The AOCE and WB have moderate overall forecasts for the metals in 2025 inline with IMF forecasts for a decline in economic growth and inflation, although we see the probability of a stagflationary scenario as still reasonably high.Read More

The past year was a difficult one overall for the metals, with the main standouts to the upside being a geopolitical risk-driven gain in gold, a China-driven rise in iron ore and a surge in uranium on broadening global support for nuclear power (Figure 1). A jump in global interest rates to near two-decade highs saw recession fears persist all year, and while one still did not actually eru...Read More

This year the post-global health crisis boom was brought to an end by a surge in inflation to forty-year highs, a major rise in global interest rates in an attempt to curb the rising prices and surging geopolitical risk after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While precious metals held up reasonably well as markets turned to them as a risk hedge, by Q2/22 the higher interest rates put an end t...Read More

Chile is the world leader in copper production, at 28.5% of the total in 2020, and this looks set to continue, with the country having the largest global reserves, at 23.0% of total. It is also the global leader for molybdenum, which is often found along with copper, and is a major lithium player, holding 51.1% of global reserves. Read More

Newfoundland has become a gold exploration hotspot over the past few years, with the sector seeing some of its strongest activity ever. While the province remains a small contributor to Canadian gold production, it has a substantial mineral industry well supported by the government, focused on iron ore, copper and nickel, and the surge in exploration suggests that gold output from the...Read More

Nevada is the core of the U.S. gold output, accounting for by far the majority, at 75.4% on average for the past year. The state looks set to remain a dominant player in U.S. gold, as it accounts for 49% of total U.S. reserves, with Alaska slightly ahead with 51% of reserves, but just 8.6% of current production. The U.S. accounts for 6.1% of global gold output, making Nevada one of the largest gol...Read More

The Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia has historically been a major site of Canadian gold production, beginning as early as the mid 1800s. There was a wave of production in the 1990s which cooled as the gold price declined, but larger scale production resumed in 2017, and the area has seen surging exploration interest over the past year, given that the region has some of the largest...Read More

In this report we outline the Quebec gold mining industry, including its major producers, and a survey of many of the junior miners focused on the province. Quebec accounts for 34% of Canadian gold production (second to Ontario, with 44%) and remains a major focus for both producers and junior miners.Read More

Red Lake has been one of the most prolific gold mining districts in Canada and the world, with exploration having started in the 1920s, and production, which began in the 1930s, continuing to the present day. The district is known for the high grade of its gold, its infrastructure, and strong institutional support, given the long history of mining in the area.Read More

Full Article: SWOT Analysis: Will Gold Shine During Volatile Times?By: Frank HolmesStrengthsThe best performing metal this week was gold, down 1.26 percent. China's demand for gold jewelry rose 10 percent last year to around 700 metric tons due to increasing wealth of residents. China is the largest market for gold in the world. Gold demand is also on the rise in India, the second largest cons...Read More

Full Article: Raising Rates Reflect Bigger Debt Not Faster GrowthBy: Peter SchiffWhile investors are justifiably focused on what may be the opening crescendo of a long overdue sell-off in stocks, there is not, as of yet, as feverish a discussion of the parallel sell-offs in bonds and the U.S. dollar, which have been underway for at least a year and a half in bonds and 14 months for the dollar. I...Read More

My 15-year old son recently told me he doesn't want to go to college. Instead, he plans to be an electrician.My pride as a father swelled. He gets it.Don't get me wrong, he could do very well in an undergrad program. He's far smarter than his old man.But he and his friends understand that America's college system is dying. For most people today it's a bad investment.Students are graduating with $1...Read More

"Death is not something to be feared. It is just a part of life," the priest explained.We were listening to the funeral oration for one of our workers who died suddenly last week. A young man, he got pneumonia… and then, on the way to the hospital, died of a heart attack."We do not fear death," the Padre continued. "Because God let his only son die. We follow his example. And we do so in the...Read More

Tech stocks have staged an impressive comeback since their recent mini-crash.Is the dip over? Back to normal, with the Mag 7 once again taking center stage?Not so fast.American tech stocks face a number of challenges which could stop a new bull market in its tracks.The risk we're going to discuss today is the possibility of another surge in Chinese AI technology.You may recall that earlier this ye...Read More

News this week that Elon Musk will soon be departing his "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) is a grim reminder of what happens when you challenge big spending DC. Unfortunately, the lesson once again is that when you challenge the empire, the empire eventually strikes back.President Trump rode into office with the help of Elon Musk's ambitious plan to cut two trillion dollars in spending...Read More

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, is facing a peculiar problem these days: he has too much cash.Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on an eye-watering $325 billion in dry powder, a record high. Historically, Buffett has always been eager to deploy capital when the odds are in his favor. But today, even he admits he’s struggling to find value in this overvalued market.Which leads to a fascinatin...Read More

Using AI can be magical. It has helped me understand obscure investment concepts which aren't covered well anywhere else.It has shown my son exactly how to do a geometry problem, so I don't have to relearn something forgotten 30 years ago.AI has helped me understand legal contracts which previously would have required paying a lawyer hundreds of dollars per hour.Magical.At other times, it becomes...Read More

President Abraham Lincoln is considered to be the moral savior of the United States for ending slavery. To pay for the war, he made enormous changes in the basic relationship between the federal government and money. These changes greatly diminished individual property rights and increased the power of Washington over the private economy.The paper money created by Abraham Lincoln to finance the Ci...Read More

In the 1975 sci-fi story A Song for Lya, two officials are sent to the planet Shkeen to investigate a grotesque alien parasite known as the Greeksha.The Greeksha is a gelatinous, oozing lifeform which attaches itself to human skin.The investigators are surprised to learn that natives of the planet willingly infect themselves, reporting a deep sense of joy, divine peace, and unity once bound togeth...Read More

Spanish conquistadors came to the Americas in search of gold and silver. And they found plenty.But while they were mining, they occasionally found a strange silvery metal unlike any other. They called it "platina", meaning "little silver".At the time, they believed this "platina" was young gold that would take a few more thousand years to mature and turn yellow. This platina was difficult to work...Read More

In recent news, oil giant Chevron announced that this year and into 2026, it will lay off between 15% and 20% of its workforce, including geological, engineering and other related scientific and technical personnel. The company states that it must cut costs and simplify operations.Meanwhile, Chevron also announced that it will scale back its share buyback program, although the dividend is supposed...Read More

Time flies. We're at the 100th day of President Trump's second term.One piece of good news is that America's southern border is as secure as it's ever been in modern times. Trump and his people fixed that wide-open, Biden-era problem quite fast, by the novel approach of applying existing law. Amazing! Who knew?Now the country doesn't have to deal with 10-15,000 new arrivals every day, unknown, un-...Read More

With so much attention focused on U.S. stock markets, it seems timely to pivot away from stocks for the moment and consider the global perspective. Globalization may be dying in terms of trade and supply chains, but financial markets are inextricably linked in ways that relatively few understand.King Dollar Still RulesThe dollar still dominates the global financial system despite the cracks in the...Read More

During President Trump's first term in office, he made good progress on building the Keystone XL pipeline.Biden ruined it.This energy artery would have brought 830,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada's Alberta region down to the American Midwest. It would have eliminated the need for costly and dangerous rail transport, lowered energy costs, and created high-paying jobs.But Keystone XL was held...Read More

The U.S. dollar remains the king of currencies. For now, at least.The greenback's share of global foreign exchange reserves sits around 58%. However, back in 2000 the dollar was even more dominant with a 72% market share.Meanwhile China's yuan only makes up about 2.2% of global forex reserves, but that's up from 1.1% in 2016. The currency's share of global payments is higher at around 4.7%.China's...Read More

It's a subject we analyze continually, and we have recommended gold as part of a sound investment portfolio for years. Today the dollar price of gold is hovering near all-time highs over $3,300 per ounce.Gold has been on a tear lately. It was $1,830 as of October 5, 2023. At today's prices, that marks a 75% surge in just 18 months. Gold has outperformed stocks by a wide margin this year, but it ha...Read More

Charlie Munger, Berkshire Hathaway’s late Vice Chairman and Warren Buffett’s longtime bosom buddy, achieved legendary status in investing circles. But Munger's genius doesn't rest in poring over spreadsheets or stock-picking scanners. Instead, he's famous for using "mental models" guiding principles and ways of thinking that he's curated from a broad spectrum of disciplines.Munger's...Read More

Stagflation is a grim economic diagnosis. High inflation, stagnant growth, and elevated unemployment.The United States from 1972-1982 is the textbook case. Inflation raged as high as 14%, real economic growth was practically non-existent, and unemployment reached 9.7%.Now the threat of stagflation once again looms large. Inflation is set for a comeback, growth is slowing, and widespread layoffs ha...Read More

Buenos Aires looks much the same as always. But there's a new energy. Walking around the Palermo Soho neighborhood, we see more construction…more new shops…new restaurants…"Things have gotten better since Milei took over," was the judgment of our taxi driver. "Not everything… but people are not sitting around anymore.""He's right," said a business friend. "Before, I had a h...Read More