Welcome to the Precious Metals Bug Forums

Welcome to the PMBug forums - a watering hole for folks interested in gold, silver, precious metals, sound money, investing, market and economic news, central bank monetary policies, politics and more.

Why not register an account and join the discussions? When you register an account and log in, you may enjoy additional benefits including no Google ads, market data/charts, access to trade/barter with the community and much more. Registering an account is free - you have nothing to lose!

How U.S. ports and retailers are bracing for shortages as tariffs hit​

Apr 29, 2025
Bookings of container shipments from China to the U.S. are down nearly 50% compared to a year ago. Carter Evans reports from one of the country's busiest ports to see the economic impact at the loading dock and on small business shelves.

2:59
 
Weekly scrap metal market report

Copper Skyrockets, Then Crashes – What’s Fueling the Scrap Market Chaos?​

Check Scrap Prices: https://iScrapApp.com/ - April wrapped up with a bang — and not the good kind — for scrappers watching copper bounce like a ping-pong ball between tariffs, trade wars, and supply shocks. In this week’s scrap market update, we break down the biggest moves and what it all means for your bottom line.
Read more: https://iscrapapp.com/blog/weekly-scr...

Copper Skyrockets, Then Crashes – What’s Fueling the Scrap Market Chaos?

 

Senate to vote on a measure to undo Trump's global tariffs​

WASHINGTON — The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a resolution that would undo the sweeping tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on most countries earlier this month.

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., used a legislative procedure to force a vote on the measure, which would terminate the national emergency Trump declared to implement the global tariffs. The resolution requires a simple majority to pass in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/poli...S&cvid=ca1d04aec1094b5abba35971b5c10278&ei=19
 

S&P 500 futures rise after Microsoft, Meta post earnings beats: Live updates​

Stock market futures rose early Thursday after two Big Tech players posted quarterly results.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 337 points, or 0.83%. S&P 500 futures jumped 1.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.78%.

In premarket trading, Meta Platforms advanced nearly 7% on stronger-than-expected revenue in the first quarter. Microsoft jumped more than 8%, powered by top- and bottom-line beats in the fiscal third quarter, as well as strong results from its Azure cloud business and upbeat guidance.

More:

 

Global Port Volumes Pressured by Trade War, Economic Slowdown​

Related Content: Trade War Dampens Global Port Activity and Revenues

Fitch Ratings-New York/San Francisco-29 April 2025: Global port activity is under pressure due to heightened trade tensions and a slowing global economic growth, Fitch Ratings says in a new report. The impact on global port sector credit is expected to be muted due to contractual and financial features that mitigate volume and revenue pressures.

More:

 

Vanguard Turns 50. Investors Have at Least a Trillion Reasons to Celebrate.​

It has been 50 years since Vanguard founder John Bogle launched the company best known for low-cost index funds, and investors have at least a trillion reasons to celebrate Bogle’s creation.

Eric Balchunas, author and ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, estimated in a 2016 article that Vanguard has saved investors at least $1 trillion in fees, trading costs, and other expenses.

All those savings might not have happened save for Bogle’s determination, his vision, and some unusual circumstances.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/sav...S&cvid=9eebc50bab614a679a8f95207bfdccae&ei=20
 
Bancosta Week 17

Compass Maritime Week 17

 

US Port Update - May 1, 2025 | Latest Supply Chain and Freight Indicators​

May 1, 2025 #supplychain #containers #tariffs

In this episode, Sal Mercogliano — a maritime historian at Campbell University (@campbelledu) and former merchant mariner — updates the situation with US ports as of May 1, 2025 and discusses the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Latest Supply Chain and Freight Indicators.

US Port Update - May 1, 2025 | Latest Supply Chain and Freight Indicators

- Latest Supply Chain and Freight Indicators https://www.bts.gov/freight-indicators#outside
- Port of Los Angeles Cargo Operations Dashboard https://www.portoflosangeles.org/business/operations
 

Supply chains win wars, drive economies- Craig Fuller of FreightWaves​

May 1, 2025

Craig Fuller is CEO and Founder of FreightWaves, the leading provider of global supply chain market intelligence and news. He talks the vulnerability of living in Arizona, power outages in Europe, impact of tariffs, United States moving towards a similar model to China, AI, autonomous driving, and much more.

Supply chains win wars, drive economies- Craig Fuller of

 
Reuters

Japan says its $1 trillion in US Treasuries is among tools for trade talks​

By Leika Kihara and Makiko Yamazaki

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's huge $1 trillion-plus in U.S. Treasury holdings are among the tools available for Tokyo to use in trade negotiations with the United States, Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said on Friday.

The remark came as Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington for a second round of bilateral tariff talks.

Kato said the primary purpose of Japan's U.S. Treasury holdings - the largest in the world - is to ensure it has sufficient liquidity to conduct yen intervention when necessary.

"But we obviously need to put all cards on the table in negotiations. It could be among such cards," Kato said in a television programme when asked whether Japan, in trade talks with the U.S., could reassure Washington it will not sell its Treasury holdings in the market.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/mar...S&cvid=04c4b10239aa41f9ac75d69944791fac&ei=32
 

Canadian PM Carney speaks about phone call with Trump​

May 2, 2025 #CNN #News

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters that he will meet with President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, May 6. The prime minister said the meeting will focus on tariffs and the US-Canada relationship.

5:22
 

Dow jumps 500 points, S&P 500 posts longest win streak in 20 years as stocks claw back tariff losses: Live updates​

Stocks rose on Friday as Wall Street digested a better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report for April, which eased recession fears and lifted the S&P 500 for its longest winning streak in just over two decades.

The S&P 500 advanced 1.47% and closed at 5,686.67. This marked the broad market index’s ninth consecutive day of gains and its longest winning run since November 2004. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 564.47 points, or 1.39%, to end at 41,317.43. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.51% and settled at 17,977.73. With Friday’s surge, the S&P 500 has now recovered its losses since April 2, when President Donald Trump announced his “reciprocal” tariffs. This comes a day after the tech-heavy Nasdaq accomplished the same feat.

More:

 
Rolling Stone

Spooked by Trade Wars, Trump Officials Hoard Supplies: ‘It Would Be Stupid Not To!’​

Donald Trump’s trade wars with China and other nations are widely expected to cause sharp economic pain, but some experts have warned consumers not to hoard supplies and goods before prices skyrocket, arguing that mass stockpiling could backfire spectacularly.

Well, many Americans aren’t listening to that advice, according to survey data this year, instead preparing for the possibility of store shelves being bare amid a Trump-inflicted recession. Funnily enough, this includes a number of government officials and staffers working directly for the man who launched these massive new trade wars, all on the grounds of bad tariff math and the flimsy premise that he would bring economic “liberation” to America and make the country “wealthy again.”

More:

 
Opinion piece (dyodd)

WSJ

The CEO Who Says an Asteroid Is Coming to Destroy America’s Businesses​


Most people have no clue how their stuff moves around the world.

But a few years ago, when a gigantic containership got stuck in the Suez Canal, lots of people suddenly found themselves captivated by supply-chain logistics. This was Ryan Petersen’s chance to geek out.

As the founder and chief executive of Flexport, which helps companies move all kinds of stuff from wherever it’s made to wherever it’s sold, Petersen was perfectly situated to explain the traffic jam in a clear way. Once the boat was unstuck, he even published a children’s picture book called “The Big Ship and the Little Digger,” turning the complexities of ocean freight and global trade into simple language that anyone could understand.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/gen...ica-s-businesses/ar-AA1E4X9c?ocid=socialshare
 

More:

 
Something a bit different.

Nick / Financially Aware 16 mins.

What Happens to Berkshire NOW That Buffett Steps Down?​

May 3, 2025

Warren Buffett announced that he will step down from Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year and hand over the leadership to Greg Abel. Will this news make people sell their Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) stock?
Why is Buffett stepping down now after six decades? Is he trying to go out at the top because he knows there is a big stock market crash coming or is it just his age?
Berkshire Hathaway reported a drop in earnings because of the California Fires and from Foreign Exchange rates, but they still increased their cash hoard even more to $348 Billion. Has Buffett built up this huge cash position to give Greg Abel a good start or does he really think there are no stocks priced cheap enough to buy?

What Happens to Berkshire NOW That Buffett Steps Down?

 
Trump’s Tariffs Just Buried the Silver Squeeze—Now the Real Shortage Begins | Lyn Alden 13 mins long.

May 3, 2025 #lynalden #lynaldeneconomy #lynaldeninflation

Trump's new tariff strategy may have just crushed any hope of a retail-driven silver squeeze — but it also triggered something far more dangerous. In this urgent breakdown, Lyn Alden exposes how these tariffs are creating systemic shocks in global supply chains, increasing cost pressures, and accelerating the flight from paper silver into physical metal. Meanwhile, silver lease rates are spiking, the COMEX is under pressure, and central banks are quietly bracing for a metal-backed monetary pivot. Could this be the beginning of a much larger physical shortage and financial reset? Watch now to find out how this stealth war on silver could break the system.

Trump’s Tariffs Just Buried the Silver Squeeze—Now the Real
 

‘Dumpster fire’: Retailers urge shoppers to buy now before tariffs raise prices​

  • Private, direct-to-consumer brands such as Beis, Bare Necessities and Fashion Nova are leaning on President Donald Trump’s trade war as a marketing strategy.
  • Some companies may be looking to shore up their financials before consumer spending risks dropping in the coming weeks due to higher prices and potential shortages.
  • Brands such as Bare Necessities held an outright pre-tariff sale, while others such as Beis leaned on humor to remove the political “stink” from tariffs, still encouraging shoppers to buy.
More:

 

Warren Buffett Owns THIS? - Unbelievable Discoveries!​

May 4, 2025

Hey everyone, it’s Dan from IAllegedly! Today, I’m taking you inside the incredible Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Did you know Warren Buffett owns everything from Dairy Queen to Duracell, NetJets, and even Squishmallows? It’s unbelievable what this company has under its umbrella, and I’ll walk you through the event, showcasing booths from Forest River RVs, Geico, Pampered Chef, and even Pilot gas stations! You’ll see how brilliantly this convention highlights the scale of Berkshire Hathaway’s empire.

Warren Buffett Owns THIS? - Unbelievable Discoveries!

 
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…