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“In the summer of 216 B.C., a battle commenced that one historian called the biggest knife fight in history. In the Battle of Cannae, over 50,000 Roman soldiers drew up against their hated rival, Carthage. The Carthaginian army was led by Hannibal. The Carthaginians were believed to have had less than 40,000 soldiers to face the Romans.
There was no love lost. Hannibal was the son of another renowned Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barca. His father made him swear to never be a friend of Rome....
Continue reading the Robert Fitzwilson piece below...
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“The Roman strategy was rooted in the Greek Hoplite method of war whereby two opposing armies would line up against each other and charge at the appropriate signal. The victors were usually those with the better training, equipment and motivation.
Cannae was different. The Romans personified all three characteristics of successful armies along the lines of the Greeks. However, Hannibal was a strategist. He, along with Alexander the Great, demonstrated in battle after battle that strategy often trumps deficiencies in traditional sources of strength.
The Romans massed against the Carthaginians confident that their superiority in equipment, training and numbers would allow for a swift and decisive victory. Once the signal was given, their army raced headlong into a clever trap devised by Hannibal, still studied and taught in military colleges today. Most of the Romans were wiped out.
In today’s financial markets, armies of all sorts are lined up for battle. Among them are governments trying to balance budgets, retirees and pension funds longing for income from higher rates, central banks desperate to reacquire the gold foolishly sold in the last 20 years, governments engaging in financial repression to maintain power, and countries jockeying for scarce resources, particularly oil.
The largest armies in terms of numbers are the young people around the globe searching for work and poor people trying to afford food and fuel. For decades, what seemed like parallel paths and lives for most are now converging on the same destination. The destination is the figurative checkout counter.
The world has been filling their shopping carts with aspirations, plans, goods and promises unaware of the aggregate cost, impact on others and the limitations on global resources. As people push their carts to the checkout counter, the potential for a battle of monumental proportion is looming on the horizon.
We have often said that the four ‘canaries in the mineshaft’ were interest rates (price of money) and the prices of oil, gold, and silver. During the ‘70s, under similar but more modest circumstances, those prices were allowed to rise. Government rates peaked in the high teens, and the prices of gold, oil and silver soared as well.
In the case of interest rates, we have seen the opposite. U.S. Treasury rates have been wrestled down to all-time lows by the power of the Federal Reserve. Gold and silver did appear to be doing a reprise of the ‘70s, but forces have apparently decided that $29 on silver and $1,600 on gold were just right.
Oil is a different case. Oil is the critical resource at a time when there is virtually zero incremental capacity. Oil has had a bit of a wild ride, but the direction looks clearly higher. The saber rattling in the Middle East is also putting not only a floor on oil, but also providing a wind at its back.
The various armies are lining up, and the prices of critical commodities and alternative forms of money are being held down where possible. What is troubling is that it feels as if there is no Hannibal on this battlefield. Strategy will not likely be a factor. It looks simply like brute force of the Hoplites will determine the winners.
How this plays out is anyone’s guess, but the opposing forces are lined up for battle awaiting the trumpets to charge. This will most likely be the biggest financial knife fight in human history.”
© 2012 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the blog page is permitted and encouraged.
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Eric King
This Will Be The Biggest Financial Fight In Human History
Today 40 year veteran, Robert Fitzwilson, wrote the following piece exclusively for King World News. Fitzwilson, who is founder of The Portola Group, put together a fascinating piece which covers everything from Hannibal vs Rome, to gold, silver and the biggest financial fight in history. Below is Fitzwilson’s piece.
© 2012 by King World News®. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed. However, linking directly to the blog page is permitted and encouraged.
August 15, 2012
