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Off the Cuff: Proceed With Caution

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish opine on:

Market stresses galore
- The markets are acting dangerously out of touch with both fundamental and technical indicators. What does that mean? And will the next break to be the upside or the downside?
Europe
- The situation continues to be a nerve-wracking tightrope walk. What are the likeliest outcomes and when are we likely to see some resolution? (Or devolution?)

To our commentators here, it smells like 2008 all over again, but the markets are shrugging off what should be a concerning amount of data.

Off the Cuff: Proceed With Caution

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish opine on:

Market stresses galore
- The markets are acting dangerously out of touch with both fundamental and technical indicators. What does that mean? And will the next break to be the upside or the downside?
Europe
- The situation continues to be a nerve-wracking tightrope walk. What are the likeliest outcomes and when are we likely to see some resolution? (Or devolution?)

To our commentators here, it smells like 2008 all over again, but the markets are shrugging off what should be a concerning amount of data.

Off The Cuff: Time to Get Defensive

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish discuss:

The Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations
- What’s the OWS movement about? Will it drive any real change?
The Increasing Fragility of the Banking System
- What’s the contagion risk to the global system if (or really when) Greece defaults?
Market Correlation
- Where do you get diversification when all assets are positively correlated?

Off The Cuff: Time to Get Defensive

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish discuss:

The Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations
- What’s the OWS movement about? Will it drive any real change?
The Increasing Fragility of the Banking System
- What’s the contagion risk to the global system if (or really when) Greece defaults?
Market Correlation
- Where do you get diversification when all assets are positively correlated?

Carolyn Baker: Emotional Resilience Is Essential in Turbulent Times

Carolyn Baker, therapist and prominent advocate for culturing emotional preparedness in times of transition, looks to the future and sees a great many people at risk of unprecedented loss. Loss of jobs, loss of lifestyle, loss of wealth, loss of relationships – and quite possibly loss of life – as society becomes increasingly traumatized by secular economic slowdown and growing resource scarcity.

I have watched the Crash Course several times. So this is already happening dramatically and far more rapidly than anyone could have anticipated. Peak Oil, the end of money as we know it, escalating climate change – all of these will temper everything we do. This is the new normal, and there is no going back to the "old" normal. These drastic and daunting changes will invariably and unequivocally invoke enormous emotional responses in people, as they already are, in terms of fear, panic, anger, depression, despair, and in many cases off-the-charts addictions and suicides.

But Carolyn also sees unprecedented opportunity ahead for those who are mentally and emotionally prepared to meet the coming future.

What will determine who prospers and who doesn't? In her professional opinion, two things: meaning and purpose.

Carolyn Baker: Emotional Resilience Is Essential in Turbulent Times

I have watched the Crash Course several times. So this is already happening dramatically and far more rapidly than anyone could have anticipated. Peak Oil, the end of money as we know it, escalating climate change – all of these will temper everything we do. This is the new normal, and there is no going back to the "old" normal. These drastic and daunting changes will invariably and unequivocally invoke enormous emotional responses in people, as they already are, in terms of fear, panic, anger, depression, despair, and in many cases off-the-charts addictions and suicides.

But Carolyn also sees unprecedented opportunity ahead for those who are mentally and emotionally prepared to meet the coming future.

What will determine who prospers and who doesn't? In her professional opinion, two things: meaning and purpose.

David Stockman: Blame the Fed!

David Stockman, former U.S. Representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Reagan, does not mince words. He sees the monetary systems of the world coming apart.

How did we get here? He identifies the root cause as the intentional over-leveraging of world economies by central planners in a misguided effort to enjoy growth without consequence.

I blame it on the Fed. I blame it on the 1971 decision by Nixon to close the gold window and let the dollar float. Because out of that has evolved — or morphed — a central banking policy in the world that absorbs unlimited amounts of government debt. And so we went on what I call the "T-bill standard" or the "federal debt standard." And the other central banks of the emerging mercantilist Asian economies — Japan, Korea, and now, especially, the People’s Printing Press of China — have absorbed this massive emission of debt that otherwise would’ve created powerful negative consequences that would’ve forced politicians to act long ago. In other words, higher interest rates, pressure for inflationary monetary policy, and the actual appearance of price inflation. But because all the bonds on the margin were being absorbed by the central banks, we got away for twenty or twenty-five years with “deficits without tears.”

And he's just getting started. The only thing more impressive than Stockman's CV of insider roles in public economics and private finance is his talent for colorful metaphor.

David Stockman: Blame the Fed!

David Stockman, former U.S. Representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Reagan, does not mince words. He sees the monetary systems of the world coming apart.

How did we get here? He identifies the root cause as the intentional over-leveraging of world economies by central planners in a misguided effort to enjoy growth without consequence.

I blame it on the Fed. I blame it on the 1971 decision by Nixon to close the gold window and let the dollar float. Because out of that has evolved — or morphed — a central banking policy in the world that absorbs unlimited amounts of government debt. And so we went on what I call the "T-bill standard" or the "federal debt standard." And the other central banks of the emerging mercantilist Asian economies — Japan, Korea, and now, especially, the People’s Printing Press of China — have absorbed this massive emission of debt that otherwise would’ve created powerful negative consequences that would’ve forced politicians to act long ago. In other words, higher interest rates, pressure for inflationary monetary policy, and the actual appearance of price inflation. But because all the bonds on the margin were being absorbed by the central banks, we got away for twenty or twenty-five years with “deficits without tears.”

And he's just getting started. The only thing more impressive than Stockman's CV of insider roles in public economics and private finance is his talent for colorful metaphor.

Off The Cuff: Lots of Storm Clouds Brewing

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish tackle:

The global commodity sell-off
- What’s driving the action here, and what impact would a slowdown in China and other key markets have on the US economy and the major asset classes?
The Fed
- Should investors be expecting more stimulus to follow soon?
Europe
- How close to the wire is the situation there at this point?
Gold
- How should the metal fare up from here? Where should ‘safe money’ park?

Off The Cuff: Lots of Storm Clouds Brewing

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish tackle:

The global commodity sell-off
- What’s driving the action here, and what impact would a slowdown in China and other key markets have on the US economy and the major asset classes?
The Fed
- Should investors be expecting more stimulus to follow soon?
Europe
- How close to the wire is the situation there at this point?
Gold
- How should the metal fare up from here? Where should ‘safe money’ park?

Experts Weigh in on the Recent Action in Gold and Silver

PREVIEW

Over the weekend, we reached out to several popular precious metals experts to get their quick take on the recent downdraft in gold and silver prices.

David Morgan
Ted Butler
Turd Ferguson

Here’s what they had to say:

Experts Weigh in on the Recent Action in Gold and Silver

PREVIEW

Over the weekend, we reached out to several popular precious metals experts to get their quick take on the recent downdraft in gold and silver prices.

David Morgan
Ted Butler
Turd Ferguson

Here’s what they had to say:

Rob Hopkins: Making the Red Pill Taste Good

Rob Hopkins is a true pioneer of the movement to intelligently prepare and adapt society for entering a post-Peak-Oil future. His brainchild, Transition Towns, has been one of the most successful initiatives to date in inspiring hundreds of cities, towns, and communities around the globe towards using local cooperation and interdependence to shrink their ecological footprints.

Many readers on our site lament the inertia or hostility we all frequently encounter when trying to 'wake up' family, friends, and neighbors to the warning bells we see on the economic, energy, and environmental fronts. Chris and I often get asked for advice on how to make the red pill 'tasty' for the uninitiated. So we look at the success Rob's model is having at spurring individuals and communities to action, and ask him: What's your secret?

In short, it's about making Transition feel "more like a party than a protest march." Make it personal to the participants. Focus on celebrating the local benefits and empowerment it produces. As Rob says, the core Transition principles are "not about taking people back to something worse than today; they are a step forward. They are about building resilience, bringing people together, giving them the sense that anything is possible in such a way that everybody benefits."

Rob Hopkins: Making the Red Pill Taste Good

Off The Cuff: The Fed is Merely Treading Water at This Point

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish cover:

Yesterday’s ‘Operation Twist’ announcement by the Fed:
- What exactly was announced yesterday and what’s the likely impact?
- Who is likely to benefit (and who isn’t)?
- What’s likely to be announced at the next Fed meeting in six weeks?
- How much ability does the Fed really have to influence the outcome of our economic situation anymore?

Off The Cuff: The Fed is Merely Treading Water at This Point

PREVIEW

In this week’s Off the Cuff with Mish & Chris podcast, Chris and Mish cover:

Yesterday’s ‘Operation Twist’ announcement by the Fed:
- What exactly was announced yesterday and what’s the likely impact?
- Who is likely to benefit (and who isn’t)?
- What’s likely to be announced at the next Fed meeting in six weeks?
- How much ability does the Fed really have to influence the outcome of our economic situation anymore?