Remembering the Forgotten Class - Gold Comes Up Trumps

The Dow Jones at record levels doesn’t reflect a robust underlying economy - it’s in many respects a reflection of an equity market that’s simply pumped full of Fed-administered hot air. Many ordinary Americans haven’t enjoyed the fruits of a runaway sharemarket – in fact their situation has deteriorated. The Fed’s great monetary experiment involved quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates in order to lift financial assets, which in turn would lift the real economy. The biggest underlying concern lies in the fact that financial markets have become so heavily dependent on QE and artificially-suppressed interest rates, it is now very difficult for the Fed to reverse these policies without causing major repercussions. The gold price is however the antithesis of paper money. Growing economic uncertainty could result in a strong rise in gold against all paper currencies – including the US dollar. Trump is likely to engage in the politics of economic expansion, which could generate higher levels of inflation, higher rates and a stronger currency. Nevertheless, I believe gold will remain robust given enormous levels of worldwide debt.