The Ghost of the Past Financial Crisis Has Returned
Everyone who remembers the 2008 financial crisis remembers the role that collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) played in exacerbating the crisis. The way that financial companies packaged together billions of dollars of bad debt, diced and sliced them into securities that they then rated AAA, and sold them to unsuspecting investors seemed to be the epitome of the greed and...
Moore and Cain Out… Will Judy Shelton Be Trump’s Next Pick?
President Trump doesn’t have a great track record in nominating people to the Federal Reserve Board, with several of his picks having decided to remove themselves from contention over the past couple of years. The latest two were his picks to fill the two remaining spots on the Fed’s Board of Governors, economist Stephen Moore and businessman Herman Cain. Both...
Stock Markets Give Up Gains as Fed Signals No Rate Cut in Sight
By now most people realize that the only reason stock markets have done so well over the past few years is because of the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy. Low interest rates have spurred companies to issue massive amounts of debt in order for them to be able to buy back their stock shares. In fact, over the past...
One Important Thing to Remember Before You Retire: Your Money Isn’t All Yours
The stock market bull run of the last three years has resulted in the creation of more 401(k) millionaires than ever before. But while it can be tempting to look at your 401(k) balance and think that you’re going to do well in retirement, you can’t forget one important thing: taxes. One of the reasons 401(k) balances grow as large...
Gold Repatriation Continues Apace: Do These Countries Know Something That We Don’t?
It’s no secret that central banks have been large buyers of gold over the past few years. Last year nearly set a record for gold purchases by central banks and the trend looks set to continue this year. But those central banks who already own gold are increasingly looking to hold onto it themselves. They no longer trust that...