Armstrong Economics Blog/Technology
Re-Posted Feb 23, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
China is advancing in technology very rapidly. They have succeeded in connecting a human brain to the brain of a rat. This connection is then able to send an instruction to the brain of the rat which compels it to respond in a directed movement. To create a “rat cyborg” as the scientists call them, researchers used an EEG cap on a human to detect instructions for movement. This can be done wirelessly through Bluetooth and the rats would follow directions.
This method is based upon the same elements of biofeedback where you can raise and lower your body temperature for example when connected to a computer that allows you to see how to create such responses. One would suppose that an evil government could, by law, implant chips into humans at birth and override any tendency to rebel. Perhaps we are getting closer to the SiFi flick – “The MATRIX.”
UPDATE – The World in 50 Years – E3 – Global Community
Why 50 Million Chinese Homes are Empty
Published on Dec 14, 2018
How 10% of the People Can Make a Difference & Real Estate’s Role
Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics
Re-Posted Feb 20, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
QUESTION: Dear Marty,
First I would like to thank you for all the help you provide especially for us little guys.
I’m from Barcelona, and happily attended the release of “The forecaster” when you were there a few years ago.
I’m under 30 and working my butt off trying to save what I can while paying rent with my partner on a smallish 50m flat (which has become prohibitevely expensive for young local people as rents are at all time highs).
Following your recomendations I’ve put my small savings into movable assets (US and European equities).
With regards to the chart you posted on Spanish Real Estate I was surprised to see the price still so near the bottom of the Housing Crisis. I live in Barcelona and prices are in most cases near or at all time highs for most of the city neighborhoods (of course in € nominal prices wich have dropped quite a bit in $ terms) but as you move away from the city the recovery has been more modest to say the least.
In Barcelona price increses are mostly due to foregneirs moving in and maybe also because people here don’t ussually invest in the stock market but instead put savings into RE (despite the housing bubble people have a big chunk of retirement savings into real estate).
RE is not cheap to say the least but I’m wondering wether I should contract a 30y fixed mortgage and buy a house. My biggest fears are two:
– If long term mortgages dry up I may find out in mkt to mkt loss positions on the house as prices might collapse.
– If the economy declines I have the risk of maybe being fired but still chained to a mortgage.
I fear the later specially since my father has been recently notified that he is going to get fired. The company he works for has decided to fire all employees who are up to 13y!!! close to retirement age (and will probably replace 1/4 of the workforce with cheaper labor).
Given the above do you think it’s still a good time to buy in the big Spanish cities like Barcelona using a fixed mortgage or that you might be better off renting and waiting for the collapse.
Thank you
A.
ANSWER: Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is even one of the best places to live. In terms of local earning power, yes, rent in Barcelona is high. In terms of international value, they are cheap, which is why you have so many foreign investors who have poured into your city. Even economically, Barcelona is extremely productive and this was in part behind the reason for the separatist movement. It also had its own history of separatist movements from the Roman Empire (see Maximus 409 AD).
You have noticed the foreign buyers. As the euro drops, the value of property will look cheaper to a foreign investor than domestic. If you stay in the city proper region, this will have an international bid based on currency. In real terms, of course, the property will decline in value. However, this is more of a short-term trend. We all need a place to live. If you can buy with a FIXED rate mortgage, then you will be better off and certainly do not do floating rates. The risk with banks remains that they will stop lending on property as loans turn bad and political turmoil unfolds. Soon it will be an issue of whether Spain will stay in the euro, or whether the euro even exists. The property in the rural area will always be cheaper. So it depends upon what your personal goals might be. Rural property where you have a bit of land and can grow some food is not a bad hedge. But it has been getting cold even in Spain, a country that normally supplies Europe with food during the winter.
We will be heading into a currency crisis. Tangible assets are the way to survive. The biggest problem with real estate is that you cannot take it with you. So keep that in mind. We need a place to live so that is the bottom line. You do not want all your wealth in one asset. You are young enough to survive the major government reset. That will happen. I remain hopeful that if enough people understand the causes behind this crash, then we can make a difference and push back against tyranny.
Make no mistake about it. Government will ALWAYS act in its own self-interest to survive. There has NEVER been a single government that has EVER admitted it is wrong. They must always suppress the people to survive. Remember one thing: even in the USA, there were only three presidents who ever won slightly more than 60% of the popular vote. So, about 10% of the people really decide the fate of nations. We do not have to convince 100% or even 50%. We just need that 10% to make a difference.
Mars Martian Mega Rover | Full Documentary
Published on Jul 8, 2017
Wow! Blue Origin Launches Capsule and Rocket, Lands Both Again | Video
Published on Jun 19, 2016
Bell’s Theorem: The Quantum Venn Diagram Paradox
Published on Sep 13, 2017
Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser Experiment Explained
Published on Jan 31, 2014
Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser Explained
Published on Nov 14, 2014
Did Aliens Just Visit Us?
Armstrong Economics Blog/Opinion
Re-Posted Feb 16, 2019 by Martin Armstrong
A number of people have asked what is my opinion of Avi Loeb’s theory that we were just visited by an alien probe. He basically noted strange facts about the probe he called ‘Oumuamua. ʻOumuamua was the first interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, ‘Oumuamua was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakala Observatory, Hawaii, on October 19th, 2017, 40 days after it passed its closest point to the sun.
Loeb has explained that we can calculate at what rate of speed a solar system will eject rocks during its history. When you look at all the stars in the vicinity of our sun, we discover that they move relative to our sun. In other words, our sun moves relative to their systems around us with respect to speed. However, perhaps one in five hundred stars move as slow as ‘Oumuamua. Therefore, the speed of the object is significantly different and much slower. Most rocks would move roughly at the same speed of the star from which they were ejected. If this object came from another star, that star would have to be very special and moving at an incredibly slow pace.
Then there was the matter of its brightness. It would spin every eight hours, and its brightness changed by at least a factor of ten. The fact that its brightness varies by a factor of ten as it spins means that it is at least ten times longer than its width. It is also possible that the shape is more of a pancake like geometry. The most unusual fact about this object is that when it deviates from an orbit it becomes shaped purely by the gravitational force of the sun. There is also no cometary tail here and there is a deviation from the expected orbit which results in this potential classification to be some sort of probe.
There are some who believe that we are alone in the vast universe with billions of planets. The likelihood of that I find not very credible for why would God create the universe for no reason. Also, human reasoning has been highly questionable. They use to torture and execute people for simply saying the Earth was round and not flat. The story of Giordano Bruno (1548–1600) is rarely told. I believe he is a figure from the past that is in need of rescue because he basically is perhaps the first person to envision a dynamic universe building upon Copernicus’ work. His essential theory saw the universe with many worlds and suns basically as we accept today. He gave his life for that proposition. You can imagine that those who believed God created the world were not about to accept the idea that there were multiple solar systems when they refused to accept that the planets revolved around the sun. Despite the fact that the Bible made no statement that the Earth was the center of the planetary system or that the Earth was flat, that reasoning resulted in the punishment for those who dared to disagree.
On February 17th, 1600, Bruno was taken to the Camo de’ Fior. His tongue was gaged so they would not have to listen to his screams of pain when he was burned alive. The importance of Giordano Bruno’s books was established by being placed on the forbidden list on August 7th, 1603. When Galileo (1564-1642) was confronted for his theory that agreed with Bruno, he had to recant or be burned alive at the stake.
At the risk of being burned at the stake alive, I keep an open mind.
Centinel2012 