As well he should.

Talk about making someone’s job more difficult.

Brain Kelly Touts LSU’s Investment in Football after Growing Tired of Waiting for Notre Dame to Modernize

Follow the money geographically.

Fascinating look at Peterson tight-roping the Bitcoin phenomenon before a Bitcoin audience.  Agree with him or not, few can FRAME AN ARGUMENT like Peterson, while at the same time SPICING IT with EVIABLE ERUDITION.

Watch him PITCH, HEDGE and ANALOGIZE:

If I were still a beer drinker, I’d favor Prague as the best value for money.

At least in HIS VIEW.

But as he’s one of the world’s leading copper traders, HIS VIEW’S WORTH A LOOK.

And another:

Here’s my summary, bearing in mind that this is merely ONE TRADER’S VIEW:

EVOLUTION OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

• China, Russia and, more broadly, the BRICS are looking to establish an economic and currency framework that CUTS OUT the US and its allies.
• Hostilities will break out again, REGARDLESS of what happens in Ukraine.
• This will cause a METALS RALLY with copper reaching as high as $11,500 per ton, which is roughly a thousand dollars higher than recently.
• Once China and Russia announce their NEW CURRENCY ARRANGEMENT, all markets will fall, with copper going as low as $7,000.
• Western banks will then REVERT TO QE, ABANDONING INTEREST RATE HIKES AND USHERING IN ANOTHER FALSE INFLATIONARY RECOVERY.
• Copper will SPIKE TO $14,000 by late 2023 as 70’s-STYLE INFLATION sets in and the DOLLAR FALLS SHARPLY.
• Markets will FORCE RATES HIGHER as CPI INFLATION HITS 13.5% IN THE US.
• By mid-decade, the US DOLLAR INDEX WILL HAVE HALVED.
• Metal prices will then COLLAPSE along with THE REST OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM, resulting in DEPRESSION-ERA PRICING.
• Integral to this, DEBT WILL WASH OUT and ZOMBIE COMPANIES COLLAPSE.
• This will trigger a new ECONOMIC ORDER of MULTINATIONAL CURRENCIES.
• EQUITY WILL THEN DRIVE GROWTH — NOT DEBT — and global GDP will REACH 4% PER ANNUM.

THE COMING EURASIAN CURRENCY

• Russia and China own 54,000 tons of gold, 12,000 of which is owned by Russia.  So, NO RUSSIAN COLLAPSE IS IMMINENT.
• THE NEW EURASIAN CURRENCY will be a WEIGHTED AVERAGE of various countries with THE YUAN AS THE REFERNCED CURRENCY but also with a link to the commodities each of these countries produces.

CHINA’S HEADWINDS

• Number one is TAIWAN, especially since the US as per last December included it as one of the MILITARIZED COUNTRIES SURROUNDING CHINA.
• Second is CHINA’S ECONOMY: a) exports, 27% of GDP, WILL FALL; and b) the PURPOSELY ENGINEERED COLLAPSE OF THE PRIVATE REAL ESTATE MARKET must now be REVERSED via various STATE OWNED ENTERPRISES (S.O.S.) buying up defaulted properties from LOCAL GOVERNMENTS and BANKRUPTED DEVELOPERS.

THE FUTURE

• China does not wish to attack Taiwan, believing that RECONCILIATION IS POSSIBLE over time.
• But the US pushing the Taiwanese to hold an independence referendum is a RED LINE Beijing won’t tolerate being crossed.
• The Chinese real estate market is the LARGEST ASSET CLASS in the world.  So, regardless of what happens in Taiwan, THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WILL FEEL BY MID-DECADE THE PAIN OF this “CONTROLLED PROPERTY IMPLOSION.”
• China does not wish to be the world’s hegemon but prefers instead a MULTILATERAL WORLD.
• China and Russia’s EURASIAN-CENTRIC SYSTEM will attract a lot of other countries tired of the US’s bullying, particularly in the Middle East, including perhaps Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.
• While there’s NO TELLING when the actual EURASIAN CURRENCY BASKET WILL BE ISSUED, there’s now SOME URGENCY, given the war in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions, embargoes and various other financial disruptions.
• Precious metal prices will fall in the short-term but should rebound longer-term as GOLD IS REINTRODUCED INTO THE SYSTEM by the Eurasian group and to great advantage in particular for the oil-producing Middle East.
• China and Russia will continue to add to their gold inventories.
• In China’s case, what the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) holds is only a SMALL PART OF WHAT THE REST OF THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT OWNS.
• 17,000 tons of gold has also been sold to the Chinese public.
• China is also now STOCKPILING ANYTHING OF SUBSTANCE THAT IS IMPORTED.
• As part of this, CHINA — via unreported channels — IS BUYING WHATEVER RUSSIA CAN’T SELL to the rest of the world.
• Here’s the current CHINESE FINANCIAL TRADE FORMULA: a) SELL TREASURIES; b) USING DOLLARS, BUY GOLD AND KEY HARD ASSETS AROUND THE WORLD.
• As it stands, China, IN ITS QUEST TO MOVE BEYOND A SINGLE CURRENCY SYSTEM, is already paying for imports in YUAN.

The rest of the videos deal with copper and broader investment issues which to me were of less relevance than the above described EURASIAN CURRENCY GAMBIT.

Again, this information is reflective of MERELY ONE MAN’S VIEW.  But given both his acumen and experience, much of what he discusses here is SO PLAUSIBLE as to fall easily within the range of the POSSIBLE, if not PROBABLE.

That said, this analysis doesn’t take into account potential MAJOR DISRUPTIONS occasioned by either WAR or ENERGY SHORTAGES, both of which are already CURRENTLY IN PLAY.

From Daniel Lacalle via the Mises Institute:

European Environmentalists Have Made Energy Independence Impossible

Some notable points — all direct quotes:

• Europe is not going to achieve a competitive energy transition with the current interventionist policies.
• Europe was already in an energy crisis in 2020 and 2021 . . . .
• If Russia sees that European governments ban nuclear power, prohibit the development of indigenous gas reserves, intervene in imports, and add massive CO2 taxes, Russian authorities will know that there is no competitive alternative, and that European industry and consumers will collapse due to the rising cost of energy.
• European governments should think hard about misguided policies when the continent has been saved this winter by natural gas imported from the United States produced with fracking, a technology that has been banned in Europe.
• Natural gas flows all the time and is cheap and abundant. It cannot be substituted with renewables that are intermittent, volatile, and unpredictable.
• All the “magical” alternatives that interventionism sells mean going from depending on Russia to depending on China. Where are we going to get the silicon, aluminum, rare-earths, copper, lithium, etc. necessary for those massive magical investments announced?

HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN EVEN ONE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY AND/OR ACTION PLAN TO TRANSITION FROM FOSSIL CARBON ENERGY SOURCES TO WHATEVER?

NO.

THERE ISN’T ONE.

As per former French Intel director, Pierre Brochand:

“All ‘multicultural’ societies are doomed to more or less deep rifts,” warned Brochand, adding, “In such a situation, it happens that minorities are violent winners, and majorities placid losers.”

Worse, Brochand sees civil war as a distinct possibility in his NATIVE FRANCE:

“This gradual upheaval of the French population, if not the only challenge we face, is the only one that directly threatens civil peace on our territory,” said Brochand, warning that Muslim migrants and others from outside of Europe have developed a “spirit of post-colonial revenge.”

France’s former intelligence chief warns against possible civil war due to mass immigration

"France and Europe must abandon mass immigration and radically change their immigration policies, warned Pierre Brochand…" https://t.co/xLGAmOELeJ

— Ann (@BannedAnn) April 4, 2022

HONESTLY, IS MASS MIGRATION ACTUALLY HELPING FRANCE, THE SECULAR NATION-STATE?

I CAN’T SEE HOW.

It would now seem logical.

If Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO, they would be welcomed, Stoltenberg says https://t.co/n6elOmy0uj pic.twitter.com/vCSkZoAUzZ

— Reuters (@Reuters) April 5, 2022

But then, would Russia attack them — particularly Finland — before they’d been formerly accepted under NATO’s umbrella?  And hence INELIGIBLE for a unified NATO counterattack?

I’m sure Jens Stoltenberg had this in mind when he recently talked of FAST-TRACKING their membership.

MAY IT HAPPEN.

. . . vs. Manhattan.

How do I know this is an accurate comparison?  At least on the Manhattan end?

Maxine just bought a coop apartment across the street from our current one — a kind of CAT ANNEX — and we’ll be paying ALMOST EXACTLY this amount in monthly maintenance for ALMOST EXACTLY this much usable space.

Actually, when you throw in the closet and bathroom, we’ll have closer to 300 sq. ft., but, hey, CLOSE ENOUGH.

Check out the VIDEO TOUR.  But remember.  It’s Manhattan, not Wichita.  Because in Manhattan, you trade SPACE FOR PLACE.

Cat Annex

And check out those views.

WHO KNOWS?

And whether it withers?

WHO KNOWS?

Thoughts and charts from Michael Lebovitz at RealInvestmentAdvice.com:

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES — WHAT CB’S CURRENTLY HOLD

Dollar, dollar, rise or fall, STILL THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL.

“Despite Washington’s reckless monetary policy and burgeoning trade and fiscal deficits, the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency. The benefit to the U.S. is that countries with dollar reserves must invest in U.S. Treasury securities regardless of yields. As a result, about a third of U.S. Treasury bonds are held by foreign entities. Given the ability to run massive deficits and fund them easily, it should not be surprising that American politicians want to keep the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.”

RUSSIA’S DILEMMA

Directly linked to the Dollar’s future is this:

“Russia has a colossal trade problem on its hands. In addition to many countries boycotting trade with them, their foes are likely not willing to accept rubles as payment for goods.

“Why? For starters, there is no rule of law in Russia. Add to that a flawed and corrupt banking system and illiquid securities markets. Further, Russia most recently defaulted on its debt in 1998 and could easily do so again.”

The Volatile Ruble

Gold Uber Rubles and Dollars?

Despite sanctions, TRADE WITH RUSSIA will continue.

“Russia would like to pay for foreign goods with rubles and receive gold or rubles for their goods. However, we doubt their trade counterparts have a desire to accept rubles for the reasons we note. Given that using dollars and euros is now exceedingly difficult, and no one wants rubles, the only feasible currency alternative is gold.

“Gold, however, presents a different set of headaches due to the transportation and storage requirements to keep it safe.”

But with gold, there are always WORKAROUNDS. 

“For example, if Pakistan wants Russian goods, they can convert their rupees to gold and gold to rubles to complete the transaction.

“Russia and other countries can retain their gold within their respective borders and not fall prey to seizure as is occurring with its dollars.”

GOLD STOCKS

While gold no longer DIRECTLY backs currencies, all major CB’s hold it as part of their reserves.

CRYPTO?

For now an UNLIKELY MAJOR PLAYER.  Two issues:

• First, it might be subject to seizure.
• “Second, cryptocurrency prices or exchanges rates to other currencies are extreme. As we show in the SimpleVisor graph below, the price of Bitcoin has been cut in half twice in the last year. It has also doubled. Lastly, Bitcoin does not pay interest. That may not be a problem in the current low-interest-rate environment, but it will be in a higher rate situation.”

SUMMARY

“We are not suggesting the dollar loses reserve status. But we do want you to consider that some countries now have more incentive to seek an alternative payments source to the dollar. Gold is not the only solution but a currency that has worked for millennia and is helping Russia today.”

HOWEVER, THERE IS THIS:

‘IMF WARNS RUSSIA SANCTIONS THREATEN TO CHIP AWAY AT DOLLAR DOMINANCE.’

So, don’t go with God . . . or the Dollar.

GO WITH GOLD.