Gold never changes; it's the world around it that does. Why is it that we see a renewed interest in gold now? And more importantly, should investors buy this precious metal? Gold & Fear When referencing 'fear' driving the markets, most think of a terrorist attack, political uncertainty or some other crisis that impacts investor sentiment, and sure enough, at times, the price of gold... read more

While there are still a lot of unknowns and question in the marketplace, it appears that the Shanghai Gold Exchange is preparing to launch a yuan-denominated gold fix within two months. According to media reports, quoting unnamed sources, China is planning to launch its yuan gold fix April 19 and draft rules have been sent to 10 participating banks. However, there has been no official... read more

The "gold cartel" has been suppressing gold prices because it is a barometer of economic health, says Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee's Bill Murphy. via CNBC Tuesday, 23... read more

The last time I had occasion to notice Jack Lew was last January when he was in Davos assuring the world there was nothing wrong with either its economy or markets. He even went so far as to reiterate the “official” Treasury position about the dollar. He didn’t say it explicitly, but his meaning, much to do with the timing, was clear. The “strong dollar” was affirmation of all that wa... read more

The current melt-down of the world's debt bubble is likely to continue in the course of the next months. The secular trend to expansion of credit has morphed into contraction and liquidation. It is my opinion that the new trend is now established and no action by any of the Central Banks (CB) that issue reserve currencies will do anything at all to reverse that trend. Sandeep Jaitly thinks t... read more

With stocks still struggling and gold surging nearly $30 at one point in today’s trading session, dire conditions are now spreading across the globe. But first… Here is a portion of today’s note from Art Cashin: Overnight And Overseas – Crude is under pressure again. The fear of a British “Brexit” is pounding both the Sterling and the Euro. Trump’s solid showing in Nevada g... read more

Economist John Maynard Keynes is often quoted as calling it the “barbarous relic.” Soviet revolutionary Vladimir Lenin said he would build toilets out of it, as the ultimate symbol of capitalist waste. More recently, economists have claimed it was “irrelevant,” was “no longer a currency,” and it gave investors “a false sense of security.” I’m referring, of course, to... read more

“It’s a big club and you ain’t in it!” I’m often reminded of these words, spoken by the great comedian George Carlin, when I read about the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland. That’s where the global power elite gather to discuss the big issues of the day. The most important world leaders attend. As do the CEOs of the largest companies, leaders in the ma... read more

In 2008, the Federal Reserve began paying interest on reserve balances held on deposit at the Fed. It took more than seven decades from the US leaving the gold standard — in 1933 — for the fiat regime to do this and thus revoke a cardinal element of the old gold-based monetary system: the non-payment of any interest on base money. The academic catalyst to this change came from Milton Fri... read more

Exposing the Charade That Is Fed Policy ‘Normalization’ Now that Janet Yellen has had a chance to defend the Fed’s recent policy moves before Congress, the public must decide whether or not she has succeeded. Doing that means coming to grips with the difference between what the Fed’s moves are supposed to have accomplished, and what those moves really accomplished. According to... read more