This week in Fortune & Freedom

Find out all the top news from Nick and the team

Find out all the top news from Sam and the team

 

This week's recommendations: • Confirmation bias spikes alongside inflation   • Financial repression, and juggling incontinent squid, in practice   • The Great Escape from government money itself is now on   • Fortune & Freedom Podcast   • Gold versus bitcoin? It depends what for…   • Bitcoin – the story not in the news

Confirmation bias spikes alongside inflation   Is the inflation genie out of the bottle?   It's notoriously tough to get inflation back under control once you unleash it. That's why turning points in inflation are so important – and especially to investors who are trying to preserve their real wealth, which means wealth adjusted for inflation.   Anticipating the inflation of the 1970s would have been life changing. Well, failing to anticipate it certainly had an impact on many members of my family… Read more here

Financial repression, and juggling incontinent squid, in practice   Yesterday's dive into the inflation data ended with some pertinent questions: how do you juggle incontinent squid? And, more importantly, what exactly is financial repression?   Conveniently, Russell Napier has provided another brilliant analysis (on both topics). His claims go some way to explaining the mystery of high inflation but low bond yields, as discussed yesterday.   To remind you, US inflation is above 5%, but even the 30-year US Treasury bond yield is around 2%. Investors are losing money on loans to the government. A lot of money.   Why would they do so? Read more here

The Great Escape from government money itself is now on   What if our surging inflation rate is a deliberate government policy to devalue our money? With ridiculously low interest rates to add insult to injury?   Actually, it is. So says financial market historian Russell Napier. It's called financial repression – the attempt to inflate away government debt by devaluing money without compensating investors and savers with higher interest rates. We explained how it works yesterday.   If you're worried about inflation and have woken up to the fact that it's a deliberate policy which the Bank of England won't be saving you from, because they're too busy saving the government instead, what do you do? Read more here

Fortune & Freedom Podcast

Gold versus bitcoin? It depends what for…   While doing your gardening, would you rather discover a stash of Japanese war gold, or a hard drive with bitcoin on it?   I do realise it's an odd question, but bear with me…   I've been watching a documentary about life in Tokyo after the end of World War II. Please don't tell my Japanese in-laws – I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate it. Read more here

Bitcoin – the story not in the news   Usually, we review the week's most important news stories each Friday. Because Nigel has a knack at explaining what's really behind the story, and why it matters to you.   But this week, we do something different. If you have even a passing interest in bitcoin, or even if you don't, I think you need to see it… Read more here

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