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. And it bears mention that most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at Buying Land. (See the Tangibles Investing section.)
Precious Metals:
We’ll start out with this at Zero Hedge: Goldman Sees Gold Rising To $1,600 “Or Even Higher” On Escalating Trade War”
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Gold Is Too ‘Pricey’: Look At Platinum and Silver – Wells Fargo
Economy & Finance:
At Wolf Street: Financial World Gone Nuts: $15 Trillion Negative Yielding Debt
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Martin W. Armstrong: The Next Lehman Moment.
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PIMCO Warns Negative US Treasury Yields “Swiftly Change From Theory To Reality”
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Depositors Are Next as Nordic Banks Buckle Under Negative Rates
Commodities:
China confirms it is suspending agricultural product purchases in response to Trump’s new tariffs
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Automakers Flash Warning over Supplies of Critical Metals
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Oil Price Correction Triggers Shale Meltdown
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China Unlikely To Slap Retaliatory Tariff On U.S. Crude Oil
Econo-Demographics:
Reader DSV sent this: Another Liberal State Sees Residents Flee High Taxes To Places Like Texas
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Leaving California: Interviews With Californians Who Moved To Greener Pastures. Here is an excerpt:
“A February survey by Edelman Intelligence found that 62 percent of Californians feel the best days of living in California are behind them. It could be higher now with the drug-addicts, homeless and transient explosion living on California city streets, spreading filth and diseases, selling and taking drugs, and breaking into homes, cars and businesses.
The survey also found 53 percent of Californians are seriously considering moving out of state due to the high cost of living – Millennials say the same, at an even higher rate of 63 percent. With the median home price $611,000, and condos/townhomes topping $470,000, is it any wonder?
The survey found 72 percent say the lack of availability and the high cost of housing is a dominant issue, and this bumps up to 76 percent in the San Francisco Bay Area.
However, the same people surveyed said that because businesses make large profits “while draining local resources and straining infrastructure, they owe it to the public to contribute more to solving our local problems.” Go figure. Most business owners are facing their own set of state-induced problems.”
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Can You Guess Where Financial Firms Are Going When they Flee the Northeast’s High Taxes?
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Five reasons why your high-tax state won’t let you move out
Forex & Cryptos:
Pound Sterling Forecasts vs. Euro and Dollar in ‘No Deal’ Brexit
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Making Sense of the Euro – Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) Relationship
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Off The Chain: It Is Becoming Irresponsible To Have No Exposure To Bitcoin
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Chinese Government Hackers Are Targeting Crypto Companies: Report
Tangibles Investing (Buying Land):
Four Simple Ways to Invest in Real Estate
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Video: How To Find Cheap Land
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 from local news outlets that is missed by the news wire services is especially appreciated. And it need not be just about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!
With the Chinese working on crypto currencies it is only a mater of time before they figure out how to steal all the marbles. They are smart, and motivated. Cryptos are like storing large amounts of cotton candy in boxes for emergency rations while living next to an ant hill. Red sky in the morning, investors take warning.
Bumper stickers in Southern California in the early 80s said: “Welcome to California… Now go home”. I did… Leave while you can! Even a fairly minor earthquake that drops overpasses could slow grocery resupply enough to spark an irreversible chain of looting.
Look at investing this way
Safety’s first, don’t stray
Into quirks or fads
Or you might soon be sad
That all your money and toll
Have gone down a rabbit hole
Crypto is a big, funny experiment. Don’t become the butt of the joke.
How to Buy Cheap Land – good video. I use my state land records . Enter Your State SDAT in your browser. Locate real property search . Enter the county . Enter the street name you are researching. The property page will tell you important data – owner of record, assessed value – land and improvements, deed reference, where the tax bill is sent. A wealth of info. Real state agents knowledgeable in raw/unfinished land are invaluable. Before making contract offer, I ALWAYS consult with a PE (professional engineer) knowledgeable in LOCAL county road blocks to using your cheap land . Have fun. Happy hunting.
If possible, try to locate any environmental Phase 1 reports that have been done on any nearby commercial property, these reports may be uploaded on the county property tax records as part of the title report, if you know the owners (business) name, you don’t want to be buying land next to an abandoned mercury mine or an old brownfield that EPA “forgot” to list for remediation, or an old army practice bombing range filled with lead and unexploded ordnance. Old Photos from newspapers if online or microfiched at the library will be a good source as to what the land may have been used for in the past.
As we have been advised on this site before, invest in anything that helps you produce food. Or, invest in food. No matter where you live…food.
This just showed up on my desktop today: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-israel-is-dangerously-unprepared-for-food-shortages-revealed-global-warming-1.7455474
Carry on
RE: “Depositors are next…”
Those Nordic bankers are clearly delusional if they think that individual investors will keep their money in any institution that charges them to deposit then expects to have to use of that money to generate more revenue for itself. People always vote with their wallet. Savings rates will plummet while withdrawals skyrocket and before long the banks will be exposed as the shysters they are. Talk about an orchestrated mass suicide!