"They Need a Crisis" - ex-Goldman Head of FX Robin Brooks on Global Debasement Trade and End of Euro

Recorded on the 3rd of September 2026.The global bond market is flashing a warning, and most investors are still looking in the wrong place. Robin Brooks says the real story is not one country, one central bank, or one headline - it is a worldwide debasement trade reshaping bonds, currencies, gold, oil, and the assets that can actually protect your wealth.Paul Buitink sits down with Robin Brooks, former Goldman Sachs Head of FX and now senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, for a sharp breakdown of what Jackson Hole, U.S. fiscal dysfunction, Japan’s bond chaos, and Europe’s political structure are really telling markets.If you care about preserving capital, understanding the next phase of inflation, or figuring out where safety still exists, this conversation is for you.You’ll hear why recent moves in long-dated U.S. Treasuries and gold are being read as more than a short-term reaction, how Bessent and Warsh fit into a much bigger fight over bond market control, and why Robin thinks the debasement theme is now global - not just an American problem.We break down:- Why the U.S. budget deficit, long-end yields, and central bank independence matter more than most investors realize- Why Japan’s bond market and the yen are central to the global story- How to think about a true safe haven in a world where bitcoin, gold, the dollar, and equities all behave differently- Why Europe’s eurozone structure may be masking deeper fiscal and political cracks- What the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz actually mean for oil pricesRobin also explains why Greece, Italy, Spain, and other sovereign bond markets are still distorted by central bank intervention, why oil is likely much more resilient than headlines suggest, and why investors may need to rethink what counts as protection in a beggar-thy-neighbor world.Essential listening if you want a clearer framework for the markets, the macro regime, and the assets that may hold up when the old rules stop working.Follow Robin here:https://robinjbrooks.substack.com/https://x.com/robin_j_brooksFollow Paul on X here:https://x.com/paulbuitinkTimestamps:0:00 Intro01:54 — Jackson Hole, Kevin Warsh and the bond-market reaction06:04 — Global fiscal pressure and policymakers buying time08:56 — What the “debasement trade” means: gold, bitcoin, equities and safe havens12:07 — Is the US dollar still a safe haven?15:15 — Fiscal stress, political constraints and why reform is difficult17:54 — Europe, the euro and the risk of an unmanaged breakup24:07 — “Shadow yields”: how far Japanese and European bond yields may be distorted28:21 — Oil, Iran and the Strait of Hormuz34:34 — Final investment takeaways: protecting savings in a debasement environment