Hey, Dude, Who Stole My Gold?

By Clayton Wade

Managing Director

Premier Homes Real Estate Co., Ltd.

clayton@premierinternational.com

I spent several weeks in the United States last month and could not help but notice two ongoing trends that just don't seem to be going away.

First and foremost, the tragic Boston bombing which killed and maimed innocent citizens so senselessly.

Yes, the international media makes sure that everyone is acutely aware of the great variety of terror in America these days…and each act of terror is so creative and different!

Whether a serious act of Islamic terrorism or 'another' False Flag event, it is a horrific trend in the United States that just seems to be getting worse and worse–not to mention more and more bizarre.

The other ongoing trend is the American economy that seems to just go on and on printing and printing its way to the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.
The most current American contributions to the internet is a plethora of 'Save Energy' ads, 'Go off the Grid' ads and–my favorite–'How To Avoid The Crash' ads with very little doubt being shown for what America (and the world!) has in store for itself just ahead.

One such internet financial watchdog website, Money Morning 'Your Dailey Map to Financial Freedom,' even has a poll which asks: Should the Federal Reserve come clean? Tell us what you think…and then offers the choice of Yes, the Fed should be audited or No, we should trust them.

I just can't help my politically-incorrect self, but can't you just imagine that Mitt Romney's government-dependent 47 percent are the very ones (and most likely only ones) that are happy just to let the Fed continue on with business as usual?

I mean, honestly, who with half a brain would trust the Federal Reserve at this time in history…or at any time for that matter?

Speaking of trust, Germany–a country with immense gold reserves (second largest in the world!)–has kept a vast portion – some 54,000 bars worth billions of dollars – in the New York Federal Reserve Bank for more than 50 years. But that half a century of trust has been tarnished as Germany just a few months back demanded the return of their gold – a move that produced tremors throughout the global financial markets.

First, Germany requested a full audit and thorough inspection of their gold reserves. That request was denied and nothing was done. Subsequent requests have also been denied.

Wouldn't you think that investors worldwide should be shocked with this incredible deception?

The world financial markets are witnessing a US dollar that slowly but surely will not and cannot be redeemed by the Federal Reserve Bank!

You would be surprised—no, you would be shocked–to know just how many international as well as homegrown American financial and economic pundits are playing the doomsday card these days as the American stock market is sky rocketing and the gold market is plummeting, both seemingly independent of one another and yet both are without sound economic indicators that make any sense at all.

The markets in America are under unprecedented stress and are heading for a no man's land of unfathomable debt.

Even China, once the biggest purchaser of US bonds in the world, is now selling off its Treasuries while buying gold like nobody's business. In fact, it will not be long before China has officially surpassed Germany as the second-largest depositor of gold in the world.

So where does that leave us here in Thailand? Is Thailand starting to feel the repercussions of the American financial calamity?

Yes, financial experts strongly expect the Bank of Thailand to take action as the baht is experiencing unprecedented, "excessive" gain which, in turn, is having a far-reaching and negative impact on Thailand's export sector as well as the tax revenue expectations of the Thai government.
According to MCOT Online News, the strengthening of the baht to 29.18 is acceptable but if it rises further to 27-27.90, more than 12 percent of Thailand's entrepreneurs said they will have no choice but to lay off employees and 9.8 per cent said they would have to close their businesses.

Concern over a bubble possibly developing in the provincial property market, there is also being seen a definite slow down by Thai banks in providing construction loans to property developers in the provinces (Chonburi, too!) that lack both sufficient capital and their own plots of land.

Well, Thailand as a whole may be feeling the repercussions of the American financial calamity, but the Eastern Seaboard just might be experiencing the benefits of the world's developing financial crisis as we are starting to see definite signs that the residential resale market is picking up with more shoppers and buyers than we have seen in years.

In fact, the resale of detached houses seems to be doing well, with many popular housing developments seeing sales taking place for resale homes that went through a price adjustment period over the past few years.

Yes, they have had to lower their prices, but they are now starting to move again with new detached housing developments also coming on line in the Eastern Pattaya, Mabprachan, Phoenix Golf Course and Silverlake areas.

It appears that more and more expats just might be deciding that the Eastern Seaboard makes sense as a great place to buy a home and live while their home countries go through less than golden times.

Yes, we are seeing more and more foreign executives and management level employees coming in short term and more and more retirees moving here for the long haul as more and more expats are discovering the incredible lifestyle available here on the Eastern Seaboard.

Well, Germany may be singing the 'Hey, Dude, Who Stole My Gold' blues, but Thailand is seeing nothing but silver linings as the Land of Smiles Eastern Seaboard continues reaping the benefits of a virtual expat relocation gold rush!

Our very special thanks to Clayton Wade, managing director of Pattaya's Premier Homes Real Estate Co., Ltd. for preparing this Pattaya Today column.

Clayton Wade has been running Premier Homes Real Estate Co., Ltd., with his wife, Khun Supap, for more than 17 years. He himself has been in the real estate industry going on 27 years, having started his career in the United States where he was licensed and practiced both real estate sales and property management in Seattle, Washington.

Clayton personally was responsible for bringing in the first 53 General Motors executives for the start-up phase of Thailand's General Motors manufacturing facility and had a three-year exclusive with the company. Following that experience, he placed most of the start-up executives for the Eastern Seaboard's BMW manufacturing facility.

Clayton Wade is a council member with the Gerson Lehrman Group, the New York based international research and consulting firm, and has been a national panel judge with the Thailand Property Awards for many years.

The American-born entrepreneur is known throughout the Asia-Pacific region for his writing, public speaking and television presentations. His many accomplishments in promoting real estate on Thailand's Eastern Seaboard include having been a guest speaker with several of Thailand's top political and business figures on CNBC's Managing Asia.

Premier Homes is Pattaya's leader in exclusive property sales and rentals, which may be seen by visiting their website at: www.premierinternational.com. Clayton Wade may be contacted at +(66) (81) 634-2915 or at: clayton@premierinternational.com