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. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at inflation and recession fears. (See the Inflation/Deflation Watch section.)
Precious Metals:
Alasdair Macleod: A brief history of the gold standard.
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At Gold-Eagle.com: Transitory 2.0 Is Coming for Gold.
Economy & Finance:
Average American household now has $10,170 credit card debt.
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Reader H.L. sent us this: Hedge funds have bailed on the U.S. consumer in a big way, Goldman Sachs data finds.
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Beyond the automakers: How the UAW strike may hit the US economy. Here is a quote:
“UAW president Shawn Fain said ‘we’re not going to wreck the economy. The truth is we are going to wreck the billionaire economy.’
And while estimates of the economic impact of the strike don’t point at “wrecking the economy,” the damage could be significant.
For instance, if all UAW workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis strike for 10 days, it would cost the US economy $5 billion, according to Anderson Economic Group’s estimates.
Another estimate by Ehrlich assumes there would be a much smaller immediate spillover effect. He estimated $440 million worth of income would be lost nationally if all the UAW members strike for two weeks. If the strike lasts eight weeks, he estimates a $9.1 billion hit to incomes nationwide.”
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The Smart Money: Those in the know are betting on rising inflation and rising rates for longer.
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Breibart: Senator Durbin Thinks Your Life Is Too Rewarding.
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At Zero Hedge: Where The World’s Ultra Wealthy Reside.
Commodities:
US contacts oil producers, refiners as gasoline prices rise.
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Diesel Prices Quietly Spiked 20 Cents In The Last Month.
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Economic Suicide: Germany Passes Green Heating Law Mandating 65% Renewable Energy.
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
The Fed Is Getting More Hopeful It Can Avoid a US Recession. JWR’s Comments: The Federal Reserve has a long history of promising “soft landings”, but those rarely happen. I have learned to ignore their rhetorical pronouncements and just look at rates and other key numbers. The Fed banking cartel and the U.S. Treasury have conspired to back us into a corner. They’ve ballooned the national debt to an absurd $33 trillion USD. If they raise interest rates any higher, then they will kill the housing market, the stock market, and new car sales. There will be no soft landing. At this point, The Powers That Be are probably praying for another world war, as a distraction from their intractable financial debacle, and as an excuse for even deeper indebtedness.
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CNBC: August core inflation, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3%, hotter than expected.
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Why the Fed’s Tight Rate Stance Damages the Economy.
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Matthew Piepenburg: Real BRICS Threat + The Worst Macros I’ve Ever Seen.
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China’s deflation pressures ease, more steps expected to spur demand.
Forex & Cryptos:
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At Currency Thoughts: Russian Interest Rate Hike.
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com news aggregation site: G20 Agrees to Roll Out ‘Cashless Societies’ & ‘Digital ID’ Globally.
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Crypto exchange Remitano hacked for over $2.7 million.
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10 years later, still no Bitcoin ETF — but who cares?
Tangibles Investing:
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Starting a Collection: Affordable Antique Firearms.
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!