Ideas and analysis on money, markets and the world around us.
I consider gold and silver to be the bedrock asset of an investment portfolio. In other words, it is the foundation stone upon which the rest of a portfolio is built. Given this important role in which I hold the…
Read the articleUS unemployment figures came in better than expected last week at 8.5%. While noting that the figures underrepresent actual unemployment, does this improvement mark the beginning of an American economic recovery? If so,…
Read the articleThis phrase has suddenly started appearing in economic research, and will probably do so more frequently in the coming months. Its origin is a Bank for International Settlements working paper co-authored by Carmen…
Read the articleGold has done it again. For the eleventh year in a row, the gold price rose in terms of US dollars. Gold’s rate of exchange to the US dollar climbed 10.2% in 2011, so an arithmetic average of its annual rate of…
Read the articleWe all understand that the future is unknowable. Events yet to come cannot be predicted. Nevertheless, the outlook for 2012 is probably set in stone, and the reason is simple. The financial crisis imperiling the globe…
Read the articleNow the New Year reviving old desires, The thoughtful soul to solitude retires. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam We are at the threshold of a New Year and accordingly should accept Omar Khayyam’s recommendation, and as our…
Read the articleI recently posted an article for GoldMoney showing how US True Money Supply (TMS) appeared to be growing at a hyperbolic rate, and that gold was also on a hyperbolic course. The difference between hyperbolic and…
Read the articleThis is the time of year when City pundits produce their forecasts for the forthcoming year. Historically there has been little point to this exercise. Instead, here is the one chart which defines the background to all…
Read the articleFor some time I have taken the view that rescuing eurozone governments from their financial crises was too big a job for the European Central Bank, which should stick to keeping the banking system going. The only hope…
Read the articleLast Friday, David Cameron came back from Brussels having rejected proposals to draft a new European Union treaty, having failed to get promises of adequate safeguards to protect Britain’s financial sector. But given…
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