by
Adam Taggart
commodities
by
Adam Taggart
On a long solo car trip this past weekend, I downloaded several podcasts to listen to as the miles passed. One was a classic: The Invention of Money, originally released by NPR's Planet Money team back in January of 2011. I highly recommend listening (or re-listening) to it in full.
The podcast is a great reminder of how any currency in a monetary system is a fabricated construct. A simpler way to explain this is to say it has value simply because we believe it does.
Say Goodbye to the Purchasing Power of the Dollar
by Adam TaggartOn a long solo car trip this past weekend, I downloaded several podcasts to listen to as the miles passed. One was a classic: The Invention of Money, originally released by NPR's Planet Money team back in January of 2011. I highly recommend listening (or re-listening) to it in full.
The podcast is a great reminder of how any currency in a monetary system is a fabricated construct. A simpler way to explain this is to say it has value simply because we believe it does.
by
David Collum
Background
I was just trying to figure it all out.
~ Michael Burry, hedge fund manager
Every December, I write a Year in Review that has now found a home at Chris Martenson’s website PeakProsperity.com.1,2,3 What started as a simple summary intended for a couple dozen people morphed over time into a much more detailed account that accrued over 25,000 clicks last year.4 'Year in Review' is a bit of a misnomer in that it is both a collage of what happened, plus a smattering of issues that are on my radar right now. As to why people care what an organic chemist thinks about investing, economics, monetary policy, and societal moods I can only offer a few thoughts.
For starters, in 33 years of investing with a decidedly undiversified portfolio, I had only one year in which my total wealth decreased in nominal dollars. For the 13 years beginning 01/01/00—the 13 toughest investing years of the new millennium!—I have been able to compound my personal wealth at an 11% annualized rate. This holds up well against the pros. I am also fairly good at distilling complexity down to simplicity and seem to be a congenital contrarian. I also have been a devout follower of Austrian business cycle theory—i.e., free market economics—since the late 1990s.4
Each review begins with a highly personalized analysis of my efforts to get through another year of investing followed by a more holistic overview of what is now a 33-year quest for a ramen-soup-free retirement. These details may be instructive for those interested in my approach to investing. The bulk of the review, however, describes thoughts and observations—the year’s events told as a narrative. The links are copious, albeit not comprehensive. Some are flagged with enthusiasm. Everything can be found here.5
2012 Year in Review
by David CollumBackground
I was just trying to figure it all out.
~ Michael Burry, hedge fund manager
Every December, I write a Year in Review that has now found a home at Chris Martenson’s website PeakProsperity.com.1,2,3 What started as a simple summary intended for a couple dozen people morphed over time into a much more detailed account that accrued over 25,000 clicks last year.4 'Year in Review' is a bit of a misnomer in that it is both a collage of what happened, plus a smattering of issues that are on my radar right now. As to why people care what an organic chemist thinks about investing, economics, monetary policy, and societal moods I can only offer a few thoughts.
For starters, in 33 years of investing with a decidedly undiversified portfolio, I had only one year in which my total wealth decreased in nominal dollars. For the 13 years beginning 01/01/00—the 13 toughest investing years of the new millennium!—I have been able to compound my personal wealth at an 11% annualized rate. This holds up well against the pros. I am also fairly good at distilling complexity down to simplicity and seem to be a congenital contrarian. I also have been a devout follower of Austrian business cycle theory—i.e., free market economics—since the late 1990s.4
Each review begins with a highly personalized analysis of my efforts to get through another year of investing followed by a more holistic overview of what is now a 33-year quest for a ramen-soup-free retirement. These details may be instructive for those interested in my approach to investing. The bulk of the review, however, describes thoughts and observations—the year’s events told as a narrative. The links are copious, albeit not comprehensive. Some are flagged with enthusiasm. Everything can be found here.5
by
Chris Martenson
Executive Summary
- We've now entered a new era of economic and fiscal descent; expect the next stage to be prolonged and bumpy
- Why only two possible economic outcomes remain at this point (and one of them has a 90%+ chance of occurring)
- How the recent liquidity measures announced by the world's largest central banks will impact:
- stocks
- bonds
- gold & silver
- other commodities
- real estate
- Why adopting a wealth preservation strategy is critical right now (and why so many will fail to do so)
- Why this is not (yet) the moment to go "all in" in exchanging paper assets for hard ones (but do get started if you haven't already!)
If you have not yet read Part I: The Trouble with Printing Money, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
A Process, Not an Event
Okay, the ECB and the Fed are now in the game with unlimited, open-ended commitments to print as much money as necessary to get back to the same rates of GDP growth we had in prior decades. I should note that the ECB actions, at least, will be fully sterilized, meaning that they won't boost the money supply – at least that's the plan right now. Soon enough, Japan is going to have to join the fray simply because it cannot afford a stronger yen here; it will have to print because it is first, second, and last an export economy…
After that, it is anybody's guess as to how long China will put up with its massive $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves being debased willy-nilly, but my vote is 'not long.'
These latest rounds of QE are certainly unnerving and may prompt many of you to want to accelerate your own private efforts at financial, emotional, and physical resilience. By all means, use these moments to focus your attention and efforts. But also be aware that we are experiencing what is certain to be a very long process rather than some dramatic event.
Understanding the Implications of QE3
PREVIEW by Chris MartensonExecutive Summary
- We've now entered a new era of economic and fiscal descent; expect the next stage to be prolonged and bumpy
- Why only two possible economic outcomes remain at this point (and one of them has a 90%+ chance of occurring)
- How the recent liquidity measures announced by the world's largest central banks will impact:
- stocks
- bonds
- gold & silver
- other commodities
- real estate
- Why adopting a wealth preservation strategy is critical right now (and why so many will fail to do so)
- Why this is not (yet) the moment to go "all in" in exchanging paper assets for hard ones (but do get started if you haven't already!)
If you have not yet read Part I: The Trouble with Printing Money, available free to all readers, please click here to read it first.
A Process, Not an Event
Okay, the ECB and the Fed are now in the game with unlimited, open-ended commitments to print as much money as necessary to get back to the same rates of GDP growth we had in prior decades. I should note that the ECB actions, at least, will be fully sterilized, meaning that they won't boost the money supply – at least that's the plan right now. Soon enough, Japan is going to have to join the fray simply because it cannot afford a stronger yen here; it will have to print because it is first, second, and last an export economy…
After that, it is anybody's guess as to how long China will put up with its massive $3.2 trillion in foreign exchange reserves being debased willy-nilly, but my vote is 'not long.'
These latest rounds of QE are certainly unnerving and may prompt many of you to want to accelerate your own private efforts at financial, emotional, and physical resilience. By all means, use these moments to focus your attention and efforts. But also be aware that we are experiencing what is certain to be a very long process rather than some dramatic event.
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