2025 World Outlook Conference: Keynote Speakers Insights

Bill’s Blog | March 5, 2025

Michael Campbell and his team provided another outstanding conference to educate the audience (over 800 people attended) through many world-class financial experts he invited over the 2-day event in Vancouver, BC. The WOC event was my fourth conference in the last four years, and it confirmed many of my ideas and provided new insights that I will share with you today. I took notes feverishly during the keynote speakers over the two days, and I hope to convey accurately their main points to help you understand what is going on and take appropriate action in these turbulent days.

Michael Campbell’s Opening addresses two important points.

• $1 CA in 2000, now only purchases .54 cents of goods
• 53% of Canadians feel financially paralyzed. RBC

James Thorne, Chief Market Strategist, Wellington Altas, Wealth Management

• Four years of chaos: Liberalism is dead! C-change will happen and expect major economic turmoil.
• Deregulation is critical in Canada, and interprovincial trade barriers need to end.
• When interest on the debt is equal to military spending, we are in big trouble. For the first time in USA history, this occurred in 2024. James’ main point: When debt payments reach this level (historically and present), it’s a serious sign of an empire’s decline.
• Are tariffs inflationary? No, as currency depreciation will eat up most of the tariff costs.
• Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary: He will focus on the bond market, and it will deal a big blow to the Fed.
• James foresees a very challenging economy for ten years.
• Interest rates will continue decreasing, but people will deleverage and will not spend more!
• Energy and resources will explode during this cycle.
• Bitcoin will go up.
• Since President Nixon (1971) closed the Gold Standard, the money supply has increased by 8% per/year! That means the national debt doubles every 12.5 years!
• Scott Bessent will introduce Brtton Wood 2.0, and Bitcoin will be part of it. A NEW Financial system is coming! President Trump has a Bitcoin Czar in the White House. The US will use stablecoins to fund the US Treasury. China is not buying US treasuries but dumping them.
• In four years, Bitcoin will have a value of 18 Trillion dollars in market cap, and, equal to the value of the gold market. James loves gold as well.
• VOLATILITY is going to be CRAZY!
• James forecasts the S&P 500 will reach 14,000 over the next 4 years. James also sees real estate, gold, oil, natural gas, resources and Bitcoin going Up during this period.
• Canadian banks are the most inefficient banks in the world, and they need to be deregulated.
• If Mark Carney becomes the Prime Minister, we will soon have a .60 cent dollar!
• Most of the waste in the US government is going away, and the same will happen in Canada!
• There will be a NEW North American system: Security, Immigration and Trade.

Josef Schachter, The Schachter Report: Oil and Gas Analyst

• Josef predicts a massive commodity cycle till the end of this decade. (Similar to James Thorne).
• Tariffs will cause the Canadian dollar and manufacturing to go down.
• Many Canadian oil and gas companies are trading at 2 to 3X valuations (extremely low).
• OPEC cannot produce much more oil significantly.
• Josef forecasts oil at $125 / barrel between 2027 and 2029.
• Commodity prices are VERY CHEAP now VS Dow Jones Index and Global equities.
• We are already seeing commodities break through to All-Time Highs: gold, coffee, cocoa and live cattle.
• 3.8 billion people (non-western nations) want a higher standard of living, and these countries will require lots of energy to accomplish this as the West has enjoyed for decades.
• Josef sees us coming out of the energy correction once oil hits $68.00/barrel. Josef forecasts oil appreciating quarter by quarter until we average a $90 /barrel price. Also, $175 / barrel by the end of this decade.
• Natural gas: LNG exports will cause huge growth in the Canadian market (February 7, 2025, $3.31, but going to $5 soon).

Martin Armstrong, Armstrong Economics: Economic Confidence Model 2025 & Beyond (Feb. 7th closing speaker) Martin is the highest-paid financial consultant in the world! USA-based, but has offices worldwide.

• 2028 – 2032 Confidence in the Private Sector INCREASES VS confidence declining with Government. Global phenomena. We live in a false democracy. Governments will eventually fail. The peak of Western Culture ends by 2032 and then dramatically goes down till 2095.
• No matter what form of government, they all become corrupt and abuse power. Justice only exists for the elites and the ruling class!
• European war will cause money to flow to the USA and strengthen the US dollar.
• Capital flows determine economic crises or war (follow the big money). 2028 to 2032 will be a very difficult period because of the Sovereign Debt Crisis. 9000 banks collapsed during the Great Depression, and we could see something similar during this period.
• The EU is a big mess. The German economy has shrunk by 3%, and many German companies have failed due to extreme political policies (around energy). Many EU people have awakened to the false climate change crisis (agenda).
• In 2025 – 2027, we will have an economic recession (North America), but Europe could have a full depression. Canada and the USA have consumer-based economies (which fare better in an economic downturn), but Europeans still have a mercantile economy (the EU will do far worse). Don’t buy the Euro!
• Trump’s tariffs are a serious threat but more of a “Bargaining Chip”. 25% tariff is economic warfare!
• Is a sovereign debt crisis inevitable? YES, it will come. The USA now pays one trillion a year to service its debt obligations. The crisis comes when no one wants to purchase the debt anymore (US Treasuries).
• France’s government debt (bonds) have higher interest rates than French companies, which points to a sovereign debt crisis.
• KEY POINT: Government debt is UNSECURED debt and when they default, you will get “O%” of your capital back. Don’t buy government bonds!
• Will we have a new monetary system by 2028? Very possible.
• War is a great excuse to default on your currency. War covers up debt crisis.
• The rise of socialism has destroyed country after country. Endless promises are paid for by stealing from others!
• The US dollar will remain the best currency during this turbulent period.

Day Two February 8th: Lance Roberts, Chief Market Strategist, Real Investment Advice (RIA), USA wealth managers.

• Curb your enthusiasm regarding market performance (from two years of over 20% returns to more like 10% in 2025!)
• Two periods of Trade Wars (Great Depression and 2017 to 2019 USA VS China. Tariffs have a long-term impact on markets and create higher volatility.
• Tariffs generally reduce inflation as consumers have choices.
• If companies cannot pass on price hikes, then they have to absorb hikes and this reduces their earnings and profits.
• Inflation VS Deflation. An increase in money supply creates inflation (Covid Spike). Lack of liquidity in the markets (money printing) decreases inflation.
• 70% of the US GDP comes from consumers. (Canada is in the mid-fifties).
• When the economy is growing you have inflation, and the inverse is also true. A shrinking economy = deflation.
• Market sediment short-term drives the stock markets up or down.
• The risk of volatility will increase in 2025 due to tariffs and less government intervention.
• Lance’s 10 Key Points for 2025:

1. The market valuations are very elevated.
2. Risking rates.
3. Higher yields slow the economy.
4. Slower economic growth.
5. Government stimulus will continue to reverse.
6. Bullish enthusiasm is extreme.
7. Passive investment flows support the BULL market in the short term. 40% of S&P 500 returns come from seven stocks!
8. Tariffs are not inflationary.
9. Debt and deficits are deflationary.
10. Expect lower market returns than in the past.

Lower returns, but not a crash. UNLESS we have a Black Swan from an UNEXPECTED EVENT. Risk management will be key in this environment!

Ozzie Jurock, Real Estate Expert, Investor and founder of Oz-Buzz

• Ozzie focus: Timing-Trend-Cycles
• “Inflation is primarily a monetary policy”, Milton Friedman
• Ozzie sees inflation in hard assets.
• If you have a RENEWAL coming, SHOP Around!
• Ozzie forecasts: House prices will not return to 2022 prices until 2029
• Toronto market: Sales were down 8% in 2024 and listing UP.
• Vancouver market: only 384 homes sales in 2024! Condo sales were way down! Where have ALL the buyers gone?
• 2025 a Buyers Market. Pre-sales have dried up.
• Look for deals on assignment lists and make stink offers!
• Buy any urban real estate that has a USE and cash-flows.

Paul Beattie, Hedge Fund Manager, BT Global Growth, Montreal, CA

• Likes select gold and silver stocks like Aris.T, RDS.V
• TSX Venture: worst index for years, but Paul thinks it will rise significantly in the coming years.
• Silver: Four years of deficits and sees BIG Upside potential.
• Paul likes the space industry and sees big growth potential for companies like MDA.T and TSAT.T.

Tony Greer, Founder of TG Macro, Investment Research Firm, USA

• Tony has been a top Wall Street Trader and uses his decades of experience to forecast markets and trends.
• The economy is NOT the market.
• Tony Style = Price Action, Performance, Risk Management
• Observe the Mrkets, Make Calls and Manage Risk.
• Bull Market is still on!
• Tony’s Key Observations:

1. Regime Change / Trump
2. Interest Rates: Bear Steepner to Bull Flation? The 10-year UP and the FED is DOWN 1%.
3. Trump = Bond Bull and commodities to BOOM.
4. Gold, the BULLISH trend for 3.5 years. Tony is neutral on oil and NG. Tony is long on BITCOIN due to Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks in the White House. There were 32 B inflows into BTC ETFs in 2024.
5. Equities: MAG Seven = 1/3 of the US stock market.
6. Positioning: The US stock market will outperform the rest of the world in 2025. The US Market Cap = 1 Trillion, and the rest of the world = 326 B.

• S&P 500 bull trend & Nasdaq -AI trend, NDIDA-Nuetral
• Semiconductors-Neutral
• Software-Breakout-Trump trade bullish
• Cybersecurity-Breakout
• Cloud storage-Bull
• Airlines-Bullish
• Broker Dealers-Bullish
• Financial-Breakout-Scott Bessent, key factor
• Natural Resources-Bullish
• Uranium Miners-Bullish

Volatility this year, but the uptrend is still in tack in 2025!

Frank Giustra, Canadian Businessman, Philanthropist and Billionaire

• The USA has no friends or allies, JUST INTERESTS.
• 75% of Canadian exports go to the USA and that needs to change!
• We need NEW leadership and infrastructure to use the incredible resources we have.
• The Trump tariff threat has awakened Canadians!
• The Canadian dollar will go down.
• Canada has lost a decade of development due to government policies. It takes 10 to 15 years to get a mine permit in Canada, and 18 months to 2 years in many developing Nations in Latin America or Africa.
• Canada is starved of capital in the resource sector!
• The Sovereign Debt trap is VERY serious and it is global and will not end well.
• US Debt levels have been raised 80 times since 1960. US debt is not sustainable, and sadly, no one in Washington is willing to do anything about it! One to Two Trillion a year of deficits!
• Tariffs stop global trade and eventually lead to war. Tariff wars are dangerous!
• Gold flows to China and Saudi Arabia, and they are the main buyers. Gold is the whistleblower against all currencies.
• 1/3 of the world is under US sanctions.
• M-Bridge is a BRIC blockchain project to settle payments in non-US dollars. The project is designed to avoid US sanctions and dollar dominance.
• Gold is now the 2nd largest currency in reserves by Central Banks and has exceeded the EURO. # 1 is still the US dollar.
• Gold phase one 1970s 25X, phase two 2001 to 2011 up 8X, and third phase on NOW.
• Too many junior resources companies and Franks see consolidation soon.

Peter Grandich (Former The Wallstreet Whiz Kid) Investor, USA

• Three Key Points:

1. Major market changes since he started his career over 40 years ago. 50% in passive funds now. Over 60% of trades are done by algo programs.
2. Over 50% of financial advisors in the US were not even born when Peter started his career. Most financial advisors have little to no experience in adverse markets.
3. Bloomberg Study: Black Pools (AST) found that large or dark players are not reported. This is dangerous.

• Three Big Problems:

1. DEBT: 27 States in the US are in financial crisis
2. Aging Crisis: 65% of Americans live from pay cheque to pay cheque.
3. Crumbling infrastructure in the USA, and massive costs due to natural disasters.

• Personal Observations: Peter purchased gold and sold all of his equities in 2021. Gold has been the best-performing asset since 2021 (excluding Bitcoin) against the stock market.
• Peter does not like Bitcoin.
• Comex is in trouble due to huge outflows of physical metals.
• General equities – priced for perfection
• Look to invest in other countries (Asia, S. America, etc.) and avoid the EU.
• Metals and mining stocks are now smaller than 30 years ago. Crypto has eaten the lunch of the Jr. Resource sector. Peter thinks this will change in the future.
• Peter focuses on two factors in the Jr. Resource sector: #1 Management and #2 Location. North America is the only safe place to invest in resource companies. Peter agrees with Franks, that there are too many Jr. Resource companies.
• Peter believes IAM Gold will be a takeout target by a major.

Final Session: Martin Armstrong, Creator of Socrates, the first AI supercomputer that collects hundreds of millions of global data daily, and forecasts trends and financial outcomes. Highly accurate.

• Trump is against War and will meet with Putin to try and end the war. RFK is also against the war.
• If Trump can end the war, resources will go up, and gold may go down.
• If we are going into WW3 then Gold will go up.
• Big war threat from 2027 and on.
• EU is not sustainable and will break up. Europe is a basketcase. The migrant crisis and the German Climate Change agenda, have caused serious damage to the German economy.
• The EURO will not last much longer and collapse sometime between 2029 and 2034.
• Looking for a short-term correction in 2025, but not a bear market.
• A shift from Public Debt to Private Debt has already begun.
• Silver breakout level is $37.60 and Oil is $100 per barrel.
• Risk management is critical in the short term.
• Interest rates UP is good for stocks, but the inverse is true!
• Markets are driven by expectations and confidence.
• The best currency is the US dollar. The strength of the US economy is based on the large consumer base.
• China will outpace the US economy after 2032. China is working hard to build a consumer-based economy.
• The Canadian dollar will go down, and the cause of this crisis is the government!
• Money Flows: Gov’t debt is unsecured and dangerous to hold during this period. Capitol flows will continue to leave the public sector.
• Martin continues to see the left governments going down (France, Germany, Canada and more) as countries are sick of woke agendas and false climate narratives.

Well, there you have it and I tried to share the expert’s views and provide some interesting insights from many outstanding speakers over the two-day conference. If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Bill Westmacott, Financial Educator, BC Life Insurance Broker and Wealth Solution Provider.