The paint isn't even dry on the freshly-split NVIDIA shares and the financial media is already crowning it as the next big addition to the Dow.It's all just speculation at this point. But if NVDA keeps pace with its historic run, it would certainly be a welcome addition to the industrials. After all, NVDA just casually added another trillion bucks to its market cap as it stacks up a gain of nearly...Read More

Money being scarce saves us from many pernicious forms of mischief, and having too much money/credit leads to catastrophe. This is of course the exact opposite of the conventional belief that having lots of money makes life not just easier but expansive and, well, as perfect as human life can be.On the scale of nation-states, having too much money/credit leads to the catastrophe of wars of choice,...Read More

There's a long-held fable within investing circles that surging M&A activity can (at times) signal a market top. So, how does that come about?Just like regular investors, major corporate executives suffer from the same psychological condition known as FOMO.The 'fear of missing out' is a timeless human condition repeated for eons and ingrained in human DNA. Yet, it seems to hold a special place in...Read More

We remain besieged by responses to our D-Day coverage.Certain readers nearly chain us Mr. Benedict Arnold. Reader B.H. for example.From whom:I find the comments about D-Day very disturbing. There was no need to disrespect D-Day on that day. Whatever your views on D-Day they could have been discussed at any time than on that day. You do all Americans a disservice when you have to dig into every a...Read More

I suspect you thought that June 6, 1944, was D-Day, when U.S.-British-Canadian and other Allies invaded Normandy, France, eighty years ago today. Yes, I know that the event is called D-Day, but for reasons I'll explain in a moment, let's go with the letter "L." Bear with me...Who Put the "D" in D-Day?D-Day is a confusing label. There's no correct explanation for the letter "D," not now nor back on...Read More

Canada boasts of its rich history and continued success in mining, metallurgical and chemical processing, advanced manufacturing, strong trade relations north-south and east-west, access to clean energy and its commitment to sustainability. While these strengths lay the foundation for Canada to succeed in a rapidly changing economy driven by the global energy transition, they're not enough. The l...Read More

This week's episode features AI.Energy CEO Mariem Akrout in conversation with host Adrian Pocobelli on the latest developments in artificial intelligence, as well as its general impact on the mining industry. Akrout explains how AI can create efficiencies within companies to save both money and time, as well as how AI technology can be used to reassess deposits, providing more accurate and efficie...Read More

Yesterday's reckoning drew a heaping mail.We reckoned that the United States contributed less to World War II victory than the Russian contribution.Thus we have offended the national pieties.We may as well have denounced the institution of motherhood, pies with apples in them and the Declaration of Independence.Reader K.K deals with us this way:What a lousy thing to write on D-Day. Any other day,...Read More

Eighty years ago this day the Allied powers massively raided the French beaches at Normandy.It was a superexcellent event the greatest maritime invasion in all of history.Its plotting, its organizing and its implementation remain astounding wonders.Over 4,000 Allied men fell down that day and never stood back up over half were American.Thousands and thousands more were slain in subsequent camp...Read More

I'm sure you recall the banking crisis of March to May 2023.It began with the collapse of the little-known Silvergate Bank on March 8. This was followed the next day by the collapse of the much larger Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on March 9. SVB had over $120 billion in uninsured deposits.Bank deposits over $250,000 each are not covered by FDIC insurance. Those depositors stood to lose all their mone...Read More

Beware the sting in the tail.In the context of today's reckoning, beware the sting in the banking tail.Beginning March last year, the banking system absorbed a substantial clout.A score of regional banks sank to their knees... and plunged into receivership.By way of background:Their portfolios were loaded through with long-term Treasury bonds. The banks purchased these "safe" bonds in a period of...Read More

The steady path toward World War III continues. U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine in the war with Russia has been one long failure, but that hasn't stopped them from escalating the war with new weapons and tactics.Russia has met the escalation with its own escalation every step of the way. At what point do rational leaders in the West (if there are any left) pause, consider that the war is lost in...Read More

All hell broke loose on the New York Stock Exchange early Monday morning as traders slammed shares of Berkshire Hathaway, opting instead to gobble up GameStop calls as meme madness returned to the markets with a vengeance.OK, that story's not exactly true.But you have to admit this would be one of the most hilarious (and irrational) market narratives of all time. Imagine investors cratering Uncle...Read More

The full ramifications of the guilty verdict against Trump have yet to be felt. It was the first time in U.S. history that any president has been convicted of a crime during or after leaving office.Now Trump will have to run for president as a "convicted felon," which the media has been repeating over and over again. But so far the verdict seems to have benefitted Trump.Trump got a six-point jump...Read More

This contrarian sees a strong consensus around the notion that hyperinflation is the inevitable end-game of nation-states/central banks issuing fiat currencies, i.e. currencies that are not restrained by being pegged to tangible assets such as gold reserves.The temptation to issue (via “printing” or borrowing new currency into existence by selling sovereign bonds) more currency becomes...Read More

Thomas Jefferson would've pooped his pants if he saw what Congress is doing right now. There should be no such thing as fiscal dominance; fiscal policy should be frugal. Spend enough to keep the lights on and let the people drive the economy.Jefferson would've hated our Hamiltonian central bank as well, rap musicals be damned.But over the past few years, we’ve learned that printing money did...Read More

"Stocks can't ignore the issue any longer."What is the issue stocks can no longer ignore? And why can they no longer ignore it?Answers shortly. First we look in on stocks themselves the stocks that can ignore the issue no longer.The Dow Jones absorbed a 330-point lacing today. The S&P 500, a 31-point blow. The Nasdaq Composite, meantime, went 183 points backward.Why? CNBC informs us that:Sto...Read More

As you know by now, Donald Trump was found guilty yesterday on all felony counts in his hush money trial in New York.Sentencing in the case is scheduled for July 11, 2024. That's just four days before the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee on July 15. That's not a coincidence, by the way. It's calculated to further tarnish his image ahead of the convention.It's part of the pattern...Read More

This past weekend, Donald Trump spoke at the Libertarian Party's national convention. The media are gloating that the crowd booed Trump at times.But the fact that they gave Trump a cool reception shouldn't come as a surprise. Many libertarians (though not all) are for open borders. Trump wants a border wall. Libertarians doctrinally support unfettered free trade, while Trump believes in tariffs to...Read More

It is Memorial Day... when we pause to honor the nation's war dead.Most Americans will not, of course.It merely represents a chance to lie flat on a beach... to munch frankfurters... to dream the tall dreams of approaching summer.We will be among them.We will not be planting tiny American flags atop forgotten graves today.We will not be bugling taps.It is unlikely we will thank a veteran for his s...Read More