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 Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at crashing home sales. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
Reuters: Supreme dollar rules the roost in gold market.
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Central banks buy gold at fastest pace in 55 years. “Analysts are pinning China and Russia as big buyers.”
Equities:
‘Worst Year Ever’ For Stocks & Bonds – Global Inflation Fight Bursts ‘Everything Bubble’.
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At Hedgeweek: Investors lose billions as stock hedge funds tank again in 2022.
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Forbes: Hedge Fund Outlook For 2023: What To Expect As Managers Face Increased Complexity.
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Tesla stock to close out worst year ever with a 65% loss in 2022, wiping out more than $700 billion in market cap. JWR’s Comments: With so many other electric car brands that benefitted from Tesla’s learning curve now on the market, I would shy away from buying Tesla shares. But… The World’s Most Famous South African has a few other ventures that promise to be very profitable — including a full constellation of Starlink satellites, the new Tesla Phone, and I’ll wager… […drumroll…] …a fully satellite-capable VOIP version of the Tesla phone. “Look, ma: no cell phone towers!”
Commodities:
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China’s recovery is key to the 2023 outlook for industrial metals and more.
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What to watch in commodities in 2023.
Inflation Watch:
Comrade Biden and his regime say that inflation is “moderating”, but it is obvious that high inflation is still with us, and becoming chronic. The latest sign: Yet another increase in the cost of U.S. Mail postage stamps has been announced. That will occur on Sunday, January 22, 2023. The current rate for one ounce is $0.60 and the new rate will be $0.63. I recommend that you lay in your supply for 2023 and 2024 on or before January 20th.
Since the Forever Stamp was released in 2007, the average interval of time between rate changes was 1-to-2 years. That is, up until 2021. In 2021 there was just a seven-month interval between increases, and this next increase will come after just six months. Not only is this latest increase at the shortest interval between increases, but the increase is a moderately large 5%. None of this is a surprise considering the huge growth of the money supply and the other obvious general signs of inflation.
As a reminder, always make sure that you are buying genuine stamps. There are plenty of discount-price counterfeit stamps for sale online.
The new stamp costs are as follows:
- One Ounce Forever Stamps: increases from $0.60 to $0.63 (5% increase)
- Additional Ounce Forever Stamp: remains the same at $0.24
- Two Ounce Forever Stamp: increases from $0.84 to $0.87 (4% increase)
- Three Ounce Forever Stamp: increases from $1.08 to $1.11 (3% increase)
- Postcard Forever Stamp: increases from $0.44 to $0.48 (8% increase)
- Global Forever Stamp: increases from $1.40 to $1.45 (3% increase)
You can sign up for e-mail alerts of future stamp price increases at: ForeverStampPrice.com.
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2022 has been a year of brutal inflation.
Forex & Cryptos:
The U.S. dollar surrendered its status as the world’s premier safe haven in Q4. Here’s how.
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At Currency Thoughts: One Last Bout of Risk Aversion in 2022.
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FTX founder reportedly cashes out $684K after being released on bail.
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Winners and losers of 2022: A disastrous year that saw few winners among a sea of losers.
JWR’s Comment: With CBDC release announcements expected and stringent government regulation of private crypto exchanges looming, 2023 will be a good year to shy away from crypto investing. Keep your holdings small!
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12 Crypto-Predictions for 2023.
Tangibles Investing:
US Pending Home Sales Crash By Most On Record. JWR’s Comments: This is just as you were warned, folks. Oh, and needless to say, prices will surely follow, especially in the over-priced metropolitan and suburban markets. Consider this your “last call” to sell off your rental properties in such markets.
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An intangible tangible? An Emerging Trend: Rare and Unique Real Estate Collectibles. JWR’s Comment: I’m quite dubious, to say the least.
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. Thanks!