- Mises Institute: Gold destroys Keynesian delusions
- Forbes: The value of gold cannot be diminished, nor is it dependent on anyone
- El Pais: Junk can turn out to be a gold mine - how precious metals are recovered from discarded devices
Mises Institute: Gold destroys Keynesian delusions
26.8.2023 Patrick Barron In Western democracies, there is a poor preparedness to address the forces that decide the end of the fiat dollar's dominance in the settlement of international trade agreements. The latter has been in effect since the end of the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971. The ongoing BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, is expected to lay the groundwork for an alternative settlement system for trade agreements based on commodities and may include gold. Several non-Western countries and some Western-aligned states, including new members like Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, are participating with interest.Although this change may seem to pit Western democracies against the BRICS nations, the real struggle concerns economic theories: Keynesianism versus the gold standard. Gold appears to be the likely winner. The weakening of the fiat dollar, a 98% decline in purchasing power compared to gold since 1971, and the "Russian sanctions" with the SWIFT ban have created this challenge. Russian monetary expert Sergey Glazyev has played a key role in promoting the alternative system.
Bringing gold into the trading system reveals, according to the author, a central fallacy of Keynesian economic theory that places emphasis on aggregate demand rather than production. The gold settlement system, which Alasdair Macleod has also proposed, requires the settlement of trade agreements in gold and is more favorable for member countries in addition to the current BRICS members. The new system reduces government spending and encourages market-driven economic reforms. The author argues that it compels member states to adopt responsible and productive economic practices instead of wasting money.
Over time, the gold settlement system could even expand into the internal monetary systems of members, displacing fiat currencies that are subject to conscious manipulation by governments. Ultimately, fiat currencies may become a thing of the past, according to Keynes's own prediction from 1924.
Forbes: The value of gold cannot be diminished, nor is it dependent on anyone
20.8.2023 compiled by Bob Haber "We have gold because we cannot trust governments," stated President Herbert Hoover. The rarely quoted Hoover remark from 1933 resurfaces in discussions of economic concerns. At that time, future President Roosevelt ignored Hoover's advice, leading to the establishment of a emergency bank and a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar. A writer for Forbes compares the situation back then to this year, 2023: Fitch Ratings has recently downgraded the U.S. government's debt rating due to excessive borrowing. The U.S. is still expected to accumulate billions of dollars in debt annually over the next decade. These raise questions about the strength of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency. The article discusses the importance of gold in combating economic uncertainty. It compares the historical reduction of U.S. debt in 2011 to the current situation, where public debt has further increased. The impact of the downgrade on U.S. dollar management and the rising influence of BRICS nations is also considered. The author recommends diversifying portfolios with gold due to its historical value and independence from liabilities. Central banks' interest in gold is emphasized, and gold's performance in yield curve inversions is addressed. The text suggests closely monitoring the yield curve and encourages buying gold during weak market periods.El Pais: Junk can turn out to be a gold mine - how precious metals are recovered from discarded devices
19.8.2023 Raul Lemon E-waste has become a treasure because it contains valuable metals. For example, a ton of discarded mobile phones is said to contain more gold than a ton of mined ore. This realization has led the international mining company Atlantic Copper to build a modern recycling plant in Huelva, Spain. According to Ruediger Kuehr, a professor at the University of Limerick and director of the United Nations Scycle program, the compelling statistics speak for themselves: one million mobile phones contain about 24 kilograms of gold, 16,000 kilograms of copper, 350 kilograms of silver, and 14 kilograms of palladium. These materials are essential components in electronic devices, and as the demand for electronic products grows, they are becoming increasingly scarce.Atlantic Copper's recycling plant, the seventh of its kind in the world, aims to isolate these valuable materials from discarded electronic devices. The company has invested 310 million euros (about 337 million dollars) in the project. It aims to provide 350 new jobs and utilize cutting-edge technology.
With the demand for metals and minerals expected to multiply twelvefold over the next 25 years, the need to explore alternative sources is evident. Extracting metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and others from the earth is costly and has environmental impacts. These same materials can be found in discarded electronic devices.
The recycling process for valuable metals is technologically challenging. Waste management companies initially sort the recyclable materials. Recycled materials include non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and circuit boards. Atlantic Copper plans to recover significant amounts of copper, tin, nickel, and valuable metals like gold.
