GOLD PRICE CLOSE: UP $12.45 at $1790.65

SILVER PRICE CLOSE: UP 2 CENTS  to $23.13

Access prices: closes : 4: 15 PM

Gold ACCESS CLOSE 1793.45

Silver ACCESS CLOSE: 23.22

Bitcoin morning price:, 17,016 DOWN 433 DOLLARS   

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $17,019 DOWN 430 dollars

Platinum price closing  $996.05 DOWN $11.45

Palladium price; closing 1728.80  DOWN $17.20

END

Due to the huge rise in the dollar, we must look at gold and silver in currencies other than the dollar to understand where we are heading

I will now provide gold in Canadian dollars, British pounds and Euros/4: 15 PM ACCESS

CANADIAN GOLD: $2455.43 UP $29.56 CDN dollars per oz

BRITISH GOLD: 1474.65 UP 17.38 pounds per oz

EURO GOLD: 1693.93 UP 24.06  euros per oz

EXCHANGE: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: DECEMBER 2022 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,777.200000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 12/15/2022 DELIVERY DATE: 12/19/2022
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

---

104 C MIZUHO 1
132 C SG AMERICAS 1
190 H BMO CAPITAL 304
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 30
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 93
661 C JP MORGAN 255
800 C MAREX SPEC 17
880 C CITIGROUP 1

---

TOTAL: 351 351
MONTH TO DATE: 20,092

COMEX//NOTICES FILED re JPMorgan  253/351

DONATE

Click here if you wish to send a donation. I sincerely appreciate it as this site takes a lot of preparation.

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC. CONTRACT:   351 NOTICES FOR 35,100  OZ  or 1.0917 TONNES

total notices so far: 20,092 contracts for 2,009,200 oz (62.494 tonnes)

 

SILVER NOTICES: 1 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 5,000 OZ/

 

total number of notices filed so far this month  3565 for 17,825,000  oz

---

---

END

GLD

WITH GOLD UP $12.45

INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL  (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD//BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /////HUGE CHANGES IN GLD INVENTORY:A DEPOSIT 2.32 TONNES TONNES OUT IF THE GLD

INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.88 TONNES

Silver//SLV

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP 2 CENTS

AT THE SLV// :/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV THESE PAST 3 WEEKS! A LOSS OF 1.85 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV

CLOSING INVENTORY: 508.15 MILLION OZ (THIS IS ALSO A CRIME SCENE@!!!!

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUGE SIZED 2344 CONTRACTS TO 123,124 AND FURTHER FROM  THE  RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THE LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE  $0.74 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON THURSDAY.  OUR SHORTERS/HFT WERE  SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.74 AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING CONSIDERABLE  SPEC LONGS, AS WE HAD AN HUGE  SIZED LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1591 CONTRACTS. AS WELL WE HAD  EXCHANGE FOR RISK TRANSFER OF 0 CONTRACTS.  WE HAD VERY LITTLE   SPEC SHORT COVERINGS OF  THEIR SHORTFALL. .WE PROBABLY HAD HUGE SHORT ADDITIONS WITH THE HUGE  PRICE FALL OF THE SILVER. // OUR  BANKERS CONTINUE TO BE PURCHASERS OF NET COMEX LONGS. BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT CONTRACTS>>> SOME INCREASE OF NEWBIE SPEC LONGS ADDING TO THEIR POSITIONS CAUSING ADDITIONAL MISERY TO OUR SHORTERS.

WE  MUST HAVE HAD: 
A FAIR  ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT  23 .24. MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY;S E.F.P. JUMP TO LONDON of 110,000 OZ //  V)   GIGANTIC SIZED COMEX OI LOSS/ 

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL —148

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 14 days, total 7454 contracts:   OR 37.27  MILLION OZ PER DAY. (532 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 37,27 MILLION OZ

.

LAST 17 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 

JAN 2022//  90.460 MILLION OZ

FEB 2022:  72.39 MILLION OZ//

MARCH: 207.430  MILLION OZ//A NEW RECORD FOR EFP ISSUANCE 

APRIL: 114.52 MILLION OZ FINAL//LOW ISSUANCE

MAY: 105.635 MILLION OZ//

JUNE: 94.470 MILLION OZ

JULY : 87.110 MILLION OZ 

AUGUST: 65.025 MILLION OZ 

SEPT. 74.025 MILLION OZ///FINAL

OCT.  29.017 MILLION OZ FINAL

NOV: 134.290 MILLION OZ//FINAL

DEC, 37.27 MILLION OZ INITIAL( VERY SMALL)

RESULT: WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2344 WITH OUR  $0.74 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// THURSDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A FAIR  SIZED EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 605 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR MAR AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH  EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX  TO LONDON  AS FORWARDS./ WE HAVE A GOOD INITIAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR DEC OF  23.24 MILLION  OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY:S 110,000 E,F,P. JUMP  //NEW STANDING 23.480 MILLION OZ + EFR = 33.870 MILLION OZ.  .. WE HAVE AN HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 1591 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES FOR 8.695 MILLION  OZ.. THE SILVER SHORTS ARE NOW TRAPPED AS THEY ARE HAVING CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY IN COVERING THOSE SHORTS.

 WE HAD  1  NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR  5,000 OZ

THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL  BY A VERY STRONG SIZED 10,210  CONTRACTS  TO 426,124 AND FURTHER FROM  THE 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: added 101  CONTRACTS.

.

THE HUGE SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI CAME WITH OUR  STRONG LOSS IN PRICE. WE ALSO HAD A STRONG INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR DEC. AT 58.86 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE  FOLLOWED BY TODAY:S HUGE QUEUE JUMP of 169 contracts or 16,900 oz//(QUEUE JUMPING = EXERCISING LONDON BASED EFP’S WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MONTH’S END) (EFP is the transfer of  contracts immediately to London for potential gold deliveries originating from London). NEW STANDING 62.659 TONNES

YET ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR LOSS PRICE OF  $29.20 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING

WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 7199 OI CONTRACTS (22.39 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES..

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3011 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 426,023 

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 7199 CONTRACTS  WITH 10,210 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX AND 3011 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS  TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 7199 CONTRACTS OR 22.39 TONNES.

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3011 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (10,210) TOTAL LOSS IN THE TWO EXCHANGES 7199 CONTRACTS. WE NO DOUBT HAD 1) ZERO  SPECULATOR SHORT COVERINGS // CONTINUED GOOD BANKER ADDITIONS BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY PAPER SHORT.  WE  HAD HUGE SHORT SPEC ADDITIONS/// // SMALL   NEWBIE SPEC  ADDITIONS  ,2.) STRONG INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DEC. AT 58.86 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP of 16900 oz// //NEW STANDING 63.676 TONNES///3) CONSIDERABLE LONG LIQUIDATION //.,4)   STRONG SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER/

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2022 INCLUDING TODAY

DEC

ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DEC :

32,397  CONTRACTS OR 3,239,700 OZ OR 100.76 TONNES 14 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2314 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 14 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES:100.76   TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2021, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  100.76/3550 x 100% TONNES  2.84% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO 2022 

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.           175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE// 

JAN:2022   247.25 TONNES //FINAL

FEB:           196.04 TONNES//FINAL

MARCH:  409.30 TONNES INITIAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.

APRIL:  169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY  LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)

MAY:  247,44 TONNES FINAL// 

JUNE: 238.13 TONNES  FINAL

JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL

SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL

OCT:  177.57  TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)

NOV.  223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)

DEC:  100.74 tonnes Initial//VERY SMALL

SPREADING OPERATIONS

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

SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED   AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE  NEW   NON ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF NOV. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF BOTH SILVER AND GOLD (WILL BE SMALL AS SPREADERS DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO NOVEMBER)

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 OCT HEADING TOWARDS THE NON  ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF NOV., FOR BOTH GOLD AND SILVER:

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 (NOV), 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.”

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 GIGANTIC SIZED 2344 CONTRACTS OI TO  123,733 AND FURTHER FROM OUR COMEX HIGH 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  5 YEARS AGO.  

EFP ISSUANCE 605 CONTRACTS

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

MAR  605 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 605 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  IF WE TAKE THE  COMEX OI LOSS  OF2344  CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 605 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,

WE OBTAIN AN HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 1739 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES. 

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS  ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 8.695 MILLION OZ//

OCCURRED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF  $0.74….. OUR SPEC SHORTS HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE!

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

2 ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,

(Peter Schiff,

end

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

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

end

5. Other gold/silver commentaries

6. Commodity commentaries//

7/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

3. ASIAN AFFAIRS

i)FRIDAY MORNING//THURSDAY  NIGHT

 SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.79 PTS OR 0,02%   //Hang Sang CLOSED UP 82.08 OR  0.42%    /The Nikkei closed DOWN 524.58 OR 1.87%          //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN  0.73%   /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 6.98721//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN DOWN TO 6.9813//    /Oil DOWN TO 74,47 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 79.54    / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED.        ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER

a)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/

OUTLINE

3 C CHINA

OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS

OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

OUTLINE

6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE 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 FELL BY A VERY STRONG SIZED 10,210 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 426,124 WITH OUR THE HUGE LOSS IN PRICE..$29.20

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

WE ARE NOW IN THE -ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DEC…  THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A FAIR  SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,

THAT IS 3011 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED:  ;: ,  . 0 FEB: 3011 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE:3011   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 LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED  TOTAL OF 7199 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3011 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A STRONG SIZED  COMEX OI LOSS OF 10,210  CONTRACTS..AND  THIS STRONG SIZED LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF GOLD $29.20. WE ARE WITNESSING  HUGE SPEC SHORTS ADDITIONS TO THEIR SHORTFALL. BANKERS CONTINUE  AS NET BUYERS OF COMEX GOLD CONTRACTS AS THEY HAVE BEEN NET LONG FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS.  WE ALSO HAD SOME  NEWBIE SPECS ADDITIONS. 

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING DEC  (63.626)

TONNES),

 HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS OF 2021-2022:

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  YEAR  2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES

YEAR 2022:

JANUARY 2022  17.79 TONNES

FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES

MARCH: 36.678 TONNES

APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.

MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL

JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL

JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL

SEPT.  38.1158 TONNES

OCT:  77.390 TONNES/ FINAL

NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL (TOTAL SO FAR THIS YEAR 591.535 TONNES)

Dec. 63.626 tonnes

THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT FELL BY $29.20)  //// ( AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING SOME  SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A STRONG LOSS OF 7199 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES >. WE HAD HUGE NUMBER OF NEW SPEC SHORT ADDITIONS AND  NEGLIGIBLE SPEC SHORT COVERINGS..  //    WE HAVE LOST A TOTAL OI  OF 22.706 PAPER TONNES OF TOTAL OI FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR DEC. (54.57 TONNES), following our queue jump of 16900 oz//new standing 63.626 tonnes…THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $29.20 

WE HAD +101 CONTRACTS  COMEX TRADES REMOVED FROM OPEN INTEREST AFTER TRADING ENDED LAST NIGHT

NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 7199 CONTRACTS OR 719,900 OZ OR 22.39 TONNES

Estimated gold volume 124,652// poor//

final gold volumes/yesterday  191,821/  poor

INITIAL STANDINGS FOR  DECEMBER 2022 COMEX GOLD //DEC 16

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz	nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz	nil  oz .
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz	nil oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz	nil oz
No of oz served (contracts) today	449 notice(s) 44,900 OZ 2.9519 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	384 contracts    38,400 oz 1.1944 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	20,072  notices 2,007,200 62.494 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

i)Dealer deposits: 0

total dealer deposit:  nil oz

No dealer withdrawals

Customer deposits: 0

 customer withdrawals: 9

Total withdrawals: nil oz 

total in tonnes: .0 tonnes

Adjustments: 0

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER.

For the front month of DECEMBER we have an oi of 735 contracts having LOST 618  contracts 

We had 449 contracts served on Thursday, so we gained A STRONG  169 contracts or an additional 16,900 oz will stand for gold at the COMEX. We will gain in gold tonnage from this day forth.

The comex is running out of physical gold to serve our good friends over in London

JANUARY LOST 76 contracts to stand at 1222

February LOST 9018  contacts  to 362,509

We had 351  notice(s) filed today for 35,100 oz 

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 equate to  351  contract(s) of which 0   notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and  255 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 DEC. /2022. contract month, 

we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (20,092 x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  (DEC. 735 CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today 351 x 100 oz per contract equals 2,045,600 OZ  OR 63.626 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this    active month of DEC. 

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

No of notices filed so far (20,092 x 100 oz+   (735 OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (351} x 100 oz} which equals 2,045,600 oz standing OR 63.626 TONNES in this  active delivery month of DEC..

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING:  63.626 TONNES  (A POOR STANDING//COMEX RUNNING OUT OF PHYSICAL TO SERVE UPON OUR LONGS.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

we had one adjustment of 110,631.591 oz Brinks

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC  5.94 TONNES

204,937.290 PLEDGED  MANFRA 3.08 TONNES

83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1  1.690 tonnes

265,999.054, oz  JPM No 2 

1,152,376.639 oz pledged  Brinks/

Manfra:  33,758.550 oz

Delaware: 193.721 oz

International Delaware::  11,188.542 o

total pledged gold:  2,091,091.771 OZ   65.04 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED:  23,296,383.403 OZ  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD: 11,715,470.652  OZ (364.40 tonnes)..dropping fast

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 11,580,913.351 OZ  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 9,624,379 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 299.35 tonnes//rapidly declining 

END

SILVER/COMEX

DEC 16//INITIAL DEC. SILVER CONTRACT

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	1,313,296.020 oz Brinks Loomis JPMorgan
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory	nil OZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	1,175,126.942 oz Brinks Delaware
No of oz served today (contracts)	1 CONTRACT(S)    (5,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	1109 contracts  (5,545,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	3565 contracts  (17,850,000 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

i)  0 dealer deposit

total dealer deposits:  nil   oz

i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal

total dealer withdrawals:  oz

We have 2 deposits into the customer account

i) Into Delaware  569,755.202 oz

ii) into Brinks:  605,371.720 oz

Total deposits:  1,175,126.942 oz 

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 149.686 million oz/297.847 million =50.26% of comex .//dropping fast

  Comex withdrawals:3

i) Out of Brinks 83,924.34 oz

i) Out of Loomis: 197,406.460 oz

ii) Out of JPMorgan: 1031,965.220 oz

Total withdrawals; 1,313,296.020 oz

adjustments: 2

dealer to customer:  Brinks  10,051.680 oz

and

Manfra:  9795.400 oz

the silver comex is in stress!

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 33,672 MILLION OZ (declining rapidly).TOTAL REG + ELIG. 297.847MILLION OZ (also declining)

CALCULATION OF SILVER OZ STANDING FOR SEPT

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF DEC OI: 1110  CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 38  CONTRACT(S.) 

WE HAD  16  NOTICES FILED ON THURSDAY. SO WE LOST 22 CONTRACTS  OR  110,000 oz

AS AN EFP JUMP TO LONDON 

JANUARY SAW A LOSS OF 31  CONTRACTS  LOWERING TO  1582 CONTACTS.

FEB> GAINED 4  CONTRACTS TO 114 CONTRACTS

March LOST 2370 contracts DOWN to 108,447 contracts

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY:  16 for  80,000 oz

Comex volumes// est. volume today  48,474// fair  

Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 64,120 contracts ( fair)

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DEC. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 3565 x  5,000 oz = 17,825,000 oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC(1110) and the number of notices served upon today 1 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the  standings for silver for the DEC./2022 contract month: 3565 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for front month of DEC (1110 – number of notices served upon today (1) x 500 oz of silver standing for the DEC. contract month equates 23.370 million oz.. Also we have another criminal element to our silver oz standing, the use of Exchange for Risk/  Today an addition of 0 EFR contract transfers which are “Exchange for risk” settlements.  I do not want to bore you but needless to say  they are not physical transfers so are criminal in nature. There have been 2100 Exchange for Risk contracts settled these past 8 days for 10.500 million oz.  Thus total delivery:  33.870 million oz.

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

Comex volumes:37,982// est. volume today//   poor

Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 77,222 contracts ( good)

END

GLD AND SLV INVENTORY LEVELS

DEC 16/WITH GOLD UP $12.45: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.32 TONNES INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.88 TONNES

DEC 15//WITH GOLD DOWN $31.00: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.16 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 911.56 TONNES

DEC 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.20: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.32 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.72 TONNES

DEC 13/WITH GOLD UP $32.75: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.32 TONNES INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 910.41

DEC 12/WITH GOLD DOWN $17.60: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 908.09 TONNES

DEC 9/WITH GOLD UP $8.90//NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 908.09 TONNES

Dec 8/WITH GOLD UP $4.05, OVER THE PAST 3 WEEKS WE LOST 2.04 TONNES//INVENTORY RESTS AT 908.09 TONNES

NOV 14/WITH GOLD UP $7.30: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.45 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 910.12 TONNES

NOV 11/WITH GOLD UP $15.25//BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.19 TONNES INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 911.57 TONNES

NOV 10/WITH GOLD UP $40.75: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 908.38 TONNES

NOV 9/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.00:  BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.89 TONNES INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 908.38 TONNES

NOV 8/WITH GOLD UP $34.40: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.47 TONNES FROM THE GLD//: INVENTORY RESTS AT 905.49 TONNES

NOV 7/WITH GOLD UP $2.95: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.63 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.96. TONNES

NOV 4/WITH GOLD UP $44.45 TO $1673.30: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.48 TONNES FROMTHE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 911.59 TONNES.

NOV 3/WITH GOLD DOWN $18.30 TO $1628.85: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.05 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 915.07 TONNES

NOV 2/WITH GOLD UP 55 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.45 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 919.12 TONNES.

NOV 1/WITH GOLD UP $9.20 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.02 TONNES FORM THE GLD../INVENTORY RESTS AT 920.57 TONNES

OCT 31/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.00; BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.61 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 922.59. TONNES//

OCT28/WITH GOLD DOWN $19.70 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.19 TONNES FROM THE GLD..///INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.20 TONNES

OCT 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.80: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.39 TONNES

OCT 26/WITH GOLD UP $11.65 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.39 TONNES

OCT 25/WITH GOLD UP $3.85: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.39 TONNES

OCT 24/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.80 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.89 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.10 TONNES

OCT 21/WITH GOLD UP $19.10: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.74 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.99 TONNES

OCT 20/WITH GOLD UP $2.40: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.08 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 932.73 TONNES

OCT 19/WITH GOLD DOWN $20.65:: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .29 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 938.81 TONNES

OCT 18/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.40: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.03 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 939.10 TONNES

OCT 17/WITH GOLD UP $14.55: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.28 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 941.13 TONNES

OCT 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $26.50 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.16 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 944.31 TONNES

OCT 13/WITH GOLD DOWN $0.40 TODAY: A DEPOSIT OF 1.16 TONNES INTO THE GLD// CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 945.47 TONNES

OCT 12/WITH GOLD UP $4.00 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 944.31 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 913.88  TONNES

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

DEC 16/WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.85 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 508.15 MILLION OZ//

DEC 15/WITH SILVER DOWN 78 CENTS: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF EXACTLY 2.00 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 510.000 MILLION OZ

DEC 14/WITH SILVER UP 7 CENTS: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.7 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 512.000 MILLION OZ//

DEC 13/WITH SILVER UP 59 CENTS: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 600,000 OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 513.900 MILLION OZ//

DEC 12/WITH SILVER DOWN 33 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 514.500 MILLION OZ//

DEC 9/WITH SILVER RISING 77 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.2 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 514.500 MILLION OZ.

DEC 8/WITH SILVER RISING 34 CENTS TODAY: OVER THE PAST 3 WEEKS, WE HAVE GAINED A STRONG: 44.777 MILLION OZ/INVENTORY RESTS AT 516.700 MILION OZ.

NOV 14/WITH SILVER UP 41 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.923 MILLION OZ//

NOV 11/WITH SILVER DOWN 2 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 553,000 OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.923 MILLION OZ//

NOV 10/WITH SILVER UP 39 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV; A DEPOSIT OF 368,000 OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 472.476 MILLION OZ//

NOV 9/WITH SILVER DOWN 10 CENTS: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/; A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.821 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 472.108 MILLION OZ//

NOV 8/WITH SILVER UP 48 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.751 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 475.929 MILLION OZ//

NOV 7/WITH SILVER UP 12 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 477.678 MILLION OZ//

NOV 4/WITH SILVER UP $1.31 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.972 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 477.678 MILLION OZ//

NOV 3.WITH SILVER DOWN 16 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 566,000 OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 482.650 MILLION OZ//

NOV 2/WITH SILVER DOWN 9 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 92,000 OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.216 MILLION OZ//

NOV 1/WITH SILVER UP 53 CENTS TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 415,000 OZ FORM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.308 MILLION OZ

OCT 31: WITH SILVER FLAT: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF .644 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 483.723 MILLION OZ//

OCT 28/WITH SILVER DOWN 35 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 276,000 OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.367 MILLION OZ//

OCT 27/WITH SILVER UP 3 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE S: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.579 MILLION OZ FROMTHE SLV/////INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.091 MILLION OZ//

OCT 26/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.013 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 486.670 MILLION OZ./.

OCT 25/WITH SILVER UP 17 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.083 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.683 MILLION OZ/

OCT 24/WITH SILVER UP 6 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF .553 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.610 MILLION OZ//

OCT 21/WITH SILVER UP 43 CENTS: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF .46 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 486.163MILLION OZ//

OCT 20/WITH SILVER UP 33 CENTS: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF .921 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 485.703 MILLION OZ//

OCT 19/WITH SILVER DOWN 27 CENTS: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.105 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 486.624 MILLION OZ///

OCT 18/WITH SILVER DOWN 5 CENTS:BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.658 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 487.729 MILLION OZ///

OCT 17/WITH SILVER UP 53 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.151 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY REST AT 486.071 MILLION OZ//

OCT 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 77 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.211 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 484.920 MILLION OZ//

OCT 13/WITH SILVER DOWN 2 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 4.513 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 482.709 MILLION OZ//

CLOSING INVENTORY 508.15 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER STORIES

1:Peter Schiff  

2 Lawrie Williams//Pam and Russ Martens/Jim Rickards/Mathew Piepenburg/Von Greyerz//Rickards:

end

LAWRIE WILLIAMS:

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

Your weekend reading material

(Alasdair Macleod/GATA)

Alasdair Macleod: Rising rates lead to financial accidents

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2022-12-15 11:53Section: Daily Dispatches

By Alasdair Macleod
GoldMoney, Toronto
Thursday, December 15, 2022

A recent Bank for International Settlements paper warning of unappreciated risks in foreign exchange markets echoes my earlier warning in an article for Goldmoney published over a month ago describing derivative risks in FX markets.

In this article I also show evidence that banks in both the U.S. and Eurozone are reducing the deposit side of their balance sheets by turning away big deposits that are ending up in central bank reverse repos, parking unwanted liquidity out of public circulation. The great unwind is well underway.

Credit contraction is not only driving a bear market in financial assets, but the exposure to malinvestments by rising interest rates is having negative consequences for the non-financial economy as well. Private equity, which has thrived on cheap finance used to leverage targeted businesses, is showing signs of unwinding with two major Blackrock funds suspending redemptions.

As we approach the season for year-end window dressing, we must hope that the volatility in thin markets that often accompanies it does not destabilise global financial markets. 

… For the remainder of the analysis:

https://www.goldmoney.com/research/rising-rates-lead-to-financial-accidents?gmrefcode=gata

END

Very interesting:  for the first time, India’s government is getting more favourable towards gold as money

(Reuters/GATA)

---

India’s government keeps getting more favorable toward gold as money

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2022-12-15 17:36Section: Daily Dispatches

India to Invite Bids for Extracting Gold from Dumps at Colonial-Era Mines

By Neha Arora and Mayank Bhardwaj
Reuters
Thursday, December 15, 2022

NEW DELHI — India plans to invite bids to extract gold from 50 million tonnes of processed ore in a cluster of colonial-era mines in the southern state of Karnataka, a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter said today.

The Kolar fields, located about 65 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of India’s technology hub of Bengaluru, are among the country’s oldest gold mines

The Kolar mines, closed more than 20 years ago, held gold deposits worth around $2.1 billion, and India is now keen to take advantage of new technology that can extract gold from even the leftovers of ore that was processed in the past.

Other than gold, the government also aims to extract palladium from the processed ore, or dumps, said the official, who did not wish to be named, in line with official rules.

“We are looking at how to monetise these gold reserves trapped in the processed ore,” the official said. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/india-invite-bids-extracting-gold-dumps-colonial-era-mines-2022-12-15/

end

GOLD/SILVER

/4.  OTHER PHYSICAL SILVER/GOLD COMMENTARIES

Ep. 103 Live from the Vault

A MUST VIEW

https://kinesis.money/live-from-the-vault/

Gold channelling East – How much does China really own? Feat. London Paul

In this week’s Live from the Vault, Andrew Maguire joins publisher and analyst London Paul to explore a multipolar metals market, following the reveal that China bolstered its gold reserves after offloading hundreds of billions of US Treasuries in recent months.

The precious metals expert dissects how the BIS is now squaring up 50 years of accrued leases and questions how the full implementation of NSFR regulation could affect investors into 2023 and beyond.

https://kinesis.money/live-from-the-vault/

end

5. Commodity commentaries//IRON ORE

END

6/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

A huge story:  Binance the largest exchange for cryptos witnesses their “proof of reserves” removed from Auditor’s site.  Investors begin pulling their bitcoins etc

from them. All cyrptos will go to their instrinsic value and that value is zero!

(zerohedge)

Bitcoin Tumbles As Binance ‘Proof-Of-Reserves’ Removed From Auditor’s Site

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 07:20 AM

Update (0720ET): Crypto exchange Binance has seen its proof-of-reserve audits removed from auditor Mazars’ website.

“Mazars has indicated that they will temporarily pause their work with all of their crypto clients globally, which include Crypto.com, KuCoin, and Binance. Unfortunately, this means that we will not be able to work with Mazars for the moment,” a spokesperson for the firm said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News on Friday.

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao was quick to react to the news on Twitter with a retweet from a random commenter.

“Making a statement on why an auditing company decided to quit working with crypto? Ask them lol,” the tweet reads.

The news comes shortly after Mazars confirmed on Dec. 7 that Binance possessed control over 575,742 Bitcoin of its customers, worth around $9.7 billion at the time of writing.

The report has since been also removed from Mazars’ website.

CZ appeared on CNBC yesterday to ‘explain’…

Holy Sh*t!

Get your bitcoin OFF Binance.#bitcoinpic.twitter.com/xSxNoyARXH— Neil Jacobs (@NeilJacobs) December 15, 2022

Bitcoin puked right as the Mazars headlines hit, dropping back to $17,000…

*  *  *

As Bitcoin Magazine Pro’s Dylan LeClair and Sam Rule asked (and answered) earlier, is Binance facing FUD or legitimate questions? 

Binance’s bitcoin balance sees its largest one-day outflow ever. BUSD stablecoin experiences large redemptions and the price legitimacy for the exchange-native BNB token is called into question.

By far, one of the biggest winners in the aftermath of the FTX collapse has seemed — on the surface — to be Binance. After only having 7.82% market share of the bitcoin supply on exchanges in 2018, their share is now 27.50% despite a much broader trend of bitcoin supply leaving exchanges. The bitcoin balance on Binance now totals 595,864 BTC, which is 3.1% of outstanding supply, worth $10.58 billion. This bitcoin belongs to their customers and reflects a growing trend in market share over the last few years that has made Binance the largest bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange in the world.

As highlighted previously in “The Exchange War: Binance Smells Blood As FTX/Alameda Rumors Mount,” Binance now controls approximately 60% of the spot and derivatives volume in the entire market as well. It’s hard to see how any exchange in the space can be a “winner” in the current market conditions, but one could make the case for Binance, with the exchange’s growing strength in a decimated industry. On top of that, Binance’s BNB token, the native currency of Binance’s own Ethereum-competing Layer 1 blockchain, is still one of the better performing tokens when valued in bitcoin terms this year.

Yet, is this recent “strength” everything that it seems or is it a facade? We’ve learned over the last month that no company is safe in this industry right now (especially exchanges) and questions are growing around Binance’s practices, solvency, BNB token value and the overall state of their business over the last few weeks. Is it FUD or legit? Let’s try to break some of it down, addressing the concerns through an objective and skeptical lens. 

Binance Flows

Over the last day, we’ve seen significant outflows from Binance across different various tokens and bitcoin when looking at both Nansen and Glassnode tracking. Across ETH and ERC20 tokens, Binance saw $3 billion leaving the exchange in its largest single-day outflow since June. Across Nansen total wallet tracking, all Binance balances are estimated at $62.5 billion with around 50% of those balances in stablecoins across BUSD and USDT.

Source: Nansen

Source: Nansen

According to Glassnode, the total bitcoin exchange balance on Binance is down around 6-7% over the last day, after reaching a peak on December 1. Although balances remain above 500,000 bitcoin and Binance has shown a rising trend of bitcoin balances on the platform this year, this is a significant move for outflows in just 24 hours. The largest one-day change in bitcoin outflows was just shy of 4% back in July.  As a general comparison, the trend of bitcoin exchange balances was a much different story for FTX, whose balance had been falling heavily since June.

Note that in some of the charts below, exchange balances are using daily data from Glassnode instead of 10-minute or 1-hour intervals where we can see more of the latest bitcoin exchange outflows. The numbers above reference the latest 1-hour interval data. Exchange balance data, especially intraday, can change and data is typically more reliable on a longer time horizon, especially given that we have little insight into Glassnode’s classification and data science techniques that are used to label different wallets and addresses. Yet, however you cut the data, Binance outflows over the last 24 hours are a bit alarming and raise questions: Is this a one-off event and just business as usual or is this the start of something more?

In absolute terms, the last 24 hours have brought about the largest ever flight away from Binance for both bitcoin and stablecoins — an extremely notable move.

In particular, in the case of BUSD, Binance’s native stablecoin that has its reserves custodied by U.S. financial firm Paxos, there has been a notable amount of redemptions as of late. Large holders of BUSD have been withdrawing from Binance and sending it to Paxos, redeeming the stablecoins for dollars. This shows up as BUSD being “burned” at the Paxos Treasury.

Readers can track the on-chain addresses provided by Binance for free here.

The main cause for concern is not whether Binance has any bitcoin/crypto or not. We can transparently see that the firm controls tens of billions worth of crypto assets. What isn’t exactly clear, similar to FTX, is whether the firm has commingled users funds or whether the firm has any outstanding liabilities against user assets.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has said that the firm has no liabilities with any other firms, but as recent months have shown, words don’t mean all that much. While we are not claiming that CZ is lying to the public about the state of Binance finances, we have no way to prove otherwise.

CZ’s response as to whether the company was going to audit liabilities against user assets was, “Yes, but liabilities are harder. We don’t owe any loans to anyone. You can ask around.”

Unfortunately, “ask around” isn’t a satisfactory enough answer for an ecosystem supposedly built around the ethos of don’t trust, verify.

While there is no doubt that Binance is an industry giant in the crypto derivatives industry, how do we know the firm isn’t doing similar things as past actors in regards to trading against clients using user funds and/or proprietary data. Things like the former Chief Legal Officer of Coinbase departing Binance U.S. last summer after just three months as the CEO leaves one with many questions.

To add to our skepticism, the price of the Binance exchange token BNB is near all-time highs in bitcoin terms, appreciating an astounding 828% against bitcoin in the last 785 calendar days.

Is BNB, a more centralized cousin to Ethereum, really worth approximately 14% of all bitcoin that will ever exist? BNB is not equity in the Binance company. BNB is a crypto token spun up from nothing in 2017.

BNB is one of the few cryptocurrencies that is up year-to-date in bitcoin terms, with the others being illiquid alts well below their BTC-denominated all-time highs.

The only other two outperformers during 2022 have been the “meme” DOGE, which is 55% below its all time high in bitcoin terms, and quasi-security XRP, which has been delisted by major exchanges and is 87% below its all-time highs in bitcoin terms.

Why is the outperformance so notable? Why are we hammering this point so hard? Because financial markets aren’t magical machines tied to a fantasy-land reality. Financial markets — while appearing to be disconnected from reality at times — always come crashing down to reality, exposing those that were possibly perceived as giants once before.

For the most part, the crypto industry is an attempt at modern alchemy, and exchange tokens minted from nothing with centrally engineered “tokenomics” are no different.

In fact, they are part of the problem.

It could be possible that BNB was pushed up with the internal help of Binance or its unofficial affiliates during the bull run. Just look at the volume profile of where coins changed hands on its native exchange. While it would be a leap of faith to say this took place directly using customer funds à la FTX, the revenue of the company has been used to buy back the token, similar to a stock buyback.

While it remains to be seen whether the firm is levered against its own token in any sort of way, it would certainly be no surprise to us if the company supported the ascent of the token/chain, similarly to many other exchanges with token that outperformed bitcoin during the bull run. BNB is a “blockchain” that can be arbitrarily halted by the Binance team. It is not even attempting to be a decentralized application set. 

That’s fine, but we remain extremely skeptical that its relative valuation against bitcoin — what we believe to be humanity’s best bet as decentralized digital cash — is tethered to reality. 

How does something that traded with double the realized volatility of bitcoin during the bull market now have the same implied volatility in the bear market after it has appreciated by over an order of magnitude with a strong relative outperformance throughout 2022? 

The entire “industry” is cross-collateralized, and all of the altcoins are merely riding on the beta of bitcoin with far less liquidity, thus having greater volatility and potential (fleeting) upside. 

We think this attempt at modern alchemy is destined to fail, at worst. At best, the asset likely drastically underperforms global neutral money through its adoption phase. Said differently, the worst-case, paranoid-style take would be that the exchange rate of BNB is tied to the solvency status of Binance the exchange. We don’t think that there is an overly strong probability of this outcome per say, but it is certainly non-zero.

The coming weeks will be full of headlines around the state of global crypto regulation in a post-FTX world. In a 48-hour period, Reuters published news stating that the U.S. Justice Dept is split over charging Binance, Binance withdrawals for bitcoin and aggregate stablecoin pairs have hit all-time highs and the BNB exchange token has fallen 10% relative to bitcoin.

Out of an abundance of caution, we will continue to urge readers operating on any centralized exchange — of which Binance is most definitely included — to look into self custody solutions. There have been far too many instances of incompetence and/or misconduct from exchanges.

It’s not that we don’t trust CZ or Binance, it’s the fact that we don’t trust anyone.

The whole point of bitcoin is we now have an asset that is truly the liability of no one. Verify the ownership of an open distributed network with cryptography; don’t trust permissioned IOUs. With the mix of regulatory concerns about the global crypto derivatives industry, a questionable exchange token with unbelievable relative performance over the last two years and a shaky proof-of-reserves attestation — that was incorrectly claimed to be an audit and had industry CEOs raising eyebrows — we find the need to urge our readers to evaluate their counterparty risk.

We will update readers as the situation developers.

end

1. YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS/FRIDAY MORNING.7:30 AM

ONSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO  6.98721

OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.98130

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.79 PTS OR  0.02%

HANG SANG CLOSED UP 82.08 OR 0.42% 

2. Nikkei closed DOWN  524.58  PTS OR 1.87%

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL  RED

USA dollar INDEX UP TO  104.20 Euro FALLS TO 106.20 DOWN 18 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.249!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 137.08/JAPANESE YEN COLLAPSING AS WELL AS LONG TERM YIELDS RISING BREAKING THE JAPANESE CENTRAL BANK.

3c Nikkei now  ABOVE 17,000

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

3e Gold UP /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE YUAN:   DOWN-//  OFF- SHORE: DOWN

3f 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. EIGHTY percent of Japanese budget financed with debt.

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

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund UP TO +2.1510%***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield RISES to 4.302%*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD RISES TO 3.253…** DANGEROUS//

3i Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO 4.35//

3j Gold at $1776.90//silver at: 23.17  7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 0  AND 30/100        roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 64.65//

3m oil into the 74 dollar handle for WTI and  77 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 137.08 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 0.9297– as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9873 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: 3.480% UP 5 BASIS PTS…GETTING DANGEROUS

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.540% UP 5 BASIS PTS//

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18,65…

GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: 3.387 % UP 14 BASIS PTS

end

i.b  Overnight:  Newsquawk and Zero hedge:

 FIRST, ZEROHEDGE (PRE USA OPENING// MORNING

Futures Tumble Ahead Of $4 Trillion Quad Witch, 2nd Biggest Ever OpEx

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 08:06 AM

A miserable week for global stocks – which wrongfooted traders as risk first soared after a weaker than expected CPI only to tumble more than 7% just two days later – was set to end with even more selling on Friday after hawkish signals from the Fed and the ECB sparked worries about higher-for-longer interest rates leading to a possible recession: the latest economic data signaled a slowdown in US growth; data from France showed that it faces a greater recession risk, with its PMI falling to its lowest level in two years. Similarly UK companies are steeling themselves for an economic contraction, with both the manufacturing and service sectors experiencing a slump in the fourth quarter. Economists now see a 60% probability of recession in the US and an 80% chance in Europe. Equity analysts have cut 12-month earnings estimates for the regions to the lowest levels since March and July, respectively.

Not helping matters is today’s massive, $4 trillion quad-witching option expiration, which as we previewed yesterday threatens to become a liquidity-draining vortex just as CTAs are forced to dump stocks. potentially leading to outsized price moves. With the S&P 500 stuck for weeks within 100 points of peak gamma at the 4,000 strike, the sheer volume provides a positioning reset that could turbocharge market moves. Given the backdrop of hawkish central banks and slowing growth, worries are mounting the expiration will act as an air pocket.

Finally, bitcoin plunged back under $17K following news that accounting firm Mazars has paused work for all crypto clients globally, according to Binance, which was a customer of the auditing firm.

Between all that, it is perhaps surprising that S&P futures are down only 1% while contracts on the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.62% by 6:56 a.m. in New York. The overnight selloff accelerated when Europe opened as European peripheral bonds blew out amid fears that the ECB’s aggressive tightening and QT will crash the European bond market. The dollar fluctuated and Treasuries dropped across the curve. Oil trimmed a weekly gain, sliding more than 2% amid renewed fears that the Fed is pushing the US into a crash-landing.

The S&P 500 index, already on track for its biggest annual slump since 2008, erased another $1.1 trillion in market capitalization in the past two days after both the Fed and the ECB took a more hawkish tone than expected about how much further rates will need to rise to tame inflation. The MSCI ACWI Index, the global equities gauge, headed for a 1.4% retreat this week.

“The worrying aspect for markets is the rate hike finishing lines are still unknown, and we have the two most dominant central banks in the world climbing the mountain into very restrictive territory,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, wrote in a note. “Hiking interest rates into a dimming macro environment will undoubtedly trigger a recession. The question is just how profound.”

Ann-Katrin Petersen, senior investment strategist at BlackRock Investment Institute, said on Bloomberg Television that central banks were starting to acknowledge they will have to crush growth and will likely engineer recessions to tame inflation.

Among notable moves in US premarket trading, Adobe shares are up 3.7% in premarket trading, after the software company reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Analysts said the report speaks to positive demand for creative design software despite economic uncertainties. Guardant Health shares sank after following disappointing results from a study of its blood test for detecting colorectal cancer in average-risk adults. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Amazon (AMZN US) falls 1.3% in premarket trading as JPMorgan cut its price target on the stock to $130 from $145 primarily due to AWS revenue deceleration and margin compression amid challenging macro conditions. .
• Meta Platforms (META US) rises 1.7% in premarket trading as JPMorgan raised the recommendation on the stock to overweight from neutral, citing increased cost discipline and a more favorable revenue outlook.
• Lanvin (LANV US) shares surge 56% in US premarket trading, following a volatile New York trading debut for the luxury group that saw its stock bounce between a gain of as much as 130% and declines of more than 50%.
• Stocks exposed to cryptocurencies drop in US premarket trading, as the price of Bitcoin fell below the $17,000 level after the Binance exchange said French auditor Mazars Group had paused work for all crypto clients globally. Hut 8 Mining (HUT CN) -4.6%, Block (SQ US) -2.1%.

“Recessionary fears raced back to the top of the agenda and any thoughts of a Santa rally have all but evaporated, with previous hopes of peak inflation and interest rates being soundly rejected,” said Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. “Comments from the ECB in particular that ‘we are not slowing down, we are in for the long game’ were in direct contrast to what markets had been pricing in over recent weeks.”

The slump this week also kept the S&P 500 from overcoming a technical downtrend in place since the start of the year, which has put an end to the past three bear-market rallies. The index didn’t convincingly break above its 200-day moving average, and is now close to testing its 50-day moving average, two other closely watched technical thresholds.

Europe’s equity benchmark fell for a third day, to a five-week low. European real-estate stocks were the biggest declinerss in Friday trading, with the subindex for the rate-sensitive sector the biggest laggard on the Stoxx 600, after the ECB on Thursday hit a more hawkish tone than expected alongside its latest rate decision. Stoxx 600 Real Estate sector declines 2.2% with the wider Stoxx 600 -1%. Telecoms and retailers also underperformed as all sectors fell barring autos, which are supported by recent data that showed auto sales in Europe rose for a fourth straight month. Here are some of the biggest European movers:

• Games Workshop shares jump as much as 15%, the most since September 2020, after the maker of the Warhammer series of games said it has reached an agreement in principle for Amazon to develop the company’s intellectual property into film and television productions.
• TeamViewer shares jump as much as 11% to touch their highest level in six months, after the remote- software provider said that it would eventually end its sponsorship partnership with Manchester United
• Hollywood Bowl rises as much as 6.8% to its highest level since June 8 after the bowling chain reported a strong set of FY22 results
• Suedzucker rises as much as 5.9%, adding to yesterday’s 3.3% gains, as Warburg says the German sugar producer’s latest financial update is a “blow-out guidance” for the coming fiscal year.
• OVS shares rise as much as 5.3% in Milan after 9-month results, with Banca Akros upgrading to buy from neutral, noting that the 4Q sales performance is “much higher of our expectation.”
• Rank falls as much as 9.1%, most in two months, after a trading update from the gambling firm.
• Wood shares fall as much as 8% as Barclays cuts the energy services firm to equal-weight
• National Express falls as much as 6.5% after being cut to hold from buy at Liberum, with the broker highlighting that growing headwinds point to a “deleveraging challenge,” according to note.
• Aalberts shares drop as much as 5.1% after the Dutch piping firm announced Wim Pelsma has notified its supervisory board that he wishes to step down as chief executive officer in the second half of 2023
• Tele2 shares drop as much as 4.7% after Redburn analyst Steve Malcolm cut the recommendation to sell from neutral, citing a potential 2023 guidance cut.

Asian equities fell Friday, extending the week’s decline, as hawkish views from global central banks offset the boost from easing delisting risk for Chinese stocks in the US. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped as much as 0.9%, led by technology stocks. Shares in Japan and Taiwan were among the worst performers in the region; it posted the first weekly decline since October.  Chinese shares eked out small gains after US officials said they got sufficient access to audit documents on companies in China and Hong Kong, removing the acute threat of delisting faced by those firms. Still, caution remained as the US government added dozens of Chinese tech companies to its blacklist. A risk-off mood extended into Friday’s trading after the Fed’s hawkish tone from its latest rate decision was echoed by the European Central Bank, squashing hopes for a pivot in monetary policies next year.

“As premature pivot bets collide with overly-exuberant China re-opening bets,” expectations will need to be “tempered for a bumpy path out of Zero-Covid amid winter/Lunar New Year travel and lingering confidence deficit,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics & strategy at Mizuho Bank. The Asian stock benchmark has fallen 1.8% this week, set to snap a six-week gaining streak as traders took profit following a recent rally, and as China’s surging Covid cases and the Fed’s tightening weighed on sentiment.

Japanese stocks declined for a second day, leading losses in the region, as investors assess the possibility of further tightening by global central banks and weak US retail sales data.  The Topix Index fell 1.2% to close at 1,950.21, while the Nikkei declined 1.9% to 27,527.12. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.7%. Toyota Motor Corp. contributed the most to the Topix Index decline, decreasing 1.9%. Out of 2,163 stocks in the index, 343 rose and 1,737 fell, while 83 were unchanged. “Both the U.S. and Europe were down significantly yesterday, and Japanese stocks are also dragged by this,” said Ryuta Otsuka, a strategist at Toyo Securities Co

In FX, the greenback traded mixed versus its Group-of-10 peers; the yen was the best performer.

• The euro swung between modest gains and losses against the US dollar. The euro’s volatility skew steepened with the currency failing to tackle spot offers around $1.0750 after the hawkish ECB decision and as profit-taking took over.
• The pound climbed and UK bonds fell, in line with bunds.
• Australian dollar reversed an intraday gain after iron ore fell on news that China would be centralizing purchases of the commodity.
• Kiwi rose as data showed non-resident bond holdings hit a four-year high.
• In rates, Treasury yields added up to 4bps led by the long end.

In rates, treasury futures drifted lower over Asia and early European session, following wider losses seen across core European rates after several ECB policy members reinforced the bank’s hawkish stance. US session light, with focus including manufacturing data and Fed’s Daly talking on inflation. US yields were cheaper by up to 5bp across long-end of the curve, with 2s10s and 5s30s spread steeper by 3bp and 1bp on the day; 10-year yields near cheapest levels of the session at around 3.49% with bunds, gilts lagging by additional 6bp and 7bp in the sector. The German curve added 10-12 bps while Italian yields rose by 15-23bps after money markets bet the ECB will lift the deposit rate as high as 3.36% after a barrage of hawkish comments from ECB policy makers.

In commodities, crude benchmarks posted losses in excess of 2.0%; though, WTI still has around USD 4.0/bbl of downside required to bring it back to the WTD low of USD 70.25/bbl which printed on Monday. French President Macron said EU energy policy is likely to be finalized during the meeting on Monday, while it was separately reported that the Czech PM said EU leaders agreed the gas price cap deal must be done by Monday at the energy ministers’ meeting, according to Reuters. Spot gold and silver are experiencing some marked divergence with the yellow metal essentially unchanged, while silver has slipped by around 2% to the mid-USD 22/oz region.

Looking to the day ahead now, and data releases include the global flash PMIs for December. Central bank speakers include the Fed’s Daly, and the ECB’s Rehn, Holzmann and Centeno. Finally, earnings releases include Accenture.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures down 1.1% to 3,854.25
• STOXX Europe 600 down 0.8% to 426.66
• MXAP down 0.7% to 156.22
• MXAPJ down 0.6% to 508.56
• Nikkei down 1.9% to 27,527.12
• Topix down 1.2% to 1,950.21
• Hang Seng Index up 0.4% to 19,450.67
• Shanghai Composite little changed at 3,167.86
• Sensex down 0.8% to 61,333.94
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.8% to 7,148.68
• Kospi little changed at 2,360.02
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.20%
• Euro little changed at $1.0625
• Brent Futures down 1.9% to $79.66/bbl
• Brent Futures down 1.8% to $79.72/bbl
• Gold spot down 0.0% to $1,776.18
• U.S. Dollar Index little changed at 104.59

Top Overnight News from Bloomberg

• An estimated $4 trillion of options is expected to expire Friday in a monthly event that tends to add turbulence to the trading day. This time, with the S&P 500 stuck for weeks within 100 points of 4,000, the sheer volume provides a positioning reset that could turbocharge market moves
• The Fed’s quarterly projections showed officials now expect so-called core inflation — which excludes food and energy — to end this year around 4.8%, up from the 4.5% figure they forecast in September. Yet that number looks much too high to Wall Street economists
• The ECB is likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points at its meetings in both February and March, Governing Council member Olli Rehn said
• The ECB will likely accelerate the pace at which it offloads government debt accumulated during past crises from July next year as part of its fight against soaring inflation, Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said
• Markets have understood the hawkish message sent by ECB rate setters, Governing Council member Robert Holzmann tells reporters in Vienna
• ECB Governing Council member Madis Muller said interest rates will likely rise above levels anticipated by markets as the economic slowdown isn’t enough to curb inflation as needed
• Euro-zone composite PMI rose to 48.8 in December, from 47.8 in the prior month and versus an estimate 47.9
• Three senior Italian politicians criticized the ECB’s increase in borrowing costs, pointing to rising tensions between Giorgia Meloni’s government and Frankfurt officials
• UK Composite PMI was little changed at 49 in December, compared to last month’s reading of 48.2 and expectations for a drop to 48
• Britain is enduring the highest number of strikes since Margaret Thatcher was prime minister, according to estimates by a group of economists
• UK retail sales unexpectedly fell in November. The volume of goods sold in shops and online fell 0.4%, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Sales excluding auto fuel fell 0.3%. Economists expected a 0.3% gain on both measures
• China’s abrupt ending of its Covid Zero restrictions have forced economists to make sharp revisions to their growth projections for this year and next. UBS Group AG and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. were the latest to adjust forecasts on Friday, cutting estimates for this year to 2.7% as Covid infections spread rapidly. Predictions for next year were raised sharply to close to 5% or higher, on the expectation that consumer and business activity will recover as Covid infections subside

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

Asia-Pac stocks were pressured on spillover selling from global counterparts following the slew of central bank rate hikes and with markets also unnerved by a flurry of dismal US data releases. ASX 200 was lower with sentiment not helped by a deterioration in the latest Australian flash PMI data releases. Nikkei 225 underperformed after the ruling LDP tax panel agreed and provided details on the tax hike plan to boost the defence budget and with index-heavyweight Fast Retailing hit by the announcement of a 3-for-1 stock split. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lacked firm direction amid mixed headlines with some encouragement from reports related to US audits in which Chinese companies averted a delisting after the US was given full inspection access, while there was also a constructive tone in discussions between US Treasury Secretary Yellen and China’s Ambassador to the US in which they agreed to step up coordination on trade and policies.

Top Asian News

• China National Health Commission issued a plan to step up COVID control and prevention in rural areas where it will strengthen reserves of essential drugs and COVID home test kits. China will also accelerate COVID vaccination of the rural population, especially among the elderly and said that people returning to their hometowns in rural areas should monitor their health and reduce contact with the elderly at home, according to Reuters.
• China’s NDRC said the economy is facing more complex and grim external environments but added that the long-term positive trend hasn’t changed and it approved CNY 1.5tln of major projects as of end-November. NDRC said China’s economic growth is expected to continue picking up following the implementation of new COVID rules and that they will focus on stabilising growth, employment and prices, as well as speed up infrastructure project construction and expand effective investment, according to Reuters.
• China’s securities regulator said it welcomes the US PCAOB decision on auditing and will continue supervision work on auditing in the future, while it will create a more stable regulatory environment with the US, according to Reuters.
• China’s ambassador to the US met with US Treasury Secretary Yellen to discuss their views on global macroeconomic and financial developments, while it was reported that they agreed to step up coordination on trade and policies.
• Japan’s government is to implement defence tax hikes in stages over multiple years to secure more than JPY 1tln by fiscal 2027, while it is to adopt a new corporate surtax of 4.0%-4.5% and will introduce a surtax of 1% on incomes for the time being. Furthermore, it is to raise the tobacco tax in stages by JPY 3 a piece and said it will implement defence taxation at an appropriate time from 2024 onwards, according to a draft by the ruling LDP cited by Reuters.

European bourses remains on a downward trajectory as the post-ECB slump continues, Euro Stoxx 50 -1.0%. Sectors were initially mixed but are now all underwater with Real Estate lagging giving the detrimental rate environment. Stateside, US futures are pressured in-line with the above price action and ahead of a handful of Fed speakers, ES -1.1%.

Top European News

• UK Companies Brace for Recession as Manufacturing Slumps
• UK Dec. Flash Services PMI 50; Est 48.5
• Most Banks See More ECB Rate Hikes With Potentially Higher Peak
• Russian Missile Barrage Knocks Out Power to Ukrainian Cities
• UK Civil Aviation Regulator Raises Concerns With Wizz Air
• Bunzl Sinks as Barclays Cuts to Underweight, RS Group Upgraded

FX

• USD has whipsawed within a 104.20-73 range, well within yesterday’s bands, though an overall underlying bid has emerged, with the DXY climbing to incremental new peaks on multiple occasions.
• Though, this action is capped by marked JPY upside given its traditional haven allure and post-data; USD/JPY down to 136.83 at worst.
• GBP impaired further post-BoE dissent on the USD’s move and as the EUR proves comparably more resilient given the hawkish ECB; Cable to 1.2120 and EUR/USD holding above 1.06.
• Elsewhere, G10 peers are generally downbeat given the above narrative, though CAD has proven relatively resilient to the crude action.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.9791 vs exp. 6.9844 (prev. 6.9343)

Fixed Income

• EGBs continue to slide. With Bunds lower by over 150 ticks and the associated 10yr yield above 2.2% post-ECB.
• Gilts are pressured in-turn, though to a slightly lesser extent given the BoE’s dovish dissenters.
• USTs are in the red, but with magnitudes much more contained and the curve steepening ahead of Fed speak and the region’s PMIs.

Commodities

• Currently, the crude benchmarks are posting losses in excess of 2.0%; though, WTI still has around USD 4.0/bbl of downside required to bring it back to the WTD low of USD 70.25/bbl which printed on Monday.
• Qatar Energy sells February Al-Shaheen crude at USD 1.30-1.50/bbl above Dubai quotes, according to sources.
• French President Macron said EU energy policy is likely to be finalised during the meeting on Monday, while it was separately reported that the Czech PM said EU leaders agreed the gas price cap deal must be done by Monday at the energy ministers’ meeting, according to Reuters.
• ICE warned it may pull the gas market from the EU over the Brussels price cap, according to FT.
• Currently, Dutch TTF Jan’23 is lower by around 8% on the session, though seemingly found a floor around EUR 120/MWh.
• Panama’s government ordered the suspension of operations at First Quantum Minerals’ copper project.
• Spot gold and silver are experiencing some marked divergence with the yellow metal essentially unchanged, while silver has slipped by around 2% to the mid-USD 22/oz region

Central Banks

• ECB’s Villeroy says must not speculate on the number of interest rate rises, too early to talk about the terminal rate.
• ECB’s Muller says rates are likely to increase by more than the market expects. Cannot rely on an economic slowdown to tame inflation.
• ECB’s Rehn says rates need to rise significantly. Interest rates will still have to rise significantly to reach levels that are sufficiently restrictive to ensure a timely return of inflation to the 2% medium-term target.
• ECB’s Holzmann says inflation still poses a challenge, does not want to say where the terminal rate is, the hawkish statement is equivalent to a 75bp hike.
• Bundesbank: German recession now expected in 2023, downturn not seen severe. Click here for more detail.

Geopolitics

• North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un guided a successful test of a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’ at the satellite launching ground and the test was said to have provided a guarantee for the development of another new strategic weapon system, while Kim hopes the new-type strategic weapon would be made in the shortest span of time, according to KCNA.
• HKEX (388 HK) welcomed Asia’s first crypto assets ETFs after the listing of CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF & CSOP Ether Futures ETF, according to Reuters.
• FTX is reportedly seeking permission to sell off LedgerX, Ember and its branches in Japan and Europe before they lose value and have their licences revoked, according to Cointelegraph.
• Kraken says “We are investigating reports from clients having difficulty connecting to the site and API as well as via mobile apps.”.
• Binance reports that Mazars is to pause work for crypto clients, via Bloomberg.

US Event Calendar

• 09:45: Dec. S&P Global US Composite PMI, est. 46.9, prior 46.4
• 09:45: Dec. S&P Global US Services PMI, est. 46.5, prior 46.2
• 09:45: Dec. S&P Global US Manufacturing PM, est. 47.8, prior 47.7

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

At this age in life I generally have an idea of what I like and new experiences are rarer, for mostly good reasons. However, tomorrow I’ll attend my first ever artistic swimming (synchronised swimming in old parlance) Christmas performance. Maisie is the youngest in it but has taken to the sport very well in spite of her hip issues. I never thought in a million years I’d go to such an event but here goes.

Talking of year end performances, it would have been completely out of character for 2022 to go out with a whimper and with the last major act of the year, the ECB ensured that we didn’t. Following the hawkish message from the Fed, yesterday saw the ECB join in with a clear signal for markets to price in more aggressive rate hikes. Indeed, there could be no doubt about their message as they 1) pointed to further rate hikes ahead, 2) outlined their plans for quantitative tightening, and 3) upgraded their inflation forecasts significantly. Meanwhile, Bloomberg even reported afterwards that over a third of the Governing Council wanted a larger 75bps hike. That led to some massive market moves coming on the heels of the Fed, with yields on 2yr German debt (+22.1bps) seeing their largest daily increase since September 2008 if you use the generic 2yr series on Bloomberg and to the highest since that point too. And with the Fed and the ECB now pledging to take rates further into restrictive territory in 2023, risk assets took another major hit, with the S&P 500 (-2.49%) and the STOXX 600 (-2.85%) both seeing sizeable losses. The first punch from the Fed didn’t really land on markets but the second punch from the ECB did.

In terms of the details, the main headline was much as expected as they unveiled a 50bps rate hike, thus taking the deposit rate up to a post-GFC high of 2%. However, just about every other detail leant in a hawkish direction. First, there was the comment at the top of the ECB’s statement that rates would “still have to rise significantly”, even after the 250bps worth of hikes we’ve already had. Second, President Lagarde then followed that up in her press conference, saying that “we should expect to raise interest rates at a 50 basis-point pace for a period of time”, which dampened investor hopes that the ECB might downshift again to 25bps at the next meeting. And third, the staff inflation forecasts were much more hawkish than in September, with the 2023 projection upgraded to +6.3% (vs. +5.5% in September), 2024 at +3.4% (vs. +2.3% in September), and 2025 still above target as well at +2.3%.

Alongside those hawkish details, the ECB also outlined plans to begin quantitative tightening from March. They said that their Asset Purchase Programme portfolio would start declining by €15bn per month from March until the end of Q2 2023, and that afterwards the pace “will be determined over time.” The statement said we should get “the detailed parameters” for QT at the next meeting in February, and that by the end of 2023, they’d also review the “operational framework for steering short-term interest rates, which will provide information regarding the endpoint of the balance sheet normalisation process.”

Given the comments from Lagarde about further 50bp hikes ahead, investors moved to price in a more aggressive path of ECB rate hikes over the months ahead. For instance, if you look at overnight index swaps, the rate hike priced in for the next meeting in February moved up from +40.1bps the previous day to +58.1bps now, so fully pricing in another 50bp move. Our own European economists now think the terminal rate will be 3.25% rather than the 3% expected before the meeting. This was always the direction they saw the risks moving with Mark Wall now expecting hikes of 50bps in February, 50bps in March and 25bps in May. There is risk of another 50bps in May but Mark thinks the ECB growth forecast is too strong for H2 2023 and into 2024, and that an earlier start to QT and a rapid rate means he thinks they’ll step down at that point. See Mark’s team’s excellent review of a very important ECB meeting here.

Against the backdrop of mounting expectations of further ECB hikes, sovereign bonds saw a massive selloff across the Eurozone yesterday. For instance, yields on 10yr bunds (+14.0bps), OATs (+15.9bps) and BTPs (+28.9bps) all rose significantly after the policy decision was announced. Furthermore, there was a significant widening in peripheral spreads, with the gap between Italian and German 10yr yields moving back above 200bps for the first time in a month. In the meantime, the moves at the front-end of the curve were even more pronounced, with yields on 2yr German debt hitting 2.44% intraday, before closing at 2.39%, a post-2008 high.

With the two major DM central banks having taken a very hawkish stance over the last 48 hours, risk assets struggled yesterday as investors grappled with the prospect of further rate hikes into 2023. The S&P 500 (-2.49%) had its worst day in over a month, and Europe’s STOXX 600 (-2.85%) put in its worst day since May. Those losses were seen across the board, with just 32 companies in the S&P 500 moving higher on the day. We will see if now the big event risk days are out the way, whether the market just calms down massively into Xmas and we pick up the battle again next year.

Whilst the focus was understandably on the ECB yesterday, the Bank of England also announced their latest policy decision, where they confirmed that the Bank Rate would rise 50bps as expected, taking it up to a post-2008 high of 3.5%. Six of the nine members on the committee were in favour of the hike, but one preferred a larger 75bps move, and two others wanted no change at all. Looking forward, they echoed the other central banks in pointing to further hikes ahead, with a majority saying that if the economy evolved in line with their November projections, then “further increases in the Bank Rate might be required for a sustainable return of inflation to target.” Market pricing for the upcoming meetings saw little change following the decision, but gilts outperformed significantly, with 10yr yields down -6.9bps on the day.

Elsewhere in markets, yesterday brought a mixed bag of US data releases for investors to react to. On the plus side, the weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 211k (vs. 232k expected) over the week ending December 10, and that’s one of the most timely indicators we get. However, the decline in November retail sales of -0.6% (vs. -0.2% expected) was faster than anticipated, whilst industrial production also contracted by -0.2% (vs. unch expected). Some of the surveys for December didn’t look too good either, with the Empire State manufacturing survey down to -11.2 (vs. -1.0 expected), and the Philadelphia Fed’s business outlook came in at -13.8 (vs. -10.0 expected).

One asset that didn’t follow the pattern elsewhere yesterday was Treasuries. In spite of the hawkish tone from Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday, they strongly outperformed their counterparts in Europe, with the 10yr yield down -3.1bps to 3.45%. So this was a strong day for the DB house view of bunds underperforming Treasuries. The 10yr UST move was driven by a -2.6bps decline in the 10yr inflation breakeven to 2.17%, which is just above its recent closing low in late-September of 2.1545%. If it breaches that point, then it would be at its lowest since February 2021, and demonstrates that for the time being, investors still have confidence that central bankers aren’t going to let longer-term inflation get out of control. Nevertheless, there’s still something of a divergence between the Fed’s dots from Wednesday and market pricing, with the Fed pointing to end-2023 rates at 5.1%, whereas futures are still only at 4.40%. Something will eventually have to give. Meanwhile, in Asia this morning, yields on 10yr USTs (+3.64 bps) slightly pulled back, trading at 3.48% as we go to print.

Asian stock markets are trading in negative territory for a second consecutive day on concerns that the hawkish stance of global central banks will push the economy into a recession. Across the region, the Nikkei (-1.74%) is leading losses with the Shanghai Composite (-0.25%), the CSI (-0.33%) and the KOSPI (-0.26%) all moving lower. Elsewhere, the Hang Seng (+0.09%) is fractionally higher in early trading. Outside of Asia, stock futures tied to the S&P 500 (-0.06%) and the NASDAQ 100 (-0.03%) are trading just below flat.

We had mixed data from Japan as manufacturing activity contracted at the fastest pace in more than two years in December with the au Jibun Bank flash manufacturing PMI falling further to 48.8 from a level of 49.0 in the previous month amid soft demand. At the same time, the au Jibun Bank flash services PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.7 in December, from November’s final reading of 50.3 as the sector activity expanded on tourism reopening.

To the day ahead now, and data releases include the global flash PMIs for December. Central bank speakers include the Fed’s Daly, and the ECB’s Rehn, Holzmann and Centeno. Finally, earnings releases include Accenture.

AND NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)

post-ECB hawkish action continues, Bunds lower by over 150ticks – Newsquawk US Market Open

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 06:31 AM

• European bourses remain on a downward trajectory as the post-ECB slump continues with US futures similarly afflicted
• DXY has whipsawed within a 104.20-73 range, well within yesterday’s bands, though an overall underlying USD bid has emerged
• EGBs continue to slide. With Bunds lower by over 150 ticks and the associated 10yr yield above 2.2% post-ECB.
• Crude benchmarks have succumbed to the above price action but remain someway above the existing WTD trough
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Flash PMIs, Quadruple Witching, Fed’s Williams, Daly & Mester.
• Click here for the Week Ahead preview

View the full premarket movers and news report.

Or why not try Newsquawk’s squawk box free for 7 days?

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses remains on a downward trajectory as the post-ECB slump continues, Euro Stoxx 50 -1.0%.
• Sectors were initially mixed but are now all underwater with Real Estate lagging giving the detrimental rate environment.
• Stateside, US futures are pressured in-line with the above price action and ahead of a handful of Fed speakers, ES -1.1%.
• Click here for more detail.

FX

• USD has whipsawed within a 104.20-73 range, well within yesterday’s bands, though an overall underlying bid has emerged, with the DXY climbing to incremental new peaks on multiple occasions.
• Though, this action is capped by marked JPY upside given its traditional haven allure and post-data; USD/JPY down to 136.83 at worst.
• GBP impaired further post-BoE dissent on the USD’s move and as the EUR proves comparably more resilient given the hawkish ECB; Cable to 1.2120 and EUR/USD holding above 1.06.
• Elsewhere, G10 peers are generally downbeat given the above narrative, though CAD has proven relatively resilient to the crude action.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.9791 vs exp. 6.9844 (prev. 6.9343)
• Click here for more detail.

Notable FX Expiries, NY Cut:

• EUR/USD: 1.0400-05 (1.97BN), 1.0425-30 (638M), 1.0450 (2.15BN), 1.0500 (2.11BN), 1.0520-25 (496M), 1.0550 (455M), 1.0600 (528M)
• Click here

FIXED INCOME

• EGBs continue to slide. With Bunds lower by over 150 ticks and the associated 10yr yield above 2.2% post-ECB.
• Gilts are pressured in-turn, though to a slightly lesser extent given the BoE’s dovish dissenters.
• USTs are in the red, but with magnitudes much more contained and the curve steepening ahead of Fed speak and the region’s PMIs.
• Click here for more detail.

COMMODITIES

• Currently, the crude benchmarks are posting losses in excess of 2.0%; though, WTI still has around USD 4.0/bbl of downside required to bring it back to the WTD low of USD 70.25/bbl which printed on Monday.
• Qatar Energy sells February Al-Shaheen crude at USD 1.30-1.50/bbl above Dubai quotes, according to sources.
• French President Macron said EU energy policy is likely to be finalised during the meeting on Monday, while it was separately reported that the Czech PM said EU leaders agreed the gas price cap deal must be done by Monday at the energy ministers’ meeting, according to Reuters.
• ICE warned it may pull the gas market from the EU over the Brussels price cap, according to FT.
• Currently, Dutch TTF Jan’23 is lower by around 8% on the session, though seemingly found a floor around EUR 120/MWh.
• Panama’s government ordered the suspension of operations at First Quantum Minerals’ copper project.
• Spot gold and silver are experiencing some marked divergence with the yellow metal essentially unchanged, while silver has slipped by around 2% to the mid-USD 22/oz region
• Click here for more detail.

CENTRAL BANKS

• ECB’s Villeroy says must not speculate on the number of interest rate rises, too early to talk about the terminal rate.
• ECB’s Muller says rates are likely to increase by more than the market expects. Cannot rely on an economic slowdown to tame inflation.
• ECB’s Rehn says rates need to rise significantly. Interest rates will still have to rise significantly to reach levels that are sufficiently restrictive to ensure a timely return of inflation to the 2% medium-term target.
• ECB’s Holzmann says inflation still poses a challenge, does not want to say where the terminal rate is, the hawkish statement is equivalent to a 75bp hike.
• Bundesbank: German recession now expected in 2023, downturn not seen severe. Click here for more detail.

NOTABLE DATA

• UK Retail Sales MM (Nov) -0.4% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.6%, Rev. 0.9%); YY (Nov) -5.9% vs. Exp. -5.6% (Prev. -6.1%, Rev. -5.9%)
• UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM (Nov) -0.3% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.3%, Rev. 0.7%); YY* (Nov) -5.9% vs. Exp. -5.8% (Prev. -6.7%, Rev. -6.4%)
• UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Dec) -42 vs. Exp. -43.0 (Prev. -44.0)
• EU S&P Global Manufacturing Flash PMI (Dec) 47.8 vs. Exp. 47.1 (Prev. 47.1); Services Flash PMI (Dec) 49.1 vs. Exp. 48.5 (Prev. 48.5)
• EU S&P Global Composite Flash PMI (Dec) 48.8 vs. Exp. 48.0 (Prev. 47.8); “… December signals a strong possibility of recession, the survey also hints that any downturn will be milder than thought likely a few months ago.”
• UK Flash Services PMI (Dec) 50.0 vs. Exp. 48.5 (Prev. 48.8); Manufacturing PMI (Dec) 44.7 vs. Exp. 46.3 (Prev. 46.5)
• UK Flash Composite PMI (Dec) 49.0 vs. Exp. 48.0 (Prev. 48.2); “… PMI indicating a 0.3% GDP contraction in the fourth quarter after the 0.2% decline seen in the three months to September”.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• US Senate voted 71-19 to pass a week-long stopgap funding bill and avert a government shutdown ahead of a midnight Friday deadline which gets sent to President Biden to sign into law, according to Reuters.
• US Senate voted 83-11 to pass the USD 858bln Defence Authorisation Bill and sends the measure to President Biden for signing, according to Reuters.
• Click here for the US Early Morning Note.

GEOPOLITICS

• North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un guided a successful test of a ‘high-thrust solid-fuel motor’ at the satellite launching ground and the test was said to have provided a guarantee for the development of another new strategic weapon system, while Kim hopes the new-type strategic weapon would be made in the shortest span of time, according to KCNA.

CRYPTO

• HKEX (388 HK) welcomed Asia’s first crypto assets ETFs after the listing of CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF & CSOP Ether Futures ETF, according to Reuters.
• FTX is reportedly seeking permission to sell off LedgerX, Ember and its branches in Japan and Europe before they lose value and have their licences revoked, according to Cointelegraph.
• Kraken says “We are investigating reports from clients having difficulty connecting to the site and API as well as via mobile apps.”.
• Binance reports that Mazars is to pause work for crypto clients, via Bloomberg.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks were pressured on spillover selling from global counterparts following the slew of central bank rate hikes and with markets also unnerved by a flurry of dismal US data releases.
• ASX 200 was lower with sentiment not helped by a deterioration in the latest Australian flash PMI data releases.
• Nikkei 225 underperformed after the ruling LDP tax panel agreed and provided details on the tax hike plan to boost the defence budget and with index-heavyweight Fast Retailing hit by the announcement of a 3-for-1 stock split.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp lacked firm direction amid mixed headlines with some encouragement from reports related to US audits in which Chinese companies averted a delisting after the US was given full inspection access, while there was also a constructive tone in discussions between US Treasury Secretary Yellen and China’s Ambassador to the US in which they agreed to step up coordination on trade and policies.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• China National Health Commission issued a plan to step up COVID control and prevention in rural areas where it will strengthen reserves of essential drugs and COVID home test kits. China will also accelerate COVID vaccination of the rural population, especially among the elderly and said that people returning to their hometowns in rural areas should monitor their health and reduce contact with the elderly at home, according to Reuters.
• China’s NDRC said the economy is facing more complex and grim external environments but added that the long-term positive trend hasn’t changed and it approved CNY 1.5tln of major projects as of end-November. NDRC said China’s economic growth is expected to continue picking up following the implementation of new COVID rules and that they will focus on stabilising growth, employment and prices, as well as speed up infrastructure project construction and expand effective investment, according to Reuters.
• China’s securities regulator said it welcomes the US PCAOB decision on auditing and will continue supervision work on auditing in the future, while it will create a more stable regulatory environment with the US, according to Reuters.
• China’s ambassador to the US met with US Treasury Secretary Yellen to discuss their views on global macroeconomic and financial developments, while it was reported that they agreed to step up coordination on trade and policies.
• Japan’s government is to implement defence tax hikes in stages over multiple years to secure more than JPY 1tln by fiscal 2027, while it is to adopt a new corporate surtax of 4.0%-4.5% and will introduce a surtax of 1% on incomes for the time being. Furthermore, it is to raise the tobacco tax in stages by JPY 3 a piece and said it will implement defence taxation at an appropriate time from 2024 onwards, according to a draft by the ruling LDP cited by Reuters.

DATA RECAP

• Japanese Manufacturing PMI (Nov P) 48.8 (Prev. 49.0); Services PMI (Nov P) 51.7 (Prev. 50.3)
• Australian Manufacturing PMI Flash (Dec) 50.4 (Prev. 51.3); Services PMI Flash (Dec) 46.9 (Prev. 47.6)
• New Zealand Manufacturing PMI* (Nov) 47.4 (Prev. 49.3)

1.c FRIDAY//THURSDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.79 PTS OR 0,02%   //Hang Sang CLOSED UP 82.08 OR  0.42%    /The Nikkei closed DOWN 524.58 OR 1.87%          //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN  0.73%   /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 6.98721//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN DOWN TO 6.9813//    /Oil DOWN TO 74,47 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 79.54    / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED.        ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER

2 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/

///NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/

end

2B JAPAN

/

JAPAN/

END

3c CHINA /

CHINA/COVID

As discussed earlier, ZERO COVID  policy is dead.  China now downgrades Omnicron risks to a seasonal cold

(zerohedge)

China Downgrades Omicron Risks To Seasonal Cold

THURSDAY, DEC 15, 2022 – 07:20 PM

Although easing zero Covid restrictions in China will be met with reopening hardships as infections soar, earlier this week, one of the top medical advisers in the country said that the omicron variant of the virus is no worse than the flu. Now some Chinese cities are downgrading Covid even further, saying it’s the same as the seasonal cold, and there is no need to panic. 

We pointed out earlier this week that China’s renowned respiratory disease expert Zhong Nanshan downplayed the risks of the omicron subvariant of Covid-19. He said the death rate from omicron is .1%, equivalent to the common flu, and the infection doesn’t reach the lungs, adding most healthy people recover in less than ten days. 

Zhong’s comments come as Beijing pivots from zero Covid to reopen the economy and prevent further economic deceleration. Officials are now telling people they must learn to live with Covid — a similar move that worked in Western countries. 

According to Shanghai Morning Post, Guangzhou health authorities have assured the public that Covid is less severe than the flu and no more serious than a seasonal cold: 

“The virulence of the new coronavirus [Omicron] has now evolved to the level of the seasonal flu, and some are even less virulent than the flu, so you really don’t need to panic,” said Tang Xiaoping, director of the No 8 People’s Hospital in Guangzhou and head of the national key clinical department of infectious diseases.

China downplaying the severity of Covid from flu to cold is the latest sign Beijing is attempting to calm fears and quickly reopen the economy. And why would they be doing that? Well, check out overnight economic data: 

Overnight, a slew of economic data led to a decline in business activity in November. Retail sales fell 5.9% last month from a year earlier — the biggest decline in consumer spending since May — caused mainly by lockdowns. 

The unemployment situation also worsened to 5.7% last month, the highest level in six months. And industrial production only rose to 2.2%, about half of October’s figures. 

China’s economic slowdown, and the acceleration to the downside, is a direct result of disastrous zero Covid policies, hence why Beijing is pivoting hard to reopen. 

Meanwhile, Feng Zijian, a former deputy chief at China’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently said the coming Covid wave could infect 80 to 90% of the Chinese population. 

China is battling its largest outbreak as infections soar. 

And Beijing’s mindset is apparent: reopen the economy, and let the virus spread because there isn’t much officials can do at this point unless they want to crash the economy. 

Beijing downplaying Covid as no more serious than a seasonal cold is a move to save its crumbling economy and calm public fears. 

END

Senate unanimously passes bill to ban TikTok on all government devices

(Roberts/EpochTimes)

Senate Unanimously Passes Bill To Ban TikTok On All Government Devices Amid National Security Concerns

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 12:23 PM

Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to pass legislation that would ban the use of the video-sharing app TikTok on government phones and devices amid growing concerns that the app poses a cybersecurity risk and is a threat to national security.

The “No TikTok on Government Devices Act,” was first introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in April 2021 and will essentially follow up on steps already taken by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and The Transportation Security Administration to ban the video application from being used on federal government devices.

Specifically, the bill (pdf) requires the Office of Management and Budget to develop standards for executive agencies that require TikTok and any successor application by its owner to be pulled from any device issued by the U.S. or a government corporation.

The bill does include exceptions for law enforcement activities, national security interests, and security researchers in some circumstances.

Although it passed the Senate unanimously on Wednesday, Hawley’s bill will still need to be passed by the House and signed into law by President Joe Biden.

‘TikTok Is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party’

A similar bill was first introduced in March 2020 and unanimously passed the Senate in August 2020 but stalled in the House. It was subsequently reintroduced in April 2021 by Senators Hawley, Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Rubio (R-Fla.), and Cotton (R-Ark.), and it unanimously passed in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Senator Hawlyer, a Republican, confirmed on Twitter that lawmakers had voted unanimously to pass the latest bill.

“TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China completely, it has no place on government devices,” Hawley said in a statement. “States across the U.S. are banning TikTok on government devices. It’s time for Joe Biden and the Democrats to help do the same.”

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

U.S. officials have repeatedly raised concerns that the app poses a national security risk, with data on users in the U.S. potentially falling into the hands of the CCP.

Despite growing concerns, the popularity of the app, especially among teens, has soared, with Pew Research Center data showing that nearly 70 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds in the U.S. regularly use the video-sharing platform.

Meanwhile, ByteDance has repeatedly denied that TikTok data is handed to Beijing and said it stores U.S. user data on servers outside of China.

Following Wednesday’s vote among Senate lawmakers to unanimously pass Hawley’s bill, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told Bloomberg in a statement: “Once again, Senator Hawley has moved forward with legislation to ban TikTok on government devices, a proposal which does nothing to advance US national security interests.”

“We hope that rather than continuing down that road, he will urge the administration to move forward on an agreement that would actually address his concerns,” Oberwetter added.

Read more here…

END

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS/UK AFFAIRS//

EUROPE

We have certainly seen this before:  a sharp rise in rates is causing peripheral rates to blowout.  The ECB will have to bailout out these guys

(zerohedge)

Hawkish ECB Sparks Peripheral Spread Blowout… That The ECB Will Have To Bailout

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 09:21 AM

With The ECB forecasting slowing growth and worsening inflation amid a hawkish rate-hike outlook and an imminent start to its QT plan, things have started to go just a little bit turbo in European sovereign bond markets.

Lagarde made it very clear there was no pause or pivot on the horizon:

“Anybody who thinks that this is a pivot for the ECB is wrong,” the ECB president told a news conference. “We should expect to raise interest rates at a 50 basis-point pace for a period of time.”

“We have more ground to cover, we have longer to go and we are in for a long game,” she said adding that “we will sustain a course, it will not be enough to hit and withdraw, we will sustain the course because we want those levels of inflation to remain at those restrictive levels long enough so that we can be confident that inflation returns to target.”

Additionally, Lagarde said financial markets hadn’t adequately accounted for the amount borrowing costs would need to rise to quell inflation.

And that is starting to be reflected in European capital markets as EU stocks have extended their declines…

…as yields climbed further, led by the short-end of European bond curves.

Bund and gilt yield curves bear flattened, while peripheral spreads widened to Germany.

The ECB’s tightening campaign this year has revived long-standing questions over the sustainability of Italy’s government debt load.

ECB policymakers will be careful not to reignite the pressures on fragile economies that have previously threatened to tear the currency bloc apart, Deutsche Bank analysts said Friday.

“We doubt the ECB would want to provoke material concerns over Italian debt sustainability, at a time of maximum economic uncertainty,” the Deutsche Bank team wrote.

However, as a reminder, the last time spreads started to blow out, The ECB blamed “uneven transmission” of monetary policy and unveiled plans for their “anti-fragmentation policy and tools.”

Translation: More QE (for peripherals) as they promise more QT and rate-hikes?!

So, the question is – will the ‘hawkish’ ECB respond with a ‘dovish’ bailout of these EU-existential-threatening peripheral bond risk explosions. We suspect the market will, once again, call Lagarde’s hawkish bluff on QT.

END

EUROPE/GERMANY

Germany has unleashed a massive half trillion dollar energy spending to keep the lights on

(zerohedge)

Germany Unleashed Half-Trillion Dollar ‘Energy Bazooka’ To Keep Lights On

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 07:45 AM

Western sanctions on Moscow have backfired, failed to paralyze Russia’s economy, and ultimately sparked financial pain for ordinary Europeans and the largest economy in the block.

According to Reuters calculations, Germany has hemorrhaged cash to the tune of 440 billion euros ($465 billion) in energy bailouts and schemes, as well as keeping energy supplies flowing while it lost access to inexpensive natural gas from its leading supplier Russia in 2022. 

“How severe this crisis will be and how long it will last greatly depends on how the energy crisis will develop,” said Michael Groemling at the German Economic Institute (IW). He added: “The national economy as a whole is facing a huge loss of wealth.”

Reuters said the “cumulative scale” of energy bailouts and other schemes employed by Berlin equates to 1.5 billion euros per day since Russia invaded Ukraine, or about 12% of national economic output, or 5,400 euros for each German. 

Germany has shown Europe how backfiring sanctions ruin its country’s finances and send millions of its citizens crashing into energy poverty overnight. These anti-Russian measures have caused soaring electricity and NatGas prices and elevated risks of entering a recession in 2023. 

“The German economy is now in a very critical phase because the future of energy supply is more uncertain than ever.

“Where does the German economy stand? If we look at price inflation, it has a high fever,” said Stefan Kooths, vice president and research director of business cycles and growth at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

 Many other European countries find themselves at the mercy of the weather as NatGas injections into EU storage facilities have flipped to draws amid a wicked cold spell boosting heating demand. 

“The country has turned to the pricier spot, or cash, energy market to replace some of the lost Russian supplies, helping drive inflation into double-digits,” Reuters noted.

And due to the reliance on Russian NatGas, Germany has limited LNG infrastructure, which forced it to charter five floating storage and regasification units on the country’s north coast. The cost of chartering FSRUs is a whopping 9.7 billion euros. The first LNG vessel will arrive at the floating terminal this weekend.

The five FSRUs will only be able to cover about a third of Germany’s current NatGas demand — still unable to offset the supply deficit since Russian flows have been cut. 

“I think Germany has been doing whatever it can,” said Giovanni Sgaravatti, research analyst at the Bruegel think-tank. He added, “In the LNG market, Germany had to start from scratch, which isn’t easy.”

The energy crisis in Europe is far from over, as winter weather is in full swing across the energy-stricken continent that has yet to offset lost supplies. Germany’s half-trillion-euro bazooka might not be enough as global LNG supplies are tight. 

END

POLAND //GERMANY/ENERGY

Poland will now supply crude to the former Rosneft refiner (confiscated by Germany) in Germany. Germany will now longer need oil from Russia by the end of 2022.

(Kimani/OilPrice.com)

Poland To Supply Crude To Former Rosneft Refinery In Germany

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 06:30 AM

By Alex Kimani of Oilprice.com

Germany and Poland have finally reached an agreement that will see Poland supply enough crude to Germany’s Schwedt refinery that it seized from Russia in September to run at a capacity of 70% from January, meaning it will no longer need Russian crude.

Berlin has set a target to eliminate Russian oil imports by the end of the year and has been working with Poland to secure supply for Schwedt, which provides 90% of Berlin’s fuel. 

The supply proposal will see 2-3 ships loaded with 100,000 tonnes of crude each a month at Gdansk in Poland for unloading at Schwedt starting next year. That would amount to some 3.5 million tonnes per year, with the rest coming via Rostock on the Baltic.

Back in September, Germany  seized the local unit of Russian oil major Rosneft PJSC, including three oil refineries as Berlin goes for a radical overhaul of its economy, hoping to control its industrial base and prevent shortages and blackouts this winter. 

“Over the next few months, we’ll have to continue to preserve critical infrastructure in order to achieve energy independence,” Verena Hubertz, a leading lawmaker for Scholz’s Social Democrats, told Bloomberg.

Rosneft protested against the seizure calling it illegal and saying it amounts to an expropriation of equity assets in which it had invested €4.6bn in refining capacity. In a company statement, the Russian oil giant said it will “consider all possible measures to protect its shareholders, including legal action.”

Together, the three refineries run by Rosneft Germany provide some 12% of Germany’s total refining capacity, and the PCK Schwedt refinery near Berlin is key. This refinery, on the border with Poland, supplies fuel to the Berlin-Brandenburg region and tensions have been rising over the possibility that the refinery would grind to a halt, and its workers laid off. 

This is a restive region and the German chancellor is keen to avoid the consequences of a workers’ lament here.

Seizing Rosneft’s assets and placing the refinery under state control was a political move that staves off a shutdown and layoffs, and prevents possible unrest. However, the big question was where it would get its crude from since it’s been running on Russian crude. That question has now been answered.

end

The energy crisis in Europe has caused the authorities to rethink nuclear power which is cleaner and cheaper than other forms of energy.

(Irina Slav/OilPrice.com)

EUROPE/ENERGY

Is Europe’s Energy Crisis Actually A Boon?

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 05:00 AM

By Irina Slav of OilPrice.com

The energy crisis that began last year in Europe and dramatically escalated following the EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen many in government worry about the survival of the continent during the winter.

Yet not all see such a bleak picture.

In fact, some believe that not only is the worst over for Europe but that the crisis actually did the EU a favor. That favor took the form of accelerating the buildout in renewables and the restart of hydrocarbon-fueled power plants.

This take, which is certainly not very common right now, came from one investment manager, Per Lekander, who is managing partner at a firm called Clean Energy Transition LLP. Speaking to CNBC this week, Lekander said that Russia had, in fact, very little to do with Europe’s crisis, and it could even be said Vladimir Putin did Europe a favor.

“This [the crisis] is the consequence of long term under-investments in conventional, long term red tape in renewables and then these political closures of nuclear, coal, lignite, etcetera,” Lekander told CNBC.

He then went on to add that the measures that European countries took after Russia began responding to EU sanctions by reducing gas flows went a long way toward ensuring that the continent would survive this winter.

Energy demand reduction was one of these measures, according to the financier, and returning to hydrocarbons for power generation was another. A third one was the planned reduction in red tape in wind and solar power system construction—obstacles that these two industries have been complaining about for years.

It could be argued that this energy demand reduction that has allowed Europe to save on gas was a result of exorbitant prices rather than any voluntary change in energy consumption behavior patterns.

Indeed, millions of people across the continent are being hit with electricity bills that are substantially higher than last year’s bills because of the international gas price inflation caused by the tightening of supply following the EU sanctions on Russia and Russia’s easy to predict response. The sabotage of Nord Stream added to this tightening and pushed prices higher.

Another reason for the lower demand was the warm European autumn, as many noted at the time. As the weather was warmer than usual, people’s heating needs were lower. Yet now that winter proper has begun and the cold is settling in, consumption will increase, whatever the price of gas. 

Indeed, the worst might not be over. The Guardian reported this week that Germany was at risk of gas shortages because it had failed to hit its consumption reduction target. The reason it had missed it—the target is 20 percent of consumption—was the colder weather last week, the head of the country’s energy regulator said.

The European Union last month approved a gas consumption reduction target of 15 percent, but Germany was more ambitious because of its high reliance on the commodity. Whether the rest of Europe would be able to hit the 15-percent target is yet to be seen because, as Klaus Mueller said, “With temperatures of -10C [14F], gas consumption shoots up dramatically.”

Meanwhile, the other silver lining of the crisis, per Lekander, is the facilitation of wind and solar power capacity additions. Because Europe is in urgent need of finding new sources of energy and wind and solar seem like the most logical choice, the authorities in Brussels are going to make it a lot easier to boost generation capacity. Yet this is also not without its problems.

There is severe cost inflation in critical minerals and metals, and it’s a trend that is only going to accelerate in the coming years, driven by higher demand for these metals and minerals stemming from legislation of the sort that the EU has approved for wind and solar.

Meanwhile, wind power developers are reporting losses and worrying about competition from Chinese firms, and the European solar industry is overwhelmingly dependent on Chinese panels, which is not something the EU is particularly happy with and is looking to change, which could affect the supply of these panels.

Yet the biggest concern for most observers is that next winter will be even harsher than this one. This year, European countries managed to stock up on Russian gas before flows declined dramatically.

Next year, these flows will remain subdued, meaning Europe will need to find a lot more gas from alternative suppliers. It is no wonder the EU is already preparing for next winter, discussing joint gas buying and getting a shoulder from the IEA with a set of measures aimed at securing enough energy for the next heating season.

Unfortunately, demand reduction is a big part of these 2023 winter energy consumption management plans, And while it is easy to consume less energy in the summer, especially in the cooler parts of Europe, it is not that easy in the winter without adverse effects on people’s health and wellbeing.

end

EU

Total garbage!!

‘(zerohedge)

EU Threatens Musk With Sanctions Over Suspending Media… After Ignoring Media Bans Under Old Twitter

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 11:25 AM

Authored by Jonathan Turley via jonathanturley.org,

Despite my support for Elon Musk’s continuing efforts to reduce censorship and restore free speech protections on Twitter, I have been critical of some of his moves from his use of polls on restoring certain posters to the suspensions of media figures this week. However, this morning, I was struck by the European Union (EU) rushing into the controversy to threaten, again, sanctions against Musk. The EU is apparently aghast that Twitter could suspend media even temporarily after ignoring the bans on conservative media for years under the old management.

I understand Musk’s view of such tracking as a form of doxxing (particularly after a man reportedly used the information to attack the car with one of his children inside). Doxxing has long been subject to suspension. Indeed, figures connected mainstream media from CNN to the Washington Post have been previously accused of doxxing. Liberal groups were accused of doxxing conservative justices and others, including dangerously posting information on the children of Justice Amy Coney Barrett. It does not seem to matter when the targets are conservative, Republican, or libertarian.

However, it was the appearance of the EU that was most jarring. We have been discussing efforts by figures like Hillary Clinton to enlist European countries to force Twitter to restore censorship rules. Unable to rely on corporate censorship or convince users to embrace censorship, Clinton and others are resorting to good old-fashioned state censorship, even asking other countries to censor the speech of American citizens. It is an easy case to make given the long criminalization of speech in countries like France, Germany, and England.

The EU responded immediately by threatening Musk that restoring free speech could result immediate sanctions or an entire ban.  Now, EU commissioner Vera Jourova warned that the EU’s Digital Services Act was preparing to act to defend press freedom: “Elon Musk should be aware of that. There are red lines. And sanctions, soon.”

Jourova’s self-righteous tirade was almost comical given the EU long-standing attacks on free speech and silence of prior media suspensions. Jourova insisted “[The] EU’s Digital Services Act requires respect of media freedom and fundamental rights. This is reinforced under our Media Freedom Act.”

Really? Where was Jourova and the EU when Twitter was aggressively suspending media like the New York Post for publishing the true story of Hunter Biden’s laptop? How about the slew of conservative writers and experts barred for questioning official accounts on issues ranging from Covid to climate change?

Not surprisingly, the EU is threatening to use the unprecedented anti-free speech law recently passed by the body.

For years, some of us have denounced the EU’s efforts to pass the Digital Services Act, a roadmap for state censorship on the Internet. It is the Western embrace of Chinese style speech controls on the Internet. The chief censor in the West has been Breton, who has shown open contempt for free speech values.

Breton has made no secret that he views free speech as a danger coming from the United States that needs to be walled off from the Internet. He previously declared that, with the DSA, the EU is now able to prevent the Internet from again becoming a place for largely unregulated free speech, which he referred to as the “Wild West” period of the Internet.

Jourova has also been a leading anti-free speech voice globally. She has pressed the United States for greater and greater censorship, declaring “democracies may die in noise and cacophony.” She wanted the tiddy silence and order that comes from state imposed censorship.

Now, however, Jourova is deeply upset that some are being suspended as part of an anti-doxxing rule. Of course, the past suspension of writers like Greg Piper, Alex Berenson, and others was not nearly as concerning for the EU. The “red line” was only crossed when favored media were subject to such suspensions. The fact that this comes soon after threatening Musk not to restore free speech rights only makes the EU’s position more maddeningly conflicted and obtuse.

While I disagree with the scope of this action, I still support his efforts at Twitter in the fact of an all-out-war declared by an alliance of political, media, and business interests. Musk has dismantled one of the most massive censorship systems in the world. Many of us in the free speech community will not hesitate to call him out when he is wrong, but the EU and many of these anti-free speech figures can spare us the transparent outrage after years of supporting censorship.

END

5.UKRAINE RUSSIA//GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES

UKRAINE/RUSSIA

More attacks across Ukrainian cities as Kharkiv and others are without power or water with sub zero temperatures

(zerohedge0

Fresh Missile Barrage Leaves Cities Across Ukraine Without Power Or Water In Sub-Zero Temps

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 12:40 PM

“Another wave of massive Russian attacks on energy infrastructure,” Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko announced Friday, describing a large Russian barrage of dozens of missiles across major cities. “There will be emergency power outages,” he added.

Air raid sirens have been blaring throughout the day in this latest wave of strikes, which resulted in electricity and water outages in multiple cities and towns amid sub-zero temperatures. 

Commander of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi tallied that Russia launched 76 missiles at critical infrastructure throughout the country. He then claimed that national air defenses were able to intercept and down a whopping 60 of the missiles.

More attacks rocked the capital as well. “Due to damage to energy infrastructure, there are interruptions to water supplies in all areas of the capital,” a statement by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko indicated. City authorities temporarily halted metro lines in order to provide a place for residents to take cover underground while the attacks ensued.

Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv is also completely without electricity, as are the the central cities of Poltava and Kremenchuk, among others. Ukrenergo, the national electric utility, said this has forced the country into a continued rationing situation as emergency crews work around the clock.

“We ask for your understanding regarding the power outages and temporary water and heat supply interruptions,” a statement from President Zelensky’s office said. 

Ukrenergo further confirmed that at this point it is unable to meet the electricity consumption needs of over 50% of the country.

The grid operator said, “Considering this is already the ninth wave of missile strikes on energy facilities, the restoration of power supply may take longer than before.”

“Priority will be given to critical infrastructure facilities: hospitals, water supply facilities, heat supply facilities, and sewage treatment plants,” it said.

Authorities identified at least nine energy generation facilities damaged in Friday’s strikes:

According to the AFP there were casualties from Friday’s wave of aerial strikes, which “killed two people and injured several others — including children — in the southern city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown.”

The Russian military may be upping the pace of the bombardments in response to sustained Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk and Lugansk, which Moscow-installed local officials the day prior had described as the most intense going back to 2014. “In the Russian-controlled region of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, Moscow-installed officials said shelling from Kyiv’s forces had killed eight and wounded 23,” AFP continues.

The lack of power in many places is making daily life for Ukrainians all the more miserable amid the ongoing grinding war, especially going deeper into the winter months. On Friday temperatures ranged between minus one and 3 degrees Celsius (or 30 to 37 degrees Fahrenheit) – just below freezing at times. 

Meanwhile Russia has continued warning the United States that if it sends Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine, this could “lead to unpredictable consequences”. The White House is said to be finalizing plans for the transfer, leading to speculation that NATO personnel might be operating the systems, given it takes many months – possibly up to a year or more – for troops to get proper training on them.

END

6/GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES

Vaccine//Covid issues: Injuries

Twitter Censorship Contributed To Destructive Pandemic Policies And Is Criminal, Says Former White House COVID Adviser

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 01:46 PM

Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times,

The recently revealed censorship that has plagued Twitter in recent years is “criminal,” according to former White House COVID adviser Dr. Scott Atlas, as it allowed “lies to be imposed on the public” during a pandemic that wrought untold damage worldwide.

“When correct science policy is blocked, people die, and people died from the censorship,” Atlas, a special coronavirus adviser during the Trump administration and contributor to The Epoch Times, said in an interview.

Atlas was speaking days after Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, released troves of internal files showing how the previous Twitter team built a blacklist to limit disfavored tweets’ visibility without the knowledge of those using the platform. Among those flagged was Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of Stanford, whose tweet criticizing pandemic lockdowns shortly after joining the platform last August got him on the “trends blacklist” preventing the amplification of his tweets.

But such revelations, Atlas said, are “only the tip of the iceberg.”

“There’s a far larger story here that we need to hear,” he said, which he considers “far more nefarious and more systemic than isolated tweets being pulled down.”

“This seems to be criminal behavior, and I think it needs to be investigated in the courts,” he said.

The Censorship of 2020

Atlas wants to direct attention back to 2020, when health officials followed in the Chinese Communist Party’s footsteps to implement blanket COVID-19 lockdowns.

In November of that year, while Atlas was still on the White House’s coronavirus task force, Twitter took down his post that argued mask-wearing was not effective in curbing the spread of the virus—a decision celebrated by some proponents of the measures, including fellow task force member Dr. Deborah Birx.

“One would think that the American public should hear what the adviser to the president is saying during the pandemic of 2020. Yet Twitter decided to simply block that discussion from the public,” he said.

Both Twitter and Facebook that August also removed a video from President Donald Trump in which he said children are “almost immune” to COVID-19. That same month, Facebook said it had deleted 7 million pieces of content it deemed to be COVID-19 misinformation over the second quarter of 2020.

Despite most states having a mask mandate until early this year, a number of studies found children and teenagers to be at a far lower risk of getting or dying from COVID-19, even with the emergence of new variants. But the “censorship of 2020,” be it deleting individual tweets, suspending accounts, or blocking the amplification of posts, had done its damage.

“When decisions were being made in 2020 and imposed upon the public, that’s when censorship counted the most,” Atlas said.

The absence of alternative viewpoints manipulated not only the public, but government officials as well, Atlas said.

“It created this illusion that there was a consensus among science and public health policy experts that lockdowns should be imposed; it created and perpetrated lies that if you were opposed to lockdowns, you were choosing the economy over lives, and that if you were opposed to lockdowns, you were somehow calling for letting the infection spread without any mitigation whatsoever,” he said.

“They absolutely contributed to policies that killed massive numbers of people and destroyed children and low-income people, who are the most vulnerable. That’s why it’s criminal.”

Atlas has been a vocal critic of COVID-19 lockdowns since early on in the pandemic, saying that “targeted protection was the logical, safer, and ethical way to manage the pandemic.” In May 2020, he wrote an article for the Hill warning about the “millions of years of life” such policies would cost Americans.

Learning loss aside, the pandemic restrictions led to an explosion of child abuse, drug overdoses, mental health issues, and obesity among youth, who were deprived of normal social interaction and forced to continue schooling through remote learning.

Collectively, America’s social media and legacy media, “coupled with incompetent bureaucrats running the policy and ignorant university professors have left a sinful legacy of damage,” said Atlas—the reason for the massive loss of trust in public health agencies that people depend for guidance in future crises.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently said his “biggest mistake” while at the company was to “invest in building tools for us to manage the public conversation, versus building tools for the people using Twitter to easily manage it for themselves,” a decision he said has “burdened the company with too much power.”

Late last month, Musk announced an end to the COVID-19 “misleading information” policy, which has resulted in 100,000 pieces of content cut from the platform and more than 11,000 account suspensions.

Atlas welcomed the gesture but thought that more individuals need to “rise up” for real change.

“There should be a public outrage that is massive,” he said.

He believes those the American public elected to represent them haven’t done their part.

“Where are our elected officials in this, where are they?” he asked. “If they can’t act, simply for ensuring free speech, they should all step down.”

‘Distortion’ Around Vaccine Mandates

A recent study published in Nature of over 15,000 citizens across 21 countries shows that people who have received COVID-19 vaccines are far more likely to be prejudiced against the unvaccinated than the other way around, which Atlas saw as yet another illustration of how social media censorship has shaped public opinion through suppressing critical information.

More than 5.47 billion people worldwide have received at least one dose of one of the COVID-19 vaccines, accounting for roughly 70 percent of the world population, despite a “thorough, detailed understanding of efficacy and side effects from the vaccines,” Atlas noted.

But because of the lockdown mandates, which he called “pseudo-scientific,” throngs of workers in healthcare, education, and the military lost their jobs and hospitals suffered staffing shortages, causing backlogs of patients needing vital treatment for other non-COVID-19 diseases.

In perpetrating a “false narrative,” social media platforms have deviated from their promised role as a digital town hall and a visible source of information, and instead allowed themselves to be a tool for harm, said Atlas.

“We are living in an Orwellian society if this sort of censorship is allowed to keep going.”

Atlas faced considerable pressure in 2020 for airing his views on COVID-19 and resigned after four months of repeated clashes with other members of the task force. But he said this “character assassination” won’t stop him from doing what he believes is right.

He quoted English writer G. K. Chesterton: “Right is right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.”

Thousands from around the world, he said, have written to him encouraging him to keep speaking up, including some “whose family members had committed suicide from the lockdowns and many in the health profession who said they were “afraid to step forward.”

“We need people with integrity to rise up when the pressure is on, and when you do that, you empower other people to speak up.”

END

IMPORTANT!!

(EpochTimes)

Dr Peter McCullough/John Leak

mRNA Behind the Reoccurrence of COVID-19 Symptoms in Fully Vaccinated Individuals?

Unintended consequences potentially explain vaccine failure from the outset

By Dr. Peter A. McCullough and John Leake
The Epoch Times, New York
Tuesday, December 13, 2022

https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/mrna-behind-the-reoccurrence-of-covid-19-symptoms-in-fully-vaccinated-individuals_4921326.html

One of the curious findings from the original randomized trials of mRNA vaccines was an explosive rate of early infection after the first injection as compared with placebo.

In a recent paper from Sfera et al, the description of pathological syncytia or fusion between immune cells is described: “The LNP technology, to put it simply, mimics viral envelopes with externalized phosphatidylserine (ePS), a universal “eat me” signal, that directs immune cells to engulf the particle.

However, as ePS is also a potential “fuse me” signal, LNP may inadvertently facilitate the formation of pathological syncytia. Moreover, ePS may activate a disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 and 17 (ADAM10) (ADAM 17), master regulators of syncytia formation, contributing further to the unintended consequence of cell-cell fusion…

As mRNA vaccines are based on pre-fusion epitopes, the fusion pathology may be undeterred, allowing viral infection by syncytia formation to continue unabated. This is significant, as it could account for the reoccurrence of COVID-19 symptoms in fully vaccinated individuals.”

The authors point out that SARS-CoV-2 utilizes more than just the ACE2 receptor to gain entry into the fused cells and by overlooking this possibility, vaccine developers have made a blunder. This is further complicated by the choice of lipid nanoparticles and polyethylene glycol which facilitate entry into organs were syncytia as well as Spike protein will incite inflammation and immune system regulation.

Sfera also considers pregnancy: “Several studies demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 can activate HERV-W, an ancestral gene that encodes for the physiological placental fusogen syncytin-1 responsible for the merger of trophoblasts during the early pregnancy. This suggests that the reproductive post-vaccine events may be triggered by the furin cleavage site pathology.” Such processes could occur in the gravid uterus and compound the bleeding and clotting risks of ill-advised vaccination is this special population.

In summary Sfera et al point out the following blind spots of well-funded DARPA consultants, BARDA funded academic researchers, and later by Pfizer and Moderna in mRNA vaccine development:

1) pathologic syncytia formation,

2) use of lipid nanoparticles with PEG,

3) failure to consider SARS-CoV-2 could use alternative points of cell entry other than ACE2 (metalloprotease pathway, antibody dependent enhancement, cell penetrating peptides, viroporins).

With billions of people rushed into indiscriminate mRNA vaccination, virologists and immunologists will be picking up the pieces of a failed vaccine campaign that has left so many at risk for more SARS-CoV-2 infections and progressive complications over the months and years to come.

* * *

Reference

Sfera A, Thomas KG, Sfera DO, Anton JJ, Andronescu CV, et al. (2022) Do Messenger RNA Vaccines Induce Pathological Syncytia?. Int J Pathol Clin Res 8:137.

doi.org/10.23937/2469-5807/1510137

-END-

 GLOBAL ISSUES

PAUL ALEXANDER

Open in app or onlineBritish MP Andrew Bridgen, Member of Parliament (“MP”) calls for the immediate halt of Covid gene injections and an inquiry into Big Pharma; “As the data clearly shows to anyone who wants to look at it, the mRNA vaccines are not safe, not effective and not necessary. I implore the Government to halt their use immediately; The EXPOSEDR. PAUL ALEXANDER DEC 16  SAVE▷  LISTEN  “As the data clearly shows to anyone who wants to look at it, the mRNA vaccines are not safe, not effective and not necessary. I implore the Government to halt their use immediately. As I have demonstrated and as the data clearly shows, the Government’s current policy on the mRNA vaccines is on the wrong side of medical ethics, it is on the wrong side of scientific data, and ultima tely it will be on the wrong side of history.” – Andrew Bridgen, Member of Parliament for North West Leicestershire” SOURCE : https://expose-news.com/2022/12/14/mp-calls-for-halt-of-covid-injections/?cmid=d12493fc-68f5-457a-a4fd-be17e1bad1b4

end

Open in app or online

KILLING FIELDS due to COVID fraud manufactured virus, intentional leak, fraud pandemic response, all lies, failed lockdowns, fraud ineffective COVID gene injection, harmful vaccine; killed our parents

COVID Taliban and the KILLING Fields they created in our societies, never ever forget!

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 16

SAVE▷  LISTEN

Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander’s Newsletter

KILLING FIELDS due to COVID fraud manufactured virus, intentional leak, fraud pandemic response, all lies, failed lockdowns, fraud ineffective COVID gene injection, harmful vaccine; killed our parents

Do not forget this, these beasts in our governments killed our vulnerable people, enriched themselves with Remdesivir (kidney and liver toxic), sedation with morphine and midazolam, intubated and ventilated our people and blew holes in their lungs. The mid-terms terrible results were due to the pain and suffering people still feel due to the failed pand…

Read more

One corruptible idiot Sir Jeremy Farrar replaces another WHO idiot (Soumya Swaminatha), becomes WHO’s Chief Scientist; UN body has appointed the scientist who publicly rubbished the lab leak theory

Note, I worked for WHO Geneva and Europe as an epidemiologist and then in 2019 and 2020 as a COVID pandemic advisor; I can safely say, save my direct boss, that place is staffed with morons!

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 16

SAVE▷  LISTEN

It, WHO, is really an old boys club for imbeciles. I worked there as both an employee and as a consultant. I had to see it and competed for the post. I used to think the PHAC federal health agency of Canada had inept incompetent highly paid highly underworked idiots until I worked at WHO. I used to think Njoo and Tam who head PHAC are morons until I compared them to WHO leadership I knew.

Someone out there, please, I plead, challenge me on the competence of anyone I have named here.

SOURCE:

https://unherd.com/thepost/jeremy-farrar-becomes-whos-chief-scientist/

end

It’s the COVID vaccine, stupid! Not virus! Vaccine is damaging innate antibodies training of innate immune systems & NK cells in infants & children: “Unintended consequence of COVID control measures

kids without immunity: The nearly two years of intense COVID-19 mitigation measures in school and daycare has shifted the advantage to the influenza and RSV viruses, for the moment.” Shira Doron

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 15

SAVE▷  LISTEN

We have underestimated the evolutionary capacity of the virus to evolve and adapt and thus disregarded the complex interplay between the COVID virus and the host immune response (population level), where each feeds back on the other, placing pressure on each other.

You cannot tame a pandemic if you do not cut the chain of transmission. Only if you cut the chain, can we get to herd immunity. This COVID gene injection so called vaccine, is ineffective with massive rapid waning immunity and negative effectiveness, and is actually enhancing and facilitating the vaccinated to become infected, hospitalized, and with death in many instances. Any roll-out of a vaccine (which is supposed to be a prophylaxis) while there is circulating pathogen that it is supposed to target, will be plagued by natural selection pressure on the target antigen (can make life uncomfortable for the pathogen but not eliminate /neutralize it) and will drive viral immune escape and antibody-dependent enhancement of infection and disease, as well as original antigenic sin (impact of initial immune system priming or fixation or ‘imprinting’ based on initial exposure). It is thus a cluster xxxx.

This Boston article talks about everything but the key reason. Yes, lockdowns and school closures have weakened prior functional immune systems in children and the vaccine is damaging underlying natural immunity. We have clear evidence of this. We know this yet there is a key issue that only people like Vanden Bossche (and me by extension and my learning and continued learning) have been hollering about.

end

The COVID gene injection is subverting and sidelining the innate immune system (first line of defense) and specifically the vaccine induced high-affinity antigen-specific antibodies are sidelining the low-affinity, naïve and broadly potent and protective innate natural antibodies from binding to virus and training the innate immune system. This is why we give children vaccine that is based on live-attenuated (weakened) replication competent virus. This allows proper innate immune training and this is why you only get exposed after you have gotten your full series of immunization. When your innate immune system would have been suitably trained. You never ever vaccinate ‘during season’, or in the midst of a pandemic. You will thus fail and drive variants.

Thus, the innate antibodies (in children, infants especially at the first 6 months of life after the maternal antibodies wane) must have the space to bind to virus and in so doing, educate and train the innate immune system in how to handle pathogen confronted with now e.g. COVID virus and all of its variants, in how to handle other similar glycosylated pathogen (similar sugars and glycans on the surface) in the future e.g. measles, mumps, RSV, coronaviruses etc., and importantly, how the child’s immune system must differentiate ‘self’ from ‘non-self’ components so the immune system does not attack the child. If this is breached, the child will be at risk to auto-immune disease, more immediate and long-term.

In basic, my learning tells me that a vaccine that is antibody-based, will educate and train the immune system to produce elevated levels of antibodies (high antibody titers) that are focused and trained upon the surface protein (s) that are key to viral infection. Again, I am no virologist or vaccinologist, I explain how I understand it. Vaccine induced antibodies (Abs) have great (elevated) specificity (high) and thus strong binding affinity and capacity to the target antigen on the surface of the virus. As such these vaccine induced Abs outcompete the innate Abs of children, for the target antigen. Thus the natural innate Abs cannot exercise its functional capacity to sterilize (neutralize) the virus.

Why? Because it is outcompeted and sidelined and blocked from binding to the target antigen (binding epitopes or binding regions on the antigen, let us use the COVID virus’s spike protein as the antigen example). This also hobbles and subverts the innate antibodies from educating and training the innate immune system e.g. Natural killer cells (NK cells) as to how the NK cells can handle pathogen, how to recognize them especially to discern molecular patterns on the surface of the pathogen/virus that can mimic the self. It has to learn how to know that this is a trick used by the infected cells and does not belong to self, and as such must be destroyed by the NK cells.

This innate immune system training is critical and has a critical window (if missed is irreversible) and needs exposure and binding to virus and as mentioned, the vaccinal antibodies are high-affinity to the spike antigen and prevent the innate antibodies from doing this critical step in the training of the child’s immune system. This sets the child up for future disaster as we are seeing now. They are fully vulnerable. This training is critical for it helps differentiate ‘self-like’, self-mimicking’ etc. as the infected virus can look self-like. The child’s immune system needs to know if it is not (does not belong to child), and thus to destroy it and not let it evade the immune system.

I am not virologist or expert like Vanden Bossche as this is not my field classically, I am heavily worked in it and so have developed training but I am standing on his shoulders and Yeadon’s and McCullough’s and Risch’s and Bridle’s. I dip my toe.

This article is great to raise the alarms but misses the boat, as it is the vaccine that is doing this. This pandemic will last 100 years because of this sub-optimal vaccine that does not sterilize (neutralize) the infectiousness of the virus, namely the virus’s spike antigen (and it’s binding epitopes).

‘An early surge of respiratory syncytial virus — better known as RSV — is straining pediatric hospital resources across the United States. Other respiratory viruses are rampant as well. There’s a phrase often used by pediatricians and parents when discussing the infectious risks and benefits of daycare versus in-home care for pre-school age children: Pay now or pay later.

The reality is that respiratory viruses are inevitable, and while a child cared for at home may contract fewer viral infections during those early years than one who goes to daycare, the child who attended daycare will enter kindergarten with more immunity than the child cared for at home, because all children will be exposed to these viruses. It’s a question of when, not if.’

SOURCE:

Unintended consequence of COVID control measures — kids without immunity

The nearly two years of intense COVID-19 mitigation measures in school and daycare has shifted the advantage to the influenza and RSV viruses, for the moment.

see this prior substack by me:

Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander’s Newsletter

RSV re-post: RSV: the plot thickens as to the link between COVID gene injections and RSV: “Skewed Fate and Hematopoiesis of CD34+ HSPCs in Umbilical Cord Blood Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Estep) &

Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber…

end 

I

Dr Panda/Dr Alexander

Vaccine injury!

VACCINE IMPACT//

Why Hasn’t Governor DeSantis Stopped the COVID Vaccines in Florida When He Admits They are Killing People?

December 15, 2022 6:31 pm

On December 13, 2022, there were two political events where politicians publicly stated that the experimental COVID-19 “vaccines” were neither safe nor effective, and were in fact killing people. One of those events happened at The House of Commons in the UK where Andrew Bridgen, a Member of Parliament (MP) delivered an amazing speech about the corruption behind the Pfizer COVID “vaccines” and how they were harming and killing people. Bridgen did an excellent job in exposing the conflicts of interest where drug companies actually fund the government regulatory agencies who approve their products, and also mentions the role that the Bill Gates Foundation plays in funding so much of this, as well as funding much of the corporate media controlling the narrative on COVID-19 “vaccines.” After presenting the evidence and data, MP Bridgen concludes with these words: “Well Madam Deputy Speaker, that first step could start this evening, with this debate. It starts here, and the vaccine minister of the government ensuring in the first instance that there needs to be an IMMEDIATE AND COMPLETE SUSPENSION OF ANY MORE COVID VACCINES and use of mRNA technology.” The other event that happened on December 13, 2022, was a round table public discussion in Florida led by Governor Ron DeSantis and his Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph Ladapo. He discusses a study of people who “died suddenly” within a few weeks of being injected with a COVID shot, which showed a high rate of myocarditis that was attributed to mRNA COVID “vaccines.” Ladapo has also previously reported that statewide analysis of vaccinated Florida residents aged 18 years or older found an 84 percent increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related deaths among males aged 18–39, within 28 days of mRNA vaccination. So what is Dr. Ladapo’s call to action as Florida’s Surgeon General now that he knows that the COVID-19 “vaccines” are killing people? “We are initiating a program here in Florida where we will be studying the incidence in surveillance of myocarditis within a few weeks of COVID-19 vaccination for people who died.” Governor DeSantis was interviewed on Fox News later that night to discuss the round table discussion. In this interview DeSantis admits that the “medical establishment” never warned the American people about the “drawbacks” of the COVID-19 shots, and he also acknowledges the research of his Surgeon General Dr. Ladapo who has showed people are dying from the COVID-19 shots. He also mentions that in Norway they have banned the COVID shots for everyone under 50 years old, because the drawbacks outweigh the benefits, and that there was an increase in all-cause mortalities. So what is Governor DeSantis’s call to action? He is asking the Florida State Supreme Court to convene a Grand Jury to look into the drug companies that produced the shots, and “hold them accountable.” AND EVERYONE IN THE RIGHT WING ALTERNATIVE MEDIA CHEERED, while people in Florida continue to get the COVID-19 shots, and give them to their children, who continue to die and become crippled.

Read More…

---

Governor DeSantis, Ban The Jab! An Open Letter To Governor DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Ladapo

December 15, 2022 8:13 pm

I, like most in this state, voted for your reelection. I assure you that part of that mandate is to ban the jab! I am sure the same advisors that would advise against this action are the same advisors that told you to do the lockdown. Respectfully, Floridians deserve immediate action. I implore you to do everything humanly possible to protect the public from these shots.

Read More…

.VACCINE INJURIES

SLAY NEWS

The latest reports from Slay News

Thailand’s Next Queen Feared Dead after Sudden Heart Attack44-year-old Princess Bajrakitiyabha, Thailand’s next queen, has suffered a sudden and unexpected heart attack while running, according to reports.READ MORE

Adam Schiff Makes Un-American Move Trying to Censor Conservatives OnlineDemocrat Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) has made an un-American move in his desperate bid to censor President Donald Trump and conservative voices.READ MORE

Biden Pledges $55 Billion in Slavery Reparations to Africa, Apologizes for America’s ‘Original Sin’Democrat President Joe Biden has pledged $55 billion in U.S. taxpayer money to Africa as slavery reparations while apologizing to the continent’s leaders for America’s “original sin.”READ MORE

New Study Suggests Higher Insurance Rates for Unvaccinated DriversA new study has claimed that unvaccinated drivers are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents, suggesting that they should pay higher rates of insurance.READ MORE

Elon Musk Threatens ‘Legal Action’ against Those ‘Who Supported Harm to My Family’ after Man Stalks His Small ChildTwitter CEO Elon Musk has reached his limit after a man stalked and threatened his small child.READ MORE

Elon Musk Uses Obama’s Words to Checkmate His ‘Woke’ CriticsTwitter CEO Elon Musk has turned the tables on his “woke” critics by using the words of their idol Barack Obama to shut down their complaints.READ MORE

US Experts Raise Concerns about China Cornering Market for Old-Gen Chip TechnologyExperts in the United States are raising concerns that firms in China are cornering the market on the production of older-generation chips.READ MORE

Democrats Beg Facebook to Keep Trump Banned for ‘Undermining Our Democracy’Democrats have sent a groveling letter to Facebook and its parent company Meta, begging for the social media giant to keep President Donald Trump banned from their platforms.READ MORE

Biden: Critics of Child Sex-Change Surgery Are Racist Because It’s ‘All Connected’Democrat President Joe Biden has claimed that critics of children undergoing life-altering sex-change surgery are racist because it’s “all connected.”READ MORE

Disney Investor Sues Company: ‘Woke’ Agenda Created ‘Swift and Severe’ Financial RiskA Disney investor has filed a lawsuit against the company for pushing its “woke” agenda, arguing that meddling in Florida’s politics created sudden financial losses when shares prices plunged in response.READ MORE

U.S Autopsy Confirms Cause of Grant Wahl’s Sudden Death to Be ‘Heart Failure’Celebrated soccer journalist Grant Wahl died suddenly while covering the FIFA World Cup in Qatar due to “heart failure,” an autopsy by U.S. authorities has confirmed.READ MORE

MICHAEL EVERY/RABOBANK

Michael Every on the day’s most important events:

7//OIL ISSUES//NATURAL GAS ISSUES/USA AND GLOBE

Crude Spikes After White House Says It Will Start Refilling Strategic Petroleum Reserve

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 12:07 PM

Having drained more than a third of the SPR since the start of the year, helping push the price of oil to 2021 levels, with the midterm elections now well in the rearview mirror, moments ago the White House announced that it would begin unwinding its politically-motivated drainage of the US emergency reserve and

• BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES FIRST REPURCHASE OF CRUDE OIL FOR STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE SINCE RECORD 180 MLN BBL RELEASE
• U.S. WILL PURCHASE 3 MLN BBLS OF OIL FOR SPR FOR DELIVERY IN FEBRUARY – SENIOR ENERGY DEPT OFFICIAL
• U.S. WILL SIMULTANEOUSLY PROVIDE EMERGENCY CRUDE OIL EXCHANGE OF 2 MLN BBLS TO MEET REFINERY NEEDS AFTER KEYSTONE PIPELINE SHUTDOWN – OFFICIAL

Naturally, the price of oil spiked having earlier traded at the lowest price since Dec 2021 and has now set a true bottom…

… and with China demand about to be unleashed now that covid zero is a thing of the past, it’s all uphill from here.

Developing

END

8.EMERGING MARKETS ISSUES//AUSTRALIA ISSUES.

INDIA

India test fires nuclear capable ballistic missile after its border clash with China

(Fredly/EpochTimes)

India Test-Fires Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile After Minor Border Clash With China

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 01:04 PM

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

India on Thursday carried out a test launch of a long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-5, which came days after a renewed clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the disputed Himalayan border.

Indian Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the successful launch of Agni-5 from Abdul Kalam Island in eastern Odisha state marked a “historic milestone” for the country’s defense industry.

“The missile will add great value to the defense and strengthen national security to a greater extent as it can travel 5400+ plus kilometers,” Joshi said on Twitter.

The Agni-5 uses a three-stage solid-fueled engine and is capable of striking targets at ranges up to 5,000 kilometers (around 3,100 miles) with “very high degree of accuracy,” according to the Indian Ministry of Defense.

This was not the first time India test-fired a surface-to-surface Agni-5 ballistic missile. The ministry test-fired one on Oct. 27, 2021, which it said reaffirmed India’s policy to have “credible minimum deterrence” that underpins its commitment to “No First Use.”

India’s “No First Use” policy stipulates that nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or Indian forces.

Renewed Clashes

The recent Agni-5 missile launch came on the heels of fresh tensions between India and the Chinese regime following clashes between their troops along the disputed Himalayan border on Dec. 9.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that Indian troops prevented Chinese soldiers from crossing the line of actual control (LAC) at the Tawang Sector in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, a territory that China claims as its own.

“The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner,” Singh told parliament.

The border clash resulted in minor injuries on both sides. Singh said that India’s commander met with his Chinese counterpart following the incident and demanded that Chinese troops “refrain from such actions.”

This has occurred as a video of an earlier unreported violent brawl between Chinese and Indian troops believed to have taken place in September 2021 in Arunachal Pradesh went viral on social media this week.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the United States will “fully support India’s ongoing efforts to de-escalate” the situation and is closely monitoring developments.

“We have seen the PRC continue to amass forces and build military infrastructure along the so-called LAC,” Ryder told reporters on Dec. 13, referring to China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“It does reflect though, and it’s important to point out, the growing trend by the PRC to assert itself and to be provocative in areas directed towards U.S. allies and our partners in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) didn’t acknowledge the skirmish in its daily media briefing on Dec. 13.

“As far as we know, the China-India border area is generally stable, and both sides have maintained smooth communications on boundary-related issues through diplomatic and military channels,” spokesman Wang Wenbin said when asked to comment on India’s official statement on the clash.

The border clash happened just days after the CCP criticized the India-U.S. joint military drill in Uttarakhand, about 62 miles from the LAC, which it claimed violated the spirit of relevant agreements signed by both sides in 1993 and 1996.

The last time a major bloody clash occurred between the two armies was on June 15, 2020, in Galwan in eastern Ladakh in the northeastern Himalayas, in which 20 Indian soldiers and 40 PLA soldiers died. The Chinese regime claimed only four died in that conflict, but Indian and Russian sources refuted it. That skirmish also happened due to the border infrastructure India was building in the region.

This video frame grab taken from footage recorded in mid-June 2020 and released by China Central Television (CCTV) on Feb. 20, 2021, shows Chinese (foreground) and Indian soldiers (R, background) during an incident where troops from both countries clashed in the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley, in the Karakoram Mountains in the Himalayas. The two sides again clashed on Dec. 9, 2022, in Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, leading to injuries. (AFP Photo/China Central Television)

Greater Concern

Retired Col. Vinayak Bhat, a satellite imagery expert and an Indian military intelligence veteran told The Epoch Times that there are greater things that should concern India in Arunachal Pradesh.

He claimed that Chinese troops had intruded deep into Indian territory and had already built underground bases and underground headquarters in the Indian region they have occupied.

“India must take strong measures to ensure that no further loss of territory takes place. India and the Indian Army are capable of handling these small clashes,” Bhat said, adding that the Indian Army will further take appropriate steps to ensure that there is no loss of territory or escalation of conflict.

END

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

EURO VS USA DOLLAR:1.0620  DOWN .0018 

USA/ YEN 137.08  DOWN  0.659/NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .25% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN TOTALLY COLLAPSES//

GBP/USA 1.2178 DOWN   0.0013

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN  0.79 PTS OR 0.02% 

 Hang Sang CLOSED UP  82.08  POINTS OR  0.42% 

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.73%    // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL RED

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES  ALL RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SANG CLOSED UP 82.08 PTS OR 0.42%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.79 PTS OR 0.02%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN  0.73% 

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 524.58%  OR 1.87%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE RED

Gold very early morning trading: 1784.60

silver:$22.92

USA dollar index early FRIDAY morning: 104.20 UP .10 POINTS from THURSDAY’s close.

 FRIDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing FRIDAY NUMBERS 1: 00 PM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.16% UP 8  in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.249% UP 0 AND 0   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.243%// UP 8 in basis points yield 

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 4.287 UP 13    points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: rises TO +2.149%  UP 9 BASIS PTS 

END

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR FRIDAY  

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

Euro/USA 1.0611 DOWN   .0027  or 27 basis points//

USA/Japan: 136.51 DOWN 1.229 OR YEN UP 123  basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.2171 DOWN .0022 OR  22 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar  DOWN .0030 OR 30 BASIS pts  to 1.3686

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The USA/Yuan,  CNY: closed    ON SHORE  (CLOSED ..UP) AT 6.9733

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE:    (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. 6.9775

TURKISH LIRA:  18.65  EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +0.249

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 5 IN basis points from THURSDAY at  3.490% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

 USA 30 yr bond yield   3.635  UP 4 in basis points 

Your closing USA dollar index, 104.25 UP 0.05 PTS   ON THE DAY/1.00 PM/

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

London: CLOSED DOWN 94.05 PTS OR  1.20%

German Dax :  CLOSED DOWN 93.16  POINTS OR 0.67%

Paris CAC CLOSED DOWN 79.14 PTS OR 1.08% 

Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN 106.30 OR  1.69%

Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN  37,89 PTS OR  0.16%

WTI Oil price 74.17   12: EST

Brent Oil:  78.78   12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ///   DOWN TO:  64.65/ ROUBLE DOWN 1  AND 30/100       RUBLES/DOLLAR

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.149

UK 10 YR YIELD: 3.244  DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA: 1.0600  DOWN .0038    OR  38 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2173 DOWN   .0018  or  18 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  3.340% up 6 BASIS PTS

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 136.55    DOWN 0.0033/YEN UP 3 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3689 UP 0.0033 (CDN dollar, DOWN 33 basis pts)

West Texas intermediate oil: 74.24

Brent OIL:  79.10

USA 10 yr bond yield UP 3 BASIS pts to 3.484%

USA 30 yr bond yield UP 5  BASIS PTS to 3.543%

USA dollar index:104.32 UP .12  BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18.66

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  64.45 down 0 AND  36/10 roubles

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 281.76 PTS OR 0.85% 

NASDAQ 100 DOWN 101.49 PTS OR 0.89%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 22.50 DOWN 0.33 PTS (1.45)%

GLD: $166.79 UP 1.44 OR 0.87%

SLV/ $21.37 UP $0.13 OR 0.21%

end)

USA trading day in Graph Form

Hawkish Fed & Horrible Data Hammer Stocks; Bonds & Black Gold Bounce

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 04:01 PM

Another day, another set of ugly US macro data as PMIs plunged to post-COVID-lockdown lows (worse than expected), all of which sent the US Macro Surprise Index back into the red (this was the biggest weekly drop since May)…

Source: Bloomberg

That was then piled on by some FedSpeak, reinforcing the hawkish message…

DALY: “INFLATION IS TOXIC”, FED “IS FAR AWAY” FROM ITS PRICE-STABILITY GOAL, MAY NEED MID-4% OR MORE JOBLESS RATE FOR LABOR-MKT BALANCE

MESTER: HAVEN’T SEEN IMPROVEMENT ON SERVICE-PRICE INFLATION

And as if that wasn’t enough, she explicitly called out ‘the markets’:

DALY: DON’T KNOW WHY MARKETS ARE SO OPTIMISTIC ON INFLATION, PREPARED TO HOLD PEAK RATE MORE THAN 11 MONTHS IF NEEDED

MESTER: NEED TO KEEP FUNDS RATE ABOVE 5% IN ’23 TO CURB PRICES, FED HAS `MORE WORK TO DO ON INFLATION,’ IT’S TOO HIGH

Which remain massively (and dovishly) decoupled from The Fed’s expectations…

Source: Bloomberg

Fed rate-trajectory expectations are actually lower on the week, driven by the plunge after the cooler than expected CPI print on Tuesday, but have been rising since on Hawkish FedSpeak…

Source: Bloomberg

The ‘good’ news for The Fed is the hawkish talk has stopped financial conditions ‘easing’ any further from tightening policy positions…

Source: Bloomberg

This helped send stocks lower for a second straight week with Nasdaq the biggest loser…

Overnight saw selling pressure start as Europe opened again. Then everything reversed into the OpEx open which sparked a quick squeeze but that faded fast into the European close. Late in the day, the inevitable chaos of a huge quad witch expiration sparked a buying panic, but stocks ended the day red still…

The S&P ramp at the close lifted it back to its 50DMA…

We note that the original FANG stocks have now lost over 50% of their peak market cap from Nov 2021 (down to $2.5 trillion from a peak at $5.11 trillion), tumbling over $600 billion this week alone…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields were all lower on the week with the short-end outperforming (2Y -16bps, 30Y -3bps) on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar ended the week unchanged, recovering all of its post-CPI plunge on the hawkish Fed statement…

Source: Bloomberg

A big round-trip in cryptos this week, running higher on the soft CPI and erasing gains on a hawkish Fed…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold and silver ended the week flat to very slightly lower. Gold futures managed to bounce back up to $1800 today…

But crude bounced higher after two ugly weeks, with WTI bouncing from a $70 handle up to almost $78 before fading back to $74 after The Fed…

Finally, cash continues to be king (and not trash as Dalio suggested) in 2022…

Will it continue to be in 2023?

EARLY MORNING TRADING//FOMC

EARLY AFTERNOON TRADING

ii) USA DATA

Both USA PMI’s are signaling huge recession in this initial flash report

(zerohedge)

US PMIs Scream Recession In December Flash Report

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 09:55 AM

After tumbling to their lowest since the COVID lockdown collapse, S&P Global’s PMI surveys were expected to rebound modestly in preliminary December data this morning. However, the consensus was very wrong as both Services and Manufacturing saw further – and notable – deterioration.

US Manufacturing PMI dropped from 47.7 to 46.2 (contraction), below 47.8 exp

US Services PMI dropped from 46.2 to 44.4 (contraction), below 46.5 exp.

Source: Bloomberg

The last time PMIs fell to this level, things got ugly fast.

A gauge of new orders at manufacturers slipped further into contraction, falling to its lowest level since May 2020.

New business at service providers also shrank by the most since the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The US Composite Index fell to 44.6 (well below expectations) to its lowest since May 2020 and diverging from upticks in the rest of the major global economies…

Commenting on the US flash PMI data, Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence said:

“Business conditions are worsening as 2022 draws to a close, with a steep fall in the PMI indicative of GDP contracting in the fourth quarter at an annualised rate of around 1.5%. Jobs growth has meanwhile slowed to a crawl as firms across both manufacturing and services take a much more cautious approach to hiring amid the slump in customer demand.

Williamson goes to note a silver lining (inflation is fading)…

“The upside is that weaker demand has taken pressure off supply chains which had been stretched during the pandemic. December saw a second successive month of faster supplier delivery times, a phenomenon which not only signals improving supply conditions but also tends to herald the shifting of pricing power away from the seller towards the buyer.

“Hence price pressures continue to moderate sharply. In fact, December saw the largest monthly cooling of firms’ input cost inflation seen in the 13 year history of the survey barring only the lockdown related slump in April 2020.

In short, the survey data suggest that Fed rate hikes are having the desired effect on inflation, but, as Williamson concludes “that the economic cost is building and recession risks are consequently mounting.”

end

III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES.

Twitter nukes liberal pundits from platform especially those who doxx

(zerohedge)

“There’s A New Sheriff In Town”: Twitter Nukes Liberal Pundits From Platform

THURSDAY, DEC 15, 2022 – 09:40 PM

Twitter on Thursday evening began purging reporters from major media outlets, just one day after new owner Elon Musk changed the platform’s “anti-doxxing” policy in response to a “crazy stalker” who climbed on the hood of a car carrying his two-year-old son.

Those kicked off the platform include:

• Keith Olbermann of MSNBC
• Ryan Mac of the NY Times
• Anthony Webster of Bellingcat
• Donnie O’Sullivan of CNN
• Micah F. Lee of The Intercept
• Matt Binder of Mashable
• Drew Harwell of the Washington Post
• Aaron Rupar of his mom’s basement

There’s a new sheriff in town pic.twitter.com/NNfyFnOPmJ— Election Wizard  (@ElectionWiz) December 16, 2022

Also booted was the official account for Twitter competitor Mastadon, which earlier in the day posted a link to track Musk’s private jet.

This was The Washington Post’s @drewharwell‘s post before he was suspended from Twitter, outlining how Twitter suspended the account of its competitor Mastodon earlier today. pic.twitter.com/Vc8QuwHXZE— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) December 16, 2022

It was unclear what prompted the suspensions, though it appears they are related to doxxing – current or in the past.

“Same doxxing rules apply to “journalists” as to everyone else,” Musk said on Thursday evening, adding “Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not.”

Same doxxing rules apply to “journalists” as to everyone else— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022

“They posted my exact real-time location, basically assassination coordinates, in (obvious) direct violation of Twitter terms of service,” Musk said in a subsequent tweet.

Criticizing me all day long is totally fine, but doxxing my real-time location and endangering my family is not— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 16, 2022

Aaron Rupar said in a statement to CNN‘s Oliver Darcy: “I never posted anything Elon Jet related or that could violate the policy about disclosing locations. Unless the policy is that you criticize Elon and you get banned.”

Except…

UPDATE: Rupar posted screenshots of the location of Elon Musk’s private plane— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) December 16, 2022

Interestingly, the Washington Post‘s resident trust-fund snitch Taylor Lorenz deleted her ‘entire archive and took her account private,’ according to The Federalist‘s Sean Davis.

Who tipped off @TaylorLorenz that she was about to get busted for doxxing? Within the last hour she nuked her entire archive and took her account private. pic.twitter.com/fLuNoocwVS— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 16, 2022

Corporate media has framed this as Twitter suspending journalists “who have been covering Elon Musk and the company.”

A spokesperson for the NY Times said that the suspensions were ‘questionable and unfortunate,’ and said that no explanation was provided.

“We hope that all of the journalists’ accounts are reinstated and that Twitter provides a satisfying explanation for this action,” said Charlie Stadtlander, communications director for the Times.

Some aren’t taking the news well…

I don’t know what happened here but if @elonmusk doesn’t fix this within the hour with an explanation by morning, I’ll be on Capitol Hill tomorrow demanding that he be hauled in front of Congress. pic.twitter.com/8oTmLkbdzZ— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) December 16, 2022

Oh Jason…

What happened to:

— Private companies have the right to disassociate themselves from anyone they want.

— Have you ever heard of “Terms of Service?”

— If you don’t like how Twitter does content moderation, start your own social media site.

Remember all those arguments? https://t.co/j0P2os8ZF4— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 16, 2022

As expected, the reactions have been flying!

It’s funny seeing the Libs panic over their friends getting suspended. They’re finally getting a taste of what Conservatives have lived through for years. https://t.co/WYmOBKbL1N— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 16, 2022

Me looking at libs saying that account suspension rules are vague and aren’t applied evenly pic.twitter.com/g61lqoeVhE— Richard Harambe (@Doc_Chimpanzee) December 16, 2022

Suddenly the fake media cares about twitter suspensions.— John Ocasio-Rodham Nolte (@NolteNC) December 16, 2022

December 15th is the new January 6th— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 16, 2022

Maybe he wants real news reporting on the site, and not political propaganda.

I know it’s a hard concept for some of you “journalists” to grasp. https://t.co/zOrSSsjnWU— Momo Shitco (@MomoShitco) December 16, 2022

end

USA ECONOMIC ISSUES// SUPPLY ISSUES//DERIVATIVES

This is a must read

Peter Tchir….

2 + 2 = 5

THURSDAY, DEC 15, 2022 – 09:00 PM

By Peter Tchir, chief strategist at Academy Securities

We discussed Orwellian Moments back in August, but yesterday’s Fed meeting has confounded me (again) and left me trying to figure out some of their “math”. But first, let’s cover the ECB.

The ECB Made Sense

The ECB has been late to the rate hike party and has some catching up to do. They also have a serious inflation problem, but one that is different than ours. They were (and still largely are) incredibly dependent on cheap Russian energy to power their countries. That is a problem and is something that they have to combat. Today they did two things:

1. A “hawkish” 50 bps hike. They could have gone with more, but chose not to. However, Lagarde made it very clear that they are prepared to do more. While Powell made it somewhat clear that we were nearing the “wait and see” moment, the ECB did not. That pushed all yields in Europe higher.
2. They announced that their QT would start in March and be €15 billion. That seemed to hit markets hard and explains why Italian 10-year bonds are 10 bps worse than German and French bonds. If nothing else, hopefully central bankers are learning that QE distorts asset prices more than any other policy that they can enact, and those distortions are disruptive and difficult to unwind. For example, a relatively small amount of QT (starting 3 months from now) had a significant market impact today – scary to think about). My one hope is that going forward central bankers will use QE only in the direst of circumstances and for the briefest time possible (in cautiously small amounts). Probably wishful thinking, but seems logical to me!

So, the ECB and the market’s reaction to the ECB largely make sense.

Back to 2 + 2 = 5

This chart takes monthly core CPI (seasonally adjusted) and presents it in 4 ways: the sum of the 12 months, taking the prior 6 months and multiplying it by 2, taking the prior 3 months and multiplying it by 4, and finally just taking the most recent month and multiplying it by 12.

The big black line is the annual one that we all see and it is around 6%.

My favorite line is the light blue one, which represents the prior 3 months * 4. I like that because the data is recent and incorporates the impact that prior policy decisions should be having. Using 3 months “smooths” the data. That has been trending down for several months and is currently down to 4%. This is above the Fed’s target of 2% (which Powell reiterated yesterday), but is hardly alarming. If anything, we probably should be talking about how to “flatten the curve” to get a soft landing (I already think that it is too late for that as you can read in Rise and Fall of Inflation Drivers and Squishy Landing).

If you simply take the latest month and annualize it, we were at 3.3% last month and 2.4% in the latest month (wow, almost like their policy has worked)! But instead, we have to focus on trailing 12 months, despite the impacts of higher yields and quantitative tightening needing more time to fully impact the system! It is so Orwellian to me that it hurts!

But that wasn’t all that sent me back to this dystopian wasteland.

“By the middle of next year, we should begin to see lower inflation from the housing services sector.”

Powell said that. He knows that rents incorporate data from as much as 10 months ago. He knows as well as you and I do that it is a lagging indicator. He even said as much (at least that is how I interpret his comment). But why do we include it and base policy on it, knowing it is wrong! The 3 highest prints for owner’s equivalent rent in the past 30 years came in Q3 and Q4 this year. Simply impossible, and even the Chair acknowledges that it will go down, but he is still acting on it as though it is legit!

I will continue to send charts of Zillow’s data around and expand on this work that first started in earnest back in an October T-Report.

Imagine how low the prior 3 months of core data would be with proper housing inflation data. And yes, think of how high it really was last year when we were being fed the “transitory” story.

Finally, he highlighted jobs, which I will grant have been decent, but he seemed to ignore several things:

• The Household Survey hasn’t been as good as the Establishment Survey (a couple million jobs difference).
• The survey response rates have been low, making people question their validity and if there is any “self-selection” bias in the reporting (companies doing well report, but maybe others don’t).
• The Philly Fed thinks Q2 jobs were overstated by more than 1 million! Some group within the Fed tasked with figuring out how accurate the data is thinks that it was overstated by 1 million, which is more in line with the Household Survey!
• The JOLTS data has a high number of vacant jobs. The question is how overstated is that number? How has it kept up with online job searches?

We address many of the jobs questions in Inflation Dumpster Dive and More Inflation Dumpster Diving, and the Fed’s own work on the subject is there for all to see.

If one part of the economy is doing better than expected (by some measures, but not all), I’d spend more time wondering if the good measures are accurate, rather than basing a large part of my policy on data that is the outlier!

And just today, sales numbers came in extremely weak and last month’s numbers were revised down! The consumer is buying for the holidays and buying on discount, and I expect that to evaporate as we head into the new year!

Bottom Line

The Fed should be taking a victory lap and figuring out how to avert a hard landing, but for some reason they insist on looking at old data (12 months, rather than data impacted by their actions), stale data (OER), and pollyannish data (the selective use of some jobs data) to signal that they want a higher terminal rate!

Good luck with that, because 2 + 2 does NOT EVER EQUAL 5!

I feel better after that rant, and I am buying the dip here in risk because I believe that the Fed speakers will sound a bit more dovish as they resume their speaking circuit, and it is a bit premature to trade the very hard landing (that I still expect will happen).

end 

No question about it: the consumer is tapped out as witnessed by USA travel demand

(zerohedge)

Could Slumping US Air Travel Demand Be A Sign Consumers Are Tapped Out?

THURSDAY, DEC 15, 2022 – 08:00 PM

Delta Air Lines Inc. was one of the latest carriers to warn about slumping travel demand. Several other carriers have also voiced similar concerns.

“The December month was the off-trend month,” Delta President Glen Hauenstein told analysts and investors on Wednesday at an event in New York. He explained that January travel demand could be significantly better than December and added February is usually a much better month. 

Hauenstein’s comments followed JetBlue Airways Corp.’s travel warning on Tuesday. Shares of the airline plunged the most in six months after fourth-quarter revenue per seat flown a mile, a metric used to measure fares and passenger traffic, trended toward the low end of guidance.  

“The expected very strong close-in demand for December reflected in its prior outlook has materialized below expectations,” JetBlue said.

Separately, Spirit Airlines Inc. reduced its capacity forecast for the quarter due to adverse weather conditions. Alaska Air Group Inc., meanwhile, warned about “softening in corporate travel bookings.”

Looking at the S&P500 Airline industry, shares are down 16% year-to-date and down 47% from five years ago. The index remains well below pre-Covid levels. 

Multiple warnings about sliding travel demand come as consumers have endured 19 months of negative real wages. Persistent inflation has decimated the household finances of the bottom 90% of Americans. Many folks are draining personal savings and maxing out credit cards in high-rate environments just to buy staples and pay rent. So, their ability to spend money on experiences and travel is sliding.  

The increasing drumbeat of macroeconomic headwinds because of a Federal Reserve-induced economic downturn is making life for the consumer harder by the month.

There are signs at TSA checkpoints that travel numbers have been moving lower since the spike during the Thanksgiving holiday.

 A good question is whether the consumer will have enough dry powder to go on trips in the first half of next year. 

END

Mass Wall Street layoffs arrive: Goldman to layoff as many as 4,000 employees

(zerohedge)

Mass Wall Street Layoffs Officially Arrive: Goldman To Lay Off As Many As 4,000 Employees

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 01:20 PM

Make no question about it – despite what the “data” shows and what the Fed says – the job market is, in fact, softening. 

We’ve spent the last two weeks writing about how Wall Street firms are going to be cutting their bonus pools significantly, with higher rates throwing a wet blanket over dealmaking and earnings for many firms.

Now, it looks as though the layoffs on Wall Street are hitting high gear. Not one to be last or least decisive to act, Goldman Sachs announced this week that it is going to lay off as many as 4,000 of its employees, according to Semafor and Reuters on Friday morning. 

Other Wall Street firms like Citigroup have also announced some cutbacks in staffing, but none as meaningful as Goldman’s cuts. The company’s managers are being “asked to identify low performers for what could be a cut of up to 8% to its workforce early next year”, the Semafor report said this morning. 

The move is meaningful even when compared to Goldman’s usual lightening of its workforce, which includes between 2% and 5% of employees either being laid off or receiving no bonuses as part of efforts to trim the business.

Reuters reported Friday morning that Goldman’s headcount, even after the layoffs, will still remain above pre-pandemic levels. 

Goldman didn’t partake in its routine cuts in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic – and then the ensuing boom that followed. 

“…the firm has clearly overspent and over-hired, acting more like a tech company being cheered on by venture capitalists than a Wall Street bank bearing the scars of past crises of overexuberance. [CEO David] Solomon is now moving to stem those losses,” wrote Semafor’s Liz Hoffman. 

Recall, just days ago we noted that Goldman was curtailing originating unsecured consumer loans. The move marks a noticeable pivot from the bank’s previous plans of trying to get closer to retail banking, which they were doing through their Marcus offering, which provided services like personal loans and high yield savings, similar to combining the features of lenders like Sofi and Upstart with the savings products from companies like Capital One.

But that experiment looks to be on its last legs. Goldman hasn’t officially commented on the report yet but the bank has been in the midst of cost cutting measures for several months. As we noted then, Goldman was one of the first banks to announce layoffs this season.

Recall, in 2018, we explained how Goldman Sachs had switched from betting against Subprime (Residential Mortgage Backed Securities and their various synthetic and “squared” derivatives) to betting with Subprime (hoping to profit off America’s sub-660 FICO population by lending to it).

Goldman’s credit card business, anchored by the Apple Card since 2019, had arguably been the company’s biggest success yet in terms of gaining retail lending scale, but as we detailed in September 2022, rising losses threaten to mar that picture.

END

Senate Passes One-Week Spending Bill, Averting Government Shutdown

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 09:40 AM

Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times,

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 15 passed a one-week spending bill to keep the government open as negotiations over a larger spending bill for fiscal year 2023 continue.

The bill, known in legislative parlance as a “continuing resolution,” passed the upper chamber in a 71-19 vote.

The passage of the bill came less than 36 hours before the government was set to shut down.

The short-term measure gives lawmakers more time to work out the details of a larger omnibus spending package for FY 2023. However, such a measure could face trouble in passing.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has expressed openness to passing a spending bill for FY 2023, despite demands from House Republicans—who will take the majority in the lower chamber on Jan. 3, 2023—to wait for Republicans to take the House.

“This is about taking a very simple, exceedingly responsible step to ensure we finish the year without hiccups and with minimal drama. A one-week CR will give us more time so we can keep working,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said just before passage of the temporary funding bill.

Critics have blasted Democrats for attempting to “abuse” the lame-duck session of the 117th Congress to push through an omnibus bill, an unprecedented effort.

McConnell, Other Republicans Butt Heads

Prior to the vote, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his caucus butted heads with McConnell over his openness to considering allowing Democrats to set spending levels for FY 2023.

Republican critics of the scheme warn that it would effectively allow the outgoing House Democrat majority to “tie Republicans’ hands” during the first half of the 118th Congress.

“They’re trying to jam us right before Christmas. Why would you ever move forward when there’s a change in power in 21 days where Republicans would have a stronger hand?” McCarthy said during a Dec. 13 on Sean Hannity’s primetime show.

“We wouldn’t be talking about adding more money. We’d talk about decreasing.”

In a speech on the House floor, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has led calls to this effect, blasted McConnell for even considering passing a full omnibus.

“I’m looking at Mitch McConnell when I say this: Do your job, leader McConnell,” Roy said.

“Do your job and follow the wishes of the American people who gave a majority to Republicans in the House of Representatives.”

House Republicans are not the only ones who have called for allowing Republicans to craft the spending bill for FY 2023.

Four Republicans in the upper chamber—Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Mike Braun (R-Ind.), led by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a vocal McConnell critic—also called for McConnell to hold off consideration of a full omnibus until next year.

“On November 8, 2022, the American people made their voices heard at the ballot box,” the quartet of lawmakers said in a Nov. 30 letter to McConnell.

“Using the Democratic process, millions of Americans sent a message—they want divided power in Washington to curb the worst excesses of both parties.”

The proposal has also been criticized by conservative policy analysts.

“The defeated outgoing Democratic House majority is hoping some Hollywood-style flair will hide their true aim; namely, to stuff trillions of dollars in new spending down the throats of the American public,” Heritage senior analyst Richard Stern wrote in a Dec. 14 op-ed for the Daily Signal.

“There is, however, no need for such theatrics,” he added.

“Enough is enough,” Stern wrote near the end of his piece. “There is no need for such a careless and rushed omnibus. Conservatives in Congress could pass a short-term continuing resolution and carefully write new appropriations bills at the beginning of next year.”

Meanwhile, some lawmakers in the upper chamber have warned that McCarthy’s caucus will be too thin a majority to push through some Republican aspirations.

“[McCarthy’s] got a very thin majority and I know he knows it’s going to be hard to do some of the things they want to do,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told The Hill.

“I understand the politics of criticizing McConnell, but they need to have a relationship. McConnell’s got pretty thick skin but I think there’s a way for McCarthy to try to placate conservatives in the House without attacking McConnell,” he added.

McConnell has refrained from answering the criticisms from his colleagues in the House. However, he has insisted that passing an omnibus now is preferable to waiting for his party to take control of the lower chamber.

Speaking after a Nov. 29 meeting with McCarthy, President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), McConnell said: “We had a really good meeting. Laid out the challenges that we’re all collectively facing here. I think there’s widespread agreement that we’d be better off with an omnibus than a [continuing resolution], but there are some significant hurdles to get over to do that.”

Working out the spending bill is one of the two top priorities for legislators moving into Christmas.

In September, lawmakers passed a short-term continuing resolution that would have expired at midnight on Dec. 16.

The other top priority is the House-passed annual military spending bill dubbed the National Defense Authorization Act, which is still being prepared for passage through the upper chamber. This bill is expected to face fewer difficulties than the general appropriations bill.

END

Americans Face Elevated Winter Power Outage Risks From Tight Fuel Supplies, Faltering Grid: Report

BY TYLER DURDEN

FRIDAY, DEC 16, 2022 – 04:22 PM

Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

As the snow flies and temperatures plummet, regulatory agencies and analysts alike warn that residents in multiple U.S. states are at an elevated risk of dangerous winter blackouts.

States such as Texas and North Carolina, and also the Great Lakes and New England regions are in the highest risk category, according to a report from the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC).

Meanwhile, a “large portion” of the U.S. power grid is at risk of insufficient electricity supplies during peak winter conditions, the agency concluded in the same analysis.

Although climate change advocates claim that severe weather events are the primary culprit, energy insiders say tight fuel supplies and an outdated electric grid play a critical role in potential blackouts.

Conservative estimates this year put the cost of critical power grid and infrastructure upgrades at $4 trillion, with the use of supplemental nuclear power; the price tag jumps another $500 million without nuclear energy.

The Biden administration approved a $13 billion stopgap measure on Nov. 18 to “modernize and expand” the power grid. However, people in the energy industry say it will take months or years for U.S. residents to see the difference.

Falling Behind

“There is a significant gap to upgrade aging grid infrastructure to meet net-zero mandates and maintain reliability, and we are running out of time,” analyst Kim Getgen told The Epoch Times.

Getgen is the CEO and founder of Innovation Force, which tackles complex issues such as America’s energy crisis. She says the Biden administration’s infrastructure investment is a good start, but it’s exactly that, just a start.

“Upgrading aging infrastructure, system hardening, and resilience measures while complying with the evolving set of new cyber and physical security threats will require even more investment,” Getgen said.

She added that the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the U.S. power grid a C- grade on its 2021 Infrastructure Report Card.

Getgen maintains that a greater level of investment is needed, saying, “we can’t maintain the millions of miles of distribution and transmission lines that deliver the power, and we can’t harness the potential of renewable clean power.”

And although upgrades are crucial, some energy specialists say the U.S. electrical grid won’t become efficient overnight, or even by next winter.

“It’s important to remember that something as complex as the electricity grid takes time to change,” Ted Kury, director of energy studies at the University of Florida, told The Epoch Times.

Working in the university’s Public Utility Research Center, Kury says the regulatory process for new utility projects moves slowly, no matter how much money is thrown at it.

“It’s a process with numerous safeguards, but that also means it takes more time. It’s reasonable to think that we’ll start seeing impacts in the next few years,” he said.

Eric Hendrick, senior consultant in risk management at Customized Energy Solutions, agreed with Kury’s assessment.

“Given the politics involved in any legislation, it’ll take some time before any of these funds trickle down to the states that need the funds,” Hendrick told The Epoch Times.

During a press statement, John Moura, the director of reliability assessment for NERC, said there are “more areas at risk” of blackouts this winter amid power generation and fuel supply challenges.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm also noted in a November brief that 70 percent of the nation’s power grid is more than 25 years old.

Grid upgrades aside, strained natural gas and coal supplies are also, quite literally, fueling higher power-outage risks.

Fuel Factor

Not only are millions of Americans facing a greater risk of losing power this winter, they’ll also be paying more for energy.

Homes that run on natural gas can expect to pay 28 percent more. For those using heating oil, a 27 percent price spike is expected, and a 10 percent increase is likely for households that rely on electricity alone for heat.

The increases are due to a combination of higher market prices and demand, according to an Energy Information Administration analysis.

And with the continued push toward Biden’s net-zero energy goals, an additional 11,778 megawatts of coal generation was retired in 2022. Meanwhile, the demand burden has shifted heavily toward natural gas, which is already encountering supply issues.

Read more here…

END

SWAMP STORIES

Documents Uncover Secret Twitter Portal US Government Used To Censor COVID-19 Content

THURSDAY, DEC 15, 2022 – 07:00 PM

Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

New documents reveal how the United States government used a secret Twitter portal to censor COVID-19 content that contradicted the government’s narrative.

In its ongoing probe into Twitter’s censorship practices, America First Legal has obtained a fourth set of documents (pdf) exposing a secret Twitter portal, which U.S. government officials used to censor dissenting COVID-19 views in violation of the First Amendment. It’s a revelation Elon Musk described as “extremely concerning.”

The documents reveal that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and Mafindo to mitigate “disinformation.”

Mafindo is a Facebook third-party fact-checking partner based in Indonesia that is funded by Google, known to have censored searches for keywords like Coronavirus, and COVID-19 as well as blocking information regarding adverse reactions and deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccines. Facebook started its third-party fact-checking program in 2016, working with fact-checkers from around the world who are certified by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter to rate and review the accuracy of the content on their platform. According to the IFCN website, they believe “nonpartisan and transparent fact-checking can be a powerful instrument of accountability journalism.” However, among their advisory board, U.S.-based representatives appear to be from liberal-leaning outlets such as the Washington Post and PolitiFact, which is owned by Poynter.

The Twitter Portal

On March 10, 2021 email from a US Public Policy employee at Facebook to several CDC employees spoke of the social media giant’s “weekly sync with CDC” and how the CDC was “to invite other agencies as needed.”

A March 24, 2021 email from the same Facebook employees to CDC employees said “this is my regular FB meeting and they would like to discuss 2 misinformation topics” and “misinformation that was removed.”

On May 10, 2021, a Twitter employee recommended to a CDC official to enroll in Twitter’s Partner Support Portal, which he described as “the best way to get a spreadsheet like this reviewed.”

On May 11, 2021, the CDC official enrolled her personal Twitter account into Twitter’s Partner Support Portal, which allowed “a special, expedited reporting flow in the Twitter Help Center.”

A May 19, 2021 Facebook Community Standards manual reveals how the company works with lawmakers and legal council as well as human rights activists in developing policies in their goals of “bringing 50 million people a step closer to vaccinations” while “combatting COVID-19 and vaccine misinformation” and “overcoming global challenges in vaccination.” Methods used to accomplish this included removing “false information that has been debunked by public health experts” and rejecting ads that violate their policies, “including those that discourage vaccination.” They also reduced the distribution of “misleading claims rated by independent fact-checkers.”

Removed Content

Posts that Facebook would delete—which the CDC or any other public health authority deemed as “false and likely to contribute to imminent violence of physical harm”—included:

• Claims that COVID-19 is no more dangerous than the common flu or cold.
• Claims that COVID-19 cannot be transmitted in certain climates, weather conditions, or locations.
• Claims that for the average person, something can guarantee prevention from getting COVID-19 or can guarantee recovery from COVID-19 before such a cure or prevention has been approved.
• Claims that COVID-19 tests cause cancer.
• Claims about the availability or existence of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Claims about the safety or serious side effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Claims about the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Claims about how the COVID-19 vaccine was developed or its ingredients.
• Claims involving conspiracy theories about COVID-19 vaccines or vaccine programs.

Content deemed to have been “debunked” included among other things, “vaccines cause the disease against which they meant to protect, or cause the person to be more likely to get the disease,” that “natural immunity is safer than vaccine acquired immunity,” and  “vaccines are not effective to prevent the disease against what they purport to protect.”

Repeat offenders would face restrictions “including (but not limited to) reduced distribution, removal from recommendations” or removal from the site.

These punishments were conducted despite evidence that the vaccines do not prevent transmission, that vaccines cause adverse effects and even death, and that more vaccinated people are now dying than unvaccinated. Even the CDC admitted in June that vaccinated people could contract the disease again.

‘The Coolest Misinformation Fighting Speakeasy’

In August 2021, the head of Google’s News Lab for the Asia Pacific region (APAC), emailed a CDC Vaccine Confidence Strategist to invite her to the APAC’s “Trusted Media Summit.” The CDC’s vaccine confidence strategist then emailed the event planner for Google’s APAC Trusted Media Summit, noting her excitement over being invited to what she referred to as “the coolest misinformation fighting speakeasy.”

The same CDC employee was then invited to the summit to give a keynote addressing how the CDC was working with WHO and other international organizations to address a so-called “infodemic” and using “social inoculation” to mitigate it.

Read more here…

THE KING REPORT

The King Report December 16, 2022 Issue 6909

Independent View of the News

ECB raises rates by unprecedented 75 basis points The ECB lifted its deposit rate to 0.75% from zero and raised the main refinancing rate to 1.25%, their highest level since 2011… The ECB lifted its deposit rate to 0.75% from zero and raised the main refinancing rate to 1.25%, their highest level since 2011, as inflation is becoming increasingly broad…    “Over the next several meetings the Governing Council expects to raise interest rates further to dampen demand and guard against the risk of a persistent upward shift in inflation expectations,” the ECB said in a statement… “ECB staff have significantly revised up their inflation projections and inflation is now expected to average 8.1% in 2022, 5.5% in 2023 and 2.3% in 2024,” the ECB added. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/ecb-raises-rates-by-unprecedented-75-basis-points-2022-09-08/   Bank of England hikes key rate by 50 basis points, will continue to respond ‘forcefully’ if needed Having hit a 41-year high in October, the annual rise in the U.K. consumer price index slowed to 10.7% in November, new figures revealed Wednesday… https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/15/bank-of-england-hikes-key-rate-by-50-basis-points-will-continue-to-respond-forcefully-if-needed.html   The Bank of England Communique was released at 7 ET; the ECB Communique appeared at 8:15 ET.   China’s factory, retail sectors skid as COVID hits growth Industrial output rose 2.2% in November from a year earlier, missing expectations for a 3.6% gain… and slowing significantly from the 5.0% growth seen in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Thursday. It marked the slowest growth since May… Retail sales fell 5.9%… also the biggest contraction since May. Analysts had expected the gauge of consumption to shrink 3.7%, accelerating from a 0.5% dip in October…  https://t.co/hesWywR3ug   China Ramps Up Liquidity Injection Amid Bond Market TurmoilPBOC net injects 150 billion yuan via medium-term loansLatest liquidity support seen easing money-market stressChina’s central bank pumped in more cash into the banking system in December than forecast, in a move that’s expected to boost bonds roiled by an abrupt Covid policy shift…  https://t.co/TgV4WB57Tr   ESHs traded moderately higher during early Asian trading.  They turned modestly negative at 21:20 ET.  ESHs then traded flat, oscillating between tiny loses and gains until they broke down after China closed.   ESHs declined 61 handles from their high (4043.00) by 4:44 ET, hours BEFORE the ECB and BoE Communiques were released.  ESHs and European stocks rallied modestly until they broke down after the US bond market opened at 8 ET.  After hitting a bottom near 8:50 ET, ESHs and stocks commenced the rally for the NYSE open.  It was modest and peaked one minute after the 9:30 ET NYSE opening.   ESHs and stocks inexorably sank until 13:00 ET; they went inert until the pre-last hour rally began at 14:35 ET.  The 30-handle ESH rally ended near 15:30 ET.  ESHs and stocks retreated into the close.   US November Retail Sales: -0.6% m/m (not adjusted for inflation), -0.2% expected; Retail Sales ex-Autos -0.2%, +0.2% consensus; Retail Sales ex-Autos & Gas -0.2%, unchanged expected https://www.census.gov/retail/sales.html   Initial Jobless Claims 211k, 232k expected, 230k prior; Continuing Claims 1.671m, 1.674m expected   Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook -13.8, -10.0 expected -19.4 prior   November Industrial Production -0.2% m/m, unchanged expected, Manufacturing Production -0.6% m/m, -0.2% consensus; Capacity Utilization 79.7%, 79.8% expected.   Much of the fin media blamed the decline on the disappointing November Retail Sales Report.  The report was released at 8:30 ET.  ESHs were down substantially from their high hours before the release.   We opined that the major risk to the expiry manipulation on Thursday would be the presence or absence of defensive asset allocators.  USHs rallied a point while the DJIA was down 850ish at 11:50 ET.   Positive aspects of previous session Equities staged a moderate dead-cat bounce in the afternoon   Negative aspects of previous session Defensive asset allocators sold stocks and bought bonds on recession angst Nasdaq has tumbled about 7% from Tuesday’s high   Ambiguous aspects of previous session How soon will the usual suspects proclaim that a Fed pivot is nigh?   First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE open: Down; Last Hour: Down   Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 3911.31 Previous session High/Low: 3958.37; 3879.45   Why You Might Be Having Trouble Buying Children’s Flu and Cold Medicine – WSJ P&G says plants making NyQuil and Vicks running around the clock    Flu infections and hospitalizations are surging across the country… Sales of cough and cold medications at U.S. retailers rose 35% in the four-week period ended Dec. 3 (y/y)… https://www.wsj.com/articles/cold-cough-drugs-in-short-supply-in-some-areas-as-families-fight-flu-rsv-and-covid-11671075522   New York hospitals on brink with staffing shortages, financial woes: report https://t.co/9NUbnAum9V   Powell warned the known universe that the US has a labor shortage, and it might be structural (induced by socialism).  A Fed pivot is highly unlikely when labor is in short supply.   For months, we have warned that the BLS was overstating Nonfarm Payroll monthly data by greatly increasing seasonal adjustments to the data.  This ended after the November Midterm Elections.  We further opined that soon the BLS must revise the data lower to square it with NSA NFP, not seasonally adjusted NFP.  The Philly Fed says the BLS overstated NFP by 1.1m from March thru June.   The Philadelphia Fed: Early Benchmark Revisions of State Payroll Employment (March thru June) In the aggregate, 10,500 net new jobs were added during the period rather than the 1,121,500 jobs estimated by the sum of the states; the U.S. CES (NFP) estimated net growth of 1,047,000 jobs for the period… https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/frbp/assets/surveys-and-data/benchmark-revisions/early-benchmark-2022-q2-report.pdf   Fed Balance Sheet: +$678m; Forex Swaps +$3.455B https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h41/20221215/   Today is December options and futures expiration.  An estimated $3.7 trillion of options will expire.  Bloomberg’s Trender triggered a daily sell signal on the S&P 500 Index for the first time since August.  It triggered a daily buy signal on October 24.  Bulls must now accept the fact that except for the Santa Rally, there is nothing on the horizon that can change the down trend in equities until the Feb. 1 FOMC soiree.   The equity trend is now clearly down, but you can never disregard expiration chicanery, which could be substantial given that about $4 trillion of options expire today.  That’s beaucoup incentive to manipulate.   Expected econ data: Dec S&P Global US Mfg PMI 47.8, Services PMI 46.5, Composite PMI 46.9; SF Fed President and leading dove Mary Daly discusses ‘Inflation and the Economy’ at 12:00 ET   ESHs are +0.50 and USHs are -5/32 at 20:15 ET.     S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 3859; 100-day MA: 3931; 150-day MA: 3927; 200-day MA: 4032 DJIA 50-day MA: 32,524; 100-day MA: 32,167; 150-day MA: 31,974; 200-day MA: 32,460   S&P 500 Index – Trender trading model and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4529.70 triggers a buy signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 3730.35 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4108.03 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 3985.87 triggers a buy signal   On Wednesday, Trump promised that he would make a major announcement on Thursday.  Yesterday, the Orangeman announced the issuance of digital trading cards of himself depicted as a superhero, astronaut, cowboy, etc. – only $99 each!  Ron DeSantis, come on down!  https://twitter.com/TheInsiderPaper/status/1603420997327196165/photo/1   Trump roasted after ‘major announcement’ turns out to be digital trading cards Trump’s trading cards cost $99 a piece (Grifting gullible supporters) https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-roasted-after-major-announcement-turns-out-digital-trading-cards   @GuntherEagleman: Stock market is down 1000 points but hey, you can get Trump trading cards for as low as $99.00…  Trump, please publicly fire who advised you to do this.   Hours later Trump announced a ‘Free Speech’ platform for 2024. https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1603467358038855684   What Did Biden Just Say About Poor People ‘Staying Too Long’? Speaking during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington D.C. Thursday, President Joe Biden… “The poor come and they eat your food, stay longer than they should…” while discussing (his) potential visits to African countries… https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2022/12/15/joe-biden-complains-about-poor-people-staying-too-long-and-eating-too-much-food-n2617186   @CBSNews: Former House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, begins to cry while delivering a speech during Nancy Pelosi’s portrait unveiling at the U.S. Capitol. https://t.co/eyztqbSR9S (RINO loser)   GOP lawmakers say McConnell ‘coercing’ them to support last minute omnibus package  “I don’t see any reason why Republicans should jump to [Democrats’] aid. They can’t do this without at least 10 Republicans in the Senate. I don’t know why any Republican, let alone 10, would want to help them,” said Utah GOP Sen. Mike Lee.     “We don’t know how much money is going to be in it. We don’t know what’s going to be in it. We don’t know what’s going to be attached to it,” Florida GOP Sen. Rick Scott said of the plan. Scott previously attempted to unseat McConnell as party leader in the upper chamber, but was unsuccessful.     Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, meanwhile, lamented that the collaboration between Democrats and McConnell-aligned Republicans would almost certainly lead to heightened spending…     McConnell, meanwhile, has contended that the existing plan represented the best compromise Republicans were likely to get and advised against waiting until the party takes control of the House in January, lest they risk a government shutdown…  https://t.co/AISIbOaiBZ   @mkraju: Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is likely to back the omnibus spending bill, told me this of House GOP calls to punt on government funding until next year when they take control of the chamber. “They’re having enough problems trying to find a speaker — much less pass a bill,” he said. (RINO loser!)   @RNCResearch: “Will you commit to serving your full two-year term for the people of San Francisco?” NANCY PELOSI: “What is this? What is this? Don’t bother me with a question like that. Really. Really, ok? I said what I’m gonna do. Those kind of questions are such a waste of my time.” https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1603427154267709440   When you are spoiled and pampered by the media for decades, you act spoiled and pampered.   Daily Mail: ‘For all we know he was some sort of sex slave’: Son of Paul Pelosi’s alleged attacker says his father is not evil, believes in human rights and is ‘hardly a right-wing conservative’ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11537665/Son-Paul-Pelosis-alleged-attacker-David-DePape-breaks-silence.html   Media industry bloodbath: Insiders, experts on why Washington Post, CNN, NPR, others slashing jobs (Readers & viewership has collapsed due to credibility implosion) https://t.co/rgsxjjcetY   @ClayTravis: The Washington Post, which has lost 500k subscribers in the past year, has announced layoffs are coming to the paper. The meeting didn’t go well. https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1603080894553677826   NBC News has an ugly track record of catering to Dem narratives https://nypost.com/2022/12/09/nbc-news-has-an-ugly-track-record-of-catering-to-dem-narratives/   Senate unanimously passes ban on federal employees using TikTok on government devices https://justthenews.com/government/security/senate-unanimously-passes-ban-federal-employees-using-tiktok-government-devices   CDC removed stats on defensive gun use over pressure from gun control activists: Report https://t.co/8N7XaXSHzt   The CDC, like many US agencies, is hopelessly and perniciously politicized and corrupted.   @JerryDunleavy: DOJ: “Former Twitter Employee Sentenced to 42 Months for Acting as a Foreign Agent. Defendant Was Convicted After Trial for Participating in Fraudulent Scheme to Access, Monitor, and Convey User Info to Saudi Royal Family & The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” (How many more?) https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-twitter-employee-sentenced-42-months-federal-prison-acting-foreign-agent   Democrat ‘rising star’ caught on leaked audio doubles down amid calls to resign: ‘He’s staying and that’s it’ – Scandal-roiled Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León has no intentions of stepping down from his post, despite growing calls for his resignation… making racist remarks with several colleagues… https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrat-rising-star-caught-leaked-audio-doubles-down-amid-calls-resign-hes-staying-thats-it   California Democrat Congresswoman Katie Porter Claims Pedophilia is Not a Crime, It’s an ‘Identity’ – “The allegation of groomer and pedophile, it is alleging that a person is criminal somehow or engaged in criminal acts merely because of their identity, their sexual orientation, their gender identity,” she said… https://t.co/6molbnDrNy   @joelgriffith: US Senate confirms ambassadorial pick despite antisemitic comments. All Democrats voted to confirm. All Republicans voted no. https://jns.org/us-senate-confirms-ambassadorial-pick-despite-antisemitic-comments/   National Archives releases over 13,000 JFK assassination files https://trib.al/WjE2xTS

GREG HUNTER REPORT//

Trump Fights Censorship, Vax Lies Collapsing, Inflation Going Higher

Trump Fights Censorship, Vax Lies Collapsing, Inflation Going Higher

By Greg Hunter On December 16, 2022 In Weekly News Wrap-Ups5 Comments

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchsdog.com 12.16.22 (WNW 560 12.16.22)

President Trump had a big announcement on his Truth Social platform, but the Lying Legacy Media (LLM) will never show you this because it about the LLM colluding with the government to censor “We the People.”  In short, they suppress the truth about all sorts of things.  From the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop to the dangers of the CV19 injections, these are some of the truths they censored.  Trump says, “If we don’t have free speech, we don’t have a free country.” He’s right.  This is a big part of Trump’s 2024 campaign platform.

The CV19 vax lies keep getting exposed with each new “Died Suddenly” report and new data showing the vax was a deadly and dangerous fraud from the very beginning.  There is no stopping what is coming.  The rage from the millions who are injured and families whose loved ones have died are not going to stop stacking up.  Now, more and more, there are calls for prosecutions of all the people who pushed these clot shots.  The truth about the CV19 shots was also censored by the government and Big Tech.  The so-called “Twitter Files” are exposing the criminals who hid the truth.  Much more is coming out.  Count on it.

The Fed is still fighting inflation by raising a key interest rate by another .5%.  Is raising rates going to stop inflation?  Not according to economist John Williams of ShadowStats.com.  Williams says surging inflation is caused by extreme money printing, and with a fresh $1.65 trillion just passed in Congress, don’t expect inflation to retreat.  It’s just the opposite, according to Williams.  Brace yourself.

Join Greg Hunter od USAWatchdog.com as he talks about these stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 12.16.22.

(https://usawatchdog.com/trump-fights-censorship-vax-lies-collapsing-inflation-going-higher/)

(Video will play when it finishes processing at Rumble.)

After the Interview:

World renowned economic and geopolitical cycle expert Martin Armstrong will be back for an update on the economy, war, social unrest and a few predictions for 2023.

SEE YOU MONDAY