By: Axel Merk and Yuan Fang, Merk Investments The concern over rising interest rates has become a primary issue with investors. While few assets are immuneto rising rates the bond market may be particularly vulnerable. The headwinds may be exacerbated by changing fundamentals in the U.S. bond market, specifically growing concentration, extended duration and changing […]
Confidence In Central Banks Collapsing – The Next Financial Crisis Could Spin Out Of Control
June 26, 2013 Leave a Comment
In response to the financial crisis, massive debt burdens and slow economic growth since 2008, the world’s central banks have engaged in unprecedented monetary intervention. Short term interest rates have been suppressed by to levels barely above zero and central banks have purchased trillions of dollars of government debt securities to finance governments already staggering […]
Homes Are Illiquid And Ridiculously Costly To Sell
June 20, 2013 Leave a Comment
When home values were soaring during the housing boom, the cost of selling a home didn’t really bother many sellers. The numerous fees involved when selling a home seemed inconsequential as home values soared year after year during those wonderful housing bubble years. That was then and this is now. With housing prices in many […]
Bonds Are Crashing – Where Can An Investor Hide?
June 19, 2013 Leave a Comment
By Axel Merk Induced by “taper talk,” volatility in the bond market has been surging of late. Is there a bond bubble? Is it bursting? And if so, what are investors to do, as complacency might be financially hazardous. Bond bubble indicator on red alert Our internal best bubble indicator is triggered when an asset, […]
The Dow Has Soared 100% Since 2009 – What’s Next?
November 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
Since the depths of the financial crisis in early 2009, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has soared 105%, rising from 6,627 on March 2, 2009 to a recent high of 13,610 on October 1, 2012. At the bottom in early 2009, most investors were contemplating the collapse of the entire U.S. financial system and the […]
The Greater Fool Theory On Presidents and Voters
November 16, 2012 Leave a Comment
The voters have spoken but what have they said? The following view on how the U.S. is viewed by one Czech analyst appeared on Peter Grandich’s website. Never underestimate the power of the American public to vote with their pocketbooks while ignoring the larger fundamental economic issues which ultimately threaten the wealth of all Americans. […]
Will The U.S. Confiscate Gold Again?
October 31, 2012 Leave a Comment
Many precious metals investors are worried that the United States may decide to confiscate gold again, as was done in 1933 when President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102. Executive Order 6102 required all persons to deliver on or before May 1, 1933, all but a small amount of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates […]
Debt Settlement Firms Often Put Consumers In Worse Position
October 27, 2012 Leave a Comment
It seems so compelling – make a simple phone call and a debt settlement company will take it from there by negotiating down your debts and making you debt free in just a couple of years. Most consumers, at their own peril, never seem able to remember the maxim that “if it sounds too good […]
Elderly Parents Get Caught In Student Loan Debt Trap
October 27, 2012 1 Comment
The mantra of “go to college, graduate and get a good paying job” has lured countless numbers of young Americans into borrowing ridiculous amounts of money to attend college. Borrowing money to invest in education becomes a specious theory when a majority of graduating students wind up being unable to find a job or are […]
Allen West On Why Democracies Are Self Destructive – Free Everything Cannot Work
September 20, 2012 Leave a Comment
Mitt Romney raised a firestorm with his comments about the large number of Americans relying on government handouts for survival. Adding to the debate, Congressman Allen West of Florida penned a thoughtful reply which concludes that the country cannot survive unlimited dependency. By Rep. Allen West WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Gov. Mitt Romney’s comments about the […]