There are so many things happening in the political world it is next to impossible to figure out what is going to be the focal point for the Pi target since perhaps it could be a combination. The lastest hat being thrown into the ring is the European Commission is planning to enter their sanctions against Italy. As it stands currently, they have proposed disciplining Italy under EU fiscal rules on November 21st, 2018, unless the country’s government agrees to change its draft budget plan according to EU dictates. This could set in motion a drop in Italian debt which may force the ECB to buy more Italian debt or stand back and watch rates go crazy. This may also be the starting point of sending Italy into an exit position from the EU. In the weeks and months from now, we will be able to see that this was the turning point if this takes place.

Since the beginning of the year, the Turkish currency has lost more than a third of its value against the dollar. As the currency declines, imports rise in cost since they are denominated in foreign currency.  This adds to the inflation problem domestically. Among other things, the sharp criticism of Erdoğan in the markets has cast doubt on the independence of the central bank. In September, it raised its key interest rate from 17.75 to 24 percent in the fight against inflation without success. This too adds to inflation.

There are people starting to look at tax cuts in selected areas to compensate for the crisis in hyperinflation. It is an interesting proposal but Erdoğan is worried about a real coup this time.

COMMENT: Dear Martin,

I bought ‘The World Real Estate Report’ at the end of 2016. It stated that Australian real estate was going to fall after the first quarter (March) in 2016. The property prices in Melbourne (where I live) continued to rise in April 2016 so I sent an email to Socrates Support asking them when real estate should peak. I received the reply below, which stated that the peak was either in for global real estate or the latest by the end of the first quarter 2017.

Anyway, since I owned a tiny house in Melbourne, I was facing a difficult decision if I should sell or not since it would be impossible to buy back in if the prices continued to go up.

I have been reading your blog daily since 2012, and I have read all of your forecasts being correct (eg. the Dow continuing to go up, US Index going up, Brexit, Trump winning). I also bought your Gold report in 2014 and watched gold bottom (Dec 2015) correctly for the date and price on the first benchmark, truly an unbelievable forecast.

Based on your track record I decided to sell my property at the end of the first quarter (March 2017), for which I received a fantastic price.

I’m happy to inform you that prices have been falling since the 3rd quarter of 2017.

I just wanted to congratulate you on another correct forecast.

REPLY: We all need a place to live. Governments are attacking real estate thinking it is too high and they need to make it more affordable for others to buy. They fail to understand that when they do that, the wipe out the savings dor retirement for others. Raising taxes to support government pensions is morally wrong and economically a disaster. There really should be some qualification to be a politician who them plays with people’s lives

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; When you were here last giving lectures in Poland, you said that we should leave the EU, retain our currency, and focus of your ties to the United States and Asia. You said if we did that, Poland would be one of the most imp[ortant economies in Europe. Have you updated that forecast at all?

Thank you

It was a tremendous honor to shake your hand in Warsaw.

JF

ANSWER: Poland is and will remain at the center of economic growth within Europe and it will still experience increasing political influence. Poland’s population won’t decline as much as those of the other major European economies and that is critical moving forward economically. Poland is also the most prosperous European state on Russia’s western border. That will mean that it will expand its position as a regional leader with political and economic prestige.

The Zloty has strengthened against the dollar and the Euro. The critical time where Poland may see this break with the EU could come in 2020.

QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; I had always heard that Kennedy made a fortune on Scotch. My question is, where they booze runners during the Prohibition?

Thank you

GR

ANSWER: No. But they actually used Roosevelt to secure that lucrative import trade of Scotch – my favorite drink. Joe Kennedy traveled to London in 1934 on the steam-driven ocean liner, the SS Europa. While he brought his wife with him he also brought James Roosevelt (1907 – 1991), the American president’s oldest son. The trip was portrayed as a please vacation, but bringing the President’s son was the clear signal it was not a vacation.

Kennedy’s main prize would be to gain the British rights to send Scotch whiskey, gin, and other imported liquors. He knew based upon inside information that Prohibition would be ended. Joe brought the president’s 25-year-old son to help organize a private visit with Winston Churchill.  He used Roosevelt’s son to get that contract. The deal paid off and Joe got the private meeting with Churchill and visited him at Churchill’s Chartwell home.

So you see, political inside favors have been going on a very long time. James Roosevelt was closely linked with Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Many of James Roosevelt’s controversial business ventures were indeed aided by Kennedy. Jame’s dealings were often clouded. In fact, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau even threatened to resign unless FDR forced James to leave a questionable company which became known as the National Grain Yeast Corp. affair (1933–35), which was believed to be just a front for bootlegging. It was James Roosevelt who lobbied his father to make Kennedy the ambassador to the United Kingdom.

James was a shading type of character in the eyes of many. Later on, during July 1938, there were allegations that he had used his political position to steer lucrative business to his insurance firm. He was then forced to publish his income tax returns and denied these allegations in an NBC broadcast and an interview in Collier’s magazine. This became known as the Jimmy’s Got It affair after Alva Johnston’s reportage in the Saturday Evening Post. Roosevelt resigned from his White House position in November 1938. The press was often highlighting how rich Jimmy was becoming when his father was a Socialist