Sierra Madre Precious Metals

‘A natural desire to diversify’
Janet Yellen says Americans should anticipate a decline in the USD as the world’s reserve currency — what you need to know and how to prepare.

The U.S. dollar saw an 8% decline in its share of global reserves in 2022 — causing some to question whether the dollar’s days of dominance are over.

Treasury Secretary Jannet Yellen gave her two cents on the matter during a congressional hearing in June — stating that no currency currently exists that could displace the greenback.

Yellen remains adamant that “it will not be easy for any country to devise a way to get around the dollar.” She did, however, warn that the dollar’s share of global reserves may continue to decline as countries look to “diversify.”

Recent events — including the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes to stem domestic inflation, the trade war with China and the U.S. sanctions enforced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — have caused more countries to call for trade to be carried out in other currencies besides the U.S. dollar… (Continue to full article)

Bank CEOs Have Their Heads in the Clouds
Bank CEOs always have their heads in the clouds. First, pessimists never earn a seat in the corner office. Plus, it takes a good-sized ego to climb to the top of a bank bureaucracy. A person running a bank believes they can sail the ship through any stormy economic weather.

Take John Allison. He’s the chairman of a bank holding company, Home BancShares. He told the Wall Street Journal about a time when the regulator of Home BancShares, the Federal Reserve, was badgering him to slow down on real-estate lending in 2019. “They’re telling us the construction lending space is going to blow up . . . and the world is coming to an end,” Allison recalled. “And I said, ‘You know what? I don’t see it.’”

A CEO I worked for was pithier when the regulators sang the same tune about his bank’s growth. “What do you want me to do, close at noon?” he said. A decade later his bank failed.

A bank’s loans may be on big, tall buildings, but fractional reserves make any bank a house of cards.

NOW – Check out the HEADLINES below… (Continue to full article)

Banks Freezing Accounts Has Now Become A Painful Problem
Banks freezing accounts has now become a painful problem as more customers nationwide report inexplicable financial damage.

Some of the biggest banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase have given customers a painful experience recently.

After reporting how families accounts have been frozen by MVB Bank and Green Dot Bank, several bank customers reported to FrankNez their current experiences with much bigger banks… (Continue to full article)

The US National Debt Just Hit A Grim New Milestone wake up to overnight surcharge on gas and say the sudden jump by 11 cents extra a gallon is ‘killing’ them
The U.S. national debt reached $33 trillion for the first time on Monday, according to data published by the Treasury Department.

The Treasury Department noted the national debt hit $33.04 trillion on Monday afternoon, several months after the U.S. hit the debt ceiling in June, and Congress passed a bill suspending the ceiling until 2025. Lawmakers are currently attempting to prevent a government shutdown at the end of September as the national debt continues to rise.

The debt debate in June concluded with bipartisan agreement to temporarily suspend the debt limit for two years and reduce federal spending by $1.5 trillion over the span of 10 years. Even with the agreement, the debt is still heading towards $50 trillion by the end of the decade… (Continue to full article)

$18,900,000,000 in US Treasuries Dumped by BRICS Members China, Brazil, India and UAE in One Month
Several members of the economic alliance known as BRICS are discarding billions of dollars worth of assets backed by the US government.

New numbers from the Treasury Department show China is leading the charge, reducing its holdings of US treasuries from $835.4 billion in June to $821.8 billion in July – a decrease of $13.6 billion in one month.

When a country sells US treasuries, the billions of dollars collected from the sale may serve as capital for the nation’s central bank to accumulate the local currency on the open market in an effort to boost its value… (Continue to full article)

Investors pulled $19 billion from stocks in the last week, the highest outflow all year amid surging bond yields and Fed jitters
Investor outflows from stocks were the highest they’ve been all year in the last week, as markets mull the possibility that interest rates could remain elevated for longer than expected, according to Bank of America.

Stocks saw $18.96 billion of outflows over the past week, Bank of America data shows, the largest weekly outflow recorded since December 2022.

The outflows were capped by the Fed’s policy meeting this week, where chief central banker Jerome Powell warned that the Fed could take interest rates higher for longer than markets have been expecting.

Thank Biden for ensuring no one gets to retire for the foreseeable future… (Continue to full article)

Chase Customers Now Begin to Report Missing Deposits From Bank

Chase YOUR Money!!!

More and more JPMorgan Chase customers are now beginning to report missing deposits from the bank.

Earlier this month, numerous Chase customers were unable to access money through ATMs in California and other parts of the United States, including Texas, Florida, Ohio, New York City, Arizona, and many others.

And according to the company, more than 16,000 ATMs were affected nationwide.

Last week several users also reported being unable to use their debit cards to withdraw cash, with some even seeing double charges on their accounts.

Now Chase customers have begun to report missing deposits from the bank up to a week after getting paid… (Continue to full article)

Drivers wake up to overnight surcharge on gas and say the sudden jump by 11 cents extra a gallon is ‘killing’ them
On Monday, spiking gas prices in the area neared an average of $6 per gallon in the Los Angeles region, local news network KTLA reported.

It only took one more day for that benchmark to be eclipsed as the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline hit nearly $6.03 in the L.A. area, according to AAA.

That price is around 11 cents higher than Monday’s $5.92 the consumer change their driving habits resulting in demand destruction

We have to get to work, we have to commute – so, you know, it’s a lose-lose for the drivers… (Continue to full article)

Biden admin unleashes 50-year mining, oil drilling ban across thousands of acres in New Mexico
The Biden administration proposed to block of thousands of acres from future oil drilling or mining in northern New Mexico in an effort to protect Native American lands.

NOW – if Joey would have offered to build a Casino on the land so that the Tribes could receive financial benefit – why not do the same thing with drilling issues?

Oh yeah – and the Tribes would receive FAR greater financial benefit – but OH NO – then they wouldn’t buy EV’s… (Continue to full article)

If prices top $100, expect ‘demand destruction’, says analyst
Oil prices have been rising since the summer amid a supply crunch. That has raised a question on Wall Street: How high can crude go before rising energy prices actually hurt demand?

On Tuesday West Texas Intermediate traded above $92 per barrel, while Brent crude futures hovered over $95 per barrel.

“I think you need to see crude oil prices at $100 to $110 per barrel with gasoline prices rising to $4.00 to $4.25 per gallon to have the consumer change their driving habits resulting in demand destruction

Phoenix is currently sitting at between $4.63 and $4.99 per gallon now… (Continue to full article)

Costs of 34 Medicare Drugs To Be Capped at $618 Until December
Under the Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program, Part B beneficiary coinsurance may be lowered for 34 prescription drugs, which can mean savings of $1 to $618 per average dose, depending on individual coverage, CMS said.

“By reducing coinsurance for some people with Part B coverage and discouraging drug companies from increasing prices faster than inflation, this policy may lower out-of-pocket costs for some people with Medicare, and reduce Medicare program spending for costly drugs,” the agency said in a statement.

The list of 34 drugs includes the blockbuster drug Humira, for treatment of severe rheumatoid arthritis, as well as Rybrevant, for treating lung cancer.

And the jokes get deeper and deeper… (Continue to full article)

Prices are about to soar even higher — and it could trigger a recession
Trying to catch a greased pig is an American tradition that has fallen out of fashion — so you’re forgiven if you don’t know the rules.

The game, once a staple of county and state fairs, is simple enough: A small pig is covered in lubricant and thrown into a ring where contestants try to catch the animal. What makes it hard — and fun to watch for spectators — is that pigs are shiftier than lumbering humans. Just when you think you have a grip on them, the slick porker can slip through your fingers. And when it’s all over, both pig and human end up dirty.

Since the pandemic, America has been living in an economic version of the greased-pig game — prices have been running free despite assurances from policymakers and economists that the pig (inflation) will be caught soon, which is to say, brought down to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

OINK-OINK-OINK…. (Continue to full article)

“At the End of a Rainbow” Earl Grant

41,000 people are about to get $240 million in medical debt cancelled thanks to an infusion of cash from Biden’s pandemic aid
Americans owe about $195 billion in medical debt, a 2022 analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found, with almost one in 10 owing “significant debt.”

Roughly 3 million borrowers owe more than $10,000 . And $88 billion in medical debt is in collections , meaning it’s lingering unpaid, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

It’s the most common debt on Americans’ credit reports, according to the CFPB , and can lead to debtors coming up against “financial consequences like lawsuits, wage and bank account garnishment, home liens, and bankruptcy.

Students get off free, Illegals get off free – and YOU and I have to pay for it… (Continue to full article)

The Federal Reserve Is Losing Money and You’re Going to Foot the Bill
The last time the Fed reported net operating losses was in 1915.

To put this net loss in perspective, the largest yearly gain over the last 10 years was in 2021 when the Fed reported a $104 billion net income. In other words, the central bank is on pace for a loss as large as the biggest gain in at least a decade.

Who suffers when the Federal Reserve loses money?

In most cases, a business feels the pain when a business loses money. But when the Fed loses money, the US government feels the pain. And ultimately, you and I foot the bill.attention from Capitol Hill this year, with lawmakers on both sides feeling pressure to act… (Continue to full article)

Gas Prices Hit 2023 Highs as Oil Chugs HIGHER

Over TWICE as high as when Trump left office in many areas of the country!!!

Gas prices hit new 2023 highs Monday as a squeeze on oil supply sent prices of refined products higher.

The oil issue, the higher gas prices — this should be a reminder to all of us that the Fed is not in charge of inflation… (Continue to full article)

Pipeline problems could cut off nation’s 100-year gas supply
A recent analysis determined the United States sits on a century’s worth of gas supply, but industry experts warn there aren’t enough pipelines to access it.

The report from the Potential Gas Committee, part of the Colorado School of Mines, found that the country had technically recoverable gas resources of 3,353 trillion cubic feet, a 0.5% decrease from its 2020 estimate.

Despite this, however, total future supply has hit the highest level recorded by the committee in 60 years

Anyway you look at it – we are SCROOED!!! (Continue to full article)

Five bank branches in same state set to close for good in October and customers warned to locate their money
BANKS have worked to digitize their assets, leaving behind brick-and-mortar shops across the US.

In New York State, five more bank branches made it to the chopping block in September as banks continue their digital revolution.

Bank of America announced it would shutter a location in Pelham Manor while Newtek Bank announced a closure in Flushing, Queens.

Another filing the week later showed three more banks set to close in the state… (Continue to full article)

What To Know If You Deposit More Than $10K Into Your Checking Account
If you plan to deposit $10,000 or more into your checking account , there are a few things you should consider first. By law, banks have to report deposits that exceed a certain amount.

Not only that, but many bank accounts come with maximum deposit restrictions. You may also be subject to certain fees when making such a large deposit. If you frequently make large deposits, you should also watch out for any potential scams or fraudulent activity. But even if this is a one-time thing, it’s still important to know about these factors and how they might affect you.

By requiring banks to report deposits of $10,000 or more, the government can more easily keep track of monetary transactions… (Continue to full article)

Why the US Will Never Pay Its Debt
The United States has a long history of borrowing money to finance various initiatives, from wars to economic stimulus packages . As of 2023, the national debt stands at over $30 trillion, a staggering amount that is almost impossible to comprehend.

The US has to pay interest on its debt, and these interest payments are a significant portion of the federal budget. As the debt grows, so does the interest that needs to be paid on it. This means that even if the US were to stop borrowing money tomorrow, it would still owe a significant amount in interest payments.

There is a lack of political will to make the tough decisions required to pay down the debt. Any effort to pay down the debt would likely require a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, both of which are politically unpopular. Additionally, politicians are often focused on short-term goals, such as winning the next election, rather than long-term fiscal responsibility… (Continue to full article)