USD rally but any USD reversal needed a spark such as a geopolitical event.

We may have seen that spark. The world awoke this morning to the surprise news of the potential default by Dubai World.

As FT Alphaville puts it [emphasis mine]:
Dubai’s government stunned the debt markets on Wednesday by asking for a … [visit site to read more]

Thanksgiving is upon us and we have much to be grateful for this year. While it has been challenging at times it has also been rich in an abundance of things for which we can be thankful.
Talking of which, Bespoke reports that since Thanksgiving became an official federal holiday (1941), the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) has been up 20% or more through Thanksgiving on 16 occasions. With a year-to-date gain of 22.72%, this year is one of them and the S&P 500 is having its best … [visit site to read more]

At Sunshine Profits we’re holding gold and we find ourselves in very good company with some of the world’s biggest players. The smart money is definitely in.

Central banks are net buyers of gold for the first time in 22 years.

According to a report by precious-metals research firm GFMS, for the first time since 1987, central banks around the world bought more gold in the second quarter than they sold. India recently bought 200 tons of gold from the IMF and it won’t surprise anyone if … [visit site to read more]

How would you like to learn all about starting, running, operating and developing a successful business offshore, at home or abroad from one of the cleverest business brains in Britain?

Do all expatriates have to have an all singing all dancing international health insurance policy that breaks the bank and covers them for all eventualities? Not necessarily as we will reveal…

Is an expat’s biggest mistake failing to plan before they move abroad? Is it picking the wrong country or not getting their money in order before they relocate? No, it’s being too eager to fit in…

The Bahamas are committed to holding their offshore finance sector to the highest standards, according to the minister of state for finance.

Zhivargo Laing made the comments in a speech about the future of private wealth management at The Nassau Conference.

Mr Laing said: "This much we know, whatever the current evolved or evolving standards that we are asked to meet, The Bahamas must have a strategic vision for the further growth and development of its financial services sector and we do."

He added that the G20 countries were taking "action against non-cooperative jurisdictions, including tax havens and to deploy sanctions to protect public finances and financial systems".

Financial services contribute 15 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product. The country has a number of tax advantages including no income tax, capital gains tax, VAT, or wealth tax.

However the country was placed on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and Financial Action Task Force blacklists in the year 2000.

Mr Laing said that the country is making efforts to be removed from all blacklists which may result in sanctions from other nations.

Written by Andy Price.

Expats need to be more wary about dealing with new people when they move abroad, particularly in the area of finance, according to Shelter Offshore.

The finance company states that an expat’s biggest mistake is often being unrealistic about their new country and being too trusting when they meet new people.

It advises that: "You need to be more savvy, more suspicious, more streetwise and just a little less trusting when you move overseas."

Dealing with reputable organisations and financial institutions is of paramount importance for anyone moving abroad. One recent case involved British expats being taken in by a Yorkshire born businessman who allegedly tapped up his fellow expats for £20 million pounds before leaving the country. An investigation has been opened by the Serious Fraud Office.

However Shelter Offshore also says that by living in an expat bubble you can miss out on some of the advantages that living in a different country can offer and being cautious doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have fun.

Written by Tom Britten

Countries need to give more protection to those investing money overseas in the international banking system, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Remarks made by Domique Straus Khan, managing director of the IMF, highlighted that greater international co ordination was needed in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Mr Straus Khan said that in the area of investor and depositor protection: "The framework should bring some consistency to the amount of protection given to depositors and investors, and should feature explicit coordination principles."

He remarked that a consistency was need in the area of financial regulation.

During the global recession many people who dealt in international and offshore investments lost significant amounts of money. The most famous of these were the funds lost by a number of UK local authorities when the Icelandic banking system collapsed.

Recently the IMF has recommended a number of reforms to offshore finance centres to stabilise their economy. These have included recommendations to Mauritius that their current system of tax advantages is unsustainable.

In his closing statement Mr Straus Khan remarked: "It is clear [to me] that the citizens of the world will refuse to pay for another bail-out."