Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 how copper is leading a commodities boom and general price inflation. (See the Commodities section.) Precious Metals: Palladium Tops Record $3,000 Amid EV-Demand Surge, Supply Chain Pressure o  o  o Tom C. sent a link to a fascinating video interview: Why has silver price not yet spiked from demand, …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“In March, the hedge fund Archegos struck an iceberg. In just two days, the highly leveraged fund went from “business as usual” to total collapse. Performance rapidly degenerated; the fund was unable to meet margin calls; its bankers seized its collateral; the fund was out of business. Archegos lost everything. Although Archegos was held only by founder Bill Hwang’s family, its saga offers broad investment lessons. Victories can be hazardous. They present temptation enough for retail investors, who frequently, as the saying goes, confuse brains with a bull market. After making a couple of winning trades, it’s natural to assume …


Preparedness Notes for Sunday — May 2, 2021

On May 2, 1945, the Soviet Union announced the fall of Berlin and the Allies announced the surrender of Nazi troops in Italy and parts of Austria. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic power specialists at Quantum Harvest LLC  are providing a store-wide 10% off coupon. Depending on the model chosen, this could be worth more than $2000. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course …



The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the throne …


Preparedness Notes for Saturday — May 1, 2021

May 1st was the birthday of Pastor Archie Mitchell — a man whose civilian life was torn by both World War 2 and the Vietnam War. It is also the birthday of the late Joel Rosenberg, a Canadian-born novelist and gun rights advocate (born 1954, died June 2, 2011). He is not to be confused with Joel C. Rosenberg (born 1967), another great novelist and the author of The Last Jihad series. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: The photovoltaic …


April 2021 in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover gold’s performance, and the factors that affected gold prices. What Did Gold Do in April? Gold started April around the $1,720 mark, and spent the first half of the month in choppy trade below $1,750. This changed on April 15, when Joe Biden unloaded a pile of sanctions against Russia for cyber espionage and election interference. This gave gold the breakout it had been looking for. Gold hit a six-week high early, breaking heavy resistance …


Editors’ Prepping Progress

To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year.  We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those –or excerpts thereof — in this column, in …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; …


Preparedness Notes for Friday — April 30, 2021

Camerone Day is celebrated on April 30th every year — the French Foreign Legion’s most important holiday. Today is also the birthday of sci-fi novelist Larry Niven (born April 30, 1938). Along with Jerry Pournelle, he co-authored the survivalist classic Lucifer’s Hammer. April 30th is also the birthday of Ed Yourdon, who was born in 1944. — New listing through Survival Realty Brokerage Services: A manufactured home on 18 acres in Sabine Parish, Louisiana. Has a four-acre pond, shop, and more. $179,500. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 94 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. …


The Innate Value of an Apple Tree – Part 2, by Northwoods Prepper

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Developing a pest-reduction process is better when understanding your enemy. For example, the Apple Tree Maggot can be found in the lower 48, while the San Jose Scale is limited to California. Use the internet to evaluate what insects are in your area. Traps are often multispecies and can significantly reduce infestation. There is a great article on Rural Sprout (https://www.ruralsprout.com/apple-tree-problems/) regarding apple tree problems with pictures identifying insect infestation and the damage they can do to apple trees. One last thing to say about infestation and insects and that is it …


Economics & Investing For Preppers

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 global inflation concerns. Precious Metals: It’s just zeros and ones at the end of the day’ – David Garofalo on why gold is better than bitcoin o  o  o Price pressure on gold and silver as bond yields on the rise Economy & Finance: Flexport: Trans-Pacific deteriorating, brace for …



Preparedness Notes for Thursday — April 29, 2021

This is the birthday of actor Daniel Day-Lewis (born 1957), often remembered for his starring roles in Last of the Mohicians and in Lincoln. — Our Editor-At-Large Michael Z. Williamson has a new sci-fi anthology that will be released by Baen Books on May 4th: Freehold Defiance. I’ve started reading my advance copy, and it is great! The book is already available for pre-order directly from Baen, and will be available from all major online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores on May 4th. I’d of course prefer that you order your copies from Books-A-Million (BAM), so that we can starve the …


The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”. Our goal is to educate our readers, to help them to recognize emerging threats, and to be better prepared for both disasters and negative societal trends. You can’t mitigate a risk if you haven’t first identified a risk. Today, we look at COVID-19 Vaccine Adverse Reactions and Deaths. Report Begins on COVID “Vaccine” Adverse Reactions and Deaths SurvivalBlog reader D.S.V. sent us the link to where US CDC has posted a web …