One Data Point Closer to a “Terrifying Bull Market”

This morning’s Producer Price Index (PPI) shows that inflation is still with us.

While traders were betting that the Fed would cut interest rates next month, that’s being rethought today. And with a rate cut already priced into markets, prices are trending lower.

Given how far markets have already gone, the prospect of interest rate cuts isn’t bullish for the economy – it’s actually bearish. It’s a sign that the real economy is struggling and needs cheaper access to capital.

Turn Your Images On

Markets are overpricing economic conditions and could be ready for a big pullback (Source: X/Twitter)

The staggering 0.9% month-over-month increase shows that inflation isn’t going away – and may be about to accelerate.

If so, that could cause conditions for a crack-up boom – or what Mark Jeftovic refers to as a “Terrifying Bull Market” – a stock market that rallies, but because investors are trying to get out of the dollar by any means possible.

Today’s data print isn’t the end of the world – the market isn’t even down that much this morning. But it’s one more nail in the coffin for the value of the dollar.

~ Addison

P.S. Some companies are thriving under the shifting tariff regime — and from other Trump policies that are decidedly pro-growth. But “pro-growth” also means you need lower interest rates. At least in the Trump Great Reset playbook.

The tricky part? Government printing debt out of thin air usually means more inflation. Under normal circumstances, the Federal Reserve would be leaving rates unchanged in September… or even raising them.

Therein lies the pickle we’re in.

You can’t let interest payments on the existing debt swallow the government budget. This means that, in addition to “pro-growth” economic strategies, you need lower interest rates.

But lower interest rates also mean higher consumer prices for necessities like energy, food, housing, health care and tuition.

The bond market doesn’t like deficits or debt, either. Investors demand higher interest rates to lend the government money.

Like we said, it’s a pickle.

We’ll be digging into both sides of that equation — plus our latest research — in this week’s special session of Grey Swan Live! tomorrow, Friday, August 15, 2025… exactly 54 years since Nixon “closed the gold window.” Members will get the sneak peek before anyone else.

As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)

This morning’s Producer Price Index (PPI) shows that inflation is still with us.

While traders were betting that the Fed would cut interest rates next month, that’s being rethought today. And with a rate cut already priced into markets, prices are trending lower.

Turn Your Images On

Markets are overpricing economic conditions and could be ready for a big pullback (Source: X/Twitter)

The staggering 0.9% month-over-month increase shows that inflation isn’t going away – and may be about to accelerate.

Today’s data print isn’t the end of the world – the market isn’t even down that much this morning. But it’s one more nail in the coffin for the value of the dollar.

~ Addison

Therein lies the pickle we’re in.

You can’t let interest payments on the existing debt swallow the government budget. This means that, in addition to “pro-growth” economic strategies, you need lower interest rates.

But lower interest rates also mean higher consumer prices for necessities like energy, food, housing, health care and tuition.

The bond market doesn’t like deficits or debt, either. Investors demand higher interest rates to lend the government money.

Like we said, it’s a pickle.

As always, your reader feedback is welcome: feedback@greyswanfraternity.com (We read all emails. Thanks in advance for your contribution.)

Our forecast will feel obvious in hindsight and controversial in advance — the hallmark of a Grey Swan.

Most analysts we speak to are thinking in terms of the history of Western conflict.

They expect full-frontal military engagement.

Beijing, from our modest perch, prefers resolution because resolution compounds its power. Why sacrifice the workshop of the world, when cajoling and bribery will do?

Taiwan will not fall.

It will merge.

Wars, technology races, and political upheavals — all of them rest on fiscal capacity.

In 2026, that capacity will tighten across the developed world simultaneously. Democracies will discover that generosity financed by debt carries conditions, whether voters approve of them or not.

Bond markets will not shout so much as clear their throats. Repeatedly.

Taken together, the seven Grey Swans of 2025 behaved less like isolated events and more like interlocking stories readers already recognize.

The year moved in phases. A sharp April selloff cleared leverage quickly. Policy shifted toward tax relief, lighter regulation, and renewed tolerance for liquidity. Innovations began to slowly dominate the marketplace conversation – from Dollar 2.0 digital assets to AI-powered applications in all manner of commercial enterprises, ranging from airline and hotel bookings to driverless taxis and robots.

Back in April, when we published what we called the Trump Great Reset Strategy, we described the grand realignment we believed President Trump and his acolytes were embarking on in three phases.

At the time, it read like a conceptual map. As the months passed, it began to feel like a set of operating instructions written in advance of turbulence.

As you can expect, any grandiose plan would get all kinds of blowback… but this year exhibited all manner of Trump Derangement Syndrome on top of the difficulty of steering a sclerotic empire clear of the rocky shores.

The “phases” were never about optimism or pessimism. They were about sequencing — how stress surfaces, how systems adapt, and what must hold before confidence can regenerate. And in the end, what do we do with our money?!