Posts by Adam Baratta

February 1, 2016 |

How Would You Feel If You Had To PAY YOUR BANK To Hold Your Money?

The Bank of Japan on Friday “called down the thunder” by announcing an unexpected move to negative interest rates. What exactly does that mean? It means that institutions will now have to pay the central bank to park excess cash reserves over and above reserves required by regulations. Shouldn’t the bank be paying the depositor in the form of interest? The short answer is yes. Desperate times, however, call for desperate measures. The Bank of Japan is seemingly in desperation mode doing anything it possibly... Continue Reading

Category | ,

December 9, 2015 |

What will happen when the Fed finally raises interest rates?

CNN Money Video

On December 16th, it is expected that the Fed will begin raising interest rates. That move, we believe, will have a far greater impact than what may seem logical from a small .25% hike. And simply looking at the size of the rate hike may be misleading. What should be considered instead is the length of time that interest rates were kept at 0%, and the tremendous distortions and imbalances that have been created as a result. Have we become addicted to the medication? Will... Continue Reading

Category |

October 23, 2015 |

There May Be One More Great Opportunity to Buy Gold

Gold Bullion

The gold market has certainly seen renewed buying interest in recent weeks, although prices currently appear to be taking a breather. After rallying above previous resistance in the $1170 area, the gold market has pulled back slightly. This could be attributed to profit-taking by “paper” gold traders as well as willing sellers at current levels. In our view, however, gold is likely seeing some position squaring and cautious trade ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. While any action by the Fed next week is unlikely,... Continue Reading

Category |

October 5, 2015 |

Is Gold Still In An Uptrend?

Safe investment

When it comes to making investments, human nature dictates that most of us will look to buy assets that we believe (and hope) will increase in value. If you were to buy a hot bio-tech stock, for example, at $10 per share you would likely be hoping for the share price to double or more in a relatively short period of time. If you buy a home for $300,000, you certainly would love to see that home appreciate in value over the coming years. While... Continue Reading

Category |

September 30, 2015 |

Billionaire Carl Icahn warns of 'danger ahead' for US economy

billionaire-investor-carl-icahn

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn may have said no to being Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, but he isn’t ready to give up the national stage yet. In a rare move — even for an investor so accustomed to the public spotlight — the founder and chairman of $8.5 billion Icahn Enterprises has produced a video warning of ‘danger ahead’ for the U.S. economy. Carl_Icahn // VIDEO TRANSCRIPT Carl: I am concerned about the high yield market. I think that’s in a major bubble, but I wouldn’t... Continue Reading

Category |

September 16, 2015 |

Consumer Price Index Shows Soft Price Data

consumer-price-index

The Consumer Price Index in the U.S. this morning showed a month-over-month change of -.1% and a year-over-year reading of .2%. The core reading showed a month-over-month reading of .1% and a year-over-year reading of 1.8%. These figures show little to no price pressures and may suggest that recent worry over deflation is a real and significant threat. To understand the Consumer Price Index, you have to understand what you are looking at. Headline CPI: The headline CPI figures factors in changes in a basket... Continue Reading

Category |

September 4, 2015 |

She Loves Me…She Loves Me Not…

Washington Gold Bar

Watching market developments and listening to the Fed is kind of like the old game of “she loves me she loves me not.” The highly anticipated non-farm payrolls data for August was released this morning and we would argue that the Fed is probably no closer to a decision on rates than they were yesterday or the day before or the day before that… According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. added just 173,000 jobs in August. Consensus estimates were looking for 220,000... Continue Reading

Category |

August 28, 2015 |

Is It All About the Fed Now?

all-about-the-fed

After a crazy week of trading in global equity markets, things seem to have calmed down significantly-at least for now. Of course, if Chinese stocks fall several percent Sunday night, then U.S. markets could potentially be in for another difficult Monday. Aside from recent equity market volatility, markets may once again focus on interest rate expectations. The next FOMC meeting is now less than three weeks away. While the Fed had previously indicated that any changes in rates would likely be a game-time decision, expectations... Continue Reading

Category |

August 27, 2015 |

Market Volatility and the Real Culprit

market-volatility-and-the-real-culprit

Markets have been on a roller coaster ride in recent days. Following a massive sell-off in Chinese equities on Monday, U.S. markets opened the week to what can only be described as financial bloodshed. The Dow Jones, for example, saw its biggest single day decline ever and was down nearly 1100 points at one point in the session. Much of the financial media has been focused on economic weakness in China and the volatility that has been seen in Chinese equities. And rightly so. As... Continue Reading

Category |

August 22, 2015 |

Ouch

ouch

The U.S. stock market witnessed massive selling for the second day in a row as investors continue to run for the exit signs in droves. The broad market SP 500 index saw losses today to the tune of over 3 % and closed 64 points lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was hammered for a loss of over 530 points. Concerns over a global economic slowdown and plunging emerging market currencies have been cited by some media outlets as the cause of the selling,... Continue Reading

Category |