At the risk of pointing out the obvious ... people everywhere are now getting VERY serious about laying in supplies and gear for lean times ahead. Prices are going up fast, risks are growing in the marketplace, and the world geopolitical dynamic is more precarious than ever.
I say this to our friends now--it is too late to be ahead of the wave crashing in to shore, but if you start paddling right now, you can catch it and ride in with the crowd on that leading edge moving enmass to get crisis preparations completed.
Suppliers everywhere are being swamped with orders. Products are increasingly on back order. And everyday now the customer orders pile up.
Act without further delay if you need something to complete your storage program--food, gear, whatever it is. You may have to wait a bit to get your order completely filled, but the alternative is far worse.
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Check Out Our New Buyers Club Store
We've been working for months on getting a whole new buyers club website up and running that would be a bit more useful and customer-friendly.Our brainchild is now squirming around at www.jcrefuge.com
Buyers club members are registered there and they should have received their log-in info March 11 by email (passwords have changed from the previous store site). Members, please email me at jcrefuge@safecastle.net if you need your new login info again.
1. We have a bunch of new products in the new store.
2. Member pricing is more evident (mouse over the main product listing image).
3. And no coupon codes are required, as once you log-in, your discounts will be applied.
We used a web template made for wholesale businesses. Wholesaling is a reasonable facsimile of what we do with our buyers club, so it served as a good model, and we believe the resulting site is an upgrade from the previous store (which is still live for the next couple of weeks at www.safecastleroyal.com). In two weeks, assuming nothing major emerges as problematic at the new store, it will be moved to the safecastleroyal domain and the old store will be taken down.
* One cool thing that is new is the integration of video into the store. We have added several to the site, to include a club-intro video and several product-related videos. More will be added as we find good ones.
Hope you'll visit and have a look at what we've added.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Female 19-Year Old Medic Earns Silver Star in Afghanistan
Bravery comes in all sizes, shapes, colors, and genders ...By FISNIK ABRASHI, Associated Press Writer
CAMP SALERNO, Afghanistan - A 19-year-old medic from Texas will become the first woman in Afghanistan and only the second woman since World War II to receive the Silver Star, the nation's third-highest medal for valor.
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.
After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.
"I did not really think about anything except for getting the guys to a safer location and getting them taken care of and getting them out of there," Brown told The Associated Press on Saturday at a U.S. base in the eastern province of Khost.
Brown, of Lake Jackson, Texas, is scheduled to receive the Silver Star later this month. She was part of a four-vehicle convoy patrolling near Jani Kheil in the eastern province of Paktia on April 25, 2007, when a bomb struck one of the Humvees.
"We stopped the convoy. I opened up my door and grabbed my aid bag," Brown said.
She started running toward the burning vehicle as insurgents opened fire. All five wounded soldiers had scrambled out.
"I assessed the patients to see how bad they were. We tried to move them to a safer location because we were still receiving incoming fire," Brown said.
Pentagon policy prohibits women from serving in frontline combat roles — in the infantry, armor or artillery, for example. But the nature of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with no real front lines, has seen women soldiers take part in close-quarters combat more than previous conflicts.
Four Army nurses in World War II were the first women to receive the Silver Star, though three nurses serving in World War I were awarded the medal posthumously last year, according to the Army's Web site.
Brown, of the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, said ammunition going off inside the burning Humvee was sending shrapnel in all directions. She said they were sitting in a dangerous spot.
"So we dragged them for 100 or 200 meters, got them away from the Humvee a little bit," she said. "I was in a kind of a robot-mode, did not think about much but getting the guys taken care of."
For Brown, who knew all five wounded soldiers, it became a race to get them all to a safer location. Eventually, they moved the wounded some 500 yards away, treated them on site before putting them on a helicopter for evacuation.
"I did not really have time to be scared," Brown said. "Running back to the vehicle, I was nervous (since) I did not know how badly the guys were injured. That was scary."
The military said Brown's "bravery, unselfish actions and medical aid rendered under fire saved the lives of her comrades and represents the finest traditions of heroism in combat."
Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester, of Nashville, Tenn., received the Silver Star in 2005 for gallantry during an insurgent ambush on a convoy in Iraq. Two men from her unit, the 617th Military Police Company of Richmond, Ky., also received the Silver Star for their roles in the same action.
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Friday, March 07, 2008
This Man's Mountain House Stockpile is at 30-some Years and Counting
From the September 2007 Idaho ObserverMountain House: Food that has lasted half a long lifetime
by Paul James
Photo caption: Paul James, 85, standing beside some 200 cases of Mountain House freeze dried food. Purchased and trucked all the way cross country from Oregon in 1975, this "mountain" of food was recently pulled down from where it was stored for 37 years. This photo was taken July 29, 2007, moments before the mountain was loaded into a moving van headed back across the country to Idaho.
The year was 1975. At that time many Americans were concerned that the Cold War with Russia could turn hot. People all over the country were building bomb shelters in their backyards and storing large quantities of food.
I was one of them. I didn’t build a shelter, but I did order $10,000 worth of Mountain House freeze dried food to be delivered to my home in Virginia Beach, Virginia. When the shipment arrived from Oregon, my family sampled some blueberries which we all liked. After that the food was stored in the attics of our house and garage. There it rested until August, 2007.
My wife and I are in our 80s and our daughters, who live in Idaho, felt it was time we joined them. In August, 2007, we moved with all of our belongings and 227 cases of 37- year-old Mountain House freeze dried food.
First we opened a can of peas. The moment I heard the swish air flowing into the can and felt their pellet-like hardness, I was convinced no air had entered the can for 37 years. The peas were fine. We checked the blueberries and found them to taste exactly as we remembered them in 1975; the strawberries also kept perfectly. Since then we have twice served the scrambled egg mix. The added flavor of butter and salt were perfect to our taste.
Are we again approaching uncertain times that could affect the food supply? Will my decision to "stock up" during the Cold War 37 years ago soon be transformed from folly to fortune?
In any event, it is an honor to be in a position where I can safely say that freeze-dried food packed by Mountain House in 1975 (#10 cans, six cans per case), is still perfectly preserved after all these years.
Note: Several sources are reporting that food grains will be in short supply this year because farmers have planted so much government-subsidized, GMO corn for ethanol.
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JC: The math is wrong in this article--"75 to '07 is 32 years, but the main point is, the stuff lasts "forever."
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Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
$5 Gas This Year?
Posted on Mon, Mar. 03, 2008
Experts fear 'corn shock' ahead for economy
By JERRY HIRSCH
Los Angeles Times
The nation’s growing dependence on corn in fuel as well as food could put the nation in perilous economic straits in the event of a Midwestern drought, economists say.
“We are replacing price volatility from the Middle East with Midwestern weather price volatility,” said Michael Swanson, a Wells Fargo & Co. vice president and agricultural economist.
Corn is a key element of the U.S. food supply. Dairy cows eat it to make milk, and hens consume it to lay eggs. It fattens cattle, hogs and chickens before slaughter. It makes soda sweet. As the building block of ethanol, it is now also a major component of auto fuel.
Analysts warn that a “corn shock” could lead to $5 gas and $3.50 eggs as the effects reverberate across the economy.
It could happen as soon as this summer.
“The risk of a drought right now is higher than normal because of the La Niña we are seeing,” said Bruce Babcock, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, referring to the cooling of ocean temperatures that often has a drying effect.
Such would occur against a backdrop of soaring prices for basic food items and other commodities that are already stressing the economy. Coffee, platinum and oil prices are already up dramatically.
After a torrid 2007, corn prices have risen an additional 20 percent this year because of global demand for livestock feed, sweeteners and ethanol. The rush by American farmers to forgo other grains to plant cash-producing corn, along with weather problems, has squeezed wheat supplies, pushing the price of that grain up 21 percent. Soybeans have risen 25 percent.
Analysts are already simulating what would happen if a drought hit the Corn Belt. Babcock estimates that corn could reach $8 a bushel from $5.46 now.
As any farmer can tell you, Mother Nature is fickle. The U.S. has suffered four major weather disasters since 1971 that wiped out 21 percent to 29 percent of the corn crop at a time.
Bad weather, including droughts, scorching heat waves and cold, cloudy spells at just the wrong time, has reduced harvests by billions of bushels. Previously, these disasters have raised food prices. The next drought will be the first to affect gas prices.
That’s because ethanol — mostly refined from corn — will make up about 6 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply this year, and that’s expected to rise to 10 percent over the next five years.
But if there were a crop shortfall, the rising price of corn would prevent ethanol distillers from earning a profit, prompting them to slash production, Babcock said.
Oil companies would have to scramble to fill that sudden gap with conventional gasoline. Prices would soar for both fuels, said Philip Verleger Jr., an energy economist in Aspen, Colo.
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Experts fear 'corn shock' ahead for economy
By JERRY HIRSCH
Los Angeles Times
The nation’s growing dependence on corn in fuel as well as food could put the nation in perilous economic straits in the event of a Midwestern drought, economists say.
“We are replacing price volatility from the Middle East with Midwestern weather price volatility,” said Michael Swanson, a Wells Fargo & Co. vice president and agricultural economist.
Corn is a key element of the U.S. food supply. Dairy cows eat it to make milk, and hens consume it to lay eggs. It fattens cattle, hogs and chickens before slaughter. It makes soda sweet. As the building block of ethanol, it is now also a major component of auto fuel.
Analysts warn that a “corn shock” could lead to $5 gas and $3.50 eggs as the effects reverberate across the economy.
It could happen as soon as this summer.
“The risk of a drought right now is higher than normal because of the La Niña we are seeing,” said Bruce Babcock, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University, referring to the cooling of ocean temperatures that often has a drying effect.
Such would occur against a backdrop of soaring prices for basic food items and other commodities that are already stressing the economy. Coffee, platinum and oil prices are already up dramatically.
After a torrid 2007, corn prices have risen an additional 20 percent this year because of global demand for livestock feed, sweeteners and ethanol. The rush by American farmers to forgo other grains to plant cash-producing corn, along with weather problems, has squeezed wheat supplies, pushing the price of that grain up 21 percent. Soybeans have risen 25 percent.
Analysts are already simulating what would happen if a drought hit the Corn Belt. Babcock estimates that corn could reach $8 a bushel from $5.46 now.
As any farmer can tell you, Mother Nature is fickle. The U.S. has suffered four major weather disasters since 1971 that wiped out 21 percent to 29 percent of the corn crop at a time.
Bad weather, including droughts, scorching heat waves and cold, cloudy spells at just the wrong time, has reduced harvests by billions of bushels. Previously, these disasters have raised food prices. The next drought will be the first to affect gas prices.
That’s because ethanol — mostly refined from corn — will make up about 6 percent of the nation’s gasoline supply this year, and that’s expected to rise to 10 percent over the next five years.
But if there were a crop shortfall, the rising price of corn would prevent ethanol distillers from earning a profit, prompting them to slash production, Babcock said.
Oil companies would have to scramble to fill that sudden gap with conventional gasoline. Prices would soar for both fuels, said Philip Verleger Jr., an energy economist in Aspen, Colo.
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Monday, March 03, 2008
OK ... But what's the BAD News?
When the going gets tough, and all that ...
U.S. Faces 'Unusually Complex' Security Environment, Intel Official Says
(PressZoom) - WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2008 – The Pentagon’s top intelligence official today told a Senate committee the United States is operating in a security environment that is “unusually complex.” During a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee here, Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, presented an analysis of current and future threats facing the U.S.
“That threat spectrum is bounded on the one side by traditional nation states with significant military inventories, and on the other by non-state terrorists or criminal networks that exploit the gaps and seams between nations, cultures, laws and belief systems,” he said.
Outlining what he called “trends of concern,” Maples said current threats include weapons of mass destruction, increasingly sophisticated and longer-range ballistic missiles, improvised bombs and suicide weapons, outer space and cyberspace vulnerabilities, and underground weapons systems produced by potential adversaries.
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
U.S. Faces 'Unusually Complex' Security Environment, Intel Official Says
(PressZoom) - WASHINGTON, Feb. 27, 2008 – The Pentagon’s top intelligence official today told a Senate committee the United States is operating in a security environment that is “unusually complex.” During a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee here, Army Lt. Gen. Michael D. Maples, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, presented an analysis of current and future threats facing the U.S.
“That threat spectrum is bounded on the one side by traditional nation states with significant military inventories, and on the other by non-state terrorists or criminal networks that exploit the gaps and seams between nations, cultures, laws and belief systems,” he said.
Outlining what he called “trends of concern,” Maples said current threats include weapons of mass destruction, increasingly sophisticated and longer-range ballistic missiles, improvised bombs and suicide weapons, outer space and cyberspace vulnerabilities, and underground weapons systems produced by potential adversaries.
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Sunday, March 02, 2008
CNN Money Economist Interview: Depression by End of Next Year
Well if this doesn't wake a few folks up, I don't know what will. See this interview video from CNN Money ...
http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/02/28/news.hunter.shadowstats.Feb28.cnnmoney
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/02/28/news.hunter.shadowstats.Feb28.cnnmoney
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Friday, February 29, 2008
Prince Harry Pokes Al Qaeda in the Eye
Well, it seems Prince Harry has been or will soon be spirited out of country. Hats off to the guy for doing his duty. He did some real damage apparently while on the ground in Afghanistan, so now he figures he will be an especially tempting target back in Britain for their very own radical Islamists.
Anyway, Harry has poked a thumb in the eye of those AQ dastardlies and now for the time being at least, he can go "na-na, na-na-na, you missed me, you missed me."
Just think what kind of rep he'll have if he manages to now sneak a little tour of duty on the ground in Iraq!
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Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Need to Assess the Financial Condition and Safety of Your Banking Institution?
Get the low-down here: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Monday, February 25, 2008
Unprecedented Food Cost Hikes Ahead
Shoppers warned bigger bills on wayBy Javier Blas
Published: February 24 2008 22:02
When William Lapp, of US-based consultancy Advanced Economic Solutions, took the podium at the annual US Department of Agriculture conference, the sentiment was already bullish for agricultural commodities boosted by demand from the biofuels industry and emerging countries.
He added a twist – that rising agricultural raw material prices would translate this year into sharply higher food inflation.
“I hope you enjoy your meal,” Mr Lapp told delegates during a luncheon. “It is the cheapest one you are going to have at this forum for a while.”
His warning that a strong wave of food inflation is heading towards the world economy was met by nods from agriculture traders, food industry executives and western’s government officials at the USDA’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Larry Pope, chief executive of Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork processor, warned delegates of a wave of “real food inflation” just at the time central banks were under pressure to cut interest rates.
“I think we need to tell the American consumer that [prices] are going up,” he said. “We’re seeing cost increases that we’ve never seen in our business.”
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Palestinians Plan Mass Rush on Gazan-Israeli Border Monday
http://debka.com/headline.php?hid=5050Excerpt:
Beefed-up Israeli military and security forces prepare to repulse thousands of Palestinians planning to crash the full length of the Gazan-Israeli border and its crossings at 10:00 a.m. IT Monday, Feb. 25. (3am EST)
Behind the human shield of women, children and elderly leading the assault on Monday, Hamas, Jihad Islami and Fatah are expected to shoot, send in suicide bombers and unleash a Qassam barrage. If Israeli forces are goaded into opening fire, civilian casualties may be heavy enough to draw international condemnation.
[snip]
Update:
Palestinian scheme for mass charge on Gaza-Israel border collapses
February 25, 2008, 1:41 PM (GMT+02:00)
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, February 21, 2008
PhD Candidate's Political Science Survey
I was asked to post this link here without comment, so as not to bias responses:
http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/crweber/TAKESURVEY/election_2008.htm
http://www.ic.sunysb.edu/stu/crweber/TAKESURVEY/election_2008.htm
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Oil at $150 by Year-end
Oil and food -- modern life's two necessities seem guaranteed to skyrocket through at least the next year. The logical result of that, in your day to day life, is something akin to chaos.Bank projects oil will hit $150 by year's end
ABU DHABI — The price of crude oil was expected to skyrocket to $150 per barrels over the next few months.
An analysis by Saxo Bank said the price of oil would continue to rise sharply in 2008. The analysis said inflation as well as growing demand would fuel the rise in global prices.
Saxo, the specialized investment bank headquartered in Denmark, said gold would hit $1,000 per ounce as the price of all precious commodities would rise. The analysis linked the movement of oil and gold.
[snip]
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Deep Survival--Stories to Ponder
National Geographic Adventure is one of just two magazines to which I subscribe. It is a rare treasure, given it's ability to deliver relevant, helpful, and fascinating information about our natural world and how we interact with it.Two recent, thoughtful columns under the heading of "Deep Survival" are highly recommended to our readers who are interested in being fully prepared for disaster. They are unusual and memorable in that they approach unique aspects of being ready ... that is, how apt are you to make wise decisions in dangerous conditions.
I ask that you read through each of these columns linked below and spend a bit of time mulling over the mental and emotional wherewithal you might have at your disposal when you are at sudden risk. (The lessons offered are applicable across the spectrum of episodic daily-life.)
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Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Friday, February 08, 2008
Wheat Prices On Fire
Wheat is just leading the upward charge. Other food commodities are rising as well.Article Launched: 02/08/2008 12:01:00 AM CST
The highest wheat price in U.S. history - more than $15 a bushel - was reached Thursday in Minneapolis as a trading frenzy inflames the grain markets, fans fears of spiking food costs and revives worries about food shortages.
With wheat stockpiles dwindling, a worldwide scramble is under way for bushels of high-protein spring wheat, the variety grown in Minnesota and the Dakotas and traded at the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. Already, spring wheat prices have tripled in the past year and are poised to move even higher.
"In my wildest dreams, six months ago I didn't see $15 wheat," said Ed Usset, grain-marketing specialist at the University of Minnesota.
Thursday's closing price of $15.23 a bushel may be jubilant news for wheat farmers and the rural Midwest, as the historic rally pushes corn and soybean prices near records, too. But it could mean new price shocks for consumers, and it already alarms food companies that need wheat for such consumer staples as bread, cereal, crackers and pasta.
In 2007, the rate of U.S. food inflation more than doubled to a 17-year high of 4.8 percent. Some expect that pace to nearly double again this year.
"We're projecting that food inflation in the U.S. is going to be 8 percent," said Mark Palmquist, executive vice president for the ag businesses of CHS, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Inver Grove Heights.
[snip]
I'll say once again--buy storage food NOW. It is better than money in the bank in this situation.
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Thursday, February 07, 2008
"Business Not as Usual: Preparing for a Pandemic Flu"
Excellent new video made for businesses and organizations in Seattle and King County ...Click link to open streaming video:
Windows MediaPlayer must be installed on your computer to view the streaming video through your Internet browser. Install Windows MediaPlayer (free).
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Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Montague Folding Bikes & Swiss Bikes - Preppers' Bikes
Think spring. Think portable transportation. Think riding under your own power down city streets, along dusty trails, and across babbling brooks.
These bikes are tough and cool. Easy to carry in your compact trunk, on a plane or train, or stowed under your desk or in your apartment closet. Just 30 seconds to fold down or to reassemble, light enough to carry in a special shoulder bag--being prepared for the unexpected or the inconvenient should always be so easy.
I have the Montague Paratrooper and it is by far the most adaptable, enjoyable, most rugged yet most comfortable ride I've experienced. In fact, that's why I sell the Montague and SwissBike lines. I believe in them.
Check out our folding bike listings here (remember--we ship free to the lower 48, AND our members get 20% off the list prices)!
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
These bikes are tough and cool. Easy to carry in your compact trunk, on a plane or train, or stowed under your desk or in your apartment closet. Just 30 seconds to fold down or to reassemble, light enough to carry in a special shoulder bag--being prepared for the unexpected or the inconvenient should always be so easy.
I have the Montague Paratrooper and it is by far the most adaptable, enjoyable, most rugged yet most comfortable ride I've experienced. In fact, that's why I sell the Montague and SwissBike lines. I believe in them.
Check out our folding bike listings here (remember--we ship free to the lower 48, AND our members get 20% off the list prices)!
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Killer Tornadoes Wreak Devastation in 4 States
The severe storm season in the U.S. has made a sudden, tragic entrance on the scene.Folks are free to play the odds and hope they aren't ever struck by the fury that is possible out there, but we have to encourage you to have in place a viable shelter that will withstand winds that otherwise threaten those who are unprepared.
Twisters Kill at Least 50 in Southern States
LAFAYETTE, Tenn. - Rescue crews, some with the help of the National Guard, went door-to-door looking for more victims a day after a cluster of tornadoes tore through the South, killing at least 50 people and injuring several hundred.
Residents in five states tried to salvage what they could Wednesday from homes reduced to piles of debris. Dozens of twisters were reported as storms swept through Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Alabama.
Seavia Dixon, whose home in Atkins, Ark., was shattered, stood in her yard, holding muddy baby pictures of her son, who is now a 20-year-old soldier in Iraq. Only a concrete slab was left.
[snip]Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastle.com
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Legendary Investor Counsels Rich to Prepare for War in "Wealth, War, and Wisdom"
Excerpt from Bloomberg:
Biggs's Tips for the Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with "seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''
The "etc.'' must mean guns.
"A few rounds over the approaching brigands' heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,'' he writes in his new book, "Wealth, War and Wisdom.''
Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners. He doesn't lock and load until the last page of this smart look at how World War II warped share prices, gutted wealth and remains a warning to investors. His message: Listen to markets, learn from history and prepare for the worst.
[snip]
My Take: I haven't read this yet, but I will certainly be getting a copy.
According to his bio, author Barton Biggs spent 30 years at Morgan Stanley. Capping his many achievements, he served as Chairman of the investment management firm.
At various times during this period (1973-2003) he was ranked as the number one U.S. investment strategist by the Institutional Investor magazine poll and then, from 1996 to 2003, as the number one global strategist. In 2003, Biggs left Morgan Stanley and, with two other colleagues, formed Traxis Partners. Traxis now has well over a billion dollars under its management.
On "War, Wealth, and Wisdom," the publisher summarizes:
During our current years of political upheaval and dramatic market swings, it's important to look back on historic periods to gain insights into the direction of stocks and economic stability for investment opportunities today. In Wealth, War, and Wisdom, legendary Wall Street investor Barton Biggs has analyzed, for the first time, the major events of World War II and how they shaped the stock market and individual wealth from 1930 to 1945. No one before Biggs has traced this intersection, and the lessons for investing today are unparalleled. In Wealth, War, and Wisdom, Biggs discusses the performance of equities in both victorious and defeated countries. He then reveals how individuals preserved their wealth and explores whether or not public equities were able to increase in value and serve as a wealth preserver in spite of the ongoing battles. Besides examining the stock market, Biggs looks at how other assets, including real estate and gold, fared during this dynamic and devastating period. His unique account of the Second World War is lively and lesson-filled on life, politics, and survival, and completely relevant to predicting the way modern financial markets and the economy may act during times of uncertainty. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Wealth, War, and Wisdom will help investors apply these original financial lessons directly, and beneficially, to today's turbulent markets.
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
Biggs's Tips for the Rich: Expect War, Study Blitz, Mind Markets
Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Barton Biggs has some offbeat advice for the rich: Insure yourself against war and disaster by buying a remote farm or ranch and stocking it with "seed, fertilizer, canned food, wine, medicine, clothes, etc.''
The "etc.'' must mean guns.
"A few rounds over the approaching brigands' heads would probably be a compelling persuader that there are easier farms to pillage,'' he writes in his new book, "Wealth, War and Wisdom.''
Biggs is no paranoid survivalist. He was chief global strategist at Morgan Stanley before leaving in 2003 to form hedge fund Traxis Partners. He doesn't lock and load until the last page of this smart look at how World War II warped share prices, gutted wealth and remains a warning to investors. His message: Listen to markets, learn from history and prepare for the worst.
[snip]
My Take: I haven't read this yet, but I will certainly be getting a copy.
According to his bio, author Barton Biggs spent 30 years at Morgan Stanley. Capping his many achievements, he served as Chairman of the investment management firm.
At various times during this period (1973-2003) he was ranked as the number one U.S. investment strategist by the Institutional Investor magazine poll and then, from 1996 to 2003, as the number one global strategist. In 2003, Biggs left Morgan Stanley and, with two other colleagues, formed Traxis Partners. Traxis now has well over a billion dollars under its management.
On "War, Wealth, and Wisdom," the publisher summarizes:
During our current years of political upheaval and dramatic market swings, it's important to look back on historic periods to gain insights into the direction of stocks and economic stability for investment opportunities today. In Wealth, War, and Wisdom, legendary Wall Street investor Barton Biggs has analyzed, for the first time, the major events of World War II and how they shaped the stock market and individual wealth from 1930 to 1945. No one before Biggs has traced this intersection, and the lessons for investing today are unparalleled. In Wealth, War, and Wisdom, Biggs discusses the performance of equities in both victorious and defeated countries. He then reveals how individuals preserved their wealth and explores whether or not public equities were able to increase in value and serve as a wealth preserver in spite of the ongoing battles. Besides examining the stock market, Biggs looks at how other assets, including real estate and gold, fared during this dynamic and devastating period. His unique account of the Second World War is lively and lesson-filled on life, politics, and survival, and completely relevant to predicting the way modern financial markets and the economy may act during times of uncertainty. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, Wealth, War, and Wisdom will help investors apply these original financial lessons directly, and beneficially, to today's turbulent markets.
Get Ready ... Seriously - www.safecastleroyal.com
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