Egon von Greyerz: Concurrent Deflation and Hyperinflation Will Ravage the World
The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by David Haggith
Debts and assets will implode. Stocks will tank and commodities will soar. Society will not function nor will social security, pensions etc. The global population will decrease dramatically. The reasons for this reduction of world population: Economic collapse, misery, famine, disease and wars.
Inflation will be the keyword in coming years. The world will simultaneously experience inflation, deflation, stagflation and eventually hyperinflation.
With most asset classes falling rapidly, the world is approaching calamities of a proportion never seen before. So far in 2022, we have had an implosion of asset prices across the board of around 20%. What few investors realise is that this is only the beginning. Before this bear market is over, the world will see 75%—90% falls of stocks, bonds and other assets.
At the same time as bubble assets deflate, prices of goods and services have started an inflationary cycle of a magnitude that the world has never experienced before.
The official inflation rate is currently around 8% in the US and Europe. But for the average consumer in the West, prices are rising by at least 25% on average for their everyday needs such as food and fuel.
Up for discussion: A calamitous world; deflationary implosion of investment markets; bonds; investment markets—nowhere to hide; epic super bubbles always have an unhappy ending; wealth protection a necessity; and gold—the ultimate insurance against wealth destruction.
“Anyone who has experienced hyperinflation also knows that the only money that survives such a calamity is gold. I met a year ago a man from former Yugoslavia who recognized me and told my friends who were with me that physical gold saved his family from total devastation. My friends sadly did not take his advice.”
“But remember that any protection or insurance must be acquired before disaster hits you.”