Getting the gov't involved, it's never a good thing

• Currencies and metals rally on Tuesday.
• Blackrock CEO says our debt is a problem... (where's he been?").

Good Day... And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, winter is now over for down here, as the forecast for the next 10 days is for sun and mid 70's... I like a bit warmer, but I'll take mid 70's over 20 degrees back home! I guess I've mentioned a time or two over the years that I totally dislike Cold weather! Our Stl U. Billikens won their game last night almost gave it away but held on, and my beloved Mizzou Tigers lost at home! Little Feat greet me this morning with their great song: Dixie Chicken...

Well, I mentioned yesterday that the Greenland talk was really doing a number on the dollar... I failed to mention that the "talk" was also pushing the yields on bonds higher, as now not only the BRICs are turning away from the auction window, but now the Europeans are too! So, bonds get sold, and yields go up, and there's no one left to buy the bonds at the auction window, and that will cause yields to go higher as the Treasury has to make them look attractive... So, the 10-year ended yesterday trading with a 4.28% yield... And bound to go higher as the days go on as long as the rhetoric remains the same from the POTUS....

And what else do you think the POTUS can do now? He's gone too far down this dark alley to stop now, if he were to say "oh I was just kidding", the credibility of the POTUS and further the Treasury, would get thrown out the window...

So, the dollar had a bad day yesterday, with most of its selling came in the overnight markets... We started the day with the BBDXY down 4 index points at 1,204... And the BBDXY ended the day at 1,204... So, as you can see the overnight markets did a number on the dollar and propped up the metals...

Speaking of the metals... Silver had a day where the SPTs were trying to guide the price lower, but at the end of the day, Silver had fought back to gain all the ground it had lost during the day, and ended the day flat at $94.47... All the while Silver was fighting for its right to gain, Gold kept on gaining as the day went on... Gold ended the day up $112 to close at $4,764... 

The price of Oil remained trading with a $ 59 handle yesterday...  I think that the markets (Dollar, bonds, metals) are getting all the attention these days, and Oil is an afterthought... But that won't last in my eye! 

In the overnight markets last night... The selling of the dollar stopped, for now that is, and the BBDXY starts today at 1,204... Gold on the other hand is up $1.01, and Silver is up 49-cents... Silver is going to see many attempts to get it over the $100 figure going forward, and it will also see many attempts to stop that rise... Silver is going to be caught in the middle... But, in the end the buyers will win, in my humble opinion... Gold is on everyone's mind these days... 

The folks at Battle Bank announced that they will do loans VS Gold holdings... That way, you'll be able to retain your Gold, but have some cash from your Gold's rise in price that has been so astronomical... I don't believe they are onboarding new clients just yet, as they are still testing, but you can send the an email and tell them you are interested here:

Well, I read an article that I came across yesterday that was an interview with Larry Fink the CEO of Blackrock... In the article Mr. Fink is yelling from the rooftops about the U.S.'s debt... (where have you been buddy?) This from TheStreet.com.... "BlackRock (BLK) CEO Larry Fink feels the market’s attention could soon shift toward the ballooning U.S. national debt.

With U.S. debt now soaring over $38 trillion, Fink believes that markets are underestimating the moment when fiscal policy, not monetary policy, becomes a major problem."

Chuck again... There's a point when everyone becomes aware of our debt, and that to service the debt will be our downfall, is when everyone abandons dollars for they will have become monopoly money, (worthless) I hate to be the bearer of this bad news... so don't shoot the messenger! 

The U.S. is still has the strongest economy... but for how much longer? AI is supposed to save us, right? I shake my head in disbelief...  In the year 2000 the U.S. was the number 1 economy on the Globe... And Japan was # 2... China was # 6 but 20 years later China is now #2, and Japan is #4, and falling fast! Germany was #3 in 2000 and again in 2020... Steady as she goes.... I point all this out to show that a country's economy can sink or swim very quickly...  

And talk about having too much on one's plate to take on another problem... The POTUS is talking about putting a cap on the interest rates that credit cards can charge... Now getting the Gov't involved in private business has never worked out to everyone's advantage, and we even have history on a previous POTUS doing something similar... 

Back in the early 80's President Carter, in his last year in office, announce Credit Controls, in an effort to cool down the economy, bring inflation under control and restrict borrowing... The whole shootin' match backfired on the Gov't... The economy fell over 8%, the Unemployment Rate rose to 8.2%, and it felt like our country was going down a rabbit hole that it wouldn't emerge from...

You see these Credit Card companies and banks that issue cards, are making unsecured loans... So, they need the higher rates to make up for the loans that default with nothing behind them for the issuer to recover... If you limit their interest rate charges, they will cut the amount of people that they approve to have a CC... So, spending goes down and the economy goes with it.. So, be careful of what you wish for... I'm just saying

I got some of that info from my friend Dave Gonigam's 5 Bullets email that is sent out each day... 

I've carried on way too long today about gloom and doom... 

The currencies have been perking up with the dollar back on the selling block. Even the Norwegian krone is showing some life...

The Chinese renminbi was at a 6.95 handle yesterday, but bumped up to 6.96 today... China's had a run of good economic reports, so the Peoples Bank of China has allowed the currency to gain VS the dollar. With the bump higher in the price of Oil the Petrol Currencies are getting bought. The Russia ruble is prime example of that. The A$ has been inching higher too, and there are also those currencies still in doom mode, like the Japanese yen, and the Indian rupee to name a few... 

The U.S. Data Cupboard is still wanting for real economic data, which won't be found until tomorrow... 

n other data, this from the BBC: "China said its economy expanded by 5% last year, meeting Beijing's official target as a record trade surplus boosted growth.

The world's second-largest economy reached its goal despite growth slowing to 4.5% in the final three months of 2025."

Chuck again, China also reported a new record for their Trade Surplus... Even with cutting off exports to the U.S., China has found other avenues for their exports... 

Boy did a make a colossal error yesterday, calling this week a FOMC week! What a dolt! The FOMC doesn't meet until next Wednesday... I guess I was looking at next week's calendar and too it for this week... excuses! As the old football coach used to say: "Excuses never won a ballgame for any team" I didn't learn much from him, as I was too scared of him to ask him a question, but I did learn that tidbit! 

To recap... The dollar is getting sold overseas along with bonds as the Greenland talk keeps getting louder... The metals are having banner days because of the same talk. Chuck talks about our debt, and capping interest rates so he was quite wordy this morning!

Here's your snippet: "Russia has reaped a windfall from a surge in gold prices since the start of its war in Ukraine, generating gains on a scale comparable to the sovereign reserves frozen in Europe over President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

The value of the Bank of Russia’s gold holdings has increased by more than $216 billion since February 2022, according to Bloomberg calculations. At the same time, the central bank has largely refrained from both major purchases of the metal and using its gold reserves during that period, despite the loss of access to foreign securities and currencies blocked under sanctions.

In December, European Union countries approved extending a freeze on around €210 billion ($244 billion) of Russian sovereign assets held in the bloc.

The increase in the value of bullion restores most of Russia’s lost financial capacity, even if it doesn’t return the blocked reserves. While securities and cash immobilized in Europe cannot be sold or pledged, gold can still be monetized if needed."

Chuck again... See? Gold to the rescue once again! I read a long piece the other day about Turkish people using Gold instead of the currency to get around...  A long time ago, I printed a story from good friend, Michael Checkin of ASI fortune and fame, about how he was involved in Vietnam during the time when the people had to report to the Gov't what they owned, and those that had Gold were much better off than any ones not owning Gold... I'm going to have to search for that and reprint it for it was so good! 

Market Prices 1/21/2026: American Style: A$.6750, kiwi .5848, C$ .7231, euro 1.1717, sterling 1.3416, Swiss $1.2643, European Style: rand 16.3512, krone 9.9400, SEK 9.1060, forint 329.16, zloty 3.6087, koruna 20.7826, RUB 77.49, yen 157.89, sing 1.2821, HKD 7.7974, INR 91.70, China 6.9630, peso 17.54, BRL 5.3657, BBDXY 1,204, Dollar Index 98.57, Oil $60.35, 10-year 4.29%, Silver $94.96, Platinum $2,476.00, Palladium $1,878.00, Copper $5.86, and Gold... $4,865.

That's it for today... I'm really, deep down, not a gloom and doom guy.. I may sound like one in the Pfennig from time to time, but someone needs to be honest with you and tell you what's really going on... I doubt your Wealth Advisor, broker, counselor, would do that... I'm Just saying.... What would you do if you learned that something was going on or about to happen, would you tell everyone you knew? I've been getting outside by the Pool to read sitting in the sun and that makes me feel good... Well, the countdown to spring training has begun. My beloved Cardinals Pitchers and Catchers will report here in Jupiter, Fla on Feb 11...  That's less than a month away, and I'm getting all lathered up already! Chicago takes us to the finish line today with their song: 25 or 6 to 4.... I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and Please Be Good To Yourself!