The Hidden Costs of Too Much Government Debt

This week was a fascinating one on the geopolitical front. President Barack Obama travelled to China in what was billed as a major diplomatic trip.

The idea? Try to reach common ground on several fronts, including global nuclear proliferation, environmental issues, and especially China’s currency …

The U.S., Europe, and even some of China’s Asian neighbors believe that China is artificially suppressing the value of its currency, the renminbi or yuan. That, in turn, is giving China an artificial advantage in global trade by making its exports more competitive vis-à-vis those of other nations.

But you know what Obama came home with?…

Two Forces Pushing Gold Higher

When gold broke out of a triangle formation in early September, a technical buying signal was generated. I discussed this bullish signal in my Money and Markets column and told readers that a move to new all-time highs had probably begun. Hence, I strongly recommended gold.

A few weeks later gold gave another buying signal. This one was even more important than the first, because gold had entered new high ground.

As you can see on the weekly chart below, gold broke out of a huge consolidation pattern that lasted from March 2008 until October 2009. This signal was telling us that the…

The Strongest BRIC Country

I have a trick question for you, especially if you’re interested in emerging markets:

Among the four BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — which offers the best stock market performance for American investors?

Be careful how you answer, because appearances can be deceiving, especially if you focus strictly on one year.

Looking at year-to-date results, for example, it might seem that the answer is Russia.

From the close of trading at the end of last year through the closing price this past Friday …

FXI, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking China’s blue chips, is up 45.87 percent …

PIN, representing India’s major stocks,…

Schwab Changes the ETF Landscape

I’ve been talking for years about the way exchange traded funds (ETFs) are changing the investment landscape. Yet sometimes I’m still startled to see the world change in front of my eyes. That’s exactly what happened last week when Charles Schwab launched its first four in-house ETFs.

Are these new funds revolutionary? Not really — all are core holding ETFs in areas already well-covered by other sponsors. What’s new and unusual is Schwab’s bold move to offer its online brokerage clients commission-free trading in its own ETFs.

Yes, that’s right: If you’re a Schwab client you can buy and sell any of…

I Blame Everyone for the Credit Card Fiasco

I was recently talking to my mother, and she started talking about the evil credit card companies, and how they were out to get us all — right now — by jacking up our rates unfairly in a bid to record massive profits before new consumer-oriented legislation begins going into effect.

She cited personal examples of people who have been coming into the credit union where she works, telling tales of new fees, lower limits, and interest rates doubling overnight for no good reason.

And make no mistake — I totally agree that credit card companies are doing these things today. Moreover,…