April was a friendly month for investors, especially of the precious metals variety. Stocks rose by 2.9% (S&P 500), with bonds up 1.3% (Barclays Aggregate Bond Index). Gold, however, rose by 8.9%, driven by uncertainty about the path of the U.S. Dollar and budget reform, and the increasingly unsettled Middle East situation. Oil and gasoline [...]

Just when markets were getting used to the idea of increased risks from the Middle East, Mother Nature took center stage in March with the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Stock markets reacted with swift declines, and equally swift recoveries, ending up flat for the month, as were bonds. Gold was up 1.6%, with oil [...]

What an amazing month for history buffs! While the markets provided their normal and steady stream of “thrusts and parries,” the tectonic plates were shifting in North Africa and the Middle East, setting in motion changes that have been decades in the making. Oil rose stepwise with the fear factor, and gold resumed its upward [...]

Stock markets in January generally performed well, while bonds and gold sold off. The S&P 500 was up 2.2%, long Treasuries were off 3.1%, and gold was down 5.9%. Of particular note is the rising and firm tone in agricultural commodities and a rise in oil prices in reaction to the turmoil in Egypt. On [...]

These are extraordinary times. A massive de-leveraging has barely begun across the industrialized world…in a world awash with debt, repairing the balance sheets of banks, households, and countries will take years.” Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney in a speech to the Economics Club of Toronto, December 14, 2010. “It would be desirable for the [...]

November was a truly momentous “news” month for investors, and there is a lot to write about. The US election and resumption of Quantitative Easing by the Fed were defining moments for the markets early on, followed by the debt-induced capitulation of Ireland to its proposed new monetary masters in the EU and at the [...]

Recently, the Federal Reserve announced plans to buy $600 billion in U.S. government bonds over the next several months. This is receiving quite a bit of press and there are divergent opinions as to whether this is good or bad for the country. Unfortunately, this is a very complex subject and not all of the [...]

The S&P 500 closed October at 1,183.26, gaining 3.69% for the month. Stocks rose further from a combination of more expected benefits from “quantitative easing”, and some decent earnings reports. Gold rose 3.04% to rest at $1,346.75/oz., as concerns about bad debts and copious printing of un-backed paper currencies continued. In the bond market, 30 [...]