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 the accelerating urban exodus (See the Tangibles Investing section.)

Precious Metals:

Gold stocks surge as spot price continues to rise. JWR’s Comment:  This month would be a good juncture to trade some of your physical gold for physical platinum. When I last checked, spot gold was at $1,804, while platinum was languishing down around $818 per troy ounce.  It is generally best to ratio trade when the market is at the extreme ends of pendulum swings. Count on reversion to historical norms.

Economy & Finance:

Thousands of Chase Bank customers in US reporting money missing from their bank accounts, some missing thousands dollars.

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Nearly half the U.S. population is without a job, showing how far the labor recovery has to go

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Pandemic Compresses Brick & Mortar Meltdown: Brooks Brothers Files for Bankruptcy, Ascena (Ann Taylor, etc.) Prepares to File, Tailored Brands (Men’s Wearhouse, etc.) Not Far Behind

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Alasdair Macleod: Banking Crisis This Month & Fiat Failure This Year

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Accounting Firms Take Billions in PPP Payouts

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No V-Shaped Recovery for Airlines. Ticket Sales Slide Again. United Announces 36,000 “Involuntary Furloughs”

Commodities:

Why potato farmers are stuck with billions of pounds of potatoes

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North American Oil And Gas Companies Continue To Go Bankrupt At $40 Oil

Forex & Cryptos:

Top Communist Party Official: China, US Headed For “Complete Economic Decoupling”

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USD/CAD holds steady around 1.3600 mark, moves little post-Canadian jobs data

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Report: Crypto Exchange Coinbase is Gearing Up for an $8B+ Stock Market Debut

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Max Keiser: Bitcoin Will “Eviscerate” Competitors, Rally to $100,000 Per Coin

Tangibles Investing:

US House Prices to Drop 6.6% by May 2021, First Annual Decline since Jan. 2012: CoreLogic, Owner of the Case-Shiller IndexJWR’s Comment: Yes, that will be the nationwide average. But I predict that it will primarily be urban real estate that falls in value, while rural real estate rises. If you listen carefully, you can already hear the roar of U-Haul rental truck engines in the distance. The exodus actually began two years ago. Update: I just checked, and the current rates from U-Haul were as follows: $3,312 to rent a 26-foot truck one-way from San Francisco to my old stomping grounds in Orofino, Idaho. But to rent the same for the reverse route? Just $518. That is a whopping $2,794 difference. The scales have tipped. The worm has turned. The Schumer has hit the fan.

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It Takes 3 Weeks to Escape Illinois

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Jim Rickards: Depression and the Great American Exodus

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Mountain West Real Estate Agents See New Wave Of Out-Of-State Buyers

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A new listing over at my #1 Son’s  SurvivalRealty.com site: 4,000+ Sq ft Underground Home on 130+/- acres in East Tennessee!

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 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. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!




33 Comments

  1. If that is true about Ol’ Remus, he will be sadly missed. I haven’t had a new Woodpile Report since early June. I looked forward to a new one every Tuesday. He usually always had some great quotes. I hate to hear this news. He was a truly a gem.

  2. Hey hey, that bunker house isn’t too far away from me! Gorgeous part of the State, mountain views all around. Civilization isn’t too far, there is “shopping” in Morristown, Kingsport, etc. Carson-Newman University is close by as well!

  3. While Remus did not have an archive, a fellow at http://woodpilereports.blogspot.com/2018/08/ol-remus-vintage-articles-and-taels.html
    is collecting old issues of the Woodpile Report as he can find them.
    Information about Remus Marsilvia is hard to come by and I suspect that was an alias as there is virtually no digital footprint for that name and no obituary for either he or his wife by the name Marsilvia.
    Just the content in the sidebars of his site was worth a visit, and the wit and wisdom, along with his breadth of interests made each Tuesday a treat.

    1. Thank you for posting this link and the developing collection of Ol’ Remus’ Woodpile Reports, Kris! It’s so good to share in the memories of his life, and the celebration of it. May God bless and keep you, Ol’ Remus.

    1. THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! Kris for the link. I have Woodpile Reports going back a few years but you have increased my collection by quite a bit. THANK YOU !

  4. Hmm, urban exodus. this all well and good, but when these people leave their home state for whatever reason to move to another area, ” Are they leaving the bulls–t ideas and political ideas behind? And are they willing blend into the local area to become part of them? Ex. my granddaughter’s husband worked in a hardware store in Bend Or and more than once people from Calif ( who had moved there to get away for whatever reason ) would come to the store looking for certain parts and then would bitch because they couldn’t find what hey wanted or needed and then would say that they always could find and get whatever arts they needed in Calif. After more than a few times of this happening, he unloaded on them and told them that if they could find the parts they needed in Calif, then maybe they should move back to Calif. Needles to say they tried getting him fired for his attitude, but his boss was of the same mind.

    1. It seems like there are a lot of folks that are like that here in NC, and it will ruin a nice area if it gets too bad. NC has been going hard left in many ways for a long while, and for the most part it isn’t the folks who have been here for many years, it is all of the transplants coming down from the northeast who move here and then push the same issues that they had where they come from.

      1. November elections across the nation, but to be sure in the Appalachian Redoubt will be interesting indeed. North Carolina is particularly interesting with regard to conflicts arising between the governor and local leadership and law enforcement. An important contest is also arising between the Governor and the Lt. Governor. Let’s hope and pray for restoration of the liberty loving, traditional, and conservative values that may flow through the results — and work toward the goal of victory in North Carolina, and across the U.S. Muscle through this, America. Do not lose hope or succumb to fatigue. Now is the time to persevere.

      2. I can attest to this wwes. Though I don’t live in NC now I was born and live there for over three decades and still have family there. The stories they tell me I would have never thought possible. Not all, but many transplants want to escape the inevitable consequences of socialist policies, like high taxes, corruption, crime, congestion, over regulation, etc. Howver many upon arrivIng wants schools with every possible trapping, pools, huge athletic fields, they demand more public green space… you get the point. All theses changes invite more regulation and higher taxes.

        They don’t call Chapel Hill the Berkeley of the east for nothing.

        1. Yes, 110% correct! As a transplant from the NE to EastTN, I made it a point to tell everyone who asked, that I left NY to get AWAY from all that, wouldn’t be bringing it down with me. Set everyone instantly at ease.
          Ironically (or maybe not so?) ,this is the same ‘issue’ underlying a lot of our social and political issues: some folks BELIEVE (in their heart and soul to the bottom of their toe’s!) that they know better, and what is best, and are not content to let others wallow in their own ignorance! Others are quite content KNOWING that what they feel and believe isn’t for everyone, and let others do as they wish.
          This is the very crux of all our current problems!

          1. Thank you, K in Tenn, for setting such a great example for all those escaping the ravages of liberal territory. It’s good to have you as a neighbor in the Appalachian Redoubt!

    2. We understand, Alfie! Transplants in our area behave the same way… Some do come around to better behaviors. Others leave. Some hang out for a bit with their bad attitudes. Our strategy is to ignore ’em, although it’s understandable when too when patience runs a little thin too!

      Speaking of Oregon… This was an interesting statement from an Oregonian (maybe in the area of your granddaughter and her husband) who was an HRC voter, and will be crossing over the party line to vote for DJT in November. This voter may be among many. We can only hope they will join all of us in restoring order and working toward the recovery of our great nation and Constitutional Republic.

      From the article: “Martin continued, “And now I’m surrounded by a country that I don’t really recognize anymore, and it kind of scares me.”

      https://www.breitbart.com/radio/2020/07/12/lifelong-democrat-bbn-voting-trump/

  5. It saddens me to see the waste of food as in the potato story. As much money as our federal government wastes I do wonder why someone doesn’t think it would be worthwhile to buy up this resource and preserve it in some way. Freeze dried, powdered mash potatoes, canned, something. Anything would be better than wasting it.

  6. Yes, Ol’ Remus’s passing is a loss. Yet, that really doesn’t describe the magnitude of his passing to his loyal readers.

    Few bloggers were as erudite as Ol’ Remus. It was almost as if that word in the dictionary would be accompanied by the picture of his face. I marveled at the breadth of his knowledge of and his interest in so many subjects: art, history, survivalism, politics, astronomy, photography, leading the simple life, and so much more. I will admit that he left me in the “mental dust” many times with his commentary. Few people knew as much as he did about human nature, human endeavors, and human knowledge.

    While I, like all but a few of his loyal readers, did not know the man personally, for many of us it is as if we have lost a close friend. Readers were concerned about his disappearance from the internet over the past month. When the worst fears were (seemingly) confirmed yesterday, I suffered pangs of grief.

    Farewell, Ol’ Remus. I wish you the best wherever you are.

    1. So beautifully stated and heart felt…

      From your post: “Few people knew as much as he did about human nature, human endeavors, and human knowledge.”

    2. Survivormann99,

      May you grieve well. Embracing our sorrow is a healthy practice.

      Grief drives men into habits of serious reflection, sharpens the understanding, and softens the heart.–John Adams

      Carry on, in grace

  7. Real estate has been going crazy here in rural Vermont. Wealthy out-of-state buyers are flocking here and buying up properties due to the perceived safety. Properties that were overpriced and sitting for a few years have just sold all of a sudden. People I know just got their asking price in a week. Realtors are crazy busy and fielding many multiple cash offers on properties. Seems like there is still plenty of money out there in some circles. Of course it’s pricing out the locals and we will be continuing to fill the state with wealthy people from NY, NJ etc.

  8. Same thing happening in Spokane County. Cash buyers coming in and bidding up properties. Really nice homes in the 700K range are sometimes sold in a day for asking price. They will bring their politics with them. We are looking to get out when we can.

  9. Truly sad about Ol’ Remus, if true. The fact that this has not been confirmed yet is our last hope. A good man, often brilliant. Trying to see the bright side where I can.

  10. JWR’s comment: “This month would be a good juncture to trade some of your physical gold for physical platinum.”

    If you think he’s pulling your leg, check out this chart of historical gold/platinum ratios. Take special note of the bar chart, 4th one down:

    https://www.kitco.com/commentaries/2017-02-07/The-46-Year-Record-of-Platinum-Gold-Ratios.html

    Today the ratio ended the day at 2.17. The bar chart is saying that’s not a very common occurrence (platinum is cheap) and the same bar chart is saying that a 1:1 ratio is a lot more common. JWR’s right, time to swap out gold for platinum! Swap out now and when it gets back to 1:1 you will have doubled your money.

    Kitco currently has a $100 premium on coins (but it’s still a no-brainer swap for gold) and only has Canadian platinum maple leafs for sale. If anyone has a better source and price, please post a link.

  11. “It’s likely we’re living in historic times just before they get even more historic, like the day before Bunker Hill or the Saturday before Pearl Harbor or September 10, 2001. There’s nothing we can really do about it save tidy up our own preparations and get our affairs in order, maybe conduct an autopsy on Life As We Knew It (LAWKI) or—or do something spectacularly useful, something ol’ Remus thought of while choosing a bridge to live under, choosing with care, on the notion that a civilizational apocalypse is a poor excuse to abandon personal standards, curb appeal should always count for something, and Remus favors the urban neoclassical look, the Rome-on-a-budget motif popular in the ‘twenties, so he had just settled on a concrete bridge with classical lines and a suitable location underneath for a box formerly containing a major appliance when it hit him: when future generations ask how it came to this who will tell them the truth?”- ‘Ol Remus

    1. From your post: “It’s likely we’re living in historic times just before they get even more historic…”

      In more ways than we might imagine. Dr. Li-Meng Yan (virologist, whistleblower, escaped to the US) was interviewed by Bill Hemmer. From that interview, a quote: “And I want them to understand, and I also want the U.S. people to understand how terrible this is. It is not what you have seen … This is something very different. We have to chase the true evidence and get the real evidence because this is a key part to stop this pandemic. We don’t have much time.”

      https://www.foxnews.com/media/li-meng-yan-virologist-china-coronavirus-coverup

  12. St Funogas

    Maybe try APMEX. I’ve bought my PM’s from them for years and I am extremely happy with everything I have ever bought.

    I believe that they were at one time an advertiser on this very site 🙂

    Rock on

  13. I grew up in western mass, then spent 10 years in CONnecticut before moving to NC 7 years ago, and I did not bring any of the politics or attitude of the northeast with me and have had no problems at all with native Southerners, especially when they get to know how conservative and Constitutionally minded I am.

    I was in shock when a democrat got elected as governor a few years ago. I have seen the mentality and culture changing….since I have been here. It’s very discouraging. I wish these out of staters who move here, leave all the anti gun, anti God, liberal metropolitan attitude back where it belongs, learn how to assimilate into their new home, and stop being rude and trying to change everything they don’t line about the south.

    As our society changes, due to decades of leftist propoganda via all aspects of society and entertainment industries, along with political correctness spreading like wild fire….AND, an older generation dying off, I am very pessimistic as to the future of this nation, lest we as a nation(culture) get on our faces, repent of our wicked ways and return to the God of our heritage, I think it’s only a matter of time before the Republic is no more.

    Someone once said, “Change the way people think, and you can change culture, society, laws and what is considered right and wrong”

  14. From American Digest Blog:UPDATE 2: FROM THE COMMENTS BY woodpilereport.comx
    no_email@noemail.com

    In an effort to dispel all the wild rumors I offer this advance notice of a forthcoming announcement at woodpilereport.com.

    It is taking some time to get to as there are more important things for us to do in the immediate but it will be posted soon.

    ——————–

    The Woodpile Report will no longer be updated.

    His family regrets to announce that Ol’ Remus recently met his demise.

    In accordance with his desire for anonymity as author of The Woodpile Report his identity as well as details about his life will not be provided.

    An archive here {at woodpilereport.com} of available past issues is pending.

    Stay away from crowds.

    H/T to all for the kind comments in your blogs, pages and comments.

    ——————-

    While his family, and yes, I am family, close enough to him that I have known him every single day I have been alive – until he died of course, wishes ‘friend of wife” had not posted her comments anywhere containing details of his death, which are true – but that’s all ya get for real info, the fact is that Ol’ Remus has indeed died.

    While rumors will persist without a link to an obituary or the divulging of other revealing information concerning who Remus was it is from the respect of his wishes to remain anonymous that we, his family, act in this manner.

    There are very few on the internet who know who Remus was but rest assured he was greater in real life than his writings showed him to be.

    This post may be freely shared of course, and I have no doubt it will be – an important take from this is the H/T thanks offered to all, not just readers here, but everywhere.

    Thank you Mr. Van der Leun for americandigest.org

    It is my honor to post this message here originally.

    Lastly – No, I am not posting from Stockholm, Sweden as the logged IP address will show.

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