Chief Investment Strategist, The Freeport Society
Hello, Fellow Navigator.
The first high-speed rail service, meaning speeds above 300 kilometers per hour (186 mph), was introduced in 1964 in Japan.
Since then, 14 other countries have joined the club… with China boasting top current speeds of over 501 km/h (311 mph) and prototypes that travel over 1,000 km/h.
That’s faster than a commercial flight.
Most of the countries on the high-speed rail list are the usual suspects you’d expect: France, Spain, South Korea, etc. But even upstarts like Indonesia and Morocco have joined the club.
One country is notably absent: The United States.
The fastest train in America is Amtrak’s Acela, which has a top speed of a whopping 150 mph over a single 49.9-mile stretch of track in Central New Jersey.
Most of us are stuck at highway speeds of 70 mph (if traffic is halfway reasonable) or dealing with the beatdown of getting to the airport two hours early only to have the flight delayed anyway.
America may be the world’s leading economy… just don’t expect to get anywhere fast.
That’s a problem because time is money, air travel is expensive, and the existence of cheap and efficient transportation gives our competitors an advantage over us.
Well, I have progress to report… sort of.
Brightline is building a high-speed rail line to connect Los Angeles to Las Vegas in 2 hours and 10 minutes, or about half the time it takes to drive. The project is being hailed as a test case for U.S. high-speed rail.
There’s just one problem.
There is no American manufacturer currently able to build trains fast enough to make use of the infrastructure.
Sigh…
One of our core investment themes at The Freeport Society is the rebuilding of America’s industrial empire. We’re in an age of deglobalization, as the American and Chinese economies decouple. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and replacing China’s massive industrial base with our own isn’t something we should expect to be quick. This is a trend with a runway measured in decades.
But it’s one that we’re already profiting from. The paid-up members at The Freeport Investor find that four of their investments in this space are already up over 30% – and I expect a lot more where that came from.
If you’re interested in joining in on these gains, as well as tapping into our wins across our other core investment themes, simply click here to learn more about becoming a member of The Freeport Investor.
Now, let’s dive into what we covered this week at The Freeport Navigator…
China Is Dead. Your Portfolio Doesn’t Have to Be.
China just announced it would be raising its retirement age amid population decline and a life expectancy of 78 years. But this unsustainable shift creates some fantastic opportunities for us, and it ties into two of our core investment themes here at The Freeport Society. Continue reading here.
The New Space Race Is One of the Next Investment Frontiers
Today, there’s a new space race, one that includes returning to the moon after a five-decade hiatus. But this time, the government isn’t rounding up captured German scientists to make it happen. Instead, we’re going back to the moon on the backs of private industry. Continue reading John Pangere’s piece about the investment opportunities this brings.
The Fed Caved to Wall Street. Now What Do We Do?
Wednesday’s rate cut gave Wall Street exactly what they wanted. And with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell risking reigniting inflation, the question is: What do we do now? In Thursday’s Freeport Navigator, Charles lays out our next move. Continue reading here.
Slashing Inflation 26 Seconds at a Time
Chipotle just went live with a collaborative robot in one of its California locations. And with a nearby location following suit, we can’t help but wonder: What company isn’t guilty of a little AI-washing these days? However, the burrito chain’s management knows exactly what’s coming, and it ties directly into one of our core investment themes. Click here to find out how to capitalize on the next wave of innovation.
Looking Ahead
It’s far too early to know how the Federal Reserve’s rate cut will flow through to the housing market, though we’ll get a decent look at the health of the industry next week. New and pending home sales data as well as the Case-Shiller Home Price Index are all on deck.
I’m more interested in what gold and Bitcoin are telling us. Gold has been hitting new highs after the 0.5% rate cut was announced, and Bitcoin has been showing signs of life as well.
This only makes sense. All else equal, currencies tend to rise when interest rates are high or rising. They tend to fall when rates are low or falling. Today, the dollar is expensive relative to most world currencies because, comparatively speaking, our rates were high. But now that rates are moving the opposite direction, we should expect dollar weakness.
This is good news for dollar hedges like gold and Bitcoin… so if you don’t already own some, you might want to get on that!
I’ve got some more ideas on that over at The Freeport Investor. Find out how to join us by going here.
To life, liberty, and the pursuit of wealth,