The Institutional Risk Analyst

In the past five trading days, gold has moved up almost 3% but silver has done even better. Physical supply constraints in India and Asia are pushing prices for gold and silver higher, illustrating the disconnect between the momentum driven financial markets in the US and Europe and the physical market in Asia.

As we told Bloomberg TV last week, not only has the President's attacks not forced Powell out, but he has made this decidedly mediocre Fed chief a progressive martyr. As a result of Trump’s ill-considered attacks, Powell will likely remain as a Governor through 2028, depriving the President of an opportunity to appoint another governor for a 14-year term. How does this mess serve the agenda of President Trump?

The prospect of Zohran Mamdani becoming Mayor of NYC and the rise of other socialist elements in the Democratic Party means that owners of New York real estate are facing effective expropriation of their property. And the real losers are New York consumers.

In simple terms, FLG is not making money and does not seem to have any immediate prospects to pull itself out of a slow downward spiral of balance sheet shrinkage and operating losses. Whereas before 2024, FLG was a peer performer in most respects, today the bank’s financial performance is significantly below-peer, bottom quartile in many cases.