Private Briefing with Dr. Marc Faber
The US is on a collision course, according to the Editor and Publisher of The Gloom, Boom, and Doom Report. Plus, what we can learn from the Opium Wars, the Roman Empire and Japan's bubble.
Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Laramie Wyoming
Dear Reader,
On Monday I sat down to interview long-time colleague Dr. Marc Faber for our latest Private Briefing. I’d planned to send it out to you on Sunday, where you’d have plenty of time to read (or watch) our conversation. But there’s so much to digest in the Briefing I’ve decided to send it to you today.
You can watch the video below or read the transcript that follows.
Bill and Tom had specific questions I put to Dr. Faber. One was about whether China had a plan to back its currency (or a BRICS currency) with gold. The other was why Japan is the only country in recent history to have a massive debt-to-GDP ratio (currently 263%) without having a currency crisis or a bond market crash.
Dr. Faber pointed out that the Japanese Yen is currently testing levels against the US dollar it last saw in 1990. The currency crisis may be here. But unlike the United States today, where the debt-to-GDP ratio is just under 130%, Japan was able to fund its deficit spending largely from domestic savings and central bank purchases of government bonds.
In other words, when it comes to avoiding a financial crisis caused by unsustainable government debt, Japan is the exception. Not the rule.
Dr. Faber has surprising advice for investors looking to protect their capital over the next ten years. Please enjoy his wide-ranging interview and leave your comments or questions below.
Regards,
Dan
PS Private Briefings with outside experts and analysts are included with your paid subscription to Bonner Private Research. They are normally published on Sunday, after your weekly research notes from Investment Director Tom Dyson (on Wednesdays) and myself (on Fridays).
The following transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Dan Denning: Welcome back to Bonner Private Research. I'm Dan Denning here in Laramie, Wyoming, and for our latest private briefing, I have a pleasant surprise. I'm joined by Dr. Marc Faber. Marc is the editor and the publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report.
And in the interest of full disclosure, I should say I've been reading Marc's report for I think over 25 years now, and we often talk about the big picture and connecting the dots between politics, economics, geography, and history, and I can tell you there's no one who's better at it than Dr. Faber, so it's a real treat to have you here today and thank you for joining us.
Dr. Marc Faber: Thank you for the advertising. We have to remain modest.
Dan Denning: Well, your reputation precedes you and it's been a pleasure. We've been working with you for a long time. Before we got on the air today, I sent a note to my colleagues, Bill Bonner, whom you know, and Tom Dyson, who's my co-editor here at Bonner Private Research, and Bill and Tom both had questions for you.
I wanted to lead with Tom's question because I think our readers are very interested in both gold and China, which is close to the part of the world you're in.
Tom's question to you was, "What is going on with China in gold? Does China see gold as a superior store of wealth to US Treasury bonds or are they planning at some point to back their currency with gold?" So what are your thoughts on what China is doing with gold right now?