Italy the Latest Country to Target Its Gold Reserves
With much of the world focused on the political crisis in Venezuela and the Maduro regime’s attempts to get its gold back, the worsening political climate in Europe has been relegated largely to the back burner. But with Italy in the midst of both internal and external political turmoil, it could play a role in an expanding crisis within...
Furor Over Venezuela’s Gold Sales Demonstrates That Gold Is Still Money
While much of the attention over the attempt to force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro out of office has focused on Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, less attention has been paid to Maduro’s attempts to sell off Venezuela’s gold. Just over two years into a hyperinflationary crisis created by Maduro’s unlimited printing of money, Maduro is desperate for any cash he...
World Gold Council: ETF Gold Holdings at Highest Level Since 2013
Serious gold investors know that investing in gold through a gold IRA is far superior to investing in gold through an exchange-traded fund (ETF). But despite the many drawbacks of gold ETFs, following their actions and performance can be a good way to identify trends in gold markets. Gold ETFs have become a popular investment method for people who want...
Lack of Progress on China Trade Deal Continues to Spook Markets
With less than a month to go before US tariffs on Chinese imports are set to increase, the two sides appear to be far, far away from coming to any sort of deal. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow stated this this week that the US and China had a “pretty sizable distance to go” before the two sides...
Ignore the Siren Song of the Stock Market Bulls: Markets Will Crash
Stock market crashes are easy to see in hindsight, but they’re very difficult to see while they’re occurring. Too many people assume that a stock market crash will manifest itself as a Black Monday or Black Tuesday type of event, with a 10% or 20% loss in a single day. In reality, stock market crashes take far longer to...
State-Level Gold Reserve Proposal in Arizona Could Boost Demand for Gold
With the prospect of sound fiscal policies at the federal level becoming increasingly unlikely, state-level proposals in the United States are where fiscally-minded conservatives are beginning to focus more and more of their efforts. Increasingly those efforts are taking the form of pushing state government to secure their assets by investing in gold and silver. Following the establishment of the...
The Fed Is Being Held Hostage
Last week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting made it clear that the Federal Reserve has caved to pressure to bring its gradual tightening of monetary policy to an early and unplanned halt. Between pressure from President Trump and pressure from markets who want to see the stock market bull run continue for several more years, the Fed’s decision-making...
Top Gold Analysts See 25% Gains for Gold in 2019
Gold’s ability to act as a safe haven asset is unparalleled. Experienced investors have known about that for centuries, which is why gold has always performed so well during times of economic crisis. During the 2007-2009 stock market crash stock markets lost over 50% of their value, while gold gained 25% and continued to rise. A repeat of that performance...
Central Bank Gold Buying at Highest Level in Half a Century
It’s no secret that central banks hate gold. If they could press a button and destroy every last grain of gold that has ever been produced, they would do it. Gold has always been the ultimate restraint on the ability of governments and central banks to create money out of thin air ad infinitum. Even destroying the gold standard,...
Is Your Retirement Portfolio Recession-Proof?
While the government shutdown may now be over, its effects will likely still linger for a while. But one thing the shutdown really brought to the fore is the fact that many American households will be unprepared for the next recession. We found out that many government employees weren’t prepared for missing even a single paycheck, and many more...