Austria was able to sell its second 100-year bond in history at just a yield of just over 1.00%. Some argue that capital has been forced to buy anything that has a yield which the ECB has been forcing negative interest rates. Why would anyone in their right mind buy a 100-year bond for 1%? […]

The Portuguese economy was bailed out by the European Union eight years ago. It is now booming, also in part for its aggressive attraction of courting foreign investors. If you want to live in Portugal long-term or permanently, you will need to apply for Portuguese citizenship or Portuguese permanent residency. Portuguese permanent residency is available […]

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I attended your WEC in London back in 1997 when the Euro Commission took the entire back row. I remember your forecast that we would begin a period of a dramatic shift in the bond-equity correlation I believe you said would last for at least 23 years. That is nearly due. You […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: The Chinese foreign minister has stated that they will “not allow” the G20 to discuss matters regarding Hong Kong. Recently, Hong Kong overruled a previous ruling that allowed Chinese extradition. Over the weekend, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen requested that the U.S. stop their inappropriate tariffs and actions against Chinese companies. […]

The Fed meeting this week has triggered a turn in the dollar as US rates dipped on the 10-year to their lowest since Trump took office. As a result, the greenback is the weakest among the majors for the week thus far as we should expect for a decline near-term. Although there has been an […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: The US has added five more Chinese companies to a US blacklist that restricts US companies from dealing with the companies on the list. Of those included on the list is a Chinese government-owned supercomputing company, with military applications and dealing with national security. The companies “pose a significant risk of being […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will hold talks with Chinese President Xi. President Xi arrived in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, in the first state visit in 14 years. The main topics reportedly will be nuclear armaments and trade. Interesting timing given both are in the midst of US negotiations in way […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: There was upbeat news regarding the U.S.-China trade deal today. Trump stated that he and President Xi spoke and that they will have an extended meeting next week at the G20 event. A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit the north east of Japan today, with expectations of perhaps multiple tsunamis to hit the […]

ASIA / AUSTRALIA: A Pilipino ship was sunk in the South Chinese Sea. The Philippines sent a formal diplomatic protest to Beijing on Thursday condemning the actions of the Chinese ship and urging China to investigate the matter. The Chinese responded by calling the incident an “ordinary maritime accident.” There are currently joint Japan and […]

On March 11, 2011, when an earthquake-triggered tsunami damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, Chancellor Merkel and her cabinet held that nuclear power in Germany had to come to an end. It was a historic event and a historic decision (see Der Spiegel). The new green deal of Merkel quickly became bogged down […]