Basic Reports

Rising Rates Falling Assets, Report 30 Dec 2018

Last week, we wrote about the concept of discounting. This is how to assess the value of any asset that generates cash flow. You calculate a present value by discounting earnings for each future year. And the discount rate is the market interest rate. We said: “If the Fed can manipulate the rate of interest, […]

Standing Ready to Lease Gold, Report 18 Mar 2018

We will take another break from capital destruction, to treat a topic which has come up this week. On March 11, we said: “…central bankers do not think about gold. Granted, they once did. In the 1960’s, there was the now-infamous London Gold Pool to keep the price of gold at $35. This is endlessly […]

Super-Duper-Irrational Exuberance, Report 11 Mar 2018

Think back to the halcyon days of the dot com boom. This was a time after Greenspan declared “irrational exuberance”. Long Term Capital Management collapsed in 1998, and Greenspan decided to risk propelling exuberance to a level beyond irrational. Super-duper-irrational exuberance? Anyway, Greenspan cut interest rates a few times in late 1998. Technology companies were […]

Thoughtful Disagreement with Ted Butler

Dear Mr Butler: In your article of 2 October, entitled Thoughtful Disagreement, you say, “someone will come up with the thoughtful disagreement that makes the body of my premise invalid or the price of silver will validate the premise by exploding.” I will take you up on your request. You state your case in this […]

The Anatomy of Brown’s Gold Bottom, Report 11 June, 2017

As most in the gold community know, the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced on 7 May, 1999 that HM Treasury planned to sell gold. The dollar began to rise, from about 110mg gold to 120mg on 6 July, the day of the first sale. This translates into dollarish as: gold went down, […]

What is Pushing Down the Gold Price: Part II

This is a continuation of What is Pushing Down the Gold Price: Part I. One factor is the lack of rapidly rising consumer prices. If consumer prices aren’t rising, then this eliminates the need to buy gold as a hedge. Gold speculators are like everyone else. They get frustrated waiting for a rapid price gain […]