Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest 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 JWR. (SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor.) Today’s focus is on  investing in rare books. (See the Tangibles section, near the end of this column.)

Precious Metals:

First up: Silver Prices in 2017: This Chart Shows Silver Prices Could Hit $100

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Cramer Would Invest 10% Of Power Ball Winnings Into Gold

Stocks:

Investors pull billions from US stocks in longest outflow streak since 2004

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And here is the latest over-weekend stock market news at Nasdaq.

Commodities:

Next, Jon Yeomans of  The Telegraph reports: Antofagasta on a roll as copper prices surge

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Nickel surges on strong Chinese demand, falling stocks

Forex:

Now, on to the foreign exchange news: Sterling set for fourth consecutive week of losses

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What can we expect on sterling exchange rates for the rest of August?

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Will the Pound continue to fall versus the Swiss Franc? (Joseph Wright)

Economy and Finance:

Next, the financial news seems dominated by a conference held annually, here in the American Redoubt:  Jackson Hole: Markets braced for Yellen speech

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Yellen’s coming speech could mark the ‘end of an era’

Troubling Trends:

China’s new problem: ‘Frenzy’ of consumer lending creates debt ‘explosion’

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Nick Clements at Forbes: Consumer Debt Reaches New Peak: Will Losses Follow?

Tangibles Investing (Rare Books):

Rare books are one investing niche worth considering.  Unless you live in the tropics, books are fairly easy to  keep in good condition.  There is a ready market for signed first editions, limited editions, and scarce out-of print books–both fiction and nonfiction.  Since I am a shooter, I tend to concentrate on gun books.  When I’m at gun shows and used books stores, I’m always on the prowl for autographed books written by Elmer Keith, George Nonte, Col. Jeff Cooper, Roy Dunlap, and others.  I also look for many other scare original books (not reprint editions), regardless of whether they are autographed.

And, since I have a background in the intelligence community, I look for books on spys, spymasters, and tradecraft.

JWR’s Key Titles

Some other key titles I watch for are:

• The Machinegun by Chinn (a multi-volume series)
• Ordnance Went Up Front, by Roy F. Dunlap
• Sniping in France, by Major H. Hesketh-Prichard
  
• A Rifleman Went to War, by McBride (another book on WWI snipers)
• The FAL Rifle by R. Blake Stevens (a multi-volume series)
• The Great Pacific War by Hector C. Bywater
• K.14-O.M.-66, by Col. Victor Kaledin
• African Game Trails, by Theodore Roosevelt

Condition is crucial in the rare book market. Many novice book buyers know to look for rare titles. But they often ignore the fact that a worn cover a broken spine, or even just a missing dust jacket can mean the difference between a book that will appreciate in value versus a simple “reading copy.”  When I find a truly rare book with a trashed cover, I never pay much for it.  If I only pay the reading copy price, so then I’m fairly safe.  I’ve even taken a few of these and had them re-bound. But I never expect them to go up in value.

If you decide to invest in rare books, do plenty of research first.  Concentrate on subjects that you know well.  By leveraging your expertise, you can be an astute buyer. Then, as you proceed, be sure to be dispassionate. Unless it is a book is just for your personal collection, only buy books that you know will have a ready pool of buyers.

Lastly, look to the long game. Do your best to determine what will be most in demand in 5 or 10 years. One key clue: Watch the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) for lists of upcoming movie releases in the next few years.  If any big Hollywood blockbuster movies will be coming out about certain historical events or people, then buy up rare books–especially biographies and autobiographies.  And of course any movie that is directly based on a book is an almost sure thing. Once a movie comes out, then that is the time to sell those books at good prices.

Provisos:

SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. So 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!