Opinion

It can hardly have escaped your notice: gold is hot! The gold price is currently breaking record after record, and even the ‘mainstream’ financial media can no longer ignore the yellow metal. But when I read these stories, they mostly raise a lot of questions for me. Are traditional investors really that naive now, or are they deliberately looking the other way?

Naturally, the interest rate decision and everything surrounding it took centre stage earlier this month when the European Central Bank (ECB) board met in Frankfurt. And of course, questions during the press conference focused on what we can expect in the coming quarters. Like many others, I was tuned in, eager for insights.

Many investors mistakenly conclude that China and the United States are completely different due to their distinct financial (and societal) systems. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Both nations’ faltering economic engines are kept running by the same remedy: debt.

Gregory Kennedy reflects on cross-border commuting in Luxembourg, where once attractive border towns now face eroding quality of life.

Former ECB president and prime minister of Italy, Mario Draghi, has written a report containing the obvious yet completely unnecessary conclusion that Europe has completely missed the boat on innovation and competitiveness. ‘Duh!’

China and Japan are once again on a collision course, this time over the highly strategic semiconductor industry.

The equity allocation of US households has risen to 60 percent. The last time stocks had this much weight in the average retail portfolio was during the ‘Dotcom’ bubble. This can leave one to conclude that a stock market crisis is imminent.

It might seem like Europe has its financial house in better order than the United States. But hold on a moment — this might just be an optical illusion!

A new (American) recession remains a hot topic. And it’s understandable because a significant series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, coupled with an inverted yield curve, typically leads to economic trouble. You’d need a well-supported “this time is different” argument to claim there’s no chance of a recession.

If you want to generate returns through stocks, focus on companies that achieve a higher return on invested capital than it costs to raise that capital. This is the essence of value creation.