(Bloomberg) -- Oil investors may regret urging companies to cough up cash now instead of investing in growth for later as the dearth of exploration is setting the stage for an unprecedented crude price spike, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Companies have been compelled to focus on boosting returns and shareholder distributions at the expense of capital expenditures aimed at finding... read more

So Many Catalysts Could Shake The World Economy “Can investors really be that wrong? Today global risk is greater than at any time in history, and at the same time, the great majority of investors show no fear at all. There are so many potential catalysts that could shake the world economy out of its sweet dreams into a living nightmare. It is impossible to forecast where the trigger w... read more

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, it seems that whatever you say our government follows. You said China should buy directly from the Treasury and not the New York bank and they did that right away. Now they are considering stopping dollar borrowing here in China as well. You should be holding a WEC here in Shanghai next. ANSWER: Yes, Bloomberg has reported that here in the West as well. People do... read more

Two regional Federal Reserve presidents warned that worries over escalating trade disputes are increasingly weighing on businesses and adding risks to the U.S. economic outlook. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said he’s hearing “full-throated angst” from regional companies, while Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said businesses are “extremely concerned about the prospects... read more

When examining our current fiat currency conundrum, it’s easy to get bogged down in historical “What ifs.” What if we never went off the gold standard? What if the Fed were never created in the first place? What if the federal government wasn’t allowed to treat debt ceilings and government shutdowns with such casual disdain? Of course, all of those ships have sailed. We live in a rea... read more

– Egon von Greyerz: “While the US government worries about the military threat of Russia, and the trade deficit with China, they show no concern for the real problems. To understand what is really happening, all we need to do is to ‘Follow the Money.’ The flows of real money reveal where global economic power is moving… Egon von Greyerz continues: “The US has not had a real... read more

Jim Rickards thinks that when you’re buying gold, looking for the best “entry point” is one key. And that makes sense. Ideally you want to enter at a price that is low enough, so you can store as much value in your portfolio as possible. But a challenge arises when there are factors you can’t “see” that affect that entry point. For example… When you take a look at the standar... read more

“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” This simple falsehood forms the sum total of Trump’s view on the escalating trade war with China. Let’s begin by establishing that Trump is right about China’s intellectual property theft. Because it’s all illegal and as obfuscated by China as possible, it’s difficult to put a firm number on how much this thievery costs America, but The O... read more

The announcement from Trump slapping a 10% tariff on $200B worth of Chinese goods last night and the Chinese Commerce Ministry’s response stating that “the US has initiated a trade war that violates market laws” roiled markets. Global equities sold off hard with the NIKKEI down 1.8%, the SCI off 3.8%, European markets 0.5% to 1.3% lower, and S&P futures dipped to a low of 2736 (1.66% d... read more

No more worrying about fiscal responsibility. No more handwringing about how we can ever possibly balance the budget. No more pandering to constituents about how we need to “cut the fat” or “reduce government waste.” No more. Today’s US government spends however much it wants. It cuts taxes by however much it wants. It spends exactly no time wondering where the money will come from... read more