Thu, 27 June 2019
Gold and Bitcoin have been on fire for the past month. Bitcoin has far out performed gold, but that may not be forever. Crypto's are rapidly changing and you need to be ready for it. Libra, the Facebook Coin is going to change everything. The Zuck-Coin is going to be big, mark my words. What about those Dem loser candidates? None of them could even get elected dog-catcher. They are a bunch of negative, immature and ignorant twits. They're vision of themselves and America is downright ugly and scary. And that's why none of them can win and why they'll be begging for the return of Hillary. Mark my words! |
Wed, 26 June 2019
Fed remains unchanged on rates, pledges to 'sustain the expansion. The Federal Reserve did not move on rates at the conclusion of its policy setting meeting June 19, but committed itself to acting “as appropriate to sustain the expansion.” The Fed elected to keep the benchmark interest rate within its target range of 2.25% to 2.5%, but new economic projections show more Fed officials seeing the case for a rate cut — or two — by the end of 2020. The Federal Open Market Committee made a number of changes to its policy statement, removing the word “patient” in favor of language promising to “closely monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook.” Some market participants had viewed the word “patient” as having a bias toward rate hikes, since the central bank had previously messaged that it was on pause, and not full stop, on efforts to normalize interest rates.The Fed said it still sees a “sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near” the committee’s 2% target, but added that “uncertainties about this outlook have increased.” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also saw his first dissent since becoming head of the central bank; St. Louis Fed President James Bullard voted against the decision to hold rates steady, instead preferring a 25-basis point cut in today’s decision. More members see rate cuts by 2020. The Fed also released a fresh print of economic projections, which included new “dot plots” that map out policy setting members’ preferred rate paths through the next three years. The median dot reflected no rate changes through the rest of 2019, and one 25-basis point rate cut in 2020. The previous dot plots in March (before trade tensions escalated and economic data softened) also had the median dot calling for no rate changes by the end of 2019, but projected a rate hike in 2020. The new dot plots show Fed officials tilting closer toward a rate cut by the end of 2020. Nine members now see a case for up to two rate cuts in that same window of time. For comparison, the March dot plot reflected only seven members seeing a case for a rate cut by the end of 2020 - and none projected more than a single 25-basis point cut. The June update shows some members still taking a hawkish stance. Three Fed officials see a case for at least one rate hike by the end of 2020, with one of those three officials predicting three rate hikes.The economic projections also saw a tick down in future expectations for inflation. In March, the median Fed official projected the economy touching 2% on core personal consumption expenditures (the central bank’s preferred measure of inflation) by the end of 2019 and hitting that target again in 2020 and 2021.The median Fed official now expects the Fed to miss its target for core PCE in 2019 and 2020, hitting 1.8% and 1.9% by the end of those years, respectively. Inflation has been a conundrum for the Fed ever since it set its 2% symmetric inflation target in 2012. Since the Fed adopted that target, the central bank’s preferred measure for inflation - core personal consumption expenditures - have only touched or breached 2% once, raising the question of how the Fed can stimulate persistent undershooting of its target. Labor market remains strong? On the labor market front, the Fed said the labor market “remains strong,” despite a disappointing jobs report since the last policy setting meeting in May. That jobs report showed a sharp miss on expectations for added payrolls in addition to tepid wage growth pointing to a labor market that may be running below full employment. Still, the Fed continues to bring down its expectations for the unemployment rate, suggesting that policy members continue to see room for more tightening in the labor market. In the updated economic projections, the median Fed official projected a 3.6%unemployment rate by the end of 2019, a tick down from the March prediction of 3.7%. Fed officials appear to find this trend structural, as the median member also brought down the longer-run expectation for unemployment from 4.3% in March to 4.2% in the projections released today. But as the Fed statement noted, the “strong” labor market conditions are part of the “uncertainties” that have increased in recent weeks The Fed’s next policy setting meeting will be July 30-31. |
Wed, 26 June 2019
The game is on. Martin believes that gold's recent advance was just the opening salvo. He wouldn't be surprised to see it take a hit for now and then come screaming back to start making new highs. As Martin says, people are starting to wise up to the monetary debasement game. Confidence in the Government Con, as low as it might be now, is going to all but disappear. And that's bad news for paper money of all descriptions. Following this line of reasoning it's not hard to understand why the Dow will eclipse its current highs and hit 35000 in the not too distant future. Loss of confidence will keep money pouring into real assets, and the stock market still represents shares in somewhat real enterprises, although how real is open to debate. It's all setting up for 2020 and Martin says the computer is predicting an outright Trump win. Let's see what happens next! |
Wed, 26 June 2019
Polls in Canada's upcoming election show that the electorate's biggest concern \ is ethics. This could potentially spell very bad news for PM Trudeau who has had his share of scandals and lapses in ethical judgment. Is it a worldwide trend? And does it carryover into other phases of society, such as business and public behavior in general? Danielle hopes the answer to that question is yes and she may well be correct. (Note Canada's election is this year 2019, not 2020 as I incorrectly stated) |
Tue, 25 June 2019
No surprise that gold is getting ready for a temporary reversal of its recent advance. Too much, too soon is never a good thing. As predicted, gold was heading higher in the am and has now gone into negative territory for the day. We can all speculate about markets being rigged, etc. Looks like the gold market will be set to continue its increase in the 4th quarter of the year, as it usually does. |
Tue, 25 June 2019
Computer security is no laughing matter. Recently I was at a dentist's office and they were still using computers running Windows XP, a 20 year old operating system with virtually no built-in security. That office's network and computers were a sitting duck. Recently a city in Palm Beach County was hacked and their computers were locked up with Ransomware. They paid $600,000 to free them up. Robert says every company should hire a hacker to breach their computers and evaluate their security. It will be far cheaper in the long run. |
Mon, 24 June 2019
When it comes to Trump and tariffs do the ends really justify the means? One could argue but as Jeff Ferry says, Trump gets results. Do all disputes among nations really boil down to economic issues? It's sure starting to look that way. And if it that's the case, then what's going to happen with China? Will they try to run out the clock on Trump and hope for is electoral defeat? |
Mon, 24 June 2019
You've been listening to John Rubino and myself talk about this inevitable event for over 7 years. Now here it is. Sometimes inevitability takes longer to happen than others. But that now that it has, where do we go from here? $1500, 2000, 2500 gold. Silver $50, 75, 150. The skies the limit baby, so get ready now. It's happening! |
Fri, 21 June 2019
Everett Millman is a precious metals analyst for Florida based Gainesville Coins that also has a strong foothold in the cryptocurrency space.He believes the financial system is heading for a painful transformation; precious metals and cryptos are likely the best assets for financial survival; "goldbugs" and "hodlers" should cooperate and collaborate since their common enemies are the banks and central planners. Everett offers a useful perspective on these topics. He'll be a show regular soon. |
Fri, 21 June 2019
Nick has been bullish on gold for quite a while. Rate cuts are on the way and fear is prevalent. Markets are at all time highs and yet the world's central banks are cutting rates, in the midst of a so-called recovery? It's an effort to salvage Europe and Japan. They have no choice but to cut. Draghi says more stimulus is needed. There's no turning back. |
Thu, 20 June 2019
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to form a government after the most recent election. As Michael said, "People always vote for health and wealth." Israel has mandatory conscription and when there's a war, everyone is an expert. Unfortunately, Israel has no political farm team. Therefore, there's no apparent successor to Netanyahu. There's great problems ahead and great challenges for the State of Israel. |
Thu, 20 June 2019
Brent Bozell, noted free speech advocate and proprietor of the Media Research Center fights a never-ending battle against the Silicon Valley Oligarchs to assure that conservative voice always have a right to freely expression and access. He's been doing it for decades and now believes we're in the final frontier. The big tech companies are looking to completely censor the right, and they just might pull it off. Let's hope that we all band together to stop it. |
Tue, 18 June 2019
The Trump Campaign has never stopped. Almost from the moment he was elected, he has been campaigning for 2020. And judging from what Karen Kataline had to say, we're right on track. Karen has been burning up the airwaves with her characterization of the so-called California Genius. An oxymoron to be certain. They have no emotional intelligence. Screaming at the moon is not a solution or a way for a party to stay relevant. Being a Democrat means never caring about results. How true. Leftist policies and commie plans alway fail. They can't work. Victims of the world unite! |
Tue, 18 June 2019
First Ned and I discussed the impending Hogpocalypse. African Swine Flu has decimated the Chinese pig herd leading to big potential problems for them, as the US is one of the few countries with a hog surplus, although not big enough if the disease continues spreading unchecked. Ned and I were among the first to bring this critical issue to your attention. Next, we talked about what's a zombie central banker to do? Draghi has been doing whatever it takes to keep the Euro and European Countries afloat. But overnight lending rates are already negative. How much more negative can they go? |
Tue, 18 June 2019
Does Iran really want a war with the US or was it a false flag operation to justify a war? We've seen this scenario happen over and over throughout history. And yet it still works almost every time it's tried. Will this time be different? And Mario Draghi is at it again. He's willing to cut rates to whatever it takes, except for one small problem, overnight rates on excess bank deposits are already negative. How negative can he go? Facebook goes crypto. A new crypto has been born and it could be the biggest one to date. They have a lot of institutional support and are well poised to become the dominant player. Will it be the first of many new currencies that are proprietary for company issuers. |
Mon, 17 June 2019
Luke Norman has devoted the past 20 years of his life as an Investor in gold exploration and development companies. From startup venture capitalist in the gold space, he's now focusing on Nevada gold and silver companies. While the latest investment trend has now switched over to the Cannabis sector (and cryptos), he's not giving up on precious metals by any stretch. He's seen a lot of passing fancies come and go, but precious metals will always remain vital. And he sees much growth potential in Nevada gold exploration companies and has been a driving force behind our sponsor US Gold Corp (ticker USAU). He sees amazing upside potential due to USAU's tight share structure (less than 20mm shares outstanding) and its superior projects that are moving rapidly ahead. Now, if we just get a little cooperation from the metals markets, this could be huge. |
Mon, 17 June 2019
It's a case of the government trying to help some people but not all. Crista goes over the proposed rules which really could be a help to the middle class. It will provide for mandatory distributions to take place at 72 years old instead of 70.5 now. But in return, inherited IRA's will have stricter rules for distribution that will prove more costly in terms of taxes. We also talked about trade issues and where the country is heading. Communism vs. capitalism. That's what the upcoming election is all about. |
Thu, 13 June 2019
Hard to believe that it's been a decade since the financial crisis. While we've learned some lessons, it's clear we haven't learned the important ones that we need to avoid the next crash. While banks are not making reckless liar loans but the lending standards have clearly been relaxed. The secondary markets are still functioning the same way they did before the crash. And let's not forget about payday loans, the auto loan bubble, the student loan bubble and the bubble bubble. We all need to be prepared for the next shoe to drop. As we saw from the movie The Flaw no matter how smart the central banker are, they're never quite smart enough. |
Wed, 12 June 2019
There’s an amazing crypto trend taking place right now and our sponsor ICOX - ICOx Innovations is at the forefront. We’re talking about proprietary crypto currencies, whereby a company creates a crypto and uses it to streamline their supply chain, payables accounting and customer data information. It will enable large complex organizations like Boeing, GM, IBM, etc., to tie their vendors into a complete comprehensive network where all transactions get recorded in the blockchain and invoicing, accounts payable and paper checks become a thing of the past. It’s an amazing time to be alive! |
Wed, 12 June 2019
Contrary to popular opinion, there’s an incredible future ahead for the blockchain. And it may not include Bitcoin. Taylor Letterman believes BTC is going to break $10k again. Others believe that it may have already peaked and is heading back south. But the real story is crypto’s 2.0. These will have major security enhancements that allow it to remain trading even in the face of massive online and physical attacks. It’s moving forward but for now Bitcoin is capturing the public’s imagination. |
Wed, 12 June 2019
Imagine your grandfather, assuming he's still alive, deciding he deserved to be president. He's getting ready to throw his hat in the ring and really make a run for it. Your family would probably stage an intervention and try to talk some sense to him. Unfortunately, Joe Biden doesn't have anyone around him willing to do the same. Therefore, he's left blabbering and stuttering and misspeaking non-stop. Part of his affliction is no doubt age related, after all he's pushing 80, but he's really no different than he's ever been. Multiply him times 23 and you start to get a disturbing picture of the latest bumper crop of Democrat presidential candidates. Where is Hilary when she's need most? |
Tue, 11 June 2019
Charles Nenner is making several bold new calls. Dramatic declines are coming in the world's stock markets. The dollar is due for a minor short-lived decline but should remain stable over the next several years. Gold is going to $2500, oil is going down to the mid $30 range and NatGas will be declining to as low as $1.40 per million btu's. Lot's of volatility down the road. |
Tue, 11 June 2019
Savings Rate Plunges As Consumer Spending Soars By Most In A Decade. After lagged (govt shutdown) and mixed performances in the last two months, income and spending growth was expected to rebound notably in March (despite a weak signal from within the GDP data) and while income growth was lower than expected (+0.1% MoM vs +0.4% MoM exp), spending exploded... Personal Spending rose 0.9% MoM (well above the 0.7% expected) and the biggest rise since August 2009...On a year over year basis, spending has accelerated beyond income growth once again...On the income side, wages unchanged from last month on an annual basis:Private workers +4.4% Y/Y Govt Workers +3.0% Y/Y And as expected given the surge in spending, the savings rate collapsed from 7.3% to 6.5% - the lowest since November.<br>This is the biggest monthly drop in the savings rate since Jan 2013. At the same time the Core PCE Deflator is at its lowest since 2017...allowing 'goldilocks' narratives to flourish ahead of this week's FOMC. |
Tue, 11 June 2019
Hard to believe but at least 25% of China's bank debt is worthless. And worse still, if there's a systemic crash, it could go a lot higher. But no one seems to be very concerned about it. After all the cure for bed debt is faster economic growth. But that's not happening either. Growth rates have plunged and could even be approaching negative territory. What's a poor central planner to do? |
Mon, 10 June 2019
David Erfle joined us today. He sees much to be upbeat about in the precious metals markets. Even though the Mexico situation has been solved, there's little question that Fed rate cuts are in the offing, perhaps as early as next week. Gold broke $1300 yet again, but probably won't break the $1350 resistance point right now. But if not now, then almost certainly later in the year. Just remember, experts are almost always wrong about everything, especially precious metals. |