Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the thin silver market. (See the Precious Metals section.)
Precious Metals:
Can Reddit’s silver ‘apes’ beat the market? JWR’s Comments: In a market this thin, yes, the Reddit crowd could indeed trigger a large market rally and a lot of short covering! What do I mean by “thin”? A thin market is the opposite of a liquid market. A thin market has just a few traders, and high volatility. Compared to the equities market, the size of the silver market is tiny. COMEX open interest is now over 1 billion Troy ounces. There are large discrepancies between physical silver and paper silver. And the amount of leverage employed (paper versus physical) is huge. This makes the silver market fairly volatile at all times and incredibly susceptible to manipulation. In times of market crisis, silver could easily triple or even quintuple. Be prepared for some big price swings. Buy low and then buckle up, folks. And if silver does ever double quickly, then don’t hesitate to then sell half of your holdings. At that point, your cost on what is left will be zero, and thus you can enjoy the ride, despite the dramatic price swings.
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The recent dip in gold and silver is worth mentioning. This has brought the retail price of physical metals down. For instance, APMEX is now selling $1,000 face value bags of circulated pre-1965 silver for less than $22,000. It is a good time to buy.
Economy & Finance:
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The Economic Cost of Cuban Socialism.
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And over at the CNBC Perpetual Cheering Section: Dow drops nearly 300 points on Friday, snaps 3-week winning streak.
Commodities:
The price of coffee beans is showing no signs of declining soon. JWR’s Comment: Arabica is now a better investment than Aramco.
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Charles Kennedy of OilPrice News reports: Oil Suffers Double Whammy In Weakest Week Since March.
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Lumber prices continue to plummet—down 49% from the peak.
Inflation Watch:
In some recent U.S, Senate testimony, Jerome Powell concedes: Inflation is worse than the Federal Reserve anticipated. (For the meat of this video, you can skip forward to the 39:10 mark.) JWR’s Comments: It is noteworthy that he and his Fed minions are starting to tapdance around the now-claimed “temporary” nature of this inflation. They are no longer using the term “transitory” that was floated back in May. We can expect to see them starting to use words like “transitional” or “limited duration” to describe the inflation, as the inflation persists. Thanks to David H. for the link.
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White House quietly signals inflationary run could last years.
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Hyperinflation Will Collapse Biden Administration – Clif High.
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Charles Hugh Smith: Here’s Why America’s Labor-Shortage Will Drive Inflation Higher.
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And at Zero Hedge: One Bank’s Non-Transitory Inflation Meter Just Exploded.
Forex & Cryptos:
The US Dollar Index was back up above 92 when I last checked.
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Reader H.L. spotted this: Kiwi Surges After RBNZ Unexpectedly Ends QE Early Amid Inflation Angst.
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Reader C.B. spotted this news item: ECB inches closer to ‘digital euro’. JWR’s Comments: I predict that the cryptocurrency systems development by the central banks will continue to appear to be very calculated and hesitant, right up until the announcement by a pioneering First World country (or perhaps a Second World country with a large economy) that they’ve gone digital. Then, suddenly, the majority of western nations will jump on the bandwagon. This will all happen within a year. Few of them will want to miss out on this opportunity for full transaction tracking, taxation, and control. Simultaneously, the western nations will come down hard on private cryptos and the crypto exchanges, through legislation. Just like the mafia, governments, bankers, and banker-governments hate competition.
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Bitcoin Might Already Be In A Bear Market, Investors Just Don’t Know It Yet.
Tangibles Investing:
Some good news, from an Indianapolis gun store owner: Supply Is Back – Prices Are Quickly Dropping.
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Have we just seen the top? Epic housing shortage may finally be starting to lift, as surprising number of new listings hit market in June.
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Why This Isn’t Your Typical Summer Housing Market.
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. 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 or via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant because they come from folks who closely watch specific markets. If you spot any news that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, then please send it in. News items from local news outlets that are missed by the news wire services are especially appreciated. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!