John Butler

Will hidden liabilities bring down the euro?

An advertisement changed my life. While working as an investment strategist on Wall Street in 1993, I came across a similar position advertised in The…

You broke it? You bought it!

The modern British High Street being what it is, most of you probably do a substantial amount of your shopping at chain stores. Food, clothing,…

The emerging global “oil axis”

Two historic things happened this month. First, Chinese Premier Xi Jinping visited Moscow, in an obvious show of support for Russia in the Ukraine conflict.…

Everything to play (or fight?) for

As the old adage goes, “Where there is crisis, lies opportunity.” Well, as crises go, few can top a world war. Although the causes of…

The perennial re-opening of Pandora’s Box

Why the banks didn’t hedge their books properly is as yet unclear, but the most obvious explanation is that their respective Treasury operations were being…

Stirring the net zero pot

My colleague Nick Hubble has a knack for sparking reader engagement, as was demonstrated most recently by his pointing out that the government’s net zero…

The evil twins of inflation and taxes are robbing you blind

“Taxes are the price we pay for civilisation,” claimed Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Judging by the current record high level of taxation in the UK,…

CBDCs: digital wolves in sheep’s clothing?

People like to remark that governments foster innovation, especially during wartime. They also like to ignore the slaughter of millions which is usually part of…

The Federal Reserve has already invaded Russia and Waterloo is next

“In politics… never retreat, never retract… never admit a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon was not only one of the greatest military minds in history,…

The top 10 reasons why fiat money is superior to gold

Gold’s slow-motion comeback as money rapidly accelerated in 2022. Ghana announced it is looking to buy oil with its gold instead of using US dollars.…

“It’s the money, stupid!”

Today, I am reproducing – verbatim – a recent piece from my colleague John Butler. John is currently the Editor of The Fleet Street Letter…

The weeks where decades happened to the UK

As I set out to write my most recent newsletter in late September, I couldn’t help but feeling that, with every paragraph, I was being…

Beware of the stock market’s “Witching Season”

In the September edition of The Fleet Street Letter Monthly Alert, sent to subscribers at the start of the month, I warned of the “Witching…

3 ways investors can beat stagflation

What is stagflation? Stagflation is more than just a nasty dose of inflation. It’s also paired with a stagnant economy – hence the name. So…

How to hibernate in a bear market

[More than a year ago, John Butler warned you that inflation was coming. Within weeks of that warning, the inflationary nightmare began. But what is…

Nuclear fallout from the UK’s imploding energy “Trilemma”

In 2020, the UK Parliament Commons Library published a briefing document which described the UK’s energy challenges as a “trilemma” of security, affordability and sustainability.…

Limbo investing

[Today’s letter is an excerpt from John Butler’s February 2022 issue of The Fleet Street Letter Monthly Alert, “Investing low on the value chain”.] While…

50 Shades of Green

Considered largely a fringe topic a generation ago, ESG-oriented investing – ESG standing for environmental, social and governance – today is at the heart of…

Is World War II finally over?

[Editor’s note: this piece first appeared in Gold Stock Fortunes, but we have chosen to make it more broadly available due to the impact of…

The future is radioactive

Although only discovered a little over a century ago, radioactivity has moved from the fringes of physics and chemistry to the centre of modern technology.…