Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial average skidded over 600 points intraday. That followed a Black Friday session which saw stocks get hammered as well. What's going on? One factor that analysts warned about recently are the historically high levels of margin borrowing. Indeed, the recent stock plunges reveals the fragility of the uptrend in stocks and underscores how quickly the market can reverse. If you are unfamiliar with margin buying, it is a strategy ... >> Read More        

How would you feel if your bank denied you access to your money? Or, said you needed to wait 10 days before making a transaction like a wire transfer? While it may sound like a bad dream, it's happened to many Americans – including Blanchard clients. If this has in fact already happened to you – don't despair – you aren't alone. There are a surprising number of little known banking rules and regulations that ... >> Read More        

While many Americans struggle with the challenges of rising inflation – at the grocery store, at the gas pump, rising rent and more, stock market investors are a complacent bunch right now. The U.S. stock market is indeed enjoying double-digit gains in 2021, propelled higher by government spending that flooded the economy during the Covid crisis and the Fed's rock-bottom interest rates. Can this continue? There is an old market adage: the stock market takes ... >> Read More        

With less than eight weeks before the end of the year, many are beginning to ask what the US economy might look like in 2022. The recovery from COVID continues to push forward but the movement is stubbornly slow. Throughout the mid-1990s and mid-2000s the annual U.S. GDP growth surpassed 3 percent. Many analysts believe this performance will be unattainable in the coming years. There are three reasons for this low growth outlook. First, long-term ... >> Read More        

Nearly two years after COVID-19 hit our shores, sending our nation into an economic tailspin, the Federal Reserve announced today it is dialing back on its emergency bond-buying program. Wall Street expected today's announcement that the Fed would taper its monthly bond purchases. Gold registered little reaction to the news, recently trading at around $1,765 an ounce. "In light of the substantial further progress the economy has made toward the Committee's goals since last December, ... >> Read More        

Economists like to define business cycles through four stages: expansion, peak, contraction and trough. What does this mean exactly? During an expansion phase of the economy – gross domestic product (GDP) is growing and expanding. Businesses are expanding, hiring new people, investing in their businesses and, typically, the stock market is climbing. By that definition – it's easy to say we are in the expansion phase right now. But have we peaked already? Rising prices ... >> Read More        

In recent weeks, the crisis within Evergrande has reminded investors of counterparty risk. Counterparty risk is the possibility that one of the parties involved in a transaction might default on their obligations. People often use the term counterparty risk and default risk interchangeably. Default risk is the possibility that one person or company will fail to make the required payments on their debt. Evergrande is a towering example of counterparty risk. In August of this ... >> Read More        

After nearly a decade of nearly non-existent inflation – the phenomenon of rising consumer prices is back. This spring, U.S. consumer prices saw their biggest jump since August 2008. And, inflation is sticking around. U.S. consumer price growth continued to climb in September, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Over the last 12 months, U.S. consumer prices gained 5.4%. While Federal Reserve officials continue to downplay the recent jump in prices from everything from gas to ... >> Read More        

Stagflation describes an economic setting in which inflation increases while economic output slows or stops. This condition was first seen in the US in the 1970s when the country experienced five quarters of negative GDP growth. Stagflation is beginning to surface in conversations today because economic growth appears to be weakening and inflation appears to be on the rise. Recently, the I.M.F. issued a warning that “pandemic outbreaks in critical links of global supply chains ... >> Read More        

Over 4,000 years ago, silver ingots were used as currency in ancient Greece. Today, silver remains a store of value, portfolio diversifier, fiat currency hedge and a tangible asset to grow and protect your wealth. What's more, silver is on the dawn of a new age of industrial demand. You may know that silver not only benefits from investment demand but that the metal also attracts industrial demand too. Many people, however, don't realize how ... >> Read More