Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 spiking olive oil prices. (See the Commodities section.)

Precious Metals:

The recent rally in gold is continuing, albeit with some profit-taking. My gut tells me that in a few months folks will consider $2,200 USD per Troy ounce the new floor, for spot gold.

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From chartist Mark Lundeen, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Flies to Fresh All-Time Highs.

Economy & Finance:

Currently, this should be of great interest: Major U.S. Banks With the Most Commercial Real Estate Exposure.

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A recent video from The Economic Ninja describes the Bidenistas’ quest to destroy the free market and warns of an upcoming economic collapse:  It Just Began (This Is Very Serious).

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Over at The Conversation (or as I call it: The Liberal Lecture): Why economists are warning of another US banking crisis.

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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Argentina’s Milei Goes All In On ‘Shock’ Policies In Bid To Save Country’s Economy.

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Charles Hugh Smith, by way of Zero Hedge: A Low-Trust Society Is an Impoverished Society.

Commodities:

Price of Olive Oil Spikes 50% in EU. JWR’s Comments: Stock up, folks!  Olive oil in typical plastic 1-liter bottles stores very well, when frozen. (The bottles will not burst.) Buy a 3+ year supply for your family, if you have sufficient freeze space.

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Congressman Massie warns:  Hidden in this week’s Omnibus: Lobbyists got $15 million dollars to implement electronic tracking of all cattle in the U.S..

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From OilPrice News: China’s Rare Earth Export Ban Is Backfiring.

Derivatives:

Global banking watchdog cracks down on big lenders gaming capital requirements.

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Upcoming EMIR derivatives reporting changes: What you need to know.

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Vanguard considering more credit exposure hedges despite bullish outlook.

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Scott O’Malia: Time to Relook at the SLR.

Forex & Cryptos:

Egyptian Pound Stabilizes Post-Devaluation: Analyzing the Impact of IMF Deal and Economic Resilience BoostJWR’s Comment:  It is noteworthy that the value of physical silver jumped 60% overnight, in Egyptian Pound terms.  Never forget that precious metals stand ready as “fire insurance” when a currency burns down.

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Dollar hurt by ‘dovish’ Powell; yen up on BOJ policy shift speculation.

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With Bitcoin now bouncing around $72,000 USD per BTC, I’d like to impart some advice:  If you paid cash for your Bitcoin, and bought it anywhere below $36,000 per BTC, I recommend now liquidating HALF of your Bitcoin holdings.  That will leave the remainder at essentially NO cost to you. Thus, you can safely let the remainder ride as a long-term “no sleepless nights” investment.   That is just my perspective. Your mileage may vary.

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Bitcoin can top $150,000 in the next 12-18 months, says Fundstrat’s Tom Lee.

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How, in 7 Weeks, Bitcoin ETFs Reached Inflows That Took Gold ETFs 3 Years.

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Bitcoin price can top $200,000 in 2024, per $1.75 billion asset manager.

Tangibles Investing:

William Kirk discusses a possible upcoming magazine purchase freedom week (or day): How Exactly Would the Injunction Work on Washington’s Magazine Ban?

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An interesting video: Ruger Old Army – The Best Percussion Revolver Ever?

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Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) has some great specials in their “Daily Deals” this week.

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!