Debt issuance has always been pretty straightforward. A borrower issues bonds that pay interest to entice lenders to part with their money for a period of time. The longer the term of the bond or the riskier the borrower, the higher the interest rate the borrower has to offer. But thanks to over a decade of quantitative easing from...
The policymakers at the Federal Reserve, and at most central banks for that matter, have a horrible track record when it comes to figuring out when an economy is in a bubble. By the time they realize that the bubble has even existed, it has already burst. They end up playing catch-up, reacting to a financial crisis months after...
Many people think that money or assets they store in a bank safe deposit box is guaranteed to be safe. With the security of a bank vault and the requirement of two keys to get into the box, what could go wrong? But while a safe deposit box may deter ordinary thieves, it isn’t immune to the reach of...
Due to recent volatility in stock and bond markets, many investors have turned their attention to precious metals as a hedge against that volatility. With memories of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath still fresh in many investors’ minds, their thoughts naturally turn to gold and silver, two assets that protected investors’ assets during the crisis. While stock...
All of Wall Street is anticipating a cut to the federal funds rate at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The meeting, the last before Washington empties out in August, will set the stage for summer and early fall trading, with the following meeting not scheduled until September 17-18. While the Fed didn’t cut rates at its...
As much as authorities in Brussels would like to pretend that the EU is as united as ever, major fissures have erupted over the past several years as EU authorities continue their quest to unify the continent. While previous discontent was largely confined to smaller and more peripheral members, the latest feuds are starting to involve disputes between and...
Anyone who has been paying attention to Social Security’s fiscal problems knows that the system is woefully underfunded. Years of surpluses and interest income have lulled everyone into a false sense of security. But now total Social Security tax receipts plus interest income on the trust fund are not enough to pay the total amount of Social Security payments...
Every American worker dreams at some point of retirement. The thought of living according to your own schedule, doing what you want to do, and not having to answer to anyone else is incredibly tempting. But too many workers put off thinking about retirement until it’s far too late. Thinking about retirement isn’t something that happens when you’re in your...
By now most people are aware that one of the major factors behind increasing gold demand around the world is increased demand from governments and central banks. Rather than being net sellers of gold like they were 10-20 years ago, central banks have become net buyers of gold, with demand from central banks increasing to near-record levels over the...