Lessons from the Fall of the Roman Empire – Part I of II The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is arguably one the most studied, written about and theorized over subjects in academia, with fiery debates raging for hundreds of years among historians, sociologists and political scientists. The explanations that have been put forward to identify the causes and the circumstances that led the end of this era of human history mostly tend to focus on geopolitical factors, on social...
Read More »Germany in limbo: what lies ahead for savers and investors
The September 26 election was an extremely close race, with the eyes of the world fixed upon the country as it tried to find the successor of Angela Merkel, one the most influential and longest-serving leaders in Europe. But even after the results came in, the suspense was far from over. The two largest parties in the nation, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the center-right CDU/CSU are both scrambling to build a coalition government and they’re targeting the same smaller parties, the...
Read More »50 years since the closure of the “gold window”
Part IV of IV by Claudio Grass The Nixon Shock: The way forward President Nixon’s unilateral decision to sever the last link between the dollar and gold had wide ranging and long lasting consequences for the global economy and for the entire monetary system. The end of sound money facilitated and accelerated the concentration of power at the top and the ability to manipulate the currency allowed politicians and central planners to further expand the state’s reach and...
Read More »The Inflation Tide is Turning!
In our post on January 28, 2021 “Gold, The Tried-and-True Inflation Hedge for What’s Coming!” we outlined four reasons that we expect higher inflation over the next several years. The brief bullet points are: Money Supplies have risen dramatically Commodity Prices are rising again Reduced Globalization as ‘Made at Home’ policies are proliferating Pent up demand Headlines such as this one last week from Bloomberg “Inflation gauge Hits Highest Since 1991 as Americans...
Read More »50 years since the closure of the “gold window”
Part IV of IV by Claudio Grass The Nixon Shock: The way forward President Nixon’s unilateral decision to sever the last link between the dollar and gold had wide ranging and long lasting consequences for the global economy and for the entire monetary system. The end of sound money facilitated and accelerated the concentration of power at the top and the ability to manipulate the currency allowed politicians and central planners to further expand the state’s reach and push ahead...
Read More »Did Traders Get A Wink & Nod?
* Currencies & metals get ambushed overnight… * Chuck shows off his math skills… Good Day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! A quiet night for yours truly last night, as a lot of nights recently have been late… I sat out on the deck that overlooks the beach and ocean, and had my Bose speaker turned up and sang out loud along with the songs being played… I can do that at this time of year, because there aren’t many people here, compared to the winter...
Read More »50 years since the closure of the “gold window”
Part III of IV by Claudio Grass The Nixon Shock: Where we stand today A lot has been said and written about the inflationary effects that the closure of the gold window had on the real economy and on ordinary people’s lives. And rightfully so, as this has been among the most devastating consequences of the end of the gold standard and it affected countless workers and savers who have been seeing their incomes wither over time, thanks to the hidden tax of inflation. However,...
Read More »50 years since the closure of the “gold window”
Part II of IV by Claudio Grass The lasting impact of the Nixon Shock The economic and monetary consequences of Nixon’s decision to end the convertibility of the US dollar to gold are as numerous as they are severe. It marked the start of five decades of monetary and fiscal insanity and it unleashed unprecedented borrowing and deficit spending sprees. Debt-fueled “growth” became the name of the game and currency manipulation came to define both political strategies and central...
Read More »50 years since the closure of the “gold window”
Part I of IV by Claudio Grass What happened and why This year marked the 50th anniversary of President Nixon’s decision to unilaterally close the “gold window”. The impact of this move can hardly be overstated. It triggered a tectonic shift of momentous consequences and it changed not just the global economy and the monetary realities, but it also shaped modern politics and severely affected our society at large. The Nixon Shock In July 1944, representatives from 44...
Read More »Gold Leads the Way for Silver
Gold leads the way Last week we wrote about the gold to silver ratio. Our points were that it measures the price of one metal against the other, just as we use the dollars per ounce to measure daily metals prices, and just as we use ounces per Corvette to measure purchasing power preservation. Also, we discussed the range of movement that silver has around gold over the past fifty years. We laid out notes for when to buy silver against gold, and when not to. The...
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