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 obsevrve rising precious metals prices as the threat of war looms over Ukraine. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
Gold prices near all-time high amid tensions in Eastern Europe.
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New High Grade Discovery Near Ontario’s 1st Gold Mine.
Economy & Finance:
Junk-bond issuance pauses as Russia threatens Ukraine, with spreads at their widest level in a year. (A hat tip to H.L. for the link.)
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At Zero Hedge: Shocker From Fed Repo Oracle Zoltan Pozsar: Powell Must Crash The Market.
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The Washington Post: Mortgage rates soar to levels not seen in nearly three years.
Commodities:
These are the commodities that will boom in EV transition – Kendra Johnston.
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Andre: sent us this, from Russia Today: Europe has next to no gas left – Gazprom. JWR’s Comment: This leaves Germany, France, and the Benelux countries in a pitifully weak bargaining position with the Russians, over Ukraine.
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Will an invasion of Ukraine trigger a spike in both virgin steel and scrap steel prices, in Europe? For some background, see: Ukraine’s Top-10 Exports.
Inflation Watch:
At Zero Hedge: Goldman’s Startling Admission: “The Economy May Be Slowing More Than Expected”.
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From Yahoo Finance: Is the economy really that bad? Why inflation has the middle class so on edge.
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Bullard Lets The Cat Out Of The Bag: The Fed Doesn’t Have The Stomach For An Inflation Fight.
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From Markets Insider: US inflation is running far hotter than even the Fed expected. Here’s what some of biggest banks and asset managers say about it.
Forex & Cryptos:
Goldman Sachs says U.S. dollar could see moderate weakness over the course of this year.
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Peso weakens vs dollar as central bank sees faster 2022, 2023 inflation.
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Canada freezes at least 34 crypto wallets funding ‘Freedom Convoy’.
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Steve Kirsch: Is it time to invest in crypto?
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Bitcoin Falls As Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate. JWR’s Comment: In a real shooting war, anyone with common sense will shift, at least modestly, from cryptos to precious metals.
Tangibles Investing:
As reported by USA Today: You knew used car prices were high. Here’s how outrageous it has become.
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Key indicator hints America is headed for worst real estate crash in history.
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!