Opinions

When gold prices plunged in late 2013, gold producers took notice and developed mine plans that offered greater flexibility in troubled times. But even the best plans take time. Well, it’s almost time for the producers to deliver, says Raj Ray, associate metals and mining analyst with National Bank Financial.

The travel market in China continues to be strong in spite of the country’s economic growth stalling around 7.4%. Spending has been triggered not only by personal travel, but the country is on the verge of surpassing the United States in the area of business travel. Just take a look

According to Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, “More jobs have now been created in the recovery than were lost in the downturn… the unemployment rate, at 6.2% in July, has declined nearly 4 percentage points from its late 2009 peak.” (Source: “Labor Market Dynamics and Monetary Policy,” Federal Reserve, August 22,

As incredible as it may be, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG) recently spiked above $600.00 a share and is now closing in on $700.00. This position could no doubt benefit from a share split. The stock is trading with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of approximately 40, and the company’s

Between the first quarter of 2012 and the second quarter of 2014, auto sales in the U.S. economy have increased 16%. (Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis web site, last accessed August 21, 2014.) And auto sales this year have been stellar, too. In July, auto sales reached the

The top one percent are spending and don’t really care about the other 99%. For the retail sector and particularly the luxury-brand stocks, this is welcome news.  High-end jeweler Tiffany & Co. (NYSE/TIF) pleased investors and Wall Street on Wednesday after reporting better-than-expected results and increasing its fiscal 2015 earnings

One of the problems with pure-play biotechnology stocks is that they are 100% risk-capital securities in which the probability of success is entirely beyond your control.  But healthcare and related industry investments are very much worthwhile in an equity market portfolio for the simple reason that they can be so

The bulls are out in full force again following a pause in thestock market. Investors were initially spooked by the fear of interest rates moving higher in the first quarter of 2015, but that appears to have been pushed to the backburner now as the stock market rally reignites. The

Not too long ago, I reported that Italy, the third-biggest economy in the eurozone, had fallen back into recession.  Now Germany’s economy is pulling back. In the second quarter of 2014, the largest economy in the eurozone witnessed a decline in its gross domestic product (GDP)—the first decline in Germany’s

The housing market picked up steam in July after some stalling in the first half of the year, which was negatively affected by bad winter conditions in the first quarter. Housing starts surged 15.7% to a seasonally adjusted 1.09 million units in July, the market’s highest production in eight months.

The resilience of this stock market is uncanny. Just when transportation stocks, a leading market sector at any time, took a well-deserved break, components turned upward and are once again pushing record highs.  Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) is a benchmark stock in transportation. It’s up fivefold since the stock market

 The numbers are in…  In the second quarter of 2014, world central banks bought 117.8 tonnes of gold bullion compared to 92.1 tonnes a year earlier—a jump of 28%. Central banks have been net purchasers of gold bullion for 14 consecutive quarters!  According to the World Gold Council, “Economic and

The stock market has an underlying strength to it, seemingly only to be undone by geopolitical events. Fed action always has the potential to shock the system. Negative economic news isn’t fazing this market.  On the back of a pretty decent second quarter, many corporate outlooks predict another year of

It was just a few months ago that the technology sector stocks, specifically the momentum stocks, were getting bashed around and sold off by the stock market.  Since then, the selling has subsided and we have seen a nice rebound in technology stocks to the point where the NASDAQ is

A top stock for investors and a strong equity market leader has been, and continues to be, The Walt Disney Company (DIS). (See: Why You Shouldn’t Overhaul Your Portfolio Right Now)  It’s a Dow Jones component, a solid dividend payer and, similar to other dividend-paying blue chips, it’s offered earnings

The U.S. dollar is still regarded as the reserve currency of the world. The majority of international transactions are settled in U.S. dollars and most central banks around the word hold it in their foreign exchange reserves.  But since the Credit Crisis of 2008, and the multi-trillion-dollar printing program by

Björn Paffrath, Switzerland-based fund adviser and newsletter writer, is so convinced that we’ve seen the bottom in the mining sector that he’s launching a new gold and silver fund in Europe. He says capital is trickling back into long-forgotten mining equities as the smart money seeks to rotate out of

As much as we’d all like significantly higher silver and gold prices, Chris Thompson of Raymond James doesn’t expect them. The good news, he argues, is that the relative stability now characterizing the market permits investors to make informed decisions about which companies can build value and demonstrate cash flows

Think all is well—or at least OK—with the global economy? Don’t relax too much, as that doesn’t seem to be the case. As we all know, spending drives economic growth, whether it’s from consumers, businesses, investments, or governments. Without one part or another, there would be added pressure on other

As evidence of the continuing bull market, Kinder Morgan, Inc.’s (KMI) massive acquisition of its partnership companies is a significant sign that business conditions remain strong in the energy industry.  Kinder Morgan surprised the marketplace by announcing plans to purchase Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (KMP), Kinder Morgan Management, LLC