“Outlook Deteriorated Even More for the Eurozone than for Germany” (Despite NIRP?) | Wolf Street
— Read on wolfstreet.com/2018/11/13/germany-zew-us-china-trade-dispute-not-only-thing-hitting-economy/
Markell is leaving just in time.
Billions for Planes, Billowing Losses | Wolf Street
— Read on wolfstreet.com/2018/11/10/long-haul-low-cost-carrier-business-model/
QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I really encountered an insane goldbug who claimed you were paid off by the gold cartel to keep the price down. These people cannot open their eyes and see anything but gold or bitcoin. Then they argue the age of knowledge and bitcoin will become the new reserve currency. You really have to wonder if these people are on drugs. Will you be doing a gold report soon? Is it still a viable option for some portion of wealth in the future. Bitcoin seems to depend entirely upon a power grid. I was traveling back to the States and was actually asked if I had cryptocurrency. I said no. What is all that about? IK ANSWER: Yes we will be doing a gold report soon. Yes, these people are insane. Why would the gold cartel want to suppress gold prices? They claim to force people to sell their gold at cheap prices. But the annual production of new gold is about 3150 tons as of 2017. There are 32,150.75 troy ounces per metric ton. That means the annual production during 2017 was 101,274,862.5 troy ounces. That is a lot of new gold coming to the market every year. That is far more than small investors would be dumping. You really think they would suppress the gold price to force small investors to sell say even 10 million ounces when they mine more than 100 million annually? That is really just sophistry and it is a shame people would even believe such nonsense. I really cannot imagine that any government would surrender power to Bitcoin. Come on. Spain is criminally prosecuting Catalonia politicians for simply advocating a democratic vote to separate from Spain. But governments will surrender their power to Bitcoin? The dollar is not even the RESERVE CURRENCY by choice. The USA has been trying to encourage competition and advocated the creation of the Euro back at the Plaza Accord in 1985. The USA always wants a cheaper dollar to sell more goods overseas to create in theory domestic jobs. Even Trump advocates that position of a cheaper dollar. Only a fool would believe that governments will lay down their power simply because you ask them to. Open any history book. Power shifts NEVER come involving government without major uprisings. Sorry, they will NEVER sit on their hand and watch their power evaporate. They will only surrender power during revolutions for they will kick and scream every step of the way. As far as cryptocurrency declarations, they are beginning to look at anything that they can confiscate that is more than $10,000 when traveling calling it all cash. Italy confiscated bonds a man had in a briefcase on his way to Switzerland. It was not “cash” but they are calling anything that can be converted or sold as “cash” because they are desperate. I wrote about those proposed regulations last year. During August, gold fell to 1162.70 intraday. The channel support rests at 1144.03. Gold open interest is about 488,000 contracts which amount to almost $600 million. That compares to the production in 2017 valued at $121.5 billion. The total market capitalization of the US share market alone is about $30 trillion. The US National Debt is about $20 trillion. Total world sovereign debt is closer to $250 trillion. Gold is simply not a big enough market to displace everything of value out there. It is one component that will rise in value. But gold will NEVER replace the dollar and governments will NEVER return to any commodity standard. The true wealth of every nation is its people and their productive capacity. China, Japan, and Germany, all rose to be major economies with no gold reserves. Russia, which had all the resources, moved from communism to an oligarchy and that prevented its economy from exploding as was the case in China. All the gold, diamonds, and oil, did not propel Russia to #2 economy. It is the people that create wealth – not merely resources. Forget returning to any commodity based currency. It does not work any more than austerity works in Europe.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/markets-by-sector/precious-metals/gold/gold-bitcoin/
Consumer Metrics Institute: Daily Technology Index
— Read on www.consumerindexes.com/technology.html
In 2009, Steve Jobs took a swipe at Amazon.com’s Kindle, saying the online retailer’s decision not to report unit sales was evidence it wasn’t selling many reading devices. Now, Apple is following a similar path.
— Read on www.wsj.com/articles/facing-iphone-troubles-apple-tries-to-change-the-story-1541253601
…..and then there is this situation where history bites you in the posterior or the 🍎 Apple 😸
THE WOLF STREET REPORT | Wolf Street
— Read on wolfstreet.com/2018/11/04/the-wolf-street-report-will-bloodbath-in-corporate-debt-rising-rates-deter-the-fed/
All good things come to an end, even economic growth cycles. The present one is getting long in the tooth. While it doesn’t have to end now, it will end eventually. Signs increasingly suggest we are approaching that point.
— Read on www.mauldineconomics.com/frontlinethoughts/economic-brake-lights
Aaaaaand, it’s gone!
Global capital markets are down five weeks in a row, losing just under $9 trillion – the biggest, fastest drop since Lehman… (around $8.2 trillion from global equity markets)
— Read on www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-10-26/bloodbath
Politicians have totally and completely misunderstood the trends within the global economy and as a result, they are actually creating one of the worst economic debacles in history. I have explained several times that the bulk of investment capital is tied up in two primary sectors – (1) government bonds and (2) real estate. Because of income taxes, real estate has offered a way to make money in capital gains without having to pay income taxes. Money has looked to park in real estate around the world for many various different reasons as in Italy it was the escape from inheritance taxes as well as banks or in Vancouver to gain a foothold for residency fleeing Hong Kong. In Australia, there was the Super Annuation Fund which allowed people to use retirement funds for real estate. In New Zealand, the new government wanted to declare foreign investment just illegal and in Australia, they made it a criminal act for a foreigner to own property and not inform the government they were foreigners. Over in London, they imposed taxes on property which created a crash. People spend more when they believe that they have big profits in their home. The recession of 2007-2010 was so bad recording the worst of all declines since the Great Depression all BECAUSE it undermined the real estate values. People then spent less because they viewed their home declined in value. As taxes have been rising and the average home value collapsed, the velocity of money kept declining. Especially as real estate values declined and interest on savings accounts vanished hurting the elderly who saved money for retirement and discovered their savings were producing less income, the velocity of money just plummeted. The velocity of money began to turn up finally in the USA ONLY when interest rates began to rise. The retired could suddenly begin to make something on the savings for once in a very long time. This is something the ECB still has not figured out in Europe as it has wiped out both the elderly savings along with pension funds. The USA targeted only New York and Miami requiring that title companies pierce corporate veils to discover who was really behind what. They did not impose taxes only on foreigners nor did they outlaw foreign ownership of property. This is also why the high-end market recovered, just not the average home on the street. Nonetheless, politicians have gone nuts imposing all sorts of regulations to outright making it a criminal act for a foreigner to buy property. What they are clueless about is this attack on the real estate market viewing foreign buyers as evil, is undermining real estate as a whole and that is what creates the worst economic decline in history. This undermines the banking system that has used real estate as collateral for mortgages and it undermines consumer spending because people save more when their property declines. The politicians are actually creating the worse possible scenario for the economy going forward. Welcome to the new face of stupidity. They are so out there that it is like they are sitting on a branch of a tree and cutting the branch expecting the tree to fall. This is what they have done to real estate which makes even what Goldman Sachs did in 2007 child’s play. Now add government borrowing which competes against the private sector and it only gets even more stupid. Then we have brain-dead investors who actually think government debt is “quality” issued by idiots who have ZERO intentions of ever paying off their debt at any point in the future. Governments borrow year after year with no understanding what they are doing to the entire economy and how they are causing unemployment to rise with ever more taxes and more borrowing completing with the private sector on every level. Then society elects people with absolutely ZERO business experience who in turn appoint academics who have wonderful theories that have never proven to have worked even once! And people wonder why I say they will never listen to prevent a crisis so we have no choice but wait for the Crash & Burn.
— Read on www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/economics/how-politicians-are-creating-the-worst-economic-crash-in-history/
Max Keiser Financial War Reports
— Read on www.maxkeiser.com/2018/10/kr1295-keiser-report-qe-party-out-of-punch/
John Barleycorn 
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