August Gold News 2017

The Gold price surged 6% in just three weeks to go over the $1,300 an ounce barrier yesterday, as investors looked to the ‘safe haven’ asset as uncertainty around the world grows. Gold was last above the $1,300 mark in November last year.

Why is this happening?  Well, North Korea escalated tensions after firing a ballistic missile over northern Japan for the first time since 2009. People living nearby were told by the government to take cover and South Korea has threatened to ‘exterminate’ North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un if he continues to risk the safety of its population.

The ...

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Should alarm bells be ringing?!

Ten years on from the financial banking crisis there is news of a sub-prime lender in trouble here in the UK.  We’ve highlighted concerns about this before, but the news about Provident Financial should surely send alarm bells ringing.

The company lost two-thirds of its stock market value in one day on Tuesday after the doorstep lender was hit by many blows.  It led to the biggest fall in a FTSE 100 company ever in one day, wiping nearly £1.7bn off its stock market value.  Provident Financial – which specialises in lending to people ...

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There are worrying signs that we could be heading for another big financial crash, ten years after Northern Rock had to be bailed out.  There are concerns that the bubble could be about to burst yet again.  New figures, released this week, show spending on credit, debit and charge cards is growing at the fastest rate since 2008.  According to the banking trade body, UK Finance, the number of card transactions increased by 12.3% over the year to the end of June.

The figures, which were released on Monday, illustrate an alarming rate of growth for borrowing at a time ...

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Gold jumped over £1,000 yesterday, the highest since mid-June, as global stocks fell as investors reduced exposure to riskier assets after rate-setters from Europe and the US remained wary on the economic outlook on both sides of the Atlantic.

European Central Bank’s (ECB) minutes from late July, only published yesterday, highlighted concerns that inflation in the 19-nation eurozone remains too low despite what appears to be an improving economy. The ECB also remained cautious about withdrawing the Read more...

The gold price has risen to its highest level in almost two months as tensions on the Korean peninsula continued to support safe-haven demand. Yesterday, subdued trading globally marked the 10th anniversary of the start of the global financial crisis, after Trump's rhetoric continued to threaten Pyongyang with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continued to make threats against the US, a statement strongly backed by US Defense Secretary James Mattis.

North Korea soon retaliated, making clear its intentions to target Guam waters, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean, with missiles that ...

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Ten years ago to the day since the start of the financial crisis, former chancellor Alistair Darling, who navigated the UK through the 2008 recession, has warned regulators not to be complacent about the stability of the economy.

On the 9th August 2007, French bank BNP Paribas froze three large hedge funds that specialised in the US sub-prime mortgage market, justified by their inability to calculate the funds values amidst growing concerns over liquidity. This ...

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