Blog

November 13, 2006 – In 1787 Russian general Grigori Potemkin constructed facades of buildings along the banks of the Dnieper River to fool Catherine the Great during her visit to the Crimea. These facades have since been called “Potemkin villages”. I think the US Treasury with the help of the Federal Reserve is playing aRead more

October 23, 2006 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average made a new record high this past week. It settled back somewhat on Friday, but still closed the week above 12,000, which was also a new record high for a weekly close. I provided some inkling that a new record was coming. In my article ofRead more

Oct 4, 2006 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday closed at a new record high. In stark contrast, gold was whacked, closing down $21.40 on the day. Therefore, what would you rather own? The DJIA or gold? At first blush, one would think the Dow was the better choice, given its new record high.Read more

October 2, 2006 – Connolly to Baker to Paulson. It could be the names of three infielders in an around-the-horn triple play, but it’s not. These guys are pitchers, and they throw bean-balls at anyone who holds dollars. The history of John Connolly and James Baker is already written, as they served as Treasury SecretaryRead more

September 18, 2006 – In November 2005 the Federal Reserve announced that it would no longer compile and publicly report M3, which is the total quantity of dollars in circulation. I strongly derided the Fed’s decision, commenting that it would have unfavorable consequences for the dollar. My thinking was that the termination of M3 reportingRead more

Sept 15, 2006 – “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” – Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations The Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (www.GATA.org) knows that Adam Smith told only half theRead more

August 28, 2006 – Gold is one of the world’s most misunderstood assets. There are many reasons for this unfortunate situation, but one stands out. Gold exists in an environment in which there are many powerful forces fiercely hostile to it. Most notable among these are governments and the myriad of vested interests that feedRead more

August 14, 2006 – The Federal Reserve has stopped raising interest rates. Therefore, the logical question to ask ourselves is whether their decision has changed anything. I think it has. While the Fed was raising interest rates, one could reasonably argue that its aim was to fight inflation, which continues to climb. In the 12Read more

August 7, 2006 – In November 2005 the Federal Reserve announced that it would no longer compile and report M3, which is the total quantity of dollars in circulation. I derided the Fed’s decision, but my reaction to the consequences of it was mixed. On the one hand, it was an important piece of anecdotalRead more

July 24, 2006 – Many thanks to Adrian Douglas for the accompanying chart of the price of gold plotted against the Dow Jones Industrials Average. Adrian first presented this chart in a commentary he submitted on July 7th to www.lemetropolecafe.com. Adrian says in his article: “I nearly fell off my chair when I plotted this!”Read more