Justin Spittler – The Burning Platform

How to Escape the World’s Biggest Ponzi Scheme

By Justin Spittler

It’s the top story in the investment world right now…

As we showed you yesterday, the S&P 500 just hit a new all-time high, topping 2,130 for the first time since May 2015.

But it’s not just stocks that are ripping higher.

Bonds have quietly broken out to new all-time highs as well.

Remember, a bond’s price rises when its yield falls. On Friday, the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury hit an all-time low of 1.37%. Yields on British (0.7%), German (-0.2%), and Japanese (-1.1%) 10-year bonds have also hit record lows over the past week.

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With rates this low, bondholders are barely earning any interest income. In Europe and Japan, investors are actually paying to lend the government money. That’s because negative interest rates have taken over these economies.

In today’s issue, we explain how negative rates have turned the bond market into a giant Ponzi scheme. And we’ll show you the best way to escape it…

• Negative rates basically flip a bond upside down…

Typically, you earn interest when you own a bond. With negative rates, you pay interest.

Continue reading “How to Escape the World’s Biggest Ponzi Scheme”

The Big Picture Hasn’t Changed: Don’t Get Sucked Back Into the Stock Market

By Justin Spittler

Stocks are on a tear right now…

Today, the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high. It topped 2,130 for the first time since May 2015. The benchmark index is now up 6.9% over the past two weeks.

All good, right?

It might seem that way…if we were only analyzing U.S. stocks.

The thing is, in nearly every other market, stocks are still headed lower:

The Japanese Nikkei 225 is down 15% this year. It’s down 28% since last June.
The STOXX Europe 600, which tracks 600 large European stocks, is down 9% this year. It’s fallen 20% since April 2015.
The FTSE 100, Great Britain’s version of the S&P 500, is down 6% since last April.

And that’s not all. If you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know the global economy is not in good shape. Corporate earnings are falling. Stocks are expensive. GDP growth is stalling.

So why are U.S. stocks making new highs?

Today, we take a look at the big picture to help you make sense of the market’s mixed signals. As you’ll see, right now is a dangerous time to get back into stocks…

• First the good news…

Continue reading “The Big Picture Hasn’t Changed: Don’t Get Sucked Back Into the Stock Market”

How to Prevent Hackers from Erasing Your Bank Account

By Justin Spittler

If you use the Internet, your bank account is at risk…

On Monday, “terrorists” attacked a major U.S. hospital.

They didn’t set off a bomb or fire a single bullet. They infected the hospital with a computer virus.

The Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday.

Modern medicine in the Washington area reverted to 1960s-era paper systems when one of the largest hospital chains was crippled by a virus that shuttered its computers for patients and medical staff.

[T]he paralyzing attack on MedStar Health Inc., which forced records systems offline, prevented patients from booking appointments, and left staff unable to check email messages or even look up phone numbers.

MedStar operates 10 hospitals around Maryland and Washington D.C. It serves more than 4 million patients a year. Its computer systems are still down.

• It appears the hackers were after money…

The Chicago Tribune explains.

Dr. Richard Alcorta, the medical director for Maryland’s emergency medical services network, said he suspects it was a ransomware attack based on multiple ransomware attempts on individual hospitals in the state. Alcorta said he was unaware of any ransoms paid by Maryland hospitals or health care systems.

“People view this, I think, as a form of terrorism and are attempting to extort money by attempting to infect them with this type of virus,” he said.

“Ransomware” is a harmful computer program that can take over your computer and lock your files. Once your computer is infected with ransomware, the only way to unlock it is with a special password called a “decryption key.” To get this password, users have to pay the hackers a ransom.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the hackers are demanding at least $18,500. The FBI is investigating the attack.

Continue reading “How to Prevent Hackers from Erasing Your Bank Account”

Hillary’s Scary New Cash Tax

By Justin Spittler

The largest underground currency market in history…how to make huge investment gains from negative interest rates…none dare call it a tax.

Editor’s Note: This is the most important Dispatch we’ve published all year.

You won’t find our regular daily market commentary in this issue. Instead, you’ll find an urgent message from Casey Research director Brian Hunt. Right now, the government is planning a secret new tax. It involves a new way of taking money directly from your bank account…

Casey Daily Dispatch will return to its regular format next week.

Regards,

Justin Spittler
Delray Beach, Florida
March 4, 2016

Dear reader,

Have you heard of “negative interest rates?”

It’s become a phenomenon with economists and the media.

There’s a good chance you’ve read an article about it. We’ve covered it many times in the Dispatch.

I’m writing to tell you something about negative interest rates you haven’t heard. You certainly won’t hear about it in the mainstream press.

What’s coming at you is a historic event. It’s something our grandchildren will hear stories about…much like the Great Depression or the Cold War.

What’s coming could send the price of gold much higher in the coming years…and hand gold stock owners 500%+ gains.

If you know what’s coming, it could mean the difference between having lots of free cash in retirement or barely getting by.

To understand the gravity of this moment, let’s cover one of the most bizarre ideas in the world…

Negative Interest Rates.

In a normal world, your bank pays you interest on your savings. It takes your money, pools it with other people’s money, and loans it out.

The bank makes money by paying out less in interest on your deposit than it earns in interest from borrowers.

For example, it might pay out 3% to depositors while earning 6% from borrowers.

Continue reading “Hillary’s Scary New Cash Tax”

This Is the Only Way to Buy Gold Without the Government Tracking You

By Justin Spittler

Editor’s Note: Today’s issue is a little different than usual…

In place of our regular daily market commentary, we’re going to warn you about an extremely dangerous trend in government surveillance.

E.B. Tucker, editor of The Casey Report, has found a unique way to protect yourself…but the window of opportunity is closing fast.

Casey Daily Dispatch will return to its regular format tomorrow.

Regards,

Justin Spittler
Delray Beach, Florida
February 25, 2016

If you’re buying gold right now…the government could be tracking you.

If you’re buying gold, you’re likely not doing it to make money. You’re buying it to make sure you don’t wake up poor one day.

Gold has been used as money for thousands of years because it is easily divisible, easily transportable, has intrinsic value, is durable, and has consistent form around the world. And, as Doug Casey reminds us, it’s a good form of money because governments can’t print it on a whim. You can’t “Bernanke your way” to wealth with gold.

When today’s dramatic central banking experiment blows up, gold will hold its value…unlike paper currencies such as the dollar.

That’s exactly why the government will try to take it from you.

The last time the government confiscated gold was during the Great Depression. In 1933, President Roosevelt outlawed owning most forms of gold. He claimed that people “hoarding” gold were making the Great Depression worse. The penalty for not turning your gold in to the government was a $10,000 fine and 10 years in jail.

Of course, Roosevelt gave his closest supporters notice before issuing the ban. They had time to move their gold to another country. Most folks weren’t that lucky.

This time around, the confiscation will be digital.

Continue reading “This Is the Only Way to Buy Gold Without the Government Tracking You”

These Important Stocks are Trading Like a Financial Crisis Has Begun.

These Important Stocks are Trading Like a Financial Crisis Has Begun

By Justin Spittler

European bank stocks are crashing.

Deutsche Bank (DB), Germany’s largest bank, has plunged 36% this year. Its stock is at an all-time low.

Credit Suisse (CS), a major Swiss bank, has plummeted 40% this year to its lowest level since 1991.

As you can see in the chart below, the STOXX Europe 600 Banks Index, which tracks Europe’s biggest banks, is down 27% this year. It’s fallen six weeks in a row, its longest losing streak since the 2008 financial crisis.

These are huge drops in a short six-week period. It’s the kind of price action you’d expect to see during a major financial crisis.

The sell-off in Europe’s banks has dragged down other European stocks. The STOXX Europe 600 Index, which tracks 600 large European stocks, is down 15% this year to its lowest level since October 2013.

Continue reading “These Important Stocks are Trading Like a Financial Crisis Has Begun.”

Where to Hide Your Money From Reckless Governments

By Justin Spittler

A major central bank just made a desperate move…

If you’ve been reading the Dispatch, you know we’re living through a gigantic “global monetary experiment.”

In short, global central banks cut interest rates to zero to fight the 2008 financial crisis. They’ve held interest rates near zero ever since.

These reckless “easy money” policies have made it extremely cheap to borrow money. Using borrowed money, people have bought trillions of dollars’ worth of stocks, bonds, cars, commercial real estate projects, and single-family homes.

This has warped prices of nearly everything. U.S. stocks, commercial real estate, and art prices have all climbed to record highs.

• In December, the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time in years…

Many in the mainstream media called it the end of easy money. We pointed out at the time that interest rates were still extremely low. You can see in the chart below that the rate hike was tiny:

Although the rate hike was tiny, global stock markets couldn’t handle it. U.S. stocks were in a strong bull market from March 2009 through December 2014, gaining 204%. However, since the Fed raised rates on December 16, the S&P 500 has dropped 6.4%.

Foreign stocks have also fallen. The Stoxx Europe 600, which tracks 600 of Europe’s largest stocks, has dropped 5.4% since December 16. The Japanese Nikkei has dropped 8% in the same period.

Continue reading “Where to Hide Your Money From Reckless Governments”

A Dangerous Moment for Social Security

By Justin Spittler

Social Security funds are drying up…will there be any money left when you retire?

Social Security is America’s largest federal program. In 2015, it paid out $870 billion to more than 59 million Americans.

Most Americans see Social Security as a retirement savings program. During your working life, you pay 6.2% of every paycheck to Social Security. In return, the government sends you a check every month after you retire.

However, unlike a retirement plan like a 401(k), the money you pay into Social Security doesn’t land in your own personal account. Instead, it goes into one big pot called the “Social Security Trust Fund.”

The Social Security program pays retirees from this pot. As long as enough money flows into the pot, the program works, and retired people get the payments they expect.

• Last year, the Social Security Trust Fund lost money…

On Wednesday, Investor’s Business Daily reported (emphasis ours):

The Social Security Trust Fund just suffered its first annual decline since Congress shored up the retirement program in 1983.

The unexpected $3 billion decline is an indication of the precarious state of Social Security’s finances. Since 2010, the program has been paying out more in benefits than it gets in tax revenue.

In 1955, there were 8.6 workers paying into Social Security for every one person receiving Social Security. Today, due to America’s aging population, there are just 2.8 workers for every recipient. And that number will decline as the “baby boomer” generation continues to retire.

Continue reading “A Dangerous Moment for Social Security”