As we near the end of another year we can look back on the wins and losses we have had in our portfolios. While the stock “markets” have been a roller coaster it appears we will end the year with a strong rally. Of course, this was produced by the central banks “printing and buying”. In my opinion, this is as artificial as it can get where trillions are conjured up out of nowhere, they are used to buy assets, and produce NOTHING of VALUE. Basically, they buy making prices rise and add NOTHING that adds VALUE. This means that anyone buying now could be MASSIVELY overpaying.
On the flip side, as I write this on December 22 I notice that gold (that ancient relic that does nothing but central banks and major banks are hoarding) is up over 17% this year. Remember that gold, silver and other ASSETS are just hunks of metal. It is not that gold goes UP it is that the dollar is losing VALUE.
Remember last week’s article where I surprised myself when I looked up the DOW and GOLD since 1971. If the DOW was measured in GOLD it would be DOWN 30% since that time. To me, this means that the PRICE of stocks has risen BUT the VALUE has shrunk 30% vs. GOLD. In addition I believe this means that virtually all “gains” were nothing more than the currency collapsing.
Would it surprise anyone that our stocks could be down 30% because our once vibrant economy has been hollowed out? We used to produce goods- now we produce inflation.
To mask this, there is tremendous manipulation to keep the price of gold and silver down so that the population can’t figure out why prices are skyrocketing. The suppression of the gold price allows those “in charge” to keep the illusion that the dollar (and other currencies) are “strong”. To further mask the currencies weaknesses the currencies are compared to other currencies that are losing value in differing amounts.
I have been watching this for years and I have seen the manipulation ramped up to levels I have not seen before. This is taking place as the price has been steadily rising despite the efforts to cap the price. In an interesting development I cannot see the charts that bear this out. On Kitco I was able to see the massive dumps of paper that masquerades as physical metal in real time. In the past few weeks the takedowns were being done 5-10 times per DAY. For the last few days the charts cannot be seen. A common practice when they don’t want anyone to know what is happening is they stop reporting it.
As I have said time and again I believe that the VALUE of particularly gold and silver but really for most hard assets is grossly undervalued by design. It is my opinion that buying an asset that is artificially suppressed is a lot more likely to reward us with good long-term returns than assets that are artificially being propped up so- again- people can’t figure out that the economy is collapsing around us.
It USED to be that, as the economy goes- so goes the stock market. Today, there is NO CORRELATION between the economy and the stock “market”.
Bonds are also being propped up for many reasons. First, since the appetite of foreigners to buy US debt is waning, the Fed and friends are doing the buying. They are manipulating the yields lower by buying and also propping up the price of the bond at the same time. This pushes money into the stock “market” as well. I am sure they are hoping that lower rates will at least slow down the economic implosion that we are experiencing right now.
As we are heading into a new year shortly I can’t think of too many economic things to be excited about. Virtually all of the leading economic indicators are pointing HARD down. This does NOT mean that the “markets” cannot defy gravity for a little longer.
I would also keep an eye on March of 2024. The program that the Fed put in place to backstop the banks via TRILLIONS in loans ends in March. (BTFP Bank Term Funding Program) They could easily extend the program and make this a non-event. They could also have cleverly planned this whole thing and that is when the SHTF. We’ll have to wait and see.
I think that one thing we should take from all of this is that the central banks have full control over our assets and “money”. They also have a mandate from the BIS (Bank of International Settlements or central bank of central banks) to have a CBDC by 2025. Since a majority of people in the USA and globally want nothing to do with a CBDC they will likely need a major crisis prior to rolling it out so that many will have no option but to comply.
This is why I am expecting fireworks very shortly.
Be Prepared!
Any opinions are those of Mike Savage and not necessarily of those of RJFS or Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. The information in this report does not purport to be a complete description of securities, markets or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources deemed to be reliable but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct.
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