Opinion

Most people would agree that the current banking crisis is very complicated. But there’s one aspect of it that’s especially confusing: the very differing investment advice we are getting.  Some experts are recommending that investors “buy gold,” while others urge them to “buy silver,” and still others say, “buy commodities,” “buy Bitcoin,” “buy the dip,” or “don’t buy anything at all.”  How can anyone not be confused? 

Unlike those of most other CEOs, Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders is not just a corporate update.  It’s a major event, one that Wall Street anticipates, discusses and analyzes in great detail.  This year’s letter was no exception.  However, unlike those written in years past, there were several surprises.

Financial experts agree that US government bonds are the safest investment in the world - but don’t try to convince officials at Silicon Valley Bank of that.  They invested the majority of the bank’s deposits in US Government bonds, only to watch them crash. Now investors are asking: Are other banks also at risk? Can the carnage spill over into stocks? Will depositors lose their money?

Democrats and Republicans are usually at each other’s throats, and recent hearings in Washington are an example of this.  But those hearings go far beyond politics as usual: They’re mind-boggling and shocking, and will not fade from the news and be forgotten.  The issue: the Government’s Covid relief programs were ripped off big time.  

What happens if the power goes out?  Although this is not a new question, it remains very timely because the grid is being attacked repeatedly and the attacks are becoming more sophisticated.  Let’s hope the grid remains intact, because if it’s knocked out, our lives would quickly become a nightmare.

It’s possible that a story that made headlines in early February will be forgotten by the time you read this. But it’s also possible that it will be a turning point, and a development with major implications for the stock and bond markets, inflation, and everything related to the economy.  Fasten your seat belts – just in case.