| By Bill Bonner SAN MARTIN, ARGENTINA – The plague will pass. The most recent reports show the virus may be losing its deadly oomph. Since April 4, the death count outside of New York is down, not up. And here’s another interesting piece of the puzzle… According to the National Center for Health Statistics, deaths from pneumonia this year are running about 1,000 per week fewer than usual. Most likely, normal, seasonal pneumonia deaths are being counted as COVID-19 virus fatalities… making the newcomer seem worse than it really is. Nine states – and several foreign countries – continue to resist the “lock ’em up” approach to fighting the disease. So far, they seem to be suffering no more fatalities than the others. We’ll see how it turns out for them. But the hype against the virus is looking less and less like real science… and more and more like another one of the feds’ fake wars. We have no information you don’t have, Dear Reader… maybe less. We claim no expertise in the matter, either. Still, our guess is that the bug will prove less of a threat than the media and the government now project. But while the natural calamity runs out of gas, the manmade one gets a tankful… | Recommended Link | | Now Playing: Free must-attend State of 5G Summit With Jeff Brown 5G insider Jeff Brown has come forward with a major announcement: We’re about to enter Phase 2 of the 5G boom. A specific event – which is coming up in the near future – is set to send the 5G boom into a whole new growth phase. Right now, he’s giving you the whole story – including details on the three stocks you need to own right now. | | | -- | When Money Is No Object Hardly a day goes by that some jackass-du-jour doesn’t recommend something really stupid. Yesterday, for example, you could hardly sneeze in the Capitol building without infecting half a dozen knuckleheads, each with a plan to waste the public’s money. The U.S. deficit is already rising to 13% of GDP, a new record. But the pols want more. ABC reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called for half a trillion dollars in additional financial aid to boost local and state governments, small businesses, food stamp recipients and hospitals struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic. Their request comes in response to the Trump administration’s call for more than $250 billion to help ailing small businesses. Why a series of small stocks could soar 10x or more during this next phase. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve let it be known that (fake) money was no object. It will do whatever it takes to protect Wall Street’s speculators. Its balance sheet (roughly America’s monetary base) already approaches $6 trillion. By the end of the year it is expected to be $10 trillion… or half of U.S. GDP. And economics advisor Larry Kudlow is now talking about putting into service the Fed’s “ultimate bazooka.” Word on the street is that what he has in mind is getting the Fed to buy stocks. The idea of it must have sent hearts a-tingling yesterday on Wall Street. Investors bought, driving up the Dow more than 700 points. The fix is not exactly in. But it’s close enough, investors figure. If the Fed puts its shoulder to raising stock prices, stock prices must rise. Investors aren’t wrong, necessarily. But floating up stock prices with a flood of fake money is not without its hazards. Typically, the economy drowns. You end up with less output and more money. Then, consumer prices move up along with stock prices. And in the long run – which can happen faster than we expect – the rise in consumer prices outpaces the rise in capital prices. In other words, sooner or later, the real prices for stocks come to reflect the real value of those companies. And in an economy suffering from high rates of inflation, it’s hard for companies to maintain profit margins. Values go down, not up. More on this tomorrow… In the meantime, we promised to chronicle our time spent under house arrest. Here’s a brief update… Life in the Calchaquí During the Time of the Plague It rained in the mountains over the weekend. The water rose in the river. “Great,” said Elizabeth, “we’re cut off again.” As it turned out, we were more cut off than we realized. 5G's Secret Engine Revealed in 2020. “Don’t try to walk across the footbridge,” Sergio, our farm manager, reported. “One of the support cables must have been rusty. It snapped. The bridge is kinda swinging…” There’s something charming about being isolated. The long days… quiet… without interruption… Time to notice the sweep of the wind over the alfalfa fields. Time to watch the hummingbirds visit flowers in the courtyard… and swat flies in the office. Time to notice as the mountains change color, depending on how the sun hits them. Time to get annoyed about nothing (The New York Times reports that cases of assault and battery are rising at home). Time to remember. And time to forget what you were trying to remember. Time… time… time… | Recommended Link | | The Best $19 You'll Ever Spend If you’re interested in learning more about a conservative options trading strategy… One that ANYONE can use to make money in the market… then check out Jeff Clark's new service, Jeff Clark Trader. It focuses on helping you fund a comfortable retirement – without touching stocks. It was recently unveiled. And one-year subscriptions are available for just $19. That’s the lowest price his publisher has EVER offered for a trading research service. And it might not be available for long… | | | -- | Caught Between Epochs We live between two geological epochs, separated by millions of years. One is old, worn out… wrinkly… craggy… and made cynical by time. The other is still young, with muscles bulging… vigorous… robust… and still trying to catch the clouds as they go by. On this side of the river, there are low hills… worn down over the millennia… and then, in the distance, a grim mountain wall. In the morning, with the sun behind it, the wall is purple. In the late afternoon, it is almost white… shining… like an impregnable fortress. This is described as a “Cretaceous–Paleogene” area on the geology charts, and includes the “Yacoraite Formation.” The other side of the river is described as “Proterozoic superior-Paleozoic inferior.” It’s part of the “Mesozoic-Tertiary synorogenic belt,” as near as we can tell. We don’t know what that means, either. But we take it that they are products of two separate events that happened long ago. To the east, the mountains are stripped to barren rocks and piles of sedimentary hills. To the west, at only 6 million years old, they are untamed and untutored. And here we are, between them… certainly not young, but not yet worn down to sand and dust. Like Monks With Bed, Book, and Candle Here, we are like monks with bed, book, and candle, enjoying the ennui of having nowhere to go and nothing to do. Up at 6 a.m. To bed at 10 p.m. No TV. No Netflix. No radio. No newspapers. Breakfast at 8 a.m., tea at 11 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m. And what a delight! Sergio brought a dozen Argentine croissants – medialunas – from a bakery in Salta. We will have two each day… lasting almost a week. And so do we measure out our lives in coffee spoons, medialunas, and bottles of Malbec. After a week, the medialunas are gone, and there are five or six “dead soldiers” under the sink. But there is always something that catches our attention here… things we wouldn’t have noticed in the pre-confinement days… For example, the sun rises over the Eastern mountains at 7:25 a.m… and by 7 p.m., it is behind the mountains to the West. In between, it shines benevolently over the valley… and warms everybody in it. The valley is scarcely half a mile across at the flat bottomland. The Nevado de Cachi – the tallest of the mountains on the west side of the river – watches over the valley. The Nevado rises to almost 21,000 feet and is covered in snow all year round. The Nevado de Cachi in the distance In the morning, it is the first to catch the sunlight. In the evening, it is the last to let it go. Like an ancient bell in an Italian village, it tolls morning and evening. It lights up, even before the sun has risen, telling us it is time to get to work. All day long it shines. Then, when the peak goes dark, the heat and passions of the day are gone… and it is time to rest. Regards, Bill Like what you’re reading? Send your thoughts to feedback@rogueeconomics.com. 
| Note From the Publisher You’ll notice a kind of “cosmetic” change in your Diary subscription. Don’t worry. You’ll still get absolutely everything you get right now. But going forward, Bonner & Partners will be called “Rogue Economics.” Longtime readers will recognize the idea of rogue economics… Bill launched the Diary of a Rogue Economist in 2013, to just a few thousand subscribers, when he formed his own boutique publishing business. Over the last seven years, his daily diaries (which became Bill Bonner’s Diary in 2015) have reached millions of readers. And his small, niche business has grown into one of the largest and most successful publishers in the industry. As part of that growth, we’ve introduced new voices… Diary readers regularly hear from tech expert Jeff Brown, world-traveler Tom Dyson, famed speculator and “anarcho-capitalist” Doug Casey, crypto guru Teeka Tiwari, longtime trader Jeff Clark, commodity analyst Dave Forest, and many others… In other words, we’ve been sharing more than just Bill’s ideas. And it’s time for our name to reflect that. Otherwise, nothing will change. You’ll still find Bill – his stories, insights, and wisdom – where you always have. It’ll just have a slightly different look. And you can expect more unique ideas from other big thinkers in our pages. Best regards, Amber Lee Mason
Publisher P.S. As always, let us know what you think – good or bad. You can now write us at: feedback@rogueeconomics.com. | | - | FEATURED READS What’s in Trump’s Plan to Reopen the Economy?
We don’t know how long it will take to reopen the economy. But here, Bloomberg Government offers insights into multiple facets of recovery, from health care and coronavirus research, to education and stimulus money… Bet on Copper to Profit After the Pandemic
Casey Research commodities expert Dave Forest explains why copper is an ideal investment, especially after the coronavirus pandemic is over… And he gives you the name of one of his copper suggestions… MAILBAG Today, Dear Readers share their thoughts on Monday’s Diary, “Fight Against COVID-19 or Deep State Power Grab?”… Bill, you crack me up. On one hand, you acknowledge not knowing the way the virus situation is being handled, yet on the other hand, you are sure providing financial assistance is the absolute wrong thing. Let me get this straight. So you’re okay tanking the livelihood of the people with a lockdown, but think they’d all be better off if they starve? Sounds like Marie Antoinette, doesn’t it? – Erich K. I think we are suffering, as a people, from mass cognitive dissonance. As a result, we argue about whether or not the coronavirus story is overblown or not. What a useless discussion and entirely the wrong question to ask. As Javier Milei pointed out, “It is a false dilemma to choose between life and the economy.” Why? Because the virus will have its way with “the herd” and people will suffer and die, regardless of anything we do. The best we can do is ease the suffering. Can we stop it? No. There is only one way to build up immunity in the population. That happens when the novel virus is finished running through the population. You do what older folks learned decades ago: You practice social distancing, keep your hands washed, and protect those you love. This is nothing new to anyone over 50. However, killing the economy will NOT stop the virus. It will only multiply the suffering a hundred fold and will affect EVERY single person in the nation, young and old alike. Killing the economy with massive extended lockdowns, hyperinflationary monetary policies, as well as fiscal policies, will affect Americans for many decades to come. And yet the virus will still have its way. – Phil M. People can come up with anything, but until we substantiate facts from myth, these are hypotheses and not true, solid facts. It worries me to no end there’s going to be something larger. What, I have absolutely no idea. Hoping that this teaches us a valuable lesson. – Arthur S. I look at things from a perspective of science. COVID-19 is clearly not just a danger for the elderly. To just let it run its course would almost certainly result in large numbers of deaths, with the health system overrun. Bill’s perspective is a valuable one, but I find it hard to think of ER doctors as part of the Deep State. – Daryll M. Are we suffering from mass cognitive dissonance, as Phil believes? What lesson might this coronavirus crisis teach us? Write us at feedback@rogueeconomics.com. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT… Your 5G Window Is Closing – ACT NOW Right now, you have the chance to claim over $4,000 worth of bonuses from 5G Expert Jeff Brown – including a free year of his research service when you subscribe. The only catch? You have to act before Friday at midnight. Details here. 
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