What Impact Will Syria Have On Fed Monetary Policy – Podcast 08.29.13

Podcast Summary Ryan reviews the new home sale data that was released last week and was well below expectations. Ryan notes that it takes negative economic news to drive interest rates down. Ryan notes that the market is expecting the Fed to taper and that the recent GDP revision to 2.5% is being touted as Read More →

The Disconnect Between Home Prices and The Economy

The Disconnect Between Rising Home Prices and the Economy Real Estate News “Mortgage Interest rates, even though they have risen, are still at historically low levels” – common refrain from those saying the housing “recovery” can continue. It’s hard to argue with a true statement, but it’s easier to argue against the supposed consequences that Read More →

The Recovery is Worse Than the Recession

The Recovery is Worse Than The Recession How To Buy Gold How to Buy Silver “A bad peace is even worse than war” – Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman Senator and Historian We wrote here over the past several months that the air would soon start coming out of the housing bubblet. We noted that the Read More →

Interest Rates Matter

Interest Rates Matter “Consumers have taken the interest rate rise in stride. Expectations for continued improvement in housing persist, and sentiment toward the current buying and selling environment is back on track from its dip last month” Doug Duncan, senior vice president and chief economist at Fannie Mae. Interest rates, like deficits, matter. No amount Read More →

The Fed: To Taper or Not To Taper – Podcast 8.22.13

To Taper or Not To Taper Cumulative Summary of the Fed’s Position on Tapering QE: “We need more of what didn’t work to make sure it’s working and we need more data and we said we would taper, so there, but no rush!” Summary Of Podcast Ryan and Louis discuss the initial jobless claims and Read More →

Twelve Ways Silver Differs From Gold

Differences Between Silver and Gold While gold and silver are both precious metals there are significant differences between the two. Here are twelve key differences between gold and silver. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver Read More →

Why the End of Quantitative Easing May be Bad For The Dollar (& Good For Gold & Silver)

What Happens When QE ends? How to Buy Gold How To Buy Silver “The United States can pay any debt it has because it can always print money to do that.” Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan responding to a question as to whether United States Treasuries were safe to invest in. From a (kinda) Read More →

Can Central Banks Really Fix the Economy?- Podcast 8.15.13

Can Central Banks Fix the Economy? Summary of Podcast Ryan and Louis discuss the initial jobless claim data released this week. Louis points out that fewer people not losing their jobs is not the same as people getting jobs. Louis and Ryan discuss St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard’s recent statement on tapering and Read More →

Never Mind the Bullards!

Bullard Needs to See More Data “The Fed needs to see more data on macroeconomic performance for the second half of 2013 before making a judgment” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard’s pretty vacant explanation about the pace of its $85 billion-per-month program of bond buying. After talking taper for months it Read More →

Funding the Government Without the Fed and Quantitative Easing – Podcast 8.9.13

Much has been said about the potential impact on the real estate and stock markets if the Federal Reserve were to taper its quantitative easing program or to eliminate it altogether. The debate centers around whether and by how much rates would rise and what impact that would have on the real estate and stock Read More →