March 2016

In the wake of what Michael Ballanger calls a “non-decision by the U.S. central banksters,” the precious metals expert remains cautious and watchful. In this article, Ballanger offers his take on what the recent Fed decision on interest rates means for investors and the markets, and the circumstances that might force him to toss in

When precious metals expert Michael Ballanger looks at the current state of the precious metals markets, he is reminded of that scene from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar when the wounded emperor looks up into his friend Brutus’ eyes and utters the immortal words, “Et tu, Brute?” Caesar says these words as a large scabbard gets plunged

Just as the world was breathing a massive and collective sigh of relief that a new bull market in gold and silver had arrived with all the pomp and pageantry of a Royal Wedding, the Barbarians climbed the walls and are now very close to razing the palace, says precious metals expert Michael Ballanger. This

Man-oh-man, the heat I am taking over my recent “Caution” stance on the near-term outlook for gold and silver is now verging on the theatre of the absurd, says precious metals expert Michael Ballanger. Email, tweets, voicemail messages and every other form of indirect confrontation have been used to convince me that my reluctance to

The event-driven hedge fund Rosseau LP has beat its benchmark by over 50% since inception in 1998, and its founder and CIO Warren Irwin says it does so by going deep, looking at very specific events or situations that are special within industry sectors. Irwin made his name by shorting Bre-X some 20 years ago

There wasn’t much sizzle in the gold equities space in recent years, but that has recently changed. Paul Renken, chief geologist and analyst with London-based VSA Capital, says the recent uptick in the gold price—which he says should stay near current levels for a while—will boost the margins of already profitable gold producers. Renken is

Friday’s morning action in gold has been at once both terrific and frothy, wonderful and scary, and redemptive and soothing, says precious metals expert Michael Ballanger. My hedges are all getting blown to smithereens with the miniscule damage to my net worth being vastly outdone by the gargantuan damage to my ego as the power