GOLD: QUIETLY ON THE MOVE

Gold has decisively broken $2,000 in dollar terms and is now solidly above $2,300.

That’s not the news, though. The news is that — despite this historic move — nobody cares. Admittedly, gold is not as sexy as some AI crypto token.

Don’t get us wrong. We’re perfectly fine with that. The longer this “stealth bull run” lasts the better our chance to get positioned (more on that in a second) in our Insider portfolios.

Another thing that’s interesting about all this is WHO is driving this uptick in the price of gold. Here’s a hint…

Frankly, it’s a bit weird this isn’t getting more mainstream attention.

Meanwhile, gold stocks have yet to fully digest the reality. Despite gold surging well above its previous all time highs, gold stocks are sleepier than Joe Biden on a Sunday afternoon after a big meal. Take a look for yourself — we’re using the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)…

Now, is it gold that is telling us something or the equities? Maybe gold does fall back and the equities are correct. Or maybe the equities are (still) mispriced.

Only time will tell, but this looks to us like an opportunity slapping you in the face and telling you to wake up because a new day has dawned.

  A BULLISH BUILD UP IN METALS?

Speaking of metals…

It’s not just precious metals. Something bullish seems to be building in the based metals market.

Take a look at the LMEX (the London Metal Exchange Index of six base metals). It essentially went nowhere for a couple of years. But now, it looks like it’s starting to move.

The Invesco DB Base Metals Fund ETF (DBB) does a good job tracking the base metals market. Here is the LMEX Index against the Invesco DB Base Metals Fund ETF and indexed to 100:

And one other thing…

Let’s take a look at the CRB Metals Index (copper scrap, lead scrap, steel scrap, tin, and zinc) and the CRB Raw Industrials Index (burlap, copper scrap, cotton, hides, lead scrap, print cloth, rosin, rubber, steel scrap, tallow, tin, wool tops, and zinc).

Look at how volatility has dropped to practically zero over the last eight months. If our years in the markets have taught us anything is that drops in volatility generally precede a change in trend.

  ALL THINGS TRANSITORY…

Feels like a lifetime ago, when — back in February 2020 — we started warning that lockdowns will bring about inflation and shortages. Fast forward to today, and this pesky stuff is now part of our daily lives. We recently set up a dedicated inflation channel in our Insider private forum, where members can share their own experiences with all things “transitory”.

First, a note from Insider member Sean from the Bailiwick of Jersey:

Sent to me from someone in Jersey, these were 55p and are now

Holy mackerel! That’s a doubling in prices. We couldn’t resist and check the official inflation figures. Turns out inflation in Jersey is “just” 7.5%, according to the most recent statistics.

Whatever the numbers, quit complaining and be grateful inflation is not even worse — at least that’s according to the mainstream press. Member Anissa shared this gem from New Zealand.

₿  REVISITING BITCOIN

It’s not just gold that’s been hitting new all time highs. Bitcoin has, too — though you 100% know about that because the pundits, CNBC talking heads, and crypto shills keep droning on about it.

Now, before you brand us close-minded gold bugs who just don’t get bitcoin, we thought this would be a perfect time to touch on a question Chris recently got from a reader:

Have you come around on BTC? I’m surprised, since you see things clearly otherwise.

It’s a great question! If you’re a long-time reader (or an Insider member), you know we’re no strangers to cryptocurrencies and bitcoin. In fact, bitcoin has been very good to us in the past.

We recommended it in the Insider portfolio at $645 in 2016 and then exited our positions at $54,066 on 21 April 2021 when things started to get a bit too loopy for our taste.

As it turned out, we were early with our exit, but still — an 8,282% gain is better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.

With all that in mind, you might wonder why we haven’t bought back in? And the reason for that is simple.

Here at Capitalist Exploits HQ, we’ve always advocated owning bitcoin directly. If you’re a recent Insider member interested in that, we would refer you to any of the crypto guides we published over the years that cover that topic.

However, we don’t own it in our funds. In our mind, the reason for owning bitcoin lies in self custody. In other words, YOU need to own it, not some Fidelity pointy shoe. When it comes to bitcoin, utility value is the most valuable aspect, not price.

  WEEK’S HUMOUR

This week, we have this humdinger for you first:

And to wrap it all up, a reminder there’s a silver lining in everything — if you choose to see it (courtesy of Insider member Mike).

Have a great start to the new week!