Join Us at the 2023 World Economic Conference in Orlando, Florida!

? Dates: November 17, 18, and 19 ? Location: Orlando, Florida, USA (or tune in from home with our virtual ticket options)

Are you ready to unlock the future of economics and finance? Prepare for an unforgettable World Economic Conference experience in sunny Orlando, Florida! This premier event is your gateway to insights, networking, and valuable resources that will supercharge your understanding of the global economy.

?️ What’s Included for In-Person Attendees:

1. Event Admission: Enjoy reserved seating assigned based on the order of ticket sales, ensuring you have a prime view of every presentation.
2. Presentation Slides: Gain access to the presentation slides from all speakers, allowing you to delve deeper into the topics discussed.
3. Video Recording: Can’t make it to a session? No worries! You’ll receive access to video recordings of all conference presentations, so you can catch up at your convenience.
4. WEC Event App: Connect with the conference on a whole new level. Access presentation slides, bonus reports, recordings, and more via the official WEC Event App.
5. Bonus Conference Materials: Get a package of bonus conference-related materials, including exclusive bonus reports and videos (as provided by Martin Armstrong).
6. Morning Information Sessions: Don’t miss out on important morning information sessions, screened on-site in the meeting room on Saturday and Sunday.
7. Networking Opportunities: Exclusive access to the Event App Networking Feature allows you to connect with fellow attendees, both in-person and virtual, fostering valuable professional relationships.
8. Culinary Delights: Savor delicious breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, prepared to keep you energized throughout the day.
9. Cocktail Reception: Kick off the conference in style at our Friday evening cocktail reception. Meet and mingle with fellow attendees while enjoying refreshing drinks.
10. Swag Bag: As a token of our appreciation, each in-person attendee will receive a swag bag filled with goodies, including an Armstrong Economics notebook, pen, and an event collector’s mug!

Unable to travel? We also have two different ticket options for those wishing to attend virtually! 

Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a global gathering of economic and financial minds. Secure your spot at the World Economic Conference in Orlando, Florida, and gain the knowledge, connections, and resources you need to thrive in the world of finance and economics.

Space is limited, so act now and reserve your seat! Visit our Events page to register and join us in sunny Orlando this November.

Now available at all major retailers!

The eBook will be available shortly.

The second edition of “The Plot to Seize Russia – The Untold History” is now available for purchase in paperback and hardcover on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The ebook will be available shortly.

Book description:

“Take care of Russia,” Boris Yeltsin said as he departed his presidency in August 1999. These words were directed at current Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Yeltsin specifically picked Putin as his predecessor to prevent the takeover of Russia.

So, who was Yeltsin warning against? Newly declassified documents from the Clinton Administration prove that there was a plot to rig the Russian election of 2000. These never-before-seen documents confirm numerous attempts to implement pro-Western policies using the Russian oligarchy headed by Boris Berezovsky.

On the other side were the communists who desired a return to the glory days of the Soviet Union. As one of the largest international hedge fund managers, author Martin Armstrong found himself in the middle of perhaps the greatest espionage, or attempt at a regime change for Russia, in modern history.

The Plot to Seize Russia pulls back the curtain to expose the most extraordinary attempt to seize power in modern history, but with the pen rather than armies. These declassified documents reveal a plot that has altered our thinking about the relations between the United States and Russia. The thirst for power comes seething through every line of these papers that alter our perception of reality, change the course of history, and now threaten us with World War III.

Finland has become another example of what happens when ideology overtakes economic reality. According to a recent report, Finland’s construction sector is suffering severe unemployment, with the Construction Trade Union estimating that 17.5% of construction workers are now unemployed. Many have already exhausted the maximum 400 days of earnings-related unemployment benefits and have dropped onto lower levels of support. Yet almost simultaneously, there are renewed discussions about bringing in workers from outside the European Union to fill jobs in the construction industry.

The desperation in Finland’s labor market is becoming almost unbelievable. One comparison circulating widely captures just how severe conditions have become. Reports indicate that Finnish discount retailer Puuilo received roughly 21,000 applications for just 400 summer jobs, an acceptance rate of less than 2%. By comparison, admission rates to Finland’s medical schools reportedly range from roughly 2.8% at the most competitive universities to nearly 4% at the least competitive.

It has become statistically more difficult to land a seasonal retail job than to gain admission to medical school. Whether viewed as a symbol or a statistic, it reflects the same reality: the labor market has become so weak that even entry-level positions attract overwhelming demand. When thousands of qualified people are competing for temporary retail work while experienced construction workers remain unemployed, it becomes increasingly difficult to argue that the problem is a shortage of labor. The problem is a shortage of opportunity, brought about by years of economic mismanagement, high financing costs, and policies that have steadily undermined productive private-sector growth.

Nearly one out of every five Finnish construction workers cannot find employment. The construction sector has been battered by bankruptcies, collapsing housing demand, and rising interest rates. Employment in Finnish construction has fallen to roughly 176,800 workers, down sharply from the peak reached only a few years ago. Yet instead of asking why so many skilled Finnish workers remain unemployed, policymakers continue discussing labor imports.

At the same time, bankruptcies across Finland have climbed to their highest level since 1996, with the construction sector among the hardest hit as high interest rates, weak housing demand, and rising financing costs continue to cripple new development. Yet despite what many workers describe as the worst construction labor market in a generation, policymakers continue discussing the recruitment of labor from outside rather than first putting their own skilled workforce back to work. That disconnect is precisely why confidence in government continues to deteriorate.

This has become the standard political response across Europe. Governments insist there are labor shortages while their own citizens struggle to find work. The problem is often not an absolute shortage of workers but a mismatch created by economic policy. High interest rates have devastated residential construction across much of Europe. Finland’s own central bank acknowledges that housing construction remains in severe difficulty and that the labor market will stay weak well into 2027 despite hopes for a gradual recovery.

What governments refuse to acknowledge is that this is the direct consequence of years of policy failures. Europe embraced negative interest rates, encouraged debt-fueled property booms, and expanded government spending while simultaneously imposing environmental regulations, soaring energy costs, and endless bureaucracy. When inflation finally arrived, interest rates had to rise, and the very sectors that had been inflated by cheap money collapsed first. Construction always becomes one of the earliest casualties because it is extraordinarily sensitive to financing costs.

The numbers are becoming increasingly alarming. Finland’s unemployment rate has climbed into double digits, making it one of the highest in the European Union. Recent data showed around 290,000 unemployed people nationwide, while economists continue warning that job creation remains weak despite isolated signs of economic growth. Even the Finnish government expects unemployment to remain elevated throughout 2026 before any meaningful improvement begins.

Our models have long warned that Europe would face a prolonged period of economic stagnation accompanied by growing political unrest. Finland is now experiencing exactly that combination. Workers who spent decades paying taxes are watching opportunities disappear while policymakers debate importing additional labour. That is the type of policy disconnect that destroys confidence in government. History demonstrates that when citizens conclude their own governments place ideology ahead of the interests of their own workforce, political backlash inevitably follows. Europe is learning that lesson the hard way.

France is enduring one of its most intense heat waves in decades, with temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F), schools forced to close, and public officials urging people to stay indoors. Yet what caught my attention was not the weather itself, but the response from the French government. Instead of asking why millions of French citizens remain without air conditioning, politicians are effectively telling people they should simply learn to live with the heat.

After years of climate policies discouraging air conditioning, France now finds itself with only about 27% of homes and roughly 13% of apartments equipped with cooling systems, compared to well over 90% of homes in the United States. The public has had enough, with polls showing nearly 80% of French citizens now support expanding air conditioning in homes, schools, hospitals, and public transportation.

France’s Minister for Ecological Transition, Monique Barbut, said she was “horrified” by calls to install more air conditioning, insisting it should be reserved only for emergencies. Bureaucrats are more concerned with preserving ideology than allowing people to protect themselves. People should not be overheating to death in a developed nation.

Then came perhaps the most absurd comment of all. Paris Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar attempted to blame the United States for Europe’s heat wave, arguing that Americans bear “significant responsibility” because of their carbon emissions and widespread use of air conditioning. According to her logic, Americans cooling their homes are somehow responsible for French families suffering through extreme temperatures. Rather than asking why France spent years discouraging investment in reliable energy and practical infrastructure, politicians once again looked across the Atlantic for someone else to blame. That has become the standard playbook whenever government policy fails.

Marine Le Pen and the National Rally have called for a nationwide plan to equip schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and other public buildings with air conditioning, arguing that protecting people from extreme heat should take precedence over ideological objections. Meanwhile, much of France’s political left continues to portray widespread air conditioning as environmentally irresponsible, even as record temperatures expose the country’s lack of preparation. One side recognizes that governments have a responsibility to adapt to reality and protect their citizens. The other remains committed to climate doctrine, even when that doctrine leaves the elderly, children, and the most vulnerable suffering through dangerous heat because admitting they were wrong would undermine the entire climate agenda that has been pushed by the globalists for years.

I have said for years that climate change has become the perfect political tool because it allows governments to justify virtually any expansion of power. They tell farmers what they may grow, regulate fertilizer, attack livestock, close nuclear plants, restrict affordable energy, discourage air conditioning, and then claim these sacrifices are necessary to save the planet. Every crisis becomes another excuse for more regulation, more taxation, and more control over everyday life.

The Great Reset was never simply about reducing emissions. It is about changing the way people live. They want to dictate what you drive, what you eat, how you heat or cool your home, how much energy you consume, and ultimately how much of your standard of living you are willing to surrender in the name of climate. The people promoting these policies rarely live under the same restrictions. They fly private jets to climate conferences while telling everyone else that air conditioning has become a luxury.

France has spent years regulating and discouraging the installation of air conditioning in the name of climate policy. Strict building regulations have favored passive cooling measures over mechanical air conditioning, while environmental policies and energy-efficiency rules have made installation more costly and, in many older buildings, considerably more difficult. Now, as record heat places millions at risk, those same policies have left much of the population without one of the most effective tools for protecting themselves. This is what happens when ideology replaces common sense. Government believed it could regulate the climate by regulating how people cool their homes, and ordinary citizens are paying the price.

As America marks its 250th anniversary, the country should be celebrating one of the greatest political experiments in human history. Instead, nearly one in five Americans say they do not plan to celebrate Independence Day, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The survey also found that two in five Americans doubt the United States will even endure another 250 years. Those numbers should concern everyone regardless of political affiliation because they point to something far deeper than disagreement over one election or one president.

The Reuters report illustrates just how fractured the country has become. Some residents interviewed said they would not celebrate because they object to the current administration, while others argued that Independence Day should transcend politics altogether. The fact that Americans can no longer agree on celebrating the nation’s founding tells you how deep the divide has become.

This is not new. I previously wrote about the collapse in national pride, and the numbers showed exactly where the fracture is taking place. Only 29% of Democrats said they were extremely or very proud to be American, compared with 90% of Republicans. Among younger Americans, the figure was only 36% for those aged 18 to 34, while 75% of Americans 65 and older still expressed strong pride in the country. That is the generational and political divide our computer has been warning about. A nation cannot survive when one side is taught to despise its own founding while still demanding the constitutional protections that founding created.

Those who say they hate America fail to appreciate the freedoms that allow them to express that opinion in the first place. The right to criticize the government, organize protests, publish unpopular views, vote against those in power, and openly challenge public officials is protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In many countries throughout history, and even today, such actions could result in imprisonment or worse. That does not mean America is without flaws, but it does mean the liberties established at the nation’s founding remain exceptional. Once people begin taking those freedoms for granted, they also risk overlooking how difficult they are to preserve when political divisions deepen and confidence in institutions continues to erode.

Civil unrest always rises during periods of economic stress. Political polarization is not the disease. It is the symptom. Governments burdened by unsustainable debt, inflation, declining living standards, and a loss of confidence eventually divide their own populations. Every major empire reached the point where citizens increasingly identified with political factions rather than the nation itself. That is when fragmentation begins.

Many people today exercise freedoms that only exist because of the principles established in 1776 and later protected by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The freedom to criticize the government, protest elected officials, publish unpopular opinions, and vote for change are constitutional protections that have distinguished the United States from many governments throughout history. The Declaration of Independence itself was a protest against government authority, and the Constitution was designed to limit the power of the state rather than the people.

This is why the 250th anniversary should not become another partisan event. Whether one supports or opposes the current administration is irrelevant. The institutions created by the Founders have survived civil war, economic depressions, world wars, and political upheaval because they were designed to withstand disagreement. Once citizens stop viewing themselves as part of the same republic and begin seeing political opponents as enemies, the foundations of that constitutional system begin to weaken.

War has now entered the video game stage. Ukraine has placed a literal price tag on Russian lives, paying soldiers roughly $2,200 for capturing an enemy combatant and around $330 for killing one in close combat when confirmed by video. This is the monetization of death.

What better way to entice the youth than to turn war into a video game? Call of Duty-aligned missions are provided, as the Ukrainian government is providing incentives for death and destruction. The new bonuses are part of Ukraine’s broader transformation of its military into a contract-based force with higher pay, clearer service terms, and direct rewards for battlefield results. Frontline monthly pay reportedly averages about $6,700 and can exceed $10,000 depending on mission risk and performance. A captured Russian soldier brings 100,000 hryvnias, roughly $2,200, while killing an enemy soldier can bring 15,000 hryvnias, roughly $330. If multiple soldiers participate in a capture, the reward is divided among them.

The mathematics of war explains why a living Russian soldier is worth more than a dead one. A prisoner can be exchanged for Ukrainian POWs, providing Kyiv with leverage in future negotiations while allowing families to see loved ones return home. Captured soldiers also become intelligence assets, revealing information about troop movements, logistics, morale, and battlefield tactics. From a purely military perspective, one prisoner can produce far greater strategic value than one casualty. That is precisely why Ukraine’s incentive system pays substantially more for captures than kills. Modern warfare has become an exercise in cost-benefit analysis where even human lives are assigned a financial value based on their perceived utility to the state.

Ukraine has built a unique military incentive system: E-Points.
Units receive points for verified destruction of enemy equipment, personnel, and other combat actions. Those points can then be exchanged for drones, EW systems, and robotic ground platforms.
Every successful strike… pic.twitter.com/mY5f1Am8UI

— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 24, 2026

This is what happens when war becomes permanent. Governments begin reducing human life to accounting entries. A prisoner has value because he can be exchanged. A dead man has value because he removes one more body from the battlefield. The military bureaucracy then assigns a number to each outcome, and suddenly killing becomes an incentive structure. The same people who lecture the world about morality are now openly creating pay scales for death.

Ukraine has already gamified drone warfare through its e-Points system, where units earn points for confirmed destruction of enemy personnel or equipment and use those points to buy more drones, ground robots, and electronic warfare gear through the Brave1 marketplace. Business Insider reported that more than 181,000 pieces of equipment have already been delivered through that system this year. The battlefield has become a marketplace. Kill, confirm, collect, upgrade, repeat.

“E-Points have already changed the approach to warfare. This is about clear incentives, fair rewards, and the rapid scaling of effective solutions. Military units receive resources based on results: the more targets they destroy, the more points they earn. This is a direct incentive that enables units to strengthen their capabilities with new technologies,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov.

This is the future of war. The drone operator earns points. The infantryman earns cash. The commander receives measurable performance data. The government gets propaganda footage. The dead become statistics on a dashboard. This is why drone warfare is so dangerous. It removes the final psychological barrier between the man pulling the trigger and the human being dying on the screen. Once killing becomes remote, verified, rewarded, and gamified, war no longer resembles anything the old generals understood.

The West created this nightmare by refusing to negotiate. They have thrown hundreds of billions into Ukraine while pretending this is about defending democracy. Now the war has produced bounty systems, drone leaderboards, prisoner incentives, and video-confirmed kills. This is not civilization. This is barbarism with software.

People keep asking when World War III will begin. They are asking the wrong question. Europe is already behaving as though it is at war. I have warned for years that the politicians in Brussels would never allow peace because the sovereign debt crisis requires an external enemy. Every week, another European government announces more military spending, another mobilization plan, another emergency measure, another speech warning the public to prepare for conflict. This is no longer speculation. It is policy.

Now Poland’s foreign intelligence chief, Col. Paweł Szota, has made one of the clearest admissions yet. He warned, “The level of Russian aggression is very high, and the risk of military confrontation is real.” He added that Poland “must operate as if war with Russia is inevitable“ because waiting until conflict begins would be too late. Those are extraordinary statements from the head of a NATO intelligence service. Governments do not talk this way unless they are already planning for the next stage.

Szota explained that Russia “is systematically pushing red lines, testing NATO’s responses,” and argued that the Kremlin views Poland and NATO’s eastern flank as “an obstacle to achieving its imperial ambitions.” He also warned that Moscow could continue the war in Ukraine for years, sacrifice its own economy, and expand hybrid operations against NATO members, including provocations in the Baltic region. Europe is no longer speaking about diplomacy. It is openly discussing escalation scenarios and military contingencies.

This is precisely what our computer has been forecasting. The 2026 Panic Cycle was never simply about financial markets. It marked the acceleration of geopolitical instability. Governments always require a crisis when they cannot solve the debt problem. Europe is entering an economic depression while military budgets are exploding. Germany is debating conscription once again. Poland is rapidly expanding one of the largest armies in Europe. NATO members are increasing defense spending toward 5% of GDP. Civil defense campaigns are appearing across the continent. These are not the actions of governments expecting peace. They are the actions of governments preparing their populations psychologically and financially for war.

Once governments convince themselves war is inevitable, they begin making decisions that ensure it becomes inevitable. Every mobilization by one side is interpreted as aggression by the other. Every sanctions package invites retaliation. Every troop deployment produces another deployment in response. History shows that wars often become unavoidable long before the first shots are fired because political leaders eliminate every possible path back to diplomacy.

I have repeatedly stated that the sovereign debt crisis and the War Cycle are converging. Europe cannot finance its welfare state, its Green agenda, and endless military expansion simultaneously. Something has to give. Throughout history, governments buried under debt have repeatedly turned toward external conflict because war postpones domestic political reckoning. It creates an excuse for deficits, emergency powers, censorship, and capital controls while redirecting public anger toward a foreign adversary.

Ukraine has become the catalyst, not the destination. The computer has consistently warned that 2026 marks the beginning of the Panic Cycle, 2027 carries the highest risk of broader international war, and the economic consequences will intensify into 2028 as recession and civil unrest spread. Europe is no longer preparing to avoid war. Its own intelligence chiefs are now publicly telling their citizens to prepare because they increasingly believe war is coming. That should concern every investor far more than the daily fluctuations in the stock market.

The employment picture continues to soften despite every attempt to paint the economy as resilient. ADP reported that private employers added only 98,000 jobs in June, below expectations of roughly 118,000 and down from May’s 122,000. Nearly all of the hiring came from the service sector, particularly education and health services, while leisure and hospitality barely managed to add jobs despite the FIFA World Cup taking place across North America. Manufacturing remained weak, and natural resources and mining continued to shed workers.

The report exposes an economy that is slowing rather than collapsing. That distinction is important. ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson admitted that it is taking people longer to find work while some industries are simultaneously struggling with labor shortages. That is precisely the type of distortion that emerges late in an economic cycle. Businesses are becoming increasingly cautious about expanding payrolls, yet structural shortages remain because the labor force no longer matches where demand exists. This is not the healthy labor market politicians continue to advertise.

Looking beneath the headline, the gains were concentrated in a handful of industries. Education and health services accounted for nearly half of all new jobs, while financial activities added modestly and information technology posted only small gains. Small businesses generated most of the hiring, adding roughly 53,000 positions, while medium-sized companies added 29,000 and large firms only 25,000. Wage growth continues to cool. Workers who remained with the same employer saw annual pay gains of 4.4%, while job changers received 6.6%, suggesting the intense wage competition that followed the pandemic has eased considerably.

The financial markets immediately interpreted the weaker report as increasing the odds of lower interest rates. That is the standard Keynesian response, but it completely ignores the sovereign debt crisis that is unfolding globally. Markets have become conditioned to believe every sign of economic weakness guarantees monetary easing. The problem is that inflation has not disappeared, geopolitical tensions continue to threaten commodity prices, and governments everywhere remain buried under unprecedented debt. The next Federal Reserve chairman cannot simply slash rates because Wall Street demands it. As I have explained before, if inflation begins to accelerate again, policy makers will be forced into a position they would rather avoid.

Our computer has been warning that 2026 would be a Panic Cycle year marked by increasing volatility rather than outright economic collapse. This report fits that model perfectly. Employment is no longer accelerating, consumers are becoming more cautious, and confidence is beginning to erode. The labor market is usually one of the last pillars to weaken before broader economic conditions deteriorate. Once businesses stop hiring, consumer spending inevitably slows, corporate earnings come under pressure, and governments experience declining tax revenues at precisely the moment debt servicing costs continue to rise.

The official government employment report will be released shortly, and it may differ from ADP because the methodologies are not the same. Nevertheless, the broader trend is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Hiring has slowed, job seekers report that it is taking longer to find work, and businesses remain reluctant to expand despite years of government spending and monetary stimulus. This is exactly the type of environment our computer has projected as we move toward the more volatile period ahead.

Just to clarify, this conference is open to all. I was asked to present a session on “how the world works” as a way to pass knowledge on to the next generation, and I’m happy to say I’ve committed to doing it. So here it is.

Please note: the book will be given only to those who attend the conference in person. For anyone unable to attend, a recorded video will be made available after the event. Since we’re keeping costs low, we won’t be live-streaming—so the video will be offered separately, and you won’t need a conference ticket to purchase it.

The book itself will also go on sale to the general public after the conference concludes.

The European Union just sent another €3.9 billion to Ukraine to buy drones. This is not humanitarian aid. This is war financing. Reuters reported that the latest transfer is part of the EU’s new €90 billion loan program designed to keep Kyiv funded through 2026 and 2027. The money is being directed toward Ukraine’s drone procurement, meaning European taxpayers are now openly financing the weapons system that has become central to this war.

Do not let anyone pretend Europe is a neutral party. The EU Council itself says support for Ukraine has reached €211.3 billion since the war began. That figure includes military, financial, humanitarian, and refugee-related support. Now Brussels is adding a €90 billion loan on top of that to cover Ukraine’s budget and defense needs for the next two years. This is not charity. This is Europe admitting it intends to keep the war going because Ukraine cannot finance it on its own.

The EU sent nearly €2.8 billion earlier in June, Reuters reported another €3.2 billion tranche under the broader loan structure, and now another €3.9 billion is being pushed out for drones. Ukraine’s reconstruction costs are estimated at $588 billion over the next decade, while Kyiv is signing more than 160 recovery agreements worth over €10 billion. Europe is no longer merely supporting Ukraine. It is building the financial architecture for a permanent war economy.

This is precisely what I have warned about with the War Cycle. Governments buried under sovereign debt always need an external enemy. Europe cannot pay for its welfare state, its green agenda, its migrant crisis, its collapsing pensions, and now a permanent military commitment to Ukraine. Yet Brussels keeps borrowing, spending, and pretending this is sustainable. It is not. Debt becomes the weapon. War becomes the excuse.

They told the people this was about defending democracy. Then they censored dissent. They told taxpayers this would be temporary. Now they are financing Ukraine through 2027. They told everyone sanctions would collapse Russia. Instead, Europe entered depressionary conditions while Russia adapted. Now they are funding drones because the battlefield has shifted into a technological meat grinder.

The most disturbing part is that Europe is already acting as if it is at war. It is restricting Ukrainian men of military age from receiving new refugee protections, increasing defense spending, discussing conscription, and financing weapons production. The European Commission wants temporary protection extended until March 2028, but newly arriving Ukrainian men of military age without authorization from Kyiv may be excluded.

Europe is not trying to end this war. It is funding the next phase. The computer has warned that 2026 is a Panic Cycle, 2027 carries the serious risk of broader war, and 2028 brings the economic consequences. This latest €3.9 billion is not just another payment. It is another step down the road to a conflict Europe’s leaders seem determined to create.