A City Built By Losers

The Paradigm Shift Summit 2023 in Vegas was one for the ages. [The Rude Awakening] October 06, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( A City Built By Losers - I just got back from the Paradigm Shift Summit 2023 in Las Vegas. - It was such a pleasure to meet our subscribers. - Vegas isn’t my cup of tea. [You have (1) item on hold at our warehouse:]( Item #: [51987]( Status: On hold Value: Approx. $300 Claim by date: 10/06 at 11:59 PM To see how to claim yours simply [click here]( our Head of Customer Experience will show you what you need to do. [Click Here To Learn More]( [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning from an overcast Asti. I wish I could take credit for today’s headline. But that honor goes to Rick Rule, our featured speaker at the Paradigm Shift Conference in Las Vegas this past Tuesday. Rick remarked that while it was great to see so many people gather to better themselves, it was somewhat “ironic that we should do so in a city built by losers.” I damn near fell out of my seat laughing when he said that. I found Las Vegas more akin to Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine than a major American city. [Rude] When I relayed Rick’s quote to my friend and mentor Hunter Hastings of the [Economics for Business Podcast]( he said, “I love Vegas because it’s free market capitalism at its finest. And anyway, winners built it, but the losers financed it.” Fair enough, perhaps. In this Friday Rude, what happened in Vegas won’t stay in Vegas… because everyone was very well behaved indeed. [“The Mainstream Media Is Lying To You!”]( The media would have you believe that the worst of the supply chain issues are over. But the opposite is true… Behind the scenes, things are getting much, much worse. Bob Biesterfeld, CEO of one of the biggest logistics firms in the world, warns “the pressures on global supply chains have not eased, and we don’t expect them to any time soon.” This is going to impact every American’s life in a potentially major way… And I’m urging everyone I can to prepare now. [To see the #1 move to make before this problem gets any worse, click here now.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( The Summit Speakers Our fearless leader and Executive Publisher, Matt Insley, kicked off the event with a few words about the current state of things and then handed it off to his speakers. Doug Hill, our Vice President of Publishing, also cheerfully introduced many of our speakers. Yours Truly I kicked off the summit with Five Rude Predictions for 2030. I’ll elaborate more on them in Monday’s Rude, but they are as follows: - Crypto destroys the Treaty of Westphalia. - The US Military Industrial Complex suffers enormous losses. - China’s Belt and Road Initiative will reshape global supply chains. - Though the US Military Industrial Complex will suffer losses, buy PLTR. - Global warming frees Russia, giving it warm water ports and a seat at the European table. There were some nodding heads, but I also got plenty of blowback. I welcome it; it’s great to hear contrasting opinions. And anyway, predicting things seven years out is a fool’s game. Anything can happen. I will revisit them each year to see if I’m even close! Zach Scheidt Zach gave a great speech on increasing your income by expanding your options against a falling dollar. There were some practical steps to take to protect your purchasing power. Zach talked about dividends and dividend stocks and reiterated his point during my interview with him. [Rude] On the Bellagio’s patio interviewing Zach Scheidt; Credit: Chris Harris By the way, Paradigm is relaunching its new YouTube channel. I will let you know when our first posts are uploaded. We’ve got in-depth interviews with Jim Rickards, Byron King, trend-following trader and author Alex Krainer, and economist and author Thorsten Polleit on their way. I’ve also interviewed all of the Summit’s speakers; those chats will be uploaded soon. Stay tuned! Alan Knuckman Options guru and my all-time all-time Alan Knuckman showed his “anti-trader” options-trading method. If you’d like to get into options but don’t want to risk much capital, I highly recommend you look at Alan’s and Dave Gonigam’s stuff on The Profit Wire. Byron King My friend and frequent Rude contributor Byron King was as entertaining and informative as ever. His talk on “From Rocks to Money…” was a treat. He elaborates on much of it during our interview. Jim Rickards Before talking to Jim, I thought part of the reason for the dollar rally was the lack of a new BRICS currency. The market seemed disappointed with the lack of an outcome from Johannesburg. Jim quickly disabused me of that notion. We’re still in the middle of a banking crisis, and dollar demand is way up. His speech on the BRICS and the long game Beijing and Moscow are playing was excellent. Rick Rule Rick gave us a great half-hour on a theme Bill Gross talked about years ago. Namely, his generation of investors was the luckiest regarding investing conditions. But what will the next ten years look like? A lot less benign than the previous forty. James Altucher Chessmaster, bestselling author, standup comedian, coder, and investor James Altucher reliably informs me that AI will not take over the world and kill us all. I suspected as much, but it’s great to be reassured by an authority on the subject. This true Renaissance Man delivered the goods in his speech, “Everything is Going to Hell… and Life is Great!” Ray Blanco I finally met Ray in person at this event, though we’ve spoken on the editorial calls for at least a year. Ray gave a fascinating talk on catalyst trading, which can give investors monstrous returns. His tech, biotech, and trading expertise is worth listening to and learning from. After the Speakers My friend and colleague Dave Gonigam hosted a Fireside Chat with Jim, Rick, and Byron before we sat at another session of our Whisky Bar. Once the Whisky Bar concluded, Paradigm subscribers and editors dived into the open bar until the lights went out. As editors, we’re privileged to have such a fantastic bunch of people reading our stuff. It was lovely to meet so many friendly faces. Finally, let me thank Lydia England and our tireless crew of Paradigm support staff, who are too numerous to name here. It’s worth noting Lydia and her team planned the entire event themselves without any outside help or consultants. For a scatterbrain like myself, it was more than impressive! Also, a special thanks to Armando Gayleard for taping all our interviews! Wrap Up Well, that’s a wrap from Vegas. The Summit was a well-organized event attended by many of our beloved subscribers. I look forward to our next event, whenever that may be. Have a wonderful weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( In Case You Missed It… The Banking Crisis Isn’t Over [Sean Ring] SEAN RING Good morning Reader, I spent most of my banking career in an investment bank’s sales and trading division. That means I had hedge fund managers and other institutional money managers shouting down the phone at me all day. It's not as glamorous as you think, trust me. But the intellectual caliber of the workforce there, amoral though they may be, is staggering. Almost everyone has a top degree - which used to mean much more to me than it does now - and is incredibly intense. So, you can imagine my shock when I got to the private banking side, where relationship managers know almost nothing about the products they sell. Now, I’m not claiming all investment bank traders and salespeople knew that CDOs-cubed were a terrible idea. Watch The Big Short for confirmation on that. However, private bankers, known inside the industry as relationship managers (RMs), are not known for their product knowledge. As their title says, it’s all about the relationships with them. In Asia, guanxi is the most essential thing an RM can have with a client. That’s the network and connections that create mutually beneficial business opportunities. From Investopedia: Guanxi is closely intertwined with the Confucian philosophy - a philosophy that has shaped many Asian cultures - that self is extended to family, friends, and society to create a harmonious community. Guanxi implies an obligation that one has to another. In China, it is stated that the wheels of business are lubricated with guanxi. To be fair, the Chinese coined the term, but the West expanded upon the idea. Through English Common Law, the West built a legal system that extended this trust to entire nations. That’s one of the reasons what we may call “bribery” is just “a gift to a friend” in the East. Interestingly, the distributed ledger technology upon which the blockchain is built extends trust without custodians. There need not be a middleman like a banker if the peer-to-peer networks work independently. It eliminates the age-old question, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, or “Who watches the watchmen?” Eliminating some go-betweens would free up valuable resources regarding fees and time. After all, you probably don’t need an RM if you can articulate your wants to a client advisor. Or, if you’re expert enough, you can do much of this yourself. Not knowing more about your position, I can’t offer advice. (Well, I’m not allowed to provide advice anyway.) With all this in mind, let’s discuss five ways to protect yourself. [11/1: The Beginning Of A Brand-New Inflation Surge?]( [James Altucher]( Inflation officially peaked in June 2022 at 9.1% -- and ever since, it’s come back down to just 3.2%. But if you think the worst of this crisis is over, think again… Will Nov. 1 mark the beginning of a new – and far more serious – inflation surge? [Click here now to see my urgent warning.]( [Click Here To Learn More]( Keeping Your Cash on Hand You’ll set off alarm bells at your bank if you withdraw $20,000. That’s for sure. But you certainly want to keep a certain amount you feel comfortable with in your safe. And put that safe underground. (The first place thieves will look is behind a painting.) You don’t need to go all John Wick, but my parents had a cool safe in our old house. It was small, but they put it under the rug in their closet. If there’s a master thief in the world that would look there, kudos to him. I wouldn’t. Besides the cool factor, you’ll know your notes are as safe as possible. Keeping Your Cash in Multiple Banks The average high-net-worth individual in Asia has at least five bankers. On average, one banker gets half his “wallet.” “Wallet share” is bankerspeak for how much of a client’s assets they manage. The bankers never know for sure, but they can guess. The next four bankers will get a piece of the rest. So, it’s essential to be a good banker. What does this mean for you? First, retail and mass affluent clients often think one bank is enough… and the banks count on it. When I teach retail banking during the graduate season, I teach that retail deposits are “sticky.” That means ordinary folk pick one bank and put all their money in it. This isn’t an issue since the average American has about $500 to their name. But if you’ve got a chunk of cash, you should spread it between 3 to 5 institutions. I know opening bank accounts isn’t as easy as it used to be, but it’s certainly something you should invest time in. That way, you can keep up to $250,000 in each bank, and all those deposits will be insured. But even if you only stick $10,000 in each bank, you’re much better diversified. Keeping Your Gold and Silver in a Safe Place I could be wrong, but I don’t see why anyone would keep their gold and silver in a bank. Maybe a safe deposit shop that’s separate from a bank. But I wouldn’t even do that. My good friend Michael once mentioned he has enough gold, silver, and ammo to defend his keep until the end of his days. I’d keep my gold and silver in a super safe under the floorboards in my house and never mention it to anyone. Or dig a hole in your backyard. Just don’t forget where you dug it! If Biden or his successors outlaw privately owned gold and silver in the coming years, and your stash is in a bank, it’s game over - at whatever price they decide. Investing in Crypto We’ve talked about this a lot. Owning crypto is an intelligent bet, even if it’s just 2% of your portfolio. You can’t lose your house but can participate in the upside. And that currency is practically untouchable. Especially if you plan to live abroad, just keep the crypto in cold storage. “Cold storage” is cryptospeak for a device that resembles an old USB stick where your crypto can be kept off-exchange. Just always remember your password and key - and never lose it! You don’t want to wind up like this guy: Credit: [CNBC]( Wrapping Your Assets in a Company This is too little spoken about. If you own a company and structure it correctly with the help of your lawyer and accountant, you can use it to shield your assets. Remember, you control your company, but the company owns your assets. It’s one of the best ways to protect yourself from lawsuits. It also keeps away unwanted bankers who’ll try to manage your wealth. I’ve long written in this newsletter that you ought to start an internet business that grooves with your passions. Once it starts to make money, leave the money in there until you need it. You can use the company as a savings vehicle. If you build it big enough, you can sell it for a chunk and move to Switzerland, whose private bankers understand the meaning of “discretion.” I hope that helps. Have a wonderful weekend! All the best, [Sean Ring] Sean Ring Contributing Editor, The Morning Reckoning feedback@dailyreckoning.com X (formerly Twitter): [@seaniechaos]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. 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