Claudio Grass

«Because gold is honest money, it is disliked by dishonest men.“ – Ron Paul The value of silver and gold is given by their own nature Neither gold nor silver has value expressed in other units of account. Their value is expressed directly in their own weights. Everything else that is valuable (other assets, commodities, goods, services, or performed labor) is measured against a certain weight of these metals. In other words, the value of gold and silver is assigned by their own...

With the EU elections fast approaching, this article, written by my dear and long-time friend Natalie Vein, offers a very different perspective. It focuses not on the choices on the ballot, but on the EU voting campaign itself. Most people are fixed on the political show at the front-end of the upcoming election, yet it’s much more enlightening and relevant to look at the actions taken backstage, by the show organizers themselves.  The article reveals in no uncertain terms the fact that...

«It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain an idea without accepting it.»Aristotle In today’s world, it is obvious that the competition of ideas is under serious threat and with it, the much-needed discussions on how to deal with certain topics or try to understand the world we live in. That is particularly worrying, especially when one considers that the western world went through the process of Enlightenment roughly 200 years ago. In the words of Immanuel Kant:...

Late last year, Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold miner in terms of reserves, made headlines when it announced its acquisition of Randgold Resources, in an $18bn mega-merger that marked a key moment for the mining industry. In January, United States gold giant Newmont and principal rival of Barrick, made public its own plans to buy Canada’s Goldcorp, the world’s third-largest bullion producer by market value, for $10 billion. The deal, that is largely expected to go ahead and be...

Interview with Dr. Markus Krall: When it comes to identifying and evaluating the key vulnerabilities and inherent risks of the banking and financial system, there are few who have the insights and practical experience that is required to truly understand the scale of the issue and its investing implications. This is precisely why Claudio Grass turned to Dr. Markus Krall, who graciously agreed to share his thoughts and observations, as well as his outlook on the future of the financial...

SBTV speaks with Claudio Grass, an independent precious metals adviser based in Switzerland. A proponent of sound money and the Austrian School of Economics, Claudio shares his convictions on why human liberty and sound money are inextricably linked. Discussed in this interview: 02:39 Relationship between liberty and sound money 06:51 Keynesian view of money 09:58 Similarities between Austrian School and Keynesian economics? 14:00 Geopolitical issues clouding the near future 18:08...

Knock-on effects Overall, under Mr. Draghi’s watch, the ECB’s balance sheet has ballooned to a previously unimaginable scale and aggressive policies like the extensive QE program and negative rates have encouraged the accumulation of debt and heavily distorted market mechanisms. Scores of “zombie” companies, that would have otherwise died off without the artificial life support of cheap credit, are now plaguing most major economies. The encouragement and purposeful incentivization of...

At the end of January, only a month after the official end of the QE program of the European Central Bank (ECB), its President Mario Draghi told the European Parliament’s committee that the central bank could resume its bond purchasing, in a questionable effort to assuage concerns over the impact of the policy change. As Europe’s economy flashes increasingly bright warning signs, doubts are multiplying over the sustainability of the ECB’s plans, the efficacy of its measures and its...

One of the most commonly cited arguments initially against Brexit, and now against a no-deal scenario, is the towering threat of businesses leaving the UK. A great many campaigners and leading figures of the Remain camp have warned voters time and time again of the dangers to British industry and ultimately to their jobs. They will often point to early evidence of such a shift, to companies moving either their headquarters or part of their operations to Germany, the Netherlands or other...

The latest numbers released by China’s statistics bureau fueled widespread concerns about the outlook of the global economy, as the Asian superpower reported its slowest growth rate since 1990. The figures showed a 6.6% growth for 2018, confirming the view that the growth engine of the world economy is running out of steam. Deep-seeded vulnerabilities, far beyond the trade war China’s weakening growth has been widely attributed to the country’s trade frictions with the United States. To...