AK Global

Outtakes: Gold Bug Rants - AK6.3

January 26, 2020 14:33 - 17 minutes - 17.2 MB

Very simple episode where we candidly share our frustrations with gold bugs and Austrian economists. While we are frustrated we share their core views of the world and think they have it right except for bitcoin. Enjoy.

Communications, Transportation and Education - AK6.2

January 19, 2020 17:02 - 35 minutes - 33.4 MB

Source material: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State. Radio communication unregulated until The Radio Act of 1912 formally known as "An Act to Regulate Radio Communication" (37 Stat. 302), is a United States federal law which was the first legislation to require licenses for radio stations The Radio Act of 1927 (United States Public Law 632, 69th Congress) r...

Discussions on the Communist Manifesto - AK6.1

December 21, 2019 16:38 - 41 minutes - 38.5 MB

Source material: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch02.htm Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax. https://files.taxfoundation.org/20170804133536/Average-Effective-Tax-Rate-on-the-Top-1-Percent-of-U.S.-Households.png; effective tax on the 1% reached a plateau just before 1950 of about 45%; however, rates have remained elevated since that time https://...

The Financial Wildfire is Coming - AK5.3

November 13, 2019 18:59 - 17 minutes - 17 MB

News regarding the repo market has seemingly died down as of late; however, things have become far more interesting despite the lack of headlines. In this episode we give you an update on the current state of the repo market with special attention to the Fed’s extension of term and overnight purchases. In addition, we briefly discuss the reigniting of QE (quantitative easing) in the form of treasury purchases by the Fed. At the end we dive into just how and why the Fed's policies are dange...

Repos, Dollars, Gold, and Demographics - AK5.2

November 03, 2019 15:59 - 31 minutes - 29.3 MB

In this second part of AK5 Kent and Ansel finish up the discussion about the Repo market and dive into related topics regarding the future. Topics include: USTs becoming toxic Wealth effect of dollars Bitcoin flipping gold Expat choices Investing in Russia Population and demographic trends Links: https://www.thestreet.com/investing/fixed-income/fed-extends-repos-until-nov-4-dealers-brace-for-193-billion-in-treasury-sales-15116925 https://www.newyorkfed.org/markets/opolic...

The Sad State of the Repo Market - AK5.1

October 23, 2019 19:50 - 35 minutes - 33 MB

The repo market has been in the news lately with the Fed intervening for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis to shore up liquidity problems. We explain how the repo market works, go over the timeline of events in the market thus far, and discuss its wider implications. Topics include: What a repo is and why it’s important The role of the Fed Timeline of events Future projections Links: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/repurchaseagreement.asp https://realinvest...

The Sad State of the Repo Market - AK5 part 1

October 23, 2019 19:50 - 35 minutes - 33 MB

The repo market has been in the news lately with the Fed intervening for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis to shore up liquidity problems. We explain how the repo market works, go over the timeline of events in the market thus far, and discuss its wider implications. Topics include: What a repo is and why it’s important The role of the Fed Timeline of events Future projections

Understanding Stock Buybacks - AK4

October 09, 2019 19:51 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MB

Since the 2008 financial crisis stock buybacks have been at historically elevated levels. These levels have accelerated at an even greater pace since the Trump Tax cuts. In this episode we explain what stock buybacks are and the consequences of this poorly understood corporate policy. Topics include: What stock buybacks are and how they work A short history on stock buybacks Decrease in stock ownership by households and individuals Majority of stocks owned by wealthiest Americans ...

Japanification - AK3

September 22, 2019 21:02 - 36 minutes - 34.8 MB

In this episode we discuss monetary policy in Japan and its long term consequences. We also look at the relationship between the yen and the dollar, gold, and bitcoin. Topics include: MT Gox The Japanese Yen Japan’s debt to GDP ratio Japan’s money supply Demographic concerns in Japan Intervention in the markets by the Bank of Japan Links: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Gox https://www.macrotrends.net/2550/dollar-yen-exchange-rate-historical-chart https://goldpric...

Yield Curve Inversions - AK2

September 22, 2019 21:01 - 28 minutes - 26.9 MB

In this episode, we discuss the inversion of the US Treasury yield curve as well as the flattening of other global yield curves. A discussion on the ramifications of yield curve inversions follows. Topics include: US Treasury yield curve inversion Yield curve in Japan, Germany, and France Explanation of what the yield curve is and why it’s important Possible responses by the Federal Reserve to the yield curve inversion 10 year sovereign bond rates globally Links: https://tr...

Negative Interest Rates - AK1

September 22, 2019 20:57 - 36 minutes - 34.2 MB

In this episode, we discuss negative interest rates and the implications of the negative interest rate policy recently pursued by Denmark’s Jyske Bank. Topics include: Global negative yielding debt EU pensions mandate to hold negative yielding sovereign debt Ways to avoid negative interest Negative interest rates in Denmark Negative interest rates in Switzerland Links: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/that-near17-trillion-pile-of-negative-yielding-global-debt-its-a-cash-cow...

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