He's back and he's mad

• The dollar is much weaker these days.

• The anti-dollar regimes continue to mount.

Good Day… And a Marvelous Monday to you! First things first… In my best Gomer Pyle Voice… Thank you, thank you, thank you, to all those wonderful Pfennig responders that wished me well after my stroke… And thanks to those who said a prayer for me. I’m a HUGE believer of the power of prayer, so there’s that… I have to say that I’m feeling peachy! There was no damage to my brain, heart, and psyche… It’s as if it never happened! And from now on, that’s all I’ll say about it! It’s water under the bridge to me, and so we carry on, in spite of our shortcomings… And as one of my all-time favorites, Jackson Browne, said in a song: Don’t remind me of my failures, I had not, forgotten them!  OK… James Taylor greets me this morning with his song: Sweet Baby James…

Where to begin, where to begin? That’s the question that’s bugging me this morning, for there has been much to talk about since my incident, and I’ve forgotten much of it already! There are some things that are on my mind though this morning, and I’ll get to them right after we go through the markets and see what’s happening to them, OK? Well, I guess it had better be Ok, because that’s what you’re going to get! HA!

The dollar sure has started 2023 on a bad foot… The BBDXY has gone from 1,250 on Jan 1, to the low of 1,219 it hit last week… Friday, saw the dollar inch higher and it now sits at 1,222… The euro has really perked up and has been flirting with the 1.09 figure for a couple of weeks now, hitting the figure once, very briefly. The European Central Bank (ECB) talked last week, and told the markets that they are in the inflation fight for however long they need to be… Well, bust my buttons! I would have thought that was a given, but they needed to remind everyone that rates are going higher…

The Aussie dollar (A$) has rallied and ended the week, last, at 71-cents! The New Zealand Dollar INZD) is within spittin’ distance of 65-cents. The Reserve Bank of Australia, (RBA) hiked rates last week, but then stated that they would be taking a break from rate hiking for the time being… Hmm… I guess that makes sense, as they want to see what their previous rate hikes did to inflation before going onward…

The Russian ruble continues to hang out below 70, and with all the economic sanctions that have been placed on Russia, that’s a good thing for the currency to remain well-bid… All the remaining currencies have seen their values rise VS the dollar in different amounts. The exceptions to the trend, the sorrowful Japanese yen and the Indian rupee, which got whacked when they announced they were dropping a rule that the IMF had placed on them… I could go into a real rage about the IMF right now, but won’t… Just know that I think the IMF is evil…

Last Friday, the markets moved a different direction, and Gold lost $2.60 to end the week at $1,928.50, and Silver got whacked losing 32-cents to end the week at $23.70… Doesn’t the thought that the price manipulators have kept Silver below the $24 figure all this time? Its does, me… These guys make me sick to my stomach just thinking about them… And if your’re a Silver holder, I would think you would feel the same way… But then I don’t know you…

The price of Oil had remained trading above $80 for the last 10 days, until Friday, when it was sent to end the week trading with a $79 handle… And the yield on the 10-year Treasury has been steady Eddie at 3.50%, or thereabouts…

In The overnight markets last night… The dollar slipped and gave back 1 index point. This won’t be a one-way street for dollar weakness folks, so get used to seeing days when the dollar rallies, but those will be false dawns, as far as I’m concerned, and should be treated as opportunities to sell dollars. Gold & Silver are off a bit in the early trading this morning, with Gold down $4, and Silver down 4-cents… Those are easy levels to overcome on the day, so get to work Gold & Silver traders! The price of Oil remains trading with a $79 handle this morning, and the 10-year has seen some selling overnight with the yield rising to 3.55%.

No great shakes from the overnight markets, and so we start the last couple of days of January with the thought that we could be witnessing a new weak dollar trend beginning…

I saw this quote on Ed Steer’s Saturday letter and thought it was so appropriate for what’s going on these days… And it’s from one of my all-time fave Presidents… Thomas Jefferson! Check this out: “ I believe tha banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around (the banks) will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and returned to the people to whom it properly belongs… (Thomas Jefferson)

Man how did he know this would happen in this country 100’s of years ago?

So, have you heard about the rumor that’s going around, that someone’s underground, no wait! Not now Chuck! Save the lyrics for later! The rumor that’s going around that China and Russia are going to issue a Gold backed stable coin… that should garner some attention around the world, don’t you think? Oh, and in the last two months alone, China has added 62 metric tones of physical Gold… So, I would think that they have something up their sleeve, and this new gold backed coin, will probably be it!

There were also rumor floating around that Brazil and Argentina are going to form a United currency… And the other thing that I pointed out as not being a good thing when the Chinese leader went to Saudi Arabia, is that both leaders of the two countries are signaling that the Saudis will be selling Oil to China and other Asian countries that want to join, in whatever currency they want to pay for it in… That means no more dollars in the terms of trade for Oil… Once China gets away with it, other countries will be champing at the bit to join, trust me on that one… 

My longtime friend, Addison Wiggin, put out a 4 part series as a follow up of his book: The Demise of the Dollar, which was written many years ago… So, long ago, that I wrote the foreword for that book! In the 4 part series, Addison, include, Bill Bonner, Jim Rickards, Dan Denning, and more. The bad news is that he pulled the series from viewership, and now you’ll have to wait until he releases it again, to see it… 

Longtime readers may recall that Addison produced the movie: I.O.U.S.A. and that was released when the U.S. debt was less than $10 Trillion… We all know that it is now $31 Trillion, and will be $40 Trillion in 4 short high school years, according to the Debt Clock. My oldest son, Andrew, who teaches Social Studies, Gov’t and law in High School, used to show the movie to his class… But then it got outdated, with no follow-up… I hope Addison makes this new series out there so Andrew can pick it up again…

Well, while I was gone, the stupid CPI printed for December and showed that inflation has eased a bit during the month, thus marking two consecutive months of easing… Now I will remind you that this easing was being shown by the stupid CPI… Here’s some news from the Heritage org. : “The overall price level declined 0.1% last month but increased 6.5% in 2022, a year which saw four-decade-high inflation. Even as the increase in the CPI slows, many consumer staples remain highly elevated compared to the start of the Biden administration: eggs are up 189.9%, ground beef 21.1%, gasoline 44.3%, electricity 21.3%, transportation services 19.5%, and housing 11.8%...

“If you are wondering where the government got the trillions of dollars in extra spending over the last two years, they are taking it out of your hide right now through the hidden tax of inflation. Every time you put gas in your tank or groceries in your back seat, you are paying Biden’s inflation tax.

“Prices have risen so much faster than wages that the average family has lost $6,000 in purchasing power.”

Chuck again… Inflation is the result of the Gov’t’s no-limits debt spending… And let me remind you of something I’ve talked about for years, and that is having inflation is probably the only tool the Fed, Treasury, Gov’t have to reduce the $31 Trillion debt… So, when the Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel, decides that they have inflicted enough pain on the U.S. economy, markets, etc. and they pivot and begin reducing rates again, believe me when I say they won’t be doing that to help those in trouble… They’ll be doing it to stoke inflation again… They can’t defeat inflation with the pea shooters they are using, and they know it!

The Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel completed their phase 1 on the testing of their CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency, and now it can be used between Banks... Not concerned about this I hear you saying? Well, this is just the tip of the iceberg. After this goes smoothly, where do you think it goes next? Ahhh grasshopper, that's the $64 question... I think it goes into your bank account, but then that's just me... This just ticks me off, to no end, folks... I'm mad, and I'm not going to take it any longer! Ahem, Chuck, don't get your blood pressure rising...

The U.S. Data Cupboard this week will all be about the FOMC Meeting on Wednesday… I’m working from a standpoint that the FOMC will hike rates 25 Basis Points, an continue to point out that rates still need to go higher… Anything less and we’ve got a problem, Houston!

To recap… The dollar has been getting sold steadily for the last 10 day, until last Friday… Gold had been gaining steadily for the last 10 days, until last Friday, and to borrow a phrase from Metalica: And nothing else matters… It seems that everyone is ganging up on the dollar these days… And who can blame them? The dollar is the reserve currency of the world, and with that comes the requirement that you maintain price stability, and keep your country’s books in order… I’d say that we’ve failed those… The FOMC meets this week… and Nothing Else Maters…

For What It’s Worth… I came across many articles that were FWIW worthy while I was recovering, but this one from good friend, Dennis Miller, one the Gold star! Dennis does a great job of explaining where the inflation came from and where it’s going, and he quotes me a couple of times! 

Or, here’s your snippet: “When the Fed bailed out the banks in 2008, flooding the system with trillions, you just knew high inflation would be the result. It just had to happen!

The government jumped in, borrowing trillions more at historically low interest rates. Not willing to let rates rise to free market levels, the Fed simply created money for the government and put it on their balance sheet, raising it from $1 trillion in 2006 to around $9 trillion.

The pace accelerated, doubling since 2020. “Tax and spend” became “Print and spend.”

When governments create money out of thin air, it devalues the currency – a process called inflation. Since 2008, we just knew high inflation was inevitable – but it didn’t happen.

Where was the inevitable inflation?

Former colleague Doug Casey preached, “Just because something is inevitable, does not mean it is imminent.” We changed our tune. Deep down, we knew inflation was going to rear its ugly head – sooner or later – eventually! All fiat currencies eventually fail.

“You can’t fight the Fed”.

Chuck Butler recently told us “Eventually has come!”.

The Fed’s easy money and historic low interest rates created an illusion.

The stock market soared, not based on sound business fundamentals, because cheap money had no place else to go.

Governments, not concerned about raising taxes, or high interest costs, went on spending binges taking US and world debt to historic proportions.

Private industry jumped in, borrowing billions to buy back their stock (at high prices) and paid out dividends – that their profits did not justify.

Eventually has arrived and the necessary corrections will take place – one way or another. Several things are converging all at once.”

Chuck again… For those of you who follow Dennis, I talked to him at length last week, and his voice is much stronger, and he seems to be doing much better… if you don't subscribe to Dennis's weekly letter, you should... just click on the link above!

Market Prices 1/30/2023: American Style: A$ .7079, kiwi .6482, C$ .7500, euro 1.0870, sterling 1.2393, Swiss 1.0870, European Style: rand 17.3101, krone 9.8898, SEK 10.3533, forint 368.25, zloty 4.3211, koruna 21.8864, RUB 69.92, yen 130.04, sing 1.3122, HKD 7.8351, INR 81.50, China 6.7505, peso 18.77, BRL 5.1091, BBDXY 1,221.29, Dollar Index 101.82, Oil $79.50, 10-year 3.55%, Silver $23.66, Platinum $1,013.00, Palladium $1,526.00, Copper $4.22, and Gold… $1,924.81.

That’s it for today… I’ve got to say that getting back in the saddle today, felt good… I had a nice relaxing week last week, I still found myself waking up early each day, and on the 4th day of that, I said, I guess I’m ready to write again! My wife bought me an Apple Watch, that will monitor when I fall… I think she was concerned about leaving me by myself… My son, Alex, the doctorate PT, was giving me orders on how I should live my life, and I told him…”I’ve lived this long without having someone telling me how to live.” But then I went and followed everything he told me! A real tough guy, eh? HA !  Now the dang watch tells me to stand up! And move around! And I do it! Silly me… I do believe that this past weekend, my former colleague and good friend, Chris Gaffney, celebrated a birthday… I hope you day was grand Chris! And I also believe that today is my former assistant, my little Christine’s birthday! Happy Birthday, Caroline! Foghat takes us to the finish line today with their song: Take It Or Leave It… I hope you have a Marvelous Monday today, and please, please, please, Be Good To Yourself!