As monetary authorities around the world race to make things “easier” and provide almost unlimited liquidity in the face of decelerating growth, they are getting very little help from government bureaucrats. Many, like the International Monetary Fund, have gone so far as to suggest that it is massively irresponsible to rely so heavily on monetary policy alone.

Italian bonds traded significantly higher earlier in the week as the Italian coalition government pledged to meet a lower budget deficit target in 2019. Despite the debate over whether or not this actually represented financial discipline or a series of one-time revenue windfalls, the market reacted positively.

Since the end of May, gold has been on a run unlike we have seen in over five years – up 10.5%.  The last time gold reached $1,400 per oz. was back in 2013.  While silver (the other precious metal) is up 6.4% during that time as well, it continues to lag.  Presently, the gold/silver […]

Earlier last week, on the heels of the ECB’s “hint” that it would start easing again (or even more), an additional $714 billion of bonds achieved negative yields, sending the global total to a new record.  It may be hard to believe, but around the world (mostly in Europe and Japan), roughly $12.5 trillion of […]