Martin Armstrong – Page 4 – The Burning Platform

SHOULD YOU BELIEVE THE VAMPIRE SQUID?

I find it fascinating the mainstream corporate media and Wall Street shysters spend SO MUCH time talking down gold and spending an inordinate amount of electronic ink trying to convince the masses that only nutjobs would buy it. I believe less than 2% of people have gold in their investment portfolio, so why the endless articles bashing it?

Newsletter hawkers like Martin Armstrong take every opportunity to shit on gold as an investment. I wonder if he was shitting on it from 2001 through 2011? We don’t know, because he was in prison for investment fraud during most of that time. Fatass Barry Ritholtz is in the same boat. He’s nothing but a failed lawyer pretending to be an investment guru. He’s gleeful when gold falls. It’s because he completely missed a 10 year bull market.

The suppression of gold prices through the paper market since 2011 by the Fed and their Wall Street bank co-conspirators has thus far been successful, but it is fraying at the edges as China continues to accumulate physical gold and pushing the ponzi scheme towards its inevitable conclusion. Soaring gold prices tells the masses central bankers are a fraud, that’s why they are desperate to keep the price capped.

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With zero and negative interest rates throughout the world, gold should be skyrocketing. It is showing signs of calling the central banker bluff. Jesse’s comments below should be heeded. The stock market dead cat bounce and the holiday manipulation of gold down $30 will fail. If there is a lesson from the Big Short, do the opposite of what Goldman says to do.

Chart of the Day

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts – Goldman Says Have No Fear and Buy Our Paper

Goldman analyst Jeffrey Currie came out this morning with a ‘sell gold’ recommendation for Ma and Pa Muppet.

I was fortunate enough to hear his explanation for this in his own words on Bloomberg TV, which had touted his gold call about every fifteen minutes all day.

The net summary of Mr. Currie’s forecast is that Goldman’s economists think that there ought to be no fear in the financial paper markets, since there is an historically low chance of a recession, less than fifteen percent, and he sees no real possibility of negative interest rates.

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Let The Bail-Ins Begin

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Portugal is starting to bail-in banks. The fascinating aspect that nobody seems to see is that this is a total failure of socialism. The U.S. Federal Reserve was formed in 1913, with the shareholders being the banks, to provide the cash needed to prevent bank failures. To stimulate the economy when the banks could not or would not lend, the Fed was supposed to buy CORPORATE notes. Then World War I came and the politicians ordered the Fed to buy government bonds. Of course, they never returned the Fed to its original purpose.

FDR usurped the Fed, placed it in Washington, and instituted a single national interest rate; each of the branches maintained a different interest rate to attract capital when there were shortages in one district. So it was common to see rates differ around the country based upon the local economic conditions. FDR also created the FDIC because the Fed failed to function during the Great Depression. The creation of the FDIC was sparked by bankers who were willing to let a New York bank fail in 1930 that happened to be named THE BANK OF THE UNITED STATES. Bank runs began nationwide as people assumed that this Bank of the United States was the government or Federal Reserve. The Bank of the United States was a Jewish bank and the other bankers wanted it to fail to get its business. When it was settled, the Bank of the United States eventually paid out 92 cents on the dollar.

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The Coming European Revoluition

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

I have warned that 2017 will be the political year from hell. What I am illustrating here is the link between a sovereign debt crisis and the Revolutionary Cycle. In 1933, Roosevelt came to power in the USA and turned the country toward socialism. That same year, 1933, brought Hitler and Mao to power. So 1934 was the revolutionary year. Such revolutions do not always bring blood in the streets. The next one is due in 2020 and we should see the system we currently live under go completely upside-down.

The revolutions of 1848 were essentially a democratic movement and an uprising against the political elite. In 1848, Karl Marx published “The Communist Manifesto” with Friedrich Engels, and was exiled to London as a result. In London, where he lived the remainder of his life, he wrote the first volume of “Das Kapital”. This undoubtedly influenced the revolutions that opened the door to communism/socialism. This also inspired the collapse of the old feudal structures and created independent national states. The revolutionary wave began in France in February 1848 when the French monarchy was overthrown. Communism actually began in France as a “commune” where people lived in one shared community with no individual property rights. It was the French who convinced Marx that communism would work better than just socialism, which he had advocated initially.

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Star Trek & Its Contribution to Everything

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

If you pay attention, you will see that much of Star Wars is based on the Roman Empire and the battle that ended the Republic, which was followed by the Imperial Era. Star Wars is just entertainment, not science in reality. But anyone who raised kids had to see just about every single one. Even Star Wars has inspired many different things to the point people do create their own light sabers just for starters.Perhaps I never admitted this in public, but people do not appreciate how much primarily Star Trek contributed to society. Star Trek first aired on TV in 1968. The Apollo 11 landing on the moon was July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong made “one giant leap for mankind.” There are even objects you can buy like the ICEORB Floating Bluetooth Speaker which is clearly inspired by Star Wars as well and sold out at Amazon for Christmas. Of course you can even use cyclical wave of sound to levitate things. This is something most people are totally unaware of but is real and mind-blowing for most people who do not understand that cycles are how energy moves, which includes markets. So many things you see in these movies you may think is just hype, may actually surprise you.

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2016 – the BIG SHIFT

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

As we close 2015 and begin a new year, the markets generally closed flat to neutral with a warning that as we approach the political year from hell being 2017, this is by no means going to be a walk through the park. We are more likely than not going to see some trends conclude in 2016 and others perform a false move the scare the hell out of everyone. Nevertheless, the stars may not be aligning, but the markets appear to be setting the stage to align for the BIG SHIFT.

What does the BIG SHIFT mean? It means that as we face a meltdown in Socialism which has taken hold of Western Governments destroying our underlying democratic foundations, ALL assets must prepare for the HEDGE against government.

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Happy New Year — Bail-In Passed for Europe’s Banks

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

The mainstream media is not extensively reporting on the “experimental” bail-in that the EU imposed on Cyrus. The bail-in, that they swore would never be applied to Europe, will officially begin in January. This new power will be in the interest of taxpayers as they will no longer be forced to pay for failed banks that were created by the childish structure of the euro that was created by lawyers who never understood the economy. But wait a minute — aren’t taxpayers the people with deposits in banks? Hm. Moving to electronic money is also about preventing bank runs. The bottom-line here is that they will just take your money to save bankers. Eliminating cash accomplishes two things: (1) they get to tax everything, and (2) you cannot withdraw money from banks.

The bail-in directive was agreed upon on January 1, 2015, and the bail-in system will take effect on January 1, 2016. So here we are, just in case you missed this one. Their website states:

Parliament and Council Presidency negotiators reached a political agreement Wednesday on the draft bank recovery and resolution directive, the first step towards setting up an EU system to deal with struggling banks. This directive will introduce the “bail-in” principle by January 2016, thereby ensuring that taxpayers will not be first in line to pay for bank failures.

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UBER Court Battle shows how Drivers are Destroying their own Jobs

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

The fascinating aspect of the UBER case in the Ninth Circuit (California) is how driver’s greed cannot see that they are altering the entire basis of UBER and putting the company out of business. Drivers who sued UBER contend they are employees and should be reimbursed for expenses, including gas and vehicle maintenance. The judge is allow them to actually alter the contract. Just unbelievable. The drivers currently pay those costs themselves and altering their status to be an employee has huge problems.

Once the court rules in the driver’s favor, as more-likely-than-not, UBER is finished and should just close its doors. Next will come benefits and if the court rules they are employees, guess what. In will come the Justice Department and prosecute them for violating Obamacare for any company that has more than 25 “employees” owes huge taxes. Plus, if they are employees, UBER would have to match all their social security payments. Drivers themselves will be targeted by the IRS.

I would simply announce that UBER is closing down and the drivers are out of a job. If the court rules they are employees, the company will not even be able to declare bankruptcy on taxes. They will be royally screwed and the lawyers will most likey destroy another innovation. The lawyers are cleverly taking the idea of a part-time fill-in job to make extra money and using judges to declare they are effectively full time employees. This undermines the entire concept of UBER, but what the hell, the lawyers will get rich putting the company out of business and the drivers out of a job. Total insanity.

Evil People in High Places? Or Just Coincidence?

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Dick Cheney is best know for being the head of Halliburton who then became Vice President who moved his office directly in the White House and ran the government as the “shadow president” because Bush, Jr. couldn’t even figure out he was holding a book upside down. Cheney started the Iraq War and then made sure Haliburton ran the show. When Congress was going to investigate the conflict of interest, Halliburton resigned its American citizenship and moved to Dubai to end any investigation.

Howard S. Jonas (b 1956) graduated from Harvard in 1978. He understands the game and is founder of the Newark, New Jersey-based oil and gas group Genie Oil & Gas which owns leaseholds both in the USA and Israel for shale oil deposits. He is estimated to sit atop 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the U.S. and 40 billion barrels in Israel. Added together, these shale oil reserves actually make Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves.look minuscule.

Jonas has brought in to his Strategic Advisory Board to secure influence Dick Cheney “shadow president” of the USA, James Woolsey a neo-con former CIA Director under Bill Clinton, Bill Richardson is a former US Secretary of Energy, Jacob Lord Rothschild who is also a major investor in energy, Rupert Murdock who also is a major financier of the neo-conservative Weekly Standard of Bill Kristol, Larry Summers, who was US Treasury Secretary and helped Rubin draft the laws that deregulated US banks overturning Glass-Steagall, and Michael Steinhardt who is a major hedge fund manager and a serious philanthropic friend of Israel. Genie Energy was granted in 2013 the exclusive oil and gas exploration rights to a 153-square mile radius in the southern part of the Golan Heights by the Netanyahu government. The players are all in the game of a company most people have never heard of no less from Newark, New Jersey.

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The Move to America – the Great Capital Migration

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

There is something very interesting unfolding. Part of the new year-end spending bill included a waiver of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) which had been implemented during the late 1980s when the Japanese were buying everything. They claimed to have focused on buying U.S. farmland, but it also applied to buying of trophy U.S. property like Rockefeller Center in New York City.

This position has been reversed in the new year-end spending package. While some attribute this to a grand conspiracy giving far more credit to those in Congress and in the White House than they deserve, our sources simply tell the plain story of lobbying to allow foreign buyers who are supporting the real estate market in key areas. Especially after London basically kicked everyone out of town who were foreign telling them their money was not welcomed, with lightening speed they instantly turned to New York City.

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EUROPEANS WELCOMING REFUGEES

Riots in Netherlands Against Refugees

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Riots are erupting also in Netherlands against the massive influx of Refugees. As one reader wrote:

I just want to send you an example of civil unrest on a small scale. In the Netherlands this evening there were riots in a small town called Geldermalsen. Geldermalsen has 27.000 inhabitants. The reason for the riots is that they want to have a center for refugees in Geldermalsen. During the talks about the center (1500 refugees) on a municipal level, the riots started.

The problem with refugees is that there is no discussion possible with government or socialist people. If you are against refugees, then you are a racist according to them. Well, and then this happens.

German Violence Against Asylum Seekers Doubles

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

It is truly amazing how disconnected the politicians in Europe are from the people they dictate to these days. There is a rising trend attacking asylum seeker’s accommodation in Germany. Of course there are other types of crimes also targeting the refugees and those who have been helping them. By mid-November, there were 1610 crimes recorded, which are associated with the “accommodation of asylum seekers.” Compared to last year, the number was 895.

First Christmas Tree in NYC 1931

An electronic run on the bank began last week in the junk bond market. It continues this morning. It will spread as selling begets selling. Has this been planned to allow Yellen to call off her rate increase on Wednesday or is it a result of speculators realizing the party is over and all heading for the exits at the same time? 1931 here we come.

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

The first Christmas tree in NYC was actually erected in 1931 in the worst year of the Great Depression when just about all the foreign sovereign bonds defaulted on Americans causing massive bank failures. The first tree was put up in hopes of raising the spirits of the people in their dark hour of need. It was not the stock market crash that devastated the finances of the people, it was the bond collapse. Andrew Mellon had first commented when bonds rallied and stocks fell in 1929, that this was why “Gentlemen prefer Bonds”. By 1931, those words demonstrated that even conservative men lost their shirts.

Is Trump’s Ban on Islam a Normal Reaction?

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Armstrong Economics/PEI has always been a very diverse company with clients and staff from all around the world. We have every race, religion, and social status among our ranks servicing clients of equal diversification. So, a ban on anyone from the Islamic faith entering the USA is not something I would support, obviously, and it would cause us problems to say the least. I would not worry about it because it could not be implemented and right now, it is popular so Trump gains in the polls to the bewilderment of career politicians and the press.

Yet, the media is anti-Trump because they want the status-quo and will only mouth whatever their boss has to say because “mainstream” media is the product of big corporations with agendas (e.g. FOX vs. MSNBC). The truth is that this reaction is entirely normal. It is also a product of the media itself for it constantly ties Islam & terrorism together. So why should it be such a shock when Trump says the obvious?

Of course, there was the arrest of all Japanese civilians during World War II. That was done under the same assumption that just because they were Japanese, even three generations born in the USA, it did not matter.

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Swiss to Give Up EVERYTHING & EVERYBODY

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

As of January 1, 2016, Switzerland is handing over the names of everyone who has anything stored in its Swiss freeport customs warehouses. For decades, people have stored precious metals and art in Swiss custom ports — tax-free — as long as they did not take it into Switzerland.

Now any hope on trusting Switzerland is totally gone. That’s right — the Swiss handed over everyone with accounts in its banks. Now, they must report the name, address, and item descriptions of anyone storing art in its tax-free custom ports. This also applies to gold, silver, and other precious metals along with anything else of value.

Back in 1986, the FBI walked into my office to question me about where Ferdinand Marcos (1917–1989) stored the gold he allegedly stole from the Philippines. Marcos had been the President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986 and had actually ruled under martial law from 1972 until 1981. I told them that I had no idea. They never believed me, as always, and pointed out that Ferdinand Marcos was a gold trader before he became president and he made his money as a trader. They told me he was a client and that I had been on the VIP list for the grand opening of Herald Square in NYC, which he funded through a Geneva family. I explained that I never met him, and if he were a client, he must have used a different name.

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The Next French Revolution

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

The politics in France is changing and the shift is underway ahead of the 2017 presidential elections. Today, France’s far-right National Front won almost 30% of the vote. Between the high taxes, abuse of socialists who have driven the economy into the ground as evidenced by the share market decline when everyone else has been making new highs, rising unemployment, falling property prices, and now the Islamic State attack that killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13, Marine Le Pen’s party secured 29.4% of the vote nationally.

This anti-Europe, anti-immigration party, which came first in six regions out of 13 is warning that things are changing in Euroland. “This is a historic, extraordinary result,” Front National lawmaker Marion Marechal-Le Pen told TF1 television. “The old system died tonight.”. Marion is the granddaughter of Jean-Marie and niece of Marine Le Pen and is a glamorous 25-year-old who is upsetting the political tables much as Donald Trump is in the USA. Marion is overthrowing the mainstream conservatives and socialists. This is a nationalist type movement that has not been seen in France since Napoleon, She was elected at 22 to be the youngest in French history. This is showing the generational shift our computer has been projecting for this period. A full-blown political turn.

Trump – the Next President?

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

Donald Trump has surged to 36% in the polls driving the political pundits crazy. After more than 30 years of dealing directly with politicians around the world, I must say one thing. Politicians NEVER will admit a mistake. No matter what, they will always follow a single course simply because they declared that direction from the outset. So we will not see a reform of the Euro but authoritarianism to force it to work. We will not see Obama back-down from trying to overthrow Assad despite the fact this will lead to ISIS controlling Syria and creating even more of a problem if not World War III. Politicians do not change direction.

Trump being a businessman, is not cut from the same cloth. Perhaps he would change the direction we are headed in and would actually negotiate with Putin. His risk is that of assassination for those really in power Behind the Curtain do not want to lose the reins or power. They would have him killed before the give up control and playing warlord.

One thing is clear. Trump is at least a shot at making a change compared to Hillary and Bush. Looks like the political upset for Washington predicted by our computer way back in 1985 for 2016 will be spot on. All it takes is turning the economy down to upset politics.

Trump actually has more support than most incumbent political parties in any other government worldwide. This is illustrating that indeed 2015.75 was by far the peak in government on a major global scale.

World War III & a Pipeline

Guest Post by Martin Armstrong

To understand what is really Behind the Curtain regarding the Middle East, ISIS, Turkey, and the USA strategic attempt to reduce Russia’s control over energy to Europe, we must start back in 2009 when Qatar proposed a pipeline plan to Assad to send its natural gas to Europe via Saudi Arabia, Syria and Jordan. Assad refused it and this has been the entire pretend reason why the Obama Administration wanted to invade Syria. The reason for the refusal was to protect the interests of Assad’s long-time ally, Russia, which is Europe’s biggest natural gas supplier based upon all the data.

It was just one year after Qatar’s proposal, that Assad began negotiations for another pipeline plan with Iran, which would carry Iranian gas to Europe across Iraq and Syria. Russia endorsed this project since it would clearly have more control over gas flow rather that the US linked Qatar. This agreement would strategically place control of the gas flow to Europe in Russia’s hands. Consequently, the Iranian pipeline became a priority for Russia. Since Damascus and Moscow working together to block the Qatar pipeline and create the alternative Iranian pipeline, this created the seeds for World War III.

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