Category Archive: 6a.) Monetary Metals

How Is Negative Interest Possible? Report 8 Sep

Germany has recently joined Switzerland in the dubious All Negative Club. The interest rate on every government bond, from short to 30 years, is now negative. Many would say “congratulations”, in the belief that this proves their credit risk is … well … umm … negative(?) And anyways, it will let them borrow more to spend on consumption which will stimulate … umm… well… all of the wasteful consumption for which governments are rightly...

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Asset Inflation vs. Consumer Goods Inflation, Report 1 Sep

A paradigm is a mental framework. It has a both a positive pressure and a negative filter. It structures one’s thoughts, orients them in a certain direction, and rules out certain ideas. Paradigms can be very useful, for example the scientific method directs one to begin with facts, explain them in a consistent way, and to ignore peyote dreams from the smoke lodge and claims of mental spoon-bending.

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Deflation Is Everywhere—If You Know Where to Look, Report 18 Aug

At a shopping mall recently, we observed an interesting deal at Sketchers. If you buy two pairs of shoes, the second is 30% off. Sketchers has long offered deals like this (sometimes 50% off). This is a sign of deflation. Regular readers know to wait for the punchline. Manufacturer Gives Away Its Margins

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Keith Weiner, ObLEFTivists, et al.

LANGUAGE ADVISORY – if you are an ObLEFTivist, I’m going to swear at and insult you. Gratuitously. ENJOY!!! Support this channel: https://www.patreon.com/MrCropper ADVChina’s video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW9YL81oICo&t=5s

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The Economic Singularity, Report 11 Aug

We have recently written several essays about the fallacious concept of Gross Domestic Product. Among GDP’s several fatal flaws, it goes up when capital is converted to consumer goods, when seed corn is served at the feast. So we proposed—and originally dismissed—the idea of a national balance sheet.

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I Know Usury When I See It, Report 4 Aug

“I know it, when I see it.” This phrase was first used by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, in a case of obscenity. Instead of defining it—we would think that this would be a requirement for a law, which is of course backed by threat of imprisonment—he resorted to what might be called Begging Common Sense. It’s just common sense, it’s easy-peasy, there’s no need to define the term…

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Obvious Capital Consumption, Report 28 Jul

We have spilled many electrons on the topic of capital consumption. Still, this is a very abstract topic and we think many people still struggle to picture what it means. Thus, the inspiration for this week’s essay. Suppose a young man, Early Enterprise, inherits a car from his grandfather. Early decides to drive for Uber to earn a living. Being enterprising, he is up at dawn and drives all day.

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The Fake Economy, Report 21 Jul

Folks in the liberty movement often say that the economy is fake. But this does not persuade anyone. It’s just preaching to the choir! We hope that this series on GDP provides more effective ammunition to argue with the Left-Right-Wall-Street-Main-Street-Capitalists-Socialists.

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How to Fix GDP, Report 14 Jul

Last week, we looked at the idea of a national balance sheet, as a better way to measure the economy than GDP (which is production + destruction). The national balance sheet would take into account both assets and liabilities. If we take on another $1,000,000 debt to buy a $1,000,000 asset, then we have not added any equity.

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Keith Weiner, PhD, CEO & Founder of Monetary Metals

Keith Weiner, PhD, CEO & Founder of Monetary Metals, believes interest rates must go lower to keep interest expense under control and result in a deflationary credit implosion.

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More Squeeze, Less Juice, Report 7 Jul

We have been writing on the flaws in GDP: that it is no measure of the economy, because it looks only at cash and not the balance sheet, and that there are positive feedback loops. “OK, Mr. Smarty Pants,” you’re thinking (yes, we know you’re thinking this), “if GDP is not a good measure of the economy, then what is?!”

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All this borrowing to consume is unsustainable and the bill is overdue

June has been an interesting month for gold, as geopolitical events, market fluctuations and developments on the monetary policy front fueled an exciting ride for the precious metal. As long-term investors with a strict focus on the big picture, short-term moves and speculative angles are largely irrelevant in and of themselves, but they do provide important signals that, without fail, confirm the strategic superiority of precious metals holdings...

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Keith Weiner – This Golden Bull is for Real #4402

As time goes by, Keith Weiner and others are more and more convinced that the long awaited bull market in gold has finally arrived. Both from a technical and fundamental point of view, there is agreement among most that this bull is the real deal. Of course anything can happen, and probably will, but things … Continue...

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Keith Weiner Gets Interviewed

Our economic views and unique product are generating buzz. There have been a number of interviews recently (more will be posted soon). Lobo Tiggre interviewed Keith Weiner (video) about the unique Monetary Metals business model to pay interest on gold.

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GDP Begets More GDP (Positive Feedback), Report 30 June

Last week, we discussed the fundamental flaw in GDP. GDP is a perfect tool for central planning tools. But for measuring the economy, not so much. This is because it looks only at cash revenues. It does not look at the balance sheet. It does not take into account capital consumption or debt accumulation. Any Keynesian fool can add to GDP by borrowing to spend. But that is not economic growth.

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Keith Weiner – Basel III Is Not Good For Gold!

SBTV speaks with Keith Weiner, CEO of Monetary Metals, at The Safe House gold & silver vault in Singapore about the real impact of the Basel III reclassification of gold as a Tier 1 asset. Find out why it is not good for gold. Discussed in this interview: 02:58 Is gold an outdated asset for … Continue reading »

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In The Pit: Keith Weiner, Founder and CEO, Monetary Metals (June 2019)

Monetary Metals is one of the most interesting companies I’ve come across in a long time. The idea is to fix the long-standing objection to gold as a financial asset in that it “doesn’t pay interest.” I’m not ready to invest yet, but if they can consistently deliver on what they’ve started, it could be …

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What Gets Measures Gets Improved, Report 23 June

Let’s start with Frederic Bastiat’s 170-year old parable of the broken window. A shopkeeper has a broken window. The shopkeeper is, of course, upset at the loss of six francs (0.06oz gold, or about $75). Bastiat discusses a then-popular facile argument: the glass guy is making money (to which all we can say is, “plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”).

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Gold Bullion International Lease #1 (gold)

Monetary Metals leased silver to Gold Bullion International, to support the growth of its gold jewelry line. The metal is held in the form of inventory in a third party depository.

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The Elephant in the Gold Room, Report 16 June

We will start this off with a pet peeve. Too often, one is reading something about gold. It starts off well enough, discussing problems with the dollar or the bond market or a real estate bubble… and them bam! Buy gold because the dollar is gonna be worthless! That number again is 1-800-BUY-GOLD or we have another 1-800-GOT-GOLD in case the lines on the first number are busy!

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