Central banks

Venezuela’s central bank in April paid $172 million to U.S. bank Citigroup to recover part of the gold it had put up as guarantee in a swap operation.

We are now on the eve of an economic crisis of unfathomable proportions due to an insoluble debt problem. Holding precious metals will be invaluable insurance to survive this crisis financially.

Chindia & Silk Road gold consumption for March.

Records that were reached in the last sovereign debt crisis are being shattered... savers are right to be worried – not only Italians, but all Europeans...

These two inventions were totally revolutionary in the history of finance. First to print money at no cost and then to issue debt and be paid for that pleasure.

It can’t happen here! What is happening in Venezuela and Argentina cannot occur in Western economies. That’s at least what markets believe with stocks and most bubble assets remaining in cloud cuckoo land. Rates in Argentina have just gone to 40% to protect the currency. Anyone who believes that rat...

Strategic investments are made for the long run and with no intent of short term gains or concern of short term fluctuations. This kind of investing is based on buying undervalued and unloved assets and holding them for a very long term.

Gold in Venezuelan Bolivars moves up exponentially every week. The price has gone from VEF 200 to VEF 75 million in this century and that won’t be the end. We will see similar moves in all currencies in coming years including the Dollar, Euro, Pound, Yen etc.

A war with Iran would eliminate the largest non-USD oil exporter. One thing leads to another. The gold repatriations are a precursor to a currency war and armed conflict. That’s what drives US foreign policy.

As Dennis Gartman summarized in his Friday letter to clients, "at the current pace of sales, Venezuela will effectively be out of gold by May or June of next year. Having fallen from $21.3 billion seven years ago, it’s now down to $6.6 billion as of the end of January and we suspect that it’s sold a...