While gold may be the best known and most popular precious metal for investors, some investors may be looking for something more. Gold’s performance is almost boringly stable over the long term, which is great for investors looking to maintain the value of their investments over a period of time. But sometimes precious metals investors want to make significant...
One of the themes that has marked this year’s Democratic debates has been the topic of Medicare for all. On the surface it seems like a great idea, expanding Medicare so that everyone will have healthcare. But as with many things that sound good, the devil is in the details. In this case, it’s a pretty big devil in...
Investors in any asset want their assets to appreciate in value. Being able to understand what causes their assets to appreciate in value is key to making an investment decision, and investing in gold is no different. If you’re investing in gold, or in any other asset, you’re likely interested in long-term price growth. Being able to understand what affects...
For decades the US dollar has been the world’s reserve currency. That has afforded the US government a number of benefits, most especially the ability to create massive amounts of government debt that are readily purchased by investors and institutions around the world. But the dollar’s time as the world’s reserve currency may be coming to an end, as...
Most investors learn early on that stocks are the best way to grow their wealth. It’s a lesson that has become accepted throughout the investment community and isn’t questioned at all. So many investors have made so much money through their 401(k) plans, IRAs, and brokerage accounts that no one ever thinks about whether there are other, better investment...
Stock market bulls have been making the rounds on mainstream financial news shows trying to make the case that stock markets remain a great investment. Their views are based less on analysis of economic fundamentals than they are on analysis of financial data that isn’t necessarily indicative of anything. The fact that trillions of dollars of money flooded the...
The dotcom bubble of the late 1990s tapped into the euphoria surrounding the then-new internet. Internet commerce was in its infancy, but the possibility of ordering goods online and having them delivered right to your door intrigued a great number of people. The sky seemed to be the limit when it came to tech companies, as everyone wanted to...
For decades most people assumed that they would find a job after college, work hard for 30-40 years, and retire comfortably with a pension. But that assumption has long since gone by the wayside. Pensions are largely a thing of the past in the private sector, job stability is not what it used to be, and retirement saving is...
The corporate debt bubble that threatens to burst and take down the economy is an enormous but highly underrated problem. With corporate debt issuance over 50% higher than before the last financial crisis, corporations are in far worse financial shape than they were a decade ago. Yet despite that financial weakness, very few corporations thus far have been downgraded...
With the dotcom bubble having burst in spectacular fashion in 2000, the housing bubble having resulted in the financial crisis in 2008, and now the everything bubble on the verge of bursting, it’s no wonder that many investors have been shy over the years about investing in stock markets. While they can make major gains on the upside, the...