Q: Hi Bill, for people who are interested, Milton Berg is on Twitter/X @BergMilton I am pretty sure it is him as that account has a Blue Check. It seems like he posts his positions and some of the text of his reports a day or so after he publishes them to subscribers.

Q: Not a question just a thanks for your common sense comments on climate change. The climate has always changed and will continue to do so in the future. The earth has been a ball of ice and completely iceless in its history with no contribution from mankind. "Unsettled" one of the books you recommended helps put things in perspective.

Q: To your reader who asked about Franco Nevada (FNV), Fred Hickey mentioned it in his most recent newsletter, since he holds a small position.

Fred always researches his stuff very well. He thinks FNV is well run. He says the problem in Panama has been the only big one for FNV and that, even if that mine never reopens, FNV is worth close to where it is now. He has increased the size of his position (though still a smaller position of his).

Q: I know you don't want to open a climate can of worms. I would like to add my primary issue with the current state of climate science.

From what I have researched, the earth is usually much warmer than it is today....we are still in a form of ice age. Polar ice caps are not that common over the earth's history, for example. The whole notion that humans can somehow prevent a warming cycle that could be much more extreme than is discussed in the media is ridiculous. And climate scientists have somehow fooled much of the public that if we reduce CO2 that we can keep global temperatures within 1.5-2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times.

If the earth is going to get warmer there isn't a heck of a lot humans can do about it. I simply cannot trust any of the proclamations put forth by mainstream climate scientists.

Sorry

Q: Hello Mr. Fleckenstein,

If gold keeps moving up, what will prompt you to reduce your metals/miners positions outside of company specific developments?

Will it be how they behave, positions get too large, monetary/fiscal/economic stuff, opportunities elsewhere, other?

Thanks.

Q: Heartfelt condolences to you on the passing of your mom.

Q: Sincere condolences for your mom. What a time to live! Reflecting this week on the passing of her generation, and Munger, and Rosalyn, and Kissinger.

Q: Bill:

It looks like end of year end tape painting has begun; but what if big mo is not to the upside but last gasp short covering and retail upside partipation. I am unsuccessfully able to pull on my own reins in leaning into this rally. I don’t want to buy ETF index puts or puts spreads even though the near term, six month and one year out options appear to be, over the last year, trending down; and “cheaper” than they were a year ago. I know you like to get short after the “top” and cannonball on the way down.

And the bonds backdrop appears to be rallying/bouncing off of multi-year lows and driving this rally to some extent. But what if it is the proverbiall dead cat bounce, squeezes, not withstanding, plus all of the loud noise going on with guys like Ackerman, Goldman et. al. talking their book.

Just curious what your observations are regarding the existing equity setup.

Q: So sorry about your mom. I think your readers would love to hear a good story or two about her. Can you tell us one or two good ones?

Q: Dear Bill,

One more book to add your list of ‘resources’ for questioning the global warming narrative: “Fossil Future: Why Global Human Flourishing Requires More Oil, Coal, and Natural Gas--Not Less”, by Alex Epstein. (There are also many interviews with Alex online dicussing his views.)

Alex goes through all the enormous *benefits* of using fossil fuels, and how this leads to affordable ‘climate mastery’ (affordable air conditioning, heaters, flood control systems, drought-control systems, etc.) — that make the planet far more livable and far safer for humans, despite any rise in temperatures.

While there is some scientific consensus that temperatures have risen, there is *not* any scientific consensus that this will lead to inevitable ‘catastrophe’, nor is there any scientific consensus (since it’s not even a scientific issue) that the best policy is to spend trillions on endless Green New Deals and to end fossil fuel use.