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.

Same happening in ??Bulgaria??
Protests against the euro adoption and now in prison are students not the real criminals.
The government is faking the numbers to fit the European commission requirements… pic.twitter.com/6uDxdYL060

— MV (@mikevargales) February 28, 2025

Civil unrest continues as tens of thousands of Bulgarians took to the streets last month to protest government spending, or at least that is what the headlines would lead one to believe. The government released its 2026 budget proposal, which included higher taxes and increased social security contributions, sparking nationwide outrage led by youth. Now, Parliament is withdrawing the budget unanimously, as citizens demanded the right to be heard. Yet, the true nature of the protests surrounds the forced adoption of the euro.

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov has been urged to resign; President Rumen Radev backed protesters while accusing violence as “mafia provocation.” Protestors set the entrance to the office of the European Commission on fire. Bulgaria is set to join the eurozone on January 1, 2026. The budget maxes out the 3% deficit as demanded by the European Commission. The people know that appeasing the European Commission is the main reason they want to increase taxes, and Bulgarians do not want to surrender their national identity to Brussels.

But Bulgaria is set to join the eurozone as the 21^st member despite political unrest. The euro was never created as a currency to enhance trade or economic efficiency. It was designed as a stepping stone toward federalizing Europe. Europe has always sought the benefits of a single currency without surrendering fiscal sovereignty. Brussels will accept Bulgaria even without a clear budget because it needs to feed a dying system.

Bulgaria will forego its sovereignty. Goodbye independent rate decisions. Bulgaria will not have a national currency to adjust during downturns. They will be forced into the one-size-fits-all monetary system centered around the top European economies that are on the decline. The EU is attempting to recruit Romania into its scheme as well. Then there is the matter of absorbing Ukraine into the mix. The centralized authority in Brussels has no plan for the sovereign debt crisis that awaits it next year going into 2028.

Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), sent out an internal email to the Food and Drug Administration featuring “a profound revelation”—the COVID-19 vaccine is responsible for the deaths of a minimum of 10 American children.

“In many cases, such mandates were harmful,” Prasad wrote. “It is difficult to read cases where kids aged 7 to 16 may be dead as a result of covid vaccines.” Prasad also referenced two journal articles by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary that state the vaccines by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna increased the risks of myocarditis or heart inflammation in children and young men.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has attempted to trace the damage caused by mandated vaccines. Prasad said in his memo that he only analyzed 96 deaths that occurred from 2021 to 2024 from the FDA’s Office of Biostatistics and Pharmacovigilance. The director admitted the real number of deaths is much higher.

Prasad is now under attack by his peers who refuse to admit that there was a flaw in the vaccine. “It’s irresponsible science at best and it’s dangerous to the public at the very least,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. Kathyrn Edwards, vaccine researcher and professor emerita at Vanderbilt University, demanded autopsies showing “actual cardiac involvement.” Goodman, who led CBER during the George W. Bush administration, claimed the memo was “destined to go externally” and perhaps Goodman is correct.

The COVID vaccine first became available on December 14, 2020. It has been nearly five years, and the public still does not know exactly what was in the concoction, nor has any government or private agency accurately studied the deaths attributed to the mRNA shots. Over 7.1 million people died from COVID-19 and the world has simply shrugged off the evidence that this virus was manufactured, unleashed on the public, and treated with a dangerous concoction mandated by global governments.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) has renewed its bilateral swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) amid strengthened ties between Seoul and Beijing. Chinese President Xi Jinping met South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, marking the state visit to China in over a decade.

The swap line will remain at 400 billion yuan, providing direct yuan-won liquidity. The arrangement was made years ago and this was simply a renewal of faith. The agreement will last for five years until October 21, 2030, with the option to extend. Interestingly, this times out with the Sovereign Debt Crisis peak in 2028-2032. Seoul needs a non-dollar liquidity backstop if the West fractures. It also provides a hedge against the risk of US sanctions, or, far worse, a removal from SWIFT.

Years of tension between the two nations did not suddenly vanish, but trade is the great peacemaker. Both countries need this option because the global monetary system is beginning to fail. The yuan-won swap is an alternative buffer for South Korea if dollar dominance weakens, but this is not de-dollarization at hand.

The US still has the strongest market for public and private debt. Nations are seeking parallel channels to the US system, but are not turning their backs on the dollar. Governments, central banks, and private institutions remain confident in the dollar; it’s the government they’re worried about. This is the exact reason why there are whispers that the BOK will increase gold purchases, as it is necessary to hedge against governments. Again, the BOK has always maintained gold reserves but has not increased its purchases since 2013. None of this is a sign of de-dollarization.

PRIVATE BLOG – Venezuela & The Quest for War

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/

Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov declared that his nation will become a “sovereign AI state” after partnering with Nvidia to create the world’s first government development LLM project by 2030.

Mykhailo stated that Ukraine plans to move from a “digital state” to an “agentic state” where AI actively delivers services across government while making its own decisions that bypass humans. Ukraine already launched Diia.AI, the world’s first national AI assistant. Citizens can access the platform to request services, ask questions, or retrieve documentation.

“The evolution is that now, with Diia.AI, a user just types, ‘I need an income certificate.” In this system, the goal is that a single request or even a voice message can immediately connect a person’s need with the result. This is part of the plan for a full rollout of Diia.AI in the app, enabling people to complete requests or access services through a single voice command,” Fedorov noted.

Tech companies across the globe are investing heavily in Ukraine, with a specific emphasis on the AI sector. Google created Diia.AI and permitted the program to operate on Gemini. Kyivstar, recently listed on the US stock exchange, set up 3,500 backup generators to maintain AI services during energy attacks. The AI Factory and WINWIN Centre programs have partnered with European companies to build up Ukraine’s AI system. Microsoft, naturally, has its claws in the public-private partnership as well. Interesting to see companies pouring billions into a nation at war.

Sovereign AI is merely a centralized system that gives the state new powers of surveillance, data-processing, and control in real-time. Elite consolidation of power is the entire premise of the Ukraine war and why every bureaucrat has pledged a portion of their nation’s GDP to a prolonged conflict that does not involve them. The European Union would have loved to implement such a program, but their people still have voting rights. Zelensky sold out his people long ago.

Ukraine will attempt to use the program to say they’re no longer corrupt and should be permitted into the EU or even NATO. Sovereign AI will not rebuild Ukraine’s economy, eliminate corruption, restore civil institutions, or end the war. It will, however, give politicians unprecedented tools to monitor dissent, enforce compliance, and shape the population according to their own political objectives. That is the inevitable trajectory of every government in decline. History has never produced a counterexample.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has mandated smartphone manufacturers to install the government Sanchar Saathi portal app on all new devices to “verify authenticity of IMEIs used in mobile devices.” The DoT insists the move is to safeguard citizens from cyber criminals.

The Sanchar Saathi portal launched in May 2023 to curb telecom-related fraud. Users may block stolen phones on the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) by entering their unique IMEI numbers. Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAFCOP) allows citizens to check for unauthorized mobile connections registered in their name through OTP verification. Citizens may report spam calls, phishing attempts, and suspicious messages across all platforms, including WhatsApp.

Are we to believe the government implemented a massive nationwide database to simply deter phone scammers? The government has not released the official budget for this project, but a nationwide platform is not cheap. Is the government so concerned that it must mandate smartphone providers to pre-install its app? Stolen phones are not a matter of national security–Sanchar Saathi is the beginning of India’s centralized data collection.

“DoT’s SIM‑binding directions are essential to plug a concrete security gap that cybercriminals are exploiting to run large‑scale, often cross‑border, digital frauds,” the DoT said in a statement on Monday. “Accounts on instant messaging and calling apps continue to work even after the associated SIM is removed, deactivated or moved abroad, enabling anonymous scams, remote “digital arrest” frauds and government‑impersonation calls using Indian numbers.”

The government insists that users may simply delete or deactivate the app. It claims that users can choose not to register their devices. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia insists the government will not be “snooping” or monitoring calls–yet. But the government can see where devices move, when they are active, and how they are positioned relative to the telecom networks. Everyone walks around with a tracking device by default.

The telecom fraud excuse is almost laughable. The application is nothing more than a compulsory state-mandated tracking tool. Governments worldwide are eager to use new technology as a real-time monitoring mechanism. It will begin by monitoring movement but can expand in scope as far as the government is willing to go.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not interested in another proxy war. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia confirmed that the government is sending flights to Venezuela to remove nationals immediately.

Tourism from Russia to Venezuela has grown in recent years, with over 6,000 Russians visiting Margarita Island between August and November this year.

Moscow provided Caracas with two nuclear-style bombers to deter US aggression in 2018, and although the alliance remains strong, Moscow is keenly focused on its own war right now. Moscow provided the nation with two oil tankers to provide crude to China, but has offered nothing else. In October 2025, Maduro asked Russia to help Venezuela build its air defense system, specifically asking for 14 missile sets, restoration of Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jets, and an upgrade to 8 engines and 5 radars. Russian officials denied the request.

Putin said he is confident that Maduro “will navigate all challenges with dignity and protect its legitimate interests during these tumultuous times.” Maduro took to the state-controlled airwaves in November 2025 to read letters that China’s Xi Jinping and Putin sent him for his birthday. Putin basically said, “Good luck and figure it out,” but Xi had stronger words.  “China reiterates its categorical rejection of external forces interfering in Venezuela’s internal affairs under any pretext and will continue to firmly support, as always, Venezuela in safeguarding its sovereignty, national security, national dignity, and stability,” his letter noted.

Venezuela is on its own.

COMMENT: You mentioned that the EU would impose capital controls at the WEC. I was in the banking industry in Sweden. The capital controls that were imposed in 1939 were not lifted until 1989. Not everyone appreciates your depth of knowledge.

SW

REPLY: You are absolutely correct. Sweden introduced wartime exchange controls in 1939. Maintained a strict regime for decades. Once imposed, they claimed that they then prevented money from fleeing during the 1970s inflation crisis. They were entirely removed in 1989.

United Kingdom – Exchange Controls (1939–1979) Imposed at the outbreak of WWII under the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939. They remained in place for 40 years. They restricted foreign currency purchases, overseas investments, and moving capital abroad. They were NOT finally abolished by Thatcher in October 1979.

• Structural debt crisis pressure

• Europe faces sovereign-debt fragmentation risk (Italy, France, and even Germany now facing fiscal stress).

• When Europe looks weak, capital tends to leave the EU and flow into the U.S., which strengthens the dollar.

• Capital flight from Europe

• From our computer perspective, the EU is losing confidence faster than the U.S.

• This outflow supports the dollar, not the euro long-term, while short-term the ECB is trying to support the Euro.

• ECB policy

• The ECB often keeps rates lower or eases longer than the Fed because of recession risk.

• This creates yield divergence → pushes investors toward the dollar.