On the Nature of Things

“The stock market boom has diverted our attention from the fundamental deterioration in the financial position of the United States.” So wrote hedge-fund titan George Soros in late 1986 in his investment classic “The Alchemy of Finance”. His ominous warning of the threat that unsustainable public finances can pose was realised, spectacularly the following October, when the U.S. equity market registered its fastest crash in history.

Crisis firefighting has given way to a dependence on government and central banks

Yen intervention points to the squishy underbelly of American weakness

Public spending surges despite Trump’s vow to stabilise America’s finances

If bond buyers lose confidence, they’ll demand even higher yields. Bessent better watch out with his games.

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.

“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

~ The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway,