QUESTION:  Martin, Love your blog, especially your historical perspective. You recently responded to a viewer that we should take precious metals out of safety deposit boxes. Is there a reason for this? To my understanding the bail-in rules for banks in N.america put deposits and bonds at risk only? Thanks. ANSWER:  The contents of a […]

A fairly quiet start to the week for most of Asia with the Nikkei closing with virtually no movement. The Nikkei was weak just after the opening down just over -0.5% but as the JPY lost ground, the index recovered. Initial price action was poor given the Trade data release (-1.3% given forecasts were 4.7%) […]

QUESTION: Martin – Given your compelling elucidation of the business cycle (which remains ineluctable even with central bank and regulatory distortion of money and markets), the avg annual return targets set by pension and retirement plans seems absurd. CalPERS had an annual bogey of 8% to meet via its active management. Even in a rapidly-growing economy […]

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has completely failed the Greek people. He was elected to exit the EU but instead he has wiped out his country trying to stay in the Eurozone. Pensions have been attacked 11 times since the crisis began in 2010. The very day Greece asked the IMF for help was precisely on […]

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaJ5_c0qyL0 On the one hand it would be nice to see Trump tell California go ask Mexico for aid since Trump is NOT their President. The California debt and unfunded liabilities exceeded $400 billion last year without a prayer of reducing this crisis. The California pension liabilities are way undervalued for they are based […]

Here is a board meeting of CALPERS illustrating that (1) the majority of the board is totally without any experience in financial markets and (2) they are trying to throw off the board anyone who points out they are in trouble. Pension funds on average need 8% to break even. You will hear in this discussion […]

COMMENT: Sir, Thanks for all you do. As you have been teaching, do the math. What would be the financial implications of CALIEXIT be? In other words , how much would the rest of the country save if we voted California off the island?  You have already enlightened us to the fact that they asked behind […]

Kenneth Rogoff is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at Harvard University. Rogoff calls critics of negative interest rates “ignorant” despite the fact that negative interest rates have been used since 2008 without any success. He had the audacity to say that people should not look at their short-term personal losses, but rather look at the long-term vision […]

The Australian federal government is planning a full assault on the black or underground economy by appointing a taskforce who will consider the future of the $100 note and bans on cash payments over a certain level. Australia, like everyone else, is facing a monetary crisis whereby the current system of taxes and social programs […]

The inundated Chancellor Angel Merkel has always had her own team who poll her popularity regularly. She cannot let go of power and she is known for not standing for anything but herself. She will change positions whenever necessary to maintain her popularity. Merkel created this entire refugee crisis because she was being criticized for her hardline on […]