Click here for the PDF: The Weekly Beacon – April 19 2024
We will be giving some macro economic market updates on a weekly basis. No equity recommendations will be given in this commentary, and we encourage you to contact us if you have questions regarding any observations.
Feel free to send in your pictures of lighthouses to be featured in our weekly commentary.
This weeks issue: U.S. Dollar, Currencies, Swift system, Death of the Euro, IMF growth forecasts, Inflation rates Tesla workforce layoffs, EV demand slowing, Electric vehicles, Apple stock, Risks for Apple, Antitrust case Alphabet and Apple, Stay at home stocks, Zoom stock, Peloton collapse, Valuations, P/E ratios, Capital gains tax, Canada budget 2024, Bitcoin, High leveraged stocks, Beta, Nasdaq 100, Bond market, Fund managers sell debt.
Death of the dollar?
Many analysts and media pundits over the last few years have declared the U.S. dollar as dead, a currency of the past that will lose strength moving forward. Their thesis is simple, other countries are ascending, the U.S. is losing its absolute advantage, and countries will begin to diversify.
While the thesis makes sense, reality is not based on a thesis.
Last year, 48% of international transactions were denominated in U.S. dollars, while that may seem low, it’s the highest number for the U.S. dollar in a decade.
The real currency that has struggled and could eventually die is the Euro which has seen its use close to half in a matter of 3-4 years.
In times of geopolitical uncertainty and financial instability investors, consumers, and institutions flock to the world’s financial center.
Our entire point in this entry is do not write the U.S. dollar off moving forward. The country that was built on the back of pure capitalism will not relinquish the title of the world’s most powerful country without a long struggle that could take decades to unfold.
We understand the issues with a fiat currency. Those issues are why we own physical gold, silver and platinum and precious metal mining securities. However, we would rather own the U.S. dollar than the Euro, Yen or Yuan. It’s simply the safer option when compared to fiat alternatives.
