– ‘Technical issue’ at Fidelity blocks access to online accounts, stops online trading- Fidelity is 3rd largest brokerage by client assets: $1.7 trillion at the end of 2016- NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank  have experienced online banking “issues” in November- Clients left without access to funds & failed payments & little to no recourse- Social media exposing …

Puerto Rico without electricity, wifi, ATMs shows importance of cash, gold and silver – Most of Puerto Rico remains in the dark and without power three weeks after storm- With widespread power failures, Puerto Rico remains cash only with retailers only accepting cash and few consumer having cash- Shortages of food, fuel and medicine with infrastructure …

 Young Guns of Gold Podcast – ‘The Everything Bubble’- Precious Metal Roundtable discuss gold in 2017 and outlook- Gold +9.1% year to date; Performing well given Fed raising rates, lack of volatility and surge in stock markets- “People are expecting too much from gold”- Economy: Inflation indicators, recession on the horizon, global debt issues- Global demand: …

Conor McGregor – Worth His Weight In Gold? – Conor McGregor, MMA champion has gold statue made of him- If McGregor was cast in investment grade gold bullion he would be worth …- If Mayweather were cast in gold he would be worth $2.7m- Ali once fought equivalent of MMA fighter and nearly lost use of his legs- …

Gold Reset To $10,000/oz Coming “By January 1, 2018” – Rickards – Trump could be planning a radical “reboot” of the U.S. dollar- Currency reboot will see leading nations devalue their currencies against gold- New gold price would be nearly 8 times higher at $10,000/oz- Price based on mass exit of foreign governments and investors from …

Trump Presidency Is Over – Bannon Is Right “‘The Donald’ has been White House-broken,” writes Bill Bonner in his must read daily missive on Bonner and Partners “‘The Donald’ has been White House-broken,” was what we were trying to say, translating the phrase into something that may make sense to a French listener. But it was …

Gold, Silver Consolidate On Last Weeks Gains, Palladium Surges 36% YTD To 16 Year High – Gold and silver rise as stocks fall sharply after Barcelona attack- Gold, silver 0.6% higher in week after last weeks 2%, 5% rise- Palladium +36% ytd, breaks out & reaches 16 year high (chart)- Gold to silver ratio falls …

– Gold has yet another purpose and may help fight cancer- Gold increases effectiveness of drugs used to treat cancer cells by acting as catalyst – research shows- Use of gold in technology and health growing each year- Tech use to increase- number of patent applications in 2017 grew- Industrial applications such as solar and bio-metrics reduce …

Gold Hedges Against Currency Devaluation and Cost Of Fuel, Food, Beer and Housing  – Gold hedge against currency devaluation – cost of fuel, food, housing- True inflation figures reflect impact on household spending- Household items climbed by average 964%- Pint of beer sees biggest increase in basket of goods – rise of 2464%- Bread rises 836%, …

UK House Prices ‘On Brink’ Of Massive 40% Collapse – UK house prices on brink of massive 40% collapse- UK  at ‘edge of worst house price collapse since 1990s’- Two leading economists warn of property crash- “We are due a significant correction in house prices”- Brexit and wages failing to keep up with inflation to trigger collapse- …

– London property bubble bursting? UK in unchartered territory on Brexit and election mess- Evidence of downturn in London housing market- Over 75% of London homes now selling below asking price- Prime north London property down 6 per cent annually- House prices have not fallen for three consecutive months since the 2009 crisis- Bank of …

Shrinkflation – Real inflation much higher than reported and realised Shrinkflation is taking hold in consumer sector Important consumer, financial, monetary and economic issue being largely ignored by financial analysts, financial advisers, economists, central banks and the media. Food becoming more expensive as consumers get less for price paid A form of stealth inflation, few …

Goldman and Citigroup Turn Positive On Gold – Despite “Mysterious” Flash Crash – Gold bounces higher after “mysterious” one minute “flash crash” mistake – $2 billion, 50 tons or 1.8 million ounces “fat finger” trade blamed Gold in USD – 1 Week – Massive selling at 0400 EST when U.S. markets closed and  thin trading amid …

Millienials look for instant gratification Spend half of their income on leisure Instant gratification doesn’t work if need to save for the future Savings rates falling, few have retirement funds Important to understand marginal difference between spending and pleasure Future wealth depends on what you decide to keep and invest in now This week the …

IHS Markit index shows UK households pessimistic about finances for 2017-208 UK household finances remain under intense pressure from rising living costs 58 percent of respondents expected higher interest rates in 12 months time Inflation in the United Kingdom currently at near four-year high Prices up prices by 2.9pc year-on-year, biggest annual increase since June …

Billionaires Invest In Goldby Visual Capitalist There are always lessons that can be learned from the “smart money”. Source: Visual Capitalist Unlike regular investors, billionaire money managers like Ray Dalio and Stan Druckenmiller are professional investors. They have entire institutional teams at their disposal, dive deep into the nuances and complexities of the market, and spend …

Cyber Attacks Show Vulnerability of Digital Systems and Digital Currencies – Cyberattacks expected to spread today in “second phase”- UK intelligence says scale of threat significant- Microsoft slams NSA for letting hacking tools cause global malware epidemic- Ransomware attack already crippled more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries- 1.3 million computer systems believed to be at …

History of Gold – How the gold industry has changed over 50 years Thomson Reuters GFMS have compiled an interesting high level history of the gold industry in the last fifty years. Topics covered and interesting historical facts to note include: – Gold market size- Gold mine production “peaked in 2015”- South African production collapse from 1,000 tonnes- South African gold was …

Silver Investment Case Remains Very Compelling Are we near a turning point in silver’s relentless decline?Avert your eyes – this is one ugly silver chartGold silver ratio at 75 shows real value of silverMining CEO explains why silver could reach $136.67Buy silver low, sell high Money Week The silver price has been in sharp decline for …

Fear of regulation may impede bank’s from manipulating London’s silver benchmark

New regulations in 2018 have spooked bullion banks and silver fix operators
Lack of liquidity in silver fix auction has lead to high volatility in the market
Silver benchmark has strayed from spot price multiple times since 2016
No new silver benchmark operator lined up to take over in the Autumn
No smoke without fire as actions point to silver price manipulation
Silver remains suppressed and at a low price for investors stocking up

Gold fixing in London at NM Rothschild and Sons began in September 1919

Simple economics tells us that markets and prices are driven by demand and supply. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case in the silver market. However, the threat of new regulations may be putting a stop to some bullion banks from fiddling the London silver benchmark.
Silver price manipulation is always a thorny issue and one that has been taken on by academics, lawsuits, by veteran silver analyst Ted Butler and by the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee (GATA). As we have reported previously, allegations of silver price manipulation are far past the point of rumours, in the last couple of years bullion banks have been called to account for their behaviour. Deutsche bank even agreed to settle out of court and pay $38m, in response to a class-action lawsuit.

Silver, Platinum and Palladium as Safe Haven Investments 
 – Silver, platinum and palladium see increased role as investment vehicles- Increase in academic output on the white precious metals is in line with this- Silver and particularly gold are safe haven assets- Silver was a safe haven at times during which gold failed to be- Platinum and palladium less so but have diversification benefits- Silver manipulation is possible and indications of, if not legal proof- Benefits platinum and palladium could provide as money not been fully addressed- Main focus in investment drivers is price – not on drivers of physical demand- Platinum, palladium and silver have different relationships with other assets and divergent abilities in hedging risk- White precious metal investors should employ a buy-and-hold strategy- Silver markets have become more efficient since 1977- White precious metals are increasing in investment importance- Research shows hedging role and diversification benefits of precious metals
by Jan Skoyles, Editor Mark O’Byrne
A review of the academic literature on the financial economics of silver, platinum and palladium has recently been conducted by Vigne, Lucey, O’Connor and Yarovaya.

Silver Production Has "Huge Decline" In 2nd Largest Producer Peru
 – Silver production sees "huge decline" in Peru- Production -12% in one month in 2nd largest producer- Silver decline is due to ‘exhaustion of reserves’ in Peru- GFMS recognise that ‘Peak Silver’ was reached in 2015- Global silver market had large net supply deficit in 2016- Silver rallied 13.5% in Q1 in 2017- Base metal production accounts for 56% of silver mining- Base metal demand under threat from global economy- Own financial insurance of silver coins and bars
Investors and silver stackers should position themselves for falling silver production around the globe. Peru has just posed another 12% fall in silver production – Peak Silver is here.
SRSrocco Report has drawn attention to falling silver production in Peru and how this is likely to be echoed across the globe in the wake of the looming debt crisis in an article published yesterday.
The world’s second largest silver producer, Peru, has reported a 12% fall in February’s silver production to 323.1 metric tons, from the same period last year.
As written about in SRSrocco’s report on the matter, Peru’s ‘silver production fell 12% to 323.1 metric tons (mt) this February versus 367.4 mt the same month last year.’

The author calculates that this is a fall of 1.5 million ounces (44mt) in just one month.

Perth Mint Silver Bullion Sales Surge 43% In March
– Perth Mint’s silver bullion sales rise 43% in March – Perth Mint’s monthly gold coin, bars sales fall 12% – Gold silver ratio of 32 – 32 times more silver ounces sold- Gold: 22,232 oz and Silver: 716,283 oz – bullion coins and minted bars sold- Gold is 2.6% higher and silver surged 3.1% in the shortened week with markets closed for Good Friday tomorrow
The Perth Mint’s silver bullion sales of coins and bars surged 43% in March. Silver sales climbed about 43 percent in March to 716,283 ounces from 502,353 ounces in February, according to a Perth Mint blog post.
Gold bullion coins and minted bars fell in March to the lowest since August last year. Sales of gold coins and minted bars slipped about 12 percent in March to 22,232 ounces from 25,257 ounces a month earlier, the mint said on its website.

Chart shows total monthly ounces of gold and silver shipped as minted products by The Perth Mint to wholesale and retail customers worldwide. It excludes sales of cast bars and other  activities including sales of allocated/unallocated precious metal and Perth Mint Silver and Gold Certificates.
The Perth Mint is the largest gold refinery in Australia, the world’s No. 2 gold producer after China. It is one of the largest gold and silver refineries in the world.

Gold Surges Above Key 200 Day Moving Average $1270 Level
– Gold price breaks above key 200-day moving average- Gold hits 5-month high on back of investor nervousness- Safe haven has 10% gains in 2017 after 9% gains in 2016- Gold options signal more gains as ETF buying increases- Geopolitical uncertainty over North Korea & Middle East- Tensions high -World awaits US move & Russia response- Russia says chemical attack was terrorist "false flag"- Poor March jobs report shows US economy vulnerable- French elections still tight and Le Pen still has chance

Gold prices surged another 2% to a five-month high above $1,270 amidst geopolitical uncertainty and weak US economic data.
The break above the 200-day moving average has cleared the way for a run towards $1,300/oz. It means that gold continues to be one of the best performing assets in 2017 with gains of 10.3% year to date building on the 9% gains in 2016.

Gold’s move was a traditional flight to safety following the US’ missile attack on Syria and Trump making aggressive sounds regarding intervention against North Korea including tweets.
The weak jobs report also prompted fears that future Fed interest rate hikes could be delayed or slowed and this has provided further support for the price of gold.
Tensions between Syria, Russia, North Korea and the US underline the serious geo-political risks.

Pension Crisis In U.S. and Globally Is Unavoidable
by Lance Roberts
There is a really big crisis coming.
Think about it this way. After 8 years and a 230% stock market advance the pension funds of Dallas, Chicago, and Houston are in severe trouble.

But it isn’t just these municipalities that are in trouble, but also most of the public and private pensions that still operate in the country today.
Currently, many pension funds, like the one in Houston, are scrambling to slightly lower return rates, issue debt, raise taxes or increase contribution limits to fill some of the gaping holes of underfunded liabilities in their plans. The hope is such measures combined with an ongoing bull market, and increased participant contributions, will heal the plans in the future.
This is not likely to be the case.
This problem is not something born of the last “financial crisis,” but rather the culmination of 20-plus years of financial mismanagement.
An April 2016 Moody’s analysis pegged the total 75-year unfunded liability for all state and local pension plans at $3.5 trillion.
That’s the amount not covered by current fund assets, future expected contributions, and investment returns at assumed rates ranging from 3.7% to 4.1%. Another calculation from the American Enterprise Institute comes up with $5.2 trillion, presuming that long-term bond yields average 2.6%.

Invest In Gold and Silver – Now Is The Time – Schroders 
Schroders is one of the leading investment managers in the world. It is a global asset management company, founded in 1804 and based in the UK. The company employs over 4,100 people worldwide across 37 offices in 27 different countries around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East and manages ove £400 billion in assets.
by David Thorpe of What Investment
James Luke, Commodities fund manager at Schroders, believes now is a good time to invest in gold and silver.

Gold bars at bullion dealers Goldcore, in London, U.K. in 2010 Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

He said, ‘The primary reason for investing in commodities, and especially gold and silver, should always be as an inflation hedge. Given the printing of money by the world’s central banks through quantitative easing, there is every reason to argue that higher inflation is coming in the future.
Gold and silver investments in particular remain very under-owned. Some investors fear the prospect of an increasing base interest rate in the US is reason alone to avoid these types of investments.
However, although past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results, the gold price has tended to rise from the beginning to the end of Federal Reserve (Fed) hiking cycles.

Heraeus Gold Refinery Buys Swiss Refiner Argor-Heraeus
– Heraeus gold and precious metals refinery buys Swiss refinery Argor-Heraeus- Heraeus reported to have paid "few hundred million euros for the remaining Argor shares"- Argor-Heraeus "goodwill" alone reported to have been valued at over "half a billion Swiss francs"- Global technology & precious metals refiner Heraeus will acquire stakes from Commerzbank and Austrian Mint- Heraeus involved with Argor-Heraeus since 1986- Swiss refinery Argor Heraeus once fully-owned by UBS- Heraeus to profit from Argor’s competence for gold and silver refining and international footprint- Prudent Germans know history and understand the value of gold

Employee holds one hundred gram Heraeus gold bar at bullion dealers Goldcore, in London, UK in 2010 Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Heraeus, the family owned German global technology and precious metals refining company has announced that it is to buy one of Switzerland’s largest gold and silver refineries, Argor-Heraeus.
Heraeus gold and precious metals refinery is one of the world’s largest provider of precious metals services and Heraeus gold bars are some of the most trusted gold bars in the markets.
It is rumoured to have agreed to pay some €300 million for the 67% stake, taking its total holdings up to 100%.

Irish Government To Issue Free Gold Coin To Protect Citizens From Brexit’s Impact On Euro and EU
– Unprecedented move to see Irish government issue free gold coin to Irish citizens– Controversy as Irish government plans for Irish people to own 1 ounce of gold– Irish Finance Minister said the “little people” were exposed due to risks from Brexit and the end of the euro– “Gold can be stored for a long time … doesn’t lose its value for the population as a means of savings”– Politicians in Ireland criticise move as “too generous” to Irish Americans given Ireland still close to bankruptcy

In an unprecedented move the Irish government is issuing and dispatching a free gold coin to all Irish citizens and foreign persons of Irish heritage.
In a controversial move, the Ministry of Finance plans for Irish people to own at least 1 ounce of gold bullion. The Irish Finance Minister said the “little people” were exposed due to the many risks that Brexit poses to Irish companies and the Irish economy and indeed the risks posed to the EU and the euro itself.
Irish politicians on the left have criticised the move as being “too generous.” They said that wealthy Irish Americans should not benefit from the move given that there is a homeless crisis in Ireland and given that the state was still close to bankruptcy.
Speaking on condition of anonymity the Irish Finance Minster Mr D.

‘Most Secure Coin In World’ ? 
 – New pound coin ‘most secure coin in world’ ? – New British £1 coins much harder to counterfeit- Pound coin uses "secret" cutting edge technology- Coins uses ‘iSIS’ technology which may involve RFID tags- Central banks, governments may be able to track coins- Libertarians and privacy advocates will have concerns-  "Secure coin" yes but real risk is that savings not secure due to currency debasement- Now new risk to bank deposits as all digital wealth exposed to hacking and cyber fraud- Sound as a pound? Safer to stick with true "coin of the realm" – Gold and silver Sovereigns and Britannias  (VAT and CGT free) are only truly secure coins

The UK launched what is being touted as the "most secure coin in the world" yesterday – the day before Brexit day.
People have reacted with mixed emotions regarding the introduction of the newly designed pound coin which entered circulation yesterday. The new coins have been created using “cutting edge technology” by the Royal Mint
The new 12-sided coin will replace the current one, which has been in use for three decades. The current pound coin will remain legal tender alongside the new coin for just over six months until 15 October this year, after which retailers are under no obligation to accept it.
The pound coin will be harder to counterfeit. In May 2015, a survey by the Royal Mint found that some 2.

– Peak gold – Biggest gold story not being reported- Gold ‘Mining Zombie Apocalypse’ caused miners to slash exploration budgets- Decline in gold production at world’s top 10 gold mining companies – Byron King- “No new big mines being built in the world today” – Glencore CEO Glasenberg- Primary global gold output declined in 2016 – Thomson Reuters via Mining.com- 2016 was first year of fall in mine production since 2008- Rising safe haven demand from ‘Trumpflation’ and  geopolitical tensions and falling mine supply should lead to "much higher gold prices"- What happens when the unstoppable force of robust global demand for gold meets the immovable object of a small, finite, rare and dwinding supply of physical gold?
South Africa Gold Production
We have written about ‘peak gold’ and the ramifications of the underappreciated peak gold phenomenon for the gold market since 2008. The risk of falling gold production and a consequent reduction in supply are slowly percolating into the mainstream and analysts are asking whether 2015 or 2016 marked the year of peak gold production.
Byron King has written about this increasingly important supply factor in the gold market and brings together the views and research of Glencore CEO, Ivan Glasenberg, Thomson Reuters GFMS and others.