Chris Temple: Inflation, Deflation, or Stagflation and the Implications for Gold
Tom welcomes “outlier” investor Chris Temple back to the program. Chris discusses his often contrary perspectives on the markets and the Federal Reserve. In the late 70s and early 80s, the dollar was inversely correlated with gold, and the markets reflected the real economy. Today, everything is inverted, but a lot of investors and experts still have the old out-of-date mindset.
It’s essential to understand what happened with gold and the dollar forty years ago during the Paul Volcker era. The traditional business cycle has been replaced by a Federal Reserve managed credit cycle. Most currencies today have been handled poorly, and Chris discusses the real causes of the 2008 recession.
Today, the trigger is the virus scare, and through each market cycle, the organic economy gets sicker. When you have too much credit, you get imbalances and that inflation inevitably leads to deflation. Due to the massive policy response, Chris expects a stagflationary environment going forward.
Time Stamp References:
0:40 – How his interest in gold started.
4:00 – Don’t get married to gold.
5:55 – US Inflation and deflation era.
12:30 – Financial markets used to reflect the economy.
15:00 – The traditional business cycle has been replaced.
18:25 – The problems with massive credit expansion.
20:30 – Prices may run higher due to shortages.
23:40 – Fed has printed a lot, stagflation is coming.
27:50 – This is not your father’s gold market.
33:15 – Dollar correlations with gold.
37:30 – Future Fed Outlook and Gold.
38:40 – Examine markets dispassionately.
41:00 – Repo market seizes up in September 2019.
Talking Points From This Episode
• Understanding the Volcker era markets.
• How central banks have inverted everything.
• Inflation and credit expansion consequences.
• Why credit cycles cause supply disruptions.
Chris Temple is the editor and publisher of The National Investor where his focus is teaching his audience how to build an economic lifeboat while finding excellent opportunities. Chris has distinguished himself as an “outlier,” and that strategy has served his audiences well over the years. Mostly self-taught, Chris has studied the modern monetary system extensively over the past four-plus decades.
He distinguishes the knowledge he provides from the oceans of mere information (and much disinformation) that people typically have to wade through. Armed with that knowledge, he has succeeded in saving his audience and subscribers from every significant market decline. Chris explains how in his signature essay entitled “Understanding the Game.” When you truly understand what makes the markets and financial system “tick,” it’s not that difficult.
He has been recognized widely as possessing the talent of finding undervalued companies in many different industries and often recommending them before others.
Chris calls the period we are in now, “The Strange Depression.” He says, “It is more important than ever to start insulating ourselves from the crumbling top-down system.” Chris takes a more upbeat approach to share his ideas, strategies, and resources.
His latest website, economiclifeboat.org, is focused on dispensing knowledge to his fellow man.