The last week of 2016 saw more of the customary turbulence which has become so commonplace in a market-rocking volatile year. Italy's Monte Paschi Bank may be getting an over 8 billion euros bailout, yet the European Central Bank forecasts their problems will continue indefinitely...
After a year long hiatus, and for only the second time in ten long years, the U.S. Federal Reserve managed to increase the benchmark interest rates by an underwhelming one-quarter of a percentage point. Markets had been anticipating this action for months upon end. Market...
There was a time when you might well have asked who cares if China’s debt load is excessive? But things have changed so much; China is now the second largest single economy in the world. As we saw last summer and at the beginning of...
Following nearly 6 years of radio silence, Chinese officials finally ended years of rampant speculation within the gold community by announcing the country’s official gold reserves increased by nearly 60% to 1,658 metric tons. With their recent announcement, China has become the fifth largest holder...
Market instability and volatility is beginning to escalate all over the world. The ongoing uncertainty in Europe and market sell off in China are attracting the headlines at present, but both events are likely the first visible signs of a more systemic economic rut which...
The Bank of International Settlements, widely regarded as the bank of central banks, has issued a stark warning that monetary authorities around the world are growing increasingly impotent and likely to be ineffective in the face of the next economic crisis. With its board members...
Following years of negotiations and political brinkmanship, it appears increasingly likely that Greece is on the verge of defaulting on its debt obligations, a move that could see the country potentially withdraw from the EU altogether. News from Europe this weekend has been fluid, with...
Unsustainable debt levels, both public and private, are becoming one of the dominant characteristics of life in the 21st Century. Levels of indebtedness have become so severe that nearly every nation is technically insolvent – unable to repay their existing debts, and reliant on issuing...
Monetary policy and quantitative easing are becoming an increasingly destabilizing force in financial markets. While the Federal Reserve’s introduction of QE post Lehman prevented a deeper recession than would have otherwise materialized, its effects 7 years on are still being felt by individuals and businesses...
As negative interest rate policies proliferate throughout the world economy, and policy makers continue pushing an agenda of “deposit taxes” and other measures in an attempt to load up the population with as much debt as possible, it was probably always just a matter of...
When it comes to money, almost all countries use a fiat currency, which means that their currency is only supported by the creditworthiness of the government and isn’t backed up by any reserves of gold or other precious metals. Considering how reckless western governments are these days,...
To a casual observer, things are looking great in the stock market. Markets keep setting new records and the bull run seems like it should keep on going as long as the American economy continues to recover. It feels like a time when anyone can...
Last week, investors were hit with a harsh lesson of why they shouldn’t trust central banks. The Swiss National Bank, usually an example of steady management, shocked the World economy with an overnight reversal of a long standing monetary policy. This move caught nearly everyone...
Two of the most important lessons taught by economic history are that 1) Money is a useful store of value that makes trade much easier and economic accelerates economic growth, and 2) when people lose faith in the stability and purchasing power of their money due to...
This month ushered in a new era in how the daily spot price of silver is determined. For the previous 117 years, silver prices were set by a bank-led, closed-room process whereby leading financial officials would make educated guesses at changes in the supply and...
This month marks the 70th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference, and the introduction of a new global monetary system. This conference contained representatives from 44 different nations, jointly seeking to establish means of global trade, financing and inflation control.The agreement that was finally reached...
Two of the primary economic functions of “money” are...
Twice a day, global prices for gold are determined by an international panel of five banks – Barclays, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Scotia-Mocatta and Société Générale – forming a group known as the London Gold Fix.This process, also called the “Gold Fix” or even just the...
A couple of months ago, I had finally convinced my mother to buy gold. It took over seven years of extolling the benefits -- harping on it, more like, and prodding her.My mom never saw the need, the urgency, or the benefit of doing so. ...
