Palisades Gold Radio

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Art Berman to the show. Art Berman is The Energy Realist. Berman explains that the initially feared catastrophic disruption from the Iran War has been partially offset, with production losses revised down to roughly 5 million barrels a day, though he stresses this remains a historically massive number. The absence of immediate global economic collapse is attributed to significant demand destruction, particularly in China, and the critical role of inventories. Using an analogy of a savings account versus a paycheck, he distinguishes between strategic and commercial reserves, noting that ample inventories have cushioned the market, preventing oil prices from spiking as they did during the Ukraine war when stocks were dangerously low. However, he warns that this cushion is finite and being drawn down at an alarming rate, with his comparative inventory model suggesting severe price pressures could materialize by November.

The discussion highlights the profound risks associated with shut-in production, where wells may never return to prior output levels due to complex subsurface physics. Berman describes the situation as a permanent “phase shift,” arguing the global oil system is fragmenting into distinct geopolitical blocs and will never revert to its pre-war state. He emphasizes that alternative supplies are not a simple solution because crude oil quality varies dramatically; light U.S. shale oil cannot easily replace medium-grade Persian Gulf crude required by many refineries.

Looking at the longer term, Berman frames oil as a mature, declining resource, stating that civilization must eventually adapt to the end of perpetual growth, a transition that will fundamentally reshape society.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:00:44 – Iran War Energy Disruptions

00:03:00 – China Demand Destruction Analysis

00:05:24 – Diesel Prices Regional Impacts

00:06:52 – Stocks Versus Flows Distinction

00:09:04 – Savings Account Analogy

00:18:14 – Global Inventories Assessment

00:22:37 – Persian Gulf Production Losses

00:33:15 – Lost Production Focus

00:39:51 – Phase Shift Market Scenario

00:50:53 – Refinery Tightness Crack Spreads

00:59:03 – Comparative Inventory Tool

01:21:20 – Concluding Thoughts

Guest Links:

Website: https://artberman.com

X: https://x.com/aeberman12

Art Berman isn’t your run-of-the-mill energy consultant; he’s a full-blown disruptor in a realm riddled with myths. With 40 years in petroleum geology and an intriguing twist – a degree in Middle Eastern history – Art slices through energy complexities with academic rigor and market savvy.

Forget what you thought you knew. This man’s comparative inventory approach is a guiding light for traders, investors, and policymakers. And he doesn’t just spend his time consulting. Art is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Houston, your go-to expert witness, and an electrifying keynote speaker who doesn’t mince words.

In a sector awash with misinformation, Art’s your source for gut-punching, data-backed truths. His clientele spans from ambitious investors to globe-spanning corporations, all seeking decisions steeped in reality, not fantasy. Love him or hate him, one thing is certain: Art Berman is an undeniable force in the energy sector.

Away from the charts and graphs, Art enjoys Baroque music and psychology and spending family time with his wife, kids, grandkids, and his dog, Lily. So, are you ready for the unvarnished truth? Look no further.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Ted Oakley to the show. Ted Oakley is Founder and Managing Partner | Oxbow Advisors. The discussion explores investment strategy, focusing on long-term holdings, hard assets, and contrarian opportunities. Oakley emphasizes the importance of a longer investment horizon, typically holding stocks for three to ten years, while acknowledging that most traders focus on short-term moves, often using leverage and options—which he views as risky. He notes that his firm recently bought back gold, silver, and mining stocks after significant corrections, considering them cheap on a cash flow basis, and continues to hold energy positions.

Oakley expresses caution regarding certain AI-driven tech companies, citing concerns about debt levels, earnings quality, and the sustainability of current growth. He sees parallels to the late 1990s and the potential for revaluation if commercial viability falters. He advocates maintaining liquidity to seize opportunities during market dislocations, often holding substantial short-term treasuries alongside gold as a currency hedge against dollar depreciation and long-term inflationary pressures from rising government debt and deficits.

The conversation turns to gold, with Oakley viewing the recent pullback to around $4,000 as a buying opportunity for those with a multi-year outlook, expecting much higher prices driven by central bank purchases and de-dollarization trends. He sees gold miners and royalty companies as undervalued, noting strong balance sheets and wide profit margins relative to extraction costs. Silver is also considered attractive, though more volatile. On energy, Oakley highlights the sector’s profitability even at moderate oil prices and the structural supply constraints from underinvestment. He recommends a diversified approach across producers, pipelines, and service companies, focusing on quality names bought at a discount to intrinsic value. He also discusses critical minerals and iron ore as part of a broader hard asset strategy to protect against currency debasement.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:00 – Current Investment Opportunities

00:02:23 – Long-term Investment Horizon

00:05:05 – Microsoft and AI Concerns

00:09:37 – Liquidity and Market Risks

00:11:29 – Debasement and Hard Assets

00:14:36 – Gold Market Opportunity

00:18:19 – Silver vs Gold Thesis

00:28:34 – Gold Miners Landscape

00:31:30 – Royalty Companies Value

00:34:01 – Energy Sector Fundamentals

00:39:13 – Critical Minerals Exposure

00:46:35 – Wrap Up

Guest Links:

X: https://x.com/Oxbow_Advisors

Website: https://oxbowadvisors.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/OxbowAdvisors

J. Ted Oakley, CFA, CFP, is Managing Director and Founder of Oxbow Advisors. With more than forty years of experience in advising high net worth clients in the investment industry, Oakley implements the firm’s proprietary investment strategies and the “Oxbow Principles” to provide a unique investment perspective. He is a frequent guest on FOX Business News, Bloomberg Radio, Thoughtful Money, The David Lin Report, and many more.

Mr. Oakley is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). He is a member of the Austin Society of Financial Analysts. He is also a Partner of Herndon Plant Oakley Ltd., an investment company. He is a Board Member of Texas State Aquarium, American Bank, and American Bank Holding Company. Mr. Oakley is a United States Army Veteran.

Mr. Oakley began his career in Dallas, Texas, over 40 years ago. He is the author of Eleven books: You Sold Your Company, $30 Million and Broke, Rich Kids Broke Kids – The Failure of Traditional Estate Planning, Crazy Time – Surviving the First 12 Months after Selling Your Company, Wall Street Lies, Danger Time, My Story, The Psychology of Staying Rich, Your Money Mentality, Stay Rich with a Balanced Portfolio & his 2025 latest release: Second Generation Wealth.

Mr. Oakley’s primary philanthropic interest is helping children. He is Chairman Emeritus and Founder of the Foster Angels of South Texas, the largest foster child foundation in South Texas, as well as Chairman Emeritus and Founder of Austin, Texas-based Foster Angels of Central Texas. Also, President and Founder of Advocates for Foster Children Foundation. Mr. Oakley recently arranged for Foster Angels in South Texas to represent The Heart Gallery of Texas to further their adoption efforts.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Peter Carlin to the show. Peter Carlin is Commodity Broker, Trader, and Author. The discussion opens with the extreme volatility in global energy markets, where the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea disruptions are creating severe logistical bottlenecks. Carlin explains that the real crisis is not crude oil supply per se, but a mismatch between the sour crude grades needed by Western refineries and the sweet crude that is more readily available.

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is being heavily drawn down, particularly its sour component, to feed refineries and supply Europe, while refinery utilization rates in America are running unsustainably high, threatening system integrity. He notes that the situation is fluid and that any return to normal is unlikely; the geopolitical landscape has fundamentally shifted, with the US military presence in the Gulf diminished and Iran successfully exporting oil to China, settling in renminbi via alternative payment systems.

The conversation shifts to gold and currencies. Carlin observes that gold’s recent price action is linked to the apparent disappearance of a distressed seller in the Gulf, now that loadings have resumed. He sees the yen’s weakness as a key barometer for gold, arguing that intervention cannot save the Japanese currency, and a sovereign debt crisis there would trigger contagion, driving investors toward gold and equities. He advises against chasing strength and recommends buying gold on weakness, cautioning that the public tends to do the opposite.

Silver, while volatile, remains a leveraged play on fear but requires extreme caution due to professional traders dominating the market. Finally, Carlin shares the story behind his book, “A Pocketbook of Gold,” co-authored with the legendary Jim Sinclair, who famously called the 1970s gold bull market and the 2011 peak. The book, now available as a PDF, distills Sinclair’s trading wisdom and serves as a survival manual for monetary turmoil. Carlin emphasizes the importance of disciplined, patient trading over speculative home runs, a lesson drawn from decades of market experience.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:10 – Gulf Conflict and Hormuz

00:03:42 – Oil Logistics and Shipping

00:09:27 – Shale & Refining & SPR

00:14:07 – Economic Picture & Supply

00:19:20 – Geopolitical Shifts in Gulf

00:24:14 – Gold Devaluation Strategy

00:27:10 – Trading Crude Oil Markets

00:30:20 – Chinese Payment Systems

00:35:15 – Yen Intervention and Debt

00:43:40 – Debasement & Markets

00:51:12 – Silver Thesis

00:54:30 – Pocketbook of Gold

Guest Links:

Book: https://www.apocketbookofgold.com/

Peter D. Carlin has spent the past 20 years as a commodity broker and trader, having worked for such firms as ICAP, NatSource Tullett and Eurobrokers. He has also worked as a consultant for several multinationals in the field of energy risk management. As a journalist, Mr. Carlin has written for the Financial Times and Bloomberg and has published articles for Jane’s Defence, Money Week and numerous other journals. He regularly appears on the BBC, CNN, and NBC as a commentator.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Colonel Douglas Macgregor to the show. Doug is a Retired U.S. Army Colonel and Decorated Combat Veteran. He offers a stark assessment that the Middle East conflict is fundamentally a Jewish war with no vital strategic interest for the United States, describing it as already regional and increasingly merging with other global flashpoints. He argues that the recent halt in hostilities is merely a pause, not a resolution, as no underlying issues have been settled.

The conversation highlights how three conflicts—Ukraine, the Gulf region, and the cold war with China—are converging into a larger, dangerous alignment of Russia, China, and Iran against US and Israeli interests. Macgregor warns that Iran has effectively weaponized the Strait of Hormuz, and a potential Houthi blockade could cripple Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil, threatening the existence of Gulf states unless they expel American forces.

He contends that the US has been militarily defeated by Iran’s strategic use of new technology and space-based surveillance, yet political pressure from Zionist billionaires and the Israel lobby prevents President Trump from disengaging. This dynamic, he argues, will likely restart the bombing campaigns.

The discussion shifts to the profound economic implications, with Macgregor predicting severe market fragility, potential bank runs, and even a depression. Against this backdrop, he sees gold becoming more valuable than ever, propelled by central bank buying, de-dollarization, and monstrous US debt. He cites predictions of gold reaching $13,000 to $15,000 per ounce, possibly sooner than 2031 if conflict reignites.

Macgregor reveals his personal investment philosophy of holding cash and precious metals exclusively, emulating J.D. Rockefeller’s strategy of maintaining liquidity to capitalize on distressed opportunities. He praises Palisades Goldcorp for its strong cash position and strategic investments in gold, uranium, and other critical minerals, positioning it for substantial upside in a deteriorating global economy. He concludes by emphasizing the decline of US hegemony and the urgent, yet ignored, need to accept a new world order.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:22 – Israel Iran Conflict Update

00:03:02 – Three Merging Global Conflicts

00:09:08 – China Cold War Risks

00:12:28 – Houthi Implications

00:14:30 – A Jewish War

00:23:36 – Conflicts & Impacts on Oil

00:30:44 – Joining Palisades Gold Board

00:32:37 – Gold Price Predictions 2031

00:38:12 – Gold Vs. Aliens/Other Commodities

00:44:41 – Doug’s Personal Finance Strategy

00:48:09 – Wrap Up and Resources

Guest Links:

Website: https://douglasmacgregor.com

X: https://x.com/DougAMacgregor

Substack: https://substack.com/@coloneldoug

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@macgregorwarriordiplomacy

Articles: https://breakingdefense.com/author/doug-macgregor/

Douglas Macgregor is a decorated combat veteran, an author of five books, a PhD, and a defense and foreign policy consultant.

Macgregor was commissioned in the Regular Army in 1976 after 1 year at VMI and 4 years at West Point. In 2004, Macgregor retired with the rank of Colonel. In 2020, the President appointed Macgregor to serve as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Defense, a post he held until President Trump left office. He holds an MA in comparative politics and a PhD in international relations from the University of Virginia.

Macgregor is widely known inside the U.S., Europe, Israel, Russia, China and Korea for both his leadership in the Battle of 73 Easting, the U.S. Army’s largest tank battle since World War II, and for his ground breaking books on military transformation: Breaking the Phalanx (Praeger, 1997) and Transformation under Fire (Praeger, 2003). Macgregor’s recommendations for change in Force Design and “integrated all arms-all effects” operations have profoundly influenced force development in Israel, Russia and China. In 2010, Macgregor traveled to Seoul, Korea to advise the ROK Ministry of Defense on force design. In 2019, Transformation under Fire was selected by Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi, Chief of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), as the intellectual basis for IDF transformation. His fifth book, Margin of Victory: Five Battles that Changed the Face of Modern War from Naval Institute Press is available in Chinese, as well as, English and will soon appear in Hebrew.

In 28 years of service Macgregor taught in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point, commanded the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry, and served as the Director of the Joint Operations Center at SHAPE during the 1999 Kosovo Air Campaign for which he was awarded the Defense Superior Service medal. In January 2002, at Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s insistence the USCENTCOM Commander listened to Colonel Macgregor’s concept for the offensive to seize Baghdad. The plan was largely adopted, but assumed no occupation of Iraq by U.S. Forces.

Macgregor has also testified as an expert witness before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees and appeared as a defense analyst on Fox News, CNN, BBC, Sky News and public radio. He is fluent in German.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Martin Armstrong to the show. Martin Armstrong is CEO and Chairman of Armstrong Economics Ltd. Martin argues that the conflict with Iran was a strategic miscalculation driven by Neocons and Benjamin Netanyahu’s flawed strategy of decapitation leadership, which historically never works. Contrary to assumptions, Iran is highly organized, has planned for this war for a decade, and is playing “3D chess” by targeting the Gulf states’ financial stability through attacks on Dubai and by threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. This strategy is designed not just to raise oil prices but to trigger a sovereign debt crisis in the Gulf, which took on massive debts when oil prices collapsed during COVID.

Armstrong connects this to the Ukraine conflict, where he describes Volodymyr Zelensky as deliberately escalating to draw NATO into a broader war, attacking Russian energy facilities and Iranian ships to merge the two conflicts. This geopolitical turmoil is occurring amid a steep global recession expected to bottom between 2026 and 2028. He identifies Japan and the Middle East as the most at-risk regions for a sovereign debt crisis, while Europe is already economically crippled, with pension funds wiped out by years of negative interest rates. This desperation is why leaders like Macron seek war.

Despite the short-term bearish outlook for metals, Armstrong’s computer models forecast a strong bull market from 2027 into 2032, with gold potentially reaching $7,000 to $8,000, possibly spiking to $11,000. This corresponds with his prediction that 2032 will mark the collapse of republican forms of government, driven by systemic corruption. He also expects oil prices to rise due to physical supply shortages, fueling a stagflationary environment where traditional Keynesian economics fails. Capital fleeing war zones will continue flowing into the U.S., supporting both stocks and gold.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:00:33 – Guest Introduction and Background

00:01:08 – Iran Conflict Analysis

00:03:40 – Netanyahu Strategy and Failures

00:08:47 – Iran Geopolitical Strategy

00:12:00 – Historical Biases in Conflicts

00:21:10 – Ukraine War and Zelensky

00:28:00 – Sovereign Debt and Europe

00:35:00 – US Dollar and Capital Flows

00:42:37 – Gold Price Predictions

00:46:00 – 2032 Political Collapse Forecast

01:00:00 – Oil Prices and Stagflation

01:10:00 – Economic Theories Critique

01:14:30 – Concluding Thoughts

Guest Links:

Website: https://armstrongeconomics.com

X: https://x.com/strongeconomics

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martin.armstrong.167

Amazon Book: https://tinyurl.com/ybtrslr9

Martin Armstrong is the Owner and Researcher for the website Armstrong Economics. He is the former chairman of Princeton Economics International Ltd. He is best known for his economic predictions based on the Economic Confidence Model, which he developed.

At age 13, Armstrong began working at a coin and stamp dealership in Pennsauken, New Jersey. After buying a bag of rare Canadian pennies, he became a millionaire in 1965 at the age of 15. He continued to work on weekends through high school, finding the real-world exciting, for this was the beginning of the collapse of the gold standard. Martin became captivated by this shocking revelation that there were not just booms and busts, but also peaks and valleys that would last centuries.

Armstrong progressed from gold coin investments to following commodity prices for precious metals. In 1973, he began publishing commodity market predictions as a hobby, and in 1983 Armstrong began accepting paid subscriptions for a forecast newsletter.

“In Armstrong’s view of the world where boom-bust cycles occur like clockwork every 8.6 years, what matters is his record as a forecaster. He called Russia’s financial collapse in 1998, using a model that also pointed to a peak just before the Japanese stock market crashed in 1989. These days, as the European sovereign-debt crisis roils markets worldwide, he reminds readers of his October 1997 prediction that the creation of the euro “will merely transform currency speculation into bond speculation,” leading to the system’s eventual collapse.”

His Website Armstrong Economics offers a unique perspective intended to educate the public and organizations on the global economic and political environment’s underlying trends. Their mission is to research historical cyclical trends.