Here are the latest items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on Sports Cards. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
Silver To Climb 11% In Next Three Months – German-Based Research Firm
o o o
Forex:
EURUSD at the Center of Trade Wars, High Profile ECB and Fed Meetings. (Take the time to listen to Kicklighter’s audio commentary.)
o o o
Forex Market Insight Commentary 08 June 2018
o o o
37,000% annual inflation rate: Venezuela’s Bolivar Surges Past 2,000,000 VEF/USD
Cryptos:
Which Way? Bitcoin’s Low Volatility May Force Big Move
o o o
Blockchain’s Once-Feared 51% Attack Is Now Becoming Regular
Economy & Finance:
o o o
The WSJ reports: New Tax Laws Have Home Buyers Checking New Places. New York and California are cited as high tax states to flee from. Here is a quote: “The border between California and Nevada bisects Lake Tahoe. Californians to the west can pay a state income-tax rate of up to 13.3%, while Nevada residents just 30 minutes to the east pay no state income taxes.”
o o o
Super strong jobs report means June rate hike coming and Fed could get more aggressive
Tangibles Investing (Sports Cards):
Last week in a blog comment, I had a SurvivalBlog reader ask about investing in collectible sports cards. When I was a teenager, these were packed along with thin flat sheets of bubblegum. My general advice is that unless you are willing to devote yourself to becoming an advanced collector of truly rare cards, then skip investing in sports cards. They are merely collectibles. This means that unlike precious metals, old tools, vintage cars, wristwatches, or even rare wines they have no utility or intrinsic value. Ephemera that is merely collectible is an inferior investing choice, especially for preppers.
Worst of all are items that are produced just for the sake of being collectible, but that are still produced in large numbers. Most modern sports cards fall in this category. In contrast, the early cards were promotional–made to sell (for example) tobacco, bubble gum, and cereal. When I see the words “Commemorative Edition”, I cringe. (That goes for commemorative guns and china plates, too.) Some cards are now even initially sold in graded encapsulated packaging. This is sealed packaging is much like that used for slabbed coins. Something about that smacks of speculative excess, to me.
The only exception to my general “don’t buy sports cards” advice would be buying authentic and graded cards of notable players that were produced before 1970. Actually making money on such cards would require doing lots of research. One key factor is watching for announcements of upcoming biographical movies about sports legends. The upcoming release of a bio-pic about Moe Berg (a baseball catcher who served as a U.S. spy before and during World War 2) presents one such opportunity.
But to sum up my philosophy, I’ll offer this pithy reminder: Invest in sports cars, not sports cards.
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. So please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.
News Tips:
Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who particularly watch individual markets. And due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” investing news. We often “get the scoop” on economic and investing news that is probably ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!