Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (August 1, 2024) In my August 2024 blog I will reference a recent article published by Elliott Wave International of Atlanta, Georgia with respect to their monthly publication titled the “Global Market Perspective.”  They discuss the nominal value of the European stock market, which can be compared to markets in much of the rest of the so-called western world or the industrialized world such as the markets in North America and Japan.  The key word here is “nominal.”  Nominal monetary values for stocks, bonds, real estate, automobiles (especially new cars and “collector” cars), and collectibles (such as precious metals, art, books, antique toys, antique furniture, etc.) are near all-time record highs.  But real values are in fact very, very depressed.  The purchasing power of fiat currency is miserable, the cost of living is sky high, the middle class has all but disappeared, crime is rampant, unreported & largely not even prosecuted and now we stand upon the horrific prospect of a Third World War in Europe, East Asia and in the Middle East.  The American stock indices (the 3 major ones plus the many more minor ones) are currently as of this date August 1, 2024 at 91 percent of their cumulative record high.  Why would we be surprised that voters in much of the western world and in the (formerly) industrialized world are about to make very big changes.  It has already happened in countries such as France and the UK and will likely happen in the USA as well.  The misuse and the abuse of so-called “labels” here must be brought to our attention.  The mainstream media (which never tells the truth about anything) likes to label many populist or conservative political parties as “far right wing.”  This is utter nonsense, it…

Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (July 1, 2024) One very unpleasant and seemingly unavoidable reality of living in a world with collapsing human demographics (fewer births, fewer marriages, later marriages, smaller families) is that most countries on earth now have too many older people and too few younger people – too many people who are no longer economically “productive” and not enough gainfully employed people who would support them through their taxes, insurance payments and with their actual physical assistance. This approaching tsunami merely adds to the already dire situation in healthcare and social insurance systems in much of the world.  The powers-that-be (the powerful policy makers who themselves have often never done a real day’s work in their lives) have responded to this problem by making the existing system ever more expensive and ever less effective and responsive to the needs of ordinary people.  The entire monstrosity of a system has become like this due to ever more government interference & control, higher taxation and ever higher insurance premiums – we need to remind ourselves that any & all “insurance” behaves much like a tax. The tail end of human life is now marked by the ever-increasing need for long-term and assisted nursing home care which is profoundly expensive.  Both the insurance policies being marketed for this type of service and the actual service are incredibly expensive – so expensive that they are out of the financial reach of most people.  And once again, public policy makers have responded to this predicament by having the government assume the financial cost for this type of service.  In reality, most so-called “developed” economies on earth (these countries are primarily located in the Northern Hemisphere and in the so-called “western” cultural realm) are beyond bankrupt.  In other words, their governments are…

Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (June 1, 2024) Elliott Wave International of Atlanta, Georgia recently posted a video about the forces of deflation in Mainland China:  https://www.elliottwave.com/articles/real-estate-woes-and-price-deflation-hit-china-is-the-u-s-next/?rcn=240511freeez&utm_source=com&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=ar-frup&utm_content=frupbsrechn240507. The main American stock market indices (still driven by credit inflation and hyperinflation) reached nominal highs yet again on May 20, 2024 (the Dow Jones 30 Industrial Index = 40,077.40), on May 28, 2024 (the NASDAQ Composite Index = 17,032.66) and on May 23, 2024 (the Standard & Poors 500 Index = 5,341.88).  Credit inflation remains driven by the US Federal Reserve System and by other similar quasi-government central banks around the world – they are in fact privately owned and interest rates continue to remain artificially low.  Interest rates should be much higher than they are now to tame the hyperinflation which is rampant in the USA and in the lackey allied countries of the USA in the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, Canada, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and a few other more minor countries.  The situation in the aforementioned countries is not much different from what they were in the former eastern bloc prior to the collapse of the former Soviet Union in 1991.  Hyperinflation MUST be tamed to preserve whatever little is left of the purchasing power value of the fiat currencies in these most poorly governed countries. And the next stage of collapse after hyperinflation (deflation) has already reared its ferocious head in many other places around the world including right here in the USA – in fact in the most expensive real property market in the country which is the San Francisco, California Bay Area – specifically in the commercial property market in the City of San Francisco where at least two large office buildings were recently sold for an investor loss from…

Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (May 1, 2024) The mainstream media tells no truth and continually spews lies about the economy of the west in general and the USA in particular being totally healthy.  On top of this the western countries led by the USA continue to pursue a demented and dangerous wish for a Third World War against most of the rest of the world led by the BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Belt Road Initiative.  The imbalance between these two sides is huge – the west has something like 9 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its economic output (GDP) versus the remaining 91 percent and 75 percent, respectively. A recent “opinion” in Bloomberg news compared the west’s “war” against the rest of the world to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy thus implying that the west was fighting on the side of righteousness against an evil power which seeks world domination.  This is not only incorrect (it is a lie) – it is also utterly dangerous in that it is provoking a Third World War. The legislative process in the western countries has become a complete farce and it is destroying their economies and currencies in real time.  The recent so-called “aid” package which passed the US House of Representatives with the support of 94 percent of the GOP and 55 percent of Democrats prints yet another USD $95 BILLION for the endless war in the Ukraine (which basically no longer exists as a country or as a demographic entity), in the Gaza Strip (which has been laid to waste and where the civilian population continues to be eliminated) and in Taiwan (where the west seeks to confront Mainland China).  The only “beneficiaries” of this huge sum of printed money…

Financial, Economic and Social Mood Update (April 1, 2024) The Dow Jones 30 Industrials Index hit a record nominal high of 39,889.05 and the NASDAQ Composite Index reached a record high of 15,538.86 on March 21, 2024.  The S&P 500 Index hit a record nominal of high 5,264.85 on March 28, 2024.  According to Elliott Wave technical analysis the stock market has never been so severely overly bullish or overbought.  Nicholas Gerli of Reventure Consulting (an excellent YouTube channel about real estate investing with 502,000 subscribers) says something similar with respect not just to stock prices but to real property prices as well.  Clayton & Natalie Morris (husband & wife veterans of Fox news) agree – their “Redacted” and “Morris Invest” channels have more than 2,547,000 subscribers.  Many huge market players such as Warren Buffett, Tim Cook and Jamie Dimon are selling their own shares to the point of bailing out of their companies.  Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett’s holding company) is currently hoarding an unprecedented USD $157 BILLION in cash – this per Christopher Greene of AMTV (678,000 subscribers).  This video by Elliott Wave International of Atlanta, Georgia shows how many insiders are selling in a big way and how they are hoarding cash in anticipation of bad times ahead:  https://www.elliottwave.com/articles/stocks-what-to-make-of-all-this-insider-selling/?rcn=240327freeez&utm_source=com&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=ar-frup&utm_content=frupbsinsiderselling240321. The main topic of this month’s blog is the current state of global representative government, or democracy (or the lack thereof).  The topic of “democracy” has been over-used, abused and beaten to death by the so-called mainstream media.  The current administration in Washington, D.C. and its circa 40 lackey countries around the world enjoy standing upon a soapbox and lecturing the rest of the world about how to think, talk, act and vote.  In truth what they are doing has nothing to do with promoting freedom or democracy.  It…