ShareGold hit a record high of $1,044.30 an ounce, beating the previous record of $1,032.35 set back in March and up a monster $26 on the day. The impetus is the crashing dollar, brought down by a report (later denied) that OPEC states and the Chinese were organizing a secret abandonment of the US dollar [...]

ShareBelow is a wide-ranging interview with Marc Faber over four videos on CNBC TV18 in India explaining view on inflation, currencies, commodities, stocks and more.
Asset-based economy. In general, he thinks we are in an inflationary environment, whereas I think that deleveraging is secular and means any inflation is only cyclical. But he shares my belief [...]

ShareThe bloggers at bloggers at UMKC’s economics blog have been making the case that California’s IOUs are a currency.  Randy Wray’s entry last Monday was particularly provocative because he suggests a movement to loosen national government power is supporting similar moves in other jurisdictions. Wray writes:
Some commentators have argued that the proposed California "warrants" are [...]

ShareThis comes via the Sydney Morning Herald:
A year ago, after Stern Hu had survived 20-odd rounds of negotiations and won Rio Tinto and Australia an extraordinary 87 per cent price increase for its iron ore contracts, I asked him if he was being too aggressive.
He said he had no qualms with driving as hard a [...]

ShareHere is a Marc Faber interview from March. It is well worth watching because he calls things perfectly through June: economic news, equity markets, and commodity markets.
This is billed as a Czech TV interview.  But the audio is pretty bad. So, the interviewer may be a Czech with halting English, but this is hardly [...]

ShareThe real worry right now should be deflation, as we have not yet beaten back all of the ill deflationary effects of the financial crisis.  Nevertheless, a growing number of market participants see inflation as a longer term worry.  With unemployment high, a cost-wage push will not be part of that equation.  Nevertheless, increases in [...]

ShareDuring the Great Depression, it was the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which in hindsight is blamed for triggering a wave of protectionist actions globally.  Protectionism was a major contributor to the downward spiral that created depression.  So, have we avoided this kind of outcome this go around?
At this juncture, it is pretty unclear we have. Simmering [...]

ShareFor the time being, I am more worried abut the potential inflationary effects of quantitative easing than about the deflationary impact of deleveraging.  But, the latest news from Ireland shows us that deflation is alive and well. This comes via the Irish Independent:
Consumer prices recorded a second annual drop in April as the cost of [...]

ShareIf you have been folowing the commodities market, you would have noticed that most commodities have been rallying of late.  This includes oil, silver, gold, base metals and agricultural commodities.  Oil has gone from the low 30s to threatening to pass $50 a barrel.  I had predicted a decline to $25 before oil rose to [...]

Jim Leng, the new Chairman of troubled mining giant Rio Tinto has quit abruptly despite having been employed by the company for only one month. This does not bode well as the company’s mountainous debt is at the core of why Leng is leaving the firm.

Bloomberg quotes Leng as saying “there has been a difference of opinion over which option the company should pursue.” Rio has “‘a financial issue to resolve in terms of its debt and repayment. I am hopeful that my resignation will enable the board to reach a consensual decision.”