Nowadays, the word Armageddon is tossed around like a figurative rag doll. While its roots can be traced to Biblical times, it’s often used to describe modern disasters, particularly economic watersheds like recessions and depressions. According to the New Testament in the Bible, Armageddon is actually a place where the armies of good and evil…
What Follows an Economic Peak? Armageddon?DetailsWhen one of the world’s largest associations of economists and business strategists issues a warning about the U.S. economy, it’s a good idea to listen. Half of the members of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) are predicting that the United States will slip into a recession by the end of next year. While…
Debt, Deficits, and the Coming DownturnDetailsWill they or won’t they? When it comes to raising the federal funds rate, this is always the $64 million question. The federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other. While it is generally considered to be the most important rate in the world of finance, it is also a crucial variable in the life of the average American household, the financial markets, and the broader economy. The…
Mixed Signals from the Tightrope: The Fed in 2019DetailsIn 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?Details
