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Silver

Investor or Speculator – Part II

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If you think about the last time we had widespread social strife and turmoil in the United States in tandem with expensive financial markets, your recollection will probably take you back to the sixties. Between anti-war protests, the civil rights movement, entitlement reform, and a re-tooling of criminal justice policies and laws, there was plenty of fodder for calm, dispassionate chats with friends and family. It’s probably no coincidence that this swell of activity came toward the end of a post-World War II economic expansion that brought economic comfort to many and stock markets to rather lofty heights. What followed,…

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Smart People Thinking the Same Way

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The only thing worse than a group of nitwits sharing silly ideas is a group of smart people all thinking the same way. The dullards are quickly discovered as such, but the smart people tend to command an undiscerning following. What’s also evident is that individual thinking tends to be more intelligent than intelligent people thinking together. The reason for this is groupthink. The assumption that because someone is intelligent, their thinking is sound and it’s this assumption that short-circuits others’ thinking. In this way, groups of highly intelligent people can give village idiots a good run for their money,…

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A Bendy Road

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The experience one expects to have in financial markets comes down largely to whether he or she believes market forces are more natural or artificial in nature. By natural, I’m referring to more free-flowing, random, and at times chaotic, whereas artificial represents controlled, planned, and efficient. An investor couldn’t be blamed for thinking the latter given the tremendous efforts monetary authorities and governments generally have made in recent years to steer favorable market outcomes. This effort to control markets, to create a straighter path, has led many to believe that positive investment results are assured and risks of meaningful losses…

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What Lies Ahead in 2023

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This year was a year where effective defense made the difference. To come out of it with positive returns, as nice as that would be, simply wasn’t in the cards without a healthy dose of risk and even more luck. To lose much less than others, or more importantly, what popular asset classes lost, was a huge victory. The question now of course is where does this leave us as we head into 2023? To answer this question, it might be most helpful to think about it within the context of time. In weather, it’s pretty well established that forecasting…

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Don Those Earmuffs!

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“Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” – Quote often ascribed to Winston Churchill If there’s one thing most can feel good about these days, it’s the fact that the process of trying “all other possibilities” to keep corporations and the economy afloat is in full swing, which in turn probably means we’re that much closer to getting to a viable long-term solution that benefits most. As touched on in last month’s letter, the “right thing” will likely only come after all these other easier, less painful possibilities have been…

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What’s Changed Since December?

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Simply put, stocks have continued to rise in February while growth data has continued to weaken – fairly decisively. If all one cares about is investing in what’s currently going up, then this rally in stocks seems like a no-brainer. The only problem is that the preponderance of evidence suggests that this rally is the textbook bear market variety, which means it will likely change course just as quickly as it began. If one’s looking to generate fast losses, there’s really no better way. Our position on portfolio composition for the time being hasn’t changed. We will change it when…

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