Jacque's Post
February 11, 2026
(THE SILVER STORY IS CURIOUS NOW)
February 11, 2026
Hello everyone
The debt mountain in the U.S.
Credit card balances hit a fresh high in the fourth quarter, rising by $44 billion to $1.28 trillion, according to a new report on household debt by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released on Tuesday. That’s a 5.5% rise from a year earlier.
More than 55% of consumers carry credit card balances to cover essential expenses, according to the debt management company, Achieve, which was released on Monday.
The K-shaped economy is making quite an impact in the real world, particularly for those on the lower leg of that K. The affluent half of the population on the upper K leg isn’t disrupted by financial waves in the market. For most people, trade-offs are a way of life.
Though the job market is showing some signs of strain, consumer spending has largely stayed strong, which research shows is mostly attributed to higher-end consumers.
Credit card delinquencies are mounting, as are car loan defaults, and late payments on mortgages or complete defaults. This will get worse, unfortunately.
The divergence in the global silver market
In the last couple of months, the global silver market has been diverging. The spot (paper) price does not equal the physical wholesale price.
In many regions, Physical Silver is trading 20-30% above the Spot Price.
How do we explain this?
Physical supply tightness: low vault inventories and delivery delays are pushing real metal premiums higher.
Industrial demand boom: Solar, EV, electronics, and AI-related manufacturing continue to absorb large quantities of silver.
Investor accumulation: strong demand for bars, coins, and ETFs has reduced available float in the physical market.
Regional price divergence: premiums in Asia and Middle East markets (China, Dubai, India) are significantly above Western spot prices.
Paper vs physical disconnect: Futures markets are driven by leverage and sentiment, while physical markets reflect real supply shortages.
As time passes, if the premium remains elevated, then we could see supply deficits continue, and industrial demand remaining strong, while physical inventories continue to be tight.
This divergence could be reversed if we see logistics and refinery output improve, a significant cooling off in investor speculation and spot prices adjusting toward physical demand realities.
There is underlying stress in the silver market.
Physical premiums are likely to remain volatile and elevated until supply catches up with real demand.
If you have any silver handed down through the generations, it might be an idea to get it valued. I’ve heard that some silver trays are going for as much as $12,000.
Are you a rookie in AI? Then you might want to read on…
We’ve all heard about ChatGPT, and some of us only have a rudimentary knowledge of it.
But what if we could expand our knowledge and embrace and learn other tools?
Check this list out here:
- Wispr.ai -> for voice-to-text
Just talk. Wispr types.
- Granola.ai -> for meeting notes
Granola takes notes during a call. Silently.
- Gamma.app -> for slides
Whereas ChatGPT gives you text, Gamma actually builds the deck (of slides). One prompt and you’re done. Say goodbye to PowerPoint.
- Claude.ai -> for writing
If you used Chat GPT you might be rewriting many times to sound human. Claude ‘Cowork’ gets it right on the first try. You teach it with your voice.
- Grok.com -> for search
Ask a question. Get facts. Not guesses and links.
- Nanobanana (gemini.google.com) -> for images
Gives you what you asked for. Believable and editable.
- Notebooklm.google.com -> for research
NotebookLM reads sources and becomes your expert. Upload your sources. Ask anything.
- Opus.pro -> for video
ChatGPT can only write a video script, but OpusClip can take one YouTube link -> 20-40 shorts. What took 4 hours now takes 4 minutes.
Even if you just tried one of the above, it might change your perspective, lighten your load, and brighten your day.
Cheers
Jacquie
