Alex Tysz

[*Walter Bloomberg @DeItaone]

CITADEL WARNS BESSENT’S BUYBACKS COULD BACKFIRE

Citadel Securities calls Treasury’s expanded bond buybacks “financial repression,” warning they could weaken the dollar and fuel inflation.

Bessent’s strategy aims to suppress long-term yields, potentially using Treasury’s cash reserves to fund purchases.

But Citadel argues intervention doesn’t solve the underlying problem of high deficits and inflationary pressure — it simply shifts stress elsewhere.

The firm says lasting relief requires tighter fiscal policy and potentially higher Fed rates.

[Tracy Shuchart (𝒞𝒽𝒾 ) @chigrl]

Fidelity Fund Doubles Gold Holdings on Uncertainty Over Fed

A portfolio manager at Fidelity International Ltd. has doubled his fund’s gold holdings over the past three weeks, citing increasing uncertainty over US Federal Reserve policy as a catalyst.

After raising the proportion of bullion in the fund to a self-imposed limit of 5%, George Efstathopoulos said he would consider lifting this ceiling should the safe-haven status of the US dollar continue its decline. He began his recent accumulation after the investor retreat from long-dated Treasury bonds that followed the Fed’s July meeting.

“My translation of that is the lack of Fed credibility and more policy uncertainty,” Efstathopoulos said in an interview on Monday. (Bloomberg)

[LST @LongShortTrader]

Citadel and Druckenmiller:

[Nick Timiraos @NickTimiraos]

Stanley Druckenmiller renders an unfavorable opinion of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's use of buybacks to defend against higher yields in a market that is functioning normally.

"I have spent five decades trading on a simple premise: Markets aggregate information no committee possesses, and prices are how that information reaches decision makers. The long-term Treasury yield is the most important price in the world. It is also the only fiscal disciplinarian the U.S. has left."

"Every basis point of artificial yield suppression is a subsidy to procrastination."

"Return buybacks to their stated purpose: small, scheduled, off-the-run liquidity operations announced at quarterly refundings, never off-cycle responses to yield levels. Term out the debt honestly and pay the price the market sets."

"If the 30-year must trade at 5.5% to clear, that isn’t a crisis. It is an invoice. Then do the only thing that durably lowers long-term yields: address the primary deficit."

https://t.co/Xe8Vi38WiI

[The Kobeissi Letter @KobeissiLetter]

BREAKING: China acquired +40 tonnes of gold in June via the London OTC market, marking their 2nd-largest monthly purchase since early 2025.

This is 167% more than the official +15 tonnes reported by China's central bank for June.

This also follows an estimated +48 tonnes acquired through the OTC market in May, +380% above the +10 tonnes officially reported by the central bank.

Meanwhile, China’s central bank officially added another +20 tonnes of gold in July, its largest monthly purchase since October 2023.

Year-to-date, China has officially increased its gold reserves by +60 tonnes, bringing total holdings to a record 2,366 tonnes.

Therefore, China acquired an estimated +88 tonnes of gold through the OTC market in just May and June, more than the amount officially reported for the entire year so far.

China is buying far more gold than their official data shows.

[Keith Wilson @ikwilson]

Ontario, Quebec, and BC are in big trouble.

[zerohedge @zerohedge]

HSBC Warns Global Zinc Market Is Flashing Signs Of Tightness https://t.co/g3jBtM3BaO

[Lawrence Lepard, "fix the money, fix the world" @LawrenceLepard]

Yep. Just out.

[George Gammon @GeorgeGammon]

Oh Sh*t...They're Actually Doing It https://t.co/k047vHzKMM

[Paola Rojas 🐝 @paola_rojas]

Ken Griffin's Citadel made some interesting moves as per their latest 13F filing.

Exposure to metals and mining expanded by ~30% versus Q1. But that's not the most interesting part. This is: they appear to be positioning less for a generic global-growth commodity rally and more for a supply-constrained strategic-metals cycle.

As Spock would say, fascinating.

among stocks added
- $USAR USA RARE EARTH
- $ERO ERO COPPER
- $PPTA PERPETUA RESOURCES
- $ALB ALBEMARLE
- $ARIS.TO ARIS MINING*
- $OGC OCEANAGOLD*
- $ODV OSISKO DEVELOPMENT*
- $ALOY REALLOYS
- $WRN WESTERN COPPER & GOLD
- $CRML CRITICAL METALS
- $NAK NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS

among sold
- $TECK TECK
- $NG NOVAGOLD
- $URE UR-ENERGY**
- $SVM SILVERCORP METALS
- $SEA SEABRIDGE GOLD**
- $TMC THE METALS COMPANY
- $TKO TASEKO MINES**

A 30%+ increase in a sector allocation at Citadel is not trivial; that's the kind of change that usually reflects an intentional thematic view rather than portfolio noise.

Instead of broad exposure, they are rotating toward uranium, lithium, platinum, critical minerals, copper baskets, and leveraged precious-metals exposure while using options more aggressively to manage risk.

__
*new
**closed position

[Tom Karadza @tomkaradza]

Can't stop ... won't stop. Wondering why groceries and rent and life is so expensive?

The Canadian M2 Money supply has grown 111x since 1968 or 8.4% annually.

If you don't increase your savings/income by that much a year (every year) then you fall behind. This is the game.

[Richard Dias @RichardDias_CFA]

Canadian Equities are on a generational run, driven by banks and commodities.

[Bitcoin News @BitcoinNewsCom]

NEW: Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office closes positions in both Intel and Micron Technology and opens positions in four publicly traded Bitcoin mining companies: Bitdeer Technologies, Riot Platforms, Hut 8, and IREN.

[unusual_whales @unusual_whales]

"Scott Bessent is sending a clear signal, traders say: He will do whatever he can to prevent bond yields from soaring," per Bloomberg.

[Barchart @Barchart]

$TLT approaching its lowest price since its inception in 2002 🚨 🚨

[zerohedge @zerohedge]

Diesel crack hits record $102. This is absolutely unprecedented.

Industrial economy either grinds to a halt or consumers about to be hit with the biggest energy pass through in history

[Willem Middelkoop @wmiddelkoop]

37-0

[Karel Mercx @KarelMercx]

It is striking how bad things are getting in China. The 10-year yield is falling like a stone.

China has too much debt, and there is nothing worse than a deflationary debt spiral.

That is why I expect a major stimulus package soon. Got commodities?

[Barchart @Barchart]

BREAKING 🚨: China

People's Bank of China just injected 348 billion yuan ($52 Billion) into their banking system through overnight reverse repos, their first mid-month injection in history 🤯 👀 Dear God!

[zerohedge @zerohedge]

Hormuz Shock "Manifesting Itself In Cracks, Not Crude," Jefferies Says https://t.co/RI5LO7BwgR