How gold prices could hit $1,340

It’s official: China overtakes India as top consumer of gold. China officially overtook India as the world’s largest consumer of gold in 2013, according to the World Gold Council (WGC), in a year that saw overall demand for bullion slump 15 percent owing to heavy exchange traded fund (ETF) selling. Jonathan Barratt, Founder of Barratt’s Bulletin, says continued Chinese demand for the precious metal could push gold prices to

Year of the Horse Historically Poor for Stock Market

Chinese Zodiac and Stock Market

Credit:CNBC’s Giovanny Moreano and Pradip Sigdyal.

The Chinese New Year is symbolized by an animal from the zodiac calendar, rotating through a 12-year cycle. Last year, for example, was the Year of the Snake and 2012 was the Year of the Dragon.

Since 1928, Horse years have been cautiously optimistic for the S&P 500 and Dow, posting average annual returns of 2.41 percent and -0.09 percent, respectively.

In fact, the Year of the Horse ranks as the second-weakest year for both the