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Unexpected things tend to happen when the real source of problems are papered over and then suddenly reality intrudes.

What an interesting juncture we’ve reached. We’re constantly assured all is well with what matters–the economy–as the all-powerful Federal Reserve has managed not just the hoped-for “soft landing” but a resurgence of growth: yowza, no recession.

The list of good things is striking: unemployment is low, wages are rising, the wealth effect from explosive increases in housing prices has fattened the home equity of households and the soaring stock market has pushed the economy to giddy heights of wealth and confidence.

The spot of bother with inflation has receded and everyone anticipates interest rates will soon follow inflation back towards zero. China has entered a rough patch but it won’t affect us. And so on.

Despite all this uniformly good news, something about the situation is setting off alarms: I have a very bad feeling about this.

Perhaps the root of the feeling that danger is far closer than we discern is the universal confidence that finance can always fix any and all real-world problems. Whatever the problem, central banks can solve it by lowering interest rates and flooding the financial / banking system with liquidity, i.e. monetary easing, making it easier and cheaper for enterprises and households to borrow more money.

On the government-spending side, the central state can fix any and all problems by borrowing and spending however many trillions are needed–fiscal stimulus.

In other words, we don’t need to suffer any inconvenient sacrifices or systemic changes, we simply need to borrow more and spend more. This is certainly a tidy solution to all problems: borrow more and spend more. Everything in the real world can be fixed with monetary and fiscal easing and stimulus.

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Pulling Back The Curtain On The ‘Real’ US Economy

July 1, 2022

Pulling Back The Curtain On The ‘Real’ US Economy

Revised numbers on US GDP from the Bureau Of Economic Analysis indicate that the economy faces a deeper contraction than originally reported. GDP shrank in the first quarter of 2022 by 1.6%; this is an impressive and sharp reversal from the fourth quarter of last year, which saw GDP grow by 6.9% due primarily to the continued circulation of covid stimulus dollars and consumer credit spending.

It’s important to keep in mind that this plunge in GDP occurred BEFORE the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates. Meaning, the Fed did in fact raise rates into economic weakness, much like they did during the onset of the Great Depression, causing even more damage to the economy in the process and prolonging the effects of the crisis. The difference this time is that we do not face a standard deflationary threat, but a stagflationary one. It’s a completely different ballgame.

Calls for recession are ample from the mainstream financial media and many alternative analysts, though the assumption among many is that price inflation will track down as the recession pressures grow. This may not be the case.

Loss of buying power in the dollar due to central bank stimulus and numerous supply chain issues indicate an extended period of price inflation well into next year. Furthermore, with foreign central banks now incrementally dropping the dollar as the world reserve currency, there will be even more dollars flooding into the US from overseas. That’s too many dollars chasing too few goods and services.

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Now or Never: The Great ‘Transition’ Must Be Imposed

December 5, 2021

A new wave of restrictions, more lockdowns, and – eventually – trillions of dollars in new stimmie cheques may be in prospect.

Were you following the news this last week? Vaccine mandates are everywhere: one country, after another, is doubling-down, to try to force, or legally compel, full population vaccination. The mandates are coming because of the massive uptick in Covid – most of all in the places where the experimental mRNA gene therapies were deployed en masse. And (no coincidence), this ‘marker’ has come just as U.S. Covid deaths in 2021 have surpassed those of 2020. This has happened, despite the fact that last year, no Americans were vaccinated (and this year 59% are vaccinated). Clearly no panacea, this mRNA ‘surge’.

Of course, the Pharma-Establishment know that the vaccines are no panacea. There are ‘higher interests’ at play here. It is driven rather by fear that the window for implementing its series of ‘transitions’ in the U.S. and Europe is closing. Biden still struggles to move his ‘Go-Big’ social spending plan and green agenda transition through Congress by the midterm election in a year’s time. And the inflation spike may well sink Biden’s Build Back Better agenda (BBB) altogether.

Time is short. The midterm elections are but 12 months away, after which the legislative window shuts. The Green ‘transition’ is stuck too (by concerns that moving too fast to renewables is putting power grids at risk and elevating heating costs unduly), and the Pharma establishment will be aware that a new B.1.1.529 variant has made a big jump in evolution with 32 mutations to its spike protein. This makes it “clearly very different” from previous variants, which may drive further waves of infection evading ‘vaccine defences’.

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Weekly Commentary: Peak Monetary Stimulus

April 28, 2021

Weekly Commentary: Peak Monetary Stimulus

Not again. Bloomberg is referring to “the bond market riddle.” The Financial Times went with the headline, “US Government Bond Investors Left Bewildered by ‘Bonkers’ Market Move.” It’s been three weeks of declining Treasury yields in the face of robust economic data (and surging commodities prices!). Too soon to be discussing a new “conundrum,” but I am finding the various explanations of Treasury market behavior interesting – if not convincing.

Treasury market sentiment had turned negative. A decent short position had developed, and it’s perfectly reasonable to expect the occasional squeeze. Squeezes, after all, have become commonplace throughout the markets. But could there be something more fundamental unfolding?

Over the years, I’ve relied upon a “Core vs. Periphery” model of market instability as a key facet of my analytical framework. Instability and financial crises typically emerge at the “periphery” – at the fringe where the structurally weakest and most vulnerable to risk aversion and tightening financial conditions – reside. I believe this dynamic is already in play for the global Bubble, with the emerging markets earlier in the year experiencing an opening round of instability. Are we in the “quiet” before the next EM storm?

The dog that didn’t bark. Ten-year Treasury yields are down 18 bps this month. Meanwhile, the dollar index dropped 2.5% to a six-week low. Why haven’t the emerging markets mustered a more impressive rally, especially considering the degree of bearish sentiment that had developed? Could this be as good as it gets? The week’s developments lent support to the latent fragility at the “Periphery” thesis. Are central bank responses to liquidity overabundance and mounting inflationary pressures an escalating risk to fragile EM Bubbles?
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Are We Staring At A Coming Systemic Breakdown & The End Of Capitalism?

March 25, 2021

Are We Staring At A Coming Systemic Breakdown & The End Of Capitalism?

Michael Every of Rabobank is concerned we are

For any problems they face, governments all over the world are now conditioned to simply deficit spend or issue new $trillions in ‘thin air’ currency.

So how in danger are we of that recklessness leading to a breakdown of the entire system?

Respected financial analyst Michael Every suspects we’re closer than most realize.

As governments continue to flood the world with debt-funded stimulus, they not only fan the flames under the social powderkeg of wealth inequality, but they are destroying their own powers in the process.

Up until the Great Financial Crisis, a dollar in new federal debt issued resulted in more than $1 in incremental GDP. But no longer:

Federal Debt Growth vs GDP Growth

That indicates the government is now at the ‘pushing on a string’ phase: it can’t grow out of its problems. Issuing new debt only digs the insolvency hole deeper at this point.

Which is why Michael agrees that now, more than ever, is the time to partner with a financial advisor who understands the nature of the risks and opportunities in play, can craft an appropriate portfolio strategy for you given your needs, and apply sound risk management protection where appropriate:

adam taggart, peak prosperity, michael every, rabobank, capitalism, money printing, credit expansion, central banks, monetary stimulus, growth, risk

Forbes: Excessive Monetary Stimulus Leaves Gold “Greatly Undervalued”

March 9, 2021

Forbes: Excessive Monetary Stimulus Leaves Gold “Greatly Undervalued”

Historic Money Supply Great for Long-Term Gold Prices

Harrison Hill, USA Today

This week, Your News to Know rounds up the latest top stories involving gold and the overall economy. Stories include: How the expansion of money supply is boosting gold’s allure, an overview of last year’s precious metals imports to the U.S., and U.S. Mint releases final batch of American Gold Eagle coins with current design.

Historic monetary stimulus is casting a bright light on tangible assets

The multi-trillion dollar stimulus appears to have achieved the desired effect, at least in the short term. The influx of freshly-printed, free floating money encouraged risk-on sentiment, increased bond yields and caused money managers to once again turn away from gold.

Yet, as Forbes columnist Frank Holmes points out, the pressures coming down on gold right now could turn out to be its most powerful tailwind further down the line.

According to the Forbes article, M1 (the amount of readily-available or liquid money in circulation) should be approached the same as any other asset class. This is usually the case; many investors treat cash as a part of their portfolios. Therefore, the law of supply and demand should also be applied to cash. In light of the recent monetary expansion, cash quickly starts to look overabundant in the economy.

Holmes notes that M1 has expanded by 355% year-on-year, marking the highest annual rate increase on record by a wide margin. Unsurprisingly, inflation expectations for the next five years based on the Treasury breakeven rate have risen to their highest level since 2011, when gold posted its previous all-time high. Today’s gold price may be some ways off from August’s peak of $2,070, but there are plenty of analysts calling for a retrace this year, and Holmes thinks inflation could kickstart the next round of gold price gains.

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

U.S. Mint Rations Bullion Coins – Why Aren’t Prices Rising, Too?

February 17, 2021

U.S. Mint Rations Bullion Coins – Why Aren’t Prices Rising, Too?

U.S. Mint Rations Bullion Coins – Why Aren't Prices Rising, Too?

This week, Your News to Know rounds up the latest top stories involving gold and the overall economy. Stories include: The disconnect between gold and silver bullion demand and price, we could be months away from $50 silver, and trove of antique Roman silver coins unearthed in Turkey.

Why bullion prices don’t seem to be in line with demand

Despite record demand for gold and silver bullion coins month after month, the prices of both metals continue to linger within limited ranges. Gold even pulled back to just above $1,800 during Friday’s trading session. So what’s going on? Why isn’t the clearly-demonstrated demand driving prices higher?

U.S. Mint director Ed Moy, whose tenure stretched from 2006 to 2011, recognizes today’s situation and draws many parallels to the start of 2008:

The last time demand was this high was during the [2008-2009] financial crisis. People were panicking and buying into gold, and prices were shooting up. Then the government started injecting both fiscal and monetary stimulus, and you saw gold correct down maybe 20-30%. And then, over the next three years, gold began to climb until it set a new record of $1,925 in 2011. Afterward, gold didn’t decline until it became clear that the economic recovery was going to be slow, which eliminated the uncertainty. The Fed also had the time to mop up all the excess liquidity before it caused inflation.

The former director explained that, besides overloaded mints and supply chain disruptions, there are several other factors that could play an interesting role in shaping up gold’s price over the coming months and years. Moy believes that perhaps the biggest reason for the disconnection between price and demand lies in Wall Street’s shorting of the metals.

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Democrat Control of Washington Could Trigger Four Years of Surging Inflation

January 9, 2021

Democrat Control of Washington Could Trigger Four Years of Surging Inflation

Doug Mills/The New York Times

At the beginning of the first term of a newly elected POTUS, the first 100 days set the tone for what that administration wants to accomplish.

Joe Biden’s election has been certified by Vice President Mike Pence, so his first 100 days will begin on January 20. The new administration’s economic agenda has priorities that could differ from yours.

But that’s not all.

As the New Republic points out, a newly elected 50-50 Senate “dramatically changes the power realities awaiting Joe Biden on January 20.” Because the new Vice President Kamala Harris will represent the Senate “tie-breaker” vote. Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell will become the minority leader. That means McConnell wouldn’t be able to obstruct proposed legislation as he has been able to do in the past.

So those first 100 days that set the tone for the administration, what might they look like? According to historian Donald Critchlow, this, among other things:

Raising taxes; the Green New Deal; expansion of ObamaCare as the first step toward nationalized healthcare; a massive stimulus bill; immigration reform with border security in name only; and appeasement with China.

Critchlow added ominously, “The first 100 Days of the Biden administration might very well go down in the history books as the ‘100 Days of No Return.’”

Then there is the potential for an even more alarming shift in the balance of power, according to Newsmax:

Capitol Hill observers generally agree that one of the first pursuits of a Democrat-controlled Senate would be admission of statehood for both the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico — a move that would guarantee both two senators and a Democrat Senate majority for years to come.

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Why The World Can’t Quit Fossil Fuels

December 8, 2020

Why The World Can’t Quit Fossil Fuels

Have the recent pronouncements of the death of oil and reigning renewables been more rhetoric than reality? Yes and no. It’s true that peak oil is now closer than ever, and globally we’re seeing a more earnest effort to decarbonize than ever before, in large part thanks to green stimulus packages for post-COVID economic recovery. But for all of the advances that green energy is making around the world, it’s just not enough to achieve the kind of greenhouse gas emissions reductions necessary to curb the impact of climate change. In fact, it’s not even close. This week Axios reported on the “chasm between CO2 goals and energy production,” saying that “projected and planned levels of global oil, natural gas and coal production are way out of step with the kind of emissions cuts needed to hold global warming significantly in check.” This reporting is based on a brand new study. The second annual “Production Gap Report” is the continuation of a project developed in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The 2020 report was put together by the UN, the Stockholm Environment Institute, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Overseas Development Institute and the climate think tank E3G.

The purpose of the report, which is modelled after and alongside UNEP’s Emissions Gap Reports is to synthesize and communicate “the large discrepancy between countries’ planned fossil fuel production and the global production levels necessary to limit warming to 1.5°C and 2°C.” And, as it turns out, that discrepancy is still quite large, even after the COVID-19 pandemic took a huge bite out of fossil fuel demand and the oil and gas industry as a whole.

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Are we in a ‘New Normal’?

December 8, 2020

Are we in a ‘New Normal’?

The past two years have been especially brutal to so-called equity ‘bears’. Against all odds, and despite all the shocks, global capital markets—if not the real economy they are supposed to represent—have continued to climb to new heights. After the onset of the coronavirus catastrophe, the relentless rise of the asset markets, particularly in the U.S., has completely baffled many.

But it should not. We are in the midst of an asset market mania—perhaps the biggest of all time.

All the while we have been warning about the possibility of collapse of the world economy, beginning in March 2017, when we issued our first-ever warning of global crash. Then we wrote:

The crisis of 2007 – 2008 reversed the trend of financial globalization, which has undermined global growth. The pull-back in financial globalization has been masked by central bank-induced liquidity and continuous stimulus from governments which have created an artificial recovery and pushed different asset valuations to unsustainable levels. This implies that we live in a “central bankers’ bubble”.

We have noted in several times this year how central banks and especially the Federal Reserve (or the “Fed”) has been acting as the ‘de facto’ market-loss back-stopper, successfully pushing asset markets to new heights. However, it is obvious that the central bankers are only following the script they had written before. This is no ‘New Normal’.

So, let’s take a tour of the bailouts over the past 11 years.

Starting with a bang

In the depths of the Global Financial Crisis at the end of 2008, standard monetary policy tools became ineffective. After slashing the Fed funds rate below one percent in October 2008, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decided that more drastic action was needed.

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Weekly Commentary: Monetary Disorder In Extremis

December 5, 2020

Weekly Commentary: Monetary Disorder In Extremis

November non-farm payrolls gained 245,000, only about half the mean forecasts – and down from October’s 610,000. It was the weakest job growth since April’s employment debacle. U.S. equities rallied on the disappointing news. A few Bloomberg headlines captured the aura: “Stocks Gain as Jobs Miss Boosts Stimulus Bets;” “Fed Case for Fresh Action Gets Stronger on Soft U.S. Jobs Report;” and “Jobs Data Was a ‘Perfect Miss’ for Fed and Aid.”

Bad news has never been more positively received in the stock market. Some analysts are now anticipating the Fed will soon supersize its already massive monthly bond purchases. Chairman Powell’s comments this week did little to dissuade such thinking: “We are going to keep our rates low and keep our tools working until we feel like we really are very clearly past the danger that is presented to the economy from the pandemic.”

The U.S. Bubble Economy structure has evolved into a voracious Credit glutton. There’s a strong case for significant additional fiscal stimulus. The case for boosting monetary stimulus is not compelling. Financial conditions have remained ultra-loose. Credit stays readily available for even the riskiest corporate borrowers, as bond issuance surges to new heights. While formidable, the remarkable speculative Bubble throughout corporate Credit is dwarfed by what has regressed to a raging stock market mania.

Manic November will be chronicled for posterity. Future historians will surely be confounded. It is being called the strongest ever November for equities. Up 12% for the month, the Dow posted its largest one-month advance since January 1987. The S&P500 returned 10.9%, a huge bonanza relegated to small potatoes by the “melt-up” in the broader market. The “average stock” Value Line Arithmetic Index posted an 18.3% advance in November. The small cap Russell 2000 also surged 18.3%, and the S&P400 Midcaps rose 14.1%.

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Election Distraction Has Taken Eyes Off Our Economic Ills

November 15, 2020

Election Distraction Has Taken Eyes Off Our Economic Ills

See the source image

Lately it has been difficult to write about the economy because of all the noise flowing from the election and covid-19 hype. There is a growing reluctance to opine by many economic skeptics because it appears we have been wrong on recent predictions. Only time will tell if this is true due to the huge distortions now evident in the markets. Still, all this tends to diminish confidence in the ability to see what is ahead. This has forced not only me, but other economic watchers to go back and question all we hold true.

Unfortunately, other than moving a few pieces around the board, the recent actions by the Fed only continues to move back the day of reckoning. The “extend and pretend illusion” our economy remains on a sound footing is alive and well. One place this is evident is in the area corporate bond market where many bonds now hold an investment-grade BBB rating. If a company or bond is rated BB or lower it is known as junk grade, this means the probability the company will be able to repay its issued debt is seen as speculative.

In this troubling time of covid-19 where companies are being stressed and tested, we have watched the high yield option-adjusted spreads fall back towards pre-covid levels. The fact we have not seen yields rise as lending standers have tightened indicates the Fed has removed the liquidity problem. This has temporarily masked but has not solved the solvency problem. As the “lag time effect” kicks into gear expect a growing number of defaults and bankruptcies to take place.

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Ben Hunt: Inflation Ahead!

October 26, 2020

Ben Hunt: Inflation Ahead!

Why the investing world is about to change

Ben Hunt — highly respected fund manager, author, and former professor/entrepreneur/venture capitalist — says that to be successful in managing your wealth, there’s only one question that matters:

Are we entering a deflationary future, or an inflationary one?

The strategies and appropriate investment targets for each are extremely different, so you’d better answer correctly.

Though Hunt says as long as you identify the trend “roughly” right, you should do fine. You don’t have to be brilliant with the exact investments you put your capital into. As long as they benefit from the secular trend, its massive scale and momentum will do the heavy lifting.

So which kind of future are we entering?

Hunt thinks we’re at a very important inflection point. That after decades of deflation (e.g., chronically declining interest rates), we’re now transitioning into an era of secular inflation.

The $trillions in monetary and fiscal stimulus so far, and the near-certainty of much more to come, are certainly a big step in that direction.

And with asset prices completely distorted from reality, a struggling global economy, and an inflationary outlook, Hunt thinks the coming years will be extremely rocky for investors. Lots of cross-currents, with the only guarantee being that the majority of investment predicts will be foiled — as there remain very few active investors alive who have any experience managing capital in an inflationary environment.

Which is why Hunt is emphatic that now, more than ever, is the time to partner with a financial advisor who understands the risks in play, can craft an appropriate portfolio strategy for you given your needs, and apply sound risk management protection where appropriate:

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

What’s Behind the Fed’s Project to Send Free Money to People Directly?

October 3, 2020

What’s Behind the Fed’s Project to Send Free Money to People Directly?

A lump-sum payment in digital dollars for all Americans during a recession or to raise inflation, as an alternative to QE and negative interest rates, which have failed.

By Wolf Richter. This is the transcript of my podcast last Sunday, THE WOLF STREET REPORT. You can listen to it on YouTube or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

There is a lot of discussion suddenly about a Federal Reserve project to make direct payments to households during an economic crisis. In March, legislation was proposed in the House and in the Senate to authorize the Fed to do this.

At the beginning of August, two former Fed officials floated a trial balloon of this type of operation with some specifics as to how it would work and how it would be accounted for on the Fed’s balance sheet.

And now, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Loretta Mester, gave a speech on the modernization of the decades-old, slow, and cumbersome payment systems we have in the United States. The Fed has been working on this modernization since long before the Pandemic. And near the end of that speech, she said that the Fed was looking into ways in which it could make direct and instant payments to every American, even those that don’t have bank accounts.

So free money for all Americans. This is very different from the stimulus checks because the government had to borrow the money that it sent to consumers. The Fed would just create the money and send it to consumers. And this is getting pretty serious now.

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As the Bubble Slowly Pops, the Economic Chain Reaction Is Now in Progress

August 20, 2020

As the Bubble Slowly Pops, the Economic Chain Reaction Is Now in Progress

bubble

Much has been written about the economic consequences of covid-19, yet, just as in many of the analyses of the Great Depression and the 2008 crisis, the years of accumulating debt preceding the event do not attract the attention they deserve. Covid-19—or to be more precise, the lockdown—has initiated a cascading liquidation of the debt bubble that has been building for a generation. From the early 1980s, each recession has been responded to with iteratively lower interest rates. Following the bursting of the late 1980s credit bubble, Greenspan inaugurated the loosest monetary policy for a generation, creating the dotcom bubble. When this burst in 2000, it was responded to with even lower interest rates, reaching 1 percent from 2003–04, generating the housing bubble. When this burst in 2007/8, the response was 0 percent interest rates, turning a $150 trillion global debt bubble as it was then—already the largest In history—into a $250 trillion global debt bubble.

When central banks set interest rates it fundamentally distorts the pricing mechanisms of credit markets, just like price setting in other parts of the economy. Friedrich von Hayek won the Nobel Prize in 1974 for articulating that interest rates, like other prices, should be set by the market rather than central planning committees. We are not surprised when the government setting the price of food in Venezuela leads to food shortages, so we should not be surprised that 0 percent interest rates leads to a shortage in yield for investors, leading to a $250 trillion global debt bubble.

(Below is a speech I gave in the European Parliament in 2018 in which I adumbrated these points for a political audience):

Max Rangeley Speech in the European Parliament on the Coming Economic Collapse

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By Wolf Richter. This is the transcript of my podcast last Sunday, THE WOLF STREET REPORT. You can listen to it on YouTube or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

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