May 8, 2019
The Miles Franklin Newsletter
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From The Desk Of David Schectman-

A different point of view
 
David's Commentary (In Blue):

Our CFO is an “old-fashioned” entrepreneur. He’s not “old,” he just believes in time-tested, old-fashioned, solid business principles. After graduating from college, two and a half decades ago, he launched several successful companies that market and sell products that are made in China. He still runs them in addition to his responsibilities at Miles Franklin. He is an original thinker and very sharp. I like to pick his brain and get his thoughts on the stock market and the economy. He is a “traditional” thinker and his views of the world are often different from mine. He’s a good check-and-balance for me.
 
Last week I asked him what he thought about Trump’s tariffs and a potential trade war with China. A lot has been written about this lately. His take is - we hold all the cards. Their exports to the US literally support their economy. Without our business, their economy would collapse and along with it, their stock market would implode. He has traveled to China on business many times. He said that the streets outside of his hotel are filled with wall-to-wall people, 24 hours a day. Yes, even at night. I asked him why? He said because it is common for 12 people to share a small room. They occupy their apartment in shifts. When their shift is over, they hit the streets. Apart from the uber-wealthy, the Chinese do not spend. They save. They still remember Mao’s great famine and confiscation of personal wealth, which was just 60 years ago. The Chinese economy is primarily export-based. Domestic consumption is only a small part of their economy. He said that the new unoccupied cities they built are just for show, for the propaganda effect. In many cases, they are just like Hollywood sets; they look real but are not. He has traveled into the rural countryside where they still use Oxen instead of modern tractors and the roads are all dirt, with potholes the size of a small car. Most of the population are dirt-poor and their leadership is aware that they have to keep the economy going to avoid a revolution. We can live without their products; it would be a major inconvenience for a while, but they cannot survive without our business. 
 
He’s not concerned, and says this will work itself out. The stock market is over-reacting to the threat of more tariffs. Check out these headlines:   “Stocks get Hammered On Fresh Tariff Threats.” “Bulls Undercut by Trade Snafu.” “Stocks Tumble as Trump Threatens Increased China Tariffs.”  

The Chinese will not cut off their nose to spite their face. Whether you Like Trump or not, his power moves are interesting and if he pulls this off he will be difficult to beat in the 2020 elections. 
 
There are reasons to be optimistic about gold now, but a trade war is not high on my list. One thing that is significant is the Central Banks are buying gold. David Morgan says,

Yes, central banks are buying gold? But this time the motivations of the buyers are different than they were in years past, and they are worrying. That’s why investors should take note.

In the past, central banks had to buy gold because of its vital role in the global financial system. Now they are choosing to do so because they are worried about the dollar. In other words, they’ve been scared into this bullion buying binge.
I wonder if they know something we don’t know?”

GoldCore says “Gold To Gain as Global Markets Brace for Turmoil: With central banks buying more and more gold and with economic perspectives looking dull, gold will eventually go up.  
 
Here is a problem that never goes away and one of these times it will escalate into a full-blown war between Israel, Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. And there is also Iran’s threat to close the Straits of Hormuz in retaliation to Trump’s economic sanctions. These are the kind of events that will elevate risk assets and gold is on the top of the list.

Israel now striking targets across Gaza in major new flare-up...
 
Are you a “cycle” guy? Jim Curry, writing for The Gold Wave Trader offers his bottom line.
 
The overall bottom line going forward is that we are in the early-end range where a bottom for the 154-day cycle could form. Having said that, there is no confirmation that this low has been seen - and with that the metal will continue to remain vulnerable in the days/weeks ahead. Once this bottom is complete, the metal is expected to see a larger-degree rally playing out into the Summer months, with the potential for this rally to push into the low-end 1400's or better, depending on how the current downward phase ends up playing out. Stay tuned .

And Ed Steer sums it up like this:

However, with the gold price sitting in no-man's land between its 50 and 200-day moving averages -- and silver being obviously kept below its 200-day moving average, it's way too soon to read much into Friday's price action in those two precious metals. And the jury is still out on whether the powers-that-be are still in the process of taking out gold's 200-day moving average to the downside.

What does Ted Butler and Chris Powell have to say about JPMorgan and Bart Chilton? 

 Theodore Butler, May 2
 
The news that Bart Chilton, the former commissioner of the CFTC, suddenly passed away was truly sad but also shocking, so much so that some were given to fabricating conspiracy-type explanations. Chilton certainly had a larger than life persona and many came to appreciate his colorful pronouncements, enthusiasm and willingness to respond to just about everyone who contacted him – qualities quite rare in a regulator. I learned this first-hand very early on when I started communicating with Chilton shortly after he became commissioner in 2007, as I recounted not even a month ago in reaction to his last known interview, with Chris Marcus from Arcadia Economics – I stated in the first sentence of that article that Chilton’s interview nearly knocked me off my feet, but I didn’t fully explain why that was so, which I’d like to rectify today. Yes, I found the interview shocking because Chilton seemed to confirm much of what I had contended for more than a decade, but it was much more than that. I was confounded because I couldn’t quite fathom what prompted Chilton to “spill the beans” about the inner workings at the agency regarding JPMorgan’s manipulation of silver after so many years. After all, there was never any acknowledgement from the “inside” that the Commission was quite close to cracking down on JPMorgan – Chilton’s clear admission of this in his interview was the first ever. And perhaps the last.
Chris Powell (GATA) had this to say about Chilton.

No one in authority helped the monetary metals cause as much as Bart Chilton did
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

While the former member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Bart Chilton, disappointed some monetary metals investors, he was a hero to GATA for several reasons.

First, he forced the commission to take public testimony from GATA Chairman Bill Murphy and GATA Director Adrian Douglas at the commission's much-publicized hearing on the monetary metals markets in March 2010. This brought national attention to our issue.
Second, he repeatedly gave credence in public to complaints of manipulation of the gold and silver markets.

Third, he conscientiously answered mail from ordinary investors and others.
Fourth, he saw his responsibility to represent the producing classes against the financial class, which has taken over the country and the world.

And fifth, he did what he could to legitimize the market manipulation issue without violating what he understood as the confidentiality requirements of a regulatory agency.
No one in any official position has done more than that during GATA's campaign against surreptitious market rigging by governments and their agents.

Bloomberg News has produced a news obituary for Chilton here:

Zero Hedge reviews Chilton's career and criticism of market manipulation here:

Three weeks before Chilton died your secretary/treasurer e-mailed him to try to pin him down about something he had been hinting at, a question the CFTC has refused to answer for GATA and U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-West Virginia.

Could Chilton, your secretary/treasurer asked, say whether manipulative futures trading undertaken directly or indirectly by the U.S. government is subject to the CFTC's jurisdiction, or is it legal?

Uncharacteristically Chilton did not acknowledge the inquiry -- which may have been as dispositive an answer as the CFTC's refusal to answer.

By virtue of his work on the CFTC Chilton surely knew the answer, which would explain why the commission looks away from even the most blatant manipulations of the monetary metals markets. We can only hope that his knowing the answer and his willingness to hint at it had nothing to do with the "sudden illness" to which his death is being attributed. But the world is full of evil governments and evil financial institutions.
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.

And what’s the latest on the criminal sentencing of the former JPMorgan precious metals trader?


The criminal sentencing of former J.P. Morgan Chase precious metals trader John Edmonds has been postponed six more months, to December, as federal investigators continue to probe possible manipulation of metals markets.
 
Edmonds, 37, pleaded guilty in October in Connecticut federal court to working with other "unnamed co-conspirators" to manipulate the prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures contracts between 2009 and 2015 while employed at J.P. Morgan.
 
The New York City man admitted learning illegal trading tactics from senior traders - and to using those tactics with the knowledge and consent of supervisors.
 
His sentencing has been postponed twice, suggesting he is continuing to cooperate with prosecutors in their investigation. No one else has been charged.
 
Edmonds' attorney could not be reached for comment.
 
This news item showed up on the  cnbc.com  Internet site at 5:06 p.m. EDT on Thursday afternoon -- and I found it in a story posted on the  silverdoctors.com  Internet site yesterday. I thank Brad Robertson for pointing it out -- and another link to it is  here . I would think that Ted will have something to say about this in his weekly commentary this afternoon.
 
Dan Oliver, Myrmikan Capital, says..
 
“Gold Price Not Going Back To $1,900. It’s Going To 3,000 Or Higher
 
We expect to see gold prices climbing to record heights of $3000-$4000 an ounce in the future. 
When gold launches higher, they’re all going to be winners.
It’s just about the degree which one is going to win more, and which one is going to win less.”

Here are two of my favorite quotes of the day…

Now that JPMorgan has bought back all those added silver (and gold) shorts, there is some hope it may not sell short on the next rally.   If JPMorgan doesn’t add to short position on the next rally, prices should fly.  - Ted Butler
 
In the past, central banks had to buy gold because of its vital role in the global financial system. Now they are choosing to do so because they are worried about the dollar. In other words, they've been scared into this bullion buying binge. – David Morgan
 
I wonder if they know something we don't know?
 
Many of our clients are old enough to relate to this. We forget just how much the world has changed in our lifetime. If you are 70 years old, this is you…
 
This will blow you away.
 
One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events.
 
The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and just things in general..
 
The Grandfather replied, "Well, let me think a minute, I was born before

' television
' penicillin
' polio shots 
' frozen foods 
' Xerox
' contact lenses 
' Frisbees and 
' the pill
 
There were no: 
' credit cards 
' laser beams or 
' ball-point pens
 
Man had not invented:
' pantyhose
' air conditioners 
' dishwashers
' clothes dryers 
' and the clothes were hung out to dry in the fresh air and
' space travel was only in Flash Gordon books.
 
Your Grandmother and I got married first,.. and then lived together..
Every family had a father and a mother. Until I was 25, I called every woman older than me, "mam". And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, "Sir.”
 
We were before gay-rights, computer dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
 
Our lives were governed by the Bible, good judgment, and common sense. We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
 
Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege... We thought fast food was eating half a biscuit while running to catch the school bus
.
Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
 
Draft dodgers were those who closed front doors as the evening breeze started.
 
Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
 
We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
 
We listened to Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President's speeches on our radios. And I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
 
If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan ' on it, it was junk.
 
The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam....
 
Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and instant coffee were unheard of.
 
We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
 
You could buy a new Ford Coupe for $600, ... but who could afford one? Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.
 
In my day:
 
' "grass" was mowed, 
' "coke" was a cold drink, 
' "pot" was something your mother cooked in and 
' "rock music" was your grandmother's lullaby. 
' "Aids" were helpers in the Principal's office, 
' "chip" meant a piece of wood, 
' "hardware" was found in a hardware store and 
' "software" wasn't even a word.
 
And we were the last generation to actually believe that a lady needed a husband to have a baby.
 
No wonder people call us "old and confused" and say there is a generation gap.
 
And we even remember when silver was money and the One Dollar Silver Certificate was backed by silver.
 
How old do you think I am?
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About Miles Franklin

Miles Franklin was founded in January, 1990 by David MILES Schectman. David's son, Andy Schectman, our CEO, joined Miles Franklin in 1991. Miles Franklin's primary focus from 1990 through 1998 was the Swiss Annuity and we were one of the two top firms in the industry. In November, 2000, we decided to de-emphasize our focus on off-shore investing and moved primarily into gold and silver, which we felt were about to enter into a long-term bull market cycle. Our timing and our new direction proved to be the right thing to do.

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