from Sputnik News:
For years, “gold bugs” – investors encouraging buying precious metals at low prices as a hedge against future global economic risks, were shunned amidst consistently rallying global equities markets.
“Gold bug” analysts who have long advocated investing in gold and silver ahead of an allegedly looming “financial apocalypse” appear to be correct as markets crash and the accumulation of physical metals is predicted as likely to pay off in a big way, writes Bloomberg.
by N. Walayat, Market Oracle:
Paypal seeing an opportunity in a crisis, one of wanting to manage the US Governments distribution of $1200 Coronavirus stimulus payments to every adult American who earns under $75,000 per year and $500 for each child and thus have started a campaign of buttering up the public and politicians in allowing PAYPAL access to YOUR STIMULUS FUNDS including sending out emails to account holders full of promises of help in this time of national crisis.
from ZeroHedge:
The unprecedented collapse of airline traffic across the world has left many carriers on the brink of bankruptcy. Parking lots of commercial jets are scattered across the globe as carriers reduce flights amid travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Carriers are under severe financial pain, learning how to survive with much of their fleets grounded, reported The Wall Street Journal. In the US, airlines have applied for $25 billion in government funds. The problem is that the bailout might not be able to float the industry for the next several months as consumers will stay away from flying for the time being.
by Wolf Richter, Wolf Street:
“Only good news is that the number was still positive despite the high number of cancellations.”
Orders for heavy trucks in March collapsed by 52% from the already dreadfully low levels a year ago to 7,400 trucks, the lowest since 2010, driven by cancellations of existing orders “due to the sharp and sudden downturn in economic conditions,” according to preliminary estimates by FTR Transportation Intelligence. And so COVID-19 spirals through the economy:
by Dave Kranzler, Investment Research Dynamics:
Unequivocally, gold does not trade on the Comex. The Comex trades paper gold derivatives. It is a futures and options exchange on which a small amount of 100 oz. gold bars change ownership each contract month. The transfer of title is facilitated by the creation of an electronic record called a “warrant.” But even these “warrants” which assign title to specific bars are derivatives. Presumably gold is “delivered” to the parties who stand for delivery (the “stopper”). But that “delivery” most commonly is the electronic transfer of a warrant from the entity short a paper gold contract to the entity who is long the same.
from Birch Gold Group:
It appears the “sleight of hand” that corporations use to inflate share prices and bloat balance sheets may be slowing down, for now.
The website Wolf Street highlighted the beginning of the end for this round of corporate share buybacks:
So far into this crash, over 50 companies have suspended share buybacks, accounting for $190 billion in cash that is not flowing into the stock market, representing over a quarter of total share buybacks in 2019.
by Daisy Luther, The Organic Prepper:
Right now, every prepper I know is busily trying to tie up any loose ends before the pandemic outbreak racing across the country becomes even worse. They’re buying last-minute supplies, securing their homes, and organizing their plans. They are managing their families, many of whom aren’t taking the situation seriously.
They’re trying to think of every last thing they possibly can before the situation becomes worse. They know there is more than likely going to be a point in time at which they have what they have and adding more supplies will be unlikely, if not impossible.
by John Rubino, Dollar Collapse:
James Grant, the venerable publisher of Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, just wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal that, had it appeared on a free site, would have been at the top of today’s “Best of the Web” links list. But since it exists behind the WSJ’s paywall, here’s an excerpt to illustrate why Mr. Grant has so many fans:
The High Cost of Low Interest Rates
It took a viral invasion to unmask the weakness of American finance. Distortion in the cost of credit is the not-so-remote cause of the raging fires at which the Federal Reserve continues to train its gushing liquidity hoses.
