debt

The Great Debt Crisis of Our Lifetimes is Coming!

Over the last week, we’ve warned investors that the Fed’s actions are unleashing another round of inflation in the U.S. financial system.

By quick way of review.

  1. The only part of the inflation data that is declining year over year is Energy prices. Every other segment of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) continues to rise.
  2. Financial conditions are as loose today as they were when the Fed first started raising interest rates in March 2022. And yet, the Fed is preparing to cut rates instead of raising them.
  3. The Fed is still providing hundreds of billions of dollars in liquidity to the financial system via credit facilities.
  4. The Fed’s own research indicates that food inflation is the best predictor of future inflation. And agricultural commodities are skyrocketing to new highs.

Unfortunately for Americans, the Fed isn’t the only entity that is engaged in inflationary policies. The Biden administration is currently engaged in truly extraordinary levels of money printing.

The Biden administration has added $6 trillion to the national debt since taking office.  Bear in mind, this is happening at a time when the U.S. is collecting a record amount in taxes. So, the Biden administration is not only spending all of the tax dollars collected, it’s spending so much money that the U.S. is having to issue record amounts of debt!

The below chart needs no explanation. This is simply not sustainable.

Indeed, the pace of debt issuance is speeding up not slowing. The Biden admin issued $3 trillion in new debt in between 2021 and 2023. It added another $4 trillion in new debt in 2023 alone. At this pace. the U.S. will hit $40 trillion in debt some time in mid-2025.

Indeed, the pace of debt issuance is speeding up not slowing. The Biden admin issued $3 trillion in new debt in between 2021 and 2023. It added another $4 trillion in new debt in 2023 alone. At this pace. the U.S. will hit $40 trillion in debt some time in mid-2025.

The good news is that those investors who are properly positioned for this stand to generate truly EXTRAORDINARY returns in the coming months.

On that note, we recently published a Special Investment Report detailing three investments that will profit from this rampant government spending. Normally this report would cost $499, but we are giving copies FREE to anyone who joins our daily market commentary.

To pick up your copy, go to:

CLICK HERE NOW!

Graham Summers

Chief Market Strategist

Phoenix Capital Research, MBA

Posted by Phoenix Capital Research in Central Bank Insanity, Inflation

Three Reasons the Fed Cannot Let Rates Normalize

Analysts and commentators remain hung up on whether or not the Fed will raise rates next week.

Certain Fed officials have been stating that the Fed should commence tightening. However, with China’s bubble collapsing, dragging down the Emerging Markets, there are plenty of excuses for the Fed to postpone yet again.

Ultimately, I remain convinced that whenever the Fed does hike rates, it will largely be a symbolic rate hike, say to 0.35% or 0.5%. That will be it for some time.

I say this because the Fed cannot afford raising rates anywhere near historical norms (4%). There are three reasons for this:

  • The $9 trillion US Dollar carry trade
  • The $156 trillion in interest-rate based derivatives sitting on the big banks’ balance sheets.
  • The weak US economy cannot handle rate normalization

Regarding #1, there are over $9 trillion in borrowed US Dollars floating around the financial system invested in various assets. When you borrow in US Dollars you are effectively shorting US Dollars. So if the US Dollar strengthens, you very quickly blow up (carry trades only work when the currency you are borrowing in remains weak or stable).

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The US Dollar has rallied over 20% in the last year. It is currently consolidating. But if the Fed were to raise rates significantly, the interest rate differential between the US Dollar and other major currencies (the Yen is at zero, while the Euro is negative) would result in large amounts of capital moving out of the Yen and Euro and into the US Dollar. This would blow up that $9 trillion carry trade leading to systemic risk.

Regarding #2, bonds are the senior most collateral backstopping the derivatives markets. Over 77% of derivatives are based on interest rates. This comes to roughly $156 trillion in interest rate-based derivatives… sitting on the big banks’ balance sheets.

If even 0.1% of this money is “at risk” it would wipe out 10% of the big banks equity. If 1% were “at risk” it would wipe out ALL of the big banks’ equity.

Suffice to say, the Fed cannot afford a spike in interest rates without imploding the big banks: the very banks it has spent trillions of Dollars propping up.

Finally, the US economy cannot handle a normalization interest rates.

This is not the usual “the Fed cannot raise rates ever” nonsense. It is more a structural argument. A sharp drop in business investment is what causes recessions. When businesses stop investing, job growth slows and the layoffs start soon after. This is how a recession begins.

With corporate profits already falling, US corporations already have less cash available to pay off the gargantuan debt loads they’ve accrued in the last six years (courtesy of the Fed keeping rates at zero). A spike in rates would only accelerate the pace at which corporations cut back on investment, as they have to spend more money on debt payments. This in turn would trigger a recession.

At the end of the day, the Fed has failed to implement any meaningful reform. The very issues that caused the 2008 Crisis (excessive debt, particularly in the opaque derivatives markets) are at even worse levels than they were in 2008.

Another Crisis is coming. Smart investors are preparing now.

If you’ve yet to take action to prepare for this, we offer a FREE investment report called the Financial Crisis “Round Two” Survival Guide that outlines simple, easy to follow strategies you can use to not only protect your portfolio from it, but actually produce profits.

We made 1,000 copies available for FREE the general public.

As we write this, there are less than 10 left.

To pick up yours…

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Best Regards

Graham Summers

Chief Market Strategist

Phoenix Capital Research

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Posted by Phoenix Capital Research in It's a Bull Market