WTFinance

Interview recorded - 7th of April, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Doomberg.

During our conversation we spoke about OPEX flexing their muscles, how the US is driving enemies together, how Europe made it through the winter and the manipulation of Bitcoin prices. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introductions 
0:10 - Is OPEC flexing their muscles or showing their weakness?
3:00 - Will OPEC members comply with cuts?
5:15 - US driving enemies together
7:40 - NAFTA an economic superpower
8:55 - Increase of energy production in the US?
11:30 - Strategic foreign policy or constant missteps?
13:40 - How did Europe get through Winter and what does that mean for the next one?
17:30 - What we see in energy prices?
20:30 - Shift towards energy security?
23:50 - Essential commodities dropping in price?
26:10 - The influence CZ has on Crypto prices
32:40 - Signature Bank failed because Crypto exposure?
34:00 - Other banks under pressure?
35:23 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

The group started writing Doomberg in May of 2021 to highlight the fundamentals missing from many economic and policy decisions, and it quickly grew to be one of the most widely read finance newsletters on Substack.

This publication is their passion, and the content is borne out of the team’s deep experience in heavy industry, private equity, and the hard sciences. Family offices and c-suite executives hired them to deliver innovative thinking and clarity to complex problems – they operate as though their subscribers share those same expectations.

Read their full bio here - https://doomberg.substack.com/about

Doomberg - 

Substack - https://doomberg.substack.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/DoombergT

WTFinance 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 6th of April, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I have the pleasure of welcoming back Marc Faber, Editor and Publisher of the “Gloom, Boom & Doom Report”.

During our conversation we talked about the risk of a decade long bear market and whether they peaked in 2021, whether the US time as a world power had ended, who would be the next world hegemony and potential outperformance of emerging markets. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:22 - Marc’s current thoughts about the markets?
5:05 - Why will we see a downturn?
7:00 - Inflation adjusted equity market peak?
9:30 - Why have equity markets peaked?
12:50 - End of the US as a world power?
17:07 - Move away from the US Dollar?
21:00 - Further banking collapses?
24:10 - Change in city dynamic?
26:25 - Who will become the next world hegemony?
30:15 - Which emerging markets look interesting?
32:55 - Latin American countries cheap?
36:30 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

Dr Marc Faber was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He went to school in Geneva and Zurich and finished high school with the Matura. He studied Economics at the University of Zurich and, at the age of 24, obtained a PhD in Economics magna cum laude.

Between 1970 and 1978, Dr Faber worked for White Weld & Company Limited in New York, Zurich and Hong Kong. Since 1973, he has lived in Hong Kong. From 1978 to February 1990, he was the Managing Director of Drexel Burnham Lambert (HK) Ltd. 

In June 1990, he set up his own business, publishing a widely read monthly investment newsletter “THE GLOOM BOOM & DOOM” report which highlights unusual investment opportunities.

He is also the author of several books including “TOMORROW’S GOLD – Asia’s Age of Discovery” which was first published in 2002 and highlights future investment opportunities around the world. “TOMORROW’S GOLD” was for several weeks on Amazon’s best seller list and has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Thai and German.

Dr. Faber is also a regular contributor to several leading financial publications around the world.

A book on Dr Faber, “RIDING THE MILLENNIAL STORM”, by Nury Vittachi, was published in 1998.

A regular speaker at various investment seminars, Dr Faber is well known for his “contrarian” investment approach.

Marc Faber -

Website - https://www.gloomboomdoom.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/gloomboomdoom?lang=en
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-faber-gloomboomdoom/?originalSubdomain=hk

WTFinance -

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 5th of April, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Alasdair Macleod - Head of Research at Goldmoney, Educator for sound money and demystifying finance and economics.

During our conversation we spoke about why interest rates are so important in the current scheme of things, how current events impact the banking industry, the end game of current debt system and what this means for precious metal prices. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:16 - Alasdair’s current thoughts on the market
8:10 - Deposits being withdrawn from banks
10:38 - How does this effect the banking industry?
16:15 - Whose fault is the banking collapse?
21:19 - End game of current debt system?
27:10 - Any historical examples of devaluation of a currency?
32:50 - Will all fiat currencies devalue?
37:55 - Why have precious metals prices increased?
44:20 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

Alasdair Macleod is Head of Research for GoldMoney. He is an educator and advocates for sound money through demystifying finance and economics. His background includes being a stockbroker, banker, and economist.

Alasdair Macleod started his career as a stockbroker in 1970 on the London Stock Exchange. Within nine years, he had risen to become senior partner of his firm.

Subsequently, he held positions at the director level in investment management and worked as a mutual fund manager. Mr. Macleod also worked at a bank in Guernsey as an executive director.

For most of his 40 years in the finance industry, he has been demystifying macroeconomic events for his investing clients. The accumulation of this experience has convinced him that unsound monetary policies are the most destructive weapon governments use against the common man. Accordingly, his mission is to educate and inform the public in layman's terms what governments do with money and how to protect themselves from the consequences.

Alasdair Macleod - 

Website - https://www.goldmoney.com/
Blog - https://www.goldmoney.com/research/legal-definitions-of-money-and-credit
Recent Article - https://www.goldmoney.com/research/time-to-trash-triffin
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MacleodFinance
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-macleod-9494b27/

WTFinance -

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Thumbnail picture from - https://news.bitcoin.com/investor-richard-mills-says-economy-is-rushing-into-a-us-dollar-crisis-of-epic-proportions/

Interview recorded - 3rd of April, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Matthew Piepenburg, 

During our conversation we spoke about whether the FED has control over the debt market, Risk of US Dollar losing its hegemony, what happens with a debt collapse and the winners and losers of such an event. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:45 - Can the current situation get worse?
7:45 - Does the FED have control over the debt market?
11:55 - Risk of International US Dollars flooding the country?
16:55 - US becoming the common enemy
12:25 - US threat has lost its bite
22:45 - What collateral will replace US Treasuries?
29:20 - What happens with a debt collapse
33:45 - Which countries will be the winners?
37:50 - Investing on Commodities?
42:30 - Commodities detach from trends?
44:50 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

With over 20 years of experience as the General Counsel and, later, CIO of a highly-capitalized single family office (J.H. Johnson); as the Managing Director of a multi-billion, multi‐family office (Massey Quick & Co); and as the Managing Director to a multi-manager hedge fund specializing in managed futures, long/short credit trades and global macro dynamics), Matt has overseen the allocation of over $5 billion in investable assets over a full range of portfolios and alternative investment vehicles.

He has lead the quantitative and qualitative due diligence on hundreds of diverse hedge fund managers and strategies and has developed a unique expertise as to the best practices and diverse strategies of the world’s premier investment funds.

Matt graduated from Brown University, with highest honors (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). He holds a Master’s degree and Juris Doctor from Harvard University and the University of Michigan respectively. Fluent in French and German, (having also worked at Dresdner Bank, Frankfurt) he is the author of numerous international white papers on macro conditions, asset classes and global risk management strategies.

Following his engagements with family offices, Matt became involved in structuring an launching hedge funds working closely with Morgan Stanley in selecting, allocating, and sizing the diverse, top-quartile portfolio managers which comprise a zero-beta multi-manager fund. With over two decades of experience investing in alternative investment vehicles, including selection of the managers within the aforementioned fund, Matt contributes a deep understanding of the strategies employed by carefully vetted managers and has an equally extensive grasp of constructing uncorrelated, multi-product/security portfolios around market themes with an omnipresent focus on market analysis and risk management.

Matt’s collective expertise has forged a strong understanding of macro forces and their essential role in selecting the most efficient and timely strategies for long term asset preservation and growth in current conditions and those to come. His widely acclaimed and user-friendly blogs, straight-talk and conservative/defensive approach to investing are invaluable components of the Signals Matter community.

Matthew Piepenburg - 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewpiepenburg/
Books - https://amzn.to/3Ujf9M6
Signals Matter - https://www.signalsmatter.com/matthew-piepenburg/
Gold Switzerland - https://goldswitzerland.com/author/matthew-piepenburg/

WTFinance -

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview Recorded - 31st of March, 2023

On today's episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of welcoming back Clive Thompson, a retired Wealth Manager from Switzerland. 

During our conversation we spoke about what was behind the recent bank collapses, commercial real estate the next concern, what this means for the world of banking, how the FED can continue with unrealised losses and whether a BRICs currency could replaced the US Dollar. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
1:40 - What is behind the recent bank collapses
10:30 - Commercial Real Estate the next issue?
15:50 - Most inflated real estate cities to drop
18:20 - Which banks have the most exposure to commercial real estate?
19:30 - What does this mean for the world of banking?
21:25 - Further concentration in largest companies?
32:40 - Could the FED go bankrupt?
40:10 - What does a pivot mean for currency and monetary system?
43:05 - How bad would BRICS currency be for US Dollar?
44:50 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

Clive has 47 years of experience in finance & wealth management. This encompasses structuring and advice relating to quoted investments, Private Equity investments, family businesses, tax, residency, real estate, inheritance, Wills, legal, lending, Trusts, Companies and Foundations and all kinds of personal and private advice. He has been actively involved for decades in the arena of Trust structures. This often involved negotiating and discussing the contracts relating to the sale of family companies.

Clive's latest position before retirement was as Managing Director in the Anglophone Private Clients Department of Union Bancaire Privée, UBP SA, based in Geneva. He was responsible for wealth management services provided to a small number of wealthy English and French speaking families.

Clive continues to remain very active in the world of wealth, with a strong focus on Private Equity, and direct Equity Investing via the global stock markets. His passion is the financial analysis of Balance Sheets, P&Ls, Cash Flow and business projections. Clive loves examining business opportunities, like Private Equity, and digging into the fundamentals of quoted companies to achieve a market beating performance.

Clive Thompson - 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/clive-thompson-661997251/
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9aye4wQ8Ok

WTFinance - 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 31st of March, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Rafi Farber, The @endgameinvestor .

During our conversation we spoke about the further banking collapses, why this could lead to a $100 trillion government bailout, what this means for inflation and what is currently happening in precious metals. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
1:07 - Current Take on what is happening at the moment?
4:20 - Derivatives to collapse another Systemic Bank?
8:10 - Trillion Dollar Bailout?
10:38 - Could Shadow Banking system lead to further pain?
13:25 - Last market push up?
16:15 - M2 money supply the key metric to watch?
17:40 - Chinese Yuan to reduce US hegemony?
20:50 - What would an economic restructure look like?
22:30 - Precious metal producers to be wealthiest countries?
24:15 - What is happening in precious metals?
26:10 - Correlation of commodities with markets no more?
28:40 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

Rafi Farber -

YouTube -   @endgameinvestor  
Seeking Alpha - https://seekingalpha.com/checkout?service_id=mp_1347
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/endgameinvestor
Twitter - https://twitter.com/RafiFarber

WTFinance -

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview recorded - 27th of March, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Robert Bryce - An author, journalist, podcaster, film producer and public speaker with other 30 years experience in the energy and electricity markets.

During our conversation we spoke about what is currently happening in the electricity landscape, whether Europe can make it through the next winter, current red flags in the markets and what this means for our future. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:16 - What is currently happening in the electricity landscape?
2:37 - Why is the energy market regional?
4:00 - Some fuels more efficient to transport than others
5:30 - Asia moving to coal?
7:20 - Energy shift?
9:25 - Is the US in a different boat?
12:00 - Policy pushing investment away from gas?
13:15 - Can Europe survive another Winter?
15:08 - Secular shift away from Europe due to energy security fears?
16:10 - Gas arbitrage between US & the rest of the world
18:00 - Convergence on price?
19:30 - Coal a stop gap for energy security in the short term until nuclear?
21:28 - Uranium challenges due to Russian conflict?
23:00 - Main red flags in the energy markets?
25:38 - Everything will cost more in the future
27:47 - Friendly energy & manufacturing countries to prosper
29:00 - One message to take away from our conversation?

Robert Bryce is a Texas-based author, journalist, podcaster, film producer, and public speaker.  Over the past three decades, his articles have appeared in numerous publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, National Review, Field & Stream, and Austin Chronicle.

His new documentary, Juice: How Electricity Explains the World, which he produced along with Austin-based film director Tyson Culver, was released in mid-2020 and is now available on numerous streaming platforms including: iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vimeo, YouTube, Xbox, and Vudu. A review of Juice in Birth. Movies. Death said the message of the film “is delivered with ease and precision through smooth editing, narration, and interviews with succinct information from the past, present, and potential ideas for the future. Filled with beautiful aerial shots and poignant scenes on par with images out of National Geographic magazine, Culver’s documentary debut is enlightening and powerful.”

Bryce has published six books. His first book, Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron, received rave reviews and was named one of the best non-fiction books of 2002 by Publishers Weekly. His second book, Cronies: Oil, the Bushes, and the Rise of Texas, America’s Superstate, was published in 2004. His third book, Gusher of Lies: The Dangerous Delusions of “Energy Independence,” published in March 2008, was favorably reviewed by more than 20 media outlets. The American magazine called Gusher “a strong and much-needed dose of reality.” A review of Gusher by William Grimes of the New York Times said that Bryce “reveals himself in the end as something of a visionary and perhaps even a revolutionary.”

In 2010, Bryce published Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy, and the Real Fuels of the Future.

Robert Bryce -

Website - https://robertbryce.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/pwrhungry
YouTube -  @RobertBryce  

WTFinance - 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Thumbnail image from - https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2022/12/beating-the-european-energy-crisis-Zettelmeyer

Interview recorded - 22nd of March, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Gregory Mannarino, “The Robin Hood of Wall Street” and Founder of Traders Choice. 

During our conversation we spoke about the current banking crisis, how this could lead to a debt meltdown, what this means for personal freedom and how you can protect your wealth during such a situation. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:15 - What is Greg’s opinion on the banking crisis?
2:40 - US regional banking system is unique
3:35 - Consolidation of the banking system
6:00 - How are central banks removing liquidity
8:20 - Could there be protests against bank bail outs?
9:54 - FED balance sheet growing
11:15 - Treasuries and government bonds caused the current problem
12:13 - Can markets hold up with current issues?
16:09 - Unrealised losses on balance sheets
19:00 - Race for the door
21:55 - What will the catalyst for the next crisis?
24:15 - Will the FED be the one bank in the US?
27:30 - Assets to protect wealth during a debt crisis?
30:40 - One message to takeaway from our conversation?

Gregory Mannarino, also known as "The Robin Hood Of Wall Street," is an active/full time trader of the capital markets with a world-wide following.

Born on July 22, 1965, he became interested in "Wall Street," like many others at the time, in 1987 after seeing the movie Wall Street with Michael Douglas. Around that time he was able to get an entry level position, then subsequently to the trading floor,  at the now defunct bank Bear Stearns, but within a relatively short time realized that working on Wall Street was not like the movies and moved on. 

He went on to get a medical degree and practiced medicine as a Physician Assistant beginning in 1996, now retired from practice. He also served in the United States Naval Reserve Medical Service Corps, having attained the rank of Lieutenant. Gregory even published a book on casino Blackjack strategies years later, and was banned from playing the game in Las Vegas casinos.

Gregory Mannarino - 

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/GregoryMannarino
Traders Choice - https://traderschoice.net/

WTFinance -

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/wtfinancee/
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview Recorded - 16th of March, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Michael Kao, a Private investor with 30 years experience and author of the great newsletter Kaoboy Musings.

During our conversation we spoke about what is happening with the banking crisis, whether shadow banks will be at risk, if China could be the canary in the coal mind, structural inflation for longer and what this mean for assets moving forward. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction 
1:38 - What is currently happening with the bank crisis?
9:08 - Are Central Banks willing to do whatever it takes to save banks?
15:34 - Illiquid asset funds at risk?
21:38 - Can banks save themselves?
24:13 - Why will interest rates and inflations be higher for longer?
30:28 - When will supply singularity occur and will it be in all commodity markets?
35:18 - What assets will perform during an inflationary, commodity period?
39:58 - What indicators will tell Michael when we are at the bottom?
45:28 - Which Central Banks will be more dovish?
48:08 - Where do find Michael’s work?

Mike has been in the investment business for ~30 years and has experience analyzing and investing in many markets and asset classes, spanning commodities to credit to convertible/capital structure/event arbitrage to distressed debt/equity investing. 

Mike began his career in the commodities unit at J. Aron/Goldman Sachs in NYC in the early 90’s and traded over 25 different commodity markets and their derivatives. Mike left Goldman to pursue an MBA in Finance at The Wharton School. 

After business school, Mike joined Canyon Partners, a credit-oriented hedge fund in Los Angeles, where he went on to become partner and co-founder of the Canyon Arbitrage Fund, which focused on various strategies including convertible and capital structure arbitrage as well as event-driven/risk arbitrage.

After 5 years at Canyon, Mike decided to leave Canyon and begin his own investment firm, Akanthos Capital Management, LLC. At Akanthos, Mike ran an opportunistic, value-driven investment strategy that looked for “fulcrum securities” up and down the capital structure. 

Mike stopped actively managing external capital in 2019 and now invests primarily for his family office and enjoys blogging about the markets and economy on Substack at urbankaoboy.substack.com and Twitter @UrbanKaoboy. 

Mike holds a BS in Electrical Engineering/Computer Science from UC, Berkeley and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Kao - 

Substack - https://urbankaoboy.substack.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/UrbanKaoboy
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaomichael/

WTFinance - 

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG92PNBW0doLyPvfn
iTunes -https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wtfinance/id1554934665?uo=4
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-fatseas-761066103/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/AnthonyFatseas

Interview Recorded - 9th of March, 2023

On todays episode of the WTFinance podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with Ted Seidle, a former SEC attorney.

His firm, Benchmark Financial Services, Inc. has pioneered over $1 trillion in forensic investigations of the money management industry. He’s nationally recognized as an authority on pensions and investment management matters, having testified before the Senate Banking Committee regarding fund scandals and is an expert in various Madoff-related and other litigations.

Ted's new Substack - https://pensionwarriorsdwardsiedle.substack.com/

During our conversation we spoke about the current pension system, why they have underperformed the market, whether they could collapse and how this could impact the markets. I hope you enjoy!

0:00 - Introduction
0:15 - What is currently happening in the pension system?
3:13 - How do pensions work and why would company not want to pay pension?
8:00 - Why have pensions underperformed?
11:25 - No incentive for pension managers to change
14:40 - Why has the pension system not changed?
17:15 - Could pension funds collapse?
21:00 - Issues with illiquid investments
24:00 - Pension red flags
28:00 - Will pensions run out of money?
31:50 - How will pension crisis impact markets?
33:40 - One message to take away from conversation?

Ted Siedle -

Website - https://siedlelawoffices.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/EdwardSiedle?
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-si...

WTFinance -

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/67rpmjG...
iTunes -