Wednesday, March 22, 2023

What do we own?


In London, JP Morgan unwrapped a really nasty gift.  54 tons of nickel in bonded storage turned out to be rocks. $1.3 million dollars.... POOF.

Now, London Metal Exchange is surely on the hook for this, but it does bring up a couple of big questions.
  • How many other great big sacks of valuable stuff will turn out to be bupkis?  I bet a LOT of bags are being opened right now.
  • LME was the A1 most trusted exchange on earth.  Now we know they have a measure of corruption, or at the least stupidity.  Who will trust metals commodities anymore?  If you can't touch it, you very well may not own it.
That last is a fine point to discuss and consider.   If we think we own something, but can't go lay our hand on it, do we really own it?

Think about it.   If you have wealth stored in bank accounts, do YOU own that money, or does the BANK have the money? Maybe they will let you have some if you meet their conditions.

Do you own stock, maybe a 'metals' account?  Nice, but what, exactly, do you have?   I suggest at best you hold some paper that says you own something... and I'll bet my next paycheck there is fine print explaining all the ways you might not really own anything at all.

Frankly, even if you have a couple of big safes in your house packed to the gills with gold and silver bullion, if you can't protect it then you are just keeping it safe for the first person willing to kill you for it.  That person may be alone, with a mob, or be surrounded by badges... but they will be the new owners of your wealth.

Sobering thoughts that give rise to so many questions.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I did a lot of thinking about money when I first found out about bitcoin. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, but neither does US currency. US currency does have a value however, it’s what the State wants you to pay taxes with. Other than that, it’s all one big bitcoin.
JFM