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.

PRIVATE BLOG – ENERGY Into Year End

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

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The world is a little safer today. U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham died on Saturday, July 11th, 2026 at the age of 71 the day after he visited Ukraine’s drone production company, SkyFall, named after the James Bond Movie. SkyFall is a Ukrainian defense technology company involved in developing and manufacturing advanced unmanned systems for the military. It currently relies on Chinese components and hopes to replace that by year end.

It was both John McCain and Lindsey Graham that instigated using Ukraine to become their proxy war against Russia. If a Russian politician had appeared on January 6th in Washington telling the crowd to overthrow the government and Russia was with them, that would have sparked treason trials if not war. Yet that is what McCain did in Kiev telling the people to overthrow their government, the US was behind them, and this was their chance for peace, when they used the Ukrainian people as fools and cannon foddert.

Senator Graham, notorious for his personal hatred of Russia as his former cohort John McCain, toured one of SkyFall’s production facilities during that trip to Ukraine. He lavished great praise on them stating that he was highly impressed by the technology and production capacity, stating that it would be a “huge mistake” for the US not to cooperate with Ukraine in the drone sector. Bring Russia to its knees and someone will nuke Kiev.

It was McCain who was behind the fake story of the Magnitsky Act. Never in my life did I ever meet two people I honestly felt I needed a shower after shaking hands.

QUESTION: You said the the US is not certain of victory against Iran. Could you explain that view?

Sam

ANSWER: George Washington did lose more battles than he won early on losing New York was his worst. Nevertheless, his overall record shows he understood that winning the war mattered more than winning every battle. He was seriously outnumbered. Once he understood that all he had to do was NOT lose!  He waged a war of attrition. He understood that maintaining a major force on foreign soil is a major logistical disadvantage. I have warned, that Iran is waging a war of attrition.

Washington may not have been formally educated in a university, that did not mean he was unread. He apparently read Roman history intensely. He was a brilliant strategist. His strength was in seeing the “big picture” and maintaining the army’s very existence. He embraced a “Fabian Strategy” of avoiding large, decisive battles that could destroy his army, instead choosing to fight smaller engagements and retreat when necessary to preserve his forces.

The Fabian Strategy was developed by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, a Roman statesman and general, during the Second Punic War (218-201BC). Fabius was appointed as dictator of the Roman Republic in 217BC, following devastating military defeats by the Carthaginian general Hannibal. To counter Hannibal’s superior military skill and strength, Fabius devised a new approach.

His core tactic was to refuse to engage Hannibal’s army in a major, decisive battle, as Hannibal had proven superior in such confrontations. Instead, Fabius employed a strategy of harassment and attrition. He kept the Roman army close to Hannibal’s forces, shadowing their movements while sending out smaller detachments to attack foraging parties and disrupt supply lines. This was what Washington adopted.

Fabian also ordered residents in the path of the Carthaginian army to burn their crops and take refuge in fortified towns, denying Hannibal the resources his army needed. This cautious approach allowed Rome time to recover its strength. It was initially unpopular with the Roman public, who saw it as cowardly, but after another Roman army was annihilated at the Battle of Cannae in 216BC, the value of his strategy was recognized, and it was adopted again.

Further proof that Washington was self-taught in Roman History is his formation of the Order of the Cincinnati. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a two time Roman dictator. He was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a famous model of Roman virtue. The story of Cincinnatus that was recounted in Livy’s History of Rome and elsewhere, impressed George Washington but it is usually accepted that Cincinnatus was a historical figure who served as consul in 460BC and as dictator in 458BC and again in 439BC. He was the head of the army and handed back power when his term was up.

George Washington did not create the Society of the Cincinnati. While he was deeply connected to it, the honor for its creation belongs to another Revolutionary War figure.That honor belongs to Major General Henry Knox, the Continental Army’s chief of artillery. Knox was the principal author of the Society’s founding document, the Institution. Washington became its first president.

Washington beat an overwhelming opponent the same as Fabian defeated Hannibal – a war of attrition. Just because the US may possess the largest military, history is consistent in this regard. That does NOT guarantee a victory no matter what century we examine.

PRIVATE BLOG – The European Fiscal & Debt Crisis Coming to a Head

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

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FOX Business reported that the average monthly payment for a new vehicle reached a record $770 during the first quarter of 2026, according to LendingTree’s analysis of Experian data. Lease payments climbed to $619 per month, while used vehicle payments reached $531. The average amount financed for a new vehicle rose to $43,925, and outstanding auto loan debt surged to a record $1.685 trillion, exceeding the nation’s total student loan debt for the first time. This is not merely an automobile story. It is another warning that the purchasing power of the average American continues to deteriorate.

The average family is financing nearly $44,000 just to buy a depreciating asset because wages have failed to keep pace with the real cost of living. Government tells us inflation is under control, yet Americans are borrowing more money than ever simply to drive to work. If inflation were truly only 2%, car payments would not have doubled over the past generation while household budgets continue to buckle under the weight of necessities.

The debt statistics are becoming alarming. Auto loan balances have risen from $1.071 trillion in 2016 to $1.685 trillion today, an increase of more than 57% in just ten years. Auto debt now represents roughly 9% of all consumer debt, narrowly surpassing student loans. Americans originated another $182.1 billion in auto loans during the first quarter alone. We are borrowing at record levels to finance assets that lose value the moment they leave the dealership.

Borrowers with credit scores between 601 and 660 actually carried the highest average monthly payment at $811, while even subprime borrowers averaged $792. The system is trapping the middle class in perpetual debt. The better your credit, the lower your payment. Those already struggling financially are paying the greatest monthly burden, making it even harder to escape.

Edmunds found that the average financed amount for new vehicles reached another record of nearly $44,000, while average monthly payments climbed to approximately $773. One out of every five financed new vehicles now carries a monthly payment of at least $1,000. Buyers are responding the only way they can. Down payments are shrinking while loan terms continue stretching to seven and even eight years. Nearly one-quarter of new-car buyers are now taking loans lasting 84 months or longer. It is financing transportation like a mortgage.

Negative equity is becoming another hidden crisis. Edmunds reported that nearly 31% of trade-ins involved owners who owed more than their vehicles were worth, with the average underwater balance exceeding $7,100. Consumers are rolling debt from one vehicle into the next. They are not buying newer cars because they are wealthier. They are borrowing more because they have no alternative.

This is precisely what happens during the late stages of a debt cycle. Governments celebrate rising consumer spending while ignoring that it is financed with ever-larger amounts of borrowed money. The economy appears healthy because credit continues expanding, not because the average citizen has become more prosperous. Eventually there comes a point where consumers simply cannot borrow any more. That is when demand collapses, defaults accelerate, and politicians inevitably look for someone else to blame.

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Europe’s housing market is not recovering, it is becoming unlivable. Eurostat reported that in Q1 2026, EU house prices rose 5.1% from Q1 2025, while rents increased 3.0%. Compared with Q4 2025, house prices rose another 1.2% and rents increased 0.7%. Between the 2025 average and Q1 2026, house prices climbed 2.9% and rents 1.8%. Wages do not keep pace with this, and young families are being priced out of the future.

A house is no longer a home, it has become a political and financial instrument. Europe buried its people under taxes, regulation, Net Zero costs, energy insanity, and mass migration pressure on housing supply, then acts surprised when people cannot afford to live. The state creates the crisis, then demands more power to solve it.

The worst house-price increases between 2025 and Q1 2026 were in Portugal at 10.3%, Bulgaria at 9.4%, Slovakia at 9.1%, Croatia at 8.4%, Spain at 7.5%, and Lithuania at 7.4%. France fell 0.5% and Finland fell 1.8%, but that does not mean affordability has returned. It means confidence is collapsing in places where the economy is already under strain.

Rents increased in almost every EU country. Croatia was the disaster, rents exploded 21.9% in just that comparison period. Bulgaria rose 6.4%, Greece 5.0%, Romania 4.5%, Czechia 4.1%, Slovakia 3.5%, and Portugal 3.3%. Slovenia was the only country where rents fell, down 0.9%, while Finland was basically flat.

This is the consequence of centralized planning. Brussels wants open borders, climate mandates, expensive energy, endless regulation, and then wonders why the average person cannot rent an apartment or buy a home. The private citizen is being squeezed from every side while governments protect bondholders, banks, and their own failed social experiments.

The sovereign debt crisis and housing crisis are connected. Governments need rising asset values to keep the illusion of solvency alive. They tax property, they borrow against inflated economies, and they pretend rising home prices mean prosperity. But when housing becomes unaffordable, birth rates collapse, civil unrest rises, and capital begins to flee. That is where Europe is heading. This is not a housing boom, it is another warning sign of a system that is breaking apart.