Enslave
Profiteer
Rule
Don’t go there!
Perhaps ironically, one of the most famous 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse paintings is by a Russian:
- Pestilence (on a White Horse -> COVID !?)
- War (on a Red Horse -> PUTIN !?)
- Famine (on a Black Horse -> HYPERINFLATION !?)
- Death (on a Pale Horse -> TOO LATE !?)
- Meduza
- DW
- Ahead
Russian colleges are offering failing students a new way to avoid expulsion: join the military for a year as a drone operator. Schools claim these “special contracts” can be terminated after 12 months, unlike standard service agreements, which remain in force until the end of Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization.” Lawyers warn there’s no such thing. The outlet Cherta examined how colleges are helping the Kremlin recruit soldiers for its war in Ukraine — and what students may actually be getting themselves into. Meduza summarizes the outlet’s reporting.
Far-right media mogul Konstantin Malofeev used to be an influential but fringe figure in Russian politics. While he reportedly funded pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine as early as 2014 and has long amplified Kremlin propaganda, his extreme views led the authorities to bar him from more serious institutions such as the Federation Council and public universities. Now, that’s apparently set to change: according to Meduza’s sources, Malofeev will teach a course to sophomore students at Russia’s preeminent university. Meduza outlines the views that Malofeev is all but certain to push on his students.
Separation of powers, competitive elections, and free speech prevent the state from governing effectively, Kremlin domestic policy advisor Gleb Kuznetsov argues in a new essay. Citizens of “illiberal” regimes, he writes, are more than happy to trade democratic freedoms for free and convenient digital services. Meduza special correspondent Andrey Pertsev examines Kuznetsov’s text and explains what the author sees as the secret behind the “success” of “illiberal” systems like Russia and China.
“We want to break the majority.” According to secret recordings released by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), this was the directive Yulia Tymoshenko gave to a group of deputies she allegedly paid to sabotage Servant of the People, the nation’s ruling political party. The scheme, uncovered during a January raid that found $40,000 in cash in her office, was ostensibly designed to paralyze the Verkhovna Rada and block critical defense appointments. Now released on bail of 33 million hryvnias ($770,000), Tymoshenko faces charges that frame her not just as a corrupt official, but as an active saboteur of the state. Meduza summarizes reporting on her case from Ukrainska Pravda and looks back on the career of a woman who has been a fixture of Ukrainian politics for three decades, both in high office and behind bars.
Despite the Kremlin’s triumphant rhetoric, Russia’s creeping battlefield gains in Ukraine have come at a staggering cost. A new report from the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimates that by the end of 2025, Russia had suffered nearly 1.2 million military casualties, exceeding the losses of any major power in any conflict since World War II. The study also estimates that total combat casualties on both the Russian and Ukrainian sides are now approaching two million. Meduza breaks down what these shocking numbers really mean.
2026.01.30
Rick Mills, Editor/ Publisher, Ahead of the Herd:
It’s good to be talking to you again Quinton. We had an exceptional year in 2025 and I’m looking for a repeat for my readers in ‘26. We’ve got a hell of a market for commodities and precious metals and metals.
The Bloomberg Commodity Total Return Index is heading for its strongest monthly gain in decades. Bloomberg’s index is up a whopping 15%, that blows past some of the China-centric bull market super-cycle months that started back in ‘02.
2026.01.29
Some are thinking copper, gold and silver are getting toppy and that has them calling for a pullback in prices.
I believe the elements underpinning the commodities bull market are intact and unlikely to fall apart in 2026. Here I’ll analyze these factors to support my thesis that the bull market not only for precious metals but commodities in general is set to continue in the months ahead.
Why copper, silver and gold?
Continue reading It’s not over for commodities and PMs – Richard Mills at Ahead of the Herd.
2026.01.27
It was standing room only at the first session of talks at the 2026 version of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC).
The two-day conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre kicked off early Sunday morning, as perky investors filed into Speaker’s Hall to listen to industry luminaries like Rick Rule, Robert Quartermain and Ross Beaty discuss how this bull market is different from previous ones.
The second segment, ‘The Next Generation of Billion Dollar Company Founders’ featured Vizsla Silver’s (TSX:VZLA) CEO Michael Konnert, Robert Eckford, chief executive at Rua Gold (TSX.V:RUA), and Dolly Varden Silver’s (TSX.V:DV) Shawn Khunkhun.
Continue reading AOTH at VRIC 2026 – Richard Mills at Ahead of the Herd.
By Bruno Venditti – Visual Capitlaist
Inflation has reshaped household budgets across the United States since 2019, but price increases have not been evenly distributed. While the overall consumer price index (CPI) is up roughly 26% over the period, some everyday expenses have climbed far faster.
This graphic highlights where inflation has risen the most across major consumer categories between November 2019 and 2025. The data for this visualization comes from reporting by CNBC (via Gabriel Cortes), the U.S.
Continue reading Where Inflation Has Risen the Most in the U.S. (2019–2025) at Ahead of the Herd.
From Voronoi – Visual Capitalist
America has long held the title as the world’s largest economy, rising from a GDP of $10.3 trillion in 2000 to $30.6 trillion in 2025.
China emerged as the second-biggest economy in 2010, with its economy growing by a factor of nearly 17 since 2000.
Read More
Continue reading How Major Economies Have Shifted Since 2000 at Ahead of the Herd.
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Mandela’s Kiss Endures
The 2024 Global Elections Super-Cycle
Stay tuned for continuous updates on elections around the world. Click on a country for the latest elections data and analysis.
- Number of national elections to be held in 2024 18 of 68
- Overall turnout (based on registered voters) 63%
- Total number of ballots cast in 18 elections 467,094,737
Pulled conclusions from pooled data compilations
Using some of the world’s largest companies by market cap & some of the most quoted indices + two most sung alternatives: data for this millennia where available
- At 134x, Apple is the absolute stock price growth winner; with Amazon at 45x and Google at 32x
- Despite the lack of interest or dividends, gold at 6.6x looks good compared to any other stock or index!
- Barrick Gold on the other hand seems to be poorly correlated to anything including the gold metal itself!?
- But Barrick is the only stock producing negative correlations with most of the indices including a relatively high -0.77 with the Euronext100 index
- If one wast trying to get something totally uncorrelated on purpose- it would be hard to beat: gold and the Euronext100 index at -0.03; or Barrick and the Hang Seng index at 0.04; or gold and Merck at 0.16; or BTC and the FTSE index at 0.19
- Correlation against a basket of indices & alternatives is best in Disney and Google (0.81-0.82), albeit at different growth multiples
- If an average historical P/E is somewhere in the 20x range, then the current S&P quoted average which is in high 30s is as warned high, BUT: only Amazon and Visa seem to be widely out of range (justified by growth in online transactions?), with many below current & historical averages
- In the current world of no interest & no inflation, maybe the higher P/E averages are justified..? For how long, that is a different question…
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