Solar panels are basically microprocessors, so it’s not a surprise that they’ve been following their own version of Moore’s Law, declining in price by 5%-10% each year. The result is that solar is now competitive with fossil-fuel-derived electricity in a growing number of markets. Even unlikely places like Saudi Arabia, which is awash in oil...
The Absa Africa Financial Markets Index evaluates financial market development in 23 countries, and highlights economies with the most supportive environment for effective markets. The aim is to show present positions of the countries, as well as how economies can improve market frameworks to bolster investor access and sustainable growth. The index assesses countries according...
Below we look at recessionary, inflationary, and stagflationary signposts to determine the probability of whether we are headed for recession. The potential outcomes, in the backdrop of rising debt as real rates slide inevitably deeper into negative depths, are a perfect tailwind for gold. With these forces objectively rather than theoretically in motion, informed investing...
We’re going to eliminate your food now so that you can eat something else in the future that we have not yet got available. What could possibly go wrong? But that is what is effectively happening in the energy market. “California energy regulators approved energy efficiency standards aimed at vastly expanding the use of electric...
Gold has the potential to double once the Federal Reserve begins to tighten and hike rates to fight off hotter-than-expected inflation, said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. "If you inflation adjust gold for its 1980 high, it can go to $2,500, it can overshoot $3,000 plus," Boockvar told Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief...
Silver has been "dead money" for the past six months, but its fortune is about to change with the precious metal’s fundamentals pointing to a breakout towards $35, said Jim Iuorio, TJM Institutional Services managing director. After frustrating several months, silver finally found its spotlight, Iuorio told Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief of Kitco News. Silver is...
Timelines differ, but similarities with the 1970s point to a potential return of stagflation. There are differences, importantly trades union aggressiveness, the power of public opinion, degree of indexation and an independent Bank of England. Private sector unions are less aggressive today, but scarce skilled workers are more powerful. Public sector workers have popular support....
A monetary system collapse is coming, and the trigger will be raging inflation, said Lawrence Lepard, Equity Management Associates managing partner. "We’ve reached peak debt and peak money printing as a solution to our problems. The growth of the money supply has almost gone vertical", Lepard told Michelle Makori, editor-in-chief of Kitco News. "And this...
Politicians may be morons when it comes to public policy, but they’re geniuses when it comes to inventing new ways to control your life and steal your money. Tax increases seem old-fashioned compared with new 21st-century ways to take over the financial system to your detriment and make you pay for their pet projects. Take...
Germany’s difficult coalition-building process has gained fresh complexity following the announcement of Jens Weidmann’s resignation shortly before the European Central bank takes far-reaching decisions on its expansive monetary policy. The departure of the Bundesbank president, unofficial leader of the ‘hawks’ on the ECB council for more than 10 years, is scheduled to take place on...