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December 31, 2022
It seems fitting that the year we are expecting to see an unprecedented rise in US government spending and money-printing to spur an economic recovery, marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the gold standard.
Done at the time to fight an economic crisis, we are still feeling the effects of this disastrous decision, five decades on.
In this article, we explain why President Nixon did what he did, and why every promise that unshackling the US government from the requirement of maintaining the dollar's value in terms of gold would mean for the United States, has been broken.
Done at the time to fight an economic crisis, we are still feeling the effects of this disastrous decision, five decades on.
In this article, we explain why President Nixon did what he did, and why every promise that unshackling the US government from the requirement of maintaining the dollar's value in terms of gold would mean for the United States, has been broken.
December 30, 2022
When looking for an investment, the approach I take involves looking at the global, big picture conditions. I study trends, read the news, basically watch and listen to what’s going on in the world. Then I study the different sectors to select the one (or ones) that I think is going to match up well with the overriding, long-term theme. This is top-down investing.
The second part of my search for the dominant investment is a bottom-up approach. This is where I find individual companies, in the specific sector I have chosen to invest in.
The second part of my search for the dominant investment is a bottom-up approach. This is where I find individual companies, in the specific sector I have chosen to invest in.
December 29, 2022
There was a time when China had an appetite for silver, and the West hungered for Chinese goods.
In a world dominated by paper currencies, we sometimes forget the role of gold and silver in fostering international trade and creating the basis of the monetary system as we know it today.
In a world dominated by paper currencies, we sometimes forget the role of gold and silver in fostering international trade and creating the basis of the monetary system as we know it today.
Many scholars consider the silver trade to mark the beginning of the global economy, with one historian noting that silver “went round the world and made the world go round.”
The precious metal has made an indelible mark on Chinese history, helping both to build an empire and to destroy it.
December 27, 2022
2022.12.27 The Thucydides Trap is a term invented by Graham Allison, a professor […]
December 21, 2022
2022.12.21 A cross-the-board ‘Debt Jubilee’ might sound radical, but a reading of history […]
December 12, 2022
2021.12.12 Dried-up rivers and alarmingly low reservoir levels are manifestations of climate change. […]
December 8, 2022
2022.12.08 Over the past year, relentlessly rising interest rates (because of the global […]
December 7, 2022
2022.12.07 The economist who predicted the financial crisis sees a “long and ugly” […]
December 4, 2022
2022.12.04 Economist Nouriel Roubini believes the world economy is lurching toward an unprecedented […]
December 2, 2022
2022.12.02 An upcoming copper supply deficit could be hastened by an uptick in […]
November 17, 2022
2022.11.17 “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” President-elect Donald […]
November 11, 2022
2022.11.11 Since the end of WWII, the US dollar has been used as […]
November 10, 2022
2022.11.10 At Ahead of the Herd, we pride ourselves on being right, when […]
November 10, 2022
2022.11.10 Critical minerals are defined as non-fuel materials that are vital to the […]
November 5, 2022
2022.11.15 In 2021 the world’s militaries spent USD$2.1 trillion, marking the seventh straight […]
November 3, 2022
2022.11.03 The US Federal Reserve is grappling with how to reduce inflation, which […]
October 24, 2022
2022.10.24 Chrystia Freeland is Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance. […]
October 19, 2022
2022.10.19 For more than a year, the US dollar has been gaining strength […]
October 18, 2022
2022.10.18 Although British Columbia experienced an unusually cold and wet spring, delaying the […]
October 7, 2022
2022.10.07 Unusually warm weather and forest fires burning into October are two signs […]
October 5, 2022
2022.10.05 A new research paper by the International Monetary Fund estimates that the […]
September 21, 2022
2022.09.21 The move away from fossil-fuel-powered vehicles to EVs run on batteries is […]
September 17, 2022
2022.09.17 This year has seen a correction in the gold price, commensurate with […]
September 3, 2022
2022.09.03 Hundreds of years ago, early Europeans hit with a devastating drought thought […]
June 24, 2022
2022.06.24 British Columbia is once again locked into a weather pattern seemingly dictated […]
June 17, 2022
2022.06.17 We call ourselves Ahead of the Herd because we see things before […]
June 9, 2022
2022.06.09 Last month, we reported that Tesla, the largest electric vehicle manufacturer, was removed […]
June 7, 2022
2022.06.07 While the Covid-19 pandemic was dominating headlines in 2020, another major crisis […]
June 3, 2022
2022.06.03 History tells us that previous Fed rate hikes to deal with uncomfortably […]
May 31, 2022
2022.05.31 With inflation in the US reaching its highest in 40 years, there […]
May 30, 2022
2022.05.30 A comparison of this year’s grocery bills to last year’s yields a […]
May 28, 2022
2022.05.28 The climate on planet Earth is changing, and a lot faster than […]
May 27, 2022
2022.05.27 TV BROADCAST NETWORKS and TIMES: CANADA: BNN Bloomberg – Saturday May 28 @ 8:00pm ET, Sunday May […]
May 26, 2022
2022.05.26 When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, pundits explained it as President Vladimir […]
May 24, 2022
2022.05.24 It’s slightly mind-blowing to know that, while 70% of the Earth’s surface is […]
May 20, 2022
2022.05.20 As shareholders demand that companies place more emphasis on environmental, social and […]
May 19, 2022
2022.05.19 Consumers today are mostly worried about gasoline prices approaching “unaffordable” territory, but […]
May 12, 2022
2022.05.12 A comparison of this year’s grocery bills to last year’s yields a […]
May 4, 2022
2022.05.04 The allure of gold goes back thousands of years. Due to its […]
May 2, 2022
2022.05.02 Although gold offers neither a yield (bonds, GICs) nor a dividend (stocks […]
May 1, 2022
2022.05.01 The green economy is one of the most important buzzwords of the […]
April 29, 2022
2022.04.29 Zinc is the fourth most used metal today in terms of annual […]
April 29, 2022
2022.04.29 In our last article, we discussed a proposed new economic model for […]
April 27, 2022
2022.04.27 Modern Monetary Theory, or MMT, posits that rather than obsessing about how […]
April 24, 2022
2022.04.24 In our last article, ‘If it can’t be grown it must be […]
April 24, 2022
2022.04.24 Last year mining analysts Mike Kozak and Matthew O’Keefe of Cantor Fitzgerald […]
April 22, 2022
2022.04.22 A recession is what results when an economy stops growing. The National […]
April 17, 2022
2022.04.17 2022 was looking like another underwhelming year for silver, which was stuck […]
April 16, 2022
2022.04.16 The gold-oil ratio is an important indicator of the global economy’s health. […]
April 14, 2022
2022.04.14 The new “commodities super-cycle” touted by many including Goldman Sachs, may be […]
April 4, 2022
2022.04.04 March 1, 2022 could well be looked back upon as a monumental […]
February 5, 2022
2022.02.05 We have come to terms that a global transition to clean energy […]
January 19, 2022
Evanesce tackling single-use plastic problem with 100% compostable straws and Styrofoam alternatives
2022.01.19 Think about this: Every time you buy a soft drink that comes […]
January 11, 2022
2022.01.11 China and Japan are by far the largest buyers of US Treasuries. […]
January 7, 2022
2022.01.07 The United States and its allies, such as Canada, the UK, the […]
December 28, 2021
2021.12.22 An especially cold fall and an even colder blast of winter on […]
December 28, 2021
The modernization and electrification of our global transportation system will require a change hitherto unprecedented in the history of civilization. Not even the shift from horse and buggy to the crank-start Ford Model T can compete with what it will take to electrify the billion-plus cars on the planet’s roads, and eventually put a complete stop to noxious tailpipe emissions resulting from the combustion of gasoline and diesel fuel, that are poisoning the air we breathe.
For now, thorium is a theoretical solution to our energy dilemma, but it could be much more than that. A concerted effort to develop thorium reactor technology could provide stable, clean, base-load power for millions, something that is not possible with renewables due to the intermittency factor and the current early stages of renewable battery storage technology. It is safer and better for the environment than uranium and can even use radioactive waste as feedstock for the nuclear reaction, thus killing two birds with one stone. The market is not yet ready for thorium, but when it is, a whole new mining sector and supply chain will be born.
For now, thorium is a theoretical solution to our energy dilemma, but it could be much more than that. A concerted effort to develop thorium reactor technology could provide stable, clean, base-load power for millions, something that is not possible with renewables due to the intermittency factor and the current early stages of renewable battery storage technology. It is safer and better for the environment than uranium and can even use radioactive waste as feedstock for the nuclear reaction, thus killing two birds with one stone. The market is not yet ready for thorium, but when it is, a whole new mining sector and supply chain will be born.
December 21, 2021
2021.12.21 The gold to oil ratio is an important indicator of the global […]
December 7, 2021
2021.12.07 What does it mean to go hungry? The United Nations says hunger […]
November 25, 2021
National Geographic says the problem of discarded plastic is so severe, that if nothing is done, by 2050 the oceans will contain more plastic than fish, ton for ton.
Especially worrying are “nanoplastics” — pieces that are so tiny, they are able to penetrate human cell walls.
Especially worrying are “nanoplastics” — pieces that are so tiny, they are able to penetrate human cell walls.
November 23, 2021
2021.11.23 British Columbia residents are learning new climate science terms being used by […]
November 18, 2021
2021.11.18 Residents of southern British Columbia only had a few weeks of peace […]
November 12, 2021
2021.11.12 A lot of our recent focus has been on the copper market, […]
November 1, 2021
2021.11.01 https://www.financialsense.com/podcast/20100/big-three-commodities-electrification-and-decarbonization Rick Mills, author of the aheadoftheherd.com newsletter, discusses the long-term investment […]
October 21, 2021
2021.10.21 While the concept of wellness has been around for ages, it was […]
October 15, 2021
2021.10.15 The balance of trade is an important barometer of a country’s economic […]
September 24, 2021
2021.09.24 While there is little we can do to prevent climate change — […]
September 22, 2021
2021.09.22 Economists love to tout theories that investors can use to predict the […]
September 21, 2021
2021.09.21 The selloff in stocks that started last week and continued on Monday […]
September 15, 2021
2021.09.15 “Nature abhors a vacuum” is a familiar maxim in science. It means […]
September 12, 2021
2021.09.12 Inflation is one of the best determinants of gold price movements, because […]
September 10, 2021
2021.09.10 There is an old joke often told about economists: Three economists are […]
September 8, 2021
2021.09.08 Lower interest rates and massive asset purchases by central banks are the […]
September 1, 2021
2021.09.01 A year and a half into the covid-19 battle, with no end […]
August 26, 2021
2021.08.26 The US Federal Reserve is severely constrained in how much it can […]
August 20, 2021
2021.08.20 Gold prices are slipping as talk of a “taper tantrum” has investors […]
August 18, 2021
2021.08.18 It was hard to believe the wildfire situation in British Columbia could […]
August 13, 2021
August 11, 2021
2021.08.11 Struggling to contain the economic fallout from the pandemic, central bankers have […]
August 9, 2021
2021.08.09 Where should a smart investor park their savings in this current market, […]
August 6, 2021
2021.08.06 If rising food prices are ruining your appetite, you’re not alone. Costs […]
July 27, 2021
2021.07.27 A scorching summer heat wave, thought to that killed over 700 Vancouver-area […]
July 20, 2021
2021.07.20 Heads of state gathered on Dec. 12, 2015, for the 21st conference […]
July 16, 2021
2021.07.16 At AOTH we are invested in commodities we expect are going to […]
July 15, 2021
2021.07.15 A lift in the gold price is welcome news to gold investors, […]
June 11, 2021
What’s the point of making supposedly “green” battery components when the refining process is so dirty?
June 2, 2021
AOTH’s favorite nickel junior is Renforth Resources (CSE:RFR, OTC:RFHRF, WKN:A2H9TN), whose Surimeau nickel sulphide project covers an area of about 260 square kilometers south of the Cadillac Break in Quebec, among current and former producing mines.
May 31, 2021
A number of happenings in the copper market conspired to elevate the spot price beyond $4.60 a pound on Thursday, confirming Ahead of the Herd’s suspicions that a new wave of resource nationalism in some of the largest copper-producing nations is washing over the sector.
May 27, 2021
Joe Biden’s position on mining has always been murky.
Publicly the veteran Senator turned US President says all the right things to show mine workers he is on their side. Away from the cameras Biden is listening to the anti-mining left wing of his Democratic Party controlled by liberal progressives and environmentalists, doing whatever he can to scupper new mining projects and oil pipelines.
Publicly the veteran Senator turned US President says all the right things to show mine workers he is on their side. Away from the cameras Biden is listening to the anti-mining left wing of his Democratic Party controlled by liberal progressives and environmentalists, doing whatever he can to scupper new mining projects and oil pipelines.
May 23, 2021
Resource nationalism is the tendency of people and governments to assert control, for strategic and economic reasons, over natural resources located on their territory. It has been identified as one of the key risks for investors in the natural resources sector.
Miners are easy targets because mining is a long-term investment and one that is especially capital intensive. Mines are also immobile, so mining companies are at the mercy of the countries in which they operate. Outright seizure of assets happens using the twin excuses of historical injustice and environmental or contractual misdeeds. There is no compensation offered and no recourse.
Miners are easy targets because mining is a long-term investment and one that is especially capital intensive. Mines are also immobile, so mining companies are at the mercy of the countries in which they operate. Outright seizure of assets happens using the twin excuses of historical injustice and environmental or contractual misdeeds. There is no compensation offered and no recourse.
May 21, 2021
If you needed upwards of 50 million tonnes of copper over the next five years, and had very little production of your own, what would you do?
I’m thinking you would manipulate the market like crazy trying to get everyone to believe there is a huge surplus instead of a major deficit.
I’m thinking you would manipulate the market like crazy trying to get everyone to believe there is a huge surplus instead of a major deficit.
May 18, 2021
In a previous article we proved peak gold; in this piece, a deep dive into copper supply depletion, we ultimately reach the same conclusion, ie., that we have reached peak copper.
May 14, 2021
Continuing the US (and Canadian) economic recovery is obviously important but it should not come on the backs of the poor who bear the most weight of inflation, particularly increases in food prices.
Government officials need to be aware of how their monetary and fiscal policies are impacting the most vulnerable in society.
Government officials need to be aware of how their monetary and fiscal policies are impacting the most vulnerable in society.
May 8, 2021
What’s the point of making supposedly “green” battery components when the refining process is so dirty?
May 3, 2021
Look up the word sustainable in the Oxford English dictionary and you get the following definition: “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance.”
Unfortunately the world’s ecological balance has not been right for a very long time. As a society, we are consuming resources far more quickly than we are replacing them, which is the very definition of unsustainable.
Unfortunately the world’s ecological balance has not been right for a very long time. As a society, we are consuming resources far more quickly than we are replacing them, which is the very definition of unsustainable.
April 29, 2021
While precious metals have somewhat been subdued over recent weeks, there’s a storm brewing that could set gold, and by extension silver, on an upward trajectory once again.
April 21, 2021
There’s an old saying on Wall Street: “Six percent interest will draw money from the moon.” And it’s true, but what is also true is, 1/ As long as real interest rates are below 2% gold is in a bull market and 2/ Real interest rates below 2% draw investors to gold.
Central banks know this, so do educated gold buyers.
With Treasury notes paying such low net yields, gold becomes an attractive investment.
Central banks know this, so do educated gold buyers.
With Treasury notes paying such low net yields, gold becomes an attractive investment.
April 17, 2021
With gold prices rising 22% in 2020, a pertinent question is whether the world can produce enough of the precious metal to meet rising demand — especially considering we are entering what could be a particularly ugly period of inflation
April 14, 2021
Gold prices ticked higher on Tuesday after inflation data showed US consumer prices rose in March for the fourth straight month and inflation hit its highest level in 2.5 years.
The US Federal Reserve, whose dual mandate is to keep inflation in the “Goldilocks zone” of around 2% and to control unemployment, has been downplaying inflation, telling the public that even if prices rise, it will only be temporary.
The US Federal Reserve, whose dual mandate is to keep inflation in the “Goldilocks zone” of around 2% and to control unemployment, has been downplaying inflation, telling the public that even if prices rise, it will only be temporary.