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Bill Buckler Of "The Privateer" Calls It Quits
Yet another (one of the very few remaining) voice of reason calls it quits after 30 years of writing The Privateer, one of the best financial newsletters. At this rate there will be virtually nobody left to challenge the daily propaganda spew coming out of the mainstream farcism. As Bill says, "We have been analysing the idiocies and imbecilities of the financial and political "powers that be" for a long time. And for an equivalent time, we have been watching the "markets" succumb to this detritus. That process was completed with the global near death financial experience of late 2008 but it had been building up since long before we began to chronicle it in 1984.... we need a break." Sadly, expect the amount of idiocies and imbecilities to rise exponentially in the near future as the insolvency of the dying status quo regime is exposed for everyone - not just rich Cypriot depositors - to see. As for Bill: enjoy the break, you have earned it.
From Bill Buckler, author of The Privateer
The 726th issue of The Privateer is now ready for you to download.
On its own, "726" is just a number. In the context of what we do, it represents almost thirty years of producing this newsletter. The schedule is inexorable. With the exception of a four-week break at the end of the year, we do it every two weeks and we do "Gold This Week" every week as well. That has been going on in an unbroken string ever since our first issue came out in October 1984. One of our most satisfying achievements is the simple fact that we have NEVER missed an issue, not once, in all those years.
October 1984 was a very long time ago.
Our newsletter has always been a "cottage industry". For most of our existence, there were three people involved. For the past four years, The Privateer has been the product of two people, your captain and his wife.
Our task is not just the writing and editing of the newsletter. On top of that, there is all the necessary research, answering subscriber emails, the regular tasks of running a business must be done, and all the updates and upkeep at our website must be kept going. It's a lot of work and it never slackens.
We have reached the point in our lives where it is time to say farewell.
We always knew that once we decided to stop producing the newsletter, we couldn't get anyone else to do it for us. We can't "sell" the business or pass it on to someone else to carry on. We have thought about it, but it didn't take us long to come to that conclusion. This is a long-winded way of telling you that this issue of The Privateer is our second last. The last issue will be the Late April 2013 issue - Number 727 - published on April 28. The final update to "Gold This Week" will be for April 26.
Richard Russell is famous for pointing out that the writing and production of a newsletter is about as close to "the ideal business" as you can get.
We couldn't agree more. It has sustained us for most of our working life and we are sure we have enjoyed it much more than we would have enjoyed any other type of "career". But there comes a point in any endeavour, however stimulating, when a sense of "sameness" and "routine" starts to creep in. We have been analysing the idiocies and imbecilities of the financial and political "powers that be" for a long time. And for an equivalent time, we have been watching the "markets" succumb to this detritus. That process was completed with the global near death financial experience of late 2008 but it had been building up since long before we began to chronicle it in 1984.
As we said, we need a break. We do not and cannot know whether this break will be permanent. We are certainly not going to stop watching and analysing the state of the political and economic world. We are just going to stop writing about it - in our newsletter and at our website - for an indeterminate time. Maybe we will start again in the future, even the not too distant future. But we will NOT be doing it as we have in the past, in a newsletter whose structure has been fixed for decades.
All we can say for sure is that The Privateer as it presently stands will end as of the next issue (#727)....
It remains for us both to thank you personally for being a subscriber to The Privateer. We apologise for cutting you off from it. But all things must end. If you would like to stay in touch, our "non Privateer" email address will be included in our next letter. And who knows, once a writer
- always a writer. There may be something in the pipeline in future.
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So near you smell , and taste it ,even upwind.
18 months ,or less. to get ready
Or, more likely, losing market share, hence doom-industry consolidation. Occam's Razor.
I once took a class to become a wilderness guide. One of the most important lessons learned on that trip was that most accidents, group stress issues, etc. happen at the end of a long strenuous day. We are at the end of a long stressful economic period that has taken a serious toll on lots of us. If it were not for the few remaining blogs and newsletters that we can trust (ZH), I am afraid this bad ending will be worse.
Fine. But as an uncompromising Realist and Rationalist, I expect any prognosticator to come clean. Even Krugman and ZH.
Both had better have the balls and integrity to proclaim that The End (ZH) or Problem-Resolution (Krugman) is 4 weeks, 4 months or 4 years away.
Only 1 can be right. Otherwise it is just profitable financial info-tainment that caters to its well-defined target audience. And we need to be able to hedge accordingly.
Gentlemen, start your engines!
Attempting to time major macro economic changes is a fool's game. Economies are not deterministic, the beliefs of the participants are too large a component to make it possible to make anything other than rough guesses... and that would be under ideal circumstances, where governments are not constantly blinding us with false price signals.
I don't "disagree" with you, but... at SOME point, you gotta "call" their hand of cards. For planning purposes and asset allocation, one needs "actionable" intelligence for the next 6 months, 1 yr, 2 yr, 5 yr. IMO, the year-after-year, fuzzy-wuzzy-tea-leaf reading won't cut it with anyone other than a fool or glutton for punishment.
It's time someone said "Call!" on both parties. And then either one or the other is right, or both are wrong. But we'd know and could act accordingly, instead of staying on the IV drip. In the business, technology or engineering world you can't peddle 'vapor-ware' forever either. Call me 'jaded' and BS-resistant.
See what I'm saying?
As a contrarian, this capitulation is bullish for the PM's...stocks?... not so much.
Arrrrrhhhh, one less privateer!
That be a shame matey.
Avast, may your chest o' gold remain always yours alone, and may the scalliwags feel the blade of your sword should they ever try to reach for it.
First time I have ever said it but FUCK you. You are the typical armchair chattering class, you have no idea what this man has contributed.
I was actually speaking in defense and admiration of Bill Buckler, oh clueless one.
And yes, I know he who is, and yes, I have read his work many times before.
So the auto-coitus ball is back in your court.
Then my apologies , on rereading I see your point.
You might wanna reread that.
gone fishing?
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Quint Is Devoured - Jaws (9/10) Movie CLIP (1975) HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmLP0QQPqFw
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Barrett's Privateers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMV34CwNMY0
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old remus from the woodpile report noted this increasing trend.my take is as the old ones go theres not many smart enough to write to replace them
The Captain of the Privateer will be sorely missed as he had helped many to navigate the seas of turbulence of the economic storms that ravage the current economic fiat world. We wish him well in going Galt and thank him from the bottom of our hearts for the intellectual wealth he has bestowed on us. Live well and I will miss terribly my fortnightly Sunday Privateer.
...honest and ethic people cannot stand anymore this financial and political world full of shit!
I think he was accepting Bitcoins in payment , and the crash was the final straw.
When the crash comes,you will see logs come crashing down over all the small roads leading from the cities to the countryside.The distinction between food-producers and consumers will be clear. The Amish have the right idea there,with the communities depending upon each individual to contribute to the support of the whole. No utopia but perhaps less chance of a parasitic class of society developing. If we ever restore society to the US,we must have an honest currency and we must encourage saving for the future.
i feel like crying
Howdy, folks,
I haven't read all the responses to Tyler's posting of my letter. I have found it hilarious, however, that most of it seems to revolve around a slanging match with an ersatz (or maybe he's real) Paul Krugman.
Thank you very much to all who have had kind words for me. Oh, and I do want to comment on two posts. The first one talks about my "obligation" to go on producing the Privateer no matter what. I have no such "obligation" and never have had. Another one talks about me NOT refunding subscribers money. Tyler did not post the entire letter that I sent to subscribers. I have already had a number of them who have been so generous as to "waive" their refund. But every subscriber who does not specifically waive the repayment for issues they have paid for but will not receive will be refunded - IN FULL. Let's call it a "Privateer run" for want of a better expression.
The ideas are independent of me, I'm merely one who has articulated them. There are a lot of good people doing that. Many of them are quoted here on ZeroHedge. Most of you know who they are. But you've got to stop feeding the trolls - this thread is an excellent example of that - and think for yourselves.
Dear Bill,
Let me please tell you "Thanks" for all your work over the years, and all the valuable (invaluable!) information you have provided to your subscribers. It is good to see you post this message here, and good luck to you in whatever future endeavors you may pursue.
As for our little rhetorical boxing match with "Paul Krugman", please do not be too offended that it took so much of the thread here, and please do not think that we are all so gullible as to actually believe that we were really tangling with the real Princeton Professor of Predictable Prattle. Think of it as a 'professional' wrestling match --- fun to watch, fun to take part in, but not taken too seriously by anyone involved.
Well, it's good to read that akak. I was afraid you and others were going to have a massive brain hemorrhage or coronary fencing with that evil Succubus. Sparring can be stimulating and entertaining too. I will read these interactions in the future with that in mind.
Miffed;-)