swissie

I fully agree. What is most disturbing to me, is the "legal uncertainty". Depending on Amphoe, the laws made in Bangkok can and will be interpreted individually by local chieftains. Just too much "brown envelope" economy. But lo and behold, a Farang having bought his Condo in Pattaya some 20 years ago did quite well. During Pattayas heydays, even Farang Bar Owners made money.

Be careful YT. Poster KH has clairvoyant capabilities. Among other things he "knows" that my Thai Hog Operation could not possibly have been successful. He knows more about you and me than we do.

Work permits in Thailand (in short): "Whatever a Thai National can do, a foreighner is not allowed to do". Ergo, the farm work I did could have been done by a Thai. Zero chance for me getting a work permit. As I later learned, it was another Thai pig farmer that "signaled" me to the officialdom. Never mind. All water under the bridge.

Our grandfathers came mostly as "unskilled labor" to the US. No problem, they then worked for Henry Ford and Carnegie. In reverse: What awaits the "latinos" coming to the US today? Mostly unskilled laborors. Basically no need for them in todays US economy. Young latinos ending up in the many "underground" economies. Or mowing the grass for "rich people". For young Latinos, there is no American dream left, especially as "the Americans" themselves see their American dream fade away into the sunset.

Once upon a time I had a pig farm in rural Thailand. My Thai partner went with his truck to collect "questionable food" from hotels, restaurants and "old rice" from farmers, while I ran the pig farm. Pigs make for intelligent pets and eat everything without needing "stomach medication" the next day. We both made good money. But eventually some "officials" came by, raising the question with regard to "work permit" concerning the Farang. There, I decided to terminate my career as a pig farmer in Thailand. What has that to do with Wall Street? Nothing! I will be back on topic next time. Scouts honor.

Almost halfway through the "Investing year", let's take an up to date look at things. IMHO it seems that only 2 things are "moving the markets" these days. a) What is the US Fed going to do? b) Whats happening in China? Commodities are a good "early indicator". All it took was a series of unpleasant economic news fron China to have the Gold/Silver/Copper prices to nosedive lately. It used to be that if the US gets a cold, the rest of the world would get pneumonia. The day may not be far off when the same thing applies when China gets a cough.

This is a good time to start a poll: After having any prostate surgery, has your ejaculate increased or decreased? Meant as a joke. It always decreases. The medics don't adress this beforehand. After the fact, former ejaculation "excess" is absorbed by some sort of bodily absorbation they say, bodily evaporation so to speak. At any rate, this thread sould be moved swiftly to the "Health-Forum" to be commented by "Sheryl". Avoiding reckless further wild speculations concerning this matter.

Look at a world map. How many countries will qualify as "western standarts"? You can count them on less than 10 fingers. Why does half of south America want to emigrate to the US? Why does half of the world want to emigrate to Europe? Because they have a financially comfortable life in their home country? To you, apperantly, it's all Baloney. Look at the world map once more. Do you realise that to buy a Baloney-Sausage, for a majority of people in those less fortunate countries it will take 2 days wages to buy "your Baloney"?

HeHe! You may want to read a thread in "Property & Finance", Jobs Economy Banking etc. = Us, the financial drug addicts. Good reading, because I wrote it.

Ever since WW2, we had a nice run. Thanks to productivity gains, but mainly financed by increasing the amount of outstanding dept (government and private). For example: Currently, 8% of all the Tax Revenue collected in the US must be used just to pay the interest of the outstanding debt. No reversal of this trend visible. But in order to keep the party going "we" must inject ever more "credit" into the system. If we stop doing this, the 70 year old party will come to an end. The world has fallen prey to the worst addiction of them all: "Credit". Possibly a good time to increase the recommended 10% of Gold/Silver in an average portfolio to more.................... or much more.

Was meant to appear in the "health" forum. No acceptance there. So it appears here: Drug use dates back to the stone age. "Beer" entered the stage quite early. Soon it was discovered that with the consumption of beer, all kinds of personal "catastsrophies" are easier to bear. Back then as well as today, people find it necessary to escape some harsh realities of daily life. 30% of the world population still lives on less than 2$ a day. Expats in Thailand, having lost love and fortune. Those Farangs sitting in front of a 7/11, feeling no pain anymore. Or sitting at home, staring at a white wall, no boredom emerging while staring at a white wall while drugs do what they are supposed to do. = remove the consumer from an increasingly harsh reality. Few like the taste of Alcohol, but cherish the effects. As more and more people feel the urge of escaping todays harsh reality, plenty of "merchants" will supply the ingrediants that enable people to escape the harsh realities of a predatory world. Nobody likes the taste of drugs. But it's the effect that an increasing number of our neighbors yearn for. Drug addiction starts as a sociological problem, followed by chemical dependency. Today, we are far removed from Benjamin Franklins quote: "God gave us Beer, wanting us to be happy". At that time, he diden't know that eventually we would "overshoot" the target massively, due to the fact that todays world is far more "predatory" than in his time. Rant over. Or was I just looking at the great mirror reflecting todays world?

It is not unusual that Farangs realise that after having built a lavish mansion for the family, they discover that any private health insurance in Thailand costs about the same as in their home country.

On the other hand, I tryed to sell some Thai Gold in Switzerland a couple of years ago. (Jewellery). Banks woulden't touch it. Gold deales wanted to send it to an "assayer" first. Best offer finally was 30% below Gold price per Oz. Sold it eventually in Thailand for a fair price. Apart of this: In a time of "crisis", how much would one get for Gold on the black market? 1 loaf of bread for 1 Oz of Gold? Seems that shortly after WW2 the Germans that had US $ fared better than "Gold-Owners". But that's another story.

For most people, easiest way would be to buy mining stocks. Problem is, to open new mines costs a tremendeous amount of money. Takes 10 years to bring a new mine on line. Ore content of new mines generally lower. So, instead of opening new mines, the big mining companies rather try to buy themselfes out. (!!??!!) This doesn't help the "supply leg" of the equasion. Better to go with futures/ETF's. PS: Looks like Copper is ready to correct some more. For this occasion I raised some cash. I sold my kitchen sink and I sold my 8 daughters to a harem in Saudi Arabia.

My Ex-Wife wants me to stay healthy. She forces me to walk every day. After 500 meters I developpe strong pain in my lower back. (in German; Kreutzschmerzen). The Doctor says: At the age of 72 you must expect all kinds of things. Furthermore, surgeons shy away from "surgical-corrections" as 1 "wrong" cut in this bodily aerea can send you to a wheelchair. So, they rather do nothing. So I stopped walking, replacing it by increased drilling in my nose and scratching my ass.

Dear JT. I too have been looking for "alternative places" to live in old age. You are not the only one. For sure, there are still some countries that offer relatively liberal "visa-conditions", mainly if one can prove that the potential future resident has a sound "financial-background". I found out, that regardless where one ends up in old age, outside of the home country, health care costs/health insurance are very expensive, no matter where one ends up. Balmy breezes from the ocean and palm trees will not lower the cost. On a personal note: You an US Citizen. Nobody can deny you any "old age benefits" as a US citizen. Arizona is nice all year round. Mobile Home Parks affordable. With interesting people as your neighbors. Caution: Once you get "the feel" of Arizona, you may ask yourself why you spent the last 500 years in S/E Asia. Otherwise: The US offers so many geographical variations/cimate and different cultural "inputs" like nowhere else in the world. By driving 500 miles you end up in a different world. So, what is the (true) reason for you not wanting to live in your home country anymore in old age? It can't be "financials" only, as health care costs will eventually bankrupt you under some exotic palm trees. No matter where the exotic palm trees grow. PS: With sufficient irrigaton, palm trees also grow in Arizona.

Whatever we do, it's 30 years too late. Period.

Before "the correction" of late, Copper was up 25% this year. SUPPLY AND DEMAND is still the name of the game, or is it? Demand increasing, supply not keeping up. An upcoming discrepancy between supply and demand of this magnitude is very rare and comes across only every 20 years. Any further short term weakness in Copper must be considered as a gift from heaven. If your life-expectancy is at least 5 years and you are aware that the "carrying-charge" of Copper is around 6% per year, you should stop "dancing with wolves" and start to dance with Dr. Copper instead.

In Pattaya, every 300 meters there is a Gold shop. How do you tell a "reputed" dealer from a "non reputed dealer"? The Thai community in my home country prefer to buy Gold here and not in Pattaya. Among other considerations, a Kruegerrand coin is marketable globally as opposed to some mysterious "Thai-Gold".

In case the ETF is backed by physical Gold/Silver a "carrying-charge" is incorporated in the price of the ETF. Currently the carrying charge for Gold and Silver is near 8% per year. Few people realise this. In the case of futures, this carrying charge is reflected in form of a "Contago-Situation". (Every time you "roll" a future to a more distant contract, you pay a little more for the new contract). The opposite is a "backwardation-situation". Very rare! At the moment only happening in crude oil futures. = There is no free lunch!

DELIVERANCE AT LAST ! I must no more earn my living in Pattaya as an Elvis impersonator. I'l just buy a Gold testing device (see post from david555 above). Equipped with this device, I will hop from bar to bar, adressing the ladies with: "Hey sugar babe, for 100 BHT I will test your Gold". I will get rich, get a lot of free drinks and get a lot of admiring looks from the ladies. Maybe more. Eureka!

Thanks for the link. Very helpful.

That's just the problem: Just to scratch the surface won't disclose what's inside. Tungsten/Molybdenum? I know, this hasn't made the headlines yet, but there are Mafia-Structures emerging, specialising on this scam. The profit margin is phantastic. - Above, "david555" has provided a link. A must read for all that are involved in buying/selling physical Gold on a regular basis.

Gathering information by way of internet, only far away Americens would consider such a place. There are no European Seniors, that would even consider Albania. Outside of the capital, even today, "blood-revenge" juristiction is the rule. The only natives that have made any significant money have made it by "traffiking" to Europe. Developping tourism as the only source of (legal) income. Yacht ports mushrooming at $ 150 a day for "parking the yacht". Such a concept does not accommodate future low income "immigrants", no matter where they come from. To disclose some "gay-tendencies" in Tirana is dangerous. In the coutryside it's basically a death sentence. Even today. No investigation by the local police willl ever take place. Having "feelings" toward a Albanian female must be approved and constantly observed by a family member. Rats! No "fast sex" available. All of this very good reasons that no Europeans want to take residence in Albania.

And how much does a private health insurance cost in Thailand for a family of 3 on a monthly basis?