Weekly Market Update by Retirement Lifestyle Advocates

          There is a lot going on around the world that has the potential to change investing markets and global financial dynamics quickly and substantially.

          In this weekly report, I have long been discussing that we will get inflation followed by deflation, with inflation likely leading to currency changes.

          When studying history, one becomes keenly aware of the fact that when currency is created in great quantity, confidence in a currency is lost, and changes occur.

          It seems that is now happening with the BRICS countries.  If you aren’t familiar with the BRICS acronym, it includes the countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.  Within the past couple of weeks, it has been reported from multiple sources that the BRICS countries will be rolling out a new currency at their summit next month, and that new currency will be backed by gold.

          While I haven’t seen the details yet as to exactly how this gold backing of the new currency will work, this is a big move and one that will continue to see countries around the world move away from the US Dollar.

          This is an excerpt from a report by Kitco (Source:  https://www.kitco.com/news/2023-07-07/Russia-confirms-BRICS-will-create-a-gold-backed-currency.html):

Friday, according to state-run RT, the Russian government has confirmed that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, also known as BRICS nations, will introduce a new trading currency backed by gold. The official announcement is expected to be made during the BRICS summit in August in South Africa.

The latest news is adding new momentum to the ongoing de-dollarization trend unfolding in the global economy. Since mid-2022, central banks worldwide have been buying gold at a historic pace in part to diversify their reserve away from the U.S. dollar.

For many analysts, a gold-backed currency is the next evolution in this process. Many analysts have seen China's recent gold purchases as an attempt to bring international credibility to the yuan.

At the same time, the U.S. government's weaponization of the U.S. dollar against Russia for invading Ukraine has created some geopolitical uncertainty among some nations allied with Russia.

            The article also noted that 41 countries have now applied to join BRICS.

            While this is one development, there is another relating to digital currencies or CBDC’s (central bank digital currencies) as they are called.  Central banks around the world are actively pursuing the development of CBDC’s.  This from David Attlee for “Coin Telegraph” (Source:  https://cointelegraph.com/news/research-there-could-be-24-cbdcs-live-by-2030):

According to a survey, over half of the world’s central banks are conducting experiments or working on a CBDC pilot.

            It’s important to keep in mind that central bank digital currencies are nothing more than fiat currencies.  That will make the gold-backed (depending on the convertibility) BRICS currency more desirable.

            Jim Rickards, a past guest on my radio program, recently made some great points about digital currencies that should make any liberty-loving citizen do what they can to stop the development of these CBDC’s.

            Here are some excerpts from Mr. Rickards’ piece (Source:  https://dailyreckoning.com/shut-up-or-else/):

CBDCs are programmable. They allow central banks (or regulated commercial banks) to monitor your purchases.

In conjunction with artificial intelligence (AI), purchases and other uses of money (charitable contributions, political contributions, travel, etc.) can create a profile that identifies you as an enemy of the people, as described by the government.

CBDCs can be used to freeze your account, require you to spend money at the risk of confiscation in the form of a “fiscal penalty,” or to impose withholding tax on professionals and independent contractors who are not currently subject to withholding.

Your “Biden Bucks” could also be made to stop working at the gas pump once you’ve purchased a certain amount of gasoline in a week. Or you could be banned from buying a steak at the grocery store if you’ve exceeded your weekly quota of meat consumption.

An ad might then pop up on your phone suggesting you try the latest “meatless” meat alternative.

How’s that for control?

Biden Bucks can also allow the creation of a segregated society based on wealth. If you’re in a higher income bracket, for example, you might have to pay more for the products you buy than someone in a lower income bracket.

“Hey, you can afford to pay $10 for a gallon of milk, while the other guy can’t. Why should he have to pay the same price as you? That’s unfair. So guess what? If you want that gallon of milk, it’s going to cost you $10.”

That could apply to any product. And you can be sure that in many cases, “the wealthy” would really mean the middle class.

Or if the government decides you have too much money, it could reduce the amount of interest you receive on your money in the bank.

This is the kind of world that Biden Bucks opens up.

The bottom line is CBDCs would create massive opportunities for social control that the worst tyrants in history would have envied.

That’s why these globalist elites are so enamored of them. It explains why they’re pursuing them so aggressively — even if nations must change their constitutions to accommodate them.

Here’s an excerpt from a recent Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report, which it produced in conjunction with seven leading central banks, including the Fed:

Legislation may need to be enacted or adjusted to specifically authorize the issuance and distribution of a retail CBDC (e.g. changes to central bank charters/statutes, legislation in other areas related to payments or to the constitution itself).

Of course, mainstream news outlets have tried to discredit me as I raise these concerns. For example, The Associated Press tried to “fact-check” me, claiming that my warnings about government control were paranoid.

But as I’ve recently pointed out, even the general manager of the BIS, which is known as the “central bank of central banks,” has admitted that CBDCs would give central banks “absolute control” of everyone’s money — and the “technology to enforce that.”

But maybe you think that all this is years away, that you don’t have to worry about it right now. Well, think again.

We don’t have to wait until then to see how this works in practice. Government control of bank accounts to attack political enemies is already here.

Nigel Farage is a popular U.K. politician and public figure. He was a member of the European Parliament and leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP). Farage is best known as the leader of the Brexit movement that successfully led the U.K. to exit from the EU following a referendum to leave in June 2016.

There can be little doubt that Farage is popular among U.K. voters and despised by the U.K. political elite. Recently, the elites had their revenge.

His bank notified him that his accounts were being closed and he had a deadline to remove his funds.

He then spent weeks trying to open new accounts at other U.K. banks. He was refused time and time again. Clearly, this was an orchestrated attack on his financial freedom.

It’s practically impossible to live in a developed economy without access to bank accounts, credit cards, debit cards, savings instruments and the cluster of modern financial services offered through the banking system.

At the end of the day, Farage may have to leave the U.K. and move elsewhere in order to establish banking accounts. That would suit the U.K. elites just fine. They want to force Farage out of the country.

But this isn’t just a story about Nigel Farage. It’s about elites and their plans to stifle dissenters who oppose their globalist agenda. This is a warning shot.

            I have two closing comments.

          One, freedom-loving Americans should do everything they can to avoid the implementation of CBDC’s.

          Two, for many investors, it might be wise to consider adding gold and silver to your portfolios – the physical kind.  Both these developments will likely be bullish for gold, in my view.

---

          The radio program this week is a ‘best of’ program featuring an interview with Mr. Jeffrey Tucker.  If you haven't yet had a chance to listen to this thought-provoking interview, click on the "Podcast" tab at the top of this page now.

 

“The basis of a democratic state is liberty.”

                                           -Aristotle