{"id":87759,"date":"2025-05-31T01:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/?p=87759"},"modified":"2025-06-03T08:37:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T15:37:07","slug":"black-coffee-31-may-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lenpenzo.com\/blog\/id87759-black-coffee-31-may-2025.html","title":{"rendered":"Black Coffee: A Matter of Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"hurricane-flags\"<\/a>It’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy a little joe …<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to another rousing edition of Black Coffee, your off-beat weekly round-up of what’s been going on in the world of money and personal finance.<\/p>\n

Another busy week is crossed off the list. So without further ado, let’s get right to the commentary …<\/p>\n

The silver market is nothing but a swindle, wrapped in a scam, surrounded by fraud.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

– Craig Hemke<\/strong><\/p>\n

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More and more people are asking if a gold standard will end the financial crisis in which we find ourselves. The question isn’t so much <\/em>if<\/strong> we’ll resort to gold, but <\/em>when<\/strong>. <\/em>All great inflations end with the acceptance of real money – gold – and the rejection of political money – paper.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2013\u00a0Ron Paul<\/strong><\/p>\n

Credits and Debits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Did you see this? The inventory of existing homes for sale increased nearly 21% from a year ago, but the increase in home listings failed to spark homebuying<\/a>. In fact, US home sales fell to their slowest pace since April 2009, which was the in the depths of the Great Financial Crisis. Probably because the increase in supply also failed to bring prices down; the median sales price climbed 1.8% from a year ago to $414,000. This is just more proof that the housing market is completely broken – not that you have to tell that to young people looking to buy their first homes. And it looks like only a significant market crash can fix it.<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> Perhaps ridiculously-high home prices are why approximately 17% of Americans now shop at thrift stores<\/a> annually. Among those pre-owned product consumers, 93% primarily shop online, with bargain hunters spending an average of $1760 a year. Last year, America’s second-hand market generated $53 billion in revenue. As for the most popular second-hand product? It\u2019s clothing. Since 2023, the apparel resale sector has grown 15 times faster than the overall retail clothing industry – that’s even faster than the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Although that seems rather hard to believe these days …<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> On the other hand, while a growing number of Americans are shopping at second-hand stores, a new study found that the share of registered voters saying their household financial situation is worse<\/strong><\/em> than the year before fell to 31.8%<\/a> – that’s the lowest figure since January 2022. So more people believe things are looking up (at least on the surface). Just don’t tell that to Bernie and Ben & Jerry. Oh … and apparently actor Mark Ruffalo too:<\/p>\n

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Credit:<\/strong><\/span> It\u2019s possible rising economic sentiment is tied to falling energy prices. That\u2019s because gasoline prices hit their lowest inflation-adjusted price level in more than two decades<\/a> on Memorial Day. The average pump price was the lowest nominal level since 2021 and the lowest inflation-adjusted price since 2003. Well … except in states like California that are seeing little to no relief at the pumps, and gasoline prices that are almost as high as they’ve ever been. Ask us how we know.<\/p>\n

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Source: GasBuddy<\/p><\/div>\n

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Debit:<\/strong><\/span> Speaking of low prices, over the past several months, silver has been near a historic low relative to gold. The current gold-to-silver (GSR) ratio is currently at 100. Compare this to most of recorded history, when the GSR rarely exceeded 16. Today’s ratio is increasingly exhibiting extremes that defy the historical norm<\/a>. As a result, market analyst Bart Brands notes that with the GSR at 100, “silver is dirt-cheap; the GSR makes no logical sense given silver’s utility.\u201d Indeed. Which is why it’s important for current holders of physical silver advocates to maintain their strength of conviction until prices normalize — or else:<\/p>\n