Financial topics

[Higgenbotham]

I won't look it up, but it was somewhere around 1997 and silver had bottomed in 1991 and 1993 around $3.50, then rallied in a first long wave up. Then it retraced back and I can remember seeing it as low as $4.35 around 1997 and then the news came out that Buffett had bought 129 million ounces or something like that. The market was pretty bearish and seemed to take that news bearishly as well. Like people saying what does Buffett know about silver, is he off his rocker? And in retrospect we know silver was coming off a 500 year low (inflation adjusted, I think the chart is posted here) at that point and Buffett was entirely correct.

That's where I think equities might be in reverse. They may be coming off a 500 year high and retracing in a test of the high as silver tested its 500 year low again in 1997 or so, after doing so in 1993. That's why it wouldn't surprise me if a big player is in there short the SPY with real money, not levered futures. Or many players thinking similarly.

https://markets.businessinsider.com/new ... 1029228443#

Warren Buffett bought 3,500 tons of silver in 1997. The purchase helped make Thomas Kaplan a billionaire.

Theron Mohamed

May. 23, 2020, 12:09 PM

.....

The Berkshire chief's dearth of stock purchases when the market tanked in March suggests he's worried, Kaplan argued, strengthening the case for investing in gold and silver.

"We're in a world where Warren Buffett is standing aside — that's not his stock and trade during these crises," he said.

"Anyone who listened in on his annual general meeting will see that this was not the same gung ho, 'you've got to buy this pullback,'" Kaplan continued.

"That tells me that he, too, is looking for ways to preserve wealth and preserve value."

[Higgenbotham]

Back in the late 1990s, the Central Bankers were also selling off their gold. Every so often, a headline would appear that such and such central bank is divesting so many hundred tons of gold. They would be selling x amount of bullion on this date and so on.

The word on the street was don't fight the central bankers, don't buy gold. It even got so preposterous that a popular tout was that the barbarous relic, gold, would be mined so cheaply from sea water via free solar energy out in the ocean that it would sell for single digits so, investors beware, the central bankers have a method to their perceived madness. They have the inside knowledge. Then there was the clown who appeared on Bloomberg and said if gold went over $300 he would paint his hair gold and come back on Bloomberg for another interview.

Fast forward to today and we see the reverse tout for stocks. And it appears we see Buffett reacting similarly to this reverse situation. I was long a lot of silver and gold stocks at that time and it was painful.

[Higgenbotham]

Another mirror from that time is a friend of mine was long 300 gold contracts at the low in 1999 or 2001, can't remember which. It was sort of a double bottom. He couldn't hang on but still survived. However, he did not survive being short this bull market. He got blown out in 2017 and is now broke. That leads me to think the stock market here is even more extreme than the precious metals low in the 1990s.

[Higgenbotham]

The Buffett buy is noted on the chart.

My take is the central bankers through a worldwide effort were able to suppress the price of gold for about a decade. Their price suppression scheme resulted in a 500 year inflation adjusted low in metals. More recently, the central banks through a worldwide effort have been pumping stock prices for about a decade, and this effort has resulted in a 500 year inflation adjusted high in stocks.

Gold, being the king of the metals and the hated "barbarous relic" of the central banks, bottomed last. The US tech heavyweights, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google, are topping out last.

I read today that the central banks are no longer relevant because governments will hijack control of the money supply. Central banks haven't been relevant for 20 years since their gold price suppression scheme failed. They've tried to appear relevant since then by creating bubbles in asset prices, but if they can't control gold it just proves how worthless they really are. You don't hear hardly a peep from central banks about gold nowadays. The real battle has been lost.

[Higgenbotham]

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC.

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 3, 1998


Because of recent price movements in the silver market and because Berkshire Hathaway has received inquiries about its ownership of the metal, the company is releasing certain information that it would normally have published next month in its annual report.

The company owns 129,710,000 ounces of silver. Its first purchase was made on July 25, 1997 and its most recent purchase was made on January 12, 1998.

During 1998, Berkshire has accepted delivery of 87,510,000 ounces in accordance with the terms of the purchase contracts and the remaining contracts for 42,200,000 ounces call for delivery at varied dates until March 6, 1998. To date, all deliveries have been made on schedule. If any seller should have trouble making timely delivery, Berkshire is willing to defer delivery for a reasonable period upon payment of a modest fee.

Over 30 years ago, Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, made his first purchase of silver in anticipation of the metal's demonetization by the U.S. Government. Since that time he has followed silver's fundamentals but no entity he manages has owned it. In recent years, widely-published reports have shown that bullion inventories have fallen very materially, because of an excess of user-demand over mine production and reclamation. Therefore, last summer Mr. Buffett and Mr. Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire, concluded that equilibrium between supply and demand was only likely to be established by a somewhat higher price.

All metal was purchased for London delivery through a single brokerage firm. No options have been or are held by Berkshire. No purchases have been made that established new highs for the metal and all buying has been after dips. Berkshire has had no knowledge of the actions or positions of any other market participant and today has no such knowledge.

Berkshire has no present plans for purchase or sale of silver. The position at cost comprises less than 2% of the company's investment portfolio.

--END--

https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/news/feb03981.html

"Think of the discipline it takes to think about something for three or four decades, waiting for a chance to employ 2 percent of your assets. I’m afraid that’s the way we are."

Charlie Munger

[Higgenbotham]

Charlie Munger warns there are ‘lots of troubles coming’ because of ‘too much wretched excess’

PUBLISHED WED, FEB 12 20203:30 PM ESTUPDATED THU, FEB 13 20203:44 PM EST

KEY POINTS

Munger highlighted how much risk investors are taking when investing, particularly in China.
“In China, … they love to gamble in stocks. This is really stupid,” Munger said.
Munger also highlighted the proliferation of EBITDA as a profit metric as another sign of wretched excess, calling it “ridiculous.”
“I don’t like when investment bankers talk about EBITDA, which I call bulls--- earnings.”

Charlie Munger says he’s watching inflation, central banks closely

Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, issued a dire warning about the future on Wednesday.

“I think there are lots of troubles coming,” he said at the Los Angeles-based Daily Journal annual shareholders meeting. “There’s too much wretched excess.”

Munger — who chairs the publisher — highlighted how much risk investors are taking when investing, particularly in China.

“In China, … they love to gamble in stocks. This is really stupid,” Munger said. “It’s hard to imagine anything dumber than the way the Chinese hold stocks.”

In the U.S. alone, investors face risks ranging from the coronavirus’ impact on the economy to political uncertainty from the upcoming presidential election. Also, the Treasury announced on Wednesday that the U.S. budget deficit increased by 25% in the first four months of the fiscal 2020 period to $1.06 trillion. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both hit record highs on Wednesday.

‘Bulls--- earnings’
To make his point about excess, Munger cited the proliferation of EBITDA as a fake profit metric. “I don’t like when investment bankers talk about EBITDA, which I call bulls--- earnings,” he said.

“It’s ridiculous,” Munger said, noting EBITDA — which is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — does not accurately reflect how much money a company makes, unlike traditional earnings. “Think of the basic intellectual dishonesty that comes when you start talking about adjusted EBITDA. You’re almost announcing you’re a flake.”

But that’s not all that’s bothering Munger. He also said the innovation boom he has experienced throughout his life could start to wane.

“I do think that my generation had the best of all this technological change,” said Munger, 96, noting medicine has improved dramatically during his lifetime while inventions such as air conditioning have increased the standard of living. “I don’t think we’re going to get as much improvement in the future because we’ve gotten so much already.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/12/charlie ... xcess.html

[vincecate]

I read today that the central banks are no longer relevant because governments will hijack control of the money supply.

A common thread in hyperinflation histories is that the politicians get control of the money printing. There is some economic trouble and "the country needs more money". The politicians have huge popular support, the press, and the backing of the military and police. The central bankers never stand a chance. But after that there is no restraint in government spending, they print as much as they want. The USA seems to have started this, though not a complete takeover yet.

[aeden]

https://banned.video/watch?id=5f2468ba68370e02f2a7f64e
They're extremely organized and well-financed, mostly by foreign governments and organizations,
and they systematically target anyone who dares to challenge them.

http://todayvenezuela.com/2017/11/10/un ... ve-closed/
60% of Venezuelan Businesses Have Closed

Agenda interests.

Maduro Sends Iranian Oil to Cuba Before Refilling Venezuelan Gasoline Stations.
The 200 million liters of gasoline, brought by the Iranian freighters, was paid for in advance with nine tons of gold equivalent to 500 million dollars in the market. This gold was plundered from the vaults of the Central Bank of Venezuela.
But that amount of imported gasoline would only be enough for about five weeks of internal consumption of 350,000 barrels a day.
The duration will be even shorter if it is sent to Cuba.

Your next.

[aeden]

2004: https://www.innovations-report.com/html ... 33162.html

SARS antiviral drug discovered: traditional antimalarial drug works against SARS coronavirus infection
06.09.2004
Virologists from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (K.U.Leuven) in Belgium report that chloroquine, a widely used antimalarial drug, exhibits antiviral activity against the SARS coronavirus. Chloroquine is an inexpensive and safe drug available worldwide.
SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is a respiratory illness which was first recognized in the winter of 2002 in China. By the end of June, 2003, the disease had affected over 8096 persons in 30 countries across five continents, causing 774 fatalities. Scientists discovered that SARS was caused by a virus belonging to the coronavirus family.
There is currently no effective and proven antiviral treatment for SARS. Standard antivirals (such as ribavirin) do not appear to alter the ultimate outcome of the disease. Recently, antiviral drugs commonly used to treat AIDS (nelfinavir, lopinavir/ritonavir) were shown to inhibit the SARS virus in the laboratory. However, these drugs are very expensive and have many side effects.
Today, the SARS research team led by Professor Marc Van Ranst of K.U.Leuven’s Rega Institute for Medical Research report that chloroquine, a known antimalarial drug, is active against the SARS coronavirus in laboratory experiments. Chloroquine has been prescribed since the 1940s to travellers to malaria-endemic areas for the prevention and treatment of malaria. It is an inexpensive drug with an excellent safety record. A major advantage is that chloroquine is widely available, also in developing countries. When SARS re-emerges, chloroquine could be of great importance as preventive medication for people living in or travelling to SARS-affected areas, and as an antiviral treatment for SARS patients.
Further information:
http://www.kuleuven.ac.be

bottomline : they knew about the CURE

[aeden]

https://ibb.co/JFT0MYd Facts do matter and collaboration agenda cults.
Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars.
An Introduction Programming Manual.
It called for a quiet revolution, putting brother against brother, and diverting the public's attention from what is really going on.
The public cannot comprehend this weapon, and therefore cannot believe that they are being attacked and subdued by a weapon.