When the economy and the financial system are both greatly shaken at the same time, the consequences can be extremely painful. Most of you still clearly remember what life was like in 2008 and 2009. It was such a dark chapter in American history. But there have been other times when we have had a financial market crash but no recession. 1987 is a perfect example of that. Of course there have also been many instances when economic conditions have been very poor but the financial markets weathered it just fine. It is actually rare for a major economic crisis and a major financial crisis to occur simultaneously like we witnessed during the Great Recession and the Great Depression. Unfortunately, it appears that this is precisely the type of scenario that we are now facing.
The other day I authored an article entitled “12 Signposts That Indicate That A Monumental Economic Meltdown Is Now Upon Us”, and it received a tremendous amount of attention. That article clearly established that a significant economic slowdown is now upon us. Since I wrote that article, more evidence that the economy is slowing down has emerged.
For example, it is being reported that Las Vegas experienced a “devastating fall of 7.5 percent” in the number of people visiting the city last year…
Las Vegas’s long‑rumored tourism collapse has erupted into full public view, with new data revealing that 2025 was the year the desert empire finally stumbled.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) confirmed that the city drew just 38.5 million visitors in 2025, a devastating fall of 7.5 percent from the previous year.
This marked the sharpest annual decline since the post‑pandemic recovery and erasing years of hard‑won momentum.
Las Vegas has always been a leading indicator for U.S. economic performance.
When the number of tourists starts to fall, an economic downturn almost always follows.
The video game industry has also fallen on very hard times.
According to one recent survey, one-third of all video game industry workers were laid off in 2025…
One-third of U.S. video game industry workers say they were laid off last year, according to a new survey conducted by the organizers behind the newly revamped Game Developers Conference (GDC).
Based on responses from more than 2,300 gaming industry professionals, with surveys “customized for each participant group, ensuring that developers, marketers, executives, investors and others answered questions most relevant to them,” the 2026 State of the Game Industry Report found that 33% of respondents in the U.S. were laid off in the past two years.
That is crazy.
I think that AI is having a bigger impact in the video game industry than most of us realized.
But of course we are seeing mass layoffs in many other industries as well.
On Thursday, Mastercard announced that it will be laying off approximately 4 percent of its entire workforce…
Mastercard has completed a review of its business that will impact about 4% of its full-time employees, the payment processor’s CFO, Sachin Mehra, said on Thursday.
“Based on the recent strategic review of our business, we expect to record a one-time restructuring charge in Q1 of approximately $200 million,” Mehra said on a call with analysts.
Another really big name, Home Depot, has just made a decision to give the axe to hundreds of loyal workers…
Atlanta-based Home Depot announced hundreds of layoffs Wednesday in its corporate operations.
Around 800 employees who work for the Atlanta store support center are being laid off, according to the company. Less than 150 of them work in the center and the rest work remotely.
In a statement, a Home Depot spokesperson said the company is “simplifying our corporate operations to better support our stores and our customers.”
Just like in 2008, it seems like we are being hit by one wave of layoffs after another.
Everyone thought that Dow Inc. was doing well, but they just announced that 4,500 employees will be hitting the bricks…
Chemical maker Dow Inc. is the latest company to announce substantial layoffs as it pivots to a stronger reliance on artificial intelligence and automation.
The company, on Thursday, announced it would cut 4,500 jobs as part of a streamlining operation it calls “Transform to Outperform.” The cuts will provide a $2 billion boost in near-term revenue, the company said, but will bring with them between $1.1 billion and $1.5 billion in one-time costs, including severance and other costs.
Some of the employment markets that were once the hottest are now being hit the hardest by layoffs.
In Seattle, we are being told that the “tech boom” has now turned into “tech gloom”…
A cloud hanging over Seattle is usually a good thing, if you’re here for the rain, or if you work in that aspect of the tech industry. But the cloud of economic uncertainty is a less welcome occurrence.
The tech boom is showing more signs of tech gloom this week following layoffs at some of the region’s biggest employers.
Just this month, Amazon and Meta are among the big names that have slashed jobs in the Emerald City…
- Amazon is laying off another 16,000 corporate employees, bringing the total to 30,000 since October. The company is also shuttering all of its Fresh and Go grocery stores.
- Meta is cutting hundreds of workers in its Reality Labs division, with roots in the region.
- Expedia Group is slashing more than 160 jobs at its Seattle HQ.
For those that want even more examples of the mass layoffs that have been happening all over America, I would recommend checking out my previous articles.
As economic conditions continue to deteriorate, chaos is erupting in the financial system.
Japanese bond yields have been going nuts, currency rates have been flying all over the place, cryptocurrencies crashed again today, and the price of silver and the price of gold have both been absolutely skyrocketing.
Statistically, the probability of what we have witnessed in the financial markets during the month of January is very close to zero. To illustrate this, I would like to share an extended excerpt from a social media post that a user known as “NoLimit” recently published on his X account…
The probability of what is happening is near zero.
Three 6-sigma events occurred in one week.
– Bonds
– Silver
– GoldWe are currently living through a statistical impossibility.
Let me explain:
Last Tuesday, Japanese 30-year debt recorded what’s called a “6-sigma” session.
2 days ago, silver did even better: it was at 5-sigma on the rally, then reached 6-sigma on the drop. IN A SINGLE SESSION.
Gold right now? It’s up 23% in less than a month. We’re getting very close to a 6-sigma event.
That’s three 6-sigma events in ONE WEEK.
To explain quickly: in finance, we measure price moves around an average using the standard deviation, which we call sigma.
1-sigma: mundane
2-sigma: common
3-sigma: becomes rare
4-sigma: exceptional
5-sigma: extremely rare
6-sigma: supposed to occur once in 500 millionHere are the 6-sigma-type episodes we saw previously:
– The october 1987 crash, 22% drop in 1 session
– March 2020 covid crash
– The swiss franc’s surge in january 2015
– WTI oil turning negative in april 2020But we’ve never had 3 events occur in one week.
Do you see the point?
A 6-sigma event is almost NEVER triggered by a simple macro headline.
It almost always comes from the market’s structure: leverage, positions that are too concentrated, margin calls, collateral problems, and forced selling or buying.
That’s important to understand because we’re talking about internal strains in the system’s mechanics.
As you know, the Japanese bond market sits at the heart of the global financial system, and I won’t go back over the whole topic, but a 6-sigma move in a market that enormous doesn’t go unnoticed.
Seeing a 6-sigma move in silver a few days later gives one a lot to think about.
And now gold?? That’s absolutely insane.
Why are we seeing extreme statistical events, only days apart, in such different markets?
When a pillar of global funding becomes unstable, leverage tends to contract, and two things happen at the same time: forced selling in certain assets and forced buying of protection in others.
Historically, precious metals are often among the beneficiaries.
Many of my readers are loving the fact that gold and silver prices have risen at an exponential rate.
JPMorgan is even suggesting that the price of gold could eventually hit $8,000.
But meanwhile the U.S. dollar and other fiat currencies are dying and investors are losing faith in the entire system.
At this stage, Peter Schiff is warning that we are headed for a global nightmare “that will make the 2008 financial crisis look like a Sunday school picnic”…
As gold prices keep rising, American economist Peter Schiff says investors should view the rally as more than a hedge — calling it a warning that inflation is speeding up, the U.S. dollar is losing global trust and a major economic reckoning may be near.
“Gold and silver are warning about a bigger crisis that’s gonna hit either later this year or maybe next year. We are headed for a U.S. dollar crisis and a sovereign debt crisis,” Schiff said Tuesday afternoon on “The Claman Countdown.”
“Central banks are buying gold to back up their currencies. They’re getting rid of dollars. They are getting rid of Treasuries,” he continued. “We are headed for [an] economic crisis, again, that will make the 2008 financial crisis look like a Sunday school picnic.”
The warning signs are all around us.
The last time we were forced to endure a major economic crisis and a major financial crisis at the same time was during the Great Recession.
Now it is happening again, and many prominent voices believe that the pain that we will soon experience will be off the charts.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.