Rates

The banking crisis of spring 2023 was marked, first and foremost, by the failure of three US regional banks. These types of banks, which are all the more vulnerable to market conditions and are not systemic, are still experiencing financial difficulties that could lead to further bankruptcies.

Recent rises in inflation have plunged the continent into an unprecedented stalemate: the farmers' protest movement is mainly attributable to the consequences of this general decline in purchasing power recorded in Europe over recent quarters.

For over half a century, Western financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank have played a decisive role in financing developing countries. Growing hostility to these institutions, and the structural reforms they require, have gradually enabled other states and organizations to asse...

Chinese investors are abandoning their own stock market and seeking exposure to growth in the US and Japanese markets. Gold could be sold in the short term in a deflationary wave, but it would also serve as the ultimate refuge for international investors disappointed by a stock market they believ...

Two of the world's largest silver mines, located in Mexico, closed their operations. Silver stocks on the Shanghai Future Exchange are falling. Andrew Maguire says that wholesale silver is not trading at the COMEX silver price or the LBMA fixing, but at a much higher price.

The latest U.S. inflation figures are well above predictions. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by +3.7% year-on-year in December. Inflation appears to be accelerating, exceeding the pace recorded at the same time last year.

Inflation takes off at around 4% in Japan, a significant level for a country which, apart from the 2014 surge, has generally recorded inflation rates close to zero, or even negative, since the turn of the century.

Gold prices anticipate the shift in the investment cycle from growth stocks to tangible assets. The yellow metal also benefits from its safe-haven status in a context of economic uncertainty.

With many political elections due to take place in 2024, the economic and financial outlook is likely to tip the balance for better or worse.

Egon von Greyerz and Matthew Piepenburg take a sober look ahead at a macro environment riddled with undeniable event-risk—from geopolitics and asset bubbles to debased currencies and distrusted global leadership.