Banks operating outside the United States are presently most vulnerable. A spike in interest rates concomitant with a spike in the exchange rate of the Federal Reserve note “dollar” is wreaking havoc in global debt markets and driving capital flight
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For all those looking forward to the Fed’s pivot, I have bad news. The recently published FOMC minutes from the September meeting reveal strong concerns about “unacceptably high” inflation. The central bankers admitted that inflation is not falling as quickly as expected (is this surprising?).
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To the surprise of many, Fed chair Jerome Powell believes that “households are in very strong financial shape.” Yes, he really said that as households continue to struggle to fight the inflation gains that are exceeding their wages.
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It’s not that often that gold gets some exposure in the mainstream media, especially during a rout. So when it does, it’s almost our duty to mention it. This article breaks down and lists the primary reasons to buy gold today, specifically listing 4 things as the most important to the would-be gold investor. What are they?
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Gold has returned above $1,700! Does it mean that the worst is behind us and now the yellow metal can only go up? Well, such conclusions would definitely be premature. Let’s remember that September was really awful for the gold bulls, as the average monthly price plunged 4.7% compared to August.
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Longtime precious metals naysayers such as personal finance guru Dave Ramsey are pointing to gold and silver weakness throughout most of the year as evidence that they don’t protect against inflation. Are the anti-gold bugs right?
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Last week, my friend Dr. Ron Paul told us about Ben Bernanke’s “gold confession.” That got me thinking about world central banks – why do they keep buying gold? I understand why everyday Americans want to diversify their savings with gold but why central banks?
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There’s little disputing the fact that retirement savers are living through a most confounding and hard-to-navigate economic environment. Inflation has been well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% average target for nearly a year and a half and interest rates have been rising steadily
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Queen Elizabeth II died, but King Dollar is the strongest in decades. Gold doesn’t like it. The price of the yellow metal declined from above $2,000 to below $1,700, a slide that occurred during the highest inflation since the great stagflation of the 1970s.
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Well, if you can’t afford a turkey AND a ham this Thanksgiving, just flip a quarter to help you decide. You — you don’t have a quarter? I guess you could use a nickel… For older Americans who are saving for retirement or have already retired, President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act will have several potential impacts.
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The US Dollar wrecking ball narrative continues with Friday’s USD strength saw global currencies crumble under its strength, giving rise to fears of the spread of a currency crisis to other countries with dollar-denominated debt. Gold, meanwhile, has not cracked under the weight.
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Inflation began reacquainting itself with its 40-year-highs toward the end of last year and evidence suggests inflation is spreading. Ever since, Americans have hoped that each new monthly CPI report would be the one that finally showed consumer prices were heading back to earth.
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The war in Ukraine has entered its seventh month and some people believe that China is gearing up for a war with Taiwan. Will bulls invade the gold market? What are the implications for gold? Well, the war shows that gold bulls shouldn’t count on geopolitical events…
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Investment bankers agree that central bank efforts to curb inflation are mostly proving fruitless. Interest rates are going up, but inflation rates aren’t going down. So what are some ways to protect oneself in this environment?
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Rebecca Patterson, chief strategist at top hedge fund Bridge Water Associates, sat down for an interview with Pensions and Investments earlier in the week to explain how Bridge Water is preparing for a ‘prolonged stagflationary period’ (high inflation with low to negative growth).
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Conventional thinking calls for higher interest rates. It makes this call via two channels. One is its policy prescription. The other is a theory of how market participants will behave. There is no such thing as a good central bank policy. All central bank actions inflict harm on the people.
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Official inflation at 8.3% year-over-year rate is either good news or bad news. Good news: it’s noticeably lower than June’s blistering 9.1% report. Bad news: it’s yet another painfully high report in ten consecutive months over 6%, continuing our most severe inflationary episode in four decades.
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It wasn’t terribly long ago that the hope – indeed, the assumption – of both Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was that it would take essentially nothing to rein inflation in.
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As we know, sanctions have punished the West without stopping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is not debatable – it’s simply fact. The U.S. has seen diminishing returns from levying financial sanctions against unfriendly nations for decades now.
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The lead up to last night’s US CPI print saw the market expecting a softening of inflation and the chances of a Fed pause or pivot sooner rather than later. Shares were climbing eagerly in anticipation of the “goldilocks” economic outcome. Nup.
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Economic contraction is unfolding – but how painful will it be? The deeper the recession, the better for gold. Let’s make it clear: an economic downturn is coming. We are already in a technical recession despite the White House’s attempts to change its definition.
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The world’s second largest economy is battling multiple challenges at the moment, some short term and some long. The timing however could not be worse for the global economy. China is between a rock and a hard place because the only other major economy not tightening is Japan
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It’s been a tough year for retirement savers. The highest inflation in decades already had been forcing Americans to suspend retirement plan contributions so they could keep up with soaring prices at grocery stores, gas stations and basically anywhere that anything is sold
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Powell, we could have a problem! According to the BLS, the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in August from 3.5% in the previous month. It seems to be a fatal blow to the narrative of a strong labor market. What does it all mean for the gold market?
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As bullion dealers, we are asked on a daily basis whether we think the fiat dollar price of gold and silver are going to go up or down. However, for many, if not most, bullion investors, the most important aspect of precious metals is that there is no “counterparty risk”.
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I am saddened to report today that my friend… our friend… David Smith lost his battle with cancer last weekend. David was a phenomenal yet humble man. He was a teacher, a student, and a philosopher. I have rarely a met a more optimistic, thoughtful, and wise person.
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Now, this is counterintuitive if we think of gold exclusively as a safe haven investment. But it’s not. Gold is also historically one of the most desirable symbols of luxury and wealth. It’s like Wharton finance and economics professor Urban Jermann described in his new model of gold pricing…
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Whilst there is a lot of focus on cost of living pressures, maybe a more important barometer to watch is that of the US. We are now less than 2 months away from the US mid term elections and both history and the so called “Misery Index” point to the Republicans taking control
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