Latest Gold & Silver Price News
Pension Funds Start Looking to Gold to Avert Disaster
Public and private pension plans face a dual crisis. The first and most obvious threat to pensioners is that defined-benefit vehicles are severely underfunded. By one estimate, pension systems taken as a whole are $638 billion in the red. Some are in better shape financially than others. But all pension plans will have to reckon with a second huge challenge going forward. Namely, they are already entirely unable to meet their stated return objectives by owning conventional “safe” interest-bearing instruments such as Treasury bonds. Fed Declares War on Savers The Federal Reserve has effectively declared war on savers by vowing to hold short-term interest rates near zero, likely for years […]
How Will the Election Impact the Bullion Market?
Bullion investors took a breather when Donald Trump was elected in 2016. Demand for coins, rounds, and bars fell significantly on the day after election day and stayed down for the next 3 years. After 8 years of Barack Obama, ultra-loose fed policy and a historic run-up in the national debt, investors felt things would get better under Trump. Today, as we near the end of Trump’s first term, demand for physical precious metals has spiked. The COVID scare and the associated monetary and fiscal stimulus coupled with widespread social unrest has gold and silver bugs stocking up once again. Along with them, an entirely new wave of investors and […]
Fed Chairman Powell Is Vowing to Wreck the Currency
As the Federal Reserve embarks on a new campaign to raise inflation rates, markets may be in for a change in character. On Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced that the central bank would be targeting an inflation “average” of 2%. By the Fed’s measures, inflation has been running below 2% in recent years. So, getting to a 2% average in the years ahead will require above 2% inflation for a significant period. Here’s Powell attempting to explain himself from central bankers’ virtual Jackson Hole conference: Jerome Powell: Our statement emphasizes that our actions to achieve both sides of our dual mandate will be most effective if longer term inflation […]
The New Red Peril Represents a Golden Opportunity
Contrary to much politically motivated, media-fueled paranoia about Russia, the former Soviet Union – with a shrinking population and a GDP smaller than the market capitalization of Apple – poses no serious threat to U.S. economic preeminence. China, by contrast, is a rising superpower that could in time topple the U.S. dollar’s world reserve status. That could also signal the end of U.S. geopolitical hegemony. The Chinese Communist Party is playing a long game. Even as conflicts with the administration of President Donald Trump escalate on multiple fronts, Chinese officials are looking ahead to a post-Trump world order. President Trump said in a Fox News interview Sunday, “If Biden is […]
Bullion Markets Catch a Breath
Gold bugs may finally be taking their summer (stay)vacation. After months of frenetic activity in the bullion markets, physical buying and selling slowed a bit last week. The respite, if it persists, could be welcome news for investors who have been frustrated by product scarcity and higher premiums. The COVID-19-associated economic troubles have not been resolved, but those stories aren’t commanding the level of attention they did in recent weeks. Angry rioting and looting have slowed for the moment. The Fed is in between rate cuts and the next announcement of additional stimulus. And there is almost nobody left in Washington DC or the media willing to talk about multi-trillion-dollar […]
Could Buffett Buy 130 Million Ounces of Silver Again?
Earlier this week, precious metals markets got a surprising Buffett bounce. Legendary investor Warren Buffett isn’t often associated with gold – at least not in a positive way. In the past Buffett has made derisive comments about the monetary metal. He once quipped that gold “has no utility.” A perpetual optimist on the U.S. economy, Buffett by nature doesn’t like the message that is sent by higher gold prices. He has likened investing in gold to “going long on fear.” Well, the Oracle of Omaha, as he is known, seems to be reluctantly bracing for a return of fear in the markets. His Berkshire Hathaway holding company recently dumped shares […]
The Gold and Silver Dam Breaketh
Ask precious metals’ holders and chart technicians what in the last 6-8 weeks stands out in their mind and they will point to the breakout of gold and silver above areas which had contained them for almost a decade. Gold rocketed without pause to $2,070. Silver, though still well below record nominal dollar highs, sliced through $26, which was supposed to be a lid on prices until next year. A litany of “price pullers” we’ve long discussed in our essays – government deficit spending, lagging metals’ production vs. exploding demand, and an almost complete absence of big discoveries have all played a part. But these are relative symptoms. I believe […]
The Case for a Platinum-Plated Metals Portfolio
Do precious metals still represent good value? With gold just coming off a new all-time high above $2,000/oz and silver having more than doubled off its March bottom, some investors may be wary of entering these markets right now. However, when adjusted for inflation, when measured against the stock market, or when compared to total money supply, a strong case can be made that gold is not yet overvalued – and that silver remains undervalued. Investors who are seeking an even more deeply undervalued opportunity within the metals space should take a look at platinum. What makes the case for platinum in particular compelling compared to other metals? In a […]
New Sound Money Caucus Launched on Capitol Hill
As the federal government continues to bailout the economy and markets by creating trillions of unbacked pieces of paper and electronic digits, a handful of Congressmen hope to shine a new spotlight on the devastating effects of this runaway financial profligacy. Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) recently announced the creation of the Congressional Sound Money Caucus. According to Congressman Davidson’s office, the caucus exists to promote sound fiscal and monetary policy in the United States with the goal of preserving the purchasing power of the U.S. Federal Reserve Note. Monetary policy, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, coupled with the recent federal fiscal response to coronavirus has re-inflated nominal asset prices […]
Rising Inflation Fears Transform Precious Metals Demand
As Joe Biden announced his VP pick, Wall Street’s hopes for a V-shaped economic recovery were revived by falling jobless claims and the S&P 500 inching closer to an all-time high. Precious metals markets, meanwhile, were hit with a big V for Volatility. This past Tuesday, gold prices plunged by more than $100 in one of the biggest down moves ever for the precious metal in terms of nominal dollars. Of course, that move came off an historically high level of more than $2,000 an ounce. As gold prices rise over time – and we see nothing to suggest that they have topped out here long-term – we can expect […]
Silver May Be Overextended – But It’s STILL Cheap
Silver prices aren’t just rising; they’re erupting! Silver has been ascending at a far steeper rate than the climactic move of 2010-2011 which briefly brought prices back up to all-time nominal highs. Adding a 20-week rate of change (ROC) indicator to the silver futures chart below shows prices gaining 122.4% over that period – far exceeding the rate of ascent of the last big silver spike. After years of being suppressed below $20/oz, then being forced down to an absurd new low during the lockdown, extreme pressures built. Finally, silver erupted like a geyser. Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park erupts according to a predictable cycle. As intense heat builds […]
“Government Sachs” Is Worried About the Federal Reserve Note
As July comes to a close, gold is up better than 9% for the month and has advanced nearly 30% for the year. Gold’s record-setting rise has been driven by Federal Reserve stimulus, dollar weakness, and strong safe-haven investment demand. Even the Wall Street-centric financial media is taking note: Financial News Anchor #1: Gold is shining once again, this morning. The spot price is touching all-time highs, as the dollar index sits around a two-year low. Financial News Anchor #2: Those gold prices have hit an all-time high. The spot price of gold reaching a record. Gold traditionally surges in times of turmoil. In this case, the economic impact of […]
Navigating Cynical Politics and Rigged Markets to Investment Profits
It’s a cliché that gets repeated every four years: This is the most important election of our lifetime! Perhaps this one, a national referendum on the presidency of Donald J. Trump, will prove to be so. What we can say with more certainty is that this will be the most cynical election of our lifetime. American politics and the mainstream media’s coverage of it have descended into non-stop tribal spitefulness and vindictiveness. No longer is there any pretense that elections are about what’s best for the country as a whole. What’s bad for the country is often good for politicians, and they can be counted on to do whatever is […]
Rep. Mooney Seeks to Audit Gold Intervention, Ban Federal Tax on Precious Metals
Surreptitious intervention in the gold market by the U.S. government is the target of legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-WV). Congressman Mooney just circulated a letter to his House colleagues seeking formal cosponsors and support for his Gold Reserve Transparency Act, H.R. 2559. The bill calls for a full audit, inventory, and assay of America’s gold reserves for the first time in almost 70 years. But this audit goes deeper… attempting to get to the root of whether, and to what extent, America’s gold has been compromised. Mooney writes: “Because there are concerns the U.S. Treasury may have sold, swapped, leased, or […]
