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, more about the looming threat of a magazine ban in the United States. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
Is Silver A Better Investment Than Gold Right Now?
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A video interview: Gold does well during inflation, recession: Is gold or real estate a better investment? – Jeff Clark.
Economy & Finance:
Steve Bannon has announced a new online payments system for patriots called the FJB Blockchain.
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John Mauldin: A Weird Recession.
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Over at Hedge Week: Most hedge fund subsectors lost money and investor capital in May as redemptions increased.
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Ben White, writing in the left-of-center Politico: Actually, a recession is inevitable.
Commodities:
Some analysis by commodities trader Andy Hecht: Q2 2022 in Commodities.
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A piece by Irina Slav of OilPrice News: How Russian Oil Is Making Its Way From Europe To Asia.
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IEEE: How and When the Chip Shortage Will End, in 4 Charts.
Inflation Watch:
Kiplinger: Inflation Will Stay Near 9% the Rest of This Year.
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Fed’s Favored Inflation Gauge Shows Prices Continued Upward in June.
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At Wolf Street: American Consumers Are Tough: Inflation Eats Their Income, But No Problem, They Still Outspend Inflation.
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Updated: United States Consumer Inflation Expectations.
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Inflation May Push 2023 Social Security COLA Over 10%.
Forex & Cryptos:
Latam currencies rise as dollar slides after U.S. manufacturing data.
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Yen Advances to Level That Threatens 2022’s Big FX Short.
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U.S. crypto firm Nomad hit by $190 million theft.
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Several readers mentioned this, at Zero Hedge: Israel’s War On Cash Is About To Get More Drastic. JWR’s Comment: For them to make this sort of move, I suspect that they have a sovereign crypto scheme waiting in the wings.
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A useful world map: Today’s Central Bank Digital Currencies Status.
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New York financial regulator fines Robinhood’s crypto division $30M.
Tangibles Investing:
There is now a roughly 25% chance that H.R. 1808 (recently passed in the House — see text) will be “compromise” ramrodded through the U.S. Senate by the turncoat RINO Republican leadership. This bill includes a 16+ round magazine ban with a grandfather clause but NO sunset clause! If this becomes law, then the price of magazines will surely rocket up to the stratosphere.
Mark my words: Once there is a credible news report of a Republican compromise deal on the “Assault Weapon” and magazine ban, then the nationwide supply of 16+ round magazines will sell out within 10 days. Prices will triple and stay there for a year or more. Then, once it is clear that the ban is indeed permanent, then magazines will gradually climb to the quadruple range, from current prices. Yes, we are talking about a standard 17-round Glock factory 9mm magazine selling for around $110, and a 33-rounder selling for $180 or more. With any ban, the law of supply and demand is inescapable. For some background, see this piece that I wrote back in 2007: How Federal “Bans”, “Freezes”, and “Price Controls” Spread Economic Chaos.
So, if you want to stock up on magazines as a hedge on both inflation and legislation, then take a look at the Brownells site. They have some top-quality magazines available. For example, they sell full cases of 100 MagPul AR-15 30 Round PMAG GEN 3 WINDOWED PMAGs for just $1,359.99.
And, just for the month of August, they have announced some great discount coupon codes:
- $25 Off Orders $250+. Use Code AUGUST25
- $55 Off Orders $500+. Use Code AUGUST55
- $120 Off Orders $1000+. Use Code AUGUST120
All three codes are valid from 8/1/2022 to 8/31/2022.
And Palmetto State Armory (another one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a package special: A Premium 5.56 Nickel Boron AR Bolt Carrier Group & 10 standard Magpul 30-round Gen 2 MOE PMAGs, for just $149.99. That is like getting the BCG for free! Search for “KIT-0470”, with the PSA site’s search box.
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It has been widely reported that the price of Swiss watches has dropped, because the demand generated by crypto investor millionaires has evaporated. See: Rolex Resale Prices Are Falling. Here’s Why Dealers and Watch Experts Aren’t Panicking.
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!