Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the boom in British classic car prices. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
CPM Group: Silver Shines.
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The latest from Arkadiusz Sieroń: Bond Conundrum – Boom or Bust for Gold? A pericope:
“But now we can observe rising inflation and declining bond yields at the same time. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is 1.3%, which is 4 percentage points below the inflation rate, so investors who buy bonds lose a lot of money in real terms. Something is clearly wrong here. Let’s solve this bond conundrum!
The first potential explanation is that bond investors trust the Fed and believe that high inflation is mainly transitory. If so, the bond yields are more or less accurate and could stay around current low levels, and the inflation rates will adjust. The supply disruptions caused by the pandemic will eventually resolve, while the Fed is going to tighten its monetary policy, adding to disinflationary forces.
At first glance, the scenario in which inflation is declining seems to be negative for the yellow metal, as it implies lower demand for gold as an inflation hedge. However, in this case, interest rates could stay at very low levels for a long time. And gold likes the environment of low yields.
The second possible reason for the decline in interest rates is that bond investors expect slower economic growth than previously thought.”
Economy & Finance:
Biden’s Economy: The Black-White Unemployment Gap Soared in August.
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Desperate Money Printing Leads to Depression – Dr. Marc Faber.
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By 2022 only these 12 states will tax Social Security benefits.
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At Mises Wire: This Is a Sign that Price Inflation Will Soon Get Worse.
Commodities:
Bradley sent us this: Copper Prices: What Happens When Nothing Happens.
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Over at OilPrice News: Who’s To Blame For High Gas Prices?
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Natural Gas Prices Are Soaring Despite U.S. Production Records.
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The Lumber Bubble Has Burst! Here’s What Happens Next…
Derivatives:
Decoding Derivatives – Q2 2021 | Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP: DC transparency, really?
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How derivatives could change market dynamics.
Forex & Cryptos:
FOREX-Dollar weakens after U.S. payrolls miss.
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The Zimbabwe Dollar: Official and Black Market Exchange Rates.
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Bitcoin Devours More Electricity Than Many Countries.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren calls crypto the ‘new shadow bank‘.
Tangibles Investing:
After a wild year, the used-car market may be returning to normal.
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Until 2023? Parts shortage will keep auto prices sky-high.
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From the UK: How the pandemic has turbocharged the classic car market. This article begins:
“Sales of classic cars are booming, despite the ongoing effects of the Covid pandemic. And the market is being driven by online auctions.
That’s the view of Tom Wood, CEO of Car & Classic. “With traditional auctions closed, people have wanted to sell cars without physical contact,” says the tech entrepreneur. “Visits to our site were up 30 percent in 2020, but online auctions grew 60 percent month-on-month.”
Car & Classic is Europe’s largest marketplace for collectable cars, with more than 40,000 vehicles listed at any one time. Its new auction website launched in July last year and has sold hundreds of cars to date.”
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Reader C.B. spotted this: Uninhabited private island in Scotland up for sale at $70,000.
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. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!