Category: Macroeconomics
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The IMF suddenly got very gloomy: what does that mean for the price of gold?
Today, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a statement predicting that the global economy will take a $12 trillion hit from the Covid-19 pandemic. $12 trillion is 60% the size of the U.S. economy – or $1,500 for every man, woman and child on the planet. The 189-country organisation says it will take a minimum…
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2 million new investors are buying stocks on their cellphones
Stuck at home, but armed with online trading apps, individual investors helped drive the historic comeback for stocks
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Deflation is here! Is that a bad thing?
Today, the U.S. Labor Department reported a general decline in underlying prices during April, 2020 – causing financial pundits to freak out about the possibility of further deflation. Deflation – at first glance – appears to be a good thing. Stuff gets cheaper – great! However, deflation spooks stock markets because it is a sign…
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Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A.NYSE): Warren Buffett is my hero but he got this detail wrong
“Nothing can basically stop America,” stated Buffett at Saturday’s virtual shareholder meeting. “The American miracle, the American magic has always prevailed and it will do so again.” Buffett’s opinion (about the resiliency of the U.S. economy) has been right for six decades. Why wouldn’t it continue to be right?
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![Worth Less Than Nothing: What Happened, Why It Did, What It Means, and What’s Next For Oil]()
Worth Less Than Nothing: What Happened, Why It Did, What It Means, and What’s Next For Oil
What happens when a global pandemic meets a price war on oil? Or, what happens when severe practical problems meet ineffective policymakers? Rather, what happens when an exogenous shock exposes a fragile system that fails to engage critically in its own risk assessment? Oil prices go negative. US oil futures expiring tomorrow entered negative territory…
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![Money rain, fighting the Fed, and precious metals]()
Money rain, fighting the Fed, and precious metals
Some might be wondering, is this it for the precious metals? Gold has had a phenomenal run. It’s looking kinda expensive right now. And it’s taken a hit in recent sessions. Is it time to bail? No one can say for sure how things will play out in these uncharted waters. No one can say…
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![The ultimate Fed Put, soaring precious metals prices – not enough gold and silver coins to go around]()
The ultimate Fed Put, soaring precious metals prices – not enough gold and silver coins to go around
Though the U.S. Congress has yet to agree on a bailout package, it’s working on an unprecedented spending bill to prop up a dying economy. We’re talking somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 Trillion dollars. With interest rates at historic lows, this is shaping up to be the ultimate Fed Put. A battery of Bofors…
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The market is up, but it’s all theatre: Don’t let The Fed’s buying suck you in
Trust me, there’s nothing I’d like more, as the publisher of a financial markets-focused media outlet, than to tell you all it’s time to buy back in on these ailing markets. I’ve got clients who’d reward me well if I were to convince you that it’d be a good idea to buy their stock in…
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Flupocalypse 2020: Assuming you stay healthy, this is your ‘get rich’ moment
When the savings and loan crisis in the US hit in 1989, a lot of slow-moving investors lost their dough thinking the worst couldn’t possible happen. When the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, a lot of folks got torn up as stocks that had previously been 100-baggers went to zero. When the real estate market burned…
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![Market Meltdown: gold & housing: “It’s not the pins – it’s the bubble”.]()
Market Meltdown: gold & housing: “It’s not the pins – it’s the bubble”.
“It’s the financials that are really getting killed,” stated Schiff, “They have made all the loans that are not going to get repaid, so this is just like 2008, only it’s not just the banks that are going to need a bailout, it’s the hotels, it’s the airlines, it’s companies like Boeing, it’s the cruise…
