DEC 27//GOLD CLOSED UP $18.15 TO $1814.65 ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY//SILVER CLOSED UP 34 CENTS $24.06//PLATINUM IS UP $3.80 TO $1027.45//PALLADIUM IS UP $73.20 TO $1832.35//COVID UPDATES RE CHINA AS THEY FULLY ABANDON THEIR ZERO COVID POLICY, BUT CASES FLOURISH AS DOES HOSPITILIZATIONS//JAPAN NOW DOES A COMPLETE U TURN AS THEY TURN TO NUCLEAR POWER FOR THEIR ENERGY NEEDS//COVID UPDATES RE GLOBE//IVERMECTIN UPDATES//DR PAUL ALEXANDER//VACCINE IMPACT//VACCINE INJURIES//SLAY NEWS/GERMANY RETURNS TO COAL AS THEY SHUN OTHER ENERGY SOURCES//UKRAINE VS RUSSIA UPDATES:UKRAINIAN DRONE STRIKES DEEP INTO RUSSIAN TERRITORYKILLING 3//USA ECONOMIC NEWS; HOUSE PRICES FALTER FOR THE 4TH STRAIGHT MONTH//DALLAS FED SURVEY FALTERS DEEP IN NEGATIVE TERRITORY INDICATING DEEP RECESSION FOR THEM//UTILITIES IMPOSE ROLLING BLACKOUTS TO CONSERVE ENERGY//SOUTHWEST AIRLINES REPORTS HUGE CANCELLATIONS FOR THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND AND FOR TODAY//OTHER STORM RELATED UPDATES//
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 1 624 H BOFA SECURITIES 63 661 C JP MORGAN 9 685 C RJ OBRIEN 2 732 C RBC CAP MARKETS 28 991 H CME 83
TOTAL: 93 93
COMEX//NOTICES FILED re JPMorgan 225/279
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GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC. CONTRACT: 93 NOTICES FOR 9300 OZ or .2892 TONNES
total notices so far: 20,659 contracts for 2,065,900 oz (64.258 tonnes)
SILVER NOTICES: 131 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 655,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month 4466 for 22,330,000 oz
END
GLD
WITH GOLD UP $18.15
INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD//BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /////SMALL CHANGES IN GLD INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF .87 TONNES FROM THE GLD/
INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.01 TONNES
Silver//SLV
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP 34 CENTS
AT THE SLV// :/SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//A WITHDRAWAL OF 550,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV..
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV
CLOSING INVENTORY: 507.335 MILLION OZ (THIS IS ALSO A CRIME SCENE@!!!!
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI ROSE BY A HUGE SIZED 855 CONTRACTS TO 128,531 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THE GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR $0.29 GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON FRIDAY. OUR SHORTERS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY $0.29 AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPEC LONGS, AS WE HAD A GIGANTIC GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1570 CONTRACTS. AS WELL WE HAD EXCHANGE FOR RISK TRANSFER OF 0 CONTRACTS. WE HAD ZERO SPEC SHORT COVERINGS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR SHORTFALL . WE ALSO HAD FEW SHORT ADDITIONS WITH THE HUGE PRICE RISE ON SILVER. // OUR BANKERS CONTINUE TO BE PURCHASERS OF NET COMEX LONGS. BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT CONTRACTS>>> SOME MAJOR 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 of 30,000 OZ // V) STRONG SIZED COMEX OI GAIN/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL – 225
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 20 days, total 10,893 contracts: OR 54.465 MILLION OZ PER DAY. (544 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 54.465 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, 54.465 MILLION OZ INITIAL( VERY SMALL)
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 855 WITH OUR $0.29 GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// FRIDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A FAIR SIZED EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 490 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 30,000 E.F.P… JUMP TO LONDON //NEW STANDING 23.130 MILLION OZ + EFR 11.5 = 34.63 MILLION OZ. .. WE HAVE A GIGANTIC SIZED GAIN OF 1345 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES FOR 6.775 MILLION OZ.. THE SILVER SHORTS ARE NOW TRAPPED AS THEY ARE HAVING CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY IN COVERING THOSE SHORTS.
WE HAD 131 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 655,000 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 FAIR SIZED 1826 CONTRACTS TO 437,566 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: REMOVED 1585 CONTRACTS.
.
THE FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI CAME DESPITE OUR $10.15 GAIN 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 1000 OZ QUEUE JUMP (216 CONTRACTS)//(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 63.576 TONNES
YET ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED DESPITE OUR $10.15 GAIN IN PRICEWITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN OF 1922 OI CONTRACTS (5.978 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES..
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3748 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 438,351
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1922 CONTRACTS WITH 241 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX AND 3748 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1922 CONTRACTS OR 5.978 TONNES.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3748 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (1826) TOTAL GAIN IN THE TWO EXCHANGES 1922 CONTRACTS. WE NO DOUBT HAD 1) FEW SPECULATOR SHORT COVERINGS // CONTINUED GOOD BANKER ADDITIONS BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY PAPER SHORT. WE HAD SOME SHORT SPEC ADDITIONS/// // GOOD NEWBIE SPEC ADDITIONS ,2.) STRONG INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DEC. AT 58.86 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE. JUMP of 1000 oz// //NEW STANDING 64.463 TONNES///3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION //.,4) FAIR 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 :
51,127 CONTRACTS OR 5,112,700 OZ OR 159.02 TONNES 20 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2556 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 20 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES:159.02 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2021, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 159.02/3550 x 100% TONNES 4.47% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
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: 159.02 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, ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 855 CONTRACTS OI TO 128,531 AND CLOSER TO 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 490 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 475 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 490 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI GAIN OF 855 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 490 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,
WE OBTAIN A GIGANTIC GAIN OF 1345 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 6.775 MILLION OZ//
OCCURRED WITH OUR 29 CENT GAIN IN PRICE ….. OUR SPEC SHORTS HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE!
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)TUESDAY MORNING//MONDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 30.01 PTS OR 0.98% //Hang Sang CLOSED /The Nikkei closed UP 42.00 OR 0.16% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP TO 6.9647//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 6.9668// /Oil UP TO 80.07 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 84,54 / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE STRONGER
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 FAIR SIZED 1826 CONTRACTS UP TO 437,566 DESPITE OUR THE RISE IN PRICE OF $10.15
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 3748 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: ;: , . 0 FEB: 3748 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3748 CONTRACTS
WHEN WE HAVE BACKWARDATION, EFP ISSUANCE IS VERY COSTLY BUT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THE SCARCITY OF METAL AND IT IS FAR BETTER FOR OUR BANKERS TO PAY OFF INDIVIDUALS THAN RISK INVESTORS ESPECIALLY FROM LONDON STANDING FOR DELIVERY. THE LOWER PRICES IN THE FUTURES MARKET IS A MAGNET FOR OUR LONDONERS SEEKING PHYSICAL METAL. BACKWARDATION ALWAYS EQUAL SCARCITY OF METAL!
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 1922 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3748 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR SIZED COMEX OI LOSS OF 1826 CONTRACTS..AND THIS FAIR SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $10.15. WE ARE WITNESSING CONSIDERABLE SPEC SHORTS ADDITIONS TO THEIR SHORTFALL BUT ZERO SPEC SHORT LIQUIDATIONS. BANKERS CONTINUE AS NET BUYERS OF COMEX GOLD CONTRACTS AS THEY HAVE BEEN NET LONG FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS. WE ALSO HAD STRONG NEWBIE SPECS ADDITIONS BUT ZERO NEWBIE SPEC LONG LIQUIDATIONS
// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING DEC (64.463)
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. 64.463 tonnes
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE $10.15) //// AND WERE ALSO UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A FAIR GAIN OF 1922 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES >. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE NEW SPEC SHORT ADDITIONS AND ZERO SPEC SHORT COVERINGS.. // WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 10.908 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 1000 oz//NEW STANDING RISING TO 64.463 TONNES…THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR RISE IN PRICE DUE TO TUNE OF $10.15.
WE HAD – 1585 CONTRACTS COMEX TRADES REMOVED FROM OPEN INTEREST AFTER TRADING ENDED LAST NIGHT
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 3507 CONTRACTS OR 350,700 OZ OR 10.908 TONNES
Estimated gold comex today 156,135// awful//
final gold volumes/yesterday 113,044/ awful
INITIAL STANDINGS FOR DECEMBER 2022 COMEX GOLD //DEC 27
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
20,659 notices 2,065,900 64.268 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: 1
i)Into Delaware: 3906.02 oz
total deposits: 3906.02 oz
customer withdrawals: 1
i) Out of Manfra 56,819.817 oz (1767 kilobars)
Total withdrawals: 56,819.817 oz
total in tonnes: 1.767 tonnes
Adjustments: 0
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DECEMBER.
For the front month of DECEMBER we have an oi of 159 contracts having LOST 269 contracts
We had 279 contracts served on FRIDAY, so we gained 10 contracts or an additional 1000 oz will stand for gold at the COMEX.
JANUARY LOST 47 contracts to stand at 1070
February LOST 2477 contacts to 367,921
We had 93 notice(s) filed today for 9300 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 93 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 9 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 (20,659 x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of (DEC. 159 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 93 x 100 oz per contract equals 2,072,500 OZ OR 64.463 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 (20,659 x 100 oz+ (159 OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (93} x 100 oz} which equals 2,072,500 oz standing OR 64.463 TONNES in this active delivery month of DEC..
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 64.463 TONNES (A POOR STANDING//COMEX RUNNING OUT OF PHYSICAL TO SERVE UPON OUR LONGS.
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 4422 x 5,000 oz = 22,330,000 oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC(335) and the number of notices served upon today 131 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the standings for silver for the DEC./2022 contract month: 4422 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for front month of DEC (335 – number of notices served upon today (131) x 500 oz of silver standing for the DEC. contract month equates 23.130 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 2300 Exchange for Risk contracts settled during the first 22 days of the month for 11.500 million oz. Thus total delivery: 34.630 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
DEC 27/WITH GOLD UP $18.15 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .87 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.01 TONNES
DEC 23/WITH GOLD UP $19,15 TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.88 TONNES/
DEC 22/WITH GOLD DOWN $29.35 TODAY: NO CHANGE IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.88 TONNES
DEC 21/WITH GOLD FLAT TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.74 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.88 TONNES
DEC 20/WITH GOLD UP $27.05: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.73 TONNES INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.14 TONNES
DEC 19/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.10: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD> A BIG WITHDRAWAL OF 3.47 TONNES FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 910.41 TONNES
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
GLD INVENTORY: 913.01 TONNES
Now the SLV Inventory/( vehicle is a fraud as there is no physical metal behind them
DEC 27/WITH SILVER UP 34 CENTS TODAY; SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/A WITHDRAWAL OF 550,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 507.350 MILLION OZ//
DEC 23/WITH SILVER UP 29 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY REST AT507.900 MILLION O//
DEC 22/WITH SILVER DOWN 53 CENTS TODAY;NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 507.90 MILLION OZ//
DEC 21/WITH SILVER DOWN 9 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.0 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 507.90 MILLION OZ//
DEC 20/WITH SILVER UP 105 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:: A DEPOSIT OF 700,000 OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 509.90 MILLION OZ//
DEC 19/WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.05 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 509.20 MILLION OZ//
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//
Peter Schiff recently appeared on Kitco News and chatted with anchor David Lin. Peter gave his outlook for inflation, stocks, and gold in 2023. Peter said we had better get prepared for an inflationary depression. He also emphasized that he is very bullish on gold in the year ahead.
Obviously, I’ve been bullish for a while. But I’m even more bullish now to the extent that’s possible, based on what’s been happening.”
Peter said he expects “significantly higher” gold and silver prices in the year ahead. That will also push up gold mining stocks. Peter emphasized that gold mining stocks are currently extremely cheap and under-owned.
Nobody in the institutional community really has any kind of position in this sector. I think by the end of the decade, they’ll all have positions in this sector. But of course, the stocks are going to be much more expensive at that point, so don’t wait for the crowd to figure it out. You want to anticipate where the crowd is going to be, and you get there first.”
Peter said he’s not just bullish on gold for 2023. He’s bullish for the rest of the decade and probably more.
Gold moves in big cycles. I think this bull market really started in 2001, so, we’re 20 years into it. But we had a pretty big correction from 2011 to 2015. That’s when we bottomed out. We’ve been moving up since then, but we really haven’t taken out the highs from 2011.”
We did get above the 2011 high for a short time, but it wasn’t significantly higher and it didn’t last long. Peter said we likely just saw a double top.
I think we’re going to take that out and that double top is going to be the new floor.”
Peter also pointed out that there was a “sideshow” with bitcoin that eclipsed gold to some degree.
It stole gold’s spotlight for a while, because while gold was going nowhere, bitcoin went from nowhere to 60,000, 70,000 per bitcoin. And everybody who got involved in this, on paper anyway, they all were rich. And some of them actually got rich because they cashed out, and they sold bitcoin, and they bought real things with it.”
Peter said he doesn’t think it was a lot of people, but some gold bugs did get frustrated with gold and got into bitcoin.
Bitcoin was performing. It was going up while gold was going sideways. But bitcoin was marketed as digital gold. That was a whole selling point. ‘Hey, gold is obsolete! Gold is irrelevant.’ I think that – on the margins – took away some demand from gold. And maybe there were some institutions that would have bought gold, but because bitcoin was there competing against it, they didn’t buy gold. They didn’t buy bitcoin either, but they thought, well, you know, why buy gold because, you know, there’s bitcoin. It certainly took away some of gold’s thunder. A lot of the talk on the financial networks was about bitcoin. It wasn’t about gold. It was bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin. But meanwhile, the smart money was buying gold the whole time.”
Peter said that now that the bitcoin bubble has popped he doesn’t see that problem for gold from a marketing perspective.
Nobody is going to be comparing bitcoin to gold. Nobody is going to be talking about it as digital gold, as a safe store of value, as an inflation hedge. Everybody has pretty much come to the conclusion that it is a speculative asset.”
end
2 Lawrie Williams//Pam and Russ Martens/Jim Rickards/Mathew Piepenburg/Von Greyerz//Rickards:
END
3. Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries//
Has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine doomed the dollar?
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2022-12-24 18:03Section: Daily Dispatches
By Robert G. Rabil The National Interest, Washington Friday, December 23, 2022
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has undoubtedly ended the post-Cold War era. Although many countries have condemned Russia’s invasion, the majority of them have not sanctioned Russia.
In contrast to the Western depiction of the Ukraine crisis as a confrontation between democracy and authoritarianism, these countries believe that the crisis goes well beyond the democracy-authoritarianism binary, potentially affecting their national security as well as global sustainability and peace.
Food insecurity, internal displacement and refugees, threat of a spillover of war, and the use of unconventional weapons endanger the most vulnerable of these countries. Yet the crisis has reshaped the international order and global realignments by offering states the opportunity to pursue their own self-interest without aligning themselves with a political camp.
Broadly speaking, the crisis has divided the world into three camps: One led by the United States and NATO, one led by Russia and China, and wedged between these two camps is one in which most countries adopted neutrality.
These “neutral” countries act as political variables guided by their own self-interest. Many of them are friends or allies of the United States. But they are neither enemies nor adversaries of Russia and China on account of the Ukraine crisis or their authoritarian political systems.
They are cognizant that at a time of global competition over scarce resources they can neither sanction nor go against Russia, the largest country in the world with the largest amount of resources, and China, the country with the second-largest economy and largest holder of foreign reserves in the world.
Yet equally, they cannot damage their relationship with the United States, the most powerful country with the largest economy. Consequently, their policies are dictated by their own self-interest free of the ideological binary of the Cold War. In other words, their policies do not and will not necessarily overlap with those of the United States.
What else explains the refusal of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India, Brazil, South Africa, Argentina, and Indonesia, among other states, to tow the American line and sanction Russia into submission?
Significantly, many of these countries have seen the end of the post-Cold war era ushering in a new period characterized by multipolarity and multilateralism. They have been uneasy about America’s unipolar power since its unilateral invasion of Iraq in 2003.
The Ukraine crisis and its ensuing ramifications for dividing the world, coupled with the virtual universal perception that American power is in decline following its debacles in Iraq and Afghanistan, only sharpened these countries’ determination to try to curb American global power by supporting multipolarity and multilateralism.
In this respect, China is leading the way by supporting international organizations such as Shanghai Cooperation Organization—the world’s largest regional political, economic, and security organization — and BRICS as a counterbalance to Western economic, political, and security might.
Indeed, while the SCO looks to advance a new “democratic, fair, and rational international political and economic order,” BRICS — an acronym for five leading emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — promotes a transition to a multipolar world. They seek to provide alternatives to the Western-dominated International Monetary Fund and World Bank through institutions like the New Development Bank.
Significantly, these organizations’ influence is being enhanced by the admission of new countries; For example, Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Iran have either submitted formal applications or expressed their willingness to join BRICS.
Central to these developments is the attempt to weaken the American dollar as a prelude to weakening the overall global position of the United States. Fundamentally, the dollar is the underbelly of the United States. By examining economic patterns and trends, it is clear that many countries, some of which are led or egged on by China (and Russia), are reconsidering the use of the dollar as their major trading currency. …
Pundits forecast that the Euro will be less than the uSA dollar due to Lagarde’s rate rises
(London Telegraph/GATA)
Euro is forecast to be worth less than a dollar after Lagarde’s ‘kamikaze’ rate rises
Submitted by admin on Sun, 2022-12-25 16:57Section: Daily Dispatches
By Szu Ping Chan The Telegraph, London Sunday, December 25, 2022
The euro will collapse below parity with the dollar next year as the European Central Bank “kamikaze” rate rises backfire and a scramble for energy supplies pushes the bloc into a prolonged economic downturn, City economists have said.
JP Morgan, ING, Capital Economics, and Barclays all believe the single currency will drop below parity against the dollar within months to a fresh 20-year low
They forecast for a 10% fall in the euro, taking it down to a 20-year low of $0.95. One euro is currently worth $1.05.
The gloomy predictions come despite hawkish talk from Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, and predictions that interest rates will climb close to a record high next summer.
Jonas Goltermann, senior economist at Capital Economics, said expectations of higher rates had already exposed highly-indebted Italy to a borrowing shock that risks reverberating throughout the eurozone.
He said: “What they’re doing is a kamikaze policy. They’re pressing on with rate hikes just because inflation is high no matter what the bond market does and no matter the implied impact on the economy. It’s not sustainable.” …
After surging to record highs in the first half of 2022, wholesale avocado prices crashed in late summer into fall time, just as the NFL season kicked off. Guacamole is the star player at any football party, and this season, there’s a sign of relief that avocado prices are back to affordable levels.
For a 20-pound box of avocados from the state of Michoacan, Mexico (the central hub of Mexican avocado production), prices jumped as high as $51 in May. Some main drivers in igniting prices to record highs were production woes and import issues at the border. Even during the Super Bowl in February, we pointed out Americans were paying some of the highest costs ever for the fruit.
Now Mexican wholesale avocado prices have collapsed from $51 to $16, or a 70% drop, because of oversupplied conditions in US markets.
After border trade was resolved and shipments restarted earlier this year, Mexican farmers produced bumper crops.
“It’s one of those odd situations where this extreme oversupply of avocados is only possible because of a perfect storm of Black Swan events. For consumers, avocados right now are the green lining to the storm clouds of food inflation,” Richard Kottmeyer, managing director of food, agriculture and beverage with FTI Consulting, told CNN.
Kottmeyer said, “much of the avocado oversupply has wound up in US.” And the glut in avocados has pushed down supermarket prices and should extend well into the middle of 2023.
Sliding fruit prices from Mexico have put a dent in Mission Produce’s fiscal fourth quarter with a loss of $42 million or 59 cents a share, on net revenue of $238 million, flat with a year ago.
Bank of America said the company that sources, produces, packs, and distributes fresh avocados to supermarkets, wholesale, and food service customers across the world had a challenging quarter because “market prices of Avocados dropped while cost inflation remained high.”
Mission Produce shares plunged as much as 15% to $12.40 a share — nearly the level at which the company went public in late 2021 — after earnings were released on Thursday.
BofA is optimistic about Mission Produce’s future for the next fiscal year:
Looking ahead to FY23, avocado supplies appear to be more abundant which should support volumes and restore some normalcy to the market place. This should support improvement in EBITDA. A longer term question in our view is the scope that AVO (and the market) can pass through the more structural non-fruit related cost inflation as contracts renew, we expect to see some progress in FY23.
And the bank reiterates its Buy rating on the company with a $19 price target as fundamentals are forecasted to improve in the quarters ahead.
Demand for avocados is certainly not decreasing. There’s a supply wall that Americans will have to eat through — and we’re assuming cheap avocados will spur millennials back into the avocado and toast craze.
Looking ahead, we wonder if traders font-run Mission Produce shares ahead of the Super Bowl, which is the biggest consumption event for avocados.
END
6/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
“I’m Truly Sorry For What I Did” – SBF’s Girlfriend Confirms They Conspired To Steal From FTX Customers
FRIDAY, DEC 23, 2022 – 04:50 PM
Caroline Ellison, erstwhile girlfriend of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and former CEO of Alameda Research, has spilled her guts in order to avoid a 110 year prison sentence.
According to court documents released Friday, Ellison admits she and SBF signed off on “materially misleading financial statements” for Alameda lenders – knowing it was illegal.
“I am truly sorry for what I did,” she said, according to the transcript of the hearing, adding “I knew that it was wrong.”
Specifically, she told a judge earlier this week she and Bankman-Fried conspired to steal billions of dollars from FTX customers, as she appeared in federal court to plead guilty to seven criminal counts, according to a court transcript reported by Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
“I understood that FTX executives had implemented special settings on Alameda’s FTX.com account that permitted Alameda to maintain negative balances in various fiat currencies and crypto currencies,” said Ellison.
“In practical terms, this arrangement permitted Alameda access to an unlimited line of credit without being required to post collateral, without having to pay interest on negative balances and without being subject to margin calls or FTX.com’s liquidation protocols.
She added:
“If Alameda’s FTX accounts had significant negative balances in a particular currency, it meant that Alameda was borrowing funds that FTX’s customers had deposited onto the exchange.”
Ellison’s statement included allegations that Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives had borrowed funds from Alameda, and used FTX funds to repay “loans worth several billion dollars.”
Ellison’s plea deal, released on Dec. 21, largely spared the former Alameda CEO of many of the charges Bankman-Fried currently faces including wire fraud and securities fraud. She may still be prosecuted for criminal tax violations, but the agreement set bail at $250,000 on the condition she surrendered all travel documents.
FTX’s co-founder and former CTO Gary Wang confirmed the existence of these privileges and that Alameda was an exclusive beneficiary of them.
Of course, this crushes Bankman-Fried’s ‘Simple Jack’ defense…
As Decrypt reports, the code’s existence, previously called a sort of bookkeeping “backdoor,” was first reported by Reuters, citing anonymous sources. Bankman-Fried said later that “that is definitely not true,” adding that he didn’t “know exactly what they’re [Reuters] referring to.”
It now appears that this code indeed existed and offered Alameda some serious benefits.
…but even more notably, a judge agreed to a request by prosecutors to keep it secret that two of Bankman-Fried’s executive associates had turned against him so that the cryptocurrency entrepreneur would agree not to fight extradition from the Bahamas to the US, according to the transcripts.
And now he’s on his way, via Business Class, to his mom-and-dad’s fancy Palo Alto pad…
…for some me-time.
END
1. YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS//
TUESDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: UP TO 6.9647
OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.9668
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 30.01 PTS OR 0.98%
HANG SANG CLOSED
2. Nikkei closed UP 42.00 PTS OR 0.15%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 103.95 Euro FALLS TO 106.25 DOWN 14 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.456!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 133.36/JAPANESE YEN RISING AS WELL AS LONG TERM 10 YR. YIELDS RISING //EVENTUALLY THIS WILL BREAK 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: UP-// OFF- SHORE: UP
3f Japan is to buy the 9 TRILLION YEN’S worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion usa
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil UP for WTI and UP FOR Brent this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund UP TO +2.4980%***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield RISES to 4.575%*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD RISES TO 3.549…** DANGEROUS//
3i Greek 10 year bond yield RISES TO 4.559//
3j Gold at $1808.00//silver at: 23.97 7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 1 AND 9/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 70.99//
3m oil into the 80 dollar handle for WTI and 84 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 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 133.32
30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this 0.9304–as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9885 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: 3.7864% UP 4 BASIS PTS…GETTING DANGEROUS
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.869% UP 5 BASIS PTS//
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18,71…
GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: 3.668 % UP 1 BASIS PTS
end
i.b Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge:
FIRST, ZEROHEDGE (PRE USA OPENING// MORNING
Futures, Oil Rise As China Reopens
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 08:17 AM
US futures reopened from the extended Christmas break, rising as high as 3900 and following European and Asian stocks higher as China’s reopening buoyed sentiment in the final trading week of the year. At 745am ET, S&P futures were up 0.5% at 3,890 while Nasdaq futures rose 0.2% even as Tesla tumbled again in premarket trading. Asian stocks extended gains for a second day after China moved to end quarantine for inbound visitors, effectively ending its zero-Covid regime. Futures are advancing after the underlying benchmarks slid over the last three weeks. Treasury yields were higher, 5Y-30Y at highest levels since November, with the curve steepening. The dollar declined versus most of its G-10 peers. Gold was in the green. Oil in New York traded for $80 a barrel, buoyed not only by China’s reopening but as freezing weather shut more than a third of Texas Gulf Coast refining capacity over the past few days. Trading remains thin with many markets including Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Hong Kong closed for holidays
In premarket trading, TSLA shares extended their recent losses, sliding another 3% after Reuters reported the EV carmaker would run reduced production at its Shanghai factory, shutting down output from Jan 20 to Jan 31 for the Chinese New Year. US-listed Chinese stocks rose in premarket trading on Tuesday, boosted by China’s decision to reopen its borders and set the country on track to emerge from three years of isolation under its Covid Zero policy: Alibaba and Pinduoduo rose +2.3%, JD.com was up +2.6%, and Bilibili jumped 3.8%. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) is down 8% in premarket trading, putting the movie theater operator on course to extend its rout from last week.
KalVista (KALV) shares are up 12% in premarket trading after the company announced the registered direct offering. The company also sold 182k pre-funded warrants, bringing total gross proceeds to $58m.
Nio (NIO) depositary receipts decline 6.7% after the Chinese electric-vehicle maker cut its 4Q delivery outlook to 38,500-39,500 vehicles from previously released estimates of 43,000 to 48,000 vehicles.
Southwest Airlines (LUV) falls 4% after saying it expects the flight chaos caused by the massive winter storm that battered the US to continue for at least another few days as the government questioned whether the airline is complying with its customer service plan.
Oil stocks are in focus after crude rose amid China’s moves to unwind its Covid Zero policy, and freezing weather across the US that prompted refinery closures in the vital Texas Gulf Coast area. Keep an eye on shares including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Conoco.
Despite Tuesday’s modest bounce, the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 are on track to post the worst annual decline since the global financial crisis. Stocks were roiled this year as the Federal Reserve aggressively tightened monetary policy to tame soaring inflation. Investors are concerned that higher rates will impact company earnings and lead to a recession. The S&P 500 is down almost 20%, while Asian and global stocks still remain down by a similar amount in the worst annual drop since 2008. The 10-year Treasury yield is near 3.75%, up from 1.5% at the start of the year as the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive battle against inflatoin. Bitcoin held below $17,000 after starting 2022 at more than $47,000.
Investors are hoping for year-end rally to help mitigate what has otherwise been a brutal run for risk assets, and putting their faith in China’s reopening, even thought a credit-led boost by China likely means even more inflation will be exported soon.
“China has clearly indicated that the country is willing to take the big leap forward in terms of reopening, which the global economy desperately needs,” said Kunal Sawhney, chief executive officer of Kalkine Group. Still, “it may be a little far-fetched to hope for too much from equities in the near to medium term, maybe until mid 2023.”
European bourses were green across the continent with the STOXX Europe 600 Index up 0.5%. Consumer discretionary and energy stocks outperformed in Europe. European oil stocks outperformed on Tuesday as the price of crude received a boost from China further easing pandemic curbs and US refinery closures due to freezing weather. Stoxx Energy sub-index rose 0.8% as of 10:33 am in Paris, while the broader European equity benchmark gained 0.3%. Among majors, TotalEnergies and Eni advanced 1.2%, while London-listed shares of BP and Shell didn’t trade. European luxury stocks were also among the biggest gainers on Tuesday after China said it will no longer subject inbound travelers to quarantine from Jan. 8, putting the country on track to emerge from three years of self-imposed global isolation. Here are the most notable European movers:
European luxury stocks are among the biggest gainers after China said it will no longer subject inbound travelers to quarantine from Jan. 8 to end three years of self-imposed isolation
European oil stocks outperformed on Tuesday as the price of crude received a boost from China further easing pandemic curbs and US refinery closures due to freezing weather
Lotus Bakeries shares fell as much as 5.3% after the Belgian firm was cut to reduce by Degroof Petercam on caution over whether it can match very high sales and growth expectations
Leonteq falls as much as 6.5% after the company warned it’s less optimistic about 2022 earnings, and after saying a settlement has been reached on UK civil proceedings
Richter shares plunge as much as 6.8%, the largest intraday drop for the Hungarian pharmaceutical company since March, after the country’s government introduced a windfall tax
SBB falls as much as 11% on trading ex shares in Neobo Fastigheter, previously known as Amasten, after an EGM last week opted to distribute all of the company’s shares in the subsidiary
Asian stocks gained as China’s move to end quarantine for inbound visitors boosted sentiment across the region. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed as much as 0.6%, led higher by MUFJ and Shiseido. Ten out of 11 sectors were in the green with the financials sector giving the biggest boost to the benchmark. Shares of cosmetics firms, travel and duty free store operators jumped in Japan and in South Korea after Chinese health authorities said inbound travelers will no longer be subject to quarantine from Jan. 8, scrapping the current requirement of eight days isolation.
Japanese stocks rose for a second day, as China’s plan to stop subjecting inbound travelers to quarantine bolstered sentiment. The Topix Index rose 0.4% to 1,910.15 as of the market close in Tokyo, while the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.2% to 26,447.87. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group contributed the most to the Topix’s gain, increasing 1.9%. Out of 2,162 stocks in the index, 1,510 rose and 540 fell, while 112 were unchanged. “China is trying to get its economy back on track quickly,” said Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at Nomura Asset Management. “Inbound demand in Japan is likely to expand further due to the removal of restrictions on the movement of people in and out of foreign countries.” China Reopens Borders to World In Removing Last Covid Zero Curbs Shares of Japanese department-store and tourism-related companies gained as investors expected these sectors to benefit from Beijing ending its quarantine for travelers
“Now market participants will focus on how much Chinese consumers will actually spend following the reopening,” Han Jiyoung, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities in Seoul, wrote in a note. Equities in mainland China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand also climbed. Trading volume remained thin, down nearly 90% from the 100-day average as markets in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand remained closed for holidays. After a 15% surge in November driven by China’s shift away from its strict Covid policy, the main Asian stock benchmark has halted its rally in December and still is poised for its worst year since 2008. With a few trading days left, the gauge is little changed so far this month
In FX, the US dollar and Japanese yen weakened as China’s reopening curbed demand for haven assets. The two currencies dropped against all of their Group-of-10 peers after Beijing also downgraded the management of Covid from its highest level, effectively removing the legal justification for aggressive restrictions. The Bloomberg dollar index slipped as much as 0.4% as trading resumes after Christmas break. Australia’s dollar led gains in commodity currencies amid optimism the unwinding of China’s Covid rules will help speed its economic recovery.
In rates, Treasury yields higher, 5Y-30Y at highest levels since November, amid a global government bond selloff sparked by China’s decision to relax Covid curbs. US 10-year, higher by ~3bp at 3.775%, is highest since Nov. 30 but still below 50-DMA level; most euro-zone 10-year yields are at least 10bp higher on the day. Treasury curve spreads are little changed with yields across the maturity spectrum higher by ~3bp. Final coupon auction cycle of the year begins with $42BN 2-year note sale at 1pm New York time; The WI 2Y yield 4.315% is below last two auction stops; November’s 4.505% result was highest since 2007
In commodities, the outlook for demand from China as the economy reopens boosted the price of oil on Tuesday, along with freezing weather across the US, which prompted refinery closures. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1% to $80.38 a barrel. Spot gold rose 0.6% to $1,808.46 an ounce.
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 futures up 0.5% to 3,890
STOXX Europe 600 up 0.4% to 429.08
MXAP up 0.4% to 156.28
MXAPJ up 0.6% to 507.66
Nikkei up 0.2% to 26,447.87
Topix up 0.4% to 1,910.15
Hang Seng Index down 0.4% to 19,593.06
Shanghai Composite up 1.0% to 3,095.57
Sensex up 0.6% to 60,916.90
Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.6% to 7,107.69
Kospi up 0.7% to 2,332.79
German 10Y yield up 8 bps to 2.48%
Euro up 0.2% to $1.0653
Brent futures up 0.5% to $84.38/bbl
Gold spot up 0.6% to $1,809.12
U.S. Dollar Index down 0.28% to 104.03
Top Overnight News from Bloomberg
Equities climbed Tuesday while the dollar declined amid positive sentiment from China’s rollback of Covid isolation measures and the cooling of a key inflation gauge in the US
European luxury stocks are among the biggest gainers on Tuesday after China said it will no longer subject inbound travelers to quarantine from Jan. 8, putting the country on track to emerge from three years of self-imposed global isolation
Lower-rated won corporate notes have lagged the rebound in high-grade peers after South Korea’s credit rout, a trend that may continue on concerns about an economic slowdown
Top executives at Japan’s biggest banks are expecting negative interest rates to linger and see little immediate earnings boost after a surprise move by the nation’s central bank pushed lenders’ shares up by 13% last week
Profits at industrial firms in China declined in the first 11 months of the year, as production slowed and factory-gate prices fell amid Covid disruptions
US Event Calendar
08:30: Nov. Wholesale Inventories MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.5%
08:30: Nov. Retail Inventories MoM, est. -0.1%, prior -0.2%
08:30: Nov. Advance Goods Trade Balance, est. -$96.3b, prior -$99b
09:00: Oct. FHFA House Price Index MoM, est. -0.8%, prior 0.1%
09:00: Oct. Case Shiller 20 City MoM SA, est. -1.20%, prior -1.24%
09:00: Oct. Case Shiller Composite-20 YoY, est. 8.00%, prior 10.43%
10:30: Dec. Dallas Fed Manf. Activity, est. -15.0, prior -14.4
AND NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)
off today
1.c TUESDAY/ MONDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 30.01 PTS OR 0.98% //Hang Sang CLOSED /The Nikkei closed UP 42.00 OR 0.16% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP TO 6.9647//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 6.9668// /Oil UP TO 80.07 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 84,54 / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE STRONGER
2 a./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/
///NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
S.Korea Fires Shots, Scrambles Jets After North Sends Drones Near Seoul
MONDAY, DEC 26, 2022 – 12:50 PM
A rare and hugely significant incident occurred Monday along the heavily fortified border which separates the Korean peninsula. South Korea’s military has confirmed it fired warning shots and scrambled jets after the north sent drones that violated the south’s sovereign airspace.
It marks the first such major territory-breaching incident in a half-decade, also resulting in Seoul sending surveillance aircraft across the border in response. The North Korean drones penetrated deep into the south’s territory, resulting in civilian commercial flights being temporarily grounded in and around Seoul.
“South Korea’s military detected five drones from North Korea crossing the border, and one traveled as far as the northern part of the South Korean capital region, which is about an hour’s drive away, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said,” according to The Associated Press.
“The military responded by firing warning shots and launching fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drones,” the report based on official military statements continues. “The attack helicopters fired a combined 100 rounds but it wasn’t immediately known if any of the North Korean drones were shot down, according to the Defense Ministry.”
Only one of the five drones was observed flying back across the border into North Korea, while the others disappeared from radar, according to the south’s Joint Chiefs.
Among surveillance countermeasures authorized in response, the Joint Chiefs said that its surveillance aircraft photographed sensitive North Korean facilities from which drones usually operate.
The south’s significant rapid response to the drones breaching the border resulted in a crashed manned aircraft. Seoul identified that one of its KA-1 light attack airplanes crashed while taking off, resulting in both pilots ejecting safely.
“Our military will thoroughly and resolutely respond to this kind of North Korean provocation,” Maj. Gen. Lee Seung-o, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a press briefing.
Tensions along the militarized border have already been high due to Pyongyang firing off a record number of ballistic and other missiles this year, including a pair fired last week toward Japan. With now days left in 2022, analysts have tracked over 90 missiles fired this year.
“North Korea has launched at least 92 ballistic and other missiles in 2022 — more than in any previous year,” The New York Times has tallied in a new report. “Each was in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the country from testing ballistic missiles, as well as nuclear devices.”
Monday’s fresh incident illustrates how close the rival sides of the Korean peninsula are to firing on each other’s military assets at any time. The Kim Jong-Un regime has also been expressing anger over recent US-S.Korea military drills which has featured US nuclear-capable bombers and F-22 stealth jets flying over the peninsula and regional waters.
end
2B JAPAN
Now Japan will return to nuclear energy
(Alex Kimani/OilPrice.com)
Global Energy Crisis Forces Japan To U-Turn On Its Nuclear Policy
Japan has announced a major U-turn in its energy policy after the Asian nation adopted a new policy promoting greater use of nuclear energy, effectively ending an 11-year prohibition and phase-out that was triggered by the Fukushima disaster.
Under the new policy, Japan will maximize the use of existing nuclear reactors by restarting as many as possible, prolong the operating life of old reactors beyond their 60-year limit and also develop next-generation reactors to replace them.
The proposed legislation marks a complete reversal of the nuclear safety measures the country adopted after a powerful tsunami hit caused three of its six reactors to suffer meltdowns. Fearing a public backlash, the Japanese government has desisted from building new reactors or replacing aging ones.
The situation could not be more different in Europe, a region facing one of the most severe energy crises. Ten months since Russia invaded Ukraine, European governments long opposed to nuclear power have shown little change in their attitudes, “We’re not talking about a nuclear renaissance, as such, but maybe more of a change of tide,” Nicolas Berghmans, an energy and climate expert at the France-based Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), told Al Jazeera.
The same case applies to fracking. Proponents of fracking hold that Europe’s shale gas potential is needed now more than ever, though Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scotland and Bulgaria have all previously banned fracking, and show no signs of changing their minds any time soon. The UK is the only exception here: Britain’s former Prime Minister Liz Truss announced that the UK is lifting a 2019 moratorium on shale gas fracking as the country looks to ramp up domestic energy resources and help households and businesses struggling to pay soaring energy bills.
The only ‘dirty fuel’ that has made a major comeback in Europe amid the energy crisis is coal.
According to the Washington Post, coal mines and power plants that closed 10 years ago have begun to be repaired in Germany. In what industry observers have dubbed a “spring” for Germany’s coal-fired power plants, the country is expected to burn at least 100,000 tons of coal per month by winter. That’s a big U-turn considering that Germany’s goal had been to phase out all coal-generated electricity by 2038.
Other European countries such as Austria, Poland, the Netherlands and Greece have also started restarting coal plants.
end
3c CHINA /
CHINA/COVID
The article tells us of the rapid growth in Omicron infections. They believe that they will get to herd immunity. If they did not vaccinate, that would be
true. However they vaccinated with a Chinese made vaccine. It seems that there is going to be a lot of injuries here!
(zerohedge)
China’s Post-Zero-COVID Surge Is Infecting 37 Million People Per Day
FRIDAY, DEC 23, 2022 – 09:00 PM
In a stunning admission, according to estimates from the government’s top health authority, nearly 37 million people in China may have been infected with Covid-19 on a single day this week.
This is a shockingly stark divergence from the extremely low ‘official’ case count (which reported just 62,592 symptomatic) and utterly dwarfs the previous global daily record of about 4 million, set in January 2022, as Omicron spread…
The new data was provided in a closed-door meeting by Sun Yang, a deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, on Wednesday.
According to two people familiar with the matter, The FT reports that Chinese officials estimate about 250mn people or 18 per cent of the population were infected with Covid-19 in the first 20 days of December as Beijing abruptly abandons its Zero-COVID strategy that for almost three years has crushed economic growth (and citizens’ freedoms).
Bloomberg notes that it is unclear how the Chinese health regulator came up with its estimate, as the country shut down its once ubiquitous network of PCR testing booths earlier this month. Precise infection rates have been difficult to establish in other countries during the pandemic, as hard-to-get laboratory tests were supplanted by home testing with results that weren’t centrally collected.
Sun said the rate of Covid’s spread in the country was still rising and estimated that more than half of the population in Beijing and Sichuan were already infected, the people briefed on the meeting said.
And, of course, 99.9% of those people will be just fine.
This is extremely notable obviously as while China is experiencing its first real wave of infection, it is massive and will likely mean almost the entire nation will have natural immunity in two to three months… which will allow the economy to restart fully.
Chen Qin, chief economist at data consultancy MetroDataTech, forecasts China’s current wave will peak between mid-December and late January in most cities, based on an analysis of online keyword searches.
The lack of information made public by China on its Covid wave has led Washington and the World Health Organization to push Beijing to be more transparent on case counts, disease severity, hospital admission figures and other health statistics that have been made widely available by other countries.
“It is very important for all countries, including China, to focus on people getting vaccinated, making testing and treatment available and, importantly, sharing information with the world about what they’re experiencing,” U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at a Dec. 22 press briefing.
“It has implications not just for China, but for the entire world. So we would like to see that happen,” he added.
Finally, we note that The Epoch Times reports ten famous Chinese medical experts passed away soon after Beijing lifted its zero-COVID policy. Most of them were members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and two were allegedly involved in the live organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience.
While the Chinese media reported the deaths resulting from “illness,” they didn’t provide additional information, causing Chinese netizens to speculate.
A Chinese netizen commented, “It is indeed a bit strange that they died in December one after another—especially on the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th.” Another said: “They all died of ‘illness’ without specific reasons. It’s hard not to contemplate why.”
END
CHINA/
China is drowning in cases and estimates are 37 million new cases have been revealed. The author believes that natural immunity will become a reality in China
once the virus dies off. I do not think so. They vaccinated and that will lead to imperfect antibodies. They will certainly have lots of vaccine injury cases.
(zerohedge)
Drowning In New Cases, China Finally Stops Releasing Daily Fabricated Covid “Data”
SUNDAY, DEC 25, 2022 – 08:34 PM
And just like that,
Nearly three full years after China first started reporting daily covid data which even the most naive claimed were fabricated, and just days after Beijing’s top health authority estimated that nearly 37 million Chinese were infected every single day last week as China finally gave up on its catastrophic zero-covid policy, on Sunday China’s National Health Commission finally gave up rigging the data and announced it would stop publishing daily Covid-19 case numbers, after the accuracy of its data was questioned as millions were infected nationwide and the official tally remained strikingly low.
The data had come into question after several Chinese cities reported daily infections that far surpassed the official tally, adding to doubt of the numbers provided by the NHC. And speaking of official numbers, the 25,000 or so daily cases are just a little below the 37 million new cases revealed recently, or 250 million in 3 weeks. And speaking of official data, it looks roughly as follows:
The commission didn’t provide a reason for the change in policy in a statement on Sunday, but said that the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will release Covid-related info for studies and reference.
As reported previously, as many as a quarter billion people, or nearly 18% of the population, may have contracted the virus in the first 20 days of December, according to minutes from an internal meeting of China’s National Health Commission held on Wednesday. And while hospitals in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai have been overwhelmed, while some crematoriums are “struggling to cope”, this is all a perfectly normal transition, and a long overdue step toward herd immunity, something China should have done long ago.
And since there aren’t literally piles of dead bodies strewn across China’s landscape, one can make their own conclusions about just how deadly and dangerous covid was, and how much propaganda went into the covid narrative over the past two years.
In an illustration of just how fake China’s data has been all along, consider the following:
Zhejiang province, next to Shanghai, said it has more than 1 million daily Covid infections and expects the number to peak at 2 million, Zhejiang Daily reported Sunday, citing local officials as saying at a health briefing.
The city of Dongguan in the southern province of Guangdong said Friday that 250,000 to 300,000 people were being infected on a daily basis.
Qingdao city in the eastern province of Shandong is seeing 490,000 to 530,000 daily cases based on data projections, according to a local newspaper report.
And yet, the official NHC tally for Dec. 23 was 4,103 cases.
Of course, this is very similar to the sheer garbage reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics when it comes to the monthly jobs report, which keeps claiming that the US is generating hundreds of thousands of jobs even amid mass layoffs and a US consumer that has now imploded.
As for China, the biggest trade-off of such a stark conclusion to “zero covid” is that while China faces an even more acute economic crunch in the coming weeks (see “China’s Economy Is Showing Increasing Strain From the Covid Tsunami“), it will then come out in mid/late-January with a clean economic slate and a naturally immune population that has nothing to fear as China’s economic rebound is unleashed on the world, sending a credit impulse shockwave around the globe.
And to make sure it gets there faster, on Sunday China expanded the use of a homegrown Covid vaccine. A National Health Commission’s statement said that people who are three and above can receive a Covid vaccine developed by the Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products’ unit. Until now, it was approved only for adults. Those who are fully vaccinated with a Zhifei product can get one booster shot after six months, according to the statement. It’s unclear if Chinese “vaccines” have as many adverse and long-lasting side-effects as those developed by the likes of Pfizer and Moderna.
end
Oil jumps after China scraps its inbound quarantine rules and thus reopening its borders.
(zerohedge)
Oil Jumps After China Scraps Inbound Quarantine, Will Reopen Borders Effectively Ending Zero-Covid Regime
MONDAY, DEC 26, 2022 – 07:32 PM
And just like that China’s zero-Covid policy is over.
On Monday, Beijing announced that it will remove the country’s quarantine requirements for inbound travelers from January 8, dismantling the final remnants of a zero-Covid regime that closed it off from the rest of the world for almost three years, sent its economy in an on again/off again tailspin, and which not only sparked a record surge of new covid infections which have failed to translate into a zombie apocalypse (confirming that covid was never much stronger than the flu) but also has forced China to halt all official covid data reporting after being caught lying one too many times, an unheard of event for China where every “data point” is fake.
Starting Jan. 8, people arriving in China will no longer be quarantined, though they will be required to obtain negative Covid test results within 48 hours of departure. That compares with the current requirement of eight days isolation — five days at a designated quarantine hotel, or central facility, followed by three days at home. At one point this year the quarantine arrival rule required travelers to spend three weeks in a hotel room.
The country also downgraded the management of Covid from the highest level to the second highest, effectively removing the legal justification for aggressive Covid Zero restrictions. Still, the National Health Commission said it will continue to monitor the virus’s spread and vowed to take appropriate measures to suppress the peak of Covid outbreaks.
China’s National Health Commission unveiled the move as part of a wider announcement that downgraded the country’s management of Covid-19, a virus which is currently sweeping the nation, and definitively abandoned a host of other preventive measures. The NHC also said that more than 90% of cases of the omicron variant were “mild or asymptomatic”, part of a shift in tone towards coronavirus as it rages across a country where until recently very few of the 1.4bn population had contracted it, at least according to the government’s fabricated numbers.
In its long overdue scramble for natural immunity, the government, which this month also scrapped the requirement for positive cases to quarantine at central facilities, is now battling a severe winter outbreak with estimated cases spiraling into the hundreds of millions and health services under pressure. While models have estimated the virus could lead to close to 1 million deaths – probably the same models that predicted the end of western civilization as we know it some time in late 2020 – China’s public data has ceased to reflect the situation on the ground and other zero-Covid rules such as mass-testing have largely ended.
China pursued a strict zero-Covid policy – the pet project of dictator Xi Jinping – shortly after the pandemic first emerged, locking down many of its largest cities over multiple years of the policy and imposing quarantine requirements on foreign arrivals as part of an attempt to eliminate the virus within its borders. But late this year, the policy finally began to unravel as authorities struggled to contain outbreaks across multiple cities, including the capital Beijing, while violent protesters took to the streets in November in a rare display of defiance against the central government’s approach, which was the tipping point that led Beijing to dramatically relax the policy shortly afterwards.
As the FT puts it, “Monday’s announcement signals the end of the zero-Covid system that transformed China’s relationship with the outside world, and which for long periods successfully limited the transmission of a virus that had swept through every other advanced economy”, which prevented the country from developing a natural immunity to the made in Wuhan virus, and ensured that covid-zero would keep the country locked down for decades to come.
The sudden removal of restrictions has already put immense pressure on China’s healthcare system, especially in Beijing, which was one of the centers of the outbreak prior to the policy’s abandonment and was thought to be one of the best prepared cities. The result has been another hoarding panic, with local reports indicating there has been a run on the pharmacy in the past few days resulting in “absolutely nothing” left.
Analysts have also warned over the economic and corporate costs – at least in the short term until natural immunity is built up – of the virus itself as it sweeps the country, with Apple among those vulnerable to further supply chain issues.
Under zero-Covid, citizens in China were required to test every few days at booths across major cities and then scan a code on their phones to enter buildings. Such practices have largely disappeared as cases multiplied rapidly, though as recently as late November individuals in Shanghai were still being taken to central quarantine because they were close contacts of positive cases at bars.
While the market had been pricing in the end of covid zero at some time in late Q1 or early Q2, the accelerated end of China’s most defining policy of the post-Covid era has sent oil higher as traders start pricing in the massive commodity demand that will follow a full reopening of China in the days following China’s new year.
And indeed, early on Tuesday, China’s Securities Times reported that according to Liu Yuanchun, president of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economic, China will take “extrordinary” measures to stimulate growth, including selling special sovereign bonds next year as part of efforts to boost economic growth,
The economy “faces extraordinary pressure in 2023 and we need to take some extraordinary policies,” the newspaper quoted Liu as saying. He also said the government may raise its budget deficit to more than 3% of gross domestic product. Liu expects M2 growth to come in at around 11.5% next year, providing rather sufficient liquidity support for the economy, according to the report
The government may also “moderately” reduce new tax breaks next year to ensure fiscal sustainability as it continues to increase spending, said Shi Zhengwen, director of the Center for Research in Fiscal and Tax Law at China University of Political Science and Law.
In other words, after a brief derailing, the stimmy train is back on the tracks and making its first stop in China, and soon everywhere else.
end
China announces a crematory overrun in Beijing’s southeastern district where they are burning 150 bodies daily. This is not the Omicron but probably vaccine injuries gone bad
A crematory in the Tongzhou District of Beijing announced a limit to bodies of non-residents, according to Beijing Youth Daily Thursday.
The crematory has to “maintain cremation equipment” and accepts a maximum of 20 bodies daily from people who don’t have district residence certificates and have died in hospitals outside of the district, a notice posted by the crematory says.
The Civil Affairs Bureau of Tongzhou District told Beijing Youth Daily on Dec. 22 that the district crematory has been overwhelmed due to an increase of bodies to be cremated.
“In the past, the daily workload [of the Tongzhou Crematory] was about 40 corpses. Now employees have to work overtime to cremate 140 to 150 bodies every day,” the state-run media wrote, adding that the crematory is short of staffers as some of its employees have been infected by COVID.
Waiting Time 7 Days
Overseas media have also reported on the overloaded operation of the crematory.
“We are very busy every day; we have never been so busy before,” Mr. Lin, a staffer working at Beijing’s Babaoshao Crematorium, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 14.
When speaking with the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times in an earlier interview, Ms. Liu, an employee working at Tongzhou Crematory, said that the cremation waiting time was seven days and that the farewell ceremony had been canceled.
A coffin is loaded from a hearse into a storage container at the Dongjiao crematorium and funeral home, one of several in the city that handles COVID-19 cases in Beijing, China, on Dec. 18, 2022. (Getty Images)
Reuters reported Wednesday “a steady queue of around 40 hearses” waiting for cremation and “a full parking lot” at Tongzhou Crematory.
Other funeral homes and crematoriums in Beijing have reportedly been extremely busy since mid-December, with a cremation waiting time of five days to 11 days.
Contrary to the overwhelming crematories in Beijing, China’s National Health Commission announced a total of 550 COVID cases in Beijing on Dec. 22. It reported no death for the day.
In less-densely populated China’s northeastern Liaoning Province, cremating waiting time is reportedly at least two days in its provincial capital Shenyang. Residents have to seek workarounds such as cremating their loved ones in more remote county funeral homes and paying higher fees for the cremation and funeral services.
The contradictory numbers trigger doubts about an earlier time of the outbreak of the new wave of the pandemic and a more severe situation.
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Dec. 19 that there were large-scale infections in the medical system in Beijing, citing a high-level official in Beijing’s political and legal system. The Chinese official said that Beijing covered up the serious epidemic due to the maintenance of stability during the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th national congress, which was convened in October in the capital.
The WHO’s emergencies director Mike Ryan said at a press briefing in Geneva on Dec. 14 that the virus was spreading “intensively” in China long before the lifting of zero-COVID measures, reported Reuters.
end
Tesla shares plunge 5% as even more Shanghai shutdowns are now on the horizon
(zerohedge)
Tesla Plunges 5% As Even More Shanghai Shutdowns Are Now On The Horizon
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 09:18 AM
Tesla shares are lower in the pre-market session by about 5% on Tuesday morning while the rest of the market looks set to rally on China’s re-opening news. Despite China’s re-opening, the only news to break this morning about Tesla has been a schedule of even more shutdowns for its key plant in China.
And Tesla’s terrible end to 2022 continues…
Tesla already has its Shanghai plant running at a reduced rate, as we noted over the weekend. The company is running for one less day than expected this month – when it was expected to shut down Shanghai to begin with in order to shuffle production plans and allow demand the catch backup with supply. The current shut down is a “planned” stoppage.
Shanghai is a key plant for the auto manufacturer, producing not only vehicles that are sold in China, but also many that are exported throughout Europe. The EV maker was expected to halt production – as we also noted in a previous article back on December 9th – but continued swirling questions about demand are once again surfacing after the company shut down operations at the key location earlier than expected this month.
Now, Tesla is also announcing a stoppage for the Chinese New Year, between January 20th and January 31st, a new report from Bloomberg, citing internal plans viewed by Reuters, says this morning. This means the plant will only run for 17 days throughout the course of January.
The plan is to restart production on January 3rd and run through January 19th.
As we noted over the weekend, as part of the current shut down, Model Y and Model 3 production lines are expected to be suspended. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Model 3 production could resume in early January, though Model Y output disruptions could be prolonged.
We noted this weekend that sources said Model 3 production could be suspended for the Chinese New Year. They added that this would allow for more upgrades and equipment maintenance to produce an enhanced version of the model. This now obviously looks like the road Tesla is taking.
Reuters also reported on the planned shut down earlier this month, citing two people who said that the suspension of the assembly line would result in a 30% reduction in Model Y production for the month. They added this type of production halt wasn’t a common practice for the plant.
“The Shanghai factory, the most important manufacturing hub for Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company, kept normal operations during the last week of December last year,” Reuters said earlier this month.
For December – and now for January – that doesn’t look like it’ll be the case. Earlier this month, Bloomberg also said that slumping Chinese demand would result in the factory reducing production by 20% from full capacity.
Reuters reported last month that Tesla plans a revamped version of Model 3 to cut production costs and boost the style of the five-year-old electric sedan. Tesla has also cut prices in the second-largest economy in the world to stay competitive with domestic bands.
Tesla shares year-to-date are now down about 65% and, with this morning’s slide, heading lower, it would appear…
…but the question many seem not to be asking is what happens in February/March when everyone has herd immunity and the economy re-opens, unleashing two years of unprecedentedly pent-up demand?
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS/UK AFFAIRS//
EUROPE/GERMANY
I guess that ends climate change for Germany:
(Jung/EpochTimes)
Germany Returns To Coal As Energy Security Trumps Climate Goals
Germany is returning to coal as it faces its worst energy crisis in decades, even as it officially pursues its climate change goals.
The central European nation is consuming coal at the fastest pace in almost six years, as it becomes one of the few countries to increase imports of the fuel in 2023, reported Bloomberg.
One of the oldest and cheapest sources of energy, coal, has made a comeback after soaring energy costs worldwide, particularly in Europe, which is suffering from an acute economic crisis due to declining relations with Moscow.
A few coal plants were temporarily reactivated in Europe this year because of gas shortages after being closed or mothballed to weather the current energy crisis.
Germany’s Green Party and the coalition government in Berlin, which it is part of, planned on phasing out coal by 2038 but is now pushing for an earlier target of 2030.
However, the Russian war with Ukraine and the ensuing loss of the majority of Europe’s natural gas supplies have led to a revival of the venerable fossil fuel.
Europe’s largest economy is attempting to balance the short-term priority of boosting its energy security while keeping with its long-term “net-zero emissions” goals.
Steam gushes out of the cooling tower of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant in Essenbach, Germany, on Sept. 13, 2022. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Approximately 36.3 percent of the electricity on the German power grid between July and September of this year came from coal-fired power plants, up from 31.9 percent in the third quarter of 2021, according to German statistics office Destatis.
The German statistics agency reported that coal-to-power generation output rose by 13.3 percent year over year to 42.9 TWh in the same period, while overall German power output, at 118.1 TWh during that time by 0.5 percent.
The IEA said that Germany saw the highest rise in coal consumption, with a rise of 19 percent, or 26 million tonnes, over last year.
Meanwhile, energy from natural gas rose slightly in Germany, despite the higher prices, while wind and hydro output were low.
Berlin Delays Shutting Down Nuclear And Coal
Domestic nuclear output fell during the third quarter after Germany reduced the number of its active reactors to three from six a year earlier due to Berlin’s decision to phase out the technology following the Fukushima disaster.
Back in October, Chancellor Olaf Scholz overruled his coalition by keeping the three remaining nuclear plants online until, at the latest, mid-April 2023.
“Only in Germany, with 10 gigawatts, is the reversal at a significant scale. This has increased coal power generation in the European Union, which is expected to remain at these higher levels for some time,” according to the IEA’s annual coal market report on Dec. 16.
Due to maintenance problems at French nuclear power plants, Germany has become, for the first time this year, a net exporter of electricity to France, said Destatis.
Nuclear reactor capacity in France is now at about 68 percent, from 50 percent last month, according to Bloomberg.
The IEA said that as French nuclear output recovers and electrical production from renewable energy in Germany increases, the country would likely return to being a net energy importer within a few years.
However, the German government had issued a waiver to keep open 1.6 GW of lignite-fired power plants through March 2024, instead of closing them by the end of 2022 as planned, Reuters reported.
The decommissioning of 2.6 GW of hard coal and 1.2 GW of lignite power plants in Germany have now been postponed.
Berlin has also created a “gas replacement reserve” with a total capacity of 11.6 GW, including 1.9 GW of lignite and 4.3 GW of hard coal power plants which will remain online until 2024, according to the IEA report.
“The coal phase-out ideally by 2030 is not in question,” a spokeswoman for the German Economy Ministry said in a statement to Bloomberg.
“Against the backdrop of the crisis situation, the most important thing is that we have apparently succeeded in consuming significantly less energy in 2022, especially natural gas.”
END
5.UKRAINE RUSSIA//
UKRAINE/RUSSIA/USA
Pentagon Considers Training Ukrainians On Patriot Missiles Inside The US
The US military is considering training Ukrainian forces how to use Patriot missile defense systems at a base in the United States, Politico reported Thursday, citing two unnamed Pentagon officials.
One Patriot air defense battery and munitions for the system were included in the $1.85 billion weapons package the US announced for Ukraine on Wednesday. It marks an escalation in US military aid as the Raytheon-made Patriots are considered to be the most advanced air defense systems in the US arsenal.Getty Images
According to military experts, it should take about six months to train Ukrainians how to use the system, a timeline that would put the system on the battlefield by early summer if training began soon. Operating one Patriot battery requires about 90 troops, demonstrating how advanced the system is.
The Pentagon has been training Ukrainians on how to use other US-provided weapons in Germany and elsewhere in Europe but hasn’t had a similar program inside the US since Russia invaded in February.
“Since Russia’s February invasion, the Ukrainian armed forces have completed training on a host of different NATO-provided weapons systems, including the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, in eastern Europe, Germany and the United Kingdom,” Politico noted. “But until this point, none of the training has been done in the United States.”
If the training is done in the US, it would likely be at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where officials told Politico most of the trainers and simulators are located.
The report said that the Pentagon is considering whether to do all the training in the US or to complete other portions of it in a third country. An official said that the US wouldn’t give Ukraine the battery until its forces know how to use it, and it would likely be a system that the US military has in storage rather than one that’s deployed.
end
UKRAINE/RUSSIA/USA
Robert H to us:
(Mike Whitney)
Why Putin’s Winter Offensive Will Prompt US Entry Into The War, by Mike Whitney – The Unz Review
We do not need to wait too long to see what happens. If it comes about America will be very much alone.
Terrible losses: corpses of Ukrainian soldiers are disposed of on the battlefield, morgues are not allowed to provide information – uncut-news.ch
This is somewhat of a optimistic writing. Where there is more accuracy is saying the real population of what is still the Ukraine is closer to 20 million. Real losses with dead and missing are close to a million now if not greater. The wife’s and mothers of missing soldiers number 320,000 cases which is documented. The real wounded numbers are awful, and many men will never return to a normal life. And that says nothing of the 35,000 documented cases where wounded soldiers were used for body parts which were sold for money. The actual numbers are likely far in excess. This is sick chapter that will soon end and move on to Poland which will experience a similar fate. The question is where ordinary people will run to. Germany is already receiving many refugees who say they are visiting family when in reality what they loaded into the vehicle is it as they are terrified of what comes. While many lands and people have problems to sort the hypocrisy of failed American foreign policy is on full display. And outside of vassals is terrifying the rest of the world. Countries like Iran could care less about the west and their future has nothing to do with the West anymore. And clearly countries like India and China share that belief. As we go through this festive season we pray for a change of direction in the world to a more peaceful enlightened direction that also frees Americans from the horror that has befell them.
Dangerous escalation: Ukrainian drone attacks Russia airbase deep inside Russian territory
(zerohedge)
Ukrainian Drone Attack On Airbase Deep Inside Russian Territory Kills 3 Soldiers
MONDAY, DEC 26, 2022 – 11:40 AM
A fresh Ukrainian attack deep inside Russian territory has left three dead, Russian news agencies are reporting Monday, which further describe that an enemy drone was intercepted before debris came down on bystanders below.
The Ukrainian drone was inbound over a military base in southern Russia identified as Engels airbase in the Saratov region, which is located more than 600km from the Ukrainian border. “On December 26, at around 01:35 Moscow time, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.
“As a result of the drone’s wreckage falling, three Russian technicians who were at the airfield were fatally injured,” the statement added, as quoted in TASS. The ministry said that no aircraft were damaged in the attack, with Saratov governor Roman Busargin telling local residents there is “absolutely no threat” at this time.
Given the drone attack from Ukraine set off some degree of panic, Busargin additionally warned the public that “All stories about the evacuation from the city are blatant lies, created far from the borders of our country.”
The incident marks a rare moment in which three Russian military personnel were killed while at a base far away from the front lines of conflict in neighboring Ukraine. Engels is also known to host advanced hypersonic and nuclear-capable bombers.
Currently there’s speculation that the drone may have directly impacted the base, and that Russian authorities are advancing the narrative that it was intercepted by anti-air defenses in order to deny the Ukrainians a ‘successful’ military operation, and for Kremlin leadership to save face. Related to the speculation and rumors, the Saratov governor had additionally warned against residents spreading “fake information.”
Monday’s deadly incident is actually the second known instance of the more than 10-month long war that Engels air base came under Ukrainian attack.
Multiple videos have been widely circulating purporting to show the moment of impact – though Russian authorities say the drone was shot down “at low altitude”, resulting in explosions or debris crashing on the ground…
On Dec.5 Ukraine’s military mounted simultaneous drone assaults on an air base in Ryazan, in western Russia which hosts nuclear-capable strategic bombers, and also Engels base.
That earlier Engels strike had constituted the deepest the Ukrainians had ever attacked inside of Russia proper.
This is a dangerous, escalatory trend which could result in Russia expanding its operation – also given just days ago President Putin for the first time referenced the “war” in Ukraine (as opposed to the heretofore officially sanctioned language of “special military operation”). There are remaining fears that Belarus could formally join Russia’s invasion by sending ground forces.
Feeling emboldened by a handful of successes, including prior attacks and bombings in Crimea, Ukraine forces will likely try to continue hitting targets inside Russia, also as their capability grows given they have been supplied with ever-longer range rockets from the US and NATO countries. Another key question remains as details are still emerging from Monday’s drone attack: is this another example of US intelligence assisting Kiev with targeting Russian military assets?
end
Robert H to us:
Ukrainian “law on deserters” will not leave any chance for salvation | 12/26/2022, InoSMI
Will it be any different with Poland? Soon what remains of the Ukrainian forces will be wiped out, and will have died in vain while that crook Zelensky as a Neocon puppet destroys the Ukraine. As it is the population of Ukraine has dropped below 30 million from 44 million. It will never recover.
Israel’s incoming prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that the US must “reaffirm” its alliance with Saudi Arabia and that he will seek normalization with Riyadh once in office.
Netanyahu’s comments come after the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress called for a change in the US-Saudi relationship in response to OPEC+ oil production cuts in October. But the administration has taken no concrete steps toward that end and worked this week to sabotage a war powers resolution that would have ended US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.
Netanyahu said that he intends to discuss the Saudi relationship with President Biden. “I think it requires periodic reaffirmation, and I’m to speak to President Biden about it,” he said.
The incoming prime minister said that he wants to build on the Abraham Accords, which his former government signed in 2020 to establish diplomatic ties with Bahrain and the UAE. Netanyahu said it’s “up to the leadership of Saudi Arabia if they want to partake in this effort.”
Saudi officials recently reaffirmed that they seek a Palestinian state as a precondition for normalizing with Israel. But in order to form a coalition government, Netanyahu gave Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich, an ultranationalist settler, sweeping powers over the West Bank.
Smotrich will take a new minister position in the Israeli Defense Ministry and will be put in charge of a unit that deals with settler construction and the demolition of Palestinian construction. The appointment is seen as speeding up Israel’s de facto annexation of the West Bank.
Netanyahu insisted in the interview that he will be making the decisions over issues in the West Bank and said he would work toward a peace deal with the Palestinians. “All the decisions will be made by me and the defense minister, and that’s actually in the coalition agreement,” he said.
Iran warns Kiev of the consequences for threats to Tehran – Essence of Time
Sometimes you have to think about stupid. Of course, Iran will not hesitate in reducing the Ukraine to caveman status if directly threatened. However, think about the consequences for Iran. Nothing better for Neocons to take out Iran while avoiding direct confrontation with Russia. Why? Because a direct confrontation will cause a escalation to nuclear exchange and America will lose. Yes, millions of Russians will die and there is no defense for hyper-sonic missiles. Currently there is 30-36 Mach 20 missiles on the ready to be launched. Still feeling lucky? Only Neocons like Kagan and Nuland dare to tempt such odds. However as the world turns, China, Russia and perhaps India will have their say and extend a umbrella of sorts. Such nonsense is very passé. Belarus already has a Russian nuclear umbrella; it is just the western media does not report this. Humanity deserves better, frankly Americans deserve better and the rest of world serves more responsible leadership from America. Why there are not global protests for peace is mystery. No one, and i mean no one will win from a nuclear exchange.
Decades of use with nearly four billion doses to humans preceded recent use with COVID patients. From the chapter ‘Ivermectin sends COVID to lockdown,’ in my book The Defeat Of COVID.
Ivermectin is on the World Health Organization (WHO) List of Essential Medicines and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This well-tolerated but potent anti-parasitic medicine has been prescribed billions of times in its 36-year history against a wide range of parasites. It is a drug in the avermectin family, so named because those compounds are produced by the soil organism Streptomyces avermitilis. It has also been studied and used against a wide range of viruses especially over the last decade, and there is evidence of potent antiviral effects against Influenza A and over a dozen other viruses tested. [309]
In a meta-analysis of 63 studies of ivermectin versus COVID-19 in humans, 100% of these have shown positive results. Studies were from all continents except Antarctica. Considered individually, 29 of those studies were found to be statistically significant regarding use of ivermectin alone. Over the 63 studies in meta-analysis, pooled effects showed 69% improvement in early treatment, and prophylactic use showed 86% improvement. Of those studies in the meta-analysis that were peer-reviewed, overall improvement in early treatment was found to be 70% (64% in randomized controlled trials), and 86% of those in which ivermectin was used prophylactically showed improvement (84% in randomized controlled trials).
Mortality from COVID-19 over all time periods of delay in treatment was 76% improved over controls (69% in randomized controlled trials), whereas mortality was improved 84% in early treatment of COVID-19 (82% in randomized controlled trials). Forty studies were excluded from the meta-analysis for complicating factors or insufficient detail reported, and these also showed 100% positive results.
It is estimated that the likelihood of an ineffective treatment showing such positive results as the above results in the 63 studies in the meta-analysis to date is exceedingly small. That probability is estimated to be one in one trillion. [310] The overall results of the meta-analysis were not only found to be “overwhelmingly positive,” but also “very consistent, and very insensitive to potential selection criteria, effect extraction rules, and/or bias evaluation.” The data in the meta-analysis are as of date of this article, and are continually updated as new studies are reported.
The first clinical trial of ivermectin in COVID-19 patients was an observational study in four Florida hospitals from March to May 2020. Even in patients with severe pulmonary involvement, mortality was 38.8% in the treatment group vs 80.7% in controls, and this group showed the strongest mortality difference from controls, which raised the possibility of ivermectin also being available as a salvage or rescue treatment. [311]
In a randomized controlled trial, patients given ivermectin were 8 times more likely to be medically released than those in the placebo group. This was even though the average age and number of comorbidities were later found to be somewhat higher in the experimental group than in the control group. [312]
The African continent has had remarkably low incidence of COVID-19, particularly equatorial African countries. It may be helpful to look at African countries where ivermectin has been used commonly for decades against the onchocerciasis that it has been prescribed for, to observe population-wide effects. In this population comparison, risk of COVID-19 death was found to be 88.2% lower and morbidity 85.7% lower in 31 countries where onchocerciasis is endemic and ivermectin is commonly used than in 22 countries where neither is the case, even though the latter group of countries has a higher life expectancy, 66 years vs 61 years. [313]
Ivermectin, for all its power against viruses, is among the safest of medicines that are in long-term and widespread use. [314] There are no known serious drug-related adverse events. [315] Again, it is commonly taken by the populations of 31 African countries for effect against endemic parasites. Dosing has been given as a single annual dose of 150 mcg/kg against filariasis. There have been very few serious adverse events reported over more than 30 years of use. 37 of approximately 14,000 patients treated in Ghana had symptomatic posture hypotension, associated with fainting or sweating or tachycardia. These were treated with corticosteroids. [316] This Lancet study determined its safety in pregnant women, and the risk of fetal damage was not greater than in control women’s fetuses. [317]
However, despite this safety data going back 3 decades, the US FDA has alleged, “Any use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 should be avoided as its benefits and safety for these purposes have not been established.” The FDA offered no supporting evidence for their claim. [318] One concerning risk is that ivermectin is sold over the counter for veterinary use, and if people feel desperate to use it to ward off COVID-19, they might break off too large a piece from a large horse pill. For this reason, it is much better to consult a healthcare provider for ivermectin use and dosing. To further enhance safety, liposomal ivermectin carriers have been developed. When these were used against Dengue fever, cytotoxicity was reduced up to 5 times, absorption was faster and in vivo efficacy was improved. [319]
Despite the spectacular worldwide effect profile, of excellent effect against COVID-19, with 0.26% observed minor side effects, and its use across several continents, ivermectin is widely shunned and ignored in western Europe and in the US. Here is a brief synopsis of how that came to be.
Ivermectin was invented in Japan in 1975 as an anti-parasitic drug by Satoshi Omura, a Kitasato University professor emeritus, which earned Dr. Omura the Nobel Prize in Biochemistry. Ivermectin turned out to be quite effective against a broad spectrum of parasites. The drug was so effective in eliminating a range of parasitic infections, and at very low cost, about $0.10 US, that 3.7 billion doses have been delivered to much of the world’s population since its invention. [320]
A cell culture study in April 2020 showed a 5000 times reduction in SARS-CoV-2 from one dose over 48 hours, compared to control samples. [321] Several Latin American countries, Egypt and India soon began to use it for COVID-19, and then South Africa and several European countries as well. However, resistance remained strong in the US and western Europe, following the vocal disapproval of The World Health Organization (WHO), The US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA). These agencies all expressed disapproval of ivermectin for use with COVID-19 patients. Even after more than 20 randomized controlled clinical trials showed promising effect without adverse reactions, many western countries have still not adopted its use.
Caly, Druce, et al illustrate the IMP inhibition as follows:
Social media companies censored ivermectin research. Even when the WHO commissioned and reported a meta-analysis of ivermectin, it was censored by YouTube. Only negative commentaries were permitted in western media. [322]
How does ivermectin send SARS-CoV-2 to lockdown? There are a number of mechanisms by which components of SARS-CoV-2 need to stay mobile and active in order to replicate, and thus to spread throughout the human body. It turns out that ivermectin binds several of these, which inactivates the virus. Let’s look at exactly what happens to bind or to lock down SARS-CoV-2.
RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase (RdRp) is one of the main enzymes used by SARS-CoV-2 to achieve RNA replication. It is required for viral genome replication, and therefore it is helpful if a nutrient or drug can act on it as an obstacle in some way. 173 drugs were tested in this study for their ability to bind RdRp (making it unavailable or inactive), including two examined in this book, hydroxychloroquine and vitamin C, although vitamin C was also found to have relatively high binding energy for RdRp in this study. Of all the drugs tested, ivermectin was found to bind RdRp with higher binding any energy than any other drug. [323]
One strategy against SARS-CoV-2, as well as other endemic and pandemic RNA viruses, has been to interfere with transport of viruses into a host cell’s nucleus. Ivermectin has been shown to accomplish this by binding, destabilizing and inhibiting the protein IMP alpha/beta1. When this protein is inhibited, viruses are unable to enter a cell’s nucleus, and therefore unable to replicate. Decreased infection results. IMP alpha/beta 1 has been inhibited in SARS-CoV-2 entry into nuclei by ivermectin. [324] Previously, it has been observed that ivermectin inhibited that same protein from entry of other RNA viruses, giving it a broad-spectrum antiviral effect. [325] [326] [327]
It turns out that ivermectin not only binds tightly to RdRp on SARSCoV-2, and IMP alpha/beta1; it also strongly binds the spike protein on SARS-CoV-2. This particular spike protein is trimeric, meaning it has 3 subunits which vary in amino acid sequences or other ways. It was observed that ivermectin binds all three of the SARS-CoV-2 subunits, both the structural S2 subunit, as well as both of the two functional S1 subunits. [328] This binding of all 3 subunits of the trimeric spike protein may be considered a trifecta of fortunate results of ivermectin in favor of the human host and in opposition to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Ivermectin has different mechanisms against parasites, already a miraculous healing drug for that use alone through much of the world’s population. However, now that we learn of its tremendous effect in binding both RdRp and all three trimers of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, we are certainly fortunate to have this medicine in our arsenal against COVID-19. It is inexpensive, and full COVID-19 treatment of an individual, from first dose till last needed can be less than one US dollar. Ivermectin is therefore available to even the poorest communities in the world. Ivermectin is being compared to the discovery of penicillin in its enormous impact, and perhaps was one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century. [329] The fact that this tremendously effective, safe and low-cost antiviral drug is not as thoroughly known to the world as penicillin is a chasm of inexcusable and deadly ignorance that the COVID era is giving the world an opportunity to correct.
THE TWITTER FILES: How Twitter Rigged The Covid Debate
MONDAY, DEC 26, 2022 – 12:15 PM
Another day, another TWITTER FILES drop exposing the incestuous relationship between big tech and government.
Today’s edition, dropped by journalist David Zweig, focuses on ‘how Twitter rigged the Covid debate‘ by taking direction from both the Trump and Biden administrations (while at the same time trying to censor the former president). What’s somewhat notable is how aggressive government (and ex-government) officials were in trying to stifle free speech, while Twitter’s non-government-linked employees would often push back (and then totally fold) – a theme we’ve observed in previous drops. In one such instance, former head of Twitter’s Trust & Safety team Yoel Roth tells former FBI lawyer and then-Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker to calm his tits over a Trump tweet.
Of course, in the end the government typically got its way, as you will read below.
Zweig, who was granted access to internal files while on assignment for The Free Press, notes that “both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes.“
What’s more, the censorship effort extended to Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others.
In July 2021, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a 22-page advisory concerning what the World Health Organization referred to as an “infodemic,” and called on social media platforms to do more to shut down “misformation.”
“We are asking them to step up,” Murthy said. “We can’t wait longer for them to take aggressive action.”
That’s the message the White House had already taken directly to Twitter executives in private channels. One of the Biden administration’s first meeting requests was about Covid, with a focus on “anti-vaxxer accounts,” according to a meeting summary by Lauren Culbertson, Twitter’s Head of U.S. Public Policy.
They were especially concerned about Alex Berenson, a journalist skeptical of lockdowns and mRNA vaccines, who had hundreds of thousands of followers on the platform:
By the summer of 2021, the day after Murthy’s memo, Biden announced publicly that social media companies were “killing people” by allowing misinformation about vaccines. Just hours later, Twitter locked Berenson out of his account, and then permanently suspended him the next month. Berenson sued Twitter. He ultimately settled with the company, and is now back on the platform. As part of the lawsuit, Twitter was compelled to provide certain internal communications. They revealed that the White House had directly met with Twitter employees and pressured them to take action on Berenson.
The summary of meetings by Culbertson, emailed to colleagues in December 2022, adds new evidence of the White House’s pressure campaign, and illustrates how it tried to directly influence what content was allowed on Twitter.
Culbertson wrote that the Biden team was “very angry” that Twitter had not been more aggressive in deplatforming multiple accounts. They wanted Twitter to do more.
Twitter executives did not fully capitulate to the Biden team’s wishes. An extensive review of internal communications at the company revealed that employees often debated moderation cases in great detail, and with more care for free speech than was shown by the government.
But Twitter did suppress views—and not just those of journalists like Berenson. Many medical and public health professionals who expressed perspectives or even cited findings from accredited academic journals that conflicted with official positions were also targeted. As a result, legitimate findings and questions about our Covid policies and their consequences went missing.
There were three serious problems with Twitter’s process.
First: Much of the content moderation on Covid, to say nothing of other contentious subjects, was conducted by bots trained on machine learning and AI. I spent hours discussing the systems with an engineer and with an executive who had been at the company for more than a year before Musk’s takeover. They explained the process in basic terms: Initially, the bots were fed information to train them on what to look for—but their searches would become more refined over time both as they scanned the platform and as they were manually updated with additional chosen inputs. At least that was the premise. Though impressive in their engineering, the bots would prove too crude for such nuanced work. When you drag a digital trawler across a social media platform, you’re not just catching cheap fish, you’re going to snag dolphins along the way.
Second: Contractors operating in places like the Philippines were also moderating content. They were given decision trees to aid in their process, but tasking non-experts to adjudicate tweets on complex topics like myocarditis and mask efficacydata was destined for a significant error rate. The notion that remote workers, sitting in distant cube farms, were going to police medical information to this granular degree is absurd on its face.
Embedded below is an example template—deactivated after Musk’s arrival—of the decision tree tool that contractors used. The contractor would run through a series of questions, each with a drop down menu, ultimately guiding them to a predetermined conclusion.
Third: Most importantly, the buck stopped with higher level employees at Twitter. They chose the inputs for the bots and decision trees. They determined suspensions. And as is the case with all people and institutions, there was both individual and collective bias.
At Twitter, Covid-related bias bent heavily toward establishment dogmas. Inevitably, dissident yet legitimate content was labeled as misinformation, and the accounts of doctors and others were suspended both for tweeting opinions and demonstrably true information.
Take, for example, Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kulldorff often tweeted views at odds with U.S. public health authorities and the American left, the political affiliation of nearly the entire staff at Twitter.
Here is one such tweet, from March 15, 2021, regarding vaccination.
Internal emails show an “intent to action” by a Twitter moderator, saying Kulldorff’s tweet violated the company’s Covid-19 misinformation policy, and claimed he shared “false information.”
But Kulldorff’s statement was an expert’s opinion—one that happened to be in line with vaccinepolicies in numerous other countries.
Yet it was deemed “false information” by Twitter moderators merely because it differed from CDC guidelines. After Twitter took action, Kulldorff’s tweet was slapped with a “misleading” label and all replies and likes were shut off, throttling the tweet’s ability to be seen and shared by others, a core function of the platform.
In my review of internal files, I found numerous instances of tweets about vaccines and pandemic policies labeled as “misleading” or taken down entirely, sometimes triggering account suspensions, simply because they veered from CDC guidance or differed from establishment views.
For example, a tweet by @KelleyKga, a self-proclaimed public health fact checker with more than 18,000 followers, was flagged as “misleading,” and replies and likes disabled, for showing that Covid was not the leading cause of death in children, even though it cited the CDC’s own data.
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a prominent epidemiologist and biostatistician and former Harvard School of Medicine professor, said he was “not surprised” after seeing concrete evidence that a post he shared on Twitter was flagged and prevented from wider dissemination.
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, epidemiologist and statistician. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
He expressed disapproval and said that the social media giant’s overall censorship actions have stifled free debate on COVID-19 topics and undermined trust in science.
In the latest installment of the Elon Musk-endorsed “Twitter Files” published early on Dec. 26, journalist David Zweig shared how posts from Kulldorff and several others about COVID-19, including about vaccines, were flagged and censored in various ways by Twitter.
It marked the first trove of direct evidence from the “Twitter Files” showing how Twitter censored scientists, potentially at the behest of the U.S. government, ever since journalist Bari Weiss revealed in early December that Stanford University professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya had been put on a blacklist due to his views on COVID-19-related lockdowns and school closures.
While Kulldorff said he was not surprised by evidence showing how he and others were censored, he said Twitter should not be the arbiter of which scientists have valid views, and that such censorship shouldn’t happen.
“There should be an open discussion. You can’t expect people to trust public health and trust the scientific community if you don’t have that open communication and open debate,” Kulldorff told The Epoch Times.
In the Twitter post of concern, dated March 26, 2021, Kulldorff said that children and those who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2 do not need to be vaccinated, but that vaccines were important for older high-risk people and their caretakers. The post was flagged by a Twitter moderator as having violated the company’s COVID-19 “misinformation policy.”
An internal email shared by Zweig showed that the moderator claimed Kulldorff had shared “false information regarding the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines, which goes against CDC guidelines.” Twitter subsequently labeled the post as “misleading” and turned off all likes and replies.
“But Kulldorff’s statement was an expert’s opinion—one which also happened to be in line with vaccine policies in numerous other countries. Yet it was deemed ‘false information’ by Twitter moderators merely because it differed from CDC guidelines,” Zweig wrote.
“After Twitter took action, Kulldorff’s tweet was slapped with a ‘Misleading’ label and all replies and likes were shut off, throttling the tweet’s ability to be seen and shared by many people, the ostensible core function of the platform.”
A child receives a dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in Los Angeles, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
Kulldorff reiterated his views on COVID-19 vaccination in children, telling The Epoch Times late Monday: “We know and we’ve known ever since the very beginning of the pandemic, and the data from Wuhan, that children are at minuscule risk … from dying from COVID-19.”
“So the benefit of the vaccine, therefore, is almost nothing, because it doesn’t prevent [transmission]. [And] the risk of death and hospitalization [with children] is very low. The benefit is very, very small. We know that,” he added.
“So then the question is, what are the potential harms? And we know there are potential harms, with myocarditis, for example. I think the benefit is so tiny it’s not worth taking the risks of adverse reactions, which we know there is myocarditis, but we don’t know the full extent of adverse reactions yet.”
Kulldorff also dismissed the view that had been promulgated incessantly by health officials and media outlets that COVID-19 vaccination is “safe and effective” at large.
“I think for many people, they only heard one voice. And when they heard alternative voices, [those voices] were sort of dismissed as cranks. But that’s not how medicine or science works,” he said.
“There are many vaccines and many drugs that are important for some people, but unnecessary for others. So to say that everybody should get a vaccine, that’s not very scientific way of thinking about things,” he said.
“Just like saying that nobody should ever be vaccinated is equally unscientific,” he added.
“But we get sort of a polarizing view between the anti-vaxxers and vaccine fanatics,” Kulldorff observed, adding that in his opinion, “the vaccine fanatics have done much more damage to vaccine confidence than anybody else with pushing vaccine mandates based on flawed scientific thinking.”
“I think that [the push for vaccine mandates] has had consequences not only for the COVID-19 vaccine but also for childhood vaccines—important childhood vaccines like polio, for example,” he said.
“So vaccine fanatics who have been pushing for mandates—that everybody should get vaccinated—they have done a lot of damage to vaccine confidence in the U.S. and other parts of the world as well.”
Amid emerging evidence that U.S. government officials have exerted influence on social media companies with regard to the sharing of views on COVID-19, Kulldorff expressed that the government “should not at all be involved” in any such influence.
While various examples have now come to light with regard to Twitter’s censorship of scientists, Kulldorff said he hopes to see the full extent of this censorship one day, such as “a summary of how many were censored, how many were blacklisted, for how long, and so on.”
He said it would also be important to know which person or people were behind the decisions to censor and whether there were people who were reporting posts to Twitter to be censored.
“Were other scientists involved in urging Twitter to censor their fellow scientists who had a different opinion?” he pondered. “And if so, to what extent, and who were those scientists?”
“I have never sent in a report to Twitter, asking them to censor a scientist with a different opinion of mine. I don’t think scientists should engage in such activity.”
I want to bring your attention to a new study in The Lancet. Researchers conducted a fairly large randomized trial and found the drug failed to reduce hospitalizations or deaths.
What is Molnupiravir?
Molnupiravir is an oral antiviral drug acting as a nucleoside analogue developed by Merck. It works by disrupting viral replication. Once Molnupiravir is absorbed into the infected cells it causes random mutations in the RNA or building blocks of the virus. Once enough mutations occur, the hope is, the virus can no longer replicate.
The Study:
Researchers found Molnupiravir did not reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations or deaths in a study of 26,411 participants with an average age of 57 and a 99% vaccination rate. Researchers further found that using Molnupiravir at scale could theoretically cause the emergence of new viral variants, especially in immunocompromised patients. The drug was found to shorten the time to recovery.
Molnupiravir did not reduce hospitalizations or deaths in a community-based vaccinated adult population with COVID-19 who were at increased risk of an adverse outcome, either overall or in any patient subgroups.
However, molnupiravir was associated with reduced time to recovery overall and for key individual symptoms, reduced health-care seeking for some primary care services, and reduced viral load.
There is a theoretical risk that molnupiravir use at scale could lead to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. This risk is being assessed in PANORAMIC trial’s virology substudy.
A separate preprint study found that Molnupiravir causes mutations in immunocompromised patients. They advise that Molnupiravir can actually “supercharge viral evolution.”
Within days of treatment, we detected a large number of low-frequency mutations in patients and that these new mutations could persist and, in some cases, were fixed in the virus population. All patients treated with the drug accrued new mutations in the spike protein of the virus, including non-synonymous mutations that altered the amino acid sequence. Our study demonstrates that this commonly used antiviral can ‘supercharge’ viral evolution in immunocompromised patients, potentially generating new variants and prolonging the pandemic.
So it appears from the two studies not only is Molnupiravir ineffective at preventing hospitalizations or death it also can cause mutations in the virus that can change the way the virus functions but not stop it from replicating. New viral variants.
Molnupiravir was never the preferred choice over COVID-19 antivirals. Merks own study only showed a relative risk reduction of 30%. Compared to Paxlovid’s nearly 90% – although real-world data is lower.
The FDA should immediately pull Molnupiravir from the market. It is causing unnecessary risks with little or no benefits. We cannot wait until a more virulent variant is unleashed upon the world. Could Molnupiravir be the culprit for new SARS-CoV-2 variants?
**Update**
Not only did the FDA already know about Molnupiravir’s potential to create new variants – also its ability to cause cancerous tumors and birth defects – but approved it anyway.
What is everyone’s plan for Christmas? Most of the country is experiencing extreme cold this weekend. Be Safe and thank you for reading!
twenty-four days after staff at Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington, had administered a transfusion using blood from vaccinated donors—explicitly against parents’ wish
I wanted to share this substack by Margaret Anna Alice, support her. See her touching gut-wrenching stack below and this person is waging a battle behind the scenes in major ways!
Basel, Switzerland, cumulative distribution curve is alarming as fully shifted to the right beyond control & seems everyone regardless of gender has some elevated troponin (troponinemia, hs-cTnT)
‘Significant incidence of myocarditis after 3rd dose of anti-COVID 19 messenger RNA vaccine (author: Guillaume Le Pessec)’ This finding is opposite to what evidence had already accumulated with boys, males being usually at much more elevated risk, at a reported 9:1 ratio and this is very stunning. Is this idiosyncratic and thus a one-off? We need further…
RED VOICE MEDIA; “What we have been made aware of is that some of the adverse reactions [of the shot] are subclinical. That is, you’re not aware of them … Captain Bob Snow of American Airlines”
“He [Snow] had that cardiac event six minutes after touchdown. Had that happened seven minutes earlier, they would have been 100 feet in the air, doing close to 300 kilometers an hour. It could have been catastrophic. And that’s what we’re dealing with.”
with rates of 1st & 2nd vaccine doses administered to this age group but were not with COVID-19 infection rates; concerns regarding vaccine-induced undetected severe cardiovascular side-effects
‘Cardiovascular adverse conditions are caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections and reported as side-effects of the COVID-19 vaccines.
…a unique dataset from Israel National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from 2019 to 2021
…evaluate the association between the volume of cardiac arrest and acute coronary syndrome EMS calls in the 16–39-year-old population with potential factors including COVID-19 infection and vaccination rates.
…An increase of over 25% was detected in both call types during January–May 2021, compared with the years 2019–2020.
…Using Negative Binomial regression models, the weekly emergency call counts were significantly associated with the rates of 1st and 2nd vaccine doses administered to this age group but were not with COVID-19 infection rates.
…not establishing causal relationships, the findings raise concerns regarding vaccine-induced undetected severe cardiovascular side-effects and underscore the already established causal relationship between vaccines and myocarditis, a frequent cause of unexpected cardiac arrest in young individuals.’
Fountain-Jones et al.: ‘Antiviral Molnupiravir (‘Mol’) lead to rapid accrual of hundreds of SARS-CoV-2 mutations in immunocompromised patients’; this pre-print is catastrophic, ‘Mol’ must be stopped DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 25 SAVE▷ LISTEN
We told them, we warned them, but they would not stop, and between this fraud failed mutagenic drug Molnupiravir (on top of or in addition to the mutations driven by the COVID gene injection ‘vaccine’ itself in placing the spike antigen under population immune pressure) combined with Pfizer’s failed ‘rebound COVID’ Paxlovid, we are placing our people at great risk. These pharmaceutical companies and their CEOs (who buy out congress persons and senators) are criminal for when you think of the death caused by the fraud mRNA COVID gene injections, it is criminal what they are doing and allowed to get away with by FDA. FDA is signing off on the murder of US population and other global nations follow. Blindly. FDA is owned and complicit with the pharmaceuticals.We have a situation whereby COVID injections and pharma drugs are being given that will keep this pandemic ongoing for 100 years. 100 years, it will never end and Fauci and Birx and Bourla and Bancel and Francis Collins knew this. They IMO did this and are doing this deliberately with the FDA. America is under attack and by extension, the world.end
wife are COVID injection injured, you are saying ‘STOP the shot’; Dr. Phelps has broken her silence about a “devastating” Covid vaccine injury, slamming regulators for “censoring” public discussion
Changing The President Won’t Matter – Who is Really Running this Country?
December 23, 2022 5:41 pm
Catherine Austin Fitts is the publisher of The Solari Report and the former Assistant Secretary of Housing under President Bush. She was recently interviewed by Greg Hunter, of USA Watchdog. Greg Hunter is obviously a MAGA Trump supporter, and put forth all the usual arguments that those in the Trump cult parrot like robots, trying to excuse Donald Trump’s actions in funding and implementing the COVID-19 bioweapons, which have now killed and maimed millions of Americans. But Catherine Austin Fitts interrupts him several times to set the record straight. I have abridged the 1-hour-plus interview down to just over 7 minutes. Greg Hunter also tries to make a distinction between Biden and Trump, by claiming that at least Trump would not have mandated the shots, as Biden did. This is now the official Republican platform, which is NOT anti-vaccine, nor even anti-COVID-19 injections. It is simply anti-mandates. But Catherine Austin Fitts explains that it doesn’t matter who the president is, and that changing the president doesn’t matter.
US Marines Step In, Stop Robbery In California: “It was the Marines, they stepped it up, time to fight back”Two suspects were arrested after a smash-and-grab robbery at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California was stopped by some Marines who were at a nearby military recruitment center in the mall. According to Torrance police, four people wearing hoodies used hammers to smash the glass of a jewelry store’s display cases. They were grabbing as much jewelry as …READ MORE
Salary Expectations in US Hit New High: Fed SurveyExpectations regarding salaries among American workers hit a record high in November, with younger people expecting the most, according to a Fed survey.“The average reservation wage—the lowest wage respondents would be willing to accept for a new job—increased from $72,873 in July to $73,667 in November, the highest reading of the series. The increase was most pronounced for respondents below …READ MORE
Elon Musk Puts CNN And MSNBC On Notice: “No special treatment for corporate journalists anymore”Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald called out the media for whining about treatment on the new Twitter causing Elon Musk to remind CNN and every other media outlet who is in charge of Twitter and it ain’t them anymore. Glenn said: “Corporate journalists are learning this for the first time because they had been immune, but Twitter, pre-Musk, always required deletion …READ MORE
Netflix Customers Could Face Criminal Charges For Sharing Their PasswordNetflix customers may soon face criminal charges for sharing their password next year.The popular streaming service is planning to put an end to password sharing beginning in early 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal. Netflix has been exploring ways to crack down on it for some time, and this is the first official notice that the changes will finally happen. …READ MORE
Putin Bans Sales Of Russian Oil To Countries That Comply With G7 Price Cap
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 01:53 PM
Having promised that it would reveal its response to the recently implemented by the G7 price cap on Russian oil exports, moments ago the Kremlin did not disappoint, and as the WSJ reports, Russian President Vladimir Putin banned the supply of Russian oil and oil products to countries that impose a price cap, allowing deliveries to those nations only on the basis of a special permission from the Kremlin leader.
According to the decree, the retaliatory measures are scheduled to come into effect Feb. 1 and last through July 1, 2023.
Russia’s actions are a response to what the decree described as unfriendly actions of the U.S., foreign states and international organizations that contradict international law, and are designed “to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation,” the decree said.
The European Union and the U.K. earlier this month banned the import of seaborne Russian crude, while the Group of Seven nations put a ceiling on other sales by barring Western companies from insuring, financing or shipping Russian crude at above $60 a barrel.
And now, Russia has flipped the story on its head, saying the not only will it not sell below $60, but it has banned the sale outright to all countries that engaged in this most glaring virtue-signaling exercise, one which paradoxically was not meant to punish Putin but to keep Russian oil flowing.
While the price cap has not seen a major impact on pricing so far, that will likely change soon: As shown below, Urals oil is trading with a generous discount to spot Brent, and was last seen around $50.
In other words, those nations buying Urals – mostly China and India – are not violating the G-7 pact… yet. However, once Urals follows Brent higher, and its price rises above $60/barrel that will change, and at that point it will be interesting to see how the G7 responds to the two fastest growing economies and two most populous nations openly defying the G7’s Russian oil price floor.
The news, which was largely as expected, has not had an impact on the price of oil with WTI and Brent both trading at three week highs following news that China was ending zero-covid policies and reopening its economy.
As for the US stepping in a providing emergency cover to nations who may be caught in the crossfire, sorry – Joe already drained a third of the SPR to get Democrats reelected.
END
8.EMERGING MARKETS ISSUES//AUSTRALIA ISSUES.
END
Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings TUESDAY morning 7:30 AM
EURO VS USA DOLLAR:1.0625 DOWN .0014
USA/ YEN 133.37 UP 0.622/NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .50% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN RISES//
GBP/USA 1.2025 DOWN 0.0056
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 30.01 PTS OR 0.48%
Hang Sang CLOSED
AUSTRALIA CLOSED // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SANG CLOSED
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 30.01 PTS OR 0.98%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 42,00 OR .16%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 1806.90
silver:$24.04
USA dollar index early TUESDAY morning: 103.95 DOWN 6 BASIS POINTS from FRIDAY’s close.
The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE (CLOSED ..(UP) AT 6.9601
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. 6.9677
TURKISH LIRA: 18.71 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.452
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 10 IN basis points from FRIDAY at 3.851% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic
USA 30 yr bond yield 3.930 UP 11 in basis points
Your closing USA dollar index, 103.82 DOWN 0.20 BASIS 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 UP 4.41 PTS OR 0.11%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 54.17 POINTS OR 0.39%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 45.76 PTS OR 0.70%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 1.00 OR 0.01%
Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 21.69PTS OR 0.09%
WTI Oil price 80.49 12: EST
Brent Oil: 85,67 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN /// DOWN TO: 70.40/ ROUBLE DOWN 1 AND 10/100 RUBLES/DOLLAR
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.515
UK 10 YR YIELD: 3.6675 UP 0 BASIS PTS.
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA: 1.0641 UP .0012 OR 12 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2025 DOWN .0056 or 56 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 3.6675% UP 3 BASIS PTS
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 132.87 UP 0.503/YEN DOWN 50 BASIS PTS//
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3523 DOWN .0035 (CDN dollar, UP 35 basis pts)
West Texas intermediate oil: 79.55
Brent OIL: 84.32
USA 10 yr bond yield UP 10 BASIS pts to 3.845%
USA 30 yr bond yield UP 11 BASIS PTS to 3.933%
USA dollar index:103.88 DOWN 13 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18.69
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 70.40 DOWN 1 AND 11/100 roubles
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 37.63 PTS OR 0.11%
NASDAQ 100 DOWN 162.93 PTS OR 1.48%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 21.83 UP 0.96 PTS (4.60)%
GLD: $168.67 UP 1.41 OR 0.84%
SLV/ $22.11 UP $0.26 OR 1.19%
end)
USA trading day in Graph Form
China COVID-180 Sparks Hawkish Shift In US; Bonds & Stocks Dumped, Gold Jumps
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 04:00 PM
The market’s expectations for The Fed’s terminal rate surged back up to 5.00% today (above pre-CPI levels) and expectations for a dovish pivot in H2 2023 fell dramatically after the long-weekend of headlines out of China on their ‘180’ on COVID-Zero with 100s of millions infected… which means herd immunity sooner and a full demand/inflation-enabling re-opening hitting sooner than expected…
Source: Bloomberg
We also note that the US trade deficit shrank significantly more than expected… which is also good news that is bad news for anyone hoping for The Fed’s ‘higher for longer’ rate narrative to be crushed… and that sent stocks down notably before the bell, only to accelerate lower at the cash open. The majors bounced into the European close then faded once again with a small bounce into the US close…
Tech was the hardest hit with some serious standouts today as the “most shorted” stocks are now down 14 of the last 17 days. China Tech soared today as US Tech tumbled…
Source: Bloomberg
TSLA’s tumble continued, down 10% today (6 straight days – longest streak since 2018 – and 9 of the last 10) with its RSI now at 17 – the most oversold in its history…
Source: Bloomberg
AAPL is down 29% from its highs, testing below critical support from the June 2022 lows to its lowest since June 2021…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, META is down 70% from its highs (was down 77% from its highs at its trough in November)…
Source: Bloomberg
Treasury yields soared after the long-weekend, largely on China re-opening/growth/inflation fears, with the long-end underperforming (30Y +11bps, 2Y +8bps)…
Source: Bloomberg
The 30Y Yield continues to squeeze up towards 4.00% (now over 50bps off the early December lows)…
Source: Bloomberg
The dollar opened down after Xmas Day but drifted higher for the rest of the day (remember, UK still closed today, so EU FX markets will be back in play tomorrow)…
Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin tumbled after a spike overnight up near $17k (and crypto proxies like COIN and MSTR were smashed)…
Source: Bloomberg
Oil prices started off bullishly – presumably on China demand hopes – but WTI ended dumping it all back in the US session today to end unchanged
Gold spiked up to $1840 (futs) earlier in the day before fading back a little…
Finally, gold and real yields have notably decoupled very recently… extending the already large decoupling that has occurred since The Fed started piling up 75bps hikes…
Source: Bloomberg
Does gold know something about happens next with The Fed?
END
EARLY MORNING TRADING//
EARLY AFTERNOON TRADING
ii) USA DATA
Stocks initially tank (but soon recover) on collapse of trade report.
Stocks Tank As Collapse In Imports Triggers Smallest US Trade Deficit In 2 Years
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 08:54 AM
The US Trade Balance stunned onlookers this morning as the goods trade deficit narrowed in November to its smallest in two years after imports collapsed. The $83.3 billion deficit was massively ‘better’ than the $96.3 billion gap expected…
Source: Bloomberg
This is the biggest decrease in the deficit since 2009.
The shrinkage in the deficit was driven a 7.6% plunge in imports $252.2 billion, the lowest in more than a year. The value of exports also dropped, down 3.1% to $168.9 billion.
The decline in imports was broad based, led by a 13% drop in the value of consumer goods. Other inbound shipments of autos, food and beverages and industrial supplies also decreased, as did most export categories.
It appears the American consumer has largely been spending on services instead of goods in recent months.
Finally, this is a problem for Powell and the tribe of ‘dovish’-hopers as this huge improvement in the deficit will juice Q4 GDP growth and provide more ammo for Powell’s “higher for longer” rates narrative.
Which may help explain why stocks are tanking…
“Good” news is bad news for the Santa Claus rally.
END
US Home Prices Tumbled For 4th Straight Month In October
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 09:06 AM
US Home Prices, based on S&P Global’s Case-Shiller data, fell 0.52% MoM in October (the latest data available released this morning), slightly better than the 1.1% drop expected. This slowed the YoY growth 8.64% from 10.4% YoY…
Source: Bloomberg
This is the fourth straight month of declines for home prices.
“As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be a headwind for home prices,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in statement.
“Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, prices may well continue to weaken.”
Miami, Tampa, and Charlotte reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities surveyed and San Francisco is clinging on with a 0.6% gain…
Source: Bloomberg
…and bear in mind that a lot of the gains in Miami and Tampa were ‘crypto’-driven so brace for those to catch down to San Francisco’s reality soon enough.
END
Dallas Fed Survey unexpectedly drops and they warn of a deep recession
(zerohedge)
Dallas Fed Survey Unexpectedly Drops: Respondents Warn “Biden Political Mentality” Means “Recession Being Planned For And Acted Upon”
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 11:00 AM
The headline Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey disappointed in December, falling to -18.8 (from -14.4 and expected to rise very modestly to -13.5)
Interestingly the outlook for six-months ahead improved (but remains negative), but you wouldn’t know it judging by the responses that The Dallas Fed decided to release for publication… notice a pattern?
Food Manufacturing
Business has picked up from a lull in October/November. We’re expecting a strong first quarter 2023.
Late-year seasonality affects our business. We generally see a slowdown from Thanksgiving through the end of the year.
The combination of increased costs of raw ingredients, illiquid consumers and the need to retain employees via increasing benefits has created a difficult environment. Couple that with the Biden political mentality of things, and it is unhealthy for business.
Paper Manufacturing
We’re now dialing in the very increased forecast of a significant downturn. Recession is now being planned for and acted upon.
Printing and Related Support Activities
We can feel things slowing down. Estimating activity is really down from previous months, and incoming orders have dropped off as well. It seems that our material vendors are getting items out faster, and all talk about how the activity level has slowed down from earlier in the year.
Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
Our products are sold to homebuilders. [When] interest rates go up, home construction goes down and will continue to go down in the next six months.
Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
Demand is decreasing.
Machinery Manufacturing
I think we are experiencing a year-end lull in business activity. We actually have no idea what to expect for 2023.
We are seeing more and bigger orders recently. Oil companies are spending money on projects that they have held back on this past year. We expect 2023 to be a very good year. Our backlog of orders is growing to a record.
Never doubt the ability of the Federal Reserve to crush the economy when they intervene to stop inflation.
Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
We’re plowing ahead as our market changes.
We have seen a small decrease in new orders, but wages and other costs continue to increase. We are investing in more automation to reduce the labor cost.
Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
There is nothing positive in the economic outlook. The Federal Reserve should pause and let prior rate increases filter through before implementing further increases or they [will] overdo the contraction and make it harder to recover.
Miscellaneous Manufacturing
The rapid pace of wage growth is putting significant pressure on the business to outsource manufacturing outside the U.S.
Not exactly a picture of the ‘strong as hell’ economy we hear from The White House?
END
III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES.
Utilities Impose Rolling Blackouts As US Power Grid In Emergency Amid Cold Blast
Update (1724ET):
As night settles and temperatures plunge again, power grids in the country’s eastern half are under severe stress. Review the latest updates for reports of widespread rolling blackouts.
Another utility has just warned about grid chaos. Dominion Energy has asked customers in Virginia and North Carolina to conserve power. The utility said high electricity demand would continue for days.
* * *
Update (1720ET):
ISO New England warned it has “insufficient reserve supplies” and asked members to “voluntarily curtail power” amid grid strain.
According to Bloomberg, the grid operator declared an energy emergency level 1 and requested utilities to reduce electricity consumption.
“We have declared a power caution for the region, and is calling upon reserve resources due to the unexpected loss of generation and imports,” spokesman Matthew Kakley said in an emailed statement.
Power demand soars above forecast, and supplies are tight. Power prices average more than $2,000 per megawatt hour across the grid.
About 70% of the power generation mix is oil, nuclear, and natural gas, while unreliable renewables barely account for 6%.
ISO New England has yet to implement rolling blackouts. We note below rolling blackouts have been used by utilities across parts of the Southeast US.
* * *
Update (1445ET):
SATURDAY, DEC 24, 2022 – 09:20 AM
Update (1445ET):
More power disruption could be seen tonight as temperatures are expected to drop again as heating demand soars.
* * *
Update (1243ET):
Add Georgia to the growing list of states experiencing rolling power blackouts.
White House remains silent as Americans are plunged into power blackouts amid grid instabilities on Christmas Eve. Biden’s social media team continues to pump tweets about how everything is wonderful.
* * *
Update (1200ET):
Utilities have issued rolling power blackouts across North Carolina and Tennessee this morning.
News just hit Bloomberg that Tennessee Titans delayed the home game against Houston Texans over power concerns.
Extreme cold temperatures are pressuring power grids in the eastern half of the US. Rolling blackouts have affected many Americans, some of which have taken to Twitter to complain:
This is unacceptable.
* * *
Update (1115ET):
PJM Interconnection’s power generation mix this morning is primarily coal, natural gas, nuclear, and crude oil. So much for unreliable renewables helping out when the regional grid that supplies power to 65 million Americans in 13 states and the District of Columbia is in an emergency.
It’s time for Americans to realize renewables are unreliable — also, decommissioning fossil fuel power generation in the name of ‘climate change’ is idiotic at this point.
* * *
The powerful winter storm that battered a large swath of the eastern half of the US has left behind an Arctic chill Saturday morning. A regional power grid with 65 million customers in 13 states and the District of Columbia has declared a rare emergency, over a million people have no power, air travel remains disrupted, and reports of highway accidents are some of the most trending topics this morning.
Let’s begin with PJM Interconnection, a regional power grid that stretches from Illinois to New Jersey, which declared a Stage 2 emergency late Friday and asked customers to conserve electricity due to the rising risk of grid instability.
“PJM is asking consumers to reduce their use of electricity, if health permits, between the hours of 4 a.m. on December 24, 2022, and 10 a.m. on December 25, 2022,” PJM wrote in a press release.
PJM’s request for customers to reduce power comes as the grid manager is trying to prevent a Stage 3 emergency, which would result in rolling blackouts across the 13 states and the District of Columbia.
“Demand soared more than 9 gigawatts above forecasts Friday evening — much faster and higher than anticipated. That’s the equivalent of about 9 million homes just popping up on the grid on a typical day,” Bloomberg said.
PJM spokeswoman Susan Buehler told Bloomberg that Stage 2 emergency would “certainly be enough” to avert blackouts across the regional grid because the Arctic blast is only temporary.
In the Carolinas, Duke Energy Carolinas and Duke Energy Progress, and several other utilities, have asked customers to conserve power due to energy shortfalls.
Duke wrote in a statement Saturday morning it has “implemented load shedding steps that include interruptions in service.” This means power is being curtailed for some customers to protect the grid from collapse.
With power grids in an emergency across the eastern half of the US, there are also a million customers without power — most outages are in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Maine.
Bloomberg said 200 million Americans — around 60% of the country — are under winter weather alerts this morning.
The Ambient Weather network of weather stations across the US shows much of the country is below freezing this morning.
And for the third day, travel remains disrupted. FlightAware showed over 1,600 flights within, into, or out of the US were canceled. Another 1,700 were delayed. Most of the disruptions were at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, O’Hare International Airport, and John F. Kennedy International Airport.
And it wasn’t just air travel that experienced troubles. As millions of Americans hit the highways to see loved ones, there were numerous reports of massive pileup crashes. One of the most spoken about this morning is the 46-car pileup on the Ohio Turnpike.
The good news is the unbearable cold blast will begin to dissipate next week. Average temperatures across the Lower 48 will jump from 24 degrees Fahrenheit to over 50 degrees by January 1.
Hoping for a White Christmas?
There’s not one peep from climate alarmists about the cold blast after they spewed nonsense this past summer about the world imminently burning. ‘Trust the science,’ they say…
Guess what’s trending on Twitter this morning.
END
THIS MORNING:
Southwest’s Mass Flight Cancellations Continue, Prompting Transportation Department To Review
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 07:05 AM
Update (Tuesday):
After canceling almost 3,000 flights on Monday, Southwest Airlines Co. canceled thousands more on Tuesday due to adverse weather conditions and inadequate staffing.
Late Monday night, Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan spoke with WSJ, who said, “In all likelihood, we’ll have another tough day tomorrow as we work our way out of this.” He added: “This is the largest-scale event that I’ve ever seen.”
Flight tracker FlightAware shows as of early Tuesday morning, the Dallas-based carrier canceled 2,510 flights, accounting for 62% of its schedule today.
Southwest released a statement about the continued travel chaos:
“With consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our Customers and Employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.”
Southwest’s cancellations prompted the US Department of Transportation to review. The agency was concerned about the airline’s “unacceptable” rate of cancellations, delays, and lack of customer service.
Shares of Southwest fell 3.5% in US premarket trading to $34.81 on the continuation of flight cancelations which may extend through Wednesday.
* * *
Southwest Airlines Co. canceled nearly 3,000 flights on Monday as a historic winter storm and inadequate staffing made for a perfect storm of holiday chaos the day after Christmas.
As of 9 PM on Monday, Southwest had canceled 2,882 flights – or 70% of its schedule, according to flightaware.com. Overall, 82% of Southwest flights were either canceled or delayed. By airport, Denver International saw 24% of flights canceled, while 29% were delayed.
Tomorrow is also slated to be a total mess, with over 2,400 Tuesday flights canceled.
“Yikes, @SouthwestAir! This is clearly a meltdown,” tweeted former TSA official Ross Feinstein, who’s been monitoring the situation.
A Southwest official, Chris Perry, told NPR that the disruptions are a result of the ongoing winter storm, and that the company “stabilize and improve its operation” as the weather improves.
From Houston, Texas, and Tampa, Fla., to Cleveland, Ohio, and Denver, Colo., passengers are sharing photos and video of overwhelmed baggage claim areas and long lines at reservation counters. At Southwest, the customer service phone line’s hold times averaged more than two hours, sometimes reaching four hours, according to Colorado Public Radio. -NPR
“I’m okay with these travel situations and fly on by myself when it’s just me, but when my one-year-old has to suffer through it because of ineptitude and mismanagement, that becomes personal,” said Southwest passenger Joshua Caudle, adding “I’m never going to do this with that company again.”
Other problems include “connecting flight crews to their schedules,” according to Perry, who said this has made it difficult for employees to participate in crew scheduling services and get reassignments.
A Southwest passenger who says she was attempting to fly from Missouri to Denver said she missed spending Christmas with her family after several delays and cancellations to flights out of the Kansas City International Airport. Despite her being grounded, her luggage was sent to Denver without her, she wrote on Twitter. -NPR
“This is really as bad as it gets for an airline,” said Kyle Potter, executive editor of Thrifty Traveler, calling it a “full-blown meltdown.”
“We’ve seen this again and again over the course of the last year or so, when airlines really just struggle, especially after a storm, but there’s pretty clear skies across the country.”
END
NatGas Production Collapses As Deep Freeze Paralyzes US
SATURDAY, DEC 24, 2022 – 03:10 PM
An arctic blast gripped the eastern half of the US, knocked out power, and slashed energy production. Sub-freezing temperatures resulted in one of the most significant one-day natural gas production declines on Friday.
BloombergNEF reported NatGas supplies across the Lower 48 states fell 10 billion cubic feet, or 10%, from the previous day as a deep freeze across top-producing regions, including Texas, experienced freeze-offs that froze liquids in pipes and forced wells to shutter.
The arctic air has also disrupted exports of liquefied natural gas from the Gulf Coast.
Subfreezing temperatures and high winds through Dec. 26 may cause delays or suspension to pilot services for the Sabine-Neches Waterway in Texas, according to notices from Moran Shipping. The waterway services the Sabine Pass terminal, the largest US LNG export facility.
Pilots for the port of Corpus Christi, who are responsible for docking vessels in the southern Texas region, have suspended boarding vessels due to the cold, according to Moran. That may affect ship traffic to the Corpus Christi LNG export facility.
Cheniere Energy Inc., operator of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals, said that it always prepares for and responds to extreme weather to safely manage operations. The company didn’t comment on the current operations of the facilities. —Bloomberg
There have also been reports that 1.5 million barrels of daily refining capacity along the Gulf Coast were halted due to freezing temperatures. Production losses will lead to higher energy costs.
Knocked out were TotalEnergies, Motiva Enterprises and Marathon Petroleum facilities outside Houston. Cold weather also disrupted Exxon Mobil, LyondellBasell and Valero Energy plants in Texas that produce gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. –Reuters
The cold snap will remain in place for the next several days. Average temperatures across the US on Christmas could be the coldest in decades — if not, records could be broken. Average low temps tonight will be well below freezing nationwide.
Meanwhile, domestic demand for NatGas is soaring as heating demand surges. What could possibly go wrong as supplies are being curtailed?
end
At Least 38 Dead As Winter Storm Chaos Sparks Driving Bans, Flight Cancellations Top 1,400
Disruptions to Christmas Day travel continued into the early morning of Dec. 26, with Boxing Day flight cancellations topping 1,400 as much of the United States reels from the impact of a powerful winter storm.
By 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 there were 1,418 flight cancellations within, into, or out of the United States, and 736 delays, according to FlightAware data.
Christmas Day, typically a light day for travel, saw a total of 3,182 canceled flights within, into, or out of the United States, while delays totaled a whopping 6,924.
At least 38 people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been left without power this Christmas as Storm Elliott—termed a “once in a generation” storm by some forecasters—swept through much of the United States and parts of Canada, bringing with it freezing temperatures, flash floods, and blizzards.
Thirty-four deaths occurred in the U.S., with four other recorded in Canada after a bus rolled over on an icy roadway in Merritt, British Columbia.
Other deaths were reported in Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Vermont and Colorado, the BBC noted.
The storm is expected to moderate slowly, according to the National Weather Service (NWS), with much of the eastern part of the country forecast to remain in “deep freeze” through Boxing Day.
“Arctic air enveloping much of the eastern half of the U.S. will be slow to moderate,” states the latest NWS weather advisory, issued just before 3 a.m. New York time on Dec. 26.
“Much of the eastern U.S. will remain in a deep freeze through Monday before a moderating trend sets in on Tuesday.”
While the eastern part of the country has been gripped by an unusually cold snap, much of the western United States will be milder than the seasonal average over the next few days.
A fast-moving low pressure system will deliver snow across the Northern Plains to the Midwest through Dec. 26, while lake-effect snows downwind from the Great Lakes will become less intense over time.
The West Coast is expected to face increasingly stormy weather, according to the NWS, as the fast-moving low pressure system rolls in. By Tuesday, a much stronger low pressure system is forecast for the Pacific Northwest and into California, bringing an “even more potent surge of moisture” along with a risk of flash flooding.
Ahead of the holiday weekend, over 240 million people within the United States, or around 73 percent of the population, were under some kind of winter weather advisory or warning. This included 181 million people under wind chill warnings or advisories, over 11 million for blizzard warnings, 58 million for winter storm warnings, and over 500,000 for ice storm warnings.
By Monday, as the weather moderated in parts of the country, some regions cancelled winter storm warnings, including in Buffalo, where at least 17 people died amid the cold snap.
Gamaliel Vega tries to dig out his car on Lafayette Avenue after he got stuck in a snowdrift about a block from home while trying to help rescue his cousin, who had lost power and heat with a baby at home across town during a blizzard in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 24, 2022. (Derek Gee/The Buffalo News via AP)
Buffalo saw hurricane-force winds and snow causing whiteout conditions that paralyzed emergency response efforts.
Freezing conditions and power outages left many Buffalonians scrambling to get somewhere warm amid what New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the longest sustained blizzard conditions ever in the city.
“This will go down in history as Buffalo’s most devastating storm,” Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday, according to the BBC.
“It is [like] going to a war zone and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking.”
But by Monday morning, the winter storm warning had been cancelled for Northern Erie and Southern Erie, including the cities of Buffalo, Orchard Park, and Springville, though a winter weather advisory remains in effect there until 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute,” the NWS said of Erie County, New York, where up to 12 more inches of snow is expected.
A driving ban was imposed in Erie County amid icy conditions on the road, with an update as of 7 a.m. on Monday showing some communities no longer under the ban but remaining under a driving advisory.
A winter storm warning remains in effect until Tuesday 1 p.m. for Jefferson and Lewis counties in New York, where additional snow accumulations of up to two feet are expected and wind gusts as high as 35 mph are forecast.
end
Christmas grid chaos and blackouts could bring to light new transportable nuclear plants:
a good read!
(zerohedge)
Christmas Grid Chaos And Blackouts Could Bring Light To Transportable Nuke Plants
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 05:45 AM
The cold blast this holiday weekend across the eastern half of the US exposed the fragility of power grids as soaring heating demand spiked peak total loads to record high in many areas while supplies were tight. Grid operators and utilities told tens of millions of Americans to conserve power — some conservation efforts are still ongoing Christmas morning. Christmas Eve was a mess for many customers in the Southeast states, including North Carolina and Tennessee, as utilities implemented rolling blackouts.
Fossil fuels and nuclear power generation mix across the eastern US saved grids from collapse. Unreliable renewables, such as solar and wind, were just a tiny fraction of the power mix.
What’s idiotic is the decarbonization campaign to decommission nuclear and fossil fuel generators for renewables. This weekend’s grid chaos is a wake-up call. America has a severe grid problem sparked by the ‘green’ movement. Thank the climate alarmist, woke corporations, and progressive politicians for ushering in so-called green reforms that have transformed once-stable grids into a third-world country prone to rolling blackouts anytime temperatures fall below freezing.
Readers have been well informed of our view that advanced nuclear reactors will play a critical role in decarbonizing electricity in the US by providing carbon-free energy, and it is a much better form than solar and wind assets.
Perhaps forward-thinking utilities will wise up and even warm up to next-generation nuclear reactors for power generation.
One such design is for a sea-based nuclear reactor that is transportable and can be connected to grids at a moment’s notice.
Canada’s Prodigy Clean Energy and America’s NuScale recently released a conceptual design for the transportable and sea-based small modular reactor (SMR), which “can generate safe, affordable, and reliable electricity at grid-scale at any coastal location worldwide,” with the design to be used “for engagement with utilities, regulators, and shipyard manufacturers.”
This means a portable and sea-based nuclear power plant that is considered “safe” will connect to shore-based power grids to increase power capacity.
“Utilisation of a transportable marine facility will enable us to deploy the NuScale Power Module at more locations around the world,” John Hopkins, NuScale Power President and CEO, wrote in a statement.
Instead of grids waiting 5-7 years or more to construct a new nuclear power plant — the SMR is a ‘plug and play’ access to electricity and heat supply for grids.
Similar technology is already in use in Russia. The world’s first floating nuclear power plant was commissioned in Pevek, Chukotka region in the Russian Far East in 2020.
Floating nuclear power plants could be the answer to plugging the energy gap on grids after progressives have been hellbent on decarbonizing fossil fuel generators. Capacity needs to increase as electric vehicles on highways are steadily increasing. If not, Americans should get used to rolling blackouts.
end
15 Facts Which Prove That A Massive Economic Meltdown Is Already Happening Right Now
Economic conditions just keep getting worse. As we prepare to enter 2023, we find ourselves in a high inflation environment at the same time that economic activity is really slowing down. And just like we witnessed in 2008, employers are conducting mass layoffs as a horrifying housing crash sweeps across the nation. Those that have been waiting for the U.S. economy to implode can stop waiting, because an economic implosion has officially arrived.
The following are 15 facts that prove that a massive economic meltdown is already happening right now…
#8 Even the biggest names on Wall Street are starting to let workers go. In fact, it is being reported that Goldman Sachs will soon lay off approximately 4,000 employees.
#9 The Federal Reserve is admitting that the number of actual jobs in the United States has been overstated by over a million.
#10 U.S. job cuts were 417 percent higher in November than they were during the same month a year ago.
#11 A recent Wall Street Journal survey found that approximately two-thirds of all Americans expect the economy to get even worse next year.
#12 A newly released Bloomberg survey has discovered that 70 percent of U.S. economists believe that a recession is coming in 2023.
#13 Inflation continues to spiral wildly out of control. At this point, a head of lettuce now costs 11 dollars at one grocery store in California.
#14 Overall, vegetable prices in the United States are more than 80 percent higher than they were at this same time last year.
#15 Thanks to the rapidly rising cost of living, 63 percent of the U.S. population is now living paycheck to paycheck.
In a desperate attempt to get inflation under control, the Federal Reserve has been dramatically increasing interest rates.
Those interest rate hikes are what has caused the housing market to crash, but Fed officials insist that such short-term pain is necessary in order to tame inflation.
But meanwhile our politicians in Washington are busy creating more inflation by borrowing and spending money at a rate that is absolutely unprecedented in our entire history.
This week, an abominable 1.7 trillion dollar omnibus spending bill is being rammed through Congress, but not a single member of Congress has read it.
The bill is 4,155 pages long, and U.S. Senator Rand Paul just held a press briefing during which he wheeled it out on a trolley…
After the grossly bloated $1.7 trillion Omnibus spending bill advanced in the Senate by a vote of 70-25, GOP Senator Rand Paul held a press briefing during which he wheeled in the “abomination” on a trolley and demanded to know how anyone would be able to read it before the end of the week.
Paul, along with the only other dissenting Senate Republicans Mike Braun, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, and Rick Scott highlighted how ludicrous the fast tracking of the bill has been.
Unfortunately, this absurd spending bill has broad support on both sides of the aisle, and that just shows how broken Washington has become.
Our system of government has failed time after time, and our politicians continue to spend money on some of the most ridiculous things imaginable.
The following examples that were pulled out of the 1.7 trillion dollar omnibus spending bill were discovered by the Heritage Foundation…
$1.2 million for “LGBTQIA+ Pride Centers”
$1.2 million for “services for DACA recipients” (aka helping illegal aliens with taxpayer funds) at San Diego Community College.
$477k for the Equity Institute in RI to indoctrinate teachers with “antiracism virtual labs.”
$1 million for Zora’s House in Ohio, a “coworking and community space” for “women and gender-expansive people of color.”
$3 million for the American LGBTQ+ Museum in New York City.
$3.6 million for a Michelle Obama Trail in Georgia.
$750k for the for “LGBT and Gender Non-Conforming housing” in Albany, New York.
$856k for the “LGBT Center” in New York.
And have you noticed that our politicians often prefer to push these types of bills through just before major holidays when hardly anyone is paying attention?
No matter who we send to Washington, the story remains the same.
As long as our politicians are borrowing and spending trillions of dollars that we do not have, Fed officials won’t be able to win their war against inflation.
The Fed can send interest rates into the stratosphere, but inflation will continue to remain high because our politicians insist on showering the nation with giant mountains of cash.
We should all be deeply, deeply offended by what is happening, but most Americans simply do not know enough to care.
Of course things could have turned out much differently if we had made better decisions during the years leading up to this crisis.
Unfortunately, we have run out of time to change course, and that means that a tremendous amount of pain is ahead for all of us.
* * *
It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.
end
Now Musk releases the all important suppression of COVID and COVID vaccine data
(Elon Musk/Twitter)
THE TWITTER FILES: How Twitter Rigged The Covid Debate
MONDAY, DEC 26, 2022 – 06:44 PM
Another day, another TWITTER FILES drop exposing the incestuous relationship between big tech and government.
Today’s edition, dropped by journalist David Zweig, focuses on ‘how Twitter rigged the Covid debate‘ by taking direction from both the Trump and Biden administrations (while at the same time trying to censor the former president). What’s somewhat notable is how aggressive government (and ex-government) officials were in trying to stifle free speech, while Twitter’s non-government-linked employees would often push back (and then totally fold) – a theme we’ve observed in previous drops. In one such instance, former head of Twitter’s Trust & Safety team Yoel Roth tells former FBI lawyer and then-Twitter Deputy General Counsel Jim Baker to calm his tits over a Trump tweet.
Of course, in the end the government typically got its way, as you will read below.
Zweig, who was granted access to internal files while on assignment for The Free Press, notes that “both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes.“
What’s more, the censorship effort extended to Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others.
In July 2021, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a 22-page advisory concerning what the World Health Organization referred to as an “infodemic,” and called on social media platforms to do more to shut down “misformation.”
“We are asking them to step up,” Murthy said. “We can’t wait longer for them to take aggressive action.”
That’s the message the White House had already taken directly to Twitter executives in private channels. One of the Biden administration’s first meeting requests was about Covid, with a focus on “anti-vaxxer accounts,” according to a meeting summary by Lauren Culbertson, Twitter’s Head of U.S. Public Policy.
They were especially concerned about Alex Berenson, a journalist skeptical of lockdowns and mRNA vaccines, who had hundreds of thousands of followers on the platform:
By the summer of 2021, the day after Murthy’s memo, Biden announced publicly that social media companies were “killing people” by allowing misinformation about vaccines. Just hours later, Twitter locked Berenson out of his account, and then permanently suspended him the next month. Berenson sued Twitter. He ultimately settled with the company, and is now back on the platform. As part of the lawsuit, Twitter was compelled to provide certain internal communications. They revealed that the White House had directly met with Twitter employees and pressured them to take action on Berenson.
The summary of meetings by Culbertson, emailed to colleagues in December 2022, adds new evidence of the White House’s pressure campaign, and illustrates how it tried to directly influence what content was allowed on Twitter.
Culbertson wrote that the Biden team was “very angry” that Twitter had not been more aggressive in deplatforming multiple accounts. They wanted Twitter to do more.
Twitter executives did not fully capitulate to the Biden team’s wishes. An extensive review of internal communications at the company revealed that employees often debated moderation cases in great detail, and with more care for free speech than was shown by the government.
But Twitter did suppress views—and not just those of journalists like Berenson. Many medical and public health professionals who expressed perspectives or even cited findings from accredited academic journals that conflicted with official positions were also targeted. As a result, legitimate findings and questions about our Covid policies and their consequences went missing.
There were three serious problems with Twitter’s process.
First: Much of the content moderation on Covid, to say nothing of other contentious subjects, was conducted by bots trained on machine learning and AI. I spent hours discussing the systems with an engineer and with an executive who had been at the company for more than a year before Musk’s takeover. They explained the process in basic terms: Initially, the bots were fed information to train them on what to look for—but their searches would become more refined over time both as they scanned the platform and as they were manually updated with additional chosen inputs. At least that was the premise. Though impressive in their engineering, the bots would prove too crude for such nuanced work. When you drag a digital trawler across a social media platform, you’re not just catching cheap fish, you’re going to snag dolphins along the way.
Second: Contractors operating in places like the Philippines were also moderating content. They were given decision trees to aid in their process, but tasking non-experts to adjudicate tweets on complex topics like myocarditis and mask efficacydata was destined for a significant error rate. The notion that remote workers, sitting in distant cube farms, were going to police medical information to this granular degree is absurd on its face.
Embedded below is an example template—deactivated after Musk’s arrival—of the decision tree tool that contractors used. The contractor would run through a series of questions, each with a drop down menu, ultimately guiding them to a predetermined conclusion.
Third: Most importantly, the buck stopped with higher level employees at Twitter. They chose the inputs for the bots and decision trees. They determined suspensions. And as is the case with all people and institutions, there was both individual and collective bias.
At Twitter, Covid-related bias bent heavily toward establishment dogmas. Inevitably, dissident yet legitimate content was labeled as misinformation, and the accounts of doctors and others were suspended both for tweeting opinions and demonstrably true information.
Take, for example, Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Kulldorff often tweeted views at odds with U.S. public health authorities and the American left, the political affiliation of nearly the entire staff at Twitter.
Here is one such tweet, from March 15, 2021, regarding vaccination.
Internal emails show an “intent to action” by a Twitter moderator, saying Kulldorff’s tweet violated the company’s Covid-19 misinformation policy, and claimed he shared “false information.”
But Kulldorff’s statement was an expert’s opinion—one that happened to be in line with vaccinepolicies in numerous other countries.
Yet it was deemed “false information” by Twitter moderators merely because it differed from CDC guidelines. After Twitter took action, Kulldorff’s tweet was slapped with a “misleading” label and all replies and likes were shut off, throttling the tweet’s ability to be seen and shared by others, a core function of the platform.
In my review of internal files, I found numerous instances of tweets about vaccines and pandemic policies labeled as “misleading” or taken down entirely, sometimes triggering account suspensions, simply because they veered from CDC guidance or differed from establishment views.
For example, a tweet by @KelleyKga, a self-proclaimed public health fact checker with more than 18,000 followers, was flagged as “misleading,” and replies and likes disabled, for showing that Covid was not the leading cause of death in children, even though it cited the CDC’s own data.
Illinois has the 6th-highest number of residents buying their meals with nutrition benefits, and the number grew almost 11% from a year earlier.
More than 2 million low-income Illinoisans will put holiday dinner on the table with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits this December, the sixth mostper capita nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports 15.9% of Illinoisans – or 1 in 6 – received food assistance in September 2022. The average recipient collected $245 a month.
Data shows 10.7% more Illinois residents are receiving SNAP benefits than during September 2021. Federal food assistance participation increased just 2% nationwide during that time.
While SNAP programs help thousands of Illinois families put food on table each year, rampant inflation and supply chain challenges mean benefits don’t stretch as far for program participants.
A study by Datasembly found holiday dinner prices increased 16.4% from December 2021, raising the average cost for a family meal t0 $60.29. That’s roughly a quarter of program participants’ monthly food budget.
Federal food assistance payments grew 12.5% to match food inflation for the 12 months ending October 2022 and will increase with inflation next October. While benefits have also been expanded under the federal Public Health Emergency, recipients will still bear the costs of any additional price increases tied to inflation between those adjustments.
State lawmakers suspended the 1% tax on groceries until July 1, temporarily offering Illinoisans the same financial relief that residents in 13 other states receive year-round.
Permanently suspending the grocery tax alongside introducing grocery tax credits would guarantee Illinoisans keep benefiting long after the holiday season ends.
end
When this expires, trouble ahead@!!
McLaughlin/EpochTimes)
Los Angeles County Follows City, Extends COVID-Era Eviction Moratorium
Los Angeles officials have extended COVID-era eviction moratoriums in the city and county until the end of January, continuing some of the nation’s longest-lasting policies that allow low-income residents to delay paying rent.
Following the city’s footsteps, the county Board of Supervisors approved the extension Dec. 20. The board is also considering another six-month extension next year, citing fears of an “eviction tsunami” and increased homelessness.
Extending the moratorium until the end of June would be “the right thing to do,” County Supervisor Hilda Solis said following the Dec. 20 board meeting.
“It is unacceptable to let anyone fall into homelessness during a pandemic because they can’t afford to pay rent,” Solis wrote on Twitter. “We must do all we can to stabilize our families and prevent homelessness.”
Los Angeles County supervisor Hilda Solis hosted a press conference Nov. 22 against hate crimes and in support of immigrant communities (Courtesy of Hilda Solis)
One apartment owners’ group that sued over eviction restrictions last year expressed disappointment with the extensions.
“After nearly three years of challenging rent collections and prohibitions on rent increases during an unprecedented inflationary period in our history, it is deplorable that Los Angeles County would seek to twist the knife blade even more into the hearts and souls of rental housing providers,” Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, told The Epoch Times in an email.
He said some renters have taken advantage of the moratoriums and restrictions by not paying rent and using the money to travel, buy new cars, and dine out whereas landlords “have suffered greatly under the financial strain.”
In October, a district court judge blocked the county’s eviction moratorium, requiring officials to end or fix the policy to include language that makes clear renters can prove they have been impacted by COVID for each month they missed paying rent. The judge gave the county a deadline of Dec. 1.
In the ruling, the judge agreed with the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and the Apartment Owners Association of California, which claimed in a lawsuit that the moratorium was “unconstitutionally vague.”
The policy was changed but the landlord groups don’t agree that the changes adequately or legally corrected the ordinance, according to Yukelson, and they plan to go back to court.
“Our ruling will open the door for property owners harmed by the County’s unconstitutional ordinance to recover damages from the County under what could likely be class action litigation,” he added.
The eviction moratorium went into effect in March 2020 and allows lower-income residents financially affected by COVID-19 to stop paying rent until the end of January. These residents can’t be evicted for nuisance violations or unauthorized occupants or pets and are exempt from no-fault evictions—which are normally allowed by law when landlords or their immediate family members need to move in.
Renters and housing advocates attend a protest to cancel rent and avoid evictions in front of the courthouse amid the COVID-19 in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, 2020. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)
The moratorium doesn’t cancel the rental payment. Residents are still expected to replay the total amount owed. Landlords can pursue court action for unpaid rent, but many claim the moratorium has allowed some residents to stop paying rent for nearly three years.
Los Angeles City Council voted Dec. 7 to end its eviction ban Jan. 31. Landlords can resume evicting tenants for not paying rent and other reasons starting Feb. 1.
The city’s moratorium also prohibited—until February 2024—property owners from raising rents on the more than 650,000 rent-controlled units in the city.
A report released Dec. 14 by the Economic Roundtable, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit research organization, claimed the eviction moratoriums helped slow the growth of homelessness by 43 percent in the county and 41 percent in California.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority estimated this year nearly 70,000 remain homeless countywide and almost 42,000 citywide.
end
Why You Need To Start Paying Attention To The ‘Twitter Files’
This is an article to show your haughty, “know-it-all” brother-in-law who thinks our government is somehow squeaky clean…
The “Twitter Files” have now officially had more sequels than Planet of the Apes and can be difficult to absorb. Thus, I don’t think they’re getting the attention they deserve.
For those of you not following the “Twitter Files” drops, let me catch you up on what I believe are some of the most important parts:
The FBI paid Twitter $3.5 million to censor conservatives.
The FBI pressured Twitter to give them information that would legally require warrants, though they did not have warrants.
Leading up to the 2020 election, the FBI would eventually hold weekly meetings with Twitter and tell them whose tweets to squelch and which accounts they wanted to be suspended. Almost all were those of conservatives.
The FBI knew the Hunter Biden laptop story was real, they knew it was coming out — weeks before the 2020 election — and they told Big Tech to expect a “Russian disinformation” drop and squelch the story. That means the FBI corrupted the election to help Joe “totally showered with his daughter, Ashley” Biden.
There are so many former FBI employees at Twitter that they have their own Slack channel.
FACT-O-RAMA! Hunter’s laptop proves beyond a doubt that the Biden family took in tens of millions of dollars from Chinese companies linked to the commies for no discernible work. The FBI pressured Big Tech firms to downplay the story, even making it unsharable, even thought the FBI knew the laptop was real. The commie bum-lickees at Twitter were happy to play along, even going so far as to suspend the account of the the NY Post for releasing the Hunter laptop story.
In response to the “Twitter Files” detailing how the FBI-Twitter circle jerk was real, the bureau called the allegations “conspiracy theories” but never actually denied its relationship with Twitter.
Elon Musk provided the world with an early Christmas present on Saturday with Twitter Files Pt. IX. I’ll sum it up so you can avoid the Twitter mess and get to the relevant facts:
The FBI was a portal, specifically the San Francisco office, for other government agencies to get to Twitter to surveil and censor Americans.
Hiding under the title of Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), actors from local police departments to the Department of Defense (DOD) and the CIA were watching and censoring Americans — not foreigners.
Twitter wasn’t the only Big Tech firm hip-deep in spooks. The feds had their fingers in Verizon, Reddit, Facebook, Microsoft, and, for some reason, Pinterest.
As the 2020 election neared, the FBI-FITF assailed Twitter with hundreds of requests to censor Twitter accounts and tweets. There were so many requests that Twitter execs had to come up with a system to prioritize them.
FBI employees were tasked with doing word searches on Twitter, looking for violations of Twitter policies — instead of chasing actual criminals.
The FBI had roughly 80 agents working with Big Tech companies. It is unclear how many members of the DOD, CIA, etc. were involved
CENSOR-O-RAMA! Articles written by our own Matt Margolis are marked on Twitter as “unsafe.” Matt is doing something right. Be more like Matt!
What Have We Learned?
We have learned the FBI is not the only government agency censoring and surveilling Americans. Twitter was a veritable “pig pile” when it comes to spying on We the People. The DOD, CIA, and even local police had their fingers in the pie. And Twitter was only one of the pies. Other Big Tech firms, including Facebook and Verizon (pssst that’s a cell phone carrier), were in on the game. Big Brother is watching. We are being spied on, and frequently silenced. Well, at least those of us who speak out against the Stalin-like censoring and surveilling of Americans.
end
USA ECONOMIC ISSUES// SUPPLY ISSUES//DERIVATIVES
end
SWAMP STORIES
Kari Lake Loses Arizona Election Appeal, Vows To Appeal
An Arizona judge ruled against Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election case, confirming the election of Katie Hobbs as Arizona governor-elect.
The court didn’t find any clear or convincing evidence that misconduct happened during the 2022 Arizona general election and confirmed Katie Hobbs’s election, Arizona Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson said in the ruling.
Thompson also ordered Hobbs’s side to file a statement of costs and motion for sanctions before Dec. 26.
Lake vowed to appeal the ruling.
“My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law. This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling,” she wrote in a social media post.
The Epoch Times reached out to Lake’s campaign.
Hobbs, who is currently the secretary of state, certified the results of the gubernatorial election on Dec. 5, which show Lake lost the race to Hobbs by just over 17,000 votes.
Thompson ruled earlier this week that two out of ten claims brought by Lake can go to trial, including Lake’s claims about intentional interference with ballot printers and chain-of-custody problems.
The judge credited Lake’s key witnesses Mark Sonnenklar and Heather Honey, but rejected the claims that intentional misconduct happened during the midterm election.
Sonnenklar, an election attorney with the Republican National Committee, testified that tabulators failed to accept ballots at multiple locations.
“The Court credits the personal observations of Mr. Sonnenklar and does not doubt his knowledge or his veracity. But the Court cannot follow Mr. Sonneklar to ascribing intentional misconduct to any party,” read the ruling.
Thompson drew a similar conclusion about Honey’s chain of custody claim.
“Every one of Plaintiff’s witnesses—and for that matter, Defendants’ witnesses as well—was asked about any personal knowledge of both intentional misconduct and intentional misconduct directed to impact the 2022 General Election. Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct,” Thompson wrote in his ruling.
“The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence,” he concluded.
‘Malicious Intent’ Proven: Lake
Thompson’s ruling came after a two-day trial in a Mesa, Arizona, courtroom.
Lake insisted in a statement after the trial that malicious intent was proven by her witnesses.
“We provided expert testimony. We provided experts. The other side brought in activists to try to save face. They admitted that they’ve known about these ballot problems,” Lake said.
Her lawyers “proved without a shadow of a doubt that there was malicious intent that caused disruption so great it changed the results of the election,” Lake said, adding, “We demand fair, honest, transparent elections, and we will get them. And I pray so hard for this judge.”
Abha Khanna, a lawyer representing Hobbs, told the courtroom in Maricopa County that Lake’s attorneys have not established whether printer problems on Election Day were intentional acts that would have changed the race’s outcome had they not occurred. At the trial’s closing arguments Thursday, Khanna said Lake’s claims were based on hearsay, speculation, and theatrics.
“What we got instead was just loose threads and gaping plot holes. We know now that her story was a work of fiction,” Khanna said.
Maricopa County Attorney Thomas Liddy, who was on the side of the defense, said, “The burden has not been met.”
He also called the messaging from the state Republican Party and the Lake campaign on voting “political malpractice.”
end
Interesting!
Three Busloads Of Migrants Dropped Off At VP Harris’ Home On Christmas Eve
SUNDAY, DEC 25, 2022 – 04:45 PM
Three buses full of recently apprehended illegal immigrants were dropped off near the home of Vice President Kamala Harris on Christmas eve.
While Texas authorities have not confirmed whether they’re behind it, the dropoffs “are in line with previous actions by border-state governors calling attention to the Biden administration’s immigration policies,” APreports.
The buses that arrived late Saturday outside the vice president’s residence were carrying around 110 to 130 people, according to Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, a relief agency working with the city of Washington to serve thousands of migrants who have been dropped off in recent months.
Local organizers had expected the buses to arrive Sunday but found out Saturday that the group would get to Washington early, Laborde said. The people on board included young children. -AP
The poorly timed dropoff came as temperatures in DC hovered around 15-degrees Farenheit (-9 Celsius) – the coldest Christmas Eve in Washington, according to the Washington Post.
According to Laborde, SAMU First Response provided blankets and quickly shuttled the migrants onto new buses to an area church, while a local restaurant donated dinner and breakfast.
Most of the migrants were headed to other destinations, with the DC stop expected to be temporary.
Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said they had relocated more than 15,000 migrants to liberal ‘sanctuary cities’ since April – including Washington, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Harris, President Biden’s border czar, has overseen the relaxing of restrictions on migrants that have caused a flood of Central Americans to leave their countries of origin and head north.
end
US Supreme Court Rules To Keep Trump Border Policy In Place
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 04:19 PM
By a 5 to 4 vote, the US Supreme Court has ruled to keep the Trump-era border policy known as ‘Title 42’ in effect, agreeing to decide later in the court’s term whether 19 red states should be allowed to intervene in defense of the policy in lower courts.
Conservative Justice Gorsuch joined the liberal Justices in dissent.
The Title 42 emergency public health policy was invoked in March 2020, allowing border agents to block asylum claims at U.S. borders on the grounds of keeping contagious diseases out of the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The decision upends a ruling by activist Democrat judge Emmet Sullivan (of Michael Flynn case fame), who said the Trump-era policy was “arbitrary and capricious.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued in a court filing on Tuesday (pdf) that the Title 42 policy is “now-obsolete.” DHS contended that the Republican-led states want the court to compel the government to keep relying on Title 42 “as the Nation’s de facto immigration policy.”
Here’s the order:
Once the Title 42 policy ends, federal officials acknowledged that “unlawful border crossings” and “temporary disruptions” are likely to increase.
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear oral arguments and rule on whether states can intervene – a decision which is expected by the end of JUne.
The 11th hour intervention will avert a predicted flood of migrants seeking to enter the Untied States at a time when border crossings are been at or near record highs. Without Title 42, immigrants seeking asylum would be able to enter the US – be given a court date for an immigration hearing, and then released into the country – typically never to return for said hearing.
Title 42 allows the government to instead expel migrants while they await their hearings.
Several Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin (WV) and California Governor Gavin Newsom, have expressed support for Title 42 – with Newsom warning that the immigration system would “break” if the rule is ended.
END
This guy is perfect for Congress:
NY Congressman-Elect George Santos Admits To Being Total Liar
TUESDAY, DEC 27, 2022 – 02:30 PM
After a week of total silence, New York Representative-elect George Santos admitted to a laundry list of lies, ranging from his education, professional background, property ownership, and religion.
And he’s still going to take the oath of office on Jan. 3, joining the House majority.
Santos, who was elected in November to represent residents from north Long Island and northeast Queens, was confronted by the New York Times with several falsehoods.
“My sins here are embellishing my résumé,” he told the NY Post in a Monday interview.
The lies include;
Graduating from college
Claiming he worked for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs
That his family owns a real estate portfolio of 13 properties (he admitted Monday he’s not a landlord)
That he’s Jewish
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” he told the Post, adding “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’“
Santos also acknowledged owing thousands in unpaid rent and, despite being openly gay, a yearslong marriage he never revealed.
“I dated women in the past. I married a woman. It’s personal stuff,” he told the Post, adding that he is “OK with my sexuality. People change.”
Mr. Santos acknowledged that a string of financial difficulties had left him owing thousands to landlords and creditors. But he failed to fully explain in the interviews how his fortunes reversed so significantly that, by 2022, he was able to lend $700,000 to his congressional campaign.
Mr. Santos also firmly denied committing a crime anywhere in the world, even though The Times had uncovered Brazilian court records showing that Mr. Santos had been charged with fraud as a young man after he was caught writing checks with a stolen checkbook. –NY Times
“I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,” he told the Post. “Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”
Except, court records show that he confessed to the crime and was charged, but the case was unable to move forward because authorities were unable to locate him.
Santos also said he graduated from Baruch College in 2010 before working for Citigroup, and then went on to Goldman Sachs – which made its way to a biography on the National Republican Congressional Committee website (which also included a degree from NY University).
The colleges and companies told the Times they have no record of Santos.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my résumé,” later said, adding “We do stupid things in life.”
He also admitted that he never worked directly for Goldman Sachs or Citigroup, blaming a “poor choice of words” for creating the impression that he had.
Past statements of Mr. Santos are relatively clear however: An archived version of Mr. Santos’s former campaign website preserved by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine says he “began working at Citigroup as an associate and quickly advanced to become an associate asset manager in the real asset division of the firm.”
Instead, he told The Post on Monday, he dealt with both firms through his work at another company, LinkBridge Investors, which connects investors with potential clients. LinkBridge, he said, had “limited partnerships” with the two Wall Street firms. -NY Times
The Times was unable to confirm his employment with LinkBridge.
What he did confirm was that he worked at a call center in Queens in late 2011 and early 2012.
And while Santos could face ethics investigations once seated, legal experts say the House can only prevent candidates from office of they violate the Constitution’s age, citizenship or state residency requirements.
Questions do remain, however – such as how he was able to reportedly earn millions of dollars from his company, the Devolder Organization.
“I had the relationships and I started making a lot of money. And I fundamentally started building wealth, and I decided I’d invest in my race for Congress,” said Santos, adding “There’s nothing wrong with that — no criminal conduct. No anything of the sort,” he told City & State.
The BEA: Profits decreased less than 0.1 percent in the third quarter after increasing 4.6 percent in the second quarter. Private services-producing industries increased 4.9 percent, government increased 0.6 percent, and private goods-producing industries decreased 1.3 percent. Overall, 16 of 22 industry groups contributed to the third-quarter increase in real GDP… https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product
US GDP deflated by CPI is about -4%. We all know the BLS issues bs stats for political expediency. If GDP were deflated by a legitimate inflation metric, GDP would show a frightening contraction.
US Dept of Labor: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS – In the week ending December 17, the advance figure… adjusted initial claims was 216,000, an increase of 2,000… The previous week’s level was revised up by 3,000 from 211,000… The 4-week moving average was 221,750, a decrease of 6,250… https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf
Micron Technology slipped 3.2% after the chipmaker forecast a bigger-than-expected second-quarter loss (-.62 vs. -.29), sparking declines in peers. Nvidia, Qualcomm, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel were down between 3.0% and 5.1%, pushing the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index more than 3% lower… CarMax slid 8.6% to the bottom of the S&P 500 after the used-vehicles retailer paused share buybacks following an 86% plunge in quarterly profit… (Micro will reduce its workforce by 10% in ‘23.) https://nypost.com/2022/12/22/dow-drops-as-economic-data-fans-rate-hike-worries/
ESHs traded sideways, in modestly positive territory from the Asian open until then broke down near 5 ET. ESHs and stocks descended gently until two minutes before US Q3 GDP was released at 8:30 ET. Then ESHs sank. Once again, impact US economic data was leaked to favored traders.
@WSJ: Efforts to pass the $1.65 trillion omnibus spending bill were derailed by a fight over border policy, as a weekend deadline to approve the package and avoid a government shutdown crept closer
GOP Sen @LindseyGrahamSC: It is outrageous that Senate Democrats are refusing to allow a vote on @SenMikeLee amendment to extend Title 42 expulsion authority…
GOP Sen Mike Lee @BasedMikeLee: The amendment saving Title 42 had the votes to pass, with all GOP plus Manchin and Sinema. Schumer then paused the vote clock and twisted arms until both flipped their votes & the amendment failed. Any Republicans previously supporting this awful omnibus should now oppose it. Without the amendment preserving Title 42, the omnibus hinders border enforcement, leading to a massive expansion of our existing security humanitarian crises on the southern border. The omnibus is terrible on its own. It’s intolerable with this development. No Republican should support it.
@greg_price11 : Here are the 18 Republican senators who voted for the $1.7 trillion omnibus: Blunt, Boozman, Capito, Collins, Cornyn, Cotton, Graham, Inhofe, McConnell, Moran, Murkowski, Portman, Romney, Rounds, Shelby, Thune, Wicker, Young.
@bonchieredstate: Mitch McConnell not using reconciliation to supercharge border security, including the wall, was the biggest whiff in decades given the current crisis. It was right there for the taking, and the GOP once again found a way to lose.
Maybe It’s Time for Republican Voters to Fire Mitch McConnell The red wave fizzled because Morphine Mitch killed it. Isn’t it time red voters killed his career? Which is that McConnell sabotaged Republican Senate candidates… He did this to hang on to his Senate caucus position. At the expense of the American people. And now Morphine Mitch gets to be the enabler of Team Biden, so long as he gets his cut… Morphine Mitch has an approval rating of 7 percent. SEVEN… he’s actively usurping the spending authority of the new House majority by pushing a spending bill that wipes out its opportunity to craft something better… https://spectator.org/maybe-its-time-for-republican-voters-to-fire-mitch-mcconnell/
FTX’s Gary Wang, Alameda’s Caroline Ellison plead guilty to federal charges and are both cooperating with prosecutors https://t.co/EX5vK3n2bD (Who can Sam give up to less his sentence?)
Republican senators propose overhaul of Federal Reserve amid concerns about politics Seven Republican U.S. senators on Wednesday announced a new bill aimed at reshaping the Federal Reserve’s 12 regional banks, amid concerns that those institutions have become too political… they are calling for regional Fed bank presidents to be presidentially nominated and confirmed by the Senate, matching the requirements to become a member of the central bank’s Board of Governors… the bill would also shrink the 12 regional Fed banks to five. “This will enable more effective congressional oversight and ensure that all presidents of Fed regional banks have permanent seats on the Federal Open Market Committee,” the news release said. https://t.co/4mlKm4B8Gj
The Fed, like the military and the Deep State, now teems with leftists.
Positive aspects of previous session Bonds rallied modestly Stocks rebounded sharply after the Senate passed the mammoth omnibus bill
Negative aspects of previous session Stocks and commodities plunged on the bursting of the Fed Pivot delusion Nasdaq sank as much as 3.7%; the Nasdaq 100 tumbled as much as 4%; NY Fang+ -5.6% at low
Ambiguous aspects of previous session Did Thursday’s equity decline hurt or boost the prospects for the Santa Rally?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE open:Down; Last Hour:Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 3813.42 Previous session High/Low: 3853.26; 3764.49
Zelensky calls on Congress to pass more aid to Ukraine and said they ‘will never surrender’https://t.co/5k4fWgaJwQ
Musk pledges to keep Tesla stock for 2 years, forecasts ‘serious recession’https://trib.al/zPEXDOD
Today – Despite the demise of the Fed Pivot narrative, due to US Q3 GDP, traders will play for the Santa Rally. It technically begins today. The robust rally yesterday afternoon was partly traders getting long for the opening of the Santa Rally window today. Markets are extremely thin and absenteeism for the Christmas Weekend will increase as the session progresses. Will organic sellers thwart the Santa Rally?
ESHs are -9.50 and USHs are -13/32 at 20:10 ET. Tesla +7% on Musk’s pledge to not sell for 2 years.
Expected economic data: Nov Personal Income 0.3%, Spending 0.2%, PCE Deflator 0.1% m/m, PCE Core Deflator 0.2% m/m; Nov Durable Goods -1.0% m/m, Ex-Trans unchanged, Nondef Ex-Air unchanged, Shipments -0.3%; Dec UM Sentiment 59.1; Nov New Home Sales 600k
The Washington Post reports the FBI was skeptical there was probable cause for the raid of Trump’s home at Mar-a-Lago. However, a Biden political appointee in the DoJ s pushed for the FBI to perform the unprecedented raid over objections of the FBI.
Twitter erupts over clip of UK woman arrested for silently praying across from abortion clinic: ‘Terrifying’ – silently praying outside a U.K. abortion clinic… The officer then asks, “Are you praying?” to which she responds, “I might be praying in my head.” The officer then asks her if she’d be willing to go to the station for questioning about her actions. “If I’ve got a choice, then no,” she responds, after which the officer states, “You’re under arrest” and claims she’s charged with “suspicion of failing to comply with Public Spaces Protection Order.”… https://www.foxnews.com/media/twitter-erupts-clip-uk-woman-arrested-silently-praying-across-abortion-clinic-terrifying
“We know they are lying. They know they are lying. They know that we know they are lying. We know that they know that we know they are lying. And still, they continue to lie.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn end
dec 27
The King Report December 27, 2022 Issue 6915
Independent View of the NewsChina scraps inbound quarantine rules in decisive break with zero-Covid regime Requirement of five days at a hotel followed by three days at home will end on January 8 https://www.ft.com/content/eb8530d3-414f-4e65-8ce5-09fba3dbee14
China estimates 250 million people caught COVID-19 since end of ‘zero-COVID’ policy: report https://t.co/eeIccx07Zs
The Fed’s reputed ‘favorite inflation indicator’, Core PCE, is +4.7% y/y for November. 4.6% was expected. The monthly change was the expected +0.2%. However, the October PCE Deflator was revised to 6.1% y/y from 6.0% y/y and the monthly reading was revised to 0.4% from 0.3%. The PCE Deflator for November is the expected 5.5% y/y and 0.1% m/m. The October PCE Deflator was revised to 0.3% m/m from 0.2%. Once again under Biden, economic data is worse on revisions.
Bonds took the inflation disappointment more harshly than stocks. USHs hit -1 7/32 at 9:20 ET.
ESHs sank 32 handles in one minute on the release of the PCE data but quickly surged 41 handles in 14 minutes. Alas, organic sellers appeared at 8:45 ET. ESHs plunged from the daily high of 3871.50 to a daily low of 3821.25 at 9:55 ET. As we keep harping equity traders want to play for a Santa Rally no matter the fundamentals. So, traders aggressively bought ESHs, driving them 47 handles by 10:41 ET.
Sellers returned; ESHs slid 27 handles by 11:02 ET. But it was time for the rally for the European close. Traders full of holiday cheer pushed ESHs 29 handles higher by 11:35 ET. After a moderate retreat, a Noon Balloon developed; it ended at 12:33 ET. A 19-handle ESH decline ended at 13:45 ET. ESHs then went inert until the pre-last hour rally began. The rally plodded modestly higher until 15:02 ET.
ESHs and stocks then declined until 15:40 ET. ESHs and stocks then rose into the close.
November Personal Income 0.4%; 0.2% expected. Spending 0.1%; 0.2% expected.
November US Durable Goods Orders unexpected sank 2.1% m/m; -1.0% was consensus. Ex-Transports Orders, as well as non-defense, ex-Air Orders, increased 0.2%; unchanged was expected. Shipments fell 0.1%; -0.3% was consensus.
December UM Sentiment rose 0.6 to 59.7; 59.1 was expected. Current Conditions declined to 59.4 from 60.2; 60.3 was expected. Expectations rose to 59.9 from 58.4; 58.5 was consensus. 1-year Inflation fell 0.2 to 4.4%; 4.6% was expected.
November New Home Sales 460k; 400k was consensus. October was revised to 605k from 632k.
Positive aspects of previous session Despite disappointing US inflation data, the Santa Rally appeared
Negative aspects of previous session Bonds declined sharply because there is no seasonal Santa Rally for bonds Fangs were negative until the close despite triple-digit gains in the DJIA and DJTA for most of the day Oil soared due to frigid weather closing Texas refineries: Brent Oil +3.63%, Gasoline +5%
Ambiguous aspects of previous session How long can the usual suspects ignore US inflation realty and the Fed’s hawkishness?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE open:Up; Last Hour:Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 3829.21 Previous session High/Low: 3845.80; 3797.01
Artificial Sweeteners Behind Spike in Sudden Deaths, Heart Attacks, ‘Experts’ Claim “The findings from this large scale prospective cohort study suggest a potential direct association between higher artificial sweetener consumption (especially aspartame, acesulfame potassium, and sucralose) and increased cardiovascular disease risk… https://slaynews.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-behind-spike-sudden-deaths-heart-attacks-experts-claim/
Politico: SBF FALLOUT ROCKS DATA FOR PROGRESS — SEAN McELWEE lives in New York… McElwee is a well-known progressive activist who started the “Abolish ICE” movement and in 2018 founded Data for Progress, a progressive think tank with an emphasis on influencing public policy through polling. DFP quickly embedded itself into the top layers of the Democratic firmament. More recently, McElwee became a close political ally and adviser to FTX founder SAM BANKMAN-FRIED. McElwee had easy access to the White House and the press. And he made sure they had access to him. He kept an open Slack channel at DFP that became a rolling conversation between McElwee, Biden administration officials and some well-known reporters… On Nov. 12, the day after FTX filed for bankruptcy and SBF resigned as CEO, McElwee abruptly shuttered the Slack channel. Six days later, he and Data for Progress began negotiating his exit from the firm he had built… https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook/2022/12/22/inside-the-scramble-to-trace-sbfs-dirty-money-00075128
US retail sales grow 7.6 percent during holiday season (not adjusted for inflation) Less than the 8.5% increase last year… Retailers including Amazon and Walmart in the United States offered large discounts during the holiday season to get rid of excess stock and bring back inventories to normal levels…sales of electronics dropped 5.3% over the broader roughly two-month period, according to the Mastercard Spending Pulse report. But sales in the apparel and restaurants categories, rose 4.4% and 15.1%, respectively, helping boost the overall number. Online sales jumped 10.6% in the period, slightly less than the 11% increase last year, the Mastercard report said… https://t.co/rB1OyaB2Ch
@BobEUnlimited: Mastercard spending pulse ends the holiday season at 7.6% y/y nominal ex-auto. Not much different than initial NRA estimates. Roughly zero real, given PCE nondurables prices were about 8% y/y thru Nov. Soft but not collapsing goods demand. But look at that restaurant spending (+15.1%)! https://twitter.com/BobEUnlimited/status/1607373833857601538
@charliebilello on Thu, Dec 22, 2022: The S&P 500 fell 1.45% today, its 62nd decline of 1% or more this year. Since 1950, the only years with more 1+% declines than 2022: 1974, 2002, and 2008. (recessions)
@LukeGromen: The US has never entered a recession with debt/GDP at 125% & deficit/GDP at 7% in at least 85 years. Throw the consensus “Post-war US recession playbook” in the trash. It’s useless. Better to apply the “EM BoP crisis playbook” to USA.
Today – Asian markets on Monday posted mostly modest gains; the Hang Seng declined 0.44%. Today’s session will be the 2nd day in the Santa Rally window. Traders will eagerly play the bullish seasonal pattern. ‘Tis why ESHs are +23.25 at 20:05 ET – plus China reopening hype, again. Due to high absenteeism for the holiday week, a few determined actors can dictate action.
Expected economic data: Nov Wholesale Inventories 0.4% m/m, Retail Inventories -0.1% m/m; Oct FHFA House Price Index -0.7% m/m; Oct S&P CoreLogic 30-city home prices -1.1% m/m & +8.0% y/y; Dec Dallas Fed Mfg. Index -16.0
Xi Tells Russia’s Medvedev That China Wants Talks on Ukraine – as Beijing tries to improve ties with Europe…“China hopes relevant parties can stay rational and restrained, conduct comprehensive talks, and resolve mutual concerns on security via political methods,” Xi said. Beijing still wants to work with Russia to develop ties, he added… https://news.yahoo.com/xi-tells-russia-medvedev-china-083050498.html
Ex- advisor to 6 POTSUS @Halsrethink: In a public statement recently Xi said no nation should use nuclear weapons–which in effect was a message to Putin. Now, Xi and Biden pressing Putin and Zelensky to make a deal to end conflict. Easier to suggest than make it happen
Putin says Russia ready to negotiate over Ukraine “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them – we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are,” Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in the interview…. Putin said Russia was acting in the “right direction” in Ukraine because the West, led by the United States, was trying to cleave Russia apart… Asked if the geopolitical conflict with the West was approaching a dangerous level, Putin said: “I don’t think it’s so dangerous.”… https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-says-russia-ready-negotiate-over-ukraine-2022-12-25/
The Daily Mail: Putin ‘is being kept alive on Western cancer drugs’ so he can continue to wage his war in Ukraine… but medics hint Russian leader may be in his last year in power because ‘no medicine can be endlessly successful’ – ‘He uses the most advanced treatments, [and] target therapy which Russia cannot provide him with…. His plan when he can go on no longer is to hand power to little-known Russian agriculture minister Dmitry Patrushev, 45, son of his trusted and powerful top security aide Nikolai Patrushev, 71, a virulently anti-Western former head of the FSB, and a key architect of the war in Ukraine… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11572897/Putin-kept-alive-Western-cancer-drugs-continue-wage-war-Ukraine.html
GOP @RepMattGaetz: McConnell & Pelosi brought Zelensky to Congress to provide air cover for an indefensible spending bill…
GOP senators blast McConnell for ‘arrogance,’ voter betrayal in big spending bill “Our party leadership turned on Republican voters,” Sen. Mike Lee laments… “It has happened before, but this is one too many times. For me, this is the final straw.”… Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) mocked those of his GOP colleagues who voted for the bill and celebrated its passage. “To declare that a victory, to say that’s a win, that’s like a football team that just lost the game 60 to 0, and they kick a field goal in the waning seconds and say the field goal is a big deal… Unfortunately, the arrogance of our leadership who said, ‘We know better than House members. We’re going to pass this.’ … I’m not buying it… Unfortunately, our supporters aren’t going to buy it either.”… Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.): “Ask yourself if the leadership of both parties is all that much different on spending or endless wars. From bloated bureaucracy to Ukraine aid, foreign aid to not funding our border security, it’s hard to tell the difference.” https://justthenews.com/government/congress/gop-senators-blast-mcconnell-arrogance-voter-betrayal-big-spending-bill
Broken Bureau: How the FBI Copied Parts of the Debunked Steele Dossier Directly Into Its Spy Requests – The FBI relied more extensively on Christopher Steele’s debunked dossier in their Russiagate investigation than has been revealed, inserting key parts from it into their applications for warrants to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign. Agents did this without telling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that the precise wording was plucked directly from a political rumor sheet paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign… https://t.co/jimZ7Qyjnu
@mtaibbi: THREAD: The Twitter Files – TWITTER AND “OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES“ 4. The files show the FBI acting as doorman to a vast program of social media surveillance and censorship, encompassing agencies across the federal government – from the State Department to the Pentagon to the CIA. 5.The operation is far bigger than the reported 80 members of the Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), which also facilitates requests from a wide array of smaller actors – from local cops to media to state governments. 6.Twitter had so much contact with so many agencies that executives lost track… 16. The government was in constant contact not just with Twitter but with virtually every major tech firm. 17. These included Facebook, Microsoft, Verizon, Reddit, even Pinterest, and many others. Industry players also held regular meetings without government… 21. Many requests arrived via Teleporter, a one-way platform in which many communications were timed to vanish (Fed Records Act crime?) … 25. The FBI was clearly tailoring searches to Twitter’s policies. FBI complaints were almost always depicted somewhere as a “possible terms of service violation,” even in the subject line. 26. Twitter executives noticed the FBI appeared to be assigning personnel to look for Twitter violations… 32. Yet behind the scenes, Twitter executives struggled against government claims of foreign interference supposedly occurring on their platform and others… 34. “Found no links to Russia,” says one analyst, but suggests he could “brainstorm” to “find a stronger connection.”… 39. In a key email, news that the State Department was making a wobbly public assertion of Russian influence led an exec – the same one with the “OGA” past – to make a damning admission: 40. “Due to a lack of technical evidence on our end, I’ve generally left it be, waiting for more evidence,” he says. “Our window on that is closing, given that government partners are becoming more aggressive on attribution.”… 42. “Other Government Agencies” ended up sharing intelligence through the FBI and FITF not just with Twitter, but with Yahoo!, Twitch, Clouldfare, LinkedIn, even Wikimedia: 43. Former CIA agent and whistleblower John Kiriakou believes he recognizes the formatting of these reports. 44.“Looks right on to me,” Kiriakou says, noting that “what was cut off above [the “tearline”] was the originating CIA office and all the copied offices.”… 47. One intel report lists accounts tied to “Ukraine ‘neo-Nazi’ Propaganda.’” This includes assertions that Joe Biden helped orchestrate a coup in 2014 and “put his son on the board of Burisma.” … 55. The line between “misinformation” and “distorting propaganda” is thin. Are we comfortable with so many companies receiving so many reports from a “more aggressive” government? 56. The CIA has yet to comment on the nature of its relationship to tech companies like Twitter. Twitter had no input into anything I did or wrote. The searches were carried out by third parties, so what I saw could be limited… https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1606701521101787136
@RobertKennedyJr: America is now the target of a massive propaganda cyberattack by our own spy agencies to obliterate criticism of foreverwars and mass vaccination
@davidzweig: THE TWITTER FILES: HOW TWITTER RIGGED THE COVID DEBATE – By censoring info that was true but inconvenient to U.S. govt. policy – By discrediting doctors and other experts who disagreed – By suppressing ordinary users, including some sharing the CDC’s *own data* 5. Internal files at Twitter that I viewed while on assignment for @thefp showed that both the Trump and Biden administrations directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes. 6. At the onset of the pandemic, according to meeting notes, the Trump admin was especially concerned about panic buying. They came looking for “help from the tech companies to combat misinformation” about “runs on grocery stores.” But . . . there were runs on grocery stores. 7. It wasn’t just Twitter. The meetings with the Trump White House were also attended by Google, Facebook, Microsoft and others. 8. When the Biden admin took over, one of their first meeting requests with Twitter executives was on Covid. The focus was on “anti-vaxxer accounts.” Especially Alex Berenson…12. Culbertson wrote that the Biden team was “very angry” that Twitter had not been more aggressive in deplatforming multiple accounts. They wanted Twitter to do more… 18. With Covid, this bias bent heavily toward establishment dogmas. 19. Inevitably, dissident yet legitimate content was labeled as misinformation, and the accounts of doctors and others were suspended both for tweeting opinions and demonstrably true information… 24. In my review of internal files, I found countless instances of tweets labeled as “misleading” or taken down entirely, sometimes triggering account suspensions, simply because they veered from CDC guidance or differed from establishment views… 28. Whether by humans or algorithms, content that was contrarian but true was still subject to getting flagged or suppressed… 34. In a surreal exchange, Jim Baker, at the time Twitter’s Deputy General Counsel, asks why telling people to not be afraid wasn’t a violation of Twitter’s Covid-19 misinformation policy. 35. Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former head of Trust & Safety, had to explain that optimism wasn’t misinformation… 37. Twitter made a decision, via the political leanings of senior staff, and govt pressure, that the public health authorities’ approach to the pandemic – prioritizing mitigation over other concerns – was “The Science” 38. Information that challenged that view, such as showing harms of vaccines, or that could be perceived as downplaying the risks of Covid, especially to children, was subject to moderation, and even suppression. No matter whether such views were correct or adopted abroad. 39. What might this pandemic and its aftermath have looked like if there had been a more open debate on Twitter and other social media platforms—not to mention the mainstream press—about the origins of Covid, about lockdowns, about the true risks of Covid in kids, and much more?… https://twitter.com/davidzweig/status/1607378386338340867?s=02 (Expanded threat at: https://www.thefp.com/p/how-twitter-rigged-the-covid-debate )
@elonmusk: Much more to The Twitter Files: Covid Edition than this introductory thread. Follow-up piece to come next week, featuring leading doctors & researchers from Harvard, Stanford & others.. (Many of whom were, of course, actively suppressed on Twitter)
@HansMahn concealed support by a leading Ukrainian oligarch, etc. Just 5 months later, it was prohibited in the Western press to mention this. Anyone who did was deemed a Kremlin asset. Indeed, soon as Russia invaded, most facts long reported by the Western press about Ukraine – including the dominant neo-Nazi Azov – became off-limits. https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1607415040088608768 The Western media did a complete 180 on almost every aspect about Ukraine. The 2021 State Dept report detailed its vast corruption and anti-democratic abuses…I’m sure the $100b is being wisely spent.
Jared Kushner ‘dumped’ his father-in-law Donald Trump after ex-president dined with Kanye West and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago – after serving administration for four years and running failed re-election campaign – ‘There’s nobody around him who wants him to do it (run for prez),’ … Don Jr. doesn’t want him to do it!’.. ‘The only person who wants him to do it is Eric’s wife, Lara, because she’s so ambitious,’ the source said… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11571901/Jared-Kushner-dumped-Trump-ex-president-dined-Kanye-West-anti-Semite-Mar-Lago.html
@ChicagoContrar1: Even Santa senses the urgency of the menace (in Chicago). https://t.co/w4cSwvhrya
Canadian Government Tells Kids They’ll Be on Santa’s ‘Naughty List’ Without COVID Vaccine, Masks (Another Circle of Hell is needed) https://t.co/xLDpMVvXoB
National Guard informs troops last paycheck before Christmas will be late as Biden admin sends billions to Ukraine https://t.co/71a4THakXa
Democrats rip Gov. Abbott over Christmas Eve migrant drop off near VP Harris’ residence in record-cold tempshttps://t.co/mzNcBaYyNd
@PeterDClack: The oceans hold 97% of all the world’s retained heat energy & cover 71% of the earth’s surface. Oceans hold 260 times the mass of atmosphere & respond only to actions of the sun, moon & surface winds. How can a trace gas – only 400 parts per million in air – change world climate?
@DrEliDavid: Due to climate change, winter storms today can last up to a week. Before climate change, they lasted only up to seven days.
Karen Kingston is a biotech analyst and former Pfizer employee who has researched and written about many aspects of Covid 19 and the so-called vaccines. It’s now become obvious, with dramatically rising death and injuries, the CV19 injections were bioweapons passed off as lifesaving vaccines. Kingston has many documents from the government and vax manufacturers to prove this point. Kingston says, “In America, you cannot legalize murder. . . . The original timeline was they were going to submit for FDA approval (for the CV19 injection) in June of 2025. Because they were trying to push the mandates, and Americans were saying you cannot mandate an experimental product, they said, oh, it’s now FDA approved. They moved that timeline up exponentially. The reason why that is a problem is that it is legally distinct from an ‘emergency use’ product. Once the approval happened on August 23, 2021 (Comirnaty), that broke the liability shield for the ‘emergency use’ product. So, the FDA fraudulently and criminally approved a bioweapon as a safe and effective vaccine. . . . People were under the impression they were getting an approved product. . . . they were actually getting a bioweapon. . . .If they never had done the approval, you could not bring these civil charges against Pfizer, and there are dozens and dozens of them as well as criminal charges. . . . Call these shots what they are. They are bioweapons. I don’t care what our government said in the past. I don’t care what little memo they got from HHS or their employer. What they have done is wrong, and they need to be held to account.”
Kingston goes on to say, “I know people are saying anyone who says there is technology in these shots is a conspiracy theorist or crazy. I just showed you Pfizer says on their website that this is technology. The lipid nanoparticles are technically called biohybrid microrobots. That sounds bad, so they call them lipid nanoparticles to make it not sound so scary. So, there is technology in the CV19 injections.”
The CV19 bioweapons can cause a variety of deadly health effects. Kingston thinks, “25% of the fully vaxed could die of a heart attack or end up with severe heart problems such as Myocarditis.”
Kingston lists many other deadly or debilitating effects of these bioweapons such as neurological disease, autoimmune disease, extreme and fast spreading cancers and severely weakened immune systems, just to name a few. The shots did zero good and massive damage that people are now waking up to. According to Kingston, this is what these CV19 bioweapons were supposed to do.
Kingston says, “More experts are coming together in January and calling these bioweapons. They will be sharing this evidence from the manufacturers and our government. People also need to recognize there was never a virus. We were attacked with a nano-weapon. . . . Not only is the so-called vaccine a bioweapon, you cannot vaccinate against a technology. The whole thing was a lie.”
There is much more in the 1-hour and 26-minute in-depth interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with biotech analyst Karen Kingston as she gives an update on the bioweapon injections and criminals behind them for 12.24.22.
To look at some of the data and documents Kingston shows to prove the CV19 vax is a criminal act of releasing a bioweapon on an unsuspecting public, go to the kingstonreport@substack.com.
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