In anything but a cryptic fashion, many market observers are signaling the fall of cryptocurrency and promoting the security of precious metals like gold. A recent CNBC.com article declared that the hot streak that had been enjoyed by bitcoin—the most prominent type of cryptocurrency—is “truly dead.” As a result, people are gravitating toward gold as…
Cryptocurrency May Not Be a Safe Haven, But Here's Why Gold IsDetailsThey say everything happens for a reason. This is true in life as well as in the economy. And it’s particularly the case in the commodities market. Gold prices are at a seven-month high. So what is the precious metal trying to tell us? While gold essentially trades on supply and demand, it is also a store of wealth, a historical safe haven, and a way to diversify risk. It has an inverse relationship with paper assets like…
What Are Gold Prices Trying to Tell Us?Details“Slower growth in China means slower growth for the rest of the world,” blares a BBC Business article. Indeed, recent data has confirmed that the world’s second largest economy grew at 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018—a pace not seen since the financial crisis of 2008. On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned…
The Apple Effect and The Great China DownturnDetailsThe economic outlook for 2019 is filled with warnings of a downturn, with many prominent economists and experts predicting a U.S. recession could start in late 2019 or early 2020. Of particular note are the following three predictions. They’re poised to burden the U.S. economy but be a boon for gold. Ongoing trade tensions could…
2019 Global Gold Forecast: The Price Influencers & Predictions You Need to KnowDetailsWhile the United States grapples with the longest government shutdown on record, there seems to be little common ground among lawmakers and no likely deal in sight. Some 800,000 government workers just missed their first paycheck since parts of the government were shuttered—and there’s increasing pressure on both sides of the political aisle to come together for the sake of the clerical, technical, administrative, and professional workers at agencies like the Departments of Homeland…
“Darkening Skies”: Global Storm Clouds are GatheringDetailsThe holidays are over. Christmas trees have been tossed to the curb, and we’re finally back to work. It’s 2019, the 19th year of the 21st century and the last year of the 2010s. We are customarily knee-deep in resolutions to lose weight, quit smoking, and get more sleep—but also up to our eyeballs in the fallout from 2018. It was a tough year for anyone with a savings or retirement…
A New Year. An Old Portfolio. A Questionable Outcome.DetailsWhether it was a faulty GPS or a few queasy reindeer, Santa Claus didn’t make it to Wall Street last year. The financial markets experienced the worst December since the Great Depression. The Dow Jones closed down more than 9%, while the S&P 500 fell almost 10%. Back in December 1931, the Dow sank a…
Another December to Remember on Wall StreetDetailsThere was a time when loyalty to an employer meant something. You sacrificed and served your government or company during your working years, and in return, they provided you with some form of retirement security—usually a pension. It was a promise you could count on. A guarantee you could bet your gold watch on! But…
Are Retirement Pensions Dead?DetailsTo look or not to look, that is the question—particularly if you’re holding stocks in your financial portfolio. Checking in on your retirement account nowadays is no fun, and to say that Wall Street has been uneasy of late is an understatement. The markets have been volatile not only week to week and day to…
Is this the Most Volatile Stock Market in History?DetailsBack in 2007, former options trader and New York Times best-selling author Nassim Taleb released a book called The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable. In it, Taleb addresses the indiscriminate and often destructive power of unforeseen global events: “It is easy to see that life is the cumulative effect of a handful…
Soaring Global Debt: The Next Black Swan?DetailsIn order to fully grasp the seismic shift currently underway in the international monetary system, we must first understand the sheer dominance of the U.S. dollar. We live in a dollar-centric moment. The U.S. dollar is currently the world’s prevailing reserve currency. More than half of world trade occurs in dollars, and more than 62…
Ditching the Dollar: The Changing Monetary World OrderDetailsBack in 1858, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln made a famous speech to his Republican colleagues in the Illinois Hall of Representatives. The speech, entitled “A house divided against itself cannot stand,” was considered radical at the time. It was a lecture about “putting an end to slavery agitation,” and while…
“A House Divided” Cannot Stand—or Keep the Economy ExpandingDetails
