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Transcript UNC 010524

UNC Jan 5 Transcript

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It&rsquo;s the most dangerous time for investors since the 1930s&hellip; and new threats to your wealth appear every week.
That&rsquo;s why we created Rickards Uncensored &mdash; a weekly Zoom broadcast that takes you deeper into Jim Rickards&rsquo; research and analysis than is possible in any other format.
Each Friday, Jim, his team and special invited guests will share their absolute latest thoughts on what&rsquo;s happening in the world &mdash; helping you navigate today&rsquo;s troubled markets.
You&rsquo;ll hear from seasoned traders&hellip; retirement specialists&hellip; commodities experts&hellip; government officials&hellip; financial heavyweights&hellip; even Jim himself.
Members of this elite team predicted the 2008 housing bubble&hellip; the gold price spikes in 2010 and 2019&hellip;&nbsp; American Airlines&rsquo; bankruptcy in 2011&hellip; Donald Trump&rsquo;s election victory in 2016&hellip; the pandemic-fueled market crash in 2020&hellip; the bond collapse in 2021&hellip; and more.
So you can count on them to tell you the unvarnished truth &mdash; regardless of how controversial it may be&hellip;
They&rsquo;ll also answer viewers&rsquo; questions, ensuring you get the answers you need.
You won&rsquo;t find a better source of information on what&rsquo;s next for the global economy&hellip; and what you should do right now. Get it all in a LIVE broadcast every Friday morning.&nbsp;

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Insider trading is illegal. But that doesn&rsquo;t stop connected insiders from using their first-hand knowledge to take advantage of the market.
It can feel like you&rsquo;re always just behind the curve, only acting on news after it breaks.
But Jim Rickards' Insider Intel offers another way.
It helps you take advantage of stocks that insiders are quietly piling into.
We&rsquo;re not talking about following the paper trail that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires when company executives and institutions make big trades.
Instead, Jim and his team scan the markets for subtle signs of &ldquo;off the books&rdquo; trading &mdash; using the proprietary I-3 Indicator.
Once it&rsquo;s zeroed in on suspicious activity, Jim&rsquo;s team examines the macroeconomic and fundamental clues that could explain the signals.
If everything checks out, they&rsquo;ll tell you the best way for you to cash in on the expected move.

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Rickards Uncensored — Get real-time updates and exclusive insights into Jim Rickards’ latest analysis and predictions with high-level calls broadcast LIVE every Friday morning. 

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Rickards Uncensored Call (with Byron King 1/5/2024)

Mailbag

Here are a few questions:
Q: Will a return to products being made in America result in higher prices for consumers due to higher labor costs? &ndash; Pete S.
A: No.There are several reasons for this. Better paying jobs in the U.S. will increase savings and tend to lower interest rates. Larger-scale production in the U.S. will also result in economies of scale that reduce unit costs. Finally, foreign investors will need dollars to invest in U.S. manufacturing and to get over high tariff walls. That will make the dollar stronger, which will reduce the dollar prices of those foreign inputs that will still be needed. Reduction in the trade deficit does not mean the end of trade. Some imported components will always be needed, and a strong dollar makes those cheaper. The lower costs from lower interest rates, a strong dollar and economies of scale will offset higher wage costs.
Q: Do you see silver as good an investment as gold for those of us who can&rsquo;t afford gold at current prices? &ndash; Molly P.
A: Silver is a good investment both because it will follow the price of gold higher and because it can be more practical than gold when it comes to buying groceries and other necessities if the power grid goes down or the monetary system collapses. I consider a certain number of one-ounce American silver eagles to be as important as a flashlight, water and food in a crisis.
Q: In what ways do you see mass deportation of illegal immigrants impacting the U.S. economy? &ndash; Bobby S.
A: It will not impede the economy. The deportations will begin with criminals and terrorists who do not contribute to society and in fact cause enormous harm. Then the deportations will continue with illegals who currently receive free housing, free cell phones, pre-paid debit cards and free medical care. These illegals cost far more than they produce. It will be impossible to deport all ten million illegals who entered under Biden. Several million will remain in all events and they are likely to be the most productive and resourceful of the group. Deporting the criminals, terrorists and freeloaders will only help the economy.
That&rsquo;s it for this week. Thanks for all your questions sent in.

awn-hero-img-01-16-25 BORDER PATROL- A man and woman with baggage retreat back to the border when they are spotted by a border control helicopter. They entered via a breach in a barbed wire fence and retreat through that s

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Jim Rickards&rsquo; Strategic Intelligence is designed to help you prepare and profit from the coming collapse of the dollar.
It&rsquo;s masterminded by Jim Rickards, New York Times bestselling author of the The Road to Ruin, Currency Wars, The Death of Money, The New Case for Gold and more.
He&rsquo;s spent over 40 years in investment banking, international economics, political and national intelligence advisory roles. As adviser on international economics and financial threats to the Department of Defense and the U.S. intelligence community, he served as a facilitator of the first-ever financial war games conducted by the Pentagon.
To safely guide your investments, Jim has developed a revolutionary way of looking at the financial system and stock markets. He calls it &ldquo;complexity theory,&rdquo; which has been used by government intelligence agencies but never applied to the financial world.
Jim will use this theory to help you build safe investment positions in stocks, bonds, cash, art, land, precious metals and other hard assets.&nbsp;
You can get Jim&rsquo;s research every month &mdash; with weekly email updates &mdash; in Jim Rickards' Strategic Intelligence.

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Crisis Trader with Jim Rickards uses proprietary algorithms to peer into corporate balance sheets &mdash; uncovering the ugly secrets of popular companies.
You don&rsquo;t want these names in your portfolio. But you can set yourself up for massive profits when the truth inevitably comes to light.
Jim Rickards and Dan Amoss can show you how. They correctly predicted every move the Federal Reserve made to fight inflation. And now they believe we&rsquo;re on the verge of a historic economic downturn.
Most investors are completely unprepared for the wave of bank failures and corporate bankruptcies that will rock Wall Street.
Luckily, you don&rsquo;t have to be caught unaware.&nbsp;
Jim and Dan will guide you through the worst of what&rsquo;s to come &mdash; revealing opportunities to score big wins from the market&rsquo;s worst stocks.

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Unearth the ugly secrets buried in the balance sheets of popular stocks — and position yourself for maximum gains when their hidden crises get too big to ignore.

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Will Deportation Hurt The Economy?

Updates

You&rsquo;re standing in the middle of a sprawling Arizona desert.
The sun beats down.
Heat trembles in the air, bending the horizon.
Somewhere nearby, a billion-dollar facility rises from the ground, built with a staggering 12,000 tons of steel&hellip; enough to build thirty Boeing 747s.
Our experience of AI is often as something intangible &mdash; an ethereal entity, purely digital, floating in &ldquo;the cloud.&rdquo;
But the reality of AI is anything but light or invisible. It&rsquo;s industrial. It&rsquo;s material.
It&rsquo;s built on physical infrastructure so massive and energy-hungry&hellip;
It feels closer to the steel mills of the 20th century than the soft shangri-la tech companies like to sell.
This is a new challenge for companies that grew up in a world where their biggest assets were lines of code and server farms hidden from view.
They&rsquo;re now forced to wrestle in a new arena &mdash; atoms.
From securing rights to rare earth metals and water to building mega-facilities in deserts&hellip;
They wade into industries that demand expertise in logistics, resource management, and geopolitics &mdash; fields far removed from writing code.
In the last three years, Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet have collectively spent over $370 billion on expanding both physical and cloud infrastructure, with quarterly investments now exceeding $140 billion.
They know:
It's not just about chip performance anymore; it's about who can secure the bandwidth and power to scale. 
Indeed, Nvidia&rsquo;s H100 chips, designed to accelerate AI workloads, are marvels of engineering.
However, a single deployment of these chips can require more than 20 MW of electricity &mdash; equivalent to the power consumption of 16,000 homes in the U.S.
It&rsquo;s tempting to imagine salvation in the return of &ldquo;elemental energy.&rdquo; Sure, there&rsquo;s abundant gas in the Texas Permian Basin, and nuclear power might make a flashy comeback.
But for all the promises of these solutions, they&rsquo;re not immune to the same logistical hurdles &mdash; distribution, scalability, cost.
And the irony:
<h2 class="subhead nbp">When Bigger Is Not Better </h2>
In tech, the initial wave of innovation almost always emphasizes scale &mdash; bigger, faster, stronger.
But the long-term winners are often the ones who figure out how to do more with less. Efficiency, accessibility &mdash; these are the metrics that define the future.
Thus, the plot twist: AI dominance won&rsquo;t inherently come from fortress-like data centers but from those enabling widespread access.
This sets the stage for a potential future that&rsquo;s different than most AI analysts envision.
And brings us to the rise of &ldquo;edge computing&rdquo; &mdash; a system where data is processed locally on devices or nearby networks.
As the current constraints become more acute, edge computing is emerging as a practical alternative.
And its rise reflects a pretty massive paradigm shift.
By decentralizing computation to local devices, such as smartphones or IoT systems, edge computing reduces reliance on massive, centralized data centers.
Each machine handles part of the workload, making it possible to run complex AI tasks &mdash; and, for the most part, without the need for large data centers.
This distributed model comes with additional benefits: it improves privacy and minimizes latency, making it critical for real-time applications like autonomous vehicles.
This approach is more flexible, cost-efficient, and allows smaller organizations to access powerful computing without owning all the hardware.
And some of this innovation is emerging from an unlikely contender: Apple.
<h2 class="subhead nbp">Yes, the AiPhone</h2>
Known for its tightly controlled ecosystem, Apple is now exploring how to shrink the AI burden down to devices in our hands.
Meaning, they want to be able to process tasks on devices themselves.
Imagine running powerful AI models locally, on an iPhone or Mac, without tethering to energy-hungry data centers.
If Apple succeeds, it could turn the AI arms race into something more personal &mdash; private, even.
Takeaway: The future of AI isn&rsquo;t just being built in sprawling deserts or billion-dollar facilities.
While there&rsquo;s indeed money to be made there&hellip;
It&rsquo;s also being built on the edges.
And, as usual, we&rsquo;re on the lookout for new opportunities in this emerging space.

The artificial intelligence boom is entering a new &mdash; and much more profitable &mdash; stage.
So a team of the world&rsquo;s top tech and investment analysts have joined forces to create Paradigm Mastermind Group.
Together they&rsquo;ll help you get in on the ground floor of up-and-coming AI pioneers&hellip; setting you up for a chance at life-changing gains!
Your guides include James Altucher, former venture capitalist and tech entrepreneur who has deep connections to the origin of A.I. technology. In fact, he worked on a precursor to IBM&rsquo;s Deep Blue.
Then there&rsquo;s Jim Rickards, former advisor to the CIA and Pentagon. The U.S. intelligence community has contracted him to use AI to help predict everything from financial crises to terrorist threats.
We also have Ray Blanco, a man who has crossed paths &mdash; and attended private closed-door meetings &mdash; with people like Elon Musk, biotech legend Phillip Frost and even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Plus many more!
Together, they know how disruptive the next wave of AI will be.
The team also knows that dozens of tiny innovators are set to dominate it &mdash; creating fortunes for anyone who invests before these names go mainstream.
So our brain trust will bring you the absolute best of the best.
Also, expect &ldquo;special guest&rdquo; experts to chime in with their AI investment ideas.
In short, this first-of-its-kind group gives you access to AI insights from the absolute top minds in the business.
 Don&rsquo;t wait until the second wave of AI innovation takes hold. Put the Paradigm Mastermind group to work for you &mdash; and get ahead of everyone else on Wall Street.

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The Hidden Genius of the “AiPhone”

In 1975, an engineer at Kodak invented the first digital camera.
His bosses told him to keep quiet about it.
They were convinced no one would ever want to take pictures without film.
Today, Kodak is bankrupt, and 80-year-old grandmothers share smartphone selfies on Facebook.
Sometimes, the biggest companies are the slowest to embrace revolutionary technology.
But in 2025, that's all about to change as big business finally opens its arms to artificial intelligence.
The potential payoff is astronomical.&nbsp;
We're talking about technology that can write code, analyze data, and generate business insights faster than entire teams of humans.
For big companies, AI represents a gold rush of efficiency. The kind that could save billions in operating costs while supercharging growth.
So what's been holding them back?
In a word: security.
<h3>AI&rsquo;s Next Major Hurdle</h3>
See, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have a dirty little secret. They can be tricked into spilling sensitive information.
Hackers have discovered that by telling the AI to roleplay as a grandma in a scenario, they can circumvent security.&nbsp;
When AI researchers closed that loophole, hackers got creative and started instructing the AI to "4cT aS mY gr4ndMa" (&ldquo;act as my grandma&rdquo;) or adding random characters to their questions, which worked to bypass AI&rsquo;s safety controls.
Security is a game of cat and mouse, with the mouse always looking for new ways to outsmart the cat.
For businesses, this creates a massive problem.&nbsp;
They can't risk connecting AI to their sensitive data if it might leak trade secrets or customer information to clever hackers.
But that's not the only issue keeping AI out of the corporate world.
<h3>Improving Errors with AI Security Guards</h3>
These models also have a habit of making things up &ndash; what experts call "hallucination."
Imagine your AI assistant confidently telling a major client that their order will arrive next Tuesday, when in reality, it's stuck in a warehouse in Tennessee.
That's the kind of mistake that costs companies millions.
But here's where things get interesting.
A new breed of AI is emerging &ndash; one designed specifically to keep other AI systems in check.
Think of them as AI security guards. They monitor everything the main AI system does, making sure it doesn't leak sensitive information or make up fake facts.
These "overseer" AIs can spot when someone's trying to trick the system into revealing secrets. They can also fact-check responses in real time against company databases.
For big business, this is a game-changer.
It means they can finally unleash AI's full potential without worrying about security breaches or embarrassing mistakes.
And that's where the investment opportunity comes in.
Companies like Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) and Oracle Corp. (ORCL), which provide enterprise software, are perfectly positioned to capitalize on this shift.
They're already building these AI security features into their existing products.
Here at Altucher&rsquo;s Investment Network, we saw this trend coming as Oracle and Microsoft are both in our Artificial Intelligence portfolio, up 35% and 27% respectively.
As businesses rush to adopt secure AI systems in 2025, these tech giants will continue to be first in line to profit.
We're looking at the kind of wealth creation that only comes along once in a generation.
The last time we saw an opportunity this big was during the dawn of the internet.
And just like then, the early movers will reap the biggest rewards.
The AI revolution isn't just coming &ndash; it's finally ready for business.
And 2025 is when it all begins.

With the simple mantra of &ldquo;Choose Yourself,&rdquo; James has built a massive following &mdash; helping people find new and unusual opportunities to generate inward success.
Now he wants you to achieve the next step: True financial freedom and independence.
He&rsquo;s tapping into the skills he developed as a hedge fund manager and venture capitalist to reveal every secret he&rsquo;s ever learned about building wealth.
And he&rsquo;s not alone.&nbsp;
James is connected to the biggest players in Silicon Valley and Wall Street. So he&rsquo;s hand-picked a team of investment experts and trading superstars to create Altucher&rsquo;s Investment Network &mdash; connecting you directly to their wealth of knowledge.
You&rsquo;ll learn tips for navigating Wall Street&hellip; personal finance strategies.. and tricks to boost retirement income. The team will also tell you specific ways to get ahead of hot investment trends like AI, cryptocurrencies, biotech, cybersecurity and driverless cars.
With Altucher&rsquo;s Investment Network, you&rsquo;ll have the tools to start building a personal financial fortress to live a life of abundance and true financial well-being.

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James will tap his powerful network of business leaders and Wall Street insiders to help readers ascend to the next level of the Choose Yourself lifestyle: True financial freedom and independence.

James taps his powerful network of business leaders and Wall Street insiders to help you achieve true financial freedom and independence.

Altucher's Investment Network

2025: The Year Enterprise Finally Embraces AI

On Monday, we offered the following forecast of what would happen at the FOMC meeting today:
On Wednesday, the Fed will reduce its target rate for fed funds by 0.25%. Thatdecision will lower the federal funds target to 4.50%. This is the third move in a rate lowering cycle that began with the Fed&rsquo;s 0.50% rate cut on September 18, 2024.
<h2 class="subhead">Here&rsquo;s What Happened</h2>
The Fed did cut the fed funds rate by 0.25% as we predicted. This brings the Fed&rsquo;s target rate to 4.50%. That rate cut was widely expected. The Fed does not like to produce surprises if they can possibly avoid it. This is the no drama Fed.
The Fed&rsquo;s press release issued at 2:00 pm ET today did not have any content of note and was basically a restatement in technical jargon of the fundamental policy move &ndash; a rate cut of 0.25%
This meeting included the &ldquo;dots,&rdquo; technically the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) offered by 19 Fed governors and regional reserve bank presidents and presented in graphical form as a dot plot. The dots show individual forecasts of key variables such as unemployment, interest rates, inflation, and economic growth. The dots do not deserve serious attention as forecasting tools. The Fed has the worst forecasting record of almost any institution.
Powell&rsquo;s statement before taking questions from reporters and his answers to most of the reporters&rsquo; questions were largely a replay of the November FOMC meeting. Powell continued to put the emphasis on what he called normalization.
In his view, inflation is normalizing (meaning it&rsquo;s moving toward the Fed&rsquo;s 2.0% goal) and labor markets are normalizing (meaning unemployment is going up but not quickly and not by much). In this world, there&rsquo;s nothing for the Fed to do except stay the course with 0.25% rate cuts unless there are material changes in the economy.
<h2 class="subhead">Powell Will Stay Put (For Now)</h2>
Reporters again made reference to the question of whether Donald Trump is likely to fire Powell or pressure him to resign. Powell&rsquo;s term as Chair expires in early 2026 so he&rsquo;s not around that much longer in any case. Since the election, the Trump transition team has said publicly that Trump will not fire Powell.
Still, Trump will almost certainly not reappoint Powell in 2026 and will be free to choose his own Chair. It may be politically convenient to keep Powell around in the meantime because the White House will have someone to blame if the economy heads south early in Trump&rsquo;s term as it well may.
Most of Powell&rsquo;s press conference focused on the policy dilemma we highlighted in our pre-meeting report on Monday. The Fed&rsquo;s &ldquo;dual mandate&rdquo; requires the Fed to maintain price stability and create jobs at the same time. This is practically impossible to do on a consistent basis. There is no strong correlation between interest rates and employment.
There are times when the Fed will want to raise interest rates to fight inflation. That might hurt job creation. There are other times when the Fed might want to lower interest rates to boost employment. That might trigger inflation. Or not.
In the late 1970s, we had 10% unemployment and 15% inflation. In 2012, we had zero interest rates but unemployment was 7.9%. There is no tight correlation between jobs and inflation. In practice, the Fed has to choose one part of the mandate at a time and focus on it, leaving the other part on its own.
The U.S. payroll report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released on December 5 was hailed because it showed 227,000 new jobs created in November, well above expectations. But that headline masked a mountain of bad news.
The new jobs were created according to the establishment survey, which contacts businesses and has highly dubious assumptions about new business creation and seasonal adjustments. But the BLS also conducts a household survey that contacts individuals to ask if they have recently been hired or have quit or been fired. The household survey also gauges the labor force participation rate (LFPR), which measures the size of the workforce relative to the working age population. Both measures had negative results.
The household survey showed the labor force lost 355,000 jobs in November. That&rsquo;s a difference of 582,000 jobs between the employment survey (+227,000) and the household survey (-355,000). The two surveys should produce similar results subject to normal statistical noise and small leads and lags.
A difference of this magnitude means that one of the surveys is badly out of sync with the real economy. History shows that when the two surveys diverge, the household survey tends to be more accurate and the employer survey sooner than later plunges to converge with the household survey. On this basis, it appears the U.S. economy is already in a recession and the headline data is struggling to catch up with the reality.
The household survey also shows that the LFPR has declined from 62.7% in September to 62.6% in October and now to 62.5% as of November 2024. All of those readings are historically low, and the persistent downtrend shows that working age individuals are dropping out of the labor force in part because they are discouraged about their prospects for finding a job.
<h2 class="subhead">Inflation Is Not Cooperating</h2>
Inflation is the other half of the dual mandate in addition to unemployment. After a long period of stubbornly high inflation, inflation seemed to be coming under control and heading toward the Fed&rsquo;s 2.0% target. That narrative just exploded in the Fed&rsquo;s face.
Here&rsquo;s the tale of the inflation tape using the Consumer Price Index on a year-over year basis:
<table style="height: 285px; width: 44.1347%;" align="center">
<tbody>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<th style="width: 42.9853%;">Date</th>
<th style="width: 55.1726%;">CPI (year-over-year)</th>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">March 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">3.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">April 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">3.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">May 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">3.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">June 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">3.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">July 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">2.9%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">August 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">2.5%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">September 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">2.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">October 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">2.6%</td>
</tr>
<tr style="text-align: center;">
<td style="width: 42.9853%;">November 2024</td>
<td style="width: 55.1726%;">2.7%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
(The CPI data for December 2024 will be released on January 15, 2025).
Inflation, which peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 had been coming down steadily. The trend from March 2024 to September 2024 showed a drop from 3.5% to 2.4%. That trend was heading toward the Fed&rsquo;s goal of 2.0% inflation.
The trend reversed suddenly in October 2024 when inflation rose to 2.6%. It then rose further in November 2024, hitting 2.7%, the highest rate since last July. By itself, this is not a catastrophe. The increase in inflation over the past two months may indeed prove transitory but there can be no assurance of that as of now.
<h2 class="subhead">The PPI Shock</h2>
The inflation story delivered another shock on December 11 when the government reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI) (a measure of wholesale price increases) rose 3% in November on a year-over-year basis. That was the highest monthly increase since February 2023. The core PPI (excluding food and energy prices) rose in November by 3.4%, even higher than the full index. The PPI increases are not only bad news on their face, but they are also a negative indicator for future CPI measures since producer prices tend to filter into consumer prices over time.
In any case, the Fed does not turn on a dime. They would have to see at least one, perhaps two more months of rising inflation before abandoning the unemployment part of the dual mandate and returning to rate hikes to fight inflation. Even if inflation continues, the Fed could decide the unemployment fight is more important and simply let inflation take its own course.
For now, the Fed will cut rates to help the employment situation. But with inflation refusing to die, that preference may change in the near future.
<h2 class="subhead">Conclusion: The Markets Lead the Fed</h2>
The next Fed meeting is January 28-29, 2025, the first meeting for the new year. The Fed&rsquo;s policy move at that meeting will be a close call. The Fed may cut interest rates again by 0.25% given the deteriorating employment situation. On the other hand, the Fed may stand pat in view of the increasing inflation metrics.
This decision is truly data dependent and will be made on the basis of new inflation readings (PPI on January 14, 2025, and CPI on January 15, 2025) and the December employment report (January 3, 2025). The January employment report will be released on February 7, 2025, and therefore not in time for the January 29 meeting.
This kind of data dependence is revealing because it shows the Fed is following markets and not leading them. That&rsquo;s bad news for investors because if the Fed were leading the economy, they would get ahead of the coming recession. They&rsquo;re not doing either.

FED RECAP: The Markets Lead the Fed

$200 billion can buy a lot of Bitcoin.
That's the amount of cash Microsoft is sitting on &ndash; money that could have made history this week.
The crypto world watched with bated breath as Microsoft shareholders faced a decision that would ripple through Wall Street: whether to turn some of that mountain of cash into Bitcoin.
For Bitcoin believers, it would have been the ultimate validation.&nbsp;
Microsoft, maker of Windows and Xbox - the company that powers nearly every office computer in America - buying Bitcoin.
The proposal was simple: force Microsoft's board to consider moving part of its corporate piggy bank into cryptocurrency.
Most big companies play it safe, parking their extra cash in government bonds and other "boring" investments.
But times are changing.
A growing number of companies are choosing a different path&hellip; turning to Bitcoin to help protect their cash from inflation.
So it is no surprise that Microsoft&rsquo;s shareholders attempted to push the company to consider this approach as well.&nbsp;
Now, Microsoft&rsquo;s board did not quite see things the same way.&nbsp;
Before the vote, they recommended against the proposal, saying they needed their investments to be "stable and predictable."&nbsp;
In the end, the vote did not get enough support to force Microsoft&rsquo;s board to consider buying Bitcoin, but the story doesn't end here.
<h3>The Corporate Crypto Revolution</h3>
Across corporate America, a quiet revolution is taking place.&nbsp;
Companies are increasingly turning to Bitcoin as a way to protect their wealth.&nbsp;
MicroStrategy, a business software company, now holds over $40 billion in Bitcoin. Their stock price has soared more than 500% this year alone.
And they're not alone.&nbsp;
Video platform Rumble recently announced plans to buy $20 million in Bitcoin.&nbsp;
Genius Group, an AI education company, is planning to put $120 million into Bitcoin.&nbsp;
Even healthcare companies like Acurx Pharmaceuticals and Hoth Therapeutics are joining the trend.
The movement is spreading globally too.&nbsp;
India's Jetking Infotrain just became the country's first public company to hold Bitcoin. Japan's Metaplanet is raising $62 million to expand its Bitcoin holdings.
And more votes are coming.&nbsp;
Amazon shareholders will soon decide whether to convert 5% of the company's assets into Bitcoin. The proposal suggests this move could protect shareholder value in times of high inflation.
While Microsoft shareholders may have said "not yet" to Bitcoin, the broader trend is clear.&nbsp;
More companies are viewing Bitcoin as a serious option for their treasuries. This shift isn't happening overnight &ndash; it's more like a slow but steady march toward acceptance.
For investors watching from the sidelines, this corporate adoption wave could signal a historic opportunity.&nbsp;
As more companies follow suit, Bitcoin's role as a mainstream financial asset grows stronger.&nbsp;
While the journey may take time, those who position themselves early could be witnessing the birth of a new era in corporate finance.
The Microsoft vote isn't the end of the story &ndash; it's just the beginning.&nbsp;
With each new company that adds Bitcoin to its treasury, the digital currency moves one step closer to becoming a standard part of corporate strategy.&nbsp;
And for those paying attention, that could mean the difference between watching from the sidelines and being part of financial history.

Microsoft's $200 Billion Bitcoin Moment

What is Oreshnik? It&rsquo;s a Russian word with two meanings. The first reference is to the hazel tree or the hazelnut from that tree. The second reference is to a revolutionary new missile system that Russia has fired at Ukraine.
The meanings are not unconnected. The ability of the Oreshnik missile to spread out into twenty or more warheads each with its own path is said to resemble the spread of leaves and branches of the hazel tree. Instead of bearing fruit in the form of hazelnuts, the Oreshnik brings utter destruction to targets in its path. That result has radically changed the nature of warfare.
<h2 class="subhead">How We Got To This Point</h2>
Before describing the Oreshnik missile in more detail, it helps to recall the recent history involving the U.S., Russia and Ukraine that led to the current dangerous state of affairs.
In 2008, George W. Bush announced that Ukraine and Georgia should join NATO. Within months, Russia invaded Georgia, making it clear that a red line had been crossed. In November 2013, the U.S. and UK launched a &ldquo;color revolution&rdquo; in Ukraine, used Ukrainian neo-Nazis to kill over 100 innocent protestors, overthrew a duly-elected president of Ukraine and installed an anti-Russian puppet regime. Weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine&rsquo;s Crimean Peninsula and annexed that territory to the Russian Federation.
In 2015, Russia and the U.S. and certain NATO allies negotiated the Minsk Agreements to bring peace to Ukraine. But the West negotiated in bad faith and later revealed they had no intention of living up to the Agreements. The period 2016-2022 was marked by a continual state of war between Ukrainian neo-Nazis (backed by the U.S.) and the Russian-speaking populations in the Donbas region of Ukraine. In 2019, Donald Trump was impeached for merely suggesting that U.S. aid to the Ukrainian neo-Nazis should be delayed.
Finally, in 2022, Russia invaded the Donbas to support the Russian speakers who were under siege from Kyiv. The war in Ukraine ever since has been marked by continual escalation whereby the U.S. and NATO supplied more advanced weapons which have all failed, and Russia responded with its own highly advanced weapons, which have succeeded brilliantly.
The result is that Russia has annexed four provinces of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia) and is advancing across the entire battlefront. Russia may soon annex two further provinces &ndash; Odesa and Sumy. Russia is also annihilating the Ukrainians who invaded the Kursk region of Russia last summer.
<h2 class="subhead">The Shock Heard Around The World</h2>
None of these adverse developments have halted U.S. and NATO escalation. The latest provocation involves the launching of U.S. ATACMS missiles as well as UK Storm Shadow cruise missiles and French SCALP cruise missiles at targets several hundred miles deep inside Russia. It was easy to predict that Russia would respond in its own way.
In fact, Russia&rsquo;s response shocked the world. On November 21, Russia fired a new weapon at the Yuzhmash defense plant in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that was unlike any weapon ever seen. It was a missile that was initially mistaken for an ICBM, a weapon reserved for strategic use with nuclear warheads. The missile was soon identified by the Russian Defense Ministry as a new Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) called Oreshnik. The Oreshnik appears to be an updated version of the RS-24 and RS-26 Rubezh IRBMs developed in the 2010s.
<img src="https://images.ctfassets.net/vha3zb1lo47k/3H62DpMkisppyU8kjmRuws/a5d58eb4ca0d798c5aadcbb8a21abb93/rgf-img1-12-04-24.png" alt="image 1" width="540px" />
Destruction By Escalation Defined
Russia&rsquo;s Oreshnik missile was launched in response to Biden&rsquo;s approval of ATACMS missile attacks deep inside Russia. Biden also gave the green light to attacks aimed at Russia using UK Storm Shadow and French SCALP cruise missiles. Biden&rsquo;s escalation is consistent with his seeming desire to cause World War III. The Oreshnik travels at Mach 10+, delivers multiple warheads and can reach London from Russia in 20 minutes. There is no defense.
The capabilities of the Oreshnik are astounding. It travels at Mach 10, about 7,000 miles per hour, 92 miles per minute or 2 miles per second. It can strike London in 20 minutes from its launch facility in Sary Shagan, Russia. Its warhead carries as many as six multiple independently targetable vehicles (MIRVs). Each MIRV carries as many as ten smaller MIRVs. (The exact number of large and small MIRVs inside the warhead bus is unknown).
This means a single missile can strike as many as sixty targets. Each small MIRV can take the form of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), so that even after releasing the MIRVs, the warheads continue at hypersonic speed.
The Oreshnik fired at Dnipro was not armed with nuclear warheads, but it could easily be adapted to do that. Indeed, the warheads are estimated not to contain any explosive material at all. That may be why no fireballs were seen when the warheads struck.
Instead, the Oreshnik HGVs rely on kinetic force and extreme heat to produce the destructive power that would otherwise be done by explosives. While the exact dynamics of the kinetic impact are not fully confirmed, it appears that warhead simply generates a seismic shock equal to the detonation of 5 metric tonnes (about 11,000 pounds) of TNT. This shock hits with a temperature of 4,000 degrees Celsius (7,332 degrees Fahrenheit).
The combination of force and temperature liquifies the soil around the point of impact and creates a kind of &ldquo;soil tsunami&rdquo; with underground shock waves emerging as surface seismic waves (a Rayleigh wave) that destroys everything in its vicinity (the elastic deformation zone).
The warheads went deep into the earth upon impact. The destruction was no less complete than a massive surface explosion. One eyewitness said, &ldquo;Yuzhmash is gone. It hit so hard that everyone just threw up their hands. It was like God sent us his arrows. People went to the plant to find out what happened &ndash; but it simply wasn&rsquo;t there. There were no workshops, only dust remained.&rdquo;
None of the underground command bunkers in Kyiv are safe from the Oreshnik.
<h2 class="subhead">A Paradigm Shift in Offensive Warfare</h2>
We have also just witnessed another step up the escalation ladder to nuclear war first posited by the theorist Herman Kahn in the 1960s.
Later on November 21, President Putin of Russia gave a lengthy statement in a televised address from the Kremlin. Putin reportedly used a desk and chair once used by Stalin to announce important victories in World War II, a fact not lost on everyday Russians. Putin said that the war in Ukraine has now become a &ldquo;global conflict.&rdquo;
U.S. and NATO missile attacks on Russia continued into late November. On November 29 a Russian missile counterattack struck a Ukrainian missile launch center staffed by U.S. and other NATO technicians. The Russian missile was not an Oreshnik, but Russia has a large arsenal of other hypersonic missiles capable of precision strikes and massive damage. The launch center was destroyed, and it is highly likely (but not yet confirmed) that U.S. military personal possibly posing as non-uniformed mercenary &ldquo;contractors&rdquo; were killed.
The escalation continues. For Biden, nuclear war is the endgame.
Why should these technical developments in missile technology matter to investors? Because these developments are not incremental. They are revolutionary. The Oreshnik missile represents a paradigm shift in offensive warfare. The West has nothing comparable and no defense against it.
The tactical use of nuclear weapons has always been a red line since the U.S. first conducted nuclear war against Japan in August 1945. Of course, the use of strategic nuclear weapons signals the end of civilization, but even tactical nuclear weapons were considered unacceptable.
The Oreshnik blurs that red line. It has the accuracy and much of the destructive force of a tactical nuclear weapon without the radiation and collateral damage. The Oreshnik missile is so fast and so powerful that it may have made tactical nuclear weapons obsolete. Why use nukes when you can get massive, targeted destruction in minutes without radioactive fallout?
<h2 class="subhead">Markets Beware</h2>
That being the case, the Oreshniks will be used. Putin has already threatened to use Oreshniks against &ldquo;decision making centers&rdquo; in Kyiv. That&rsquo;s a reference to the underground bunkers used by the political and military leadership of Ukraine. The war in Ukraine could be over even faster than the most objective analysts expect.
Russia has also publicly identified U.S. and NATO command centers in Poland that are used to program and guide the intermediate-range and cruise missiles being launched into Russia. Putin has said those bases could be attacked if the missile attacks on Russia continued.
Of course, Poland is a NATO member and such an attack by Russia could trigger Article V of the NATO treaty, which requires all members to come to the aid of any member under attack. This sequence is the short path to World War III. Joe Biden seems determined to test these limits.
Investors need to be prepared for a world where the U.S. is no longer the leader in military technology. Russia will decide when its geopolitical goals are met, and the U.S. is in no position to dictate those terms to Russia. This new reality will be reflected in foreign exchange markets, stock market volatility, and even markets for U.S. Treasury securities. Importantly, the political paradigm shift will be reflected in the price of gold.

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A Change in the Global Order of Military Superiority

Remember when people thought the AI boom might be cooling off?
Well, Nvidia just proved them wrong... again.
Last Wednesday, the world's most valuable company announced another mind-blowing quarter, with revenue nearly doubling from the same time last year to reach $35 billion.
If you're keeping score at home, that's a 94% increase year-over-year.
But here's where it gets really interesting: Nvidia says they're still struggling to make enough chips to meet demand.
The company's data center business, which makes the specialized chips that power AI systems like ChatGPT, grew by an astounding 112%.
While this sounds great on paper, for Nvidia, these results have become business as usual.
Since announcing earnings on Wednesday, Nvidia&rsquo;s stock is down about 7.5%
This follows a similar pattern we saw back in August when Nvidia last announced earnings.&nbsp;
Initially, the stock dropped about 18% in the following week.&nbsp;
However, the stock has recovered those losses and rallied an additional 8.7%.&nbsp;
If you were lucky enough to pick up shares of Nvidia&rsquo;s stock one week after the last earnings, you&rsquo;d be sitting on gains of 28%
I believe a similar trend may play out again in the coming quarter.
<h3>The AI Race Heats Up</h3>
Nvidia&rsquo;s results were generally bullish for its next-generation chip, called Blackwell.
The chip isn't even officially out yet, but Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang says demand is already outstripping their ability to produce them.
And there's a good reason for all this demand.
Mark Zuckerberg recently revealed that Meta is training AI models larger than anything he's seen.
Not to be outdone, Elon Musk's xAI is building what he calls the "Colossus" &ndash; a supercomputer in Memphis using 100,000 Nvidia chips.
They've just raised $6 billion to help pay for it, and Musk is already talking about doubling its size.
Meanwhile, Amazon just poured another $4 billion into AI company Anthropic, bringing their total investment to $8 billion.
They're betting big that Anthropic's Claude AI model could become a serious competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Speaking of OpenAI, they recently raised $6.6 billion at a whopping $157 billion valuation.
For perspective, that makes them more valuable than companies like Disney or Nike.
But here's what makes this moment truly special&hellip;
<h3>The Birth of a New Kind of Computing</h3>
Nvidia&rsquo;s CEO is calling it "the industrial revolution of AI."
In a ceremony this past weekend at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Huang explained how we're moving from an era where computers followed human instructions to one where they can learn and think on their own.
This isn't just about making better chatbots.
Meta is using AI to translate languages in real time during video calls.
Google is developing AI that can understand and create videos from text descriptions.
And Amazon is working on AI that can run entire warehouses autonomously.
For investors, this creates multiple paths to potential riches.
The obvious play has been Nvidia, whose stock has risen nearly 200% this year.
But there's more to the story&hellip;
<h3>Transforming Every Industry</h3>
The real opportunity might lie in identifying the companies that will use these AI tools to transform their businesses.
Consider this: Every major company in every industry will eventually need to adopt AI to stay competitive.
Those that move first will likely see the biggest gains.
We're still in the early innings of this technological revolution.
The amount of computing power needed for AI is expected to increase by a millionfold over the next decade, according to Nvidia's CEO.
That's not just growth &ndash; that's explosive, transformative change.
For investors who position themselves correctly, this could be the kind of opportunity that creates generational wealth.
Remember, Amazon's early investors saw their investments multiply by over 1,000 times.
And that was just from revolutionizing retail.
The AI revolution promises to transform every industry simultaneously.
The race is on, and the stakes have never been higher.
Smart investors are paying attention &ndash; because this might be the biggest wealth-creation opportunity of our lifetimes.

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AI Profit Alert: The AI Gold Rush Just Got Hotter

With the 2024 election in the rearview mirror and Donald Trump set to take office on January 20, 2025, what will his second term mean for America?
Let&rsquo;s review the good, the bad and the ugly to prepare you for what&rsquo;s coming:
<h2 class="subhead">The Good</h2>
Trump will pursue a twenty-first-century version of what was originally known as the American System. This system relied on the following policies:
<ol>
<li>High tariffs to support manufacturing and high-paying jobs</li>
<li>Infrastructure investment (public and private) to support productivity</li>
<li>A strong army and navy to protect the U.S. but not to fight foreign wars</li>
<li>A central bank with limited powers to provide liquidity to commerce</li>
</ol>
To the extent there was government spending, it was for productive projects such as canal and road building and later to support railroads. To the extent that early central banks existed, they were for secure lending to sound entities (including the U.S. government) and not for purposes such as printing money, fixing interest rates or &ldquo;stimulus.&rdquo;
The entire system could be summarized as sound money, smart investment and a strong military in the service of high-paying American jobs.
The American System prevailed from 1790 to 1962 with occasional periods of agrarian ascendency and some disruptions such as the Civil War. Beginning after World War I, the neo-liberal movement of Austrian economists and libertarians began to promote globalist policies of open borders, open capital accounts and free trade.
Of course, free trade is a myth because of subsidies and non-tariff barriers. Comparative advantage is obsolete because the factors of production are highly mobile. Taiwan had no comparative advantage in semiconductors in 1979, but today they dominate global production. They made that happen through a Taiwanese version of the American System.
In contrast, the neo-liberals were living an ideological fantasy in which globalism was to displace sovereignty. At a minimum, their goal was encasement of sovereigns in a larger orb of multilateral institutions such as the IMF, World Bank, WTO and the United Nations.
Beginning with the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade Act of 1974 and successive rounds under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (today the WTO), the U.S. embraced the neo-liberal consensus including drastic tariff cuts. As jobs moved offshore to take advantage of cheap labor, capital followed as direct foreign investment.
The result was the hollowing-out of U.S. manufacturing, wage stagnation, slower growth, greater debt and a succession of failed wars. The open border policy of Biden-Harris is consistent with neo-liberal views on the end of sovereignty but is a death-knell for American jobs and social cohesion.
Trump and his economic team will return the United States to the pre-1962 glory days with the revival of the American System. Foreign companies will be free to sell goods to Americans but only if they are manufactured in the U.S.
This will lead to a wave on inbound investment in the U.S., a reduction in U.S. trade deficits, a stronger dollar (as the world demands dollars to invest here), and higher wages for U.S. workers. Higher wages will raise real incomes, stimulate consumption, decrease income inequality and expand the tax base to help reduce deficits without raising tax rates.
It&rsquo;s a win for American manufacturing and a win for the American people.
<h2 class="subhead">The Bad</h2>
But before we get there, expect a tough economic (and market) environment in the beginning of Trump&rsquo;s term.&nbsp; Administrations matter, personnel matters, policy matters, but there&rsquo;s something bigger than Trump in the White House. It&rsquo;s called the economy. The economy goes its own way. Business cycles have not been erased. The transition from Biden to Trump will bring economic pain as Trump inherits Joe Biden&rsquo;s mess.
There are ample signs that the economy is headed for a recession (or may already be in one) including higher unemployment, lower interest rates (low rates are not "stimulus;" they are associated with recessions and depressions), flattening yield curves, negative swap spreads, collateral shortages in Eurodollar markets, reductions in China&rsquo;s reserve positions (not a sign of "dumping" Treasuries but a sign of a dollar shortage and a need to provide liquidity to banks), declining oil prices (despite output reductions), and others.
The emerging recession will cause a stock market drawdown as earnings are revised downward, consumer confidence crumbles, consumer discretionary spending hits a wall and precautionary savings rise. The world will not bail-out the U.S. economy because China, Japan, Germany and the UK are all slowing economically at the same time or already in contraction.
The U.S. economy (in contrast to economists) does not pay that much attention to elections or new administrations. It&rsquo;s too big and moves to its own complex tempo. Investors may cheer the Trump policies and his reelection, but it will be a very bumpy ride in the first year of Trump 2.0.
<h2 class="subhead">The Ugly</h2>
Don&rsquo;t underestimate &ldquo;The Resistance&rdquo;. Because it&rsquo;s out there and can do a lot of damage in a couple of months before Inauguration Day. What are they up to? Biden and company are trying to Trump-proof the presidency by signing contracts. Let me explain.
Remember the famous Inflation Reduction Act? Despite its name, the act actually increased inflation by being the Green New Scam in disguise. There was about $850 billion for garbage like windmills, solar modules, and green initiatives. A lot of the money went to the Democrat&rsquo;s favorite contractors and electric vehicle makers. That passed in August of 2022, but guess what?
Most of the money hasn&rsquo;t been spent yet.
So, now there is a mad scramble to sign contracts. You actually can&rsquo;t spend the money that fast, but you can sign a contract with a five-year life or three-year life saying you&rsquo;ll spend it over three years. And the idea is signing the contract now so that even when Trump becomes president, even though the money hasn&rsquo;t been spent, it has been appropriated and it&rsquo;s contractually bound.
And that&rsquo;s the key. Bind the spending in contractual form so Trump can&rsquo;t do anything about it. There&rsquo;s a lot of wasteful government spending that&rsquo;s in the pipeline. The Democrats are also going to try to tie up as much federal land as they can to take it out of circulation to stall oil and natural gas production as well as mining.
The Resistance will try to get as much money to Ukraine as they can. They will try to appoint as many judges as they can. The Republicans can gum up the works a little bit, but the Democrats still have the majority in the Senate right now. And the one useful role of Kamala Harris left is being a tie breaking vote in the Senate if needed.
The Resistance could cause havoc in the months leading up to Trump taking office and beyond depending on how much damage they do. It won&rsquo;t be a pretty picture for markets with so many companies impacted by their actions on top of a recession.
<h2 class="subhead">Bottom Line</h2>
After taking office, Trump&rsquo;s agenda will incentivize billions of dollars of investments in U.S. energy and manufacturing jobs. He will make domestic oil drilling and refining a top priority which will provide America with energy independence. This will also benefit companies (and provide more jobs) in the energy sector.
But there will be plenty of minefields for markets to deal with in the first year as the transition takes place.

awn-hero-img-11-21-24 Downward arrow chart crashing, with the words Market Crash and Japanese flag displayed in red behind it. Illustrating economic downturns, financial crisis, or stock market failures

shutterstock 2500716433

A Bumpy Road Ahead to Trump 2.0

We got some data this week that may help the Fed stay on track for a December rate cut&hellip;
On Wednesday this week, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for October was released showing that prices increased 2.6% over the previous year.
This number was slightly higher than the 2.4% increase we saw in September, but it was still on target for what many economists were expecting.
Then on Thursday, a report from the Labor Department came out that showed that the number of people filing new unemployment applications fell for the week ending November 9th.
This is somewhat of a relief after unemployment claims surged in October due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the factory workers&rsquo; strike at Boeing.
So economists are hopeful that job growth will continue to regain steam as we continue through the rest of November.
With labor market conditions easing and inflation coming in on track with expectations, this gives the Fed more incentive to cut interest rates again at their meeting on December 18th.
We&rsquo;ll get more data on inflation and employment before that meeting so we&rsquo;ll see how those numbers shake out, but as of now, rates look like they&rsquo;re still coming down which is good for businesses that need to borrow capital to continue growing.
Not only that but with Trump winning the election we&rsquo;re about to move into a season where we&rsquo;ll likely see less regulation, less taxation, and more pro-business policies.
So businesses are about to grow and flourish, sending the prices of stocks shooting higher.
Now we also have to keep in mind that we may see higher tariffs, which could potentially be inflationary, so we have to think about that too when it comes to what the Fed will do as we move into 2025.
But all in all, I think we&rsquo;re in a very good place when it comes to potential business innovation and growth.
And the market seems to know this too as we&rsquo;re currently sitting at all-time highs on the S&amp;P 500.
So the market outlook looks bright as we approach the end of the year, which means we&rsquo;ll have plenty of opportunities to add innovative companies to our portfolio.

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Weekly Update: Why the Bulls Could Run Wild in 2025

Last night, America chose disruption over the status quo.
By the time Wisconsin's electoral votes put Donald Trump over the top at 4:30 AM, the markets had already spoken: Trump's return to power would kick off a new era of explosive growth and opportunity.
The Dow surged 3% at the opening bell. Bitcoin smashed through $75,000 to reach all-time highs. And Tesla stock rocketed up 15% as investors priced in a new reality where Elon Musk would help shape government policy.
Make no mistake - this wasn't just an election. It was an economic revolution.
<h3>The Red Wave That Changed Everything</h3>
State by state, Trump swept through the battlegrounds that matter most - Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and finally Wisconsin - to secure his return to the White House. And this time, he's bringing an army with him.
Republicans didn't just take the White House - they seized control of the Senate with a stronger majority than Trump's first term and are within striking distance of the House. With more Republicans backing him than ever and a stronger hold on his party, Trump is set to push through bigger changes than before.
The markets are already pricing in the tsunami of change ahead: lower corporate taxes, slashed regulations, and an aggressive America First trade policy that could reshape global commerce.
<h3>Musk Emerges as Washington's New Secret Weapon</h3>
No one did more to secure Trump's victory than Elon Musk.&nbsp;
The world's richest man bet big on Trump, contributing over $130 million and stumping across battleground states.
That investment is already paying off.&nbsp;
Tesla shares skyrocketed on expectations that Trump will accelerate approval for full self-driving vehicles and robotaxis.
SpaceX stands to benefit from increased defense spending and an accelerated timeline to reach Mars.
But Musk's influence extends far beyond his own companies.&nbsp;
Trump has tapped him to lead a new "Department of Government Efficiency" with a mandate to slash $2 trillion in federal spending.&nbsp;
For the first time, the tech industry will have a representative in government with direct influence over policy.
<h3>Tech's New Dawn</h3>
While critics warned that Trump would lead to the destruction of America, Silicon Valley is poised for unprecedented growth.&nbsp;
The Nasdaq's 3% surge today is just the preview of tech's next chapter.
With Vice President JD Vance - a former venture capitalist with deep ties to Silicon Valley - Trump's administration brings a unique understanding of the tech industry to Washington.&nbsp;
Vance previously worked directly with Peter Thiel - another Trump supporter who is also one of the founders of Paypal and Palantir&hellip; and an early investor in Facebook.
Vance's experience with Thiel positions him perfectly to bridge the gap between government and innovation.
Trump's team has promised investment in AI and quantum computing&hellip; signaling a new chapter in America's tech dominance.&nbsp;
Defense contracts are expected to pour billions into cutting-edge research, while looser regulations could help driverless cars hit the road more quickly.&nbsp;
His controversial tariff policies could once again make America a hub for semiconductor manufacturing.&nbsp;
For innovative companies willing to align with Trump's "America First" vision, the opportunities appear limitless.&nbsp;
From space technology to quantum computing, the next four years could see American tech grow more powerful than ever.
<h3>The Crypto Revolution Goes Mainstream</h3>
Perhaps no industry celebrated Trump's victory more enthusiastically than crypto.&nbsp;
Bitcoin's surge past $75,000 is just the beginning.
Trump has vowed to make America the world's "crypto capital," of the world.
His plans include adding Bitcoin as a federal reserve asset and promising to end the SEC's crackdown on digital currencies.&nbsp;
With Republicans comfortably controlling Congress, crypto-friendly laws seem more likely than ever.&nbsp;
Apart from fundraising for Trump, the crypto industry also poured money into congressional campaigns.
In a stunning upset for crypto haters, Bernie Moreno bet Ohio's Senator Sherrod Brown, who had long led the Senate's fight against digital currencies.
<h3>A New Era of Opportunity</h3>
For investors positioned correctly, the next four years could generate generational wealth.&nbsp;
Trump's combination of tax cuts, deregulation, and pro-business policies creates a perfect storm for growth.
The administration's focus on domestic manufacturing, energy independence, and technological innovation opens numerous paths for savvy investors.&nbsp;
From AI and autonomous vehicles to crypto and space exploration, entirely new industries stand ready to explode.
The message is clear: while the media focuses on political drama, smart money is already moving to capitalize on the Trump economy 2.0.&nbsp;
Those who recognize and act on these opportunities early stand to reap extraordinary rewards.
The revolution isn't coming - it's already here. The only question is: are you ready to profit from it?

How Trump's Victory Reshapes the Investment Landscape

Paradigm Press LLC, provides independent economic commentary, analysis and education through print and online publications, videos, online seminars, conference calls and more.

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Rickards Uncensored Call (with Byron King 1/5/2024)

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