A guest post by Jeff Clark, Senior Editor, BIG GOLD. I suggest you read this. Yes, it was written to sell you something. It’s something we here at Q Wealth endorse and believe in because we think there’s a lot of good points in the following article. It’s written about events in the 1970s, about bank nationalizations, about paper money that becomes worthless, checks drawn on banking systems that no longer function… could it happen in your country today? You decide. Enjoy.

In 1975, as Saigon was falling, South Vietnamese refugees were air-evacuated into Guam and the U.S. The company Deak-Perera was hired by the State Department to serve as the official “money changer” for the refugee camps, and it quickly became apparent to the employees that even the most prominent of Vietnamese citizens arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs and whatever belongings they could carry. It was a somber scene.

The problem facing the refugees was that the banks in their home country had been nationalized (along with most everything else in the economy), meaning they couldn’t write a check that was cashable. This presented obvious financial roadblocks for many of them, who were already dejected about their circumstances and insecure about the future.

Perhaps the most dramatic example was a successful Vietnamese businessman and his family who had been uprooted by the war. Though his suit was haggard, it was readily apparent the man had been wealthy back in his home country. He approached the exchange desk with two large suitcases full of piasters, the paper money issued by the Republic of Vietnam. The Deak-Perera worker, Michael Checkan, gulped and, with as much empathy as he could muster, explained to the refugee that piasters no longer existed. They were worthless, and the employee could not give him any money.

The reality of the situation visibly struck the man, and his face suddenly looked like he’d been told he had 30 days to live. He protested, but there was nothing the company or Michael could do. The currency simply wasn’t worth anything. The man was broke, in spite of suitcases full of his country’s money. As he trembled, his wife began crying and the children became frightened. They shuffled away, hopeless.

Later that day, Michael had another well-dressed refugee approach the exchange table with his family. He carried a ragged satchel, and explained that he had been a banker in Vietnam. As the man began pouring the contents of the bag onto the table, Michael braced himself, knowing he would have to explain that piasters could not be exchanged for anything of value.

His mouth dropped open, however, when he looked down and saw, gleaming in the sunlight, stacks of 24-karat gold TAELs, a form of gold bullion indigenous to South East Asia. They looked like wafers, thin sheets of gold delicately wrapped in paper. Each TAEL was .9999 pure gold and weighed 1.2 ounces. The man had dozens and dozens of them.

Michael peered back up at the man; he was brimming with hope. The employee calculated the bullion’s value and moments later bought the gold TAELs, issuing the refugee a traveler’s check for a large amount. The family hugged as they walked away.

As an American, you may not have to flee your country due to a military conflict. But there is something far more likely; you may have to flee your currency. There are many threats to your hard-earned wealth, and the most insidious is a weakening of the U.S. dollar.

For the United States, the invoices are piling up. Out-of-control government spending, rising healthcare costs, increasing entitlement programs, burgeoning military expenditures, etc., all add up to a number well in excess of revenue. The only politically acceptable solution is to print more money and devalue the dollar. The money you use for everyday life will buy less and less over this decade. Remember, as gold rises, it essentially means the dollar is losing value, eroding the purchasing power of every greenback in your wallet.

If you own any form of gold, you are already well aware of those facts. But have you considered the implications of traveling with that gold?  Sure, coming from Vietnam in 1975, you probably got barely a sideways glance for carrying gold TAELs, or even a suitcase full of cash. But today, in the age of TSA “love tap” pat-downs and full-body x-ray scanners, and when you must declare any amount of cash over $10,000 on your way in or out of America, leaving the country with a stack of gold bullion is probably going to raise a few eyebrows – if not land you in a TSA backroom somewhere.

That’s why it is important not just to own gold, but to consider owning it in various forms that give you both discretion and portability. There is no substitute for gold bullion, but there are far more portable alternatives, and which are far less likely to raise eyebrows (sure, numismatics are collectibles, but good luck explaining to customs the difference between a Gold Eagle and a Saint Gaudens).

Take 24-karat gold jewelry, for instance. To the casual observer, or the TSA agent, it’s not unlike any other necklace or bracelet. To you, it is a portable store of wealth. A “money belt” customs will ignore. And a great insurance policy should you find yourself in need of money on the road.

Not only does 24K gold jewelry make moving with your money simpler, it also makes giving wealth to heirs or as a gift simpler. In fact, there are a number of advantages that are frequently overlooked: it’s significantly cheaper than most numismatics and carries far lower premiums than traditional gold jewelry; it’s subject to less of the complexities of taxes; it’s more accessible than gold stored in a vault or certificates that take time to redeem; and as jewelry, it would avoid gold confiscation if that ever came to pass again.

Unfortunately, you are not likely to find real 24K gold jewelry of any significance in your local mall’s jewelry store. Instead, they are probably selling 14K gold, and at premiums of 100% or more to the value of the precious metal. It’s simply not practical to use designer jewelry as a store of wealth –-  you won’t find a numismatic-like resale market for that Tiffany necklace.

Instead, you need to find a dealer that can provide you with pure, certified 24K gold jewelry that was designed specifically for use in passing down or traveling with your wealth, and at a reasonable markup. It helps if the jewelry uses a common unit of measure as well … each piece being an ounce or in some way easily divisible. That way you can quickly account for how much you have, and if the time ever came where you needed to sell it for emergency cash like our Vietnamese friend above, you could easily do so.

At Q Wealth, we’ have found just such a partner with First Collector’s Guild, which specializes in 24K gold jewelry for people who think like us and value portable wealth.

If you own bullion or any other form of gold, consider how portable it really is. A little forethought and you may just realize it’s not all available the moment you need it. If that’s the case, a little bit of portable wealth protection might be in order. 24K jewelry is not an investment, but in the right circumstances it can be a great form of insurance.

But don’t mistake it for just bullion; this is beautiful jewelry: These pieces are very elegant and sophisticated. It’s something you can enjoy for many years and generations to come. And they’re perfect for gifts. Which, of course, is why we are writing about them at this time of year.

If you want attractive, wearable bullion that allows you to store value safely, then 24K jewelry is it. And it might be just the right way to sneak some gold into a loved one’s stocking this year!  But hurry:– since every one of the beautiful necklaces and bracelets is custom-made, you have to order by December 10 for delivery by December 25. To see all the different choices you have and learn more about Heirloom jewelry, click here.

by Peter Macfarlane

In my Gold Report ( a.k.a. “How to Purchase and Hide Gold Bullion Offshore”) earlier this year, I wrote that the USA, UK and other major countries are bankrupt. This may not be news to some readers, but the vast majority of the population carry on believing the mainstream media, in spite of all that has happened.

Recently, I received a call from a personal consulting client asking why I said the USA was bankrupt. I guess he had seen in the last few days gold surging ahead, breaking new records in terms of US dollar pricing, while the dollar was falling. Now of course that doesn’t necessarily mean gold is really gaining ground… it could just be taken as evidence of the dollar losing ground – since gold is real money. The Fed can’t print gold.

What was the evidence behind my claim of the USA being bankrupt? And how does one define a bankrupt country? And where do other countries, particularly the UK and Switzerland, fit into the equation?

I decided to answer these questions briefly here, for everybody’s benefit.

First of all, defining a bankrupt country is not easy. Iceland clearly went bankrupt in a more traditional sense. But Iceland was a relatively insignificant country of only a few hundred thousand people. My contention is that the USA is also bankrupt, but it is not so obvious because there are many other factors there supporting the currency – the greatest of which is China. While the USA is bankrupt, China is the richest country in the world.

Who says? And where is my evidence for that? No less authority than the Central Intelligence Agency, obviously a US government agency. Now don’t get me wrong, I know the CIA make mistakes, at least one of which led to a major war. But I think in this case the CIA’s figures are quite accurate…  Click here to visit CIA site and see the Current Account Balance ranking

Take a look at that page, which shows the Current Account Balance. In plain language, that just shows what countries have ‘money in the bank’ and which are operating in a permanent overdraft mode!

China is at the top of the list, with a huge positive balance – not far off that of Germany, which occupies the number 2 position.

The United States is at the bottom, with a negative balance more than five times greater than the next largest debtor, Spain.

You’ll also see the UK, France, Spain and Italy down there with the USA.

Here’s another interesting page to look at: Gold and Foreign Currency Reserves

You’ll see China up at the top again, with huge foreign exchange and gold reserves. Most of China’s foreign exchange reserves are held in US dollars.

On this chart, the USA is at number 19, with foreign exchange and gold reserves just above Switzerland’s (but note the USA has smaller reserves than Malaysia, Libya, Mexico and Iran)

So compare the figures – the USA’s negative current account balance with the USA’s reserves – what is actually there backing the dollar – and you’ll see a huge discrepancy. The current account deficit is almost nine times the amount of the reserves.

Here’s how I interpret those figures: The fundamentals of the US dollar are a disaster. It is being supported only because the Chinese and US governments want to keep its value up, and to a lesser extent because other governments see the dollar as a reserve currency. This arrangement has suited many parties for years, but it doesn’t really suit China any more.

Many other governments see the writing on the wall (especially the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China) and are diversifying out of dollars for their foreign exchange reserves as well as for other important activities like trading oil. Take a look at where those four countries appear on the list. Very interesting!

So my conclusion is that the dollar is doomed. It has to weaken a lot further. I’ve explained in other articles why I foresee the continuing stealth devaluation of the US dollar rather than an outright dollar collapse. (See related article links below) I just cannot see how anyone, not even the might of the US and Chinese governments working together, can support the US dollar long term. Of course they might succeed in the short and even medium term.

Another interesting factor affecting the US dollar is the commercial real estate timebomb in the USA. We just emailed Q Wealth members with some important information on that this morning. If you are not yet a member, that’s something else you missed out on!

The Euro is a more complicated matter because there are such widely divergent economies in the Euro zone (Germany and Spain for example). Many people believe the Euro will break up. It might, but somehow I think that is unlikely. I think the Euro could benefit, at least in the short term, from the run out of the dollar. If you are going to keep reserves in fiat currency, and you want to avoid the dollar, the Euro is the logical choice. That said, its fundamentals are terrible too.

What about Switzerland? Switzerland is actually looking good. If I wrote that it was in bad shape in the Gold Report, that was because of its huge exposure to Eastern European currencies – another timebomb that I won’t get in to here. The other thing is that Switzerland is inevitably very dependent on whatever happens to the Euro. But I would probably revise my opinion from earlier this year on Switzerland. I keep some of my own assets in Swiss Francs.

And the UK? A lost cause in my view. They are stuck somewhere between the dollar and the euro. Sterling might recover in the short term.

Finally, I should say that I am no currency expert. I hold fairly strong views but don’t seek to impose them on other people. My work is offshore structuring and managing offshore banking relationships. Managing money is a big responsibility that I prefer to leave to others. But my own portfolio is heavily invested in gold, and I believe the next decade will belong to emerging economies. Buying currency is something akin to buying shares in a country. And my currency bets are on emerging markets.

Note: Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report, a unique privately-circulated newsletter dedicated to achieving personal freedom, wealth and privacy – and to securing wealth and nurturing it offshore. If you are new here and would like to see more views like this, be sure to check out our free five part course on the fundamentals of offshore investing and international asset protection. Sign up now without obligation for this free course and our weekly Q Bytes free newsletter.

One of my consulting clients recently drew my attention to a very important article – something that is highly relevant to any of us who own portable assets and valuables of any type. In today’s Britain, search warrants are granted in massive sweeps and the innocent have to prove they are innocent or else they have their valuables confiscated. If you are looking for international asset protection or offshore gold bullion investments, it’s something important to bear in mind.

The natural question to ask is, where could this happen next? And, perhaps more importantly, in which countries would this NOT happen? I’ll address those questions below.

“More than 500 officers smashed their way into thousands of safety-deposit boxes to retrieve guns, drugs and millions of pounds of criminal assets. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen.” So begins a recent investigative article in Britain’s Daily Mail.

The Metropolitan Police’s most ambitious operation in its 180-year history, it had nothing to do with national security. In all, more than 500 police officers had been summoned to raid smart addresses in well-heeled parts of London on one massive ‘fishing trip’ – a huge raid on safety deposit vaults of the Safe Deposit Centres Ltd company across the British capital.

The Mail’s investigation, however, paints a very different story: a botched operation that will end up costing the British taxpayer millions in compensation. Undoubtedly, it’s a symptom of big government out of control. And a warning sign to anybody who keeps an onshore safe deposit box. This was an unprecedented court order that allowed police access to not far off 7000 safe deposit boxes – and their justification boiled down to claiming that the mere fact of having a safe deposit box was suspicious enough to justify the raid.

“Just goes to show who the real dishonest people are, when the police have to resort to the sort of thing that we the public would be arrested for and possibly prosecuted. Anorther indication where the system can lie and cheat and get away with it, and they won’t even have to pay the cost. WE WILL” commented one reader on the article.

Another points out what a terrible state the UK is in today. Even local municupal bureaucrats have the power to seize and freeze assets. The average Britain is recorded on CCTV over 50 times per day. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people have their DNA recorded on a database, with no recourse. Dozens of government departments have the right to authorize wire taps.

If you want to get some insights into how the British Police work, read the article by following the link.

Many of our readers have safe deposit boxes, for storing important documents like bearer shares or valuables like gold bullion. We’ve pointed out numerous times over the years the importance of buying real gold bullion rather than ‘digital gold’ like gold ETFs or certificates. Physical gold also has the advantage of not triggering reporting requirements, because gold bars are not a bank or financial account.

HOW TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM GOVERNMENTS OUT OF CONTROL

But we are not here to scare you. At Q Wealth we believe in presenting practical solutions for your freedom, wealth and privacy. What lessons can we learn from this fiasco?

In my view, the UK and the USA are probably the countries with the most out-of-control governments in the whole world. The expectation of privacy, and being considered innocent until proven guilty, seem to be things of the past in those countries. Others, in particular Australia, are playing catch up very fast. These are the kinds of places where raids like this could be expected again in the future.

On the other hand, clients have frequently asked us for good gold storage options, and in my view Austria stands ahead of the pack. Never say never, but I just can’t see an Austrian judge authorizing this kind of fishing trip. Austria is the only major country where you can still rent safe deposit boxes completely anonymously. (Various options are explored in more detail in our free reports Practical Offshore Banking Guide and The Gold Report – both of which are available in the Members’ Area)

For those needing a storage option in the Americas, Panama might not be a bad place, according to our friend Ammi at Do Business in Panama.

Finally, at a more general level, the lesson from this story is surely not to sit down and cry about what is right and wrong, but to take a pragmatic approach and act decisively but discreetly to protect your assets, and your family, from governments that are out of control. That is what we are all about, and you are in the right place. Feel free to sign up for our Free Q Bytes Membership to learn more about our philosophies and practical asset protection advice.

Our focus here at Q Wealth is on protecting your personal and financial freedom, wealth and privacy. Naturally offshore asset protection is an important component of that. A balanced portfolio would include both offensive (or should I say proactive) and defensive strategies.

The key thing to realize is that it’s not enough just to make money. In the current environment, your dollar, pound or euro balance could be going up – but you are still losing money… due to the ongoing devaluation of fiat currency! If that’s something you have a hard time getting your head around (and who could blame you, since the mainstream media don’t report on this) then you need to read more Q Wealth articles. I would start with this page: Offshore Gold Bullion vs Fiat Money

There you’ll find a good explanation of the value of gold in relation to fiat currency like the dollar, which is backed by nothing but the declining faith and credit of the US government! Although written a few months ago, it’s particularly relevant today as gold has just burst through the $1,050 mark.

You might have heard of ‘forex trading’ – a way you can make or lose lots of money very quickly. Big banks make big money on forex. But most individual investors I know of who try it end up losing their shirts. And more than a few of the forex trading sites out there that promise you huge returns are forex trading scams. Bottom line, it’s not for average investors like you and me who have other things to do besides trade.

But there is a little-known variation on forex trading that is known as the ‘currency sandwich’ or ‘arbitrage loan.’ This is still speculative, but is something you can leave on its own and just monitor in say ten minutes, once a week.

Some European private banks like Jyske Bank and Finansbanken (Bank of Copenhagen) have been offering this for years, but the vast majority of investors have never heard of it.

The key thing here is that you can get a 100% offshore loan, available to anyone, regardless of credit history. You can borrow money from an offshore bank at say 2% interest with no scheduled repayment date, then turn right around and invest it simultaneously for 10% – 30% a year return. In other words it’s a classic way to make money using other people’s money…!

How does this work? Is it a good idea?

Once you’ve established a relationship at the right bank, they will arrange for you to borrow money in currencies like Swiss Francs, Yen or Dollars where the interest rate is very low. Then you invest the proceeds of the loan in buying fixed income products in currencies like New Zealand Dollars, South African Rand or Hungarian Forint.

Let’s say you agree a five times leverage with the bank. If the initial deposit is $100,000, you get a loan of $500,000 making a total of $600,000. This can then be invested in a pre-defined diversified portfolio of instruments like bonds or CDs.

There are two ways you can gain – or lose. There’s the exchange rate factor: raising a loan in one currency and investing in another can lead to huge exchange rate gains as wells as losses. For example if you believe the US dollar will go down relative to the Aussie dollar, you might borrow in USD and then invest in AUD, looking for ‘capital gains’ on the currency.

Then there’s the interest rate factor: Investments are made in bonds – often government bonds – which pay a much higher rate of return than what you are paying in interest on the loan, leaving a profit there.

Given the right market conditions, this deal gives you the possibility of making extraordinary profits. The more volatile the markets – the more your profits can be.

The downside, obviously, is that sometimes such deals go against you – basically if you get the market wrong.  However you don’t generally get completely wiped out, because it’s very rare for these currencies to devalue overnight.

The next question of course is which banks offer this type of loan? I named a few above, but those are not necessarily the most confidential and if you happen to be a US citizen, you may find the reporting requirements an unwarranted intrusion on your privacy. As I said, there are a number of lesser-known European private banks that will offer this kind of deal – even to USA citizens provided the accounts are  are established via offshore vehicles (for example Panama Corporations or Private Interest Foundations ). A cheap Panama corp will suffice here since the goal is not tax planning but simply asset protection and opening up new opportunities.

But you must know who to ask, and how to ask (discreetly). I wouldn’t go so far as to say these deals are only available to insiders, but they are not available to people who walk in off the street – or the internet. That’s the reason I’m not going to name banks here. Then these high level private bankers would be flooded with e-mails from wannabees and tire kickers who don’t really understand the deal.

If you are interested in finding out more about these deals, first you must be a member of Q Wealth. If you are not already, you can sign up online right now for a mere $87. Then I will be happy to name such banks to you in an individual e-mail, as part of the free consultation that all members are entitled to. So, what are you waiting for? This is a great way not just to protect yourself against declining currencies like the US dollar, but actually to prosper and create wealth… out of the US government’s poor management of the economy. Now doesn’t that sound like the way things should be?

In this article: a quick preview of a way to profit from economic turmoil… Canada’s largest ever gold discovery. This is something our Q Bytes subscribers already received details of today. If you are not yet on the Q Bytes list (and remember it’s FREE!) you have a second chance, because we will send out this link again on Saturday. Read on for more details…

The $787 billion approved in February was not enough, it seems! For example Laura Tyson, an  adviser to President Barack Obama, is quoted by Bloomberg as saying it was “a bit too small.” See also this link about Gold Price Speculation.

As I seem to remember there have been quite a few stimulus deals already…  so where somebody got the idea that this is only the second, I don’t know. But anyway, the chatterers are asking for a “Second Stimulus.” Whether this craziness actually goes ahead or not, it is once again highlighting the potential for decline of the dollar – and the consequent rise in Gold.

I see inflation as the most imminent threat to your capital. Allow me to explain. The Monetary Base is made up of currency in circulation, reserves that banks have on deposit with the Fed, and (last but not least) Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs)  stashed away in bank vaults. This is themoney used in our daily transactions, and as such is the most accurate indicator of inflation.

Between 1960 and 2008, the Monetary Base grew at roughly 6% annually, with a spike around 15% just before the turn of the century. But get this: Between September 2008 and April 2009, the Monetary Base exploded to a 110% growth rate. That means cash available to do business more than doubled in the space of just eight months. And since April… well, you get the idea!

With this level of liquidity, prices have to start rising in a big way. In fact, market guru Marc Faber says he is sure that U.S. will soon go into hyperinflation. Meanwhile other experts suggest that the UK is equally on the edge of a serious currency crisis.

What does all this mean? One short, four letter word:  G O L D ! We’ve written many times about Gold and Precious Metals Investing generally, and more specifically in our Members Section about how to buy and hold gold bullion offshore for the ultimate privacy, hedging and completely legal non-reportability.

But today I am not writing about Gold Bullion. While gold is slow, steady and relatively conservative… there is a way to leverage gold investments and make a lot of money very quickly when the gold price soars. I’m talking of course about gold mining stocks. And right now there is a very interesting opportunity that has come my way, from a couple of highly reputable people, both industry insiders, that has a very high potential upside. It’s interesting because it has two upsides… not just the leverage on the soaring gold price, but the fact that it’s currently undervalued and this is a chance to get in on a new gold find at the ground floor.

It’s not every day that the biggest gold find in Canadian history goes on record! But that’s what’s about to happen.

So I believe the time is right to introduce you to a contact who has all the inside information on it… an veteran ‘hands on’ investor of the Canadian mining business. I named him to Q Bytes readers in an email this morning, but will decline to name him in public here.  Suffice to say, if you missed out you still have a chance. Get on our Q Bytes list by midnight Friday, and I’ll make sure you get this information on Saturday.

He is going to tell you a great story… about a “renegade geologist” and his “mom-and-pop” company who are right now sitting on a mother lode of 10.6 million ounces of gold on their mining property. It’s soon going to go on record as the biggest gold find in Canada… the seventh largest in all of North America.

Now I’d like to point out, to those people out there who want everything for free, that good, hands-on type research costs money (just look at my travel bills each year…) So I’m not saying I’m going to give you all the insider research and contact information you need to take advantage of this deal for free. But Q Bytes readers will have the opportunity to read this story and get full information and insight on how this could work,  and very importantly how you could make money in short order. We mailed some info to our readers today, and we will repeat the relevant links on Saturday, to anyone whois a current Q Bytes reader as of midnight tomorrow Friday.  And Q Bytes is completely free and without any obligation whatsoever. You can sign up to Q Bytes here. Don’t miss out!

Germany has always been something of a cash economy. Even as North America and the rest of Europe were ganging up against anyone with a wad of cash a decade ago, German auto dealers would accept nothing but cash for that new Mercedes or BMW, while travelers in Germany were amazed that hotels and train stations would not accept credit cards either. Things are changing, but the ‘Bundesrepublik Deutschland’ is certainly the largest ‘cash economy’ in Europe.

Perhaps it’s not surprising, therefore, that Frankfurt Airport in Germany is the testing ground for a sophisticated new type of vending machine that sells gold bullion for investment purposes. As regards the typical trade-off between money laundering regulations and privacy, a camera monitors the machine. Presumably anyone hogging the machine to purchase large quantities will be regarded as suspicious.

Operator TG Gold-Super-Markt plans to roll out 500 of the machines in airports and railway stations across Europe, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK. They are also offering worldwide franchise licenses. The sophisticated machines sell everything from small bars intended as gifts, such as a 1 gram bar for about €30, to larger ingots aimed more at investors – a 10 gram bar costs about €245 – or gold coins such as the Maple Leaf  or Kangaroo.

Demand for retail gold bullion (in other words, physical gold that you can hold and touch, rather than paper gold such as certificates and ETFs)  has of course shot up in the past year. An article in Britain’s Daily Telegraph states that demand reached an estimated 108 tonnes in 2008, up from 36 tonnes in 2007 and 28 tonnes in 2006.

Thomas Geissler, who owns TG Gold-Super-Markt, said: “German investors have always preferred to hold a lot of personal wealth in gold, for historical reasons. They have twice lost everything. Gold is a good thing to have in your pocket in uncertain times.”

Unfortunately, however, buying physical gold in these vending machines comes at quite a premium. Geissler claims that the premium over spot is less than charged by most banks, which may be true. But then ‘most banks’ are not specialists in gold. Those who are more serious about investing in gold bullion know which banks to go to to buy at substantially lower premiums. For example, nearly all banks in Vienna, Austria are now stocked up with gold coins that are available for cash purchasers at a much lower premium.

So, in summary, it’s a cute idea and next time we fly through Frankfurt Airport we will likely test it out ourselves. It’s ideal for encouraging impulse savings (that’s the opposite of impulse purchases!) But if it gets too successful – in other words if investors are treating this seriously rather than as a gimmick – we may well see some resistance from governments. After all, little more than ten years ago Austria had anonymous bank accounts (ATM Sparbuchs) that could be operated through similarly innovative technology. Five years ago you could buy prepaid Travel Cards and Mobile phone SIM chips anonymously for cash in Switzerland. But no longer…

If you want to know more about discreet ways to buy gold bullion offshore while protecting your privacy, you’ll want to check out Peter Macfarlane’s article about Precious Metal Investments: How to Buy and Hold Gold Bullion Offshore. We expect Gold to go through the roof (at least in dollar terms) quite soon. Very soon we expect it to break through the $1000 mark again. So don’t delay and miss out on these opportunities. Members of Q Wealth have full access to Gold Intelligence – in the form of the Gold Report and regular updates in each issue of The Q Wealth Report -  from Peter Macfarlane.

The bailout of General Motors is another nail in the coffin of the US dollar. But still, most people haven’t even noticed the real ‘stealth’ devaluation being imposed by the United States government. And yet all of us, Americans or not, are affected by this in a big way, due to the dollar’s status as a reserve currency (and also due to China’s effective control of the dollar, that I have previously touched on…)

Is the dollar “collapsing” or merely “declining”? I believe it is collapsing, but some people might misunderstand this. The dollar is not just going to crash one day, or even one week. It’s an ongoing thing, that started many years ago but has substantially speeded up in the last five years or so (yes, even during the times when the US economy was supposedly booming, that too was based on scams by the financial services sector)

Geithner, Bernanke, Obama and the whole crew are involved in a constant battle to patch over the dollar collapse.  Yet in spite of their attempts, the cracks have widened. The greenback continues its inexorable march downward. This week’s events at G.M. have accelerated the collapse a little more. And I believe that the collapse of the dollar will continue to accelerate with time. What will happen when it hits the bottom is anybody’s guess, but I certainly want to be well prepared when it happens. You should be too. And the Q Wealth website is about helping you do just that – protecting your assets from this stealth devaluation.

The US is not going to crash like Mexico did in 1995, or like Argentina and Brazil have done since with overnight currency devaluations. Neither will go bankrupt in one day like Iceland. The US government still has way too much influence and political power for that to happen. It’s a stealth devaluation because your portfolio will appear to be going higher. You will have more dollars. The stock market will be up. But in real terms, you are losing money faster than ever before. This is what some people have a hard time getting their head around – but it’s very important. The government will try to persuade you that things are going well, when really they are not. Bottom line? It’s a scam being perpetrated on you by government. If you care about protecting your assets and creating new wealth, you have to understand this.

So where can you actually put your money to protect against the stealth devaluation and collapse of the dollar? What about other currencies? Well, necessity dictates that we need to use currencies like dollars, euros and pounds to carry on business. And common investing sense dictates that you should diversify assets, so at least having a proportion of euros is better than having all dollars. It’s a start.

But unfortunately none of these currencies look good. Every other major central bank is participating in the very same scam, meaning that their currencies are equally doomed. So it would not be safe to assume that buying, say, euros, will give you any serious protection against the loss of your assets.

My number one mantra to clients is diversification, diversification and diversification. If you have a portfolio above six figures, it should be in different currencies, in different banks, on different continents. Opening overseas personal accounts, while having no tax consequences, can certainly help asset protection…the geographic diversification protects against the threat called government, while the mere fact that the assets are offshore significantly reduces the risk of you being sued in the first place, especially if you live in a litigious place like the USA or increasingly the UK.

Generally, private international banks are also a whole lot more flexible and service minded too. They offer Swiss-style wealth management banking facilities. For example, I noticed the other day that one of my European private offshore banks (not in Switzerland in this case) had quietly added gold ounces to the list of currencies I could hold in my multi-currency checking account. I guess that means I can even write cheques denominated in gold ounces, though I haven’t tried that yet. I see some of the larger European clearing banks like RAIFFEISEN ZENTRALBANK OESTERREICH AG in Austria are now maintaining gold correspondent accounts for their institutional clients. Interesting, huh?

Which are the best offshore banks for this kind of wealth management? For the answer to that question you need to be a member of The Q Wealth Report. Download the Practical Offshore Banking Guide (available instantly as soon as your payment is approved) and you will find ten of them for starters, with impartial comments on each… together with the form for a free e-mail consultation if you would like to discuss your individual circumstances with me directly.

Gold, probably is number one on my list of recommendations as a hedge against dollar decline. There are ways you should buy gold, and ways you shouldn’t. One way you should not invest in gold is by following typical mainstream advice and investing in ETFs, the most famous of which is GLD the SPDR Gold ETF. Ther are significant concerns about whether you could really get your gold out, or even your money back in dollars (which is not what you would want anyway at that stage) in the case of an economic meltdown.

For example, what do you think of this quote directly from the GLD prospectus?

The Trust’s gold may be subject to loss, damage, theft or restriction on access.

There is a risk that part or all of the Trust’s gold could be lost, damaged or stolen. Access to the Trust’s gold could also be restricted by natural events (such as an earthquake) or human actions (such as a terrorist attack). Any of these events may adversely affect the operations of the Trust and, consequently, an investment in the Shares.

The Trust may not have adequate sources of recovery if its gold is lost, damaged, stolen or destroyed and recovery may be limited, even in the event of fraud, to the market value of the gold at the time the fraud is discovered.

If you would like to know about better ways to invest in Gold offshore, you need my Gold Report – How to Buy and Hide Gold Bullion Offshore which is likewise available free of charge for immediate download to our paid up members.

Not a member yet? Sign up to Q Wealth Report here.

by Peter Macfarlane, Offshore Banking Expert at The Q Wealth Report

I’m writing today with a pint of Guinness in front of me from a pub in County Cork, Ireland, where I have just arrived to prepare for the Q Wealth event with Richard Cawte and Thomas Bolther this weekend. Over the next few days here on the Q Wealth blog I’ll be giving you very brief sneak insider preview of something I’ll be talking about this Saturday to a select group of readers who have chosen to join us here in Ireland.

In essence, I’ll be talking about the changes being brought about in offshore banking by the UBS case, and the pressure from the USA, France, Germany and elsewhere by means of the forthcoming G20 summit in London. Is it hot air and hype? Or will the offshore banking business as we know it be irreperably damaged? Which are the best private banks for wealth management long term? Are Swis banks still good? These are just a few of the questions I plan to answer.

I’ll also be talking about the strengths, weaknesses and contingency plans of the various private banks and offshore brokerages featured in our 2009 Practical Offshore Banking Guide, and of course I’ll be talking about my new Gold Report – both of which are available right now for download in the Members’ Section here on site.

Check back here over the next three or four days for this series of mini-postings that I’m going to call “The Truth About Offshore Banking and Asset Protection.” This information is absolutely free, as is our Secrets of the Super Rich email course. If you haven’t signed up for the free course yet, please do go ahead and do so! For further information you might enjoy learning about our opinions on the best offshore banks.