Ready to Roll – Fat Tail Daily | Australian Markets

An enormous statue of a boy, half of whose face appeared as if it had been blown away, seemed on as we ate our dinner.

We had been staying on the Chateau de la Gaude, after a wedding ceremony in Aix-en-Provence. This was our second resort close to the town. The first was elaborately adorned, with so many patterns and colours — within the wallpaper, rugs, curtains, bric-a-brac, chandeliers and furnishings — that we may hardly sleep. But it was gracious and comfy, in an previous Aix type of method.

The second resort was more trendy. Sleek. Chic. With some of the worst artwork we’ve got ever seen. In our room, for instance, had been two watercolors. They appeared to depict a lady’s face in poses of both excessive despair or home abuse, perhaps each.

The worst, although, was the sculpture within the garden.

“Children should be protected from that kind of thing,” mentioned Elizabeth. It was grotesque and hideous — a lady, bare and deformed, whose head was hollowed out, as if by worms.

Taken collectively, the artwork appeared to signal a type of corruption of the physique…and maybe, more importantly, the spirit.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg:

Gold Punches Through $3,500 to Hit Record High on Rate-Cut Bets

The valuable steel has gained more than 30% this yr, making it one of the best-performing main commodities.

What is gold attempting to inform us?

Perhaps it implies a corruption of a completely different type…of our financial system.

It’s tempting to assume that our heavy allocations in gold have introduced us 30% more wealth this yr. But, for us, gold isn’t an investment. It is a method of avoiding investments.

It is ‘money;’ we measure our wealth in gold, not {dollars}. And if we had ten ounces of gold at the start of the yr, we nonetheless have simply ten ounces of gold…ready for an alternative to invest when the time is correct.

But if the upper gold price isn’t telling us that we’re richer, what’s it telling us? Maybe it has one thing to do with the reverie we started yesterday.

Empires, like people, turn out to be more fragile once they get previous. They sit, as if atop a great mountain, prepared to roll down in any direction.

They attempt to maintain on by erecting trade limitations, switching to Big Man authorities and paying the firepower industry to shield them. But a method or one other, they’ve obtained to climb down that mountain.

Which is why, traditionally, Donald Trump was most likely a higher wager than Kamala Harris. An empire sometimes goes out in a blaze of army jackassery and financial chicanery. Harris would have continued wrecking the empire’s funds, more or much less on the similar tempo as Trump. Democrats in addition to Republicans are keen to spend money they don’t have. Neither appears notably involved about corrupting the system with pretend {dollars} or of working out of different peoples’ money.

But Ms. Harris might need been much less daring within the use of the army.

The US firepower industry is much forward of different nations. As with the Romans within the fifth century and the French below Napoleon, it’s going to most likely take a mixture of foreigners to deliver it down. The Trump group appears to be serving to that coalition to take form. Bloomberg:

Chinese chief Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have long showcased their bromance…now they’re embracing a highly effective new pal: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi turned to Eurasia’s big nations after the Trump administration utilized 50% tariffs to imports from India.

Trump’s international coverage strategists appear keen to stir up hassle on our southern flank, too. What different function may very well be served by sending US gunboats to Venezuela?

At the marriage, we met a man who labored for the French aviation company, Dassault. The company makes the well-known fighter jet, the Rafale.

“The orders are coming so fast, we can’t keep up with them,” he mentioned.

Stay tuned.