JAN 25//

GOLD; UP $10.40 to $1851.95

SILVER: $23.87 UP 10 CENTS

ACCESS MARKET: GOLD: 1848.20..

SILVER: $23.83

Bitcoin: morning price: 36,410 up 1834

Bitcoin: afternoon price: 36,737 up 2161

Platinum price: closing up $6.45 to $1030.15

Palladium price; closing up $50.50 at $2201.90

END

end

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comex notices//JPMorgan notices filed COMEX//NOTICES: 0/0

FILED zero

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR JAN. CONTRACT: 0 NOTICE(S) FOR nil OZ (0.00000 TONNES)

total notices so far: 5651 contracts for 565,100 oz (17.577 tonnes)

SILVER NOTICES:

17 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 85,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month 2856 : for 14,280,000 oz

GLD

WITH GOLD UP $10.40

WITH RESPECT TO GLD WITHDRAWALS: (OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS): NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD

GOLD IS “RETURNED” TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND WHEN CALLING IN THEIR LEASES: THE GOLD NEVER LEAVES THE BANK OF ENGLAND IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE BANK IS PROTECTING ITSELF IN CASE OF COMMERCIAL FAILURE

ALSO INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (phys) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD//

CLOSING INVENTORY: 1008.45 TONNES/

Silver//SLV

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP 10 CENTS:/: ANOTHER HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY INTO THE SLV/ A DEPOSIT OF 2.311 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV

AT THE SLV//

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV

CLOSING INVENTORY SLV/ TONIGHT: 535.003 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS 3066 CONTRACTS TO 148,932 AND RESTS FURTHER FROM THE NEW RECORD OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS HUGE LOSS IN OI WAS ACCOMPANIED WITH THE STRONG $0.48 DROP IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON MONDAY. OUR BANKERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.48) AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OUT SOME SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A HUGE LOSS OF 3066 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES .

WE MUST HAVE HAD:
I) HUGE BANKER SHORT COVERING AS THEY ARE VERY ANXIOUS TO GET OUT OF DODGE!!/. II)WE ALSO HAD SOME REDDIT RAPTOR BUYING//. iii) A ZERO ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS iiii) A HUGE INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 10.505 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5,000 OZ QUEUE. JUMP //NEW STANDING 14.485 MILLION OZ V) SMALL SIZED COMEX OI LOSS.

I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL:

THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI SILVER TODAY: CONTRACTS 2896

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS JAN. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF JAN:

TOTAL CONTACTS for 16 days, total contracts: : 14,833 contracts or 74.165 million oz OR 4.635 MILLION OZ PER DAY. (927 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL NO OF OZ UNDERGOING EFP TO LONDON 14,833 CONTRACTS X 5,000 PER CONTRACT:

EQUATES TO: 74.165 MILLION OZ

LAST 8 MONTHS TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED IN MILLIONS OF OZ:

MAY 137.83 MILLION

JUNE 149.91 MILLION OZ

JULY 129.445 MILLION OZ

AUGUST: MILLION OZ 140.120

SEPT. 28.230 MILLION OZ//

OCT: 94.595 MILLION OZ

NOV: 131.925 MILLION OZ

DEC: 100.615 MILLION OZ

RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 3066 WITH OUR LARGE 48 CENT LOSS SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// MONDAY THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A ZERO SIZED EFP ISSUANCE OF 0 CONTRACTS( 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR MAR AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS THE DOMINANT FEATURE TODAY:/ AS WELL AS TODAY /HUGE BANKER SHORT COVERING AS THEY GET OUT OF DODGE//// WE HAVE A GOOD INITIAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR JAN OF 10.505 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING 14.485, MILLION OZ// .. WE HAD A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 3066 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES FOR 15.330 MILLION OZ//THIS IS THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE CROOKS STARTED TO USE EFP THAT WE DID HAVE ZERO EFP ISSUANCE.

WE HAD 17 NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR 85,000 OZ

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 3730 TO 557,626 AND CLOSER TO OUR NEW RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,541 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.

THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: -11,781 CONTRACTS

THE FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI CAME WITH OUR STRONG GAIN IN PRICE OF $10.15//COMEX GOLD TRADING/MONDAY/.AS IN SILVER WE MUST HAVE HAD HUGE BANKER/ALGO SHORT COVERING ACCOMPANYING OUR SMALL SIZED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE. WE HAD ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AS THE TOTAL GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES TOTALED A GOOD SIZED 4945 CONTRACTS…

WE ALSO HAD A HUGE INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR JAN AT 3.5614 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 300 OZ QUEUE. JUMP//NEW STANDING: 17.629 TONNES

YET ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $10.15 WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY’S TRADING

WE HAD A GOOD SIZED GAIN OF 4945 OI CONTRACTS (15.38 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALLED A SMALL SIZED 1215 CONTRACTS:

FOR FEB 1215 ALL OTHER MONTHS ZERO//TOTAL: 1215

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 557,626.

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A GOOD SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4945, WITH 3730 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND 1215 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4945 CONTRACTS OR 15.38TONNES.

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A SMALL SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (1215) ACCOMPANYING THE HUGE SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI (15511): TOTAL GAIN IN THE TWO EXCHANGES 16,726 CONTRACTS. WE NO DOUBT HAD 1) HUGE BANKER SHORT COVERING ,2.) HUGE INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR JAN. AT 3.7262 TONNES//FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 300 OZ QUEUE. JUMP.//NEW STANDING 17.629 TONNES 3)ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION,4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OI. GAIN 5) SMALL ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL

SPREADING OPERATIONS

(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS

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

HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JAN HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB, FOR GOLD:

YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN 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 2021 INCLUDING TODAY

JAN

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF JAN : 55,814 CONTRACTS OR 5,581,400 oz OR 173.60 TONNES 16 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3488 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 16 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES: 173.60 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2020, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 173.60/3550 x 100% TONNES 4.90% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO DATE

JANUARY/2021: 265.26 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

FEB : 171.24 TONNES ( DEFINITELY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN)..

MARCH:. 276.50 TONNES (STRONG AGAIN/

APRIL: 189..44 TONNES ( DRAMATICALLY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN//GOLD IN BACKWARDATION)

MAY: 250.15 TONNES (NOW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING AGAIN)

JUNE: 247.54 TONNES (FINAL)

JULY: 188.73 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST: 217.89 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE.

SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_

OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)

NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP

DEC. 145.12 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//

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 HUGE SIZED 3730 CONTRACTS TO 148,932 AND FURTHER FROM 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 4 1/2 YEARS AGO.

EFP ISSUANCE 0 CONTRACTS (FIRST TIME THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE INCEPTION)

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

MAR 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 0 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 3066 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 0 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,

WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 3066 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACT FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 15.330 MILLION OZ,

OCCURRED WITH OUR $0.48 LOSS IN PRICE.

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

2 ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,

(Peter Schiff,

3. Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com,

4. Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries

5. Other gold commentaries

6. Commodity commentaries/cryptocurrencies

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)TUESDAY MORNING// MONDAY NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 91.04 PTS OR 2.58% //Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 412.85 PTS OR 1.67% /The Nikkei closed DOWN 457.03 PTS OR 1.66% //Australia’s all ordinaires CLOSED DOWN 2.60% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN 6.3299 /Oil DOWN TO 83.79 dollars per barrel for WTI and UP TO 86.42 for Brent. Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN // ONSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN AGAINST THE DOLLAR AT 6.3299. OFFSHORE YUAN CLOSED DOWN ON THE DOLLAR AT 6.3370: /ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN AND OFF SHORE TRADING WEAKER AGAINST USA DOLLAR

A)NORTH KOREA//USA/OUTLINE

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

OUTLINE

3 C CHINA

OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

OUTLINE

6.Global Issues

OUTLINE

7. OIL ISSUES

OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES

COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS

GOLD

LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 3,730 CONTRACTS AND CLOSER TO 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 COMEX INCREASE OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN OF $10.15 IN GOLD PRICING MONDAY’S COMEX TRADING. WE ALSO HAD A SMALL EFP (1215 CONTRACTS). . THEY WERE PAID HANDSOMELY NOT TO TAKE DELIVERY AT THE COMEX AND SETTLE FOR CASH. LOOKS LIKE OUR BANKERS ARE FINALLY BAILING OUT

WE NORMALLY HAVE WITNESSED 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. IT SEEMS THAT ARE BANKERS FRIENDS ARE EXERCISING EFP’S FROM LONDON AND NOW THEY ARE LOATHE TO ISSUE NEW ONES.

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

WE ARE NOW MOVING TO 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 1215 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: ;: , DEC : 0 & FEB. 1215 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1215 CONTRACTS

WHEN WE HAVE BACKWARDATION, EFP ISSUANCE IS VERY COSTLY BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THE SCARCITY OF METAL AND IT IS FAR BETTER FOR OUR BANKERS TO PAY OFF INDIVIDUALS THAN RISK INVESTORS ESPECIALLY FROM LONDON STANDING FOR DELIVERY. THE LOWER PRICES IN THE FUTURES MARKET IS A MAGNET FOR OUR LONDONERS SEEKING PHYSICAL METAL. BACKWARDATION ALWAYS EQUAL SCARCITY OF METAL!

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A GOOD SIZED 4945 TOTAL CONTRACTS IN THAT 1215 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR SIZED COMEX OI GAIN OF 3730 CONTRACTS..

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR JAN (17.629),

HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS OF 2021:

DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES

NOV. 8.074 TONNES

OCT. 57.707 TONNES

SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES

AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES

JULY: 7.2814 TONNES

JUNE: 72.289 TONNES

MAY 5.77 TONNES

APRIL 95.331 TONNES

MARCH 30.205 TONNES

FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES

JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.

TOTAL SO FAR THIS YEAR (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES

THE BANKERS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE //// (IT ROSE $10.15)

AND THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN FLEECING ANY LONGS AS THE TOTAL GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES REGISTERED A GOOD 15.38 TONNES, ACCOMPANYING OUR HUGE GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR JAN (17.629 TONNES)…

WE HAD A MONSTROUS – 11,781 CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM COMEX TRADES. THESE WERE REMOVED AFTER TRADING ENDED LAST NIGHT

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 4945 CONTRACTS OR 494,500 OZ OR 15.38 TONNES

Estimated gold volume today: 245,796 /// poor

Confirmed volume yesterday: 353,554 contracts fair

INITIAL STANDINGS FOR JAN ’22 COMEX GOLD //JAN 25

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory in oz*	nil oz
Withdrawals from Customer* Inventory in oz*	35,310.73 oz BRINKS HSBC
Deposit to the Dealer* Inventory in oz*	nilOZ
Deposits to the Customer* Inventory, in oz*	nil
No of oz served (contracts) today	0 notice(s)00 OZ 0 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	17 contracts 1700 oz 0.05287 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	5651 notices 565,100 OZ 17.576 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

For today:

No dealer deposit 0

No dealer withdrawal 0

0 customer deposit

total deposit: nil oz

2 customer withdrawals

i) Out of BRINKS: 34,915.980 0z

ii) Out of hsbc 394.75 oz

total withdrawals: 35,310.73 OZ oz

ADJUSTMENTS: 1

BRINKS/DEALER TO CUSTOMER: 96.45 (3 KILOBARS)

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR JANUARY.

For the front month of JANUARY we have an oi of 17 stand for JANUARY GAINING 1 contract. We had 2 notices filed on MONDAY, so we GAINED 3 contracts or an additional 300 oz will stand for

gold in this very non active delivery month of January.

FEBRUARY LOST 31,134 CONTRACTS TO 112,154

March GAINED 285 contracts to stand at 3124..

We had 0 notice(s) filed today for 00 oz FOR THE JAN 2022 CONTRACT MONTH

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equates to 0 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account and 0 notice(s) received (stopped) by the squid (Goldman Sachs)

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 (5651) x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of (JAN: 17 CONTRACTS ) minus the number of notices served upon today 0 x 100 oz per contract equals 566,500 OZ OR 17.629 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this NON active month of JAN. (numbers corrected from yesterday)

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

No of notices filed so far (5651) x 100 oz+ (17) OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (0} x 100 oz} which equals 565,900 oz standing OR 17.629 TONNES in this NON active delivery month of JAN.

We GAINED 3 contracts or an additional 300 oz of gold will stand for metal on this side of the pond.

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 17.629 TONNES (HUGE FOR A JANUARY DELIVERY MONTH

IF THIS HOLDS TO THE END OF THE MONTH, THIS WILL BE THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED GOLD STANDING FOR A JANUARY, GENERALLY A VERY POOR DELIVERY MONTH.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

206,468.649, oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 6.42 TONNES

174,041.913 PLEDGED MANFRA 5.413 TONNES

54,339.114oz PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690

288,481,604, oz JPM No 2 8.97 TONNES

898,821.330 oz pledged Brinks/27,96 TONNES

12,249,333 oz International Delaware: 0..3810 tonne

Loomis: 18,615.429 oz

total pledged gold: 1,653,017.372 oz 51.415 tonnes

TOTAL REGISTERED AND ELIZ GOLD AT THE COMEX: 33,581,836.107 OZ (1044,53 TONNES)

TOTAL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 16,001,295.648 OZ (497.70 tonnes)

TOTAL OF ALL REGISTERED GOLD: 17,580,540.519 OZ (546.82 tonnes)

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 15,976,154.0 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 496.92 tonnes

END

JANUARY 2022 CONTRACT MONTH//SILVER

INITIAL STANDING FOR SILVER//JAN 25

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory*	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	1197,482.486 oz Brinks CNT Delaware
Deposits to the Dealer* Inventory*	nilOZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	604,733.470 oz cnt Delaware
No of oz served today (contracts)	17 CONTRACT(S) (85,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	41 contracts (205,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	2856 contracts (14,280,000 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*

And now for the wild silver comex results

we had 0 deposits into the dealer

total dealer deposits: nil oz

i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal

total dealer withdrawals: nil oz

We have 2 deposits

i) Into CNT: 593,717.57 oz

ii) Into Delaware: 11,015.900 oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 185.232 million oz/355.125 million =52.15% of comex

ii) Comex withdrawals: 3

a) Out of CNT 819,672.797 oz

b) Out of Delaware; 3955.479 oz

c) Out of Brinks: 373,854.210 oz

total withdrawal 1197,482.486 oz

we had 1 adjustment:

Brinks/dealer to customer: 154,667.630 oz

the silver comex is in stress!

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 82.461 MILLION OZ

TOTAL REG + ELIG. 355.125 MILLION OZ

TOTAL NO OF CONTRACTS SERVED UPON THIS MONTH: 2838 CONTRACTS FOR 14,190,000 OZ

CALCULATION OF SILVER OZ STANDING FOR JANUARY

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY: 1 NOTICES OR 5,000 OZ

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF JAN//2022 OI: 58 CONTRACTS LOSING 1 contract on the day

We had 2 notices filed for MONDAY so we GAINED 1 contracts or 5,000 additional oz will stand for delivery in this non active delivery month of January.

FOR FEB WE HAD A LOSS OF 22 CONTRACTS UP TO 577

FOR MARCH WE HAD A LOSS OF 2896 CONTRACTS UP TO 113,039 CONTRACTS.

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 17 for 85,000 oz

Comex volumes: 54,476// est. volume today//fair

Comex volume: confirmed YESTERDAY: 76,050 contracts (good)

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JANUARY. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 2856 x 5,000 oz =. 14,280,000 oz

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JAN (58) and the number of notices served upon today 17 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the standings for silver for the JAN./2021 contract month: 2856 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for front month of JAN (58) – number of notices served upon today (17) x 5000 oz of silver standing for the JAN contract month equates 14,485,000 oz. .

We GAINED 1 contracts or an additional 5,000 oz will stand for delivery on this side of the pond.

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

END

GLD AND SLV INVENTORY LEVELS:

GLD

JAN 25/WITH GOLD UP $10.40 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1008.45 TONNES

JAN 24/WITH GOLD UP $10.10 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: AN UNBELIEVABLE DEPOSIT OF 27.59 TONNES INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 1008.45 TONNES

JAN 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $10.80 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 980.86 TONNES

JAN 20/WITH GOLD UP $.20 TODAY: A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .58 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 980.86 TONNES

JAN 19/WITH GOLD UP $29.65 TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A DEPOSIT OF 5.27 TONNES INTO THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 981.44 TONNES

JAN 18/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.25//NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 976.21 TONNES

JAN 14/ WITH GOLD DOWN $5.25/NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 976.21 TONNES

JAN 13/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.75: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 976.21 TONNES

JAN 12/WITH GOLD UP $8.65//NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 976.21 TONNES

JAN 11/WITH GOLD UP $19.25/A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .87 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 976.21 TONNES

JAN 10/WITH GOLD UP $2.00/NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 977.08 TONNES

JAN 7/WITH GOLD UP $8.15//A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWLA OF 1.16 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 978.83 TONNES

JAN 6/WITH GOLD DOWN $35.30//A SMALL CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A WITHDRAWAL OF .32 TONNES/INVENTORY RESTS AT 979.99 TONNES

JAN 5/WITH GOLD UP $10.30: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 980.31 TONNES

Jan 4/WITH GOLD UP $14.00//A HUGE CHANGE OF 4.65 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 980.31 TONNES

JAN 3/WITH GOLD DOWN $26.70: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 975.66 TONNES

DEC 31/WITH GOLD UP $14.05 : NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 975.66 TONNES

DEC 30/WITH GOLD UP $7.75 NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 975.66 TONNES

DEC 29/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.00 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.03 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 975.66 TONNES

DEC 28/WITH GOLD UP $2.00 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 973.63 TONNES

DEC 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.05: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 973.63 TONNES.

DEC 23/WITH GOLD UP $9.85 TODAY//A HUGE CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.94 TONNES FROM THE GLD/// INVENTORY RESTS AT 973.63 TONNES

DEC 22/WITH GOLD UP $12.85 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 978.57 TONNES

DEC 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.05 TODAY, NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 978.57 TONNES

DEC 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.65 TODAY; A BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.37 TONNES INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 977.20 TONNES

DEC 17/WITH GOLD UP $7.05 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 977.20 TONNES

CLOSING INVENTORY: 1008.45 TONNES

Now the SLV Inventory/( vehicle is a fraud as there is no physical metal behind them

SLV

JAN 26/WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.311 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 535.003 MILLION OZ/

.JAN 24/WITH SILVER DOWN 48 CENTS TODAY: A MASSIVE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 4.8 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 532.692 MILLION OZ//.

JAN 21/WITH SILVER DOWN 41 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 527.792 MILLION OZ

JAN 20/WITH SILVER UP 52 CENTS TODAY: A BIG CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.998 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 527.792 MILLION OZ

JAN 19/WITH SILVER UP 71 CENTS TODAY: A BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.942 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 525.804 MILLION OZ

JAN 18/WITH SILVER UP 51 CENTS TODAY: TWO HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: 2 WITHDRAWALS OF 1.11 MILLION OZ AND 1.424 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 527.246 MILLION OZ//

JAN 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 21 CENTS: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 529.780 MILLION OZ//

JAN 13/WITH SILVER DOWN 2 CENTS: A BIG CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 832,000 OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 529.780 MILLION OZ

JAN 12/WITH SILVER UP 38 CENTS TODAY : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.612 MILLION OZ//

JAN 11/WITH SILVER UP 33 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.612 MILLION OZ/.

JAN 10/WITH SILVER UP 9 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.612 MILLION OZ//.

JAN 7/WITH SILVER UP 17 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.612 MILLION OZ//.

JAN 6/WITH SILVER DOWN 94 CENTS TODAY: A SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL PF 226,000 OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.612 MILLION OZ?/

JAN 5/WITH SILVER UP 8 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.838 MILLION OZ//

JAN 4/WITH SILVER UP 21 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.838 MILLION OZ//

JAN 3/WITH SILVER DOWN 45 CENTS TODAY: A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.219 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 530.838 MILLION OZ//

DEC 31/WITH SILVER UP 29 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 533.057 MILLION OZ//

DEC30/WITH SILVER UP 14 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.624 MILLILON OZ FROM THE SLV.//INVENTORY RESTS AT 533.057 MILLION OZ//

DEC 29/WITH SILVER DOWN 22 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 537.681 MILLION OZ/

DEC 28/WITH SILVER UP 9 CENTS TODAY; A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.682 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 537.681 MILLION OZ//

DEC 27/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 537.681

DEC 23/WITH SILVER UP 19 CENTS TODAY:A HUGE CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.202 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 537.681 MILLION OZ//

DEC 22/WITH SILVER UP 29 CENTS TODAY; A HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.202 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 538.883 MILLION OZ/

DEC 21/WITH SILVER UP 19 CENTS: A BIG CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.728 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 540.085 MILLION OZ

DEC 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 22 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 538.282 MILLION OZ

DEC 17/WITH SILVER UP 9 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 538.282 MILLION OZ//

CLOSING INVENTORY: 535.003 MILLION OZ

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER STORIES

1.PETER SCHIFF

2.LAWRIE WILLIAM//,//Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com,James RICKARDS

3.Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries

Chris Powell is the correct one on this and not Ted Butler.

(Chris Powell/Ted Butler below)

Ted Butler: JPMorgan must have ‘tricked’ Bank of America into shorting so much gold and silver

Submitted by admin on Mon, 2022-01-24 11:51 Section: Daily Dispatches

11:54a ET Monday, January 24, 2022

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Silver market analyst Ted Butler writes today that Bank of America has taken what seem huge short positions in gold and silver because the bank was “tricked in some way” by bullion bank JPMorganChase & Co.

Butler writes: “No one, no matter how dumb or misinformed, would do such a thing after careful and objective due diligence. There’s no way BofA senior management woke up one day and decided to put the organization in potential harm’s way by borrowing and selling short gold and silver in the quantities I claim. It had to be tricked in some way.

But what if the gold and silver positions attributed to the banks are not their own at all but the positions of an entity less concerned about risk — like an entity authorized to create and dispense money in infinite amounts?

What if the banks hold such astounding positions because they are only brokers for an entity or entities far larger? You know, like a government.

After all, the gold and silver futures markets in the United States, operated by CME Group, are actually designed for secret government intervention via what CME Group calls its Central Bank Incentive Program, under which governments and central banks and their agents receive volume discounts for trading all major futures contracts:

https://www.gata.org/node/18925

So it’s far less likely that Bank of America has been “tricked” here than that Butler himself has been. His analysis is headlined “Solving a Great Gold Mystery” and it’s posted at GoldSeek here:

https://goldseek.com/article/solving-great-gold-mystery

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

Solving A Great Gold Mystery

January 24, 2022

Ted Butler

Butler Research

496Shares

If there is one mystery in the gold market that I believe has eluded analysts and commentators (certainly including yours truly), it is a compelling explanation for the unprecedented and massive inflow of physical metal, more than 30 million ounces, that came to be deposited in a matter of months, starting around April 2020, into mostly the COMEX-approved gold warehouses, but also into the big gold ETF, GLD. The physical gold inflows were so large that many wrote about it extensively at the time, but none of the explanations seemed to be on the mark – my own included.

Remembering that special time, now approaching the two-year mark, there were so many unprecedented developments around that massive physical gold inflow, including a blow out in COMEX spread differentials in both gold and silver futures, so as to defy simple economics. For a short time back then, the impossible occurred, namely, the contango (the near month discount to more deferred months) grew so extreme that a significant real return was guaranteed with no risk for the first time ever (to this old-time spread trader).

Now nearly two years later, it has dawned on me what occurred back then that explains the most unusual time period ever in both gold and silver. It has occurred to me that the simple explanation for all the strange occurrences in the gold market back then was that Bank of America borrowed and sold short as many as 30 million ounces of gold and not just the 800 million oz of silver I’ve been writing about. BofA borrowing and shorting gold fits like a glove with it doing the same in silver, as I hope to explain.

Upfront, while I discovered BofA borrowing and selling short 800 million oz of silver from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s quarterly derivatives report and fitting that into what transpired in real world silver events, no such verification (or rejection) is possible in the OCC report for gold. As I’ve previously explained, the OCC moved gold into the FX derivatives category back in 2015, making it impossible to track gold OTC derivatives because the FX category is so large – measured in the trillions of dollars – so as to obscure gold developments in the same category. (At the same time gold’s removal from the precious metals category made it really simple to detect changes in silver derivatives).

The net result is that if Bank of America did borrow and sell short 30 million oz of gold, as I contend, the roughly $50 billion in cash proceeds and derivatives position that BofA ended up with as a result, wouldn’t show up in the OCC report, as BofA has held between $4 and $5 trillion in FX/gold derivatives positions since Dec 31, 2019 and $50 billion in gold derivatives simply wouldn’t stand out – as $50 billion would represent little more than 1% of BofA’s total FX/Gold category position. Therefore, my contention that Bank of America borrowed and sold short 30 million oz of physical gold in the April-June 2020 time period can be neither proven nor disproven by the OCC report alone. Then what am I basing my contention on?

First is a bit of common sense. When it comes to the idiocy and fraud of precious metals leasing/short selling, gold is always the preferred metal to borrow and sell short. This was true back in the last precious metals leasing/short sale fiasco of 20 years ago and likely remains true in today’s massive blunder by BofA. That’s because the gold price is so much higher than the price of silver, that it takes much less in ounce terms to borrow and sell short physical gold than silver. By borrowing 30 million ounces of gold, BofA ended up with around $50 billion in cash proceeds (30 million oz X $1700). BofA had to borrow and short sell 800 million oz of silver to end up with $18 billion in cash proceeds (800 million oz X $23).

Let’s face it, as dumb and dangerous as it is to borrow and sell short precious metals, there is somewhat of a perverse logic in borrowing and selling short gold rather than silver. That’s because there are billions of ounces of gold bullion in the world, 3 billion oz to be precise (plus another 3 billion oz in non-bullion equivalent form) and the 30 million oz I contend BofA is short is only 1% of all the gold bullion in the world. In silver, the 800 million oz I contend BofA is short is close to 40% of the two billion oz of world silver in 1000 oz bars – making it much more difficult to buy and deliver silver than gold.

Sure, a hundred dollar move up in gold will “cost” BofA $3 billion in adverse mark to market, but the gold market is deep enough to make it more feasible that Bank of America could limit the damage if it put its mind to it. But how the heck would it buy back 800 million oz of silver in a world where only two billion oz exist and pronounced shortage seems around the next corner?

To be fair, while the 30 million oz gold short position that I claim Bank of America holds in the OTC market is small relative to total world bullion inventories, it is still large enough that, by itself, it is much greater than the entire net commercial short position on the COMEX, the world’s leading precious metals derivatives exchange. BofA’s 30 million oz short position is equal to 300,000 COMEX gold contracts, substantially larger than the 221,000 contracts of the total commercial net short position – meaning one bank may be holding a larger short position than the combined net short position of all the commercials on the COMEX.

One of the more recent developments that points to Bank of America having borrowed and gone short 30 million oz of physical gold is that it has been, for more than a year, a big stopper of gold and silver deliveries on the COMEX in its house account (but was a big net issuer of both in December). In meaningful terms, Bank of America has, quite literally, burst upon the precious metals’ scene starting a year and a half ago, after never really participating in this market before – strongly suggestive its debut was due to a sudden and massive borrowing and short selling binge.

I continue to believe Bank of America was duped into its current predicament of being short 30 million oz of gold and 800 million oz of physical silver. No one, no matter how dumb or misinformed, would do such a thing after careful and objective due diligence. There’s no way BofA senior management woke up one day and decided to put the organization in potential harms’ way by borrowing and selling short gold and silver in the quantities I claim – it had to be tricked in some way.

As to who did the hoodwinking of BofA, you should know by now the only possible answer is JPMorgan, which also happens to be the only entity capable of such a feat. After all, I have chronicled how JPM accumulated 1.2 billion oz of physical silver and 30 million oz of physical gold on these pages over the past decade or so. And please understand that when I say JPMorgan has done this or done that, that anyone would be hard-pressed to find an ounce of silver or gold on JPM’s books – it’s all held in affiliate and nominee names. JPM knew when it embarked on its physical silver and gold accumulation plan that it must conceal and camouflage what it was doing and took great pains to hide its actual ownership from the get go.

As to why JPMorgan would go out of its way to entice and hoodwink Bank of America into borrowing and then short selling 30 million oz of gold and 800 million oz of silver, the answer is so obvious and straightforward as to be self-evident – to greatly benefit JPM primarily and, secondarily, to damage a competitor.

The benefit to JPMorgan is for it to be able to vastly increase its overall silver and gold long position in the only manner possible. By lending BofA the physical gold and silver it borrowed, JPM knew full-well that BofA would immediately short sell the borrowed metal (that’s how these nutty precious metals “loans” work) and knowing this, you can be sure that the same JPM interests which loaned the metal were in place to buy all the metal sold short by BofA. This is so criminally genius that only JPMorgan could have devised and implemented the scam. By the way, it is interesting to note that more than two-thirds of the 30 million oz inflow into the COMEX warehouses in 2020 came into just two warehouses, Brinks and, drumroll, ..…..the JPMorgan warehouse.

Of course, I’m not suggesting that JPM and its friends and family could actually increase the amount of physical metal they owned, as they are criminal geniuses not magicians of alchemy. But the net effect was that JPM owned the same amount (more or less) of physical metal after BofA sold it short (unknowingly) back to JPM as it did before the transactions – but with a giant kicker. JPMorgan as a result of its criminal cunning and duplicity, greatly increased its physical holdings by a derivatives bonus of up to 30 million gold oz and 800 million silver oz – courtesy of the dingbats at BofA. In other words, interests related to JPMorgan ended up owning the same amount of physical metal as they did all along, but augmented by a new massive derivatives long position – courtesy of BofA. In terms of criminal genius, no one comes close to JPMorgan.

As with all of the things that I’ve discovered over the decades, my imagination is nowhere near fertile enough to have dreamed up any of them on a whim. All, including this massive snookering of Bank of America by JPMorgan, are borne out in the continuing flow of public facts and data. Hard to believe, but that’s the way it is.

Perhaps the most important takeaway from the solving of a mysterious “cold case” in gold, namely, explaining how 30 million oz of gold suddenly got deposited in the Spring of 2020 into the COMEX warehouses, also explains another great mystery of the recent past. Many (most) have scratched their heads looking for an explanation for why gold and silver prices have performed so poorly over the past year or so in the face of record surges in the price of just about every asset class there is – from stocks and real estate to cryptocurrencies and collectibles of all types – including virtual reality collectibles called NFTs. Well, scratch your heads no more – the “dumping” of 30 million oz of physical gold and 800 million oz of physical silver should explain why gold and silver prices did nothing while everything else – including inflation – soared.

Of course, what I just described, the dumping and market adjustment to such massive amounts of physical gold and silver is now completed and reflected in past price performance. Now all that remains is the “other side” of leasing/short selling in which the borrower, Bank of America, must seek to “undo” its ill-conceived venture into precious metals. For gold and silver investors, that should represent the start of very good times.

As always, if Bank of America or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have a radically different explanation from mine, I would encourage both to offer that explanation.

Ted Butler

January 24, 2022

end

4.OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES

END

5.OTHER COMMODITIES/

end

Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings TUESDAY morning 7:30 AM

ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED DOWN AT 6.3299

OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.3371

HANG SANG CLOSED DOWN 412.85 PTS OR 1.67%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 457.03 PTS OR 1.66%

3. Europe stocks ALL GREEN

USA dollar INDEX UP TO 96.22/Euro FALLS TO 1.1274-

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.141/ !!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 114.04/ 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//

3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000

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

3e WTI:: 83.79 and Brent: 86.42-

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

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

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

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

3i European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund FALLS TO -.0.082%/Italian 10 Yr bond yield FALLS to 1.27% /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD RISES TO 0.64%…ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD/GERMAN BUND: 1.35: DANGEROUS FOR THE ITALIAN BANKING SYSTEM

3j Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO : 1.63

3k Gold at $1841.30 silver at: 23.74 7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3l USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 12/100 in roubles/dollar AT 78.70

3m oil into the 83 dollar handle for WTI and 86 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 114.04 DESTROYING JAPANESE CITIZENS WITH HIGHER FOOD INFLATION

30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this morning .9196– as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 1.0367 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.

USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 1.774 UP 1 BASIS PTS

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 2.121 UP 1 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 13.53

“Volatility Is Back”: Futures Resume Sliding After Historic Rollercoaster Reversal

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 08:01 AM

Following one of the greatest intraday market reversals in history, US index futures resumed their decline led by the Nasdaq, signaling more pain for richly valued technology shares as investors braced for the highly anticipated Fed meeting and a flurry of earnings as geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine persisted. Companies including GE, J&J, Verizon and Microsoft report earnings on Tuesday, as the Fed starts a two-day meeting. As of 7:30am ET, emini S&P futures were down 60 points or 1.36% to 4,343, Nasdaq futures were down 1.88% or 272 points and Dow futures were down 236 points or 0.68%. The VIX was at 33, after swinging between 29 and 39 on Monday; 10Y Treasury yields were unchanged at 1.77% and the dollar gained.

US equities swung in a rollercoaster of volatility on Monday as both underlying gauges had erased intraday losses to end the session slightly higher as dip-buyers came in. According to JPM’s trading desk, yesterday’s 5% reversal in the Nasdaq is an uncommon occurrence: “If you exclude March 2020, yesterday was the 7th 5%+ NDX reversal since GFC. The following day, markets were down 4 of the previous 6 times, with an average return of -1.6%. In 2000 – 2002 and in 2008, there are many more observations of 5% reversals, occurring 194 times during those time periods. Overall, intraday reversals of this magnitude seems to suggest more volatility rather than a directional change.” In other words, expect much more volatility. That said, the market has sent the Fed a message: an overly hawkish message tomorrow and stocks get it.

“The recent market turmoil will certainly soften the Fed’s tone, or at least prevent the Fed from sounding too hawkish,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. “The Fed can’t afford to trigger a financial crisis.”

She is right, but things are not looking too good for Powell right now as the VIX, rose for a sixth session on Tuesday, after briefly jumping intraday to the highest since October 2020 on Monday. Global equities at one point wiped almost $3 trillion on Monday, with the S&P 500 down more than 10% from a record high, before a dramatic reversal saw major U.S. benchmarks end in the green.

“Volatility is back,” Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said on Bloomberg Television. “We’re having a sea-change in terms of Fed policy. Equity investors frankly have been behind the curve in anticipating what’s coming, so there’s a lot of catch-up to do.”

In premarket trading, General Electric dropped after missing sales expectations, while International Business Machines Corp. and American Express Co. gained after posting revenue that beat forecasts. Big tech and growth stocks declined amid a slide in Nasdaq 100 Index futures, as worries linger over the prospect of Fed rate hikes and rising bond yields. Apple (AAPL US) -1.4%, Microsoft (MSFT US) -0.7%, chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA US) -2.1%, Amazon.com (AMZN US) -1.8%. IBM shares gained 3.2% after the technology company reported revenue for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate. Other notable premarket movers:

General Electric (GE) shares are down 5.9% in premarket trading on Tuesday, after the industrial conglomerate reported revenue for the fourth quarter that missed the average analyst estimate
Retail-trader favorites GameStop (GME US) and AMC (AMC US) declined in U.S. premarket trading, suggesting losses for so-called meme stocks may continue in Tuesday’s session.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA US) shares are lower in premarket trading after Bloomberg News reported it is quietly preparing to abandon its purchase of Arm Ltd. from SoftBank Group Corp. after making little to no progress in winning approval for the $40 billion chip deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
SmileDirectClub (SDC US) shares rise 8% in premarket trading after it announced plans to cut jobs and suspend operations in some countries.
Robinhood (HOOD) shares slump 3.7% in premarket trading after Mizuho analyst Dan Dolev slashed his price target on the stock to $20 from $55 previously.
Inter Parfums (IPAR US) gained in postmarket trading Monday after boosting its net sales guidance for 2022, which beat the average analyst estimate.

In Europe, equities recovered from yesterday’s selloff, grinding back to best levels after a choppy start; banks, telecoms and energy are the strongest Stoxx 600 sectors, gaining over 2%. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index up 0.6%, after being up more than 1% earlier; CAC is the marginal outperformer. Logitech jumped 11%, the most since October 2020, after the Swiss-based producer of computer accessories reported better-than-expected earnings and raised its 2022 profit outlook.

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks slumped to their lowest since November 2020 amid investor concerns over upcoming monetary-policy tightening by the Federal Reserve and rising tension between Russia and Ukraine. The MSCI AsiaPacific Index slid as much as 1.7%, driven by losses in the information-technology and financial sectors. Key benchmarks tumbled more than 2% in Japan, Australia and South Korea. China’s CSI 300 Index falls as much as 2.2%, the most since Aug. 20, driven by losses in energy and telecom shares. The gauge drops to its lowest intraday level in nearly six months. The biggest decliners include Jafron Biomedical, Lepu Medical Technology and Huaneng Power, all down more than 7%. Shanghai Composite -2.4%, Shenzhen Composite -3.2%, ChiNext -2.4%.

Ukraine-related market risk “has become a bit more real now, so investors are confused about what to do,” said Naoki Fujiwara, chief fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. “It will be a shock if Russia does make a move, so some are feeling the need to run from stocks for now.” The Asian stock benchmark is down more than 15% from its peak last February. Japan’s Topix and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 have touched correction levels, down 10% from recent highs, while key measures for in mainland China and South Korea inched closer to the 20% drop that indicates a bear market

India’s key equity gauges snapped their five-day decline to outperform Asian peers, helped by robust earnings performances of local companies ahead of the announcement of the federal budget next week. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.6% to 57,858.15 in Mumbai while the NSE Nifty 50 Index gained 0.8%, the biggest single-day surges of both since Jan. 12. The indexes erased losses of as much as 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively, earlier in the session. All but two of the 19 sector sub-indexes compiled by BSE Ltd. closed high, led by a gauge of telecom companies. The rally in Indian equities were in contrast to most cohorts in the region, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index slumping to its lowest since November 2020 amid concerns over monetary-policy tightening and rising tension between Russia and Ukraine. “The earnings season has gathered pace with revenue largely in-line with estimates, however higher commodity prices taking toll on margin and profitability to some extent,” Mitul Shah, head of research at Reliance Securities, wrote in a note.

In rates, Treasury and gilt curves all bear steepen as Monday’s haven bid fades. Treasuries are steady with yields cheaper by at least 1bp across long-end, slightly steepening the curve. 10-year TSY yields hover around 1.77%, with gilts trading almost 4bp cheaper on the sector as dealers prepare for a new 50-year bond syndication next month; spreads slightly wider with long-end marginally underperforming. A $55b 5-year note auction at 1pm ET, second of three this week, follows strong 2-year sale that drew a yield 1.2bp lower than the WI at the bidding deadline; cycle concludes with $53b 7-year notes Thursday. WI 5-year yield at ~1.568% is above auction stops since December 2019 and ~30.5bp cheaper than last month’s result. IG dollar issuance slate remains moribund, though desks expected around $20b this week. Gilts underperforming at the back end after the DMO announces a new 50y syndication due in early February. Peripheral spreads tighten, with 10y Italy narrowing 3.5bps to core as day 2 of presidential voting resumes.

In FX, Bloomberg Dollar Spot drifts back up through Monday’s best levels extending yesterday’s gains as it climbed against most of its Group-of-10 peers. The Australian dollar outperformed and was bought against the kiwi after a strong 4Q inflation report boosted yields across the curve and reinforced RBA tightening bets. Australian three-year yield jumped as much as 9bps to highest since April 2019 and all but one of 17 analysts polled by Bloomberg expect the RBA will end quantitative easing at its Feb. 1 meeting. The euro extended an overnight loss to trade below $1.13; the currency was sold for the dollar and yen after NATO said it would boost its deployments in eastern Europe to deter a new Russian invasion in Ukraine. The euro’s volatility skew shifts lower compared to a week ago as the options space tracks the spot market, where the common currency is under pressure. The pound advanced versus the euro, rebounding after it reached the weakest level against the common currency this year on Monday. The yen eased from a five-week high and Japanese government bonds traded in narrow ranges after a solid auction. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the Bank of Japan must continue with monetary easing because its 2% inflation target remains distant. RUB outperforms in EMFX, fading part of Monday’s weakness.

In commodities, crude futures tick higher. WTI adds ~$1, regaining a $84-handle, Brent pushes back above $87. Spot gold drops to about $1,838/oz. Most base metals are in the red, with LME tin down over 2.5%.

Looking at the day ahead, data releases include the Ifo’s business climate indicator from Germany for January, along with the US Conference Board’s consumer confidence indicator for January. Earnings releases include Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Communications, NextEra Energy, Texas Instruments, American Express, General Electric and Moderna. And on top of that, the IMF will be releasing their World Economic Outlook Update.

Market Snapshot

S&P 500 futures down 0.9% to 4,363.50
STOXX Europe 600 up 1.0% to 460.80
MXAP down 1.5% to 187.12
MXAPJ down 1.4% to 612.92
Nikkei down 1.7% to 27,131.34
Topix down 1.7% to 1,896.62
Hang Seng Index down 1.7% to 24,243.61
Shanghai Composite down 2.6% to 3,433.06
Sensex up 0.6% to 57,862.85
Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 2.5% to 6,961.63
Kospi down 2.6% to 2,720.39
Brent Futures up 1.3% to $87.36/bbl
German 10Y yield little changed at -0.07%
Euro down 0.3% to $1.1297
Gold spot down 0.3% to $1,838.19
U.S. Dollar Index up 0.14% to 96.05

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

Global traders already on tenterhooks over this week’s key Federal Reserve meeting were jolted further Tuesday by Australian inflation data that smashed expectations, a surprise monetary tightening in Singapore and further swings in U.S. equity futures
Western allies are pushing ahead with diplomatic efforts to avert war between Russia and Ukraine, after U.S. President Joe Biden held what he described as a “great” call with European leaders on Monday
German Ifo Institute’s business expectations gauge rose to 95.2 in January, more than economists predicted. Manufacturers saw supply bottlenecks easing at the start of the year, and even services providers were optimistic about the future — despite current curbs on activity
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office has confirmed that staff gathered to celebrate his birthday during the 2020 lockdown, adding to existing allegations of rule-breaking parties
While positive turnarounds are often viewed as a good sign, that might not be the case this time. According to calculations by Bespoke Investment Group, Monday was the sixth time since 1988 that the Nasdaq erased a 4%-plus intraday decline to close higher on the day. On previous occasions the tech-heavy gauge saw a median decline of 5.5% one month later and a drop of 7.9% three months down the line
Deutsche Bank AG turned the blame on its ex-client Palladium Group for crippling losses it suffered investing in risky foreign exchange derivatives the German lender sold

A more detailed breakdown of global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

In Asia, markets were heavily pressured after yesterday’s whirlwind session in the US. ASX 200 (-2.5%) slumped with losses exacerbated as firm CPI supports RBA tightening calls. Nikkei 225 (-1.7%) briefly fell beneath 27,000 for the first time since August last year. KOSPI (-2.6%) ignored strong GDP as South Korea reported record daily COVID-19 cases and North Korea fired cruise missiles.
Hang Seng (-1.7%) and Shanghai Comp. (-2.5%) conformed to the downbeat mood with Hong Kong dragged by notable losses in its tech sector and with Chinese property names also subdued amid ongoing Evergrande woes

Top Asian News

Asian Stocks Slump to 14-Month Low on Concerns Over Fed, Ukraine
Bear Markets, Corrections Loom for Many Asian Stock Gauges
Shimao Dollar Bonds Jump on Asset Sale Report: Evergrande Update
Korea Considering Fully Resuming Short-Selling in 1H: Yonhap

European bourses are firmer taking the lead from the resurgence in Wall St. trade that they failed to benefit from yesterday, Euro Stoxx 50 +0.7. Sectors are all in the green in Europe though defensives are the relative laggards. Stateside, US futures are pressured with the NQ (-1.4%) the current underperformer after yesterday’s turnaround and as yields climb Volkswagen (VOW3 GY) is to collaborate with Bosch on automated driving software, could be sold to other autos in the future. Level 2 ‘hands free’ technology to be deployed in the Volkswagen fleet in 2023. Nvidia (NVDA) is said to be preparing to ditch its takeover of Arm, according to reports; subsequently, a spokesperson states that they continue to hold views expressed in detail in the latest regulatory filing.

Top European News

Deutsche Bank Blames Client in $565 Million FX Mis-Selling Suit
Oil Buyers Snap Up Diesel-Rich Crude as Omicron Fears Abate
Swedish Sex-Toy Retailer Purefun Seeks SEK250m Valuation in IPO
Kuwait Refers Army Officers for Prosecution in Eurofighter Deal

In FX, the DXY nudges further over 96.000 as hawkish FOMC expectations overshadow less supportive risk dynamics, but the Franc loses safe haven appeal across the board in what appears to be an orchestrated effort to curb demand. Euro fails to benefit from a better than expected German Ifo survey on balance, as technical impulses and yield differentials weigh. Pound relatively resilient as policy probe PM Johnson and Tory party for potential lockdown breaching events. Loonie holds off lows awaiting BoC amidst forecasts for an early hike. Aussie also underpinned by further predictions for the RBA to bring forward tightening after stronger than anticipated Q4 inflation data. CBRT opens a gold swap auction via the traditional method for 20/T of gold, three-month maturity.

In commodities, WTI and Brent March contracts have continued to nurse yesterday’s losses, with the benchmarks picking up further with geopolitics around Ukraine, China and North Korea dominating newsflow. WTI March is back on a USD 84/bbl handle (vs USD 83.43 intraday low) while its Brent counterpart reclaims USD 87/bbl from a USD 86.50/bbl daily low. Spot gold and silver are subdued amid USD upside, and as such remain comfortable above a number of DMAs that have drawn recent focus; while LME Copper is modestly softer in familiar ranges

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

At one point yesterday it felt like we were in a full blown crisis let alone a recession. At Europe closed their laptops down the S&P was as much as -3.98% lower, which would have been the worst daily return since June 2020. The NASDAQ was -4.90% lower, the worst potential close since September 2020. However at that point Manic Monday turned and remarkably the S&P 500 (+0.28%) and NASDAQ (+0.63%) closed higher. The volatility continues this morning though with S&P 500 futures down -1.1% and Nasdaq futures -1.4%. Note that earning season starts to get going with some momentum today. The highlights of those reporting are in the day ahead at the end but Microsoft is probably the biggest and most important.

This morning Asian markets are trying to come to terms with the sharp down, sharp up and then down move and are trading lower. The Kospi (-2.86%), Nikkei (-2.14%), Hang Seng (-1.59%), Shanghai Composite (-1.12%) and CSI (-0.80%) are all around the lows for the session as we type. It could be all change by the time you read this though.

Reviewing the US session in more detail now and cyclical sectors staged an impressive rebound, led by discretionary (+1.21%), energy (+0.55%), and industrials (+0.53%) stocks while defensives lagged, with the three worst performing sectors being utilities (-1.03%), health care (-0.37%), and consumer staples (-0.35%). Itwas interesting that the reversal was so broad-based. With a market this concentrated among mega-cap stocks, it’s usually safe to assume a few big names drove the changes in the headline index, but the FANG+ index was actually lower by -0.91%. Amazon was emblematic of the broader move, however, declining more than -5% intraday before finishing +1.33% in the green, but it looks like its fortunes were tied with the broader recovery in discretionary stocks than its status as a mega-cap. At the end of the day, 320 stock prices advanced. Much like the turns-for-the-worse last week, the reversal in fortunes came absent a clear catalyst, which is much more common when volatility is this high. Speaking of this the Vix index of volatility also took an intraday round trip, increasing +10.08pts before ending the day just +1.27pts higher at a still-elevated 30.12pts, right around levels seen during the initial Omicron outbreak.

This late rally left European bourses behind, with the STOXX 600’s decline (-3.81%) marking it the worst daily performance since June 2020, with indices slumping across the continent including the DAX (-3.80%), the CAC 40 (-3.97%) and the FTSE MIB (-4.02%). After the US rebound but the Asian falls Stoxx futures are only +0.7%.

The current high volatility in markets comes as the FOMC are set to begin their two-day policy deliberations today.

The year-to-date selloff in risk assets was sparked by the release of the December FOMC minutes in the first week of January, when investors took fright at the possibility of a more hawkish Fed over the coming months. So will Powell change the mood tomorrow night? With inflation at 7% that’s tough but we might get an idea of how much financial conditions tightening will frighten the Fed and how much they are actually comfortable with.

While markets are certainly concerned about the Fed and other central banks right now, the market also has to contend with the backdrop of an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment, with tensions ratcheting up continuously between Russia and the West. Reports note both sides are increasing their troop presence and putting current troops on higher alert within the region, while western leaders including Presidents Biden and Macron, Chancellor Scholz, and Prime Minister Johnson reportedly had a productive call on western cooperation on Ukraine issues. Separately, there was a meeting of EU foreign ministers that was joined by US Secretary of State Blinken, and the EU reiterated its warning that “any further military aggression by Russia against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe costs”. The latest developments saw Russian assets lose further ground yesterday, with the Ruble down -1.68% against the US Dollar, whilst Russian equities underperformed globally, with the MOEX Russia index down -5.93% by the close but before the US bounce. Meanwhile European natural gas futures surged again given the higher perceived risk of conflict, with the benchmark future up by +17.75%. For those wanting further info, our colleagues in CEEMEA research put out a note on this last week (link here).

Back to yesterday, and there were few places in markets immune to yesterday’s volatility, with oil prices giving up a decent chunk of their recent gains from the European afternoon. By the close, Brent Crude was down -1.84% and WTI had shed -2.15%, marking the worst day of 2022 so far for both of them. Indeed, commodities more broadly lost ground, with copper down -2.14%, which is often taken to be a key industrial bellwether. Oil is back up around +0.5% this morning.

Amidst the woes for markets more broadly, sovereign bonds were fairly subdued, with the long-end of the Treasury curve selling off from intraday lows in line with the turn in risk. Yields on 10yr Treasuries increased +1.3bps to 1.77% (1.755% in Asian), with real yields declining -3.8bps but breakevens cancelled out the decline by rebounding alongside equities late in the afternoon, ending the day +4.9bps higher. Breakevens moved with risk assets on the day, so the price action seemed to reflect the broader growth outlook rather than incremental updates to the Fed’s inflation-fighting bona fides, having already declined -22.9bps from the start of the year’s hawkish pivot.

In line with the turn in risk, the 2s10s US yield curve bounced from intraday lows of 70.3 bps to increase +4.5bps to 79.5bps at the close. However it’s back down to 74.5bps in Asia but 2-3bps of this is a 2yr benchmark change. The rally in the front end of the curve left the market pricing 3.83 Fed hikes this year, the lowest level in more than a week. Faith in the Fed put is alive and well. The probability of March liftoff dipped as well, with the market pricing 98.5% chance of a rate hike. As I wrote in my latest chartbook, the 2s10s is one of the best recessionary indicators and a classic late-cycle signal, and it’s lost around half its steepness in less than a year, having peaked at 157.6bps at the end of Q1 2021. However don’t let’s get too ahead of ourselves. It hasn’t inverted yet so recession is likely someway off yet even if we’re moving in that direction. Over in Europe, sovereign bond yields wound up the day a little lower, having missed the late selloff, with those on 10yr bunds (-4.2bps to -0.11%), OATs (-2.8bps) and gilts (-4.5bps) seeing declines, thus coming off their recent highs last week that saw 10yr bund yields back in positive territory at one point in trading.

Staying on Europe, our economists updated their ECB call yesterday (link here), and are now expecting liftoff to begin in December 2022 with a 25bp hike. Given the latest upgrading of their inflation forecasts, this means that the ECB’s “triple lock” criteria for liftoff will be met earlier, potentially as soon as the end of this year, with the ECB set to act at the start of this window. And as well as bringing forward the timing of liftoff, they’ve also accelerated the pace of tightening, and now see 25bp hikes in the deposit rate each quarter until rates hit +0.5% in September 2023, followed by less frequent hikes.

Earlier this morning, South Korea’s Q4 GDP expanded +1.1% q/q, in line with market expectations, up from a +0.3% rise in the third quarter. For the full year, the economy grew +4.0%, recording the fastest pace of growth since 2010 buoyed by a jump in exports and corporate investments and rebounded from the previous year’s -0.9%.

Given the array of other events yesterday, the flash PMIs for January took a bit of a backseat relative to normal. They showed a fairly divergent picture across the global economy, with surprises to the upside and downside depending on the country. For the Euro Area as a whole, the composite PMI fell to an 11-month low of 52.4 (vs. 52.6 expected). However, that came as the manufacturing PMI rose unexpectedly to 59.0 (vs. 57.5 expected), whereas the services PMI fell to 51.2 (vs. 53.1 expected). In Germany, there was a significant upside surprise as the composite PMI rose to 54.3 (vs. 49.4 expected), but France’s fell back to 52.7 (vs. 54.7 expected), as did the UK’s to 53.4 (vs. 54.0 expected). Over in the US, there were downside surprises there too, with the services PMI down to an 18-month low of 50.9 (vs. 55.4 expected).

To the day ahead now, and data releases include the Ifo’s business climate indicator from Germany for January, along with the US Conference Board’s consumer confidence indicator for January. Earnings releases include Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Communications, NextEra Energy, Texas Instruments, American Express, General Electric and Moderna. And on top of that, the IMF will be releasing their World Economic Outlook Update.

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)TUESDAY MORNING// MONDAY NIGHT

3 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA

///NORTH KOREA

3B JAPAN

end

3c CHINA

CHINA/

China’s empty buildings

(Davidson/EpochTimes)

China Builds 27 Empty New York Cities

Commentary by James Dale Davidson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

As of 2016, China’s empty apartment units could house New York City 27 times over.Skyline of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, China, in this undated photo. (Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images)

What does this mean to you? There are a lot of carry-on effects from wasting so many resources. As you delve into a thought exercise to get more acquainted with the ruinous consequences of credit bubbles, be grateful that you don’t really have to worry about malicious genies magically tagging you with mortgaged deeds.

That could be scary. Imagine that some cruel genie took a perverse dislike to you. What worse instance of malevolent magic could the genie perform than to present you with deeds to the astonishing inventory of 70 million empty apartments structures accumulating dust throughout China.

You might think it would make you a billionaire, a real estate magnate on par with Donald Trump. But think again.

This may be a good moment to retell an uncharacteristically charming story Trump told on himself, dating to the savings and loan crisis (S&L crisis) of the late 1980s and early 1990s. That was a time when 1,043 out of the 3,234 savings and loan associations in the United States failed as they tried to digest billions in over-mortgaged real estate properties.

At that time, Trump found himself walking the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan one evening with his girlfriend of the moment. As they walked, they came upon a bum in a tattered peacoat lying on a grate. Trump remarked to his companion, “That guy has $1 billion more than I do.” She responded, “But he doesn’t look like he has a penny.” Trump replied, “He doesn’t.”

When he said that, Trump’s fortune was hostage to the banks to which he owed about a billion dollars more than his properties would have realized in a fire sale. I describe this “as an uncharacteristically charming story” because Trump is hardly famous for making jokes at his own expense. Nonetheless, he confirmed to me in a conversation that the above account I share with you is valid. It shows Trump humorously acknowledging the implications of double-entry bookkeeping at his best.

With that in mind, how could you afford to pay the construction mortgages on 70 million apartment units with no residents deeded to you by the evil genie? A challenging question. You would have to do some fast talking with the Chinese banks of the sort Trump managed with New York banks decades ago during the S&L crisis.

Your only hope of avoiding being sucked into a black hole of debt defaults would be to hire some creative scoundrels disguised as accountants to help you persuade the banks to lend you additional billions (or more probably, trillions) to postpone the day of reckoning. Note that the extent to which you could succeed would only worsen the ultimate malinvestment problem. Your assets would not be enhanced in any way by being encumbered with additional debt. They would just become more costly.

Could you keep kiting the debt?

A $36.4 Trillion Question?

That is at least a $36.4 trillion question. Maybe a $45.9 trillion, or possibly even a $116.6 trillion question. The correct answer depends on China’s actual debt level. Unlike Trump’s challenge of three decades ago when the systemic debt issue was denominated in billions of dollars, the Chinese bad debt problem is 1,000 times worse.

Forbes reports the estimate of Professor Victor Shih of the University of California San Diego. Shih believes that Chinese official debt figures have proven woefully inadequate.

A $45.9 Trillion Question?

In 2017, Shih put total Chinese debt at 328 percent of GDP (reported at $14 trillion), therefore $45.9 trillion. According to Shih, “total interest payments from June 2016 to June 2017 exceeded the incremental increase in nominal GDP by roughly 8 trillion RMB.”

If so, that hints that the end is near. However, as rough as that sounds, the actual situation may be even worse.

Or a $116.6 Trillion Question?

If you are a connoisseur of forbidden truths, as I am, you don’t take official figures at face value. You keep digging for tells that reveal the real story. I am convinced that Chinese government statistics are as bogus as those in the United States. And more so.An aerial view shows the Evergrande Changqing community in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Sept. 26, 2021. (Getty Images)

Professor Christopher Balding of HSBC Business School, Peking University, an authority with good sources in the People’s Bank of China’s (PBOC) Financial Stability Board, recently did some subversive arithmetic combining “on balance sheet assets” with “off-balance sheet assets.” Remember, while debts are liabilities to the borrowers, they are assets to the lenders.

He concludes that total debt in China is a breathtaking 833 percent of GDP. That means a debt of roughly $116.6 trillion.

Wow. Just wow!

The actual debt level could be three and a half times higher than suggested by official figures. The National Development and Reform Commission says Chinese debt amounts to 260 percent of GDP ($36.4 trillion). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) accepts a lower official estimate of 230 percent. But suppose Balding’s report of 833 percent is correct. In that case, this is a matter of capital importance to the world economy and your investments.

Annual Interest Payments of 29 Percent of GDP?

Remember, interest rates in China are not as minuscule as those in the United States or negative as those in Europe and Japan. Assume the average interest rate paid equals the short-term interbank deposit rate of 3.5 percent. Balding observes, “this would imply financial services costs to the economy of 29% nominal GDP.” A large nut to crack. Even Chinese growth rates would not come close to covering annual carrying costs of 29 percent.

Is it possible that Balding is right?

Yes. I see several hints that he is.

Are Official Financial Figures Wildly Wrong?

For one thing, almost every Chinese bankruptcy case brings evidence of undisclosed liabilities of individual companies. Balding observes, “it is common to find enormous amounts of undisclosed debts or (Enron-like) asset management products in Chinese bankruptcies or defaults.”

This underscores the suspicion that the actual level of debt has been low-balled. In Balding’s words, it also means that “official on balance sheet financial figures are wildly wrong with disastrous consequences.” He warns, “This implies that we need to rethink the entire story of Chinese development and finance since probably about 2000.”

Balding continues: “Excessive indebtedness is distributed in virtually every sector of the economy. Before, if there was a shock to the corporate sector, householders and the government could step in and help. However, virtually no sector of the Chinese economy does not have an enormous indebtedness. Distributing it throughout simply lowers the capacity to handle a shock.”

‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished’

Speaking of “shocks,” you should not be shocked to learn that Balding was fired from his post at Peking University after discussing his conclusion—based on PBOC data—that total debt in China has surged to 833 percent of nominal GDP.

In a corrupt world, where people have trillions of reasons to lie about the economy (and some have no doubt lost their lives for failing to heed them), the firing of Professor Balding is as close as you can expect to come to official confirmation that his numbers are correct.

A way of restating Balding’s revelations is that no one knows who owes what to whom or how much can be settled before the whole Chinese house of cards collapses. Estimates of bad debt in the Chinese banking system run as high as 50 percent of GDP—or about $7 trillion. Far more than enough to make the banking system insolvent.

A collapse of China’s asset bubble lies ahead. I doubt any Chinese tycoons are strolling the streets of Shanghai with their girlfriends, making jokes about street people being a trillion yuan richer than they are. That underscores a problem when the government of a country enlarges debt to magnitudes beyond the scale of assets held by even the wealthiest persons. That makes it all the more unlikely that mortgaged assets can be redeemed from hock while encumbered by anything like their current level of debt.

end

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

//EUROPE/COVID/

WHO chief correctly states that Europe is moving towards an “endemic” instead of “pandemic”

(Watson/SummitNews)

WHO Chief Says Europe Moving Towards Pandemic “Endgame”

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 03:30 AM

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s Europe director, says the continent is moving towards an “endgame” scenario, in another sign that Omicron heralds the beginning of the end of the pandemic.

Despite record cases being recorded in multiple different countries, Kluge told AFP that the milder nature of Omicron means COVID-19 could finally be on the path towards becoming endemic.

“It’s plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame,” said Kluge.
“There will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality,” he added.

The health official predicted that there will now be a sustained period of declining case numbers, or “quiet” as he called it, before, “Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back.”

Kluge noted that hospitals will now be able to focus on people who have missed urgent health screenings due to lockdown measures.

“Stabilizing means that the health system is no longer overwhelmed due to Covid-19 and can continue with the essential health services, which have unfortunately been really disrupted for cancer, cardiovascular disease, and routine immunization,” he said.

Despite the pandemic being on its way out, technocrats are still attempting to entrench the ‘new normal’ that arrived with the initial response to the virus.

In Scotland, for example, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon asserted that mandatory mask rules could remain in place for years.

As we document in the video below, while the pandemic may be coming to an end, the conversation about the devastating and continued impact of lockdown restrictions should definitely not cease.

* * *

Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

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end

Police launch partygate probe

(zerohedge)

Police Launch ‘Partygate’ Probe As No. 10 Insists Report On Illicit Gatherings Will Arrive In Days

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 09:30 AM

Following the revelation of yet another ‘illegal’ party at 10 Downing Street (this time, a truncated lockdown-busting birthday celebration for the PM attended by his wife and interior decorator, along with the usual office staff), London’s Metropolitan Police have decided to insert themselves into the biggest scandal to rock British politics in years.

According to the New York Times, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick confirmed on Tuesday that the police are investigating “a number of events that took place at Downing Street and Whitehall in the last two years in relation to potential breaches of COVID regulations” although she declined to give further details. In response to the news, PM Boris Johnson told reporters that no details from the police investigation will be included in the report produced by the Sue Gray investigation.

Other officials said earlier on Tuesday that they expect the results of the Gray investigation, which is being led by a longtime civil servant Sue Gray (deemed a figure of public trust), to be released during the coming days. BoJo has repeatedly exhorted his fellow MPs to withhold their judgment until the release of the Gray report, which many expect will be scathing, given Gray’s reputation as somebody who doesn’t really pull punches. A spokesman for the PM later said that at least some of the details from the report would be made available in the coming days.

Before the Metropolitan Police disclosed the existence of the investigation, some had speculated that the involvement of the police could delay the Gray report potentially by a week, or even weeks. This could create serious problems for BoJo in his quest to “Save Big Dog” by putting the issue behind him.

As the NYT explains, “[p]olice officers who guard the Downing Street complex are in a particularly good position to monitor the comings and goings of staff members.” But the notion that the police involvement would truly spell trouble for the PM probably still seems remote to many.

At this point, an unknown number of Conservative lawmakers have submitted confidential letters demanding a vote of confidence in the prime minister. If the number of letters exceeds 54 – a fate that unfortunately befell Johnson’s predecessor, the previous Conservative PM Theresa May – BoJo would face a potentially crippling vote of confidence.

We noted earlier that public anger surrounding what the Brits are calling “Partygate” (it has involved nearly a dozen parties) seems to have reached a fever pitch. BoJo’s Wikipedia article has been repeatedly altered as a result to change his job title to “Chief Party Planner”.https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=eyJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2hvcml6b25fdHdlZXRfZW1iZWRfOTU1NSI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJodGUiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3NwYWNlX2NhcmQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib2ZmIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH19&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1485708729601433604&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fgeopolitical%2Fpolice-launch-partygate-probe-no-10-insists-report-illicit-gatherings-will-arrive-days&sessionId=99c3b6bd4710d34ed182148b2b99ed8f9443f269&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=75b3351%3A1642573356397&width=550px

That’s bad news for a formerly PM, although it hasn’t stopped him from finally rolling back the last of England’s “Plan B” COVID restrictions.

END

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

IRAN/USA

USA will hold direct talks with Iran

(zerohedge)

Nuke Deal Breakthrough? Iran & US Considering Direct Talks As Momentum Builds

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 02:45 AM

The US State Department issued a Monday statement reaffirming it is finally willing to hold “direct talks” with Iran as nuclear negotiations with world powers proceed positively in Vienna. While for months last year talks remained stalled after the more hardline government of Ebrahim Raisi came to power in Tehran, things appear to have progressed rapidly in recent weeks, leading now to this potential breakthrough.

“We are prepared to meet directly,” a State Department spokesperson said Monday. Throughout Vienna talks, US officials have only dealt with Iran indirectly via European intermediaries. “We have long held the position that it would be more productive to engage with Iran directly, on both JCPOA negotiations and other issues,” the spokesperson said. AFP image

The State Dept. official said further that direct engagement would allow “more efficient communication” enabling the two sides to possibly reach a restored JCPOA nuclear deal, which the Trump administration had unilaterally pulled the US out of in 2018. The Islamic Republic has consistently demanded that Washington drop all sanctions, which has decimated its economy and left it severely isolated on a global stage.

The US has still expressed its unwillingness to remain at the table for long: “Given the pace of Iran’s nuclear advances, we are almost out of time to reach an understanding on mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA,” the official was quoted further as saying.

While acknowledging that it’s yet to reach the point of direct talks with the US, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has responded by saying the Iranians are indeed open to such engagement:

“Reports saying that Iran and the US are directly negotiating with one another are untrue,” Amirabdollahian said during a news conference in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
“However, if we get to a stage where reaching a good deal with strong guarantees necessitates direct talks with the US, we will consider it.”

Starting last month, the Biden admin’s special envoy for Iran Robert Malley said for the first time that American diplomats remained willing to meet their Iranian counterparts “at any time and any place” – which appears to have got the ball rolling toward that end.

Up to this point, Iran had rejected the possibility of dealing with the US side directly, saying that Washington alone had collapsed the JCPOA nuclear deal. So far it’s only dealt with the remaining signatories in Vienna. Tehran had also demanded as a precondition the US return to compliance by removing all Trump-era and additional sanctions. It appears the US side has hinted it is ready to deal seriously on this point, but concerns remain over Iran long ago breaching uranium enrichment caps stipulated under the original deal as talks had stalled.

But there’s still reason for serious caution, and a bumpy negotiating road still ahead, as the latest Wall Street Journal reporting suggests, severe disagreement remains within the US negotiating team…

end

UKRAINE/RUSSIA/USA/ EU/UK/NATO

The idiot Biden puts 8,500 troops on “prepare to deploy” orders

(zerohedge)

Biden Puts 8,500 Troops On “Prepare To Deploy” Orders Over Ukraine Crisis

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 04:38 PM

The Biden administration on Monday afternoon has put multiple thousands of US troops on “standby” after earlier it was reported the White House is mulling transferring forces from Western to Eastern Europe amid the continued Ukraine showdown with Russia.

US officials confirmed the standby orders to The Wall Street Journal, calling them “prepare to deploy orders” which were issued to troops at “several U.S.-based installations” according to the statement. They would be ready in the instance of a NATO request.

Separately Pentagon spokesman John Kirby cautioned in a press briefing that there’s as yet been “no decision to deploy forces at this time” but instead said it’s about “sending a strong message about NATO commitment.” He said, “We’re going to do this in lockstep with them… this is really about reassuring the Eastern flank of NATO.”US troops at base in Poland, illustrative file: Reuters

Amid the continued breathless reports of NATO countries beefing up military presence on its Eastern flank, Kirby did say that at this point the US is “not ruling out intratheater movement” of troops in Europe.

In terms of numbers, Kirby cited that a whopping 8,500 troops could potentially deploy. “All told, the number of forces that the secretary has placed on heightened alert comes up to about 8,500 personnel,” Kirby said. Further, The Hill reports the fresh statements as follows:

The Pentagon is readying up to 8,500 U.S. troops to potentially deploy to Europe as Russia ratchets up its aggression towards Ukraine.
“The United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us, our allies, or partners,” Press secretary John Kirby told reporters Monday.
In light of that and at the direction of President Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “has placed a range of units in the United States on a heightened preparedness to deploy, which increases our readiness to provide forces if NATO should activate the [NATO Response Force} or if other situations developed.”

However, as WSJ pointed out, “The Pentagon hasn’t said under which circumstances the U.S. would deploy the troops, but officials said it could send a signal to Russia that the U.S. would quickly bolster the defenses of NATO allies in the event of a Russian incursion into Ukraine.”

“The troops could also be on standby should the U.S. decide they are needed to evacuate tens of thousands of Americans now residing in Ukraine, the officials said,” the report continued. “The forces won’t be authorized to enter Ukraine, U.S. officials said, but they could be used to support any such contingency. Many of the forces must be prepared to move within 18 to 36 hours, U.S. officials said.” Clearly the Afghan evacuation debacle and humiliation of last August, including dead American troops, is still looming large in defense officials’ minds.

To translate this latest flurry of statements out of the administration and the Pentagon, which included Kirby stating “there’s still time for diplomacy” – at a moment the Russian and US sides continue direct talks this week in Europe… the atmosphere of heightened fear, ‘high alerts’, and endless posturing will likely only continue until a diplomatic breakthrough or deal is reached. Meanwhile, even officials in Kiev are starting to call the constant heightened rhetoric out of Washington and London a massive overreaction.

END

6// GLOBAL COVID ISSUES/VACCINE MANDATE ISSUES/

CORONAVIRUS/UPDATE/VACCINE MANDATE

a must read..

(Harvey Risch/Paul Alexander/Jay Bhattacharya)

The Emergency Must Be Ended, Now

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 06:30 PM

Op-ed authored by Harvey Risch, Paul E. Alexander and Jay Bhattacharya via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The time has come to terminate the pandemic state of emergency. It’s time to end the controls, the closures, the restrictions, the plexiglass, the stickers, the exhortations, the panic-mongering, the distancing announcements, the ubiquitous commercials, the forced masking, the vaccine mandates.A voter stands on a social distance marker outside the Washington County Election Center in Hagerstown, Md., on Oct. 26, 2020, for the first day of in-person early voting. (Colleen McGrath/The Herald-Mail via AP)

We don’t mean that the virus is gone—Omicron is still spreading wildly, and the virus may circulate forever. But with a normal focus on protecting the vulnerable, we can treat the virus as a medical rather than a social matter and manage it in ordinary ways. A declared emergency needs continuous justification, and that’s now lacking.

Over the last six weeks in the United States, the Delta variant strain—the most recent aggressive version of the infection—has according to the CDC been declining in both the proportion of infections (60 percent on Dec. 18 to 0.5 percent on Jan. 15) and the number of daily infected people (95,000 to 2,100). During the next two weeks, Delta will decline to the point that it essentially disappears like the strains before it.

Omicron is mild enough that most people, even many high-risk people, can adequately cope with the infection. Omicron infection is no more severe than seasonal flu, and generally less so. A large portion of the vulnerable population in the developed world is already vaccinated and protected against severe disease. We have learned much about the utility of inexpensive supplements like Vitamin D to reduce disease risk, and there’s a host of good therapeutics available to prevent hospitalization and death should a vulnerable patient become infected. And for younger people, the risk of severe disease—already low before Omicron—is minuscule.

Even in places with strict lockdown measures, there are hundreds of thousands of newly registered Omicron cases daily and countless unregistered positives from home testing. Measures like mandatory masking and distancing have had negligible or at most small effects on transmission. Large-scale population quarantines only delay the inevitable. Vaccination and boosters have not halted Omicron disease spread; heavily vaccinated nations like Israel and Australia have more daily cases per capita than any place on earth at the moment. This wave will run its course despite all of the emergency measures.

Until Omicron, recovery from COVID provided substantial protection against subsequent infection. While the Omicron variant can reinfect patients recovered from infection by previous strains, such reinfection tends to produce mild disease. Future variants, whether evolved from Omicron or not, are unlikely to evade the immunity provided by Omicron infection for a long while. With the universal spread of Omicron worldwide, new strains will likely have more difficulty finding a hospitable environment because of the protection provided to the population by Omicron’s widespread natural immunity.

It’s true that—despite emergency measures—hospitalization counts and COVID-associated mortality have risen. Since mortality tends to trail symptomatic infection by about 3–4 weeks, we’re still seeing the Delta strain’s remaining effects and the waning of vaccine immunity against serious outcomes at 6–8 months after vaccination. These cases should decline over time as Delta finally says goodbye. It’s too late to alter their course with lockdowns (if that were ever possible).

Given that Omicron, with its mild infection, is running its course to the end, there’s no justification for maintaining emergency status. The lockdowns, personnel firings, and shortages and school disruptions have done at least as much damage to the population’s health and welfare as the virus.

The state of emergency isn’t justified now, and it can’t be justified by fears of a hypothetical recurrence of some more severe infection at some unknown point in the future. If such a severe new variant were to occur—and it seems unlikely from Omicron—then that would be the time to discuss a declaration of emergency.

Americans have sacrificed enough of their human rights and of their livelihoods for two years in the service of protecting the general public health. Omicron is circulating but it’s not an emergency. The emergency is over. The current emergency declaration must be canceled. It’s time.

From the Brownstone Institute

end

CANADA

This should be interesting: 50,000 truckers are headed towards Ottawa

(zerohedge)

Truckers Head To Ottawa In ‘Freedom Rally’ Against Vaccine Mandate

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 06:50 PM

The cross-border vaccine mandates for truckers in/out of Canada have caused a stir among the trucking community. By Sunday, truckers from around the country embarked in several convoys headed to Ottawa, Canada’s capital, to protest a federal vaccine mandate, according to CBC News.

Called the “Freedom Rally” against the federal mandate for cross-border truckers, Canadian truck drivers are furious with the Jan. 15 order to force unvaxxed drivers into two-week quarantine and COVID-19 testing before crossing into Canada.

At least 26,000 out of the 160,000 (16.3%) drivers who make frequent trips, hauling goods across the Canada-US will be sidelined. The convoy began one day after the US required truck drivers at border crossings with Canada to be fully vaccinated.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help drivers participating in the rally cover expenses like fuel and food. By Monday, over 40,500 people donated to the cause, raising more than CAD 3 million.

Organizers of the rally said, “to our fellow Canadians, the time for political over reach is over.”

Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods. Canadians have been integral to the fabric of humanity in many ways that have shaped the planet.
We are a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from tyrannical governments who oppressed their people, and now it seems it is happening here. We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people. Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It’s our duty as Canadians to put an end to these mandates. It is imperative that this happens because if we don’t, our country will no longer be the country we have come to love. We are doing this for our future Generations and to regain our lives back.
We are asking for donations to help with the costs of fuel first, and hopefully food and lodgings to help ease the pressures of this arduous task.
It’s a small price to pay for our freedoms. We thank you all for your Donations and know that you are helping reshape this once beautiful country back to the way it was.
In order for your generous donations to flow smoothly, the good people at Go Fund Me will be sending donations directly to our bulk fuel supplier and are working out the details now which means your hard-earned money is going to straight to who it was meant for and need not flow through anyone else. Any leftover donations will be donated to a credible Veterans organization which will be chosen by the donors.

The goal of the convoy is to arrive in Ottawa later this week and create a large enough presence to demand lawmakers to put an end to the mandate.

Sidelining truckers on the Canada-US border has been a perfect storm for already stressed supply chains. Some supermarkets are already reporting rising food inflation and shortages of certain products.

Undoubtedly, this will bring more pressure in terms of bottlenecks and the availability of truck drivers to traverse the border as the number of eligible drivers shrinks due to the mandate.

Here are some views from the ground of the convoy rolling down highways to Ottawa.

We still don’t know how bad the disruption will be. Still, considering a significant amount of fresh fruits and vegetables flow across North American borders, it could be a logistics nightmare if the mandates on both sides of the border aren’t repealed.

END

Peer reviewed research study proves Ivermectin works against COVID 19

(FLCCCAlliance)

Large, Peer-Reviewed Research Study Proves Ivermectin Works Against COVID-19

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 11:50 PM

Via FLCCC Alliance,

The results are in from the world’s largest study of ivermectin for COVID-19.Brazil has had over 23 million cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with a 97% recovery rate.

Researchers in Brazil found that regular use of ivermectin as a prophylactic agent was associated with significantly reduced COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and mortality rates.

The study was conducted in Itajaí, a port city in the state of Santa Catarina, between July and December 2020. Study authors include FLCCC physicians Dr. Flavio Cadegiani and Dr. Pierre Kory. Lead author Dr. Lucy Kerr was approached by the mayor of Itajaí, after the city began to experience a severe outbreak of COVID.

The entire population of Itajaí was invited to participate in the program, which involved a medical visit to compile baseline, personal, demographic, and medical information. In the absence of contraindications, ivermectin was offered as a preventative treatment, to be taken for two consecutive days every 15 days at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day.

Of the 223,128 citizens of Itajaí considered for the study, a total of 159,561 subjects elected to participate: over 70% opted to take ivermectin, and 23% chose not to.

Reduced infection and hospitalization rates

The study found a 44% reduction in COVID-19 infection rate in favor of the group that took ivermectin (3.5% versus 8.2%).

In cases where a participating citizen of Itajaí became ill with COVID-19, they were recommended not to use ivermectin or any other medication in early outpatient treatment. Of those who did become infected, two equal-sized, highly matched groups (one that used ivermectin as a prophylaxis and one that did not) were compared. The regular use of preventative ivermectin led to a 68% reduction in COVID-19 mortality (0.8% versus 2.6%), and a 56% reduction in hospitalization rate (1.6% versus 3.3%).The regular use of preventative ivermectin led to a reduction in COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and mortality.

Study methods

Since vaccines were not available at the time, and few prophylactic alternatives existed in the absence of vaccines, Itajaí initiated a population-wide government program for COVID-19 prophylaxis. This was a prospective observational study that allowed subjects to self-select between treatment vs. non-treatment. The use of ivermectin was optional and based on patients’ preferences, given its benefits as a preventative agent was unproven.

To ensure the safety of the population, a computer program was developed to compile and maintain all relevant demographic and clinical data. All subjects were weighed to be able to accurately calculate the correct dose of ivermectin. In addition, a brief medical evaluation was conducted to record past medical history, comorbidities, use of medications and contraindications to drugs.

The following variables were analyzed and adjusted as confounding factors or used for balancing and matching groups for propensity score matching:

Age
Sex
Previous diseases (myocardial infarction and stroke)
Pre-existing comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, cancer [any type], and other pulmonary diseases)
Smoking

Patients who presented signs or the diagnosis of COVID-19 before July 7, 2020, were excluded from the sample. Other exclusion criteria included contraindications to ivermectin and age (subjects below 18 years of age were excluded).

During the study, subjects who were diagnosed with COVID-19 underwent a specific medical visit to assess clinical manifestations and disease severity. All subjects with symptoms were recommended not to use ivermectin, nitazoxanide, hydroxychloroquine, spironolactone, or any other drug claimed to be effective against COVID-19. The city did not provide or support any specific pharmacological outpatient treatment for subjects infected with COVID-19.

Intriguing findings

Interestingly, the group who self-selected to take ivermectin was older and had more comorbidities than the group who opted for no treatment. These results show that prophylactic ivermectin may be a mitigating factor in groups with higher risk of morbidity.The results show prophylactic ivermectin may be a mitigating factor for high-risk groups.

The belief that preventative and early treatment therapies would cause people to relax their caution of remaining socially distanced, leading to more COVID-19-related infections, is not supported here.

The data demonstrate that using preventative ivermectin significantly lowers the infection rate, and that benefits outweigh the speculated increased risk of changes in social behaviors.

end

GLOBAL GLOBAL NEWS

VACCINE IMPACT

Where are the Protests at the Vaccination Clinics to Rescue the Children?

January 24, 2022 5:49 pm

The Alternative Media is gushing over all the “wonderful speakers” that appeared in Washington D.C. yesterday at the Defeat the Mandates “protest.” Fox News covered the event, as they identified the leader of the event as Will Witt, and interviewed him just before the event began on Sunday. “You’re going to hear a lot of people talk about on the left say this is a big, anti-vax rally — it’s people coming in to deny science,” march organizer Will Witt, an author and political commentator for nonprofit PragerU, told Fox News Digital, “but this march is about the mandate, and this march is about the Draconian measures that we’re seeing all across this country right now, especially in places like D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco.” “Witt said 90% of speakers at the march are vaccinated.” So other than rousing speeches that fired up their supporter base and their opposition to “COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates,” and not necessarily the vaccines themselves, what exactly did this “protest” in Washington D.C. accomplish? Washington D.C. is one of a handful of places in the nation right now where children as young as 12 years old can receive a COVID-19 injection without the approval of their parents. So as these superstar doctors and other pro-vaccine speakers addressed crowds that were reported to be in the tens of thousands of people, nearby there were scores of vaccination clinics at schools, churches, pop-up clinics, and retail pharmacy stores where children are being abused and being injected with a bioweapon shot that could kill them. If these speakers are so concerned about these shots being injected into children, as some of them claim, would it not have been far better to go to these places where children are being abused, and protest there, seeking to educate parents on the dangers of the shots they are allowing to be injected into their children?? If there were 20,000 people at this “protest” in Washington D.C., just how many schools, churches, and other vaccine clinics do you think they could have shut down for the day by simply gathering there, and sitting down in front of the doors through non-violent resistance, making it difficult for people to enter the clinics? This is exactly what happened in this country back in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the Pro-life movement called “Operation Rescue.”Read More…

Big Pharma Wants to Come into Your Home and Take Over Your Toilet Seat to “Monitor” Your Health

January 24, 2022 5:56 pm

In one of the more apt examples of bringing medtech into the home and meeting patients on their terms, the developer of a smart toilet seat has raised $30 million to pursue an FDA clearance. Casana aims to provide people with a regular heart health scan without intruding on their daily routine, with electronic sensors for logging heart rate and blood pressure built directly into the cushion.Read More…

Michael Every

on the major topics of the day

Michael Every….

“Fed Club Was The Beginning. Now It’s Moved Out Of The Basement, It’s Called Project Mayhem”

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 12:23 PM

By Mike Every of Rabobank

“Welcome to Fed Club. The first rule of Fed Club is: you do not talk about Fed Club. The second rule of Fed Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fed Club! Third rule of Fed Club: if someone yells “stop!”, goes limp, or taps out, the Fed is over.”

Well, that was a day in markets! After an initial collapse in just about everything that threatened to not just take the S&P into correction territory, joining the Nasdaq, but to the worst start to a year since 1920, intraday saw a sudden, magical reversal. Rate hike bets tumbled out of the blue – just before the Fed meeting, even though US 10-year yields traded a narrower (bp) intraday range than in some of the other crazy swings we have seen of late. Equities soared to close slightly up, having been down over 4% – the best bounce seen since the last two occasions we got *major* central-bank bail-out actions, both back in October 2008.

I do not believe in conspiracy theories. Almost all of the time what you are seeing is coincidence at best, and prejudice at worst. Moreover, markets are fantastically dumb if you speak to the average multi-billion dollar buy-side fund, and presumably at the peak of the panic yesterday everyone was short and so easy to squeeze. However, was it totally random that markets rebounded so spectacularly, on nothing,… or was it Fed Club?

The optimism implies that just before the hawkish Fed meets –with inflation high enough to get political (i.e., prompting a very unpresidential comment)– it is already reassessing because stocks and crypto are down year-to-date. That’s the assumed rule of Fed Club: you do not talk about it; you do not talk about it; but as soon as markets yell “stop!”, or go limp, or tap out, the Fed is over.

Well, the Fed is up shortly and so we will soon find out. If Fed Club is just the product of paranoid minds then things are about to get uglier. There will be no ability to tap out until something gets bloodied, bruised, broken, or dislocated.

If there is a Fed Club, then said Fed are in as much trouble as Tyler Durden was at the end of the movie Fight Club. If they act, things crash around them by their hand. If they don’t, they watch impotently as things crash around them anyway. Supply-side inflation will become entrenched in the economy and then spreads to wages, and stagflation looms. Even if you view rate hikes as the wrong response to supply-side inflation, one has to see that blowing asset bubbles is not either, as the public opens unofficial chapters of Fed Club across the country, all speculating away in basements. Ironically, the recent collapse in crypto is likely to have forced many Americans to think about the need to re-join the labour force again, so capping wage pressures: if you cannot mint millions from flipping digital flatulence, it might be time to flip burgers again instead.

In short, for markets, the fight isn’t over; and that is even more the case for them via geopolitics.

The US is withdrawing its embassy staff from Kyiv, which the EU (and Ukraine) says is being dramatic. Well, so have the Russians – what do they know? The UK is insisting it has intelligence that Moscow plans to attack Kyiv and install a puppet government: then again, PM BYO now allegedly cannot just fail differentiate between a party and a work meeting, but also cannot recognize when he is attending his own birthday party! The US may send 8,500 troops to eastern EU members – enough to enrage Russia and escalate the crisis, but not to win any war; and the EU is lending Ukraine EUR1.2bn for economic development – enough to enrage Russia and escalate the crisis, but not to prevent any war. (The two actions also show how the two different powers react in a crisis, and why many EU members still look to Washington and not Brussels when push comes to shove.) Russia is meanwhile suggesting it could literally replay the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis by reaching out publicly to Havana about “strategic partnership coordination”.

Put that together with another two missiles fired at Abu Dhabi by Houthis, but luckily intercepted; China flying 39 jets near Taiwan, the most in months; and Russian jets suddenly appearing unannounced in the skies over Syria, restricting the Israeli airforce’s ability to strike Hezbollah and Iranian targets there, and it really looks like a global Fight Club that even markets –who understand NOTHING about these kind of things– can grasp; at least enough to unironically echo Dr. Strangelove in shouting “Gentlemen! You can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”

Meanwhile, in a sign of the times markets should also notice, but won’t, China has decided to change the ending of Fight Club. In the original, Tyler Durden blows a hole in his own face to snap out of his anti-establishment paranoid schizophrenia, and then watches the bourgeois capitalist skyscrapers around him collapse. In the new Chinese version the ending sees a flashcard that says “Through the clue provided by Tyler, the police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial, Tyler was sent to lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment. He was discharged from the hospital in 2012.” So they all lived happily ever after: now go buy expensive (not imported) soap.

“Fed Club/Fight Club/‘Fight Club’ was the beginning. Now it’s moved out of the basement, it’s called Project Mayhem.”

7. OIL ISSUES

8 EMERGING MARKET& AUSTRALIA ISSUES

Australia//// NEW ZEALAND/ SOUTH AFRICA/BRAZIL//COVID/VACCINES/LOCKDOWNS

AUSTRALIA

Australia continues with its draconian measures. Now Western Australia Province premier states that vaccine passports could last for years.

(Watson/SummitNews)

Australian Authorities Say Draconian Vaccine Passports Could Last For “Years”

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 09:10 PM

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Summit News,

Authorities in Western Australia say their draconian new vaccine passport scheme, which bars the unvaccinated from most public places, is likely to be in place for “years.”

Premier Mark McGowan announced the new measures, which will go into effect from the end of the month, as “the broadest proof of vaccination requirements in the nation.”

The vaccine passport mandate will now cover “a wider range of venues.”

“From Monday, January 31, 2022, the vaccine passport mandates will cover cafes, restaurants, dine-in fast food joints, pubs, bars, taverns, clubs, nightclubs, and “all hospitality venues,” as well as private and public hospitals and aged-care facilities,” writes Ken Macon.

Entertainment venues such as “play centers, gaming and gambling, theaters, concert halls, museums, cinemas, and live music venues,” will also be off limits for the unjabbbed.

“Life will become very difficult for the unvaccinated…no pubs, no bottle-shops, no gym, no yoga classes, no gigs, no dance floors, no hospital or aged care visits,” said McGowan, adding that the unvaccinated must be “protected from themselves.”

He added that the rules, which will soon only count people who have had three doses as “fully vaccinated,” will ensure the public is “confident in these public settings, and that they are only mixing with other vaccinated people.”

The restrictions “will not be removed anytime soon” and could be in place “for years.”

Australia has become notorious for becoming the developed world leader in inflicting the most draconian COVID control measures on its population.

As we highlighted last month, Australia’s chief pharmacist Trent Twomey says the public “just need to accept” they will have to take regular vaccine booster shots every six months and continue wearing masks for “many years” to come.

Australia is also building COVID quarantine camps for “ongoing operations,” with one facility at Wellcamp Airport outside Toowoomba not even set to be completed until March.

Citing new strains of COVID and people “who have not had access to vaccination,” Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles told the media outlet, “We anticipate there to be a continuing need for quarantine facilities.”

* * *

END

* * *

Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings TUESDAY morning 7:30 AM

Euro/USA 1.1274 DOWN .0050 /EUROPE BOURSES //ALL GREEN

USA/ YEN 114.04 UP 0.023 /NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .11% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…

GBP/USA 1.3453 DOWN 0.0035

Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 91.04 OR 2.58%

Hang Sang CLOSED DOWN 412.85 PTS OR 1.67%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 2.60% // EUROPEAN BOURSES OPENED ALL GREEN

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL GREEN

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SANG CLOSED DOWN 412.85 OR 1.67%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 91.04 PTS OR 2.58%

Australia BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 2.60%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 457.03 PTS OR 1.66%

INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 1839.20

silver:$23.67-

USA dollar index early TUESDAY morning: 96.22 UP 30 CENT(S) from MONDAY’s close.

THIS ENDS TUESDAY MORNING NUMBERS

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And now your closing TUESDAY NUMBERS 1: 00 PM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 0.57% UP 3 in basis point(s) yield from YESTERDAY/

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.141% UP 0 AND 2/10 BASIS POINTS from YESTERDAY/JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 0.64%// UP 2 in basis points yield from yesterday.

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 1.29 UP 1 points in basis points yield from yesterday./

the Italian 10 yr bond yield is trading 65 points higher than Spain.

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: RISES TO -0.076% IN BASIS POINTS ON THE DAY//

THE IMPORTANT SPREAD BETWEEN ITALIAN 10 YR BOND AND GERMAN 10 YEAR BOND IS 1.37% AND NOW ABOVE 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 TUESDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.1285 DOWN .0039 or 39 basis points

USA/Japan: 113.88 DOWN 0.125 OR YEN DOWN 28 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.3495 DOWN 7 BASIS POINTS

Canadian dollar DOWN 19 pts to 1.2690

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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE (CLOSED UP)..6.3260

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)..6.3330

TURKISH LIRA: 13.50 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.141

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 1 IN basis points from FRIDAY at 1.764% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

USA 30 yr bond yield: 2.111 DOWN 1 in basis points

Your closing USA dollar index, 96.10 UP 18 CENT(S) ON THE DAY/1.00 PM/

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

London: CLOSED UP 74.31 PTS OR 1.02%

German Dax : CLOSED UP 112.74 points or 0.75%

Paris CAC CLOSED UP 50.17 PTS OR 0.74%

Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 61.70PTS OR 0.73%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 55.99 PTS OR 0.22%

WTI Oil price 82.70 12: EST

Brent Oil: 85.37 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN / RUBLE FALLS: 79.03 THE CROSS HIGHER BY 21 RUBLES/DOLLAR (RUBLE LOWER BY 21 BASIS PTS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; -.076

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA: 1.1303 DOWN .0021 OR 21 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.3508 up .0020 or 20 basis pts

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 113.86 DOWN .147

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.2623 DOWN .0003 (cdn dollar UP 3 basis pts)

West Texas intermediate oil: 85.37

Brent: 87.93

USA 10 yr bond yield: 1.780 UP 1 points

USA 30 yr bond yield: 2.128 UP 1 pts

USA dollar vs Turkish lira: 13,47

usa dollar vs Russian rouble: 78.68 DOWN 51 basis pts.

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 66.77 PTS OR 0.19%

NASDAQ 100 DOWN 360.46 OR 2.48%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 31.20 UP 1.30 PTS

GLD/NYSE CLOSING PRICE $172.58 UP $0.55 OR 0.32%

SLV/NYSE CLOSING PRICE: $22.01// UP $.09 OR 0.41%

end)

USA trading day in Graph Form

‘Deja Vu All Over Again’ As Stocks Dump’n’Pump Again Ahead Of Fed

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 04:03 PM

Well who could have seen that coming?

Indeed it was a “deja vu all over again” as Yogi Berra would say, but this time the ending was different…

No obvious catalyst from a news or technical support level for today’s resurgence, but some pointed to optimism sparked by comments from President Biden: “There is not going to be any American forces moving into Ukraine”

Small Caps were the first again to recover their losses, then The Dow, then as the S&P got green, selling pressure started in the last hour. That smashed Nasdaq back down towards the lows of the day and the S&P notably red on the day while The Dow survived and Small Caps outperformed…

The S&P seemed to stall as it tagged 4400…

Another day, another dump of puts to send stocks higher…

Source: Bloomberg

Following yesterday’s 2Y auction, today’s 5Y TSY auction was also well-bid (trading well thru WI) as demand from foreign entities soared, but Treasury yields ended the day higher, ramping along with stocks and dragging 5Y higher on the week, joining the rest ofthe curve…

Source: Bloomberg

Rate-hike expectations actually shifted hawkishly higher today with Dec 2022 pricing in 4 hikes once again…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar followed a similar pattern to yesterday too – rallying overnight then dumping across the European close…

Source: Bloomberg

Crypto led stocks higher off the lows and lower off the highs today…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, we have been asked a number of times today, some version of the following question: How often do we see two such days in a row?

Well, the answer is simple: pretty much never.

Bloomberg’s Cameron Crise reports that based on open/high/low/close data on the S&P going back to the early 1980s, there has never been two consecutive sessions when the SPX drew down at least 2% from the previous day’s close only to finish positive on the day.

There have only been a handful of occasions when the index has dropped as much as 1% intraday and then closed positive on consecutive trading days: three times in 2002, three times in 2008/09, once in 2015 and once in 2020.

Incidentally, I checked the 2% threshold on the Nasdaq Composite as well, and it hasn’t registered consecutive epic comebacks, either.

Of course – all of that is moot by the close as both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed in the red.

Meanwhile, Ned Davis Research’s Global Recession Model is back in “high-risk” zone…

Just as The Fed is about to unleash QT and Hike rates… because this is not Q42018… CPI is at 7%!

I) MORNING TRADING/

II) USA DATA

US Home Prices Decelerate For 4th Straight Month

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 09:10 AM

For the fourth straight month, US home prices decelerated in the nation’s 20 largest cities. The 20-City Composite rose 18.29% YoY in November (below October’s 18.46% pace but it did print above the expected +18.00% YoY.

Source: Bloomberg

Nevertheless, home price appreciation remains near record highs…

Source: Bloomberg

“We continue to see very strong growth at the city level. All 20 cities saw price increases in the year ended November 2021, and prices in 19 cities are at their all-time highs,” according to Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI

Phoenix, Tampa, and Miami reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities in November but Washington is seeing prices decelerate dramatically, rising just 11.1% YoY (below Minneapolis)…

And all this is before Powell has hiked one rate or stopped buying MBS?

end

Confidence falls in January but this time hope fades

(zerohedge)

Conference Board Confidence Slides In January As ‘Hope’ Fades

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 10:09 AM

After an unexpected rebound for the last three months, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence survey was expected to weaken in January amid surging cases of Omicron and higher-and-higher consumer prices. Analysts were right in direction – January Conf Board fell from 115.2 (revised lower) to 113.8, but that was notably above the 111.2 expectations.

In June 2021, The Conf Board confidence was almost back to pre-COVID-lockdown levels (driven by an explosive surge in ‘hope’), but this time expectations are sliding. The Conference Board’s expectations index fell from six-month high to 90.8, while the gauge of current conditions unexpectedly surged higher to 148.2 – its highest since Aug 2021.

Source: Bloomberg

For some reason, the respondents to The Conference Board seem far more optimistic than the respondents to The University of Michigan‘s survey? It wouldn’t be the first time the Conf Board completely decoupled only to crash back to reality…

Source: Bloomberg

The share of consumers who said jobs were “plentiful” relative to “hard to get” fell slightly in January, but continues to hover very close to its record highs in 2000…

Source: Bloomberg

And finally, and perhaps most importantly, inflation expectations slipped lower in January, but still hover near 13-year highs at 6.8%…

Source: Bloomberg

So Powell and his pals face weakening sentiment but worrisome inflation.

IIb) USA COVID/VACCINE MANDATE STORIES

Court Asked To Block Punishment Of All Navy Members Seeking Religious Exemptions From Mandate

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 05:14 PM

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal court that blocked punishment of 35 Navy members seeking religious exemptions to the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate should widen the ruling to cover any Navy personnel seeking an exception, lawyers said in a filing on Monday.A Navy member gets a COVID-19 vaccine on Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Va., in a file image. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jackson Adkins via The Epoch Times)

The complaint in the case, U.S. Navy SEALS 1-3 et. al v. Lloyd Austin et. al, was amended to a class-action effort.

That means the judge presiding over the case could widen the block of the mandate to the nearly 4,000 Navy active-duty or reserve members who are seeking religious exemptions.

“Our clients are boldly leading the fight against the vaccine mandate, but no service member should face discipline or punishment for following their faith,” Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute, which is representing Navy personnel in the case, said in a statement.

“The fact that the military continues to demonstrate hostility to anyone who expresses religious objection to the vaccine mandate shows that the Biden Administration does not care about religious freedom. The lawsuit seeks to protect as many service members as possible from further punishment. We have to put a stop to this before any more harm is done to our national security,” he added.

The Navy has approved zero religious exemptions, and only two have been approved by the entire U.S. military. That runs afoul of federal law, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, plaintiffs asserted.

U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor, a George W. Bush nominee, agreed, ruling last month that the Navy does provide a process to apply for religious accommodations “but by all accounts, it is theater.”

“The Navy has not granted a religious exemption to any vaccine in recent memory. It merely rubber stamps each denial,” he added.

A Navy spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email shortly after the ruling that the branch “supports and respects the beliefs and religious practices of our Sailors.”

“Waivers for immunizations are balanced with operational readiness, unit cohesion, good order, discipline, health and safety,” the spokesperson said. “When this interferes with a member’s right to practice their faith according to the dictates of their conscience, the Navy works with the member to find ways to accommodate religious practice that are the least burdensome way possible for the member. All requests for religious accommodation, to include the COVID vaccine mandate, are handled in the same manner.”

Twenty-two Navy members have been discharged for refusing to get vaccinated as of Jan. 19.

The branch has only granted a single religious accommodation request since the beginning of 2015, according to documents filed in a different case challenging the military mandate, which was imposed by Austin, the secretary of defense, with support from President Joe Biden.

The amended complaint comes several days after Biden administration lawyers asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn O’Connor’s preliminary injunction, which blocks punishment against the 35 Navy personnel as the case is decided by the courts.

The administration hasn’t yet submitted its argument as to why the injunction should be lifted. It was ordered by the court to provide certain information by Feb. 7, according to the docket

END

Horrifying!! California bill would let children get covid jab without parental approval.

Totally nuts

Zhong/EpochTimes

California Bill Would Let Children Get COVID-19 Jab Without Parental Approval

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 09:50 PM

Authored by Allen Zhong via The Epoch Times,

California Democrat lawmakers introduced a bill that would allow children to be administered with COVID-19 vaccines without parental consent.

Senate Bill 866, also known as the Teens Choose Vaccines Act, has been introduced by state Senators Scott Wiener and Richard Pan, who intended to add a new section to the California Family Code.

“A minor 12 years of age or older may consent to a vaccine that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and meets the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ACIP) without the consent of the parent or guardian of the minor,” read the proposal.

The bill doesn’t mention COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, but refers to human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B vaccines instead.

However, Wiener said COVID-19 vaccination for children is an apparent goal of the bill.

“With the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread availability of highly effective and safe vaccines to treat serious COVID-19 illness, it’s more important than ever that young adults be able to access vaccines,” he said in a statement.

Current California law requires parental consent for children ages 12 to 17 to be vaccinated unless the vaccine specifically targets a sexually transmitted disease.

Besides Wiener and Pan, the bill has eight coauthors, including seven assembly members and one senator.

It’s unclear how widely the bill was received in the state legislature, controlled by the Democratic Party in both the upper and lower house in The Golden State.

California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon refused to comment on the bill, saying the bill hasn’t yet reached the Assembly floor.

The Epoch Times reached out to California Senate Majority Leader Robert Hertzberg for comment.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky speaks during a hearing in Washington on Nov. 4, 2021. (Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get a COVID-19 vaccine, saying vaccines are safe for children and teens.

The agency also recommended children 12 years and older get a Pfizer-BioNTech booster.

However, some prominent epidemiologists have reservations about vaccinating children.

Dr. Peter McCullough, a leading cardiologist and epidemiologist, said that healthy children should not be given the COVID-19 vaccine because the percentage of those children that die from the virus is minuscule, but the adverse effects from the vaccines in that age group are of great concern.

Dr. Robert Malone, a virologist and immunologist who has contributed significantly to the technology of mRNA vaccines, shares the same viewpoint.

“There’s a good chance that if your child takes the vaccine, they won’t be damaged, they won’t show clinical symptoms—[but] they may have subclinical damage,” Malone told EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program in an interview. “But the question is, do you want to take that chance with your child? Because if you draw the short straw and your child was damaged, most of these things, if not all of them, are irreversible. There is no way to fix it.”

END

Unbelievable!! Monoclonal antibody treatments work so Biden’s FDA restricts its use?

(zerohedge)

“Indefensible Edict” – DeSantis Rages After Biden’s FDA Restricts Use Of Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 11:10 AM

Governor Ron DeSantis is demanding the Biden Administration reverse its sudden decision to revoke emergency use authorization (EUA) for monoclonal antibody treatments.

In a statement from the Florida Governor’s office, he rages that this abrupt and unilateral action by the Biden Administration will prevent access to lifesaving treatments for Floridians and Americans.

“Without a shred of clinical data to support this action, Biden has forced trained medical professionals to choose between treating their patients or breaking the law,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

“This indefensible edict takes treatment out of the hands of medical professionals and will cost some Americans their lives. There are real-world implications to Biden’s medical authoritarianism – Americans’ access to treatments is now subject to the whims of a failing president.”

“Rather than giving Americans the option for various COVID treatments, the FDA and the Biden Administration issued their royal decree, taking away the very thing that is proven to reduce hospitalizations and save lives,” said Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez.

“Monoclonal antibody treatments like Regeneron have had a positive impact for thousands of Floridians. For the CDC and FDA, which have been consistently inconsistent throughout the entire pandemic, to restrict treatment does nothing but put individuals at risk.”

“In our field of medicine, when someone comes to you seeking a treatment that could save their life, it is essential to have treatment options to ensure health care providers can make the best decisions for their patients,” said Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo.

“The Federal Government has failed to adequately provide the United States with adequate outpatient treatment options for COVID-19. Now, they are scrambling to cover up a failure to deliver on a promise to ‘shut down the virus.’”

As a result of this abrupt and clinically unsupported action, the appointments for more than 2,000 Floridians to receive this treatment were canceled on January 25, 2022, alone. This decision was made solely by Biden’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without advance warning to states or health providers and without clinical data to support the decision. The deliberate decision by the Biden Administration to make this announcement effective immediately, through a press release, actively prevents states and health care providers from making real-time operational decisions that save lives.

Over the course of the past two years, scientists and researchers across the nation have worked hard to bring us treatments that are both safe and effective. One of these treatments has been monoclonal antibodies. This treatment has saved thousands of lives in Florida and across our nation.

* * *

Benny Johnson had an alternate take on the FDA’s strange decision:

Biden canceling proven life-saving treatment for the sick and elderly so Fauci-Pfizer can get a few extra points in the stock market is literally demonic

A theme of regulator-capture that was echoed almost uniformly yesterday.

* * *

As Mimi Nguyen Ly detailed earlier at The Epoch Times, The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Jan. 24 it is restricting the use of two monoclonal antibody treatments for COVID-19, saying data show such treatments are “highly unlikely” to be active against the Omicron variant, currently the dominant strain in the country.

Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-created proteins that mimic natural antibodies the body produces to fight off harmful pathogens, such as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, also known as the novel coronavirus.

The agency revised its emergency authorization for the two COVID-19 treatments that come from Regeneron and Eli Lilly. Their use is now limited to when the COVID-19 patient is “likely to have been infected with or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments.”

“Because data show these treatments are highly unlikely to be active against the omicron variant, which is circulating at a very high frequency throughout the United States, these treatments are not authorized for use in any U.S. states, territories, and jurisdictions at this time,” the FDA stated.
“In the future, if patients in certain geographic regions are likely to be infected or exposed to a variant that is susceptible to these treatments, then use of these treatments may be authorized in these regions.”

The Omicron variant, which started spreading in the United States in late November 2021, is estimated to account for more than 99 percent of cases in the country as of Jan. 15, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rationale

The move to revise the emergency authorization “avoids exposing patients to side effects, such as injection site reactions or allergic reactions, which can be potentially serious, from specific treatment agents that are not expected to provide benefit to patients who have been infected with or exposed to the omicron variant,” the FDA stated.

The move was recently recommended by the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Dec. 23, 2021. At the time, the panel said the Omicron variant “is predicted to have markedly reduced susceptibility” to several COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies, “especially bamlanivimab plus etesevimab and casirivimab plus imdevimab.” Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatments offers bamlanivimab and etesevimab, and Regeneron offers casirivimab and imdevimab.

The drug Bamlanivimab. (Courtesy of Eli Lilly via AP)

The panel added that GlakoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) and Vir Biotech’s antibody treatment, sotrovimab, “appears to retain activity against the Omicron variant.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Dec. 23, 2021, temporarily halted distribution of Regeneron’s and Eli Lilly’s antibody therapies, leaving sotrovimab as the only available treatment at the time.

Distribution was resumed after after complaints from governors, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who asserted the two monoclonal antibody treatments continued to help some COVID-19 patients. At the time, Omicron was circulating but the Delta variant was still the dominant variant in the United States.

The federal government has, since early January, shipped enough doses of the two monoclonal antibody treatments to treat more than 300,000 patients.

A Regeneron spokesperson had said the regulator would provide any potential communication on the topic. Lilly had no immediate comment but pointed to its statement from December 2021 saying its newer antibody candidate, bebtelovimab, maintains neutralization activity against all known variants of concern, including Omicron. The company said earlier this month it is “urgently working with the FDA to make bebtelovimab available under an emergency use authorization,” with a decision expected before April.

Patients wait for their treatment inside the Regeneron Clinic at a monoclonal antibody treatment site in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on August 19, 2021. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Both companies previously announced they were developing new antibodies that target the Omicron variant. Regeneron stated in December 2021, “While Regeneron’s currently authorized REGEN-COV antibodies have diminished potency against Omicron, they are active against Delta, which currently is the most prevalent variant in the U.S.”

Other Treatments

The revision in emergency authorization comes days after the FDA on Jan. 21 expanded approval of the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat more COVID-19 patients. Remdesivir was the first government-approved drug for COVID-19 and was previously limited to treat hospitalized patients. It is now authorized for use in adults and children aged 12 and above early in a COVID-19 infection if the patient faces a high risk of ending up in hospital.

The agency said its move was supported by a study run by the drug’s developer, Gilead Sciences, results of which showed that the drug reduced the risk of hospitalization by 87 percent among COVID-19-positive people. The FDA didn’t cite any independent studies.

The FDA in its statement on Jan. 24 pointed to several other therapies that “are expected to work against the Omicron variant,” intended for patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 to prevent progression to severe disease. They include sotrovimab, remdesivir, as well as two new antiviral pills from Pfizer and Merck, Paxlovid and molnupiravir, both of which are in short supply.

GSK and Vir Biotech are boosting production of their sotrovimab to help meet demand in the United States.

Remdesivir has been linked to kidney disease, gastrointestinal symptoms, and other severe side effects, according to some researchers. According to the FDA, some adverse events associated with remdesivir include allergic reaction, generalized seizure, rash. The WHO in late 2020 recommended against the use of remdesivir for COVID-19.

Pfizer’s Paxlovid is not recommended in those with severe kidney disease, according to the FDA. The agency also warns that “caution should be exercised” in giving Paxlovid to people with pre-existing liver diseases.

Meanwhile, some experts have expressed concerns about how Merck’s molnupiravir attacks the CCP virus, saying the pill has the potential to contribute to the development of cancer or cause birth defects in an unborn baby.

According to the FDA, sotrovimab may trigger a range of allergic reactions following infusion. The agency also noted, “It is possible that sotrovimab could interfere with your body’s own ability to fight off a future infection of SARS-CoV-2.

“Similarly, sotrovimab may reduce your body’s immune response to a vaccine for SARSCoV-2. Specific studies have not been conducted to address these possible risks. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any questions.”end

Pilots are finally speaking out about COVID 19 vaccines

(Rumble/special thanks to Robert H for sending this to us)

PILOTS ARE SPEAKING OUT ABOUT COVID-19 VACCINE INJURIES! WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR SAFETY IN THE AIR!

https://rumble.com/vsyzae-pilots-are-speaking-out-about-covid-19-vaccine-injuries-what-this-means-for.html
end
New York Supreme Court abolishes mask mandate. Hochul goes ballistic(zerohedge)

NY Gov Slams State Supreme Court Ruling Abolishing Mask Mandate, Pledges To “Reverse It Immediately”

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 08:16 AM

In a decision that will likely be welcomed by many New York parents and schoolchildren, along with the countless workers, consumers and tourists in the Empire State, the Supreme Court of New York struck down Gov. Kathy Hochul’s statewide mask mandate. In its ruling, the court declared the mask mandate “unconstitutional” and “null, void and unenforceable”.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Rademaker of Nassau County wrote in his opinion explaining the decision that the governor doesn’t have the authority to impose the mandate since the “emergency powers” once wielded by her predecessor, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, are no longer in place.

Without the assent of the legislature, the Court determined that the governor doesn’t have the ability to order masks mandates, although the circumstances would be different if emergency powers granted by lawmakers were still in effect.

Gov. Hochul

The ruling goes: “While the intentions of Commissioner Bassett and Governor Hochul appear to be well-aimed squarely at doing what they believe is right to protect the citizens of New York State, they must take their case to the State Legislature.”

Gov. Hochul ordered the mandate last month amid a flurry of new restrictions ordered by various states. President Biden has seen SCOTUS and another federal judge overrule his vaccination mandates.

In response to the ruling, Gov. Hochul said the following: “My responsibility as Governor is to protect New Yorkers throughout this public health crisis, and these measures help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. We strongly disagree with this ruling, and we are pursuing every option to reverse this immediately.”

Put another way, Gov. Hochul says she doesn’t care about the legal precedent, and will do everything in her power to continue enforcing the mandate.

We wonder how the Empire State’s business community feels about the governor’s pledge to find a way around the ruling?

end

iiiA) important USA economic stories for you tonight

What on earth were the authorities doing? They kill the 3 monkeys and now a woman who

was in contact with a money develops COVID symptoms.

(zerohedge)

Woman Who Came Into Contact With Escaped Monkeys Says She Developed Symptoms

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 04:57 PM

By Jack Phillips of The Epoch Times

A Pennsylvania woman who came into contact with laboratory monkeys last week after a truck carrying them crashed has said she developed unusual symptoms.Crates holding live monkeys are collected next to the trailer they were being transported in along state Route 54 at the intersection with Interstate 80 near Danville, Pa., on Jan. 21, 2022.

On her Facebook page and during media interviews, the woman, Michelle Fallon, said she developed symptoms after the accident. Fallon wrote that she sought emergency room treatment at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville.

Fallon told local media that after the crash, she believed the truck was carrying cats. However, when she approached the cages, a monkey appeared at hissed at her.

“What a day I try to help out at a accident seen was told there were cats in the crates. So I over to pet them. To find out it’s monkeys. Then I noticed that’s there 3 in each and I was completely broken the other was half broken,” Fallon wrote. “So I knew 4 got away. So come home go to bed. My aunt runs into New[s] crew was ask to do interview. Then find out not to get close to the monkey.”

She continued: “Well tried to pet one, I touch the creates and walk in poop. Then was told to met police at the scene. To talk about exposure. News crew was the[re]. I thought they were [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] so I to them. End up doing interviews. Talk to police and a lady with CDC. I’m will getting a letter. I’m very low risk for I don’t know what yet.”

Later, she wrote that she has “symptoms” that are like “Covid symptoms. Like seriously. A day from hell.” She was referring to COVID-19.

Fallon told PAHomepage that she had an open cut on her hand and also developed pink-eye-like symptoms. She went to the emergency room at Geisinger Danville

“Because the monkey did hiss at me and there were feces around, and I did have an open cut, they just want to be precautious,” said Fallon, adding that she will be on preventative medicine for two weeks.

Fallon told WNEP-TV that she was contacted Saturday by the CDC and was told to monitor herself for any unusual symptoms. A letter from the CDC she shared with the outlet said that “the surviving monkeys will be quarantined and will be monitored for infectious diseases for at least 31 days before their release.”

And, over the weekend, activist group PETA issued a press release—with a headline that blared, “The Monkey Crash Could Release Disease”—saying Fallon “got an eyeful of monkey saliva that has caused a reaction. She’s now on antiviral drugs and medication to protect against rabies.”

However, PETA said it fears other people in the area could have been exposed.

“Feces and urine from the terrified monkeys were reportedly smeared across the highway as crates—that weren’t strapped in as required—tumbled from the truck. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should be scrambling to ensure that numerous other people who were at the scene aren’t in danger,” the group said.

Pennsylvania State Police told PennLive that several monkeys escaped but were later captured. Three were euthanized, CDC officials told the outlet.

They were among about 100 cynomolgus macaques that were being transported in a trailer near Danville that became unhitched after 3 p.m. on Jan 21, officials said.

A day later, on Jan. 22, police had urged people not to look for or capture a monkey in the area. Troopers wrote on Twitter: “Anyone who sees or locates the monkey is asked not to approach, attempt to catch, or come in contact with the monkey. Please call 911 immediately.”

Trooper Lauren Lesher told the Associated Press that officials were concerned “due to it not being a domesticated animal and them being in an unknown territory,” and “it is hard to say how they would react to a human approaching them.”

Troopers told PennLive that the truck carrying the monkeys had collided with a dump truck on Route 54 at the Interstate 80 interchange.

end

iii)B USA inflation commentaries//LOG JAMS//

END

iv)swamp stories

Biden Family Made $31 Million From Individuals With ‘Direct Ties To Chinese Spy Apparatus’: Schweizer

MONDAY, JAN 24, 2022 – 05:35 PM

The Biden family bagged $31 million from just five deals in China – all inked with individuals who have direct ties to the highest levels of Chinese intelligence, claims author Perter Schweizer in his new book, Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win.

As Breitbart News reports, “Multiple financiers with direct ties to Chinese intelligence partnered with Hunter Biden during and after his father’s time as Vice President — including the former head of the Ministry of State Security and the head of foreign intelligence recruitment — and some of those relationships remain intact,” according to Schweizer.

The book outlines how Beijing sought a financial relationship with the Bidens as a method of “elite capture,” which led to meetings between Hunter Biden and high-level Chinese financiers, as well as the CCP, in order to exert leverage over the powerful family.

One of the central early players in the Bidens’ Chinese deals is a tycoon by the name of Che Feng, or “The Super Chairman,” as Hunter and his partners referred to him.
Che, the son of a PLA soldier, has been described in Western media as “a shadowy and discreet investor,” whose father-in-law was the governor of the People’s Bank of China, and whose business partner was the Vice Minister of State Security, a man by the name of Ma Jian. Schweizer writes that Ma was reportedly the director of the ministry’s No. 8 Bureau, overseeing North American operations targeting foreigners with its counterintelligence apparatus. -Breitbart

“The hazard of a Chinese businessman with close ties to the top ranks of Beijing’s spy agency conducting financial transactions with the son of the U.S. vice president cannot be overstated. How this did not set off national security or ethics alarm bells in Washington is a wonder in itself,” writes Schweizer, who added that the Super Chairman’s role was to “fuse Chinese financial might to those with access to the highest levels of power in the Western world,” which led to the foundation of Bohai Harvest Trust (BHR) – which was “funded by China’s biggest government-backed financial institutions” with the Bidens and their American partners.

The Super Chairman also introduced the Bidens to Zhao Xuejun (aka Henry Zhao), a former CCP general secretary at Harvest Fund Management. Zhao also owned “Harvest Global Investments,” co-founded with the daughter-in-law of a member of the Politburo Standing Committee at the time, Jia Liqing. Her father, Jia Chunwang, is the former minister of state security, “in charge of secret service, espionage, and domestic and overseas intelligence work.”

Harvest Global Investments wired $5 million to another Hunter Biden business called Burnham, according to the book.

“There is no one more powerful in the world of Chinese intelligence,” Schweizer writes. “The seductive and lucrative deal that Hunter was now putting into place, creating BHR, involved two financiers with ties to the highest levels of Chinese intelligence, a billion-dollar private equity deal that we first exposed in Secret Empires. What we now know are the roles played by the spy-connected ‘Super Chairman’ and Zhao.”

“According to Michael Lin, another Chinese partner, Hunter’s role in the venture was pretty straightforward: ‘Open as many doors as possible in the western world for this very famous Bohai professional team.’ There was also the expectation that Hunter and his partners would ‘join some of the meetings in HK and China they arrange’ when communicating with possible financial partners.”

Read the rest of the report here.

END

Durham: DNC Lawyer Marc Elias Has Given Grand Jury Testimony

TUESDAY, JAN 25, 2022 – 04:33 PM

Authored by Techno Fog via The Reactionary,

Today, Special Counsel John Durham provided a “discovery Update” to the court in the Michael Sussmann case. In this filing, available here, he disclosed that his team has obtained a tremendous amount of information ranging from a variety of sources – including Perkins Coie, the Hillary Clinton Campaign, and former DNC/Clinton lawyer Mark Elias.

While Sussmann has been charged with giving false statements to then-FBI General Counsel James Baker regarding the Alfa Bank/Trump Organization hoax (background here), Durham notes that the “Government also maintains an active, ongoing criminal investigation of” Sussmann’s conduct.

In other words, Sussmann’s criminal conduct likely is not limited to false statements. There is more. If we are to make an educated guess, it may have to do with the conspiracy to accuse the Trump Organization of having secret back-channel communications with Alfa Bank. We discussed the potential for a conspiracy charge here.

Now, to the evidence. Durham and his team have secured grand jury testimony from the following individuals:

Former Perkins Coie partner, and DNC/Hillary Clinton lawyer Marc Elias.
Former FBI General Counsel James Baker
Current CIA employees

Durham and his team have completed interviews of the following individuals:

Former FBI General Counsel James Baker
More than 24 other current and former FBI employees.
Current and former employees of the CIA and DARPA.
12 Employees of the “internet companies” referenced in the Sussmann indictment.
The former chairman of DNC/Clinton law firm Perkins Coie.
A former employee of the Clinton campaign.
Current and former employees of Georgia Tech (involved in the Alfa Hoax).
An employee of “Tech Executive-1” – aka Rodney Joffe, a Sussmann client who assisted with the Alfa Bank hoax.

Still, there is more. Durham has obtained records/documents from the following entities:

The Hillary Clinton Campaign
Perkins Coie
Hillary for America
Fusion GPS
A PR Firm that advised Perkins Coie regarding public statements about Sussmann’s meeting with James Baker.
Phone logs for numerous current and former FBI employees.
“a classified memorandum and related reports of interviews pertaining to a criminal investigation previously conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding a potential leak of classified information”
He also has secured nearly 400 e-mails between the FBI and Perkins Coie from January 2016 through June 2017.

While we expected some grand jury testimony, the fact that Mark Elias, the DNC/Clinton lawyer, was before a grand jury is certainly newsworthy.

And it leads us to believe that Durham is focused on something more substantial than the false Alfa Bank allegations – perhaps the inception of it all: the claim of Russian hacking. As we have said before, consider the possibility that evidence of “Russian hacking” was placed by the DNC, Perkins Coie, et al. for Crowdstrike to conveniently “find.”

Here’s a list of what Durham has obtained re: the Sussmann case – and the broader Alfa Bank hoax investigation.

This includes the grand jury testimony of Marc Elias

👀 pic.twitter.com/st1zQf7tWY— Techno Fog (@Techno_Fog) January 25, 2022

KING REPORT/SWAMP STORIES

Biden administration is writing up military orders for units to be sent to Eastern Europe: CNN

Reports on Monday morning said Biden had not yet returned from his weekend at Camp David despite the Ukraine crisis and China’s biggest air incursion into Taiwan airspace since October. A report near 11:35 ET said Biden would hold a video call with European leaders regarding Ukraine later Monday.

China sends largest incursion of warplanes into Taiwan defense zone since October
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/24/china-sends-largest-incursion-of-warplanes-into-taiwan-defence-zone-since-october

Some Ukrainians Are Angry About Washington Ordering Diplom ts’ Families to Leave The US Embassy – “Quite frankly these Americans are safer in Kyiv than they are in Los Angeles…or any other crime-ridden city in the US,” said a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky…
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/russia-ukraine-angry-american-departures

A decline began at 10:44 ET. ESHs and stocks sank into the European close. New lows appeared. Ten minutes before noon ET, a rally attempt appeared. Some traders wanted to play for a Noon Balloon. Alas, seller reappeared when the noon hour arrived. The DJIA sank to a 1097-point loss at 12:17 ET.

From King Report on Monday: The technical condition for the US stock market is now as bad as it was when it plunged during the Covid Panic of March 2020. Ergo, the US stock market is in the rare condition where it is vulnerable to a sizable decline within a short period of time…

DJ: While House Says Biden ‘Does Not Look at Stock Market to Judge Economy’, Notes Stock Market IS Up about 15 PCT Since Biden Took Office (No, it’s not up 15% since Jan 20, 2021)
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1485689026271223811

Another rally attempt appeared; a late Noon Balloon developed. The robust rebound ended at 14:02 ET. ESHs plunged 71 handles (4336.00 to 4265.75) by 14:46 ET. The rally for the expected last-hour upward manipulation then commenced. As part of the general asset liquidation, bonds tumbled to -3/32. Bitcoin had a monster rally that turned the faux de l’argent to +3% for the day.

The late rally accelerated during the final hour. Someone wanted to rescind the entire decline! When MSM dolts harangue the president over a plunging stock market, you know the hotline got hot!

The DJTA hit +98.00 by 15:38 ET. Nasdaq erased its entire 4% tumble at 15:40 ET! At 15:45 ET, ESHs went vertical. Holy maniacal manipulation, Batman! Every equity index, ex the DJUA, was green for the day with minutes remaining for more manipulation! Bonds were down 15/32; commodities remained sharply lower. The dollar held most of its daily gain. The S&P 500 Index rallied 4.9% from its low!

@bespokeinvest: First time the Dow has reversed a 1,000+ point drop to close higher on the day.
(Who would buy stocks in such a reckless and wanton manor given the environment?)

@EricBalchunas: Holy moly, SPY traded over $100b worth of shares for only second time ever (3/2/2020 was other time), which is more than top 4 stocks combined. And QQQ smashed its record with $66b (set Fri lol). If you combine the two, they did $170b, which is all time record, here’s chart:
https://twitter.com/EricBalchunas/status/1485721057768185859?cxt=HHwWhoC5ucXbq54pAAAA

@RyanDetrick: S&P 500 down 3.99% today at the lows. Since 1950, there have been 88 other days to be down this much at one point during the day. Today was only the 3rd time stocks closed higher when the dust settled. (Both of the others were Oct ’08). [10/16/08 -4.63%, closed +4.25%; 10/23/08 -4.28%, closed +1.26%]

Most of the biggest rallies in US stock market history have occurred during bear markets. You can look it up! PS – The stock market plunge from the Crisis of 2008-2009 did NOT bottom until March 6, 2009.

After the Great US Stock Bubble burst in March 2000, Nasdaq rallied over 40% from the May 24, 2000 to June 17, 2000. By April 4, 2001, Nasdaq had declined 62.2% from the May 24, 2000 peak.

@bennyjohnson 15:08 ET: Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby: “About 8,500” U.S. units have been placed on a “heightened preparedness to deploy.” https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1485706089723219974

Once again, for the gazillionth time, there was an early stock market plunge and a concerted effort to boost stocks after the morning plunge.

@bennyjohnson: HOT MIC: Biden calls Peter Doocy a “Stupid Son of a B*tch” for asking a question about inflation. (The ‘unity’ & ‘civility’ prez!) https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1485741603251761153

GOP Rep @laurenboebert: Democrats: Donald Trump’s attacks on the press are an attack on the First Amendment.

GOP @RepJimBanks: Have we ever seen a President attack & malign the free press like Biden has?
@ggreenwald: Peter Doocy is doing his job as a journalist: holding powerful political officials accountable, asking the tough questions. For that, he is demeaned and verbally assaulted by the most powerful politician in the country, in public, possibly inciting violence by his followers.

After the close, IBM reported EPS of 3.35 (3.23 expected) and revenue of $16.7B ($16B expected). IBM posted its best sales growth in 10 years on cloud demand. IBM soared 6.5% in after-hour trading.

PPT Rescues S&P From Worst-Ever Start To A Year; Rate-Hike Odds Tumble At its lows today, the S&P 500 had never – ever since 1920 – started a year as badly as 2022… Nasdaq was down 5% before its exploded higher back into the green and Russell 2000 ripped from down 3% to up almost 3%… https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ppt-rescues-sp-worst-ever-start-year-rate-hike-odds-tumble

Today – Stocks were grossly oversold for the short term by late morning on Monday. A two-day FOMC Meeting commences today. The first large batch of Q4 results will appear, including some major industrial concerns. Monday panics tend to seed huge Tuesday bounces. Ergo, the usual suspects, barring negative news, will aggressively play for a Turnaround Tuesday to the upside. The big question is how much did Monday’s huge bounce appropriate from the Tuesday Turnaround. Afterall, The S&P 500 Index rallied 4.9% from its low in only 4.5 hours!

A few ‘experts’ and pundits called for a robust rally on Friday due to the expiration of January options at the opening. When that failed on Friday, over the weekend they called for Monday morning surge for the same reason. When the rally appeared on Monday yesterday, they extolled their forecasting ability.

ESHs are -45:00 at 20:12 ET on no news; they traded modestly higher after opening. Be very careful!

Expected Economic Data: Nov FHFA House Price Index 1.1% m/m; Nov S&P Corelogic 20-city house prices 0.97% m/m; Jan Conference Board Consumer Confidence 111.8; Jan Richmond Fed Mfg Index 14; Two-day FOMC Meeting commences

Expected earnings: GE .84, RTX 1.00, TXN 1.94, MMM 2.01, LMT 7.27, JNJ 2.12, AXP 1.83, VZ 1.29, MSFT 2.32, PCAR 1.32, COF 5.29

S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 4661; 100-day MA: 4574; 150-day MA: 4513; 200-day MA: 4431

DJIA 50-day MA: 35,683; 100-day MA: 35,382; 150-day MA: 35,226; 200-day MA 34,966

S&P 500 Index – Trender trading model and MACD for key time frames
Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4153.02 triggers a sell signal
Weekly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4864.96 triggers a buy signal
Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4663.06 triggers a buy signal
Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4227.27 triggers a sell signal

Biden Family Made $31 Million From Individuals With ‘Direct Ties to Chinese Spy Apparatus’: Schweizer https://www.zerohedge.com/political/biden-family-made-31-million-individuals-direct-ties-chinese-spy-apparatus

After Brutalizing Trump for Doubting Elections, Joe Biden and Jen Psaki Tell Americans to Doubt Elections https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/24/after-brutalizing-trump-for-doubting-elections-joe-biden-and-jen-psaki-tell-americans-to-doubt-elections/

A Third FBI Agent Will Not Be Testifying in The Michigan Kidnapping Case
Henrik Impola had been accused of perjury in a different case. Prosecutors called the allegation “unfounded” but said he wouldn’t be a witness when the trial begins in March…
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jessicagarrison/a-third-fbi-agent-will-not-be-testifying-in-the-michigan

Capitol Police examines backgrounds, social media feeds of some who meet with lawmakers
The little-known new practice by the department’s intelligence analysts, instituted since the Jan. 6 attack, is highly controversial given the civil liberties concerns it raises. (Pelosi’s Stasi?)

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said in an interview that he is unaware of any members who know about the “very, very bad” practice… “Anybody involved with implementing this without making it known to the actual members of Congress should resign or be fired immediately,” he added. “And I’m not big on calling for resignations.”…
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/01/24/capitol-police-social-media-00000948

end

Well that is all for today, I will see you tomorrow night

JAN 25//

DONATE

NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED TODAY FOR JAN. CONTRACT: 0 NOTICE(S) FOR nil OZ (0.00000 TONNES)

total notices so far: 5651 contracts for 565,100 oz (17.577 tonnes)

17 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 85,000 OZ/

1/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

b) REPORT ON JAPAN

3 C CHINA

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

6.Global Issues

7. OIL ISSUES

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES

Ted Butler: JPMorgan must have ‘tricked’ Bank of America into shorting so much gold and silver

Solving A Great Gold Mystery

Ted Butler

Butler Research

Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings TUESDAY morning 7:30 AM

“Volatility Is Back”: Futures Resume Sliding After Historic Rollercoaster Reversal

3 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA

3c CHINA

China Builds 27 Empty New York Cities

A $36.4 Trillion Question?

A $45.9 Trillion Question?

Or a $116.6 Trillion Question?

Annual Interest Payments of 29 Percent of GDP?

Are Official Financial Figures Wildly Wrong?

‘No Good Deed Goes Unpunished’

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

WHO Chief Says Europe Moving Towards Pandemic “Endgame”

Police Launch ‘Partygate’ Probe As No. 10 Insists Report On Illicit Gatherings Will Arrive In Days

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

Nuke Deal Breakthrough? Iran & US Considering Direct Talks As Momentum Builds

Biden Puts 8,500 Troops On “Prepare To Deploy” Orders Over Ukraine Crisis

6// GLOBAL COVID ISSUES/VACCINE MANDATE ISSUES/

The Emergency Must Be Ended, Now

Truckers Head To Ottawa In ‘Freedom Rally’ Against Vaccine Mandate

Large, Peer-Reviewed Research Study Proves Ivermectin Works Against COVID-19

Reduced infection and hospitalization rates

Study methods

Intriguing findings

Where are the Protests at the Vaccination Clinics to Rescue the Children?

January 24, 2022 5:49 pm

Big Pharma Wants to Come into Your Home and Take Over Your Toilet Seat to “Monitor” Your Health

January 24, 2022 5:56 pm

“Fed Club Was The Beginning. Now It’s Moved Out Of The Basement, It’s Called Project Mayhem”

7. OIL ISSUES

8 EMERGING MARKET& AUSTRALIA ISSUES

Australian Authorities Say Draconian Vaccine Passports Could Last For “Years”

Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings TUESDAY morning 7:30 AM

‘Deja Vu All Over Again’ As Stocks Dump’n’Pump Again Ahead Of Fed

US Home Prices Decelerate For 4th Straight Month

Conference Board Confidence Slides In January As ‘Hope’ Fades

Court Asked To Block Punishment Of All Navy Members Seeking Religious Exemptions From Mandate

California Bill Would Let Children Get COVID-19 Jab Without Parental Approval

“Indefensible Edict” – DeSantis Rages After Biden’s FDA Restricts Use Of Monoclonal Antibody Treatments

Rationale

Other Treatments

NY Gov Slams State Supreme Court Ruling Abolishing Mask Mandate, Pledges To “Reverse It Immediately”

Woman Who Came Into Contact With Escaped Monkeys Says She Developed Symptoms

Biden Family Made $31 Million From Individuals With ‘Direct Ties To Chinese Spy Apparatus’: Schweizer

Durham: DNC Lawyer Marc Elias Has Given Grand Jury Testimony

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