Welcome to Macro Voices

Erik Townsend welcomes Jeffrey Christian to MacroVoices. Erik and Jeffrey discuss:

• The advantages held by the US over other economies
• The reasons for the recent USD strength and where it is headed next
• The market reaction to the most recent round of hawkishness from the Fed
• The Gold market internals which have supported its price in 2016, and the possibility of a pullback
• The relevance of the Commitments of Traders report in the Gold market
• What institutional positioning in precious metals tells us about liquidity flows
• Platinum, Palladium, their extraction methods and uses, their relationship to each other and other PMs
• Where we are currently in the broader commodities cycle
• The problems facing China, Japan, and Europe
• Economic, social, and political issues in Russia
• Possibilities for Gold and non-USD currencies playing a bigger role in central bank reserves, and more...

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Erik Townsend welcomes Steve Keen to MacroVoices. Erik and Professor Keen discuss:

• A comparison of the prevailing schools of economic thought
• The role of credit in the economy
• The importance of existing inventory when considering supply and demand calculations
• What's wrong with neoclassical economics and how central bank policy needs to adapt
• How Professor Keen was able to foresee the 2008 financial crisis
• The mistake of mainstream economics in ignoring the importance of private sector debt
• Low credit growth leading to a stangant economy
• "Zombie Economies" and which countries are most likely to suffer another crisis
• How to know if you're living in a Zombie Economy
• The need to reduce private debt, and the ways to incentivize such a reduction
• Plus Samir Madani joins us to discuss #OOTT and much more

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A conversation on February 19th, 2016 between Raoul Pal and Grant Williams, co-founders of Real Vision Television.

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Erik Townsend welcomes Satyajit Das to MacroVoices. Erik and Das discuss:

• The US as the cleanest shirt in a very dirty laundry basket of economies, and what it portends for the USD
• Emerging market debt and how it should be dealt with if interest rates rise
• The difference between a cuclical downturn and a structural shift, and how policy should respond
• The problem with "emergency measures" becoming permanent policy
• A global population obsessed with perpetual incremental improvements to living standards
• Negative interest rates as a form of taxation
• Malinvestment in China, and how it exacerbates the global debt problem
• How China might deal with this round of over-indebtedness, and what's different this time
• How the global economy will be impacted by a slowdown and shift in focus in China
• Gold as a currency, as a hedge, and as a "matter of faith"
• The potential for the entire global economy to "turn Japanese" 

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Erik Townsend welcomes Richard Duncan to MacroVoices. Erik and Richard discuss:

• The events in world world history which have led to increased government spending and record debt
• The catalysts that made everything "pop" in 2008
• How QE works, who benefits from it, and how likely it is to persist
• The results of having a government directed economic system for over 76 years
• Unique conditions which allowed extraordinary policy from the Fed, and how the US could capitalize on them
• The looming threat of war increasing due to a "need" for increased government spending
• The alternative forms of government spending we could see in lieu of war
• The possibility, and likely futility of "helicopter money"
• Why we won't see the end of the USD's role as world reserve currency anytime soon
• And fistfuls of more good stuff...

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Kyle Bass interviews John Burbank on March 6th, 2015

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Erik Townsend welcomes Rick Rule to MacroVoices. Erik and Rick discuss:

• Rick’s general thesis on precious metals and how they differ from other natural resources

• The relative predictability of commodities due to their cyclicality

• The spectacular returns available to investors who can be brave when others are fearful

• The value of contrarian information when markets are out of favor

• The value of private placement and P.I.P.E. investments

• Rick’s personal investment strategies at the current time

• The dangers and importance of identifying conflicts of interest in investing

• The resources available to investors to help them protect themselves against frauds

• Erik and Art Berman bring us up to speed on the US crude oil inventory situation, and what fundamental factors may have changed moving the market still higher

• Art warns that this rally may have been about the market pricing in looming supply risks, and more...

• Register for free at the top of this page to have Art's powerpoint presentation sent to you by email

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Erik Townsend welcomes Jim Rickards to MacroVoices. Erik and Jim discuss:

• Gold as a currency, rather than an investment, because "earning yield requires taking risk"

• The USD rally and the Fed’s influence on its ability to continue

• The difference between a central bank’s ability to cure inflation, vs. curing deflation

• The possibilities of confiscation, taxation, and NIRP and their effects on the relative attractiveness of Gold

• The Fed first tightening into weakness, and now turning more dovish after a market correction in early 2016

• The reasons why governments can’t tolerate inflation

• Gold as a potential hedge against deflation, as well as inflation

• How QE actually functions, and why we’ve seen so little effect on the real economy

• What the next form of stimulus may look like, and how it may affect the outlook on Gold

• The necessity for structural solutions, not monetary solutions, to structural problems

• What an increase in institutional holdings of Gold would mean for price, and plenty more...

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Erik Townsend welcomes Raoul Pal to MacroVoices. Erik and Raoul discuss:

• The US Dollar backstory and how central bank policy divergence got us here
• US government bonds and the potential for interest rates to move much lower
• Weak growth in the US and a business cycle that is appearing to roll over
• The risks of loaning money to insolvent governments in the form of sovereign bonds
• Changing our operating framework to better understand a changing global macro picture
• Gold and real estate becoming hedges to the currency risk involved with negative interest rates
• Gold's ability to rally in the face of potential further Dollar strength
• The European banking system and "CoCo Bonds"
• The ban on cash and the real reasons the powers that be are moving in this direction
• "The Big Uglies" and what could trigger an economic recession
• Which forms further monetary or fiscal stimulus could take, and more...

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