Paper gold seems to have taken the shine off of gold, however, it seems like bankers are not willing to short gold that much more than they have already. If that is the case, then it should be good for precious metals. If rates rise significantly, due to rising inflation gold should do well. If rates don't rise because the Fed won't raise rates gold will do well as the dollar sinks. Even China is easing up on dollar bets although its being played out as a problem with China. China's problems will become our problems eventually. If China can't fund our bonds then our bonds must compete with other investments in the US creating contraction in liquidity first with junk bonds and then the whole market.

Pensions don't work with zirp rates. Just another unintended consequence of a disastrous fiscal policy by the Federal Reserve which claims it is helping while making worse and worse extended rallies that turn into worse and worse cyclical downturns and collapses the baby boomers income on their money by implementing near zirp rates as they retire. The Federal Reserve's take on the elderly seems clear. Hurry up and die.

It seems clear the market is oscillation between a very wide range making the fact it is coming down from the top of an oscillation a pretty straightforward play. Frankly, I'm amazed more people aren't playing it this way. If it declines slowly, it gives you time to bet the range even if you don't want to bet the lower lows trend.

The Fed will not want to increase rates regardless and most everyone should know it. However, they can't lower rates which they want to do if they don't increase because negative rates are being assessed as unconstitutional taxation by many experts. Rates will increase slowly and won't do much to help when the downturn does arrive on our doorstep.

Indeed even chartists can see that all is not well in the market despite its high value and its recent run up on no fundamentals whatsoever.

What a joke. The US devalues its currency all the time and runs mass deficits, conducts QE, and floors interest rates. Japan is hardly a devaluator. In fact, its problem is its currency appreciates no matter what it does. Likewise, China is fighting keeping their currency up not down. And Germany is a paragon of fiscal austerity considering the mass of absurdity going on in the rest of Europe.

The US needs to give these warnings to France, Italy, India, and Brazil not that it will do any good. They'd love to have strong currencies but their bankrupt spending habits prevent that from ever happening.

Miners are better than the ETFs that are built to destroy investors through trading and fees. Still better is lumps of the physical stuff. The less people between you and the precious metal the better off you are.

The US is showing signs of strain. Mexico's situation will get worse as the US does.

Sadly Mexico almost always shows strain and the author is right that oil and manufacturing is hurting it. Trump belittling them doesn't help any.

Sadly with the Federal Reserve nothing is short term and they abuse every power they get. I do agree negative rates are horrible. The Fed needs to eventually get rates back to normal and stop screwing around extending economic cycles which can often lead to horrific crashes.

The Fed is actually encouraging stock repurchasing, increased borrowing to do so, and banks to invest in asset pumping rather than loaning or risking capital at investing in companies or capital expenses. The reward is debt and more debt which goes to buying back stock and paying unsustainable dividends.

In essence, the Federal Reserve is creating a Alice and Wonderland which will leave all parties engaged in the feast destitute and broke. At which point the banks will ask for bailouts and buy up even more of the assets off of the deluded public and their businesses. There is a clear reason why the US is not doing well and it's not capitalism. It's quite the reverse, a planned economy leading to misallocation of assets by the Federal Reserve.