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In a statement that could not have been more blunt, last week the IMF told Japan that it needs to print more money to ensure that its economy will not slip into recession. Specifically, the IMF wants the Bank of Japan to push inflation to 2 percent. Japan’s inflation rate is near zero.
One of the reasons gold and silver prices are stuck in a narrow trade range is that stocks are stuck in a narrow trading range. Still, widely-followed indexes recently made new highs, specifically the S&P 500, the NASDAQ and the Dow Industrials. However, the much ignored (except by professionals) Dow Transportation index is some 850
Five megabanks–Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, the Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS–are expected to plead guilty to rigging currencies markets; collectively, they will pay fines in the billions of dollars. And, we’re supposed to continue believing that the bullion banks never manipulated the gold and silver markets.
Despite our constant attention to news, we listen and view with disdain, knowing full well that what we hear and see is often distorted to get us to react and think in specific ways. In short, the news is slanted. Sometimes, slanted news coverage is exposed, but rarely is it exposed as was the case
In a move that is supposed to fillip economic activity, China’s central bank cut interest rates again. While interest rates in China are not at near zero levels as in the US, the move further signifies that the Bank of China has fully embraced Keynesian economics, which have not stimulated economic activity in the US
After not being significantly large enough to make headlines for years, the US trade deficit is back in the news after ballooning 40% to $51 billion in March. $37.8 billion of the deficit was with China. The CBO projects a record high $486 billion trade deficit for fiscal 2015.
