Higher interest rates are not threatening stock markets just yet as central banks around the world are still running the printing presses, supporting asset prices. Quantitative easing (QE) will pump almost $3 trillion extra into markets this year, analysts at State Street believe, before more central banks follow the US Federal Reserve’s example and start withdrawing the stimulus. “It is... read more

Over the past decade, a lot of capital has flowed into emerging markets thanks in part to excessive liquidity in advanced economies. This money has often found its way into risky or suspect investment structures. Should a crisis strike — say, contagion from Turkey — investors in these markets will be exposed to risks that they simply aren’t prepared for. One problem is that investors hav... read more

A rising stock market has the illusory effect of masking the economy’s warts and blemishes. Who cares if incomes are stagnant when everyone’s getting rich off stocks? Certainly, winning wealth via the stock market beats working for it. Without question, the pleasure that comes when opening an inflated quarterly brokerage statement is much more satisfying than a lackluster biweekly payc... read more

The United States starts a tariff war with China. Japan and Germany jump at the chance to gain market share in China’s booming auto industry and boost their capacity in China, the world’s fastest-growing passenger car market. The United States imposes sanctions on Turkey. Germany announces that it will offer economic aid to Turkey, Qatar pledges $15 billion in new investment and a $3 bill... read more

Gold output in key producing countries, such as Australia and Peru, is set to slump to generational lows in the mid-term even though bullion production grew for nine consecutive years, reaching an all-time high in 2017, a new report shows. While S&P Global Market Intelligence does expect output to rise reach new highs this year, to 108 million ounces, as well as in 2019 and 2020, it doesn’t... read more

Just when you thought investors have given up on gold, the Chinese swooped in. On Friday, as prices of Shenzhen-listed Bosera Gold Open-End ETF slumped to the lowest since December 2016, the exchange-traded fund attracted $68 million, the most in almost three months. The yuan-priced fund has taken in the equivalent of $1 billion-plus this year, making it the second-most popular ETF backed by... read more

There are ample warning signs that another serious financial crisis is on the way. These warning signs are being soundly ignored by the majority, though. Perhaps understandably so. After 10 years of near-constant central bank interventions to prop up markets and make stocks, bonds and real estate rise in price -- while also simultaneously hammering commodities to mask the inflationary impact... read more

Don’t write off gold in the battle of the havens. Bullion has lost out in a paradigm shift where the metal’s no longer viewed as the traditional refuge when investors are in a risk-off mood, but that won’t last, according to Rick Rule, chief executive officer of Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc. Investors are favoring U.S. Treasuries, and that’s seen the dollar get stronger, Rule said i... read more

It’s warfare. Military strikes destroy nations and kill civilians. Cyberattacks take down power grids and cripple companies. And then there are sanctions: Terror strikes launched against nations that crash their currencies and wreak havoc on their markets and economies… There are no clearer examples of economic warfare than the damage caused by President Trump’s recent sanctions aga... read more

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York-based Paulson & Co, led by longtime gold bull John Paulson, kept its stake in gold investments during the second quarter of 2018, while other heavyweights including Soros Fund Management LLC, Jana Partners LLC and Caxton Corp all remained unexposed to the metal. The timing for Paulson appeared opportunistic, as gold prices declined amid a global trade war as inve... read more