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Money Metals News Alert
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February 24, 2025
– Gold and silver prices ended last week higher but have fallen slightly
this morning.
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Speculative trading in
futures has been brisk, driven in part by ongoing questions about available
inventories in London, the world???s largest gold and silver market. Buyers are
still paying unusually high premiums to get delivery of commercial bars from the
COMEX in the U.S.
Stock prices were hammered
lower last week with the S&P 500 down nearly 2%.
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The U.S. dollar ended largely flat in
foreign exchange markets. Ten-year bond yields finished the week slightly lower.
Buying and selling activity in the
U.S. retail bullion markets modestly strengthened. Inventories of retail coins,
rounds and bars are still plentiful, so bid and ask premiums remain low.
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Gold : Silver Ratio (as of
Friday's closing prices) – 90.3 to
1
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Audit the Fed, Audit Fort Knox, Audit
Everything
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Americans have to wonder, based on
revelations coming out of Washington DC, whether government waste, fraud, and
abuse is happening on an industrial scale.
The need to perform audits and
implement controls is obvious, despite wailing from people who somehow aren???t
happy with the questions being asked. If we are going to have a republic,
taxpayers need some confidence their hard-earned money is well spent.
The word ???audit??? has some negative
connotations – mostly associated with taxes and the Internal Revenue
Service.
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But well-run private
sector companies do audits as a matter of routine and for a number of good
reasons.
Metals stored in the Money
Metals facility are perpetually audited. And we reconcile bank statements
against client payment records, conduct physical counts of our entire inventory
daily, audit staff adherence to internal controls and procedures, audit the
auditors, and so on.
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Money Metals has never had an internal
loss in its 15 years of operation. Everyone working in our business understands
and respects the need to run a tight ship and that details matter. Audit and
accountability is part of the company???s culture.
There is generally a lot more ???give a
damn??? found in the private sector, something which appears to be mostly missing in
Washington DC.
Here are some other points to ponder
as the debate heats up over federal audits.
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As for Fort Knox, it???s
been decades since there was a credible audit of its contents.
As Money Metals researcher
Jan
Nieuwenhuijs detailed last week, one of several problems is that vault
compartments have been opened without proper re-auditing.
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Fort Knox
has not been credibly audited for decades.
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Without robust auditing and
accountability, the problems only get worse with time. Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld announced in a press conference on Sept. 10, 2001 that the Pentagon
couldn???t account for $2 Trillion in spending. Unfortunately that story was buried
by the events that ensued the following day – September 11th.
More than two decades have passed and
the Pentagon still cannot pass an audit. How much more has been wasted or stolen?
Corruption and apathy are problems that continually grow unless they are rooted
out.
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Government employees are
suddenly facing accountability. Private citizens have a right to privacy. But
government agencies, the Federal Reserve, and NGOs gorging themselves on taxpayer
money do not.
No taxpayer funded
organization is entitled to unquestioning trust. In the best of circumstances,
Americans should ???trust but verify.??? Under current circumstances, the proper
stance is closer to ???trust absolutely nothing.???
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Intensive auditing and housecleaning
will be the only road back to some level of trust.
It's an important part of a much
needed cultural shift.
For those of us who care about honest
money, audits represent step one in getting rid of the Federal Reserve. Americans
weren???t quite ready to ???End the Fed??? when Ron Paul made that a cornerstone of his
presidential campaigns. There was far too much trust in the benevolence and wisdom
of people like Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke.
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Now the tide may be
turning. Americans are less trusting and ready to demand some answers. A look
inside the Fed can only help.
There has never been a
public audit and full accounting for the Fed???s activities. That is remarkable,
given the power of that institution and the amount of money running through it.
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The lack of oversight is intentional.
Politicians and bankers have been selling Americans on the notion of
???independence.??? Somehow it is better if the central bank answers to no one and
never has to explain exactly what it does with trillions of dollars.
The Fed has been a black box since its
inception. Given the disdain for transparency is hardwired there, it's a good bet
citizens would be outraged to know how much waste, fraud, and abuse has developed
over time.
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This week's Market Update was
authored by Money Metals Director Clint Siegner.
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This copyrighted material may not
be republished without express permission. Offer only available through email
promotion. Offer does not apply to previous orders and may not be combined with
any other offer or program. Special shipping rates or other restrictions may apply
to international orders. The information presented here is for general educational
purposes only. Money Metals Exchange and its staff do not act as personal
investment advisors. Nor do we advocate the purchase or sale of any regulated
security listed on any exchange for any specific individual. While our track
record is excellent, investment markets have inherent risks and there can be no
assurance of future profits. You are responsible for your investment decisions,
and they should be made in consultation with your own advisors. By purchasing from
Money Metals, you understand our company is not responsible for any losses caused
by your investment decisions, nor do we have any claim to any market gains you may
enjoy. Money Metals Exchange is not a regulated trading ???exchange??? as defined by
the CFTC and the SEC.
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