Macro Observations

The plunging yen can cause many things, but a destruction of the yen carry trade might be at the top of the list. Japan imports virtually all of its oil. The weaker the yen gets, the more expensive oil becomes to import. That’s likely the economic factor that the central bank is most worried about today. But it’s not the only one they should be worried about. How about homeowners and mortgage rates?

While both are considered precious metals under the broadest of terms, they’re actually very different in their potential applications. We’ve long been told that precious metals, gold in particular, and Treasury yields are inversely correlated. While that’s true in a lot of cases, it’s far from a dependable relationship. The options for investing in silver are pretty similar to the ones for gold - the physical metal, physical metal ETFs, miner stocks or individual companies.

I want to make one thing abundantly clear if it isn’t already. Inflation is a problem. While most of the market’s attention is focused on metals and oil and industrial goods, there's an area that’s contributing just as much to the problem - agricultural commodities. Through all of this, agriculture prices have tied closely to long-term rates. And we’re getting to the point where we might be entering the next leg higher for both.