Tag Archives: economics

Jul 16 2025

US Inflation Rises in June


Posted originally on Jul 16, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

Inflation up

Core inflation’s mild “only” 2.9% annualized rise is not cause for relief. Government agencies, central banks, and regulators all react to data. The Fed, having held rates steady since May, will now sit on its hands until reports confirm if inflation gets a firm grip. Jerome Powell has come out once more to state that the FOMC would have lowered rates if not for Trump’s tariffs. Trump is in opposition with the Fed as fiscal policy blames monetary policy, and no one opens their eyes to see the underlying problem.

A massive systemic risk looms on the horizon as consumer stress intensifies. Medical services, shelter, apparel, food, and everything else have been significantly more expensive since the pandemic, although the trend began five years ahead of COVID. These structural moving parts are more than mere statistics, as they are a sign of social stability and confidence.

Core inflation rose 0.2% for the month, representing a 2.9% annualized increase. The consumer price index rose by 0.3% in June, bringing the 12-month inflation rate to 2.7%.

I’ve repeatedly warned that the inflationary trend, which has become stagflation, would be blamed on Trump’s policy. “In effect, we went on hold when we saw the size of the tariffs and essentially all inflation forecasts for the United States went up materially as a consequence of the tariffs,” Powell said at the European Central Bank forum in Sintra, Portugal.

I’ve said it once, and I will say it again– Prices have simply not returned to what they once were before the global economy came to a standstill during COVID. Every nation has been affected. The lockdowns and supply chain cracks were exacerbated by a massive increase of government spending. Then the government doubled down on green policies, causing energy prices to rise, and lit the situation ablaze amid the Ukraine war and Russian sanctions. The world was already amid a sovereign debt crisis before COVID, and in fact, the Economic Confidence Model clearly stated that the landscape would permanently change after the Big Bang target of October 1, 2015 (2015.75)—the peak in government confidence.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has even issued a report that found PCE consistent across core goods, excluding energy, over the past three years. The CEA found “no clear break” in trend despite the headlines. Inflation has been above target for years and the Fed simply cannot control the trend.

Expect a cautious Fed. And expect politicians to blame their opponents, as always, rather than seeking the actual cause. Those politicians merely turn to academics who do not understand how the economy functions at its core and rely on outdated concepts that do not reflect the current landscape. The real culprit is cyclical history repeating itself—trade policy swings, inflationary follow-through, central bank reaction, and then economic slowdown.

Socrates is already flagging this cycle rising. And in 2026, we’ll look back and see that June 2025 was merely the early tremor of a system-wide shift.

Jul 14 2025

Will Mass Deporation Harm US GDP?


Posted Jul 14, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

GDP 3

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas believes that mass deportation efforts will negatively impact US GDP. Projections speculate that GDP could decline by nearly a percentage point in 2025, followed by larger cuts in the coming years.

GOVERNMENT SPENDING IS FACTORED INTO GDP.

I have repeatedly warned that Donald Trump would be blamed for the stagflation we are experiencing, when in reality his policies could not have impacted a cycle that was already in motion.

The study used a baseline scenario where 2.4 unauthorized migrants were deported in 2025, leading to a 0.8% drop in GDP for 2025. In a scenario where 1 million migrants are deported annually through 2027, the study believes GDP could decline by 0.9% in 2025 and 1.5 percentage points by 2027.

The study states that the labor force will contract as a result of closed borders, which is not a reflection of reality, as Americans are filling the roles once taken by non-foreign-born workers.

The problem is the brain-dead method used to calculate GDP. Government spending happens to be one of the main components of GDP. Cutting the public sector, for example, cut into GDP as even the salaries of government employees are factored into calculations.

GDP=C+I+G+(X−M)

  • C is consumer spending,
  • I is business investment,
  • G is government spending on goods and services,
  • X is exports,
  • M is imports

An untold fortune has been spent on open border policies. New York City alone believes migrant-related costs will reach $12 billion by mid-2025. The House Budget Committee stated in a 2024 report that American taxpayers were forced to pay at least $150.7 billion on “President Biden’s open border policies,” but that is a low estimate.

The American people are forced into increased taxation as a result of these policies. GDP calculations are a disaster and too warped to reveal the true health of the economy. Stagflation was inevitable, but the academics will continue to blame Trump-era policies that have had absolutely zero impact on the ongoing cycle.

Jul 14 2025

New Report Finds Tariffs not to Blame for Inflation


Posted originally on Jul 14, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

Trump tariff

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) issued a new report that found tariffs are not to blame for inflation. In fact, the cost of imported goods has fallen this past year to a lower level than that of overall goods.

“CEA’s directional findings using this method of analyzing the PCE are consistent across core goods (excluding food and energy), durables (which last for at least three years), and nondurables,” the report reads. “The import contribution to inflation includes both the direct impact of imported final goods for consumption and indirect effects of imported intermediate inputs.”

Imported goods fell by 0.8% while the price of overall goods remained stagnant. The PCE index rose 0.4% from December to May or a 1% annualized rate, according to the CEA’s findings. Yet, the imported portion of PCE fell by 0.1% during the same period.

“The results clearly show the price of imported components declining, starting in March, while overall prices were close to unchanged or increased slightly,” the report reads. “Cumulatively, overall PCE prices have increased by about 1.1% since December compared to about 0.2% for PCE import prices. However, those values include pricing for services, which tend to have lower import intensity, so the divergence could be due to stickier services prices.”

The agency concluded “there is no clear trend break” this year in prices, despite the headlines claiming tariffs are the reason inflation remains above target.

Jul 11 2025

June Minutes Report Decoded


Posted  originally on Jul 11, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

Interest Rates Percent

The Minutes Report by the Federal Reserve indicates that the central bank is unlikely to cut rates at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on July 29-30. FOMC members unanimously maintained the borrowing range between 4.25%-4.5% where it has stood since December 2024. The central bank knows that it has limited power to control inflation through rate cuts, and stimulating demand is a moot point when the government is the largest borrower.

Instead of noting that the government simply borrows in perpetuity, Fed members focused on uncertainty surrounding tariffs and a potentially weakening labor market. Chairman Jerome Powell stated that cutting rates was a “closer call” as the 2% inflation target as been out of reach for several years. “With regard to the outlook for inflation, participants expected that inflation would continue to move toward 2 percent, although they noted that recent higher-than-expected readings on inflation, and the effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process could take longer than previously anticipated,” the FOMC minutes said. The last CPI reading was 2.7% with the PCE coming in at 2.4%.

The ongoing Trump v Powell feud is potentially spilling over into policy. Despite non-foreign-born citizens picking up over 2 million jobs as a direct result of deportation efforts, the Fed believes that the weakening labor market could be the result of deporting cheap labor. “Almost all participants judged that upside risks to the inflation outlook had increased. As reasons for this judgment, participants cited recent stronger-than-expected readings on inflation and the likely effects of potential changes in trade and immigration policy,” the minutes said. Unemployment fell to 4.1% with June posting an increase of 147,000 jobs.

The Fed is also blaming Trump’s tariff policies for inflation. “Ultimately, the cost of the tariff has to be paid, and some of it will fall on the end consumer,” the Fed Chair told reporters in June. “We do expect to see more of that over the course of the summer.”  Powell is confusing a one-time price adjustment with a monetary-driven inflationary wave that began in 2015 and soared after the pandemic. As previously noted, “almost all” participants saw trade policy as an upside risk to inflation. “Many participants noted that the eventual effect of tariffs on inflation could be more limited if trade deals are reached soon, if firms are able to quickly adjust their supply chains, or if firms can use other margins of adjustment to reduce their exposure to the effects of tariffs,” the Minutes stated.

A ”couple” of members stated rate cuts could happen at the next meeting, with Fed Governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller going on record to say that they believe rate cuts are appropriate this month. “Several” officials said the overnight rate “may not be far” from target, believing a bit of adjustment could bring inflation to target. The “dot plot” of individual officials indicates a divide on the outlook of cuts.

The Minutes Report noted that two rate cuts could potentially happen in 2025, followed by additional cuts over the next few years. Powell has less than a year left in office, and the president is certain to appoint someone who will abide by his policy that he sees through the eyes of a borrower and not a lender.

Jul 7 2025

The Better Investment — ETFs or Mutual Funds?


Posted originally on Jul 7, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

ETF Tax

The primary difference between mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) is that while an open-end mutual fund is priced once based on the market closing, ETFs, as well as closed-end mutual funds, trade all day. This actually goes back to the Panic of 1966 when mutual funds were open-ended but traded on the exchange and were bid up and down based on emotion rather than net asset value. The crash took place because mutual funds were, at times, selling well above net asset value.

If we look at the reforms post-1966, investors in mutual funds buy or sell them directly from the mutual fund companies themselves. That creates a different tax structure than an ETF in which purchases go to the market and the ETF is simply created by purchasing the underlying basket.

Mutual funds and most ETFs are governed by the Investment Company Act of 1940. Therefore, this legislation treats them like a pass-through company. When a mutual-fund investor wants to sell, the fund sells shares of appreciated stock to generate cash, which creates a taxable capital gain. Since most funds operate as simple pass-through vehicles, those tax liabilities from the gains accrue to all investors in the fund, including those who have not sold any holdings.

ETFs actually do avoid that type of tax issue. ETFs are not direct buyers or sellers of shares as a mutual fund. The ETF is created by a market maker with a special contract with the ETF provider. The investor has the newly created ETF share, which is created by purchasing all of the holdings in the underlying ETF. This basket of shares is given to the ETF issuer, thereby creating the ETF shares.

Because an ETF is not a direct buyer of the underlying shares as in a mutual fund, the ETF itself is not a buyer or seller. The basket of shares is swapped and is therefore an in-kind transaction; thus, there is no pass-through capital-gains tax bill. This is the tax advantage of an ETF over a mutual fund.

Jun 20 2025

FREEMAN: “Gold-Backed Debit Cards Are Here, And The Movement Is Just Getting Started.”


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannon’s War Room on: June 19, 2025, at 1:00 pm EST

Jun 12 2025

May CPI – Vance Angered by Powell


Posted originally on Jun 12, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

CPI Formula

The consumer price index rose by 0.1% in May, bringing the annual rate of inflation to 2.4%. Excluding food and energy, the core CPI came in respectively at 0.1% and 2.8%.

Energy prices fell 2% last month, with gasoline experiencing a 2.6% decline that marked nearly a 12% year-over-year decrease. Fuel oil is down 9.6% for the year, but rose slightly by 0.9% on the month. Energy services rose 0.7% MoM and 6.2% YoY. Electricity ticked up 0.9% for the month; 3.6% for the year. Utilities have been experiencing a notable downtick after declining 1% in May and 15.7% for the year.

Food prices rose 0.3% on the monthly and 2.8% annually. Eggs, the media’s favorite item to watch, fell 2.7% for the month but still remain elevated by 41.5% compared to May 2024.  Meats, poultry, fish, eggs saw a significant annual increase of 7%. Dairy items are up 1.6% in the past 12 months, and nonalcoholic beverages rose 3.2% in the same period. Food away from home rose 3.9% in the past year, with food at home rising 2% in the same time period. Full service meals and snacks are up 4.3% on the annual.

Shelter is the other major pain point for Americans, with costs rising 0.3% for the month and 4% in the past year. Rentals are increasing by 4% annually, with owners’ equivalent rent rising by 4.3%.

Inflation is still above the Fed’s 2% target. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet next week to discuss rates, a hotly debated topic. Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering rates. “The president has been saying this for a while, but it’s even more clear: the refusal by the Fed to cut rates is monetary malpractice,” Vance wrote.

Interest rates are not some magic lever to fix job numbers or inflation. Vance, like many in Washington, is using Powell as a scapegoat for economic issues that stem from decades of fiscal mismanagement, overregulation, and government spending. Six months of a new administration cannot undo decades of failed policies. Moody’s downgraded the nation’s credit score for the first time. Powell must signal that US Treasuries remain a safe haven.

Cut prematurely, and we risk capital flight. Jerome Powell is doing his job in the face of real inflation, which isn’t malpractice. It’s what you do when you want the bond market to keep financing US debt.

Jun 6 2025

Japanese’s Sovereign Debt Crisis


Posted originally on Jun 5, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

Japan_Debt_Crisis_2025 6 5 25
Japan_Debt_Crisis_2025 INDEX 6 5 25

This is the first installment for our Institutional Clients concerning the two countries at the greatest risk of DEFAULT – Japan and Germany. We have provided the forecast for Japan’s default and explained in detail the internal battle between the Government, the Bank of Japan, and the Private Sector. This report exposes the truth about who holds what and the threat to instability as Japan also tries to cozy up close to NATO as a diversion for its fiscal mismanagement.

Investors have long fretted about the sustainability of Japan’s government debt as other nations, including Germany, are facing unsustainable fiscal mismanagement across the developed world. Japan has garnered the most attention due to its highest debt load relative to economic output and the heaviest debt-service burden. At the same time, the excuse has been that they are mostly self-funded, and as such, appearances are deceptive. Still, all Western nations are on a collision course with a sovereign debt crisis that will bring them all crashing down when the line at the door stops buying the new debt to roll over the old.

Japan’s fiscal mismanagement is not significantly worse than that of others. The pandemic, climate change, sluggish growth, and financial crises, accompanied by a lack of confidence, have led to an increase in government debt for many wealthy countries. At more than 250% of GDP, Japan’s gross debt stands out. Combined with sluggish growth and a shrinking population, many financiers and economists see it as an existential risk. The real question this report addresses is the real story behind the curtain, and when does this come to a head?

Jun 4 2025

“Negotiators Are Able To Wipe Out The Debt.” Jillian Barberie On Done With Debt


Posted originally on Rumble By Bannon’s War Room on: June 3, 2025, at 2:00 pm EST

May 31 2025

Silver Bars vs Coins


Posted originally on May 31, 2025 by Martin Armstrong 

SilverCoins

QUESTION: Marty,
There seems to be a growing trend with States approving gold and silver coins as acceptable payment methods. You have always said that it would be coins and not bars. However Florida now states that the silver must be 99% pure. How will this affect the pre 65 constitutional coins like dimes, quarters and half dollars generally referred to a junk silver? Junk silver coins will of course be worth more if the price of silver increases however it appears that one may not be able to use them for any daily transactions. Would one be better off selling their junk silver and converting it to silver rounds immediately? What does Socrates or Socrates Jr think on this topic as it is certainly a new wrinkle.
Thanks !
JimJ

ANSWER: I understand the act, and it only illustrates my point that when it comes to a silver bar, 99% of the people out there would NEVER know the difference between that and a bar of Nickel. That’s what I said; I prefer the pre-1965 silver coins because the average person can easily identify the date. They are ALREADY legal tender. So they are not demonetizing the silver coins.

Roll of Silver Eagles

The Roll of 20 – 2025 $1 American Silver Eagles are 99.9% silver. However, they are denominated as $1. This may be more confusing to the average smuck on the street. Personally, I have bags of silver coins, and I have a hoard of $20 gold coins that came from a central bank, which found them tucked away in the basement vault. They are all uncirculated 1924 Saints. This was a private offering.

1924 Gold Hoard 3