7 signs you might want to be overweight gold

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It seems like almost every day we’re hit with another piece of downbeat news. But it isn’t just that the news is negative. It’s turned, well, wacky. Eyebrow raising. Credibility straining. Confidence eroding.

As soon as I get used to the latest central bank oddity, another one gets dumped on me. I feel like I better get out soon, or my portfolio will get boiled to death.

Here are seven unhealthy economic and monetary trends that stand in stark contrast to what is historically “normal.” When taken together they suggest that, like JP Morgan just recommended, we should be overweight gold…

Interest rates (fed funds rate)

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ZIRP is bad, NIRP is worse, and ZIP is what you’ll have for retirement if this trend keeps up. It’s clear that our assumptions for bond returns must be lowered—potentially to less than zero.

10-Year Treasury rate

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Treasuries that pay hardly anything force us to enter the riskier category of stocks to get some yield. I think the Fed is already done raising rates—but if they’re not, look out… if T-bill prices decrease any further, we could have an implosion in the bond market.

Negative interest rate bonds

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Over 20% of global GDP comes from countries with subzero rates. Negative yields in Europe and Japan and Switzerland and Sweden and Denmark mean the US could be next. Heck, Fed Chair Janet Yellen admitted she won’t take negative rates “off the table.” If that happens, that will essentially be a tax on your bank deposits.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider