Dear Reader,Before we get into today’s dispatch on North America’s natural gas future, I’d like to comment on breaking news in another energy sector: uranium. You may have seen that President Obama just declared a national emergency “to deal with the threat posed to the United States by the risk of nuclear proliferation created by the accumulation in the Russian Federation of a large volume of weapons-usable fissile material.”Isn’t the Cold War over?, you ask. Don’t we now work with the Russians in dismantling nuclear warheads? The answers are yes and yes. Moreover, there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about this “national emergency,” because with this order President Obama is not trying to rile up old tensions or threaten Russia in any way. In fact, what he’s doing is lobbing a conciliatory ball into Russia’s court in the hopes that Putin will pick it up and play a game called “Let’s Trade Uranium.”Here’s the deal. The United States relies on Russia for half of the uranium that feeds US nuclear reactors. That uranium comes from a deal called “Megatons to Megawatts,” struck in 1993, that saw Russia agree to dismantle some 20,000 old nuclear warheads and downblend the highly enriched uranium (HEU) in those warheads into the low enriched uranium (LEU) that is used to power nuclear reactors.It has all gone very well so far. Since the first downblended LEU arrived in the US in 1994, both parties have honored their sides of the deal; the US has gone so far as to thrice declare that Russian goods on American soil related to the Megatons deal are protected, by order of the president. Today’s executive order was the third iteration of that order of presidential protection.Why is Obama reiterating that Megatons-related payments and properties are off-limits to all? Because Megatons is set to expire in about a year, and the United States is desperate to convince Russia to extend the deal. And we don’t think Putin is interested at all.You see, Megatons provides the US with a reliable source of inexpensive nuclear fuel. That’s a hard thing to come by today. Global demand for uranium is set to climb 33% from 2010 to 2020, and then will climb almost that much again in the next ten years. Can production keep up? Not likely. That means prices are going up. Putin know this – in fact, he’s been working for several years to position Russia to profit from the looming uranium-supply crunch.Not only does Russia produce a fair bit of uranium, Putin also carries a fair bit of clout in neighboring Kazakhstan, the world’s top uranium producer. So Russia already controls a lot of primary production… but that’s just the start. Since primary production (from mines) will not be able to meet demand, secondary sources will become extra-important. There is only one significant secondary source – downblended warheads – and Russia operates some of the only facilities in the world that can downblend HEU into LEU.Putin has positioned Russia to capitalize on the looming global uranium-supply crunch. That’s why he will not be at all interested in extending the Megatons deal – why agree to old terms when the global uranium scene is now on a completely different stage? Instead, Putin will be more than happy to sit down and hammer out a new uranium supply deal.Obama knows this. This executive order is his nod to Putin, his acknowledgment that Putin has the upper hand but the US still wants to play, and his underlying plea to Putin that he play nice. Because if he doesn’t, the United States will find itself scrambling for a new uranium supplier.Our subscribers are already familiar with this topic – we have written about what we’re calling the Putinization of resources several times already. Vladimir Putin is a smart, savvy leader who has long believed that natural resources can be a source of great power. After analyzing Putin’s moves to corner the uranium market, his efforts to control Europe’s natural gas supplies, and his use of Russia’s oil wealth to gain international heft, we laid out a plan letting our subscribers know how to profit from Putinization.So, in summary, there’s nothing to worry about in this “national emergency”… for now, at least. We’ll continue to watch the cat-and-mouse activities between the countries in order to stay on top of the trends.Marin Katusa Chief Energy Investment Strategist Casey Research How Will North America Play Its Excellent Natural Gas Hand?By Marin KatusaNews of a “monster” natural gas find in British Columbia has one again highlighted that North Americans need to make a choice. Do we want to keep the huge volumes of natural gas that have been discovered in recent years across the continent landlocked and transportable only by pipeline, or should we develop the infrastructure that will enable us to transport this fuel to the gas-hungry markets of Asia?Both options come with advantages and drawbacks, of course. Keeping the fuel landlocked will keep prices depressed, likely so much so that many producers will be unable to turn a profit and will shut up shop. Building the infrastructure to transport natural gas to faraway shores is expensive, but more importantly it would commit the continent to a future of fracking, liquefying, and exporting natural gas, a decision that carries heavy environmental repercussions.Here’s how it stacks up. North America has trillions of cubic feet of a fuel that the energy-hungry developing economies of the world want. Knowing that the easy oil and gas of the world are gone, those developing economies are desperate to lock down oil and gas supplies for the future. As their desire for our gas climbs, so will the price they are willing to pay.In short, it’s going to be hard to say no for long – the financial incentive will be too strong. That’s why we see North America becoming a significant exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG)… but not for years. It will take a long time for North America to develop substantial LNG infrastructure. In the meantime, who will benefit? Let’s investigate.Apache’s Monster FindBack in 2009, Houston-based Apache Corp. drilled a well in the Liard Basin of northern British Columbia. It was just a normal exploration well, like the thousands it had drilled before in its quest to find gas reservoirs. Then the drill hit gas.It hit so much gas that Apache didn’t release results from the well until last week, almost three years later, because the company wanted to snap up as much of the surrounding land as possible.You do that when a single well produces 21 million cubic feet per day in its first month. Making things even better, the well was only fracked six times – in many other shale reservoirs wells are fracked as many as 18 times to enable the gas to flow freely.Apache has now drilled three wells in the Liard, with a fourth under way, and has examined logs from 16 others drilled since the 1960s. With those results in hand the company believes the Liard could be “the best unconventional gas reservoir in North America.”Based on initial results, the company estimates that the Liard Basin holds 210 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, of which 48 tcf is recoverable. For comparison, total US recoverable gas reserves stand at 300 tcf.The wells drilled to date, which are spaced more than 25 km apart, are producing gas into an existing pipeline that runs south from the Northwest Territories. Apache says the fact that all the wells are performing very similarly indicates the reservoir is very robust. To give itself the best chance to tap into that robust reservoir, Apache has secured about 174,000 hectares of land in the Liard, an area that is 150 km northwest of the town of Fort Nelson and 100 km west of Horn River, another substantial BC shale gas play.The Downside Of Shale Gas RichesEven with only a few wells completed, there is little doubt about the importance of the Liard discovery. It is huge – so huge that Apache believes its Liard wells could be profitable at a gas price of just $2.57 per MMBtu, almost as low as current North American natural gas prices.Gas prices in North America have been pretty volatile over the last 15 years, spiking at least four times. Discounting those short-lived price spikes, the Henry Hub spot price has ranged from just under $2 to almost $8 per MMBtu – a wide range. We are presently near the bottom of that range.(Click on image to enlarge)There’s a simple reason why prices are plunging: supplies are sky high.(Click on image to enlarge)This is the shale gas phenomenon. The ability to tap into natural gas trapped within tight rock formations known as shale basins has unlocked trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, pushing US gas reserves from 162 tcf in 1993 to 273 tcf in 2009. (Official US Energy Information Administration data for US gas reserves is currently only available until the end of 2009, though estimates from other reputable sources such as the US Geological Survey put today’s US gas reserves above 300 tcf.)It is simple supply and demand: Supplies have risen dramatically, and demand is struggling to catch up. That is, demand within North America is struggling to catch up. There is demand aplenty in other parts of the world; and in those places prices are much higher.In Northeast Asia, strong demand from Japan and South Korea is keeping LNG prices near US$17 per MMBtu. Yes, that is more than six times higher than the current Henry Hub spot price of US$2.70 per MMBtu. It is worth noting, too, that $2.70 per MMBtu is a relatively good price for Henry Hub, one propped up in the last few weeks by warm weather and hurricane threats. By contrast, in April the North American gas benchmark fell to just US$1.86 per MMBtu; prices have hovered near just $2 for several months.Weak gas prices like that have several effects. First, swaths of North American gas producers are cutting back on production. They do not see a need to supply more gas to an already oversupplied market and, more importantly, many actually lose money producing gas at these prices. Second, if prices remain this depressed for a sustained period, producers will start writing down their reserves counts. A “reserve” is a volume of fuel that is economic to produce using current technology. When prices are high, lots of gas reserves are economic – even very tight shale deposits requiring multiple fracs to get the gas flowing. When prices dive, it becomes more costly than it is worth to produce gas from these challenging and expensive tight gas deposits, which means they lose their reserve status.In short, North America’s gas companies flooded their own market, drowning out any chance that good prices will return anytime soon.Problem, SolutionThe problem for North America’s gas producers is that their gas is landlocked. Natural gas has to travel by pipeline – in its gas form it takes up a lot of volume per unit of energy produced, which means it is never worth the cost of transportation to ship it. So North America’s gas producers are generating a product that has to find buyers in North America.Or they could condense their product down into a liquid, rendering it transportable. That’s the beauty of LNG – it is natural gas in a reduced-volume format, which means it can be loaded onto tankers and shipped across oceans.If North Americans want to take advantage of their newfound natural gas wealth, LNG is the way forward. We can use some of the fuel at home, of course, and will use more and more if ideas like converting the continent’s transport trucks to natural gas take hold. But the trillions of cubic feet of gas contained in shale basins from the Liard Basin in British Columbia to the Fort Worth Basin in Texas are more than we can use – so much more, in fact, that prices will remain too low for producers to bother producing it, and these gas reserves will revert to being geologic curiosities rather than economic resources.That is one choice: keeping our natural gas landlocked and committing producers to years – perhaps decades – of rock-bottom pricing. The other choice is to build gas liquefaction facilities on our coasts and send our gas wealth across the oceans to markets in need. The economics of this choice are pretty clear. Even though LNG plants cost billions to build, the size of the resource here and the expectation of continued strong gas demand in the developing world put the calculations back in the black pretty quickly.So economics are not the question. The question, instead, is environmental. Does North America want to become an LNG exporter? The economic upsides include jobs and money, but the environmental concerns include new pipelines, tankers transiting coastal waters, more drilling and fracking of natural gas wells, and the knowledge that we are enabling a continued global addiction to fossil fuels.It’s a choice that will play out in the news media over the next few years, as interested parties start vying for permission to start these multiyear construction projects. Construction is just about to begin on North America’s first gas liquefaction plant, being built by Cheniere Energy at Sabine Pass, on the Gulf of Mexico near the Louisiana-Texas border. The project is expected to cost $10 billion and will not be complete until late 2015, but Cheniere has already signed offtake deals with BG Group of the UK, Gas Natural Fenosa of Spain, Gail of India, and Kogas of South Korea that account for almost 90% of the plant’s expected output.The demand is there. The opposition is there, too – Cheniere spent years trying to get regulatory approval for Sabine Pass, against the protestations of groups such as the Sierra Club.The bottom line is that even though environmental concerns continue to hang over its natural gas industry, they are unlikely to prevent North America from eventually exporting LNG in earnest. There are simply too many jobs and too much money at stake.However, there’s a far more important dynamic for the US to consider than just cash. In fact, expanding the country’s natural gas industry could counteract a growing foreign threat. Additional Links and ReadsOil Advances with Equities as Brent’s Premium Widens (BloombergBusinessWeek)Oil prices climbed along with US markets to start the last week of June, on news that housing prices fell less than expected and speculation that inventories declined the previous week. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose to $79.36 a barrel, though prices are still down 23% this quarter.“Tight Oil” Output Likely to Double by 2035 (Calgary Herald)In its first official forecast, the US government is predicting the oil production from tight formations like the Bakken shale will double in the next two decades. Output from eight regions covered in the US Energy Information Administration report will swell to 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2035, up from 720,000 bpd this year.Natural Gas Prices Are Down But Capital Spending Surges (CNBC)Abundant shale gas resources may have put a damper on natural gas prices in North America that is slowing output in the short term, but the gas bounty is spurring tens of billions of dollars in capital investment by a reinvigorated industry looking to the future. Investments in pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure are expected to enter the trillions of dollars over the next 20 to 30 years.Japan Nuclear Minister Speeds Up Fukushima Cleanup (Reuters)Workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant will begin removing fuel rods from damaged reactors this year, a task that is happening a year ahead of schedule in an effort to address concerns that a new quake could cause further damage and radioactive fallout. Overall, decommissioning and cleaning up the Fukushima site is expected to take at least ten years.For Oil Executives, the Fracking Revolution Raised Specter of a Gas Flashback (Globe and Mail)In assessing whether rising output from North America’s tight oil basins could depress oil prices in the way that production from shale basins hammered gas prices, the energy analyst behind this article concludes that tight oil could help ease prices, but global demand for oil will temper any significant price slides. Regardless, the big winners in the oil sector will always be those with the lowest production costs. read more

In This Issue.*  Weaker dollar ends the week *  Cyprus still at the top of the list *  The jobs market *  Britain on the hot seatAnd, Now, Today’s Pfennig For Your Thoughts!We’ve come to an agreement…Good day…and welcome not only to Monday morning but also the last week in March. I still can’t believe the end of the first quarter is already in our sights, not to mention spring is nearly a week old. Anyway, Chris mentioned on Friday that I’ll be bringing it to you bright and early each morning while both he and Chuck are away this week, so it should shape up to be a busy week for yours truly. If I’m not mistaken, I believe Chuck will be back with us next week so I’m sure you’re looking forward to that.Well, moving on, the dollar on Friday ended a bit lower as most currencies saw a slight rise. As Chris pointed out, the currency market has been trading in a fairly tight range over the past several days so there hasn’t been much news on an individual currency basis. Instead, the financial markets have continued trading on the stronger US economic data that we’ve seen lately as well as any developments from Europe, primarily in regard to Cyprus and Italy. I would say that investors are on the edge of their seats waiting for a  resolution in Cyprus, but I think most are at least paying attention.It’s kind of like some these March Madness games. There’s more than a handful of games in the first two rounds that many don’t want to watch, but they still want to know the outcome to see how their bracket has been affected. In the broad scope of the eurozone economy, Cyprus is a low impact situation, but the markets are still interested to know the final score. Investors still want to know the box score in order to gain some perspective of precedence and execution. Both the euro and the equity markets gained on Friday as news of an imminent resolution in Cyprus had picked up steam.The euro ended the day as the best performing currency on optimism that a deal could be coming soon. It looks as though a government official may have fanned the flames after he said that lawmakers could strike a deal very soon. There is certainly a high degree of urgency to get something done by Monday, otherwise, the ECB said it would cut emergency funds. So, as we closed up shop for the weekend on Friday afternoon, Cypriot leaders and the troika (the ECB, European Commission, and the IMF) were reportedly in productive talks. As a result, the euro finished the week trading right around 1.30. News of a possible agreement probably forced some out of short positions before the weekend, so I’m sure that helped the price of the euro as well.As Chris mentioned on Friday, German business confidence unexpectedly fell for the first time in five months and was tossed aside by the markets as they patiently wait and see what comes of the Cyprus deal. It seems the results, or lack thereof, in the Italian election several weeks ago have been quietly flying under the radar. We did see one of the candidates get the nod to try and get parliamentary support for a new government, but it doesn’t appear likely he’ll get the necessary support. With the question marks still hanging in Italy, I’m surprised their bond yields haven’t taken off. I guess that just goes to show you how complacent we’ve become.Since we didn’t have any data reports here in the US, all eyes were squarely focused on Europe. It’s a short week in the US economic data department with Good Friday, so a week’s worth of info is crammed into four days. Actually, it’s a pretty quiet week since we don’t really have any reports that carry a ton of weight. We begin the week slow as we’ll only see a couple of regional manufacturing reports from the Chicago and Dallas areas. Both of them are expected to show modest growth, but again, nothing earth shattering.It picks up steam as we progress through the week but durable goods and housing numbers round out the first half and then the final revision to 4th quarter GDP with personal income and spending will take care of the second half of the week. Speaking of housing, I have noticed more foundations being poured where previous developments have been untouched for several years. Since the sun in still shining on my way home at night, thank you day light savings, I have been able to see firsthand the results on some of those housing reports. I still question the ability for many to even be in a position to purchase a home or move, but that’s a different story.I saw an interview with Fed Reserve governor Sarah Bloom Raskin that caught my eye. She was talking about how record low interest rates led to increased job growth, which I’m not totally on board with, but some of her general points I did find some common ground. For example, she said that about 66% of all job losses during the crisis consisted of moderate wage positions such as manufacturing and construction, but those fields only account for less than 25% of job gains since. On the other hand, lower wage jobs such as retail and food service accounted for about 20% of the job losses but now accounts for about 50% of the job growth.I think that’s the point we’ve been making for a while. It’s nice to see that positive headline job growth figure, but its composition could be as important, if not more, than the actual payroll number itself. In other words, the Fed policy has little effect on the type of jobs created. She also went on to say wage growth hasn’t taken off as what’s typical in an economic recovery due to the low paying nature of many jobs that have been recently created.Could this be one of the reasons why policy makers show no intention of slow the stimulus. Maybe they’re looking at the current numbers and thinking they look good on paper but upon further review its still very fragile. That scenario would support their recent growth forecast reductions. Anyway, just thought I would share the story.As we already mentioned, the currency market was somewhat subdued on Friday. While early trading gave us a mixed bag on currency returns, we finished the day with most of the majors in positive territory. Again, hints of successful talks about measures needed to get a bailout in Cyprus gave the currency market some steam as we headed into late morning and throughout the afternoon. We already talked about the euro being the best performing currency on the day, but it did rise about 0.75% and broke through 1.30.There were only two currencies, albeit marginally, that finished in negative territory. The Swedish krona and Indian rupee finished on the wrong side of the ledger, but political instability and low maneuverability with interest rates drove the rupee lower on the day. Indian policy makers have their hands full as persistent inflation could handcuff the central bank’s ability for policy easing going forward. They did, however, cut rates twice so far this year so currency traders have been growing more skeptical about the future.The euro’s rise pulled most of the other currencies along for a ride. One of the currencies benefitting from the better European news was the pound sterling, considering we saw some not so good news about the UK. Fitch placed Britain on a negative rating watch, which indicates a higher possibility of a downgrade at some point. Fitch still maintains its top rating, but Moody’s did cut Britain’s rating down one notch last month. Fitch justified the outlook by saying the persistently weak performance of UK growth has increased uncertainty around potential output and the larger trend growth rate. It’ll be interesting to see whether they keep the negative outlook if they decide to cut.One of the better performing currencies, the Norwegian krone got a boost after policy makers proposed raising banking capital requirements as an added layer of protection to the economy. Moody’s just reiterated its top rating and Norway’s credit default swap spread on debt is the lowest of any nation. As if having the largest budget surplus of any AAA rated nation and no net debt wasn’t enough. Anyway, the krone finished the day just north of a 0.50% gain.Speaking of north, the Canadian dollar got closer to the .99 handle after the finance minister released a plan that eliminates the deficit in two years. The list of nations is very short that would be in type of position, but they plan to limit spending growth and assume a continued economic recovery in order to get them where they want to be. A good portion of Canada’s expansion over the next year hinges on increased business investment since consumer spending has done a lot of the heavy lifting recently.Unfortunately, gold and silver suffered at the hands of the European optimism. Gold did hold onto $1,600 as we entered the weekend but lost about $5.00 on the day. Silver took it on the chin a bit more as it lost about 1.5% and traded at $28.75 by the end of the day. Both metals have been range bound lately so it might take a bigger jolt for them to break free. Either way, silver trading below $30 is an opportunity for those who have been sitting on the sidelines to test the waters.As I came in this morning, the currencies have remained in that tight range even though we saw an agreement between the Cypriot and European leaders. They ended up getting their 10 billion euro bailout, but under certain conditions. The second largest bank in Cyprus is being wound down and depositors with balances under 100,000 euros seem to be spared as their accounts will be insured. Those with balances over that threshold would incur losses that EU officials said would be no more than 40%. The Bank of Cyprus, the largest bank, will assume the assets of Cyprus Popular Bank, which is the second largest bank. The ECB will now need to make sure enough funds are going to those banks who survived. I’m sure we’ll see more details coming out today.Then there was.According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, China will emerge as the world’s largest economy by 2016. They said China’s rapid growth will spur its economy past the U.S. “There is significant scope for further catch-up in China; China has a strong record with respect to several of the key factors for sustaining growth and is well positioned to emulate the record of earlier stellar Asian performers,” the OECD said. To recap.The currency market remained range bound for the better part of last week, but we did see some dollar weakness on Friday. Optimism was growing stronger on Friday that policy makers would put together some type of plan before the deadline on Monday. It’s going to be a short week for US economic data in the US because of Good Friday, but we’ll see durable goods, housing numbers, the final revision to 4th quarter GDP, along with personal income and spending. A fed member gives her thoughts on the jobs market and most currencies finished in positive territory on Friday afternoon. Fitch is considering a UK downgrade and Canada has a plan to resolve its budget deficit within two years.Currencies today 3/25/13. American Style: A$ $1.0477, kiwi .8366, C$ $.9810, euro 1.2993, sterling 1.5216, Swiss $1.0633. European Style: rand 9.2616, krone 5.8102, SEK 6.4907, forint 235.75, zloty 3.2038, koruna 19.8410, RUB 30.7165, yen 94.80, sing 1.2429, HKD 7.7617, INR 54.18, China 6.2692, pesos 12.3313, BRL 2.0094, Dollar Index 82.36, Oil $94.21, 10-year 1.96%, Silver $28.72, Gold $1,599.35, and Platinum $1,577.75.That’s it for today.I enjoyed a weekend filled with basketball and sitting on the couch. I’m still nursing a broken ankle so I’ve been living a pretty sedentary lifestyle over the past few weeks. I’m hoping I get the green light next week when I go back to the doc for a checkup, but I can’t wait to get back doing normal things. The weather folks were predicting a decent snow storm on Sunday, and for once, they got it right. The temp is supposed to be on the rise later this week so the snow shouldn’t stick around too long. We’re a little short handed on the desk this week so I should probably get a head start on everything. So on that note.Until tomorrow, Have Great Day!Mike Meyer Assistant Vice President EverBank World Markets 1-800-926-4922 1-314-647-3837 read more

One Month Ago TSX (Toronto Stock Exchange) 12,603.25 12,178.38 11, 506.50 Gold Producers (GDX) 25.59 23.75 42.04 TSX Venture 923.56 876.99 1,173.63 Silver Stocks (SIL) 13.00 11.55 17.94 Oil 107.89 99.60 87.13 Dear Reader, I’ve been traveling again, watching the markets from afar, as it were. I doubt it proves anything conclusively, but the overnight sell-off and then rapid recovery in the price of gold last Friday was quite interesting. Lower unemployment should signal real economic improvement, which is bearish for gold as a safe-haven asset. But it seems that many investors understood that the unemployment numbers were misleading, at best. The average person’s lifestyle seems to be worsening, conforming with Doug Casey’s favorite definition of a depression: a period of time in which the average person’s standard of living decreases. What’s somewhat surprising is that Mr. Market seems to have realized that last Friday, and that could be significant going forward. Meanwhile, your Casey Metals Team has a look backward, seeking guidance on economic weakness as it relates to the price of gold from the last great bull cycle for precious metals in the 1970s. Good food for thought. Sincerely, Copper 3.17 3.14 3.29 Louis James Senior Metals Investment Strategist Casey Research Silver 19.89 19.31 27.00 Gold Junior Stocks (GDXJ) 39.09 35.84 76.08 Rock & Stock Stats Last One Year Ago Gold 1,313.50 1,243.40 1,588.60 read more

Teeka Tiwari Editor, Palm Beach ConfidentialP.S. Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, I will tell you the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about cryptocurrencies… plus how Wall Street and Washington are covering the conspiracy up.I’ll broadcast this special event live from media personality Glenn Beck’s Dallas studios. We’re calling it The Great Cryptocurrency Conspiracy of 2018. You can register for this free event right here.During the live broadcast, I’ll reveal three cryptocurrency recommendations. Plus, you’ll have a chance to claim a share of the $2 million bitcoin giveaway.You’ll also get an exclusive free copy of my new special report, The Cryptocurrency Manifesto, just for registering. Don’t wait… Space is filling up fast. Reserve your seat here…Reader MailbagToday, readers share their thoughts on our recent interview on the death of America’s middle class…Democracy is “mob rule”? What’s the alternative, rule by the “elite”, who will surely take care of themselves first. For this country at least, this was settled over 200 years ago by adopting Jeffersonian democracy. – VinceAnd another happy subscriber writes in:Hello! I am enjoying receiving the advice from Casey Research. Thanks so much! – VeraAs always, you can send any questions or suggestions for the Dispatch right here. Crypto investors will recognize the strategy Hearst used.In a bid to buy in cheap, Hearst’s agents started to float rumors that the government would seize all the land in the town. Prospectors believed the rumors—and sold their mining stakes for pennies to Hearst’s agents.The conspiracy worked. Hearst and his partners bought the biggest mine in the region—Homestake—for a bargain-basement price of $70,000 ($1.7 million in today’s dollars).Homestake would become the richest gold mine in U.S. history. From 1879–2002, the mine produced 44 million ounces of gold and 9 million ounces of silver.At today’s prices, that’s a combined $56.5 billion in precious metals.I’m seeing a similar heist play out in today’s crypto markets.Who’s Behind the ConspiracyEvery day, we hear in the press how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is cracking down on cryptocurrencies.We hear that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is starting a new investigation.We hear JPMorgan Chase’s CEO saying he’ll fire any of his employees buying cryptos—then we find out his traders in London are buying with both hands.We hear central banks float stories designed to scare and ward off crypto investors.In February 2018, the Polish central bank even admitted it hired a firm to spread a “smear campaign” against cryptos. (And do you remember IMF head Christine Lagarde saying central banks need to band together against cryptos?)Friends, the great crypto conspiracy of 2018 is upon us.All year long, we’ve been under assault by rumors of central bank collusion against cryptos… threats of bans… endless investigations… and the ceaseless drumbeat of negativity from the traditional press.And yet—amid this shower of negative news—careful observers will have noticed institutions are actually running into crypto investments.Today, I’m seeing banks, regulators, and the press drown the market in negative news. They’re using the same old trick Hearst used to scare speculators so he could scoop up the Homestake mine for pennies…Guess what? It’s working.Institutions are getting the best prices on cryptos since mid-2017… While the average investor is panic-selling, big investors are buying. “The Bear Market In Cryptos Is OVER!” And This Is the Last Chance to Get in Before Bitcoin Goes to $65,000…Anyone who tells you you’re too late to make your fortune in cryptocurrencies has no idea what’s about to happen next… Click for details. Keen eye for good stories and big ideas The net gain on 10 shares of McDonald’s stock purchased January 3, 2007 and sold January 3, 2017, assuming all dividends were reinvested. Independent thinker who is passionate, motivated, and eager to overachieve The cause of the Great Depression in the U.S. and why. — Prepare for conversation and travel. If you have what we’re looking for, you’ll start out with a one-on-one conversation with Nick. If that goes well, we’ll fly you to Delray Beach for a full day of interviews. And if we still like each other after that, we’ll discuss the next steps.Get in touch at jobs@caseyresearch.com. Put “Investment Analyst” in the subject line. That’s your first test. Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs announced that it would launch a crypto trading desk. Every important lawyer I talk to in the investment space is overwhelmed with crypto questions from their institutional clients. That’s just the latest evidence that institutions are trying to get into this market—not stay out of it.Don’t Fall Victim to This ConspiracyFriends, make no mistake… We’re in the middle of a massive handover of wealth from individuals to institutions.I saw this happen after the housing crisis in 2010–2012, when institutions started buying up foreclosures by the thousands… but individual investors couldn’t get a mortgage.I saw it in 2003 after the dot-com crash, when institutions started buying up internet and technology stocks on the cheap… but on CNBC, they kept telling the public it was too early to buy.I saw it during 1994–1995, when institutions scoffed outwardly about how “dumb” money was buying internet stocks… while they were loading up as individuals were selling.I’ve seen this institutional blueprint for stealing wealth play out again and again.Don’t be a victim of this strategy. The key is to focus on what institutions are doing… not on what they’re saying.Across the world, institutional investors are embracing cryptos—not rejecting them.Just as George Hearst made a fortune using misinformation to buy the Homestake mine on the cheap… institutions know they will make vast fortunes buying cryptos at depressed prices. Otherwise, they just wouldn’t bother with it.Don’t be a statistic. Stay strong. Keep your position sizes rational.We will ride the wave of misinformation through this dark valley of despair and into the bright sunlight of the life-changing future ahead of us.Let the Game Come to You! Crypto Wealth Is Being RedistributedOver the last 90 days, we’ve seen some of the biggest investors in the world flood into cryptos: Coinbase—one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges—launched a crypto index fund for wealthy investors and institutions. Justin’s note: If you’ve been regularly reading the Dispatch, you know that our good friend Teeka Tiwari is hosting a special live event tonight, where he’ll explain what’s really going on in the crypto market.Before it kicks off, make sure to read today’s Dispatch closely. In it, Teeka explains why bitcoin critics such as George Soros, JPMorgan Chase, and Goldman Sachs have called bitcoin a “fraud,” a “bubble,” and a “Ponzi scheme.” Yet, they’ve quietly begun investing millions in cryptocurrencies.Here are the real reasons they’ve talked down cryptos… By Teeka Tiwari, editor, Palm Beach ConfidentialIf you’re offended by sex, violence, and salty language, then you should skip this article…Deadwood was an acclaimed Western series that ran on HBO from 2004–2006.The series was set in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota during the Black Hills Gold Rush of the late 1870s.As you can imagine, the show was full of shootouts, filthy language, and quite a few sex scenes… certainly not a show you’d want to watch with your kids.But there is an episode of Deadwood that holds a valuable lesson for crypto investors…During the Black Hills Gold Rush, regular folks who got in early made fortunes. These weren’t mining magnates or industrialists. Much like today’s crypto investors, they were savvy speculators pouncing on an opportunity.What happened to all those early-stage prospectors?In the fictionalized Deadwood version, wealthy miner George Hearst (father of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst) swindled them out of their mining shares.This wasn’t too far from the truth. According to rumors at the time, Hearst used murder, intimidation, and misinformation to force people to sell their claims. He even purchased newspapers in the town to influence public opinion. Recommended Link Affinity for Austrian economics, monetary history, financial markets, and general history Wanted: Expert Investment AnalystWe’re looking to hire an analyst for the Casey Research team. Our team is growing and a new spot has opened up for an ambitious person to research and write about commodities, stocks, crypto assets, and world markets.For this position, you’ll work directly with Nick Giambruno, Chief Analyst for and Editor of The Casey Report and Crisis Investing. Nick is Doug Casey’s globetrotting protégé. He writes about geopolitics, value investing in crisis markets, the cannabis market, global banking, and survival techniques for financial crises.If this sounds stimulating, keep reading for more details and how to apply.Who We AreWe’re a fast-growing company with all the opportunities of a small start-up and the stability of a deep-pocketed firm with a 30-year track record.We publish half a dozen advisories covering finance and economics. We have hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. Our business is in providing profitable ideas, explaining how the markets really work, and telling great stories.We’re completely independent and unbiased. We don’t take money from Wall Street or the government. Our revenue comes from selling subscriptions. We make money only if our readers are happy.Who You AreYou’re able to analyze assets from macro, technical, fundamental, and sentiment perspectives. You’re overflowing with investment and trading ideas. And you’re a voracious consumer of information.You have a genuine passion for finance and the investment industry. You’re intensely curious, and live and breathe the world’s markets. And you’re willing to travel anywhere and everywhere. You’re ready to improvise, adapt, and overcome.You’re a good thinker, storyteller, and writer. You’re also good company, and you’re the one your friends say is the smartest person in the room.“Must-haves”: The Job We Need DoneWe’re looking for someone who loves investment analysis. Someone who wants to make a living reading, thinking, traveling, and writing. Someone who can help us share big ideas with the world.If this sounds attractive—and you meet the criteria above—we’d love to hear from you.The compensation will depend on your level of experience. Know this: Dozens of analysts at Agora (our parent company) who write newsletters have become millionaires.What to Do Now Send us a basic resume. We’d like to see where you’ve worked.Write a letter telling us about yourself. We don’t care much about what school you went to. We do care about what you’ve learned doing whatever it is you’ve been doing. We appreciate odd jobs, but we’re also willing to consider Wall Street refugees.Send us an email with the following information… Wellington Capital—with over $1 trillion of assets under management—stated its intention to start trading bitcoin. Current Casey Research subscriber (paid memberships to Crisis Investing or The Casey Report win extra points) The Rockefeller family’s venture capital firm, Venrock, said it’s also buying cryptos. The top three biggest risks to the global economy and why. Personal philosophy of voluntarism, anarcho-capitalism, or something similar — Recommended Link Your full name. Susquehanna—the 12th-largest trading firm in the world by volume—announced it would start trading cryptos, too. The firm even went as far as creating its own custody company to hold its cryptos. Can governments shut down bitcoin? Explain why or why not. Exceptional writing ability or a willingness to learn how to write Financial services company State Street said it’s considering acting as a custodian for bitcoin. State Street has $2.7 trillion under management. Why has the average person’s standard of living declined since the early 1970s? Reclusive California millionaire finally reveals his “secret key”In 1 day, this gentleman almost lost his entire $1,000,000 life savings. But by using his “secret key” technique… he saved all his money… generated a fortune… and got to retire at 42, with more security than he’d ever imagined. The most surprising part? His “secret key” wasn’t a one-time tactic… he’s been quietly using it for the past 26 years to make millions. Click here and see it in action. Billionaire investor George Soros—one of the world’s greatest moneymakers—gave the green light to his team to buy cryptos. read more