Forbes.com: Top Republican Warns High Risk Of China-Taiwan War. Here’s How To Invest If It Happens

By SIMON CONSTABLE

War is coming, and soon.

That’s the warning from those with the inside skinny in Washington D.C., Reuters reports.

The risks of China invading Taiwan are “very high,” said Mike McCaul, Foreign Affairs Committee chief. If military conflict is inevitable then investors need to prepare. Read more here.

日本防衛省・統合幕僚監部, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: Central Banks Buy Gold Like It's 1967, While ETF Investors Ditched It - World Gold Council

By SIMON  CONSTABLE

Central banks couldn’t seem to get enough bullion for their vaults last year.

Collectively they purchased 1,136 metric tons of the metal worth more than $70 billion in 2022. It was also the biggest level of purchasing since 1967, more than half a century ago, according to data provided by industry group World Gold Council. Read more here.

James St. John, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Lumber Prices Set For A Surge As Homebuilding Rebounds

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The homebuilding business looks like it's ticking up again after a tricky 2022. And with it investors should see lumber prices lift as well. The latter had a brutal year also.

“Lumber, we believe, has made a major low,” writes Shawn Hackett, president of Hackett Financial Advisors. “The lumber market has likely made a major low and can trend substantially higher over the next year.” Read more here.

Tartakizbica, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Year-Old Tonga Eruption To Keep Global Weather Wild For Years

By SIMON CONSTABLE

We are not out of the woods yet regarding high food and energy prices.

An epic volcanic eruption in the Pacific in mid-January last year is likely to keep causing havoc for the planet.

The Tonga undersea volcano unleashed staggering power, the equivalent of up to 18 megatons of TNT, according to experts at NASA. That’s multiple times the size of the nuclear bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima at the end of WWII. Read more here.

Japan Meteorological Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Latin American Currency Area Bad News For Debt-Laden Countries Like Argentina

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Argentina and Brazil are making plans to develop a single currency area for Latin America.

However, those doing so might find it is not without some massive hurdles. Read more here.

Argentina's Maradonna 

here and here, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: No Recession In 2023, New Research Shows

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Phew!

At last some analysts are seeing what I’ve seen for months now: A slowing economy but few signs of an imminent recession.

The economy will slow in 2023 but will not likely lead to a recession, new research from scholars at the University of Missouri and Indiana University shows. Read more here.

Bowery men waiting fin bread line, (New York City)

George Grantham Bain Collection, Public domain, 

via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes.com: Biden And Sunak - The Energy Policy Odd Couple

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Talk about the odd couple.

On the face of it, Britain's prime minister Rishi Sunak and U.S. president would seem to have little in common. The former is a right-of-center politician with an eye on free markets, while the latter is a left-of-center leader.

Yet, recent news shows they have at least one thing in common. They are both presiding over their national energy policies, which are without doubt self-contradictory and inconsistent. Read more here.

Office of the President of the United States, 

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons