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This is a totally theoretical post, but I believe it is a really interesting idea and would love to get the Internet's feedback on it, and what you think the ripple effects would be in the scenario described. Am very interested in writing this up and republishing it widely so it can be read by monetary policymakers in all major developed countries - if you know anyone like that, pass it on. In a move that would act like a bridge to a pre-Bretton Woods type of gold peg, (here is a great paper on a history of this in the US: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41887.pdf) sovereign governments with gold holdings could (again, it is a theoretical idea - I am saying they COULD do this NOT that anyone or any country is doing this that I know of) establish open market operations to purchase bitcoins (partly as a diversification strategy) using their physical gold holdings at a fixed peg rate of 5 ounces per bitcoin. The reason I say 5 is because the current chart here seems to suggest that somewhat of a convergence to 5 oz is already occurring: https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=XBT&to=XAU&view=10Y
If any government did this and offered to buy physically delivered bitcoins from private holders of bitcoin (no other coins just BTC) in exchange for private delivery of physical gold, then the standard governmental unit of physical gold (held in places like Fort Knox) - known as the Good Delivery Bar which is 400oz of gold - could be procured by any holder of 80 or more coins in a secure and sanctioned exchange with the government in question - the most impactful of course would be if the US did this.
My theory is that any time the exchange rate mechanisms in the forex or crypto markets violated the peg, there would be arbitrage opportunities that would bring the peg back in line. It would not only stabilize BTC, but the stabilization might spread via the 24/7 exchange rate mechanism in the crypto market to stabilize many cryptos that are still somewhat worthy experimental stores of value. Depending on the strength, credit, and depth of gold holdings of whatever governments engaged in this, it would seem that such a strategy could transform bitcoin into a new type of sound money, and also signal that owning bitcoin and gold is a priority of governments as well as their citizens. The gold standard was powerful both because it was tethered to something of limited quantity in the earth's crust with unique properties, but also because pre-Bretton Woods gold standards acted very much like a peg - and the government honored the peg no matter what. So in some sense it was still the "faith and credit of the government" that made that peg work so famously. I was partly inspired by this recent award-winning documentary www.inmoneywetrust.org in formulating this idea, and partly by my own academic interest in cryptocurrency. I believe bitcoin, above all others, because of its deflationary nature and algorithmically fixed quantity, is powerful all in itself - but with a peg from a real government to a real precious metal that many governments do in fact hoard (for whatever reason) - it could become both an international currency, and a form of truly sound money backed by governments' physical gold reserves and a legal or policy commitment to a peg of 5 ounces to 1 bitcoin.
What do you all think would happen if a major government or many major governments did this? Remember the idea is to convince monetary policymakers in governments to willingly and openly bypass completely the fiat currencies of their governments and to make no informational commitment to those free-floating fiat markets for forex - so the bitcoins transacted for in the peg wouldn't be bought with dollars or yen or anything that could be printed by fiat. This would simply be a convertibility guarantee by major governments that 1 bitcoin, transferred to the Treasury by a private citizen or business (again so the Treasury could diversify holdings of sound money), would be convertible and be guaranteed to be convertible to 5 oz of physical, deliverable gold bullion (or 80 bitcoins per bar). Here is a list of the largest physical gold holders on earth who could theoretically engage in this type of operation: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/040715/what-countries-have-largest-gold-reserves.asp
Thanks Reddit! Looking forward to your thoughts!
Alex Kaufman

US Stocks

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• Global stocks are mixed this morning with European stocks dropping on weak German GDP and US stocks little changed
• US stocks index futures are little changed this morning, pointing to a flat open in NY with Dow Jones minis +0.02%, S&P500 minis +0.02%, and Nasdaq 100 minis –0.16%
• Bloomberg reports that the US will hold off from imposing new tariffs on auto imports, putting a bid into international auto stocks today
• Larry Kudlow, the Director of the US National Economic Council for US President Trump, confirms that the US and China have restarted their discussion on trade at “all levels”
• US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is set to give a speech today at the Dallas Federal Reserve – traders are expecting Fed Chair Powell to give some clarity into the trajectory of interest rate increases going forward
• The VIX is little changed this morning and is currently at 20.59 after closing at 20.02 yesterday
• General Electric (GE) December 21 OTM Calls, USO December 21 & January 2019 OTM Puts, EWZ November 16 OTM Puts and EEM November 16 OTM Calls are the most actively traded options contracts in the US pre-market
• US 10-Year Treasury Bonds are higher with yields down -0.37 basis points to 3.136%
• The US Treasury 2s-10s Spread has narrowed 0.37 basis points to 0.24%
• WTI Crude is currently down -7.07% to USD$55.69/bbl with the Brent-WTI spread up USD$7.86 to USD$9/bbl
• Gold is currently little changed -0.18% to USD$1200.06/oz
• Global oil prices appear to be dismissing US President Trump’s pushback against Saudi Arabia’s suggestion to cut production by 1 million barrels a day as Reuters reports that OPEC is now considering a cut of 1.4 million barrels

Stocks Trending in the News

Click name for Q-Factor breakdown, latest price details, more financial info and sentiment data.
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• Amazon (AMZN) will see the first protest in New York City today over its new campus planned for Long Island City in Queens. Some local politicians want guarantees from Amazon that it will do all it can to benefit the citizens of Queens and plan to demand that today. They complain that the area cannot handle 25,000 new people, especially given the state of the subways, saying Amazon is building a helipad while residents are stuck with overcrowded trains. Amazon is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Top Buy” in our US Consumer Discretionary Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Apple (AAPL) was downgraded at Guggenheim today to neutral from buy. The note cites supply chain cuts and the lower deliveries of phones it implies. Apple was also had its price target lowered at UBS to USD$225, also citing supply chain concerns. Apple is rated “Attractive” in both our US Large-Cap and US Information Technology Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Caterpillar (CAT) was maintained as a buy at Credit Suisse in a note to clients. Caterpillar’s price target was updated to USD$183 as well. Caterpillar saw October machines sales rise 18%, this follows a 21% rise in September. Caterpillar is rated “Neutral” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas and “Attractive” in our US Industrials Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Bloomindale's, a unit of Macy's (M), is adding high end appliances to its store in New York City. Bloomingdale's is following other retailers in adding appliances to its offerings. The Macy's unit will offer USD$7,000 refrigerators from LG and washing machines that automatically figure out how much soap is needed. Bloomindale's hopes to spark sales by adding the new products. Macy's is rated "Neutral" in both our US Large-Cap and US Consumer Discretionary Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Merck (MRK GR) cut its full year adjusted ebitda forecast while raising its net sales guidance. Merck expects full year adjusted ebitda 3.7-3.9 billion euros, down from 3.75-4 billion euros. Merck now expects organic net sales to grow 4-6%, up from 3-5%. Merck said adverse forex effects will lower adjusted ebitda by 8-10%. Merck is rated “Unattractive” in our US Large-Cap Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Tata Motors (TTMT IN) had its outlook cut to negative from stable at Moody’s Investors Service. Tata Motors saw the cut due to weakness expected at its Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc over the next 12-18 months. Tata Motors had its rating reaffirmed at Baa2. Tata Motors is not rated in our Global Top Stock Ideas.
• Tencent (700 HK, TCEHY) reported 3Q net income that beat the highest estimates. Tencent reported net income of 23.33 billion yuan while 18.39 billion as consensus. Tencent 3Q revenue of 8.6 billion yuan was in line with 80.41 billion yuan expected. Tencent saw 3Q online gaming revenue of 25.8 billion yuan, online advertising revenue of 16.2 billion and smart phone gaming revenue of 19.5 billion yuan. Tencent is rated “Attractive” in our China All-Cap Global Top Picks.
• Wirecard (WDI GR) shares are sliding despite raising guidance. Wirecard raised its operating profit forecast and investors have not been impressed. Morgan Stanley noted the increased guidance “a minor positive” given that most estimates were already above that. Wirecard entered the DAX in September. Wirecard is rated “Attractive” in our European Large-Cap Global top Stock Idea.

European Stocks

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• European stocks are declining to start the morning, though they are bouncing off their early AM lows
• The Euro Stoxx 600 is currently down -0.53%, the FTSE 100 is higher by +0.04%, the DAX has fallen -0.46%, and the CAC 40 is lower by -0.52%
• GDP for Germany contracted 0.2% Q/Q in 3Q, the first contraction since early CY2015 as the impact of new emissions tests disrupted auto production
• UK Prime Minister Theresa May is struggling to convince members of the UK Parliament to support her BREXIT deal
• GDP for the Eurozone grew +0.2% Q/Q in 3Q, in-line with market forecasts and at the same pace as 2Q
• Italian stocks (and bonds!) are dropping this morning following news that the “populist” Italian government is refusing to budge on their CY2019 budget amidst rising pressure from EU officials
• Investor sentiment for European stocks is negative with the advance/decline ratio for the Euro Stoxx 600 currently at 0.71x
• Oil & Gas (-1.31%), Telecommunications (+0.37%), and Basic Resources (-2.45%) stocks are the top performers in the Euro Stoxx 600 today
• Automobiles & Parts (+1.14%), Food & Beverage (-0.24%), and Utilities (+0.7%) stocks are the worst performers in the Euro Stoxx 600 today
• 56 stocks in the Euro Stoxx 600 are at 4-week highs while 53 stocks are at 4-week lows
• 16 stocks in the Euro Stoxx 600 are overbought while 27 stocks are oversold according to the 16-day RSI Measure
• VSTOXX, the European stocks equivalent of the VIX, is little changed this morning and is currently at 17.81 after closing at 17.03 yesterday
• EUR€ is currently down -0.186% against the USD$ to 1.1269
• GBP£ is currently down -0.408% against the USD$ to 1.2924
• CHF is currently down -0.282% against the USD$ to 0.9902
• German 10-Year Bunds are higher with yields down -1.8 basis points to 0.391%
• UK 10-Year GILTs are higher with yields down -4.6 basis points to 1.475%

Asian Stocks

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• Asia stocks traded in a tight range, closing in the red as investors awaited Tencent (SEHK:700, ADR: TCEHY) earnings after the market close in Hong Kong
• The Nikkei 225 finished up +0.16%, the Hang Seng ended down -0.54%, the Hang Seng China Enterprise declined -0.7%, and the CSI 300 was -1%
• Japanese GDP contracted 1.2% in 3Q, worse than the 1% contraction expected by market forecasters as the impact of the September earthquake in Hokkaido was a drag on productivity this quarter – GDP is expected to rebound in 4Q
• Volume in Hong Kong was weaker than normal with total turnover little more than 40% below the rolling 20-day average for volume traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
• China retail sales grew +8.6% in October 2018, a deceleration from the +9.2% pace in September 2018 and below market expectations for +9.2%
• Investor sentiment for Japanese stocks finished positive with the advance/decline ratio for the Nikkei 225 closing at 1.59x
• 4 stocks in the Nikkei 225 hit 4-week highs while 35 stocks reached 4-week lows
• 3 stocks in the Nikkei 225 closed overbought while 13 stocks closed oversold according to the 16-day RSI Measure
• Investor sentiment for Hong Kong stocks finished negative with the advance/decline ratio for the Hang Seng closing at 0.72x
• 2 stocks in the Hang Seng hit 4-week highs while 4 stocks reached 4-week lows
• 0 stocks in the Hang Seng closed overbought while 1 stocks closed oversold according to the 16-day RSI Measure
• Japan 2-Year Government Bonds are higher with yields down -0.1 basis points to -0.139%
• Japan 10-Year Government Bonds are higher with yields down -0.3 basis points to 0.111%
• JGBs 2s-10s Spread has narrowed 0.2 basis points to 0.25%
• JPY¥ is currently little changed against the USD$ at 113.9

I'm currently setting up my SMSF, and looking at which stockbroker to use. I am looking for a broker that offers good til cancelled (GTC) trailing stops on international (preferably US and German shares), reasonable exchange rates, and without custody fees (I'm not worried about inactivity fees; but I want to avoid custody fees as a % of my balance).
My preference is for a broker with an Australian office / interface, to simplify the reporting and audit requirements.
I currently use Schwab on my personal account, and would love to use them for the SMSF - except they're almost completely US based, and the AU office is basically sales only (I don't want to be trying to use OzForex with my SMSF account).
Any suggestions? I liked the look of IG until I realised that they only offer day orders, and am avoiding Saxo due to their custody fee.

OzForex is an online foreign exchange and global payments provider, with operations across six continents. We specialise in helping people move funds between countries, more competitively than using a bank.
We're constantly across currency movements, and the influences affecting major world currencies such as the Australian dollar, US dollar and Euro.
We'd love to answer any questions you may have about:

• currency exchange
• the dollar outlook
• the future of online payments

Please note that we cannot give any individual legal financial advice.

Hello,
I have an account with USForex. They provide "international money transfer services" and are registered as a "Money Service Business" and "licensed as a money transmitter".
I never actually used USForex to convert or transmit any money, but my account is sitting with them and still 'open' and they have all of my info, including my name, address, and SSN.
I already have foreign bank accounts and filed an FBAR for them for last year, but I didn't at the time think it was necessary to mention my USForex account.
Did I need to include my USForex account in the FBAR FinCEN 114 filing?
Here is a little more info on what USForex is and my situation:
According to their website USForex is a Delaware company, but USForex is a wholly owned of OzForex, which is a Australian company
To make matters a little more confusing, I originally tried to open an OzForex.com.au account but I'm only getting emails from USForex, I called them up and they told me that my account is on the USForex.com platform because I'm a US person and that a OzForex account doesn't exist.
FBAR requires you to file: (1) Bank account, (2) Securities account (3) Other financial account.
I'm worried it meets the definition of (3) Other financial account:

(3) Other financial account. The term “other financial account” means—
(i) An account with a person that is in the business of accepting deposits as a financial agency;
(ii) An account that is an insurance or annuity policy with a cash value;
(iii) An account with a person that acts as a broker or dealer for futures or options transactions in any commodity on or subject to the rules of a commodity exchange or association; or

Also, because of the way USForex works, it allows you to convert currency only if a strike price is met (e.g. if the dollar ever drops below this amount, do a conversion), does that technically meet (iii)?
Thanks for any input.

Yo!
I'm in America for the next 3 months, and need to transfer a bunch of cash over (about AU$2k/mo). I've tried to set up an account with OzForex but as I'm currently in the US they say they need to use my US address - and I don't have proof of this address as I've only just gotten here and don't have any utility bills or statements with my address on it (and won't for my duration, I'm AirBNBing).
So what are my best options for doing a transfer to a US bank account?
I have Coinjar set up and could maybe do something with bitcoin, I also have a CBA account but their exchange rate is abysmal (~.68c plus international transfer fees, when the Ozforex rate is 0.73c!)

Hi guys,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject. The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Hi everyone, I have a holiday to the US booked for later this year. The majority of flights and accommodation are paid for so I really only have my spending money that I need to worry about. As per my title, I don't know what to do with the money. I'll explain my situation.
I would like to convert my money now, before the AUD falls even further against the USD (really wish I converted my money months ago). I've read up about where to convert currencies, and people have suggested United Currency Exchange stores, Currencyfair.com and OzForex.
I haven't organised anything money wise for my holiday (e.g. travel card), so I did some research on this sub, and I'm really keen on getting a Citibank Plus account + debit card over other options such as travel cards etc.
My issue is that the Citibank account seems to be in AUD and converts to USD when you make purchases (during my holiday when the exchange rate is likely to be worse).
If I want to convert my AUD right now, where would this money be stored, and could I keep those USD dollars in the Citibank account?
Think of this as a /explainlikeimfive question about spending money overseas haha.

I'm posting on behalf of a friend who needs to exchange Swiss francs to Canadian dollars. He is wondering about using canadianforex.ca (part of the OzForex Group), to pay less on charges compared to banks. If this is relevant, he's in Canada and has no plans to be in CH. AFAIK, the funds are held in an ordinary Swiss bank account opened while he was employed there.
Thanks for any advice or recommendations.

I'm posting on behalf of a friend who needs to exchange Swiss francs to Canadian dollars. He is wondering about using canadianforex.ca (part of the OzForex Group), to pay less than banks would charge. If relevant, he's in Canada and has no plans to be back in Switzerland AFAIK, the funds are held in an ordinary Swiss bank account opened while he was employed there.
Thanks for any advice or recommendations.

Hi mates,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the Australian dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject. The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Title pretty much says it all, I'm posting on behalf of a friend who needs to exchange Swiss francs to Canadian dollars. He is wondering about using canadianforex.ca (part of the OzForex Group), to pay less on charges compared to banks. If this is relevant, he's in Canada and has no plans to be in CH. AFAIK, the funds are held in an ordinary Swiss bank account opened while he was employed there.
Thanks for any advice on how best to proceed.

With the gradual decline of the AUD to around parity with the USD, and predictions of worse to come, I've been thinking it'd probably be a good move to convert some of my for-travel savings intended to use over the next few years. Probably be looking at moving $7-8000 into a mix of USD/GBP/Euros
I've got a Commbank Travel Money card, which I've used when travelling in the past, but the rates aren't fantastic (about 4 cents below the market rate). Are there any realistic alternatives that offer better rates?
I've seen that HSBC offer foreign currency accounts for relatively low minimum deposit amounts, which I understand would let me take advantage of the more favourable exchange rates offered by OzForex/XE/etc, but I'm wondering if that sort of thing would be really worth it, since I'd only be saving a a few hundred bucks all up, and it doesn't look like it can be used as a transaction account when travelling (no ATM/EFTPOS/BPay facilities), meaning I'd presumably have to withdraw cash and cart that around when it actually came time to travel?
Does anyone have any favourite methods for this sort of thing?

Hi mates,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the Australian dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject. The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Hi guys,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject. The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Hi mates,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the Australian dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
Edit2: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Hi guys,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject. The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: AmA has started. Here's the link!

good advice please, how to transfer money from new zealand to australia
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Hi mates,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the Australian dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
Edit2: AmA has started. Here's the link!

Hi mates,
I'm thinking for those of you who may be interested in foreign exchange and/or the dollar outlook.
Jim Vrondaz from OzForex will be doing an AmA tomorrow (Thurs 8/11/2012 noon) in AusFinance if you have any question or are just curious on the subject.
I apologize in advance if this sort of information is not welcome in this sub; if so, just let me know or mod can delete this right away.
Cheers!
Edit: The AmA will be running for a couple of days to ensure no one missed out.
Edit2: AmA has started. Here's the link!