Young Research & Publishing Inc.

Investment Research Since 1978

Disclosure

Gold, Silver, and Currencies

Young Research & Publishing has been providing research and insights on precious metals and currency markets to institutional investors, corporate financial officers, business owners, and individual investors for over four decades. Richard C. Young started Young Research & Publishing in the 70s to publish the authoritative Young's World Money Forecast, a 50-page monthly investment report on the precious metals and currency markets. Today, our research on gold, silver, and currencies is geared toward investors in or nearing retirement who are looking to preserve and protect wealth. 

Silver Cheapest to Gold in Three Centuries

By

Henry Sanderson reports in Financial Times on the historically wide gap in the valuations of the two most common precious metals for investment. He writes: Investors are betting on a rally in silver, after the gap between gold and the industrial metal soared to its widest level in more than three centuries. In March the price of an ounce of gold was 125 times higher than the same amount of silver — a record going back to at least 1687, according to data compiled by Ross Norman, a veteran gold trader. But since then the gap has closed to about 113 times, and analysts say more gains for … [Read more...]

The Russian Ruble Crisis

By

Six years ago, oil was trading at $100 per barrel and the Russian ruble was trading at 35 to the dollar. Translating that exchange rate into oligarch terms, it would have taken about 4.5 million rubles to buy one of Mercedes’ coveted G-class SUVs. Today, oil trades at about $20 per barrel and for oligarchs with 4.5 million rubles to spend on a SUV, it's time to start looking at Chevys. … [Read more...]

Gold Please

By

Below is a chart of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. The Fed has gone into money-printing overdrive. Over the last month, the central bank has conjured over $1 trillion out of thin air to buy Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The Fed is printing at a pace of up to $125 billion per day. Once the stimulus passes, the Fed will be given about $500 billion in capital that can be leveraged up to 10X to buy more assets. The source of that leverage is newly printed money. We are talking about an additional $4.5 trillion. Meanwhile, the Federal Government is likely to run a … [Read more...]

The First Big Test for Crypto-Currency Isn’t Going Well

By

In the face of their first big test since popularization, crypto-currencies are not faring well. Jemima Kelly reports of bitcoin for FT's Alphaville (abridged): For a brief moment there, it really did feel like the good old days. Bitcoin shot up from about $5,200 to about $5,900 just after the Fed’s announcement. This was the beginning of something special, wasn’t it?! Alas, no. This bouncing cat, it turned out, was lifeless. For those fleeting moments after the Fed announcement bitcoin could thrive; could be free; could resume on its slow but unstoppable trajectory toward the moon. But … [Read more...]

Bitcoin: A Store of Value?

By

We hear a lot about Bitcoin being the new and improved "digital gold." Bitcoin is a store of value the bulls contend. Maybe, but since the market peaked on February 19th, Bitcoin is down more than 30%. For the year, Bitcoin is down 14%. How about that old barbarous relic, gold. Gold is up 7% on the year. … [Read more...]

Could Gold Rally to Record High in Response to Stimulus?

By

Could the price of gold rally to a record high of over $2,000 as central bankers print more money? According to Greg Jenson of Bridgewater Associates, the answer is yes. Jennifer Ablan reports Jenson's prediction in The Financial Times: Mr Jensen, who helps oversee more than $160bn at the Connecticut-based group, told the Financial Times he believed the Federal Reserve, in particular, would let inflation run hot for a while and “there will no longer be an attempt by any of the developed world’s major central banks to normalise interest rates. That’s a big deal”. At the same time, … [Read more...]

What the Iran Situation Means for Gold

By

Since the end of 2019, gold prices have been on a breakout trajectory. Now, in response to rising tensions with Iran, things are getting very interesting. The news that the United States had bombed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani increased the perception of risk in the Middle East, and drove the price of gold even higher. I have always suggested to investors that they maintain a gold component in their portfolios, not as a road to riches, but as an insurance policy against inflation, disaster, and war. Typically when every other assets’ price is falling, gold’s is … [Read more...]

How Early Markets Reacted to the U.S. Airstrike that Killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani

By

Yesterday, a U.S. airstrike killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, leader of the foreign wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. News of the strike and the general's death sent safe-haven asset prices higher as investors priced in greater risk in the Middle East. Assets such as gold and the 10-year U.S. Treasury note saw their prices rise as investor sentiment weakened. Gold was up 1.4% while the 10-year was at 1.827% Friday morning from 1.880% on Thursday (a drop in yield reflects an increase in price), while DJIA futures were down 226 pts pre-open. Is this a New Year’s prediction … [Read more...]

Sweden Raises Rates—All the Way to Zero

By

After being one of the first countries to lead the world into the negative interest rate era, Sweden has decided to end that policy. Paul Hannon reports in The Wall Street Journal: In 2009, the Riksbank, the world’s oldest central bank, became the first to charge commercial banks to hold deposits rather than pay them interest. In 2015, it lowered its key policy rate below zero, following a similar move by the European Central Bank the year before. On Thursday, the Riksbank raised the key rate to zero from minus 0.25%. The bank moved because a majority of its policy makers expect inflation … [Read more...]