Gold Extends Gains With Huge ETF Inflows Reflecting Growth Fears

Comments of the Day 24 April 2020     Video commentary for April 23rd 2020   Eoin Treacy's view A link to today's video commentary is posted in the Subscriber's Area.  Some of the topics discussed include: stock markets at continued risk of consolidation, Euro weak, gold firm, food prices beginning to rise, Europe lining up stimulus,      Gold Extends Gains With Huge ETF Inflows Reflecting Growth Fears This article by Ranjeetha Pakiam, Haidi Lun and Justina Vasquez for Bloomberg may be of interest to subscribers. Here is a section: “With the fiscal programs that all the governments are appropriately injecting into their economies and printing money, the one currency you cannot print is gold,” Jake Klein, executive chairman at Australia’s Evolution Mining Ltd. Told Bloomberg TV. “That’s why it’s got investors’ interest.” Next week, policy makers from the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan all meet to assess their stances, raising the possibility of further assistance. Gold futures for June delivery rose 1.1% to $1,756.90 an ounce at 10:43 a.m. on the Comex in New York after surging 3% on Wednesday. Global holdings in ETFs rose for a 23rd session on Wednesday and are at a record. Silver futures advanced on the Comex, while platinum and palladium climbed on the New York Mercantile Exchange.     Eoin Treacy's view ETF Holdings of gold have come from nowhere at the turn of the century to become the third largest in the world. The total held by ETFs eclipsed those of the IMF in March. Germany and the USA are now the only two larger official holders of the metal. No one really knows how much gold China has accumulated and the vast quantities warehoused in India’s temples are not counted in official totals because they are unlikely to ever move.      Email of the day on Australian banks and debt Australia has announced they are increasing petroleum reserve stocks. Small steps in the global oil market. We have lots of gas not much Oil. Government argument oil prices are low. Think I can see political / defense US / Australian ambitions in this move. The Governor of the RBA made a speech a few months back the RBA will support all local banks. That investors should feel confident about the security of their bank deposits and securities. Can I trust these comments? I almost fell out of my chair when Glenn Stevens made this statement   Eoin Treacy'sview Thank you for this email which may be of interest to other subscribers. It makes sense that Australia should build up an oil reserve when prices are cheap. It certainly beats doing it when prices are high and a significant reserve is a geopolitical imperative during a time when stress between the great powers of our day is only likely to increase.     Facebook's $5.7 Billion Bet on Jio Is a Move Beyond Ads This note from Bloomberg Research may be of interest. Here is a section: Facebook's investment of $5.7 billion in India's top telecom operator Reliance Jio highlights a broader bet on India’s online growth beyond ads. Jio has more than 388 million subscribers with reach in content, payments and ecommerce, all of which Facebook can scale up via its 380 million WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram users in India. Plans to integrate Jio’s small businesses to enable shopping on WhatsApp shows an acceleration in e-commerce. THESIS: Facebook will be the hardest-hit internet company in 2020 from the virus fallout as a sharp ads decline and small and medium business exposure can take growth down to low-single digits, while surging usage hits profit harder. Yet we believe exiting this uncertainty with a higher user base and new habits means diversification into new businesses and a 2021 ad rebound will make its growth emerge the strongest among peers. More than 60% of Facebook's sales are in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Japan, France and Italy. Small and medium business make up the majority of Facebook's 7 million advertisers. Earnings in 1Q will likely reset growth expectations, creating room for longer-term sales outperformance as Facebook pushes into diversifying its business post-virus.   Eoin Treacy's view Where are the largest tech companies going to find the next billion users? There are only three potential options. China, Africa and India. They have been cut out of China as it champions its domestic firms. Africa is a continent rather than a country, and on aggregate is further down on the per capita income scale. That leaves India with a massive young population, large number of English- speaking consumers, an independent judiciary, financial market norms familiar to westerners and a democracy intent on raising living standards.     Eoin's personal portfolio - Last updated March 27th   Eoin Treacy's view One of the most commonly asked questions by subscribers is how to find details of my open traders. In an effort to make it easier I will simply repost the latest summary daily until there is a change. I'll change the title to the date of publication of new details so you will know when the information was provided.