We’re mixing things up a little today because, occasionally, a tweet speaks volumes…

In case you hadn’t heard, FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted last week on seven felony counts. 

And SBF reportedly spent $10 million and $55 million respectively for Larry David’s and Tom Brady’s “time” to appear in ad spots. 

What’s your opinion? Do you think these celebrities are at least “morally culpable” for their endorsement of the FTX house of cards? Let us know. 

Send your opinions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com

Your Rundown for Friday, November 10, 2023...

Answering Your Gold Questions

We’ll do our best today to answer readers’ gold-centric questions: 

• Steve D. asks: “I have been buying and following gold and your advice for over 15 years now, and my question is why do I not read anything about the U.S. buying much gold?”

• And Marguerite L. says: “Where does all this gold (which central banks buy) come from? I presume it is bought and stored in gold bars? Or ingots?” 

To answer the question from Steve D., we turn to Q3 2023 data from the World Gold Council. As you can see, the U.S. didn't even rank in the top-five countries buying gold last quarter. 

By the way? It’s telling that Germany’s gold reserves are dwindling… How’re those sanctions on Russian energy working out?

Onto the question from Marguerite L., we’ll answer the second part first. In terms of U.S. gold reserves at Fort Knox in Kentucky: “Much of the gold in the vault is in the form of 27-pound bars, while a percentage is in gold coins,” says an article at Moneywise. 

Nonetheless, “over the years, there have been few audits to test the gold, or inventories to count it.” 

Indeed, the last official visitors to lay eyes on Fort Knox’ gold were former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in 2017. 

And the only U.S. president ever to visit Fort Knox was FDR in 1943. 

So how do central banks buy gold? 

“The most common way for central banks to add gold to their reserves is to buy it in the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market,” says the Gold Avenue blog. “This simply means that a central bank buys gold directly from a bullion bank or an internationally-recognized gold refinery.” 

Finally, since Steve D. has been following our firm’s gold advice for 15 years, we turn to Jim Rickards for the last word… 

“Gold bars are OK as a store of wealth,” Jim says, “but they’re impractical for buying goods or barter in emergencies. 

“I recommend 1-ounce American Gold Eagles (about $2,500 each) or the quarter-ounce American Gold Eagles (about $700 each). Another good alternative is 1-ounce American Silver Eagles (about $30 each). 

“They are much more practical for buying groceries in an emergency,” Jim concludes. 

[Jim Rickares has long recommended 10% of your portfolio be allocated to real, physical gold and silver. To get started on your journey, we recommend you check out the services at Hard Assets Alliance… Please be aware we have a financial stake in HAA.; you can assume we collect a portion of their incredibly low fees.]

Market Rundown for Friday, Nov. 10, 2023

The S&P 500 is up 0.45% to 4,365. 

Oil’s up 1.25% to $76.70 for a barrel of WTI. 

Gold, according to Kitco, is down 0.70% to $1,944.30 per ounce. 

And Bitcoin is up 2% to $37,120. 

Send your comments and questions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com