Charles Hugh Smith

Latest articles from Charles

• Is Gold Set for a Dramatic Decline?

  Published 10 June 2010 | viewed 12,051 times

  Teasing apart the various forces acting on the price of gold reveals the complex financial character of the yellow metal. That gold is in a…

• The Similarities Between Deepwater Horizon and Global Financial Meltdown

  Published 08 June 2010 | viewed 8,471 times

  The explosion of Deepwater Horizon and the collapse of Lehman Brothers share similar characteristics of risk, denial and coverup. My good friend G.F.B. recently observed…

• Credit-Based Speculative Economy Imploding on a Global Scale

  Published 27 May 2010 | viewed 10,289 times

  A slow-growth real economy has been replaced with a credit-based speculative financial economy dependent on low interest rates and systemic fraud to survive. It is…

• Chinese Market Indicates that US Stocks could be in for a Big Fall

  Published 19 May 2010 | viewed 8,113 times

  Does the Chinese stock market presage the U.S. market's direction? If so, the U.S. market is set for a fall. The economies of China and…

• Unhinged: When Concrete Reality No Longer Matters to the Market (and What to Do About It)

  Published 17 May 2010 | viewed 8,356 times

  Something profound has happened, obscured by all the concerns about economic details and speculation about whether we are in a “deep recession” or a “depression,”…

• An Update to the Oil "Head-Fake" Scenario

  Published 14 May 2010 | viewed 8,622 times

  With the world teetering on the edge of another global financial meltdown, it's a good time to revisit my May 2008 Oil "Head-Fake" Scenario. In…

• Cheap Oil: The Engine of America

  Published 13 May 2010 | viewed 9,125 times

  The foundation of the American lifestyle and economy is cheap oil. Remove that prop and every aspect of that lifestyle becomes questionable. Not to sound…

• 4 Economic Predictions: What Remains when you Scrape Away the Hype

  Published 11 May 2010 | viewed 10,001 times

  Market fluctuations are mostly noise. To understand the trends beneath the surface noise, we need to establish an integrated context. The Mainstream Financial Media (MFM)…

• Why the Euro Is Doomed

  Published 10 May 2010 | viewed 8,714 times

  Papering over the structural imbalances in the Eurozone with endless bailouts will not resolve the fundamental asymmetries. Beneath the endless announcements of Greece's "rescue" lie…

• Oil, Greece & China – On a Collision Course with Reality

  Published 03 May 2010 | viewed 8,294 times

  A chart of exponential growth/depletion may be the "chart of the century." The chart displays two lines: the blue line traces out exponential growth (for…

• Why the Stock Market and Oil are Rallying

  Published 30 April 2010 | viewed 5,165 times

  Below are two self-explanatory charts which shed light on the current rallies in the stock market and oil. The first is a long-term snapshot of…

• Is Gasoline Set to Double in Price? Why do So Few People Seem to Care

  Published 25 April 2010 | viewed 6,554 times

  Human beings resist change until there is no other choice, and then they adapt and habituate rather quickly. Human beings are remarkably adept at short-sightedness…

• The Predatory Partnership of Wall Street and the State

  Published 22 April 2010 | viewed 5,561 times

  The Central State and Financial Plutocracy are bound in a mutually beneficial, highly predatory partnership. The Mainstream Media is missing the Big Story in the…

• Gaming the System - The Foundation of the U.S. Economy

  Published 19 April 2010 | viewed 6,594 times

  The status quo not just incentivizes gaming the system, it has made it the primary way to get ahead in today's economy. Gaming the system…

• China's Towers and US McMansions: When Things Fall Apart (Literally)

  Published 13 April 2010 | viewed 8,819 times

  Shoddy construction throughout the world, but especially in China and the U.S., is a type of mal-investment, and it will have consequences. Everybody seems to…

• Are Short Term Treasuries the Best Trade of the Next Five Years

  Published 11 April 2010 | viewed 7,378 times

  Despite the year-long equities rally and the euphoric mood of speculators and government officials, maybe the best trade of the next 5 years will be…

• Are We Heading for a Decade of 1970s Style Stagflation?

  Published 06 April 2010 | viewed 8,973 times

  Four key factors in the 1970s were very different from present conditions, and that argues against 1970s-style stagflation as a model for 2010-2020. Sometimes history…

• Is the U.S. Dollar the Contrarian Trade of the Decade

  Published 22 March 2010 | viewed 8,040 times

  The majority of economic observers seem convinced that the dollar is doomed, and not in some distant future. The basic reason for this unanimity is…

• The Trouble With Bonds

  Published 19 March 2010 | viewed 6,973 times

  The U.S. deficit and the Treasury bonds which must be sold to fund it are beyond comprehension. The trouble with bonds (the U.S. Treasury variety,…

• Google's Decision Highlights the Dangers of Doing Business in China

  Published 17 March 2010 | viewed 9,676 times

  The ramifications of Google's decision to leave China are deep: China's leadership, be careful what you wish for. I have been a student of China…