Ben Bernanke journeyed across town to give a 4-part seminar to 30 undergraduates at George Washington University. This was clearly a public relations stunt. Why would the head of the world's most powerful central bank lecture to 30 undergraduates? This was not quite the equivalent of George W. Bush reading "My ...read more

I hate to give personal investment advice. So please do me a favour and do not treat the following as investment advice. I am expressing my personal opinion here. I do so with honesty and conviction, without a personal agenda – I am not trying to sell you anything. Nobody knows ...read more

It's over folks. According to some analysts recent price swings indicate that the gold and silver run-up will soon be coming to an end. "Sharp falls in the gold price have prompted some bears or pessimists to predict it will plunge below $1,000 (£625) an ounce." ... "Goldcore priced bullion at $1,721 or ...read more

Gary Gibson, Introduction... Just how committed should you be to holding gold (and silver)? Are you holding too much gold as it is...and not enough U.S. dollars? Or should you be holding anything BUT gold (and silver)? Beyond the cash you need to pay your monthly living expenses, should you hold cash ...read more

It looks just like a reality show that's not going to be renewed for another season. President Obama's State of the Union ratings are headed in the same direction as American Idol's so far this season – down. Let me make a secret confession right here. For years, the producer of ...read more

I would not touch bonds with a barge pole, especially government bonds. After 40 years of unending fiat money expansion, the world suffers from excess levels of debt. A lot of this debt will never be repaid. My expectation is that the market will increasingly question the ability and the ...read more

For more than one hundred years, governments have been trying to kill gold's role in the monetary system. They've dreamed of a day when the cursed metal would vanish completely except as jewelry and luxurious adornment. And yet its monetary properties won't go away. Central banks still hold it, and ...read more

Whether it's pirated software, poison-infused baby formula, cancer-causing drywall, luxury purses or fake medicines, if you need a knockoff, China has traditionally been the go-to country, with a counterfeiter always willing to oblige. Now, with precious metals prices on the cusp of possibly the biggest price explosion in centuries, fake gold ...read more

Watching the euro melt has been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You knew it was coming. You know which cars on the train are next line to be mashed. There is nothing you can do to stop it. You can only watch as it happens, with one ...read more

In a recent Financial Times, Martin Wolf writes again about the European debt crisis, a problem for which, so he believes, there is a political solution. Mr. Wolf correctly identifies the problem: Most sovereign states are bust and so are the banks, which are today a protectorate of the state and ...read more