Does the Federal Reserve want independence to serve the interests of the banker class? What role has the Federal Reserve played in US politics, and how does it enable the U.S. government's out-of-control spending? Why should the Fed be banned from purchasing assets?

I had a fascinating conversation with Ryan McMaken. Ryan is a U.S. economist and the executive editor at the Mises Institute. In his podcast, Loot & Lobby, Ryan focuses on the intersection of US politics and economics.

Ryan and I discussed whether the Trump administration would seek Jerome Powell's resignation, how the Fed has been enabling government spending on programs that do not benefit the American people, its role as a servant of the banker class, and, ultimately, whether the Federal Reserve should be abolished.

Ryan noted that we are living in a world where the “Fed is the economy” and we need to get away from that.

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▪️YouTube

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The development of Project mBRIDGE was initiated by China, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the UAE in 2021 through the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub. The blockchain-based infrastructure has been crucial for the development of an alternative financial system that is expected to facilitate the BRICS+ bloc’s cross-border settlements in local currencies.

Recently the BIS top executive, Augusten Carstens, announced that the BIS, “the central bank for all central banks”, can no longer work with sanctioned countries. Thus, the BIS is shutting down Project mBRIDGE.

What does the BIS move to shut down the blockchain-based project mean for the BRICS+ bloc? Will it become a major setback in its process to develop a just, alternative financial settlement platform? What role will China assume in the development of mBRIDGE and other systems designed to transact in local currencies?

I had a very interesting conversation with Dr. Warwick Powell, an Adjunct Professor at Queensland University in Australia who is working at the intersection of digital technologies, supply chains, and global political economy & governance. Warwick and I discussed the functionality of mBRIDGE and why it is a significant project for the Global South, how the BIS shutting it down will impact the BRICS’ capabilities and future plans, what Brazil’s chairmanship in 2025 will bring for the association’s future, Lula’s absence at the 2024 Annual Summit in Kazan and more!

The video interview is available on:

▪️YouTube

▪️Rumble

▪️Patreon

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Here are some recommendations for what you might have missed this week.

🌏 Labor Market Meltdown: October Jobs Report Shows a -112,000 Revision to Prior Months as Hiring Halts

• October added 12,000 jobs (absolutely insignificant and likely to be revised)

• August was revised down by 81,000, from +159,000 to +78,000

• September was revised down by 31,000, from +254,000 to +223,000

🌏 42% Surge in Layoffs Signals US Labor Market Is Tanking

• The share of workers voluntarily quitting their jobs dropped to 1.9 percent in September, the lowest since the 2020 pandemic. Outside of the pandemic, this is the lowest level in 9 years and the largest decline since the 2008 Financial Crisis.

• The hiring rate decreased from 4.6 percent to 3.5 percent, the lowest since April 2020.

  

• There were 7.4 million job openings in the US in September, the lowest number of openings since January 2021

  

🌏 G7 vs. BRICS: EU's Disaster, Economic Decline & Political Crisis, Rise of Global South

I invited Prof. Steve Hanke for a conversation about the decline of the G7 and the rise of the Global South.

Dr. Hanke commented that the European Union’s collapse is largely driven by its biggest economy, Germany, sabotaging itself with the ban on imports of Russia’s natural resources that are vital for its industrial capacity as well as its short-sighted domestic and foreign policies. Dr. Hanke noted Germany is a “disaster” in the near term as its de-industrialization is just beginning. Further, we discussed the US uniparty system, political gain vs economic reason, and the role of natural resources in the rise of the global South. This is a must-watch interview for those interested in global economics.

🌏 Federal government continues to spend, spend, spend…

Government spending spiked 9.7 percent in Q3 2024 quarter over quarter.

Read more

I had an excellent and very insightful conversation with Dr. Steve Hanke, whom I invited back on the show to discuss the rise of the global South as economies of the G7 group are expected to continue their free fall.

The latest IMF forecast indicates that developing economies are expected to grow at a faster pace than those of the G7: the US forecasted economic growth is 2.7% compared to India’s 6.8%, Russia’s 3.2%, and China’s 4.6%.

When speaking about the global South, Dr. Hanke noted that many Latin American countries need a stable currency to achieve successful economic reforms and improve their standards of living. Outside of the BRICS+, Dr. Hanke said that the poorest countries in Latin America could benefit from introducing the dollar as a way to boost economic activity. However, he added that the US foreign policy is backfiring as the weaponization of the US dollar will continue to drive countries of the BRICS alliance away from the global reserve currency.

Thank you for being part of the community! Consider becoming a paid subscriber to support my work and to gain access to members-only content:

Subscribe now

Dr. Hanke commented that the European Union’s collapse is largely driven by its biggest economy, Germany, sabotaging itself with the ban on imports of Russia’s natural resources that are vital for its industrial capacity as well as short-sighted domestic and foreign policies. Dr. Hanke noted Germany is a “disaster” in the near term as its de-industrialization is just beginning.

Further, we discussed the US uniparty system, political gain vs economic reason, and the role of natural resources in the rise of the global South. This is a must-watch interview for those who are interested in learning more about global economics.

The video interview is available on:

• YouTube

• Rumble

• Patreon

Stay in Touch: YouTube | Rumble | Locals | Patreon | X | Telegram

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Here are some recommendations for what you might have missed this week.

🌏 Without a doubt, the biggest event of the week was the historic BRICS+ summit in Kazan, Russia.

I’ve covered the event extensively over the course of the week:

• I spoke to one of the leading economic experts on the BRICS bloc, Yaroslav Lissovolik, who personally attended events held in Moscow as part of the BRICS+ initiatives.

  Yaroslav discussed the BRICS+ blockchain-based payment platform and the role that the Bank for International Settlements plays in the process. In the interview, he highlighted the fact that it would be best for the bloc to use a basket of local currencies instead of a single currency due to associated risks. He noted that once the blockchain platform is launched, central banks of sovereign states would play an active role in managing the system and its capabilities within each state. I had a great time speaking with Yaroslav and learning more about the economic aspects of the alliance.

  Watch the interview with Yaroslav Lissovolik on YouTube or Rumble.

  

• The BRICS+ bloc issued a Declaration in Kazan. Read more about its key points here.

• The bloc announced admission of 13 new partners, indicating its plans to expand in the near future as the full members conduct further consultations with these new partner-states to determine whether they are ready to become full-members. I recorded a very detailed video about the new partners and related future prospects. Watch the video on YouTube or Rumble.

• One of the newly admitted members of the BRICS bloc, the United Arab Emirates, has become Russia’s biggest trade partner in the Middle East. The trade between the two states tripled since 2021. This is quite fascinating considering that just several years ago, similar examples of South-South cooperation were rare. Watch the video with more details on YouTube or Rumble.

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🌏 Clearly, the BRICS summit and the recent developments that indicate a global shift towards multipolarity has the State Department concerned.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel:

"Undermining the role of the dollar and developing alternatives to SWIFT is a direct threat to democracy in the world."

🌏 This week the International Monetary Fund (finally!) shared an opinion on the policymakers’ obsession with protectionist measures.

“It’s a policy that is harming basically everyone,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s top economist, said of the risk of higher trade barriers. “It’s harming the rest of the world. It’s harming the US.”

The IMF cautioned that if higher tariffs hit a “sizable portion” of world trade by mid-2025, it would wipe 0.8 percent from economic output next year and 1.3 percent in 2026.

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