The company was so successful over the long-term that it paid an astonishing 18% annual dividend to its shareholders for almost 200 years.

When adjusted for inflation, its highest market capitalization would be worth over $7 TRILLION today If you are having trouble viewing this email, or you'd like to share this article with your friends, click here

December 1, 2014 Santiago, Chile Over four centuries ago, the Dutch East India Company made history as the world’s first IPO. Known as VOC in the Netherlands, the company was one of the most successful ventures in the last several hundred years. When adjusted for inflation, its highest market capitalization would be worth over $7 TRILLION today (i.e. ten times the size of Apple). More importantly, it completely dominated the Asian trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. While the British East India Company is usually more famous nowadays, VOC had almost twice as many ships and moved five times more cargo than its British rivals. The company was so successful over the long-term that it paid an astonishing 18% annual dividend to its shareholders for almost 200 years. Given their long tradition of being financially savvy, when the Dutch do something dramatic in the financial markets, it’s important to take notice. Which is why when the Dutch Central Bank recently announced they had just moved 122.5 tons of gold, worth $5 billion, from storage in New York back to Amsterdam everyone’s alarm bells should be ringing. The Central Bank’s official statement itself said “this may also contribute to a positive confidence effect with the public.” Translation: The US is not to be trusted anymore with the custody of our gold. It's becoming so obvious where things are headed. It’s easy to dismiss gold repatriation when "foes" like Venezuela were doing it. But when your own allies think you're not to be trusted as a custodian of their gold—that’s the end of your credibility. What does this mean to you? The whole system that’s based on the dominance of the US dollar and the US financial institutions is in clear decline. Governments and businesses are screaming for alternatives and some are actively pursuing them. The US has spent the last several years debasing its currency. The Fed’s balance sheet has exploded by 529% since 2008. The US federal government is now just hours away from hitting $18 trillion in debt. Yet they continue to run up huge deficits, blowing their tax revenue on more bombs, drones, wars, and body scanners. They slam foreign businesses with enormous fines (up to $9 billion) for doing business in countries the US doesn’t like. Meanwhile they brazenly and arrogantly spy on their ‘allies’, let alone their own citizens. Is it any wonder they have lost credibility? Bear in mind that the US government’s power – and the dollar’s prominence – are based almost exclusively on US credibility. Where do you think the trend for the dollar is headed when America’s own allies no longer trust the government?