China’s economy has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of decades, with many economists speculating that it could overtake the US economy as the world’s largest within 15 years. But that facade of enormous growth is hiding some real structural problems that could seriously weaken the Chinese economy in the near future. Here are three of...
When the federal government “shut down” several weeks ago, many taxpayers wondered whether they were still going to receive tax refunds this year. It goes without saying, of course, that even with a shutdown we still have to continue paying our taxes. Thankfully the tax refund situation has been clarified, so taxpayers can still expect to receive their refunds...
Original article written by Ben Kilbey and published at S&P Global on January 8, 2019. It seems that many investors are finally wising up to what we’ve been saying all along about gold’s performance as a safe haven investment. With many investors concerned about stock market performance this year, gold is set to see increased demand and higher prices. James...
With a new year just about upon us it’s time for investors to take stock and make sure that they’re prepared for what 2019 brings. 2018 started off with a bang but ended on a sour note for many investors, particularly those who remained heavily invested in equity markets. And as much as many market bulls want to believe...
Written by Frank Holmes & originally published Jan 3, 2019 on Forbes.com. The mainstream media is finally coming around to figuring out what we’ve known for years: that gold is a superior investment to stocks. A recent article in Forbes underscores the case for gold, stating that the yellow metal looks to be a solid bet for investors looking for improved...
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that gold is rising in price as stocks are sliding. Gold investors have known for years that gold prices often rise when stock prices fall, as mainstream investors who spurn gold during boom times flock to the yellow metal when market conditions begin to deteriorate. Now gold’s performance is starting to catch...
Every week seems to bring more bad news about the US housing market. It’s clear that the housing market is headed towards a standstill and may very well swing downwards in the near future. With year-over-year sales continuing to remain weak and home sales even in previously hot markets stagnating, home sellers are about to enter a very rough...
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis the Federal Reserve engaged in a massive amount of quantitative easing (QE). In addition to pushing interest rates to near zero, the Fed also purchased nearly $2 trillion worth of US government debt. That incentivized the US government to take advantage of the low interest rate environment to issue trillions of...
When central banks first began to engage in quantitative easing (QE) policies during the financial crisis, those policies were harshly criticized by sound economists. The idea that printing money out of thin air to purchase worthless assets could somehow strengthen the economy and bring it back from the brink of destruction was an absurd one. All it could do...
With a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans maintaining the majority in the Senate, what can investors expect to see from the new Congress and how might new legislation affect them? This is the first time in nearly a decade that Democrats have held power in Congress, and it’s an unusual split that sees the...