April Blog Archives 2017

Gold last traded at $1,268 an ounce. Silver at $17.26 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices held steady Friday amid dollar weakness after disappointing Q1 GDP data. U.S. stocks slipped on downbeat economic data despite strong earnings reports this last week.

U.S. Economy Grew 0.7% in First Quarter, Slowest in Three Years -Bloomberg
"The U.S. economy expanded at the slowest pace in three years as weak auto sales and lower home-heating bills dragged down consumer spending, offsetting a pickup in investment led by housing and oil drilling. Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced, rose at a 0.7 percent annualized rate after advancing 2.1 percent in the prior quarter, Commerce Department data showed Friday in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 1 percent gain. Consumer spending, the biggest part of the economy, rose 0.3 percent, the worst performance since 2009....Though the first-quarter figure isn’t a verdict on President Donald Trump’s policies, economists are generally skeptical that growth will reach his goal of 3 percent to 4 percent on a sustained basis....While some of the slowdown may be temporary, inflation is eating into consumers’ wallets."

Warren Buffett Hates Gold... But Here's Five Reasons You Need To Own It -Forbes
"'[Gold]...has no utility.' Buffett is correct - gold doesn't produce earnings or pay dividends. There are, however, some good reasons gold should be an essential part of every investor’s portfolio. #1: Real Interest Rates Are Still Negative; Even with the Fed raising nominal interest rates, real rates - that is, the nominal interest rate minus inflation - are still in negative territory....#2: The Dollar’s Value Has Collapsed; The U.S. dollar may be rising against other currencies like the euro and yen. Nonetheless, in the last 50 years, its purchasing power has fallen by 86%....#3: Gold Is Money; In other words, gold is payment in and of itself, but the dollar is only a promise to pay....#4: Negative Correlation to Stocks and Bonds; To keep all your eggs 'out of one basket' - buy gold....#5: No Counterparty Risk; Once you have physical gold in your possession, you don’t depend on someone else to fulfill a contract or keep a promise for it to retain its value.... Since the beginning of 2017, gold is up over 10%, making it one of the best-performing assets of the year. And this is no anomaly."

When it comes to wealth preservation, gold is in a class of its own. Gold is the ultimate form of trustworthy money, instantly liquid worldwide. Read our 2017 Gold Report and 2017 Silver Report to discover why owning gold and silver in 2017 is not a luxury, but rather a necessity!

Markets Are Priced for Perfection -Rickards/DailyReckoning
"Today’s stock market is priced for perfection. The Dow’s once again up around 21,000 - a good 12% higher than election night. Either growth will rebound based on 'animal spirits' and the Trump stimulus working better than expected or markets will collapse once they realize the growth is not coming. By 'collapse,' I mean a violent stock market correction, a falling dollar and major rallies in bonds and gold. I expect the latter. Financial crises are not mainly about the business cycle. They’re about investor psychology, sudden shocks and the instability of the financial system. Right now investors have been lulled into complacency. But numerous shocks are waiting to happen and the system is highly unstable due to over-leverage and non-transparency....For now, investors should not stand in front of a moving train. Keep cash ready and be prepared to move into gold, bonds and the euro. In fact, it’s not too soon to leg into those positions now. Instead of watching the tape or short-term trends, my advice is to stay focused on the long-term trends."

Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Wary of Auto Loans, Pack Them in Bonds -Bloomberg
"Depending whose money they’re using, Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. either love subprime car loans or fear them. Both banks have grown more reluctant to make new subprime loans using money from their own balance sheets. Wells Fargo tightened its underwriting standards and slashed the volume of all loans it made to car buyers in the first quarter by 29 percent after greater numbers of borrowers fell behind on payments. JPMorgan’s consumer and community banking head Gordon Smith earlier this year said the bank had cut its new lending for subprime auto loans 'dramatically.'....Wall Street banks packaged more loans from finance companies into bonds in the first quarter than the same period last year, and Wells Fargo and JPMorgan remained two of the top underwriters of the securities....Investment banks took heat after the 2008 financial crisis for bundling debt into bonds that later soured....Subprime borrowers are falling behind on their car loan payments at the highest rate since the financial crisis."

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Gold last traded at $1,265 an ounce. Silver at $17.33 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices steadied Thursday on a firmer dollar ahead of Friday's 2017 Q1 GDP data. U.S. stocks rose modestly, led by upbeat earnings anticipation for tech giant's Alphabet, Amazon.com, Intel and Microsoft.

Atlanta Fed Throws In The Towel: Cuts Final Q1 GDP Forecast To Just 0.2% -Zero Hedge
"Well that was fast: literally seconds ago we posted JPM's Q1 GDP forecast revision, saying 'while we wait to see if the Atlanta Fed will cut its final Q1 GDP estimate ahead of tomorrow's official print to 0% or negative.' At precisely the same time as we hit the publish button, the Atlanta Fed came out with its revised forecast and it's a doozy: after starting its Q1 GDP Nowcast at 2.5%, rising as high as 3.4%, and plunging recently as low as 0.5%, the Atlanta Fed has 'thrown in the towel' on the quarter in which the Fed hiked rates, and while not negative - or 0.0% - it was about as close as it could go without the Fed losing all credibility for having hiked in a contraction quarter. From the Atlanta Fed: 'The final GDPNow model forecast for real GDP growth (seasonally adjusted annual rate) in the first quarter of 2017 is 0.2 percent on April 27, down from 0.5 percent on April 18.' Some more context: if the Atlanta Fed is right, and tomorrow the BEA confirms that GDP was around 0.2% , this will be the lowest GDP quarter in which the Fed has hiked rates since Q4 1980."

Good and bad news about Trump’s massive tax plan -NewYorkPost
"There’s much to like about President Trump’s tax plan, including the fact that he’s going back to his campaign promises to do something big and beautiful - not build a wall, but slash rates Ronald Reagan-style for both individuals and corporations. That’s the good news, but there will be plenty of bad news in the days and weeks ahead, as business interest groups lobby Congress to keep their loopholes, Democrats argue that the White House and Republicans are throwing money at the rich - and more than a few Republicans demand that the whole thing not add a cent to the budget deficit, even if the evidence of the Reagan years is that lowering taxes on people and businesses can grow tax revenues and, with some budget restraint, pay for itself....But there will be nothing quick or easy about getting this tax cut plan through Congress; market reaction wasn’t very positive. Stocks sold off a bit, but even more telling, bond prices just rose as Mnuchin and Cohn began their press conference, which means investors are betting the plan will be watered down, producing lower economic growth and lower inflation - both positives for bonds. And here’s why: For starters, there are plenty of GOP deficit hawks who are weary of supply-side dogma and might not want to take the corporate tax rate down to 15 percent, or give upper-income people any tax break whatsoever. Meanwhile, I’m hearing from even prominent Republicans in high-tax states like New York that the closing of all those loopholes (minus, as stated, the mortgage and charitable deductions) will be a deal-killer."

Cashless society getting closer, survey finds -Reuters
"More than a third of Europeans and Americans would be happy to go without cash and rely on electronic forms of payment if they could, and at least 20 percent already pretty much do so, a study showed on Wednesday....The trend was also clear. More than half of the European respondents said they had used less cash in the past 12 months than previously and 78 percent said they expected to use it even less over the coming 12 months. Ian Bright, managing director of group research for ING wholesale banking, said he did not believe people would quit cash entirely, but the direction was obvious....Cash-loving Germans, for example, have been concerned that a move by the European Central Bank to phase out the 500 euro note by the end of next year is the start of a slippery slope."

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Bet on gold with a long-term horizon, say experts -EconomicTimesIndia
"Investors may bet on the long side for gold as it is a safe haven asset in uncertain global environment, feel analysts. With the first round of the contentious French elections over, investors will be eyeing the outcome of the final round in May which will be followed by the people’s referendum to stay or leave the EU....'The investment demand has been a real indicator of how gold prices will behave in the longer run and it presents a good story for initial three months of 2017...the ETF demand will outsmart even in 2017 and bring in support for gold prices,' said Prathamesh Mallya, chief analyst, non-agri commodities & currencies, Angel Commodities Broking."

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Gold last traded at $1,264 an ounce. Silver at $17.43 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices stabilized Wednesday as gold prices rebounded despite a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks traded higher following details of Trump's proposed tax reform plan.

The White House outlines tax plan. Here's what's in it -CNBC
"Top White House officials outlined President Donald Trump's tax plan Wednesday, a proposal they said would be the 'biggest tax cut' in U.S. history....Trump's plan will cut the number of income tax brackets from seven to three, with a top rate of 35 percent and lower rates of 25 percent and 10 percent. It is not clear what income ranges will fall under those brackets. The proposal will chop the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent. It would eliminate all tax deductions except for the mortgage and charitable contribution deductions. The White House said there will be a 'one-time tax' on the trillions of dollars held by corporations overseas. The plan would get rid of the estate tax, otherwise known as the 'death tax.'"

It's not your imagination: Things are more expensive than they were 10 years ago -CNBC
"If your sense is that most of what you pay for month to month, from child care to health care, costs way more than it did a decade ago, even accounting for inflation, you're right. An infographic originally published on the blog of the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute makes clear that while a few items have gone down, proportionally, in price, a lot of the things that matter have gotten more expensive....'Housing, health care, and education cost the average family 75 percent of their discretionary income in the 2000s. The comparable figure in 1973: 50 percent.'....Given that incomes were flat for so long, it's no wonder Americans are finding it so hard to save."

A new Swiss America Special Report, THE INFLATION SOLUTION, explains how inflation gradually debases every dollar you own by increasing your cost of living. Politicians and the Federal Reserve are both seeking higher inflation this year - even if it means debasing your wages, savings and investments!

Gold Is Crisis Insurance -LiveTradingNews
"Gold is known as an inflation hedge, but its role as a crisis hedge is even more important. Gold is anti-fragile, to use the term coined by risk analyst and bestselling author Nassim Taleb. When currencies collapse and economies falter, Gold can ensure your survival, financially and literally....Whether there is hyperinflation or a banking collapse, Gold has historically been the asset to own in times of turmoil. Given its intrinsic value and safe-haven status, there is no doubt that Gold will remain a wealth preservation tool during financial crises.The reaction of the Indian people to a potential Gold ban is the latest reminder of why owning Gold is important. Crises do not come along often, but when they do, it is better to be safe than sorry."

We've Had a Big Stock Rally, but Gold Is the Winner -RealMoney/TheStreet
"There's been a lot of hoopla surrounding the stock market rally of late. Many of you have probably already forgotten that last year I was pounding the table to buy stocks when most were bearish. They were afraid of falling oil prices, which I said would rebound -- and they did....On Dec. 15, 2015, the day before the Fed raised rates for the first time in nine years, gold was at $1,050 per ounce. The Dow was at 17,500, S&P at 2,040 and Nasdaq at 5,070. Fast forward to today: Three rate hikes later and a huge bull market in stocks that has occurred since the November elections. The Dow is at 21,000, the S&P at 2,388 and the Nasdaq is at 6,020. And gold is at $1,270. Guess who won? Gold. Gold scored a 17.3% gain, while the Dow came in with a 16.7% gain and the S&P and Nasdaq scored gains of 14.6% and 15.8%, respectively."

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Gold last traded at $1,267 an ounce. Silver at $17.59 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices retreated Tuesday amid short-term speculative profit-taking and a weaker dollar. U.S. stocks rallied for a second day as investors cheered upbeat earnings and increased geopolitical stability.

Will French Voters Shatter the European Union? -PontificationBlog
"On Sunday, French voters rejected the elitists of all the ruling parties, right and left, and for the first time in generations chose two outsider candidates to contend for President in a May 7 runoff. Marine Le Pen, 48, of the nationalist, anti-European Union party the National Front, came in second with roughly 22 percent of votes. And two points ahead of her was Emmanuel Macron, 39, who has never held elective office. The media are quick to tell us that Macron is 'neither left nor right' and is a 'centrist' who must win against 'far right' Ms. Le Pen. But Macron is the former economy minister of socialist President Francois Hollande, who wrecked the French economy and sent hundreds of thousands of the brightest young French to Great Britain and other lands seeking opportunity....The EU, as Craig R. Smith and I explain in our latest book Money, Morality, & the Machine, was devised after World War II by French intellectual Jean Monnet. Monnet wanted it to replace European nations by melting them into one government, so no such war could happen again." Full story

New Poll: Record number of Americans want MORE government in their lives -Black/SovereignMan
"In a poll conducted a few days ago by NBC News / Wall Street Journal, a record 57% of Americans responded that they want MORE government in their lives, and that the government should be doing more to solve people’s problems. That’s the highest percentage since they started asking this question in 1995. In fact, 57% is nearly double what people responded in the mid-90s. First- more government is nearly an impossibility. As I’ve written several times in the past, the US federal government already spends almost all of its tax revenue on mandatory entitlements like Social Security, and interest on the debt....According to the US government’s own financial statements, their net operating loss in 2016 was an unbelievable $1.05 TRILLION....Since the end of World War II, US federal government tax revenue as a percentage of GDP has been nearly constant at 17%....If the government’s slice of the pie never seems to change no matter how high or how low tax rates are, shouldn’t they focus on making the pie bigger? Duh....The Land of the Free is truly becoming the Land of Getting Free Stuff."

Definitely Bullish Signals For Gold -Seeking Alpha
"Gold bulls should be satisfied. Last week the US big speculators increased their long bets on gold prices. According to the Commitments of Traders report, their net long position in gold futures jumped by 23.1 thousand contracts....Summarizing, although the paper silver market is overcrowded now, a bullish thesis on silver is supported by increased acquisitions of silver bullion by one of the largest players in the silver market, JPMorgan....Both gold markets, the paper and physical one, are sending bullish signals. Speculators are increasing their long bets on gold prices without any signs of excessive optimism and gold bullion is hoarded by a few large gold ETFs, JPMorgan and the Chinese."

Bi-Weekly Economic Review: "Market Skepticism Growing" -AlhambraPartners
"It wasn’t a very good two weeks for economic data with the majority of reports disappointing. Most notable I think is that the so called 'soft data' is starting to reflect reality rather than some fantasy land where President Trump enacts his entire agenda in the first 100 days of being in office. Politics is about the art of the possible and that is proving a short list for now. Republicans can’t agree among themselves and Democrats are following the golden rule of politics – never interfere when your opponent is busy self-destructing. I said after the election that tax reform would be a 2018 event at the earliest. I may have been too optimistic....Overall, the economic environment is still fairly weak. It isn’t a-recession-is-right-around-the-corner weak but still, a lot less than the economic bulls were hoping for....The dollar topping process continues, just another reflection of weak growth expectations for the US....The recent dollar weakness has been a positive for gold, another sign of growth skepticism. Gold resumed its long term uptrend in 2016 and the short term trend is now higher too...The gold uptrend is supported by 5 year TIPS yields that recently turned negative again....I don’t know if the Trump administration will be able to enact any major reforms this year but clearly skepticism in the market is growing....And, in my opinion, the physical market is definitely supporting a bullish thesis on gold and silver prices."

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Gold last traded at $1,277 an ounce. Silver at $17.86 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices dipped Monday despite a sharply lower dollar as investors bet on 'Frexit' worries easing. U.S. stocks had a relief rally after Sunday's French vote did not foment fears of France leaving the EU.

France Braces for Runoff Between Nationalism and Globalism -Bloomberg
"The far-right Le Pen and centrist Macron both took just under a quarter of the vote in a contest with 11 candidates. Now they must convince the rest of the population that they have what it takes to lead the country after the May 7 runoff. The next round will see two radically different visions. Macron embraces globalization and European integration, Le Pen channels the forces of discontent that triggered Brexit and brought Donald Trump to power....While Le Pen’s signature pledge on taking France out of the euro has served to keep her fractious party in line during the campaign, it will stop her winning because most voters want to keep their currency, said Dominique Reynie, a professor of political science at the Sciences Po institute in Paris. In her final rallies, Le Pen at times backed away from her euro pledge and steered toward the other themes that most strike a chord with her electorate: Islam, immigration, national identity and terrorism."

In Today's Fiat Money Financial System, 'The House' Always Wins -Zero Hedge
"Perhaps the rules of the game have always favored the bankers....However, the extreme maltreatment of individual depositors and borrowers that has persisted following the 2008 credit crisis is a downright disgrace....The prime rate, based on The Wall Street Journal’s consensus survey of the 30 largest banks, is presently at 4 percent. For perspective, the typical credit card rate these days has an annual percentage rate (APR) on the order of 16 percent – or more. This is all well and good, of course. No one’s twisting the consumers’ arms and forcing them to take on debt. To the contrary, consumers are eager and addicted to the readily available credit card debt the banks offer. Still this doesn’t change the fact that main street depositors and lenders continue to get a raw deal....The typical annual percentage yield (APY) on savings deposits is not 1 percent. It’s not even 0.1 percent. Rather, it’s about 0.01 percent; which is effectively less than zero after inflation....Conversely, the banks have never had it so good. They borrow from the Fed at less than 1 percent interest. Then they buy U.S. Treasury notes – currently the 10-Year note is yielding 2.24 percent....The point is in today’s fiat money financial system, where debt is money and money is debt, the house always wins. Place your bets accordingly."

Hedge Funds Jump on Gold for Life Raft as Dollar Ship Sinks -Bloomberg
"There’s no stopping the gold bulls. Hedge funds increased their wagers on a gold rally to the highest since November, betting that this year’s 11 percent advance has more to go. Investors are also loading up on the metal through exchange-traded products, pouring $487 million into SPDR Gold Shares on Wednesday. That was the biggest daily inflow into the world’s top bullion ETF in seven months....Gold is shining bright as the dollar trades near the lowest since November, lifting the appeal of alternative assets....'There’s an appetite for storehouses of wealth at this point,' said Peter Sorrentino, the Dallas-based chief investment officer of Comerica Asset Management Group, which oversees $43 billion, including gold ETFs. 'Rather than run the risk of having your dollars eroded on a relative basis, you can use gold as a life raft to sort of avoid a sinking ship.'....'The important thing about gold is it provides a huge geopolitical hedge whether it’s North Korea or its French election risks, or wherever else it comes,' Francisco Blanch, the head of commodities research at Bank of America, said in a Bloomberg TV interview last week. 'People are going to rush into gold.'"

Gold and silver represent the best value buy in 2017 for all of the reasons quoted above. What are you waiting for? This is your gold-plated invitation to jump into the world's safest haven. For more insights into the precious metals bull market of 2017, read our 2017 Gold Report and 2017 Silver Report.

A Trump Economic Slowdown? -New Yorker
"During the election campaign, Donald Trump promised to jump-start the American economy and generate annual Gross Domestic Product growth of four per cent, which would represent roughly a doubling in the rate that we’ve seen since the Great Recession ended. At times, Trump made four per cent sound like a conservative estimate. 'My great economists don’t want me to say this, but I think we can do better than that,' he said, in September of last year....Yet reality seems about to intrude on this Trumpian narrative. At the end of next week, the Commerce Department will release its initial estimate of how the U.S. economy did in the first three months of 2017, a period in which Trump was President for all but nineteen and a half days. Far from showing a quantum leap in G.D.P. growth, the official figures are expected to show a slowdown....With retail sales softening and auto production falling, the widely followed Blue Chip consensus of forecasts projects that first-quarter growth will come in at under 1.5 per cent - and some experts believe even that number could be overestimated. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s G.D.P. Now model, which combines various economic statistics to provide a 'nowcast' of G.D.P. growth, puts the annualized growth rate at just 0.5 per cent. It’s always dangerous to rely on economic forecasts."

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Gold last traded at $1,289 an ounce. Silver at $17.85 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices traded mixed Friday, with gold rising on geopolitical uncertainty despite a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks slipped as French election worries overshadowed earnings enthusiasm.

Time To Own Some Gold -Seeking Alpha
"While gold may have just extended its run to nearly $1300 per ounce and then pulled back, we don't necessarily think the flight to the precious metal is going to be over anytime soon, and we consider gold a great buy here for the course of the long term, but especially over the course of the next 5 to 10 years. We admit that we like holding gold in basically any and all circumstances. We also like holding other precious metals like silver and platinum, mostly for the same reasons that we like to hold gold. We like gold because it is a hedge against many things. It is a hedge against owning securities, it is a hedge against inflation, it is a hedge against all different asset classes and it is the number one go to for investors when equity markets begin to capitulate. We also enjoy silver and platinum, not only because they are similarly situated hedges, but also because they each have manufacturing purposes which help contribute to their demand. The reason that we think gold is a good asset to own right now is because we are coming to the end of a seven or eight year debt cycle that started at the end of the 2008 financial crisis....If you want to be diversified across asset classes and you want to protect your wealth, you absolutely must own at least a little gold."

Existing Home Sales Soar To 10-Year Highs -Zero Hedge
"Following February's 3.9% drop, March existing home sales roared back (up 4.4% MoM - the fastest growth since Dec 2015) to the highest since Feb 2007 at 5.71 million SAAR. Inventories tumbled (for the 22nd month in a row) and prices rose (for the 61st month in a row) as affordability issues remain ignored (for now). It seems, unlike 2013, that rising rates are not affecting demand for existing homes at all... (yet)....The median existing-home price for all housing types in March was $236,400, up 6.8 percent from March 2016 ($221,400). March's price increase marks the 61st consecutive month of year-over-year gains. With the high-end dominating the price appreciation....'This is a very broad-based recovery' in the housing market, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said at a press briefing accompanying the report...Policy changes could 'quickly change' the direction of housing in the second half, he said."

Fears shroud French election after Champs Elysees attack -AFP/Yahoo
"The killing of a policeman on Paris's Champs Elysees claimed by the Islamic State group rocked France's presidential race Friday with just two days to go before voting in the closest election for decades. Bloodshed had long been feared ahead of Sunday's first round of the election after a string of attacks since 2015, and the shooting propelled the jihadist threat to the fore. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen -- who is locked in a tight four-way contest with centrist Emmanuel Macron, conservative Francois Fillon and Communist-backed firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon -- moved quickly to present herself as the toughest of the four on terrorism. The 48-year-old National Front leader called for France to 'immediately' take back control of its borders from the European Union and deport all foreigners on a terror watchlist. 'This war against us is ceaseless and merciless,' she said in a sternly-worded address, accusing the Socialist government of a 'cowardly' response to the threat....France has been under a state of emergency for nearly a year and a half, with more than 230 people killed in jihadist attacks since the start of 2015."

This Do-Nothing Congress Is A Travesty -Investors
"Agenda: Shortly after Donald Trump won the election, House Speaker Paul Ryan said that Republicans had to 'go big, go bold, and do things.' So far, the GOP has not delivered. 'They have the House, they have the Senate, they have the presidency - and nothing's happening,' lamented PJ Media co-founder Roger Simon earlier this week. 'Nothing, that is, that Donald Trump doesn't do by himself. ... The Republicans in the legislature are a disgrace.' Congress did pass, and Trump signed, 13 bills to undo last-minute Obama administration regulations. And the Senate approved Trump's Supreme Court pick. But what about actually advancing long-awaited Republican legislative priorities, like ObamaCare repeal and tax cuts? Nada....Now tax reform is slipping off the table, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying that getting reform done by August is 'highly aggressive to not realistic.'....There's plenty of blame to go around for the GOP's lack of achievements so far. But Ryan has been the biggest disappointment, since the House is where things get rolling....If Ryan can't figure out how to do this, and soon, he should consider handing the Speaker's gavel to someone who can 'go big, go bold, and do things.'"

Venezuela says inflation 274 percent last year, economists say far higher -Reuters
"Annual inflation in crisis-hit Venezuela last year reached 274 percent, according to data the central bank provided to the International Monetary Fund, although many economists believe the true figure is far more alarming....Venezuelan consultancy Ecoanalitica says inflation was 525 percent last year and New York-based investment bank Torino Capital - using one popular food item as a proxy - put it at 453 percent. Maduro himself last year increased the minimum wage by 454 percent, saying the rise was to offset inflation. Purchasing power has eroded and salaries annihilated as a result. On the black market, $1,000 in savings when Maduro was elected in 2013 would now be worth less than $5. The bolivar currency fell further against the U.S. dollar on Thursday and is now at its lowest value ever against the dollar, down 99.5 percent since Maduro came to power."

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Gold last traded at $1,283 an ounce. Silver at $18.01 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices traded steady Thursday as a weaker dollar offset mild profit-taking. U.S. stocks rose on better-than-expected earnings from American Express and Railway company CSX.

CIA, FBI launch manhunt for leaker who gave top-secret documents to WikiLeaks -CBSNews
"The CIA and FBI are conducting a joint investigation into one of the worst security breaches in CIA history, which exposed thousands of top-secret documents that described CIA tools used to penetrate smartphones, smart televisions and computer systems. Sources familiar with the investigation say it is looking for an insider - either a CIA employee or contractor - who had physical access to the material. The agency has not said publicly when the material was taken or how it was stolen....WikiLeaks has said it obtained the CIA information from former contractors who worked for U.S. intelligence. The CIA has not commented on the authenticity of the WikiLeaks disclosures or on the status of the investigation."

If the CIA, NSA and other top intelligence agencies - which hold America's most sensitive national secrets can be hacked - how safe do you believe your online assets to be? Find out in our free 2017 White Paper Don’t Bank On It!

Gold to Soar Past $1500 per Ounce as 2017 Shapes Up to Be Start of Gold Bull Market -Lombardi Letter
"It would have been difficult to predict what precious metals like gold and silver were going to do in 2016; gold started out strong, but Donald Trump’s unexpected election win in November weighed down gold prices for the remainder of the year. It’s a different story in 2017. The next gold bull market is here, one that will last at least until 2020. The gold bull market of 2017 will be just the second gold bull market of the last 37 years. But if history is any indicator, the strong 2017 gold bull market, which is just in its infancy, will provide gold bugs and contrarian investors with massive gains."

"The last gold bull market ran from November 2000 to September 2011. Over this time frame, gold prices advanced 625% from approximately $265.00 per ounce to $1923 per ounce....There are a number of reasons why the gold bull market will only get stronger in the second half of 2017 and blow past its 2016 resistance level near $1380 an ounce....Stalemate in Washington....Stock Market on Shaky Ground....Inflation....A gold price forecast for 2017 broaching $1500 an ounce is certainly within reach....There are a lot of reasons why 2017 is the official start of a new gold bull market; one that is still young and one that will reward precious metal investors with massive gains over the next three years."

For more insights into the precious metals bull market of 2017, read our 2017 Gold Report and 2017 Silver Report.

What Is A "Legal Tender Law"? And, Is It A Problem? -Lewis/Forbes
"The present legal tender law in the U.S. is Section 5103 of title 31, United States Code, which reads: 'United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues. Foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts.' Contrary to popular imagination, this does not ban people from using other forms of currency. It simply defines what a 'dollar' is, in a contract or obligation that is denominated in dollars....It is doubtless true that the U.S. government suppresses and blocks use of alternative currencies - especially those based on gold - through various means. This could be through regulatory burdens, taxes, and many other forms of harassment. They have to do it this way, because it is not actually illegal to transact business in whatever form of 'money' the parties to the transaction agree upon."

Trump Demands For Border Wall Funding May Force Government Shutdown Next Week -Zero Hedge
"After a week of flip-flops on everything from the value of NATO to labeling China a currency manipulator, moves which quickly earned him the moniker of 'flipper-in-chief' from a disgruntled base, Trump, under internal pressure to show legislative achievements ahead of the 100-day mark, is gearing up for a government shutdown fight to secure money for a border wall, more immigration enforcement officers and a bigger military....The White House, one person familiar with the conversations said, has pushed for $3 billion for the border wall, and discussions have been ongoing....Of course, in order to get a budget passed, the Trump administration will likely require some Democratic support in the House and certainly in the Senate. That said, Democratic leaders Schumer and Pelosi insist that any budgets that include funding for Trump's 'beautiful' border wall is a non-starter....But, the border wall and additional funding for immigration enforcement aren't the only issues that could force a government shutdown. As Politico notes, disputes over withholding funding to so-called 'Sanctuary Cities', and/or the defunding of Obamacare subsidies or Coal miners' health benefits could also end in a stalemate."

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Gold last traded at $1,283 an ounce. Silver at $18.16 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices eased back Wednesday amid profit-taking and a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks traded mixed as investors digested earnings reports from IBM and Morgan Stanley.

Credit Suisse Sees $1,400 Gold By End Of 2017 -Kitco
"Credit Suisse looks for gold prices to hit $1,400 an ounce by the fourth quarter as U.S. real interest rates ease and central bankers maintain dovish with monetary policy....'Gold's resurgence has been supported by lower U.S. yields - 10-year (is) 35 basis points below December peak - and a marginally weaker USD (U.S. dollar), down 2.6%,' Credit Suisse said in a Tuesday research report. 'The current environment still reflects higher real rates and a stronger USD than what existed pre-Trump, which suggests to us that recent gold strength has further to run as initial over-optimism continues to reverse.'....Credit Suisse said it maintains a bullish gold price outlook, looking for $1,400 gold in the fourth quarter, although the full-year outlook was trimmed to $1,323 from $1,338 previously to reflect prices in the first quarter. Meanwhile, Credit Suisse hiked its 2017 silver-price forecast to $18.46 an ounce from $18.Analysts see $19 silver in the fourth quarter."

Markets Start to Ponder the $13 Trillion Gorilla in the Room -Bloomberg
"After heading into the uncharted territory of quantitative easing, the world’s central banks are starting to plan their course through the uncharted waters of quantitative tightening. How the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and - eventually - the Bank of Japan handle the transition could make the difference between a global rerun of the 2013 'taper tantrum,' or the near undetectable market response to China's run-down of U.S. Treasuries in recent years. Combined, the balance sheets of the three now total about $13 trillion, equating to greater than either China’s or the euro region’s economy....Current Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer says he doesn't see a replay of the 2013 tantrum, but the best laid plans of central bankers would soon go awry if markets can't digest the great unwinding. 'You know what they say about mountaineering right? The descent is always more dangerous than the ascent,' said Stephen Jen, London-based chief executive of hedge fund Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd. 'Shrinking the balance sheet will be the descent.'....A wild card is the potential overhaul of the Fed board that’s open to President Donald Trump."

The Retail Apocalypse Is Suburban -Slate
"Cities will weather this concentrated economic downturn because they went through it 50 years ago. Their neighbors may not be so lucky. One by one, the problems that America has long dismissed as 'urban' have marched into the suburbs: crime, poverty, hunger, deindustrialization, drug addiction, civil unrest. The dissolution of community institutions. An aging stock of unwanted houses. To which we can add: the decline of retail. It has been a decade since the media declared the death of the mall, in a year that would be the first in a half-century that no new malls were built in America....The Limited, a women’s clothing store, shut down 250 stores and laid off 4,000 workers earlier this year. Sears Holdings will close 150 stores, including 108 Kmarts, and Macy’s will close another 100. As anchor stores close, more and more malls are entering foreclosure....And if there’s a lesson from the cities, it's that the broader systems changing how people shop cannot be overturned with tax breaks for new developments. The sooner they begin to think of alternate ways to create community and jobs - and to reuse and rebuild the vacated space of the mall - the better off they’ll be."

Mnuchin Says Trump Is "Absolutely Not" Trying To Talk Down The Dollar -Zero Hedge
"One week after Donald Trump, in an interview with the WSJ, sent the dollar tumbling in its biggest one day drop in months, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been engaging in damage control with not one but two appearances in the FT, first stating that in the 'long-run' a stronger dollar is beneficial for the US economy on Monday, and then again making headlines overnight when he said that Donald Trump is 'absolutely not' trying to talk down the strength of the dollar, as stated again in the Financial Times on Wednesday....Mnuchin also said the Trump administration did not deem foreign countries to be manipulating their currency if they did so in a way that benefited Washington....As Reuters adds, finance ministers and central bank chiefs meet in Washington this week for the International Monetary Fund's twice-yearly meetings. Mnuchin said addressing currency swings was 'one of the IMF's most important roles'."

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Gold last traded at $1,294 an ounce. Silver at $18.27 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices traded mixed Tuesday with gold rising amid ongoing geopolitical worries. U.S. stocks fell sharply as healthcare and financial earnings disappointed investors.

Gold may 'sky-rocket' on weak dollar and rising geo-political tensions -ProfessionalAdvisor
"Gold's strong run could continue as the US dollar weakens and investors seek safe-havens in the face of increasing geo-political risks, according to Prestige Economics. The price of gold bullion has risen 11% this year as investors look to the commodity as a refuge from the uncertainty surrounding US President Donald Trump's political and economic policies....Jason Schenker, founder of Prestige Economics told Bloomberg: "Gold is going higher here. We see a gradually weakening dollar on trend. 'Although we expect two more rate hikes this year - September, December - and four rate hikes next year, what we also think is that a lot of that is priced in.'....Furthermore, in a survey conducted by Bloomberg last week, analysts were the most positive on gold since December 2015. Schenker added: 'If we get weak Q1 GDP numbers, equities are going to take a big hit, the dollar is going to take a big hit and gold is going to sky-rocket.'"

Gold is the most trustworthy, safe-haven asset on earth and silver is a very undervalued infrastructure metal. Don't wait another day to add gold and silver wealth insurance to your portfolio for peace of mind. Read our 2017 Gold Report and 2017 Silver Report.

Asian Billionaire 'Aggressively Adding Physical Gold Now' -MarketSlant
"The richest man in all of Asia is aggressively preparing for collapse: 'Direct exposure to gold as super wealthy focus on wealth preservation'....According to Gold Mining Chairman Amir Adnani and Sprott U.S. Holdings CEO Rick Rule, some of the biggest billionaire investors on the planet are actively seeking out precious metals like gold as wealth protection insurance amid the uncertainty of the current geo-political climate. In a recent interview with SGT Report, Adnani explains that several super wealthy individuals with whom he works very closely, including mainland China’s biggest billionaire investor and the richest man in all of Asia Li Ka-shing, have a renewed and urgent interest in diversifying their assets into both, gold mining firms and the physical asset itself: 'This individual’s net worth is about $35 billion…For the first time in a number of years of working with his team when it comes to investments in commodities that they believe were important to the strategic growth of China…for the first time they are looking for gold related investments.'....'It may not necessarily be as critical to think whether it's $1200 an ounce or $1300… we fixate so much on the price… and we forget that irrespective of what it’s trading at on any given day it’s meant to be an insurance policy… it’s meant to be protection of wealth and preservation of wealth…"

Free Money! Is The Fed Paying Banks $22 Billion To Not Lend? -Zero Hedge
"Excess reserves of depository institutions peaked at $2.7 trillion in August of 2014. By December of 2016, excess reserves fell to $1.9 trillion but have since climbed back to $2.2 trillion. On October 3, 2008, Section 128 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 allowed the Federal Reserve banks to begin paying interest on excess reserve balances ('IOER') as well as required reserves. The Federal Reserve banks began doing so three days later. As interest rates have risen, so has the free money to banks. At 1% interest, banks receive $22 billion in free money every year, nearly all of that goes to the largest banks. Banks Paid $22 Billion to Not Lend? Some argue that banks have an incentive to not lend, simply to collect interest. Mathematically, it does not work that way. Excess reserves are a function of the Fed’s balance sheet and those reserves do not change whether a bank lends more or not."

Who keeps working - and who doesn't - if the government shuts down next week -CNBC
"Here we go again. When Congress comes back from recess Monday, it has just five days to head off yet another government shutdown by the end of next week, when the U.S. Treasury officially runs out of the legal authority to spend money. That deadline will set up another showdown - this time with a new president and fractured GOP - that could once again inflict fiscal chaos and force federal agencies to suspend services and send workers home....If Congress once again shoots itself in the fiscal foot, the resulting gridlock would be inconvenient and costly for taxpayers. On the other hand, the disruption - even if a shutdown lasts only a few days - would be painful and widespread. Some benefits, like unemployment insurance and veterans' benefits, could be delayed or reduced. National parks, museums and many passport offices would shut down; the Small Business Administration and FHA would stop guaranteeing new loan applications; farm subsidy checks stop flowing, and IRS tax processing would slow down, among other headaches."

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Gold last traded at $1,291 an ounce. Silver at $18.51 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices rose to 5-month highs Monday on safe haven buying and dollar weakness. U.S. stocks rose in a relief rally as geopolitical worries over North Korea subsided.

Hacker documents show NSA tools for breaching global money transfer system -Yahoo/Reuters
"Documents and computer files released by hackers provide a blueprint for how the U.S. National Security Agency likely used weaknesses in commercially available software to gain access to the global system for transferring money between banks, a review of the data showed. On Friday, a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers released documents and files indicating NSA had accessed the SWIFT money-transfer system through service providers in the Middle East and Latin America. That release was the latest in a series of disclosures by the group in recent months. Matt Suiche, founder of cybersecurity firm Comae Technologies, wrote in a blog post that screen shots indicated some SWIFT affiliates were using Windows servers that were vulnerable at the time, in 2013, to the Microsoft exploits published by the Shadow Brokers....'We now have all of the tools the NSA used to compromise SWIFT (via) Cisco firewalls, Windows,' Suiche said....Because tracking sources of terrorist financing and money flows among criminal groups is a high priority, SWIFT transfers would be a natural espionage target for many national intelligence agencies."

Craig Smith comment: In our 2017 updated Don't Bank On It! White Paper we document how SWIFT has already been hacked; and one of its major victims was Wells Fargo Bank. See page 43 of our 2014 Don't Bank On It! book for the discussion of the vulnerability of SWIFT.

If You Thought United Airlines Was Bad, Then Take a Look at Your Bank! - PontificationBlog
"40,629 people who had valid tickets have been involuntarily bumped from airliners, because airlines are allowed to sell more tickets than they have seats on each flight. But millions of us risk losing our savings because banks are allowed to lend long-term, or in other ways gamble by speculative investment with, the money they take in as short-term demand deposits. Our banks are a lot like United Airlines! Most of us still assume that putting our money into a bank makes us safer. Instead, under current law you do not 'own' your bank account. The bank does and can put it at risk, The government, under 'bail-in' rules established by President Barack Obama, can confiscate every dollar in your account as 'assets' that belong to the bank, not to you. Why, if you try to withdraw more than a small amount from your account, could your bank refuse to return the savings or retirement cash you entrusted to them?....In our free, updated 2017 White Paper Don’t Bank On It! Executive Summary, monetary expert Craig R. Smith and I explain 20 major reasons why your bank has become one of the riskiest places to put your money. This began centuries ago, when people paid the goldsmiths of London to keep their gold coins in safes. The goldsmiths gave out paper receipts for this money, which depositors began trading with others like money. Most people left their gold untouched, so the goldsmiths began lending it for interest." Full story

Gold hits 5-month high on rising geopolitical risks -Reuters
"Gold jumped to a five-month high on Monday as investors took refuge in safe-haven assets amid rising geopolitical tensions over North Korea. Spot gold was up 0.4 percent at $1,290.40 an ounce by 11:23 a.m. EDT, after hitting its highest since early November at $1,295.42 earlier in the session. The yellow metal gave up some gains as the dollar came off a five-month trough against the yen hit earlier in the day, and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields also rebounded from their lowest level since November. U.S. stocks edged higher after three straight days of losses....'Gold will likely retain a measure of strength heading into the French elections in about one week's time, while ongoing tensions in North Korea should also keep the markets rather nervous,' said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir."

How to Fix the Airline Overbooking Problem -Samuelson/RealClearMarkets
"There are lots of public policy problems that, even with the best of political goodwill, cannot be easily solved. They're just inherently tough. Fixing airline overbooking is not one of them. As proposed by Harvard economist Greg Mankiw on his blog, the solution is straightforward: Make the airlines pay when they overbook. When they do, 'they should fully bear the consequences. They should be required (by government regulation) to keep raising the offered compensation until they get volunteers to give up their seats,' writes Mankiw. 'If $800 does not work, then try $1,600 or $8,000.' Mankiw adds, somewhat gratuitously, that he's 'sure volunteers will appear as the price rises.'....Making airlines pay more for overbooking would, almost certainly, make them more careful in their scheduling, while also more adequately compensating inconvenienced passengers."

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Gold last traded at $1,288 an ounce. Silver at $18.51 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices steadied near 5-month highs Thursday on safe haven buying and rising uncertainty. U.S. stocks traded lower as banks kicked off the earnings season and volatility increased.

Trump and the Dollar: What Did He Say? -Real Clear Markets
"For the first time in months, Trump used the bully pulpit to push the dollar down....Trump said the dollar was getting so strong that hit [sic] was hampering the ability of US firms to compete. In an unusual act of contrition, the President said that the confidence the investors have in him was partly responsible for driving the dollar higher. For the record, the read broad trade-weighted measure of the dollar was lower at the end of March than it was at the end of November. It is not clear what course of action the US will take, if any, to remedy the situation. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin likely was not a happy camper. Speaking for the US, Mnuchin agreed at the recent G20 meeting that countries ought not to seek economic advantage in the currency market....President Trump made two other revelations. First, he indicated that he wants health care reform before tax reform....Second, he said that the reappointment of Yellen was a possibility."

Gold, silver prices rally after Trump calls dollar ‘too strong’ -Marketwatch
"Gold, silver and prices for other metals rallied Thursday, bolstered as the U.S. dollar fell after U.S. President Donald Trump said the currency has been trading at 'too strong' of a level....The dollar fell to a five-month low against the yen and the ICE Dollar declined to a roughly two-week low after Trump's comment. 'I think our dollar is getting too strong, and partially that’s my fault because people have confidence in me,' he told the Journal. 'Gold had been trading higher based upon geopolitical tensions,' including those between the U.S. and Russia and North Korea, but 'what gold really needed to keep its rally going was some sort of a fundamental monetary driver,' said Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter....In a note Thursday, Ross Norman, chief executive officer of Sharps Pixley in London, said the $1,291 level is 'critically important'...'Conclusively breaching this trendline is to say we are very much back in a bull run,' he said."

Gold Overcomes Fed's Headwinds -Rickards/DailyReckoning
"Gold’s recent spike was fueled in part by geopolitical concerns surrounding the Syria missile attack by the U.S. and rising tensions in North Korea. Neither of these situations will be resolved soon, and both have the ability to escalate into war for the United States. Geopolitics will continue to keep a floor under gold prices. That said, what’s most impressive about gold’s multi-month rally is that the macro environment has not been particularly good....Fed tightening has supported a strong dollar, which is typically a headwind for the dollar price of gold....With gold rising in a difficult environment, imagine how much more it will surge if the Fed moves to an easing policy. And that’s exactly what I expect. One more Fed rate hike in June might be the last nail in the coffin for the U.S. economic expansion that began in June 2009. This expansion is already one of the longest on record, over 91 months long. The average expansion since 1980, a period of long expansions, is 80 months. Clearly the economy is living on borrowed time as well as borrowed money."

What I learned about the US real estate market this week -Black/SovereignMan
"For the last several days I’ve been speaking at an investment conference organized by my friends Robert Helms and Russell Gray....One of the key themes so far in the event is that there are likely problems ahead for the US real estate market. On the first day I had a great conversation with the Chief Economist of Fannie Mae, who was also speaking at the conference....I asked him point blank - what do you think of US housing right now? He answered succinctly: 'It’s overpriced.' His presentation went DEEP into the data, showing that US housing is 'late in the cycle,' meaning that prices may soon reach their peaks and then suffer a substantial correction. Property prices nationwide across the United States have been rising at a much more rapid rate than wages and salaries. This is totally unsustainable....No one here expects that any crash or major correction in US property prices is imminent. But in general, the consensus here is that you’re better off being a seller in the US right now rather than being a buyer."

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Climbs on Upbeat Assessment of Economy -Bloomberg
"Consumer sentiment advanced to a three-month high in April as Americans’ optimism about their current financial situation and the economy reached the strongest point since 2000, University of Michigan survey data showed Thursday....Some 52 percent of respondents to the Michigan survey reported that their finances had recently improved, the highest share since 2000. The more favorable assessment reflected higher incomes and wealth, as well as low prices. The report hinted that households would respond to greater optimism by making big purchases. Perceptions of favorable conditions for purchases of durable goods were cited by 82 percent of respondents, the largest share since 2005. Nevertheless, the university’s expectations measure remains divided along party lines, as 69 percent of Republicans cited favorable news about employment and economic policies, compared with only 28 percent among Democrats."

** Swiss America will be closed Friday, April 14th in observance of Good Friday. We wish all of our readers a blessed Easter.**

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Gold last traded at $1,278 an ounce. Silver at $18.30 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Gold prices hit 5-month highs Wednesday on safe-haven demand and technical buying. Stocks dip as investors remain cautious amid geopolitical risks.

Is America More Vulnerable Than Ever?- Craig R. Smith, Chairman Swiss America
The recent missile attacks in Syria have much deeper implications for the vulnerabilities throughout the world. While some believe conventional war - complete with bullets, bombs and troops - is on the way, a very different war looms.... America is extremely vulnerable to a cyber-war. One in which everything from our banking system to our electric grid are targets. America is completely dependent on the cyber world to maintain our way of life. Our daily conveniences have a soft under belly and our enemies know it well." FULL STORY

No Time Like The Present To Own Gold - Mad Money's Jim Cramer - Kitco
"With geopolitical tensions rising now is the time to have a strategic allocation in gold, according to Jim Cramer, host of Mad Money and co-founder of TheStreet.com. According to some analysts one major factor that helped gold break through near-term resistance and soar to a new five-month high is because of growing geopolitical risk, with investors search for safe-haven assets. In particular tensions are rising among China and North Korea after a U.S. Navy strike group was sent to the area and following tweets from President Donald Trump..The TV personality and former hedge fund manager, said Wednesday that he likes gold in this environment. 'If you're going to talk about North Korea and put it on the burner and put it in a Twitter comment about how North Korea has to watch it [as Trump recently did], then suddenly what you're going to see is something …-- which is that gold is much more attractive than people realize,' Cramer said in an interview with TheStreet.com. 'I have to tell you, I've always believed that people should own at least 10% of their assets in gold,' he added. 'There is no time like the present to buy gold.'"

As we cover in our 2017 Gold Report: Early Edition and 2017 Silver Report: The Infrastructure Metal both gold and silver are a winning addition to your portfolio in 2017. Gold is the most trustworthy, safe-haven asset on earth and silver is a very undervalued infrastructure metal. Don't wait another day to add gold and silver wealth insurance to your portfolio for peace of mind.

No one is noticing this big red flag for the stock market - Market Watch
"Last week, the Labor Department reported that in March, the official unemployment rate the first time that’s happened in 10 years....But ironically, in one of the market’s many good-news-is-bad-news scenarios, it’s also a big red flag for the economy and stocks. Because since 1948, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics started reporting unemployment data, a rock-bottom unemployment rate has been an excellent indicator of upcoming recessions and a very good warning sign of corrections and bear markets ahead...This means that when unemployment rates get to their low points in any economic cycle, it’s time to start looking for the exits."

European Appetite For Gold Has Room To Grow - World Gold Council - Forbes
"Europe continues to play an important role in the gold market as the region remains a significant source of investor demand, according to flow data from exchange-traded funds tracked by the World Gold Council....Solid European demand has helped add momentum to gold’s rally since the start of the year. Tuesday gold prices hit a five-month high with June gold futures settling the session at $1,274.70 an ounce, up 1.65% on the day....Juan Carlos Artigas, director of investment research at the WGC, said that the latest data continues to support the view that Europe’s growing demand will be a long-term sustainable trend. 'We think there is still quite a bit of appetite still in Europe,” he said. “It’s not just money coming but investors are taking a strategic approach and see value in holding a core position in gold.'"

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Gold last traded at $1,274 an ounce. Silver at $18.25 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metals rose sharply higher Tuesday on growing geopolitical tensions and a weaker U.S. dollar. U.S. stocks end lower as investors remain cautious.

Safe Havens Rise As Jittery Investors Eye Rising Geopolitical Concerns- Zero Hedge
"With volume starting to fade ahead of Friday's holiday, and geopolitical concerns growing as a US aircraft carrier approaches North Korean, S&P futures pointed to a slightly lower open.... Safe havens such as gold and treasuries strengthened along with Japanese yen.....and the future of U.S. interest rates after Yellen's Monday speech failed to provide clarity....Haven assets were bid after Sean Spicer issued a warning to Syria not to use barrell bombs while tensions over North Korea rumbled on, while in Europe the recent surge in far-left candidate Melenchon has changed the French presidential election calculus materially in recent days... As Richard Breslow commented earlier, confused traders not only have to cope with monetary tightening in the world’s biggest economy and the prospect of an unwinding central bank balance sheet, they’re also weighing President Donald Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy. 'Flight to safety drives the global markets, as geopolitical concerns occupy the global headlines with North Korea’s missile tests and growing threat against the U.S., the U.S.’s strike on Syria and Jean-Luc Mélenchon gaining support in the French election,' Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a market analyst at London Capital Group Ltd., wrote in a note."

Wall Street’s ‘fear gauge’ touches highest since just after Trump election win- Market Watch
"A popular measure of Wall Street fear touched its highest level since just after President Donald Trump’s surprise November election five months ago. The CBOE Volatility Index known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose to a peak of 15.88, marking its highest level since Nov. 11, three days after Trump’s electoral triumph, when it hit a high of 16, according to FactSet data.....The jump comes amid growing political tensions around the globe, which has sent assets perceived as risky lower and pushed investors into those viewed as havens, like gold and U.S. government bonds. Growing tensions in Asia, centered on North Korea’s recent missile tests, and the Middle East, where the U.S. launched a pinprick airstrike in Syria late Thursday and has hinted at the potential for more actions, have investors on edge"

North Korea state media warns of nuclear strike if provoked - Reuters
"North Korean state media warned on Tuesday of a nuclear attack on the United States at any sign of American aggression as a U.S. Navy strike group steamed toward the western Pacific....Tension has escalated sharply on the Korean peninsula, with talk of military action by the United States gaining traction following its strikes last week against Syria and amid concerns the reclusive North may soon conduct a sixth nuclear test. North Korea's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country was prepared to respond to any aggression by the United States....South Korea's acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn warned of 'greater provocations' by North Korea and ordered the military to intensify monitoring and to ensure close communication with the United States."

Corporate debt is at new highs, and these companies owe the most - CNBC
"Corporate debt hit new highs in 2016, even as earnings grew at a slower pace. The gradual increase in debt in recent years has attracted attention because the ratio of debt to corporate earnings usually peaks during economic downturns, not during economic expansions. That imbalance, which has led some investors to worry about the health of the market, is not spread evenly across all companies. Much of the debt accumulation relative to earnings has taken place in a few industries, according to an analysis by CNBC....Companies that have loaded up with historically high debt levels — especially in the energy and utilities sectors — could be squeezed by their financial obligations."

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Gold last traded at $1,253 an ounce. Silver at $17.91 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metals were slightly lower Monday on profit-taking. U.S. stocks wavered between gains and losses as strong energy shares offset geopolitical concerns.

FROM THE DESK OF THE CHAIRMAN: April 7, 2017
While the details are still very much in flux one thing is certain, President Trump's resolve in asserting America as a force against human atrocities; a resolve absent during the Obama years. As for me, I am proud that America is attacking evil wherever it rears its ugly head.

This action, while welcomed, will be very destabilizing for the world. The financial markets are expressing concern. With Gold spiking on the news, currencies of many nations found pressures to the downside. FULL STORY

Gold to fly on inflation - Mining Journal
"Speaking on the sidelines the Dubai Precious Metals Conference over the weekend, Sharps Pixley chief executive Ross Norman said: 'Prospects for inflation are rising all the time. Gold doesn’t work lock-step with the inflation rate when it goes from 0.5% to 1% but, when it gets to 3%, you get a step change. We are not there yet, but we are getting close to it, and that’s when you see the multiplier effect.'...Philip Newman, a director at Metals Focus, said the fragile US recovery and high debt levels would likely curb the Federal Reserve’s ability to significantly raise rates to stifle inflation for fear of triggering a recession...Analysts said even with two more expected interest rate rises in the US this year, real returns would be in negative territory because inflation was edging up. Rates were also negative in other key currencies such as the Japanese yen, the euro and the Swiss franc. 'Investors want yield, and they are not getting it and that is a benefit to gold,' Newman said."

The Road Back To Making America Great Again Has A Major Pitfall. Learn How To Avoid It. Read THE INFLATION SOLUTION, a Swiss America special report.

The US college debt bubble is becoming dangerous- CNBC
"Rapid run-ups in debt are the single biggest predictor of market trouble. So it is worth noting that over the past 10 years the amount of student loan debt in the U.S. has grown by 170 percent, to a whopping $1.4 trillion — more than car loans, or credit card debt. Indeed, as an expert at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently pointed out to me, since 2008 we have basically swapped a housing debt bubble for a student loan bubble. No wonder New York Federal Reserve president Bill Dudley fretted last week that high levels of student debt and default are a 'headwind to economic activity.'...But there are even more worrisome links between high student debt loads and health issues like depression, and marital failures. The whole thing is compounded by the fact that a large chunk of those holding massive debt do not end up with degrees, having had to drop out from the stress of trying to study, work, and pay back massive loans at the same time. That means they will never even get the income boost that a college degree still provides — creating a snowball cycle of downward mobility in the country's most vulnerable populations."

Gold shines in an uncertain bull market - Investment News
"Gold pays no dividends and has no earnings. Anyone looking for growth has no business investing in the yellow metal....But gold loves uncertainty, which it got in spades on Friday with the U.S. attack on a Syrian airbase....'It's not any one thing: It's protection against the unexpected, whether geopolitical or macroeconomic,' said George Milling-Stanley, head of gold strategy at State Street Global Advisors. Investors have poured about $600 million into SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) this year, Mr. Milling-Stanley said. The fund invests in the physical metal, rather than gold mining stocks. 'Gold been very, very well received in the investment market,' he said."

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Gold last traded at $1,257 an ounce. Silver at $18.15 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metals rose Friday on safe-haven demand following U.S. airstrikes on Syria. U.S. stocks wavered between gains and losses as investors weighed a weaker-than-expected March employment data.

U.S. jobs growth slumps to 98,000 in March- Market Watch
"The U.S. created just 98,000 new jobs in March to mark the smallest gain in almost a year, a sign the labor market is not quite as strong as big hiring gains earlier in 2017 suggested....The U.S. had added more than 200,000 jobs in January and February, but hiring in weather-sensitive industries such as construction was helped by unusually high temperatures in the dead of winter. Many economists were skeptical the recent pace of job creation was sustainable after a six-year hiring boom that chopped the unemployment rate in half and ignited growing complaints among companies about a shortage of skilled workers to fill open jobs.... 'The 200,000-plus numbers reported for job gains in January and February always seemed a bit outlandish,' said Steven Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard."

The Fed is getting worried about the stock market - Business Insider
"The optimism that has swept much of Wall Street since the election of President Donald Trump has pushed US equities to new heights... But this upward momentum has some at the Federal Reserve concerned. The minutes from the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee released Wednesday showed that many Fed leaders believed the stock market was too expensive...This isn't the first time the Fed has expressed concerns about the high price tag of US equity markets. In June, during her testimony before the Senate, Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen said she was worried about the upward trend in stock prices"

Gold Rises to Five-Month High as Jobs Fizzle Adds to Demand - Bloomberg
"Gold futures extended gains to the highest since November after the American economy added fewer jobs last month than forecast, boosting demand for the metal as a haven after the U.S launched a missile strike against Syria. The 98,000 increase in payrolls followed a 219,000 rise in February that was less than previously estimated, a government report showed Friday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 180,000 advance...Gold, which rose before the jobs report as the attack on Syria jolted financial markets, headed for the third weekly gain in four weeks. 'We saw a further move higher on the disappointing payrolls number,' said Brad Yates, head of trading for Elemetal, one of the biggest U.S. gold refiners. 'You’ve got people doing safe-haven seeking. Gold broke through its 200-day moving average. That has some shorts covering and potentially a new leg higher.'"

Global debt explodes at 'eye-watering' pace to hit £170 trillion- The Telegraph
"Global debt has climbed at an 'eye-watering' pace over the past decade, soaring to a fresh high of £170 trillion last year, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF). The IIF said total debt levels, including household, government and corporate debt, climbed by more than $70 trillion over the last 10 years to a record high of $215 trillion (£173 trillion) in 2016 - or the equivalent of 325pc of global gross domestic product (GDP). It said emerging markets posed 'a growing source of concern' to financial stability and the global economy as debt burdens in these countries climb at a rapid pace."

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Gold last traded at $1,248 an ounce. Silver at $18.25 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal rose Thursday on safe-haven demand. U.S. stocks modestly higher as Trump-Xi meeting gets under way.

Fear of retirement is 'greatest problem' in the US, says CEO of world's largest money manager - CNBC
"While prolonged low interest rates have helped investors in the stock market, they've been devastating for retirees and Americans saving for retirement, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink told CNBC on Thursday. 'I do believe low rates hurt savers worldwide,' Fink said, a concern he's been talking about for years. The downside of the Federal Reserve's easy monetary policies since the 2008 financial crisis has been ridiculously low rates on savings accounts and bond yields. Retirees and those nearing retirement have been traditionally advised to reduce their exposure to riskier investments such as stocks in favor of bonds and cash. But in the current investing environment, stocks are being viewed as the only game in town for a decent return. 'Retirement and the fear of retirement is the greatest problem we have in this country,' Fink said on 'Squawk Box.' 'As people near retirement, they're getting more frightened, 'I don't have enough savings.' And the compounding effect with this low return is really having a severe impact.'"

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Wall Street fears more dysfunction from Washington - CNN Money
"The Trump rally is essentially a massive bet that the gridlock gripping Washington for the past six years will finally break. Stocks took off after President Trump's victory because Wall Street got excited that a Republican-controlled Congress would slash taxes and rip up regulations But last month's failure to repeal Obamacare raised doubts about Trump's ability to work with members of his own party. Now, investors are on the lookout for more signs of dysfunction in D.C. that suggest tax reform may not happen any time soon either. The next big civics test comes on April 28, the deadline by which the federal government needs to pass a spending bill...A government shutdown, or even a close call, could rattle the stock market....More important for Wall Street, a government shutdown would be evidence of political dysfunction."

The Next Subprime Crisis Is Here: 12 Signs That The US Auto Industry's Day Of Reckoning Has Arrived- Zero Hedge
"In 2008, subprime mortgages almost single-handedly took down the entire financial system, and now a new subprime crisis is here. In recent years, the auto industry has been able to boost sales by aggressively pushing people into auto loans that they cannot afford. In particular, auto loans made to consumers with subprime credit have been accounting for an increasingly larger percentage of the market. Unfortunately, when you make loans to people that should not be getting them, eventually a lot of those loans are going to start to go bad, and that is precisely what is happening now. Meanwhile, automakers and dealers are starting to panic as sales have begun to fall and used car prices have started to crash. If you work in the auto industry, you might remember how horrible the last recession was, and this new downturn could eventually turn out to be even worse."

Gold rises, underpinned by Trump-Xi meeting uncertainty- Market Watch
"Gold gained Thursday, its fourth advance in the past five sessions, buttressed by anxiety ahead of a meeting between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which could shed light on future currency and trade interactions between the two powerful nations....Trump and Xi meet Thursday and Friday. It appears Trump will head into the meeting ready to take China to task over trade policy, while Xi is expected to offer, if not concessions, some investment promises and other measures. Still, much uncertainty persists. '[Potential] combative rhetoric from Washington, D.C., has markets worried about a potential rift in the trading relationship between the world’s largest economies that might upset global supply chains and the international commercial order as a whole,' said Ilya Spivak, currency and commodity strategist with Daily FX. Such a tone presumably would boost gold’s appeal as a haven investment."

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Gold last traded at $1,248 an ounce. Silver at $18.18 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices eased back Wednesday on profit-taking and a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks cheered upbeat private payroll data which reflects rising business confidence in 2017.

Two Hot Metals, One “Magic Bullet” for Your Portfolio -Daily Reckoning
"Gold pushed into the green to kick off the new trading month, jumping $4 by settlement yesterday...Silver's also sitting pretty. The poor man’s precious metal continues to consolidate last month’s big comeback move....Gold's no longer a simple safe haven investment. We just got our hands on new research that proves gold has the potential to do much more than just protect wealth. In fact, it could be the 'magic bullet' your portfolio needs right now....Gold’s performance is a complete shift from the action we witnessed in the precious metals market during the fourth quarter...Thanks to its improved performance to begin the year, the Midas metal started off on the right foot. Now that gold has shaken off its March drop, we’re seeing more constructive action in the precious metals market."

Trump Effect: ADP Employment Surges To Highest Since 2014 As Manufacturing Hiring Spree Continues -Zero Hedge
"After last month's private payrolls scorcher, when ADP reported that a whopping 298K jobs were added, the biggest increase in 6 years on a record surge in good producing jobs, this morning ago the momentum continued when ADP reported that in March the US generated 263,000 jobs, smashing expectations of a 185,000 gain, and the highest print since December 2014....Broken down by firm size: Small firms (1-49) added 118k jobs in March. Medium firms (50-499) added 100k jobs in March. Firms with over 500 employees added 45k jobs."

Stalling Engines: The Outlook for U.S. Economic Growth -HussmanFunds
"Over the coming 7-10 years, the central tendency of U.S. GDP growth is likely to average only about 2%, a result that is largely baked-in-the-cake because of the underlying drivers already in place....Given that real U.S. GDP growth has averaged just 2.2% over the past 4 years, and that the current starting positions of labor force growth, unemployment, and the trade balance suggest a deceleration even from that average, we shouldn't be surprised if real U.S. GDP growth amounts to just a fraction of a percent annually over the coming 4-year period....The policy menu currently under discussion threatens to materially worsen the arithmetic of U.S. economic growth. Limiting immigration, for example, will further constrain the component of labor force growth. Attempts to forcibly narrow the trade balance will torpedo gross domestic investment....There are many actions we can take as a nation to improve our capacity for long-term economic growth, including an emphasis on productive, sustainable and non-duplicative infrastructure; greater investments in education and workforce training; increased immigration of high-skilled workers..."

Half of American families are desperately living paycheck to paycheck -MarketWatch
"More than seven years after the Great Recession officially ended, there is yet more depressing research that at least half of Americans are vulnerable to financial disaster. Some 50% of people is woefully unprepared for a financial emergency, new research finds. Nearly 1 in 5 (19%) Americans have nothing set aside to cover an unexpected emergency, while nearly 1 in 3 (31%) Americans don’t have at least $500 set aside to cover an unexpected emergency expense, according to a survey released Tuesday by HomeServe USA, a home repair service. A separate survey released Monday by insurance company MetLife found that 49% of employees are 'concerned, anxious or fearful about their current financial well-being.'"

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Gold last traded at $1,258 an ounce. Silver at $18.32 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices rose Tuesday amid political uncertainty, despite a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks drifted sideways ahead of Trump-China meeting and Friday jobs data.

Cyber-Attack Intensifies “The Secret War” on Cash -Smith/CBN
A world war is now underway on many battlefields. This ‘war on cash’ is an invasion by government money-snatchers and cyber-hackers that now threatens to confiscate your savings, end your financial privacy and eliminate free market capitalism forever. India's recent currency 'demonetisation' was a large-scale test of what globalist Progressives call the 'cashless society,' their ideological vision of the human future. How close are we to such a future? Right now you are already a casualty of this war if you have a bank account and do not know that your bank is required to spy on you....In March 2017, we discovered the CIA, NSA and other top intelligence agencies, holding our nation's most sensitive national secrets, have all been hacked! How safe and private are your finances sitting in electronic stock, savings and even 401k accounts? Very unsafe. To find out how this secret war on cash ends, request Swiss America's 2017 Edition of The Secret War on Cash.

Prepare For "Manias, Panics And Crashes": An Ominous Warning From Bank Of America -Zero Hedge
"Bank of America's Michael Hartnett is back with another controversial note overnight, reminding readers that 'it ain't a normal cycle' for one overarching reason: central banks. As Hartnett explains, the catalyst for bull in equity and credit markets since 2009 was the 'revolutionary monetary policy of central banks' who, since Lehman, 'have cut rates 679 times and bought $14.2tn of financial assets.' And, once again, he warns that this central bank 'liquidity supernova' is coming to an end, as is 'the period of excess returns in equities and corporate bonds, as is the period of suppressed volatility.'....Humiliation remains one of the best assets to buy. In Feb 2009 the 10-year rolling return from US large-cap stocks humiliatingly dropped to -3.4%, lowest since 1930s. Since then S&P 500 up from 676 to 2368; now second longest bull ever....His conclusion is two fold. On one hand, 'our Longest Pictures argue for a treacherous period of potential manias, panics or crashes as policy makers try to normalize policy.' On the other, the response will be the same one we have said since day one will ultimately take place: runaway inflation."

The Road Back To Making America Great Again Has A Major Pitfall. Learn How To Avoid It. Read THE INFLATION SOLUTION, Swiss America's newest special report.

Richmond Fed President Lacker says he was involved with Medley leak, announces immediate resignation - CNBC
"Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker announced his resignation Tuesday, admitting that he discussed sensitive information with an analyst regarding the Fed's plans for economic stimulus. Lacker, 51, became president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond on Aug. 1, 2004. He is a member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. In his letter of resignation, Lacker admitted to speaking to an analyst at Medley Global Advisors regarding the September 2012 Fed meeting. The Richmond Fed said it was immediately looking for a replacement."

Jim Carrillo Comment: "Mr. Lacker is possibly the most hawkish member of the FOMC, having warned repeatedly about the risks to financial stability and inflation of keeping rates near zero for too long. Lacker has dissented on nearly half his votes and cast the lone dissent at the September meeting when the committee decided to stand pat."

Auditing the Fed Is Now More Important than Ever -Newman/Mises
"Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved a bill submitted by Thomas Massie (R-KY) to allow Congress to audit the Federal Reserve. The bill was originally introduced by Ron Paul in 2009 and was passed in the House twice (2012 and 2014), but failed to pass in the Senate. The Obama administration, Fed chair Bernanke, and Treasury Secretary Geithner 'vigorously opposed' the bill in 2009. Conditions are different today. President Trump tweeted in favor of the move during his campaign and now Republicans have a slight majority in the Senate....Monetary policy has become unhinged since the most recent financial crisis and recession. The Fed’s balance sheet has exploded to unprecedented levels....All of these decisions were made in secret with no accountability to any other body....Congress should take another look at the institution it created with a thorough audit and hopefully reconsider its very existence."

The Empire Needs an Emperor -BonnerandPartners
"An empire needs an emperor. Only a tiny percentage of the population will ever get to know him personally. But everyone is expected to care about what he does....Empires follow different rules and different patterns. The average citizen has little knowledge of what goes on in the halls and broom closets of power… and little influence over them. This leaves power in the hands of a special group of insiders - the Deep State. Collectively, this group might see that the empire is headed for destruction. But individually, the foxes, zombies, and cronies who make up the Deep State have little incentive to change their behavior. It is like a group of addicts all spending money from the same credit card. They may see that they are going broke, but no one wants to be the one to cut back....That is why Mr. Donald J. Trump is perhaps the perfect leader for this period in America’s history. Neither 'conservative' nor 'liberal'… and unbounded by the Constitution, traditional party loyalty, or ideology… he is the man the empire needs....And day by day, the empire weakens. In a meth addict, the brain is the first to go. The heart, lungs, and liver follow."

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Gold last traded at $1,255 an ounce. Silver at $18.21 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices kicked off April trading mixed, gold inched higher on bargain hunting. U.S. stocks drifted lower amid weak economic data as bullish sentiment continued to droop.

Moscow And Beijing Join Forces To Bypass US Dollar In Global Markets, Shift To Gold Trade -Zero Hedge
"The Russian central bank opened its first overseas office in Beijing on March 14, marking a step forward in forging a Beijing-Moscow alliance to bypass the US dollar in the global monetary system, and to phase-in a gold-backed standard of trade....According to Dmitry Skobelkin, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia, the opening of a Beijing representative office by the Central Bank of Russia was a 'very timely' move to aid specific cooperation, including bond issuance, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism measures between China and Russia....If Russia - the world's fourth largest gold producer after China, Japan and the US - is indeed set to become a major supplier of gold to China, the probability of a scenario hinted by many over the years, namely that Beijing is preparing to eventually unroll a gold-backed currency, increases by orders of magnitude."

WARNING: U.S. Ponzi Retirement Market In Big Trouble, Protect With Precious Metals -SRSRoccoReport
"The U.S. Retirement Market is in BIG TROUBLE as annual benefits paid out are now larger than total contributions. Actually, the amount of net withdrawals were the highest in history. When payouts become larger than contributions… then we have the making of the typical PONZI SCHEME....Unfortunately, when the markets crack, so will the value of the U.S. Retirement market. On the other hand, Americans who were wise enough to purchase physical precious metals will protect their wealth as the U.S. Paper Retirement Market collapses. According to the most recent data by the ICI - Investment Company Institute, the U.S. Retirement Market ballooned to a new record high of $25.3 trillion at the end of 2016....As Americans continue to contribute into their 'supposed' retirement plans, few realize that more funds are now heading out than going in.... I would not be surprised to see at least 50-75% collapse (or more) in the typical U.S. Retirement Account. Thus, the $100,000 invested in a 401K could fall to a low of $25,000, while $100,000 invested in physical gold, could easily double to $200,000."

How safe is your retirement plan? Swiss America believes every American should have a percentage of their savings in physical gold as wealth insurance - regardless of the price. Discover The Timeless Truth About Gold & Silver - Free Special Report!

Gold, Silver Are ‘Absolute Bargains’ -Barrons
"Matterhorn Asset Management’s Egon von Greyerz reckons prices for gold and silver are bargains and investors should be looking to buy given the risks in the global financial system. In a new commentary, he’s taken a deeper look at the consequences of rising U.S. budget deficits, the growth in debt and the decline in the value of the U.S. dollar when measured against gold and currencies like the Swiss franc. Here’s his take: The next up leg in the metals has probably started and we could see $1,350 in gold and well over $20 silver in a relatively short time. I would not be surprised to see all-time highs in 2017....$1,250 gold and $18 silver are absolute bargains and unlikely to ever be seen again."

The American Dream That's Not Backed Up by History -Bloomberg
"Last week brought the news that home ownership rates continue to slide, with over half the nation’s largest cities now dominated by renters....Home ownership, after all, is arguably the most visible symbol of the American dream. But dreams don’t necessarily reflect historical reality. In the U.S., renting has long been an acceptable, and in some cases, preferred alternative. In fact homeowners did not eclipse renters until after World War II....While home ownership became increasingly popular in the early twentieth century, the U.S. was still a majority-renter nation in 1930, though by this time homeowners numbered 48 percent of the total population...Stagnant incomes and the aftershocks of the housing bust are driving some of the recent trend back to renting. But the slide may also reflect a growing awareness that investing most of your wealth in a single, immovable, illiquid asset isn’t such a good idea after all. Renting, by contrast, permits far greater flexibility and geographical mobility, particularly when it comes time to change jobs. The U.S. was once a nation of renters. It could be again."

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