The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced this week that the electronic system it uses for storing filings from public companies was accessed by hackers. The...
In an unsurprising development, the Federal Reserve decided at this week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that it would begin implementing the program of drawing down its balance sheet that it had begun to develop earlier this year. But while ending aggressively expansive monetary policy is a good thing, actively tightening monetary policy does bring up some cause...
A group of Congressmen in Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies recently held a forum to propose the monetization of the Mexican Silver Libertad one ounce silver coin. The monetization of silver in Mexico has been a favorite project of Mexican businessman Hugo Salinas Price for years, and the idea continues to enjoy support among some members of Mexico’s political class. Supporters...
The national debt when Bill Clinton took office in 1993 was $4.188 trillion. By the time he left office in 2001, it was $5.727 trillion, an increase of 37 percent. As profligate as that seemed at the time, it has been overshadowed by even greater subsequent debt increases. By the time President George W. Bush left office in 2009,...
If you’ve ever read mainstream financial advice, you’ll notice that gold is hardly ever mentioned as an investment asset. At best, you might find some advisers who recommend holding 4-5% of a portfolio in gold, or more likely in a gold ETF or gold index fund. Most advisers look down their noses at gold, repeating the old saying that...
Retirement accounts of American workers have benefited greatly this year from the stock market’s successes. Many nearing retirement age are undoubtedly viewing their portfolios happily and making plans for how they’re going to use all that money. But with dark clouds of a financial crisis on the horizon and the potential for a war in Asia, they shouldn’t treat...
Nearly a decade after the financial crisis, American workers are still facing financial difficulties. Rather than getting better, their financial situation is actually deteriorating. Nearly 78% of full-time workers report that they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 75% last year. And 71% of all workers report that they are in debt, up from 68% last year. Thankfully, it’s...
Analysts at a number of large banks are warning of an economic downturn. Their warnings are based on observations of various technical data, none of which look very rosy. One of Morgan Stanley’s chief strategists has noted a breakdown in the correlation of the prices of various assets. Higher correlations tend to indicate bullish sentiment, as various asset prices move...
Millions of Americans actively plan for retirement and arrange their finances with that end in mind. But as daunting as retirement and the loss of steady income can seem, for most people that won’t occur for decades. The more pressing reality, one which most Americans will face and which few are prepared for, is job loss. In many cases,...
Four of the largest publicly-traded private equity funds recently reported their largest quarterly increase in total assets under management in four years. Much of that increase is due to insurance funds, pension funds, and others pouring money into private equity funds in a bid for better returns on investment. That doesn’t bode well for retirees hoping to benefit from...