Free Republic

Whatever happened to the Donald Trump and Elon Musk visit to Fort Knox? You’ll recall the buzz from earlier this year. Trump and Musk loudly announced they were going to visit the U.S. bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky to make sure the U.S. gold was actually there. The press was invited to tag along. Musk claimed that his DOGE team was ready to “audit” the gold bars to see that there were none missing. I had my own views on the announcement (described below) but I certainly agreed this would be the mother of all photo ops. For the...

First, the federal debt crisis has reached a breaking point, with skyrocketing interest payments now surpassing defense spending and on track to become the largest single budget item. This trajectory is unsustainable, signaling that a major financial reckoning is imminent. Second, the Trump administration views the US dollar as severely overvalued, believing it is crippling the economy and that urgent intervention is necessary…. Devaluing the dollar is a boon to debtors, especially the US government, allowing it to borrow in dollars and repay in dimes. Short of an outright default—which Washington is unlikely to do—a weaker dollar is the only...

For those uninitiated in finance, a "short squeeze" refers to a situation where an individual or legal entity sells an asset in the future without owning it first, in the hope of buying it back later at a lower price in order to make a profit. However, if the price of this asset increases instead of falling as expected, this individual or legal entity is forced to buy it quickly to honor the delivery of their forward sale. This hasty buying movement then contributes to accentuating the rise in prices. Isn't this precisely what gold prices have been reflecting for...

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: London metals trader Andrew Maguire tells this week's "Live from the Vault" program from Kinesis Money that repeated attempts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to knock down the price of gold via sale of futures contracts in New York just continue to feed Chinese demand for real metal as the contracts are converted to deliverable instruments in London…. See video.

Many are asking why gold is not rising, as just about every other commodity makes new highs in the backdrop of inflationary tailwinds.That’s a very fair question.Some are even saying gold is dead, a silly and “barbarous” old relic of ancient times, ancient math and ancient common sense.Needless to say, we beg to differ, not because we are Swiss-based gold bugs, but simply…well… let’s explain.Current Price vs. Current and Future RolesFor those who see history and math as guides rather than “barbarous” and outdated disciplines, their convictions regarding gold’s role, and even price trajectory, do not wane or rise simply...

Fifty years ago this Sunday, President Richard Nixon announced a bold economic plan, including the severing of the U.S. dollar’s ties to gold. Since then, the world’s monetary system has consisted of (mostly) freely floating currencies. The dollar nonetheless remains the primary legal tender used internationally for trade, finance, and as a store of value, which has conferred upon the U.S. enormous advantages. Whether that will continue for the next half-century is far from certain. The Bretton Woods system, in effect back then, reflected America’s economic pre-eminence after World War II. Currency exchange rates were fixed, relative to the dollar,...