The world has gone wild for the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin. One Bitcoin would set you back $4,425 at the time of writing. That's up from less than $600 a year ago, according to CoinBase. But a word of caution: Gold is still a better bet for anyone who wants to own a time-tested asset. Here's why: 1. Gold has a 5,000-year history as a long-term store of wealth. Bitcoin doesn't ev... read more

It’s a strategic move swapping oil for gold, rather than for U.S. Treasuries, which can be printed out of thin air. – Grant Williams A report released by the Nikkei Asian Review indicates that China is prepared to release a yuan-denominated oil futures contract that is convertible (backed by) physical gold. The contract will enable China’s largest oil suppliers to settle oil sales in y... read more

A Look Inside One of the World's Biggest Bitcoin Mines Mark Mobius is sensing danger in the explosive growth of cryptocurrencies. Governments will begin clamping down on digital currencies because of their use in illicit financing, with terrorist groups to drug dealers contributing to their rise, Mobius, executive chairman at Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said in an interview in Hong... read more

Despite significant US dollar weakness, gold price performance has been muted recently. It has been held back by factors such as a rebound in real rates and increased stability in the Chinese yuan, which has dampened Chinese near-term investment demand for gold. But these are short-term factors, which do not change our view that gold has entered into a new bull market. As we have discussed pr... read more

 The US dollar has been losing ground and is even lower than when Trump took office, ironically peaking when he said the dollar was too strong. Today he is getting what he wished for. The US dollar has become the worst currency in the world, collapsing due in part to his failure to pass the Healthcare Bill raising doubts whether he can get Congress to approve tax reform which is equally divisi... read more

Last week featured two unusual stories on gold — one strange and the other truly weird. These stories explain why gold is not just money but is the most politicized form of money. They show that while politicians publicly disparage gold, they quietly pay close attention to it. The first strange gold story involves Germany… The Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, announc... read more

On the heels of global troubles intensifying, today one of the greats just warned that the world is now heading into “a perfect storm.” Overcoming Resistance John Embry:  “Eric, I must say that we have a much better tone to the gold and silver markets since we last spoke.  They overcame massive resistance from the usual suspects to post impressive gains on both Friday of last week a... read more

Have you ever wondered how politics impact financial markets? Does the President of the United States matter? The simple fact is this: the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 29,225% from 1918 to 2017. Over that same timeframe, there have been 17 Presidents and even more congressmen and senators. The market has rarely cared, over the long-term, about politics. The American machine is strong an... read more

In 1934, through the Gold Reserve Act, President Roosevelt devalued the dollar from $20.67 dollars per ounce, to $35 dollars per ounce. The devaluation was excessive, meaning that at $35 dollars per ounce, the world considered that it would rather own American dollars - as undervalued - rather than gold; for this reason, and because of fears regarding another World War, the world shipped eno... read more

One of the more unique aspects of this year's market is that both risky assets as well as investments that seek to hedge those risks are advancing simultaneously. Despite last week's sell-off, the S&P 500 is up 8%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 15% and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index over 22%. Yet oddly, typical "safe-haven" hedges are also doing remarkably well, such as long-dated U.S. Treas... read more