Inflation/Deflation

Savers and investors alike need to begin to prepare their portfolios for interest rate rises against a backdrop of crisis-triggering debt levels and unproductive economies. Here's how.

General increases in prices, which follow increases in money supply, is an indication — as it were — that the erosion of peoples’ purchasing power has taken place...It is not the symptoms of a disease, but the disease itself, that causes the physical damage.

A growing chorus of forecasters see inflation pressures emerging. Even if that’s true, it should be welcomed - not feared. Here's why.

Higher prices (inflation) are a natural consequence of our ever increasing monetary supply and the U.S. Department of Labor tracks those increases via a basket of common consumer goods which is known as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) but reveals a major discrepancy with The Economist's Big Mac index. Why is that?

The green shoots of inflationary pressures are sprouting in our daily lives and, as such, NOW is the time investors should be actively seeking out sectors that can realize rising revenues and profits because of the wave of price increases in goods and services that will be passed on to businesses and consumers.

According to the Atlanta Fed’s closely watched “Deflation Probabilities” indicator, overall prices in the U.S., as determined by the Consumer Price Index, now have exactly 0% chance of dropping over the next 5 years, down from a probability of 14.1% in May last year.

Inflation lurks in the shadows. It destroys value by gradually eroding real returns over time. It is financial death by a thousand cuts. Investors too often look at "the numbers" in their portfolio without asking what those numbers can actually buy over time. It's a classic mistake that John Maynard Keynes termed "money illusion."

Don’t be afraid of inflation. It is already here and there is nothing we can do about it. The effects will soon be obvious to all. Just make sure you are among those who are protected and prepared to profit.

In the aftermath of last Tuesday's election results one investment theme has dominated: reflation. Specifically, this suggests that after several years of fiscal austerity and several decades of declining inflation, these trends are on the cusp of reversing. If so, what does this mean for markets?

Over long periods the inflation-adjusted price of homes in the U.S. has tended to increase by a little more than 1% per year. That doesn't mean owning a home is a good way to make a 1% real return on your money though. This article explains why.