All Entries Tagged With: "gold"
Where Is the Natural Gas Boom?
In recent years, many commentators have been predicting a natural gas boom in the United States. The country has frequently been called the “Saudi Arabia” of natural gas—a reference to the fact that Saudi Arabia contains a significant percentage of the world’s known oil reserves. Texas oil magnate T. Boone Pickens has been pushing to [...]
Gold Prices Crushed
Gold has been experiencing a notable sell-off in recent weeks, as the price of the precious metal has pulled back from about $1,800 an ounce in mid-November to the high $1,500s just last week. The reason for gold’s sell-off has been attributed to a variety of things. Commentators have cited everything from the bursting of [...]
Japanese Pull a Swiss
Last Sunday night, Japan’s central bank intervened in the currency market. The Bank of Japan sold yen en masse in an effort to drive down the value of the yen. The move worked—at least initially—as the yen dropped against the dollar roughly 5%. Against the euro, the yen dropped about 3%. Interestingly, the move was [...]
Fed’s Operation Twist Tanks Markets, Strengthens US Dollar
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) released its most recent rate decision. To the surprise of no one, the Federal Reserve opted to keep interest rates at current levels near 0%. More important was the Fed’s decision to implement “operation twist.” Many market players anticipated the twist, although it still represents a radical [...]
Swiss National Bank Vows to Defend Exchange Rate
On Tuesday, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) opted to peg its currency to the euro. Vowing to use unlimited currency purchases, the SNB pledged to maintain the franc’s exchange rate against the euro above the value of 1.20 euros for every franc. The currencies had approached parity in recent months. The announcement sent a shockwave [...]
The Race to Debase Flounders
Following the global financial crisis in 2008, a currency war has erupted. The Economist covered the topic last October, when it quoted Brazil’s Finance Minister Guido Mantega as stating that an “international currency war” had broken out. GDP, by definition, is composed of a few factors—consumer spending, government spending, investment and net exports. If central [...]
Fed’s Evans Sends Commodities Higher
On Tuesday, the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago—Charles Evans—spoke in an interview on CNBC. During and following the interview, commodities rallied. Gold spiked nearly 2%, while oil, which had been trading down in the morning session, reversed course and moved into positive territory. Evans’ comments may have been the catalyst that sent [...]
Germany Struggles Over Euro Bailouts
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke about the future of the eurozone. In her remarks, she spoke about her commitment to keep the eurozone intact, yet, at the same time, she dismissed a major proposed solution. Does Merkel believe that the eurozone’s problems are overstated? Or is she merely playing politics and posturing for [...]
Have Gold Skeptics Been Validated?
After almost hitting $1,900 on Monday, Gold started to pull back on Tuesday, and sharply declined on Wednesday, dipping well below the $1,800 price mark. The precious metal has enjoyed a bull market for the last decade, although much of the action in the price of gold has occurred within the last several weeks. Since [...]
Forty Years After the End of Gold-Backed Money
Monday August 15 marked the 40th anniversary of former President Richard Nixon’s decision to cease gold-dollar convertibility, effectively ending the gold standard once and for all. Since then, the global economy has existed solely in the realm of fiat currency. Following the Second World War, the United States and its allies created the Bretton Woods [...]
