Blog

2024 started with a bang, but not the kind Washington wanted.  Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—a centerpiece of the Administration’s new economic strategy—was supposed to trim the deficit.  The plan was a bold policy attempt with a mix of tax tweaks and green energy...

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has declared victory for the Fed.  In a CNN interview last Friday, she announced a “soft landing” for the economy—a scenario once considered only “possible.”   And she may be right.   After all, the Fed’s 11 steep rate hikes cooled...

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Washington levied sweeping sanctions against Moscow.   Now, Washington is investigating legal ways to seize $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to help fund their Ukraine support efforts.  Nobel Prize–winning Yale economist...

Gold’s remarkable ascent to an all-time high of $2,152 per ounce in December 2023 was driven by a mix of economic and geopolitical reasons.   As we head into 2024, here are 6 catalysts that may help push gold to a new record high:  Catalyst #1: Fed Pivot On December...

What a year for gold!  The precious metal leapt out of the gate at $1,824 per ounce in January, possibly bolstered by tailwinds from continued inflation pressures, Fed rate hikes and colossal central bank buying in 2022.   As you may recall, inflation reached a...

$33,900,000,000,000… The US national debt is soaring past $33 trillion — a number so big a stack of $100 bills would reach more than 24,000 miles high.  And according to the Peterson Foundation:  $33 trillion is roughly the economic value of China, Japan, Germany,...

  Well, we’ve been talking about when and why it would happen… Gold prices soared to a record high of over $2,100 per ounce on Sunday, Dec 3. This marks a 14% gain for gold prices in 2023 – with a 4% jump in the last week alone. At the time of this writing, spot...

As 2023 winds down, the world’s “smartest money” is hoovering and hoarding gold at the fastest pace since 1967.  According to the World Gold Council (WGC), global central banks bought another 800 tons of gold in the first 9 months of this year — a 14% increase...

As we enter the final weeks of 2023, the nation’s economic outlook remains uncertain.  America is still grappling with severe financial challenges, including but not limited to:  Surging living costs, a mortgage affordability crisis, a potentially unstable banking...

Less than three months after Fitch’s credit rating agency downgraded the United States from AAA to AA+, Moody’s Investors Service has changed their US credit rating outlook to “negative” from “stable.”   This move makes Moody’s the last of the big three rating...

In September 2023, CBS News said, “there are reasons to believe [gold] could break $2,000 again.”  Shortly thereafter, gold started heading north…   And on October 27th, a rush of diversification buying triggered by news of tensions in the Middle East pushed gold...

  You might not be old enough to remember this, but…  Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, an investment firm called “EF Hutton” ran non-stop commercials where one person shares his broker’s advice with a friend and asks, “What’s your broker say?”  The friend...

  The nation’s biggest banks have been quietly closing regional branches and cutting thousands of jobs.   3,000 branches were shuttered last year. Now, according to Kiplinger, “Banks are closing branches faster than they’re opening new ones.”  In October 2023 alone,...

  As the nation faces growing economic uncertainty, the quest for a stable financial future has never felt more urgent for many Americans.   But with so many economic challenges happening at once, charting a confident path to wealth protection can seem like a daunting...

  America’s favorite wholesale megastore — famous for offering everything from toilet paper to swimming pools — has entered the gold market.  Costco is suddenly selling 1 oz 24k gold bars online, and they’re flying off the shelves.  Executive vice president and chief...

  It should come as no surprise that precious metals make up a very high ratio of my personal savings, and I believe wholeheartedly in their benefits. After all, I co-founded Gold Alliance, and I’m its CEO. If I didn’t believe in the virtues of gold, silver, and other...

In early 2020, the Fed’s benchmark interest rates hovered near zero, and inflation was 1.06 percent.  By March 16, 2022, the highest inflation in 40 years had gripped the nation, and the Fed started raising rates to tamp it down.  Now, after 11 rate hikes in 18...

  On September 18, 2023, the day before the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Senator Rick Scott sent letters to three of the recently confirmed Federal Reserve Board of Governors members, asking for their commitment “to fix the Federal Reserve’s misguided path...

  In March 2023, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers famously said America may be facing a “Wile E. Coyote” moment — where the economy has run off the cliff without realizing it and is headed for a hard landing.   Around the same time, JP Morgan warned the economy...

  Once upon a time, financially responsible Americans looked forward to their Golden Years.   After years of saving money, retirement meant carefree time to spend with friends, enjoy hobbies or travel the world.  But now, according to a startling survey by Allianz...