Free Republic

Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio says America’s $35.327646622839 trillion national debt will continue to grow no matter who wins the race for the White House. In a new interview with Bloomberg at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2024, Dalio says the fast-approaching November election represents a crossroads for a number of critical issues including taxation and the reach of the federal government. The billionaire believes the national debt is bound to be ignored while the government uses inflationary policies to reduce the real burden of its debt. “We have an enormous amount of debt, and it’s going to keep increasing....

As far as I can understand, it looks like NJ's sales tax on precious metal purchases will be going away. Last year, the bill passed both houses, but the governor failed to either veto or sign within 45 days -- and because this happened at the end of a legislative session, it automatically became a "pocket veto." The bill was reintroduced, again passed both houses (on June 28), and the governor once again took no action within 45 days. However, because it was not the end of a legislative session, the bill should automatically pass and become law (according to...

According to a Reuters report, 27 silver Roman coins were discovered in the ancient Greek acropolis on the remote Mediterranean island of Pantelleria by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Thomas Schaefer of the University of Tübingen. He thinks that the coins, which first surfaced in loose soil after heavy rains, may have been hidden during a pirate attack. Additional coins were later found under a nearby rock. Analysis of the coins shows that they were minted in Rome between 94 and 74 B.C. "This discovery... offers valuable information for the reconstruction of the events, trade contacts, and political...

A liberal pollster's latest projection shows Donald Trump securing a blowout victory over Kamala Harris. Nate Silver's prediction places the Republican hopeful's chances of winning the electoral college vote at 63.8 percent, compared to 36 percent for Harris. Silver's modelling, published on his blog Silver Bulletin, also places Trump ahead in all of the crucial swing states.

China hoarding silver, price 10% higher than West. Secret weapon or economic warfare? A Hidden War for Economic Dominance While the world has been focused on the geopolitical tensions between China and the West, a more subtle battle has been unfolding in the global financial markets. China, through a series of calculated moves, has been quietly accumulating vast quantities of gold and silver. This move has signaled a potential shift in the global economic landscape and highlights the developing countries’ need for exorbitant amounts of resources. Silver: China's Secret Weapon In addition to its gold hoarding, China has also been...

Bank of America strategist Michael Hartnett advises buying gold amid record-high prices. Hartnett said potential Fed rate cuts could stoke fresh inflation, which would be bullish for gold. Gold's year-to-date rally of about 20% is outperforming US tech stocks. Investors should buy gold even as the metal hovers around record-high prices, according to Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett. In a note on Thursday, Hartnett said investors should "do what central banks are doing… buy gold." That's because interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve in the coming months pose a risk to stoking a rebound in inflation next...

Betelgeuse is our next door supergiant. It is almost 1000 times bigger than our sun and possibly it has already exploded in a giant supernova. How would we notice, how fast would the process be and what could we expect to see from Earth? Something happened in 2019 Betelgeuse is currently in the final stages of its short life. So when the red supergiant abruptly darkened in late 2019, the behavior led many to speculate that it might be about to explode. The loss of brightness was far greater than anything previously recorded. Analyzing data from Hubble Space Telescope and...

(Kitco News) – Gold has had a breakout year as the yellow metal surged to new heights above $2,500 while its grey counterpart, silver, has struggled to keep pace, but that could soon change, according to one analyst, as silver demand is expected to increase thanks to one new technological development from Samsung. According to retired investment professional Kevin Bambrough, Samsung has developed a new solid-state (SS) battery. The inclusion of silver as a key component, combined with the increasing demand for electric vehicles, means that demand for the grey metal will soon increase. “The key drivers that will ramp...

In the July 18 edition of Gold Newsletter, editor and publisher Brien Lundin wrote about the failure of silver prices to keep up with gold prices. "I'm not the kind of conspiracy buff that many of my friends in the industry are," Lundin wrote, "but it's hard to look at silver and not see some hidden hands at work (especially considering who holds so much of the metal in both physical and paper forms while acting as custodian for the biggest silver exchange-traded fund)." Of course, Lundin meant investment bank JPMorgan Chase and silver ETF SLV. Why anyone would invest...

It has long been a generally accepted fact that western central banks continually attempted to manipulate gold and silver prices in the financial markets. For years, they conspired to artificially suppress the price of gold, pushing it lower by selling short massive numbers of gold futures contracts. Well, more evidence of this came to light just this past week – the last week of April/first week of May. And along with it came some pretty convincing indications that western central banks no longer wield sufficient financial clout to enable them to keep gold and silver prices down. China is the...

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged Tuesday that the Biden administration’s climate agenda, which is reliant on global critical mineral supply chains, is strengthening China. During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on her agency’s proposed 2024 budget, Haaland was repeatedly grilled about the administration’s environmental policies blocking further domestic production of critical minerals and opening the door to further reliance on Chinese-sourced minerals. In one exchange with Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., Haaland affirmed that green energy sources “deepen” reliance on Chinese imports. “I’m telling you right now that 63% of rare earth mining [occurs in China],” Reschenthaler stated. “By deductive reasoning,...

silver is up $1.75 today so far

From a distance, the slate gray roof and central white tower of the Brahekyrkan church appear charming. The idyllic building is situated on a small island in southern Sweden and surrounded by a cemetery dotted with flowers.So archaeologists weren't surprised when a construction project at the church uncovered several skeletons — but the grave held an 800-year-old mystery, too.Archaeologists began excavations at the Brahekyrkan church in Visingsö to prepare for the installation of a geothermal heating system, the Jönköping County Museum said in a March 27 news release.On the first day of the excavation, the team found two skeletons, Anna...

Before France dominated European coin production under Charlemagne, the richest members of the continent's Middle Age societies were likely melting down valuable Byzantine artefacts for legal tender....a collection of ancient coins used throughout north-western Europe at least 1,200 years ago was found to be made of recycled Byzantine silver. It's a finding they say shines a light on 7th-century trade and geopolitics.The origin of the metal stocks was achieved through a lead isotope analysis of the coins from England, the Netherlands and parts of France. Coins minted using silver from Melle, north of Bordeaux, have previously been evaluated, but the...

Hi Ho Silver (and Gold)! Gold futures prices are soaring and are at $2,422.00. Gold futures prices are up 19.61% over the past year. Silver futures prices are also soaring and are at $29.64. Silver futures prices are up 16.40% over the past year. Bitcoin is almost at $70,000 and is up 133.44% over the past year. Returning to gold, we are seeing another gold breakout, like the breakout in 2008. Even central banks are loading up on gold, silver, and cryptos. Why? Primarily fear of US reckless budgets and exploding debts/deficits (don’t listen to Biden talk about how “he”...

Bitcoin surpasses silver to become the 8th largest asset in the world. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1767141335910257021 Here is a link of 18,000 Assets ranked by Market Caphttps://www.8marketcap.com/

A Houston college student sentenced for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 breach at the U.S. Capitol is one of the alleged victims of a FBI agent who was indicted for theft. Alexander Fan was sentenced to 12 months probation for trespassing during a sentencing hearing on Friday. His attorney, Mark Thering, said he pleaded guilty and expressed genuine remorse in a statement to the court. Fan's home was searched after his arrest in June 2023. Court records filed ahead of the hearing state, "the next day, Fan reported to the FBI that some items--including cash and silver bars--had...

In a press announcement issued by the Studio ESSECI press office, authorities have discovered lost pieces of the Golden Tree of Lucignano, a grandiose reliquary created by the famous Sienese goldsmith, Gabriello d'Antonio.The reliquary is considered one of the finest masterpieces of Italian goldsmithing, which is a morphological tripartition (roots, trunk, foliage) and contains the metaphor of the life of Christ in the three different phases: origin, passion, and glory.Measuring 2.70 metres in height, it was created in two stages between 1350 and 1471 from gilded copper, silver and enamel, and features branches decorated with coral, crystals and miniatures on...

A study published in the journal Prehistory Works, indicates that two objects sampled from the Villena Treasure were smithed using meteoric iron...The Villena Treasure is one of the most important Bronze Age hoard finds in the Iberian Peninsula, discovered by José María Soler in 1963 in Villena, Spain. Archaeologists uncovered a collection of bowls, bottles, and bracelets, which were ornately crafted from gold, silver, iron and amber.Iron was considered a precious metal before the advent of iron smelting, where meteoric iron was the only source of iron metal used to make jewellery, tools, and weapons during the Bronze Age.Iron sourced...

An object uncovered by archaeologists in Norfolk, England, is “completely unlike” anything else ever discovered, experts said Monday. The tiny 19.4 mm (o.7 inch) object is a gilded silver relic, adorned with intricate designs appearing to show an animal looking over its shoulder, according to The Telegraph. The piece is believed to be at least 1,200 years old and archaeologists reportedly can’t determine the purpose of the mysterious object. Detectorists found the piece in a crumpled condition, but it appears to be a round object with shallow sides, making it somewhat dish-shaped. “It was made by someone with a real...