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Chris Martenson

There’s a new Martenson Report ready for enrolled members.  

Link to Inflation vs. Deflation – What You Need to Know (Part II)

A snippet:

Executive Summary
  • Inflation or deflation? – the most important question of our day
  • Vast disagreements exist
  • Timing
  • Inflation = persistent increase in money and credit
  • Inflation Myths
  • What you can do

There is simply no more contentious or important issue sitting before everyone these days than resolving the question of whether deflation or inflation lies before us. Sides have been drawn, opinions hardened, and camps formed.

When I write these reports, I do my best to peer just a bit further down the road than most. I study and analyze and write because I have found great value in being ahead of the curve. Illuminating the path a bit further out can provide an enormous benefit, especially if actionable ideas are the result.

So let’s clear something up right away: Unless the economy collapses into a smoking deflationary ruin, there’s another business cycle in front of us. Nothing ever goes straight to zero, and the most probable outcome for the future involves a whole series of wiggles going up and down. While I am confident that the distant future most likely consists of a world of less, not more, I expect we will not get there in a straight line. My belief is that there’s a business cycle or two in front of us.

New Martenson Report on Inflation and Deflation

There’s a new Martenson Report ready for enrolled members.  

Link to Inflation vs. Deflation – What You Need to Know (Part II)

A snippet:

Executive Summary
  • Inflation or deflation? – the most important question of our day
  • Vast disagreements exist
  • Timing
  • Inflation = persistent increase in money and credit
  • Inflation Myths
  • What you can do

There is simply no more contentious or important issue sitting before everyone these days than resolving the question of whether deflation or inflation lies before us. Sides have been drawn, opinions hardened, and camps formed.

When I write these reports, I do my best to peer just a bit further down the road than most. I study and analyze and write because I have found great value in being ahead of the curve. Illuminating the path a bit further out can provide an enormous benefit, especially if actionable ideas are the result.

So let’s clear something up right away: Unless the economy collapses into a smoking deflationary ruin, there’s another business cycle in front of us. Nothing ever goes straight to zero, and the most probable outcome for the future involves a whole series of wiggles going up and down. While I am confident that the distant future most likely consists of a world of less, not more, I expect we will not get there in a straight line. My belief is that there’s a business cycle or two in front of us.

The following is a free Martenson Report that is well worth reviewing.

The Six Stages of Awareness

A broad new awareness often results in a series of emotional responses that mimic the grief associated with loss. This report identifies what I call the Six Stages of Awareness (loosely modeled on the Five Stages of Grief).  You may find it useful to share this report with friends and family who are struggling with their feelings about our current and future economic outlook, Peak Oil, environmental issues, or any of the other issues that we routinely discuss here at PeakProsperity.com. 

If you have already read this report, I strongly encourage you to read it again. It is a good reminder that everyone is naturally at their own stage in the journey. We all deserve the compassion and acceptance of others as we prepare ourselves for a different kind of future.

Awareness and Compassion

The following is a free Martenson Report that is well worth reviewing.

The Six Stages of Awareness

A broad new awareness often results in a series of emotional responses that mimic the grief associated with loss. This report identifies what I call the Six Stages of Awareness (loosely modeled on the Five Stages of Grief).  You may find it useful to share this report with friends and family who are struggling with their feelings about our current and future economic outlook, Peak Oil, environmental issues, or any of the other issues that we routinely discuss here at PeakProsperity.com. 

If you have already read this report, I strongly encourage you to read it again. It is a good reminder that everyone is naturally at their own stage in the journey. We all deserve the compassion and acceptance of others as we prepare ourselves for a different kind of future.

Another post of interest from the In Session archives:

Oil is a tale of more and less.

Here’s the more:

Saudi Arabia has started production from its giant Khurais oilfield, the largest ever single addition to global oil supplies, Saudi Aramco’s top executive said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday. 

Oil, More and Less

Another post of interest from the In Session archives:

Oil is a tale of more and less.

Here’s the more:

Saudi Arabia has started production from its giant Khurais oilfield, the largest ever single addition to global oil supplies, Saudi Aramco’s top executive said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday. 

Here are some excerpts from a couple of recent In Session threads:


I thought that the disconnect between how you and I might see the economic world and how central banks see it was perfectly captured by an audience’s reaction to statements made by Timothy Geithner on his recent trip to China:

Debt Levels Rapidly Mounting

Here are some excerpts from a couple of recent In Session threads:


I thought that the disconnect between how you and I might see the economic world and how central banks see it was perfectly captured by an audience’s reaction to statements made by Timothy Geithner on his recent trip to China:

Here is another gem from the archives – a podcast called Subscriber Questions. This early podcast contains a lot of information that is still relevant months later, and it is well worth a listen.  I am making this podcast available free to all registered users.  In this podcast from February 2009, reader questions are addressed, including the following topics and more:

  • Investing in foreign currencies
  • A potential dollar collapse and what that would mean
  • Inflation vs deflation
  • What to do in your community about foreclosures
  • Investing in gold (why and when to get out)
  • The risk of having loved ones far away in these times

Consider it my Midsummer’s gift to you.  I am enjoying my summer vacation tremendously and hope you will have a similar opportunity for rest and rejuvenation in your own life.  Take some time out soon to visit with and value your relationships with friends and loved ones.  Near or far, they are an important part of our individual support systems and far-reaching personal communities. 

Summer gatherings are a great time to talk about the Crash Course with friends, neighbors, relatives, and other people you care about.   The easiest way I know to do that is to use the latest DVD version of the Crash Course, which breaks the material down into more bite-sized units, with additional framing at the beginning and end of each disc and an accompanying booklet which can help guide you in hosting a viewing.

If you don’t think people will be receptive to the whole message, go gently in conversation with them.  Encourage them to take personal actions toward increased self-sufficiency.  Encourage them to trust themselves and follow their inner compass, even when the experts would have us do otherwise.   Encourage them to reconsider their financial choices and investigate the truth behind the fuzzy numbers they might have encountered.  Encourage them to share their own expertise and skills with each other.  Encourage them to change their expectations to accommodate a changing world.  And most of all, build those relationships now, so that you can rely on them in future times of need.

Free Podcast

Here is another gem from the archives – a podcast called Subscriber Questions. This early podcast contains a lot of information that is still relevant months later, and it is well worth a listen.  I am making this podcast available free to all registered users.  In this podcast from February 2009, reader questions are addressed, including the following topics and more:

  • Investing in foreign currencies
  • A potential dollar collapse and what that would mean
  • Inflation vs deflation
  • What to do in your community about foreclosures
  • Investing in gold (why and when to get out)
  • The risk of having loved ones far away in these times

Consider it my Midsummer’s gift to you.  I am enjoying my summer vacation tremendously and hope you will have a similar opportunity for rest and rejuvenation in your own life.  Take some time out soon to visit with and value your relationships with friends and loved ones.  Near or far, they are an important part of our individual support systems and far-reaching personal communities. 

Summer gatherings are a great time to talk about the Crash Course with friends, neighbors, relatives, and other people you care about.   The easiest way I know to do that is to use the latest DVD version of the Crash Course, which breaks the material down into more bite-sized units, with additional framing at the beginning and end of each disc and an accompanying booklet which can help guide you in hosting a viewing.

If you don’t think people will be receptive to the whole message, go gently in conversation with them.  Encourage them to take personal actions toward increased self-sufficiency.  Encourage them to trust themselves and follow their inner compass, even when the experts would have us do otherwise.   Encourage them to reconsider their financial choices and investigate the truth behind the fuzzy numbers they might have encountered.  Encourage them to share their own expertise and skills with each other.  Encourage them to change their expectations to accommodate a changing world.  And most of all, build those relationships now, so that you can rely on them in future times of need.

Below are some thoughts that I originally posted in a recent In Session thread.


 

Here’s a short collection of items I am reading about bonds, which is a subject at the top of my watch list right now.

US Treasury Bloodbath Soaks Fund Managers
By: Reuters | 05 Jun 2009 | 04:38 PM ET

Treasury Madness

Below are some thoughts that I originally posted in a recent In Session thread.


 

Here’s a short collection of items I am reading about bonds, which is a subject at the top of my watch list right now.

US Treasury Bloodbath Soaks Fund Managers
By: Reuters | 05 Jun 2009 | 04:38 PM ET

I’ll be on vacation with my family for the next two weeks, but rest assured that I will still have my finger on what is happening in the market (via the wonders of technology).  I will make sure you have plenty to keep you busy while I am away.  To start things off, here is a past Martenson Report that I am now making available for free to all registered users. 

Charting a Course Through the Recession

This Martenson Report was written on May 27, 2008, almost exactly one year ago.   We were already calling it a recession at that point.  Now I would go so far as to call it a depression.  But regardless of the word you use, the concepts in this report remain true to this day.  It’s a good one to review.  Grab a cup of coffee and a chart of the stock market that encompasses May of 2008 (try to remember where we were then), and see how this advice – all of it – turned out. 

I missed a couple of calls here; that goes with the territory, but I am more than satisfied that my framework a year ago was essentially correct and therefore predictive.

“I’d rather be a year early than a day late…”

I’ll be on vacation with my family for the next two weeks, but rest assured that I will still have my finger on what is happening in the market (via the wonders of technology).  I will make sure you have plenty to keep you busy while I am away.  To start things off, here is a past Martenson Report that I am now making available for free to all registered users. 

Charting a Course Through the Recession

This Martenson Report was written on May 27, 2008, almost exactly one year ago.   We were already calling it a recession at that point.  Now I would go so far as to call it a depression.  But regardless of the word you use, the concepts in this report remain true to this day.  It’s a good one to review.  Grab a cup of coffee and a chart of the stock market that encompasses May of 2008 (try to remember where we were then), and see how this advice – all of it – turned out. 

I missed a couple of calls here; that goes with the territory, but I am more than satisfied that my framework a year ago was essentially correct and therefore predictive.

There’s a new Martenson Report ready for enrolled members.

Link to:  Inflation vs. Deflation – What Comes Next?

Here’s a snippet:

One of the key questions of our day, especially for those who have wealth to protect, is, “What’s going to happen to the dollar?”  More specifically, do we foresee an increase in the value of money going forward (deflation), or a decrease in the value of money (inflation)? Should we reserve a small amount of concern for the possibility of hyperinflation, which means the rapid and often total destruction of a currency?

There happens to be a lot of discussion around this topic these days. Unfortunately, much of it is confusing and contradictory, because far too much misinformation is included in the mix. So let’s begin by getting ourselves on firm footing before we look at the data.

(…)

Inflation correlates poorly with growth in the monetary base, making that statistic relatively useless as a predictor of inflation. However, inflation correlates extremely well with growth in government spending, meaning that we’d do well to track that statistic closely.

The current economic crisis is being fought tooth and nail by a determined Federal Reserve (in the role of the "enabler") and an equally-determined US government (in the role of the heavy-lifter, assuming all the lion’s share of the long-term debt and risk). Together, these institutions have virtually consigned future generations to the enormous challenge of wrestling with bloated budgets in desperate need of trimming, further compounded by coinciding with periods of high inflation.

Martenson Report – Inflation vs. Deflation – What Comes Next?

There’s a new Martenson Report ready for enrolled members.

Link to:  Inflation vs. Deflation – What Comes Next?

Here’s a snippet:

One of the key questions of our day, especially for those who have wealth to protect, is, “What’s going to happen to the dollar?”  More specifically, do we foresee an increase in the value of money going forward (deflation), or a decrease in the value of money (inflation)? Should we reserve a small amount of concern for the possibility of hyperinflation, which means the rapid and often total destruction of a currency?

There happens to be a lot of discussion around this topic these days. Unfortunately, much of it is confusing and contradictory, because far too much misinformation is included in the mix. So let’s begin by getting ourselves on firm footing before we look at the data.

(…)

Inflation correlates poorly with growth in the monetary base, making that statistic relatively useless as a predictor of inflation. However, inflation correlates extremely well with growth in government spending, meaning that we’d do well to track that statistic closely.

The current economic crisis is being fought tooth and nail by a determined Federal Reserve (in the role of the "enabler") and an equally-determined US government (in the role of the heavy-lifter, assuming all the lion’s share of the long-term debt and risk). Together, these institutions have virtually consigned future generations to the enormous challenge of wrestling with bloated budgets in desperate need of trimming, further compounded by coinciding with periods of high inflation.

Total 3289 items