With everything going on in the world today, we thought it a good time to catch up with the views of longtime friend Richard Maybury, a low-key but highly respected author, lecturer and analyst. In addition to his work consulting with businesses and high net worth individuals on strategic planning, Richard is the editor of ... Read More »
By David Galland, Managing Director, Casey Research. Today I’d like to share a couple of thoughts on the matter of the correction in commodities about which we have been so vocally warning, and which has now occurred. After having written in early April about the possible market response to the end of QE2, specifically about it ... Read More »
In 2007 when the housing bubble collapsed, it was widely recognized that perhaps the key factor in the rapidly collapsing financial sector was the artificially lowered mortgage rates. Since 2000, the Federal Reserve had been carefully cultivating a housing bubble by manipulating the industry to create unprecedentedly low interest rates. This caused banks everywhere to ... Read More »
Food inflation in the United States is up around 3% over the past year – 1.5 times the rate of inflation. What’s more, Andrew Wolf of BBT Capital says a 5% jump is not out of the question and could cause real sticker shock in grocery prices. Already, dairy is up 5.5%, while fruit and ... Read More »
Here’s an experiment. Take an economy that’s facing high unemployment, a stagnant growth rate, and excessive tax burdens. Then create a gargantuan unelected bureaucracy with nothing to do but bind up businesses and individuals with a slew of regulations that costs the economy trillions annually. Put the two together, and it won’t be pretty. Here’s another ... Read More »
As the conventional and cheap oil and gas start to dry up in the Middle East… a bigger, even better opportunity seeks to replace it. For many who aren’t familiar with the region, the Middle East comes across as an updated version of Lawrence’s Arabia, only with lots of oil. But this mosaic of cultures ... Read More »
After stellar years for both gold and silver, what prices will precious metals hit in 2011? Here’s an analysis based strictly on their price behavior in the current bull market. First, take a look at the annual percentage gains that gold has registered since 2001 (based on London PM Fix closings): Excluding 2001, the average ... Read More »
Amid the fierce debate over our tottering Social Security program, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Social Security isn’t just an entitlement for those over the age of 65. It’s also a government-run disability insurance program for over 152 million American workers. And not surprisingly, it’s a government program that is poorly ... Read More »
These days, it’s hard to draw any conclusion other than that the train is gaining speed on wobbly tracks perched over a rickety bridge. Most notably, unemployment has again risen – to 9.8% from 9.6% – very much not the direction things should be headed given the amount of money the government has pumped into ... Read More »
Today, we have a special treat with a guest post by David Galland. You’ve probably heard of him before, because he’s the managing director over at Casey Research. Below he talks quite a bit about asset allocation — something that most people absolutely must learn. We’ve talked about this in the past here at Stand ... Read More »
Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, just announce that he’s thinking about printing even more than the $600 billion that was flooded into the economy in the last few months. Considering economists and investors across the board absolutely blasted the last round of printing money, the Fed is making it clear that they’re ... Read More »
While there are some small signs that the American economy may be slowly easing its way out of the Great Recession, across the pond economic turmoil remains. The Ireland fiasco is only a small part of the economic woes sure to hit the EU in the coming months, and the viability of the Euro itself ... Read More »
Every American teen has heard it. Whether it’s from a parent, a rich uncle, or an earnest high school counselor, the advice comes tumbling out in well-worn clichés. “Go to college and invest in your future,” “Work with your head, not your back,” and even the occasional “Get a degree, and you’re set for life.” ... Read More »
As the possibility for a second Korean War looms and tens of thousands of people suffer from cholera in Haiti, it can be refreshing to hear some positive news, especially about the economy. Economic indicators are looking positive, though a more careful reading into the figures show less hope than initially indicated. According to the ... Read More »
Like a slow train finally pulling into the station, the question of what to do with the Bush tax cuts has arrived before congress. While policymakers bicker over the specifics, it is amusing to see how importantly some are treating these tax rates to our nation’s long term economic health when, in reality, the national ... Read More »
At the beginning of 2009, institutional and individual investors were sitting on a mountain of cash, pulling money out from everywhere – including equities, commodities and municipal bonds. That’s nearly $9 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. But those same investors are starting to unleash a landslide of cash into the markets. According to the ... Read More »
We’ve talked a lot about the collapse of the dollar, the rise of inflation, and how the federal reserve wants to weaken US currency. Just the other day, it looks like something else happened which should have been expected to anyone who questions the wisdom of the Federal Reserve, Congress, and the President. China and ... Read More »
The Fed is a corrupt and powerful institution, and Chairman Bernanke is making the global crisis worse. His new speech given last week in Europe was terribly misguided and will upset markets as the Chinese and Germans won’t ignore his challenges. Bernanke’s interpretations of the markets have been wrong since before he was appointed to ... Read More »
While I am daily reminded by many things of how the world has seemingly gone mad, nothing reminds me quite as forcibly about that fact as politicians. Nothing seems to remarkable for them as they seem to be in a perpetual game of one-upmanship in their ridiculous antics. So, in hindsight, I wonder why I ... Read More »
When it’s sunny, you head outside without a thought, but when it’s rainy, you look for your umbrella. When the markets are trending up, you don’t worry about your investments much, but when the markets turn bearish … what do you do? In an interview with Jeff Sommer of The New York Times in July 2010, ... Read More »
In his essay, “Politics and the English Language”, George Orwell said, “Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” While the term “propaganda” has been tied to authoritarian regimes, every government uses influencing language in its pursuit of changing public opinion towards ... Read More »
In late September, there was a modest gathering of law enforcement officers, military personnel, and mental health professionals in the small western New York town of Hamburg. It was totally ignored by the mainstream media, with just a reporter from the Buffalo News on hand to record the proceedings. Lucky for us. The 120 men and ... Read More »
You don’t have to look too far these days without hearing someone talk about how high gold prices could go. The topic is fiercely debated in the mainstream financial media at the moment – especially for investors who are late to the party. But are they really late, or is the “party” just getting started? ... Read More »
By now you have plenty of reason to congratulate yourself for having boarded the gold bandwagon. The early tickets are the cheap ones, and you’ve already had quite a ride. The best of the ride, I believe, is yet to come, and it should be very good indeed. It should be so much fun that ... Read More »
The weeks following Election Day are a strange and surreal time. While ousted politicians pack their bags and nostalgically look back on the past years in office, pundits try to predict what it all means for the future. Of course, without the benefits of time and perspective, some predictions are wildly inaccurate. (The GOP is ... Read More »