Unquestionably, Jim
Rickards is one of the most interesting, and enigmatic, people in the
Precious Metals universe. He first came “onto the scene” as the general
counsel for the infamous hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (talk about
an oxymoron); at which, he negotiated the 1998 “bailout” that, in some ways,
marked the beginning of the end of the Alan Greenspan fueled dot.com bubble.
According to GATA, the most honest, and knowledgeable people on the topic of
gold manipulation, “LTCM” was massively short gold at the time of its
collapse; and thus, said bailout was one of the modern gold Cartel’s’ first
official actions. Which I bring up not to impugn Rickards – as
obviously, his role in the legal department had nothing to do with LTCM’s
investments – but to show how deeply he was exposed to the inner workings of
gold manipulation.
Over the years, much has been written of the facts and myths of Rickards’
career – some of which, to this day I am unclear about. Quite
obviously, he has consulted with governments; “in the know” corporations; and
intelligence agencies; and one thing we do know, is that on numerous
occasions, he helped the U.S. government “model,” and prepare for, worst-case
financial scenarios. As for me, the only time I met him personally, was
when he was a keynote presenter at GATA’s once-in-a-lifetime London
conference in August 2011 – at a controversial speech I’ll never
forget. Let’s face it, Rickards is one of the most brilliant minds in
the financial world; but also, one of the most mysterious.
Personally, my view is that in “prior lives,” his allegiance may – or may
not – have been to entities not 100% aligned with the PM community.
Again, I have no proof of such; but instead, an “educated opinion” based on
14 years of observations, and a lifetime of intuitive experience.
However, in recent years, he appears to have done an “anti-Annakin Skywalker”
– in shifting his allegiance entirely to the light side of the force. I
say this with a grain of salt; as clearly, he is one of the industry’s most
aggressive promoters – of multiple marketing programs. However, in
aligning with Agora – “good, smart people”; who generally speaking, have your
best interests at heart; and publishing reams of brilliant analysis, with the
correct conclusion that the global fiat Ponzi scheme is on its last
legs; I’ve officially given myself the “all clear” to listen to, and trust,
his commentary. And man, is there a lot of it, as he is the most
hard-working, and visible, guy in our sector.
Why do I bring him up today, you ask? Because as I write Tuesday
morning – on a day when yet again, global currencies (Chinese Yuan, new
multi-year low fix); commodities (copper, $2.03/lb); sovereign bond yields
(German 10-year bund, negative 0.01%, U.S. 10-year Treasury yield,
1.58%); and equities (Europe down 1.0%-1.5%); are collapsing (with gold
unchanged), I truly believe the “zero hour” event he will be discussing
tonight (more on that in a second) is on the cusp of arriving.
To that end, no one has been more vocal that I, that 2016 will likely be
the “end game” for the “powers that be’s”’ ability to maintain control over
the hideous financial mess they created. Heck, I wrote Saturday
morning of my expectation that the “Lehman of Europe” – Deutschebank –
was on the verge of collapse, just before it plunged an additional 5%, to a
new all-time low; and yesterday,
that events were deteriorating so rapidly, we may well be approaching your last
chance to protect yourself. This, one day before what could be an
historic FOMC meeting – in that it may, once and for all, end years of false
belief that the Fed has an “exit strategy”; and nine days before what could
be a watershed
event in financial history – the likely-to-pass “BrExit” referendum.
Tonight, at 7 pm EST, Rickards will, as part of a marketing promotion with
Agora, give a live webcast from Switzerland. During which, he will
discuss his belief that we are rapidly approaching the “zero hour” event that
he believes will be the biggest monetary shock since the 1971 abandonment of
the gold standard – after which, gold could rise to $10,000/oz. Frankly,
I’m not sure if it’s open to the public – but since I’ve been “invited,” I
will be listening. And in the meantime, hereis
the series of promotional videos he has published, en route to his meeting
with “Goldfinger” – who he claims is one of the most plugged in,
knowledgeable people in the global bullion industry.
Why am I discussing this, you ask? Because regardless of his
intentions – which for the most part, I believe to be genuine, and in your
best interest – I agree completely that a “zero hour” event approaches for
not only the Cartel, but the “powers that be” in general; be it one as
“recognizable” beforehand as what Rickards will be discussing, or “out of
leftfield”; i.e, one of potentially dozens of world-changing – and
Cartel-destroying – “black swan” events.
I’ll let you know what the gist of his beliefs are tomorrow; but
irrespective, want to issue the same, dire warning of my belief that the
inevitable fiat currency “end game,” no matter how it is set in motion,
appears more imminent than ever. And that, when it occurs – either via
a single “big bang”; or a series of cascading events – it will likely be too
late to protect yourself.
I can’t speak for Jim Rickards’ motivations, but I can tell you that it
would be wise to listen to what he is saying. As well as my, and
countless other “good, smart peoples’” warnings; as unquestionably, we are on
the cusp of financial market history, decidedly NOT “for the better.”
