As you may have already heard, the European Union (EU) just released its list of 15 countries that are permitted to visit the 27-country bloc starting today, and the U.S. was not among them.

A “perfect storm” of surging government debt levels, plunging real bond yields, rising coronavirus cases and deteriorating economic forecasts pushed the price of gold to an eight-year high this week, and some analysts now project the metal to top its all-time high within the next 12 months.

We like to go a bit further with our definition and add that luxury goods are those for which demand has tended to grow faster than potential buyers’ disposable incomes. This contrasts with “necessities,” for which demand growth has been more in line with income growth over time.

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are spiking again in several countries, including the U.S. California had its biggest one-day jump in infections. Arizona, Florida and Texas are also turning into new hotspots.

Back in March, I predicted that the total U.S. economic response to the COVID-19 crisis would be at least $10 trillion.

The selloff this week was “perfectly normal,” according to the math. Find out why it makes sense to have a long-term investment horizon.

It may not feel like it, but West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil just posted its best month on record. The American benchmark for crude soared more than 88 percent in May, from $18.84 per barrel to $35.50, as businesses cautiously began to reopen and people returned to work following the coronavirus lockdown.

Warren Buffett “should have kept airline stocks because the airline stocks went through the roof today,” President Trump said this week. It’s a good thing that investors chose not to follow Buffett’s lead, as airline stocks are up 50% since his exit.

The price of silver soared in May, jumping more than 19 percent on safe haven demand as well as increased expectations of a swift economic recovery, given its many applications.

As troubling as these developments are, it’s important not to lose sight of the good that appears to be taking place right now. Investors that focus only on the negative tend to miss out on the opportunities.

Investors are betting on growth stocks over value stocks by a wider spread right now than at any other time since at least 1990, including during the tech bubble.

Against this backdrop of anything-goes spending, the idea of having a national currency backed by a real asset like gold seems less and less crazy to some. Doing so, it’s believed, would force lawmakers to practice fiscal discipline, reign in inflation and normalize international trade.

The airline sector may be experiencing some turbulence now with COVID-19, but the industry has flown through storms before. After all, airlines stocks managed recoveries after the 9/11 attacks, the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the global financial crisis in 2008.

The bitcoin halving that occurred this past Monday is only the third such event in the cryptocurrency’s 11-year history. In the months following the first and second halvings, bitcoin prices surged as it became abundantly clear that at some point in the near future, new bitcoin issuances will come to a halt.

Elon Musk isn’t known for playing by the rules. The 48-year-old tech billionaire got himself into hot water with regulators a couple of years ago by tweeting that he was “considering taking Tesla private at $420.

A month is all it took to wipe out a decade of jobs growth. With so many people out of work as we head into the second quarter, the next earnings season for S&P 500 companies is undoubtedly going to be one for the history books.

For more than a couple of months now, I’ve said that gold mining companies will have a strong first (and second) quarter thanks to higher metal prices. Stock prices, as you know, are largely driven by revenues and free cash flow (FCF).

Warren Buffett is arguably the most respected and accomplished investor in U.S. history. He turned Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile company, into a multibillion-dollar holding company.

Today is “reopening” day for Texas, home state of U.S. Global Investors. Restaurants, retail stores and malls can now open their doors to customers again, so long as occupancy is kept at 25 percent of what it normally would be.

By some estimates, states could be facing their deepest budget shortfall on record due to the COVID-19 crisis. States could collectively see a budget deficit of $290 billion in 2021, which would be greater than during the 2001 recession and 2007-2008 global financial crisis.

Physical gold continued to catch a bid this week, trading above $1,760 an ounce, on a host of head-spinning economic news, from millions more Americans filing jobless claims to record money-printing to negative oil prices.

President Donald Trump unveiled guidelines for “Opening Up America Again,” a three-phase approach to be executed by state and local officials. Some governors have already expressed interest in easing restrictions sooner rather than later.

Gold and gold stocks are among the highest performing assets of 2020 so far as investors seek a haven amid the coronavirus-fueled rout, and as central banks and governments around the world roll out unprecedented monetary and fiscal measures in an effort to mitigate the economic impact of the “Great Lockdown.”

Some 6.6 million additional workers filed for jobless claims this week, but it’s always darkest before the dawn. There’s ample reason to keep hope alive that conditions will be improving sooner than expected.

The $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package that President Donald Trump signed into law on March 27 is just the beginning. The Treasury Department is now seeking some $250 billion more to replenish small business loans, and there’s hope that the president and House Democrats can agree on a “Phase Four” spending deal, one that may target infrastructure.

A head-spinning 6.6 million Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits this week bringing the two-week total to 10 million. That’s more than the combined populations of Los Angeles and Chicago.

U.S. companies have never had so much debt on their books as they do now.

On Friday, Congress approved and President Trump signed into law a $2.2 trillion emergency stimulus package, the largest in U.S. history. Most American adults will be receiving a one-time payment of $1,200 in cash.

This week, residents of San Antonio, Texas, home to U.S. Global Investors, were ordered to work from home, with some exceptions. Like countless people in other parts of the country and world, our team has had to quickly and nimbly adapt to a new normal, and to be innovative in the face of new challenges.

These extreme measures appear to be having great success, particularly in Asian countries. Whereas the number of cases continues to rise in Italy, Spain, Iran and elsewhere, the number has begun to stabilize, if not plateau, in Asian countries.

That was President Donald Trump on Monday, responding to a question on whether the U.S. economy could be sliding into a recession.

Compared to past viral outbreaks, COVID-19 appears to be less fatal, yet it has received far more media coverage. Paradoxically, that may be part of the reason why it’s had a much bigger impact on public health and the economy relative to those other diseases.

Warren Buffett boosted his stake in Delta Air Lines by 976,000 shares last week, raising his total holdings to 17.9 million shares. This was enough to bring Buffett’s ownership of Delta up to more than 11 percent.

Chinese manufacturing activity slumped to a record low in February as the coronavirus outbreak temporarily shuttered plants and factories and travel restrictions impacted the supply of labor.

Commodities look oversold right now, meaning there could be some potentially attractive buying opportunities. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, traded below $50 per barrel on Friday for the first time since July 2017, while copper remained mostly range-bound.

I don’t know about you, but I never thought I’d see the day when the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped below 2 percent, let alone 1.8 percent.

Gold mining stocks have broken out, with several hitting new 52-week highs this week. Gold royalty and streaming companies, including Franco-Nevada and Wheaton Precious Metals, also hit fresh 52-week highs.

Bernard Looney, BP’s new chief executive, wants to cut his company’s greenhouse gas emissions down to zero by 2050. To do that, the world’s sixth-largest energy company is committing itself to massive investment in renewable energy, including wind, solar and biofuels.

So far in 2020, the yield on the 10-year Treasury has averaged 0.01 percent when adjusted for inflation. Since the end of January, it’s actually dipped below 0 percent, trading as low as negative 0.14 percent on January 31.

CLSA predicts that the price of gold will beat the S&P 500 in 2020. The Hong Kong investment firm has an impressive track record when it comes to making market predictions—last year it had a 70 percent hit rate—so it may be prudent to take this one seriously.

The number of confirmed infections of the coronavirus in mainland China crossed above 24,000 on February 5, having already surpassed the total number of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases from 2003.

Two topics seemed to dominate at this year’s Inside ETFs conference: the rise of ESG investing, and the emergence of so-called “nontransparent” ETFs. Both promise some big changes to financial markets.

Although air travel isn’t off to a great start this year, largely due to airlines canceling flights on fears of the coronavirus spreading further outside China, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts 2020 to be strong in terms of travel demand.

Because it’s the first of the 12 zodiacs, the Year of the Rat is seen as a time of beginnings and renewals. That brings us hope, especially paired with the recent positive development in the U.S.-China trade war.

Among the biggest contributors to the bitcoin rally is the hope that 2020 could finally see institutional investors move into the digital field en masse, prompted by growing client demand and more attractive ways to get exposure.

One of the biggest concerns some investors might have right now is that the U.S. business cycle is maturing and possibly reaching its “natural end.”

On Tuesday of this week, the U.S. dollar experienced a “death cross,” a bearish signal that takes places when an asset’s 50-day moving average crosses below its 200-day moving average. We haven’t seen this from the greenback since May 2017.

The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth straight month in December, with the monthly reading from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) hitting its weakest point in more than 10 years.

I’m optimistic that the U.S. will stand as a beacon of freedom and opportunity in the 2020s and beyond, but with more and more younger Americans supporting socialism over capitalism, I believe it prudent to proceed with caution. That means making sure you’re holding some gold in your portfolio.

What were the top financial news stories of 2019? To answer that question, Frank looks back at his five most visited articles from the year that was.