Earth To Fed: Inflation Mandate Has Been Met

Submitted by Joseph Carson, former chief economist at AllianceBernstein

At this week’s Fed’s annual Jackson Hole conference Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is expected to announce a new policy approach that is intended to give policymakers more flexibility and time to achieve their inflation mandate. The irony is the proposed change is not necessary as the inflation mandate has been met. The problem is policymakers are not aware of it.

Inflation Measurement

The Federal Government statistical branches publish several measures of inflation. Among the most important are the consumer price index (CPI) and the personal consumption deflator (PCE). Accuracy is the most important criterion of inflation measurement, and both the CPI and PCE fail badly on this basic principle.

Gold Needs to "Glow Up"

Gold is a Mandatory Portfolio Asset

Now that gold has powered over $2,000, it’s an excellent time to take stock of what has been accomplished by the monetary metal and what may lie next. As for my Gen-Z “Glow Up” reference (and more below), conversations with my 16-year-old daughter are a constant reminder that I, too, like the gold market, need some updating and modernization.

Most importantly, in our view, it has been established as a baseline that a diversified asset portfolio must include an allocation to gold. We believe this statement is justified by the fact that gold is now the only monetary asset that is priced by a liquid-free market and not directly correlated and partially controlled by central bank (i.e., government) policies and market interventions.

Without once again judging the merits of the exceptional monetary debauchery and fiscal stimuli of 2020, and regardless of an investor’s views on credit and equity market valuations or prospects for inflation, there is no other liquid asset which accomplishes what gold does in the way of portfolio insurance and purchasing power protection.

Researchers Doubt That Certain Mental Disorders Are Disorders At All

Is depression a mood disorder or an adaptive response? GETTY

What if mental disorders like anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder aren’t mental disorders at all? In a compelling new paper, biological anthropologists call on the scientific community to rethink mental illness. With a thorough review of the evidence, they show good reasons to think of depression or PTSD as responses to adversity rather than chemical imbalances. And ADHD could be a way of functioning that evolved in an ancestral environment, but doesn’t match the way we live today.

Adaptive responses to adversity

Andrew Coyne: Is Justin Trudeau a racist? No. He is a sanctimonious fraud

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks regarding photos and video that have surfaced of him wearing blackface, during an campaign stop in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sept. 19, 2019. PHOTO BY SHANNON VANRAES/REUTERS

Justin Trudeau, who is the Prime Minister of Canada since November 4, 2015, and who also leads the Liberal Party of Canada since April 14, 2013, is considered one of the most important and influential progressive leaders in the world, due to his fierce defense of individual freedoms, gender equality, the environment, abortion, the rights of the LGBT community, the legalization of marijuana and the welfare state.

However, questions arise regarding him, such as is Justin Trudeau a racist? What there is no doubt is that clearly by now it should be clear that something is wrong with Justin Trudeau.

Now, we are unfamiliar with the public figure who, at some point in his past, did something remarkably stupid or offensive like blackening his face for a party. We certainly have no experience with a leader, least of all with a prime minister, who cannot remember how many times he did it and that in fact, the blackface seems to have been something of a hobby.

Believe or not believe?

REPORT: Mines, Minerals, and "Green" Energy: A Reality Check

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As policymakers have shifted focus from pandemic challenges to economic recovery, infrastructure plans are once more being actively discussed, including those relating to energy. Green energy advocates are doubling down on pressure to continue, or even increase, the use of wind, solar power, and electric cars. Left out of the discussion is any serious consideration of the broad environmental and supply-chain implications of renewable energy.

As I explored in a previous paper, “The New Energy Economy: An Exercise in Magical Thinking,”[1] many enthusiasts believe things that are not possible when it comes to the physics of fueling society, not least the magical belief that “clean-tech” energy can echo the velocity of the progress of digital technologies. It cannot.

As the Bubble Slowly Pops, the Economic Chain Reaction Is Now in Progress

Much has been written about the economic consequences of covid-19, yet, just as in many of the analyses of the Great Depression and the 2008 crisis, the years of accumulating debt preceding the event do not attract the attention they deserve. Covid-19 — or to be more precise, the lockdown — has initiated a cascading liquidation of the debt bubble that has been building for a generation. From the early 1980s, each recession has been responded to with iteratively lower interest rates. Following the bursting of the late 1980s credit bubble, Greenspan inaugurated the loosest monetary policy for a generation, creating the dotcom bubble. When this burst in 2000, it was responded to with even lower interest rates, reaching 1 percent from 2003–04, generating the housing bubble. When this burst in 2007/8, the response was 0 percent interest rates, turning a $150 trillion global debt bubble as it was then — already the largest In history — into a $250 trillion global debt bubble.

10 Uses For Gold

Read the original article on SchiffGold

From time to time, you will hear people inexplicably say, “Gold is just a useless metal.” They claim that gold’s value is simply “a matter of faith.”

This is sheer nonsense. In fact, gold is one of the most useful metals on the planet and would probably have even more practical applications if it wasn’t so rare and expensive. The truth is gold did not become money because it wasn’t useful for anything else. Its role as money actually evolved because it is so valuable and has so many uses.

Here are 10 uses for gold beyond its function as money and a store of wealth.

Jewelry — Because of its beauty and malleability, gold has been used as jewelry for thousands of years. Gold is also perfect for jewelry because it doesn’t react with moisture. That means it won’t rust or tarnish. Gold also mixes well with other metals, allowing jewelers to achieve various colors and strengths. In 2019, over 2,100 tons of gold were used in jewelry.

Canadians want government to take care of them, but someone will have to pick up the bill

Increasingly, many Canadians have the belief that the government is supposed to take care of us in some way, maybe even for our entire lives. PETER J. THOMPSON/NATIONAL POST FILES

Ted Rechtshaffen: How did we get to a point where we want and expect free from the government?

“My rent should be waived!”

“Tuition should be free!”

Canada should rethink aid to Mali after two coups, analysts say

Colonel-Major Ismael Wague, centre, spokesman for the soldiers identifying themselves as the National Committee for the Salvation of the People, speaks during a news conference at Camp Soudiata in Kati, Mali, on Aug. 19, 2020, one day after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was forced to resign in a military coup. AROUNA SISSOKO/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

After two military coups in Mali in the past eight years, Canada and other key donors are being urged to reconsider their massive financial and security support for Mali’s dysfunctional government.

Soldiers seized power in the West African country on Tuesday for the second time since 2012, capitalizing on mass protests and rising discontent with a government that has failed to end years of violent insurgencies and corruption. The mutinying soldiers were greeted with jubilation in the streets of Mali’s capital, Bamako, in a clear sign that the government had lost the support of the population, despite the huge flows of international aid.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta announced his resignation within hours of his arrest by the rebel soldiers. The military announced plans to set up a civilian transitional government and hold elections, but the African Union decided on Wednesday to suspend Mali, while West African countries closed their land and air borders with Mali and threatened to impose sanctions on it.

Rex Murphy: Prorogue Parliament? What Parliament?

Storm clouds pass by the Peace tower and Parliament hill Tuesday August 18, 2020 in Ottawa. ADRIAN WYLD / THE CANADIAN PRESS

It is considered to extend the Parliament, now, it is really important to consider various questions that have arisen in this situation, how do you stop something that is already stopped? Prorogue Parliament? What Parliament?

They are certainly unknowns that have arisen and that no one can deny. Likewise, today everything is the internet. In relation to this, it is necessary to highlight the fact that on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was a very busy guy and that is that there was the necessary farewell for the former finance minister, Bill Morneau, who was implied that he has been called in by the sirens of the OECD and lured to seek their leadership. Realizing that he could not be present for the “long-term” recovery from the COVID panic if so, the night before he had announced that he would leave both the finance minister’s portfolio and his seat in the Commons.

In this way, it has been said that it has been a very painful blow for everyone, of course, but even so, it was a great relief that he made it very clear, his departure, was not in any way due to that murky adventure with the boys of WE, and the whirlwind of internal, hidden connections lobbying and neglect everywhere associated with his now messy WE Charity and all of her multiform limbs.

Free from fables

Diane Francis: New Tory leader will be the beginning of the end for Justin Trudeau

Canadians are fed up with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, writes Diane Francis. REUTERS/BLAIR GABLE/FILE PHOTO

It’s time to get some grown-ups in Ottawa

Next week, a new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada will be selected, and will become the next prime minister of Canada.

I state this with such confidence for two reasons: the Bloc Québécois leader has signalled that he will support a non-confidence motion to bring about an election, and polls show that Canadians want change.

Canadians are fed up with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The latest scandal involving WE Charity illustrates why: Canada, like WE, is government-by-selfie run by publicity-hungry and telegenic spokesmen posturing about saving the planet. Like the Kielburger brothers, the prime minister and his cabinet combine the business model of a charity, which is based on getting other people’s money, with the spending habits of an entitled trust fund kid.

The Federal Reserve’s One Last Hail Mary

Over the last few weeks, the Federal Reserve has been in utter desperation mode to try to revive and keep the American economy on life support. What many in the mainstream media have failed to include in this recent coronavirus economic narrative is that the virus was just the pin of one the biggest bubbles ever created, which we call the central bank bubble revolving around U.S sovereign bonds.

Turkey Hit By Bank Runs, Currency Panic As Locals Sell Their Cars And Houses To Buy Gold While Lira Implodes

It has been an miserable five years for Turkish citizens who have seen their purchasing power slashed by more than half, and it’s only getting worse.

The Turkish lira has cratered against the dollar and most developed currencies, plunging from 3 TRY per dollar, to a record low 7.37 last week after a brief and valiant attempt at imposing shadow capital control by Erdogan (who is now de facto head of the Turkish central bank) failed miserably at the end of July, and not even a draconian hike in overnight funding rates above 1000% last week (to crush the shorts) was able to prevent a plunge in the Lira to new all time lows.

Buffett's Berkshire buys gold miner Barrick, slashes Wells Fargo and JPMorgan, dumps Goldman stake amid coronavirus

Read original article on MarketWatch

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. BRK.A, -1.90% BRK.B, -1.98% unloaded more than a quarter of its stake in Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, -3.28% and about 61% of its position in JPMorgan Chase JPM, -2.63%, while acquiring a new position in Barrick Gold Corp. GOLD, +11.63%, according to 13F filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the period ended Jun 30, that were released Friday afternoon. Berkshire’s moves appeared to reflect a broad lightening of the conglomerates exposure to large-capitalization banks during the worst public health crisis in generations. Berkshire sold 85.6 million shares of Wells Fargo, representing about 26% of its stake and putting its ownership to about 3% from 5.3%. The insurance conglomerate also shed 35.5 million shares of JPMorgan, 61% of its position, which now represents 1% of Berkshire’s overall portfolio from 3% in the prior period. Meanwhile, the investment firm acquired nearly 21 million shares of Barrick Gold worth $563 million, representing 0.3% of Berkshire’s holding. Berkshire also reduced its holding in PNC Financial Services PNC, -1.27%, selling 3.85 million shares to cut its position to 0.3% from 0.5%. The insurance conglomerate boosted its stake in grocery chain Kroger Co. KR, +1.72% by 15%, purchasing 3 million shares. The report also showed that Buffett’s firm dumped its entire stakes in Goldman Sachs GS, -2.35%, Occidental Petroleum Corp. OXY, -4.98%, as well as consummating an exodus of airline companies, including American Airlines Group Inc. AAL, -5.32%, Delta Air Lines DAL, -3.21% United Airlines UAL, -4.92% and Southwest Airlines Co. LUV, -3.12%. Berkshire didn’t change its holdings in Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.26%, where the firm owns at 245.156 million shares. Large investors must disclose long stock positions held at the end of a quarter 45 days later in a 13F filing with the SEC, which means such filings are merely a snapshot of an investor holdings at a given point. Berkshire Class A and B shares are down by about 0.6% and 0.5% at Friday’s close. Meanwhile, shares of Wells Fargo were down 0.8% in after-hours trade on Friday, JPMorgan shares edged 0.1% lower, while Barrick’s stock was up 3.9% after Friday’s closing bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.30% booked a meager gain on the day, while the S&P 500 index SPX, +0.27% and technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.00% closed in negative territory. However, all three benchmarks booked weekly gains.

Source: Mark DeCambre | MarketWatch

Rex Murphy: The bus approaches Bill Morneau

Finance Minister Bill Morneau. ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS

What’s news is the fact that Canada’s superstar banker has been asked to be a top personal adviser to Trudeau himself.

Somewhat disconcerting was the fact that Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has at least earned accreditation from the press gallery as the “stable” in Trudeau’s cabinet, came out one day to alert eager Canadians that she has “completed trust” in his prime minister. It should be noted that usually, it is the prime minister who can issue declarations of confidence in the ministers he has appointed, unlike his subordinates, and that even includes a deputy prime minister, expressing your trust in him.

Despite this, let’s remember that this is Canada in the days of COVID-19, where you find a closed parliamentary store, a financially hungry auditor general, and public money spilling by the billions in all inexplicable directions. That being the case, it is good to ask, what is a small error in the protocol in terms of who comes to have complete trust in whom?

Facts of great relevance

Rex Murphy: Police officers deserve our gratitude

Police stand guard at the Homan Square police station while activists hold a rally calling for the defunding of police, in Chicago on July 24. SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

It is clear that under the circumstances, it is necessary to show the police officers our gratitude. It is certainly to be admired that so many police officers have restrained themselves as well as they have and are still on the job.

Likewise, we must not leave aside the medical staff, X-ray technicians, receptionists, nurses, maintenance personnel, cleaners, in short, all those who in any way have maintained the most essential services during this pandemic. This being the case, it is important to return a warm greeting to the police services. Although there are some individual cases and encounters that are under criticism and investigation, it could be said that for the general disposition of our police, their willingness to respond and operate in a very difficult time, they mainly manage to suffer the abuse and remain. Therefore, some recognition of his overall professionalism is more than deserved.

Notably, the Canadian police have not been under the same kind of nasty duress that many of the police forces have in certain American cities.

Undeniable complexity

Bankruptcies Already on Pace for 10-Year High

Gold and silver sold off when Russia announced that it had an effective vaccine for coronavirus. This plays into the myth that a cure for COVID-19 will cure the economy. But there is plenty of evidence suggesting the damage to the economy is deep and will likely have long-lasting impacts even when the pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

We’ve reported on a number of these signs. Permanent business closures are rising. Americans owe billions in back rent. There is an increasing number of mortgage delinquencies. There is a rising number of over-leveraged zombie companies. And a tsunami of defaults and bankruptcies are on the horizon.

In fact, bankruptcies are already on track for a 1o-year high.

The surprise jump in prices may be a good sign for the economy, and it’s not ‘stoking the fires of inflation’

Mic’Kale Smith, who works as a security guard but has had to take time off to care for her son during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, wears a face mask as she shops with her son Da’Mier at the Tiger Market in Oxon Hill, Maryland, May 20, 2020.

Consumer prices excluding food and energy rose the most in one month in nearly 30 years in July, but the unexpected increase is seen more as a recovery from the Covid-19 recessionary hit rather than the start of an inflationary spiral.

Core inflation, less food and energy, was up 0.6%, and is now running at a 1.6% rate year over year on an unadjusted basis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s the biggest jump since January 1991, but it is still considered to be a low rate and it is below the Fed’s 2% target.

Headline CPI also increased 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, twice as much as expected. Year over year, the consumer price index was up 1% on an unadjusted basis, compared with expectations for just a 0.7% hike.

Gold’s evolution into a ‘must-have’ asset is storing up trouble

That gold is seen to offer something for everyone is yet another unintended result of the exceptional involvement of central banks in the functioning of markets © Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Price rise is being driven by investors adding the metal to long-term portfolios

Until recently, the rapid rise in the price of gold had more to do with opportunistic financial trading than any larger structural investment theme, let alone a drop in physical supply or an increase in industrial use.

Never has a virus been so oversold

Getty Images

There’s nothing unprecedented about Covid-19 itself. The equally novel, equally infectious Asian flu of 1957 had commensurate fatalities in Britain: scaled up for today’s population, the equivalent of 42,000, while the UK’s (statistically flawed) Covid death total now stands at 46,000. Globally, the Asian flu was vastly more lethal, causing between two and four million deaths. The Hong Kong flu of 1968–69 also slew up to four million people worldwide, including 80,000 Britons. Yet in both instances, life went on.

What is unprecedented: never has a virus been so oversold. Why, I’d like to sign on with Covid’s agent. What a publicity budget.

In a recent Kekst CNC poll, British respondents estimated that nearly 7 per cent of the UK population has died from the coronavirus. That would be 4.5 million people. Scots supposed that more than 10 per cent of the UK population has died. That would be seven million people. Astonishingly, Americans believed that Covid has killed 9 per cent of their compatriots, or almost 30 million people! The real US total has indeed crossed the milestone of 150,000, but for pity’s sake, ‘only’ 20 million people died in the first world war.

Predicted 'Information Catastrophe' May Be Caused By Fifth State Of Matter

Turns out our late-night tweets may have consequences after all.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHES US THAT THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF MATTER: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. But a new theoretical study says that the fifth form of matter has been lurking right under our noses and has the potential to cause a worldwide crisis if left unabated.

No, not an element and not a young woman named Leeloo. This proposed fifth form is information.

In a new study, researcher Melvin Vopson predicts that the weight of this information could equal that of half the Earth by the year 2245, creating what the study calls an “information catastrophe.”

Forty percent of people with coronavirus infections have no symptoms. Might they be the key to ending the pandemic?

Cycling fans wearing protective face masks watch the riders arriving prior to the start of the one-day Milan-San Remo classic cycling race in Milan on Aug. 8. (Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images)

New research suggests that some of us may be partially protected due to past encounters with common cold coronaviruses

When researcher Monica Gandhi began digging deeper into outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, she was struck by the extraordinarily high number of infected people who had no symptoms.

A Boston homeless shelter had 147 infected residents, but 88 percent had no symptoms even though they shared their living space. A Tyson Foods poultry plant in Springdale, Ark., had 481 infections, and 95 percent were asymptomatic. Prisons in Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia counted 3,277 infected people, but 96 percent were asymptomatic.

If America and China Go to War, It Won’t Be an Accident

Fog of war? Photographer: Mark Schiefelbein/AFP/Getty Images

History doesn’t support the idea that countries “stumble” into major conflict.

U.S.-China relations are deteriorating by the day, and the bad news is that the two countries could end up fighting in the coming decade. The good news is that such a war won’t start by accident.

There is a venerable argument that states can stumble into a major conflict that neither truly desires, and it has been revived as tensions between the two great powers escalate. Nevertheless, history shows that big wars don’t just happen inadvertently.

The accidental war thesis was raised recently by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia. Noting the many flashpoints at which U.S. and Chinese interests collide, he argued that there is a growing danger of them “stumbling into conflict.” An accidental collision between ships or planes in the South China Sea, or several other plausible scenarios, could lead to crisis, escalation and war. Just as the great powers of the early 20th century “sleep-walked” into World War I, China and America could blunder their way to disaster today.

Sweden’s top virologist has a message on how to defeat coronavirus: Open schools and no masks

Just a month ago, Sweden was labeled the “world’s cautionary tale” for its laissez-faire approach to fighting the coronavirus. It famously decided not to close its schools, restaurants or bars, and it told its citizens that there’s no need to mask-up. When the death toll surged in late April, and the country looked overmatched by the fast-moving virus, its officials sounded defensive.

The country’s Public Health Agency developed and implemented Sweden’s approach, and its chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, became the face of the crisis.

Continue reading…

Source: Bernhard Warner | Fortune

World's Top Epidemiologists - Masks Don't Work!

Authored by John Miltimore via The Foundation for Economic Education,

Denmark boasts one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the world. As of August 4, the Danes have suffered 616 COVID-19 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

That’s less than one-third of the number of Danes who die from pneumonia or influenza in a given year.

Despite this success, Danish leaders recently found themselves on the defensive. The reason is that Danes aren’t wearing face masks, and local authorities for the most part aren’t even recommending them.

This prompted Berlingske, the country’s oldest newspaper, to complain that Danes had positioned themselves “to the right of Trump.”

“The whole world is wearing face masks, even Donald Trump,” Berlingske pointed out.

GLD—a Crash Course

Are the underlying mechanics of the largest gold ETF a cause for concern?

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are an important element in the global gold market. The largest gold ETF is the “SPDR Gold Trust,” which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange Arca (NYSE Arca) under the symbol “GLD.” In this article, we will examine how GLD works to understand its role in the gold market and its impact on the gold price.

How Travelers Are Beating Tough Flight Curbs in the Age of Covid

A medical worker in protective gear collects a nasal swab from an arrival passenger to test for Covid-19 at a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing site inside Narita Airport in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, on July 19. Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

Travel curbs and border restrictions are upending lives around the globe, with some people resorting to chartering planes or paying many times the regular ticket price to get back to their jobs and homes.

Eight months into the pandemic, the push to normalize is seeing some try to travel internationally again, whether for a long-delayed but essential business trip or to return to where they live. Yet with global coronavirus cases surpassing 18 million and rising, airlines are only reluctantly adding flights to their bare-bones schedules, and virus resurgences have some countries imposing new travel rules.

After Covid-19, just how high will prices go in the 2020 gold rush?

In the five trading days to 3 August the total volume of gold traded was 251m ounces, worth £133bn. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The precious metal has passed $2,000 an ounce and analysts believe it will rise a lot further

The price of gold soared to a record $2,047 (£1,538) on Wednesday as investors panicked by fears of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic rushed to buy the yellow metal as a safer place to store their wealth.

The gold price has risen by 34% since the start of the year, and this week broke through the $2,000 an ounce barrier and kept rising, as investors worry about Covid-19, as well as rising geopolitical tensions and the weakening of the US dollar.

Russia-China “Dedollarization” Reaches “Breakthrough Moment” As Countries Ditch Greenback For Bilateral Trade

“Late last year, data released by the PBOC and the Russian Central Bank shone a light on a disturbing — at least, for the US — trend: As the Trump Administration ratcheted up sanctions pressure on Russia and China, both countries and their central banks have substantially “diversified” their foreign-currency reserves, dumping dollars and buying up gold and each other’s currencies.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/russia-china-dedollarization-reaches-breakthrough-moment-countries-ditch-greenback

Fed Commitment to Let Inflation Run Isn’t a Promise; It’s a Threat

According to a recent CNBC report, the Federal Reserve is set to make a major commitment to “ramping up inflation.”

According to the report, the Fed will pivot to “average inflation targeting.” With this strategy “inflation above the central bank’s usual 2% target would be tolerated and even desired.”

Practically speaking, the Federal Reserve would not raise interest rates until both its employment and inflation targets are met, meaning the central bank would likely keep interest rates at zero for years.

The central bankers have actually been hinting at this for quite a while, using the term “symmetrical inflation target” in FOMC statements and press conferences. Peter Schiff talked about this in a podcast last December.

Dancing on the Precipice: 'Bankruptcy Happens Gradually, then Suddenly'

“Bankruptcy happens gradually, then suddenly,” Ernest Hemingway

All signs point in the same direction. We are heading toward another financial crisis and, this time, it will likely be much worse than 2008. There is a growing chorus of economists and analysts who have already sounded the alarm, but most tend to wrap their warnings in mind-numbing statistical detail. In the following article, I aim to outline where we are — and how we got here — in a simplified manner, with the hope that you can prepare yourself as best you can.

In the early 2000s, I wrote several articles warning investors about skyrocketing deficits, debt, overvalued stock markets, and dangerous policy decisions by government and the Federal Reserve. As we all know, by 2008, a lot of what I was afraid would happen, happened. When the crash came, I further predicted we would not go into a depression quite yet, for one simple reason: The Fed would print a lot of new money (quantitative easing), which would act as a floor for the entire financial system. I warned we would pay the price down the road because there is no such thing as a free lunch. Or, as The Eagles song says: “Every form of refuge has its price.”

Government officials claimed Ontario police were investigating military efforts to allegedly hide documents in Mark Norman case — that turned out to be false

Vice-Admiral Mark Norman leaves court in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. Errol McGihon/Postmedia ERROL MCGIHON / Postmedia

An Ontario police investigation into allegations the Canadian military tried to hide documents in the Mark Norman affair never happened despite official federal government claims to the contrary, this newspaper has confirmed.

The investigation was supposed to have been turned over by the RCMP to the Ontario Provincial Police more than a year ago but that was only done on Sunday — four days after this newspaper began questioning whether an investigation had actually been done.

Switzerland Gold Savings Rate 12%

The Swiss population owns 920 tonnes in private gold, next to 1,040 tonnes in official gold reserves. In total, Switzerland likely has the highest amount of gold per capita in the world. This article is part of a series in which we examine how much private gold is located in major economies — information that can be decisive for a monetary reset.

In my previous article, “Europe Has Been Preparing a Global Gold Standard Since the 1970s,” we saw that the world is possibly heading towards a new international monetary system that incorporates gold. In the article I exposed that European central banks have sold monetary gold from the 1990s until 2008 to equalize reserves internationally. The same central banks are currently promoting gold as “the ultimate store of value,” protection against “high inflation” and the possibility “the system collapses.” In case we will return to an international gold standard the distribution of gold is essential, which is why I study the whereabouts of all above ground reserves.

Despite Big July Gains Silver Still Historically Undervalued

Silver futures were up 25% in July, the second-biggest monthly gain for the white metal on record.

And silver is still significantly undervalued compared to gold.

The spot price of the white metal gained even more than silver futures last month. When gold pushed above its previous record price last week, silver went along for the ride, rising to nearly $26 an ounce. It has settled back and is currently trading in the $24 range. On June 29, silver closed at just over $18 an ounce. That’s a 33% gain on the month. Going back to March, the white metal was below $12.

Former US Mint director Ed Moy told MarketWatch silver is going up for the same reason as gold.

What is driving gold prices now are mainly the fear of inflation due to the magnitude of the monetary and fiscal stimulus worldwide, and the flight to safety due to the uncertainty around how and when the global economy will recover.”

Sweden COVID-19 Death Rate Lower Than Spain, Italy and U.K., Despite Never Having Lockdown

While novel coronavirus cases have spiked across several parts of Europe, including Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, Sweden — where a countrywide lockdown was never issued — continues to report a downward trend in new cases and new deaths.

As of Sunday, the latest death rate in Sweden (deaths per 100,000 people) was reported to be 56.40. The figure is lower than that reported in the U.K. (69.60), Spain (60.88) and Italy (58.16), according to the latest report Sunday by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.K. currently has the world’s fourth highest death toll, while Spain and Italy (which have the sixth highest and eighth highest death tolls, respectively) were formerly Europe’s two countries worst hit by the outbreak.

Sweden’s latest case-fatality ratio (portion of deaths compared to total cases) was reported to be 7.1 percent. The figure is more than half the percentage reported in the U.K. (15.1 percent), half that of Italy and Belgium (each reporting 14.2 percent) and nearly half that of France (13.4 percent), according to Johns Hopkins University.