VIX spiked to 27 (highest in almost a year) with put/call ratio elevated, signaling fear and bearishness in S&P 500 markets while remaining below historical extremes.
Dollar index broke above 100 despite low sentiment and positioning, with rapid dollar spikes capable of causing havoc in fragile markets as gold surged above $5,000 signaling global instability.
Dow, S&P, and Russell 2000 are testing 200-day moving averages while UK, DAX, and Euro stocks broke below key support levels with previous support now acting as resistance.
Oil prices surged above $100 per barrel after Iran’s new supreme leader declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, creating significant geopolitical risk for global energy markets with US better prepared than Asia or Europe to handle shortages.
Wheat and corn prices are trending higher, potentially triggering a food crisis in 6 months if energy and fertilizer shortages from Strait of Hormuz disruptions persist and constrain food supply.
Option-adjusted spreads jumped 30% year-to-date while high yield and investment grade credit default swaps broke through resistance levels, indicating increased volatility and potential market stress alongside rising yields.
US dollar is breaking through resistance levels while euro, pound, and yen show weakness, with yen’s stochastics at 98 and RSI entering overbought territory.
Copper remains strong despite increasing commercial short positions, setting up potential for short squeeze and higher prices, while gold and silver rallied on central bank buying with decreasing commercial shorts.
Silver broke out from a perfect 45-year base, the second-longest base in capital markets history after gold’s 110-year base before the early 1970s commodity breakouts, making this a historic event with virtually no comparable precedent.
The current 45-year base is perfectly balanced unlike the unbalanced 1973 breakout, creating a superior technical setup that suggests the cyclical move should be much bigger than the 1970s rally.
The gold-silver ratio peaked at 27 in 1973 but currently sits in the 60s, indicating silver has substantial room to outperform gold in the current cycle compared to historical precedent.
Silver’s recent move is weaker than the 1970s move due to that era’s preceding big 1960s move and gold standard termination, suggesting the current cyclical advance has significantly more upside potential.
Silver is now in blue sky territory with no historical comparison available, creating a historic setup for potential gains beyond $100 per ounce with limited historical precedent to guide price targets.
Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 “Population Bomb” predicted environmental catastrophe and mass famine from overpopulation, but 60 years of evidence show no resource scarcity, with his core thesis proven fundamentally wrong yet elite institutions and media continue promoting similar narratives without reflecting on past errors.
Julian Simon bet Ehrlich on resource prices, predicting decreased prices due to human ingenuity rather than scarcity, and won the bet, demonstrating that humans function as the ultimate resource through innovation and problem-solving rather than merely consumers of finite resources.
Apocalyptic overpopulation narratives directly led to bad policies like banning nuclear energy, which is now recognized as one of the cleanest energy sources, with these misguided restrictions paradoxically contributing to climate change through continued reliance on fossil fuels.
Ehrlich advocated for government intervention to control population, explicitly supporting China’s one-child policy and proposing the FCC portray large families negatively, effectively seeking a cultural ban on having children through state-controlled media manipulation.
Overpopulation panic and depopulation panic represent two sides of the same authoritarian coin, with both leading to policies that force people to act against their own preferences, as demonstrated by Ehrlich’s coercive proposals and modern demographic interventions.
The FCC threatened to revoke broadcast licenses over war coverage the White House dislikes, illustrating how government control over media licensing creates ongoing vulnerabilities for press freedom and editorial independence.
Cut through the clutter and mainstream media noise. Get free, concise dispatches on vital news, videos and opinions. Delivered to Your email inbox daily. You’ll never miss a critical story, guaranteed.