Member Info for BuggerTheBanks

Why would a company want to pay down its debt in a high-inflation environment? High interest rate environment? Absolutely: but not high inflation. Granted, what you would most certainly want to do is to pay-off any existing debt as it becomes due so as not to re-finance it at (what would presumably be much) higher rates.

We've been getting clubbed like Nancy Kerrigan's knee for about a week now, but down 8.5% today????
WTF's going on?

To paraphrase Chief Brody, but this could well be a pivotal 48 hours for the silver market, & the COMEX in general.

Wednesday will see the expiry of options for March delivery of AG, & open interest is HUGE. So, one of two things must happen:-

1) The bullion banks lose BILLIONS on their short positions
or
2) The monkey hammer comes out & silver gets clubbed like Nancy Kerrigan's knee

Historically, we've seen the latter but, against conventional wisdom, this-afternoon silver did nothing but go UP. Even gold, most unloved of late, was able to eke out gains. Meanwhile, any silver mining stock not called Fresnillo saw double-digit gains:-

Coeur Mining +15%
Hecla Mining +13%
First Majestic +12%
& so on (it's a long list, & beautiful to behold (unless FRES is your only holding)).

So...I will have my kneepads & crash helmet on tomorrow when the market opens. The Cabal is leaving it unusually late to monkey hammer the metal it loves to hate. If silver closes higher tomorrow, Tuesday evening is going to feel like Christmas Eve! That would set the stage for a COMEX default. At the very least, physical premiums (already in excess of 50% in the UK) would simply go off the charts. Do TPTB now actually WANT a COMEX default? Is that the plan??? They can't bring in their new system without some epic financial crisis as justification. Have we arrived at D-Day already???

My money is on an epic monkey hammer. Seen it too many times. However, today's run-up has certainly set the scene for an interesting next few days.

GLA.

Silver is getting a bit of a stiffy right now...
If it keeps going, I'll be joining it :)

Yes: they also don't have health ministers shoving infected patients into care homes filled with the elderly & vulnerable: let's not forget that.

Should've said "the virus struggles to retain its integrity in HIGHER temperatures".
I really should proof-read before I post.

Shareminator, there is some truth in that. Whilst Trump once said "it will go away in the sunshine", or words to that effect, he didn't fully explain (or understand) the reason for it. Yes: the virus struggles to retain its integrity in lower temperatures, but it is not the temperature that has the most beneficial effect; it's the UV light inherent within the sunlight that destroys the virus.

Vitamin D is a key component in a healthy immune system (as is zinc). The body can manufacture its own vitamin D from exposure to sunlight: kind of hard when you're locked indoors all day, though. Isn't it funny how Africans are more susceptible to Covid & yet Africa is not over-run in dead bodies...? Why is that, I wonder?

The body does not easily absorb zinc, which is a bit of a problem given that immune response is so dependent upon it. There is a reason why many African & east Asian countries have very few cases of Covid....& that is because they're also Malaria hotspots, where Hydroxychloriquine is readily prescribed to the population as a Malarial prophylactic. In layman's terns, HCQ opens-up the body's cells & helps them absorb zinc more effectively, thereby giving them a stronger immune system. This is why it's so effective in fighting C-19. Of course, the beauty of it is that it doesn't just strengthen the immune system against C-19, but against ALL infections.

Worried about catching the virus? Take vitamin C, vitamin D & zinc daily.
Think you've contracted the virus? add HCQ (only available on a prescription in the UK) to that, or take Quercetin instead (it's essentially quinine & is from the same "family").

"Hydroxychloriquine has been proven to significantly reduce the Corona Virus load"....said Dr Anthony Fauci, in 2005. Funny how he's now changed his mind, eh? ;)

Be well, everyone.

A 13 handle is tempting to add more, but I'd still be averaging up. I'll hold for now.

So, they've finally brought John to heel, have they? I guess he really ****** them off with goats, pheasants & papaya all testing positive for Covid.

The "Market" is broken? With central bank intervention (read "manipulation" on such a massive scale, nobody knows what anything is really worth anymore.

Is BitCoin worth $58,000??? Because that's what it's trading at right now.
Is Tesla really worth $780 (with a P/E of 1,250 (NOT a typo))?

This is an EXTREMELY dangerous time to be in the market, as all price signals are hugely distorted. Personally, I focus on cash-generative, profitable businesses. My average here is around £20, but having held for over three years & collected the dividends, I'm not as far underwater as I would first appear. My main concern here is the level of debt.

Drops 40p in 15 seconds. Yes: I said "seconds", not "minutes".

Markets. Ha! Don't make me laugh. Maybe post-Reset, when the survivors (who own nothing but are happy) are sitting around a smouldering car tyre, sharing a handful of singed ****roaches, the genetically modified kids will say, "Parent" (because Mam & Dad are no longer acceptable terms), "tell us the fairy tale again about free markets".

Musk will NEVER do that. He needs a ****-ton of silver for his cars, but the deal is that if you're in "The Club", you don't buy PMs. Elon is held-up as a hero: he's actually part of the problem.

Miners are being squeezed by a rising oil price (it's obviously a very energy-intensive business), whist their product is being squeezed by rising bond yields.

I stand by my previous assertion that the market is about to **** the bed. The Fed is sitting on its elbows ATM & needs an excuse to ride to the rescue. How high do yields have to rise before the market pukes? My guess is not much. We'll see a March'20 redux.

Hope everyone has some dry powder. After this, I'm all in.

Yep, & the SLV prospectus & T&Cs were changed on the 3rd February.

Run along now. Nothing to see here /s

Well, clearly not any silver :)

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/silversqueeze-hits-london-slv-warns-limited-available-silver

Interesting that 1,000oz "good delivery" bars are also now in short supply. So, are we playing Hunt The Easter Egg this Easter? Or are we playing Hunt The Good Delivery Bars???

You really have to love the precious metals market: the one market in the world where a lack of supply drives prices DOWN! But don't use the "M" word.....JP Morgan will be after you!

Yep: SSDD. And it seems to me that somebody had advance notice of this: it might explain the 10p p/share drop over the last week.

My LCS (which has been closed for a while for obvious reasons) buys at spot -10% & sells at spot +10% (a 20% margin on a round-trip transaction). Premiums for physical coins from the likes of Atkinsons Bullion or Bullion By Post are currently in excess of 50% over spot: before the recent run, they were around 30% (remember: VAT is making up a chunk of that). This is not something I track religiously, but I have kept an eye on it over the last 18 months or so.

Last year, with AG at £20 spot (pretty much where it is now), my LCS offered to buy at £18 & was selling at £22. If you buy from him at £22, then sell back at £18, you're losing around 18% on the transaction. Of course, we're all hoping to buy low & sell high, so you do the maths for your own situation.

Interestingly enough, the guy running my LCS has no real interest in the industry & is not himself a "Stacker". To him, it's simply a job. I like to pop in at regular intervals, so I'm recognisable, & I'm not adverse to him making a bit of profit from me on each transaction. What I'm trying to do is establish a rapport. When the time comes that you (& everyone else) needs to sell, it would help to be a recognisable face: someone he knows he has done business with before & can trust, & likewise, I know I can trust him. When the SHTF, lots of people who've never been in a coin shop before are suddenly going to start turning up en masse. In those circumstances, I want him to pick me out of that crowd & trade with me, not the rabble.

As an alternative to the more recognised UK online retailers, Silver-to-Go (the UK arm of Coin Invest) offers VAT-free physical delivered to your door (from mainland Europe). Whilst they say it's "VAT free", I prefer to describe it as "VAT paid" (at a lower rate on the continent than is due here in the UK (8%, IIRC)). I was initially wary, but I've had coins delivered from them with no VAT or customs due, so I'm a happy customer & will use them again. FYI, their premiums over spot are currently around 45%; still high, but more than a quid p/oz cheaper than Atkinsons et al, even in quantities of 100.

Historically, the board have been very resistant to a take-over approach &, in such circumstances, have always claimed that the company was worth way more if left to its own devices. I even recall talk of £4.50 p/share a few years ago. I'd certainly expect ANY offer below £4 p/share to be rejected outright.

Personally, I'm happy to hold & let this company keep on delivering the goods.

I'm a happy holder! Bought in just before the late January drop, so was initially kicking myself, but am now up. China is the future, whether we like it or not, & whilst we can expect ups & downs along the way, I believe the growth opportunities there outshine anywhere else on the planet. I'll be buying the dips.

Robina, the dividend is closer to 9% ( 2 x 20.85p plus 2 x 48p for a total dividend of £1.37(ish)).