GOLD: $1327.50 DOWN $3.10 (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSING)
Silver: $15.88 DOWN 8 CENTS (COMEX TO COMEX CLOSING)
Closing access prices:
Gold : 1328.30
silver: $15.90
The comex options expired at the comex today, and London/LBMA options will expire on Thursday, the 28th of February..
Expect extreme volatility until first day notice.
For comex gold and silver:
FEBRUARY
NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR FEB CONTRACT: 779 NOTICE(S) FOR 77,900 OZ (2.423 tonnes)
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED SO FAR: 12,075 NOTICES FOR 1,207,500 OZ (37.558 TONNES)
SILVER
FOR FEBRUARY
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
1 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 5,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month: 571 for 2,855,000
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bitcoin: OPENING MORNING TRADE $3796:UP $61
Bitcoin: FINAL EVENING TRADE: $3963 UP 27
end
XXXX
JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs are taking a huge issuance (stopping) of gold at the comex.
today 711/779
EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: FEBRUARY 2019 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,329.200000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 02/22/2019 DELIVERY DATE: 02/26/2019
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
____________________________________________________________________________________________
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 3
661 C JP MORGAN 711
661 H JP MORGAN 6
737 C ADVANTAGE 44 51
800 C MAREX SPEC 11 5
880 H CITIGROUP 717
905 C ADM 7 3
____________________________________________________________________________________________
TOTAL: 779 779
MONTH TO DATE: 12,075
Let us have a look at the data for today
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In silver, the total OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A CONSIDERABLE SIZED 1643 CONTRACTS FROM 221,347 DOWN TO 219,704 DESPITE FRIDAY’S 7 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX. TODAY WE ARRIVED FURTHER FROM AUGUST’S 2018 RECORD SETTING OPEN INTEREST OF 244,196 CONTRACTS.
WE HAVE ALSO WITNESSED A LARGE AMOUNT OF PHYSICAL METAL STAND FOR COMEX DELIVERY AS WELL WE ARE WITNESSING CONSIDERABLE LONGS PACKING THEIR BAGS AND MIGRATING OVER TO LONDON IN GREATER NUMBERS IN THE FORM OF EFP’S. WE WERE NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD A SMALL SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP:
439 EFP’S FOR MARCH, 0 FOR APRIL, 74 FOR MAY, 0 FOR DECEMBER AND ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS AND THEREFORE TOTAL ISSUANCE: OF 513 CONTRACTS. WITH THE TRANSFER OF 513 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 513 EFP CONTRACTS TRANSLATES INTO 2.565 MILLION OZ ACCOMPANYING:
1.THE 7 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICE AT THE COMEX AND
2. THE STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES WHICH STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS:
JUNE/2018. (5.420 MILLION OZ);
FOR JULY: 30.370 MILLION OZ
FOR AUG., 6.065 MILLION OZ
FOR SEPT. 39.505 MILLION OZ S
FOR OCT.2.525 MILLION OZ.
FOR NOV: A HUGE 7.440 MILLION OZ STANDING AND
21.925 MILLION OZ FINALLY STAND FOR DECEMBER.
5.845 MILLION OZ STAND IN JANUARY.
AND NOW 2.860 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR FEBRUARY.
ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S/SILVER/J.P.MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES, / STARTING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE/FOR MONTH OF FEBRUARY: 25,205 CONTRACTS (FOR 16 TRADING DAYS TOTAL 25,205 CONTRACTS) OR 126.025 MILLION OZ: (AVERAGE PER DAY: 1575 CONTRACTS OR 7.876 MILLION OZ/DAY)
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SUPPLY THIS MONTH IN SILVER: SO FAR THIS MONTH OF FEB: 126.025 MILLION PAPER OZ HAVE MORPHED OVER TO LONDON. THIS REPRESENTS AROUND 18.00% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION (EX CHINA EX RUSSIA)* JUNE’S 345.43 MILLION OZ IS THE SECOND HIGHEST RECORDED ISSUANCE OF EFP’S AND IT FOLLOWED THE RECORD SET IN APRIL 2018 OF 385.75 MILLION OZ.
ACCUMULATION IN YEAR 2019 TO DATE SILVER EFP’S: 334.55 MILLION OZ. (CORRECTED)
JANUARY 2019 EFP TOTALS: 217.455. MILLION OZ.
RESULT: WE HAD A CONSIDERABLE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 1643 DESPITE THE 7 CENT GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX //FRIDAY..THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD SMALL SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 513 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) .
TODAY WE LOST A CONSIDERABLE SIZED: 1130 TOTAL OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:
i.e 513 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS HEADED FOR LONDON (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH DECREASE OF 1643 OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS DEMAND HAPPENED WITH A 7 CENT GAIN IN PRICE OF SILVER AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $15.96 WITH RESPECT TO YESTERDAY’S TRADING. YET WE HAD A GIGANTIC AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR DELIVERY
In ounces AT THE COMEX, the OI is still represented by JUST OVER 1 BILLION oz i.e. 1.099 BILLION OZ TO BE EXACT or 157% of annual global silver production (ex Russia & ex China).
FOR THE NEW FRONT FEBRUARY MONTH/ THEY FILED AT THE COMEX: 1 NOTICE(S) FOR 5,000 OZ OF SILVER
IN SILVER,PRIOR TO TODAY, WE SET THE NEW COMEX RECORD OF OPEN INTEREST AT 243,411 CONTRACTS ON APRIL 9.2018. AND AGAIN THIS HAS BEEN SET WITH A LOW PRICE OF $16.51.
AND NOW WE RECORD FOR POSTERITY ANOTHER ALL TIME RECORD OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX OF 244,196 CONTRACTS ON AUGUST 22/2018 AND AGAIN WHEN THIS RECORD WAS SET, THE PRICE OF SILVER WAS $14.78 AND LOWER IN PRICE THAN PREVIOUS RECORDS.
ON THE DEMAND SIDE WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
- HUGE AMOUNTS OF SILVER STANDING FOR DELIVERY (MARCH/2018: 27 MILLION OZ , APRIL/2018 : 2.485 MILLION OZ MAY: 36.285 MILLION OZ ; JUNE/2018 (5.420 MILLION OZ) , JULY 2018 FINAL AMOUNT STANDING: 30.370 MILLION OZ ) FOR AUGUST 6.065 MILLION OZ. , SEPT: A HUGE 39.505 MILLION OZ./ OCTOBER: 2,520,000 oz NOV AT 7.440 MILLION OZ./ DEC. AT 21.925 MILLION OZ JANUARY AT 5.825 MILLION OZ.AND NOW FEB 2019: 2.860 MILLION OZ/
- HUGE RECORD OPEN INTEREST IN SILVER 243,411 CONTRACTS (OR 1.217 BILLION OZ/ SET APRIL 9/2018) AND NOW AUGUST 22/2018: 244,196 CONTRACTS, WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78.
- HUGE ANNUAL EFP’S ISSUANCE EQUAL TO 2.9 BILLION OZ OR 400% OF SILVER ANNUAL PRODUCTION/2017
- RECORD SETTING EFP ISSUANCE FOR ANY MONTH IN SILVER; APRIL/2018/ 385.75 MILLION OZ/ AND THE SECOND HIGHEST RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE JUNE 2018 345.43 MILLION OZ
AND YET, WITH THE EXTREMELY HIGH EFP ISSUANCE, 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).
IN GOLD, THE OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A SMALL SIZED 513 CONTRACTS UP TO 504,920 WITH THE RISE IN THE COMEX GOLD PRICE/(A GAIN IN PRICE OF $5.15//YESTERDAY’S TRADING).
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3059 CONTRACTS:
MARCH HAD AN ISSUANCE OF 0 CONTACTS APRIL 3059 CONTRACTS,JUNE: 0 CONTRACTS DECEMBER: 0 CONTRACTS AND ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO. The NEW COMEX OI for the gold complex rests at 504,920. 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. . 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 AN A CONSIDERABLE SIZED GAIN IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3647 CONTRACTS: 588 OI CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND 3059 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN: 3647 CONTRACTS OR 364,700 OZ = 11.34 TONNES. AND ALL OF THIS DEMAND OCCURRED WITH A GAIN IN THE PRICE OF GOLD/ FRIDAY TO THE TUNE OF $5.15.
FRIDAY, WE HAD 6559 EFP’S ISSUED.
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY : 92,407 CONTRACTS OR 9,240,700 OZ OR 287.42 TONNES (16 TRADING DAYS AND THUS AVERAGING: 5,775 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE STRONG SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 16 TRADING DAYS IN TONNES: 287.42 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2018, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 2555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 287.42/2550 x 100% TONNES = 11.27% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION SO FAR IN DECEMBER ALONE.***
ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2019 TO DATE: 807.54 TONNES
JANUARY 2019 TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE; 531.20 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: A FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN OI AT THE COMEX OF 588 WITH THE GAIN IN PRICING ($5.15) THAT GOLD UNDERTOOK FRIDAY) //.WE ALSO HAD A CONSIDERABLE SIZED NUMBER OF COMEX LONG TRANSFERRING TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 3059 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 3059 EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED, WE HAD A GOOD GAIN OF 3647 CONTRACTS IN TOTAL OPEN INTEREST ON THE TWO EXCHANGES:
3059 CONTRACTS MOVE TO LONDON AND 1618 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX. (IN TONNES, THE GAIN IN TOTAL OI EQUATES TO 11.34 TONNES). ..AND ALL OF THIS DEMAND OCCURRED WITH THE GAIN OF $5.15 IN FRIDAY’S TRADING AT THE COMEX
we had: 779 notice(s) filed upon for 77,900 oz of gold at the comex.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
With respect to our two criminal funds, the GLD and the SLV:
GLD...
WITH GOLD DOWN $3.10 TODAY (AS OF 4 O’CLOCK)
NO CHANGE IN INVENTORY AT THE GLD.
/GLD INVENTORY 789.51 TONNES
Inventory rests tonight: 789.51 tonnes.
TO ALL INVESTORS THINKING OF BUYING GOLD THROUGH THE GLD ROUTE: YOU ARE MAKING A TERRIBLE MISTAKE AS THE CROOKS ARE USING WHATEVER GOLD COMES IN TO ATTACK BY SELLING THAT GOLD. IT SURE SEEMS TO ME THAT THE GOLD OBLIGATIONS AT THE GLD EXCEED THEIR INVENTORY
SLV/
WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS IN PRICE TODAY:
NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV..///
/INVENTORY RESTS AT 309.984 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 FAIR SIZED 1643 CONTRACTS from 221,347 DOWN TO 219,704 AND FURTHER FROM THE NEW COMEX RECORD SET LAST IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER 1 1/3 YEARS AGO. THE PRICE OF SILVER ON THAT DAY: $17.89. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE RECORD HIGH OPEN INTERESTS IN SILVER ACCOMPANIED BY A CONTINUAL LOWER PRICE WHEN THAT RECORD WAS SET…..
.
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
439 CONTRACTS FOR MARCH. 0 CONTRACTS FOR APRIL., 74 FOR DECEMBER AND AND ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 513 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 1674 CONTRACTS TO THE 513 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S, WE OBTAIN A LOSS OF 1130 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS. THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES: 5.65 MILLION OZ!!! AND YET WE ALSO HAVE A STRONG DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL AS WE WITNESSED A FINAL STANDING OF GREATER THAN 30 MILLION OZ FOR JULY, A STRONG 6.065 MILLION OZ FOR AUGUST.. A HUGE 39.505 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR SILVER IN SEPTEMBER… OVER 2 million OZ STANDING FOR THE NON ACTIVE MONTH OF OCTOBER., 7.440 MILLION OZ FINALLY STANDING IN NOVEMBER. 21.925 MILLION OZ STANDING IN DECEMBER , 5.845 MILLION OZ STANDING IN JANUARY..AND NOW 2.860 MILLION OZ STANDING IN FEBRUARY.
RESULT: A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN SILVER OI AT THE COMEX DESPITE THE 7 CENT GAIN IN PRICING THAT SILVER UNDERTOOK IN PRICING// FRIDAY.BUT WE ALSO HAD A VERY STRONG SIZED 513 EFP’S ISSUED TRANSFERRING COMEX LONGS OVER TO LONDON. TOGETHER WITH THE STRONG SIZED AMOUNT OF SILVER OUNCES STANDING FOR SEPTEMBER, DEMAND FOR PHYSICAL SILVER CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY AS WE WITNESS SEVERE BACKWARDATION IN SILVER IN LONDON.
(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
i)MONDAY MORNING/ SUNDAY NIGHT:
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 157.06 POINTS OR 5.60% //Hang Sang CLOSED UP 143.00 POINTS OR 0.50% /The Nikkei closed UP 102.72 POINTS OR 0.48%/ Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP 0.35%
/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP at 6.6885 AS TRUCE DECLARED FOR 3 MONTHS /Oil DOWN to 55.56 dollars per barrel for WTI and 66.00 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED GREEN//.
ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP // LAST AT 6.6885 AGAINST THE DOLLAR. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.6829: / TRADE TALKS NOW ON/MAJOR PROBLEMS AT HUAWEI /CFO ARRESTED : /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR /CHINA RETALIATES WITH TARIFFS/ TRUMP RESPONDS TO NEW TARIFFS AND IT NOW A FULL TRADE WAR COMMENCED
3A/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
i)North Korea//USA
b) REPORT ON JAPAN
3 C/ CHINA
i) CHINA/
SATURDAY
Strange!! China’s No2 Li slams the PBOC for its huge credit injection
( zerohedge)
ii)MONDAY
Chinese stock markets rise on news of a delay in tariffs…the futures have now reached a critical triple top resistance level
( zerohedge)
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
i)EU/GERMANY/
Trump wants to make Germany non competitive by raising the price of gas that enters the country. This is why Trump wants to stop Nordstream II as it supplies the nation with cheap natural gas. Merkel draw the line against Trump despite not paying her share of NATO
( Tom Luongo)
May promises a vote on Plan B on March 12. Let us see if she delays this vote
( zerohedge)
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
6. GLOBAL ISSUES
7. OIL ISSUES
i)This should tell you everything about the oil market: 12 empty supertankers roaming the high seas
( zerohedge)
8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
i)VENEZUELA/
The scene in Venezuela over the weekend
( zerohedge)
ii)Pompeo warns that Maduro’s days are numbered
( zerohedge)
9. PHYSICAL MARKETS
iv)And now it is official:
Barrick makes a hostile bid for Newmont
( zerohedge)
10. USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver)
MARKET TRADING
ii)Market data
This is not good: December wholesale inventories soar considerably despite sales slumping for the 3rd consecutive month.
( zerohedge)
iv)SWAMP STORIES
a)Democrats are now threatening to sue as Trump cuts funding for planned parenthood
( zerohedge)
b)After Attorney General Barr stated that he was only going to give a summary of Mueller’s finding, Schiff wants the full report and he is banging the table that he would go to court to get it
end
Let us head over to the comex:
THE NEXT NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH AFTER FEBRUARY IS THE VERY BIG AND ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MARCH AND HERE THE OI FELL BY 11,613 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 41,470 CONTRACTS. AFTER MARCH, APRIL ADVANCES TO 529 CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 19 CONTRACTS. AFTER APRIL, THE NEXT BIG ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IS MAY AND HERE THE OI ADVANCED BY 9937 CONTRACTS UP TO 134,559 CONTRACTS.
FIRST DAY NOTICE IS THURSDAY FEB 28.2019
comex gold volumes are getting extremely low as players just do not want to play in this casino.
Gold Broker Has Good Sense and Prefers Gold To All That Glitters (The Times)
Good sense broker prefers gold to all that glitters
The CEO of GoldCore puts family before life in the fast lane and tells The Times that he is excited by the outlook for gold, fintech and the blockchain
Stephen Flood, GoldCore CEO, as a 21 year old very quickly quit a job at a New York “pump and dump” broker of the sort shown in the film Boiler Room and learnt what not to do. Photo: The Times (UK)
via The TIMES UK (IRE Edition)
Two days after he started his first job in the Big Apple, Stephen Flood knew he had to quit. As a wide-eyed 21-year-old fresh out of a business course in Dublin, he had thumbed through The New York Times for a way to break into the high-flying world of the US financial services industry.
Armed with an Irish accent that went down a treat with the locals, he had his “pick and choice” and joined a stockbroking company.
“I walked into this huge room, past these glass offices with these enormously wealthy, fat, well-dressed individuals sitting behind these big desks with gold rings and I just thought: ‘Wow, these guys are loaded.’ ”
He was led past the big offices, though, to a bare room where dozens of young men were cold-calling in search of someone with cash to invest.
“You would ask, ‘What sort of money do you have to invest?’ And if they said anything less than $200,000, you just hang up the phone. You get these old people who had their retirement [money], and if they were worth over that amount you would pass them onto the guys at the top of the room.
“They would pretend to be advisers,but they only had one stock that they were selling, one or two. It would have been some garage or something on the side of some motorway down in Florida. They would buy the company, start the IPO process even though it was a piece of shit, and would then pump up the stock price.”
This was Mr Flood’s introduction to “pump and dump” schemes, in which promoters get cheap shares in a potentially worthless company and hype up the stock, luring in unwitting investors before selling out, leaving those who bought in sitting on a loss.
The young Dubliner quit almost immediately, but his brief stint in the broker was an eye-opener. “I was appalled that people could be so callous. Taking people’s money, and these were very vulnerable people. You see that there are people out there who will do whatever it takes, to take whatever they can.”
2019 Gold Summit – Free Registration (including Research Reports) here
Mr Flood, now 46 and the head of Dublin gold brokerage GoldCore, says the experience helped to inform his philosophy for doing business, which he says is “the exact opposite”.
“We turn away business if we don’t think it’s appropriate for someone. We do have people ring up and say ‘I’ve just sold my house, I want to put all my money into gold’. And I have to say ‘No, that’s completely crazy’.”
Mr Flood had taken a job as an equity trader at Goldman Sachs in New York but moved back to Ireland for a better work-life balance.
“My boss lived in an enormous mansion, and he would get up around 5 o’clock every morning, would be in the office for 6.45, and would work all the way through until 10 at night. He would sleep most of Saturday, and on a Sunday would kind of play with his kids half-heartedly because he was so exhausted. I said, ‘That’s not a sustainable life’. I had just got married and we knew we wanted to have kids, so we made the decision to come back to Ireland. I have three beautiful boys and we get to have breakfast in the morning and dinner at night.”
Mr Flood joined GoldCore in 2004,shortly after it was set up by Mark O’Byrne, a former schoolmate. As well as acting as a broker and facilitating people to buy and sell gold, the firm offers a storage service in secure vaults all over the world.
The pair started running the operation from Mr O’Byrne’ apartment in Temple Bar, slowly building up a business “one customer at a time”.
“Mark had been very visionary in seeing that people needed to have gold bullion a hedge against what he saw as a credit and property bubble and the inevitable global financial crisis. Gold was only trading around $350 an ounce at that time, and so for the next six or seven years, the gold price rose in response to that risk in the markets.”
The value of gold shot up in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008. GoldCore has predicted both the crisis and that gold would rise as a safe haven asset. The price of the precious metal topped as much as $1,900 in 2011, with investors piling in to find a safe haven for their cash. This created a spike in demand for GoldCore’s services. The company expanded to about 17 staff and set up a wealth management business for wealthier clients.
Mr Flood says that at its peak in 2009, the company turned over $180 million in a year. However, Mr Flood’s relatively mellow business philosophy was to be tested after the highs of 2011 turned out to be a peak for gold.
“In 2011 to 2012, that [turnover] would have fallen to around $35 million, so it was like an 80 per cent drop in turnover in 18 months. From 2012 we’ve grown from about $35 million to about $60 million last year. We’ve done that on the back of our storage business.
“We’re doing as many transactions now as we did then due to our technology.” The price of the precious metal has recovered to about $1,300 an ounce, and the Dubliner says he hopes that the business will double its headcount over the next 12 to 18 months. Despite the relatively low price of gold over the past few years, the GoldCore chief executive cannot resist singing the praises of the precious metal.
“You could fit all the gold in the world onto the centre court in Wimbledon, that’s it, there’s no more. And the population of the world is seven billion. By the time my son, who is 15, is my age, there will be 40 per cent more people in the world. And there’s not going to be any more gold, so where will the price go?”
Mr Flood and GoldCore would be interested in one day moving into blockchain, the technology that underpins digital currencies. Proponents say that it could cut out the need for middlemen, ie, the banks.
“I think that GoldCore will be the beneficiary of another cycle in the gold market demand. I think the next two to three years will be very busy for GoldCore, and I want to be there for that. I’ve always had a great interest in financial technology and we look at blockchain as being an enormous change event for the world,” Mr Flood says.
Perhaps somewhat ironically for a man whose business involves storing precious metals in high-end secured vaults, the Dubliner says the lack of trust people have in each other is lamentable. And he says that blockchain could help fix that.
“We spend so much of our time securing what we have, and to protect what we own . . . The amount of money we spend, basically not trusting each other. But if we had an algorithm that showed either you own it or you don’t, you don’t need a lawyer, or an auditor, or a corporate finance specialist, or any of these people to find out if you’re telling the truth. They all go away. Suddenly you have almost friction less transactions, which is just incredible. It’s a whole new world and it will be great for the gold industry, and everything else.”
Gold gains as dollar sags against yuan on China tariffs delay (CNBC.com)
With Fed Eyeing Inflation Overshoot, JPMorgan Likes Gold, TIPS (Bloomberg.com)
Venezuela’s Guaido says ‘all options open’ after Maduro blocks aid (Reuters.com)
Dow logs longest weekly win streak since 1995 on optimism over trade talks (MarketWatch.com)
Gold ends higher as dollar stumbles, metal registers second straight weekly gain (MarketWatch.com)
Global sovereign debt to peak at $50,000,000,000,000 this year (RT.com)
China Deleveraging Is Dead as $34 Trillion Debt Habit Roars Back (Bloomberg.com)
China’s Premier Slams Central Bank For Gargantuan Credit Injection (ZeroHedge.com)
These Are the World’s Healthiest Nations (Bloomberg.com)
Listen on iTunes, Blubrry & SoundCloud & watch on YouTube above
Gold Prices (LBMA PM)
22 Feb: USD 1,322.25, GBP 1016.15 & EUR 1,166.49 per ounce
21 Feb: USD 1,335.05, GBP 1021.85 & EUR 1,177.78 per ounce
20 Feb: USD 1,345.75, GBP 1032.86 & EUR 1,186.82 per ounce
19 Feb: USD 1,329.55, GBP 1028.81 & EUR 1,175.72 per ounce
18 Feb: USD 1,323.95, GBP 1025.13 & EUR 1,169.58 per ounce
15 Feb: USD 1,319.00, GBP 1027.64 & EUR 1,168.17 per ounce
Silver Prices (LBMA)
22 Feb: USD 15.87, GBP 12.20 & EUR 14.00 per ounce
21 Feb: USD 15.91, GBP 12.19 & EUR 14.02 per ounce
20 Feb: USD 16.03, GBP 12.31 & EUR 14.15 per ounce
19 Feb: USD 15.78, GBP 12.22 & EUR 13.99 per ounce
18 Feb: USD 15.76, GBP 12.19 & EUR 13.91 per ounce
15 Feb: USD 15.67, GBP 12.23 & EUR 13.90 per ounce
Recent Market Updates
– The Utterly Unbelievable Scale of U.S. Debt Right Now
– The Best Time In History To Buy GOLD
– Jim Willie Interviews Mark O’Byrne – Prepare Now For Global Financial Crisis II
– 7 Major Flaws Of The Global Financial System – Excellent Infographic
– The Case for Gold In 2019 – The Economist
– Invest In Gold As a Hedge In Cashless Society – Ex IMF Rogoff
– Valentine’s Day Record Spending Due to Gold Love Trade?
– Gold Prices In Pounds and Euros Gain More as Economic Growth Falters in the UK and EU
– Irish Investors Storing Their Gold Bullion In Ireland
– Large Gold Bullion Shipment Moves From London to Dublin Gold Vaults As Brexit Concerns Deepen
5.RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
SYRIA/ISRAEL/RUSSIA
6. GLOBAL ISSUES
7 OIL ISSUES
This should tell you everything about the oil market: 12 empty supertankers roaming the high seas
(courtesy zerohedge_
8. EMERGING MARKETS
Venezuela
The scene in Venezuela over the weekend
(courtesy zerohedge)
end
Pompeo warns that Maduro’s days are numbered
(courtesy zerohedge)
Maduro’s Days “Numbered” Pompeo Warns; Guaido To “Formally” Request US “Liberation”
It appears this weekend’s provocations and border showdown over US aid entering Venezuela were just the beginning. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo discussed the prospect of military action against Caracas on Fox News Sunday, saying the Maduro regime’s days are “numbered” and that “every option” is on the table toward making that happen.
Pompeo said the US is “going to do the things that need to be done” and this will not stop until “makes sure” that “there is a brighter future for the people of Venezuela,” which includes continued support for self-proclaimed interim president, Juan Guaido. Denouncing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a “sick tyrant,” Pompeo said in his Sunday morning remarks:
We’re very hopeful in the days and weeks and months ahead the Maduro regime will understand that the Venezuelan people have made its days numbered.
![](https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/Guaido%20aid%20truck.jpg)
The threat comes just Guaido announced he would attend a summit of the Lima Group – a meeting of 12 American states which have recognized him as “legitimate” leader of Venezuela.
Crucially, Guaido is to meet with US Vice President Mike Pence at the summit where he will “propose formally to the international community that we should keep open all options for the liberation of our homeland, which is fighting and will continue to fight,” according to a tweeted statement Saturday evening.
Guaido has since Friday evening been addressing the opposition from neighboring Colombia, where he personally attempted to lead failed attempt at seeing an aid caravan across the border into Venezuela.
![](https://zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com/s3fs-public/inline-images/venezuela%20Guaido.jpg)
He’s repeated calls for Venezuela’s military members to defect, offering a general “amnesty” especially for any high ranking officers facing allegations of corruption. So far this has met with little success despite his pleas for there being not other choice but for the armed forces to “embrace democracy”.
Over the weekend a mere handful of border guards defected to Colombia and pledged support to Guido. This after clashes at multiple border crossings and bridges left at least four people dead and scores wounded, according to The Washington Post.
Violent clashes at the Simón Bolívar International Bridge on Saturday.
Washington condemned the violence that erupted amidst opposition-led efforts to bring in aid trucks from Brazil and Colombia, which US leaders blamed on “Maduro’s thugs” who are led by the “sick tyrant” Maduro for refusing to allow much-needed food and medicine to reach his own people; however, Caracas has reportedly allowed in hundreds of tons of Russian and other international aid of late.
The Maduro government sees American “humanitarian aid” missions, which increasingly involve military transport planes landing in US ally Colombia airstrips, as part of broader efforts to foment coup. Indeed Pompeo’s words on Sunday declaring that Maduro’s “days are numbered” is an affirmation that Maduro’s fears are not unfounded
end
Your early morning currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings MONDAY morning 7:00 AM….
Euro/USA 1.1357 UP .0026 REACTING TO MERKEL’S FAILED COALITION/ REACTING TO +GERMAN ELECTION WHERE ALT RIGHT PARTY ENTERS THE BUNDESTAG/ huge Deutsche bank problems + USA election:///ITALIAN CHAOS /AND NOW ECB TAPERING BOND PURCHASES/JAPAN TAPERING BOND PURCHASES /USA RISING INTEREST RATES /FLOODING/EUROPE BOURSES GREEN EXCEPT LONDON /
USA/JAPAN YEN 110.73 UP .096 (Abe’s new negative interest rate (NIRP), a total DISASTER/NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .11% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…
GBP/USA 1.3077 UP 0.0035 (Brexit March 29/ 2017/ARTICLE 50 SIGNED/BREXIT FEES WILL BE CAPPED
USA/CAN 1.3131 DOWN .0002 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 MONDAY morning in Europe, the Euro ROSE by 26 basis points, trading now ABOVE the important 1.08 level RISING to 1.1357/ Last night Shanghai composite closed UP 157.06 POINTS OR 5.60%/
//Hang Sang CLOSED UP 102.72 POINTS OR 0.48%
/AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP .35%/EUROPEAN BOURSES GREEN EXCEPT LONDON
The NIKKEI: this MONDAY morning CLOSED UP 102.72 POINTS OR 0.48%
Trading from Europe and Asia
1/EUROPE OPENED GREEN EXCEPT LONDON
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang Sang CLOSED UP 143.00 POINTS OR 0.50%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 157.06 POINTS OR 5.60%
Australia BOURSE CLOSED UP .35%
Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 102.72 POINTS OR 0.48%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 1329.55
silver:$15.93
Early MONDAY morning USA 10 year bond yield: 2.67% !!! UP 2 IN POINTS from FRIDAY’S night in basis points and it is trading WELL ABOVE resistance at 2.27-2.32%. (POLICY FED ERROR)/
The 30 yr bond yield 3.03 UP 1 IN BASIS POINTS from FRIDAY night. (POLICY FED ERROR)/
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 96.36 DOWN 15 CENT(S) from FRIDAY’s close.
This ends early morning numbers MONDAY MORNING
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And now your closing MONDAY NUMBERS \12: 00 PM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 1.47% DOWN 2 in basis point(s) yield from FRIDAY/
JAPANESE BOND YIELD: -.04% DOWN 0 BASIS POINTS from FRIDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.18% DOWN 0 IN basis point yield from FRIDAY
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.77 DOWN 8 POINTS in basis point yield from FRIDAY/
the Italian 10 yr bond yield is trading 159 points HIGHER than Spain.
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: RISES TO +.11% IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY//
THE IMPORTANT SPREAD BETWEEN ITALIAN 10 YR BOND AND GERMAN 10 YEAR BOND IS 2.68% AND NOW ABOVE THE THE 3.00% LEVEL WHICH WILL IMPLODE THE ENTIRE ITALIAN BANKING SYSTEM. AT 4% SPREAD THERE WILL BE A MASSIVE BANK RUN…
END
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR MONDAY
Closing currency crosses for MONDAY night/USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.1348 UP .0017 or 17 basis points
USA/Japan: 111.04 UP .404 OR YEN DOWN 41 basis points/
Great Britain/USA 1.33060 UP.0018( POUND UP 18 BASIS POINTS)
Canadian dollar UP 40 basis points to 1.3174
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The USA/Yuan,CNY closed AT 6.6891 0N SHORE (UP)
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: 6.6831( YUAN UP)
TURKISH LIRA: 5.2976
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield closed at -.04%
Your closing 10 yr USA bond yield UP 3 IN basis points from FRIDAY at 2.68 % //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic USA 30 yr bond yield: 3.04 UP 3 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, 96.46 DOWN 4 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 MONDAY: 12:00 PM
London: CLOSED UP 5.14 OR 0.07%
German Dax : UP 47.69 POINTS OR .42%
Paris Cac CLOSED UP 16.00 POINTS OR 0.31%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 5.90 POINTS OR 0.06%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 174,45 POINTS OR 0.86%
WTI Oil price; 55.29 1:00 pm;
Brent Oil: 64.97 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN / ROUBLE CROSS: 65.49 THE CROSS LOWER BY 0.20 ROUBLES/DOLLAR (ROUBLE HIGHER BY 20 BASIS PTS)
TODAY THE GERMAN YIELD RISES TO +.11 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, 4:00 pm/and 10 year USA interest rate:
WTI CRUDE OIL PRICE 4:30 PM : 57.19
BRENT : 66.99
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: … 2.65.. bond market did not buy the DOW/NASDAQ GAINS
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.02..AGAIN BOND MARKET DID NOT BUY THE EQUITY GAINS TODAY.
EURO/USA DOLLAR CROSS: 1.1332 ( DOWN 8 BASIS POINTS)
USA/JAPANESE YEN:110.64 DOWN .062 (YEN UP 6 BASIS POINTS/..
.
USA DOLLAR INDEX: 96.55 DOWN 5 cent(s)/
The British pound at 4 pm: Great Britain Pound/USA:1.3055 UP 14 POINTS FROM YESTERDAY
the Turkish lira close: 5.2976
the Russian rouble 65.37 UP .25 Roubles against the uSA dollar.( UP 25 BASIS POINTS)
Canadian dollar: 1.3146 UP 80 BASIS pts
USA/CHINESE YUAN (CNY) : 6.7137 (ONSHORE)/CLOSED FOR THE WEEK
USA/CHINESE YUAN(CNH): 6.7041 (OFFSHORE)
German 10 yr bond yield at 5 pm: ,0.10%
The Dow closed UP 181.18 POINTS OR 0.70%
NASDAQ closed UP 67.84 POINTS OR 0.91%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 13.51 CLOSED DOWN .95
LIBOR 3 MONTH DURATION: 2.646% BIG JUMP TODAY.
FROM 2.651
And now your more important USA stories which will influence the price of gold/silver
TRADING IN GRAPH FORM FOR THE DAY/WEEKLY SUMMARY/FOLLOWED BY TODAY
Dow Rallies To Bes
MARKET TRADING
ii)Market data/
This is not good: December wholesale inventories soar considerably despite sales slumping for the 3rd consecutive month.
(courtesy zerohedge)
in order to crash the system…and allow banks to buy assets at pennies on the dollar
(a must read//courtesy Brandon Smith)
SWAMP STORIES
Democrats are now threatening to sue as Trump cuts funding for planned parenthood
(courtesy zerohedge_
Fed’s Clarida says central bank may adopt ‘makeup’ strategy after inflation undershoots
The central bank will allow inflation to run above target if prices have grown too slowly… [Idiotic!]
Clarida also said the Fed might consider new easing tools, if needed. These tools include some acts that the Fed previously rejected, like capping Treasury yields. [Like directly buying ESHs, stocks and ETFs?]
Fed’s Quarles: We’d ‘quickly reassess’ balance sheet plan if problems came up
Fed’s Quarles: Might be best if balance sheet matches maturities of outstanding Treasurys
Many Wall Street economists had assumed the Fed might try to shorten the duration of its asset holdings so the central bank had room to lower long-term interest rates through purchases if the economy fell into recession… https://www.marketwatch.com/story/feds-quarles-might-be-best-if-balance-sheet-matches-maturities-of-outstanding-treasurys-2019-02-22
Philly Fed Prez Harker said the Fed should end its balance sheet reduction this year.
Quarles said he probably underestimated the degree of difficulty in communicating about the Fed’s balance sheet reduction plan.
St. Louis Fed President Bullard argues that the case for relatively small macroeconomic effects of balance sheet reduction is more accurate http://ow.ly/szex50lY7Ww
The above story evinces why the Fed is held in such low regard. Numerous Fed officials over the past few months, in order to boost stocks, have stridently announced that the Fed balance sheet runoff should end. If the Fed’s balance sheet has a relatively small macroeconomic effect, then Fed officials are primarily concerned about the Fed balance sheet’s effect on the stock market.
US stocks and ESHs traded sideways with a modest downward bias from the midday start off the NY Fed soiree (while Fed officials pontificated) until 14:30ET. Then, stocks declined on this headline: Trump says he and Xi will perhaps work out the final point and perhaps not.
The decline ended when several positive trade talk stories appeared.
Trump says it is More Likely Than Not That a Trade Deal Will Happen
CNBC: Mnuchin says U.S. and China have reached deal on currency issues, Chinese negotiators to extend D.C. trip by 2 days
OAN’s @GretaLWall: Trade Rep Lighthizer says they have made a lot of progress on the issue of technology transfers.
The positive trade news did not generate a rally. ESHs rallied modestly during the last hour of trading on the usual manipulation.
@StockCats: Looks like the trade war with the EU is heating up, imagine the rallies we’ll see on positive headlines from that one
Why We Can Forget About a Rate Cut in China – Borrowing costs are already below neutral and lowering them won’t help funnel credit to private businesses, researchers argue.
The neutral rate for emerging markets is 4 percentage points below a country’s GDP growth rate. Since China is growing at a real rate of roughly 6.9 percent, that translates to 2.9 percent, plus 2 percent for inflation, for a neutral rate of 4.9 percent. The central bank’s current benchmark one-year lending rate 4.3 percent… Adding on currency hedging and transaction costs brings the total cost of offshore borrowing to at least 4.35 percent…
An interest-rate cut won’t help unblock the credit pipeline for private businesses, and that’s the thornier challenge for China’s policy makers. Capitalism loves the rich and shuns the poor, and that’s a natural phenomenon, as the central bank researchers ruefully noted.
@dlacalle_IA: The problem of the EU is not monetary policy, it is that central banks cannot disguise demographics, high government spending and weak productivity growth under a liquidity mattress.
A Surprise China Debt Default Upends Assumptions on Official Aid
A Chinese state-backed borrower’s failure to make good on a payment on a dollar bond on Friday threatens to overturn assumptions that officials would step in to avert defaults by companies closely linked to local authorities. Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co., an aluminum producer that was seen by some analysts as a bellwether for assessing government support due to its struggles to make payments on offshore debtlast year, had failed to wire funds for a coupon payment due Feb. 22 as of late afternoon China time… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-23/a-surprise-china-debt-default-upends-assumptions-on-official-aid
China Deleveraging Is Dead as $34 Trillion Debt Habit Roars Back
From bank loans to trust-product issuance to margin-trading accounts at stock brokerages, leverage in China is rising nearly everywhere you look… analysts say the trend has staying power as authorities shift their focus from containing the nation’s $34 trillion debt pile to shoring up the weakest economic expansion since 2009… [This and Powell’s U-turn created the stock market surge.]
Russia to set up Caribbean base and meet Israeli brass to discuss Iran
Russian authorities have made a decision (and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro did not object) to deploy strategic aircraft to one of Venezuela’s islands in the Caribbean Sea, which has a naval base and a military airfield… http://tass.com/pressreview/1035596
While NeverTrumpers of both parties fiddle, is Trump dealing with a new Caribbean nuclear crisis?
Robert Mueller won’t submit report to attorney general next week, DOJ official tells NBC News
Law Prof Jonathan Turley: Is Mueller Uncovering Ukrainian Rather The Russian Collusion?
On Friday, Mueller filed what could be his last major filing before the submission of his report to Attorney General Bill Barr. It was the Manafort sentencing report and, once again, it was long on Ukrainian and short on Russian collusion…the filing shows Manafort was working for Ukrainian not Russian interests in these criminal enterprises…
Manafort worked primarily for the interests of notorious former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was responsible for corruption, alleged murders of protesters, and arrests of opponents. Before Yanukovych fled to Russia, he accumulated a reported estimated net worth of $12 billion. His flight was why Manafort became desperate for money and reached out to Trump for the campaign job. Manafort associate Rick Gates, now a cooperating federal witness, told friends that in every Ukrainian ministry, Manafort “has a guy” and referred to his work as a “shadow government.”…
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen… was introduced to Trump by his father in law, Fima Shusterman, a naturalized American citizen from Ukraine. Cohen also ran a taxi medallion business with his business partner, the “taxi king” Simon Garber, who was born in Ukraine.
Trump and his counsel, Rudy Giuliani, have now suggested that Cohen is protecting his father in law. Giuliani alleged that Shusterman may have ties to “something called organized crime: in the Ukraine.
… Bryan Cohen, brother of Michael Cohen, also has Ukrainian connections…
https://jonathanturley.org/2019/02/24/is-mueller-uncovering-ukrainian-rather-the-russian-collusion/
@JonathanTurley: Are New York Democrats handing Paul Manafort a case for pardon?
The public discussion of finding state charges against Manafort as insurance against a pardon by President Trump is becoming increasingly troubling and untoward. State prosecutors have campaigned for office on the promise to find ways to guarantee incarceration for one person. To do so, they are willing to remove constitutional protections for all New Yorkers…
Manafort is one of the most corrupt figures in Washington, and he richly deserves a long prison sentence. Yet, there is something too tailored, too personal about the efforts by prosecutors to guarantee that he spends much of the rest of his life behind bars…
OAN’s @RyanGirdusky: Trump had a solid 2 weeks where he realized he had to fulfill campaign promises. Then his staff convinced him not to worry about it- Jared and Nielsen working on more mass immigrationwhile Bolton and Pompeo push for more stupid wars.
At the end of the day it all comes down to Trump. He made bad hiring decisions on a bunch of staff members and decided to govern like Jeb!
DNC Rule Change May block Bernie Sanders from Running as Democrat in 2020
“… To run for President as a Democrat you need to be a Democrat.” [Bernie is an independent]
https://www.newsweek.com/bernie-sanders-democratic-party-2020-election-new-rule-967928
With women in combat roles, a federal court rules the male-only draft unconstitutional
Why libertarians are wrong – They don’t appreciate that the political crisis could come sooner than the economic one [The magnitude of the current US political crisis is greatly underappreciated.]
Libertarians take for granted the conditions of the 20th century and don’t imagine anything could ever really change…A country’s way of life can survive its government’s bankruptcy or an upheaval in the private economy; it can’t survive the global transformation that’s coming if we do nothing.
https://spectator.us/libertarians-wrong/
Dilbert creator @ScottAdamsSays: We have entered an era in which the news business creates huge problems for the country and then reports that it was someone else’s fault.