How Much Death and Destrution Awaits Us in 2018?

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The New Year is one full of economic, political, and war threats.
Among the economic threats are stock, bond, and real estate markets artificially pumped up by years of central bank money creation and by false reports of full employment. It is an open question whether participants in these markets are aware that underlying reality does not support the asset values. Central banks support stock markets not only with abundant liquidity but also with direct stock purchases. The Japanese central bank is now one of the largest owners of Japanese equities. Central banks, which are supposed to provide economic stability, have created a massive fraud.
Throughout the Western world politics has degenerated into fraud. No government serves the public’s interest. (See: ) Except for some former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe, European governments have defied the will of the people by admitting vast numbers of refugees from Washington’s wars and others pretending to be refugees. The European governments further imperil their citizens with their support for Washington’s rising aggression toward Russia. The universal failure of democratic politics is leading directly to war.

This post was published at Paul Craig Roberts on December 30, 2017.


Seven Things that Drove Gold News in 2017

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On Dec. 31, 2016, the price of gold stood at 1,156.00. Today, it is knocking on the $1,300 mark. The yellow metal is on track to gain about 12% in 2017, its best year since 2010. Gold has made these gains despite a number headwinds that we would expect to put a significant drag on gold.
Here are seven major themes that have driven gold news over the past year.
Geopolitical risk
Over the last year, we’ve talked a lot about geopolitical risk. Could turmoil around the world now be the new normal?
Some analysts think so.
The focus has primarily been on tensions between the US and North Korea. But there have been plenty of other risk factors popping up around the world, including ongoing uncertainty about Brexit, the secession movement in Catalonia, war in the Middle East, terror attacks, tensions between the US and Russia, various elections, a coup in Zimbabwe, and more. On top of that, outside of the US, a lot of people think Americans should be looking at the geopolitical risks right here at home due to political divisions and uncertainty in Washington D. C.

This post was published at Schiffgold on DECEMBER 29, 2017.