Fantastic! It's been a pleasure to know and follow James! Great stuff!

SG

The tablecloth analogy is hilarious

Great interview, with some interesting insights. LOIS is not going up, but down. And XCCY basis swap spreads are also trending lower into benign territory, so the USD rollover risk is diminishing, not increasing. Yes DXY is highish, but it was higher a year ago, and before that. On discussion of the US yield curve, no mention of the impact on the cycle of the US trade spat, or the fact that the fed is tightening. Fiscal loosening is offset by fed tightening and with trade tensions, the net is for lower, not higher rates in the ST - and lower still in the LT. Secular stagnation is a choice? Really? Tell that to the BOJ, who are now purchasing less JGBs and seem to have given up on its QE programme, having not really accomplished anything near what they intended to on inflation - despite professions to the contrary from Kuroda.

Great discussion. Agree with everything except for the China comment. David S. below made pretty good comments regarding it. There is a very simple, "macro" answer: you can't look at China through a western lens. You need to zoom out - really zoom out: 1) Understand China is a 5000 year old civilisation masquerading as a country. China historically, over 2000 years has hovered at 25-35% world GDP output. What's happening in China is a REVERSION TO THE MEAN. 2) Look around the world at all the Chinese diaspora and their relative economic success. A "China Town" exists in almost any city of note. 3) Understand China's history. Drop the western lens. Zoom out. The answer was provided by Jim Rogers back in the late 1980s: "The 21st Century belongs to China."

Brilliant! 1.5hrs more James Aitken here: http://capitalallocatorspodcast.com/2018/06/24/aitken/

Great interview. Take out was the uncertainty of China and that no one can call it - but where there is certainty it is that China is playing the long game. This is antithetical to Western thinking. That's why we are flummoxed. The Buy/Sell/ Hold and (short) is a wonderful capture. As is the 'less wrong' mentality. Like previous comments I have made, I will praise the set and the filming techniques. Information plus presentation makes for a good watch. Thanks.

This is absolutely fantastic. I eagerly await the rest of this series!

Maestros!

been a while since I've heard james speak - thanks

Dear Jim and James sorry for asking but if Buy = Long Sell = Short what do you mean by hold? No Position? regards, Thomas

Reading Jim Mellon Juvenescence.

Fantastic, interviews like this one make Real Vision unique. Thanks very much.

Very interesting and informative views on China, excellent interview!

Good interview, but it would be nice if Jim Grant didn´t interrupt so frequently

Phenomenal. These guys think straight. I rather think the US is in an Indian summer economically. Global cooling is real especially from an economic standpoint over the long term.

pure and simple...value added. Specific ideas,specific opinions, and great historical perspectives and analogies!

Excellent 👏 Can we please hear James again in 6 months time ? Brains , deep thought & common sense wisdom run in the family with brother Charlie brilliant as well

Excellent

HERO(s). more need the courage to speak these truths in less careful language...

Best line novel I have heard for a while "We have late cycle asset valuations with mid cycle economy"

Mr. Grant looks at China without his American values. President Xi looks at America and has seen freedoms gone wild, as many other people in the world have seen. Mr. Aitken believes that President Xi is basically a Marxist. President Xi may be a classic socialist that believes in state control of " necessities" -broadly defined, but supportive of capitalism to provide the funds for the social contract. The Chinese have always been excellent in business where ever they live. I would be totally lost in China, but it may work well for 1.5 billion Chinese. DLS

Great perspective on China. Thanks. DLS

This was awesome. Need to rewatch and go over notes.

Dr, Wolfgang Schäuble did not cause the European sovereign debt crisis in 2008. He inadvertently exposed the default risk that already exited. DLS

Fantastic!

This is why I subscribe to RV. Jim Grant has great interview questions, but please Jim, be more careful not to interrupt your guests when they are in the middle of answering your questions. This is long form. If the interview goes 1.5 or 2 hours, all the better.

Awesome...Thanks Grant, James and RV... Always enjoy Grants take on humour. Very enjoyable and great to hear an Aussie on the show....

Extremely well-done. Financial insight precious metal.

this is what RVT is all about . for me at least. great conversation..

Excellent guest that I wouldn't mind hearing updates from every six months. JG as always asks insightful questions.

Excellent interview. Must watch a couple more times. Re: Long-term US Bonds: Part of the low bond yield is QEs from all the CBs added so much money to the savers and not to the spenders. Just as P/Es are inflated, there is too much money chasing bonds, thereby keeping long-term rates lower. DLS

Late cycle asset valuations in a mid cycle economy and he'd short the S&P 500. Downturn for the rest of 2018?

James was world class, but why does JG keep interrupting.. So annoying

James is a good friend. Ive been trying to get him for three years now but he shies from publicity. Jim pipped me to it! (Im jealous of Jims star power vs mine). James is one of the smartest, granular but yet big picture thinkers in the financial plumbing world. He is the benchmark and has the ear of everyone who matters. No one know this stuff better.

Outstanding.

It would be great if JG just stop interrupting and let the guy speak. The guy is brilliant but It's a failure interview.

Grant Is a very cool nerd.Excellent interview

The thought process on display is just fantastic to behold. Particularly when he described not having enough "bandwidth" to short Tesla, among other things that might tempt him. It is so easy to get side tracked from one's core investment framework. Peter Brandt being one end of the spectrum, and James Aitken on the other. Truly world class professionals both. Both share the same dogged commitment to their strategy, and maybe most importantly, they both are able to step back and manage themselves to keep their focus on their own strategy. This all ties in nicely with the videos on the mental game of trading. Brilliant interview Jim and James!

JG as cantankerous as ever. Nice work James(s).

Fascinating interview, easily an all-time favorite. Interesting to note that Mr. Aitken appears (according to Bloomberg) to have ties to several blockchain technology companies. May we be fortunate enough to enjoy a future interview where he shares his unique insights on that space as well. Cheers to Mr. Aitken, Mr. Grant, and to RealVision for hosting them both!

Thanks to everyone involved for doing this. Exceptional guest in Mr. Aiken, and Mr. Grant did an outstanding job. This is the kind of content in which RV cannot be excelled.

That was awesome. Even though a lot of it went over my head but I found it fascinating none the less. The hour flew by...

This is painfully good material. Thank you, Real Vision, and great thanks to Messrs. Aitken & Grant. The value of the insight, knowledge and wisdom being imparted here is inestimable.

What a privilege to listen in on the thoughts of such a deep thinker!!!

Sick Chelsea's James.

Excellent👍🙏

Excellent - gotta love Jim Grant, unbelievable interviewer.

Top shelf.

Jim Grant does an excellent job. Looking forward to more of his interviews. James was very good as well.

Yep James is the real deal. I hope he'll come back frequently. Would love to see an example of his writing (even 6 months old) submitted to RV's Think Tank

I loved the analogy about removing the tablecloth gently, and the mess that will ensue. But I understand WHY the Fed is trying to do it slowly. They (and many others) realize that an upset is coming, and raising rates suddenly could easily (probably would) trigger it. They DON'T want the blame, so are gradually raising rates (so as to have room to lower them as they ride to the rescue) while waiting for something else to happen that can be blamed for the upset. I'm sure the Fed is also hoping fervently that said upset is postponed for at least another year so they have at least 3 percentage points in their quiver to fight the next downturn. And it is clear that there are plenty of sharp points around the current bubble, so I would guess that they will get their wish, i.e., the central banks will not be fingered as the culprits when this bubble finally blows, even though it seems clear that they inflated it.

To the James boys -beware of not knowing the NEW RULES OF THE GAME. Bond prices to certain buyers are a no risk ,no capital needed proposition! Thereby caveat emptor to the sellers of US treasury debt. Moreover -Great interview !

I didn’t like the “West Coast” crack, but then I realized that I understood it much better once they explained it. Another great interview by Jim, and obviously and incredibly sharp and insightful guest in Mr. Aitken. Cheers from Southern California.

Too short. It felt like 5 minutes. Must have been intrigued. Yes I was! Excellent!

Magnificent!

AMAZING interview! The best i have seen so far.Very informative and Mr James was excellent speaker with slow and smooth voice, which it helped me to understand quicker because i am not native English speaker.Thank you RV

Wonderful, you have given me a lot to contemplate. Jim Grant makes interviewing look easy. Keep up the good work. In the mean time I will wait for the Central Bankers to make a misstep. Best regards, Mike

Another brilliant Grant episode, thanks to J & J

I so admire the brilliant observation that the faulty premise underpinning current markets is that long rates can never go up. So many other ideas come to mind as to what could challenge current thinking, and what consequences and required preparations could flow from various scenarios. Buy, sell or hold the 30-year and/or the Euro? Sell! is the unequivocal answer. Terrific, thought-provoking stuff.

Amazing. Possibly the best on RV yet, thank you! Especially liked the insights on china. The majority of current commentary on China is akin to doctors saying a broken ankle will immediately kill the patient - I.e not looking at the big picture and not appreciating greater complexity

This one goes to the top interviews. Superb!

Brilliant! Thanks a lot!

Please make James a regular on Real Vision. Amazing interview!

"Hold" the institution of managed paper currencies because "I don't know what the alternative is". Decentralized cryptocurrencies, my friend. You would short THE alternative?

This is beyond brilliant. Thank you Real Vision!

Real Vision, I had missed you dearly....welcome back!

Outstanding

loved the buy/hold bit. it'd be cool to see it happen more often at RV.

Jim has a knack of interviewing for the audience, the countless times he probes James on the plain English version of the jargon used made this interview really digestible. Jim and Grant are both excellent interviewers with this very unique trait. Bravo!

good intereview

Best interview I think I’ve ever observed. James Aitken phenomenal.

Still find it hard to worry about various supply (increased US fiscal deficit related issuance of hundreds of billions) or demand issues (reduced Japanese demand because of increased hedging costs which may see their 1Tn US treasury holdings run off by a hundred billion?) versus the much larger factor of whether the economy will for example run 1% slower and thus change the pricing on all of the $20Tn of treasury bills and bonds outstanding. And thanks to Jim for some plain speaking about China's similarity to the soviet model, especially after hopes of a liberalising Xi have proven very misguided and the implications for future slow growth (eg: the middle income trap).

Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. What a privilege to listen in on the thoughts of such a deep thinker. Thank you Jim Grant. Thank you Real Vision.

Two great financial minds in the same place at the same time! Great job in getting these guys together.