Good friend Chuck Butler, editor of The Daily Pfennig, is a world currency expert. He constantly asks, “Got Gold?” Currency is generally thought of as government-printed money; Euros, Yen, dollars, etc. Gold isn’t normally considered currency. I’m concerned about the Fed’s lame attempt to tame inflation, fearing they will yield to pressure from member banks and/or politicians to restart their […]
» Read moreDuring the State of the Union Address, the president said the Republicans want to cut Social Security. Several boos were heard; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene shouted “liar!” The pushback was swift; a nonsense deflection of the major problems facing America. Social Security accounts for almost 20% of federal spending, approximately $1.25 trillion. By 2034 it’s estimated to only be able […]
» Read moreBed Bath & Beyond, once a stock market darling, is nearly bankrupt. Why? Allan Sloan tells us: (Emphasis mine) “We all know that the Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)…is in such big trouble that it’s likely to file for bankruptcy. …. A major reason the company is so messed up is that when it comes to its own stock, the […]
» Read moreAs the market soared, pundits hawked their investment flavor of the day; “Don’t Fight The Fed!” Buy stocks based on the actions of the Fed, not the value of the company. Even forever unprofitable companies saw their stock prices skyrocket. Traders made a lot of money playing that game. Bill Bonner wrote, “After 1999, stocks rose for the wrong reasons; […]
» Read moreI was a 21-year-old father with #2 on the way. My car needed costly repairs; I needed a reliable vehicle to get to work. My mother suggested I apply for a loan at the local bank in town. Mrs. Z, a long-time family friend, was the head teller and smiled when I walked in. I explained the situation. She helped […]
» Read moreIn my late 40’s, fresh out of a divorce, I took stock of my life. I had a good job, a small 401k, an old car and lived in a rental apartment. I’d enjoyed my share of good times and raised a family. My personal balance sheet would have fit on a Post-it-Note with room to spare; it was pretty […]
» Read moreThere’s been a lot of hoopla about recent Mega-Million jackpots topping $1 billion. It must have been nice for the odds-defying winner. The lottery is the fairest tax of all. It is voluntary, it is not levied; you are not forced to buy a ticket. It is an adult choice. I’ve never heard anyone complain about having to pay their […]
» Read moreWhen the Fed bailed out the banks in 2008, flooding the system with trillions, you just knew high inflation would be the result. It just had to happen! The government jumped in, borrowing trillions more at historically low interest rates. Not willing to let rates rise to free market levels, the Fed simply created money for the government and put […]
» Read moreJanuary is time to look ahead for the year. Sadly, way too much depends on the Federal Reserve and world central banks. Michael Howell writes: “It has been a bleak year for many investors. Global investors have lost $23tn of wealth…so far in 2022. …. That is equivalent to 22 per cent of global gross domestic product” When bureaucrats create […]
» Read moreSince the 2008 bank bailouts, market volatility has been the daily challenge for all investors. Inflation is sky high, the Fed is slowly raising rates, hoping to bring it back to their 2% target. Interest rates are still below the rate of inflation. Stock jockeys and academics are screaming, 2% is just too hard – calling Fed head Jerome Powell […]
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