When gold prices rise, your fellow readers inevitably ask about the yellow metal’s poorer cousin – silver.
So with gold up almost 6% in the last three weeks, the silver questions are hitting our Daily Cut inbox…
But first, we need to talk about something more important than silver…
Your freedom.
One of our core missions here at The Daily Cut is to expose the ongoing assault on your liberties. And none of those liberties would exist without the military men and women who’ve stood up to defend them.
We can think of no better tribute to those men and women than Jeff Clark’s (Market Minute, Jeff Clark Trader, Delta Report, and Delta Direct) June 6 essay honoring the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who never came home from Normandy.
And it’s clear from your fellow readers’ responses that we’re not the only ones who feel that way. Here are just some of the emails we received…
I read about your visit to Normandy. Very impressive. I had the same thoughts when I visited the American Cemetery 25 years ago at the 50th anniversary.
– Chris D. (Legacy Research member)
Thank you for taking the time to send this (D-Day memory) email.
– William P. (Legacy Research member)
Thanks for the remarks about Normandy! I’m still trying to get people to stop saying “Happy Memorial Day.”
That day and the day of the Normandy invasion are hallowed days in our history, and I consider them a solemn memorial to our brave, determined troops.
– Bob B. (Legacy Research Member)
Thank you, Jeff, for sharing your story with us! Brought a tear to my eye…
– Rosemary S. (Legacy Research member)
What a moving story. Thank you. It all seems so incongruous in today’s reality, so unreal. How many graves and grateful locals are there in all the far-flung places across the globe where American soldiers have died since “the Last Great war.” And today, do we Americans really know or care, aside from our professional military community?
– James B.
Please tell Jeff thank you for his respectful and appropriate commentary on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In an age of social-media outrage, it’s nice to hear a sane message.
– Mark T.
Thanks for this. It’s a good reminder for us old folks, as well as the young who have never lived through a war like that.
– Don S. (Legacy Research member)
Speaking of freedom… For our next Q&A, Dan Denning (The Bonner-Denning Letter) takes on an explosive question about spying…
Reader question: Here is a question I’d like a sensible answer to: Other than the fact that, this time, it is them doing it to us rather than us doing it to them, how is Huawei and Chinese spying any different than NSA [National Security Agency] and American spying?
As Edward Snowden showed the world, the NSA and other agencies in the American alphabet soup were spying on everyone and everything in the entire world – including their own politicians, media, and citizens.
I can see the American government getting upset that someone has taken a leaf out of its book and beaten it at its own game, but I can’t see much difference in what was being done.
– Al R.
Dan’s answer: Most Americans may not realize how joined at the hip Silicon Valley has been with the Deep State and the Pentagon for years. Last year in The Bonner-Denning Letter, I showed readers how Google was funded by grants that indirectly came from the CIA. The biggest tech companies provided the U.S. government with the digital surveillance tools it’s been using for years.
Google, for example, was funded (in part) by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The NSF inherited the Internet project from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The conventional “origin story” is that Google’s purpose was to help organize all the information on the world wide web and make it searchable. But that was just part of the story.
NSF grant money to Google (with supervision from CIA-linked researchers) was part of the Massive Digital Data Systems (MDDS) project. The aim of that project was to create technology that could find and track Americans online, combining all the different sources of digital data emerging (audio, video, text, email, etc.).
Your Google search history is a perfect record of what you’re thinking and doing. Do you really think no one is watching? That’s what the whole technology was designed for in the first place.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) recognized how useful this could be and has taken it to the next level (and until it was exposed, Google was working with the CCP to design a search engine that would censor results at the source).
But I don’t think Google (or even Facebook) is the most dangerous Silicon Valley company, in terms of spying on Americans and creating tools of surveillance for the Deep State.
That title goes to Amazon, which is on the precipice of winning a massive $10 billion contract to provide cloud-based services to the Pentagon (JEDI… or Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure).
I spent the better part of the last six months researching the story, some of which is summarized in a new report we published this week. All the details are there. [Download it here if you’re a Bonner-Denning Letter subscriber.] But two important points for your readers.
First, Amazon sells facial-recognition technology to U.S. law enforcement agencies and the Feds. This genie is out of the bottle and already represents a real threat to the privacy of ordinary Americans. It’s straight out of China’s playbook.
Second, Amazon (and ALL of the big Silicon Valley companies) are now under direct scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Justice Department, the House Judiciary Committee, and senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) on anti-trust and labor issues. There is bipartisan support in Congress to crack down on Big Tech and perhaps even break them up in the way Standard Oil and AT&T were broken up.
None of this is “priced in” to the shares of the companies in question. And don’t even get me started on the number of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and index trackers that own these shares. If you’re looking for the catalyst for the market’s long-awaited reversion to the mean, look no further. Big Tech is now a threat to the 10-year-old bull market.
By the way, some people might argue that in China, it’s the Communists using technology to spy on their own people, whereas in the United States, the NSA and the CIA and the FBI are using surveillance technology to protect us from terrorists, drug dealers, and criminals.
But the technology doesn’t care who is using it. It’s built for one purpose only: to invade your privacy, watch you at all times, and either modify or control your behavior (thoughts AND actions). If anything, we’re becoming more like China. It’s American government surveillance with Chinese characteristics.
Dan just published a detailed exposé of the man behind all this Orwellian technology.
Dan calls him America’s “Shadow” President… And says he poses the biggest risk not only to the bull market on Wall Street… but to privacy and liberty in the United States.
It’s controversial. You might even completely disagree with Dan’s conclusions… and the action he recommends you take.
But if you have retirement wealth at risk in the stock market, you owe it to yourself to at least read his warning and make up your own mind.
And now, for that question about silver…
It comes after Nick Giambruno (The Casey Report and Crisis Investing) said a huge gold mania is about to kick off. (Catch up on Nick’s eight reasons why here and here.)
And our globetrotting geologist, Dave Forest (International Speculator), takes it on…
Reader question: Good article about an upcoming gold rally. I’m fully invested in silver bullion and curious where you think silver is headed this year, since it is often said that a gold rally results in silver on steroids and outperforms gold…? Thanks for any response you can provide.
– Michael S.
Dave’s answer: Yes… Silver is cheap right now, compared to gold.
The gold-to-silver ratio is currently 90x. That means it costs 90 ounces of silver to buy 1 ounce of gold. More importantly, it means the price of silver relative to gold is the cheapest it’s been in well over 20 years.
During the last precious metals bull market (2009 to 2011), the ratio was less than 40x. That implies silver should rise more than gold during a coming precious metals cycle.
I believe all precious metals will do well. But silver could be a “super-charged” way to invest. Here’s some quick, back-of-the-envelope math…
If the gold-to-silver ratio hits 40x again during the next precious metals bull market, the price of silver would surge 126%, even if gold prices remain unchanged.
And if gold retakes its all-time high of nearly $2,000 an ounce… silver would skyrocket 239%.
Moving on…
Legacy Research cofounder Bill Bonner (Bill Bonner’s Diary and The Bonner-Denning Letter) is setting up shop in the Irish countryside.
And in Bill’s personal version of This Old House, he and his second-youngest son, Henry, are renovating an abandoned cottage to store their tools.
Well, one faithful fan wants an update from our intrepid editor…
Reader question: Bill, nice to hear all the stuff in your Diary, but how’s it going with the house you’re remodeling in Ireland? That’s interesting stuff, also.
– Richard S.
Bill’s answer: In Ireland, the most important thing is the roof. It rains often.
So, we went to work on the roof, ignoring the many problems in walls, windows, and doors. This proved both good and bad. While we fixed the worst of the problems on the walls, using lime rather than cement to bond the stones together, there were still some structural weaknesses.
One of them was discovered when we were standing on top of the wall and it gave way beneath us. That was the best kind of experience – one that was instructive and didn’t hurt too much.
After shoring up the walls a bit more, we laid down a sill plate… and then set up the roofing frames. Upon those we screwed on some sheathing boards to which we attached corrugated tin roofing.
That done, we were able to work inside without fearing further water penetration. This last weekend, we (working with son Henry) put up 4” of rigid insulation between the rafters and covered them with a membrane, which blocks moisture but “breathes” to allow some air to flow.
Next, we attack the floor. The cottage had three rooms, one with a terra cotta tile floor, another with a concrete floor, and the third with just dirt. We’ll dig them all up, put down more rigid insulation, pour concrete on top of them, and lay down terra cotta tile (which we recycled from the main house).
Onward!
Here are some photos Bill graciously sent along…
Before
After
Finally… for all those writing in to ask about cannabis stocks… some insights from our favorite Wall Street insider, Jason Bodner (Palm Beach Trader)…
Jason’s insights: I am seeing a huge push into cannabis and CBD. And I don’t just mean the stocks. There is a ton of capital flowing into the industry as both become more widespread and accepted.
Cannabis stocks and companies are quickly legitimizing. By that, I mean decorated Wall Street, D.C., and corporate veterans are quickly filling up board seats on startup and existing companies.
Also, a recent bill passed in Colorado allows public companies to hold grower/operator licenses. This is a game changer for progress of accepted cannabis in the public equity markets. And that’s just the kind of ruling institutional investors were waiting for, before they start deploying capital.
Many are already asking the street for research, even if they can’t currently invest. They are ready and waiting.
As far as CBD, which is now federally legal in all 50 states… You can buy it for your joints, or your mood. You can buy it in candies, oils, or liquids.
I think the single-biggest tell-all for me is that my 92-year-old grandmother never touched a drug in her life, she has about three glasses of wine a year and doesn’t smoke. But she buys CBD oil to rub on her knees to help deal with arthritis pain.
The industry is not only coming… it’s here. And I think it’s a huge potential runaway for the agricultural and commodity groups. They, in turn, will feed nearly all sectors with a vibrant new revenue stream.
I’m a believer and can’t wait to see what happens next.
That’s all for this busy week.
Have a nice weekend.
Regards,
James Wells
Director
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