Happy Easter

Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen,

The other day I read an intriguing article, and one of the key sentences to me was the following: «those who expect guidance or inspiration from the government have only themselves to blame; true liberals are those who think and steer without an instruction manual within what is legally possible and socially decent, and justifiable.»

French Presidential Elections

Purchasing Power was an essential topic in Marine Le Pen’s election campaign, and it helped. Many Frenchmen are concerned about rising energy and other prices, and Marine Le Pen promised to ease the pain of rising prices if elected by lowering taxes on fossil combustibles, and it seems she was successful as she continuously gained ground on President Macron throughout the campaign.

Some Reader’s Feedback to my Weekly on Purchasing Power

«At least some of the men in the street have already woken up. For example, a company in the UK supplies anyone, but primarily the government and the likes of the Antarctic Survey, with freeze-dried 25-year lifespan foods. Their six months for person freeze-dried food pack has gone up in price from £800 to £1100 in four months. Another company that sells sealable Mylar bags with de-oxygenating tablets for storing small amounts of food for long periods, which used to only supply trekkers and campers, has been out of supplies and shut now for over two weeks. I remember seeing Jim Rogers interviewed once, and he said, “You do not need to be clever; you just need to go around with your eyes open and questioning.» Feedback by Bob.

«Yes, I see the loss of purchasing power as a massive problem in the coming years. In my experience, prices go up and not down. So I am protecting my purchasing power by putting away some silver (poor man’s gold).» Feedback by Geo.

«Yes, Stefan, purchasing power is bound to become an issue in the short to medium term and fits with currency devaluation from the deluge of fiat currency creation and inflation. One can look at extreme examples such as Zimbabwe, where purchasing power was reduced to almost zero due to unbridled money printing. The only hope for the developed nations is that inflation declines as economic growth slows, which is not a very attractive scenario.» Feedback by David.

Thank you very much, Gentlemen, for your feedback!

Back to the French Elections

Ladies and Gentlemen, in something over a week, we will know the outcome of the French Presidential Elections. If Marine Le Pen was elected, we might face a «FREXIT». This is because Marine Le Pen claimed for years that if she were going to be President of France, France’s relationship with the EU would have to be reassessed. A potential FREXIT would most probably have a significant impact on the value of the Euro and on purchasing power. I have difficulties believing purchasing power would increase in such a scenario, at least not in the short- to medium-term.

…and Politics in General

In recent years, I seem to have noticed that whether a politician is a genius or a failure is becoming less and less critical, as party affiliation increasingly determines the success or failure of a politician or her/his political campaign. This is, I am convinced, dramatically bad for society!

Last but not Least

As per Wednesday’s survey, the bullish expectations of U.S. private investors fell to 15.8% (one of the lowest numbers ever) versus 24.7% in the previous week. In April 2005, that number had dropped to 16.5%, which represented a low in the S&P 500. Ladies and Gentlemen, when confidence is low, potential gains often are high.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As always, please share your opinion with me, but please do not forget (instead of hitting the reply button) to send your messages to: smk@incrementum.li

Many thanks, indeed!

I wish you an excellent start to the day, a wonderful Easter weekend, and above all, peace!

Yours truly,

Stefan M. Kremeth

Wealth Management
Incrementum AG – we love managing assets

Tel.: +423 237 26 60
Cell: +41 79 303 48 39
Im alten Riet 102
9494 Schaan/Liechtenstein
Mail: smk@incrementum.li