Change Management International - Robert Ian

July 28th Teleseminar Audio: Gold and the Economy

Robert's fourth teleseminar was another successful event. Global listeners are growing with each broadcast.

More teleseminars will be presented in the months ahead. Please sign up for Robert's email list to stay informed.

Click to Play Global Economic Changes and Gold  Download mp3

Are You Better Off Than You Were 2, 6 or 10 Years Ago?

This week I have just one question to ask: What has changed? Have employment levels suddenly been restored to pre-credit crisis levels? No. Have the 8.5 million homes in some stage of default or foreclosure suddenly been sold or regained their value? No. Have the 40 million Americans receiving food stamps suddenly found additional resources? No. Have our elected officials suddenly started to read the legislation they pass? No. Has the government curtailed its orgy of runaway deficit spending programs? No. Are we better off financially today than we were 2 years ago, 6 years ago or 10 years ago? No. Is Ben Bernanke's assessment of the alleged recovery as "unusually uncertain" something to be optimistic about? No.

There are a hundred more questions I could ask you. Unfortunately, the answer to just about every one of them would be "no". Right now, we're living in a world where, at least financially, it's too easy to just say no. Opportunities and options seem to be few and far between. Some might accuse me of having a scarcity mindset in which this assessment is arguing for limitations; instead of an abundance mindset, in which we argue for possibilities.

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Gold Wildcard: University of Texas Investment Fund Buys Bullion to Protect Pensions

The stampede is about to unfold. This week I took great pleasure in reading an article in the Houston Chronicle that talked about how the investment management company for the University of Texas has bought more than $500 million dollars worth of gold. These fund managers are deeply concerned about the global financial future and the possibility of high inflation.

Even though this represents only 3% of their available funds, it is a monumental step in the right direction for those entities that are charged with managing, preserving and ultimately growing the pension funds they have been entrusted with. The fund's CEO, Bruce Zimmerman, said most of the gold purchases have been through futures trading (which isn't so good), but they may be taking physical possession of some of their gold (that's really good)! And it illustrates that the gold message is finally getting out to those who are ultimately responsible for making the right decisions.

It was just one short year ago that stories appeared about Northwestern Mutual, Greenlight Capital, Paulson & Company and other major investment firms buying gold. Now public institutions are beginning to do exactly the same thing. It is rare for investment managers to put such large sums of money into a commodity whose value often grows only through inflation. I believe this move by Texas' higher education investment managers is the wild card we have been waiting to see played.

Click to Play Robert Ian's GoldSeek Radio Commentary  Download mp3

Economic Predictions and the Coming Gold Standard

At a recent forum, I was asked to give my assessment of where the economy is right now and what specific changes I see unfolding in the next several years. Here are several of my observations and conclusions based on what is happening at this moment in time. I am rounding these numbers to nearest trillion:

Currently the US takes in $2 trillion in tax revenue each year. Currently the US spends $4 trillion each year. The acknowledged federal debt is $14 trillion. The unfunded liabilities of the US are estimated between $100 and $120 trillion. Beyond that, there are $1.4 quadrillion of financial derivatives which represent 25 times the GDP of the entire planet. The bottom line is these numbers are unsustainable and these debts can never be repaid.

Once you understand the debts can never be repaid, and you also understand that this is a subject of collective denial for virtually all politicians and government leaders, you can then extrapolate a series of likely outcomes in the coming months and years. In their continual game to blame the other party and pretend there are political answers to unsolvable financial problems, the following will occur:

Click to Play Robert Ian's GoldSeek Radio Commentary  Download mp3

Derivatives and Your Declining Standard of Living

A cornerstone of good marketing is to define a problem and offer a solution. In other words, if someone has a headache, you provide the aspirin. If that aspirin is the right prescription, the pain will eventually go away. There are many kinds of financial headaches: declining business, unemployment, foreclosure, decimated retirement accounts, insolvent pensions and dozens more. Each of these follows a different path to the same destination: A dramatic reduction in the living standard of every man, woman and child.

Click to Play Robert Ian's GoldSeek Radio Commentary  Download mp3