Topic: How To Invest

What is Pat's commentary for the week of March 25, 2014?

Article Excerpt

Here’s the text of the quarterly letter I recently sent to our Portfolio Management clients: “Many investors today feel uneasy about the future value of the U.S. dollar. The dollar is the key to the world monetary system. But its value is at the mercy of U.S. politicians, who can spend as many U.S. dollars as they wish. If they spend more than they collect in taxes, the U.S. can simply borrow or print the difference. It has been this way since President Nixon cut the link between gold and the dollar in the early 1970s. However, the vast U.S. budget deficits since 2008 have frayed investor nerves. You need to take a balanced look at this issue, and maintain a healthy sense of skepticism. Conflicts of interest are everywhere. The stance of many politicians and subsidy-seekers is “it’s-only-money—what’s the big deal?” On the other side of the spectrum, deficit foes all claim to be philosophically opposed to fiat money, and in favour…