• Jim Rogers accumulating gold bullion on dips
  • “Get prepared” as “we’re going ‘to have the worst economic problems we’ve had in your lifetime or my lifetime’
  • Warns that Trump and his team are “very, very keen to have trade wars with China and other people”
  • History shows trade wars lead to real wars
  • Cashless Society – Cash-less means Freedom-less
  • Cashless societies are about governments “looking out for themselves first”
  • Gold and silver may head lower but advises accumulating bullion on the dip
  • Advocates storing gold in Singapore

Jim Rogers holds a gold coin (Digital Journal)

I want to own more gold and silver

In a wide ranging interview with MacroVoices’ Erik Townsend, legendary investor Jim Rogers, co-founder of Quantum Fund with fellow investor George Soros, has said that he wants to own more gold and silver and will continue to accumulate on any price dips.

Set against a background of thoughts regarding the both the political and economic outlook, Rogers echoes the growing theme we have been touching on in recent months – heightened and arguably unprecedented uncertainty.

Basing much of his analysis and thoughts on history, Rogers reminds us that it does repeat itself and we’re not to assume that the ways of modern life mean that things will turn out differently.

Mixed feelings on Trump

When it comes to what President Trump will mean for markets, Jim Rogers believe that if the new Commander In Chief says all the things that he will do then it will stand for some overwhelmingly poor results on an international scale.

Whilst Rogers believes that Trump’s promises to cut taxes, improve infrastructure and bring back $3 trillion worth of US company assets from overseas will be ‘wonderful, wonderful things.’ Yet, he seems more concerned about the idea of trade wars that a few in Trump’s ear seemed to have a thing for.

“Mr. Trump has also said he’s going to have trade war with China, Mexico, Japan, Korea a few other people that he has named. He swore that on his first day in office he would impose 45% tariffs against China. He’s been there three weeks, two or three weeks and he hasn’t done it yet but he still got it in his head I’m sure or maybe he’s just another politician like all the rest of them. He says one thing and he doesn’t mean it at all but he does have at least three people in high levels in his group who are very, very keen to have trade wars with China and other people.”

Rogers says it could be ‘happy days’ for a while if Trump doesn’t follow through on campaign promises to take on trade competitors, but warns that if Trump does pursue these ideas that “it’s all over. I mean history is very clear that trade wars always lead to problems, often to disaster, sometimes even to real war, a shooting war.”

We’re heading for war

Rogers is convinced that we are heading for war. Thanks to the seeming decline of the US, the rise of populism and push for protectionism. Indeed, he recently went as far as to warn that we are on the verge of a “biblical” collapse.

The decline of the US in the short-term may well be encouraged by President Trump. Should a recession, or worse, kick-in in the short-term then the new administration can blame Obama, and then seemingly swoop in and save the day.

How will they save the day? That remains to be seen, but it seems that much of the rhetoric being used by Trump is also being seen elsewhere in the Western world and Rogers believes this signals war.

“…whenever things are bad and things are going wrong people look for somebody to blame. They always throughout history wherever we are, whichever country we’re discussing the first people blamed are always the foreigners… it’s always happened that way to blame the foreigners for better or for worse it seems it is happening as you point out in the U.S. again but it’s also happening in other places in Germany, France, Italy many places they’re blaming the foreigners already again it’s even happening in Singapore to some extent where I live…

“And as you rile up against the foreigners most countries historically have closed off one way or the other they close their borders, they close their economies and when you close the economy it leads to economic problems and sometimes eventually if you get into real serious trade wars it leads to bankruptcy and even worse.

“It’s rare and I don’t think ever in history that one country has started a trade war and the other country says, “oh well that’s too bad but we’re not going to do anything we’re just going to sit here and let you hit us again and again and again.” No