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 champion bulls. (See the Tangibles Investing section, near the end of this column.)
Precious Metals:
Global Gold Investment Demand To Overwhelm Supply During Next Market Crash
Stock Markets:
World’s Top Tech Giants Amass $1.7 Trillion in Monster Year
Commodities:
OPEC Concedes That U.S. Shale Won’t Die
Troubling Trends:
Over at Bloomberg (with auto-start video) The U.S. Yield Curve Is Flattening and Here’s Why It Matters
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Michael Snyder: This Is What A Pre-Crash Market Looks Like
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Reader Gregg P. spotted this: Venezuela just defaulted, moving deeper into crisis…
Economy and Finance:
Think Bitcoin’s getting expensive? Try Zimbabwe. Presently, a coup against Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, may be underway.
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Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Is it time for investors to leave the party after the latest bond market wobbles? (A hat tip to Gregg P. for the link.)
A Megatrend:
Floating Cities, No Longer Science Fiction, Begin to Take Shape
Tangibles Investing (Champion Bulls):
One unusual but potentially lucrative investment for folks who own pasture land is is raising champion bulls. Say, for example, you spend $4,000 on a champion quality proven bull that is four years old. You could then contract with an Artificial Insemination (AI) firm to gather the bull’s semen, 20+ times per year. It is kept in “straws” (slender tubes), stored in liquid nitrogen temperature –at 320 degrees below zero. Each straw contains a very small quantity of semen that is diluted in albumen. They can be kept frozen for many years without deterioration. Some straws of frozen bull semen retail for $80+, and bull owners are paid the equivalent of around $20 per straw, shortly after the semen is gathered. One bull can generate thousands of straws per years
These days, more than 75% of dairy cows are bred by AI methods. And now, most bull semen is “sorted” or “spun” (centrifuged), selecting the sex of the offspring. The sorted straws are then sold at a premium price. This because buyers are willing to pay more in exchange for the guarantee that spun straws will produce all heifer calves. Owners of bulls that are proven to produce heifer calves that go on to be top milk producers can generate a net income of $10000+ per year. There are, of course, many risks. So do your homework and line up a buyer for your bull’s product long before you select and buy a young bull. The proof is in the production, and that can be a gamble. It can also take three years to start earning top dollar, per straw.
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!
Champion Bulls
A while ago I was interested in Longhorn cattle but my thought was looking at crosses that were polled. I know sacrilegious to what Longhorn breeders hope to accomplish – for them the longer the horns the better. I was having a thought exercise on a cross breed cow that was very hardy, disease resistant, beautiful and had long productivity. Maybe even a longhorn bred to a dairy breed. Anyway, I ran across this site that has semen of almost any noteworthy Longhorn bull. And also has Watusi semen as well. They are big on horns. http://www.semenhub.com/Default.aspx?id=95918&Title=LonghornHub. It’s kind of cool to look back into the history of the Longhorn by reading the genetics of some of these bulls.
You should include a section on cryptos on here each week as well. Should be part of a diversified strategy. Putting even a small amount of assets into BitCoin can more than make up for the price suppression of metals.
We have several people raising longhorns in the area. One rents his cattle out to clear overgrown areas, they’ll eat everything nasty on the place given a little time. Nice cleared area when they’re done.
CHECK YOUR HEAD GEAR. The best survival prep is a brain with a good mind that can negotiate fluid changing circumstances. Material preps & stores are a bonus and for most a luxury. Maintain good situational awareness with a mind honed for clear thinking and assessment of various situations.
The floating city concept could be a answer to plastic pollution in harvesting plastic and using it to construct products for use or sale.
Be very careful when investing in breeding stock, there are a lot of scammers in this just as in precious metals. I know this for a fact, when I lived in North Central Missourah I had friends and relatives that invested in Brangus Cattle and Bulls in particular and they all lost their money. Trekker Out. Buyer Beware!
Why do you said me to a Communist News Network link on Venezuela without a warning first?! They are the worst. Don’t increase their traffic. I am sure some other place on the internet had that same story.
Remember, #CNNisISIS!