Anyone who has been alive long enough has seen the operation of business cycles. The euphoria of the boom phase gives way to the recession of the bust phase, and the cycle repeats itself. This century we’ve seen the collapse of the dotcom bubble, the implosion of the housing bubble, and the COVID recession that was largely self-inflicted but that may have taken a bit of the air out of an impending bubble. Now today we find ourselves on the verge of yet another shift in the boom-bust business cycle, as high-flying stock markets and rising inflation are colliding with an economy whose labor mark ..read more

If you’ve built up significant amounts of retirement savings, you’re probably concerned about protecting them against loss. And with the fear of recession or stock market crashes always at the back of your mind, you’re probably wondering how you can do that. One way of protecting yourself against calamity is through precious metals like gold and silver. Silver, in particular, has been favored by many investors who believe that it has the potential to outperform gold. How much do you know about buying silver? Whether you have previous experience purchasing precious metals or not, you should kno ..read more

If you had told someone at the beginning of 2022 that Russia would invade Ukraine, they wouldn’t have believed you. The idea that in this day and age any country would just unilaterally attack another country that hadn’t threatened it seemed absurd. Yet a few months later Russia attacked Ukraine, a fight that continues today. Similarly, if someone had told you at the beginning of this year that Iran would attack Israel, that too would have seemed far-fetched. After all, Iran seems to have mastered war by proxy, and has numerous ways to get at Israel without resorting to war. Yet now Iran has a ..read more

No one wants to get scammed. Not you, not your parents, not your kids, not even the people who try to scam you. No one wants to get taken advantage of. When people take advantage of us, at best it injures only our pride. But at worst, scammers could take advantage of us to the tune of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. When we get scammed, it’s natural to blame ourselves sometimes. If only I hadn’t clicked that link, if only I hadn’t picked up the phone, if only I had seen those red flags, etc. Sound familiar? If you’ve ever been scammed before, you’ve probably learned some im ..read more

CALABASAS, April 11, 2024 – Goldco has been honored with the prestigious Best of Calabasas Award, marking its third consecutive win and reinforcing its standing as the foremost Gold Dealer in the region. Additionally, this achievement solidifies Goldco’s place in the 2024 Calabasas Business Hall of Fame, further underscoring its commitment to excellence in the precious metals industry. Each year, the Calabasas Award Program identifies companies with exceptional success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of local businesses ..read more

There are three words you’ll never hear come out of the mouth of anyone in a position of power in Washington, DC. In fact, these three words are so difficult to say that it’s likely there are more than a few people in your life who will never utter these words. Saying these three words means swallowing your pride, making yourself vulnerable, and admitting that you’re not perfect. And more than a few people are incapable of saying these three simple words. “I was wrong.” That’s it. So simple, yet so difficult to utter. Acknowledging that you were wrong is hard for most of us to do. We all want ..read more

While most of the country is focused on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy as it pertains to interest rates, fewer people are focused on other aspects of the Fed’s monetary policy. Among the most important of those is the Fed’s stance regarding its balance sheet. The Fed’s balance sheet has been massively bloated since 2008, when the Fed first resorted to quantitative easing (QE) to buoy the US financial system in the aftermath of the financial crisis. And despite various attempts over the years to pull back at least somewhat, the Fed’s balance sheet is still far higher than it would have b ..read more

While gold started 2024 on a strong note, having hit all-time highs late in 2023, its performance since then has been even more impressive. It seems that just about every week there’s something new to celebrate. So far this year gold has recorded gains of over 10%, and there’s no telling how much higher it could go. It broke through the $2,100 barrier, then $2,200, and is now breaking through $2,300 an ounce. Gold seems now to have busted all the year-end predictions made by most precious metals analysts, and with the prospect of rate cuts in the future, the growth case for gold could even get ..read more

While the past few years have been good ones for gold, they certainly could have been better. Gold demand has been strong, gold prices have grown fairly consistently, but there’s always been something that seems to be lacking. Despite the gold price having hit all-time high in recent years, including last December and earlier this month, it just seemed like gold was having trouble building momentum and continuing to steadily keep gaining in price. But this year could be different. Anyone who remembers how gold fared from 2008 to 2011 remembers how it just seemed like the gold price was soaring ..read more

While the Federal Open Market Committee was expected to hold rates steady at last week’s meeting and did so, and while no one expects rates to be cut before June at the earliest, you would think that the fact the Federal Reserve is holding rates steady would have been greeted with a groan from markets. Instead, markets soared after the Fed’s meeting, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining over 400 points and the S&P 500 gaining over 45. What’s going on? As the old saying goes, markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent. So even though many of us realize that recess ..read more