Palisades Gold Radio

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Economist and Senior Fellow from the Mises Institute, Dr. Mark Thornton. He paints a dire picture of the global economy, arguing that widespread socialist policies are driving governments to extreme borrowing, money printing, and protectionism. He points to the trade war and real conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as direct consequences, which have disrupted diesel, crude oil, and fertilizer production. This creates a global pinch on agriculture and mining, threatening food supplies and crop yields, while strategic energy reserves are depleted, leaving economies vulnerable. The resulting higher fuel and food prices are squeezing consumers worldwide, whose wages are failing to keep pace with inflation, leading to a systematic harm of the working class while asset bubbles benefit the wealthy.

The discussion turns to the unsustainable sovereign debt bubble, with Dr. Thornton noting that when government debt exceeds 100% of GDP, economies become trapped, risking either a deflationary depression or a hyperinflationary collapse. He sees the current fiat money system as steering toward the latter, especially if central banks are forced to monetize debt to suppress rising yields. Unlike the post-World War II era, when the U.S. grew out of its debt through demobilization and global demand, today’s conditions make a similar escape unlikely without drastic government restructuring.

On a more constructive note, Dr. Thornton is bullish on gold and silver, citing fundamental support from ongoing central bank purchases and restricted mining supply. He anticipates that once short-term speculators re-enter the market, precious metals and mining stocks could see a significant upswing. He also suggests the possibility of a government-led gold revaluation as a short-term political tactic, though it would not solve long-term structural problems.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:12 – Socialist Policies Driving Crisis

00:04:36 – Middle East Energy Disruptions

00:08:18 – Global Supply Chain Pressures

00:12:40 – Food Supply and Agriculture Risks

00:18:00 – Consumer Squeeze and Debt

00:23:50 – Government Debt Bubble Analysis

00:28:36 – Hyperinflation Risks Ahead

00:33:55 – Post-WWII Debt Lessons

00:39:23 – Gold Bull Market Drivers

00:49:33 – US Gov’t and Rising Gold

00:53:08 – Mises Institute Wrap Up

Guest Links:
Website: https://mises.org
X: https://x.com/DrMarkThornton
E-Mail: mailto:mthornton@mises.org
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mark+thornton+minor+issues

Dr. Mark Thornton is a Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and formerly held the Peterson-Luddy Chair in Austrian Economics. He hosts the podcasts Minor Issues and Unanimity and is Book Review Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. His books include The Economics of Prohibition, Tariffs, Blockades, and Inflation, The Bastiat Collection, and The Skyscraper Curse.

He has served on multiple editorial boards, taught economics at several universities, and worked as Assistant Superintendent of Banking and adviser to Alabama Governor Fob James. He holds degrees from St. Bonaventure University and Auburn University and has debated the “War on Drugs” at the Oxford Union.

Dr. Thornton has been featured in major outlets such as The Economist, Forbes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today, along with numerous international and regional newspapers. His commentary appears regularly on the Mises Institute’s platforms and on programs such as Boom-Bust, the Tom Woods Show, and the Scott Horton Show.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes Doomberg to the show. Doomberg is the Head Writer For The Doomberg Team and the Creator of the Doomberg Substack. Doomberg analyzes the escalating geopolitical risks following the significant damage to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a critical artery for crude oil exports. He argues that while the initial closure of the Strait of Hormuz did not cause the expected price shock, the pipeline attack pushes an already stressed system into a red zone, with Brent crude nearing demand destruction levels. The core risk, however, extends beyond oil flows.

Doomberg describes Arab Gulf states as metastable constructs propped up by the illusion of U.S. military hegemony. The rapid territorial gains by the Houthis in Yemen represent a potential catalyst for a sudden collapse of this perceived stability, where the common knowledge that a regime is weak can trigger rapid, systemic change. He suggests the possibility of a Saudi leadership crisis, such as MBS fleeing, is a low-probability but enormously consequential event that markets may be underpricing.

The discussion shifts to the war in Ukraine, where Doomberg predicts a devastating Russian strike on energy infrastructure, citing public Russian military orders and U.S. intelligence warnings. He notes that attacks on refineries paradoxically cap crude oil prices while causing diesel crack spreads to explode, as refineries are the sole customers for crude. This dynamic, combined with refineries running at dangerous capacity, creates acute tightness in refined products.

Doomberg emphasizes that in conflicts, victory often belongs to the side with higher pain tolerance, and he assesses that Iran and the Houthis can endure far more hardship than Western consumers. He warns that the convergence of these crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, alongside reckless rhetoric from NATO-aligned nations, creates a genuine risk of uncontrollable global escalation.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:00:54 – Saudi Pipeline Attack Analysis

00:03:12 – Metastable Gulf States Risks

00:09:53 – Houthi Advances and Maps

00:20:40 – Russia Ukraine Energy Strikes

00:27:48 – Pain Tolerance in Wars

00:34:09 – Refineries and Crack Spreads

00:43:57 – China Oil Demand Shifts

00:46:10 – Alberta Natural Gas Outlook

00:47:17 – The Doomberg Substack

Guest Links:

Substack: https://doomberg.substack.com

X: https://x.com/DoombergT

Website: https://doomberg.com

Doomberg is the anonymous publishing arm of a bespoke consulting firm providing advisory services to family offices and c-suite executives. Its principals apply their decades of experience across heavy industry, private equity, and finance to deliver innovative thinking and clarity to complex problems.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Francis Hunt “The Market Sniper” to the show. Francis opens by declaring that a major reset is underway, urging listeners to aggressively accumulate gold and silver while nations like South Korea and Norway dump US treasuries and increase gold holdings. He sees this as part of a broader loss of faith in American assets and the dollar, driven by unsustainable debt, eroding rule of law, and diminishing global trust. Hunt believes the US is in the final injury time of its economic dominance, with a major crisis likely within three years, leading to a severe contraction in asset values, credit, and living standards. Technically, Hunt identifies a re-engagement of precious metals, noting that gold and silver have broken out of falling wedge continuation patterns and are resuming their uptrends. He points to silver showing relative strength and expects both metals to trade higher into year-end, though not yet reaching extreme targets.

His macro technical structure for silver targets $330 and eventually four-digit prices, while gold is also set for substantial gains. He views the current correction as a healthy pause before the next major leg up. Hunt frames gold as the “king” of anti-fiat assets, with silver and miners following. He warns that the coming economic collapse will be global but centered on the West, triggering a parabolic rise in precious metals as fiat currencies debase. He advises heavy allocation to physical metals, far beyond typical portfolio percentages, as protection against systemic risks including potential capital controls, digital currency mandates, and wealth confiscation through unrealized capital gains taxes.

Hunt also sees opportunity in precious metals miners and emphasizes the importance of geographic diversification away from Western epicenters. He concludes that building and preserving wealth through this period is not greed but a necessity for survival and maintaining quality of life.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:10 – Current Market Trends Radar

00:03:30 – Precious Metals Charts Analysis

00:09:50 – Gold Silver Ratio Discussion

00:14:50 – Macro Empire Collapse Themes

00:24:02 – Financial Crisis Timeline

00:34:20 – Gold Remonetization Possibilities

00:38:27 – Precious Metals Miners Outlook

00:42:07 – Rerating of Precious Metals

00:44:46 – Global Economic Contagion

00:47:28 – Wealth Preservation Strategies

00:53:53 – The Market Sniper

Guest Links:

X: https://x.com/themarketsniper

X: https://x.com/thecryptosniper

Website: https://themarketsniper.com

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

Francis is a trader, first and foremost. Unlike most educators in the trading space, Francis walks the walk and talks the talk, with 30 years of experience trading his personal capital on various markets and instruments. Through this passion for trading and his relentless study of markets and economic theory, he uses the Hunt Volatility Funnel trading methodology, a systemized approach, to answer the critical question: What is the next most profitable trade?

He believes the actual price of an asset is the most accurate reflection of all the factors that influence it. Practical technical analysis, the study of price action over time, is needed to formulate profitable trade ideas. Indeed, with all the market manipulation and high-frequency trading operations currently in play, technical analysis is all that can be relied upon when it comes to formulating future price trends. A trained eye can often spot such manipulative practices, as is the case with HVF traders. Therefore, the HVF methodology is based purely on technical analysis.

Francis is passionate about sharing his knowledge and understanding of markets by utilizing his HVF trading methodology. With entertaining anecdotes and the careful guidance of his students, he has already trained a large community of hundreds of traders and helped them transform from complete newbies to seasoned trading professionals.

He genuinely loves sharing his knowledge and strategies with others who are committed to finding freedom through trading. Plus, teaching strengthens his trading abilities while helping to build a vibrant community of successful traders.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Contrarian Investor and Publisher of the Gloom, Boom, & Doom Report Marc Faber to the show. Faber opened the discussion by emphasizing the unprecedented complexity facing economists and investors today, driven by a confluence of dismal fiscal situations in Western democracies, geopolitical tensions, and the central role of central banks in financing massive deficits. He questioned whether Western economies have experienced real growth over the last 20 years or merely nominal expansion fueled by money printing, which has inflated asset prices for the wealthy while eroding the purchasing power and living standards of the middle and lower classes.

Faber argued that this monetary inflation, which began in earnest with quantitative easing, is a path to societal disaster that cannot be stopped without causing pain that democracies will not accept. He asserted that the current multi-decade bull market in assets will inevitably end in a significant crash, and the key question for investors is how to lose the least amount of money when it does. While he acknowledged the US Treasury market remains healthy for now, he cast doubt on official inflation figures, suggesting real cost-of-living increases are much higher.

On gold, Faber reiterated his long-standing advice that individuals should act as their own central banks and consistently accumulate physical gold as a store of value, noting it may decline less than other assets like AI and semiconductor stocks in a crash. He also warned of the risk that governments could outlaw private gold ownership, as they restricted freedoms during COVID. Faber concluded by noting that in real terms, energy and agricultural commodities are historically cheap, but he stressed that in a debt deflation, nearly all asset prices would fall, making capital preservation the paramount concern.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:04 – Key Economic Trends Focus

00:05:31 – Real vs Nominal Growth

00:09:19 – Capitalism and Market Reforms

00:14:40 – Money Printing Unsustainability

00:15:40 – Debt & Economic Growth

00:17:40 – Future Asset Bubble Crash

00:20:48 – US Treasury Market Health

00:22:30 – Inflation Measurement Issues

00:29:06 – Gold as Value Store

00:35:49 – Correction in Asset Prices

00:38:12 – Energy Markets Outlook

00:44:37 – Gloom Boom Doom Report

00:47:33 – Concluding Thoughts

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.gloomboomdoom.com/

X: https://x.com/gloomboomdoom

Dr. Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a Ph.D. in Economics magna cum laude.

Between 1970 and 1978, Mr. Faber worked for White Weld & Company Limited in New York, Zurich, and Hong Kong. Since 1973, he has lived in Hong Kong. From 1978 to February 1990, Marc was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK) Ltd. In June 1990, he set up his own business, publishing a widely read monthly investment newsletter, “THE GLOOM BOOM & DOOM,” a report highlighting unusual investment opportunities.

Dr. Faber is also the author of several books, including “TOMORROW’S GOLD – Asia’s Age of Discovery,” first published in 2002 and highlighted future investment opportunities. “TOMORROW’S GOLD” was on Amazon’s bestseller list and translated into Japanese, Korean, Thai, and German.

Marc is also a regular contributor to several leading financial publications around the world. In addition, Dr. Faber is a frequent speaker at various investment seminars and is well known for his “contrarian” investment approach.

Stijn Schmitz welcomes back Don Durrett to the show. Don is an Author, Investor, and the Founder of GoldStockData. Don outlines his multi-stage debt bubble framework driving his bullish gold outlook, arguing the US has passed a point of no return on its fiscal path. He describes seven phases, from the bubble’s formation to the eventual “doom loop” recognition, and believes recent Treasury interventions signal the start of stage five. This deteriorating bond market confidence, he argues, creates an extremely asymmetric opportunity for gold and silver, with gold’s floor around $3,750 and a long-term target of $15,000, while silver could reach between $200 and $500.

Durrett sees the current gold bull market as having started in early 2020, with the real momentum beginning in 2024. He expects a near-term correction in gold back toward the $4,200 level before a powerful second leg higher begins around November or December. This second leg, he emphasizes, is historically the easiest and most profitable phase because it is when mining stocks finally begin to outperform the metals, attracting broader investor interest. He notes that miners only started outperforming gold in July, a development he links directly to the onset of government bond market interventions. The conversation highlights the significant leverage available in precious metals miners due to the sector’s small universe of quality producers.

Durrett explains his speculative, buy-the-dip approach, aiming for multi-bagger returns and managing a portfolio of over 170 stocks with an expectation that 30% will disappoint. He stresses the importance of patience, selling underperforming “dogs” for tax-loss purposes, and not taking profits too early in what he views as a paradigm-shifting, one-time trade. He concludes by directing experienced investors to his data tool, Goldstockdata.com, and newcomers to his book for foundational education on analyzing mining stocks.

Timestamps:

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:12 – Gold Bull Market History

00:04:19 – First Leg and Correction

00:09:25 – Fundamental Drivers of Gold

00:12:22 – Debt Bubble Stages Explained

00:20:22 – Interventions and Stage Five

00:23:32 – Silver Monetary and Industrial Role

00:28:13 – Silver Gold Ratio Analysis

00:29:30 – Gold Re-Rating Potential

00:34:49 – Golden Legs Up

00:38:00 – Fifteen Thousand Dollar Gold Target

00:44:23 – Portfolio Defense Strategy

00:51:04 – Goldstockdata.com and Book

Guest Links:

Website: https://www.goldstockdata.com

X: https://x.com/DonDurrett

Substack: https://dondurrett.substack.com

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

Gold Book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Invest-Gold-Silver-investors/dp/1427650241/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1291065729&sr=1-3

Blog Posts: https://seekingalpha.com/author/don-durrett

Don Durrett received an MBA from California State University Bakersfield in 1990. He has worked in IT-related positions for 20+ years. He has been a gold investor since 1991, with a focus on Junior Mining stocks since 2004. Realizing the value of investing in gold and silver and noticing the lack of available material for first-time investors, Don set out to provide information. First, he wrote a book, How to Invest in Gold & Silver: A Complete Guide with a Focus on Mining Stocks. He followed up the book with a website (www.goldstockdata.com) to provide data, tools, and analysis for gold and silver stock investors. His gold and silver mining stock newsletter is widely regarded as one of the best. He is a frequent guest on financial podcasts and a contributor to SeekingAlpha.com.