Forbes: Gold To Approach $1,700 By The End February, Analysts Say

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Get ready for a fast and sizable pop in gold prices. 

The cost of buying one troy ounce of the metal will likely rise by around 15% over the next couple of months, analysts say. Read more here.

Barron's: Wheat Prices Headed Higher at Prospect of Extreme Weather

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Predictions calling for hot, dry weather early in 2020 followed by destructive flooding could cause “monumental crop failure” and easily propel wheat prices at least 40% higher within the next few weeks, analysts say. 

“There is a good possibility that the price could be over $6 at a minimum,” says Shawn Hackett, president of Boca Raton–based Hackett Financial Advisors. He says the rally could go far higher depending on the harshness of the weather. Active-month futures contracts for Kansas City Hard Red Winter, or KCHRW, wheat were recently fetching about $4.29 a bushel on the CME. Investors looking to profit from the move should buy July-dated futures contracts for KCHRW. Read more here.

Narek Avetisyan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Forbes: What Really Swung The UK Vote: Boris Is Only Part Of The Story

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Yesterday's general election in the U.K. delivered a landslide win for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Most other parties got eviscerated.

But the victory was only partly due to Johnson. The weakness of the opposition Labour Party had more than a bit-part in the drama of the last few weeks. Read more here.

Korn Ferry: Finland’s Female Leadership Sweep

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Around the world, millennials have been assuming leadership en masse over the last two years, and this week another member of the generation has one of the toughest leadership tasks: running a country. Read more here.

Newsmax TV: Talking Jobs

WSJ: What Is Alternative Data?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The term “alternative facts” has been roundly ridiculed since its introduction into political discourse in 2017. There is, however, a similar phrase used in finance that investors should take seriously and understand: “alternative data.” Read more here.

WSJ: ‘Funds of Funds’ Move Into ETF World

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Exchange-traded-fund providers are coming out with more offerings of what are known, a bit awkwardly, as “funds of funds.” 

While a regular ETF typically owns a basket of securities, an ETF fund of funds owns a basket of other ETFs. Funds of funds have a long history in the mutual-fund industry, and are now taking root in the ETF world. Read more here.