Stuff That Interests Me

I was lucky enough to attend the Students for Liberty conference, LibertyCon 2022, in Prague last weekend.Oh, my goodness. What a beautiful city is Prague!I’d never been before, but I shall be returning ASAFP.While there, I heard a talk by Li Schoolland, a Chinese-American business woman, who is the Director of External Relations Asia Pacific for the Acton Institute. She fled China in 1984, having survived Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution.She made the case that China, not the US, is the “paper tiger”. What did she mean and what does it imply for investors and the Chinese economy?China is in troubleThe expression “paper tiger” is used to describe something that appears powerful or threatening, but is in fact weak and vulnerable. The term was made famous by the notorious chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, in 1957. He said: “All the reputedly powerful reactionaries are merely paper tigers.

When I look at the things fossil fuels have made possible for mankind, I sometimes shake my head and wonder why we loathe them so much.The energy created by fossil fuels have opened up so many possibilities for so many people. We can go just about anywhere, quickly and safely. It really is possible to experience the whole world. The trading opportunities that have opened us mean the whole world can be brought to us, without our having to leave our warm, safe, well lit homes. We live longer, better, safer lives thanks to fossil fuels. We can communicate with anyone anywhere. We have instant access to unlimited information. Billions have been brought out of poverty thanks to this unique, low-cost, reliable energy source. We enjoy lives and luxuries even the most decadent figures in history from Marie Antoinette to Caligula could never have dreamed of. Life expectancy has rocketed, As Alex Epstein says, and poverty has plummeted.We still have a long way to go, of course. Perfection has not yet been attained

It’s a touchy subject, to put it mildly, but today we consider UK demographics. What will the UK population look like in 2035? Very different from today is the answer, if primary schools are anything to go by. Some Sunday morning food for thought. Listen now. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Listen now | A surprisingly reliable 18-year cycle in the UK property market says house prices will crash in 2026. Dominic Frisby explains how it works. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

An independent Scotland could become the richest country on earth. I’m not joking. It has all the necessary ingredients. Let me explain.Each year the World Bank, the IMF and the CIA each independently publish a list of the richest countries in the world - as measured by GDP per capita at purchasing power parity.The UK sits at a rather disappointing 26th but topping those rankings, year after year, you have the likes of Qatar, Luxembourg, Singapore, Brunei, Norway and Switzerland.(I’m discounting Ireland because its figures are distorted by the number of corporations domiciled there)Some of these nations have got on that laist thanks to their oil. But oil isn’t everything – otherwise the likes of Saudi Arabia (17th), Russia (57th) or Iran (65th) or Venezuela (don’t know) would feature.Others have got there because they are financial or commercial centres. But the same regulatory options that have enabled them to be so are open to other countries - they have just not been adopted.T

Listen now | House prices have soared in recent years. But what, asks Dominic Frisby, if you look at them using a more durable form of money – gold? Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Here’s something to contemplate this Sunday morning: where are rates going?In many ways it’s the most important question in finance - the biggest question in investing: what is the future price of money going to be?Policy makers are caught between a very big rock and a very hard place. Official UK inflation stands at 8.5%. It’s higher if you use the traditional RPI as a measure. But real inflation is much higher still. Official measures only look at the price of goods and services, which are mostly prone to the deflationary forces of increased productivity. If you include things like house prices and financial assets inflation is much, much higher - over 10%. The same argument applies pretty much everywhere across the developed world.Looked at another way, money is losing value at over 10% per year. The same salary in a year’s time will effectively be 10% lower in that it will buy you 10% less . The purchasing power of your savings will be 10% lower. The already extraordinarily la

If you want to listen to this article, you can via the button above. “Look at what they do, not at what they say.”If you are seeking truth of any kind, this is a great maxim to live by - particularly when it comes to politicians. And lovers.And indeed mining CEOs.My advice today is to apply the maxim to your author, because there is a marked divergence between what I say on the subject of gold mining companies and what I actually do.We’ll start with what I say…Here’s why everyone believes that gold miners are a leveraged play on goldTalk to any grizzled goldbug who remembers the 1930s – there must be one or two that were there at the time – and one or two more that have read about them. In the US, the story went as follows. After the stock market crash of 1929, the US sunk into an economic recession that became known as the Great Depression. In order to fund a government stimulus programme, the President, Franklin D Roosevelt, confiscated his citizens’ gold

Commodity prices have started to cool – with the exception of one industrial metal that is in short supply but is an essential ingredient in almost everything. Dominic Frisby looks at copper.The Substack picks are here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Was that the high? The pound moves in an eight-year cycle, and in its next cycle, it may have nowhere to go but down.Click here to view the charts at frisby.substack.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Commodities from gold to oil have fallen dramatically after weeks of strong gains. What might be next for commodity prices? Check out The Flying Frisby on Substack See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

In which I look at the commodities Russia produces, how markets have been affected by its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, and what the investment implications are for youSubstack is here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Today’s Special Report is about one of my biggest single positions. It represents one of the largest investments I have ever made. It is a gold miner, a “late stage development play” that is on the verge of becoming a mid-tier producer. Within three years, it is going to have three producing mines.More here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

The price of gold has come within a whisker of its record high. Dominic Frisby looks at where it might go from here.Substack is here See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

China almost certainly owns a lot more gold than anyone else –including the USA. But how much? And why does it need so much gold? Dominic Frisby explains.You can see all the charts on my Substack. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Inflation, war, currency debasement – the world is changing fast and investors need to adapt. That means owning both gold and bitcoin, says Dominic Frisby.Check out my new Substack, The Flying Frisby See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

As Russia invaded Ukraine, the price of gold shot up spectacularly. But it couldn't hold on to all of its gains. Where does it go next?Check out the Substack. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Successful investors must be patient, finding a balance between doing nothing and sudden, decisive action. And there's no better role model than Sir John Templeton.Check out my Substack. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Just pimping my new letter on Substack. Please check it out ... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe

Sorry about the wind on this one, but ... If you want to make money investing, you need to buy stocks when they’re cheap. And right now, says Dominic Frisby, there’s nowhere cheaper than Russia. Here’s how to play it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Get full access to The Flying Frisby at frisby.substack.com/subscribe