Peter Grandich delivers his most bearish outlook in a 40+ year career, predicting 2026-2027 could be the most challenging years in 50 years due to mounting debt ($38T heading to $50T), political division worse than any time since the Civil War, and a deteriorating middle class hanging by its fingernails. He explains why this was his best five-year period after moving entirely into gold and precious metals in 2021, with price targets of $5,000 for gold and $100 for silver still ahead. He warns we're in the earliest stages of becoming a banana republic as BRICS launches a gold-backed trading unit and de-dollarization accelerates.

This episode is brought to you by VanEck.

Learn more about the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF: http://vaneck.com/REMXJulia

Links:

https://x.com/PeterGrandich

https://petergrandich.com/

https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-FORMER-Wall-Street-Whiz/dp/B096LPRYW6

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro and welcome Peter Grandich

01:17 Macro view - not a lot of positive things to say

09:47 Best year in five years - gold and precious metals trade

13:52 Oil prediction: $50 before $150

15:12 Deteriorating middle class hanging by fingernails

21:41 Most concerned he's ever been in 40+ year career

23:01 Trump's trade war mistakes

28:21 De-dollarization and dollars coming back to US

30:18 Solutions: Return to moral compass and faith

35:48 Wealth preservation vs appreciation for investors

41:31 Passive investing

45:12 The 12 factors of why party like 1929 will bite back

47:58 Biblical wisdom on debt and finances

49:19 Parting thoughts

Carol Roth, a “recovering” investment banker, financial television commentator, entrepreneur, and two-time New York Times best-selling author, joins Julia La Roche again for episode 321. Carol delivers a sobering assessment of America's broken fiscal foundation with debt-to-GDP over 120%, explaining why the K-shaped economy is creating a non-merit-based divide driven by policy and the administrative class wealth transfer. She discusses the wealth paradox - despite abundance, Americans are more stressed than ever due to housing, education, and healthcare costs - and predicts inflation will be the release valve for our debt crisis. Roth shares her bullish thesis on gold and precious metals as central banks shift away from US Treasuries, explains why the Fed's tools are now irrelevant in this fiscal dominance era, and reveals her predictions for 2026 including decoupling from European allies, Fed chaos, and wild out-of-the-box policies.

This episode is brought to you by VanEck.

Learn more about the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF: http://vaneck.com/REMXJulia

Links:

You Will Own Nothing: https://www.carolroth.com/nothing/

Follow Carol Roth on X: https://x.com/caroljsroth

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro and welcome Carol Roth

00:57 Big picture macro view: Broken fiscal foundation

04:07 K-shaped economy debate and wealth paradox

11:46 Administrative class wealth transfer problem

18:33 Is Trump going to fix the broken fiscal foundation?

24:37 Do rate cuts help everyday Americans?

30:51 Gold as hedge and insurance policy

37:50 "You Will Own Nothing" - what's changed since 2023

45:33 Predictions for 2026

48:58 Wrap up and where to find Carol

Chris Whalen, chairman of Whalen Global Advisors and author of The Institutional Risk Analyst blog, joins The Julia La Roche Show for "The Wrap with Chris Whalen."

In this episode, Chris Whalen breaks down why Kevin Hassett may have blown his chances for Fed Chair by walking back Trump's views, discusses Kevin Warsh as the emerging frontrunner, and explains his reform proposal to return to a decentralized Fed with 15 district banks focused solely on sound money. He reveals why Trump's rhetoric about interest rates is backfiring (pushing the 10-year UP instead of down), predicts a home price correction in 2027-28, and explains why 3% inflation is now the new target. Whalen also discusses why gold and silver are still in early innings, how commercial real estate pain is being quietly resolved in the background, why good bank numbers mask concerning private credit risks, and answers a viewer question about BOJ rate hikes potentially triggering a broader correction.

Links:

The Institutional Risk Analyst: https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/

https://www.theinstitutionalriskanalyst.com/post/theira785

Inflated book (2nd edition): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/inflated-r-christopher-whalen/1146303673

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/rcwhalen

Website: https://www.rcwhalen.com/

https://international-economy.com/TIE_Su25_Whalen.pdf

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcome Chris Whalen

01:10 Kevin Hassett: Did he blow his chances for Fed Chair?

03:38 Reforming the Fed: Decentralized model vs FDR's changes

04:11 How decentralization would change Fed policy

06:08 Fed must be independent of President, not Congress

07:44 Post-1935 power concentration with Fed Chair

08:11 How centralization distorted monetary policy

09:17 Has the Fed been acting like its own hedge fund?

10:30 Home price correction coming in 2027-28

11:14 Subscribe reminder

11:52 Trump's rate talk pushing yields UP not down

12:56 Advice to Trump: Talk about growth and jobs, not rates

14:09 Kevin Warsh as emerging frontrunner for Fed Chair

15:17 Scrap the dual mandate, focus on sound currency

16:41 CPI print this week: 3% is the new target

17:23 Raising conforming limits encourages more inflation

18:42 Gold, sound money, and what Treasury should do

20:14 Is sound money viable?

21:33 Roosevelt's New Deal legacy and today's problems

22:53 Silver all-time high, gold north of $4,300 - still early innings

24:22 Commercial real estate pain and which banks are exposed

27:10 Private credit, NDFIs and why good bank numbers are concerning

29:37 Inflation driving everything in New York and beyond

30:22 Viewer question: BOJ rate hikes and impact on risk assets

31:44 Wrap up, year-end predictions preview and where to find Chris