Investment legend predicts a 'large-scale economic recession' in 2026, with only rare assets able to provide protection

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Analyst predicts a ‘massive financial depression’ is coming in 2026 Original Link: Market speculators and legendary investor Doug Casey predict that a ‘massive economic recession’ will arrive in 2026, with only rare assets able to provide protection.

In an interview with David Lin on January 5, Casey elaborated on his views regarding the markets, currency, and living standards, arguing that the US economy is nearing a collapse point after years of debt-driven growth and dollar devaluation.

Casey Research chairman further predicts that stock market gains are increasingly concentrated in a few large tech and artificial intelligence(AI) companies, similar to the dot-com bubble era.

“AI will eventually succeed, but the funds allocated to it today are overly premature and dangerously overestimated,” he pointed out.

Therefore, Casey states he is taking a defensive stance, favoring gold, silver, and specific commodities to protect himself from what he perceives as an increasingly unstable financial system.

Weakening dollar drives gold and silver higher

Against the backdrop of a parabolic rise in precious metals, the contrarian Casey advocates that a “linear” price trend typically triggers his sell instinct, but he explicitly states that silver and gold should be held as long-term positions.

“That chart really scared me,” the investor warned, referring to the recent surge in silver. “But considering the volatility of the global monetary situation, I am happy to continue holding my physical silver.”

Structural weakness of the dollar is listed as the main driver behind the surge in safe-haven assets. Specifically, Casey argues that the federal government has “fallen into a dilemma,” forcing the Federal Reserve to create trillions of dollars annually to finance ongoing deficits.

Nevertheless, the dialogue points out that public interest in precious metal stocks remains limited. The author believes this may indicate that this rally has not yet reached its final peak. Additionally, he added that price corrections will not change his strategy.

“If it drops to $50, $40, or even $30 an ounce, I don’t care because these are assets I want to continue accumulating long-term.”

US economy ‘heading for slaughterhouse’

Casey also criticizes the recent optimism surrounding US economic growth, rebutting the notion that strong GDP data equates to prosperity for ordinary Americans. In this regard, his view is similar to that of Steve Hanke.

Specifically, while he admits that the US economy outperforms “sinking ships” like Europe, he believes this relative strength is misleading because it merely depicts the US as “the best-looking horse on the way to the slaughterhouse.”

He further questions the reliability of government data, stating that his trust in official statistics from US agencies is no greater than his trust in data from long-unstable economies. However, one of Casey’s most striking points is that Americans earning less than $140,000 annually are, once considering real living costs, actually approaching poverty.