GOLD:$1839.55 DOWN $6.90 The quote is London spot price

Silver:$26.28. UP $0.44 London spot price ( cash market)

your data…

Closing access prices: London spot

i)Gold : $1842.70 LONDON SPOT 4:30 pm

ii)SILVER: $26.50//LONDON SPOT 4:30 pm

We have ONE more reading days after today. I expect a rather large February delivery month for gold.

COMEX DATA

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: JANUARY 2021 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,844.900000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 01/27/2021 DELIVERY DATE: 01/29/2021
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
____________________________________________________________________________________________
072 C GOLDMAN 1
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 42
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 1
661 C JP MORGAN 6
685 C RJ OBRIEN 1
690 C ABN AMRO 50
732 C RBC CAP MARKETS 2
905 C ADM 1
____________________________________________________________________________________________

TOTAL: 52 52
MONTH TO DATE: 2,090

JPMorgan has been receiving gold with reckless abandon and sometimes supplying (stopping)

receiving today: 6/52

issued:0

GOLDMAN SACHS STOPPED 0 CONTRACTS.

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR JAN. CONTRACT: 52 NOTICE(S) FOR 5200 OZ (0.1617 tonnes)

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED SO FAR: 2090 NOTICES FOR 209,000 OZ (6.5007 tonnes)

SILVER//JANUARY CONTRACT

2 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 10,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month: 1378 for 6,890,000 oz

BITCOIN MORNING QUOTE $32,733 UP 1284

BITCOIN AFTERNOON QUOTE.: $31,450 DOWN 894 DOLLARS .

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GLD AND SLV INVENTORIES:

WITH GOLD DOWN $6.90 AND NO PHYSICAL TO BE FOUND ANYWHERE:

WITH ALL REFINERS CLOSED//MEXICO ORDERING ALL MINES SHUT: WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THE “PHYSICAL?

A HUGE GOLD VAPOUR IS WITHDRAWN; 3.71 TONNES

GLD: 1,269.17 TONNES OF GOLD//

WITH SILVER UP 44 CENTS TODAY: AND WITH NO SILVER AROUND:

A CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV..

A MASSIVE PAPER SILVER VAOUR LEAVES THE SLV: 1.394 MILLION OZ

INVENTORY RESTS AT:

SLV: 571.883 MILLION OZ./

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Let us have a look at the data for today

THE COMEX OI FELL BY A TINY SIZED 27 CONTRACTS FROM 167,880 DOWN TO 167,853, AND FURTHER FROM OUR NEW RECORD OF 244,710, (FEB 25/2020. THE GAIN IN OI OCCURRED WITH OUR SMALL $0.10 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX. IT SEEMS THAT THE LOSS IN COMEX OI IS DUE TO CONSIDERABLE BANKER AND ALGO SHORT COVERING.. COUPLED AGAINST A FAIR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL. WE ALSO HAD ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION, AND A ZERO INCREASE IN SILVER OUNCES STANDINGAT THE COMEX FOR JAN. WE HAD A GOOD NET GAIN IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 934CONTRACTS (SEE CALCULATIONS BELOW).

WE WERE NOTIFIED THAT WE HAD A STRONG NUMBER OF COMEX LONGS TRANSFERRING THEIR CONTRACTS TO LONDON THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE: 879, AS WE HAD THE FOLLOWING ISSUANCE: MARCH 879 FOR ZERO ALL OTHER MONTHS AND THEREFORE TOTAL ISSUANCE 879 CONTRACTS. THE BANKERS ARE NOW BEING BITTEN BY THOSE SERIAL FORWARDS (EFP’S CIRCULATING IN LONDON)AS THEY ARE NOW BEING EXERCISED AND COMING BACK TO NEW YORK FOR REDEMPTION OF METAL. THE COST TO SERVICE THESE SERIAL FORWARDS IS HIGH TO OUR BANKERS BUT THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ISSUE A FEW OF THEM!

HISTORY OF SILVER OZ STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR THE PAST 26 MONTHS.

JUNE/2018. (5.420 MILLION OZ);

FOR JULY: 30.370 MILLION OZ

FOR AUG., 6.065 MILLION OZ

FOR SEPT. 39.505 MILLION OZ S

FOR OCT.2.525 MILLION OZ.

FOR NOV: A HUGE 7.440 MILLION OZ STANDING AND

21.925 MILLION OZ FINALLY STAND FOR DECEMBER.

5.845 MILLION OZ STAND IN JANUARY.

2.955 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR FEBRUARY.:

27.120 MILLION OZ STANDING IN MARCH.

3.875 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR SILVER IN APRIL.

18.845 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR SILVER IN MAY.

2.660 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR SILVER IN JUNE//

22.605 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR JULY

10.025 MILLION OZ INITIAL STANDING IN AUGUST.

43.030 MILLION OZ INITIALLY STANDING IN SEPT. (HUGE)

7.32 MILLION OZ INITIALLY STANDING IN OCT

2.630 MILLION OZ STANDING FOR NOV.

20.970 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN DEC

5.075 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN JAN

1.480 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN FEB

23.005 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING FOR MAR

4.660 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING FOR APRIL

45.220 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING FOR MAY

2.205 MILLION OF FINAL STANDING FOR JUNE

86.470 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN JULY.

6.475 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN AUGUST

55.400 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN SEPT

8.900 MILLION OZ INITIALLY STANDING IN OCT.

3.950 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING IN NOV.

46.685 MILLION OZ FINAL STANDING FOR DEC.

6.890 MILLION INITIAL STANDING FOR JAN 2021

WEDNESDAY, AGAIN OUR CROOKS USED COPIOUS PAPER IN ORDER TO LIQUIDATE SILVER’S PRICE…AND THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL 10 CENTS) ).. AND, OUR OFFICIAL SECTOR/BANKERS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO FLEECE ANY SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A GOOD GAIN IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES (852 CONTRACTS). NO DOUBT THE TOTAL GAIN IN OI IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES WERE DUE TO i)BANKER/ALGO SHORT COVERING. WE ALSO HAD ii) A FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS 2) A STZERO GAIN IN SILVER OZ STANDING FOR JANUARY, iii) SMALL COMEX GAIN AND iv) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION. YOU CAN BET THE FARM THAT OUR BANKERS ARE DESPERATE TO LIQUIDATE THEIR HUGE SHORT POSITIONS IN SILVER..

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS

JAN

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

17,587 CONTRACTS (FOR 18 TRADING DAY(S) TOTAL 17,587 CONTRACTS) OR 87.935 MILLION OZ: (AVERAGE PER DAY: 977 CONTRACTS OR 4.885 MILLION OZ/DAY)

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE HUGE SUPPLY THIS MONTH IN SILVER: SO FAR THIS MONTH OF JAN: 87.935 MILLION PAPER OZ HAVE MORPHED OVER TO LONDON.

ACCUMULATION IN YEAR 2021 TO DATE SILVER EFP’S: 87.935MILLION OZ.

JAN EFP ACCUMULATION SO FAR: 87.935 MILLION OZ (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

RESULT: WE HAD A SMALL SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 55, DESPITE OUR $0.10 FALL IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ///WEDNESDAY.…THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A FAIR SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 879 CONTRACTS WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS.

TODAY WE GAINED A GOOD SIZED934 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES (DESPITE OUR $0.10 FALL IN PRICE)//

THE TALLY//EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS

i.e 879 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS HEADED FOR LONDON (EFP’s) TOGETHER WITH A SMALL SIZED DECREASE OF 27 OI COMEX CONTRACTS. AND ALL OF THIS DEMAND HAPPENED WITH OUR $0.10 FALL IN PRICE OF SILVER/AND A CLOSING PRICE OF $25.40 // WEDNESDAY’S TRADING. YET WE STILL HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING AT THE COMEX FOR DELIVERY.

FOR THE NEW JANUARY DELIVERY MONTH/ THEY FILED AT THE COMEX: 2 NOTICE(S) FOR 10,000 OZ OF SILVER.

IN SILVER,PRIOR TO TODAY, WE SET THE NEW COMEX RECORD OF OPEN INTEREST AT 244,196 CONTRACTS ON AUG 22.2018. AND AGAIN THIS HAS BEEN SET WITH A LOW PRICE OF $14.70//TODAY’S RECORD OF 244,705 WAS SET WITH A PRICE OF: 18.91 (FEB 25/2020)

AND YET, WITH THE EXTREMELY HIGH EFP ISSUANCE, WE HAVE A CONTINUAL LOW PRICE OF SILVER DESPITE THE ABOVE HUGE DEMAND. TO ME THE ONLY ANSWER IS THAT WE HAVE SOVEREIGN (CHINA) WHO IS ENDEAVOURING TO GOBBLE UP ALL AVAILABLE PHYSICAL SILVER NO MATTER WHERE, EXACTLY WHAT J.P.MORGAN IS DOING. AND IT IS MY BELIEF THAT J.P.MORGAN IS HOLDING ITS SILVER FOR ITS BENEFICIAL OWNER..THE USA GOVERNMENT WHO IN TURN IS HOLDING THAT SILVER FOR CHINA.(FOR A SILVER LOAN REPAYMENT)

GOLD

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A TINY 917 CONTRACTS TO 533,657 AND FURTHER FROM OUR NEW RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,541 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.

THE SMALL SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI OCCURRED DESPITE OUR STRONG LOSS IN PRICE OF $9.85 /// COMEX GOLD TRADING// WEDNESDAY. WE PROBABLY HAD SOME BANKER/ALGO SHORT COVERING ACCOMPANYING OUR FAIR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE. WE HAD ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AS WE CONCLUDED WITH OUR SPREADER LIQUIDATION AND DESPITE THAT WE STILL HAD A GAIN OF 4067 CONTRACTS. WE A ZERO INCREASE IN GOLD OUNCES STANDING AT THE COMEX AT 6.500 TONNES....THIS ALL HAPPENED WITH OUR FALL IN PRICE OF $9.85.

WE HAD A VOLUME OF 0 4 -GC CONTRACTS//OPEN INTEREST 0//

WE HAD A GOOD GAIN OF 4067 CONTRACTS (12.65 TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES..

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3937 CONTRACTS:

CONTRACT . FEB:1332, APRIL: 2605 ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO//TOTAL: 3937. The NEW COMEX OI for the gold complex rests at 533,657. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THERE WILL BE A DELAY IN THE ISSUANCE OF EFP’S. THE BANKERS REMOVE LONG POSITIONS OF COMEX GOLD IMMEDIATELY. THEN THEY ORCHESTRATE THEIR PRIVATE EXCHANGE DEAL WITH THE LONGS AND THAT COULD TAKE AN ADDITIONAL, 48 HRS SO WE GENERALLY DO NOT GET A MATCH WITH RESPECT TO DEPARTING COMEX LONGS AND NEW EFP LONG TRANSFERS. . EVEN THOUGH THE BANKERS ISSUED THESE MONSTROUS EFPS, THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH THE BANKERS TO SUPPLY METAL BUT IT TRANSFERS THE RISK TO A LONDON BANKER OBLIGATION AND NOT A NEW YORK COMEX OBLIGATION. LONGS RECEIVE A FIAT BONUS TOGETHER WITH A LONG LONDON FORWARD. THUS, BY THESE ACTIONS, THE BANKERS AT THE COMEX HAVE JUST STATED THAT THEY HAVE NO APPRECIABLE METAL!! THIS IS A MASSIVE FRAUD: THEY CANNOT SUPPLY ANY METAL TO OUR COMEX LONGS BUT THEY ARE QUITE WILLING TO SUPPLY MASSIVE NON BACKED GOLD (AND SILVER) PAPER KNOWING THAT THEY HAVE NO METAL TO SATISFY OUR LONGS. LONDON IS NOW SEVERELY BACKWARD IN BOTH GOLD AND SILVER AND WE ARE WITNESSING DELAYS IN ACTUAL DELIVERIES.

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A SMALL SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3020 CONTRACTS: 917 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND 3937 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN OF 3020 CONTRACTS OR 9.63 TONNES.

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES:

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3937) ACCOMPANYING THE SMALL SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (917 OI): TOTAL GAIN IN THE TWO EXCHANGES: 3020 CONTRACTS. WE NO DOUBT HAD 1 ) CONSIDERABLE BANKER SHORT COVERING AND CONSIDERABLE ALGO SHORT COVERING ,2.)A STRONG STANDING// ZERO INCREASE AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR THE FRONT JAN. MONTH TO 6.500 TONNES) 3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AS WE CONCLUDED OUR SPREADER LIQUIDATION ;4) TINY COMEX OI GAIN AND 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ...ALL OF THIS WAS COUPLED WITH OUR LOSS IN GOLD PRICE TRADING//TUESDAY//$9.85.

WE ARE BEGINNING TO WITNESS A LACK OF EXCHANGE FOR GOLD PHYSICALS UNDERWRITTEN DUE TO PREMIUMS STARTING TO REAPPEAR IN THE FUTURE PRICE OF GOLD VS LONDON SPOT. THE COST TO THE BANKERS IS JUST TOO GREAT TO ENGAGE IN THESE VEHICLES ONCE THIS OCCURS.

We have now switched to GOLD for our spreaders!!

FOR DETAILS ON THE SPREADING EXERCISE HERE IS A BRIEF OUTLINE:

SPREADING OPERATIONS/NOW SWITCHING TO SILVER (WE SWITCH OVER TO GOLD ON NOV 1)

SPREADING OPERATION FOR OUR NEWCOMERS:

FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS:

SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED IN GOLD AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF FEB.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE NEW, HERE IS THE MODUS OPERANDI OF THE SPREADERS AND THE CRIMINAL ELEMENT BEHIND IT:

HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR;

THE SPREADING LIQUIDATION OPERATION IS NOW OVER FOR SILVER..AND WE WILL NOW MORPH INTO AN ACCUMULATION PHASE OF SPREADING CONTRACTS FOR SILVER. THEY WILL ACCUMULATE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACTS AND THEN LIQUIDATE ONE WEEK PRIOR TO FIRST DAY NOTICE

MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:

AS I HAVE MENTIONED IN PREVIOUS COMMENTARIES:

“AS YOU WILL SEE, THE CROOKS WILL NOW SWITCH TO GOLD AS THEY INCREASE THE OPEN INTEREST FOR THE SPREADERS. THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST WILL RISE FROM NOW ON UNTIL ONE WEEK PRIOR TO FIRST DAY NOTICE AND THAT IS WHEN THEY START THEIR CRIMINAL LIQUIDATION.

HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF OCT. HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB FOR GOLD:

YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE IN THIS NON ACTIVE MONTH OF JAN. BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN GOLD WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (FEB), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSITION LIMIT DETECTION. THE LIQUIDATION OF THE SPREADING FORMATION CONTINUES FOR EXACTLY ONE WEEK AND ENDS ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.”

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2020 INCLUDING TODAY

JAN

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF JAN : 80,697, CONTRACTS OR 8,069,700 oz OR 251.00 TONNES (18 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 4483 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 18 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES: 251.00 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2019, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 251.00/3550 x 100% TONNES =7.07% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO DATE: JANUARY: 251.00 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

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

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

1.Today, we had the open interest at the comex, in SILVER, FELL BY A SMALL SIZED 27 CONTRACTS FROM 167,880 DOWN TO 167,853 AND CLOSER TO OUR COMEX RECORD //244,710(SET FEB 25/2020). THE LAST RECORDS WERE SET IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD TO THAT WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER 2 3/4 YEARS AGO. THE PRICE OF SILVER ON THAT DAY: $17.89.

THE SMALL SIZED LOSS IN OI SILVER COMEX WAS PRIMARILY DUE TO; 1) SOME BANKER SHORT COVERING//ALGO SHORT COVERING , 2) A GOOD ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (SEE BELOW), 3) A ZERO INCREASE IN STANDING FOR SILVER AT THE COMEX FOR JAN., AND 4) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION

EFP ISSUANCE 879 CONTRACTS

OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:

MARCH: 879 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 879 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI LOSS OF 27 CONTRACTS TO THE 879 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S, WE OBTAIN A GOOD SIZED GAIN OF 852 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES. THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 4.260 MILLION OZ, OCCURRED WITH OUR $0.10 LOSS IN PRICE///

BOTH THE SILVER COMEX AND THE GOLD COMEX ARE IN STRESS AS THE BANKERS SCOUR THE BOWELS OF THE EXCHANGE FOR METAL..THE EVIDENCE IS CLEAR: HUGE AMOUNTS OF PHYSICAL STANDING FOR BOTH SILVER AND GOLD .

(report Harvey)

2 ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe, Goldcore

(Mark O’Byrne/zerohedge

and in NY: Bloomberg

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)THURSDAY MORNING/WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 68.17 PTS OR 1.91% //Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 746.76 PTS OR 2.55% /The Nikkei closed DOWN 437.79 POINTS OR 1.52%//Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 2.02%

/Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP AT 6.4686 /Oil UP TO 52,63 dollars per barrel for WTI and 55.73 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED// ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.4686. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED UP ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.4898 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 ABOVE 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:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY BY A SMALL 917 CONTRACTS TO 533,657 MOVING FURTHER FROM THE RECORD THAT WAS SET IN JANUARY/2020: {799,541 OI(SET JAN 16/2020)} AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: 797,110 (SET JAN 7/2020). AND THIS TINY COMEX DECREASE OCCURRED DESPITE OUR FALL OF $9.85 IN GOLD PRICING /WEDNESDAY’S COMEX TRADING/). WE ALSO HAD A FAIR EFP ISSUANCE (3937 CONTRACTS). WE ALSO PROBABLY HAD 1) CONSIDERABLE BANKER SHORT COVERING, 2) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AS WE CONCLUDED WITH OUR SPREADER LIQUIDATION AND 3) NO INCREASE IN GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX//JAN. DELIVERY MONTH(6.500 TONNES) (SEE BELOW) … AS WE ENGINEERED A FAIR SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 3020 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE LATELY WITNESSED THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS ISSUED BEING SMALL….. AS IT JUST TOO COSTLY FOR THEM TO CONTINUE SERVICING THE COSTS OF SERIAL FORWARDS CIRCULATING IN LONDON. HOWEVER, MUCH TO THE ANNOYANCE OF OUR BANKERS, THE COMEX IS THE SCENE OF AN ASSAULT ON GOLD AS LONDONERS, NOT BEING ABLE TO FIND ANY PHYSICAL ON THAT SIDE OF THE POND, EXERCISE THESE CIRCULATING EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN LONDON AND FORCING DELIVERY OF REAL METAL OVER HERE AS THE OBLIGATION STILL RESTS WITH NEW YORK BANKERS.

(SEE BELOW)

WE HAD 0 4 -GC VOLUME//open interest REMAINS AT 0

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

WE ARE NOW IN THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JAN.. THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A SMALL SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS., THAT IS 3937 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: ; FEB// ’21 1332 AND APRIL: 2605 ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3937 CONTRACTS.

YOU WILL FIND THAT WHEN WE HAVE A GOOD PREMIUM IN THE FUTURES/SPOT, THEN THE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS DECLINE IN NUMBERS. THE COST IS JUST TOO MUCH FOR THEM TO ISSUE. TODAY THAT PREMIUM WAS SMALL AND THUS A LITTLE MORE THAN USUAL OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WERE ISSUED.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR 3,020 TOTAL CONTRACTS IN THAT 3937 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE LOST A SMALL SIZED 917 COMEX CONTRACTS WITH THE CONCLUSION OF OUR SPREADER LIQUIDATION!.. WE HAVE A STRONG LEVEL OF JAN 2021 GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY. ((6.500 TONNES). IF YOU INCLUDE NOVEMBER’S HUGE 34.7 TONNES, AND DEC. 93.589 OUR COMEX IS OFFICIALLY UNDER ASSAULT.

THE BANKERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE //// (IT FELL $9.85)., BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN FLEECING ANY LONGS AS THE TOTAL GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES REGISTERED 9.393 TONNES, ACCOMPANYING OUR STRONG GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR JAN (6.500 TONNES)..

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES :: 4067 CONTRACTS OR 406,700 OZ OR 12.65 TONNES

COMMODITY LAW SUGGESTS THAT COMMODITY FUTURES OPEN INTEREST SHOULD APPROXIMATE 3% OF TOTAL PRODUCTION. IN GOLD THE WORLD PRODUCES AROUND 3500 TONNES PER YEAR BUT ONLY 2200 TONNES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE WEST (THUS EXCLUDING RUSSIA, CHINA ETC..WHO KEEP 100% OF THEIR PRODUCTION)

THUS IN GOLD WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING: 533,657 TOTAL OI CONTRACTS X 100 OZ PER CONTRACT = 53.36 MILLION OZ/32,150 OZ PER TONNE = 1659 TONNES

THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST REPRESENTS 1659/2200 OR 75.44% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF GOLD.

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory in oz*	nil oz
Withdrawals from Customer* Inventory in oz*	nil OZ
Deposits to the Dealer* Inventory in oz*	1999.94 oz Delaware
Deposits to the Customer* Inventory, in oz*	nil Oz
No of oz served (contracts) today	52 notice(s) 95200 OZ (0.1617 TONNES)
No of oz to be served (notices)	0 contracts NIL oz)
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	2090 notices 209,000 OZ 6.50070 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers* inventory this month*	NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer* inventory this month*	xxx oz

Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory NIL oz

We had 0 kilobar transactions

ADJUSTMENTS: none

The front month of JAN registered a total of 52 contracts for a LOSS of 9. We had 9 notices filed on Wednesday so we LOST 0 contracts or AN ADDITIONAL NIL oz will stand for delivery in the non active delivery month of January. LONGS refused to morph into a London based forward as they will try their luck searching for metal on this side of the pond. This is a strong queue jump

FEBRUARY LOST 38,153 contracts DOWN TO 43,373 CONTRACTS.

WE HAVE ONE MORE READING DAY BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE. FEB WILL BE A STRONG DELIVERY MONTH

MY GUESS: CLOSE TO 100 TONNES OF GOLD STANDING.

MARCH GAINED 342 contracts to stand at 2276

APRIL added 34,077 contracts to stand at 393,130

We had 52 notice(s) filed today for 5200 oz

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the JAN /2021. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (2090) x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of (JAN 52 CONTRACTS ) minus the number of notices served upon today (52 x 100 oz per contract) equals 209,000 OZ OR 6.500 TONNES) the number of ounces standing in this NON active month of JAN

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the JAN/2021 contract month:

No of notices filed so far (2090 x 100 oz PLUS (52 OI) for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (52} x 100 oz which equals 209,000 oz standing OR 6.500 TONNES in this non active delivery month of January. This is a STRONG amount standing for GOLD IN JAN (generally one of the weakest of all delivery months of the year).

We gained 0 contracts. These longs refused to morph into London based forwards.

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

461,317.475 oz NOW PLEDGED SEPT 15.2020/HSBC 14.34 TONNES

84,274.333 PLEDGED APRIL 3/2020: SCOTIA:2.148 TONNES

290,795.495 oz JPM 9.04 TONNES

1,014,918.830 oz pledged June 12/2020 Brinks/30.198 TONNES

94,500.934 oz Pledged August 21/regular account 2.93 tonnes JPMORGAN

180,158,329 oz Pledged Nov 27.2021 MANFRA 5.60 TONNES

6,308.08 oz International Delaware: .196 tonnes

192.06 oz Malca

168,811.741 Manfra

total pledged gold: 2,121,119.74 oz 65.97 tonnes

registered gold that can be used to settle upon: 16,998,141.0 (528,71 tonnes)

true registered gold (total registered – pledged tonnes 16,998,141.0 (528.71 tonnes)

total registered, pledged and eligible (customer) gold 38,719,770.100 oz 1,204.34 tonnes (INCLUDES 4 GC GOLD)

total 4 GC gold: 126.34 tonnes

total gold net of 4 GC: 1077.94 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 DATA AND GRAPHS:

END

JAN 28/2020

And now for the wild silver comex results

INITIAL STANDINGS

We had 0 deposits into the dealer:

total dealer deposits: nil oz

i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal

total dealer withdrawals: nil oz

we had 0 deposit into the customer account (ELIGIBLE ACCOUNT)

JPMorgan now has 193.906 million oz of total silver inventory or 48.63% of all official comex silver. (193.906 million/398.736 million

total customer deposits today: nil oz

we had 2 withdrawals:

i) Out of CNT: 33,796.935 oz

ii) Out of Delaware: 1007.400 oz

total withdrawals: 34,804.225 oz

We had 0 adjustments:

Total dealer(registered) silver: 149.509million oz

total registered and eligible silver: 397.931 million oz

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jan saw a LOSS of 89 contracts DOWN to 2 contracts. We had 91 notices filed on WEDNESDAY so we GAINED 2 contracts or 10,000 oz will stand in this non active delivery month of January. They REFUSED TO morph into London based forwards and as such NEGATED a fiat bonus. This was one big queue jump. Somebody was in urgent need of a huge amount of silver on this side of the pond.

FEBRUARY saw another GAIN of 438 contracts to stand at 1606. MARCH LOST 2064 contracts DOWN to 126,743.

My goodness: it looks like we may a 8 million oz standing for silver in Feb.

The total number of notices filed today for JAN 2021. contract month is represented by 91 contract(s) FOR 455,000 oz

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JAN we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 1378 x 5,000 oz = 6,890,000 oz to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JAN (2) and the number of notices served upon today 2 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the JAN standings for silver for the JAN/2021 contract month: 1378 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for front month of JAN(2)- number of notices served upon today (2) x 5000 oz of silver standing for the Jan contract month .equals 6,890,000 oz. ..VERY STRONG FOR A NON ACTIVE JAN MONTH.

WE GAINED 2 CONTRACTS OR 10,000 ADDITIONAL OZ WILL STAND FOR DELIVERY OVER HERE

TODAY’S ESTIMATED SILVER VOLUME :187,782 CONTRACTS // volume criminal//939 million oz

134% of annual production//day traders

FOR YESTERDAY 104,008 ,CONFIRMED VOLUME// good/

YESTERDAY’S CONFIRMED VOLUME OF 97,254 CONTRACTS EQUATES to 0.486 billion OZ 69.4% OF ANNUAL GLOBAL PRODUCTION OF SILVER..

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

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

end

NPV for Sprott

1. Sprott silver fund (PSLV): NAV RISES TO- 3.67% ((JAN 28/2021)

2. Sprott gold fund (PHYS): premium to NAV FALLS TO -2.09% to NAV: (JAN 28/2021 )

Note: Sprott silver trust back into NEGATIVE territory at +%-/Sprott physical gold trust is back into NEGATIVE 3.67% (JAN 28/2021)

(courtesy Sprott/GATA

3. SPROTT CEF .A FUND (FORMERLY CENTRAL FUND OF CANADA):

NAV 19.60 TRADING 18.79///NEGATIVE 4.13

END

And now the Gold inventory at the GLD/

JAN 28/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.90 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.71 TONNES LEAVES THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1169.17 TONNES

JANUARY 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.85 TODAY; A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF .87 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS 1172.38 TONNES

JAN 26/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.15 TODAY:NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1173.25 TONNES

JAN 25.WITH GOLD DOWN 20 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1173.25 TONNES

JAN 22/WITH GOLD DOWN (9.50 TODAY:A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/: A WITHDRAWAL OF .88 TONNES FROM THE GLD//NVENTORY RESTS AT 1173.25 TONNES

JAN 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $0.40 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1174.13 TONNES

JAN 20/WITH GOLD UP $25.20 TODAY; A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.5 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1174.13 TONNES

JAN 19/WITH GOLD UP $10.90 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 16.63 TONNES INTO GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1177.63 TONNES

JAN 15/WITH GOLD DOWN $22.40 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//: A WITHDRAWAL OF 10.21 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 1161.00 TONNES

JAN 14.WITH GOLD DOWN $2.75 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 10.50 TONNES FROM THE GLD.//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1171.21 TONNES

JAN 13/WITH GOLD UP $11.65 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1181.71 TONNES

JAN 12/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.70 TODAY;A HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// A WITHDRAWAL OF .400 TONNES FROM THE GLD..//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1181.71 TONNES

JAN 11/WITH GOLD UP $14.30 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1182.11 TONNES

JAN 8//WITH GOLD DOWN $75.70 : A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.57 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1182.11 TONNES

JAN 7/WITH GOLD UP $5.70 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1186.78 TONNES

JAN 6/WITH GOLD DOWN $44.25 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.17 TONNES//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1186.78 TONNES

JAN 5/WITH GOLD UP $10.05 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 17.21 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1187.95 TONNES

JAN 4/WITH GOLD UP $49.70 TODAY: A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD; A DEPOSIT OF 0.88 TONNES INTO THE GLD/////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1170.74 TONNES

DEC 31/WITH GOLD UP $1.45 TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1169.86 TONNES

DEC//30//WITH GOLD UP $13.30 TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1169.86 TONNES

DEC.29//WITH GOLD UP $1.65 TODAY: A DEPOSIT OF 2.53 TONNES CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1169.86 TONNES.

DEC 28WITH GOLD DOWN $3.00 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.53 TONNES

DEC 24/WITH GOLD UP $6.15 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.53 TONNES

DEC.23/WITH GOLD UP $7.40 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.33 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.53 TONNES

DEC 22/WITH GOLD DOWN $12.00 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPSOIT OF 2.04 TONNES INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1169.86 TONNES

DEC 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.60 TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.82 TONNES

DEC 18/WITH GOLD DOWN 90 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.82 TONNES

DEC 17 WITH GOLD UP $39.35 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.33 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 1167.82 TONNES

DEC 16/WITH GOLD UP $2.55 TODAY A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: ANOTHER WITHDRAWAL OF 1.17 TONNES FORM THE GLD..//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1170.15 TONNES

DEC 15/ WITH GOLD UP $23.75 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.67 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1171.32 TONNES//

DEC 14//WITH GOLD DOWN $10.45 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.79 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1175.99 TONNES

DEC 11/WITH GOLD UP $5.70 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 1179.78 TONNES

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inventory rests tonight at:

JAN 29 / GLD INVENTORY 1169.17 tonnes

LAST; 988 TRADING DAYS: +233.90 TONNES HAVE BEEN ADDED THE GLD

LAST 888 TRADING DAYS// +402.53 TONNES HAVE NOW BEEN ADDED INTO THE GLD INVENTORY

end

Now the SLV Inventory/

JAN 28/WITH SILVER UP 44 CENTS TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.393 MILLION OZ//INVENTORY RESTS AT 571.883 MILLION OZ/

JAN 27/ WITH SILVER DOWN 10 CENTS TODAY; A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV.: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.022 MILLION OZ OF IMAGINARY SILVER// INVENTORY RESTS AT 573.277 MILLION OZ/

JAN 26/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 576.299 MILLION OZ///

JAN 25/WITH SILVER DOWN 5 CENTS A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 2.044 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// INVENTORY RESTS AT 576.299 MILLION OZ./.

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER STORIES
i) GOLDCORE BLOG/Mark O’Byrne/STEPHEN FLOOD

Gold, the Tried-and-True Inflation Hedge for What’s Coming!

28, January

Global confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 100 million this week. There is no denying that the coronavirus pandemic has caused tremendous hardship and loss. To mitigate new cases climbing further, stricter lockdown and travel restrictions are being announced and implemented, with the curfew in the Netherlands as an example. Lock-down fatigue, as evidenced by the riots against this implemented curfew, is growing. Through it all, hope is on the horizon as vaccine roll-out plans are being implemented. Many governments continue to aim for herd immunity by autumn of this year.

Massive fiscal and monetary stimulus has been pumped into economies around the world to help ease the economic devastation for both individuals and businesses. Building on hope for herd immunity being reached and restrictions being lifted towards yearend, the question arises: Is CPI inflation on the horizon?

Central banks are generally forecasting inflation to be in the range of their 2% targets for the next several years, and although, inflation expectations have risen sharply since the March 2020 low, they are still not out of line to pre-coronavirus levels.

Below are four reasons that we expect higher inflation over the next several years.

Money Supplies have risen dramatically. Central bank asset purchase programs are rapidly increasing money supplies. For example, US M2 measure of money supply (includes currency in circulation, current accounts, savings deposits, small-denomination time deposits and retail money market funds) increased more than US$3.7 trillion (almost 25%) in 2020. In the Eurozone, this measure climbed by US$2.6 trillion and in the UK by almost US$600 billion – just those three equate to US$7 trillion in additional money sloshing around. To be sure, much of this money has been put into assets, i.e. equity markets and houses. Hence, record high equity markets, and soaring house prices, despite the coronavirus-induced economic downturn. This asset price inflation will be followed by general price inflation.

Commodity prices are rising again. Rising commodity prices feed into higher inflation, especially key industrial commodities such as copper (+35% over the last year) and natural gas (+41%). Key construction commodity prices, such as lumber prices (+103%) have skyrocketed. Commodity food prices have also increased dramatically, wheat prices (+15%), and corn prices (+31%) for example. Although, some of this increase is transitory, part is due to ongoing supply constraints.

Reduced Globalization as ‘Made at Home’ policies are proliferating. Cheaper foreign goods are being substituted with more expensive domestic goods. Many government procurement agencies have been instructed to use resources and products produced in their own countries and some governments are offering incentives for increased purchases of domestic goods and services by businesses. These ‘Made at Home’ policies are pro-domestic labor but are generally more expensive. Although, the Biden administration will go about his trade policy in a much more politically correct way, the Administration will still promote Made in America policies and fair-trade practices for its trading partners.
Pent up demand. Price pressures will build in specific sectors of the economy after restrictions are lifted. A survey conducted by the New York Fed in October states that 36% of households surveyed saved their stimulus cheques and 45% said that they would save the second stimulus cheque. The US personal savings rate, although down from its massive peak in April, shows that households still had more than US$1 trillion in personal savings in November (latest date data is available) than at the beginning of 2020. This additional savings is on top of the US$1.2 trillion in reduced credit card debt. Oh, and don’t forget the increase in asset prices also increases household spending ability. There is also pent-up demand from businesses, both in re-opening shuttered operations due to restrictions, or expanding operations once supply chains re-open.

Some have compared the re-opening of the economy to the roaring 1920s – the new age of economic prosperity and spending. Three things are needed for consumer price inflation to take hold: too much money, chasing, to few goods. Currently, the only piece missing is the chasing – and once the vaccine reaches a significant majority of the population chasing of goods and services is likely to gain momentum – and demand will outstrip supply in key sectors of the economy. Part of it, will of course be temporary, but part of it is growth of a new economy with reduced global trade and increase emphasis on made at home products. In the coming new age of spending and inflation – gold is a tried-and-true inflation hedge!

We leave the reader with a quote from Milton Friedman to ponder…

“Central bankers always try to avoid their last big mistake. So, every time there’s the threat of a contraction in the economy, they’ll over stimulate the economy, by printing too much money. The result will be a rising roller coaster of inflation, with each high and low being higher than the preceding one”

NEWS and COMMENTARY

Federal Reserve leaves interest rates and asset purchases unchanged

Fed on hold as officials weigh pandemic against vaccines, fiscal support

Dow falls 600 points, S&P 500 falls 2% from record

GOLD PRICES (USD, GBP & EUR – AM/ PM LBMA Fix)

27-01-21 1846.40 1843.00 1344.18 1347.05 1522.54 1526.56
26-01-21 1853.20 1856.60 1356.73 1352.53 1527.22 1526.31
25-01-21 1855.60 1856.85 1356.63 1359.03 1527.16 1531.34
22-01-21 1853.60 1852.70 1357.21 1356.18 1522.36 1521.80
21-01-21 1867.65 1862.10 1361.14 1356.35 1538.57 1532.14
20-01-21 1854.60 1856.60 1354.23 1360.70 1530.42 1536.15
19-01-21 1843.10 1834.70 1353.20 1347.59 1519.82 1512.89
18-01-21 1833.95 1833.05 1354.19 1351.32 1520.71 1518.50
15-01-21 1853.85 1839.00 1357.57 1352.40 1527.20 1519.93
14-01-21 1840.25 1841.75 1347.62 1349.82 1513.05 1519.63

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END.

ii) Important gold commentaries courtesy of GATA/Chris Powell

Venezuelan banks issuing debit cards for dollar denominated accounts

(Reuters/GATA)

Venezuelan banks issuing debit cards for dollar-denominated accounts, sources tell Reuters

Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2021-01-28 01:45. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Corina Pons and Mayela Armas
Reuters
Wednesday, January 27, 2021

CARACAS, Venezuela — A group of Venezuelan banks has started issuing debit cards to clients who have accounts in hard currency, a move quietly backed by authorities who want to extend the use of dollars in routine transactions, sources familiar with the measure said.

For more than a year banks have stored cash dollars for corporate clients as part of an economic liberalization under socialist President Nicolas Maduro. For 15 years dollar transactions were under strict government control.

…

State officials privately told banks to begin allowing clients with dollar accounts to use those funds to carry out transactions denominated in the local bolivar currency, said the four sources, who spoke on the condition that neither they nor their institutions would be identified.

The move will help improve liquidity and reduce barriers to commerce in an economy hobbled by sanctions, hyperinflation, and widespread shortages, but the sources said they were told that Maduro’s government is not preparing a full dollarization. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-economy/venezuelan-banks-issui…

end

Brokers are now starting to restrict trading in GME and other highflyers where shorts are under attack. It certainly highlights the manipulative attacks of our crooks

(Bloomberg)

Brokers start to restrict trading where shorts are under attack

Submitted by cpowell on Thu, 2021-01-28 16:57. Section: Daily Dispatches

By Bailey Lipschultz and Divya Balji
Bloomberg News
Thursday, January 28, 2021

GameStop Corp. plunged today, triggering more than a dozen volatility halts amid trading restrictions on platforms such as Robinhood Markets and Interactive Brokers Group Inc.

The stock plummeted as much as 68% when trading was halted for a 15th time after Robinhood, Interactive Brokers, and others took steps to curtail activity in several high-flying stocks, including GameStop and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. The stock was down 30% to $243 as of 11:45 a.m. after trading resumed. At one point today it fell 68%.

…

.The clampdown by brokerages extended beyond GameStop to other high-flying stocks such as Blackberry Ltd. that have posted blistering rallies this week, burning short sellers and hedge funds. The phenomenon attracted the attention of regulators Wednesday, with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying it was actively monitoring the situation.

“I’m actually surprised that trading platforms are getting involved,” said Wedbush Securities Inc. analyst Michael Pachter. “Unless there is something screwy about the trading that suggests manipulation, they really should get out of the way and allow investors to trade whatever they wish.” …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-28/gamestop-resumes-rall…

end

Andrew Maguire…

Hi Chris, Harvey & Reg.

Just passing on my take at the time, more to come. Swiss banks are bailing this is a big tell.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jErcxVAx_ME&feature=emb_logo

Best

Andrew

Attachments area

Preview YouTube video Ep. 29 Live from the Vault: – BREAKING NEWS – Exclusive Basel III update – Major market implications

Ep. 29 Live from the Vault: – BREAKING NEWS – Exclusive Basel III update – Major market implications

OR HERE:

https://kinesis.money/webinars/

LIVE: From the Vault

Episode 29 of Live from the Vault

We are pleased to announce episode 29 of the live from the vault series is now live.

In this ‘breaking news’ edition of Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire reveals exclusive, industry-shifting information involving several European banks and Basel III rules – with major implications for the gold and silver markets and the price of precious metals globally.

In more Basel III news, the precious metals expert clears up speculation over the LMBA’s attempts to avoid the sting of this historic ruling. Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the long-time wholesaler explains why the GLD and SLV could be the paper market’s Achilles heel.

Visit the Kinesis Exchange via desktop by clicking here or by downloading our mobile app on either iOS or Android below.

end

iii) Other physical stories:

Is The Reddit Rebellion About To Descend On The Precious Metals Market?

Precious metals ETFs and mining stocks are suddenly snapping higher this morning, raising questions about whether the Reddit Rebellion is migrating to one of the most manipulated markets of all.

Imagine if @wallstreetbets finally ended the paper price suppression of precious metals. Physical silver has a market cap of $30B. What a joke. This is only possible with infinite supply black hole paper derivative markets. 🥈⛏️🚀#Silver $Silver $SLV $AG https://t.co/nkwmScJyG0

— Alex Saunders 🇦🇺👨‍🔬 (@AlexSaundersAU) January 27, 2021

One WallStreetBets user (jjalj30) posted the following last night:

Silver Bullion Market is one of the most manipulated on earth. Any short squeeze in silver paper shorts would be EPIC. We know bullion banks are manipulating gold and silver to cover real inflation.

Both the industrial case and monetary case, debt printing has never been more favorable for the No. 1 inflation hedge Silver.

Inflation adjusted Silver should be at 1000$ instead of 25$. Link to post removed by mods.

Why not squeeze $SLV to real physical price.

Think about the Gainz. If you don’t care about the gains, think about the banks like JP MORGAN you’d be destroying along the way.

Edit 1: ALL IN ON $AG. LETS GET THE MINERS.

Edit: $AG UP 40% PM. YOU FUCKING RETARDS. 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 SLV TO THE FUCKING MARZ. I have got some interesting ifo from Gold Ventures. Here he goes—

Hi master!! In our debate about of which ETF is the best for our purposes (PSLV or SLV) I think that obviously the choice is SLV. Many people try to discredit it putting in doubt that it holds all the silver that it should, but I think that this had been always biased propaganda by the bullion dealers. SLV is run by BlackRock, who has many, many, many more assets under management than the SLV (in fact SLV is one of their smallest funds). Will such a leader of the investment industry put its reputation in risk??? Some years ago (in the darknest recent age of silver, about 2013-2015), the short interest in SLV was much higher than nowadays (about 25-30%). Ted Buttler always defended that shorting the SLV was not permitted by the ETF prospectus itself, because shorting one share inhibits the adding os one Oz of silver (you can sell one share to a new investor without issuing it). He initiated a public campaign against BlackRock by permitting it. The result was a legal threat of BlackRock to Buttler, he had to retreat, but magically the short interest started to decrease during the next weeks/months till “simbolic” levels. Even during this last year, where we witnessing silver inflow to the trust of several hundreds os Moz over the year before, the short interest of SLV itself didn’t rise. SLV itself has no meaningful short interest itself, but the arbitrage among it and the spot/futures market make the concentrated shorts of the Comex very vulnerable. And remember, the master of the crooks, the one with the biggest and more corrupt influences, JPM, is no longer in the short side, so it will be no threated and by that will do nothing.

Advantages of SLV over PSLV are clear:

Much more available on brokers (unless in Europe due to MiFid II)

Much more liquid

And of course, it has options!!

Tldr- Corner the market. GV thinks its possible to squeeze $SLV, FUCK AFTER SEEING $AG AND $GME EVEN I THINK WE CAN DO IT. BUY $SLV GO ALL IN TH GAINZ WILL BE UNLIMITED. DEMAND PHYSICAL IF YOU CAN. FUCK THE BANKS.

Disclaimer: This is not Financial advice. I am not a financial services professional. This is my personal opinion and speculation as an uneducated and uninformed person.

On the heels of that, SLV is spiking

And GLD…

But it is the miners that are flying… for instance AG…

Luke Gromen has some words of warning however…

There is an important lesson for gold markets in Robin Hood reportedly going “sell only” on GME & AMC:

If bullion banks are short gold into a gold re-pricing event like GME just went thru, paper gold will likely be settled in cash at the pre-spike paper price. Caveat emptor.

— Luke Gromen (@LukeGromen) January 28, 2021

One thing is sure – if WSB’rs start messing with the primal source of BIS power, Benoit will be at his desk very fast…

And the regulators will stomp all over it!

end

From Reddit: they are prepared to go over the big silver shorts:

THE BIGGEST SHORT SQUEEZE IN THE WORLD $SLV Silver 25$ to 1000$.

Silver Bullion Market is one of the most manipulated on earth. Any short squeeze in silver paper shorts would be EPIC. We know billion banks are manipulating gold and silver to cover real inflation.

Both the industrial case and monetary case, debt printing has never been more favorable for the No. 1 inflation hedge Silver.

Inflation adjusted Silver should be at 1000$ instead of 25$. Link to post removed by mods.

Why not squeeze $SLV to real physical price.

Think about the Gainz. If you don’t care about the gains, think about the banks like JP MORGAN you’d be destroying along the way.

Edit 1: ALL IN ON $AG. LETS GET THE MINERS.

Edit: $AG UP 40% PM. YOU FUCKING RETARDS. 🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀🚀 SLV TO THE FUCKING MARZ. I have got some interesting ifo from Gold Ventures. Here he goes—

Hi master!! In our debate about of which ETF is the best for our purposes (PSLV or SLV) I think that obviously the choice is SLV. Many people try to discredit it putting in doubt that it holds all the silver that it should, but I think that this had been always biased propaganda by the bullion dealers. SLV is run by BlackRock, who has many, many, many more assets under management than the SLV (in fact SLV is one of their smallest funds). Will such a leader of the investment industry put its reputation in risk??? Some years ago (in the darknest recent age of silver, about 2013-2015), the short interest in SLV was much higher than nowadays (about 25-30%). Ted Buttler always defended that shorting the SLV was not permitted by the ETF prospectus itself, because shorting one share inhibits the adding os one Oz of silver (you can sell one share to a new investor without issuing it). He initiated a public campaign against BlackRock by permitting it. The result was a legal threat of BlackRock to Buttler, he had to retreat, but magically the short interest started to decrease during the next weeks/months till “simbolic” levels. Even during this last year, where we witnessing silver inflow to the trust of several hundreds os Moz over the year before, the short interest of SLV itself didn’t rise. SLV itself has no meaningful short interest itself, but the arbitrage among it and the spot/futures market make the concentrated shorts of the Comex very vulnerable. And remember, the master of the crooks, the one with the biggest and more corrupt influences, JPM, is no longer in the short side, so it will be no threated and by that will do nothing.

Advantages of SLV over PSLV are clear:

Much more available on brokers (unless in Europe due to MiFid II)
Much more liquid
And of course, it has options!!

Tldr- Corner the market. GV thinks its possible to squeeze $SLV, FUCK AFTER SEEING $AG AND $GME EVEN I THINK WE CAN DO IT. BUY $SLV GO ALL IN TH GAINZ WILL BE UNLIMITED. DEMAND PHYSICAL IF YOU CAN. FUCK THE BANKS.

end

Silver Prices Jump as ‘Reddit Crowd’ Urged to Buy Precious

Thursday, 1/28/2021 14:43

SILVER PRICES leapt and gold bullion rallied Thursday lunchtime in London after new US data said the world’s largest economy expanded in line with analyst forecasts at the end of 2020 but inflation was much weaker than expected.

Western stock markets struggled after yesterday’s steep drop on Wall Street ahead of the Federal Reserve’s “no change” decision on monetary policy.

US and other major government bond prices then dropped, edging long-term interest rates higher, as GDP growth met Wall Street’s 4.0% consensus figure.

But gold regained the week’s earlier 1.3% loss for Dollar investors after core PCE inflation for the fourth quarter came in at 1.5%, sharply down from Q3’s reading of 3.7%.

Silver prices meantime jumped as a campaign grew among long-time silver bugs to attract the “Reddit crowd” of young day-traders currently squeezing heavily-shorted US shares higher.

“GameStop’s surge is making it one of the most traded stocks in the U.S,” says MarketWatch of the video-game maker now shooting 1,740% higher for the year so far after small traders – egged on by Tesla CEO Elon Musk – piled into leveraged bets on the stock via the RobinHood platform on news that hedge funds have borrowed and sold huge quantities of its shares to try profiting from a price drop.

“‘Weaponised’ options trading turbocharges GameStop’s dizzying rally,” says the Financial Times.

“I do think this is a seminal moment,” CNBC quotes Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

“I don’t think we go back to a world before this, because these communities, they’re a byproduct of the connected internet.”

“REDDIT SILVER SHOCKER,” claims one long-time silver blog. “Reddit traders now targeting silver.

“GameStop traded $82.3 billion In 4 days, enough to purchase more than 3X entire annual global silver mine production.”

That was also equivalent to 13.5 days of silver clearing volumes in the London bullion market.

“Even if platforms were to remove all silver exchange- traded instruments, short-squeezers could keep it going by simply buying all available physical silver from bullion dealers,” adds another long-time silver bug – and now crypto “pioneer”.

Silver prices jumped $1 inside 45 minutes as New York trading began, but the Comex February futures contract showed no premium to London spot bullion quotes, suggesting no surge in leveraged speculation.

With silver prices reaching 3-week highs at $26.28 per ounce, gold prices rose back above $1857.

“We are going to see more global fiscal and monetary measures,” says Harshal Barot, senior research consultant for South Asia at independent analysts Metals Focus.

“There are [also] concerns about stock market valuations, elevated government debts, so macro environment is still very positive for gold.”

“No surprises in the dovish [US Fed] statement, with commitment to an accommodative monetary policy to continue,” says today’s trading note from Swiss refining and finance group MKS Pamp.

-END-

Silver rallies after Reddit post about executing a ‘short squeeze’

Myra P. Saefong

MarketWatch

New York Department of Health undercounted Covid-19 deaths in nursing…

Biden urged not to give top FDA job to official over her role in opioid crisis

MarketWatch logoSilver rallies after Reddit post about executing a ‘short squeeze’

Silver futures are rallying Thursday, heading for their highest finish in three weeks, following a post by a Reddit user, who suggested executing a “short squeeze” on silver.

“Any short squeeze in silver paper shorts would be EPIC,” a post on the popular WallStreetBets forum said. “Why not squeeze $SLV to real physical price,” he said referring to the iShares Silver Trust exchange traded fund.

A short squeeze happens when a price increase for an asset prompts a rush in buying activity by those who previously bet that prices would fall.

Silver jumped “as a campaign grew among long-time silver bugs to attract the ‘Reddit crowd’ of young day- traders currently squeezing heavily-shorted U.S. shares higher,” Adrian Ash, director of research at BullionVault, wrote in a article Thursday.

Silver futures rallied in Thursday dealings, with the March contract was up 56.1 cents, or 2.2%, at $25.95 an ounce after trading as high as $27.10. Prices were on track for the highest settlement for a most-active contract since Jan. 7, FactSet data show.

The Wall Street Journal suggested that the moves in silver represented a shift by day traders into other asset classes in the wake of big gains in popular stocks such as GameStop Corp. and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.

“While a sudden flood of money into a particular derivatives contract can spike prices,” Thursday’s jump in silver “will struggle to grab or hold the Reddit crowd’s attention for long,” BullionVault’s Ash told MarketWatch.

“Short-squeezing a stock with short interest of 140% is one thing, but short-squeezing a physical commodity where market-ready stockpiles are 3 times average daily futures volume is another,” said Ash.

The Hunt brothers’ attempt to corner the silver market over 40 years ago “took almost a decade to build, and like the 2011 peak at $50 it showed how silver’s true market depth needs to count bracelets and cutlery too,” he said. The biggest stockpile of silver is in jewelry and silverware, which “can be scrapped and refined in large bars very quickly if prices spike fast and far enough.”

Silver exchange-traded funds and shares of silver mining companies also got a big lift. The silver-backed iShares Silver Trust rose 4.1%. Shares of silver miners also climbed sharply, with First Majestic Silver up by 17% and Coeur Mining Inc. up 13%.

Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter, meanwhile, urged caution amid indications that the “RobinHooders and their ilk will soon target silver as the next market to flood into to trap the shorts.”

“That would be interesting to see…but be careful what you wish for,” he said in emailed commentary. “There are certainly enough fundamental forces driving silver higher over the coming years that we don’t need a manipulation in the positive direction to shorten or possibly forestall the trend already in place.”

“Regardless, the very fear of a flood of new buyers into silver, and the experience with GameStop, seems to be prompting shorts to cover their bets in advance of any such move,” said Lundin.

-END-

Crash JP Morgan, buy Silver!

‘We have not won this yet,’ Fed’s Powell says, signaling policy to remain ultra-easy

Jan. 27, 2021 at 5:13 p.m. ET

MarketWatch

Long road to recovery, Fed chairman says

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday said the central bank hasn’t finished the job of restoring the economy to health, a dovish signal that ultra-easy monetary policy will remain in place for months to come.

Powell spoke to reporters after the Federal Open Market Committee decided to hold monetary policy steady, while noting that the sectors of the economy that have already been damaged by the coronavirus pandemic are experiencing another round of pain.

“We have not won this yet,” Powell said.

“The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic,” the Fed’s interest-rate committee said in a statement.

Powell stressed repeatedly that it is premature for the U.S. central bank to contemplate exiting its accommodative monetary policy stance. He said new strains of COVID-19 add to the economic uncertainty.

In the wake of the pandemic, the Fed has cut its policy interest rate close to zero and is buying $120 billion per month of U.S. Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities to help the economy recover from the pandemic.

Powell said the Fed could do more to help the economy if needed.

The Fed sees “slower growth, but not slow enough to trigger action,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The central bank is trying to convince the markets that it won’t reverse course until the economy has recovered. First, earlier last year the central bank adopted a policy framework spelling out that it won’t raise interest rates at the first whiff of inflation.

And at its last meeting in December, the Fed said it would maintain the purchases until “substantial further progress” is made on its twin goals of low unemployment and stable 2% inflation. Fed watchers think this means the Fed won’t begin to slow asset purchases until 2022 and raise interest rates until perhaps a year later.

Some regional Fed presidents have suggested a tapering could start this year if the economy improved.

Powell said the Fed would be “patient” with any spike in consumer prices this year that result from the economy returning to stronger health. A pickup in inflation would be welcome.

Powell said he was “much more worried about falling short of a complete recovery, and losing people’s careers” than any outbreak of inflation.

“Low inflation is giving the FOMC plenty of room to stay accommodative,” said Mike Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JP Morgan Chase before the meeting.

Conceivably, the Fed might not face pressure to change policy until September, when investors and the central bank starts to get a clearer sense of the outlook for 2022.

Until then, the action may be on the fiscal front with new U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen now confirmed by Congress.

Powell said he was “absolutely sure” he would have a good working relationship with Yellen.

The new Treasury secretary will try to shepherd President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 billion economic relief package through Congress, although analysts expect it will be smaller before it can pass.

At the moment, economists think the economy will be weak in the near-term but expect a surge in growth as the winter ends and more Americans receive coronavirus vaccinations.

Powell said he also saw signs the outlook would improve later this year.

The burning question of the day from reporters was about the recent volatility in the stock market stemming from chat groups on Reddit and other internet forums. Powell refused to comment directly, saying that broad financial stability risks are moderate.

Fed officials recognize that there are potential financial stability risks in this low-interest-rate environment.

-END-

Watch: Glenn Greenwald Opines On The Reddit Revolution, GameStop And Melvin Capital

Authored by Glenn Greenwald via greenwald.substack.com

A remarkable series of events culminated in at least one major Wall Street hedge fund on the verge of insolvency and widespread anxiety and even panic from the titans of the financial system. It was all initiated on a sub-group of Reddit known for its heterodox interest in stock markets, video games, and vaguely populist politics.

Purposely targeting the stock of a company that had long been written off by Wall Street and which short sellers had decided to ravage — the video game retailer GameStop — these small investors, many apparently working class or debt-ridden, banded together to drive up the stock price of that company into the stratosphere, abruptly leaving the hedge fund short-sellers with billions of dollars in losses.

*Front page of the r/wallstreetbets sub-Reddit*

Although it may be more complex than this once all the facts are all known, this is being treated — by those excited by it and those aghast — as a type of populist uprising, a David v. Goliath tale in which ordinary people united to brilliantly beat Wall Street at its own game, thereby transferring plutocratic wealth back to the public. Oligarchs and their media spokespeople spent all day on CNBC and other pro-Wall-Street outlets expressing outrage and demanding government intervention to protect them from what they regard as this grave injustice.

And the sub-Reddit has now been banned by at least one platform, on the highly suspicious ground that it was due to “hate speech” and not the use of this group to sabotage Wall Street billionaires (what a remarkable coincidence of timing that this sub-Reddit’s “hate speech” suddenly crossed a line exactly as hedge fund managers were demanding their heads; the page continues, however, to appear on Reddit itself).

In the video below, I discuss what happened and what the implications are. One note about the video: though I do discuss the amorphous and trans-ideological politics driving both the Reddit uprising and the reaction to it, that topic in particular merits much more consideration. Liberal journalists and pundits love to mock the idea that “economic anxiety” drives anything remotely adjacent to right-wing populism — the primary drivers are racism and other types of bigotry, they insist in unison — yet all one has to do is spend any non-trivial amount of time in that sub-Reddit to see genuine and significant levels of rational economic anger often quite untethered, even hostile, to left-liberal cultural pieties and political niceties. Given their recent noble success, everyone now wants to claim these Redditors as their own, but their politics, like many people’s, defy the clean left-right dichotomy on which the professional media and punditry classes depend, the only prism through which they can understand the world.

This is one of the most interesting and potentially significant events — not just financially but culturally and politically — to happen in some time, and I try here to explain the key components and highlight some of the most consequential implications [note that this video was filmed late last night before the banning of the sub-Reddit by Discord on obviously specious grounds and, far worse, the corrupted banning this morning by major trading platforms, including RobinHood, of any attempts to buy GameStop and other targeted stocks while still allowing them to be sold: the ultimate expression of what should be illegal market manipulation to protect hedge funds):

‘Epic’ Gold Market To Follow “Epic Stock Market Bubble”

Authored by Egon von Greyerz via GoldSwitzerland.com,

Most investors are more interested in getting richer than preserving wealth. This is why they will never exit the stock market. As the Dow up 39x in the last 50 years this has been the right strategy. Only since 2009, the Dow is up 5x! So clearly a Win-Win position!

But as Jeremy Grantham recently said, stocks are in an “epic bubble”. Still most investors ignore this since greed dominates their emotions. If stocks are up 3,800% since 1971, there is no reason why it shouldn’t continue.

STOCKS or GOLD

During the last 50 years we have seen 5 vicious corrections in the Dow of between 41% and 55%.

But even with these corrections, the Dow is today 39x higher than in 1971.

There is another relatively small but important investment asset which represents only 0.5% of global financial assets. That asset is up 53x since 1971.

But it hasn’t been an easy journey for this asset either. There were 3 major corrections in half a century between 33% and 70%.

I am of course talking about gold.

If dividends are excluded gold has outperformed the Dow. With dividends reinvested, the Dow has outperformed gold by 3x. Leasing or lending the gold would have reduced the difference somewhat.

But the principal reason to hold gold is that it is nobody else’s liability and therefore physical gold should never be leased as it defeats the purpose of holding it for wealth preservation.

We must also remember that a stock index doesn’t tell the truth. Unsuccessful or failed companies are continuously taken out of the index and the most successful companies added. Therefore an index gives a much rosier picture than what really happened.

THE DOW WILL LOSE 97% IN REAL TERMS

All of the above is history. Even though gold has yielded an excellent return, it is what happens to the Dow/Gold ratio in the future that determines if investors should stay with stocks or hold gold.

The chart below of the Dow-Gold ratio gives us the answer.

Gold bottomed at $250 in 1999 as the ratio peaked at 45. The ratio subsequently fell to 5 in 2011 and corrected from there to 22.5 in 2018.

Since 2018, the Dow/Gold downtrend has resumed. The indicator at the bottom of the chart is the quarterly MACD which is a very important indication of the long term trend. The MACD turned down in 2019 for the first time since the 1999 top. This is a very strong sign that Dow/Gold has now resumed the long term downtrend.

If we then look at the long term picture of the Dow/Gold ratio, it gives us a very good idea of where we are heading.

The initial target is a ratio of 1 to 1 as in 1980 when the Dow was 850 and gold $850.

That would involve a 94% fall from here.

But the ratio is very likely to reach the long term downtrend line of 0.5 to 1. This would be a 97% fall from now.

So the Dow falling by at least 97% against gold by 2025 seems very likely.

Since these kind of moves very often overshoot, we could easily see a Dow/Gold ratio of 0.2 to 1 which would mean a 99% fall of the ratio from today.

For confirmation of major overshoots of the green Confidence Band, see extremes in 1929, 1966, 1980 and 1999,

What this would mean in the nominal price for gold or the Dow is totally irrelevant.

STOCK INVESTORS WILL BE WIPED OUT

Stock market investors should now have sleepless nights that they are about to lose up to 99% of their wealth within the next 5 years.

I repeat, holding stocks could totally wipe out all your financial wealth in real terms by 2025.

The repercussions would obviously be devastating not just for private investors but for pension funds, institutions, as well as for the global world economy.

It would lead to a highly destructive deflationary depression after a short lived hyperinflationary period as central banks apply the only trick they know – UNLIMITED MONEY PRINTING.

But this time the world will finally discover that printed money has ZERO value.

And so will the holders of US dollars as the US currency finishes its (just over) 100 year move to its intrinsic value of ZERO.

EPIC STOCK MARKET BUBBLE – END OF AN ERA

As Jeremy Grantham said, we are now seeing an epic stock market bubble that is about to crash in the next few months.

But sadly we are not just going to see a stock market crash but the end of at least a 300 year era and maybe a 2000 year cycle.

With the world fast approaching economic paralysis and physical lockdown, it is difficult to see how this can end well. Instead, what is now in front of us can only end badly and most probably VERY BADLY.

As I have stated since September 2019, the current problems started at that point with major pressures in the global financial system. Accelerated money printing ensued.

And by February 2020, global central banks were extremely pleased that the pandemic allowed them to attribute an excuse for the panic situation they were in.

So Covid is not the reason for the world’s catastrophic situation. No, Covid was just the most horrible catalyst that will guarantee that the global bubble era will have a devastating end.

Covid allowed central banks to create a Niagara Falls of printed money and debt, gushing down chaotically over the world.

And this without having to explain to the world that the financial system was already broke before Covid. The extraordinary money creation that is now taking place will be criticised by very few.

WHAT TO DO

So what should investors do?

It is pretty obvious to some of us.

Firstly sell your stocks.

Bonds might hold up for a bit longer but the bond market will have the most spectacular crash in the next couple of years as central banks lose control of credit markets and interest rates.

Buy insurance and wealth preservation in the form of physical precious metals (GOLD and SILVER) and some mining stocks.

Remember that if you hold any stocks within the financial system you are exposed to counterparty risk.

Precious metals will clearly not solve all our problems as the world economy implodes. But it is better to hold the only money that has survived in history.

In virtually every period of crisis in history gold and silver has been a surety.

As I have often made clear, the most important protection and asset in difficult times is a circle of family, close friends and other people who you can rely on and who can count on you. Helping others will be critical in the coming years.

end

A history lesson on the gold standard:

Maharrey/SchifGold.

Nixon Closed The Gold Window And All I Got Was This Lousy National Debt

Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

This year will mark the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon severing America – and the world – from its last tie to the gold standard. The rapid devaluing of the dollar is the most obvious result. But another consequence has been an enormous national debt that continues to grow at a staggering pace. Most people don’t realize it, but this is a direct and intentional result of the current fiat money system.

In 1971, Nixon put the final nail in the coffin of the gold standard, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt put us on the path. On April 5, 1933, Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6102. It was touted as a measure to stop gold hoarding, but it was in reality, a massive gold confiscation scheme. The order required private citizens, partnerships, associations and corporations to turn in all but small amounts of gold to the Federal Reserve in exchange for $20.67 per ounce.

This infamous executive order was just one of several steps Roosevelt took toward ending the gold standard in the US.

With the dollar tied to gold, the Federal Reserve found it difficult to increase the money supply during the Great Depression. It couldn’t simply fire up the printing press as it can today. The Federal Reserve Act required all notes have 40% gold backing. But the Fed was low on gold and up against the limit. By stealing gold from the public, the Fed was able to boost its gold holdings.

EO 6102 followed on the heels of an order Roosevelt issued just weeks before prohibiting banks from paying out or exporting gold. Just two months after the enactment of EO 6102, the US effectively went off the gold standard when Congress enacted a joint resolution erasing the right of creditors to demand payment in gold. Then, in 1934, the government’s fixed price for gold was increased to $35 per ounce. This effectively increased the value of gold on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet by 69%. By increasing its gold stores through the confiscation of private gold holdings, and declaring a higher exchange rate, the Fed could circulate more notes. In effect, the hoarding of gold by the government allowed it to inflate the money supply.

President Richard Nixon laid the gold standard to rest for good when he slammed the “gold window” shut, severing the last ties the dollar had to gold. Nixon uncoupled gold from its fixed $35 price and suspended the convertibility of dollars into gold by foreign governments and central banks.

At this point, the dollar became effectively free-floating, measured only by comparing it to other fiat currencies.

According to the Consumer Price Index data released by the Bureau Labor of Statistics, the dollar has lost more than 80% of its value since Nixon’s fateful decision. Meanwhile, the dollar value of gold has gone from $35 an ounce to over $1,800.

This is considered an acceptable tradeoff because a free-floating currency is exactly what the government needed. It would be impossible to fund the American welfare and warfare state with a currency constrained by gold. With the dollar untethered from any fixed standard, Uncle Sam could create as many dollars as it pleased in order to fund all of its massive social and military programs. With a free-floating fiat currency, the US government can borrow as much money as it needs, knowing that the central bank will always be there to monetize the debt and backstock the spending.

And that’s exactly what has happened.

As Frank Holmes put it in an article published by Forbes, “there’s been a significant and growing lack of discipline when it comes to government spending,” since Nixon’s fateful act.

Before 1971, there was a natural limit to how much money could be printed. New issuances were dependent on the amount of gold sitting in the nation’s coffers. Today, with the dollar backed not by a hard asset but by the ‘full faith and credit’ of the U.S. government, the federal debt is closing in on an astronomical $28 trillion, which is more than 130% of the size of the US economy.”

To put this into perspective, in 1960, the national debt was just a little over half the size of the US economy.

This is clearly unsustainable. But the US isn’t about to go back onto a gold standard. And Joe Biden isn’t going to rein in the spending. In fact, he will almost certainly ramp it up. What little fiscal restraint that existed has been washed away by the tidal wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is not good for the future of the US economy. At some point, the money printing game will come to its inevitable end. As Peter Schiff has been warning, the inflation monster will take over and the dollar will crash.

This is why it’s a good idea to own gold. As Holmes put it —

For now, we’re left with the current monetary system of unlimited money-printing, which in turn makes each US dollar less valuable and each ounce of gold more valuable.”

Your early THURSDAY morning currency, Asian stock market results, important USA/Asian currency crosses, gold/silver pricing overnight along with the price of oil Major stories overnight/7 AM EST

i) Chinese yuan vs USA dollar/CLOSED UP AT 6.4686 / /

//OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.4895 /shanghai bourse CLOSED DOWN 68.17 PTS OR 1.91%

HANG SANG CLOSED DOWN 746.76 PTS OR 2.55%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 437.79 POINTS OR 1.53%

3. Europe stocks OPENED ALL RED/

USA dollar index UP TO 90.73/Euro RISES TO 1.2103

3b Japan 10 year bond yield: RISES TO. +.04/ !!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 104.34/ THIS IS TROUBLESOME AS BANK OF JAPAN IS RUNNING OUT OF BONDS TO BUY./JAPAN 10 YR YIELD IS NOW TARGETED AT .11%/JAPAN LOSING CONTROL OF THEIR BOND MARKET//CARRY TRADERS GETTING KILLED

3c Nikkei now JUST BELOW 17,000

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

3e WTI:: 52.63 and Brent: 55.73

3f Gold DOWN/JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE YUAN: ON -SHORE CLOSED UP/OFF- SHORE: UP

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

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

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

3i European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund FALLS TO -.56%/Italian 10 yr bond yield DOWN to 0.65% /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 0.07%…ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD/GERMAN BUND: 1.21: DANGEROUS FOR THE ITALIAN BANKING SYSTEM

3j Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO : 0.68

3k Gold at $1839.20 silver at: 25.27 7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3l USA vs Russian rouble; (Russian rouble DOWN 54/100 in roubles/dollar) 76.40

3m oil into the 52 dollar handle for WTI and 55 handle for Brent/

3n Higher foreign deposits out of China sees huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 INITIATES NIRP. THIS MORNING THEY SIGNAL THEY MAY END NIRP. TODAY THE USA/YEN TRADES TO 104.34 DESTROYING JAPANESE CITIZENS WITH HIGHER FOOD INFLATION

30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the SF. It is not working: USA/SF this morning .8915 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF is 1.0780 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.

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

3r the 10 Year German bund now NEGATIVE territory with the 10 year FALLING to –0.56%

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

4. USA 10 year treasury bond at 1.012% early this morning. Thirty year rate at 1.763%

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

6. TURKISH LIRA: UP TO 7.38..

Futures Fall, Europe Tumbles Amid Fears Reflation Trade Is Dead, Short Squeeze Turmoil

US equity futures rebounded from an overnight selloff even as European shares wiped out their gains for the year early on Thursday, soured by Wednesday’s furious sell-off which sent the S&P down 2.6% in its worst rout since October, exacerbated by pandemic lockdowns with no end in sight and as retail traders piled into heavily-shorted companies, sparking losses at hedge funds who are forced to sell their favorite longs and causing turmoil in parts of the market.

Apple reported holiday-quarter sales and profit that beat Wall Street expectations, however, shares of the iPhone maker fell 1.8% premarket. Facebook dipped 0.6% as it warned Apple’s impending privacy changes could hurt revenue by interfering with ad targeting even after soundly beating quarterly revenue estimates. Tesla lost 4.4% after the electric-car maker reported disappointing fourth-quarter results and failed to provide a clear target for 2021 vehicle deliveries. Southwest Airlines’s shares fell 0.2% after the airline posted its first annual loss since 1972 and said it was facing stalled demand in January and February on high levels of COVID-19 cases.

“The initial optimism of early this year is starting to dissipate because of the prospects of tighter pandemic restrictions for longer, and concerns over ‘vaccine nationalism’,” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. “We could see much more choppiness and much more volatility. We have a bit of a perfect storm heading into the month end, which is weighing on equity markets, but I don’t think at the moment we are in a place where it’s going to come crashing off,” Hewson said.

Meanwhile, as investors continued to pile into videogame retailer GameStop, whose shares are now set to surge for a fifth straight session, some investors are starting to question the sustainability of the rally and the impact it will have on markets when it ends.

“While I don’t think the surge in GameStop shares is a signal of euphoria in the broader stock market, the illumination of this trading environment may be the catalyst behind a near-term stock market correction,” said David Trainer, chief executive officer of New Constructs, an investment research firm.

Perhaps, yet as we showed last night, the initial catalyst that sparked the move higher – the massive short overhand – remains, so this rally could go on for quite some time.

Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index tumbled to its lowest level this year, erasing all 2021 gains with almost every industry subgroup in the red. Earnings beats from chipmaker STMicroelectronics NV and Diageo Plc were overshadowed by a miss from Swatch and a revenue drop at EasyJet whose shares fell 2.3% after the airline warned it would fly no more than 10% of 2019’s capacity, highlighting the plight of sectors hit by lengthy lockdowns.

Also weighing on sentiment is an ongoing dispute between AstraZeneca Plc and the European Union over vaccine supplies for the region. The Stoxx 600 Tech Index dropped as much as 1.8% to a two-week low: tech stocks dropped led lower by a slide in Apple suppliers after the iPhone maker’s cautious outlook (AMS -2%, Infineon -2.5%, Dialog Semi -3.4%, battery supplier Varta -4.6%), while key customer Samsung missed analysts expectations for 4Q.

The European Union, locked in a public spat with vaccine producer AstraZeneca, wants a shortfall in the company’s supplies to the bloc topped up from production in Britain.

The move by investors into “reflation” trades at the start of the year on then-brighter growth prospects now looked premature, analysts said. “Amid concerns about the speed of vaccine distribution and the COVID-19 impact on economic growth recovery, cyclical credit looks most likely to underperform,” UniCredit analysts said.

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks fell for a third day as risk-off sentiment heightened following a slew of disappointing earnings in Asia and the U.S. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index ex-Japan fell 2%, its biggest drop since November, and was headed for its biggest three-day decline in more than seven months. Japan’s Nikkei fell 1.5%, its sharpest drop since October, and Chinese blue chips lost 2.7% as liquidity tightened before the Lunar New Year holidays.

Traders turned cautious after a series of earnings disappointments from global technology giants, while in Asia, Samsung’s quarterly profit missed estimates with the company warning of weaker results for the current quarter. In the U.S., Tesla’s quarterly profit came below analysts’ projections, while a cautious outlook from Apple executives overshadowed quarterly revenue that topped $100 billion for the first time. Stocks of both companies’ Asian suppliers took hits, dragging down the MSCI Asia Pacific IT Index by 3% and making it the worst gauge on the Asia benchmark. Every equity index in Asia declined. Vietnam was the worst-performing market in the region, with its benchmark gauge falling below its key 50-day moving average. China was also among the lagging markets, as its central bank withdrew short-term liquidity from the financial system at the fastest pace in three months.

In rates, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note briefly fell back below 1% in European morning hours amid haven demand. Treasury yields lower by less than 1bp across long-end of the curve while 10s trade around 1.01%, also slightly richer vs Wednesday’s close and broadly in line with bunds. Asia session saw muted futures volumes, although early weakness was erased after $1.1m/DV01 block purchase in 10-year contract. The Treasury auction cycle concludes at 1pm ET with $62b 7- year sale; 2- and 5-year auctions Monday and Tuesday were well- bid, trade at profits.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose more than 0.3% to its highest since Dec. 22. The euro fell to $1.2093 amid reports the European Central Bank felt markets were under-pricing the risk of more rate cuts, while commodity currencies extended their slump among G-10 peers, led by the Australian and New Zealand dollars. Sweden’s krona edged lower, yet was among the top-performers after briefly erasing gains following a stronger-than-forecast economic confidence survey.

In commodities, the bounce in the dollar kept gold prices soft around $1,837 an ounce. Global demand concerns restrained oil prices despite a drop in U.S. crude stocks. WTI fell 34 cents to $52.51 a barrel. Brent crude futures dropped to $55.50.

On the data front, analysts said the focus will be on German inflation figures and fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth. The U.S. economy is expected to have contracted at its sharpest pace since World War Two in 2020 as COVID-19 ravaged services businesses such as restaurants and airlines, while about 875,000 people likely filed jobless claims last week.

Market Snapshot

S&P 500 futures down 0.4% to 3,729.25
STOXX Europe 600 down 2% to 394.98
MXAP down 2% to 206.86
MXAPJ down 2.2% to 693.24
Nikkei down 1.5% to 28,197.42
Topix down 1.1% to 1,838.85
Hang Seng Index down 2.6% to 28,550.77
Shanghai Composite down 1.9% to 3,505.18
Sensex down 1.1% to 46,879.67
Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 1.9% to 6,649.69
Kospi down 1.7% to 3,069.05
German 10Y yield fell 1.0 bps to -0.556%
Euro down 0.04% to $1.2106
Italian 10Y yield rose 0.8 bps to 0.544%
Spanish 10Y yield fell 0.8 bps to 0.066%
Brent futures little changed at $55.80/bbl
Gold spot down 0.2% to $1,840.89
U.S. Dollar Index up 0.1% to 90.74

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

The ECB is ready to use all the tools necessary to stimulate inflation, and is keeping a close eye on the euro’s appreciation, Governing Council member Olli Rehn said
Euro-area economic confidence fell in January after governments extended restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus and vaccination campaigns got off to a slow start. A European Commission sentiment index dropped to 91.5 from a revised 92.4
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, returned $123 billion last year as markets rode a wave of unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus to fight the coronavirus crisis. Its performance was buoyed by the stratospheric rise in technology stocks, which generated a 41.9% return for the fund, it said on Thursday
WallStreetBets, the internet forum fueling a frenzy of retail trading, briefly turned itself off to new users Wednesday after a deluge of new participants raised concerns about its ability to police content, a notice on the website said
The EU remains at loggerheads with AstraZeneca Plc after the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker rejected demands that it take Covid-19 vaccine supplies from its U.K. factories to increase doses going to the bloc

A quick look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

Asia-Pac indices were negative on spillover selling from the US where stocks had their worst day since October. There wasn’t a specific headline catalyst for the downside; analysts had cited some forced hedge fund liquidations, covering shorts in some of the stocks subject to ‘retail activism’, forcing desks to cut profitable longs elsewhere. Better-than-expected earnings from tech giants Apple and Facebook failed to provide any meaningful reprieve in either index futures or their respective stocks during extended trade. ASX 200 (-1.9%) was dragged lower in which tech led the broad declines and with miners also subdued following weaker quarterly production updates from the likes of Fortescue Metals and Newcrest Mining. Nikkei 225 (-1.5%) suffered alongside the widespread risk aversion and as earnings season picked up in Japan, while the KOSPI (-1.7%) was predominantly influenced by corporate results including index heavyweight Samsung Electronics which disappointed on its Q4 net. Hang Seng (-2.6%) and Shanghai Comp. (-1.9%) also weakened after the PBoC continued to drain liquidity and amid mixed signals from the US as the White House reaffirmed the view that telecom equipment from untrusted vendors such as China’s Huawei was a threat to security, although it was also reported that the US issued a General License 1A which authorizes transactions involving securities of certain Communist Chinese military companies and that MSCI reversed its decision on index deletions for Chinese firms. Finally, 10yr JGBs were uneventful and failed to take advantage of the subdued risk appetite with prices constrained within this week’s tight range beneath the 152.00 level and which follows a mixed 2yr auction.

Top Asian News

Stocks in Vietnam Slump Most Since 2001 on Virus Outbreak
ThaiBev Is Said to Near Singapore IPO Filing for $10 Billion Unit
Border Clashes Put India-China Ties Under ‘Exceptional Stress’
SoftBank Group Boosts Size of Planned Bond in Market Return

European stocks trade in a sea of red (Euro Stoxx 50 -0.3%), but well off worst levels after the region picked up a similarly pessimistic lead from APAC with some citing “retail activism”, although it’s also worth bearing in mind that any regulations imposed on retail traders could hinder one of the driving forces behind stocks since the pandemic hit markets. Meanwhile, the after-market State-side tech space continued to unwind its recent gains despite better-than-expected earnings from Apple (-3.0%) and Facebook (-1.3%) – albeit analysts cite the lack of forecasts for the former’s downside, whilst Tesla’s (-5.8%) release underwhelmed markets as it missed on EPS and provided vague guidance; as such, the Nasdaq future is the current underperformer with losses just shy of 1.0%. Back to Europe, sectors are all in negative territory with Oil & Gas the marginal underperformer as prices in the crude complex remain somewhat capped. Consumer Staples meanwhile is cushioned but the Food & Beverage sector outperforms as Diageo (+3.6%) provides some post-earnings support whilst noting that it delivered strong sequential improvement compared to the H2 2020. Elsewhere, Industrials bear the brunt of the weaker base metal prices (see commodities section below), whilst construction sees some benefit from this price action. In terms of individual movers, Nokia (unch) opened higher by 10% due to Reddit’s retail traders bolstering the Co’s ADR almost 70% at one point yesterday. Onto some earnings-related movers – STMicroelectronics (+4%) is firmer following improvements in Y/Y earnings alongside firm demand in Auto products and Microcontrollers. On the flip side Swatch (-3.5%) shares are pressured amid worse-than-expected pandemic-hit numbers coupled with a decline in Swiss watch exports.

Top European News

ECB Ready to Use All Tools Needed to Lift Inflation, Rehn Says
UBS CEO Hamers Splits COO Role, Appoints Transformation Officer
STMicro to Invest $2 Billion to Deal With Chip Supply Crisis
BaFin Files Criminal Complaint Against Employee Over Wirecard

In FX, USD – No need for Buck bulls, or bears for that matter, to fight the Fed as policy-makers and chair Powell in the post-meeting press conference stuck rigidly to the script by maintaining caution over the near term economic outlook amidst moderation in the pace of recovery, and retaining guidance for accommodation to continue with no prospect of tapering QE anytime soon. Hence, the Dollar has swiftly returned to its sentiment vigil and dependency on fluctuations in the general market mood for direction, which is still gloomy amidst concerns that the supply of COVID-19 vaccines won’t stretch far enough to meet demand and/or delivery times lag to the extent that restrictions and lockdowns last even longer. In DXY terms, some consolidation has ensued between 90.859-627 after the index peaked at 90.896 on Wednesday, but the Greenback retains a firmer bias ahead of a busy post-FOMC docket and showing little sign of the moderate selling for month end rebalancing, yet.

AUD/NZD/CAD – More pain and underperformance due to high beta and risk correlations for the Aussie, Kiwi and Loonie, with Aud/Usd and Nzd/Usd only just keeping in close proximity of 0.7600 and 0.7100, as the former also takes on board latest worrying reports from China about the Iron and Steel Association calling for the Government to lower its reliance on iron ore imports. Meanwhile, NZ trade data revealed a narrower surplus as imports outpaces exports, and Usd/Cad is above 1.2850 at new post-BoC highs awaiting Canadian building permits and average earnings before monthly GDP and PPI on Friday.
CHF/JPY/GBP – All softer vs their US counterpart as the Franc struggles to contain losses through 0.8900 in wake of a smaller Swiss trade surplus, Yen loses ground following the more concerted breach of 104.00 and Pound pulls back further from 1.3750+ at one stage yesterday to trip some stops sub-1.3650. Note, however, while Cable has now fallen beneath the 200 HMA (1.3665), Usd/Jpy is respecting the 100 DMA (104.40), albeit barely in the run up to a raft of Japanese releases including Tokyo CPI, national labour data, ip and the BoJ’s Summary of Opinions.
EUR – Far from all change, but the Euro is a relative outperformer after its midweek meltdown on dovish ECB vibes directly from the GC and via ‘official sources’. Indeed, Eur/Usd is displaying resilience around 1.2100 having lurched to circa 1.2059 on Wednesday, though mainly in corrective trade rather than fundamentals even though Eurozone sentiment indicators largely beat consensus and German state inflation reports are in line with forecasts for the national y/y rate to snap back from deflationary territory.
SCANDI/EM – Conflicting data and survey news for the Sek via retail sales and unemployment misses vs upbeat sentiment, but the Swedish Krona continues to outpace the Norwegian Crown amidst equally mixed macro inputs in the form of a fall in the LFS jobless rate and much weaker than expected consumption. Eur/Sek has eased back from 10.1400+, while Eur/Nok remains elevated near 10.5000 as Norway heads into virtual complete international border lockdown and the SWF concedes that ROI is unlikely to hit levels achieved in the last 25 years. Conversely, the Try is back to winning ways amidst hawkish CBRT rhetoric and an improvement in Turkish economic sentiment.

In commodities, WTI and Brent front month futures traded modestly softer in early European hours before nursing losses as the downbeat sentiment across the market seeps into the crude complex, albeit prices remain contained within recent ranges on continued vaccine optimism, OPEC+ support and this week’s substantial surprise draws in crude inventory data. Brent dipped below USD 55.50/bbl in early trade, while its WTI counterpart rebounded after trickling under USD 52.50/bbl. Elsewhere, metals markets are pressured amid the firmer Buck, with spot gold extending losses below USD 1850/oz ahead of yesterday’s USD 1830.80/oz low ahead of the 15th Jan base at around USD 1823/oz. Spot silver meanwhile holds its +25/oz status after briefly dipping below the psychological mark from its current USD 25.30/oz high. Base metals see more pronounced losses as the effect of lockdowns rippled across the complex, with Shanghai copper hitting more than one-month lows as sentiment was tainted overnight. Dalian iron ore futures meanwhile slumped over 5% after the China’s Iron and Steel association called on the government to ease the country’s reliance on imports of iron ore

US Event Calendar

8:30am: Advance Goods Trade Balance, est. $84.0b deficit, prior $84.8b deficit
8:30am: Retail Inventories MoM, est. 0.55%, prior 0.7%; Wholesale Inventories MoM, est. 0.5%, prior 0.0%
8:30am: Initial Jobless Claims, est. 875,000, prior 900,000; Continuing Claims, est. 5.09m, prior 5.05m
8:30am: GDP Annualized QoQ, est. 4.2%, prior 33.4%
8:30am: Personal Consumption, est. 3.1%, prior 41.0%
10am: New Home Sales, est. 868,000, prior 841,000; New Home Sales MoM, est. 3.21%, prior -11.0%
11am: Kansas City Fed Manf. Activity, est. 12.5, prior 14

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

The increasing signs of bubble tendencies has been one of the main reasons why I’ve been suggesting over the last month that it was becoming increasingly clear to me that this was not going to a low vol year. Having said that I wasn’t expecting signs of this to appear so soon. Indeed yesterday saw one of the biggest selloffs in markets for some months, unless you were a r/wallstreetbets stock buyer where you potentially saw a lifetimes worth of positive performance in a day. What a contrast. At the close the S&P 500 (-2.57%) suffered its worst day since October, as the VIX index of volatility rose +14.2pts to its highest level (37.2) since the last day of October, and saw its biggest one day rise since March 16 at the height of the pandemic selloff and the largest percentage move higher since February 2018.

It was a pretty broad-based selloff, though small-cap stocks held up the best, with the Russell 2000 index “only” losing -1.91%, whilst tech stocks were hit the hardest as profits were taken in winning trades, causing the NASDAQ to fall -2.61%. And there were also large declines in Europe, with the STOXX 600 (-1.16%) just about managing to cling on to its YTD positive performance, as the DAX (-1.81%) moved back into negative territory on a YTD basis.

Immediately after the US close we then had the mega tech earnings triple header with Apple, Tesla and Facebook out. Apple’s shares fell -3.2% after hours even as quarterly revenue set a record, topping 100 billion for the first time. The company did not offer guidance for the fourth quarter in a row, but expects sales growth from AirPods and other wearables to decelerate this current quarter, while services are also expected to lag year-on-year. Telsa similarly fell in after-market trading, declining -5.1%. The car maker missed on earnings, coming in at $0.80 vs $1.03 consensus estimate, which was mostly due to price cuts. Facebook saw 4Q sales rising 33% as online shopping continues to fuel digital-ad demand. The company’s shares settled -1.9% lower after the close as it warned of “significant uncertainty” in 2021. In Asia, Samsung electronics also reported a weaker set of earnings with net income in the three months ending December of KRW 6.45tn (vs. KRW 7.3tn expected).

Overnight, these earnings are weighing on S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures with both down -0.19% and -0.40% respectively. Asian markets are also sliding with the Nikkei (-1.49%), Hang Seng (-1.73%), Shanghai Comp (-1.33%) and Kospi (-1.72%) all down. In overnight data releases, Japan’s December retail sales came in at -0.3% yoy vs. (-0.5% yoy expected).

In other overnight news, r/wallstreetbets briefly turned itself off (from 6:30pm – 7:30pm New York Time) to new users after a deluge of new participants raised concerns about its ability to police content. Meanwhile, communications platform Discord has banned WallStreetBets for allowing “hateful and discriminatory content after repeated warnings”. Overnight, shares of GameStop and AMC are down -16.26% (was down as much as -37.6% at one point) and -26.33% (-44.7% at one point) respectively and are paring some of yesterday’s gains.

On those gains, GameStop shares advanced a further +133% in normal hours as the power of r/wallstreetbets continued to power the stock higher – it touched +162% intraday. $25.3bn worth of stock traded yesterday and for the second day it was the most traded stock in the whole of the US, while the company’s market cap grew to $24bn. This were not the Reddit group’s best trades though as AMC (+300%) and Express (+217%) were the chosen ones yesterday as this remarkable story powers on. AMC finished trading at its highs, but Express was up as much as +359% intraday before “settling” for just tripling on the session. These trades are battering some hedge funds and the Goldman Sachs Hedge Industry VIP ETF, which tracks hedge funds’ most-popular stocks, tumbled -4.3% yesterday for its worst day since September. There was also confirmation that the new Treasury Secretary Yellen and the administration’s economic team is monitoring the market activity around GameStop, AMC and others. In my chart of the day yesterday (link here) I pointed out how GameStop shares were the most traded US stock by value on Tuesday which is remarkable given its “small” market cap and shows the collective power of this group. Could they move on to other targets outside of heavily shorted low value equities? Is this more proof we are in a colossal bubble or just a fascinating side show?

Another recently popular asset that didn’t have such a good day was Bitcoin however, which fell a further -3.2% to close at its lowest level since New Year’s Day. When compared to GameStop, BitCoin is so two weeks ago!

Moving on to what was a pretty low key Fed meeting (see our economists’ review here) and one of Powell’s key statements was that “the whole focus on exit is premature,” while promising that the Fed would take special care to communicate clearly when that may change. The FOMC is indeed keeping it bond-buying program at the current pace of $120bn per month until “substantial further progress” toward its dual mandate had been made, while making no changes to the contents of purchases. Powell also fielded a question on GameStop’s recent price action, and though he declined to speak to any individual stock he said that financial-stability vulnerabilities overall are “moderate.” Moreover, on the topic of asset inflation, the Fed chair cited vaccine breakthroughs and expectations of fiscal stimulus as the main driver of quickly rising asset prices, while acknowledging that monetary policy plays a role. Powell went on to say that “the connection between low interest rates and asset values is probably something that’s not as tight as people think.” This was a bit of surprise as for many the one thing keeping many assets at elevated valuations are indeed ultra low yields.

Back to markets and as non-reddit risk assets lost ground across multiple asset classes, investors moved into safe havens, helping the US dollar index (+0.53%) record its second best daily performance in the last month, whilst the yield on 10yr US Treasuries fell beneath 1% in trading for the first time since the Georgia senate runoff results. By the close, they had recovered to be down just -1.9bps at 1.016%, though concerns over the global outlook saw 10yr breakevens down -1.6bps at their lowest level in 3 weeks. Meanwhile in Europe, bunds were the beneficiary, seeing 10yr yields down -1.3bps, as those on OATs (-0.6bps) and BTPs (-0.5bps) also fell back, while gilt yields (+0.3bps) rose slightly.

On the coronavirus, the row between the EU and AstraZeneca continued. In a call last night EU officials demanded that AstraZeneca use British production facilities to cover the shortfalls in supply that was promised to the continent. EU officials are insisting on receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine around the same time as the U.K. going forward despite putting in its order three months later. German Economy Minister Altmaier said yesterday that the EU could establish restrictions on vaccine exports out of the region. This story risks getting politically explosive over the next few days.

Sticking with vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech have said that results of studies indicate their vaccine is effective against both the U.K. and South Africa variants while adding that neutralisation against the South African variant was slightly lower compared to other mutations. The companies said that the small difference is unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine and that this doesn’t indicate the need for a new vaccine to address the emerging variants. This is in slight contrast to Moderna which is working on trials to adopt its vaccine to tackle the South African variant more effectively.

Here in the UK, Prime Minister Johnson announced that schools in England would not be going back immediately after the February half-term break, and that it was the government’s hope to start reopening them from March 8. Furthermore, it was announced that international travellers from countries with a risk of known variants would be required to quarantine in government-provided accommodation for 10 days. To highlight the vaccine shortages in Europe, Madrid had to halt their vaccination program due to only receiving half of the expected amount of doses last week. In France, a government spokesman said that tighter measures were under consideration as the number of new cases has risen in recent weeks, but that the government was holding off for now as President Macron called “for additional analysis”. Finally in the US, restrictions in much of New York State was eased yesterday, with Governor Cuomo, saying the “holiday surge is over.” This means that in-residence gatherings are allowed up to 10 people, nonessential businesses can remain open with indoor and outdoor dining allowed under certain restrictions. Also schools can remain open for in-person learning with increased testing.

There wasn’t a massive amount of data out yesterday, though US durable goods orders in December rose by a lower-than-expected +0.2% (vs. +1.0% expected). Separately, the German government cut their 2021 growth forecast to 3%, having been at 4.4% previously.

To the day ahead now, and data releases from the US include the advance reading of Q4 GDP, along with the weekly initial jobless claims, and December’s new home sales and leading index. Meanwhile from Europe, we’ll get the final Euro Area consumer confidence reading for January, and the preliminary German CPI reading for January. From central banks, the ECB’s Schnabel will be speaking, and earnings releases include Visa, Mastercard, Comcast, Danaher and McDonald’s.

3A/ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)THURSDAY MORNING/WEDNESDAY NIGHT:

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 68.17 PTS OR 1.91% //Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 746.76 PTS OR 2.55% /The Nikkei closed DOWN 437.79 POINTS OR 1.52%//Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 2.02%

3 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA

South Korea

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 C CHINA

CHINA/

China is experiencing a giant liquidity shortages as now rates are at a 5 year high

(zerohedge)

Meanwhile In China, Giant Liquidity Shortage Pushes Overnight Rates To 5 Year High

One day after we reported that China’s overnight money market rate jumped to the highest in 15 months amid i) continued drainage of liquidity by the PBOC and ii) a warning by a PBOC advisor that asset bubbles have formed in the stock and property markets, China’s overnight repo spiked even higher, surging to its highest since March 2015, as investor jitters over liquidity mounted due to the central bank’s accelerating withdrawals.

The overnight repurchase rate rose 23 bps to 3% on Wednesday and a further 4bps to 3.04% on Thursday, taking the increase this week to 59 basis points.

Such increases in January – just ahead of the liquidity-heavy Lunar New Year – are anomalous. As Bloomberg notes, “China’s money-market rates are rising fast in January, defying a seasonal pattern of decreases, amid concerns over monetary tightening.

The seven-day repo fixing rate has risen 50bps this month, the first January to see an increase since 2011 when the rate jumped only to fall back in February. The mainland’s money rates typically tend to rise into the Lunar New Year break which begins in mid-February this year.

The sudden spike in funding costs took place after the People’s Bank of China drained a net 100 billion yuan from the financial system on Wednesday via open-market operations, the most in two weeks, a day after removing 78 billion yuan. It then followed this up with an even bigger drain on Thursday, when it withdrew another 150bn yuan, the largest such amount since October..

The accelerating liquidity drains – which have hammered Chinese stocks – prompted concerns among the investing community that Beijing just may be serious about its deleveraging push in 2021, a year after China injected record amount of debt into the economy to stabilize it in the aftermath of the covid pandemic.

Investors are also waiting to see how the PBOC handles the banking system’s need for funding before the week-long Lunar New Year holiday starts Feb. 11 because individuals and companies across the country will prepare cash for gifts and travel. The central bank might offer liquidity via its one-year medium-term lending facility and match the 200 billion yuan of MLF coming due on Feb. 18 even before the holiday, said Dariusz Kowalczyk, strategist at Credit Agricole CIB.

“Investors are preparing for a prolonged period of higher funding costs,” he said. “The PBOC has drained a lot of cash this week despite the high funding costs.” MLF operations are usually handled on the 15th of every month.

In an attempt to ease concerns, on Tuesday PBOC Governor Yi Gang said at a panel hosted by the World Economic Forum that China won’t “prematurely” exit from its supportive monetary policies while also keeping debt risks under control. Still, financial markets were roiled after the central bank drained liquidity on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and central bank adviser Ma Jun warned about asset bubbles.

“Clearly, the market was very disappointed by the liquidity withdrawal over the past two sessions,” said Zhou Hao, an economist at Commerzbank AG. Ma’s comments also intensified concern over a faster pace of monetary policy normalization, he added.

Meanwhile, as Chinese bankers desperately await a liquidity injection, halfway around the world, reddit “autists” are taking on some of the most respected hedge funds – and winning – because there are trillions in excess liquidity sloshing around…

end

China Will Be Forced To Buy More US Farm Goods This Year, Top Ag Think Tank

Reuters quoted Chicago-based consultancy AgResource Co. president Dan Basse who expects Chinese imports of corn and soybeans will continue to be sourced from the US in more significant amounts. This is excellent news for American farmers and may result in a continuation of upward prices.

Grain demand from China in global markets has created upward momentum in corn and soybeans prices since late summer. Earlier this month, corn prices hit 6-1/2 year highs amid increasing Chinese demand and export disruptions in South America.

Basse, who spoke at the Paris Grain Day conference earlier this week, said China’s soybean imports could rise to 110 million tons in the 2021/22 crop year, exceeding the 103-105 million tons in the 2020/21 crop cycle.

Reuters shows China has already imported a record amount of soybeans in 2020, breaching the 100 million ton mark.

While China rebuilds its pig herd, decimated by pig ebola where at least half of the country’s herd was wiped out, this will undoubtedly drive grain (corn and soybean) imports higher in the 2021/22 crop year.

“We’ve been talking for years about trying to find a new demand driver and that demand driver is now coming from our friends in China,” Basse said.

Rosa Wang, an analyst with Chinese consultancy JCI, told the conference that the phase one trade deal would benefit the US as Beijing will be forced to source more farm goods from the West.

Besides corn and soybeans, Wang expects China to increase wheat purchases, a move that would help it abide by the minimum purchase requirements for farm goods laid out in the trade agreement.

Basse said supply woes and increasing Chinese demand for grains in global markets could continue to push up prices. This would be beneficial for US farmers, increasing their potential margins, allowing them to plant more corn and soybeans in the upcoming growing season.

He forecasted soybean prices could reach $15-$17 a bushel and corn $5.70-$6 this year.

… and of course, there’s always a downside to rapid food inflation.

We recently discussed how food price inflation has risen for the seventh consecutive month.

END

China tells Taiwan that “Independence” means war. Blinkin admits that Trump was right on China.

(zerohedge)

China Tells Taiwan “Independence Means War” As Rival Wargames Ongoing

Days ago amid soaring tensions over Taiwan a US carrier group entered the South China Sea. China’s response was to fly a dozen aircraft in Taiwan’s airspace while further announcing military drills in the Gulf of Tonkin.

And now China is warning Taiwan that “independence means war” in Thursday remarks out of the Defense Ministry. During a monthly press briefing Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian was asked about regional tensions, and he responded by saying that “military activities” in the Taiwan Strait “are necessary actions to address the current security situation”

He then warned in a repeat of past foreign ministry and PLA leadership statements: “Those who play with fire will burn themselves, and ‘Taiwan independence’ means war.”

*Taiwan Air Force Mirage-2000 fighter jets taxi during prior military drills, via Reuters.*

On Monday Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian slammed the nearby US military movements, saying “It does no good to regional peace and stability for the United States to frequently send military vessels and aircraft to the South China Sea to show off muscles.”

He announced the Gulf of Tonkin drills would run from Wednesday through Saturday, but there’s little details known in terms of size of the exercise, which is a clear signal to the US naval vessels in the region. Specifically the USS Theodore Roosevelt is now patrolling the South China Sea in an operation dubbed “freedom of operation” movements.

Earlier this week Reuters observers painted a picture of each side flexing its muscles in a dangerous build-up which itself could trigger inadvertent war, given the number of aerial and naval assets potentially crisscrossing:

Armed and ready to go, Taiwan air force jets screamed into the sky on Tuesday in a drill to simulate a war scenario, showing its fleet’s battle readiness after dozens of Chinese warplanes flew into the island’s air defense zone over the weekend.

One Taiwan Air Force colonel overseeing the island republic’s deterrence response, which has involved scrambling jets to warn off frequent Chinese PLA incursions told Reuters “We are ready” while emphasizing, “We will not give up one inch of our territory.”

The report described the scene further at one “frontline” base:

In a hardened shelter, flight crew from the First Tactical Fighter Wing rushed to ready two IDFs as an alarm bell rang out, aiming to get them off the ground within five minutes of an emergency call, armed with U.S.-made Sidewinders and domestically-developed Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles.

Colonel Lee Ching-shi told Reuters their jets usually go up armed with guns, Sidewinders and Taiwan-made Sky Sword missiles when reacting to Chinese jets and they can respond “at any time”.

Meanwhile, Biden’s newly confirmed Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed this week to confront China while saying there’s “no doubt” it’s America’s greatest long term threat.

In a surprising statement during his confirmation hearing before the senate last week, Blinken said, “President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China.” He added the caveat, however, that it was “Not the way he went about it in a number of ways, but the basic principle was right.”

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE/VACCCINES/EUROPE//GLOBE

EU Spat With AstraZeneca Continues As Russia Offers Help With COVID Vaccines: Live Updates

Summary:

AstraZeneca battle with EU intensifies
Germany recommends AZ shot only for people 18-64
US cases near 26MM
Global cases near 101MM
WHO team ready to start investigation in China
Cuomo lifts restrictions on hot spots
CCP tightens security in Beijing
Russia offers vaccine help
South Africa’s first vaccines arrive Feb. 1
Africa secures another 400MM doses
Vietnam reports outbreak
Mexico’s AMLO recovering from COVID infection
Malaysia sees cases top 4.1K
South Korea starts emergency vaccination program next month, while most will wait until Oct.

* * *

The battle between Brussels and AstraZeneca intensified Thursday due to the shortage of AstraZeneca vaccine doses, as the company (which developed the vaccine with the help of the UK’s Oxford University) doesn’t have enough doses to supply all of Europe during the first three months of the year. Talks held last night were apparently not very constructive, according to the FT, as they did little to resolve the dispute over whether AstraZeneca should distribute tens of millions more doses to the EU than it had planned, depriving other countries (including the UK) of promised doses.

The dispute between AZ and the 27 remaining EU governments (now that the UK has left the bloc) escalated last night, as the pharma company continued to insist that its contract with the EU doesn’t require it to stick to this original delivery schedule. It must only make its “best effort” to do so. EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said late on Wednesday that the European bloc remained “united and firm” in its belief that “contractual obligations must be met”.

“We regret the continued lack of clarity on the delivery schedule and request a clear plan from AstraZeneca for the fast delivery of the quantity of vaccines that we reserved for Q1,” she tweeted after the talks with AZ CEO Pascal Soriot and other executives. “We will work with the company to find solutions and deliver vaccines rapidly for EU citizens.” The EU says AstraZeneca will only be able to deliver roughly 25% of the 100MM or more doses expected during the first three months of the year, dealing a heavy blow to the European bloc’s already lagging vaccine rollout.

While the EU panics about the shortage of vaccine supplies, the Russian team behind the vaccine developed by the Gamaleya has offered to send the bloc doses of “Sputnik V”, warning that the EU deserves “diversified” doses of the vaccine, RT reports.

Germany has recommended that AstraZeneca vaccine shots be used only for 18 to 64-year-olds, just days after the country pushed back against plans to export the vaccine. The German group of researchers, which evaluates vaccines for the German government, said there was insufficient information on the shot’s effectiveness for people 65+.

Whether AZ manages to ramp up supplies, or not, the EMA (The EU’s pharma regulator) is expected to approve the AstraZeneca vaccine as soon as Friday.

Globally, at least 100.97MM people have tested positive, while 2.2MM have died. In the US, 25.6MM have tested positive, while 429K have died.

Across the US, cases and hospitalizations have continued to decline. Deaths are more mixed, with some states seeing deaths rise, while others are seeing deaths fall.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo lifted restrictions in most hot spots across the state, declaring an end to the post-holiday surge in cases and hospitalizations.

Finally, Beijing is ratcheting up requirements needed to enter the capital city ahead of the biggest CCP political meeting of the year. Now that their two week quarantine period is over, WHO investigators will soon begin their inspection of Beijing, according to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

After becoming the first EU member to approve Russia’s “Sputnik V” vaccine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban is planning an order that will “automatically” approve vaccines in emergencies if the shots are already being used in another country. The Philippines version of the FDA, meanwhile, has approved AstraZeneca’s vaccine the second to be approved in the Philippines after Pfizer.

Here’s some more COVID news from overnight and Thursday morning:

South Africa’s first vaccines will arrive in the country on Feb. 1, signaling the start of an inoculation program that has been criticized for its tardiness (Source: Bloomberg).
Vietnam reported a coronavirus outbreak in two northern provinces, triggering movement curbs and prompting a plunge in stocks (Source: Bloomberg).
The Africa Centres for Disease Control has secured an additional 400m doses of the Covid-19 vaccine through the Serum Institute of India, as the continent undergoes a surge in cases during a second wave that is far worse than the first (Source: FT).
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is resting and in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19, his spokesman said in an interview (Source: Bloomberg).
Malaysia reports 4,094 coronavirus cases, raising the cumulative total in the country to 198,208 infections.The health ministry also conforms 10 new deaths (Source: Nikkei).
South Korea will start “emergency” candidate vaccinations shortly, before moving on to vaccinate members of the general public some time during the third quarter (Source: Nikkei)

* * *

Now that officials have apparently brought the Beijing in and around outbreak under control with a heavy hand, China revealed that 54 new cases were confirmed on Wednesday, down from 75 cases reported a day earlier. Of these, 41 were locally transmitted infections compared with 55 a day earlier.

Domestic Violence Calls In The UK Soar During Lockdown

New figures from the NSPCC reveal an alarming rise in calls regarding children and domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes, when compared to average monthly levels before the first lockdown, an increase in contacts of 53 percent has been recorded. In terms of volume, the peak came in November when the helpline received 1,053 calls.

You will find more infographics at Statista

The charity is now calling on the government to fund essential recovery services. Anna Edmundson, NSPCC head of policy, said:

“The risk of domestic abuse has been heightened in the last nine months with families living under increasing pressure and behind closed doors. To stop the pandemic having a lasting impact on children who suffer in this way it is vital they have access to support in the community to recover and move forward with their lives as not all victims can go to a refuge for support.”

…and yet we do more?

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Saudi Arabia vs USA

Not sure if this move as been thought out well enough: Biden freezes arms sales to the Saudis and UAE including large F 35’s

(zerohedge)

Biden Freezes Arms Sales To Saudis & UAE, Including Large F-35 Jet Transfer

On Wednesday the Biden administration issued a freeze of all US arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates at a moment Congressional scrutiny of America’s support to the Saudi-led coalition waging war in Yemen grows. US involvement in the war goes all the way back to the Obama administration, with Trump also in the last months of his presidency approving billions in new arms sales to the kingdom.

In particular Lockheed Martin produced F-35 stealth fighters that were set to be transferred to the UAE the have been “temporarily” blocked along with munitions to the Saudis, among other sales. Prior reports suggested the prior Trump deal was to send as many as 50 advanced F-35 fighters to the UAE.

*The Lockheed Martin produced F35 fighter jet, via FT/dpa*

The AP cited officials who identified “that among the deals being paused is a massive $23 billion transfer of stealth F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates.”

“That sale and several other massive purchases of U.S. weaponry by Gulf Arab countries had been harshly criticized by Democrats in Congress,” the report added.

The State Department said of the “temporary pause” that it is “temporarily pausing the implementation of some pending U.S. defense transfers and sales under Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sales to allow incoming leadership an opportunity to review.”

And Axios further details that “The sales of F-35 jets and attack drones to the UAE and a large supply of munitions to Saudi Arabia will be paused pending a review.” It added that it “signals a major policy shift from the Trump era, and may herald sharp tensions with both Gulf countries.”

If this move stays real and permanent, it will be a good and potentially important decision by the new administration.

But time will tell: https://t.co/SB7De8f3YJ

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 27, 2021

In response the UAE appealed to the need for “interoperability” with US forces in the Gulf while underscoring the close military cooperation as a reliable partner force:

“With the same equipment and training, US and UAE forces are more effective together when and where it matters.” (7/7)

— UAE Embassy US (@UAEEmbassyUS) January 27, 2021

So far the Saudis have had no comment after the somewhat expected move, which also follows Biden previously on the campaign trail vowing to get tougher on the “pariah” state, as he called the kingdom during a debate.

Months ago an attempt in the Senate led by New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez to block Trump arms sales to the Saudis was narrowly defeated.

END

Blinken is blinkin nuts: he is weighing action against Russia for the 30 day imprisonment of Navalny.

(zerohedge)

RUSSIA VS USA

US Weighing Action Against Russia For Navalny Detention: Secretary Of State Blinken

A day after the Senate confirmed President Biden’s nominee, veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, as the secretary of state, Blinken gave his first press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Revealing where Biden’s foreign policy emphasis will be over the coming months, he came out swinging against Putin (who else?) and Russia (in addition to mention of Iran and China in the course of the briefing), voicing that the US is “deeply concerned” about jailed opposition activist and politician Alexei Navalny.

Blinken said the US administration is now mulling “actions in response to his detention in Russia,” according to Reuters. He highlighted continued concerns for Navalny’s “security and safety”.

To review, Navalny is serving a 30-day jail sentence for skipping probation related to a 2014 criminal conviction. He recently returned to Moscow from Berlin where he had been recovering from an alleged nerve agent poisoning in August. He and German investigators have claimed it was part of a Russian intelligence assassination attempt on orders from Putin, with the Russian president brushing off the accusations given Navalny is “not important enough” to be a target of state security and intelligence services. Navalny is now urging his supporters to the streets in defiance of the government.

“We have a deep concern for Mr. Navalny’s safety and security and the larger point is that his voice is the voice of many, many, many Russians and it should be heard, not muzzled,” Blinken said in his statements, also noting the US is not ruling out any punitive action on the table.

He further said he finds it striking that the Putin government is so “frightened of one man, Mr. Navalny” – in an echo of earlier comments he made. Blinken said in the press briefing:

“It remains striking to me how concerned and maybe even scared the Russian government seems to be of one man, Mr. Navalny.”

He said the Biden White House is closely watching the human rights situation inside Russia, following Saturday protests where hundreds were reportedly detained in demonstrations and clashes with police which were deemed ‘unauthorized’.

Meanwhile the Russia hawks are already talking “options”:

An option for the US government, “would be to fully sanction Russian sovereign debt or financial institutions tied to Putin…options have been available for years, and the attempted assassination and arrest of Navalny might be good reason to invoke them.” https://t.co/mIm5q2zikT

— John Sipher (@john_sipher) January 27, 2021

Blinken also raised other Russia-related issues being closely watched, as Reuters summarizes: “Blinken said at his first press briefing after being sworn in that the Biden administration was reviewing how to respond to actions by Russia, including the alleged use of chemical weapons in an attack on Navalny, the Solar Winds cyber attack, reports of bounties on American forces and interference in U.S. elections.”

The day prior, President Biden had raised these issues in a phone call with Putin; however, details in terms of the Russian leader’s response were not forthcoming.

* * *

END

SAUDI ARABIA/YEMEN

Biden after freezing arms sales to Saudi Arabia sends a B 52 bomber over the Peersian gulf as a missile was fired on Riyadh

(zerohedge)

Biden Sends B-52 Bomber Over Persian Gulf After Missile Fired On Riyadh

On Wednesday The Wall Street Journal revealed that the Biden administration for the first time sent a B-52 bomber in a long range flight from the US to the Persian Gulf on Tuesday.

It’s the first such “warning” message to Iran under the Biden White House, in continuation of similar recent moves by Trump, and the sixth such B-52 operation over the Persian Gulf in only a few months. WSJ reports:

The B-52H Stratofortress, a long range heavy bomber, flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Tuesday and was expected to make a continuous flight across Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and down the eastern Saudi coastline near the United Arab Emirates and Qatar before returning to the U.S., a senior military official said.

The official said further that “Our intent is to maintain that enduring defensive posture, to deter any aggression in the region, promote regional security and assure our allies.”

Multiple Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force F-15 jets were seen escorting the bomber in photos posted by US CENTCOM.

The provocative flyover appears to be in response to the two latest attacks on the Saudi capital of Riyadh. On Tuesday a ‘mystery’ inbound projectile, likely a missile, exploded over Riyadh’s city center when it was reportedly intercepted by Saudi anti-air defense systems.

It followed a prior Saturday projectile fired at the city from outside the country, widely reported to have been a drone, which also seems to have been shot down before doing any damage.

#BREAKING: In the first such flight under Biden, the Pentagon sent a B-52 bomber across the Persian Gulf region on Tuesday, the sixth such sortie since last fall, in a show of deterrence to #Iran. Comes after the two attempted attacks in Riyadh.https://t.co/YaQvPvFMSj

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) January 27, 2021

Yemen’s Houthis have denied being behind either attack while at the same time speculation grows over the possibility that Iran-backed militias in Iraq are to blame, as WSJ describes further:

The coalition blamed the attack on the Houthis, who denied responsibility, and the U.S. also implied they were to blame. A previously unknown group called “True Promise Brigades” that purports to be based in Iraq distributed a statement on Telegram claiming it had targeted Yamama Palaceand other sites in Riyadh in retaliation to alleged Saudi support for Islamic State.

The inbound projectile caused all flights at Riyadh’s international airport to be grounded for hours late into the day Tuesday.

Yemen’s Houthis have in past years launched missile attacks on both the capital and Saudi Aramco facilities, most famously in the September 2019 Abqaiq–Khurais attack. In the last weeks of the Trump administration the Houthis were designated as an official terror organization, something the Biden administration is now reviewing.

END

IRAN//CHINA

the pars oil and gas field is huge. Iran is laying the pipeline to secure oil/gas to China

Watkins/OilPrice.com

Game-Changing Iranian Pipeline Set To Launch In March

Authored by Simon Watkins via OilPrice.com,

The geopolitically game-changing Goreh-Jask pipeline project saw a major advance last week with the commencement last week of offshore pipe-laying operations. The implementation of this operation markets the first stage of the offshore development of the Jask Oil Terminal and, according to the Pars Oil and Gas Company, this offshore section of the early-production phase of the project will be completed with the construction of two 36-inch offshore pipelines running for around 12 kilometres and a single buoy mooring with ancillary equipment. Overall, the company added, the early-production phase of the Jask Oil Terminal Development Project is 70 per cent complete, allowing the project to come online by late March.

After the completion of this first phase of offshore pipeline laying, the Goreh-Jask pipeline will begin full pumping tests aimed at ascertaining its capacity to transfer 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light, heavy, and ultra-heavy crude oil through the 1,100 km-long, 46 inch diameter pipeline that runs from the Goreh oil terminal in the north-west Bushehr Province to Mobarak Mount in the western Jask region along the Sea of Oman. This will involve the construction and deployment of 83 42-inch valves relating to the gate, control and emergency shut-off functions in the pipeline project, six smaller pipelines, five pump houses, three stations for receiving and sending pipeline pigs, 10 power stations, 400 kilometres of transmission lines, three single point moorings, subsea pipelines, and a stilling basin.

The initial focus of the oil-transfer chain across the Goreh-Jask pipeline will be the huge oil fields cluster in the West Karoun region, which are the current focus of plans between Iran and China to boost short-term oil production as part of the two countries’ 25-year plan. The starting point of the transmission route in this first phase is the West Karoun pumping station, the middle point is the Omidieh pumping station, and the end stage is the Bahregan and Jask terminals. After the initial testing of the first phase infrastructure has been completed, with 350,000 bpd transferred, the figure will be increased to a daily delivery capacity 460,000 bpd of heavy crude oil and 254,000 bpd of light crude oil to export terminals. Phase 2 will involve the transfer more than one million barrels of crude oil to export terminals. These amounts are realistic, as the West Karoun oil fields’ cluster alone comprises North and South Azadegan, North and South Yaran, and Yadavaran – plus some lesser fields – which together contain at least 67 billion barrels of oil in place.

The oil will then be stored once it has arrived in Jask in one of the 20 storage tanks each capable of storing 500,000 barrels of oil, in the first phase (totalling 10 million barrels) for later loading on to very large crude carriers (VLCCs) headed from the Gulf of Oman and into the Arabian Sea and then on to the Indian Ocean.The second phase will see an expansion to an overall storage capacity of 30 million barrels. These VLCCs will be accommodated in shipping facilities costing around US$200 million in the first phase, although the plans are to expand capacity to allow for further regular shipping of various oil-adjunct and petrochemical products in particular demand in Asia. As an adjunct to this, three single-point moorings (SPM), and other infrastructure features for the import and export of crude oil and other products are under construction. An SPM loading system with a capacity of 7,000 square metres per hour of loading capacity is also being installed in Assaluyeh, southern Iran, according to Hossein Azimi, director of the Pars Oil and Gas Company that oversees developments at Iran’s supergiant non-associated natural gas field, South Pars. This would augment gas condensate loading capacity of the field and will further allow for the handling of liquid cargo, such as petroleum products, for tanker ships.

Over and above the technical details involved in the Goreh-Jask pipeline project,the key point is that the pipeline will allow Iran another method by which it can export huge amounts of oil without being prey to U.S. sanctions and it will also allow Iran to do this whilst at the same time causing chaos for a third of the rest of the world’s oil shipments through blockading the Strait of Hormuz, should it wish to do so again.

“The logistical model Iran has at present is not sustainable in the current circumstances, with around 90 per cent of all of its oil for export currently loaded at Kharg Island – with most of the remaining loads going through terminals on Lavan and Sirri – making it an obvious and easy target for the U.S. and its proxies to cripple Iran’s oil sector and therefore its economy,” a senior oil and gas industry source who works closely with Iran’s Petroleum Ministry told OilPrice.com.

“Conversely, Iran wants to be able to use the threat – or reality – of closing the Strait of Hormuz for political reasons without also completing destroying its own oil exports revenue stream,” he said.

Even before U.S. sanctions were re-imposed in May 2018, the Kharg terminal was not ideal for use by tankers as the narrowness of the Strait of Hormuz means that they have to travel extremely slowly through it, meaning that the transit cost increases, there are delays in revenue streams, and they are easy targets for even simple attacks. Additionally positive for Iran is that having a huge oil storage capacity available just a short direct sea journey away from Pakistan and then on into China is likely to result in the final go-ahead for the construction of the Iran-Pakistan oil and gas pipeline, and then put further pressure on the developing India-UAE-U.S. relationship as India may well think that resuscitating the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline is preferable to the current plans with the UAE. It also means that Iran can send oil supplies – and anything else it wants in the tankers – to the Houthi faction in Yemen to keep a constant threat to the Saudi southern flank and also to militia groupings in Somalia and Kenya.

end

6/.Global Issues

We must always listen to Scott Atlas on the truth of COVID 19

Scott Atlas

Scott Atlas: Will The Truth On COVID Restrictions Really Prevail?

Authored by Scott Atlas via RealClearPolitics.com,

The consequences of the SARS2 coronavirus pandemic and its management have been enormous. Over 400,000 American deaths have been attributed to the virus; more will certainly follow. Even after almost a year, the pandemic still paralyzes our country. Despite all efforts, there has been an undeniable failure to stop cases from rapidly escalating and preventing hospitalizations and death.

Here’s the reality — almost all states and major cities, with a handful of exceptions, have implemented severe restrictions for many months, including closures of businesses and in-person school, mobility restrictions and curfews, quarantines, limits on group gatherings, and mask mandates dating back to at least the summer. These measures did not significantly change the typical pattern or damage from the SARS2 virus. President Biden openly admitted as much in his speech to the nation on Jan. 22, when he said “there is nothing we can do to change the trajectory of the pandemic in the next several months.” Instead of rethinking the results of implemented policies, many want to blame those who opposed lockdowns and mandates for the failure of the very lockdowns and mandates that were widely implemented.

Ironically, all new policies will coincide with a decrease in cases, because that decrease is already evident across the United States. Hospitalizations in every age group, by CDC data, as well as deaths, have begun to decline. Confirming that trend is the marked drop in symptomatic COVID-19 patients coming to emergency rooms, down 40% from its peak almost a month ago to become lower than that seen before Thanksgiving. Despite that reality, is there any doubt how most of the American media will portray this in their analysis of the administration’s “First 100 Days”?

And let’s be clear about behavior — social mobility tracking of Americans and data from Gallup, YouGov, the COVID-19 Consortium, and the CDC have shown significant reductions of movement as well as a consistently high percentage of mask wearing since the late summer similar to Western European countries and approaching that in Asia.

America has an internal comparison.

Florida, a large, diverse, highly populated state, stands out as having one of the highest percentages of vulnerable elderly in the entire nation, one of only two states with more than 20% over 65 years of age. Florida widely opened schools and businesses months ago, discarded most mobility restrictions, and ended mandates. Florida did not eliminate cases, hospitalizations, or deaths, but Florida has outperformed many states during the recent surge, including those with warm climates, like California, that implemented longstanding lockdowns. Florida’s deaths per capita has also beaten half the country as well as the national average. Even if Floridians on their own behaved similarly to people under mandates, why is that not a subject of open discussion and highlighted by the media?

Separate from their limited value in containing the virus — efficacy that has often been “grossly exaggerated” in published papers — lockdown policies have been extraordinarily harmful. The harms to children of closing in-person schooling are dramatic, including poor learning, school dropouts, social isolation, and suicidal ideation, most of which are far worse for lower income groups. A recent study confirms that up to 78% of cancers were never detected due to missed screening over three months. If one extrapolates to the entire country, where about 150,000 new cancers are diagnosed per month, three-fourths to over a million new cases over nine months will have gone undetected. That health disaster adds to missed critical surgeries, delayed presentations of pediatric illnesses, heart attack and stroke patients too afraid to call emergency services, and others all well documented.

Beyond hospital care, CDC reported four-fold increases in depression, three-fold increases in anxiety symptoms, and a doubling of suicidal ideation, particularly among young adults after the first few months of lockdowns, echoing the AMA reports of drug overdoses and suicides. Domestic abuse and child abuse have been skyrocketing due to the isolation and specifically to the loss of jobs, particularly in the strictest lockdowns. Given that many in-person schools have been closed, hundreds of thousands of abuse cases are never reported, since schools are the number one agency where abuse is noticed. Finally, the unemployment “shock” from lockdowns, according to a new NBER study, will generate a 3% increase in mortality rate and a 0.5% drop in life expectancy over the next 15 years, disproportionately affecting African Americans and women. That translates into what they called a “staggering” 890,000 additional U.S. deaths from the lockdowns.

We know we have not yet seen the full extent of the damage from lockdowns, because it will last for decades. Perhaps that is why lockdowns were not recommended in previous pandemic analyses, even for infections with far higher death rates.

To determine the best path forward, shouldn’t policymakers objectively consider both the data and the totality of impact of policies to date? That’s the importance of health policy experts with a broader scope of expertise than that of epidemiologists and basic scientists. That necessarily means admitting that social lockdowns and significant restrictions on individuals are deadly and extraordinarily harmful, especially on the working class and poor.

Optimistically, we are seeing the light at the end of the long tunnel with the rollout of vaccines, now at 1.5 million per day. On the other hand, using logic that would put “Alice in Wonderland’s” Mad Hatter to shame, the new vaccines have been more frequently administered first to healthier, younger people instead of those at risk to die. Few states at the time of this writing have administered most of their vaccinations to people over 65; many have given more than 80% to low-risk age groups. And why is the fact that tens of millions already have biological protection after being infected with the virus — so they should not be immediate priorities — not even acknowledged?

Just as in Galileo’s time, another problem is the “vested academic interests.” Many universities have overtly intimidated views contrary to their own, seemingly for political motives, leaving many afraid to speak up. Perhaps university mottos like Harvard’s “truth,” Stanford’s “the winds of freedom blow,” and Yale’s “light and truth” need revision. Social media has piled on with a heavy hand to eliminate discussion of conflicting evidence. Without permitting, indeed encouraging, open debate and admission of errors, we might never solve any future crisis.

America is now a country where differing interpretations of science in order to seek the truth is the new anathema. I fear that “the science” has been seriously damaged, and many have simply become fatigued by the arguments. That is even worse, because fatigue will allow fallacy to triumph over truth. Perhaps Harvard Medical School Professor Martin Kulldorff was correct when he lamented, “After 300 years, the Age of Enlightenment has ended.”

* * *

Scott W. Atlas, MD, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, served from August through November 2020 as a special adviser to the president.

end

Natural News//very important read to all!

(NaturalNews)

Horrific latent deaths predicted among the elderly by genetics professor after immunization with RNA vaccines

Thursday, January 28, 2021 by: News Editors
Tags: Big Pharma, coronavirus, COVID-19 vaccine, harmful medicine, health, immunization, pandemic, RNA vaccines, Vaccine deaths, vaccine injury, vaccine wars, vaccines

(Natural News) PROFESSOR DOLORES CAHILL, PROFESSOR of TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH (FORSCHUNG) AND MOLECULAR GENETICS, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, chairperson Irish Freedom Party, speaking at RENSE.com, predicts impending mass death from RNA vaccines (paraphrased):

(Article by Bill Sardi republished from LewRockwell.com)

Professor Dolores Cahill, speaking about RNA vaccines

“I suppose there are potentially three adverse reactions (from messenger RNA vaccines—MODERNA, PFIZER).

Beginning with anaphylaxis (severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction) in the first week. Therefore, these vaccines shouldn’t be given in the 2^nd dose.

Then the real adverse events will happen, against whatever is the real mRNA in the vaccines, and when the person vaccinated comes across (this coronavirus) sometime later …. what happened in the animal studies, 20% or 50% or 100% of the animals died!

Among people over 80, maybe about 2.5% will experience severe side effects, adverse events where people cannot work or live life normally.

Then with the 2^nd vaccination it could be 1 in 10 or ten percent. For the over 80-year-olds, I would think that 80% of them would have life-limiting reactions or die when they come across the messenger RNA again.

For others (not elderly) it could be half of the people who could be severely harmed.

What it does is… this gene therapy or medical device is setting up an autoimmune disease chronically. It’s like injecting people who have nut allergies with peanuts.

It’s anaphylaxis in the first wave. It’s anaphylaxis +allergic reaction the 2^nd wave. But the 3^rd reaction occurs when you come across whatever the messenger RNA is against (virus, bacterium, etc.), and now you have stimulated your immune system to have a low-grade autoimmune disease, not immunity to yourself per se because the mRNA is expressing a viral protein.

Now you made yourself a genetically modified organism, and so the immune system that is meant to push the viruses or bacteria out… now the autoimmune reaction is attacking your body low grade.

Now (months later) when you come across the virus that stimulates the immune system to get rid of the virus and when it (the immune system) sees that you have viral proteins in your own cells and organs, then about a week later (the adaptive immune system kicks in, the mechanism that makes specific long-term memory antibodies against a pathogen) and you go into organ failure. Because your immune system is killing your own organs. Those patients will present as sepsis initially. Then (later) you die of organ failure.

If you have one or two co-morbidities, the energy the immune system requires to boost your immune system will make the older person very tired and exhausted and they don’t have the capacity to survive if you have underlying conditions.

Normally, because the mRNA is in every cell of their body, it’s almost unstoppable. It destroys the heart, or the spleen, or the lungs, or the liver because the mRNA is expressing the protein in every cell.

Just as a solution, what we urgently need, just as a repository, 1 in 100, or 1 in 200 vaccine vials injected, to be set aside, especially into the elderly in the care homes. They need to be stored in a biorepository of the vaccine vials randomly, so when the people start to die, we can actually see what is in this vaccine. We should be doing this now.

I am concerned that there are maybe multiple mRNAs in this vaccine, not just something for coronavirus. If it is influenza or other viruses, we would be priming these people to other natural (cold and flu) viruses that are circulating.

We urgently need quality control to randomly require doctors to give 1 in 100 vaccine vials to a repository and someone like me could forensically analyze what’s in these vaccines. So, when the elderly start dying, we will know. We should be knowing now what’s in them.

It’s absolutely a dangerous gene therapy. Should not be given to the elderly,” emphasized professor Cahill.

The allergic reactions and deaths begin

Moderna, maker of the RNA COVID-19 vaccine, reports only 10 of 4 million vaccinees had an early (within 10 minutes of inoculation) allergic reaction. However, there is no data for 80+ year-olds with this vaccine, the group Dr. Cahill warns about, that typically have weak immune systems.

Now suddenly there are reports of a number of individuals at one vaccination center in California experiencing allergic reactions from an RNA-vaccine. While health authorities claim allergic reactions are rare, 10 patients are reported to have required medical attention for severe allergic reactions within 24-hours after vaccination at one site in California and six health care workers had allergic reactions at another vaccination center in San Diego in one day.

Hot lot withdrawn

Health officials withdrew one lot (41L20A) of the RNA vaccine. Inexplicably, health officials continue to offer false assurance it is “safe to use” the Moderna RNA vaccine when no conclusive safety data among large populations have been completed yet. No one knows if the Moderna RNA vaccine is safe. It is an unlicensed experimental vaccine. Remember, according to Professor Cahill, the really severe reactions will be latent – occur months later.

Then again, news agencies report of 33 deaths among 48,000+ people age 75 and over following immunization with the Pfizer COVID-19 RNA vaccine. Health officials continue to blame these deaths on the frailty of older subjects. But that is precisely the point – they may be too old and frail to benefit from vaccination.

RNA to DNA

The COVID-19 coronavirus is an RNA virus. The MODERNA COVID-19 vaccine is an RNA vaccine. Gene activation involves transcription of DNA into messenger RNA and then to gene-derived proteins.

Merle Nass MD, calls attention to the fact messenger RNA (or any RNA) can potentially be converted to DNA in the presence of the enzyme reverse transcriptase. That DNA could then become linked to your native DNA. There is the possibility of vaccine-RNA being converted to DNA and then permanently inserted into our DNA. (Resveratrol, a red wine molecule, by virtue of its ability to inhibit reverse transcriptase, could put a halt to this potential biogenetic hazard.)

It would be wise for people undergoing any vaccination to supplement their diet with vitamins A and D, zinc and resveratrol which normalize the immune response, especially individuals that have experienced allergic reactions or are allergy prone.

7. OIL ISSUES

end

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES

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

Euro/USA 1.2103 UP .0001 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 /RED

USA/JAPAN YEN 104.34 UP 0.197 (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 1.3658 DOWN 0.0013 (Brexit March 29/ 2019/ARTICLE 50 SIGNED/BREXIT FEES WILL BE CAPPED/

USA/CAN 1.2857 UP .0039 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 THURSDAY morning in Europe, the Euro FELL BY 1 basis points, trading now ABOVE the important 1.08 level FALLING to 1.2103 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 68.17 PTS OR 1.91%

//Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 746.76 PTS OR 2.55%

/AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 2,02%// EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL RED

Trading from Europe and Asia

EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 766.76 PTS OR 2.55%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 68.17 PTS OR 1.91%

Australia BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 2.02%

Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 437.79 POINTS OR 1.52%

INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED

Gold very early morning trading: 1841.30

silver:$25.30-

Early THURSDAY morning USA 10 year bond yield: 1.012% !!! DOWN 0 IN POINTS from WEDNESDAY’S night in basis points and it is trading WELL BELOW resistance at 2.27-2.32%.

The 30 yr bond yield 1.763 DOWN 1 IN BASIS POINTS from WEDNESDAY night.

USA dollar index early THURSDAY morning: 90.73 UP 9 CENT(S) from WEDNESDAY’s close.

This ends early morning numbers THURSDAY MORNING

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And now your closing THURSDAY NUMBERS \1: 00 PM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 0.02% DOWN 0 in basis point(s) yield from YESTERDAY/

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +.04.% DOWN 0 BASIS POINTS from YESTERDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/56

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 0.07%//DOWN 1 in basis point yield from yesterday.

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD:0.64 DOWN 31 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 –.54% IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY//

THE IMPORTANT SPREAD BETWEEN ITALIAN 10 YR BOND AND GERMAN 10 YEAR BOND IS 1.18% 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 THURSDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.2119 UP .0017 or 17 basis points

USA/Japan: 104.33 UP .188 OR YEN DOWN 19 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.3714 UP .0044 POUND UP 44 BASIS POINTS)

Canadian dollar DOWN 7 basis points to 1.2810

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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed AT 6.4495 ON SHORE (UP)..

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: 6.4855 (YUAN up)..

TURKISH LIRA: 7.35 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH.

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.04%

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 3 IN basis points from WEDNESDAY at 1.045 % //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic USA 30 yr bond yield: 1.814 UP 4 in basis points on the day

Your closing USA dollar index, 90.54 down 11 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 THURSDAY: 12:00 PM

London: CLOSED DOWN 41.22 0.63%

German Dax : CLOSED UP 45.47 POINTS OR .33%

Paris Cac CLOSED UP 50.90 POINTS 0.93%

Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 79.80 POINTS or 1.02%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 253.77 POINTS OR 1.19%

WTI Oil price; 52.46 12:00 PM EST

Brent Oil: 55.59 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN / RUBLE FALLS: 75.95 THE CROSS HIGHER BY 0.08 RUBLES/DOLLAR (RUBLE LOWER BY 8 BASIS PTS)

TODAY THE GERMAN YIELD FALLS TO –.54 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 : 52.27//

BRENT : 55.49

USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: … 1.050..up 3 basis points…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 1.806 up 3 basis points..

EURO/USA 1.2128 ( UP 23 BASIS POINTS)

USA/JAPANESE YEN:104.24 UP .093 (YEN DOWN 9 BASIS POINTS/..

USA DOLLAR INDEX: 90.50 DOWN 14 cent(s)/

The British pound at 4 pm Britain Pound/USA:1.3728 UP 57 POINTS

the Turkish lira close: 7.34

the Russian rouble 75.98 DOWN 0.11 Roubles against the uSA dollar. (DOWN 11 BASIS POINTS)

Canadian dollar: 1.2813 DOWN 6 BASIS pts

German 10 yr bond yield at 5 pm: ,-0.54%

The Dow closed UP 300.19 POINTS OR 0.99%

NASDAQ closed UP 88.88 POINTS OR 0.68%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 30.70 CLOSED DOWN 6.52

LIBOR 3 MONTH DURATION: 0.211%//libor dropping like a stone

USA trading today in Graph Form

Reddit Rebellion Routed As Brokers Help Hedgies Hammer Most-Shorted Stocks

Things had gone just a little bit turbo in GME in the pre-market as it briefly topped $500…

Live look-in at GameStop headquarters pic.twitter.com/AQx2dovpdd

— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) January 28, 2021

But, that was not to be allowed by the powers that be.

Best day of the year for stocks as retail brokerages (most egregiously Robinhood) did all they could do to stop WSB’rs from continuing the carnage.

It was a reverse Robinhood move!

Brokerages all appeared to go offline at around the same time this morning as the upside momo was ignited, which was odd given that volume was significantly less than yesterday’s at the time…

Source: Bloomberg

The Top 10 Most-Shorted names in the Russell 3000 dropped an average of over 30% today as retail investors were in many cases barred from trading by their brokerage firms…

Source: Bloomberg

And that was enough to erase all of yesterday’s damage in the hedge fund baskets and unwind the gains from the soaring most-shorted stocks…

Source: Bloomberg

Guys this is the first chink in the armor of this bull market basically the system subsidizes HFs now through their prime brokers aka Wall Street. This is a public relations nightmare for the Fed and the new White House

Basically they asked to help stop the WSB long army.

— Ed ☯️ The Obsolete Man (@DowdEdward) January 28, 2021

Which prompted an awkward question…

So when will the brokers allow trading in the banned stocks again: when hedge funds cover their shorts?

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 28, 2021

Big-Tech led the way higher during today’s best gains of the year but after around 230pmET (margin call time), the markets began to roll over and that weakness accelerated into the close…

Other crazy names today included AAL…

AMC was clubbed like a baby seal today…

And Silver Miner AG…

Source: Bloomberg

Bonds sold off as stocks soared today…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar took a dive today ahead of the US cash open and never looked back…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin was strongly bid as big-tech soared…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold traded rather chaotically today… spiking early and dumping into the London Fix… again!

Source: Bloomberg

Oil also pumped’n’dumped…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, Chris Cole of Artemis Capital highlights the call-buying mania that has been so evident in recent weeks…

Despite the crackdown by multiple brokerage houses this morning to restrict tradingon Gamestop, AMC Entertainment, and others, Americans’ curiosity in the “mother of all short squeezes” has resulted in record-high internet searches into what this market chaos means. According to Google Trends, searches for “short squeeze” and “most shorted stocks” have soared to record highs this week.

Searches for “short squeeze” has become a national phenomenon. In nearly every state, people are searching for the financial term, which is a rapid increase in the price due to a lack of supply and an excess of demand for the stock due to short-sellers covering their positions. Searches for “short squeeze” were the highest in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, and Maine.

Besides “short squeeze,” Americans panic searched “most shorted stocks” as they attempted to find the next ten-bagger. Other phrases people searched for were “most shorted stocks today” and “most heavily shorted stocks.”

While we know this won’t end well, the question is, when will the end come?

a)Market trading/LAST NIGHT/USA

b)MARKET TRADING/USA//this afternoon

Gamestop Shares Are Collapsing, Pelosi Says “Will Be Reviewing Issue”

Raising margins, restricting access, blocking position-building, and widespread condemnation appears to have done the trick… for now.

GME is halted down 56% this morning after topping $500 briefly in the pre-market…

So, is it over?

Speaker Pelosi spoke up as the shares crashed saying that “she understands the Biden admin is looking at Gamestop” and added that she will be “reviewing the Gamestop issue.”

Somebody had to rescue the hedge funds from widespread liquidations…

And the potential for that liquidation to expose the fallacy of the entire market’s foundations.

ii)Market data/USA

Not good: USA 4th quarter grew only 4% having been down a record 33.4% in the 3rd quarter.

(zerohedge)

US Q4 GDP Grew 4%, Missing Estimates

Q4 GDP rose at an annual rate of 4.0% in the fourth quarter of 2020, missing consensus estimates of 4.2%; it was down from the record 33.4% annualized print in Q3. According to the BEA, the number reflected “both the continued economic recovery from the sharp declines earlier in the year and the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including new restrictions and closures that took effect in some areas of the United States.”

For the full year, Real GDP decreased 3.5% (from the 2019 annual level to the 2020 annual level), compared with an increase of 2.2% in 2019. The decrease primarily reflected decreases in consumer spending, exports, inventory investment, and business investment that were partially offset by increases in housing investment and government spending. Imports, a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

The decrease in consumer spending was more than accounted for by services (led by food services and accommodations, health care, and recreation services). The decrease in exports reflected decreases in both services (led by travel) and goods (led by non-automotive capital goods).

Going back to the Q4 print, some of the highlights were that Personal consumption rose at 2.5%, well below the 3.1% estimate; at the same time Core PCE rose at 1.4%, above the 1.2% expected while the broader price index rose at 2.0%, below the 2.2% consensus. Disposable personal income, a measure that has reflected the loss of jobs and the influx of government stimulus, fell 9.5% in the fourth quarter. That compares with a 16.3% contraction in the prior period.

The fourth-quarter increase in real GDP reflected increases in exports, business investment, consumer spending, housing investment, and inventory investment that were partially offset by a decrease in government spending. Imports, a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased.

The increase in exports primarily reflected an increase in goods (led by industrial supplies and materials). The increase in business investment reflected an increase in all components, led by equipment. The increase in consumer spending reflected an increase in services (led by health care). The decrease in government spending was primarily in state and local.

Breaking down the components:

Personal Spending added 1.7% to the bottom line in Q4, down from 25.44% in Q3
Fixed Investment added another 3.02%, also a drop from the 5.39% last quarter
Private Inventories contributed 1.04%, down from 6.57% in Q3
Net Trade subtracted -1.52% from the bottom line print, down from -3.21% in Q3
Government reduced GDP by -0.22%, vs -0.75% in Q3.

New Home Sales Disappoint As Prices Soar To Record Highs

New Home Sales rebounded very modestly in December, after tumbling in November, but printed significantly below expectations.

Purchases of new single-family houses increased 1.6% MoM – the first gain in 5 months…

Source: Bloomberg

There was a 30.6% surge in Midwest housing, from 72K annualized to 94K

New Home Sales were expected to come in at 870k SAAR but only managed to rebound from a downwardly revised 829k to 842k SAAR…

Source: Bloomberg

For the full year, sales climbed to 811,000, the best level in more than a decade.

However, it does not take rocket science to comprehend the driver of the recent slowdown in sales… record median home prices rose 8.0% YoY to $355,900.

15% of new homes sold in Dec. cost more than $500,000, down from 17% prior month.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday cited real estate as a bright spot in the economy even as other sectors have cooled.

“The housing sector has more than fully recovered from the downturn, supported in part by low mortgage interest rates,” he said in a briefing after the latest gathering of policy makers.

Well played Jay!

As Bloomberg notes, in nominal terms, GDP remains $267 billion below its peak, reached in the fourth quarter of 2019 (that hole is roughly the size of Finland’s economy).

END

iii) Important USA Economic Stories

Meathead: Biden signs executive order banning the term “China virus”

(Watson/Summit news)

Biden Signs Executive Order To Ban The Term ‘China Virus’

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

The latest of Joe Biden’s THIRTY SEVEN executive orders signed in the first week of his presidency states that the term ‘Chinese virus’ or ‘China virus’ is now banned.

Yes, this is real.

The White House website confirms that Biden signed this EO.

CBS News reported‘Biden to address racism toward Asian Americans during pandemic with executive action’.

The report notes that “The Biden executive order is also expected to direct federal agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine whether there are xenophobic references like “China virus” in any existing policies, directives or government websites published by the Trump administration.”

NBC News lists all the executive actions Biden has instigated thus far, with the last being the ban on the term ‘China Virus’. The report notes that “additionally, the order directed the attorney general to work to prevent discrimination and hate crimes.”

Given that literally anything is now being touted as a ‘hate crime’, that could mean banning or canceling absolutely everyone and everything.

As we noted earlier, Biden admitted back in October that anyone who legislates by executive order should be considered ‘a dictator’.

Biden appears not to know what he is actually signing, and can barely hold the pen:

After managing to stuff the pen in his pants, Biden then babbled on about the wearing of face masks, for which he has already issued multiple executive mandates.

Biden said that a Congressman told him to “kiss my ear, I’m not wearing a mask”.

BIDEN: “One Congressman pointed out– he used a very color term to say– wearing a mask, I tell them to ‘kiss my ear.’ I’m not wearing a mask. Well guess what, not very American.” pic.twitter.com/FIfvJ0zLbT

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 26, 2021

end

This is a very stupid move on the part of Biden: he is supporting teacher unions refusing to reopen schools. He ignores the science: kids do not get the virus. This will inevitably lead to rioting as parents want their kids in school

(Stieber/Epoch Times)

Biden Chief Of Staff Offers Support For Teachers’ Unions Refusing To Reopen Schools

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

President Joe Biden’s chief of staff on Tuesday backed teachers’ unions that are refusing to return to schools for in-person learning, contradicting studies that show little virus transmission is taking place inside schools.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials have repeatedly said it’s safe to reopen schools. Former Director Robert Redfield said last year schools never should have shut down. Officials said Tuesday in a journal article that “there has been little evidence that schools have contributed meaningfully to increased community transmission” of the virus, which causes COVID-19.

But teachers’ unions across the United States are refusing to resume in-person learning, claiming teachers would be in danger.

In the most high-profile case, the Chicago Teachers Union is battling with the city of Chicago, which attempted to resume in-person classes on Monday. The union claims conditions aren’t right and in a blog post on Tuesday, urged its members to work from home on Wednesday. If the city retaliates, it said, a strike will be held.

Biden campaigned on dealing with the CCP virus pandemic. He vowed to spearhead the reopening of schools.

Asked why so many public schools remain closed, his chief of staff Ron Klain said it was a funding issue.

Teachers Adrienne Thomas (L) and Irene Barrera set up their computers and materials for their virtual classes outside of Suder Montessori Magnet Elementary School in solidarity with pre-K educators forced back into the building in Chicago, Ill., on Jan. 11, 2021. (Anthony Vazquez/Chicago Sun-Times via AP

“That’s why the president of the United States sent a plan to Congress even before he took office to make the investments you need to make the schools safe,” Klain said during an appearance on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront,” referring to Biden’s $1.9 trillion proposal that includes a number of measures such as a minimum wage hike.

Biden, in remarks at the White House on Tuesday, called for Congress to pass the proposal “to help schools and businesses reopen.”

A study published Tuesday showed few CCP virus outbreaks related to classroom settings being seen in rural schools in Wisconsin that reopened. But those schools received “sizable grants” that enabled them to set small classroom sizes and implement other safety measures, Klain argued.

“In other states, we haven’t seen those kinds of investments. President Biden has sent a plan to Congress that will make sure that the majority of our schools can be reopened in 100 days. We need Congress to pass that plan so that we can do the kind of things you need to do so that the schools can be safe, so the students can be safe, so the teachers can be safe. Sadly, it costs money,” Klain said.

When the host pushed back and pointed to Chicago, asking why the union seemed to be going against what studies show, he added:

“I don’t think that teachers’ unions are overruling studies. I think that what you’re seeing [is] that schools haven’t made the investments to keep the students safe. I mean, again, the Wisconsin study were classrooms of 12 on average. So that requires a lot more classrooms, a lot more teachers, or, you know, other kinds of arrangements to get them small, podding students very carefully.”

“So we need to do the things to open safely. Most of the teachers I talk to, they want to be back in the classroom. They just want to know that it’s safe and we as a country should make the investments to make it safe,” Klain added.

Washington Demands Hearings On “Manipulation” & “The State Of The Stock Market”

Update (1631 ET): California Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters, who is also the chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, is the latest high-profile lawmaker calling for a hearing into the recent activity surrounding Gamestop.

Waters released this statement Thursday afternoon:

“Hedge funds have a long history of predatory conduct and that conduct is entirely indefensible. Private funds preying on the pension funds of hard-working Americans must be stopped. Private funds engaging in predatory short selling to the detriment of other investors must be stopped. Private funds engaging in vulture strategies that hurt workers must be stopped.

“Addressing that predatory and manipulative conduct is the responsibility of lawmakers and securities regulators who are charged with protecting investors and ensuring that our capital markets are fair, orderly, and efficient. As a first step in reining in these abusive practices, I will convene a hearing to examine the recent activity around GameStop (GME) stock and other impacted stocks with a focus on short selling, online trading platforms, gamification and their systemic impact on our capital markets and retail investors.

“We must deal with the hedge funds whose unethical conduct directly led to the recent market volatility and we must examine the market in general and how it has been manipulated by hedge funds and their financial partners to benefit themselves while others pay the price.”

🚨 #BREAKING: Following Recent Market Instability, Chairwoman @RepMaxineWaters Announces Hearing on Short Selling, Online Trading Platforms | https://t.co/qarYouEIGo pic.twitter.com/M4goKnio5e

— Financial Svcs Cmte (@FSCDems) January 28, 2021

* * *

A slew of high-profile people have commented on Robinhood’s action this morning on trade restrictions of GME (along with several other companies) – going up the ladder of importance – Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts called for the SEC to do more to deal with “stock market manipulation.” Meanwhile, Democrat, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, who is also the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, demanded a hearing on the “state of the stock market.”

Warren told CNBC, “the bigger issue for me is the SEC’s inability and unwillingness to deal with market manipulation,” adding that “a healthy stock market, you’ve got to have a cop on the beat. That should be the SEC. They need to step up and do their job.”

Of course, she was entirely clueless when asked to describe what “manipulation” took place and further raised questions about who was really behind the moves (although we are pleased she held herself back from claiming it was ‘Russians’).

She released this statement following the recent developments of Robinhood and GameStop.

“With stocks soaring while millions are out of work and struggling to pay bills, it’s not news that the stock market doesn’t reflect our actual economy. For years, the same hedge funds, private equity firms, and wealthy investors dismayed by the GameStop trades have treated the stock market like their own personal casino while everyone else pays the price. It’s long past time for the SEC and other financial regulators to wake up and do their jobs – and with a new administration and Democrats running Congress, I intend to make sure they do.”

And after Warren had explained that the solution was a “2c wealth tax” which would lead to a utopia where “mummies and daddies” could bring up their children with no worries about actually getting or keeping a job (ok, we paraphrased a bit).

Meanwhile, Sen. Brown released a statement Thursday afternoon demanding it’s time for a hearing on today’s events.

“People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt. American workers have known for years the Wall Street system is broken – they’ve been paying the price. It’s time for SEC and Congress to make the economy work for everyone, not just Wall Street. That’s why, as incoming Chair of the Senate Banking and Housing Committee, I plan to hold a hearing to do that important work,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown wants to hold a “hearing on the current state of the stock market.”

People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt.

It’s time for SEC and Congress to make the economy work for everyone.

As Incoming Chairman of the @SenateBanking Committee, I will be holding a hearing on the current state of the stock market. https://t.co/V9Hzp26jRT

— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) January 28, 2021

We suspect that the real culprit behind all of this will remain behind the curtain – The Fed’s endless easy money and downside protection.

Brown’s plan should create solid cross-party support considering Senator Ted Cruz echoed similar criticisms made by AOC earlier on.

Fully agree. 👇 https://t.co/rW38zfLYGh

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 28, 2021

Pelosi earlier said she will be “reviewing” GME.

“Interesting, isn’t it?” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi about the wild ride of GameStop shares. “We’ll all be reviewing it” pic.twitter.com/H8Ev55MDbz

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) January 28, 2021

We joked and said:

*PELOSI SAYS GAMESTOP IS INTERESTING

She’s buying calls

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 28, 2021

Grab the popcorn; this is going to get good. Is Washington about to fry Wall Street?

iv) Swamp commentaries

v) King report/Courtesy of Chris Powell of GATA which includes the major swamp stories.

Germany cuts its 2021 GDP forecast to 3% from 4.4%. This felled the euro and boosted the dollar.

Michael Burry Calls GameStop Rally ‘Unnatural, Insane’
Michael Burry’s bullish stance on GameStop Corp. in 2019 helped lay the foundations for one of the biggest retail investor frenzies in recent memory. Now the famed fund manager is warning that GameStop’s manic rally has gotten out of hand.
“If I put $GME on your radar, and you did well, I’m genuinely happy for you,” Burry, best known for his prescient bet against mortgage securities before the 2008 financial crisis, said in a tweet on Tuesday. “However, what is going on now – there should be legal and regulatory repercussions. This is unnatural, insane, and dangerous.”…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-01-27/michael-burry-calls-gamestop-gain-unnatural-insane-dangerous

GameStop opened at 354.83, + 206.85 or +140% from its close on Tuesday. The panic short covering and manic buying on the open produced a significant peak. Within 45 minutes of trading, GME lost 105 points. There were 3 trading halts within those 45 minutes.

Powell Press Conference Highlights

Fed strongly committed to achieving dual mandate (push stocks higher?)
Monetary policy to keep giving economy powerful support (and push stocks highs?)
Consumer spending on services remains low
Goods spending has moderate following large gains
Housing has recovered, business investment picked up
Path ahead remains highly uncertain
Unemployment rate remained elevated in Dec.
Consumer prices have leveled out after picking up (which we never mentioned)
Inflation remained below 2%; not worried about inflation picking up
Large increases in home prices unlikely to be sustained
Several development signal better outlook later in ‘21
Economy has proved more resilient than expected
Corporate defaults are fewer than expected
US should consider helping jobless for longer period
No bond taper for some time
Racial disparities are a drag on the economy
Fed has a role to play in combating inequality (Where is that mandate codified?)
Fed is committed to doing its part on inequality
Learning that technology can replace people even more than we thought

Powell refused to comment on GameStop madness; but said financial stability vulnerabilities are “moderate” and monetary policy is not driving asset prices over the past few months. It’s Covid vaccines expectations for additional fiscal stimulus that is driving asset prices. Either Powell is insanely stupid on financial dynamics or he’s lying for cover. https://t.co/VAHX0OZDkr

CNBC’s @carlquintanilla: NATALLIANCE: “The fact that Powell could stand there and say with a straight face that there is a weak link between rates and asset prices is a complete mistake… Asset prices are based on the risk-free rate.”

@carlquintanilla: How does Powell endorse trillions in fiscal stimulus on a day like this. [Shows pic of stocks making ridiculous rallies] https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1354419908977844232
@APompliano: REMINDER: Wall Street hedge funds running to the exchanges to halt trading to prevent losses is another example of why the game has always been rigged in favor of the elites. When you lose it is okay, but when they lose the game is turned off.

Nasdaq President Adena Friedman on CNBC: “We monitor social media chatter and will halt stock if we match chatter with unusual activity in stocks.”

@joshdcaplan: SEN. WARREN: “For years, the same hedge funds, private equity firms, and wealthy investors dismayed by the GameStop trades have treated the stock market like their own personal casino while everyone else pays the price.”

@ColumbiaBugle: Biden White House Press Secretary asked about GameStop, AMC and Blockbuster stock market drama. She responds by reminding everyone that they have the FIRST FEMALE treasury secretary & says they’re “monitoring the situation.”

WSJ: Biden administration freezes U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE [Biden favors Iran!]

INSANE: Joe Biden Signs Executive Order Banning the Term “China Virus”
This was one of his 37 executive orders in six days…[Nothing says ‘heeling & unity’ like 37 EOs!]
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/insane-joe-biden-signs-executive-order-banning-term-china-virus/

@DailyCaller: John Kerry asked what his message would be to oil and gas workers who “see an end to their livelihoods”: “What President Biden wants to do is make sure that those folks have better choices… That they can be the people to go to work to make the solar panels.” [Cold hearted response from a haughty boob who married a Heinz heiress.]  https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1354491102276022272

Kerry admits zero emission in US wouldn’t make difference in climate change   https://t.co/bntq4bPdCw

Biden starts staffing a commission on Supreme Court reform
Its specific mandate is still being decided…  https://www.politico.com/news/2021/01/27/biden-supreme-court-reform-463126

@nytimes: President Biden has already installed roughly 1,000 high-level political appointees. His speedy grasp of power includes the quiet dismissal of holdovers from the Trump administration, who have been asked to clean out their offices immediately. https://nyti.ms/39nCEiR

@ABC: Pres. Biden: “I’m signing today an executive order to supercharge our administration’s ambitious plan to confront the existential threat of climate change.”   https://abcn.ws/3qVz4lR

@CBSNews: President Biden: “We have already waited too long to deal with this climate crisis. We can’t wait any longer. We see it with our own eyes. We feel it. We know it in our bones. And it’s time to act.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-climate-change-executive-order-watch-live-stream-today-2021-01-27/

Federal officials misused money in biomedical research fund in the years before the coronavirus pandemic, watchdog says – Officials overseeing the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an arm of the federal health department, used millions of dollars from the fund to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings from an inspector general investigation of a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post.  The unidentified whistleblower alleged that officials wrongly dipped into the money set aside by Congress, beginning in fiscal year 2010 and continuing through at least fiscal year 2019…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/01/27/barda-health-funds-misappropiated/

WSJ’s @KimStrassel: A Biden administration memo signal the beginning of hyperregulation, write @MickMulvaney and @RealJoeGrogan  https://wsj.com/articles/biden-gives-regulators-a-free-and-heavy-hand-11611703468

The above WSJ story and Biden’s EO madness could be key reasons that stocks are suddenly sick.

Bloomberg’s @SarahPonczek: Nearly 38 million call options traded today, *the most EVER*

Today – The damage done to traders and hedge funds due to the historic January short squeeze has now, as we warned, unleashed substantial liquidation of equities. The technical and psychological damage that has occurred will not be repaired quickly.

ESHs tumbled 41.00 and NQHs tanked 150.00 early last night due to the after-hour declines in Tesla, Facebook & Apple, plus the severe technical and psychological damage that occurred on Wednesday. Also, The Big Guy is hurting stocks with his shtick more than expected. Discord banned WallStreetBets from its platform for “hateful and discriminatory content.” ESHs rallied to -2.00 and NQHs to -32.00 on the news.  https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1354571669612994561/photo/1

There is no reason to jump into a pool loaded with sharks and even more wounded sharks. Wait & watch!

Expected Earnings: DOW .67, PHM 1.40, CNCSA .47, NOC 5.77, MCD 1.77, MMC 1.13, SHW 4.86, AAL -4.14, LUV -1.66, DHR 1.86, MA 1.52, MO 1.02, V 1.28, MDLZ .66

Expected Economic data: Dec Advance Goods Trade Balance -$84.0B; Dec Retail Inventories 0.6% m/m, Wholesale Inventories 0.5% m/m; Initial Jobless Claims 875k, Continuing Claims 5.088m; Q4 GDP 4.2%, Consumption 3.1%, Price Index 2.2%, Core PCE 1.2%; Dec LEI 0.3%l Dec New Home Sales 866k; Jan KC Fed Mfg Activity 12

S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 3710; 100-day MA: 3556; 150-day MA: 3466; 200-day MA: 3341
DJIA 50-day MA: 30,295; 100-day MA: 29,115; 150-day MA: 28,411; 200-day MA: 27,514

S&P 500 Index – Trender trading model and MACD for key time frames
Monthly: Trender is negative; MACD is positive – a close above 3920.04 triggers a buy signal
Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 3557.61 triggers a sell signal
Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 3945.07 triggers a buy signal
Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 3830.71 triggers a buy signal

COVID Linked to Mental Illness, Brain Disorders According to Oxford Analysis
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/covid-linked-mental-illness-brain-disorders-according-new-oxford-analysis

Nancy Pelosi slammed as hypocrite for praising storming of Wisconsin State Capitol in 2011
   Pelosi praised the incident as an “impressive show of democracy in action” after up to 100,000 people stormed the building in protest of then-Governor Scott Walker’s proposed bill to end collective bargaining for the majority of public workers…
   Despite the [DC] attack being regarded as unprecedented across the world; it is almost identical to the Wisconsin riots.  Unionists stormed the building, breaking down doors and crawling through windows, on a hunt for Republican lawmakers. Protestors took physical occupation of the building… lawmakers were ushered to safety by police – but a Democrat alerted the mob, creating a stand-off in the secret tunnel. Senators were forced to hide under stairwells until police managed to form a human wall to escort them to the safety of a bus, which then had its windows smashed by the mob who started rocking…
    Fox News contributor Mark Thiessen highlighted her previous remarks, who said that “in other words, Democrats were for occupying capitols before they were against it.”…
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/us-news/13845523/nancy-pelosi-hypocrite-storming-wisconsin-state-capitol-2011/

@ChuckCallesto: Just 6 DAYS AFTER INAUGURATION Judge decides Virginia Rule allowing LATE BALLOTS MISSING POSTMARK WAS ILLEGAL, permanently bans the law in future Virginia elections..

Virginia Rule Allowing Late Ballots Missing Postmark Was Illegal, Court Rules
Virginia Circuit Court Judge William Eldridge ruled the state’s late mail-in ballot law violated state statute and permanently banned the law in future Virginia elections…
https://www.dailysignal.com/2021/01/26/virginia-rule-allowing-late-ballots-missing-postmark-was-illegal-court-rules/

Obstruction boomerang: FBI knew DOJ was preparing to fire Comey long before Trump ordered it [Of course, the MSM is spiking this and other stories about Spygate that show DJT was targeted.]
Rosenstein offered to wear wire on Trump, wanted fired Comey’s advice on special counsel, newly declassified memos show.
    The FBI knew Director James Comey’s firing had been conceived by Justice Department leadership long before the president pulled the trigger during a key moment in the Russia probe…
https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/obstruction-boomerang-fbi-knew-comey-firing-was-planned

Twitter Troll Douglas Mackey Arrested and Charged with Election Interference
Mackey and his co-conspirators allegedly used different social media platforms to disseminate disinformation to help a major presidential candidate to win the 2016 election, according to Maegan Rees, a Special Agent with the…(FBI)… [All the 2016/2020 crap and this is what the DoJ chases!?!?]
https://usaherald.com/twitter-troll-douglas-mackey-arrested-and-charged-with-election-interference/

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler pepper-sprayed a maskless man who accused him of disregarding coronavirus measures   https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/26/portland-mayor-ted-wheeler-peppersprayed-man/
    @AriFleischer: This, in the city where the City Council banned the police from using pepper spray.

Well that is all for today

I will see you FRIDAY night.

2 comments

BROKERS CRIMINALLY COLLUDE TO STOP THE REDDIT INSPIRED PURCHASES TO HEAVILY SHORTED STOCKS TRYING TO BREAK THE BACKS OF WALL STREET | altnews.org · January 29, 2021 - 11:29 am · Reply→

[…] by Harvey Organ, Harvey Organ Blog: […]

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BROKERS CRIMINALLY COLLUDE TO STOP THE REDDIT INSPIRED PURCHASES TO HEAVILY SHORTED STOCKS TRYING TO BREAK THE BACKS OF WALL STREET - Biz Patriot · January 29, 2021 - 12:11 pm · Reply→

[…] by Harvey Organ, Harvey Organ Blog: […]

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Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory*	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	34,804.225 oz CNT Delaware
Deposits to the Dealer* Inventory*	nil oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	nil oz
No of oz served today (contracts)	2 CONTRACT(S) (10,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	0 contracts NIL oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	1378 contracts 6,890,000 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*

DONATE

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR JAN. CONTRACT: 52 NOTICE(S) FOR 5200 OZ (0.1617 tonnes)

2 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 10,000 OZ/

Let us have a look at the data for today

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

Trading Volumes on the COMEX TODAY:297,396 contracts// volume poor/

CONFIRMED COMEX VOL. FOR YESTERDAY: 187,782 contracts// volume: POOR //most of our traders have left for London

ii) Important gold commentaries courtesy of GATA/Chris Powell

Venezuelan banks issuing debit cards for dollar-denominated accounts, sources tell Reuters

Brokers start to restrict trading where shorts are under attack

LIVE: From the Vault

iii) Other physical stories:

THE BIGGEST SHORT SQUEEZE IN THE WORLD $SLV Silver 25$ to 1000$.

Silver Prices Jump as ‘Reddit Crowd’ Urged to Buy Precious

Silver rallies after Reddit post about executing a ‘short squeeze’

Crash JP Morgan, buy Silver!

STOCKS or GOLD

THE DOW WILL LOSE 97% IN REAL TERMS

STOCK INVESTORS WILL BE WIPED OUT

EPIC STOCK MARKET BUBBLE – END OF AN ERA

WHAT TO DO

Your early THURSDAY morning currency, Asian stock market results, important USA/Asian currency crosses, gold/silver pricing overnight along with the price of oil Major stories overnight/7 AM EST

3A/ASIAN AFFAIRS

3 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 C CHINA

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

6/.Global Issues

Horrific latent deaths predicted among the elderly by genetics professor after immunization with RNA vaccines

7. OIL ISSUES

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES

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

Your closing bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates for THURSDAY: 12:00 PM

Closing Price for Oil, 4:00 pm/and 10 year USA interest rate:

USA trading today in Graph Form

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