It’s Friday morning, and I want to start by demonstrating just how
desperate the powers that be have become – to preserve a dying status quo, in
which the causes of decades of profligate fiscal and monetary policy
are being exposed by the effects of political destabilization;
economic stagnation; debt explosion; social unrest; and serial currency
collapse.
Yesterday’s epic combination of “PM-bullish, everything-else-bearish”
headlines; including Trump’s contentious exchanges with Presidents of Mexico,
Iran, and Australia – following China, Japan, and Germany two days earlier;
ugly, way below expected Deutsche Bank earnings; dovish Bank of England and
Japan policy statements -following the previous day’s epic
Federal Reserve punt; and a surging January Challenger job cuts report.
After which, the Cartel did its thing, using the same “Cartel Herald”
algorithm as always, to push gold and silver down after the 10:00 AM EST
close of the global physical markets. Still, both metals touched highs
for the year; having decidedly held their 50 day moving averages of $1,177/oz
and $16,71/oz, respectively, as they prepare to inevitably challenge their
200 day moving averages of $1,266/oz and $17.93/oz, respectively. At
one point, the (meaningless but widely watched) “dollar index” fell as low a
as 99.3, before moving back up towards the key psychological level of 100;
i.e., the post-election breakout level, representing the market’s current
view on just how realistic the (ridiculous, soon-to-be-permanently-disproven)
“Trump-flation” meme actually is.
Fast forward to today – as I edit, three hours after “another dovish jobs
report”; and with the dollar back down to 99.7; gold and silver again
challenging $1,220/oz and $17.50/oz); and the benchmark 10-year Treasury
yield at 2.43%, I can’t help reiterating last month’s “2.5%, ‘Nuff Said”
thesis; i.e., that the 10-year yield – as a proxy to U.S. interest rates in
general – simply CANNOT rise above this increasingly obvious “line in the
sand” without annihilating the U.S. – and global – economy; and
subsequetly, the vast majority of already collapsing fiat toilet
papers. This, compared to the 3.0% “economic line in the sand” I first
predicted – and was proven wildly correct about – three years ago; as
today, the economy is in much worse shape; whilst global debt levels
are much higher.
Aside for the, rigged headline number of 227,000 new January
“jobs” being “better than expected,” everything else about the report, as
usual, was horrible. Starting with the fact that the household
survey showed a decline of 30,000 jobs; whilst December’s NFP
headline number was revised downward by 40,000, entirely offsetting this
month’s “beat.” Moreover, the all-important average weekly earnings
number, at up 0.1%, was well below the expected 0.3%, despite countless minimum
wage increases having been enacted to start the year; whilst last month’s
supposedly “great” 0.4% average weekly earnings gain was revised down to just
0.2%. And again, I cannot empasize enough how vital wage growth is to the
Fed’s thesis regarding inflation – which for the vast majority of Americans,
is non-existent.
Sure, the labor force increased for the first time in ages; likely, due to
people making New Year’s resolutions to look for a job; but unfortunately,
most of them didn’t get one, resulting in a rise in the (already laughably
understated) “unemployment rate.” And if you believe what the BLS
tells us – that (mostly minimum wage paying) retailers were the
biggest source of January jobs, following the worst holiday spending season
since the 2008 crisis, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.
Trust me, if the Cartel is failing to smash Precious Metals on a day when
the jobs report was supposedly “great,” what’s left of actual market participants
decidedly know otherwise. Let alone, in the currency and bond markets –
which loudly and clearly, are increasingly questioning the Fed’s (ridiculous,
impossible, propagandist) expectation of three rate hikes this year.
Which brings me to today’s slightly less “economic” topic – although
clearly, the reasons behind Precious Metal storage decisions are as much economic,
as they are political and logistic. Which is, further commentary about
what I believe to be the future of Precious Metals – and even cash storage
(in this case, U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, and Swiss Francs); i.e., Miles
Franklin’s new, to the best of our knowledge unparalleled in the bullion
industry, Private Safe Deposit Box program with Brink’s Toronto and Vancouver
– as detailed in this
article from November, when the service was launched; and this
interview with President and Co-Founder Andy Schectman, in which all aspects
of the program are discussed.
I’m not going to go over specific attributes of the program here, as they
are discussed in detail in the aforementioned article and interview.
And of course, you can call one of Miles Franklin’s brokers – on average,
with roughly 25 years of bullion industry experience – at 800-822-8080; and
they’d be happy to answer any questions you might have. Instead, I’m
simply going to share my experience with the program, now that I
have just become a client.
Long-time readers know that Miles Franklin commenced its segregated
Precious Metal storage program with Brink’s Montreal back in 2012, which was
expanded to Brink’s Vancouver location last
year. I have been a satisfied client since 2013, and personally
attended two regularly scheduled audits – where I witnessed my personal
metal be counted. And now, as of this month, I’m a client of the
Private Safe Deposit Box program, too.
The reason I bring it up, as that Andy Schectman and Joel Kravitz spent
more than a year working on the logistics of this one-of-a-kind program; and
when I personally saw the finished product, I couldn’t have been more
impressed. To wit, I received in the mail – by signature delivery, of
course – a vacuum-sealed packet holding a laminated, authenticated certificate
describing my Brink’s Toronto holdings; as well as two keys to my personal
safe deposit box. And by personal, I mean that no one, aside
from me, has a key. Not even Brink’s themselves, or Miles Franklin.
Yes, Brink’s and Miles Franklin are aware of what’s in the box
for accounting and logistics purposes – but they do NOT have a key; and thus,
cannot open the box unless I send a key with explicit instructions.
After which, if the contents change – due to a deposit or withdrawal – I’ll
receive a new vacuum-sealed bag, with a new authenticated holdings
certificate and my key back. Or, alternatively, I could simply go to
the vault myself, or send the key with a third party – provided I send
Brink’s explicit instructions of what that person is allowed to do.
With the global political, economic, and monetary situation more uncertain
that at any time in generations, the urgency to protect one’s financial net
worth has never been stronger; and given Precious Metals’ unchallenged
historical track record, there’s no better way to “insure” yourself than
physical gold and silver. And if offshore storage in Canada – one of
the most politically stable jurisdictions on the planet – is for you, please
give Miles Franklin a call; as in our view, our new Private Safe Deposit Box
program represents the “future of Precious Metal storage.”
