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 labor shortages in the railroad industry. (See the Economy & Finance section.)
Precious Metals:
Mike in Alaska wrote to mention a free online precious metals price calculator.
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Arkadiusz Sieroń: Gold’s Behavior in Various Parallel Inflation Universes.
Economy & Finance:
First up, at Wolf Street: After Slashing 33% of Workers in 6 Years, Railroads Complain about Labor Shortages, amid Uproar over Slow Shipments. An excerpt:
“Railroads are grappling with a weird phenomenon that is a combination of “labor shortages” and 12.6 million people still claiming some form of unemployment compensation, amid stimulus-fueled demand.
And this comes after railroads had spent six years shedding employees in order to tickle Wall Street analysts and pump up stock prices. The North American Class 1 freight railroads combined – BNSF, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National, Kansas City Southern, and Canadian Pacific – have tried to streamline their operations, using fewer but longer trains and making other changes, including under the strategy of “precision scheduled railroading,” implemented first by Canadian National, then by CSX.”
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Ted Kavadas: The U.S. Economic Situation – July 23, 2021 Update.
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At Zero Hedge: Yields Hit Session High After 20Y Auction Tails Most Since February.
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Deloitte’s Weekly global economic update.
Commodities:
Reader C.B sent us this: Stellantis CEO expects chip shortage to drag into next year.
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Yahoo Finance reports: Natural Gas Hits 31-Month U.S. High as Heat Adds to Supply Worry.
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Coffee Futures About To Rally Another 25% Higher?
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C.B. sent this news: Drought forces North American farmers to turn food crops to hay.
Inflation Watch:
Top Wall Street Executives Say Inflation Could Be Worse Than Predicted.
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Peter Schiff: The Transitory Inflation Ruse.
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In The WSJ: Inflation Pushes Consumer-Goods Giant Unilever to Accelerate Price Increases.
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H.L. suggested this article: Whirlpool will be hit by $1 billion worth of inflation this year — here is why they are still winning.
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If Inflation Was “Transitory”, This Would Not Be Happening.
Forex & Cryptos:
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Over at Currency Thoughts: Central Bank of Russia Hikes Interest Rate Further.
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Daily Forex Analysis – CAD & Crypto Currency Analysis (23 July 2021)
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Report Reveals El Salvador Plans For Issuing A Stablecoin.
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Tangibles Investing:
Burned by Hot Housing Market, Some Buyers Back Off.
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Buying in a Seller’s Market: 9 Ways to Win.
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Home Sellers Are Coming Out of the Woodwork: New Listings, Unsold Inventories & Supply Rise.
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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. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!