Skewed inflation data. Not a reliable gauge of true inflation.
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Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. In this column, JWR also covers hedges, derivatives, and various obscura. This column emphasizes JWR’s “tangibles heavy” investing strategy and contrarian perspective. Today, we look at skewed inflation data. (See the Inflation/Deflation Watch section.)
Precious Metals:
AG Thorson, at Gold-Eagle.com: Gold Forecast: Leading Economic Indicators Support Impending Recession.
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Video from Jeffrey Christian: Silver deficits don’t exist and other silver myths.
Economy & Finance:
From Yahoo Finance: U.S. yield curve hits deepest inversion since 1981: What is it telling us?
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Linked over at the Whatfinger.com site: Credit Crunch: The Money Supply Has Shrunk For Eight Months In a Row.
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Moody’s downgrades several US banks amid ‘ongoing strain’ in the banking sector.
Commodities:
Bloomberg: August commodities: Will commodities climb or collapse in 2H?
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USDA: World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. (Posted on August 11, 2023.)
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From OilPrice News: How Long Will the Oil Price Rally Last?
Inflation/Deflation Watch:
The latest data from the St. Louis FRED.
JWR’s Comments: The official methodology for calculating inflation has become heavily skewed and hence not a reliable gauge of true inflation. Investopedia summarizes these methodology changes:
“Originally, the CPI was determined by comparing the price of a fixed basket of goods and services spanning two different periods. In this case, the CPI was a cost of goods index (COGI). However, over time, the U.S. Congress embraced the view that the CPI should reflect changes in the cost to maintain a constant standard of living. U.S. Government Accountability Office. “Consumer Price Index: Update of Boskin Commission’s Estimate of Bias.” Consequently, the CPI has evolved into a cost of living index (COLI).”
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CNN: US inflation means families are spending $709 more per month than two years ago.
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David Haggith: Inflation Inferno Mercilessly Burns up the Fed’s Backside.
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Forex & Cryptos:
Reuters: US dollar recovers from inflation-related losses; yen slumps.
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Over at Currency Thoughts: Risk Aversion Persists as Investors Get Ready for U.S. PPI Release.
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Want A Bitcoin Spot ETF? Then Prove BTC Is Not Manipulated, Says SEC
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Joe Rogan Blasts Digital Currency, CBDCs: ‘Checkmate. That’s Game Over’.
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Brazil’s Congress moves to levy higher taxes on cryptocurrencies.
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SBF ordered to jail, Bitcoin ETF delayed and SEC to appeal Ripple case: Hodler’s Digest.
Tangibles Investing:
Video: Housing Market Predictions: The 2023 Housing Crash Has Just Begun (It’s Now Completely Illiquid).
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Demand for V-8 Ford Mustang is roaring.
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Palmetto State Armory (one of our affiliate advertisers) has some great specials this week. Two of these are uppers with 16? barrels at amazing prices: PSA 16? Mid-length 5.56 NATO 1:7 Nitride MOE Freedom Upper – Without BCG or CH. These are priced at just $159. Another is the PSA 16? Mid-length 5.56 NATO 1:7 Nitride Freedom Upper – Without BCG or CH. These are priced at just $149. Either of these will provide a great way for owners of arm-braced AR pistols to fairly inexpensively reconfigure them legally as rifles. Other than swapping rear sights or optics, converting your AR pistol into a rifle takes less than a minute. To find these uppers at the Palmetto website, just paste the SKUs “7780446” or “507280” in their search box. They also have several other 16?-barrel upper options available, from $179 and up. Most of these are available either with or without bolt carrier groups and charging handles.
Provisos:
SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.
News Tips:
Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail or via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant because they come from folks who closely watch specific markets. If you spot any news that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, then please send it in. News items from local news outlets that are missed by the news wire services are especially appreciated. Thanks!
