Forbes: Gold Prices Likely To Fall Further And That’s A Good Thing

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Gold has disappointed investors lately, and is likely to continue doing so.

Here’s what’s happening and why you should be happy about it. Read more here.

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Barron's: How Iran's Antics Could Boost Oil

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Growing populist unrest in Iran, a weakening U.S. dollar, and possible production cuts could prompt a rally in oil prices in the next few months.

Investors wanting to profit from the likely surge should consider buying February-dated oil futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Alternatively, try the United States Brent Oil exchange-traded fund (ticker: BNO), which tracks the price of oil futures and is up more than 27% this year. Read more here.

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Forbes: How Economics Chiefs Set Up A Secret Policy Group Under Jimmy Carter, New Book Says

By SIMON CONSTABLE

U.S. President Jimmy Carter drove his economic advisors so crazy that they felt forced to set up a secret policy committee. That's just one of the bizarre stories from a new book that details the experiences of White House economics gurus over the past 50 years. Read more here.

Forbes: Investors Flee U.S. Stocks Even As Market Soars

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It looks like investors are fleeing U.S. stocks.

For at least five weeks straight, they pulled almost $27 billion from mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that specialize in domestic U.S. securities.

The action, which looks like some are bailing on the future of America’s economy, comes just as stock indexes are breaking records with banal frequency. Read more here.

Photo by Charles Towne , 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: CEOs Sink Into Pit Of Gloom, Goldman Study Says

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Bosses in corporate America are losing faith in the future of the American economy.

How they feel about the economy has fallen to its lowest level since the financial crisis back in 2008-2009, according to a recent report from Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs. Read more here.

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Forbes: Burned Saudi Investors Face More Malaise Ahead As Economy Craters

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Saudi Arabia is on track for a year of extremes.

On the one hand, the country is set to sell off a small stake in its state-owned oil company Aramco at a possible valuation of up to $1.7 trillion. That could make the IPO the largest ever if the proceeds hit more than $25 billion.

That may be the highlight of 2019 in Saudi, as most other economic signals look dire. Read more here.

Bob Waters, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Korn Ferry: Merlot from Malmö

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Sure, you may enjoy bottles from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Napa Valley, and Rioja. But some innovators are banking that the next great wines may come from Sjaelland and Malmö.

A series of unusually hot summers has led some entrepreneurs to make wine in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, locales where the climate historically has been far too cold to grow vines of sufficient quality to make decent wine. Up from only a handful 15 years ago, around 150 commercial wineries across Scandinavia are breaking the mold of what it means to run a vineyard in Europe, demonstrating how the region’s leaders can innovate while playing to their strengths. Read more here.

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Briefings Magazine: Layoffs -- The New Normal

By SIMON CONSTABLE

“Here’s your next project: you’ll be eliminating 10,000 jobs in Europe,” my boss said, handing me a fat folder replete with financial data. Less than a year since graduating business school, I’d be leading the charge in this downsizing. In my role as a financial analyst, I’d have to deal with lawyers, accountants, actuaries, and many other functionaries at my employer, a multinational industrial company. Soon enough, my final report would go to the CEO and his team, presenting a plan costing hundreds of millions of dollars. And all along, my gut reaction never changed: ugh. Read more here.

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Forbes: Borrowing Binge -- World Debt Hits Record Of More Than $250 Trillion

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world is drowning in debt.

The amount of money owed hit a record of $250.9 trillion at the end of the second quarter. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: A Big Step Toward ‘Living Wages’

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The debate keeps gaining steam—that people who earn minimum wage can’t make ends meet. Now, a voluntary program in the United Kingdom has produced a large buy-in from firms in a way that is turning heads. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Germany’s Surprising Manufacturing Woes

By SIMON CONSTABLE

It’s been called the engine of growth for all of Europe. Only now it has stalled—big time.

Germany’s industrial sector, so reliable and critical for so many years, has hit a serious slump that experts worry could spread across the continent. According to recent figures, manufacturing output shrank for the 10th straight month in October. Worse still, there are signs that the contraction will continue for longer, with orders for new business falling for the 13th month in a row. Read more here.

Bundestag, Germany

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Forbes: Venezuela Sinks Further Into Oblivion — Debt Level Doubles Over One Year

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Venezuela’s human-made economic calamity just took a turn for the worse. The country’s national debt is now almost double the level of the GDP. At the end of the second quarter, total borrowing hit 198.4% of GDP, up from 102.8% a year earlier, according to a recent report from the Washington D.C.-based think tank, the Institute of International Finance. Read more here.

Sinking Ship

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TheStreet: Buy Freeport McMoRan to Profit From Thawing U.S.-China Relations

By SIMON CONSTABLE

If you want to profit from a possible end to the U.S.-China trade war, then buy shares in U.S.-based copper miner Freeport McMoRan.

"Freeport is a buy because I believe we get a China deal," said Adam Johnson, author of the financial newsletter Bullseye Brief. Read more here.

Copper mine

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WSJ: What Is ‘Investor Positioning’?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Little sparks the interest of investors more than insight into where the market will move next. That’s why you will hear Wall Street pros talk about “investor positioning.” In the simplest terms, it refers to readings of whether professional investors are collectively bullish or bearish on a particular asset class. At certain times, these readings can help signal a future move in prices. Read more here.

WSJ: Private Equity Might Be Going Downscale. Should You Invest?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

A bigger world of investing could soon open up for small investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering allowing the masses to invest in private-equity funds, which typically buy stakes in nonpublic companies. Currently, such investments are restricted mostly to institutions and well-heeled investors, or those with a net worth (excluding their primary residence) of $1 million or more, or annual income of at least $200,000 for the past two years. Read more here.

John Batchelor Show: Gold Bug Alert

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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