Topic List

The Basics

  1. Why do currencies exist?
  2. Does increasing money supply always cause inflation?

How the Banking System worked/works

  1. How did the Banking System come into existence?
  2. What can cause the Banking System to break down?
  3. How do interest rates affect the money supply?

How the Gold Standard Worked

  1. What restrictions did the Gold Standard impose on member countries?
  2. How did the Gold Standard benefit world trade?
  3. How did the Gold Standard limit gov’t spending?
  4. Why did the Gold Standard control inflation so well?
  5. Why did the Gold Standard make it hard to create jobs?
  6. Why did the Gold Standard cause economic shocks to transmit rapidly?
  7. Why did countries abandon the Gold Standard?

Gold Prices Today

  1. Why is gold a currency?
  2. Why is gold not a commodity?
  3. What is the relationship between gold prices and the US dollar?
  4. What sometimes makes gold attractive to hold?
  5. What exposure do you obtain from buying/selling gold?
  6. Is gold really an inflation hedge?

Levered ETFs

  1. Holding levered ETFs past 1 day may not give you the returns you expect
  2. What are the mechanics of a levered ETF?
  3. How is holding a levered ETF different from just levering the underlying yourself?
  4. How the payoff of a levered ETF depends upon its path and holding period
  5. How the payoff of a levered ETF depends upon volatility and amount of leverage
  6. Investors in levered short treasury ETFs may be setting themselves up for disaster (Pt1)
  7. Investors in levered short treasury ETFs may be setting themselves up for disaster (Pt2)
  8. Levered short treasury ETF (TBT) performance simulation model
  9. Performance simulation models for popular ETFs