Category Archives: The Mine or the Shaft

History Suggests This Spells Trouble for Stocks. We’re witnessing history: the first meaningful decline in U.S. money supply in 90 years. Volatility has been the name of the game on Wall Street since this decade began. Since 2020, the iconic … Continue reading →

If you’re going to go out, you might as well go out in style. Our national debt stood at $31,467,639,287,894.39 at the start of June. It is now worth $33,476,530,987,617.43. That implies that in just three months, we have added … Continue reading →

History is starting to repeat itself. In 2008, bond prices crashed before stock prices did. Here in 2023, bond prices are crashing again. In fact, we are currently witnessing one of the greatest financial crashes in U.S. history at this … Continue reading →

When Silicon Valley Bank and other banks failed earlier this year, the debate over the sustainability of fractional reserve banking resurfaced. Under fractional reserve banking, banks keep only a fraction of customers’ deposits in reserve. The difference is bank credit, … Continue reading →

Banks have now reported having more than $309 billion in unrealized losses for the second quarter ending on June 30 alone. The FDIC reported that all 4,645 FDIC-insured financial institutions had $309.6 billion in unrealized losses on held-to-maturity securities. According … Continue reading →

Even as interest rates skyrocketed over the past 18 months, a good job market and strong consumer spending kept the US economy moving. This led to hope that a soft landing was coming, where the Federal Reserve could defeat inflation … Continue reading →

Banks are closing branches faster than they’re opening new ones. U.S. banks closed over 3,000 branches last year while opening just 1,000. JPMorgan Chase led in branch closures last year, shuttering 144 branches, while opening 133. The trend will likely … Continue reading →

Our standard of living is being systematically destroyed, but for a lot of years many Americans didn’t fully understand what was taking place because it was happening so slowly. But now we have reached a stage where the purchasing power … Continue reading →

Leading Economic Indicators See Us on Cusp of Recession Yet Again By many of the most reliable leading indicators of the U.S. economy, we are long overdue for a recession. Yet the economy stubbornly refuses to cooperate. The Conference Board … Continue reading →

As I read about the demise of the U.S. dollar’s status in world trade, I’m struck by the misdirection and irrational “thinking” employed by our politicians and bureaucrats. In this article, legislators think another law, rule or regulation will solve … Continue reading →