Precious metals news

"Last year’s disappointing market amid record stock repurchases should have taught investors and executives that corporate buybacks are not a panacea."

"It's a part of our measures to enforce our rulings and create a socially credible environment." 

"Ottawa will spend $8,639 per person this year, $72 less than the record set by Stephen Harper in 2009."

We often talk about the fatal conceit and hubris of central bankers who think they can micromanage a complex economy. Oftentimes, these monetary policymakers do things with the best of intentions, believing their actions will move the economy in the right direction. Sometimes, they do things just to benefit their buddies. Regardless of their motives, these actions have consequences.
The mechanizations of the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan along with other players in the US government in the 1990s blew up a massive "tech bubble" that eventually popped. Fed monetary in the wake of that collapse set the stage for the 2008 financial crisis. Fed monetary policy in the wake of that crisis set the stage for today.
In the following article, Peter Schmidt offers an overview of three moves Greenapsn made in the 1990s that helped fuel the mania that blew up the dot-com bubble. This look back in time offers us some valuable lessons for today.

Craig says it won't be too long before we see gold going to new all-time highs in dollar terms. Here's why...

The 10-year yield recovered to 2.745% and the DX climbed back to 96.37. Gold pulled back to $1,283.50 response and was $1,284 bid at 4pm with a gain of $5.

Hyperinflation is a real risk, but it's not something that is easily quantified. Thankfully, Matt from Silver Fortune is here to help us understand...

"The growing buildup of credit across the globe is worse than in previous years, with the dangers chiefly emanating from corporations that took advantage of low interest rates to borrow heavily."

"Despite the dangers of credit cards, many Americans are racking up enough debt to worry about overdrafting their account on a single big-ticket item."

Stewart says gold's fundamental picture is healthy, and in looking at the charts, Stewart sees a sign of immense technical strength. Here are the details...

"Gold Fields Ltd. would like to merge with its larger South African rival AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., as the industry experiences a wave of consolidation, according to a person familiar with the matter."

The stock market has rallied while gold & silver prices have held steady, but Michael Ballanger sees that all changing soon. Here are the details...

"A Commerzbank merger would make a mockery of the EU’s hopes to avoid lenders that are 'too big to fail' – and the bloc's plans for a banking union."

"The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp (PBGC) a government agency, covers individuals' pensions in the event a pension plan shuts down without sufficient funding to meet its obligations."

Gold output in South Africa fell for the 14th straight month in November. According to Bloomberg, it ranks as the longest streak of monthly declines since 2012.
Production fell 14% from a year earlier, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said in a statement on its website last week.
South Africa once led the world in gold production. The precipitous drop in the country's mine output over the last few years is expected to continue and could foreshadow a long-term trend of falling gold production globally.

"Millions of Americans are financially unprepared for the next economic downturn. Worse, they are highly vulnerable with few protections."

"The US in particular could reach an 'inflection point' when a skeptical global debt market will no longer lend at reasonable rates, and by the time the crisis comes it will be too late to get our house in order."

"Corporate America is doing far better than most expected under Trump's tax cuts. But the cuts didn't pay for themselves. I am a firm believer the ideal corporate tax rate is zero. Yet I was against Trump's tax cut."

"UBS announced that it had missed analysts' profit estimates due to outflows from its key global wealth management division."

"When you comb through financial and economic history, among the wreckage of worthless fiat currencies from our past, we find hints and precursors of what is being rebooted as Modern Monetary Theory."