Today we live in a bifurcated economy: it is boom times for some and bust times for others.

Your personal situation depends largely on how close you fall on the socioeconomic spectrum to the protected elite class, towards which the central banks are directing their money-printing firehoses.

Why should we care about this bifurcation? History.

Read More »

My business partner Adam and I recently met with a successful business owner whose career began on Wall Street. The kind of guy who should be rooting for the system, because it has treated him well.

Instead, he was quite nervous about the sustainability of the status quo. “Starting in August,” he said, “Maybe it was the Amazon catching fire, maybe it was the negative interest rates – I don’t know for certain what the trigger was – but something has snapped.”

I agree. Because I feel it, too.

Read More »

Here we are again. The markets are within a few percentage points of their all-time highs, but just can’t seem to muster the momentum to break out above them.

We saw similar conditions back in March/April and then again in July. Both times, the S&P dropped sharply after failing to remain above 3,000.

Both situations presented profitable opportunities to short stocks.

Read More »

The Powers That Be, like central bankers and politicians, are only human. They err. They have to operate with imperfect information.

But they are also mostly untrained in systems thinking, resource limits, and other such necessary fields — which they could correct for if they cared or dared.

But they aren’t. And because of this, the pace and the scope of the changes happening are beyond their powers of comprehension, let alone their powers to fix.

Read More »

Over the past decade, the world’s central banks have distorted the price of money by bringing interest rates to record lows.

With credit so cheap, asset prices have risen dramatically as companies and governments have borrowed to the hilt.

And now with the “Everything Bubble” threatening to burst (perhaps in mid-bursting already?), we’re suddenly realizing that the phantom asset price gains were ephemeral, while the debts are permanent.

How will the economy cope with dangerously overleveraged nations, industries and households? Not well.

To discuss this massive problem and propose some potential solutions is Steve Keen, professor of economics at Kingston University in London and author of Debunking Economics.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris’ interview with Steve Keen (59m:55s).

Other Ways To Listen: iTunes | Google Play | SoundCloud | Stitcher | YouTube | Download |

Read More »

If you prefer to listen to this article, read by its author Chris Martenson, click the player here below: ___________________________________________________________________________________ Sometimes an otherwise-forgettable movie will be lifted up out of obscurity by the internet and made into a useful meme. In the movie Zoolander Will Ferrell’s character, ‘Jacobim Mugatu,’ screams the line “I feel like…

Read More »

On Tuesday, Mario Draghi apparently went rogue on his fellow policymakers and launched into a swan song version of his all-time hit “Whatever it takes”. The next day, Jerome Powell at the Fed confirmed his willingness to ease and let the market know he stands ready to cut rates multiple times over the next year.

That — plus a downed US drone patrolling the Iran border — poured gasoline on gold, which spiked as high as $1,410/oz, finally breaking free of the $1,350 ceiling that had blocked its advance for years.

Read More »

Conditions today mirror 2016, when growing weakness in the global economy and wobbling financial markets caused the world’s central banks to absolutely freak out.

They responded by dumping more thin-air money into the system than ever before in history. And it worked (for them at least). Economic growth stabilized; and the prices of stocks, real estate, and other assets enjoyed another three-year joyride.

Similary, as things started getting shaky in late 2018, the same playbook was deployed. And again, we've seen stocks rocket upwards ever since. 

But will the strategy actually work this time?  It's unclear. And a lot is riding on the answer.

Read More »

“A bully is always a coward.”

~ Thomas Chandler Haliburton

The current market rally is like a playground bully; shoving to the ground anyone in its path.

But like all bullies, the braggadocio belies an underlying cowardice.

Those in charge of the status quo must be absolutely terrified to resort to the unnatural lengths they are going to right now to keep the current rally intact.

Read More »