WEEKEND WRAP: Friday Rug-Pull Sends All Asset Classes Into Tailspin; Gold and Silver Survive; Fed Cuts, Yields Gain; Gas Prices at Five Year Lows

There are only eight more trading days until Christmas and 12 more for the year.

Given that NFL football and shopping take precedence over reading boring stuff about investing and money, comments will be limited this week. Money Daily is on December hours, meaning as few as possible without sounding stupid, which, in this environment is all relative, a judgement call. Besides, two weeks from today, Money Daily will shock the world with its 2026 predictions.

Friday, everything got hit. No asset class was spared. It all had something to do with Intel, data center overbuild, profligate spending, AI hallucinations, maybe even piracy in the Caribbean. Stocks, bonds, commodities, bitcoins, alt-coins, (un)stable coins, even pre-1965 90% silver coins were marked down, just in time for Christmas.

Classic rug pull. Certainly, Howard Lutnik and his friends made millions shorting everything American. Works every time.

The global economy, at least the Western part of it, is a complete mockery of macroeconomics. There's no rhyme nor reason to any of it other than gold and silver going to the moon, because, as some people are well aware, gold and silver are money. Everything else is credit or a derivative.

Blah, blah, blah. The current administration and its cohorts in congress continue to bear strong similarities to organized crime families. That's not a simple coincidence. Raiding the treasury and high crimes are the stock in trade of end-of-empire regimes, and this is certainly one of those.

The latest from our lords and ladies in Washington D.C. involves something along the lines of $2,000 tariff stimulus checks (still waiting), seizing oil tankers, what looks to be the largest annual deficit in the nation's history, no end to the drama in Ukraine, and buying up assets of strategic companies, rivaling Fascist Italy from the 1930s and 40s.

Americans don't live in interesting times. They live in thrilling times, which is even worse and nerve-rattling.

Stocks

For the Week:
Dow: +503.06 (+1.05%)
NASDAQ: -382.96 (-1.62%)
S&P 500: -42.99 (-0.63%)
NYSE Composite: +194.28 (+0.89%)
Dow Transports: +321.45 (+1.87%)

Stocks were moving in opposite directions on Friday and throughout the week. While the NASDAQ registered its fourth losing week in the last six, the Dow Transports came within a whisker of its all-time high with a third straight banner week. Unsure why the trannys are raging as such, given the high seas have become dangerous waters for oil tankers and tariffs have slowed trade considerably. Maybe its the general price gouging by UPS, FedEx, and especially the US Postal Service, which raised prices just in time for the holidays and has already announced their usual January price hikes for next year, all at a time in which gasoline prices are nearing a five year low.

Santa Claus will arrive sometime around the 25th, given he's got cheap fuel, though high food costs for Rudolph and has pals are going to cost old Saint Nick a pretty penny. Those reindeer like their steaks rare.

For Wall Street, it cannot get much better. Not only did the FOMC cut interest rates just in time for the holidays, it's been a banner year for traders, and those year-end bonuses are sure to add some fuel to the Santa Claus Rally™.

Bah Humbug say the coiners, silver stackers and goldbugs.

Treasury Yield Curve Rates

Date	1 Mo	1.5 mo	2 Mo	3 Mo	4 Mo	6 Mo	1 Yr
11/07/2025	4.01	3.96	3.98	3.92	3.83	3.76	3.63
11/14/2025	4.04	4.02	4.01	3.95	3.88	3.80	3.70
11/21/2025	4.03	4.01	4.00	3.90	3.84	3.75	3.62
11/28/2025	4.05	3.97	3.99	3.88	3.86	3.74	3.61
12/05/2025	3.82	3.78	3.77	3.71	3.73	3.68	3.61
12/12/2025	3.76	3.75	3.75	3.63	3.64	3.58	3.54

Date	2 Yr	3 Yr	5 Yr	7 Yr	10 Yr	20 Yr	30 Yr
11/07/2025	3.55	3.57	3.67	3.87	4.11	4.68	4.70
11/14/2025	3.62	3.61	3.74	3.92	4.14	4.73	4.74
11/21/2025	3.51	3.50	3.62	3.82	4.06	4.67	4.71
11/28/2025	3.47	3.49	3.59	3.78	4.02	4.62	4.67
12/05/2025	3.56	3.59	3.72	3.90	4.14	4.75	4.79
12/12/2025	3.52	3.58	3.75	3.95	4.19	4.82	4.85

Yields rose on Friday, exacerbating an already stretched yield curve. Spreads on 2s-10s and full spectrum are at extremes, both posting numbers not seen since the mid-2000s. With 30-day bills yielding above the fed funds high range and yield on the 30-year bond approaching 5.00%, one has to wonder about the wisdom of cutting rates at a time in which stocks are already approaching all-time highs, employment is still steady, and the federal deficit is soaring.

Regardless, the FOMC did what Wall Street told them to do, despite a split vote, and cut the federal funds target rate to its lowest level in three years. Three percent inflation doesn't seem to both most of the voting members, nor does excessive spending by congress and the White House.

Thankfully, the brain trust at the Fed knows exactly what they're doing. Nobody trusts them at all anymore.

Spreads:

2s-10s
2025
1/3: +32
1/10: +37
1/17: +34
1/24: +36
1/31: +36
2/7: +20
2/14: +21
2/21: +23
2/28: +25
3/7: +33
3/14: +29
3/21: +31
3/28: +38
4/4: +33
4/11: +52
4/17: +53
4/25: +55
5/2: +50
5/9: +49
5/16: +45
5/23: +51
5/30: +52
6/6: +48
6/13: +45
6/20: +48
6/27: +56
7/3: +47
7/11: +53
7/18: +56
7/25: +49
8/1: +54
8/8: +51
8/15: +58
8/22: +58
8/29: +64
9/5: +59
9/12: +50
9/19: +57
9/26: +57
10/3: +45
10/10: +53
10/17: +56
10/24: +54
10/31: +51
11/7: +56
11/14: +52
11/21: +55
11/28: +55
12/5: +58
12/12: +67

Full Spectrum (30-days - 30-years)
2025
1/3: +38
1/10: +54
1/17: +41
1/24: +40
1/31: +36
2/7: +32
2/14: +32
2/21: +31
2/28: +13
3/7: +24
3/14: +25
3/21: +23
3/28: +26
4/4: +5
4/11: +38
4/17: +44
4/25: +40
5/2: +41
5/9: +46
5/16: +52
5/23: +68
5/30: +59
6/6: +69
6/13: +67
6/20: +69
6/27: +66
7/3: +51
7/11: +59
7/18: +65
7/25: +55
8/1: +32
8/8: +37
8/15: +44
8/22: +41
8/29: +51
9/5: +49
9/12: +40
9/19: +54
9/26: +55
10/3: +47
10/10: +43
10/17: +42
10/24: +48
10/31: +61
11/7: +69
11/14: +70
11/21: +68
11/28: +62
12/5: +97
12/12: +109

Oil/Gas

WTI crude closed out the week at $57.53, down 4.5% from last Friday's closeout price of 60.14. There's a glut of oil on the market despite U.S. and E.U. sanctions, pirating of oil cargoes and related energy issues. The producers are pumping and storage facilities are filling. Some people are actually buying crude and turning it into useful fuel.

The U.S. national average for gas at the pump fell to $2.89, the lowest price in roughly five years and three cents lower than the prior week, according to Gasbuddy.com. Gas prices should continue to decline over the near term.

California remains the highest in the lower 48 states, at $4.35 per gallon, down 10 cents on the week and 31 cents over the past four weeks, followed by Washington ($4.00), which is about to go under $4 for the first time in two years. Oregon ($3.58), was down 11 cents. The lowest prices remain in the Southeast, with Oklahoma checking in with the lowest price in God knows when, $2.23, another radical drop of seven cents just this week. Colorado ($2.41) and Texas ($2.42) were closest. Arkansas ($2.45) and Mississippi ($2.46) and Louisiana ($2.46) follow, each marginally lower. The remaining Southeast states are all below $2.73 with the exception of Florida ($2.78) down 33 cents in three weeks time.

In the Northeast, prices remain elevated, though joining a general decline. Delaware ($2.78) was the lowest in the region, joined by New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland under $3.00, with Pennsylvania ($3.16) stubbornly steady as the highest. Vermont ($3.10) and New York ($3.08) following lower.

In the midwest region, where the price relief has been significant, Illinois ($3.02) was the only state above $3.00. At the low end were Colorado ($2.41) and Iowa ($2.46), the latter down a dime from last week.

Sub-$3.00 gas was reported in fully 36 states, a gain of two from last week and 10 over the past two weeks.

Bitcoin

This week: $89,338.22
Last week: $90,860.37
2 weeks ago: $91,709.19
6 months ago: $105,562.50
One year ago: $102,259.90
Five years ago: $23,841.97

Bitcoin got struck like everything else on Friday, sending the hopes and dreams of 17-year-olds everywhere back to their mom's basements. Good thing they bought in early 2025 and are "hodling", hoping that Tom Lee or Michael Saylor or Anthony Scaramucci is right and bitcoin ends the year at $200,000 or was it $400,000, or $2 million? Yeah, hang in there, Zippy.

Precious Metals

Gold:Silver Ratio: 69.30; last week: 72.01

Futures, per COMEX continuous contracts:

Gold price 11/14: $4,084.40
Gold price 11/21: $4,099.20
Gold price 11/28: $4,256.40
Gold price 12/5: $4,227.70
Gold price 12/12: $4,329.80

Silver price 11/14: $50.40
Silver price 11/21: $50.33
Silver price 11/28: $57.08
Silver price 12/5: $58.80
Silver price 12/12: $62.08

SPOT:
(stockcharts.com)
Gold 11/14: $4,080.00
Gold 11/21: $4,063.98
Gold 11/28: $4216.71
Gold 12/5: $4,196.63
Gold 12/12: $4,297.29

Silver 11/14: $50.50
Silver 11/21: $49.97
Silver 11/28: $56.37
Silver 12/5: $58.28
Silver 12/12: $62.01

Of all the asset classes that were negatively affected by Friday's rug-pull, gold and silver were the least troubled, since they were up so much on the week. Silver was making all-time highs daily and gold was finally getting bid after languishing between $4,100 and $,200 for the better part of the past month.

It can probably safely be assumed that the sudden sharp decline in all asset classes was designed to bring precious metals prices back to earth, at least over the weekend, which would be somewhat funny if not for the reality of a dying U.S. dollar.

So, gold and silver were the best performers for the week, though they could have been shooting stars. The money changers just can't stomach much more stacking and hoarding. (Don't tell anybody, but some of them are secretly buying)

The gold:silver ratio continues to descend. When it hits 50, fiat money will begin to disintegrate more rapidly. By the time it gets back to historic levels of 20:1 or 15:1 or 10:1, fiat currencies will be absolutely worthless, sending the world into an economic depression. Give it a few more years, or months, or maybe weeks.

Here are the most recent prices for common one ounce gold and silver items sold on eBay (free shipping included, numismatics excluded):

Item/Price	Low	High	Average	Median
1 oz silver coin:	60.00	74.99	66.34	66.00
1 oz silver bar:	66.00	74.95	70.26	69.98
1 oz gold coin:	4,423.10	4,635.62	4,516.69	4,492.20
1 oz gold bar:	4,472.28	4,562.20	4,502.93	4,495.01

The Single Ounce Silver Market Price Benchmark (SOSMPB) delivered, for the third straight week, a solid gain, to $68.15, up $1.46 from the December 7 price of $66.69 per troy ounce. The small-denomination, physical market continues to add high premia over spot and derivative market pricing, making a mockery of the COMEX price-rigging.

WEEKEND WRAP

Hey, football and Christmas. Go have a beer or three. Be nice.

At the Close, Friday, December 12, 2024:
Dow: 48,458.05, -245.96 (-0.51%)
NASDAQ: 23,195.17, -398.69 (-1.69%)
S&P 500: 6,827.41, -73.59 (-1.07%)
NYSE Composite: 22,004.35, -110.07 (-0.50%)

For the Week:
Dow: +503.06 (+1.05%)
NASDAQ: -382.96 (-1.62%)
S&P 500: -42.99 (-0.63%)
NYSE Composite: +194.28 (+0.89%)
Dow Transports: +321.45 (+1.87%)

Disclaimer: Information disseminated on this site should not be construed as investment advice. Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily and it's owners, affiliates and/or employees are not investment advisors and do not offer specific investment advice. All investments have risk. You should consult a professional investment advisor or stock broker or use your individual judgement when making investment decisions. By viewing this site, you hold harmless Downtown Magazine Inc., Money Daily, its owners, affiliates and employees against any and all liability. Copyright 2025, Downtown Magazine Inc., all rights reserved.

Gold, Silver, Honest Money Continue Higher as Dow, S&P 500 Make New All-Time Highs; Vince Lanci is a Tool

Editor's Note: Today, I am writing in first person singular, because I believe that when I criticize somebody, I should do it personally. -- Fearless Rick

If you're one of the many people out there who own gold and/or silver, congratulations. You've also probably heard of a fellow by the name of Vince Lanci. He runs a Substack called GoldFix and also does videos hosted by Arcadia Economics, which is Chris Marcus' baby. I have a great deal of respect for Chris Marcus, but wonder about his judgement in putting Lanci on board, because, simply put, Vince Lanci is a tool.

Some of what Lanci writes or opines about in videos makes plenty of sense, which is where one should stop. As Mark Twain so eloquently opined, "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt." Lanci, who apparently thinks he has to impress his readers or viewers with how smart, and deep, and possessive of intimate knowledge of the inner workings of economics, usually keeps on going, making a complete ass of himself along the way.

I tempt the ghost of Mark Twain by continuing on here, because another Mark Twain pearl of wisdom states, "Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience." Point taken, but I'll shoulder the risk.

What really got me going on Vinci Lanci was his post on ZeroHedge this morning, ""Why You Don't Sell Your Physical Gold & Silver." I thought he might point out that you don't sell your precious metals because they're HONEST MONEY in the truest sense of that word, without counterparty risk, or that you can use gold and silver coins and bullion as collateral, but no, Vince, always the sage, wants everybody to hold their gold and silver because it strengthens nations, and the nation in which you live counts your personal wealth as part of theirs.

Complete bunk.

Vince says, "In quiet conversations between nations, they don’t just look at official reserves. They look at total national wealth, which includes what citizens hold," and, "If the government ever faces a real emergency, private balance sheets become part of the national picture instantly."

I wanted to stop reading right there, but my inner journalist has some kind of perverse desire to see people make complete fools of themselves, and Vince was headed in the right direction.

Vince, who usually pens his garf using the regal "we" when it comes to identifying the author, and also spends time with loudmouth nonsense-spouting babblers like Tom Luongo, began inserting random quotes without attribution, as if they were godly proclamations that were undeniable truths. Like,

“The result is a two-layer reserve structure in which central bank holdings and household metal form a single strategic perimeter.”

or,

“States are responding by building deeper metallic buffers inside their borders.”

and,

“Although ownership remains private, the metal becomes visible, recognizable, and potentially mobilizable.”

...whatever that means.

Now, see here, when I use anonymous quotes in the "Toast of the Town" on the Daily Idler and in the usual summaries every month, I do so because the quotes are vitriolic, or funny, or thought-provoking and the original speaker is somebody on an internet chat room, on X, or it was spoken by some passer-by on the street. This is a tradition I started back in 1982, with my first publication of Downtown, the Unbound Magazine. If the speaker, or “quotee” desires attribution, I am only so happy to provide it. In 43 years of doing this, nobody has ever asked. If it's an historical quote by somebody famous, infamous, or otherwise noteworthy, I give proper attribution.

What Lanci has done is essentially hyperventilation of his own theses, which are deeply flawed, and, to be honest, downright stupid.

A couple of commenters agree:

Premium subscriber and obviously a genius, FKALLIBS got eight likes for this critique: "This is probably the dumbest article I've ever read on ZH."

SmallerGovNow2 said, "While I hold and believe in gold/silver, this post is a whole lot of horse shit..." (13 likes)

Lanci has to sound smart because he's on substack, and some people actually pay for his deepest, innermost thoughts on gold and silver. Most of us in the gold and silver accumulation business don't need a daily reminder of why gold and silver this or that. We know it has value and we know that fiat currencies are failing. Trying to sound all in the know about macroeconomic trends and international finnance, like Lanci does all too often (like twie a day) adds nothing to the conversation.

The other reason I think Vince is a tool is because I once offered (try reaching him; it's nearly impossible) to trade advertising on my sites in exchange for his premium substack subscription. After waiting three weeks for a reply, I messaged again, complaining that he could at least acknowledge the message and that his work was crackpot rehashing of other people's ideas. Lo and behold, Lanci then responded with a firm, impolite, "f--- you," informing me that I had no idea how busy he was. Well, darn. it takes less than a minute to respond to a DM, which he proved by responding to my insult. Tool. Utter, cast iron, dead weight TOOL. I'm glad we never made a deal with Lanci. I don't fancy associations with arrogant, self-absorbed bumpkins. WOuld make me look bad. Besides, I would hardly read his stuff, so much of it being reconstituted, partially-plagiarized vomit.

OK, now I know that I write quite a bit, so I probably shouldn’t be criticizing a fellow voice on alternate media, but, when you're wrong, you're wrong, and Lanci is the type who will never admit it. Yes, I make mistakes. Most recently, I stumbled on some math, mistaking $1.972 billion for $1.972 trillion. Sorry, lack of sleep, maybe. I'm usually dead-on, math-wise.

So, if Vince reads this, he'll likely consider me to be beneath him somehow and my criticisms may engender a nasty comment or email. Always good to hear from my betters, I guess. Who cares? I stand uncorrected.

•. •. •. •.

Entering the final session of the week, stocks have risen to new all-time highs on the Dow and S&P. The NASDAQ lags, weighed down by AI skepticism, about 265 points short of its all-time high. On the week, through Thursday's close, the Dow is at a new high, up 749 points; the NASDAQ has gained a mere 15 points, and the S&P, also closing at a record high Thursday, is up 30 points.

With the opening ball 30 minutes ahead, stock futures are split, with the Dow up 92, the NASDAQ down 133 and the S&P off 6 points.

Gold and silver are raging higher. Spot silver reached $64.62 overnight and is holding at $64.16. Gold is rocking, at $$4,339.60, heading towards its all-time high of $4,355.18. Bitcoin ($92,325.51) can't shake the losses.

I'm waiting for somebody like Mike Maloney or maybe even Chris Marcus to do a spoof ad, "Got Metal?" Maybe I'll meme it.

See you on Sunday for the WEEKEND WRAP.

At the Close, Thursday, December 11, 2025:
DOW: 48,704.01, +646.26 (+1.34%)
NASDAQ: 23,593.86, -60.30 (-0.25%)
S&P 500: 6,901.00, +14.32 (+0.21%)
NYSE Composite: 22,114.42, +181.11 (+0.83%)

Crossing Out Pandemic Era Prices; Fed Cuts FF Rate, Re-Starts QE, Buying Bills; Oracle Reports, Stock Tanks

In horse racing handicapping, the most astute observers of form, pace, and condition will often take an unusually poor performance by an otherwise dependable steed and "put a line through it," withdrawing a bad race from the overall past performance presentation.

That approach would probably fit well within the scope of long-term investors as it pertains to the pandemic or "covid" era from February, 2020 and - depending on the particular asset - anywhere from June, 2020 to March, 2021. Taking a "before and after" snapshot of the period in between given dates, eliminates the aberrant period in which asset values were whipsawed lower and then back higher, producing a continuity in pricing that is at once more realistic and more reliable for assessing true valuations.

While it may be futile to point this out to the horde of momentum-chasing droids that populate the current investor class since few bother to look back five years, much less five weeks, when performing due diligence, if they bother with that at all. Nonetheless, smoothing out bumps and grinds along the pathways of stocks, bonds, commodities and their varied derivatives is part of the rigor of value investing. It's why moving averages are important.

For those not desirous of a deep look at the past, it's useful to note that most five year charts now, at long last, do not cover the pandemic era at all. By December, 2020, most of the financial horrors had already been relegated to a fresh dustbin of history, though effects on the human psyche and physical health persisted longer, some even to this day. One cannot easily draw a line through personal tragedy or long term illness and death has its own black line, drawn with a permanent marker.

The passage of time and the wisdom of charts has done some of the work for investors by taking out some of the bad experience, but, five years of past performances may be suitable for a seven-year-old racehorse, it's a little short on the history of companies, especially those like Dow stocks that have been around for decades. Well, some of them, at least.

Those bearing recency bias may want to perform a similar line-out on the tariff tantrum from April through July of 2025. It was also an aberration that should not be included in 52-week high or low measurements. All assets, classes, and stocks are different, so employing sound judgement on such matters is a requirement.

Looking at more recent developments, the FOMC did what everybody expected and cut the federal funds target rate 0.25%, to 3.50-3.75%, the lowest in three years. The Fed also restarted QE, announcing that they would begin buying $40 billion worth of short-dated treasury bills immediately at Chairman Powell's press conference following the policy statement. Claiming that the purchase of short-term bills is "not QE", this latest liquidity push is not explicit in the official statements, but rather referenced in the implementation note, directing the Open Market Desk at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to:

Increase the System Open Market Account holdings of securities through purchases of Treasury bills and, if needed, other Treasury securities with remaining maturities of 3 years or less to maintain an ample level of reserves.

Roll over at auction all principal payments from the Federal Reserve's holdings of Treasury securities. Reinvest all principal payments from the Federal Reserve's holdings of agency securities into Treasury bills.

Thus, there are no reins on the NY Fed. They are free to purchase T-bills and roll over expiring bills, notes, and bonds into exclusively bills.

This indicates, as none other than "Big Short" Michael Burry opines that such a move shows that the banking sector is stressed, not "stable" as many pundits would like to reference its current condition. (Editor's Note: Oddly enough, after clicking the link to the story above, Money Daily was prompted to log into its msn account, with the message, "since you are accessing sensitive information..." How about that? Now, financial information concerning Michael Burry is now sensitive?)

The next FOMC meetings are scheduled for January 27-28 and March 17-18. The Fed made no reference toward cutting rates any further.

All of this just helped silver bump a lttle higher. With the U.S. stock markets open in half an hour, silver continues to make new all-time highs, Silver hit a high of $62.93 overnight and is holding above $62 currently. Gold is steady at $4,219, and looking to advance.

Stock futures are lower, with Dow futures right at breakeven, NASDAQ futures off 147 points and S&P futures down 25.

Oracle (ORCL) reported before the open. The stock is tanking in the pre-market, down more than 13%. Not to worry, the U.S. government owns 10% of the company. Yeah, how's that working out?

Trouble's brewing. Hurry, Santa! We've all been nice this year!

At the Close, Wednesday, December 10, 2025:
Dow: 48,057.75, +497.46 (+1.05%)
NASDAQ: 23,654.16, +77.67 (+0.33%)
S&P 500: 6,886.68, +46.17 (+0.67%)
NYSE Composite: 21,933.31, +278.52 (+1.29%)

Silver Price Riggers Swamped, Overwhelmed as the End of Debt-Based Fiat Currency Accelerates; Fed Rate Cut Expected at 2:00 pm ET

Accolades are in order for the silver price suppressors concerning Tuesday's trading. Huzzah! All praise to the riggers!

As is their usual mode of operation, in the overnight trade of December 8, leading to the morning of December 9, the usual suspects managed to smash the silver price down to $57.54. Hours later, during regular trading in New York, the price of an ounce of silver had reached the unprecedented all-time high of $60.88 in the spot market.

The price suppression cartel that operates between the United States and England has been fully broken and defeated. Within the past month alone, the price of silver has increased more than 21%. Over six months, the rise has been more than 66%, and year-to-date silver has achieved what many long-term holders of precious metals thought to be impossible: the price of silver has advanced some 109%, affirming that whatever mechanisms the New York to London fixes, spoofs, and unconscionable suppression tactics have been undertaken have failed, and failed miserably.

Implications to global economics are profound and only beginning to be understood. Silver's rising price represents a wholesale repudiation of Western economic hegemony and a radical shift from derivative pricing to physical, not just in the United States and Europe, but around the world.

A day or so ago, Fearless Rick watched a video produced by Chris Martenson, accompanied by Paul Kiker, near the end of which both presenters were dumbfounded as to why central banks were so intent on keeping the price of silver suppressed. Neither could come up with a good reason. On Tuesday, Rick posted a reply on the youtube page, republished here, which answers their question rather succinctly:

To Chris and Paul: I just wanted to offer my opinion on why central banks and major economies like the US and (ahem) England want to keep the price of silver down is because of one simple reason: It's MONEY, just like gold, and central bankers with the ability to conjure fiat currency out of thin air DO NOT APPRECIATE COMPETITION. The suppression of silver didn't happen when silver was taken out of circulation in 1965 in the US. It began much further back, in 1873, when central banks sought to remove the bi-metallic standard from with the U.S. and elsewhere and make gold the prime financial asset with the coinage act of 1973. What became known as the "Crime of '73" demonetized silver and facilitated the suffering of farmers and common people in the United States.

I have written on the subject many times on my website, https://dtmagazine.com. You can go and read my assessments of why central bankers hate silver more than gold or read many other articles around the internet. I'll certainly be writing more about banking and silver as long as I can, and actually featured silver on the money page of December's idleguy.com (https://idleguy.com/122025/8money.php).

There are far-reaching ramifications concerning silver that will come to actualization in the months and years ahead, the most powerful of which will likely be a return to sane and historic gold:silver ratio of what I believe will eventually be 10:1. By putting silver in proper perspective relative to gold and the US$, much of the world will experience prosperity as they never have before. Imagine the populations of India, China, much of the Middle East, Africa, South America and, of course, in developed nations as well, being pulled from poverty just by the men act of silver being finally recognized for its monetary potential. You can pay attention to this world-shattering event as it occurs or deny it. The choice is yours. Good day and good luck.

It's a good thing Money Daily copy/pasted the comment, because, like most of Fearless Rick's commentary, it was quickly removed (We'll repost it, again, and again, and again).

As far as the gold:silver ratio returning to the natural level of 10:1 is concerned, that development may take years, or could happen overnight, should a major economic power - India, China, Russia, Indonesia or even Saudi Arabia, or all of them - officially peg silver to gold at a 10:1 ratio. Not that it may happen, but the likelihood of it happening grows significantly closer as the ratio, even with the COMEX, CME, and the LBMA squirming to retain control continue to exist.

As of Tuesday evening, the ratio has fallen to its lowest level since 2021, 69.43, and it is likely to decline even further. Just a few weeks ago that ratio was above 84. The movement should not be easily disregarded as it represents the initial thrust in what figures to be a long-term trend. There's no doubt that the regime of fractional reserve, fiat debt-based money is nearing an end. Silver may very well be the vehicle that accelerates or completes the process.

With the stock market opening in about 30 minutes, the price of silver is holding around $60.80 after hitting a record high of $61.64 overnight in the spot market. Whatever techniques the riggers are using, they aren't working very well presently.

The big deal on Wednesday will be the conclusion of the final FOMC meeting of the year. At 2:00 pm ET the FOMC will unveil what figures to be a 25 basis point cut to the federal funds rate, from 3.75-3.50% down to 3.50-3.25%. Chairman Jerome Powell will hold the customary press conference a half hour after the announcement, and FOMC members will reveal their economic projections.

Stock futures are flat, bitcoin is hovering around the $92,000 mark and WTI crude oil is up 13 cents, at $58.38.

At the Close, Tuesday, December 9, 2025:
Dow: 47,560.29, -179.03 (-0.38%)
NASDAQ: 23,576.49, +30.58 (+0.13%)
S&P 500: 6,840.51, -6.00 (-0.09%)
NYSE Composite: 21,654.78, -48.41 (-0.22%)

Will the Fed's Hawkish Rate Cut Stop the Rally in Stocks?; Health Insurance Tax Credits Remain Unresolved, Another Government Shutdown Possible

There's been a lot of talk lately about a "hawkish" rate cut about to be promoted by the Federal Reserve's FOMC on Wednesday and this has left markets - stocks, bonds, and commodities - a little bit confused. While the widely-expected 25 basis point slash to the federal funds target rate is, in isolation, dovish, rhetoric from the Fed governors, regional presidents, and Chairman Powell himself may lean slightly to the rational side that believes inflation is still not fully under control nor is the base economy in dire enough straits to automatically assume the Fed's path is toward further easing.

Chairman Powell is likely to touch on these topics at his post-policy press conference and his points may be well-grounded, though, in the absence or delays of the usual government reports isn't going to clarify matters for the Fed's position one way or another. For instance, November PPI has now been delayed for release until January 14, the government shutdown being blamed for the delay by the bean-counters at the BLS.

Investopedia has published a list of reports that have already been delayed with the new release dates and some that have yet to be rescheduled. The somewhat long list itself is now five days old; some of the dates have been changed, again; and the lack of data implies that the Fed is "flying blind" no matter which way their economic bias trends. The lack of data also provides a potential escape hatch for any miscalculations the Fed might encounter. It wouldn't surprise anybody to hear strained apologies from Fed officials in February or March about higher prices, or low employment, or any number of economic pitfalls that may occur before, during, or after January 31, when the funding approved to end the shutdown three weeks ago runs out again.

There's every possibility that the government will shut down again, as the core issue of extending or rescinding health insurance tax credits remains unresolved with congressional holidays soon to commence. Both houses will be on holiday from December 20 through January 4. It's true that the people most responsible for the government shutdown, and lack of, or delayed, data releases are the 535 members of congress who seem unable to agree on anything beyond support for Ukraine and their own salaries. As a whole, the Senators and Representatives have been largely mute when it comes to resolving core issues and they're nowhere near consensus or compromise on the main stumbling block.

In the meantime, many Americans face a December 15 deadline to choose an insurance provider. Congress has once again left them in the lurch, without a clear decision. Many Americans may choose to opt out of choosing altogether. Premiums and deductibles on the available plans remain sky-high and congress has forwarded no guidance going forward. It's almost as if the shutdown, ostensibly forced by Democrats opposed to the cancellation of Obamacare subsidies (by Republicans in the One Big Beautiful Bill) was all for naught and the country will be forced back into indecision and shutdown again by February 1.

Inaction at the congressional level provides the Federal Reserve plenty of cover for whatever monetary policies they prefer to promote. "Don't blame us, it was them," is likely to be the phrase rising up the unaccountability chart with a bullet in early 2026 as the economy suffers, people are forced into buying things - health insurance - they don't want or can’t afford, and the media spin gyrates out of control.

What the FOMC will accomplish on Wednesday, in association with Jerome Powell and others' jawboning immediately afterwards, has all the elements of a bait-and-switch. The Fed will cut the target rate down to 3.50-3.75%, that's a given, but the talk will be about further rate cuts, in January and beyond, which the fed mouthpieces are certain to downplay. In other words, after this cut, no more, and maybe not for a long time, so you'll get some relief, but there's no guarantee we will do more of the same. In essence, the Fed is cutting rates rather reluctantly while implying that there will be a rough road ahead and they'll be standing back and watching instead of acting.

As the Wednesday 2:00 pm ET date with destiny approaches, markets remain unresolved and taking bites of reality into account. Stocks turned lower on Monday, and stock futures are heading lower across the board this morning. Actions of the Federal Reserve don't occur in a vacuum. There are more issues surrounding the economy of the U.S. and the rest of the world to consider. The unwinding of the Yen carry trade is becoming a hot-button issue, the AI spending spree is coming under considerable scrutiny as are most government policies. Reality rears its ugly head again and more people are paying attention, noticing that government and media characterizations of the state of affairs doesn't quite jibe with what they're experiencing on a day-to-day basis.

A Santa Rally may be in the offing come bonus time, but there's a good chance it will occur at levels well below what's current.

After what looks to be a "hawkish rate cut" might the next move on the markets be one of Orwellian design, like "stocks rally lower?"

At the Close, Monday, December 8, 2025:
Dow: 47,739.32, -215.67 (-0.45%)
NASDAQ: 23,545.90, -32.22 (-0.14%)
S&P 500: 6,846.51, -23.89 (-0.35%)
NYSE Composite: 21,703.20, -106.88 (-0.49%)