NEW YORK (AP) -- A barrel of crude oil tipped over $75 a barrel to an 11-month high on Tuesday, then gave up its gains as some traders took profits and gasoline futures fell back.

Relatively robust energy prices and a weak dollar helped float gold higher.

Oil prices that had already risen recently on world political concerns and U.S. supply questions rose further Tuesday, moving as high as $75.35 amid speculative buying, analysts said. Crude is at its highest levels since August 2006.

"I think it was too much too soon," said Phil Flynn of Chicago's Alaron

Once outside your home country as a non-resident and without visible assets, you pay no more taxes. Considerable thought to "doing it right" must go into the implementation. Lawyers and accountants want to keep you around forever paying their annual retainers. I try to get people off on their own, conducting their business affairs in complete privacy.

That is why I do not usually recommend setting up trusts, foundations, holding companies and any such structures requiring:

a) Involvement of others who really shouldn't know your business.

b) Unnecessary overhead, legal registration and annual tax charges.

Offshore corporations and such are mostly worthwhile only where an active business is involved and there is no better way to get a regular cash flow of royalties, commissions or interest out of a given country without paying withholding taxes. We regard setting up such legal entities only as a last resort. The exception to this is when you work with someone who lets you run the show, who does not want to get any signing powers or a say in your business and who shares our view that

The obvious answer is cash - high denomination notes, but remember, banks in the U.K. and Europe are under an obligation to inform the authorities of transactions in or out of an account of more than £10,000. (try several transactions of smaller amounts over a period of time?). If moving cash on your person, avoid a wallet - the mugger's friend; cash, credit cards, home address in one neat package. Keep it on you in a zipped or secure pocket. Don't wear expensive watches, jewellry; look ordinary. The reason for this report, though, is to look at other non cash methods that do not leave a paper-trail back to you.

MONEY ORDERS: Walk into your nearest American Express office, same as with cashiers cheques, and purchase a money order, then mail it to whoever or wherever you need to pay off. You do not need to show ID and the money order is made out on the spot. These money orders are available at a nominal charge in just about any country and are accepted for clearance by banks anywhere. They are also insured against loss if you keep the carbon copy. You will be asked for a name to be put on the money order when you buy it, but no ID is required.

INSTANT TRANSFERS: Western Union and Thomas Cook offer similar money transfers. How long it takes depends on how much you wish to pay. Western Union is located in all EU capitals and is busy signing up banks and businesses in the provinces. Its charges are steep but head offices are open 24 hours a day. You

Thank goodness for offshore financial centres which attract business by maintaining lower tax rates, fewer disclosure requirements, looser requirements or regulations than in the Western nations, where political pressures to tax wealth have created a restrictive environment for financial dealings. Generally speaking, tax havens are better places for your money to live rather than yourself personally, other than as an "official" domicile. These centres have always attracted investors and businesses wanting to avoid exchange controls or high tax rates. That is why holding companies with taxable profits are often located there. Offshore centres also attract banks, because bank depositors may also want secracy, or low tax rates.

A measure of political stability is essential. There is not much point in sending your money away from a 59% rate if 100% of it is then seized following a revolution. Unlikely, perhapes, but not impossible on a long term view. It is worth remembering that war-torn Lebanon was once regarded as a secure offshore centre. This is why the Carribean centres often have to make up in secracy what they may lack in stability, and why Switzerland, though less keen on secracy than it was, tries to make up for it with 700 years of relative calm.

The offshore tax and investment industry is central to the almost unimaginably vast world of multinational financial transaction. Consider the sheer size of the business accounts, in large part, for the 60 odd centres, many located in Europe or off its coasts. About half the world's financial transactions now take place