Almost 16 months since the global coronavirus pandemic was first declared, there’s now yet another thing for institutional investors to worry about — the possibility of inflation. Lately, much has been made of the potential for inflation to emerge given sustained low interest rates and the large deficits that many governments have incurred due to […]
Since the mid-1970s, gold prices have increased in periods when investors were concerned about future inflation. Currently, gold prices are near highs comparable to January 1980, when concerns about stagflation were prevalent, and to August 2011, during widespread concerns about the impacts of quantitative easing. A new paper by Claude Erb, a retired managing director […]
The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan posted a negative return of 0.4 per cent in the first half of 2020. “The pandemic has brought some specific challenges,” said Jo Taylor, the plan’s president and chief executive officer, on a conference call on Tuesday. “Global economic growth has come to a standstill, job losses have spiralled upwards, […]
CPPIB Credit Investments Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is selling 10 million shares in Battle North Gold Corp. The shares of the Canadian gold mine developer, formerly known as Rubicon Minerals Corp., sold for $1.85 per share for a total aggregate sale price of $18.5 million. Read: Caisse buying return royalty […]
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec is purchasing a three per cent net smelter return royalty on gold production at Monarch Gold Corp.’s Beaufor mine in Quebec for $5 million. The $5 million will be payable to Monarch in two instalments — $3 million upon closing of the transaction and an additional $2 […]
The Federal Reserve took massive emergency action Sunday to try to help the economy withstand the coronavirus by slashing its benchmark interest rate to near zero and saying it would buy $700 billion in Treasury and mortgage bonds. The Fed’s surprise announcement signalled its rising concern that the viral outbreak will depress economic growth in […]
North American stock markets marched to record highs Thursday on dissipating virus risks and China saying it would cut tariffs on U.S. imports in half. After two risk-on days, investors have sunk more money into defensive sectors such as telecommunications, consumer staples, real estate investment trusts, gold and utilities in both Canada and the U.S. […]
When news hit that the U.S. military had carried out an attack that killed Qasem Soleimani, the major general of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, institutional investors watched as markets saw something of a flight to safety. Gold is currently hovering near a five-year high. Brent crude spiked to close to US$71 off the back of the […]
Global stock markets took another hit Monday while oil and gold prices surged in response to the escalating tensions in the Middle East following the U.S. killing of Iran’s top general. The death of Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike has heightened geopolitical risks for financial markets, including concerns about potential disruptions to the […]
During the past decade’s bull market, gold has been largely off the radar for institutional investors. But as key bond yields turn negative, among other recessionary signals, chatter about the commodity is heating up. “All precious metals have no correlation to the rest of the marketplace so that tends to be why gold and precious […]