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. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at renewed market demand for gold. (See the Precious Metals section.)
Precious Metals:
Gold demand surged to an 11-year high in 2022 on ‘colossal’ central bank buying.
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The world’s largest silver producing countries in 2022 – report.
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Kelsey Williams, at Gold-Eagle.com: Orderly Markets vs. Chaos.
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Piepenberg: Bonds Die, CPIs Lie & Gold Rises.
Economy & Finance:
I found this linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Dow closes more than 350 points higher, S&P 500 caps best January in four years. JWR’s Comment: This is a juncture to cash out of stocks. Switch to precious metals!
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US health insurers to withstand high inflation & interest rates in 2023: Fitch.
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BlackRock partners with a digital platform to launch ETF savings plans across Europe. JWR’s Comment: This article has all of the marks of being sourced from a press release. (Note the cliched: “We are delighted…” partnership statement.) But it illustrates a nascent trend.
Commodities:
At Seeking Alpha: A Massive Inflation Shock Could Come Sooner Than You Think.
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Analysis: Global hedge funds plan 2023 around inflation risk. A quote:
“Having weathered a dire 2022, many global hedge fund managers are preparing this year for persistent inflation and seeking exposure to commodities and bonds that perform well in such an environment.
A majority of the 10 global asset and hedge fund managers surveyed by Reuters said commodities are undervalued and should thrive as global inflation stays elevated in 2023.”
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From OilPrice News: No, The World Isn’t Running Out Of Lithium.
Inflation Watch:
Vanguard: 2023 economy and markets: Four things to know.
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U.S. consumer moods brighten to kick of 2023, inflation views down.
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MetLife: Global Risks 2023: Recession, Inflation, and Central Banks. An excerpt:
“The Fed may be unable to tame inflation: consumer balance sheets remain strong. On the flip side, the Fed’s data-dependence creates a risk of overtightening. Treasury market illiquidity, combined with hidden, leverage-amplifying shocks, could result in a Fed intervention, which would conflict with its tighter monetary policy objectives.”
Forex & Cryptos:
Posted at Zero Hedge: Pozsar: QE, YCC needed to “keep wheels on the [USD] cart”.
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At Larry Greeberg’s Currency Thoughts: January 2023 in Figures.
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Time To Sell Bitcoin And Crypto? ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry Tweets ‘Sell’.
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Elon Musk considering crypto payments for Twitter in push to build ‘everything app’.
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Binance Lauds United Kingdom’s Proposals To Properly Regulate Cryptocurrencies.
Tangibles Investing:
Here’s What Experts Think Could Happen To Used Car Prices In 2023.
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Top 10 Tangible Investments. JWR’s Comment: I disagree with this writer’s advice on computers. Unless you can find an original 1984 “signed” Macintosh, older computers are only going down in price.
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!