A quick note to say @TheMichaelEvery at Rabobank is bloody fantastic. Everyone should read him and follow his stuff. He has been truly ahead of the curve on the rise of economic statecraft, truly sensing the changing economic and financial environment. He is a wonderful brain and a truly independent thinker.
In my view, his latest thesis arguing that Trump is pursuing an American Perestroika policy is bang on the money. It resonates deeply, not least because one reason I joined POLITICO Europe in 2023 was that editors persuaded me it would be a great place to tell that economic statecraft story. Alas, it was not to be. No hard feelings. We tried. They weren’t into the big sweeping analytical assertions that had to accompany that sort of coverage.
Personally, I think it is absolutely fundamental to understanding how the future world economic system will evolve. And how to survive in what will be a very chaotic time for most. This is very much a mind meld with Michael, not competition.
My longstanding readers at the Blind Spot will be aware of my work on this topic. But TBS only has a small circulation. I tried to tell this story at POLITICO, too. The best I could get out was this story. Sadly, the actual perestroika ref was somehow lost in the edit, which I’m sure was for the right readability reasons. But — again for shameless self-promotional reasons so I can afford to stay independent — I just discovered the “pitch” I sent on Nov 24, 2024 to Politico editors.
I’m repasting it below, mainly to highlight that — while TBS does need a good sub editor (which I would love to hire if I could afford to, as I KNOW I need “readability” editing) — going against the crowd and looking beyond the herd in the old Alphaville way, can pay off for investors.
So the key point is, I love Michael. He himself hasn’t had enough credit for his brilliant calls on economic statecraft. I’ve learned loads from him. But it’s also a narrative I, by way of the Blind Spot, took a bold stance with early. And it would be great to get some recognition because — to be honest — I’m facing a bit of a do-or-die moment for TBS/The Peg, largely because I’m really rubbish at dealmaking, raising money, or selling myself.
The less income I have, the more I have to freelance. The outcome is less time to spend on writing up grand conceptual narratives like American Perestroika for you guys.
I would really rather not go back to the mainstream press, or worse than that, be forced to go into PR or corp comms.
I’ll be back shortly with some cool stuff I got for you guys from Greenland, but first I have to file these freelance pieces. This is suboptimal, I know! I’d rather just do them here.
Sometimes it’s easier to download my thoughts in person, so on the advice of some notable names who run very successful investment newsletters themselves, I also want to highlight I am available for guidance calls for a fee for institutions. Price discovery on this is currently in process.
If you do feel like subscribing, please do so directly on my new Substack site rather than here, though, as we are in the process of migrating over.
https://www.politico.eu/article/donald-trump-economic-policy-threat-europe-bidenomics-tariffs-trade/
