-----------------------------------------------------
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Click to visit the TBP Store for Great TBP Merchandise
So, about 2%.
Look on the bright side, at least it’s not NEGATIVE interest!
For 38 years owning debt was the path to wealth. It was a BULL market for debt.
Markets for intangibles (like debt or stocks) do NOT obey Econ 101 supply-demand models. As price rises in an “investment” market, the quantity demanded actually RISES, unlike if the market was for a tangible good like consumer goods. This meant that for most of our lifetimes, no matter how much money was borrowed, creditors wanted to lend even more.
It was the largest inflation in human history. And the measure of it is the total amount of debt in existence, which is quite literally astronomical. But as long as the mass psychology of bull markets stays (stayed) in place, the trend is (was) up.
Have we reached apogee? No one will know in advance. Predictions of imminent collapse have been part of our world for more than 25 years. Some thought the “collapse” of 1987 was the beginning of the Great Bear Market. I have a basement full of printed newsletters yelling about how the sky was going to fall…. They date to 1993.
PS: FWIW, it is not likely to make money in a down market. While theoretically possible to short-sell or buy an inverse index fund, I can say from painful experience that the math just works against you. Any money I made during a decline was given back (and then some) when my timing was off later.
PPS: Once the mass psychology changes direction, nothing will prevent a deflationary depression. It is not possible to “print” money when the value of debt is in decline. The stock market is almost meaningless by comparison…today’s market cap of the full market is $30 trillion but Total Credit Market Debt Outstanding (TCMDO) is about $73 trillion. When stocks go up and down the net effect on monetary aggregates is ZERO, but the debt market IS the most important monetary aggregate; savings (money) flows into the debt market and is consumed, leaving an IOU in its wake. When debt loses value, it is a recognition that the savings capital it once represented is GONE, kaput, evaporated, pissed away.
We won’t know the sky has fallen until we’re dodging the big pieces.
Great post…makes the value of a bunker (figuratively/financially and literally) even more reassuring.
I posted a nasty indicator reading on my gab last week. I’m projecting a 6% drawdown lasting till the middle of june.
WARNING: THE BUBBLE IS ABOUT TO POP
When it does, who’s going to get the blame and why? A false narrative is already emerging.
The media will debate about whether the Federal Reserve is raising rates too much or too quickly. Donald Trump has already picked up and ran with this false narrative criticizing the Federal Reserve for raising rates. In typical politician fashion, he’s now saying the exact opposite of what he said during his campaign when he called the economy a big fat ugly bubble based on low interest rates. But Trump being a fraud when it comes to the Federal Reserve is nothing new as we pointed out long ago. Do not be led astray by this false narrative. The Federal Reserve is certainly to blame for the coming bust, but not because they are “too tight” with interest rates now. The actual problem is that rates are rigged to begin with and that they were rigged too low for far too long.
As we explained before, a bust was inevitable the moment the Federal Reserve embarked on the path of rigging interest rates to 0%. You can’t build a healthy economy by centrally planning interest rates to encourage debt, consumption, and reckless speculation. This is the exact opposite of a healthy economy which is built on savings, production, and thoughtful investment. While it seems to “work” in the short term as asset prices are driven sky high and a consumption binge ensues, it’s just a house of cards. The debt and malinvestments that stack up during the “boom” eventually become unserviceable as interest rates rise. The question about the ensuing collapse is only a matter of timing. We are getting close to the tipping point as interest rates have already started to affect some of the bubbles within the economy such as housing and autos as well as the federal debt servicing expense. This will spread as interest rates continue to move higher.
Buckle up. This is the biggest bubble in history so it will be the biggest bust in history.