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Dear Readers!
You may have noticed that our so-called “semiannual” funding drive, which started sometime in the summer if memory serves, has seamlessly segued into the winter. In fact, the year is almost over! We assure you this is not merely evidence of our chutzpa; rather, it is indicative of the fact that ad income still needs to be supplemented in order to support upkeep of the site. Naturally, the traditional benefits that can be spontaneously triggered by donations to this site remain operative regardless of the season - ranging from a boost to general well-being/happiness (inter alia featuring improved sleep & appetite), children including you in their songs, up to the likely allotment of privileges in the afterlife, etc., etc., but the Christmas season is probably an especially propitious time to cross our palms with silver. A special thank you to all readers who have already chipped in, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Regardless of that, we are honored by everybody's readership and hope we have managed to add a little value to your life.
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Most read in the last 20 days:
Is the Canary in the Gold Mine Coming to Life Again?
A Chirp from the Deep Level Mines Back in late 2015 and early 2016, we wrote about a leading indicator for gold stocks, namely the sub-sector of marginal - and hence highly leveraged to the gold price - South African gold stocks. Our example du jour at the time was Harmony Gold (HMY) (see “Marginal Producer Takes Off” and “The Canary in the Gold Mine” for the details). Mining engineer equipped with bio-sensor Photo credit: Hulton Archive As we write these...
Oil Mania Redux
Positive Energy By now, late September of 2018, it has become increasingly evident that something big is about to happen. What exactly that may be is anyone's guess. But, whatever it is, we suggest you prepare for it now... before it is too late. Art auction energizer: Norman Rockwell's portrait of John Wayne. You can't go wrong shelling out top dollar for me, pilgrim, can you? [PT] Several weeks ago, if you haven't heard, an undisclosed rich guy enthusiastically...
Fed Credit and the US Money Supply – The Liquidity Drain Accelerates
Federal Reserve Credit Contracts Further We last wrote in July about the beginning contraction in outstanding Fed credit, repatriation inflows, reverse repos, and commercial and industrial lending growth, and how the interplay between these drivers has affected the growth rate of the true broad US money supply TMS-2 (the details can be seen here: “The Liquidity Drain Becomes Serious” and “A Scramble for Capital”). The Fed has clearly changed course under Jerome Powell...
The Gold Standard: Protector of Individual Liberty and Economic Prosperity
A Piece of Paper Alone Cannot Secure Liberty The idea of a constitution and/or written legislation to secure individual rights so beloved by conservatives and among many libertarians has proven to be a myth. The US Constitution and all those that have been written and ratified in its wake throughout the world have done little to protect individual liberties or keep a check on State largesse. Sound money vs. a piece of paper – which is the better guarantor of liberty?...
Fed President Kashkari Hears Voices – Are They Lying?
Orchestrated Larceny The government continues its approach towards full meltdown. The stock market does too. But when it comes down to it, these are mere distractions from the bigger breakdown that is bearing down upon us. Prosperity imbalance illustrated. The hoi-polloi may be getting restless. [PT] Average working stiffs have little time or inclination to contemplate gibberish from the Fed. They are too worn out from running in place all day to make much...
Switzerland, Model of Freedom & Wealth Moving East – Interviews with Claudio Grass
Sarah Westall Interviews Claudio Grass Last month our friend Claudio Grass, roving Mises Institute Ambassador and a Switzerland-based investment advisor specializing in precious metals, was interviewed by Sarah Westall for her Business Game Changers channel. Sarah Westall and Claudio Grass There are two interviews, both of which are probably of interest to our readers. The first one focuses on Switzerland with its unique, well-developed system of direct...
US Stocks and Bonds Get Clocked in Tandem
A Surprise Rout in the Bond Market At the time of writing, the stock market is recovering from a fairly steep (by recent standards) intraday sell-off. We have no idea where it will close, but we would argue that even a recovery into the close won't alter the status of today's action – it is a typical warning shot. Here is what makes the sell-off unique: 30 year bond and 10-year note yields have broken out from a lengthy consolidation pattern. This has actually surprised us, as...
Decapitation Strike - Elon Musk in the Crosshairs of the Bureaucracy
The Most Expensive Tweet of All Time He finally done did it this time – this is to say, he did himself in. It was already widely known that Elon Musk sent out one tweet too many in early August. But it seems now that what he posted on that fateful day may well end up as the most expensive sequence of nine words ever blasted over the intertubes. For those who haven't followed the story, this is the tweet in question: Elon Musk's fateful tweet – here is a link to the thread...
Are Credit Spreads Still a Leading Indicator for the Stock Market?
A Well-Established Tradition Seemingly out of the blue, equities suffered a few bad hair days recently. As regular readers know, we have long argued that one should expect corrections in the form of mini-crashes to strike with very little advance warning, due to issues related to market structure and the unique post “QE” environment. Credit spreads are traditionally a fairly reliable early warning indicator for stocks and the economy (and incidentally for gold as well). Here is a...
Choking On the Salt of Debt
Life After ZIRP Roughly three years ago, after traversing between Los Angeles and San Francisco via the expansive San Joaquin Valley, we penned the article, Salting the Economy to Death. At the time, the monetary order was approach peak ZIRP. Our boy ZIRP has passed away. Mr. 2.2% effective has taken his place in the meantime. [PT] We found the absurdity of zero bound interest rates to have parallels to the absurdity of hundreds upon hundreds of miles of...
How Dangerous is the Month of October?
A Month with a Bad Reputation A certain degree of nervousness tends to suffuse global financial markets when the month of October approaches. The memories of sharp slumps that happened in this month in the past – often wiping out the profits of an entire year in a single day – are apt to induce fear. However, if one disregards outliers such as 1987 or 2008, October generally delivers an acceptable performance. The road to October... not much happens at first - until it...
Yield Curve Compression - Precious Metals Supply and Demand
Hammering the Spread The price of gold fell nine bucks last week. However, the price of silver shot up 33 cents. Our central planners of credit (i.e., the Fed) raised short-term interest rates, and threatened to do it again in December. Meanwhile, the stock market continues to act as if investors do not understand the concepts of marginal debtor, zombie corporation, and net present value. The Federal Reserve – carefully inching forward to Bustville People...
Austrian Theory and Investment
Realtime Charts
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![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_usoz_2.gif)
Gold in EUR:
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/gold/t24_au_en_euoz_2.gif)
Silver in USD:
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_usoz_2.gif)
Platinum in USD:
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/charts/metals/platinum/t24_pt_en_usoz_2.gif)
USD - Index:
![[Most Recent USD from www.kitco.com]](http://www.weblinks247.com/indexes/idx24_usd_en_2.gif)
