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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at “Trump Slump 2.0” in the U.S. gun market. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
The Comex market Short Sellers made another attempt at torpedoing the price of silver this week. By Wednesday evening, they had pushed the spot price of silver down to $36.61 per Troy ounce. But with ongoing strong buying in Asia, silver seems fairly resilient. Spot silver rebounded to $37.04 by Thursday morning, following Asian trading, and $37.30 on Thursday afternoon. I don’t expect the Shorts to manipulate silver back below $35.75 again this summer. Be patient, folks. We’ll probably see a bull run to $50.00/oz. silver by the end of November.
o o o
Gold doesn’t blink: What trillions in US debt mean for safe-haven assets [2].
Economy & Finance:
U.S. Workers Turn to Side Hustles as Cost of Living Outpaces Pay [3].
o o o
140-year-old Del Monte Foods files for bankruptcy [4].
o o o
Linked over at the Whatfinger.com [5]news aggregation site: Amazon suffers huge Prime Day sales plunge as families hang onto cash amid recession fears [6].
Commodities:
Trump’s 50% copper tariff could raise the cost of appliances, EVs and other goods, experts warn [7].
o o o
Reuters: Markets react after Trump announces 50% copper tariff [8].
o o o
Reported on June 18th: Aluminum Market Reacts to Tariff-Induced Price Spikes [9].
o o o
Metals smelting is the West’s next critical minerals crisis [10].
o o o
At Zero Hedge: Cocoa Supply Crunch Shown In One Chart [11].
Wages and Prices:
U.S. Treasury Dept: ‘Blue-collar’ wage growth sees largest increase in almost 60 years under Trump [12].
o o o
US Labor Costs Rise More Than Expected [13].
o o o
These Fast Food Restaurants Increased Their Prices the Most Last Year [14].
o o o
July 2025 Fuel Update: Prices Continue to Decline [15].
o o o
Over at Reddit Preppers: Grocery price comparison from 2019 to January 2025 spreadsheet [16].
Forex & Cryptos:
The Dollar Had Its Worst First Half in More than 50 Years. Will It Continue? [17]
o o o
At Currency Thoughts: More Tariff Letters, Extended Uncertainty, and the Beat of Released Data and Central Bank Watching Goes On [18].
o o o
US Dollar Falls as Metal Markets Rise Amid Trade Tensions [19].
o o o
Colombia’s Inflation Eases but Risks Remain for 2025 [20].
o o o
Jameson Lopp: Inflation is Multiple Taxatio [21]n.
o o o
Bitcoin blasts past $112k to hit historic all-time high [22].
Tangibles Investing:
At gun shows and at gun shops, many dealers are talking about “Trump Slump 2.0”. They are bemoaning that there is less demand for guns, and a large number trade-in guns are hitting their shelves. They are now buying those secondary market guns at deep discounts. The American gun market tends to be quite cyclical and politically driven. (Democratic presidential administrations almost always create booms in gun-buying.) If you have any extra cash on hand available for investing in guns, then I’d recommend doing so between August of this year, and the mid-term elections of November 2026. That period will likely be the depth of the gun market Trump Slump. I recommend buying privately, whenever possible. So… What to buy, for eventual resale, or to pass on to your children and grandchildren? If you live in one of the 32 states with true Private Party Sales, then you should mostly buy: high-quality black rifles, arm-braced AR pistols chambered in 5.56mm, Glocks, SIGs, Walther PPQs, Springfield Armory Hellcats or Echelons, or other high-quality concealable polymer-frame handguns — with most of those chambered in 9mm. However, if you live in one of the 28 restrictive states that require dealer paperwork on modern guns, then buy some practical no no-paperwork pre-1899 cartridge guns that are chambered for readily available cartridges. As always, buy low and sell high. The “Low” will be starting very soon. But in the next panic buying period (most likely starting in late November of 2028), you may literally double your money. – JWR
o o o
The Texas residential real estate market is looking grim: Will the Texas Housing Market Crash as Prices Drop Across the State? [23]
o o o
Our featured Pre-1899 Gun Of The Week, at Elk Creek Company: Scope-Ready Loewe Chilean .22-250 Mauser Sporte [24]r
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos [25] 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 [26].) 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!