Precious metals news

Being prepared for turbulent times ahead is key. With geopolitical and financial risks brewing, global growth slowing, US dollar weakening and real interest rates declining..

Sales of American Eagle and Buffalo gold bullion coins from the U.S. Mint experienced an incredible rally in March, rocketing from the prior month, and far beyond last year's sales figures from the same month. This resulted in a remarkable improvement in their first quarter totals, bringing them in line with last year's performance.

Gold prices went down almost 1% to $2020 an ounce on Friday, as the dollar rebounded slightly and as investors continue to adjust their expectations for the monetary policy and the economic outlook. The Fed is still seen delivering a 25bps hike next month although there are increasing expectations it could pause the tightening cycle after that. Despite Friday's fall, the bullion is up 0.8% on the week and holds close to levels not seen since March last year, prompted by a weaker dollar, and prospects that major central banks, and especially the Fed, are nearing the end of the tightening cycle.

All the signs point to a termination of the world’s fiat currency regime. And with it, there will be a radical change in central banking. Given that central banks in the western alliance are all technically bankrupt themselves, their survivability and that of their currencies is questionable.

Gold just set a couple of records, but you’d never know it from the relatively modest level of investor enthusiasm.

One more quarter-percentage-point interest rate hike can allow the Federal Reserve to end its tightening cycle with some confidence inflation will steadily return to the U.S. central bank's 2% target, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said.

Today, Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) published a piece calling for lawmakers to raise the debt limit and then negotiate a responsible budget deal. He laid out a framework to set discretionary levels and stabilize the national debt at 100 percent of GDP over the next two years,

The next few years will include several predictable fiscal policy deadlines that will force congressional action. Numerous provisions providing COVID relief expire at the end of the year. Many of the regular non-COVID deadlines could bring additional costs if Congress acts irresponsibly, or they could present an opportunity for Congress to reduce deficits.

So who in the world is the Digital Currency Monetary Authority?

Introducing my new retail sales charts of three-month moving averages to iron out the big month-to-month spikes and drops that clutter up the trends.

Recession odds increase as the Fed's tightening of monetary policy has broken something. Silicon Valley Bank was only the first domino.

"The most recent data show that the Fed owes the Treasury over $41 billion, which exceeds its total capital. The Fed, by common standards, is indeed insolvent." ~ Thomas L. Hogan

A responsible political class would significantly reform the organization. Instead, they will likely continue to give it more power.

"Say’s Law absolutely helps us understand booms and busts on the demand side, but because of its emphasis on money, not interest rates." ~ Alexander William Salter

A sobering report from Coldwell Banker (available to pro subs in the usual place) reveals that San Francisco's office vacancy rate hit a record high of 29.4%, as net absorption (total new square footage leased minus the total square footage of vacated space) registered -1.56 million sq. ft.

Despite tenuous times for the banking industry, some of the largest U.S. lenders reported banner first-quarter earnings on Friday that easily exceeded investor expectations.

Argentines, painfully accustomed to decades of spiraling prices, say that the current 102.5%-and-climbing inflation rate is on another level and is making it almost impossible to get by.

Central banks are caught between tackling rising prices and ensuring stability but their actions hold risks for investors and borrowers...

Investors have moved $538 billion into cash funds over the past eight weeks as they pulled money out of bank deposits after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, according to Bank of America figures released on Friday.

And what happens next? Bubble symmetry: valuations fall at the same rate as they rose, declining back to the starting point over a roughly equivalent time duration.