Category World Economic Form

Oct 9 2017

The Epidemic of Fake Analysis


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics

Re-Posted Oct 9, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong; I want to thank you for your work on Europe. We hear nothing from European analysts but up-up-and away and it makes one wonder if that is not fake analysis just like the news. Nobody seems to be talking about how retail sales are declining in Europe and even my mother, who is 90, said it is because they tax us too much.

Keep up the analysis. We need someone to tell the truth who is not told what to report here in Europe.

PF

REPLY: Yes, that has always been the NUMBER ONE problem in analysis. A famous bank has analysts but they cannot speak truthfully for the ECB will pick up the phone and they are silenced or fired. BTW, your mother is spot on. They keep raising taxes and hunting money and then wonder why there is deflation. Ah! The illogical thoughts of those in power.

The retailers in the Eurozone had posted the second monthly decline in sales falling 5% in August. This was the sharpest drop in one month since October 2015 when the ECM turned. It does not speak well as we head into 2020. The official news reported was that European Economists came out and forecast in response that sales will increase of 3% next year.

During the holiday season in August, which is traditionally the best month of gasoline sales, reported a stunning fuel sales decline by 9%. This is reflecting the growing concern about terrorism as people are showing a distinct decline in travel.

Our problem is that we have career politicians. This infects everything. They are only concerned about their reelection so they manipulate the analysis to deny that there are problems. All we hear is constant complaints about the quality of analysis. The shocking trend is now central banks want to just subscribe to Socrates because even they are fed up with what you call “fake analysis” that is getting really bad.

Oct 7 2017

Madrid Waged Cyber-War & Catalonia Votes Overwhelmingly to Leave Spain


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Oct 7, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Catalonia voted overwhelmingly to secede from Spain. Of course, the hard line invasion of riot police who beat and threatened the people discouraged many from showing up with the turnout being only 43%. The fascist government in Spain has demonstrated to the entire world that there is a major country risk in dealing with Spain. Any government that uses force against democracy will do whatever it takes to sustain power as the economy gets wose going into 2021.

Hundreds of people were injured by riot police attempting to prevent voting, and this has only caused outrage and further protests solidifying the resolve to separate from such a fascist government. Both Canada and Britain allowed separatist votes. Why Spain deemed the vote illegal was clear that they knew they would vote to leave.

Madrid even waged a cyber-war against Catalonia. They sought to shut down the internet and even ordered Google to shut down traffic coming from Catalonia. Madrid has shown the future civil war tactic will be to shut down the internet to prevent communication.

Catalonia’s parliament may well now declare independence; Madrid could decide to impose direct rule on the region and the police have been transformed into terrorists resembling the imported Russian police in Ukraine. Barcelona is perhaps the most beautiful city in Europe. Obviously, Madrid will be off the tourist agenda in the years ahead.

Oct 6 2017

Communism/Socialism = Better Sex for Women?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Oct 6, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Believe it or not, the latest twist is Marxism provides better sex for women than capitalism. According to the latest study, Eastern women had twice as many orgasms as Western women when comparing the Germans after the Wall fell. What they fail to explain is that you really had no entertainment other than sex. Eastern European women who come to the USA have a hard time shopping even for toilet paper. I use to have a Russian girlfriend we met in Tokyo back in the ’90s. When she came to the States and we would go shopping, she was perplexed. How do you make a decision between so many brands of toilet paper? she would ask. In Russia, she said, there was just one.

Researchers claim that women under Communism reported greater sexual satisfaction. They remarked that East German women suffered from the notorious double burden of formal employment and housework compared to postwar West German women who remained at home and enjoyed all the labor-saving devices produced by the the capitalist economy. The women who stayed home in the West had less sex than women who had to line up for toilet paper under Communism.

Well I suppose the less is, bring back Marxism, surrender all rights, TV isn’t worth watching since all the news is fake, and just have sex.

Oct 4 2017

EU Press Release Show They Support Tyranny


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Oct 4, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The press release put out by the EU is just amazing. A dictator can write any law he desires declaring something to be illegal. The EU relies upon that unethical law to claim that Catalonia has no right to vote. Canada allowed Quebec to vote twice and Britain allowed Scotland to vote. Why is Catalonia denied any right to ever vote? The EU has the audacity to actually write:

“If a referendum were to be organised in line with the Spanish Constitution it would mean that the territory leaving would find itself outside of the European Union.”

So in other words, had they won an illegal vote, then they would be outside the EU so therefore the EU cannot intervene to defend human rights? So the civil war in Syria is against what they call a dictator and that is OK, but the people inside Europe have no right to demand a change in government at all. I am sure the Syrian government would also say the rebels are acting illegally and cannot overthrow the government. Quite honestly, everyone government throughout history has taken that position no matter if they are a monarchy, dictatorship, tyrannical, or elected republican or democratic.

Well as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that the king also declared was unlawful:

“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.“

Oct 2 2017

Spanish & Italian Bonds Hit


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Oct 2, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong; the Spanish and Italian bonds are getting hit. You were spot on again.

RW

REPLY:  Yes the peripheral spreads on the Spanish government bonds (at 10yrs) are 8bp wider than Friday close. Italy is also widening – out by 6bp but still early in the trading day just yet. The Spanish IBEX is off -1.45% (Banks down between 2.5% and 5%).

The Italian election will come May 20th, 2018. That is the end of this year from Political Hell. We will see the anti-EU sentiment now rise in Italy and in Eastern Europe. The EU made a very serious mistake. They did not support the people and democracy, but sided with the fascist government because it was in their own self-interest to crush Catalonia. This confirms that the EU is tyranny and cares nothing about the people.

Oct 1 2017

Spain Reveals EU Does Not Stand For Human Rights & Making Revolution Inevitable


Armstrong Economics Blog/European Union

Re-Posted Oct 1, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The Spanish state police violence have turned against the people showing that they are clearly still a fascist reign supported by troops. Riot officers have been firing rubber bullets at crowds protesting in a Barcelona street, sending people running for cover. Countless are injured. This demonstrates that Spain is not a place for investment and one should be very cautious about even buying a house in Spain after this display of ruthless authoritarianism. The  Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy has demonstrated he is a fascist and this is EXACTLY the type of person that caused the American Revolution.

We should all take pause and read just the first two paragraphs of Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. The King sent a whole army to his house to kill him for writing these words. He was warned the army was coming and told to flee into the hills which he did. I fully disagree with Donald Trump for supporting Rajoy. That has been a total disgrace and Trump needs to study history.

The suppression of the vote will now only turn even those who were on the side stand against the government. In war, you kill someone’s father. Their family will remember for generations. Spain has just confirmed that revolution and civil war will be inevitable. Canada allowed two referendum votes to separate for Quebec and Britain allowed Scotland to vote. It is a fundamental human right to overthrow any government when it becomes oppressive. Rajoy is a disgrace to the EU and Brussels is a disgrace for shutting down the vote of the people.

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

Oct 1 2017

How to Save the Planet With Pushing a Button


Armstrong Economics Blog/Nature

RE-Posted Oct 1, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

 

I have previous told the story about attending a dinner in Washington and being seated with the entire Environmental group. It was a Washington elite political dinner and because I attended with my friend Dick Fox who was Chairman of Temple University and I was an adviser to the University, whoever it was that made the seating arrangements for these tables of 10  seated us with the environmental groups. This was in the mid-90s. Dick was the one who kept trying to drag the truth out and there it came. These were the heads of the top three environmental organizations. They admitted that the real goal was to reduce human population by making it difficult to expand and build houses. Labeling everything wetlands would reduce the ability to expand housing and thus shrink the population. When Dick got them to admit that, he moved in for the bottom-line question and asked: “So who’s grandchild are you trying to prevent from being born? Your’s or mine?”

Well now this is the constantly reappearing theme with both the environmentalists and the Global Warming crown. The Swedish Lund university has come out with a list with “live options” that can rescue the climate and save the world. The number one recommendation with the biggest impact is to stop having babies. I previously wrote how Canada wanted to solve the problem by having companies lay off workers and thus fewer people driving cars every day.

Obviously a war will do were we kill 50% of the population to keep with their reasoning. We should ask Rocketman to please eliminate 50% of the world population and he will be the hero of the environmentalists and Global Warming Crowd. It would be so nice if they volunteered to be the first casualties. Then perhaps they can lead the way for the rest of us.

So please can you push that button but target a few universities first? Perhaps we can save the planet that way

Sep 30 2017

Rajoy Shuts Down Airspace & Orders Google to Stop Assisting Separatists


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics

Re-Posted Sep 30, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy who is becoming a disgrace to the image of a free society and is illustrating what governments do in a Private Wave – they become authoritarian whenever they lose power. Rajoy has gone way too far showing the world that Spain is itself a country risk for there is no human right or standard of international law. The Catalan supporters are now occupying poll points to protect their right to vote, while Rajoy has now blocked airspace over Barcelona as he wants to prevent the referendum in Catalonia by all means.

Rajoy had his puppet Spanish Supreme Court order that Google had to delete an app that had been used by the operators of the referendum to communicate with each other. The corrupt Spanish court ruled that the “On Votar 1-Oct” application on the Google Play smartphone app shop violated the ban imposed by Spain to conduct the referendum. Rajoy is totally out of control and is illustrating everything that is wrong about the EU and how it claims to stand for human right with the refugees but crushes anyone Europe who disagrees with the politic elite.

The Spanish Supreme Court pretends that the constitution does not allow for separation. So if the constitution also said you had to kill you first born in Biblical tradition, would that also be constitutional simply because it is written there? No constitution can mandate that the people are not allow the change the constitution. Even in the USA, there are constitutional amendments. Income tax was forbidden, but the majority agreed with Karl Marx and then amended the constitution in 1913. They were horrified at the Russian revolution following Marx 4 years later, but it was too late. Human rights suddenly did not include the right to be treated the same simply because you possessed more than your neighbor.

The vote will take place in a total of 2,155 polling stations. The government has shut down airspace to prevent others from flying into Barcelona to join the protests.

The Rajoy’s judiciary has also initiated investigations against more than 700 Catalan mayors, who support the independence referendum. The Regional Parliament had passed a bill in Barcelona in early September, which freed the way for the popular decision. The government in Barcelona had originally declared that if the independence won a majority, they would decline independence in 48 hours.

Canada allowed Quebec to vote of separatism TWICE. Even Britain allowed Scotland to vote on separation from the UK. Spain is showing the world that it is still a fascist state true to heart – not a democratic state. This raises serious concerns about foreign investment into Spain. If the government changes its position, you will find that country risk overpowers investment opportunity. BEWARE!

This is an extremely important event for the whole world. This is revealing the TRUE nature of the EU, and we must understand, this political infection is spreading like a disease worldwide. This is what happens in a Private Wave when government loses power – they become more authoritarian.

Categories: Politics, SPAIN
Sep 29 2017

Britain to be Subordinate to European High Court Even After 2019


Armstrong Economics Blog/BRITAIN

Re-Posted Sep 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

Prime Minister Teresa May has walked into a hornet’s nest. By trying to drag out BREXIT into 2021 or beyond, the European Parliament has responded that it is set to demand that Britain will have to still be subject to all EU regulations and be subordinate to the European Court. That means trading in London will be seriously harmed by the anti-short selling policies of the EU and the ban on selling government bonds short.

Sep 29 2017

About Half 2.5 million Refugees Still Waiting for Approval for Asylum


Armstrong Economics Blog/Refugees

Re-Posted Sep 29, 2017 by Martin Armstrong

According to Eurostat, at the end of 2016 there were almost 1.2 million migrants waiting for a decision on their asylum applications. Already, about 880,000 people were granted asylum with only 66,000 being returned to their home country. Then there were 110,000 people whose whereabouts is just unknown. This means that by the end of 2016, some 52% of 2.5 million refugees were still waiting for their asylum to be granted.  The bulk or 53% of all asylum seekers come from only 3 countries – Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq according to what they claimed. About 50% of all asylum applications were filed in Germany.