JIM ROGERS - Global FOOD PRICES to RISE, GOLD MANIPULATION, CHINA & more

Erin sits down with famed investor Jim Rogers to talk about Russia, agriculture and China. Rogers is bullish on agriculture and likes China. But he sees the Chinese purchase of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel as a top of the market kind of “trophy” acquisition. Jim also comments on whether a US equity bear market is on the horizon.

end of the bull market. Market breadth is waning as evidenced by the lower number of stocks hitting new highs and trading above their 200-day moving averages. Small cap stocks have already corrected over 10 percent and almost half of the Nasdaq is down 20 percent – a bear market already. Where is this headed? Consolidation is the bare minimum. But, depending on the real economy, it could be worse. Take a look!

“Any pension plans, endowments, etc., are suffering because they invest for the futures and are finding that their situation has gotten worse," he says. "We are doing this at the expense of people who save and invest. We are doing it to bail out the people who borrowed huge amounts of money. The consequences are already being felt.” Rogers also boldly predicts that North Korea and South Korea will merge within the next five years.

Rogers explains that the current North Korean leader has a different view of the world than his father and grandfather due to his upbringing in Switzerland. He also said the combination of cheap, educated labor in North Korea would be a boon for Eastern markets.

The interview, which also covers his take on Bitcoin, the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency and the timing of the next credit event, Switzerland is to hold a referendum on November 30 on gold. If passed, it would mandate the Swiss central bank to hold a minimum of 20 per cent of foreign reserves in gold against a level of 7.7 per cent today.

As the central bank had reportedly sold 60 per cent of gold reserves over the last decade, it is expected that the country would need to buy around 1,500 tonnes of gold over the following three years to have a stronger gold-backed currency. The move away from the U.S. dollar is yet another reaction to Western sanctions placed on Russia since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.

Russia and Iran have agreed to use their own national currencies in bilateral trade transactions rather than the U.S. dollar.

An original agreement to trade in rials and rubles was made earlier this month in a meeting between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.

Similarly, Russia and China also agreed to trade with each other using the ruble and yuan in early September, following a Russian deal with North Korea in June to trade in rubles. The move away from the U.S. dollar is yet another reaction to Western sanctions placed on Russia since it annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.

In response to sanctions on Russia by the European Union, Russia has also threatened to cut off Europes gas supply and close its air space to European airlines. Russia has also boycotted European food imports, in a move likely to affect farmers in the EU. Gold rose the most in two months as the dollar headed for the biggest drop in almost a year, reviving the metal’s appeal as an alternative investment after prices touched a 2014 low. Riots. These will likely happen spontaneously due to the above conditions, but if not, governments will create them to justify their desire for greater control of the masses. Martial Law. The US has already prepared for this, with the passing of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which many interpret as declaring the US to be a “battlefield.” The NDAA allows the suspension of habeas corpus, indefinite detention, and the assumption that any resident may be considered an enemy combatant. Similar legislation may be expected in other countries that perceive martial law as a solution to civil unrest.