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 […]
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, […]
Chinese Stock Market Collapses 67% Despite Massive Stimulus Programs
December 12, 2012 Leave a Comment
The debate over whether or not government stimulus spending (financed by borrowing) is effective in reviving post crash economies rages on in the U.S. Despite the anemic economic recovery, proponents of deficit spending postulate that things would have been much worse without it. Opponents of massive deficit spending insist that the problems are merely being […]
Why The Yen Could Collapse – Japan On The Knife’s Edge
November 28, 2012 Leave a Comment
By Axel Merk Because of Japan’s massive public debt burden, pundits have called for the demise of the Japanese yen for years. Are the yen’s fortunes finally changing? Our analysis shows that the days of the yen being perceived as a safe haven may soon be over. Let us elaborate. So many foreign exchange (“FX”) […]
Crashing Chinese Stock Market Is A Red Flag For World Economy
August 18, 2012 Leave a Comment
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average approaches all time highs, the Chinese stock market is flashing a bright red warning signal about the world economy. Since China is the world’s second largest economy after the United States, a recession in China is almost certain to negatively impact the global economy. One look at the iShares […]