My Meetings with Governor Greg Abbott and Steve Forbes

Last week, I met with our popular Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott and later this week, I will meet with former Republican Presidential candidate (1996 and 2000), Steve Forbes, who is also publisher of Forbes Magazine, a prolific author of books about gold, inflation, money and American capitalism. Be sure to check out next week’s Metals Market Report to find out what Mr. Forbes foresees.

Post-Mortem on the 2023 Federal Deficit -- $1.7 Trillion, and Rising

On Tuesday, October 10, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated the total red ink for federal fiscal year 2023 (ending September 30, 2023) was $1.7 trillion, 23% above 2022, the first Biden budget blowout year (with $1.38 trillion in red ink). Why the increase?

Contact “Team Mike” for the Best Coin Buying Experience

Now that gold is America’s second favorite investment asset class, according to a recent Gallup Poll, second only to real estate, more gold retail outlets are popping up, even in “box stores” and malls, but do they have the knowledge of the gold market, much less any experience in rare coins? Very Unlikely.

Quarter-Ending Gold Market Survey

We won’t know the official third-quarter gold supply and demand statistics until about November 1, but the first-half of 2023 statistics, released by the World Gold Council on August 1, show a decline in ETF holdings … Also, increased central bank gold buying in the first half of 2023 set a first-half record of 387 metric tons, although it was front-loaded in the first quarter, split evenly between developed and developing nations.

Now Available – For the First Time in History! San Francisco Minted Proof Morgan and Peace Dollars

For the first time in history, the U.S. Mint is making mirrored Proof Morgan Dollar and Peace Dollar coins bearing the “S” Mint mark, representing the historic San Francisco Mint, the original repository of 1850s California “Gold Rush” nuggets, bars and S-minted gold coins.

Gold Poised to Rise in 2024

Gold rose from $1,915 to $1,930 on Friday morning, September 15, and held on to most of that gain before rising more by Tuesday, September 19.

The 2023 Fiscal Year Ends September 30 – Rising to a Post-Covid High

The Federal Reserve has raised the Fed Funds rate from near-0% in April 2022 to over 5% now. So, servicing that debt at 5% will cost taxpayers $1.65 trillion per year … History has shown that traditionally, in trying economic times and during periods of increased inflation, gold and silver have performed well.

August Report on the Markets

August is generally a time of market doldrums and that was true for the major stock market indexes this year. They all declined, ranging from -1.77% for the benchmark S&P 500 to -5.17% for the small-stock Russell 2000 index. The S&P fared worse in the opening three weeks but closed August strong.

Silver rose just over 1% and platinum was the leading metal in August at +3.27%, while gold declined 1.44% and palladium was the worst-performing precious metal for both August and 2023 year-to-date.

Gold Investors Continue to Fight the “No Yield” Bias on Wall Street

Since the banking crisis hit the front pages on March 9 of this year, gold is up a little over $100 an ounce, from $1818 to $1,938 but silver is up over $4 an ounce from $20.12 to $24.75.

Why is Silver Rising While Gold is Flat?

Silver is strong this week, awaiting the central bankers’ annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the end of the week.