Football Ohios Finest – Luke Fickell in his final days of tenure

Dan Steinhart Managing Editor of The Casey Report Dear Reader, Casey Research Chief Economist Bud Conrad joins us today to analyze what’s behind gold’s recent weak performance. As is his specialty, Bud dug deep into the data to figure out exactly what’s happening in the gold futures market—who’s buying, who’s selling, and why. Read on to learn what he discovered about this controversial topic.

In This Issue. * .8% of the 2.6% GDP was ACA. * Currencies try again to rally. * China to widen trading band? * Yellow means go faster! And Now. Today’s A Pfennig For Your Thoughts. 4th QTR U.S. GDP Disappoints! Good Day!…  And a Marvelous Monday to you!  And Welcome to February!  Pitchers and catchers report in a couple of weeks. ? The Beatles greet me this morning with She Loves You. Admit it, you love that song, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, did you watch the Super Bowl last night? I tried. But I was in one of those “spells”, and I actually threw in the towel with 5 minutes remaining. As I had told you, and became quite obvious, I really didn’t care who won the game, and I dislike both teams. When I wrote that a couple of weeks ago, I had a Seahawks fan rip me and say that he hoped the Rams left St. Louis that I deserved that. Whoa there partner! Them’s fightin’ words! Well, looky there! The first estimate of 4th QTR GDP here in the U.S. printed at 2.6% last Friday! WOW! What a drop from the trumped up 5% 3rd QTR print.  But, the kicker here folks, is that if you recall, the 3rd QTR didn’t start out at 5%, in fact the previous estimate before the final revision was 3.9%… So, there will be a couple more “revisions” before we finally put to bed the 4th QTR GDP, and by the time we do so, it will be very stale data.  And I’m sure that the book cookers will do their best to meet the President’s call for a strong 4th QTR GDP.  But for now, 2.6% is a HUGE drop from 5%, and to me, it probably represents pretty close to what it should be.  I had told you last Friday morning that I thought if the beans were all counted correctly before “adjustments” 4th QTR GDP would print below 3%…  So, now that it did print below 3%, my mind is racing with all the questions about how many “adjustments” were made just to get it to 2.6%?  And is this the beginning of the problems that I’ve been talking about for the economy without stimulus? And according to John Williams over at shadowstats.com, at least .8% of that 2.6% was a result of the ACA.  So, not only did we stuff the ballot box of GDP reports last year by adding R&D, and other stuff to the calc, but we also added ACA. And the fun never stops boys and girls! Fun? You call this fun, Chuck? Well, not actually, I was being facetious. Oh, I see now, said the blind man as he spit into the wind, it’s all coming back to me now. So, when the 4th QTR GDP report printed on Friday, all the rate hike campers b’d and moaned, and it appeared that they had left their rate hike cake out in the rain. and I don’t think I can take it, because it took so long to bake it, and I’ll never have that recipe again.  And for those of you thinking I’ve lost my mind. quoting lyrics by Donna Summer, I’m not. I go back to the original. Richard Harris. So, there!   But, the rate hike campers took their bats and balls and went home, leaving the dollar to deal with everything on its own. And when the dollar has its accessories stripped away, it doesn’t look so good. on a funny note, I had a friend, send me a YouTube of an old guy singing a song called: I don’t look good naked anymore. That’s the song for the dollar folks! But the biggest surprise on Friday came when the price of Oil started rallying, and when the day finished the price of Oil had risen to above $50, a more than $5 move in one day! All the stories that attempted to explain this move pointed to the number of Oil rigs that had closed up the previous week which showed that the number of operating rigs was at a 3 -year low now, as the rig count dropped 7% the previous week.  I’ve been told by people associated with Oil in some capacity that this rig count isn’t that big a deal, but I’ve got to say that it has to have something to do with production, because has rigs close, they certainly aren’t producing any longer!  I don’t know where this will go, folks, but to me, it appears to be the beginning of the end. So, the currencies are attempting to rally this morning. The euro is up ½-cent, the Aussie dollar is up about 1/3rd of a cent, and so on.. But Gold is down again this morning sitting on a $7 loss right now. I’ve got some more on physical Gold in Asia later this morning, so I won’t spoil your appetite for that now, except to say the buying, producing and hoarding of Gold in the East just keeps gaining momentum. Other stuff that’s dropping includes Treasury yields. The “bond boys”  sure didn’t like the color of the GDP report last Friday, and said so by dropping yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is 1.67%, just to point out on point on the yield curve.. 1.67%, that’s less than even the stupid CPI says inflation is running. So. there you go. back up the truck, buy some 10-year Treasuries and start out in the red. And if yields rise anytime in the next 10-years, you’ll remain in the red. OOOOHHHH, Daddy, can I have some, please, I’ll be a good boy, I’ll go to church, and open the car door for mom, please, oh please? Greece is attempting to mend the bridges they burned during the election process. The Prime Minister and Finance Minister will be touring Europe and having meetings with key people in an attempt to gain support for their plans to come up with a new deal for creditors. Well the PM and FM had better arrive bearing gifts, because they really ticked off the countries that have lent them money the past few years. So, this is what it’s like. Someone in your family borrows money from you.  And they agree to the repayment terms, but then things get tight, and they no longer want to honor those repayment terms, so they go about talking bad about them to all their friends and it all gets back to you. And then the family member comes back to you, all nicey-nicey,  wanting to talk about a new deal.  If I were an European Central Bank (ECB) or Bundesbank (German Central Bank) member, I would tell the PM & FM to go to hello operator, give me number 9, if you don’t connect me, I’ll kick you in the behind the refrigerator was a piece of glass, and so on. I think you get the picture! Speaking of debts.I found this in my weekend reading. The White House will be seeking $561 billion from Congress to run the Pentagon in 2016 – its largest budget ever. However, a research and advocacy director told RT that the budget is closer to $1 trillion, and has been for several administrations. And why wouldn’t we believe what the advocates say? It was just 10 days ago that the President called for an end to “mindless austerity” and called for a surge in government spending, and then actually asked Congress to end the sequestration agreed upon four years ago.   I wondered why this request was made at the time that it was, and now I know! In addition, riddle me this Batman. The U.S. says that their deficit last year was only $560-something Billion. But if you look at the U.S. Debt Clock, it shows that in that same period (actually 13 months) we added $1 Trillion to the National Debt. So, how do they do that? How does $560 Billion turn into $1 Trillion? Oh, that’s right, how could I forget? There are all those “off budget” things that get accounted for in a different room, that’s all smoky, and the accountants all wear green shaded visors, and sleeve protectors, and the adding machine tape is running all over the floor. That’s how! But doesn’t that just tick you off just a bit? They throw a ticker-tape parade in celebration that the Budget Deficit last year wasn’t $1 Trillion, the dollar rallies, and people dance in the street, but in reality, it was the same-o, same-o. But Shhhhhh,  we don’t want to wake up the baby. Well, take me away from this discussion before I begin to yell at the walls, and here in the condo that would not be good for the other people in the condo! Well, the latest IMF Futures Position report from the previous week printed on Friday. And the extreme long position of dollars saw a reduction of 15,000 contracts, but still is quite large at 375,000.  However, the non-dollar currencies remained all with net short positions, which leads me to believe that dollar positions were being sold to buy Gold. But that was the previous week, and not last week, it will be interesting to see the positions report this week for last week when Gold slipped once again. One of the really disappointing currencies in the last 10 days has been the Swiss franc. After going on a moon shot after the franc was untied from the euro, the franc has lost ground on what seems like a daily basis. I guess the “safe haven” status for the franc has either lost luster or, the markets are feeling like everything in the world is copasetic.  It’s been a long time since I used that word, copasetic. My friend, Preston, who was the drummer in our band that traveled the country, used to say that word for everything. Hey Preston, want to stop and get a soda? Hey, it’s copasetic. would be the answer, and his answer to just about everything, so you can see why it’s been a while since I used it! HA! But seriously. what’s up with the markets anyway? Have they gone soft on us? Well, actually I think they have, they have fallen into the trap that the Central Banks set for them, and now the markets are afraid of the Central Banks and their ability to move markets against them. Central Banks rule the world! Can you see them wringing their hands together, and laughing that Doctor Evil laugh, and repeating, We rule the world, we rule the world?   The Chinese renminbi / yuan saw a weakening overnight by the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC).  I was doing some reading this past weekend. By the way, I’m reading a new book, titled:  Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.  I’m only about 1/3rd of my way through the book, but brother let me tell you, it’s good stuff! And a true story to boot!  OK.. back to our regularly scheduled programming.  The stuff I was also reading was about China, and the next steps for the renminbi. And of all the things that were talked about, the only one I saw that made sense was the widening of the trading band for the renminbi, which currently stands at +/-2%…  The band was last widened from +/-1% in March 2014. and before that it was April 2012 that the band was widened from +/-.5%, and before that 2007 when they widened it from +/-.3%..  So, I think it would be the next step.  Of course, widening the band doesn’t turn all the green lights on for renminbi appreciation. notice it does say + or –  and in 2014, it was a case of both! But that doesn’t take away from the plans for the renminbi going forward, which I still maintain is taking away the reserve status from the dollar, and propelling the renminbi to such status. Just to be fair and balanced. James Rickards, doesn’t agree with that idea, and instead he has called for a collapse of the Financial system, at which time countries will created a new Gold backed currency.  As crazy as I sound sometimes, and have been called gloom and doom, I can’t get myself to be that gloom and doom. The U.S. Data Cupboard today, has two of my faves data prints. Personal Income & Spending from December. We’ll also see the ISM Manufacturing Data for January.. Recall that the December ISM index number was weaker than it had been in November, and was a surprise to the markets. So, saying that, I come to the realization that “they” can’t let that happen again! And Gold. Well, I promised you something above on Physical Gold and so here we go! This is from Bullionstar.com and of course is the research of Koos Jansen. “As I wrote last time on data from the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), in week 2 of 2015 withdrawals from the vaults of the SGE (that equal Chinese wholesale demand) came in extremely high at 70 tonnes; the third highest amount ever. In week 3 (January 19 – 23), though, the Chinese withdrew even more at 71 tonnes, up 0.89 % w/w, and a new third highest amount ever. Year to date 202 tonnes have been withdrawn from the SGE vaults, up 15 % y/y. Like last week, this was happening while the price of gold was rising sharply, staggering numbers. It’s still a mystery why mainstream media are not tracking weekly SGE withdrawals. I’ve read all over the news that Russia’s central bank has added 152 tonnes of gold in total to its reserves in 2014. In perspective, this is approximately the same amount of gold China has imported in the first three weeks of 2015. In my post China Continues To Drain Global Gold Inventory I have, once again, pointed out that import numbers derived from SGE withdrawals are for 95 % covered by export from the UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong and the US. These countries disclose only non-monetary gold trade, which support my assumption PBOC purchases are an invisible side show from public gold trade numbers and SGE withdrawals.” Alrighty then. Now it’s time to go to the For What’s It’s Worth section for today. And today, I have something from my daily perusals of zerohedge.com, and can be read there in its entirety by clicking here: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-01-30/what-happens-when-markets-realize  To set this up, it’s Charles Plosser, head of the Philly Fed speaking, pay close attention here folks.. “One of the things I’ve tried to argue is look, if we believe that monetary policy is doing what we say it’s doing and depressing real interest rates and goosing the economy and we’re in some sense distorting what might be the normal market outcomes at some point, we’re going to have to stop doing it. At some point the pressure is going to be too great. The market forces are going to overwhelm us. We’re not going to be able to hold the line anymore. And then you get that rapid snap back in premiums as the market realizes that central banks can’t do this forever. And that’s going to cause volatility and disruption.” Chuck again. WOW! A Fed member actually talking about how the Fed has distorted normal market outcomes! For once you get to hear from a Fed member, and not just me, talking and ranting about this stuff, and to this point sounding like the boy who cried wolf. To recap. The 4th QTR GDP first reading was just 2.6%, well below the expectations for a +3% print. And .8% of that 2.6% came from the ACA, so the fun just keeps coming for us!  The currencies tried to rally on the weaker GDP report, but fizzled out on Friday, and they have picked up the attempt to rally again this morning. Greece leaders are touring Europe in attempt to repair the bridges they burned during the election process.  Chuck questions the accounting of the Budget Deficit, and Gold gets sold again. what’s going on? Before I go to the currency roundup today, I wanted to take a minute, and talk about the loss of a baseball legend. Well, they laid to rest one of the top 100 ball players of the last 100 years on Saturday. RIP Ernie Banks, Mr. Cub. I really only saw Ernie Banks play ball at the end of his career, but my dad used to tell me about his ability, which was always a strong sign of respect when someone praised a ball player on a different team than the Cardinals, and add to that a Cub!  He was always recognized by that great smile, and his slogan, “let’s play two”.  I had a Cub fan send me a note last week when it was announced that Ernie Banks had died, and he asked me if I was such a diehard Cardinals fan that I couldn’t bring myself to talk about the passing of Ernie Banks.  WOW, I thought. I don’t think that would ever get in the way, and this is to prove it!  My friend, and retirement guru, Dennis Miller, is a lifelong Cub fan, and he tells me that Ernie Banks the Stan Musial of Chicago. Now that’s high praise!  So, RIP Mr. Cub. Currencies today 2/1/15.: American Style: A$ .7795, kiwi .7275, C$ .7885, euro 1.1340, sterling 1.5015, Swiss $1.0750, . European Style: rand 11.5755, krone 7.7540, SEK 8.2725, forint 274.20, zloty 3.6875, koruna 24.5005, RUB 69.23, yen 117.60, sing 1.3525, HKD 7.7540, INR 61.79, China 6.1385, pesos 14.94, BRL 2.6770, Dollar Index 94.76, Oil $50.06, 10-year 1.67%, Silver $17.15, Platinum $1,230.50, Palladium $777.30, and Gold. $1,272.14 That’s it for today. Quite full-o-words this morning, eh? Well, I was down and out in Beverly Hills most of the weekend, but got a good night’s sleep last night, so all is back to normal this morning! YAHOO! Little Feat is playing: Dixie Chicken on the iPod right now. Love to sing along with that song! Our Blues won in Washington D.C. yesterday, and I got to watch the game! NBC Sports Network aired the game, and just by chance I found that channel that I didn’t know I had! The TV Guide on the TV only goes to channel 98, but this channel was 730!  I guess it pays to just keep clicking “next” until the end, eh? The Blues have picked up where they left off before the All-Star Game break, and that included them playing their best hockey of the year! Let’s hope they don’t peek too soon, like they normally do! I did face time with my grandson, Braden the other day. He cracks me up. I taught him last year, that green is go, red is stop and yellow means “go faster”! And he told Kathy that the other day, as the light turned yellow as she was driving through the intersection. “Mimi, yellow means go faster!”  HA! Hey! Isn’t that my job as his grandfather, to teach him things? Cracks me UP!  Well, we had a plethora of birthdays last week, I hope everyone had a grand day.  And with that, I need to get going. I have a very important date! (not really, but the sun is out!)  I hope you have a Marvelous Monday! Chuck Butler Managing Director EverBank Global Markets read more

— – ALERT: A Massive Run On Gold Could Start As Soon As This Week Take out a calendar and circle the NEXT 7 days… That’s because there’s new evidence that indicates a massive run on gold could take place as soon as this week. And, by the time this bombshell hits, it may be too late for you. That’s why gold expert and author of The New Case For Gold Jim Rickards dropped everything to issue an urgent warning. Click here for the urgent facts on this fast-moving gold story. The War on Cash As I mentioned above, governments around the world are pushing negative interest rates and threatening to ban cash. A negative interest rate is when a government or bank charges you to hold your money in a bond or account. It’s like a second tax on money you have already earned. I know it sounds crazy, but this is happening all over the world. More than 20 countries have already implemented negative rates. And the United States has been flirting with the idea, too. To sidestep these negative rates, citizens in countries affected by them have been hoarding their cash. For instance, in Japan, one of the hottest-selling items in the country has been safes. People are using them to store their cash at home rather than a bank. If the U.S. Federal Reserve goes forward with negative rates, buying a safe to hoard your cash won’t be enough to protect your money. That’s because negative interest rates will be accompanied by the other government policy I’ve told you about… the War on Cash. These two forces could wreck your retirement plans if you don’t take action right now. You see, the government knows that if it institutes negative interest rates, people will begin to hoard their cash, just like in Japan. After all, why would anyone pay to put their money in a bank? For negative interest rates to really work, though, the government needs to ban cash. Not all cash at first, but at least large denominations to start. For example, in February 2016, European Union central bank head Mario Draghi pushed to ban the 500 euro note. The very next day, he was supported by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who then called for an end to the U.S. $100 bill. If large denomination notes are banned or removed from circulation, it would be difficult to hoard money in your home. Imagine trying to store $100,000 worth of savings in $1, $5, or $10 bills. You’d need a bank vault. But there’s a better way… An alternative way to “hide” your money from negative interest rates… If you want to protect your money, you’ll need to find investments that maintain the privacy and portability of cash… but aren’t hurt by low or negative interest rates. And digital currencies do just that. Consider this… $1 million in $20 bills would weigh over 100 pounds. That would require a massive carrying case to move around. On the other hand, $1 million in digital currencies can be carried in a flash drive. That’s because your money is in digital form. Now, some investors may opt to buy gold to shelter their wealth from negative rates or a cash ban. And I do recommend owning some gold. It’s the safest and most secure way to protect the value of your money… but it’s not very convenient. Although gold is a good store of wealth, you can’t just break off a piece of gold and anonymously go buy something with it. When you’re ready to buy something, you’ll need to convert your gold into some other form of currency. And like cash, our favorite digital currency is liquid. It is accepted by more than 100,000 merchants as payment, including Overstock, Cisco, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Microsoft. And best yet, when you use digital currencies, you remain anonymous. So, your financial privacy will be secure. What to Do Next The War on Cash and negative interest rates are radical and insane measures. They are also huge threats to your financial security… But you can protect your wealth from these government policies by sheltering a small portion in digital currencies. Not only will digital currencies insulate you from negative interest rates… they’re primed to go higher. Especially now that the halving is complete. Regards, Teeka Tiwari Editor, The Palm Beach Letter P.S. My team and I have put in hundreds of man-hours looking for the best ways to buy digital currencies… especially now that the halving has been underway. After extensive research, we’ve put together a presentation with the simple steps you should take to cash in on these huge price moves coming in the next few months. To learn which three digital currencies I’m recommending—and how to buy them—watch my new presentation. You’re missing out… Janice L. posted, “Jeff’s comments are enlightening and intriguing.” And Walt P. called our first video “very interesting, succinct, and well done. I’m looking forward to the next session.” Clyde simply posted, “Give me more.” They’re all talking about a FREE online training event with tech investing expert Jeff Brown that’s happening right now. Don’t miss another day… Click here to register now. Editor’s note: Today, instead of our usual market commentary, we’re sharing a recent essay that’s been extremely popular with Agora readers. It comes from Palm Beach Letter editor and former hedge fund manager Teeka Tiwari. Right now, Teeka’s readers are profiting from what he believes is one of the biggest and most important trends in the market right now: digital currencies. As you’ll see, the sector has a huge tailwind at its back right now. And as Teeka explains, it’s not too late to join in… For the past three months, I’ve been pounding the table about digital currencies. They’ve been some of our most popular plays. Now you may be wondering whether digital currencies are really money at all. Here’s the truth about money: It can be anything. Take the U.S. dollar. There’s nothing backing it up—we went off the gold standard in 1971. So, the dollar really is… just a promise… an “act of faith.” A digital currency is no different. It’s simply internet-based money. And like any other medium of exchange, many people around the world have decided it is money. They believe they’ll be able to use digital currencies in the future to buy stuff. That alone makes it have value. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let me tell you what’s driving up digital currency prices (like any other currency, the digital currency market fluctuates). These Two Forces Are Driving up Digital Currency Prices When we initially recommended the digital currencies, we wrote they were some of the best alternative investments you could make to protect yourself from low/negative interest rates and the War on Cash. So far, our thesis has been spot on… At the beginning of the year, the Federal Reserve indicated it would raise rates four times. And as recently as last month, at least two rate hikes were on the table. But with the poor May U.S. jobs report and June’s Brexit (the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union), those rate hikes are now off the table. In fact, the odds of a rate cut are now higher than those for a rate hike. Brexit and negative interest rates are pushing investors into chaos hedges such as gold and digital currencies. [“Chaos hedges” are protection from times of turbulence.] The day after the Brexit vote, gold was up 5.5%, and our main digital currency recommendation was up 3%. But those jumps are just the beginning… Why You Need to Act Now On July 10th, one of the biggest events in the history of digital currencies took place. The last time this event happened, it ignited a 12-month bull market—the biggest rally ever in the history of these alternative investments. Some digital currencies soared as high as 10,284%. By comparison, it took the S&P 500 nearly 50 years to hand investors gains that big. This extremely rare event is called the “halving.” It’s a process digital currencies use to prevent inflation. And it’s only happened once before. Now, reading that, you might wonder: “But if July 10th has already passed, haven’t the biggest gains already come and gone?” Not in the slightest. In fact, I’m convinced this is only the beginning of a much longer-term trend… Even bigger gains are in store. Have a look… Here’s why this rare event is so important… and should send digital currencies prices much higher over the next few months… Recommended Links As you can see from the chart above, the previous halving was much more than a one-day event. Prices for our favorite digital currency had already moved up over 100% in the six months before the halving. Six months after the last halving in November 2013, prices were up 918%. A year after the halving, prices were up an astonishing 8,476%! So, if you can manage to get in during the short window immediately after the halving, you can still capture the big gains from this rare event. Now, our first digital currency isn’t the only one that will get a boost from the halving, though. Our other two plays should ride this tailwind, too. Although I expect the halving to boost digital currency prices, potential price appreciation isn’t the only reason you need to own these currencies. They can be a safe haven for your wealth. Let me explain… read more

By Justin Spittler and Joe Withrow Ray Dalio just bet $1.1 billion against Italy. Specifically, he shorted (bet against) five Italian banks and one insurance company last quarter. And he did so to the tune of $770 million. Dalio also bet $311 million against Italy’s largest utility company. This is a big deal. You see, Dalio is one of the world’s most respected investors. He manages $160 billion at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund.• But Dalio didn’t reach the top of Wall Street by accident… He got there because he can spot massive threats and opportunities long before other people do. For example, Dalio predicted the U.S. housing bubble would burst in 2007. Not only that, he said the crash would spread to the banking sector. At the time, many people thought this was a crazy idea. But Dalio was right. That year, the U.S. banking sector imploded. This triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The average U.S. stock plummeted 57% over the next two years.• In short, it pays to watch what Dalio’s doing… So in a minute, I’ll tell you why Dalio made this giant bet. I’ll also show how you, too, can profit from Italy’s problems. But you first need to understand what those problems are…Italy’s banking system is a ticking time bomb. Its banks are sitting on $356 billion worth of non-performing loans (NPLs). These are loans borrowers have stopped paying. They’re considered “sour loans” because banks often don’t end up collecting them. They take huge losses instead. Recommended Link Recommended Link VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED What this “super investor” reveals for the first time ever on camera about where he gets his best investment ideas from will shock you… — 3 Marijuana Stocks to Buy Right Now Canada is set to vote on a new nationwide law that will set off the biggest event in the history of marijuana. The Canadian pot market will explode from $400 million to $8 billion. And new marijuana millionaires will be minted. If you missed out on the first marijuana boom, when penny pot stocks delivered peak gains of 7,820%… 6,233%… and 3,986%… often in months… This is your second and final chance. Don’t miss out again. Discover the 3 companies that will dominate the marijuana market. To give you a sense of how serious this is, consider this: NPLs make up 18% of all loans issued by Italian banks. For perspective, NPLs accounted for 5.3% of all loans issued by U.S. banks at the height of the Great Recession.As if that weren’t enough, these sour loans are valued at around 20% of Italy’s annual economic output. It’s an incredibly fragile situation, to say the least.• European regulators are now scrambling to prevent a banking crisis… The Italian government, for one, has pledged to bail out the banking system if necessary. This is when the government gives banks money to keep them from crashing. Taxpayers end up footing the bill. The European Central Bank (ECB) is also trying to help. On October 3, it announced plans to impose strict capital requirements for European banks. In short, it wants Italian banks to set aside billions of euros to cover losses from NPLs.• These regulations are intended to shore up Italy’s fragile banking system… They were supposed to make people feel safer. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the ECB rattled investors’ nerves. In fact, Italian bank stocks plummeted on the news.➢ Since the start of October, the FTSE Italia All-Share Banks Index is down 5%.➢ UniCredit, Italy’s largest bank, has fallen 6%.➢ UBI Banca, another major Italian bank, has plunged 11%.➢ And BPER Banca is down 15%. These are staggering declines for such a short period. Still, you might not be worried about this. And that’s because most U.S. investors don’t own any Italian banking stocks. But you must realize something… • Italy’s not the only European country drowning in bad debt… German and French banks together have around $272 billion worth of bad loans on their books. And Europe as a whole has about $1 trillion worth of NPLs. In other words, a banking crisis in Italy could spread across Europe like the black plague. If that happens, European bank stocks won’t just tumble. They’ll go down in flames. So, lighten up on European bank stocks if you own any. You should also buy gold if you haven’t already.• That’s because gold is the ultimate safe-haven asset… It’s preserved wealth for centuries, through history’s most violent financial crises. And that’s why Dalio thinks every investor should keep between 5% and 10% of their money in gold. And those who don’t own gold? Well, Dalio thinks they’re clueless. He said in 2015: If you don’t own gold, you know neither history nor economics. But Dalio doesn’t just encourage investors to own gold. He buys it with his own fund’s money. In fact, Bridgewater bought more than $100 million worth of SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and the iShares Gold Trust (IAU) during the second quarter. These are the world’s largest gold funds. They’re easy ways to gain exposure to gold. But that doesn’t make them the best.• If you really want to protect your wealth, I recommend that you own physical gold… This is gold that you can hold in your hand. It’s one of our core recommendations here at Casey Research. It’s a much more secure way to own gold than GLD, IAU, or any other “paper gold” fund.If you’ve never bought physical gold before, check out our Gold Investor’s Guide. It tells you everything you need to know about buying and owning physical gold. Click here to grab your copy.Regards,Justin Spittler and Joe Withrow October 18, 2017 P.S. In anticipation of the 2017 New Orleans Conference, Doug Casey recently sat down with Rick Rule to discuss the current state of the gold market and the opportunities in mining stocks. You can listen to the discussion here. If you’re interested in attending the conference (October 25–28), it’s still not too late to sign up. You’ll hear more from Doug as well as some of the top minds in the resource business. This year, there will also be a special event for Casey Research subscribers that you won’t want to miss. For more details and how you can join, click here. Be sure to use the code FREEGOLDCLUB to get free Gold Club access ($189 value). — You Don’t Want to Miss This… From November 6–10, Doug Casey, Crisis Investing editor Nick Giambruno, and Casey Report editor E.B. Tucker will gather together with a group of close friends at one of the most unique places in the world: Doug’s world-class residential community in Argentina—La Estancia de Cafayate. As a reader of the Dispatch, we’d like to invite you to join. This is not an investment conference—far from it. It’s friends gathering at a place built for like-minded people. There’ll be great steaks, locally produced wine, and probably a few too many Cuban cigars. We’ll discuss what’s going on in the world, and what’s around the bend. This is a unique chance to spend a few days with great people in one of the world’s most beautiful settings. If you haven’t seen the high desert of Argentina, please consider joining us.Keep in mind, space is limited and spots are filling up quickly. So if you’re interested, don’t wait to sign up. To get more details, just send us an email using this link. We hope to see you at La Estancia de Cafayate November 6–10. read more