investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Retail Apocalypse Is Greatly Accelerating: Companies Are Suddenly Closing All Over America

All across the nation , retailers are going bankrupt and closing stores .
Evidently , this has been going on for many years , but as we are about to discuss , the bankruptcy numbers have never escalated as high as they did in 2020 in all US history .
This is the worst retail cataclysm ever .
To understand the extension of the damage – and if you haven ’ t taken a trip to a mall since the sanitary outbreak has hit American grounds – let ’ s picture a standard US shopping mall , with dozens or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and workers engaging , interacting and you can almost hear the sound of the economic activity flowing .
Well , now this scenario is fading into a landscape that re-emerges almost entirely empty , with most stores closed , and the ones that remain open are liquidating stock so that they can shut down their doors for good , the customer presence is almost non-existent , the staff that used to be there to greet and assist the public is reduced to one person , timidly wearing a mask and standing alone behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wonder why they call it “ retail apocalypse ” , the setting looks exactly like one .
The stores are hollowed-out , malls are abandoned and the coming holiday season isn ’ t likely to change much of this backdrop .
In fact , big retailers such as Walmart , Target , and Home Depot already disclaimed they will not be open during Thanksgiving day , Black Friday , or even Christmas , and many other stores are bound to follow the same move .
This month we recorded the highest retail bankruptcy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the struggle isn ’ t over just yet , because the implications of more business closures will strike Main Street once again .
The columnist Donald Lambro has recently observed how damaging the effects of the virus outbreak were to this industry , leading retailers into a never-ending collision course .
He pointed out that the new restrictions may have had a chilling effect on shoppers , who would naturally prefer to stay home and order goods online rather than risking exposure to the virus by venturing to department stores and shopping malls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether keep struggling to survive or have been already fatally pushed out of the market in face of the current crisis are Macy ’ s , Bed , Bath and Beyond , Kmart , Dunkin ’ Donuts , Nordstrom , Lord and Taylor , Men ’ s Wearhouse , Joseph A .
Banks , J .
Crew , Neiman Marcus , Brooks Brothers and J.C. Penney .
Even though we do agree that the health crisis had a major influence on the collapse of this industry , it only boosted a trend that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bankruptcy surge didn ’ t just surface in February , along with the outbreak , but it certainly has amplified retailers ’ problems .
Since 2018 , many of these businesses were signaling considerable failures in their activities .
Back then , roughly 5,000 stores were closed , provoking shocked gasps in the markets .
In 2019 , the number escalated to almost 15,000 and the retail lay-offs experienced an increase of 92 % .
But nothing compares to what is happening in 2020 .
A few weeks ago , we reported a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of August , 163,735 U.S. businesses on Yelp have closed since the beginning of the sanitary crisis , marking a 23 % increase from July 10 .
The study outlined that in the wake of the virus-related cases surge and continuous changes in local restrictions still happening in many states it was possible to see both permanent and temporary closures rising across the nation , with 60 % of those closed businesses not reopening , configuring in 97,966 stores that will now be permanently closed .
Likewise , a recent poll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our nation is going in the wrong direction .
Without jobs , income , and federal assistance , American households are facing lots of anguish and financial pain .
If the present situation is being considered as an economic recovery , that ’ s a sign that much worse is coming next .
If the US economy was really in a good shape , there wouldn ’ t be millions of vacant square feet on shopping malls that used to be filled with retail stores .
The real state crisis is transforming some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have to say , the word apocalypse won ’ t cover what the future holds .

All across the nation, retailers are going bankrupt and closing stores. Evidently, this has been going on for many years, but as we are about to discuss, the bankruptcy numbers have never escalated as high as they did in 2020 in all US history. This is the worst retail cataclysm ever. To understand the extension of the damage – and if you haven’t taken a trip to a mall since the sanitary outbreak has hit American grounds – let’s picture a standard US shopping mall, with dozens or even hundreds of stores, consumers, and workers engaging, interacting and you can almost hear the sound of the economic activity flowing. Well, now this scenario is fading into a landscape that re-emerges almost entirely empty, with most stores closed, and the ones that remain open are liquidating stock so that they can shut down their doors for good, the customer presence is almost non-existent, the staff that used to be there to greet and assist the public is reduced to one person, timidly wearing a mask and standing alone behind the counter. That’s no wonder why they call it “retail apocalypse”, the setting looks exactly like one.
The stores are hollowed-out, malls are abandoned and the coming holiday season isn’t likely to change much of this backdrop. In fact, big retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Home Depot already disclaimed they will not be open during Thanksgiving day, Black Friday, or even Christmas, and many other stores are bound to follow the same move. This month we recorded the highest retail bankruptcy rate of the past decade, and the struggle isn’t over just yet, because the implications of more business closures will strike Main Street once again.
The columnist Donald Lambro has recently observed how damaging the effects of the virus outbreak were to this industry, leading retailers into a never-ending collision course. He pointed out that the new restrictions may have had a chilling effect on shoppers, who would naturally prefer to stay home and order goods online rather than risking exposure to the virus by venturing to department stores and shopping malls. Amongst the most reputed names that whether keep struggling to survive or have been already fatally pushed out of the market in face of the current crisis are Macy’s, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Kmart, Dunkin’ Donuts, Nordstrom, Lord and Taylor, Men’s Wearhouse, Joseph A. Banks, J. Crew, Neiman Marcus, Brooks Brothers and J.C. Penney.
Even though we do agree that the health crisis had a major influence on the collapse of this industry, it only boosted a trend that has been already happening. The massive bankruptcy surge didn’t just surface in February, along with the outbreak, but it certainly has amplified retailers’ problems. Since 2018, many of these businesses were signaling considerable failures in their activities. Back then, roughly 5,000 stores were closed, provoking shocked gasps in the markets. In 2019, the number escalated to almost 15,000 and the retail lay-offs experienced an increase of 92%. But nothing compares to what is happening in 2020.
A few weeks ago, we reported a Yelp study which has shown that by the end of August, 163,735 U.S. businesses on Yelp have closed since the beginning of the sanitary crisis, marking a 23% increase from July 10. The study outlined that in the wake of the virus-related cases surge and continuous changes in local restrictions still happening in many states it was possible to see both permanent and temporary closures rising across the nation, with 60% of those closed businesses not reopening, configuring in 97,966 stores that will now be permanently closed.
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Likewise, a recent poll unveiled that 70 percent of Americans believe our nation is going in the wrong direction. Without jobs, income, and federal assistance, American households are facing lots of anguish and financial pain. If the present situation is being considered as an economic recovery, that’s a sign that much worse is coming next. If the US economy was really in a good shape, there wouldn’t be millions of vacant square feet on shopping malls that used to be filled with retail stores. The real state crisis is transforming some areas into ghost towns. And we have to say, the word apocalypse won’t cover what the future holds.


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Trump moves pharmaceuticals from China to Puerto Rico

President Trump announced plans to bolster pharmaceutical manufacturing in Puerto Rico from China , touting the help he has given @ @ @ @ @ Democratic nominee Joe Biden for its economic woes .
“ I ’ m the best @ @ @ @ @ happened to Puerto Rico , ” Trump said during a news conference at the White @ @ @ @ @ $ 13 billion in federal aid to Puerto Rico .
“ We ’ ve done @ @ @ @ @ any administration by far.
” The announcement Friday directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency aid @ @ @ @ @ s electrical grid and rebuild schools , among other initiatives .
Trump called former President @ @ @ @ @ a disaster ” for the territory .
While a senator , “ Biden devastated the @ @ @ @ @ ” Trump said , by voting to eliminate a tax provision “ that allowed Puerto @ @ @ @ @ player in pharmaceutical manufacturing .
”

President Trump announced plans to bolster pharmaceutical manufacturing in Puerto Rico from China, touting the help he has given the island and pointing to Democratic nominee Joe Biden for its economic woes.
“I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to Puerto Rico,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House on Friday, announcing $13 billion in federal aid to Puerto Rico. “We’ve done more for Puerto Rico than any administration by far.”
The announcement Friday directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency aid to restore Puerto Rico’s electrical grid and rebuild schools, among other initiatives.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
Trump called former President Barack Obama and Biden “a disaster” for the territory.
While a senator, “Biden devastated the island of Puerto Rico,” Trump said, by voting to eliminate a tax provision “that allowed Puerto Rico to become a dominant player in pharmaceutical manufacturing.”
www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-unveils-13b-for-puerto-rico-and-pushes-return-of-islands-drug-manufacturing/ar-BB19bSHi


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--US Is Preparing Military Response To Wave Of Iranian-Backed Attacks On Its Forces In Iraq

US Is Preparing Military Response To Wave Of Iranian-Backed Attacks On Its Forces In Iraq | Zero Hedge t.co/A94cvGx8Ym — EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) September 26, 2020
Navy Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command would not comment on the images posted by Iranian media and tweeted by the INTELSky military aircraft tracking site Wednesday morning.t.co/WG2YZgfhwP t.co/IUAK7Iwwyn — INTELSky (@Intel_Sky) September 26, 2020
Iran slams US and Israel in high-level meetings with Iraq t.co/h4M7TjoqUO — EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) September 26, 2020
Update: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: US will “liquidate” those responsible for attacking US interests in Iraq. (referring to militia groups like Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, both backed by Iran.)t.co/blyQ6clYVU — EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) September 26, 2020
Iranian president accuses US of ‘savagery’ after new sanctions t.co/oaz3hQ9xkh via @AJEnglish — EndGameWW3 (@EndGameWW3) September 26, 2020
h/t Tekton
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investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--World Bank Document Exposes Covid-19 Program end date of March 31st…. 2025

World Bank Document Exposes Covid-19 Program end date of March 31st… .
2025 !
There is that 2025 Again !
@ @ @

World Bank Document Exposes Covid-19 Program end date of March 31st…. 2025! There is that 2025 Again!! 👀t.co/bCO0TcXE55 pic.twitter.com/L70A6LNYKz
— Dahboo7 (@dahboo7) September 26, 2020


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Chris Martenson – Get Ready for Inflation Good and Hard in 2021. Evil Covid Lies & People Died

Dr. Chris Martenson is a futurist , economic researcher and says severe economic damage has been done to the economy .
Wall Street wins while Main Street loses .
Martenson contends , “ The economy is very bad at this point in time , and it ’ s being covered up by a very , very complicit Federal Reserve that is just propping markets up .
.
.
.
Dr. Martenson also says that because of all the money printing that has already happened with much more to come , there will be some big inflation bubbling up .
Martenson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to June of 2021 , and we are going to find ourselves in a situation where the shale oil miracle has collapsed .
.
.
to five or six million barrels a day .
We are going to be demanding , and our economy is going to be on fire at that point because of all this free money that is just sort of floating around .
Then we are going to see inflation good and hard .
.
.
.We are going to have actual oil based inflation come through at that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prediction I am working with right now .
People need to be ready for that , and that is what our seminars are all about.
” Martenson likes physical assets such as gold , silver and farm land .
Martenson shows people how to be more resilient for what is coming .

Dr. Chris Martenson is a futurist, economic researcher and says severe economic damage has been done to the economy. Wall Street wins while Main Street loses. Martenson contends, “The economy is very bad at this point in time, and it’s being covered up by a very, very complicit Federal Reserve that is just propping markets up. . . . Dr. Martenson also says that because of all the money printing that has already happened with much more to come, there will be some big inflation bubbling up. Martenson predicts, “Follow with me out to June of 2021, and we are going to find ourselves in a situation where the shale oil miracle has collapsed . . . to five or six million barrels a day. We are going to be demanding, and our economy is going to be on fire at that point because of all this free money that is just sort of floating around. Then we are going to see inflation good and hard. . . .We are going to have actual oil based inflation come through at that point in time. That is the prediction I am working with right now. People need to be ready for that, and that is what our seminars are all about.”
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
Martenson likes physical assets such as gold, silver and farm land. Martenson shows people how to be more resilient for what is coming.


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Should Investors Focus on Risk Rather Than Profit?

According to the modern portfolio theory ( MPT ) , financial asset prices always fully reflect all available and relevant information , and any adjustment to new information is virtually instantaneous .
In this way of thinking , asset prices respond only to the unexpected part of any information , since the expected part is already embedded in prices .
For instance , if the central bank raises interest rates by 0.5 percent , and if market participants anticipated this action , asset prices will reflect this expected increase prior to the central bank raising interest rates .
Note that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rate by 0.5 percent this increase will have no effect on asset prices , since it is already embedded in asset prices .
Should , however , the central bank raise interest rates by 1 percent , rather than the 0.5 percent expected by market participants , then the prices of financial assets will react to this additional increase .
According to the MPT , the individual investor can not outsmart the market by trading based on the available information since the available information is already contained in asset prices .
This means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ information from historical data , such as fundamental analysis or technical analysis , are of little help .
For whatever an analyst uncovers in the data is already known to the market and hence will not assist in “ making money.
” By this logic , stock market prices move in response to new , unexpected information .
Since by definition the unexpected can not be known , this implies that an individual ’ s chances of anticipating the general direction of the market are as good as anyone else ’ s chances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ future direction of the stock market can not be known , then the only way of earning above average returns is to assume greater risk .
A security whose returns are not expected to deviate significantly from its historical average is termed as a low risk .
A security whose returns are volatile from year to year is regarded as risky .
The MPT assumes that investors are risk averse and they want high guaranteed returns .
To comply with this assumption the MPT instructs investors on how to combine stocks in their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk consistent with the return they seek .
MPT shows that if an investor wants to reduce investment risk , he should practice diversification .
According to the MPT , a portfolio of volatile stocks can be combined together and this in turn will lead to a reduction of the overall risk of the portfolio .
The guiding principle for combining stocks is that each stock represents activities that are affected by given factors differently .
Once combined , these differences will cancel each other out , thereby reducing the total risk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ following simple example : Let us assume that , on average , half of the time the weather is cold and half of the time it is warm .
According to the table , investment in activity A will yield a 20 percent return in cold weather and in warm weather will produce a loss of 10 percent .
On average , the return by investing in activity A will be 5 percent .
The same outcome will be obtained with investment in activity B .
The MPT then suggests that if an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activity A and one dollar in activity B then he will be guaranteed a 5 percent return regardless of weather conditions .
In warm weather , one dollar invested in activity B will produce a 20 percent return , whilst one dollar invested in activity A will produce a 10 percent loss .
Investors ’ total return on two dollars invested in A and B will be 5 percent .
Exactly the same result will be obtained for cold weather conditions .
This example illustrates that through the magic of diversification , regardless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ risk-free 5 percent return on investment .
This example shows that as long as activities are affected differently by given factors there is a place for diversification , which will eliminate risk .
According to the MPT risk can be broken into two parts .
The first part is associated with the tendency of returns on a stock to move in the same direction as the general market .
The other part of the risk results from factors peculiar to a particular company .
The first part of the risk is labeled systematic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Following the MPT through the diversification , only unsystematic risk is eliminated .
Systematic risk can not be removed through the diversification .
Consequently , it is held that return on any stock or portfolio will be always related to the systematic risk , i.e.
, the higher the systematic risk , the higher the return .
The systematic risk of stocks captures the reaction of individual stocks to general market movements .
Some stocks tend to be more sensitive to market movements while other stocks display less sensitivity .
The relative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means of statistical methods and is known as beta .
( Beta is the numerical description of systematic risk ) .
If a stock has a beta of 2 it means that on average it swings twice as much as the market .
If the market goes up by 10 percent , the stock tends to rise by 20 percent .
If , however , the stock has a beta of 0.5 , then it tends to be more stable than the market .
The major problem with the MPT framework is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same expectations about future securities ’ returns .
Yet if participants are alike in the sense of having homogeneous expectations , then why should there be trade ?
After all , trade implies the existence of heterogeneous expectations .
This is what bulls and bears are all about .
A buyer expects a rise in the asset price while the seller expects a fall in the price .
The MPT framework also implies that market participants have the same knowledge .
Forecasts of asset prices by market participants are clustered around the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ true value randomly distributed .
It also means that since , on average , everybody knows the true underlying value , then no one will need to learn from past errors , since these errors are random and therefore any learning will be futile .
In the words of Hans-Hermann Hoppe , Is Past and Present Information Already in Prices ?
Is it valid to argue that past and present information is embedded in prices and therefore of no consequence in the forecast of asset prices ?
For instance , a market-anticipated lowering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , while being regarded as old news and therefore not supposed to have real effects , will in fact set in motion the process of the boom-bust cycle .
We hold that neither the timing of the economic bust nor the length of an economic boom can be discounted as such by market participants .
For instance , what typifies an economic bust is that before it starts most investors tend to be very optimistic about the business environment—the bust catches them by surprise .
Also , various factors , once set in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ real income .
As time goes by however , the effect of these causes spreads across a wider segment of individuals .
These changes in the real incomes of individuals generate changes in the relative prices of assets .
To suggest , then , that somehow the market will quickly incorporate all the future changes of various present causes without telling us how it is done is questionable .
Now , the guiding principle of the MPT for combining stocks is that each stock represents activities that are affected by given factors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will cancel each other out , thereby reducing risk .
However , it does not necessarily always work this way .
During a large financial crisis , various asset prices that normally have an inverse correlation become positively correlated and fall together .
Furthermore , in an attempt to minimize risk , practitioners of the MPT tend to institute a high degree of diversification .
Having a large number of stocks in a portfolio might leave little time to analyze the stocks and understand their fundamentals .
This could raise the likelihood of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Should Investors Focus on Risk Rather Than Profit Opportunities ?
Given that securing profit in the MPT framework is dominated by random factors , the emphasis in the investment decision of this framework is on diversification in order to minimize risk .
But an investor who is preoccupied with risk rather than identifying profit opportunities is likely to undermine himself .
On this Mises wrote , John Maynard Keynes held similar view .
On August 15 , 1934 , Keynes wrote to Francis Scott , the Provincial Insurance chairman , The MPT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ difference between investing in the stock market and investing in a business .
However , the stock market does not have a life of its own .
The success or failure of investment in stocks depends ultimately on the same factors that determine success or failure of any business .
The proponents of the modern portfolio theory hold that diversification is the heart of investment .
The key should be evaluation of the profitability of various investments and not diversification as such .
• 1.Hans-Hermann Hoppe , “ On Certainty and Uncertainty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Be ?
, ” Review of Austrian Economics 10 , no .
1 ( 1997 ) : 49–78 .
• 3.Chambers , David , Elroy Dimson , and Justin Foo .
“ Keynes the stock market investor : a quantitative analysis.
” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis ( 2015 ) : 843–68 .
Frank Shostak ‘ s consulting firm , Applied Austrian School Economics , provides in-depth assessments of financial markets and global economies .
Contact : email .

by Frank Shostak via Mises
According to the modern portfolio theory (MPT), financial asset prices always fully reflect all available and relevant information, and any adjustment to new information is virtually instantaneous. In this way of thinking, asset prices respond only to the unexpected part of any information, since the expected part is already embedded in prices.
For instance, if the central bank raises interest rates by 0.5 percent, and if market participants anticipated this action, asset prices will reflect this expected increase prior to the central bank raising interest rates. Note that once the central bank lifts the interest rate by 0.5 percent this increase will have no effect on asset prices, since it is already embedded in asset prices.
Should, however, the central bank raise interest rates by 1 percent, rather than the 0.5 percent expected by market participants, then the prices of financial assets will react to this additional increase.
According to the MPT, the individual investor cannot outsmart the market by trading based on the available information since the available information is already contained in asset prices.
This means that methods, which attempt to extract information from historical data, such as fundamental analysis or technical analysis, are of little help. For whatever an analyst uncovers in the data is already known to the market and hence will not assist in “making money.”
By this logic, stock market prices move in response to new, unexpected information. Since by definition the unexpected cannot be known, this implies that an individual’s chances of anticipating the general direction of the market are as good as anyone else’s chances.
Following the MPT, since the future direction of the stock market cannot be known, then the only way of earning above average returns is to assume greater risk. A security whose returns are not expected to deviate significantly from its historical average is termed as a low risk. A security whose returns are volatile from year to year is regarded as risky.
The MPT assumes that investors are risk averse and they want high guaranteed returns. To comply with this assumption the MPT instructs investors on how to combine stocks in their portfolios to give them the least possible risk consistent with the return they seek. MPT shows that if an investor wants to reduce investment risk, he should practice diversification.
According to the MPT, a portfolio of volatile stocks can be combined together and this in turn will lead to a reduction of the overall risk of the portfolio. The guiding principle for combining stocks is that each stock represents activities that are affected by given factors differently. Once combined, these differences will cancel each other out, thereby reducing the total risk, so it is held.
Consider the following simple example:
Let us assume that, on average, half of the time the weather is cold and half of the time it is warm. According to the table, investment in activity A will yield a 20 percent return in cold weather and in warm weather will produce a loss of 10 percent. On average, the return by investing in activity A will be 5 percent. The same outcome will be obtained with investment in activity B.
The MPT then suggests that if an investor diversifies and invests one dollar in activity A and one dollar in activity B then he will be guaranteed a 5 percent return regardless of weather conditions. In warm weather, one dollar invested in activity B will produce a 20 percent return, whilst one dollar invested in activity A will produce a 10 percent loss. Investors’ total return on two dollars invested in A and B will be 5 percent.
Exactly the same result will be obtained for cold weather conditions. This example illustrates that through the magic of diversification, regardless of weather conditions one can obtain a risk-free 5 percent return on investment.
This example shows that as long as activities are affected differently by given factors there is a place for diversification, which will eliminate risk.
Systematic versus Unsystematic Risk
According to the MPT risk can be broken into two parts. The first part is associated with the tendency of returns on a stock to move in the same direction as the general market. The other part of the risk results from factors peculiar to a particular company. The first part of the risk is labeled systematic risk, the second part, unsystematic.
Following the MPT through the diversification, only unsystematic risk is eliminated. Systematic risk cannot be removed through the diversification. Consequently, it is held that return on any stock or portfolio will be always related to the systematic risk, i.e., the higher the systematic risk, the higher the return.
The systematic risk of stocks captures the reaction of individual stocks to general market movements. Some stocks tend to be more sensitive to market movements while other stocks display less sensitivity.
The relative sensitivity to market movements is estimated by means of statistical methods and is known as beta. (Beta is the numerical description of systematic risk). If a stock has a beta of 2 it means that on average it swings twice as much as the market. If the market goes up by 10 percent, the stock tends to rise by 20 percent. If, however, the stock has a beta of 0.5, then it tends to be more stable than the market.
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Does the MPT Framework Make Sense?
The major problem with the MPT framework is that it assumes that all market participants have the same expectations about future securities’ returns. Yet if participants are alike in the sense of having homogeneous expectations, then why should there be trade?
After all, trade implies the existence of heterogeneous expectations. This is what bulls and bears are all about. A buyer expects a rise in the asset price while the seller expects a fall in the price.
The MPT framework also implies that market participants have the same knowledge. Forecasts of asset prices by market participants are clustered around the true value, with deviations from the true value randomly distributed.
It also means that since, on average, everybody knows the true underlying value, then no one will need to learn from past errors, since these errors are random and therefore any learning will be futile. In the words of Hans-Hermann Hoppe,
If everyone’s knowledge were identical to everyone else’s, no one would have to communicate at all. That men do communicate demonstrates that they must assume that their knowledge is not identical.1
Is Past and Present Information Already in Prices?
Is it valid to argue that past and present information is embedded in prices and therefore of no consequence in the forecast of asset prices?
For instance, a market-anticipated lowering of interest rates by the central bank, while being regarded as old news and therefore not supposed to have real effects, will in fact set in motion the process of the boom-bust cycle.
We hold that neither the timing of the economic bust nor the length of an economic boom can be discounted as such by market participants. For instance, what typifies an economic bust is that before it starts most investors tend to be very optimistic about the business environment—the bust catches them by surprise.
Also, various factors, once set in motion, initially only affect some individuals’ real income. As time goes by however, the effect of these causes spreads across a wider segment of individuals. These changes in the real incomes of individuals generate changes in the relative prices of assets. To suggest, then, that somehow the market will quickly incorporate all the future changes of various present causes without telling us how it is done is questionable.
Now, the guiding principle of the MPT for combining stocks is that each stock represents activities that are affected by given factors differently. Once combined, these differences will cancel each other out, thereby reducing risk.
However, it does not necessarily always work this way. During a large financial crisis, various asset prices that normally have an inverse correlation become positively correlated and fall together.
Furthermore, in an attempt to minimize risk, practitioners of the MPT tend to institute a high degree of diversification. Having a large number of stocks in a portfolio might leave little time to analyze the stocks and understand their fundamentals. This could raise the likelihood of putting too much money in bad investments.
Should Investors Focus on Risk Rather Than Profit Opportunities?
Given that securing profit in the MPT framework is dominated by random factors, the emphasis in the investment decision of this framework is on diversification in order to minimize risk.
But an investor who is preoccupied with risk rather than identifying profit opportunities is likely to undermine himself. On this Mises wrote,
There is no such thing as a safe investment. If capitalists were to behave in the way the risk fable describes and were to strive after what they consider to be the safest investment, their conduct would render this line of investment unsafe and they would certainly lose their input….The owner of capital does not choose between more risky, less risky and safe investments. He is forced, by the very operation of the market economy, to invest his funds in such a way as to supply the most urgent needs of the consumers to the best possible extent. A capitalist never chooses that investment in which, according to his understanding of the future, the danger of losing his input is smallest. He chooses that investment in which he expects to make the highest possible profits.2
John Maynard Keynes held similar view. On August 15, 1934, Keynes wrote to Francis Scott, the Provincial Insurance chairman,
As time goes on, I get more and more convinced that the right method in investment is to put fairly large sums into enterprises which one thinks one knows something about and in the management of which one thoroughly believes. It is a mistake to think that one limits one’s risk by spreading too much between enterprises about which one knows little.3
Summary and Conclusion
The MPT gives the impression that there is a difference between investing in the stock market and investing in a business. However, the stock market does not have a life of its own. The success or failure of investment in stocks depends ultimately on the same factors that determine success or failure of any business.
The proponents of the modern portfolio theory hold that diversification is the heart of investment. The key should be evaluation of the profitability of various investments and not diversification as such.
1.Hans-Hermann Hoppe, “On Certainty and Uncertainty, or: How Rational Can Our Expectations Be?,” Review of Austrian Economics 10, no. 1 (1997): 49–78.
2.Ludwig von Mises, Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, scholar’s ed.(Auburn, AL: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998), pp. 809–10.
3.Chambers, David, Elroy Dimson, and Justin Foo. “Keynes the stock market investor: a quantitative analysis.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (2015): 843–68.
Author:
Contact Frank Shostak
Frank Shostak‘s consulting firm, Applied Austrian School Economics, provides in-depth assessments of financial markets and global economies. Contact: email.


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Can Tesla Really Produce A $25,000 Self-Driving Electric Car?

During Tuesday ’ s much-hyped battery day , Tesla CEO Elon Musk laid out plans to put everyone behind the wheel ( or is that sleeping in the back ) of a $ 25,000 car that drives itself .
Much of the three-hour-plus presentation was low on detail , high on promotion , and stratospheric on ambition , ( it is ever thus ) but Tesla ’ s plans to start mining seemed particularly simplistic .
With great fanfare and 40 years after Chevron ’ s Thacker Pass , Tesla announced to the world – and to a parking lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reserves in Nevada clay .
Tesla said they secured the rights to 10,000 acres in the Silver State but if their factory was in Hawaii they probably would ’ ve mined there , because as Musk told the cars assembled in front of the stage “ it ’ s pretty much everywhere ” : “ There is basically so much damn lithium on earth it ’ s crazy .
It ’ s one of the most common elements on the planet.
” Yes .
It is crazy .
Lithium .
Now widely available @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough lithium in the United States to convert the entire vehicle fleet in the US to electric .
Musk was later corrected by his SVP on stage that actually the lithium in Nevada alone is sufficient to electrify the 300 million US car parc .
Moreover , that ’ s lithium already been “ discovered today ” to which Musk appended : “ People haven ’ t even been trying .
It ’ s just like widely available.
” Related : The World ’ s Most Expensive Crudes Get Expensive Again There are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 70kWh battery .
So that ’ s 18.9 million tonnes if everyone wants to trade in their clunker for a Model Y .
Global lithium carbonate equivalent production last year was 365,000 tonnes , an increase of 32 % from the year before .
Just 32 % ?
Clearly , the lithium mining industry simply hasn ’ t even been trying .
Salting away Musk solves difficult problems from a “ first principle standpoint ” which he frequently referred to on stage .
Invented by Aristotle and evidently perfected by Musk , this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have always been done .
Think like you ’ re the first one looking for answers to solve a particular problem .
The question , according to Musk : “ What is the smartest way to take the ore and extract the lithium and do so in an environmentally-friendly way ?
” The solution , according to Musk : “ What we ’ ve found is we can actually use table salt to extract the lithium from the ore. Nobody ’ s done this before .
All the elements are reusable .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obtaining lithium.
” Add table salt .
Add water .
A recipe for lithium mining .
With extraction solved , how about tailings ?
Again , first principle thinking will provide the answer : “ The nature of the mining is also very environmentally sensitive in that we sorta take a chunk of dirt out of the ground , remove the lithium , and put the chunk of dirt back where it was .
“ It will look pretty much the same as before .
It will not look , like , terrible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cobalt hardly got a mention in the session , except in the bit about how a cathode is like a bookshelf with cobalt being the “ stable ” part of said bookshelf .
If they really wanted to put it into layman ’ s terms they could just have said cobalt stops our cars from bursting into flames .
“ Leveraging novel coatings and dopants , ” Tesla says it has now successfully eliminated cobalt altogether , which is not the first time Musk has leveraged dopants either .
Did Tesla join the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Yes .
Why ?
No reason .
Did Tesla sign a long term supply agreement with Glencore for cobalt from the Congo in June .
Yes .
Why ?
No reason .
Out comes the battery With lithium mining sorted , cobalt gone and graphite replaced by “ awesome and inexpensive ” sand ( it ’ s not called Silicon Valley for nothing ) , Musk moved onto nickel .
Tesla will need the devil ’ s copper in spades ( in spades , not in HPAL ) as it motors towards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 million cars a year .
Think 20m is too ambitious ?
You must not be using first principle thinking because all you really need to do is eliminate “ legacy things ” like metal sulfates from the process .
Eliminating this “ insane ” step – which “ just happened to be what chemists wanted a long time ago ” – you end up with this : “ It would just be , basically , raw materials coming from the mine and from raw materials from the mine out comes the battery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Tesla won ’ t be able to scale and “ we have to make sure we are not constrained by nickel availability ” : “ I actually spoke to the CEOs of the biggest mining companies in the world and told them please make more nickel .
It is very important .
I think they are going to make more nickel.
” You ’ re right , Elon , miners are making more nickel as I write this .

By MINING.com
During Tuesday’s much-hyped battery day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk laid out plans to put everyone behind the wheel (or is that sleeping in the back) of a $25,000 car that drives itself.
Much of the three-hour-plus presentation was low on detail, high on promotion, and stratospheric on ambition, (it is ever thus) but Tesla’s plans to start mining seemed particularly simplistic.
With great fanfare and 40 years after Chevron’s Thacker Pass, Tesla announced to the world – and to a parking lot – that there were significant untapped lithium reserves in Nevada clay.
Tesla said they secured the rights to 10,000 acres in the Silver State but if their factory was in Hawaii they probably would’ve mined there, because as Musk told the cars assembled in front of the stage “it’s pretty much everywhere”:
“There is basically so much damn lithium on earth it’s crazy. It’s one of the most common elements on the planet.”
Yes. It is crazy.
Lithium. Now widely available
Musk went on to explain there is enough lithium in the United States to convert the entire vehicle fleet in the US to electric.
Musk was later corrected by his SVP on stage that actually the lithium in Nevada alone is sufficient to electrify the 300 million US car parc.
Moreover, that’s lithium already been “discovered today” to which Musk appended:
“People haven’t even been trying. It’s just like widely available.”Related: The World’s Most Expensive Crudes Get Expensive Again
There are 63kgs of lithium carbonate in a Tesla 70kWh battery. So that’s 18.9 million tonnes if everyone wants to trade in their clunker for a Model Y.
Global lithium carbonate equivalent production last year was 365,000 tonnes, an increase of 32% from the year before.
Just 32%? Clearly, the lithium mining industry simply hasn’t even been trying.
Salting away
Musk solves difficult problems from a “first principle standpoint” which he frequently referred to on stage.
Invented by Aristotle and evidently perfected by Musk, this approach basically says forget about how things have always been done. Think like you’re the first one looking for answers to solve a particular problem.
The question, according to Musk:
“What is the smartest way to take the ore and extract the lithium and do so in an environmentally-friendly way?”
The solution, according to Musk:
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
“What we’ve found is we can actually use table salt to extract the lithium from the ore. Nobody’s done this before. All the elements are reusable. It’s a very sustainable way of obtaining lithium.”
Add table salt. Add water. A recipe for lithium mining. With extraction solved, how about tailings?
Again, first principle thinking will provide the answer:
“The nature of the mining is also very environmentally sensitive in that we sorta take a chunk of dirt out of the ground, remove the lithium, and put the chunk of dirt back where it was.
“It will look pretty much the same as before. It will not look, like, terrible. It will be nice.“
Bookshelf
Cobalt hardly got a mention in the session, except in the bit about how a cathode is like a bookshelf with cobalt being the “stable” part of said bookshelf.
If they really wanted to put it into layman’s terms they could just have said cobalt stops our cars from bursting into flames.
“Leveraging novel coatings and dopants,” Tesla says it has now successfully eliminated cobalt altogether, which is not the first time Musk has leveraged dopants either.
Did Tesla join the Congo artisanal cobalt support group this month? Yes. Why? No reason.
Did Tesla sign a long term supply agreement with Glencore for cobalt from the Congo in June. Yes. Why? No reason.
Out comes the battery
With lithium mining sorted, cobalt gone and graphite replaced by “awesome and inexpensive” sand (it’s not called Silicon Valley for nothing), Musk moved onto nickel.
Tesla will need the devil’s copper in spades (in spades, not in HPAL) as it motors towards nickel rich batteries and annual production of 20 million cars a year.
Think 20m is too ambitious? You must not be using first principle thinking because all you really need to do is eliminate “legacy things” like metal sulfates from the process.
Eliminating this “insane” step – which “just happened to be what chemists wanted a long time ago” – you end up with this:
“It would just be, basically, raw materials coming from the mine and from raw materials from the mine out comes the battery. ”
Even so, Musk worries that Tesla won’t be able to scale and “we have to make sure we are not constrained by nickel availability”:
“I actually spoke to the CEOs of the biggest mining companies in the world and told them please make more nickel. It is very important. I think they are going to make more nickel.”
You’re right, Elon, miners are making more nickel as I write this.
By Mining.com


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--David Stockman on the Economy’s Role in The Upcoming Presidential Election

International Man : Bill Clinton ’ s infamous phrase during the 1992 presidential election was “ It ’ s the economy , stupid.
” How important of a role do you think the economy and a continued rally in the stock market will play in the outcome of the presidential election ?
David Stockman : Well , in the befuddled mind of Donald Trump , probably a considerable role as manifest in his campaign oratory .
And since there are less than 50 days left , he might get away with his groundless boasting .
That is , we seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before November 3 , meaning that he will keep peddling the “ but for COVID ” canard , claiming that , before that , he single-handedly created the Greatest Economy Ever .
Actually , it ’ s the greatest BS story ever told .
It rests on the utterly misleading circumstance that the Donald entered office in month # 90 of what became the longest business cycle expansion in history ( at 128 months in February ) .
Consequently , his “ record ” was artificially flattered by the low U-3 unemployment rates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the last 38 months of the cycle as the inventory of unused labor is finally exhausted .
Of course , that ’ s also exactly what occurred during the final months of the 118-month expansion of the 1990s and the 106-month expansion of the 1960s , when Democrats happened to be incumbent in the Oval Office .
But when measured by something relevant , such as the average real GDP growth rate during his tenure , it turns out that the Donald ’ s cherished “ score ” is the very worst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That ’ s right .
Even after setting aside the economic plunge in Q2 , real GDP growth averaged 1.8 % per annum during the Donald ’ s first 38 months in office compared to annualized gains of 1.9 % , 2.2 % , 2.5 % , 2.7 % , 3.2 % , 3.6 % , 3.8 % , 5.2 % , and 5.5 % , respectively , during the terms of Obama , Bush the Younger , Bush the Elder , Eisenhower , Nixon-Ford , Carter , Reagan , Clinton , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dead last , of course , is not entirely the Donald ’ s doing , try as he did .
The fact is , the US economy was sinking under the dead weight of $ 77 trillion of public and private debt and the decades of public waste and private malinvestment this debt explosion enabled .
Now , Donald ’ s wrong-headed sponsorship of Lockdown Nation via the recommendations of his malpracticing doctors and the public hysteria they fostered has delivered the coup d ’ grace .
So , yes , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say , whoever wins on November 3rd is going to inherit an economy so battered , bruised , and freighted with speculative excess and debilitating debt that they are sure to go down in history as the President who made Herbert Hoover look like a winner .
International Man : The United States appears to be more divided than it has in anyone ’ s lifetime .
Yet , politicians and talking heads on both sides of the aisle seem to wholeheartedly agree on the same destructive fiscal policy that includes money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
What do you make of all this ?
What are the consequences for the dollar and for gold ?
David Stockman : There is only one thing to do—get out of the casino and sell any security that moves or stands still .
That ’ s because the bipartisan duopoly has lost all contracts with the principles of sound money , fiscal rectitude , and minimalist government intervention on which sustainable capitalist prosperity depends .
For instance , the GOP Senate is so oblivious to the monstrous fraud being perpetrated by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t even muster the votes to put a single once and former sound money advocate—Judy Shelton—on the Fed Board of Governors .
Indeed , the Judy Shelton nomination failure is the monetary Rubicon .
There is literally no hope left that our stupefied elected politicians will move to stop the unelected monetary politburo domiciled in the Eccles Building from utterly destroying the capital and money markets that are at the heart of the capitalist growth engine .
What lies ahead , therefore , is more years of massive monetization of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ profligacy on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue .
Already the public debt at $ 27.7 trillion stands at 138 % of GDP , even as there is zero will in either party to brake its ascent .
At some point in the not-too-near future , confidence in the money-printing scam at the Fed will finally evaporate .
Then , look out below .
The financial sins of 50 years will come crashing all around .
International Man : When the COVID lockdowns first started , the government told us we needed a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The idea was economic activity could be restarted relatively easily .
Six months later , most economic activity is at a standstill .
Is it possible for Main Street to bounce back ?
What type of long-term damage do you think this will have ?
David Stockman : The damage will be immense and well nigh irreversible .
That ’ s because never before–even during the full military mobilization of WWII—have we had this kind of draconian economic marshal law .
As it was , the US economy was already a hand-to-mouth cripple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the blue in March .
That is , businesses had no dry powder , having freighted down their balance sheets with cheap debt to fund stock buybacks and massively over-valued M & A deals ; and , likewise , 80 % of US households had borrowed to the hilt and had no rainy day funds to speak of .
Save for nearly $ 3.5 trillion of the Everything Bailouts , the US economy would be hemorrhaging already in a cascading chain of delinquencies , defaults , and payment lapses .
There is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and business sector are each laboring under $ 16 trillion of debt , and the government and financial sectors are carrying another $ 45 trillion between them .
Moreover , the massive infusion of borrowed funds from the virtually bankrupt US Treasury is not sustainable and is already beginning to measurably abate as the original bailout programs expire and even the spendthrift US Congress is unable to form a consensus on new measures to keep the Ponzi Scheme going .
Well , they might abjure .
After all , the explosion of spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wit , government transfer payments soared from a $ 3.2 trillion annual rate on the eve of the lockdowns in February to a $ 6.5 trillion annual rate two months later in April , representing an unprecedented explosion of free stuff that was still running at a $ 4.9 trillion annual rate in July .
All this spending was for the purpose of holding harmless the tens of millions of workers and millions of small businesses sidelined by the writ of the Donald ’ s malpracticing doctors and the brutal shutdown orders of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ unleashed .
But to take out 10 % of GDP through what amounted to economic martial law and backfill it with massive public borrowing was the height of derangement .
That ’ s because Lockdown Nation battered the economics and personal liberty of 267 million Americans under the age of 65 , when their risk of serious illness or death from the COVID was tiny , even as 80 % of deaths per the bloated CDC count occurred among the population 65 and older , which could have , and did , self-quarantine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ precaution .
That ’ s right .
The normal mortality rate for the under-65 population is about 300 per 100,000 , while the with-COVID rate , by the CDC ’ s own inflated figures , was just 13 per 100,000 as of September 1 or barely 4 % of normal mortality .
In that context , knocking $ 565 billion out of the GDP in the second quarter alone to prevent a marginal change in the mortality rate for the under-65 population was the very essence of national derangement and a reminder that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery during the decade ahead—when the retired Welfare State-dependent population will grow from 55 million to 73 million—will be well-nigh impossible .
International Man : Recently , the Federal Reserve announced they would seek to create even more inflation , which means the cost of living is about to get more expensive .
Why would any sane person want to do such a thing ?
David Stockman : The short answer is that they obviously wouldn ’ t .
The baleful truth is that our central bankers are lost in a miasma of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to sound money and the economic prosperity that flows therefrom .
Instead , the Fed has become the pathetic handmaiden of the den of gamblers that now operate on Wall Street .
There is literally no minor stumble or tepid correction in the stock indices that fails to elicit a chorus of demands for more “ stimulus ” on Wall Street , but it is blatantly evident by now that the resulting massive injections of fiat credit into the bank accounts of the Fed dealers never leaves the canyons of Wall Street .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ inflates again the value of existing debt and equity securities traded in the secondary market pits of pure speculation .
After all , that ’ s how we get the great ten-to-one anomaly .
As it happened , since Greenspan ’ s Irrational Exuberance speech in December 1996 , the nominal GDP has gained 136 % , while the NASDAQ 100—the long-standing leading edge of the speculative mania—has gained 1,376 % .
That ’ s madness .
That ’ s the smoking gun that shows the degree to which the stock market has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the actual income and profits of the Main Street economy .
It ’ s also the reason for another great anomaly .
Namely , that the stock market , which originated as a curb where capital users came to raise investment funds from savers , has now been turned upside down .
It is now a place where equity capital is massively and chronically liquidated in favor of massive increases in growth-throttling debt .
Thus , during the last 23 years , there have been only two quarters in which U.S. nonfinancial corporations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( i.e.
, new issuance exceeded buybacks ) .
Overall , $ 7.2 trillion of corporate equity has been liquidated , averaging some $ 315 billion per year .
Old-fashioned economists called this “ eating your seed corn.
” And it still is , whether the Keynesian money-pumpers at the Fed acknowledge it or not—and also notwithstanding the egregious , unearned windfalls that have accrued to speculators in the Wall Street casino .
For want of doubt , here is a very opposite picture .
While the Fed-corrupted financial markets were busy shrinking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were also inducing the C-suites to borrow hand over fist .
Between December 1996 and the present , in fact , nonfinancial corporate debt has soared from $ 3.2 trillion to $ 10.5 trillion , or by 3.3 times .
Obviously , that was far faster than the growth of GDP , or , more to the point , the increase in corporate value added .
In fact , cumulative growth in corporate debt of 223.4 % far exceeded the growth of gross value added , which rose by just 137.1 % .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ no one in their right mind should be doing .
The negative consequence in both the fiscal profligacy of the public sector and the financial engineering folly of the corporate sector speak for themselves .
International Man : In addition , the Fed said it will continue to manipulate interest rates to the lowest levels they have ever been .
In other words , people can forget about earning any meaningful return on their savings .
How does any prudent individual protect and preserve their savings in such an environment ?
David Stockman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( if you are courageous ) short the rest .
Editor ’ s Note : The truth is , we ’ re on the cusp of a economic crisis that could eclipse anything we ’ ve seen before .
And most people won ’ t be prepared for what ’ s coming .
That ’ s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse .
Click here to download the PDF now .

Via International Man
International Man: Bill Clinton’s infamous phrase during the 1992 presidential election was “It’s the economy, stupid.” How important of a role do you think the economy and a continued rally in the stock market will play in the outcome of the presidential election?
David Stockman: Well, in the befuddled mind of Donald Trump, probably a considerable role as manifest in his campaign oratory. And since there are less than 50 days left, he might get away with his groundless boasting. That is, we seriously doubt that the great reckoning will commence before November 3, meaning that he will keep peddling the “but for COVID” canard, claiming that, before that, he single-handedly created the Greatest Economy Ever.
Actually, it’s the greatest BS story ever told. It rests on the utterly misleading circumstance that the Donald entered office in month #90 of what became the longest business cycle expansion in history (at 128 months in February).
Consequently, his “record” was artificially flattered by the low U-3 unemployment rates (3.5%) that naturally occur during the last 38 months of the cycle as the inventory of unused labor is finally exhausted. Of course, that’s also exactly what occurred during the final months of the 118-month expansion of the 1990s and the 106-month expansion of the 1960s, when Democrats happened to be incumbent in the Oval Office.
But when measured by something relevant, such as the average real GDP growth rate during his tenure, it turns out that the Donald’s cherished “score” is the very worst among all the presidential terms since 1948.
That’s right. Even after setting aside the economic plunge in Q2, real GDP growth averaged 1.8% per annum during the Donald’s first 38 months in office compared to annualized gains of 1.9%, 2.2%, 2.5%, 2.7%, 3.2%, 3.6%, 3.8%, 5.2%, and 5.5%, respectively, during the terms of Obama, Bush the Younger, Bush the Elder, Eisenhower, Nixon-Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Kennedy-Johnson, and Truman.
Coming in dead last, of course, is not entirely the Donald’s doing, try as he did. The fact is, the US economy was sinking under the dead weight of $77 trillion of public and private debt and the decades of public waste and private malinvestment this debt explosion enabled. Now, Donald’s wrong-headed sponsorship of Lockdown Nation via the recommendations of his malpracticing doctors and the public hysteria they fostered has delivered the coup d’ grace.
So, yes, it is the economy, stupid. That is to say, whoever wins on November 3rd is going to inherit an economy so battered, bruised, and freighted with speculative excess and debilitating debt that they are sure to go down in history as the President who made Herbert Hoover look like a winner.
International Man: The United States appears to be more divided than it has in anyone’s lifetime. Yet, politicians and talking heads on both sides of the aisle seem to wholeheartedly agree on the same destructive fiscal policy that includes money printing, sky-high debts, and freebies. What do you make of all this? What are the consequences for the dollar and for gold?
David Stockman: There is only one thing to do—get out of the casino and sell any security that moves or stands still. That’s because the bipartisan duopoly has lost all contracts with the principles of sound money, fiscal rectitude, and minimalist government intervention on which sustainable capitalist prosperity depends.
For instance, the GOP Senate is so oblivious to the monstrous fraud being perpetrated by the nation’s central bank that it can’t even muster the votes to put a single once and former sound money advocate—Judy Shelton—on the Fed Board of Governors.
Indeed, the Judy Shelton nomination failure is the monetary Rubicon. There is literally no hope left that our stupefied elected politicians will move to stop the unelected monetary politburo domiciled in the Eccles Building from utterly destroying the capital and money markets that are at the heart of the capitalist growth engine.
What lies ahead, therefore, is more years of massive monetization of the public debt and never before imagined fiscal profligacy on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Already the public debt at $27.7 trillion stands at 138% of GDP, even as there is zero will in either party to brake its ascent.
At some point in the not-too-near future, confidence in the money-printing scam at the Fed will finally evaporate. Then, look out below. The financial sins of 50 years will come crashing all around.
International Man: When the COVID lockdowns first started, the government told us we needed a few weeks to “flatten the curve.” The idea was economic activity could be restarted relatively easily. Six months later, most economic activity is at a standstill. Is it possible for Main Street to bounce back? What type of long-term damage do you think this will have?
David Stockman: The damage will be immense and well nigh irreversible. That’s because never before–even during the full military mobilization of WWII—have we had this kind of draconian economic marshal law.
As it was, the US economy was already a hand-to-mouth cripple when the lockdowns came smashing down out of the blue in March. That is, businesses had no dry powder, having freighted down their balance sheets with cheap debt to fund stock buybacks and massively over-valued M&A deals; and, likewise, 80% of US households had borrowed to the hilt and had no rainy day funds to speak of.
Save for nearly $3.5 trillion of the Everything Bailouts, the US economy would be hemorrhaging already in a cascading chain of delinquencies, defaults, and payment lapses. There is no other outcome possible when the household and business sector are each laboring under $16 trillion of debt, and the government and financial sectors are carrying another $45 trillion between them.
Moreover, the massive infusion of borrowed funds from the virtually bankrupt US Treasury is not sustainable and is already beginning to measurably abate as the original bailout programs expire and even the spendthrift US Congress is unable to form a consensus on new measures to keep the Ponzi Scheme going.
Well, they might abjure. After all, the explosion of spending in April was theretofore unimaginable.
To wit, government transfer payments soared from a $3.2 trillion annual rate on the eve of the lockdowns in February to a $6.5 trillion annual rate two months later in April, representing an unprecedented explosion of free stuff that was still running at a $4.9 trillion annual rate in July.
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
All this spending was for the purpose of holding harmless the tens of millions of workers and millions of small businesses sidelined by the writ of the Donald’s malpracticing doctors and the brutal shutdown orders of the Blue State governors and mayors they unleashed.
But to take out 10% of GDP through what amounted to economic martial law and backfill it with massive public borrowing was the height of derangement.
That’s because Lockdown Nation battered the economics and personal liberty of 267 million Americans under the age of 65, when their risk of serious illness or death from the COVID was tiny, even as 80% of deaths per the bloated CDC count occurred among the population 65 and older, which could have, and did, self-quarantine out of an abundance of personal medical precaution.
That’s right. The normal mortality rate for the under-65 population is about 300 per 100,000, while the with-COVID rate, by the CDC’s own inflated figures, was just 13 per 100,000 as of September 1 or barely 4% of normal mortality.
In that context, knocking $565 billion out of the GDP in the second quarter alone to prevent a marginal change in the mortality rate for the under-65 population was the very essence of national derangement and a reminder that current economic governance is so unhinged that recovery during the decade ahead—when the retired Welfare State-dependent population will grow from 55 million to 73 million—will be well-nigh impossible.
International Man: Recently, the Federal Reserve announced they would seek to create even more inflation, which means the cost of living is about to get more expensive. Why would any sane person want to do such a thing?
David Stockman: The short answer is that they obviously wouldn’t. The baleful truth is that our central bankers are lost in a miasma of groupthink that is devoid of any connection to sound money and the economic prosperity that flows therefrom.
Instead, the Fed has become the pathetic handmaiden of the den of gamblers that now operate on Wall Street. There is literally no minor stumble or tepid correction in the stock indices that fails to elicit a chorus of demands for more “stimulus” on Wall Street, but it is blatantly evident by now that the resulting massive injections of fiat credit into the bank accounts of the Fed dealers never leaves the canyons of Wall Street.
It simply inflates, inflates, and inflates again the value of existing debt and equity securities traded in the secondary market pits of pure speculation.
After all, that’s how we get the great ten-to-one anomaly. As it happened, since Greenspan’s Irrational Exuberance speech in December 1996, the nominal GDP has gained 136%, while the NASDAQ 100—the long-standing leading edge of the speculative mania—has gained 1,376%.
That’s madness. That’s the smoking gun that shows the degree to which the stock market has been ripped from its proper moorings in the actual income and profits of the Main Street economy.
It’s also the reason for another great anomaly. Namely, that the stock market, which originated as a curb where capital users came to raise investment funds from savers, has now been turned upside down. It is now a place where equity capital is massively and chronically liquidated in favor of massive increases in growth-throttling debt.
Thus, during the last 23 years, there have been only two quarters in which U.S. nonfinancial corporations raised equity capital on a net basis (i.e., new issuance exceeded buybacks).
Overall, $7.2 trillion of corporate equity has been liquidated, averaging some $315 billion per year.
Old-fashioned economists called this “eating your seed corn.” And it still is, whether the Keynesian money-pumpers at the Fed acknowledge it or not—and also notwithstanding the egregious, unearned windfalls that have accrued to speculators in the Wall Street casino.
For want of doubt, here is a very opposite picture. While the Fed-corrupted financial markets were busy shrinking the stock of equity capital, they were also inducing the C-suites to borrow hand over fist. Between December 1996 and the present, in fact, nonfinancial corporate debt has soared from $3.2 trillion to $10.5 trillion, or by 3.3 times.
Obviously, that was far faster than the growth of GDP, or, more to the point, the increase in corporate value added. In fact, cumulative growth in corporate debt of 223.4% far exceeded the growth of gross value added, which rose by just 137.1%.
In short, they are doing what no one in their right mind should be doing. The negative consequence in both the fiscal profligacy of the public sector and the financial engineering folly of the corporate sector speak for themselves.
International Man: In addition, the Fed said it will continue to manipulate interest rates to the lowest levels they have ever been. In other words, people can forget about earning any meaningful return on their savings. How does any prudent individual protect and preserve their savings in such an environment?
David Stockman: Buy gold and either forget or (if you are courageous) short the rest.
Editor’s Note: The truth is, we’re on the cusp of a economic crisis that could eclipse anything we’ve seen before. And most people won’t be prepared for what’s coming.
That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse. Click here to download the PDF now.


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Citizenship: Then, and Now

Citizenship: Then, and Now

I found this recently while clearing my mom ’ s house of clutter .
It is a study guide titled “ Review Guide Questions and Answers for the Naturalization Test ” , dated 1950 , authored by A Dr. Richman / “ Consultant in Adult Education Specialist in Citizenship Education ” .
There are 77 questions .
I have listed all of them , including the answers .
If you have the time , please take the test .
It shouldn ’ t take long … almost all the questions are quite easy … but there are about 10 tough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was fun .
But , I answered incorrectly on 7 questions !
UGH !
If you have kids in grammar school or high school it might be fun to see how they do … ( is school making them smart , or dumb ? )
I can almost guarantee that none of you will get them all correct ; ( hint # 1 : one “ trick ” question is somewhere in the first 10 questions … hint # 2 : this guide was written in 1950 ) .
This was not a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the answer , or you did not .
My father spoke conversational English when he arrived on these shores … because he worked for about 3 years in the coal mines in Scotland .
My mom spoke not one word of English .
Yet , about 8 years after arriving , both passed on the first try with flying colors .
( I became naturalized automatically because I was a minor . )
What follows is the introduction .
I have reproduced it here exactly as written ( including caps and underline ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fascinating read .
It urges immigrants to be responsible citizens .
What a terrible thing to say !
!
!
My comments are in red .
As an applicant for the second papers , you will appear before a naturalization examiner .
You will be asked some questions on the United States Constitution and on the History and Government of the United States .
You may also be questioned about your state and local government .
To get your citizenship papers , therefore , you must be able to understand spoken English @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ! ]
.
You must understand the questions that you may be asked .
You will also have to know how to answer the question in English [ aaaargh !
mo ’ raaaaciss crap !
! ]
.
This review record has been prepared to help you do both these things : to recognize and understand questions asked in English ; and to learn to answer them in good oral English [ systemic racism !
!
! ]
.
The record does not have all the possible questions that you may be asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are among the more important ones relating to our Constitution , history and government .
It is suggested you play the record [ a ‘ record ’ is a vinyl disk played on something called a ‘ record player ’ ] two or three and listen very carefully to the questions and answers .
After that , you may join in with the record and practice answering the questions yourself .
Under the new law , you must know how to read and write English [ white privilege ! ]
.
If you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or speak the language , the record will accustom your ear to spoken English , and help you to answer the questions correctly .
WE WISH YOU SUCCESS IN PASSING THE EXAMINATION .
REMEMBER : Knowing the answers to all the questions is not all that is required of a good citizen [ USA !
USA !
USA ! ]
.It is important that you will obey the law , defend the Constitution [ why ?
… it ’ s just `` a goddamned piece of paper '' ] , and always fulfill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Citizenship [ xen [ xenophobia !
! ]
rong > Nor dos this REVIEW GUIDE take the place of class room instruction .
We recommend highly that you attend public school classes in citizenship [ my [ my parents did so ] ong > .
1 ) What is the name of this country ?
2 ) How many states are there in the United States ?
3 ) What is the capital of the United States ?
4 ) What is the Constitution of the United States ?
5 ) Where and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) What kind of government has the United States ?
10 ) Who has the final authority in the United States ?
11 ) How is the United States government organized ?
12 ) What are the three branches of government ?
13 ) What does the Legislature do ?
14 ) What does the Executive do ?
15 ) What is the work of the Judiciary ?
16 ) What is the Legislative branch of the United States called ?
17 ) How many houses of Congress are there , and name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chief executive of the United States ?
19 ) What is another name for a Representative ?
20 ) What is the highest court of the land ?
21 ) Who may be a Congressman ?
22 ) For how long are Congressmen elected ?
23 ) What official presides over the House of Representatives ?
24 ) How many Senators are there in the United States ?
25 ) Who may be a United States Senator ?
26 ) For how long are Senators elected ?
27 ) What official presides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a law made in the United States ?
29 ) If the President does not approve a bill , what does he do ?
30 ) Can Congress pass a law over the President ’ s veto , I so , how ?
31 ) Name two of the most important rights guaranteed by the Constitution .
32 ) Can our Constitution be changed ?
33 ) How can the Constitution be changed ?
34 ) How many Amendments have been made ?
35 ) What is the Bill of Rights ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights .
37 ) How are the President and Vice-President elected ?
38 ) For how long are the President and Vice President elected ?
39 ) Who may become President of the United States ?
40 ) If the President dies or resigns , who takes his place ?
41 ) What is the President ’ s cabinet ?
42 ) What is the Judicial Branch of the government ?
43 ) Which is the highest court in the land ?
44 ) How many judges @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 45 ) What is the highest law of your state ?
46 ) Who makes the laws for your state ?
47 ) What official is the Chief Executive of your state ?
49 ) What is the highest law of your city ?
50 ) What official is usually the Chief Executive of your city ?
51 ) Name some of the departments of a city government .
54 ) Which were the first two permanent English settlements in America ?
55 ) What were the people who settled in Plymouth called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colonies were there ?
57 ) What was the Revolutionary War ?
58 ) What were the colonies fighting for ?
59 ) What is the Declaration of Independence ?
60 ) When was the Declaration of Independence signed ?
61 ) Where was the Declaration of Independence signed ?
62 ) What holiday do we celebrate on July 4th ?
63 ) Who was the Commander of the American Army during the Revolutionary War ?
64 ) Who was the first president of the United States ?
65 ) On what day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ birthday ?
66 ) What was the Civil War in American history ?
67 ) Who was President during the Civil War ?
68 ) What important changes in the Constitution took place after the Civil War ?
69 ) Who was President during WWI ?
70 ) When and how did WWI end ?
71 ) What holiday do we celebrate on November 11 ?
72 ) Between what two groups of nations was WWII fought ?
73 ) Who was President during WWII ?
74 ) Who made the first American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ colors of the American Flag ?
76 ) How many stripes are in the flag , and what color ?
77 ) What do the 13 stripes represent ?
4 ) The highest law in the land .
6 ) The delegates of the first thirteen states who met at the Constitutional Convention .
8 ) A country where the head of the government is elected by the people .
9 ) A government of the people , by the people and for the people .
11 ) It is divided into three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Executive , and Judicial .
15 ) To interpret or explain the law .
17 ) Two .
The Senate and House of Representatives .
21 ) Any person , at least 23 years old , who has been a citizen for at least 7 years .
24 ) 96 Senators – two from each state .
25 ) Any person at least 30 years old , who has been a citizen for at least 9 years .
28 ) A law must be passed by a majority of each House of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
30 ) Yes .
By a two-thirds vote in each house .
35 ) The first ten Amendments to the Constitution .
36 ) Freedom of Religion , freedom of speech , freedom of the press , freedom of assembly .
37 ) By the people through their state electors .
39 ) Any citizen born in this country , at least 35 years old , who has lived here at lest 14 years .
41 ) The heads of the exeutive departments who advise the President and help him carry out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
42 ) The United States Supreme Court and the lower Federal Courts .
44 ) Nine , the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices .
48 ) By the voters of the state .
57 ) A war between the colonies and England .
58 ) At first they fought for liberty and against taxation without representation .
Later , it became a war for independence from England .
59 ) A statement by the 13 colonies that they are free from England .
61 ) At the old state house in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 64 ) George Washington , who is known as “ The father of our country ” .
66 ) A war between the Northern States and the Southern States .
68 ) The 13th Amendment which freed the slaves , the 14th Amendment which made them citizens , and the 15th Amendment which gave them the right to vote .
70 ) On Nov. 11 , 1918 , by an armistice .
71 ) Armistice Day , a celebration of the end of WWI .
72 ) The United Nations and the Axis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are red and six are white .

by Stucky
I found this recently while clearing my mom’s house of clutter. It is a study guide titled “Review Guide Questions and Answers for the Naturalization Test”, dated 1950, authored by A Dr. Richman / “Consultant in Adult Education Specialist in Citizenship Education”.
IMMIGRANTS STUDYING BACK THEN — Actual picture
There are 77 questions. I have listed all of them, including the answers. If you have the time, please take the test. It shouldn’t take long … almost all the questions are quite easy … but there are about 10 tough ones. I took it and it was fun. But, I answered incorrectly on 7 questions! UGH! If you have kids in grammar school or high school it might be fun to see how they do … (is school making them smart, or dumb?)
I can almost guarantee that none of you will get them all correct; (hint #1: one “trick” question is somewhere in the first 10 questions … hint #2: this guide was written in 1950).
This was not a multiple choice test. You either knew the answer, or you did not. My father spoke conversational English when he arrived on these shores … because he worked for about 3 years in the coal mines in Scotland. My mom spoke not one word of English. Yet, about 8 years after arriving, both passed on the first try with flying colors. (I became naturalized automatically because I was a minor.)
Immigration Students Today
What follows is the introduction. I have reproduced it here exactly as written (including caps and underline) in the document. That alone is a fascinating read. It urges immigrants to be responsible citizens. What a terrible thing to say!!! My comments are in red.
=============================
FORWARD
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE APPLICANT
As an applicant for the second papers, you will appear before a naturalization examiner. You will be asked some questions on the United States Constitution and on the History and Government of the United States. You may also be questioned about your state and local government.
To get your citizenship papers, therefore, you must be able to understand spoken English [that’s raaaaaciss!!!]. You must understand the questions that you may be asked. You will also have to know how to answer the question in English [aaaargh! mo’ raaaaciss crap!!].
This review record has been prepared to help you do both these things: to recognize and understand questions asked in English; and to learn to answer them in good oral English [systemic racism!!!].
The record does not have all the possible questions that you may be asked. But the questions that are given are among the more important ones relating to our Constitution, history and government. It is suggested you play the record [a ‘record’ is a vinyl disk played on something called a ‘record player’] two or three and listen very carefully to the questions and answers. After that, you may join in with the record and practice answering the questions yourself.
Under the new law, you must know how to read and write English [white privilege!]. If you read English, but cannot understand or speak the language, the record will accustom your ear to spoken English, and help you to answer the questions correctly.
WE WISH YOU SUCCESS IN PASSING THE EXAMINATION.
REMEMBER: Knowing the answers to all the questions is not all that is required of a good citizen [USA!USA!USA!].It is important that you will obey the law, defend the Constitution[why? … it’s just “a goddamned piece of paper“], and always fulfill the duties and obligations of good American Citizenship[xenophobia!!]. Nor dos this REVIEW GUIDE take the place of class room instruction. We recommend highly that you attend public school classes in citizenship [my parents did so].
=============================== =
THE QUESTIONS
1) What is the name of this country?
2) How many states are there in the United States?
3) What is the capital of the United States?
4) What is the Constitution of the United States?
5) Where and when was the Constitution signed?
6) Who made the Constitution?
7) What kind of government has the United States?
8) What is a republic?
9) What is a Democracy?
10) Who has the final authority in the United States?
11) How is the United States government organized?
12) What are the three branches of government?
13) What does the Legislature do?
14) What does the Executive do?
15) What is the work of the Judiciary?
16) What is the Legislative branch of the United States called?
17) How many houses of Congress are there, and name them.
18) What official is the chief executive of the United States?
19) What is another name for a Representative?
20) What is the highest court of the land?
21) Who may be a Congressman?
22) For how long are Congressmen elected?
23) What official presides over the House of Representatives?
24) How many Senators are there in the United States?
25) Who may be a United States Senator?
26) For how long are Senators elected?
27) What official presides over the Senate?
28) How is a law made in the United States?
29) If the President does not approve a bill, what does he do?
30) Can Congress pass a law over the President’s veto, I so, how?
31) Name two of the most important rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
32) Can our Constitution be changed?
33) How can the Constitution be changed?
34) How many Amendments have been made?
35) What is the Bill of Rights?
36) What are the four fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
37) How are the President and Vice-President elected?
38) For how long are the President and Vice President elected?
39) Who may become President of the United States?
40) If the President dies or resigns, who takes his place?
41) What is the President’s cabinet?
42) What is the Judicial Branch of the government?
43) Which is the highest court in the land?
44) How many judges are there on the Supreme Court?
45) What is the highest law of your state?
46) Who makes the laws for your state?
47) What official is the Chief Executive of your state?
48) How is a Governor elected?
49) What is the highest law of your city?
50) What official is usually the Chief Executive of your city?
51) Name some of the departments of a city government.
52) Who discovered America?
53) When was America discovered?
54) Which were the first two permanent English settlements in America?
55) What were the people who settled in Plymouth called?
56) How many original American Colonies were there?
57) What was the Revolutionary War?
58) What were the colonies fighting for?
59) What is the Declaration of Independence?
60) When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
61) Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?
62) What holiday do we celebrate on July 4th?
63) Who was the Commander of the American Army during the Revolutionary War?
64) Who was the first president of the United States?
65) On what day do we celebrate George ashington’s birthday?
66) What was the Civil War in American history?
67) Who was President during the Civil War?
68) What important changes in the Constitution took place after the Civil War?
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
69) Who was President during WWI?
70) When and how did WWI end?
71) What holiday do we celebrate on November 11?
72) Between what two groups of nations was WWII fought?
73) Who was President during WWII?
74) Who made the first American flag?
75) What are the colors of the American Flag?
76) How many stripes are in the flag, and what color?
77) What do the 13 stripes represent?
THE ANSWERS
1) United States of America.
2) 48.
3) Washington D.C.
4) The highest law in the land.
5) Philadelphia, 1787.
6) The delegates of the first thirteen states who met at the Constitutional Convention.
7) A republic.
8) A country where the head of the government is elected by the people.
9) A government of the people, by the people and for the people.
10) The president.
11) It is divided into three branches.
12) The Legislative, the Executive, and Judicial.
13) It makes the laws.
14) Carries out the laws.
15) To interpret or explain the law.
16) Congress.
17) Two. The Senate and House of Representatives.
18) The President.
19) Congressman.
20) Supreme Court.
21) Any person, at least 23 years old, who has been a citizen for at least 7 years.
22) Two years.
23) The Speaker.
24) 96 Senators – two from each state.
25) Any person at least 30 years old, who has been a citizen for at least 9 years.
26) Six years.
27) The Vice-President.
28) A law must be passed by a majority of each House of Congress and then signed by the President.
29) He vetoes the bill.
30) Yes. By a two-thirds vote in each house.
31) Liberty. Equality.
32) Yes.
33) By an Amendment.
34) Twenty one.
35) The first ten Amendments to the Constitution.
36) Freedom of Religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly.
37) By the people through their state electors.
38) Four years.
39) Any citizen born in this country, at least 35 years old, who has lived here at lest 14 years.
40) The Vice President.
41) The heads of the exeutive departments who advise the President and help him carry out the law. They are called Secretaries.
42) The United States Supreme Court and the lower Federal Courts.
43) The Supreme Court.
44) Nine, the Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices.
45) The State Constitution.
46) The State Legislature.
47) The Governor.
48) By the voters of the state.
49) The City Charter.
50) The Mayor.
51) Police, fire, health, education.
52) Christopher Columbus.
53) 1492.
54) Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts.
55) Pilgrims.
56) 13.
57) A war between the colonies and England.
58) At first they fought for liberty and against taxation without representation. Later, it became a war for independence from England.
59) A statement by the 13 colonies that they are free from England.
60) July 4th, 1776.
61) At the old state house in Philadelphia, now called Independence Hall.
62) Independence Day, the most important American holiday.
63) George Washington.
64) George Washington, who is known as “The father of our country”.
65) February 22nd.
66) A war between the Northern States and the Southern States.
67) Abraham Lincoln.
68) The 13th Amendment which freed the slaves, the 14th Amendment which made them citizens, and the 15th Amendment which gave them the right to vote.
69) Woodrow Wilson
70) On Nov. 11, 1918, by an armistice.
71) Armistice Day, a celebration of the end of WWI.
72) The United Nations and the Axis.
73) Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
74) Betsy Ross.
75) Red, white, and blue.
76) Thirteen stripes, seven are red and six are white.
77) The 13 original states.


investmentwatchblog--2020-09-27--Ice Age Farmer: “CLIMATE LOCKDOWN” – The End Game Becomes Clear: Post-Human Future, Al Gore “Climate

Ice Age Farmer: “CLIMATE LOCKDOWN” – The End Game Becomes Clear: Post-Human Future, Al Gore “Climate Tracing”

A “ Climate Lockdown , ” to extend into perpetuity , reveals the true nature of # COVID1984 : normalization of the police state , “ climate tracing ” and now “ climate lockdown ” as technocrats shove society towards their post-human future .
Their hand is forced as the Global Warming narrative breaks down and the Modern Grand Solar Minimum goes mainstream .
In their panic , they are seizing for total control — we are at a demarcation point : we either fight now , or forever lose the opportunity .
You knew they would try to pivot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ climate change as the pretext to deploy the same rigid controls over our lives .
Now , perhaps a trial balloon is being floated for a “ climate lockdown.
” The noxious idea is that we are at ( yet another ) tipping point , and that unless government radically seizes centralized control of the economy , it will be shutdown time .
From , “ Avoiding a Climate Lockdown , ” by Mariana Mazzucato , Founding Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose : Under a “ climate lockdown , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ban consumption of red meat , and impose extreme energy-saving measures , while fossil-fuel companies would have to stop drilling .
To avoid such a scenario , we must overhaul our economic structures and do capitalism differently .
You can just imagine the authoritarianism Mazzucato proposes — meaning , it wouldn ’ t be capitalism at all .
For example : We need to reorient our energy system around renewable energy – the antidote to climate change and the key to making our economies energy-secure .
We must therefore evict fossil-fuel interests and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics .
Financially powerful institutions such as banks and universities must divest from fossil-fuel companies .
Until they do , a carbon-based economy will prevail .
As Democrats continue to make so-called climate change the pinnacle of their campaigns , one film takes a closer look at the left ’ s true intentions with their claims .
One America ’ s Christina Bobb spoke with climate contrarian Marc Morano on the matter .
They ’ re trying to morph climate and covid together .
Academics in Australia are calling for climate change to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ m getting so sick of their tricks to manipulate us and trying to take control .
They ’ re all sick in the head .
How a New Effort to Trace Emissions , Led by Al Gore , Could Reshape Climate Talks JULY 16 , 2020 Now , a new coalition of nine climate and technology organizations calling themselves Climate Trace say they have used satellite data , artificial intelligence and other technology to track greenhouse-gas emissions from across the globe remotely .
At the micro level , the platform allows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ level of individual factories , ships and power plants .
In aggregate , the platform will allow for a collective accounting of the how the world is doing in the effort to reduce emissions .
“ We are creating , in a way , a massively distributed body cam for the planet , ” says former Vice President Al Gore , who has helped lead the initiative .
In other words , if a given country claims to have reduced , say power-plant emissions , other countries will soon be able to immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to verify the claim .
Accurately monitoring the world ’ s emissions from afar would be a significant feat that could reshape many key points of debate among those working to fight climate change .
Countries would be able to verify that their counterparts are following through on emissions reductions commitments , governments could crack down on companies that are covering up their true footprint and environmental groups could trace illegal forestry practices that are reducing forest cover and emitting carbon in the process .
To do that , “ we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , boiler-level information in literally real time for every single power plant in the world , ” says Gavin McCormick , executive director of WattTime , a coalition member that works to advance clean energy .
The project is currently in prototype mode , but Gore and his partners say they plan to offer an accounting of global emissions by next October ahead of COP26 , a key climate conference in Glasgow scheduled to begin Nov. 1 , 2021 .
Gore says he has been in contact with the conference organizers about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a major advance .
In the talks that led to the Paris Agreement , discussions about how to monitor , report and verify emissions lasted long into the conference , with many negotiators concerned about the possibility that some countries might cheat .
Climate Trace would allow for instant monitoring and verification .
“ It ’ s an entirely different proposition to have real time and near real time data , ” says Gore .
“ When we can trace the source of all significant emissions , then it creates a new reality @ @

A “Climate Lockdown,” to extend into perpetuity, reveals the true nature of #COVID1984: normalization of the police state, “climate tracing” and now “climate lockdown” as technocrats shove society towards their post-human future. Their hand is forced as the Global Warming narrative breaks down and the Modern Grand Solar Minimum goes mainstream. In their panic, they are seizing for total control — we are at a demarcation point: we either fight now, or forever lose the opportunity.
Is a ‘Climate Lockdown’ Next?
You knew they would try to pivot off the draconian COVID policies and use climate change as the pretext to deploy the same rigid controls over our lives. Now, perhaps a trial balloon is being floated for a “climate lockdown.”
The noxious idea is that we are at (yet another) tipping point, and that unless government radically seizes centralized control of the economy, it will be shutdown time. From, “Avoiding a Climate Lockdown,” by Mariana Mazzucato, Founding Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose:
Under a “climate lockdown,” governments would limit private-vehicle use, ban consumption of red meat, and impose extreme energy-saving measures, while fossil-fuel companies would have to stop drilling. To avoid such a scenario, we must overhaul our economic structures and do capitalism differently.
You can just imagine the authoritarianism Mazzucato proposes — meaning, it wouldn’t be capitalism at all. For example:
We need to reorient our energy system around renewable energy – the antidote to climate change and the key to making our economies energy-secure. We must therefore evict fossil-fuel interests and short-termism from business, finance, and politics. Financially powerful institutions such as banks and universities must divest from fossil-fuel companies. Until they do, a carbon-based economy will prevail.
www.nationalreview.com/corner/is-a-climate-lockdown-next/
COVID Lockdown Trial Run For Climate Lockdown
As Democrats continue to make so-called climate change the pinnacle of their campaigns, one film takes a closer look at the left’s true intentions with their claims.
One America’s Christina Bobb spoke with climate contrarian Marc Morano on the matter.
“The rise of the climate monarchy”
www.oann.com/covid-lockdown-trial-run-for-climate-lockdown/
We are primarily funded by readers. Please subscribe and donate to support us!
They’re trying to morph climate and covid together.
Academics in Australia are calling for climate change to be added to your death certificate.
I’m getting so sick of their tricks to manipulate us and trying to take control. They’re all sick in the head.
How a New Effort to Trace Emissions, Led by Al Gore, Could Reshape Climate Talks JULY 16, 2020
Now, a new coalition of nine climate and technology organizations calling themselves Climate Trace say they have used satellite data, artificial intelligence and other technology to track greenhouse-gas emissions from across the globe remotely. At the micro level, the platform allows users to track emissions down to the level of individual factories, ships and power plants. In aggregate, the platform will allow for a collective accounting of the how the world is doing in the effort to reduce emissions.
“We are creating, in a way, a massively distributed body cam for the planet,” says former Vice President Al Gore, who has helped lead the initiative. In other words, if a given country claims to have reduced, say power-plant emissions, other countries will soon be able to immediately tap into Climate Trace and get data to verify the claim.
Accurately monitoring the world’s emissions from afar would be a significant feat that could reshape many key points of debate among those working to fight climate change. Countries would be able to verify that their counterparts are following through on emissions reductions commitments, governments could crack down on companies that are covering up their true footprint and environmental groups could trace illegal forestry practices that are reducing forest cover and emitting carbon in the process.
To do that, “we’re going to need power-plant, in fact, boiler-level information in literally real time for every single power plant in the world,” says Gavin McCormick, executive director of WattTime, a coalition member that works to advance clean energy.
The project is currently in prototype mode, but Gore and his partners say they plan to offer an accounting of global emissions by next October ahead of COP26, a key climate conference in Glasgow scheduled to begin Nov. 1, 2021. Gore says he has been in contact with the conference organizers about how to implement it. This would be a major advance. In the talks that led to the Paris Agreement, discussions about how to monitor, report and verify emissions lasted long into the conference, with many negotiators concerned about the possibility that some countries might cheat. Climate Trace would allow for instant monitoring and verification.
“It’s an entirely different proposition to have real time and near real time data,” says Gore. “When we can trace the source of all significant emissions, then it creates a new reality.”
time.com/5866881/al-gore-climate-trace-emissions/
h/t Annie Oakley