Author - Paul-Martin Foss

What Is the Market Outlook for the Next Week?

With the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) moving last week to cut its target federal funds rate by 50 basis points, all eyes are on next week’s FOMC meeting to see what the Fed does next. The expectations are for the Fed to continue cutting interest rates, as other...

Is the Plunge Protection Team Hard at Work?

If you’re not familiar with the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, you should be. Also known as the Plunge Protection Team, the group works behind the scenes to shore up financial markets. Consisting of the Treasury Secretary, Federal Reserve Chairman, and the Chairmen of the Securities Exchange Commission...

Unexpected Fed Rate Cut Can’t Stop Stock Market Losses

In a move that hasn’t been made since the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve this morning announced that it was cutting its target federal funds rate by 50 basis points, to 1 to 1.25%. The move came just two weeks before the Federal Open Market Committee was scheduled to...

Why Does Gold Sometimes Drop in Price During a Crisis?

Last week was an absolute bloodbath for markets, as stock markets shed trillions of dollars worth of paper wealth. The Dow Jones lost over 3,500 points over the course of the week, prompting the Federal Reserve Chairman to pledge the Fed’s full support to markets on Friday afternoon. But...

Think the Coronavirus Won’t Affect the US Economy? Think Again

There seems to be a great deal of complacency among many in the United States about the effect that the coronavirus will have on the US economy. Thus far it’s been treated as an issue that only affects China, and whose effects on the US economy will be limited....

Financial Media Trying to Push Narrative That Recession Odds Are Low

It’s funny sometimes how the mainstream financial media tries to push narratives that are completely at odds with reality. With business activity already slowing in the US, China, and elsewhere, and with the onset of the coronavirus seriously upsetting global supply chains, anyone could tell that 2020 is going...

Citi Analysts See Gold Over $2,000 Within 24 Months

It seems like just a couple weeks ago that analysts were predicting gold to end the year at $1,650. But gold was already pushing that level late last week, as fears about the coronavirus and slowing business activity drove a wave of safe haven buying. Now analysts are predicting...

Coronavirus Fears Hammering Stock Markets

After weeks of discounting the dangers of the coronavirus to the world economy, it seems that stock markets have finally gotten wise to the threat the virus plays to the global economy. The Dow Jones opened Monday down nearly 1,000 points as more negative news about the virus emerged....

What the Price of Gold Is Trying to Tell Us

After reaching the $1,600 mark last week, gold began to really break out. While many market analysts had expected gold to see major resistance at $1,600, and perhaps some profit-taking, gold took on that barrier and continued to move up. That confounded many who still rely on outdated correlations...