Blindspot #032 – Shortages & warnings of pitchfork revolutions by Martin Armstrong

Watch Blindspot #032

Blindspot #032 – Shortages & warnings of pitchfork revolutions by Martin Armstrong Buiteboer // Dr Petrus de Kock 

23/3/22 

It is not only World War III, but, World Economic War, on the world population’s collective stomach, and corporate ‘bottom lines’…

It would seem, if one goes by the (un)intended consequences, and fall-out created in global markets, by the ‘war’ to sanction and isolate Russia ‘back to the stone age,’ by those opposed to its military operation in Ukraine, that it is not aimed at Russia alone, but is evidently a war on people’s stomachs, gas tanks, global energy supplies, and ultimately everyone outside Ukraine and Russia, who have just about nothing to do with it in the first instance. More importantly, those cheering on these actions must know, they are feeding the inflationary monsters growing in global markets that can only lead to collective demise.  

This Blindspot will illustrate the point by zooming in on a few recent headlines. 

I

Martin Armstrong, from Armstrong Economics, interviewed by Alex Jones, warns of a financial market collapse of unheard of proportions in the making. He indicates, for example, that:

  • It has become so bad, that top banks in New York, will not lend against European sovereign debt any longer, a situation in place since 2019. 
  • One of the reasons being that Europe has been running on negative interest rates (and QE/money printing) since 2014, and that this has not led to any positive stimulus to the economy, in fact, Europe’s economic outlook has only deteriorated. 
  • Martin Armstrong indicates that by law, in Europe, pension funds have to purchase government debt. Due to the prevailing negative interest rate environment, Armstrong argues that these pension funds are essentially already bankrupt. Leading him to warn of a Frankenstein scenario of people storming their parliaments with pitch forks if (and when) the inevitable collapse catches up with Joe and Jane Public. 

II

In South Africa with an article from Moneyweb, anticipating that energy markets, natural gas, and oil, will remain volatile with prices tracking upwards as the USA and EU are expected to announce more sanctions against Russia. This has already proven to be catastrophic for not Russia, but citizens in Europe facing extreme energy uncertainty and costs escalating at eye-popping levels. We will get to this below. 

III

France24, on 17 March, in an article –  War in Ukraine sparks concerns over worldwide food shortages, brings some frightening prospects to the fore pertaining to not only current, and looming food shortages, but the geopolitical and social stability impact it will have. Quotes from the article:

  • “On March 14, the UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning about the wider threats of the war in Ukraine: world hunger. “We must do everything possible to avert a hurricane of hunger and a meltdown of the global food system,” he said. The comment echoed a similar concern voiced by David Beasley, the head of the World Food Programme, just a few days earlier: “The bullets and bombs in Ukraine could take the global hunger crisis to catastrophic levels. Supply chains and food prices will be dramatically impacted,” he said.
  • “Already in the very first days of the Russian invasion “the agricultural markets [in the region] overreacted and anticipated wheat supply problems, leading to a surge in prices,” Abis explained, noting the price for a tonne of wheat was now at the historic level of €400. Before the conflict it cost €280 and in the spring of 2020, €150.”
  • Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria have already started to feel the sting of the wheat-shortage. “The Maghreb countries depend heavily on Ukrainian wheat,” Abis said. “And this year, even more so because they have suffered a major drought which has increased their needs for foreign imports.” For Egypt, it’s catastrophic. “Egypt is the world’s largest importer of wheat and gets 60 percent of its imports from Russia and 40 percent from Ukraine.”

IV 

CNBC, on 17 March, 2022 reported that Audi expects ‘tremendous interference’ to global supply chain due to Russian-Ukraine war. CNBC indicates: 

  • Audi expects the war in Ukraine to cause “tremendous interference” to the global supply chain, an executive with the German luxury brand said Thursday. The comments come as automakers globally, including Audi and its Volkswagen parent company, attempt to maintain supply chains of crucial parts such as semiconductor chips and wire harnesses that are being impacted by the war.
  • “While Russia and Ukraine account for a small amount of vehicle production globally, they supply key raw materials for the production of semiconductor chips, which have been in short supply for more than a year now due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Ukraine also is a notable supplier of wire harnesses and other materials, largely for European automakers.”

V

With more voices from inside and outside Ukraine calling for embargoes on Russian oil and gas, Industry Week reported some sobering numbers recently: 

  • “Also, there will be significant shortages of natural gas and noticeable crude oil shortages in many European countries should NATO countries decide to impose sanctions by blocking imports of crude oil and natural gas from Russia. In 2021, 40% of EU’s gas and over 25% of crude oil were imported from Russia, whereas 7% of U.S. crude oil was imported from Russia.”

Whichever way the embargoes go, if we look at the below articles from RT, it is clear European citizens and industry are about to be hit hard with shortages, extreme inflation, and basically the economic fall-out of war, making war on their pockets and corporate bottom-lines. 

Leading to German gas woes as reported by RT:

  • Factory gate costs in Germany saw a record surge in February, soaring by 25.9% year-on-year mostly due to energy prices, according to the latest data revealed by the Federal Statistics Office (FSO). Data shows that the unprecedented growth in production costs, which is commonly a leading indicator for consumer prices, was the biggest since 1949… According to the FSO, the latest report did not take into account the effects of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Energy prices were up 68% from February 2021, the report says, adding that, stripping out energy costs, producer prices rose 12.4% year-over-year. 

This is not a ‘war’ to isolate Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine. It is a world war on your stomach, and petrol tank.