Month: June 2017

Tuesday 27th June 2017

A deadly brew on the boil….

Last week we looked at Italy and why what’s happening there could trigger a global crash….

This week our attention is focused on the kitchen here at home….

Like one of Grandma’s famous hotpots, the British economy is bubbling away on the stove. But I’m not sure it smells so good. And I can’t vouch for what it will taste like when the end-product is finally dished out.

If you want my honest opinion, I reckon some of the ingredients in the pot might turn out to upset the stomach….

• Inflation is sprouting wings….

Mark Carney and his Bank of England (BoE) team crank the levers and push the buttons that keep the British economy on the straight and narrow….

That’s what most people believe at any rate.

Carney is the ship’s captain. He stands on the bridge, assesses conditions and the direction in which he wants to travel, and makes any necessary adjustments to the ship at exactly the right time. At least that’s the theory….

Everything is under control. Right up until the point that it isn’t….

We might well have reached that point with inflation last month. It rose to 2.9%.… Click here to read more

Tuesday 20th June 2017

Where to look for the beginning of the end….

My money would be on Italy. I think Italy makes for a fair bet….

Not to be the winners of the 2018 FIFA World Cup….

But to be the country that provides the spark that lights the fuse on the bomb that will bring the global financial system to its knees….

I’ve been thinking about what Jim Rogers said in his recent interview on Business Insider. I referenced his comments in last week’s column….

Rogers was talking about the crash he and I (and others) believe is headed our way and where it might start.

He said this: ‘These things always start where you’re not looking.’

• Nobody was looking at Reykjavik in 2008….

You might recall that the 2008 global financial collapse started where nobody was looking – in Iceland.

Three of the country’s biggest banks, Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir – all privately owned – defaulted after experiencing difficulties refinancing short-term debt.

The crisis in the Icelandic banking system came as a complete shock. Nobody was looking at Iceland.

Nobody expected the most sparsely populated country in Europe – located in the far North where the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans meet – to be the source of a calamity that would fan-out and work its destruction across the entire global financial system.… Click here to read more

Tuesday 13th June 2017

A surefire, post-crash winner….

Jim Rogers is 74 and he says the worst crash in his lifetime is coming. This year or next….

Rogers is the Chairman of Rogers Holdings. He’s a legend in investment circles. His opinions are sought-after and carry weight.

Late last week he was interviewed by Henry Blodget on Business Insider’s Bottom Line segment and he didn’t pull any punches….

His message was clear and unequivocal: ‘We should be very worried.’

Rogers underscored that message with this chilling prediction. ‘You’re going to see governments fail. You’re going to see countries fail this time around….’

• Current debt dwarfs 2008 levels….

Rogers doesn’t know exactly when the crash will come. Or where it will start. ‘These things always start where you’re not looking,’ he told Blodget.

But Rogers has no doubt the crash is coming. Or that crushing levels of government debt will feature heavily in what unfolds….

‘In 2008, we had a problem because of debt. That debt was nothing compared to what’s happening now. In 2008, the Chinese had a lot of money saved for a rainy day. It started raining, they started spending the money. Now, even the Chinese have debt.… Click here to read more