Economics and Investing:

A Tale of Two Markets: At the same time that the speculative COMEX spot and futures market for silver has been slammed down hard, the physical market for silver has been so frantically bought that it hard to find any pre-1965 “junk” silver or 1-ounce silver rounds for sale. Nearly all of the wholesalers are reportedly sold out of bullion coins! They’ve all been snatched up by eager buyers. Reader Diana V. wrote to mention: ” The local shop I use sells any face amount of junk silver. Up until about two weeks ago [they charged a premium of] 3 percent over spot for dimes, quarters or halves. Last week the premium was 5 percent for dimes and quarters and 10 percent for halves. Well, today it is a 15 percent for dimes and quarters, and they had no halves available… It is scary that the spot prices really don’t have anything to do with actual supply and demand.” JWR Adds: This leads me to ask: If silver is presently such trash in the eyes of the big investors then why can’t I find any for sale at a decent price? Clearly there is a huge disconnect between the spot/futures market and the real world.

Doug Casey: “Whenever A Government Says, ‘Don’t Worry, Everything’s Going To Be Fine’—That’s The Tip-Off To Worry”

Items from The Economatrix:

Lengthy but worth reading: US Treasury vs. Federal Reserve Financial War Escalates And The Countdown Starts

Don’t Trust The Market?  You’re Not Alone, With Good Reason

Retailers Hope Warm Weather Heats Up Cash Register