February 11, 2026 | The Gold/Silver Bull Market, in Eight Charts

Incrementum just published its Monthly Gold Compass chartbook. As usual, it tells the story of an epic bull market that still has room to run. Here are some of the highlights, with a bit of commentary: Gold is doing great in US dollars but even better when priced in foreign currencies.   When valued in gold, the […]

February 11, 2026 | Financial Stress is Driving Rents and Home Prices Down, at Last

As I have noted many times, historically, a maximum of 3x household income has been considered the limit of what is considered “affordable” for homes. In Canada, with a median household income of 84k, this would mean homes priced at no more than $252,000. Today, the national average home sale price is $660k (down from […]

February 10, 2026 | Dow to 100K?

Donald Trump recently stated that the Dow could reach 100,000 by the end of his presidency, and the usual crowd immediately rushed to either cheer or ridicule the statement without understanding why such a number is even possible. The problem with modern analysis is that it assumes markets rise because governments are doing something right. […]

February 10, 2026 | Risk Trade Poised To Follow Crypto’s Lead

Stocks, commodities, junk bonds, precious metals, and crypto assets all leapt together into late 2025; now, Bitcoin, the crypto leader, is down 44% since October, and the broader crypto market has vaporized trillions in notional value while billions flow out of crypto-based Exchange Traded Funds. US stocks trading at all-time bubble-high valuations (S&P 500 composite […]

February 9, 2026 | Pre-Sale Flip Flop

Happy Monday Morning! As we noted last week, Greater Vancouver home sales continued their slump into 2026. January home sales fell 29% year-over-year in January, and were a whopping 35% below the 10 year average. The sales to actives ratio was just 9%, the lowest reading since September 2012. In other words, only 9% of […]

February 9, 2026 | Spring Listings Start Early in 2026

The spring listing wave traditionally starts at the end of February, but supply is already off to a strong start in 2026. Canadian housing inventory rose in January, with listings higher across most regions, as prices declined (home price index for the 5 largest urban centers shown below for December and January). See Supply surge keeps […]

February 8, 2026 | So…About That Chinese Silver Short Whale

Many of you have probably heard at least part of this story. But for those who haven’t, read on because it’s wild. And potentially favorable for our silver. Let’s start with a Chinese whale putting on a Hunt Brothers-level silver futures short in Shanghai: Silver, possibly in response, tanked: And then — while the markets were […]

February 8, 2026 | Time to Jump on Miners

[The following commentary was written by Steve Houck. He is a longtime investor in bullion and knows the markets well.  He is also a friend and former business partner.  RA ] Looking at the froth in silver, it became apparent it was time to rotate from overvalued to undervalued once again.  Selling precious-metal ETFs like SLV and AGQ […]

February 8, 2026 | Federal Regime Change

Like people, institutions of all kinds get old. Some age less than gracefully. They become set in their ways, fixating on the past and ignoring new conditions. But because they’re “institutions,” change happens slowly. The Federal Reserve System is a great example. It has a critically important role in the economy but is designed to […]

February 7, 2026 | Why Gold and Silver Crashed (Pt. 1)

February 7, 2026 | Tech Talk for Saturday, February 7th 2026

The Bottom Line All time high for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday! Strength is coming from sectors other than technology, an encouraging technical sign. The Average recorded gains despite a 4.5% drop by the Magnificent 7 ETF (MAGS) last week. Strength in U.S. equity markets is “broadening out” into other sectors including Materials, […]

February 6, 2026 | The Economy into 2028

  QUESTION: Marty, January posted the largest January job loss numbers since the Great Recession of 108,435, which was a 118% increase from a year earlier. This seems to be in line with Socrates’ going into February where it projected a rise in volatility there as well and a Directional Change. Plus, consumer confidence started […]

February 6, 2026 | Tech’s Momentum Breaks — And the Market Scrambles for Alternatives

Technology investors are discovering that nuance cuts both ways. Markets are no longer reacting simply to whether a company is “in AI” or “not in AI”, they’re reacting to how AI reshapes business models. And this week, that shift in mindset produced some of the sharpest rotations we’ve seen in years. Earnings season made the divide painfully […]

February 5, 2026 | Could Europe Defend Itself Without America?

  Could Europe defend itself without America? In January 2026, NATO launched Operation Steadfast to answer that question. The operation is the largest exercise of the year, deploying around 10,000 troops from 11 member states across Central Europe. The plan involves the Allied Reaction Force, a rapid response element designed to test trans-Atlantic coordination in […]

February 5, 2026 | All Is Well or Is It?

“If you depreciate the money, it makes everything look like it’s going up.” – Ray Dalio “People don’t realize how hard it is to speak the truth to a world full of people who don’t realize they’re living a lie” – Edward Snowden My government overlords and their legacy media propaganda outlets tell me the […]

February 4, 2026 | Washington Launches $12B Rare Earth Minerals Reserve

The Trump administration is moving to create what is being described as a strategic stockpile for rare earths and other critical minerals, branded “Project Vault,” with reported financing of around $12 billion, involving a major loan structure and private participation from large industrial users. This is a defensive move akin to a petroleum stockpile and […]

February 4, 2026 | Prosecutors Seek to Ban Le Pen From Office

Once again, we are watching the political system weaponize the courts to decide elections before the people ever get the chance to vote. The appeal trial involving France’s Marine Le Pen is not really about accounting procedures or parliamentary reimbursements. This is about removing a political opponent who cannot be beaten at the ballot box. If the […]

February 4, 2026 | Epstein and the Shrinking Trust Horizon

Let’s start with Bill Gates, because he’s one of the more baffling characters in the Epstein drama. I have some liberal friends, and without exception, they think Gates is a good man. A typical conversation goes like this: Me: You know Bill Gates is buying up millions of acres of farmland, right? Liberal friend: He’ll […]

February 4, 2026 | Canada’s Economy is ‘On Life Support’

We should all work and hope for new trade relationships, new business lines and lots of innovation to bring seen and unforeseen solutions. But in the here and now, Canada is in a complacency-earned rough patch. Eyes wide open. Canada’s private-sector activity remained soft in January, with the S&P Global Canada Composite PMI coming in at 46.4, […]

February 3, 2026 | Can Trump Save the UN?

  In a recent interview, Donald Trump claimed he could “very easily solve” the United Nations’ financial problems by requiring member states to pay their dues, much as he pressured NATO allies to increase defense contributions during his first term. Trump would not be able to do this with funds, as that is not the true […]

February 3, 2026 | Home Prices are Round-Tripping

Home price deflation is underway in many high-population centers in Canada and America, see Housing Market Is Shifting Back Toward an Advantage for Buyers on the front page of yesterday’s Wall Street Journal: “The proliferation of discounts and incentives offers the latest evidence that the housing market is tilting back in the buyer’s favour.” The US housing […]

February 2, 2026 | United Nations Facing “Imminent Financial Collapse”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the organization could face “imminent financial collapse” unless member states pay their dues in full and on time or unless the underlying financial structure is fundamentally reformed. “The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near […]

February 2, 2026 | Liquidity or Price

Happy Monday Morning! As expected the Bank of Canada remained on the sidelines this past week, opting to keep interest rates on hold, and will continue to do so, barring a significant shift in the economy. Inflation pressures don’t appear to be a concern for the BoC, despite overall price levels suffocating the life out […]

February 2, 2026 | Data Center Demand Doesn’t Add Up

Mind the hype, always… Utilities analysts are having a moment as the energy sector gets a boost from AI. With an extra 94 gigawatts forecast to be needed by 2030 to power all these data centers, energy investment has become a hot play as investors take a “picks and shovels” approach. But one long-time utilities […]