Prominent Establishment Economist William White Warns “More Dangers Now Than 2007”

The comments above & below is an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by Michael Kosares

William White is a Canadian economist who did research at the Bank of England and the BIS before taking over the Economic Development and Review Committee at the OECD. He presented one of the earliest and most thoughtful warnings of the financial crisis back in 2003. He can, and should, be taken seriously.

White has consistently warned that the global economy stands at a precipice, that the 2007 crisis was not an end but a beginning.

White renews his warning in a Bloomberg interview, “OECD Sees More Dangers in Economy Than in 2007.” In it, White outlines the bind in which central banks find themselves and the depth of the problem that we need to guard against in our own investment plans.

He concludes with a warning: “We have to be cautious. We are in a very tough place… Be careful of what you do and be very cautious of the side effects, because you might not like it.”

In Ambrose Evans–Pritchard’s column, “World Faces Wave of Epic Debt Default” (January 2016), he provides more detail on White’s analysis for those who would like to dig a little deeper.

White’s argument is one of the strongest for gold and silver ownership as long-term safe-haven hedges. The catalyst for debt-deflation could be the realization in global financial markets that central banks have backed themselves into a corner over the past 10 years.  In other words, the next time around, we will be on our own, walking the high wire without a central bank safety net.

As displayed in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 crisis, gold is an excellent hedge for the kind of disinflationary-deflationary breakdown White fears. It rose by nearly three times over the period. Silver’s performance was even better; it rose over three-and-a-half times.