by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
What happens if the Deep State pursues the usual pathological path of increasing repression? The system it feeds on decays and collapses.
Catch-22 (from the 1961 novel set in World War II Catch-22) has several shades of meaning (bureaucratic absurdity, for example), but at heart it is a self-referential paradox: you must be insane to be excused from flying your mission, but requesting to be excused by reason of insanity proves you’re sane.
The Deep State in virtually every major nation-state is facing a form of Catch-22: the Deep State needs the nation-state to feed on and support its power, and the nation-state requires stability above all else to survive the vagaries of history.
The only possible output of extreme wealth inequality is social and economic instability.
Beginning in 2010, central banks around the world turned from being net sellers of gold to net buyers of gold. Last year they collectively added 483 tonnes—the second largest annual total since the end of the gold standard—with Russia and China accounting for most of the activity. The second half of 2015 saw the most robust purchasing on record, according to the World Gold Council (WGC).
Economist and best-selling author Harry S. Dent Jr., returns with positive comments on the PMs sector; the gold market follows the commodities cycle, which continues to advance. Every investor should allocate 5-10% gold / silver to to their portfolio to improve investment diversification. In addition, PMs bargain hunting is in vogue, amid news of huge losses related to security issues in the Bitcoin encryption methodology. The positive trend in US equities is directly correlated to negative rates – investors have few options other than chasing risk to boost expected returns. Nevertheless, our guest suggests that weakening economic conditions will persist, which could lead to a new round of QE4 and subsequent inflation.
Germany is repatriating its gold reserves from the New York Federal Reserve. This decision has created a frenzy in the gold market. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.
From 
With the bulk of the earnings season now over, the second quarter of 2016 marks the seventh consecutive quarter of falling earnings — but investors are now turning their focus to the future.
Noah Smith has acknowledged the failings of mainstream macroeconomics, but he says that none of the “outside ideas” offer a better replacement. He failed to mention the Austrian school, but we can still show how the Austrian tradition parries his criticisms with ease.
Data for housing starts and industrial production are due out Tuesday, but even if both pointed toward recession, it’s doubtful they’ll have much impact on investors who have already shrugged off four straight quarters of falling corporate earnings.
For all the hand-wringing about the threat to liberty and constitutional government posed by the major party presidential candidates, there is little discussion of how this threat is due to the political class’s long history of supporting expanded presidential power. There is also little talk of how the imperial presidency is just as much a creation of Congress as it is of power-hungry presidents.
With gold and silver still consolidating recent gains, one of the legends in the business warned a panic to own physical gold is coming.
Noah Smith over at Noahpinion does 
Why would anyone worth several billion dollars want to be elected President at age 74?