Dissolve Fannie and Freddie
Joseph Brusuelas, Chief Economist / VP Global Strategy, Merk Investments

The Chinese symbol for crisis also can be expressed as an opportunity. The current collapse of confidence in the domestic system of finance and financial leadership provides such a potential moment. The three part proposal to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has bestowed upon our political and economic leaders the responsibility of ensuring that no one company again becomes too big too fail. The crisis requires more than the avoidance of moral hazards. Rather, the solution to the current financial crises and its legislative response requires that no firm or enterprise ever again be permitted to obtain an implicit guarantee of Federal largesse. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to be taken under federal protection, its assets used to cover the risk of the taxpayer bailout and its charter legislatively dissolved. Read more...

Federal Reserve may Want Inflation
Axel G. Merk, Merk Investments

We are now importing inflation. This does not only apply to the cost of commodities, such as oil, but also to consumer goods imported from Asia. This is a newer trend as, in our analysis, Asia had been exporting deflation until the summer of 2006; since then, we have seen increased pricing power by Asian exporters. Read more...