Silver Editorials & Commentary

China and Russia have taken the lead in establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), seen as a rival organisation to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which are dominated by the United States with Europe and Japan.

Physical silver held in personal possession is a cheap option; an option being simply a choice. The best choices have a very low downside —and infinite upside. Options and optionality are not exclusive to financial markets.

Silver prices are largely set on the COMEX futures – paper silver. A company can post the margin and sell short thousands of contracts with no actual metal available thereby creating artificial supply. The reverse occurs when some company buys thousands of contracts...

Honestly, there’s no better way of describing the “final phase of manipulation, corruption, and lunacy” of history’s largest Ponzi scheme like being in the twilight zone; and for gold and silver holders, a “financial concentration camp.” Day after day, the global...

In the closing months of 2014, Germany faced a difficult dilemma. Although its own economy was holding up well, incoming data showed that the rest of the Eurozone was rapidly slipping into recession. As a result, the calls for the European Central Bank (ECB) to...

The Fed lost patience. Well they did not so much as lose patience, but they dropped the word “patient” in their “guidance” language. It seemed to be widely expected that they would. Then the Fed talked out of both sides of its mouth simultaneously (aka – Fed speak...

The broad stock market retraced most of its March move down, as investors reacted to Fed's Decision announcement. For now, it looks like some further medium-term consolidation, following last year's October-November rally. We prefer to be out of the market, avoiding...

Interest rates have been falling for over three decades. Conventional economics has two things to say about this. One, inflation expectations are falling. Monetarists believe that the interest rate is set based on bond traders’ predictions of future price increases...

While the Federal Reserve likes to talk about the rising threat of inflation, global central bankers are more concerned about low inflation or deflation.

Why do I spend so much time discussing collapsing oil prices, you ask? Well, for one, because as we wrote back on October 15th – when WTI crude was $83/bbl, compared to $43/bbl this (Monday) morning – “crashing oil prices portend unspeakable horrors.” And this, just...

“Expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed” is true enough, but it’s a miserable way to go through life. For investors, expecting the worst is paralyzing, a reason to do nothing. But when a market gets beaten up the way the natural-resource sector has been...

Most retirement account and other long term investors continue to follow the same financial strategies they've been following for decades, believing that the "science" of modern finance will reliably build wealth and security for them.

A few years ago, Poland made the first such move to ‘nationalize’ a portion of its pension system. Nationalize probably isn’t the right word though: steal is more appropriate. Given the fact that most Americans probably can’t even point out Poland on a map, the news...

As the title suggests I want to talk more and chart a little less this week. We do so much charting and parameter management that I think we are in no danger of falling behind the curve in those areas. The same goes for the indicators and sentiment tools we use....

In the movies, an edgy musical score is an effective tool that warns the audience something really bad is about to happen. Like the shrill screech in Psycho, certain sound effects forebode impending doom. In like manner, economics also has a similar warning sign of...

Just one week after the surprising Swiss decoupling from the euro peg, the ECB unleashed its quantitative easing program. On January 22, the President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, announced a €1.1 trillion monetary injection plan, which would start in March 2015 and...

The broad stock market extended its short-term fluctuations following recent move down. For now, it looks like a flat correction within a downtrend. Therefore, we continue to maintain our speculative short position (opened on February 18 at 2,099.16, S&P 500...

Reserve currency or no, hyperinflation is a process. And we are fully entrenched in that process. History defines the parameters for us. Too much debt, too much money created from nothing. And ultimately, the loss of confidence, leading to panic. Those who deny it...

The market is split the secondaries are stronger than the blue chips and the breadth indicators are all close to neutral. I expect the major averages to be higher on Friday March 20 than they were on Friday March 13. Last week the secondaries were up and the blue...

Silver is on major sell signal since 2011. Short term is on sell signal. COT data suggests lower prices overall.

Current investing model favors bonds over equities, therefore, investors should overweigh their portfolios with bonds over stocks for safety. Cash is also a position for those who are un-invested or under invested until this model favors equities again.

We know that today’s macroeconomists are very confused about inflation, if only because despite all experience they think they can print money and increase bank credit with a view to generating price inflation at a controlled 2% rate.

BIG PICTURE - After several years, the Federal Reserve has passed the QE baton to the European Central Bank (ECB) and this should extend the ongoing bull-market in common stocks. You will recall that throughout last year, we were expecting the ECB to unleash a full...

Kondratiev waves, supercycles, great surges, long waves, K-waves, the long economic cycle (Elliot waves), or any other supposedly cycle-like phenomena in the modern world economy. You can forget all about this.

WHERE is that old and tattered "Crash Alert" flag? asks Bill Bonner in his Diary of a Rogue Economist. Many times since the start of the rally in US stocks in 2009, we hoisted it. And many times has it failed to give us a useful signal. But we will bring it out...

We have been expecting a Biannual Cycle Low (BCL) sometime this spring. Next week is critical in determining the silver price direction over the next few weeks. March 18th holds particular importance being a Fed day. There will be significant volatility next week…...

Is the Euro the Titanic? The question may be rhetorical but oddly, there are comparisons. The Euro “set sail” on January 1, 1999 to great fanfare as it replaced the European Currency Unit (ECU) which was a basket of the currencies of the European community (EU). Up...

Take the S&P Index and multiply by the US dollar index. This removes most of the currency variation. Do the same with silver. The chart of silver times the dollar looks very much like silver priced in euros.

The broad stock market remains in a short-term downtrend, following February advance. We continue to maintain our speculative short position (opened on February 18 at 2,099.16, S&P 500 index), as we expect some more downside. We decided to lower our stop-loss...

It's early Tuesday morning; in trading terms, just 48 hours from the ten year Treasury yield’s post NFP surge from 2.12% to 2.25%; supposedly, signaling an imminent Fed rate hike, despite Janet Yellen having delivered the “most unequivocally dovish FOMC statement in...

Remember when the infamous Goldman Sachs delivered a thinly-veiled threat to the Greek Parliament in December, warning them to elect a pro-austerity prime minister or risk having central bank liquidity cut off to their banks? It seems the European Central Bank (...

For some years, hot money flowed in, adding massively to China’s foreign reserve stockpile. Speculators borrowed cheaply in U.S. dollars and bought yuan-denominated assets in anticipation of an ever-appreciating yuan. Well, this carry trade has shifted into reverse...

The February Employment report was a strong +295,000 with unemployment dropping to 5.5%. In Friday’s Market Notes update we highlighted that per BLS this was a services-driven report as the leading edge of the economy, the smaller but key manufacturing and...

Let's step back in time. As we all remember, on January 15th, a surprise decoupling from the euro peg caused the Swiss franc to rally up to 23%, an unprecedented move in the currency market. Why was the peg introduced and later removed?

Seven hundred forty million dollars. That’s how much Bill Gross has reportedly invested of his own cash into the bond fund he manages at Janus Capital Group. The billionaire bond king—who unexpectedly left Pacific Investment Management Company, or PIMCO, in...

There is a wonderful little classic book called, “The Richest Man in Babylon,” which now is available at no charge online. The book is a series of parables – set in ancient Babylon – which describe how anyone can amass a fortune and retire rich.

The other day, I overheard a conversation among a group of concerned Californians. They were having a debate about how they might be prepared for the next really big earthquake.

There has been quite a bit of chatter recently about interest rates in the US with many proclaiming interest rates are now headed up. Are these voices right? Having just analysed the technicals of the 30 Year US Treasury Bonds, it is my considered opinion that they...

T-bonds have gotten trounced since late January, when long-term yields, which vary inversely with price, touched a millennial low of 2.23%. On Friday they spiked as high as 2.87%, reflecting the growing eagerness of investors to reduce their bond exposure ahead of a...

In recent remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen was her typical evasive and non-committal self when the topic of interest rate hikes were broached. When the subject of potential oversight of the Fed came up, however, Ms....