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 physical precious metals shortages. (See the Precious Metals section.)
Precious Metals:
I’ve been warning about this: Unprecedented Gold and Silver Deliveries Transforming COMEX Markets [2]. JWR’s Comment: The physical metal shortage is even more dire at the LBMA. A short squeeze is approaching.
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Gold is Signaling a Tectonic Shift in the Financial System [3].
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Mike Maharrey, at Gold-Eagle.com: Data Discrepancy Highlights Difficulty of Tracking Chinese Gold Reserves [4].
Economy & Finance:
CNBC: Divided Fed worried about tariffs, inflation and the labor market, minutes show [5].
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Map shows states where property tax could be repealed [6].
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Jeremy Warner: We may be facing the dotcom bubble 2.0 [7].
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com [8]news aggregation site: Bed Bath & Beyond Flees California’s Marxist Mess: The Latest Casualty in the Golden State’s Business Exodus [9].
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Futures Slide For Fifth Day As Jackson Hole Jitters Rise [10].
Commodities:
Copper exchange price disparity retreats in August [11].
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Nickel Glut Weighs on Stainless Steel Despite U.S. Tariff Support [12].
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From OilPrice News: Eric Nuttall Warns of Near-Term Oil Glut, Sees Bull Market Brewing in 202 [13]6.
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
At Zero Hedge: ‘Hawkish’ FOMC Minutes Shows ‘Majority’ Fear Higher Inflation More Than Lower.Employment [14].
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August 2025 Inflation Data: Will It Drive the Fed Toward a Rate Cut? [15]
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From Newsweek: How Prices for Common Groceries Have Changed Since Trump Took Office [16].
Forex & Cryptos:
EUR/USD Analysis and Signals: Selling Pressure May Remain Until Jackson Hole [17].
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Australian Dollar Forecast AUD/USD for August 21, 2025 [18].
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Ethereum could hit $80,000, says Etherealize CEO Vivek Raman [19].
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Fed explores surprising new tech to transform payments [20].
Tangibles Investing:
Several readers mentioned this WSJ piece: Nobody’s Buying Homes, Nobody’s Switching Jobs—and America’s Mobility Is Stalling [21].
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In the WSJ: The Worst Performer in Billionaires’ Portfolios? Trophy Art [22].
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Our featured Pre-1899 Gun Of The Week, at Elk Creek Company should be of interest to most Model 1911 pistol owners: Ludwig Loewe M1895 .45 ACP Scout [23].
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos [24] 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 [25].) 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!