They’ve knocked us back below $37. Gold down $10. Probably because they’re hitting plat and pall. Still, unless they really take us to the woodshed today it’s been a good week.

We’ll see how they react to the eco data in a couple hours.

There was another reason for the SFr being so strong…banking secrecy….once you opened an account , there was no way anyone could find out what was in it…including tax authorities. So anyone with serious cash, had a good chunk in Switzerland…..and not too many…like no questions were asked as to where it came from/was made etc……

That was all destroyed after 9/11, when the US demanded, they open up accounts and stopped opening new ones….

Silver all the rage this morning, up $.47 and sitting at $37.08. Gold is flat. Hopefully this is the big break we’ve been waiting for in silver and new highs are on the way. I doubt it because they always fight silver tooth and nail, but ya never know, maybe we’ll breach and never look back.

SM up a little. Dollar flat. Rates down 3 bips. Bitcoin up another 1/2% after a huge day yesterday. Oil down near 1%

PM shares are mixed, but they hardly trade at this early hour.

A ton of eco data today that could change everything though. Looks like the jobs report will come out a day early because of the holiday tomorrow. Also have weekly jobs and ISM and PMI services. Do we get the usual jobs report beatdown is the question.

A self-winding calendar watch , stainless steel case , for $35 , brand new . I still have it somewhere in a drawer , I think .

The same watch today sells for $5600.00 … 160 X , WOW !

At that time , the US dollar was a silver certificate and could be exchanged at US banks for a silver dollar .

A US dollar also bought four Swiss francs , almost exactly .

Later , in 1974 , a grandmotherly friend from Yverdon CH where I had lived twelve years earlier visited her brother in Montreal and took the train to visit my family and see my newborn son a couple of hours from Montreal . She was complaining that the strong Swiss Franc was making Swiss products too expensive in global markets . That fostered the birth of Japanese watches such as Seiko , displacing Breitling , Rolex , etc.

Now it takes $1.25 to buy a Swiss franc , and that is after the Swiss gov’t has deliberately weakened the CHF .

So you are absolutely correct about the price of gold in CHF . In fact , had the Swiss gov’t not deliberately weakened the CHF , it would not surprise me if the CHF was over 10X what it was in 1962 US$ , not 5X !

I remember Armstrong saying something about gold will go up in earnest when it’s going up everywhere. That still doesn’t negate the fact it can rise even suddenly in individual countries like it did in the 70s here. That just shows you don’t need to be waiting  for others to act or be prepared if for whatever reason it’s happening to your country just because it’s not happening somewhere else. Even around 2008 the Swiss had to peg their currency to the euro because it was going up to a point it was affecting their exports making them too expensive. I remember that because I was watching currencies particularly the Swiss and going to start accumulating the Swiss franc and then they did that.. I bet that caused a bit of upset for anyone who jumped on board just before they slammed on the breaks.

That guy with the golf cart had a clever way to stop and capture vandals. Lol Maybe the police should start using something like that. Some kinda robotics. That wasn’t a personal squabble though. It happened a couple years ago with some out of state wanted nutcase. He was going around vandalizing property for no reason. Tried to tear a door off someone’s car, and others property then that guy’s house with rocks so he was a threat to the whole neighborhood and should of been in a mental facility. After the police got him out from under the golf cart he had more charges from damages to property.

I like their stand your ground laws.

That’s a great question — and it touches on how currency fluctuations and inflation impact the price of gold in different countries.

Short Answer:

Yes, it’s largely true that while gold prices surged in US dollars during the 1970s, the rise was far less dramatic (or even negligible) in Swiss francs (CHF).

Why Did This Happen?

1. Gold and the Dollar in the 1970s

• The U.S. officially abandoned the gold standard in 1971 (Nixon shock), which led to:

  • A collapse in confidence in the U.S. dollar.

  • High inflation in the U.S., especially after the 1973 oil shock.

• Investors rushed to gold as a hedge against inflation, pushing the USD price of gold from $35/oz in 1971 to over $800/oz by 1980.

2. Switzerland’s Situation Was Different

• The Swiss franc was a strong, stable currency with low inflation.

• The Swiss National Bank had conservative monetary policies.

• The Swiss franc appreciated significantly against the U.S. dollar during the 1970s.

As a result:

• While gold surged in dollar terms, the appreciating Swiss franc offset much of that rise for Swiss investors.

• So if you held gold in Swiss francs, the price did not increase nearly as much as it did for those holding it in USD.

Example:

• Gold in USD:

  • 1971: $35/oz

  • 1980: ~$850/oz

  • ~24x increase

• Gold in CHF:

  • The increase was much smaller — closer to 3x to 5x, depending on exchange rates.

Bottom Line:

Yes, during the 1970s gold boom in the U.S., Swiss investors saw much smaller gains in gold prices because:

• The Swiss franc strengthened significantly.

• Swiss inflation was much lower, so gold wasn’t as necessary a hedge.

• Currency effects can dramatically change real returns on commodities like gold.

Let me know if you’d like to see historical charts or data to visualize this.

There used to be a link on KITCO that showed the value of gold’s percent gains in 5 or 6 various currencies, all on one chart. It shows clearly which currency is weaker or stronger against Gold.

Lately I can’t find the link. If any of you know where it is, please post the link to me so I can save it. I used to look at it all the time and suddenly it disappeared.

Re currencies on the futures charts, If I remember right, all prices are in US Dollars. So when people or banks sell the Dollar and it goes down, all the others trend up. Shown below.

https://finviz.com/futures_charts.ashx?t=CURRENCIES&p=d

I liked how he just left the cart on him. It would have been much worse if that driver had stayed in it. He had to weigh a cool 300 lbs. 🙂

Thiel Joins Luckey & Lonsdale To Launch New Bank Aimed At Filling SVB Void For Stablecoins, AI, Defense & Advanced Manufacturing

Thiel Joins Luckey & Lonsdale To Launch New Bank Aimed At Filling SVB Void For Stablecoins, AI, Defense & Advanced Manufacturing | ZeroHedge

A group of high-profile tech investors, including military tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, is preparing to launch a new bank designed to serve the niche left behind by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank — and to do so with ambitions that extend deep into cryptocurrency, defense tech, and artificial intelligence.

One of the bank’s major innovations, and potential regulatory flashpoints, is its plan to become a dominant player in stablecoin transactions, a controversial corner of the cryptocurrency world where digital tokens are pegged to traditional currencies like the U.S. dollar. Erebor’s filing describes its goal as becoming “the most regulated entity conducting and facilitating stablecoin transactions.”

If they are not torchering you like a slave – or shooting you in the head – they’re just not happy.

Chuckle

He may still be physically confined, but the agenda is beginning to collapse.

Dr. Fuellmich opens with sharp criticism of political figures like German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a former BlackRock executive pushing a war agenda to serve financial and defense interests. But that agenda is failing. The public, especially in Germany, aren’t buying it anymore. People don’t want more wars, and they’re not willing to die for the ambitions of corrupt so-called elites. While these parasites pretend to be in control, Dr. Fuellmich says they’re boxed in, trapped in a dead end with no way forward. It’s becoming extremely clear that their approval is collapsing, while their narratives are losing steam.

Dr. Reiner Fuellmich’s Powerful Message From Prison

A weak currency, which is only weak in an historical context to other currencies, means above all else that imports are more expensive, and exports are cheaper. Whether by design or circumstance. Interesting that the 10yr JGB rates went up last night by the same amount as the gilts. The Japs need a lower Yen to counter the cost of tariffs, the Brits are getting a lower pound because of profligacy. The USD should be lower due to excess spending, but it’s the reserve currency – although US bonds rose a bit last night too.

All currencies are weakened over time by printing. Sometimes it is forced on countries, sometimes it’s policy. Either way, they’re all in the same race. The race to zero.

he’s lucky he didn’t end up in the drink! Hope the golf cart wasn’t damaged too much …..

No charges filed!

https://x.com/Ravious101/status/1940515047035621571

Just look on the bottom for the 9/11/01 date. Another time that almost finished those global bankers off was after the USA was forced to remove the Gold backing in 1971.

We all know what happened after that. Dopey/Dollar crashed and caused everything to cost more, and the Fed had to raise rates to 21% in 1980 to save their asses. So they got another 21 years to 2001.

Copper: Postscript Document

Silver: Postscript Document

Gold: Postscript Document

Platinum: Postscript Document

Palladium: Postscript Document

I’m guessing they both mine some platinum and palladium?

How is it that RIO earns $7 a year and pays a $4 dividend, while NEM should earn around $5 and pays out $1?

That whole board on NEM should be fired. They do nothing for their shareholders.

For awhile there it looked as if the shares were going to disappoint again, and waste a solid day in the metals.

treefrog – I don’t think we’ll have to wait too much longer.

I just bought some SBSW to cover them, I also bought more ASM the best performing Silver stock. Its up 132% from April 7th.

I suspect the Federal Reserve which is pro global, does not want to lower rates simply because it would send Gold right past $3500 in a NY minute, and on to new all time highs.

Seeing that Copper Platinum and Palladium are making new highs, they should give Silver a nice boost soon too.

In my opinion, the Fed Res Act of 1913, so the USA can finance wars, and which took away our independence, and gradually weaned our system of Gold and Silver money, and caused the roaring 1920s, which led to the great depression, which then led to WW II Korea Vietnam and other wars along with tons of inflation.

Well in my opinion 9/11/01 has slowly killed the Fed Res Act of 1913.

The big question now is how AU and AG are going to be tomorrow in front of a long weekend. I heard long ago futures players are afraid to hold during week ends.

Both up 5%+ today.

Dog

i wonder how long the goalkeepers @ 37 will wait before raiding.

Yeah, they are surely a mess. Intentionally destroying the country, just like the Obama – Biden crew was doing here. They’ve replaced your white population with Muslims and spent the treasury on them. Seems like most of Europe has been turned to 3rd world overnight. I don’t really understand it. Other than it is Satanic. Your government is no longer aligned with us, even though your people are. Really sad stuff but if Trump is for real, we need to leave NATO, because it is self-destructing.

Unbelievably sad to me. The gallows aren’t harsh enough for Starmer and the rest of the Labour party.

Re sterling…..The government had to back down on a Welfare spending Bill in parliament, because their own MP’s would not back it…..which means they have no budget control , as the Bill was part of their programme…..also Astra Zeneca are thinking of quiting the UK and listing in the US….

The Mkts/world are waking up to just how bad this UK government is…….I see a major financial crisis developing here……it may be epic….

Tks a pleasure..it took me a while to work out how to do them…still learning how etc.