Member Info for BuggerTheBanks

Sasa, again; we are in agreement.

Let me add one more concern to the list: nationalisation of mines (in addition to the nationalisation of (yours &) mine,). As you have pointed out, it will all be done in the "national interest" of course /s

Eish, I follow Peter Schiff. For years now he has been right on everything but one.....timing.

Now, he is right on everything.

Supercharger, it may appear so , but central banks are the enemy of humanity.

If we didn't have Central banks, we would have value-based currencies instead of debt-based currencies. Our money would actually appreciate in value. But the people who own & control the central banks aren't prepared to let we the people benefit from that, so (as you rightly pointed out) they create inflation to steal the value of our currencies (& our labour) for themselves.

Read what the Founding Fathers said about the dangers of central banks. Franklin, Jefferson, Jackson (in particular), Garfield, Lincoln. My favourite quote of all time is from Thomas Jefferson:-

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies! If we ever allow a central bank to issue & control our nation's currency, the banks & corporations that grow up around them WILL DEPRIVE THE PEOPLE OF ALL PROPERTY UNTIL OUR CHILDREN WAKE UP HOMELESS ON THE CONTINENT THEIR FATHERS CONQUERED".

And then there's Woodrow Wilson, the president who actually signed The Federal Reserve Act. Upon reflection, & realising what he had done, he later lamented, "I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is now controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, & all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled & dominated governments in the civilised world. No longer a government by free opinion, no longer a government by conviction & the vote of the majority, but government by the opinion & duress of a small group of dominant men".

Pretty strong words, don't you agree? These are landmark quotes from men who understood what opposed freedom & democracy. I'd encourage anyone reading this to look up the huge swathe of other quotes from these men.

Rule No.1: know your enemy. Central banks are not the solution. Indeed; they are at the very root of the problem.

Sasa, some excellent input from you: all very valid points that need to be considered. Thank you.

Carvegyber, I believe banks will go bust. Happy to be wrong, but the more afraid the public are, the greater the wealth they (banks) can extract from us & the more power they can obtain. Make no mistake: the fear card will be played. Especially after it worked so well for them in 2008.

GLA.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/term-repo-record-oversubscribed-market-liquidity-craters

This has been serious for a while, but I would suggest it is now critical. GLA, because once the first bank goes under (no matter who it is) an avalanche will follow.

The world is about to change...& not for the better.

Sorry: spot the deliberate mistake. That should (of course) have read "three-quarters of a BILLION people". I should've just typed-out the number :)

Carvegyber, The Mexican Beer Virus will get far worse before it gets any better. Trust me: this has got a long way still to run.

China is nowhere near getting back to normal. Pollution & traffic levels, along with electricity consumption & raw materials demand shows that China is still barely functioning. Supply chain disruption is guaranteed & will start to impact Western economies over the coming weeks.

Furthermore, the death rate is mis-calculated. They're citing a 1% death rate, yet figures that I saw on Wednesday showed 90,000 cases & 3,000 dead. That's a whisker under 3%. But I still don't believe that's how it should be calculated. There are only two outcomes from this (or any other illness for that matter): you either survive it, or you die. When you compare these two outcomes with one another (cases recovered was around 50,000 (on Wednesday)) you get a death rate closer to 6%. And when you recognise that, you begin to understand why China locked-down three-quarters of a MILLION people.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not wishing for the end of the world, & nor am I a doomsday prepper, but there's a lot more to this than meets the eye. For example, do you believe it's pure co-incidence that the wet market (where this outbreak supposedly originated) just happens to be a couple of hundred meters from China's ONLY level 4 bio-research laboratory. Just one of these things in the whole of the country & it just so happens to be right next door. Oh, & guess what they were working on in the lab...

I'm no conspiracy theorist, but let's not become "co-incidence theorists" about this. I could write an awful lot more, but this is not the right forum. I would, however, encourage everyone to do their own research into this thing & not just swallow the MSM narrative. Personally, I've found ZeroHedge to be very enlightening.

GLA.

Supercharger: agreed. There are probably better individual mining stocks in which to invest (& I'm sure that nobody here puts all of their eggs in one basket) but, IMHO, FRES is an important part of a PM mining portfolio.

Interest rates around the world are going to zero.....then they're going negative, & QE (in some countries) has already re-commenced. I'd encourage everyone to think about what that does to the time value of money. Every fiat currency in history has failed. No exceptions. Funnily enough, the GBP is actually the world's most successful currency, but it has already lost 99.5% of its value. Not much of an endorsement for fiat currencies, is it?

An analogy I like to use is, if a particular model of aircraft had a 100% crash rate; if every time it took off it came down in flames, would you get on it? No: of course you wouldn't. So why put all of your eggs into the fiat currency basket? It's crackers!

PM miners are not a long-term hold (IMHO), but they are an excellent way to leverage moves in the PM prices. Look around the world right now: there are plenty of things bullish for PM prices. I don't see much to counter that argument. One particular thing of note: right now, the average investment portfolio has just 0.5% of funds committed to gold & other PMs. The long-term average is 4%. In the last financial crisis, it rose to 7%. So even if we just see a return to the long term average, we're going to see a seven-fold increase in the money invested in PMs. Everybody here will understand the implications of that. And I believe we will exceed what we saw in the last financial crisis. The new financial crisis is already underway... Just remember to cash-out & switch to PHYSICAL PMs to lock-in your gains & to protect the value of your currency.

One thing does concern me, though, & I'd welcome the thoughts of other members here. We're already starting to see the Mexican Beer Virus directly affect certain parts of the economy. What happens if mines get closed down as a consequence? Well, firstly, supply dries up, meaning demand will outstrip supply. This should spike the PM price, but the miners won't actually be producing anything. Their balance sheets maybe rising as the £ value of their mineral deposits goes through the roof, but their P&Ls are going to get caned as they're not actually able to realise any of it. If we get to this stage, I think that strengthens the case for PHYSICAL PMs over mining stocks.

How do people see this particular tug-of-war playing out?

I believe there is concern that the Mexican Beer Virus will lead to a ban on sporting events (worldwide). This, of course, would lead to fewer events for customers to bet on. If there are fewer events, maybe customers would just bet bigger; who knows???

The business is fundamentally sound with no debt. Find me another in a similar position (there will be some, but not many companies are debt-free in this day and age).

Fundamentals matter, even if the market thinks they don't. I'll be BingTFD.

Central Banks spending their ammo wastefully. One could almost believe they actually WANT to be out of ammo when the REAL crisis hits.

Negative rates (& endless QE) are already baked into the cake; this move by the Fed simply hastens their arrival.

Plan (& invest) accordingly.

GLA.

Dividend down by two-thirds in two years. Not good.

Will continue to hold as I expect PM prices to rise massively from these levels (although there are probably better places to be invested (such as CMCL)).

I'd be interested to hear how fellow holders think this company will weather a recession. My personal view is that it should hold-up pretty well. Yes: the SP might get hammered (&, indeed, we're already seeing this) but the underlying business should be largely unaffected - I believe betting / gambling actually increased during the GFC. This will (eventually) be recognised & the SP will turn around. In the meantime, we can pocket a dividend of (currently) 7%.

Whilst other companies will be cutting their dividends as the recession hits their bottom line, I believe 888's revenue should be largely unaffected, meaning they could affordably sustain the dividend (assuming the board wishes to do so). Ironically, the virus outbreak could boost revenues. If public gatherings are seen as risky to health, people will seek indoor (read "on-line") entertainment, & whilst there are numerous forms this can take, it may lead to existing customers spending more. Tenuous, I know, but I just don't see a lot of downside to this stock. As a long-term holder with an average purchase price of £0.76, I see this as an opportunity to back-up the truck & load-up on a solid, profitable, sustainable company with zero debt that will provide a good income through sustainable dividends. I have to say: I find that even more attractive than Scarlett Johansson in a bath full of Jelly Tots!

What do other holders think? Are we (relatively) recession-proof?

Coleey, I'm steering well away from any travel / hospitality industry stock for the foreseeable future. This thing is going to get WAY worse before it gets better & I'm expecting a whole host of travel companies to go jugs-up before the year is out.

To follow on from B00oooM's point, I'm an IMB holder & think they're a solid company: they're hugely cash-generative, pay fat dividends (currently around 13%) & should prove (comparatively) recession-proof. However, I have been clobbered here this week, & everywhere else for that matter, but will look to BTFD with IMB & average down (currently nursing a 25% loss (excluding the divis)).

Good luck with what you decide; especially your holding here.

WTF is going on???
So in the midst of a market route, the worlds greatest hedge & safest haven DROPS...******* DROPS!!!!! 4%???

I smell manipulation. It can't be seen to be a safe haven. If the masses get a sniff of a safe haven, they'll all pile in. Gold (or silver) can't be seen to be a safe haven.

OK: the mining sector is a ******* joke right now.

Gold Mining Inc. Down 28% today alone.
Equinox Gold down 20% today alone.

On what ******* basis is that justified???

Dark Knight, I (sadly) agree. I have an assortment of a dozen PM mining stocks & they're all taking a double-digit bashing. I can afford to hold (& top-up at some point) but it's not pretty ATM.

I'll admit I'm tempted, but will wait until the price falls raise the dividend to 18% :)

I've always thought this was a fairly recession-proof stock. People will continue to smoke & so cash flow, whilst it might take a knock, will hold up a whole lot better than (for example) retail, unicorns or other speculative investments.

This is a well-established company that generates a ****-ton of cash & pays fat dividends. Hell: even if they halved the dividend from here, you're still looking at a 6-7% revenue stream. As the rest if the market goes to ****, that has to make IMB look pretty attractive, wouldn't you say?

What do other holders think? Recession-proof?

MacauMike, from where I'm standing, the selling seems pretty indiscriminate: the baby is getting thrown out with the bathwater.

It does concern me, however, that PMs (gold in particular - I recognise silver has a multitude of industrial uses) are not being bid. I have read elsewhere that PMs are being sold so traders can meet margin calls. Possible, I suppose, but something else must be a-foot here.

Look at where we are compared to last Friday. Gold is DOWN! Silver has been kicked in the ****! Markets have been battered, etc, etc. You'd have to admit that would represent some pretty impressive PM price suppression by the cabal. Why are PM mining stocks taking a dis-proportionate beating at the very time they're expected to shine???

Interestingly, Palladium continues to soar. A thought crossed my mind at the end of last year & it's now resurfaced with more urgency....are the Elite using Palladium as their safe-haven? While the rest of the world watches gold & silver & wonders why they haven't already gone to the moon, the Elite are stacking Palladium. I wonder...

Sasa, absolutely, Mate. It'll be an event like that, that breaks the COMEX, & prices for physical PMs will de-couple drastically from paper prices.

We can hope...

FWIW, my understanding (which may not necessarily be correct) is that IMB have abandoned the automatic 10% dividend increases. We may still see dividend increases (or even a cut) but the automatic 10% dividend hikes are no more.

I'm sure someone here with a better understanding of what's going on can clarify exactly what we can expect going forward.