Where Do You Stand on the Latest Controversy? (It’s Not Pot)

Stocks are back in favor with Mr. Market… at least for now. So that means most of the comments in our mailbag are focused on other markets, namely gold and cryptos.

But before we get to those, there’s a new controversy brewing behind the scenes at Legacy Research… and it’s not about pot.

It seems that more than a few of you are worried about the potential health risks of 5G technology.

And some of you aren’t happy that many of our Legacy Research experts are so enthusiastic about the technology (catch up here).

Here are a few of the emails we’ve received…

Reader comment: It is said that 5G uses millimeter wave technology, which has been shown to produce dangerous effects on numerous organisms. I believe there is far too much controversy about this new technology to just dismiss it out of hand and plow full speed ahead, which appears to be just what is happening.

Too often, when money is involved, especially at high levels of influence, all other considerations, even critical health-related ones, become secondary.

– Charles H. (Legacy Research member)

Reader comment: Scientists, as well as people who install cable lines and boxes, are saying that 5G is not healthy for human beings or animals… really, anything living. They say that the vibrational frequency of 5G is too close to that of water and because our bodies are made of 90% water, we will see some very bad side effects in the form of new diseases and symptoms of old diseases.

Therefore, perhaps this investment opportunity is not as advantageous as it sounds, as those that make the investment won’t be able to enjoy it, especially when their bodies are damaged by the vibrational frequency of 5G.

– Carla H.

Luckily, Jeff Brown – our resident tech expert – investigated these claims for paid-up subscribers of his Near Future Report and Exponential Tech Investor advisories. And he gave us permission to share his results with Daily Cut readers.

You can read Jeff’s full report – Why 5G Won’t Make You Sick – right here…

And now, back to your fellow readers’ concerns about cryptos and gold.

First up… a question for our world-renowned crypto expert, Palm Beach Confidential editor Teeka Tiwari…

Reader question: I read a market report that the Bakkt launch scheduled for January 24, 2019 has been further delayed with no specified go-live date. I was wondering if Teeka could comment on the reasons for that.

– Earle I. (Legacy Research member)

Teeka’s answer: The Bakkt exchange is owned by the same company that owns the New York Stock Exchange. It was scheduled to launch on January 24.

This Week’s Top Videos Silicon Valley angel investor: “I’m investing my own money into this technology” TODAY: Doug Casey’s Big Gold Announcement. Teeka Tiwari’s 2019 Crypto Outlook

However, the launch has been delayed until Bakkt can secure a special ruling from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The problem is that the agency is tied up in the government shutdown.

Once the shutdown is over, we expect the CFTC will have quite a backlog of urgent matters to attend to. And we don’t know where the Bakkt approval is on its list of priorities.

However, what we do know is Bakkt’s parent company – the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) – is one of the most important exchange operators in the world. As such, it makes sense it’ll lobby the CFTC extensively to get the approvals it needs.

And the Bakkt launch will be very bullish for crypto assets.

For more from Teeka about crypto’s biggest tailwinds this year, catch up here.

Moving on, last Thursday’s essay – “Gold Is Primed to Explode… Here’s How to Play It” – prompted an unexpected question.

So we reached out for answers from three of our experts: Dave Forest of International Speculator, E.B. Tucker of Strategic Investor, and Nick Giambruno of The Casey Report…

Reader question: Thanks for this useful article. Do you believe there is a correlation between the Chinese yuan and gold today?

And if there is, how may it affect the price of gold if China decides to devalue the yuan massively?

– Zubin P. (Legacy Research member)

Dave’s answer: There likely exists a statistical correlation between the yuan and the U.S. dollar-denominated price of gold (i.e., the gold price) simply because the yuan is pegged to the dollar. When the dollar goes up, the yuan goes up with it, and gold goes down… and the reverse it also true.

If China decided to devalue the yuan against the dollar, it would obviously raise the yuan-denominated gold price… but probably wouldn’t affect the dollar-denominated price. Unless, of course, the devaluation came about because of wider economic/political instability that boosted gold demand. But that’s a different issue.

E.B.’s answer: I’d be watching Chinese demand for gold primarily and the yuan value secondarily.

I think the Chinese are increasing gold holdings, similar to several instances last decade. You can see gold priced in yuan rising for some time; then, we see a surprise announcement that they’ve increased holdings.

Gold priced in yuan looks pretty good, and gold priced in dollars is following that track.

The Chinese realize what gold is worth. Over time, I expect they’ll hoard more of it.

Nick’s answer: China is notoriously opaque about its gold holdings. Nonetheless, it’s no secret the country is accumulating as much gold as it can get its hands on. It is, after all, the world’s largest buyer and producer of gold.

As for China devaluing the yuan, and how that will affect gold, I wouldn’t get too hung up on it. It may have an impact, but I wouldn’t expect it to be very significant.

The far larger story is what I call China’s “Golden Alternative” to the petrodollar system – the system by which the vast majority of the global oil trade is done in U.S. dollars…

Last year, China launched a game-changing, yuan-denominated oil futures contract that allows anyone in the world to bypass the petrodollar system. This gives the world a mechanism to buy and sell oil for yuan – which can then be converted to physical gold – instead of dollars.

As China’s “Golden Alternative” gains momentum, I’d expect it to be a strong tailwind for gold prices over the long term.

And here’s another question we sent over to Dave Forest, our professional geologist and commodities expert…

Reader question: How come the so-called “bull run” for commodities doesn’t include lithium, which is necessary for batteries and EVs [electric vehicles]?

– David Y. (Legacy Research member)

Dave’s answer: Oh, but it does…

EV batteries require a lot of specialty metals like lithium, nickel, and manganese. And these metals aren’t easy to find.

Only four countries on Earth produce lithium in significant quantities: Australia, Chile, Argentina, and China. Manganese also has a skinny list of sources, which includes murkier locales like Gabon and South Africa.

So what happens when limited supply meets wildly rising demand for metals from the EV battery space? Companies start taking matters into their own hands…

April 2018 saw the beginning of an abrupt pivot in sourcing strategy for tech firms. That’s when Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group – which manages a $100 billion technology fund – announced it was buying directly into lithium mining.

I believe tech firms, like the one managed by SoftBank and others, are going to focus on battery metal mining companies which are in the process of building new mines.

For a simple way to capitalize on this major trend, you can invest in the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech Fund (LIT). It invests in a broad basket of companies involved in lithium mining, lithium refining, and battery production.

We also have a number of plays that fit the bill in our International Speculator portfolio. And we’ll keep searching for the very best investments in this space and covering all the details going forward.

And for our last question this week, we’ll give the floor to one of our elite Legacy Lifetime members…

Reader question: Have any dates been chosen for the 2019 Legacy Investment Summit? I need to schedule some travel and meetings later this year and want to do my best not to have them conflict with the conference dates.

– David P. (Legacy Research member)

We don’t have an official date and location for the 2019 Legacy Investment Summit yet. But I do have some information I can share…

The Summit will most likely be held the third or fourth week of September. And many of you will be happy to hear that this year’s conference will be held in the U.S.

We’re sorry to disappoint those of you who joined us in Bermuda last year. We loved it, too… as the photos below attest.

Stay tuned… We should have full details by the end of the month.

Regards,

James Wells
Director

P.S. Before you go… If you haven’t seen it yet, Teeka Tiwari tried out a new look in his latest Palm Beach Confidential update…

Teeka wants to know what you think… You can write him at [email protected].

Here’s a small sample of the responses we’ve received so far…

Keep the beard! Beards Talk Crypto.

– Robert T.

THUMBS UP ON THE BEARD!

– Frank S.

SHAVE THE BEARD, BIG T!

– Austin S.

Tell Big T I love the beard ‘cause he looks like me now.

– Hamlet R.

Sorry, no… but I don’t like facial hair to start with.

– Connie T.

I prefer you without the facial hair… But it’s your face, not mine. So do what makes you happy… or you and your wife happy.

– Sandy F.

Tell Teeka to shave off his beard and moustache. We want our precise investment advice to come from a man who shaves himself clean as a whistle every day of the week. Facial hair is for hippies, who tend to live on hope. We can’t afford to have our guru live on hope. We need to have him live on knowledge, first-class contacts, 24/7 work and a great deal of intelligent reflection.

– Mike A.

Thumbs up on the beard! Looks great. But whether your fans like it or not isn’t as important as whether you do!

– Bea A.

Keep goatee Teeka… You just look sexier to me!

– Lynn K.

If you like the beard, keep it regardless of what other people think, except your wife. Now, what about growing some hair on your head?

– Frank T.