From jewelry to gold mining stocks and even futures, the yellow metal commands a special allure in the world of investment. Today, jewelry, investment, and central bank purchases comprise the three major demand drivers for the precious metal. Beyond that, it turns out, holding between 2% to 10% of your portfolio in gold over the long […]

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Coffee may wake you up in the morning, and coffee could perk up a portfolio, too. Coffee is one of the most widely grown crops in the world, and consumption is rising. According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), the average annual global consumption growth rate rose 2.5% since 2011. In the 2014 calendar year, […]

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When times get hard, gold tends to glow brighter. That was true in 1980 when the Fed raised rates to nearly 20% in a fight against inflation, helping send gold to record highs. And it’s true now even under a very different scenario. Gold prices, along with cousin silver, reached multi-year peaks this summer as […]

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“The trend is your friend” goes an old market adage and in commodity markets this year, the precious metals have been a very good friend. Since the start of 2016, silver is the best performing futures market, moving higher by 42%. That compares to a 6.85% year-to-date gain in the S&P 500 index. Often called […]

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Bullish on gold? Bearish on oil? Think lean hog prices are going to rally in 2017? The average investor usually isn’t too focused on the outlook for lean hogs, but that isn’t necessarily the case for gold, oil, and other commodities. It didn’t take too long after the launch of the first ETF in 1993 […]

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Gold. It’s the yellow metal, the “barbarous relic,” but it’s also a medium of exchange that’s been respected as a store of value since ancient Egypt, and an asset class that some investors might consider as part of a diversified portfolio. But when it comes to investing in gold, there are many approaches, from direct […]

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When stock market volatility picked up in February 2018, so did the relationship that gold has to the benchmark S&P 500 Index. That’s unusual by some standards. Gold is considered an alternative asset, and looking over time, the gold and S&P 500 correlation is typically low. When the stock market stumbles, some investors may turn […]

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Key Takeaways OPEC meets Friday with production in focus. OPEC is under pressure from the U.S. to raise oil production. Oil prices have fallen over the last few weeks, partly in anticipation of a possible output hike. As OPEC prepares for its biannual meeting Friday, there’s pressure on members to put production into higher gear […]

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Key Takeaways WTI and Brent crude, both light and sweet, are considered global crude oil benchmarks WTI is extracted from the United States, primarily in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota; Brent is extracted from the North Sea Each has unique characteristics that make them responsive to different geopolitical, local, and economic forces So you’ve decided […]

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These are tough times for income investors thanks to easy monetary policy and U.S. interest rates near zero. Even when rates finally rise, the climb is likely to be slow. That means income-producing investments outside of dividend-paying stocks and bonds might be worth a look.  Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) REITs trade like stock on […]

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