The value of gold is that it generates no cash flows, it cannot be consumed, it cannot be used for much beyond ornament. It is in effect quite useless apart from the fact that humans have assumed it as a standard store and measure of value. Were it not scarce in supply it would

Three years after the financial crisis of 2008 and one bull market later, the world looks like a highly risky and uncertain place again with troubles in the Middle East, disaster in Japan, sovereign debt concerns in Europe and dare we say it, the US, food inflation in emerging markets and surging energy prices. During

By June 2011, Quantitative Easing 2 will be over.

Portugal needs a central bank willing to monetize its debt. It has no central bank of its own but shares one with the rest of the Eurozone. The independence of the ECB, at least of the plots and purposes of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain means that there will be no monetization of their debt.

  Wait. Worry. There is never an easy time to invest but it is a convenient and effective excuse for those who invest or trade in fear and ignorance.