Open, competitive markets have a resilient capacity to successfully coordinate the actions of, now, billions of people around the world. With an amazing adaptability to changing circumstances, the actions and reactions of multitudes of suppliers and demanders are brought into balance with each other. Yet, none of this requires government planning, regulation or directing control….
As we begin a New Year, I want to share with you the five most popular Frank Talk posts of 2017. One common theme you’ll see in these posts is they all center on the topic of gold. Although we specialize in educating investors about gold and managing gold funds, it’s worth noting that our…
Natural gas prices were extraordinarily volatile today, gapping up significantly last evening before selling off overnight to close the gap and then rallying through the session again today. Yet the main story today was Henry Hub cash, which rocketed higher, pulling the entire strip along with it. This came as short-term cold remains extremely impressive…
Natural gas prices were extraordinarily volatile today, gapping up significantly last evening before selling off overnight to close the gap and then rallying through the session again today. Yet the main story today was Henry Hub cash, which rocketed higher, pulling the entire strip along with it. This came as short-term cold remains extremely impressive…
Stocks, led higher by big cap tech, were on an absolute tear higher today. Volatility as measured by the VIX was crushed lower. The dollar continued to show weakness. Gold rallied up through the overhead resistance, and made a stab at some levels we have not seen in some time. Silver showed its penchant for…
One equity market phenomenon that played out in 2017 was the fact larger capitalization stocks were larger contributors to market returns. One way to evaluate this is to review the return of the cap weighted S&P 500 Index versus the equal weighted Guggenheim S&P 500 Index (RSP). As the below chart shows, the equal weighted index underperformed…
The EURUSD is closing in on multi-month highs as the pair reaches for the 1.2100 figure amidst very bullish sentiment in the market. The market clearly wants to take the pair higher on the assumption the better growth in the region will force the ECB to taper QE sooner rather than later. ECB officials, meanwhile,…
Stock bulls insist valuations aren’t definitive for durable investment returns. History does not agree.This chart of stock valuations cycles back to 1900, showing present levels in the rare and fleeting company (red zone) of just October 1929 and March 2000,says it all.
The new year was ushered in with bonds selling off and all attention turned to the anticipated increase in central bank rates. The Federal Reserve has signaled that it intends to continue to raise the Fed funds rate in its quest for normalization. Reports out of the ECB are calling for the unwinding of its…
The S&P 500 finished 2017 by completing an unusual feat. Not only was the index up +22% (total return), but every single month of the year saw positive performance on a total return basis, and in fact, the index is on a 14-month winning streak (Note: the previous record of 15 straight was set back…
