WTFinance

Interview recorded - 11th of February, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Alasdair Macleod. Alasdair is an educator for sound money, economics, geopolitics and everything to do with gold and silver. During our conversation we spoke about gold going under the radar, geopolitics, EU Bust, Debt bubble, flow of gold to the East and what this means for markets. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:07 - What is Alasdair seeing?3:00 - Gold under the radar3:44 - Geopolitics10:47 - US moving away from Europe?12:51 - China to dominate global manufacturing?15:34 - EU bust16:53 - Debt bubble?19:10 - Pound depreciation20:41 - No avoiding a credit crash23:08 - Monetisation of all debt?26:30 - Flow of gold to the East30:00 - Gold backed currency33:20 - Multi-polar world35:08 - One message to takeaway?Alasdair Macleod is Head of Research for GoldMoney. He is an educator and advocates for sound money through demystifying finance and economics. His background includes being a stockbroker, banker, and economist.Alasdair Macleod started his career as a stockbroker in 1970 on the London Stock Exchange. Within nine years, he had risen to become senior partner of his firm.Subsequently, he held positions at the director level in investment management and worked as a mutual fund manager. Mr. Macleod also worked at a bank in Guernsey as an executive director.For most of his 40 years in the finance industry, he has been demystifying macroeconomic events for his investing clients. The accumulation of this experience has convinced him that unsound monetary policies are the most destructive weapon governments use against the common man. Accordingly, his mission is to educate and inform the public in layman's terms what governments do with money and how to protect themselves from the consequences.Alasdair Macleod - Substack - https://alasdairmacleod.substack.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/MacleodFinanceLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-macleod-9494b27/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 10th of February, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming on Jan Oberg. Jan is a sociologist, peace researcher, the director of Transnational Foundation for Peace & Future Research.During our conversation we spoke about the current geopolitical sphere, the issue with NATO, why West has forgotten about peace, trajectory of the world, end of the US Hegemony and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:26 - Geopolitics4:40 - End of cold war7:50 - Biden geopolitical disaster9:35 - West forgotten peace15:30 - Nato defensive?19:44 - China to invade Taiwan?22:22 - Expanding NATO27:50 - Trajectory of world?30:32 - Global Institutions US government funded31:40 - End of US Hegemony35:40 - Multi-polar world38:30 - One message to takeaway?Dr Jan Oberg is an internationally experienced and genuinely independent peace and future researcher and an art photographer – a columnist, commentator and mediator doing diagnosis, prognosis and proposing solutions.Dr Jan Oberg - Transnational: https://transnational.live/Website: https://janoberg.me/X: https://x.com/janoberg?s=21&t=vCJTBKSb-nIJ8eFKe0YAxgWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 2nd of February, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had  the pleasure of welcoming back Warwick Powell. Warwick as an Adjunct Professor at the Queensland University of Technology working at the intersection of China, digital technologies, supply chains, financial flows and global political economy & governance.During our conversation we spoke about tariffs, potential retaliations, the hollowing out of Western manufacturing, the new world order, worlds need for dollars, Chinese self sufficiency, deep seek and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:53- Tariffs5:53 - Chinese retaliation?9:38 - Does US have a reason to implement tariffs?14:33 - Hollowing of Western manufacturing17:21 - Link to financialisation and globalisation?19:53 - World need dollars22:23 - US consumption25:53 - China being self sufficient28:28 - China greater risk of external factors?32:43 - Limitation of growing manufacturing36:07 - Deep seek41:13 - Opensource in China?43:58- Soft power45:21 - Global economic change47:58 - One message to takeaway?Warwick began his career in academia, teaching Chinese history and European cultural history at Griffith University. He graduated with First Class Honours and is the recipient of the prestigious University Medal for Academic Excellence. Warwick was also awarded a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade scholarship to undertake postgraduate studies at People’s University, Beijing. He deferred his studies to begin work for Kevin Rudd in the Queensland Government.He is the chairman and founder of Sister City Partners Limited, a not-for-profit investment bank focusing on developing links between regional Australia and the markets of Asia. Through this work, Warwick has experience in diverse industries including cattle and sheep production and processing, information and communication technology, infrastructure, energy, natural resources, travel and tourism and property development.He is a director of a number of funds management companies responsible for funds established under an ASIC-approved Australian Financial Services License. He is a member of the Central Highlands Accelerate Agribusiness Advisory Board and was the founding Treasurer of Innovation NQ Inc., a not-for-profit innovation incubator in North Queensland.He continues to teach professional courses in areas such as innovation, creativity, regional economic development and blockchain technology with James Cook University, QUT and Edith Cowan University.Warwick Powell: LinkedIn - https://au.linkedin.com/in/warwickpowellSubstack - https://substack.com/@warwickpowell Twitter - https://x.com/baoshaoshanWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 24th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Simon Hunt.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the markets, the geopolitical challenges, BRICS alliance, US allies becoming weaker, proxy wars, gold and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:30 - Thoughts on markets?2:51 - Geopolitical challenges?17:05 - Split the BRICS alliance?20:58 - US allies becoming weaker?23:45 - Proxy wars25:49 - Geopolitical risks of markets?27:00 - What impact on other assets?28:30 - Gold30:40 - One message to takeaway?Simon Hunt began his career in 1956 in Central Africa as a PA to the Chairman of Rhodesian Selection Trust, one of the two large copper companies in what was then Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia.In 1961 he came back to London and joined Anglo American Corporation of South Africa as a PA to one of the Board Directors, followed by being part of a small sales and marketing team for copper. From there, he helped start up a new copper development organisation, CIDEC, financed by copper producers, which he then joined, focusing on conducting end-use studies of copper in Europe.He then went into the City to gain financial experience and founded Brook Hunt in 1975. He was instrumental in setting up the company’s cost studies and end-use analyses. He appeared as material witness and consultant in two ITC anti-dumping cases in 1978 and 1984, winning both at the commission level.He has spent 2-4 months every year in China since 1993 and until a few years ago would be visiting some 80 wire and cable and brass mill factories across the country every year. He now restricts these factory visits to a smaller number, all of which he has known for many years. He also spends many weeks each year traveling around Asia.The focus of the company’s services is on the global economy, including the changing geopolitical and financial structures, China’s economy and its copper sector, and then the global copper industry as each part is interconnected.Simon is the author of the “Frontline China Report Service,” which is marketed by the TIS Group. The Service provides regular reports on China’s economy, politics, and financial outlook.Simon established this company in January 1996.Simon Hunt -Website - https://www.simon-hunt.com/Email - simon@shss.comWTFinance -Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 23rd of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Bill Fleckenstein. Bill is a professional money manager with over 30 years of experience. He writes a writes a daily column and is the author of “Greenspan’s bubbles: the age of ignorance at the federal reserve”.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the markets, the bond market leaking, how Scott Bessent can balance it, whether bond market is losing faith in the government, passive investing, what this means for the 60/40 portfolio and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:40 - Overview of markets6:17 - How does Scott Bessent balance issues?8:42 - Means tested social security?11:57 - Losing faith in the government?13:57 - What happens to yields?15:22 - FED made a mistake16:47 - Dollar rally over?18:22 - What does Trump want?19:48 - Bill’s views on markets21:44 - Passive investing influence on markets24:12 - Increasing unemployment negative to markets26:07 - Why have miners not performed?28:27 - Speculative asset?32:59 - Shift away from 60/40 portfolio?35:47 - One message to takeaway from conversation?Bill Fleckenstein is president of Fleckenstein Capital, a money management firm based in Seattle. He writes a daily Market Rap column for his website, Fleckensteincapital.com, as well as the popular column Contrarian Chronicles for MSN Money.Bill Fleckenstein began writing a daily column on the Internet in 1996. Initially, the Market Rap was a daily recap of market events, with an added "Yes, but..." emphasis. "I quickly learned that the contrarian viewpoint was often misrepresented and under-reported. Since then, my daily column has always called it like I see it. I've tried to write the column in a way that even the novice investor can understand. I believe it's better to teach someone how to fish, rather than just give them an occasional fish."Bill Fleckenstein - Website: https://www.fleckensteincapital.com/Twitter: https://x.com/fleckcap?lang=enWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 23rd of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Louis-Vincent Gave. Louis is the Founding Partner & Chief Executive Officer of Gavekal.During our conversation we spoke about his thoughts on the markets, the everything bubble in the US, what tariffs mean for the US Dollar, the Chinese economic revolution, QE in the market, manufacturing boom and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction0:59 - Louis’ overview of markets4:00 - Everything bubble in the US?7:44 - Are tariffs bullish US Dollar?10:20 - Expectation of US/China relationship?13:39 - Geopolitical ideology with Biden15:11 - What is happening in China?22:26 - China QE26:08 - Shifting to consumption economy?30:31 - Data points to watch?32:56 - Reliant on foreign investors?36:46 - Issues in Europe38:31 - Chinese currency?44:55 - One message to takeaway?After receiving his bachelor's degree from Duke University and studying Mandarin at Nanjing University, Louis joined the French Army where he served as a second lieutenant in a mountain infantry battalion. After a couple of years, Louis left the army and joined Paribas where he worked as a financial analyst—first in Paris, then in Hong Kong.Louis left Paribas in 1998 to launch Gavekal with his father Charles and Anatole Kaletsky. The idea at the time was that Asia was set to become an ever more important factor in global growth, and that consequently Gavekal needed to offer its clients more information, and more ideas, relating to Asia.Louis has written seven books, the latest being Avoiding the Punch: Investing in Uncertain Times which reviews how to build a portfolio at a time of rising geostrategic strife, and when very low interest rates and stretched valuations on most assets announce constrained returns on most assets over the next decade.Louis speaks English and French. He spent many hours studying Mandarin and Spanish, which he once spoke decently. He is married with two sons and two daughters.Louis-Vincent Gave:Website - https://research.gavekal.com/Twitter - https://x.com/gave_vincentWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 17th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Henrik Zeberg. Henrik is a Macro Economist, Founder and Publisher of the Zeberg Report.During this conversation we spoke about the surprised resilience of the economy, why Henrik sees a recession on the horizon, whether it could become a China-like deflation, market narratives, Crypto to diverge from NASDAQ and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:54 - Surprised by economic resilience?3:38 - Trump economic boom8:56 - FED making mistake?13:18 - West moving towards China-like deflation?16:41 - China pulling down Europe?18:32 - Market view?21:41 - Don’t believe this time is different?24:18 - Market narrative26:16 - Crypto to diverge from the NASDAQ?27:13 - When would Crypto peak?29:47 - One message to takeaway?Henrik Zeberg is a Macroeconomist (M.Sc. Econ) from the University of Copenhagen. He is a Business Cycles student, Elliott Wave practitioner, and Chartist. You can find out more about his newsletter on his Website.Henrik Zeberg - Newsletter - https://www.thezebergreport.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/HenrikZebergWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 16th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Jim Bianco. Jim is the is President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, L.L.C.During our conversation we spoke about the increasing volatility in the markets, what this means for the FED, why their first cut was a mistake, the dollar wrecking ball, Chinese desperation, Scott Bessent and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:29 - Increased volatility3:26 - FED cut mistake5:56 - Issue with duel mandate8:26 - FED to pause?10:43 - Dollar wrecking ball12:40 - China is desperate16:41 - Japanification of China?18:51 - Risk of increasing rates?21:41 - Combination of monetary & fiscal policy23:36 - Incumbents getting voted out25:36 - Yields coming back down?29:16 - Yellen dampened long-term yields?32:26 - Scott Bessent make changes?35:46 - Monroe doctrine37:26 - What does this mean for markets?43:46 - The market is overvalued46:16 - US sucking global liquidity52:15 - One message to takeaway?Jim Bianco is President and Index Manager at Bianco Research Advisors. He is also the President of Bianco Research LLC. Since 1990, Jim’s commentaries have offered a unique perspective on the global economy and financial markets. Unencumbered by the biases of traditional Wall Street research, Jim has built a decades long reputation for objective, incisive commentary that challenges consensus thinking.Jim appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, and Fox Business, and is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Grants Interest Rate Observer, and MarketWatch. Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University (1984) and an MBA from Fordham University (1989).Jim Bianco: Research: https://www.biancoresearch.com/visitor-home/ETF: https://www.biancoadvisors.com/X: https://twitter.com/intent/follow?screen_name=biancoresearch&tw_p=followbuttonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-bianco-117619152/WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfnTikTok - https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeUjj9xV/iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 13th of January, 2025On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Michael Howell. Michael is the Founder & Managing Director of CrossBorder Capital.During our conversation we spoke about liquidity, how the FED and treasury have been artificially providing liquidity before the election, what the dollar wrecking ball means, impact on markets and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction1:30 - Outlook for global liquidity?8:53 - What drove QE/YC?17:35 - Bond market normalising20:35 - What is happening in China?25:15 - US Dollar wrecking ball36:28 - QE distortions38:30 - Action Scott Bessent to take?40:45 - UK QT impact on liquidity?42:15 - What impact on markets?44:25 - Exiting markets?46:10 - Everything bubble47:35 - One message to takeaway?Michael Howell is CEO of CrossBorder Capital, a London-based FCA registered, independent research and investment company that he founded in 1996. Previously he was Head of Research for Baring Securities and Research Director of Salomon Brothers Inc, the US investment bank. The liquidity methodology he pioneered monitors cross-border flows and Central Bank behaviour across some 80 countries world-wide. Liquidity flows are a central part of CrossBorder Capital's asset allocation advice, which is currently provided to major global investors, including institutional asset managers, government agencies, Central Banks and endowment funds. Michael has been in financial markets since 1981 and is a regular conference speaker and media commentator. He graduated from Bristol and London Universities with a finance doctorate, specialising in Fixed Income.Michael Howell -Website - https://crossbordercapital.com/Twitter - https://twitter.com/crossbordercapLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-howell-357b1416/?originalSubdomain=ukWTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 10th of January, 2024On this episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Steve Hanke. Steve is the Professor of Applied Economics and Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University.  He is also the author of the recently released book “Capital, Interest and Waiting: Controversies, Puzzles and New Additions to Capital Theory”.During our conversation we spoke about what happened in 2024, quantitative tightening, the treasury, drivers of money supply, trump inflation, the dollar wrecking ball, recession risk and more. I hope you enjoy!0:00 - Introduction2:20 - Review of 2024?8:18 - Quantitative tightening10:47 - Treasury bond issuance 13:37 - Issue with FED & Wall Street17:52 - Drivers of money supply21:32 - Bond market issue28:18 - Trump inflationary?31:27 - Dollar wrecking ball36:32 - Grow money supply with high debt?42:12 - One message to takeaway?Steve H. Hanke is a Senior Fellow, Contributing Editor of The Independent Review, and a Member of the Board of Advisors at the Independent Institute. He is a Professor of Applied Economics and Founder and Co-Director of the Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He is also a Senior Adviser at the Renmin University of China’s International Monetary Research Institute in Beijing, and a Special Counselor to the Center for Financial Stability in New York. Hanke is also a Contributing Editor at Central Banking in London and a Contributor at National Review. In addition, Hanke is a member of the Charter Council of the Society for Economic Measurement and a Distinguished Associate of the International Atlantic Economic Society. He is ranked as the world’s third-most influential economics influencer by FocusEconomics in Barcelona, Spain.Steve Hanke: Book - https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-63398-0X -  https://x.com/steve_hankeBio - https://www.independent.org/aboutus/person_detail.asp?id=516WTFinance -Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfniTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas