The GraveYard Shift

[JD400]

Bank of America Issues Dire Warning to All Customers: Act Immediately

[JD400]

Berkshire Dumped Nearly Half its Apple Shares plus Other Stocks into Final Burst of Rally, Bought T-Bills. Cash is King

by Wolf Richter • Aug 4, 2024 •
“You could conclude this is another sell signal. This was a far higher level of selling activity than we were expecting”: Edward Jones Investments.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Q2 was the seventh quarter in a row during which Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle, shed stocks on net, this time a net of $76 billion in stocks. The proceeds went into T-bills, which grew by $81 billion, a blistering pace for a three-month period – to get out of Dodge? The stock market turned south in mid-July

Cash is king.
During Q2 through June 30, Berkshire Hathaway piled on an additional $81 billion in T-bills, according to Berkshire’s Q2 earnings release on Saturday. Its T-bill holdings:

Q2 2024: $235 billion
Q1 2024: $153 billion
Q4 2023: $130 billion
Q1 2022: $67 billion, when interest rates began to rise,
If Berkshire earned an average of 5.3% on its T-bills in Q2, that would be about $3 billion in interest income with zero risk, accounting for roughly 8% of its pre-tax net income of $38 billion.

Total cash – so T-bills, cash, and cash equivalent – jumped by $88 billion during Q2, to $277 billion, up from $189 billion in Q1 2024, having now more than doubled since Q1 2023 ($130 billion).


Buffett had said at the shareholder meeting in May that it was “a fair assumption” that Berkshire’s total cash and T-bill pile would exceed $200 billion by the end of Q2, and that he was “quite satisfied” with that position. And that has come to pass by a wide margin – with cash and T-bills having ballooned to $277 billion. Cash is king.

Clearly, Buffett took risk off the table and locked in profits, and collected 5%-plus interest on his ballooning cash.

Ditching Stocks.
Berkshire dumped on a net basis $75 billion of stocks in Q2.

Apple holdings took a massive hit. Berkshire dumped nearly half (roughly 390 million shares) of its remaining Apple shares in Q2 after having dumped 13% (116 million shares) in Q1, and about 1% (10 million shares) in Q4. Berkshire’s Apple holdings are now down to about 400 million shares, from 908 million shares that it had held two years ago.

This Apple trade has been huge and hugely profitable for Berkshire. It first disclosed purchasing Apple in 2016 when the shares were in the $26-range, give or take. On Friday, Apple closed at $219.86 a share.

The super-hyped event that Buffett was buying Apple in large amounts and kept buying Apple, and kept praising Apple, was in part responsible for driving up the price of Apple shares not only through the actual buying pressure from Berkshire, but also through the media hype that came with it.

Ditching Bank of America. In July through August 1, reported in separate filings and not included in the Q2 quarterly report, Berkshire also sold 8.8% (or about $3.8 billion) of its Bank of America holdings in a series of transactions.

“You could conclude this is another sell signal,” Jim Shanahan, an analyst at Edward Jones who covers Berkshire, told Reuters. “This was a far higher level of selling activity than we were expecting.”

In terms of Berkshire’s overall stock holdings at the end of Q2, about 72% were concentrated in five stocks:

Apple: $84.2 billion
Bank of America: $41.1 billion
American Express: $35.1 billion
Coca-Cola: $25.5 billion
Chevron: $18.6 billion.
Share buybacks grind down.
Berkshire repurchased just $345 million of its own shares in Q2, compared to share buybacks of $2.57 billion in Q1. Perhaps Buffett doesn’t deem the shares a good deal anymore, after they soared by 44% since the beginning of 2023.

Investment income drops, operating income rises.
Earnings from the companies that Berkshire owns (operating income) rose by 15% year-over-year to $11.6 billion, even as revenue inched up only 1% to $93.6 billion. Almost half of that profit came from its insurance empire, including GEICO, whose massive increases in premiums – what consumers have been complaining about for two years – and now reduced claims caused underwriting profits to more than triple!

But investment income, which is always volatile, fell by 28% in Q2 to $18.7 billion (from $25.9 billion a year ago). So net income fell by 15% year-over-year to $30.3 billion.
https://wolfstreet.com/2024/08/04/berkshire-dumps-nearly-half-its-apple-shares-plus-other-stocks-into-the-final-rally-proceeds-went-into-t-bills-cash-is-king/

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters 2007 Live Video Full HD

[JD400]

Ran across Cowboy Junkies today

This song brought me back to my early mining days at Magma Copper.
and how I felt at 19 years old realizing the muck bosses valued the dirt more than human life itself.
They used us to death.
Thought I'd share her beautiful voice

Cowboy Junkies - Mining For Gold (Official Audio)

"Mining For Gold"

We are miners, hard rock miners
To the shaft house we must go
Pour your bottles on our shoulders
We are marching to the slow

On the line boys, on the line boys
Drill your holes and stand in line
'til the shift boss comes to tell you
You must drill her out on top

Can't you feel the rock dust in your lungs?
It'll cut down a miner when he is still young
Two years and the silicosis takes hold
and I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold

Yes, I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold

[JD400]

Gold price surpasses $2,500 for first time ever

Staff Writer | August 2, 2024 | 8:19 am Markets USA Gold

Gold surpassed $2,500 per ounce for the first time in history on Friday in the wake of rising geopolitical tensions and new data indicating a weakening US economy.


Gold contracts for December delivery reached an all-time high of $2,522.50 in the early trading hours, before shedding its gains to trade at $2,475.90 an ounce by 11:00 a.m. ET.


Spot gold posted a marginal loss of 0.5% at $2,432.86 per ounce, having hit as high as $2,477.10 — just within grasp of its all-time peak of $2,483.73 set earlier this month.

Bullion has gained about 3% so far this week, on track for its best week since April, as rising safe-haven demand from Middle East tensions and expectations of rate cuts made the metal more appealing to investors.

Meanwhile, US 10-year yields dropped to their lowest since December and the dollar index hit its lowest since March after data showed that employers added fewer jobs in July than economists had forecasted, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%.

The data follows comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who on Wednesday said that rates could be cut as soon as September if the US economy follows its expected path.

“The marketplace just now is factoring in a better-than-70% chance for a 50-basis-point cut by the Fed at the September FOMC meeting,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior market analyst at Kitco Metals in a note to Reuters.

“Lower yields, some safe-haven buying and then the idea of a weakening economy which is bringing rates lower along with the dollar, all of those are in support of the gold market,” said David Meger, director of alternative investments and trading at High Ridge Futures.

(With files from Reuters)

Read More: Global gold demand reaches Q2 record — report
https://www.mining.com/gold-price-surpasses-2500-for-first-time-ever/

While the gold miners sell off into oblivion
If they can't make it at $2500
There not going to make it at all !

Elton John - Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (Live At Madison Square Garden)

[JD400]

Pam and Russ Martens: NY Fed has contracted out key functions to JPMorgan Chase
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2024-07-29 12:45 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Pam and Russ Martens
Wall Street on Parade
Monday, July 29, 2024

The New York Fed, which has bank examiners engaged in supervising JPMorgan Chase, has also repeatedly provided bailout funds to JPMorgan Chase; was supervising JPMorgan Chase when it lost $6.2 billion of deposits from its federally-insured bank by gambling in derivatives on its London trading desk; allowed JPMorgan Chase's Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, to sit on the New York Fed's Board of Directors, even as he faced the $6.2 billion derivatives trading scandal; and the New York Fed has exclusively used JPMorgan Chase to hold, as custodian, more than $2.3 trillion of the Federal Reserve's mortgage-backed securities for the past 15 1/2 years -- despite JPMorgan Chase's admitting to five felony counts brought by the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice during that time.

If there was an admitted felon in your neighborhood, would that be your first choice for a house sitter? ...

... For the remainder of the analysis:

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/the-new-york-fed-has-contracted-out-key-functions-to-jpmorgan-chase-we-filed-a-foia-and-got-these-strange-invoices/

MOSS - Bankster Blues

These Are the Banks that Own the New York Fed and Its Money Button

The listing below came directly from the Federal Reserve when it was forced to hand over its Discount Window documents on March 31, 2011 after losing a multi-year court battle with the media to keep its money spigot secret.https://wallstreetonparade.com/2019/11/these-are-the-banks-that-own-the-new-york-fed-and-its-money-button/


The New York Fed Has Contracted Out Key Functions to JPMorgan Chase; We Filed a FOIA and Got These Strange Invoices
JPMorgan Chase Invoice to New York Fed

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: July 29, 2024 ~

The New York Fed, which has bank examiners engaged in supervising JPMorgan Chase, has also repeatedly provided bailout funds to JPMorgan Chase; was supervising JPMorgan Chase when it lost $6.2 billion of deposits from its federally-insured bank by gambling in derivatives on its London trading desk; allowed JPMorgan Chase’s Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, to previously sit on the New York Fed’s Board of Directors, even as he faced the $6.2 billion derivatives trading scandal; and the New York Fed has exclusively used JPMorgan Chase to hold, as custodian, more than $2.3 trillion of the Federal Reserve’s Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) for the past 15-1/2 years – despite JPMorgan Chase admitting to five felony counts brought by the criminal division of the U.S. Department of Justice during that time.

If there was an admitted felon in your neighborhood, would that be your first choice for a house sitter?

During the financial crisis of 2008, in an effort to restore liquidity to seized up markets, the Fed announced it planned to buy $500 billion of MBS that was backed by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. That was the first of what would become Quantitative Easing (QE) to infinity at the Fed. The Fed’s MBS holdings have grown from the planned $500 billion to $2.3 trillion as of last Wednesday.

In a typical move, the Federal Reserve outsourced its MBS buying program to the New York Fed, which, in turn, farmed out one critical leg of the program (custodianship of the MBS) to the very Wall Street megabank that had corrupted a significant part of the MBS market: JPMorgan Chase.

A little more than a month after the Fed’s 2008 MBS announcement, on December 31, 2008, the New York Fed signed a contract with JPMorgan Chase to be the sole custodian of the securities it bought under the MBS program. That contract with JPMorgan Chase was amended on April 1, 2010; April 26, 2011; April 17, 2014 and again on January 30, 2017. (As of today, the original contract and its amendments are available at the New York Fed’s website. Should those documents vanish, we have archived the same documents on our website here.)

This spring, Wall Street On Parade became curious as to just how much JPMorgan Chase was reaping in revenues from serving as a vendor to the New York Fed. On April 18, via email, we filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the New York Fed, asking for the following:

“Please provide copies of invoices that the New York Fed received from JPMorgan Chase (or any of its subsidiaries such as Chase Bank or JPMorgan Securities) during the 2023 calendar year.

“We are particularly interested in invoices for custodial and cash management services related to MBS securities held in custody by JPMorgan Chase for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.”

While the Federal Reserve Board of Governors is a federal agency and subject to FOIA, the 12 regional Fed banks are considered private corporations, not legally subject to FOIA. The New York Fed, however, regularly states that it “complies with the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act” in providing documents to the public.

Under FOIA, Wall Street On Parade was entitled to a response in 20 business days. Since these invoices should have been easily obtainable in the Accounts Payable department of the New York Fed, and we were asking only for those from last year, 20 business days seemed to us like an adequate response time.

Instead, on May 16 we received an email from the New York Fed telling us they needed more time and were planning to provide us the documents on July 1. When July 1 came around, the New York Fed told us the new projected date was July 12. When July 12 arrived, we were told to expect the invoices on or before July 26. On that date, we received a cover letter and 158 documents – with the amounts that JPMorgan Chase had billed to the New York Fed redacted behind blocks of black ink.

Stalling on FOIA requests and providing journalists with useless information has become a favorite sport at both the Federal Reserve and the New York Fed. (See also: Reporters Who Ask Tough Questions at Fed Press Conferences Have a Habit of Being Disappeared from the Room.)

Despite blacking out the very information we had requested – how much JPMorgan Chase had billed to the New York Fed in one year – after making us wait almost three months, we were able, nonetheless, to make some interesting findings from the sanitized documents.

Per the invoice graphic above from the documents, covering the billing period of January 1, 2023 through January 31, 2023, JPMorgan Chase appears to be billing for a lot more than just providing custodianship of the MBS assets. There are menu tabs for the following services billed: “Custody Fee,” “Transaction Fee,” “Cash Management Fee,” “Security Lending Fees,” “Benefit Payment Fees,” “Other Fees,” and “Other Expenses.”

Equally of note, there does not appear to be any significant documentation provided to the New York Fed to support how these fees were calculated.

Another curiosity is that the New York Fed allows invoices from JPMorgan Chase to go unpaid for more than two months in multiple cases. (See the invoice below as one sample.)

JPMorgan Chase Overdue Invoice to Fed (see above)

And raising our eyebrows were invoices that we did not know existed. These are the invoices toward the end of the document that are marked as “Tri-Party Collateral Management Fees.” We’ll be reporting on that aspect of these invoices later this week.

We will also be filing a formal complaint with the Federal Reserve Inspector General over how this FOIA request was handled, involving the largest federally-insured bank in the United States and its perpetually blind-folded supervisor, the New York Fed.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/the-new-york-fed-has-contracted-out-key-functions-to-jpmorgan-chase-we-filed-a-foia-and-got-these-strange-invoices/

Buster Benton
Money Is the Name of the Game

[JD400]

India exploits FED’s rigged gold scam - LFTV Ep 183

Jul 26, 2024
In this week’s episode of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire reveals how insider selling and Asian central bank buying may soon push gold prices higher, providing a big-picture overview of the behind-the-scenes factors influencing the markets.

The precious metals expert delivers a chart-driven analysis of recent trading sessions, presenting a comprehensive overview of the bullish and bearish options expiry setups for gold.

Timestamps
00:00 Start
02:11 Options expirations bullish or bearish?
24:00 Gold set up for a higher stairstep?
26:30 What about silver?
28:00 How far down can prices go before a physically-driven rally?
37:10 The bullish larger picture everyone is missing

[JD400]

Suppressing silver prices has been official U.S. policy since 1965

Submitted by admin on Sun, 2024-07-21 15:27 Section: Daily Dispatches
3:24p ET Sunday, July 21, 2024

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

In the July 18 edition of Gold Newsletter, editor and publisher Brien Lundin wrote about the failure of silver prices to keep up with gold prices. "I'm not the kind of conspiracy buff that many of my friends in the industry are," Lundin wrote, "but it's hard to look at silver and not see some hidden hands at work (especially considering who holds so much of the metal in both physical and paper forms while acting as custodian for the biggest silver exchange-traded fund)."

Of course Lundin meant investment bank JPMorganChase and silver ETF SLV.

Why anyone would invest in silver or the other precious and monetary metals with JPMorganChase can be explained only by ignorance.

In the last decade the bank has pleaded guilty to five felonies and has paid more than a billion dollars in government fines and civil lawsuit settlements, including a fine of $920 million for manipulation of the monetary metals markets by some of its traders:

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/jpmorgan-chase-co-agrees-pay-920-million-connection-schemes-defraud-precious-metals-and-us

But silver market manipulation long has been bigger than even JPMorganChase.

Indeed, silver price suppression has been U.S. government policy since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Coinage Act of 1965, which removed silver from the country's money.

Signing the act into law, Johnson proclaimed: "If anybody has any idea of hoarding our silver coins, let me say this. Treasury has a lot of silver on hand, and it can be and it will be used to keep the price of silver in line with its value in our present silver coin. There will be no profit in holding them out of circulation for the value of their silver content":

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-the-signing-the-coinage-act

https://www.gata.org/node/15838

It's not known how long the U.S. government's strategic silver inventory lasted after 1965 and how much was used for executing the price-suppression policy Johnson proclaimed, but eventually collectors and investors did exactly what the president warned would bring them no profit. They removed the silver coins from circulation and hoarded them as the steady inflation of the U.S. dollar made them worth far more than their face value.

JPMorganChase Bank long has been a primary dealer in U.S. government securities and has been particularly close to the U.S. Treasury Department, so when SLV was launched in 2006 and the bank became custodian of the fund's silver, suspicion of government involvement with the bank and the ETF was fairly aroused. (The bank now is also custodian of the metal of the major gold ETF, GLD, prompting more fair suspicion.)

After SLV was founded, complaints that JPMorganChase was manipulating the silver market grew loud enough that the bank felt obliged to answer them publicly.

First the bank's CEO, Jamie Dimon, said the bank had no interest of its own in the monetary metals and traded them only for clients. Then in 2012 the head of the bank's commodity desk, Blythe Masters, went on CNBC to emphasize this denial particularly in regard to silver.

"There's been a tremendous amount of speculation, particularly in the blogosphere, on this topic," Masters told the CNBC reporter. "I think the challenge is that it represents a misunderstanding of the nature of our business. ... Our business is a client-driven business where we execute on behalf of clients to achieve their financial and risk-management objectives. ... We have offsetting positions. We have no stake in whether prices rise or decline."

See: https://www.gata.org/node/11216

But since CNBC is a mainstream financial news organization, its reporter failed to put the critical follow-up question to Masters: Do JPMorganChase's clients trading silver and other monetary or precious metals include governments, particularly the U.S. government, directly or indirectly?

The answer to that question was provided inadvertently 10 years later, and barely noticed by mainstream financial news organizations, during the trial of the JPMorganChase traders charged with and convicted of "spoofing" the monetary metals futures markets. In the very last paragraph of its July 31 report about the trial, Bloomberg News reported:

"Another set of important clients were central banks, which trade gold for their reserves and are among the biggest players in the bullion market. At least 10 central banks held their metal in vaults run by JPMorgan in 2010, according to documents disclosed in court":

https://gata.org/node/22108

A mechanism for governments to use for surreptitious manipulation of the monetary metals futures markets was already in place at CME Group, operator of all the major futures exchanges in the United States. It is called the Central Bank Incentive Program, whereby CME Group exchanges provide volume trading discounts to governments, central banks, and international organizations for trading all futures contracts on CME Group's exchanges.

CME Group's master statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says: "The customer base of our derivatives exchanges includes professional traders, financial institutions, institutional and individual investors, major corporations, manufacturers, producers, governments, and central banks":

https://www.gata.org/node/18925

http://investor.cmegroup.com/node/43571/html

https://www.gata.org/files/CMEGroup-CentralBankIncentiveProgram-Feb2019.pdf

So there remain some compelling questions in the monetary metals sector.

-- Would Western governments and particularly the U.S. government have worked so hard for so long to control the price of gold, as documented by GATA here --

https://gata.org/node/20925

-- while leaving the other major monetary metal, silver, alone?

After all, for many years the world might have sensed monetary debasement almost as readily from a rising silver price as from a rising gold price, even if these days, with inflation sending most important prices soaring, it's hard not to sense monetary debasement nearly everywhere one looks, except maybe, as Lundin notes, when one looks at silver.

-- Why do all the major bullion banks seem to trade gold and silver the same way at the same time? It sure looks like collusion. If it is collusion, it would violate anti-trust law in the United States, United Kingdom, and other Western countries -- unless, of course, the bullion banks are simply executing government trades and thus giving camouflage to government intervention.

The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 authorizes the U.S. Treasury Department, through its Exchange Stabilization Fund, to intervene secretly in any market in the world:

https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/international/exchange-stabilization-fund

That intervention like this is going on has been essentially confirmed by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which repeatedly has refused to answer not just for GATA but even for a U.S. representative whether the commission has jurisdiction over manipulative futures trading undertaken by or at the behest of the U.S. government or whether such manipulation is legal:

https://www.gata.org/node/19917

-- By amassing a big hoard of silver "for clients" and serving as custodian of the silver ETF SLV, has JPMorganChase in effect reconstituted the U.S. government's strategic silver reserve for interventional purposes?

-- What exactly goes on every day on the trading desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York? What markets are being traded there by the U.S. government, how are they being traded, and why? Is the desk trading more than the government bonds it reports trading? Why can't the public be allowed to observe this trading?

-- Is the Bank for International Settlements trading the monetary metals for the U.S. government, directly or through intermediaries?

In 2005 the head of the BIS' monetary and economic department, William R. White, told a conference at BIS headquarters in Switzerland that a primary purpose of cooperation among central banks is "the provision of international credits and joint efforts to influence asset prices (especially gold and foreign exchange) in circumstances where this might be thought useful":

https://www.gata.org/node/4279

The United States is a member of the BIS and White's "asset prices" easily could cover the prices of the other traditional monetary metal, silver.

Gold Newsletter's Lundin is right that it's hard not to suspect that "hidden hands" are at work against the silver price just as they have been against gold. Or at least it's hard not to suspect that "hidden hands" are at work as long as you’re not part of a mainstream financial news organization or an executive of the typically oblivious silver-mining company.

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

https://www.gata.org/node/23297

The Highwaymen - Highwayman (American Outlaws: Live at Nassau Coliseum, 1990)

[JD400]

US Senators release energy permitting reform bill

Staff Writer | July 22, 2024 | 4:57 pm Energy Intelligence News USA Copper Lithium Oil & Gas

US Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), on behalf of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released on Monday the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024.


The legislation could speed up approvals of clean-energy, pipeline and electricity transmission projects by shortening some federal environmental reviews and setting limits on court challenges.

“The United States of America is blessed with abundant natural resources that have powered our nation to greatness and allow us to help our friends and allies around the world,” Manchin said in a news release. “Unfortunately, today our outdated permitting system is stifling our economic growth, geopolitical strength, and ability to reduce emissions.”

He went on to say that the bill is a result of over a year of hearings in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, considering input from colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and negotiations. Manchin currently serves as Chairman of the Committee.

It signals a win for West Virginia Senator Manchin, previously a Democrat, now serving as an Independent, after a previously stalled legislative effort to fast-track energy projects. A bid to attach the energy-permitting package was dropped from must-pass government funding legislation in the Senate last year when it didn’t have the votes.

“A commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities,” Manchin continued.

“The Energy Permitting Reform Act will advance American energy once again to bring down prices, create domestic jobs, and allow us to continue in our role as a global energy leader.”

“Washington’s disastrous permitting system has shackled American energy production and punished families in Wyoming and across our country. Congress must step in and fix this process,” added Barrasso, Ranking Member of the Committee. “Our bipartisan bill secures future access to oil and gas resources on federal lands and waters.”

The American Exploration & Mining Association (AEMA) released a statement on Tuesday applauding the bill.

“Our inefficient federal permitting system is a significant deterrent to attracting investment in the United States to explore for and develop strategic mineral resources, and it has resulted in the US being increasingly reliant on foreign countries,” AEMA executive director Mark Compton said in the statement.

“The permitting reforms in this deal are a good start, and we look forward to working with both sides of the aisle to see they become law.”

Full text of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 can be found here.
https://www.mining.com/us-senators-release-energy-permitting-reform-bill/

Their they go again using them estranged words like "clean-energy" and "environmental reviews"

The Moody Blues: In The Beginning- Lovely To See You

[JD400]

"The World is a Corporation" (Network, 1976)

A paradigm shift has occurred in American politics this week.

Maybe green mining will still have a chance after all

[JD400]

Unfortunately our world is in their hands.

While the politicians clamor in their fat ego self-righteousness.

Theirs nobody guarding the Banking and Insurance hen houses

Their stocks are totally out of control
like shooting fish inside a barrel

[starboy]

With $182 million dollars in stock sales of JPMorgan Chase shares, Jamie Dimon won't ever have to worry about the price of gas, rent/mortgage, coffee, food staples or all the other rising costs the average US citizen is up against.
He just stays on cruise control like all of the rich; while they watch the rest of the US citizens flounder against the never-ending tide of corporate greed. Shrinkflation, anyone?

[JD400]

Jamie Dimon Goes Missing from Earnings Call, After Dumping $183 Million of His JPMorgan Chase Stock Earlier this Year
By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: July 17, 2024 ~

We can’t remember a time when the Chairman and CEO of the largest, most complex and scandal-ridden bank in the United States, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, was too busy to squeeze in an appearance at the company’s heavily-scrutinized quarterly earnings call with analysts. That happened last Friday.

When something happens for the first time at a bank that has racked up five felony counts, has been doled out non-prosecution and deferred-prosecution agreements by the U.S. Department of Justice in a steady drumbeat since 2014, and spent most of last year in the headlines for a decade of sluicing tens of thousands of dollars per month in hard cash to the international sex trafficker of children, Jeffrey Epstein, it pays to sit up and pay attention.

Reuters’ reporter John Foley also found it “unusual” that Dimon had missed the earnings call last Friday, writing that “neither throat cancer nor an aortic dissection” had stopped Dimon from being present at earnings calls in the past.

The official excuse for the absence was that Dimon was travelling. Forgive us for the suspicion that Dimon might have wanted to avoid uncomfortable questions about the quality of the bank’s earnings this past quarter and what the bank had done with those earnings.

The only bank official on the call with analysts was JPMorgan Chase’s CFO Jeremy Barnum, who got the sticky issue out of the way right up front. That issue was that $7.9 billion of net income came from a net gain on the sale of Visa stock, which the bank had held as an investment. Without that gain, profits would have been down compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Barnum also fessed up to the fact that the bank had used $4.9 billion of its net income to buy back JPMorgan Chase’s own stock – something that Dimon has turned into an art form at the bank. From January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2024, Dimon has plowed the astronomical sum of $124.5 billion into buying back the bank’s own stock.

There are three critical facts you need to understand about using bank profits to buy back the company’s own stock. First, when earnings are retained as opposed to being used for buybacks, they increase the capital of the bank, making megabanks far less susceptible to needing bailouts. Dimon has been bullying his federal bank regulators this year and holding high-powered meetings in Washington in an effort to get his regulators to back off their demands for JPMorgan Chase (and other megabanks) to increase their capital. While Dimon likes to brag about his bank’s “fortress balance sheet,” bank regulators know all too well that something blew up in the fourth quarter of 2019, necessitating JPMorgan Chase needing $2.59 trillion in emergency repo loans from the Fed on a term-adjusted basis, in just that one quarter. (See chart below.)


The second thing you need to understand is that stock buybacks are prudently done when the stock is considered undervalued, and thus represents a good investment. JPMorgan Chase’s stock has been trading at its highest level in history in the past quarter.

And, finally, federally-insured/taxpayer backstopped banks like JPMorgan Chase are supposed to be making loans to sound businesses and consumers in order to grow the U.S. economy and create good jobs – not blowing their profits on propping up their share price to make the CEO look good to his Board of Directors so he can get fat bonuses.

In July of 2017, Thomas Hoenig, then Vice Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee. He made the following points:

“[If] the 10 largest U.S. Bank Holding Companies [BHCs] were to retain a greater share of their earnings earmarked for dividends and share buybacks in 2017 they would be able to increase loans by more than $1 trillion, which is greater than 5 percent of annual U.S. GDP.

“Four of the 10 BHCs will distribute more than 100 percent of their current year’s earnings, which alone could support approximately $537 billion in new loans to Main Street.

“If share buybacks of $83 billion, representing 72 percent of total payouts for these 10 BHCs in 2017, were instead retained, they could, under current capital rules, increase small business loans by three quarters of a trillion dollars or mortgage loans by almost one and a half trillion dollars.”

Another troubling aspect of Dimon missing his earnings call last Friday is that he did something else quite noteworthy this year for the first time. He sold a very large chunk of his stock in the bank. In February, Dimon sold $150 million of JPMorgan Chase stock and another $32.8 million in April, bringing his total sales this year to $182.8 million.

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/07/jamie-dimon-goes-missing-from-earnings-call-after-dumping-183-million-of-his-jpmorgan-chase-stock-earlier-this-year/

The Beatles HD - Nowhere Man Live in Germany (Remastered)

[JD400]

Timberline potential 5 million ounces

Heres some insights into newly acquired Timberline Resources

Jan 9, 2023
Timberline Resources is focused on delivering high-grade Carlin-Type gold discoveries at its district-scale Eureka Project in Nevada. The Eureka Property includes the historic Lookout Mountain and Windfall mines in a total property position of approximately 24 square miles (62 square kilometers).

[JD400]

Choosing Mining Stocks Through The Eyes Of The Beer-holder

"our gift to you"

MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY CHANGE LAST TRADE
Pan American Silver 1.34 4.22 $33.07
Perpetua Resources 0.54 6.07 $9.43
Seabridge Gold 0.54 2.60 $21.28
Triple Flag Precious Metals 0.53 2.41 $22.53
McEwen Mining 0.45 3.24 $14.32
SSR Mining 0.37 5.15 $7.56
Lundin Gold 0.35 1.51 $23.46
Gatos Silver 0.31 1.63 $19.29
Kinross Gold 0.26 2.08 $12.75
Marimaca Copper 0.24 6.25 $4.08
Sandstorm Gold Royalties 0.20 2.55 $8.03
Fortuna Mining 0.20 2.77 $7.41
Centerra Gold 0.19 2.02 $9.59
Silvercorp Metals 0.18 3.51 $5.31
B2Gold 0.15 3.63 $4.28

HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
B2Gold 3,206,086 $4.28
Kinross Gold 2,808,667 $12.75
MegaWatt Metals 2,626,162 $0.03
First Quantum Minerals 2,306,120 $17.73
CanAlaska Uranium 2,126,750 $0.71
G Mining Ventures 1,210,162 $2.51
Centerra Gold 1,084,458 $9.59
1911 Gold 893,286 $0.17
Pan American Silver 832,373 $33.07
American Pacific Mining 773,500 $0.15
Vizsla Silver 744,482 $2.80
i-80 Gold 742,286 $1.60
Gossan Resources 720,084 $0.04
Mogotes Metals 705,260 $0.14
Canadian Manganese 695,538 $0.03

OK Lets get it !!!

[JD400]

China uses Shanghai futures to drain Western gold, Maguire tells LFTV
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2024-07-12 13:28 Section: Daily Dispatches
1:23p ET Friday, July 12, 2024

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

London metals trader Andrew Maguire uses this week's "Live from the Vault" program from Kinesis Money to describe how he sees China using derivatives on the Shanghai Futures Exchange to extract gold from Western markets and hedge itself against what it expects will be more U.S. economic sanctions under a Trump administration.

Maguire adds that the U.S. Federal Reserve is now the only major trader short gold, and he shows charts indicating steady upward stairsteps for both gold and silver prices. Both metals, he says, are explosive.

The program is 42 minutes long and can be seen at YouTube here:

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
[e-mail]

[JD400]

Rick Rule - Top Commodities & Investments for 2024 Symposium

In it to Win it

Premiered 22 hours ago #goldpriceprediction #dividendinvesting #dividendstocks
Steve Barton interviews Rick Rule at the 2024 Rule Symposium, where they discuss the event's success and the strong community it has fostered over 45 years. Rick highlights the presence of top management teams in the junior exploration sector and the opportunity to buy quality assets at discounted prices due to market indifference. He mentions commodities like gold, silver, copper, uranium, and nickel but notes a lack of currently hated assets, with Canadian natural gas being an exception. Rick emphasizes the value of large deposits and the potential in overlooked regions. They discuss several companies, including Seabridge Gold, Centaurus Metals, Mundoro Capital, Orogen Royalties, Gold Royalty Corporation, Uranium Royalty Corporation, and Uranium Energy Corporation.

Affiliates & Links that I love and find helpful:
Introduction to Investing Book: https://grabarskyy.gumroad.com/l/zwzxpq
Rule Bootcamp: https://events.ringcentral.com/events...
TradingView: https://www.tradingview.com/?aff_id=1...
Lobo's Free Weekly Newsletter: https://independentspeculator.com/ser...
Uranium Newsletter: https://members.uraniuminsider.com/a/...
Precious Metals Steve Style: https://www.stevebartonmoney.com/cont...
My Water Filter: https://prooneusa.com/?ref=405&campai...
Rule Portfolio Review: https://ruleinvestmentmedia.com/
Rule Investment Classroom: https://ruleclassroom.com/
SilverChartist: https://silverchartist.com/

[JD400]

What’s Next for Silver? Real Reason Behind Silver's Price Manipulation, Deficit Outlook - Neumeyer

Jul 12, 2024 #SilverMarket #KeithNeumeyer #FirstMajesticSilver
Jeremy Szafron, Anchor at Kitco News, interviews Keith Neumeyer, CEO of First Majestic Silver, at the Rick Rule Symposium in Boca Raton. Neumeyer discusses the critical industrial importance of silver in applications like electronics and solar panels, and he explains the reasons behind its price manipulation by major trading desks. He highlights the alarming 240 million ounce deficit in the silver market and how this imbalance could drive prices higher. Neumeyer also addresses the absence of institutional investors in the silver market and their potential impact if they become involved. Additionally, he shares his bullish outlook on silver reaching triple-digit prices, the significance of the mining ratio of silver to gold, and his optimism about the new administration in Mexico's mining policies. Lastly, Neumeyer predicts a major bull market in commodities, led by gold and followed by silv

00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Silver's Industrial Importance
02:30 - Price Manipulation Explained
04:00 - Silver Market Deficit
05:30 - Institutional Investors' Absence
07:00 - Predictions for Silver Prices
08:30 - Silver vs. Gold Mining Ratio
10:00 - Mexican Mining Policies
11:30 - Bull Market in Commodities
12:30 - Closing

[JD400]

Banksters Paradise (A Bitcoin Song)

July 7, 2020
Get out of the Banksters paradise & get into the Bitcoin paradise - We spend our lives living in a Banksters Paradise, a world where Banksters can Print infinite amounts of money, where they can socialise losses & privatise profits. A world where fraud is a business model and the rule of law does not exist.

All the world’s greatest problems stem from this corrupt system, but there is now a solution BITCOIN!. Bitcoin takes away the control of the financial system from the oligarchy & Kleptocracy’s that want nothing more than privatise the worlds wealth & control your every action.

[JD400]

How to Interpret Mineral Exploration Maps and Sections with Dr. Rob Stevens (Ph.D.)

MiningStockEducation.com

Jun 28, 2024 #miningstocks #juniormining #resourceinvesting
In this episode, Dr. Rob Stevens teaches investors what to consider when interpreting exploration company maps and sections. Dr. Stevens (Ph.D., P.Geo.) is a professional geologist and educator. He has trained numerous brokers, analysts, and investors in the basics of mineral exploration and mining via his training course. After teaching this course for many years, he eventually published its content in his book, Mineral Exploration and Mining Essentials.

0:00 Introduction
2:14 Overview
3:45 Viewpoints in exploration
7:17 Key aspects of maps and sections
8:30 Map view
19:34 Cross-Section view
22:37 Long-Section view
29:48 Contour Maps
33:16 Three-dimensional views
36:49 Geological Models
41:57 Humorous illustration
44:55 Q&A with Bill Powers

[JD400]

I Went Mining For 12 Hours & Made $____?

Jul 6, 2024
Join me as I spend 12 hours mining inside Cerro Gordo's Union Mine!

The miners back in the day would get paid $3/day for an above ground shift and $4 a day for an underground shift. A day would be a 12 hour shift.

So in this video, I'm going to do the same amount of time down in the mine, and see how I do!

[JD400]

Become a Bank Robber-Short a Mining Stock

Beat them to the punch.

Mining stocks are Bankster Playgrounds

[JD400]

Panic short-covering ignites Comex copper as shipments fail to arrive

Reuters | July 5, 2024 | 9:31 am Markets USA Copper
CME cobalt contract use soars above LME as big players join
Credit: CME Group

Comex copper futures surged on Friday as some players bought back bearish, or short, positions to reduce their exposure due to expected shipments of copper failing to arrive in the United States, traders and analysts said.


A frenzied rally based on speculative buying sent copper futures on both Comex and the London Metal Exchange (LME) to record peaks in May, partly due to a short squeeze on Comex

Since then copper prices have slid, partly due to expectations that shipments of material would arrive in the United States allowing the cover of exposed short positions.


Short positions can be bets on lower prices or producers hedging their output. A short squeeze occurs when parties holding such positions are forced to buy them back at a loss or deliver physical copper to close them out.

“Some participants cannot stomach the volatility and there is certainly some panic covering to avoid the moves we saw last time around,” a trader said.

“But if anything the situation could potentially be more volatile due to the lack of usual participants.”

The Comex buying has led to a wide spread or arbitrage between prices on the two exchanges, with the Comex premium doubling to more than $300 a metric ton over the past two days.

August futures on Comex on Friday climbed to a five-week high of $4.6965 a pound or $10,354 a metric ton and was up 2.5% at 1500 GMT. The market hit a record of $5.1015 a pound on May 21.

That compares to an intraday peak of LME three month copper of $10,000 and a gain of 0.7%.

“Inventory that was supposed to come to the US clearly hasn’t arrived,” said Dan Smith, head of research at Amalgamated Metal Trading.


It was unclear what was causing the delay in shipments to the United States.

The lack of shipments is evident in copper inventories in CME warehouses, which have tumbled 71% since late March to 8,947 tons, the lowest since 2008, data shows.

“People have already been burned on this once, so they’re much more cautious now, but we’re all a bit nervous it’s going to blow out again,” Smith added.

During the May short squeeze commodity traders Trafigura and IXM were looking to buy physical copper to deliver against large short positions, but it was unclear which participants were covering positions at the moment.

Comex is owned by the CME Group while the LME is owned by owned by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd.

(By Eric Onstad; Editing by Veronica Brown and David Evans)

https://www.mining.com/web/panic-short-covering-ignites-comex-copper-as-shipments-fail-to-arrive/

Bon Jovi - Runaway HQ

[JD400]

Ross Norman: Gold is defying gravity

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-07-02 19:12 Section: Daily Dispatches
7:13p ET Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Ross Norman, former proprietor of London bullion dealer Sharps Pixley, now CEO of Metals Daily, writes today that the price of gold has been rising not because of genuine physical demand but because of options buying on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

Norman writes: "The initial effect on spot gold -- intended or not -- was to bring about a 'gamma squeeze.' The Chinese buying gold calls (on the expectation prices would rise) leaves the other side to the trade (bullion banks) temporarily short (gamma) or gold and vulnerable to a rise in prices.

"Typically on granting those calls the bullion banks would purchase the equivalent to about half their exposure. Problem is, if these positions are sufficiently large, then their buying/hedging itself drives gold prices higher and so they have to purchase more gold to more fully hedge themselves as gold moves towards the strike price -- which pushes prices higher again, and so on.

"You become trapped in a self-fueling cycle that pushes gold onto an entirely new orbit divorced from its fundamentals ... or even reality. This might also explain why gold is yo-yo-ing in a range well above what most investors would consider 'fair value' ... while physical demand is through the floor.

"In short, gold is defying gravity."

Norman's analysis is headlined "Gold Price -- Out of This World?" and it's posted at Metals Daily here:

https://www.metalsdaily.com/archive/ross-norman-gold-price-out-of-this-world-/356660

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
[e-mail]

https://www.gata.org/node/23277

Independence Day

[JD400]

Choosing Mining Stocks Through The Eyes Of The Beer-holder

So many choices !

MARKET MOVERS
COMPANY CHANGE LAST TRADE
Franco-Nevada 3.97 2.44 $167.00
Agnico Eagle Mines 3.55 3.95 $93.32
Royal Gold 3.08 2.44 $129.43
Wheaton Precious Metals 2.49 3.46 $74.42
Freeport-McMoRan 1.94 3.98 $50.65
Newmont 1.74 4.17 $43.45
Pan American Silver 1.34 4.92 $28.55
Endeavour Mining 1.23 4.25 $30.17
Ivanhoe Mines 0.97 5.46 $18.72
Eldorado Gold 0.94 4.64 $21.20
Lundin Mining 0.88 5.88 $15.84
McEwen Mining 0.85 6.84 $13.27
Ero Copper 0.81 2.72 $30.57
Piedmont Lithium 0.80 8.38 $10.35
Cameco 0.80 1.18 $68.77


HIGH VOLUME
COMPANY VOLUME LAST TRADE
Fission Uranium 9,249,507 $1.25
Clean Air Metals 3,088,100 $0.03
Victoria Gold 2,890,065 $0.88
Uranium Energy 2,516,864 $6.03
B2Gold 2,401,888 $3.76
Goldstorm Metals 2,124,268 $0.10
First Quantum Minerals 1,969,061 $19.16
Ivanhoe Mines 1,949,374 $18.72
Kinross Gold 1,862,593 $11.28
Fortuna Mining 1,756,092 $7.04
Calibre Mining 1,740,652 $1.94
Reunion Gold 1,586,510 $0.68
Cornish Metals 1,560,000 $0.10
SLAM Exploration 1,449,266 $0.04

[JD400]

Copper price extends rebound on hopes for US rate cuts, China stimulus

Bloomberg News | July 2, 2024 | 7:14 am Markets China Copper
Copper price slides as China vows to keep economy within 'reasonable range'
Stock Image
Copper rose for a third day, extending its rebound from a two-month low, as investors weighed possible stimulus measures in China and interest-rate cuts in the US.


Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday said the latest economic data suggest inflation is getting back on a downward path. Still, he cautioned that officials would like to see more evidence before lowering borrowing costs and declined to give any specific guidance on the timeline for cuts.


Copper has also been supported by hopes of some boost to growth from China’s Third Plenum policy meeting later this month, the Chaos Ternary Research Institute said.

Expanding global inventories and weak Chinese demand helped pull copper prices down from a record of more than $11,100 a ton set in May.

The metal’s nudge higher comes alongside a recent jump in withdrawals from London Metal Exchange warehouses in Gwangyang, South Korea.

Copper gained 0.7% to $9,701 a ton by 3:45 p.m. on the LME. Other base metals were mixed, with nickel edging lower and aluminum rising slightly.

https://www.mining.com/web/copper-price-extends-rebound-on-hopes-for-china-stimulus-us-rate-cuts/

The Traveling Wilburys - End Of The Line (Official Video)

[JD400]

And now a word from former queen Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

I was curious what her take on President Javier Milei new plan for Argentina was.
So here it is, Quite the contrast and some interesting points of view.

CFK: The Libertarians' zero deficit is a fabrication
Monday, July 1st 2024 -

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-2015 / CFK) said during an interview on the internet streaming channel Gelatina outside mainstream media that the Liberal administration's “fiscal surplus is increasingly trumped up.”

Hence, what President Javier Milei and Economy Minister Luis Toto Caputo boast as a milestone achievement would be nothing short of a fabrication. “The fiscal surplus is more and more a fraud,” CFK stressed in her first appearance after the parliamentarian passing of the so-called Bases Law around which the ruling party's economic plan is said to hinge.

“The energy companies are asking to be paid and the provinces are not paying anything, zero pesos; they do not buy food; they do not buy medicines; they suspended 3,000 public works and, therefore, their payment, so it is trumped up, but besides being trumped up, it is unsustainable,” CFK argued about Milei's government.

The incumbent President “is only supported by capital, because he proposes unusual things, which would not be working,” CFK also explained when addressing the so-called Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI) with which Milei intends to lure large-size investors (mostly from abroad) at the expense of local SMEs. However, CFK made it clear that she did not want Milei's plan “to fail” but insisted corrections were needed. It remained to be seen whether they would be implemented by Milei or by somebody else.

Regarding Milei's foreign policy, CFK stressed that “we cannot continue thinking that the threat is communism, because you seem dissociated from reality. I hope facts will prevail.” Milei is clinging to “a world that no longer exists,” CFK pointed out.

In CFK's view, Argentina's main problem is not the deficit, but “the lack of dollars and indebtedness.” And with the RIGI no dollars will be arriving shortly besides those the agricultural sector might provide. “The only one who thinks that the problem is the deficit is the President,” the populist leader who also completed a term as Vice President on Dec. 9, 2023, under Alberto Fernández, also told interviewer Pedro Rosemblat.

“The market knows how to add up and knows that there are zero dollars. The problem is the shortage and the debt.

The maturities that are coming...,”

she added while noting that the lack of dollars is not compensated with the surplus Milei repeatedly highlights.

“At times when the tectonic plates of currencies begin to move, people go to gold as a sure thing. In that world, we cannot continue thinking that the threat is communism, because you seem dissociated from reality. The facts will force us to get in touch with reality,” CFK also forecasted. The BRICS (the multinational group Argentina refused to join under Milei after being invited to during the previous administration) “is going to start leaving the dollar and the Arabs are already trading without dollars,” CFK also noted.

https://en.mercopress.com/2024/07/01/cfk-the-libertarians-zero-deficit-is-a-fabrication

Mountain ~ Mississippi Queen (remaster)

[JD400]

Futures market's rigging of silver prices explained by Steer to Finance and Liberty
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2024-06-28 21:55 Section: Daily Dispatches
9:53p ET Friday, June 28, 2024

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):

Dunagun Kaiser of the Liberty and Finance channel at YouTube today interviewed GATA board member Ed Steer, proprietor of Ed Steer's Gold and Silver Digest, to get an description of how the silver futures market in New York is used to control the monetary metal's price by trading banks working in collusion.
They also discuss the resentment developing worldwide about the control of the international financial system by the United States and the resulting moves away from the U.S. dollar.

The discussion begins with Steer's recollection of silver market analyst and market-rigging opponent Ted Butler, with whom Steer worked closely for years.

The interview is 48 minutes long and can be heard at YouTube here:

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
[e-mail]

[JD400]

McEwen Copper

......Go $MUX..............
..........Go Green....................
..............Go McEwen Copper..........

[JD400]

Golden Nugget

Friday, 6/28/2024 09:01
So much smarter than the other gold bugs...

GOLD is misunderstood, but the misunderstanding extends to those critical of others for misunderstanding it, writes Gary Tanashian in his Notes from the Rabbit Hole.

Because in Wonderland what is, it wouldn't be.

The subject of this post has been made anonymous, as I've decided to release it to a wider audience. Said subject anonymized those he was critical of and so, turnabout is fair play.

Elliott Wave technical analyst Mr.Anonymous (Mr.A) has an article explaining his view of why gold is misunderstood by analysts that claim it is a hedge against inflation and a hedge against stock market weakness. On the surface, he is correct. You cannot argue with facts and the facts are that gold has been a less than stellar inflation hedge (under certain inflationary circumstances) and it did go down significantly during Armageddon '08 and the 2020 pandemic crash.

As noted more times than I care to remember, there are far better hedges against inflation than gold when the inflation manufactured by policymakers is working, albeit temporarily, in support of the economy. Mr.A is also correct in noting that gold went down in the market crash of 2008 and the lesser crash in 2020.

So what is my beef here?

Well, we have yet another analyst discussing gold as if it were simply an asset among other assets, focusing on its nominal performance rather than its long-term value and importantly, its relative value when marked up or marked down, as the anti-bubble to most other asset markets, which have been sustained for decades now by a bubble in aggressive and inflationary policy-making.

It is a bubble that I believe has ended, although it doesn't consciously know it yet, with policy-propped asset markets now little more dead men walking. That assertion is based on several macro indicators I use, but none are more visually striking than the decades long trend break in the 30-year Treasury yield Continuum.



Among other things, that trend break implies that the ease with which policymakers were able to inflate the system at every crisis or even hint of crisis is a thing of the past. The sedate bond market signaling gentle disinflation gave license to inflationary policy at every sharp downward turn of the Continuum. That ease and simplicity is history now, and hence the odds have increased that the bubble is done (although still stumbling forward trying to make its way to or through the US presidential election with several fiscal initiatives beyond the scope of this article in play).

But here is the key point: Gold is the anti-bubble. Its positive correlation with bubble beneficiary markets since it ended its post-2020 corrective phase in Q4, 2022 is one of two things: cause for concern about the nominal gold price when stock markets take the next bear, or the beginning of the new macro as gold looks ahead to the obvious end of the policy-induced bubble. When stock markets take the bear, I would not bet on gold merrily going up. So there again, on the surface Mr. A is correct. However, it sure as shootin’ will outperform.

Let’s take a few quotes and rebut, shall we?

I do not have to go back terribly far in history to prove this premise as being an outright falsehood. First, let’s start with early 2020. As the SPX proceeded to crash during the Covid outbreak, did gold rally? Nope. Did gold at least remain stagnant? Nope. In fact, gold proceeded to drop by 15% during that time. Silver was even worse as it lost almost 40% of its value during that same timeframe.

Now, if you are still not convinced, well, let’s go back a bit further to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. Again, did gold rally during this financial upheaval during which the perceived “safety” of gold was sorely needed? Nope. Did gold at least remain stagnant? Nope. Gold lost 30% of its value, which clearly outlined that you cannot rely upon gold as a hedge against stock market upheaval. And, again, silver was much worse as it lost 60% of its value during this time.

Gold got hammered during Armageddon ’08 (which for stocks, actually extended to Q1, 2009), but in relative terms it rose strongly vs. SPX and rocketed higher vs. cyclical commodities like oil and base metals. It then went on to out and under perform periodically as cyclical inflation manifested out of the 2008 policy panic and subsequent years of Zero Interest Rate Policy (the financial blight known as ZIRP).



Gold is not supposed to rally in nominal terms during crises. It is supposed to retain relative value. Here is what gold did in relative terms to SPX during that crisis. After its relatively moderate nominal decline, gold led most markets out of the abyss before the inflationary bailout operations of central banks and governments set it up for a long correction as cyclical markets regained footing. That was as it should be for the anti-bubble.

As for silver, it is not gold. I don’t know why it is even included in this conversation. Silver is even further from an effective disaster hedge than gold, as it has more cyclical industrial qualities than gold (although it can be a better inflation hedge).

But, clearly, history did not teach this lesson to everyone, as many completely ignored what occurred during this timeframe, and again expected gold to save them during the Covid crisis. And, the many that have still not learned this lesson now come back to prognosticate that gold will provide safety in the event the stock market turns down.

What is most interesting is that most of these same folks also maintain a world view that gold will not rally alongside the equity market. In fact, I just read another article which outlined this erroneous commonly held view, and claim surprise when it does rally alongside the equity market.

The point with gold is its relative performance. Nominally, it is going to go up or down as the prevailing winds and varied macro inputs (economic, policy both monetary and fiscal, inflation/deflation, disinflation, psychological/sentiment, etc.) dictate. But the big picture macro is what is important. Where has it been? Where is it going? What is it indicating? As for the “surprise” of gold being correlated with asset markets lately, it is already noted above that gold is either being set up for price pressure when a broad bear market ensues or it is diverging to indicate the new macro.

Mr. A goes on to discuss what I have harped upon for many years, that gold is not usually an effective inflation hedge, at least during the pro-cyclical previous several decades. Let’s not dig that up again. Anyone who bothered to look beyond the standard gold bug dogma already knows that. Let’s however, rebut one final point.

My friends, at some point, one has to open their eyes and look at markets objectively. Gold is not driven by inflation. Nor is it driven by deflation. Nor is it driven by the dollar. Nor does it fall when the equity market rallies or vice versa. Gold is driven by market sentiment. And, it is the only constant in the gold market which allows one to maintain an objective perspective on the price trend in gold, and be able to prognosticate that trend in any reliable and consistent manner.

Gold’s case should not be simplified to only sentiment unless we are discussing the very big macro picture. While sentiment is an important tool in managing an inherently emotional sector like the precious metals, it is far from the only consideration. Mr. A is writing in linear fashion, as if the decades of the Continuum’s downtrend were still intact. The gold market going forward will respond to policy initiatives and constraints, economic acceleration or more likely in the few years ahead, deceleration. Gold market sentiment is a knock on effect of what is already happening. That is what sentiment is, a tail chasing the dog. The dog being macro fundamentals and technicals.

Notice I did not mention war, pestilence (the hard post-pandemic correction for gold was in the bag by mid-2020 due to damaging hype), China/India buying or any of the other common themes put forth as fundamentals for gold? Boiling it down, gold is about policy and sentiment. Aside from being a very long-term holder of real monetary value gold is a barometer to mass confidence or lack thereof in policymakers in government and finance trying to regulate the economy and associated markets to desired and by definition, manipulated ends.

So yes, gold is about sentiment. But it is about big picture sentiment on a societal level. That is why a significant change in the long-term macro is so important. It is going to feed sentiment on a mass scale in the years ahead. My rebuttal seeks to add layers and detail to another analyst’s opinion, rather than express outright criticism.

https://www.bullionvault.com/gold-news/history/gold-inflation-stock-market-hedge-062820241

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower (Official Audio)

[JD400]

Tour This OLD 40-Room MINING HOTEL Turned PRIVATE HOME! The Little Daisy in Jerome, Arizona!


Take a tour of this old, 40-room mining hotel turned private home! The Little Daisy was built in 1919 in Jerome, Arizona to house miners. Eventually, it fell into disrepair and was stripped down to a concrete shell. The Acker's purchased the property in the 1990's and rebuilt it using the original blueprints. Now, the hotel-turned-house features 12,000 square feet of indoor living space, a 2,900-square-foot wraparound porch, a 9,000-square-foot rooftop garden and a 2,600-square-foot garage. An iconic piece of Arizona history has new life!

[JD400]

McEwen Copper makes share offer of $70 million to advance Los Azules
Staff Writer | June 25, 2024 | 10:55 am Exploration Markets Canada Latin America Copper

McEwen Copper, a wholly owned subsidiary of McEwen Mining (TSX: MUX; NYSE: MUX), is making a $70 million private placement. Proceeds will be used to advance McEwen’s Los Azules copper project in the San Juan province of Argentina.


Common shares are being offered at $30 per share. McEwen mining has agreed to purchase 466,667 shares for $14 million, and company chair and chief owner Rob McEwen will purchase 166,666 shares for $5 million. The remaining 1.7 million shares are available to qualified investors subject to a $2 million commitment.

The 100%-owned Los Azules property is located 80 km west-northwest of the town of Calingasta and 6 km east of the border with Chile at an elevation of 3,500 metres in the Andes Mountains.

Current copper resources are 10.9 billion lb. in ore that grades 0.40% copper in the indicated category and 26.7 billion lb. in material averaging 0.31% copper in the inferred category.

These numbers come from the preliminary economic assessment of June 2023. It estimated a $2.7 billion after-tax net present value with an 8% discount at a copper price of $3.75/lb. The mine would have a 27-year life. Total production is anticipated to be 322 million lb. of copper in cathodes.

McEwen is currently working on a bankable feasibility study for Los Azules, and it is due by the end of the first quarter 2025. The project will be a heap leach operation, with no tailings, to be powered by 100% renewable energy. It is expected to reach carbon neutrality by 2038.

https://www.mining.com/mcewen-copper-makes-share-offer-of-70-million-to-advance-los-azules/

Tom Petty ~ Runnin' Down A Dream (remaster)

$MUX

[JD400]

Bitcoin Mining Stocks Are Making A Big Mistake...

There has been a big push into AI and HPC data center capacity for Bitcoin mining stocks. Lots of investors are feeling the buzz, but I'm a bit more skeptical. Here's why!

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Friedland, McEwen back Power Nickel’s “oversubscribed” $15m funding

Cecilia Jamasmie | June 24, 2024 | 3:39 am Battery Metals Canada Cobalt Copper Nickel Palladium

Canadian explorer Power Nickel (TSX-V: PNPN) has closed its recent C$20 million ($15m) “oversubscribed” financing round, backed by well-known personalities including billionaire investor Robert Friedland and mining veteran Rob McEwen.

The Toronto-based junior said the funds will be use to expand exploration on its 80%-owned NISK property in Quebec, adding it hopes to take advantage of Canada’s federal tax credit for critical mineral exploration.

Power Nickel, which entered the project in 2021, noted it plans to deploy additional drilling rigs and advance exploration over the summer.

NISK, in Quebec’s James Bay region, is expected to become Canada’s first carbon-neutral nickel mine by using carbon capture and hydroelectric power.

The company has partnered with Australia-based Fleet Space Technologies to use ambient noise tomography to explore for nickel. The method uses satellites and hand-held devices to capture background vibrations and develop 3D images of the subsurface down to 2 km in depth.

Historic nickel source

Inco, now a part of Vale (NYSE: VALE), discovered nickel on the area in 1962. Golden Goose Resources produced a historical resource for NISK in 2008 of 2 million measured and indicated tonnes and 783,000 inferred tonnes. Critical Elements Lithium (TXS-V: CRE) bought the site in 2014, but little work was done.

NISK holds 4.9 million indicated tonnes underground grading 0.78% nickel, 0.05% cobalt, 0.42% copper, 0.78 gram palladium per tonne for 38,300 tonnes nickel, 2,400 tonnes cobalt, 20,500 tonnes copper and 123,100 tonnes palladium, according to a recent filing from Power Nickel.

Open pit resources total 519,000 indicated tonnes at 0.63% nickel, 0.04% cobalt, 0.3% copper and 0.56 gram palladium for 3,300 tonnes nickel, 200 tonnes cobalt, 1,600 tonnes copper and 9,400 tonnes palladium.

Shares in Power Nickel have soared 267% so far this year, with most of the growth experienced since April 15, when it reported initial drill results. The stock gained 23 Canadian cents on Friday, closing at C$0.88, which gives the company a market value of C$150 million ($109m).

Power Nickel also owns significant land packages in Canada’s British Colombia and Chile.

https://www.mining.com/friedland-mcewen-back-power-nickels-oversubscribed-15m-funding/

[JD400]

The company has news out today

The Miner

Fox Complex: Extending Mine Life; A New Mine at the Stock Property; Exploration Has Driven the Prospect of Earlier Cash Flow
June 20, 2024
Download this Press Release PDF Format (opens in new window)
TORONTO, June 20th, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) is pleased to report on the progress at the Fox Complex, where we are advancing a new mine on the Stock Property. Production is planned to start in the second half of 2025. Pre-construction activities of the Stock portal have commenced, which will allow access to mining of the three gold zones, West, Main and East. In addition, the portal will provide cost-effective underground drill platforms to enable testing for expected depth extensions of these three zones. Recent exploration resulted in a 29% increase in the estimated gold resources for Stock’s East Zone. The Fox Complex is comprised of several properties, including Stock, and has Measured and Indicated gold resources of 1,905,000 ounces at average grade of 4.20 g/t Au and Inferred gold resources of 549,000 ounces at average grade of 3.60 g/t Au.

continues https://www.mcewenmining.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/Fox-Complex-Extending-Mine-Life-A-New-Mine-at-the-Stock-Property-Exploration-Has-Driven-the-Prospect-of-Earlier-Cash-Flow/default.aspx

The Bank

Options expiration ‘triple witching’ and index rebalancing could create volatility Friday
Some mechanical deadlines in the stock market could give Friday’s trading an extra jolt of volatility.

June 21 is this quarter’s so-called “triple witching,” when stock futures and index options contracts expire on the same day as many highly traded individual stock options.

Triple witching can sometimes lead to abnormally high volatility as traders try to close out their options positions.

Friday is also the final day before the rebalance of many indexes followed by major funds takes effect. That includes CrowdStrike
joining the S&P 500, and a big shift in the weights of Nvidia
and Apple
in the Technology Select Sector Index. One ETF will need to acquire more than $10 billion worth of Nvidia to align with the new index weights.

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/20/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Witchy Woman (2013 Remaster)

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Scum Bag Bankster of the Day

US-based Capital Group sells Fortescue shares worth $489 million

Reuters | June 19, 2024 | 7:30 am Top Companies Africa Iron Ore
Fortescue founder and executive chairman, Andrew Forrest. (Image by the World Economic Forum, Flickr)
US-based investment management firm Capital Group Companies has sold shares worth A$733.9 million ($488.78 million) in Australian miner Fortescue, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday.


The announcement came after the Australian Financial Review reported on Tuesday that an institutional investor had sold off a A$1.1 billion stake in billionaire Andrew Forrest-led Fortescue after the close of trade on Monday.


Capital Group Companies and affiliated entities pressed sell on 31.6 million shares in the miner on Friday, the filing showed.

The price at which the shares were sold is not clear. However, they are estimated to be worth about A$733.9 million based on Fortescue’s Friday close of A$23.2.

Capital Group declined to comment on the sale price and the rationale behind the sale when Reuters contacted.

Shares of the world’s fourth-largest iron ore miner have fallen nearly 25% so far this year, given weakening iron ore prices amid subdued demand in top steelmaker China.

Fortescue has also seen a high turnover of senior management amid a push to turn itself into a green energy company.

($1 = 1.5015 Australian dollars)

(By Roushni Nair and John Biju; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

https://www.mining.com/web/us-based-capital-group-sells-fortescue-shares-worth-489-million/

The Entire Mining Sector is being Killed by Banks !

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SP500 & Nasdaq Reached Record Highs Today

Positive session on Wall Street today propelled the S&P 500
higher by nearly 0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite
finished with a gain of almost 1%. Both indexes reached all-time highs during the session and closed at records. The 30-stock Dow
advanced about 0.5% to end four days of losses.

“Investors are basically feeling the trend is my friend until it ends,”

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/17/stock-market-today-live-updates.html

Where are you $MUX ?????????????????????

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Russian Economy COLLAPSING After Banks Start Closing; MAJOR Crisis | Breaking News With The Enforcer

Jun 13, 2024
Today, we learn that Russia is experiencing an unprecedented banking collapse after thousands of Russians try to withdraw their money causing banks to close. The Russian stock market has entered an economic freefall following the new US sanctions on the Moscow Stock Exchange. We also learned that a U.S. Nuclear Submarine has arrived in Cuba to meet the Russian flotilla which is currently docked in Havana Port. We also heard that the United States signed a new security agreement with Ukraine to ensure their national defense. Finally, we also heard that Russia has begun installing temporary air-raid shelters in Belgorod due to a massive uptick in Ukrainian attacks on the Russian mainland. Please like and subscribe for more daily war updates!

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Russian Bombers DESTROYED, Moscow Stock Exchange SHUTS DOWN | Breaking News With The Enforcer

Looks like Russia bout to bug out. Their stock market did'n't even open today. Don't know what this will do for metal markets.

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The MiningNewsWire Podcast featuring McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX) Chairman Rob McEwen

The latest episode features Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner of McEwen Mining Inc. (NYSE: MUX) (TSX: MUX), which is an asset rich diversified gold and silver producer in the Americas with a large exposure to copper through its McEwen Copper subsidiary.

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Inside Job (2010 Full Documentary Movie)

Dec 20, 2020
Inside Job is a 2010 American documentary film, directed by Charles Ferguson, about the late 2000s financial crisis.

The global financial meltdown that took place in Fall of 2008 caused millions of job and home losses and plunged the United States into a deep economic recession.

This documentary provides a detailed examination of the elements that led to the collapse and identifies key financial and political players.

Director Charles Ferguson conducts a wide range of interviews and traces the story from the United States to China to Iceland to several other global financial hot spots.

Ferguson, who began researching in 2008, says the film is about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy, environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.

Timestamps

0:00 - Deregulation in Iceland and privatization of banks
12:05 - Part I - How We Got Here
31:02 - Part II - The Bubble (2001-2007)
57:04 - Part III - The Crisis
1:17:23 - Part IV - Accountability
1:33:33 - Part V - Where Are We Now

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Become a Nudist Stop Mining !

Rob explains well how his own institutional bank investors ruined the face of mining through price manipulation but of course can't admit it.

traders have become numb to the bankster

Mining CEO's are Hog-Tied' to their institutions who control their stock.

MCEWEN MINING | RCTV Interview at SME New York 2024
May 28, 2024
Rob McEwen, Chair and Chief Owner, McEwen Mining joined RCTV live from the floor at SME's Current Trends in Mining Conference in New York City with host, Mark Bunting to address the most recent events, the company's shares, which have increased by 34% in the last year, and the all-time high in gold.
see next post

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$MUX MCEWEN MINING | RCTV Interview at SME New York 2024

Hi guys, back from vacation ☺️

MCEWEN MINING | RCTV Interview at SME New York 2024
May 28, 2024
Rob McEwen, Chair and Chief Owner, McEwen Mining joined RCTV live from the floor at SME's Current Trends in Mining Conference in New York City with host, Mark Bunting to address the most recent events, the company's shares, which have increased by 34% in the last year, and the all-time high in gold.

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Hey man good to see you and everybody. My vacation is ending so I'll be back reporting.

That Alaska crisp cool water sounds pretty good our 110s temps have arrived here in the desert old pueblo,

I see copper trying to find itself and golds completely discombobulated trying to hang on to it's recent highs.

Although your link did not work for me I hope you guys are getting a good recovery up there 🙂

Column: Funds keep faith with copper even as squeeze fades

Reuters | June 4, 2024 | 9:46 am Intelligence Markets Europe USA Copper

The vicious squeeze on the CME copper contract appears to have largely passed but fund managers are sticking with their bullish convictions on both US and London markets.


There has been some light profit-taking as the price has retreated from last month’s record highs but fund long positioning remains elevated both on the CME and London Metal Exchange (LME).

The money surge into copper is part and parcel of a broader rotation of funds into the base metals sector but copper’s super-charged rally to a CME peak of 5.20 cents per lb and an LME high of $11,404.50 per ton has made it the star attraction.

However, Doctor Copper’s new investor friends may find their bullish resolve tested in the days ahead.

With the short-covering momentum on the CME contract now abating, fund longs are left waiting for fundamentals to catch up with their price expectations.
Fund positioning on the CME copper contract

Long and strong

Fund managers trimmed their long positions on the CME copper contract by 7.4% over the week to May 28, according to the latest Commitments of Traders Report (COTR).

However, bets on higher prices amounted to a hefty 128,344 contracts, which is still the largest bull commitment since January 2018.

The net collective long position is lower at 63,787 contracts. There has been no short capitulation. Indeed outright money manager short positions edged up by 2.0% to 64,557 contracts.

However, it’s clear that the bulk of the recent investment flow remains sitting on the long side of the market.

The situation is similar in London, where the record investment long position shrank only marginally in the week to May 20. At 105,262 contracts, it is still by some margin higher than anything seen since the LME launched its own COTR in 2018.

Squeeze dissipates

The upwards price momentum has faded as the CME squeeze has steadily dissipated, LME three-month metal currently consolidating just above the $10,000 level.

There remain pockets of tightness across nearby CME time-spreads but the immediate panic appears to be over and the cash premium over the London contract has shrunk from over $1,000 per ton in the middle of May to around $250.

Short positions have either been covered or rolled with a view to delivering physical copper.

The explosion in the arbitrage with the LME is expected to draw metal to CME warehouses in the United States.

Some 100,000 tons of copper are reported to be on their way, although nothing has yet arrived.

CME registered stocks fell another 2,256 short tons last week to a six-month low of 16,607 tons.


Chinese glut

Outside of the United States, though, copper stocks have been building.

LME headline inventory has edged up from an early-May low of 103,100 tons to a current 116,000 tons. The ratio of metal awaiting physical load-out has shrunk from 20% at the start of May to just 5%, or 6,025 tons.

The stocks build in China has been more pronounced.

Shanghai Futures Exchange warehouses hold 321,695 tons of copper, the most since April 2020.

This year has seen the usual seasonal surge around the Chinese New Year holidays but not the usual post-holiday decline. Stocks have simply continued climbing, up another 20,731 tons over the course of last week.

Local data provider Shanghai Metal Market estimates bonded warehouse stocks have also risen from under 10,000 tons at the start of the year to 76,000 tons.

Clearly, no-one is short of copper in China right now.

Waiting game

Copper’s recent rally to all-time highs has been accompanied by a profusion of headlines about the lack of supply growth relative to strong energy-transition demand.

The bull narrative has spread far beyond the closeted world of industrial metal traders to the retail investment crowd.

Fear of missing out has played its part in the buying frenzy and it’s understandable given the ever higher price forecasts being bandied around.

Hedge fund manager Pierre Andurand has grabbed the super-bull crown, telling the Financial Times he expects copper to nearly quadruple in price to $40,000 over the coming years.

It’s worth stressing the extended time-frame around that prediction because right now copper dynamics don’t look quite so bullish.

The extent of the stocks build in China is a major discrepancy in copper’s bull narrative.

The country is the world’s largest buyer of the metal but shows every sign of entering a de-stocking cycle in response to the recent price surge and still-stuttering demand.

Bullish fund managers may face a tense wait for supply-chain reality to catch up with copper’s elevated price.

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Andy Home, a columnist for Reuters.)

(Editing by David Evans)

https://www.mining.com/web/funds-keep-faith-with-copper-even-as-squeeze-fades/

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A Brutal 4 Day Hike Into California’s Lost Mining Towns

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jd400 cold start

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15 year weekly gold and silver charts

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Silver $32.72 HOY

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AG $31.84~

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Argentina power supplier Central Puerto eyes stake in McEwen’s copper project
Bloomberg | May 6, 2024 | 6:47 am Latin America Copper
Two of McEwen Mining top execs step down

Central Puerto SA, Argentina’s biggest power supplier, is in talks to invest in Canadian miner McEwen Copper Inc.’s Los Azules project, according to people familiar with the matter.


After recently signing a deal for a stake in the Diablillos silver-gold project in Salta province, Central Puerto is committed to getting involved in a second mining venture, according to one person, who like others didn’t want to be named discussing private negotiations. The company is eyeing Los Azules as well as other gold and silver sites.

Los Azules, in San Juan province, is one of several Argentine copper projects in different stages of development that could turn the country into a major supplier of the wiring metal in a decade. McEwen wants to start construction of its open pit in 2026, but first it is seeking a capital injection of $130 million to keep exploration work on track.

Billionaire Eduardo Eurnekian’s group, Corporacion America SA, has also been looking at Los Azules, according to people familiar.

Central Puerto produced 15% of all of Argentina’s electricity last year, more than any other company, according to its annual report. It continues to spend on new power plants, but has also been diversifying its commodities portfolio with investments in forestry and, now, mining. About 27% of the company is owned by a handful of wealthy Argentines — Guillermo Pablo Reca and Eduardo Jose Escasany, from the banking industry, and the Miguens Bemberg family led by Carlos Jose Miguens, who already has mining interests.

The power supplier’s incursion into mining comes amid a broader push by local outfits. Recent investment activity by Argentines includes real-estate mogul Eduardo Elsztain’s purchase last month of a stake in a gold project; Jose Luis Manzano’s winning offer to revive a former Vale SA potash site, a tender in which Corporacion America also bid; and moves into lithium by three national oil drillers.

Argentina shares vast mineral resources in the Andes with Chile, the world’s biggest copper exporter. But a mix of unpredictable politics and environmental opposition has prevented Argentina from unearthing many resources on its side of the mountains.

President Javier Milei, who took office in December on a platform to open up business, is seeking legislative approval for tax, currency and customs benefits for big, long-term investments like mining projects. Milei also wanted to scale back protections for glaciers, which impede some exploration in the Andes, but scrapped the plans as part of a bid to make his aggressive reforms more palatable.
https://www.mining.com/web/argentina-power-supplier-central-puerto-eyes-stake-in-mcewens-copper-project/

https://www.mining.com/two-of-mcewen-mining-top-execs-step-down/

with GYS Sound

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The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman and the Banker

with MMGYS soundtrack

An American investment banker was taking a much-needed vacation in a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. The boat had several large, fresh fish in it.

The investment banker was impressed by the quality of the fish and asked the Mexican how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”

The banker then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican fisherman replied he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The American then asked “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman replied, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos: I have a full and busy life, señor.”

The investment banker scoffed, “I am an Ivy League MBA, and I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats until eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to the middleman you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You could control the product, processing and distribution.”

Then he added, “Of course, you would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City where you would run your growing enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then?” asked the Mexican.

The American laughed and said, “That's the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You could make millions.”

“Millions, señor? Then what?”

To which the investment banker replied, “Then you would retire. You could move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

https://www.financialmentor.com/true-wealth/the-parable-of-the-mexican-fisherman-and-investment-banker/2422

Cinco De Mayo- WAR