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 also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, some post-mortem details on the Credit Suisse takeover. (See the Economy & Finance section.)
Precious Metals:
A word of caution to anyone looking for pre-1965 circulated U.S. silver coins: You should be shopping very carefully. In today’s frantic marketplace, the premiums charged by dealers are varying much more widely than normal. When I checked the asking price for full $1,000 face value “junk silver” bags on Saturday morning, some dealers were charging as little as 21 times face value, while others dealers were charging as much as 28 times face value!
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At Gold-Eagle.com: Metals Update: Silver Now Leads Gold.
Economy & Finance:
Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: The $17 billion wipeout of Credit Suisse bondholders has not gone down well in Europe. JWR’s Comments: Traditionally, bank bondholders have been “first in the queue” for recompense, ahead of shareholders. The recent re-ordering is sure to make waves, perhaps with some long-term political/financial governance repercussions. This is the biggest hit that AT1 bondholders have taken since 2008!
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Analysis: Credit Suisse collapse threatens Switzerland’s wealth management crown.
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50 More US Banks Could Fail – Lehman VP.
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The Race For Electric Vehicle Adoption: The West Takes The Wheel With Seattle, San Francisco & San Jose Leading The Pack. JWR’s Comment: Note the big blank spot in the map for the American Redoubt — including all of the northern Rockies and the Intermountain west, and beyond, to the plains. Electric cars simply don’t make much sense here, given our cold winters and our very long driving distances.
Commodities:
Copper price keeps rising – Analysis – 24-3-2023.
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Over at OilPrice News: North American LNG Projects Plagued By Price Volatility.
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IMF paper: Fragmentation in Global Trade: Accounting for Commodities.
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Nine ‘need to knows’ for grain markets now.
Inflation Watch:
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A PDF report from France (in English): Growth is holding up, inflation too.
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10-year TIPS reopening auction gets real yield of 1.182%. JWR’s Comment: That is a pretty lousy yield, for an alleged hedge on inflation.
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CNBC: The inflation factor that has the Fed taking risks with a banking sector on edge.
Forex & Cryptos:
At Currency Thoughts: A Non-Unanimous Bank of England Vote to Raise Bank Rate by 25 Basis Points to 4.25%.
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Swiss National Bank Interest Rate Lifted by 50 Basis Points to 1.50%.
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The week in markets: Crypto rally meets headwinds as Fed roils markets.
Tangibles Investing:
Housing Market Predictions For 2023: Are Home Prices Finally Becoming Affordable?
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Brownells (one of our affiliate advertisers) is running a “March Magness” sale. As part of this sale, they are featuring AR-10 .308 25-round windowed LR/SR GEN M3 magazines, for just $19.99 each. Be sure to take a look at all of their magazine specials. The March Magness specials end on the 31st, so order soon.
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!