Gold price today rises for second day in a row, silver rates edge higher Mint
Month: December 2021
How high can gold & silver go in 2022? Rates to rise, here’s the impact on markets – Gary Wagner Kitco NEWS
Endeavour Silver: Weaker Silver Price Continues To Weigh On Margins Seeking Alpha
Bullion Star/Ronan Manly/12-13-2021
“Each of these central bank decision making bodies also knows that they are now in unchartered territory and that they have painted themselves into corners with unprecedented asset purchases and historically low interest rates (and negative real interest rates), which they cannot reverse without detonating the asset bubbles which they these same central banks have created.”
USAGOLD note: Every once in a while, someone coins a phrase that rings so true it forever sticks in the mind. Such is “You can’t taper a Ponzi” – first posted by the Bitcoin Maximalist on Twitter on December 13, 2021, and referenced in the article linked above by Bullion Star’s Ronan Manly.
The post Today’s top gold news & opinion first appeared on Today’s top gold news and opinion.
Categories
The Fed is the main inflation culprit
Wall Street Journal/Kevin Warsh/12-12-2021
USAGOLD note: Former Fed governor Kevin Warsh says inflation is a choice and it is the road the Fed has taken in this hard-hitting Wall Street Journal editorial. He says to disregard the rationalizations offered by the Biden administration and the Fed to explain the sources of the inflation and concentrate 
instead on the main culprit – the Fed itself. In this context, it is important to remember, in our view, that raising rates, though it might have a temporary market effect, will not slow down the rate of inflation – something that can occur only when interest rates are pushed higher than the inflation rate. “The authorities have expressed little concern about financial excesses, bubbles or financial imbalances,” writes Warsh. “Hope they’re right. I expect tension between the Fed’s goals of price stability and financial stability to be in sharper relief in the new year.”
The post Today’s top gold news & opinion first appeared on Today’s top gold news and opinion.
Investors looking to save for retirement by buying precious metals should be looking at self-directed IRAs. In contrast to traditional IRAs, which allow investment in stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds, self-directed IRAs allow investment in a broader range of assets, including gold and silver coins and bars. Consulting with a knowledgeable advisor about your retirement investment strategy is an insightful way of ensuring you adhere to tax regulations.
Preventing Direct Possession of IRA assets
When you are buying gold and silver bullion products to be put in self-directed IRAs, there are a few essential factors to consider concerning the regulations of approved safe storage. One of the factors that have drawn widespread media attention due to regulation ambiguity is the idea that gold and silver bought for IRAs can be stored at home in a security box or safe.
The uncertainty circulating this topic is primarily due to misleading advertisements. Multiple media platforms imply that IRA gold and silver can be stored at the owner’s discretion in their own homes. According to the IRS code, investors cannot legally store precious metals for IRAs in their homes.
IRS Explicitly Bans Home Storage
The National Coin and Bullion Association (NCBA) released an article about a recent case where the court ruled the physical storage of gold and silver in a home safe constituted “unfettered control” of the investment. The accused couple argued that a separate bank account had been opened in the name of a Limited Liability Company holding the gold and silver coins. They assumed they could use an LLC to avoid direct possession of the IRA assets and thus circumvent tax obligations. Unfortunately, taking investment decisions into their own hands without consulting professional advisors has proved to be a costly violation of the law.
We encourage all investors to be aware of the restrictions in place with self-directed IRAs, including understanding the Internal Revenue code stipulating the need for a custodian to hold and manage precious metal assets on behalf of the IRA owner. A third-party custodian, such as a bank or alternative financial institution, not only manages disbursements but is also responsible for IRS adherence, reporting, and keeping account records. Speaking with a reputable dealer, CPA, or tax advisor about your investment strategies is an advisable way to invest assets accordingly and prevent paying costly penalties in the situation of a tax audit.
For more information on the advantages of holding gold & silver in your IRA check out our gold & silver IRA resources or give us a call today at 602-234-2300.
The post Don’t Make This Mistake With Gold and Silver in IRAs first appeared on CMI Gold & Silver.
In October, the US government will be unable to pay it bills if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling is the legal cap that Congress sets on the amount that the Treasury can borrow.
Since 1960, the debt ceiling has been raised 78 times. During Donald Trump’s presidency, the ceiling was raised three times. Further, the Democrats agreed to a two-year suspension of the ceiling as part of a budget agreement in 2019. Since the suspension expired in late July, the Treasury has been taking “extraordinary measures”, which includes suspending investments in some federal retirement and disability funds, to conserve cash.
Janet Yellen, the Treasury Secretary, has since warned that failing to raise the ceiling would result in “economic catastrophe,” with perhaps soldiers and pensioners going unpaid.
The long-term consequences of defaulting on Treasury securities could be more harmful as the dollar is the world’s reserve currency and much of the global financial system is built on the assumption that Treasuries are risk-free. The last time America flirted with a default, Standard & Poor’s stripped US of its AAA rating.
Democrats plan to introduce a bill to lift the debt ceiling, extend government funding through December and pay for relief from recent natural disasters. Senate Republicans say they will not approve an increase, but Democrats want to test that resolve.
Democrats believe Republicans will cave rather than cause a default and government shutdown, and they also believe they may be able to pick up a few votes from Republicans representing states hit by hurricanes.
Republicans want Democrats to pass the bill on a party-line vote, which and paint Democrats as the party of irresponsible spending.
Regardless, as October approaches and the topic of raising the debt ceiling—and the consequences of not doing it—gets discussed, we can expect increased interest in gold and silver.
The post America’s debt ceiling: What happens if Congress fails to raise it? first appeared on CMI Gold & Silver.
September 8, 2021
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Madam Speaker:
I am writing to follow up on my previous letters regarding the debt limit and to provide additional information regarding the Treasury Department’s ability to continue to finance the government in the absence of Congressional action to address the debt limit.
After the debt limit was reinstated on August 1, Treasury began employing certain extraordinary measures to continue to finance the government on a temporary basis. These measures, which are authorized by law and have been used in previous debt limit impasses, include a suspension of certain investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund, the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund, and the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees’ Retirement System Thrift Savings Plan. Once all available measures and cash on hand are fully exhausted, the United States of America would be unable to meet its obligations for the first time in our history.
Our estimates of the period of time that extraordinary measures will last have been refined in recent weeks, although they continue to be subject to considerable uncertainty due to the normal challenges of forecasting the payments and receipts of the U.S. government, including the uncertainty in the level of corporate and individual taxes due September 15, heightened by the additional uncertainty due to the pandemic and related economic relief, and other factors.
Given this uncertainty, the Treasury Department is not able to provide a specific estimate of how long the extraordinary measures will last. However, based on our best and most recent information, the most likely outcome is that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted during the month of October. We will continue to update Congress as more information becomes available.
We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States. A delay that calls into question the federal government’s ability to meet all its obligations would likely cause irreparable damage to the U.S. economy and global financial markets. At a time when American families, communities, and businesses are still suffering from the effects of the ongoing global pandemic, it would be particularly irresponsible to put the full faith and credit of the United States at risk.
I again note that Congress has addressed the debt limit in recent years through regular order, with broad bipartisan support. I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Janet L. Yellen
The post Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen letter to Nancy Pelosi first appeared on CMI Gold & Silver.
Government current expenditures
Explosive growth of Fed’s balance sheet, 1980-2021
Year-over-year change in gross public debt (billions), 1980-2020
Digging Into 2021 Gold Miners Index Performance Seeking Alpha