An Australian economist who predicted the 2008 financial crisis now says another crash is “almost inevitable.”
Steve Keen heads the economics department at Kingston University in London. He was one of the few academics to anticipate the subprime housing crisis. On his advice, French investment bank BNP Paribas announced it was shutting down three investment funds specializing in the US subprime market in 2007. At the time, the bank said it was struggling to calculate their values against a backdrop of growing concerns over liquidity.
In an interview on RT’s Keiser Report, Keen said another crisis is around the corner, and the problem this time is debt.
London and New York dominate gold trading, but some analysts think Hong Kong may soon become a more significant player. Its success could solidify China’s place in the world gold market, strengthen the yuan, and shift more economic power from west to east.
Last May, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) announced plans to launch gold futures contracts.
Have you ever wondered where the idea of celebrating 50 years of marriage as a “golden anniversary” came from?
A lot of wives out there might think of it as a reward for putting up with their husbands for that long.
The funny thing is, there’s a lot of truth in that idea Basically, from what I gather from this marriage history expert, it seems to have evolved as a bribe to keep people married.
Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said investors should buy gold.
Bridgewater manages about $160 billion in assets according to its website, and ranks as the worlds largest hedge fund.
In a LinkedIn post, Dalio wrote, “prospective risks are now rising and do not appear appropriately priced in.” He specifically cited geopolitical tensions, especially the war of words between North Korea and the United states, and the looming deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
Whomever runs social media for the Federal Reserve learned a tough lesson about the cruelty of the internet this week.
The Fed’s Facebook page got wickedly trolled after the central bank posted a simple warning about potential scams.
The post seemed innocent enough. The Fed simply wanted to warn people about scammers sending out emails that claim to be from the Fed.
Gold hit two-month highs this week as investors seek safe-haven amidst increasing geopolitical tensions. Pres. Trump promised “fire and fury” if North Korea continues its threatening posture. Meanwhile, relations with Russia continue to deteriorate.
During an interview on RT, Peter Schiff said world tensions and the weak dollar should be playing an even larger role in pushing up the price of gold than they have been. Given the dollar has tanked this year, gold has really not strengthened very much. But Peter went on to say he thinks people will begin to embrace gold – although not for the reasons you might think. He didn’t focus on the current geopolitical brouhaha now in the news cycle, but instead emphasized we should be watching the Federal Reserve and central bank policy.
An EU proposal underscores just how much control governments have over your money.
According to a document reviewed by Reuters, EU member states are considering a proposal that would allow them to temporarily stop people from withdrawing their own money from their accounts. The policy is intended to help prevent bank runs.
For the last several weeks, Peter Schiff has been saying President Trump is making a mistake by taking credit for the surging stock market because fundamentals don’t support the bull run. He’s warned that the president has set himself up and the Federal Reserve will use him as the fall-guy when the inevitable crash comes.
On Tuesday, Peter took the message onto Fox Business and faced off against former Trump campaign operative Steve Cortes. Fireworks erupted when Peter said Trump looks like a hypocrite when he tries to take credit for an improving economy.
Last week, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan issued an emphatic warning during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box: Beware, the bond bubble is about to burst. And when it does, it will take stock prices down with it.
The current level of interest rates is abnormally low, and there is only one direction in which they can go, and when they start, it will be rather rapid.”
Greenspan headed the Fed from 1987-2006, so he has some experience in blowing up asset bubbles. His tenure at the central bank featured an extended period of low rates, but nothing compared to what we have today. In fact, Greenspan pointed out that going back to the time of Alexander Hamilton, long-term interest rates have never been as low as they are today.
Researchers have discovered a process using gold that appears to increase the effectiveness of a lung cancer treatment.
CNBC reported on the promising development in a story headlined, “Could gold finally have a purpose?” This silly headline plays into a common fallacy: this notion that gold doesn’t actually do anything. Warren Buffet encapsulated this attitude in a speech decades ago.
[Gold] gets dug out of the ground in Africa, or someplace. Then we melt it down, dig another hole, bury it again, and pay people to stand around guarding it. It has no utility.”
Of course, gold has many purposes, starting with the fact that gold is money. And it’s increasingly being used in technological applications from biomedical processes to energy production.
