Category Economics

Jan 14 2023

Interview: Martin Armstrong on 32% Inflation


Armstrong Economics Blog/Armstrong in the Media Re-Posted Jan 14, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

https://youtube.com/watch?v=a_v5fkb4J9o%3Ffeature%3Doembed
Jan 13 2023

Is the Fed a Den of Thieves? Or Independent?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Central Banks Re-Posted Jan 13, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: The Fed….why would anyone put a greedy fox in charge of the hen house. Mr. Armstrong, you, of all people have more than a passing acquaintance with the corruption of the big banks. And these are the kindly gentlemen that have been appointed to “guide” monetary policy for our greater good. Simply don’t understand why you continue to extend respect & credibility, to a gang of thieves.

HS

Elastic

REPLY: There is a HUGE difference between the New York Bankers and the Federal Reserve. In fact, I am in favor of barring CEOs from Goldman Sachs to head the Fed, Treasury, or any government agency. The Fed has its own agenda and it is not to flood the economy with money for Biden. Powell has said the Fed will not be into the climate change business which is the opposite of ECM and Christine Lagarde, who is a politician, and why the ECB cannot survive. The Feb may have bankers, but their self-interest is against that of the politicians. Additionally, do not paint all the bankers with the same brush as Goldman Sacks which I agree is a giant squid and I believe is a major threat to the world economy.

The Fed was originally intended to be a private bailout entity to replace J.P. Morgan and what he did during the Panic of 1907. Stimulation occurred through buying corporate paper – not government!

The Fed would expand the money supply during periods of economic decline and it would contract the money supply as the corporate paper was repaid. There was no such authority to perpetually create money at will on some covert perpetual basis. A banking crisis, as we have now in Europe, occurs when banks cannot meet the demand for withdrawals because they lent the money long-term. They would have to sell their portfolios at discounts to raise cash to meet the demands of depositors. Elasticmoney would meet the demands of depositors without having to liquidate the portfolios.

Elastic money was not some evil conspiracy. It was to keep money flowing when banks were contracting. Keep in mind there were also limitations on banks to regions. The Clintons removed all restraints and allowed interstate banking which siphons money from local regions and deploys it someplace else. If we returned the central bank to performing its original function, then the economy would be much more stable. Our problem is we live in a political economy where politicians just cannot keep their fingers out of everyone’s pockets.

There have been such shortages of cash even during Fed expansion policies because people will hoard their cash in times of economic uncertainty. This is why there are still hoards of Roman coins discovered. Human nature has not changed. During the Great Depression, over 200 cities issued their own money because there was such a shortage commerce could not continue.

We have exchanges even issuing Depression scrip backed by the financial markets. There just was not enough money to facilitate the economy. That is why the Federal Reserve has the authority to create money – not the treasury. We even have the first appearance of such private money that took place in 1815 thanks to the War of 1812, but then to the eruption of Mount Tambora which resulted in the Year without a Summer – 1816.

Here is a private note from 1837 due to the Panic and the resulting shortage of money then as well. The entire ability of the Fed to have the power of elastic money was to be able to create money is times of distress. People have focused on the Fed’s balance sheet and spun all sorts of conspiracy theories. What they do not address is what I was warning the Fed about buying in the 30-year bonds was NOT increasing the domestic money supply because the sellers were mainly China. The money was going outside the USA. This confusion led to others claiming MMT is now the economic theory because increasing the money supply failed to produce inflation. Once again, these ideas were entirely based on a domestic fish bowl economic model. We live in a globalized economy and the expansion of the money supply has no real bearing on anything because those theories assumed the money remains domestically – which has not been the case.

When WWI came, Congress ordered the Fed to buy government paper; not corporate. They never returned it to its original design. When Great Depression came, Congress at the direction of FDR usurped all branches and established a single national interest rate and the board was to be appointed by the President. They ordered the Fed to support U.S. debt at par during WWII to prevent interest rates from rising.

UB Fed-1951

As World War II approached, politics took control of the Fed. Once again the Fed was ordered to support US government bonds at par. This decree was not lifted until 1951. The Fed remained fairly independent thereafter until the Vietnam War. Politicians viewed its authority to increase the money supply on an elastic basis as meant that inflation was their problem, not Congress’. Politicians began to spend whatever they wanted to win elections and criticized the Fed if inflation appeared when they had no control over the fiscal spending of Congress.

The is independent and it has been at war with Congress before. The elastic money power is necessary because the Fed has expanded and then contracted the money supply. I would stress that the Fed returns to its original design and it should buy ONLY private paper – not government. The Fed is stimulating the government under the orders from WWI to buy government paper. It should no longer buy government paper – PERIOD!

Jan 12 2023

The Real-World


Armstrong Economics Blog/Forecasts Re-Posted Jan 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty,

Your point about foreign money buying US assets and then adding back money to domestic circulation is quite profound. The inflows from Asia, the Middle East, and Europe are enormous. These monies had to come from somewhere. They were a result of globalization, accumulating dollar assets offshore, or having to convert their currencies into US dollar assets. This was never taught in any of my economics, trade, or finance classes back in the 1970’s. Then, the US economy was still a manufacturing-based one and the concept of money taught then was still the Fed and how it conducted OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS. Today, the Fed competes with so many forces it can’t possibly do the job it was designed to do, which was to make the money supply elastic across the US…forget about international money flows, which today are so large, their vast team of financial experts can’t possibly measure much less track them.

The money supply and what is taught in schools are the problem. They have these terms for it: M1, M2, and M3…when in fact in a debt-based economy, money is debt, not paper. What gives it utility is the ability to facilitate exchange, But at its core, the key is confidence in the country that issues it and the citizens who produce the wealth that backs it.  The politicians in the US have worked to destroy the currency by consistently abusing it, by spending money without limit, and by convincing people, there is no cost in doing so as long as the US fights every war and defends open markets.

I agree with you that the US dollar will be the last man standing. Because every other country’s currency is simply inferior and the countries that issue it don’t produce enough wealth to consistently make it competitive in world markets.

MS

REPLY: I know. People want to argue with me based on what they read in school or what the press reports. I have been taught by my clients. Being called in to solve problems around the world, I have been fortunate to see how capital really moves. I have met with many central banks, and the IMF, testify before Congress on these subjects, and even attended an OPEC meeting and was called into China for the Asian Currency Crisis. I have been called in by heads of state and summoned by Presidential Commission investigating Crashes. I was even asked if I would teach at one of the most prestigious universities in the world and when I asked why I was told that they “know what they teach doesn’t work.”

Our major clients know this. It takes perhaps someone with experience like you to grasp the reality of the world economy and how it truly functions. We are plagued by Marxist ideas for every economist then thinks that their job is to manipulate society to create the perfect world. Here is Larry Summers saying you cannot predict the economy and if you could, then everyone would follow it and make it so. This is the problem with academics. It is all theory and no real-world experience. This is why they have accused me of manipulating the world because if the forecast is correct, then it’s because I influenced it with our clients. That is why the bankers told the CFTC I had to be silenced. They wanted to manipulate the world, and when they lost, it was always my fault.

Jan 12 2023

Cleopatra’s Proxy War Using Mark Antony


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ancient Economies Re-Posted Jan 12, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Martin,
Just a quick note to thank you for sharing your excellent knowledge on world and ancient coins. Your two recent blogs on “Hoards in History” and “18th Century Copper Riots and Private Money”, were insightful. While I appreciate your daily blog on world affairs and the economy in general, I find I am now starting to collect Ancient Greek and Roman coins! Can’t wait until you consider writing a book on world and ancient coins that is more than just a simple catalogue of prices.
Best regards,
TK

REPLY: I had no idea that so many people have become interested in ancient coins. I listed some and we have been swamped with orders. Most should be out by next week. My assistant, as I have teased her, has suddenly become a coin dealer. I am doing a book on the legions of Mark Antony. In matters of war, as I have said, you always have both sides putting out their propaganda. Every article you read in West Russia is losing and about to collapse. Russia has not used its strategic weapons because they understand that the US and NATO have been using Ukraine to get a glimpse of Russia’s real capability. Its most advanced aircraft have not been used as Putin now understands this is really a proxy war and Ukraine is just the pawn. Putin is keeping those weapons in check to prevent NATO and the USA from getting a preview.

The battle of Actium is what was the birth of Imperial Rome with the victory of Augustus over Antony and Cleopatra. As part of Anton’s propaganda war, he issued coins for every legion he had and then some in an effort to project that he had more support than Octavian.

In turn, Octavian’s propaganda was that Cleopatra was manipulating Mark Antony and this was really a proxy war between Egypt and Rome. When Antony and Cleopatra were defeated, Octavian was awarded the title Augustus and his coinage announced his victory, but he did not mention Mark Antony. The coinage reflected his propaganda that it was really Cleopatra and Egypt who was waging war against Rome.

Yet this issue of coinage by Mark Antony is reflective of the current proxy way that the United States is carrying out against Russia using Ukraine just as Cleopatra used Mark Antony. What is even more fascinating is that clearly, Cleopatra funded Antony on a massive scale. It is estimated around 30 million denarii were struck. They were the most common coin found in Pompey which was buried in 79AD  which was about 110 years latter. Here is a worn example countermarked “IMP VES” meaning Vespasian during the civil war that followed the death of Nero in 68AD.

No other Roman coin was struck in such quantity reflecting the about of sheer funding that Cleopatra provides to conquer Rome. It is the Ukraine of Ancient Times.

This is a fascinating story that can ONLY be provided from the coinage. This should be going to press next month.

Jan 11 2023

Gold v Dollar


Armstrong Economics Blog/Gold Re-Posted Jan 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION #1:  Marty,
Thanks for your interesting post about gold and China.
Which do you think will perform better this year, gold or the dollar?
Thank you.

DM

QUESTION #2: Marty, obviously the motive behind China buying gold is critical. I tried to explain that to a goldbug. It went in one ear and out the other.  Russia and China have separate motives from the rest of the world. Correct?

Lee

ANSWER: Absolutely. Only a goldbug thinks motives are irrelevant as long as gold rises. Short-covering is not buying buy squaring off positions. Then you have retail buying and institutional buying. I was helping the Japanese circumvent the US trade sanction threats by purchasing gold on COMEX and then selling it back in London. It did not matter what you bought. The trade statistics only measure money flows – not goods. So, I was using gold to reduce the trade surplus of Japan buying gold in NYC (as it it was a product) and shipping it out to London. The buying was irrelevant to the trend. Just because someone buys gold does not make them bullish at all.

What you need to understand is that China is not buying gold because they are bullish on gold. They cannot hold US or EU debt and therefore you will continue to see them liquidating Western sovereign assets. That will not be the case for others inside the West. They will remain holding debt that pays interest where gold does not. Those who have been brainwashed about fiat and gold and inflation are so entrenched in their thinking, they will never see that the difference in motive has nothing to do with gold at all, but geopolitical events as we head into 2032. So they keep looking at balance sheets at the Fed and inflation and miss the real trend altogether.

We have private interests that do NOT have the same motives as China or Russia. Those are high net-worth individuals and institutions who will prefer the more liquid assets of equities and short-term debt like T-Bills. We have NOT reached the point where there is a total collapse in the faith of the dollar or the US government as of yet. Keep in mind that 50% of Americans still believe in Biden somehow and are consumed with their hate of Trump which prevents them from seeing the real trend.

Society is being so dumbed-down by the media that we are sleepwalking into WWIII and cheering it at the same time. They think war is a video game. We bomb and kill people elsewhere and it never affects us at home.

The dollar is not finished. It is the most hated currency perhaps in history. But that is also because people have been manipulated into thinking that money is fiat and keep preaching the days of returning to some sort of gold standard. The problem with that theory is it demands fiscal responsibility and you will NEVER sell that idea to politicians. They cannot survive without bribing people for votes. That means they MUST end Democracy and that is the main objective of Schwab and the WEF.

The backing of the dollar has NOTHING to do with commodities. If that were the case, Japan and Germany should never have risen to the top tier in the world economy. I am NOT an academic. I have worked on every continent and actually visited more central banks than probably any analyst ever. What I have seen is how things work, not theory. That is why some people hate my guts. The TRUE wealth of every nation is its people and their productive ability. The more leftist the government, the worse the economic growth and the lower the standard of living. That is the power behind the dollar and it has NOTHING to do even with the quantity because 70% of paper dollars reside outside the USA.

Remember the Money Plane. Skids of $100 bills were being sent to Russia every week to satisfy the demand. When the new $100 bill took place, anyone flying internationally saw videos on planes telling them that the old $100 bills were still valid and were NOT canceled as they do in Europe.

Perhaps by 2028, you will see the dollar fade away into the sunset. But for now! These insane world leaders are pushing for war. Sweden has just announced a military draft. Europe is not going to survive this one.

Jan 11 2023

Hoards in History


Armstrong Economics Blog/Hoards Re-Posted Jan 11, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: I find it fascinating how you bring much more detail to life in your work. I have read your latest book Plot to Seize Russia. I knew many of those events took place but never the background. What an excellent job. You have to get this out in paperback for the world to see.

My question is about hoards of ancient coins. What was the biggest hoard ever discovered?

PH

REPLY: The First Edition is sold out. We are rushing the Second Edition to our publisher and it will be on a less expensive paper to try to bring down the cost. It will then be available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, etc. Probably the most famous was the Boscorelli Hoard.

The biggest hoard of Roman gold coins ever discovered was the Hoxne Hoard is the largest cache of late Roman gold found anywhere in the Roman Empire. It was discovered by a metal detectorist in Hoxne in Suffolk, England, in the east of England in 1992 containing 14,865 late-4th and early-5th century AD Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins. There were also 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewelry items. The hoard amounts to a total of 7.7lb of gold and 52.4 lb of silver. He reported his discovery immediately and the cache was professionally excavated by archaeologists and conserved soon afterward so the vital context of the objects and their condition were preserved. The coins were the source to date the hoard to the early 5th century AD in the aftermath of the end of the Roman occupation of Britain. Hence, the political chaos inspired the owner to stash his fortunes. Obviously, he did not survive.

Perhaps one of the most famous discoveries from Pompeii is known as the Boscoreale Treasure. This discovery came to light in 1895, when the treasure was uncovered among volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD. In 1895, excavations at a Roman villa at Boscoreale on the slopes of Vesuvius unearthed a remarkable hoard of coins, 109 items of silverware, and over 1,000 gold aurei, the latest of which dates to 78 AD with many pieces dating back decades prior, such as the gold aureus of Nero (54-68 AD). The villa that held the coins lay undisturbed until 1876, yet the coin hoard lay undiscovered for almost another 30 years. The original owner hid the treasure in a wine tank prior to the eruption, so it was not immediately discovered.

Unfortunately, there was never a formal study of the Boscoreale coins prior to being dispersed into the market. Consequently, we do not know the full extent of the find. Nevertheless, the coins are easily identifiable for a distinctive feature of this hoard from Boscoreale is their deep red toning, and the term “Boscoreale” is now used in auction catalogs to describe similar discoloration on any Roman gold. The coinage of Boscoreale does tend to be well preserved.

Boscoreale Cups

The Boscoreale treasure included a remarkable set of tableware reflecting the quality of Roman silverwork in the 1st century AD. The decoration on these two cups illustrates a most curious theme. There are Epicurean maxims (engraved in dots) and the skeletons of poets and Greek philosophers, representing an invitation to enjoy the present for death comes to us all.

These two silver cups pictured here, are famous for their strange decoration. A Latin inscription on the base of one of the cups gives their weight and the name of their owner, Gavia.

The ring of skeletons depicted on these two cups has similar and complementary decorations depicting tragic and comic poets, as well as famous Greek philosophers, beneath a garland of roses. Greek inscriptions engraved in dots form captions and are accompanied by Epicurean maxims such as, “Enjoy life while you can, for tomorrow is uncertain.” Clotho, one of the Fates, looks on as Menander, Euripides, Archilochus, Monimus the Cynic, Demetrius of Phalera, Sophocles, and Moschion provide a caustic and ironic illustration of the fragility and vanity of the human condition. But the main message of the cups’ decoration is that life should be enjoyed to the fullest. Zeno and Epicurus, the founders of the Stoic and Epicurean philosophies in the 4th century BC, confront each other before two mating dogs — a detail of some significance, as it represents the triumph of Epicureanism.

Silver and gold coins from ancient times have survived, as well as bronze. Silver can be affected by the sea and at times when it is debased. Bronze requires certain conditions to survive in good form. So if you intend to bury your gold and silver in the backyard, keep in mind that humanity has been doing this in times of trouble since before recorded history.

Jan 7 2023

Sketchy at Best Labor Report Shows 223,000 Jobs Gained in December, Year-Over-Year Wage Rate Growth 4.6%


Posted originally on the CTH on January 6, 2023 | Sundance 

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the December jobs report today [DATA HERE] showing 223,000 jobs gained in December ’22.

Most of the job growth was in the “leisure and hospitality” sector (+67,000), healthcare (+55,000), construction (+28,000) and social assistance (+20,000).  Additionally, average hourly earnings rose by 0.3%, with a year-over-year measure of wage growth at 4.6%.

At this point in the history of our economic pretending game, we are well aware the employment numbers are heavily manipulated in order to support the government policymaking that is destroying the same workforce they claim to represent.   It’s all a ruse, just look around your community and you will see what I am talking about.

The financial pundits, Wall Street, government policy makers and various individuals and economic gaslighters are concerned that worker wage growth could drive inflation.  This is one of the most aggravating aspects to reviewing the majority of economic punditry. [Example:]

This knuckleheaded narrative engineer from the New York Times/Atlantic even has the audacity to say, “let prices continue to fall to target,” as if there is a single item at any price that is dropping.  His spin is a good example of gaslighting just from the use of the statement “price inflation is falling back towards where we want it.”

Price inflation is not price.  ‘Price inflation’ is the rate of increase.  There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between “inflation falling back” and prices dropping. Inflation falling back is merely a lessening of the rate of price increase.  The price does not drop, and never will.

This reality is why it is infuriating to see government policymakers and pundits decry wage growth as a bad thing that might cause inflation.

Government monetary, fiscal and energy policy created inflation.  Devalued currency from spending, simultaneous to massive government policy changes driving up supply side energy costs, exploded inflation.

Prices for energy, oil, gas, home heating, fuel and food all skyrocketed as a result.  Workers need pay raises to afford these essential costs of life.  However, the same people who created the inflation are now worried that wage rate increases may drive inflation.  The mindset at work here is infuriating.

Consider these empirical data points.   In August of 2021 the Biden administration permanently increased food stamp benefits by 25% for everyone who needed the subsidy {LINK}.  This permanent benefit increase was delivered at the same time as the administration was claiming “inflation was transitory.”  They knew it wasn’t transitory. They were lying.

The Social Security Benefits were also raised in 2022 by 8.7% for the largest ever cost of living adjustment in 2023 {LINK}.  Both the 25% food stamp increase and the 8.7% SSI COLA were needed to offset the inflation created by government policy….  However, the same government doesn’t want wages to rise.  Can you see the hypocrisy.

Workers are being crushed by the outcomes of policy, and those who created the policy making the outcomes do not want worker wages to offset the policy.

We need to see wage growth in the 20% range just to keep pace with the increased cost of living created by policy.  Food costs 40% more, energy 30% more, housing 20% more and the list keeps going.

The prices for many goods have already doubled, worker wages need to compensate for those increases.   However, government, Wall Street, corporations and policy makers do not want to see wage growth that will offset the price of goods because they fear those wage gains will drive inflation.

The financial media, Wall Street, govt policy makers (republican & democrats) and corporations are lying to us and simultaneously killing the working-class. We, the workforce, are in an abusive relationship with govt…. and they have the nerve to blame us for inflation.

Our food costs +40%, energy +30%, housing +20%, all of it.. with interest rates now climbing, making it worse. Yet, they now clutch pearls and worry about our need for higher wages to afford these costs (from their policy) driving inflation higher?

Yet we are supposed to be concerned about giving an entitled republican control of the speaker position in congress because.. why?

Probably the same reason they want us looking at Ukraine, or transgender issues, or queer/gay rights, or climate change, or (fill_in_the_blank with something Ron DeSantis is promoting) all to keep us from realizing our economic life is being destroyed all around us while this constant and insufferable game of pretending continues.

A pox on all their houses! 

I hate them all right now.

Jan 5 2023

Inflation & the Tricks of the Trade


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Jan 5, 2023 by Martin Armstrong

Our inflation models came in at 32% for 2022. This does not include things like paper clips to bring down the entire average. This number is the basic core inflation that consists of food, energy, and transportation. We do not include housing values which rose about 11% in 2022, but because that is the national average, it understands places such as Texas and Flordia and over states California and areas such as Chicago.

Our index attempts to reflect the national core inflation of things that most people use. The largest increase was obvious fuel between gasoline and diesel used in trucking and homes averaging 65%+, eggs were up nearly 50%, flour rose by 25%, cooking oil 23%, Butter was up 35%, Chicken by 14%, and Rice by 18%.

The more things you throw in, the lower the inflation rate. The national average rise in rental rates was 7.8%, in Florida it was 8.5%, and in NYC 1.5% when controlled.

If we broaden the list to include rents and coffee, which was up 15%, we can bring it down to about 27%. The Fed broaden the scope so widely that the rate come down to about 7%. The more you include, the lower the inflation rate. The object is to reduce government spending which is indexed to the CPI.