The global monetary regime has collapsed three times over the past 100 years, in 1914, 1939, and 1971. They seem to happen about every 30 to 40 years on average. It’s now been over 40 years since the last collapse, so we’re due. With Russia and China continuing to build up their gold reserves, it's clear that the future of the world monetary...
In all, long-term investors are risking roughly a 60% decline to try to capture a 0% rate of return over the coming decade in the stock market, one of the worst risk-to-reward setups in history. If this doesn't make you want to give up investing in stocks, it's hard to say what will. After over a year of unprecedented stock...
While India may be one of the world’s largest holders of gold, with Indian citizens holding an estimated 24,000 tonnes of gold, other countries are catching up. China is one of those, with an increasingly affluent middle class looking for ways to protect its wealth. While stories abound of Chinese looking to store their wealth abroad through purchases of...
Unfortunately, a political and market perfect storm is now on the way and may strike as early as Halloween 2019, marking a new "Halloween storm." Get ready. I cannot imagine a better setup for catastrophe. No one ever sees disaster coming. That’s the point. Once again all indicators are pointing to a market collapse towards the end of 2019. We...
But they’ve got a couple of grim worst-case scenarios. One envisages the US economy slowing sharply from the third quarter of this year, then falling into recession as corporate profits [fall], hitting business and investor sentiment. The fallout from this could trigger a 30% drop in the S&P 500 in the third quarter. Within a year the US would be...
Only three other times in history precious metals surged while oil plunged! All of them happened during severe bear markets and recessions. Buckle up, folks. When oil starts to drop at the same time gold takes off, it's a sign that the economy is in danger. A slowing economy means less demand for oil, leading to a price drop, while...
After nearly six years of 0% interest rates, the U.S. economy is hooked on the heroin of easy money. It can’t even tolerate a modest reduction in the Fed’s balance sheet and 2.5% interest rates, still far below historical averages. In other words, this monetary tightening cycle is over. The next move is a return to QE and 0%, and...
"Morgan Stanley changed its forecast for global growth to 'stagnation' through the end of the year instead of a 'continued recovery.' " Even the most bullish on Wall Street understand that the world economy is set for a slowdown. And while many investors may think that a Fed rate cut would keep the economy humming along, the reality is far...
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, many investors were understandably nervous about investing their money. With stock markets having lost over 50% of their value during the crisis, many investors saw years’ worth of investment gains wiped out in a matter of months. And for those close to retirement, those losses were particularly painful. But saving and investing...
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is probably shaking in his boots right now. Taking over from Janet Yellen in 2018, he inherited a bubble economy created by his two predecessors that is now on the verge of bursting. His legacy as a chairman will be judged by how he is able to juggle what is by now an all...