GOLD:$1829.15 DOWN $10.45 The quote is London spot price
Silver:$23.93 DOWN 5 CENTS London spot price ( cash market)
ACCESS MARKET
i)Gold : $1827.00 LONDON SPOT 4:30 pm
ii)SILVER: $23.87//LONDON SPOT 4:30 pm
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EXECUTIVE ORDER 13848
 Satire from The Borowitz Report
Trump Orders Space Force to Discover Other Planets with CourtsWith his legal options on this planet dwindling, Trump is placing all of his hopes on identifying another planet that might have intergalactic jurisdiction over Earth. By Andy Borowitz
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2 ) 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 21.93 POINTS OR .66% //Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 116.35 POINTS OR .44% /The Nikkei closed UP 79.22 POINTS OR 0.30%//Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP 0.20%
/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP AT 6.5428 /Oil UP TO 47.09 dollars per barrel for WTI and 50.46 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.5428. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.5268 TRADE TALKS STALL//YUAN LEVELS //TRUMP INITIATES A NEW 25% TARIFFS FRIDAY/MAY 10/MAJOR PROBLEMS AT HUAWEI /CFO ARRESTED//CORONAVIRUS/PANDEMIC/TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID 19 : /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR /TRADE DEAL NOW DEAD..TRUMP RAISED RATES TO 25%
COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
We hadxxx kilobar transactions
ADJUSTMENTS:xx //
The front month of DEC registered a total of 6324 contracts for a loss of 1380. We had 1373 notices filed upon yesterday so we LOST A TINY 7 contacts or 700 additional oz will NOT stand in this very active delivery month of December as we witness a lack of queue jumping by our bankers searching for gold metal to put out fires. Our longs remain steadfast in refusing to morph into the paper EFP scheme in London. The lack of queue jumping means gold is scarce over on this side of the pond.
January lost 27 contracts to stand at 2039 contracts. FEBRUARY gained a STRONG 3509 contracts UP TO 401,687.
THE BIG STORY AGAIN TODAY IS THE HIGH INITIAL OI STANDING FOR DECEMBER (93.1913 tonnes). LONGS STANDING FOR GOLD REFUSE TO TRAVEL TO LONDON
We had 69 notice(s) filed today for 6900 oz OR 0.2146 TONNES.
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the DEC /2020. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (23,708) x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of (DEC 6334 CONTRACTS ) minus the number of notices served upon today (69 x 100 oz per contract) equals 2,996,300 OZ OR 93.1975 TONNES) the number of ounces standing in this active month of DEC
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DEC/2020 contract month:
No of notices filed so far (23,708, x 100 oz +6334 OI) for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (69) x 100 oz which equals 2,996,300 oz standing OR 93.1975 TONNES in this active delivery month of December. This is a HUGE amount for gold standing for DEC delivery month (generally the strongest delivery month of the year). THE COMEX IS UNDER A HUGE FRONTAL ATTACK FROM EUROPEAN BANKS SEEKING PHYSICAL METAL! JUDGING FROM THE INITIAL NOTICES FILED VS THE NUMBER OF NOTICES STANDING, IT WILL BE EXTREMELY DIFFICULT FOR OUR BANKERS TO FIND THE NECESSARY GOLD TO SATISFY OUR EUROPEANS.
NEW PLEDGED GOLD: BRINKS
455,219.430, oz NOW PLEDGED SEPT 15.2020/HSBC
60,784.803 PLEDGED APRIL 3/2020: SCOTIA:
deleted Int. Delaware pledge July 7 (600 tonnes)
292,197.145 oz JPM 8.70 TONNES
819,082.972 oz pledged June 12/2020 Brinks/
88,796.123 oz Pledged August 21/regular account 1.588 tonnes JPMORGAN
178,807.987 oz Pledged Nov 27.2021 MANFRA
total pledged gold: 1,894,888.460. oz 58.93 tonnes
total registered, pledged and eligible (customer) gold 37,562,919.025 oz 1,168.36 tonnes (INCLUDES 4 GC GOLD)
total 4 GC gold: 126.34 tonnes
total gold net of 4 GC: 1042.02 tonnes
end
I have compiled data with respect to registered (or dealer) gold taken on first day notice for each of the past 24 months
The data begins on first day notice for the May month taken on the last day of July 2018. and it continues to present day.
I then took, how many deliveries were recorded by the CME for each and every month. I also included for reference the price of gold on first day notice.
The first graph is a logarithmic graph and the second graph, linear.
You can see the huge explosion of registered gold at the comex along with deliveries.
THE GOLD COMEX SEEMS TO BE UNDER SEVERE ASSAULT FOR PHYSICAL
And now for the wild silver comex results
And now for the wild silver comex results
INITIAL STANDINGS
DEC. SILVER COMEX CONTRACT MONTH//INITIAL STANDING
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory |
xxx oz
cannot access
|
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory |
xxx oz
cannot access
|
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory |
cannot access oz
|
| No of oz served today (contracts) |
62
CONTRACT(S)
(310,000 OZ)
|
| No of oz to be served (notices) |
964 contracts
4,820,000 oz)
|
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 8234 contracts
41,170,000 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 |
The ‘Hannibal Trap’ Will Crush Global Wealth
Authored by Egon von Greyerz via GoldSwitzerland.com,
Is the global investment world about to be caught in the Hannibal trap?
Hannibal was considered as one of the greatest military tacticians and generals in history. He was a master of strategy and regularly led his enemies into excruciating defeats.
The trap that investors are now being led into has many similarities with Hannibal’s strategy in his victory over the Romans at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC.
Hannibal was a general and statesman from Carthage (now Tunisia) who successfully fought against the Romans in the Second Punic War.
THE BATTLE AT LAKE TRASIMENE
In 218 BC Hannibal took his troops, with cavalry and elephants, over the Alps and into Italy. Hannibal enticed the Roman Consul Flaminius, and his troops, in 217 BC to follow him to Lake Trasimene in Umbria. The Romans followed Hannibal’s troops into a narrow valley on the northern shores of the lake. When the Roman troops were inside the valley, they were trapped. They had the Carthaginians ahead of them, the lake on their right and hills on their left.
What the Romans didn’t know was that Hannibal had hidden his light cavalry and part of his army up in the hills. So once the Romans were locked into the valley, they were attacked from both ends with nowhere to escape.
Over 15,000 Romans were killed and 10,000 captured in a catastrophic defeat.
So what has Hannibal got to do with the present world? Well, it is pretty obvious. It is all about being led into a fatal trap without even being aware.
COVID ATTACKED AN ALREADY WEAKENED WORLD
As we are approaching the end of an economic era in the world, anything that can go wrong will. The Coronavirus certainly fits that picture, since it could not have hit the world at a worse moment. Whether Covid-19 was accidentally or deliberately created by humans or just a product of nature, we will never learn.
What we do know is that Covid was like putting a match to a timebomb. The timebomb being a global financial system which is about to explode.
Major businesses in retail, leisure, travel, airlines are closing by the day and most won’t open again. Globally, 100´s of thousand of small businesses have closed with devastating effects for their owners.
The coming depression will affect all levels of society.
BILLIONAIRES WEALTH UP 70% IN THREE YEARS
At the top of the global wealth pyramid, we have the biggest wealth trap in history. These are the 2,200 billionaires in the world. In the last three years their fortunes have swelled by a staggering 70% or $4.2 trillion. Their total wealth is now $10.2t.
These billionaires are likely to lose at least 90% of their wealth, in real terms, in the next 5-10 years. But not a single one of them expects this to happen or prepares for it.
As regards the number of millionaires in the world, the estimates vary between 13 and 46 million. Escalating house prices have clearly created a lot of extra millionaires.
GLOBAL DEBT FUELS GLOBAL WEALTH
Total global financial wealth is up almost 3x since 1990 from $80 trillion to $225t.
But this massive wealth accumulation is resting on a very weak foundation of debt.
It was only possible to treble wealth by, at the same time, more than trebling global debt from $80t in 1990 to $277t today.
BIGGEST WEALTH TRAP IN HISTORY
So there we have it. The world hasn’t created any net wealth. Instead wealth has just been inflated artificially by credit creation and money printing of the same magnitude.
I do realise that total global debt and global personal wealth is not quite like for like. Still it gives a very good indication how this additional wealth is created since 1990.
Yes, it was created by just simply printing money to the extent of $200 trillion in the last 20 years!
This is clearly the biggest wealth trap in history. Hannibal couldn’t have done it better.
Billionaires, millionaires and ordinary investors have all been sucked into a honeypot believing that they have real wealth based on sound foundations.
What they don’t realise is that they will in the next few years be ambushed by what to them is an invisible enemy.
This will initially involve total debasement of the currency, whether it is dollars, euros, pounds or yen. No they can’t all go down together against each other.
But they will all go down in real terms. Real terms means measured in the only money which has survived in history – GOLD.
The route there will not be straight forward. As currencies collapse, we will most likely first see hyperinflation. That could temporarily boost asset prices in nominal terms but certainly not in real terms.
There will also be an implosion of both the debt bubble and the asset bubbles in stocks, bonds and property.
ROBBER BARRONS
Robber Barrons were feudal lords in medieval Europe who robbed travellers and merchant ships.
The term Robber Barons was used from the 1860s for some of the entrepreneurs at the time. They used unscrupulous methods to acquire wealth, thus the term. Most of them started new industries that became dominant in their field.
They included Rockefeller (oil), Vanderbilt (railroads), Carnegie (steel), Ford (cars), Morgan (banking), and Astor (real estate).
Major fortunes were created by these Entrepreneurs and Rockefeller is still considered the wealthiest man in the world ever, adjusted for inflation. Interestingly, the sectors these millionaires were in are all major industries today except for railways.
The modern “Robber Barons” – Bezos, Gates, Musk, Zuckerberg and Buffet are in diversified areas like online retail, technology, car manufacturing and investments/finance.
FANTASY VALUATIONS
The big difference between the Robber Barrons in the late 19th century and today is how their wealth is measured.
150 years ago valuations were conservative and price earnings ratios for public companies were normally below 10!
Quick jump to today. Amazon has a p/e over 90, Microsoft & Facebook “only” in the 30s, and Tesla has a staggering p/e of 1,100!
So on a historical basis, all of the biggest companies in the world today are grossly overvalued at p/e’s of 32 to 1,100 !!
This is what happens when governments and central banks primary economic strategy consists of creating money out of thin air and then these funds are used to support the stock market.
A major part of the $150 trillion debt created since the Great Financial Crisis started in 2006 has stayed with the banks and not gone to consumers or industry.
Conveniently the money has reached investors and been invested in asset markets as I showed in the Debt/Asset table earlier in the this article.
STOCKS ARE DRIVEN BY LIQUIDITY – NOT VALUE INVESTING
Thus it is debt based liquidity which is primarily driving up asset markets. This is creating fantasy p/e’s and valuations which has very little to do with the growth of industry and finance 150 years ago.
So back to Hannibal although he has been dead for 2200 years.
We have major and potentially terminal problems in the financial system since September 2019. And we have a virus which has led to major parts of the world economy collapsing due to governments handling of this virus, But in spite of these massive problems, stock markets around the world are booming.
HANNIBAL TRAP
We have probably not seen the end of the stock market explosion as I explained in a recent article on the coming LIFTOFF & COLLAPSE. But at some point in the next few weeks or months, the market will burst.
Before this burst every investor, big or small, who has any spare liquidity must be sucked into the market just before the top.
This is the Hannibal trap. Everybody must be hauled into the stocks at the top of the market.
And then BANG! Just like Hannibal totally took the Romans by surprise, so will a violent stock market crash.
But this time it won’t be like in March 2020 with a quick recovery. Yes, of course most investors will buy the dips. That will only increase the pain. Because the coming collapse will be the start of a secular bear market that could last 10 years or more.
And just like Hannibal slaughtered the Romans, the coming bear market will slaughter investors.
Investors could easily see all the bubble assets, stocks bonds and property decline by more than 90% in real terms. Again, real terms mean constant and stable purchasing power.
THE DOW WILL LOSE 97% IN REAL TERMS – GOLD
The Dow/Gold ratio is today 15. In 1980 it was 1 to 1. The ratio topped in 1999 and the long term trend is now down as the chart below shows.
The target for the ratio is 0.5 to 1. This means that the Dow will lose 97% against Gold in coming years.
Few people believe this magnitude of decline is possible.
But remember the Dow in itself went down 90% from 1929 to 1932 and that it took 25 years before it recovered.
This time the situation is drastically worse both from a debt point of view and overvaluation of stocks. So 95%+ is not unrealistic.
HISTORY PROVES THAT ONLY GOLD PRESERVES WEALTH IN REAL TERMS
Only gold fulfils the role of always holding its value in real terms. Again history proves it.
One ounce of gold bought a good costume for a man in Hannibal’s days, 2200 years ago, just as it does today.
Since investors have been saved by central banks for decades, they expect the same today. This is why they will stay invested and also buy every dip until they run out of money.
Sadly very few investors will get out before the bottom.
BIGGEST WEALTH DESTRUCTION
That is why we will see the biggest wealth destruction in history. Instead of the 2,200 billionaires currently, the world might have as little as 200 in 5-10 years time (in today’s money).
All businesses will of course not disappear. But earnings will decline dramatically and p/e’s will collapse.
Let’s take a business with a share price of $300 today and earnings per share of $10.
Thus the p/e is 30 (30x$10=$300).
If profits decline by 70% in a recession/depression and the p/e goes to 5 it will look as follows: Eps $3 x 5 p/e = $15 share price.
So this company is still making a profit, albeit smaller. Still, the share price is down from $100 to $15 or by 95%.
P/e’s of 5 or less are not unusual during depressions/recessions. I experienced this in the 1970s. The same happened in the 1930s.
HISTORY, HISTORY HISTORY
Again, as I often stress, the best lessons we learn are from history.
Everyone thinks “It is different today” but I promise it isn’t. Almost everything we experience today has happened before.
So vast fortunes will be wiped out in coming years. And other fortunes will be made in areas like hard assets and the resource industry. Precious metals will be an obvious major beneficiary.
Some of the shrewd Swiss private banks like Lombard Odier advised their clients to hedge their portfolios with gold earlier this year. Very few wealth managers are as clever as 200 year old Swiss banks.
Precious metals mining stocks are likely to do spectacularly well in the coming currency collapse and so will gold and silver.
But the ultimate wealth preservation in the next 10 years is physical gold and silver held outside the banking system as history confirms.
Remember that markets can always go higher even though they are massively overvalued.
But when risk is at a maximum, investment is not about squeezing the last bit of profit out of your portfolio. Instead, it is all about protecting your profits. And you can’t do that by staying fully invested in overvalued assets.
Remember that in a secular bear market everyone is a loser. The trick is to lose as little as possible
END
J JOHNSON’S COMMODITY REPORT
pay special attention to EO 13848
https://www.jsmineset.com/2020/12/14/silver-not-leading-the-beatings/
Silver Not Leading The Beatings
Posted December 14th, 2020 at 8:35 AM (CST) by J. Johnson & filed under General Editorial.
Great and Wonderful Monday Morning Folks,
February Gold is down $14.80 with the last quote at $1,828.80 after hitting the low of London at $1,820 with the high to beat at $1,845.60. I had to hit the side of my screen this morning because Silver is only down 14.2 cents (I thought the price got stuck) with its trade at $23.95, recovering from its low at $23.755 with the high at $24.175. This is one of a few times for me to see Silver not leading the beatings. Today is the start of our Triple Witch Week, with all currencies expiring at high noon (except the Loonie), with our US Dollar down 44.5 points and at the low of 90.525, with the high at 90.900 so far today. It also seems apparent that the agreed upon trades over the past 3 days are over. Of course, all this happened before 5am pst, the Comex open, the London close, and after the world’s 4th largest shipping line, suspends its cargos bound for South China Ports in early 2021, could it be a problem with international sales after a plandemic?
Gold under the Venezuelan Bolivar is now priced at 18,265.14 showing a 57.93 Bolivar pullback with Silver’s last price at 239.201 Bolivar, gaining 0.50 since Friday mornings write up. Gold in Argentina is now priced at 150,238.78 A-Peso’s proving a reduction of 270.60 with Silver’s price at 1,967.53, popping in a gain of 6.56 A-Peso’s. Over in Turkey, where the currency is called the Lira, Gold’s last price is at 14,389.63, showing an 87.76 T-Lira loss with Silver’s last buy at 188.444 T-Lira, registering a 0.158 loss. Once again, Silver has strength even in the emerging (short for “already exploded”) currency markets.
December Silver Deliveries now has a demand count of 1,026 fully paid for 5,000-ounce contracts waiting for receipts and with a Volume of 22 up on the board and with no price posted so far. Friday’s full Ice/Comex trading period happened in between $24.05 and $23.955 with 44 contracts trading hands with the last buy at the high, a gain of 1.9 cents and as Comex settled the day out at $24.032, adding only 0.001 pennies, which just so happen to raise the demand count, by 11 contracts. Silver’s Overall Open Interest shows the shorts had to add 588 more pieces of liquidity in order to control the futures prices bringing the total count to 154,904 Overnighters.
December Gold’s Delivery Demands now has a post of 6,322 fully paid for contracts and with a Volume of 40 already up on the board with a trading range between $1,835.70 and $1,824.70 with the last sell at the low, down $15.10 so far today. Friday’s full day of play happened in between $1,846 and $1,829.10 with the last swap at $1,839.10, a gain of $5.50 with the Comex close, a little higher at $1,839.80, up $6.20 that had a total of 90 contracts being swapped helping to reduce the demand count by 1,382 contracts that, at the very least, got paper receipts. Gold’s Overall Open Interest continues to see the shorts getting out of the way, as 3,228 paper contracts left the field of play, leaving 546,387 contracts to go against the physicals.
This week promises to be something else as we roll out of all December contracts and into next year’s play. Then this Friday, the Director of National Intelligence, is required to submit his report providing evidence, of foreign nations intentionally influencing our presidential election process. Remember the other communist nation besides China back in 2016? This is Executive Order 13848, which was signed into law back in Sept 2018, because of the frauds witnessed during the midterm. And it has penalties too, as this order “follows the money” with the Treasury Dept involvement too.
One fine example of foreign fraud is the Dominion Voting Systems, which is based in Canada; “Founded in 2003, Dominion Voting Systems is a leading supplier of election technology across the U.S., Canada and globally.”Many successful elections have been won thru Dominion’s dominance as Venezuela, Argentina, and various other nations, have proven, the highest bidder always wins over the most voted for in any nation, with the help of the back door access, thru the internet. What can go wrong here, with so many, trusting a foreign company, with our sacred electoral process?
So, keep it real and hang on tight. As always …
Stay Strong!
Jeremiah Johnson
.END
Uranium Stocks Soar After World’s Highest-Grade Uranium Mine Suspends Operation Due To COVID
In the past week, we discussed why uranium stocks – which had been left for dead for much of the past decade – could surge in coming months, not only as a result of last week’s compromise version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which provides for the military to continue a policy under that classifies the domestic supplies of certain minerals such as uranium, graphite and lithium as vital to national security, but also because the relentless buying frenzy that is the ESG craze could soon turn its attention to uranium companies. Readers who wish to catch up can do so here:
- Uranium Stocks Soar: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze
- As Wall Street’s Love For Uranium Returns, One Analyst Lists 4 Reasons To Buy The Biggest Miner
In addition to shifting technicals and sentiment, there was another fundamental reason why uranium stocks could grind higher: as we reported last week, a 2nd covid case was reported at the Cigar Lake mine of Canada’s Cameco (CCJ), the world’s highest-grade uranium mine, which if resulting in a wholesale mine shutdown, would lead to a supply squeeze and potentially far higher prices.
Well, this morning this thesis materalized when Cameco announced it will be temporarily suspending production at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan due to the increasing risks posed by the Coronavirus.
“The safety of our workers, their families and communities is our top priority,” said Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel. “We have had six positive tests at our northern operations in recent weeks, including three at Cigar Lake. While the protocols we have put in place have to date allowed us to effectively manage these cases, there are broader risks we don’t control. Therefore, we believe it is prudent to do our part to continue to protect our people and our operations from the increasing threats that are outside our influence.
The Company said that as of Sept. 30, Cigar Lake had produced 2.3 million pounds (Cameco’s share) of uranium concentrates, however, due to the temporary production suspension, it does not expect to achieve 5.3 million pounds (its share) of production for 2020. The company also said it would incur costs of between C$8 million ($6.3 million) and C$10 million per month from suspension, and will incur additional costs purchasing market uranium (said costs won’t begin to impact results until the first quarter of 2021).
The company also said that due to the suspension, it plans to increase our purchases in the market to secure uranium we need to meet its sales commitments.
From the press release:
Cameco announced today that it will be temporarily suspending production at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan over the coming weeks due to the increasing risks posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Saskatchewan is experiencing a significant negative trend in the pandemic, which is leading to increased uncertainty for the continuous operation of Cigar Lake, due in part to access to qualified operational personnel. We will continue to carefully monitor the provincial COVID-19 situation, especially in northern Saskatchewan, as well as the impacts on our communities and the availability of employees and contractors to travel to Cigar Lake.
At the peak of production this fall, there were about 300 workers on-site at Cigar Lake. As a result of this decision, we will be placing the mine in a safe state of care and maintenance and there will be a significant reduction in personnel. We expect the enhanced health and safety protocols already in place and the decreased activities at site will ensure we can continue to work safely.
“Having Cigar Lake operating was always part of our strategy,” Gitzel said. “The costs of care and maintenance are not insignificant, and you saw that impact in our third quarter results. Therefore, the restart conditions for Cigar Lake are not the same as we have laid out for McArthur River. The timing of the restart and the production rate will depend on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the availability of the required workforce at Cigar Lake, how cases are trending in Saskatchewan, in particular in northern communities, and the views of public health authorities.
“Due to the suspension, we plan to increase our purchases in the market to secure uranium we need to meet our sales commitments,” Gitzel said. “COVID-19 has taught us many lessons, including that the pandemic is a greater risk to uranium supply than to uranium demand.”
We expect our business to be resilient. Our deliveries to date have not been materially impacted by COVID-19, nor do we expect there will be a material impact on our remaining 2020 deliveries. At September 30, 2020, Cigar Lake had produced 2.3 million pounds (Cameco’s share) of uranium concentrates. However, due to the temporary production suspension, we do not expect to achieve 5.3 million pounds (our share) of production for 2020.
There will be costs associated with this temporary production suspension. While Cigar Lake is on care and maintenance, we expect to incur costs of between $8 million and $10 million per month, which will be expensed directly to cost of sales. We may also incur additional costs related to the purchase of uranium, which comes at a higher cost than our production. Given the timing of the suspension, we do not expect these costs would begin to impact our results until the first quarter of 2021.
To be sure, as we first said, and as GLJ Research subsequently echoed, if Cameco reports further Covid-19-related issues at Cigar Lake and ultimately suspends the mine, this will create “acute tailwinds” for uranium contract price negotiations. Meanwhile, ironically, Cameco benefits from the shutdown, which will be over soon, and certainly won’t impair the company’s balance sheet: as of September 30, CCJ had $793 million in cash and short-term investments and a $1 billion undrawn credit facility.
Sure enough, the fact that the world’s largest uranium miner is effectively halting output indefinitely would mean far less supply and thus higher uranium prices, which is also why CCJ’s stock has jumped today, rising as high as $14.42 – a fresh five year high – and over 30% higher since we first advised readers to take a close look at the sector last week.
The favorable supply dynamics have helped push the entire uranium sector sharply higher…
…with the Global X Uranium ETF surging to the highest level since 2017.
Andrew Maguire’s Silver Price Forecast For 2021
The movie The Big Short pointed out how wild events can be happening beneath the surface of the financial markets, which clearly indicate when a big move is about to come, yet most can miss that it’s actually going on.
Similarly, Andrew Maguire reports about how insiders continue to load up on silver, and why he thinks 2021 is going to be a big year for the precious metals market.
To find out more, click to watch the video now!
Chris Marcus
December 12, 2020
US seeks halt in civil lawsuit accusing JP Morgan of manipulating metals market, citing criminal case
- The U.S. wants a federal judge to halt a civil lawsuit accusing J. P. Morgan of manipulating precious metals markets. The Justice Department cited an ongoing criminal case as its reason for the request.
- A former J. P. Morgan trader pleaded guilty in Connecticut last month to manipulation charges.
- In the guilty plea, the trader said he had learned to make bogus trade orders from senior traders at the bank and that he used the strategy hundreds of times with the knowledge and consent of his immediate supervisors.
CNBC.com
The Justice Department is asking a judge to put the brakes on a civil lawsuit against J. P. Morgan Chase, citing an ongoing probe into a “related criminal case” that involves alleged manipulation of precious metals markets.
The department wants a six-month postponement in the proceedings of the civil lawsuit, which was filed in 2015 by hedge fund manager Daniel Shak and two commodity traders. The government also says it could ask for a longer delay in the case, according to a court filing on Monday.
The move comes days after Shak’s lawyer, David Kovel, sought permission to reopen questioning of two former J. P. Morgan traders and the bank’s current global head of base and precious metals trading.
Kovel, in making the request with the Manhattan federal judge in the civil case, cited last month’s guilty plea by one of those former traders, John Edmonds, in federal court in Connecticut.
Edmonds admitted making bogus bids on precious metals contracts while working at the bank from 2009 to 2015.
Neither J. P. Morgan Chase nor Kovel’s clients have opposed the Justice Department’s request.
In arguing for a delay, the Justice Department said Shak’s lawsuit is “related” to Edmonds’ criminal case and that Edmonds has “pleaded guilty and acknowledged his own participation in such conduct, as well as that of other traders.”
“Edmonds awaits sentencing, but the broader investigation is ongoing,” the Justice Department said. The U.S. wants to delay the civil case “to protect the integrity of its ongoing criminal investigation,” it said.
J. P. Morgan did not respond to a request for comment by CNBC. Kovel declined to comment.
Tuesday night, after this story first was published, Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered the federal prosecutors to explain in detail by Monday why postponing proceedings in the civil lawsuit would not harm those involved, and why reopening questioning “would be detrimental to the Government’s ongoing criminal investigation.”
Englemayer also wrote that he regards Edmonds’ guilty plea “as potentially highly consequential” to the civil case.
In his guilty plea, the 36-year-old Edmonds said he had learned to make bogus trade orders from senior traders at the bank and that he used the strategy hundreds of times with the knowledge and consent of his immediate supervisors. He admitted to working with “unnamed co-conspirators” at J. P. Morgan, according to the Justice Department.
Kovel wants to question Edmonds again as well as Michael Nowak, the bank’s global head of base and precious metal trading, and former J. P. Morgan Chase Managing Director Robert Gottlieb. The three had previously answered questions under oath in the civil case.
Kovel said in court filings that Nowak was the immediate supervisor of Edmonds, while Gottlieb was Edmonds’ mentor.
In his prior deposition, Edmonds said that Gottlieb sat only a “couple feet” away from him for about five years, and that he was “somebody [he] looked up to in the business,” who helped guide and train him.
Nowak is described by Edmonds as his direct supervisor, with whom he would sometimes discuss trading strategies. Nowak was also the person responsible for overseeing the performance and risk of Edmonds’ portfolio, according to the deposition.
Edmonds also stated in his prior deposition that he would enter precious metals trades for both Nowak and Gottlieb, among others.
The civil lawsuit claims Shak and his fellow plaintiffs lost tens of millions of dollars as a result of actions by J. P. Morgan’s traders.
Federal judge tells traders they can combine cases accusing JP Morgan of rigging metals market
- Litigation in a separate civil case has been put on hold until at least May at the behest of the Justice Department, which is investigating a “related criminal case” that involves alleged market manipulation by precious metals traders at J. P. Morgan.
- Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York appointed the White Plains, N.Y., law firm Lowey Dannenberg as interim lead counsel for the proposed class action.
A group of traders from across the U.S. who allege that J. P. Morgan Chase manipulated precious metals markets for years are one step closer to bringing a class action suit against the nation’s largest bank.
Earlier this month, a federal judge said five separate lawsuits making similar allegations against the bank could be combined, potentially including thousands of people who traded in the precious metals market from Jan. 2009 through Dec. 2015.
Litigation in a separate civil case has been put on hold until at least May at the behest of the Justice Department, which is investigating a “related criminal case” that involves alleged market manipulation by precious metals traders at J. P. Morgan.
J. P. Morgan declined to comment on this story.
Judge John Koeltl of the Southern District of New York appointed the White Plains, N.Y., law firm Lowey Dannenberg as interim lead counsel for the proposed class action.
Vincent Briganti, a partner at the firm, filed the first suit seeking class action status in November on behalf of Dominick Cognata, a trader who alleges he suffered losses due to J.P. Morgan’s illegal trading conduct in the silver and gold futures and options markets.
That was after the federal court in Connecticut unsealed a criminal plea agreement by John Edmonds, a former J.P. Morgan metals trader. In his guilty plea, Edmonds, who is 36-years old, admitted that he and other “unnamed co-conspirators” fraudulently manipulated the precious metals markets while they were employed at J. P. Morgan from 2009 to 2015.
Edmonds said he had learned the illegal trading tactics from senior traders, and then used them hundreds of times with the knowledge of and consent of his immediate supervisors.
Briganti’s lawsuit also names John Edmonds and a group of yet-to-be-identified precious metals traders and the bank as defendants.
On Wednesday, the lawyers sent a letter to Judge Koeltl saying they were having difficulty locating Edmonds to serve him legal papers and requested a 30-day extension to do so, which the judge granted on Thursday. Briganti noted that they have been in contact with Edmonds’ attorney in the criminal case. Edmonds’ attorney and Briganti could not be reached for comment.
“We are hopeful that this extension will result in completing service on Mr. Edmonds without formal motion practice and a request for alternative means of service,” Briganti said in the letter.
The next step in the civil case is for the plaintiffs to file an amended class action complaint and set a schedule for defendants to respond.
In addition to the proposed class action, J. P. Morgan also faces a separate civil suit which also accuses the bank of rigging precious metals markets.
end
March 4.2019
Parker City News
JP Morgan faces potential class action lawsuit after guilty pleas by a former metals trader
Traders from across the U.S. are banding together to accuse J. P. Morgan Chase of manipulating precious metals markets for years.
At least six lawsuits, all making similar allegations against the nation‘s largest bank, have been filed in New York federal court in the past month, since federal prosecutors in Connecticut with a former J. P. Morgan Chase metals trader.
The cases could potentially include thousands of people who traded in the precious metals market. The White Plains, N.Y., law firm Lowey Dannenberg is asking the court to combine the cases and name it as the lead.
The law firm‘s commodities group is led by Vincent Briganti, the attorney who filed the first lawsuit on behalf of Dominick Cognata, a New York resident who alleges he suffered losses due to J. P. Morgan‘s trading conduct in the silver and gold futures and options markets.
A combined case, seeking class action status, would include anyone who purchased or sold futures contracts or an option on NYMEX platinum or palladium or COMEX silver or gold between at least Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2015. The lawyers believe that “at least hundreds, if not thousands” of traders would be eligible to join the case.
Named as defendants in all of the lawsuits are John Edmonds, a 36-year old former metals trader at J. P. Morgan, a group of yet-to-be-identified precious metals traders and the bank.
Edmonds, a New York resident, pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to defraud the market and manipulate prices of precious metals futures contracts and one count of commodities fraud. In the criminal plea, Edmonds admitted that he and other “unnamed co- conspirators” at J. P. Morgan, fraudulently manipulated precious metals markets from 2009 to 2015, the same time frame covered in the class action suits.
Briganti filed the initial class action on Nov. 7, just one day after the Justice Department unsealed Edmonds‘ plea in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut.
Edmonds admitted in his guilty plea that he deployed the illegal trading scheme hundreds of times with the direct knowledge and consent of his immediate supervisors. Plaintiffs say they have suffered economic injury, including monetary losses, as a direct result of actions by Edmonds and the other unnamed J. P. Morgan metals traders in the futures and options contracts.
One of the suits alleges that “the number of unlawful trades that JP Morgan traders executed in precious metals futures markets is at least in the thousands.”
J. P. Morgan declined to comment. Lowey Dannenberg did not respond to a request for comment by CNBC.
The Justice Department‘s criminal investigation is still ongoing and recently caused a separate related civil case to be put on hold for at least six months while the government continues its investigation. That civil lawsuit, which also accuses J. P. Morgan of rigging the precious metals market, was filed in 2015 by hedge fund manager Daniel Shak and two commodity traders.
After reviewing the details of the plea agreement, David Kovel, the attorney for Shak‘s suit, sought to re- interview Edmonds, along with two other current and former senior traders at the bank. However, the government argued that reopening questioning would be detrimental to the ongoing criminal investigation. The federal judge overseeing the proceedings ordered a six-month stay in the civil case.
Kovel declined to comment.
Edmonds was originally scheduled to be sentenced in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday, Dec. 19, but a court filing on Nov. 27 shows the sentencing has been postponed until June. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney for Connecticut could not elaborate on why the sentencing was postponed since the court filing is under seal.
-END-
Stocks Jump On Vaccine Rollout, Hopes For Bipartisan Stimulus Bill
US equity futures jumped alongside European markets on Monday amid optimism that a pared-down stimulus bill may be imminent, as well as the imminent deployment of the first vaccine in the U.S. Oil continued its ascent above $50, while the dollar dropped.
Dow e-minis were up 251 points, or 0.8%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.78%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 77 points, or 0.6%. Among individual movers, Alexion Pharmaceuticals surged 32.3% after British drugmaker AstraZeneca said it would buy the U.S. biotech firm for $39 billion in one of this year’s biggest mergers worldwide. AstraZeneca’s U.S.-listed shares fell 5.3%, dropping to an 8-month low.
Cruise operators Carnival and Royal Caribbean rose 5.5% and 3.5%, respectively, in premarket trade, while stocks of major airline operators rose between 1.5% and 3.0%, with Jetblue Airways Corp leading gains. Travel and leisure stocks are the worst hit by restrictions on movement due to the pandemic, and have reacted positively to any vaccine-related news. Shares of FedEx and United Parcel Service which are leading the vaccine distribution project, rose about 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. Travel stocks surged on the launch of a nationwide COVID-19 vaccine campaign, while investors held out hope for more local stimulus as bipartisan talks continued. Shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine fanned out to distribution points across the United States on Sunday, with injections set to begin later on Monday.
The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 1% as of 10:35 a.m. in London, with banks and automakers leading gains among sectors. European shares got a boost after the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator told a private meeting of ambassadors that a trade deal with the U.K. could be done as soon as this week.
In Asia, equities benchmarks in Japan, Shanghai and Australia climbed while those in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea slipped. Ecommerce company Alibaba Group Holding Ltd shed 1.5% after China warned its internet majors of more anti-trust scrutiny and slapped fines and announced probes into deals involving Alibaba and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
“There is huge pent-up investment demand across the entire institutional world,” Michael Strobaek, global chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Group AG, told Bloomberg TV. “We’re steering into year-end with still tons of liquidity on the sidelines. I would not be on the wrong side of that.”
Global optimism was boosted by the latest developments on the political front, where a bipartisan group of lawmakers is set to unveil a $908 billion pandemic relief bill although there is “no guarantee” Congress will pass it, a key negotiator said. The bipartisan group is planning to release it on Monday so it can be considered by congressional leaders negotiating a final package that can be included in a government spending bill needed by Dec. 18
“While the pandemic is far from over with many countries continuing to impose restrictions, investors are finally seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel,” said Hussein Sayed, the chief market strategist at FXTM. “What is being delivered today in the U.S. is more than just a vaccine, but hope that life will soon return to normal.”
Global stocks are looking to rebound from their first week of losses in six, even as hurdles remain for a U.S. stimulus deal and the coronavirus continues to spread. The head of the U.S. government’s vaccination drive said as much as 80% of the population could be given the shot by next summer, putting “herd immunity” within reach. Wall Street strategists are in broad agreement that vaccines will supercharge the economy next year.
In rates, Treasuries were under pressure led by long end of the curve amid global gains in risk sentiment, while the extension of Brexit talks further boosted bullishness, weighing on gilts while supporting the U.K. pound. Yields were were lower by up to 3.5bp at long end, with 2s10s and 5s30s steeper by more than 2bp; 10-year yields around 0.92%, cheaper by 2.5bp vs Friday’s close.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was set for its biggest daily decline since the beginning of December as the greenback fell against all of its Group-of-10 peers. The pound posted its biggest gain in almost two months and gilts slumped as the U.K. and European Union agreed to continue talks past a Sunday deadline; EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier was said to see a “narrow path to agreement” with the U.K., according to an EU diplomat. The euro advanced to a day high of $1.2160 in the European session. As year-end approaches, euro risk reversals face a slew of risks. In addition to Brexit uncertainty, funding concerns and Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting, the typical liquidity slump before Christmas holidays is also taking hold. Australian dollar carried a risk-on bid; Norway’s krone gained as oil prices advanced after a tanker was hit by an explosion at the Saudi Arabian port of Jeddah.
In commodities, WTI crude oil hovered near $47 a barrel after another tanker explosion in the Middle East raised concerns over the region’s stability.
It’s a quiet day with no economic data or major company earnings are expected today.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures up 0.6% to 3,675.00
- Stoxx Europe 600 up 1% to 393.87
- MXAP up 0.2% to 195.16
- MXAPJ down 0.06% to 644.13
- Nikkei up 0.3% to 26,732.44
- Topix up 0.5% to 1,790.52
- Hang Seng Index down 0.4% to 26,389.52
- Shanghai Composite up 0.7% to 3,369.12
- Sensex up 0.4% to 46,262.81
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% to 6,660.25
- Kospi down 0.3% to 2,762.20
- Brent futures up 0.9% to $50.42/bbl
- Gold spot down 0.5% to $1,829.96
- U.S. Dollar Index down 0.4% to 90.58
- German 10Y yield rose 0.8 bps to -0.628%
- Euro up 0.4% to $1.2155
- Italian 10Y yield fell 0.4 bps to 0.447%
- Spanish 10Y yield fell 0.3 bps to -0.001%
Top Overnight News from Bloomberg
- A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is readying a two-part proposal with $908 billion in pandemic relief to help boost the battered U.S. economy. They are planning to release it as soon as Monday so it can be considered by congressional leaders negotiating a final package that can be included in a government spending bill needed by Dec. 18
- Germany will start a hard lockdown on Wednesday as officials conceded that the coronavirus has spiraled out of control and previous attempts to contain the pandemic were inadequate.
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan called for schools in the capital to close to stem a rising tide of coronavirus infections that threatens to push the city into the government’s tightest pandemic rules
- The Eurosystem, in line with previous years, will temporarily pause the APP and PEPP purchases in anticipation of significantly lower market liquidity towards the end of the year
- Deutsche Bank AG is considering moving some of its 4,600 Manhattan staff to other hub cities across the U.S. but there are no concrete plans as yet
- Citigroup Inc. plans to hire more than 330 relationship managers in Singapore by 2025 as the U.S. bank seeks to triple the number of qualified clients it manages from the island state.
A quick look at global markets courtesy of NewSquawk
Asian equity markets began the week with a mild positive bias and US equity futures were also underpinned following the constructive headlines from over the weekend including the extension of Brexit talks and after US regulators approved the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine with the first round of inoculations stateside to begin today. ASX 200 (+0.3%) and Nikkei 225 (+0.3%) traded higher with notable strength in tech, financials and consumer sectors front running the gains in Australia but with upside capped as healthcare and mining stocks lagged, while the Japanese benchmark benefitted after a continued improvement to the Tankan survey in which nearly all figures beat expectations including the Large Manufacturers Index which improved at the fastest pace since June 2002 despite remaining in negative territory for a 4th consecutive quarter. Hang Seng (-0.4%) and Shanghai Comp. (+0.7%) were mixed with early indecision seen after the PBoC’s operations resulted in a net liquidity drain and after the announcement late last week by Nasdaq to remove shares of 4 Chinese companies from the indexes it manages following the US blacklisting and similar actions by both FTSE Russell and S&P Dow Jones Indices. Finally, 10yr JGBs were rangebound amid the mostly positive mood in regional stocks and as demand for bonds was contained by a lack of BoJ purchases in the JGB market today with the central bank only seeking Treasury Discount Bills, although it did offer to buy JPY 600bln in commercial paper from Thursday.
Top Asian News
- Singapore to Ease Virus Rules on Dec. 28, Beginning ‘Phase 3’
- Kazakhstan Holds Rates at 9% as Inflation Surge Continues
- China Coal Futures Slide After NDRC Caps Price and Opens Imports
Major bourses in Europe mostly kicked off the session on a positive footing (Euro Stoxx 50 +0.9%) following on from a similar APAC performance, as markets caught tailwinds from constructive weekend headlines on the Brexit front and with the PFE/BNTX vaccine being approved State-side. That being said, the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in Europe has prompted some economies to reimpose/reconsider stricter measures during the holiday period, with draft proposals from Germany suggesting more stringent rules as of this Wednesday through to early Jan, whilst Italy and the Netherlands are reportedly set to follow in lockstep. Sticking with this theme, rhetoric has been increasing with regards to London entering Tier 3, with Politico also reporting that “things are so bad in the capital an announcement could come sooner, even today or tomorrow”, whilst some reports floated the idea of Tier 3 rules being strengthened. Nonetheless, EZ bourses are propped whilst the UK’s FTSE (+0.2%) fails to capitalise on the risk tone given Sterling-dynamics coupled with its largest constituent AstraZeneca (-5%) capping gains after announcing a USD 39bln for Alexion Pharmaceuticals (+35% pre-market) – the transaction values Alexion at USD 175/shr vs Friday’s 120.98/shr closing price. Losses in AstraZeneca also weighs on the Health Care sector which lags its peers. The sub-par performance in the sector hinders the SMI (Unch) on account of its large pharma exposure. Delving deeper into the sectors, Travel & Leisure benefits from the FDA vaccine approval, Banks outperform as the constructive Brexit noise bolsters UK names with Barclays (+5.3%), Lloyds (+5.1%) and Natwest (+6.6%) benefitting. In a similar vein, UK housing names are also higher across the board on Brexit euphoria coupled with Rightmove forecasts 4% price growth over the next year as “housing priorities stay high on people’s life agendas, though price rises for newly marketed properties will be at a slower pace than this year.” In terms of other movers, Germany’s new holiday restrictions has underpinned delivery names Delivery Hero (+1.1%) and HelloFresh (+0.8%).
Top European News
- Pound Jumps After U.K.-EU Agree to Go Extra Mile in Brexit Talks
- Khan Wants London Schools to Close to Stem Coronavirus Tide
- U.K. Businesses Plead for Time to Avoid Brexit Cliff Edge
- Merkel Seeks to Regain Grip on Virus With Hard Holiday Lockdown
In FX, It remains to be seen whether the latest extension to a deadline for trade talks between the UK and EU yields any success in terms of resolving outstanding differences, but the fact that both sides are willing to continue efforts in pursuit of a deal has been taken as a positive for the Pound with Cable having another glance at 1.3400 and Eur/Gbp back below 0.9100. Moreover, the latest briefing from Brussels via Barnier suggests that 1 of the 3 major sticking points has been overcome, leaving fisheries and the LPF blocking a narrow path to the holy grail, though he is still said to be guarded about prospects of reaching an agreement, while noises from Paris are apparently ever so cautiously encouraging.
- AUD/NZD/EUR/CHF – A constructive start to the new week in terms of overall risk sentiment beyond Brexit is underpinning the Antipodean Dollars in relation to their US counterpart as the Aussie straddles 0.7550 and Kiwi pivots 0.7100, but the Euro is not far behind in percentage terms and keeping the DXY depressed towards the bottom of a 90.907-570 range due to its greater weighting in the index. Eur/Usd is hovering just below 1.2150 and stops purportedly sitting around 1.2163 that could preface a retest of the 2020 high circa 1.2178 if tripped. However, the single currency may be hampered by the ongoing spread of COVID-19 that is hitting Germany especially hard, but also threatening to force Italy into tighter restrictions over the Xmas and New Year period. Elsewhere, the Franc is firm above 0.8900 and 1.0800 vs the Greenback and Euro respectively as weekly Swiss sight deposits suggest that the SNB refrained from direct intervention approaching the December quarterly policy review in favour of some official action or a response to last Thursday’s ECB stimulus. Back down under, RBA minutes may not be as compelling as comments from Kearns or flash Aussie PMIs and NZ current account balances for Q3 may offer the Nzd some independent impetus.
- CAD/JPY – Marginal G10 underperformers as the Loonie holds within a 1.2776-44 band despite firm oil prices in the run up to Canadian housing starts, manufacturing sales and a speech by BoC Governor Macklem on Tuesday, while the Yen rotates either side of 104.00 in wake of a somewhat mixed Japanese Tankan survey overnight in advance of trade data tomorrow.
- SCANDI/EM – In stark contrast to the lethargic Loonie, WTI caressing Usd 47/brl and Brent comfortably over Usd 50/brl are providing the Nok with enough fuel to outflank the Eur and Sek, but the Rub is struggling to breach 73.0000 and Mxn is meeting resistance at 20.0000, while the Try has not been able to glean any lasting momentum from firmer than forecast Turkish ip given the rise in crude and ongoing diplomatic tensions. Indeed, the Lira is languishing close to 7.9000 in stark contrast to the Yuan circa 6.5200 off a firmer PBoC midpoint fix and even the Rand nestling just beneath 15.0000 irrespective of a retreat in Gold as SA’s Eskom suspended planned power cuts following a recovery in reserves from emergency regeneration.
In commodities, WTI and Brent front-month futures see a firm start to the week as the complex coat-tails on the constructive risk tone coupled with some supply/demand side developments over the weekend, albeit not all bullish. Starting with demand news, US FDA authorized Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for emergency use and reports stated that the companies were prepared to deliver first doses immediately. On the flip side, European net crude importers are set to enter more restrictive measures for the holiday period, with Germany announcing tighter rules from Wednesday through to Jan 10th, whilst Italy and the Netherlands are also said to be mulling similar moves. Onto the supply slide, AP reported an explosion hit a ship off Saudi’s port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea, while shipping company Hafnia later stated its oil tanker was hit by an unidentified external source which caused a fire and explosion while discharging at Saudi’s Jeddah port. Furthermore, a pipeline carrying crude to Iran’s second largest refinery ruptured due to a landslide which caused a fire to breakout, although it was later reported that most of the fire was contained and repairs were being conducted on the damaged section of the pipeline. Another supply-side story to keep an eye on – Iran’s oil ministry plans to increase the country’s overall crude and condensate production by almost 70% to 4.5mln bpd next year if the incoming Biden administration lifts the sanctions on the import of its oil, to which the Iranian Energy Minister stated that the country does not need permission from OPEC and allies. WTI Jan 21 resides around USD 47/bbl after waning from its USD 47.37/bbl high (vs. low USD 46.47/bbl) whilst Brent Feb 21 meanders around USD 50.50/bbl having had hit an overnight high of USD 50.80/bbl after printing a low at USD 49.88/bbl. Looking ahead, markets will see the release of the OPEC MOMR whereby focus will be on its global demand growth forecast revisions (if any) ahead of the IEA’s take tomorrow. Elsewhere, spot gold and silver trade lacklustre despite a softer Buck and as equities and overall sentiment remain propped up. The former resides around USD 1820/oz (vs. high ~USD 1855/oz) at the time of writing and the latter sub-USD 24/oz (vs. high 24.035/oz). Turning to base metals, iron ore futures overnight tumbled from recent highs after China stepped up its push for authorities to investigate the base metal’s recent rally. Finally, LME copper prices see modest gains after pulling back from best levels as DXY drifted off its worst levels. AP reported an explosion hit a ship off Saudi’s port city of Jeddah on the Red Sea although, while shipping company Hafnia later stated its oil tanker was hit by an unidentified external source which caused a fire and explosion while discharging at Saudi’s Jeddah port.
US Event Calendar
- No major earnings releases scheduled
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
As we start the last full week of the year, we owe all our readers a deep and profound apology today. For nearly 5 years we’ve been misleading you repeatedly and for that we can only ask for forgiveness. We will get help. We will repent. Yes, the approximately 55 times we’ve said that the next week was a defining one for Brexit talks was a great big fabrication. Yesterday another major deadline we highlighted was bulldozed and talks will again continue as a joint statement from PM Johnson and the EU’s von der Leyen yesterday was slightly more upbeat than the one released after their dinner on Wednesday night. There was no new deadline this time either, which might suggest some breakthroughs have been made even if briefings from a U.K. cabinet meeting yesterday afternoon weren’t particularly optimistic as PM Johnson told his colleagues that “we are still very far apart”. So the saga carries on and most people in global markets will sigh and move on with Sterling likely to be the highest profile asset to move on any newsflow. This morning it is up +0.69% to $1.3315 after the latest machinations. Barnier’s briefing to EU ambassadors this morning (7:30 AM UK time) will be the next interesting landmark.
The other big news from the weekend is that Germany is going to enter a hard lockdown on Wednesday until at least January 10th. After being the relative European success story in wave one, Germany has struggled over the last few weeks and one would expect Mrs Merkel to be keen to get this under control as a priority in the last year of her 16 year reign. However, in the short term this will be a blow to activity and confidence even if the damage will be limited by knowledge of the imminent vaccine rollout. Elsewhere, the U.K. will announce the review of new Covid-19 tierings on Wednesday with London widely anticipated to be placed into the strictest grouping. Overnight, the Telegraph has reported that London mayor Sadiq Khan has called for the government to shut the city’s schools from tomorrow. In the US, restrictions also mount with two-thirds of California on stay-at-home orders now as ICU units hit dangerous thresholds.
Staying with Covid-19, the US could start inoculations as soon as today after approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was given on Friday. Moncef Slaoui, the head of the US vaccination drive said that as many as 80% of the population could be given the shot by next summer. Meanwhile, the FDA meets on Thursday to decide whether to authorise emergency use of the Moderna vaccine.
We also got some headlines on the US fiscal stimulus stand-off over the weekend with Bloomberg reporting that a bipartisan group of US lawmakers plans to unveil a $908 bn coronavirus pandemic relief plan today, although one of the negotiators said there’s “no guarantee” Congress will pass it. The report further highlighted that in a bid to break the deadlock, lawmakers will present language for two separate bills with one proposal for $748bn in spending to include all provisions other than state and local aid and liability protections for employers. The second bill will have two provisions that have deeply divided both parties – $160 bn in state and local aid allocated through a needs-based system, and liability provisions. Meanwhile, a competing $916 bn relief proposal from Treasury Secretary Mnuchin – similar in size but different in detail – is still under consideration. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mnuchin are due to speak again today after speaking yesterday to try to break the deadlock.
Asian markets have started the week on a slightly more positive note with the Nikkei (+0.43%) and Shanghai Comp (+0.25%) up even if the Hang Seng (-0.37%) and Kospi (-0.14%) are down. Futures on the S&P 500 are up +0.45% though. In Fx, the US dollar index is down -0.19% this morning. Elsewhere, DCE iron ore futures are down -3.26% likely due to a call from one of China’s leading mills group for authorities to investigate the raw material’s blistering rally after allegations of illegal activities.
Looking forward now and the last full week of the year is going to be fairly busy with the highlight being the FOMC on Wednesday. The BoJ (Friday) and BoE (Thursday) will close out the reminder of the main Central Bank meetings for 2020 this week. Ahead of that Wednesday sees the global flash PMIs and tomorrow sees China’s monthly data dump. As a curiosity, today sees the Electoral College formally allocate their Presidential votes. Also don’t forget those US stimulus talks, which have the air of Brexit talks given the constant artificial deadlines and never-ending negotiations.
A bit more detail on the central bank meetings first. Starting with the US, in their preview (link here), our US economists write that they expect the FOMC to maintain the current pace and composition of asset purchases. The most important innovation for this meeting is likely to be an enhancement to the QE guidance by adopting qualitative outcome-based language. On top of this, the latest Summary of Economic Projections will be released, where our economists expect there to be upgrades to the growth and unemployment forecasts. However, with a persistent shortfall in core inflation and uncertainty over the virus and the fiscal outlook, the median assessment of the federal funds rate should be unchanged through 2023.
Here in the UK, the Bank of England will also be holding their final meeting this year on Thursday, though we don’t expect any changes to the Bank’s policy settings after they increased QE by a further £150bn at their last meeting in November. For the Bank of Japan on Friday, our economists (link here) believe that they’ll vote to keep their present policy stance intact. The question for the BoJ is whether they extend their support for corporate financing beyond the end-March expiration date. On this DB now believe they will take action this week.
Outside of the aforementioned flash PMIs, there’ll also be an increasing amount of hard data from the US for November, with the week ahead seeing the release of figures on industrial production, retail sales, housing starts and building permits. The full day by day week ahead is at the end.
Before that, recapping last week. Global equity markets took a small step back as virus concerns continued to percolate, with lockdown measures were extended in parts of Europe and reinstated in pockets of the US. Also in the US, stimulus talks seemed to backtrack a bit with Congressional leaders and White House officials unable to work through the last roadblocks toward a deal that was looking more promising this time last week. The S&P 500 dropped -0.96% on the week (-0.13% Friday), while the NASDAQ composite fell just -0.69% (-0.23% Friday) even as Facebook received two anti-trust law suits; one from the FTC and another from a group of 48 states. The cyclical trade took a hit as well with bank stocks on both sides of the Atlantic dropping. US banks dropped -1.54% while European Banks were down a greater -6.15%. European equities dropped as well, with STOXX 600 ending the week -0.99% lower (-0.77% Friday) while the FTSEMIB (-2.15%) and IBEX (-3.12%) notably lagged.
With the drop in risk assets, investors rotated into sovereign bonds. Yields fell sharply as US 10yr Treasury yields dropped -7.0bps (+1.0bps Friday) to finish at 0.896%, the first time under 0.9% in December. 10yr Bund yields were -8.9bps (-3.3bps Friday) lower to -0.64%. 10yr Gilt yields fell -17.9bps (-2.9bps Friday) to 0.17% as Brexit talks continued to deteriorate. The pound fell -1.61% over the course of the week against the dollar, its first losing week since the last week of October and its worst week since early September.
On the data front, the highlight from Friday was the November PPI reading and the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for December. Producer prices rose +0.1% month-over-month (+0.1% expected) after a +0.3 monthly rise in October, meanwhile core PPI rose +0.1% (+0.2% expected) from a month earlier and was up +1.4% (+1.5% expected) from a year ago. The U. Michigan consumer sentiment came in at a stronger-than-expected 81.4pts, compared with the 76.9pts estimates, possibly due to the coming vaccine, which received FDA approval in US on Friday evening.
3A/ASIAN AFFAIRS
i)MONDAY MORNING/ SUNDAY NIGHT:
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 21.93 POINTS OR .66% //Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 116.35 POINTS OR .44% /The Nikkei closed UP 79.22 POINTS OR 0.30%//Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED UP 0.20%
/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP AT 6.5428 /Oil UP TO 47.09 dollars per barrel for WTI and 50.46 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.5428. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.5268 TRADE TALKS STALL//YUAN LEVELS //TRUMP INITIATES A NEW 25% TARIFFS FRIDAY/MAY 10/MAJOR PROBLEMS AT HUAWEI /CFO ARRESTED//CORONAVIRUS/PANDEMIC/TRUMP TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID 19 : /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING BELOW LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST USA DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST THE DOLLAR /TRADE DEAL NOW DEAD..TRUMP RAISED RATES TO 25%
3 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA
South Korea
b) REPORT ON JAPAN
3 C CHINA
CHINA/GLOBE
a huge story: a major data base leak shows millions of communist party members in major jobs/positions in the west.
(youtube)
Major leak ‘exposes’ members and ‘lifts the lid’ on the Chinese Communist Party – YouTube
Aussie Media Claims Massive Leak Of CCP Members “Lifts The Lid” On Global Surveillance State
Just days after leaked video from China exposed details of China having “people at the top of America’s core inner circle of power and influence,” which was followed by Eric Swalwell’s ‘fang-banger-gate’ debacle, Sky News Australia reports that a major leak containing a register with the details of nearly two million CCP members has occurred – exposing members who are now working all over the world, while also lifting the lid on how the party operates under Xi Jinping..
This report reinforces details exposed in 2018, when a series of leaked internal documents revealed that China’s military reforms are aimed at allowing Beijing to “manage a crisis, contain a conflict, win a war” and overtake the United States in military strength:
“As we open up and expand our national interests beyond borders, we desperately need a comprehensive protection of our own security around the globe,” read the leaked documents, which adds that a strong military is the best way to “escape the obsession that war is unavoidable between an emerging power and a ruling hegemony”.
Which led to recent concerns about China’s increasingly ‘hyrbid’ war efforts around the world.
As ABC reported in September, a Chinese company with links to Beijing’s military and intelligence networks has been amassing a vast database of detailed personal information on thousands of Australians, including prominent and influential figures.
A database of 2.4 million people, including more than 35,000 Australians, has been leaked from the Shenzhen company Zhenhua Data which is believed to be used by China’s intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security.
Zhenhua boasts of having the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party among its main clients.
Information collected includes dates of birth, addresses, marital status, along with photographs, political associations, relatives and social media IDs.
Zhenhua’s chief executive Wang Xuefeng, a former IBM employee, has used Chinese social media app WeChat to endorse waging “hybrid warfare” through manipulation of public opinion and “psychological warfare”.
All of which leads to today’s breaking news from Australia’s Sky News who claim that the leak is a significant security breach likely to embarrass Xi Jinping, noting that the data was extracted from a Shanghai server by Chinese dissidents, whistleblowers, in April 2016, who have been using it for counter-intelligence purposes.
“It was then leaked in mid-September to the newly-formed international bi-partisan group, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China – and that group is made up of 150 legislators around the world.
“It was then provided to an international consortium of four media organisations, The Australian, The Sunday Mail in the UK, De Standaard in Belgium and a Swedish editor, to analyse over the past two months, and that’s what we’ve done”.
TimesNowNews.com reports that the data analysis also revealed that:
…more than 600 party members were working at 19 branches of British banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered in 2016.
Similarly, pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and AstraZeneca, currently involved in the development of coronavirus vaccines, had employed 123 CCP loyalists.
Defence firms like Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce also employed hundreds of party members.
Sky News added that it, “is worth noting that there’s no suggestion that these members have committed espionage – but the concern is over whether Australia or these companies knew of the CCP members and if so have any steps been taken to protect their data and people”.
But, as ABC reported in September, a Five Eyes intelligence officer, who uses the pseudonym Aeneas, has pored over the data, and described the technique as “mosaic intelligence gathering” – sourcing vast tracts of information from a wide variety of sources.
“The individual pieces of intelligence are like tiles in a mosaic, which make sense when they are arranged the right way,” Aeneas said.
He argued it was a different way to collect information than how many western agencies went about their work.
The narrative does confirm recent comments by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who slammed China for stealing research and intellectual property, calling China’s Communist Party the “central threat of our time.”
Still, the blaring headlines from Australian media do, however, smack a little of McCarthyism amid increasing tensions with the Chinese (wine tariffs, for example) as the nation’s largest trading partner rattles it hybrid sabre over disagreeable comments from Aussie politicians/media about the pandemic’s spread. Among the 2.4 million ‘CCP members’ in the leaked database, we simply have no idea how many are ‘bad actors’ and how many are merely little-red-book-carrying Chinese citizens, living and working abroad.
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
FRANCE/UK
Traffic jams due to firms rushing their goods attempting to cross the border before Britain leaves the European Customs Union.
(zerohedge)
Traffic backlogs and other delays are already forming as Europe, particularly the countries that share direct land or sea trade borders with the U.K., experience a rush of goods attempting to cross the border before Britain leaves the European Union Customs Union on Jan. 1.
Brexit stockpiling is causing 10-mile highway backups and five-hour delays in Calais as Brexit negotiations with the E.U. have yielded no progress. With neither side willing to give ground, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned businesses and the public to get ready for the no-deal scenario.
According to The Guardian, citing a source close with the president of the Hauts-de-France region, there has been “50% more heavy goods vehicles on the approach roads to the French port and Eurotunnel in the past three weeks.”
“November and December are always busy months, but extreme stockpiling because businesses are trying to get goods into the U.K. before Jan. 1 is the main cause,” the source said.
The source continued: “Normally we have about 6,000 trucks, but now it is about 9,000. It shows the extreme of the consequences of Brexit whether there is a deal or not. Trucks are having to slow down all along the A16 back to Dunkirk with delays of up to 17km.”
On Thursday, BoJo warned that the odds of a no-deal outcome were high. On Friday, Reuters quoted an anonymous E.U. official saying “the probability of a no-deal is higher than of a deal.”
The situation is becoming challenging for companies stockpiling as delays in crossing the Channel are causing severe headaches in the U.K.
Honda and Jaguar have had to halt production temporarily because of parts shortages, and it emerged on Friday that Ikea had been besieged by complaints because of what it called “operational challenges” as shipments of its flatpack furniture are held up at clogged ports. -The Guardian
A Eurotunnel spokesman said heavy traffic delays on the British side would continue for the next three weeks. Recent traffic data of the tunnel show traffic is up 11% on last year for November.
“We are seeing several hundred trucks above forecasts on midweek days,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman also said Eurotunnel contingency plans could shift the trucks to the trains to lessen the congestion.
“We expect it to be like this for the next three weeks with some tailing off as we get close to Christmas and then drop off in the first week of January,” the spokesman said
A no-deal Brexit could generate financial turbulence for markets in the coming weeks.
Analysts at Citigroup believe British banking stocks could fall between 10% and 20% since no deal would be a big negative surprise.
To be sure, most Wall Street banks still believe a deal will be reached at the 11th hour – but what’s happening on the ground suggests otherwise. A failure to secure a trade deal would mean tariffs between UK and Europe, a move that would significantly impact the UK economy.
end
GERMANY
Leader of KPMG audit watchdog over Wirecard has been caught trading in Wirecard shares before its collapse
(zerohedge)
Leader Of German Audit Watchdog Caught Trading In Wirecard Shares Before Collapse
When Wirecard collapsed back in June and and investors suddenly realized that all of those reports about widespread accounting fraud were accurate – and not a ploy cooked up by some desperate short-seller, as BaFin, Germany’s market regulator, had suggested – investors turned to the German government, and they were all asking the same question.
How did regulators let this happen? It seemed almost unbelievable that the German government would so brazenly protect an unprofitable fraud, saying nothing even when the company took Commersbank’s place on the DAX, or when a hoped-for merger with fellow German champion Deutsche Bank fell apart for reasons that were unclear (though that soon changed). As with all frauds, reality cannot be forestalled forever. And so with Wirecard, the truth was finally exposed when a special audit exposed a $2BN hole in Wirecard’s balance sheet.
As German lawmakers investigate regulators’ failings, they’ve discovered that a top official with Germany’s top audit watchdog traded in Wirecard shares in the months before the company’s collapse, behavior that “smacks of insider trading”.
Ralf Bose, a former senior partner at Big Four auditor KPMG, who has headed Apas since 2016, told the parliamentary inquiry into the accounting scandal on Thursday evening that he purchased Wirecard shares in April and sold them – at a loss – the following month. At that time, Apas was in confidential talks with Germany’s financial regulator BaFin over Wirecard.
Calling the admission “disconcerting”, German economy minister Peter Altmaier said Mr Bose’s share deals would be investigated. “We will discuss the matter with the people involved,” he told reporters on Friday.
“This smacks of insider trading,” said Cansel Kiziltepe, the Social Democrat MP who asked Mr Bose about his share deals at the committee hearing.
Bose revealed the trade during testimony before the parliament on Thursday, though he declined to close the size of his trades, other than claiming that he lost money on them. German economy minister Peter Altmaier, speaking to the FT, said “We will discuss the matter with the people involved,” Altmaier said.
One leading liberal politician, Florian Toncar, an MP for the liberal Free Democrats, demanded Bose’s resignation, arguing “from my point of view, he cannot remain in office.”
Even if these trades had never happened (or at least had never come to light), there would still be a solid case for firing Bose. After all, he was one of the officials in charge of Apas, and is therefore also responsible for the failures of oversight related to Wirecard. Toncar added that with Wirecard “every time when you think it cannot get worse, Wirecard is proving the opposite,” adding that these latest revelations are just “unbelievable”. Another MP for the Greens accused Bose of showing “an appalling ignorance with regard to an obvious conflict of interest.”
Bose’s story is odd: He claimed to have bought the shares on April 28, the day the KPMG report about the missing money was published. He then claims he sold the shares at a loss a month later. For somebody who purportedly had inside knowledge, that doesn’t make much sense.
end
UK/EU//BREXIT
Last round of trade talks as optimism sours.
(zerohedge)
London & Brussels Agree To One Last Round Of Trade Talks As Optimism For A Deal Sours
Despite the fact that another extension so close to the end will frustrate hardcore Brexiteers like Nigel Farage, as well as many of the millions of Britons who voted in favor of Brexit more than four years ago, the British prime minister and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s un-elected bureaucrat-in-chief, have agreed to one more round of talks following a “useful” phone call on Sunday, their third in eight days. The two leaders reportedly agreed that it’s worth “going the extra mile” despite the fact that little, if any, progress has been made on the three main stumbling blocks to a deal.
The extension follows German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s exhortation that the two sides “should try everything to achieve a result”. In a joint statement, the two sides acknowledged that “despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.”
“We had a useful phone call this morning. We discussed the major unresolved topics. Our negotiating teams have been working day and night over recent days. And despite the exhaustion after almost a year of negotiations, despite the fact that deadlines have been missed over and over we think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile. We have accordingly mandated our negotiators to continue the talks and to see whether an agreement can even at this late stage be reached.”
But in an indication of just how desperate both London and Brussels are to find something, anything, to feed markets and the public that might inspire optimism, the FT quoted an anonymous senior official in the Belgian capital, who said only that talks were “not going backwards”.
Already, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, and his UK counterpart David Frost, met on Sunday to “evaluate” how the technical-level talks are progressing overnight. According to the FT, Saturday’s negotiations focused on trying to accommodate the EU’s demands for a mechanism to ensure the two sides maintain a regulatory “level playing field” so London can’t undercut its European rivals with weaker environmental or labor standards (or worse, outright state subsidies).
A litany of comments from senior officials on both sides included a lot of “blunt talk” from the Brits, and optimistic conjecture from the Europeans. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that if the EU moderated its demands and treated the UK as a “self-respecting, independent” state, there would be “every reason to feel confident” that a deal could be reached, adding “We are not there yet.”
European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday welcomed the agreement, but told France Inter Radio “We must do all we can for a deal to be made possible. We must support a good deal.”
Speaking specifically about the EU’s “level playing field” demands, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Sunday that “the level playing field area is one that has bedeviled the talks from the outset. In my view, with some degree of creativity, a resolution can be found in that area,” Martin told the BBC.
Even if French PM Emmanuel Macron can be persuaded to give a little on his demands for access to British fishing waters, with the deadline for the UK to finally leave the customs union and single market is fast approaching, more observers are perhaps beginning to realize that there’s no magical compromise that can resolve these issues. Brussels’ demands for a level playing field would effectively keep the UK tethered to EU rules. And that’s a concession that Johnson and the hardcore Brexiteers simply can’t stomach.
Following news of the extension, the FT accused the Tories of “magical thinking” in trying to pursue the carrot of market access without the stick of playing by at least some of Brussels’ rules. As Camilla Cavendish writes, after all these years of negotiations, she and others thought the government in London might have something “up its sleeve” to help bolster the British economy and offer some kind of a buffer to the economic impact from the new trade barriers.
Investors were heartened last week to learn that the Tories had agreed to drop (or at least pause) their plans to override the “Irish backstop” (part of an international treaty), which seemed like a promising strategy to hold Brussels over a barrel, forcing the EU to reimpose a “hard” border between Northern Ireland and the ROI. But the big question now is whether both sides are seriously seeking an agreement, or whether one, or both, is simply engaging in tiresome political theater to try and convince voters they did everything they could before the trading relationship between the two reverts to WTO terms when Britain’s transition period – it has officially been “out” of the EU for almost a year now – ends on Jan. 1.
As for the outlook for the pound, the house view across Wall Street is that “no deal” would be rough on the pound, as multinationals accelerate the flight to the Continent to keep them from being shut out with the rest of the British economy. But as with anything else involving markets, there are multiple factors at play here, and as with everything else in currency markets these days, everybody’s fate seems pegged to the inflationary outlook for the depreciating dollar.
Up To 40% Of UK Care Workers May Not Want To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Authored by Lily Zhou via The Epoch Times,
Potentially up to 40 percent of care home workers won’t get inoculated with CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus vaccine as the UK government rolls out its Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine programme, a leader of the sector in England said on Saturday.
Health and social care workers are one of the groups on the priority list suggested by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
“We know that between 50 and 60 percent, depending on individual services, or actually the staff, are saying that they will definitely have a vaccine and are very keen,” Nadra Ahmed, chairwoman of the National Care Association, told Misha Husain from BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“We understand between about 17 and 20 percent of staff in services are saying they definitely won’t have it,” she said, “and then you’ve got the rest who’re waiting to see.”
Therefore, she said, potentially 40 percent of the works would decide against taking the vaccine.
She said it’s “stunning” that such a high percentage of care home workers may not want to take the vaccine because “they’ve been working and seeing the direct results of the impact of this virus.”
She also said that the take-up of flu vaccine among care workers “isn’t very good” either.
“I think in the NHS they’re incentivized to have it, which seems quite perverse in some ways,” she said, “we can’t make people, it’s not in their contract currently that they have to have these vaccines.”
Ahmed did not mention the source of her figures.
An article published on Thursday by the Community Care said that 41 percent of 300 staff participated in a snapshot survey said they would not take a vaccine at the time, citing reasons including a lack of information about side-effects and the duration of immunity.
Ahmed did not respond to a request for comment.
end
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
Massive Cyberattack On 40 Israeli Firms Believed To Be Iran’s “Revenge” For Assassination
Iran has repeatedly vowed revenge against those behind the assassination of its top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh outside Tehran on November 27. Tehran has blamed Israel for carrying out the high-tech hit, which appears to have involved one or more ‘remote guns’ activated via satellite targeting.
But it’s widely expected this ‘revenge’ in whatever form it takes will initially be limited, given that on the one hand the Islamic Republic knows the outgoing Trump administration may be looking for a casus belli that can justify military intervention and escalation against Iranian targets, but on the other the brazen killing of Iranian officials can’t just go “unanswered”.
On Monday Israeli media is widely reporting that Iran’s revenge has likely begun in the form of widescale cyber attacks against Israeli firms that are in some cases central to the financial, technology and logistics sectors.
“At least 40 Israeli companies were affected by a cyberattack very likely from Iran, after Amitai Data, which sells software to logistics companies was targeted by hackers,” Haaretzreports.
The Haaretz report details that sporadic waves of intrusions and mass data theft appeared to originate through Amitai Data’s system, particularly via the company’s Unifreight logistics software used by its many clients.
According to further details in Haaretz:
News of the hack and subsequent data leak from firms using Amital Data’s Unifreight software was revealed in a filing to Israel’s stock exchange by Amital’s stockholder Orian.
Meanwhile, a hacking team called Pay2Key, which in the past was linked back to Iran, made a public statement regarding an attack it launched in September against yet another Israeli firm – Habana Labs, which is owned by Intel and provides AI solutions. The hackers said they had full control over the Israeli company’s system, including access to sensitive data.
This also involved attacks on multiple large logistics firms responsible for the transport of vital pharmaceuticals at a critical moment Israel is poised to access and distribute COVID-19 vaccines via various global developers it has agreements with.
Amital confirmed further in a statement that “two weeks ago we identified offensive attacks against our systems and clients’ computers. The incident is just one link in a chain of incidents taking place simultaneously at the national level that are being followed closely by the cyber authority. As is our protocol, our defenses are now being bolstered and a special situation room was set up to address any issue that arrives. The firm is using cyber experts to contain the incident and at this point the damage seems localized.”
The intrusion is being described as a “Supply Chain Attack” which seeks to gain access into companies indirectly via suppliers and vendors which have close working relationships.
Additional logistics-related hacks have also been reported in the past days. “Earlier Sunday, an Associated Press report revealed a month ago, a major artery in Israel’s national road network in the northern city of Haifa suffered a cyber-attack, knocking key operations out of commission two days in a row and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage,” The Times of Israel separately underscored.
The full list of companies which have suffered large-scale data breaches is as yet unknown. Israel’s military and intelligence is also no doubt closely involved in ascertaining precisely who is behind the cyberattacks, with a close watch being kept on Iran.
end
Turkey/Russia/USA
The USA sanctions Turkey on its S 400 purchase
Turkey, Russia Furious After Trump Sanctions Erdogan For S-400 Purchase
A year-and-a-half after Turkey first acquired Russia’s advanced S-400 missile defense systems, introducing deep cracks within the NATO alliance particularly over fears the Kremlin could gain vital intelligence on NATO systems like the Lockheed F-35 jets, the United States has finally implemented sanctions on Turkey.
It’s likely going to be the most consequential and surprising action of the Trump presidency a mere few weeks before President-Elect Biden enters the White House on January 20, coming after immense bipartisan pressure from Congress demanding that Trump act swiftly. This after he’s long been criticized for “looking the other way” on Turkey’s egregious anti-US behavior given his supposed ‘special relationship’ with Turkey’s Erdogan. Crucially Biden has promised to “get tough” on Erdogan, which no doubt added to the pressure.
Particularly the newly announced US Treasury sanctions target Turkey’s defense procurement agency, which is called the Presidency of Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı, or SSB). This is to include its senior officials on up to its president, Ismail Demir.
“The sanctions bar the company from receiving loans from international financial institutions and agencies including the U.S. Export-Import Bank,” notes Bloomberg of the freshly unveiled punitive measures on the country that boasts of NATO’s second largest military behind the US.
Days ago amid reports that sanctions were coming, Erdogan blasted any such potential plan as deeply “disrespectful” which would unleash far-reaching harm.
“I don’t know where this will lead to before Trump leaves but during the four-year Trump period, I didn’t have any problems in communicating with America,” Erdogan said Friday.
“For America to get up and confront Turkey with a matter like CAATSA is disrespectful to a very important NATO partner,” Erdogan had added, referring to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act under which the sanctions are being leveled.
Meanwhile, Russia was quick to react after the US Treasury midday announcement, with Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov calling the sanctions “illegitimate”. He said it shows US “arrogance towards international law”.
Turkey for its part has vowed “retaliation as necessary” without offering further details.
Importantly Erdogan during his earlier comments anticipating looming US action over the S-400s addressed the future relationship with the Biden White House. “He is someone who knows me very well. And I know him very well,” Erdogan said of Biden, but he simply left it at that of the man who on the campaign trail dubbed the Turkish president an “autocrat”.
One tangential question and reminder that remains is this… is this too part of Putin’s supposed ‘influence op’ over the Trump White House? This is of course only for those who spent years hyperventilating while floating such derange conspiracy theories as “Trump is a Russian asset” and related paranoid notions
6.Global Issues
Why Did The WHO Bury This Damning Report On Italy’s COVID-19 Response?
Authored by Rick Moran via PJMedia.com,
A World Health Organization (WHO) official reportedly removed an important study on Italy’s early response to the coronavirus pandemic. Ranieri Guerra, the Italian WHO official who removed the study, previously served as director-general for preventive health at the Italian health ministry from 2014-17.
The report – extremely critical of Italy’s haphazard early response to the pandemic – was supposed to be a blueprint for governments not yet hit by the coronavirus. Kuwait funded the report, written by WHO scientist Francesco Zambon and 10 colleagues across Europe. The Guardian:
Called An Unprecedented Challenge: Italy’s First Response to Covid-19, the document was published on the WHO website on 13 May before being taken down the next day, as first reported by the Guardian in August.
The 102-page report said Italy’s pandemic plan had not been updated since 2006 and that, due to being unprepared, the initial response from hospitals was “improvised, chaotic and creative”.
It took time for formal guidance to become available, the report added.
Guerra was directly responsible for updating Italy’s 2006 pandemic plan, which might explain why he didn’t want a study highlighting that fact out there for all the world to see.
The outdated plan is a crucial element in the preliminary investigations being carried out by prosecutors in Bergamo – the Lombardy province hardest hit during the first wave of the pandemic – into possible criminal negligence by authorities. Covid-related deaths in Italy surpassed 60,000 on Sunday, the highest toll in mainland Europe.
That number is surely much higher as Italy ran out of hospital beds early on in the pandemic and people were dying by the thousands in their homes.
The WHO is refusing to allow Zambon to testify at the hearings in Bergamo. Apparently, the organization would prefer to bury the news that it buried a potentially life-saving report for political reasons.
Zambon, who is based at the WHO’s office in Venice, has been summoned three times to speak to prosecutors but has been prevented from doing so by the WHO, which has insisted he and the other 10 researchers involved in producing the report should have immunity from testifying. Only Guerra was heard by prosecutors in early November but the contents of the hearing have not been disclosed.
After the first summons to Zambon and the other researchers was issued, the WHO said the regional prosecutors needed to follow diplomatic channels by making their request via Italy’s foreign ministry.
And Joe Biden wants to rejoin this band of criminal bureaucratic bumblers?
Things apparently got heated between Zambon, author of the report, and Guerra, whose failures might have killed thousands. Guerra apparently threatened to fire Zambon unless he altered the report to remove criticism of the outdated plan, the criticism that makes Guerra look criminally negligent. Zambon dutifully reported the threats to his superiors but the WHO did not open an internal investigation.
The WHO refuses to explain why the report was removed except to say it “contained inaccuracies and inconsistencies.”
Yeah, I’ll bet.
Is Guerra guilty of dereliction of duty and criminal negligence?
“The report did not criticise the Italian government but highlighted the criticalities faced in the management of the pandemic, starting from the premise of the old pandemic plan, which was only ‘reconfirmed’ and not updated in 2017,” Zambon said. “The team thoroughly checked this and found that all the plans that came after 2006 were just copied and pasted – not a word or comma was changed in the text.”
And we’re asked to put our faith in public health bureaucrats? I’ll pass.
* * *
The Full Report can be read here…
A Secret Agreement That Allows Chinese Spies To Roam Free In Switzerland Was Exposed This Week
Details of a little known agreement between Switzerland and China that allowed Chinese “spies” to enter Switzerland at Swiss taxpayers’ expense have leaked this week. The deal, which was signed in 2015 and is up for renewal, “lays out terms for Chinese agents to travel to Switzerland and interview suspected Chinese nationals that Swiss authorities wished to deport,” according a report by The Guardian.
The deal had never been published by the government and wasn’t even publicly acknowledged until August this year, the report says. This differs greatly from “more than 50” deals Switzerland has with other countries that are widely known about. In fact, the deal was so under wraps that “even the Swiss parliament and foreign affairs committee did not know of its existence”.
An Asia-focused human rights campaign group called the “Safeguard Defenders” were the first to translate the original document, which revealed an “extraordinary commitment to secrecy”.
While Chinese experts needed to be invited by Switzerland for their two week “missions”, China could then send whatever agents it wanted without approval. Those agents were permitted to enter the country “without official status” while the Swiss kept their identities confidential. The reports that the agents would subsequently produce for the Swiss government were also kept confidential.
The agreement contained “no provisions to supervise the agents’ activities beyond their work with Swiss authorities,” the Guardian noted. Peter Dahlin, the director of Safeguard Defenders said: “What they do during that two weeks is completely unsupervised. Theoretically, the fact that it’s allowed is remarkable … If this was kept secret, that means other governments wouldn’t know.”
Safeguard Defenders said in a statement: “In only a minority of cases [do other readmission] deals allow for the other party to send representatives to accompany the individual to be returned, and in those cases [the representatives] are limited to that specific activity, and it is a public, official duty being carried out.”
The deal was called “extremely favorable” to the Chinese by Margaret Lewis, a law professor at Seton Hall University in the US: “It strikes me as odd that if it was as low level as someone who was staying in Switzerland illegally, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] would bother sending over officials. The incentives [for MPS officials to travel] would likely be people who are … of interest to the PRC government.”
The agreement was not well received in Switzerland when it was revealed this year, as the world grapples with the Wuhan Coronavirus and skepticism about China and its intentions it at recent highs. Leo Lan, a spokesman for the country’s Chinese Human Rights Defenders campaign group, said: “Given China’s appalling record of detainees’ rights, it’s also a legitimate concern if the repatriated persons would be exposed to torture or other ill-treatment if they were detained.”
Lewis concluded: “Usually governments want to keep close tabs on any foreign agents who are on their soil. If in Switzerland the MPS officials have time to roam free [outside of the Swiss-initiated interviews], I worry about the possibility for interactions with other PRC nationals that are unofficial in nature, and the potential for coercion.”
end
Today’s major stories through the eyes of Michael Every…..
Rabo: So Russia Hacked A Series Of Emails To J Powell Saying “CTRL-P J”?
By Michael Every of Rabobank
MERCUTIO: I am hurt. A plague o’ both your houses! I am sped. Is he gone, and hath nothing?
GBP is on the front foot after the UK and the EU once again showed us that last-minute deadlines mean nothing, and continued talking in the hopes of avoiding a WTO-terms Brexit. Obviously that we did not see that happen on Sunday was good news, but both sides are stressing that this is still a very likely scenario unless the gaps over fishing and a level playing field can be bridged.
The former is quite likely, but the latter is a far harder sell in the UK without some seriously creative bureaucratic mechanisms. Then again, what does Europe specialise in? Indeed, rumours are that this very end might just be achieved right at the very end of negotiations. As BoJo says, markets “live in hope” they don’t end up with a plague on both the UK and EU houses, and the UK speedily gone and having nothing.
On which, today the US electoral college (EC) votes for president, meaning Joe Biden becomes President-Elect after the Supreme Court refused to hear Texas’s ‘Hail Mary’ case. Even so, the election may not be over yet. (*Groan*) The New York Times reports on a potential Trump tactic where several battleground states could today see TWO sets of electors vote –one for Biden and one for Trump– and both then be sent to Congress to be read on 6 January. Of course, only Biden’s will be official.
However, there is precedent for there to be a subsequent flip: look up what happened with Hawaii voters in the 1960 Nixon/Kennedy election. Consequently, and controversially, even after today this de facto gives Trump several more weeks for either more court cases, albeit the longest of long shots; or to try to persuade Republican-majority state legislatures to meet in plenary session and grant recognition to his EC voters. Were that to happen, it would then open up constitutional issues of whose EC slate would be counted on 6 January, the ones appointed by the Governors or the legislatures. Then recall the constitutional duty to count (or dismiss) EC votes falls squarely on Vice-President Pence. Then Vice-President Nixon, whom regarded the 1960 election as having been stolen from him by Kennedy, actually counted Hawaii’s EC votes for Kennedy when they had at first been marked down for him, after ballot totals shifted after the EC voters had been initially allocated. Would that action be repeated in the bitterly bipartisan US house of 2020 if it came to it?
This is all entirely hypothetical, of course, if entirely constitutional. Yet consider that given before 3 November markets were concerned about a potential ‘contested election’ ending in Congress, and are now completely relaxed, this would suddenly present a real “plague on both your houses” tail-risk surprise.
The same response will of course be hurled at Congress again if the latest bipartisan USD908bn stimulus bill set to be unveiled today then fails to pass. To try to ensure that something passes, this legislation will be two separate bills: one US748bn package for most of the provisions, and another USD160bn for state and local aid, along with liability provisions. Obviously, the main problem will be with the latter of the two bills, where state aid is anathema to Republicans and business liability shielding the same for many Democrats.
Will the two bills now really be separated? And can both sides swallow a measure they dislike to get something they do like in the second bill? We shall soon see. As repeatedly noted before, this on/off/on stimulus, the US election, and Brexit each seem to be reluctant to definitively resolve themselves before the other two do.
MERCUTIO: Help me into some house, Benvolio, Or I shall faint. A plague o’ both your houses! They have made worms’ meat of me: I have it, And soundly too: your houses!
Meanwhile, the US Treasury and agencies responsible for deciding internet and telecom policy were hacked over the weekend by a state actor: Micronesia, perhaps? No, Russia, says the Washington Post. Which likes to say ‘Russia’ a lot, of course. And what secrets were divulged in that hack? Doodles of all the fiscal stimulus that isn’t happening? The report that decided not to impose sanctions on any Chinese banks in line with the Hong Kong Autonomy Act? Or the series of emails to J Powell saying “CTRL-P J”?
BENVOLIO: O noble prince, I can discover all. The unlucky manage of this fatal brawl.
end
First American Nurse Receives COVID Vaccine; Netherlands, London Follow Germany Into Lockdown: Live Updates
Summary
- First US patients vaccinated
- London enters tier 3 restrictions
- Netherlands follows Germany into hard lockdown
- US average deaths near 2.5K/day
- Italian government warns of new restrictions to come
- NJ cases top 400K
- Singapore approves Pfizer vaccine
- Netanyahu enters quarantine after COVID exposure
* * *
Update (0945ET): It’s official: Just as Mayor Sadiq Khan warned, London’s COVID alert level has been raised to a “Tier 3”, the highest of the system of tiers and restrictions established by Boris Johnson. Or at least that’s what Health Secretary Matt Hancock has just told Parliament.
We’re sensing the issue of who will follow Germany into lockdown will be the big theme of the day.
* * *
The big news out of Europe Monday morning is that the Netherlands is following Germany into a “hard” holiday lockdown that will start this week and last at least until mid-January. Across the country, schools, non-essential shops and museums will all be closed from midnight on Tuesday, according to the local press.
Students in elementary and middle school will be required to switch to distance learning, and people will be urged to remain indoors as much as possible. The lockdown was reportedly introduced so swiftly, and without much warning, to avoid panic buying in the country’s shops and markets. The Netherlands lockdown will be in place until Jan. 19, longer than the German lockdown announced yesterday.
PM Mark Rutte is expected to make a statement about the lockdown tonight, at around 1900CET, which is in about 3.5 hours.
Circling back to the US, the number of new daily cases dropped below 200K on Sunday, while President Trump celebrated in a tweet minutes ago on Monday morning that the first non-trial patient had finally been vaccinated in the US. Dr. Yves Duroseau, chair of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, and RN Sandra Lindsay, critical care nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, volunteered to be the first New Yorkers to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and film of the vaccination was distributed to US cable news channels.
Watch footage below:
While OWS head Moncef Slaoui said over the weekend that 8 in ten Americans could be vaccinated by June…
…a team of analysts at Goldman has come up with projections showing a surfeit of global vaccine supplies will allow the US to hit 50% vaccination rate by April.
Although the US 7-day average for deaths has reached 2.4K, that’s 300 deaths more per day on average over the past week than during the peak from the spring wave. However, in the 24 hours to Sunday, the rate of reported deaths slowed slightly.
The coronavirus vaccine has landed in California. Los Angeles International Airport officials tweeted out pictures Monday morning of the FedEx plane carrying the vaccine to prove it. The airport called it a major milestone “for science, our country and our community.”
The states reporting the most deaths are PA, CA, NY, TX, IL.
In NJ, the coronavirus cases passed 400K on Sunday after reporting another 4.2K positive tests. An additional 24 people in the state died from COVID in the 24 hours through Sunday, bringing the tally to 15.9K, the fifth-highest death toll in the country.
Here’s some more news from overnight and Monday morning:
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said the government will suspend its “Go To” domestic travel incentive campaign from Dec. 28 to Jan. 11, according to remarks carried by public broadcaster NHK. The government had been under pressure to halt the campaign after coronavirus cases surged last week (Source: Bloomberg).
Singapore has approved the use of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s coronavirus vaccine and expects the first shipments by the end of the month, by which time it also plans to move into the final phase of its virus curbs (Source: Bloomberg).
Ireland may “very well” face new restrictions in January in the wake of Christmas celebrations, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said on Monday (Source: Bloomberg).
The Italian government is considering new measures to tighten Covid-19 restrictions over the holidays, effectively walking back some recent moves to allow more movement and business openings during the period, Corriere della Sera reported (Source: Bloomberg).
More bad news out of Sweden. As hospitals across the country are wracked by severe staff shortages, prompting a growing number of health-care workers to quit, an ICU unit in Sweden’s third biggest city has been gripped by an outbreak of Covid-19 that has already infected more than 40% of the staff (Source: Dagens Nyheter).
* * *
Our last note of the day comes courtesy of Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become the latest world leader to enter quarantine, where he will reportedly remain until Friday after meeting with someone who tested positive.
7. OIL ISSUES
Germany looks to protect the Russia led Nord Stream 2 from USA sanctions
Charles Kennedy/OilPrice.com
Oil Tumbles As OPEC Slashes Q1 Demand Forecast
Having just recently agreed a new production quota, which along with vaccine hype has spurred oil prices to their highest since March, OPEC just reduced projections for global fuel consumption in the first quarter of 2021 by 1 million barrels a day, it said in a monthly report.
Demand will increase by just 500,000 barrels from that quarter — the same amount the cartel and its partners agreed they’ll add in January.
This sent WTI back below $47…
As Bloomberg reports, the 23-nation OPEC+ coalition led by Saudi Arabia and Russia will meet on Jan. 4 to consider whether they can press on with further monthly increases.
“Uncertainties remain high, mainly surrounding the development of the Covid-19 pandemic and rollout of vaccines, as well as the structural impact of Covid-19 on consumer behaviors, predominantly in transportation sector,” OPEC’s Vienna-based secretariat said in the report.
The alliance is currently idling 7.7 million barrels a day, or about 8% of global output. In three weeks, it will decide whether the January increase should be followed by another addition of as many as 500,000 barrels a day as it sets about reviving a total of 2 million barrels.
Additionally, stockpiles in developed nations remained 200 million barrels above their five-year average in October, according to OPEC’s report.
END
Second Crude Tanker Explodes Off Saudi Coast In 3 Weeks, “External Source” Blamed
The Singapore-flagged BW Rhine, a chemical tanker hauling gasoline, suffered an explosion early Monday after
being hit by “an external source,” said Haifna, a tanker company under the BW Group that owns and operates the vessel.
BW Rhine was “hit from an external source whilst discharging at approximately 00:40 local time on 14 December 2020,” AP News said, citing a statement from Haifna, “causing an explosion and subsequent fire onboard.”
The incident occurred off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah.
At the time of the incident, the vessel was carrying more than 60,000 metric tons of gasoline from an Aramco refinery at Yanbu.
Haifna said the explosion caused a fire on board the vessel. It was reported that all 22 sailors exited the ship without injury and hours later, firefighters extinguished the blaze.
“The Master immediately ceased all discharge operations and enacted emergency procedures onboard.”
Hafnia said further “it is possible that some oil has escaped from the vessel, but this has not been confirmed and instrumentation currently indicates that oil levels on board are at the same level as before the incident.”
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have been known to deploy sea mines in the Red Sea waters. The body of water is a critical transit zone for global shipping and energy products.
So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Islamic Republic comes under immediate suspicion of sponsoring such disruptive attacks on oil transit operations either in the Gulf or Red Sea anytime such incidents occur. This is in part because its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has recently vowed to do just that if it perceives Iran or the “Islamic Revolution” is under threat.
Maritime security firm Dryad Global said if Houthis were behind the attack, it “would represent a fundamental shift in both targeting capabilities and intent.”
Brent futures are slightly higher, holding over the critical 50-handle following the incident.
The incident also comes as tensions between the US and Iran have soared in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Tehran’s top nuclear scientist was killed in an attack suspected to have been conducted by Israel.
end
On the same subject as above: and Biden wants to deal with these terrorists!
(zerohedge)
Saudis Reveal Tanker Blast A “Terror Attack” By Booby-Trapped Boat Bomb
We reported earlier that the Singapore-flagged BW Rhine, a chemical tanker hauling gasoline, suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” according to the tanker company under the BW Group that owns and operates the vessel, Haifna.
Saudi state media is now calling it a “terrorist” attack, saying the tanker was approached by an explosives-laden boat which detonated.
“A fuel transport ship, anchored in the fuel terminal in Jeddah, was attacked by an explosive-laden boat in the early hours of this morning,” the official Saudi Press Agency SPA says. A Saudi energy ministry spokesman was quoted as source of the new details.
However, the energy ministry didn’t name a culprit for the attack which is the second such incident targeting tankers off the Saudi coast in the Red Sea in under three weeks.
There were 22 sailors aboard the BW Rhine when it was struck and caught on fire, all of which managed to escape without injury, according to the operating company.
Citing local reports, UK media details that:
The Singapore-flagged tanker was loaded with 60,000 tonnes of gasoline on December 6 and was still 84 per cent full when the blaze took hold.
At maximum capacity it can take 80,000 tonnes but the company didn’t believe it had leaked despite damage from the fire.
The Islamic Republic will no doubt come under immediate suspicion of sponsoring such a disruptive attack on oil transit operations. This is especially because its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has recently vowed to do just that if it perceives Iran or the “Islamic Revolution” is under threat.
However, Yemen’s Shia Houthis have in the past specifically targeted tankers in the nearby Red Sea. The Houthis are widely believed to have taken orders from Tehran in past attacks on Saudi interests or facilities.
Maritime security firm Dryad Global said if Houthis were behind the attack, it “would represent a fundamental shift in both targeting capabilities and intent
8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
Your early morning currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings MONDAY morning 7:00 AM….
Euro/USA 1.2159 UP .0059 REACTING TO MERKEL’S FAILED COALITION/ REACTING TO +GERMAN ELECTION WHERE ALT RIGHT PARTY ENTERS THE BUNDESTAG/ huge Deutsche bank problems ///ITALIAN CHAOS//CORONAVIRUS/PANDEMIC/TRUMP POSITIVE WITH VIRUS /AND NOW ECB TAPERING BOND PURCHASES/JAPAN TAPERING BOND PURCHASES /USA RISING INTEREST RATES /FLOODING/EUROPE BOURSES /GREEN
USA/JAPAN YEN 103.71 DOWN 0.201 (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 1.3410 UP 0.02156 (Brexit March 29/ 2019/ARTICLE 50 SIGNED/BREXIT FEES WILL BE CAPPED/
USA/CAN 1.2732 DOWN .0010 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 56 basis points, trading now ABOVE the important 1.08 level RISING to 1.2159 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE UP 21.93 POINTS OR .66%
//Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 116.35 POINTS OR .44%
/AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.20%// EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and Asia
EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 116.35 POINTS OR .44%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 21.93 POINTS OR .66%
Australia BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.20%
Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 79.92 POINTS OR 0.30%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 1824.90
silver:$23.85-
Early MONDAY morning USA 10 year bond yield: 0.926% !!! UP 3 IN POINTS from FRIDAY’S night in basis points and it is trading WELL BELOW resistance at 2.27-2.32%.
The 30 yr bond yield 1.668 UP 4 IN BASIS POINTS from FRIDAY night.
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 90.85 DOWN 49 CENT(S) from FRIDAY’s close.
This ends early morning numbers MONDAY MORNING
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx6
And now your closing MONDAY NUMBERS \1: 00 PM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: -0.04% DOWN 2 in basis point(s) yield from YESTERDAY/
JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +.01.% DOWN 1 BASIS POINTS from YESTERDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/56
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 0.00%//DOWN 0 in basis point yield from yesterday.
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD:0.55 DOWN 1 points in basis points yield from yesterday./
the Italian 10 yr bond yield is trading 57 points higher than Spain.
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: FALLS TO –.62% IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY//
THE IMPORTANT SPREAD BETWEEN ITALIAN 10 YR BOND AND GERMAN 10 YEAR BOND IS 1.17% AND NOW ABOVE THE THE 3.00% LEVEL WHICH WILL IMPLODE THE ENTIRE ITALIAN BANKING SYSTEM. AT 4% SPREAD THERE WILL BE A HUGE 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 1.2142 UP .0039 or 39 basis points
USA/Japan: 104.01 UP .137 OR YEN DOWN 14 basis points/
Great Britain/USA 1.3323 UP .0127 POUND UP 127 BASIS POINTS)
Canadian dollar DOWN 37 basis points to 1.2779
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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed DOWN AT 6.5508 ON SHORE (DOWN)..
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: 6.5327 (YUAN DOWN)..
TURKISH LIRA: 7.8959 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH.
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.01%
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 1 IN basis points from FRIDAY at 0.904 % //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic USA 30 yr bond yield: 1.634 UP 1 in basis points on the day
Your closing USA dollar index, 90.79 down 19 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 DOWN 6.77 0.10%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 128.09 POINTS OR .98%
Paris Cac CLOSED UP 29.29 POINTS 0.53%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 88.30 POINTS or 1.10%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 104.95 POINTS OR 0.48%
WTI Oil price; 46.08 12:00 PM EST
Brent Oil: 49.70 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN / RUBLE FALLS: 73.68 THE CROSS HIGHER BY 0.953RUBLES/DOLLAR (RUBLE LOWER BY 53 BASIS PTS)
TODAY THE GERMAN YIELD FALLS TO –.62 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 OILPRICE 4:30 PM : 46.92//
BRENT : 50.30
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: … 0.899..up 0 basis points…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 1.630 up 1 basis points..
EURO/USA 1.2148 ( DOWN 45 BASIS POINTS)
USA/JAPANESE YEN:104.00 UP .101 (YEN DOWN 10 BASIS POINTS/..
USA DOLLAR INDEX: 90.71 DOWN 29 cent(s)/
The British pound at 4 pm Britain Pound/USA:13322 UP 127 POINTS
the Turkish lira close: 7.8544
the Russian rouble 73.89 DOWN 0.74 Roubles against the uSA dollar. (DOWN 74 BASIS POINTS)
Canadian dollar: 1.2759 DOWN 20 BASIS pts
German 10 yr bond yield at 5 pm: ,-0.62%
The Dow closed DOWN 184.82 POINTS OR 0.62%
NASDAQ closed UP 62.17 POINTS OR 0.50%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 24.29 CLOSED UP .98
LIBOR 3 MONTH DURATION: 0.234%//libor dropping like a stone
USA MARKET TRADING RESULTS IN GRAPH FORM
America’s V-Day Sparks Safe-Haven, Protection Buying As Stocks ‘Sell The News’
Small-Caps and Big-Tech managed gains on the day but S&P (4th down day in a row) and The Dow gave back all of their V-Day hype and stimulus hope gains overnight…
…as de Blasio stole the jam out of the “we’re on our way back to normal” donut…with his warnings about total shutdowns in NY.
Dow dumped back below 30k… again!
Energy ran out of steam (after a big opening squeeze higher), suffering its biggest drop since November as Tech led the day (only Tech and Cons Directionary managed gains)…
Source: Bloomberg
VIX was notably higher on the day as it appears that peak greed gave way to some bid for protection…
And (safe-haven-y) Bonds were bid…
Source: Bloomberg
We did notice that 30Y Yields managed to scramble perfectly to tag last Thursday’s highs before rolling over…
Source: Bloomberg
The IPOpalooza stalled a bit with the Renaissance IPO index suffering its first decline over 4 days in a month with ABNB and DASH clubbed like baby seals…
And SPAC-fave SPCE plunged after a failed test flight…
The dollar continued its penny stock impersonation, spiking and dumping ad hoc…
Source: Bloomberg
Intraday, the dollar hit a new cycle low…
Source: Bloomberg
While the dollar chopped around, Bitcoin was ‘stable’, having rallied back up to record highs over the weekend…
Source: Bloomberg
But a notable split occurred over the weekend with Ripple down hard as BTC, ETH et al. gained…
Source: Bloomberg
Gold and Silver were modestly lower on the day, but crude managed – somehow – to dump’n’pump (despite OPEC’s major demand forecast cut) to end green, with WTI around $47…
Real yields fell to their lowest in 3 months, strongly supporting gains in gold from here…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, global negative-yielding debt topped $18 trillion – will gold re-catch up?
Source: Bloomberg
And then there’s the miracle of Xmas… for stockholders, the second half of the month is seasonally strong…
a)Market trading/LAST NIGHT/USA
b)MARKET TRADING/USA//
this afternoon:
Dow/S&P Give Up Day’s Gains As Stimulus Hope Fades… Again
So much excitement, so much hope… and now, nope!
A vaccine, hopes for renewed stimulus talk, and a general sense of euphoria that the world may get back to normal was dashed when de Blasio warned New Yorkers to prepare for total shutdown…
The Dow and S&P gave back all their overnight gains…
Equity protection is bid…
And bond yields dropped back below Friday’s close…
Get back to work Mrs. Pelosi!
ii)Market data/USA
iii) Important USA Economic Stories
Election chaos
Story no 1
The big story, Friday night:
The Supreme Court bailed as they refused to hear the case. No doubt the 7/9 justices were intimidated by the left fearing for their lives. This will no doubt set up a civil war scenario: RED states will not want to be part of a Biden/Harris socialist/communist regime and they will try to secede. The state to watch is TEXAS as they demand all states adhere to the constitution
(zerohedge)//Friday night
Supreme Court Tosses Texas Bid To Overturn Election
The Supreme Court on Friday tossed a last-minute bid by the state of Texas to overturn the 2020 election by challenging the results of four battleground states.
Citing a lack of standing, Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a brief order that the state “has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections,” adding “All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.”
In doing so, the justices shut down a long-shot bid for Texas to challenge Biden’s wins in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin – which was joined by 17 other states and over 100 House Republicans.
Justices Clarence Thomas joined Alito in stating that they do not believe the court has the authority to outright reject Texas’s request, writing instead “I would therefore grant the motion to file the bill of complaint but would not grant other relief, and I express no view on any other issue.”
Earlier in the day, President Trump tweeted: “If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!”
Notably, Trump appointed three of the court’s nine members – causing Democrats to cry foul at the prospect of the highest court in the land deciding the outcome of the 2020 election. Trump himself suggested several times that filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat with Justice Amy Coney Barrett was essential in the event that the election ended up at the Court.
The case was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who asked the Court to invalidate over 20 million votes in the above-mentioned states so that their GOP-controlled state legislatures could decide who won instead.
AGs from Pennsylvania and Michigan have responded to the decision:
The Texas GOP, meanwhile, suggests that “law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution.” (Harvey: en English secede)
Texas GOP Chairman Allen West Suggests Succession After SCOTUS Allows Complete Lawlessness with 2020 Elections
Texas GOP Chairman Allen West released a statement on Friday night after the Supreme Court failed to take on the Texas case.
In his statement, West suggests that law-abiding states may join together and form a union of states that abides by the US Constitution.
It is clear that Democrats no longer respect or believe in this country’s founding documents.
Allen West then went on to say what millions of Americans are thinking today.
Secession? Texas GOP Calls For New ‘Union Of States That Will Abide By Constitution’ In Wake Of Supreme Court Defeat
Texas Republican Party Chairman Allen West is fuming after the Supreme Court denied the state’s bid to challenge Joe Biden’s wins in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Washington and Michigan – and has suggested what sounds a lot like seccession.
In a Friday night statement, West – a former Congressman and Iraq war veteran – said: “The Supreme Court, in tossing the Texas lawsuit that was joined by seventeen states and 106 US congressmen, have decreed that a state can take unconstitutional actions and violate its own election law, resulting in damaging effects on other states that abide by the law, while the guilty state suffers no consequences. This decision establishes a precedent that says states can violate the US constitution and not be held accountable.”
West then added: “This decision will have far reaching ramifications for the future of our constitutional republic. Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution.”
In a further statement, West repeated his suggestion – writing “If we are living in Texas, and we were joined with, you know, some 20-some-odd other states, the 1065 different members of Congress that say, ‘we do not want to stand by and allow four states to have unconstitutional practices,’ and when we see states such as ourselves following the law, but yet the Supreme Court says that’s perfectly fine, then maybe we should have a union of states that believe in the Constitution and will abide by that rule of law, and let these other states go out on their own separate way and let them, not be supported by these other states such as ourselves.”
Friday’s decision marked the second time Republicans were denied this week by the Supreme Court, and has largely been considered the ‘end of the road’ for overturning the results of the election.
end
YESTERDAY’S BIGGEST STORY: Dominion Voting Machines Caught Manipulating Votes Per IT Forensic Investigation
A month ago in the early days after the 2020 election was stolen the Biden gang, we reported on an anomaly that was uncovered in a county in Michigan. It was reported that 6,000 votes were switched and moved from President Trump to Joe Biden:
It took over a month, but last week we reported on an IT inspection of voting machines in Atrium County in Michigan.
Last night the results of the investigation were released from the IT forensic study of the Dominion Voting Machines:
Last night attorney Matt DePerno went on Greg Kelly on Newsmax. The information he shared was explosive.
Matthew DePerno: Well the Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said it happened by human error. We discovered that’s not true, that’s a lie. It didn’t happen by human error. It happened by a computer program called Dominion Voting System. And through our lawsuit we were able to get access to the Dominion Voting System program and my team went on last Sunday and we took forensic images on that computer system, 16 CF data cards, 16 thumb drives, and we got the forensic image of the actual tabulation machine in the Antrim County clerk office.
This was the biggest story of the day yesterday!/Saturday
Here’s the video:
WE WERE RIGHT: Dominion Voting Machines Do Manipulate Votes and Analysis Shows Millions of Votes Were Switched from President Trump to Biden
We were right – of course Biden stole the election by millions of votes.
We all knew Joe Biden was the worst candidate in US history. We are not aware of a single Democrat who would argue this or who has. Biden is senile and likely the oldest candidate in history. He has a corrupt past with family dealings in China and the Ukraine and other countries where he and his family made literally billions at the expense of tax paying Americans. Although there are no notable policies Biden can claim in his nearly half century in politics, President Barack Obama had horrible policies like Obamacare that are very much disliked across the country and Biden was his VP and therefore he’s associated to these horrible policies. Biden had nothing and it showed in the enthusiasm in his campaign and it still does.
We kept track of events for both candidates in this year and the enthusiasm gap was shocking – President Trump entertained over 1.1 million event goers while Biden, even with Obama and some rock stars, entertained less than 2,000 people total at his events:
So when the election came, it was NO SURPRISE that President Trump set an all-time record for vote totals, blowing by Obama’s record of 69 million in 2008, with over 74 million votes.
But based on all sorts of data and our own eyes, it is impossible that Biden beat President Trump in the election, especially with more than 81 million votes. This just didn’t happen.
There have been numerous reports of thousands of votes here and there for dead people that voted for Biden. The Democrats always manufacture votes using dead people. But there had to be something bigger. How did Biden ever amass over 80 million votes?
Then we began seeing system ‘glitches‘ as they were called, where thousands of votes were switched from President Trump to Joe Biden. After a week of reporting on these glitches we came across some work at a website labeled theDonald.win where they uncovered millions of Trump votes lost or switched from President Trump to Biden:
We also identified other results that made no sense. Huge ballot drops in swing states on the morning after the election for Biden and anomalies in the votes recorded after Biden was given a lead in these states, where the same proportion of Biden to Trump was recorded for nearly all recorded entries after this point.
Clearly something was going on. Of course there were absentee ballots that were fraudulent in the hundreds of thousands but there had to be more. Then yesterday it was confirmed that votes were manipulated in the Dominion voting machines in the 2020 election. This is how it was done.
BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Dominion Voting Machines Have the Ability to Create Ballots!
Functionality is built into the Dominion voting machines that makes it possible to create votes.
“Fake stacks” of ballots can be easily generated AUTOMATICALLY by the Dominion Voting software as noted in this tweet:
DOMINION.🗳️
More concerning information on Automated Test Decks that every knowledgeable voter should be familiar with.
This information & assessments can be taken directly from reading the voting system company’s own user’s manuals. #FWIW🔻https://t.co/oe3QiUXK5j
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) December 3, 2020
According to the Dominion website: https://www.dominionvoting.com/optional-solutions/
The Automated Test Deck Generator creates comprehensive test decks for efficient and easy logic & accuracy testing. Using the election project database, a deck of vote-marked ballots is randomly generated to provide the highest assurance of system accuracy. When scanned, these automated test deck ballots create known outcomes that can be compared with the tabulated results, providing verification of both the quality of the printed ballots as well as the complete accuracy of each tabulator.”
The feature is explained in the Dominion Voting Systems manual on page 30:
4. Alternatively, if allowed by your jurisdiction, use the Automated Test Deck application. This application, available from Dominion Voting, can automatically generate the appropriate test decks and expected results totals.
Georgia purchased the “Automated Test Desk” option according to this procurement document – see page 59:
Automated Test Deck Creation – The creation of automated, comprehensive test decks is an optional service provided by Dominion to assist customers in conducting Logic & Accuracy testing. Using the Election Day database, a series of pre-marked ballots are generated based on a computer algorithm designed to provide the highest assurance of system accuracy. When scanned these decks create known outcomes that can be compared with tabulated results. The elimination of error due to mistakes in hand-marking provides a higher degree of
confidence in test results.”
Are these the “pristine ballots” with the identical ballot markings as Fulton County Poll Manager Susan Voyles testified to in her hearing? Where else have we seen stacks of ballots, some pristine, with predictable 95%+ Biden results?
There is evidence that Philadelphia precincts had this option from Dominion also, see page 89: https://files7.philadelphiavotes.com/announcements/Dominion_-_Redacted.pdf
And Michigan also, see page 37: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/071B7700117_Dominion_555356_7.pdf
Were these “test decks” created automatically out of the Dominion Voting Systems software introduced into the stream of “naked ballots” to be counted with predictable results?
Were ballots created within the Dominion system that were used to fill the massive data dumps needed to surpass President Trump’s record setting election results early on the morning after the election?
end
Story no 8
Sidney Powell gives a full interview of the election lawsuits and hints at EO138408
WATCH: Sidney Powell Gives Full Status Interview on the Election Lawsuits…
end
STORY NO 9
Ratcliffe joins Trump as the Army NAVY game.
For EO 13848 to hold, Trump needs the army and they are 100% behind him
(zerohedge)
Not Making Headlines: DNI Ratcliffe Attends Army-Navy Football Game with President Trump – More than a Coincidence?
What went unnoticed on Saturday is that Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe joined President Trump today at the Army – Navy football game.
Former Representative and now current Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe, tweeted out today that he joined the President at the Army – Navy football game:
Ratcliffe then changed the profile picture on his Twitter account to a picture of Ratcliffe standing in front of Marine One.
The Army – Navy game is an important annual event in the US annually but perhaps this year there is added meaning.
We have reported that per an Executive Order of President Trump’s in 2018, DNI Ratcliff is required to provide a report to him 45 days after the election. December 18 is that date.
Wonder what might have been discussed during their time together?
end
Story no 10
Trump give a four day holiday….and then another EO concerning succession in the military
(GATEAY PUNDIT)
President Trump Quietly Issued Another Executive Order – This One Concerning the Military
We heard last week that the President issued an Executive Order concerning Christmas Eve but there was another Executive Order concerning the Military that he also sneaked through.
President Trump’s Executive Orders (EOs) have been in the news lately. One EO relates to foreign interference in the elections which was renewed in September after being first issued in September 2018. This EO mandates that the DNI – currently John Ratcliffe – produce a report on foreign intervention in the 2020 election within 45 days of the election. This equates to December 18.
Another EO issued by President Trump related to Christmas Eve. This year the President is giving all US government employees Christmas Eve off as a holiday. This holiday went to all employees of the government except those related to “National Security, Defense or other public need.” This also makes the holiday weekend a four-day weekend instead of three.
Another EO that was signed a couple of days ago on the 10th related to succession of the military. This EO lists the order of succession of the military should the Secretary of Defense die, resign or be unable to perform his duties. The one notable in this EO is that the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, General Mark Milley, is not on the list.
(One expert notes the following: Combatant commanders report to the Secretary of Defense. If the Secretary of Defense is indisposed, then another civilian would take his/her place. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s role is to be the senior military advisor, not in the command chain. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the principal military advisor to POTUS.)
We are unable to determine the changes necessary for the EO other than to provide a more lengthy list to implement during emergencies.
end
Story 11
This is a biggy!! Antrim County forensic reports on 16 Dominion machines.
Result; massive fraud and a wholesale change in votes…
Antrim County Forensics Report – Document Cloud
https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20423772-antrim-county-forensics-report
Cheers
Crucial Logs Missing From Some Michigan Dominion Voting Machines: Forensics Report
Update (1225ET): The Epoch Times’ Ivan Pentchokov reports that crucial security and adjudication logs are missing from Dominion Voting Systems machines from Michigan’s Antrim County, according to a forensics report (pdf) released on Dec. 14 in compliance with a court order.
“Significantly, the computer system shows vote adjudication logs for prior years; but all adjudication log entries for the 2020 election cycle are missing. The adjudication process is the simplest way to manually manipulate votes. The lack of records prevents any form of audit accountability, and their conspicuous absence is extremely suspicious since the files exist for previous years using the same software,” the report, authored by Russell Ramsland, states.
“We must conclude that the 2020 election cycle records have been manually removed.”
The absence of the adjudication logs is particularly alarming because the forensic exam found that the voting machines rejected an extraordinary number of ballots for adjudication, a manual process in which election workers determine the ultimate outcome for each ballot.
The office of Michigan’s Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Dominion, and a spokesman for Antrim County didn’t respond to requests for comment.
* * *
As Sara Carter of SaraACarter.com detailed earlier, a Michigan judge ordered the public release Monday of a report submitted by lawyers supporting President Donald Trump and the election fraud allegations they say will reveal serious concerns that the computer machines used in the voting in Antrim County were compromised. The forensic report allegedly contains data that will reveal that the computer systems used to vote in the county were not secure and had foreign components that made them susceptible to manipulation and or fraud, according to those directly familiar with the case.
Michigan’s Assistant Attorney General Erik Grill, representing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, immediately shot back against the release of the report, which President Donald Trump supporters say raises significant questions of voter fraud and implications to the U.S. national security.
He suggested that the report being released is “inaccurate, incomplete and misleading,” according to the Detroit News.
“There’s no reason to hide,” said Grill, during a virtual court hearing Monday morning.
“There is nothing to hide.”
However, lawyers and computer experts working to expose what they say is a serious threat to U.S. security and infrastructure say the report will reveal the irregularities in the data and external foreign interference in the system.
The legal team “submitted the forensics report to the Judge (Sunday) at 8:30 a.m. per the Judge’s request,” stated a source familiar with the report.
According to sources, who spoke to me this weekend the forensic report of the computer system reveals that there are serious national security implications to the evidence discovered because “the election system is categorized as critical infrastructure, this is a threat to, it is a national security concern.”
The lawsuit was initiated by Antrim County resident William Bailey. Circuit Judge Kevin Elsenheimer, a former Republican lawmaker, allowed Allied Securities Operation Group and Bailey to take forensic images of the county’s 22 tabulators and review other election-related material to ensure election integrity.
The forensic analysis has been under protective order. It could not be released prior to the Judge’s decision Monday, when Elsenheimer ordered the release with some redactions.
Antrim County has roughly 23,000 residents and the discovery that roughly 6,000 votes cast using the Dominion Voting Systems that should have gone to President Donald Trump went to Joe Biden without explanation triggered the ongoing investigation by Trump supporters.
The bizarre explanation that a failure to update voting software led to Joe Biden initially receiving those thousands of votes ahead of Trump in the Republican-leaning county wasn’t accepted by the majority of Trump supporters, nor many of the Michigan GOP>
If the forensic report is accurate on the irregularities, as well as other issues of alleged fraud regarding the Dominion Voting Systems used in XX states across the country, it may snowball to other state legislatures requesting audits of their systems as well.
end
Story no 13
The Dominion Voting systems used an internet technology firm, Solar Winds Inc that allowed the hacking to proceed
(zerohedge/Stieber//epoch Times)
Dominion Voting Systems Uses Firm That Enabled US Treasury Hack
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,
A company that provides voting systems in 28 states uses an Internet technology firm that was hacked.
Dominion Voting Systems uses SolarWinds software, according to a Dominion web page.
SolarWinds does not list Dominion on its partial customer listing but says its products and services are used by more than 300,000 customers around the world, including all five branches of the U.S. military and more than 425 of the U.S. Fortune 500.
President and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems John Poulos testifies to Congress in Washington on Jan. 9, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The situation with SolarWinds software enabled hackers to gain access to the U.S. Commerce Department and, reportedly, the Treasury Department.
SolarWinds Orion products are currently being exploited by malicious actors, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Agency (CISA) said. The tactic lets an attacker gain access to network traffic management systems.
The only known mitigation measure currently available is to disconnect affected devices, according to the agency.
SolarWinds recommended customers upgrade their Orion platform to a recent version. If customers aren’t able to upgrade immediately, they were urged to disable Internet access for the platform and limit ports and connections to only what is necessary. A patch is expected on Tuesday.
Dominion didn’t respond to a request for comment, including whether it had followed the measures recommended by either CISA or SolarWinds. Dominion also didn’t return a voicemail.
According to FireEye, a cybersecurity firm, the hackers inserted malicious code into legitimate software updates for the SolarWinds Orion software. The code enabled an attacker to gain remote access to the victim’s systems.
A screenshot of Dominion Voting Systems’ website shows the use of SolarWinds software. (Screenshot/Dominion Voting Systems)
The malware was designed in a way to not alert the victim to the intrusion, and attackers went to significant lengths to blend into normal activity.
The breaches date back to the spring, according to the firm, which has been in touch with SolarWinds, the FBI, and other key partners.
The activity is being probed by the FBI, the firm said. The bureau has told The Epoch Times that it doesn’t comment on ongoing investigations.
Dominion has been under the spotlight in recent weeks because of how widespread its systems and machines are in the United States. Witnesses have come forward to say that Dominion products were connected to the Internet during the Nov. 3 election, raising concerns about security. Dominion machines were used in Antrim County, Michigan, where officials initially reported Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden winning before saying President Donald Trump actually won.
The change in votes was approximately 6,000.
Michigan and Dominion officials have insisted that what happened was due to human error but a forensic audit showed that it was actually a software issue, an attorney pressing a case against the county said last week.
A judge is slated to decide whether to approve an emergency motion seeking permission to make the audit public on Monday morning
end
Stephen Miller: Alternative Electors will send Trump votes to Congress:
(Newsmax)
Stephen Miller: ‘Alternative Electors’ Will Send Trump Votes to Congress
Monday, 14 December 2020 01:41 PM
The Electoral College’s vote will not end President Donald Trump’s hopes for reelection, as his allies are planning to send an “alternative” slate of electors to Congress, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller argued Monday as electors gathered nationwide to cast their votes.
“The only date in the Constitution is Jan. 20,” Miller said on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” “We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election.”
Miller added that “as we speak, an alternate slate of electors in the contested states is going to vote and we’re going to send those results up to Congress. This will ensure that all of our legal remedies remain open. That means that if we win these cases in the courts, we can direct that the alternate state of electors be certified.”
Miller said Trump supporters will be acting as “alternates” in the contested states of Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania and submit their own unofficial results.
If Trump’s campaign succeeds in any of its continued legal efforts in those states, the “alternate” electors would be recognized by a joint session of Congress when it convenes on Jan. 6 to count the electoral votes and officially declare the winner of the election, Miller said.
The Washington Post reports that technically, alternative electors can meet and cast their own votes, as electors are picked for each candidate before the election is held. If their votes are then submitted to Congress, it must consider them.
If both chambers of Congress vote individually to accept Biden’s electors, the dispute is considered as being resolved. If the chambers do not agree and each chamber identifies a different slate of electors, a tiebreaker using a certificate of ascertainment from a state comes into play.
A state executive has already certified Biden’s win in each of the four states Trump is contesting, reports the Post.
Miller, however, argued that if “you just cured three simple constitutional defects, Donald Trump is the winner of this election.”
He said signature matching rules in Georgia were “illegally changed as a result of a consent decree without the legislature’s approval.”
Miller further claimed there were “hundreds of thousands of improperly cast ballots in Wisconsin, absentee voters who never actually submitted the request for an absentee ballot,” and that in Pennsylvania, there was the “clear equal protection violation when Democrat ballots were cured in advance of Election Day.”
end
FBI Has Files From Seth Rich’s Laptop Computer
Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has files from the laptop computer belonging to Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) employee who was killed in 2016, according to a new email.
The bureau also has tens of thousands of documents mentioning Rich.
The FBI “has completed the initial search identifying approximately 50 cross-reference serials, with attachments totaling over 20,000 pages, in which Seth Rich is mentioned,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Parker wrote in the message to attorney Ty Clevenger, who is representing a plaintiff in Huddleston v. Federal Bureau of Investigation, a case dealing with a Freedom of Information Act request to the bureau.
“FBI has also located leads that indicate additional potential records that require further searching,” Parker added.
The Epoch Times confirmed the email is legitimate.
Parker, who is representing the FBI in the case, didn’t respond to an email or return a voicemail.
The bureau also confirmed it has files from Rich’s laptopand suggested it still has the computer in its possession.
The bureau is “currently working on getting the files from Seth Rich’s personal laptop into a format to be reviewed,”Parker said in the email. She also said the FBI plans on undertaking some level of review of the computer.
The disclosure came as part of a case brought in federal court by Texas resident Brian Huddleston, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request in April asking the FBI to produce all data, documents, records, or communications that reference Seth Rich or his brother, Aaron Rich.
The FBI told the plaintiff in June that it would take 8 to 10 months to provide a final response to the request, prompting the filing of the case in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
Rich was working for the Democratic National Committee when he was shot and killed in Washington on July 10, 2016. The murder remains unsolved.
The new email bolsters a key charge in Huddleston’s filing: that David Hardy, the FBI’s records chief, was wrong when he said in two affidavits that the FBI searched for records pertaining to Rich but could not find any.
The first sign that the testimony was erroneous came earlier this year when the nonprofit watchdogJudicial Watch received emails exchanged between FBI agent Peter Strzok and Department of Justice lawyer Lisa Page. The production included several emails mentioning Rich.
Another sign came in March, when former Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Sines was deposed in a separate case, Ed Butowsky v. David Folkenflik et. al.
Sines testified that the FBI conducted an investigation into possible hacking attempts on Seth Rich’s electronic accounts following his murder. She said FBI agents examined Rich’s laptop as part of the probe and that a search should uncover emails between her and FBI personnel. She also said she met with a prosecutor and an FBI agent assigned to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
The FBI declined to comment, citing a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
The judge overseeing the Huddleston case in October ordered the defense to produce documents and an index.
In the new email, the government lawyer said the FBI has made “significant progress” in searching for documents mentioning Rich, but still has much work left, including processing the approximately 50 cross-references, undertaking some level of review of the laptop, and completing all remaining services.
The efforts are hampered by the FBI’s Freedom of Information Act office being at 50 percent of its normal workforce due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government is proposing an amended schedule that would give it three more months to produce the records.
Clevenger, Huddleston’s lawyer, told The Epoch Times via email that his client is hoping to find out why the FBI was involved in the case, and why it originally denied involvement.
“We suspect the FBI may be right that the Metropolitan Police Dept. in D.C. was responsible for investigating Seth’s murder, so that leaves a couple of likely explanations for the FBI’s role: it was investigating a counterintelligence matter or a computer crime. Either scenario would be consistent with Seth transmitting DNC emails to Wikileaks,” he added, referencing a theory put forth by Fox News in 2017 in a report that was later retracted.
Fox was sued over the report. It settled with Rich’s family last month.
A federal judge overseeing the case had earlier this year requested testimony from Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange.
Rich was killed less than two weeks before WikiLeaks “released a collection of thousands of internal emails and documents taken from the DNC servers,” according to a court filing. One month after Rich’s murder, Assange referenced the DNC staffer in an interview with a Dutch television reporter when discussing the dangers faced by WikiLeaks sources. On Aug. 9, 2016, WikiLeaks offered $20,000 for information about Rich’s murder. The website increased the reward to $130,000 in January 2017.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) several weeks after Rich was shot dead offered a reward for information. A spokeswoman told The Epoch Times via email that the case “remains under active investigation.”
The spokeswoman declined to answer whether the FBI assisted police with its probe. “MPD remains the lead investigative agency over this homicide,” she said.
Clevenger said he thinks the timing of the email from Parker, the assistant U.S. attorney, is significant.
“Some of my colleagues suspect the Trump Administration has pushed the release, but I doubt that,” he wrote. “With the purported election of Joe Biden, the FBI brass probably think they are in the clear, and nothing will ever happen to them, so they no longer have any reason to hide what they did.”
Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
END
New York State
More than half of all the state’s restaurants are now in danger of closing
(Erika Adams/Eater.com)
MORE THAN HALF OF NEW YORK’S RESTAURANTS ARE IN DANGER OF CLOSING
FRIDAY, DEC 11, 2020 – 15:10
By Erika Adams ofEater.com,
Across the country, restaurants have been decimated by the pandemic. But according to a new survey conducted by the New York State Restaurant Association, in partnership with the National Restaurant Association, New York restaurants are hurting more from the economic crisis in comparison to the industry nationwide.
According to the survey — which polled 6,000 restaurant operators, including 238 in New York, over the last two weeks of November – 54 percent of NY restauranteurs say it is likely that they will close in the next six months if another federal relief package does not come through, compared to 37 percent nationwide.
00:12 / 00:30
Nearly 60 percent of NY operators say they are consideringgoing into hibernationuntil the pandemic is over, compared to 36 percent nationwide.
The operating landscape has been extremely tough for NYC restaurateurs throughout the pandemic. Restaurants in the city are currently operating at 25 percent indoor capacity with a 10 p.m. nightly curfew, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo has warned that indoor dining could be completely banned starting next week.
Overall, the National Restaurant Association estimates that one in six restaurants across the country have already permanently shuttered due to the economic crisis amid the pandemic. If the estimate is accurate, that would mean that 8,333 restaurants, including 4,500 establishments in NYC, have permanently shut down so far, according to the New York State Restaurant Association. However, the true number of restaurant closures during the pandemic may not be fully known for years.
END
Restaurant owners furious that only 1.4% of COVID cases are the result of indoor dining and yet they are banned
(Eater of New York)
“This Is Insane”: NYC Small Businesses Furious At Indoor Dining Ban After Data Shows Restaurants Account For Only 1.4% Of Covid Cases
By Tanay Warerkar Of Eater New York,
Yesterday, we reported that with in parallel with Andrew Cuomo’s decision to once again shut down indoor dining in New York starting Monday, more than half of the city’s restaurants are in danger of closing. Yet as Eater New York reports, many in the New York hospitality industry were dismayed by Cuomo’s decision as it followed close on the heels of new state data which showed that restaurants and bars in the state accounted for just 1.4% of cases over the last three months. While most were prepared for the ban to be announced this week, many felt the decision seemed to contradict the data.
By comparison, private and social gatherings accounted for nearly 74% of COVID- 19 cases tracked by the state between September and the end of November, and the restaurant industry placed fifth overall among the various industries and activities contributing to the spread of the virus.
“This is insane,” said Yann de Rochefort, founder of the tapas chain Boqueria.
“They are basically shutting down an industry and throwing thousands of people out of work because restaurants were linked to 1.4 percent of cases? It is criminal.”
Some in the industry say that restaurants have undertaken tremendous expense — while facing a revenue downturn due to the pandemic — to fit their indoor spaces with new air filters and other safety equipment, and that an indoor dining ban could encourage people to congregate in other areas including the several illicit, underground parties that have been busted in the last few months.
“Today’s news will do nothing more than incentivize more unregulated indoor household gatherings, which have accounted for a whopping 73.84 percent of exposures,” said Melissa Fleischut, the CEO of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA), in a statement.
Some others say they are again being forced lay off or reduce hours for a large number of their staff members just before the holidays, with no guarantee that another round of federal coronavirus-related aid will come through.
“I have to call my staff and break the news that they don’t have a job come Monday,” says Stratis Morfogen, the managing director of FiDi steakhouse Brooklyn Chop House. “I’m talking to busboys, dishwashers, wait staff and more to tell them the devastating news that they can’t feed their families.”
Cuomo, though, says the state is being proactive, as it has recently been able to identify that indoor dining is the fastest growing source of the spread of COVID-19. “Restaurants are one of the few areas we think we can actually make a difference,” said Cuomo at a press conference Friday, adding that his government felt they had less control over the spread through other sources like air travel.
Cuomo also pointed to the Centers for Disease Control’s latest guidance from last week that identified indoor dining as a high-risk activity during this second wave of the virus nationwide. Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to the governor, called out this guidance Friday saying it was impossible to eat indoors without taking off a mask, thereby creating a risky environment for the spread of the virus in an enclosed space.
Cuomo also noted that the state was going to indefinitely extend the eviction moratorium for commercial tenants, potentially protecting restaurants and bars from losing their leases while the indoor dining ban remains in place.
Since October, dozens of restaurants across the city have decided to preemptively close for the winter months — many never having reopened their dining rooms even after indoor dining was permitted at the end of the September — citing the safety of their workers, the downturn in business, and the weather. Though almost all said they had been able to negotiate agreements with their landlords in order to hit the pause button.
Owners of restaurants that are staying open — and the ones hibernating — say that without rent forgiveness and federal aid, the industry could be headed toward a raft of permanent closures during the winter months, when outdoor dining will become largely untenable as structures outside need to have at least two open sides to allow for airflow.
“Outdoor dining has declined dramatically, and losing indoor dining is going to be a nail in the coffin for a lot of business,” says Carlos Suarez, the founder of the hospitality group Casa Nela, which operates restaurants like Rosemary’s, Claudette, and Bobo.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than a thousand restaurants have already closed due to the business downturn. As we noted on Friday, a recent survey by NYSRA estimates that a little more than half of the state’s restaurants are in danger of closing in the coming months without aid similar to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), funds for which have now largely run out.
END
This is a huge story: 48% of all USA small businesses fear that they may be forced to shut down permanently
soon
(Michael Snyder)
48% Of US Small Businesses Fear That They May Be Forced To “Shut Down Permanently” Soon
Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,
What would the United States look like if we lost half of our small businesses? The reason I ask that question is because approximately half of all small business owners in the entire country believe that they may soon be forced to close down for good. Not even during the Great Depression of the 1930s did we see anything like this. The big corporate giants with extremely deep pockets will be able to easily weather another round of lockdowns, but for countless small businesses this is literally a matter of life and death. Every day we are seeing new restrictions being implemented somewhere in the nation, and the politicians that are doing this are killing the hopes and dreams of countless small business owners.
According to a recent Alignable survey, 48 percent of U.S. small business owners fear that they could be forced to “shut down permanently” in the very near future…
Based on this week’s Alignable Q4 Revenue Poll of 9,201 small business owners, 48% could shut down permanently before year’s end.
In fact, this number jumped from 42% just two months ago, demonstrating how several factors have converged to devastate small businesses: COVID resurgences, forced government reclosures, elevated customer fears, and a surge in online shopping at Amazon and other national ecommerce giants.
When a small business with only a few employees closes down forever, it never makes any national headlines.
But the truth is that small businesses are the heart and soul of our economy, and we are losing more of them with each passing day.
Here are some quotes from actual small business owners that took part in the Alignable survey…
- “COVID has raised its ugly head again. I’m a caterer and I’ve had no work in November and my clients are cancelling for Dec. This is so sad. I have worked so hard to build my business the last 14 years. My business has gone from half a million to not even 200,000. This is devastating for any business.”
- “COVID closings are killing this country! My business is on hold — no art walks or gallery openings, and I can’t even open my studio. Everything’s online.”
- “Because therapeutic massage is so ‘up close and personal,’ I have only come back to about 40% of my previous clientele. I am afraid that the governor will shut us down again, which will be the end of my business. I also believe the ‘ruling elite’ does not care about small businesses.”
How would you feel if you spent years putting everything you had into a small business in order to make it successful, only to have the politicians come along and completely destroy it?
And every time a small business has to let workers go, it just makes the unemployment crisis in this country even worse.
On Thursday, we learned that another 853,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week…
First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 853,000, an increase from the upwardly revised 716,000 total a week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 730,000.
I have been warning that the new lockdowns would make the numbers worse, and that is precisely what is happening.
And one expert that was interviewed by CNBC says that this is just the beginning…
“It looks like the unemployment losses are starting to stack up for the economy. It’s not going to be a good month,” said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank. “You’re starting the first week of the month on a bad note, and it’s probably going to be all downhill from here. It feels like the lockdowns are intensifying. It’s closer to reality for those forecasts that look for the economy to go negative in the first quarter.”
It is also important to remember that there are many Americans that have been unemployed for so long that they are no longer eligible to receive benefits.
One of those long-term unemployed workers is 35-year-old Sarah Groome…
For six months, she received unemployment benefits from the government – but those payments shrank as the programmes wound down this summer. Since October, she’s received nothing.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do financially,” she says. “I’m applying to jobs and I’ve probably applied to over 100 at this point and I’ve had one interview.”
“It’s scary,” she says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
What do you say to someone in her position?
It’s heartbreaking to hear stories like that, and more people are being laid off with each passing day.
And as our new economic depression gets progressively deeper, an increasing number of Americans are becoming very desperate.
In fact, many have already become so desperate that they are turning to shoplifting…
Shoplifting is up markedly since the pandemic began in the spring and at higher levels than in past economic downturns, according to interviews with more than a dozen retailers, security experts and police departments across the country. But what’s distinctive about this trend, experts say, is what’s being taken – more staples like bread, pasta and baby formula.
“We’re seeing an increase in low-impact crimes,” said Jeff Zisner, chief executive of workplace security firm Aegis. “It’s not a whole lot of people going in, grabbing TVs and running out the front door. It’s a very different kind of crime – it’s people stealing consumables and items associated with children and babies.”
Everywhere we look, our society is starting to break down all around us. Americans have filed new claims for unemployment benefits more than 70 million times this year, the number of homeless in New York City has reached an all-time record high, and civil unrest continues to erupt all over America.
No matter what happens politically, conditions are going to continue to deteriorate as we head into 2021.
Of course the mainstream media is boldly proclaiming that the new vaccines will pull us out of this tailspin and that life in America will soon return to normal.
You can believe the mainstream media if you want, but in the end the “hope” that they are promising will turn out to be a complete mirage.
end
Mayor De Bozo de Blazio warns of a full shutdown and that causes stocks to slide
(zerohedge)
Stocks Slide As NYC Mayor Warns ‘Prepare For Possibility Of Full Shutdown’
Stocks are leaking lower Monday morning, erasing some of this morning’s vaccine-induced (and possibly dollar- and Brexit-induced) bump,after NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio brought up the possibility of a “full shutdown” of NYC on Monday, the day that restaurants in the city were forced to close as new bans on indoor dining went into effect.
As restaurant workers across the city took to social media to offer closing restaurants (many of which will probably never reopen) one last toast, the mayor warned that there could be even more economic pain ahead, as COVID numbers and hospitalizations climb across the city and across the state, even as its health-care workers will be among the first in the country to get the vaccine).
“There’s the potential of having to do a full pause, a full shutdown, in the coming weeks, because we can’t let this kind of momentum go,” de Blasio said on CNN when asked Monday morning about comments made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week, when the governor warned about a bigger shutdown.
“We’re seeing the kind of level of infection with the coronavirus we haven’t seen since May and we have got to stop that momentum — or else, our hospital system will be threatened,” de Blasio added, before warning that the virus must be stopped at whatever the cost due to the threat of “too much damage”.
“This kind of momentum that the disease has right now? We’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to stop it before it causes too much damage, too much pain…and we have to stop it to give time for the vaccine to really be properly distributed.”
Presumably, not economic damage, though.
Stocks are moving lower…
…and gold is ripping.
Conversely, NYC will push ahead with plans to return schools to in-person learning, with the city already moving to five days a week for as many schools as possible. With schools staying open, de Blasio explained “full shutdown”
Earlier, the mayor traveled to a city hospital to watch a New York City nurse become one of the first health-care workers to receive the vaccine as part of the nationwide rollout
end
Expect the most evictions in history as the ban expires on Dec 31.
Mish Shedlock
Expect The Most Evictions In History As Ban Expires
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk,
The federal ban on evictions expires in January. For millions that’s when huge problems start.
Wave of Evictions Coming
Prepare for a Wave of Evictions in January as Federal Ban Expires.
Millions of U.S. renters face the prospect of eviction in January unless federal officials extend protections put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.
That month is when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ban on evictions is set to expire. The moratorium protects tenants who have missed monthly rent payments from being thrown out of their homes if they declare financial hardship. The CDC ordered the halt on evictions under the Public Health Service Act, which allows the federal government to enact regulations that help stop the spread of infectious diseases.
Between 2.4 million and 5 million American households are at risk of eviction in January alone, and millions more will be vulnerable in the months after, according to estimates from the investment bank and financial-advisory firm Stout Risius Ross.
Landlords have already filed more than 150,000 eviction petitions during the pandemic in the 27 cities tracked by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. Many of those tenants have lost their cases, and are now on the hook for all their back rent.
Most Evictions In History
‘I don’t see how it’s possible that we’re not going to see more evictions on Jan. 1 than we’ve ever seen in a month,’ said John Pollock, staff attorney at the Public Justice Center
Questions Abound
- It’s easy to sympathize with tenants but what about landlords who cannot pay mortgages?
- Are we to postpone evictions forever while landlords lose their property?
There has been no discussion in any of the recent Covid packages for further moratoriums nor aid to landlords who have not been paid for months.
So unless there is specific aid sufficient aid in the bill to allow tenants to catch up, millions of evictions are on the way.
end
BRANDON SMITH…..
If You Thought 2020 Was Bad, Watch What Happens In 2021
Authored by Brandon Smith and originally published at Birch Gold Group,
In terms of the economy and the American social situation, 2020 is definitely one of the ugliest years on record, there’s really no way around it. That said, I get the impression that many in the public are operating under the assumption that we are about to cross over the peak of the mountain and it will be all downhill from here on. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
All eyes have been focused on the pandemic event, and the thinking is that once the pandemic is “over”, the crisis will be over and everything will go back to normal.
But, as the globalists have been telling us since the outbreak began, the world “will never go back to normal again”. It’s not because of the pandemic, mind you, it’s because THEY won’t allow things to go back to normal. The “great reset”, as the World Economic Forum calls it, is meant to go on for many years. And, the globalists intend that every aspect of our lives be changed into something almost unrecognizable.
First I want to make it clear that I don’t expect the reset agenda to be successful. In fact, I think it’s going to fail miserably. The globalists have reached too far too fast and exposed themselves, and millions upon millions of people around the world and in America are not buying the pandemic narrative. But here is the problem; the pandemic is a distraction from a much greater threat, namely the economic collapse that is developing right now.
The financial downturn has been created by international banks and central banks through massive debt creation and inflationary stimulus measures. The initial spark for the wildfire took place in 2008, the economic threat has been under the noses of the public for quite some time. Now, however, the establishment has some perfect scapegoats, including the Trump Administration as well as the coronavirus. The globalists are hoping that people will become so mesmerized by the pandemic crisis and the election fight that they will rest all blame for the collapse on those two ready-made targets.
Make no mistake, the economy was put on life support long before Trump ever entered office and long before anyone ever heard of COVID-19. The globalists are simply pulling the plug right now and letting it die.
Of course, stock markets remain high, but the stock market does NOT represent the economy. It does not reflect financial health or the stability on main street. The stock market is an artificially propped up Pavlovian bell designed to make the public salivate every time the tickers go green. A majority of people tend to associate stock prices with economic improvement (mainly people who know nothing about economics or stocks). The extent of their research is 15 minutes of mainstream news a day along with 30-second reports on the Dow rising or falling, that is all. A rising Dow is enough to keep a large percentage of the population believing that things are going to get better.
Eventually stocks will crash along with almost everything else, just as they did in the hyperinflated markets of Weimar, Germany.
But, what the public should be focused on is small business closures, including U-6 measurements, retail spending while stimulus is cut off, eviction notices, etc. This will tell you what the actual story is behind the economy.
There are certain events that could also expedite the downturn, and we must be wary of black swans right now. The financial system has been made so fragile over the past decade that any single major shock could bring it down (remember 2008?). Let’s not mistake stimulus for resilience. Stimulus has its limits and I believe we are hitting those limits as we enter 2021.
Here are some of the events I predict will happen next year, along with the effects they will have on the stability of America and many other parts of the world…
Contested Election Continues into January
State electors are supposed to finalize the presidential election results a week from now, but I suspect legal battles may prevent the electoral college from completing the tally. This could lead to electoral college results being ignored, and the fight for the White House continuing into next year (unless the Supreme Court can hear all arguments and come to a decision in record time).
Growing evidence of election fraud specifically in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Michigan has led many conservatives to question the outcome of the presidential election. I don’t think the majority of the doubters will accept a Biden presidency even if Trump decided to concede.
What I think is more likely is that Trump will stay in office beyond the January inauguration day, and that the political left will suddenly realize that the election was not as absolute as they originally assumed.
The contested election would not cause economic instability directly, but it would mean that the public will be knocked out of their stupor and that their faith in the future will be shaken. Overvalued, fragile financial systems rely on the “greater fool” to support prices and need the blind faith of the population in order to continue lurching forward. That faith is about to be tested.
Mass Protests, Riots, Possibly Armed Conflict
I have become rather suspicious of the behavior of the mainstream media these days, even more so than usual. Why? Well, every time a hard fact on election fraud is released, the media has chosen to lie outright about it. And I’m not talking about clever spin in an attempt to diminish the effect of the news, I’m talking about outright lying that could easily be checked and debunked by anyone.
This kind of disinformation would never convince conservatives or even intelligent moderates because we double-check the sources. People on the political left, though, are more inclined to believe whatever the MSM says without doing their own research. I’m beginning to wonder if the media is pulling the same stunt they did in 2016: giving leftists false hope through misinformation, so that when things don’t go their way, they will become enraged as if something was stolen from them.
Is the media setting up the left for an epic shock by refusing to report any of the legitimate election fraud evidence and making them think there is no case? Is the goal to hit leftists so hard with Trump staying in office that they riot viciously in response?
Maybe I’m wrong and Biden goes into office without any obstructions as many expect. Let’s be honest, though, there are only two ways the election situation can go at this point:
In light of election fraud evidence, Trump stays in office. Leftists riot en masse claiming the presidency has been stolen. Conservatives will be asked to support martial law measures to “stop the insanity.” By supporting martial law, conservatives would sacrifice the very constitutional protections and liberties they claim to defend.
Biden enters the White House under heavy suspicion of fraud. He then tries to institute a Level 4 national lockdown in the name of stopping the pandemic. With the death rate for the virus well under 1% for anyone not living in a nursing home with preexisting conditions, and no evidence that mask mandates do anything to stop the virus spread, millions of American refuse to comply. The states and communities that do comply will suffer even more small-business closures and unemployment.
Biden would then try to initiate martial law measures, erasing civil liberties and possibly triggering a civil war.
Medical Passports and Vaccination Blackmail
Government officials are constantly in the media these days claiming that vaccinations will not be made mandatory. What they don’t mention is that they are already trying to legislate that anyone without a vaccination or medical passport will be unable to participate in normal society or even be allowed to work in their job. This program is moving at an incredibly fast pace, which makes me think the globalists realize they are losing the battle for the minds of the citizenry and they need to rush their agenda before it’s too late.
Here is what will happen in 2021 in terms of the pandemic:
- The media and elitist organizations will continue to pump up the infection numbers to frighten the public, even though the death rate is so low it makes the infection rate meaningless.
- If Biden is in office, mandates will be made into a federal issue and will be federally enforced.
- If Trump is in office, state governments will try to enforce mandates and major corporations will help them.
- There will then be a major push to require medical passports proving a person is not infected to enter into any public place. This means submission to 24/7 contact tracing or getting a new vaccine whenever ordered to. Basically, your life will be under the total control of state or federal governments if you want to have any semblance of returning to your normal life.
- If this process does not work and does not intimidate enough people into compliance, governments will seek to offer stimulus checks or a form of Universal Basic Income, but only for those people who agree to tracking through their cell phones and to vaccination.
- New mutations of COVID-19 will be conveniently found every year from now on, meaning the public will have to get new vaccinations constantly, and medical tyranny will never go away unless people take an aggressive stand.
It Gets Worse From Here On…
2021 will be far worse that 2020, but at least the lines will be drawn and the fight will be more clear to everyone. The economic crisis is what concerns me the most. The events listed above will complete the final downturn in the global system and America in particular. Such a financial crash would cause far more chaos and death than the coronavirus ever could.
Ultimately, I believe the public will respond badly to pandemic mandates. Many conservative states and counties will simply refuse to enforce them. However, the question is, will people end up fighting each other and forget all about the globalists that created the problem in the first place? Will mass poverty succeed where the pandemic failed in convincing Americans to give up their liberties in exchange for some stability?
Distractions abound, and the reset agenda looms, but I don’t see the globalists coming out of this unscathed. Too many people now know who they are and what they are up to.
* * *
iv) Swamp commentaries)
Hunter Biden/James Biden/ major stories: keys made for Joe Biden, Jill Biden and Chinese financiers
(zerohedge)
No 1
“Please Have Keys Made”: Joe Biden Was Chinese Financier’s “Office Mate” According To Hunter Biden Email
Joe Biden – who swore throughout the 2020 election that he had ‘no knowledge’ of son Hunter’s business dealings – was described in a 2017 email as “office mates” with a Chinese financier and “emissary” to a PLA-linked (and now bankrupt) Chinese energy conglomerate that the Biden family tried to cash in on according to text, email, and sworn evidence from Hunter Biden’s laptop and multiple whistleblowers.
Before reading further, keep in mind that the FBI and AG Bill Barr knew all of this and sat on it during the 2020 election (and Trump’s impeachment), while Fox News debate moderator Chris Wallace made Biden corruption ‘off limits’ during the first presidential debate.
In a September, 2017 email found on Hunter’s laptop obtained by the Daily Caller, Hunter wrote to the general manager of his former Washington DC office building, asking to have “keys made available” to “office mates” Joe Biden,Jill Biden, Jim Biden and Gongwen Dong – a Chinese financier.
Hunter identified Dong as an “emissary” for the CEFC, the now-defunct Chinese energy conglomerate whose Executive Chairman and affiliates have ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army, according to a report by the Project 2049 Institute – a US-based organization which researches security issues concerning Asia.
In response, Cecilia E. Browning, general manager of the office building (the House of Sweden) replied that they were “very excited and honored to welcome your new colleagues!” and confirmed that they requested “Four more keys” as well as a “Change of name on the door.”
More via the Caller:
Hunter Biden revealed this week that he has been notified that federal prosecutors in Delaware are investigating his “tax affairs.” Multiple news outlets have reported that the probe is also focused on Biden’s foreign business activities, including with CEFC, which was China’s fourth-largest energy conglomerate before going out of business. –Daily Caller
“We have tenants who rent office space, and it is correct that Rosemont Seneca LLC rented an office at House of Sweden between February 2017 — February 2018,” Browning told the Caller in an email, adding “However, please note that we do not share information about current and previous tenants.”
Yet – Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in October that the former Vice President “has never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever. He has never held stock in any such business arrangements nor has any family member or any other person ever held stock for him.”
Cecilia’s email proves that was a lie.
Read the rest of the report here.
No 2
Hunter Biden subpoenaed over Burisma and 24 other entities by Ron Johnson’s committe
Should be interesting..
(zerohedge)
Hunter Biden Subpoenaed Over Burisma, Two Dozen Other Entities
Hunter Biden has been subpoenaed by federal investigators over his involvement with at least two dozen entities – including Ukrainian gas company Burisma, according to the Associated Press, citing a ‘person familiar with a Justice Department tax investigation.”
News of the subpoena follows a joint announcement from Hunter and his father Joe Biden’s campaign last week which acknowledged that he was under investigation for tax fraud, with the Washington Post noting that Hunter had yet to be interviewed by the FBI or served with subpoenas.
The subpoena, issued Tuesday, covers a wide swath of Hunter’s taxes and international business dealings – in what could be a serious case against the Biden family (or a serious attempt to put a DOJ ‘bow’ on the ‘matter’). AP notes that it’s unclear if Burisma is a central part of the investigation – despite Joe Biden admitting on tape that he had Ukraine’s chief prosecutor fired during the same period as said investigator, Viktor Shokin, was investigating Burisma’s founder for corruption.
The subpoena also covers Hunter’s Chinese business dealings and other financial transactions. AP also notes that Hunter fell under investigation in 2018 – knowledge which somehow didn’t leak from the DOJ until after the 2020 election. During the election, of course, Hunter was completely off limits – with a virtual press blackout on the subject, and President Trump receiving a sharp rebuke from debate moderator Chris Wallace for bringing it up.
The probe was launched in 2018, the year before his father announced his candidacy for president. At one point in the investigation, federal prosecutors were also examining potential money laundering offenses, two people familiar with the matter told the AP.
Hunter Biden said he only learned of the investigation on Tuesday.
The younger Biden joined the board of Burisma in 2014, around the time his father, then vice president, was helping conduct the Obama administration’s foreign policy with Ukraine. President Donald Trump and his allies have long argued, without evidence, that Hunter Biden’s work in Ukraine influenced the Obama administration’s policies toward the Eastern European nation. –Associated Press
We’re sure Kamala Harris is genuinely concerned over the outcome of this investigation and hopes it doesn’t result in Joe Biden’s unceremonious exit from the teleprompter scene.
end
v) King report/Courtesy of Chris Powell of GATA which includes the major swamp stories.
Johnson and EU warn of No Deal as Deadline Nears: Brexit Update
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both warned that a no-deal Brexit is looking on Dec. 31 as they continued last-ditch talks to try to reach a deal before Sunday (deadline). Johnson said on Friday that a no-deal Brexit at the end of the year now looks “very, very likely.”… On Friday, von der Leyen spent just 10 minutes briefing government leaders on the subject… https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/eu-warns-no-deal-is-likeliest-outcome-of-talks-brexit-update
U.S. Covid-19 Relief Talks Hit Snag over Lawsuit Protections [and blue-state/city bailouts]
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is urging lawmakers to drop aid for state and local governments and liability protections, and to proceed with a smaller bill without either. That pitch continues to be rejected by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats who are open to a pause in liability lawsuits in exchange for the $160 billion in state aid floated by a bipartisan group of negotiators…. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/u-s-covid-19-relief-talks-hit-snag-over-lawsuit-protections
McConnell digs in on demand to drop state ‘bailouts’ from coronavirus bill, accuses Democrats of blocking agreement – McConnell said states don’t need funds, while small businesses and unemployed Americans do https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mcconnell-digs-in-on-demand-to-drop-state-bailouts-from-coronavirus-bill-accuses-democrats-of-blocking-agreement
US hit by deadliest week since start of COVID-19 crisis – 44 percent rise in fatalities compared to the week prior, according to new data. A total of 15,966 Americans died from the virus in the seven-day period between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which has been releasing a weekly analysis since March 12… https://trib.al/SkPjiyC
Five key genes linked to severe COVID-19 found, suggesting drug targets
The genes – called IFNAR2, TYK2, OAS1, DPP9 and CCR2 – partially explain why some people become desperately sick with COVID-19, while others are not affected, Baillie said… http://reut.rs/346AD7z
Germany Locks Down Ahead of Christmas as Coronavirus Deaths Rise
Companies part of group founded by CA governor collectively get nearly $3 million in PPP loans, data shows – At least eight companies partially owned by Gov. Gavin Newsom collectively received millions of dollars from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to an ABC7 analysis…
While He Was Killing Business with Lockdowns, Newsom Owned Companies Got This Much From Fed https://www.blabber.buzz/blab/pop/1022031-while-he-was-killing-business-with-lockdowns-newsom-owned-companies-got-this-much-from-fed
A huge reason that so many governors and mayors are eager to lockdown states is that they and their political patrons/constituents are government employees, do business with the government or get government largesse. So, they continue to collect checks while other businesses are shutdown.
Amid fears of overwhelmed medical systems, data shows ample hospital capacity nationwide
The country is “managing pretty well,” says major hospital network official.
First trucks with Pfizer coronavirus vaccine leave Michigan facility, the start of shipments to all 50 states https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/pfizer-biontech-coronavirus-vaccine-ships-to-states
Russian government spies are behind a hacking campaign that has breached U.S. agencies and a top cyber firm – The Treasury and Commerce departments are among those compromised, sources say… [How will Trump respond to the hack of the US Treasury and Commerce Departments?]
@disclosetv: Microsoft Office 365 can be compromised as “highly sophisticated” foreign state hackers were able to trick Microsoft’s “authentication controls” as the vector to attack the US Treasury Department.
Huge Data Leak ‘Exposes’ Chinese Communist Party Members ‘Embedded’ In Western Companies and Governments – 1.95 million members of the Chinese Communist Party, many of whom are now living and working all over the world, including Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The data lists names, party positions, date of birth, national identification number, ethnicity and — in some cases — their telephone number…“Detailed analysis” has revealed that Pfizer and AstraZeneca employed 123 “party loyalists,” and that “there were more than 600 party members across 19 branches working at the British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered in 2016.” In addition, “firms with defence industry interests” like Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce “employed hundreds of party members.”…
@charliebilello: The S&P 500’s P/E ratio has moved from 20.6 at the start of 2020 to 30.3 today, on pace for the highest year-end multiple on record (using TTM earnings).
https://twitter.com/charliebilello/status/1337602405505118210
Johnson and EU Keep Brexit Talks Alive, Raising Hopes of a Deal
Ursula von der Leyen said her call today with Boris Johnson was “useful and constructive”
Officials say deal by middle of week is not impossible… https://t.co/XDopoldwk8
Little-Known Provision in the CARES Act That Could Trigger a Year-End “Selling Deluge”
Section 2022 of the CARES Act eliminates the 10 percent early withdrawal penalty if you are under the age of 59 ½ and withdraw up to $100,000. It also allows for the spread out of your income tax liability over three years rather than the same year you withdraw the money. And since the window to make these penalty-free early withdrawals closes by the end of 2020, millions of cash-strapped households may have no choice but to sell tens, if not hundreds of billions in passively-managed funds to take advantage of this one-time offer to avoid a 10% early withdrawal charge…
Today – Because this is expiry week (options & futures) and the FOMC Communique is due on Wednesday, traders are incontinently bullish. With positive news on Brexit appearing on Sunday, the biggest hindrance to traders’ intent to force stocks higher is the US stimulus negotiations.
Will A Small County in Northern Michigan Be the Key to Overturning the Nation’s Election Results? America Should Find Out On Monday – Dominion’s vote totals showed 663 people voted in a district where there were only 6 eligible voters and only 3 of those 6 actually voted. Somehow, Dominion added 660 additional votes to the final tally. (Second image)…
In his lawsuit, Matthew DePerno claims that based on the evidence they have provided to the court that Dominion Voting Systems “committed material fraud or error in this election so that the outcome of the election was affected.”… On Friday, Constitutional Attorney Matthew DePerno, who is now in possession of the initial preliminary results of the forensic examination of the Dominion voting machine, 16 CV data cards, and 16 thumb drives from the Dominion machines, filed an emergency order asking Judge Kevin Elsenheimer to lift the protective order prohibiting him from sharing the results of the inspection, calling it a matter of “national security.”…
GBI [Georgia] using hand-picked task force to help look into possible election fraud across state
“We Have Serious, Serious Foreign Influence with Dominion Voting Machines” – General Flynn Says “We Have Conclusive Evidence of Foreign Influence in US Election Right Now”
WSJ: Trump Pursues Appointing Special Counsel to Probe Election, Hunter Biden
President has expressed frustration with Attorney General William Barr as efforts to overturn election have failed… https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-pursues-appointing-special-counsel-to-probe-election-hunter-biden-11607744814
NY Post Editorial Board: Surprised by Hunter Biden criminal probe? Blame media collusion
“Collusion”… It’s when left-leaning media, that is the media in general, decide en masse that something is “not a story” because it harms their preferred political candidate…
Other media outlets didn’t just ignore the story; they tried to suppress it. Then social media stepped in, preventing the story from being posted (Facebook) and even banning The Post (Twitter)…
A special counsel does seem in order, given the deep politicization of the Justice Department under the last Democratic president. Anyone investigating the president’s son needs some kind of shield from potential White House interference. Also in order: a host of explanations, and apologies, to the American people from all the outlets that found this news unfit to print. As one paper’s motto puts it, “Democracy dies in darkness.” https://nypost.com/2020/12/10/surprised-by-hunter-biden-criminal-probe-blame-media-collusion/
From ‘smear campaign’ to ‘Russian disinformation,’ liberal media teamed up to dismiss Hunter Biden news https://www.foxnews.com/media/hunter-biden-coverage-liberal-media-smear-campaign-russian-disinformation
AP: Hunter Biden subpoena seeks info on Burisma, other entities
The breadth of the subpoena, issued Tuesday, underscores the wide-angle lens prosecutors are taking as they examine the younger Biden’s finances and international business ventures… In addition to the Burisma-related request, the subpoena issued last week also seeks information on Hunter Biden’s Chinese business dealings and other financial transactions…
NBC: Email to Hunter Biden raises fresh questions about his tax dealings
An email obtained by NBC News indicates the President-elect’s son was told he did not disclose $400,000 in income from the Burisma gas company on his 2014 tax returns.
Hunter Biden requested keys for new ‘office mates’ Joe Biden, Chinese ’emissary’ to CEFC chairman, emails show – Joe Biden has repeatedly denied involvement with son’s business dealings
Suddenly, the MSM is covering Hunter Biden. Perhaps those that asserted for months that Team Obama was orchestrating ‘everything and everyone’ to get Joe elected and then replace Joe ASAP after he got elected with Obama’s favorite candidate, Kamala Harris, were right.
Will Anyone Face Any Consequences For Gaslighting Americans On The Hunter Biden Story?
William Barr reportedly worked very hard to keep the Hunter Biden investigation hidden from the public – something that won’t help his standing with the conspiracy minded…
@realDonaldTrump: Why didn’t Bill Barr reveal the truth to the public, before the Election, about Hunter Biden? Joe was lying on the debate stage that nothing was wrong, or going on – Press confirmed. Big disadvantage for Republicans at the polls!
@paulsperry_: By suppressing information about Biden’s role in #Spygate and #Chinagate, AG Barr actually did what he tried not to do: influenced the outcome of the election. By censoring the truth, Barr misled independent voters & was no better than the corrupt Big Media & Big Tech.
Ex-W Bush Press Sec @AriFleischer: The New York Times has yet to inform its readers that Congressman Eric Swalwell, who sits on the Intelligence Committee, had a relationship with a Chinese spy. Journalism is broken.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Texas challenge to election [SCOTUS: Texas has no standing to sue.]
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/us-supreme-court-rejects-texas-challenge-election
@Barnes_Law: SCOTUS knows that, no matter that they do, half the country will think the election was stolen. So why not use the Constitutional roadmap to resolve the controversy?…
@realDonaldTrump: “Justices Alito and Thomas say they would have allowed Texas to proceed with its election lawsuit.” @seanhannity This is a great and disgraceful miscarriage of justice. The people of the United States were cheated, and our Country disgraced. Never even given our day in Court!
@JohnBasham: We Just Moved One Step Closer To A Second Civil War Or A Huge Secession Movement! So Very Sad That 2020 Was The Year Justice Died In America!
Team Trump’s @jason_meister: There is nothing more fundamental to a democratic republic like the U.S. than election integrity. Our government derives its power from “the consent of the governed.” Without election integrity there is no such consent.
NewsMax’s @EmeraldRobinson: The GOP establishment and the donor class… they’re getting rid of President Trump by sitting on the sidelines while the Democrats steal it. They think they won’t get caught. Instead, they’re enraging their own voters.
Ex-NSC official @RichHiggins_DC: It’s not a miscalculation. With control of the ballot box now in their hands – the entire government is now illegitimate. They know this. Don’t be fooled.
Since the Civil War, the US’s safety valve from internal revolt has been the ballot box. Because, the second national election since the WWII has been overtly rigged, over a hundred million Americans have lost face in free and fair elections. What will disaffected Americans now do to assuage their anger?
Free and fair markets in the USA disappeared longer now. Now the same is true of the election process.
Representative to file bill to allow Texas to secede from United States
“The federal government is out of control and does not represent the values of Texans,” Biedermann wrote in a Facebook post. “That is why I am committing to file legislation this session that will allow a referendum to give Texans a vote for the State of Texas to reassert its status as an independent nation.”
Biedermann goes on to quote Article 1 Section 2 of the Texas Constitution. “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform, or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.”…
A Briton’s perspective on America’s turmoil
If this gross subversion of democracy is not dealt with in a satisfactory manner by the lawyers then I see no reason, no reason at all why America should not descend into violence and potential civil war in the worst case scenario, or simply lose all confidence in any future elections as a best case scenario — which can only and inexorably lead to the worst case scenario again…
Young, left-wing Americans will consider such a viewpoint insane, but young left-wing Americans know little of the brutality of the non-democratic parts of the world and little about just why that brutality never encroached upon their decadent lives… In their hazy, fuddled, naïve, closed minded thinking they feel there will be no real world consequences resulting from their action…
Their anger was mere political posturing and they now think the anger of Trump supporters is the same — mere political posturing. But how wrong they are. How dangerously wrong they are. The anger of Trump’s supporters is white hot, it is incendiary, it is real and it is entirely, eminently justifiable, and it is not the anger of the loser, it is the anger of the wronged and is about so much more than Trump, this is about the democratic future of the United States of America. When a country reaches the point of such legal corruption and such moral degeneracy that democracy can be overturned in full view of a complicit and unquestioning media and liberal establishment there is very little guarantee that democracy will ever recover. This is why the anger is at boiling point, and even now, the left cannot understand what they have done…
I implore the Democrats, the left-wingers, the socialists and the communists to stop pretending what you have done is acceptable. It is not, and the consequences could be catastrophic both for you, for America and for the world…
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2020/12/a-britons-perspective-on-americas.html?m=1&s=02
Key impeachment witness gave 2017 corruption warning about Hunter Biden-tied Ukraine firm
Ex-Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch claimed in 2019 testimony she knew little about Burisma beyond media reports. Her emails show more substantive knowledge… Yovanovich cautioned John McCain’s think tank in 2017 not to accept funding from the Ukrainian gas firm that had hired Hunter Biden because State officials considered Burisma Holdings and its founder to be corrupt, according to newly released memos… [Why hasn’t she been charged with perjury, conspiracy and possibly sedition?]
The intolerant left is making new lows: House Democrat Calls to Exclude 126 Republicans from Next Congress for Supporting Texas Lawsuit – Forbes
Former aide says Cuomo sexually harassed her ‘for years’ – Lindsey Boylan, a Democratic candidate for Manhattan borough president, says, ‘I *know* I am not the only woman’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/andrew-cuomo-sexual-harassment-accusation-former-aide-boylan.amp
Well that is all for today
I will see you TUESDAY night.
harveyorganblog.com 