Author: Lucas

While banks can serve as financial intermediaries for countless transactions, their role in the precious metals market differs. SonerCdem/Getty Images With inflation pressures still impacting purchasing power and economic uncertainty prompting investors to reassess their portfolios, precious metals have resurged as a popular hedge strategy. And, while gold has been having a moment over the past year, silver prices have climbed notably in tandem, outpacing gold’s upward trajectory and attracting both seasoned investors and newcomers looking to diversify beyond traditional stocks and bonds. For many investors exploring this asset class, a seemingly logical first stop would be their local bank…

The price of gold has risen above $5,000 (£3,659) an ounce for the first time ever, extending a historic rally that saw the precious metal jump by more than 60% last year. Gold’s value has soared as … Source link

TLDR: Strategy’s $7 billion preferred issuance represented one-third of total US preferred stock market in 2025  STRC trades $150 million daily, offering 4.5% daily liquidity versus typical illiquid preferred markets  Yield spreads between STRF and STRD range from 2% to 5%, functioning as investor fear index for securities  $2.25 billion USD reserve stabilized STRC near par value despite recent Bitcoin price volatility and declines   Strategy preferred stocks have emerged as a dominant force in the preferred equity market. The company issued $7 billion in preferred securities during 2025. This volume represented one-third of all preferred stock issuances in the…

TLDR: Silver trading at $78 per ounce establishes new range between $70-$90 after climbing from $30 in 2025.  Mining profit margins expand significantly with production costs at $15-$25/oz for silver, $1,500-$2,000/oz for gold.  Aya Gold & Silver’s Boumadine project will increase output sixfold to 36 million silver-equivalent ounces by 2030.  Silver X Mining plans to double production to 2 million ounces by 2027, with capacity for 6 million long-term.   Silver and gold prices remain at historically elevated levels, with silver trading near $78 per ounce and gold reaching $5,000 per ounce. Market analysts are examining whether these price points…

Once dominated by institutional investors, the options market is now seeing a surge in activity from individual traders, thanks to enhanced access to educational resources, advanced trading tools, and more sophisticated execution capabilities, according to Neil McDonald, CEO of Moomoo US, a global investment and trading platform. Neil McDonald Retail investors are no longer confined to basic stock trading. Many are leveraging multi-leg options strategies, hedging against market volatility, and even generating income through tactics like call overwriting, McDonald said. He highlighted how this shift is redefining the market: “There is a misconception that trading options is purely speculative.”  “In…

1. What are some good, cheap growth stocks to buy now?Some well-known growth stocks are trading at lower valuations than the broader market in 2026. AbbVie, Micron Technology, and Adobe stand out because their forward P/E ratios are below the S&P 500 average. All three are profitable and still growing revenue. They are not penny stocks or struggling firms. Instead, they are established businesses trading at reasonable prices compared to expected earnings growth.2. How is AbbVie stock performing?AbbVie is showing steady performance. In the first nine months of the year, revenue reached $44.5 billion, up 8% from last year. Operating…

Tree-covered hills stand watch over a yawning hole in the ground. The giant pit steps down in stages, its concentric rings growing ever smaller the deeper it goes. Huge trucks rumble up and down these makeshift roadways. This is the scene at Wangu goldfield in China’s Hunan province. This area has already been mined for gold, but it seems they’ve only scratched the surface. In late 2025 came the announcement that they believe there’s over one thousand tonnes of gold tucked away below the existing mine. If confirmed, that would make it the biggest deposit of gold – and perhaps…

One topic family members might want to steer clear of this holiday season is the debate between driving an electric vehicle or one with an internal combustion engine (ICE). While said in jest, there’s some truth to it—each side tends to dig in deeper as the discussion heats up. However, the problem with the electric versus gas vehicle argument is that it’s being fought to the extremes. Most consumers aren’t against the idea of an electric vehicle. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that the market share for battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales rose to a record 8.9% in…

After a historic 2025 that saw gold soar over 60% and break more than 50 record highs, investors are now turning their attention to whether the precious metal can sustain its upward trajectory into 2026. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Despite leading major asset classes in year-to-date performance, putting it on track for its best year since 1979, experts think gold may still have room to climb next year. Others warn that risks remain. Unlike previous years when single events dominated gold’s trajectory, this year saw multiple drivers at play. Sustained central bank buying, persistent geopolitical friction, elevated trade uncertainty, lower interest rates,…

The problem with government bonds, says Guillaume Paillat, is not so much that they have gone down this year, because there should always be periods when they fall in price, but rather that they have been very volatile.Paillat, portfolio manager at Aviva Investors, says: “Bonds have been doing worse than equities this year. At the moment gilts are falling and catching up, or catching down, with the falls that happened to US Treasury bonds earlier this year.”The heightened volatility this year means that “government bonds have, for me, moved from being a strategic part of the asset allocation to being a tactical asset, one…