Gradually- then all at once!

I have spoken in the past about how many things happen so fast that most are taken by surprise.

It does not help that we are propagandized 24/7 about how “great!” things are so that most people cannot discern the real state of our economy. Add to that TRILLIONS in currency units to cover up the implosion of our economy and the illusion is maintained- at least for a while.

I woke up on Sunday morning to the news that Syria’s government had been overthrown. When I left my office on Friday, I had just read that Iraq was sending troops and equipment to help the Assad regime. I was stunned when just a few hours later the jig was up. Later on, we found out that Assad had fled Syria and was in Russia.

This got me thinking about how tenuous the situation must have been in Syria, but the real situation was unknown because of the propaganda that was being spread and kept most people in the dark. Even experts like Scott Ritter (Former UN arms inspector) were surprised by the ease with which the country was overthrown.

I am sure that...

I got a call from a client this week and he asked me a question that really got me thinking.

The question was where do I see opportunity in the “markets” at this time?

The first thing that came to mind is that it appears to me that the valuations of stocks are WAY off the charts. There are many good companies I would like to own but I believe patience will be rewarded here. What I mean by that is that it will be a much better time to buy after a large pullback than at all-time highs.

In the old days I would be shorting this market, but I stopped almost all shorting in 2011 when it became apparent that the Fed-with unlimited firepower- was going to prop up the “markets” and that any metrics that we used to use to determine if a share-price was expensive or cheap could be thrown out the window. It seems the worse the economy gets, which in the days of actual markets stocks would suffer- in our new paradigm the worse it gets the higher stocks climb.

Since the massive interventions have been taking place in most assets there is virtually NO PRICE DISCOVERY in...

While many are buying into the latest fads the central banks, major banks and billionaires are continuing to amass massive amounts of gold. How much? The global demand rose 5% year over year in the third quarter. It is an all-time record for a third quarter of 1,313 Tons.

I believe they all know that they are “printing” their fiat currencies into oblivion and are preparing for a new system that will likely be hatched shortly. Remember the Bank of International Settlements made it mandatory for all central banks to have a digital currency by 2025.

Does that mean that we will have a meltdown and a new financial system in 2025? Only time will tell what the timing may be, but it bears watching closely.

I cannot help but speculate that Bitcoin is being used to divert money that normally would go into gold so that the “dollar strength” illusion can be maintained. I also cannot help but believe that Bitcoin may be used to usher in a new monetary system.

Before any Bitcoin enthusiasts get too excited, I am NOT saying Bitcoin will be used in the new system- just...

Who Hates Gold?

These are my guesses.

Wall Street- HATES GOLD. Why?

My guess is that as people buy gold it is not traded very often. Keep in mind that money in motion is what Wall Street wants. A great example of why was brought up in the movie “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. When Eddie Murphy gets the job that Aykroyd previously held it was explained that, as clients make trades, they may make money-or not- but WE get paid for every transaction. If people buy and hold assets the HOUSE doesn’t constantly get a piece of the action.

Since most physical gold buyers are buying it for stability and to keep up with inflation it is held for longer periods and impedes commissions. This is likely the main reason why gold is rarely mentioned even though it has performed better than most other assets since the year 2000.

Every all-time high is celebrated in the “markets” but with gold also hitting all-time highs there appear to be crickets. How many people realize that as of Nov. 20th. Gold has risen over 32% in 2024?

...

Trouble Ahead? There are a few things that I think we should be paying attention to.

Ever since Mr. Trump won the Presidency, we have seen cryptos flying higher and certain stocks leading the indexes to new all-time highs. The euphoria seems off the charts.

If anyone watches college football like I do, you have probably seen Lee Corso making predictions on Gameday. One of his favorite lines when he is going to pick against you is “Not So Fast!.”

While he is not always right- and I am not either I do think there are some warning signs out there that indicate that things could take a turn at any time.

Many think that since the new president will be coming in and reducing regulations along with the Fed lowering rates, easy money and good times will be right around the corner. With this in mind it appears that many are throwing caution to the wind and buying about anything.

In my opinion there are many possible warning signs out there.

#1 The Fed has lowered the overnight rate by .75% in the last two meetings. That is great and historically this...

The election is finally behind us and, as I write this, the “markets” are celebrating. Bitcoin is flying -probably because the president-elect has promised to be the bitcoin president. Stocks are flying higher across the board on the morning after. On the other side, gold, silver, oil, and most hard assets are taking it on the chin.

Personally, I look at this as a short-term reaction. The “markets” got what they wanted out of the election. However, I do have a few questions.

#1 As the stock “markets” are rising- so are interest rates. It appears that bonds are being sold along with commodities to fund the race into stocks. While this is short-term bullish for stocks, I have to wonder whether the Fed will let this stand as the cost of funding the government is rising. Personally, I believe that those “in charge” cannot allow rates to rise much further. Is it possible that the “market” may pull back shortly to prop up the bond “market”? Remember, the Fed can lower the overnight rate by mandating it. All other maturities must be bought (most of it with cash from nowhere)...

Week after week it seems that I am discussing the anemic state of our economy and trying to enlighten those who care to look about the propaganda taking place 24/7. It may seem that I am being pessimistic. Actually, I am just being realistic and trying to give people a heads-up so they can prepare for what I believe will be an extremely difficult 2025 and beyond. I also believe I am a bit of a counterbalance to that same propaganda. Instead of talking points given out by those “in charge” and parroted across the airwaves by willing (well-paid) accomplices in the media I actually do research and look at actual numbers- not the massively massaged numbers that are regurgitated over and over as facts. Remember the Nazi playbook- tell a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.

I cannot tell you how many times I have had to turn off the major financial channels when I see this happening.

I also believe that I am putting information out that is either being underreported or ignored. Things like the BIS (Bank of International Settlements) mandate that all central banks have...

It appears that every trick in the book is being used to keep us as uninformed about our current reality.

I just saw a headline that global debt will hit $100 TRILLION soon. Really? That is only because all of the promises made- and not funded are not counted. Wars are off budget, so I guess the trillions spent there is just an illusion. Just here in the USA, according to USDEBTCLOCK.ORG our UNFUNDED (no money to pay for it) liabilities are over $200 TRILLION and growing by the minute. Let’s also not forget about the $29 TRILLION lent to the banks which is also off-budget. What is the real number? It’s anybody’s guess but a QUADRILLION is probably not out of the question. That would be 100X what they are saying.

Let’s also not forget about personal and corporate debt that is off the charts.

I hear two candidates for president that are offering no solution or even acknowledging the debt problem that threatens our well-being. As a matter of fact, I hear almost nobody talking about our greatest challenge at any...

Will they, or won’t they? Many people are asking whether or not a new settlement currency for the BRICS known as the UNIT will be announced at the meeting in Russia taking place next week.

For those who may not know what the UNIT actually is, it is a currency that will be backed by 60% local currencies or commodities and 40% backed by gold. This would greatly impact the US dollar as MANY countries are looking to trade amongst themselves without a third party (USA) intervening.

As many as 59 countries have applied for membership in addition to the current 10 members.

Another interesting outcome will be to see if any expansion will be announced at this time and what the timeframe might be moving forward. Last year, 6 new members were announced. Argentina backed out after a leadership change and Saudi Arabia is in- but not fully yet. The 10 members will have to determine who, and how many, new participants will be added. This could also give us a glimpse of how fast these events may take place.

Most of the commodities, including oil, would be produced by...

As anyone who reads these articles know I am a major bull when it comes to hard assets, and in particular, gold, silver, and the mining companies. I saw an interview where the host asked a great question: Why has gold vaulted to all-time highs, but silver and the gold mining companies have not followed suit?

While silver and gold mining companies have made some major strides this year silver is still 40% below its all-time closing high. Remember, if inflation were factored in the $50.00 high in price would have to be SUBSTANTIALLY higher. It reached $50.00 in 1980 and again in 2011. How much “printing” and inflation has taken place since then?

If you look at gold stocks they are trading FAR below where they were when gold was trading at $700.00 lower than today.

While many look at this as a reason to shun these assets (most of Wall Street in particular) I believe that those looking at this objectively would have to think that these assets are just two of the few things we can look at and believe that they are really undervalued. There are not many other things...

The economy is GREAT! Our economy is the envy of the world! We are the richest country of all time!

Three lies that we are constantly being fed by the mainstream media and our “leaders” that are so obviously false that they must think we have no functioning brain cells at all. They would like us to believe what we are told and not what we see with our own eyes.

Personally, as I have written for the past 10 years it appears that we have devolved into a third-world country. The numbers put out by our government are so different from the reality on the ground that it is amazing anyone believes the numbers at all. Just a couple of months ago we learned that 818,000 jobs that were reported never existed. The unemployment rate, if reported as it was in the 1980s would be north of 15% (Shadow Government Statistics) and inflation would be about the same.

All the following information is being written with information from USDEBTCLOCK.ORG.

Currently, the US government lists $35.7 TRILLION in debt. This number is...

I think one of the major problems we have here in our Western culture is that we expect events which appear inevitable to take place immediately. Another problem we seem to have is that we tend to think linearly. As an asset or object moves in a certain direction most people project that same trajectory into the future. Both ways of thinking can lead to more harm than good.

I recall many times making a purchase expecting a good outcome immediately- or at least in the near future- and have had to wait quite a while to get the desired result. I believe that in investing it is better to be far too early than even a minute late.

There is a lot of talk about the BRICS plus bloc and the likelihood of a new settlement currency which has been talked about. The UNIT, as it has come to be called will supposedly be backed by 40% gold and 60% of either commodities produced by members and/or national currencies.

There is speculation that at the meeting in Russia in late October an announcement may be made unveiling this new settlement currency. Keep in mind this is to settle...

This Saturday would have been my grandmother’s 110th. Birthday. She was a member of what we now call the “greatest generation.” I am not sure that is accurate but over the years- knowing many from that generation- I believe it was the greatest generation that we will see in our lifetimes.

They lived through the great depression of the 1930s, World War 2 in the 1940s and the rebuild of America in America’s heydays in the 1950s and 1960s.

What they went through in the 1920s was a classic boom/bust cycle, similar to what we are seeing today. The roaring 20s featured rising stock markets and cheap, abundant money to fuel the upward trajectory. It appeared so easy to get “rich” that many threw caution to the wind and went into debt to get those easy profits. Today, we have “traders” who offer NOTHING to society but game the system to make profits for themselves. Most are just gamblers.

Of course, the leverage used on the way up to goose the returns is what led to the implosion in 1929.

Anyone who bought the DOW near the top in 1929 did not recover their...

Every time I turn on the TV, I am reminded that we are in another election season. As a matter of fact, it seems that those “in charge” want to keep us occupied 24/7 with the idea that if we vote this way or that way, we will be better off. As we approach November, I am sure we will see a nauseating amount of propaganda from both sides.

There are a few common themes that I am seeing in the commercials.

One side wants to raise taxes on the “rich” and make corporations pay more taxes. For those who are unaware the corporations, if taxes are raised, HAVE to pass that cost on to you and me. For the doors to stay open and to keep a profit margin that allows an actual PROFIT, taxes must be accounted for. The result? YOU PAY MORE for whatever you are buying. INFLATION.

I also see ads that bash corporations for price-gouging and shrinkflation. Both may be somewhat true but what can government do about it? Some are proposing price controls which have been shown to destroy supply chains and lead to shortages or unavailability of the goods being artificially priced. If it...

I was listening to a podcast that had Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics on it. In it he said something that struck me.

He was talking about some of the “ideas” that are being floated about taxing gains even prior to making them (wealth tax) and price controls- which we have tried in the past and saw first-hand that this does not work.

I will always remember in the 1970s going to the grocery store and my mom wanting to buy American cheese. We could not find ANY cheese. In speaking to the person who owned the store he told us “The government says we must sell cheese for $2.00. The farmer charges us $3.00. Until this changes there will be no cheese. A quick lesson in how absurd this idea actually is.

While all of that is interesting the real subject that hit me was that he mentioned how the government initially established the income tax- taxing only the “wealthy” who earned more than $3000.00 per year.

He said that his grandfather was paid $20.67 per week. (A $20.00 gold coin) A living wage at that time. That means that most were making between 1 and 2...

There are many stories out there that allow us to see the true state of our economy- as long as we do not rely on our “news” outlets to get the information.

While we are distracted by the presidential reality show the world around us is, and has been, collapsing.

I am sure those “in charge” can’t wait for football to start so the masses can be distracted even more with irrelevant stories and either real or manufactured stories of romance between football stars and singers.

I am also sure that they are thrilled that the gambling sites that millions are frequenting will be teeming with young and old alike who will not be worried about working or adding any value to society but will be looking to make quick buck. Another GREAT distraction from reality.

I was sad to hear about the billionaire who lost his life in his yacht off of Sicily but the fact that this would be a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal allows me to see that even a paper that many look at as the financial go-to source is putting out stories that distract us from the real stories that...

The end of last week and the beginning of this week has given us a glimpse of just how bad things are.

I do not say this because of the massive downdraft in Japan (Nikkei down 20% in 3 days) or the beatdown of most “markets” around the world.

The reason I say this is because this was supposedly (and likely) caused by a mere 0.25% raise in interest rates in Japan. It appears to me that the “markets” are so dependent upon cheap “money” that even the slightest jolt can cause shockwaves around the globe.

Since the selloff we have seen a recovery- again just after Japanese authorities met and let the world know that no more rate hikes will be coming anytime soon. I guess when you owe over a QUADRILLION (1000 trillions) even a 0.25% rate is too much to handle.

The Japanese have total debt of 1.3 quadrillion Yen (who has ever heard of that number before?) and the Japanese Central bank owns 753 TRILLION Yen assets on their balance sheet - mostly Japanese Government bonds. If rates rise, can you imagine the scope of their losses? They can, and have, just conjured...

I have made my position known for years that the USA has become no better than a third world country.

It is bad enough that we are following the same path that has led to disaster hundreds of times in history, but we have likely not seen anything yet.

I was watching a video of Glenn Beck where he was making the observation of what is going on in Venezuela and comparing it to what is happening here. He went over the lack of election integrity, the lack of the rule of law and other social problems. Very similar to what we are seeing here.

He also was showing how the politicians and those close to them became extremely wealthy while the masses suffered greatly. (Sound familiar?)

The sad part is that the social problems were caused by their currency collapsing.

Glenn did not go into the circumstances that caused all the social problems. I will.

To start with, we must understand that Venezuela was the most prosperous country in South America just a few decades ago. They also sit on some of the largest oil reserves on the planet. This allowed those...