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Simon Black Podcast: The Most Sound Opportunities Are Outside The Western World
Submitted by Chris Martenson
Simon Black: The Most Sound Opportunities Are Outside The Western World
"In the long run, as decades of capital misallocations and inefficiencies in the global economy get shaken out, there’s going to be a redistribution of the wealth. And I think the wealth is going to go to where it’s treated best.
And at the end of the day, that’s really what I’m looking for: the places that have the most solid fundamentals and the best growth potential."
So states Simon Black, who travels the world (over 20 countries in the past 3 months) in order to assess and report on the investment and lifestyle opportunities offered by various international destinations for the readers of his blog, SovereignMan.com. His boots-on-the ground observations lead him to conclude that there are a number of resource-rich and fiscally-sound developing nations that are much better positioned to meet the future than the US and its developed counterparts. Smart investors, in his opinion, can't afford to ignore the stability and returns (both financial and lifestyle) these countries offer. They should be asking themselves: do I have sufficient exposure to these opportunities?
Click here to listen to Chris' interview with Simon Black (runtime 33m:25s):
Read the Transcript of the Podcast
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In this podcast, Simon details:
- The nature and scope of the opportunity he sees foreign markets offer - on investing, business and personal levels
- Why much of the developing world is in a secular ascendancy vs developed countries
- The investing edge his boots-on-the-ground info scouting gives him in identifying and assessing opportunities
- The universal trend he observes in all governments to preserve the status quo - and why that means the US is likely to continue down its current inflationary money-printing path
- How developing exposure to countries outside your own offers reduced risk and higher potential returns to your investment portfolio
- How individuals of any means can pursue "true freedom": sufficient personal wealth, time and liberty - by looking abroad
Simon Black is the proprietor of the SoveriegnMan.com blog. He travels to dozens of countries each year, meeting with key players in industry, government, and finance, to develop an insider’s advantage in understanding where world affairs are headed. Simon's blog is dedicated to the principal of helping people find true freedom, which he defines as having sufficient wealth, time and personal liberty. To that end, he produces a daily stream of both free and premium Notes From The Field for his readers.
Our series of podcast interviews with notable minds includes:
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AUD Bitchezzzz !!!
Sound Opportunities bitchezzz!
The problem with saying there is "opportunity" abroad is that it all depends on what you do. I live in Asia. The average salary where I live is around $600 per month. If you're capable of earning money on your own, online, or (best option) consulting to multi-nationals -- you can do well abroad. One should note, that companies that have relocated abroad are really most interested in local talent -- because it's incredibly cheap. And that after all is the reason they're there.
I've seen many (MANY) people try to make a go of it, and end up back in the States. Either that, or they go 'native' and live on a shoestring. (Which, all things being equal -- is not actually as terrible as it sounds if you're living someplace beautiful like South America or Central America).
The problem though, is that most people go abroad today thinking that it's going to be "cheap" / "easy living". It's not. Period. The world is getting significantly more expensive for Americans. Going abroad for many people is the worst decision they ever made. For others, they find a way to make it work.
But saying that there's "better opportunity abroad" is bullshit. It's the Simon Black version of "talking your book". Afterall, that's his message. And he doesn't have another.
Does this mean the rest of the world will stop flooding the West with immigrants?? GTH Black.
http://www.radicalislam.org/content/destroying-one-koran-vs-destroying-m...
'The rest of the world' is not flooding the West w/ immigrants. The West is flooding the West w/ immigrants because the West wants to die.
There are certain political/religious organizations that do have an Anti-west agenda through the PC tool of immigration. But the Third world uses those naive organizations to reduce social unrest and cost. Either way the West is on the road to ruin. Just look up Egyptian and Asia Minor history, that would be Real history not PC... BS..
true dat
More confirmation of
∞
∑QEn
n=1
This has been an ongoing trend since Nixon's visit to China. We have been moving capital and resources to lesser developed countries due to that is the only growth left in the world. I'm betting on Mongolia, Afghanastain and Western Africa to be the biggest growth markets, even though their markets are closer to a clusterfuck than a market.
Very nice, how did you do that?....I tip my hat
MS Word, then copy and paste.
tell Tyler to use that in captcha
Once those clusterf**k economies get up some speed, you will draw the monopoly "Go To Jail" card as you will see the nationalization of strategic assets.
No volume anymore...only SLV left to trade...markets retire
Come on Tyler, Simon Black is a lightweight - at best.
Hunt around for others for reporting on expat / emigration topics.
like this?
http://www.farmukraine.com/
http://www.farmukraine.com/denhartfeature.pdf
...weve been here before 20 countires in 3 months is suppose to impress....but if you look into that a little deeper including travel time Mr. Black has not spent enough time in those 20 countries to give a thourough and thoughtful evaluation. Give me more time in each country rather than 2-3 days then I'll think about possibly listening to what you have to say besides selling your newsletter and hotel conferences.
A careful look often reveals the cost of living in these foreign lands is not much different than living in an average U.S. city. For young people, there are great opportunities in places like Chile or Uruguay. Older folks who think they can kick back and retire to these places on the cheap will be disappointed.
Exactly. Older people are stuck here and cannot move south without a nice pension and plenty of savings.
Apartment rents in Santiago de Chile and in Lima (for nice apartments) are on par with typical American cities now (ex NY, Boston, SF, DC). Rents in Rio are similar to Boston or DC for a comparable space. There are many apartments in the nicer areas of Lima and Santiago which are more expensive per sq. ft than the nicest places in New Orleans or Dallas.
Food is not cheap either in these S. American cities. Fruit is cheap, but that's about it.
The Brazilian currency is up over 40% in 7 years versus the dollar.
Bernanke and the Patriot Act are making sure that all exits are blocked.
Retiring on the cheap? What does it mean?
For pensioners, the situation will grow clearer and clearer, especially those on low pensions. Energy, food price rises, that is their first expenditures, will keeping beating the inflation. It will be opting between struggling more and more in the US and living comfortably in another country.
Locals have to live in their country. A pensioner with a 1 500 $ per month makes more than many locals in foreign countries. This without accounting what liquidation of assets in the US can bring and what it is possible to buy with that in foreign countries.
Will they live like those countries upper classes? Certainly not. But new wave of colonization onwards, same causes as the previous ones.
Colombia is still a bargain and free of much of the violence that has marred the country for much of the past. You can live well there for $US 20,000 a year.
+10 My thoughts exactly. Thanks for doing the math and posting for me. I always watch for the ones who beat their chests so much. Nothing wrong with my BS detctor.
Get your life savings out of paper assets in the U.S. and into real assets before I tax your ass and Bennie devalues your ass. -The President
Now hang on a sec, this the same dumbfuck who on Tuesday told everyone to go whole hog into silver triple short ZSL? Just like every other dope and nervous nellie did. Yesterday, ZSL shares lost nearly 15% of their value.
With irrepressible silver stable and soon heading higher, Simon Black's ignorance about the fundamentals of the PM markets no doubt led to widespread losses among those fooolish enough to bet with you against the silver Bear. You really need to apologize for and own up to an awful call that you weren't even qualified to make.
It appears that Black's PM credentials are phonier than that POS Mr. D'ohbama tried to slide by us yesterday. And that thing is an obvious phony. The "birth certificate" is too :-0)
Yep. That's the guy Bob:
http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/should-i-sell-my-silver
I don't bother reading Black's pieces anymore; I just tuned-in to see if other ZH'ers had figured it out too...
outside the western world...
I'll never put my money in Asia or Afrika or the middle east.
If you don't speak the language and if all you have to base your info on is a website, I'll pass.
I've been all over the world to. And never did I trust one of them enough to give them my money.
Thanks for the back up Pool Shark. Forgot to mention that ZSL is down again today.
In terms of PMs The Sovereign Man simply doesn't know shit from shinola. And that is OK, not everyone is Turd Ferguson. But then just be sure to shut up so as to not lose people money.
Best to you.
Yeah I went to Simon Blacks conference in February. That guy is just a salesman. He had a group of "advisors" basically just cutting deals with one another to take the FRNs of the participants. They didn't have the interest of the participants.
First of all he doesnt know jacks*it about monetary policy other than some surface level information such as "..the dollar, euro, and yen are are three 3 buckets of water.Imagine three buckets and an increasing volume of water. Capital allocators are essentially dumping the contents of one pail into another– from the dollar bucket into the euro and yen bucket, and from the euro bucket back into the dollar bucket. Each time this happens, though, a little bit of water spills out into smaller buckets– gold, silver, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Chile, Australia, etc." (Simon Black)
Here's something else his ignorant asz doesn't know about the Renminbi. They've been printing money to buy US T-bills http://www.pbc.gov.cn/publish/html/2010s07.htm Scroll that site and you can find it or watch this video of the guy at Khan Academy who's done some preliminary analysis. You need to compare the 2009 to 2010 data of the M1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Azskeheo_g&feature=player_embedded
Any thoughts....?
I invest in Asia myself, but this is not advice I would give anyone that has no real contact to these region's. I can do it, because I trust my wife's family there. If I didn't trust her family, or didn't have them in the first place I wouldn't do so.
Simon probably hasnt done half the things he's said he's done. As what Pazmaker above said going into a nation for a few days doesnt qualify to make recommendations. Simon's rebuttal is "if you know the right people then you can get what you need" I've told Simon the IMF is creating an SDR standard currency to evolve into a one world currency and hasn't reported it. It's because it will hurt his business model of praying on the fears of people.
http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2010/041310.pdf
Bancor, Bitchz....
Black had a life before these three months or so. If indeed he had not, the three months story will be damaging.
When you are already connected into a country, you dont need to spend weeks to take temperature.
Right but I find it amusing how he's allegedly connected in every country. Moreover he never makes any specific recommendations other than referring folks to real estate agents who work with expats. WTF I could make those recommendations. He said he's only doing one conference and there's a reason for that.... People would catch on to his bullshit. Therefore it's a wise business move to pullout before negative repercussions.
I planted my flag (as Simon says) 15 years ago in Costa Rica. I’m happier than a clam and will never move back to USA. Takes a bit of getting used to and you better learn Spanish but after that it’s great. I did not need someone like this POS to tell me how to do it. For a good laugh google Simon Black and look at the only picture published of him. Popo is right on his post about what it takes to be an expat. .
I for my daily joke read his mails (be Sovereign!!) and simply laugh at the audacity of his claims. As others have posted the guy never really covers anything. Selling memberships at an inflated price which won’t really help someone who is interested in getting out of the states to country where they could be happy. Recently he says go to Paragauy.
Ive been there and if anyone in his right mind would consider movingthere they are as crazy as Bernanake. Uruguay is a different story though and an excellent option.
The guy is a gadfly. A scam artist. For more fun (I have lots of time for fun here) I listened to his recent pushing of the Atlas 400 club. What a crock of shit that is. It’s not for everyone mind you. Only those that can afford it in order to make some really good contacts at $25,000 US FRNS per year. But hey you may get to drive a BMW or Porsche on their German racetrack. But of course you need to pay for the whole trip to that extra.
Tyler. I have a lot of respect for you. But when you pump these pieces of shit scam artists you really downgrade you’re respectability. You either believe this guys shit or he pays you enough to publish it. What is it.
Get the piece of shit off of ZH.
He's definitely a salesman and Zero Hedge is certainly giving him the platform. He writes partial truths to lure people in for investments and subscriptions. That's his game.
Almost 7 countries per month? Sounds just about right if your on the run. Constant checking in and out of a hotel. That sounds like fun. If he actually did this, which is doubtful, he would be spending all his time making reservations and place/train tickets instead of running his business.
I've lived all over Eastern Europe and Asia and I can tell you that 99% of Westerners who who try to do business in these parts will think they are living in some dream filled with mental patients from One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. Unless you know how to walk, talk, and commune with retards, mental patients and LSD induced pschotropic bots, i'm not sure how you can prosper from the opportunities that abound. Opportunities are everywhere you look there but the structure of the system in these countries make it impossible to capitalize on them.
It sounds good on paper, but in reality it's beyond difficult.
my first +1
I agree with you. I agree get out of the USA if you can. For me and many people I know here in COsta Rica it has been a good decision. Not everyone can or wants to do it. I understand that.
In my experience it is for retiring and living cheaper and more relaxed. Central and South America are great as Im sure places in Asia are too. All though I cant speak to that.
Also less goverment rousting and hassle. But you have to pick the right country. And you have to have good expectations of what it will entail. Trying to go somewhere and set up a business is difficult if not impossible long term as you pointed out.
This planting flags thing is not easy. But if yo ucan handle it and can get away it is really a great way to live.
I love it but it is not for everyone as POPO pointed out.
But for someone considering it Simon Black aint going to be your answer.
Agian Tyler get this POS off of ZH. You are hurting IMHO people who are considering leaving the USA for greener pastures.
Two words for you
Bra zil
Low debt
Growing, young population
Lots of natural resources.
+1 for Brazil.
Simon sells snakeoil. Tyler, please dont post this guys stuff here this is the only place I get the real news...
Snakeoil, bitchzz....
I agree with vast majority of statements over here. Also, I have to admit that I made several posts about Simon Black. Thus, I do not want to make an impression that,
somehow, I am obsessed with the guy. Therefore, it will be my last post about him. I am glad to see that many posters realize that the guy is essentially a salesman and what he is trying to sell is hardly has any value and frankly overpriced. But he needs to make a living somehow and if there are buyers who I am to judge.
The problem is that the guy pretends that he is a sort of visionary who can predict a future, give valuable investment advice, highly connected in various spheres etc. Unfortunately, his track record does not confirm his aspirations and it makes him a charlatan by definition.
His message (get out of anywhere no matter where you live) extends the potential audience for his sales pitch but if you think about it, makes no sense.
Let me just join to many others to say that his omnipresence on this website seriously discredit it...
The next CRASH will be a DOOZY and will crash all those emerging economies also...we are all interlcoked now. The China Bubble crash will domino and crash Australia which is about 90% dependent on shipping resources to China.....perhaps NZ will do well.
Canadian RE Bubble will also plunge...imho.
Yeah, soon the Chinese will soon stop building ghost cities and Americans won't be able to afford their consumer crap, but the Chinese will still have to eat like everyone else. NZ has plenty of non-radioactive food. I think people are starting to figure this out, because the NZD has been on a rampage starting shortly after the Japanese carry traders blew their brains out.
The livestock are all grass fed too. This makes everything much robust during a systemic collapse, because oil and other input costs are much smaller than elsewhere.
I first came across Mr. Black at a Casey Research conference, and I have a lot of respect for the folks at that organization. Black spoke on a panel and was mobbed afterwards. I started subscribing to his newsletter after that, sent it to my friends. If nothing else, he made me think about overseas diversification, however, his other service is overpriced and I hear a lot of complaints about his recommendations.
For a cheaper version of his type of advice, I like the Sovereign Individual newsletter, which has a little bit of everything.
Not completely down on the guy, but I'm also not spending $895 for the DVDs of his conference, either.
Perhaps a Socialist utopia is more to your liking:
http://www.thevenusproject.com/
</sarc>
Nope. A friend of mine grew up on a commune, and based on what he's told me, it's not for me.
Simon Black == fraud... scam artist... casey wannabe... CIA.
South America has a lot to offer. There are many 3rd world countries that have a great lifestyle for retirees and people who want a life based on something else besides making money. Exporting a round the clock work ethic to these other places is not the answer. Although, if you are a workaholic who works remotely on the internet why not work at a cafe at the beach in Brazil or Chile or Vietnam? I think you'll find it more interesting than a Starbucks in San Francisco :)
After thinking things over, I'm going to stick with Black. I do not think he is a scam artist nor do I think commenters on ZH have a right to call him that. He does the best he can to address questions by subscribers and there's no need for me to jump on the "scam artist" bandwagon.
Barking Spaniel,
Did you attend the conference? Do you have the ability to evaluate something without a "dogma" perspective?
I was unable to attend the conference, but I did hear him speak at another event.
I have first-hand experience he is a self-serving scam artist. Lately a great many people in his list of paid subscribers are catching on, too. That does not mean "everything he says is false".
If you have personal experience with this, then I'd like to hear about it.
Barking Spaniel,
Read my comments above.
Thanks. Good to know.
This is my first time posting here. I am a current subscriber to SMC so I'll add my 2c and be brief.
So far, I'm not especially impressed with the value of the subscription. But they still have 6 months to convince me otherwise.
Also, what is it with the alias "Simon Black"? As a marketing device, fine. Maybe the constant traveling is another. But it will wear thin in time. Business people don't generally do serious business with those who use an assumed name and who operate out of a suitcase.