John Rubino: Stagflation is Paradise For Gold And Silver

If we can’t stop the massive deficits and rampant currency creation, we might as well embrace the resulting stagflation and keep stacking…

The creators of Medicare, Social Security, and other long-term spending programs had a handle on demographics – or at least on the political realities of the time – so they structured those programs to initially take in more money than they needed in order to build up “trust funds” to cover the eventual retirement of the massive Baby Boomer generation.

The alternative to trust-fund entitlements is “pay as you go,” which makes such programs nice and cheap in the beginning and vastly more expensive later on. This prospect used to be considered political poison, so trust funds became the conventional wisdom.

But those days are apparently over. The most recent Congressional Budget Office projections show the Highway Trust Fund running out in 2021 and the much bigger Medicare Trust Fund emptying in 2023. Social Security is projected to run out by 2030, but since those numbers were run before the pandemic slashed payments into the system, it’s safe to assume that Social Security’s trust fund evaporates circa 2027.

What happens when the various trust funds run out? The costs of these programs morph from “accounting issue” to “cash flow issue.” Taxes and/or deficits will rise dramatically as boomers move through their 70s and 80s, racking up massive medical bills along the way.

For a sense of just how big this change will be, here are a few fun facts:
In the early days of Social Security, 42 people were paying into the system for every 1 receiving benefits. Soon the ratio will be 2:1

The average early recipient received only a few years of payments before dying in their late 60s.

As life expectancies have risen, 20 years of benefits are now to be expected for most recipients, meaning that they’ll draw far more from Social Security and Medicare than they paid in.

There’s no demographic cavalry – in the form of younger workers — riding to the rescue. Birth rates are plunging in the developed world. Minus immigration, the US is now below replacement rate, meaning that the native born population is shrinking rather than growing. (This is great for the environment and housing affordability, but a serious problem for tax revenues.)

An optimist might note that all this new entitlement spending will at least be simulative. But even that might not be true this time. The following chart, snagged from a recent Katusa Research article, shows that the velocity of money – the rate at which an existing dollar changes hands via spending – has been plunging lately (from an already historically-low level). So the past few years’ massive deficits and Federal Reserve currency printing have done nothing for spending.

The coming world of monetary inflation and sluggish growth has a name: stagflation. And based on America’s last experience with it in the 1970s, it’s a hard time to feed a family but a spectacular time to own gold and silver. This is what silver did back then.

We’re already in the early stages of a precious metals bull market. Here’s another Katusa chart showing how gold is crushing stocks so far in 2020.

So if we can’t stop the massive deficits and rampant currency creation, we might as well embrace the resulting stagflation and keep stacking.

- Source, John Rubino

Ted Butler: The True Final Chapter

All things, both good and evil, come to an end. So it will be with the great silver price manipulation, which I date as having existed, in its COMEX-orchestrated version from 1983. Before that, of course, silver prices were never truly free, mostly as a result of some type of government interference. The US Government both supported and then depressed the price of silver for a hundred years prior to 1983, first by amassing more than 5 billion ounces and then by disposing of same.

As the US Government ran out of silver at the turn of the century, the COMEX-induced price manipulation took over by means of concentrated short selling by a small number of revolving banks and financial firms. The vital role of lead short seller varied among a number of firms that saw the baton passed from Drexel Burnham Trading, to AIG Trading and to Bear Stearns (all of which failed financially), until finally it was passed to JPMorgan in 2008.

JPMorgan proved to be the most successful COMEX silver (and gold) lead short manipulator over the past 37 years, not only in terms of how much it made in COMEX trading for the past 12 years ($billions), but in that it finally solved the previously impossible problem of exiting its dominant short position profitably. Had Bear Stearns solved this problem, it would still be around today. JPMorgan’s brilliant (but criminal) solution was to use its dominance and ability to suppress silver and gold prices through aggressive short selling on the COMEX, to amass legendary quantities of physical gold and silver at depressed prices. It doesn’t matter how large a paper derivatives short position may be, if you own physical quantities in excess of your short position, you are net long.

It took JPMorgan 9 years (since 2011) to accumulate its massive physical metals stash, which I estimate at 25 million gold ounces and one billion silver ounces at prices averaging $1200 and $18 respectively. At current prices, JPMorgan is already ahead close to $15 billion on its gold stash and close to even on silver, while the other big COMEX shorts which it double crossed are holding more than $8 billion in realized and unrealized losses. Even if the game ended here, it would rank as one of the greatest double crosses of all-time. But it’s much closer to the truth to say the game is just getting underway. The last chapter of the great silver (and gold) manipulation is about to unfold.

Up front, there’s no way of knowing if the last chapter is going to drag out or conclude quickly, but that’s just the nature of the beast – like things moving gradually and then suddenly. All the signs point to a fitting conclusion, no matter how it plays out precisely. After decades of nothing but profits or, at worst, break evens after amassing large concentrated short positions in COMEX gold and silver futures, the big shorts (ex-JPM) have been trapped for the past year in short positions that have gone against them in gold in dollar amounts much greater than all the cumulative profits they achieved over more than 35 years. The losses haven’t amounted to much in silver to this point, but the short position still exists with no apparent means for an easy exit.

JPMorgan is in such a superior position that it, alone, will decide how this last chapter gets written. It has been said that he who holds the gold makes the rules, but as it turns out, that’s even more applicable to silver. Simply put, JPM’s billion ounce physical silver stash makes it the sole decider of price. Certainly, there can’t be any question that the tremendous flow of physical silver into SLV and other silver ETFs over the past three months, coupled with the fact that prices have barely budged should prove conclusively that the metal has come from JPMorgan. The only question is the method and motivation behind JPMorgan’s supplying of the physical silver to the ETFs.

Some have raised the possibility that the US Justice Department, in the course of its ongoing criminal investigation into precious metals manipulation and JPMorgan, may have ordered the bank to dispose of its vast physical silver holdings. I suppose this is possible (and would certainly confirm my allegations about how crooked an operator is JPMorgan), but raises many questions not easily answered – like why would the DOJ allow silver to be dumped at depressed prices and not do the same in gold (where JPM is ahead billions of dollars)? And how fair would it be for the Justice Department not to seek redress from JPMorgan for the damage it caused over the past 12 years by suppressing prices?

A subscriber raised a point I hadn’t thought about in my search for an alternative explanation for my take that it was JPM leasing silver from its accumulated stash that accounted for the massive inflows into SLV and other silver ETFs without any corresponding upward effect on price. Joachim suggested something having to do with the buying of the shares of SLV and other silver ETFs that at first I found even more diabolical than anything I might come up with, but after consideration, didn’t sound as extreme as I first thought.

Joachim wondered if it could be JPMorgan itself buying the shares of SLV and other silver ETFs. My immediate reaction was no way, as that would be even too much of a stretch for the bank I consider the most corrupt in the world (OK, OK, maybe there are more corrupt banks somewhere). My knee-jerk rejection to the idea had to do with JPM having to lie to the SEC about ownership reporting requirements. I have this mindset, ever since Al Capone went to jail for tax evasion and not murder and other serious crimes, that criminals behave criminally, but stick to certain boundaries. It struck me as extreme that JPMorgan would lie on stock ownership reporting requirements. But in thinking it over, Joachim’s suggestion wasn’t so farfetched at all.

Everyone has friends and family, even criminals like JPMorgan. Therefore, it dawned on me that if 5 or 10 chosen friends of JPM were quietly encouraged to buy up to 4% or so of SLV and other silver ETFs to stay below the 5% threshold of the SEC for share ownership reporting, quite a bit of silver could be bought with no one the wiser. If someone wanted to buy 20 million shares/ounces in SLV, for instance, there would be no ownership reporting requirements, since total shares outstanding for SLV are 500 million shares/ounces. Five separate friends could buy 100 million shares/ounces with no SEC reporting required. Double that if you wanted to include all silver ETFs, currently holding close to a billion oz (including SLV).

Why would JPMorgan encourage a favored few close to it to acquire big chunks of silver via the ETFs? If anyone knows that silver is bound to explode in price, it has to be JPMorgan, otherwise it would have never accumulated a billion ounces for itself. Those who were clued in by JPM to pick up silver would, undoubtedly, be indebted to it should silver perform as expected, giving the bank not only big profits on its own massive silver holdings, but in line to receive future favors from those clued in – making silver the gift that kept on giving. But wait, there’s more.

There’s still the matter of where all the silver is coming from to satisfy the documented buying and physical silver being deposited into SLV and the other silver ETFs. As you know, I claim it is coming from JPMorgan which is leasing out the silver being borrowed by other banks and then sold to the ETFs. So, if JPMorgan is quietly cluing in a few of its friends and family to partake in the investment opportunity of buying silver and then turning around and enabling those friends to buy silver at depressed prices because JPM is lending some of its own metal to unrelated and very much unfriendly banks to benefit JPM’s friends, then you are talking about one whale of a sophisticated double cross.

There are not many outfits capable of even thinking up such a sophisticated undertaking. But then again, such a thing has been pulled off by the criminal geniuses at JPMorgan previously. Who else could have conceived and then executed the most criminally genius move ever, namely, being the largest COMEX silver (and gold) short seller for years and all the while using the depressed prices caused by that excessive short selling to pick up mountains of physical metal at the very same time? Nothing, it would seem could top that feat, but this new one comes close.

Not only is JPMorgan not giving up real ownership to the silver it is lending to other banks and, therefore, keeping all the upside, it has forced the other banks into a deeper short selling hole, as previously outlined. Now I’m adding another benefit to JPM – it is also bestowing a tremendous financial favor to those friends and family it may be encouraging to buy silver. Come to think of it, JPMorgan is the only one capable of such underhanded financial alchemy. Talk about a win, win – JPM wins, as does its friends, and its borrowing and short selling competitors lose – what could be better?

Turning to today’s sudden blast to the downside, a number of things come to mind. Please remember, I am commenting on this Wednesday morning and have no idea what the price landscape will look like when I send this out later. First off, after what has had to have been hundreds of similar sudden and sharp selloffs over the years and decades, no one should be confused about this being strictly a COMEX-orchestrated affair. There’s no other possible explanation that the price takedown was anything other than a COMEX paper-generated operation – just one of a vast series of mini-price manipulations, within the master manipulation that has existed for decades.

Lately, I’ve been impressed with the great number of recent bullish commentaries on silver, concerning all manner of reasons to be bullish, ranging from sharp falloffs in mine production to surging retail and wholesale investment demand. While virtually all the articles make a convincing case for why silver should climb in price in the future and take note of its incredibly cheap price, at the same time, most seem to lack a critical feature, namely, a cogent explanation for why the price of silver is so cheap to start with,

It seems to me that if anyone is going to make the case that silver is cheap and a good investment buy based upon blatantly bullish supply/demand considerations, then there is an implicit responsibility to explain why the price is so cheap to begin with. In fact, I would go so far as to say such an explanation is required – otherwise, is the reader supposed to assume that the author of the particular article is the only one who sees the bullish claims made about silver? 

Of course, since there aren’t any legitimate reasons for silver to be as cheap as it is, any reason explaining its cheapness must then veer into the illegitimate realm, namely, price manipulation. Since there are still quite a few not prepared to even admit that the price of silver might be manipulated and artificially depressed, the reader is left hanging. That stinks.

- Source, Ted Butler

The Debt Bomb is Detonating: A Wave of Defaults Are Coming

Typically, the last bill that people stop paying when they are overcome with debt is their mortgage and rent, well, if that is the case, then Americans just rang the alarm bell, because things are about to get messy.

The reasoning for this is due to a recent survey conducted by Apartment List, which states that missed payments have begun to stabilize in the month of June, however, at very high, alarming levels.

(Source, Apartment List)

Here are a few key, very startlingly points that were indicated in their recent survey;

• In June, 30 percent of Americans missed their housing payments, down slightly from 31 percent in May but still up from 24 percent in April.

• Missed payments continue to concentrate among renters, younger and poorer Americans, and those who cannot work remotely.

• A majority of payments missed at the beginning of the month are paid by the end of the month. But those who do not pay on-time in one month are much more likely to miss a payment in the following month.

Breaking this data down further backs up their statement that renters were the most likely to skip their payments (32%), which makes sense due to the fact that they have the least to lose, however, what is truly stunning is the fact that those with mortgages only scored three percentage points lower (29%).

Carrying on with a trend that is appearing in many sectors of the economy, those most affected were under the age of 30, with approximately 40% of adults in this age bracket skipping out on payments, while the numbers decreased among older age brackets.

Additionally, and unsurprisingly those in a lower earning bracket were also much more likely to either not pay, or only partially pay their housing payments.

This tidal wave of missed payments is a trend that is likely to continue for a number of months and of which has the possibility to send countless people spiraling out of control, whether it be landlords who are sunk due to a wave of missed payments, banks who are seeing their bottom lines slashed, or the individuals who are forced eventually into default, as the payments finally come home to roost.

However, don't think for a second that this problem is isolated to the just the housing market, as I previously mentioned, housing payments are typically one of the last things to not be payed, which means that we have a very, very serious problem on our hands.

According to data from TransUnion, approximately 106 million Americans have skipped out on payments of all sorts, across all sectors, since the start of March.

Forbes reports;

• The number of accounts that requested deferred payments, forbearance or any other similar type of relief since March 1, and continue to stay in such a state, stood at 106 million at the end of May.

• The numbers at the end of May are three times larger than what they were at the end of April, signalling a steep increase in economic hardship.

• 7.3 million auto loan accounts have also sought similar relief along with 1.3 million personal loans.

As indicated above, the auto sector is another sector of the economy that has been hit hard, with many skipping out on payments, or deferring them until a later date. 

This comes in tangent with a sharp decline in both used and new auto sales, which will have rippling effects across the industry for years to come.

(Source, barchart.com)

Meanwhile, in the delusional land that is Wall Street, everything looks just peachy, as stocks continue to trade at absurdly high prices, shrugging off reality and trending higher, steadily moving back to old pre-coronavirus highs.

This is because nothing seems to matter anymore, reality doesn't matter, data doesn't matter, facts don't matter, what does matter is that the printing presses keep churning out fiat dollar bills and the stimulus keeps flowing.

We are living in a completely artificial market, that is willing to completely ignore the debt bomb that is being primed right under its feet, set to go off any day, any month now.

This has the potential to bring the system to its knees, either forcing a debt jubilee in one form or another, or forcing the Fed into a printing frenzy the likes of which will make the last few months look like child's play, which as seen from the chart below, is nothing to scoff at.

(Chart Source, Federal Reserve)

Unfortunately, I strongly believe that the "powers to be" will choose to protect their true constituents in the banking sector, just as they did in 2008, running to their rescue and choosing to bail them out once again, rather then letting them collapse due to the many mistakes that they have made.

(Chart Source, goldprice.org)

Meanwhile, both gold and silver bullion are under renewed attack today, doing the exact opposite of what they should be doing, which is moving higher, mitigating and accounting for the incredible risk within the system, the ballooning debt creation and the plethora of fiat money creation.

Seems sane right?

Keep stacking.

- Source, Nathan McDonald via the Sprott Money Blog

Golden Rule Radio: Wall Street Fiddles As Rome Burns

Fed backstop creates unreal disconnect. Statues Fall: Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, & Ulysses Grant? If you saw a Marxist revolution happening would you know?

- Source, Golden Rule Radio

You Want to Own Physical Gold to Protect Your Life

The gold market is testing the top end of its months-long trading range and according to one analyst it’s only a matter of time before prices break out and push to all-time record highs. 

In an interview with Kitco News, Jeff Clark, senior precious metals analyst at Goldsilver.com said that it is difficult not to be bullish on gold in an environment rife with uncertainty and an unlimited number of catalysts to ignite a move through the current trading range.

- Source, Kitco News

Navigating Troubled Waters, How to Survive the Coming Collapse

David McAlvany, President of the McAlvany Financial Companies, talks about why there is so much anger and unrest in the country and how we can invest in this environment.

- Source, Jay Taylor

Kevin Shipp: Soft Civil War is Happening Right Now

Where do all the riots, looting and arson happening around the country end? Former CIA Officer and counter-terrorism expert Kevin Shipp says, “They are pushing for a civil war, and we are in a soft civil war right now. It just hasn’t broken out into the streets. This will result in a civil war, and we have to remember that we are not the minority. 

Your average American who loves the Constitution and traditional values is the majority. They are making it look they are the majority because they have the media, but they are not the majority. Sadly, I think we are in a soft civil war right now, and there is going to be one.”

- Source, USA Watchdog

U.S. Debt is Growing Out of Control, Precious Metals Lagging Behind, But For How Long?

Without a doubt, gold and silver bullion have offered protection throughout the course of this crisis, they have helped people weather the storm and have stood their ground, unlike many other sectors of the economy.

However, standing your ground is not enough in this time of runaway fiat money creation, in a time period in which the stock market is rallying back to all time highs, despite the fact that businesses are going bankrupt all around us, despite the fact that social upheaval is at all time highs.

No, precious metals should be doing better and mark my words. They will do better in the coming months, in the coming years.

The world has entered into a new era, an era in which fiat money is created in such vast quantities, so frivolously, that it is becoming increasingly more obvious just how bogus our fiat based money system is, with each passing day.

Debt Creation is Out of Control

As I have pointed out in previous articles, the debt level of the entirety of the world has ballooned higher since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, however, there is one country that has outdone all others, the United States of America.

(Source, SRSrocco Report)

Looking at the chart above, you would say "hey, whats to see here", or "more par for the course!" and at first glance, you may be correct in this assumption, until you look at things just a little more closer, in just a slightly higher resolution and thus in more detail;

(Source, SRSrocco Report)

Now that does not look good...

As the chart above indicates, the average daily increase of U.S. public debt from 2007 to 2019 was $4.4 billion, which is absurd in its own right and completely unsustainable. However, this is just a drop in the bucket when compared to how much of a dumpster fire 2020 is shaping up to be.

What you have to realize from the first chart shown is that U.S. public debt has already increased by approximately $3 trillion since the end of Q4 2019, to roughly $26.1 trillion total today.

This rapid escalation in debt creation becomes even more startling when you look at the second chart and understand just how fast, how quickly things are spiraling out of control, with only 116 working days passing when the chart was created, meaning that the average increase in U.S. public debt is increasing by approximately $25 billion PER DAY in 2020!

This is five times the average of 2007-2019... to say this is not good, would be an extreme understatement.

When the Fiat Money Comes Home to Roost

At the present time, this money is flowing into the stock market and as is typical, going to those who are already fabulous wealthy, while many continue to suffer and just get by, however, there will come a day when this newly created money begins to enter back into the system, flooding the world and causing many real world assets to rocket higher in prices.

Precious metals will be one of the chief benefactors of this new era, accounting for all of this newly created money and resetting at new ever increasing highs.

"Smart money" is already hedging their bets and buying depressed hard assets, such as energy and precious metals, they have been doing this throughout the course of this crisis and will continue to do so in the coming months and years, as they can see the sun setting on the horizon, the day of fiat reckoning that is rapidly approaching.

Both gold and silver bullion have stood their ground throughout the course of this year, with gold bullion up by 28.11% year over year and silver bullion up by 16.3% year over year, significant gains, but nothing compared to what is coming.

I believe we are going to see ever increasing highs as more and more people begin to flee the paper ponzi scheme, seeking the protection of precious metals and other tangible hard assets, I believe that the lofty projections of some analyst who predict $5000 per oz gold prices are not going to seem so unreasonable in 2-3 years.

Also, I believe that silver bullion due to its dual nature of being a vital resource in many industries, plus a hard money asset, will result in its gains greatly outpacing that of gold, as the gold to silver ratio returns to a much more reasonable and historic average.

However, we live in a highly manipulated world, where up is down and down is up and in this new bizzaro world, it is anyone's best guess as to when the true takeoff is going to happen.

In the meantime, enjoy these prices, they may never be this cheap again and as always, keep stacking.

- Source, Nathan McDonald via the Sprott Money Blog

Updating the Dollar Milkshake Theory and $5000 Gold

Tom welcomes Brent Johnson of Santiago Capital back to the program to discuss his controversial "Dollar Milkshake Theory." The name for this theory comes from the concept of extracting oil from a neighboring property by "drilling" a longer straw. 

The United States has this magic straw and regularly uses it to suck up the world's capital. His theory's controversial idea is that US equities are going to go to all-time highs along with a stronger US dollar at the expense of most foreign currencies.

- Source, Palisade Radio

Ron Paul: Business As Usual? More Bail Outs, More Money Printing

While tens of millions of Americans have seen their jobs disappear due to the "stay-at-home" coronavirus shutdown, the military contractor industry is moving to grab tens of billions to reimburse workers put on leave during the crisis. 

The actual private sector may never recover, but the military-industrial complex is eager to get back to the "old normal" of massive spending on an unsustainable US global military empire.

- Source, Ron Paul

The Next Gold & Silver Wave: Overwhelming Depend to Cripple Supply Chains Soon

After just recovering during this breather in the most frantic gold rush in the 30 years history of Miles Franklin, CEO Andy Schectman is pulling out all the stops to reload inventory while physical metals are still available, in preparation for the likelihood of greater market volatility, unrest, and overwhelming demand ahead. 

Andy returns to Liberty and Finance / Reluctant Preppers to report that he is taking action now while he still can, both personally and professionally, to lay in gold and silver during this opportunity. 

Andy foresees a not-too-distant future where people will either be outside looking in and wishing they had not put off acquiring metals, or be inside holding on for dear life as the masses awaken to the scarcity of true solid assets to shelter from the coming chaos.

- Source, Reluctant Preppers

Bill Holter: Desperate People do Desperate Things, Get Gold, Get Prepared

Is zero reserve requirement at the banks a sign we are getting close to the end of the Ponzi scheme we have been living through? Financial writer Bill Holter says, “I’ll answer this with a familiar saying, and that is ‘desperate people do desperate things,’ and that’s pretty desperate. 

How safe is a banking system that has no requirement for reserves?” This all circles around to gold and the increasing demand for physical ownership. 

Holter says, “There is huge demand for physical gold. The amount of gold standing for delivery has increased almost every single day since first notice day.

If you go back two years ago, that never ever happened. . . . It looks like the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) is supplying the market to tamp down the price. 

We don’t know when an actual failure to deliver event is going to happen, but the system has gotten so large that once you get a crack in the credit markets or a question of the credit worthiness of the U.S., you will see capital flow to gold and clean that market right up. 

Once that does happen, gold and silver will go into hiding. People will not sell their gold or silver for fiat currency.

People are waking up to the fact that there is a massive problem in the credit markets. 

In the past, the safe haven has been the dollar and Treasuries, but if the problem is the dollar and the credit worthiness of Treasuries, what’s the next step of protection? All capital roads lead to gold. 

That is your safe haven. Gold is the ultimate safe haven. It’s God’s money.”

- Source, USA Watchdog

The Fed Knows the Economy Isn’t Roaring Back, More Pain to Come

The Federal Reserve has tipped its hand and its expectations to hold interest rates at the zero-bound range for the next two years is sapping hope of a sharp recovery out of financial markets and boosting gold prices. 

Gold prices have recently pushed back to the top of their two-month trading range and in an interview with Kitco News, Christopher Vecchio, senior currency strategist of IG Group, said that in the current environment, it is only a matter of time before gold prices breakout to the upside.

- Source, Kitco News

US National Debt Blows Past $26 Trillion, Increases by $2 Trillion in Just Two Months

The good times must continue, the party must go on and come hell or high water, that is exactly what governments all around the world plan on making happen, no matter the long term cost.

United States Government Debt:

(Chart source, Trading Economics)

Chief among the abusers of fiat currency is none other than the United States government, who has catapulted itself and its citizens into unsustainable, unmanageable debt levels, with no intentions of ever getting out from under the burden then have created for futures generations.

With each passing crisis, the United States under the stewardship of Keynesian economics has attempted and seemingly succeeded in getting itself out of trouble by simply waving the magic fiat money wand, creating ungodly amounts of money and papering over the ailments that plague the nation.

They are able to do this better than all other countries in the world because of the unique position that they find themselves in, as the United States bears the mantle, the crown of "reserve currency" of the world.

But for how much longer? How much longer can this title be abused and disrespected? Who knows, however, it is undeniable that a collapse could occur any-day, anytime, as we are far past the point of no return.

(Source, Peter Schiff via Twitter)

Many of you are well aware of the fact that US debt levels have been exploding higher, however, never before has it accelerated in such a spectacular fashion, with little to no regard to the long term damage that it may be causing.

As Peter Schiff recently highlighted on twitter, it took the United States 210 years to run up the Nation debt to $2 trillion dollars and only two months and two days to add the most recent $2 trillion.

In the past United States government was restrained fiscally by being on the gold standard, however, since casting off all sense of fiscal sanity and shedding prudence and caution, leaving the gold standard behind in 1971, they have acted like children with unfettered access to the cookie jar, abusing the US dollar in spectacular fashion.

(Source, usdebtclock.org)

This extreme acceleration of debt accumulation is out of control and is the only reason why the economy and the stock market did not completely implode during these last few months of forced lock-down, ushered in by government officials.

Perhaps this cost was worth it, perhaps it was not, however, what can not be denied is that we are far from out of the woods yet, and much more money printing, much more debt creation is going to be needed before this crisis is fully resolved, before the economy is truly back on track.

But what happens when normality truly returns? 

Not this phony fiat injected stock market rally, that is mind-boggling seeing the S&P 500 nearing all time highs once again, while main street continues to suffer, while business fundamentals continue to erode due to the COVID-19 crisis, forcing bankruptcy after bankruptcy.

What is going to unfold is a wave of inflation the likes of which we have never before seen in the West, as all of the newly printed and all of the yet to be newly printed fiat currency floods the system, sending prices rocketing higher, while savings are eroded.

There will be few safe havens during this time of coming chaos, however, you can rest assured that chief among them will be gold and silver bullion, two assets that have protected their holders throughout the centuries from governments run a muck and runaway inflation.

It is during these times that precious metals truly shine, when they are at their best, however, the key to unlocking their protection is purchasing them in advance, not when they are exploding higher in price, as then you will be too late.

The storm is here, a storm is coming. Keep stacking.

- Source, Nathan McDonald via the Sprott Money Blog

Michael Pento: Central Banks Cannot Prevent Rates and Precious Metals Slingshot Higher

​Despite the Fed and world central banks printing trillions, buying up everything, owning all markets, and creating “The Everything Bubble,” one dramatically successful money manager claims that the banks have backed themselves and us into a black hole of no return, dooming us to an interest rate slingshot that will implode all the bubbles, taking equity markets, bond markets, real estate, corporate debt, corporations and jobs with them - and ushering in “The Greatest Depression.” 

How can we protect ourselves from this largest collapse in history? Fund manager Michael Pento of Pento Portfolio Strategies, returns to Liberty and Finance / Reluctant Preppers to explain why the current bubble markets have become “wards of the state” which will be inflated until a massive implosion, and what baby boomers hoping for a retirement must do to avoid becoming casualties in the times ahead.

- Source, Reluctant Preppers

Gold Prices Head Higher After Last Week’s Decline as Investors Bet on Continued Central Bank Stimulus

Gold prices on Monday rose off a two-month low as investors wagered that stimulus from central banks will remain in place for the foreseeable future, bolstering the case for bullion, despite some strength in the U.S. stock market.

“The global economic recovery will still require further aid and gold prices should still be supported over the medium-term,” wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at brokerage Oanda, in a daily research note.

The moves higher for gold on Monday come after the commodity closed out Friday’s trade lower and notched a sharp weekly slide, following an unexpected rise in U.S. jobs for May and a drop in the nation’s unemployment rate to 13.3% from 14.7%, pushing prices for the haven metal to their lowest finish since April.

“Gold prices are shrugging off the last week’s decline on hopes the Fed will not tap the breaks in supporting the U.S. economic recovery,” Moya speculated.

August gold GCQ20, 1.21% on Comex climbed $13.10, or 0.8%, at $1,696.10 an ounce, after finishing last week’s trade at the lowest level since early April and notching a weekly decline of 3.9%, according to FactSet data based on the most-active contracts.

Meanwhile, July silver SIN20, 2.29% added 27.6 cents, or 1.6%, to trade at $17.755 an ounce, settling Friday at its lowest level in two weeks to suffer a 5.5% weekly decline.

Meanwhile, global equities were mixed, but U.S. benchmark stock indexes traded mostly higher as investors watched the Federal Reserve, which was set to release on Wednesday an updated policy statement at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Wednesday.

“Still bearish for the safe-haven metals is upbeat trader and investor risk appetite recently that has seen money flowing into equities markets,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst Kitco.com, in a daily note.

However, “a shaky U.S. dollar on the foreign exchange market” is among the bullish “‘outside market’ forces working in favor of the metals market bulls to start the trading week,” he said. In Monday dealings, the ICE U.S. Dollar index DXY, -0.30% traded 0.2% lower, providing some support for dollar-denominated gold prices.

Elsewhere on Comex, July copper HGN20, 0.72% tacked on 0.4% to reach $2.565 a pound, after logging a 5% weekly gain on Friday. July platinum PLN20, 3.71% rose 3.5% at $$859.20 an ounce, following a weekly loss of more than 5%, while September palladium PAU20, +4.33% climbed 3.1% to $2,013.70 an ounce, following a weekly slump of around 1%.

- Source, Market Watch

Liquidity Issues and Risk On Sentiment Weighing on the Price of Gold

The gold market is trying to find some stability after taking a major hit Friday when economic data showed that the U.S. economy created 2.5 million jobs last month. 

Making matters worse for the precious metal is the fact that the market continues to deal with liquidity issues as critical market makers reduce their exposure, said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank.

- Source, Kitco News

Deflation And Falling Demand Are Still The Main Problem, Global Collapse Coming?

Jason Burack of Wall St for Main St interviewed returning guest, Founder and CEO of Complete Intel, Tony Nash.

Tony's company helps many companies solve their global supply chain problems and he has also lived and worked in Asia for 15 years in the past and advised the Chinese government on their economy and trade in the past. 

Tony's company also uses AI predictive analytics software to predict stock market and commodity price movements. 

During this 40+ minute interview, Jason asks Tony about China's economy, the global chain, the threat of much worse stagflation and volatility in markets like stocks. Tony thinks that the main problem is still deflation and a lack of demand now regardless of the amount of currency, stimulus and bailouts governments do.

- Source, Wall St for Main St

Fiat Currency Will Be Exposed As Gold Breaks Out

Todays interview is with Ross Beaty, Ross is the owner of many precious metal companies. Ross discusses how the economy will take a long time to recover and how gold will break out and fiat currency will eventually be exposed.

- Source, X22 Report

Civil Unrest, Trade Wars, Crashing GDP, Bankruptcy, COVID-19: Bull Market?

As the threat of COVID-19 reared its ugly head, as the economy shut down, things went south and they went south quickly. 

The markets were decimated, marking one of the most historic economic crashes that we have ever seen in mankind's financial history, with markets dropping by record breaking numbers within a 24 hour period.

However, that was a period of increased risk, of great uncertainty, nothing the likes of which we see now today, which of course is a period of "great prosperity" and yes, "extreme certainty".

(Chart source, google charts)

Due to these "prosperous times" we now find ourselves in, we are bearing witness to an almost complete reversal in the S&P 500 and DOW Jones Industrial Average, which are currently going through an incredible rally higher, edging closer and closer with each passing day to the pre-crash highs.

If rallying markets are not enough alone to convince you of just how great our economy is, or just how stable of a world we live in, then lets take a look at just some of the truly "positive" news that is unfolding all around us;

• Trade war tensions between the United States and China higher than ever.
• Record breaking unemployment due to COVID-19 shutdowns.
• Estimated that half of small businesses to be shutdown because of COVID-19.
• Atlantic Fed estimates that Q22020 is -52.8%.
• Political unrest and protests explode across America, with over 10,000 arrested.
• Second wave of COVID-19 highly expected due to mass protests across America.

Of yes, I can see exactly why the markets are heading back to all time highs with all this "great" news unfolding all around us.

All of this "great" news must be why markets are roaring higher, right?

The Secret Sauce

Or... Maybe... Nah... But... Perhaps?

Just maybe there might be another reason why stock markets are ignoring all rational, ignoring the fact that tourism is likely dead for years, ignoring the fact that entire industries, entire businesses have been decimated, ignoring the fact that GDP is tanking.

(Chart source, Federal Reserve)

(Image source, economist)

Bingo! I've discovered the secret to success, the secret to making the markets move higher!

Just. Print. More. Money.

It truly is as easy as that, there is no need for financial experts, there is no need for someone to manage your money, there is no need to do anything, other than to ride the inflation wave train higher, as asset prices continue to move higher and higher, forever.

Since the COVID-19 crisis began, we have seen government after government, announce stimulus program after stimulus program, throwing caution to the wind and rapidly increasing debt levels to help keep the economy afloat, and the economic engine chugging along.

(Image source, Statista)

Statista reports;

"While the U.S. has committed to the largest rescue package of any country in pure dollar terms over three congressional stimulus phases ($8.3 billion, $192 billion and $2.5 trillion), Elgin's research shows that global responses are quite different compared to economic size. 

The U.S. measures work out at an estimated 13 percent of GDP and as large as that is, it actually trails Japan's measures which equate to just over 21 percent of GDP. 

In Europe where Spain and Italy have endured devastating coronavius outbreaks, the size of stimulus packages are estimated to be 7.3 percent and 5.7 percent of GDP respectively."

(Chart source, goldprice.org)

Regardless of this unprecedented money printing, there is one thing that you should never, ever do. 

Buy gold and silver bullion, as precious metals have historically proven to be horrible at protecting its purchasers from the ravages of inflation, against reckless money printing run a muck, by governments who simply believe that wealth can be created out of thin air.

/endsarcasm

My final suggestion? 

Ignore everything I just wrote, ignore the irrational markets, ignore the noise, see the world around you, the risks that it presents and yes, keep stacking. The farce will eventually end.

- Source, Nathan McDonald via the Sprott Money Blog

Ron Paul: How Many Rabbits Can The Fed Pull Out Of The Hat?

The Federal Reserve has been increasing the supply of dollars at levels not seen in at least 40 years. Even the money pump during the 2008 financial crisis pales in comparison to today's central bank counterfeiting.

Just as the lockdowns will produce tremendous ongoing problems, the Fed's reckless money-printing is setting in motion an economic debacle that one can hardly imagine. Central planning always fails. The Fed is certainly not an exception to the rule.

- Source, Ron Paul

Reluctant Preppers: Wake Up Now, or This Doesn't End Well

Constitutional attorney and founder of the Rutherford Institute, John Whitehead, returns to Finance and Liberty / Reluctant Preppers to offer his blistering analysis of two controversial articles and the developing crisis in Virginia, where citizens are taking a stand against government overreach.

- Source, Reluctant Preppers

The Next Silver Rally will Dwarf the Gold Rally

Tom welcomes returning guest and CEO David Brady back to the show. David is a Sprott Money Contributor and a big fan of all things silver.

- Source, Palisade Radio