Post Tagged with: "gold"
Fed Chairman Bernanke, Gold and the Gold Standard
In yesterday’s lecture, Federal Reserve Chairman rejected the idea that a return to a gold standard is desirable or practical. His pointed remarks come as Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has fanned ideas in some quarters of the benefits of the discipline of a gold standard. Previously the outgoing World Bank head Robert Zoellick had also advocated a return to a gold standard. In addition, there have been press reports suggesting that some central banks have recently stepped up their purchases of gold for monetary (reserve) purposes
[Premium] More on financial repression
This is a silver level post which continues some thoughts from the daily commentary on the effect of low nominal and real rates. Martin Wolf’s latest commentary at the FT features prominently
On the Greek default and easy money from the ECB
Here is a video of my latest appearance on Capital Account with Lauren Lyster. We spoke specifically about the situation in Europe; and that means Greece in the first instance. We also talked a lot about the ECB’s LTRO program which I see as a back door sovereign monetisation scheme as much as a bank liquidity program
The Fed Resumes “Printing”
One conclusion from the Fed’s actions is that it doesn’t care as much about its inflation target as it does about improving the unemployment rate. Thus, it will err on the side of letting inflation rise, if it would improve unemployment. But holding rates too low too long fueled the housing bubble. Repeating the same game will have consequences of malinvestment in the form of new bubbles in the economy. The Fed hopes to restore employment before the negative consequences of loose monetary policy show up
Auerback: Austerity during recession is equivalent to medieval bloodletting
Here’s a good video performance by Marshall Auerback on BNN’s Business Day program. Marshall thinks the Greek default deal is actually a relatively good one. But sees a Portuguese default after the Greek default as a real possibility and envisions a scenario in which Portugal and Spain look to extract similar terms. Moreover, the quid pro quo for Greece is austerity – and that makes getting debt loads down harder when implemented during a downturn
Chart of the Day: Gold reacts to FOMC rate easing
The Fed has come out 9-1 in favor of rate easing i.e. capping medium-term treasury rates. The interesting bit is that while the Fed did the exact same thing in August out to two years, this announcement takes permanent zero out to nearly three years. That’s rate easing. Some people call it financial repression. And it’s gold bullish
Chart of the Day: Is Gold About to Get a Monetary Blast (Off)?
Watch gold as it pushes up against the downtrend line. Any hints from the Fed of QE3 could send it “to the Moon, Alice!” The Fed rejoining the party and the LTRO2 coming next month could be an explosive mix
Edward Harrison’s Ten Surprises for 2012 (short version)
Yesterday morning, I did the first weekly newsletter on my ten surprises for 2012. Here’s a brief version of the list
John Mauldin: The Matterhorn Interview
Investment advisor John Mauldin explains his attitude towards austerity measures; a return of the gold standard; the euro crisis; and the willingness to bailout everyone that makes capitalism and monetary systems stop working
Video: Gold Bubble Seen by Soros on Brink of Bear Market
Gold is poised to complete its 11th consecutive annual gain, the longest winning streak in at least nine decades, on the brink of a bear market. George Soros, the billionaire who two years ago called it the “ultimate asset bubble,” cut 99 percent of his holdings in the first quarter, Securities and Exchange Commission data show. Betty Liu reports on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.” (Source: Bloomberg Television)
The ABCs of Re-hypothecation in Gold and Securities Markets: What You Need to Know
The downfall of MF Global has exposed yet another patch of the underbelly of the brokerage industry. Practices that are routine and legal – and hitherto largely unknown to most investors – can leave a company vulnerable when abused
Chart of the day: Hours of work needed to buy an ounce of gold
Central banks have done a great job at driving up the price of gold but a horrible job at creating wage inflation. If it now takes 88 hours to buy an ounce of gold versus 20 hours in 2000, hasn’t that grossly deflated real wages in a strict monetary sense? Just askin’