Gerald Celente
December 28, 2013
KINGSTON, NY, 26 December 2013 — In 33 years of
forecasting trends, the Trends Research Institute has never seen a new
year that will witness severe economic hardship and social unrest on one
hand, and deep philosophic enlightenment and personal enrichment on the
other. A series of dynamic socioeconomic and transformative
geopolitical trend points are aligning in 2014 to ring in the worst and
best of times.
Ready or not, here they come.
March Economic Madness: One
of the most difficult aspects of trend forecasting is getting the
timing right. And when it comes to economics, there are many wildcards
that can stall or detour any on-rushing trend. We called the Crash of
’87, the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis and the Panic of ’08 (we even
established the domain name in 2007) right on the button. But we missed
the mark with our Crash of 2010 prediction.
Why? The Federal Reserve and central banks
around the world were secretly pumping tens of trillions of dollars into
a failing financial system. These were, at the time, unimagined schemes
for nations that pride themselves on capitalism. And while we are not
naïve to the dirty dealings of the financial industry, rigging the daily
multi-trillion dollar LIBOR and FOREX markets was not on our radar.
Thus, what we believed to be economic truths and hard facts were, in
fact, cover-ups and lies….
Such unforeseeable factors aside, we
forecast that around March, or by the end of the second quarter of 2014,
an economic shock wave will rattle the world equity markets. What will
cause this econo-shock? How can you prepare for it? It’s a Top Trend of
2014. Read about it in the Winter Trends Journal.
Global Chinatowns: Name
the continent or pick a country, every one contains its own brand of
Chinatown. The Chinese global buying binge, now in its early growth
stage, will noticeably accelerate in 2014. From coal mines in Zambia, to
Borscht Belt resorts in New York, to factories in Italy, and to
farmlands in Ukraine, a seemingly endless variety of Chinese development
projects are being incubated around the world. If there is a deal to be
had and a need to be filled, Chinese players are increasingly at the
front of the line.
Wealthy investors, college graduates
without jobs, skilled and unskilled laborers will be migrating out of
their overpopulated, congested and highly polluted nation to foreign
shores. Where are the new growth areas? What actions will be taken to
stop or control the trend? Who will benefit? Who will lose? And what are
the dangers and opportunities? You’ll find the answers in the
Winter Trends Journal.
Wake Up Call: Last year we
forecast the Great Awakening 2.0, a period reminiscent of the first
Great Awakening that provided the intellectual, philosophical and
spiritual ammunition that ignited the American Revolution. The
“Awakening” has begun. Throughout 2014, and beyond, you will hear the
Wake Up Call. It will be loud and distinct.
In 2013, the White House and Congress
proved their extreme incompetence with a series of public failures. From
closing down the government, to the debt ceiling debacle, to the
aborted attack on Syria and, ultimately, to the disastrous launch of
Obamacare, the ineptness of our political leaders was overwhelming. As
polls show, a majority of citizens registered levels of scorn and
ridicule unparalleled in modern America.
But this phenomenon is not limited to
America. Around the world, citizen distrust has turned into universal
disdain for entrenched political parties whose draconian austerity
measures and punishing economic policies have thrown millions into
poverty and pushed millions of protesters into the streets. Civil wars,
civil unrest, revolts and revolutions will be just some of the cards
dealt by an angry public that has lost everything and has nothing left
to lose.
Will those in power hear the Wake Up Call?
Or will they attempt to stamp it down and drown it out? Hear it or not,
the movement is unstoppable. It will be a battle of the classes. What
will it mean? Where will it take the biggest toll? Can the protests and
disturbances of tomorrow bring peace and enlightenment that will lead to
the Great Awakening 2.0? It’s all in the Top Trends 2014 Winter Trends
Journal.
Seniors Own Social Media: Seniors
now comprise the fastest-growing user segment of the social media
world, and the year ahead will see the retail, business, political,
health and entertainment industries evolve aggressive strategies to
realize the robust economic potential in engaging seniors.
The gamut of possibilities is so grand that
we forecast technological and product advances that impact everything
from nursing home life to political campaigns and causes. Read the
Winter Trends Journal to pinpoint how this trend will unfold and affect
you and your interests.
Populism: Regardless of
how professional politicians deride it or how the traditional media
describe it, “populism” is a megatrend sweeping Europe, and it will soon
spread across the globe. Mired in prolonged recession, disgusted with
corrupt political parties, and forced to follow EU, ECB and IMF
austerity dictates, populist movements are seeking to regain national
identity and break free from the euro and Brussels domination. These
movements are positioned to bring down ruling parties and build up new
ones.
The discontent of the one-size-fits-all
Euro Union formula is so deep that populists are expected to gain some
25 percent of the European Parliament seats in next year’s elections.
“We have the big risk to have the most ‘anti-European’ European
Parliament ever,” cried Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta. “The rise
of populism is today the main European social and political issue,” Mr.
Letta added. “To fight against populism, in my view, is a mission today –
in Italy and in the other countries.”
Already, some nations, such as Spain, have
passed new laws restricting public demonstrations while imposing
police-state measures to stamp out dissent. What is the future of
populism? How far will it spread? Will it lead to the formation of new
parties, or lead to civil wars? Read about it in the Trends
Journal’s Top Trends 2014 edition.
Trouble in Slavelandia: Even
as total US personal wealth soars above a record high of $77 trillion,
fueled by the stock market’s own record highs, life for the growing
number of have-nots in Slavelandia has become more desperate. In today’s
Plantation Economy – driven by the bottom line needs of multinationals
and flailing austerity-prone governments – low-paying service jobs and
reduced hours engineered to evade corporate responsibility to provide
benefits, are making it tough for the working poor, a group that now
includes debt-burdened and underemployed college graduates and seniors
as well as the traditional underclass.
Nearly half of the requests for emergency
assistance to stave off hunger or homelessness comes from people with
full-time jobs. As government safety nets are pulled out from under them
– as they will continue to be for the foreseeable future – the citizens
of Slavelandia will have no recourse but action. The fast-food worker
strikes of 2013, seeking a higher minimum wage, were just a mild taste
of what is to come. Learn more in the WinterTrends Journal.
The New Altruism: Several
burgeoning trends identified for 2014 will coalesce in a welcome trend
toward selfless concern for the wellbeing of others and an interest in
the common good. Across the age divide, from people in their youth to
those of advanced years, the search for meaning will intensify and
become more widespread in response to waning resources, want, and an
over-commodified culture. As despair quietly takes more prisoners, Doing
Good will be recognized as the key to escape.
Ironically, the Internet that has been much
maligned for currying narcissism will make the donation of money, time
and talents so easy that people will be able to enact their better
natures without resistance. Be they Boomers in renaissance or populists
in revolt, people will discover and expand the humanist side of
globalism and act accordingly. See why in the Top Trends of 2014 Winter
edition of the Trends Journal.
Private Health Goes Public: While
the world focused on the blockbuster NSA surveillance revelations and
other cyber-snooping episodes of 2013, another powerful trend line was
firmly planted: Your health data has been progressively mined, assembled
and made accessible to a widening group of interested parties.
While signing up for the Affordable Care
Act brought some attention to this developing trend, around the globe,
data on individuals’ health status, behaviors, prescriptions and even
their genetic indicators have been funneled to a wide range of
databases. Those databases have many purposes and a growing number of
hands on them.
The positive and negative implications of
this trend are equally powerful. Individuals and their health care
providers can more easily tie vital physical data with worldwide medical
databases to anticipate and potentially prevent disease. But, in the
wrong hands, the data can be used to exploit, damage and take advantage
of individuals and their families. Security concerns will rise in equal
importance with the potential benefits of this critical trend line.
What does this mean for you, your family, or your business? The Winter Trends Journal will provide the answers.
Boomer Renaissance Arrives: Distinct
and strengthening economic, lifestyle and societal determinants are
building a creative foundation for the older population as it discovers
new approaches to work and finds long-elusive contentment in the
process.
You already know that older workers, seeing
their retirement plans shattered, have to work beyond traditional
retirement years. You also know that those same economic dynamics
are forcing aging Boomers to entirely rethink retirement. And, of
course, you know that as Boomers are living longer, traditional thinking
about retirement has been stood on its head. What you might not realize
is how these factors are compelling Boomers to unearth potent creative
energies not only to survive, but to realize potential that evaded them
in traditional work roles.
In 2014, we will see growing evidence of
this Boomer Renaissance, accentuated by waves of self-guided
entrepreneurism that alchemizes commerce, survival and
self-actualization into a new world and self view. The Winter Trends
Journal will explore this compelling 2014 trend in depth.
Digital Learning Explodes: Fears
that online educational platforms fall short of providing depth and
effectiveness in the learning experience will all but disappear. Across
the entire educational spectrum, online learning will expand to include
not only course instruction, but also a wealth of real-life learning
experience, with considerable participation by the skills-hungry
business community.
For individuals, educational institutions,
industries, small businesses and up-and-coming entrepreneurs, the
implications are enormous. From traditional degree-based education to
very specific micro skills-based learning, this trend line explodes. The
Trends Research Institute will break down the implications for
individuals, business professionals and a range of industries in its
Winter Trends Journal.
