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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the Urban Doom Loop concept. (See the Economy & Finance section.)
Precious Metals:
A fascinating read, from Jan Nieuwenhuijs: The West Is Losing Control Over the Gold Price.
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Zimbabwe central bank close to introducing gold-backed digital tokens into retail.
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Central Bank Gold Demand Hits Record High, U.S. Petrodollar on Deathbed?
Economy & Finance:
Over at Yahoo Finance: How the ‘urban doom loop’ could pose the next economic threat. An excerpt:
“All across the country, downtowns, office spaces and shopping centers are at risk of becoming ground zero for a new economic hazard: the urban doom loop. The fear is that a commercial real estate apocalypse could spiral out and slow commerce, wrecking local tax revenue in the process. Ever since the pandemic drove a boom in remote work, hubs such as New York and San Francisco have drawn attention for their empty offices in previously bustling skyscrapers. But many economists are even more worried about midsize cities that have fewer ways to offset the blow when a major company slashes office space, the sale price of a building craters, or a downtown turns into a ghost town.”
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At Zero Hedge: US Durable Goods Orders Crashed By Most Since COVID In July.
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Commodities:
D.S.V. sent us this: The Daily Chart: The Shale Whale.
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At OilPrice News: Natural Gas Prices Rise As Supply Risks Persist.
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Graphite Wars: The Trillion Dollar Battery Race Has A Big Problem.
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EIA forecasts crude oil prices will increase through 2024 as demand rises above supply.
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
Fed Chair Powell calls inflation ‘too high’ and warns that ‘we are prepared to raise rates further’.
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Looting Surges in Argentina As Inflation Tops 100%.
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Argentina sets grocery price controls for 90 days to tame inflation.
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CNBC: Germany is struggling to move away from its ‘sick man of Europe’ image.
Forex & Cryptos:
OFX (of Ireland): Robust US Economy to uphold continued US Dollar strength.
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At Currency Thoughts: Turkish Interest Rate Lifted to 25%.
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Bloomberg Expert Analyst Explains Why A Fall To $10,000 Isn’t Bad For Bitcoin.
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US House Financial Services members scold Fed’s Powell for stablecoin bill obstruction.
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SEC charges podcaster in first unregistered securities sales claim against NFT offering.
Tangibles Investing:
Freddie Mac: Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook – August 2023.
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Downward Pressures on Farmland Prices in 2023.
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Reader H.L. spotted this news: Elvis Presley’s prized Smith & Wesson Model 53 revolver sold at auction for $199,750 after the gun was expected to sell for under $100,000.
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!