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 the end of Dollar Dominance.
Precious Metals:
A clear-pitched bell rang at 9:25 AM Eastern Time on Monday morning, when we saw these numbers posted:
And by Thursday evening (Friday morning in Asia), we saw these even more astounding numbers, marking two more all-time highs:
- Silver: $54.22
There will surely be profit-taking today, but most of the Shorts have now covered and exited the market. The Longs are happy campers. A $1,000 face value bag of circulated U.S. 90% silver coins now costs around $38,800 — that is if you can find one. Many dealers are now sold out of silver.
The market wonks at CNBC are now scratching their heads, wondering why their over-hyped equities aren’t matching the returns of precious metals. The simple truth, nay, the hard truth — is that the days of Dollar dominance in world trade are coming to an end. – JWR
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BofA lifts 2026 gold forecast to $5,000/oz, sees silver at $65 [2].
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A long-time reader wrote to inquire:
“I’m considering liquidating a bit to raise a little cash. I’m up over 2 to 1 on [my investment cost for] silver and over 4 to 1 on gold. I am not a market timer but a client reminded me long ago that pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered.”
I replied:
“You might consider selling your holdings in 20% increments each time that silver doubles, starting at the $50/ounce level. But hold the last 20% for the long term. I seriously expect to see a $200/oz. top for silver, in this bull run. As for your gold? Perhaps sell 20% of your holdings each time that gold goes up another $500, starting at $4,000.”
I further recommend to the general blog readership: To conservatively diversify, at least half of the proceeds from liquidating precious metals should be invested in another useful tangible, such as land, collectible guns (both modern and antique), or ammunition. – JWR
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At Zero Hedge: Silver Wars: London Fades Away [3].
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Reader H.L. dug this up: Excavators find $1 million in gold coins from Spanish shipwreck along Florida’s ‘Treasure Coast’ [4].
Economy & Finance:
In an 8-minute video, Andy Schectman summarizes the new global currency paradigm: It Will ALL Collapse [5].
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This headline was posted at the same time that silver and gold set new highs: Historic Financial Carnage: More Than A Trillion Dollars In Market Value Was Just Wiped Out In A 24-Hour Period [6].
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Martin Armstrong: New Hires Fell to 16-Year Low in September [7].
Commodities:
Several readers mentioned this piece at the leftist Politico: Trump wanted a trade deal. Xi opened a new front instead [8]. It was subheaded: Beijing’s rare earth crackdown lays bare the fusion of economic rivalry and national security risk.
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Copper’s rally needs China impetus to reach record [9].
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World oil market to see huge glut in 2026, IEA says [10].
Equities:
The great AI stock market crash! Has it already started? [11]
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Can you detect an ill wind? CEOs cash out as insider sales top $1 billion amid market rebound [12].
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Top 10 U.S. Stocks Lose 3.6% ($0.9 Trillion) in Market Value on October 10, 2025 [13]. JWR’s Comment: Do not buy equities during a Suckers’ Rally.
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United States Stock Market: current P/E Ratio [14]. JWR’s Comment (on October 16, 2025): Even after the recent price drop, stocks are still grossly overvalued.
Forex & Cryptos:
Published by Reuters on October 1st: Dollar faces prolonged weakness amid Fed rate cuts: Reuters poll [15].
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RBC: Currency Report Card [16].
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Cathie Wood makes bold Bitcoin bet as ETF battle heats up [17].
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Bitcoin’s ‘Uptober’ vibes hinge on Fed rate cut odds, Nasdaq and tech stocks’ response [18].
Tangibles Investing:
Except for writing contest prize winners who want to spend their purchase credits or for anyone who wants to pay with silver, I have put Elk Creek Company [19] on hiatus. I am now only buying and trading merchandise — not selling any of it to FRN cash or check customers. I also shut down our credit card merchant account. This should give me a chance to restock. – JWR
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A brief clip from a Johan Boos audio interview: Private credit dominated. Now tangible assets are taking center stage [20].
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Decoding the Alternatives Toolkit: Tailwinds for Real Assets [21].
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos [22] 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 [23].) 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!