Author: Paul-Martin Foss

For centuries silver, not gold, was the precious metal of ordinary commerce. Numerous currencies, from the mark to the pound to the dollar, were defined as weights of silver. From Europe to China to the New World, silver coins were the currency of choice. Silver defined what it was to be cold, hard cash. That […]

If you pay attention to financial media you’ve probably heard of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad.” The author, Robert Kiyosaki, has made a killing selling books and giving talks espousing his theory of investing. But while much of his focus has been on getting people to shed their concepts of how to get rich and embrace […]

All investors want their retirement portfolios to perform well and make money for them, but in the back of their minds they understand that their portfolios can be subject to huge losses. That’s why many of the most successful investors over time are those who protect their portfolios from major losses, not necessarily those who […]

One of the most misunderstood factors when it comes to buying gold, silver and other precious metals, is whether to buy physical gold or paper gold. Physical gold is just what the name suggests: physical gold coins and bars that investors actually own themselves. Paper gold is the term given to investments such as gold […]

Alan Greenspan was notorious as a Federal Reserve Board Chairman for engaging in “Fedspeak,” a variation of English that sounded as though he was conveying vast amounts of information but in reality was a bunch of gobbledygook that meant absolutely nothing. As long as the economy was booming, which for much of Greenspan’s tenure it […]

More and more Americans today are taking advantage of the stability offered by precious metals to protect their hard-won investments. With stocks subject to the volatility inherent in the booms and busts of the business cycle, they can be a great way to make money during the boom phase and a great way to lose […]

Stocks have been on a roller coaster ride for the past year and a half, nearing but never quite pushing through key barriers. While the S&P 500 finally broke the 3,000-point mark, the Dow Jones hasn’t managed to break through the 27,000-point mark, falling short every time. For professional investors on Wall Street, the fact […]