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 rising price of platinum, in U.S. Dollar terms.
Precious Metals:
On Thursday: Platinum price hits $1,100 as it outperforms gold and silver, driven by improving fundamentals.
Then, on Friday, platinum jumped to $1,147.40 USD per Troy ounce! With a jump that big, I expect to see some profit-taking today. (Monday, April 24, 2023.)
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I gave you plenty of warning, folks: New bipartisan bill would let the U.S. Mint alter the metal content of coins to save money. JWR’s Comment: Lopping one zero off of the value of printed currency and leaving the coinage circulating would make more sense. But, of course, that would be a tacit admission that they’ve horribly inflated and debased the so-called dollar.
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At Gold-Eagle.com: Ascent of Central Bank Digital Currencies Bodes Well for Gold.
Economy & Finance:
50,000 stores could close in five years due to a slowdown in consumer spending, ecommerce demand.
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More Bidenista do-gooder socialist nonsense: Biden rule will redistribute high-risk loan costs to homeowners with good credit. (A hat tip to Tracy M. for the link.)
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Credit Investors See Defaults Rising, 84% Chance of US Recession.
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At the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: US Facing “Stagflation-Lite”: How Asset Returns Are Changing and What Portfolios Should Do.
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Lock-outs, mass emails, closed offices: Virtual layoffs are normal now.
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Over at The Washington Standard: U.S. Credit Crunch Has Started.
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Bridgewater’s Dalio to open family office branch in Abu Dhabi.
Commodities:
Chile Stuns Markets And EV Makers By Nationalizing Lithium Industry Overnight.
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Reader Carson in Wyoming sent this news link: Oil falls 2% on recession fears, swelling US fuel stocks.
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Wind Power Has A Profitability Problem.
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Inflation Watch:
Our own Tom Christianson flagged this: These 5 charts show how much 2 years of inflation have really cost you. Tom’s Comment: It is surprising seeing CNBC being so honest, to report about Bidenflation.
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Costco Reports 50% Price Hikes On Thousands Of Different Items As CEO Warns Of Difficult Times.
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Paul H. sent this: Online Grocery Prices Up 10.3 Percent In March As Inflation Continues To Bite.
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Food inflation to impede MENA’s growth in 2023.
Forex & Cryptos:
BRICS, Other Countries Showing Less Interest To Hold U.S. Dollar: Ray Dalio
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At Currency Thoughts: More Difficult Access to Credit But Central Banks Still Leaning Into Inflationary Winds.
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Reader C.B. sent us this: EU parliament approves world’s most sweeping cryptocurrency rules. JWR’s Comments: I expect the U.S. Congress to do something similar. Surely, an EU sovereign crypto must be waiting in the wings. Governments hate competition. A lot of regulation, scrutiny, and taxation of cryptos can be expected, soon. If you own any cryptos, then get them OUT of any exchanges and store them in hardware wallets.
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Tangibles Investing:
Someone Got a Deal – Wyoming T. Rex Sells for Bargain Price of $5.3 Million.
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You’ve Sold Your House, but Here’s Why You Won’t Walk Away With as Much Cash as You Think.
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!