Financial Sense Newshour: Experts

Jim welcomes back Bill Fleckenstein, president of Fleckenstein Capital in Seattle, and author of Contrarian Chronicles for MSN Money. Bill believes the deflation fears are fading as the country enters a period of stagflation. He also sees the bond market ultimately taking away the printing press from central bankers, as the US moves closer to a funding crisis. According to Bill, the big story in 2013 will be the long-awaited beginning of the bond bear market. He also believes that Fed policy and the accompanying asset bubbles are effectively destroying the middle class, and leading us down the road to serfdom. As to gold, the underperformance of the gold stocks offers investors real value in quality gold miners. Bill also favors dividend-paying blue chip stocks in this market environment.

Jim is pleased to welcome back Douglas Noland, Senior Portfolio Manager at Federated Investors Inc. in Boston. In Europe, Doug believes the ECB will continue to do whatever it takes to bring down the credit spreads among EU member countries, which is helping to create a global credit bubble. Doug sees a major battle in the credit markets between the central banks and the bond vigilantes. The central bankers now have the upper hand, but Doug believes this will not last. Trillions are flowing into bond funds, which he sees as a major risk for investors. He believes that we are entering into a critical “end game” in the inflationary cycle, as central bankers continue to take desperate measures to prop up slowing economies around the globe.

Jim welcomes back Kurt Wulff CFA, independent energy analyst at McDep LLC. Kurt sees real value for investors in energy stocks at current prices. As to the beaten down royalty trusts, Kurt believes they now offer a tremendous value. He notes that if we see more of a “risk off” trading environment in 2013, then the big cap energy stocks will outperform all others. Kurt’s current energy allocation is divided between the big cap energy stocks and the large independent energy companies.

Erik Townsend, sitting in for Jim Puplava, welcomes Jeffrey Christian, founder of the CPM Group in New York. Jeff believes that the gold price has hit a cyclical peak, within the longer term secular bull market. He also explains why he thinks the Federal Reserve’s money printing policies do not guarantee higher gold prices going forward. Jeff discusses his impressions of the 2012 Shanghai Gold Show, and if the Chinese public is still enthusiastic about buying precious metals. Jeff also explains why the weekly COT Reports are often misinterpreted, and what this means for the price of gold.