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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we focus on the impact of recent floods on grain prices and the implications for poultry and other livestock producers.
Precious Metals:
Will The Historic Imbalance In Gold Stocks To Gold Price Resolve?
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BMO: Gold, Platinum ETF Holdings Rise In 2019
Economy & Finance:
Worsening Inventory Pileup Rattles Goods-Based Economy
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Charles Hugh Smith: The Coming Crisis the Fed Can’t Fix: Credit Exhaustion
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This comes as no surprise: US Freight Volume Drops
Budget and Monetary Policy:
At Zero Hedge: The Fed’s Obsession With Stocks Reveals the Truth: They’re Terrified of What’s Coming
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Self-Destruction: Cheerleading the Process. Here is a selection from the article:
“SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS:
- Individuals become debt-slaves for much of their life via mortgages, credit cards, student loans, auto loans, payday loans and more. Most people support the banking cartel and self-destructive debt-slavery.
- Governments don’t control their spending, fall deeper into debt and create their eventual self-destruction. Debt, deficits, devaluation, destruction of purchasing power and inevitable inflation occur – thanks to the political and financial elite.
- Governments, encouraged by military contractors, arms dealers and special interests, engage in costly and pointless wars that accomplish little. Wealthy individuals and powerful cartels benefit and the masses pay with lives, devaluations and price inflation.
- Governments approve social legislation to enlarge their power base, buy votes, and reward those who supported the politicians. Much of this legislation is counter-productive, costly and self-destructive…”
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US Budget Deficit Hits A Record $234 Billion As Interest On Debt Soars. JWR’s Comment: At some point, the piper must be paid. Be ready for that ugly day. We could very well see a full-scle meltdown of the U.S. Dollar. And along with it, most dollar-denominated investments. One alternative that will survive this will be tangibles.
Commodities:
The big news headline: U.S. farmers face devastation following Midwest floods. The article begins:
“Midwestern farmers have been gambling they could ride out the U.S.-China trade war by storing their corn and soybeans anywhere they could – in bins, plastic tubes, in barns or even outside.
Now, the unthinkable has happened. Record floods have devastated a wide swath of the Farm Belt across Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and several other states. Early estimates of lost crops and livestock are approaching $1 billion in Nebraska alone. With more flooding expected, damages are expected to climb much higher for the region.
As river levels rose, spilling over levees and swallowing up townships, farmers watched helplessly as the waters consumed not only their fields, but their stockpiles of grain, the one thing that can stand between them and financial ruin.”
JWR’s Comments: Destroyed stored grain and delayed spring plantings will surely create chaos in the grain commodities markets. This will mean shortages, and higher prices at all levels. Anyone who is preparedness-minded should top off their stored grain reserves, ASAP. This has implications for poultry and other livestock producers. Anyone who feeds their livestock with grain that they don’t grow themselves should consider reducing their flocks and herds, in anticipation of grain price hikes. Chickens that are butchered and tucked in chest freezers don’t gobble grain.
Cryptos:
CoinMarketCap Crypto Indices Launch on Nasdaq, Bloomberg, Reuters
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Sentiment Speaks: Does Bitcoin Have A ‘Leading Indicator?’
Tangibles Investing:
Farmland Values Hold Firm: Land Values Stubbornly Stable as Farmers Keep Buying
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Farmland Values and Debt: Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. JWR’s Comment: The recent flooding in Nebraska and several adjoining states may prompt some farmers to sell. It may be a “take the insurance money and run” situation. This will probably depress land values for a least a year.
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The folks at Palmetto State Armory (PSA) are running a short-term special: 1,000 rounds of Federal 5.56mm NATO ball ammo and 10 MagPul 30-round PMAGs, with free shipping for $350 (or just $299 after Federal’s rebate.) At the PSA web site, put “SKU#KIT-0293” in their search box. Such a deal!
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 of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who particularly watch individual markets. And due to their diligence and focus, we benefit from fresh “on target” investing news. We often get the scoop on economic and investing news that is probably ignored (or reported late) by mainstream American news outlets. Thanks!
We are anticipating the jump in grain prices. We are wanting to grow all our own livestock feed anyway. Our garden is getting MUCH BIGGER this year! Anyone have ideas of what to grow to feed chickens and milk cow? Don’t say corn. It’s too late to grow corn, and I’m wanting to get them off of corn anyway. I am growing okra to replace the cottonseed meal for the cow. It is an experiment. Lots of squash. I’m trying to figure out how to store winter squash in a hot, very humid climate.
Storing winter Squash. I have had great success with dehydrating butternut squash as well as pumpkins, here’s how. Early in the winter when heating season starts I cut them into 1/4 inch squares and place them on parchment paper in 1/2 sheet baking pans, these I put on the wood stove and tend until they are dry. Shaking and rolling the pieces as they dry with the parchment paper. I then store the dried product in quart mason jars. It is amazing how many pounds of squash fit in a quart jar. Reconstitute with water and enjoy in your favorite recipes. You may want to add a desiccant and O2 absorber, but I have not found that necessary. Other vegs also work well , Bell peppers, etc.
Thank you!
Unfortunately, we can’t take advantage of PSA’s offer here in CA. Both the online purchase/shipping to your home and the 30-rd mags are illegal here.
But as always, LEOs are exempt from all our gun control laws. The PTB in Sacramento want to keep their “layman soldiers” happy.
That’s why you set up a PO Box in Nevada. You get a drivers license in Nevada to the PO Box as you tell them you’re homeless. Which you are in Nevada. You but all your firearms 30 round magazines and ammunition and send them to your Nevada address.
Works every time. Take the family to Vegas and pick up your goodies.
All the best.
It can be problematic to use a PO box to receive packages.
UPS and FedEx won’t deliver large or heavy packages to a Post Office – they hold them at their distribution center and call you to come in and pick them up.
Some vendors won’t accept a PO box for certain items (including gun parts).
You can get around this by using a private shipping/mailbox service.
Problem solved…I was among the first to hear of the CA mag law being struck down last Friday, reading about it only hours after the news was released. I IMMEDIATELY jumped on the chance and ordered a boxload of “real” mags, and was very glad I did because the next day several online forums had tons of commenters saying sellers were out of stock everywhere and backordering.
🙂
Most grains (except corn) shouldn’t experience any shortages from the flooding. There are mountains of wheat laying on the ground all around the Midwest as the elevators are used for the ‘high dollar’ soybeans and corn. Seems lots of demand for FedGov required ‘renewable’ fuels are driving demands on those. Any big surge in prices is more likely the Wall St. crooks making money off of others misery.