Tech has dominated the economy – but the real world is about to strike back

The digital economy has driven tech stocks to incredible valuations. But it is all dependent on the real-world economy. And particularly on metals and the companies that produce them. Here, Dominic Frisby looks at the outlook for mining stocks.

Aluminium refinery
The digital economy relies on dirty, real-world materials
(Image credit: © Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

One of the themes that has dominated my articles over the past few years has been the idea of the scalability of tech, especially anything digital; the digital economy has seen growth that has obliterated anything the physical economy – mining, farming, traditional industry – has achieved.

While the physical economy may have grown, perhaps by around 3% or 4%, since the early 1990s, the digital economy has gone from almost nothing to become, probably, the biggest economy on the planet.

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Dominic Frisby

Dominic Frisby (“mercurially witty” – the Spectator) is as far as we know the world’s only financial writer and comedian. He is the author of the popular newsletter the Flying Frisby and is MoneyWeek’s main commentator on gold, commodities, currencies and cryptocurrencies. He has also taken several of his shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

His books are Daylight Robbery - How Tax Changed our Past and Will Shape our Future; Bitcoin: the Future of Money? and Life After the State - Why We Don't Need Government

Dominic was educated at St Paul's School, Manchester University and the Webber-Douglas Academy Of Dramatic Art. You can follow him on X @dominicfrisby