@nnzp1730 I’m a big believer in the Mencken quote. Knives have their time and place. Nestle Quick ain’t it! 😂
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
@Delta your gate agents at A6 in a Birmingham literally have no idea who they have allowed on the plane. Nor are they being helpful to people who have been here since 0645.
Absolute chaos here all day.
Gate agents just ignoring people.
I was fortunate to hear @nfergus speak last Friday evening — just hours before the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed Iran's murderous leader. His remarks were incredibly well received.
Sir Niall's central thesis is that the 2020s are not the 1800s or the 1920s — they're more like the 1970s.
Trump is best understood not as a would-be dictator but as a quintessentially American figure in the tradition of Presidents Jackson, McKinley, and Teddy Roosevelt - with a little P.T. Barnum on the side.
His risk appetite is extraordinary, and while his tariffs have been far less disruptive than economists predicted, the deeper structural challenge — what Sir Niall dubs "Ferguson's Law" — is real: any great power that spends more on debt interest than on defense is in decline. The US crossed that threshold in 2024.
On geopolitics, Sir Niall laid out the Three-Body Problem facing America: Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia all pull simultaneously on finite US resources. We've landed in Brzezinski's worst-case scenario — a genuine China-Russia-Iran axis.
Saturday's attacks may have helped to alter that.
The Iran strike, he predicted, would be regime alteration rather than regime change — surgical, swift, and nothing like Iraq 2003. It is the play from the recent strike in Venezuela: decapitate the offending regime and use the threat of continued decapitation to persuade the successor to embrace US geopolitical ambitions at the expense of Russia's and China's.
This may be good for US negotiating power but may not be the news the people of Iran are keen to hear.
But the Iran question, he argued, is a sideshow compared to the real danger: China intervention in Taiwan, what he calls the "Taiwan Semiconductor Crisis" that would dwarf the 1973 oil shock.
The solution? Trump needs a Nixon-goes-to-Beijing moment and a new détente with China before miscalculation becomes catastrophe.
His overall predictions center on AI CAPEX peaking, Democrats and their policies becoming competitive, the dollar weakening and gold continuing to remain strong, and continued Chinese strength.
His article in the @TheFP on Saturday echoes much of his presentation, ex- the South Park lyrics!
A remarkable evening with one of the great strategic minds of our time.
I had the good fortune to attend the @TgMacro conference this week. It was one of the best I've been to in a couple of decades on the street.
The presenters were all world class: experienced, articulate, and thought-provoking. They got me looking at mosaic tiles I didn't know I had and pushed me to think of constructing the picture in new ways.
Bravo to @dailydirtnap@DoombergT@Alyosha745@SantiagoAuFund@hkuppy@ttmygh, and @MRAfunds. Also, shout out to @maggielake for an excellent job moderating.
The presentations alone were worth the trip. The side conversations over coffee and meals were even more enlightening. I highly recommend following and subscribing to these fine folks.
It was also a real pleasure connecting with @nnzp1730 - another great thinker. I'm looking forward to continuing to share ideas, books, running exaggerations, and knee doctor tips.
Thank you, too, to Brent for a fun dinner and Bridgette for a great lunch. Good connections all around.
These connections are the hallmark of the type of person @TgMacro is. He's a high integrity super-connector with an old school code on relationships and hospitality. He's also an incredibly astute market observer and trader who lays out his thinking in a uniquely articulate and entertaining fashion.
I'm delighted to be in the ranks of his subscribers and more importantly honored to be his friend.
Can't wait for next year.
🫡