SmallCap News
Merk Commentary: Critical Juncture - Update on the euro, Australian dollar and Japanese yen
Our long-term outlook on the euro remains more positive than that of many market participants. There are numerous reasons for our view, amongst others because it is more difficult to print and spend money in the eurozone. Fiscal coordination is rapidly improving in the eurozone, addressing the euro area's key deficiencies. Since the announcement of the $1 trillion credit line less than 3 weeks ago, Spain, Portugal and Italy have all passed substantial fiscal consolidation measures. Germany is also seizing the opportunity, proposing to reform labor markets.
Gold Stock Recovery 2
Gold stocks continue to face a stiff psychological headwind. As measured by their flagship HUI index, they were ripped to shreds in late 2008’s brutal stock panic. In only 13 trading days, the HUI plummeted 49%! Many gold-stock investors simply gave up after seeing the HUI hit its worst levels in over 5 years.
Kiosks' Three Tiered Retail Solutions from IKS
Why kiosks are no longer "cool" technology, but a necessary part of the retail evolution.
A New Era of Opportunity - From Merk Mutual Funds
Could it be that the government is now in the driver's seat of the economy, having replaced the private sector?
Gold Bull Seasonals 4 - By Adam Hamilton
New gold investors are often surprised to learn that gold prices have a heavy seasonal component. Seasonality makes intuitive sense for commodities inexorably tied to orbital mechanics, like wheat. Their annual late-summer harvest really increases supply. But why should gold, which is mined evenly and continuously throughout the year, have big price swings governed by the solar calendar?
Fed a Rudderless Ship? - By Axel Merk
How much excitement can a statement by the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) generate? Given that the Fed has been printing over a $1 trillion of fresh currency over the past year, more are indeed taking note when the Fed speaks.
Geithner & China: Who Are You Fooling - By Axel Merk
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s trip to Asia has been heralded as a sales trip aimed at convincing the Chinese to keep buying U.S. Treasuries and thereby finance U.S. deficits. Such headlines are, in my humble opinion, an insult to the Chinese. Over and over again, we fall victim of the temptation to believe that Chinese leaders act in a vacuum, dictating policies out of a closet. Chinese leaders know very well the state of the Chinese, the U.S., and the world economy; they don’t need a sales pitch. So what’s the purpose of Geithner’s trip then?
Dollar’s Commodity Impact - By Adam Hamilton
On any day that commodities prices move materially, the financial media is quick to ascribe their action to the US dollar. And this oft-discussed causal relationship is certainly logical. With commodities priced in dollars, a stronger dollar will buy more units of any given commodity while a weaker dollar buys less.
Interview with James Turke - from the Latin American Mining Congress
James Turk has specialised in international banking, finance and investments since graduating in 1969 from George Washington University with a B.A. degree in International Economics. His business career began at The Chase Manhattan Bank (now JP Morgan Chase Bank), which included assignments in Thailand, the Philippines and Hong Kong. He subsequently joined the investment and trading company of a prominent precious metals trader based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Follow the Money: out of the U.S. dollar? - By Kieran Osborne
Recently, stock markets appear to have experienced an almost euphoric phase, seemingly shrugging off most negative news flow day after day. Whether or not you believe in the so-called “green shoots” of economic recovery, a significant economic rebound, or a continued decline in economic activity, one thing seems abundantly clear: investors have been becoming less risk averse.
