Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. Most of these items are from JWR’s “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective. Today, we look at the impact of high hay prices and subsequently smaller cattle herds. (See the Commodities section.)
Precious Metals:
Gold, silver see price declines at greenback surges.
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Keith Weiner, at Gold-Eagle.com: Did Argentina Just De-Dollarize?
Economy & Finance:
Our own Tom Christianson mentioned this, published by The Washington Post: Seven doomsday scenarios if the U.S. crashes through the debt ceiling.
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A Tweet from commentator Mike Cernovich, pointedly illustrates how America’s middle class is being destroyed by inflation:
“I made $10 an hour as a part timer worker in Home Depot-style store. $12.50 on weekends. This was 1990s in a small town. [Adjusted for inflation, this] would be $19 an hour today and $24 on weekends. I checked and [the] same job TODAY is $12.50 an hour.”
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Paul Craig Roberts: The Economic Front: Recession and De-dollarization.
Commodities:
Reader D.S.V. sent us this: Ranchers Report Biggest Cattle Supply Drop in 40 Years as Shortages Hit Grocery Stores. JWR’s Comments: I’ve been warning my readers about the impact of high hay and grain prices, for several years. It was inevitable that herd sizes would be reduced. The end result? I expect dairy cow-calf pair prices to exceed $5,000, within a few years. And steaks will be selling for $12+ per pound.
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Copper Price Update: Another Warning Signal Flashes as Prior Low is Breached.
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Cutthroat Oil Competition Threatens US Quest to Refill Strategic Reserves.
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
FEE: Are Food and Energy Excluded from Inflation Measures?
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Wholesale Inflation Eases to 2.3%.
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Ecommerce prices are in deflation, paced by electronics, home goods.
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Stubborn inflation in the global economic outlook.
Forex & Cryptos:
Dollar stronger as market rethinks monetary policy outlook. This Reuters news service article begins:
“The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and sterling on Thursday and set a more than one-week high against a basket of its major peers as traders sought safety after a series of economic data prompted a reassessment of their outlook for global monetary policy.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to a 1-1/2-year high last week, pointing to cracks in the labor market as demand slows, potentially giving the Federal Reserve room to halt further interest rate increases next month.”
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At Currency Thoughts: Optimism Growing that U.S. Debt Default Can Be Averted; Inflation Still Too High; and G7 Leaders Gathering in Hiroshima for Annual Summit.
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Argentina plans new rate hike, more FX intervention as inflation soars.
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Bitcoin Bullish Signal: Whales Accumulate 84,897 BTC.
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Charting the Number of Failed Crypto Coins, by Year (2013-2022).
Tangibles Investing:
Average age of US vehicles reaches record high as price of new vehicles soars.
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Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) has some great specials in their “Daily Deals” this week.
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. Thanks!