Gold is looking at its third consecutive week of losses after January's rally, which saw its best start to the year in over a decade. And now all eyes shift to next week's U.S. inflation report, with analysts saying it could be the next big catalyst for the precious metal.
After surging to $1,975 an ounce last week, April Comex gold futures are now trading at $1,870.70 an ounce, down 5.3% from that peak.
"The dollar is reverting, and the Fed remains hawkish, which is weighing on gold," RJO Futures senior market strategist Frank Cholly told Kitco News.
Gold's bullish sentiment began to change after a strong employment report out of the U.S. last week showed job gains of 517,000 in January.
This was followed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell confirming markets' worries that if the U.S. economy continues to surprise on the upside, the central bank would be forced to raise rates higher than anticipated.
Powell brought out just the right amount of "Fed speak" when he appeared at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Tuesday. On the one hand, he reiterated that the "disinflation process" has begun. On the other hand, he warned that if data continue to come in stronger, the Fed will move peak rates higher.
"It really fits well with the definition of what we often call Fed speak, which is a strategy by the chairman of the Fed to speak out of both sides of their mouth so that the markets get both signals," Gainesville Coins precious metals expert Everett Millman told Kitco News. "The hope is that things remain steady and both sides have something to latch to. That's exactly what Powell did. The most likely outcome here is that the Fed continues along its rate hike path until the economy falters."
What to watch with the CPI report
Next week, the gold market is gearing up for a number of key macro releases. Tuesday's CPI report is the one to watch as it could be the next big catalyst for the precious metals space, TD Securities senior commodity strategist Daniel Ghali told Kitco News.
"We need a substantial catalyst for subsequent selling activity to ensue in gold. It could come in the form of next week's CPI data. At the same time, if the CPI won't be a big enough shock, gold won't see a lot of selling activity into next week," Ghali described.
Even if the CPI report continues to show slowing inflation, the Fed won't be ready to take its foot off the gas yet, said Cholly. "Gold has a little more downside," he said.
Market consensus calls are projecting annual inflation to slow to 6.2% in January from December's 6.5%.
"We think that inflation will fall by more than the consensus, which should give a lift to commodity prices as it will allay fears of a more hawkish Fed and higher U.S. interest rates for longer," said analysts at Capital Economics.
Ghali also pointed out that a large cohort of investors still sees gold as overvalued, but it is unclear who would be willing to sell based on the flow perspective.
The recent central bank gold buying has supported gold, and the market is waiting to see if that trend will continue.
The participants that have driven the gold rally above $1,800 have been central banks and short-covering, Ghali said. "If that trend continues, then I would feel more comfortable with gold holding above $1,800," he noted.
The World Gold Council amended its Gold Demand Trends report this week, stating that central bank gold buying was at a record high in 2022, with 1,136 tonnes purchased.
Gold price levels
Gold's potential trading range is pretty wide at the moment, with strong support currently at $1,800 an ounce and resistance at $1,900, Ghali noted.
Cholly is looking at the $1,850-$1,855 range. "Moving averages are important. We are sitting at a 50-day right now. And the 200-day is at $1,812. Somewhere between these two marks, there is market equilibrium. Gold will consolidate and recover from those levels," he said.
Key data next week
Other data to keep an eye on include U.S. retail sales, the Producer Price Index, and industrial production.
"January activity data is going to be strong throughout. The contrast between the weather in mid-late December, where it was incredibly cold, versus a very mild January, couldn't be more stark," said ING chief international economist James Knightley. "This means there will be delayed consumption, plus better weather means more people out and about, which in all likelihood will lift January spending. We already know auto sales were very strong and that will lift retail sales mightily on its own."
Tuesday: U.S. CPI
Wednesday: U.S. retail sales, N.Y. Empire State manufacturing index, U.S. industrial production
Thursday: U.S. PPI, U.S. jobless claims, U.S. housing starts and building permits, Philly Fed manufacturing index
Investors wait for CPI numbers but the bearish sentiment remains on Fed’s narrative
Gold investors had a wake-up call last Thursday when gold futures hit $1974, the highest value of 2023. But that same day also marked the beginning of a correction. Gold would lose approximately $90 per ounce over last Thursday and Friday.
This week started with a whimper with gold trading to a higher high and higher low on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. However, each day had fractional gains and through the eyes of a Japanese candlestick chart were identified as spinning tops which always have a small real body (the rectangle drawn between the open and closing price of a trading session). While gold prices did have gains it was obvious that this strength was tepid at best.
On a technical basis, gold was attempting to find support at the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level which is considered an acceptable but shallow correction. The caveat though is that gold as well as the financial markets at large have been headline driven based on the latest comments of Federal Reserve officials.
In December the Federal Reserve released its most current economic projections and “dot plot” which contained the anticipated rate changes by the Federal Reserve as 17 Federal Reserve members placed their opinion (as a dot). December's projections of interest rates in 2023 contained the stark realization that unanimously voting members of the Federal Reserve anticipated taking the current benchmark rate higher with the goal of just over 5% and maintaining those elevated rates throughout the entire calendar year of 2023.
The elevated hawkish tone reflecting expected actions by the Federal Reserve began to factor into the current pricing of precious metals, US treasuries, and stocks. A faction of market participants continues to believe that there would be rate cuts this year contrary to what the Federal Reserve’s narrative was and continues to be. However last week’s announcement by the Federal Reserve was that they might have to take rates to a higher target closer to 6%. This most likely is what prompted the selloff at the end of last week.

Thursday was the only day this week in which gold prices closed below the opening value and today’s action resulted in a fractional decline of roughly $3.30. As of 4:45 PM EST, the most active April futures contract is currently fixed at $1875. Silver also has been trading under pressure for the better part of this week with the most active March contract attempting to hold pricing at $22 per ounce. Currently, March silver futures are fixed at $22.01 after factoring in today’s decline of just over $0.12 per ounce.
Dollar strength was certainly a strong component providing moderate to strong headwinds as dollar strength characterized today’s action. The dollar index gained 0.37% in trading and is currently fixed at 103.49.
Investors are waiting for the next report on headline inflation vis-à-vis the CPI next Tuesday. They are hoping to gain better insight into possible pivots by the Federal Reserve concerning their rate hikes. The most important takeaway of price action over the last few weeks has less to do with any technical indicators and more to do with the event-driven news based on the current narrative of the Federal Reserve.
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UPDATE: Markethive On The Cusp Of Internal Wallet Launch
Great things are taking place behind the scenes at Markethive. It’s time for another important update, as we are on the cusp of releasing what has been an extraordinary task of building and integrating an extremely complex wallet and accounts system into Markethive. This has never been done before in the social media, marketing, and broadcasting spectrum. Hence, we’ve needed to take every precaution to make it impenetrable in terms of security and achieve scalability for the influx of users once the floodgates open.
The way forward for any business is to be online, given the current state of the world, not to mention the virtual technology that has become part of our daily lives. Considering the many entrepreneurs, businesses, and startups that use Markethive for various reasons, it embodies a cottage industry, allowing members to monetize their various initiativeswithin Markethive. Individual merchant accounts for eCommerce payments from your storefronts are just one aspect that will be available. Find out more about that here.
As all Entrepreneur One holders will know, the 0.5 ILP bonus for the last year’s loyalty to Markethive will be added to your wallet under the ILP summary by the end of February 2023. But wait, there’s more…
The CEO and founder of Markethive, Thomas Prendergast, has announced there will be another bonus of 1 ILP for all Entrepreneur One Upgrades who stay current with their subscription from February 2023 until February 2024. That means, as well as the 0.1 ILP you accumulate yearly, you will receive one whole ILP as a bonus for being consistent with your E1 subscriptions for that 12 months.
Also, if you have any number of accounts, for example, ten E1 accounts, you will receive a bonus of 1 ILP for each account. It is a highly generous gesture and one that will be upheld. It is a gift for your loyalty, so the acquisition of your regular portions of ILPs is not negated; it is not capped.
Entrepreneur One Promo Code Pending
Apart from the many other benefits of being an E1, the Promo Code gives a substantial advantage in your marketing efforts. Attach the Promo code to your Markethive capture page or storefront group for prospective sign-ups or members participating in your offer.
You can use any of the Markethive products, such as The Boost or Wheel of Fortune, impressions and tokens, pay with Hivecoin, and offer these giveaways as an incentive. So, not only do they get the Markethive airdrop of tokens upon joining, but they also receive extra rewards to help them in their marketing efforts. The great news is that the Promo Code is on the threshold of being released to Entrepreneur One members.
The Entrepreneur One Exchange
Once the release of the wallet is announced, the Entrepreneur One Upgrade will not be available for any new or free members from the Markethive administration. However, there will be an E1 Exchange where existing E1 associates can sell their E1 accounts to any member who desires the subscription. Some members have more than one or even ten E1 accounts, so they may choose to sell one.
This means the person buying the E1 assumes the monthly subscription and, if the account is kept current, will receive a 0.1 ILP at the end of 12 months of consecutive payments. This will accumulate for 20 years, whereby a balloon payment is paid out, or you have the option to continue and roll it over.
It’s important to note the E1 associates that sell their accounts will keep the ILPs they’ve accumulated. They will not be given to the new subscriber. The new subscriber will earn their own ILP portions when they take over the account.
It’s also important to note that if you decide to opt out of the E1 subscription, the ILPs or part thereof you have garnered to date remain active, and you will be compensated when the revenue payments commence. The Entrepreneur One Upgrade is fundamentally a way to reward loyal associates of an ILP worth $10,000 for only $1,200 or $1000 if you pay the subscription yearly.
Wallet Security Ready – Wallet Launch On The Cusp
Phase Two of the wallet, which includes the extra layer of security, the 2FA, is complete and activated. It’s crunch time for Phase Three and on the verge of launching the wallet. The technology built for our cold and hot wallet security is now ready for the interfaces to be installed and will be in the BETA phase for approximately two weeks. The announcement of the wallet release will take place soon after, along with the Promo Code advantage for Entrepreneur Ones only.
Immediately following the wallet launch, the Premium Upgrade will be activated for members who want to take advantage of the many features and benefits that will accelerate their earnings and results. The upgrade has five price levels starting at $9.95 per month. You can find out more about the Premium Upgrade here.
The revenue generated from the Premium Upgrade initiative is primarily income which means the ILP holders can look forward to the dividends of their ILP shares. Also, once the wallet is ‘all systems go,’ the new dashboard development and integration is the priority. This is an exciting time for Markethive and its community; all is coming to fruition, and all in the Lord’s timing.
Bitcoin Talk Engagement
With all the security in place, it’s time to introduce Markethive and our coin to the world of crypto exchanges. Also, prepare for coin transactions in our four coin wallets, Hivecoin, Bitcoin, Solana, and Elrond, in the Markethive internal wallet.
As part of Phase Three, the final stage before launching the wallet, we, as a community, are obliged to help get the word out and increase the posting activity at theBitcoin Talk Forum. This prominent crypto meeting place is the #1 place to create activity, and crypto exchanges use it for their due diligence on prospective coins that have applied to be listed. They also look at how old, and active the thread is, so the more active, the better.
As discussed at the last Markethive meeting, the members participating in the Bitcoin Talk campaign will be rewarded. All you need to do is post in the forum, copy your post link, and paste it into the Markethive group created for this engagement.
If you are considering upgrading to Entrepreneur One before the opportunity ends (and remember that you get a bonus of 1 whole ILP this year for the full 12 months), there’s still time. Just click on the round E1 icon in the tray at the top of the home page. There will also be a countdown badge of 30 days placed on the Markethive home page in full view, giving you ample notification of its cessation to members.
Come to our Sunday meetings at 10 am MST as we approach massive significant upgrades and the wallet launch. See and hear explanations, ask questions, and witness the ever-evolving technology and concepts of Markethive. The link to the meeting room is located in the Markethive Calendar.
P.S. When we close the ability for members to acquire an Entrepreneur One from the company, it will also signify closing access to purchasing anymore ILPS from the company. There will also be an exchange for members to buy and sell their ILPS. But I want to make something very clear.
"For those early members who purchased ILPs with Bank wires and Bitcoins, we will distribute all remaining ILPs left over to you. Think about that. We appreciate what you have done."
In 2020 LinkedIn revenue reported 8.05 billion. Markethive will eventually eclipse this but when Markethive reaches 1% of LinkedIn subscribers, with revenue reaching 85 million, the ILPs will receive 20% of that revenue shared with the 1000ILPs, making each ILP worth $17,000 that year. And ILPs pay this revenue year after year. Think about that.
About: Thomas Prendergast. (United States) I am the CEO and Founder of Markethive. Having received the vision from our Lord in 1996 to build an end time platform for entrepreneurs to be the shelter in the storm. It is called Markethive. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | my Facebook Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.
Do you often envision yourself achieving great things, and then follow this up with a negative thought process? Do you talk yourself out of your dreams before you even begin to pursue them? If so, you need to change the way you think.
When you change your thought processes to success thinking you truly can change your life. Positive thoughts enable you to reach out and grasp the success you seek.
Affirmations and You
Wanting to succeed and being able to envision your success is a great place to start. When you can do this, you’re giving yourself permission to change your life, attain your goals, and be a success.
There will be days when it’s more difficult to think in a positive and success affirming way; during these times you can turn to a useful tool called affirmations.
Affirmations have helped a lot of people turn their thinking into positive thinking, propelling them toward their goals in a new and exciting way. Affirmations for success can help you change the way you think about everything.
If you’re honest with yourself, you may find that much of your inner dialogue, how you feel about yourself, and even the way you carry yourself are negative. This destructive thinking sets you up to fail or causes you to give up before you ever really get started.
As with anything new, creating a success mindset will take practice to give you the best results. The good news is: you can get all the practice you need with the help of success affirmations.
What Are Affirmations?
Affirmations are positive statements that activate your mind to change your life, one thought at a time. They enable you to accomplish the things you wish to achieve.
Affirmations work because each word we speak has power, the power to evoke emotions. They work because they allow you to program – or reprogram – your thought processes, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
For example, if you find that you’re telling yourself what you can’t do, you can replace these negative thoughts with an affirmation for success, such as, “I am capable of succeeding without feeling overwhelmed or unfulfilled.”
If that statement doesn’t quite fit you, there are many affirmations for success, such as “I am worthy of great success.” All you need to do is want to feel this way, and then every time you say these statements aloud you reaffirm them to your subconscious.
Is It Really This Easy?
Many of the most successful people in the world aren’t much different than you. The key characteristic that sets them apart, though, is that they have a success mindset.
It seems too simple to be true, but when you talk to people who’ve experienced success, you’ll find that they use statements like these to drive them toward their goals and away from negativity. Their inner dialogue is one of success and achievement.
If success came naturally to all of us, we would all be successful. Unfortunately, in this day and time, many people prefer to focus on the negative, rather than embrace success.
With affirmations, you can overcome your limiting, negative thoughts and make it second nature for you to choose success. Success can be a reality for you, so long as you believe and reaffirm your positive thoughts consistently.
Uncertainty wanes as investors accept the resolve of the Fed
For the most part, the uncertainty that defined market sentiment has pivoted to a sense of clarity about the future forward guidance of the Federal Reserve. It has become clear that the Federal Reserve will make good on its commitment to continue rate hikes and sustain those higher levels throughout this entire year. Any doubt in that the Fed would back off from its current strategy has diminished. Simply put, reality has finally set in that the Fed's words were not just rhetoric but a warning to investors that they plan to put into motion what Chairman Powell first announced on August 25 last year at the Jackson Hole economic symposium.
Jerome Powell’s keynote speech was meant to warn the American public to brace as they would begin an aggressive and hawkish process to bring inflation back down to their 2% target.
“Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy. Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone. In particular, without price stability, we will not achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all. The burdens of high inflation fall heaviest on those who are least able to bear them.”
That message fell on deaf ears and was not taken seriously. Both individual citizens and corporations disregarded this message and continued to run business as usual.
“Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time. The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy.”
Six months after this announcement market sentiment was still under the belief that the Federal Reserve would back down and not implement the hawkish steps needed to restore price stability. Investors continued to base their decisions on the belief that the Federal Reserve would not make good on this commitment. Slowly market sentiment moved to a stance of uncertainty rather than doubt but that has now changed over the last couple of weeks.
The unfounded optimism diminished, as clarity of the upcoming steps by the Fed needed to be taken seriously. Finally, corporations and individual investors have accepted the reality that they need to brace themselves for an upcoming and continued restrictive monetary policy.
In regards to investors that have been bidding the price of gold higher, market sentiment has now incorporated the reality of higher rates that will remain throughout 2023. This most likely will take gold lower as more and more investors recognize the reality that the Fed will make good on the commitment “to do what it takes” to bring inflation down to their 2% target.
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Gold and silver prices are mildly higher in midday U.S. trading Wednesday. The precious metals markets are getting a very modest boost from slightly friendly outside markets on this day that include a slightly lower U.S. dollar index and firmer crude oil prices. However, gains in both metals were limited by rising U.S. Treasury yields today. April gold was last up $3.10 at $1,887.80 and March silver was up $0.183 at $22.35.
The gold and silver market bulls have lost steam the past week and are working to stabilize prices, which they can correctly argue has occurred at mid-week. Still, both metals markets remain very wobbly.
The marketplace on Tuesday afternoon saw Fed Chairman Powell at a Washington, D.C. economic club meeting reiterate that U.S. inflation has started to come down but has a long way to drop to meet the Fed's inflation objectives. Powell was pressed on last Friday's strong jobs report possibly changing Fed policy to more hawkish, but Powell brushed that notion off, at first. However, at the end of his remarks he said more strong U.S. economic data could force the Fed to raise rates more than it expects at present. Stock and financial markets gyrated during and right after his comments but at the end of the day Tuesday, Powell's remarks were deemed as not surprising and did not have a major, lasting impact on markets.
Gold price to hold the line at $1,800 but investors will have to weigh the costs as real rates remain positive – CIBC
Global stock markets were mixed overnight. U.S. stock indexes are lower at midday, which is also providing a bit of underlying support for the safe-haven metals.
The key outside markets see the U.S. dollar index just slightly weaker. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note is presently fetching 3.681%. Meantime, Nymex crude oil futures prices are up just a bit and trading around $77.50 a barrel.
Technically, April gold futures prices hit a four-week low Monday. Bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a bear flag pattern has now formed on the daily bar chart. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the February high of $1,975.20. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,850.00. First resistance is seen at $1,900.00 and then at $1,915.50. First support is seen at this week's low of $1,873.20 and then at $1,850.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5
March silver futures prices hit a two-month low Tuesday. The silver bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage but need to show fresh power soon to keep it. Prices have seen a bearish downside "breakout" from a sideways trading range at higher levels. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $23.50. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $21.00. First resistance is seen at this week's high of $22.635 and then at $23.00. Next support is seen at this week's low of $22.065 and then at $22.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.
March N.Y. copper closed down 500 points at 403.00 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session low. The copper bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage but are fading. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at the January high of 435.50 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 380.00 cents. First resistance is seen at today's high of 411.65 cents and then at 420.00 cents. First support is seen at this week's low of 399.30 cents and then at 390.00 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5. By Jim Wyckoff
Gold rally loses steam as Powell warns inflation fight far from over
Gold prices are slightly higher but off daily highs in afternoon U.S. trading Tuesday. The gold and silver markets got a brief lift and hit daily highs by a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in which he initially produced no surprises on U.S. monetary policy. However, at the end of his speech he warned that more strong U.S. economic data may force the Fed to remain hawkish for longer—prompting the precious metals prices to back off their highs. April gold was last up $1.90 at $1,881.40 and March silver was down $0.102 at $22.14.
The focal point of the marketplace today was a midday speech to an economics club in Washington, D.C. by Fed Chairman Powell. Powell reiterated that U.S. inflation has started to come down but has a long way to go to meet the Fed's inflation objectives. Powell was pressed on last Friday's strong jobs report possibly changing Fed policy to more hawkish, but Powell brushed that notion off, at first. However, at the end of his remarks he said more strong U.S. economic data could force the Fed to raise rates more than it expects at present. Traders and investors were extra anxious to see what Powell had to say after last week's surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report that many believe could indeed force the Fed to remain hawkish on U.S. monetary policy for longer.
Global stock markets were mixed overnight. U.S. stock indexes are mixed in afternoon trading and have lost the gains seen when Powell began his speech.
Croatia buys nearly 2 tonnes of gold to transfer to the ECB as it becomes the latest eurozone member
The key outside markets see the U.S. dollar index modestly lower and but up from its daily low that came after Powell started speaking. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note is presently fetching around 3.63%. Meantime, Nymex crude oil futures prices are solidly up and trading around $76.50 a barrel.
Technically, April gold futures prices hit a four-week low Monday and saw short covering today. Bulls still have the overall near-term technical advantage. However, a three-month-old uptrend on the daily bar chart has been negated, to suggest a near-term market top is in place. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close above solid resistance at the February high of $1,975.20. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,850.00. First resistance is seen at $1,900.00 and then at $1,915.50. First support is seen at this week's low of $1,873.20 and then at $1,850.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5
March silver futures prices hit a two-month low early on today. The silver bulls have the slight overall near-term technical advantage but need to show fresh power soon to keep it. Prices have seen a bearish downside "breakout" from a sideways trading range at higher levels. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $23.50. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $21.00. First resistance is seen at this week's high of $22.635 and then at $23.00. Next support is seen at today's low of $22.125 and then at $22.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.5.
March N.Y. copper closed up 275 points at 406.10 cents today. Prices closed nearer the session high. The copper bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage but are fading. A four-month-old uptrend on the daily bar chart has been at least temporarily negated. Copper bulls' next upside price objective is pushing and closing prices above solid technical resistance at the January high of 435.50 cents. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid technical support at 380.00 cents. First resistance is seen at 410.00 cents and then at 420.00 cents. First support is seen at this week's low of 399.30 cents and then at 390.00 cents. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5.
Global Risks Report 2023: What does the WEF have in store for us now?
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has made headlines, particularly over the last few years, and more people have become aware of who and what they are. The WEF recently published a report detailing the risks the world will experience over the next two to ten years, according to so-called experts in various fields. The WEF Global Risks Report 2023 is the 18th edition and covers all aspects of worldly affairs, which they’ve named a polycrisis.
Following is a summary of the WEF’s 98-page document on the upcoming polycrisis. Most, if not all, of what I would argue are arrogant, contradictory, and delusional assumptions. They’ve been known to call them predictions, and some would label them as promises.
The report begins with a brief preface by WEF managing director Saadia Zahidi. She discusses how carbon emissions have increased because pandemic restrictions have been dropped and blame the energy crisis, the food crisis, and soaring inflation on the war in Ukraine.
The fact is the energy crisis began long before the war in Ukraine and is the consequence of the ESG ideology that the WEF invented. Although the war has contributed over the last year, the ESG-induced energy crisis that has been in play for years is causing inflation.
Saadia notes, "The resulting shift in monetary policy marks the end of an economic era defined by easy access to cheap debt and will have vast ramifications for governments, companies, and individuals, widening inequality within and between countries.” She explains that the world is quickly deglobalizing and that only a few countries can be truly independent.
Regarding the so-called polycrisis, Saadia says this will be caused primarily by “shortages in natural resources, such as food, water and metals, and minerals.” She concludes by saying that this year's edition of the global risks report is a call to action to prevent this polycrisis.
Overview Of Methodology
The second part of the report details its methodology. The WEF got one part of the information for the account from 1,200 of its so-called experts from all areas of the economy. The report also specifies that the WEF got the other part of the information from the WEF’s executive opinion survey, which includes over 12,000 business leaders in 121 countries.
The report itself was written by 40 WEF members and 50 other influential people. The authors then define the term ‘Global Risk’ as “The possibility of the occurrence of an event or condition which, if it occurs, would negatively impact a significant proportion of global GDP, population, or natural resources.”
Executive Summary
In the third part of the report, the authors say that the new normal of the pandemic was quickly disrupted by another crisis: the war in Ukraine. What's interesting is that the authors talk about the pandemic as if it were over. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), we're still technically in a pandemic. The decision for this public health emergency was recently renewed at a WHO meeting on Friday, January 27, 2023.
The authors then list all the issues the world is facing today, including “unsustainable levels of debt and a new era of low growth, low global investment, and deglobalization, a decline in human development after decades of progress,” and every other disastrous thing, you can think of.
They provide the infographic below, which shows the issues the WEF experts are concerned with, ranked by severity. It illustrates that the cost of living crisis, natural disasters, and economic war is at the top of the list for the two-year period, while environmental-related issues are at the top of the list for the ten-year period.
The authors reveal that the polycrisis caused by the shortage of resources will simultaneously hit its peak in 2030, which is aligned with the deadline that the WEF and its affiliates have set for total world domination. What better way to do this than through successive manufactured crises?
The authors then warned that central banks worldwide would likely be fighting inflationary forces for the next two years. The resulting monetary policy, that is, high-interest rates, will do the most damage to developing countries, risking the collapse of these countries and mass migration.
While the wars we’re going to see will be primarily economic, the authors seem to imply that China could soon invade Taiwan. To lessen the likelihood ground level combat in wars, the authors call for global controls to be imposed on the production and movement of weapons. They forgot that weapons would inevitably be easy for anyone to manufacture using 3D printers.
Additionally, the authors implicitly confirm that the technologies the WEF and its affiliates are developing will be designed to control the population. They claim that any country that does not have access to these technologies will fall victim to misinformation, the ultimate elite buzzword.
The authors also predict that there will be “attacks against agriculture and water, financial systems, public security, transport, energy, and domestic, space and undersea communication infrastructure.”
Notably, the WEF has recently been discussing these targeted cyber attacks a lot. Did you know cyber-attacks are a great way to justify online digital IDs? The authors argue that a failure to address the climate crisis means that crises such as the upcoming shortage of natural resources will be much worse. The authors fail to mention that government agencies have had the power to modify the weather for decades.
Cost Of Living Crisis
Regarding the cost of living crisis, the authors note, “Associated, social, unrest and political instability will not be contained to emerging markets as economic pressures continue to hollow out the middle-income bracket.”
In other words, the only two economic categories will be rich and poor. The ray of hope is that four in five WEF experts believe most of the damage will be done over the next two years. Half of them think these issues will be resolved by the decade's end. This may be because they brazenly believe the WEF and its cohorts will achieve total control.
The impressive infographic below shows you how all these different crises will be connected. According to the WEF, the most critical emergencies will be the collapse of supply chains, erosion of social cohesion, and state collapse. It sounds like they know they're losing control.
This ties into another infographic, which reveals that the participants in the WEF’s report believe that the powers that be are unprepared to address misinformation and disinformation. They recommend that governments act now. It looks like that’s exactly what they’re doing, which this article discusses.
The fourth part of the report is aptly titled “Today's Crisis,” with the WEF experts noting that the energy crisis, cost of living crisis, and rising inflation are the most important. One could argue that’s because these crises destroy people's trust in the elites. Funnily enough, the pandemic is noted as one of the least critical crises.
The authors refer to these crises as “older risks that were faced by previous generations.” However, they cautioned that these old crises are intertwined with new risks, such as high levels of debt, significant technological innovation, and an increasing skepticism of WEF-like institutions.
The report then breaks down some of today's crises in more detail. For the cost of living, they caution that energy prices will likely remain 50% higher than last year and say that China's reopening could lead to a surge in energy-driven inflation.
This will cause central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer.
They also claimed the cost of living crisis had provoked mass protests in 92 countries. 92?!; this is arguably a claim that is a somewhat exaggerated and distorted statistic. It underlines that the people in their apparent power are more desperate than ever to keep the narrative under control.
The authors explain that the international monetary fund (IMF) expects global inflation to drop from 9% in 2022 to 6.4% in 2023 and a further decline to 4.1% in 2024. They note that this slowdown in inflation will be felt the most in developed countries but caution that unemployment could keep it high.
They also caution that keeping interest rates higher for longer in developed countries could cause issues in developing countries, notably for their governments. In short, money is moving out of emerging market government bonds, risking a spike in interest rates that could cause defaults.
The authors then dare to claim that the geoeconomic dynamic caused Sri Lanka to collapse. In reality, Sri Lanka collapsed because it was trying to implement the WEF’s ESG policies on a national scale. The result was effectively a shortage of everything.
The authors also note the Netherlands as the country most concerned about commitment to arbitrary and ever-changing climate goals. The Dutch government recently announced it would buy up and close down 3,000 family farms. The government claims this is because of the climate crisis, but many argue it has more to do with the Tri-State City that the Netherlands is building in partnership with the United Nations.
As for the geoeconomic warfare we're witnessing, the report states that the unprecedented sanctions against Russia sent a clear message to any country that opposes Western interests. ‘Western governments will seize your assets.’ It appears that this hostility is even occurring between allies; as the authors point out that the US president’s ironically titled Inflation Reduction Act incentivizes some EU companies to relocate to the US.
The Digital Markets Act was the EU's response to this blatant overreach. The authors caution that this situation will “likely continue to weaken existing alliances as nations turn inwards with enhanced state intervention perceived to drive a race to the bottom.” They even warn that global organizations such as the WHO will be weaponized for geo-political purposes.
Meanwhile, the authors say there's been a “divergence between what is scientifically necessary and what is politically expedient.” They go as far as criticizing Europe for turning to fossil fuels when it faced imminent energy shortages but also say that intermittent energy sources will not be sufficient.
When it comes to the societal polarization we're seeing, the authors assert that it lies at the core of all the other crises we're currently experiencing and could experience. Not surprisingly, they blame the free sharing of information, stating, “This is further amplified by social media, which increases polarization and distrust in institutions alongside political engagement.”
The WEF believes this free sharing of information is just misinformation and disinformation. They also acknowledge that “Regulatory constraints and educational efforts will likely fail to keep pace, and its impact will expand with the more widespread usage of automation and machine learning technologies from bots that imitate human written text to deep fakes of politicians.”
Tomorrow’s Catastrophes
If today's crises aren't terrifying enough for the WEF to control the population, the fifth part of the report talks about “tomorrow's catastrophes,” which might pay off if the WEF gets its way. Remembering that the top catastrophes have to do with the weather, which governments can, in fact, influence.
The authors group these long-term catastrophes into five categories: Natural ecosystems, Human health, Human security, Digital rights, and Economic stability. They stress that these categories are incomplete and can be used as templates for preparing for other upcoming crises.
1: Natural Ecosystems: past the point of no return
For natural ecosystems, the authors state that humans have disturbed the natural balance of nature, which is a bit funny considering that humans are a part of nature too. Some aspects of human life have gone to extremes, and this is doing damage to the environment.
According to them, the only solution is to control what the population consumes and where individuals can go. But of course, these restrictions won’t apply to them; they will continue to live the comfortable lives that nature intended for all of us, not just the elite few.
If that wasn't frustrating enough, consider the following, “land use change remains the most prolific threat to nature, according to many experts. Agriculture and animal farming alone take up more than 35% of Earth's terrestrial surface and are the biggest direct drivers of wildlife decline globally.”
Moreover, “The ongoing crisis in the affordability and availability of food supplies positions efforts to conserve and restore terrestrial biodiversity at odds with domestic food security.” Now, this is patently false because more farm animals could, in fact, potentially be part of the solution to climate change. I urge you to watch this video in its entirety. It proves these climate change extremists are dangerously messing with nature.
What's insane is that the authors suggest forgiving the debt owed by developing countries in exchange for their land so that it can be conserved. They admit that this would create serious food security challenges in these countries but don't seem to care all that much about this side effect.
For what it's worth, the authors acknowledge that mining the minerals required to make things like electric vehicles and massive batteries for intermittent energy sources is hugely damaging to the environment and could disrupt ecosystems. It's a shame that they also seem to shrug off this side effect. The authors also discuss the issuance of carbon credits, which I discussed in this article.
2: Human Health: Perma-pandemics
Now for human health, the authors pitch the possibility of permanent pandemics, which I'm sure the WEF would love to see. Fun fact; research has shown that pandemics tend to occur every time there's a solar minimum when the sun is shining the least because it lowers vitamin D levels globally. Coincidently, the last solar minimum was around 2020. Could the WEF have known that?
Anyway, conspiracy theories aside, the authors can't help but insist that much of the human health issues we're going to see will be related to climate change. And, of course, they claim that all these issues will ultimately be due to disinformation and misinformation, causing distrust in evidently untrustworthy authorities.
3: Human Security: new weapons, new conflicts
In the case of human security, the report highlights concerns that the WEF experts have about internal conflicts. The authors also caution that the recent resurgence in militarization could set the stage for international disputes. They cover what weapons governments are constructing, such as anti-satellite and hypersonic weapons, directed energy weapons, and quantum computers.
They explain that Directed Energy Weapons are expected to make significant progress over the next decade, with the potential to disable satellites, electronics, communications, and positioning systems. Quantum computing may be harnessed and deployed to target vulnerabilities in sophisticated military technologies, ranging from disinformation campaigns to hacking hardware in nuclear defense systems.
The authors abstained from suggesting that hostile countries actively use weather modification weapons against each other. However, they did predict a rise in so-called rogue actors that eventually will get their hands on these advanced weapons, be they, individuals or organized groups.
4: Digital Rights: privacy in peril
Regarding digital rights, the authors point to the ever-increasing erosion of privacy as the primary issue. Ironically, the WEF doesn't want the average person to have privacy. Instead, they want to make sure their constituents have privacy while they make massive profits from our data.
The authors confirmed that “Individuals will be targeted and monitored by the public and private sector to an unprecedented degree, often without adequate anonymity or consent.” Most of the people who run these institutions in the public and private sectors are part of the WEF.
If that wasn't bad enough, the report says, “This pattern will only be enhanced by the metaverse, which could collect and track even more sensitive data, including facial expressions, gait, vital signs, brain wave patterns, and vocal inflections.” According to the WEF research, the poor will love the metaverse.
Additionally, it states, "Research suggests that 99.98% of US residents could be correctly re-identified in any data set, including those that are heavily sampled and anonymized.” In other words, these systems are so advanced that they can identify you, even if the information isn't directly linked to your identity.
As far as the authors are concerned, this is fine because “The right to privacy is not absolute. It is traded off against government surveillance and preventative policing for the purposes of National Security.” To be fair, they admit that this justification can, and often does, go too far.
5: Economic Stability: global debt distress
In the matter of economic stability, the authors emphasize the debt crisis that many countries are facing due to rising interest rates. What's funny is that the authors seem to be hoping for a recession because it will cause central banks to lower interest rates, reducing the debt default risk. They point to the UK's Gilt Market as an example of what could happen elsewhere if interest rates don't come down soon.
The authors reveal that China has become the world's largest creditor. In other words, China owns more of everyone's debt than anyone else. This is primarily due to China's Belt and Road initiative, which has given infrastructure loans to developing countries.
The authors caution that the credit crunch currently experienced by many countries means they'll be less able to spend money on building public infrastructure. This will further contribute to the world's other issues, hence why the authors are so obsessed with the term polycrisis.
The authors then proceed to provide a clear definition of ‘polycrisis.’ “A cluster of related, global risks with compounding effects, such that the overall impact exceeds the sum of each part.”
It’s laughable that the authors admit that the polycrisis, which will again be caused primarily by a shortage of natural resources, is due mainly to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs), which member countries of the UN are expected to achieve by 2030.
The report states the possible outcomes of this polycrisis defined in four categories. They are resource collaboration, resource constraints, resource competition, and resource control. The timeline for these possible outcomes is, of course, 2030.
The outcome of resource collaboration sounds like what's already happening. Countries cooperate, but the actual shortage of natural resources causes inflation to continue, leading to many of the same issues the authors have discussed.
Resource constraints are the same outcome but worse. The authors state, “In the absence of intervention, the water and mineral shortages experienced in the resource collaboration scenario act as a multiplier to broader risks.”
As for resource competition, the outcome sounds like what many analysts have predicted. Countries decide to reshore their supply chains in an attempt to become self-sufficient. The effect of resource control is self-explanatory. Nations fight each other for resources to become self-sufficient.
Ironically, the authors admit that the urgency of protecting the environment conflicts with strip-mining the planet for materials to make EVs and batteries. What's sad is that there's almost no mention of nuclear energy anywhere in this report; it's only mentioned in passing, not as a valid topic.
Besides precious metals and minerals, the authors are also concerned about water. They fail to acknowledge that most of the natural resource shortages they claim would occur could easily be solved by not relying on intermittent energy sources like wind and solar. Somehow, this isn't an option. Is it because most solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries are made in China?
The infographic below illustrates that China plays a role at every step of the green energy roll-out.
Below is another infographic that shows China doesn't have all the minerals the WEF needs to create its centralized smart grids and cities. Consider that countries could create nuclear power sources without relying on China, but then, the WEF wouldn't have centralized control of all the world's energy.
To clarify, countries like the DRC, Turkey, Chili, Australia, and South Africa, hold all the aces. The authors caution that there will be an intense power struggle for the resources in these regions. Nuclear is much easier, but according to the report, it's not an option, despite the recent breakthrough with nuclear fusion.
The authors repeat that we're entering a “low growth, low investment, and low cooperation era.” They recommend that the leaders at the WEF do four things to prepare for the upcoming polycrisis.
The first is to improve risk identification. The authors imply that the people in power should try to crush dissent when identifying future risks. They also call for establishing global organizations to keep track of future risks and tell countries how to address them.
The second is to rethink future risks. By this, the authors mean that the people in power should try and minimize the coverage of real-time risks that pertain to the average person. Instead, they should try and push people to become obsessed with future risks that have yet to occur, like climate catastrophes.
The third is to invest in preparedness. The authors reveal that the United States, the United Kingdom, and others are preparing to pass laws that will mandate public and private institutions to prepare for any kind of crisis that could occur over the next 30 Years.
The fourth is cooperating with other powerful individuals and institutions in the public and private sectors. The authors complain that international cooperation is deteriorating and urge countries not to become self-sufficient. Instead, they should become reliant on each other.
How Do We Prepare?
What do we do to prepare for the impending so-called polycrisis? The answer is to do the opposite of whatever the WEF wants. As mentioned above, the shortages in natural resources at the core of this polycrisis are rooted in the WEF’s ESG obsessions, per the author's admissions. If you read this article about how to survive the great reset, you'll know that ESG is the way that the private sector is driving the United Nations' SDGs.
There's no denying that some genuine global issues need to be addressed. Some of the concerns that the WEFs correspondents have are very real. The problem is that they want to centralize control of the entire system to ensure it doesn't collapse, but that's not the solution. The solution is to decentralize everything.
We can start by decentralizing money with cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency should be hard money like gold to incentivize saving instead of spending, which will eliminate overconsumption. Then we can decentralize energy with nuclear power and accelerate the development of fusion power.
After that, we must decentralize information. Everything should be as open source as possible, and it should be possible to get information about the same issue or event from multiple sources—no more coordinated censorship by the trifecta of big tech, the mainstream media, and governments.
Voting systems should be publicly verifiable too, and can already be done today, but governments won't allow this degree of transparency for some unexplained reason. Is it possible that the corrupt elite has hijacked the democratic systems?
Regarding food production and water security, as mentioned above, it is possible to combat climate change using farm animals. The short story is about having farm animals graze as they did historically; this can turn literal deserts into an oasis, resulting in more food and water. If you haven’t already, seriously, watch the video above. It certainly made an impact on me.
So, with sound money, near-infinite energy, uncensored information, and plenty of food and water, it would be a GOD-given paradise of nature in which we all belong and would flourish. More importantly, it would become possible to overcome any crisis the WEF and its cronies could predict or promise. That is the world I’m sure we all want, and it's the one we’ll continue to fight for with God’s help and guidance.
Editor and Chief Markethive: Deb Williams. (Australia) I thrive on progress and champion freedom of speech. I embrace "Change" with a passion, and my purpose in life is to enlighten people to accept and move forward with enthusiasm. Find me at my Markethive Profile Page | My Twitter Account | and my LinkedIn Profile.
Considering dollar strength gold’s fractional gains were more than respectable
After factoring in two days of dramatic price declines in gold resulting in a loss of just under $90 per ounce, the fractional gains were significant. The significance is in the fact that gold (futures and spot) pricing advanced at all with such a strong dollar.
The dollar gained 0.71% and the dollar index is currently settled at 103.485. As of 5:48 PM EST, gold futures basis the most active April contract is currently fixed at $1880.20 after factoring in today’s gain of $3.60. Spot gold according to the Kitco gold index (KGX) is currently fixed at $1867.40, a net gain of $3.10.
The best way to illustrate how today’s fractional gains were significant is to look at the effect of dollar strength and normal trading in spot pricing. Physical gold gained $3.10 in trading today and that does not tell the complete story.
Dollar strength caused gold to decline by $11.75. Normal trading without factoring in dollar strength or weakness actually took gold $14.85 higher. This is why a fractional gain of three dollars does not fully disclose the significance of gold’s upside move today.
Silver did have a slight decline losing $0.14 to dollar strength, losing nine cents due to normal trading and five cents due to dollar strength with spot silver currently fixed at $22.25.
Because today’s price advance in gold was accomplished in light of major headwinds the result of dollar strength we can say that gold effectively rebounded today even though it’s not evident by just looking at the price change. However, the gains in gold regardless of dollar strength could have been due to simply short covering with traders pulling profits on short-term trades rather than the initial accumulation of long positions. In other words, it is too early to tell if gold prices witnessed the first signs of prices pivoting back into a bullish demeanor.
Gold has gained so much value since November 3 that the two-day price decline of $90 last week was long overdue. The question of whether or not it has found a bottom and this correction concluded at a 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level, or has more downside potential will be revealed over time. The fact that we didn’t see a sharp decline today was welcome news for gold bulls and time will tell whether or not the current price correction has concluded or not.