Liam Halligan on the Dangers of Quantitative Easing ("QE")

Since its implementation by the BOE at the height of the financial crisis, QE has been a controversial policy to say the least. We at GreenWorld have always felt that QE has the potential to cause inflation - if not now, then down the road.  For those who share the same worry, there was a fantastic column by the Telegraph's Liam Halligan on the dangers of QE.  Mr. Halligan writes:

"Future inflation, not disinflation, is the problem the UK faces. For now, most of the QE “proceeds” are sitting on the balance sheets of banks pretending to be solvent...What happens to inflation when that massive increase in base money is leant out? What happens when the mask slips and the markets focus on “currency debasement”, which then pushes up imports prices as sterling falls?" 

Mr. Halligan is spot-on, the danger is indeed real.  If you are at all interested in this subject, do read the entire article here.  Once you read it, ask yourself, what type of investments would you want to protect against any inflation created by QE, whether in the UK or elsewhere?  As we noted in our previous post, the best kind of inflation hedge investments, are so-called "hard assets" that will rise in value along with inflation.  If you are interested in a hard asset that pays good current income, hedges against inflation and also has tremendous value, consider farmland investments.  We recently wrote an article on Technorati on how farmland investing is now increasingly accessible for individual retail investors. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss the following farmland investment options with you further - feel free to contact us at info@greenworldbvi.com.

Farmland investment in Europe

Farmland investment in Australia

Farmland investment in Africa

Inflation Hedge Investments

As the western economies continue to stagnate to stagnate, the UK's central bank has just unveiled plans to launch another round of “Quantitative Easing” of about US$ 80 billion. We at Green World believe that Quantitative Easing (“QE”) is simply a polite term for “printing money”. The US FED is actively contemplating QE3 asd well. In practice, much of this will simply end up causing inflation through price increases in staples such as energy and food. Legendary investor Mark Faber believes massive inflation is in the future. We at Green World therefore strongly advocate that you consider adding inflation hedge investments to your portfolio. Inflation investments will not protect you in day-to-day life, but at least allow your finances to be hedged.

QE - Like Currency Debasement in the Roman Empire

As the crisis in the Eurozone continues to linger, central banks globally continue to use Quantitative Easing - QE or the printing of new money - in an effort to stabilize the economic situation. As Amrose Evans Pritchard pointed out in an article in the Daily Telegraph, the UK and US have used QE to inflate away some of the debt, which is a form of stealth default. Interestingly enough, this is not only a modern phenomonon, as currency debasement has occured as far back as the Roman Empire. As investors, all one can do to combat Governments' use of QE is to invest in "hard assets" such as farmland investments and timber investments as a hedge. Feel free to contact us at info@greenworldbvi.com to learn more.