The Flying Frisby - money, markets and more

In the last few years, I have gone from this to this. I’ve written about my weight loss before , but, just in the last two or three months, something has really accelerated, and I’m not quite sure what. I’m now 54. I’ve suddenly got a six-pack. Well, sort of. A four-pack. I’ve lost 48 pounds (22 kg). My metabolic age has come down from 57 (when I was 51) to 49. I am super fit and bursting with ene...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com IMPORTANT: somebody has been impersonating me on here and asking readers to message them on WhatsApp. Obviously it is not me. Don’t engage. Stop engaging and block, if you have started. And DON’T send any money. It’s a question that comes up a lot. In fact, a friend was asking me just this week, so let’s try and...

I am bringing my Edinburgh Fringe “lecture with funny bits” about the history of mining to London on October 9th and 10th to the Museum of Comedy . Please come if you fancy a bit of “learning and laughter”. The Edinburgh link is here. And the London link is here. Let’s start with an overview of gold demand as it currently stands. Never mind central banks, investment banks, or private investors—alm...

Over the last decade, the Turkish lira has seen declines of more than 95% against the US dollar. It took just ₺1.50 to buy it dollar ten years ago. Now it takes ₺33. The lira has been one of the world’s worst-performing currencies - and in a fiat world, that is saying something - rivalled only by the Venezuelan bolivar and the Argentinian peso. While in Istanbul last week, I spoke to two young pro...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com I started out with the intention of writing just one article on this subject, but it has become three. It’s a big subject … ( Here is part one and here is part two , if you are not already up to speed) The latest polls show Labour comfortably in excess of 400 seats, maybe even 500 . They are going to have such a...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com We have a General Election coming up in the UK, and citizens of this once-great nation want to know how to protect what they have worked for from the incoming Labour Government, which, you can be sure, is going to be sniffing around like a spaniel on luggage in an airport. We now have the Labour Manifesto, so we...

At a drinks party in around 2011 or 2012, I had the ear of Andrew Feldman, aka Baron Feldman of Elstree, former Chairman of the Conservative Party—he of “swivel-eyed loons” fame, though he never actually said that. (Andrew is a friend, by the way.) “Tell George Osborne to buy back the gold Gordon Brown sold,” I advised. “At these prices?” smiled Andrew with a mix of incredulity, amusement, and pol...

While Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, like a jilted boyfriend turned desperado, is announcing a new policy every day, future Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s strategy has been to be as vague and non-committal as possible about everything, and get elected on the back of the Tories being so useless. It makes sense: the less he promises now, and the less specific he is, the more scope he will have when he c...

I am experimenting again with a video this Sunday morning. (Podcast listeners can still get just the audio). Enjoy :) It was August 2018. Brexit Derangement Syndrome was only just starting to kick in, though the effort to derail it was underway. In comedy circles, I still was not talking very openly about having voted for Brexit—it would be another six months before I wrote 17 Million F Offs. I wa...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com Two bullish developments for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies this week: first, Donald Trump, who is currently the favourite to be the next US President, declared, 'I am very positive and open-minded towards cryptocurrency companies and all things related to this new and burgeoning industry. Our country must be the l...

A slightly-longer Sunday morning thought piece than usual today, but one that is well worth the effort I hope you’ll discover. A reminder that: * This August I am going to the Edinburgh Fringe to do one of my “lectures with funny bits”. This one is all about the history of mining . As always, I shall be delivering it at Panmure House, where Adam Smith wrote Wealth of Nations. It’s at 2pm most afte...

A few years ago I wrote a script called Four Murders and Some Funerals, about an old lady who is the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice. Seeking revenge she murders one of the perpetrators (by accident - long story, but it works), discovers she’s a natural at bumping people off, does away with the other three, and ends up becoming a vigilante serial killer - righting wrongs wherever she f...

Good morning, As an experiment, today’s Sunday morning thought piece is in video. If you prefer, you can also read it below. You should also be able to read and listen, as many like to do. Let me know what you think. This week, May 7th, marks the 25th anniversary of one the UK’s greatest ever financial blunders. There is no shortage of them, but this one really stands out: that is Gordon Brown’s d...

I love how easy it is to predict things about you based on what you like or dislike. Did you know, for example, that if you buy fresh fennel, you are likely to be a low insurance risk? If you like traditional architecture and old buildings, you are more likely to have a conservative, right-of-centre worldview. Whereas if you like modern architecture, you will lean to the left. For what it’s worth,...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com I was going to call this article “a tale of national betrayal.” Sterling is a national disgrace. If ever there was something that symbolised the decline of Britain from world leader to tin pot sh*te show, it is our currency. The US dollar has lost at least 93% of its purchasing power since World War Two. The poun...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com Cards on the table: A Western fiat money collapse, along the lines of Zimbabwe, Venezuela, or Weimar hyperinflation, despite unsustainable deficit spending and un-payable government debt, is not something I think we are likely to see. Many more knowledgeable souls than myself deem it inevitable, but more probable...

I have a friend from school who is obviously gay. We’ve all known it for a long time, yet, for whatever reason, he has never been able to come out. He has never been able to admit to himself what is so apparent to everyone else. He’s miserable. Has been for years. I’m not sure if I were gay, if I would be able to come out. I have actually tried to be gay. Well, sort of. In the dark years of my lat...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com I wanted to take a look at the gold price today. As I'm sure you are aware, it has been extraordinarily strong in recent weeks. $2,100/oz, or just below, was resistance for four long years. Each attempt - and there were at least three - to get through that level stuttered and stalled. Then, last month, after a fa...

All four of my children were born at home. I feel extremely fortunate about this - they should too. Four wonderful experiences. I will forever be in debt to Louisa and Jolie. When, twenty-four years ago, my then wife, Louisa, told me she wanted to give birth to our first child at home, I thought she was off her rocker, but I gave her my word that we would at least talk to a midwife, and we did jus...

As promised, here is my updated guide to buying and investing in gold. I really think it is important that you own some, given what governments are doing to currency. Spool down to the bottom if you want to see this guide in video form. I have also made this available as a PDF, which you can download here: (If that PDF doesn’t work, try this link ) The best book about gold is The Secret History of...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.theflyingfrisby.com With gold hitting new highs yesterday and the importance of owning some , in my view, as paramount as ever, I am going to send out my report on how to buy gold later today or tomorrow. If it is old hat to you, please just ignore the email. If you prefer, you can also download the PDF version here: (If that PDF do...

Back in 2011, a landmark study by the United Nations Population Fund warned that the global population would reach 15 billion by the end of the century, “putting a catastrophic strain on the planet's resources unless urgent action is taken to curb growth rates.” Cue lots of subsidies, initiatives, hand-wringing, wasted money, damaging narratives, damaging policy, and articles in the Guardian. Here...

Good Sunday morning to you, I am putting back my promised piece on gold miners until mid-week, so keep a look out for that. Meanwhile, Life After the State - Why We Don’t Need Government (2013), my first book, and many readers’ favourite, which fell out of print last year, is now, thanks to the invaluable help of my new buddy Chris P, back in print (Amazon, Apple Books ), with the audiobook here (...

Good morning to you, I am going to be sending out two pieces in fairly quick succession: first, today’s, some commentary on the latest bitcoin price action, and then another, tomorrow hopefully, about gold mining . It looks like bitcoin (currently $67,000, down from highs of $73,500) is now “enjoying” a correction.  Microstrategy (NDX:MSTR) has 5xd, since we covered it in the summer , and some pro...

Good Sunday morning to you, We have a pot pourri of offerings for you today. First, I posted the above sketch on Twitter yesterday and it struck a nerve. I thought you might also enjoy it on here. It’s eight years since I recorded it, but it is still as apposite as ever. In other, more serious news, I met with Campbell Smyth, Chairman of Fitzroy Minerals (FTZ.V) , yesterday, and we have a long old...