Gerald Celente's Top Ten Trends of 2014 – A Year Of Extremes
Gerald Celente Writes:
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 Winter Trends 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.
