A wider perspective.

Ideas and analysis on money, markets and the world around us.

Macroeconomics Has Lost Its Way

The father of modern macroeconomics was Keynes. Before Keynes there were macro considerations, which were firmly grounded in human action, the personal preferences and choices exercised by individuals in the context of…

Read the article

Market Report: Peak Bearishness

The bears continued to dominate precious metals futures this week, and the shorts in the managed money category on Comex stood at a record at the last Commitment of Traders Report, dated 17 th July. This week gold and…

Read the article

Valuing Gold In A World Awash With Dollars

Summary In this article I point to the pressures on the Fed to moderate monetary policy, but that will only affect the timing of the next cyclical credit crisis. That is going to happen anyway, triggered by the Fed or…

Read the article

Market Report: Teddy-bear’s picnic

The bears have been feasting on the bones of the bulls this week, enjoying a sell-off in precious metals, that has been echoed in commodities generally. Gold fell a net $18 between last Friday’s close and early European…

Read the article

State or Individual?

The most important question faced by the human race is almost never addressed in modern times: which should be the master, the state over the individual or the individual over the state? It is particularly relevant…

Read the article

Trump’s Whirlwind European Tour

Tonight (Thursday) President Trump comes to Britain on a much-anticipated visit. The political situation in Washington is very different from when Mrs May last visited. In Washington, President Trump appears to have…

Read the article

Inflation Rearing Its Ugly Head

The world of finance and investment, as always, faces many uncertainties. The US economy is booming, say some, and others warn that money supply growth has slowed, raising fears of impending deflation. We fret about the…

Read the article