China Banking Crisis & the Unsuspecting World


Armstrong Economics Blog/Interest Rates Re-Posted Jul 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

While authorities have accused a private financial group of misleading members of the public with promises of high-return wealth management products, what is not being said publicly is the fact that the rise in the dollar is a significant factor undermining emerging markets in which China participated. The Chinese government warned the provinces and private companies NOT to borrow dollars. Despite the fact that the Chinese government is portrayed as COMMUNIST still in the West, there would be no banking crisis if they were.

Many operations borrowed in dollars made the same fatal mistake I have witnessed since the 1980s. They sell these loans in a foreign currency with the expectation of saving money on interest. But the FX can be 20% to 40% within a 2-year period and there is NEVER any foreign exchange consideration. In addition to this FX crisis, the inexperience of people who think it is easy to be a money manager has discovered the reality of being inexperienced. This is why you find the standard clause in the West – past performance is no guarantee of future success.

Japan is once again the largest holder of US debt. This is NOT because they have been buying more, it is because China is selling off debt gradually because the dollar is high and the risk of war with the United States is rising by the day. Biden has already destroyed the world economy. It is now impossible to repair even if you vote for all Republicans 100%. The destruction of SWIFT has divided the world and has terminated Globalism. China is liquidating US debt gradually and rightly so. Beware of 2023 ahead. The people writing the scripts for Biden are ONLY concerned with climate change and have ZERO experience in geopolitics.

Henry Kissinger has been a critic of Biden on his war effort against Russia and China, or should I say the real president who is writing the scripts. EVERY President since Nixon has invited Henry to the White House EXCEPT Biden. Henry is the best geopolitical analyst I know of. I myself was called by my local Congressman asking me to fly to a meeting. I declined. But I asked why was I being called? I was told there is a serious lack of experience in Washington. I was stunned, to say the least. I have no desire to step into what has become a hateful confrontation in Washington that resembles a high school food fight in the cafeteria.

If you do not have eyes in the back of your head, you better learn how to use a rear-view mirror. The purpose of this blog is to help you to see that we are all connected. The old saying about Chaos Theory was that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Thailand can alter the weather cycle in Europe. The slightest alteration can produce a starkly different outcome. This is why I am often a critic with a different view when it comes to governments. Those at the helm are often LINEAR thinkers who see only one cause and effect that produces the future.

It is people like Klaus Schwab who think they are so intelligent that they can actually alter and shape the future. His entire premise of the 4th Industrial Revolution is that he can direct it and control it when creativity cannot be controlled or put on some schedule. A good trader learns from his mistakes. If he never made a mistake, then he will end up in a real crisis for he will assume he is always right and then lose it all.

Life is a learning process. We advance only as we learn and the mother of all invention is our mistakes. Learn well from them, if you wish to survive and stop blaming other people. That is the #1 problem with the goldbugs. They do not seek to understand, but just blame the bankers for why gold has not reached $10,000. They cannot advance because they look at the market objectively. That is a critical factor we learn in this journey we call life.

Climate Alarmist Explains Policy Targeting Farmers to end all Beef, Pork and Chicken from Human Diet


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 21, 2022 | Sundance

A few years ago, we might have just brushed this type of ideological policy aside and called the guy a nut.  However, he might indeed be a nut, but more and more countries are adopting the climate change farming policy he is advocating.  {Direct Rumble LinkWATCH (2 minutes):

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I often wonder about the mental health of these people.

EU Commission Asks all Member Nations to Reduce Natural Gas Use by 15 Percent to Help Germany and Energy Dependent States


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 21, 2022 | Sundance

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a woman of notoriously bureaucratic disposition, has proposed that all member nations to reduce their use of natural gas by 15% in order to subsidize and protect the larger member nations -specifically Germany- who are more dependent on Russian energy.

Spain, Portugal and Greece are balking at the idea of voluntary cuts in order to spread the energy resources to the larger economies.

Things amid the EU could get spicy again, with the league of nations in Brussels taking control of economic wealth distribution.

BRUSSELS, July 20 (Reuters) – The European Union set out emergency plans on Wednesday for countries to cut their gas use by 15% until March, warning them that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off supply.

Europe is racing to fill its gas storage ahead of winter and build a buffer in case Moscow further restricts supplies in retaliation for European support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

[…] The regulation needs approval from a reinforced majority of EU countries. Country diplomats are set to discuss it on Friday, with the aim of approving it at an emergency meeting of their energy ministers on July 26.

“Russia is blackmailing us. Russia is using energy as a weapon. And therefore, in any event, whether it’s a partial, major cut-off of Russian gas or a total cut-off of Russian gas, Europe needs to be ready,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. (read more)

Obviously not everyone is happy….

BARCELONA, Spain — The European Union’s plan to reduce the bloc’s natural gas use by 15% to prepare for a potential cutoff by Russia this winter received sharp skepticism Thursday from the governments of Spain and Portugal, which are usually big supporters of the bloc.

The governments in Madrid and Lisbon said they would not support the initiative announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday. The proposal would start with voluntary reductions, but the EU’s head office also wants the power to make 15% savings mandatory in the event of an EU-wide energy emergency.

Spain and Portugal said making reductions obligatory was a non-starter. They noted that there are scant energy connections linking them to the rest of Europe and that they use very little Russian gas compared to fellow EU members such as Germany and Italy.

“We will defend European values, but we won’t accept a sacrifice regarding an issue that we have not even been allowed to give our opinion on,” Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera said. (read more)

You will reduce energy use, or you will eat the bugs…. 

Subtle as a Brick Through a Window, U.S. Media Starts Reshaping Corrupt Ukraine Narrative


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 21, 2022 | Sundance 

From the CTH perspective, if we accept the scale of the approaching U.S. economic pain that is clearly visible on the horizon, this narrative shift from the Associated Press and NPR, about a balancing act for U.S. policy and a corrupt Ukraine government, seems very predictable.

The average U.S. worker, and the middle class in general, is in trouble.  The visible reference of bailing out the people of Ukraine to the tune of $60+ billion is legislative salt in an open economic wound caused by Biden policy.  A shift is needed.

Pivoting away from Ukraine to focus on financial subsidies for Americans requires using a particular arm-distancing toward Zelenskyy from the politicians.   Look, corruption.

Here we go:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s dismissal of senior officials is casting an inconvenient light on an issue that the Biden administration has largely ignored since the outbreak of war with Russia: Ukraine’s history of rampant corruption and shaky governance.

As it presses ahead with providing tens of billions of dollars in military, economic and direct financial support aid to Ukraine and encourages its allies to do the same, the Biden administration is now once again grappling with longstanding worries about Ukraine’s suitability as a recipient of massive infusions of American aid.

Those issues, which date back decades and were not an insignificant part of former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, had been largely pushed to the back burner in the immediate run-up to Russia’s invasion and during the first months of the conflict as the U.S. and its partners rallied to Ukraine’s defense.

But Zelenskyy’s weekend firings of his top prosecutor, intelligence chief and other senior officials have resurfaced those concerns and may have inadvertently given fresh attention to allegations of high-level corruption in Kyiv made by one outspoken U.S. lawmaker.

It’s a delicate issue for the Biden administration. With billions in aid flowing to Ukraine, the White House continues to make the case for supporting Zelenskyy’s government to an American public increasingly focused on domestic issues like high gas prices and inflation. High-profile supporters of Ukraine in both parties also want to avoid a backlash that could make it more difficult to pass future aid packages. (read more)

♦ Tomorrow’s News Today.  Sometime in the not-too-distant future, congress is going to need to spend several trillion to bailout business and individuals who will suffer under the biggest U.S. economic collapse since the 2007 housing crisis.

Within those several trillions of emergency legislative appropriations, supported by both wings of the UniParty as an expression of the economic and humanitarian urgency, the Biden administration will hide the $500 billion in Green New Deal spending.  The crisis will not be wasted.

The 2022 democrats are setting up the 2023 republicans to be the people in charge of congress when this economic collapse and subsequent bailout is needed.   Lucy with the football Democrats, will demand more money be spent ‘for the people‘, essentially to subsidize the energy driven economic crisis they have fueled for the past two years.

Wash – Rinse – Repeat

What Exactly Do the Officials Mean by “Managing the Transition”, Here is What They Will Not Say Openly


Posted originally in the conservative tree house on July 21, 2022 | Sundance 

The goal of this outline is to answer a frequent question about what the alignment of government and private sector officials mean when they say, “managing the transition.”  Some of this is self-explanatory, some of this has been astutely explained by others (with specific reference points), yet much of this is what they cannot say publicly.  So here we go.

As you are well aware the various western nation central banks including the U.S. Federal Reserve, are raising interest rates into a global economic contraction, a drop in demand.  Raising interest rates into a contracting economy is counterintuitive, it runs against the expressed interest of government to grow economic conditions.  However, there is a purposeful design to the contradiction.  [A TLDR Version Here]

I will further expand, and hopefully this will provide information so that you can make decisions on how to protect your interests.

The central bankers are trying to support western government policy.  Unfortunately, the government policy they are under obligation to support is the fundamental energy shift, or what the World Economic Forum (Davos Group) has called the “Build Back Better” climate change agenda.

Monetary policy can only impact one side of the inflation challenge.  The western bankers (EU central bank, U.S. federal reserve bank, and various banking groups) are raising interest rates in order to “tame inflation” by “taming demand.”  However, as you know the global economic demand has been declining for several quarters.  Raising interest rates into an already contracting economy only does one thing, it speeds up the rate of economic contraction.

Economic contraction is the lowering of economic activity.  Raise interest rates -in a general sense- and businesses invest less, borrowers borrow less, consumers purchase less, employers expand less, and the economy overall slows down. When the economy turns negative, meaning less products and services are produced, we enter a recession. Some businesses and employers do not survive a recession and subsequently unemployment rises.

During recessionary periods people buy less stuff, people have less income stability, and economic activity drops.  When the banks raise interest rates into an economy that is already stalled or contracting, unemployment and general pain on Main Street increases.  Workers are laid-off, incomes shrink, consumer spending drops and that leads to less employment.  Recessions are bad for middle-class and working-class people.

However, that said, there is one benefit from a recession…. Energy use drops.

People travel less; businesses operate shorter work schedules; manufacturing stops; overall fewer goods are produced because less consumer spending is taking place.  From the perspective of the groups who want to see overall energy consumption drop, a recession is a good thing.

A recession also brings along a natural drop in energy prices as less overall energy is used inside an economy that is slowing, stalled or contracting.

Oil prices drop as less oil is needed for the manufacturing of goods.  Energy use in transportation also drops and generally gasoline prices drop because less transportation fuel is needed, because fewer goods are being transported.  When the economy goes into a recession, energy use and prices always drop.

Put these factors together and you start to see how the transition to a new western energy policy, the Build Back Better agenda, benefits from a recession.

This is the essential understanding needed to reconcile why central banks would intentionally create an economic contraction.  The bankers are supporting the governmental objective of transitioning the western economy into a new energy system away from oil, coal and natural gas.  The banks are supporting the policy makers.

The central banks cannot openly admit what they are doing to support the politicians and policy makers.  In this weird new era, the banks are being instructed to support the policy makers without actually admitting they have changed their monetary mission.  The central bankers will continue to say their job is to manage and/or balance employment and inflation.  However, what they will not admit is their unspoken agenda to support the political decisions.

Instead, almost all the central banks are saying their interest rate hikes are intended to cool inflation by lowering demand.  However, it is not demand that is driving inflation; it is the policy making behind the energy transition that is driving higher costs on everything.

The supply-side of the inflation dynamic is being overwhelmed by massive increases in energy costs which are the results of intentional western policy.  Extreme increases in consumer prices are the outcome of these energy price increases.  The overwhelming majority of consumer price inflation is being caused by energy policy, not demand.

The various central banks and monetary policymakers know this.  In fact, they are lying about their motives.  They have to lie, because if they were to tell the truth there would be an uprising, and the sucess of the energy agenda would be put at risk.

In order to support the energy objectives of the various governments’, the central banks are trying -and succeeding- to lower economic activity.

Less economic activity means lower energy needs.  This is what they call “managing the transition” to the new economy based on “sustainable energy.”

The banks and policy makers are ultimately managing the economic decline in order to Build Back Better in the future.  This is why the originating charter of the central banks is being ignored, and the banks are raising interest rates into an already contracting economy.

None of this is being done accidentally.  All of this is being done with forethought and implicit intention.

Unfortunately, for the average person this means the banks and policy makers have entered a phase where it is in their interests to shrink the global economy.  They are trying to control the collapse of the various economies by working together.  This means less jobs, less work, a lower standard of living, and a period of extreme financial pressure for the average person.

Eventually, we will reach a point where the government(s) will need to step in and fill the gap from the declined economic activity.  Bailouts and subsidies will be needed as they were in the COVID lockdown test run.  Unemployed workers and the people being impacted by a prolonged economic recession will need subsidies in order to survive.

The government policy makers are planning to do just that, spend more.  They practiced during the COVID economic lockdowns, now they will execute a similar policy path as they manage the energy transition.

We have only just entered the beginning phase of this Build Back Better agenda.  No one, including the banks and policy makers, have any idea how long this is going to take. We could be in this period of severe economic contraction for several years, perhaps decades, until their grand design of a new energy future is complete.  This has been the discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF), as the instructions were passed out.

The entire time the western government architects are doing this, they must keep the demand for traditional energy products like coal, oil and gas at the lowest demand possible.  That is why the central banks and politicians must keep economic activity at the lowest -yet survivable- rate possible.

Prepare your informed long-term affairs accordingly.

U.K. June Inflation Rate Once Again Tracks with U.S. Inflation Rate – All Western Nations Following World Economic Forum Build Back Better Climate Agenda Have Identical Trends


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 20, 2022 | sundance 

In May the inflation rate in the U.S. increased to 8.6%, a few weeks later the European Union measured their May inflation rate to match at an exact 8.6% {link}.  In June the U.S. inflation rate increased again to 9.1%, and now we see the U.K. reporting their June inflation rate today at 9.4%.

While the individual amounts of government COVID-19 spending amid the U.S, U.K. and Europe were different, the percentage of that spending in relationship to the size of their economy was very similar.  As a result, the global inflation rates contain strong parallels.

None of these parallels are accidental.  All of this economic turmoil is running on an identical track -on a global basis- because the entire western plan was coordinated and followed.  What we are seeing right now is the outcome of the “Build Back Better” roadmap.  The “global inflation” is the outcome.

Joe Biden is blocking domestic energy production as he follows through with the agenda of the Green New Deal.  In Europe, not coincidentally demanded by Biden, a similar outcome comes from the sanctions and blocking of Russian energy resources.

One could make a reasonable argument that the team behind Joe Biden specifically wanted the EU sanctions against Russia, because the U.S. crew wanted to keep both industrial economies mirroring each other as the U.S. energy system was dismantled.  It would make sense to avoid a spotlight on the U.S. economic collapse, by forcibly pushing the EU economy into the same situation.

Taking that line of geopolitical and economic consequence one step further, and that would be part of the strategy -albeit undiscussed- behind having a consistent global cap on the price that any nation could pay for Russian oil.  That approach is not about punishing Russia, it is to make all of the economic pain and problems equal amid all western nations.  Globalists, and the central bankers, are good at creating economic systems to deliver equitable misery.

LONDON — U.K. inflation hit yet another new 40-year high in June as food and energy prices continued to soar, escalating the country’s historic cost-of-living crisis.

The consumer price index rose 9.4% annually, according to estimates out Wednesday, slightly above a consensus forecast among economists polled by Reuters and up from 9.1% in May.

This represented a 0.8% monthly incline in consumer prices, exceeding the the previous month’s 0.7% rise but remaining short of the 2.5% monthly increase in April.

The U.K.’s Office for National Statistics said in Wednesday’s report that its indicative modelled consumer price inflation estimates “suggest that the CPI rate would last have been higher around 1982, where estimates range from nearly 11% in January down to approximately 6.5% in December.”

The most significant contributors to the rising inflation rate came from motor fuels and food, the ONS said, with the former soaring 42.3% on the year, the highest rate since before the start of the constructed historical series in 1989. (read more)

The key point is to see how this is all being done in synergy. These geopolitical and economic outcomes may, at least initially, seem like disconnected patterns. However, when you stand back away from each assembly of pixels it is possible to see a much larger picture in focus.

This will lead to WW3 according to Russia, US orders all Americans out now | Redacted News


Redacted News  Published originally on Rumble on July 19, 2022 

The U.S. State Department just issued a warning to all Americans in Ukraine to get out now. Russia says any moves against Crimea will be disastrous for the West. Starbucks closes 16 stores because due to liberal-run city problems. Justin Trudeau just hit a new low. And DHS is caught by ACLU buying millions of dollars in cell phone tracking software to track Americans.

Friend-Shoring: How to Lose Trading Partners and Isolate Nations


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Trade Re-Posted Jul 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The supply chain crisis is an ongoing disaster that has greatly contributed to inflation. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been touting the idea of “friend-shoring” for over a year. Not to be confused with onshoring or nearshoring, friend-shoring will somewhat limit the supply chain to allied nations. Why on Earth would we want to limit the supply chain to any extent at this time?

Yellen stated that Russia and COVID, the main political scapegoats for anything that goes wrong, are to blame for redrawing “the contours of global supply chains and trade.” Let us be reminded that China is America’s top trading partner, albeit deemed “unfriendly.” Russia, the motherland of energy, also falls on this unfriendly list that is likely to align with what will later become the modern-day axis powers.

BRASILIA, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 13: (RUSSIA OUT) Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) greets Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) during their bilateral meeting on November 13, 2019 in Brasilia, Brazil. The leaders of Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa have gathered in Brasilia for the BRICS leaders summit. (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

“We do not want a retreat from the world, causing us to forgo the benefits it brings to the American people and the markets for businesses and exports,” Yellen said while speaking in South Korea. “In doing so we can help to insulate both American and Korean households from the price increases and disruptions caused by geopolitical and economic risks … in that sense, we can continue to strengthen the international system we’ve all benefited from, while also protecting ourselves from the fragilities in global trade networks.”

Her comments come within the same week that President Biden appealed to Saudi Arabia for help — a country that obviously aligns with US morals. In April, Yellen stated that friend-shoring could strengthen sanctions as the “friendly nations” would act as a united front in ostracizing one economy. Her comments about Russia quickly turned to anti-China sentiments. Yellen stated:

“China has recently affirmed a special relationship with Russia. I fervently hope that China will make something positive of this relationship and help to end this war. Going forward, it will be increasingly difficult to separate economic issues from broader considerations of national interest, including national security. The world’s attitude towards China and its willingness to embrace further economic integration may well be affected by China’s reaction to our call for resolute action on Russia.”

Similar to how those responsible for the failed euro believed it would prevent all European wars, the idea of friend-shoring relies on the belief that trade will become seamless among aligned nations. “Favoring the friend-shoring of supply chains to a large number of trusted countries, so we can continue to securely extend market access, will lower the risks to our economy as well as to our trusted trade partners,” Yellen stated in April before calling on those same nations to implement a global tax.

Yes, this will cause foreign investment to look outside of the US and this Western bloc of trade. What happens when the crucial supplies needed are outside of these territories? Everyone is currently begging “unfriendly nations” for oil and buying it at a premium from neutral nations who sell it to the West at a higher price. Bad business all around. The West is basically telling Russia and China that they are being cast aside from trade with the misconception of having the upper hand.

The Government is Tracking You


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 20, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Yes, the government is tracking your movements. You do not need to have a COVID pass installed on your phone nor do you need to be a criminal. The location data industry has become a $12 billion market that is actively growing.

It recently came to light that the Trump Administration began tracking mobile data on a grand scale. The Department of Homeland Security targeted information on at least 336,000 data points across the country. Biden continued tracking American’s locations and provided the Customs and Border Protection with a $20,000 contract last September.

One company, Venntel, said that it has access to 250 million phones and devices. There are currently no restrictions on this invasion of privacy, and the government may legally track you and your family. This information has been abused by various agencies, such as one that tracked the location of people who visited abortion clinics.  The US military even used the technology to identify Muslim populations.

“There are over 350 million mobile devices in the United States in use today, and that number is growing exponentially as more people purchase mobile devices every day. Therefore it is not uncommon to encounter individuals involved with illicit activity taking advantage of mobile technology to further their criminal goals,” a contract between CBP and Venntel said.

You can attempt to turn off your device’s location, but that is extremely difficult considering the number of apps we use on a daily basis. GPS? Tracked! Social media? Tracked! Various search engines? You bet!

I believe this violates the Fourth Amendment, which is intended to protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Coming Soon: Climate Change v Animal Activists


Armstrong Economics Blog/Agriculture Re-Posted Jul 19, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Two groups that usually overlap are about to come into direct confrontation due to the net-zero carbon culture. Both climate and animal rights activists have been known to make their voices heard through protests that are not always peaceful. Farmers are being unfairly targeted by climate change activists for having cattle that produce emissions, and governments are ramping up legislation to limit farming.

Farmers in Norway have been protesting for months as the government plans to eliminate around 30% of agriculture to reduce carbon emissions. Now, Northern Ireland is considering eliminating over one million cattle and sheep to meet emission targets by 2050. The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) estimates that 500,000 cattle and 700,000 sheep will need to die. In a separate analysis, five million chickens will need to be slaughtered before 2035.

While animal activists to the extreme would like to end farming and create a meatless world, they are not going to be happy when they realize those piloting the climate change agenda plan to kill these animals rather than allowing them to live out their days on taxpayer-funded farms.

Activism aside, we are in the midst of a food crisis. Those in first-world nations have seen the cost of food rise drastically throughout the past year. Perhaps some of your groceries of choice are no longer available or are often out of stock. However, people are starving to death in less developed parts of the world at a rapid rate and there is not enough food or funding to save everyone. In fact, the World Bank estimated that world hunger reached a high in 2021 when 193 million became food insecure, a number that rose by 40 million from 2020. Our model indicates that this cycle will continue to grow.

In the meantime, those championing saving the world with various causes will come into direct confrontation with one another. The left will increasingly divide into left v Socialists and dampen plans for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.