On this, my last article of 2015, we’ll start with the “ugly preliminaries” of my final economic snapshot of the year – followed by an uplifting end, per a wonderful, life-affirming experience I enjoyed last night.  And ultimately, a message of hope for truth-seekers the world round, particularly those in the Miles Franklin Blog community.

Regarding the former; yes, I’ll get to oil in a moment.  However, crashing commodity prices only tell a small part of the story that is the collapse of history’s largest, most destructive fiat Ponzi scheme – of which, 2015 unquestionably marked the “beginning of the end.”  To wit, a new Associated Press survey; which, contrary to Washington, Wall Street, and the Fed’s propaganda of economic “recovery,” a whopping 90% of Americans claimed 2015 was worse than 2014.  No wonder, now that the average American is paying record high prices for rent, healthcare, insurance, and education; whilst “enjoying” the lowest median household income in 25 years; surging taxes, surcharges, and fees; and the lowest ever “cost of living adjustments” to their entitlement checks, care of the government’s claim of rampant “deflation.”  Which, of course, must be destroyed with more money printing.

That said, deflation is unquestionably ravaging the corporate landscape – as 15 years of Washington money printing; combined with disastrous banking deregulation and the proliferation of world-destroying “financial engineering”; has created an oversupply of industrial commodities, corporate infrastructure, and financial assets unlike anything the world has ever seen.  Cumulatively, the impact has already been catastrophic for the vast majority of the world’s population; and sadly, on both fronts, the ugliness is just getting started – politically, economically, and socially.

Which is why, more than ever, governments – East and West – have resorted to 24/7 financial market manipulation to “mask” policy failures, and create an impression of control.  Which is why, on a day when we just learned that physical gold withdrawals from the Shanghai gold exchange alone were nearly as much as the entirety of 2015 worldwide production, the Cartel did this at exactly the 8:20 AM EST open of the COMEX paper exchange – which barely houses enough physical gold to service current contractual demands.  And this, amidst a litany of violently gold-bullish news, with not a single other market materially budging.  Go on, take a gander; let alone, at yesterday’s chart pattern – identical to both today’s, and hundreds of others.

And this, whilst Rick Santelli of CNBC – who despite his economic brilliance, has been brainwashed to pretend financial markets are freely traded – made the following, telling espousal yesterday afternoon, amidst the most blatantly government-goosed “Santa Claus rally” imaginable.

“I don’t know how they do it.  Plunge Protection Team?  Abenomics?  Japanese buying futures? No matter what, the Dow will not be allowed to end the year in the red.”

Yes, Rick, it is the “plunge protection team.”  Or, more specifically, the “President’s Working Group on Financial Markets.”  Working in concert with the Federal Reserve, the “Exchange Stabilization Fund,” and countless other “manipulation operatives,” named and unnamed.

That said, all the market manipulation in the world has not been able to prevent the collapse of the global economy; the explosion of unpayable debt; or the devastating political, geopolitical, and social ramifications.  Unquestionably, quantifiably, the global economy is at its weakest level in generations; and arguably, when incorporating said debts, in centuries – with nowhere to go but down, until the “great deformation” of economic activity and financial markets caused by decades of unfettered money printing and interest rate suppression is, once and for all, unwound by debt defaults; individual, corporate, and sovereign bankruptcies; crashing commodity prices; imploding fiat currencies; and inevitably, social unrest; draconian government responses; and war.  Of which, many such outcomes are highly possible in 2016; particularly as relates to the expanding crude oil collapse – as it represents, by far, the world’s largest industry.

Generally speaking, the historic commodity implosion – which has already driven the CRB commodity index to 40-year lows – has ground global trade to nearly a halt, and pushing most currencies to, or near, their all-time lows.  However, crude oil is by far the largest contributor to this unfolding economic, social, and geopolitical catastrophe – amidst the perfect storm of dying demand, exploding supply, cost-reducing technology, and unprecedented financial leverage.

Just yesterday, we learned that Saudi Arabia and Iran appear intent to continue their “war” on global high cost producers; whilst fresh evidence of a collapsing Russian economy only enhances the realization that they, too, will continue flooding the world with supply.  Let alone, ultra-high cost producers like U.S. shale, which will produce every drop they can to avert instantaneous bankruptcy.  Throw in last night’s downgrade of Noble Group – the “Glencore of Asia” – and one can easily envision a near-term “credit event” of major proportions – as countless thousands of corporate, municipal, and sovereign commodity producers find it dramatically more difficult to secure short-term financing.

Furthermore, last night’s devastatingly huge, “unexpected” API inventory build highlighted just how low oil demand was used during the seasonally largest inventory draining period of the year – as we now head into the inventory building season, with monstrously large, record-high inventories of oil and natural gas.  In other words, oil alone can, and likely will, destroy the “powers that be’s” best attempts to “kick the can” via money printing, market manipulation, and propaganda.  And frankly, I’m terrified to see how events unfold as this “war on reality” is decidedly lost; potentially, in 2016.

Well, that was the “bad news.”  And now, for the good – regarding my view of the world, after watching Star Wars – The Force Awakens last night.  To that end, long-time readers are well aware I am a die-hard Star Wars fans – not just due to brilliant movie-making, but the positive impact its franchise has had on mankind, and my life personally.  Not to mention, its message of hope – that despite the cold, hard reality of a brutal, unforgiving world, “right” typically wins the day; even if it’s not as black and white as “good versus evil.”  Coincidentally, Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw (my mother just told me this yesterday) – as in many ways, my “job” for the past decade-plus has been to lead the “good versus evil” fight the “gold wars” have become.

And war is precisely what it is – as a small handful of sociopaths have put the world on the brink of financial ruin, with all the hideous ramifications that come along with it.  Fortunately, “Economic Mother Nature” is more powerful than the “Dark Side” of the “Economic Force.”  Thus, at least in the financial realm that I deal with, “victory” is certain – even if the process has been as painful as the “rebellion’s” war with the “Empire.”

Have faith, my friends.  Our numbers are growing, worldwide, with each passing day; and each year, more and more communities like the Miles Franklin Blog are arising to coalesce our growing, cumulative power.  Gold and silver will unquestionably be “liberated” in the not too distant future – so until then, all we can do is stay vigilant; spread the world; make conservative financial decisions; and, above all, prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

Have a Happy New Year; and best wishes for a healthy, prosperous 2016 from the Miles Franklin Blog!