GOLD: $1251.25 DOWN $12.70

Silver: $15.77 DOWN 19 cents

Closing access prices:

Gold $1247.70

silver: $15.72

SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: FIRST FIX 10 15 PM EST (2:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)

SECOND FIX: 2:15 AM EST (6:15 SHANGHAI LOCAL TIME)

SHANGHAI FIRST GOLD FIX: $1271.43 DOLLARS PER OZ

NY PRICE OF GOLD AT EXACT SAME TIME: $1263.70

PREMIUM FIRST FIX: $7.73

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SECOND SHANGHAI GOLD FIX: $1265.25

NY GOLD PRICE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1257.95

Premium of Shanghai 2nd fix/NY:$7.30

SHANGHAI REJECTS NY /LONDON PRICING OF GOLD

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LONDON FIRST GOLD FIX: 5:30 am est $1256.80

NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME: $1256.80

LONDON SECOND GOLD FIX 10 AM: $1255.00

NY PRICING AT THE EXACT SAME TIME. 1254.40

For comex gold:

DECEMBER/

 NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR DECBER CONTRACT:  38 NOTICE(S) FOR 3800 OZ.

TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR: 6033 FOR 603300 OZ (18.765 TONNES),

For silver:

DECEMBER

84 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR

420,000 OZ/

Total number of notices filed so far this month: 5231 for 26,155,000 oz

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Bitcoin: BID $14,777/OFFER $14,811, up $1200 (morning) 

BITCOIN : BID $15,808 OFFER: $15908 // UP $2281 (CLOSING)

end

Let us have a look at the data for today

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In silver, the total open interest ROSE BY HUGE 1661 contracts from 192,970 RISING TO 194,631 DESPITE YESTERDAY’S  10 CENT FALL IN SILVER  AND NOW WELL BELOW THE HUGE $17.25 SILVER RESISTANCE.   WE HAD SURPRISINGLY NO  COMEX LIQUIDATION AS WE WERE AGAIN NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD ANOTHER GIGANTIC NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE :  3903 EFP’S FOR MARCH (AND ZERO FOR DEC AND OTHER MONTHS) AND THUS TOTAL ISSUANCE OF 3903 CONTRACTS.   I GUESS WHAT THE CME IS STATING IS THAT THERE IS NO SILVER (OR GOLD) TO BE DELIVERED UPON AT THE COMEX AS THEY MUST EXPORT THEIR OBLIGATION TO LONDON. YESTERDAY WITNESSED 2881 EFP’S FOR SILVER ISSUED.

ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/ STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF DECEMBER:  19,357 CONTRACTS (FOR 5 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 19.357 CONTRACTS OR 96.78 MILLION OZ: AVERAGE PER DAY: 3,871 CONTRACTS OR 19.35 MILLION OZ/DAY)

RESULT: A GOOD SIZED RISE IN OI COMEX DESPITE THE 10 CENT FALL IN SILVER PRICE.  HOWEVER  WE HAD ALL OF OUR COMEX LONGS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX  TRANSFERRED THEIR OI TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE:  FROM THE CME DATA 3903 EFP’S  WERE ISSUED TODAY  FOR A DELIVERABLE CONTRACT OVER IN LONDON WITH A FIAT BONUS. IN ESSENCE THE  DEMAND FOR SILVER PHYSICAL INTENSIFIES GREATLY. WE REALLY GAINED 5564 OI CONTRACTS i.e. 3903 open interest contracts headed for London (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH A INCREASE OF 1661 OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS INCREASED DEMAND  HAPPENED WITH THE FALL IN PRICE OF SILVER BY ANOTHER 10 CENTS WITH A LOW CLOSING PRICE OF $15.96 YESTERDAY. YET WE STILL HAVE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX.

In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by just UNDER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 0.973 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 139% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).

FOR THE NEW FRONT DECEMBER MONTH/ THEY FILED: 84 NOTICE(S) FOR 420,000 OZ OF SILVER

In gold, the open interest FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE 8679 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 464,116  DESPITE THE SMALL RISE  IN PRICE OF GOLD  YESTERDAY ($1.45).  HOWEVER,  THE TOTAL NUMBER OF GOLD EFP’S ISSUED WEDNESDAY FOR THURSDAY  TOTALED ANOTHER GIGANTIC 11,871 CONTRACTS OF WHICH THE MONTH OF DECEMBER SAW 0 CONTRACTS AND FEB SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 11871 CONTRACTS. The new OI for the gold complex rests at 465,793. DEMAND FOR GOLD INTENSIFIES GREATLY AS WE WITNESS THE HUGE NUMBER OF EFP TRANSFERS TOGETHER WITH THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF GOLD OUNCES STANDING FOR DECEMBER. EVEN THOUGH THE BANKERS ISSUED THESE MONSTROUS EFPS, THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS TO SUPPLY METAL BUT IT TRANSFERS THE RISK  TO A LONDON BANKER OBLIGATION AND NOT A NEW YORK COMEX OBLIGATION. LONGS RECEIVE A FIAT BONUS TOGETHER WITH A LONG LONDON FORWARD.  THUS, BY THESE ACTIONS, THE BANKERS AT THE COMEX  HAVE JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO APPRECIABLE METAL!! THIS IS A MASSIVE FRAUD: THEY CANNOT SUPPLY ANY METAL TO OUR COMEX LONGS BUT THEY ARE QUITE WILLING TO SUPPLY MASSIVE NON BACKED GOLD (AND SILVER) PAPER KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE NO METAL TO SATISFY OUR LONGS. LONDON IS NOW SEVERELY BACKWARD IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER AND ON TOP OF THAT IT IS TAKING A FURTHER 13 WEEKS TO OBTAIN PHYSICAL FROM THE POINT WHEN FORWARDS BECOME DUE. IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A NET GAIN OF 3192 OI CONTRACTS: 8679 OI CONTRACTS LEFT THE  COMEX  BUT  11,871 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THE CME HAS BEEN VERY TARDY IN THEIR REPORTING OF EFP ISSUANCE.  THEY ARE IMMEDIATELY REMOVING COMEX OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS BUT DELAYING RELEASE OF EFP’S FOR 24 HOURS OR GREATER AS NO DOUBT THEY ARE NEGOTIATING WITH THE LONGS FOR A FIAT BONUS.

YESTERDAY, WE HAD 21,484 EFP’S ISSUED.

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S/ GOLD(EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER STARTING WITH FIRST DAY NOTICE:  75,623 CONTRACTS OR 7.5623 MILLION OZ OR 235 TONNES (5 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING:15,124 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY OR 1.524 MILLION OZ)

Result: A LARGE SIZED DECREASE IN OI DESPITE THE SMALL SIZED RISE IN PRICE IN GOLD YESTERDAY ($1.45). WE  HAD A LARGE  NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 11,871. THERE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE MUCH PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AND YET WE REACHED THE HUGE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER. I GUESS IT EXPLAINS THE HUGE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S…THERE IS HARDLY ANY GOLD PRESENT AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES.  IF YOU TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE 11,871 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A NET GAIN OPEN INTEREST OF 3192  contracts:

11,871 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND 8679 CONTRACTS LEFT THE  COMEX. THE NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES IN OZ: 3,192,000 OZ AND IN TONNES: 9.918 TONNES

we had:  38  notice(s) filed upon for 3800 oz of gold.

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With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV:

GLD:

Today, a BIG CHANGE in gold inventory at the GLD/A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.66 TONNES FROM THE GLD

Inventory rests tonight: 842.81 tonnes.

SLV

TODAY WE HAD  NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:

INVENTORY RESTS AT 321.713 MILLION OZ

end

First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:

1. Today, we had the open interest in silver SURPRISINGLY ROSE BY A LARGE 1661 contracts from 192,970 UP  TO 194,631 (AND now A LITTLE FURTHER FROM THE NEW COMEX RECORD SET ON FRIDAY/APRIL 21/2017 AT 234,787) DESPITE THE LOSS IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICE AND CONTINUAL BOMBARDMENT (A FALL OF 10 CENTS ). HOWEVER,OUR BANKERS  USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE ANOTHER HUGE  3903  PRIVATE EFP’S FOR MARCH (WE DO NOT GET A LOOK AT THESE CONTRACTS AS IT IS PRIVATE BUT THE CFTC DOES AUDIT THEM).  EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  WE HAD ZERO COMEX SILVER COMEX LIQUIDATION. IF WE TAKE THE OI GAIN AT THE COMEX (1661 CONTRACTS)   TO THE 3903 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S  WE OBTAIN A NET GAIN OF  5564  OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS, ON TOP OF THE HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES THAT ARE STANDING FOR METAL IN DECEMBER (SEE BELOW). THE NET GAIN IN OZ: 27.82 MILLION OZ!!! 

RESULT: A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE 10- CENT FALL IN PRICE (WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING).  BUT WE ALSO  HAD ANOTHER 3903 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING  COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON . TOGETHER WITH THE HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR DECEMBER, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER INTENSIFIES DESPITE THE CONSTANT RAIDS.

(report Harvey)

.

2.a) The Shanghai and London gold fix report

(Harvey)

2 b) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore

(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge

and in NY: Bloomberg

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

)Late MONDAY night/TUESDAY morning: Shanghai closed DOWN 21.91 points or .67% /Hang Sang CLOSED UP 78.79 pts or 0.28% / The Nikkei closed UP 320.99 POINTS OR 1.45%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP 0.51%/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN at 6.6100/Oil DOWN to 56.09 dollars per barrel for WTI and 61.48 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN .    ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.6180. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AGAINST  THE ONSHORE YUAN AT 6.6228 //ONSHORE YUAN WEAKER AGAINST THE DOLLAR/OFF SHORE WEAKER TO THE DOLLAR/. THE DOLLAR (INDEX) IS SLIGHTLY STRONGER AGAINST ALL MAJOR CURRENCIES. CHINA IS NOT  HAPPY TODAY.(SHANGHAI MARKET VERY  WEAK)

 

 

3a)THAILAND/SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA

i)North Korea/South Korea/

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

i)Millions in Toyko join nuclear strike evacuation drills

( zerohedge)

 

ii)Graham Summers has got it right.  He states that inflation will rip throughout Japan and for that matter across the globe. He figures that the Bank of Japan will raise rates which will burst the equity bubble everywhere.

3 c  CHINA

 

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

i)Russia announces the complete destruction of ISIS in Syria

( zero hedge)

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

7. OIL ISSUES

8. EMERGING MARKET

9. PHYSICAL MARKETS

10. USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

i)This is becoming a farce:  first the Republicans stated that they were going to reverse AMT and now they are going to reverse SALT

Only one problem..where is the money going to come from?

( zerohedge)

 

ii)An angry Grassley lashes out at the FBI and the Dept of Justice for not pursuing Hillary Clinton and all of her criminal activities

iv)My goodness!! Somebody at the Fed gets it: by including increases in asset prices like bonds, stocks and real estate the inflation is over 3%, exactly double what the clowns at the Fed are telling us!!

(courtesy JohnRubino/DollarCollapse)

v)Very strange: unemployed Americans have never been this “comfortable?”(zerohedge)

vi)The biggy: revolving credit rises above $1 trillion

Student loans: 1.486 trillion

Auto loans: 1.108 trillion

all records!!

(courtesy zerohedge)

Let us head over to the comex:

The total gold comex open interest  FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE  8679  CONTRACTS DOWN to an OI level of 465.793 DESPITE THE SMALL  SIZED RISE  IN THE PRICE OF GOLD ($1.45 GAIN WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING).  IN ACTUAL FACT WE DID NOT HAVE ANY GOLD  LIQUIDATION.  WE  HAD ANOTHER LARGE COMEX TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED  A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS. THE CME REPORTS THAT 0 EFPS WERE ISSUED FOR DECEMBER  AND 11,891 EFP’S WERE ISSUED FOR FEBRUARY FOR A TOTAL OF 11,874 CONTRACTS. THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS ON THESE TRANSFERS.  THE CONSTANT BANKER RAIDS CONTINUE AS THEY TRY TO GET  OUR “MATHEMATICAL PAPER LONGS” IN GOLD TO LIQUIDATE THEIR POSITIONS AT THE COMEX. SO FAR IT HAS NOT SUCCEEDED (AS THEY MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS) AND THUS THE CONTINUAL RAID WE WITNESSED YESTERDAY. THE CME HAS BEEN VERY TARDY IN THEIR REPORTING OF EFP’S CONTRACTS AFTER A COMEX OI MORPHS INTO AN EFP WHICH WAS THE REASON FOR MY 2ND LETTER TO THE CFTC.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED TODAY: 3192 OI CONTRACTS IN THAT 11,871 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS LONGS TO LONDON AS A FORWARD AND WE LOST  8679 COMEX CONTRACTS.  NET GAIN: 3192 contracts OR 319,200 OZ OR 9.92 TONNES

Result: A SURPRISING DECREASE IN COMEX OPEN INTEREST DESPITE THE RISE IN THE PRICE OF GOLD YESTERDAY ($1.45.)   WE HAD NO REAL GOLD LIQUIDATION. TOTAL OPEN INTEREST GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 3192 OI CONTRACTS…

We have now entered the  active contract month of DECEMBER. The open interest for the front month of December saw it’s open interest decline by 3244 contracts down to 2383.  We had 2981 notices filed upon yesterday so we lost 263 COMEX contracts or an additional 26300 oz will not stand for delivery in this active delivery month of December but they did migrate over to London as a forward for February…the reason for the move is that there is not any gold for them at the comex.

January saw its open interest LOSS OF 34 contracts DOWN to 2115. FEBRUARY saw a loss of 5587 contacts down to 358,052.

We had 38 notice(s) filed upon today for 3800 oz

PRELIMINARY VOLUME TODAY ESTIMATED;  272,240

FINAL NUMBERS CONFIRMED FOR YESTERDAY:  258,682

comex gold volumes are increasing dramatically

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And now for the wild silver comex results.

Total silver OI ROSE BY A HUGE 1661 CONTRACTS  FROM 192,970 UP TO 194,631 DESPITE YESTERDAY’S 10 CENT LOSS IN PRICE (AND CONTINUAL RAIDING OF OUR PRECIOUS METALS).  HOWEVER WE DID HAVE ANOTHER STRONG 3903 EMERGENCY EFP’S FOR MARCH ISSUED BY OUR BANKERS (ZERO FOR DECEMBER) TO COMEX LONGS WHO RECEIVED A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.THE TOTAL EFP’S ISSUED: 3903.  IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE SILVER BOYS HAVE STARTED TO MIGRATE TO LONDON FROM THE START OF DELIVERY MONTH AND CONTINUING RIGHT THROUGH UNTIL FIRST DAY NOTICE JUST LIKE WE ARE WITNESSING TODAY.  USUALLY WE NOTED THAT CONTRACTION IN OI OCCURRED ONLY DURING THE LAST WEEK OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH. THIS PROCESS HAS JUST BEGUN IN EARNEST IN SILVER STARTING IN SEPTEMBER.  HOWEVER, IN GOLD, WE HAVE BEEN WITNESSING THIS FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS.  WITHOUT A DOUBT WE HAD NO  LONG SILVER LIQUIDATION AS DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER REMAINS STRONG ESPECIALLY AS WE WITNESS A HUGE AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR METAL IN DECEMBER AS WELL AS THAT MASSIVE MIGRATION OF EFPS OVER TO LONDON. IT SEEMS THAT ALL OF OUR LOST SILVER COMEX OI CONTRACTS HAVE MIGRATED OVER TO THE PHYSICAL HUB OF OUR PRECIOUS METALS, LONDON. ON A NET BASIS WE GAINED 5564 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS:

1661 CONTRACTS GAINED AT THE COMEX WITH THE ADDITION OF  3903 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATING OVER TO LONDON.

We are now in the big active delivery month of December and here the OI fell by 67 contracts down to 877.  We had 137 notices filed upon yesterday so we GAINED 60 contract or an additional 300,000 oz will  stand in this active delivery month of December.

The January contract month ROSE by 27 contracts UP to 1399.  February saw a LOSS OF 7 OI contract FALLING TO 56. The March contract GAINED 1599 contracts UP to 155,640.

We had 84 notice(s) filed initially for 420,000 oz for the DECEMBER. 2017 contract

WE HAD nil DEALER DEPOSIT:
total dealer deposits: nil oz

We had nil dealer withdrawals:
total dealer withdrawals: nil oz

we had 0 customer deposit(s):

 

total customer deposits nil  oz

We had 0 customer withdrawal(s)

Total customer withdrawals: nil oz

we had 0 adjustment(s)

 

*December is the biggest delivery month of the year for gold and the fact that no gold has entered the vaults these past three trading days speaks volumes that there is no appreciable gold at the comex to deliver upon our longs and thus the reason for the migration to London

For DECEMBER:
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 7 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 38 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 31 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by j.P.Morgan customer account.

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To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the DECEMBER. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (6033) x 100 oz or 603,300 oz, to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (2383 contracts) minus the number of notices served upon today (38 x 100 oz per contract) equals 837,800 oz, the number of ounces standing in this  active month of DECEMBER

Thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DECEMBER contract month:

No of notices served (6033) x 100 oz or ounces + {(2383)OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (38) x 100 oz which equals 837,800 oz standing in this active delivery month of DECEMBER (26.059 tonnes). THERE IS  28 TONNES OF REGISTERED GOLD AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY SO FAR.

WE LOST 263 COMEX CONTRACTS STANDING OR 26,300 OZ BUT THESE CONTRACTS MORPHED INTO A FEB LONDON FORWARD.

.

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ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR DECEMBER,  THE INITIAL  GOLD STANDING:  39.038 TONNES STANDING

BY THE END OF THE MONTH:  FINAL: 29.791 TONNES STOOD FOR COMEX DELIVERY AS THE REMAINDER HAD TRANSFERRED OVER TO LONDON FORWARDS.

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Total dealer inventory 913,599.261 or 28.41 tonnes (dealer gold continues to disappear)
Total gold inventory (dealer and customer) = 8,906,586.808 or 277.03 tonnes

I have a sneaky feeling that these withdrawals of gold in kilobars are being used in the hypothecating process and are being used in the raiding of gold!
The gold comex is an absolute fraud. The use of kilobars and exact weights makes the data totally absurd and fraudulent! To me, the only thing that makes sense is the fact that “kilobars: are entries of hypothecated gold sent to other jurisdictions so that they will not be short with their underwritten derivatives in that jurisdiction. This would be similar to the rehypothecated gold used by Jon Corzine at MF Global.

IN THE LAST 14 MONTHS 77 NET TONNES HAS LEFT THE COMEX.

end

And now for silver

AND NOW THE DECEMBER DELIVERY MONTH

DECEMBER INITIAL standings

today, we had 1 deposit(s) into the dealer account:

i) In International Delaware:  39,473.231 oz

total dealer deposit: 39,473.231  oz

we had 0 dealer withdrawals:

total dealer withdrawals: nil oz

we had 2 customer withdrawal(s):

i) Out  of CNT: 11,920.920 oz

ii) Out of Delaware:  13,010.886

TOTAL CUSTOMER WITHDRAWAL  24,931.806 oz

We had 1 Customer deposit(s):

i) Into JPMorgan: 597,774.200 oz

***deposits into JPMorgan have resumed again
In the month of March and February, JPMorgan stopped (received) almost all of the comex silver contracts.
why is JPMorgan bringing in so much silver??? why is this not criminal in that they are also the massive short in silver

total customer deposits: 597,774.200 oz

we had 0 adjustment(s)

 

The total number of notices filed today for the DECEMBER. contract month is represented by 84 contract(s) FOR 420,000 oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DECEMBER., we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 5231 x 5,000 oz = 26,155,0000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (877) and the number of notices served upon today (84 x 5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

.

Thus the INITIAL standings for silver for the DECEMBER contract month: 5231 (notices served so far)x 5000 oz + OI for front month of DECEMBER(877) -number of notices served upon today (84)x 5000 oz equals 30,120,000 oz of silver standing for the DECEMBER contract month. This is EXCELLENT for this active delivery month of November.

WE GAINED AN ADDITIONAL 60 CONTRACTS OR 300,000 OZ THAT WILL STAND AT THE COMEX

ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOR THE DECEMBER 2016 CONTRACT WE HAD 15.282 MILLION OZ STAND.

THE FINAL STANDING: 19.900 MILLION OZ AS QUEUE JUMPING INTENSIFIED.

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ESTIMATED VOLUME FOR TODAY: 66,726

CONFIRMED VOLUME FOR YESTERDAY:   89,501 CONTRACTS

YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF 89,501 CONTRACTS EQUATES TO 447 MILLION OZ OR 63.9% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF SILVER

COMMODITY LAW SUGGESTS THAT OPEN INTEREST SHOULD NOT BE MORE THAN 3% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION.  THE CROOKS ARE SUPPLYING MASSIVE PAPER TRYING TO KEEP SILVER IN CHECK.

Total dealer silver: 56.695 million
Total number of dealer and customer silver: 240.315 million oz

The record level of silver open interest is 234,787 contracts set on April 21./2017 with the price at that day at $18.42
The previous record was 224,540 contracts with the price at that time of $20.44

end

 

WILL UPDATE LATER TONIGHT

NPV for Sprott and Central Fund of Canada

1. Central Fund of Canada: traded at Negative 2.4 percent to NAV usa funds and Negative 2.1% to NAV for Cdn funds!!!!
Percentage of fund in gold 63.2%
Percentage of fund in silver:36.5%
cash .+.3%( Dec 7/2017)

 

2. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV FALLS TO -0.56% (Dec 7 /2017)
3. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV RISES TO -0.40% to NAV (Dec 7/2017 )
Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at -0.56%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE/ territory at -0.40%/Central fund of Canada’s is still in jail but being rescued by Sprott.
Sprott WINS hostile 3.1 billion bid to take over Central Fund of Canada

(courtesy Sprott/GATA)

END

And now the Gold inventory at the GLD

Dec 7/A BIG WITHDRAWAL OF 2.66 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.81 TONNES

Dec 6/No changes in GOLD inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 845.47 tonnes

Dec 5/A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.64 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 845.47 TONNES

Dec 4/A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 8.56 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/THE BLEEDING OF GLD GOLD HAS STOPPED/INVENTORY RESTS TONIGHT AT 848.11 TONNES

Dec 1/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 839.55 TONNES

Nov 30/no change in gold inventory at the GLD. Inventory rests at 839.55 tonnes

Nov 29/a withdrawal of 2.66 tonnes at the GLD/Inventory rests at 839.55 tonnes

NOV 28/ no change in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 842.21 tonnes

Nov 27 Strange!! we gold up by $6.40 today, we had a good sized withdrawal of 1.18 tonnes from the GLD. Here is something that is also strange: we have had exactly 1.18 tonnes of gold withdrawn from the comex on 5 separate occasions in the past 30 days..explanation?

Nov 24/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.09 tonnes

Nov 22/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes

Nov 21/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes

NOV 20/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes

Nov 17/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes

Nov 16./NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.39 TONNES

Nov 15./no change in gold inventory at the GLD/inventory rests at 843.09 tonnes

NOV 14/a small deposit of .300 tonnes into the GLD inventory/Inventory rests at 843.39 tonnes

Nov 13/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.09 TONNES

Nov 10/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.09 tonnes

Nov 9/no changes in inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 843.09 tonnes

NOV 8/ANOTHER HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.18 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD DESPITE GOLD’S RISE TODAY. INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.09

Nov 7/a huge withdrawal of 1.48 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests at 844.27 tonnes

NOV 6/ a tiny withdrawal of .29 tonnes to pay for fees etc/inventory rests at 845.75 tonnes

Nov 3/no change in gold inventory at the GLD/Inventory rests at 846.04 tonnes

NOV 2/STRANGE!!! WE HAD ANOTHER WITHDRAWAL OF 3.55 TONNES FROM THE GLD DESPITE GOLD’S RISE OF $6.60 YESTERDAY AND $1.55 TODAY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.04 TONNES

Nov 1/a withdrawal of 1.18 tonnes of gold from the GLD/Inventory rests at 849.59 tonnes

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Dec 7/2017/ Inventory rests tonight at 842.81 tonnes

*IN LAST 288 TRADING DAYS: 98.14 NET TONNES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GLD
*LAST 223 TRADING DAYS: A NET 59.14 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO GLD INVENTORY.
*FROM FEB 1/2017: A NET 28.03 TONNES HAVE BEEN ADDED.

end

Now the SLV Inventory

Dec 7/strange!! with the continual whacking of silver, no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 321.713

Dec 6/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory remains at 21.713 million oz.

Dec 5/THIS ONE HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS: SLV ADDS 2.507 MILLION OZ DESPITE THE HUGE DRUBBING SILVER TOOK TODAY. (PRICE DISCOVERY?)

Dec 4/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV

INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.207 MILLION OZ/

Dec 1/VERY STRANGE!! WITH SILVER IN THE DUMPSTER THESE PAST FEW DAYS, SLV ADDS 2.076 MILLION OZ/???

INVENTORY 319.207 MILLION OZ/

Nov 30/no changes in silver inventory despite the huge drop in price/inventory rests at 317.130 million oz

Nov 29/no changes in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.130 million oz/strange!! at drop of 32 cents and no change in inventory?

Nov 28/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 317.130 million oz.

Nov 27/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY DESPITE A ZERO GAIN IN PRICE /QUITE OPPOSITE TO GOLD WHICH SAW 1.18 TONNES OF GOLD WITHDRAWN DESPITE A RISE IN PRICE OF $6.40

Nov 24/A WITHDRAWAL OF 944,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 317.130 MILLION OZ

Nov 22/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 318.074 million oz.

Nov 21/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 million oz/

NOV 20/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 million oz

Nov 17/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 million oz/

Nov 16./NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.074 MILLION OZ/

Nov 15./no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 tones

NOV 14/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 318.074 tonnes

Nov 13/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.074 MILLION OZ

Nov 10/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 318.074 million oz/

Nov 9/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 million oz.

NOV 8/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.074 MILLION OZ

Nov 7/a huge withdrawal of 944,000 oz from the SLV/inventory rests at 318.074 million oz/

NOV 6/no change in silver inventory at the SLV/Inventory rests at 319.018 million oz/

Nov 3/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS TONIGHT AT 319.018 MILLION OZ.

NOV 2/A TINY LOSS OF 137,000 OZ BUT THAT WAS TO PAY FOR FEES LIKE INSURANCE AND STORAGE/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.018 MILLION OZ/

Nov 1/STRANGE! WITH SILVER’S HUGE 48 CENT GAIN WE HAD NO GAIN IN INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.155 MILLION OZ/

Dec 7/2017:

Inventory 321.713 million oz

end

6 Month MM GOFO
Indicative gold forward offer rate for a 6 month duration

+ 1.52%
12 Month MM GOFO
+ 1.80%
30 day trend

end

Major gold/silver trading /commentaries for THURSDAY

GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.

GOLD/SILVER

Goldcore:

OFF TODAY

 

END

 

GOLD/SILVER TRADING;

Precious Metal Pounding Continues – Silver Now Red For 2017

Since Thanksgiving, precious metals have taken a beating (despite a collapse in speculative shorts).

Today is no different as both are under pressure with silver now back in the red for 2017…

The last two weeks have seen gold drop 3%, Silver down 7.5%, the dollar up around 0.75% and Bitcoin Soar 80%!

But it is notable how much more sensitive gold is to the dollar suddenly…

Having tagged $1300, gold has been a one-way street lower…

END

Last night

Bitcoin explodes above 14,000

(courtesy zerohedge)

 

Bitcoin Explodes Above $14,000 – Korean PM Fears “Serious Pathological Phenomena”

Well that escalated quickly…

Just a few hours ago, Bitcoin surged above $13,000 and now, on notable volume, it has reached the stunning $14,000 level… up 20% today…

The real surge began at 1715ET…

For those keeping track, this is how long it has taken the cryptocurrency to cross the key psychological levels:

• $0000 – $1000: 1789 days
• $1000- $2000: 1271 days
• $2000- $3000: 23 days
• $3000- $4000: 62 days
• $4000- $5000: 61 days
• $5000- $6000: 8 days
• $6000- $7000: 13 days
• $7000- $8000: 14 days
• $8000- $9000: 9 days
• $9000-$10000: 2 days
• $10000-$11000: 1 day
• $11000-$12000: 6 days
• $12,000-$13,000: 17 hours
• $13,000-$14,000: 4 hours

As Bitcoin has soared, it appears traders have sold other cyrptocurrencies to chase it as Ether has dropped in sync..

One of the regions in the world with the most active Bitcoin community is South Korea where so many Koreans have embraced bitcoin that the prime minister recently warned that cryptocurrencies might corrupt the nation’s youth.

As Bloomberg reports, while neighboring Japan hosts more transactions by some measures, Korea punches far above its weight: In the 24-hour period through Wednesday evening in Seoul, about 21 percent of the world’s bitcoin trades on fee-charging venues involved the Korean won, according to Coinmarketcap.com. The country accounts for about 1.9 percent of the world economy.

As Korean policy makers grow increasingly worried that the mania has gone too far, the nation could become a focus for bitcoin traders around the world. Korea’s top financial watchdog, which briefly roiled cryptocurrency markets with its ban on initial coin offerings in September, said this week that it has “grave concerns” about overheated speculation and has formed a task force with other government bodies to increase supervision.

While it’s unclear what measures will emerge from Korea’s cryptocurrency task force, the government seems intent on acting. The tax authority is considering a levy on cryptocurrency trading gains, Yonhap News reported on Tuesday, while Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon warned last month that cryptocurrencies could become gateways to pyramid schemes and other illicit activity if left unchecked.

“If we let things continue, I feel some serious pathological phenomena could occur,” Lee said.

Bitcoin’s stateless status appeals to some Koreans who’ve grown wary of keeping their savings in a country that shares a border with Kim Jong Un’s increasingly belligerent regime in North Korea, according to Kwak Keumjoo, professor of psychology at Seoul National University.

“People want to take comfort in something outside and beyond the country,” Kwak said.

Finally, we note that growth continues as Coinbase CEO today noted they currently have 220 customer service reps and will add 400 next year:

“it’s very difficult to keep up with the user influx.”

As CoinTelegraph reports, since China, Russia, and a few others cracked down hard on Bitcoin, it has been relatively quiet on the regulations front as Bitcoin has continued to soar unbridled. However, the head scratching on how to regulate continues.

The next fear, for Former Fortress Hedge Fund Manager Michael Novogratz, is that Bitcoin’s continued rise and prominence in the mainstream media could reawaken the regulation beast.

However, Novogratz still feels that Bitcoin is difficult to regulate and it will be hard for governments to make an impact immediately. Novogratz, who has been outspoken on Bitcoin for some time now, claiming it could be a bubble, but one to profit from has his concerns now.

“I’ve got concerns that if price movements go higher, we’re going to get more regulation,” Novogratz said.

“But I think it’s hard to shut down. … I don’t think that’s a probability.”

“One of the big risks out there right now is that prices are moving so fast that regulators are going to get nervous,” he added.

“I could legitimately see Bitcoin go $13,000, $14,000, $20,000, $25,000 and see somebody balk.”

Novogratz adds:

“We’re in a speculative frenzy. Period. Stop. How long can it go? Who knows,” Novogratz said. “What’s interesting about this is it’s global.”

Another reason that Bitcoin has hit such heights must also be attributed to it finding its identity. Many were scratching their heads as to what Bitcoin is – a currency or an asset – but recent changes have set it straight.

“Bitcoin is winning out as digital gold,” Novogratz explained.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a currency… Nothing that volatile is going to be a currency.”

END

This morning;

Bitcoin now $15,000

(courtesy zero hedge)

Bitcoin Blasts Through $15,000 – “It’s A Consensus Hallucination”

In the last 36 hours, Bitcoin has blasted through $12,000, $13,000, $14,000, and now $15,000 levels in an unprecedented 28% surge…

For those keeping track, this is how long it has taken the cryptocurrency to cross the key psychological levels:

• $0000 – $1000: 1789 days
• $1000- $2000: 1271 days
• $2000- $3000: 23 days
• $3000- $4000: 62 days
• $4000- $5000: 61 days
• $5000- $6000: 8 days
• $6000- $7000: 13 days
• $7000- $8000: 14 days
• $8000- $9000: 9 days
• $9000-$10000: 2 days
• $10000-$11000: 1 day
• $11000-$12000: 6 days
• $12,000-$13,000: 17 hours
• $13,000-$14,000: 4 hours
• $14,000-$15,000: 10 hours

With a market cap of around $250 billion, Bitcoin is bigger than Proctor & Gamble and approaching the size of Wal-Mart as the 12 biggest ‘company’ in the S&P 500.

As CoinTelegraqph reports, the price is likely being driven by news of the imminent launch of Bitcoin futures trading. CBOE will be launching their futures market this coming Sunday, December 10, with CME Group following on December 18. Nasdaq plans to launch futures trading in the summer of 2018 and Japan’s Tokyo Financial Exchange is preparing to launch futures trading as well.

Bloomberg has announced that brokerage firms TD Ameritrade and Ally Invest will be offering Bitcoin futures trades to their clients. Even J.P. Morgan Chase may follow suit, despite CEO Jamie Dimon’s infamous views on the digital currency.

GDAX, Coinbase’s digital currency exchange, has been leading the rally all day. The price on GDAX is currently about $500 ahead of other Western Bitcoin exchanges. The likeliest – and most bullish – explanation is that Coinbase is the easiest way for new Bitcoin investors to get involved. Consequently, when GDAX leads the charge as it has today, it probably means new “retail” investors are fueling the rally.

Meanwhile, as CoinDesk reports, Ron Paul wants to know: would you take $10,000 in bitcoin, cash or something else?

The former U.S. Congressman from Texas is currently holding a poll on his official Twitter account that asks in which form they would take $10,000 from a “wealthy person”. The catch: you can’t get rid of it for 10 years.

Paul – who earlier this year called for the U.S. government to “stay out” of bitcoin – put the question to his more than 650,000 followers, asking if they would take $10,000 in the form of bitcoin, dollars, gold or 10-year U.S. Treasury Bonds. The result thus far – one hour remains in the poll at press time – indicate that of the more than 70,000 responses, 54 percent expressed support for bitcoin.

Gold took the second-highest amount with 36 percent, followed by a mere 8 percent for the 10-year bonds. Just 2 percent indicated that they would take the Federal Reserve Notes if offered.

Ron Paul

✔@RonPaul

A wealthy person wants to gift you $10,000. You get to choose in which form you’ll take the gift. But there’s a catch: You must keep the gift in the form that you choose, and you can’t touch it for 10 years.

In which form would you take the gift?

3:38 PM – Dec 5, 2017

2%Federal Reserve Notes

36%Gold

54%Bitcoin

8%10 Year US Treasury Bond

70,513 votes•Final results

Speaking with TheStreet in October, Paul conceded that he’s no expert on cryptocurrencies (back in 2014, he argued that bitcoin wasn’t “true money”). That said, he voiced his support for cryptocurrency in the most recent interview, arguing that it lends credence to the emergence of alternative currencies against the U.S. dollar.

And while Bitcoin’s eye-popping price movements have some observers saying the market is in bubble territory, Naval Ravikant, the co-founder of AngelList, while he’s not ruling it out entirely, holds a less alarmist view.

“Money is a bubble that never pops,” he said at yesterday’s Token Summit II in San Francisco.

He told attendees:

“It’s a consensus hallucination.”

And speaking to the newfound attention to bitcoin, Ravikant said people are interested in growing the wealth that they have. With most savings accounts returning zero these days – as central banks conduct what Ravikant called their “grand money printing experiment” – the general public is looking for alternative places to store their money and watch it grow.

Bitcoin and other protocols seem to offer that, as even the less-developed cryptocurrencies are showing substantial returns.

“I think people are looking to solve their money problems,” he said.

And finally, for those calling this a “bubble” – we would humbly suggest you ain’t seen nothing yet…

 

end

An anatomy on how the crooks fleece speculative longs in gold/silver.

(courtesy Craig Hemke/GATA)

TF Metals Report: Another tradeable low coming

END

A major story we brought to your attention yesterday:  Bitcoin mining service Nice Hash were hacked as the crooks made off with everybody’s bitcoins. Now you know the problem with Bitcoin

Bitcoin mining service NiceHash says hackers emptied its wallet

Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2017-12-07 00:15. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Olga Kharif
Bloomberg News
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

NiceHash, the marketplace for cloud-based mining of cryptocurrencies, said hackers breached its systems and stole an unknown amount of bitcoin from its virtual wallet.

“We are working to verify the precise number of BTC taken,” the company said today in a statement on its Facebook page. It is halting operations for 24 hours, it said. The venture’s main webpage showed a “maintenance” error message, linking to its social media accounts.

NiceHash helps match people who can spare computing capacity with miners looking to solve complex math problems to obtain a variety of new coins. It later facilitates periodic payments to the service providers with bitcoin.

A wallet address circulated by NiceHash users shows that more than $60 million of bitcoins might be affected, according to CoinDesk, the cryptocurrency research and news website. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-12-06/bitcoin-mining-servic.

END

The Russian finance ministry is suggesting that they should outlaw crypto mining.

(courtesy RT/GATA)

Russian finance ministry suggests outlawing crypto mining

Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2017-12-07 00:37. Section: Daily Dispatches

From Russia Today, Moscow
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

As the Russian government is working on laws to regulate virtual currencies, the country’s finance ministry has proposed making their mining illegal. However, buying them will not be punishable.

“The penalties will be different, mostly administrative, but if someone created the cryptocurrency for the purpose of settlements, then there will be a criminal punishment,” said Deputy Finance Minister Aleksey Moiseev.

Criminal penalties can also be applied to the creation of a financial pyramid or the issuance of a cryptocurrency to avoid tax, he said. The minister stressed that buying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would be legal. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.rt.com/business/412132-bitcoin-cryptocurrencies-mining-russi…

END

We now have a second crypto exchange stating they owners of “coins” cannot withdraw their money

(courtesy Grut/Business Insider/GATA)

Traders on billion-dollar crypto exchange say they can’t withdraw money

Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2017-12-07 00:44. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Oscar Williams-Grut
Business Insider, New York
Wednesday, December 6, 2017

LONDON — Customers of cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex are complaining of problems withdrawing money and say they have been left in the dark by the huge U.S. exchange.

Several Bittrex customers contacted Business Insider in recent weeks to complain about problems. Others have taken to Twitter and forums such as Reddit.

The majority appear to have issues verifying their identities when trying to withdraw money from the platform. The people who BI spoke to are angry that they have received little to no communication from the platform about the issues, leaving them confused and concerned.

Bittrex on Wednesday admitted to “significant delays” in handling customer issues but claimed the issues only affect “a small percentage of our overall user base.” …

… For the remainder of the report:

http://www.businessinsider.com/bittrex-customers-withdrawal-problems-ide…

END

Your early THURSDAY morning currency, Asian stock market results,  important USA/Asian currency crosses, gold/silver pricing overnight along with the price of oil Major stories overnight/9 AM EST

i) Chinese yuan vs USA dollar/CLOSED DOWN AT 6.6180 /shanghai bourse CLOSED DOWN AT 21.91 POINTS .67% / HANG SANG CLOSED UP 78.79 POINTS OR 0.28%
2. Nikkei closed UP 320.99 POINTS OR 1.45% /USA: YEN RISES TO 112.78

3. Europe stocks OPENED ALL GREEN   /USA dollar index RISES TO 93.78/Euro FALLS TO 1.1777

3b Japan 10 year bond yield: RISES TO . +.057/ GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION !!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 112.78/ THIS IS TROUBLESOME AS BANK OF JAPAN IS RUNNING OUT OF BONDS TO BUY./JAPAN 10 YR YIELD FINALLY IN THE POSITIVE/BANK OF JAPAN LOSING CONTROL OF THEIR YIELD CURVE AS THEY PURCHASE ALL BONDS TO GET TO ZERO RATE!!

3c Nikkei now JUST BELOW 17,000

3d USA/Yen rate now well below the important 120 barrier this morning

3e WTI:: 56.09  and Brent: 61.48

3f Gold DOWN/Yen DOWN

3g Japan is to buy the equivalent of 108 billion uSA dollars worth of bond per month or $1.3 trillion. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion usa./“HELICOPTER MONEY” OFF THE TABLE FOR NOW /REVERSE OPERATION TWIST ON THE BONDS: PURCHASE OF LONG BONDS AND SELLING THE SHORT END

Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and by 2018 they will have 25% of all Japanese debt. Fifty percent of Japanese budget financed with debt.

3h Oil DOWN for WTI and DOWN FOR Brent this morning

3i European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund FALLS TO +.309%/Italian 10 yr bond yield DOWN to 1.713% /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 1.427%

3j Greek 10 year bond yield RISES TO : 4.821?????????????????????

3k Gold at $1255.90 silver at:15.84: 6 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $18.50

3l USA vs Russian rouble; (Russian rouble DOWN 3/100 in roubles/dollar) 59.22

3m oil into the 56 dollar handle for WTI and 61 handle for Brent/

3n Higher foreign deposits out of China sees huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/China forced to do QE!! as it lowers its yuan value to the dollar/GOT A SMALL SIZED DEVALUATION SOUTHBOUND

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 INITIATES NIRP. THIS MORNING THEY SIGNAL THEY MAY END NIRP. TODAY THE USA/YEN TRADES TO 112.78 DESTROYING JAPANESE CITIZENS WITH HIGHER FOOD INFLATION

30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the SF. It is not working: USA/SF this morning 0.9930 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF is 1.1694 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.

3p BRITAIN VOTES AFFIRMATIVE BREXIT/LOWER PARLIAMENT APPROVES BREXIT COMMENCEMENT/ARTICLE 50 COMMENCES MARCH 29/2017

3r the 10 Year German bund now POSITIVE territory with the 10 year FALLNG to +0.309%

The bank withdrawals were causing massive hardship to the Greek bank. the Greek referendum voted overwhelming “NO”. Next step for Greece will be the recapitalization of the banks and that will be difficult.

4. USA 10 year treasury bond at 2.349% early this morning. Thirty year rate at 2.7320% /

5. Details Ransquawk, Bloomberg, Deutsche bank/Jim Reid.

(courtesy Jim Reid/Bloomberg/Deutsche bank/zero hedge)

China Commodity Carnage Continued Overnight As Brexit Fears & Bitcoin Cheers Dominate

Once again weakness in the US carried through to Asia with stocks unable to hold any National-Team-inspired gains, but it was the contagion to commodities that was most notable (as a hike in exchange fees snuffed out a lot of speculative fervor)

• European equities have followed suit from their Asia-Pac counterparts to trade higher across the board
• Markets await Brexit headlines amid Barnier deadline
• Looking ahead, highlights include US weekly jobs and potential comments from ECB’s Draghi.

ASIA

Asia equity markets somewhat shrugged off the subdued tone on Wall St and mostly rebounded from the prior day’s losses, aside from China which underperformed amid continued regulatory concerns. ASX 200 (+0.5%) and Nikkei 225 (+1.5%) were lifted from the open, in which the Japanese benchmark led the gains amid short-covering from yesterday’s 2% slump and as it coat-tailed on the bounce in USD/JPY. Conversely, Hang Seng traded (+0.7%) indecisive while Shanghai Comp. (-0.3%) lagged after the CBRC drafted new requirements for banks to curb liquidity risks, and although the PBoC conducted Reverse Repos for the 1st time in 5 working days, this still amounted to a net neutral daily position after expiring operations were accounted for. Finally, 10yr JGBs were uneventful as focus was centred on riskier assets, while a mixed 30yr JGB auction result also failed to spur demand.

China’s banking regulator drafted new requirements for banks to curb liquidity risks which will go into effect March 2018. (Newswires)

• PBoC injected CNY 120bln via 7-day reverse repos, CNY 50bln via 14-day reverse repos and CNY 100bln via 28-day reverse repos, which represents a net neutral daily position when maturing operations are accounted for. (Newswires)
• PBoC set CNY mid-point at 6.6195 (Prev. 6.6163)
• Australian Trade Balance (AUD)(Oct) 105M vs. Exp. 1,375M (Prev. 1,745M, Rev. 1,604M). (Newswires)
• Australian Exports (Oct) -3.0% (Prev. 3.0%)
• Australian Imports (Oct) 2.0% (Prev. 0.0%)

UK/EU

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Barnier said UK has 48 hours to agree a text on potential deal over Irish border or else talks will not move on to the next phase. (Guardian)

Equities

European equities have followed suit from their Asia-Pac counterparts to trade higher across the board (Eurostoxx 50 +0.3%) with the Nikkei 225 (+1.5%) the notable outperformer in a recovery from yesterday’s losses. Once again, European specific newsflow remains on the light side with markets awaiting any Brexit-related updates and developments in the US tax /shutdown legislation. In terms of sector specifics, health care names are the only sector in the red whilst outperformance is seen in the telecom sector with markets appeased by the latest strategy update by Orange (+1.5%). Other notable individual movers include Sky (+1.8%) who have been supported by reports that Comcast is looking to push for a deal for Fox (FOXA) assets in a move which could see it take full control of Sky.

Fixed Income

Solid Spanish auction results did not set the tone for Eurozone semi-core and UK bond sales, but have underlined the relative attraction of Eurozone periphery paper and demand for premium despite ECB QE depressing yields most at the margins. French OATs were not greeted that well, like yesterday’s 10 year German Bund, but UK Gilts drew even less demand despite appealing to the investment portfolio needs of institutional buyers (normally). Hence, a downturn in Eurex debt futures and Liffe’s core 10 year contract to new session lows at 163.27 for Bunds, 157.28 for OATs and 124.24 for Gilts (-1/4 point, -23 ticks and -43 ticks vs +8, +8 and +10 ticks at the other end of the scale). US Treasuries also feeling some contagion having traded to fresh overnight highs earlier amidst a decent clip of 10 year note buying.

FX

USD index has inched over the 93.500 level that has been hindering the Greenback’s recovery from recent lows for a while. However, a significant element of the more concerted rebound is due to weakness in other currencies rather than outright Dollar strength. GBP is holding up pretty well, above yesterday’s lows around 1.3360 in Cable and EUR/GBP just over 0.8800, despite yet another deadline for the UK Government to sort differences with the DUP over the Irish border. NZD is suffering more than the AUD in percentage terms vs the USD despite a double-dose of negatives for Aussie unit in the form of a big downside miss on trade and a meltdown in iron ore prices with NZD/USD having recently topped out around 0.6900.

The continued rise of GBP/USD implied volatility that covers the period of the EU summit next week is less surprising when one considers that Theresa May appears to have misjudged the positions of her own party and a number of countries within the EU.

Two-week implied volatility is around 2.0 vol higher than 1 month, the widest spread since the time of the June general election.

COMMODITIES

Energy markets have been relatively quiet amid a lack of drivers, although WTI crude futures are off worst levels and just about reclaimed the USD 56/bbl level to provide some mild reprieve from this week’s product inventory-triggered pressure. Gold and copper were also uneventful overnight with the former stuck near 4-month lows as participants await this Friday’s key-risk NFP data. The main mover in metals markets was Dalian Iron ore which crashed by 7.5% amid ongoing demand concerns from China.

But Chinese stock weakness spread to the commodity markets – which had promised so much growth previously – as Reuters reports, China’s commodity exchanges have hiked transaction fees and margin requirements for a range of futures this year in their latest effort to curb speculative trading that Beijing says has spurred recent price surges in markets from sugar to ferro-silicon.

As Bloomberg’s Mark Cranfield notes, China’s iron ore future is doing it’s best to shock global markets in the way copper did earlier this week. Partially thanks to top miner Vale SA, the metal is having a high volume swoon on the Dalian exchange, which could be the tipping point for another commodity complex slide as Europe gets going.

Things to keep an eye on today:

• 7:30am: Challenger Job Cuts YoY, prior -3.0%
• 8:30am: Initial Jobless Claims, est. 240,000, prior 238,000
• 8:30am: Continuing Claims, est. 1.92m, prior 1.96m
• 9:45am: Bloomberg Consumer Comfort, prior 51.6
• 12pm: Household Change in Net Worth, prior $1.7t
• 3pm: Consumer Credit, est. $17.0b, prior $20.8b

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures up 0.2% to 2,634.90
• STOXX Europe 600 up 0.3% to 387.42
• MSCI Asia up 0.4% to 167.94
• MSCI Asia ex Japan up 0.1% to 544.14
• Nikkei up 1.5% to 22,498.03
• Topix up 1.2% to 1,786.25
• Hang Seng Index up 0.3% to 28,303.19
• Shanghai Composite down 0.7% to 3,272.05
• Sensex up 0.9% to 32,894.90
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.5% to 5,977.72
• Kospi down 0.5% to 2,461.98
• German 10Y yield rose 0.6 bps to 0.301%
• Euro down 0.03% to $1.1793
• Italian 10Y yield rose 2.0 bps to 1.462%
• Spanish 10Y yield unchanged at 1.433%
• Brent futures up 0.6% to $61.61/bbl
• Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,257.82
• U.S. Dollar Index up 0.05% to 93.66

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

• President Trump will meet with congressional leaders Thursday to negotiate on a long-term budget deal as Congress is on track to avoid a government shutdown
• Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and announced he would begin moving the U.S. embassy there, despite warnings from global leaders that the move would undermine peace efforts and spark violence.
• Germany’s Social Democratic Party holds convention that’s expected to vote on endorsing coalition talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel
• Hamas Leader Calls for Another Intifada Against Israel
• GVC in Talks to Buy Ladbrokes Coral for Up to $5.2 Billion
• Bitcoin Frenzy Like No Other Has Koreans Paying 23% Premium
• Steinhoff Falls Further Amid Plan to Raise $1 Billion From Sales
• Bitcoin Fails to Win Over Giants of Finance in Scandinavia
• Banks Seen Losing 15% of European Stock Trading Under MiFID
• Goldman, BlackRock, Blackstone Vie to Keep Wall Street Crowns
• IMF Joins Criticism of Ukraine’s Crumbling Anti-Graft Efforts
• U.K. House Prices Rise for a Fifth Month on Dearth of Supply
• Italy’s Banca Carige Misses $590 Million Share Sale Target

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

The show rolls on to Switzerland this morning. The only good thing about being away most of this week is that I’ve missed two design consultations at home for our new kitchen. We don’t move in for a year, need to knock down several walls and then build a kitchen from scratch. It’s a crazy thing to do when trying to cope with new born twins and a toddler. In the ?rst meeting about kitchens I started to glaze over when we discussed tap options. Which one of the ten metallic ?nishes we wanted was a question I really couldn’t answer. Multiply that by about 100 di?erent decisions that need to be made to spec up a kitchen and then duplicate that across the two companies we’re getting quotes from and it’s a maddening process. If I was in charge we’d probably get stuck with a microwave and a few plates. However they’d be a very good TV hung expertly on the wall to watch while the microwave was being ?red up.

Markets have heated up a little this morning after the Nikkei dropped the most since March yesterday (-1.97%; +16% YTD) although like most microwaved food there are some hot and cold bits. The Nikkei is up 1.36%, the Hang Seng and ASX 200 are both up c0.5%, while other markets are down as we type (Kospi -0.32%; China’s CSI 300 -0.74%).

Yesterday’s fall in Asia dragged European markets initially much lower – opening down c1%. However sentiment improved through the day with key markets ?nishing modestly lower (Stoxx 600 -0.11%; DAX -0.38%; FTSE +0.28%). Across the pond, US equities fluctuated as a rebound in tech shares was broadly offset by weakness in energy and telcos. By the close, the S&P 500 was flattish (-0.01%), the Dow dipped 0.16% and Nasdaq edged higher (+0.21%). In commodities, WTI oil dropped 2.86% following an EIA report that showed a buildup in gasoline stockpiles but LME copper’s losses have moderated (+0.11%).

Staying in the US, plans to avoid a partial government shutdown seems to be moving the right way. The House Rules Committee has approved a plan to extend government funding for two weeks until 22 December. The bill will be up for a House ?oor vote today, then the Senate will have until the end of Friday to pass the bill to avoid a partial shutdown this Saturday.

Onto Brexit now and we remain in somewhat of a stalemate position, but the prior deadline of achieving a breakthrough this week now seems more ?exible, with Bloomberg noting EC President Juncker is prepared to meet PM May “any day ahead of the run-up to next week’s EU summit”. In terms of the latest headlines, Brexit Secretary Davis noted “no quantitative assessment” was made before the UK cabinet decided to leave the EU trade bloc. Elsewhere, the SUN reported that some supporters of Mr Davis are planning to launch a bid to replace PM May by Christmas. On the Irish border issue, both PM May and Irish PM Varadkar agreed on the importance of “no hard border or physical infrastructure at the border…”, and later on Wednesday evening, Mr Varadkar noted PM May “wants to come back to us with some text tonight or tomorrow”. So still lots bubbling along.

In Europe, the ECB’s Mersch sounded cautious on giving markets too much longer term guidance. On QE, he noted that if stimulus is removed too quickly, the economy may su?er, but risks also increase the longer QE runs, so “to contain those risks, a credible perspective of an exit is needed”. On rates, he noted that given the di?culty in measuring in?ation pressures, the ECB might be “running behind those developments without being aware of it”. On forward guidance, he posed the question of whether guidance is reaching out too far into the future and noted “when the time comes in the course of next year…we should think carefully how much we pre-commit (our monetary policy course)”.

Now recapping other markets performance yesterday. Government bonds were firmer with core 10y bond yields down 2-3bp (UST -1.8bp; Bunds -2.4bp; Gilts -2.9bp) while peripherals underperformed. Note 10y Bunds are back below 0.3% for the first time since late June and the 30y treasuries are at a three month low, although the 5s30s has steepened slightly to 60.3bp.

Turning to currencies, the US dollar index was 0.17% stronger while Euro and Sterling fell 0.26% and 0.42% respectively, with the latter partly impacted by the stalled Brexit talks. In commodities, precious metal continued to soften (Gold -0.11%; Silver -0.71%) while losses from other base metals moderated somewhat (Zinc -0.49%; Aluminium -1.42%). Elsewhere, the VIX fell 2.74% to 11.02.

The price of Bitcoin has jumped to US$15,200 a piece this morning and is up c15x YTD. To put the rally in a di?erent context, it took 100 trading days for Bitcoin’s price to rise from $1,000 to $2,000, but getting through the subsequent $1,000 increment has been much faster, at 55, 5, 43, 12, 3, 12, 5, 2 days and then only 7 trading days for it to rise from $10,000 to >$15,000 if it closed at similar levels today. We are cognisant that as Bitcoin’s price gets higher, the hurdle to go up each $1,000 increment is easier in percentage terms, but we thought it was an interesting stat nonetheless.

 

Away from the markets, the European Commission has unveiled more details on the future of a tighter Europe. Some of its key proposals include: i) expanding the role of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), such as acting as a backstop for the single resolution fund to wind down failed banks, and potentially transform the ESM into a type of EU monetary fund, ii) new budget instruments within the EU budget framework, potentially to provide funds for structural reforms and iii) creation of a dedicated EU minister of economy and ?nance. Looking ahead, EU leaders will meet next week to discuss next steps with plans for an agreement by next June.

Looking into 2018, DB’s global fixed income team now expect 10Y UST to approach 3%, Bunds to approach 1% and Gilts to approach 2% by the end of next year. Some of the key themes in their outlook report include: i) rising core in?ation and easier ?scal and regulatory policies will support further monetary policy tightening, ii) the US economy enters 2018 with strong momentum and prospects for easier ?scal and regulatory policies. Absent an external shock, monetary policy will have to be tightened and rates will have to rise before growth slows down materially and iii) they expect the ECB to be more hawkish than current market expectations. Refer to their note for more details.

Looking at the day ahead, politics might well be the main focus for markets again with Germany’s Social Democratic Party due to hold a convention in Berlin. A vote on endorsing coalition talks is expected. Datawise, we’ll get October industrial production in Germany, the October trade balance in France and weekly initial jobless claims andOctober consumer credit in the US. The ?nal reading of Q3 GDP for the Euro area will also be released.

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)Late MONDAY night/TUESDAY morning: Shanghai closed DOWN 21.91 points or .67% /Hang Sang CLOSED UP 78.79 pts or 0.28% / The Nikkei closed UP 320.99 POINTS OR 1.45%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP 0.51%/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN at 6.6100/Oil DOWN to 56.09 dollars per barrel for WTI and 61.48 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN .    ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.6180. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AGAINST  THE ONSHORE YUAN AT 6.6228 //ONSHORE YUAN WEAKER AGAINST THE DOLLAR/OFF SHORE WEAKER TO THE DOLLAR/. THE DOLLAR (INDEX) IS SLIGHTLY STRONGER AGAINST ALL MAJOR CURRENCIES. CHINA IS NOT  HAPPY TODAY.(SHANGHAI MARKET VERY  WEAK)

3 a NORTH KOREA/USA

NORTH KOREA/South Korea/Russia

 

South Korea developing a “drone-bot” combat unit which will swarm the North;

 

(courtesy zerohedge)

end

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

 

Millions in Toyko join nuclear strike evacuation drills

 

(courtesy zerohedge)

“The Threat Is Real” – Millions In Tokyo Join Nuclear Strike Evacuation Drills

Earlier this week, Hawaii reportedly tested its system of nuclear sirens for the first time since the 1960s as the state’s governor warned that he was taking North Korea’s threats of nuclear annihilation extremely seriously. Today, the Telegraph is reporting that the paranoia has spread to Japan, where millions of Tokyo residents will participate in evacuation drills meant to simulate their response to North Korean nuclear strike.

And Tokyo isn’t the first city to conduct these types of large scale drills: Towns facing the Korean Peninsula have conducted similar drills in recent months.

The national and city governments are to carry out a series of exercises between January and March to prepare for a potential attack on Tokyo, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper reported, the first time that a major Japanese city will have carried out responses to a simulated attack.

 

Towns facing the Korean Peninsula have in recent months conducted similar drills, with residents instructed to seek shelter in response to sirens warning of an imminent missile strike.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has called on local governments throughout the country to identify underground facilities or buildings that are sufficiently sturdy to withstand a missile attack and to designate those facilities as shelters.

Many ordinary Japanese believe the evacuation drills are an important precaution. One Tokyo resident said he participates because he believes that, if North Korea chose to attack, Tokyo would be the logical target.

“I believe the threat is very real and that war could break out at any time”, said Ken Kato, a human rights campaigner who lives in Tokyo. Nearly 9.3 million people live in the city, with millions more travelling into the metropolis every day for work.

 

“I also believe that the average Japanese person does not want to think about the worst-case scenario because it is simply too unpleasant, but we cannot keep our heads in the sand any longer”, he told The Telegraph.

 

“Evacuation drills are a sensible precaution that would help to minimize casualties, in much the same way as we practice what to do in the event of a major earthquake”, he said.

 

“And if war did break out, then I think it is unfortunately inevitable that North Korea would target Tokyo”, he added. “The US has a major military base at Yokota, to the west of the city, and its main naval base in the region is at Yokosuka, to the southwest.

 

“It is hard to believe they would not want to strike those military concentrations,” he said, adding that it is unlikely that the North Korean regime would be particularly concerned about casualties among civilians living nearby.

Last week, North Korea launched its ne Hwasong-15 ICBM, the country’s first missile test in more than two months. The missile’s peak height and flight time have led experts to suspect that it could probably strike anywhere on the Continental US – though perhaps not with the highest degree of accuracy.

Like the US, Japan is also at risk of an airburst – the detonation of a nuclear weapon far above the earth’s surface that could knock out the country’s power grid, indirectly killing hundreds of thousands of people.

 end

Graham Summers has got it right.  He states that inflation will rip throughout Japan and for that matter across the globe. He figures that the Bank of Japan will raise rates which will burst the equity bubble everywhere.

c) REPORT ON CHINA

 

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

 

the pound rises after an agreement on the role of the European Court of Justice

 

(courtesy zero hedge)

5. RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Russia announces the complete destruction of ISIS in Syria

(courtesy zero hedge)

 

Russia Announces The Complete Destruction Of ISIS In Syria

In a historic moment, ignored by much of Western media, Russian military officials have announced the complete and utter defeat of ISIS in Syria. The Russian General Staff issued a statement Wednesday declaring that all territories previously under terrorist control were liberated in a final push by the Syrian Army this week, and with the support of Russian forces.

“All terrorist units of ISIS on Syrian soil have been destroyed, and the territory is liberated,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Valery Gerasimov said in comments translated and published by RT.  “Therefore, as of today, there’s no territory controlled by ISIS in Syria,” he added. The announcement came during an annual briefing for foreign military attaches, and incidentally on the same day President Trump gave an extremely controversial televised address wherein he gave official US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, thus it could mean that the demise of one problem could give rise to another in an increasingly volatile and explosive Middle East environment.

The rapid collapse of ISIS – which once controlled an area the size of Britain stretching from the edges of Aleppo to Mosul in Iraq, and down to Ramadi and Fallujah – began in earnest in early September when the Syrian Army breached ISIS lines around Deir Ezzor city, after which the city was fully liberated by early November. As ISIS retreated in the Deir Ezzor countryside, it lost its previous Syrian capital of Raqqa in mid-October to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which also struck a deal to allow the quick exit of ISIS terrorists to other parts of Syria and region, according to a report by the BBC.

The Syrian Army this week continued its momentum in Deir Ezzor province, liberating the villages of Jalaa, Ramadi and Buq in rapid succession, while Russian bombers reportedly carried out massive strikes on remaining ISIS positions near al-Sayyal. Other locations were liberated in quick succession according to reports, including Khutaytah, ‘Abbas, Masra’at Shamr, Qit’ah, Mujawwadah, Jabal Nusuriyah, Tal Bani, and Tal Khinzir.

Syrian army celebrates the prior liberation of key territory. Image source: NDTV

After Russian President Vladimir Putin was briefed by his military staff on Wednesday, he acknowledged the end of the bulk of anti-ISIS military operations while also saying, “Naturally, there might be some spots of resistance, but the military work has been largely completed in the area and at the time. Completed with a full victory, I repeat, with a victory and defeat of the terrorists.” Putin further said that the political negotiation process over the future of Syria put in place by a Russia-Iran-Turkey agreement reached in Sochi last month must now become the focus, which may include future Syrian presidential elections. He cautioned, however, that this potential peace process will be “a very big and lengthy job.”

Today’s remarks followed an earlier address by Putin to a major gathering of Orthodox church leaders from around the world on Monday – an event hosted by the Russian Orthodox Church. Putin told the Christian leaders that Syria’s ancient Christian heartland had been fully liberated: “The situation in this country [Syria] is gradually changing. The Syrian armed forces, supported by the Russian military, have liberated from terrorists almost the whole territory of the country, including historic Christian regions,” he said. Prior to the war, the Christian population in Syria was about 2 million, according to estimates.

Indeed as early as March of 2012 the official Vatican news agency, Agenzia Fides, published a report citing “an ongoing ethnic cleansing of Christians” by anti-government fighters in Homs based on Syrian Orthodox church sources a report which made world headlines at the time. It was further widely reported in international press that 90% of the large Christian population of central Syria had been forcibly expelled and their homes confiscated by anti-Assad fighters.

Though the West had defended the insurgency as comprised of “moderate” Free Syrian Army fighters, this pattern of religious and ethnic cleansing became familiar throughout much of the rest of Syria as jihadists made gains in the midst of the war. When ISIS initially emerged on the Syrian battlefield in 2013 it routinely fought directly under and in coordination with US-backed FSA command structures – and later, in 2014, entire FSA groups would defect en mass to the Islamic State, taking their US/UK and Gulf-supplied weapons and communications gear with them – all of which allowed for the Islamic State’s shockingly rapid growth. 

But when Russia militarily intervened in Syria in 2015 at the invitation of Damascus, the momentum changed dramatically in favor of the Syrian government, which painstakingly gained back territory over the following two years.

At the gathering of church leaders this week, Putin further stated that future stability in Syria was dependent on more than just military gains, but on refugees feeling secure enough to return to their homes, especially religious minorities which make up the pluralist fabric of Syrian society: “Over the past few years the Russian state alongside with the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as other religious organizations has provided humanitarian aid to Syria. It’s very important that the peaceful life is established as soon as possible, that the people can return to their homes, begin to rebuild the temples and churches,” Putin stressed.

Though Russian statements on Syria this week focused on declaring victory over ISIS, it is unclear what might be in store for al-Qaeda held Idlib in the coming months. Russia and other international powers have long weighed military options to dislodge the northwestern province from Hayat Ta?rir al-Sham (AQ in Syria) control, but with a highly concentrated civilian population, there are no easy options.

end

Israel

Not good:  Hamas leader calls for a third intifada following Trump’s “declaration of war”:

(courtesy zerohedge)

Hamas Leader Calls For Third Intifada Following Trump’s “Declaration Of War”

Yesterday, President Trump officially announced his “new approach” to the Israel-Palestine conflict that, which instead of bringing peace to the region like he repeatedly promised during the campaign, appears poised to trigger the most destructive periods of Israeli vs Palestinian violence since 2005.

Early Thursday, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which recently relinquished absolute administrative control of Gaza but remains incredibly popular in what some have described as “the world’s largest open-air prison”, called for a third intifada – or uprising – against the Israelis to protest Trump’s violation of the “Status Quo”.

For nearly three centuries, the three major Abrahamic religions had an understanding that the nine Holy Sites in and around Jerusalem are subject to a policy of de facto neutrality. But by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – and promising to legitimize that declaration by moving the US embassy – Trump has upset this order. The Israelis have long claimed all of Jerusalem as their capital, while Palestinians hope to claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Speaking in Gaza on Thursday, Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh said, “We should call for and we should work on launching an intifada in the face of the Zionist enemy.” He also said, “We want the uprising to last and continue to let Trump and the occupation regret this decision,” according to DW, Germany’s public broadcaster.

Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh

Hamas also took to Twitter to decry Trump’s decision as a declaration of war. In a stream of Tweets, the party – which is considered a terrorist organization by the US – shared photos of young Palestinians, who have been the main participants in the last two intifadas, protesting the US decision. It also urges Palestinians to rise up.

 

View image on Twitter

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Despite the rainy day Palestinians marched in streets supporting Alquds and refusing the US decision.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Asks Palestinians for calmness and to seek peace. No peace under occupation. We will go on our way till liberating the whole Palestine.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

It is Muslims and Arabs turn all over the world to make peace by dismissing the Israeli occupation from Palestine.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

UN General Secretary: US decision threatens peace.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Alquds is the capital of Palestine.
Palestinians who decide not Trump.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Haniya: PA should get out of Oslo accords.

 

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Haniya: Palestinians should sit together to decide for Palestinian priority.

 

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Haniya: Palestinians should start a public uprising especially from Alquds.

 

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Haniya: Palestinians should stop security cooperation with Israeli occupation in West Bank.

Hamas Movement@HamasInfoEn

Haniya:The Arab nation should stand united against the US decision.

In a fiery speech, Haniyeh described Trump’s decision as a declaration of war and called on all Arab nations to join in Palestine’s resistance efforts.He also asked that Palestinians in the West Bank end security cooperation with Israel. Finally, he said the Palestinian authority should withdraw from the Oslo Accord, a Clinton-era agreement whereby Palestinians recognized Israel as a state, and Israel recognized the Palestinian peoples’ “right to self-determination.

Already, instances of violence have erupted as the Palestinian Authority called a general strike in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and schools and shops in these areas remain closed as Palestinians continue protesting against the US’ policy change. Hundreds took to the streets on Wednesday, burning American and Israeli flags and 10 Palestinians were arrested in East Jerusalem overnight after Molotov cocktails were thrown.

As DW pointed out, the US decision was met with worldwide condemnation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the latest head of state to publicly criticize Trump’s decision. He described Trump’s actions throwing the Middle East into a “ring of fire.

 

Saudi Arabia’s royal court made a rare public rebuke of the US on Thursday, saying Trump’s announcement was “unjustified and irresponsible.” The US’ move puts the Sunni nation in a difficult position, because the kingdom has had close ties to Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

 

Iraq’s senior shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, said Trump’s announcement had “hurt the feelings of hundreds of millions of Arabs and Muslims,” He called on the “Umma,” or Islamic nation, to combine forces to restore Palestinian sovereignty over Jerusalem — no matter how long it takes.

 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, leader of the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, said on Thursday, “Such unilateral recognition violates various resolutions of the UN Security Council of which the United States is a permanent member. It could also shake global stability.”

 

Eight members of the UN Security Council, including Germany, Britain, France, Egypt, Italy and Sweden have called for an emergency meeting to discuss the US’s move, which will be held on Friday.

Speaking at Israel’s foreign ministry on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unsurprisingly praised Trump’s decision. “President Trump bound himself forever with the history of our capital,” he said. “His name will now be proudly displayed alongside other names in the city’s glorious history.”

Netanyahu also claimed that Israel is in contact with other countries that plan to follow in the US’s footsteps, though he did not name any. “We are already in contact with other countries that will recognize similar recognition, and I have no doubt that as soon as the American embassy moves to Jerusalem, and before that, many embassies will move to Jerusalem.”

So far, the only country to join the US in recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile, Palestinian leaders claimed that Trump’s decision rendered a two-state solution impossible.

The secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, Saeb Erekat, said that Trump had destroyed all hope for a peace deal. “He destroyed the two-state solution.” Meanwhile, Hamas has said that Trump’s decision will “open the gates of hell” on US interests in the region.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has described Trump’s announcement as “reprehensible.” He said that it will undermine peace efforts and embolden Israel “to pursue the policy of occupation, settlement, apartheid and ethnic cleansing.”

Abbas is traveling to Jordan on Thursday to meet with King Abdullah II, who is seen as the Palestinians closest Arab ally. There is speculation that the two leaders may try to coordinate a response to Trump’s announcement.

end

And now the Saudis have officially condemned trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as they warn of “serious consequences”..good reason for gold to be down!

(courtesy zerohedge)

“Irresponsible, Unwarranted”: Saudis Condemn Trump’s Jerusalem Recognition, Warn Of “Serious Consequences”

Saudi Arabia has issued a formal condemnation of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and announcement of plans to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to ‘the holy city’ claimed by both Palestinians and Israelis. The Saudi statement was posted to its D.C. embassy website and circulated via diplomatic channels and the kingdom’s social media accounts Wednesday evening.

The kingdom’s condemnation invokes “serious consequences of such an irresponsible and unwarranted step” while expressing its “denunciation and deep regret that the administration has taken this step” while calling on the White House to “reverse this action” which constitutes “a drastic regression in the efforts to move the peace process forward.”

Protests in Gaza from earlier this year. Image source: Reuters via NY Daily News

As expected Trump has already received an immense amount of international push back from world leaders, including major US allies. Among the countries and international bodies which immediately condemned the move are the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Egypt, Jordan, as well as the European Union, Arab League, and others. 

The Jerusalem recognition came during a televised address from the White House shortly after 1pm on Wednesday and set an already volatile Middle East situation on edge. Travel warnings for US citizens were sent out via US embassies throughout the Middle East and the American embassy in Amman, Jordan suspended all services as protests erupted outside the embassy gates. 

SaadAbedine✔@SaadAbedine

That was quick. US embassy in #Jordan suspends all its services following the first demo in the Arab world in Amman against #Trump recognizing #Jerusalem as #Israel’s capital, breaking with decades of precedent, upending longtime U.S. policyhttps://youtu.be/NgDqUweLvKs 

2:57 PM – Dec 6, 2017

•  11 Reply
•  1212 Retweets
•  55 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

View image on Twitter

Matt Lee✔@APDiploWriter

.@statedept issues new “worldwide caution” for #US travelers overseas after Trump announcement on #Jerusalem.

8:47 PM – Dec 6, 2017

•  1212 Replies
•  115115 Retweets
•  6666 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

And as we previously reported, Trump made another – and unexpected – announcement two hours after the controversial Jerusalem announcement: the president called on Saudi leadership to immediately completely lift the years long Saudi military blockade on war-torn Yemen while highlighting the humanitarian catastrophe currently unfolding, saying “This must be done for humanitarian reasons immediately.” 

Many analysts saw the announcement as a tit-for-tat statement concerning the Jerusalem move: the Saudis were angry and were expected to issue the formal condemnation, but it appears Trump preempted their criticism by highlighting the humanitarian outrage of the Saudi imposed Yemen blockade (which ironically, as we noted, was enabled by the US as part of the Saudi coalition in Yemen).

*****

Below is the official Saudi Embassy statement in full.

 

Saudi Embassy✔@SaudiEmbassyUSA

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Court Issues a Statement Denouncing Jerusalem’s Status Announcement.https://www.saudiembassy.net/news/kingdom-saudi-arabias-royal-court-issues-statement-following-jerusalem-announcement …

8:05 PM – Dec 6, 2017

•  2828 Replies
•  168168 Retweets
•  107107 likes

Twitter Ads info and privacy

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia followed, with great disappointment, the announcement made by the President of the United States Donald Trump, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocating the United States’ embassy to Jerusalem.

The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had previously warned of the serious consequences of such an irresponsible and unwarranted step. The Kingdom expresses its denunciation and deep regret that the administration has taken this step, as it represents a great bias against the historic and permanent rights of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, which have been affirmed by the relevant international resolutions and have been recognized and supported by the international community.

Although this step does not change or infringe upon the inalienable and preserved rights of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, and other occupied territories, and even though it cannot impose a new reality upon those rights, it does however exemplify a drastic regression in the efforts to move the peace process forward, and is a shift away from the United States’ historically impartial position with regard to the issue of Jerusalem, which will further complicate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hopes that the U.S administration will reverse this action, and support the international will to enable the Palestinian people to regain their legitimate rights. Furthermore, the Kingdom reaffirms the importance of finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian cause in accordance with the relevant international resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative, so that the Palestinian people can regain their legitimate rights, which will strengthen security and stability in the region.”

It will be interesting to see if Trump takes to twitter to speak off the cuff like he’s done with other issues and world leaders who criticize his controversial decisions.

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

 

Bellwether GE for global growth decides to slash 12,000 jobs in their troubled global power business

 

(courtesy zerohedge)

GE Slashes 12,000 Jobs In Troubled Global Power Business

A day after labor unions warned that General Electric was planning thousands of job cuts in its troubled power-generation unit, GE confirmed that it’s planning to cut 12,000 jobs globally in its power business as the company’s new leadership tries to revive the company’s moribund stock price.

The reductions would account for about 18% of GE Power’s workforce, will mostly affect professional and production workers outside the US. GE is also paring back capital expenditures and research-and-development spending as it grapples with a sharp downturn in gas- and coal-power markets.

The cuts add to a flurry of reductions by recently installed Chief Executive Officer John Flannery, who has already scaled back use of corporate jets and delayed work on a new Boston headquarters since taking over from longtime CEO Jeff Immelt back in August. GE, the world’s largest maker of gas turbines, said last month it would pare the quarterly dividend and sell some businesses.

Trimming the workforce will help GE achieve its goal of slicing $1 billion of structural costs next year in the power division. That plan is part of a larger effort to cut $3.5 billion of expenses across the company through 2018.

GE shares were up 0.5% in premarket trade. However, the company’s shares have sunk 44% this year.

According to Bloomberg, GE had about 300,000 employees across its operating units at the end of last year. Power was the company’s biggest division, with sales last year of $26.8 billion. The total would have been $36.8 billion after accounting for the effects of a reorganization this year in which GE added some energy businesses to the unit.

The manufacturer has been hit hard by flagging demand for electricity generated with natural gas, in part due to a shift toward power from renewable sources. In addition, “we have exacerbated the market situation with some really poor execution,” Flannery told investors last month.

The power unit expanded considerably with the $10 billion acquisition of Alstom SA’s energy business in 2015 – but the drawn-out deal has turned into a drag. Intended to broaden the product lineup with steam-turbine technology, the tie-up pushed GE Power’s workforce to 65,000 at a time when the market was slowing.

“Alstom has clearly performed below our expectations,” Flannery said last month, referring to the assets acquired from the French company.

As the size of the hurdles became clear this year, GE made changes to management in the power business and reorganized divisions. Russell Stokes was named head of GE Power in June, taking over from Steve Bolze, who left the company shortly after Flannery was named to succeed Jeffrey Immelt as GE’s next CEO.

Online message boards for GE employees were active in recent weeks as workers discussed layoff notices going out in GE Power manufacturing locations such as Greenville, South Carolina, and Schenectady, New York. GE also met with union representatives in Europe this week to discuss cutbacks there.

Today, Reuters reported that GE is planning to slash 1,600 jobs from its power-generation business in Germany. The cuts will affect staff in Mannheim, Stuttgart, Berlin, Moenchengladbach and Kassel and will be confirmed after talks with labor representatives, GE said in a statement. Yesterday, Reuters reported that the company could cut as many as 4,500 jobs across Europe.

After the financial crisis he divested many of GE’s ‘toxic’ financial divisions at the bottom and instead invested heavily in the oil sector instead, which looked like a smart move, until the business topped.

Back in November, Flannery slashed the dividend by 50%, hoping to rescue some cash flow.

Even as the stock has underperformed, because of the rapidly decreasing earnings and declining sales, GE isn’t cheap on a historical basis, based on p/b, p/s, p/e ratios. As a matter of fact, at 28x earnings and 1.7x sales, the stock is still at the top end of its valuation.

 end

7. OIL ISSUES

8. EMERGING MARKET

Your early morning currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings THURSDAY morning 7:00 am

Euro/USA 1.1777 DOWN .0026/ REACTING TO MERKEL’S FAILED COALITION/ SPAIN VS CATALONIA/REACTING TO +GERMAN ELECTION WHERE ALT RIGHT PARTY ENTERS THE BUNDESTAG/ huge Deutsche bank problems + USA election:/TRUMP HEALTH CARE DEFEAT//ITALIAN REFERENDUM DEFEAT/AND NOW ECB TAPERING BOND PURCHASES/ /USA FALLING INTEREST RATES AGAIN/HOUSTON FLOODING/EUROPE BOURSES  ALL IN THE GREEN 

USA/JAPAN YEN 112.78 UP 0.478(Abe’s new negative interest rate (NIRP), a total DISASTER/SIGNALS U TURN WITH INCREASED NEGATIVITY IN NIRP/JAPAN OUT OF WEAPONS TO FIGHT ECONOMIC DISASTER/

GBP/USA 1.3348 DOWN .0041 (Brexit March 29/ 2017/ARTICLE 50 SIGNED

THERESA MAY FORMS A NEW GOVERNMENT/STARTS BREXIT TALKS/MAY IN TROUBLE WITH HER OWN PARTY/

USA/CAN 1.2834 UP .0053(CANADA WORRIED ABOUT TRADE WITH THE USA WITH TRUMP ELECTION/ITALIAN EXIT AND GREXIT FROM EU/(TRUMP INITIATES LUMBER TARIFFS ON CANADA)

Early THIS THURSDAY morning in Europe, the Euro FELL by 26 basis points, trading now ABOVE the important 1.08 level FALLING to 1.1777; / Last night the Shanghai composite CLOSED DOWN 21.91 POINTS OR .67% / Hang Sang CLOSED UP 78.79 POINTS OR 0.28% /AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.51% / EUROPEAN BOURSES OPENED GREEN

The NIKKEI: this THURSDAY morning CLOSED UP 320.79 POINTS OR 1.45%

Trading from Europe and Asia:
1. Europe stocks OPENED ALL GREEN 

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / : Hang Sang CLOSED UP 78.79 POINTS OR 0.28% / SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 21.91 POINTS OR .67% /Australia BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.51% /Nikkei (Japan)CLOSED UP 320.99 POINTS OR 1.45%

INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 1254.00

silver:$15.80

Early THURSDAY morning USA 10 year bond yield: 2.349% !!! UP 1 IN POINTS from WEDNESDAY night in basis points and it is trading JUST BELOW resistance at 2.27-2.32%. (POLICY FED ERROR)

The 30 yr bond yield 2.732 UP 0 IN BASIS POINTS from WEDNESDAY night. (POLICY FED ERROR)

USA dollar index early THURSDAY morning: 93.78 UP 17 CENT(S) from WEDNESDAY’s close.

This ends early morning numbers THURSDAY MORNING

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And now your closing THURSDAY NUMBERS \1 PM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 1.817% DOWN 7 in basis point(s) yield from WEDNESDAY

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +.057% UP 1/5  in basis point yield from WEDNESDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.410% DOWN 2  IN basis point yield from WEDNESDAY

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.679 DOWN 5 POINTS in basis point yield from WEDENESDAY

the Italian 10 yr bond yield is trading 27 points HIGHER than Spain.

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: +.293% DOWN 1/5 IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY

END

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IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR THURSDAY

Closing currency crosses for THURSDAY night/USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM

Euro/USA 1.1786 DOWN.0017 (Euro DOWN 17 Basis points/ represents to DRAGHI A COMPLETE POLICY FAILURE/

USA/Japan: 112.71 UP 0.405(Yen DOWN 41 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.3423 UP 0.0033( POUND UP 33 BASIS POINTS)

USA/Canada 1.2839 UP  .0052 Canadian dollar DOWN 52 Basis points AS OIL ROSE TO $56.64

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This afternoon, the Euro was DOWN 17 to trade at 1.1786

The Yen fell to 112.71 for a LOSS of 41 Basis points as NIRP is STILL a big failure for the Japanese central bank/HELICOPTER MONEY IS NOW DELAYED/BANK OF JAPAN NOW WORRIED AS AS THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF BONDS TO BUY AS BOND YIELDS RISE

The POUND ROSE BY 52 basis points, trading at 1.3423/

The Canadian dollar FELL by 52 basis points to 1.2839/ WITH WTI OIL RISING TO : $56.64

The USA/Yuan closed AT 6.6193
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield closed at +.057% UP 1/5  IN BASIS POINTS / yield/
Your closing 10 yr USA bond yield UP 1 IN basis points from WEDNESDAY at 2.333% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic USA 30 yr bond yield: 2.7201 UP 2  in basis points on the day /

Your closing USA dollar index, 93.64 UP 3 CENT(S) ON THE DAY/1.00 PM/BREAKS RESISTANCE OF 92.00

Your closing bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates for THURSDAY: 1:00 PM EST

London: CLOSED DOWN 27.28 POINTS OR 0.37%
German Dax :CLOSED UP 46.30 POINTS OR 0.36%
Paris Cac CLOSED UP 9.51 POINTS OR 0.18%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 79.60 POINTS OR 0.77%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 152.33 POINTS OR 0.68%

The Dow closed UP 70.57 POINTS OR 0.29%

NASDAQ WAS closed UP 36.47 Points OR 0.54% 4.00 PM EST

WTI Oil price; 56.64 1:00 pm;

Brent Oil: 61.93 1:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE CROSS: 59.21 DOWN 3/100 ROUBLES/DOLLAR (ROUBLE HIGHER BY 3 BASIS PTS)

TODAY THE GERMAN YIELD FALLS TO +.293% FOR THE 10 YR BOND 1.00 PM EST EST

END

 

 

This ends the stock indices, oil price, currency crosses and interest rate closes for today 4:30 PM

Closing Price for Oil, 4:30 pm/and 10 year USA interest rate:

WTI CRUDE OIL PRICE 4:30 PM:$56.60

BRENT: $62.10

USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.358% (ANYTHING HIGHER THAN 2.70% BLOWS UP THE GLOBE)

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 2.758%

EURO/USA DOLLAR CROSS: 1.1772 DOWN .0031

USA/JAPANESE YEN:113.09 DOWN 0.783

USA DOLLAR INDEX: 93.77 UP 16 cent(s)/

The British pound at 5 pm: Great Britain Pound/USA: 1.3471 : up 81 POINTS FROM LAST NIGHT

Canadian dollar: 1.2853 up 66 BASIS pts

German 10 yr bond yield at 5 pm: +0.293%

END

And now your more important USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver

TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY

Gold Battered As Bitcoin Goes Berserk, Trump Trounces Bonds

Artist’s impression of what Bitcoin did today…

 

Today was all about Bitcoin – no matter what kind of investor you are…

 

Several exchanges had glitches with GDAX down for about 25 mins as Bitcoin plunged off its intraday highs…

At its highs today, Bitcoin was bigger than Wells Fargo…

 

Is this what is fueling Bitcoin’s gains?

 

One Bitcoin can now buy 12.5 ounces of gold, it began the year at 1…

 

Equity indices were all higher on the day led by Trannies… (Dow and S&P lagged the Nasdaq and Small Caps)

 

FANG Stocks managed to get back to positive for the week…

 

Tech outperformed financials for the 3rd day in a row…

 

Banks opened lower (on Citi and tax news) but were bid into the European close…

 

High Tax outperformed low tax…

 

USDJPY and Stocks decoupled (as the former pushed on up to 113.00 and sequities ignored it)…

 

Bond yields caught up to Nasdaq…

 

Stocks seemed to dislink the extra curve steepening today…

 

Treasury yields were higher on the day…with the long-end pulling back to unchanged on the week…

 

With the curve steepening after President Trump said he was ready to begin his infrastructure plan… this was the 2nd biggest curve steepening in 2017

 

The Dollar rallied for the 4th day in a row…

 

Cable was the most noisy currency of the day amid on-again, off-again Brexit headlines…

 

WTI rebounded a bit today but copper, and PMs extended the week’s losses…

 

Gold and Silver were clubbed like baby seals today…both ended at their lowest levels since July…

 

Silver underperformed gold again pushing the gold/silver ratio to almost 80x – the highest since April 2016

• headlin

 

END

 

This is becoming a farce:  first the Republicans stated that they were going to reverse AMT and now they are going to reverse SALT

 

Only one problem..where is the money going to come from?

 

(courtesy zerohedge)

Republicans Reverse, May Allow State Income Tax Deduction

One day after the top Senate Republicans realized they probably should have read the tax bill they voted for in the deep of the night on Saturday morning, and announced they are seeking to repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax they passed just days earlier, realizing it could punish growing companies, they now also appear to be reversing on the controversial repeal of State and Local Tax Deductions, and as Bloomberg reports, Republican lawmakers “are discussing a compromise on state and local tax deductions that would allow taxpayers to deduct state income tax, House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said.”

According to one proposal being discussed, taxpayers could deduct both their state income tax and state and local property taxes up to a combined limit of $10,000. This differs from the currently circulating bills which preserve the individual deduction for state and local property taxes – capped at $10,000 – but not for income taxes. The push to include income taxes could help those in high-tax states who don’t own property.

Mitch McConnell confirmed he’s open to tweaking final tax legislation to appease lawmakers who want to let constituents deduct state income taxes: “There’s some in the House who would like to see that applied not just to property, but to income tax, you know, where you can sort of pick which state and local tax you want to deduct,” the Kentucky Republican said on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show. “That sounds like a kind of reasonable idea.”

Summarizing the conference process, McConnell said “There are a lot of these things that are floating back and forth,” adding that he cannot predict “exactly how the final product turns out” once the House and Senate complete their conference negotiations.

Indicating that SALT repeal was conceived as an entirely political move meant to punish “rich”, predominantly blue states, House Republican leaders – hearing significant pushback from their own constituents – signaled openness to “relieving the burden for residents of high-tax states.”

Plans for the so-called SALT deduction have prompted more tension in the House than in the Senate, because there aren’t any Republican senators from states with the highest taxes. Twelve out of the 13 GOP House lawmakers who voted against the bill last month were from high-tax states. Still, including the property tax deduction in the Senate bill was a last-minute change to help get the support of Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.

 

Two House members from New Jersey — Leonard Lance, a Republican, and Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat — plan to submit a joint proposal to the conference committee that would maintain SALT in its entirety.

 

The lawmakers said repealing the break will lead to “double taxation” and “pay for reform on the backs of just a few states that already pay significantly more than other states in federal taxes.” One of those net donor states, they note, is New Jersey.

Brady, who’s overseeing the House-Senate conference committee for tax negotiations, said Wednesday that allowing income tax deductions is one of five options on the table. Others include potential adjustments to rates, brackets, the individual alternative minimum tax and the family tax credit.

There is just one problem with the bill which is already cutting it dangerously close to the $1.5Tn extra deficit limit: where does the money come from?

As Bloomberg writes, it’s unclear how lawmakers would pay for any such modifications to the state and local tax break. Preserving the property tax deduction up to $10,000 would cost about $148 billion over a decade, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. McConnell has been said to want any proposed changes presented with ways to pay for them.

Among the proposed revenue offset include changing estate tax rules about stepped-up basis and closing what they call a loophole for charitable donations to private foundations as ways to offset some of the lost revenue that would result from keeping SALT.

 END

An angry Grassley lashes out at the FBI and the Dept of Justice for not pursuing Hillary Clinton and all of her criminal activities

An Angry Senator Grassley Lashes Out At FBI, DOJ In Fiery Senate Floor Speech

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) blasted the FBI and Senate Democrats on Wednesday for their unwillingness to fairly investigate Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration, stating that the Democrats on the committee he oversees “only want to talk about [President] Trump.”

In a fiery speech to the Senate, Grassley lambasted Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats for “a double standard here in the way that they desperately want to go after the president but ignore all other potential wrongdoing in the previous administration.”

He then tore into the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI, pointing out that the veteran FBI agent placed in charge of both the Clinton investigation and the Trump-Russia, Peter Strzok, is wildly anti-Trump. Grassley insisted that both the Trump-Russia investigation and the Clinton email investigation are intricately connected to the firing of the former FBI Director James Comey, so they must be investigated together. From his speech:

There are two major controversies plaguing the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI right now. On the one hand the Trump Russia investigation, and then on the other hand the handling of the Clinton investigation. Any congressional oversight related to either one of these topics is not credible without also examining the other. Both cases were active during last year’s campaign. Both cases have been linked to the firing of the FBI Director.

 

These questions go to the heart of the integrity of our federal law enforcement and justice system.  

Grassley grilled Dianne Feinstein next for telling him that she would not participate in any investigations into Hillary Clinton’s emails, despite stating earlier in the year that she wanted to get to the bottom of whether Attorney General Loretta Lynch asked James Comey to downgrade the seriousness of Hillary Clinton’s mishandling of classified information by referring to it as a “matter” instead of an investigation.

“[T]he ranking member [Feinstein] has told me plainly she won’t join any investigation of the oversight of the Clinton e-mail investigations…   …Even on Trump-Russia oversight where we have been able to cooperate a great deal, there have been similar problems.” –Rep. Grassley

When it came to the topic of obstruction, Grassley pointed to the fact that Hillary Clinton’s use of ‘Bleach Bit’ to delete 33,000 emails under subpoena appears be a clear case of obstruction, however when it came to Trump he said “So far, I have seen no credible evidence that President Trump has told anyone to lie. I have also seen no credible evidence that he or his aides have destroyed records being sought by investigators.

Grassley even placed an article by liberal law professor Alan Dershowitz in the Congressional record which asserts that Trump did not commit obstruction – because even if the President did fire Comey over the Russia investigation, “the president cannot be charged with a crime for merely exercising his authority under Article 2 of the constitution. This authority includes firing the director of the FBI for whatever reason or no reason”

In light of the mounting body of evidence that FBI officials were clearly covering for Clinton while gunning for Trump, one can understand why the President wanted Comey gone.  As another example of Feinstein’s stonewalling, Grassley pointed to her refusal to fully investigate the “salacious and unverified” Trump-Russia dossier:

[A]ll year I have wanted to learn more about the origins of the dossier that largely kick started the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign. In july, the ranking member [Feinstein] joined me in a bipartisan letter seeking voluntary cooperation from the firm that produced the dossier. The dossier was based largely on Russian sources within Russia and was put together by a former british spy. It made salacious and unverified claims about trump. The company responsible for producing it, Fusion GPS, was uncooperative.

 

In response to our bipartisan request, it dumped on the committee about 32,000 pages of press clippings and 8,000 pages that were entirely blank. Since then, it has provided zero additional documents. The founder of Fusion GPS Initially indicated he would rely on his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination rather than testify at the committee hearing in july. He later agreed to a private staff interview but refused to answer dozens of key questions. I would like to compel him to answer questions and compel him to provide the documents that senator Feinstein and I both asked him in July to provide voluntarily, but under our committee rules, I don’t have the authority to do that on my own.

It should be pointed out that the House Intel Committee chaired by Devin Nunes (R-CA) has made much more progress with Fusion GPS, after the House found out that Fusion agreed to provide them with bank records, only to withhold 112 transactions relevant to the Russia probe. Due to this, the House is now demanding bank transfers to Fusion with other law firms in addition to the DNC’s council at Perkins Coie and Hostelter. Because of Fusion’s ommission of the banking transactions – effectively lying, the House committee is now arguing that the use of law firms to conceal payments to operatives is now fair game and relevant to their investigation.

While Grassley’s speech focused on Democrat efforts to hamstring Senate investigations, Feinstein told CNN on Monday that Grassley had similarly refused to sign her letters requesting more information on actions taken by the Trump campaign, saying “We want him to sign on. I think there’s an effort … not to go deeply,” adding “I hadn’t realized it before. But I realize it now. And we’re going to have to find a way to deal with it.”

Grassley shot back yesterday, stating “[Democrats] complain publicly and they complain privately that I’m not doing enough to investigate obstruction. But obstruction of justice is a legal term of art. It is a conclusion not evidence. …I do not make my conclusions first and try to shoehorn the facts to fit my conclusions. 

Watch here: 

end

Looks like were are on the verge of a government shutdown as the Democrats refuse to support the stopgap plan stating that the Republicans have not answered any of their wishes

(courtesy zerohedge)

Government On Verge Of Shutdown As Democrats Refuse To Support Stopgap Plan

In an announcement that brings the federal government to the verge of a weekend shutdown, Nancy Pelosi said Democrats won’t support a Republican bill for a two-week funding extension because almost none of their demands have been met.

Meanwhile, Speaker Paul Ryan says he feels confident about the vote count for the Republican’s short-term extension that would kick in after a continuing resolution approved in September to fund the government through midnight, Friday expires.

According to Bloomberg, the bill is a “waste of time” that doesn’t include funding for combating the opioid crisis, among other priorities like enshrining DACA provisions into law, something Pelosi has said must happen before the end of the year.

Pelosi added that she hopes she and Chuck Schumer, her counterpart in the Senate, can work out a deal suitable to both parties when they meet with President Donald Trump later today.

The House Rules committee last night approved a rule change to allow Republican leaders to bring the bill to a vote Thursday.

The decision on a stopgap bill with a Dec. 22 end-date came after Ryan and his leadership team held discussions on overall budget strategy with the leaders of the restive House Freedom Caucus. A formal check of how members would vote came back showing widespread support, said Representative Dennis Ross, a member of the vote-whipping team.

As we pointed out yesterday, the continuing resolution that’s been funding the government for the last two months, and yet many battles over a host of intractable issues are still being fought. At this point, passing something by midnight Friday – when the continuing resolution expires -is looking increasingly problematic.

As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, GOP lawmakers are also divided over when to tackle the Dreamers issue.

President Donald Trump in September ended an Obama-era program shielding the children of undocumented immigrants from deportation, with the protections beginning to expire in early March, giving Congress six months to pass legislation protecting them.

END

Your next fraudulent uSA operation: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has funneled over $5 billion in collected penalties to community organizers aligned with Democrats

(courtesy zerohedge)

CFPB Reportedly Funneled Billions Into “Secret Democrat Slush Fund”, Consultant Claims

A consultant who worked with the highly politicized Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) claims the organization funneled a large portion of over $5 billion in collected penalties to “community organizers aligned with Democrats” as part of a giant slush fund, the Post reports.

[The CFPB] Funneled a large portion of the more than $5 billion in penalties collected from defendants to community organizers aligned with Democrats — “a slush fund by another name,” said a consultant who worked with CFPB on its Civil Penalty Fund and requested anonymity.

Created six years ago as the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren and slipped into the Dodd Frank bill before it was passed by Congressional Democrats, the CFPB became one of the most powerful agencies in D.C., with the ability to exercise enormous power over the U.S. economy while its budget remained unencumbered by congressional oversight. As one Hill writer put it:

The problem is that this agency and its director were set up to be free from the control of the Congress. Congress’s fundamental obligation to oversee and fund such bureaus or agencies is short-circuited when it comes to the CFPB. In structuring it in the manner written by now-Sen. Warren (D-Mass.), the law abrogated the idea of a government by the people, for the people and of the people.

 

Instead, it established an autocratic and unaccountable power center for people of Warren’s ideological persuasion — those who view our market economy as an enemy that must be managed by a chosen few. The creation of the CFPB as a rogue agency with a dictatorial leader is one of the most significant acts of malfeasance perpetrated on the American constitutional system since the Sedition Acts of 1798. 

The reins of the CFPB were handed over to Trump appointee Mick Mulvaney last week following the resignation of Director Richard Cordray, but not before Deputy Director Leandra English’s unsuccessful attempt to block Mulvaney’s appointment in a complaint filed against Trump and Mulvaley in a DC court.

After a Federal judge ruled that Mulvaney is now acting director of the CFPB – his first order of business was to institute a 30-day freeze on all new hiring and regulations.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB, has been a total disaster as run by the previous Administrations pick. Financial Institutions have been devastated and unable to properly serve the public. We will bring it back to life!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 25, 2017

Both President Trump and Mick Mulvaney have had strong opinions about the CFPB in the past, with Mulvaney saying “It is a completely unaccountable agency, and I think that’s wrong,” and adding “If the law allowed this place not to exist, I’d sit down with the president to try to make the case that other agencies can do this job well if not more effectively.” Mulvaney also called the agency “a sad, sick joke.”

Aside from the $5 billion “slush fund” detailed in the Post, the CFPB has also engaged in the following:

• Bounced business owners and industry reps from secret meetings it’s held with Democrat operatives, radical civil-rights activists, trial lawyers and other “community advisers,” according to a report by the House Financial Services Committee.
• Retained GMMB, the liberal advocacy group that created ads for the Obama and Hillary Clinton presidential campaigns, for more than $40 million, making the Democrat shop the sole recipient of CFPB’s advertising expenditure, Rubin says.
• Met behind closed doors to craft financial regulatory policy with notorious bank shakedown groups who have taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal grant money to gin up housing and lending discrimination complaints, which in turn are fed back to CFPB, according to Investor’s Business Daily and Judicial Watch.

Moreover, the CFPB secretly assembled several massive consumer databases which raise privacy and corporate liability concerns. “One sweeps up personal credit card information and another compiles data on as many as 230 million mortgage applicants focusing on “race” and “ethnicity.”” reports The Hill. Another database contains over 900,000 unvetted grievances against financial companies, points out Alan Kaplinsky, lead regulatory attorney for Ballard Spahr LLP.

Think a database of google’s depth, but used solely by the government.

In this context, Mick Mulvaney appears to be the right tool for the President’s vow to “put the regulations industry out of business,” which he says will lead to higher employment and higher wages.

“If you’re wondering about his commitment to deregulation, don’t,” Mulvaney said in front of a libertarian gathering a few months ago, “because this is one of the things he pounds on again and again and again.”

end

This is troublesome:  The FBI Deputy Director McCabe told agents to lie about Benghazi. Looks like there is going to be a housecleaning over at the FBI over bias concerns

(courtesy zerohedge)

FBI Deputy Director McCabe Told Agents To Lie About Benghazi Investigation, Says GOP Lawmaker

GOP lawmakers have come forward with new allegations of political bias or interference at the FBI – this time involving the 2012 Benghazi attack. John Solomon of The Hill reports tht Rep. Ron Desantis (R-FL) recently interviewed a retired FBI supervisor who told him he was instructed by Deputy Director Andrew McCabe not to call the 2012 Benghazi attack an act of terrorism when distributing the FBI’s findings to the larger intelligence community – despite knowing exactly who conducted the attack.

The agent found the instruction concerning because his unit had gathered incontrovertible evidence showing a major al Qaeda figure had directed the attack and the information had already been briefed to President Obama, the lawmaker said. –The Hill

After the September 11, 2012 attack against U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration peddled a lie, telling the public that the attack was related to Muslims who had become enraged at an anti-Islam YouTube video, and not a planned act of terrorism – despite Hillary Clinton emailing Chelsea Clinton from her unsecure @clintonemail.com server the night of the attack to say exactly that.

Chelsea – using the pseudonym “Diane Reyonds” probably didn’t have the clearance to receive classified intelligence from her mother, the Secretary of State.

“Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an Al Queda-like group: The Ambassador, whom I handpicked and a young communications officer on temporary duty w a wife and two young children. Very hard day and I fear more of the same tomorrow.” –Hillary Clinton to Chelsea Clinton

Wikileaks Clinton Email Archive #12136

And we now know FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe lied for the Obma administration in a clear, partisan violation of the FBI’s mandate to “detect and prosecute crimes against the United States,” not “lie for the President so as not to offend Islam.”

As Rep. DeSantis told The Hill: 

“What operational reason would there be to issue an edict to agents telling them, in the face of virtually conclusive evidence to the contrary, not to categorize the Benghazi attack as a result of terrorism? By placing the interests of the Obama administration over the public’s interests, the order is yet another data point highlighting the politicization of the FBI.”

DeSantis and other GOP lawmakers say they plan to question FBI Director Christopher Wray at a Thursday hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee about claims of growing concern among certain FBI supervisors over political bias clouding decisions at the highest levels of the agency.

The case against the FBI for overt political bias couldn’t be more clear. Over the last week we’ve learned of veteran FBI investigator Peter Strzok’s dismissal for texting his mistress anti-Trump messages, which the DOJ is handing over to the House Intelligence Committee. We also learned yesterday that a second prosecutor on Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel, Andrew Weissmann, praised then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates after she refused to defend President Trump’s travel ban.

Fox News reports:

A top prosecutor who is now a deputy for Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe praised then-acting attorney general Sally Yates after she was fired in January by President Trump for refusing to defend his controversial travel ban.

 

The email, obtained by Judicial Watch through a federal lawsuit, shows that on the night of Jan. 30, Andrew Weissmann wrote to Yates under the subject line, I am so proud.

 

He continued, And in awe. Thank you so much. All my deepest respects.

 

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton called the new Weissmann document an astonishing and disturbing find.

“The data points we have regarding politicization are damning enough but appear all the more problematic when viewed against the backdrop of investigations whose ferocity seemed to depend on the target: the Clinton case was investigated with an eye towards how to exonerate her and her associates, while the Russia investigation is being conducted using scorched earth tactics that seek to find anything to use against Trump associates,” DeSantis told The Hill.

DeSantis also said his FBI source pointed to an incident after Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Flynn resigned over lying to Vice President Mike Pence over his contacts with Russia’s ambassador. An FBI executive is said to have made an inappropriate comment during a video teleconference indicating that the agency had a personal motive in investigating Flynn and ruining his career.

“The wildly divergent ways these investigations have been conducted appear to dovetail with the political bias that has been uncovered,” DeSantis said.

In response to the overt political bias at the FBI, the Inspector General’s office (OIG) has launched an investigation into Strzok and other officials connected to both the Clinton email investigation as well as the Trump-Russia investigation. Agent Peter Strzok who was removed for anti-Trump text messages ran both investigations, the latter Trump-Russia having been taking over by Robert Mueller’s probe which he was recently kicked off of.

Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, meanwhile, is directly under investigation by the OIG for potentially violating the Hatch Act or engaged in ethical conflicts pertaining to his wife’s run for the Virginia senate in 2015 as a Democrat. She received $700,000 in campaign contributions tied to Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (D) – an ally of Hillary Clinton who was under FBI investigation at the time. The Hill reports that records show McCabe attended a March 2015 meeting with McAuliffe designed to secure the governor’s support of Jill McCabe’s candidacy.

Potential Hatch Act violation

As The Hill concludes:

McCabe has said he sought FBI legal advice on how to deal with his wife’s campaign. He nonetheless presided over the Clinton email case until just a few days before it was closed, when he unexpectedly recused himself.

Multiple Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they believe the email case was tainted by political favoritism and special treatment for the 2016 Democratic nominee and planned to press Wray about their concerns.

“We are here today calling for an investigation into FBI systems and procedures that have allowed special treatment and bias to run rampant,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said. “The law demands equal treatment for all, not ‘special’ treatment for some. There is a clear and consistent pattern of treating the Clinton investigation differently than other investigations.”

Very strange: unemployed Americans have never been this “comfortable?”

(zerohedge)

Unemployed Americans Are The Most “Comfortable” In 16 Years

The unemployed in America are telling Bloomberg that they have not been more comfortable since April 2001…

Is that a good thing?

• 5,933

Wild fires spreading across Los Angeles and now we witness hurricane force winds which are fanning the fires…200,000 residents have now fled their homes

(courtesy zero hedge)

Hurricane-Force Winds Fan SoCal Wildfires As 200,000 Residents Flee Their Homes

At least four devastating wildfires continued to ravage Southern California from Ventura County south to Los Angeles, as the stifling smoke and flames drove tens of thousands of people living in the Los Angeles area from their homes in an eerie replay of the fires that decimated Northern California’s wine country two months ago.

Officials in Southern California have warned that powerful winds (as high as 80 mph in some spots, the same speed as a low-level hurricane) would continue to fan the flames after returning overnight.So far, more than 200,000 people have evacuated their homes and many more are expected to flee. The Los Angeles Fire Department has ordered the evacuation of the 20.5 square miles including and surrounding the Creek Fire, which jumped the 210 Freeway and is threatening Santa Ana’s Sylmar and Lake View Terrace neighborhoods. The Rye Fire in Santa Clarita prompted the shutdown of Highway 5, according to Mashable.

“We are in the beginning of a protracted wind event,” said state fire chief Ken Pimlott.

“There will be no ability to fight fire in these kinds of winds,” Pimlott said. “At the end of the day, we need everyone in the public to listen and pay attention. This is not ‘watch the news and go about your day.’ This is pay attention minute-by-minute … keep your head on a swivel.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, communities both on the coast and inland were under threat. At 4 a.m., officials closed the 101 Freeway between Routes 126 and 150. According to the California Highway Patrol, that left no open routes between Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Fires were also burning on the north and east side of Highway 150 and on the west side of Highway 33.

As flames raged toward neighborhoods in Ojai, Carpinteria and Fillmore, officials issued new evacuation orders in Ojai Valley, notifying residents with an emergency cellphone alert. Authorities said they were helping residents of five assisted-living facilities evacuate, while people at Ojai Hospital were advised to shelter in place.

“It’s definitely moving,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Garo Kuredjian said of the fire. “Forecasters were correct in terms of the wind forecast for tonight — it’s much windier than it was yesterday.”

“It’s a weird wind pattern,” Kuredjian said.

Authorities had already expanded mandatory evacuation orders hours earlier in east Ojai after flames rolled down slopes about four miles north of downtown. Residents flocked to street corners and gas stations downtown to gawk at the flames.

“It looks pretty bad up there, but as of right now we have not lost any structures in the city of Ojai,” said Rudy Livingston, the city’s finance director. He said that officials have four 15-passenger vans and three vintage trolleys available to help evacuate residents.

JASMINE VIEL✔@jasmineviel

Water drops over 90,000 acre #ThomasFire at 0% containment that just burned several structures outside #ojai as the hillsides are on fire along hwy 33 @CBSNews@cbsla

About half an hour after that, residents in Carpinteria east of Bailard Avenue — along the west flank of the fire — were advised to evacuate in an emergency cellphone alert.

 

According to Bloomberg, the fires have shut a major commuter artery in Los Angeles, suspended filming, wiped out more than $3 billion of market value for regional utility Edison International and are threatening some of the state’s lucrative crops.

Stretches of Interstate 405, which feeds major Los Angeles job centers, were shut as flames engulfed nearby mountainsides. Neighborhoods near the freeway and the famed Mulholland Drive, including parts of upscale Bel-Air, were evacuated. Snap Inc. shut operations, and a major conference on microcap stocks that was scheduled to be held in Los Angeles through Thursday was canceled. Ventura County, home to a third of California’s avocado acreage, has seen tens of thousands of acres consumed, and citrus growers have been affected.

The fires are adding to what has already become the most damaging – and also the deadliest – year for wildfires in recent California history. The October fires in NorCal caused some $9.4 billion in damage. The disasters are also striking as the House and Senate are working on a final version of sweeping tax legislation that currently would phase out the deduction for personal casualty losses, including those from wildfires and earthquakes.

One fire’s blazing near the Jewish museum Skirball Cultural Center, and the prominent Getty Center is just south. All filming activity in Los Angeles’s mountain fire zone areas was suspended for the week.

In Ventura County, 90,000 acres had burned as of 9:06 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. More than 150 structures were reported destroyed near Ventura. Dozens of schools in Los Angeles and Ventura counties were closed. The University of California at Los Angeles, adjacent to an evacuated area, canceled class.

Elsewhere, the Rye Fire in Santa Clarita has burned 1,000 acres and Santa Ana’s Creek Fire has destroyed 11,000 acres, according to the LAT

In one iconic image, smoke from the fires can be seen rising over the Hollywood sign.

 

View image on Twitter

Jeff Gritchen✔@jeffgritchen

Smoke rises over the Hollywood sign as fires blaze north of Los Angeles #lafire#fire#losangeles#hollywood#lafd#wildfire@ocregister

 

One Twitter user tweeted a stunning before-and-after photo of some of the land scorched by the Thomas fire.

 

Melina@lalamelina

The exact same place, before and during the #ThomasFire

I’ve passed these palm trees so many times… Never thought I’d see them like this.

 

As of late last night, more than 11,000 customers were without power due to the wildfires, according to Edison’s Southern California Edison utility. A local transmission emergency was declared by the state’s grid operator after the loss of high-voltage power lines serving the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas. Fire officials said Wednesday that they’re looking at all possible causes for the blazes.

President Donald Trump, who owns a home in Beverly Hills, tweeted that his thoughts and prayers were with Californians affected by the fires and thanked emergency personnel for their work.

 

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in the path of California’s wildfires. I encourage everyone to heed the advice and orders of local and state officials. THANK YOU to all First Responders for your incredible work! https://twitter.com/fema/status/938431957490335745 …

1

FEMA, meanwhile, has approved federal disaster-assistance grants…

 

View image on Twitter

FEMA✔@fema

We approved Fire Management Assistance Grants for the #ThomasFire, #CreekFire, and #RyeFire to help cover the costs of emergency work in California. Listen to local officials and evacuate if instructed.

 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti declared a state of emergency in the area late Tuesday.

 end

My goodness!! Somebody at the Fed gets it: by including increases in asset prices like bonds, stocks and real estate the inflation is over 3%, exactly double what the clowns at the Fed are telling us!!

(courtesy JohnRubino/DollarCollapse)

Finally, An Honest Inflation Index – Guess What It Shows

Authored by John Rubino via DollarCollapse.com,

Central bankers keep lamenting the fact that record low interest rates and record high currency creation haven’t generated enough inflation (because remember, for these guys inflation is a good thing rather than a dangerous disease).

To which the sound money community keeps responding, “You’re looking in the wrong place! Include the prices of stocks, bonds and real estate in your models and you’ll see that inflation is high and rising.”

Well it appears that someone at the Fed has finally decided to see what would happen if the CPI included those assets, andsurprise! the result is inflation of 3%, or half again as high as the Fed’s target rate.

New York Fed Inflation Gauge is Bad News for Bulls

(Bloomberg) – More than 20 years ago, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan asked an important question “what prices are important for the conduct of monetary policy?” The query was directly related to asset prices and whether their stability was essential for economic stability and good performance. No one has ever offered a coherent answer even though the recessions of 2001 and 2008-2009 were primarily due to a sharp correction in asset prices.

 

A new underlying inflation gauge, or UIG, created by the staff of the New York Fed may finally provide the answer. Its broad-based measure of inflation includes consumer and producer prices, commodity prices and real and financial asset prices. The New York Fed staff concluded that the new inflation gauge detects cyclical turning points in underlying inflation and has a better track record than the consumer price series.

 

The latest reading shows inflation of almost 3 percent for the past 12 months, compared with 1.8 percent for the consumer price index and 1.8 percent for core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy. Since the broad-based UIG is advancing 100 basis points above CPI, it indicates that asset prices are large, persistent and reflect too easy monetary policy.

 

 

The UIG carries three important messages to policy makers: the obsessive fears of economy-wide inflation being too low is misguided; monetary stimulus in recent years was not needed; and, the path to normalizing official rates is too slow and the intended level is too low.

 

Harvard University professor Martin Feldstein stated in a recent Wall Street Journal commentary that “The combination of overpriced real estate and equities has left financial sector fragile and has put the entire economy at risk.” If policy makers do not heed his advice odds of another boom and bust asset cycle will be high — and this time they will not have the defense mechanisms they had after the equity and housing bubbles burst.

To summarize, a true measure of inflation – one that is highly correlated with the business cycle – is not only above the Fed’s target but accelerating.

Note on the above chart that both times this happened in the past a recession and bear market followed shortly.

The really frustrating part of this story is that had central banks viewed stocks, bonds and real estate as part of the “cost of living” all along, the past three decades’ booms and busts might have been avoided because monetary policy would have tightened several years earlier, moderating each cycle’s volatility.

But it’s too late to moderate anything this time around. Asset prices have been allowed to soar to levels that put huge air pockets under them in the next downturn. Here’s a chart that illustrates both the repeating nature of today’s bubble and its immensity.

In other words, it is different this time – it’s much worse.

END

The biggy: revolving credit rises above $1 trillion

Student loans: 1.486 trillion

Auto loans: 1.108 trillion

all records!!

(courtesy zerohedge)

US Credit Card Debt Surges Above $1 Trillion, Just Shy Of All Time Highs As Student, Car Loans Breach Records

Earlier in 2017, using the latest – and soon to be revised – Fed data, newspapers and financial media reported that US consumer credit card debt had risen above $1 trillion for the first time since the financial crisis.

Ironically, just a few months later the Fed revised its data series sharply lower, sending the revolving credit total back under this “psychological number.” At least until recently, when the latest consumer credit update from the Fed disclosed that in October, consumer credit rose by $20.5 billion, more than the $17.5 billion expected, of which $12.2 billion was non-revolving, auto and student loans, and $8.3 billion was credit card debt. This was the biggest monthly increase in credit card debt since last November’s (revised) $12.3 billion.

Total consumer credit rose by 6.5% Y/Y, rising to $3.802 trillion as of Oct 31. That number is more than double the rate of increase of US GDP or wage growth, making it clear just where America’s “purchasing power” comes from.

Finally, this was also the single biggest monthly increase in consumer credit since November 2016.

And while nonrevolving credit reached a fresh record high of $2.791 trillion, revolving – or credit card debt – is now back well over a trillion dollars, or $1.011 trillion to be precise, and fast approaching the all time bubble high of $1.02 trillion hit in the summer of 2008.

And speaking of student and auto loans, the Fed’s latest data showed that in the third quarter, these rose to a new all time high, of $1.108 trillion for auto loans, and a record $1.486 trillion in student loans. The Fed also reported that nonrevolving lending to consumers by the Federal government, which is mainly student loans, rose to $1.137t, on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.

 

• Purchasin

Well that about does it for today

…

I will see you FRIDAY night

HARVEY