The Gold Report: Common wisdom says that when the U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates later this year, it will prove negative for gold. Do you agree?
Jeb Handwerger: I think it'll be the opposite. Money printing and easy credit has fueled the stock market rally and beaten down commodities. Investors flocked to dividend-paying stocks, and became speculative in tech, which has led to huge overvaluations similar to the late 1990s dot-com debacle. We've had a four-year parabolic rise in the Dow without a meaningful correction. Most investors who have been in this business for a while know that every four years you get a bear market with about a 3050% correction. Rising interest rates may be the catalyst that causes investors to flee the general stock market, which has proven attractive in a low rate environment. Higher interest rates concurrent with a pickup in inflation could result in a rush to a safe haven in commodities and wealth from the earth's natural resources and precious metals, which is historically a hedge against a pickup in inflation. Continue reading "Fed Interest Rate Increase Could Be Best Thing to Happen to Gold"