Oil, Gold and the Middle East: What’s Next?

“They cry peace, peace, when there is no peace.” — Jeremiah 6:14

World war is spreading even as America faces serious problems at home. Is it in America’s interest to defend Israel, Ukraine and other still viable countries, even as we suffer from massive deficit government spending and mismanagement inside our own country?

I’ve visited the Middle East three times and each time wondered if it would be my last. It remains an unstable region of the world, where violence can break out any time.

Your editor with Senator Rand Paul on the Sea of Galilee in 2013.

That’s sad because Israel has made remarkable economic progress and has the second-highest standard of living in the Middle East, even though it does not have any oil. It has done so by adopting a higher degree of economic freedom than Arab states, which are rich with natural resources.

The Heritage Foundation’s Economic Freedom Index ranks Israel the 34^th most economically free nation in the world. It states: “Israel’s economic competitiveness is anchored in strong protection of property rights and relatively low levels of corruption, both of which have been cornerstones of long-term economic dynamism. There is still room for improvement in the management of public finance. Despite the challenging global economic environment, openness to global commerce supports productivity growth.”

The Cause of the Latest War

The Hamas attack on Israel was in part a response to the Israeli police raids on al-Aqsa mosque (the Dome of the Rock) earlier this year as well as a deliberate effort to scuttle Saudi Arabia’s intention to recognize Israel as a legitimate state.

The barbaric brutality of the Islamic extremists is overwhelming. Over 1,200 people including children have been executed, and hundreds have been taken hostage. I don’t think this latest war is going to end soon.

Hamas has represented Palestinians since it took over Gaza in 2007. It has received over $1 billion in aid from Qatar alone since 2007.

Thomas Friedman reports in the New York Times: “It could have gone into building Gaza into a productive society, with decent schools, universities and infrastructure, that might have been a model for a future Palestinian state with the West Bank.”

Instead, he states, “Hamas has devoted most of its energies and resources to digging tunnels into Israel and building rockets to try to destroy a vastly more powerful enemy — thus depriving Gazans of any chance to realize their full potential, via a government that is decent, democratic and productive.”

Investors: Know the Signs of the Times!

So, now we can add the Middle East to the Ukraine-Russia War. War is never good for the economy, but it can stimulate certain sectors that we investors can take advantage of, such as a new bull market in oil, gold and defense stocks. I recommend all three in my investment newsletter Forecasts & Strategies and trading services.

Why There Never Will be Peace Between Jews and Arabs

This week, The Economist asks, “Can you envisage a peaceful end to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and if so, how?”

My uncle, W. Cleon Skousen, who led two dozen tours to the Middle East in his lifetime, answered that question in his new memoir, “There Were Giants in the Land” (pp. 259-260):

“The rationale of the Arabs is this: The Jews were once the chosen people, but all of the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled when Cyrus allowed the Jews to return from Babylon in 587 BC. They built their new temple, which was dedicated in 516 BC, but then they became so wicked that they were driven out of Israel by the Romans in 70 AD. The Arabs believe that God then made the Arabs His chosen people and made Palestine, or the Holy Land, their inheritance. They believe the Jews robbed them of their land in the war of 1967, and they will not be satisfied until they get it back.”

“Meanwhile, bitterness prevails. The Jews tried to make the land bi-racial, but no matter how conciliatory they’ve tried to be, the Arabs feel they have been robbed, and they won’t be satisfied until they get it all back.”

Revealing Memoir Based on His Private Diaries

Cleon’s GIANTS book is more relevant than ever. Although he passed away in 2006, his analysis of the threats facing our nation — Marxist/communist ideology, irresponsible spending in Washington, woke culture and world war — are growing.

Now, after three years of hard work by me and my wife, Jo Ann, his personal story can be told for the first time, in his own words, revealing never-before-published details about his personal and family life, his six careers and his influence with top government and religious leaders.

Labeled the “Constitutional guru” of the conservative movement by the New York Times, Cleon Skousen constantly defended our Constitutional rights and warned America about the dangers of communism, which he regarded as “the greatest threat to liberty on the earth today.”

For more details about our new book, go to Our New Book is Banned in Beijing! – Mark Skousen.

Our book is now available for sale for only $34.95, and we pay all shipping costs if mailed in the United States. To obtain a copy, go to www.skousenbooks.com.

Live at 7 p.m. ET Tonight: Mark Skousen Reveals All!

Tonight (Columbus Day, Oct. 12) from 7 — 8 p.m. ET, I’ll be appearing in the Future of Freedom Foundation’s Austrian Economics Series, talking about my life as an “Austrian economist” and taking questions from the audience. It’s free. To watch, go to Tomorrow! Live! Mark Skousen on FFF’s Austrian Series – The Future of Freedom Foundation

Special Meeting with Sen. Mike Lee on Oct. 21

I am putting together a special program in Utah on Saturday, Oct. 21, with Senator Mike Lee as our keynote speaker on the topic “Who Will Save Our Inspired Constitution?” Jo Ann and I will be speaking on our new book “There Were Giants in the Land.” It will be held at the LDS Church Building, 368 Aspen Hill Blvd., Saratoga Springs, Utah, 6:30 — 8 p.m. Space is limited, so if you would like to attend, send your RSVP to Mimi Murdock at mimimurdock@gmail.com.

Good investing, AEIOU,

Mark Skousen

You Nailed it!

Who Should Win the Nobel Prize in Economics?

“Prizes shall be awarded to those persons who have rendered the greatest service to mankind.”

— Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)

On Monday, the Nobel Prize Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, announced the winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Economics. It went to a Harvard professor Claudia Goldin for her work on gender studies. She was the only winner this year. I guess they didn’t want her to share the prize with a man, including her own husband, Larry Katz.

Who should win the Nobel prize in economics? I nominated the following, in the spirt of Alfred Nobel’s requirement that “Prizes shall be awarded to those persons who have rendered the greatest service to mankind.”

1. John Taylor (Stanford University) for the Taylor Rule that helps decide how the Fed should operate and set interest rates.
2. Arthur B. Laffer for the Laffer Curve, the effect of tax rates on revenues and incentives.
3. James Gwartney and Michael Walker (Fraser Institute) for the Economic Freedom Index, which is a single index measuring the degree that countries have adopted the Adam Smith model of economic liberty. See http://www.freetheworld.
4. Jeremy Siegel (Wharton School), author of “Stocks for the Long Run” and Burton Malkiel (Princeton), author of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” for their work on the benefits of investing long-term in good companies and avoiding short-term trading techniques. Watch my interview with these two giants in finance here: Mark Skousen Interviews the “Twin Towers of Finance” Burt Malkiel & Jeremy Siegel (Alex Green, mod) — YouTube

I’m amazed that they have been overlooked all these years.