Precious metals news

After the most tumultuous month since the 2008 financial crisis, banks are finding themselves in an impossible position.

Slowing growth and relentless inflationary pressures mean there will be a big divide between winners and losers this earnings season, according to a deputy chief investment officer at BlackRock Inc.

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said it was premature to judge what impact the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank will have on the economy, but the Fed also needs to focus on lowering inflation.

From a red-hot January as China cast off COVID curbs to February's flop when interest rates surged and now a manic March of banking blow-ups - financial markets have had an action-packed start to the year even by recent standards.

Gold has been seeing a large number of contracts roll in the final day of the contract. That did not happen this month. This has resulted in a large delivery volume.

By now it should be common knowledge that the Fed has blown up its balance sheet rather quickly to combat the current banking crisis. As the chart below illustrates, the Fed added a gargantuan sum to its balance sheet in March, netting an increase of $324B.

The Federal Reserve has added nearly $400 billion to its balance sheet in just two weeks while simultaneously claiming to still be in the inflation fight. While things seemed pretty quiet this week after the bank bailout, Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey says it's only a matter of time before the next shoe drops. What will that be? In this episode, he talks about one possibility. He also talks about some interesting demand news in the silver market.

Has the U.S. Peaked in Fuel Consumption?  If so, that signifies the Peak of the U.S. Empire & Economy.  Also, there is a Must-See chart that shows the negative impact oil prices have on Americans' demand for driving and flying.  And, with rising energy prices in the future, this doesn't bode well for the American Suburban Economy...

For the third day in a row (ahead of tomorrow's month- and quarter-end and the big PCE print), bonds 'rested' while stocks went wild (this time up... and then back down). Gold rallied as the dollar and bitcoin sold off.

Silver has been on investors’ radars for some time now, as the price of the precious metal has been showing signs of breaking out of a secular trendline that has been in place for nearly 3 years. The green thick line on the chart below represents this trendline, and as we can see, silver has struggled to clear it since July of 2020. In line with our most recent silver forecast, we believe the time has come for silver to stage a secular breakout.

Gold looks set to benefit from its safe-haven appeal in more uncertain markets, according to economists at UBS.

After Silicon Valley Bank became the second-largest bank of all time to fail, investors and analysts across the world have been sounding alarm bells. Some fear that the entire banking system is still at risk, but many think that the Treasury Department’s decision to bail out depositors was enough to solve the problem. The crisis raised concerns about the stability of all major banks,..

Add it to the list. As the following chart from the Daily Shot via Isabelnet highlights, the Confidence Board’s Index of Consumer Expectations minus consumers’ current sentiment is showing one of its lowest readings on record.

As central banks assert control while making way for their dystopian CBDC, governments are moved to criminalize the use of cash.

Last week was book-ended with a focus on CS/UBS on Monday and a focus on Deutsche bank on Friday. FOMC came and went with a consensus read of a 25bps dovish hike that came alongside some reassurance that the end of the tightening cycle is near (language shift from ‘ongoing’ hikes to ‘additional policy firming may be appropriate’). That being said, the US regional banking pressures persist... albeit with no ‘new’ bad news to deal with and First Citizens trading up over 50% on the back of SVB acquisition news...The European banks recovering from a bout of extreme and aggressive de-grossing.

The Biden administration has floated another bloated budget, one that will put the US national debt at $43.6 trillion by 2033, assuming its optimistic growth and interest-rate projections pan out and the Ukraine war ends. If this budget passes, the debt will hit 110 percent of GDP, federal spending will exceed 25 percent of GDP, and federal revenue will top 20 percent of GDP, with the balance borrowed.

"Banking reform should rank high on our list of policy priorities, but moving away from fractional reserves shouldn’t be a part of the conversation." ~ Alexander William Salter

Fed Funds Futures are pointing to one more rate hike at the May FOMC meeting, then a turnaround with The Fed cutting its target rate.

The market and the government will continue to promote and support a neofeudal status quo until they are forced by society to restore the common good and opportunity.

In late 2020, the policy makers of the Biden administration and its partisan supporters started crafting a new COVID stimulus package. What they wrought set off a chain of events that ultimately led to the cost of living and banking system crisis we face today.