May 13, 2026 Kitco News

While markets focus on the trade negotiations between President Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing, the reality of a global industrial war footing is being ignored. Hal Kempfer, retired Marine Intelligence Officer and CEO of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning, joins Jeremy Szafron, Senior Anchor at Kitco News, to expose the massive disconnect between geopolitical reality and market complacency.

Kempfer breaks down China’s $189 billion missile supply chain surge, comparing Beijing’s current resource desperation to Japan in the 1930s. He also unpacks the hidden $29 billion cost of the Iran war, the dangerous drain on U.S. munition stockpiles, and the terrifying reality of AI “leaping” into modern warfare. Finally, Kempfer gives his contrarian 6-month forecast for the Strait of Hormuz and explains why investors should actually be preparing for a dramatic drop in oil prices.