During the past month, two of our favorite sources of fundamental information for the precious metals markets have issued their summary reports looking ahead to the coming year.

All in all, these spending proposals, combined with those already approved, could bring total spending for the current budget year to around $8 trillion—by far the highest level ever recorded in America’s history.

One of the largest conundrums we would point out is the matter of rising interest rates starting to take place in several nations.

It should come as no surprise that gold and silver acted similarly, rising sharply during the early hours of the crisis and retreating as tensions abated.