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 [1]. Today, we look at the potential impact of a Russia-Ukraine war on precious metals and commodities.
Precious Metals:
How will the U.S. respond if Russia invades Ukraine? Implications for gold, oil, and stocks [2]. JWR’s Comment: Retired USMC Colonel Harold Kempfer has a good grasp of both strategy and tactics. His assessment is correct. But I suspect that Russia has not yet mobilized and forward-deployed a sufficient field artillery and rocket force to support a full-scale invasion. (RAGs and DAGs.) And an early spring thaw could delay their invasion plans until mid-June or even early July.
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Gold price holds $1,800, but can Fed’s 50-point hike trigger selloff? [4]
Economy & Finance:
Charles Hugh Smith: The Bear Awakens [5].
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At MarketWatch: Ford sales stumble on ‘persistent’ supply problems [6].
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Bidenflation: Factory Orders Plunge Twice as Much as Expected [7].
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The Fed Is About To Drain Trillions In Liquidity: Here’s How It Will Do I [8]t.
Commodities:
Explained: How Russia-Ukraine conflict could impact global commodity markets [9]. Here is a quote:
“Several commodity markets are starting to price in some geopolitical risk around the growing tension between Russia and Ukraine. There is still plenty of uncertainty over how the situation will evolve, but it is still worthwhile to look at what the potential impact could be should tension boil over into a conflict.
A scenario where the West fails to react with tough sanctions against Russia if it were to invade Ukraine means that the potential impact for commodity markets would be more limited, although the uncertainty would still likely be bullish in the short term. There would still be a risk to Russian gas flows via Ukraine to Europe. While, depending on the scale of any invasion, it could also potentially have an impact on the production and export of Ukrainian agricultural commodities, including corn and wheat.”
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ING: Commodities and the Russia-Ukraine crisis [10].
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H.L. sent us this: Tesla Stops Scheduling Solar Roof installs Due To “Supply Chain Issues” [11].
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OilPrice News reports: OPEC+ Set To Continue With 400,000 Bpd Production Increase [12].
Derivatives:
Federal Agency Censors Names of Banks in a Bombshell Study on Wall Street’s Dangerous Derivatives [13].
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Is trading incremental derivatives risky for retail investors? [14]
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Investors brace for turbulence in US corporate bond market [15].
Inflation Watch:
Clorox Tumbles After “Inflationary Headwinds” Compress Margins [16].
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ECB Reiterates Pledge To Withdraw Stimulus Gradually Despite Record Inflation [17].
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Rising Inflation Offsetting Best Wage Growth In Years [18]. JWR’s Comment: Wages will be driving prices and vice versa, for years to come.
Forex & Cryptos:
Pound Surges After Bank Of England Ends QE, Raises Rates To 0.5% With Four Voting For 50bps Hike [19].
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Euro Up Against the Dollar and Other European Currencies [20].
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Bitcoin Begins Bounce From 7-Year Bull Trend Line — Is This The Bottom? [21]
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Does the IMF have a hidden script for El Salvador’s Bitcoin play? [22]
Tangibles Investing:
One odd tangible investment: Vintage Lunch Boxes [23].
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GunMag Warehouse [24] (one of our advertisers) is running a sale on Windowed Magpul PMAG GEN M3 AR-15 30-Round Magazines, at $15.99 each. Stack them deep, in at least two locations. Remember: A semi-auto without a magazine is a single-shot weapon!
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos [25] page for our detailed disclaimers.
News Tips:
Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR [1]. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form [26].) 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!