This Relic is Ready for its Close-Up

Get in on this rally… [Morning Reckoning] March 02, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( The Barbarous Relic is Ready for its Close-Up - After taking a break lately, gold looks primed for a rally. - The barbarous relic is trading at roughly $1,836. - It’s got plenty of upside from this level. Asti, Northern Italy March 02, 2023 [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good Morning Reader, One of the highlights of my week is the Paradigm Editorial Call. All the big boys are there; Byron King, Ray Blanco and Dan Amoss… to name a few. Jonathan Rodriguez always arrives armed with reams of statistics. Ace options trader, Alan Knuckman, keeps us from straying too far into pessimism. I’ve learned truckloads about options and attitude since Alan started joining our call. To paraphrase Don Rickles, “Alan is the best; just ask him!” Of course, I write that with a wink and smile because I have learned to look at things differently. At my age, you’re a grateful old dog when you can learn some new tricks. We have great chats and arguments, all in the name of sharing what we know with each other. Jonathan and Alan are the IrresistaBulls. Dan, Byron and I, the ImmovaBears. This week was no different. Well, until we got to the one subject we all – somehow – agreed on. And that subject is gold. [[Trade Alert] This Explosive Sector Is Primed To Deliver Huge Gains… Fast!]( [Click here to learn more]( Have a few hundred dollars and the desire to make huge gains? If so, [this explosive stock market sector]( needs your attention right away. I’m talking about biotech. And as one headline from late July reads, “investors back [biotech]… as sector booms.” Point being, there’s a lot of money up for grabs right now. Best of all, we’ve identified what could be the No. 1 biotech stock pick in the world. It could deliver substantial gains over the coming weeks to those who act fast. And you can still buy shares for less than $3. [Just click here now for the urgent details.]( [LEARN MORE]( I think we were more surprised than anything else. And what a pleasant surprise it was! So shocking that I decided to write about it for you. But before I dig into the yellow metal, some housekeeping. On January 26th, I wrote a column for the Morning Reckoning titled, “[Give Up on the Idea of a Free Society]( My good friend and Libertarianism.uk podcast host, Andy Duncan, liked it so much, he interviewed me about it. If you’ve got a spare thirty minutes, feel free to watch it [here](. According to Andy, my t-shirt stole the show. Next bit of housekeeping: I will be hosting this Friday’s Rickards Uncensored session. The star of the show will be none other than Byron King, our ace geologist, lawyer, ex-Naval aviator, and Rickards precious metals and energy expert. Byron and I will talk about his favorite gold picks for 2023. I encourage you to attend so you can hear Byron’s best. Ok, with the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get to today’s piece on the yellow metal… and why it’s back in favor. James Bond and Goldfinger Although I think From Russia with Love is a better movie, Goldfinger is undoubtedly the archetypal Bond film. From Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 to “No, Mister Bond, I expect you to die!” Goldfinger started many of the traditions and tropes we’ve come to expect from Bond films. After Auric Goldfinger murders Bond’s girlfriend by suffocating her skin with gold paint, M is concerned whether Bond can go on with the mission. M asks, “What do you know about gold, (not paint, bullion)?” Bond coolly and inimitably replies, “I know it when I see it.” Don’t we all, Commander Bond? And that’s the thing. Most people intuitively understand that gold, the yellow metal that never rusts, is something special. But no one really explores gold beyond that point. So let’s quickly review why it’s a good idea to own at least some gold. [Warning: Will “Bidenflation” Destroy Your Retirement?]( [Click here to learn more]( If you’re like most Americans, you’ve worked hard for decades to build your financial legacy. And now, as a result of Biden’s disastrous money printing policies, that’s all at risk. According to one top retirement expert, “Bidenflation” threatens to destroy your retirement and make your hard-earned savings worthless. That’s why you must take action right away to protect yourself… [Click here now to get the simple, step-by-step actions to survive “Bidenflation.”]( [LEARN MORE]( Why Own Gold at All? Gold shines like the sun – is malleable and divisible and never rusts. It was the perfect metal from which to make coins. It also has a natural supply constraint. No more than 2% of the global gold supply has ever been mined in a single year. Gold is also no one’s liability, unlike dollars. That is, if you own gold, you don’t owe anyone anything. But the USD is often referred to as a liability because it is a debt-based currency, meaning that it is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government. When the US government issues dollars, it is essentially creating a liability for itself, as it is obligated to honor the value of those dollars by providing goods and services in exchange. Of course, the difference between what it costs to produce one hundred dollars (about 17 cents) and the value of goods producers need to provide to acquire one hundred dollars is called seigniorage ($100 - $0.17 = $99.83). It’s a huge profit for the USG, which is why the French coined it “the exorbitant privilege.” There are five big reasons to own gold, especially in times like these: - Store of value: Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation and currency fluctuations. It’s been used as a store of value for thousands of years and has maintained its purchasing power over time. - Diversification: Gold is a tangible asset that isn’t directly tied to the performance of other investments, such as stocks and bonds. This makes it an attractive option for investors looking to diversify their portfolios. - Safe haven: During times of economic and political uncertainty, gold is often seen as a safe haven asset that can help protect wealth from market volatility and systemic risk. - Potential for appreciation: While gold doesn’t generate income like stocks or bonds, it has the potential to appreciate in value over time. This makes it an attractive option for investors looking to take advantage of price fluctuations in the gold market. - Cultural significance: Gold has a long history of cultural significance and has been used for ornamental, ceremonial, and religious purposes for thousands of years. Owning gold can therefore hold sentimental value for some individuals. So owning even a bit of gold always makes sense. But right now, it makes even more sense because of recent price movements. In March 2022, an ounce of gold traded up to $2,043.30. Then the price fell to November’s low of $1,626.65. It started to rally hard from there to reach about $1,970 at the beginning of February. For some reason – probably the realization that the Fed will continue to hike – gold fell to its present price of roughly $1,836. But far from thinking there’s more downside, nearly all my colleagues are looking at the upside. What’s the Upside? Well, if you use the unadjusted high from 1980, that price is $850. But adjusting that $850 to 2023 dollars gives you $3,074. That’s 67% upside. And that’s if you just buy physical gold. If you trade gold futures, ETFs, or gold mining companies, your upside can be much higher. Why Would Gold Head to $3,074? My friend and colleague Dan Amoss put together a great chart for Strategic Intelligence readers. Speaking of Strategic Intelligence… My colleague Jim Rickards just predicted the end of the U.S. dollar… He’s seeing something coming on the horizon – where the government will confiscate your cash… or your cash will simply become worthless paper. There’s a way to sidestep this government-backed invasion into your bank account, however. He’ll give you the roadmap to protecting yourself… including how to use [gold]( to safeguard your wealth. [Click here to learn more.]( Now let’s continue with this chart… It shows a deeply inverted yield curve right now. That is, short-term rates are higher than long-term rates. That happens in deep hiking cycles. The thing is, when the hiking stops, and the yield curve snaps back to normal (long > short) from an inversion, gold tends to rally hard and fast. We think that will happen sometime near the end of the year. So now is the perfect time to buy gold if you haven’t already. Really, you haven’t missed the big move yet! And there are two other geopolitical events worth mentioning. Who Owns Most of the Gold? These are the top countries who own gold: - United States of America - Germany - Italy - France - Russian Federation - China - Switzerland - Japan - India - Netherlands More and more central banks are scoffing up gold to hedge against a USD collapse. And if central banks are buying, the price will certainly get driven up. Sooner or later, USD hegemony will be a thing of the past. The only way you can protect yourself against that is to own gold. Wrap Up There are some compelling reasons to own gold right now. It’s underpriced, has huge upside, and is about to get back to the adult’s table in currency products. History may look back on the Bretton Woods era and say, “Paper, schmaper…” I hope you enjoyed this insight. Let me know what you think by emailing me [here](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com). Be sure to tell me if there are any topics you’d like me to cover in future articles. All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Contributing Editor, The Morning Reckoning feedback@dailyreckoning.com P.S. Gold is real money. It’s private, secure and remains incredibly valuable today. It’s also greatly undervalued in my estimate… for now. When the bug really hits the windshield, gold will likely explode in value, and quickly become out of reach for most investors. That’s why I strongly encourage you to get your hands on physical gold (and silver) now, before the panic-buying begins. I also recommend that you get it from the good people at [Hard Assets Alliance](. They not only offer you the choice of taking personal possession of your gold and silver… or storing it domestically… They also give you the option of storing it in overseas vaults, away from the feds’ sticky fingers. That’s right, you can safely and confidently store your gold and silver in overseas vaults if you choose. It’s an option you might want to seriously consider given current trends. If that doesn’t interest you, that’s fine too. You can take simple delivery of your gold and silver to store as you please. Go here now to learn more about the [Hard Assets Alliance]( and all the options they offer you, including overseas storage. [Has World War III Just Begun?]( NATO sends tanks to Ukraine… Russia prepares for a winter offensive… [Is the beginning of World War III?]( [Click here to learn more]( I’ve just released an urgent message with my thoughts. But more importantly, I’m offering to send you an [exact playbook]( on what I see playing out in the world and what you need to do to prepare. [Simply click here now to watch my short message and to see how to claim a copy completely free of charge.]( [LEARN MORE]( In Case You Missed It… Greg Guenthner, Editor It’s Do-or-Die for the Bulls… [Greg Guenthner] GREG GUENTHNER Good Morning Reader, The toughest part of any new bull market is the beginning. Traders usually refer to these early-stage moves as disbelief rallies for obvious reasons. During a bear market’s last gasps, buyers are bled dry. Fear of missing out has sucked them into every relief rally, only to trap them in their snapback plays when everything begins to fall apart. The bulls are mentally exhausted – and many simply give up on the markets altogether. Then, when a rally does finally stick, the market’s cried wolf so many times that most investors simply don't trust the move. They opt to sit on the sidelines and lick their wounds, angrily watching the market move higher without them. Every new bull has to start somewhere. Trouble is, we only know it’s a new bull market in hindsight. As we watch it unfold in real time, that first bounce might not be the beginning at all – just a pause before the next leg lower begins. This is the exact situation we find ourselves in today. Two months of 2023 are nearly in the books. A powerful snapback rally materialized out of nowhere in early January, sending the bears running for cover and rekindling a flicker of hope amongst the tech-growth bagholders. The theme for January was simple: the worst performing assets of 2022 flipped the script and enjoyed the strongest rallies. Meanwhile, the “safer” trades that weathered last year’s storm began to lag. It was just like old times. The Covid Bubble was back! February was the opposite story. These same snapback trades started to fall apart while the dollar index and rates rallied. Investors suffered from debilitating inflation flashbacks as the Fed flipped slightly more hawkish. Now, we’re watching key stocks and sectors teeter at key levels. Here comes the tricky part… [Biden’s “Hush-Hush” Plot Uncovered]( [Click here to learn more]( Right now, Joe Biden – along with 9 of the world’s largest banks – have initiated [a disturbing new experiment with YOUR cash](. It’s called “Project Cedar” – and up to now it’s been kept fairly “hush-hush”… But in [this urgent new exposé]( you’ll discover critical details behind Project Cedar and what Biden’s master plan really is. [Click here to learn the critical details before it impacts your money](. [LEARN MORE]( Are we experiencing the choppy start of a new bull market? Or, was January’s strong performance just a bear market rally that’s destined to fail and open the trap door to new lows? We can’t know for sure (You didn’t think it was going to be that easy, did you?). But there are a couple key areas of the market we can watch for clues. The Semi Situation While the financial talking heads remain fixated on the S&P’s battle at 4,000, we need to dig a bit deeper to see if the year-to-date leaders can rediscover their January mojo. Let’s start with semiconductors. The semis were downright terrible trades on the long side during the 2022 bear market. But they snapped back to life in January, with the VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gaining more than 20% during the first five weeks of the year. Like many of these snapback stocks, the semis flew a little too close to the sun in January and needed to blow off some steam. Where they go from here could be incredibly important to the health of this market. [chart] SMH is flirting with a key level here between $240 - $250. This area marks the swing highs from June and August 2022. If it can continue to consolidate and rally off last week’s lows, it has a decent chance at extending higher and officially breaking out of last year’s downtrend. NVDA’s post-earnings performance is one major reason SMH still has a fighting chance right now. Despite posting objectively poor earnings, NVDA managed to tantalize analysts and investors with some artificial intelligence hocus-pocus. The magic worked, and the stock popped more than 14% power-earnings. It continues to rally to new 9-month highs this week. NVDA is still the de-facto leader in the semiconductor sector. It’s difficult to imagine the sector lurching lower if this leader remains resilient. [Urgent Notice From Paradigm CIO Zach Scheidt!]( [Click here to learn more]( Hi, Zach Scheidt here… I’m the Chief Income Officer at Paradigm Press. With inflation raging (and showing no signs of coming to an end any time soon), almost everyone in America is feeling the pain in a big way. Which is why, several months ago, I set out on a big mission… my goal was to create a [complete, step-by-step plan to surviving and beating inflation]( one that anyone could take advantage of. Today, after hundreds of hours of research, I’m revealing all of my findings. [Simply click here now to see how to survive America’s deadly inflation crisis](. [LEARN MORE]( An AI-Driven Market Crash? The snapback semis can certainly stabilize the market at these key levels. But what about some of the market’s frothier, more speculative stocks? Here’s a funny story from the artificial intelligence bubble: Some rogue AI testers managed to (briefly) break through ChatGPT’s politically correct protocol to get some raw, unfiltered answers from the popular chatbot. As a rule, ChatGPT won’t tread in any waters anyone might find mildly controversial. [I even highlighted the bland, unhelpful answers to my AI bubble questions when I dove down the rabbit hole a few weeks ago…]( Thankfully, some financially-minded journalists agreed and snapped ChatGPT out of its PC stupor long enough to get it to make some bold (or maybe ridiculous?) stock market predictions. After inquiring about a possible market crash, the uncensored AI didn’t hold back, predicting a crash on March 15 due to inflation, consumer spending and geopolitical tensions. To be clear, I don’t think ChatGPT is Skynet. Not even close! And I’d be more than a little surprised if the market crashed on something as benign as “consumer spending” on the Ides of March. Crash predictions aside, it’s important to keep an eye on these bubbly artificial intelligence stocks that have suddenly captured the market’s attention this year. This has nothing to do with fundamentals or bigger tech trends, either. I’m more concerned about using the AI sector as a proxy to measure bullish sentiment. If some of the speculative runners – such as C3.ai Inc. (AI) – can move higher out of these wide-ranging consolidations, it will demonstrate that traders are willing to continue to make risky speculations despite a shaky market backdrop. [chart] One of the big dangers facing a young market rally is fickle buyers who give up and sell their shares at the first sign of trouble. If we begin to see stocks weather these pullbacks and push higher, it shows us that something could be changing in the markets. There’s still a lot that needs to go right before we can begin to talk about the market officially recovering from the big, bad bear. Yet the bulls surviving this first true test of the year would go a long way toward repairing the damage – and could set us up for an extended push off these do-or-die levels. Let me know what you thought of today’s article… and if you want any more topics covered by emailing me [here](mailto:feedback@dailyreckoning.com). Best, [Greg Guenthner] Greg Guenthner Contributing Editor, Morning Reckoning feedback@dailyreckoning.com Thank you for reading The Daily Reckoning! We greatly value your questions and comments. Please send all feedback to [feedback@dailyreckoning.com.](mailto:dr@dailyreckoning.com) [Sean Ring] [Sean Ring, CAIA, FRM and CMT]( is a former banker and financial educator and is the editor of the Rude Awakening. Sean has trained interns and graduates from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank, DBS (Singapore), the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Bank Indonesia (the central bank), HSBC, Barclays, RBS, and BlackRock. He knows the global economy is being corrupted by forces that most people can't understand and has used his unique and worldly experiences to help people navigate the markets. [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. 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