Today we’re bringing you a sneak peek at Nick Hodge’s Wall Street’s Underground Profits.
The markets are in turmoil, people are locked indoors, and Nick and his readers are well-positioned to ride it out.
Nick’s analysis saw this kind of financial devastation coming. Read on for a look back to the roots of Wall Street’s Underground Profits and don’t forget to check out his latest report on how to handle what has begun.
Take care,
Adam English
Editor, Outsider Club
Once upon a time, this letter spent countless words pointing out the evils of government and banks.
The very first issue back in 2013 — when it was called Like Minded People — started like this:
This inaugural issue of Like Minded People couldn’t come at a better or worse time, depending on your perspective.
From my vantage point, it’s the former. Because unlike much of the herd, I see what’s going on in the world and am not naïve enough to keep calm and carry on…
Among many things that threaten our liberty and finances, I see:
• A growing number of international banking scandals
• A monumental decline in middle-class wealth
• Greater wealth disparity than ever
• An overbearing global government
• A growing awareness and resistance by “ordinary” citizens
Throughout this issue, I’ll expand on each of those, giving examples and advice about each.
First, I want to make clear that all these things are symptoms of something bigger. They’re signs that “the system” as you know it is weak… that the past century of central planning, fiat money, corporatism, two-party rule, and government expansion has brought hundreds of millions of people to the brink:
• Unable to afford food, housing, and education
• Fed up with the different set of rules for Insiders and Outsiders
• Loaded with debt
• Tired of being stripped of their rights, liberty, and privacy
The bad news is that this era of uncertainty and distrust is likely to last for several more years. The good news is that people like us – Like Minded People – are taking notice, coming together, and will ultimately prevail.
I can’t believe it was seven years ago when I wrote that — still high on the fumes of 2008 and the response to it.
Nothing and everything has changed since.
The stock market marched to record high after record high. The rich got richer. And the non-rich were doing well enough not to complain too much. We went from Occupy Wall Street to Me Too as our collective gaze shifted from financial to cultural villains.
The facade was there, and everyone was complacent enough not to look too far into it.
I wrote to you in this letter and in other venues that the problems of 2008 were not truly solved and would come back to haunt us. And that when they did we would have fewer tools to fend them off.
Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the facade was breaking. Corporate earnings were falling. The Federal Reserve had stepped back into the repo market and restarted quantitative easing — all before the virus hit. The Federal Reserve was already busy putting out fires that it had created before China exported COVID-19.
And then when faced with an immediate standstill of the economy in the face of a real threat, it leaped into action, firing the few bullets it had left in the clip — taking interest rates to zero and promising to buy everything in sight, from unlimited quantities of bonds to ETFs.
So here we are. The federal government is showing its utter ineptitude in the response to COVID-19. And this isn’t a partisan thing, which many people need to get through their heads. It is a government thing.
They knew since January that the virus was spreading rampantly on U.S. soil. And instead of warning us, they downplayed the threat while politicians on both sides of the aisle positioned their portfolios for profit.
While they should have been screaming from the rooftops about the coming pandemic, senators and congresspeople were dumping hotel stocks and loading up on stocks that would benefit from the coming outbreak.
They should be ashamed. But they aren’t.
It should be illegal. But it isn’t.
The system is broken and I believe significant change is on the way. Not the toe-the-line Obama non-change — real institutional change.
The current way has proven unsustainable.
The concentration of power and influence by large corporations is unsustainable.
The wealth disparity is unsustainable.
The lack of real leadership is unsustainable.
All those bullet points above are unsustainable. And as they have throughout the history of the United States, when our systems and institutions reach these points of unsustainability they are — and I’m quoting from The Fourth Turning website now:
…torn down and rebuilt from the ground up— always in response to a perceived threat to the nation’s very survival. Civic authority revives, cultural expression finds a community purpose, and people begin to locate themselves as members of a larger group. In every instance, Fourth Turnings have eventually become new “founding moments” in America’s history, refreshing and redefining the national identity. America’s most recent Fourth Turning began with the stock market crash of 1929 and climaxed with World War II.
Unprecedented things are occurring and will continue to occur for the next few months and years.
Debts need to be unwound. Social contracts need to be re-engineered. Turbulence will be high both in markets and politics.
It will all take time. But we will come out of it better on the other side.
It’s also possible to thrive during this upheaval if you see it coming and prepare and respond accordingly.
That’s always been my aim here. You can see some of it already paying off. We closed 166% worth of gold gains this year in January and February. And the open portfolio held up incredibly well in the face of the fastest-falling bear market in history.
By all means, call your representatives. My Congresswoman and both Senators have heard from me in recent weeks — even though I didn’t vote for any of them. I’m convinced fresh new ideas and leaders are on the way and the Old Guard’s days are numbered.
My small contribution will be the continued synthesizing of information and data and guidance on how to protect and profit from whatever unfolds.
Call it like you see it,
Nick Hodge
Editor, Wall Street’s Underground Profits
To get more insights and full issues from Nick, check out this special presentation from Wall Street’s Underground Profits.
