Kees de Kort: "They do everything wrong in The Hague"

Europe has seriously shot itself in the foot by blocking Russia's foreign exchange reserves and imposing numerous economic sanctions. That's what macroeconomist and stock market commentator Kees de Kort says in an interview with Holland Gold. He foresees a major recession in the rich Western countries and more political and social unrest in poorer countries. Western countries can still afford high energy prices and compensate for lower incomes, but the rest of the world cannot. Energy shortages are already beginning to emerge in many countries.

The annoying thing about the current crisis is that it affects everyone, because no one can do without food and energy. That is why people will spend less money on clothing, holidays and restaurants in the near future. De Kort expects that more companies will go bankrupt and that more people will lose their jobs, which will eventually lead to a recession.

Political problems

According to the macroeconomist, these economic problems are primarily caused by politics. Not only the failing sanctions policy is an example of this, but also the energy transition. Due to insufficient investment in traditional energy sources, our energy security is now at stake. And for now, the geopolitical situation is not getting much better: "There is still escalation and that is never a good thing. Escalation means higher prices and more thunder."

The macroeconomist notes that economic forecasts are not always correct, because they do not take into account, for example, "secondary effects. As an example, he mentions rising interest rates, which will also have major consequences for the housing market in the long term. And the fact that we have a lot of savings is no guarantee that we will get through this crisis well. After all, those savings are mainly with people who can easily make ends meet financially anyway.