JAN 4//GOLD CLOSED UP AGAIN BY $32.40 TO $1852.60//SILVER IS DOWN 26 CENTS TO $23.80//PLATINUM IS DOWN $7.75 TO $1078.35//PALLADIUM IS UP $84.40 TO $1788.60//COVID UPDATES ESPECIALLY BUFFALO BILLS FOOTBALL PLAYER//VACCINE IMPACT//DR ALEXANDER//SLAY NEWS//EUROPE REMOVES IMMUNITY TO A COUPLE OF MEP’S DUE TO ITS LATEST SCANDAL//UKRAINE VS RUSSIA UPDATES//LOOKS LIKE THE NEW ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IS PIVOTING TOWARDS RUSSIA//USA DATA:ISM MANUFACTURING FALLS WITH NEW ORDERS PLUNGING INDICATING RECESSION//ST LOUIS FED STATES THAT THE USA IS ALREADY IN A RECESSION//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT///
“What man makes, man can destroy. The value or purchasing power of the dollar (fiat currency) can collapse. But gold cannot be devalued, because it’s not beholden to any man or any sovereign government. Gold’s value is based on 6,000 years of history, and its value lies outside the system. The US Treasury now values its gold as $42.20 an ounce. The world doesn’t give a damn what the US Treasury values its gold at. The world is saying that an ounce of gold is worth $1250 dollars, and the hell with the gold-haters.” … Richard Russell over a decade ago and meant for the likes of the Mark Cubans of the world
GOLD PRICE CLOSED: UP $32.4 at $1852.60
SILVER PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $0.26 to $23.80
Access prices: closes : 4: 15 PM
Gold ACCESS CLOSE 1855.00
Silver ACCESS CLOSE: 23.76
Bitcoin morning price:, 16,834 UP 187 DOLLARS
Bitcoin: afternoon price: $16,859 UP 212 dollars
Platinum price closing $1078.35 DOWN $7.75
Palladium price; closing 1788.60 UP $84.40
END
Due to the huge rise in the dollar, we must look at gold and silver in currencies other than the dollar to understand where we are heading
I will now provide gold in Canadian dollars, British pounds and Euros/4: 15 PM ACCESS
CANADIAN GOLD: $2500.25 DOWN $10.61 CDN dollars per oz
118 C MACQUARIE FUT 11 435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 1 661 C JP MORGAN 1 737 C ADVANTAGE 11 6 800 C MAREX SPEC 12 4
TOTAL: 23 23 MONTH TO DATE: 694
JPM received 1/23 contracts (stopped)
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GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR JAN/2023. CONTRACT: 23 NOTICES FOR 2300 OZ or 0.07153 TONNES
total notices so far: 694 contracts for 69400 oz (2.1586 tonnes)
SILVER NOTICES: 72 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 360,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month 740 for 3,700,000 oz
END
GLD
WITH GOLD UP $32.40
INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD//BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /////NO CHANGES IN GLD INVENTORY: /
INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.64 TONNES
Silver//SLV
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN 26 CENTS
AT THE SLV// :/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.3 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV
CLOSING INVENTORY: 506.55 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 GIGANTIC SIZED 2268 CONTRACTS TO 131,990 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THE GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR $0.24 GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON TUESDAY. OUR SHORTERS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY $0.24 BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPEC LONGS, AS WE HAD A HUMONGOUS GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 3811 CONTRACTS. AS WELL WE HAD AN INITIAL 2,500,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK TRANSFER ( 500 CONTRACTS). WE HAD ATTEMPTED SPEC SHORT COVERINGS BUT TO NO AVAIL . WE ALSO HAD ZERO MINOR SHORT ADDITIONS WITH THE RISE IN PRICE OF SILVER. // OUR BANKERS CONTINUE TO BE PURCHASERS OF NET COMEX LONGS. BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT CONTRACTS>>> HUGE INCREASE OF NEWBIE SPEC LONGS ADDING TO THEIR POSITIONS CAUSING ADDITIONAL MISERY TO OUR SHORTERS.
WE MUST HAVE HAD: A HUGE ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 4,055. MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE. JUMP OF 640,000 OZ//NEW STANDING 4.115 MILLION OZ // V) HUGE SIZED COMEX OI LOSS/ HUGE EFP ISSUANCE/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL – 118
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS JAN. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF JAN:
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 2 days, total 1825 contracts: OR 9.125 MILLION OZ PER DAY. (413 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 9.125 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, 61.395 MILLION OZ FINAL
JAN 2023/// 9.125 MILLION OZ
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2268 WITH OUR $0.24 GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// TUESDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 1425 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 JAN OF 4.055 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 640,000 / //NEW STANDING INCREASES TO 4.115 MILLION OZ + EFR 2.5 MILLION = 6.615 MILLION OZ. .. WE HAVE A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF 3811 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES FOR 19.055 MILLION OZ.. THE SILVER SHORTS ARE NOW TRAPPED AS THEY ARE HAVING CONSIDERABLE DIFFICULTY IN COVERING THOSE SHORTS.
WE HAD 72 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 360,000 OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 7884 CONTRACTS TO 450,073 AND CLOSER TO 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 680 CONTRACTS.
.
THE STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI (7204 CONTRACTS) CAME WITH OUR $20.00 GAIN IN PRICE. WE ALSO HAD A SMALL INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR JAN. AT 2.1710 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 23 CONTRACTS OR 2300 OZ //(QUEUE JUMPING = EXERCISING LONDON BASED EFP’S ) (EFP is the transfer of contracts immediately to London for potential gold deliveries originating from London). NEW STANDING 2.230 TONNES
YET ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $20.00 GAIN IN PRICEWITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN OF 8888 OI CONTRACTS (27,64 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES..
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 1684 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 450,073
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 8888 CONTRACTS WITH 7204 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX AND 1684 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 8888 CONTRACTS OR 27.64 TONNES.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (1684 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI (7204) TOTAL GAIN IN THE TWO EXCHANGES 9568 CONTRACTS. WE NO DOUBT HAD 1) ATTEMPTED SPECULATOR SHORT COVERINGS TO NO AVAIL // CONTINUED GOOD BANKER ADDITIONS BUT THEY ALSO SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY PAPER SHORT. WE HAD ZERO SHORT SPEC ADDITIONS/// // HUGE NEWBIE SPEC ADDITIONS ,2.) SMALL INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR JAN. AT 2.1710 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2300 OZ /NEW STANDING 2.5017 TONNES///3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION //.,4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAIN 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER/
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023 INCLUDING TODAY
JAN
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF JAN :
3184 CONTRACTS OR 318,400 OZ OR 9.90 TONNES 2 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 1592 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 2 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES:9.90 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2021, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 9.90/3550 x 100% TONNES 0.282% 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: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
JAN 2023: 9.90 TONNES INITIAL
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF FEB. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF BOTH GOLD (
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF OCT HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB., FOR BOTH GOLD:
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (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 HUGE SIZED 2,268 CONTRACTS OI TO 131,990 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 1425 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 1425 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1425 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 2268 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1425 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,
WE OBTAIN A HUMONGOUS GAIN OF 3811 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 18465 MILLION OZ//
OCCURRED WITH OUR 24 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//CORN
7/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
3. ASIAN AFFAIRS
i)WEDNESDAY MORNING//TUESDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 7.00 PTS OR 0.22% //Hang Sang CLOSED UP 647.82 PTS OR 3.22% /The Nikkei closed DOWN 377.64 PTS OR 1.45% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 1.65% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP TO 6.8860//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 6.8941// /Oil DOWN TO 75,18 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 79.97 / 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 ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED 7204 CONTRACTS UP TO 449,393 WITH OUR THE GAIN IN PRICE OF $20.00
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW IN THE NON-ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JAN… 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 1684 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: ;: , . 0 FEB: 1684 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1684 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 STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 8888 CONTRACTS IN THAT 1684 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A STRONG SIZED COMEX OI GAIN OF 7204 CONTRACTS..AND THIS STRONG SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $20.00. WE ARE WITNESSING ZERO SPEC SHORTS ADDITIONS TO THEIR SHORTFALL WITH HUGE ATTEMPTED 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
// WE HAVE A SMALL AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING Jan (2.3017)
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. 64.541 tonnes
JAN/2023: 2.3017 tonnes
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE $20.00) //// AND WERE ALSO UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A STRONG GAIN OF 9568 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES // WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 27.64 PAPER TONNES OF TOTAL OI FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR JAN. (2.1710 TONNES) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 2300 oz OR .07153 TONNES…THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR RISE IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $20.00.
WE HAD – 680 CONTRACTS COMEX TRADES REMOVED FROM OPEN INTEREST AFTER TRADING ENDED LAST NIGHT
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 8888 CONTRACTS OR 888800 OZ OR 27.64 TONNES
Estimated gold comex today 198,931// fair//
final gold volumes/yesterday 228,412/ fair
INITIAL STANDINGS FOR JAN 2023 COMEX GOLD //JAN 4//
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
694 notices 69400 2.1586 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
xxx oz
i)Dealer deposits: 0
total dealer deposit: nil oz
No dealer withdrawals
Customer deposits: 0
total deposits: nil oz
customer withdrawals: 0
Total withdrawals: nil
total in tonnes: 0.00 tonnes
Adjustments: 1
Brinks: 100.96 oz /dealer to customer
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR JANUARY.
For the front month of JANUARY we have an oi of 69 contracts having LOST 69 contracts
We had 92 notices served on Tuesday, so we gained 32 contracts or an additional 3200 oz will stand for delivery in this
very non active delivery month of January. (queue jump)
February gained 2321 contacts to 365,908
March gained 187 contracts to stand at 218.
April gained 4015 contracts up to 51,935.
We had 23 notice(s) filed today for 2300 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 23 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 1 notice(s) was (were) stopped/ Received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account and 0 notice(s) received (stopped) by the squid (Goldman Sachs)
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the JAN. /2022. contract month,
we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (694 x 100 oz , to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of (JAN. 69 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 23 x 100 oz per contract equals 74000 OZ OR 2.3017 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this non active month of January.
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the JAN contract month:
No of notices filed so far (694 x 100 oz+ (69 OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (23} x 100 oz} which equals 74,000 oz standing OR 2.3017 TONNES in this NON active delivery month of JAN..
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 2.3017 TONNES (A POOR STANDING//COMEX RUNNING OUT OF PHYSICAL TO SERVE UPON OUR LONGS.
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED: 23,179,757.713 OZ
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD:11,332,284.791 OZ (352.79 tonnes)..dropping fast
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 11,837,501.836 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 9,296,653 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 289.16 tonnes//rapidly declining
END
SILVER/COMEX
JAN 4/2023//INITIAL JAN. SILVER CONTRACT
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
35,250.310 oz
Delaware
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
nil OZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
1,163,961.340 oz JPMorgan
No of oz served today (contracts)
72 CONTRACT(S) (360,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)
83 contracts (415,000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
740 contracts (3,700,000 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
i) 0 dealer deposit
total dealer deposits: nil oz
i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal
total dealer withdrawals: oz
We have 1 deposits into the customer account
i)JPMorgan 1,163,961.340
Total deposits: 1,163,961.340 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 151.639 million oz/301.907 million =50.03% of comex .//dropping fast
Comex withdrawals: 1
i) Out of Delaware: 35,250.310 oz
Total withdrawals; 35,250.310 oz
adjustments:0
the silver comex is in stress!
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 34.401 MILLION OZ (declining rapidly).TOTAL REG + ELIG. 301.908 MILLION OZ
CALCULATION OF SILVER OZ STANDING FOR DEC
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF JAN/2023 OI: 155 CONTRACTS HAVING GAINED 128 CONTRACT(S.). WE HAD 0 NOTICES
FILED ON TUESDAY SO WE GAINED 128 CONTRACTS OR 640,000 OZ WERE QUEUE JUMPED BY THE BANKERS TO OBTAIN SOME SILVER OVER HERE.
FEB> GAINED 2 CONTRACTS TO 204 CONTRACTS
March GAINED 1155 CONTRACTS UP TO 116,898 contracts
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 72 for 360,000 oz
Comex volumes// est. volume today 60,352//good
Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 73,959 contracts ( very good)
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JANUARY. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 740 x 5,000 oz = 3,700,000 oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JAN(155) and the number of notices served upon today 72 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the standings for silver for the JAN./2023 contract month: 694 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of JAN (155 – number of notices served upon today (72) x 500 oz of silver standing for the JAN. contract month equates 4.115 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
JANUARY 4/WITH GOLD UP $32.40 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.64 TONNES
JAN 3/WITH GOLD UP $20.00 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:STRANGE: A WITHDRAWAL OF .87 TONNES FORM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.64 TONNES
DEC 30/WITH GOLD UP $.80 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 918.51 TONNES
DEC 29//WITH GOLD UP $8.35 TODAY:; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 918.51 TONNES
DEC 28/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.80 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 5.50 TONNES INTO THE GLD..//INVENTORY REST S AT 918.51 TONNES
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: 917.64 TONNES
Now the SLV Inventory/( vehicle is a fraud as there is no physical metal behind them
JAN 4/WITH SILVER DOWN 26 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.3 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 507.85 MILLION OZ/
JAN 3/WITH SILVER UP 24 CENTS TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: STRANGE: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.2 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//////INVENTORY RESTS AT 507.85 MILLION OZ/
DEC 30/WITH SILVER DOWN 21 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 509.050 MILLION OZ
DEC 29/ WITH SILVER UP $0.63 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 509.050 MILLION OZ
DEC 28//WITH SILVER DOWN 46 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.715 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///..INVENTORY RESTS AT 509.050 MILLION OZ
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//
CLOSING INVENTORY 506.55 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER STORIES
1:Peter Schiff
end
2 Lawrie Williams//Pam and Russ Martens/Jim Rickards/Mathew Piepenburg/Von Greyerz//Rickards:
(Mathew Piepenburg)
2023: The ABC’s of CBDC, the Great Reset(s) and MORE Centralized Control
Matthew Piepenburg January 4, 2023
If you want to understand modern CBDC, it may be worth considering the context of history, the philosophy of man, the math of debt and the geology of gold.
Broke Countries Do Bad Things
When broken, debt-soaked “developed economies” suffering from years of fantasy money printing to “solve” fatally rising debt levels collide with history-blind and economically-ignorant policy makers, the end result is always the same: Liberty sinks, currencies die and control rises.
This is not sensationalism, but the toxic evolution of economic, political and psychological patterns seen throughout time.
Sadly, our “times” (as well as the global abundance/convergence of weak leadership) are no exception.
Or stated more simply, inept financial and political leadership leads to even more dangerous financial opportunists and tyrannical policies masquerading as efficient solutions.
Nowhere is such will-to-power opportunism and fantasy (i.e., centralized) solutions more exemplified than in the so-called “Great Reset” authored by the head of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab.
Like all opportunists and historical as well as current “types,” Schwab (like the IMF, the BIS, the Fed, the White House, the European or British Parliament etc.) is exploiting a crisis to enhance control while appearing humanitarian and visionary.
We’ve seen this demagogue movie before in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Yugoslavia, Cuba, China, Russia etc.
In each example (from the 1780’s to the 1960’s to now), leaders who promised miracle solutions to financial disaster brought only centralization and disorder while erecting statues (or book deals and Parisian shopping sprees) to themselves.
Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste
And what better crisis to exploit than the bat-made narrative of the Covid pandemic with its case fatality rate of less than 2%?
Post-Covid, it is now patently obvious to anyone who has taken the time to look unemotionally at the science, math and data (including courageous British journalists like Matt Ridely, well-spoken celebrities like Russell Brand, dark horses like Bret Weinstein or the non-political [and hence more honest] scientists convening at Great Barrington) that COVID most likely came from a lab and that the policy reaction of a global shut down and forced vaccine was a moral, scientific, economic and political disaster for the record books.
Despite the fact that history has seen (and stoically survived) far greater per-capita death tolls in the form of cholera, the bubonic plague, small pox, or influenza, our policy makers, with the embarrassingly complicit support of a Pravda-like and politically-influenced main stream media, would have us believe they care so much about you and I. So, they locked us down, went trillions more into debt (and a hidden, second market bailout) for our sake.
In fact, the IMF in 2020 compared the war on Covid to the Second World War and its 85 million deaths.
That’s an insult to history.
As an equally courageous Christine Anderson declared from the European Parliament during the height of the Covid hysteria (mandates, restrictions, masks etc.): Covid politics were not about concern for the masses.
Despite such sober honesty and macabre math, Klaus Schwab, along with just about every other global leader, was taking a more dramatic and opportunistic approach, declaring that, “the Corona Virus pandemic has no parallel in history. It is our defining moment.”
Huh?
What he really meant in this classic Freudian slip was that Covid was his defining moment. Namely, the perfect crisis to exploit global fear and promote his new “Great Reset” vision as the leader of a better tomorrow, akin to Lenin’s losing-war promise/bribe of simple “bread and peace” in 1917…
And what is Schwab’s (and others like him) vision of a better tomorrow?
What is the “Great Reset”?
Like most politically and financially bad ideas (from Quantitative Easing to the Patriot Act), the Great Reset envisioned by Schwab has a seductive title and facade—namely “Stakeholder Capitalism.”
Unlike current shareholder capitalism, his concept of stakeholder capitalism aims to infuse global corporate board seats with a higher percentage of special interest representation (i.e., labor, environmental, social justice etc.).
In the USA, Elizabeth Warren has a similar, and indeed superficially noble, and more inclusive agenda.
China, whose leader-for-life (Xi Jinping) is a Schwab favorite and Davos keynote speaker, takes this autocratic vision one step further by simply inserting governmental agents into every Chinese boardroom.
For many, including myself, one can understand a desire to improve corrupt financial/banking systems and fractured social structures. One can understand more inclusion and less corporate greed.
Toward that end, I don’t think Schwab is a transhumanist creature of a dark global conspiracy to depopulate the world and rule as supreme leader of a one-world government.
I actually feel he believes he can help himself (and others) at the same time.
And as for the current version of capitalism in which central banks like the Fed (and derivative-sick commercial bankslike Credit Suisse) have become THE driving/liquidity force of supply and demand, I’ve written and spoken countless times on my view that true capitalism died long ago.
But what we are being told by folks like Schwab is hardly better; in fact, it’s much worse.
Schwab’s Flawed Premise: Institutional Faith
Like China’s Xi Jinping, Schwab’s Great Reset is based upon the notion that systemic risks like inflation, pandemics and geopolitical as well as economic distortion can be better managed by a global “coordination” of wise centralized and institutional players.
Like Xi, Schwab believes “giant ships survive storms, whereas small boats sink.”
But such faith (and premise) that massive and globally coordinated institutional wisdom is somehow safer and superior to individual freedom ignores the titanic example, of well…the Titanic.
In short: Big ships sink too—and usually with higher casualty rates.
Schwab’s vision of a “coordinated economy” and the redefining of the “social contract” to tackle real or exaggerated (pick your view) crises like climate change or future pandemics is based upon an inherently flawed premise that enlightened yet increasingly CENTRALIZED institutions or even governments (like China?) can save us.
But what folks like Schwab (or for that matter Biden, Trudeau, Macron, Scholz, Johnson and just about every other embarrassing but modern national leader) failed to confess is that not once in the entire history of homo sapiens has a centralized system (fascist, Bolshevik, communist or socialist) ever brought an ounce of sustainable good to the world.
(Though such centralization certainly brought a lot of temporary luxury, wealth and power to folks like Castro, Lenin, Mussolini and Robespierre…)
The simple, tragic yet historically and (psychologically) confirmed reality is this: “Efficient” safety via central planning at the expense of individual freedoms NEVER works.
America’s Brief & Shining Moment
That is why the founding fathers of the greatest constitutional and democratic (yet now failed) experiment in history declared (via Ben Franklin) that “those willing to give up their freedoms for greater security deserve neither.”
For a brief and shining moment in 18th century Philadelphia, a document and vision of individual freedoms and constitutional protections declared the priority of the individual over the “security” of centralized tyranny as the cornerstone of its national vision.
America’s Flawed Premise: Faith in Human Nature?
Perhaps, however, these founding fathers under-estimated the human-all-too-human (nod to Nietzsche) susceptibility to self-interest and a desire for more personal and political control—i.e., the common extroverted psychopathy of most politicians—even those posing under a democratic flag.
That is why the same Ben Franklin casually (though sadly) remarked to a passer-by on the very day of America’s Declaration of Independence that “eventually all democracies die, and usually by suicide.”
This suicide has been gradual but undeniable, marked by such slow-drip turning points toward increasing centralization as exemplified by: 1) the 1913 birth of the Federal (Central) Reserve (against which Thomas Jefferson warned in 1806); 2) the now increasingly obvious and centralized (coup d’état) murder of a sitting president in 1963; 3) the imperialist drift toward false flag wars of expansion (from “remember the Maine” of 1898, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 or the 2003 WMD fiction in Iraq) to 4) the exploitation of cataclysmic crises to slowly eradicate personal liberties in the name of “national security” under such euphemistically-titled legislation like the post-9/11 “Patriot Act.”
In short, given that all systems and experiments, be they liberty-based or centralized, are envisioned and then managed by human systems, the age-old (Hobbes/Locke) debate as to whether humans are intrinsically in a state of war or a state of peace (i.e., good or bad) remains the core dilemma and question.
The Modern Flawed Premise: Faith in Technology
This timeless dilemma, of course, has taken an entirely new course in a smart-phone era of increasing faith in a technological, virtual and even robotic solutions to man’s quest for a better, freer tomorrow.
There are many who believe that we can replace corrupt institutions (from Davos to Brussels, DC to Beijing) with wiser technologies, which can and sometimes do allow a freer and more decentralized flow of information (as evidenced by non-main-stream platforms like this one) and even money (as evidenced by the thirst for decentralized, encrypted currencies like BTC).
Rapidly evolving technologies, for example, allow more people to leave crime-infested (and police defunded) cities for more work-at-home personal freedoms or income and even more personal expression.
As technology advances, many rightly or wrongly believe that civilization will experience more freedoms and hence more of the “happy accidents” (nod to F.A. Hayek) which only freedom-based (rather than centralized) systems allow.
For them, technology offers a “great escape” from the dangers of the “great reset.”
This feels promising at first glance, but it too ignores the human-all-too-human reality that even advanced technologies are still steered by un-advanced humans, as the recent debacle at FTX easily reminds.
In short, like faith in human nature or faith in institutions, faith in technology is no cure all.
Enter CBDC—The Latest Lie from Above
As we now see in the slow yet inevitable evolution of Central Bank Digital Currencies, technology can in fact be used to further diminish rather than enhance human liberties.
It seems that in 2022 and now 2023, everyone is suddenly asking about CBDC. And they should be.
But what is it?
To begin with, CBDC is not a new currency, it’s a new payment system—one that is digital and encrypted rather than paper-based. Instead of dollars, yen, lira and euros, we’ll soon have e-dollars, e-yen, e-liras and e-euros etc.
In short, more crappy fiat money—just in digital form.
Furthermore, CBDCs are not cryptos. Yes, they are digital, encrypted and kept in a ledger, but they do not involve blockchain.
In essence, and much like a Visa or Mastercard service, CBDC involves a similar ledger technology, but in this new and twisted case it’s a controlled (rather than distributed) ledger of encrypted digital currencies managed by central banks.
In this new payment system, we hold digital money accessed by apps on our smart phones with an account directly linked to a central bank with (as the policy makers remind us) far greater speed and less intermediary costs (otherwise typical to credit cards).
All good, right?
Not so fast…
The CBDC Official Narrative: Only Half the Story
Like all dangerous, centralized and controlling ideas, CBDC was snuck in with consoling words during times of crisis.
But CBDC is far more than just an evolving and technological “eureka” moment.
CBDCs were first openly announced by the IMF at the onset of the Covid Crisis, which the IMF used as a convenient pretext to excuse decades of their own and other central-bank-driven (and historically unprecedented) debt sins.
Crises always boost the power of the state, and the Covid crisis boosted the power of the IMF to create new ways to promote bad ideas while centralizing more power. Although ignored by the media in 2020, I immediatelywarned of this in 2020.
Then came the BIS in 2021.
Like the IMF, the BIS telegraphed all the warm and fuzzy good news in a calm little video of CBDC “efficiencies,” “safety,” and “speed.”
The BIS took credit for leading the technological CBDC charge alongside 4 other key central banks (i.e., the Fed, the ECB etc.) and a select handful of 20 other “participants” (i.e., the same disastrous commercial banks who gave us the GFC in 2008) to eliminate certain “pain points and friction” in hitherto inefficient cross border settlements and FX transactions.
Then came Powell.
In the midst of a global inflationary crisis, gyrating markets and an avoidable yet disastrous war in the Ukraine, the Fed stepped in with its own one-sided puff piece as the world was distracted by bigger headlines.
With a calm expression and forked-tongue, Powell causally announced that the US will have a CBDC as the Fed plays a “leading role” in its development.
According to Powell, “the Fed is charged with the safety and efficiency of payment systems,” and that by “embracing innovation,” we good citizens can help the Fed in this historical process as the modern world evolves from telegraph wires and clearing houses to the new “Fed Now Service” driven by CBDC to ensure “safer financial transactions.”
Powell kindly reminds us that distributed ledgers of cryptos are not safe, as their swings in value prove.
Despite admitting that stable coins (directly linked to currencies) are better, he said they too are riddled with risks and thus not nearly as safe as digital currencies under “the same regulatory measures as our banking and financial firms.”
(Apparently, Powell thinks the public has forgotten Bear Stearns, Lehman, AIG, Long Term Capital Management and other “regulated” enterprises of this corrupted ilk…)
Powell closed this blue-pill video by saying that the Fed’s focus with a CBDC is to improve on an already safe system—as a compliment to, not a replacement of cash. He further promised to take into consideration issues of law and privacy, and warmly announced that, “we look forward to hearing your thoughts on this important topic.”
All warm and fuzzy, safe, innovative and democratic, right?
Again: Not so fast.
CBDC’s Other Story: One Big Lie of Many Omissions
There are many obvious yet omitted dangers (and motives) behind CBDC (as lies of omission are the most common symptom of benevolent tyranny).
What neither the IMF, the BIS nor Powell discussed are likely the most honest motives behind CBDC.
Kill the Crypto Competition
As I’ve argued almost from the onset of the crypto mania, the success of cryptos would eventually become their ultimate undoing, as the concept of alternative digital currencies outside of the banking system was a direct threat to sovereign power.
If forced to choose a “winner” in a war between the power of a blockchain BTC and a corrupt banking system (tied to the hip of sovereign power), my bet (sadly) was always on the corrupt.
CBDC, in short, is a direct assault on the growing (and in many ways free and admirable) crypto narrative.
Debt “Reset:” Impose Negative Rates & Screw the People
As I’ve also argued for years, all debt-soaked regimes need negative rates to climb out of the bottomless debt hole they alone created.
By forcing citizens into a CBDC system, banks like the Fed can “efficiently and quickly” impose negative rates (i.e., where you pay banks to hold your money rather than receive positive interest for your deposits). This already happened in Europe.
Furthermore, given that all major nations are suffering debt to GDP ratios well past the fatal 100% level, with capital to asset levels surpassing the 200:1 mark, it’s now patently obvious in a rising rate and declining tax-revenue environment that nations like the U.S. can’t afford to pay even the interest on their unprecedented debt piles.
In this sickening backdrop, CBDC systems allow indebted nations to better control, and hence steel from, their citizens.
When currencies are “reset” (like Germany in 48), the government can “convert” your old money to the new money while simultaneously (due to a “crisis”) keeping a percentage for themselves as a clever way to pay their debts via digital hold-backs (i.e., theft).
And given that the entire world is over $300T in debt, one can bet that a massive debt restructuring (akin to a global bankruptcy declaration) is inevitable. CBDCs are thus being rolled out beforehand to make this intra-bank and cross border restructuring (theft) more “efficient.”
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to controlling citizen money and freedoms.
A Cashless Control State
Despite Powell’s words to the contrary (as unreliable as his transitory inflation promise), the longer-term aim and practice of a forced digital currency system is to take cash out of the system.
Under a CBDC regime, citizen money can be digitally monitored, withheld, frozen, taxed, penalized or otherwise controlled should such a citizen (or collection of citizens) challenge or threaten the state—rightfully or wrongly.
I’m thinking of those truckers in Canada…
But as Mussolini himself said: “Fascism is the perfect marriage of corporations and the state.” CBDC is a giant leap in that sadly familiar direction.
In short, financial and personal privacy slowly but surely disappears under a CBDC system, and you can be assured that if the Mad King George had access to CBDC in 1776, folks with poor social credit scores like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington or James Madison would have been monitored, frozen and made financially impotent long before they ever had a chance to freely assemble near the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
Thus, even if Powell promises legal and privacy rights today, what happens tomorrow when we inevitably (if not already) fall under another mad king?
Stated bluntly, CBDC is not about freedom, individual rights or privacy. It is pure control masquerading as a safer payment system and faster trans-national currency settlements.
But which would you prefer? What is more important– personal liberty or “efficient payment systems”?
Powell said he was “looking forward” to our thoughts. Well, now he has mine.
Frankly: Shame on him.
Gold, CBDC and a Shortage of Easy Answers
Given the case made above that no easy answers to our current global nightmare (political, financial or ethical) can rest solely upon a faith in institutions, individual leaders or even technologies, as each of these “solutions” is vulnerable to the human element of corruption and ignorance—what will save us?
Do I have an answer to these manifold and increasingly troubling signs and times?
I do not.
Gold, of course, can not solve the laundry list of fracturing faiths, economies, politics, societies, currencies, borders and systems making the headlines of each passing day.
That’s a human, or even spiritual question which I will not pretend to answer/solve here.
Nor can I fully predict the precise timing, measures and misuses of CBDC near-term or long term.
Will gold-backed SDR’s come? Will banking systems and credit card systems change immediately or slowly? When will gold free-float? When will derivative markets implode? What will trigger the next banking crisis?
Again: I can’t say or time. No one can.
What I can say, sadly, is that political and monetary corruption, from ancient China to modern DC, or from Roman coins or crappy paper dollars to “advanced” CBDCs is nothing new under the sun.
But gold (sourced from the periodic table rather than a periodic printer) has never been corrupted by the sun’s rays nor man’s mechanizations. It can’t be printed, mouse-clicked or digitalized. Alas: It’s harder for governments and banks to control.
Without exception, physical gold has always been the only form of real money that has survived the death of one system and currency after the next, be they debased by ancient metallurgists, modern money printers or digital cons.
As history continues its sad and desperate pattern of more control, more debasement and more double-speak, I can only place portions of my faith and wealth in the one asset—the only asset—that has always preserved citizen wealth in a world where its leaders have consistently destroyed it (from coins, cash and digital) for thousands and thousands of years.
END
END
3. Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries//
A must read..
LME base metals at all time lows
(Bloomberg)
LME ends chaotic year with metal stockpiles perilously low
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2022-12-30 12:22Section: Daily Dispatches
By Mark Burton Bloomberg News Friday, December 30, 2022
The London Metal Exchange will enter 2023 with the smallest available warehouse stockpiles in at least 25 years, setting the stage for future squeezes and spikes if demand turns out stronger than expected.
Available inventories of the six main metals traded on the LME plunged by two thirds in 2022, with aluminum’s 72% decline accounting for the bulk of the drop, while zinc shrank by 90%. Collectively, inventories not already marked for withdrawal hit the lowest level in data going back to 1997 on Thursday, and finished the year only fractionally higher.
While most of the world’s metal never sees the inside of an LME warehouse, exchange inventory levels are important because every short seller who holds a contract to expiry must deliver physical metal registered in an LME warehouse. The LME has introduced new rules to allow deferral to prevent future squeezes, but the exemptions come with costly fees. …
Ted Butler: 2022 was a momentous year for silver and gold
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2023-01-02 20:55Section: Daily Dispatches
By Ted Butler SilverSeek.com Monday, January 2, 2023
The last couple of years have been significant in silver (and gold), not particularly price-wise, but in other important ways.
For instance, 2020 was particularly noteworthy in that JPMorgan was partially brought to justice for its many years of manipulating the price of precious metals on the Comex and agreeing to settle with the Justice Department and Commodity Futures Trading Commission for a reported $920 million
Of course, the DoJ and CFTC merely scratched the surface of the real ongoing Comex silver and gold manipulation and wimped out from charging JPM (and the CME Group) by sticking to spoofing charges and not the overwhelmingly compelling evidence of a long-term price suppression and manipulation.
But my most important takeaway was that 2020 marked the exit by JPMorgan from the short side of Comex silver and gold futures and its double-crossing the other large commercial shorts after 10 years of non-stop manipulation. …
The last couple of years have been significant in silver (and gold), not particularly price-wise, but in other important ways. For instance, 2020 was particularly note-worthy in that JPMorgan was partially brought to justice for its many years of manipulating the price of precious metals on the COMEX and agreeing to settle with the Justice Dept and CFTC for a reported $920 million.
Of course, the DOJ and CFTC merely scratched the surface of the real ongoing COMEX silver and gold manipulation and wimped out from charging JPM (and the CME Group) by sticking to spoofing charges and not the overwhelmingly compelling evidence of a long-term price suppression and manipulation. But my most important takeaway was that 2020 marked the exit by JPMorgan from the short side of COMEX silver and gold futures and its double crossing the other large commercial shorts after ten years of non-stop manipulation.
2021 saw the formation of the #WallStreetSilver Reddit movement and marked the first time ever (in decades) in which the CFTC seemed to agree with me or at least didn’t argue forcefully against my contention that the concentrated short position in COMEX silver futures was manipulative to the price. The Commission’s response to my congressman indicated it would forward my concerns to its divisions of Market Oversight and Enforcement.
The Commission not disagreeing with me may not seem like much, but I would point out that the concentrated short position of the 4 largest commercial silver shorts on Feb 2, 2021 (the date referenced in my letter) was 65,262 contracts and has never been higher since. The most recent Commitments of Traders (COT) report, as of Dec 27, 2022, indicated that the short position of the 4 largest shorts was 44,198 contracts, the equivalent of 105 million ounces less than it was on Feb 2, 2021, and after a fairly significant rally in which all key moving averages were decisively penetrated to the upside.
Did the Commission warn or “jawbone” the big commercial shorts to refrain from adding the quantity of short contracts seen in the past or did the commercials wake up and smell the coffee on their own; or neither, meaning the short position will grow from here? Time will tell, in the form of subsequent COT data, but to this point it does look and feel different from the past and “different” is always on my mind in looking for a change in the routine of the decades-old manipulation.
With that prelude, let me turn to the year 2022 and what I see as the most important issues of the year, which, in my opinion, has been the most momentous year of all in the 38 years in which I have studied silver closely. Upfront and as I think I’ve already indicated, what makes this past year the most momentous of all is not due to the typical things trotted out, like inflation, interest rates, the stock, bond and real estate markets, the economy, the dollar or anything of the type, including a devastating war and the most divisive and destructive political scene I’ve ever witnessed.
Quite frankly, those issues are things that haven’t made a bit of difference to the price of silver or gold this year, but I won’t be so presumptuous as to conclude such issues won’t matter in the future. I hate to disappoint anyone, but all such factors are so low on my totem pole of what matters most to the price of silver that it bugs me to even mention them. The only things I’m concerned with are developments in the physical market, primarily wholesale (1000 oz bars), and the manipulative positioning on the COMEX (and this year in SLV), always with a sense of what the regulators may be up to. And, man oh man, there is no shortage of such factors this past year.
Let me start off on the physical side, where even the Silver Institute, usually quite milquetoast in such matters, has declared the largest mismatch between surging silver demand and stagnant supply, to the point of declaring a near-200 million oz annual deficit, the largest in decades. Or how the 300 million oz silver imported by India was the largest on record, at more than 35% of total world annual mine supply. And prices are largely unchanged?
Closer to home, it has been a fascinating year for silver in the COMEX-approved warehouses in a number of respects. First, total COMEX inventories fell by 55 million oz, from 354 million oz at the start of the year to 299 million oz at year end, with virtually all of the decline coming in the registered category. No doubt the decline in total and registered inventories is important and deserving of the great attention it receives. And just to put it into perspective, the percentage decline in the COMEX gold inventories, of 30% (from 33.6 million oz to 23.2 million oz), over the past year is much larger than the 14% total decline in COMEX silver inventories – although this is not a true apples to apples comparison.
But a much larger amount of physical silver, some 384 million oz, almost seven times the reduction in total inventories, have been moved into and out from the COMEX warehouses, with barely a peep of the widespread recognition it so richly deserves. All told, this year has seen the largest annual physical silver turnover in history, a history that first began in earnest in April 2011, when JPMorgan opened its COMEX warehouse and began to accumulate physical silver and gold.
The physical turnover in the COMEX silver warehouses in 2022, close to 7.4 million oz on an average weekly basis is fully 50% larger than the average weekly movement of the prior decade, yet it continues to remain a topic untouched by virtually everyone – for reasons that continue to mystify. I still maintain the most (and perhaps only) plausible explanation for the near-incredible physical turnover in the COMEX silver warehouses – alone among all commodities – is a physical demand so extreme as to defy description.
And as I recently concluded, the 384 million oz turnover should not be calculated against the total inventory of some 300 million oz, but a “working inventory” total (once long-term investment holdings are subtracted) of what can be as low as a few million oz. The actual working inventory must be derived and calculated and does not exist as a conveniently published number.
Turning to the one reason silver and gold prices did not react to what were nothing but extremely bullish physical developments this year was the manipulative effect of paper positioning, principally on the COMEX, but also in the shares of SLV, the largest silver ETF.
From the price top in 2022 of $27.50 in silver and $2060 in gold (also its all-time high) on March 8, silver prices then fell $10 (36%), while gold prices fell $440 (21%), into the lows of the autumn, before rallying into yearend. It’s not hard to trace the price top as occurring as the total commercial net short position on the COMEX hit nearly 70,000 contracts in silver and 307,000 contracts in gold; only to fall to less than zero in silver and 62,000 contracts in gold, as the price lows were established.
In equivalent ounce terms, the collusive COMEX commercials bought back more than 350 million oz of their total silver short position on March 8, and nearly 25 million gold oz – all by largely hoodwinking and snookering the managed money traders into selling, as the commercials rigged prices lower – an absolute masterpiece of market manipulation.
Since the price lows, silver has risen by more than $6, actually putting it up for the year, and gold has rallied by $200, leaving it at unchanged for the year. These rallies did involve (require) managed money buying and commercial selling and the amounts are not insignificant. In silver, the total commercial short position has increased by more than 45,000 contracts from the lows, some 225 million equivalent oz, while the increase in commercial selling in gold is on the order of 90,000 contracts or 9 million equivalent gold oz – relatively much less than in silver.
Normally, such increases in commercial selling on the rallies we’ve seen would lead me to conclude the market structure on the COMEX was close to neutral, or even bearish in silver, but still on the bullish side in gold. But as I’ve recently concluded, a new wild card may have been introduced in that the actual big commercial shorts appear to be different than in the past, particularly in gold – thanks to the most recent Bank Participation report for positions held as of Dec 6. At this point, it looks like not only is the amount of commercial selling on the rallies from the lows lighter than typically seen, the composition of the big commercial traders appears to have changed, particularly in gold.
I’ve dubbed this the second double cross over the past few years – the first by JPMorgan, in which it abandoned the short side in COMEX silver and gold around March 2020 and left the remaining big commercial shorts holding the bag – only to be followed, over the last few months, by the old commercial bag holders passing the steaming pile of shorts to a new group of commercial bag holders. Again, all this is tentative and based upon just one Bank Participation report, but nonetheless potentially profound.
Another profound new wrinkle developed in 2022 in the massive increase in the short position on SLV, as this short position grew to more than 60 million shares (55 million oz), at its peak in August. As of December 15, the short position on SLV remained massive at 50 million shares (45 million oz). This has been my second go-around with the short position on SLV and with BlackRock, the trust’s sponsor, as more than 10 years ago, the same issue cropped up.
I thought the issue of excessive short selling in SLV was a thing of the past, particularly after BlackRock did a complete about-face from where it stood a decade ago, when it tried to dismiss my concerns that short selling in SLV wasn’t its concern. The about-face came in Feb 2021, when BlackRock pre-emptively added new wording to the prospectus that warned of the danger to short sellers on SLV – with BlackRock essentially adopting the very same position I held a decade ago and of which it preemptively dismissed back then. Funny how things can change over time.
At that time (Feb 2021), the short position on SLV was 17 million shares and the total amount of shares outstanding was significantly greater than currently – meaning the percentage of shares with no required metal backing is all that much greater today at nearly one out of every ten shares outstanding (10%), compared to the less than 3% of total shares outstanding held short at the time of the prospectus warning. In any event, these facts seem to have generated no rebuttal from BlackRock (the world’s largest money manager) or the Securities & Exchange Commission to what have been 4 formal complaints by me over as many months and many more before that.
Importantly, even though the short position on SLV is nowhere near as large as the equivalent silver short position on the COMEX, what makes the short position on SLV critical is that the only practical reason one would short shares of SLV is because the physical metal required by the prospectus to be deposited for each share outstanding isn’t available and can’t be deposited. This is not rocket science, although I continue to be mystified by the silence on the part of those interested in silver on this issue.
Turning to regulatory matters away from the SEC’s failure to comment or take action in the shorting in SLV, the most significant development in 2022 was the bald-faced chicanery by the Treasury Dept’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. After having discovered that Bank of America had built up a massive short position in OTC silver derivatives of some billion oz, starting a couple of years ago, I wrote to the OCC (again through my local congressman) asking that the OCC comment on my allegations.
The answer he received was a classic non-denial denial (aka confirmation), in which the OCC merely paraphrased my allegations without the slightest disagreement on the substance of what I alleged. But it was what came next that took the cake. The only reason I was able to spot what Bank of America was up to, was because years earlier, the OCC changed the methodology of its quarterly derivatives report to hide something by putting gold into the foreign exchange category; but the unintended consequence of the OCC’s removal of gold from the precious metals category in 2016 only made the silver position of US banks incredibly transparent. So, when BofA built up a massive position in silver, it stood out like a sore thumb.
In order to now make silver less transparent and because it couldn’t rebut my allegations, the OCC then took the lowest road possible and put gold back into the precious metals category (where it should have been all along), this time to muddy the waters on silver. Hard to believe a US Government bank regulator would stoop so low, but if there’s any other reasonable explanation anyone can think of, please send it my way.
So, there you have it – my take on what made 2022 a most momentous year. I understand that in dismissing all the much more widely discussed factors, this puts me in a highly distinct category, but if anyone has logically connected all or any of those other factors to the price action in gold and silver this year – I haven’t seen it. As far as what to expect pricewise in the New Year, it boils down to one thing and one thing only – does the 4 decade-old COMEX manipulation continue or not? I’m highly encouraged by the signs of change in that regard, but please know that what I’m talking about is extremely consequential.
If my take of late and over the decades is correct (as I believe to be the case), the consequences of an end to what has been a four-decade price manipulation in silver must be necessarily extreme. There’s no way an end to a decades-long price suppression won’t lead to an upside price explosion of almost unimaginable proportions. But as unimaginable as the coming price liftoff promises to be, it also appears to be unmanageable in that I have real trouble understanding how anyone could prevent the consequences of a worldwide physical shortage by continuing to press silver prices lower.
Even, for example, if the US Government attempted to resort to an outright ban on silver ownership (or some such other extreme attempt) as many have suggested over the years, considering the body of evidence that has developed on the ongoing COMEX silver manipulation over the decades, I have trouble seeing how even that could succeed in the end.
The only way to end a long-term price suppression that results in a physical shortage is through higher prices. So, while we must all gird for possible future crooked COMEX price smackdowns, we must also be prepared for the certain inevitable price explosion.
A Happy and Healthy New Year to all.
Ted Butler
December 31, 2022
END
Amazing: with everybody using credit cards and debit cards, Denmark recorded no bank robberies
(ssociated Press)
With cash gone, Danish banks no longer get robbed
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2023-01-03 12:54Section: Daily Dispatches
From the Associated Press via ABC News, New York Tuesday, January 3, 2023
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — For the first time in years, Denmark hasn’t recorded a single bank robbery. There wouldn’t have been much point.
Cash transactions in the Nordic country have become virtually obsolete, with Danes increasingly opting to use cards and smart phones for payments.
The Danish bank employees’ union today welcomed the news that 2022 had been robbery-free.
“It is just amazing. Because robberies put an absolutely extreme strain on the affected employees every time,” spokesman Steen Lund Olsen said.
Finance Denmark, the banking sector’s association, said only about 20 bank branches across the country have cash holdings. But then the number of bank branches has fallen from 219 in 1991 to 56 in 2021, it said.
News reports noted that cash withdrawals in Denmark have been dropping by about three-quarters every year for six years. …
In 2022, central banks will have purchased the largest amount of gold in recent history. According to the World Gold Council, central bank purchases of gold have reached a level not seen since 1967. The world’s central banks bought 673 metric tons in one month, and in the third quarter, the figure reached 400 metric tons. This is interesting because the flow from central banks since 2020 had been eminently net sales.
Why are global central banks adding gold to their reserves? There may be different factors.
Most central banks’ largest percentage of reserves are US dollars, which usually come in the form of US Treasury bonds. It would make sense for some of the central banks, especially China, to decide to depend less on the dollar.
Gold, Bloomberg data
China’s high foreign exchange reserves are a key source of stability for the PBOC. But the high amount of US dollars ($3.1 trillion) may have been a key stabilizing factor in 2022, but it could be too much if the next ten years bring a wave of money devaluation that has never happened before.
Central banks have been talking about the idea of issuing a digital currency, which would completely change the way money works today. By issuing a digital currency directly into a citizen’s account at the central bank, the financial institution would have all access to savers’ information and, more importantly, would be able to accelerate the transmission mechanism of monetary policy by eliminating the channels that prevent higher inflation from happening: the banking channel and the backstop of credit demand. What has kept inflation from going up much more is that the way monetary policy is passed on is always slowed down by the demand for credit in the banking system. This has obviously led to a huge rise in the prices of financial assets and still caused prices to go through the roof when the growth in the money supply was used to pay for government spending and subsidies.
If central banks start issuing digital currencies, the level of purchasing power destruction of currencies seen in the past fifty years will be exceedingly small compared with what can occur with unbridled central bank control.
In such an environment, gold’s status as a reserve of value would be unequalled.
There are more reasons to buy gold.
Liquidity was cryptocurrency’s Achilles’ heel. A few rate hikes by the Fed quickly disproved the idea that digital currencies could only go up in value. Cryptocurrencies did not combat monetary expansion; rather, they were one of its effects. Gold was now one of the few remaining true reserves of value.
The performance of gold in US dollars may have disappointed investors in 2022, even though it was flat, but in a year of broad financial asset declines, gold rose in euro, pound, yen, and the majority of emerging currencies.
Central banks need gold because they may be preparing for an unprecedented period of monetary devastation,
The Financial Times claims that central banks are already suffering significant losses as a result of the falling value of the bonds they hold on their balance sheets. By the end of the second quarter of 2022, the Federal Reserve had lost $720 billion while the Bank of England had lost £200 billion. The European Central Bank is currently having its finances reviewed, and it is predicted that it will also incur significant losses. The European Central Bank, the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, and the Australian central bank all “now face possible losses of more than $1 trillion altogether, as once-profitable bonds morph into liabilities,” according to Reuters.
If a central bank experiences a loss, it can fill the gap by using any available reserves from prior years or by requesting help from other central banks. Similar to a commercial bank, it may experience significant difficulties; nevertheless, a central bank has the option of turning to governments as a last resort. This implies that the hole will be paid for by taxpayers, and the costs are astronomical.
The wave of monetary destruction that could result from a new record in global debt, enormous losses in the central bank’s assets, and the issuance of digital currencies finds only one true safe haven with centuries of proven status as a reserve of value: Gold. This is because central banks are aware that governments are not cutting deficit spending.
These numbers highlight the enormous issue brought on by the recent overuse of quantitative easing. Because they were unaware of the reality of issuer solvency, central banks switched from purchasing low-risk assets at attractive prices to purchasing any sovereign bond at any price.
Why do central banks increase their gold purchases just as losses appear on their balance sheets? To increase their reserve level, lessen losses, and foresee how newly created digital currencies may affect inflation. Since buying European or North American sovereign bonds doesn’t lower the risk of losing money if inflation stays high, it is very likely that the only real option if to buy more gold.
The central banks of industrialized nations will make an effort to shrink their balance sheets in order to fight inflation, but they will also discover that the assets they own are continuing to depreciate in value. A central bank that is losing money cannot immediately expand its balance sheet or buy more sovereign bonds. A liquidity trap has been set. Quantitative easing and low interest rates are necessary for higher asset values, but further liquidity and financial restraint may prolong inflationary pressures, which would then increase pressure on asset prices.
The idea that printing money wouldn’t lead to inflation served as the foundation for the monetary mirage. The evidence to the contrary now demonstrates that central banks are faced with a serious challenge: they are unable to sustain multiple expansion and asset price inflation, lower consumer prices, and fund government deficit spending at the same time.
So, why gold? Because a new paradigm in policy will unavoidably emerge as a result of the disastrous economic and monetary effects of years of excessive easing, and neither our real earnings nor our deposit savings benefit from that. When given the choice between “sound money” and “financial repression,” governments have forced central banks to choose “financial repression.”
The only reason central banks buy gold is to protect their balance sheets from their own monetary destruction programs; they have no choice but to do so.
5. Commodity commentaries//
END
6/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
end
1. YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS//WEDNESDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: UP TO 6.8860
OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.8941
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 7.00 PTS OR 0.22%
HANG SANG CLOSED UP 647.22 PTS 3.22%
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 371.64 PTS OR 1.45%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 103.38 Euro RISES TO 106.16 UP 71 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.449!!!(Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese yen vs usa cross now at 130.64/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 UP 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 DOWN for WTI and DONW FOR Brent this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund DOWN TO +2.2845%***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield FALLS to 4.327%*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD FALLS TO 3.332…** DANGEROUS//
3i Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO 4.49//
3j Gold at $1860.55//silver at: 24.24 7 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 53/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 71.46//
3m oil into the 75 dollar handle for WTI and 79 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 130.92
30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this 0.9269–as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9839 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: 3.679% DOWN 11 BASIS PTS…GETTING DANGEROUS
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.790% DOWN 10 BASIS PTS//
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18,75…
GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: 3.569 % DOWN 9 BASIS PTS
end
i.b Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge:
FIRST, ZEROHEDGE (PRE USA OPENING// MORNING
AND NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)
Bonds and equities climb following dovish French CPI, key US data/minutes ahead – Newsquawk US Market Open
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 06:43 AM
European bourses have extended on Tuesday’s upside, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.6%, with soft inflation data out of France adding to the week’s dovish impulses.
Stateside, futures are supported though to a lesser extent than European peers, ES +0.4%, as the region awaits key data points and the ES remains sub-3900.
DXY has retreated with AUD outperforming while EUR remains supported on PMIs and the USD despite dovish inflation data.
Bonds boosted once again as French CPI misses consensus ‘hot’ on the heels of similarly soft German and Spanish metrics.
Another downbeat session for the crude space, with WTI Feb’23 and Brent Mar’23 declined to lows just below the USD 75/bbl and USD 80/bbl handles respectively.
Looking ahead, highlights include US ISM Manufacturing PMI, JOLTS, FOMC Minutes & Crude Private Inventories.
Or why not try Newsquawk’s squawk box free for 7 days?
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
European bourses have extended on Tuesday’s upside, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.6%, with soft inflation data out of France adding to the week’s dovish impulses.
Sectors are predominantly in the green though Energy lags given benchmark pricing.
Stateside, futures are supported though to a lesser extent than European peers, ES +0.4%, as the region awaits key data points and the ES remains sub-3900.
Tesla (TSLA) has extended the CNY 10,000 discount period in China until the end of February for Model Y and 3 vehicles, according to a post on Weibo.
Aussie rules amidst reports that China may ease its coal import embargo and PBoC sets strong midpoint fix for onshore Yuan, AUD/USD eyeing 0.6900 after 200 DMA breach and USD/CNY probing 6.8800 vs 6.9131 reference rate.
DXY retreats from Tuesday’s recovery high within 104.730-103.800 range as Treasury yields soften and risk sentiment picks up further pre-FOMC minutes.
Euro gleans traction from Dollar downturn and firmer than forecast Eurozone PMIs to offset soft French inflation metrics, EUR/USD holds onto 1.0600 handle between 1.0635-1.0541 parameters.
Rand rallies beyond 17.0000 vs Buck as Gold scales USD 1850/oz convincingly
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.9131 vs exp. 6.9133 (prev. 6. 9475); strongest level since September 15th 2022.
Bonds get another boost as French inflation data misses consensus hot on the heels of German and Spanish prelim. findings.
Bunds eye 136.50 and 2.25% 10 year cash rate, Gilts close to yesterday’s 101.50+ peak and T-note touches 113-14 following trend break and 3.70% yield breach.
BoJ fourth straight unscheduled bond operation: offers to buy JPY 200bln in 1-3yr JGBs, JPY 100bln in 3-5yr JGBs, JPY 150bln in 5-10yr JGBs, JPY 150bln in 10-25yr JGBs, according to Reuters.
Another downbeat session for the crude space, with WTI Feb’23 and Brent Mar’23 declined to lows in proximity to the USD 75/bbl and USD 80/bbl handles respectively.
Spot gold has successfully eclipsed the USD 1850/oz mark, for the first time since mid-June 2022, upside which is being spurred by a pullback on the USD with the index sub-104.00.
Elsewhere, the complex is attentive to developments between Australia and China as the Chinese State Planner has allowed a handful of gov’t backed utilities and the key Baowu Steel Group to resume coal imports from Australia, following an unofficial ban in 2020.
French CPI Prelim. YY (Dec) 5.9% vs. Exp. 6.4% (Prev. 6.2%); EU Norm Prelim. YY (Dec) 6.7% vs. Exp. 7.2% (Prev. 7.1%)
EU S&P Global Composite Final PMI (Dec) 49.3 vs. Exp. 48.8 (Prev. 48.8); Services Final PMI (Dec) 49.8 vs. Exp. 49.1 (Prev. 49.1)
UK BRC Shop Price Index (Dec) Y/Y 7.3% (Prev. 7.4%)
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
US House is adjourned until 12:00EST (17:00GMT) on Wednesday after three failed House Speaker votes for Republican McCarthy, according to CNN’s Collins.
Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI are said to be working on a ChatGPT-Powered Bing in challenge to Google (GOOG), according to The Information.
Alphabet’s (GOOG) Google and Meta (META) accounted for a combined 48.4% of US digital ad spending in 2022, having not been under 50% since 2014, according to WSJ citing research firm Insider Intelligence.
Russian President Putin has put a frigate with a hypersonic missile on combat duty, via Bloomberg.
US President Biden and Japanese PM Kishida are to meet at the White House on Jan 13th to discuss North Korea and the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Reuters.
South Korean President Yoon said he will consider suspending the Inter-Korean Military Pact if North Korea intrudes again, according to Yonhap; Yoon calls for the development of “drone killers” following recent tensions with North Korea.
Japanese PM Kishida is to visit France, Italy, UK, Canada and US from January 9th, according to Reuters.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin is firmer by just over 1.0%, though is yet to convincingly mount a test of the USD 17k handle.
ECB’s Panetta says trading in unbacked digital assets should be treated by regulators like gambling, via FT.
APAC TRADE
APAC stocks traded mostly firmer despite the negative handover from Wall Street.
ASX 200 was lifted by its gold miners after the yellow metal tested USD 1,850/oz to the upside during yesterday’s session, whilst Tech names benefitted from the pullback in bond yields.
Nikkei 225 kicked off its first session of the year in the red with the country’s mining and energy stocks taking a hit, whilst Tokyo Gas Co. saw shares tumble some 4% following reports the Co. is nearing a USD 4.6bln deal to buy Rockcliff Energy.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were firmer with Chinese property names bolstered by further reports of support measures, whilst the Hong Kong Tech sector cheered reports Jack Ma’s Ant Group has reportedly won Chinese approval for its USD 1.5bln capital plan, according to Bloomberg citing a notice – Alibaba (9988 HK) shares soared 8%.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
Jack Ma’s Ant Group has reportedly won Chinese approval for its USD 1.5bln capital plan, according to Bloomberg citing a notice.
China is reportedly looking to pause costly semiconductor investments as COVID strains the budget, according to Bloomberg; China reportedly discussed up to USD 145bln in industry incentives.
China is reportedly mulling measures to shore up “too big to fail” developers, according to Bloomberg sources.
Chinese authorities are said to be mulling a partial end to the Australian coal ban, according to Bloomberg sources
China reported 5 COVID deaths in the Mainland on Jan 3rd (vs. 3 a day prior), according to Reuters.
PBoC injected CNY 3bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 2.00%; daily net drain CNY 327bln.
Hong Kong could set a daily entry quota to China at 50,000, according to Now TV.
Tokyo Gas Co (9531 JT) unit is said to be in talks to purchase US natgas producer Rockcliff Energy for USD 4.6bln, according to Reuters sources.
BoJ Governor Kuroda said the BoJ is to continue monetary easing to achieve price target in tandem with wage growth and added that the economy is to grow firmly and stably this year backed by accommodative monetary conditions, according to Reuters.
Tokyo is reportedly expected to commence handouts of JPY 5,000 per month per child, according to TBS.
Japanese PM Kishida said Japan is to toughen COVID border control for travellers from China, effective Jan 8th, according to Reuters.
China has reportedly resumed approvals for private equity funds to raise money for residential property developments, via Bloomberg.
DATA RECAP
Japanese Foreign Stock Investment -265.1B (Prev. -667.1B, Rev. -668.8B)
Japanese Foreign Bond Investment -459.5B (Prev. -941.8B, Rev. -941.4B)
Japanese Manufacturing PMI F (Dec) 48.9 (Prev. 48.8)
1.c WEDNESDAY/ TUESDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 7.00 PTS OR 0.22% //Hang Sang CLOSED UP 647.82 PTS OR 3.22% /The Nikkei closed DOWN 377.64 PTS OR 1.45% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 1.65% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP TO 6.8860//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 6.8941// /Oil DOWN TO 75,18 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 79.97 / 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
end
2B JAPAN
Japan/.”
end
3c CHINA /
CHINA/
China pivots away from supporting their chip industry as they as having difficulty competing with the USAS
(zerohedge)
China Hits Pause Button On Investment-Heavy Approach To Support Chipmakers Amid At Rivaling US
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 12:00 PM
China’s semiconductor industry has suffered a major blow as investments to compete with the US have been paused, as economic turmoil grips the world’s second-largest economy.
Last month, Reuters reported China was set to roll out a 1 trillion yuan ($143 billion) support package for its semiconductor industry following the Biden administration export controls on the sale of cutting-edge semiconductor chips and advanced equipment needed for domestic semiconductor manufacturing. The plan was to boost domestic chip production that would one day be superior to the US.
Now Bloomberg reported top Chinese policymakers are discussing ways to pivot away from massive subsidies for the chip industry “that has so far borne little fruit and encouraged both graft and American sanctions.”
Some policymakers are exploring alternatives to the investment-led approach, such as lowering the cost of semiconductor materials.
The pivot would mark a dramatic shift in Beijing’s approach to supercharging an industry to challenge American dominance while safeguarding Chinese economic and military competitiveness. It suggests that Beijing’s zero Covid policy, even though it’s ending, has amplified economic turmoil that is beginning to impact spending in critical industries.
“It’s unclear what other chip policies Beijing is considering, or whether it will ultimately decide to ditch the capital investment-heavy approach that’s worked so well in propelling its manufacturing sector over the past decades,” Bloomberg noted.
What’s come under intense scrutiny by Beijing is the billions of dollars it has poured into chipmaking companies, including Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., which has yet to produce technology breakthroughs to put China on the same level as the US. And the Biden administration’s sanctions on China’s chip industry have been another setback.
A perfect storm of factors might have delivered a significant blow to China’s chipmaking ability that Western countries have been hoping for. Suppose Beijing pivots away from its investment-led approach to support chips. In that case, it will give the US some time to ramp up investments at home to revive its chip industry and become less dependent on Asia — another sign supply chains are being rejiggered.
END
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS/UK AFFAIRS//
FRANCE
Very foolish: French Minister mocked by saying only 690 cars were torched on New Years eve
(Albert/RemixNews)
French Interior Minister Mocked After Saying “Only” 690 Cars Torched On New Year’s Eve
There were riots in several French cities, almost 700 cars were set on fire, and nearly 500 people were arrested on New Year’s Eve in France.
However, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said in a statement that New Year’s Eve celebrations in the country had taken place “without any major incidents.”
The French authorities were on high alert for the end of the year, with 90,000 police officers and gendarmes mobilized across the country for New Year’s Eve, according to a statement by Darmanin.
The French politician also pointed out that New Year’s Eve 2022 showed a historic improvement in the number of vehicles set on fire, with “only” 690 cars burned nationwide. According to figures in the release, that number was 874 last year, a 21 percent improvement.
Darmanin pointed out that 490 people were detained, 11 percent more than the previous year, leading the minister to conclude that the police and gendarmes on the streets were fully capable of maintaining law and order. Twitter users mocked Darmanin’s post, pointing out that the country was flooded with 90,000 officers, creating a very costly police state for what should be a festive occasion, and even then, hundreds of vehicles were set on fire and police attacked.
Although the French interior minister says that there have been “no notable incidents” in the country, the people of Nantes may be of a different opinion. In the city, rioters set fire to several cars on New Year’s Eve and then attacked police and firefighters with fireworks. Some of the arson attacks were caught on film.
A French local newspaper, Le Dauphiné Libéré, reported that a gendarmerie barracks in Pierrelatte, a municipality in the southeastern part of the Drôme department, was attacked and fireworks were fired at the building, which caught fire. There were no injuries or serious damage to property, but in several other municipalities in the county, several bins and cars were set on fire.
In Alsace, scenes of carnage were filmed across the city, including a number of arson attacks against cars and buses.
In the Haute-Garonne department in the south of the country, the last night of 2022 was also a busy one, with 41 fires reported by the authorities; according to the La Dépêche newspaper, a children’s home was also set on fire, with six people inside the building having to be housed in a nearby village.
The city of Bordeaux was also hectic on New Year’s Eve, with dozens of vandals shooting fireworks in the streets; footage of the scene showed that the projectiles were deliberately aimed at people.
As Remix News reported yesterday, young migrants were mostly responsible for the chaos in Berlin during the New Year, with youths targeting police and rescue vehicles, and setting fires across the city. Given the scenes of violence recorded across the city, police are calling for a ban on all fireworks.
END
EU/EUROPE
Two other socialist MEPs have been stripped on their immunity: EU corruption probe grows
(remix news)
Qatargate: 2 Socialist MEPs To Have Their Immunity Lifted As EU Corruption Probe Grows
The European Parliament announced on Monday, Jan. 2, that it had initiated an urgent procedure, following a request from the Belgian judiciary to lift the immunity of two MEPs in the corruption investigation into alleged bribes offered by Qatar to European officials and civil servants, news agencies AFP and EFE reported.
The two MEPs are Italian Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian Marc Tarabella, both members of the European Social Democrats (S&D) group.
“Following a request from the Belgian judicial authorities, I have launched an urgent procedure for the waiver of immunity of two Members of the European Parliament. There will be no impunity. None,” promised European Parliament President Roberta Metsola on Twitter.
She called on “all services and committees to give priority to this procedure with a view to concluding it on 13 February,” when the European Parliament’s second plenary session starts this year.
The first plenary session will take place on January 16-19, but European bureaucratic mechanisms would not allow it to be completed at that time, hence Metsola’s deadline for the February session.
Several current and former EU officials and civil servants are charged in the case, which is linked to alleged money offered by Qatar and Morocco to promote a positive image of Qatar and influence EU institutions, including to allow visa-free travel for Qataris in the EU.
The most notable names accused in the case are Greek Socialist MEP Eva Kaili, who was sacked as European Parliament vice-president, and her life partner, Italian Francesco Giorgi, who is MEP Andrea Cozzolino’s assistant.
Kaili and Giorgi are currently in pre-trial detention in Belgium, as are former Italian Socialist MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, who heads an NGO.
END
GERMANY//POLAND
Poland is furious after Germany reject their reparation claims. Poland has been given little money from the Nazi atrocities in World War ii
The Polish government is expressing anger after Germany responded to demands for World War II reparations with a one-sentence answer, which included no substantive or legal arguments.
Poland’s deputy foreign minister, Arkadiusz Mularczyk, has described the curt response as disrespectful to the Polish government and the Polish people.
“To dismiss that with just one sentence means that all assurances about excellent German-Polish relations are false,” said Mularczyk.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on Tuesday that the German government’s response to Poland’s €1.3 trillion reparations demand simply reiterated that the Germans consider the matter of reparations to be closed. The German government also indicated it has no intention of entering into negotiations on the matter.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Arkadiusz Mularczyk slams Germany’s one-sentence rejection of Poland’s WWII reparations claim. (Source: TVP Info)
In response to the German position, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied that the Polish government would continue its efforts to obtain compensation for the invasion and occupation suffered by Poland between 1939 and 1945.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mularczyk stated that Poland had suffered losses on an unimaginable scale and that Germany had received a very detailed report on the matter.
He also accused Germany of double standards, as it is willing to pay Namibia for the colonial period and return artifacts to Egypt, whereas it is not prepared to do anything for Poland.
However, the Polish minister said he was not surprised by the German response, saying it was indicative of how “Germany treats Poland as a vassal” and instrumentally as part of the German sphere of influence.
Mularczyk said Poland would not be deterred and would continue to internationalize the campaign for reparations until Germany is forced to change its stance.
END
5.UKRAINE RUSSIA//MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
Ukraine officials state that there will be further strikes inside Russia
(zerohedge)
Strikes Inside Russia Will Go “Deeper & Deeper”: Ukraine Intelligence Chief
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 08:40 PM
Coming off of the Sunday attack on a barracks in Makiivka in Russian-controlled Donetsk, which marked what could be the biggest Russian troop loss of the war in a single attack to date, Ukraine is now vowing to strike “deeper and deeper” inside Russian territory.
The alarming words were issued from the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, during a new interview with Australia’s ABC…
As the clip from the interview published Monday shows, the military intelligence chief was reluctant to directly confirm whether or not Ukraine recently struck a Russian airbase.
The ABC reporter wanted answers specifically in relation to the series of deadly drone attacks Engels military airfield in the Saratov region. In December, there were reports that the base was hit three times, the most recent instance of which came last week, and killed three Russian military technicians.
The Ukrainian government has yet to officially own up to these attacks, which Russia says were launched by Ukraine’s forces. But according to Gen. Budanov’s words republished in the UK Telegraph:
Responding to whether Ukraine was responsible for one of these attacks on an airbase, Kyrylo Budanov said he was “very glad” about it, but maintained Kyiv’s stance of official deniability.
In an interview with Australia’s ABC, Mr Budanov predicted these attacks will go “deeper and deeper”, along with further attacks on Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Last week three Russian troops died in a drone attack on a Russia’s Engels airfield, which houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers.
As for Washington, it has maintained an official stance of not wanting its Ukrainian partners to conduct attacks inside Russian territory, fearing uncontrollable escalation, but there are indicators that behind the scenes US intelligence could be positively encouraging it – or at least turning a blind eye.
And yet with Sunday’s devastating attack on the Russian barracks in Donetsk, Ukrainian media and officials have boasted that it was done with US-supplied HIMARS missiles. This of course means from the Kremlin’s perspective, Washington’s involvement in the conflict is growing more direct by the day.
end
/RUSSIA/UKRAINE
Russia folks are angry after the devastating barracks attack during the weekend
(zerohedge)
Russian Military Faces Rare Outrage At Home After Devastating Barracks Attack
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 09:11 AM
The weekend strike on a Russian conscript barracks in Makiivka in Donetsk region which left possibly hundreds killed has sparked rare backlash and fury inside Russia, with even hardcore nationalists demanding answers and accountability of the military and government.
Russia had initially given an official death toll from the attack, which was allegedly conducted with US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, of 63 soldiers killed while Ukraine claims that it was actually up to 400. Later on Tuesday, the defense ministryupgraded the death toll to 89.
Some Russian military bloggers agree that it was likely more in the hundreds range, and have condemned military commanders for garrisoning troops in what’s being widely described as an unprotected building easily exposed to strikes, which also may have had an ammunition depot positioned dangerously next to it.
The anger has risen to the level of lawmakers in Russia’s parliament, who are demanding an internal investigation in order punish officers responsible for the decision-making which led to what may have been the single deadliest attack suffered by Russia since the invasion began.
The Hill on Wednesday cites one of these leading parliament figures as follows:
Sergey Mironov, a member of the Russian parliament’s State Duma, said the attack “should be the last of its kind.”
In a Telegram post, he called for an investigation and “personal criminal liability” for any Russian officers or personnel responsible.
As we detailed previously, there may have been other significant security lapses as well, given reports saying troops’ use of cellular phones or other possible open source communications likely tipped off the Ukrainians as to the presence and location of the base, given the likelihood for intercepted signals in a hot war zone.
Russian lawmaker Mironov continued in his blistering comments:”These are not only those who allowed the congestion of military personnel in an unprotected building… but also all the higher authorities who did not provide the proper level of security in the area.” He added in the rare criticisms, “Obviously, neither intelligence, nor counterintelligence, nor air defense did not work properly.”
Further, the chair of the Russian senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Grigory Karasin, said the attack and huge loss of life “cannot be forgiven” while vowing vengeance against Ukrainian forces. He added in a statement on Telegram, “It is clear that a demanding internal analysis of what happened is also needed.”
Alexey Sukonkin, a prominent blogger in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine wrote, “I can’t blame Ukraine. The real killer is the son-of-a-bitch who made our fighters into easy targets.” He asserted that those responsible for “the tragedy in Makiivka” which he called a “crime” should be “punished.” And further:
“And no, not Ukrainian,” Sukonkin wrote on Telegram. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine are acting as they should — they are trying to kill our soldiers. But their real killer is the scoundrel who positioned the fighters in such a way that it was easy for the enemy to shoot them.”
Interestingly, the narrative coalescing from top Kremlin officials is that it was the soldiers’ fault for breaking bans on cell phone usage…
Some Western military analysts have also weighed in from a strategic perspective, including the UK Royal Air Force’s Retired Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell, who points out Russian commanders grew lax over the holiday:
On New Year’s Eve, a large number of Russian soldiers were gathered in an abandoned school and seeing in 2023 together. Bell says many would have been trying to contact home just after midnight – making their phones “light up”.
It would have been enough for Ukraine to locate the barracks and target it on New Year’s Day, Bell says.
He puts further blame on Russia’s military command, saying there can be a “temptation to relax your guard” on New Year’s Eve, but such a large number of troops should not have been housed together.
It’s believed that in total some 600 troops had been crammed into the barracks, which is why the death toll is believed to be far greater that the 89 since confirmed by the Russian defense ministry.
Meanwhile, simultaneous to the growing internal criticisms, President Vladimir Putin continues to find significant displays of public support for the war. Reuters has picked up on one movement making waves this week, writing Tuesday that “A little known patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers has called on President Vladimir Putin to order a large-scale mobilization of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine.”
In the days following the Makiivka barracks attack, Russia hit back, including the below major airstrike caught on a live French TV broadcast…
While Putin long ago warned that the Ukraine special operation, which only at the end of last year he called a “war” for the first time, would be a long haul mission, many hawks in Russia believe the military is holding back too much, and that a larger-scale operation should be ordered.
Despite the prior Sept.21 ‘partial mobilization’ – the group called Soldiers’ Widows of Russia is asking for more in order to finish the job:
“We ask our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to allow the Russian Army to carry out a large-scale mobilization,” the Soldiers’ Widows of Russia group said in a post on Telegram.
“We ask our President, our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, to prohibit the departure of men of military age from Russia. And we have a full moral right to do this: our husbands died protecting these men, but who will protect us if they run away?“
Given local media is amplifying the messaging of this group at a moment the Russian media landscape in general is being tightly controlled in a wartime setting, this could be a coordinated Kremlin media campaign to pave the way for just such a full-scale mobilization plan ordered by Putin.
With the Russian invasion stalemated, and huge losses such as suffered at Makiivka in the New Year attack, are we about to witness a full formal declaration of war by Putin?
end
Putin warns the west not to escalate their attacks on Russia
(zerohedge)
Putin Sends Warship Armed With Hypersonic Missiles To Atlantic & Indian Oceans
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 01:20 PM
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a warship armed with new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles to be deployed on a mission to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, in what could be a message and warning aimed at the West against escalating in Ukraine.
The deployment of the frigate appears intended to make maximum possible public impact, given the announcement was made by Putin himself in a televised conference call with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Along with Shoigu, Putin addressed Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate which bears the name “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov” – and reminded him the ship while on mission is armed with Zircon hypersonic weapons – again in a coordinated message which unveiled the deployment to the public for the first time.
“This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system – ‘Zircon’ – which has no analogs,” Putin said. “I would like to wish the crew of the ship success in their service for the good of the Motherland.”
The ship is expected to also enter the Mediterranean Sea at some point while on its Atlantic mission, though the timeline of the voyage remains unclear.
“This ship, armed with ‘Zircons’, is capable of delivering pinpoint and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land,” Shoigu had responded to the Putin announcement. The defense chief also stressed the Zircon is undefeatable, able to evade any anti-air defense system in the world due to its purported ability to fly at nine times the speed of sound.
According to The Telegraph, it’s already making its way into the Atlantic, based on the publication’s Wednesday reporting that “a warship armed with new hypersonic cruise missiles on a training mission [went] past Britainto the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean.”
All of this follows last year’s test launches of Sarmat – an intercontinental missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads – launches which were confirmed in highly publicized videos.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin has repeatedly warned the West not to get more deeply involved in Ukraine, at a moment the US administration has authorized Patriot anti-air defenses to be transferred to Kiev.
However, Washington has sought to claim that no American troops will be manning the Patriot batteries, but that it will take some time – at least six or more months – for Ukrainian personnel to be trained on the Patriots’ operation.
end
This is interesting: the new Israeli government is pivoting and will now have a pro-Russian policy. They need easy access into Syria
(zerohedge)
ISRAEL/RUSSIA
Incoming Israeli Foreign Minister Shocks By Previewing Pro-Russian Policies
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 06:40 PM
Israel’s new government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is signaling a huge policy shift regarding both the Ukraine war and Israel’s relations with Russia, even suggesting a more openly ‘pro-Moscow’ stance.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in a Monday speech previewing future policy said in the context of the Ukraine conflict, “On the issue of Russia and Ukraine we will do one thing for sure – speak less in public.” Interestingly it comes after months of rising tensions with Kiev, based on Israel’s repeat refusal to provide the Ukrainians with its Iron Dome anti-air defense systems and other weaponry. However, the prior government was much more vocally supportive of Ukraine, in line with key Western allies like the United States and Britain.Image: The Jerusalem Post
Israel has limited itself to supplying humanitarian and other non-lethal aid, causing President Zelensky to recently lash out. In October Zelensky went so far as to chastise Israeli officials for turning “a blind eye to Russian terror”.
Zelensky also said at the time, which came in the context of a virtual address before Israeli journalists: “Is it [Israel] with the democratic world, which is fighting side by side against the existential threat to its existence? Or with those who turn a blind eye to Russian terror, even when the cost of continued terror is the complete destruction of global security?”
Fast-forward to a new hard-right Israeli government having days ago been sworn-in, and it appears that Zelensky’s fiery denunciation and pressure campaign has backfired.
But it seems Zelensky saw it coming, given the following comments at the end of November:
Israel’s incoming prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “personal relationship” with Russia’s Vladimir Putin could affect the “historical relations” between Israel and Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky told The New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday.
“Of course, if [Netanyahu] wants to maintain his personal relations with Putin, he can continue doing what he’s doing,” Zelensky said at the summit, held in New York City.
“But if he wants to maintain the historical relations between Israel and the Ukrainian people, you have to do everything you can to save as many people as possible.”
The incoming Israeli FM in the Monday remarks vowed a new “responsible” policy on the war in Ukraine, describing that the foreign ministry “will prepare a detailed presentation to the security cabinet on this issue.” He did say that Israeli humanitarian aid to the war-ravaged country will continue, but clearly this is a sign the door has been shut regarding the prospect of lethal aid in the near future.
According to Axios Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid, this marks a dramatic shift in Russia-Ukraine policy compared to the last caretaker government which was in place during the initial invasion and throughout the first 10 months of war. Ravid writes:
Why it matters: Cohen’s predecessor Yair Lapid led a tough line Russia, condemned it publicly & even said the Russian military committed war crimes. Since the invasion Lapid didn’t speak to Lavrov & after he assumed office as caretaker prime minister he didn’t speak to Putin.
Ravid further noted Cohen is expected to hold a phone call with his Russian counterpart:
New Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen signaled a policy shift on Ukraine in his 1st speech hinting the new government will take a more pro-Russian line. He said he will speak on Tuesday with Russian FM Lavrov – 1st such call since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, an awkward standoff could be developing at the UN, given Ukrainian and Israeli officials are seeking to ramp up pressure on each other concerning votes and policy positions before the world body.
As for Israel wanting to keep up tighter relations with Moscow, one prime factor is that it needs Russia to continue giving a quiet green light to Israeli Air Force strikes inside Syria. Israel says it is acting against Iranian assets inside the country, as well as Hezbollah. Russia has a significant military presence in Syria at the invitation of President Assad, but has not intervened against Israeli aggression in semi-frequently bombing places like Damascus, despite its limited verbal denunciations.
end
6/GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES
Vaccine//Covid issues: Injuries
Let’s Discuss The Real COVID Infection Fatality Rate
A study that looked into the age-stratified infection fatality rate (IFR) of COVID-19 among the non-elderly population has found that the rate was extremely low among young people.
The study aimed to accurately estimate the IFR of COVID-19 among non-elderly populations in the absence of vaccination or prior infection.
For every additional 10 years in age, the IFR was observed to increase by roughly four times. After including data from nine more nations, the median IFR for 0–59 years came in at 0.025 to 0.032 percent and for 0–69 years was at 0.063 to 0.082 percent.
According to the study, the analysis suggests a “much lower” pre-vaccination IFR in the non-elderly population than had been suggested previously. The large differences found between nations were pegged to differences in factors like comorbidities.
Vaccination Dangers Among Youth
A recent study that analyzed children between the ages of 5 and 17 who had received Pfizer COVID-19 shots found an elevated risk of heart inflammation among children as young as 12 years old.
Myocarditis and pericarditis met the threshold for a safety signal for children aged between 12 and 17 following the second and third doses. These heart conditions can cause long-term issues and even death.
“The signal detected for myocarditis/pericarditis is consistent with published peer-reviewed publications demonstrating an elevated risk of myocarditis/pericarditis following mRNA vaccines, especially among younger males aged 12-29 years,” the researchers said.
In an interview with Fox News back in January, MIT researcher Stephanie Seneff had said that it was “outrageous” to give COVID-19 vaccines to young people as they have a “very, very low risk” of dying from the infection.
When looking at the potential harms of these vaccines for children, they don’t make “any sense,” she added. With repeated boosters, such treatment will be “devastating” in the long term.
Parents should do “absolutely everything they can” to avoid getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19, the research scientist advised.
Vaccinating Children
Some countries have stopped their COVID-19 vaccine programs for children. In October, the Swedish Public Health authority ceased recommending vaccination for 12- to 17-year-olds except under special circumstances. The agency acknowledged that very few healthy children have been affected seriously by the virus.
“Overall, we see that the need for care as a result of COVID-19 has been low among children and young people during the pandemic, and has also decreased since the virus variant omicron began to spread,” Soren Andersson, head of a unit at the Public Health Authority, told broadcaster SVT at the time. “In this phase of the pandemic, we do not see that there is a continued need for vaccination in this group.”
Amajor new autopsy report has found that three people who died unexpectedly at home with no pre-existing disease shortly after Covid vaccination were likely killed by the vaccine. A further two deaths were found to be possibly due to the vaccine.
The report, published in Clinical Research in Cardiology, the official journal of the German Cardiac Society, detailed autopsies carried out at Heidelberg University Hospital in 2021. Led by Thomas Longerich and Peter Schirmacher, it found that in five deaths that occurred within a week of the first or second dose of vaccination with Pfizer or Moderna, inflammation of the heart tissue due to an autoimmune response triggered by the vaccine had likely or possibly caused the death.
Case characteristic of five deaths likely or possibly caused by the Covid vaccinesLymphocyte immune cells (white blood cells) are shown in blue and brown among the heart tissue, causing localised inflammation that proved fatal
In total the report looked at 35 autopsies carried out at the University of Heidelberg in people who died within 20 days of Covid vaccination, of which 10 were deemed on examination to be due to a pre-existing illness and not the vaccine. For the remaining 20, the report did not rule out the vaccine as a cause of death, which Dr. Schirmacher has confirmed to me is intentional as the autopsy results were inconclusive. Almost all of the remaining cases were of a cardiovascular cause, as indicated in the table below from the supplementary materials, where 21 of the 30 deaths are attributed to a cardiovascular cause. One of these is attributed to blood clots (VITT) from AstraZeneca vaccination (the report was looking specifically at post-vaccine myocarditis deaths), leaving 20 from other cardiovascular causes.
For the five deaths in the main report attributed as likely or possibly due to the vaccines, the authors state:
All cases lacked significant coronary heart disease, acute or chronic manifestations of ischaemic heart disease, manifestations of cardiomyopathy or other signs of a pre-existing, clinically relevant heart disease.
This indicates that the authors limited themselves to deaths where there was no “pre-existing, clinically relevant heart disease,” making the report very conservative in which deaths it was willing to pin on the vaccines.
Dr. Schirmacher told me:
We included only cases, in which the constellation was unequivocally clear and no other cause of death was demonstrable despite all efforts. We cannot rule out vaccine effects in the other cases, but here we had an alternative potential cause of death (e.g. myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism). If there is severe ischemic cardiomyopathy it is almost impossible to rule out myocarditis effects or definitively rule in inflammatory alterations as due to vaccination. These cases were not included.
We did not aim to include or find every case but the characteristics of definitive, unequivocal cases beyond any doubt. Only by this way you can establish the typical characteristics; otherwise less strict criteria may lead to ‘contamination’ of the collective; it is absolutely plausible that by these criteria we may have missed further cases but the intention of our study was never quantitative or extrapolation and there are numerous positive and negative bias. But we wanted to establish the fact not the size.
It is of course very possible that the vaccines also cause death where there is an underlying cardiovascular condition, and indeed, that it is more likely to do so. Thus these five deaths are the minimum from these autopsy cases in which the vaccines are involved – those in which there is no other plausible explanation.
It is worth noting here that initially in 2021, when the autopsies were first carried out, Dr. Schirmacher stated that his team had concluded 30-40 percent of the deaths were due to the vaccines. These earlier estimates may give us a better indication of how many of the deaths the authors really think are attributable to the vaccines, when they are unconstrained by highly conservative assumptions (and looking at causes besides myocarditis). Note that these percentages are based on a selection of deaths that occurred shortly after vaccination, not a random sample of all deaths, so the authors rightly warn that no estimation of individual risk can be made from them.
Did the autopsies find spike protein from the vaccines present in the heart tissue? The samples from the five vaccine-attributed deaths were tested for infectious agents including SARS-CoV-2 (in one instance revealing “low viral copy numbers” of a herpes virus, which the authors deemed insufficient to explain the inflammation). However, no tests were done specifically for the virus spike protein or nucleocapsid protein, such as have been used successfully in otherautopsies to aid attribution to the vaccine, so unfortunately this evidence was unavailable for these autopsies.
The autopsies in the report also only cover doses 1 and 2, not any booster doses, and only deaths within 20 days of vaccination, so the report doesn’t address directly the question of what’s been causing the elevated heart deaths since the booster rollouts from autumn 2021 or whether the vaccines can trigger cardiovascular death weeks or months later. (Otherautopsieshave confirmed that the spike protein can persist in the body for weeks or months after vaccination and trigger a fatal autoimmune attack on the heart.)
What the report does do, however, is establish that people who die suddenly in the days immediately following vaccination may well have died from a vaccine-related autoimmune attack on the heart. It also confirms how deadly even mild vaccine-induced myocarditis can be – and thus why studies like the one from Thailand, finding cardiovascular adverse effects in around a third of teenagers (29.2 percent) following Pfizer vaccination and subclinical heart inflammation in one in 43 (2.3 percent), and the study from Switzerland finding at least 2.8 percent with subclinical myocarditis and elevated troponin levels (indicating heart injury) across all vaccinated people, are so worrying.
The authors of the new study diplomatically write that the “reported incidence” of myocarditis after vaccination is “low” and the risks of hospitalisation and death associated with COVID-19 are “stated to be greater than the recorded risk associated with COVID-19 vaccination” – notably declining to commit themselves to the official propositions that they dutifully repeat.
The fact that those who die suddenly after vaccination may have died from the hidden effects of the Covid vaccine on their heart is thus now firmly established in the medical literature. The big remaining question is how often it occurs.
Stop Press: Dr. John Campbell has produced a helpful overview of the report’s findings in his latest video.
TWITTER FILES
USA state department is panicking over zerohedge Covid 19 reporting
(Twitter/zerohedge)
Twitter Files: US State Department Panicked Over ZeroHedge Covid-19 Reporting
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 06:11 AM
Journalist Matt Taibbi gave the public a double-header on Tuesday – first revealing how Twitter was swarmed by the US intelligence community…
1.THREAD: The Twitter Files How Twitter Let the Intelligence Community In— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
The drop includes several bombshells about how the US intelligence community, and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), tried to force-feed the Russian influence narrative down Twitter’s throat despite the fact that Twitter justwasn’t seeing it.
Anyone shocked that Twitter manufactured a fake Russian disinformation campaign at the request of a United States Senator (Warner) to make it look like foreign actors were still influencing American elections?#TwitterFiles— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) January 3, 2023
And second, a thread on how the intelligence community started going straight to the media with lists of suspect accounts.
https://t.co/BcFhHCvjAE February, 2020, as COVID broke out, the Global Engagement Center – a fledgling analytic/intelligence arms of the State Department – went to the media with a report called, “Russian Disinformation Apparatus Taking Advantage of Coronavirus Concerns.” pic.twitter.com/KjUeE8vejt— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
In the early days of the pandemic, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) was flagging accounts suggesting COVID-19 was a bioweapon, blaming the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or “attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA,” (the latter of which nobody was actually saying… it was speculation over work done at Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina).
As Taibbi further notes, the State Department also flagged accounts that retweeted ZeroHedge due to “Sinophobia” and a “flurry of disinformation” that allegedly broke out after our suspension on Twitter.
5.State also flagged accounts that retweeted news that Twitter banned the popular U.S. ZeroHedge, claiming the episode “led to another flurry of disinformation narratives.” ZH had done reports speculating that the virus had lab origin. pic.twitter.com/JlIobPzAFE— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
Which only raises more questions.
Why was this GEC more concerned about “Sinophobia” (fear of China) than the truth?— ICULuci (@icu_luci) January 3, 2023
But hey, they had a giant problem on their hands, since even those with double-digit IQs could connect the dots between the Obama administration banning Gain-of-Function research to manipulate bat coronaviruses in order to become more transmissible to humans, then Anthony Fauci offshoring it to Wuhan, China via EcoHealth Alliance, which was carried out by a guy who repeatedly bragged about… manipulating bat coronavirus, and then COVID-19 breaks out in the same exact town.
What are the odds?
Anthony “the Science” Fauci desperately tried to hide his involvement in Wuhan covid research. Anything that pointed at him, even remotely, was “Russian propaganda” https://t.co/FOPObnvm74— zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 3, 2023
Did we mention we’re really interested in the Twitter ‘Fauci Files’ that are supposedly dropping later this week?
The real source of disinformation turned out to be, what do you know, the government.— Dave Benner, Thomas Paine Promoter (@dbenner83) January 3, 2023
Back to the infiltration of Twitter…
7.“YOU HAVEN’T MADE A RUSSIA ATTRIBUTION IN SOME TIME” When Clemson’s Media Forensics Hub complained Twitter hadn’t “made a Russia attribution” in some time, Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth said it was “revelatory of their motives.” pic.twitter.com/zByT5aCaBo— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) January 3, 2023
8.“WE’RE HAPPY TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU ON THIS, INSTEAD OF NBC.” Roth tried in vain to convince outsider researchers like the Clemson lab to check with them before pushing stories about foreign interference to media.
9.Twitter was also trying to reduce the number of agencies with access to Roth. “If these folks are like House Homeland Committee and DHS, once we give them a direct contact with Yoel, they will want to come back to him again and again,” said policy director Carlos Monje.
10.When the State Department/GEC – remember this was 2020, during the Trump administration – wanted to publicize a list of 5,500 accounts it claimed would “amplify Chinese propaganda and disinformation” about COVID, Twitter analysts were beside themselves.
On Jan 2, Monday night football I watched in horror as I saw another 24 year old professional athlete make a very average tackle, stand up and then collapse. He laid on the field as medics came and performed CPR before he was finally ambulanced away. The most important and first reaction I had was to pray for him, his family, his teammates, and all involved. This was terrible and should never happen.
My second reaction was anger, and not just a little bit. For nearly 3 years now I have fought the COVID fraud day and night. I believe COVID is a thing and know it has killed many but everything beyond that has been a lie. I’m not interested in getting in to the specifics of the lie here, but rather, want to ensure we stop the lie from going further and killing even more.
The hit that Hamlin was involved in was minor at best. I played football, am a lifelong athlete, spent years in martial arts, and have tried about every type of contact sport you can try. In all of my years and in all of the things I have tried, this simply does not happen. What happened last night had nothing to do with the hit – I predict it was the bioweapon/vaccine pushed by Anthony Fauci, Joe Biden, the WEF, the CCP and many others that will ultimately be shown to be the cause (of course they will cover it up).
If you have not heard about the potential for heart damage from the jabs then your living under a rock or listening exclusively to CNN/MSNBC and if that is the case you may be beyond the reach of reason. For the rest of us, let me tell you what I saw. I saw a young man that was participating in intense physical activity, that took a minor hit, got up from the hit quickly, then collapsed in a manor that seems consistent with what we see in many of the #diedsuddenly heart attack videos. He then received CPR which you are likely to need if you are experiencing heart issues such as these. Reports have said that they also used the AED at the field which is to jump-start your heart if it stops.
None of this has ANYTHING to do with a hit. There are a few vax apologists trying to suggest that it was commotio cordis but that is absolutely absurd and, even if it was true, it was probably exacerbated by the jab. Commotio cordis happens roughly 10-20 times per year and rarely in people over 20 years old (see this AHA article). If you watch the hit this guy was hit in the shoulder area primarily and it slid up towards his head – the impact was minor and not in the area of the heart. I talked to several doctor friends and they all said the same thing as Peter McCullough – this was likely related to the jab.
The first reaction, after shock, was for the mainstream to start parading out doctors to tell us it wasn’t the jab. There is zero chance they could have ruled that out. These guys had no test results or medical info and the jab is known to cause heart issues. How would they rule out a likely cause without more info than we have? The answer is they couldn’t and were just trying to cover up the truth. I suppose that shouldn’t be a surprise given that the NFL sold its player health for the almighty dollar and would not want that known, and that is my real issue.
As statements of prayer and concern were posted last night, any time anyone mentioned the jab the response was “don’t politicize this.” Are you kidding me? Did you miss the story about the NFL player that had called for the unjabbed to be imprisoned who “died suddenly” yesterday – probably from the jab (you can see it here if you missed it)? Fauci and his band of crooks have not missed a single chance to lie and claim every single COVID death could have been prevented with the deathjab but we shouldn’t talk about the truth?
The simple reality is we MUST talk about this. EVERY single person watching had the same question but most were too afraid to ask, was this the jab? I predict the answer is yes and want people to continue asking this critical question. My reasoning has absolutely nothing to do with me saying “I told you so” – think that is abhorrent. Rather, my reasoning is that we MUST have everyone wake up to the truth so we can prevent tragedies like this from continuing.
These jabs have killed and will kill more than we will ever know. They are indisputably creating massive reductions in life expectancy and causing lifelong health issues including reproductive problems. An HONEST conversation about this disaster is well past overdue and this tragedy should force the issue. Closing our eyes to the truth will only serve to exacerbate the problem and we MUST start looking for treatments/cures to the jabs and pull them from the market immediately.
I am well past apologizing for my position. I’ve seen more death and carnage and have as much court-quality evidence of what is happening than anyone in the country. There is no question about what is happening, the question is how many more tragedies to we need to see before we start looking at the hard reality that the people of the world were defrauded in one of the most evil schemes in history. Until we start facing this FACT, these tragedies will continue.
I pray for this young man and his family and hope they file the biggest lawsuit against the NFL in history if circumstances allow.
Berenson understands that we cannot as a differential diagnosis, dismiss the COVID gene injection mRNA/DNA platform as the cause; at least he has held while even doctors on our side AWOL
See my prior substack on Damar Hamlin and this tragic situation and see Berenson’s. We are all people here and we want this young man to survive. But serious questions now emerge and you are damn right I will not let the authorities, the NFL, no idiotic television doctor off the hook.
It is incumbent on the NFL to divulge vaccine status and also to do all it can do now to prevent the rest of vaccinated players from this life altering injury, including death. If this was vaccine related, NFL must come clean. Players lives are at stake now, their lives.
I believe with more certainty today, that this was a vaccine induced myocarditis grave injury that manifested on the field. It may even not be linked to the hit and we are being confused by the temporal association. Meaning it may be that even if the hit did not occur, Damar would have suffered the same fate. This was likely, more than not, vaccine.
This is a very serious development!
Big praise Alex, you show more stones than most. I like that! We still have issues but a hat tip is in order.
This is not about who writes first etc. This is about the truth and saving lives. The NFL mandated the shots. They have serious questions now to answer.
Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander’s Newsletter
Bill Clinton said famously in his election against POTUS George Bush Sr.: “It’s the economy, stupid, it’s the economy!” Dr. Paul Elias Alexander is saying: “It’s the vaccine, stupid, it’s the vaccine!” Check out TWC at: TWC.health (url: https://www.twc.health/en-ca…
We should not force COVID vaccines on anyone when the evidence shows that naturally acquired immunity is equal to or more robust and superior to existing vaccines. Respect bodily integrity.
Alexander COVID News-Dr. Paul Elias Alexander’s Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
‘We should not force COVID vaccines on anyone when the evidence shows that naturally acquired immunity is equal to or more robust and superior to existing vaccines. Instead, we should respect the right of the bodily integrity of individuals to decide for themselves.
Public health officials and the medical establishment with the help of the politicized media are misleading the public with assertions that the COVID-19 shots provide greater protection than natural immunity. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, for example, was deceptive in her October 2020 published LANCET statement that “there is no evidence for lasting protective immunity to SARS-CoV-2 following natural infection” and that “the consequence of waning immunity would present a risk to vulnerable populations for the indefinite future.”
Immunology and virology 101 have taught us over a century that natural immunity confers protection against a respiratory virus’s outer coat proteins, and not just one, e.g. the SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. There is even strong evidence for the persistence of antibodies. Even the CDC recognizes natural immunity for chicken-pox and measles, mumps, and rubella, but not for COVID-19.
The vaccinated are showing viral loads (very high) similar to the unvaccinated (Acharya et al. and Riemersma et al.), and the vaccinated are as infectious. Riemersma et al. also report Wisconsin data that corroborate how the vaccinated individuals who get infected with the Delta variant can potentially (and are) transmit(ting) SARS-CoV-2 to others (potentially to the vaccinated and unvaccinated).
This troubling situation of the vaccinated being infectious and transmitting the virus emerged in seminal nosocomial outbreak papers by Chau et al. (HCWs in Vietnam), the Finland hospital outbreak (spread among HCWs and patients), and the Israel hospital outbreak (spread among HCWs and patients). These studies also revealed that the PPE and masks were essentially ineffective in the healthcare setting. Again, the Marek’s disease in chickens and the vaccination situation explains what we are potentially facing with these leaky vaccines (increased transmission, faster transmission, and more ‘hotter’ variants).
Moreover, existing immunity should be assessed before any vaccination, via an accurate, dependable, and reliable antibody test (or T cell immunity test) or be based on documentation of prior infection (a previous positive PCR or antigen test). Such would be evidence of immunity that is equal to that of vaccination and the immunity should be provided the same societal status as any vaccine-induced immunity. This will function to mitigate the societal anxiety with these forced vaccine mandates and societal upheaval due to job loss, denial of societal privileges etc. Tearing apart the vaccinated and the unvaccinated in a society, separating them, is not medically or scientifically supportable.
This follow-up chart is the most updated and comprehensive library list of 150 of the highest-quality, complete, most robust scientific studies and evidence reports/position statements on natural immunity as compared to the COVID-19 vaccine-induced immunity and allow you to draw your own conclusion.
This represents the judged trustworthy ‘body of evidence’ that includes peer-reviewed studies and high-quality literature and reporting that contributes to that body of evidence. The aim here is to share and inform for your own decision-making.
I’ve benefited from the input of many to put this together, especially my co-authors:
Dr. Harvey Risch, MD, PhD (Yale School of Public Health)
Dr. Howard Tenenbaum, PhD ( Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto)
Dr. Ramin Oskoui, MD (Foxhall Cardiology, Washington)
Dr. Peter McCullough, MD (Truth for Health Foundation (TFH)), Texas
Dr. Parvez Dara, MD (consultant, Medical Hematologist and Oncologist)’
McCullough cites the French MEPHI study & eviscerates the malfeasants who conspired against ivermectin & hydroxychloroquine as potential drugs to save lives! see his substack too! praise!
‘Inhibition of spike protein-induced HA was tested using the macrocyclic lactone ivermectin (IVM), which is indicated to bind strongly to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein glycan sites. The results of these experiments were, first, that spike protein from these four lineages of SARS-CoV-2 induced HA. Omicron induced HA at a significantly lower threshold concentration of spike protein than the three prior lineages and was much more electropositive on its central spike protein region. IVM blocked HA when added to RBCs prior to spike protein and reversed HA when added afterward.’
Credit Kory, Ladapo, Oskoui, Risch, McCullough, Zelenko, Marik, Fareed, Tyson; these people and more have fought against the medical tyranny.
I have said and I will say again, investigate hospitals, CEOs, medical doctors, no matter if thousands, investigate and if shown they caused deaths, strip all their money and then imprison them. If a proper court and tribunal with juries and judges say it rises to capital punishment and they say death penalty for lives lost, take, then we hang them, hang them all!
Dr. McCullough and John Leake (excellent writer and crime investigator) are too kind using the word ‘shame on them’…
Shame? Come on Dr. McCullough and Mr. Leake, you then need to go back on Stew Peters etc. and get the riot act read to you on how you deal with this. This needs to be matched with similar actions, sometimes irrationality must be met with irrationality. “SHAME on the hospital administrators and their thuggish attorneys who denied the countless dying wishes. SHAME on the federal health officials who propagated the LIE that Ivermectin was merely a “horse de-wormer.” SHAME on the useful idiot media pundits such as CNN broadcasters and Late-Night Comedy hosts who flooded the zone with this foul lie.”
This paragraph is too tame!
No, we need serious accountability and justice. We need people imprisoned the rest of their lives (and or hung if judges call for this) for the lies and fraud from the virus to the lockdowns to the denial of early treatment with drugs like IVM to the fraud gene mRNA/DNA injections that kill. For all the lies, we need justice. Nothing short!
Huge praise Dr. McCullough for being the point on this day one three years ago and building this movement, leading, mentoring, huge praise for being the John Galt of our time, maybe sharing it with Scott Atlas a d Zev Zelenko! A John Galt is not only to raise the issue and push it, he or she needs others to join in and to push too. This is where we lack. We need other John Galts and not usurpers and thieves and fake people and money whores and pimpers like the ‘streamers’, pimping pain and suffering only to enrich themselves. We need real soldiers. No more key board navel gazing warriors.
Hue praise to Mr. John Leake, your writing is beautiful, the way you write, content and style.
We await for warriors to join us odd 12-15, until then, find me on the front lines with Oskoui, Tenenbaum, Risch, McCullough, Sass, Wolf, Hodkinson, Tucker, Senger et al.
Courageous Discourse™ with Dr. Peter McCullough & John Leake
By JOHN LEAKE Researching our book—The Courage to Face COVID-19: Preventing Hospitalization and Death While Battling the Bio-Pharmaceutical Complex—was often a distressing and maddening experience. The systematic lying about hydroxychloroquine to suppress …
/VACCINE IMPACT
Has Wall Street Hijacked the Vaccine Resistance Movement by Funding Pro-Vaccine Spokespeople to Speak Against COVID Vaccines?
January 3, 2023 7:32 pm
I have been writing about the dangers of vaccines ever since Health Impact News started 12 years ago, in January of 2011. And even before I started publishing on Health Impact News, I was warning the public about the danger of vaccines by selling books in my online store, primarily books written by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny on the flu shots, showing not only how dangerous they were, but exposing the fraud in the vaccine industry. Since 2011 I have worked with pretty much everyone in the vaccine resistance movement, giving them a voice on the Health Impact News network, until 2020 when the COVID scam was unleashed. Since 2020, the people who get the most media attention on the vaccine issue are newcomers to the movement, and the main reason they are getting most of the attention is because they have brought huge sources of funding with them to get their message out. Where has all of this funding come from since 2020, when the world’s economy began to suffer a downturn, as many small and medium size businesses have now left the marketplace? We know that President Donald Trump released $trillions into the economy all in the name of “COVID” and the emergency health measures, and we know that most of that money went to Big Pharma and their investors. But let me be very clear right up front at the beginning of this article on just what my motivation is in publishing this. This is not just simply about money, but it is about where do we now go from here, as most of the public is now waking up to the COVID-19 “vaccine” fraud that is behind all the “sudden deaths” we are now seeing? Who do we look to for guidance in the future, as we seek to heal those who have suffered from these bioweapons, and seek justice for the criminals who caused this? This is the #1 question that has to be answered here in 2023 as we move forward, and while there are whistleblower doctors and others who have done a great job in exposing the problem, it is time now to move beyond the fact that we have a criminal problem with criminal products that are killing people, and it is time to focus on bringing the criminals to justice, and bringing down the entire criminal enterprise. And that is going to be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for those who still support the system and earn their living from the criminal system. Because the only way the COVID-19 “vaccine” injured are going to be healed, is to stop injecting them and their children with vaccines, ALL vaccines, and that is not going to happen with these well-funded pro-vaccine voices who only speak out against the COVID-19 shots, and not all the other vaccine products that have been maiming and killing children and adults for decades now.
Price Comes Before The Fall: Will Complacency And Warm Weather Leave Europe More Vulnerable Next Winter
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 11:00 AM
By Bas van Geffen, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank
Price comes before the fall
Of course, the decline in Europe’s TTF gas price benchmark and the increase in gas storage over the Christmas holidays wasn’t only observed by this daily yesterday. French PM Borne stated that she is now more confident that energy supplies in the coming weeks will be sufficient. And a Dutch late night talk show discussed whether this meant that households would soon be seeing a drop in their utility bills again.
Certainly, such a drop in energy costs would be a welcome development for many Europeans. However, it also risks complacency. Firms have stopped certain production processes or have even shuttered entire plants due to the lack of availability and/or high costs of gas. Households have been looking for ways to self-ration as well, driven by concerns over the costs of electricity and gas use. Companies may be reluctant to reopen their production facilities as long as significant uncertainty over gas availability remains. But if consumers see energy prices decline again, that could easily make them complacent. And, worse, what if this lowers governments’ incentives –either on the national or EU level– to press on with structural improvements in Europe’s energy security?That could leave Europe more vulnerable next winter or in winters to come.
European equity markets extended their New Year’s gains and outperformed their US counterparts yesterday. Perhaps this resembles some of the optimism regarding the energy outlook, and a lower probability of forced rationing/blackouts in the near term. That said, it is too early after the holidays to draw much of a conclusion, and EUR’s underperformance compared to its G10 peers suggests that this may just be mere ex post rationalisation on our end as the continent’s outlook remains fragile.
In a sneak preview of the Eurozone inflation data released on Friday, German inflation dropped notably in December. HICP inflation slowed from 11.3% y/y to 9.6%; the lowest reading since August. That’s a softer than expected headline number, with markets anticipating a drop to 10.2%. Yet, as welcome as this stronger retreat to single-digit headline numbers is, the reading is affected by some unusual factors. Most importantly, the German government provided one-off compensation for energy bills last month. Meanwhile, prices of e.g. services have re-accelerated to 3.9%, in a sign that any retreat back to the ECB’s 2%-target may be a long process.
Supporting optimism about peak inflation, and perhaps casting some doubt over the ECB’s latest guidance that it will have continue to hike aggressively, French inflation came in significantly softer than expected as well. The country’s HICP declined to 6.7% from 7.1% in November. The French data show a similar trend as the German inflation figures; a slowdown in energy prices, while Insee notes that prices of services should accelerate, notably those of transport services.
Indeed, market-implied expectations of the ECB’s next few rate hikes have shifted marginally lower since the release of the data, with a cumulative 120bp of hikes priced by May, down from 126bp before the turn of the year.
That said, adding to the ECB’s concerns that it could take significant time before inflation returns to the central banks’ target, labour markets remain tight in various countries. Specifically, German unemployment unexpectedly fell in December. According to the Federal Labour Agency, there were 13,000 fewer unemployed after adjusting for seasonal factors and the inflow of Ukrainian refugees. With employment at a new high (latest data is for November), staff shortages continue to support employees’ bargaining power as they try to recoup some of the real incomes lost to high inflation.
Given the upside risks, it’s not surprising that the ECB’s hawks have not been muted by these recent inflation data. Kazaks repeated that he sees “significant” rate increases at the February and March meetings, after which “of course the steps may become smaller as necessary as we find the level appropriate to bring the inflation down to 2%.”
Elsewhere, China is still trying to cope with the surge in Covid infections after restrictions were eased. Some news outlets are reporting a potential peak in new infections, whereas reports of over-full hospitals and morgues paint a much bleaker picture. Some countries have already imposed inbound travel restrictions for passengers from China, and the EU will discuss a joint-policy today.
The recent surge in Covid infections is not only straining the Chinese health care system. Bloomberg reports that it may now also stifle Beijing’s plans to kick-start a domestic semiconductor industry to compete with US-controlled supply chains. According to Bloomberg, the virus’ impact on the government’s budget forces government officials to reconsider its subsidies for the sector, which have been expensive and have yielded relatively few results.
It’s yet unclear what alternative policies the government may unveil but new strategies could include lowering the costs of materials, according to the news agency’s sources. This may slow the country’s path towards self-sufficiency in the chip sector, as it seeks to untangle itself from the US – which has increasingly been limiting its strategic rival’s access to key chip resources.
end
7//OIL ISSUES//NATURAL GAS ISSUES/USA AND GLOBE
END
8.EMERGING MARKETS ISSUES//AUSTRALIA ISSUES.
END
Your early currency/gold and silver pricing/Asian and European bourse movements/ and interest rate settings WEDNESDAY morning 7:30 AM
EURO VS USA DOLLAR:1.0616 UP .0071
USA/ YEN 130.64 DOWN 0.649/NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .50% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN RISES//
GBP/USA 1.2057 UP 0.0091
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 7.00 PTS OR 0.22%
Hang Sang CLOSED UP 647.82 POINTS OR 3.22%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 1.65% // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SANG CLOSED UP 647.80 PTS OR 3.22%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 7.00 PTS OR 0.22%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSEDUPN 1.65%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 377.64 PTS OR 1.45%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED
Gold very early morning trading: 1859.20
silver:$24.24
USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY morning: 103.78 DOWN .54 BASIS POINTS from TUESDAY’s close.
The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE (CLOSED ..(UP) AT 6.8886
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. 6.8964
TURKISH LIRA: 18.74 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.447
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 9 IN basis points from TUESDAY at 3.707% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic
USA 30 yr bond yield 3.816 DOWN 8 in basis points
Your closing USA dollar index, 103.99 DOWN 32 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 WEDNESDAY: 12:00 PM
London: CLOSED UP 27.10 PTS OR 0.36%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 305.61 POINTS OR 1.25%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 155.74 PTS OR 2.35%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 158.50 OR 1.89%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 412.10PTS OR 1.69%
WTI Oil price 73.13 12: EST
Brent Oil: 78.40 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN /// UP TO: 72.00/ ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND 86/100 RUBLES/DOLLAR
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.255
UK 10 YR YIELD: 3.5165 UP 1 BASIS PTS.
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA: 1.0607 UP .0062 OR 62 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2064 UP .0098 or 98 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 3.526% DOWN 18 BASIS PTS
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 132.54 UP 1.245/YEN DOWN 125 BASIS PTS//
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3484 DOWN .0188 (CDN dollar, UP 188 basis pts)
West Texas intermediate oil: 73.14
Brent OIL: 77.99
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 10 BASIS pts to 3.694%
USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 9 BASIS PTS to 3.804%
USA dollar index:103.99 DOWN 31 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 18.74
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 72.00 DOWN 0 AND 86/100 roubles
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 133.40 PTS OR 0.40%
NASDAQ 100 UP 52.16 PTS OR 0.48%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 22.17 DOWN 0.73 PTS (3.19)%
GLD: $171,03 UP 1.62 OR 0.95%
SLV/ $22.05 DOWN $0.16 OR 0.73%
end)
USA trading day in Graph Form
Santa Claus Rally Delivers Despite Hawkish Fed Minutes & ‘Good’ JOLTS Data
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 04:02 PM
The ‘Santa Claus Rally’ (as defined ‘last full trading week of Dec into first two days of Jan’) ended positively this year (with the S&P above 3822 – 12/22 close), but only just…
Overall dating back to 1985, if “Santa Rally” is POSITIVE, January has also seen a +0.6% median rise (62% hit rate), Q1 a +1.7% median rally (66% hit) and calendar year +12.7% (76% hit)
Today’s trading was triggered off 3 main events
0900ET Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari says he penciled in another 100 bps in rate rises this year, for a terminal policy rate of 5.4%. This is despite “increasing evidence” that inflation may have peaked.
1000ET JOLTS printed a lot better than expected while ISM Manufacturing was on the ugly side (but prices paid plunged)
1400ET Fed Minutes tilted even more hawkish with pointed reference to market’s “unwarranted” easing expectations.
The market’s terminal Fed rate expectations dropped on hawkish Kashkari and rallied on the good JOLTS data and extended hawkishly on the FOMC Minutes…
Source: Bloomberg
Stocks drifted higher overnight then tanked on the ‘good’ news about jobs, then rebounded. When the hawkish Fed Minutes hit, stocks were confused but the pushback against ‘unwarranted’ easing was enough to send stocks lower… which prompted some reflexive buying… but that was then sold in the late-day with The Dow and Nasdaq giving up gains before a panic-bid into the green to close the day…
Treasury yields began 2023 with their best opening day performance since 2001, illustrating this is a bond market that favors recession and eventual Fed rate cuts later this year and extended those gains today with yields down 3-4bps across the curve…
Source: Bloomberg
The dollar erased all of yesterday’s gains overnight then bounced during the EU/US sessions…
Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin spiked up to near $17,000 intraday before fading back, but ended higher…
Source: Bloomberg
Gold topped $1870 today – the highest since June 16th 2022…
Oil prices tumbled after disappointing US manufacturing data
Notably gas (pump) prices are trading well below the ‘equivalent’ oil prices (so much for those greedy Big Oil hucksters)…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, we note that The Fed explicitly called out the market’s “unwarranted” easing expectations in the Minutes and financial conditions have been tightening since the Fed statement…
Source: Bloomberg
So it is clear that anyone now buying stocks on hopes of easing is directly ‘fighting the Fed’.
END
EARLY MORNING TRADING//
EARLY AFTERNOON TRADING//FOMC
FOMC Minutes Show Hawkish Fed Pushing Back Against “Unwarranted” Easing In Financial Conditions
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 02:05 PM
Since the last FOMC statement on Dec 14th – when The Fed hiked by 50bps and gushed hawkishly – gold has outperformed while long-duration stocks have been the biggest loser with the dollar flat and crypto and bonds lower…
Source: Bloomberg
The market’s expectations for the trajectory of Fed rate moves has shifted significantly hawkishly since the last FOMC statement…
Source: Bloomberg
Most notably, financial conditions have notably tightened post-FOMC as Powell had wanted, after dovishly decoupling from The Fed’s policy actions…
Source: Bloomberg
And we suspect Powell will not want the Minutes to stall that trend.
So what did The Minutes say?
The headline from today’s minutes is that it is clear that Fed officials were not pleased by the surge in stocks (easing in financial conditions) ahead of the meeting, warning against an “unwarranted” easing in financial conditions.
Additionally, It’s also interesting how there are “many” Fed officials saying that there was a need to balance two-sided risks.
This suggests there is a growing split at The Fed.
Developing…
ii) USA DATA
Generally the more accurate of the data points: ISM manufacturing falters again. USA manufacturing is only 8% of GDP
(zerohedge)
ISM Manufacturing Contracts For 2nd Month, Prices Paid & New Orders Plunge
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 10:05 AM
Following the final PMI print for December yesterday confirming the manufacturing side of the US economy is at its weakest since the COVID-lockdown crisis, ISM reports this morning that weakness with a worse than expected 48.4 print (down from 49.0).
That is the ninth straight decline in ISM Manufacturing, the longest stretch of declines since 1974-1975.
Under the hood, it was mixed with employment picking up modestly while prices paid and new orders plunged to COVID-lockdown lows…
Source: Bloomberg
As S&P Global’s Siân Jones noted yesterday, “growing uncertainty and tumbling demand suggest challenges for manufacturers will roll over into the new year.”
Globally, JPMorgan’s Global Manufacturing PMI fell to a 30-month low of 48.6 in December and remained below the neutral mark of 50.0 for the fourth straight month.
Only seven out of the 29 nations for which December data were available had a PMI reading in expansion territory – India, Russia, Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Australia.
The US, the UK and Brazil were the largest nations ranking towards the lower reaches of the PMI league table.
Excluding the lows registered during the early months of the global pandemic, the current PMI reading is the lowest since the first half of 2009.
end
Interesting: job openings increase dramatically despite continued deterioration in hiring
(Jolts)
Job Openings Come In Much Hotter Than Expected Despite Continued Deterioration In Hiring
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 10:40 AM
One month after the October JOLTS report signaled a long-overdue plunge in job openings, when the BLS reported a 353,000 drop and reversing much of the previous month’s gain, things have again reverted back to normal because moments ago the latest JOLTS reported indicated that after the strongly upward revised October print of 10.512MM – up from 10.334MM previously – the latest, November, openings print was 10.458MM, which while a drop of 54K from the previous month, was more than 400K higher than consensus expectations.
This was the third consecutive beat of expectations in the series, and an unprecedented 11 of the past 12 prints, just another garden variety six-sigma event by the never political BLS.
According to the BLS, in November, job openings increased in professional and business services (+212,000) and in nondurable goods manufacturing (+39,000). The number of job openings decreased in finance and insurance (-75,000) and in federal government (-44,000).
The latest surge in job openings means that for the 2nd consecutive month there are 4.4 million more jobs than unemployed workers…
Said otherwise, there were 1.74 job openings for every unemployed worker, unchanged from last month. Needless to say, this number has a ways to drop to revert to its precovid levels around around 1.20…
… and as Nick Timiraos writes, “the Fed would like to see the ratio of vacancies to unemployed workers decline. It’s holding around 1.75”
While job openings unexpectedly reversed the recent drop and keep coming hotter than expected, hiring continued to slide and in November the BLS reported that total hires dipped to 6.0552 million which was the lowest since February 2021.
The trend here is clear: lower and to the right. According to the BLS, hires increased in health care and social assistance (+74,000).
Meanwhile, in yet another surprising reversal, the number of quits – or the “take this job and shove it” indicator – unexpectedly rose and in November jumped by 126K to 4,173MM, the biggest increase since November 2021.
So what’s going on here, and why the chronic “beats” in job openings? Well, here is a long-term chart showing new hires vs quits. Whereas traditionally the two data sets would correlate, in the past year we have seen far more quits than the number of hires would suggest, which in turn leads to more cumulative job openings.
The prepondrancy of quitting is confirmed by Nick Bunker, economist at @indeed, who also observes that “the big story from this report is that quitting is no longer slowing down. The labor market is still giving lots of workers lots of opportunities to take new jobs. Hard to see a more significant moderation of wage growth without a coldown in quitting” (the full thread is quite informative).
However, it remains unclear what all those people who quit end up doing since we know they haven’t been hired or else the number of hires would also come in much hotter. On the other hand, it may all just be a statistical plug in some BLS spreadsheet to make it all foot to the jobs number.
And speaking of jobs, since the JOLTS report was for November, it is largely meaningless: what matters is what the dept of labor reveals about the number of jobs added in December, and if the continued deterioration in hiring is any indication, it won’t be pretty.
III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES.
Probably one of the more accurate Feds, the St Louis Fed quietly finds USA is now in recession, that which we have been reporting on
(zerohedge)
St. Louis Fed Quietly Finds US Is Now In A Recession
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 05:20 PM
In recent weeks, we have seen a burst of unexpected truthiness out of various regional Fed banks, a sharp contrast to the constant barrage of prevarication out of the Federal Reserve.
First, it was the Philadelphia Fed which effectively revised what was according to the BLS a gain of 1.1 million jobs to just 10,500 jobs, meaning that the Fed was looking at erroneously overstated, arguably politicized data, as it unleashed its burst of 75bps rate hikes in June… which happened just as June jobs number turned negative.
Then, a few days later, the Cleveland Fed suggested that the Fed’s entire inflation view is wrong, relying on core CPI (and PCE) data that is woefully, even dangerously, delayed – in some cases lagging market data by up to 12 months, and suggesting that rent inflation – a core component of shelter and OER inflation which is arguably the most important component of “sticky” US service inflation – is actually far lower if measured correctly. Specifically, instead of looking at the “all-tenant repeat rent index” (which looks at a broader, but much more smoothed population sample), the Cleveland Fed argues that what is key is the “New-Tenant Repeat Rent” index, which tracks market indexes such as Zillow and Apartment List far more closely, and thus represents reality much more accurately at key inflection points.
Needless to say, if either – or both – of these analyses are correct, and the real US jobs market is far weaker than represented, and/or inflation is far lower than what the BLS has represented at a time when the Fed has hiked four times by 75bps, an unprecedented pace of tightening last seen only during the Volcker era in hopes of crushing what is an already stalling economy, the implications will be huge and potentially catastrophic for both the Fed and whichever political party is in charge.
But just in case there wasn’t enough doubt in the Fed’s actions prompted by the Fed’s own regional banks, in yet another controversial report, this time published by the St. Louis Fed, has one-upped both its Philadelphia and Cleveland Fed peers, finding that if one looks at the number of states with negative growth, the US is now officially in a recession (way to throw the political operatives at the NBER under the bus, guys).
Here is what St. Louis Fed researchers Kevin Kliesen and Cassandra Marks found in a report published just days before New Year’s Eve (a time when absolutely nobody would have noticed a shocking admission that the US is in a recession) in a report titled “Are State Economic Conditions a Harbinger of a National Recession.”
Economists view recessions as national events. However, past recessions have shown that some states’ economies continued to expand during a recession—particularly when the national recession was relatively mild. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s state coincident indexes (SCIs) can be used to assess whether recession-like conditions have developed in each of the states. And if so, whether there is a threshold in the number of states that might signal a national recession.
* * *
The figure below plots, for each month, the number of states that had negative month-over-month growth based on this index. The figure shows that the series has favorable recession-indicator properties; that is, during national recessions, as defined by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of states that register negative growth in the SCI increases.
Here are the number of states that had negative SCI growth at the start of these six recessions:
February 1980: 30 states
August 1981: 30 states
August 1990: 26 states
April 2001: 24 states
January 2008: 9 states
March 2020: 35 states
Average: 26 states
The 2008 recession is clearly an outlier. The likely reason is that it was unclear at the time that the economy had entered a recession. In April 2008, the advance estimate showed that real GDP increased at a 3.2% annual rate in the first quarter of 2008. By the time of the third estimate, released in June 2008, first-quarter growth was revised up to 3.7%. Likewise, the advance estimate for second-quarter real GDP growth was 1.9%, which was subsequently revised to 2.8%. The current estimates that reflect all subsequent revisions of 2008 numbers show that real GDP declined at a 1.6% rate in the first quarter but increased at a 2.3% rate in the fourth quarter.
It was not until the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, which triggered a sharp decline in equity prices and an economywide plunge in economic activity, that most economists viewed a recession as highly likely. By October 2008, 47 states registered negative SCI growth.
The punchline: as the report authors rhetorically ask in the final section, “Is the U.S. Tipping into a Recession?”…
In sum, a threshold estimate based on this analysis shows that 26 states need to have negative growth in the SCI to have reasonable confidence that the national economy entered into a recession. Excluding the 2008 outlier raises the threshold to 29 states.
So, where are we now? In October 2022, 27 states had negative growth in the SCI. That would exceed the six-recession average of 26 states but would fall short of the outlier-adjusted estimate (excluding 2008) of 29.
Their unstated answer: yes.
Putting it all together, in just the past month we have seen (or rather read) the following:
Philadelphia Fed admitting over 1 million jobs “created” in Q2 never actually happened
Cleveland Fed admitting core CPI is far lower than what the BLS reports, and what the Fed feeds into its models.
And now, the St. Louis Fed effectively saying that based on the number of states with negative growth, the US is effectively in a recession.
While we don’t know if these attacks on the Fed’s credibility by its own economists will be sufficient to force Powell to pivot, they will certainly be used by the Fed’s political enemies (because for the past year, whether he wanted to or not, the Fed has become Biden’s most powerful tool, and one which will now be attacked by Republicans) to seek a full reversal in Fed policies and it is safe to say, that they will get it.
END
Huge Salesforce.com is set to fire 10% of its workers as they warn about an economic downturn
(zerohedge)
Salesforce To Fire 10% Of Workers As It Warns About “Economic Downturn”
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 07:50 AM
Salesforce Inc. shares rose in premarket trading after the company announced a broad restructuring plan “intended to reduce operating costs, improve operating margins, and continue advancing the Company’s ongoing commitment to profitable growth.”
Add Salesforce to the growing list of technology companies decreasing headcount amid recession threats. The company plans to reduce the current workforce by 10%. The latest SEC filings show the company has 73,541 employees.
Salesforce plans to scale back on real estate and slash office space in certain markets. All of this was disclosed in a filing with the SEC.
Total costs of the restructuring are expected to be “approximately $1.4 billion to $2.1 billion,” of which about $800 million to $1 billion is expected to be incurred in the 4Q23.
These charges consist primarily of $1.0 billion to $1.4 billion in charges related to employee transition, severance payments, employee benefits, and share-based compensation; and $450 million to $650 million in exit charges associated with the office space reductions. Of the aggregate amount of charges that the company estimates it will incur in connection with the Plan, the company expects that approximately $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion will be in future cash expenditures. –SEC filing
Also in the filing was a letter by Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff addressed to employees that read:
Letter to Employees
Date: January 4, 2023
Subject: Important Company Update
As one ‘Ohana, over the last 23 years, Salesforce has built the #1 CRM that drives incredible customer success across every line of business for every industry around the world. We have never been more mission-critical to our customers. We have an unparalleled ecosystem, with thousands of partners and millions of Trailblazers building their companies on our platform.
However, the environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions. With this in mind, we’ve made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about 10 percent, mostly over the coming weeks.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we came to this moment. As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that.
Within the next hour, employees who are initially affected by this decision will receive an email letting them know. Our leadership will reach out directly to these employees, and provide clarity for their teams about changes within their organizations.
For those who will be leaving Salesforce, our priority is to fully support them, including by offering a generous package. In the U.S., affected employees will receive a minimum of nearly five months of pay, health insurance, career resources, and other benefits to help with their transition. Those outside the U.S. will receive a similar level of support, and our local processes will align with employment laws in each country.
The employees being affected aren’t just colleagues. They’re friends. They’re family. Please reach out to them. Offer the compassion and love they and their families deserve and need now more than ever. And most of all, please lean on your leadership, including me, as we work through this difficult time together.
I’m grateful for every single one of you who has contributed to our continued success as a company, and the hard work and sacrifices you have made to generate success for our hundreds of thousands of customers. You’ve built our company — for all of our stakeholders — and you’ve shown incredible resilience every step of the way.
With gratitude,
Marc
News of the restructuring plan sent Salesforce shares up nearly 3% in premarket.
Add Salesforce to the growing list of tech companies slashing headcount and costs ahead of what could be a recession.
END
USA ECONOMIC ISSUES// SUPPLY ISSUES//DERIVATIVES
Mississippi River Drought Reveals Horrors Beneath the Surface – YouTube
Robert Hryniak
1:21 PM (2 minutes ago)
to
This is the biggest natural asset that has contributed to American prosperity throughout history. Without this America would not have become the country it was. And now it is in big trouble.
SWAMP STORIES
Now it is Florida being hit with a mass migrant crisis
(zerohedge)
Florida Keys Hit With “Mass Migrant Crisis” After Boat Landings Surge From Caribbean
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 07:20 PM
Last month, the Supreme Court blocked the Biden administration from lifting Title 42, a Trump-era public health order that allows the Customs and Border Protection to turn migrants away at the US-Mexico border to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Even with Title 42 in place, the Biden administration has still managed to stoke a massive humanitarian crisis as the flood of migrants continues — and is now spreading to Florida.
At least 500 migrants believed to be from Cuba, and other Caribbean countries arrived across the Florida Keys over the weekend, in what local officials described as a “mass migration crisis,” according to NYPost.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay’s office said, “the Sheriff’s Office has been assisting federal law enforcement agents with a spike in Cuban refugee arrivals since Saturday and continuing into Monday morning.”
“Refugee arrivals require a lot of resources from the Sheriff’s Office as we help our federal law enforcement partners ensure the migrants are in good health and safe.
“Residents may see an increased amount of law enforcement and emergency responders throughout the county as we continue to respond to these landings,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The sheriff’s office reported more than 160 refugees were on boats that landed in the Middle and Upper Keys. More than 300 migrants landed across Marquesas Keys and at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas. They also said the latest wave of migrant landings is “aggravating the mass migration crisis in the Keys,” adding this whole mess is the result of a “federal failure” that has sparked yet another “humanitarian crisis.”
At least one park in the Keys had to close over the weekend because hundreds of migrants arrived on boats. This was the Dry Tortugas National Park, located west of Key West.
“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants,” the park tweeted Monday. “Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are temporarily suspended.”
Democrats and Republicans have both criticized the Biden administration’s inability to get a handle on the record surges in illegal immigrants at the US-Mexico border, and now it appears the chaos is spreading to Florida in the form of migrant waves on boats.
END
And rightfully so: USA state department is panicking over Zerohedge COVID reporting
(zerohedge)
Twitter Files: US State Department Panicked Over ZeroHedge Covid-19 Reporting
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 08:00 PM
Journalist Matt Taibbi gave the public a double-header on Tuesday – first revealing how Twitter was swarmed by the US intelligence community…
The drop includes several bombshells about how the US intelligence community, and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), tried to force-feed the Russian influence narrative down Twitter’s throat despite the fact that Twitter justwasn’t seeing it.
And second, a thread on how the intelligence community started going straight to the media with lists of suspect accounts.
In the early days of the pandemic, the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) was flagging accounts suggesting COVID-19 was a bioweapon, blaming the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or “attributing the appearance of the virus to the CIA,” (the latter of which nobody was actually saying… it was speculation over work done at Fort Detrick and the University of North Carolina).
As Taibbi further notes, the State Department also flagged accounts that retweeted ZeroHedge due to “Sinophobia” and a “flurry of disinformation” that allegedly broke out after our suspension on Twitter.
Which only raises more questions.
But hey, they had a giant problem on their hands, since even those with double-digit IQs could connect the dots between the Obama administration banning Gain-of-Function research to manipulate bat coronaviruses in order to become more transmissible to humans, then Anthony Fauci offshoring it to Wuhan, China via EcoHealth Alliance, which was carried out by a guy who repeatedly bragged about… manipulating bat coronavirus, and then COVID-19 breaks out in the same exact town.
What are the odds?
Did we mention we’re really interested in the Twitter ‘Fauci Files’ that are supposedly dropping later this week?
Back to the infiltration of Twitter…
8.“WE’RE HAPPY TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU ON THIS, INSTEAD OF NBC.” Roth tried in vain to convince outsider researchers like the Clemson lab to check with them before pushing stories about foreign interference to media.
9.Twitter was also trying to reduce the number of agencies with access to Roth. “If these folks are like House Homeland Committee and DHS, once we give them a direct contact with Yoel, they will want to come back to him again and again,” said policy director Carlos Monje.
10.When the State Department/GEC – remember this was 2020, during the Trump administration – wanted to publicize a list of 5,500 accounts it claimed would “amplify Chinese propaganda and disinformation” about COVID, Twitter analysts were beside themselves.
California Bill To Punish Doctors For ‘False’ Covid-19 Information Goes Into Effect
TUESDAY, JAN 03, 2023 – 10:40 PM
A bill which allows the state of California to punish doctors over ‘false information about Covid-19 vaccinations and treatments’ went into effect on January 1st.
Under the new law (AB 2098) which took effect Jan.1, the state’s Medical Board would categorize dispensing information – such as the effectiveness of Ivermectin, or the Covid-19 vaccine’s rapidly waning efficacy, as unprofessional conduct.
The law was challenged in court by two California doctors, who said that it would restrict their free speech in violation of the first amendment, and that it was “vague” under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
However on December 28th, Biden Nominee Judge Fred Slaughter refused to halt the law, ruling that the law trumps free speech claims, and that it falls “within the longstanding tradition of regulations on the practice of medical treatments.”
Another lawsuit, brought by Physicians for Informed Consent, was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of California in early December. The plaintiffs, physician LeTrinh Hoang and Children’s Health Defense, are being represented by Rick Jaffe, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Mary Holland, and argues that the state of California has weaponized the vague phrase “misinformation,” and thereby has illegally targeted physicians who disagree with the government’s public stance on Covid-19.
Expert cardiologist and PIC member Sanjay Verma, M.D., has been tracking and cataloging CDC errors in real time. For the case, he has provided what he calls “a detailed declaration exposing the government’s scientific errors and the constitutional dangers of censoring dissent”:
“To demonstrate these points of vagueness and the general unsuitability of using ‘contemporary scientific consensus’ as a disciplinary criterion, I have prepared a detailed overview of public health response to the pandemic broken down into categories such as Masks and Vaccines (transmission, safety, efficacy of natural immunity). I have also included evidence of what [I testify] would be considered misinformation promulgated by the CDC as well as its withholding of information which led to the then ‘contemporary scientific consensus’ eventually being proven wrong.” –KRON4
END
Total Chaos: McCarthy And Allies Want To Adjourn House, Postpone Speaker Vote
WEDNESDAY, JAN 04, 2023 – 10:25 AM
Update (1130ET): Kevin McCarthy and his allies are actively discussing adjourning the House until Thursday, but might not even have the votes to pull that off, CNN reports, citing multiple sources.
McCarthy and crew are worried that they could lose more votes if they go to a fourth ballot, which would completely undermine their claims of regaining momentum.
In order to adjourn the House, however, they need 218 votes – which they don’t have.
Their hope is that furious negotiations that have happened since yesterday evening through this morning have peeled away some of the no-votes and given McCarthy forward momentum ahead of a critical fourth ballot. But, he is still unlikely to get 218 votes on that ballot to win the speakership.
Here’s why a vote to adjourn might fail: Voting to adjourn would require 218 votes, and Democratic sources say they would actively whip against a motion to adjourn. Plus some Republicans will likely vote against it as well. -CNN
If they can’t adjourn, the vote goes to a fourth ballot.
* * *
After yesterday’s chaos at the House, which saw support for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) increasingly wane throughout three failed votes for Speaker, the House begins Wednesday in a state of crisis.
Roughly 10% of the Republican conference has voted against McCarthy, leaving him 16 votes shy of a win.
As such, no Speaker means no committees, and no rules. As Punchbowl News notes, “There are members-elect, but the chaos Tuesday prevented any lawmakers from being officially sworn in. Nothing resembling this has occurred in more than a century.”
Indeed, McCarthy appears to be on the ropes – with 20 GOP lawmakers sitting staunchly opposed to the California lawmaker, led by Reps. Matt Gaetz (FL), Chip Roy (TX) and Scott Perry (PA).As one reader notes…
On Tuesday night, Roy appeared on Fox News‘ “Ingraham Angle’ where he accused McCarthy of rejecting a list of conservative demands regarding committee assignments.
“[McCarthy] turns around and he lies about us. Then he has [Alabama Rep.] Mike Rogers stand up and talk about kicking us off committees. He just burned himself. He just solidified 15 or 20 [members] who were against him,” he said.
As Axios‘ Alexi McCammond points out, the ‘nightmare’ scenario Nancy Pelosi faced from ‘The Squad’ in 2019 has become McCarthy’s reality.
Indeed, McCarthy is scrambling – having dispatched top emissaries late Tuesday to begin negotiating with the group of 20 dissenters. Key allies include Reps. Patrick McHenry (NC), French Hill (AR), Garret Graves (LA.), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA) and Guy Reschenthaler (PA), who McCarthy hopes can convince his detractors to flip.
These McCarthy allies were also instructed to share the conservatives’ demands with the entire conference. McHenry, a top leadership lieutenant during the Trump presidency, told us this about his task:
“Everyone needs to be on the same page about what the needs are for rules and structural changes so we can have Speaker McCarthy elected [Wednesday].”
Elect a speaker today? We’re not so sure that will happen.
McHenry is one of the smartest inside players in the House and a potential speaker should McCarthy falter. He and the rest of the McCarthy emissaries are working to socialize exactly what the conservatives want so everyone can “come to terms with getting the 20 [no votes] on board.”
There is a lot of horse-trading going on right now. Or, as McHenry put it:
“In a legislative institution, all the gifts of the institution are available when you have a moment like this… It can look as shambolic as you want it to look for as long as possible, but it still gets resolved.”
One of the keys here is that it’s not only McCarthy and his top aides involved in the talks now – it’s a wider swath of members with different skills and different relationships. The conservatives have a lot of scar tissue with McCarthy. Widening the circle could help with reaching an accord.
Meanwhile, former President Trump (whose conduct on January 6 McCarthy called “atrocious and totally wrong,” and that he was “inciting people”) gave McCarthy an ALL CAPS ENDORSEMENT, posting to Truth Social;
“Some really good conversations took place last night,” adding “and it’s now time for all of our GREAT Republican House Members to VOTE FOR KEVIN, CLOSE THE DEAL, TAKE THE VICTORY, & WATCH CRAZY NANCY PELOSI FLY BACK HOME TO A VERY BROKEN CALIFORNIA.”
“Kevin McCarthy will do a good job, and maybe even a GREAT JOB – JUST WATCH!” Trump continued, apparently forgiving Kevin for joking in 2016 that Putin was ‘paying Trump.’
Will Trump’s endorsement speak to Biggs, Gaetz or Chip Roy?
Not likely.
“If you want to drain the swamp, you cannot put the biggest alligator in charge of the exercise,” Gaetz said on Tuesday.
end
Border Wall Dismantled In Arizona As Katie Hobbs Becomes Governor
Arizona has started to dismantle its makeshift border wall made of shipping containers that was championed by former Gov. Doug Ducey but faced opposition from newly minted Gov. Katie Hobbs and was the target of a Biden administration lawsuit.
Footage taken on Jan. 3 showed construction machinery removing a line of shipping containers placed along the U.S.–Mexico border in Yuma, Arizona, which coincided with the day Hobbs was sworn in as governor.
Ducey, who in mid-December agreed to dismantle the wall for which he had once been an ardent advocate, ordered disassembly of the makeshift barrier as one of his final acts in office.
He said earlier that the container wall was always meant to be a temporary construction intended to help stem the tide of illegal border crossings until a permanent solution could be found.
Illegal immigration has soared under President Joe Biden’s watch, with unauthorized crossings topping 2.76 million in fiscal year 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
That figure broke the previous record by over 1 million and was more than twice the highest level notched during the tenure of former President Donald Trump, who made stemming illegal immigration a key part of his platform with his signature slogan “Build the Wall.”
Hobbs, who on Tuesday became the first Democrat governor in Arizona in 16 years, had been critical of Republican Ducey’s border wall, labeling it as ineffective political grandstanding.
“It’s a political stunt. It’s a visual barrier that is not actually providing an effective barrier to entry, and I think a waste of taxpayer dollars,” she told Arizona radio station KJZZ in a recent interview.
“The containers aren’t working. There’s many pictures of people climbing over them,” Hobbs added.
The new Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs takes the oath of office in a ceremony at the state Capitol in Phoenix, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Ross D. Franklin, Pool/AP Photo)
While Arizona has begun dismantling its makeshift border barrier, a similar one is going up in nearby Texas, whose Republican governor has, like Ducey, been frustrated by the surge in illegal crossings.
In a bid to bolster border security, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called in the National Guard to run razor wire barriers in high-traffic areas and recently said shipping containers were being used to plug more holes.
U.S. military stop people from crossing into El Paso, Texas, seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Dec. 20, 2022. (Christian Chavez/AP Photo)
‘Arizona Has Had Enough’
Ducey, an outspoken critic of Biden’s border policies that he has blamed for the surge in illegal immigration, in August issued an order to plug gaps in the U.S.–Mexico border wall near Yuma, which has become one of the busiest corridors for unauthorized crossings in the country.
“We can’t wait any longer. The Biden administration’s lack of urgency on border security is a dereliction of duty. For the last two years, Arizona has made every attempt to work with Washington to address the crisis on our border,” Ducey added.
Work crews subsequently erected hundreds of double-stacked shipping containers, in some cases topped by razor wire.
Yuma County Sheriff’s Office deputies have said that the containers have helped prevent illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States.
“Our deputies have noticed traffic is slowing down,” one of them told KYMA-TV.
But the makeshift border wall prompted first a warning from the Biden administration and then a lawsuit.
Shipping containers that will be used to fill a 1,000-foot gap in the border wall with Mexico near Yuma, Ariz., on Aug. 12, 2022. (Arizona Governor’s Office via AP)
Lawsuit
The Biden administration warned Arizona officials in October that Ducey’s actions broke the law.
Later, Arizona was hit with a lawsuit for allegedly placing the containers on federal lands without permission, with the U.S. Department of Justice filing a complaint (pdf) on Dec. 14.
The lawsuit alleged that Ducey’s border wall shipping containers “damage federal lands, threaten public safety, and impede the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties.”
Ducey’s office has repeatedly said the barrier was supposed to be temporary and would be taken down once the federal government acted to bolster border security in the area.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in July that it had authorized the filling of gaps in the border wall near Yuma, prompting Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin to say that “from our perspective, the shipping container mission is a success.”
“Not only have we plugged gaps in the border barrier, but we got the federal government to do their job,” he said, referring to the DHS decision to fill gaps in the border wall.
Contractors begin stacking shipping containers in border fence gaps near Yuma, Ariz., on Aug. 12, 2022. (Courtesy of Arizona Governor’s office)
Agreement to Dismantle
On Dec. 21, 2022, Arizona state and federal authorities reached an agreement to remove the makeshift barrier.
Court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona (pdf) show Ducey’s administration agreed to dismantle the containers and remove the equipment, materials, and vehicles used to install them by Jan. 4.
Ducey previously insisted he had the right to defend the state of Arizona and protect its citizens, with his office describing the number of illegal crossings as “ominous” and threatening to overwhelm border communities.
Environmentalists denounced the makeshift wall as harmful to local wildlife.
The work of placing up to 3,000 containers at a cost of about $95 million was about a third complete.
Republicans have long accused the Democrats of advocating for an open-borders policy, though the Biden administration has repeatedly denied this claim.
Fiscal year 2023 is on track to break last year’s record of illegal crossings, with both October and November setting records in their respective months for the number of illegal alien encounters.
end
THE KING REPORT
The King Report January 4, 2023 Issue 6920
Independent View of the News
Nikkei Asia: Apple has notified several suppliers to build fewer components for AirPods, the Apple Watch and MacBooks for the first quarter, citing weakening demand, according to Nikkei Asia’s supply chain checks with several component suppliers.“Apple has alerted us to lower orders for almost all product lines actually since the quarter ending December,partly because the demand is not that strong,” a manager at an Apple supplier told Nikkei Asia. “The supply chain in China is still trying to cope with the latest abrupt policy turns, which brought a shortage of laborers because of the sharp COVID surges.”… “It’s very chaotic,” an executive at an electronic component maker that supplies Samsung, Apple and several Chinese smartphone makers told Nikkei Asia. “The new wave of COVID surges spread super fast, and most companies found it already makes no sense to quarantine their employees.”… “The rapid surge of infections in big cities might be only the beginning of a massive wave of COVID infections,” Ting Lu, Nomura’s chief China economist, warned in a recent note. “We expect major activity indices to remain weak or even to drop further in December.”… https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/China-s-tech-supply-chain-reels-as-infections-soar-demand-sours
ESHs opened sharply higher when new year trading began in Asia. However, the above article and other related articles to China’s economic problems induced selling. ESHs sank from 3900.00 to 3843.25 at 20:47 ET. But once again, trading proclivities trumped fundamentals. Traders, emboldened by their models that show the first day of the new year almost always rallies, poured into ESHs and stocks.
ESHs rebounded smartly into the Nikkei’s close. ESHs surged into and after the European open. ESHs hit a new daily high of 3906.75 at 4:58 ET. ESHs then sank 36 handles by the US repo market open at 7 ET. Now, it was time for US traders to get long for the expected rally to start the new year.
ESHs rallied 18 handles by 9:13 ET on the pre-NYSE open rally. However, sellers appeared; ESHs sank 18 handles by 9:31 ET. The usual suspects eagerly bought the opening dip. ESHs soared 19 handles in 10 minutes. Alas, organic sellers appeared; ESHs tumbled to a daily low of 3814.50 at 12:47 ET.
Bonds were + 1 6/32 when ESHs hit the 3814.50 low. Defensive asset allocators were in the market. Tesla was down 15.0% at 12:48 ET. Apple was -4.3% at midday.
A rebound rally materialized when the afternoon arrived; it became an A-B-C rally. The rally stalled at 14:45 ET. At 15:15 ET, the final hour rally commenced. The rally ended quickly; ESHs traded flat.
For eons, Street shills have proclaimed when the usual first day of the new year appears: ‘As the first day of the new year goes, the first week of the new year goes. And as the first week of the new year goes, the first month of the new year goes. And as the first month goes, the rest of the year goes.’
When the first day of the new year is negative, Street shills are mum.
Positive aspects of previous session Bonds rallied sharply – but it was largely on defensive asset allocation
Negative aspects of previous session Tesla and Apple weighed on Fangs and Nasdaq The rally to start the new year was disappointing
Ambiguous aspects of previous session What does the absence of the Santa Rally mean going forward?
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]: 3832.31 Previous session High/Low: 3878.46; 3794.33
@WSJ: Rep. Kevin McCarthy failed to get enough votes to become House speaker on a first ballot. It’s the first time in a century a speaker vote heads to a second ballot… The initial vote was 203 for Mr. McCarthy, 212 for Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and 10 for Rep. Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.), with nine votes for other current and former lawmakers including Rep Jim Jordan (R., Ohio)… https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-vote-santos?mod=e2tw
The second and third votes for Speaker of the House also failed (for McCarthy). The MSM and RINOs are apoplectic that a key swamp creature and favorite of lobbyists might not gain the House Speakership.
@maxpcohen: All 19 anti-McCarthy votes (from GOP members) move to Jim Jordan in second ballot. Biggs, Bishop, Boebert, Brecheen, Cloud, Clyde, Crane, Gaetz, Good, Gosar, Harris, Luna, Miller, Norman, Ogles, Perry, Rosendale, Roy, Self.
@alx: @MattGaetz (GOP Rep) says members were threatened with removal from committees if they don’t vote for Kevin McCarthy for Speaker. “I’m not here to participate in some puppet show… I don’t want to relive the Benghazi experience where it’s just theatre pretending to be oversight” https://twitter.com/alx/status/1610307576582864898
@RepMattGaetz: “Kevin McCarthy is NOT especially conservative. He’s ideologically agnostic. His real constituency is the lobbying community in Washington, D.C.” –@TuckerCarlson https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1610447018991964161
@ColumbiaBugle: Tucker Carlson’s Recommendations For A Flailing Kevin McCarthy -Release The January 6th File; -Put @RepThomasMassie In Charge Of A New Frank Church Committee Designed To Discover What The FBI & Intel Agencies Have Been Doing To Control Domestic Politics https://twitter.com/ColumbiaBugle/status/1610446684097740803
Today – The rally to start the new year did not occur until a meaningful rally began at 14:45 ET. The late rally was labored. Though 3800 on the S&P 500 Index was breached, bulls made a stand near 3794.00. This is key support. ESHs are +4.00 at 20:30 ET; trading has been lackluster.
The S&P 500 Index has been trading sideways since December 15, mostly in a range between 3800 and 3900. Astute traders are waiting for a decisive breakout. PS – There is only one day left in the Santa Rally window. If stocks do not rally today, pattern traders will be very unhappy.
Expected economic data: Dec S&P Global US Mfg. PMI 46.2; Nov Construction Spending -0.4% m/m
NY Times: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Be Short (Not a parody!) Short people don’t just save resources; as resources become scarcer owing to overpopulation and global warming… When you mate with short people, you’re potentially saving theplanet by shrinking the needs of future generations… https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/01/opinion/height-short.html
Once again, we see that when there is no penalty for people saying or advocating stupid shirt as long as it is exposed by the cult, they will advocate increasingly more ridiculous shirt.
Two Twitter Files appeared on Tuesday. How Twitter Let the Intelligence Community In 2. In August 2017, when Facebook decided to suspend 300 accounts with “suspected Russian origin,” Twitter wasn’t worried. Its leaders were sure they didn’t have a Russia problem. 3. “We did not see a big correlation.” “No larger patterns.”… 6. In September, 2017, after a cursory review, Twitter informed the Senate it suspended 22 possible Russian accounts, and 179 others with “possible links” to those accounts, amid a larger set of roughly 2700 suspects manually examined. 7. Receiving these meager results, a furious Senator Mark Warner of Virginia – ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee – held an immediate press conference to denounce Twitter’s report as “frankly inadequate on every level.” 8. #Irony,” mused Crowell the day after Warner’s presser, after receiving an e-circular from Warner’s re-election campaign, asking for “$5 or whatever you can spare.”… 10. “TAKING THEIR CUES FROM HILLARY CLINTON” Crowell added Dems were taking cues from Hillary Clinton, who that week said: “It’s time for Twitter to stop dragging its heels and live up to the fact that its platform is being used as a tool for cyber-warfare.”… 18.The failure of the “Russia task force” to produce “material” worsened the company’s PR crisis… 20. “Were Twitter a contractor for the FSB… they could not have built a more effective disinformation platform,” Johns Hopkins Professor (and Intel Committee “expert”) Thomas Rid told Politico. 21. As congress threatened costly legislation, and Twitter began was subject to more bad press fueled by the committees, the company changed its tune about the smallness of its Russia problem… 23. In Washington weeks after the first briefing, Twitter leaders were told by Senate staff that “Sen Warner feels like tech industry was in denial for months.” Added an Intel staffer: “Big interest in Politico article about deleted accounts.”… 26. “THE COMMITTEES APPEAR TO HAVE LEAKED” Even as Twitter prepared to change its ads policy and remove RT and Sputnik to placate Washington, congress turned the heat up more, apparently leaking the larger, base list of 2700 accounts… 31.Twitter soon settled on its future posture. In public, it removed content “at our sole discretion.” Privately, they would “off-board” anything “identified by the U.S.. intelligence community as a state-sponsored entity conducting cyber-operations. 32. Twitter let the “USIC” into its moderation process. It would not leave. Wrote Crowell, in an email to the company’s leaders: “We will not be reverting to the status quo.” https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/just-another-twitter-files-drop-twitter-let-intelligence-community/
@mtaibbi: THREAD: The Twitter Files = Twitter and the FBI “Belly Button” 2. By 2020, Twitter was struggling with the problem of public and private agencies bypassing them andgoing straight to the media with lists of suspect accounts. 3. In February, 2020, as COVID broke out, the Global Engagement Center – a fledgling analytic/intelligence arms of the State Department – went to the media with a report called, “Russian Disinformation Apparatus Taking Advantage of Coronavirus Concerns.”… 5.State also flagged accounts that retweeted news that Twitter banned the popular U.S. ZeroHedge, claiming the episode “led to another flurry of disinformation narratives.” ZH had done reports speculating that the virus had lab origin… 7. “YOU HAVEN’T MADE A RUSSIA ATTRIBUTION IN SOME TIME” When Clemson’s Media Forensics Hub complained Twitter hadn’t “made a Russia attribution” in some time, Trust and Safety chief Yoel Roth said it was “revelatory of their motives.” 8. “WE’RE HAPPY TO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOU ON THIS, INSTEAD OF NBC.” Roth tried in vain to convince outsider researchers like the Clemson lab to check with them before pushing stories about foreign interference to media… 18. After spending years rolling over for Democratic Party requests for “action” on “Russia-linked” accounts, Twitter was suddenly playing tough. Why? Because, as Roth put it, it would pose “major risks” to bring the GEC in, “especially as the election heats up.”… 20.Eventually the FBI argued, first to Facebook, for a compromise solution: other USG agencies could participate in the “industry” calls, but the FBI and DHS would act as sole “conduits.”… 23. “BELLY BUTTON” “We can give you everything we’re seeing from the FBI and USIC agencies,” Chan explained, but the DHS agency CISA “will know what’s going on in each state.” He went on to ask if industry could “rely on the FBI to be the belly button of the USG.”… 25. Twitter was taking requests from every conceivable government body, beginning with the Senate Intel Committee (SSCI), which seemed to need reassurance Twitter was taking FBI direction. Execs rushed to tell “Team SSCI” they zapped five accounts on an FBI tip. 26. Requests arrived and were escalated from all over: from Treasury, the NSA, virtually every state, the HHS, from the FBI and DHS, and more… 27. They also received an astonishing variety of requests from officials asking for individuals they didn’t like to be banned. Here, the office for Democrat and House Intel Committee chief Adam Schiff asks Twitter to ban journalist Paul Sperry. 28.“WE DON’T DO THIS” Even Twitter declined to honor Schiff’s request at the time. Sperry was later suspended, however… 31. Remember the 2017 “internal guidance” in which Twitter decided to remove any user “identified by the U.S. intelligence community” as a state-sponsored entity committing cyber operations? By 2020 such identifications came in bulk… 35. They were even warned about publicity surrounding a book by former Ukraine prosecutor Viktor Shokhin, who alleged “corruption by the U.S. government” – specifically by Joe Biden. 36. By the weeks before the election in 2020, Twitter was so confused by the various streams of incoming requests, staffers had to ask the FBI which was which… 39. It all led to the situation described by @ShellenbergerMD two weeks ago, in which Twitter was paid $3,415,323, essentially for being an overwhelmed subcontractor… https://twitter.com/mtaibbi/status/1610394284867436547
Two years after Jan. 6, Capitol Police union says still no answers, unprepared for another incident “It’s our belief, the Capitol would not have been breached had the global fence been up and law enforcement been prepared,” he continued. “First, how could we have been so unprepared given the intelligence USCP had weeks ahead of the attack?” asked Capitol Police Officers’ Union Chairman Gus Papathanasiou. “Second, why hasn’t anyone at the top of USCP’s leadership responsible for these intelligence failures been held accountable?”… “What infuriates me, is knowing our leaders had intelligence that should have driven a massive security response,” Papathanasiou said. “If then Assistant Chief Pittman, who was in charge of intelligence, had shared that information, it would have allowed us to prepare properly, coordinate with partner agencies and the National Guard as the proper show of force would have been on display, and January 6th possibly would have turned out differently.”… https://justthen
Award-winning journalist Alex Newman, author of the popular book “Deep State,” says the world is waking up fast to the global genocide caused by the CV19 bioweapon passed off as a vaccine. Because of this public awakening, Newman says the desperate Deep State is planning intense chaos in multiple areas to cover their tracks and distract the public away from the extreme crimes globalist elites have committed. Newman explains, “What they are going to be doing over the coming year is massive numbers of crises and expanding and accelerating existing crises. They will be fomenting new crises such as food crises, immigration crises, border crises, currency crises and terrorism crises. You name it because that is what they do. The U.N. is standing by to provide ‘solutions’ to this. The World Health Organization is working on digital IDs and vaccine passports to deal with the health crises. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is working on the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to deal with the currency crises. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, the FAO, is working on solutions to the food crises that they are unleashing on humanity. So, we are going to see a lot more of this, and I forgot the energy crisis. This is what we talked about a few weeks ago when we talked about the U.N. climate summit (COP 27) in Egypt. They are dismantling our energy infrastructure for the purpose of causing an energy crisis, and they say this is what they are doing. . . .They are starting . . . a ‘new energy order’ to take control and limit our energy use.”
Newman says, “. . . Totalitarians like to create the poison and the antidote all in the same laboratory. That’s what these globalists, Deep Staters and insiders are working on. They create the poison and antidotes in the same laboratory to take our freedoms, and population control is going to be a very big part of it.”
This brings us back to the CV19 bioweapon/vax. Newman says what is unfolding in 2023 is a “mass unstoppable awakening” to the genocide that is CV19 from infection to injection. This is mass murder, and that is what people will wake up to in 2023. Newman says, “These people are on the record with statements and speeches where they claim there are too many people consuming too many resources, and we need to reduce the population of the earth. . . . I think the evidence for mass murder and genocide is so overwhelming that it would be hard for a court not to convict. . . . .We have to understand the global elites, the global predators behind this atrocity, that, in my mind, have killed millions and millions of people, are not going to say ‘You got us. We give up, take us to jail. We are going to have another Nuremberg.’ They are not going to do that. They are going to deploy the next part of their plan. Based on what we have seen so far, we can expect to see some sort of crisis of epic proportions to try to take the focus off it (the CV19 bioweapon/vax genocide).”
In closing, Newman says, “The main issue is . . . What we are dealing with is a battle against evil. In Ephesians 6, you get a clear picture about what we are fighting. We are not just fighting George Soros, Klaus Schwab or Joe Biden. . . . Apostle Paul in the Bible calls this ‘powers and principalities’ or demonic entities. These are fallen angels and demons that are behind the scenes that govern huge parts of the world. . . . Many people do not understand they are being ruled by demonic forces. They have been turned over to a reprobate mind. They think they are worshipping money or some statue . . . in reality, they are worshipping Satan. . . . In Ephesians 6, there is really clear instruction on how to deal with this. It talks about taking the shield of faith to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked ones. . . . It talks about taking the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, the Bible. That is our offensive weapon. When you read the Bible, you get an accurate depiction of reality that you won’t get from the lying fake media. The reality is Satan knows he has limited time on Earth. He wants to take as many souls down to Hell with him so he uses lies, fear, ignorance, trickery, temptation and evil. Unfortunately, most of the rulers are in league with this evil force. We know how this ends, and it’s not going to end well for them. . . . There are only two sides to this fight, and you want to make sure you are on the right side because there are eternal consequences for this.”
There is much more in the 40-minute interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with hard hitting journalist Alex Newman, founder of LibertySentinel.org and author of the book “Deep State” for 1.3.23.
Courageous Discourse™ with Dr. Peter McCullough & John Leake
harveyorganblog.com 
