Sprott's Thoughts

Gold is never easy. So many factors influence the gold price, it is impossible to predict bullion’s short-term reactions to individual economic or geopolitical developments.

Trey Reik, senior portfolio manager with Sprott USA, speaks with Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable about the Fed’s recent actions and what affect they are having on the gold and other markets.

All of a sudden, the leading question with respect to precious metals has become, “Why isn’t gold doing better?”

The great debate over stock market valuation continues as equity averages grind higher.

The current 80x gold/silver ratio is elevated compared with an average of 56x over the past 50 years.

The Berkshire meeting has evolved into a high holiday of American capitalism, uniting 40,000 crusading attendees with millions of global investors in collective celebration of the joys and rewards of investing.

The low volatility stock market rally chose to exit stage left as we embarked on our year-end holiday celebrations and cheered the annual growth in our portfolios. Little did we know how soon the calm would be coming to a screeching halt.

The turbulence which riled U.S. equities in early February spread to short-term credit markets during March. As the S&P 500 Index1 slumped towards ongoing retest of February lows, various measures of dollar funding stress surged to post-crisis highs

One prominent 2017 storyline was, "Gold is dead — long live cryptocurrencies!" Gold and cryptocurrencies were cast as opponents in a "monetary" boxing ring featuring the two best alternatives to fiat currencies that are decentralized and function outside traditional government-controlled financial systems.

"If you have goals for your money, you might benefit by focusing on company quality based on specific metrics."

• Some speculators treat gold stocks like lottery tickets.
• Smart investors have financial goals and fit gold stocks into their portfolio.