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 investing in discontinued Glock 19C pistols. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
Just as I predicted, the super-heated spot price of Palladium has broken down. Never buy at the top, folks!
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Would Gold Rocket In The Event Of A Fiat Currency Collapse?
Global Economy & Finance:
UK-Based Multinational Department Store Debenhams Collapses, After 200 Years of Trading. Here is a key quote:
“Shares of UK-based multinational department store Debenhams — with 165 stores in the UK and Ireland and with 58 franchise stores in 19 other countries — were suspended today after the company and its creditors turned down two last ditch rescue offers from discount retail group Sports Direct, which owns close to 30% of Debenhams’ stock. Debenham’s shares have collapsed spectacularly since they were floated on the stock market in 2006 by its then-private equity owners, Texas Pacific Group, CVC, and Merrill Lynch Private Equity:
The latest rejection means that Debenhams, after gracing British high streets for over 200 years, now faces a “pre-pack” administration that will wipe out its shareholders, including Sports Direct which is estimated to have plowed at least £150 million into the firm.”
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Tom Chatham: Why Are American Communities Dying? This adds credence to my assertion that starting a small manufacturing business in your community derives “multiple gains.”
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Sentiment Speaks: If TLT Rises, The Fed May Lower Rates
Taxes & Regulation:
Laurence Vance, writing over at Lew Rockwell’s site: Your Property Is Not Your Own
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The Reuters news service reports: U.S. Fed proposes new regulatory regime for foreign banks. Here is a quote:
“The proposal, which would affect major banks like UBS, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and HSBC, is part of a broader plan by the Fed to more closely tailor banking rules in line with firms’ risk profiles.
The proposed changes, which are subject to industry feedback, would relax the capital and stress testing requirements for the subsidiaries of foreign banks. They would, however, impose stricter liquidity rules on subsidiaries of foreign lenders that rely extensively on riskier activities like short-term funding.
The Fed also said it was soliciting input on imposing stricter liquidity requirements on foreign bank branches for the first time, although it stopped short of proposing new rules.
In addition, the central bank proposed relaxing the schedule for how frequently foreign banks and domestic banks must submit “living wills” detailing how they could be dissolved in the event of failure.
Currently, large foreign banks have to submit the plans annually, but the proposal would allow them to submit plans every two years. Smaller banks would be able to submit less detailed plans on a three-year cycle. All domestic banks would also be allowed to submit scaled down plans every two years and comprehensive plans every four years.”
Tangibles Investing:
A gun guru friend of mine mentioned that the Gen4 Glock Model 19C (compensated, with a factory-ported slide) is now out of production. He predicted that unless a comparable model is introduced by Glock USA in Gen 5, then the discontinued 9mm G19C model will soon command a substantial premium. So I recommend that you try to find them at or under $525 new in box (or like new in box), and stack them in the back of your gun vault. Those will be much better than any money in the bank, regardless of the direction of the economy.
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David Jensen (the oft-mentioned young Silver Searcher, who is now college age): 10 SECRET Ways To Make Money – (2019). Note that most of his ideas involve tangibles.
Cryptos:
Bitcoin Blazes Bullish in Long-Term Indicator – For the First Time Since 2015
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The Philippines’ Central Bank Has Already Legalized 10 Bitcoin Exchanges
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Facebook Said to Be Seeking $1 Billion in Funding for Crypto Project
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!
Random Thoughts: If one or two major fiat currencies collapse, the IMF may step in and attempt to have their Special Drawing Rights (SDR’s) used as a world reserve currency. SDR’s are backed by a basket of national currencies, including the yuan. However, under Basel III, the international currency agreement now being fully implemented, gold has been moved up in quality as a central bank reserve. We may be moving back to a gold standard. The primary issue for us is whether private buying and selling will be legal under such a regime.
Collectors should remember that realizing the value of any collectible depends on an organized market for it. If you believe that we are headed for TEOTWAWKI, investing in collectibles may be inconsistent with that belief.
Your Property Is Not Your Own ~
Even in rural unincorporated areas federal, state and county laws, regulations and codes “dictate” use of property. Freedom is forfeit at the expense of pleasing those who live nowhere near you and yet hold power to ensure their pleasure.
Cord7, it won’t be long until no one is left who remembers what we have lost.
Property laws: Refuse to comply. If they don’t know, it won’t hurt them. These laws are dependent on people seeking to be law abiding citizens. If you do what you want and live like a free person, they can’t do much about it, since they don’t have the man power to enforce it.
Anon, have you dug a pond on your property lately? Ultimately every law is enforced with a gun to your head. How much manpower would they need to take one man down?
Refuse to comply? You bet! I believe the only vote that ever mattered in history is secession. But do it with a formidable size tribe of liberty-loving folks who “mutually pledge to each other their Lives, their Fortunes, and their sacred Honor.” Ah… and there’s the rub.
Montana Guy….All this talk of secession that I keep hearing from you, well, I LIKE IT ! It well ultimately come to that in this country but I believe that things will have to get real crazy because of the left before folks finally decide to separate from them. I know there is talk of secession in Washington state and Oregon state but the mistake they are making is trying to get their states OK on it. Secession may only be possible from the barrel of a gun. I would hate to see it happen that way though.
M-ray, to those Americans who don’t believe in secession, I ask, ‘What exactly are you celebrating on every Fourth of July?’
You are right about thinking of secession in terms of exiting borders. Think new borders. I’d look for patriots in Alberta and British Columbia long before Missoula, Montana. And if you believe in liberty, why would you ever feel the need for government approval of secession?
“How much manpower would they need to take one man down?” … what is the reverse of that point?
As purely an investment, the G19C may be fine, especially compared to any currency when things go bad. As a practical matter, the ported barrels develop cracks earlier than you’d think, and gas cuts in flesh and clothing are well documented during serious use. ie, shooting to the rear under an armpit can cause the above-mentioned problem as well as clothing ignition. Ports were the rage for a while, especially with LE procurement representatives who didn’t really get much exposure to training. Tacti-COOL applies here. Slide ports allow dirt to easily enter and interfere with function.
I know my plain vanilla Glocks (and everything else!) collect significant lint balls inside the slide from just daily carry. Sometimes I’d run a cabinet table saw three hours a day cutting out plywood components at work….so dust was a part of my life. Sawdust gets EVERYWHERE. Yet, I saw little of it inside my Glocks. Lint was the primary problem.
I once ignored monthly cleaning for three years and let the dirt collect inside, and there were a dozen training courses logged as well. The idea was to find the failure threshold in the Glock line. I never experienced a malfunction (G23, G22). However, a Glock armorer gave me a very dirty look as he opened up the test gun to inspect it. It was FILTHY. But it ran and ran. The second Glock was there in case Murhpy showed up.
In certain drills, empty pistols are unceremoniously jettisoned during courses. These fall into the dirt (hopefully) which can be like talcum powder on the range. The slotted slide offers one more avenue of invasion.
Paul
Fiat collapse
No, when fiat collapses gold doesn’t spike. Gold maintains it’s value, it’s the fiat that goes to zero and in a total collapse, as in Venezuela, gold also becomes essentially worthless. Nobody down there is buying their neighbors dog to eat with gold. On the other side of the collapse and subsequent new monetary system gold, if you could have kept it, will have held it’s relative value against a basket of hard assets meaning you come out essentially unscathed money wise assuming that you can keep any other real property as well.
Debenhams
Long online retail and short brick and mortar is a generational trade that will make some folks serious money. I don’t like long – short pairs trades so I would personally invest long online and let the B&M resizing run it’s course. Some Brick and Mortar is going to make it, that’s a trickier prospect to dissect.
Private property
Continuing yesterday’s discussion in Odds and Sods about who owns your property; I would note that CIA Communications Officer (not joking) Tom Brokaw announced the end of real property several years back. Nobody heard him or understood or believed, and not even a wimper of an answer came from the American people. No, you don’t have any rights or property. Period. The End.
The Federal Banks are essentially a government utility. Long FinTech is the generational trade there.
Bitcoin
The Philippines is an interesting test market for crypto exchanges. They have some pretty serious fraud laws and they don’t take ten years to convict people and put them in country clubs. In fact, if you defraud somebody at the street level you most likely will get shot for it and the shooter will walk.
@Fred- “Continuing yesterday’s discussion in Odds and Sods about who owns your property; I would note that CIA Communications Officer (not joking) Tom Brokaw announced the end of real property several years back. Nobody heard him or understood or believed, and not even a wimper of an answer came from the American people. No, you don’t have any rights or property. Period. The End.”
Please explain. I have no idea what you are referring to. Thanks.
Montana Guy, well said. I live in an area with no covenants, can do what I please (up to a point), but the handwriting is on the wall. Only gonna get worse till a reset. Hopefully I am wrong