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As my last report for 2023, I wanted to hit the big issues blunt in the face—from debt and sovereign bond markets to themes on the USD, inflation, risk markets and physical gold.

The rejuvenation of gold buyers in China is explained by the slowdown in the property market, the weakness of equities and the currency, as well as low bank interest rates. Young Chinese, concerned about economic stagnation, are turning to gold as a financial refuge.

Real estate prices in France are falling, but have we seen the last of expensive housing? Far from it! Price distortion has reached a level that will take a long time to resolve. And this rise in property prices is a global phenomenon.

The Fed's change of tone offers a different outlook for precious metals: with the dollar weakening, fears of recession, lower rates and the threat of renewed inflation that a Fed pivot would generate, gold has every chance of resuming its upward trend as early as next year.

The interest rate hikes implemented by central banks since the resurgence of inflation have appeared to be the norm. However, it is a revolution in the making. After decades of falling rates, they are now rising sharply, raising fears of unprecedented financial and economic risks.

In the United States, real estate is no longer a safe haven due to the stagnation of the real estate market and the absence of investment incentives. In China, the growing disinterest in real estate has also changed savers' behaviour towards gold.

The world is now witnessing the end of a currency and financial system which the Chinese already forecast in 1971 after Nixon closed the gold window. Again, remember von Mises words: “There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion.”History tells us th...

Even if the situation regarding private debt is not problematic at the moment, 2024 is likely to be a very different story: the wall of private debt is much harder to break through than the wall of public debt. These U.S. debt risks are the main reasons why gold prices are so high. The closer we...

Piepenburg addresses what he perceives as the misleading debate surrounding hard versus soft landings, asserting that the evidence of a severe economic downturn is unmistakably apparent. The conversation then turns to the reality rather than hype of de-dollarization, the questioned performance of...

The hope of a "pivot" by the Fed curbed the appreciation of the dollar, which had just set an all-time record against the Japanese yen. The depreciation of the dollar is benefiting the gold price, which is once again approaching its $2,000 resistance level.