Puerto Rico's Future Has Been Irrevocably Altered

The news coming out of Puerto Rico -- limited as it is with power and cell service out on most of the island -- is terrible and demands far more of a media and government response than we've seen so far. Every effort should be made to get the people of Puerto Rico the resources they need to cope with this disaster.

"Cope" will be Step One. The island faced large-scale challenges even before Hurricane Maria hit, with a shrinking population, crumbling infrastructure and a financial mess. We need to be realistic about what the future for Puerto Rico and its people looks like. We're probably looking at hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans leaving the island for the mainland U.S. over the next several years, a scenario with significant implications for the island and the rest of the nation.

Puerto Ricans have been leaving for the mainland U.S. for decades. The island's population shrunk by 2.2 percent in the 2000s, and has already fallen by 8.4 percent since 2010. While the northeastern U.S. has historically had the largest concentration of Puerto Ricans, increasingly migration is to the Southeast. A 2014 study from the Pew Research Center showed that about half of all Puerto Ricans moving from the island to the mainland were moving to the South. In 1980, New York had around 10 times as many Puerto Ricans as Florida did. Today, they've roughly achieved parity...

While every effort should be made to rebuild Puerto Rico and to modernize its long-neglected infrastructure, I share my colleague Tyler Cowen's pessimism for the island's long-term prospects. It's over-indebted, its population is shrinking, and its young people have been leaving. Economically, financially and demographically, it would appear to combine the worst aspects of rural America's demographics with the pension, debt and infrastructure woes of places like Chicago.

In theory, some of these problems are fixable. The island's debts could be written down or bailed out. The federal government could invest tens or hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild the island's infrastructure and economy. The Jones Act, making trade to the island more costly than it needs to be, could be repealed. But this menu of policy prescriptions requires the kind of high-trust society with well-functioning institutions that we sadly lack at present.

While many Puerto Ricans will want to stay, or lack the resources to leave, we should be realistic about what shape the rebuilding process will take over the next several months. Electrical systems need wholesale reconstruction. Water systems were damaged. Agriculture is in ruins. Cell towers and power lines need to be rebuilt. And that's to say nothing of roads, homes and schools. What Puerto Rico needs is a blank check of resources -- political will, labor and money -- in order to rebuild.

There's a sad chance that the resources simply will not be found. The mainland should prepare for an influx of Puerto Ricans over the next several months and years. Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans seeking to move to urban centers in the Southeast, the Mid-Atlantic and Boston are going to put pressure on housing markets already struggling to keep up with current demand. Employers, however, may get some relief as they struggle to find workers.

- Source, Bloomberg, Read More Here

Secret Monetary Policy: Who Manipulates Gold Prices and Why

While major international events, like nuclear tests carried out by North Korea, affect gold prices and result in a situation when investors prefer to invest their money in the noble metal, economic expert Dimitri Speck believes that there are other, more important factors that play a crucial role in influencing the global financial market.

Gold prices have been subject to constant manipulations since 1993, German expert on the gold market Dimitri Speck told Sputnik Germany.

According to him, the manipulation of gold prices has been presented by the media as if it has been initiated by a couple of malicious traders just recently, but this idea is wrong.

"When the gold price manipulation started on August 5, 1993, these were central banks that initiated the process, and namely the then head of the US Central Bank Alan Greenspan. He did not want to let the gold price rise over $400," Speck said, adding that Greenspan feared that a significant increase in gold prices might affect the "inflation thermometer."

The expert noted that the US Fed had arranged an agreement among the central banks to keep the gold price below $400 dollars. This was done for several years by means of sales and loans.

Drivers of Gold Price Manipulation

Central banks, which often belong to the state, do not act alone, but work closely with private banking and financial institutions, Speck continued.

"With the help of price shocks, they [the institutions] shortly knock the prices down to drive other buyers out of the market. The state is the first to get benefit from all this, and this primarily concerns the United States. Well, and the dollar. These are the main beneficiaries of the gold price manipulation. Because the US dollar, as the main world currency, looks good in this case," the analyst noted.

Explaining how the manipulation process actually takes place, Speck noted that this happens "very simply," namely by "damaging other competitors."
In this case, gold is the main rival to currencies based on loans, such as the US dollar and the euro.

"The positive development of the price of gold as such exacerbates the debt and other economic deficits of the United States," he stated.

Benefits for Banking System

In his book "Secret Monetary Policy: Why Central Banks Manipulate Gold Prices," Speck also analyzes the benefits that the banking systems themselves get as a result of financial manipulations.

The expert came to the conclusion that the US banking system is one of the main beneficiaries of the gold price manipulation process.

When the gold prices drop, the US dollar rises and its position looks better than it actually is. Banks are then capable of lowering interest rates in order to reduce inflationary expectations and calm depositors.

"They propose lower interest rates to depositors, and this in turn facilitates obtaining a loan. This is beneficial for the state — and, of course, for the banking system," the expert said, adding however, that this approach was one of the main factors that caused the global financial crisis.

- Source, Sputnik News

Bitcoin Under Fire: Profit for Gold?

Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, have flown a little too close to the sun recently, and it has seen them get burned by a few key monetary institutions, as well as governments. This attack on Bitcoin, as well as fear and speculation around other markets, could spell a good time for investment in gold.

Seen as an insurance policy, gold has been a steady and safe investment for hundreds of years. As markets, beyond even the crypto market, get spooked, investors could see a safety net in the precious metal.
Good time for gold

While all the attention over the last few months or so has been solely aimed at digital currencies and their astronomical gains, gold has not been suffering, although many thought it would.

Gold recently hit a new high of $1,350, and part of that was a $100 rise seen over three months for the steady commodity. It seems paltry for those who have been spoiled by swings as big as 25 percent in a day by digital currencies, but in its own right, it is a big jump.

Essentially, that jump, and new high, was reason enough for gold to be no longer considered a bear market - and all this while Bitcoin was making its own massive gains.
Why will gold profit from Bitcoin under fire?

As Bitcoin was rising, so was gold, but when Bitcoin came under fire from China, and JP Morgan recently, gold profited even more.

Gold was always seen as a safe and steady investment; not too much growth, but never really any decline. When sexy cryptocurrencies came along, with their 800 percent gains in less than a year, many put their funds into it.

However, in the bad times, and for those investors who are a little more cautious, gold acts as a good insurance policy, as well as a reliable option to diversify with.

Additionally, it only takes a relatively small number of investors around the world to decide to allocate five to 10 percent of their wealth to gold, to radically improve its valuation.
Real world factors aiding gold’s appeal

It’s not only Bitcoin that has talk of bubbles and uncertainty around it. The stock market has shown many times it has its propensity to pop, and there is a similar bubble feeling at the moment.

The US stock market is already too high, and that has to do with a concentration of speculation into a very limited number of stocks in the NASDAQ. Lesser company stocks have already fallen.

The dollar is also weakening, as it has done since its inception. But, it has its own factors to worry about. None more so than its country’s leader, Donald Trump. Trump, as well as his war of words - so far - for North Korea, is putting a lot of doubt into financial markets, making gold again appear to be the safest and steadiest option.

- Source, Coin Telegraph

In Gold We Trust. Gold In Front Of A Break Out?

The fundamentals for precious metals has been rapidly growing behind the scenes, but none more so than that of gold. "In Gold We Trust" is a timeless mantra and one that we must never forget. The gold market is about to undergo another bull run, are you ready?

- Video Source

The Chinese Threat Against the US Dollar Should Not be Underestimated

There are large quantities of dollars ready to flow away from foreign ownership, a legacy of the days when businesses were unquestioningly happy to hold them as the principal reserve and trade currency. There has been little alternative until now. Furthermore, China’s central bank probably owns half of all the world’s central banks’ dollar reserves, and it is now in her interests to reduce that exposure.

America is isolated from the global economic growth story, which is centred on China and the Chinese-led development of Asia. America’s abuse of her dollar privilege over the years has left a legacy of mistrust in the non-aligned countries, and these countries are now driving the world’s economic progress. At the Asian economic feast hosted by China and Russia, the only guest not invited is America.

America’s poor state finances and her reliance on monetary stimulus will ensure a continuing supply of dollars to the foreign exchanges through persistent trade deficits. The Trump presidency looks like being a disaster for the dollar, and as soon as this becomes apparent in the foreign exchanges, selling is likely to escalate. And as the dollar slides, it should begin to lose its status as the settlement currency for increasing numbers of oil exporting nations.

The final curtain on the Make America Great Again mantra will be the growing covert support for the Chinese opportunity from major international banks, driven by commercial reality. They simply cannot afford to stand by, and there are early indications of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs positioning themselves to be physical traders and suppliers of bullion in Shanghai. It would be a surprise if more Western bullion banks do not follow their lead.

Whether this is the time physical gold demand begins to take over pricing leadership from futures markets, only time will tell. But there can be no doubt that the balance of interests for China is turning to now see a weakening dollar. However, China is surely aware of the disruption she will cause in Western dollar-centric markets if she precipitates significant dollar weakness, and therefore strength in the gold price. She will not want to be blamed for overtly triggering the dollar’s demise as a reserve currency, which probably explains why she has deferred the launch of the yuan-for-oil contract, and is proceeding cautiously.

Obviously, geopolitics plays a central role in timing, with America desperate to oppose China in partnership with Russia as the dominant state on the Eurasian continent. The consequences of ending America’s financial hegemony are not to be underestimated, and China will not take such a step lightly. However, investors in Western financial markets appear to be beginning to get the message that the heyday of the dollar is now over, there is a significant decline ahead, and therefore mainstream investing institutions need to reconsider their asset allocations in favour of physical gold at the expense of the dollar.

- Source, Alasdair Macleod of Gold Money

Dave Kranzler: The Bitcoin And Cryptocurrency Bubble

I actively traded the internet stocks during the late stages of the internet/tech stock bubble in 1999 – from the short side. I will admit that I did take a few long-side day trade rides on a few internet stocks. I remember one Chinese internet stock that I bought in the morning at $10 after its IPO freed up to trade and sold it about 2 hours later at $45. To this day I have no idea what the company’s concept was all about – I think it was one of those incubators. I doubt that company was in existence after 2001. As such, the cryptocurrency craze reminds me of the internet stock bubble.

The cryptos certainly are a heated debate. The volume from the Bitcoin defenders is deafening, the degree to which I’ve only seen near the peak of bubbles. I had a subscriber cancel his Mining Stock Journal subcription after sending me an email explaining that he canceled because he was pissed off that I was not a Bitcoin proponent. He accused me of discouraging people from buying Bitcoins. His loss, he’s missed on out some high rate of return trade ideas in a short period of time like Banro and Tahoe Resources. I’m not trying to discourage anyone from buying anything. I’m simply laying out the “caveat emptor” case.

Having said that, there’s truth to the proposition that the inability to short Bitcoin contributes to its soaring valuation. I’d like to have an opportunity to see what would happen to the value of gold if the ability to short gold via the paper gold mechanism was removed from the equation.

Is it “Bitcoin” or “Bitcon?” The cost to produce, or “mine,” a Bitcoin does not imbue it with inherent value, as some have argued. It cost money to produce Pet Rocks in the 1970’s and they took off like a Roman Candle in popularity purchase price. Now if you own a Pet Rock, it’s nearly worthless. It costs money to produce and defend dollars. We know the dollar is headed for the dust-bin of history.

I’m not saying you can’t make money on cryptos. A lot of people made a small fortune on internet company stocks in 1999. But I’d bet that 98% of the internet stocks IPO’d during the tech bubble no longer exist. Currently cryptos are fueled by the “greater fool” model of making money. Most buyers of the cryptos are buying them on the assumption they’ll be able to sell them at a later time to another buyer at a higher price.

Cryptos are de facto fiat currencies. Perhaps there’s a limit to the supply of each one individually. But that proposition has not been vetted by the test of time. I do not believe that anything in cyberspace is 100% immune from hacking. Just because there have not been reports of the Bitcoin block-chain being hacked yet does not mean it can’t be hacked. It’s also possible that, for now, any breach has been covered up. Again, the test of time will resolve that. However, as we’ve seen already, the quantity of cryptocurrencies can multiply quickly in a short period of time. Thus, in that regard cryptos are no different than any fiat currency.

Finally, all it takes is the flip of a switch and your Bitcoin is unusable. But all these flaws are, for now, covered up by the euphoria of the mania. This is no different from every flawed “investment” mania in history. The current wave of crypto buyers are buying them with the hope of selling them at higher price later. “Hope” is not a valid investment strategy. “Hope” is the heart-beat of a speculative market bubble.

Perhaps one of the most definitive signals that the top in Bitcoin is imminent is this snapshot taken by the publisher of the Shenandoah blog at johngaltfla.com:

This picture was snapped in Florida. The sign says “got bitcoin? Passive income and no recruiting. Earn up to 1% on your money Monday – Friday.”

I recall reading about the process by which Bitcoins are “mined.” Anyone can get started but it involves an upfront investment plus the ongoing expense of the considerable amount of energy used to power the computer system required to engage in the mining process.

Let me guess, the creators of Bitcoin will be happy to assist you with buying the equipment and software necessary to get started? How is this any different from a high-tech-equivalent of a multi-level marketing scheme? As johngaltfla asserts: “When someone implies that it is ‘easy money’ it isn’t, it is a bubble.”

I’m not here to criticize anyone attempting to profit from trading Bitcoin. I am suggesting that it is not a good idea to get married to the trade. I regret not loading up on Bitcoins in 2012.

Without a doubt I believe there is legitimacy to the cryptocurrency concept. However, I can envision a Central Banking-led attempt to implement the crptocurrency model as means of centralizing the process of removing cash currency from the system. But that also means the eventuality that Governments collude to remove competing cryptos from the internet. This is just surmisal on my part. Again, the test of time will determine the ultimate fate of cryptos.

Speaking of time-tested money, it’s worth noting that China is going to roll out a gold-backed yuan oil futures contract – not a cryptocurrency-backed yuan contract. Perhaps one of the major Central Banks will eventually roll out a gold-backed cryptocurrency. That’s where I believe this could be headed.

- Source, Sprott Money

Big Data Leaks Threaten The Western World

Max and Stacy discuss ‘big data’ making the case for crypto by allowing for single point of failure leaks of vital, private information. Max interviews James Howard Kunstler about the hot mess of US climate change policy and infrastructure spend.

- Source

Gold Shows Resilience After Upbeat Inflation Data

Despite the upbeat U.S. inflation data Thursday, Kitco’s Peter Hug points out that gold prices remain resilient. The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August, higher than expected, which investors saw as more ammo for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year. 

Gold prices fell to daily lows on the news but later moved higher, which to Hug is a positive sign. ‘I think traders bought the dip. You need to buy these dips,’ he said. ‘I’m still firm in my belief the Fed is not going to move in September.’

- Source, Kitco News

Rob Kirby: Silver is the Most Undervalued Asset in the World

Forensic macroeconomic analyst Rob Kirby says people should be looking to buy gold and silver for protection because it’s still relatively cheap compared to the exploding value of some crypto currencies. 

Kirby explains, “When you look at the price differential between silver and gold, you see an ounce of silver selling for around $18, and you see an ounce of gold going for $1,340, and that means you would need to sell 75 ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. The ratio in nature suggests you should be able to sell eight ounces of silver to buy one ounce of gold. This tells me one of those two prices is very wrong. 

Either silver is too cheap or gold is too expensive. I don’t think gold is too expensive because I think it’s undervalued too. That leads me to believe that silver is insanely priced and probably the most underpriced asset on the planet. 

I think silver will be going up in price much more than gold, even though gold is going to go up in price dramatically.”

- Source

Bitcoin Is No Safe Haven, It's Risky Business Warns Jeff Christian

Bitcoin is a pet rock. Jeff Christian, managing director for New York based CPM Group did not mince words when it comes to the cryptocurrency. 

'Bitcoin is the ultimate pet rock,’ he told Kitco News Friday. ‘I think it’s just a gigantic speculative play, it has no tangible asset behind it. It’s a scandal waiting to happen.’ 

The longtime precious metals expert says he prefers gold because it is a more ‘legitimate’ asset class. ‘What you are seeing is speculative players buying bitcoin,’ he said. ‘Just because you make money on it doesn’t mean it’s a legitimate activity.’

- Source, Kitco News

Keiser Report: RIP, Petrodollar?Keiser Report: RIP, Petrodollar?

In this episode of the Keiser Report, Max and Stacy ask, “RIP, Petrodollar?” China readies a yuan-priced oil benchmark backed by gold. Is this the final nail in the dollar’s coffin? In the second half, Max interviews Michael Pento of PentoPort.com to discuss the oil-gold-yuan futures contract, North Korea, hurricanes and coming market meltdowns.

- Source, Russia Today

St. Angelo: Doomsday for the US dollar is Fast Approaching

China plans to trade oil gold-backed Yuan. This is a major death nail for the petrodollar. St. Angelo says countries will no longer need there US Treasuries. Massive bond dumping will take place, causing high inflation. 

What does this all mean for precious metals? He says gold and silver should continue rising. St. Angelo also reveals the recent spike in American Silver Eagle sales shows a major shift in the silver market.

- Source

The Final Nails Are Being Hammered Into The US Dollar Coffin

Gregory Mannarino discusses the slow decline of the US dollar and how its days are ultimately numbered. The fiat system is growing increasingly unstable and if you are not preparing for its ultimate decline, then you will be left behind in the dust, possibly losing everything in the process.

Take heed and take notice, you have been warned. Gregory Mannarino explains more.

- Video Source

This Indicator is Indicating $200 Silver, Very Soon

BrotherJohnF tells Silver Doctors why silver is headed to $200/oz. The silver market’s Monthly MACD is turning upward toward the zero line. The last time the Monthly MACD broke above the zero line, silver rose from $5 to nearly $50. 

If the Monthly MACD continues higher and breaks through the zero line once again, John expects a ten-fold increase, placing silver around $200/oz. Also discussed in this interview is China's recent outlawing of ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings.) John says the Powers That Be are petrified of cryptocurrencies. “If they don’t control money, their power is severely withered away - if not wiped out.”

- Source, SD Bullion

Gold Won’t Shoot Up Like A Rocket, But That’s A Good Thing

Gold prices have not shot up dramatically on heightened geopolitical tensions instead, they’ve been steadily rising and to longtime investor John Doody, this is a good sign. ‘It’s not going up like a rocket, which is good. 

I think a steady progression higher is exactly what the metal needs,’ he told Kitco News Friday. ‘$1,900 gold was an overshoot, there were too many speculators in the party and gold proved to be unstable at that price.’ 

Now that gold is trading above $1,300 an ounce, the Gold Stock Analyst founder said mining companies are better positioned to profit investors. ’It’s good to see companies re-establishing and raising dividends. We don’t need gold to be a good speculation, we need it to be a good investment.’

- Source

Economic War With China?

In this special double-header episode, Max and Stacy discuss Germany repatriating €24 billion worth of gold from New York and the US administration finally realizing it is already at economic war with China. They also discuss 'enlightened' Silicon Valley sorts who 'feel' they are inclusive despite the data proving they are not.

- Source, Russia Today

Why Jim Rickards Thinks Gold Is About to Get Revalued Soon

Last week featured two unusual stories on gold — one strange and the other truly weird. These stories explain why gold is not just money but is the most politicized form of money.

They show that while politicians publicly disparage gold, they quietly pay close attention to it.

The first strange gold story involves Germany…

The Deutsche Bundesbank, the central bank of Germany, announced that it had completed the repatriation of gold to Frankfurt from foreign vaults.

The German story is the completion of a process that began in 2013. That’s when the Deutsche Bundesbank first requested a return of some of the German gold from vaults in Paris, in London and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Those gold transfers have now been completed.

This is a topic I first raised in the introduction to Currency Wars in 2011. I suggested that in extremis, the U.S. might freeze or confiscate foreign gold stored on U.S. soil using powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the Trading With the Enemy Act or the USA Patriot Act.

This then became a political issue in Europe with agitation for repatriation in the Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Europeans wanted to get gold out of the U.S. and safely back to their own national vaults. The German transfer was completed ahead of schedule; the original completion date was 2020.

But the German central bank does not actually want the gold back because there is no well-developed gold-leasing market in Frankfurt and no experience leasing gold under German law.

German gold in New York or London was available for leasing under New York or U.K. law as part of global price-manipulation schemes. Moving gold to Frankfurt reduces the floating supply available for leasing, making it more difficult to keep the manipulation going.

Why did Germany do it?

The driving force both in 2013 (date of announcement) and 2017 (date of completion) is that both years are election years in Germany. Angela Merkel’s position as chancellor of Germany is up for a vote on Sept. 24, 2017. She may need a coalition to stay in power, and there’s a small nationalist party in Germany that agitates for gold repatriation.

Merkel stage-managed this gold repatriation with the Deutsche Bundesbank both in 2013 and this week to appease that small nationalist party and keep them in the coalition. That’s why the repatriation was completed three years early. She needs the votes now...

- Source, James Rickards, Read the Full Article Here

Technical Researcher Louise Yamada Sees a Big Breakout Coming for Gold

Louise Yamada sees a big breakout coming for gold from CNBC.
Can gold push to $1,400? A look at gold's shining rally, with technician Louise Yamada, CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis and the Futures Now traders.

- Source, CNBC

SMOKING GUN PROOF: No Free Press & No Free Markets

Gold & silver suppression & media blackouts: are they conspiracy theories or proven facts? What words of wisdom can be gained from one of the most senior analysts in the precious metals markets, reflecting across decades of experience? Bill Murphy, co-founder of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA.org) shares his essential takeaways from years of penetrating research and investigation, and exposes what keeps him on a crusade for truth and unhindered markets. Murphy believes that both truth and free markets will finally erupt into the light of day, bringing justice to criminals who have ridden on the backs of honest people!

- Source