Guatemalan president calls on U.S. to invest more to deter migration

3 big reasons to invest in gold this April

By investing in gold this April, investors can secure some protection against still-elevated inflation.

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It’s never a bad idea to spend some time reviewing your investments. And with inflation still persistent, if significantly cooled, and interest rates stuck at their highest point in decades, now is as good a time as any to take a closer look at where your money is invested. While stocks and bonds can be smart to have, particularly after recent stock market performance levels, they’re not the only investment to consider this spring.

In recent years, investors have also turned to gold. Investing in the precious metal hit an 11-year high last September and the price of the precious metal has broken multiple records in the last year. As March concludes and with a new inflation report and Federal Reserve meeting on the books for April, many may be wondering if now is still a good time to invest in the yellow metal.

Fortunately, for many investors, it still can be. Below, we’ll detail three reasons you should invest in gold this April.

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3 big reasons to invest in gold this April

Here are three timely reasons to invest in gold now.

Inflation is still persistent

Sure, inflation has dropped dramatically from a decades-high in June 2022, but it’s still growing, just at a slower pace. February saw inflation up 3.2% year-over-year. That’s up from January and more than a point above the Federal Reserve’s target 2% goal. Against this backdrop — and with no one knowing for sure when inflation will be under control — it makes sense to invest in gold for April.

Gold often acts as an inflation hedge by maintaining and potentially even growing in value when other assets look shaky and the value of the dollar erodes. It’s not always a direct correlation, but when inflation is persistent, as it has been for much of the past two years, gold often performs well. So now can still be a beneficial time to get invested.

Learn more about the benefits of investing in gold here.

Gold prices are elevated

The price of gold has already hit record highs twice this month, underlining the interest and potential benefits investors can secure with the precious metal. And that price could go even higher in April and the months that follow.

It makes sense, then, to buy in now before the price becomes out of reach. By doing so, investors will get the portfolio protection gold provides right away while also opening the possibility to sell the precious metal at a quick profit (a rarity for an asset that’s not known for rapid income production).

There will be other needs

Even if inflation is brought under total control, there will be other immediate circumstances in which holding gold in one’s portfolio will be beneficial. Geopolitical turmoil is high and that often results in a demand for gold and a price increase that follows.

An election year in the United States can also contribute to short-term economic uncertainty and the high interest rate environment can have an influence, too. Plus, inflation is cyclical, so it will return at some point in the future. But if investors get started with gold in April, they’ll be better prepared to cope with it when it does.

The bottom line

There are always preferential times to invest in certain assets. Gold has been experiencing one of those swings in momentum in recent months and years and it’s unlikely to adjust dramatically next month. Because inflation is still persistent, prices are high and other economic indicators are still unknown, it can be smart to invest in gold this April. Just make sure to weigh the pros and cons of the precious metal against your broader financial goals to improve your chances of investing success.

Matt Richardson

Matt Richardson is the managing editor for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com. He writes and edits content about personal finance ranging from savings to investing to insurance.

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Guatemalan president calls on U.S. to invest more to deter migration

Guatemalan president calls on U.S. to invest more to deter migration – CBS News

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Migrants are coming to the U.S.-Mexico border in record numbers. Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo spoke with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe about the issue.

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Guatemala’s president says U.S. should invest more to deter migration

Washington — Nearly three years ago, Vice President Kamala Harris stood alongside the then-president of Guatemala in his palace and delivered a message to would-be migrants: “Do not come” to the United States.

Her pleas didn’t work. Since June 2021, when Harris made those remarks, U.S. officials have tallied 709,305 encounters with migrants from Guatemala along the southern border, according to government data. More than 2 million migrants of all nationalities are expected to be apprehended along the border by the end of this fiscal year in September, which would be the third straight year of sustained foot traffic across the span.

Asked this week whether migrants have heeded Harris’ request from three years ago, Guatemala’s new president, Bernardo Arévalo, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, I don’t know. You do the numbers.”

Arévalo, who took office in January, came to Washington this week to meet with President Biden and Harris as the White House hopes to demonstrate progress on addressing border security and immigration, issues that remain top voter concerns.

He told CBS News the president was “enchanting” and “very warm” in a brief Oval Office exchange captured by White House photographers. But in longer meetings with Harris, Arévalo said he told her Guatemala needs more U.S. economic investment — not just taxpayer-funded American relief — in order to encourage people to stay put.

“Cooperation is not sending money. Cooperation can be by creating conditions in which we can invite you to invest in Guatemala and establish factories, work that can begin to produce and create jobs. That’s fundamentally what we are most interested in,” he told CBS News.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Vice President Kamala Harris during a meeting in the Vice President's Ceremonial Office in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 25, 2024. — Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Vice President Kamala Harris during a meeting in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in Washington, D.C., on Monday, March 25, 2024.

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“We have to work to allow people, what we call, ‘The right to stay.’ People have a right to remain in their places. People need to find opportunities,” Arévalo added.

Mr. Biden tasked Harris with addressing the “root causes” of migration early in their administration as the number of illegal border crossings spiked after four years of hardline border security policy under former President Donald Trump. But the Biden administration is now anticipating another busy spring along the U.S.-Mexico border, and officials tell CBS News the president is still considering taking executive action to curb the crossings if Congress fails to enact a bipartisan plan negotiated by senators last year.

As she personally wades back into the politically tricky issue, Harris on Monday announced another $170 million in economic development and security assistance for Guatemala. Arévalo welcomed the investments as a long-term solution to preventing his country’s citizens from leaving and signaled he’d prefer to see that kind of cooperation continue. But he also did not discount the possibility of working with a second Trump administration.

“We are looking forward to working with whoever wins in the next election to support and work so that our citizens that are residents in the United States enjoy full rights,” Arévalo said.

Asked whether he thought Trump’s preference for border walls works, he said, “I think that history shows they don’t. What we need to look for is integrated solutions to a problem that is far more complex than just putting a wall to try to contain.”

“Corruption is the most urgent problem”

Arévalo, 65, is a former diplomat and sociologist and the son of the late former Guatemalan president Juan José Arévalo, who was the country’s first democratically elected president from 1945 to 1951.

The younger Arévalo took office in January after running an underdog campaign on an anti-corruption platform and defeating several better-known, better-funded opponents backed by the country’s political and economic elite. His victory effectively put an end to the country’s long standing conservative political establishment. But rivals who control the country’s judiciary continue to try prosecuting him and his political party, accusing them of rigging the results of last year’s elections — accusations he strongly disputes.

“We believe that corruption is the most urgent problem,” Arévalo told CBS News. “But the most important problem is development. But if we do not fight corruption, we are not going to be able to get the development that we need so that people can flourish and stay.”

As he tries to revamp Guatemala’s government and restore democratic norms, Arévalo said he supports the release of journalist José Rubén Zamora, who was sentenced to six years in prison in 2023 on money laundering charges under the former President Alejandro Giammattei’s administration.

Zamora’s newspaper, “El Periódico,” published countless stories about corruption within the Giammattei administration. It was forced to shut down after he was detained, due to a lack of resources and its journalists fleeing the country for fear of prosecution. Zamora’s case has earned international attention and condemnation from international journalists’ rights groups.

“We would hope for him to be released tomorrow,” Arévalo said of Zamora.

On his Inauguration Day, Arévalo said he sent the head of the country’s prison system to “transform” the torturous conditions under which Zamora was being held. While the president supports the journalist’s liberation, Arévalo could not specify a release date for the detained journalist because does not control Guatemala’s judiciary under the Guatemalan Constitution.

“We know that the accusations are just not serious,” he said. “But we cannot interfere with the Court of Justice, so we don’t know.”

Ed O’Keefe

Ed O’Keefe is CBS News senior White House and political correspondent. He previously worked for The Washington Post covering presidential campaigns, Congress and federal agencies. His primary focus is on President Biden, Vice President Harris and political issues across the country.

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Nissan will invest in Renault’s Ampere in pursuit of global EV roadmap, CEO says

By Praveen Paramasivam and Aditi Shah

ORAGADAM, India (Reuters) -Japan’s Nissan Motor will invest in Renault’s electric vehicle (EV) unit Ampere even after its listing plans fell through, while also evaluating its partnership with Honda Motor to further build its global EV expansion.

“We want to be a global (EV) player in the world,” Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida told reporters during a press briefing in the southern Indian city of Chennai on Wednesday, adding that the company wants to deepen its partnership with Renault.

“Therefore, regardless of the IPO whatsoever, we are looking at Ampere. We are already discussing about Ampere, our investment,” Uchida added.

Nissan, in December, had confirmed it would invest 600 million euros ($650 million) in Renault’s EV business Ampere, listing plans for which the French car-maker ditched earlier this year because of sluggish stock market conditions.

Renault’s chairman said last month the decision will not delay investments from Nissan or other long-time partner Mitsubishi. This was echoed on the day by Nissan’s top boss.

The 91-year old Nissan Motor, which was once a pioneer in EVs with its all-electric Leaf model, is also simultaneously fielding a partnership with larger domestic rival Honda Motor, in a strategic bid to stave off stiff competition in the EV space from China’s BYD, Tesla and other global automakers.

“With Honda, we just started to do the feasibility study,” Uchida told reporters on Wednesday, without disclosing further details of the collaboration.

As per the non-binding MoU signed, Nissan and Honda are looking at areas of “potential collaboration”, but have yet to determine the scope.

The automakers are open to working together in any region — in Japan and overseas, Uchida had said earlier this month.

($1 = 0.9232 euros)

(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Oragadam and Aditi Shah, additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo and Gilles Guillaume in Paris; writing by Varun Hebbalalu; editing by Jason Neely and David Evans)

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Hyundai Motor Group to invest 68 trln won over 3 years

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said on Wednesday it will invest 68 trillion won ($51 billion) over three years to bolster its growth potential in electric vehicles and new mobility business and separately hire 80,000 new employees.

More than half of the investment, or 35.5 trillion won, will be allocated for new research and development infrastructure and assembly lines for electric vehicles, the group said in a statement.

Another 31.1 trillion won will be slated for research and development in electric vehicles, including software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and battery technology, it said.

A majority of the new jobs created will be to promote future business, with 44,000 new staff in electrification, SDVs and carbon neutrality, it said.

Hyundai Motor Group includes flagship Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia, which together are the world’s number three automaker by sales.

Automotive parts maker Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Engineering & Construction are also under the conglomerate.

($1 = 1,343.5000 won)

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Tom Hogue)

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Hyundai to invest more than $50 bn in South Korea in major EV push

Hyundai on Wednesday revealed plans to invest more than $50 billion in South Korea by 2026, with a huge chunk dedicated to boosting the development and production of electric vehicles.

Along with its affiliate Kia, Hyundai is the world’s third-largest automaker by sales, but the South Korean giant lags in the EV sector behind Elon Musk’s Tesla and Chinese firm BYD.

Hyundai is keen to break into the global EV top three, saying last year that it was aiming to boost electric car production to more than 3.6 million units by 2030.

With the 68 trillion won ($50.5 billion) investment announced Wednesday, Hyundai Motor Group said it wants to “secure future growth engines in an uncertain business environment through constant change and innovation”.

“The automotive sector, including future mobility projects, accounts for… 63 percent of the Group’s total investment,” it added.

Under the plan, Hyundai will create 80,000 jobs in South Korea and build three new EV factories, with the aim of increasing annual EV production in the country to 1.51 million units by 2030.

The group’s EV strategy also includes investments in infrastructure, software, battery technology and autonomous driving.

A Greenpeace report in November said Hyundai’s growing sales of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles had offset any climate gains from its transition to EVs.

It noted that Hyundai-Kia had posted SUV sales increases of more than 150 percent over the past decade.

SUVs emit approximately 12 percent more carbon dioxide than sedans, the environmental group said, urging Hyundai to reduce SUV sales.

When asked about the report, Hyundai said it was expanding its fleet of “fully electric SUV vehicles”, including Kia’s EV6 and EV9.

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Should you invest in gold instead of stocks?

When it comes to maximizing your investments, focusing on one asset over the other is the wrong approach.

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Gold has been a popular investment over the past few years. As inflation persists, interest rates rise and major banks fail, more investors have turned to gold as a safe haven for their money. In fact, according to recent research by Retirement Living, searches for “how to invest in gold and silver” rose by a whopping 656% over the past 12 months.

Gold has historically provided consistent returns and has been a good store of value in times of economic turbulence. When assets like stocks are suffering, gold prices tend to hold steady if not increase. It’s not surprising, then, that Retirement Living’s survey found that more than half (63%) of Americans are wary of making new investments in traditional assets like stocks.

But are alternative investments like gold better than traditional assets? Should you consider adding more gold to your portfolio or replacing stocks with it altogether?

Learn more about gold investing with this free information kit.

Should you invest in gold instead of stocks?

Gold offers many benefits as an investment, but so do stocks. Here’s what you need to know.

Gold vs. stocks: How they compare

To determine where gold and stocks fit in your portfolio, you must first understand how these two assets differ.

Gold is a relatively low-risk investment. It’s been proven to hold its value over the long term, weathering market ups and downs that can significantly harm other assets. It’s a solid hedge against inflation, enabling you to preserve your wealth amidst economic uncertainty.

However, it doesn’t have the potential for high returns like more volatile assets, such as stocks, do. It also doesn’t generate income. You only profit from it when you sell it (or, in the case of a gold IRA, when you take withdrawals in retirement).

Stocks are highly subject to the whims of the market. Their value can rise and fall precipitously in response to everything from investor sentiment to bad PR for a particular company. As a result, you could net a significant profit if you buy and sell at the right time, but you could also lose much of your investment overnight.

That said, if you hold onto stocks for a long period, returns tend to even out to an average of 10%. Some stocks also provide dividends, or shares of company profits, providing you with a passive income stream.

The importance of diversification

When it comes to maximizing your returns while minimizing your losses, focusing on one asset over the other is the wrong approach. The right approach is diversifying your portfolio with a mix of assets.

“I believe that diversification is the key to investing success, so one should have stocks, bonds, commodities (like gold), etc. to manage risk factors and their expected returns and to diversify away concentrated risks,” says Dana Menard, CFP, founder and lead financial planner at Twin Cities Wealth Strategies.

Gold has performed well in recent years, reaching near-record prices in April of 2023. But that doesn’t mean you should shift the bulk of your investment dollars from stocks to gold.

“Stocks, bonds and gold as major asset classes are diversifiers, and they should behave differently under different types of environments,” says Chris Bekel, investment adviser and president of AXIS Financial. “When COVID-19 surged initially, gold did very well — a diversifier. Central bank easing during that time was a benefit to treasuries, which also did well. However, when the recovery in stocks started, bonds and gold did not do well.”

In addition, since gold’s returns are steady but moderate, it’s important to leave room in your portfolio for assets like stocks that can generate higher returns.

“If we look at time periods historically, there are decades where you would want to own gold over bonds and bonds over stocks,” says Bekel. “However, over 100 years, we know there is a net benefit to being an equity, risk-on investor. So, selling stocks to own gold would be ill-advised.”

Start exploring gold investing today — request your free investors kit here!

How to invest in gold and stocks

As a rule of thumb, experts recommend keeping about 5% to 10% of your portfolio in gold to get the most from its stabilizing benefits while allowing room for higher-return assets to grow your money faster.

For stocks, experts recommend investing a percentage equal to 100 minus your age. So, if you’re 30, you should aim to keep 70% of your investment dollars in stocks.

That said, it’s best to speak with a financial advisor to identify your ideal target allocation.

“Constructing a portfolio that is right for an individual should take into consideration their time frame, risk tolerance, expectations and overall financial situation,” Menard says.

The bottom line

Gold and stocks can both be smart investment choices, but they differ in several important ways, and these differences mean they’re best used in combination with each other.

Stocks can result in higher returns, but also come with higher levels of volatility and risk. A strategic amount of gold can protect your portfolio from this risk, but your returns won’t be as high. By investing in both assets in the right percentages, you can enjoy the best of both of them.

Simply put, “Do not choose gold over stocks; choose both,” says Bekel.

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