Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR [1] also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at China’s burgeoning gold stockpile. (See the Precious Metals section.)
Precious Metals:
Jeff Clark: 2023 Gold Price Prediction, Trends, and Five-Year Forecast [2].
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China’s public gold holdings now over 2,000 tons after another huge purchase in December [3].
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Mike recommended this Radio Contra podcast: Precious Metals, Goldbacks, Voluntary Currencies, and CBDC [4].
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H.L. sent us this: Tennessee Lawmakers Introduce “Tennessee Bullion Depository Act” [5].
Economy & Finance:
US households’ debt rises to $16.5 trillion [6].
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Massive Hedge Fund, Also Known As Swiss National Bank, Suffers Colossal $143 Billion Loss In 2022 [7].
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Jamie Dimon In Favor Of A Fed Rate Hike Pause, Sees 50% Odds Rates Hit 6% [8].
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Reader S.B. sent this from Bloomberg: How the Busiest US Port Went From Swamped to ‘Dormant Volcano’ [9].
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A sobering lecture on demographic destiny: Peter Zeihan – “People Have No Idea What Is Going On” [10].
Taxes, Debt & Deficit:
Americans Moved To Low-Tax States In 2022 [11].
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Feds Borrowed $4 Billion Per Day In 2022, Totaling $10,000 Per Household [12].
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The Worm Has Turned: The Fed Sent $76BN To Treasury In 2022; It Is Now Sending $650 Million To Banks Every Day Instead [13].
Commodities:
SoCalGas Shock: California Gas Prices Skyrocket 128% in One Year [14].
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A Symbolic Gesture: Wyoming Proposes A Voluntary Phase-Out Of EV Sales By 2035 [15].
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Irina Slav, at OilPrice News: U.S. Oil Production Growth’s Path Is Clear. [16]
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Largest US Grid Saw Nearly 25% Of Power Generation Fail During Christmas Cold Blast [17].
Inflation Watch:
Do you wonder about the real inflation rate? The ShadowStats chart shows that it is around 15% [18], using traditional accounting methods.
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Drugmakers to raise prices on at least 350 drugs this month [19]. (Our thanks to D.S.V. for the link.)
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H.L. suggested this essay by Brandon Smith: Is There A Way To Stop Inflation Without Crushing The Economy And Killing The Dollar [20]?
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Rome’s Runaway Inflation: Currency Devaluation in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries [21].
Cryptos:
From the WSJ: Central-bank digital currencies are coming—whether countries are ready or not [22].
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Solana continues comeback with 137% YTD price surge [23].
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Another round of Coinbase job cuts, 20% of workforce let go [24].
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‘I didn’t steal funds,’ Sam Bankman-Fried says in unusual post-arrest blog post [25].
Tangibles Investing:
Forbes: Real Estate Trends: Should You Buy A House In A Recession? Pros And Cons [26].
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Natchez Shooters Supply [27] (one of our affiliate advertisers) for a limited time is offering free shipping on orders of $99.99 or more. This is important, for heavy ammunition and reloading components orders. To get free shipping, use code FS230113 at checkout.
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos [28] 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 [29].) 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!