Financial Crisis #63: Coming on Like a Freight Train

You know that feeling you get when a gorgeous summer day with not a cloud in the sky suddenly becomes overcast, then the air gets still, then the clouds turn black, and you know without a shadow of doubt that there is a big-time thunderstorm about to let loose? Well thats the feeling I get right now watching a slew of indicators that to me, portend an imminent economic storm of truly biblical proportions.

Here are the indicators as observed by yours truly from this distant paradise on the Left Coast of Canada:

1.) Rising Domestic Unrest: Egypt, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Syria, Brazil: The public expression of rage against various institutions in these countries is a proxy for the frustration felt by the economically disenfranchised who are the front-line victims of financial system duplicity among banks and governments. The entire system of democracy and free markets has been subjugated to a doctrine best categorized as the systematic rape of the masses by the elite. Such abandonment of the heretofore tacit social contract that stipulated acquiescence of the middle and lower classes to the predatory self-enrichment of the elite as long as social institutions and progressive elevation of the most impoverished were observed is a dangerous precursor to a widening revolutionary sentiment among the least viable, who are now without work, without homes and without hope. The effects on commodity prices are apparent. i.e. (Egypt and Syria causing rising oil prices).

2.) Unilateral Surveillance of Citizens and Governments by the U.S: Edward Snowden’s exposure of the National Security Agency’s PRISM program, and his continuing granular revelations despite what has become the world’s full attention on either getting him safely to asylum or repatriating him to the U.S. is a preliminary blow to the cooperation that has previously been assumed among the G7. While Canada’s Nazi-esque Prime Minister Harper is comfortable blatantly reneging on his election promises of transparent and accountable government in his role as U.S. Bootlicking Lackey, opposition minority factions are finding increasing momentum and support from electorates in G7 countries to oust such totalitarians in favour of less duplicitous governments. Since the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was successfully defused over time, the PRISM system’s free access to everything from Google to Facebook demonstrates clearly the paranoia the U.S. government harbours toward future domestic unrest. Countries such as Canada and the UK are made duplicitous by the U.S.’s shrewd offer to share the data generated by PRISM with the “Five Eyes” Intelligence Alliance that includes New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK and US.

3.) Government Stimulus’ Ability to Convey the Appearance of Prosperity is Waning: When Ben Bernanke and his puffed up self-impressed Fed presidents started clucking about tapering the $85 billion/2% interest money monthly stock market welfare program, the market did what markets can do: reveal the truth about a bubble. The fact that the S&P 500, DJIA, and NASDAQ all swooned in unison to such unwanted news was the proof that the historic highs smilingly glorified by CNBC and Bloomberg anchors are nothing more than nominal reflections of $1 trillion a year in free money. But, as its free money only for the largest institutions who are obliged to divert a portion of that to the monthly ersatz “auctions” for U.S. debt, the majority of Americans are growing increasingly skeptical, despite their cultural predilection toward self-obsession, and that is going to foment resentment. Oh…and its also not working. Despite $1 trillion in mis-named stimulus, the more aptly named anesthetic is not having its desired affect on employment or REAL economic growth. And its even starting to fail in its ability to juice the market into upward trajectories. In that regard, there is an inflection point coming, and its when the stock market starts tumbling despite continued and amplified stimulus that the lid is off the pot and there’s going to be a big mess in the kitchen.

4.) Commodity Prices Falling Despite Multi-lateral Stimulus: Sort of an extension to the last point, we’re seeing that even the futures markets for commodities are realizing a net deflation as inventories rise, consumption falls, and industrial growth continues to slide in the number 2 economy that has for the last few years been the sole source of sunlight on an otherwise darkening horizon for metals. Stimulus has its limits, and we’re about there.

As with any big storm, there will be victims, and there will be those who barely notice a change in the weather. Bloomberg practically pitched me from my seat this morning when they picked Rangold Resources (NASDAQ:GOLD, LSE:RRS), astutely underscoring the company’s lack of debt, low-cost production, and fairly valued share price. I think we might see a situation where the ongoing breakdown in the ability of stimulus to induce market activity might force the hand of the futures market by inducing a surge of pent-up demand for gold. If the U.S. is forced to abandon stimulus counterfeiting altogether, its unlikely the CFTC-aided, U.S. Treasury-sponsored gold futures manipulation scheme will be affordable, and thus all the compression in the gold price that is currently stored in a quadrillion dollars of nominal value in unreconciled futures and derivatives market balance sheets might finally be unwound. I know its very unpopular to voice such an opinion in the face of a recent record gold selloff, but $2,000 gold may be a lot closer than you think.

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