The U.S. regional banking crisis is intensifying as rising interest rates put smaller banks at risk, leading to significant losses in the sector. Amid the turmoil, gold and gold mining stocks may offer investors a potentially safer alternative to manage risk.

Cryptocurrency adoption in the U.S. increased amid fears of a full-blown banking crisis, a new poll finds. According to Morning Consult, 22% of Americans, over one in five, said they owned at least one form of crypto in April, representing a four-percentage-point increase from January.

Chinese economic data blew expectations out of the water this week, reflecting a strong comeback for the Asian giant as it finally emerges from the world’s most restrictive pandemic-era lockdown.

It’s believed that to meet this goal, two out of every three passenger vehicles manufactured in the U.S. would need to be electric models.

Central banks accumulated gold at the fastest pace on record in the first two months of 2023. In January and February, central banks collectively bought a net 125 tonnes of the metal, the highest amount for the year-to-date period since banks became net buyers in 2010.

Gold appears to be well-positioned for a strong pump that could carry it to new all-time high prices in 2023—and beyond. As you know, I’ve been following and writing about the precious metal market for a very long time, and I see a number of unique catalysts at the moment that could contribute to higher gold prices.

The U.S. dollar remains the world’s top reserve currency for now, though its share of global central banks’ official holdings has slipped in the past 20 years. By contrast, the yuan’s share of official holdings has more than doubled since 2016.

Sixty-six million Americans currently receive monthly benefits from Social Security, which, if nothing changes, is expected to be insolvent by 2035 at the latest. It’s time for Americans to take a greater role in their own retirement planning.

Like face recognition, artificial intelligence (AI), mRNA vaccines and other modern technology, Bitcoin is a key component of the ongoing, rapidly accelerating digital transformation.

Lufthansa’s blockbuster report is just the latest signal that commercial aviation, one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic, may be ready to make a landing again in investors’ portfolios.

Close to 90% of the world’s central banks are at some point in the process of creating their own digital currency. Are you ready?

Gold is nearing its strongest buy signal in four months as the U.S. dollar eases off a rally that’s carried the greenback to its highest point since early January.

This Super Bowl will also be remembered, I believe, as a major turning point in sports betting in the U.S. More than 50 million American adults are expected to bet on the game, the most ever and a remarkable 61% increase from last year.

Retail demand for bars and coins in the U.S. and Europe hit a new annual record last year in response to stubbornly high inflation and the war in Ukraine. Western investors gobbled up 427 tons (approximately 15 million ounces), the most since 2011.

Since its launch in November, ChatGPT has been a smash hit. To explore the benefits of airline deregulation in the U.S., we sought the help of the AI content generator.

A January survey conducted by Bank of America shows that 91% of money managers believe China will “fully reopen” in 2023. That’s a significant increase from December 2022. Growth expectations for the country are also at a 17-year high.

Investors don’t appear to have been fazed by the FAA mishap. Shares of U.S. domestic airlines finished Wednesday up more than 1% before advancing a further 4% on Thursday in response to positive earnings estimates.

Investors who use a 60/40 portfolio had a rough year. In the past, putting 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds has often helped investors hedge against losses in either asset class. But 2022 had other ideas.

Last week, thousands of Americans lived out a real-life version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the 1987 comedy that saw Steve Martin and John Candy...

Any way you slice it, 2022 was a turbulent year, from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to historic inflation and jumbo rate hikes to multiple failures in the digital asset space.

This important milestone is the culmination of decades’ worth of research and lots of trial and error, and it makes good on the hope that humanity will one day enjoy 100% clean and plentiful energy.

Ole Hansen, respected commodity strategist at Denmark’s Saxo Bank, says it’s possible once markets realize that global inflation will remain hot despite monetary tightening. I believe, as I’ve said before, that gold could climb as high as $4,000.

Over the past 12 months, global container shipping rates have steadily declined to their long-term averages as supply chain snarls have receded and backups at ports have disappeared. Now, another segment of the cargo shipping industry is seeing day rates explode to record highs.

Americans who work remotely, either full-time or part-time, can save between $2,000 and $7,000 in transportation and work-related costs. They can also gain back the equivalent of two to three weeks per year in commuting time.

Despite stubbornly high inflation and recessionary fears, spending by consumers may not slow down as we approach the busy holiday shopping season.

FTX, until recently the world’s second-largest crypto exchange, filed for bankruptcy as its embattled founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, stepped down as CEO following a liquidity crunch that exposed the firm’s improper use of customer assets.

As I see it, decentralized assets have never looked more attractive than they do now.

In 1990, a new tech start-up was spun out of Apple to invent the future.

In North America and the U.S. specifically, the hunt for lithium, a key component of batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs), has historically trailed a handful of other countries.

With this week’s announcement that the White House is deploying nearly $3 billion to boost domestic output of EV batteries and the minerals used to make them, it may be time for investors to take notice.

Readers of a certain age will remember Carnac the Magnificent, Johnny Carson’s recurring alter ego.

The worst may be behind gold mining stocks. Since hitting a 52-week low on September 26, they’ve risen about 18% and today notched their second straight week of positive gains.

Just 18.5% of homes in Florida counties that were told to evacuate have coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which is administered by FEMA. Most regular homeowners’ insurance policies don’t cover flood damage, which is why Congress created the NFIP in 1968. But at an average cost of $995 a year, according to Forbes, the insurance may be out of reach to many households.

“Gold is no longer a safe haven.” “Gold isn’t an effective hedge against inflation.” “Gold is dead.”

After countless delays, the Ethereum “Merge” finally took place this week, switching the blockchain protocol from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS).

Today, about 1% of our vehicles are electric. What will happen in 2035 when many more EVs need to be charged, potentially during another heatwave?

September has historically been one of the worst months for stocks. The Fed’s aggressive moves and upcoming midterm elections could make this September particularly interesting.

A growing number of prominent financial groups believes the era of low inflation is behind us, and that one investment strategy is to boost exposure to commodities and natural resources.

Winter is coming for Europe, and energy prices are soaring as international sanctions on Russia curb the supply of natural gas, on which many European Union (EU) countries have increasingly become dependent.

The bipartisan Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, or CHIPS Act, was signed into law this week, setting aside $52 billion to boost domestic semiconductor research and production.

As of last month, the U.S. jobs market fully recouped the number of jobs that were lost due to the pandemic, in less than half the time it took following the previous downturn.

So did the U.S. just enter a recession? It depends on who you ask.

During Tesla’s quarterly results webcast this week, Musk admitted to dumping some $936 million of Bitcoin to raise cash out of concern of an economic pullback due to pandemic lockdowns in China.

This incredible milestone underscores the need to solve a number of ongoing challenges related to population growth, but it also presents what I believe are some very attractive investment opportunities.

If you were considering taking the family on a European vacation, now may be a good time, as the U.S. dollar and euro achieved parity this week for the first time in 20 years.

Gasoline consumers around the world, from families to businesses, have had to deal with record prices at the pump for months...

No doubt about it, this has been a very challenging market environment to navigate, and we look to be in for more of the same. The Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy, and the longer the conflict in Ukraine persists, the longer we’ll likely feel the pressure from elevated gas prices.

Container shipping companies have not been immune to the disruptive factors roiling markets at the moment, namely rising interest rates, soaring inflation and a potential recession, not to mention war in Eastern Europe.

Latin America tilted further left this week as Colombian voters elected Gustavo Petro as president. Come August, the former Bogotá mayor and member of the M-19 guerrilla organization will join the region’s growing list of leftist leaders in a political shift some are likening to the “pink tide” of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The yellow metal has managed to stay positive since the start of the year, skirting pressure from surging yields and a strong U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, nearly every other asset class has fallen into either correction or bear market territory.