David Zanca

When I was a kid, I'd always bug my mom to make pralines. Pralines were my absolute favorite treat! My mom would always reply with they're too hard to make, you need a marble slab, and the humidity must be just right to make them. I remember trying to figure out what humidity and the weather had to do with cooking. I assume she was just, as my mom would say, "pulling my leg" on ... >> Read More        

In 2023, there is a shining star in the financial world: gold is shimmering and bright. Since the start of the year, gold climbed as much as 10% higher, traded above $2,000 an ounce, and approached the all-time record high price for the precious metal. You may be wondering – what's going on with gold? To uncover what's driving the big move higher in gold this year, David Zanca, Senior Portfolio Manager at Blanchard, and ... >> Read More        

The price of silver jumped to a 4-month high this week fueled by massive investor demand for the metal. This investor demand for silver is now draining the London vaults of their silver holdings – which fell to a record low in October, according to the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). In a year where Americans have faced shortages from items like baby formula to certain prescription drugs to gasoline, silver supplies are now running ... >> Read More        

By David Zanca, Senior Portfolio Manager In speaking with many of my clients over the last few months, I've been asked several questions about the state of the economy, the current and future prices of gold, and how you can best protect your wealth. As we all can see, there is a great deal of volatility and instability in the current market environment. Inflation is at a 40-year high, significantly impacting everything from mortgage rates ... >> Read More        

The investing world spotlight shifted to silver this week. The same group of Internet day traders that drove GameStop dramatically higher in January turned their focus to silver. While the online message boards touted silver ETFs at first, the news triggered a rush into the physical silver market. The U.S. Mint’s silver coin sales jumped 24% to 4.775 million ounces last month – that was the highest for a January since 2017. Several U.S. major ... >> Read More        

By David C. Zanca, Senior Portfolio Manager Winter follows fall, and summer follows spring. The seasons of nature act as a leading indicator for what comes next. After the leaves drop from the trees in September and October and the temperatures fall – winter follows. After months of snow and shorter days, warmer temperatures and longer days announce the arrival of spring. In the economic realm, employment and consumer spending are considered leading indicators. These ... >> Read More        

By David Zanca, Senior Portfolio Manager Think back to the earliest days of the United States. Place yourself in the late 1700s. Imagine the excitement felt by the citizens of this young country who had just gone through the battle of their lives to establish their independence as a sovereign nation. This new nation was based on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Close your eyes and put yourself back in ... >> Read More        

Money is transitory. It is the only way to transact business/pay bills. From the beginning of time, this has always been the role of money. Wealth is different. Wealth is measured in real things. Property. It always has been and always will be. In the United States, wealth and money (dollars) have become intertwined over the past fifty years or so. This is a recent phenomenon and is only due to the dominance of the ... >> Read More        

By Mark Ferguson Mark Ferguson is the editor and publisher of CAC Market Values. He has graded coins professionally for PCGS and served as the principal market analyst while managing updates for more than 65,000 price points for Coin World magazine. In other words, Mark knows his coins! Demand for investment-grade rare coins has surged since the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis began six months ago; and this demand has been strong for CAC coins.  ... >> Read More        

If you are parking your sidelined cash in a money market fund, caveat emptor. That's Latin, of course, for let the buyer beware. Long thought to be a safe harbor in turbulent times, money market funds are showing their true stripes these days. Few investors read the fine print on their investment company's website or obscure SEC documents, so we are detailing current issues you need to understand here. Long gone are the days when ... >> Read More