Kerry Lutz's--Financial Survival Network

There's a number currencies that are currently dissolving. Argentina, Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. The Yuan has been plunging and the dollar has been rising. It's hard to understand the irrationality of it all. But this is what it looks like when the system starts melting down or up. We also take some of your questions about social security, GLD and more. Interesting times for sure!

Economy Grew at 4.1% Rate in Quarter, With Some Asterisks
The Commerce Department released its initial estimate of second-quarter economic growth on Friday, providing the latest snapshot of the American economy.

The Numbers

■ United States gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter, up from 2.2 percent in the first three months of the year. It was the strongest quarter of growth since 2014.

■ Consumer spending rose 4 percent, but private investment fell slightly.

■ Exports rose 9.3 percent, driven in part by a surge in soybean shipments tied to President Trump’s trade policies.

■ Consumer prices rose at a 1.8 percent annual rate.

The Takeaway

Economic growth surged in the second quarter — but don’t expect the boom to last.

The second-quarter acceleration was widely anticipated by economists, a result of a confluence of events unlikely to recur. Most economists expect growth to slow in the second half of the year.

Still, recent data does suggest that the pace of growth has picked up this year. Some economists think full-year growth in gross domestic product could hit 3 percent in 2018 for the first time in the nearly decade-long recovery.

“The bottom line is that the economy is doing better,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist for the accounting firm Grant Thornton.

Mr. Trump didn’t wait for the numbers to be released to herald rosy news. At an event in Iowa on Thursday, he said he was expecting very strong result, noting predictions that ran to 5 percent or higher.

“We’ll take anything with a four in front,” he said.

John believes that Muller is perhaps on to something with the latest Trump developments. He thinks Muller may be on the trail of some nefarious dealings by Trump. He believes the odds are high that the Democrats will recapture the House although it's unlikely they'll take the Senate. On the subject of intelligence abuses and surveillance of the Trump campaign it's obvious that they've been caught with their pants down. It's developing rapidly. 

When it comes to gold (and silver too) Eric Hadik has had an amazing track over the past several years. He pretty much called the current low point in medal prices. And now he's calling for higher metal prices during Q4 and early Q1. Of course you could argue that it's all seasonal and there's no great insight here, but look at his previous calls and let's see if he's right yet again. 

One might expect that the sheer volume of vitriol, hatred and “resistance” coming from the media, Hollywood elites, establishment Republicans, and various other “never-Trumpers,” would be in response to the most unfit and dangerous President we’ve ever had. You would think we had a President who has exhibited open hostility to our country - who has actively worked to diminish our standing in the world, or who has tried to fundamentally change our country into a globalist, socialist state which would no longer resemble anything our Founders ever intended.

Maybe that hysteria would be warranted if we had a President who sent boatloads of cash to a foreign power that publicly vowed to destroy us with nuclear weapons; or whose administration gave 20% of our uranium to Russia for a quick political payoff.

Such hatred might be justified if we had a President who allowed the leaking of highly-classified information to other countries who are openly hostile to us, like China; or who didn’t bother to lift a finger to save our U.S. Ambassador and three others who were savagely murdered in Libya; or who abused the power of his office to spy on and punish his political opponents. Those might be justifiable reasons for their “righteous” anger and indignation. Our growing prosperity is putting our stable of Never-Trumpers in a tough spot.

FORGET RUSSIAN COLLUSION, THE LEFT IS PLOTTING TO STEAL THE NEXT ELECTION FROM RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE.

With hatred towards Donald Trump and the GOP and an all-time high, the Left is poised to do whatever it takes to take back the House and Senate, block Supreme Court nominations and impeach the president.

In FRAUD, Eggers documents how they will do it—with funding from George Soros and coordination from DNC chairman Tom Perez, our country’s vulnerable election system is about to be subject to an all-out assault of senior citizens, felons, and immigrants.

Buck Joffrey believes that real estate markets are probably near their peak. However, there's still plenty of opportunities for value-adds. Finding undervalued properties that with a minor investment and a little bit of love can appreciate dramatically. As Buck says, "There's never a shortage of poorly managed properties." Your job is to find them or find someone who's expert at finding them. The returns from such investing can be extremely profitable. 

Kitco's Peter Hug joined us for a review of the precious metals markets and why they've been going down. Seasonal factors have helped push it down, but there are geo-political forces at play that could drive it up again at any moment: from North Korea, to Iran, to the trade war with China. It's anyone's guess what shoe will drop and when, but it's probable that something will at some point in the future. 

While we can't read the exact future in the Commitment of Traders Report or COT, there are some interesting tea leaves available for your viewing pleasure. The speculators or specs have just about given up. And most importantly they're almost always wrong. They regularly miss the major movements in the metals markets and John believes that this time will be no different. Couple this with a peaking economy that can't keep growing forever and the result becomes obvious. Now is not the time to give up. 

Bob Hoye, student of economic history par excellent believes that the second coming of gold is still a ways off, but that when it comes and it will, the movement will be shocking. There's still a number of up and down gyrations ahead, but as the economy overheats and bubbles the world over start to pop, buckle your seat and enjoy the flight. 

Andrei Polgar joined us again. He's emphatic about having a plan, although what that plan should be is always the question. It all depends upon your circumstances. None of us know what the future holds. Perhaps some crypto-currency or some gold or silver. It all depends upon your circumstances, where you live and what resources you have. There's no set answer and it's up to all of us to think things out and where we need to be. 

Experts at places such as CNN are telling us that sitting is the new smoking. They advise you to use one of those ridiculous electronic standing desks that costs thousands of dollars. It's a conspiracy between the media and high end office furniture makers to con the public into spending billions on these needless and potentially harmful desks. Standing too long is bad for varicose veins, hurts knees and hips and cause back problems. Think twice before you buy a standing desk, your could put your health at risk. That doesn't mean you should sit like a blob for 8 hours or more per day. Get up regularly, get water, food, move your body. 

This is Part 2 of our reinstitutionalization of the homeless series. There is no other way. Until we wake up, we'll continue to waste billions and live in open sewers around the country. Let's stop thinking about locking up Hillary and start to think about locking up the mentally ill and addicted who cannot live in a free unsupervised environment with out doing great harm to themselves and to society. Remember this is a mental health crisis not an economic one. Some more things there, so as always listen to the end. 

Major US stock markets bounced back with the DJIA up 4.7%, S&P 3.6, NASDAQ 2.2% and Russell 2000 up 1.7% to record levels. Emerging markets were down 3.7%. TSX up 1% and TSX-V was down another -5%. Bitcoin the always volatile digital currency was up 21.5% for the month. Gold was down 2.2% breaking its 200 and Silver was off another 3.7% for the month. Pt down 2% and Pd was also down 2%. Copper was down 6.2%. Energy also got slammed this month, with WTI down 7.4% and Brent off 6.5%. Natgas was off 4.8%. Uranium was up again showing a 13.5% gain after continued producer cutbacks. Currencies saw the Greenback and the Euro flat for the month. Rate on the 10 year T Bond jumped to 2.96% but managed to stay below 3%. The WTI to Gold ratio hit 18%, which could be presaging a move by gold. Till next month!