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.

Banking has existed since the earliest times and has taken many forms, from safe deposit boxes and money changers to merchants capable of moving money internationally and moneylenders. Some people wrongly assume that they can eliminate the business cycle by eliminating fractional banking. They believe that it will be possible to match lenders and borrowers to maturity contracts. They do not comprehend that this is the line of thinking that always leads to authoritarianism, all the way to communism.

The problem that will emerge from this matching of lenders and borrowers to a maturity contract is that the boom-bust cycle will still exist. There will always be the perpetual rise and fall in asset values caused by other factors (including human nature), not least of which will be changes in technology, no less civil unrest and war that can alter capital flows. History offers a catalogue of solutions. All we need to test such an idea is to open the books.

People assume the cause of the business cycle is the fractional banking issue, as if that were eliminated, then you would flat-line the business cycle, creating utopia. Be very careful. This was Karl Marx’s goal as well. The starting point is a fundamental question. Has fractional banking always existed? NO! Since the answer is no, did the boom-and-bust cycle in banking exist even without fractional banking? The stark answer – YES.

In ancient times, financial panics occurred without fractional banking. In Athens in 354 BC, people borrowed money from the Temple, unbeknownst to others. They were speculating in real estate. The real estate market collapsed without fractional banking, and then it was exposed that the money was borrowed behind the curtain, so to speak, from the temple. Corrupt priests had all this money donated to Athena. She obviously was very frugal since she never seemed to go on a spending spree to buy shoes, owls, or spears. She wore a helmet, so she didn’t need a hairdresser. The priests could not keep their hands out of the treasury and were caught lending it out to their buddies for spare change. There was no fractional banking involved. They had the money and lent it to their buddies. The assets collapse because, as always, the mood of people changes with the seasons.

Fast forward to the 17th century, and we find the very same scheme played out by politicians. There was the collapse of Wisselbank in Amsterdam, where people had deposited their money and assumed the bank was strictly a safekeeping facility. They offered no loans and paid no interest. Little did they know that the government was using their deposits to fund its own trading.

The Wisselbank was founded in 1609. Upon first opening an account, a depositor paid a fee of ten guilders, three guilders, and three stuivers for each additional account. Two stuivers were paid for each transaction, excepting those of less than three hundred guilders, for which six stuivers were paid, in order to discourage the multiplicity of small transactions. A person who neglected to balance his account twice in the year forfeited 25 guilders. A person who ordered a transfer for more than what was upon his account was obliged to pay three per cent for the sum overdrawn. The bank made further profit by selling foreign coin and bullion, which fell to it by the expiration of receipts, and by selling bank money at five percent and buying it at four percent. These sources of revenue were more than enough to pay for the wages of bank officers, and defraying the expense of management. (Adam Smith)

In 1602, the United East India Company (VOC) was formed from six trading companies in the Netherlands and granted a trade monopoly over the Indies. The bank was administered by a committee of city government officials concerned to keep its affairs secret. It initially operated on a deposit-only basis, but by 1657, it was allowing depositors to overdraw their accounts and lending large sums to the Municipality of Amsterdam and the United East Indies Company (Dutch East India Company). Initially, this was kept confidential, but it had become public knowledge by 1790. The City of Amsterdam took over direct control in 1791 as a bailout, before finally closing it in 1819.

There is ample history of banking prior to fractional banking. Sorry, but that did not stop banking panics, nor did it stop the business cycle with the boom and bust events. The Tulip Bubble was not leveraged with fractional banking. Regardless, the boom-and-bust cycle is driven by human nature. We tend to change our minds about everything from fashion to money.

The idea that we can match lenders and borrowers sounds nice. However, that will not eliminate the cycle. I can find no instance of such a flat line except during a Dark Age, where there was no banking, private ownership, or any real economy. Coinage during the period is rare and is typically confined to the region where it was struck, demonstrating the lack of an economy or circulation due to trade.

People are losing confidence in institutions precisely because these actions show how quickly access to one’s own assets can be restricted without due process. This story resonated because it stripped away the rhetoric and exposed reality. Governments everywhere are preparing for a future where financial access is conditional. Data will be weaponized as the sovereign defaults near and governments attempt to control the masses to remain in control. The stories emerging throughout the world are a warning shot for everyone—governments have waged war on their citizens.

Readers shared the article below thousands of times in the past calendar year. We will continue to monitor stories from around the world and listen to our readers’ concerns. The cycle may be inevitable but ignorance is not.

Vietnam has erased and/or frozen 86 million unverified bank accounts as the nation surrenders to the globalist Great Reset. Anyone wishing to function in society must surrender their biometric data to maintain a bank account. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) claims that the measure was a system cleanup aimed at preventing fraud. In actuality, the measure is one step closer toward a national ID system that enables the government to control its citizens’ every move.

“This is a data-cleansing revolution,” said Pham Anh Tuan, Director of the Payment Department. “While the total number of bank accounts remains 200 million, by September 2025, once the legal framework is complete, all accounts without biometric data will be closed to prevent scams and fraud. After seven years of promoting non-cash payments, we are moving toward real efficiency.”

Vietnam recently implemented a nationwide digital ID (e-ID) system called VNeID that requires both citizens and foreign residents to surrender to the matrix and permit the government to store their personal information in a centralized database. Fingerprints, facial biometric data, photographs, passports, nationality, criminal records, and even medical records will be stored in the government database. Participation is not optional.

Project 06 launched in January 2022, hailed as a technological revolution to digitize the country. Project 06’s full name is the “Project on Developing Data Applications on Population, Identification, and Electronic Authentication to Serve National Digital Transformation in the 2022-2025 Period (Vision 2030),” which aligns entirely with the World Economic Forum’s plans for the Great Reset. The concept has been sold to the people as a convenience measure, but in truth, the aim is centralized, unrestrained control over the entire population.

Everything from banking to renting an apartment is linked to the digital ID. One wrong move and the government can completely erase someone from the system. One glitch in the power grid and the nation will come to a standstill. The Vietnamese government has the power to halt a person’s life instantaneously.

High-level Vietnamese officials met in Davos in January 2025, and shortly after, began voicing concern for bank accounts that were unverified through biometric data. Vietnam has been actively seeking OECD membership and signed a Memorandum of Understanding, citing that Project 06 will enable the nation to meet the OECD’s guidelines for regulatory reforms. Vietnam was one of the last nations disconnected from the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) that requires members to share banking information under the pretense of preventing tax evasion.

Vietnam signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) with the OECD in March 2023, enabling automatic exchange of tax and financial information with over 146 jurisdictions. In early 2025, shortly after Davos, Vietnam joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR), broadening its commitment to AEOI and international tax transparency. In February 2025, Vietnam activated CbCR exchange relationships with 29 jurisdictions including the entire European Union.

Globalist entities defy democracy and demand the complete surrender of national sovereignty under the belief that the world population must be controlled by one centralized force. The majority of world leaders have willingly surrendered, unaware of the full extent of power a small unelected few will yield if the Great Reset succeeds.

Over a quarter of a million people tuned in to hear my warning from 2024: Western Empires Face the Same Collapse of Rome in its Final Days

QUESTION: You first publicly forecasted that gold would reach $5,000 per ounce in late 2009, specifically on November 7, 2009. You said the earliest would be $5,000 by 2016 if there was international war. But you said that the $5,000 target would be more likely by 2027 to 2032. I believe you said your extreme target was $12,000 but that was not highly likely. You correctly said that 2015 was the low on a 3-year correction and gold was just $1100 when you made that forecast. Has anything changed in nearly 10 years?

Pete

ANSWER: The main reason why I have tried to open Socrates to the world is in hopes that after 2032, we may enter an initial Dark Age meaning that society will fragment as countries break apart and we will be given the opportunity to recreate government from scratch. My interpretation is not always correct. I have stated many times when I have tried to defeat my own computer, I am always wrong. No human is ever 100% infallible. We would not be human otherwise.

That said, nothing has changed. I understand that people think if you cannot forecast where gold will close tomorrow, how can you forecast 10 years in advance? The answer is contrary to what people understand. There is a lot of noise in the system. Whether gold closes $10 higher or $20 lower tomorrow does NOT change the long-term trend. I was a hedger. I needed to create a model for the major movies – not for day trading.

This year 2025 was a MAJOR target for a turning point. The next one in 2027. That is where the computer still picks up significantly rising volatility from there into 2032. I still see that the idea of peace in Europe will be negative for prices. But I do not see a 19-year decline as the computer projected in 1980, which was why I began to retire.

PRIVATE BLOG – The Putin Coup

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PRIVATE BLOG – Silver & Short Squeeze – Breakout of Major High?

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As we close out 2025, I want to personally thank the more than 2.5 million readers from around the world who visited ArmstrongEconomics.com this year. Your willingness to question official narratives, examine history, and think independently is what keeps this site alive and relevant.

Our content is based on following the data, the cycles, and the models wherever they lead, even when the conclusions are uncomfortable. The fact that millions continue to return tells me that confidence in independent analysis is rising at precisely the moment institutions are losing credibility.

The global economy cannot be viewed from isolated lenses, and our readership reflects the global nature of our venture. Readers from 232 nations around the world tuned in and turned off their preconceived notions of the world to explore the underlying patterns and cycles that are propelling us into a new future. Millions of us have a common bond and understanding.

The years ahead will test economic, political, and social structures globally. My commitment remains the same. I will continue to provide clear, historically grounded analysis so you can navigate what lies ahead with foresight rather than fear.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

This list represents readers from around the world who share a common desire to question official narratives, study history, and understand how economic and political cycles truly function. Despite different cultures, languages, and borders, what unites this global audience is a shared view that the future cannot be understood by opinion or ideology, but only by following the data, the trends, and the repeating patterns of history.

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Great Britain
4. Australia
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Sweden
8. France
9. Spain
10. Switzerland
11. Norway
12. Belgium
13. New Zealand
14. Italy
15. Poland
16. Finland
17. Singapore
18. Ireland
19. Hong Kong
20. South Africa
21. Mexico
22. South Korea
23. India
24. (not set)
25. Austria
26. Japan
27. Malaysia
28. Thailand
29. Greece
30. Denmark
31. Russia
32. Portugal
33. Brazil
34. Indonesia
35. Croatia
36. Romania
37. Czechia
38. Hungary
39. China
40. Philippines
41. Iran
42. Bulgaria
43. Serbia
44. United Arab Emirates
45. Slovenia
46. Luxembourg
47. Turkey
48. Taiwan
49. Turkmenistan
50. Costa Rica
51. Israel
52. Colombia
53. Argentina
54. Chile
55. Panama
56. Slovakia
57. Vietnam
58. Ecuador
59. Peru
60. Cyprus
61. Bosnia and Herzegovina
62. Iceland
63. Saudi Arabia
64. Cambodia
65. Ukraine
66. Egypt
67. Puerto Rico
68. Bahamas
69. Pakistan
70. Dominican Republic
71. Bahrain
72. Montenegro
73. Estonia
74. Lithuania
75. Nigeria
76. Kenya
77. Uruguay
78. Lebanon
79. Morocco
80. Paraguay
81. Georgia
82. Bermuda
83. Malta
84. North Macedonia
85. Algeria
86. Albania
87. Jamaica
88. Mauritius
89. Belize
90. Guernsey
91. Latvia
92. Trinidad & Tobago
93. Jersey
94. Cayman Islands
95. Guatemala
96. Qatar
97. Monaco
98. Suriname
99. Bolivia
100. Liechtenstein
101. Namibia
102. Bangladesh
103. Jordan
104. Tanzania
105. Moldova
106. Venezuela
107. Sri Lanka
108. Belarus
109. Ghana
110. Andorra
111. Aruba
112. Kazakhstan
113. Honduras
114. Zambia
115. Armenia
116. Fiji
117. Kuwait
118. Uganda
119. Isle of Man
120. Nicaragua
121. Nepal
122. S. Virgin Islands
123. Barbados
124. Cuba
125. Laos
126. Myanmar (Burma)
127. Zimbabwe
128. El Salvador
129. Curaçao
130. Seychelles
131. Guam
132. Iraq
133. Maldives
134. Azerbaijan
135. Macao
136. Oman
137. Tunisia
138. Côte d’Ivoire
139. Lucia
140. Faroe Islands
141. Uzbekistan
142. Papua New Guinea
143. Ethiopia
144. Antigua & Barbuda
145. Mozambique
146. Mongolia
147. Kyrgyzstan
148. Botswana
149. Angola
150. Sint Maarten
151. Haiti
152. Malawi
153. Réunion
154. French Polynesia
155. British Virgin Islands
156. Rwanda
157. Guyana
158. Martinique
159. Syria
160. Turks & Caicos Islands
161. Kitts & Nevis
162. Åland Islands
163. Brunei
164. Guadeloupe
165. Dominica
166. Grenada
167. Martin
168. Cameroon
169. Cape Verde
170. Liberia
171. Greenland
172. Guinea
173. Kosovo
174. Libya
175. New Caledonia
176. Senegal
177. Eswatini
178. Caribbean Netherlands
179. Sierra Leone
180. Bhutan
181. Gambia
182. Somalia
183. Gibraltar
184. Timor-Leste
185. Samoa
186. Madagascar
187. San Marino
188. Afghanistan
189. Montserrat
190. Vanuatu
191. American Samoa
192. Palestinian Territories
193. Congo – Kinshasa
194. Pierre & Miquelon
195. Burkina Faso
196. Lesotho
197. South Sudan
198. Benin
199. Gabon
200. Vincent & Grenadines
201. Central African Republic
202. Djibouti
203. Yemen
204. Palau
205. Cook Islands
206. Tajikistan
207. Tonga
208. Anguilla
209. French Guiana
210. Mauritania
211. Congo – Brazzaville
212. Equatorial Guinea
213. Northern Mariana Islands
214. Norfolk Island
215. Marshall Islands
216. Solomon Islands
217. Mali
218. Niger
219. Burundi
220. Barthélemy
221. Western Sahara
222. Svalbard & Jan Mayen
223. Togo
224. Falkland Islands
225. Micronesia
226. Comoros
227. Mayotte
228. Antarctica
229. Guinea-Bissau
230. British Indian Ocean Territory
231. Helena
232. Vatican City

Some people have a tough time understanding that we are in a massive deflationary spiral; they think that rising prices mean it is inflation and not deflation. Then they mistake stagflation for deflation and wonder why people are spending more on less. They only see prices, not disposable income, and, indeed, not economic growth or unemployment.

Prices rose sharply following the OPEC oil price hikes of the 1970s. Still, the sharp rise in energy prices crowded out other forms of spending, resulting in rising prices that had nothing to do with a speculative economic expansion, and a deflationary contraction they called STAGFLATION occurred, with rising prices and declining economic growth.

If you want to raise NET DISPOSABLE INCOME, lower taxes! Raising wages, as the Democratas believe corporations should do, will cause people to move to higher tax brackets, and soon, all benefits will come into play with these socialistic programs. As always, nobody in government talks about reducing government waste and corruption. The very people who are using these social programs are still paying taxes to the state and federal government.

Household income will soon be defined as everyone living in the same house – kids and all. Perhaps you will have to pitch a tent and make the kids sleep outside with the dog to avoid “household” income tax increases. Deflation is not the lowering of prices; it is the lowering of economic activity that can also include STAGFLATION, which occurs when prices rise but there is no economic growth.

Now, stagflation is not exactly the same as deflation, where the price of goods and services declines. For example, before World War II, the US experienced a massive deflationary environment in which GDP fell by 30% between the crash of 1929 and 1933. A quarter of Americans were unemployed. Imagine 1 in 4 eligible workers on the sidelines. Prices plummeted, and consumers were not spending because they had very little, if anything, to spend. Panics erupted, and people hoarded; the Second World War brought America out of that economic downfall. The public confidence wave began after World War II, because people believed their change in fortune was due to government policies (i.e., FDR’s New Deal) and war victory.

During periods of stagflation, the prices of goods and services increase while buying power decreases. Consumers end up spending more on less. As we are seeing now, for example, retail sales of items such as clothing have declined, but people are spending more on gas, shelter, and groceries. People feel as if they are earning less despite wage increases because their buying power has been drastically reduced. Companies will suffer as consumers spend less, and this has led to workforce reductions. Unemployment during the OPEC crisis of the 1970s was not nearly as severe, but it rose to 7.2% by 1980. Inflation went from around 1% in 1964 to 14% in 1980, and GDP growth went from 5.8% to -0.3% during that same period.

So be very careful. If you only look at prices rising and ignore the fact that your disposable income is declining, you will be in for a very rude awakening. Unemployment will continue to rise in 2026, with the computer anticipating figures surpassing 6%. The trend was set in motion long before automation and AI. Companies simply will not hire when they expect a continued contraction. The ability to borrow at a lower rate is not enticing because those same companies do not want to take on more debt than they already owe. We will not see another Great Depression by any means, but the “soft landing” is merely rhetoric intended to lift confidence.

November home sales in the US paint a picture of stagnation and a frozen market. Home prices and mortgages have risen and demand has waned. This is a buyer’s market but conditions are not particularly favorable due to the cost of ownership.

Sales rose 0.5% from November to October and were 1% lower on an annual basis, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. A total of 4.13 million homes were sold for the month based on closings.

Supply remains constrained on a monthly basis, declining 5.9% from October, but have risen 7.5% on the yearly. A six-month supply is considered a balanced buyer-seller market, but current conditions show a 4.2-month supply.

The median home price in the US has reached $409,200, up 1.2% annually, and the highest reading on record for November. Lower-priced homes are not selling as those with less cannot afford to enter the market. Homes priced from $100,000 to $250,000 are down 8% from last year, but homes above $1 million rose 1.4%.

Gone are the days of overbidding cash offers. Homes are sitting on the market for an average of 36 days. Investors are slowly re-entering the market and accounted for 18% of sales compared to 13% one year prior. New homeowners accounted for 30% of sales, but historically, first-time home owners account for 40% of closings.

Weak regions are seeing declining values while stronger capital-inflow areas remain firm. This is classic late-cycle behavior. Real estate does not move as a monolith. It turns region by region, driven by employment, taxation, migration, and regulatory burden. The myth of a single “national housing market” is one of the great analytical failures of modern economics.

Transactions are falling and inventory is uneven. The real pressure will come not from housing itself, but from government debt, taxation, and declining economic confidence as we move toward the 2026 turning point. The model indicates that the current buyers market will persist into 2028. There will NOT be a housing bubble collapse as we saw in 2008. Commercial real estate is far more vulnerable than residential and operates on a different cycle. People have fled and are continuing to flee states that are unfavorable to capital, as we have seen with mega corporations fleeing places like New York and California. We will see fragmentation on a regional basis in real estate.

Interest rates will not collapse to save housing as capital demands higher yields and the central bank cannot toy with the markets as they have in recent years. Capital is migrating to states that offer financial stability, lower taxation and regulation. Transaction volume is declining and sellers are refusing lower prices. Buyers are waiting. Liquidity is vanishing. This is all par for the course during a collapse of confidence that will intensify in 2026.

PRIVATE BLOG – Nickel – Preparing for War?

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