Posts by James G. Rickards

The Ukrainian money-laundering racket continues. Last week Joe Biden pledged another $3 billion in aid to Ukraine. The aid includes weapon systems that will allow Ukraine to defend itself over the “long term.” Just how long is the long term? How long does the administration plan on watching Ukraine be destroyed simply because they want…

The Fed kicked off its much-anticipated annual meeting in Jackson Hole today. Central bankers from around the world are in attendance, although markets are primarily concerned with what Fed Chairman Jay Powell says tomorrow. Markets want him to indicate that the Fed will take its foot off the brake and adopt a less aggressive rate…

The war in Ukraine has been dragging on for six months with no end in sight. Russia is slowly and systematically advancing, while the Ukrainian military is being ground down in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. On balance, Russia is winning the war, although progress is slow. Russia will next likely move to take…

Markets got hammered today, with the Dow losing 643 points, the S&P losing 90 and the Nasdaq losing 323. What happened? Here’s CNBC’s explanation: The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell sharply Monday… as the summer rally fizzled out and fears of aggressive interest rate hikes returned to Wall Street… Investors are anticipating what could be…

Why do they keep trying to redefine the meaning of words? In June 2022, U.S. inflation was 9.1%, the highest in over 40 years. In July 2022, the inflation rate was 8.5%, a decline from the June rate but still one of the highest inflation readings since the early 1980s. Joe Biden might have claimed…

The war in Ukraine has dragged on for six months and will likely last for many more months or possibly years if the U.S. doesn’t end its policy of “fighting to the last Ukrainian.” Attention spans have waned. Americans have adjusted to the energy price shocks (in fact, energy prices have come down a lot…

“Highlight of my recent visit to Bretton Woods was a 90-minute moderated dialogue with the inimitable Di Martino Booth. We covered Fed, inflation, recession, fiscal policy, supply chain, and more. Discussion was livestreamed to readers of Strategic Intelligence.”

“Merrick Garland admits he “personally approved” the Stasi-style raid on Trump’s home. Good. That will make Garland’s impeachment next year much easier.”

Political and military tension in the Western Pacific and off the coast of China is nothing new. There were regular crises in the 1950s after Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Taiwan with his nationalist army and his government structure. The threats then were about the small Taiwanese-controlled islands of Quemoy and Matsu located immediately off the…

Inflation is often described as a hidden tax on the middle class, and that’s a good description. Politicians know they will get pushback if they try to pass an outright tax increase (although that doesn’t always stop them from trying). Inflation works along the same lines as a tax increase. It reduces the burden of…