In this 3rd of a series of London interviews that Lars Schall conducted for Matterhorn Asset Management this summer, Lars sits down with John Butler, CEO of Amphora Capital, and they talk about 3 of this year’s highlights in the world of international finance: 1 – the Launch of the BRICS Development Bank, 2- the Sino-Russia energy deal and 3- the Ukraine crisis.
By Lars Schall
The following video interview was conducted for and originally published here by Matterhorn Asset Management in Zurich, Switzerland.
“We live in exceptional, interesting times”
John Butler, who studied economics, history, philosophy and international politics, has worked for over 15 years as an interest rate, currency and commodity strategist at major investment banks in North America and Europe. He was Managing Director and Head of the Index Strategies Group at Deutsche Bank in London, and Managing Director and Head of European Interest Rate Strategy at Lehman Brothers in London. He’s now the Chief Investment Officer of Amphora Capital, an independent investment and advisory firm in the City of London. In 2012 he published the book “The Golden Revolution: How to Prepare for the Coming Global Gold Standard,” published by John Wiley and Sons.
London video series Aug 2014 [1]: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
London video series Aug 2014 [2]: Alasdair Macleod
I was disappointed with this interview because Mr. Butler seemed to be more concerned with appearing erudite than he did with explaining economic concepts to his audience. He stood in sharp contrast to Mr. Evans-Pritchard, who made no resort to terms of obfuscation to explain his views. (I should mention that I largely disagree with Mr. Evans-Pritchard’s opinions, but I respect him for his ability to present his views in a comprehensible package.) I have no idea if I agree with Mr. Butler because his conclusions didn’t necessarily follow from his propositions. He was good at sound bites, but not so good at substance.
Herr Schall, I’ll also mention, gave his usual wunderschön performance: well-prepared, relaxed and intelligent. I am always delighted when I discover a new interview by him. Gut gemacht!