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 the Federal Government’s rising cost of interest to carry the National Debt. (See the Economy & Finance section.)
Precious Metals:
Biggest bank failure since 2008 drives gold sentiment higher, could hit $1,900 next week.
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At Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Forecast – Spreading Bank Failures Could Send Gold Soaring.
Economy & Finance:
A “must watch” interview: Jim Millstein on Restructuring Market, Fed, Debt Limit. JWR’s Comments: Following his soft-pedaling of the gravity of the situation, don’t miss Jim Millstein’s warnings on the impact of higher interest rates on the $31 trillion national debt, starting at the 2:45 mark. Just extrapolate the Treasury Department’s annual cost of borrowing if interest rates go back up to 21%, like they did, in 1980.
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Reported Thursday morning: First Republic Extends Plunge as Bank Said to Weigh Options.
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Voila! Reported Thursday afternoon: Big Banks Agree To Historic $30 Billion Unsecured Deposit Injection In First Republic Bank.
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SVB’s rescue means the Fed won’t hike rates in March, says Goldman Sachs. JWR’s Comments: Here is the Fed’s de facto pivot back toward a loose money policy that I warned about. Be prepared for more inflation, folks!
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CNBC reported this on Thursday: First Republic falls 30% as regional bank stocks continue to sink.
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More rate hikes are needed, says Fed’s Mary Daly.
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At Zero Hedge: Beige Book Finds Drop In Inflation Concerns, Expectations For Continued Price, Wage Moderation.
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Bridgewater raises over $800m for new ‘Defensive Alpha’ strategy.
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Brandon Smith: Get Woke, Go Broke? It’s Time To Talk About SVB’s Ties To The World Economic Forum.
Commodities:
Russia-U.S. tensions could lead to uranium export ban, causing uranium price to soar – Amir Adnani.
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U.S. And EU Look To Launch Trade Talks On Critical Minerals.
Inflation Watch:
Euro zone inflation softens to 8.5% in February as ECB signals interest rate hiking is not over
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Some January numbers show that the United Kingdom Inflation Rate is still quite high. But now, post-Brexit, they’ll have the chance to do something about it, with independent control of their interest rates. Here is an excerpt:
“Prices also rose at a slower pace for food and non-alcoholic beverages (16.7% vs 16.8%), clothing and footwear (6.2% vs 6.5%) and furniture (9.2% vs 9.8%), in line with traditional New Year discounting. In contrast, inflation accelerated for housing and utilities (26.7% vs 26.6%)…”
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Persistently Pesky Price Pressures.
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Turkey annual inflation dips to 55.18% in February.
Forex & Cryptos:
Goldman warns of possible pre-election currency market turmoil in Turkey.
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India Takes A Leading Role In De-Dollarization.
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At Currency Thoughts: Escalating Fear of a U.S. and Global Inflation.
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At Coin Journal: The 7 Best New ICOs To Buy in 2023. (Most of these are for gamers.)
Tangibles Investing:
Commercial real estate continues to get pummeled.
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‘People vote with their feet’: Florida is the fastest-growing state for the first time in 65 years.
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!