Pundit Bill Bonner’s article about our growing government debt grabbed my attention. “…. When it comes to government debt, the borrower never pays; the feds have no money. The lenders – big banks, investment funds, well-heeled insiders – don’t want to pay. Generally, they collude with the feds to make sure the real cost is put on innocent third parties […]
» Read moreRealizing you are wrong about a basic belief is tough. The last two weeks we discussed “The Bond Fund Risks Your Broker Won’t Tell You” and “Closed-End Bond Funds, Friend or Foe?” We concluded holding top-rated bonds is OK – individually, not in a publicly traded fund. Fund managers, chasing high returns, take risks I’m not comfortable with. If bonds […]
» Read moreIn our article, “Is Your Money Manager Really Listening?”, subscriber Rick G. reported a bad experience when his money manager invested in a closed-end bond fund: “…. He put me in several Closed-End Bond Funds (CEFs). He said they were good deals as they were selling at a discount to Net Asset Value (NAV). Upon further research, these CEFs ALWAYS […]
» Read moreHistorically, funds holding investment-grade bonds have been considered a safe investment. Lending money to hundreds of well-known companies had little chance of major default and provided interest income. Has your broker mentioned new risks emerging? Bonds ratings fall into two major groups, investment grade and high yield (called junk bonds). The bond rating generally determines the interest rate borrowers have […]
» Read moreIs the British government going to ignore the will of their citizens and not leave the EU? The EU’s immigration policies are sparking political backlash and citizens are taking to the streets. In January, Bloomberg reported, “Mario Draghi Sounds Economic Alarm for the Euro-Area”, citing persistence of geopolitical uncertainties. What in the world is going on? It’s time to turn […]
» Read moreWhile politicos like to call tax cuts “trickle-down economics”, the real culprit is socialism. The Robin Hood theory of “steal from the rich and give to the poor” sounds noble however, in practice it doesn’t work that way. The political class tax and spend for their benefit first, then some may trickle-down to the masses. Margaret Thatcher sums up the […]
» Read moreFormer Fed Chairs, Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke took great credit for steering the world recovery from the great recession. When something good happens, it’s a result of their masterful strategic planning. Why are they totally surprised when negative news gets reported? The Business Insider headline blared, “A record 7 million Americans have stopped paying their car loans, and even […]
» Read moreThe Government surprised the world in 2008 when the Fed bailed out the banks at the expense of seniors and savers. The Fed dropped interest rates to historic lows while buying U.S. treasuries and bad loans through their Quantitative Easing (QE) program. Seniors and savers lost over $4 trillion in interest income they would have normally received. The stock market […]
» Read moreMike Maloney’s video, “If You Don’t Think QE4 & QE5 Are Coming, You’re Smoking Something”, raised a red flag. The Fed did not raise rates and didn’t rule out more Quantitative Easing (QE) in the future. Mike fears QE may include bailing out companies that can’t pay their debts. QE was different Unlike historical fed interest rate adjustments, the Troubled […]
» Read moreSeveral experts, who are not in the gold business, recently suggested gold will be a good investment in 2019. Zerohedge reports on David Einhorn’s annual letter to Greenlight Capital shareholders with my emphasis: “Gold – Long – U.S. debt to GDP is over 100%. The…U.S. debt has increased by over $2 trillion…. When the economy eventually slows, the deficit is […]
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