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Repeating Patterns and Positioning

A noteworthy confluence of patterns in gold and gold stocks is in evidence this year. At the close of trading on December 26, the HUI Index has given a (tentative) buy signal by completing a unique chart pattern, which is why we decided to briefly discuss the situation. As usual, things are not as straightforward and simple as they would ideally be, but there is always an element of uncertainty – one has to accept that as a given. Let us look at a chart illustrating one of said patterns:

This chart shows the gold price, the weekly net hedger position in gold futures (the inverse of the net speculative position), with the Fed’s December rate hikes in 2015, 2016 and 2017 highlighted by red vertical lines. Keep in mind that the December 2015 hike was the start of the current rate hike campaign. In the weeks leading up to it, the gold market was in the grip of a bearish hysteria, just as it approached a major lateral support level. Nearly every day Bloomberg, Reuters and other mainstream financial media published articles by “experts” no-one had ever heard of before (or since!), along with reports from analysts working for various well-known investment banks, all of whom stridently insisted that the beginning rate hike cycle was going to be the most bearish thing that could possibly befall the gold market, and that a further collapse in prices was nearly certain to coincide with it. Not surprisingly, the exact opposite has happened. You were definitely not surprised if you were reading this blog at the time – see for instance “Gold and the Federal Funds Rate”.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Taxes the Lynch-Pin of Civilization

October 12, 2017

Taxes the Lynch-Pin of Civilization

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong: I find it disheartening the more I try to advance my family to build a better future for them, the more I realize that the harder I work we do not really get ahead. I agree that taxes just keep moving higher and I am now looking for a job in my field to leave California. A friend of mine from school left Illinois and moved to Texas. He said he feels much better and is gaining ground instead of losing it. Has taxes been the driving force to create migration in advanced civilization?

ANSWER: Absolutely. I have written how Rome fell and just mapping the population of Rome you can see the fate of Illinois – people sell and just leave. It is different this time because, under socialism, the government has become abusive. When it came to integration, they sought to implement it by sheer force.

You simply can’t legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. Jobs are created by the wealthy who become wealthy because of their innovation as a vision – i.e. Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and so on. Hemry Ford’s vision created the auto industry. Bill Gates in bringing DOS to life, created the personal computer industry as did Steve Jobs. How much employment did just those three men create? Far more than government.

Government creates nothing to advance society or to increase GDP in any positive manner. It is a natural human response not to pay taxes and this is why taxes have been the number one reason for civil war and revolution. It is always resentful to pay taxes whereas to give money to help someone is rewarding. Taxes tend to support politicians and their pensions which they exempt themselves from everything from Inside Trading to Obamacare. If they must sell some asset to take a government job, it is tax-free.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Cycle of Knowledge

September 20, 2017

Cycle of Knowledge

QUESTION: Hello,

I am a French Astrophysicist and I end up watching with great interest a TV story about Martin Armstrong. As a scientist I am really curious and keen to build new connection between our way of describing the Universe and the bias introduced by our own vision and history. Hence I was wondering if the algorithm that Martin has developed was ever tested on human knowledge discovery or if this is something that could be interesting to do.

Kind Regards,

ANSWER: Absolutely. There is cycle to knowledge that I have also encountered and found fascinating. We reach period of knowledge and then we seem to lose it all and reboot. Society before the Dark Age knew the Earth was round and not flat. For example, if we look at the ancient Greeks, the knew the Earth was round and not flat. They burned people like Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) alive at the stake for claiming the world was round and it revolved around the sun instead of the other way around. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) argued in his writings that the Earth was spherical, because of the circular shadow it cast on the Moon, during a lunar eclipse. Another reason was that some stars visible from Egypt are not seen further north. Aristotle wrote:

The evidence of the senses further corroborates this. How else would eclipses of the moon show segments shaped as we see them? As it is, the shapes which the moon itself each month shows are of every kind — straight, gibbous, and concave — but in eclipses the outline is always curved: and, since it is the interposition of the earth that makes the eclipse, the form of this line will be caused by the form of the earth’s surface, which is therefore spherical.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Harry Dent: Stocks Will Fall 70-90% Within 3 Years

February 1, 2017

Harry Dent: Stocks Will Fall 70-90% Within 3 Years

Creating the buying opportunity of a lifetime

Economist and cycle trend forecaster Harry Dent sees crushing deflation ahead for nearly every financial asset class. We are at the nexus of a concurrent series of downtrends in the four most important predictive trends he tracks.

Laying out the thesis of his new book The Sale Of A Lifetime, Dent sees punishing losses ahead for investors who do not position themselves for safety beforehand. On the positive side, he predicts those that do will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to buy assets at incredible bargain prices once the carnage ends (and yes, for those of you wondering, he also addresses his outlook for gold):

All four of the cycles I track point down now. One after the next has peaked in the last several years. All four point down into early 2020 or so. That’s only happened in the early to mid-’70s when we had the worst stock crashes back then, the OPEC embargo, etc — the worst set of crises since the 1930s.

Of course, in the early ’30s we had this same configuration of all four of these fundamental cycles, cycles that have taken me 30 years to hone and say “these are the four that matter”.

The next three years are likely to be the worst we see in our lifetimes. It will be more like the early 1930s when stocks hit a debt bubble and financial asset bubbles crashed, which they only do once in a lifetime such as the early 1930s. Stocks will be down 70, 80, 90% — that’s to be as expected in this stage of the cycle after such a bubble.

I went from being the most bullish economist in the ’80s and ’90s to now being of the most bearish because what goes up goes down. That’s what cycles do. At heart, I’m a cycle guy.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

A Year of Sovereign Defaults?

January 1, 2016

A Year of Sovereign Defaults?

MIAMI – When it comes to sovereign debt, the term “default” is often misunderstood. It almost never entails the complete and permanent repudiation of the entire stock of debt; indeed, even some Czarist-era Russian bonds were eventually (if only partly) repaid after the 1917 revolution. Rather, non-payment – a “default,” according to credit-rating agencies, when it involves private creditors – typically spurs a conversation about debt restructuring, which can involve maturity extensions, coupon-payment cuts, grace periods, or face-value reductions (so-called “haircuts”).

If history is a guide, such conversations may be happening a lot in 2016.

Like so many other features of the global economy, debt accumulation and default tends to occur in cycles. Since 1800, the global economy has endured several such cycles, with the share of independent countries undergoing restructuring during any given year oscillating between zero and 50% (see figure). Whereas one- and two-decade lulls in defaults are not uncommon, each quiet spell has invariably been followed by a new wave of defaults.

The most recent default cycle includes the emerging-market debt crises of the 1980s and 1990s. Most countries resolved their external-debt problems by the mid-1990s, but a substantial share of countries in the lowest-income group remain in chronic arrears with their official creditors.

Like outright default or the restructuring of debts to official creditors, such arrears are often swept under the rug, possibly because they tend to involve low-income debtors and relatively small dollar amounts. But that does not negate their eventual capacity to help spur a new round of crises, when sovereigns who never quite got a handle on their debts are, say, met with unfavorable global conditions.

And, indeed, global economic conditions – such as commodity-price fluctuations and changes in interest rates by major economic powers such as the United States or China – play a major role in precipitating sovereign-debt crises.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Coming French Revolution of 2020?

October 18, 2015

The Coming French Revolution of 2020?

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; Thank you for coming to Paris. You said the civil unrest would rise in France going into 2018 and there was a risk of another French Revolution in 2020. You mentioned that when surrounded by many people on the Champs–Élysées. Since then I have paid attention and there is a rising discussion about capitalism and socialism that is becoming regular. Can you explain more?

ANSWER: Each country has its own unique cycle. There was a very major turning point in France that nearly became a revolution. Even Charles de Gaulle secretly left France for a few hours after fearing for his life and a revolution. The civil unrest began with a series of student occupation protests against capitalism, consumerism, and traditional institutions that manifested in a cultural revolution. This deeply rooted clash between freedom and capitalism contrasted against the social state to suppress the rich and industry has infected French society. De_Gaulle-Charles
That year was a tremendously volatile period of civil unrest in France. May 1968 was highlighted by demonstrations and massive general strikes. Students, not the elderly, staged occupations of universities and factories across France. The uprising virtually brought the economy of France to a dramatic halt. The civil unrest had reached such a boiling point that political leaders feared civil war or revolution.

The social revolution of May 1968 had a profound impact upon French society and was the turning point that catapulted French May 68 Revolution socialism to the forefront in French politics. This shock wave has rippled through French society for decades ever since. Alain Geismar was one of the leaders of that time and characterized the uprising as “a social revolution, not as a political one.” (Erlanger, Steven. “May 1968 – a watershed in French life”. New York Times. August 31, 2012)

The French socialist state is now collapsing under Hollende. Civil unrest will erupt moving into 2017 and then there is the risk of another major cultural revolution as the youth do not share the same values as the socialistic elites who are in control. We will see that risk erupt by 2020 or 51.6 years from the May 1968 cultural revolution.

Debt Debt & more Debt 2015.75

September 26, 2015

Debt Debt & more Debt 2015.75

The 1985 World Economic Conference

Back in 1985 we warned that the sovereign debt crisis would emerge and start to really surface for 2015.75. Why this date was forecast so far back? This is Pi – 31.4 years into this Private Wave which began 1985.65.

At the 1998 World Economic Conference, we put out this slide with the sequence of events. One question people often ask is how on earth can we make long-term forecasts like this. Such forecasts are only possible with a vast data base. Without that, you cannot even begin. So for all those who are trying to copy our forecasts the real question is – how did they do this without data?

The revelation in forecasting is opposite of what most people assume. They think it is impossible to forecast the long-term and assume the short-term can be done by monitoring fundamental events. The truth is quite shocking. Forecasting the long-term tends to be much easier than forecasting where the Dow will close tomorrow. Why? The short-term is just noise, yet it gets everyone wound up. Every $20 rally in gold brings out the charlatans claiming this time it is it. In reality, the trend cannot be manipulated nor changed even by government for the collective forces of the free market will always win. Even Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Fed put out his “Rediscovery of the Business Cycle” stating this simple fact – the era of “new economics” (Marxist-Keynesianism) which claimed government could eliminate recessions and the business cycle failed.

Then there was Arthur Burns, the Fed Chairman who presided over the birth of the floating exchange rate monetary system in 1971. He too wrote that the business cycle was really INVICTUS (invincible). Yet despite all the behind the curtain admitting that the Free Market always wins, the press, academics in general, and government constantly tell you there is no cycle and you cannot forecast the future so do not listen. Then they immediately forecast strong economic growth the following year.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Global Warming/alternately Climate Change Guide for Dummies

September 13, 2015

Global Warming/alternately Climate Change Guide for Dummies

QUESTION:

Martin,

Can you go into more detail about the time frame for global cooling, and its ramifications, what to do to prepare oneself etc…

Obviously this is going to affect everyone, everywhere.

craig

ANSWER: This downturn should be greater than the last one in the 1700s according to our models. Volatility rises so the swings in climate become much more dramatic with the turn of these cycles. It is similar to a stock market crash. Once it breaks, the volatility rises and market prices appears very choppy. So there will be a burst to the upside, followed by new lows on the downside. I am in Paris. Nowhere near as warn as the States. People are wearing jackets on the street. Northern Europe never really warmed up this year. When I was here in the Spring, I had to go buy sweaters for it was much colder than I expected.

These cycles in climate were originally discovered from ice core samples from the North Pole which revealed a 300 year cycle in climate defined as the energy output of the sun. When I saw the presentation presented by Harvard scientists back in the 1980s, I immediate saw their chart was close to the 309.6 year cycle in the ECM. The sun has been documented now that it is a thermodynamic system which beats like your heart. The cycle defines maximum and minimum over a 300 year period and explains migrations and the rise and fall of civilization.

The last downturn was pretty bad. They also seem to line up with the revolution cycle. It probably aggravates society and they move toward civil unrest. Some 2500 men died at Valley Forge from exposure during the winter encampment. Clearly, this is the cycle that has driven war by conquest and is linked stimulated by a change in climate that has marked a reduction in food supply.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

The Age of Finance Capital—and the Irrelevance of Mainstream Economics

September 11, 2015

The Age of Finance Capital—and the Irrelevance of Mainstream Economics

Despite the fact that the manufacturers of ideas have elevated economics to the (contradictory) levels of both a science and a religion, a market theodicy, mainstream economics does not explain much when it comes to an understanding of real world developments. Indeed, as a neatly stylized discipline, economics has evolved into a corrupt, obfuscating and useless—nay, harmful—field of study. Harmful, because instead of explaining and clarifying it tends to mystify and justify.

One of the many flaws of the discipline is its static or ahistorical character, that is, a grave absence of a historical perspective. Despite significant changes over time in the market structure, the discipline continues to cling to the abstract, idealized model of competitive industrial capitalism of times long past.

Not surprisingly, much of the current economic literature and most economic “experts” still try to explain the recent cycles of financial bubbles and bursts by the outdated traditional theories of economic/business cycles. Accordingly, policy makers at the head of central banks and treasury departments continue to issue monetary prescriptions that, instead of mitigating the frequency and severity of the cycles, tend to make them even more frequent and more gyrating.

This crucially important void of a dynamic, long-term or historic perspective explains why, for example, most mainstream economists fail to see that the financial meltdown of 2008 in the United States, its spread to many other countries around the world, and the consequent global economic stagnation represent more than just another recessionary cycle. More importantly, they represent a structural change, a new phase in the development of capitalism, the age of finance capital.

A number of salient features distinguish the age of finance capital from earlier stages of capitalism, that is, stages when finance capital grew and/or circulated in tandem with industrial capital.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

For Heaven’s Sake: Hedge!

May 1, 2015

For Heaven’s Sake: Hedge!

If you’re not positioned defensively by now, you’re nuts

Q: How do you make a small fortune on Wall Street?

A: Start with a large fortune.

~ old investing adage

Last fall, I wrote an article titled Defying Gravity that warned of the absurd price levels that stocks and bonds had risen to.

The piece first looked at the unbroken multi-year march upward in prices through the myriad money-printing cycles of the world’s central banks, as well as the near-extinction of bearish investors on Wall Street — which it then contrasted with the vast gap between valuations and the underlying weak economic data, deteriorating chart technicals, and evidence that the “smart money” was exiting the market. The takeaway? Prudence strongly recommended moving to cash and hedging one’s open market positions.

Less than a month later, the stock market abruptly dropped by 7%. Those who didn’t seek safety in advance were left licking their wounds, panicked not knowing if the painful down-draft was over.

Fortunately for them, the Federal Reserve jawboned it’s willingness to step in further if needed, the ECB announced a trillion-Euro stimulus program, the Bank of Japan waded into domestic and foreign markets as a buyer of last resort, and China’s central bank continued its staggering balance sheet expansion. Collectively, this put a floor on the markets, which soon climbed back to record highs.

Where We Are Now

So here we are roughly six months later, and the same warning bells are ringing — just louder this time.

Yes, stocks recovered from their brief October swoon, and yes, they are at — or very close to — their all-time highs. Indeed, everything is so awesome that investor sentiment has never been more positive. If you worry that having too many people on the same side of the boat is a sign of complacency and over-confidence, the following chart should frighten you:

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART FOUR

February 14, 2015

FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART FOUR

In Part One of this article I explained the model of generational theory as conveyed by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning. In Part Two I provided an overwhelming avalanche of evidence this Crisis has only yet begun, with debt, civic decay and global disorder propelling the world towards the next more violent phase of this Crisis. In Part Three I addressed how the most likely clash on the horizon is between the government and the people. War on multiple fronts will thrust the world through the great gate of history towards an uncertain future.

War on Multiple Fronts

“The risk of catastrophe will be very high. The nation could erupt into insurrection or civil violence, crack up geographically, or succumb to authoritarian rule. If there is a war, it is likely to be one of maximum risk and effort – in other words, a total war. Every Fourth Turning has registered an upward ratchet in the technology of destruction, and in mankind’s willingness to use it.” – Strauss & Howe –The Fourth Turning

The drumbeats of war are pounding. Sanctions are implemented against any country that dares question American imperialism (Russia, Iran). Overthrow and ignominious imprisonment or death awaits any foreign leader questioning the petrodollar or standing in the way of America spreading democracy (Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Egypt). The mega-media complex of six corporations peddle the government issued pabulum about ISIS being an existential threat to our freedoms; Russia being led by the new Hitler and poised to take over Europe; Syria gassing innocent women and children; and Iran only six months away from a nuclear bomb (they’ve been six months away for the last fourteen years). Hollywood does their part with patriotic drivel like American Sniper, designed to compel low IQ unemployed American youths to swell with pride and march down to enlistment centers, located in our plentiful urban ghettos.

The most disconcerting aspect of Fourth Turnings is they have always climaxed with total destructive all-out war. Not wars to enrich arms dealers like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, but incomprehensibly violent, brutal, wars of annihilation. There are clear winners and losers at the conclusion of Fourth Turning wars. Leaders mobilize all forces, refuse to compromise, define their enemies in moral terms, demand sacrifice on the battlefield and home front, build the most destructive weapons imaginable, and employ those weapons to obtain victory at any cost.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART THREE

February 12, 2015

FOURTH TURNING – THE SHADOW OF CRISIS HAS NOT PASSED – PART THREE

In Part One of this article I attempted to illuminate the concept of generational theory as articulated by Strauss and Howe in The Fourth Turning. In Part Two I provided proof this Crisis is far from over, with ever increasing debt, civic decay and global disorder propelling the world towards war.

Seeds of Crisis & War

“The seasons of time offer no guarantees. For modern societies, no less than for all forms of life, transformative change is discontinuous. For what seems an eternity, history goes nowhere – and then it suddenly flings us forward across some vast chaos that defies any mortal effort to plan our way there. The Fourth Turning will try our souls – and the saecular rhythm tells us that much will depend on how we face up to that trial. The saeculum does not reveal whether the story will have a happy ending, but it does tell us how and when our choices will make a difference.” – Strauss & Howe – The Fourth Turning

When you accept the fact history is cyclical and continuous linear progress is not what transpires in the real world, you free yourself from the mental debilitation of normalcy bias and cognitive dissonance. Things do get worse. There are dark periods of history and they recur on a regular cycle. And we are in the midst of one of those dark periods. This Crisis will not be resolved without much pain, sacrifice, bloodshed, and ultimately war. Catastrophe is a strong possibility. The core elements of this Crisis – debt, civic decay, global disorder – are coalescing into a perfect storm which will rage for the next ten to fifteen years. The rhythms of history only provide a guidepost of timing, while the specific events and outcomes are unknowable in advance. The regeneracy of society into a cohesive, unified community, supporting the government in a collective effort to solve society’s most fundamental problems seems to have been delayed. Or has it?

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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