Downward manipulation of gold and silver is real, declares Jason Hamlin, but the longer it continues, the higher prices will go when the free market reasserts itself. In this interview with The Gold Report, the publisher of the Gold Stock Bull newsletter argues that rising geopolitical anxiety coupled with endless monetary expansion could lead to explosive growth in precious metals and equities. He also lists his favorite royalty/streaming companies and gold and silver miners.
The Gold Report: You told The Gold Report in December 2012, “I think the official inflation adjusted [gold] high of $2,400 per ounce ($2,400/oz) will be taken out within the next 12 months.” Why didn’t this happen?
Jason Hamlin: One reason is that inflation hasn’t risen significantly until lately. That is due to the recent record low velocity of money. Trillions of dollars in new money were created to stimulate the economy and get us out of the financial crisis of 2008–2009, but the banks have held this money in excess reserves, earning interest from the Federal Reserve. As a result, it hasn’t been loaned out and hasn’t flowed through the economy. I think we are beginning to see this change, and coupled with de-dollarization driven by Russia and China, I expect the inflation rate to increase at a quicker pace than most people expect.
The other reason why the price of gold didn’t increase was outright manipulation. Before people roll their eyes at seeing this “conspiracy theory” once again, we should point out that Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority actually fined Barclays Bank £26 million (£26M) in May for manipulating the daily gold fix between 2004 and 2013. In my estimation, this is just the tip of the iceberg. A number of class-action lawsuits have recently been filed against the big banks for gold manipulation and one needs only look objectively at the recurring not-for-profit selling to understand that manipulation is taking place. When you consider the immense power that printing the world reserve currency gives a nation, the motive to continue this system and suppress alternative currencies becomes clear. We could never have the endless wars and continual deficit spending without Nixon delinking the dollar from gold.
TGR: What do you make of the report by the Financial Times that central banks have invested $29.1 trillion in markets, mostly equity markets?
JH: This is another example of “conspiracy theory” becoming “conspiracy fact.” It helps explain why there’s been such a divergence between equity prices and the true health of the economy. This also supports theories of a plunge-protection team working to prop up the market and keep confidence high. The greater the interventions and the farther we drift from free market price discovery, the more extreme the boom and bust cycles will be and the more devastating the impact on everyday investors. This grand experiment ends very badly, in my estimation.
TGR: The financial media pays great attention to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500, but are these really such good indices of the broad health of the U.S. economy?
JH: Not at all. You can look at the weak manufacturing numbers. You can look at stagnant wages or at median household net worth, which plunged 36% from 2003 to 2013. You can look at the labor force participation rate, which hasn’t recovered at all from 2008. There are so many divergences from the official story of a full recovery and we are now finally starting to see some cracks in the facade.
TGR: We had stock market crashes in 2000 and 2008. Are we due for another?
JH: The warning signs have been flashing for quite some time, but stocks have continued marching higher. Valuations on a price/earnings basis have risen to lofty and unwarranted levels. By any number of measures, we are due for a major correction in the stock market. It’s just a matter of when, not if. In the meantime, I haven’t been shorting the market. I think it’s wise to continue to ride the trend higher. We’ve been doing that with some technology and agricultural plays because, if the markets are manipulated, this bubble can last much longer than most people would think. But it is important to mind your stops.
TGR: Given how high the Dow Jones and S&P 500 numbers have become, what would be the psychological and political effects of another crash?
JH: Devastating. That’s why we have so much manipulation behind the scenes. On the political front, it would gravely damage the current administration. On the psychological front, investors would suffer a grave loss of confidence in the market. And, very rapidly, these effects could spin out of control. Some of the financial conditions that led to the last crisis in 2008–2009, such as leveraged indebtedness and derivatives exposure by banks, are far worse today than in 2008.
TGR: Some people willing to admit manipulation of gold and silver prices ultimately conclude, “So what?” What do you make of that response?
JH: It makes sense in one respect. Essentially, holding down gold prices through manipulation allows investors to accumulate gold at lower prices. Manipulation is similar to holding down a spring. The countervailing force continues to grow stronger as the artificial forces weaken, and when the spring is finally released, it moves with explosive force.
