Gold is outperforming nearly every other major asset this year, including U.S. stocks, bonds, emerging markets and the dollar. Given that gold did so poorly in 2013 – down by a withering 28 percent as the world flocked to giddy stock markets instead – the reversal so that it is up about 11 percent in 2014 may seem surprising, except there may be some good reasons for it. Brien Lundin,... read more

FROM THE ARCHIVES: The first well-known widespread use of paper money was in China during the Tang (618-907 A.D.) dynasty around 800 A.D. Paper money spread to the city of Tabriz, Persia in 1294 and to parts of India andJapan between 1319 to 1331. However, its use was very short-lived in these regions. In Persia, the merchants refused to recognize the new money, thus bringing tr... read more

Wealth comes in many forms, but only two general categories: tangible and financial. Tangible wealth is made up of real, physical things like buildings, farmland, oil wells, commodities, etc. These things can be seen and touched, and - crucially - they don't have counterparty risk. That is, no one else has to make good on a promise for a tangible asset to have value. Financial assets like ba... read more

Fed adds to structural problems -