Perhaps the Swiss franc works, but my whole point is that the other classes - gold and commodities - are non-yielding assets. They aren't like capital - machines - that turn raw materials into something with greater value. Commodities are just commodities. As an investment class, they don't kick out a return. I'll grant you that, if you can anticipate where the investment Clownbux will flow, you can set your cup into the river that's flowing and scoop up some of the liquidity, but the truth is that you've purchased a non-yielding, static asset.
Perhaps the franc can withstand the global bonfire of currencies, but if there is a global collapse of economic acitivity underway, interest rates will only go even lower there.
So, I reiterate - one's expectations might need to be adjusted to <gulp> a best-case of just maintaining existing purchasing power, until this global readjustment plays out. Kinda makes some sense. *Given the present relative currency levels* there is a huge glut of aggregate supply relative to aggregate demand, meaning that marginal capital investment is not only unnecessary, but should be *expected* to produce negative returns. With substantial currency adjustment to permit new sources of aggregate demand (from China? India?) the picture will change, but until that happens, there is no economic incentive for investment - anywhere - period.
BC |
