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.

???? Satellites show Iran digging hard under Pickax Mountain, the Pentagon is testing a classified bunker weapon in New Mexico, and one forecaster has picked a date

Asked on the tarmac why oil is back above $100, Trump reframed the question:

"will you let Iran have a nuclear… pic.twitter.com/Mi3ckFkRE7

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 9, 2026

I will do a post on the private blog this weekend. Fill up now, and conserve.

PRIVATE BLOG – The Dow Crash or Low? To Be or Not To Be

Private blog posts are exclusively available to Socrates subscribers. To sign-up for Socrates or to learn more, please visit Ask-Socrates.com.

https://ask-socrates.com/

Saudi Arabia just reported something that should scare the hell out of anyone who understands how the Middle East actually functions. According to Bloomberg, Riyadh told OPEC that crude production collapsed by 1.9 million barrels per day in August to just 6.238 million barrels per day, the lowest Saudi production since 1990 and even below the wartime low reached earlier this year. Saudi exports have reportedly fallen to around 3.1 million barrels per day, the lowest in more than a decade. This is not because the Saudis suddenly decided to tighten the market to make a few extra dollars. The war with Iran and renewed Houthi threats have disrupted the export routes that keep the entire Saudi financial system alive.

People look at Saudi Arabia and see oil, skyscrapers, sovereign wealth funds, and princes. They assume there is an endless pile of money buried beneath the desert. That is complete nonsense. I have written about this repeatedly and devoted an entire report to the Sovereign Debt Crisis and the Middle East because these governments have built enormous fiscal structures around one critical assumption: oil revenue continues to flow. Saudi Arabia can have all the oil beneath the ground it wants. If it cannot pump it, ship it, insure the tankers, and deliver it to customers, that oil does not pay the bills.

Saudi Arabia already recorded a budget deficit of 125.7 billion riyals, roughly $33.5 billion, in the first quarter of 2026 alone. That was nearly as large as the $44 billion deficit the government had projected for the entire year. Spending increased 20% while oil revenue declined 3%. Riyadh approved financing needs of roughly 217 billion riyals, or nearly $58 billion, for 2026, including money required to finance the deficit and refinance maturing debt. Now imagine what happens when the volume of oil available to sell suddenly collapses to levels not seen since the Gulf War.

This is precisely why looking only at the price of crude is so damn stupid. Yes, Brent above $100 means Saudi Arabia receives more for every barrel it successfully sells. But government revenue is PRICE × VOLUME. If production collapses 23%, exports plunge, military expenditures rise, shipping costs explode, insurance premiums soar, and infrastructure must be defended against drones and missiles, a higher oil price does not magically solve the problem. War can increase the price of the commodity while simultaneously destroying the finances of the government producing it.

Saudi Arabia is not alone. The fiscal systems throughout the Gulf were constructed during an era when oil revenue could finance enormous government expenditures, subsidies, public employment, infrastructure, defense, and social programs. These governments have attempted to diversify, but oil still provides the financial foundation supporting the transformation. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is supposed to create an economy less dependent on petroleum, yet the government is borrowing against future revenue to finance projects intended to reduce dependence on that same revenue. That contradiction becomes dangerous when war interrupts the cash flow.

This is what people fail to understand about the Middle East sovereign debt crisis. Governments do not simply stop spending because revenue declines. They BORROW. Saudi Arabia borrows. Bahrain borrows. Oman borrows. Iraq depends overwhelmingly on petroleum revenue. Even governments with enormous financial reserves must eventually liquidate assets or issue debt when expenditures persist while commodity income deteriorates. Oil made it possible to conceal the underlying fiscal structure because everyone assumed the money would always be there.

The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s petroleum supply. Traffic through the strait has again collapsed into the single digits on some days. Saudi Arabia spent years building the East-West pipeline so crude could be moved to Yanbu on the Red Sea and bypass Hormuz, but now the Houthi threat has demonstrated that the western route is not immune either. When both sides of the Arabian Peninsula become geopolitical choke points, Saudi Arabia has a problem that no central bank can solve by changing interest rates.

Oil does not stop at the gasoline pump. Crude feeds transportation, trucking, aviation, shipping, petrochemicals, plastics, agriculture, fertilizer production, manufacturing, mining, and virtually every supply chain on the planet. Diesel rises and the farmer pays more to operate machinery. The trucking company pays more to deliver food. The container ship pays more to cross the ocean. Airlines increase fares. Manufacturers pay more for raw materials and transportation. Those costs eventually reach the consumer.

Then comes the second wave that almost nobody talks about: sovereign debt. Higher energy prices feed inflation. Inflation prevents central banks from aggressively cutting interest rates. Higher rates increase government debt-service costs. Governments already buried beneath debt must then borrow even more merely to service what they previously borrowed. Europe is especially vulnerable because it deliberately destroyed much of its cheap energy structure in the name of climate ideology and then sanctioned Russia without having a viable replacement. Another sustained energy shock arrives while Germany is weak, France is drowning in debt, Britain cannot control its fiscal position, and governments everywhere are simultaneously demanding enormous increases in military expenditure.

The Saudis themselves are now spending more on defense simply to protect the infrastructure that generates the revenue needed to finance the government. Saudi military expenditures increased sharply earlier this year as Riyadh was forced to defend oil facilities, shipping routes, pipelines, ports, and population centers. That is money that produces no economic return whatsoever. A missile interceptor does not build a factory. It does not produce electricity. It does not create an export industry. It is consumed defending infrastructure from another weapon that may cost a fraction of the price.

There is no free war. Saudi Arabia pumping the least oil since 1990 is not merely a Saudi story. It is a warning that the financial arteries of the Middle East are being squeezed at precisely the moment the sovereign debt crisis is accelerating worldwide. If oil-producing governments lose revenue, they borrow more. If oil-importing governments face higher prices, they subsidize more and borrow more. The producer gets fucked by falling volume while the consumer gets screwed by rising prices.

Welcome to America, where apparently standing around is now enough to have your movements searched through a nationwide surveillance network.

Records obtained from the Plano, Illinois Police Department reveal more than 1,200 searches involving the category “Curfew/Loitering/Vagrancy Violations.” That is from cameras controlled by ONE small police department, with law enforcement agencies elsewhere accessing those cameras as part of their searches. Additional audit records collected around the country show hundreds more searches under the same category. Flock has more than 120,000 cameras spread across 49 states, and its network has expanded into thousands of communities. This is no longer some camera sitting outside a convenience store recording a robbery. They have constructed the infrastructure to reconstruct where ordinary people travel, and police departments across jurisdictions can search that information.

This is precisely what I wrote about when I said, “Your Car Was Never the Target.” License plate readers were sold as a tool to find stolen vehicles and dangerous fugitives. Then the systems began recording the make, model, color, location, and movements of vehicles. Now Flock is developing AI systems capable of doing considerably more. Its newer investigative technology can combine camera information with police records, dispatch logs, and commercial identity databases, while other tools can search camera networks using written descriptions. Once you combine AI with a nationwide camera network, you are no longer investigating a crime after it occurs. You are constructing the machinery necessary to search the movements and associations of an entire population.

Flock’s newer AI tools can allow police to continuously search cameras in a defined area for someone matching a written description. A Texas deputy previously searched tens of thousands of cameras looking for a woman who had obtained an abortion. Officers have been accused of using Flock to track former romantic partners. Illinois discovered that federal immigration agents had gained access to state camera information despite restrictions. Now we learn the system is being searched for loitering and vagrancy. Yet they continue telling us not to worry because safeguards are coming. Flock has announced shorter default retention periods, case codes, auditing, and other controls. Fine. None of that changes the fundamental question: Why should government possess the ability to reconstruct the movements of millions of innocent people in the first place?

The Fourth Amendment was not written with an exception saying government may watch everyone so long as a private corporation owns the cameras. I wrote earlier this year about the FBI admitting that it purchases commercially available location information on Americans. This is the loophole they have discovered. Government does not always need to build the surveillance system itself anymore. Private corporations collect the information, construct the databases, and develop the technology. Government simply purchases access or contracts for the service. The private sector builds the cage and government gets the key.

People keep saying, “I have nothing to hide.” That is perhaps the most dangerous response imaginable. Liberty was never based upon proving to government that you have nothing to hide. Government was supposed to prove that it had probable cause to investigate YOU. We have turned that principle upside down. Everyone is monitored first, the information is stored, and government searches the database later when it decides somebody has become interesting. You do not need to commit murder. You do not need to rob a bank. You apparently do not even need to steal a car. You can be searched because somebody decided you were loitering.

We are all criminals now. That is where this mentality inevitably leads. Every citizen becomes a potential suspect because every citizen generates data that can be searched. Your car identifies where you travel, your phone identifies where you sleep, your credit card identifies what you buy, your bank identifies who you pay. Facial recognition identifies where you appear in real time. AI can connect information that once required hundreds of investigators and months of work in seconds. Governments of the past could only dream of possessing this kind of power.

This is how a surveillance state is created. There is no announcement from Washington declaring that privacy has ended. There is no single law abolishing the Fourth Amendment. It happens camera by camera, database by database, emergency by emergency, until one day people realize that anonymity in public has effectively disappeared. The government will insist that only criminals need to worry right up until the definition of “criminal” includes standing somewhere too long.

Our greatest problem has been the NEOCONS who usurp American foreign policy to wage their quest to rule the world, spreading the fake democracy that they originally claimed when the multipolar world was capitalism vs. communism. Communism collapsed all by itself BECAUSE of pure economic inefficiencies, which the Neocons are carrying out in the West.

Some did not  like our forecast that China will surpass USA post-2032 as the financial capital of the world. This not my opinion nor my desire. I am not here to sell my ideas over anyone else. The computer correlated the world and concludes the trend. In recent times since 1989, China has avoided getting dragged into wars because they know that undermines the economy.

That is precisely opposite of the the United States and to a lessor degree, Russia. Post-Cold War hubris led U.S. Neocons to manipulate political leaders to take on a vast array of global responsibilities. That is illustrated by the Wolfowitz Doctrine of world superiority. The Neocons have squandered American wealth on their endless or forever wars in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan not to forget Libya, Yemen, Syria, and various parts of Africa, all part of their global war on terror as well as their proxy war using Ukraine to conquer Russia.

They do not care about te country, the people, the budget – nothing, except their quest to rule the world. They move from one administration to the next with no regard to domestic policies LEFT or RIGHT. All they care about is their geopolitical aspirations. Nothing else! Your children will NEVER be safe as long as these people usurp power.

Russia vs Iran trade is up 40%. The Russia & Iran banking systems are now linking. Iran joined BRICS completing the division of the world economy and nobody is talking about it.

I have been warning for decades that the world is not run by rational forethought but by vindictive actors seizing foreign policy all for their geopolitical objectives that are counter-to economics. If you look at the data, you will see that the Neocons have become the cancer that is crashing the system. They do not understand how the world actually works. They think they can redraw borders and install governments by force, but they are playing checkers while the rest of the world is playing 3D chess.

They create class warfare and blame the rich claiming they do NOT pay their fair share and this is a DISTRACTION so nobody pays attention to the spending on endless wars that (1) raise the national debt, (2) interest expenditures grow crowding out social spending like Medicare, (3) this raises the cost of credit for everyone right down to mortgages, (4) the Democrats demand the rich pay more undermining economic growth since the rich fund the startups fulfilling the dreams of the creative class, while all of this never addresses the problem. They are strip-mining our economy all for the cost of these endless wars as the Neocons wash their hand the blood of others.

The Great Dividing of the World
The neocons have created a world divided NOT by ideology anymore, but by power and dominance. Their endless wars in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Ukraine have forced nations to take sides not out of choice, but out of necessity. The sanctions imposed on Russia after their provocations have backfired spectacularly. Instead of isolating Moscow, the Neocons have accelerated the formation of BRICS. They have driven countries to seek alternative economic arrangements, moving gold and capital away from the traditional Western financial centers.

By Bessent now threatening sanctions against any country that deals with Iran, he has proven his ignorance of this trend as well. The Dutch central bank is joining the rest of Europe shifting the location of 78 metric tons of gold, worth $11 billion at today’s prices, leaving the United States. This is nothing about the dollar, but geopolitical and Trump’s Tariff wars.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has bluntly taken the Neocon approach advocating the US’s use of financial power as a foreign policy tool. Blinken did that removing Russia from SWIFT and destroyed the world economy giving rise to BRICS. By Bessent advocating using the federal balance sheet to advance he claims is the interests of American allies, using financial and political situations abroad, will increase the deficit and maintains this idea that America is the superpower to dictate to the world. He said:

“I believe that I can use the balance sheet of the U.S. for foreign policy. So, we have a foreign policy goal and that is to create allies in the Western hemisphere.”

The Neocons have pushed Russia, China, and the Global South into an alliance that President Nixon sought to divide and this is now in a position that cannot be repaired, which will ultimately challenge the West’s dominance. Because these Neocons NEVER consider economics, they are destroying the world economy and are TOO IGNORANT to understand the consequences of their own actions. They have divided the world into those who still blindly follow the United States and those who are creating a new system to escape its demands and geopolitical reach.

Even a report from the Council on Foreign Relations, has noticed this trend and have described it as a “geoeconomic fragmentation” where countries are redesigning the global economy to suit geopolitical realities, moving away from the “just-in-time” global supply chains that were built for a more cooperative era. I have said main times that the model for World Peace is the Roman Empire. When there is free trade and everyone benefits from being inside the global economy, you DO NOT have war. This stupid Neocon agenda of imposing sanctions and using the dollar as a weapon is destroying the very thing they think they are expanding.

Iran is rushing ASAP to create a nuclear bomb now for self defense. The prevailing interpretation has been that if Saddam and Afghanistan had nukes, they would never have been invaded. That is the old Nuclear Deterrence Theory. The Pickaxe Mountain site, located near the Natanz nuclear complex roughly 140 miles south of Tehran, has been the subject of steady discussion by intelligence agencies, which view it as a likely location for Iran to protect future nuclear program efforts. According to a new satellite imagery, there has been a clear surge in construction activity this year.

Based on the available information, there is no direct evidence that the U.S. is currently testing a “bunker-busting” bomb with a low-grade nuclear warhead. However, the US is actively pursuing two separate but related efforts: developing a new conventional bunker-buster and considering the resumption of low-yield nuclear tests.

The Conventional Bunker-Buster bomb is developing with a new conventional “next-generation” technology. This program is focused on creating a more powerful non-nuclear weapon capable of destroying deeply buried targets, such as Iran’s nuclear facilities at Fordow and Isfahan, which are considered too difficult to destroy with existing bombs like the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

The development involves testing at a unique underground facility at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. Satellite imagery and contract records indicate that a project manager signed an emergency contract to repair this facility for “live-fire testing” related to a “time-sensitive national security directive.” This work is explicitly for a new conventional weapon, not a nuclear one.

Consideration of Low-Yield Nuclear Tests
Separately, senior U.S. officials have stated that the country is prepared to conduct low-yield nuclear tests to maintain “an equal basis” with alleged activities by Russia and China. This would end a moratorium on nuclear testing that has been in place since 1992. The American Neocons can be using Iran as the excuse to resume Low-Yield nuke development. The rationale is also to respond to what the U.S. claims are secret, low-yield nuclear tests conducted by China and Russia. Both countries have denied these allegations. It has been justified by claims that this would not involve massive, multi-megaton atmospheric explosions, but rather low-yield underground tests.

As of March 2026, a senior State Department official testified that the U.S. is still evaluating how to implement the presidential directive to resume testing and has not made a final decision on the specifics. Throw in Iran, and that becomes the imminent threat to justify resumption. The developments are occurring using Iran as the excuse amidst heightened tensions with the expiration of the New START treaty with Russia, which was ultimately signed by President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on April 8th, 2010, in Prague.

Neocons such as John Bolton has been one of the most vocal advocates for aggressive action against Iran. Bolton has repeatedly stated that eliminating the Iranian regime is the only way to end the nuclear threat. In a March 2026 PBS interview, he said, “If anybody wants peace and stability in the Middle East, this regime has to go.”

Just for the record, the Neocon John Bolton graduated from Yale University in 1970. In his 25th reunion class book, he wrote: “I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy” and “I considered the war in Vietnam already lost.”

At the time, he had a student deferment at Yale. But the 1969 draft lottery, where his birthday, Nov. 20, was number 185, ended student deferments, and he faced the possibility of being called up. He then enlisted in the Maryland Army National Guard, which had long waiting lists because it offered a way to avoid being sent to Vietnam.

The upgrades to the Nevada White Sands test site, combined with the stated intent to resume low-yield testing, could be a precursor to a full resumption of nuclear testing, which would undermine global non-proliferation efforts. The Neocons are pushing this with President Trump and do not care about the Trump’s legacy, the nation, or the people. This is all about them dominating the world. These Neocons always present themselves a a Blessing in Disguise.

Without question, the US is developing a new conventional bunker-buster bomb and is separately considering low-yield nuclear tests, which are two distinct tracks rather than a single program to test a nuclear-armed bunker-buster.

Israel cannot stop Iran’s nuclear program through conventional means. This has raised concerns that Netanyahu has made it his lifelong quest to destroy Iran. He has called them savages and refused to negotiate. In 2024, in his Knesset speech, Netanyahu said: “I’ve been warning about Iran for 30 years.”  It was reported on March 3rd, during a visit to a site struck by an Iranian missile, Netanyahu stated: 

“We read in this week’s Torah portion, ‘Remember what Amalek did to you.’ We remember—and we act.”

This is the problem. Netanyahu appears to view that the Bible justifies geocide. In 1 Samuel 15:2-3, God gives King Saul a specific, direct order to carry out this command. The prophet Samuel relays the message:

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. ‘”

There are concerns that if Trump does not listen to the Neocons and refuses to attack Pickaxe Mountain with a low-yield nuke, Netanyahu might consider using nuclear weapons due to Netanyahu’s perception of Iran posing an existential threat. Some fear that if Netanyahu thinks he may lose the election, this would be his last chance to nuke Iran.

The dollar bottomed in May and has been rising because of the Iran War implying concern for this erupting into a Middle East War. Israel’s next parliamentary election is scheduled for October 27, 2026. They have 28 days to form a new government. In most polls, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party is either the largest or second-largest party, with 22-25 seats. He also consistently leads Netanyahu in head-to-head polls on suitability for prime minister.

While we see the October 5th target in Israel is a Directional Change, the Panic Cycle in the week of October 19th, the week before the election. If Netanyahu fears a loss, he may take action as soon as that week of the 5th. However, the stronger target would bee the week of October 19th, 8 days before the election. The October 5th target may be more concentrated in Ukraine vs Russia.

There is also a significant political dimension. US lawmakers have recently demanded transparency from the administration regarding Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, arguing that official ambiguity makes non-proliferation policy in the Middle East impossible. The Nuclear Threat Initiative estimates that Israel possesses around 90 nuclear warheads.

Netanyahu has been trying to get Trump to push the button and use a nuke. If Trump listened to Netanyahu and the Neocons, this would put nukes on the table globally. Moscow could nuke Kiev without a second thought. Yet the pressure in Russia is building intensely thanks to Zelensky deliberately trying to get Putin to attack anything in NATO to drag them in to prevent Ukraine’s inevitable loss.