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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the cascade of Chinese real estate and stock market crashes, and a possible Yuan currency crash. (See the Economy & Finance section, and the Forex & Cryptos section.)
Precious Metals:
Major Bank Raises Gold Targets $200, Still Below Current Price.
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From chartist die-hard Jim Curry, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Forecast & U.S. Stocks Next ‘Kill Zone’.
Economy & Finance:
Panic Selling In China: Investors Dump Everything! Prepare For Stock Market And China’s Yuan Crash. JWR’s Comment: I’ve been warning about malinvestment and the incipient crash in China for more than two years. It all started with commercial real estate over-development.
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Newsweek: China’s Stock Market Is in Free Fall.
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Reader C.B. sent us this: A Muni Giant Exits the Field. What It Means for the $4 Trillion Market.
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Over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: Biden’s $5 Billion Student Loan Forgiveness Boost: Balancing Act Amidst Election Dynamics and Ethical Debates.
Commodities:
From a Turkish news source: Commodity Markets Remain Mixed In First 3 Weeks Of 2024.
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Bloomberg: January commodities: Downward 2024 tilt.
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Will Inflation Return in 2024 and What Does It Mean for the Grain Markets?
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Demand blues dominate zinc market mood.
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
USN&WR: Fed’s Inflation Puzzle Still Missing a Piece or Two.
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Economists increasingly sure US will avoid recession – NABE survey.
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Forbes: Fed Will Be Slow To Cut Interest Rates In 2024.
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CNN: Markets are trying to fight the Fed on rate cuts. It’s not working.
Forex & Cryptos:
Why China’s yuan may stay weak in 2024, regardless of any US Fed interest rate cuts.
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CNBC: Dollar wobbles; yuan on guard ahead of China data dump.
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Mississippi Bill Would Take Steps Against a Central Bank Digital Currency.
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Forbes: January 2024 Crypto Market Forecast.
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The evolving compliance landscape: Preparing for 2024’s regulatory revolution.
Tangibles Investing:
At Wolf Street: Amid Collapsed Demand for Existing Homes, Prices Drop Further, Supply Highest for any December since 2018, New Listings Come out of the Woodwork.
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Existing home sales tumbled to lowest level since 1995 last year. JWR’s Comments: Surprisingly, house prices have been fairly resilient, in most markets. But at some point, the supply/demand curve must be met, and prices will drop.
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US real estate market will be ‘very ugly’ next year, Howard Lutnick warns. JWR’s Comments: Here comes the Fed rate pivot, folks. Buckle up, and be ready for a resumption of high inflation. If any sort of real estate bucks the upcoming downtrend, it will be rural retreat real estate!
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Your new neighbor, a cell tower, may impact the value of your home.(Reader K.B. sent us the National Business Report link.)
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!