APRIL 25/GOLD DOWN $9.80 TO $1321.50 ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY DAY/SILVER DOWN 18 CENTS TO $16.54/KEY COMMENTARY FROM STEFAN GLEESON AND CHRIS POWELL OF GATA..A MUST READ/MORE SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT

April 25, 2018 · by · in Uncategorized · 1 Comment

 

 

GOLD: $1321.50  DOWN $ 9.80  (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSINGS)

Silver: $16.54 DOWN 18 CENTS (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSINGS)

Closing access prices:

Gold $1323.30

silver: $16.55

For comex gold:

APRIL/

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR APRIL CONTRACT:2 NOTICE(S) FOR 200 OZ.

TOTAL NOTICES SO FAR 969 FOR 9690000 OZ (3.013 tonnes)

THE COMEX IS OUT OF GOLD

For silver:

APRIL

5 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR

25,000 OZ/

Total number of notices filed so far this month: 482 for 2,410,000 oz

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bitcoin: BID $9301/OFFER $9401: up $390(morning)

Bitcoin: BID/ $9049/offer 9149: DOWN $554  (CLOSING/5 PM)

 

end

First Shanghai gold fix comes at 10 pm est

The second Shanghai gold fix:  2:15 pm

First Shanghai gold fix gold: 10 pm est:  1337.28

NY price  at the same time: 1328.25

PREMIUM TO NY SPOT: $9.03

ss

Second gold fix early this morning:  1331.16

USA gold at the exact same time:  1325150

PREMIUM TO NY SPOT:  $6.01

AGAIN, SHANGHAI REJECTS NEW YORK PRICING.

WE WILL NOT PROVIDE LONDON FIXES AS THEY ARE NOT ACCURATE AS TO WHAT IS GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME FRAME.

Let us have a look at the data for today

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In silver, the total OPEN INTEREST SURPRISINGLY FELL BY A GIGANTIC 12,873 CONTRACTS FROM  214,580  FALLING TO 201,707  DESPITE YESTERDAY’S 8 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICING. AFTER A  STRING OF 4 CONSECUTIVE OI GAINS, WE FINALLY REGISTER 3 CONSECUTIVE DROPS IN OI WITH TODAY BEING A DOOZY!!. WE ARE NOW WITNESSING OUR USUAL AND CUSTOMARY COMEX LONG LIQUIDATION AS WE HEAD INTO THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAY AS LONGS PACK THEIR BAGS AND MIGRATE OVER TO LONDON.  WE WERE  NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD AN HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP : 0 EFP CONTRACTS FOR APRIL,  6030 EFP’S FOR MAY , 267 EFP’S FOR JULY AND ZERO FOR ALL  OTHER MONTHS  AND THEREFORE TOTAL ISSUANCE OF 6297 CONTRACTS. WITH THE TRANSFER OF 6217 CONTRACTS, 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. ALSO KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE CAN BE A DELAY OF 24-48 HRS IN THE ISSUING OF EFP’S. THE 6297 EFP CONTRACTS TRANSLATES INTO 31.485 MILLION OZ  ACCOMPANYING 1.THE RISE IN  SILVER PRICE (8 CENTS) AT THE COMEX AND 2. THE STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR APRIL COMEX DELIVERY.

ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/J.P.MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES, / STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF APRIL:

68,474 CONTRACTS (FOR 18 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 68,474 CONTRACTS) OR 342.370 MILLION OZ: AVERAGE PER DAY: 3804 CONTRACTS OR 19.020 MILLION OZ/DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SUPPLY THIS MONTH IN SILVER:  SO FAR THIS MONTH:  342.270 MILLION PAPER OZ HAVE MORPHED OVER TO LONDON. THIS REPRESENTS AROUND 48.89% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION (EX CHINA EX RUSSIA)

ACCUMULATION IN YEAR 2018 TO DATE SILVER EFP’S:  1.0604      BILLION OZ.

ACCUMULATION FOR JAN 2018:                                               236.879     MILLION OZ

ACCUMULATION FOR FEB 2018:                                               244.95         MILLION OZ

ACCUMULATION FOR MARCH 2018:                                       236.67         MILLION OZ

RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED FALL IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX OF 12,873  DESPITE THE  8 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICE AS OUR CUSTOMARY LONG MIGRATION OF LONGS INTO THE NEW ACTIVE MONTH OF MAY COMMENCED.   THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT IN FACT WE HAD AN HUMONGOUS  SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 6297 CONTRACTS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX AND TRANSFERRED THEIR OI TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. SPECULATORS CONTINUED THEIR INTEREST IN ATTACKING THE SILVER COMEX FOR PHYSICAL SILVER (SEE COMEX DATA) . FROM THE CME DATA:  0 CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED FOR APRIL, 6030  EFP’S WERE ISSUED  FOR THE  MONTH OF MAY, AND 267 EFP CONTRACTS FOR JULY,   FOR  A DELIVERABLE FORWARD CONTRACT OVER IN LONDON WITH A FIAT BONUS (TOTAL: 6297). TODAY WE LOST 6,576 TOTAL OI CONTRACTS  ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: i.e. 6297 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS HEADED FOR LONDON  (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH AN DECREASE OF 12,873  OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH THE  RISE IN PRICE OF SILVER OF 8 CENTS AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $16.72 WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING. YET WE STILL HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR DELIVERY IN THIS NON ACTIVE APRIL DELIVERY MONTH. 

In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by WELL OVER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 1.008 BILLION TO BE EXACT or 144% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).

FOR THE NEW FRONT APRIL MONTH/ THEY FILED: 5 NOTICE(S) FOR 25,000 OZ OF SILVER

IN SILVER, WE HAVE NOW SET THE NEW RECORD OF OPEN INTEREST AT 243,411 AND AGAIN THIS HAS BEEN SET WITH A LOW PRICE OF $16.51  ON APRIL 9.2018.

ON THE DEMAND SIDE WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

  1. HUGE AMOUNTS OF SILVER STANDING FOR DELIVERY  (MARCH 27 MILLION OZ AND APRIL 1.8 MILLION OZ)
  2. HUGE RECORD OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER  243,411 CONTRACTS (OR 1.217 BILLION OZ/ SET APRIL 9/2018
  3. HUGE ANNUAL EFP’S ISSUANCE EQUAL TO 2.9 BILLION OZ OR 400% OF SILVER ANNUAL PRODUCTION/2017
  4. RECORD SETTING EFP ISSUANCE FOR ANY MONTH IN SILVER; APRIL/2018/ 342.4 MILLION OZ/ (SO FAR)

AND YET WE HAVE A CONTINUAL LOW PRICE OF SILVER DESPITE THE ABOVE HUGE DEMAND.  TO ME THE ONLY ANSWER IS THAT WE HAVE SOVEREIGN  (CHINA) WHO IS ENDEAVOURING TO GOBBLE UP ALL AVAILABLE PHYSICAL SILVER NO MATTER WHERE, EXACTLY WHAT J.P.MORGAN IS DOING. AND IT IS MY BELIEF THAT J.P.MORGAN IS HOLDING ITS SILVER FOR ITS BENEFICIAL OWNER..THE USA GOVERNMENT WHO IN TURN IS HOLDING THAT SILVER FOR CHINA.(FOR A SILVER LOAN REPAYMENT). IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE BANKER CAPITULATION IN SILVER AS THEY STRUGGLE TO REMOVE SOME OF THEIR HUGE OBLIGATIONS.

In gold, the open interest  FELL BY 2175 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 506,410 DESPITE THE RISE IN PRICE/YESTERDAY’S TRADING ( RISE OF $9.90).  WE ARE NOW IN THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL HEADING INTO THE NON ACTIVE MONTH OF MAY. THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A GOOD SIZED 8,946 CONTRACTS :   JUNE SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 8946 CONTRACTS , MAY SAW THE ISSUANCE OF 0 CONTRACTS  AND AUGUST SAW THE ISSUANCE OF: 0 CONTRACTS (REPORTED LATE YESTERDAY) WITH ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO.  The new OI for the gold complex rests at 506,410. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE WILL BE A DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S.  THE BANKERS REMOVE LONG POSITIONS OF COMEX GOLD IMMEDIATELY.  THEN THEY ORCHESTRATE THEIR PRIVATE EFP DEAL WITH THE LONGS AND THAT COULD TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 48 HRS SO WE GENERALLY DO NOT GET A MATCH WITH RESPECT TO DEPARTING COMEX LONGS AND NEW EFP LONG TRANSFERS. DEMAND FOR GOLD INTENSIFIES GREATLY AS WE CONTINUE TO WITNESS A HUGE NUMBER OF EFP TRANSFERS TOGETHER WITH THE MASSIVE INCREASE IN GOLD COMEX OI  TOGETHER WITH  THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF GOLD OUNCES STANDING FOR FEBRUARY COMEX. 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 WE ARE WITNESSING DELAYS IN ACTUAL DELIVERIES.

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A LARGE SIZED  OI GAIN IN CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 3813 OI CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX AND AN GOOD SIZED 8946 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON.THUS  TOTAL OI GAIN: 5133 CONTRACTS OR 513,300 OZ = 15.965 TONNES.

YESTERDAY, WE HAD 11,451  EFP’S ISSUED.

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL : 200,749 CONTRACTS OR 20,074,900  OZ OR 624.41 TONNES (18 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING: 11,152 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY OR 1,115,200 OZ/ TRADING DAY)

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :   SO FAR THIS MONTH IN 18 TRADING DAYS IN  TONNES: 624.41 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2017, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 2555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 624.41/2550 x 100% TONNES =  24.48% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION SO FAR IN MARCH ALONE.*** THE ACCUMULATION OF EFP CONTRACTS IS RISING PER MONTH.

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2018 TO DATE:  2,664.083*  TONNES   *SURPASSED ANNUAL PROD’N

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR JANUARY 2018:           653.22  TONNES

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR FEBRUARY 2018:         649.45 TONNES

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S FOR MARCH 2018:                741.89 TONNES

WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS.  ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM.  IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE. 

Result: AN  DECREASE IN OI AT THE COMEX OF 3813 DESPITE THE RISE IN PRICE // GOLD TRADING YESTERDAY ($9.90 GAIN). WE ALSO HAD A GOOD SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 8946 CONTRACTS AS THESE HAVE ALREADY BEEN NEGOTIATED AND CONFIRMED.   THERE OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT SEEM TO BE MUCH PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX.  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 8946 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A STRONG SIZED NET GAIN OF 5133 CONTRACTS IN TOTAL OPEN INTEREST  ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 

8946 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND 3813 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX. (in tonnes, the GAIN in total oi equates to 15.965 TONNES).

we had:2 notice(s) filed upon for 200 oz of gold at the comex.

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

GLD…WHAT!!!

WITH GOLD DOWN  $9.80 AND AFTER 9 STRAIGHT DAYS OF NO MOVEMENT IN GLD/WE HAD A SURPRISING DEPOSIT OF 5.31 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD

Inventory rests tonight: 871.20 tonnes.

SLV/

WITH SILVER DOWN 18 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/

/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.899 MILLION OZ/

end

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

1. Today, we had the open interest in SILVER FELL BY A GIGANTIC 12,873 CONTRACTS from 214,580 DOWN TO 201,707 (AND CLOSER TO THE  NEW COMEX RECORD SET /APRIL 9/2017 AT 243,411). THE PREVIOUS RECORD OTHER THAN WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 ALMOST ONE YEAR AGO.  THE PRICE OF SILVER ON THAT DAY: $17.89. AFTER WE HAVE HAD FOUR CONSECUTIVE OI GAINS WE FINALLY HAVE THREE  CONSECUTIVE OI DROPS WITH TODAY’S DROP A DOOZY! AS OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS TO LONDON FORWARDS COMMENCED AS WE MARCH INTO THE STRONG MAY DELIVERY MONTH AT THE COMEX.  TRUE TO FORM OUR BANKERS  USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE: 0 EFP CONTRACTS FOR APRIL, 6030 EFP CONTRACTS FOR MAY  (WE DO NOT GET A LOOK AT THESE CONTRACTS AS IT IS PRIVATE BUT THE CFTC DOES AUDIT THEM), AND 267 EFP’S FOR JULY AND ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE:  6297 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  IF WE TAKE THE  OI LOSS AT THE COMEX OF 12,873 CONTRACTS TO THE 6297 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S, SURPRISINGLY WE OBTAIN A LOSS OF 6576 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS.  THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:  32.89 MILLION OZ!!! AND THIS OCCURRED DESPITE A RISE IN PRICE OF 8 CENTS.  THE BANKERS ORCHESTRATED THEIR RAID ON MONDAY TO DESPERATELY TRY AND PARE THEIR GIGANTIC OPEN INTEREST SHORT ON BOTH EXCHANGES BUT TO NO AVAIL. JUDGING BY THE RECORD NUMBER OF ISSUANCE DURING THIS MONTH OF APRIL AT 342.4 MILLION OZ. I DO NOT THINK THAT OUR BANKERS HAVE BEEN TOO SUCCESSFUL. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THERE CAN BE DELAY OF 24 TO 48 HOURS IN THE ISSUANCE OF THESE EFP’S, SO EXPECT THE NUMBERS ANNOUNCED (EFP’S) WILL INCREASE STEADILY AS WE HEAD INTO FIRST DAY NOTICE THIS MONDAY APRIL 30.

RESULT: A HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE RISE IN SILVER PRICING / YESTERDAY (8 CENTS/) . BUT WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER HUMONGOUS SIZED 6297 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON. TOGETHER WITH THE STRONG  SIZED AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR APRIL, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY AS WE WITNESS SEVERE BACKWARDATION IN SILVER IN LONDON. EXPECT EFP ISSUANCE TO INCREASE DURING THIS WEEK AS WE HEAD INTO THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAY.

(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

)WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT: Shanghai closed DOWN 10.95 POINTS OR 0.35%  /Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 308.09 POINTS OR 1.01%   / The Nikkei closed DOWN 62.90 POINTS OR 0.28%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED HOLIDAY  /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN at 6.3202/Oil DOWN to 67.88 dollars per barrel for WTI and 73.73 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED DEEPLY IN THE RED.   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AT 6.3202 AGAINST THE DOLLAR. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.3279/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING MUCH  WEAKER AGAINST THE DOLLAR /CHINA RETALIATES WITH TARIFFS/ TRUMP RESPONDS TO NEW TARIFFS AND IT NOW LOOKS LIKE A FULL TRADE WAR IS BEGINNING/

/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

 

i)North Korea/

North Korea’s nuclear test site has now collapsed with Japan reporting that more than 200 North Korean citizens have died when a tunnel collapsed at the site. Now there is danger of nuclear material escaping into the atmosphere

( zerohedge)

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 c CHINA

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

Is Belgium turning Islamic?

( Meotti/Gatestone Institute)

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

i)Tom Luongo describes the problems inside Armenia and it certainly looks identical to events that happened in the Ukraine.  Neo conservatives are trying to torpedo the government.  Armenia is very important to Russia on its southern flank.  The Neocons want Armenia in the NATO fold.

( Tom Luongo)

ii)Investigators reportedly find no evidence of chemical weapons at the Syrian facilities bombed by the uSA

( zerohedge)
iii)Iran/France/USA
France”s Macron tells Trump to reject nationalism and to not only partake in the Iran deal  but to improve on it.
I doubt that Trump will listen to him
( zerohedge)

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

Bill Blain discusses the big fears that surround the global economy

(courtesy Bill Blain/Mint partners)

7. OIL ISSUES

Crude and Gasoline slide after a buildup in inventories in both crude and gasoline.  Also production continues to set records:

( zerohedge)

8. EMERGING MARKET

i)Venezuela

Chevron executives evacuate the country as two of its employees have been arrested and are about to be charged with treason as a dispute is arising with PDVSA and Chevron.  It looks like all foreign workers for all companies will now leave

( zerohedge)

ii)Reuters: Chevron executives evacuate the country as two of its employees have been arrested and are about to be charged with treason as a dispute is arising with PDVSA and Chevron.  It looks like all foreign workers for all companies will now leave

(zerohedge)

 

9. PHYSICAL MARKETS

i)Gundlach, the bond king is now advocating a turn to gold:
( Jeff Gundlach/zerohedge)

iiRonan Manly emphasizes why both Turkey and Russia place a huge strategic importance on gold( Ronan Manly/Bullionstar)

iii)And here is that important article from Money Metals News Service on Representative Alex Mooney of West Virginia

a must view/2 commentaries

(courtesy Stefan Gleeson/Rep. Alex Mooney/R W.V/Chris Powell/GATA.)

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

i)This morning’s early trading:

momentum following strategy is just not working any more with respect to the Dow/Nasdaq

( zerohedge)

ii)After announcing a big earnings jump due to a tax rate of only 12%l, Boeing falters and so does the Dow

( zerohedge)

iii)Generics price fixing? It cannot be so!!

( zerohedge)

iv)This ought to be fun:  Democrats having started a phony lawsuit has been served with a demand to preserve evidence with respect to those servers we have been talking about these past two years.

( zerohedge)

iii)SWAMP STORIES

a)McCabe launches a brand new legal defense fund  (whatever happened to the last one).  He will need every penny

( zerohedge)

b)All of those missing Strzok and Page texts will be released tonight or tomorrow

( zerohedge)

c)This ought to be good:  it seems that McCabe ordered his FBI agents to “stand down” on early Clinton email investigation on orders from a Dept of Justice official

( zerohedge)

iv)Quite a story as Alan Dershowitz describes a major case involving Mueller when he was director of the FBI in which 4 innocent FBI agents were jailed.

Alan Dershowitz..

v)Seems are supposed pick to dead the Dept of Veteran Affairs is known as “candy man” for handing out drugs like it was candy.

(courtesy zerohedge)

Let us head over to the comex:

The total gold comex open interest  FELL  BY 3813 CONTRACTS DOWN to an OI level 506,410 DESPITE THE RISE IN THE PRICE OF GOLD ($9.90 GAIN/ YESTERDAY’S TRADING).   FOR TWO YEARS STRAIGHT WE HAVE NOTICED THAT ONE WEEK PRIOR TO FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS AND EFP’S NOTICES EXPONENTIALLY INCREASE.   THE CME REPORTS THAT  THE BANKERS ISSUED A HUMONGOUS SIZED  COMEX TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS. WE HAD A LARGE 8946 FOR  JUNE, 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR MAY, 0 EFP CONTRACTS FOR AUGUST AND ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:  TOTAL  8946 CONTRACTS.  THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS ON THESE TRANSFERS. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE IS NO DOUBT A HUGE DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S AND IT PROBABLY TAKES AT LEAST  48 HRS AFTER LONGS GIVE UP THEIR COMEX CONTRACTS FOR THEM TO RECEIVE THEIR EFP’S AS THEY ARE NEGOTIATING THIS CONTRACT WITH THE BANKS FOR A FIAT BONUS PLUS THEIR TRANSFER TO A LONDON BASED FORWARD.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: 5133 OI CONTRACTS IN THAT 8946 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE LOST 3813 COMEX CONTRACTS.

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 5133 contracts OR 513300  OZ OR 15.965 TONNES.

Result: AN DECREASE IN COMEX OPEN INTEREST DESPITE THE RISE IN PRICE YESTERDAY  (ENDING UP WITH A LOSS OF $14.00)THE  TOTAL OPEN INTEREST GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 5133 OI CONTRACTS..

We have now entered the  active contract month of APRIL where we LOST 98 contracts LOWERING TO  528 contracts.  We had 96 notices served  yesterday, so we LOST 2  contracts or an additional 200 oz will NOT  stand for delivery in this active delivery month of April AND THESE GUYS MORPHED INTO LONDON BASED FORWARDS.

May saw A LOSS of 153 contracts to stand at 892. The really big June contract month saw a LOSS of 6741 contracts DOWN to 370,700 contracts.   The next big delivery month after June is August and here the OI ROSE BY 1710 contracts UP to 53,312.

We had 2 notice(s) filed upon today for 200  oz at the comex

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE COMEX DOES NOT HAVE ANY  GOLD TO SATISFY UPON OUR LONGS.

Trading Volumes on the COMEX

PRELIMINARY COMEX VOLUME FOR TODAY:254,809  contracts

CONFIRMED COMEX VOL. FOR YESTERDAY: 290,841 contracts

comex gold volumes are RISING AGAIN

Here is a summary of the latest gold trading volumes at the Comex per year

certainly the introduction of EFP’s has certainly had an effect:

Meanwhile, gold-trading volumes on the COMEX have never been higher:

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And now for the wild silver comex results.

Total silver OI FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE 12,873 CONTRACTS FROM 214,580 DOWN TO 201,707 (AND FURTHER FROM THE NEW RECORD OI FOR SILVER SET APRIL 9.2018/ 243,411 CONTRACTS)  DESPITE THE 8 CENT RISE IN SILVER PRICING. SINCE WE ARE HEADING INTO AN ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAY, WE HAVE NOW WITNESSED OUR USUAL AND CUSTOMARY COMEX LIQUIDATION AND WE SHOULD SEE A GREATER MIGRATION OVER TO LONDON DURING THIS WEEK.  AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE  WERE  INFORMED THAT WE HAD A MONSTROUS 6030 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR MAY,  A SMALLER 267 EFP CONTRACT ISSUANCE FOR JULY AND ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS.  THESE EFPS WERE ISSUED TO COMEX LONGS WHO RECEIVED A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  THE TOTAL EFP’S ISSUED: 6297.   ON A NET BASIS WE LOST 6576 SILVER OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS AS WE OBTAINED A 12,873 CONTRACT LOSS AT THE COMEX COMBINING WITH THE ADDITION OF 6297 OI CONTRACTS NAVIGATING OVER TO LONDON. DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE BOYS WERE VERY BUSY NEGOTIATING LONG COMEX CONTRACTS EMIGRATING TO LONDON,(AND WAITING FOR THEIR PASSPORTS) DO NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE A HUGE ISSUANCE OVER THIS WEEK AS THE DELAY IN ISSUANCE CAN BE IN EXCESS OF 24 TO 48 HRS.

NET LOSS  ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:   6576  CONTRACTS 

AMOUNT STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX

We are now in the non active delivery month of April and here the front month LOST 11 contracts FALLING TO 20 contracts.  We had 11 notices filed upon  so in essence we LOST 0 contracts or NIL additional ounces of silver will   stand for delivery in this non active delivery month of April .

The next big active delivery month for silver will be May and here the OI LOST 26,310 contracts DOWN to 40,916. June saw a GAIN of 6 contracts to stand at 388.  The next big delivery month for silver is July and here the OI ROSE by 8197 contracts UP to 112,205.

We had 5 notice(s) filed for 25,000 OZ for the APRIL 2018 contract for silver

INITIAL standings for APRIL/GOLD

APRIL 25/2018.

Gold Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz nil oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz
NIL OZ
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory in oz NIL oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz  nil OZ
No of oz served (contracts) today
2 notice(s)
 200 OZ
No of oz to be served (notices)
526 contracts
(52,600 oz)
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
969 notices
96900 OZ
3.013 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month xxx oz
 from the last week of March til today, we have had only 5 small entries for gold and they were all of the “kilobars” variety
From my vantage point, the comex is void of gold.  This rarely happens in a delivery month as gold is called upon to deliver.
***
we had 0 kilobar transaction/
We had 0 inventory movement at the dealer accounts
total inventory deposit into the dealer accounts:  NIL  oz
total inventory withdrawals out of dealer accounts; nil oz
we had 0 withdrawals out of the customer account:
total customer withdrawals:  NIL oz
we had 0 customer deposit
total customer deposits: nil oz
we had 0 adjustment(s)

For APRIL:
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from JPMorgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to  2 contract(s) of which 2 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by j.P.Morgan customer account.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the APRIL. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (969) x 100 oz or 96900 oz, to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL. (528 contracts) minus the number of notices served upon today (2 x 100 oz per contract) equals 149,500 oz, the number of ounces standing in this active month of APRIL (4.650 tonnes)

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

No of notices served (969 x 100 oz or ounces + {(528)OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (2 x 100 oz )which equals 149,500 oz standing in this  active delivery month of APRIL . THERE IS 12.003 TONNES OF REGISTERED GOLD AVAILABLE FOR DELIVERY SO FAR.

WE LOST 2 COMEX OI CONTRACTS OR 200 OZ OF GOLD WILL STAND

total registered or dealer gold:  386.220.357 oz or 12.013 tonnes
total registered and eligible (customer) gold;   9,049,756.666 oz 281.48 tones
THE COMEX IS AGAIN IN STRESS AS ONLY 12.003 TONNES OF GOLD ARE LEFT TO SERVICE DELIVERIES. THERE IS HARDLY ANY GOLD AT THE COMEX TO SERVE UPON LONGS AND THUS THE REASON FOR THE EFP TRANSFER OVER TO LONDON.

IN THE LAST 18 MONTHS 73 NET TONNES HAS LEFT THE COMEX.

end

And now for silver

AND NOW THE APRIL DELIVERY MONTH

APRIL INITIAL standings/SILVER

APRIL 25/ 2018
Silver Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory nil oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
 605,523.233  oz
Delaware
CNT
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
591,435.100
SCOTIA
oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
  5225.898 oz
DELAWARE
No of oz served today (contracts)
5
CONTRACT(S)
(25,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)
15 contracts
(75,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) 482 contracts

(2,410,000 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month

we had 1 inventory movement at the dealer side of things

i) Into dealer Scotia:  591,435,100 oz

total dealer deposits: 591,435.100l oz

we had 1 deposits into the customer account

i) Into JPMorgan: nil oz

*** JPMorgan for most of 2017 and in 2018 has adding to its inventory almost every single day.

JPMorgan now has 140 million oz of  total silver inventory or 53.4% of all official comex silver. (140 million/263 million)

JPMorgan did not  deposit  into its warehouses (official) today.

ii) Delaware: 5225.898: OZ

total deposits today: 5225.898  oz

we had 2 withdrawals from the customer account;

i) Out of Delaware:  1042.400 oz

ii) Out of CNT 604,481.233 oz

total withdrawals;  605,523.633  oz

we had 1 adjustment

i) Out of Brinks:  24,990.870 oz was adjusted out of the customer and this landed into the dealer side of things.

total dealer silver:  63.192 million

total dealer + customer silver:  261.039 million oz

The total number of notices filed today for the APRIL. contract month is represented by 5 contract(s) FOR 25,000 oz. To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in APRIL., we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 482 x 5,000 oz = 2,410,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of April. (20) and the number of notices served upon today (5 x 5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

.

Thus the INITIAL standings for silver for the APRIL contract month: 482(notices served so far)x 5000 oz + OI for front month of April(20) -number of notices served upon today (5)x 5000 oz equals 2,485,000 oz of silver standing for the April contract month 

WE LOST 0  SILVER CONTRACT OR NIL ADDITIONAL OUNCES WILL  STAND IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CRIMINALS!!

ESTIMATED VOLUME FOR TODAY: 125,293 CONTRACTS (WOW)  626 MILLION OZ OR 89% OF ANNUAL PRODUCTION.

CONFIRMED VOLUME FOR YESTERDAY: 187,349 CONTRACTS (my goodness)

YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF  187,349 CONTRACTS EQUATES TO 9367 MILLION OZ (0.9367 billion oz) OR 133% 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.

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

NPV for Sprott 

1. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV RISES TO -1.69% (APRIL 24/2018)
2. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV FALLS TO -0.61% to NAV (APRIL 24/2018 )
Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at -1.69%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE/ territory at -0.61%/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)

3.SPROTT CEF.A FUND (FORMERLY CENTRAL FUND OF CANADA): NAV RISES TO -2.11%: NAV 13.67/TRADING 13.38//DISCOUNT 2.11.

END

And now the Gold inventory at the GLD/

APRIL 25/AFTER 9 CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF NO MOVEMENT OF GOLD INTO OUT OF THE GLD, WE HAD A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 5.31 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.20 TONNES.

APRIL 24./WITH GOLD UP $9.90, WE HAD NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES/

APRIL 23.2018/WITH GOLD DOWN $14.00/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES.

APRIL 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $10.20: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES

APRIL 19/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.25: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES/

APRIL 18/WITH GOLD UP $3.65: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES

APRIL 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.00 NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES/

April 16/WITH GOLD UP$2.80/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES/

April 13/WITH GOLD UP $6.15, A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 5.90 TONNES INTO THE GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.89 TONNES

April 12/WITH GOLD DOWN $17.40/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.99 TONNES

April 11/WITH GOLD UP $13.85/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 859,99 TONNES

APRIL 10/WITH GOLD UP $5.25/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.99 TONNES

APRIL 9/WITH GOLD UP$4.50/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.99 TONNES

APRIL 6/WITH GOLD UP $7.50 ,A HUGE CHANGE IN INVENTORY AT THE GLD/ A DEPOSIT OF 5.90 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.99 TONNES

APRIL 5/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.20 WE HAD TWO ENTRIES: 1) TINY WITHDRAWAL OF .28 TONNES TO PAY FOR FEES AND 2) A DEPOSIT OF 2.06 TONNES//INVENTORY RESTS AT 854.09 TONNES

April 4/WITH GOLD UP $2.90 WE HAD NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

APRIL 3./WITH GOLD DOWN $9.30 WE HAD NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

APRIL 2/WITH GOLD UP $19.50, WE HAD A BIG  CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 6.19 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.31 TONNES

MARCH 29/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.20 AND OPTIONS EXPIRY FINISHED, WE HAD NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS A 846.12 TONNES

March 28/WITH GOLD DOWN $16.70, ANOTHER RAID ORCHESTRATED, AGAIN NO SURPRISES AS WE WITNESS ANOTHER 1.18 TONNES OF GOLD REMOVED/INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.12 TONNES

MARCH 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $11.70 AND A RAID INITIATED, IT WAS NO SURPRISE TO SEE THAT A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.24 TONNES WAS USED IN THE ABOVE RAID/INVENTORY RESTS AT 847.30 TONNES

MARCH 26./WITH GOLD UP $4.60/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

MARCH 23/WITH GOLD UP $23.30/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

MARCH 22.WITH GOLD UP $5.90, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES/

MARCH 21/WITH GOLD UP $9.65 NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.54 TONNES

March 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.75, A SURPRISING HUMONGOUS DEPOSIT OF 10.32 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 850.64 TONNES/

SO FAR, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH, THE GLD HAS ADDED 19.61 TONNES WITH A NET LOSS OF $17.45

March 19/WITH GOLD UP $5.25: ANOTHER HUGE DEPOSIT OF GOLD TO THE TUNE OF 2.07 TONNES/GOLD INVENTORY RESTS TONIGHT AT 840.22 TONNES

MARCH 16/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.65/OUR CROOKS DEPOSITED ANOTHER 4.42 TONNES INTO GLD INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 838.15 TONNES

FOR THE WEEK: GOLD LOST  $11.80, BUT GOLD INVENTORY ADVANCED:4.42 TONNES

MARCH 15/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.85, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.55/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

MARCH 13/WITH GOLD UP $6.25/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 833.73 TONNES

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

APRIL 25/2018/ Inventory rests tonight at 871.20 tonnes

*IN LAST 369 TRADING DAYS: 69.84 NET TONNES HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GLD
*LAST 319 TRADING DAYS: A NET 86.46 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO GLD INVENTORY.

end

Now the SLV Inventory/

APRIL 25./WITH SILVER DOWN 18 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.899 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 24./WITH SILVER UP 8 CENTS/SOMETHING SPOOKED OUR CROOKS TO ADD SOME PAPER SILVER: A DEPOSIT OF 1.601 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.899 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 23.2018/WITH SILVER DOWN 50 CENTS, ANOTHER HUGE WITHDRAWAL FROM THE SLV INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.413 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 315.298 MILLION OZ.

APRIL 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS: ANOTHER HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.13 MILLION OZ//SLV RESTS TONIGHT AT 316.711 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 19/WITH SILVER UP 3 CENTS TODAY: WE HAD A BIG CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.355 MILLION OZ/ MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE!!/INVENTORY RESTS AT 317.841 MILLION OZ

APRIL 18/WITH SILVER UP 44 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ

APRIL 17/WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS TODAY/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS  AT 320.196 MILLION OZ

April 16/WITH SILVER UP 7 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ/

April 13/WITH SILVER UP 17 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ.

April 12/WITH SILVER DOWN 27 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ/

April 11/2018/WITH SILVER UP 16 CENTS:  NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 10/WITH GOLD UP 8 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 9/WITH SILVER UP 12 CENTS/WE HAD NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 6/WITH SILVER UP 4 CENTS, WE HAD A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 1.319 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 320.196 MILLION OZ

APRIL 5/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.877 MILLION OZ/

April 4/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS/A SMALL CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A WITHRAWAL OF 135,000 OZ AND THIS IS PROBABLY TO PAY FOR FEES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.877 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 3./WITH SILVER DOWN 16 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 2/WITH SILVER UP 34 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 29/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS, THE CROOKS DECIDED THAT THEY HAD BETTER ADD SOME 943,000 PAPER OZ TO THEIR INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ

March 28/WITH SILVER DOWN 27 CENTS/AGAIN NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ

MARCH 27/WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 23/WITH SILVER UP 19 CENTS, A HAD A BIG WITHDRAWAL OF 1.602 MILLION OZ.INVENTORY RESTS AT 318.069 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 22/WITH SILVER DOWN ONE CENT, NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 21/WITH SILVER UP 21 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS/NO CHANGE IN SLV INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

March 19/WITH SILVER UP 5 CENTS, THE SLV ADDS A SMALL 659,000 OZ TO ITS INVENTORY/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.671 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 16/WITH SILVER DOWN 15 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ.

FOR THE WEEK;  SILVER IS DOWN 42 CENTS YET ADDS 943,000 OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV/

MARCH 15/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 13/WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 319.012 MILLION OZ/

HAD ANOTHER HUGE ADDITION OF 1.315 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 316.590 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 25/2018:  NO  CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:  

Inventory 316.899 million oz

end

6 Month MM GOFO 2.01/ and libor 6 month duration 2.51

Indicative gold forward offer rate for a 6 month duration/calculation:

G0FO+ 2.01%

libor 2.51 FOR 6 MONTHS/

GOLD LENDING RATE: .50%

XXXXXXXX

12 Month MM GOFO
+ 2.77%

LIBOR FOR 12 MONTH DURATION: 2.49

GOFO = LIBOR – GOLD LENDING RATE

GOLD LENDING RATE  = +.28

end

Major gold/silver trading /commentaries for WEDNESDAY

GOLDCORE/BLOG/MARK O’BYRNE.

GOLD/SILVER

QUITE A STORY!!

Cash “Vanishes” From Bank Accounts In Ireland

Cash “Vanishes” From Bank Accounts In Ireland

– Emergency cash offered by Ulster Bank as cash vanishes from accounts
– Bank makes €500 available to customers whose deposits vanish
– Bank investigates after hundreds of complaints on social media
– “My salary has disappeared from my account today and my wife had her card declined when trying to pay for a GP visit and medication”
– Cyber attacks and Brexit are biggest threats to the securities, insurance and banking  sectors
– Exposes risks posed to cash deposits in age of hacking, cyber fraud and terrorism
– Conclusion: Take some of your savings and wealth off line?

Editor: Mark O’Byrne

Your money in your bank account can vanish. That is the lesson from yesterday’s enormous screw-up by Ulster Bank that saw payments and bank account balances suddenly vanish.

Customers were left out of pocket and struggling for funds. Payments including salaries were not made, cards were declined and customers were unable to pay for urgent goods and services.

Ulster Bank has blamed the issue on ‘human error’ and claims this morning that the issue has been rectified. Although it has taken some customers four days to be able to make urgent payments.

This was a weekend of bank ‘errors’. In the UK, TSB faced a ‘meltdown’ after scheduled IT maintenance went somewhat awry. Many customers found themselves unable to access their accounts, whilst some even had access to other peoples’ money.

The fallout will last for some time. We have all fallen victim to bank charges at some point or another – whether for missed direct debits or unauthorised overdraft charges.

Lets hope that the onus will not be on the customers to prove that it is not their fault that their account and their balances are not what they should be. Credit scores and ratings could be damaged and relationships with individuals’ creditors may be impacted.

Rather than be seen as an inconvenience for customers, bank users everywhere should see this as a reminder that ‘money’ in the form of digital pounds, euros, dollars and other fiat currencies can just ‘disappear’ whether due to human error or more nefarious causes such as hacking.

We might have mentioned this might happen

This weekend’s ‘magic money moments’ in both Ireland and the UK are the most recent example of something we have long discussed – cash in the bank is not your cash. You are an unsecured creditor and your cash can just disappear and there is very little you can do about it.

You can make a lot of noise on Twitter, Facebook and in the media and sometimes that may work but not with a lasting impact.

The customers of both Ulster Bank and TSB can rant on Twitter or shout down helplines all they like but legally they have very little rights when it comes to accessing their money.

This week politicians have enjoyed their soapbox moments, demanding investigations be done, apologies be made and new regulations to prevent this from happening again.

Sadly we all know that by the end of the week this news will be Friday night’s kebab paper. Banking customers will have lost motivation and politicians will have found another righteous cause.

The simple fact is that banks hold far more power over the cash in your bank account than you or any other party.

Some will decide to change banks (guaranteed not as many as said they would) but it will be a difference in name only. Cash, savings and pensions will still be held in the inter-connected web that is the global financial and banking system and no one’s rights will have improved.

From one bank to the next, the risks to cash still remain. Disappearing cash is a reality which will likely come to bank accounts everywhere with increasing frequency.

Listen on SoundCloud , Blubrry & iTunes. Watch on YouTube below

Human error is less risky than increasing digital risks

Whilst it not might not feel like it to those inconvenienced this weekend, a banking problem caused by a fat-fingered or forgetful human is the best kind of problem a banking customer can have.

However these are rare compared to the number of malicious attacks from outside sources which are silent in their assaults and lengthy in their recovery time.

Banks are consistently playing catch-up to the potential threats that they face on an hour-by-hour basis. Last month financial watchdog FINMA warned Swiss banks that the biggest threat they face are cyber attacks. The threat is so great that Switzerland has been called upon to step up its national defence of cyber warfare.

KPMG UK’s cyber defence unit have warned in a report which showed how unimpressive the UK’s tactics and defences are in the facing these rising threats:

UK banks alone spent $360m on IT in 2016, but the report said approaches are often slow and constrained by regulation, while cyber criminals, who can operate beyond borders and the law, are constantly updating their methods.

This requires a quicker and more collaborative response, the report said. “Ultimately, the financial sector as a community needs to organise this itself.”

EU regulators agree that IT systems are slow and out of date. A report this month by the Joint Committee of the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) concluded that cyber security attacks are considered alongside Brexit as the biggest threat to the securities, banking and insurance sectors.

Many of us imagine hacking and malware to come courtesy of an under-socialised teenager who lives in his mother’s spare bedroom. This is no longer the case. Sadly cyber-warfare is a growing business and one that is for hire.

Following sanctions on Russia and wildly flung accusations regarding poisoning and participation in chemical attacks many are now more concerned about cyber terror and war and the ability of all nation states to make life online a real misery.

EU regulations – more nefarious than the hackers?

After more than two decades of the internet most of us are vaguely aware of the threats it brings (although few do anything about it). What we have not accepted quite yet are the threats brought about by the very same people who are supposed to protect us – governments and regulators.

These two mega powers overshadow your savings as much (if not more so) than hackers and cyber war. Money can disappear courtesy of governments and regulators not because of human error or malware gone awry but because they have in recent years created laws that allow them to do so.

Bail-ins were approved just over two years ago. It effectively means that depositors’ cash can be taken in order to prop up individual banks and the banking system. How much is taken, if it is returned to you and what access to funds you may soon be at the discretion of the banks and central banks who control the regulators.

Imagine waking up this weekend to find no money in your account. A quick check of the news and emails does not alert you to any problems with the bank’s IT or of a malware attack or indeed of “human error”.

Instead you are horrified to learn that your own government has sanctioned the taking of your savings some of which you need as your day-to-day living expenses.

Conclusion – Take some of your savings off line

The lesson here is that investors, savers and indeed companies should consider taking some of their hard earned savings and capital ‘off line’.

It is nearly impossible to operate day-to-day without a bank account, but for the long-term you can certainly make sure your pension cash and savings are better protected from the number of risks which now face digital assets including digital deposits.

Physical gold that is allocated and segregated is about as out-of-the-system as you can get when it comes to investments and savings. Of course you can hide some cash under the mattress lor in a safe deposit box but even this is not safe from the decisions made on-high by central banks and governments.

Cash notes in your house are at risk of theft and cash notes in safe deposit boxes are at risk of theft as was seen in the Hatton Garden robbery and indeed raids by police on safe deposit box providers suspected of not running their companies in the safest of ways, not being AML compliant and of potentially aiding criminals. This happened with the Park Lane safe deposit box provider in 2008.

Cash is consistently losing value especially in this time of record low interest rates and indeed negative interest rates. Another risk is that cash notes can be deemed non-legal tender and new notes or coins can be created to simply replace those you hold.

When it comes to physical gold, it does not rely on your banks IT or having to comply with IT updates or indeed having the safest chip in your smartphone.

Gold is becoming more relevant today than ever before because of these risks. But it is specifically allocated, segregated physical gold which will protect from these risks – not paper gold, digital gold or platform gold.

Owning gold coins and bars either in one’s possession or in allocated and segregated storage will protect people and will be accessible, liquid and keenly priced in terms of premiums. It will protect investors and savers and those who use online banking from malicious attacks, ‘human errors’ and bank bail-ins.

The Ulster Bank debacle is the most recent example of this and it shows these risks are very real and not set to go away anytime soon.

Listen on SoundCloud , Blubrry & iTunes. Watch on YouTube below

Recommended reading

 
 

News and Commentary

Gold prices inch up as equities slide (Reuters.com)

Asia Stocks Decline as Treasuries Extend Losses (Bloomberg.com)

Gold snaps 3-day losing streak as stock-market selloff sparks haven demand (MarketWatch.com)

Consumer confidence in April rebounds close to 18-year high (MarketWatch.com)

Sales of New Homes in U.S. Advance to a Four-Month High (Bloomberg.com)

Home prices surge to a near four-year high, Case-Shiller shows (MarketWatch.com)


Source Doubleline via ABC

Something Big Is Happening… It’s Getting Exciting – Gundlach On Gold (ZeroHedge.com)

DoubleLine’s Gundlach says U.S. Treasuries ‘not attractive’ (Reuters.com)

What To Do As Quantitative Easing Becomes Quantitative Tightening (MoneyWeek.com)

History: More Fake News (BonnerAndPartners.com)

What Hyperinflation In Venezuela Really Looks Like (ZeroHedge.com)

Listen on SoundCloud , Blubrry & iTunes. Watch on YouTube below

Gold Prices (LBMA AM)

24 Apr: USD 1,327.35, GBP 951.84 & EUR 1,087.76 per ounce
23 Apr: USD 1,328.00, GBP 950.45 & EUR 1,085.64 per ounce
20 Apr: USD 1,340.15, GBP 953.52 & EUR 1,089.14 per ounce
19 Apr: USD 1,347.90, GBP 950.54 & EUR 1,090.59 per ounce
18 Apr: USD 1,346.55, GBP 949.59 & EUR 1,088.95 per ounce
17 Apr: USD 1,342.95, GBP 937.24 & EUR 1,084.57 per ounce
16 Apr: USD 1,344.40, GBP 941.21 & EUR 1,087.62 per ounce

Silver Prices (LBMA)

24 Apr: USD 16.60, GBP 11.90 & EUR 13.59 per ounce
23 Apr: USD 16.94, GBP 12.14 & EUR 13.85 per ounce
20 Apr: USD 17.11, GBP 12.15 & EUR 13.91 per ounce
19 Apr: USD 17.20, GBP 12.09 & EUR 13.91 per ounce
18 Apr: USD 16.95, GBP 11.93 & EUR 13.70 per ounce
17 Apr: USD 16.63, GBP 11.60 & EUR 13.44 per ounce
16 Apr: USD 16.60, GBP 11.61 & EUR 13.42 per ounce


Recent Market Updates

– Cash “Vanishes” From Bank Accounts In Ireland 
– Russia Buys 300,000 Ounces Of Gold In March – Nears 2,000 Tons In Gold Reserves
– Family Offices and HNWs Invest In Gold Again
– New All Time Record Highs For Gold In 2019
– Palladium Bullion Surges 17% In 9 Days On Russian Supply Concerns
– Silver Bullion Remains Good Value On Positive Supply And Demand Factors
– London House Prices See Fastest Quarterly Fall Since 2009 Crisis
– Global Debt Bubble Hits New All Time High – One Quadrillion Reasons To Buy Gold
– Oil Surges Over 8%, Gold and Silver Marginally Higher, Stocks Gain In Volatile Week
– EU and Euro Exposed To Risks Including Trade Wars and War With Russia In Middle East
– Trump Tweets Russia “Get Ready” For Missiles In Syria – Gold, Oil Rise and Stocks Fall
– Private: EU and Euro Exposed To Trade Wars, Energy Dependence, Anti-EU and Anti-Euro Movements
– Trump Making ‘Major Decisions’ on Syria, Iran and Russia Response ‘Very Quickly’

Andrew Maguire’s Kinesis money which is a “bitcoin” but backed 100% by allocated gold and silver is set to go.

it think it would be a great idea to look at this!

please read at:  https://kinesis.money/#/

(Andrew Maguire)

Andrew Maguire
2:57 PM (1 hour ago)
to me

Harvey

Here It is my friend!  https://kinesis.money/#/ Please let everyone know.

Let catch up on Monday if you have time. We have billions in the hopper ready to be allocated on the 1st day of trading. The paper market days are over.

Warm regards

Andy

_________________
___________________________________________________________________

Your early WEDNESDAY 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 6.3202  /shanghai bourse CLOSED DOWN 10.95 POINTS OR 0.35%   / HANG SANG CLOSED UP 308.09 POINTS OR 1.01%
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 62.90 POINTS OR 0.28%/  /USA: YEN RISES TO 109.07/  

3. Europe stocks OPENED RED     /USA dollar index RISES TO 91.01/Euro FALLS TO 1.2201

3b Japan 10 year bond yield: RISES TO . +.07/ !!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 109.01/ 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:: 67.88  and Brent: 73.73

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 RISES TO +.64%/Italian 10 yr bond yield DOWN to 1.78% /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 1.30%

3j Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO : 4.00?????????????????

3k Gold at $1321.00 silver at:16.54     7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $18.50

3l USA vs Russian rouble; (Russian rouble DOWN 36/100 in roubles/dollar) 61.88

3m oil into the 67 dollar handle for WTI and 73 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/

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 INITIATES NIRP. THIS MORNING THEY SIGNAL THEY MAY END NIRP. TODAY THE USA/YEN TRADES TO 109.01 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 0.9827 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF is 1.1987 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 RISING to +0.64%

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 3.01% early this morning (THIS IS DEADLY TO ALL MARKETS). Thirty year rate at 3.19% /

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

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

Futures Slide As 10Y Breaks Above 3%; Dollar Surge Resumes

After closing Tuesday just a fraction away from 3.00% (2.9995% to be precise), the drama over the 10Y yield continuedovernight, with a block seller appearing in early trading, pushing the yield as high as 3.03%. Then gamma hedgers emerged around 119-00 in 10Y TSY futures according to Bloomberg, due to large put open interest at that strike, pinning the yield around 3.01% for now.

Meanwhile, in the absence of any real data or speakers, the market decided to stick with what it knows, and the USD buying has resumed in earnest; sending the USD to the highest level in three months. The euro was among the losers a day before the ECB’s next rate decision, however Euro weakness was no tonic for equities, and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell along with U.S. futures and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. European equity markets sell-off led by miners and industrial stocks, mirroring yesterdays move on Wall St. sparked by Caterpillar warning.  European stocks fell along with U.S. equity-index futures following the slide in stocks across Asia as technology shares faltered.

Positions are being lightened up across the board ahead of the week’s crunch events tomorrow and Friday (US data, ECB, Riksbank, BoJ etc.). The symbiotic relationship means that US fixed income also continues to be sold off, with yields pounding higher and sitting once again on the brink of some major levels. As NY walks in, as we have so often seen before, some of the moves are retracing a little, but USD remains higher on the day.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbs 0.4% to its highest level since mid-January as the dollar gains against all major peers. Elsewhere in FX, the biggest declines were seen in the Australian and New Zealand dollars while the yen touched its weakest level in two and a half months. Emerging-market currencies mostly weakened, led by South Africa’s rand, but Turkey’s lira gained ahead of a key rate decision by the country’s central bank.

As Bloomberg notes, the upward momentum in the dollar looks set to force a rethink on many of the most popular trades just now: most notably, it may spell more turmoil for equity markets, which have been roiled by rising yields and threats to global trade in recent weeks and had been looking to earnings for some cheer. Instead, a mixed bag of results across market-driving tech shares and industrial bellwethers is doing little to calm Wall Street nerves over the fate of global growth.

Still, there was a silver lining for the bulls, as Wednesday’s moves weren’t entirely risk-off and established safe-haven assets including gold and the yen retreated.

Crude futures and metals markets trade with small losses within tight ranges.

While there is nothing on the economic calendar today, it is extremely busy among companies reporting earnings with Boeing, Twitter, AT&T, eBay, Facebook, Ford, Las Vegas Sands, PayPal, Qualcomm, and Visa all on deck.

Bulletin Headline Summary From RanSquawk

  • Treasury yields continue rise putting pressure on European bourses
  • Oil prices consolidate after Tuesdays highs
  • Looking ahead, highlights include, the Turkish rate decision, DoEs and a slew of speakers

Top Overnight News

  • The European Union would be prepared to offer Britain a better trade deal than the one it gave Turkey if it decides to stay in the customs union after Brexit, and would listen to U.K. views on trade policy, according to an EU official
  • Bloomberg calculations show the ECB’s prediction for a 2.4 percent economic expansion this year already factors in weaker underlying momentum, a likely reason why officials including President Mario Draghi have done nothing to counter market expectations that their bond-buying program will end this year
  • French President Emmanuel Macron is discovering the limits of cooperation with Donald Trump on foreign policy, as his last- ditch appeal to salvage the Iran nuclear deal was met with intransigence by the U.S. president
  • ECB’s Mersch: confidence on inflation has risen recently; inflation has not weakened as much as ECB predicted
  • China raises amount domestic funds can invest overseas by ~$8b to total of $98.3b, first increase since March 2015
  • Japan’s LDP official says dissolving lower house is an option if the motion on no confidence against the Cabinet is submitted; Cabinet Secretary Suga declines to comment on snap election
  • China official expects RRR cuts of 6-8% in 3 years: 21st Century
  • As Trump says Nafta talks are “doing very nicely,” negotiations between ministers from the U.S., Mexico, Canada are ramping up in Washington in a redoubled push for a deal
  • Tidjane Thiam is reaping the rewards of Credit Suisse Group AG’s pivot to wealth management after the bank attracted new assets at the fastest pace in seven years
  • Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. reached a preliminary agreement to buy Shire Plc with a sweetened takeover offer of about 46 billion pounds ($64 billion), closing in on a takeover that would vault it into the ranks of the world’s top pharma companies

Market Snapshot

  • S&P 500 futures down 0.4% to 2,625.25
  • STOXX Europe 600 down 0.8% to 380.25
  • MXAP down 0.6% to 172.03
  • MXAPJ down 0.8% to 558.60
  • Nikkei down 0.3% to 22,215.32
  • Topix down 0.1% to 1,767.73
  • Hang Seng Index down 1% to 30,328.15
  • Shanghai Composite down 0.4% to 3,117.97
  • Sensex down 0.3% to 34,513.22
  • Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.6% to 5,921.55
  • Kospi down 0.6% to 2,448.81
  • German 10Y yield rose 2.1 bps to 0.652%
  • Euro down 0.3% to $1.2201
  • Italian 10Y yield fell 2.7 bps to 1.513%
  • Spanish 10Y yield rose 1.1 bps to 1.31%
  • Brent futures up 0.2% to $74.04/bbl
  • Gold spot down 0.4% to $1,325.60
  • U.S. Dollar Index up 0.2% to 90.95

Asian stocks traded negative across the board as the region followed suit from the broad weakness on Wall St amid rising US yields, in which the Nasdaq 100 underperformed with losses of over 2% and industrials led the DJIA lower after Caterpillar suggested that Q1 could be the apex for the year. Nikkei 225 (-0.3%) and KOSPI (-0.6%) were lower with participants also digesting earnings releases, while Takeda was among the worst performers in Japan after the Co. further sweetened its offer in pursuit of Shire. ASX and NZX were shut for ANZAC Day, while Shanghai Comp. (-0.3%) and Hang Seng (-1.0%) conformed to the downbeat tone after the PBoC skipped open market operations which resulted to a net daily drain of CNY 150bln, However, the losses in the mainland were contained amid continued chatter regarding further RRR cuts and as the previously announced cut took effect from today. Finally, 10yr JGBs were uneventful and have failed to benefit from the broad risk averse tone as well as the BoJ’s presence in the market for JPY 710bln in the belly to super-long end, while USTs were choppy overnight with early pressure seen after the US 10yr yield continued to test the 3.000% level which it had earlier reclaimed for the 1st time since January 2014. China researcher noted that deflation in China is possible as soon as Q4 this year and added that further reductions in RRR are expected, while there were also reports that a Chinese official sees large room for RRR reductions and sees it lowered by between 600-800bps in 3 years. PBoC skipped open market operations for a daily net drain of CNY 150bln.

Top Asian News

  • CEFC China May Cut Half Its Workers But Rosneft Deal Still Alive
  • China Loosens Grip on Outflows, Raises Outbound Investing Quota
  • Noble Group Creditors See ‘Irreparable Damage’ If Deal Drags
  • China is Taking on the U.S. to Fill its $1.4 Trillion Stock Hole

European equities are seeing a lacklustre start following on from the sentiment seen yesterday on Wall Street and overnight during Asia-Pac trade. In terms of stock specifics, Shire (+0.2%) shares have been supported after recommending Takeda’s revised GBP 46bln takeover offer to its shareholders. In the earnings scope, markets have seen positive results from Kering, (6.4%) and Credit Suisse (+3.3%) with negative reports from Mediaset (-0.8%). Significant news later in the session from Comcast (CMCSA) whom make a superior cash offer for Sky (SKY LN), implying a value of GBP 22.0bln.

Top European News

  • EU Said to Be Ready to Give U.K. a Say on Trade in Customs Union
  • Osram Tumbles Most in More Than Two Years After Profit Warning
  • Handelsbanken Sinks After Weak Results and Nordea Fund Warning
  • Nordea Warns 2018 Goals Looking Tough After ‘Soft’ First Quarter

In FX, the DXY continues to piggy-back rising US Treasury yields after a relatively brief pause for breath as bond bears and bulls tussled for supremacy around the 3% mark in 10s. A more decisive break above has given the Dollar further impetus and the index has reclaimed 91.000+ status as a result, with fair resistance around 91.526 back on the radar ahead of 91.751 and a few more upside chart levels before early 2018 highs. EUR/JPY/CHF: The renowned safe-havens are not deriving any real support, or much from the latest decline in global equity markets against the more compelling Usd ascent, mainly on the aforementioned ratchet up in US rates, but also perhaps amidst some early month-end positioning as rebalancing models point to net Dollar demand. Eur/Usd is pivoting 1.2200 where huge option expiries roll off on ECB day tomorrow (3+ bn), with Fib support around 1.2173 still underpinning the pair, but the upside capped ahead of 1.2250. Usd/Jpy has carved out a fresh multi-month top circa 109.25 after a brief dip below 109.00 and is back above the 100 DMA at 108.98 eyeing offers at 109.50 before a major fib at 109.65. Usd/Chf remains above 0.9800 and Eur/Chf is rebounding towards 1.2000 again with the Franc hardly helped by a sharp deterioration in ZEW’s Swiss Investor Sentiment index

In commodities, oil has pulled back from Q4 2014 highs and remains flat on the day as the bullish market was slowed by US inventories increasing by 1.1mln barrels as according to API and traders taking profits following highs hit on Tuesday. Gold is currently seen around five week lows amid currency effects and rising treasury yields. Aluminium also maintained its recent slide due to the aforementioned effects as well as the Rusal sanctions announcement on Monday, with a fall noted for the 5th session in a row. Libya’s oil output at the Waha oil field said to be back up to 300k bpd.

In terms of the day ahead, there’s very little scheduled in terms of data with nothing of note in the US and the only release in Europe being the April consumer confidence print in France. The ECB’s Villeroy, Knot and Lane are all due to speak in Paris this morning at the Bank of France financial stability review. Earnings will likely be the bigger focus for markets with Facebook, Boeing, AT&T, GlaxoSmithKline, Credit Suisse, Ford Motor and eBay all due to report over the course of the day.

US Event Calendar:

  • 7am: MBA Mortgage Applications: -0.2%; prior 4.9%

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

Blink and you may have missed it, but yesterday at exactly 2.48pm BST the 10y Treasury finally passed the much hyped 3% level, topping out at 3.001%. It was certainly brief with the move only lasting a matter of seconds but it was the first time in 1567 days (since January 8th 2014) that 10y yields have gone above 3%. What has perhaps been most interesting about the recent leg higher in yields is the relatively muted level of Treasury volatility still. Indeed the 10y Treasury volatility index is at 3.99 which compares to the 3.44 to 6.07 range in 2018 so far and 4.50 average through 2017.

As well as the 10y move, the 2s10s curve also finished a shade steeper yesterday at 52bps and is now 11bps off its tights last week. The USD index on other hand was a little weaker (-0.20%). Equity markets were a lot more volatile all things considered. The Stoxx 600 (-0.02%) closed little changed but wiped out early gains while last night the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq slumped to losses of -1.34%, -1.74% and -1.70% respectively. This now means the Dow is on a five-day losing streak – the longest since March 2017 – and the S&P 500 has joined the Dow in being back to negative year to date again.

Blaming the weakness in US stocks entirely on moves in the Treasury market feels like a stretch and rather it was the busy slate of earnings which really appeared to be dictating sentiment. Indeed Alphabet shares closed down -4.77% after analysts combed through the details in the report which in turn weighed on the wider tech sector. It was industrials which really struggled though in the wake of Caterpillar’s numbers. Shares in the industrial bellwether closed down -6.20% after being up as much as +4.54% following what was a decent set of numbers.  Management actually raised the outlook for the year ahead but on the conference call the comment that Q1 was likely to be the “high water mark” for the year was enough to spook the market and fuel prospects that we’ve seen the peak.  Caterpillar’s results are generally seen as a decent barometer for global growth hence the sensitivity. In any case the industrials sector ended up being the biggest underperformer in the S&P 500 yesterday, falling -2.82%.

Meanwhile, at the margin President Trump’s comment saying that Iran “will pay a price like few countries have ever  paid” should they threaten the US didn’t appear to help sentiment although Oil did finish the day broadly 1% lower, perhaps helped by French President Macron suggesting that he wants to negotiate a new accord with Iran to curb its development of missiles. Trump was much more conciliatory in his comments about North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, calling him “very honourable” so far and describing conversations as being “very good” between the two sides during a meeting with Macron.

With little in the way of new newsflow overnight, this morning in Asia bourses have taken the lead from the US and are lower across the board. That’s the case for the Nikkei (-0.59%), Hang Seng (-0.82%), Shanghai Comp (-0.31%) and Kospi (-0.99%). The 10y Treasury has passed 3% in the early going again however is failing to break higher, while commodity markets on the whole are little changed.

Moving on. Yesterday’s data highlight in the US was the April consumer confidence print which came in at a much better than expected 128.7 (vs. 126.0 expected) and the second highest reading since 2000. Notably, that was up 1.7pts from March while the expectations component also rose 1.9pts to 108.1. The labour differential reading (difference between jobs plentiful and hard to get) did fall to 22.9 and a three-month low but still remains at overall strong levels. Meanwhile, new home sales in March were reported as climbing +4.0% mom (vs. +1.9% expected) and the Richmond Fed PMI for April fell a surprising 18pts to -3 (vs. +16 expected).

The data in Europe was a bit more mixed. Of most interest for us was the ECB Bank Lending Survey which on the whole was relatively positive. Indeed, credit standards were reported as easing “considerably” for loans to enterprises and housing loans in Q1 while demand also increased across all loan categories. In terms of the details, the net percentage of banks reporting an easing in standards for large enterprises in the Euro area was 7.8% compared to 0.5% in Q4 2017

For house purchases the net percentage of banks reporting an easing rose to 11.4% from 6.2% while consumer credit rose to 3.4% from 0.7%. Also worth highlighting is that banks expect a net easing of credit standards across the three loan categories in Q2. It’s worth noting that the ECB keeps a close eye on this survey and in addition to the stabilising PMIs out on Monday it should help to provide a decent degree of comfort for the market with regards to the Euro area cyclical position right now.

The data that was a slight disappointment yesterday in Europe was the IFO survey in Germany. The April IFO business climate reading fell 1.2pts to 102.1 and a bit more than expected (102.8 expected). That’s now the lowest reading since January last year. Expectations also fell 1.3pts to 98.7 putting it at a 23-month low with the index also down for 5 months in succession now. Despite the softer data, our economists note that the IFO index still indicates positive expansion in Q1 although three consecutive declines in a row are often interpreted as a signal for a cyclical turning point.

Closer to home there was a milestone moment for the UK’s finances as the latest UK government budget deficit figure revealed that the deficit has narrowed to the smallest in 11 years at £42.6bn compared to expectations for £45.2bn. In the last 12 months, the UK actually achieved a small surplus – the first in a full fiscal year since 2002-03. Staying with the UK it’s worth noting that the April CBI data was less supportive with industrial business optimism falling sharply by 17pts to -4.

Away from the data, Italy bucked the trend for bonds yesterday with BTP yields falling 2.7bps after headlines hit the wires (Bloomberg) reporting that the acting leader of the Democratic Party, Maurizio Martina, said that the PD could be open to talks with the 5SM about forming a government as long as the 5SM drops its alliance with the League. The FTSE MIB also closed +0.22% and outperformed most other bourses as the market saw the development as positive given that a government with the participation of the PD would be seen as a moderating influence, compared to a 5SM-League alliance.

In terms of the day ahead, there’s very little scheduled in terms of data with nothing of note in the US and the only release in Europe being the April consumer confidence print in France. The ECB’s Villeroy, Knot and Lane are all due to speak in Paris this morning at the Bank of France financial stability review. Earnings will likely be the bigger focus for markets with Facebook, Boeing, AT&T, GlaxoSmithKline, Credit Suisse, Ford Motor and eBay all due to report over the course of the day.

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT: Shanghai closed DOWN 10.95 POINTS OR 0.35%  /Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 308.09 POINTS OR 1.01%   / The Nikkei closed DOWN 62.90 POINTS OR 0.28%/Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED HOLIDAY  /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN at 6.3202/Oil DOWN to 67.88 dollars per barrel for WTI and 73.73 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED DEEPLY IN THE RED.   ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AT 6.3202 AGAINST THE DOLLAR. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.3279/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING MUCH  WEAKER AGAINST THE DOLLAR /CHINA RETALIATES WITH TARIFFS/ TRUMP RESPONDS TO NEW TARIFFS AND IT NOW LOOKS LIKE A FULL TRADE WAR IS BEGINNING/

3 a NORTH KOREA/USA

North Korea

North Korea’s nuclear test site has now collapsed with Japan reporting that more than 200 North Korean citizens have died when a tunnel collapsed at the site. Now there is danger of nuclear material escaping into the atmosphere

(courtesy zerohedge)

North Korean Nuclear Test Site Has Collapsed, Explaining Kim’s “Suspension” Of Further Tests

It finally happened.

Six months after a group of Chinese scientists warned that the North Korean Punggye-ri nuclear test site was on the verge of collapse, and following reports from Japan’s Asahi TV that more than 200 North Koreans had died when a tunnel collapsed at the test site, the South China Morning Post reported today that North Korea’s mountain nuclear test site has completely collapsed, putting China and other nearby nations at unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure, two separate groups of Chinese scientists studying the issue have confirmed.

The collapse also likely explains the sudden willingness of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to declare last Friday that he would freeze the state’s nuclear and missile tests and shut down the site, a researcher cited by the SCMP said.

At least five of North Korea’s last six nuclear tests all took place under Mount Mantap at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea’s northwest; in the process they unleashed artificial earthquakes and destabilized the mountain to the point of no return.

According to the SCMP report, a group of researchers found that the most recent blast tore open a hole in the mountain, which then collapsed upon itself. A second group concluded that the breakdown created a “chimney” that could allow radioactive fallout from the blast zone below to rise into the air.

A research team led by Wen Lianxing, a geologist with the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, concluded that the collapse occurred following the detonation last autumn of North Korea’s most powerful thermal nuclear warhead in a tunnel about 700 metres (2,296 feet) below the mountain’s peak. The test turned the mountain into fragile fragments, the researchers found.

The mountain’s collapse, and the prospect of radioactive exposure in the aftermath, confirms a series of exclusive reports by the South China Morning Post on China’s fears that Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test had caused a fallout leak. The scientists warned that radioactive dust could escape through holes or cracks in the damaged mountain.

“It is necessary to continue monitoring possible leaks of radioactive materials caused by the collapse incident,” Wen’s team said in the statement.

As the SCMP notes, the official findings will be published on the website of the peer-reviewed journal, Geophysical Research Letters, likely next month.

North Korea saw the mountain as an ideal location for underground nuclear experiments because of its elevation – it stood more than 2,100 meters (6,888 feet) above sea level – and its terrain of thick, gentle slopes that seemed capable of resisting structural damage.

While the mountain’s surface had shown no visible damage after four underground nuclear tests before 2017, the 100-kilotonne bomb that went off on September 3 vaporised surrounding rocks with unprecedented heat and opened a space that was up to 200 metres (656 feet) in diameter, according to a statement posted on the Wen team’s website on Monday.

And as shock waves tore through and loosened more rocks, a large section of the mountain’s ridge, less than half a kilometre (0.3 mile) from the peak, slipped down into the empty pocket created by the blast, leaving a scar visible in satellite images. Wen concluded that the mountain had collapsed after analysing data collected from nearly 2,000 seismic stations.

Three small earthquakes that hit nearby regions in the wake of the collapse added credence to his conclusion, suggesting the test site had lost its geological stability.

A second team led by Liu Junqing at the Jilin Earthquake Agency with the China Earthquake Administration in Changchun reached similar conclusions to the Wen team.

The “rock collapse … was for the first time documented in North Korea’s test site,” Liu’s team wrote in a paper published last month in Geophysical Research Letters. The breakdown not only took off part of the mountain’s summit but also created a “chimney” that could allow fallout to rise from the blast centre into the air, they said.

Zhao Lianfeng, a researcher with the Institute of Earth Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, said the two studies supported a consensus among scientists that “the site was wrecked” beyond repair. “Their findings are in agreement to our observations,” he said. “Different teams using different data have come up with similar conclusions,” Zhao said. “The only difference was in some technical details. This is the best guess that can be made by the world outside.”

As we reported previously, speculation grew that North Korea’s site was in trouble when Lee Doh-sik, the top North Korean geologist, visited Zhao’s institute about two weeks after the test and met privately with senior Chinese government geologists. Although the purpose of Lee’s visit was not disclosed, two days later Pyongyang announced it would no longer conduct land-based nuclear tests.

Hu Xingdou, a Beijing-based scholar who follows North Korea’s nuclear programme, said it was highly likely that Pyongyang had received a stark warning from Beijing.

“The test was not only destabilising the site but increasing the risk of eruption of the Changbai Mountain,” a large, active volcano at China-Korean border, said Hu, who asked that his university affiliation not be disclosed for this article because of the topic’s sensitivity.

The mountain’s collapse has likely dealt a huge blow to North Korea’s nuclear programme, Hu said.

Hit by crippling international economic sanctions over its nuclear ambitions, the country might lack sufficient resources to soon resume testing at a new site, he said.  “But there are other sites suitable for testing,” Hu said. “They must be closely monitored.”

Guo Qiuju, a Peking University professor who has belonged to a panel that has advised the Chinese government on emergency responses to radioactive hazards, said that if fallout escaped through cracks, it could be carried by wind over the Chinese border.

“So far we have not detected an abnormal increase of radioactivity levels,” Guo said. “But we will continue to monitor the surrounding region with a large [amount] of highly sensitive equipment and analyse the data in state-of-the-art laboratories.”

Zhao Guodong, a government nuclear waste confinement specialist at the University of South China, said that the North Korean government should allow scientists from China and other countries to enter the test site and evaluate the damage.

* * *

It remains unclear what if any impact the news will have on Trump’s eagerness to sit down with Kim and discuss a denculearization of North Korea, if it emerges that the rogue nation only agreed to negotiate because it no longer had the ability to conduct further tests, and thus had no more leverage, as opposed to a voluntary decision by Kim Jong Un

end.

 

3 b JAPAN AFFAIRS

end

c) REPORT ON CHINA/HONG KONG

4. EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

Is Belgium turning Islamic?

(courtesy Meotti/Gatestone Institute_

Belgium: First Islamic State In Europe?

Authored by Giulio Meotti via The Gatestone Institute,

  • The leaders of Belgium’s ISLAM Party apparently want to turn Belgium into an Islamic State. They call it “Islamist democracy” and have set a target date: 2030.
  • “The program is confusingly simple: replace all the civil and penal codes with sharia law. Period“. — French magazine Causeur.
  • “The European capital [Brussels] will be Muslim in twenty years”. — Le Figaro.

The French acronym of Belgium’s ISLAM Party stands for “Integrity, Solidarity, Liberty, Authenticity, Morality”. The leaders of the ISLAM Party apparently want to turn Belgium into an Islamic State. They call it “Islamist democracy” and have set a target date: 2030.

According to the French magazine Causeur, “the program is confusingly simple: replace all the civil and penal codes with sharia law. Period”. Created on the eve of the 2012 municipal ballot, the ISLAM Party immediately received impressive results. Its numbers are alarming.

The effect of this new party, according to Michaël Privot, an expert on Islam, and Sebastien Boussois, a political scientist, could be the “implosion of the social body“. Some Belgian politicians, such as Richard Miller, are now advocating banning the ISLAM Party.

The French weekly magazine Le Point details the plans of the ISLAM Party: It would like to “prevent vice by banning gaming establishments (casinos, gaming halls and betting agencies) and the lottery”. Along with authorizing the wearing the Muslim headscarf at school and an agreement about the Islamic religious holidays, the party wants all schools in Belgium to offer halal meat on their school menus. Redouane Ahrouch, one of the party’s three founders, also proposed segregating men and women on public transport. Ahrouch belonged in the 1990s to the Belgian Islamic Center, a nest of Islamic fundamentalism where candidates for jihad in Afghanistan and Iraq were recruited.

The ISLAM Party knows that demography is on its side. Ahrouch has said, “in 12 years, Brussels will principally be composed of Muslims”. In the upcoming Belgian elections, the ISLAM Party is now set to run candidates in 28 municipalities. On first glance, that looks like a derisory proportion compared to 589 Belgian municipalities, but it demonstrates the progress and ambitions of this new party. In Brussels, the party will be represented on 14 lists out of a possible 19.

That is most likely why the Socialist Party now fears the rise of the ISLAM Party. In 2012, the party succeeded, when running in just three Brussels districts, in obtaining an elected representative in two of them (Molenbeek and Anderlecht), and failing only narrowly in Brussels-City.

Two years later, during the 2014 parliamentary elections, the ISLAM Party tried to expand its base in two constituencies, Brussels-City and Liège. Once again, the results were impressive for a party that favors the introduction of sharia, Islamic law, into Belgium. In Brussels, they won 9,421 votes (almost 2%).

This political movement apparently started in Molenbeek, “the Belgian radicals’ den“, a “hotbed of recruiters for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”. Jihadists there were apparently plotting terror attacks all over Europe and even in Afghanistan. The French author Éric Zemmour, facetiously suggested that instead of bombing Raqqa, Syria, France should “bomb Molenbeek“. At the moment in Molenbeek, 21 municipal officials out of 46 are Muslim.

Riot police guard a road in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, after raids in which several people, including Salah Abdeslam, one of the perpetrators of the November 2015 Paris attacks, were arrested on March 18, 2016. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

“The European capital,” wrote Le Figaro, “will be Muslim in twenty years”.

“Nearly a third of the population of Brussels already is Muslim, indicated Olivier Servais, a sociologist at the Catholic University of Louvain. “The practitioners of Islam, due to their high birth rate, should be the majority ‘in fifteen or twenty years’. Since 2001… Mohamed is the most common name given to boys born in Brussels”.

The ISLAM Party is working in a favorable environment. According to the mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, all the mosques in the European capital are now “in the hands of the Salafists“. A few weeks ago, the Belgian government terminated the long-term lease of the country’s largest and oldest mosque, the Grand Mosque of Brussels, to the Saudi royal family, “as part of what officials say is an effort to combat radicalization”. Officials said that the mosque, was a “hotbed for extremism“.

A confidential report last year revealed that the police had uncovered 51 organizations in Molenbeek with suspected ties to jihadism.

Perhaps it is time for sleepy Belgium to begin to wake up?

end

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Tom Luongo describes the problems inside Armenia and it certainly looks identical to events that happened in the Ukraine.  Neo conservatives are trying to torpedo the government.  Armenia is very important to Russia on its southern flank.  The Neocons want Armenia in the NATO fold.

(courtesy Tom Luongo)

Armenia Heats Up As The Proxy War Continues

Authored by Tom Luongo,

Armenia is an important part Russia’s long-term plans.  A member of the Eurasian Economic Union Armenia is key to protecting Russia’s southern flank.

So, I was not shocked back in 2016 when the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was activated by the U.S. after a brief visit by then Secretary of State John Kerry as punishment for Russia’s intervention into Syria.

Nagorno-Karabakh had been peaceful for more than twenty years before Kerry’s visit.  And within days, fighting broke out on the Azeri side of the region which lies between the two countries.

So, color me not shocked that as the Neoconservatives take control of the Trump White House that they activate a color revolution in Armenia while simultaneously pushing Russia in Ukraine, Syria, the U.K., the financial markets and seemingly everywhere else at the same time.

The story at Zerohedge this morning gives us the political picture, former president Serzh Sargsyan, was elected as Prime Minister creating the facade of a transfer of power.  This sparked protests which grew to a point where Sargsyan had to resign.

Color Revolutions created by western NGOs stoke mild opposition to a sitting government and turns it into a lynch mob by escalating the violence in the streets.

Why would Armenians now begin trashing Turkish stores in Aleppo (that’s right in Syria) over an internal Armenian political matter?

Because it’ll give Turkish President Erdogan an excuse to finish the Armenian genocide (which Erdogan and Israel refuse to acknowledge happened) his predecessors started a hundred years ago.

And the hope is that this provocation will drive a wedge between Turkey and Russia at a time when everyone’s nerves are frayed to the point of breaking.

Turkey announces over the weekend it is repatriating all of its gold from the Federal Reserve vaults in New York.

Iran announces it no longer accepts dollars in its business dealings and switches to the euro for international trade, in preparation for Trump decertifying the JCPOA and re-establishing sanctions from 2012 which includes SWIFT expulsion again.

If Armenia’s government falls here there will be an immediate push to get them into NATO and create an absolute nightmare in the region.

So, that puts everyone in a bind because Russia has to continue backing the existing government which it shares a very strategic military integration with.  Remember, Armenia is a member of the CSTO and has a joint military command agreement with Moscow.

So, this coup attempt at this point in time is quite a cynical and inflammatory move in the wake of Azeri elections which sees Russian-Azeri relations continue improving.  The latest being a commitment to triple Azeri exports to Russia over the next few years.

Russia has skillfully managed its relationship with both countries under Putin with Armenia obviously the more important of the two strategically since it protects Russia’s southern flank.

And a stable Armenia means a much slower flow of ‘terrorists’ coming into Russia.

The goal of Syria, among other things, is the creation of a failed state and terrorist stronghold to destabilize the region, including Iraq, Iran and Turkey, but with the ultimate goal of bleeding Russia white over time.

And as each domino falls, the harder it is for Russia to defend its positions in the former Soviet republics.  This is why Putin has been so focused on developing stronger defense and economic ties with these countries.  He’s been skillful in his diplomacy with Ukbezistan, for example, after the death of its long-time leader Karimov in September of 2016.

The same can be said for how he and Iranian President Rouhani have handled relations with Azerbaijan, despite the open wound of Nagorno-Karabakh.

So, as things ratchet up in Armenia, the question over the next few days will be whether the removal of long-time Russian ally Sargsyan from Armenia politics will be enough to dissipate the current anger.

I don’t know but I do know that this situation will be escalated a la the Maidan in Kiev if it begins to flag in intensity.

 end
Investigators reportedly find no evidence of chemical weapons at the Syrian facilities bombed by the uSA
(courtesy zerohedge)

OPCW Investigators Reportedly Found “No Evidence” Of Chemical Weapons At Syrian Facilities Bombed By US

While it will likely take the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons weeks or even months to issue their final report on the alleged gas attack in Douma (an attack for which journalists and other independent parties have failed to find any evidence), the organization’s investigators have apparently spoken with Russian military officials after visiting the site of the Barzeh research center in Damascus – one of the three facilities targeted by the strikes.

The Barzah Research and Development Center in Damascus, Syria, before it was struck by coalition forces on Saturday.

This satellite image, taken Monday morning, shows the Barzah Research and Development Center in Damascus after it was struck by coalition forces.

At the time we noted Paul Craig Roberts’ ‘awkward question’ to Washington’s warmongers:

If this were true, would not a lethal cloud have been released that would have taken the lives of far more people than claimed in the alleged Syrian chemical attack on Douma?

Would not the US missile attack be identical to a chemical weapons attack and thus place the US and its vassals in the same category as Washington is attempting to place Assad and Putin?

And now, according to Sputnik, the investigators, who spoke with Russian General Staff Col. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy, revealed that they had found no evidence of chemical weapons in the remains of research facilities that were supposedly integral to the Syrian Army’s chemical weapons program. Of course, this shouldn’t come as a surprise: After all, if the US, France and the UK really did bomb a building filled with chemical weapons, there would’ve been thousands – possibly tens of thousands – of bodies to show for it.

“Immediately after the attacks, many people who worked at these destroyed facilities and just bystanders without any protective equipment visited them. None of them got poisoned with toxic agents,” Rudskoy said.

Rudskoy said there was similarly scant evidence of chemical weapons exposure at the Han Shinshar facility, located in the province of Homs. Russia registered only seven missiles had struck the facility, while the Pentagon claimed that it had successfully fired 22 missiles. Russia has previously claimed that only 71 of 103 missiles launched by the coalition made it past Syria’s antiquated air defenses.

“According to the statements of the Pentagon’s representatives, 22 missiles hit the above-ground facilities.We registered no more than seven hits, which is shown in the space image,” he told a briefing.

Furthermore, the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria said its representatives had questioned local doctors and investigated the site of the attacks. The doctors confirmed that they hadn’t recently treated any patients with signs of exposure to chemical agents, and investigators searching the area found nothing suspicious. Moscow had said the April 7 gas attack that purportedly took place in Douma, part of the Eastern Ghouta region that was recently reclaimed following a military victory over the last rebel forces in the area, was in fact staged by the White Helmets, an NGO that supports US interests in Syria under the guise of altruism. While the US has refused to share the supposedly “slam dunk” evidence that the Syrian government was behind the attack, US and French authorities have cited videos posted to YouTube by the White Helmets as sufficient proof of an attack.

OPCW

But as Ron Paul argued in a recent column, even if the Syrian army did carry out the gas attack in Douma, evidence of this still wouldn’t justify the US, UK and France bombing targets inside a foreign country.

The Syrian civil war has been a bloody one. Hundreds of thousands of combatants (and tens of thousands of civilians) have been blown up by airstrikes, ripped to pieces by shrapnel or mutilated and murdered in some other grotesque fashion. The problem is, the US intervention wasn’t motivated by humanitarian instincts – rather, Washington’s outrage is very selective and politically motivated.

We are not the policemen of the world, Paul added. Bad leaders do terrible things all the time – and this is true even in the US. The US has neither the moral authority – or the money – to carry out overseas bombings. Especially now that it has become clear the Trump administration didn’t have sound evidence of an attack, the hasty decision to resort to force was a foolish one.

end
Iran/France/USA
France”s Macron tells Trump to reject nationalism and to not only partake in the Iran deal  but to improve on it.
I doubt that Trump will listen to him
(courtesy zerohedge)

Macron Tells Trump To Reject Nationalism; Says France Will Not Leave Iran Deal

Speaking before a joint meeting of Congress on Tuesday, French president Emmanuel Macron reiterated that Paris wants to work on a new nuclear deal with Iran, which as we discussed earlier prompted confusion and anger among his European allies, and that France is not going to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was signed in 2015 by president Obama and remains his landmark foreign policy achievement.

“France will not leave the JCPOA because we’ve signed it,” Macron said. “We can work on a more comprehensive deal.”

TicToc by Bloomberg✔@tictoc

WATCH: Macron discusses his position for a “more comprehensive” Iran deal. “Whatever the decision of the United States will be, we will not leave the floor to the absence of law”

Macron’s vow followed statement from the US State Department and EU foreign police chief Federica Mogherini, who reiterated their commitment to the agreement.  On Tuesday, Macron prompted a drop in the price of oil, when during a joint presser with Donald Trump he urged the US president not to “tear apart” the current deal, instead advising to build on it to develop a broader deal. He noted that Paris wanted to work on a new nuclear deal with Iran that would include international players like Russia and Turkey.

Macron has pushed for a new approach that would see the United States and Europe agree to block any Iranian nuclear activity until 2025 and beyond, address Iran’s ballistic missile program and generate conditions for a political solution to contain Iran in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

As a reminder, oil has surged in recent weeks over concerns that should Trump tear up the Iran Nuclear deal, that as much as 1 million barrels of Iranian exports would be eliminated from the market as a result of trade sanctions. It is also the reason why Europe – which has found a cheap source of oil in Tehran – has been fighting hard to preserve the deal.

Trump, who has consistently criticized the 2015 deal and called the accord, which stipulates the gradual lifting of anti-Tehran sanctions in exchange for Iran maintaining the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the “worst deal ever”, last October, Trump refused to re-certify the nuclear deal, accusing Tehran of violating the spirit of the agreement.

“Whatever the decision of the United States will be, we will not leave the floor to the actions of rogues. We will not leave the floor to this conflict of powers in the Middle East,” Macron told Congress. “I think we can work together to build this comprehensive deal for the whole region, for our people, because I think it fairly addresses our concerns.”

In remarks on Tuesday, Trump said that “nobody knows what I’m going to do on Iran deal” until the deadline on May 12. Not even he.

Separately, Macron also urged the IS to reject narrow nationalism and engage the world, telling U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday that modern economic and security challenges must be a shared responsibility.

During the same Congressional address, Macron said that isolationism and nationalism were “a tempting remedy for our fears.” But he said international engagement was the only solution. “This requires — more than ever — the United States’ involvement as your role was decisive for creating and guarding today’s free world. The United States is the one who invented this multilateralism. You are the one now who has to help preserve and reinvent it,” he said.

Trump has yet to respond.

end

6 .GLOBAL ISSUES

Bill Blain discusses the big fears that surround the global economy

(courtesy Bill Blain/Mint partners)

Blain: “More And More Market Participants Fear We Are About To Face Another WTF Moment”

Submitted by Bill Blain of Mint Partners

Why do we get it wrong, and what goes wrong next? Treasury yields, non-aligned economies and Tech

“I don’t think he knows about second breakfast.”

Marvellous day yesterday. The 10-year US Treasury broke through the “You Shall Not Pass” 3% barrier and the dollar went up. Panic! It might be the end of the world, but I least I called it right! Relax… the sun still came up this morning.

I spent time y’day in the City and West End talking to journalists and clients, and picked up further clues as what’s been going wrong right through my 30 year plus career in finance. I’ve come to a stunning and shocking conclusion. People just aren’t as smart as we think. Folk get it wrong. Repeatedly. It was such a stunning moment of clarity I’m awarding myself one of my coveted “No Sh*t Sherlock” awards.

The business of markets is as much about economic forces as it is about watching the mistakes and behaviours of others. Definitionally, its mistakes that drive the most exciting market action!

Investors find themselves on the wrong side of little mistakes all the time – like the market waking up to major corporate changing the guarantees on its bonds, pushing bond holders down the capital ladder to make them more subordinated – as has happened with Softbank.

When the mistakes are so large and so egregious they have the capacity to cause a WTF “moment” – like we saw in 2007/08 when we realised unemployed bus drivers were unlikely to pay off massive mortgages, and over-levered banks stuffed to the gunnels with illiquid risk weren’t sustainable.

Such lightbulb moments occur infrequently – but often enough to define our careers. Based on my ongoing discussions, I sense more and more market participants fear we’re about to face another. This where it gets interesting – nobody can agree what its likely to be!

Do they fear another crash because they are scared because its been so good for so long, or do they have valid grounds to be afraid? And, do these fears mean small mistakes will get magnified into bigger, more inclusive ones? Markets are all about the behaviour of crowds and what they believe. Do we face yet another period of suddenly blinding clarity, as the lightbulb of realisation goes off.. Or will we just continue on worrying, letting our fears multiply until they trigger meltdown?

What are the main concerns?

  • Is it a collapse in the bond market? Looking at the investment bank estimates, most of their analysts see the 10-year Treasury at 3.15-3.25% by year end – which hardly sounds like the bond rout so many fear. But, and but again… experience teaches us when it goes wrong in bonds, it goes wrong very quickly! These analysts may be a great example of getting it wrong.  I reckon we could hit 3.5% or drop back to 2.5% just as fast in these fraxious times.
  • Another aspect is Global Synchronised Growth – Macro Alignment. That’s been the basis of the fundamental analysis narrative telling us the whole globe is aligned and growing. Yet how can we have alignment when the US is rising rates, Japan is still devaluing, Europe looks trapped in a perpetual zero-rate trap, and the we’ve got increasing protectionist policy? If we’ve got that wrong (which we actually aren’t so concerned about; we still think global growth is on the cards), then maybe the flattening yield curve is right and we’re headed back into slowdown. Who knows? There are two sides to that trade! (And buying 2yrs instead of duration is one of the them!)
  • The other big concern is Tech. We pride ourselves for living in a fascinating technological age. For the past few years the Stock Market’s darlings have been dimly understood Tech ventures. We’ve accepted the disruptive narrative – but now its looking kind of jaded. Telsa and Facebook are examples where its clear market participants are struggling to understand the rules of the game, and the valuations. Apple is an evolutionary story as we wonder if the smartphone/bright shinny thing days are over. Most Tech firms are good/great companies, but do they deserve such stellar pricing and are they immune to everything we learnt in Credit 101? Have we forgotten the tenants of Ben Graham’s Intelligent Investor to our detriment?

I read a very interesting research note on Emerging Markets y’day – pointing out EM has become a tad boring in the wake of all the Tech noise. While stock market volatility has risen, EM has proved less volatile and produced better performance. On a relative basis, they look likely to continue to deliver decent returns. On the other hand, EM can prove a liquidity trap.

Although US rates burst thru the 3% panic-ceiling, rates remain benign. Investors are scrambling for the next thing now the Tech sector seems to be deflating – and were underweight EM. Commodity prices are rising – positive for most. Rumours of the demise of Oil have proved premature.

END

7. OIL ISSUES

Crude and Gasoline slide after a buildup in inventories in both crude and gasoline.  Also production continues to set records:

(courtesy zerohedge)

WTI/RBOB Slide After Surprise Crude, Gasoline Builds; Record Production

WTI/RBOB prices have gone nowhere since  API reported a surprise crude build, but after last week’s across the board inventory draws, DOE reported surprise builds in crude and gasoline inventories and production hit a new record high, sending  prices lower.

Bloomberg Intelligence’s Senior Energy Analyst Vince Piazza noted before the data hit that, propelled by WTI discounts to Brent of greater than $6 a barrel, domestic refinery throughout is expected to push higher. Strength in crude exports, relative to last year, should persist.

API

  • Crude +1.099mm (-2.25mm exp)
  • Cushing -930k (-150k exp)
  • Gasoline -2.724mm
  • Distillates -1.911mm

ADOEPI

  • Crude +2.17mm (-2.25mm exp)
  • Cushing +459k (-150k exp)
  • Gasoline +840k
  • Distillates -2.611mm

After last week’s across the board inventory draws, Crude and Gasoline saw notable surprise builds this week…

Inventories are just 3% below the five-year norm.

Crude exports hit a new record high…

Production rose 46k b/d to 10.586mm b/d – a new record high…

In the Permian basin, output is forecast to reach 3.18 million barrels a day in May, the highest since the Energy Information Administration began compiling records in 2007.

Amid all the chaos in stocks, WTI/RBOB went nowhere since the API data with no follow-through from Trump or Macron regarding Iran.

“It will be an uphill challenge for Macron to craft an agreement that is tough enough to satisfy Trump and his hawkish advisers and at the same time is acceptable to the Iranian leadership,” said Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York.

As a reminder, Bloomberg reports Iran’s oil exports would drop as much as 500,000 barrels a day this year and 700,000 barrels a day in 2019 if the U.S. revives sanctions, according toFereidun Fesharaki, chairman of energy consultant FGE. If reimposed, U.S. sanctions would require buyers of Iranian crude to cut purchases within 180 days, he said. Iran produced about 3.81 million barrels day in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

But once the DOE data hit, WTI/RBOB prices slid lower…

8. EMERGING MARKET

Venezuela

Chevron executives evacuate the country as two of its employees have been arrested and are about to be charged with treason as a dispute is arising with PDVSA and Chevron.  It looks like all foreign workers for all companies will now leave

(courtesy zerohedge)

 

Chevron Evacuates Venezuelan Executives As Two Workers Face Treason Charges

Following the arrest (and imprisonment on treason charges over a contract dispute with PDVSA) of two of its workers, Reuters reports, citing four people familiar, that Chevron has evacuated executives from Venezuela.

Tensions have been rising for over a week as OilPrice.com’s Julianne Geiger reported two Chevron Corp. workers arrested in Venezuela last week could face treason charges, according to sources quoted by Reuters on Monday.

The draft charges that used the word treason, seen by Chevon’s own lawyers last week, may put Chevron squarely in the middle of the escalating feud between PDVSA and foreign oil companies at best, and between the Trump Administration and Maduro’s socialist regime at worst.

The employees, who oversaw the Petropiar project co-owned by PDVSA and Chevron, were jailed when they allegedly refused to sign supply contracts concocted by PDVSA that skipped the normal competitive bidding process, according to multiple sources. The parts mentioned in the contract were reportedly double the fair market price.

The Petropiar joint venture consists of PDVSA’s 70 percent share, along with Chrevron’s 30 percent. It was reported a year ago that PDVSA had offered Rosneft a 10 percent stake in the project—a stake  worth $600 million-$800 million, according to valuations of similar deals as reported by Reuters back in August.

With Venezuela already in turmoil as oil production continues to fall in the crisis-stricken country, strong-arming the already-dwindling foreign players in-country may prove unwise.

Another foreign oil major doing business in Venezuela, French Total SA, announced just last week that despite the near-economic collapse, it would stick it out there—even as the European Union discussed stricter sanctions on the Latin American country.

Other oil majors have given up on Venezuela already, after in mid-2000, then Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez confiscated a 60-percent share in all oil projects in country and turned them over to PDVSA.

Other oil majors operating there have recently spirited employees out of the country, citing safety concerns—a move that now seems particularly prudent given the treason charges that two Chevron employees may soon find themselves up against.

Chevron did remove an unspecified number of employees from Venezuela back in August 2017.

But now, as Reuters reports, having evacuated a number of executives from Venezuela, Chevron asked other employees to avoid the facilities of its joint venture with the OPEC nation’s oil firm, the sources said.

Chevron’s move to evacuate its expatriate workforce underscores the how arduous it has become for foreign oil firms and their workers to sustain operations through Venezuela’s accelerating political and economic meltdown.

The affected staff numbers about 30 people in the coastal city of Puerto la Cruz, although it is unclear how many people Chevron has already removed from the country.

Chevron refused to comment, advising that these were “personnel matters.”

Chevron has no plans to exit the country, Reuters reports according to a company employee familiar with the thinking of its board of directors. The oil company has not pulled out of other tough environments in the past, the person said – citing the jailing of employees in Indonesia in 2013 – and the firm believes Venezuela will eventually stabilize.

As Venezuelan production crashes, the arrests mark an escalation of tensions between PDVSA and foreign companies over control of supply contracts and the joint ventures’ governance, sources familiar with the dispute told Reuters.

end

This is worth watching:  PDVSA has a bond due in 2020 but payment of interest of 107 million dollars on Friday may be in jeopardy.  Venezuela has defaulted on many bonds this year but not PDVSA.  Somehow they scrap enough dollars to pay the loans.  The loans are backed by 50.1% stake in CITGO.  Russia is the largest debt holder of PDVSA  and this could get quite interesting if Russia takes control of USA based CITGO

Venezuela: (Reuters)

Holders of secured PDVSA debt are organizing ahead of Friday’s interest payment: Bloomberg reported that bondholders of PDVSA’s $2.5B of secured notes due in 2020 are preparing for the possibility the state oil company does not pay a $107M payment due Friday, and could enforce their collateral rights after a grace period. The bonds are backed by a lien on a 50.1% stake in CITGO, PDVSA’s US refining arm. The article also noted that the 2020 secured notes are trading at around 86 cents on the dollar, about 50 cents higher than the rest of the company’s notes, which are unsecured

end

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

Euro/USA 1.2201 DOWN .0037/ 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/JAPAN TAPERING BOND PURCHASES /USA FALLING INTEREST RATES AGAIN/HOUSTON FLOODING/EUROPE BOURSES DEEPLY IN THE RED    

USA/JAPAN YEN 109.07 UP  0.271 (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 1.3953 DOWN .0051  (Brexit March 29/ 2017/ARTICLE 50 SIGNED/BREXIT FEES WILL BE CAPPED

USA/CAN 1.2879 UP .0057 (CANADA WORRIED ABOUT TRADE WITH THE USA WITH TRUMP ELECTION/ITALIAN EXIT AND GREXIT FROM EU/(TRUMP INITIATES LUMBER TARIFFS ON CANADA/CANADA HAS A HUGE HOUSEHOLD DEBT/GDP PROBLEM)

Early THIS WEDNESDAY morning in Europe, the Euro FELL by 37 basis points, trading now ABOVE the important 1.08 level RISING to 1.2201; / Last night Shanghai composite CLOSED DOWN 10.95 POINTS OR 0.35% /   Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 308.09 POINTS OR 1.01% /AUSTRALIA CLOSED HOLIDAY / EUROPEAN BOURSES  OPENED MIXED

The NIKKEI: this WEDNESDAY morning CLOSED DOWN 62.90 POINTS OR 0.28%

Trading from Europe and Asia

1/EUROPE OPENED  DEEPLY IN THE RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / : Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 308.09 POINTS OR 1.01%  / SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 10.95 POINTS OR 0.35%   /

Australia BOURSE CLOSED HOLIDAY

Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 62.90 POINTS OR 0.28%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE RED 

Gold very early morning trading: 1324.00

silver:$16.58

Early WEDNESDAY morning USA 10 year bond yield: 3.01% !!! UP 1  IN POINTS from TUESDAY night in basis points and it is trading WELL ABOVE resistance at 2.27-2.32%. (POLICY FED ERROR)/ 

The 30 yr bond yield 3.19 UP 1  IN BASIS POINTS from MONDAY night. (POLICY FED ERROR)/

USA dollar index early  WEDNESDAY morning: 91.01 UP 24  CENT(S) from TUESDAY’s close.

This ends early morning numbersWEDNESDAY MORNING

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And now your closing WEDNESDAY NUMBERS \1: 00 PM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 1.712% UP 4  in basis point(s) yield from TUESDAY/

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +.0.067%  UP 1    in basis points yield from TUESDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.302% UP 1/4  IN basis point yield from TUESDAY/

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.777  UP 1  POINTS in basis point yield from TUESDAY/

the Italian 10 yr bond yield is trading 48 points HIGHER than Spain.

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD:RISES TO +.634%   IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY

END

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IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR WEDNESDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.21711 DOWN .0066 (Euro DOWN 66 Basis points/ represents to DRAGHI A COMPLETE POLICY FAILURE/

USA/Japan: 109.33 UP 0.524 Yen DOWN 52 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.3936 DOWN .0057( POUND DOWN 57 BASIS POINTS)

USA/Canada 1.2868 UP  .0048 Canadian dollar DOWN 48 Basis points AS OIL FELL TO $67.82

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This afternoon, the Euro was DOWN 66 to trade at 1.21711

The Yen FELL to 109.33 for a LOSS of 52 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 FELL BY 57 basis points, trading at 1.3936/

The Canadian dollar FELL by 48 basis points to 1.2868/ WITH WTI OIL FALLING TO : $67.82

The USA/Yuan closed AT 6.3266
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield closed at +.067%  UP 1   IN BASIS POINTS / yield/
Your closing 10 yr USA bond yield UP 5   IN basis points from TUESDAY at 3.017% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic USA 30 yr bond yield: 3.2043  UP 7     in basis points on the day /

THE RISE IN BOTH THE 10 YR AND THE 30 YR ARE VERY PROBLEMATIC FOR VALUATIONS

Your closing USA dollar index, 91.20  UP 36 CENT(S) ON THE DAY/1.00 PM/

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

London: CLOSED UP 26.73 POINTS OR 0.36%
German Dax :CLOSED DOWN 21.57 POINTS OR 0.17%
Paris Cac CLOSED UP 5.61  POINTS OR 0.10%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 38.60 POINTS OR 0.39%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 52.97 POINTS OR 0.22%

The Dow closed UP 59.70 POINTS OR 0.25%

NASDAQ closed DOWN  3.61 Points OR 0.05%      4.00 PM EST

WTI Oil price; 67.82 1:00 pm;

Brent Oil: 73.41 1:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE CROSS: 62.43 UP 91/100 ROUBLES/DOLLAR (ROUBLE LOWER BY 91 BASIS PTS)

TODAY THE GERMAN YIELD RISES TO +.634% 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:$68.01

BRENT: $73.98

USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.030%   THIS RAPID RISE IN YIELD IS ALSO VERY DANGEROUS/RECESSION COMING/DERIVATIVES FRY!!

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.21%/DEADLY

EURO/USA DOLLAR CROSS: 1.2161 DOWN .0076  (DOWN 76 BASIS POINTS)

USA/JAPANESE YEN:109.39 UP 0.595/ YEN DOWN 60 BASIS POINTS/ .

USA DOLLAR INDEX: 91.2570 UP 49 cent(s)/dangerous as the lower the dollar the higher the inflation.

The British pound at 5 pm: Great Britain Pound/USA: 1.3925: DOWN 0.0068  (FROM YESTERDAY NIGHT DOWN 68 POINTS)

Canadian dollar: 1.2840 DOWN 19 BASIS pts

German 10 yr bond yield at 5 pm: +0.634%


VOLATILITY INDEX:  17.84  CLOSED  down 0.18  

LIBOR 3 MONTH DURATION: 2.3612%  .

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

TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY

Boeing Bounce Saves Stocks But Bond Bloodbath Continues

No macro data today for US but earnings “beats” were met with “sell the news” but dip-buyers stepped in to save the day…

Futures show the chaotic trading around the pre-open to EU close… and then the standard buying panic into the close…

Cash indices all scrambled desperately in the last hour to get green (Trannies were green all day)…Nasdaq and Small Caps ended the day red…

Boeing’s post-conference-call bounce rescued The Dow from its longest losing streak since August 2016…

The S&P 500 bounced off its 200DMA once again…

Momo factors slumped for the 3rd day in a row…

Twitter was funny…

Banks were mixed today but Goldman keeps sliding…

FANG stocks dumped and rebounded but ended lower on the day – ahead of FB earnings…

TSLA Stocks and Bonds weakened once again, but they had a moment of confusion early on (capital structure arb?)…

Bond yields and the dollar continue to rise together – and stocks fall…

The Dollar resumed its climb today… (up 6 of the last 7 days)…

Breaking its 100DMA, testing up to its 200DMA…

Cryptocurrencies tumbled on the day…

The Hong Kong Dollar also resumed its decline – but US Treasuries decoupled…

EM Debt finally snapped – presumably as the dollar’s recent strength broke the momo…

10Y Treasury yields rose for the 8th straight day – the longest streak since Sept 2017…

And while there is much chatter about the bondpocalypse… 30Y is only up 6bps on the week…

Breakevens and Real Yields are at multi-year highs…

Copper and Crude managed minor gains as PMs limped lower… (Gold is testing up to 80x Silver)….

A strong dollar sent PMs lower with silver breaking below its 50dma…

WTI managed to hold on to gains – despite a surprise crude build – but RBOB slipped on its surprise build..

END

This morning’s early trading:

momentum following strategy is just not working any more with respect to the Dow/Nasdaq

(courtesy zerohedge)

Momo Massacre – “Follow-The-Leader” Strategy Suffers Biggest Outflows In History

The last week has seen the market try and fail three times to ‘rotate’ to another market-leader as momentum-chasers desperatly cling to the old adage, if it’s going up, buy it. But one by one, chipmakers, big techs stocks, and now falling by the way side…

Ominously, as Bloomberg reports, each time the market has run out of ‘leaders’ for greater fools to chase, a recession has quickly followed…

“Leadership changes are afoot below the surface and portfolios need to adjust,” Mike Wilson, an equity strategist at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a research note. “The bigger challenge is trying to decide what to own as leadership is changing.”

For now, it appears investors are losing faith in the ‘follow-the-leader’ strategy, as the iShares Edge MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF lost almost $500 million last week, the biggest withdrawal since the fund was started in 2013.

And rather than bounce back from this contrarian outflow, momentum has continued to get massacred this week…

 end

After announcing a big earnings jump due to a tax rate of only 12%l, Boeing falters and so does the Dow

(courtesy zerohedge)

Dow Dumps Below Yesterday’s Lows As Boeing Gives Up Gains

After Boeing’s beat sparked pre-market buying, sending The Dow green as the cash session opened, TV pundits proclaimed the ‘greatness’ of earnings season. But that didn’t last long…

And Nasdaq is worst once again…

It appears the broad selloff – especially in tech – was exaggerated by headlines from WSJ that Huawei is said to be under a DOJ probe over Iran sanctions violations… implying the US-China trade-war just escalated.

end

Generics price fixing? It cannot be so!!

(courtesy zerohedge)

Generics To Face Imminent Charges In Price-Fixing Probe; Mylan Tumbles

A year and a half after news first broke  in November 2016 that the DOJ – at the time still under the Obama administration – was preparing a “massive” price-fixing probe into generic drugmakers, moments ago Bloomberg reported that U.S. prosecutors are nearing their first official charges in a four-year-old criminal investigation into alleged price-fixing by generic-drug makers.

As Bloomberg adds, and the reason why the generics space is tumbling, is that at least two companies are said to be indicted in the coming months, in addition to several executives, while a third company could agree to plead guilty before then, said one the people.

Started during the Obama administration, the investigation is advancing under President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to bring down soaring drug costs in the wake of controversial price hikes by Mylan and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. A group of administration officials is working on a plan expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The charges are expected to be filed as soon as this summer; they would mark a “major breakthrough” in the sprawling cross-administrational probe that began in 2014 and has spread to virtually every major generic-drug manufacturer, including Mylan and Teva.

And speaking of Mylan, the company tumbled promptly as news of the probe spread.

Adding insult to injury was the disclosure that feds have raided at least two companies in the investigation: while Perrigo had previously disclosed its offices were searched last year; we now learn that Mylan’s Pennsylvania headquarters was also raided by the FBI in the fall of 2016, according to the Bloomberg source.

The raid took place the same day that Mylan Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch was in Washington testifying on drug prices. Bresch, who as we reported at the time, was grilled by lawmakers about the $600 price tag for a two-pack of EpiPen among other questions, is the daughter of Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat.

Still, neither Mylan nor its executives have been publicly charged with a crime, at least not yet. The generic drug giant previously disclosed subpoenas related to some of its generic drugs and search warrants related to the investigation, without saying where any raids took place.

Rajiv Malik, Mylan’s president, has been named as a defendant in a civil-complaint by states, which allege that he took an active role in the price-fixing conspiracy. Mylan said at the time that it stood by Malik, and a lawyer for Malik said the executive denied the allegations.

As part of the upcoming charges, companies will be accused of fixing prices and dividing up the market, according to Bloomberg.

Although indictments are expected, the companies or their executives could agree to plead guilty rather than fight the charges, said the other person. The identities of the companies set to be charged couldn’t be learned.

And on the chance they avoid prison time, generic-drug manufacturers also are facing a civil complaint filed by state attorneys general led by Connecticut. That case accuses more than a dozen companies of conspiring to raise prices on 15 drugs.

SWAMP STORIES

McCabe launches a brand new legal defense fund  (whatever happened to the last one).  He will need every penny

(courtesy zerohedge)

McCabe Launches New Legal Defense Fund, May File Wrongful Termination Suit Against Trump

Last Friday, NPR quietly reported that former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe would be launching a new legal defense fund to “help him pay to deal with congressional investigations, contacts with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a possible wrongful termination and defamation case he may file against the Trump administration.”

McCabe Spokeswoman, Melissa Schwartz, tweeted mid-Monday that the new legal defense fund would take the form of a trust.

Melissa Schwartz

✔@MSchwartz3

True to the commitments made at the time of the unanticipated but much appreciated Go Fund Me campaign, the Andrew G. Legal Defense Trust has officially launched. We are grateful to the distinguished former public officials who have agreed to serve as trustees. https://twitter.com/NPR/status/987405550534123520 …

As Law & Crime points out, the new legal defense fund – organized by McCabe’s attorney, Michael Bromwich, is very similar to the first one created by Bromwich just four weeks ago, which raised $567,976 before it was shut down – except the new legal defense fund appears to be fairly open-ended in terms of what McCabe can use the money for, including a wrongful termination lawsuit against the Trump administration.

The original text accompanying that first fundraising plea–attributed to an unidentified group of individuals who referred to themselves as “Friends of Andrew McCabe”–pointedly said that GoFundMe donations would not be used in connection with any of McCabe’s pension troubles.

The new legal defense fund apparently contains no such caveat.

Bromwich’s statement that the new trust fund would likely be used to finance a wrongful termination lawsuit appears at odds with the original campaign’s commitments. –L&C

While McCabe hasn’t said where the $567,976 from the GoFundMe has gone, it Schwartz is suggesting that the donations will be used for the initial funding of the new trust.

Bromwich told reporters on Friday that he had recently met with federal prosecutors in Washington to discuss a criminal referral of McCabe for his alleged “lack of candor” when he lied four times to investigators, including twice under oath, about leaking self-serving information to the New York Times during the Clinton email investigation.

McCabe was fired on March 16 after the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that he “had made an unauthorized disclosure to the news media and lacked candor – including under oath – on multiple occasions.”

Specifically, McCabe allegedly authorized an F.B.I. spokesman and attorney to tell Devlin Barrett of the Wall St. Journal, just days before the 2016 election, that the FBI had not put the brakes on a separate investigation into the Clinton Foundation – right around the time McCabe was coming under fire for his wife taking a $467,500 campaign contribution from Clinton proxy pal, Terry McAuliffe.

McCabe, through his attorney Bromwich, seems to be claiming that the DOJ Inspector General – an Obama appointee – is simply doing Trump’s bidding (despite the fact that Comey “ordered the report” which led to McCabe’s ouster).

“All institutions are fallible,” Bromwich said. “In this case I think they have got it horribly wrong,” he said of the OIG report. “We really hope that the case is going to be evaluated on the merits, not based on the president’s view.”

McCabe has been a longstanding political target of President Trump, both in public comments and in newly declassified memos by former FBI Director James Comey. Trump is described as raising the subject of McCabe several times in his meetings with Comey.

Bromwich decried Trump’s “continuing slander” against McCabe. “We’ve never seen anything like this before. It does damage not only to Andy McCabe individually but also to the FBI as an institution.” –NPR

Meanwhile, McCabe and Comey are setting up for quite the battle over whether or not Comey knew of the leaks. While peddling his book on ABC’s The View, Comey called McCabe a liar – and admitted that he ordered the IG report that found him guilty of leaking to the press.

Comey was asked by host Megan McCain how he thought the public was supposed to have “confidence” in the FBI amid revelations that McCabe lied about the leak.

“It’s not okay. The McCabe case illustrates what an organization committed to the truth looks like,” Comey said. “I ordered that investigation.”

Comey then appeared to try and frame McCabe as a “good person” despite all the lying.

“Good people lie. I think I’m a good person, where I have lied,” Comey said. “I still believe Andrew McCabe is a good person but the inspector general found he lied,” noting that there are “severe consequences” within the DOJ for doing so.

Bromwich replied to Comey’s comments – stating that the former FBI Director was well aware of the leaks.

“In his comments this week about the McCabe matter, former FBI Director James Comey has relied on the Inspector Genera’s (OIG) conclusions in their report on Mr. McCabe. In fact, the report fails to adequately address the evidence (including sworn testimony) and documents that prove that Mr. McCabe advised Director Comey repeatedly that he was working with the Wall Street Journal on the stories in question…” reads the statement in part.

Between McCabe’s criminal referral, a battle brewing with James Comey, and now a potential wrongful termination lawsuit, looks like that new legal defense fund is going to come in handy. Good thing ol’ Andy has friends all over – even a few who know their way around raising money.

 END
This ought to be fun:  Democrats having started a phony lawsuit has been served with a demand to preserve evidence with respect to those servers we have been talking about these past two years.
(courtesy zerohedge)

Democrats Slapped With Demand To Preserve Evidence As Roger Stone Goes After DNC Servers

The gloves are off in the multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) against the Trump campaign, Wikileaks and several other parties including the Russian government, alleging an illegal conspiracy to disrupt the 2016 election in a “brazen attack on American Democracy.”

Many have suggested the lawsuit is a tactical error by the DNC, as it may expose or confirm claims against the organization – such as whether they rigged the primary against Bernie Sanders, the level of coordination between the DNC and the Clinton Campaign, and the details surrounding the funding of the “Steele dossier,” paid for in part by both the Clinton campaign and the DNC.

The defendants – from President Trump, to Wikileaks – and now Roger Stone – are excited at the prospect of examining the DNC servers which cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike determined were victims of Russian hacking in advance of the 2016 elections. Notably, the DNC would not allow the FBI or anyone else to inspect said servers.

To that end, Stone’s attorneys have slapped the DNC with a notification to preserve evidence related to the case with a “standard pre-discovery notice.” Discovery is a pre-trial process by which one party can obtain evidence from the opposing party relevant to the case.

My lawyers and I will demand to examine the DNC’s servers and expose them to real forensic analysis, not merely accepting the claims of the DNC’s paid contractor, to finally extinguish this bogus Russian hacking claim, once and for all. My lawyers have served the DNC with standard pre-discovery notice directing the DNC of their obligation under law to preserve all possible evidence, including their servers, for ultimate inspection and exposure to critical review. As Julian Assange wrote on Twitter, via the WikiLeaks feed, “Discovery is going to be fun.” –Roger Stone

Stone notes that “Former CIA experts like Bill Binney and Ray McGovern examined the basic data available about the copying of DNC data and concluded that there is more forensic evidence that the material was downloaded to a portable drive, meaning it had to be someone with physical access to DNC computers.”

“Having made their computer systems the subject matter of multi-million dollar demands for judicial relief, the DNC has now exposed them to the discovery process,” writes Stone.

In February, New Zealand entrepreneur Kim Dotcom responded to a tweet by President Trump, claiming that “the DNC hack wasn’t even a hack. It was an insider with a memory stick.” Dotcom says he knows “who did it and why,” adding “Special Counsel Mueller is not interested in my evidence. My lawyers wrote to him twice. He never replied.”

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

I never said Russia did not meddle in the election, I said “it may be Russia, or China or another country or group, or it may be a 400 pound genius sitting in bed and playing with his computer.” The Russian “hoax” was that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia – it never did!

Kim Dotcom✔@KimDotcom

Let me assure you, the DNC hack wasn’t even a hack. It was an insider with a memory stick. I know this because I know who did it and why. Special Counsel Mueller is not interested in my evidence. My lawyers wrote to him twice. He never replied. 360 pounds!https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/world/us-election/dnchack-did-kim-dotcom-warn-the-world-about-the-democratic-party-hacking-20160622-gpp15a.html …https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/965202556204003328 …

DNCHack: Did Kim Dotcom warn the world about the Democratic Party hacking?

Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom said in 2015 that he knew of information that was going to create an obstacle for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential election bid.

smh.com.au

Dotcom’s assertion is backed up by an analysis done last year by a researcher who goes by the name Forensicator, who determined that the DNC files were copied at 22.6 MB/s – a speed virtually impossible to achieve from halfway around the world, much less over a local network – yet a speed typical of file transfers to a memory stick.

The local transfer theory of course blows the Russian hacking narrative out of the water, lending credibility to the theory that the DNC “hack” was in fact an inside job, potentially implicating late DNC IT staffer, Seth Rich.

President Trump and WikiLeaks are also looking forward to checking out the DNC servers:

In response to the DNC lawsuit, Trump tweeted that it could be good news that “we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI,” along with the “Debbie Wasserman Schultz Servers and Documents.”

Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump

Just heard the Campaign was sued by the Obstructionist Democrats. This can be good news in that we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI, the Debbie Wasserman Schultz Servers and Documents held by the Pakistani mystery man and Clinton Emails.

The Trump campaign also says the lawsuit will provide an opportunity to “explore the DNC’s now-secret records.”

And as we reported on Monday, WikiLeaks is counter-suing the DNC – setting up a donation fund and noting “We’ve never lost a publishing case and discovery is going to be amazing fun.”

WikiLeaks✔@wikileaks

The Democrats are suing @WikiLeaks and @JulianAssange for revealing how the DNC rigged the Democratic primaries. Help us counter-sue. We’ve never lost a publishing case and discovery is going to be amazing fun:https://www.iamwikileaks.org/donate/ 

More options:https://shop.wikileaks.org/donate 

Prominent Democrats have criticized the suit – such as Claire McCaskill (MO), Jackie Speier (CA) and former Obama White House adviser and CNN commentator David Axelrod – who suggested in a Friday tweet that the “ill-timed” combination of “Comey’s flamboyant roll out” and the DNC lawsuit are playing into President Trump’s strategy of portraying the investigation against him as a “partisan vendetta.”

Stone writes that at the end of the day “Let’s not forget that at the heart of this Democrat lawsuit is their core claim that the exposure of genuine documents created by the hands of their own top officials, revealing to the American people the horrible truth about the how ruthless and cynical the Democrats, Hillary Clinton and her hench people really are, is considered BY THEM to be so damaging that it effectively torpedoed the Democrat party’s multi-billion-dollar efforts to install the single most sleazy corrupt brazen criminal to seek the presidency since Lyndon Baines Johnson.”

END

All of those missing Strzok and Page texts will be released tonight or tomorrow

(courtesy zerohedge)

“Missing” Strzok-Page Texts From Russia “Insurance Policy” Period To Be Released Momentarily

The Department of Justice is set to make six months worth of mysteriously missing (then found) texts between two anti-Trump FBI employees available Tuesday night or Wednesday, according to Journalist Sara Carter.

Sara A. Carter✔@SaraCarterDC

BREAKING: DOJ will make the 6 months of missing texts that were eventually located by IG between Strzok and Page available to Congress sometime tonight or tomorrow, according to sources…developing

The missing texts, exchanged by senior counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and Lisa Page – who were both working at the highest levels on the Clinton email “matter” and the Trump-Russia probe, span a period ending May 17, 2017 – the day Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel and took over the FBI investigation.

We’ll also see what Strzok and Page were texting to each other a month after the 2016 election, when the two anti-Trump / pro-Hillary FBI employees would still likely be fuming from Hillary’s loss. Perhaps the texts will even shed light on the August, 2016 comment from Strzok to Page about an “insurance policy” – which has been widely interpreted to mean that the FBI had a contingency plan in place to smear Trump using the Russia investigation in case he won. The texts were later explained by the WSJ – citing “individuals familiar with the matter,” to mean that Strzok simply thought the FBI needed to pursue the Russia claims more vigorously.

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office – that there’s no way he [Trump] gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” Strzok texted to Page – with whom he was having an extramarital affair while spearheading both the Clinton email inquiry and the early Trump-Russia probe – adding “It’s like a life insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.” – Peter Strzok to Lisa Page

This text is all the more controversial when you consider another exchange in which Peter Strzok says “I am riled up. Trump is a f*cking idiot, is unable to provide a coherrent answer,” and “I CAN’T PULL AWAY, WHAY THE F*CK HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY (redacted)??!?!”

Page responds “I don’t know, But we’ll get it back. …”

CBS News✔@CBSNews
Replying to @CBSNews @PaulaReidCBS

“Trump is a ******* idiot, is unable to provide a coherent answer.” FBI agent Peter Strzok sent text messages to a senior FBI lawyer that were critical of then candidate-Trump. These texts resulted in Strzok’s dismissal by Robert Mueller http://cbsn.ws/2yk2qyv 

Shannon Bream✔@ShannonBream

Strzok/Page texts 10/20/16

PS – I am riled up. Trump is a f*cking idiot, is unable to provide a coherent answer.

PS – I CAN’T PULL AWAY, WHAT THE F*CK HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY (redacted)??!?!

LP – I don’t know. But we’ll get it back. …

Also recall a text from Peter Strzok to Lisa Page where he tells her “I can protect our country at many levels.”

Shannon Bream✔@ShannonBream

Strzok/Page texts

LP – And maybe you’re meant to stay where you are because you’re meant to protect the country from that menace. (links to NYT article)

PS – … I can protect our country at many levels, not sure if that helps

Knowledge of the missing texts was revealed in a January letter from Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) – after the Committee received an additional 384 pages of text messages between Strzok and Page, several of which contained anti-Trump / pro-Clinton bias. The new DOJ submission included a cover letter from the Assistant AG for Legislative Affairs, Stephen Boyd, claiming that the FBI was unable to preserve text messages between the two agents for a five month period between December 14, 2016 and May 17, 2017 – due to “misconfiguration issues” with FBI-issued Samsung 5 devices used by Strzok and Page (despite over 10,000 texts which were recovered from their devices without incident).

The original explanation by the DOJ for the missing texts was “misconfiguration issues related to rollouts, provisioning, and software upgrades that conflicted with the FBI’s collection capabilities.”

What’s strange is that while the DOJ announced that the texts were unable to be recovered due to technical issues, their announcement was in direct contradiction to a December 13, 2017 letter from the DOJ’s internal watchdog – Inspector General Michael Horowitz, to Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley and HSGAC Chairman Ron Johnson, in which he claims he received the texts in question on August 10, 2017.

After finding a number of politically-oriented text messages between Page and Strzok, the OIG sought from the FBI all text messages between Strzok and Page from their FBI-issued phones through November 30, 2016, which covered the entire period of the Clinton e-mail server investigation. The FBI produced these text messages on July 20, 2017. Following our review of those text messages, the OIG expanded our request to the FBI to include all text messages between Strzok and Page from November 30, 2016, through the date of the document request, which was July 28, 2017.

The OIG received these additional messages on August 10, 2017.

Just several days later, the text messages were mysteriously found. The OIG had them, and now they are reportedly about to be released, exactly 90 days later.

END

This ought to be good:  it seems that McCabe ordered his FBI agents to “stand down” on early Clinton email investigation on orders from a Dept of Justice official

(courtesy zerohedge)

Did McCabe Order FBI Agents To “Stand Down” On Early Clinton Email Investigation?

Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe reportedly gave a “stand-down” order to FBI agents who began probing Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server for official government business following a report in the New York Times, reports journalist Sara Carter, citing “multiple former FBI officials, along with a Congressional official.”

After The New York Times publication, the FBI Washington Field Office began investigating Clinton’s use of private emails and whether she was using her personal email account to transmit classified information. According to sources, McCabe was overseas when he became aware of the investigation and sent electronic communications voicing his displeasure with the agents. –Sara Carter

“Electronic communications” you say? Sounds like McCabe picked the right time to relaunch his new legal defense fund.

McCabe’s reported March 2015 “stand down” order to agents investigating the New York Times report may have broken FBI rules, to say the least. The official DOJ request to investigate Clinton would not be issued until the end of July 2015, four months later.

Andrew McCabe, Hillary Clinton, Jill McCabe

“McCabe tried to steer people off the private email investigation and that appears to be obstruction and should be investigated,” said one former FBI official with knowledge of the circumstances surrounding the investigation. “Now if the information on the ‘stand-down’ order is obtained by the IG that could bring a whole lot of other troubles to McCabe.”

Last week, Inspector General Michael Horowitz released an internal report which revealed that McCabe had lied four times to investigators, including twice while under oath, about authorizing an F.B.I. spokesman and attorney to tell Devlin Barrett of the Wall St. Journal, just days before the 2016 election, that he had not issued a similar “stand-down” order on the reported FBI investigation into the Clinton Foundation – right around the time McCabe was coming under fire for his wife Jill taking a $467,500 campaign contribution from Clinton proxy pal, Terry McAuliffe.

So McCabe was accused of a “stand-down” order during the 2016 election, for which he authorized the leak that got him fired – and he now stands accused of a separate, previous “stand-down” order as agents began to follow up on a March 2 2015 New York Times report into Clinton’s use of a private server.

Horowitz and his team of investigators at the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have been sifting through more than 1.2 million documents, of which Sara Carter‘s sources say 46,000 are connected to ongoing investigations. “Of those documents, Congress has received a tiny fraction of the emails pertaining to their oversight investigations.”

Judicial Watch, a conservative government watchdog group, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in September 2017 against the FBI for the communications on behalf of retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeff Danik, as previously reported. Danik spent more than 28 years with the bureau as a supervisor in the counter-terrorism division and special overseas advisor. Thus far, the FBI has failed to abide by a judge’s order to turn over all of former McCabe’s text messages, emails and SMS phone messages. –Sara Carter

According to the OIG report on McCabe, the Wall Street Journal article which used McCabe’s leak “discussed not only the FBI’s handling of the Clinton E-mail Investigation but ‘internal disagreements within the Bureau and the Justice Department surrounding the Clintons’ family philanthropy.’” It stated that “McCabe, in particular, was caught . . . [in] an increasingly acrimonious fight for control between the Justice Department and FBI agents pursuing the Clinton Foundation case.”

The former law enforcement sources who spoke to this reporter said a possible stand-down order on the Clinton Foundation investigation doesn’t preclude another stand-down order from McCabe on the Clinton email server investigation. They noted that it appears from the IG’s report that the Justice Department was attempting to dissuade McCabe from moving forward with the FBI’s investigation into the Clinton Foundation. McCabe said he authorized the disclosure to The Wall Street Journal of his conversation with the DOJ’s Principal Assistant Attorney General (PADAG) in an effort to counter the narrative that he had given a stand-down order on the Bureau’s Clinton Foundation investigation. –Sara Carter

Meanwhile, ol’ Andy has received two referrals seeking criminal prosecution – the first sent last week by 11 GOP Congressional legislators, and the second coming from Inspector General Horowitz. As Carter notes, evidence collected by the Inspector General has raised new questions over McCabe’s role in the FBI’s investigations of Clinton and Trump – as well as what role President Obama’s DOJ (and State Department) may have played in both. 

END

Quite a story as Alan Dershowitz describes a major case involving Mueller when he was director of the FBI in which 4 innocent FBI agents were jailed.

Alan Dershowitz..

Dershowitz: “Should Robert Mueller Be Investigated For Violating Civil Liberties?”

Authored by Alan Dershowitz via The Gatestone Institute,

Just as the first casualty of war is truth, so, too, the first casualty of hyper-partisan politics is civil liberties.

Many traditional civil libertarians have allowed their strong anti-Trump sentiments to erase their long-standing commitment to neutral civil liberties. They are now so desperate to get Trump that they are prepared to compromise the most basic due process rights. They forget the lesson of history that such compromises made against one’s enemy are often used as precedents against one’s friends. As Robert Bolt put it in the play and movie A Man for all Seasons:

Roper: So now you would give the Devil benefit of Law!

Thomas Moore: Yes, what would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: I’d cut down every law in England to do that?

Thomas Moore: And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast — man’s laws, not God’s — and if you cut them down — and you’re just the man to do it — d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.

But today’s fair weather civil libertarians are unwilling to give President Trump – who they regard as the devil — the “benefit of law” and civil liberties.

Consider the issue of criticizing Robert Mueller, the Special counsel. Any criticism or even skepticism regarding Mueller’s history is seen as motivated by a desire to help Trump. Mueller was an Assistant US attorney in Boston, the head of its criminal division, the head of the criminal division in Main Justice and the Director of the FBI during the most scandalous miscarriage of justice in the modern history of the FBI. Four innocent people were framed by the FBI in order to protect mass murdering gangsters who were working as FBI informers while they were killing innocent people. An FBI agent, who is now in prison, was tipping off Whitey Bulger as to who might testify against him so that these individuals could be killed. He also tipped off Bulger allowing him to escape and remain on the lam for 16 years.

What responsibility, if any, did Robert Mueller, who was in key positions of authority and capable of preventing these horrible miscarriages, have in this sordid incident?

A former member of the parole board – a liberal Democrat who also served as mayor of Springfield, Massachusetts – swears that he saw a letter from Robert Mueller urging the denial of release for at least one of these wrongfully convicted defendants. When he went back to retrieve the letter, it was not in the file. This should surprise no one since Judge Mark Wolf (himself a former prosecutor), who conducted extensive hearings about this entire mess, made the following findings:

“The files relating to the Wheeler murder, and the FBI’s handling of them, exemplify recurring irregularities with regard to the preparation, maintenance, and production in this case of documents damaging to Flemmi and Bulger. First, there appears to be a pattern of false statements placed in Flemmi’s informant file to divert attention from his possible crimes and/or FBI misconduct….

Second, contrary to the FBI’s usual policy and practice, all but one of the reports containing Halloran’s allegations against Bulger and Flemmi were not indexed and placed in an investigative file referencing their names. Thus, those documents were not discoverable by a standard search of the FBI’s indices. Similar irregularities in indexing and, therefore, access occurred with regard to information that the FBI received concerning an extortion by Bulger of Hobart Willis and from Joseph Murray concerning the murder of Brian Halloran, among other things.

Third, when documents damaging to the FBI were found by the Bureau, they were in some instances not produced to the defendants or the court at the time required by the court’s Orders.”

Judge Wolf also made a finding that directly references Mueller’s state of knowledge regarding the “history”:

“The source also claimed to have information that Bulger and Pat Nee had murdered Halloran and Bucky Barrett. The source subsequently said that there was an eyewitness to the Halloran shooting who might come forward, and elaborated that: “there is a person named John, who claims he talked to Whitey and Nee as they sat in the car waiting for Halloran on Northern Avenue. He sits in a bar and talks about it. He saw the whole operation”. The source added that the person providing the information to the source “will be willing to talk to you (authorities) soon.” On February 3, 1988, Weld directed Keeney to have the information that he had received sent to the United States Attorney in Boston, Frank McNamara, and to the Strike Force Chief, O’Sullivan. Weld added that: “Both O’Sullivan and [Assistant United States Attorney] Bob Mueller are well aware of the history, and the information sounds good.”

It is not the beyond the realm of possibility therefore that Mueller wrote this letter, even if it is no longer in the files. If in fact Mueller wrote such a letter, without thoroughly investigating the circumstances, he surely bears some responsibility. Moreover, it is widely believed among Boston law enforcement observers that the FBI was not really looking for Whitey Bulger during the years that Mueller was its Director. It is believed that the FBI was fearful about what Bulger would disclose about his relationship with agents over the years. It took a member of the US Marshall’s office to find Bulger who was hiding in plain view in Santa Monica, California.

Recently, a former federal judge, who used to be a civil libertarian, rushed to Mueller’s defense, declaring “without equivocation” that Mueller “had no involvement” in the massive miscarriage of justice. Her evidence is the lack of evidence in the files. But no civil libertarian should place such great trust in government files, especially in light of Judge Wolf’s findings. They should join my call for an objective investigation by the Inspector General of the Justice Department before they assure the public “without equivocation” that Mueller had absolutely “no involvement.” But these “Get Trump At Any Cost” partisans have rejected my call for an investigation, out of fear that it may turn up information that might tarnish the image of the Special Counsel who is investigating Trump. Instead they criticize those of us who point out that Mueller was “at the center” of the Justice Department and FBI, while this miscarriage of justice occurred. All civil libertarians should want the truth about this sordid episode — and Mueller’s possible role in it — regardless of its impact, if any, on the Trump investigation. Mueller too should welcome an objective investigation, which might eliminate any doubt about his role in this travesty. But too many former civil libertarians are prepared to sacrifice civil liberties and the quest for truth on the altar of “Get Trump.”

Robert Mueller. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

This is all too typical of the about-face many civil libertarians have taken since Trump became president. I have previously written about the ACLU’s abdication of its traditional role in challenging governmental overreaching. For the new ACLU getting Trump trumps civil liberties.

It is ironic to see many right-wingers being the ones to criticize overreach by law enforcement, while many left-wingers now defend such overreaching. Hypocrisy and selective outrage abounds, as neutral principles take a back seat. Conservatives used to say that “a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged.” I would respond that “a liberal is a conservative who is being audited or whose kid was busted for pot.” Today a civil libertarian is a conservative whose candidate is being investigated, while a law-and-order type is a liberal who wants to see Trump charged or impeached.

I am a liberal who voted against Trump but who insists that his civil liberties must be respected for all of our sake.

end

Seems are supposed pick to dead the Dept of Veteran Affairs is known as “candy man” for handing out drugs like it was candy.

(courtesy zerohedge)

Democratic Senator Alleges Trump’s VA Pick Was Known As “Candy Man” For Handing Out Drugs

Less than 24 hours after President Trump appeared to stand by his nominee for VA Chief, following reports of previous “unprofessional” behavior by Dr. Ronny Jackson, while hitting out at the reports questioning his previous conduct:

“He is a high-quality person. It’s totally his decision,” Trump said during a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

“So he’ll be making a decision. I don’t want to put a man through a process like this. It’s too ugly and too disgusting. So, we’ll see what happens. He’ll make a decision.”

NewsWeek reports that Democrat Senator John Tester (the ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee) told CNN, relaying allegations he had received from concerned individuals, that Rear Admiral Ronny Jackson, who has been the White House physician since 2006, was known as the “candy man” for his readiness to distribute prescription drugs.

“On overseas trips, the admiral would go down the aisle way of the airplane and say, ‘All right, who wants to go to sleep?’ And hand out the prescription drugs like they were candy and put them to sleep, and then give them the drugs to wake them back up again,” he said, citing reports from 20 or more people.

Tester added, with dramatic aplomb:

”These are called controlled substances for a reason.”

So to be clear – Jackson was not peddling crystal meth on street corners, or feeding the nation’s opiate addiction; he was prescribing ambien and provigil.

Of course, what this sounds like is pretty standard operating procedure for long-haul flights in the military, and besides, this is more a question for a medical board and not relevant as to whether Jackson can run one of the largest bureaucracies in the nation.

Tester also cited allegations that Jackson was drunk on duty during his time working for the administration of former President Barack Obama.

This is not the first time that Dr. Jackson’s prescriptions on Ambien have been brought up by the left, here’s Sarah Okeson in January after Trump’s health check…

Does Trump have a drug problem?

An overlooked footnote to Trump’s highly publicized health checkup earlier this month was a passing reference at a news conference to his use of the widely abused sleep aid, Ambien.

Dr. Ronny Jackson, the White House doctor, then said Trump takes Ambien when he goes on long flights. The drug, approved by the Food and Drug administration in 1992, was meant for short-term use to treat insomnia.

“The President does take some Ambien on occasion” when he travels overseas, Jackson said. “Only during travel.”

Since sleeping pills come with a range of dangerous side effects that can linger into the following day, experts suggest using them sporadically and only in specific instances to avoid health risks. The drug is known to sometimes turn people into “Ambien zombies” who have fixed meals, had sex or gotten in their cars and driven away with no memory of the activities the next day.

Attorney Susan Chana Lask, who has represented people in lawsuits against the manufacturer of Ambien, said the drug could explain some of Trump’s long history of erratic behavior, tweets and slurred speech.

“Ambien may be the reason he has at times been unable to recall names and events, and had to later correct himself,” Lask said.

*  *  *

So while Trump stood by the doctor yesterday, admittedly with a tilt towards suggesting that he step aside because “he doesn’t need this,” we suspect the doctor may do just that as the opposition PR smear campaign escalates.

I will  see you  THURSDAY night

HARVEY

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One comment

  1. manxeconomics · · Reply→

    Harvey, you are amazing! Thank you very much for your hard work on behalf of the honest part of humanity.

    Regards, Edward

    Liked by 1 person

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