Property in Japan is considered a depreciating asset, like a car. When young people inherit property in Japan, it is seen as a burden because of the costs of upkeep or demolition. Arson by the owner to escape tax and insurance fees is a real problem.

On Friday, I ask Nigel Farage about whether the mess in Afghanistan would lead to a repeat of Europe’s 2015 refugee crisis. He said something which shocked me about the connection between that crisis and Brexit.

The US joins the Soviet Union, the British Empire, and a long list of ancient powers that were bested by this unforgiving country at the centre of the world. Is the sun now setting on America’s superpower status, just as it was for the Soviet Union?

BROUGHTON, EDINBURGH – Well, the results are in from Monday’s poll… And I must say, I’m a little surprised: A lot of oil bulls out there – nearly three quarters of respondents. And there I was thinking I had a…

BROUGHTON, EDINBURGH – They called them the Seven Sisters. Seven companies which ruled the world. It all began in August 1928, at a castle called Achnacarry. It’s in the Highlands, near Ben Nevis – about half an hour’s drive from…

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – The Suez Canal traffic jam is easing. The Ever Given is free at last, and not only of its recently earned nickname the “Never Given Way”… In recent issues of this letter (Beached in particular) we’ve pondered…

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – The energy sector has been a hotbed of market unrest over the past year: a constantly evolving, volatile warzone enriching and ruining investors in equal measure. Last April negative oil prices busted on to the scene for…

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – The beached whale ain’t budging. The Ever Given remains stubbornly lodged in the middle of the Suez Canal. And the traffic jam is now close to some 240 vessels long… And that’s just in the jam itself….

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – We examined the spectacle of the Ever Given yesterday, the 200,000 tonne container vessel blocking the Suez Canal. As of this morning, it remains wedged in place, creating a traffic jam in global trade 150 vessels long…

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – I took a wander downtown the other evening. I needed some fresh air, and I was curious to see how the high street is looking like these days. We’re all pretty used to the sight of desolate…

ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND – “I make the biggest efforts possible to not support the Chinese economy in any way. Supporting the economy is supporting the CCP. It’s crazy more people in the world are not standing up against this.” So says…

As I write to you, the Electoral College has just convened to officially hand Joe Biden the presidency. But while one leader may have been swept out of office, the status quo remains unshaken. For a special holiday issue, the…

In 2000, founder of our parent company Bill Bonner issued his “Trade of the Decade” idea. And in this conversation with Bonner Private Research member Chris Mayer, Dan Denning picks his mind about the different layers of unconventional thinking that…

I was lucky to escape the second “official” lockdown with my little escapade to Stockholm. But I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying in the UK, so long as the lockdowns persist. I’ve a mind to seek my fortune…

BUXTON BREWERY CELLAR, DERBYSHIRE – Is this chart a fifth full, or a fifth empty? Look there, on the bottom right – is this cause for optimism, or pessimism? Source: The Market Ear The city that never sleeps is looking…

THE BELL, STAFFORDSHIRE – “It all sounds a bit like the man who jumped off the top of a skyscraper and said as he passed each floor on the way down ~ ‘So far, so good’…” A reader responds to…

Election Day will officially be held on Tuesday 3rd November in America. But actually, every day is Election Day from now until then. Early voting has already kicked off in several key “battleground” states – contests that will deal a…

William Dahl of Southbank Investment Daily here, stepping in for Boaz today. Not only am I honoured to do so, but I also can’t think of a better week to make the case for my own thesis on the US…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – First, the jobs report on Friday showed a big collapse in hiring. The official numbers showed 20,000 new jobs added in February, a far cry from the 170,000 that were expected. Then, the Atlanta Fed said projected…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Stocks ended last week on a low note, after a jobs report showed the smallest gains since 2017. Larry Kudlow – the president’s director of the National Economic Council – was on TV almost immediately explaining how…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – A Washington Post headline caught our eye on the weekend: “Trump to slash spending” At last! Our eyes lit up. Our pulse raced. Finally, the Great Disruptor was disrupting something that really matters. Slash spending! Cut the budget! Fire…

LA PAMPA GRANDE, ARGENTINA – Comes word that the Democrats are up to more mischief. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) was expected to introduce a new tax bill earlier this week. The senator says his bill would tax the sale of…

Boaz Shoshan is putting the finishing touches on this month’s Zero Hour Alert this morning. So I’m back in the hot seat at Capital & Conflict. But you know what, this morning I really don’t need to give you much…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – The news is full of absurdities, trivialities, and just plain dumb things. But some of them are revealing. But we interrupt our dot connecting with a brief travel update. We’re visiting a neighboring farm (6 hours’ drive…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – “It’s amazing that any of us survived at all,” said Natalio, sitting in the back seat of our truck, holding on to the passenger grip above the seat to cushion the bumps and turns, as he recalled…

“Of all the weapons in the vast Soviet arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Avtomat Kalashnikova model of 1947, more commonly known as the AK-47 or Kalashnikov. It’s the world’s most popular assault rifle, a weapon all fighters love. An…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Mike Pence told the crowd at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) that “we will never be a socialist country.” What was that? A prediction? Or just political BS? Already, America’s medical system – 17% of the economy…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – What a week! Cohen, Kim, Powell, Xi, Putin – We could barely keep up with the excitement. But, strangely, investors were blasé… It didn’t matter to them that the president’s own lawyer accused him of impeachable offenses…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – We made two bold predictions, about a year ago. Today, we make another one.

I’ve no edge when it comes to India-Pakistan relations, so I’ve no insight as to how the two countries will behave now that violence has erupted between them. All I know is, 1: You’ll be able to cut the atmosphere…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – “Is he okay?” “We don’t know yet.” “But he’s at home?” “Yes, the doctor said there was nothing they could do.” Ranching, especially out here, far from hospitals… doctors… or even roads… is a risky business. Yesterday,…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Politics – whether local or national – is always a con game. And the con generally increases with the scale. The bigger the “we,” the bigger the swindle.

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – With the Dow once again over 26,000, we have to wonder… Are stocks really in a bear market? We thought we passed the peak in October. If so, we can look forward to a long bear market…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Warning: The following may not be suitable for today’s namby-pamby, panty-waisted, gluten-fearing audiences. Cattle Drive Yesterday was the roundup. We set out on horseback early in the morning. But the gauchos were way ahead of us. We…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Let’s see, Dear Reader, what were we talking about? We are on a walkabout… looking at others in order to see ourselves. And, oh yes… the gist of the last few days’ conversation was that you should…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – We are a-wandering… searching high and low… looking for ourselves. Yes, that is what travel is all about: trying to find out who you are.

$22 trillion and QE4EVA… The inflation temptation and gold or government bonds?… Flow towers, victory gardens, and boltholes… NEW PLYMOUTH, TARANAKI – The Fed is going to make this sucker blow. That’s what I found myself thinking this morning, looking…

Editor’s Note: Today, something a bit different for Diary readers. Recently, Bill attended an invitation-only meeting at our nation’s capital. Dan Denning, Bill’s right-hand man on The Bill Bonner Letter, was also in attendance. The stated purpose: Discuss the coming financial crisis and how…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

PARIS – We begin with kvetches. Complaints. Grumbles. From dear readers… Anyone who opposes Trump is anti-American. – G.M. Listen, you are smart enough to know that if you keep banging the president, a lot of us are leaving. You…

PARIS – We live in an Era of Busted Dreams (EBD). Yesterday, we looked at one of them – the banged-up hope that Donald J. Trump might turn things around. It seems more and more unlikely. First, because he doesn’t…

PARIS – This week, the threads come together… the lines converge… the dots connect… The State of the Union… The Republicans and Democrats… “Us vs. Them”… Our own wobbly “us”… …and the coming financial catastrophe.

A physician cannot heal the sick if he is ignorant of the causes of certain conditions of the body, nor can a statesman help his fellow citizens if he cannot follow how, why or by what process each event had…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – We warned readers. This week would require a little extra effort. We are challenging one of our most deeply held instincts – the drive to take sides. As expected, many readers sided against your editor yesterday. They were…

It’s a wonder you’ve managed to keep your business going with such a fervent Republican bias. Apparently, you don’t want to have Democrats among your members. I’ve just started and already I’m beginning to question why I bothered. I couldn’t…

Our “Blueprint for Cold War II” series last week was timely. On Thursday, we outlined the risks to investors should the US pull out of a certain missile non-proliferation treaty with Russia. On Friday, it pulled out of it, and…

“Money, capital, has a life of its own. It’s a force of the nature. Like gravity. Like the oceans. It flows where it wants to flow. This whole thing with the Arabs and gold is inevitable – we’re just going…

RANCHO SANTANA – Last week went by so fast! Stocks got a big boost on Wednesday, on news of an impending trade deal with China. Then too, Jerome Powell announced that if anything was going to ruin the party on…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – We cannot remember, understand, or keep track of complicated investment tactics. We have to keep it simple. In our Grand Strategic Plan, we buy stocks when they are cheap relative to gold; when they are not…

A return to the dark days of the first Cold War, constant threat of nuclear annihilation included, is not exactly a pleasant prospect. So before I conclude this three-part series on why I think that’s coming (and how to profit…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – We got here yesterday, after the usual travel indignities. What we like about Ol’ Billy, our daughter’s blind dog, is the way he bears his afflictions with grace, which is the best any of us can…

Today we continue with our Cold War II thesis. If you want to know why a sequel to the Cuban Missile Crisis is coming and you didn’t read yesterday’s letter, click here to read it. The final part of this…

I’m currently drafting a report for the Capital & Conflict website to attract new readers. But I thought I’d share it in the daily letter to begin with – after all, you lot signed up first! Some of this briefing…

DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA – Americans seem to be getting on board the “tax the rich” train faster than they can sell tickets for it. We thought it would take at least a couple of years… and a recession… to bring…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – “Soldiers revolt…” “Millions on verge of starvation…” “Biggest mass exodus in history of the Americas…” What a glorious show! Right before our eyes… a real-life, real-time experiment… …all the conceits… the pretensions… the balderdash… the claptrap… …all…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – It pays to be one of the elite. Not only do you ride in first class and live in a better zip code, you get richer, too. Bloomberg is on the story: David Rubenstein has doubled his…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – We spent the weekend as a seeing eye human. Our daughter asked us to dog-sit. What are parents for? And the dog in question, a golden retriever, had gone blind. Ol’ Billy would take a little extra…

It’s time for the global elite to reassure each other that they’re still in charge, and that everything will be all right. Yes dear reader, it’s time for Davos, the annual globalist gathering. Central bankers, economists, multinational businessmen, politicos and…

Editor’s Note: Yesterday, markets closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Bill will resume his regularly scheduled dot-connecting tomorrow. Today, we invite you to enjoy something a bit different… Below, a guest essay from master trader Jeff Clark….

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The intellectuals are laying the groundwork. That is, they’re digging the foundations for an extraordinary structure – a tower of debt higher than any ever seen in world history. The primary architect? Paul Krugman? Jerome Powell? Joseph…

“But what about the pension funds?” the man across the table asked me. We were having dinner in a restaurant overlooking the Thames, a view tarnished only by the scaffolding cocooning Westminster. I had just outlined my theory that as…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – We are on our way to the future. Not that we know what will happen, but we’ve been looking at the broad patterns of history. Most likely, they will repeat themselves… and surprise everyone. Over the last…

The January issue of Zero Hour Alert went out last week. It’s all about how China is amping up its navy, and the risks this poses to financial markets as China looks to control financial markets. While the expansion of…

Credo quia absurdum (I believe because it is absurd). – Tertullian You can’t make this stuff up. – Unknown BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Stocks went nowhere on Monday. Congress and the White House didn’t get anywhere, either, in their attempts to…

For those who live inside a myth, it seems a self-evident fact. – John Gray BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – We began the weekend in hushed anticipation of an approaching snowstorm. All week long, the weathermen had been warning us we’d get…

[The] future has arrived, and it is nothing less than a new cold war. … this situation will last decades and will only get worse, whatever this or that trade deal is struck between smiling Chinese and American presidents in…

BALTIMORE – The Donald goes to “The Wall” and the debate goes on. POTUS visited America’s southern border towns, trying to drum up support for his long-promised border wall. Meanwhile, as we saw last week, so far, we’re losing ground…

James here, editor of Exponential Energy Fortunes. Boaz is away today and has asked me to fill in. So today, we turn our attention to the future of oil markets… and how the rapid rollout of electric vehicles is depriving…

BALTIMORE – In his talks with Democrat leaders on Wednesday, POTUS apparently lost his temper. He slammed his hand down on the table and walked out. The subject was money – $5.7 billion, to be precise – the money requested…

Nick Hubble here. I wasn’t quite finished with you on Monday, so Boaz Shoshan let me elbow back in with more today. Two days ago I showed you how the high priests of Europe’s monetary experiment are abandoning ship. The…

BALTIMORE – A big, new danger appeared in Congress this month: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the newest representative of New York’s 14th district. At 29, she is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress; she will doubtless be there for decades to…

BALTIMORE – Stocks advanced a little on Monday. Investors were said to be hopeful about the upcoming trade talks with the Chinese. With a little luck, President Trump will talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the ongoing trade war….

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Wow… another big up day for the Dow on Friday. The index had climbed 747 points, or 3.3%, by the time the closing bell rang. Analysts credited a strong jobs market and a weak Fed. The Bureau…

Way back in 2012 (remember then?), a Danish policeman ordered some Cuban cigars from Germany. It was a perfectly legal and above-board bank transaction, but the money he paid – roughly £16,500 – disappeared. Why? The answer is simple, but…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – On Tuesday, we awoke to the sound of sirens. After a week at the family farm, we had come back to the city for New Year’s Eve. But hardly had the new year begun when the echoes…

Editor’s Note: Happy New Year from Bill Bonner and the team at Bonner & Partners. A new year is here. We are happy to have you on board. Expect to continue to receive Bill’s trademark wit and insights straight to…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Well, we were wrong. We figured the Fed would pause now. Instead, it went ahead with its rate hike and suggested it would pause in 2019. This was widely expected by the markets, if not by us….

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The last leaves are falling from the trees. And the last days of December are counting down, like the quiet moments before an execution. Friday, the Dow fell nearly another 500 points. From Bloomberg: Investors rushed out…

DELRAY BEACH, FLORIDA – We’re down in Florida to meet a new grandchild. It’s a different world down here – different from Ireland, Maryland, France, Argentina… our usual haunts. Florida is flat. And barely above sea level. If the North…

Theresa May wrestles on in the mud of No. 10. The value of the pound has taken a return flight to where it was on 10 December before the no confidence commotion, this short act of the play now concluded….

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – A fight with the Fed one week. A trade war with China the next. And now, it’s a war with the Democrats. Donald J. Trump knows how to keep the cameras rolling. From Bloomberg: President Donald Trump…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Monday’s trading was inconclusive, like an argument between a husband and wife that has been going on for years. Sellers opened with an attack that sent the Dow down 500 points. Buyers defended themselves… forcing the Dow…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Whatever good was done by the Trump/Xi trade war truce in Buenos Aires was likely undone by what was done in Vancouver Airport earlier this month. Bogeyman Program The U.S. stock market warmed to the idea of…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

BALTIMORE – Well, it didn’t take investors long… In less than 24 hours, they figured out that the trade war was fake and the “incredible” deal between President T. and the Chinese at the G20 summit was fake, too. JPMorgan…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The historic powwow at the G20 in Buenos Aires last weekend could turn out to produce some positive results. At least the Chinese and the Americans are thrashing around. Maybe they’ll knock down a trade barrier or…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The show went on! And, as we predicted, The Donald claimed victory… and stocks went up. When we left you previously, Mr. Trump was on Air Force One. He was on his way to the G20 in…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – The stock market continued with a modest bounce on Tuesday… but America’s automotive giant, General Motors, sank into the mud. The proximate cause was a tweet by President T., who threatened to remove federal subsidies to GM’s…

Yesterday I took advantage of our newly refurbished studio to interview Nick Hubble on his new book, How the Euro Dies – look out for it later this week. With any luck I’ll be recording an episode of The Gold…

BALTIMORE – We spent a delightful, long Thanksgiving weekend in the country, entertaining children and grandchildren. Not once did we open our laptop computer or look at the headlines. But now, it is another workweek, and we’re back on the…

By Bill Bonner November 22, 2018 Editor’s Note: As Bill writes his daily articles from the US, this post has been published a day behind. For Thanksgiving, Bill shares some little-known details around the American holiday. Dour Puritans… Thanksgiving during the Civil War……

In Cold War II, where will the UK stand? To whom will Britannia pledge her trident: the US, or China? A quick recap. My thesis that Cold War II will occur runs as follows: to remain a superpower, the US…

Thy love afar is spite at home. – Ralph Waldo Emerson BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – Another week. This one should be slow… with many people off for Thanksgiving. But you never know. The old-timers say the days before a holiday are…

“Just remember that Mr Market will coax everybody back into the pool before he tosses the toaster oven in.” – Dave Collum, financial commentator/chemistry professor Collum’s metaphor is somewhat crude, but he makes a good point – the death of…

DUBLIN – We’re in Dublin… en route to the USA for the holidays. Dublin is a vibrant, lively city. Not especially elegant, unlike Paris… and not especially dynamic, unlike London… Nor is it especially huge and imposing, like New York…

What I’ve learned at the Federal Reserve is a new language which is called “Fed speak.” You soon learn to mumble with great incoherence. – Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan DUBLIN – Alan Greenspan is alive and well. Aged…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – “The whole thing is a giant fraud,” was perhaps too much for an unprepared audience to take on. Your editor, in trying to explain why the U.S. money is “fake,” had perhaps bitten off more than he…

How long must we benefit from something… before we take it for granted? A week? A year? A decade? Stock prices are built on many layers of our assumptions. Investors assume many conditions will stay the same or will move…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – The muffled bells began tolling at precisely 11 o’clock on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. And then, the poppies began to fall. St. Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny was marking the end of…

I used to try to get things done by saying “please.” Now, I dynamite ‘em out of my path. Former senator from Louisiana, Huey Long YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Friday morning, an Associated Press headline caught our eye. “Conservatives agitate for…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Wednesday was a big day for the U.S. stock market. October was forgiven. And forgotten. All is well, because the president and the new Democrat majority in the House are going to work together… …to rip off…

ARDMORE, IRELAND – On Tuesday, the voters spoke. The media – eager to attract eyeballs for their paid advertisers – spun the story as if it were the most important thing to happen since Adam ate the apple. But what…

If you thought the last two years of American politics were entertaining, the next two will be spectacular. The Democrats have taken the lower house of US Congress. But Republicans gained seats in the Senate. Which ruined the Democrats’ narrative…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

Christmas cannot come early enough for General Electric ($GE).   While Oxford Street may be getting its Christmas lights switched on today, the festive mood has yet to bleed into global stockmarkets. GE in particular could really use some eggnog…

Do your remember Donald Trump’s upset win over Hillary Clinton? Of course you do. But do you remember the financial market fallout? Business Insider laid it out nicely at the time: US stock futures are plunging as well. As of…

POITOU, FRANCE – What America most lacks is cynicism. People listen to a news conference without laughing. They read the headlines without even guffawing. They believe their “warriors” are protecting them abroad. At home, they think their elected officials have…

November 1, 2018 I once was what you are, and what I am, you also will be. – Memento mori epitaph from The Holy Trinity, a fresco by Masaccio POITOU, FRANCE – We came back to France to celebrate the…

My object in living is to unite My avocation and my vocation As my two eyes make one in sight. Only where love and need are one, And the work is play for mortal stakes, Is the deed ever really…

October 30, 2018 YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Back in Ireland for a few days, we take up an agreeable routine. We read and write in the morning. In the afternoon, we lay stone, closing the open gable ends of our old…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – A wonderfully fraudulent confrontation is setting up… On one side is Donald J. Trump, pretending that he has “already made America great again” and blaming the Fed for ruining his beautiful work. He wants the Fed to…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – As expected, the Dow bounced back last Thursday. The index was up 400 points. But this morning opened with another downdraft. Maybe the bubble and the pin have found each other. Maybe they haven’t. TBD… Fall Guy…

DUBLIN – Trading on Wall Street began on Tuesday with a thud. Earnings were reported. And the Street was not happy. The Dow sold off by 500 points, recovering some of the loss during the course of the day. More…

WATERFORD, IRELAND – First, a news flash: Donald Trump is proposing another tax cut. “Huh?” wondered Washington and the media. “How are we going to pay for government? The deficit is already out of control.” “The Donald works in mysterious…

HAMILTON, BERMUDA – Hmmm… The plot thickens. The Trump team came into office with what might have been a historic opportunity to drain the Swamp and take the feds down a peg. Mr. Trump even said he would eliminate the…

Time alone – oh, time will tell You think you are in heaven, but you living in hell – “Time Will Tell,” Bob Marley HAMILTON, BERMUDA – Where are we? Heaven or Hell? Bermuda feels like Heaven. The sea is…

BERLIN – We’ve looked at the past: $20 trillion added to the world’s monetary base over the last 20 years… $250 trillion of debt worldwide… U.S. stocks pushed to record highs… We’ve looked at the present: sales, pre-tax earnings, and…

BERLIN – Yesterday, we saw the past, the present, and the future… all stumbling over one another. On the march were the mistakes of the past 20 years – funded by trillions in fake money flushed into the markets by…

Berlin is the testicle of the West. When I want the West to scream, I squeeze on Berlin. – Nikita Khrushchev BERLIN – “You’d think they would have learned something. They lived with communism for 45 years. They should know…

BERLIN – Berlin is not a particularly attractive city – at least, not from our hotel room near the famous avenue, Unter den Linden. The buildings are all monumental, graceless, and blockish. For years, the city has attracted young people…

BERLIN – Almost everyone is disgusted by the manner in which now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed. But here at the Diary, we always look on the bright side, even when it’s pitch black. Disgrace and Revulsion The feelings of disgrace…

I was asked at last week’s news conference whether these forecasts are too good to be true – a reasonable question. – Fed Chairman Jerome Powell BUENOS AIRES – Last Thursday, while we were out of touch… the markets grew…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – We pick up where we left off yesterday. The big winner from the new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) deal, now called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), is the Swamp. Here’s Jeffrey J. Schott of the Peterson…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – What was wrong with the thousands of generations that came before us? All their antique courtship rituals… sitting on the front porch, chaperones, and pitching woo. They must have been really stupid! Because all it took was…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Thursday morning, the yard crew were putting up a stake on the Capitol lawn and laying around it a supply of tinder. It was to be a small fire… hot and slow. Brett Kavanaugh was duly tied…

Before we get to the Labour Party’s attempt to ruin Britain, overnight news confirmed yesterday’s Capital & Conflict. But in an interesting way. Finance Minister Giovanni Tria didn’t just bow to Lega and Five Star demands. He bowed out of…

MOLINOS, ARGENTINA – “Never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake,” said Napoleon. In the 1970s, two of America’s biggest rivals were making big mistakes. Russia had been operating a centrally planned economy since the 1920s. China took…

BUENOS AIRES – Today, we woke up in Buenos Aires with a disagreeable headache… and a depressing hypothesis: First, it doesn’t matter whether Brett Kavanaugh is on the Supreme Court or not; one more Deep State toad won’t make any…

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – Time is money. Money is time. Get over it. We lost a lot of time yesterday. We were meant to fly to Buenos Aires from Frankfurt. But things often go wrong… Our flight from Dublin was late,…

Here’s your big idea for today, and indeed for the rest of 2018: is Donald Trump about to put a bullet in the tech bull market and trigger an all-out war for free speech at the same time? There are…

FRANKFURT, GERMANY – It’s hard to know where to start. We connect the dots… but the dots just get wackier. The stock market – already outrageously overpriced – goes higher! The deficit – already way out of control – just…

And it’s time, time, time And it’s time, time, time That you love. And it’s time, time, time. – “Time,” Tom Waits YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Yes, it’s time that you always run out of. You wish you’d spent more time…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Yesterday, we looked at what the U.S. republic has become: a vast swamp of idlers, chislers, cronies, and insiders… all angling for the meat in someone else’s burger. Politicians and public servants no longer retire to their…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Today, we take a look at the Swamp. Slimy, slippery, slithery – the Swamp stretches out from the banks of the Potomac and beyond. It is home to the government, of course, but also to whole industries……

Dear shadows, now you know it all, All the folly of a fight With a common wrong or right. The innocent and the beautiful Have no enemy but time; – “In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markievicz,” William Butler…

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned;…

DUBLIN – We turned on the news this morning… What we discovered was a very delighted young man, explaining why the economy is running red-hot. The number of new job offers, he said, is greater than the number of new…

CHERBOURG, FRANCE – We’re on the ferry that will take us to Ireland. It is foggy outside. We can see nothing. This is just the beginning of a long trip that will take us to South America (where we get…

See me, feel me Touch me, heal me – “See Me, Feel Me,” The Who PARIS – Now, we come to the bang! But first, let’s check the headlines… Oh my… There’s somebody in the White House casting doubt on…

POITOU, FRANCE – The last days of summer are dwindling down… to a precious few. It is the best time of year here in France. The sun has cooled. The days are shorter; the nights are still and clear. The…

Editor’s Note: Last week, President Trump accused Silicon Valley giant Google of censoring conservative-leaning articles in its search results. Google denied the charge. But Dan Denning, Bill’s coauthor on The Bill Bonner Letter, thinks the president might be on to…

POITOU, FRANCE – So passeth the last days of summer… The sun sinks lower every day. We put things away. We close the shutters. And the cool night drafts seep in through the cracks. Stones Whisper Yesterday, we went to…

Last year, the world looked set for a return to war in Korea. For the first half of this year, the narrative suddenly changed. But now the peace process is looking more like a short-lived peace performance instead. Today we…

POITOU, FRANCE – The U.S. economy… all $20 trillion of it… explained in a single tweet (any similarity between this and one you might get from the president of the United States of America is pure coincidence): Just look at…

POITOU, FRANCE – On Monday, the Nasdaq set a new record. So did the S&P 500… From CNBC: Stocks ended sharply higher Monday as the United States and Mexico closed a new trade deal. Investors also assessed reassuring comments from…

Trouble ahead, Lady in red Take my advice you’d be better off dead Switchman’s sleeping, train hundred and two is On the wrong track and headed for you – “Casey Jones,” Grateful Dead POITOU, FRANCE – And so… the trains…

POITOU, FRANCE – Coming up the tracks from Washington… and getting up steam after the news of the last couple of days… is the ol’ Deep State Cannonball. Headed in the opposite direction is the most over-aged, overpriced, and overhyped…

POITOU, FRANCE – This just in… The man who made America great again in record time – only 18 months – with unemployment at half-century lows and stocks at all-time highs… now says he is “not thrilled” about the Fed’s…

POITOU, FRANCE – Well that was easy! After less than two years in office, Trump says it’s “mission accomplished.” A presidential tweet: I have already MADE America Great Again, just look at the markets, jobs, military – setting records, and…

POITOU, FRANCE – Coming into focus is a fuller picture of the worldwide financial crisis. This week, we began looking at Turkey, but only because Donald Trump sent an extraordinary tweet last Friday. In it, the president broke with tradition…

POITOU, FRANCE – “Do you follow what is going on in Turkey? That guy is a real moron…” Thus began a conversation at a party we attended Sunday night. Reuters provided some background: The Turkish lira has long been falling…

Time will prove that the US eventually makes a fool of itself. – People’s Daily, official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party POITOU, FRANCE – We’ve made two bold, perhaps reckless, predictions. As to one of them, we’re beginning to…

POITOU, FRANCE – Last week, we guessed that The Donald would back down on his threat to impose a 25% tariff on Chinese goods coming into the U.S. Not because it would be a $50 billion tax on his own…

NORMANDY, FRANCE – Oh boy… the plot thickens. The New York Times reports: President Trump escalated his trade war with China on Wednesday, ordering his administration to consider more than doubling proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods…

ON THE HIGH SEAS – Yes, we are at sea… rounding England from Ireland, on our way to Cherbourg, France. We’re doing far more back-and-forth traveling this year than we would like. With a little luck, though, we’ll be able…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – “The real question is whether the new dictatorship is one of the right or the left. I think the left is the bigger danger.” A friend, who prefers to remain anonymous, had asked us to imagine what…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – What a spectacular summer! People may be frying eggs on the sidewalks of Algiers and fighting forest fires in Sweden, but here in Ireland, the heatwave is a delight. Farmers are grousing, of course, but we are…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – The markets seemed to hold their breath… still, like dead leaves before a hurricane. The Dow barely moved on Monday. Jim Cramer, of TV’s Mad Money, says we’re waiting to see if the EU “caves” in Donald…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – It’s official. The White House says its tax cut didn’t pan out the way it expected. Instead of a projected deficit of $526 billion in 2019, the Office of Management and Budget now estimates Trump’s proposed budget…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – We left off yesterday with a provocative question: Has Trump really gone to war with the Deep State? Or was he just mouthing off in Helsinki… off message… and out of control? There are a couple more…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – On Monday, the world’s press once again erupted in outrage. The hacks were upset… appalled… indignant. Of course, it was The Donald that set it off. But this time, they charged him not with being a boor…

LONDON – London is abuzz. Aflame. Doubled up in laughter. Shrieking in outrage. The U.S. president came. He saw. He went bonkers.

NORMANDY, FRANCE – Clowns to the left of us… jokers to the right – what a hoot it is to watch them jump and howl. Trade barriers… LGBT bathroom policies… the Dow… Elizabeth Warren… Rudolph Giuliani… unemployment… QT [quantitative tightening]……

POITOU, FRANCE – No big movement in the stock market on Thursday. In politics, the Senate passed an $800 billion boondoggle for farmers. The feds promised to cover crop insurance costs and pay farmers if their harvests come in short….

You’re a cowardly, leftist moron, to say the least. – Comment from a Dear Reader, received yesterday POITOU, FRANCE – Over the weekend, we drove down to the South of France for a birthday party. It was in the Tarn…

POITOU, FRANCE – On Thursday came word that the European Central Bank followed through, just like the Fed. After $2.7 trillion in “stimulus,” it has officially taken its foot off the pedal. No more bond purchases by the end of…

The World Cup has begun. You’ll find yourself utterly mystified by my coverage over the next few weeks. As a German by birth, Brit by citizenship, Australian by choice and Japanese by something called a “family register”, I have decent…

POITOU, FRANCE – What a rollicking good time we’ve had these past few days. The G7… the North Korean summit… Canada’s “backstabber” chief… trade wars… U.S. midterm elections… Did any generation before us enjoy so much cheap entertainment? Place in…

“… there’s this massive dead cockroach right under this chair.” “[nodding] There are nights sometimes when you hear the rats scurrying around in the ceiling too.” Where do you reckon this conversation took place? The answer may surprise you. And…

All earthly empires die. Is this the end? Only God knows. – St. Augustine, 413 AD POITOU, FRANCE – Last Thursday, in advance of the G7 pow-wow at the weekend, Donald Trump tweeted his position on trade: If we charge…

Vernacular: A vernacular, or vernacular language, is the language or variety of a language used in everyday life by the common people of a specific population. It is distinguished from a standard, national, or literary language or a lingua franca, used…

PARIS – Well, it’s all settled. This is the greatest economy that the world has ever seen. The president said so himself on Twitter over the weekend: Tax CUTS are working. America is WINNING BIG under President Trump! The Nasdaq hit a new record…

26 years ago, the European Council released a poster. It illustrated its ambitions for Europe with a bright catchphrase and colours. But soon after its release, it abruptly withdrew it. It wasn’t popular with the public. And it revealed a…

PARIS – “Trump declares war on Europe,” says yesterday’s headline in Le Monde. We came over on the ferry from Southern Ireland. It takes longer than flying. But we have our car here, which makes it easier to get around –…

The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere. – Donald J. Trump, Playboy magazine, 1990 YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Commentators and political analysts have consistently misread our president. They try to understand him using traditional political categories. Is he a conservative…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – When you’ve got a chainsaw, you cut down a tree. And when you’ve got control of monetary and fiscal policy… you go to work on an economy. In both cases, you leave them in pieces.

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – You may be wondering what our discussion last week of “Bad Guy” Theory had to do with our beat… money. We wondered, too. We used the Memorial Day holiday to figure it out. So let us begin by peeking…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – Nothing much to report from the markets… So we gird our loins, put on our armor, and go into battle. We’re anticipating a fight.

This Capital & Conflict will attempt to persuade you that America is a poor, bankrupt nation without hope or promise. And you should do something about it. I’m still trying to persuade myself, because what I’ve found is rather shocking to…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – The Dow turned down a bit on Tuesday. The 10-year Treasury yield held at 3.07%. As long as neither revisits its recent top and bottom, respectively, we presume the “primary trend” for both the bond market and…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – The Dow jumped over 25,000 on Monday. But unless (and until) it can beat the January top of 26,616, we will presume that the primary trend, which we detailed previously, is down. And since primary trends tend to…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – The press was abuzz last weekend with comments on the killings in Gaza. We do not normally take an interest in the affairs of the region. It’s none of our business… there’s nothing we can do anything…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – It is a typical May day here in Ireland. The temperature is 48 degrees this morning. It is cloudy and gray. We are staying over here in Youghal… pronounced “yawl”… so that we can keep up with…

YOUGHAL, IRELAND – First, we note that the 10-year T-note yield is holding above 3%. It is on its way to 4%, we think, and will herald the final destruction of the great, fake boom of 2009–2018. Meanwhile… Death by…

PORTLAW, IRELAND – Why was Donald Trump elected? What kind of accident was this? The liberal intelligentsia has been trying to come up with an answer – not just any answer, but one that accomplishes two very important purposes. It…

The lira is coming back. After two months of silence from Italy’s coalition negotiations, it’s all happening too fast. Remember, politics is Italy’s only way out of the euro. That currency and its monetary policy has kept one of the…

It is more proper that law should govern than any one of the citizens. – Aristotle, Politics, Book III By Bill Bonner, Chairman, Bonner & Partners PORTLAW, IRELAND – Yesterday, we took a look at what was happening in Argentina. A shorthand…

Politicians and central bankers love to talk down their currency. It’s an age-old policy – part of mercantilism. A cheaper currency makes your exports more competitive internationally. And your imports more expensive, encouraging the consumption of local goods. Both favour…

PORTLAW, IRELAND – “Now that’s a rate hike!” Our colleague James Wells sent a report from The New York Times. It told us that the central bank of Argentina wasn’t fooling around. Instead of pussyfooting with 0.25% per quarter rate hikes…

Were you surprised to see North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and South Korea’s Moon Jae-in shake hands over the Korean border? Then you didn’t read Capital & Conflict on 23 November 2017. In fact, I’ve been predicting the reunification of Korea…

DUBLIN – Myths, myths, myths… Bamboozles… claptrap… bummmph… clownish gods… jackass deities! We are surrounded… outnumbered… hopelessly outgunned. In short, the situation is excellent. We will attack! Hesitating… we glance around. Our beat here is money; we don’t want to…

If you think you’ll get a chance to relax this public holiday, you’re wrong. It’s all happening. Did you hear about the Swedish crisis? Or the one in Argentina? Perhaps that the Canadian and Australian housing bubble burst? Financial crises…

PORTLAW, IRELAND – Not much to report on from the financial world. Nothing much happening. But when the news restarts, we predict it will be bad. In the meantime…

Have you ever heard of a whisky called Rattlesnake Rosie’s? Its apple pie flavoured. That’s right – apple pie whisky. Whatever will they think of next? Its American made, of course. I came across it at a bar in New…

Today is the day. By the time you read this, the temporary exemption to Donald Trump’s tariffs will expire. Much of the world will be subject to steel and aluminium tariffs when exporting to the US. Ironically enough, it’s also…

εἴ τις οὐ θ έλει ἐργάζεσθαι μηδὲ ἐσθι έτω eí tis ou thélei ergázesthai mēdè esthiétō (He who does not work, neither shall he eat.) – Attributed to St. Paul BARCELONA – Errata: This will come as a shock to…

The Trump bonanza continues across the world. Profits are up on Wall Street. Earnings season is wildly exceeding expectations for companies like Amazon. Founder Jeff Bezos saw his wealth surge $12 billion in a day. Facebook shares were up 10%…

BARCELONA – We left off yesterday trying to connect the dots. Abandon traditional forms, rules, and customs, we noticed… and you are most likely on your way to disaster. Most “innovative” architecture, for example, is usually ugly and often dysfunctional….

BARCELONA – The streets were crowded on Monday night. On the main ramblas, so many people were strolling about that we could barely cross the intersection. Many of the women held a single red rose. It was the Day of Roses…

BARCELONA – This just in… from our man in Argentina… I stopped in Cafayate for lunch… In the square were some students from different schools celebrating “El día del aborigen Americano” [Day of the original American] as you can see…

Have you heard of the Kanyon? It’s a new addition to Russia’s nuclear arsenal. It’s an underwater drone, designed to be fired from a submarine like a torpedo. It can race across the ocean for days, thousands of feet below…

PARIS – “Your flight has been canceled.” Those were not the words we were hoping to hear when we got to Dulles International Airport last night. But Air France is on strike. So we quickly changed plans… and traveled to…

A bad case of Russian hysteria is breaking out across the Western world again. It’s all too familiar for anyone with an interest in history. But there are some modern twists. Imagine this headline at the height of McCarthyism: “Facebook…

MIAMI – Whew! Hold onto your restaurant reservations… your bitcoin codes… and your medical records; you might be able to use them after all. The Dow rose 293 points last Thursday as “war fears” declined. As you know, all of…

Given World War III might’ve started by the time you read this, I’ve got to be careful what I say. Especially with a UK partner visa application in the works. And so, let’s take a look at the premise of…

That escalated quickly. 2017 was marked with extraordinary low volatility for the US stockmarket. But so far, 2018 is shaping up to be the opposite. Instead of record amounts of days without a move greater than 1% in either direction,…

MIAMI – During the legendary 1998 wrestling match known as “Hell in a Cell,” two professional wrestlers faced off: “The Undertaker” and Mick Foley, aka “Mankind.” The idea was for the two to do their usual stunts – poking, whacking,…

It’s bad news all round. Not that anyone can agree on what’s good or bad news these days. And even if we could, there’s no agreement on whether good or bad news makes the market go up or down. Perhaps,…

Donald Trump has replaced central bankers when it comes to financial market news. Instead of trying to second guess what the money printers will do next, we await Trump’s tweetstorms. And there’s been plenty of action lately. But first, consider…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Two big surprises on Sunday, both concerning the White House. First, President Trump announced his long-awaited shake-up of his staff. In a 7 a.m. tweet, the president said: Time for Big staff changes. I need complete LOYALTY…

Have you heard of a colour called Pantone 448C? It’s also known as “opaque couché”. If you’re a smoker in the UK, you’ll probably have seen it by now on tobacco products, as part of a drive to “kill the…

We should’ve hired Donald Trump to negotiate Brexit. His advice would’ve been clear. Trigger Article 50 and tell Europe we’re leaving. And then threaten it with a whole new set of trade barriers under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Its…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – “Trump backs death penalty for drug dealers,” was a headline in yesterday’s news. Liberals will howl and whine. But the death penalty may be underrated. It has been used against enemy soldiers, religious heretics, political opponents, bankers,…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Nothing much to report from Wall Street, Washington, or the ranch… So we continue our look back at what we have learned so far… Most of what we know, of course, is what everyone else knows, too:…

The ides of March are come. Ay, Caesar, but not gone. – Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Readers frequently accuse us of being idle wreckers, tearing down without building up, criticizing wantonly while offering no constructive advice….

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – TrimTabs, an investment research firm, reports that stock buybacks are running at twice the rate of this time last year. Corporation managements are taking their tax cut money and delivering it to shareholders… and to themselves. Skin…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – President Trump says he’s sticking to his guns on trade tariffs. We’re glad to see it. We’re tired of whiny, snively politicians – on this hand… on that hand… equivocating… backtracking… double-talking. It’s good to see a…

In 2016, the Obama administration imposed duties on Chinese steel of more than 500%. Yesterday the EU extended its anti-dumping duties on Chinese steel of between 48.3% and 71.9% depending on the company. Of the EU’s 53 steel anti-trade measures,…

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA – Another good day for Wall Street on Monday. The Dow rose more than 300 points. And sources tell Bloomberg that the Fed is ready to accept higher levels of inflation – say, 2.5% – before it…

MIAMI – As expected, the stock market seems to be on the mend. After the scare of two weeks ago, prices are firming. And the Fed is giving the economy the all-clear. Bloomberg: “Beyond full employment” is a phrase that…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – From south of the border, we get a peek into the how to make a bad situation worse. “Venezuela Launches Its Own Cryptocurrency,” reports The Wall Street Journal. The cash-strapped nation – which is experiencing hyperinflation, an increasingly…

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – If mockery is an art, here’s a fellow who calls out for the talents of a Leonardo: Mr. Robert Mueller. Clean as a whistle. Hard as steel. Incorruptible. Unstoppable. He just keeps going, hammering away… until he…

PORTLAW, IRELAND – We spent the weekend exploring our new property, meeting neighbors, and getting to know the country. We had seen our new house. But not the land. So we put on a pair of “wellies” and went to…

PORTLAW, IRELAND – Vignettes from Ireland: ** We walked into the tourist office in Youghal (pronounced “Yall”) in County Cork. Two young men were there. Curly hair. Cute. Something odd about them. Too carefully groomed and well dressed for the…

Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned;…

WATERFORD, IRELAND – Let’s begin by feasting, like a vulture (many thanks to the Dear Reader who suggested it in Friday’s mailbag), on Friday’s roadkill headlines: Bloomberg: “Government Shutdown Begins” CNBC: “Dow Closes Down 1,030 Points” The New York Times:…

PARIS – “Keep your eye on Friday,” the old-timers used to say. When the pros are worried, they sell on Friday so they can spend the weekend without sweating. When they are confident, they buy on Friday so they don’t…

CORK, IRELAND – The U.S. president gave his assessment of the situation on Tuesday night. No mention was made of the fact that the country is going broke… …or that rising interest rates threaten the fake-money system… …or that tax…

[Editor’s note: because Bill is usually writing from the US, we don’t publish his copy until the day after he’s written it. So if you’re a bit confused as to why he’s predicting events that have already happened, that’s why.]…

A few days ago, I covered the scandal emerging from the halls of Washington. One reader called the article “outlandish mental gymnastics and conspiracy theories”. Since then, plenty has happened. You won’t find anything about it in the British media…

BALTIMORE – What is it about Davos? Great… powerful… smart people go there… …and turn into knuckleheads. We would be there, too. But yet again, the invitation committee seems to have lost our address. Instead, Donald J. Trump will have…

… when the Old Man would have any Prince slain, he would say to such a youth: “Go thou and slay So and So; and when thou returnest my Angels shall bear thee into Paradise. And shouldst thou die, natheless…

I’m a huge fan of Donald Trump. His career in reality TV continues to go from strength to strength. To be honest, I don’t know if that’s entirely true. I’ve never watched his TV shows. Not even Miss Universe. And…

BALTIMORE – We recently had our DNA checked. Unsurprisingly, it showed that we are what we thought we were – Irish, English, and Scottish. But we are something more. In addition to the Irish riffraff, English aristocracy, and Scottish bagpipers…

BALTIMORE – We now have a great treasure trove of historical research proving that… …you can’t drain the Swamp! It’s almost impossible. The process is well documented. The rich get richer. And richer. And richer. The Swamp gets deeper. And…

The men the American people admire most extravagantly are the most daring liars. – H.L. Mencken We were taken aback by some dear readers’ anger last week. Conservative… liberal… Republican… Democrat – readers were almost unanimous. They didn’t appreciate the mocking…

BALTIMORE – We owe Donald Trump a hearty and sincere “thank you.” Not only did he save us a lot of money (see below)… but he also helped us better understand how government actually works. What “The Donald” understood better…

The editorial team here at Southbank Investment Research wishes you a happy new year. But will it be? I don’t even know if my last one was or not. When it comes to being happy, the events in your personal…

You don’t read much about commodities these days. But underneath the calm, plenty has been going on. In fact, global energy markets are about to be turned on their head in all sorts of surprising ways. In the US, the…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – The mainstream press seems obsessed by the harm being done to Americans… by foreigners. Specifically, it is alleged that the Ruskies interfered and thus tainted the otherwise pristine U.S. presidential elections. Iran and North Korea may…

I wish Donald Trump hadn’t been elected. He’d make a great Brexit negotiator if he was available for hire. There’d be a “deal” for sure. And the whole process would be even more entertaining. But instead he’s in charge of…

Yesterday ended with more unsolicited bitcoin commentary. It seems restaurants have become bitcoin forums. A young man sitting near us suggested criminals are using bitcoin to pay for transactions within prisons. His dad had returned from some sort of research…

Editor’s Note: Bill Bonner if off for Thanksgiving holiday. Today, we invite you to enjoy this classic Diary essay Bill penned in 1999. I turned to my trusty assistant… Beirne White… this morning. “Beirne,” I said gravely, “tell me about Thanksgiving in Mississippi.”…

Your editor is making his way across the Nullarbor Desert today. In a roundabout effort to get to the UK. And then stay there. But first, the longest stretch of straight road in the world awaits. 90.5 miles worth. Financial…

Six trillion dollars’ worth of rare earth metals sit untouched in Korea. It’s enough to break China’s stranglehold on the market. Plunging rare earth metal prices could trigger revolutions in battery technology. And make your consumer electronics vastly cheaper. Battery-powered…

BALTIMORE – On Monday, Caracas rolled out the red carpet – literally. In one of the funniest shows in modern capitalism, bondholders were invited to a special meeting in the Venezuelan capital. A few turned up. They wanted to know…

  It’s probably not a nuclear warhead inside an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), nor World War 3 that you have to worry about. Although both are frighteningly possible, as you’ll discover below. Even though war in Korea is far more…

PARIS – “Has he gotten to the verb yet?” we asked Elizabeth. We were listening to a speech at a birthday party for an old friend. Alas, the speech was in German, a language we don’t speak. Still, we laughed…

We have a horror story for you. You’ll have to decide for yourself whether it’s fact or fiction: Will there be war in Korea? It’s a trick question, really. In the spirit of Halloween, I suppose. Britain is technically still at…

PORTO, PORTUGAL – The more we see of Portugal, the better we like it. The people are friendly. The streets are clean and safe. The old buildings – in the Iberian baroque style – are beautiful. And the food is…

All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may…

POITOU, FRANCE – Autumn has finally imposed itself. The yellow and gold leaves drift down… morning fog rises… and the remains of the day grow cold. We now have a fire in the fireplace all day long. A couple of…

We just need to change the populations because currently we have seven billion people on Earth and none on Mars… The main reason I am personally accumulating assets is in order to fund this. I really do not have any…

POITOU, FRANCE – “Trump did this…” “Trump did that…” The news media can barely keep up with him. Sometimes, the calumnies against the president are idle gossip. Sometimes, they greatly understate the magnitude of the crime. He “disrespects” a dead…

PARIS – Yesterday, we described what we believe is the true source of today’s bubbly markets: fake money from the Deep State’s finance arm, central banks. Today, we connect more dots. Specifically, we explore why the stock market celebrated after…

Every few weeks I rant and rave about how the government can’t count. Endless examples of failed statistics gathering cross the news. But pundits don’t join the dots to their conclusion – generalised meaninglessness. It’s impossible to have an informed…

SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA – “Uh… was this a good idea?” Elizabeth was looking at what used to be the kitchen. If a real estate agent called it a “ruin,” he could be accused of overselling it. It will take a…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – What a marvelous show! We don’t know what’s funnier: watching “The Donald”… or watching the media try to make sense of him. On this occasion, the media is right. Challenging Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to an…

Politicians are odd creatures. They have a unique perception of time. Any failures are the responsibility of the previous fellow. Any success is their own to claim. When their tenure ends, they disappear like a thief into the night to…

A long time ago, I spoke to a man working for an Israeli defence company about the strange and curious devices the company had developed, or was developing, for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). I found one device he described…

POITOU, FRANCE – You’ve heard us say more than once: We’ve never met a tax cut we didn’t like. But we never met a tax cut like the one Team Trump is now proposing… The idea of a tax cut…

With all the drama over Brexit, we’ve lost sight of just how dysfunctional Europe is. But the weekend fixed that nicely. In Catalonia, the independence referendum turned into quite a spectacle yesterday. A last-minute poll showed a huge surge in…

The American government is close to hitting its debt ceiling. And getting the budget approved by congress is set to be a struggle too. Both of these could lead to trouble. Perhaps even default. The American Treasury secretary is already…

POITOU, FRANCE – “How about your man, Trump?” was the conversation starter at last night’s cocktail party. We heard a version of that question at practically every social event this summer here in France. It is an invitation to make…

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. – Genesis POITOU, FRANCE – Autumn has…

Last night, crowds wandered the streets banging on pots and pans outside our window. Yesterday was even more of a surprise. It felt like a political rally from 1930s Germany. With a bunch of bewildered tourists thrown in. Flyers rained…

How can one live free in an unfree world? In Capital & Conflict this week, we’ve been looking at the state of privacy and liberty in the 21st Century. I read all reader emails ([email protected]), although sadly I don’t always…

ÎLE D’YEU, FRANCE – Today, we climb a hill and have a look around. Down below is a hidden cove on Île d’Yeu: The hidden cove on the French island of Île d’Yeu But let’s get serious…

Individual liberty and privacy are not “in vogue” these days. The state and surveillance capitalists take an increasing interest in our lives, with little resistance from us. In fact, most of us purchase the very tools of our own surveillance:…

NORMANDY, FRANCE – Until last week, Republicans controlled the House… the Senate… and the White House. But who controlled Republicans? As it turned out, many – including the Republican-in-Chief – were out of control. Then came the explosion. Dazed and…

POITOU, FRANCE – Senator John McCain spoke for millions on Thursday. “I’m a pretty intelligent guy,” he said, speaking of President Trump’s sudden lurch to the left side of the aisle, “but I don’t understand this.” On the surface, the…

BILL BONNER, CHAIRMAN, BONNER & PARTNERS POITOU, FRANCE – While Hurricane Irma whips up some of the strongest winds ever recorded, the fury of the storm breaking over Washington is intensifying, too. “For Conservatives, Trump’s Deal With Democrats Is Nightmare…

POITOU, FRANCE – “We live in a slow-growth world,” summarized a canny friend, “but with high-growth debt and high-growth asset prices.” Today, we turn to a report on Zero Hedge for further precision. But we’ll get to that in a minute. First,…

POITOU, FRANCE – We spent the weekend in our favorite place: the workshop. In the foreground is an old altar; we are preparing it for our tiny chapel. Bill’s workshop at his home in the French countryside The family chapel…

“… in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and…

POITOU, FRANCE – “‘The Donald’ has been White House-broken,” was what we were trying to say, translating the phrase into something that may make sense to a French listener. But it was too clever and complicated. “Well, let’s just say…

POITOU, FRANCE – On Monday, Donald Trump, president of all the Americans, said his country would spend more blood and money trying to force the Afghans to do what it wants them to do, whatever that is. And so… a…

POITOU, FRANCE – George Washington: What an imbecile! He owned 317 slaves. Couldn’t he see that slavery was bad? Jefferson, too. And Madison. And Monroe. Jackson. Van Buren. Tyler. Harrison. Polk. Taylor. Johnson. And Ulysses S. Grant. Didn’t they smell…

POITOU, FRANCE – This week, we are talking about the perishable nature of gods. Yesterday, the city fathers of our hometown of Baltimore let it be known that it was time to toss out the old deities. Reports the Associated Press:…

A bizarre version of democracy drives modern geopolitics. The number of nations supporting an international policy determines its legitimacy instead of morality or any legal basis. As a result, invasions, sanctions and economic agreements are pursued based on the support…

Donald Trump seems to have pulled it off again. The master of setting traps for the media attracted a hailstorm of abuse for failing to shake a disabled boy’s hand. Hillary Clinton and JK Rowling were quick to jump on…

The state’s appetite for military intervention across the globe is unceasing. However, the public is rarely sympathetic to these ambitions, and so intervention is accomplished through other means. These other means often take the form of private military contractors, or…

POITOU, FRANCE – A young man drove up yesterday. Shaved head. Earring. Nice car. Sad look. “Monsieur Bonner?” After the introductions, he got down to business. “Damien [our gardener] told me you were looking for chickens. I’ve got about 10…

POITOU, FRANCE – “Which is worse? America or France?” The question must be put in context. We were invited to dinner with local farmers last night. Jean-Yves and Arlette live in a modest house in the nearby town – an…

In 2007, Google launched a new application. It was Google Street View, and its aim was to allow anyone with access to the internet, access to the world. Hidden behind this noble goal however, was a dark and insidious motive:…

Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation… A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of…

Yesterday we looked at the library of information that is the internet and how we are shepherded through it by librarians like Google and Facebook. Today we look at a tool used by these librarians. While it is used extensively…

The genius of every great scientist. Compelling accounts of the past from every acclaimed historian. The most aesthetic artwork human beings have ever created. And all the music that has ever stirred anybody’s soul. All in one place. A library….

POITOU, FRANCE – “Nothing really changes.” Sitting next to us at breakfast, a companion was reading an article written by the No. 2 man in France, Édouard Philippe, in Le Monde. The headline promised to tell us how the country was…

Oliver Stone: Donald Trump won. This is your fourth president, am I right? Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bush, Mr. Obama, and now your fourth one. Vladimir Putin: Yes, that’s true. Stone: What changes? Putin: Well, almost nothing… everywhere, especially in the United States, the bureaucracy…

While we were in France last summer, a friend – Laurence Chatel de Brancion – gave us a copy of her new book, La Fayette: Rêver la gloire. Laurence is a historian who has been studying the life and times of…

DUBLIN – Is Donald J. Trump a Neanderthal? Yes, of course. We all are. One of the most interesting stories we’re following is some 300,000 years old. It is the story of our species. What does this have to do…

DUBLIN – Today, a simple proposal for making America great again… But first an update on our recent trip to Ireland. When we left you on Friday, we were visiting our headquarters in the town of Portlaw in County Waterford, Ireland,…

The Chinese are a smug bunch. Everywhere else in the world, invasions led the local population to become more like their overlords. Even today, European languages are spoken in former colonies. And their systems of government resemble who conquered them….

Yesterday was Brexit day. Today is Asian domination day. You can either feel threatened and try to ignore the Asian century, or you can see the opportunity to make money from it. There’s nothing like a bit of greed to…

Politics is a zero-sum game. Or worse. You can redistribute wealth and you can get in the way of people creating it. But you can’t create wealth using the law. Only productivity improves GDP per capita. And laws restrict productivity….

Why hello there! My name is Boaz, I’m new to Southbank Investment Research. I’m a former financial adviser from Scotland, and I’ll be taking the reins at Capital & Conflict every now and then. I look forward to our journeys…

WEST RIVER, MARYLAND – We’re back at our post – watching… reading… trying to connect the dots. And we begin by asking: What do “think tanks” think about? The answer in a minute… “Russiagate” First, there is a dustup in…

Bitcoin’s run continues today. There’s a rumour that China will accept bitcoin alongside Japan. That would see the currency really go bananas. There’s nothing like a bit of China/Japan rivalry to get things going. If you think you’ve missed out…

Editor’s Note: As Bill mentioned yesterday, he is currently with family and unable to pen his daily Diary. Today, we share a classic essay that explores a timeless subject: What makes America unique? Below, Bill shines a light on the idea of America…

North Korea fired another missile at the weekend. Kim Jong Un was happy with the result. As he should have been because he “guided” the launch personally according to the North Korean media. The Japanese I’m staying with couldn’t care…

Can you make money from geography? What about politics? How do demographics affect financial markets? This guide will show you how geopolitics create investment trends and profit opportunities. They’re predictable, convenient to invest in and far more interesting than any…

What if half the world’s oil doesn’t exist? It’s a simple question that sounds downright absurd. But it isn’t absurd at all. In 2011 WikiLeaks revealed a series of cables between American diplomats in Saudi Arabia and their government. In…

What’s going on in China? The commodity-guzzling engine and goods-producing factory of the world is sending some odd signals. Without Chinese growth the FTSE 100’s commodity producers would be in trouble, the oil price would fall even further and Britain’s…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – “Watch out, Bill. The originarios almost killed someone up the valley,” our lawyer warned us. “He’s still in a coma.” The latest news isn’t very encouraging. The originario problem was supposed to have calmed down. Ranch Invasion Last year, they invaded…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Once again, the big man steps up to the plate. Once again, he points his bat at the far bleachers. This is going to be “bigger, I believe, than any tax cut in history.” And once again,…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Remember that property we bought in Virginia? The agent had asked that we send a down payment and promised to send wiring details. But when the details arrived, there was something fishy about them. “Why would a real…

Are we on the verge of World War Three? The standoff between the US, North Korea and China intensified over the bank holiday weekend. I was back up north visiting family and seemingly every time someone put the television on…

GUALFIN, ARGENTINA – Last week, we rounded up the cattle. For a more literary account of the yerra, here’s Elizabeth’s recollection of it, as sent to the children. This week, we round up the grapes. Delicate Sensibilities The gauchos will get off their horses tomorrow…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – Today could be a big day… The House is supposed to vote on the Republicans’ proposal to amend Obamacare. Most likely, it will fail. That will set back the entire Trump agenda. And it will make…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – The Dow fell 237 points on Tuesday, or about 1%. Are investors finally noticing? There will be no “shovel-ready” infrastructure spending in 2017… and no quick tax fix for the economy. This means that the “reflation…

Last week I revealed US President Donald Trump’s secret to always winning an argument. Today we’ll have a look at his latest scandal and whether he’s pulled it off again. But first, what about his budget and the tumbling stockmarket…

“President Donald Trump” remains a surreal phrase to write. But that doesn’t change the fact that his remarkable run seems to be long lasting. Today you’ll discover the secret to his success. Trump proved an absolute genius at getting elected….

Caesar: The Ides of March are come. Soothsayer: Ay, Caesar, but not gone. — Julius Caesar, Shakespeare GRANADA, NICARAGUA – Today, we stop the horses and circle the wagons. For 19 years, we have been rolling along… exploring… discovering… We began…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – So far, we’ve been very happy with the Trump administration. It has been one laugh after another. We don’t know what is more entertaining: the pathetic whining from the Left or the self-serving indignation from the…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – Here at the ranch, the days go by quickly. A walk on the beach. A long, slow afternoon… reading, writing… listening to the waves. Dinner under the stars. But back in the U.S.… more blow-ups… more…

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has released the budget. If you or I balanced our books as badly as he does, we’d be in deep trouble. But governments make the rules. And everybody just focuses on whether things are…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – We spent the weekend walking on the beach… sitting on our terrace… and even playing some guitar… We also spent time reading Thomas Sowell’s latest book, Wealth, Poverty and Politics… …and generally wondering what the heck is…

Today’s Capital & Conflict takes an historical turn. It sets the scene for the most profitable industry in the modern era. And probably the most profitable investment opportunity. It all started with 300 dogs, and one pharmacologist, who got the wrong…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – We have begun our long perambulation. First stop: Nicaragua. From here we’ll go to São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Salta, London, Ireland, France, Portugal, Italy, and Switzerland. The trip will take us most of the rest of…

RANCHO SANTANA, NICARAGUA – How do you like that? Another big boost for the stock market. It was all green yesterday; viewers found Mr. Trump’s speech reassuring. The Dow rose 303 points. Many will see that as confirmation of their…