April 26/2023 · by harveyorgan · in Uncategorized · Leave a comment·Editi

GOLD PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $8.45 TO $1985.90

SILVER PRICE CLOSED:DOWN 10 CENTS   AT $24.78

Access prices: closes 4: 15 PM

Gold ACCESS CLOSE $1989.15

Silver ACCESS CLOSE: 24.89

Bitcoin morning price:, $28,317  UP 785  Dollars

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $27,884 UP 352 dollars

Platinum price closing  $1092.60 UP $1.20

Palladium price;     $1525.60 UP $36.95

We have now entered options expiry week, with the Comex options expired April 25/2023 and LBMA/OTC expiring on Friday April 28.2023. The crooks can only whack once London is put to bed as they fear that many are demanding physical delivery against their short sales. Their attention span is less than one day. They will worry about physical deliveries tomorrow

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: $2712.80 DOWN 7.50 CDN dollars per oz (ALL TIME HIGH 2732.50)

BRITISH GOLD: 1595.50 DOWN 15.66 pounds per oz//(ALL TIME HIGH//1629.84)

EURO GOLD: 1801,40 DOWN 17.80 euros per oz //(ALL TIME HIGH//1860.82)

DONATE

EXCHANGE: COMEX

CONTRACT: APRIL 2023 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,994.000000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 04/25/2023 DELIVERY DATE: 04/27/2023
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

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167 C MAREX 1
523 H INTERACTIVE BRO 1
661 C JP MORGAN 150
737 C ADVANTAGE 3 3
905 C ADM 3
991 H CME 147

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TOTAL: 154 154
MONTH TO DATE: 23,925

JPMorgan stopped 0/154 contracts

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GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR APRIL/2023. CONTRACT:  154 NOTICES FOR 15,400 OZ  or  0.4790 TONNES

total notices so far: 23,925 contracts for 2,392,500 oz (74.416 tonnes)

 

SILVER NOTICES: 2 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 10,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month :  388 for 1,940,000 oz 

 

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END

GLD

WITH GOLD DOWN $8.45

INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL  (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD

/HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD://////A DEPOSIT OF 2.61 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/

INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.04 TONNES 

Silver//

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN 10 CENTS AT THE SLV//

 HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWL OF 1.102 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV.//: INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 470.285 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 6500 CONTRACTS  TO 149,693 AND FURTHER FROM THE  RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS GOOD SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR  $0.34 LOSS  IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON TUESDAY.  WE HAVE THIS YEAR SET ANOTHER RECORD LOW AT 117,395 CONTRACTS ///MARCH 29.2023. OUR BANKERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.34). AND WERE  SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING A FEW SPEC LONGS AS WE HAD A HUGE LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF  5398 CONTRACTS WITH SOME OF THAT LOSS DUE TO INITIATION OF SPREADER LIQUIDATION IN THE SILVER ARENA..  WE HAD 0 CRIMINAL NOTICES FILED IN THE CATEGORY OF  EXCHANGE FOR RISK TRANSFER FOR 0 MILLION OZ// (  THE TOTAL ISSUED IN THIS CATEGORY SO FAR THIS MONTH TOTAL 35.83 MILLION OZ.)  WE HAVE FINISHED WITH OUR SPECS BEING SHORT AS THEY COVERED WITH THE RISE IN PRICE IN JANUARY .  WE HAVE NOW RETURNED TO OUR USUAL AND CUSTOMARY SCENARIO: BANKERS SHORT AND SPECS LONG.

WE  MUST HAVE HAD: 
A HUGE  ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS( 1102 CONTRACTS) iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT  1.055 MILLION OZ(FIRST DAY NOTICE)+ THE 35.83 MILLION OZ OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/+ 1.940 MILLION OZ NORMAL SILVER STANDING FOR APRIL///THUS TOTAL NEW STANDING 37.770 MILLION OZ/ ////  V)   GIGANTIC SIZED COMEX OI LOSS/ HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/.VI) INITIATION OF SPREADER LIQUIDATION

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL  –338  CONTRACTS

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 16 days, total 20,180 contracts:   OR 100.900 MILLION OZ . (1261 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  100.900 MILLION OZ 

LAST 23 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///   53.070 MILLION OZ //FINAL

FEB: 2023:       100.105/ MILLION OZ/FINAL//MUCH STRONGER ISSUANCE VS THE LATTER TWO MONTHS.

MARCH 2023:  112.58 MILLION OZ//FINAL//STRONG ISSUANCE 

APRIL  100.900 MILLION OZ(SLIGHTLY LESS STRONG THAN LAST MONTH)

RESULT: WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 6500  CONTRACTS WITH OUR  $0.34 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//TUESDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A GIGANTIC  SIZED EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 1102 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR MAY 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 APRIL OF  1.055 MILLION  OZ//FIRST DAY NOTICE//  0 OZ E.F.P. JUMP TO LONDON  (WHICH DECREASES THE AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING) AND ZERO QUEUE JUMP + 0 MILLION NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK  TODAY (INCREASES THE AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING) //NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK STANDING 35.83 MILLION OZ, THUS TOTAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR DELIVERY IN APRIL TOTALS 37.770 MILLION  .. WE HAVE A GIGANTIC SIZED LOSS OF 5398 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE LOSS WAS DUE TO INITIATION OF SPREADER LIQUIDATION  

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

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL  BY A SMALL SIZED 638  CONTRACTS  TO 473,209 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: added 856 CONTRACTS

WE HAD A SMALL SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI ( 856 CONTRACTS) DESPITE OUR  $4.90 GAIN IN PRICE. WE ALSO HAD A STRONG INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR APR. AT 66.892 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE // PLUS A 8,100 OZ QUEUE. JUMP :(QUEUE JUMPING = EXERCISING LONDON BASED EFP’S, ATTACHED TO COMEX CONTRACTS ) (EFP is the transfer of   COMEX contracts immediately to London for potential gold deliveries originating from London)YET ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $4.90 GAIN IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S TRADING.WE HAD A GOOD SIZED GAIN OF 4,100  OI CONTRACTS (12.752 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A GOOD SIZED  4738 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 472,353

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A GOOD SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4100 CONTRACTS  WITH 638 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX AND 4738 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS  TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4100 CONTRACTS OR 12.752 TONNES.

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A GOOD SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (4738 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE SMALL SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (638 //TOTAL GAIN IN THE TWO EXCHANGES 4,100 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE ( 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR NORMAL FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING SHORT AND SPECULATORS GOING LONG  ,2.) GOOD INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR APRIL. AT 66.892 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP  OF 8100 OZ//NEW STANDING  74.550 TONNES   // ///3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION//4)  SMALL SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS/ 5) GOOD ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER/

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023 INCLUDING TODAY

APRIL

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED:  53,786 CONTRACTS OR 5,378,600 OZ OR 167.29 TONNES IN 16 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3269 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 16 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  167.29 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2022, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  167.29/3550 x 100% TONNES  4.70% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO 2023 

JANUARY/2021: 265.26 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

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

MARCH:.   276.50 TONNES (STRONG AGAIN/

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

MAY:        250.15 TONNES  (NOW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING AGAIN)

JUNE:      247.54 TONNES (FINAL)

JULY:        188.73 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST:   217.89 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE.

SEPT          142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_

OCT:           141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)

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

DEC.           175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE// 

JAN:2022   247.25 TONNES //FINAL

FEB:           196.04 TONNES//FINAL

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

APRIL:  169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY  LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)

MAY:  247.44 TONNES FINAL// 

JUNE: 238.13 TONNES  FINAL

JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL

SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL

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

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

DEC:  185.59 tonnes // FINAL

JAN 2023:    228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!

FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL 

MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)

APRIL: 167.29 TONNES ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)

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 APRIL. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF  GOLD 

HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE  NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MAR HEADING TOWARDS THE  ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL., 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 FELL BY A GIGANTIC SIZED 6,500  CONTRACTS OI TO  149,693 AND  FURTHER FROM OUR COMEX HIGH RECORD //244,710(SET FEB 25/2020).  THE LAST RECORDS WERE SET  IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD TO THAT WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD  WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER  5 YEARS AGO.  HOWEVER WE HAVE SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 117,395 CONTRACTS MARCH 27/2022 

EFP ISSUANCE 1102  CONTRACTS 

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

MAY 1102  and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE:  1102  CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  IF WE TAKE THE  COMEX OI LOSS OF 6162 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1102 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,

WE OBTAIN A GIGANTIC SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 5398 CONTRACTS WITH MOST OF THE LOSS DUE TO INITIATION OF SPREADER LIQUIDATION

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS  ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTAL 26.99 MILLION OZ 

OCCURRED WITH OUR $0.34 LOSS IN PRICE ….. OUR SPEC SHORTS HAVE NOWHERE TO HIDE!

END

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES

(Peter Schiff)

c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens

ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries

b. Other gold/silver commentaries

c. Commodity commentaries//

d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

 2.ASIAN AFFAIRS//

 

WEDNESDAY MORNING//TUESDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.77 PTS OR 0.02%  //Hang Seng CLOSED UP 139.39 POINTS OR  0.71%      /The Nikkei closed DOWN 203.60 PTS OR 0.71%  //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.12 %   /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 6.9238/OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN DOWN  TO 6.9340 /Oil UP TO 76.89 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 80.15 / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER

a)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/

OUTLINE

3  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

9. USA

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A SMALL SIZED 638 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 473,209 DESPITE OUR  GAIN IN PRICE OF $4.90 ON MONDAY,

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

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

THAT IS 4738  EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: :  JUNE 4738 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 4738 CONTRACTS 

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A GOOD SIZED TOTAL OF 4100  CONTRACTS IN THAT 4738 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF 638 COMEX  CONTRACTS..AND  THIS GOOD SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $4.90. WE ARE NOW WITNESSING THE BANKERS GOING NET SHORT AND THE SPECS GOING NET LONG. 

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING:    APRIL  (74.550) ( ACTIVE MONTH)

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 

Dec. 64.541 tonnes (TOTAL  YEAR 656.076 TONNES)

2003:

JAN/2023:    20.559 tonnes

FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes

MAR:  19.0637 TONNES

APRIL: 74.550  tonnes

THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE $4.90) //// AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY  SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD OUR GOOD  SIZED GAIN OF 4,100 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES  

 WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 12.752 PAPER TONNES OF TOTAL OI FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR APRIL. (66.892 TONNES) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 8,300 OZ… ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH  OUR GAIN IN PRICE  TO THE TUNE OF $4.90

WE HAD +ADDED  856 CONTRACTS  TO THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST AFTER TRADING ENDED LAST NIGHT

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 4100  CONTRACTS OR 410,000  OZ OR 12.752 TONNES.

Estimated gold comex today 229,563 fair//

final gold volumes/yesterday  235,094  fair 

//APRIL 26/ APRIL  2023 CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz	nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz	NIL  oz         .
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz	nil OZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz	128.604 Oz brinks 4 kilobars
No of oz served (contracts) today	154  notice(s) 15400 OZ 0.3546 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	43  contracts    4300 oz 0.1337 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	23,925 notices 2,392500  OZ 74.416 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	x

i)Dealer deposits: 0

total dealer deposit: nil  oz

No dealer withdrawals

Customer deposits:  1

i) Into Brinks:  128.604 oz  (4 kilobars)

total deposits: 128.604 oz

 customer withdrawals: 0

total withdrawals: nil   oz 

Adjustments;  1

i)  customer to dealer   JPMorgan  10,053.125 oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL.

For the front month of APRIL we have an oi of 197  contracts having LOST 197 contracts.   We had 114 contracts served ON TUESDAY so we GAINED 83 contracts or AN ADDITIONAL  8300 oz will stand at the comex.

May LOST 147  contracts DOWN to 1574.

June LOST 3667 contracts DOWN to 382,741 contracts.

We had 154 contracts filed for today representing  15400 oz  

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer account and  150  notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 154   contract(s) of which 0   notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 0  notice(s) was (were) stopped   received by J.P.Morgan//customer account   and 0 notice(s) received (stopped) by the squid  (Goldman Sachs)

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the APRIL /2023. contract month, 

we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (23,925 x 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  (APRIL. 197  CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today 154 x 100 oz per contract equals 2,392,500 OZ  OR 74.550 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this   active month of APRIL. 

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the APRIL contract month:  No of notices filed so far (23,925 x 100 oz)+197 OI for the front month minus the number of notices served upon today (154)x 100 oz} which equals 2,392,500 oz standing OR 74.550 TONNES in this active delivery month of APRIL.. 

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 74.550 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR AN ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH.  

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COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC  5.94 TONNES

204,937.290 PLEDGED  MANFRA 3.08 TONNES

83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1  1.690 tonnes

265,999.054, oz  JPM No 2 

1,152,376.639 oz pledged  Brinks/

Manfra:  33,758.550 oz

Delaware: 193.721 oz

International Delaware::  11,188.542 o

total pledged gold:  1,713,349.037  OZ   53.29 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED:  22,180,444.002 OZ  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD:  12,314,938.901   (383.04  tonnes)..

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 9,865,505.101  O Z  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 10,601.594 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 329.753 tonnes//

END

SILVER/COMEX

APRIL 26//2023// THE APRIL 2023 SILVER CONTRACT

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	808,126.560 oz CNT Loomis Manfra .
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory	nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	190,078.475  oz Loomis Manfra
No of oz served today (contracts)	2  CONTRACT(S)    (10,000  OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	0 contracts  (NIL oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	388 Contracts  (1,940,000 oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month	NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month

i)  0 dealer deposit

total dealer deposits:  nil   oz

i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal

total dealer withdrawals:  oz

We have 2 deposits into the customer account

i)Into Loomis 29,516.006 oz

ii)Into Manfra: 160,562,409 oz

Total deposits: 190,078.475  oz 

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 140,781  million oz/271,818 million =51.87% of comex .//dropping fast

  Comex withdrawals: 3

i) Out of CNT  597,526.930 ox

ii) Out of Loomis:  4769.000 oz

iii)Out of Manfra  205,830.610 oz

Total withdrawals; 808,126.560    oz

adjustments: 0

the silver comex is in stress!

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 30.544 MILLION OZ (declining rapidly).TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 271.816 million oz

CALCULATION OF SILVER OZ STANDING FOR APRIL

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF APRIL /2023 OI: 2  CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 1  CONTRACT(S). WE HAD 1  NOTICES FILED ON MONDAY SO WE LOST 0 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL NIL OZ WILL NOT STAND FOR DELIVERY IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL AS THEY WERE E.F.P.’d TO LONDON.

MAY SAW A LOSS  OF 13,974 CONTRACTS  DOWN  TO 20,919 CONTRACTS.  WE HAVE TWO MORE READING DAYS BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE. WE SHOULD HAVE A STRONG STANDING FOR SILVER FOR MAY 

JUNE HAD A 5 CONTRACTS LOSS TO 573

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 2 for 10,000  oz

Comex volumes// est. volume today  110,132  huge //raid 

Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 127,723 huge

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in APRIL. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 388 x  5,000 oz = 1,940,000 oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL(2) and the number of notices served upon today 2 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the  standings for silver for the APRIL/2023 contract month:  388 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of APRIL (2) – number of notices served upon today (2 )x 500 oz of silver standing for the APRIL. contract month equates to 1.940 million oz  +/ NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK TODAY: 0 MILLION OZ //NEW TOTALS EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR MONTH OF APRIL:  35.83 MILLION OZ// THUS TOTAL SILVER OZ STANDING: 37.770 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

END

GLD AND SLV INVENTORY LEVELS

APRIL 26/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.45 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.61 TONNES FROM THE GLD.//INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.04 TONNES

APRIL 25/WITH GOLD UP $4.90 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .86 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 927.43 TONNES

APRIL 24/WITH GOLD UP $9.45 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 926.57 TONNES

APRIL 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $27.80 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 926.57 TONNES

APRIL 20/WITH GOLD UP $12.70: HUGE CHANGES TODAY IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 926.57 TONNES

APRIL 19//WITH GOLD DOWN $12.00 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.70 TONNES

APRIL 18/WITH GOLD UP $12.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.03 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.70 TONNES/

APRIL 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.89 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 927.72 TONNES

APRIL 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $38.90 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.47 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.61 TONNES

APRIL 13/WITH GOLD UP$31.70 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.17 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 934.08 TONNES

APRIL 11/WITH GOLD UP $14.30 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.91 TONNES

APRIL 10/WITH GOLD DOWN $21.40 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.91 TONNES

APRIL 6//WITH GOLD DOWN $9.15  TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.91

APRIL 5//WITH GOLD UP 0 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.04

APRIL 4/WITH GOLD UP $36.30 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.04 TONNES

APRIL 3/WITH GOLD UP $14.20 TODAY;NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.02 TONNES

MARCH 31/WITH GOLD DOWN $10.30 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 928.02 TONNES

MARCH 30//WITH GOLD UP XX TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/: A DEPOSIT OF 2.24 TONNES FROM THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 929.47 TONNES

MARCH 29/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.85 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4,16 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.//INVENTORY RESTS AT 927,23

MARCH 28/WITH GOLD UP $19.50 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .86 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 923.07 TONNES

MARCH 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $28.50 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.45 TONNES FROM THE GLD./INVENTORY RESTS AT 923.97 TONNES

MARCH 23/WITH GOLD UP $47.70 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A DEPOSIT 87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.42 TONNES

MARCH 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $38.70 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: ANOTHER HUGE DEPOSIT OF 3.4 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 924.55 TONNES

MARCH 20//WITH GOLD UP $9.60 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 6.36 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 921.08 TONNES

MARCH 17/WITH GOLD UP $50.50 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 914.72TONNES

MARCH 16/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.95 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.45 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 914.72 TONNES

MARCH 15/THE IDES OF MARCH:  WITH GOLD UP $18.75 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.27 TONNES

MARCH 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.75 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES: A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 11.85 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.27 TONNES

MARCH 13/WITH GOLD UP $48.85 TODAY: VERY STRANGE HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY REST AT 901.42 TONNES

MARCH 10//WITH GOLD UP $31.60 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD; A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.47 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.15 TONNES

MARCH 9/WITH GOLD UP $16.50 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.62 TONNES

MARCH 8/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.5 TONNES FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.62 TONNES

MARCH 7/WITH GOLD DOWN $33.20 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.12 TONNES

MARCH 6/WITH GOLD UP $0.55 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .57 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.12 TONNES

MARCH 3/WITH GOLD UP $14,10 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.69 TONNES

MARCH 2/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.00 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.61 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.69 TONNES

MARCH 1/WITH GOLD UP $18.90 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.31 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 915.30 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 930.04 TONNES

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

APRIL 26/WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.102 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 470.285 MILLION OZ

APRIL 25/WITH SILVER DOWN 34 CENTS TODAY: THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!! HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 7.304 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.387  MILLION OZ.

APRIL 24/WITH SILVER UP 22 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 464.083 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 21/WITH SILVER DOWN 29 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 919,000 OZ FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 464.083 MILLION OZ//

APRIL 20/WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.021 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 465.002 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 19/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 467.023 MILLION OZ//

APRIL 18/WITH SILVER UP 18 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.757 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 467.023 MILLION OZ

APRIL 17/WITH SILVER DOWN 33 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.194 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 469.780 MILLION OZ//

APRIL 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 48 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 470.974 MILLION OZ/

APRIL 13/WITH SILVER UP HUGELY BY 48 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.389 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 470.974 MILLION OZ

APRIL 11/WITH SILVER UP 27 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 468.585 MILLION OZ

APRIL 10/WITH SILVER DOWN 17 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 468.585 MILLION OZ

APRIL 6/WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV; A DEPOSIT OF 4.643 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 468.585 MILLION OZ//

APRIL 5/WITH SILVER DOWN 4 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 463.942  MILLION OZ

APRIL 4/WITH GOLD UP $1.11 TODAY CRIMINAL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.47 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 463,942 MILLION  OZ

APRIL 1/WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 465.412

MARCH 31/WITH SILVER UP 14 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE GLD/: A MASSIVE 4.779 MILLION OZ DEPOSITED INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT465.412 MILLION OZ

MARCH 30/WITH SILVER UP XX CENTS TODAY;HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV.: A DEPOSIT OF 550,000 OZ INTO THE SLV/.INVENTORY RESTS AT 460.633 MILLION OZ

MARCH 29/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.195 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 460.082

MARCH 28/WITH SILVER UP 28 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 368,000 OZ FORM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 458.887 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 27/WITH SILVER DOWN 15 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 230,000 OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 459.255 MILLION OZ

MARCH 23  WITH SILVER UP 62 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A SMALL DEPOSIT OF 919,000 0z INTO THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 459.485 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 21/WITH SILVER DOWN 24 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 781,000 OZ FORM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 458.566 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 20./WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ANOTHER MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.401 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 459.347 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 17/WITH SILVER UP 79 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 10.478 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 462.748 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 16/WITH SILVER DOWN 25 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 5.009 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 473.226 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 15/WITH SILVER DOWN 7 CENTS TODAY; BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 643,000 OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.235 MILLION OZ/

MARCH 14/WITH SILVER UP 9 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.287 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY REST AT 477.592 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 13/WITH SILVER UP $1.35 : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.879 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 10.WITH SILVER UP 36 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.879 MILLION OZ…

MARCH 9/WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.195 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.979 MILLION OZ

MARCH 8/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 459,000 OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 477.684 MILLION OZ

MARCH 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 88 CENTS TODAY;HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 920,000 OZ FROM THE SLV/////INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.143 MILLION OZ

MARCH 6/WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 479.063 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 3/WITH SILVER UP 67 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.369 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 479.063 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 2/WITH SILVER DOWN $.16 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 920,00 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 477.694 MILLION OZ

MARCH 1/WITH SILVER UP 4 CENTS TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.574 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 478.614 MILLION OZ.

CLOSING INVENTORY 470.285 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER STORIES

1:Peter Schiff

end

2 Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens//JAMES RICKARDS//

Rickards: We’re Our Own Worst Enemy

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 12:05 PM

Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

It’s a fact of life that in any group of students, some are likely to be smarter and quicker than others while some just can’t keep up.

It’s unfortunate that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has turned out to be the slow kid in the class when it comes to economic sanctions and financial warfare.

Almost 10 years ago, I sat in a secure conference room at the Pentagon and explained to a group of U.S. national security officials from the military, CIA, Treasury and other agencies that the overuse of the U.S. dollar in financial warfare would eventually drive countries away from using dollars in international transactions for fear that they could become the next target of U.S. displeasure.

Some took note, some ignored the warning and one Treasury official slammed the table and said, “The dollar has been the global reserve currency, it is the global reserve currency now and it always will be the global reserve currency!”

I told him I felt like I was in Whitehall in London in 1913 listening to John Bull say the same thing about sterling. Sterling would begin to be pushed aside by the dollar just one year later with the start of World War I.

We’re Our Own Worst Enemy

More recently, I taught a seminar at the U.S. Army War College on financial warfare in which I explained that U.S. financial sanctions would not have a material impact on Russia, that Russia would not change its behavior in Ukraine based on the sanctions and that the U.S. would suffer more from its own sanctions than Russia because adversaries and neutral countries would create alternative payment platforms that did not use dollars.

I encountered skepticism from the class (that’s OK; the purpose of a seminar is to engender competing views).

I’ve said to the military and intelligence community, “I don’t think other countries can destroy the dollar, but we can do it ourselves. We are our own worst enemy.”

We, of course, meaning the United States. We’re destroying the dollar with the sanctions (and through other misguided policies). The U.S. is doing more to destroy the dollar than our enemies.

Events of the past year have proved my forecast in every respect.

Many others have pointed out the same weaknesses in the weaponization of the dollar. It seems the only parties who didn’t see the danger to the dollar were the Wall Street cheerleaders and top U.S. government officials.

Russia Has Been Preparing for This

Russia saw all this coming, and has been preparing accordingly.

In 2009. Russia’s gold reserves were about 600 tons. By the time the sanctions were imposed in 2022, Russia’s gold reserves were close to 3,000 tons. They had spent that 13-year period acquiring 2,400 metric tons of gold.

If you think that’s easy, it isn’t. It’s not easy at all to acquire anywhere near that amount of gold. But they were like Steady Eddie, The Little Engine That Could.

They bought 10 to 30 tons per month like clockwork, about 250 tons a year, sometimes more, sometimes less, but over 13 years they got to that 3,000-ton level.

They’re very transparent about it. But they were anticipating financial warfare from the U.S. and its allies.

So when the sanctions were imposed, Russia’s total reserves were approximately $600 billion, but almost 25% of that, about $150 billion, was in gold. And I’m talking about actual gold bullion held in safe storage in Russia, not gold futures contracts or ETFs because they’re just as easy to freeze as any other asset.

That was not a complete answer to the sanctions they were facing, but it was a very substantial move in the direction of insulating themselves from being kicked out of the dollar system.

Well, all I can say is that I warned the Pentagon about this in 2009 when I conducted financial war games. I also wrote about it in my book Currency Wars, which came out in 2011. Now it’s all playing out before our eyes. China, of course, has been doing the same thing as Russia to escape dollar dominance.

Could the Russian Economy Outperform the U.S. Economy This Year?

Incidentally, Russia’s growth should be higher than the United States this year, believe it or not. Russia’s estimated by the IMF to grow slightly less than 3%. And the U.S.? We’re probably already in recession, so we won’t get anywhere near 3%.

Meanwhile, Russian oil exports are higher than ever.

Russia’s buying high-tech goods from China, including some military hardware and other manufactured goods. China’s buying Russian oil and natural gas, in addition to agricultural output and weapons. That’s a big two-way trade, and the dollar isn’t being used. Russia’s paying yuan, and China’s paying rubles.

Now, the failure of U.S. dollar-based sanctions has become too obvious to ignore. The failure is so obvious that even Janet Yellen admits that sanctions are not working.

She recently said, “There is a risk when we use financial sanctions that are linked to the role of the dollar that over time it could undermine the hegemony of the dollar. Of course, it does create a desire on the part of China, of Russia, of Iran to find an alternative.”

One could say that realizing the dangers ten years too late is still better late than never.

Why the Dollar Hasn’t Tanked — Yet

The issue is whether it’s already too late to undo the damage. Once new trading currencies and new payment channels are put in place (which is happening quickly), there’s little incentive to go back to a dollar system where the U.S. can threaten your economy.

I should add that there are reasons why the dollar is strong today that have nothing to do with what I’ve been discussing. It has to do with the banking crisis (that’s far from over, by the way). There’s high demand for dollar-denominated collateral, particularly short-term Treasury bills. That’ll break at some point, but not yet.

And so, the dollar is being propped up by the demand for dollar-denominated collateral, even though it’s under attack from all sides based on these new payment currency alternatives that are rapidly emerging.

Yellen is once again putting her incompetence on full display. She’s a textbook neo-Keynesian with little understanding of monetary policy, fiscal policy, or the international monetary system.

I’ve consistently said that the greatest threat to the dollar comes not from abroad but from the U.S. Treasury because they take confidence in the dollar for granted. We’re doing this to ourselves.

Yellen is proving my point.

END

Jamie Dimon’s Deeply Conflicted Role as “Rescuer” of First Republic Bank Requires a Credible Investigation

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: April 26, 2023

The Board of Directors and shareholders at the largest bank in the U.S., JPMorgan Chase – which has more than 5,000 Chase Bank branches dotting the landscape from coast to coast – have ample reason to ask themselves where the loyalties of the bank’s Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon exactly lie.

Dimon, who has come under withering negative publicity for the bank’s many years of catering to the cash payoff needs of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, had an urgent incentive to want to change the subject. So a media blitz ensued around his role as rescuer of the sinking carcass of a much smaller bank, First Republic Bank – which has its own dubious distinction of being the bank that wired the hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels by Trump attorney, Michael Cohen.

For just how broadly Dimon’s “rescue” of First Republic Bank has been reported, scroll down at this link. Only someone living off the grid or in a coma did not hear that Jamie Dimon was riding to the rescue of First Republic Bank.

But as early as Tuesday, March 28, during a Senate Banking hearing, it became clear that when First Republic finally got around to updating the public on the severity of its distressed situation (which it finally did on Monday in a 12-minute earnings call that took no questions from anyone), the news was going to be devastating to the bank.

At the Senate Banking hearing, the Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Fed, Michael Barr, explained just how fast deposits can evaporate from a bank in the new digital age, especially when tens of billions of dollars of those deposits exceed the FDIC insurance cap of $250,000 per depositor, per bank. Barr told the Senators that in the case of Silicon Valley Bank, $42 billion in deposits had left the bank on Thursday, March 9, and bank customers had queued up $100 billion more to exit the following day. Silicon Valley Bank did not have adequate collateral to post at the Fed to borrow funds to meet that $100 billion in withdrawals, thus the bank was put into FDIC receivership on March 10.

No depositor has ever lost a dime of deposits in an FDIC- insured bank if they have kept those deposits in FDIC- insured accounts and within that $250,000 FDIC cap.

Both Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank are California-headquartered regional banks. The contagion from Silicon Valley Bank had directly impacted First Republic Bank. By the date of that Senate Banking hearing on March 28, First Republic’s common stock had lost 90 percent of its market value – just in the month of March.

It might be possible to come back from that if one is a start-up tech firm, or an acknowledged high-risk innovator. But Americans put their money in federally-insured banks because they want safety; because they want the peace of mind of knowing their deposits will be protected despite what happens in the Wall Street casino on any given day. In that vein, Jamie Dimon was the worst possible choice to head up a rescue of First Republic Bank as he is the personification of what happens when a trading casino is allowed to own the largest federally-insured bank in America. Under Dimon’s tenure at the helm of JPMorgan Chase, it has been charged with losing $6.2 billion of depositors’ money by gambling in derivatives in London; its precious metals traders have been charged under RICO – the statute used to prosecute the mob; it has received an unprecedented five felony counts from the U.S. Department of Justice, including aiding and abetting the largest Ponzi scheme in history by Bernie Madoff, and on and on.

But Jamie Dimon has a legion of public relations flacks shaping his image as a titan of Wall Street wisdom and he has clearly gotten high on his own p.r. supply. So Dimon cajoled three other mega banks on Wall Street to join his bank and dump $5 billion each of uninsured deposits into First Republic Bank on March 16. Those banks were Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. In addition, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs deposited $2.5 billion each; while BNY Mellon, State Street, PNC Bank, Trust and US Bank each deposited $1 billion, bringing the total infusion to $30 billion.

In addition, according to First Republic, JPMorgan Chase had also provided a line of credit to the bank. Multiple media outlets also reported that JPMorgan Chase and Lazard were advisors to First Republic Bank on its options going forward. (See here and here.)

Yesterday, the share price of First Republic plunged another 49 percent, closing at an all-time low of $8.10. In response, CNBC is reporting that there is now a plan afoot to attempt to cajole the 11 banks that sluiced the $30 billion in temporary deposits to First Republic to convert that into an equity stake. Seriously? What the devil is going on here and why aren’t the shareholders of these banks wielding pitchforks?

S&P Global has already downgraded First Republic Bank into junk territory; excluding the $30 billion in strong- armed deposits from the mega banks, First Republic lost a staggering 58 percent of its deposits in the first quarter of this year; and its wealth advisors are leaving and taking billions of dollars in clients assets with them to new firms.

Since when did it become a rational move for one federally-insured bank to link its brand and reputation to an imploding bank?

Dimon needs to be hauled before the Senate Banking Committee in a public hearing, put under oath, and grilled as to what exactly his motivation was to get so enmeshed in the hot mess at First Republic Bank. Likewise, the perpetually blind-folded and conflicted Board at JPMorgan Chase needs to hire an independent, credible law firm to investigate the conflicts inherent in the many hats Jamie Dimon was wearing in this debacle.

end

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

Bank run on First Republic continues:

(London’s Financial Times)

Sharp selloff in First Republic shares causes alarm in Washington

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2023-04-26 04:14Section: Daily Dispatches

By James Fontanella-Khan, Colby Smith, Stephen Gandel, and Brooke Masters
Financial Times, London
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Shares of First Republic continued to plunge on Tuesday as regulators in Washington and financiers on Wall Street scrambled to come up with a plan to stabilise the ailing bank.

The California-based lender’s stock price, which is down by more than 93 per cent this year, fell by a further 49.4 per cent, a day after it revealed its customers had withdrawn $100 billion of deposits during last month’s turmo

First Republic on Monday said it was pursuing “strategic options”, but multiple people briefed on the situation said it was struggling to come up with a viable solution, such as a sale of all or part of the bank.

The people said the bank was in touch with the US government, which is on high alert following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.ft.com/content/32439fdf-3215-4e9a-91fb-eb6b3e821451

end

Emergency money eases but the risk still remains

(Associated Press)

Central banks reduce crisis cash offers as bank system fears ease

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2023-04-26 01:27Section: Daily Dispatches

Much of this money could be used for surreptitious market interventions and no one outside central banking would ever know — and financial news organizations will never ask.

* * *

By David McHugh
Associated Press
via ABC News, New York
Wednesday, April 25, 2023

FRANKFURT, Germany — In a sign fears about the global financial system have eased for now, major central banks are scaling back their offer of emergency dollar loans to banks, a crisis step launched after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the U.S. fed fears about wider troubles.

The European Central Bank said Tuesday that it and other central banks found that pressure on banks’ cash needs has dropped and the crisis credits were not being used much lately.

As of May 1 the central banks will move from daily offerings of dollars to any bank that needs them to the previous availability of every seven days.

Making extra dollars available has been a tool in times of trouble because banks need the U.S. currency to handle many international transactions. The so-called dollar swap lines were used during the 2008 global financial crisis and the economic turmoil in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to ease the impact on the supply of credit to consumers and businesses. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/central-banks-end-crisis-offer-bank-system-fears-98822502

end

This will not go over well!

(London Telegraph)

People should just accept their falling standard of living, Bank of England exec says

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2023-04-25 11:37Section: Daily Dispatches

Yes, that might make life easier for central bankers, whose own living standards aren’t likely to fall.

* * *

People Need to Accept They Are Poorer, Bank of England Exec Says

By Eir Nolsoe
The Telegraph, London
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Britons have to accept they have become poorer, a senior Bank of England official has said, claiming that an unwillingness to accept the nation’s downward mobility was fuelling inflation.

Huw Pill, Threadneedle Street’s chief economist, said people “need to accept that they’re worse off and stop trying to maintain their real spending power by bidding up prices, whether [through] higher wages or passing the energy costs through onto customers.”

Pill said people and businesses were trying to maintain their standards of living and profits by either demanding higher pay or putting up prices.

However, he argued this was only likely to fuel inflation and compared the dynamic to a game of pass the parcel, where each player was unwilling to accept the burden of higher prices that make them poorer. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/04/25/people-accept-poorer-bank-of-england-huw-pill/

end

end

4. OTHER GOLD/SILVER RELATED COMMENTARIES/

this would be deadly to the west if true! We know that Saudi Arabia is selling oil to China for yuan.  The question is whether

Saudi Arabia is converting the yuan earned for gold.  They do not need yuan!

(Jan Nieuwenhuijs)

Is Saudi Arabia Selling Oil To China For Gold?

TUESDAY, APR 25, 2023 – 08:25 PM

By Jan Nieuwenhuijs of Gainesville Coins

Rumors are making rounds that Saudi Arabia is selling oil for yuan, which it converts into gold on the Shanghai International Gold Exchange (SGEI). Such a development would make sense as large parts of the world want to de-dollarize, but the renminbi is not suitable to be used as a reserve currency. China has a closed capital account and a weak rule of law. Not using the dollar could be done by using the renminbi as a trade currency and converting yuan revenue into gold on the SGEI. If the rumor is true, Saudi Arabia is buying 1 Kg bars as there is virtually no trading in 12.5 Kg bars on the SGEI. The benefit of 1 Kg bars is that they are more fitting for fully allocated trading.

The SGEI was set up in 2014 for foreigners to access gold trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange Main Board in the Chinese domestic gold market and trading on the International Board in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone (SFTZ). Foreigner entities can’t load-in and load-out gold into and from Main Board certified vaults, but they can load-in and load-out gold into and from International Board certified vaults (and thus import into and export from the SFTZ).

The objective of the International Board is to facilitate “offshore” gold trading in renminbi in the SFTZ, which has almost no effect on China’s current account. This is comparable to offshore gold trading in US dollars in London (offshore dollars pricing internationally traded commodities). Through the SGEI China wants to increase the role of the renminbi in the global economy.

Investment possibilities for foreigners in Chinese financial assets are limited, but there are no restrictions to converting yuan into gold on the SGEI. I will write more on the mechanics of the Chinese gold market in a forthcoming article because this will be important in the coming years with respect to de-dollarization.

Last week, Christopher Wood from Jefferies mentioned in a note that the Saudis might be converting yuan into gold on the SGEI (full note available to pro subs in the usual place):

If Saudi Arabia would convert yuan into gold on the SGEI, I would expect them to buy large bars weighing 400 ounces (12.5 Kg). Data from the SGE and SGEI, though, reveals there has practically been no trading in 12.5 Kg bars since the SGE was erected in October 2002.

In the above chart volume is shown for exchange trading of 12.5 Kg contracts. Not shown, over-the-counter (OTC) trading in the 12.5 Kg contract on the International Board was zero in the past year. OTC trading in the 12.5 kg contract on the Main Board isn’t reported, which makes me think it’s not existent. All in all, large bar trading on the SGE(I) is extremely low.

Based on 12.5 Kg contract trading volume on the SGE(I) it’s hard to prove the rumor is true, which doesn’t mean it can’t be true. Saudi Arabia can also buy 1 Kg bars on the SGEI (and SGE, but it wouldn’t be able to export gold traded on the Main Board). Trading in 1 Kg contracts on the SGEI (iAu9999) and SGE (Au99.99) is not subdued. Although, there hasn’t been a significant uptick in trading of iAu9999 recently.

Interestingly, according to my sources, in China’s foreign exchange market (CFETS) all gold traded is settled and cleared through the SGE and is fully allocated. One of the reasons for this is because the underlying assets are the SGE 1 Kg (9999 fine) and 3 Kg (9995) contracts. In Western foreign exchange markets, the underlying for gold trading is usually the LBMA Good Delivery bar that weighs approximately 400 ounces, which is more convenient to trade on an unallocated basis. As an example, exchanging exactly 20,000 ounces in London is easy on an unallocated basis, while it’s difficult to collect a batch of large bars that together weigh precisely 20,000 ounces. Perhaps Asia is shifting to an alternative benchmark and that’s why the Saudis are buying 1 Kg bars? Time will tell.

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, visited Saudi Arabia in December 2022 where he pledged to continue buying oil and gas from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, and proposed these trades to be settled in yuan. From Xi:

China will continue to import large quantities of crude oil from GCC countries, expand imports of liquefied natural gas, strengthen cooperation in upstream oil and gas development, engineering services, storage, transportation and refining, and make full use of the Shanghai Petroleum and National Gas Exchange as a platform to carry out yuan settlement of oil and gas trade…

Shortly after, in January 2023, Saudi Arabia shared it’s open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar, according to the kingdom’s finance minister.

The Wall Street Journal wrote in March 2023 that, “Saudi Arabia is in active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan.”

These statements tell us there is a will in both countries to de-dollarize. Selling oil for yuan and then converting those into gold would be a logical step, given the renminbi’s shortcomings as a reserve currency. But I would like to see more evidence before confirming this trend.

A few months ago, a person familiar with the matter but who prefers to stay anonymous told me Saudi Arabia is covertly buying gold, though he refrained from saying where it was bought. Perhaps the Saudis are slowly working on a transition; de-dollarization isn’t done overnight.

---

END

5.IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES: LITHIUM

end

GLOBAL COMMODITIES ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL

6.CRYPTOCURRENCY COMMENTARIES/

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED DOWN TO 6.9238

OFFSHORE YUAN: 6.9340

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.77 POINTS OR 0.02%

HANG SENG CLOSED UP 139.39  PTS OR  0.71%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 203.60  PTS OR 0.71% 

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR: ALL RED

USA dollar INDEX DOWN  TO  101.07 EURO RISES TO 1.1077 UP 69 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +.456Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 134.21 /JAPANESE YEN FALLING 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 DOWN /JAPANESE Yen UP  CHINESE YUAN:  DOWN//  OFF- SHORE: DOWN

3f Japan is to buy INFINITE  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 DOWN  FOR Brent this morning

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund DOWN TO +2.3385***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield RISES to 4.243*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD FALLS TO 3.401…** DANGEROUS//

3i Greek 10 year bond yield FALLS TO 4.156

3j Gold at $1997.40 silver at: 24.98 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND  10 /100        roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 81.73//

3m oil into the 76 dollar handle for WTI and  80  handle for Brent/

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

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 133.33  10 YEAR YIELD AFTER BREAKING .54%, FALLS TO .456% STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION

30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this 0.8887 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9818 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: 3.390 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS…GETTING DANGEROUS//

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 3.648 DOWN 2  BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  3.8893  DOWN 6 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 19.43…

GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: DOWN 7 BASIS PTS AT 3.7070

end

2.  Overnight:  Newsquawk and Zero hedge:

 2. a)FIRST, ZEROHEDGE (PRE USA OPENING// MORNING

Futures Rally Fizzles As Banking Fears Resurface

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 08:07 AM

US index futures are fractionally higher, led by tech, however continued turmoil surrounding First Republic Bank which tumbled as much as 30% this morning after losing half its value yesterday, has sapped much of the earlier optimism and gains. Yesterday was the SPX’s worst day in a month and was April’s second move that exceeded 1%, in either direction. As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures were up 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures gained 0.8%, but both were well of their highs. Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft Corp. both beat first-quarter earnings expectations in results published after the market close. Microsoft gained in the premarket Wednesday, while Alphabet reversed an advance to move into the red. Meta Platforms is due to report after the bell today.

Pre-mkt MSFT +7.4%, AMZN +3.7%, NVDA +2.1%, META +2.0%, GOOGL, +0.5%, AAPL +0.4%. PACW seemingly gives more evidence that FRC is idiosyncratic. V is +0.9% pre-mkt after posting earnings; the more impactful news may be that the company states that the consumer remains in good shape amid decreasing inflation. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Boeing shares jump 4.1% in premarket trading, after the planemaker’s first-quarter revenue and cash flow both beat expectations.  Shares off some Boeing suppliers also rose premarket. Spirit AeroSystems up 2.5%, Arconic up 1%, Howmet up 1.9%.
• Microsoft jumps as much as 7.7% after the software company’s third-quarter results beat expectations. Analysts highlighted strength in the company’s Azure cloud business and were optimistic about the overall resiliency of the business, leading at least 16 of them to raise their price target on the stock.
• Alphabet rises as much as 1.9% after the Google parent reported first-quarter results that beat expectations. Analysts noted strength in the company’s search business, as well as positive momentum in cloud. This coupled with strong results from fellow tech juggernaut Microsoft eased concerns that tech shares’ year-to-date rally is overdone.
• Midsize US banks, including First Republic (FRC US), rally following an update from peer PacWest which showed that deposits stabilized toward the end of March and rose in April, calming worries over the lender’s health.
• Enphase Energy shares plummet as much as 16%, on track for their worst day since June 2020, with analysts cutting their price targets on the solar equipment maker after its second-quarter revenue guidance missed expectations due to weakness in its US market and higher interest rates. Brokers say that Enphase’s first quarter performance was overall strong, and are positive regarding its prospects for the longer-term.
• Getty falls as much as 6.7% after the media firm rebuffed a takeover bid of almost $4 billion from Trillium, saying the activist investor hasn’t provided any evidence that its proposal, valuing the shares at nearly double the pre-offer price, is “sufficiently credible.”
• IonQ gains 3.6% after Morgan Stanley initiates coverage with an equal-weight recommendation, saying the quantum computing company is an early leader in the space, though the technology risk is high as quantum advantage is still unproven.

While layoffs dominate headlines, the US is still net adding jobs this year, from a strong starting point, 3.5% unemployment. The yield curve is steeper with USD lower; cmdtys staging a relief rally.

Today, the macro data focus is on durable/cap goods, inventories, and mtge applications. There may be a vote on McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill in the House, though this bill will fail in the Senate but is seeing a stronger negotiating move. Debt ceiling fears will continue to permeate markets near-term

“The question is to what extent central banks and regulators can contain market sentiment and make clear to investors they need to keep a cool head, to give depositors confidence that there is no need to run to other banks,” said Tatjana Puhan, deputy chief investment officer at Tobam SAS. “So far the Fed has been very clear that they will continue to hike rates as long as needed to contain inflation.”

European stocks fall to their lowest level in two weeks as investors continue to fret over the health of the global banking system. Software producer Dassault Systemes sank more than 8% after missing revenue estimates. The Stoxx 600 is down 0.8% with industrials, healthcare and tech the worst performing sectors. Bank stocks were leading declines at one stage but recovered after a positive premarket open for First Republic. Dutch chip-tool maker ASM International slumped more than 10% after offering a tepid outlook for the rest of the year. Roche Holding AG retreated even as its first-quarter sales exceeded expectations. Beats from Standard Chartered Plc and Sweden’s SEB AB failed to bolster sentiment. Here are the most notable European movers:

• Kindred shares jump 15% after the online gambling firm said it initiated a review of strategic alternatives, including a sale. Goodbody analyst says the firm is an “attractive asset”
• Temenos shares jump as much as 11%, the most in a year, after the Swiss financial software firm delivered a strong beat in the first quarter, even if its outlook remains clouded
• Persimmon shares gain as much as 5.3% after showing an improving outlook in its 1Q report, with other UK homebuilders also gaining. Peel Hunt says the report offers “comfort”
• SSAB rallies as much as 5.2% after reporting adjusted Ebitda for the first quarter that beat estimates, with analysts expecting the Swedish steelmaker’s estimates to rise
• SEB shares rise by as much as 6.2%, the most in a year, after the Swedish lender reported net interest income for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate
• Vonovia rises 5.9% after it sells minority common equity participation in “Suedewo” portfolio to Apollo on behalf of its affiliated and third party insurance clients and other investor
• ASM International shares fall as much as 13% in Amsterdam, their biggest intraday decline since 2020, after the Dutch chip-tool maker offered a tepid outlook for rest of the year
• Dassault Systemes shares fall as much as 7.8%, their biggest intraday decline since May 2022, after the French firm reported weaker-than-expected software license sales for 1Q
• CRH shares drop as much as 5% after the Irish building materials company reported 1Q like-for-like sales growth below that of peers, impacted by weather effects
• Axfood falls as much as 6.5% after the Swedish grocer reported 1Q adjusted Ebitda and net sales slightly below expectations, a miss Kepler Cheuvreux attributes to logistics arm Dagab
• Handelsbanken falls as much as 4.4% after its CET1 ratio missed the consensus, while Citi noted that a small beat in net interest income was driven by a reclassification of funding costs

“The markets are very much focused on some of the earnings story, but possibly overlooking the weight of economic deceleration that is playing through right now, particularly in the United States,” John Woods, Asia Pacific chief investment officer at Credit Suisse Group AG, said on Bloomberg Television. “I’m looking at a whole range of technical signals, which seem to be suggesting a risk-off environment.”

Earlier in the session, Asia stocks fell for a fourth straight day as weak US consumer confidence data sapped risk appetite, although the selloff in Chinese equities paused. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index slipped as much as 0.5%, trading near a one-month low, led by benchmarks in Japan and the Philippines. The moves come after declines in US markets overnight amid a drop in consumer confidence and a re-emergence of banking concerns.  Hong Kong shares outperformed with gains, while mainland China equities trimmed earlier losses as traders sought catalysts after the rout this month. China’s high frequency indicators show the economy continued to expand in April, though geopolitical concerns are keeping optimism in check.

“The macro overlay is probably dominating the performance of equities, particularly in China,” said John Woods, Asia Pacific chief investment officer at Credit Suisse, told Bloomberg Television. “I’m looking at a whole range of technical signals which seem to be suggesting a risk-off environment” globally, he added. Despite strong results from Microsoft and Alphabet, a gauge of major tech stocks in the region was among the biggest sectoral decliners Wednesday. Earnings are front and center this week, with more than 800 members of the MSCI Asia gauge scheduled to report, as the market attempts to find direction amid low volatility. 

Japanese stocks fell amid renewed concern over the health of the global banking system after First Republic Bank shares plunged on a proposed asset sale and decline in deposits. The Topix fell 0.9% to close at 2,023.90, while the Nikkei declined 0.7% to 28,416.47. Keyence contributed the most to the Topix decline, decreasing 2%. Out of 2,158 stocks in Topix, 329 rose and 1,767 fell, while 62 were unchanged. “I think it is unlikely that the problem of US banks will develop into a financial crisis,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, chief market strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management. “However, there is a possibility that lending will tighten mainly for small and medium-sized companies, and attention must be paid to the risk of economic deterioration.”

Australian stocks were flat, as cooler inflation boosted the case for holding rates; the S&P/ASX 200 index was little changed to close at 7,316.30, as losses in mining shares offset gains in industrials and energy stocks. Australia’s core inflation decelerated in the first three months of 2023, lending weight to the Reserve Bank’s view that prices will steadily come down and supporting the case for it to extend an interest-rate pause. Read: Australia’s Cooler Inflation Boosts Case to Keep Rates on Hold In New Zealand, the S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.8% to 11,934.98.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%, unwinding most of Tuesday’s gain, as US futures rose. Euro and pound outperform among G10 currencies, with both climbing more than 0.5% against the greenback. Australia’s dollar dropped against all its major peers as the country’s slower-than-estimated inflation supported the case for the central bank to extend its rate-hike pause. The trimmed-mean inflation gauge rose 1.2% in 1Q from the previous quarter, falling short of the 1.4% gain estimated by economists; it comes after the Reserve Bank of Australia paused its almost year-long tightening cycle earlier this month. The Swedish krona also dropped after the Riksbank signaled smaller rate increases going forward.

In rates, treasuries held on to Tuesday’s sharp gains following minimal price action during Asia session and London morning. US yields are 1bp lower on the day with 10-year around 3.39%, trailing bunds by 4bp in the sector. European bonds also gained, with German and UK 10-year yields falling by 5bps and 2bps respectively.  The treasury auction cycle continues with $43b 5-year note sale at 1pm, following small tail in Tuesday’s 2-year sale. WI 5-year yield at ~3.43% is ~23bp richer than March auction, which stopped 1bp through the WI level.

Crude futures advance with WTI rising 0.5% to trade near $77.50. Spot gold is little changed around $2,000.

Bitcoin is firmer and has lifted back towards the USD 29k mark, but is yet to mount a convincing test of the figure with the high thus far circa. USD 100 shy; action which keeps BTC comfortably above last-week’s parameters but shy of the USD 30k+ seen earlier in April.

Looking to the day ahead now, and data releases from the US include preliminary durable goods orders and core capital goods orders for March. From central banks, we’ll hear from ECB Vice President de Guindos and the ECB’s Herodotou. Lastly, earnings releases include Meta and Boeing.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures up 0.1% to 4,098.00
• MXAP down 0.1% to 159.64
• MXAPJ up 0.2% to 510.57
• Nikkei down 0.7% to 28,416.47
• Topix down 0.9% to 2,023.90
• Hang Seng Index up 0.7% to 19,757.27
• Shanghai Composite little changed at 3,264.10
• Sensex up 0.1% to 60,210.93
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 little changed at 7,316.30
• Kospi down 0.2% to 2,484.83
• STOXX Europe 600 down 0.7% to 463.89
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.35%
• Euro up 0.6% to $1.1037
• Brent Futures up 0.5% to $81.17/bbl
• Gold spot up to $1,997.49
• U.S. Dollar Index down 0.43% to 101.43

Top Overnight News

• BOJ widely expected to leave policy unchanged this week, but COVID could be dropped in the statement as a risk factor, a move that might be interpreted as the first step toward tightening measures later in the year. RTRS
• Australian inflation eased from 33-year highs in the first quarter as the cost of living saw the smallest rise in more than a year, while core inflation dipped below forecasts suggesting less pressure for another hike in interest rates. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.4% in the March quarter, just above market forecasts of 1.3% but the smallest increase since late 2021. RTRS
• South Korea will have a say in planning a potential U.S. nuclear response to a North Korean attack in return for not developing its own nuclear weapons. WSJ
• Sweden’s Riksbank raises rates by 50bp, as expected (although two members at the bank voted for 25bp), and guided for one additional increase at its June or Sept meeting, suggesting the tightening process is nearly over. BBG
• The White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, said that while he can’t comment on specific banks, “you can be reassured that that the regulators are deeply involved in monitoring the situation and will take the necessary actions”. WSJ
• Almost one in five cars sold worldwide this year will be an electric vehicle, the International Energy Agency has forecast, after sales already passed the 10mn mark for the first time globally. The remarkable surge in demand for battery-powered models means electric vehicles will account for 18 per cent of global car sales compared with just 4 per cent of global car sales in 2020, according to the agency’s annual outlook. FT
• Opposition mounts in the House among Republicans to McCarthy’s debt ceiling bill, meaning it prob. can’t pass without revisions (the goal had been for a vote to take place today). The Hill  
• US crude stockpiles slumped more than 6 million barrels last week, the API is said to have reported. That would be the biggest drop in four weeks if confirmed by the EIA today. Inventories at Cushing edged higher. Gasoline supplies resumed their decline, while distillate inventory climbed. BBG
• Stanley Druckenmiller is betting against the US dollar as his only high-conviction trade in what he believes is the most uncertain environment for markets and the global economy in his 45-year career. FT
• The SPAC boom took hundreds of risky companies to the stock market. The next stop for many is bankruptcy court. Dozens of companies that merged with SPACs are running out of cash, joining at least 12 that have already gone bankrupt after combining with special-purpose acquisition companies. WSJ

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were mostly lower after the losses on Wall St where banking sector fears resurfaced as First Republic Bank shares fell by 50% due to an exodus of deposits and with the lender considering up to USD 100bln in asset sales, although US equity futures found some reprieve overnight from the big tech earnings. ASX 200 was lacklustre but with downside stemmed as participants digested somewhat mixed inflation data in which the headline CPI readings for Q1 topped forecasts, but all other components were softer than expected and supported the view that the economy has passed peak inflation. Nikkei 225 declined amid pressure in the banking sector and disappointment in Japan after the failed lunar module landing which resulted in a glut of sell orders for ispace shares. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with early weakness in tech after US Republican senators urged for US government measures to address Chinese cloud companies including placing sanctions on Huawei Cloud and adding Alibaba Cloud to the export control list, although it was also reported that China’s State Council pledged to expand the export and import scale of key products and will properly respond to unreasonable foreign trade restrictions.

Top Asian News

• RBNZ proposed to ease LVR restriction from June 1st and it assessed that risks to financial stability from high-LVR lending have reduced to a level where current restriction may be unnecessarily reducing efficiency, according to Reuters.
• Japanese panel is reportedly reviewing utility prices to look for a lower hike, according to NTV.

European bourses are lower across the board, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.6%, with pressure emanating from the softer APAC handover which itself was impacted by FRC-induced banking concern with European names impacted. More recently, earnings from heavyweights Safran and ASM International are weighing on the Industrial Goods and Tech sectors respectively. For reference, after the European cash open broader sentiment slipped to fresh lows with bourses posting downside in excess of 1.0%; though, this magnitude was somewhat shortlived and occurred without a fresh catalyst at the time. Stateside, US futures are somewhat mixed with ES marginally firmer but relatively contained while the NQ +1.3% is the standout outperformer after well-received Big Tech after-market updates ahead of the likes of Meta and Boeing on Wednesday. Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) – Top- and bottom-line beats, Q1 EPS 1.17 (exp. 1.07), Q1 Revenue 69.8bln (exp. 68.9bln), a USD 70bln share buyback, and decent ad revenue saw GOOG rise over 1.5% in afterhours trading. +1.1% in pre-market trade Microsoft Corp (MSFT) – Rose over 8% in afterhours trading following top and bottom-line beats on cloud growth. Q3 EPS 2.45 (exp. 2.23), Q3 revenue USD 52.9bln (exp. 51.02bln), Q3 Cloud revenue 28.5bln (exp. 28.19bln). +7.9% in pre-market trade

Top European News

• Riksbank hikes its Rate by 50bps to 3.50% as expected; Dissent from Bremen and Floden (3-2 vote split); forecast indicates a 25bps hike in June or September; peak rate seen at 3.65% (prev. 3.33%), Q2-2026 average 3.35%; reiterates language on SEK.. Click here for details, reaction and newsquawk analysis.
• ECB’s Vujcic commented that there is no choice but to raise rates further, according to Delo.
• German Economy Ministry says industrial electricity pricing concept is to be introduced next week.
• EU Commission proposes that countries with a budget gap larger than 3% of GDP will have to cut the deficit by at least 0.5% of GDP annually, until they are below the 3% ceiling. In-fitting with earlier FT reports.

FX

• Swedish Krona crushed after ‘dovish’ 50bp Riksbank hike as 2 doves dissent, guidance suggests 1/4 point rise next time and repo path shows cut by Q2 2026, EUR/SEK eyes April high near 11.4500.
• DXY recoils within 101.890-320 range to the benefit of Euro and Pound especially, EUR/USD tops 1.1050 and pulls away from multiple option expiries, Cable reclaims 21 DMA on the way to towards 1.2500.
• Aussie continues to underperform as mostly softer than consensus inflation data underscores the probability of another RBA pause, AUD/USD probes 0.6600.
• Yen extends recovery rally vs Buck on spot month end amidst broad risk aversion and pre-BoJ positioning, USD/JPY towards the base of a 133.40-86 range.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.9237 vs exp. 6.9250 (prev. 6.8847)

Fixed Income

• Core benchmarks are mixed and in relative proximity to the unchanged mark, though retain an upward bias, as Bunds/Gilts faded from their initial 135.75 and 102.12 respective peaks.
• The morning’s dual-issuance via Germany sparked little reaction given the pullback from above best by around 40 ticks to near neutral had already occurred.
• Stateside, USTs are similarly contained though the benchmark contrasts slightly in being softer on the session in limited 115.18-25 parameters ahead of supply and data, with yields big as such and action as has been the case recently more evident at the short-end of the curve.

Commodities

• WTI and Brent June futures eked mild gains overnight but trimmed those gains in early European hours in what has been a choppy morning for the complex.
• Spot gold continues to trade indecisively as the yellow metal balances a softer Dollar with the deteriorating risk profile across the market.
• Base metals meanwhile are mostly firmer, benefiting from the pullback in the Dollar, but with upside capped as the risk tone remains cautious.
• Russian Deputy PM Novak says total balance of oil supply and demand has not changed; says OPEC+ is effective, there are risks to energy security without OPEC+; says OPEC+ are not regulating prices.
• US Energy Inventory Data (bbls): Crude -6.1mln (exp. -1.5mln), Gasoline -1.9mln (exp. -0.9mln), Distillate 1.7mln (exp. -0.8mln), Cushing 0.5mln.
• European Commission VP Sefcovic said 80 companies signed up to the EU’s platform for joint natgas purchases that launched on Tuesday, according to FT.

Geopolitics

• Russia said two of its strategic missile carrier bombers flew over the Barents and Norwegian seas, according to Reuters.
• Drone reportedly fell on the grounds of Moscow City court, according to Izvestia newspaper; drone did not carry any objects.
• China and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on maritime law enforcement cooperation, according to Chinese state media.
• China’s Defence Ministry says they are willing to work with the Pakistani military to further deepen and expand practical cooperation.
• China Maritime Administration said China will conduct live firing drills in the East China Sea today, according to Reuters.
• China Taiwan Affairs Office commented on a recent media report that an EU diplomat called for EU navy patrols in the Taiwan Strait in which it stated that authorities will be prepared and they will be on high alert for possible harm to China’s national sovereignty and territory, according to Reuters.
• Turkish President Erdogan cancelled election campaign rallies on Wednesday on his Doctors suggestion amid an unexpected health issue.

US Event Calendar

• 07:00: April MBA Mortgage Applications +3.7%, prior -8.8%
• 08:30: March Durable Goods Orders, est. 0.7%, prior -1.0%; Durables Less Transportation, est. -0.2%, prior -0.1%
  • March Cap Goods Ship Nondef Ex Air, est. 0.1%, prior -0.1%
  • March Cap Goods Orders Nondef Ex Air, est. -0.1%, prior -0.1%
• 08:30: March Retail Inventories MoM, est. 0.2%, prior 0.8%
• 08:30: March Wholesale Inventories MoM, est. 0.1%, prior 0.1%
• 08:30: March Advance Goods Trade Balance, est. -$90b, prior -$91.6b

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

If I’m not thinking straight this morning forgive me as my brain was disturbed by an awful noise last night that I can’t get out of my head. Yes my 5-yr old twins came home from school yesterday after their first ever violin lesson and insisted on giving me a rendition. I’d imagine torture is easier to endure.

The noises from the market over the last 24 hours haven’t been pleasant either with the S&P 500 (-1.58%) experiencing its worst day in over a month. The slump had several drivers, including weak earnings reports, poor data releases, continued fears around the debt ceiling, and even a renewed bout of concern about the banking sector. Taken together, that’s cast increasing doubt on the sustainability of the rally over recent weeks, with investors once again pricing in a growing chance of rate cuts later this year. More positive tech earnings after the US bell were the one bright spot and are boosting US futures in Asia.

We’ll start with the banking concerns, as one of the biggest stories yesterday was the latest slump in First Republic Bank (-49.37%), which was the worst performer in the entire S&P 500. That follows their earnings release after the close on Monday, which was always going to be a focal point of the week. It showed a bigger-than-expected decline in deposits and saw them announce a workforce reduction of around 20-25% in Q2. Additionally, yesterday it was reported that the lender was looking to divest $50-100bn of long-dated mortgages and securities that are underwater in order to clean up their balance sheet. According to reports, First Republic could offer incentives such as warrants or preferred equity to buyers in order to move the assets. This highlights how vital it appears to them to shed those assets and how little others might want them. The news brought on a further bout of selling, with shares down -29% before the asset sale news and then dropping a further -25% in the hour or so after the news broke.

The latest fall in the share price takes it down to an all-time low ($8.10), and well below the 12-16 share price range of the last month where things had stabilised. It was at around $147 in early February. The losses were evident among banks more broadly, with all but one of the 22 members of the KBW Banks Index (-3.45%) losing ground.

Those declines among bank stocks were at the forefront of a broader equity sell-off as earnings season continues apace. After the close yesterday, we heard from Microsoft (+8.64% after-market, -2.25% yesterday) and Alphabet (+1.68% after-market, -2.03% yesterday). They both reported above consensus revenues and EPS, with the latter also announcing an additional $70bn share buyback program. Alphabet’s ad-sales grew enough to quell some concerns there, while Microsoft’s strong cloud services demand bolstered sentiment after the close. Earlier in the day, UPS (-9.99%) struggled after they warned that their revenue for the year would be at the lower end of their forecast range from January. In the meantime, McDonald’s (-0.58%) outperformed the broader market as it beat estimates and is generally a defensive stock, whilst General Motors (-4.02%) was another that struggled after reporting. Today we get Meta and Boeing leading the way.

An additional factor not helping matters yesterday was weak US data. It’s true that some housing measures surprised on the upside, but they were more backward looking for February and March. By contrast, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence reading for April fell back to 101.3 (vs. 104.0 expected), and the expectations component hit a 9-month low at 68.1. In turn, the weak data plus the latest banking woes led investors to price in further rate cuts for this year, with the futures-implied rate for December down by -13.0bps on the day to 4.355%. That is the biggest move lower on the December rate projection in over three weeks. Markets are pricing in a 79% chance of a 25bp hike next week, with just a 9% chance of a hike in the following meeting.

This negative mood music meant that sovereign bonds rallied across the board, and 10yr US Treasuries (-9.1bps) saw their biggest daily decline in over a month, taking them down to 3.3996%. Early in the US session the 1m3m yield curve steepened to near its highs from last week, trading at around 165bps as fears about a potential debt ceiling crisis mount. However, by the end of the session, investors had flipped positioning and the curve flattened -37.4bps to close at 111.9bps. That is the flattest the curve has been since last Monday. See my CoTD here from yesterday for more on that topic.

Back in Europe, there was also a serious decline in sovereign bond yields, with those on 10yr bunds (-12.4bps), OATs (-12.0bps) and BTPs (-10.4bps) all moving lower. The shifts were in line with the broader risk-off move, as we didn’t much new info on the way of ECB policy. We did hear from Chief Economist Lane who gave an interview to Le Monde, but he only said that “we should raise rates again”, rather than offering any clue on the size of a potential hike. For equities there was a similarly downbeat tone, and the STOXX 600 fell back -0.40%.

Overnight in Asia, stocks are trying to shake off the banking system worries following upbeat results from US big tech so far. Chief among the decliners is the Nikkei (-0.72%) amid a more defensive price action away from financials. The Shanghai Composite (-0.31%) and the Kospi (-0.14%) are also in the red. The picture is brighter for Hong Kong indices, with the Hang Seng (+0.53%) rebounding amid robust gains in tech (Hang Seng TECH is up by +1.22% so far). Tailwinds to the sector are coming from the aforementioned US big tech results, with Nasdaq 100 (+1.27%) and the S&P 500 (+0.42%) futures both gaining this morning. Otherwise, both US Treasuries and the dollar are steady.

On the political side, US President Biden formally announced yesterday that he would be standing for re-election in 2024, calling on voters to back him so he could “finish this job”. The announcement ends any speculation about whether Biden would in fact run for re-election, and will also enable him to raise funds for the campaign. There was also confirmation that Vice President Kamala Harris will remain as his running mate, and the pair do not face any serious opposition from inside their party for the nomination. On the Republican side, former President Trump remains the polling front-runner, and recent polls this month have shown him expanding his lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who hasn’t yet announced a candidacy. Incidentally, if Biden and Trump were the respective nominees for 2024, it would be the first time that the same two nominees have faced each other in a direct re-match since 1956.

Looking at yesterday’s other data, US new home sales rose by more than expected in March, up to an annualised rate of 683k (vs. 632k expected), marking their highest level in a year. We also had the FHFA house price index for February, which showed growth at a 9-month high of +0.5% (vs. -0.1% expected).

To the day ahead now, and data releases from the US include preliminary durable goods orders and core capital goods orders for March. From central banks, we’ll hear from ECB Vice President de Guindos and the ECB’s Herodotou. Lastly, earnings releases include Meta and Boeing.

2 b) NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)/ASIA REPORT

NQ leads after GOOGL & MSFT results ahead of META and BA – Newsquawk US Market Open

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 06:26 AM

• European bourses are lower across the board, continuing the APAC tone with regional earnings impacting Industrial & Tech.
• Stateside, futures are mixed with pronounced NQ outperformance with GOOGL +1.1% & MSFT +7.9% in pre-market trade.
• SEK crushed after dovish 50bp Riksbank hike, DXY further below 101.50 with EUR & GBP extending while AUD lags.
• Fixed benchmarks are contained but diverging slightly with EGBs slightly firmer while USTs slip before supply.
• Crude trimmed APAC upside in choppy trade with spot gold indecisive and base metals mostly firmer.
• Looking ahead, highlights include US Durable Goods & Retail Inventories, BoC Minutes, Speech from ECB’s de Guindos, Supply from the US. Earnings from Meta, Boeing, Thermo Fisher, ADP & American Tower.

View the full premarket movers and news report.

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

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses are lower across the board, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.6%, with pressure emanating from the softer APAC handover which itself was impacted by FRC-induced banking concern with European names impacted. More recently, earnings from heavyweights Safran and ASM International are weighing on the Industrial Goods and Tech sectors respectively.
• For reference, after the European cash open broader sentiment slipped to fresh lows with bourses posting downside in excess of 1.0%; though, this magnitude was somewhat shortlived and occurred without a fresh catalyst at the time.
• Stateside, US futures are somewhat mixed with ES marginally firmer but relatively contained while the NQ +1.3% is the standout outperformer after well-received Big Tech after-market updates ahead of the likes of Meta and Boeing on Wednesday.
• Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) – Top- and bottom-line beats, Q1 EPS 1.17 (exp. 1.07), Q1 Revenue 69.8bln (exp. 68.9bln), a USD 70bln share buyback, and decent ad revenue saw GOOG rise over 1.5% in afterhours trading. +1.1% in pre-market trade
• Microsoft Corp (MSFT) – Rose over 8% in afterhours trading following top and bottom-line beats on cloud growth. Q3 EPS 2.45 (exp. 2.23), Q3 revenue USD 52.9bln (exp. 51.02bln), Q3 Cloud revenue 28.5bln (exp. 28.19bln). +7.9% in pre-market trade
• *Visa Inc (V) *Q1 2023 (USD): EPS 2.09 (exp. 1.99), Revenue 7.99bln (exp. 7.79bln)
• Click here for more detail.

FX

• Swedish Krona crushed after ‘dovish’ 50bp Riksbank hike as 2 doves dissent, guidance suggests 1/4 point rise next time and repo path shows cut by Q2 2026, EUR/SEK eyes April high near 11.4500.
• DXY recoils within 101.890-320 range to the benefit of Euro and Pound especially, EUR/USD tops 1.1050 and pulls away from multiple option expiries, Cable reclaims 21 DMA on the way to towards 1.2500.
• Aussie continues to underperform as mostly softer than consensus inflation data underscores the probability of another RBA pause, AUD/USD probes 0.6600.
• Yen extends recovery rally vs Buck on spot month end amidst broad risk aversion and pre-BoJ positioning, USD/JPY towards the base of a 133.40-86 range.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 6.9237 vs exp. 6.9250 (prev. 6.8847)
• Click here for more detail.
• Click here for the notable FX expiries for today’s NY cut.

FIXED INCOME

• Core benchmarks are mixed and in relative proximity to the unchanged mark, though retain an upward bias, as Bunds/Gilts faded from their initial 135.75 and 102.12 respective peaks.
• The morning’s dual-issuance via Germany sparked little reaction given the pullback from above best by around 40 ticks to near neutral had already occurred.
• Stateside, USTs are similarly contained though the benchmark contrasts slightly in being softer on the session in limited 115.18-25 parameters ahead of supply and data, with yields big as such and action as has been the case recently more evident at the short-end of the curve.
• Click here for more detail.

COMMODITIES

• WTI and Brent June futures eked mild gains overnight but trimmed those gains in early European hours in what has been a choppy morning for the complex.
• Spot gold continues to trade indecisively as the yellow metal balances a softer Dollar with the deteriorating risk profile across the market.
• Base metals meanwhile are mostly firmer, benefiting from the pullback in the Dollar, but with upside capped as the risk tone remains cautious.
• Russian Deputy PM Novak says total balance of oil supply and demand has not changed; says OPEC+ is effective, there are risks to energy security without OPEC+; says OPEC+ are not regulating prices.
• US Energy Inventory Data (bbls): Crude -6.1mln (exp. -1.5mln), Gasoline -1.9mln (exp. -0.9mln), Distillate 1.7mln (exp. -0.8mln), Cushing 0.5mln.
• European Commission VP Sefcovic said 80 companies signed up to the EU’s platform for joint natgas purchases that launched on Tuesday, according to FT.
• Click here for more detail.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Riksbank hikes its Rate by 50bps to 3.50% as expected; Dissent from Bremen and Floden (3-2 vote split); forecast indicates a 25bps hike in June or September; peak rate seen at 3.65% (prev. 3.33%), Q2-2026 average 3.35%; reiterates language on SEK.. Click here for details, reaction and newsquawk analysis.
• ECB’s Vujcic commented that there is no choice but to raise rates further, according to Delo.
• German Economy Ministry says industrial electricity pricing concept is to be introduced next week.
• EU Commission proposes that countries with a budget gap larger than 3% of GDP will have to cut the deficit by at least 0.5% of GDP annually, until they are below the 3% ceiling. In-fitting with earlier FT reports.

DATA RECAP

• German GfK Consumer Sentiment (May) -25.7 vs. Exp. -27.9 (Prev. -29.5, Rev. -29.3)
• UK CBI Distributive Trades (Apr) 5 (Prev. 1.0)

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• “House Republicans have changed the nettlesome parts of their debt limit bill.”, according to Punchbowl’s Sherman; ” GOP leadership said they wouldn’t make these changes”, but they have. Changes to: Biofuel tax credits – Work requirements for social safety net programs – IRA funding for a host of Democratic priorities.
• Click here for the US Early Morning Note.

GEOPOLITICS

• Russia said two of its strategic missile carrier bombers flew over the Barents and Norwegian seas, according to Reuters.
• Drone reportedly fell on the grounds of Moscow City court, according to Izvestia newspaper; drone did not carry any objects.
• China and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on maritime law enforcement cooperation, according to Chinese state media.
• China’s Defence Ministry says they are willing to work with the Pakistani military to further deepen and expand practical cooperation.
• China Maritime Administration said China will conduct live firing drills in the East China Sea today, according to Reuters.
• China Taiwan Affairs Office commented on a recent media report that an EU diplomat called for EU navy patrols in the Taiwan Strait in which it stated that authorities will be prepared and they will be on high alert for possible harm to China’s national sovereignty and territory, according to Reuters.
• Turkish President Erdogan cancelled election campaign rallies on Wednesday on his Doctors suggestion amid an unexpected health issue.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin is firmer and has lifted back towards the USD 29k mark, but is yet to mount a convincing test of the figure with the high thus far circa. USD 100 shy; action which keeps BTC comfortably above last-week’s parameters but shy of the USD 30k+ seen earlier in April.

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks were mostly lower after the losses on Wall St where banking sector fears resurfaced as First Republic Bank shares fell by 50% due to an exodus of deposits and with the lender considering up to USD 100bln in asset sales, although US equity futures found some reprieve overnight from the big tech earnings.
• ASX 200 was lacklustre but with downside stemmed as participants digested somewhat mixed inflation data in which the headline CPI readings for Q1 topped forecasts, but all other components were softer than expected and supported the view that the economy has passed peak inflation.
• Nikkei 225 declined amid pressure in the banking sector and disappointment in Japan after the failed lunar module landing which resulted in a glut of sell orders for ispace shares.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were mixed with early weakness in tech after US Republican senators urged for US government measures to address Chinese cloud companies including placing sanctions on Huawei Cloud and adding Alibaba Cloud to the export control list, although it was also reported that China’s State Council pledged to expand the export and import scale of key products and will properly respond to unreasonable foreign trade restrictions.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• RBNZ proposed to ease LVR restriction from June 1st and it assessed that risks to financial stability from high-LVR lending have reduced to a level where current restriction may be unnecessarily reducing efficiency, according to Reuters.
• Japanese panel is reportedly reviewing utility prices to look for a lower hike, according to NTV.

DATA RECAP

• Australian CPI QQ (Q1) 1.4% vs. Exp. 1.3% (Prev. 1.9%); YY (Q1) 7.0% vs. Exp. 6.9% (Prev. 7.8%)
• Australian RBA Trimmed Mean CPI QQ (Q1) 1.2% vs. Exp. 1.4% (Prev. 1.7%); YY (Q1) 6.6% vs. Exp. 6.7% (Prev. 6.9%)
• Australian RBA Weighted Median CPI QQ (Q1) 1.2% vs. Exp. 1.3% (Prev. 1.6%); YY (Q1) 5.8% vs. Exp. 5.9% (Prev. 5.8%)
• Australian CPI YY (Mar) 6.3% vs Exp. 6.5% (Prev. 6.8%)
• New Zealand Trade Balance (Mar) -1273M (Prev. -714.0M, Rev. -796M)
• New Zealand Exports (Mar) 6.51B (Prev. 5.23B, Rev. 5.06B); Imports (Mar) 7.78B (Prev. 5.95B, Rev. 5.86B)

2 c. ASIAN AFFAIRS

ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN CLOSINGS//EUROPE OPENING TRADING:

WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.77 PTS OR 0.02%  //Hang Seng CLOSED UP 139.39 POINTS OR  0.71%      /The Nikkei closed DOWN 203.60 PTS OR 0.71%  //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.12 %   /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 6.9238/OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN DOWN  TO 6.9340 /Oil UP TO 76.89 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT AT 80.15 / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER

2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/

///NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA/

This move will surely rattle Kim.  First docking in 40 years

(zerohedge)

US Sending Nuclear Submarines To South Korea For 1st Time In 40 Years

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 11:05 AM

In a move which is certainly to explode tensions on the peninsula further at a moment things are already on edge, the US is sending nuclear-armed submarines to dock in South Korea for the first time in four decades.

Senior Biden administration officials say the move is part of a broader and “more visible” plan to make clear to Kim Jong Un that Washington is ready to defend Seoul against the increasing nuclear threats from Pyongyang. 

The last time nuclear-armed submarines were docked in South Korea was in the 1980s; however, the new plan will see such nuclear assets, including long-range bombers, sent to the peninsula only on a temporary basis and not permanently.

According to details in The Associated Press, and in relation to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the White House and Congress this week: 

The planned dock visits are a key element of what’s being dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” aimed at deterring North Korea from carrying out an attack on its neighbor. It is being unveiled as Biden is hosting Yoon for a state visit during a moment of heightened anxiety for both leaders over an increased pace of ballistic missile tests by North Korea over the last several months.

The three senior Biden administration officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement, said that Biden and Yoon aides have been working on details of the plan for months and agreed that “occasional” and “very clear demonstrations of the strength” of U.S. extended deterrence capabilities needed to be an essential aspect of the agreement.

The escalation in deterrence policy is also being framed in Washington as necessary to avoiding a nuclear arms race on the peninsula, given that in the wake of frequent new North Korean weapons tests, Seoul officials have begun to consider a nuclear option.

Biden officials say that in return for the US nuclear protection, the south is expected to reaffirm its commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

The Yoon administration is reportedly seeking to make clear that it’s not pursuing nukes. A US State Department official this week said that the south is “not pursuing a nuclear weapons program and that it is working closely with the United States through existing extended deterrence mechanisms.”

And yet, this is not going to ‘reassure’ the DPRK; instead, the world is likely about to see more nuclear saber-rattling than ever, also given Seoul officials have recently predicted the north will conduct a nuclear test sometime soon, which hasn’t been done (or at least known) since 2017.

END

Biden, Yoon Agree: Response To North Korean Nuclear Attack Would Include US Nukes

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 02:50 PM

Update(1450ET): As expected, Presidents Biden and Yoon unveiled the “Washington Declaration” during an afternoon joint press conference, boosting military cooperation which will include US nuclear deterrents being parked on the peninsula (previewed below).

“The alliance formed in war and has flourished in peace,” Biden to reporters gathered in the Rose Garden. “Our mutual defense treaty is iron clad and that includes our commitment to extend a deterrence – and that includes the nuclear threat, the nuclear deterrent.” He added: “They’re particularly important in the face of DPRK’s increased threats and the blatant violation of US sanctions.” Biden further called the US-South Korea alliance “the linchpin of regional security and prosperity” in the Indo-Pacific.

South Korea’s Yoon for his part took a tough stance in response to Pyongyang’s recent frequent missile drills and nuclear rhetoric, saying “peace with North comes through superior force, not ‘goodwill'” – according to AFP. Yoon also said that the response to a possible North Korean nuclear attack would include US nukes. Biden affirmed Yoon’s comments…

BIDEN: NUCLEAR ATTACK WILL RESULT IN END OF NORTH KOREA REGIME

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* * *

In a move which is certainly to explode tensions on the peninsula further at a moment things are already on edge, the US is sending nuclear-armed submarines to dock in South Korea for the first time in four decades.

Senior Biden administration officials say the move is part of a broader and “more visible” plan to make clear to Kim Jong Un that Washington is ready to defend Seoul against the increasing nuclear threats from Pyongyang. 

The last time nuclear-armed submarines were docked in South Korea was in the 1980s; however, the new plan will see such nuclear assets, including long-range bombers, sent to the peninsula only on a temporary basis and not permanently.

According to details in The Associated Press, and in relation to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the White House and Congress this week: 

The planned dock visits are a key element of what’s being dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” aimed at deterring North Korea from carrying out an attack on its neighbor. It is being unveiled as Biden is hosting Yoon for a state visit during a moment of heightened anxiety for both leaders over an increased pace of ballistic missile tests by North Korea over the last several months.

The three senior Biden administration officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity ahead of the official announcement, said that Biden and Yoon aides have been working on details of the plan for months and agreed that “occasional” and “very clear demonstrations of the strength” of U.S. extended deterrence capabilities needed to be an essential aspect of the agreement.

The escalation in deterrence policy is also being framed in Washington as necessary to avoiding a nuclear arms race on the peninsula, given that in the wake of frequent new North Korean weapons tests, Seoul officials have begun to consider a nuclear option.

Biden officials say that in return for the US nuclear protection, the south is expected to reaffirm its commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).

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The Yoon administration is reportedly seeking to make clear that it’s not pursuing nukes. A US State Department official this week said that the south is “not pursuing a nuclear weapons program and that it is working closely with the United States through existing extended deterrence mechanisms.”

And yet, this is not going to ‘reassure’ the DPRK; instead, the world is likely about to see more nuclear saber-rattling than ever, also given Seoul officials have recently predicted the north will conduct a nuclear test sometime soon, which hasn’t been done (or at least known) since 2017.

2e) JAPAN

JAPAN/

END

3 CHINA /

end

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDAVIAN AFFAIRS

UK/

end 

5 RUSSIA//UKRAINE AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

RUSSIA/SYRIA/TURKEY/MIDDLE EAST/USA

Russia attempts at normalization of Syria Turkey relations and that spells trouble for the uSA

(zerohedge0

Russia Attempts Turkey-Syria Normalization In Moscow Summit

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 02:45 AM

Russia is continuing efforts to stabilize Syria and push American influence in the region to the sidelines, as on Tuesday Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu hosted four-way talks which have as their goal the normalization of ties between the Syrian and Turkish governments. The talks involve Russia, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The end result could see American forces squeezed out of Syria.

“Practical steps were discussed in the field of strengthening security in the Syrian Arab Republic and normalizing Syrian-Turkish relations,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated. This is based on a common perspective that all parties desire win “the fight against all extremist groups in Syria.”

The Turkish defense ministry positively acknowledged the “constructive atmosphere” of the meeting in which “the issue of intensifying efforts to return Syrian refugees to their lands” was examined. All representatives “reaffirmed their respect for Syria’s territorial integrity,” the Turkish ministry said.

For Syria, high on the agenda is precisely protection of its sovereignty and food and energy resources. Going back multiple years, the United States and its Kurdish-led proxy, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have occupied a huge chuck of oil-and-gas rich northeast Syria, as well as Tanf garrison on the Iraq-Syria border. The US has been widely accused of stealing Syrian oil, ferrying it across the Iraq border, but at the same time the Pentagon says it’s there to fight ISIS.

Turkish forces have also occupied territory within the Syria’s northern border, and aim to fight Syrian Kurdish groups. Crucially, if Damascus and Ankara strike a deal, this is expected to be key in eventually squeezing out the US occupation. This is also of course what Russia wants to see as well.

The US-backed SDF has long come under Turkish threat, a threat which would be amplified if suddenly Syria, Turkey and Russia got on the same page.

Already, US bases have come under sporadic rocket and drone attack over the past several months, which recently led to the death of an American contractor, with US troops suffering injuries. 

Helping the prospect of peace between Damascus and Turkey is the fact that Arab states are rushing back to Assad to reestablish ties, even Saudi Arabia. If Syria is invited back into the Arab League, which Washington vehemently opposes, this would do much in terms of diplomatic normalization with other regional nations as well, such as Turkey and Jordan.

Any diplomatic breakthrough would also be a huge reputational ‘win’ for Russia at a moment it remains isolated by the West due to the ongoing Ukraine war.

END

SUDAN

This is very troublesome: we have a huge biological risk as Sudan fighters seize a lab containing deadly pathogens

(zerohedge)

WHO Cites “Huge Biological Risk” As Sudan Fighters Seize Lab Containing Deadly Pathogens

TUESDAY, APR 25, 2023 – 09:25 PM

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there’s a “huge biological risk” after Sudanese rebels of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the country’s National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum on Tuesday. 

A US-brokered 72-hour truce deal appears to have already collapsed, given war correspondents widely reported hearing gunfire persist into the evening. The top-ranking WHO official in Sudan, Nima Saeed Abid, called the development “extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab, we have measles isolates in the lab, we have cholera isolates in the lab.”

CNN is reporting that the RSF is now in control of the lab, citing a a high-ranking medical source, who told the outlet: “There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties.”

The WHO additionally confirmed that “trained laboratory technicians no longer have access to the laboratory.” This is a serious crisis given the persisting power outages across the capital area throughout the more than week of fighting, which has killed around 500 people and injured thousands more.

The WHO is warning that there’s a risk of spoilage and potential for leaks of deadly pathogens, given “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes.”

In the most alarming part of the report, the CNN medical source said: 

The medical source told CNN that “the danger lies in the outbreak of any armed confrontation in the laboratory because that will turn the laboratory into a germ bomb.”

“An urgent and rapid international intervention is required to restore electricity and secure the laboratory from any armed confrontation because we are facing a real biological danger,” the source added.

Sudan now stands once again on the brink of full-blown civil war after already having been in a state civil war on and off again for the better part of a half century.

One wonders what sensitive bio-labs with highly dangerous samples including deadly diseases are doing there in the first place…

Recently, the safety of biological labs has been a serious question also when it comes to the Ukraine conflict. Thus far, there have been no known disasters relatedly to germs or diseases amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

end

6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE  ISSUES/

as we have always told you: masks are dangerous!

(zerohedge(

Explosive New Study Finds Face Masks May Increase Stillbirths, Testicular Dysfunction, Cognitive Decline — In Kids

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 03:30 AM

Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

A new study by by German researchers has concluded that face masks can cause carbon dioxide poisoning when worn even for short periods and may have contributed significantly to stillbirths when worn by pregnant women, as well as testicular dysfunction and cognitive decline in children, among other destructive health issues.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the research, published in the journal Heliyon, comprises a review of 43 previously published studies on exposure to CO2, mask-wearing, and pregnancy.

The study notes that even short-term exposure to concentrations of CO2 as low as 0.3% caused brain damage, increased anxiety, and impaired memory in both pregnant rats and young mice in one study.

In another, when male mice were exposed to 2.5 percent CO2 for four hours, testicular cells and sperm were destroyed. The equivalent amount for humans would be 0.5 percent of CO2 over the same time period.

Yet another experiment discovered that stillbirth and birth defects occurred in pregnant rats that were exposed to just 3 percent CO2, which would be equal to 0.8 percent for humans.

The study also points to research that found just five minutes of mask wearing resulted in CO2 levels increasing to between 1.4 percent and 3.2 percent.

While they note that the review provides ‘circumstantial evidence’ only, the researchers allude to a surge in stillbirths during the pandemic, saying that masks could have contributed.

Swedish researchers previously found that the stillbirth rate increased from seven per 1000 births to 21 per 1000 births after the pandemic, while a leading UK hospital saw a four-fold increase in its stillbirth rate.

“Circumstantial evidence exists that popular mask use may be related to current observations of a significant rise of 28 percent to 33 percent in stillbirths worldwide,” the German researchers asserted.

They also note that research indicates “reduced verbal, motor, and overall cognitive performance of two full standard deviations in scores in children born during the pandemic.”

Dr Kevin Bass, cell and molecular biology PhD, has a detailed thread on the study, which can be linked through to below:

The findings dovetail with a report published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that concluded “no evidence could be presented” to prove medical-grade face masks protected vulnerable people from COVID at all.

 Scores of studies have come to the same conclusion, yet people are still wearing masks despite all of this, some schools are still forcing children to wear masks, and some airlines and travel companies are still enforcing mask wearing.

It’s been common knowledge since the very start of the pandemic that masks do practically nothing. Those who resisted, even doctors, were punished and banned from publicly voicing their concerns.

This goes hand in hand with the massively harmful lockdowns.

When will enough be enough?

*  *  *

END

RFK Jr. Says Middle Class Was ‘Systematically’ Wiped Out By COVID-19 Lockdowns

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 10:05 AM

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Democratic 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said COVID-19 lockdowns across the United States decimated the middle class, suggesting that it has yet to recover.

“The strength of a nation comes from a strong economy and a vibrant middle class,” Kennedy told Fox News over the weekend, “and we have wiped out the middle class in the country systematically.”

The 69-year-old, who is a prominent skeptic of vaccines, stated that COVID-19-related policies benefited the elite ruling class at the cost of the middle class. Those lockdowns, he asserted, shifted $4 trillion in wealth from the middle class to a “new aristocracy of billionaires.”

Those lockdowns “created 500 new billionaires,” Kennedy stated. “The Oxfam report, which came out this week, shows that the billionaires that existed at the beginning of the pandemic, the people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeffrey Bezos, Bloomberg, etc., increased their wealth by 30 percent during the pandemic. From the lockdowns. And [Bezos’s] Amazon got to shut down all of its competitors.”

And Kennedy, the son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, stated that he believes that former President Donald Trump initiated those lockdowns.

Kennedy added, “I’m in a better position to run against Donald Trump than any of the Democrats because I can hold him accountable for the worst thing that he did, which was the lockdowns.”

However, Trump, as president, had little authority to issue lockdowns at the state or local level. And in early 2020, Trump said that keeping the United States shut down would “ultimately inflict more harm than it would prevent.” For those remarks and others, mainstream media outlets frequently criticized Trump and essentially blamed his policies for the rise of COVID-19-related deaths that year.

“It’s important for all Americans to recognize that a permanent lockdown is not a viable path forward producing the result that you want or certainly not a viable path forward,” the president said in April 2020, about two months after the first COVID-19 cases were detected inside the United States after spreading from mainland China.

The younger Kennedy, who is married to “Curb Your Enthusiasm” actress Cheryl Hines, has never held public office but is perhaps best known for his stance on childhood vaccines. Polls suggest he has a long-shot chance against President Joe Biden, who is reportedly readying a 2024 presidential announcement on Tuesday.

Read more here…

END

A MUST VIEW!!NAOMI WOLF AT HILLSDALE

Robert Hryniak

to

Cheers
Robert

DR. PAUL ALEXANDER Susan Rice to fully take over running the nation as POTUS full time (with Obama) as Biden announces she is stepping down from her role as ‘policy advisor’ wink winkDR. PAUL ALEXANDERAPR 26 SHARE SOURCE:https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/24/susan-rice-stepping-down-biden/?utm_source=piano&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=breaking&pnespid=7uY_VDoeLaIZg_fOoC2qAs2So0ylCZ51drjln.NpoBpmUARVsRujPIoiAUXkw9fb4nGsTdd9vQENDBill Rice Jr. wrote a paper in the past showing that for the majority of UK children, the risk of death due to COVID was 0.000; it remains so in April 2023; the data has been stable for 3 years butCDC, SAGE, NIH, FDA, PHAC etc. ignored it, their doctors & scientists were just too academically lazy, intellectually sloppy, inept, corrupted, cognitively dissonanced to read the available dataDR. PAUL ALEXANDERAPR 26 SHARE SOURCE:https://www.uncoverdc.com/2021/07/30/for-majority-of-uk-children-covid-mortality-is-0-00ENDTucker Carlson last address to mehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9eN19qkZRk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N32UPXGChgo Maybe Tucker Carlson’s best open and last and I think will be remembered, he touched on many issues you should listen to and I think this open scared them all! You go Tucker!Listen before this is taken down!DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAPR 26 SHARE END

SLAY NEWS

The latest reports from Slay News

Tucker Carlson Exposed WEF’s Agenda Days before Fox FiringJust days before Fox News announced that Tucker Carlson had been ousted, the network’s former star anchor ran a segment exposing the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) agenda.READ MORE

Mother of 7 Denied Kidney Transplant for Refusing Covid JabA mother of seven in Georgia has been denied a life-saving kidney transplant because isn’t vaccinated for Covid.READ MORE

Fulton County DA Tells Police Expect Trump Indictment in Georgia This SummerFulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has told police that they should prepare for “heightened security” in “coming months” as she plans to possibly indict President Donald Trump over the summer.READ MORE

Bill O’Reilly: Fox News ‘Did Not Want’ to Fire Tucker Carlson but ‘There Are Lawsuits Coming’Bill O’Reilly has spoken out in response to the shocking move by Fox News to “part ways” with star anchor Tucker Carlson.READ MORE

Kari Lake Fires Back at ‘Morning Joe’ Hosts after Rude Encounter: ‘You Never Mentioned How Much You Love Trump’Kari Lake has dragged a skeleton from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s closet and went public to get the last laugh in their ongoing feud.READ MORE

Fox News Boycott Goes Viral after Tucker Carlson OustingOutraged Americans are rising up against the corporate heads at Fox News by boycotting the network over its decision to oust star anchor Tucker Carlson.READ MORE

Huge Migrant Caravan Heading Toward U.S Southern BorderA huge caravan of migrants has formed in southern Mexico and is heading toward the United States border.READ MORE

Biden Provokes Outrage with Anti-Parent Comments: ‘There’s No Such Thing as Someone Else’s Child!’Democrat President Joe Biden has provoked a fierce backlash over his communist-style anti-parent comments.READ MORE

Chicago Thugs Kill Baby in Stolen Car Crash, Get Slap on Wrist from ProsecutorsA gang of teenage thugs has received a slap on the wrist from Chicago prosecutors after they crashed a stolen car, killing a 6-month-old baby and injuring three other family members.READ MORE

Medical Schools Go ‘Woke,’ Drop Standardized Testing to Promote ‘Diversity’Medical schools across America are going “woke” by dropping the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) requirements in an effort to promote “diversity.”READ MORE

Chicago Workers Fired for Refusing Vax Must Be Reinstated, Compensated for Lost Wages, Judge RulesA judge has dropped the hammer on Chicago officials by ruling that all city workers who were fired for refusing to get vaccinated for Covid must be reinstated.READ MORE

Bud Light Sales Tank While Coors Light and Miller Lite See Big Sales SpikeBud Light has suffered a massive sales hit following the controversial marketing campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, according to the most recent industry statistics.READ MORE

DNC Refuses to Hold Democrat Debates for 2024, Biden’s Challengers OutragedThe Democratic National Committee (DNC) has announced that there will not be any debates for the 2024 Democrat primary, despite President Joe Biden already having challengers for the nomination.READ MORE

MICHAEL EVERY/RABOBANK//

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

end

8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES

CANADA

Not true! Trudeau forced many to take the COVID 19 vaccine

(zerohedge)

Trudeau Slammed After Claiming He Never ‘Forced’ Anyone To Take COVID-19 Vaccine

TUESDAY, APR 25, 2023 – 06:45 PM

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to Jedi mind trick an audience on Monday at the University of Ottawa, claiming that he never forced anybody to get the Covid-19 vaccine, despite his government legislating some of the strictest vaccine mandates in the world.

“My responsibility is to keep as many Canadians alive as possible and all of the scientists and the medical experts and the researchers, not just in Canada but around the world, understood that vaccination was going to be the way through this,” said Trudeau, adding “Therefore, while not forcing anyone to get vaccinated, I chose to make sure that all of the incentives and protections were there to encourage Canadians to get vaccinated and that’s exactly what they did.”

Except, as True North news noted during the height of the pandemic, Canada was ranked the 10th most restrictive country in the world in terms of government Covid-19 measures, according to the University of Oxford’s Covid-19 Government Response Stringency Index.

People are calling out Trudeau left and right…

END

YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING 7;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSINGS 

EURO VS USA DOLLAR:1.1077 UP.0069

USA/ YEN 133.33  DOWN 0.380  NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT .50% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN  STILL FALLS//

GBP/USA 1.2477  UP    0.0064

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.3626 UP .0007 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 7 PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 0.77 PTS OR 0.02%

 Hang Seng CLOSED UP 139.39 PTS OR 0.71%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN .12%  // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL RED 

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES  ALL RED 

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 139.39 PTS OR 0.71   %

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 0.77 PTS OR 0.02%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.12% 

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 203.60  PTS OR 0.71% 

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 1999.65

silver:$24.96

USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY morning: 101.07 DOWN 52 BASIS POINTS FROM TUESDAY’s close.

WEDNESDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing WEDNESDAY NUMBERS 11: 00 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.215%  DOWN 1   in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.456 % DOWN 2 AND 1//100   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.435 UP 1  in basis points yield 

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 4.254 DOWN 1 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.3850  UP 1  BASIS PTS 

END

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR WEDNESDAY  

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

Euro/USA 1.1053 UP  0.0075 or 75  basis points 

USA/Japan: 133.57 DOWN 0.136  OR YEN UP 14 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.2484 UP .0069 OR 69 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar UP  .0013 OR 13 BASIS pts  to 1.3607

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The USA/Yuan,  CNY: closed    ON SHORE  (CLOSED UP.(6.9270)

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE:    (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. 6.9360

TURKISH LIRA:  19.42 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WISH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +0.456…VERY DANGEROUS

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 3 in basis points from TUESDAY at  3.424% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

 USA 30 yr bond yield   3.671 UP 2  IN BASIS POINTS

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.9447%  UP 5  in basis points.

 USA dollar index, 101.05 DOWN 54  in basis points   ON THE DAY/12.00 PM

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

London: CLOSED DOWN 38.87 points or .49%

German Dax :  CLOSED DOWN 31.05 PTS OR .51%

Paris CAC CLOSED DOWN 68.51 PTS OR 0.91%

Spain IBEX DOWN 2.40 PTS OR 0.03%

Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 167.21 PTS OR 0.61%

WTI Oil price 77.01     12: EST

Brent Oil:  80.56.      12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ///  REMAINS AT:  81.68/ ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND   6//100       RUBLES/DOLLAR

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.3850  DOWN 0 BASIS PTS

UK 10 YR YIELD: 3.7450 UP 5  BASIS PTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA: 1.1037 UP 0.0057   OR 57 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2463 UP  .0048 or  48 basis pts 

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  3.7745% UP 5 BASIS PTS

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 133.62 DOWN  0.090 //YEN  UP 9 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.36420  UP  .0023 CDN dollar, DOWN 23  basis pts)

West Texas intermediate oil: 74,28

Brent OIL:  77.59

USA 10 yr bond yield UP 3 BASIS pts to 3.430% 

USA 30 yr bond yield UP 5  BASIS PTS to 3.698% 

USA 2 YR BOND: UP 3  PTS AT 3.9242%  

USA dollar index: 101.20 DOW. 39 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 19.43

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  81.6175 DOWN  0   AND  0/100 roubles

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 228.96 PTS OR 0.68% 

NASDAQ 100 UP 81.38 PTS OR 1.64%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 19.29 DOWN .53 PTS (2.83)%

GLD: $184.74 DOWN 1.01 OR 0.55%

SLV/ $22.83 DOWN  0.16 OR 0.70%

end

USA AFFAIRS

1 a) USA TRADING TODAY IN GRAPH FORM

Big-Tech & Bitcoin Jump, Bonds & Bank Stocks Dump As US Default Risk Soars

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 04:01 PM

Another day, another ugly macro print (durable goods orders – ex Boeing – far weaker than hoped for, and shipments slumped); more banking system anxiety (not helped by FRC threats); and even more debt-ceiling anxiety as Dems make it clear no matter what Reps offer, they won’t pass it.

FRC issued a blackmail threat to the other banks to ‘rescue them or face the wrath of the markets when we explode’ (our translation), but the market did not like and dumped the stock even more (down 35% today after yesterday’s 50% collapse). The FDIC didn’t help things by suggesting FRC’s Fed borrowings capacity could be cut (clearly in a play TO force a public bailout and make the big banks – that face billions of losses from uninsured deposits given to FRC – to pay up for FRC’s loans)…

Source: Bloomberg

The KBW Bank Index tumbled back near post-SVB lows…

Source: Bloomberg

One stumbling block to a solution has been the conflicting needs of US officials and the banks that might help.

• The regulators favor a private rescue that doesn’t involve the US seizing the bank and taking a multibillion-dollar hit to the FDIC’s insurance fund.
• Banks want to avoid anything that damages their own finances and have been waiting for the government to offer aid, such as the FDIC taking control of the firm’s least desirable assets – something that can happen under the law only if First Republic fails and is put into receivership.

Not pretty but the T-Bill curve is breaking bad for a worst-case scenario X-Date…

Source: Bloomberg

And USA Sovereign risk has never been this high…

Source: Bloomberg

Nasdaq was the big winner today (thanks to MSFT and GOOGL) while Small Caps and The Dow led to the downside

VIX (normal, 1D, and 9D) all gapped down at the open – from yesterday’s spike – but that vol-selling faded around 1200ET (as puts were bid, sending vol higher)…

…as 0DTE traders piled aggressively into puts (while call plays were entirely muted (once again confirming Nomura’s Charlie McElligott’s recent note that there has been a regime-change in 0DTE from intraday-hedging/fading trends to an “accelerant risk”…

Source: SpotGamma

Value stocks crashed relative to growth today after chopping sideways relative to each other for the last three weeks…

Source: Bloomberg

This was the biggest growth/value daily shift since Nov ’22.

And ATVI was clubbed like a baby seal after UK regulators denied MSFT’s bid (MSFT rallied on the day BUT it was not moved by the ATVI decision)…

Treasuries were mixed today with the short-end lower in yield and the long-end underperforming (2Y -3bps, 30Y +4bps). Yields remain significantly lower though on the week with the short-end outperforming (curve steepening)…

Source: Bloomberg

The 2Y Yield tested up to 4.00% today but couldn’t hold it…

Source: Bloomberg

The Dollar ended the day lower but the session was a roller-coaster: down hard overnight then a sudden panic bid as US equity markets opened. The dollar index is higher on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

Crypto soared today, led by Bitcoin which touched $30,000…

Source: Bloomberg

Update: literally minutes after we prepped this chart, Bitcoin was clubbed like a baby seal…

Source: Bloomberg

Ethereum rallied but has been lagging Bitcoin in recent days…

Source: Bloomberg

Spot Gold ended lower on teh day after testing above $2,000 numerous times but unable to maintain it…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices fell once again, erasing all of the post-OPEC+ production-cut gains with WTI tumbling to $74…

Most notably, the WTI-Brent spread is now at its smallest (Brent compressing to WTI’s lower price) since Nov 2020…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, Bloomberg’s Ven Ram notes that investors are erasing the distinction between the safest yields and speculative gains as conviction builds that the Federal Reserve will loosen monetary policy later this year.

Source: Bloomberg

The current earnings yield on the Nasdaq 100 basket is about 3.46%, equivalent to the yield available from 10-year Treasuries. That makes it the smallest equity premium since the early 2010s. A negative risk premium is typically tenable only if aggregate earnings are likely to see a techtonic shift higher or if interest rates are anticipated to slump a whole lot — say, more than 150 basis points within a short span of time.

END

.i b Morning trading: 

Early morning trading: 

II) USA DATA//

Do not read much into this latest data point:

US Durable Goods Orders Unexpectedly Soar In March… Thanks To Boeing

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 08:38 AM

After declining for two straight months, analysts expected US durable goods orders to bounce modestly (+0.7% MoM) in preliminary March data released today. Instead the print soared 3.2% MoM rescuing the YoY from dropping negative for the first time since Aug 2020…

Source: Bloomberg

Core orders (ex-Transports) rose 0.3% MoM (better than the 0.2% drop expected) highlighting that this headline surge was all Boeing – with a 78.4% MoM surge in non-defense aircraft and parts orders

Source: Bloomberg

On the negative side, the value of core capital goods orders, a proxy for investment in equipment that excludes aircraft and military hardware, fell 0.4% last month with a big downward revision to -0.4% MoM in February.

Shipments also tumbled 0.4% MoM.

So, aside from Boeing, this is not pretty at all.

end

III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES

“There Appears To Be A Deal”: McCarthy Makes Late-Night Concessions On $4.8 Trillion Debt-Limit Package

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 08:45 AM

As House Republicans’ $4.8 trillion debt-limit package hangs in the balance, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and his top lieutenants made several concessions in order to secure enough votes to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act.

The changes, aimed at winning over holdout Midwestern Republicans who threatened to sink the bill, were the result of a marathon House Rules Committee meeting that stretched into early Wednesday morning, and include an amendment which softens a provision repealing several biofuel tax credits, according to Punchbowl News.

McCarthy can only lose four Republican votes and pass the measure, which he hopes will kick off negotiations with President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders.

The House GOP leadership, which promised regular order and a floor open to amendments, made just one amendment in order: a tweak to the Limit, Save and Grow Act that, among other things, puts in place new work requirements for 2024 instead of 2025. Party leaders had previously said that change was unworkable.

More importantly, McCarthy’s leadership team eliminated the repeal of three biofuel tax credits. For the remaining two — created by the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act — the GOP said they didn’t apply to taxpayers who made investment decisions based on the credits. -Punchbowl News

Meanwhile, McCarthy’s drafted amendment pulls funding from the Inflation Reduction Act for green building construction, DoE loan guarantees, deferred maintenance for national parks, air pollution for states and municipalities, as well as a neighborhood access and equity grant program.

More on the cuts:

We’ll know more after today’s 9am closed-party meeting, however as of late Tuesday night there were several holdouts remaining, including GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (TN) and Matt Gaetz (FL) as staunch No’s, Scott Perry (PA), Andy Biggs (AZ) as ‘non-committal’ and ‘skeptical,’ and Reps. Matt Rosendale (MT), Eli Crane (AZ) and Nancy Mace (SC) – the latter of whom told reporters she’s “still a no.”

Going deeper (via Punchbowl News): 

Gripes from conservatives are nothing new for McCarthy. Remember January? Republican hardliners are known to get everything they want and still bellyache. CBO says this proposal cuts spending by $4.8 trillion over the next decade — which is exactly what conservatives want. But they’re still balking.

The Iowans, generally team players in the House GOP, have been the most difficult pocket to mollify. Party leaders underestimated the mettle of the four-person Iowa delegation and their unwillingness to roll back Democratic-passed tax breaks for the ethanol industry.

The operating theory inside leadership ranks was that Iowa Reps. Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Randy Feenstra were team players, so they’d kowtow to McCarthy when he asked. But the Hawkeye State Republicans, led by Hinson, didn’t back down under pressure from the leadership. In fact, the leadership backed down.

Remember: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is 89 years old. Hinson is 39, Nunn is 43, and Feenstra is 54. All of these House Republicans may be looking at the Senate as a viable next step.

McCarthy and other senior Republicans remain confident that they’ll pass the measure by week’s end. They note today will be the first time in weeks that House GOP lawmakers will all be in the same room.

“I think we’re doing well. I think we’re doing fine,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer Tuesday night. “It just depends on when the speaker decides he’s ready to go.”

END

ROBERT H TO US:

3M to cut 6,000 jobs as it reports lower profits – Insider Paper

Ouch
https://insiderpaper.com/3m-to-cut-6000-jobs-as-it-reports-lower-profits/

end

What a stupid move by Bud light to use the moron Dylan Mulvaney.

Bud Light Suffers “Staggering” Sales Decline As Boycott Intensifies

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 12:25 PM

New Bud Light sales data shows a “staggering” decline after the brewer attempted to position itself as the king queen of “woke” beers with the help of a transgender TikTok influencer partnership. 

According to the New York Post, data from NielsenIQ and Bump Williams Consulting reveals a significant decline in Bud Light sales for the week ending on April 15, with a 17% plunge in revenue and a 21% slide in volume.

For the week ending April 8, the seven days following trans-TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoting Bud Light on April 1, sales fell 6%, and volume sank 11%. 

“These numbers are staggering … and right now this is an extremely difficult scenario for Anheuser Busch, the Bud Light brand, and for AB distributors,” according to an Insights Express report published on April 23, which focuses on the beer industry. 

Meanwhile, the boycott of Bud Light has sent Coors Light and Miller Lite’s sales surging, suggesting consumers’ deep opposition to Bud Light’s marketing mishap. 

Recall on April 2. We were the first to report “Did Bud Light Go ‘Woke’ With Trans-TikTok Star? Boycott Calls Intensify.” 

Additional data from BeerBoard, a tech company that monitors 3,000 locations, such as Buffalo Wild Wings, TGI Fridays, and Hooters, found Bud Light pours were 6% lower than other light lagers from April 2 to April 15. 

Bud Light made a series of moves late last week following the backlash and increasing boycott calls for its products. Alissa Heinerscheid, the vice president of marketing for Bud Light, was forced to take a leave of absence. Another top exec, Daniel Blake, is also stepping aside.

Fox News said Anheuser Busch hired consultants with experience in Washington, DC’s conservative circles in an attempt to stop the hemorrhaging of sales.

Former Anheuser-Busch exec Anson Frericks told co-host Will Cain on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on Sunday that the brewer is seeking to restore its conservative base might be a “wrong bet” because many diehard drinkers won’t forget the Mulvaney TikTok marketing blunder. 

“That’s the bet they’re making. I think that’s the wrong bet to make. And I think now is the time to go back and, for companies like Anheuser-Busch, to say that, ‘Hey, moving forward for brands like Bud Light, we’re not going to be political. We’re not going to get involved in the environmental social governance movement because that’s not what the customer wants,‘” Frericks said. 

Coors Light and Miller Lite are the biggest beneficiaries of Bud Light going super woke. Companies should avoid involving themselves in political matters.

USA COVID//

END

SWAMP STORIES

Total nonsense

(zerohedge)

Decision On Trump Indictment To Be Announced ‘In The Near Future’: Fulton County DA

TUESDAY, APR 25, 2023 – 11:05 PM

Authored by Gary Bai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A Georgia district attorney wrote in a letter dated April 24 that she intends to announce potential indictments resulting from a probe into former President Donald Trump and his associates for alleged interference in the 2020 election with his calls for investigations.

“In the near future, I will announce charging decisions resulting from the investigation my office has been conducting into possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 General Election,” Fani Willis, District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia, wrote in a letter addressed to Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat on Monday. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported the letter.

Willis wrote she would announce the charging decisions between July 11 and Sept. 1.

Details of Investigation

Willis’s Monday announcement was the latest update in the special-purpose grand jury investigation she launched in 2021 and led thereafter.

While the grand jury proceedings had occurred behind closed doors, the probe is believed to center on a 2020 phone call between Trump, Trump’s legal team, and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his team.

“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state,” Trump allegedly told Raffensperger during the phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, a transcript of which was released by media organizations.

Willis characterized Trump’s wording (pdf) during the call as evidence of “criminal disruption” of the 2020 election, and has based her case on charges around that allegation. The grand jury heard testimony from Trump’s former associates, including Rudy Giuliani and former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Trump has denied all allegations of wrongdoing on his part.

The grand jury was discharged in January. In early February, the Fulton County Superior Court released a portion of the jury panel’s report, which did not include the list of names to whom indictments were recommended. Emily Kohrs, the grand jury’s foreperson, told media outlets in February that the group recommended indictments.

“The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trump’s name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told CNN in a following statement in February.

“The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do—in fact, as President, it was President Trump’s Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity,” Cheung added.

A Feb. 10, 2021, letter that Willis sent to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp gave hints of potential charges she may pursue, including soliciting election fraud, lying to state officials, and conspiring to interfere with the 2020 election.

Willis told the local sheriff to prepare for violence that may occur in response to her pending announcement.

“Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff’s Office and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public,” Willis wrote to Fulton Sheriff Patrick Labat in her Monday letter.

“Open source intelligence has indicated the announcement of decisions in this case may provoke a significant public reaction,” Willis added. “We have seen in recent years that some may go outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety of our community.”

Legal Experts Weigh In

According to Alan Dershowitz, Professor Emeritus at Harvard Law School, Willis’s charges would not hold up considering the face value of Trump’s wording during the call with Raffensperger.

“Because what he said is, ‘We have to find’—not invent, not concoct—‘find.’ Find means that it’s there—just a question of finding them—so that’s not a crime,” Dershowitz told The Epoch Times in an interview in March.

Trial attorney John O’Connor agreed with Dershowitz’s view, adding that the case is undercut by a demonstrable belief on Trump’s part that there was significant fraud in the 2020 election.

“That charge will never make it,” O’Connor told The Epoch Times in an interview in March. “It was very clear that Trump felt that there were voters who had wrongfully voted, and he was asking the Secretary of State to find which voters had been wrongfully voting, that’s all. So I don’t think there’s anything to that.”

Trump’s Motion to Quash

In March, Trump’s attorney Drew Findling filed a motion in the Superior Court of Fulton County to quash the grand jury’s final report, preclude the use of evidence from Willis’s investigation in further proceedings, and disqualify Willis in the case.

A key objection that Findling raised in his motion to quash (pdf) is regarding media tours taken by Kohrs, Willis, as well as the judge overseeing the case, Robert C. McBurney of the Superior Court of Fulton County. Findling alleges that these interviews compromised the case legally and judicially.

“It is not a short list,” Kohrs told The New York Times in February, referring to the currently sealed list of indictment recommendations. Kohrs told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in another interview on Feb. 21 that she also spoke to her boyfriend regarding her experience in the panel’s proceedings.

According to Findling, the foreperson’s media tour showed that the procedures set forth for the jury panel “failed to protect the most basic procedural and substantive constitutional rights of all individuals discussed by this investigative body.”

The harm brought by Kohrs’s publicity was compounded by additional exposure by DA Willis herself, Findling said in the filing.

“[Willis’s] media interviews violate prosecutorial standards and constitute forensic misconduct, and her social media activity creates the appearance of impropriety compounding the necessity for disqualification,” he said.

But even exasperating the situation are interviews conducted by the judge himself, Findling argued.

“Compounding the harm inflicted by the foreperson’s public comments, the Supervising Judge then gave numerous media interviews despite still presiding over this pending matter,” the filing said of McBurney, who gave media interviews after the jury’s foreperson’s media tour.

“[T]he foreperson’s and grand jurors’ comments illuminate the lack of proper instruction and supervision over the grand jury relating to clear evidentiary matters which violates the notions of fundamental fairness and due process,” the filing reads. “The results of the investigation cannot be relied upon and, therefore, must be suppressed given the constitutional violations.”

McBurney ordered that Willis respond to Trump’s motion before May 1.

Conflict of Interest

In his March filing, Findling said that DA Willis’s Office must be disqualified from pursuing the case further, citing concerns related to prosecutorial misconduct and conflict of interest.

The prosecutorial misconduct aspect of Findling’s argument rests on DA Willis’s comments to the press (the motion notes she spoke to the press nearly 40 times) and her social media posts, which Findling said bolstered her profile as a political candidate.

One such social media post, the filing said, included a cartoon posted on Willis’s campaign Twitter account, which showed the DA fishing a subpoenaed witness, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), out of a swamp, with Trump saying, “I know you’ll do the right thing, Lindsey.”

Findling noted that the cartoon was part of a political campaign threaded throughout Willis’s Georgia investigation, one in which Willis had “personal involvement and interest,” creating a “disqualifying conflict.”

“[T]he FCDA promoted her own campaign on the shoulders of partisan support for this SPGJ investigation. Within a couple of days, the [Fulton County DA’s] Twitter account increased by approximately 100,000 followers, and requests for campaign donations were retweeted thousands of times,” the filing reads, referring to the alleged effect of Willis’s publicity campaign.

“On at least three occasions, the FCDA personally inserted herself into this Twitter campaign for ‘followers, tweets and donations’ which specifically referenced this investigation.”

Findling alleged that Willis’s political interest, in this case, constituted a conflict of interest and thus should bar her from being further involved in the investigation.

The second reason Willis should be disqualified, according to Findling, is that Willis was ordered to be disqualified from investigating a Georgia senator because of perceived conflict of interest considerations. He argued that this disqualification should extend to the entire case.

On July 25, 2022, the supervising judge disqualified the District Attorney’s Office from calling then-state Sen. Burt Jones to testify as a witness in the Georgia jury because DA Willis was involved in a political campaign for Charlie Bailey, a then-candidate for Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, who would run against Jones, the then-Republican nomination.

“She has bestowed her office’s imprimatur upon Senator Jones’s opponent. And since then, she has publicly (in her pleadings) labeled Senator Jones a ‘target’ of the grand jury’s investigation,” the judge wrote in his order, noting that Willis’s singling out of Jones constituted a perceived conflict of interest.

Findling capitalized on the judge’s disqualification order in the Monday filing, citing a 1987 decision by the United States Supreme Court (Young v. United States), which recognized “the existence of an actual conflict cannot be limited to the investigation or prosecution of one individual but is a conflict that permeates the entire proceeding.”

In other words, Findling was saying that if the judge finds that the conduct of the prosecutor ought to be disqualified from prosecuting or investigating one witness due to a conflict of interest consideration, that prosecutor must be disqualified from the case altogether.

“The rights of President Trump, as well as all others impacted by this investigation, are now subject to the prosecutorial discretion and decision-making of a prosecuting body that even the Supervising Judge acknowledged has an actual, disqualifying conflict,” the filing reads.

“This is simply untenable. For this reason alone, the FCDA’s Office must be removed from any further investigation or prosecution of this matter.”

end

Megyn Kelly responds to Tucker Carlson’s dismissal describing it as a terrible move by Fox network

(Phillips/EpochTimes)

Megyn Kelly Responds To Tucker Carlson Leaving Fox News: ‘Terrible Move’ By Network

TUESDAY, APR 25, 2023 – 10:25 PM

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly reacted to Monday’s news that Tucker Carlson would be departing by saying it was a “terrible move” on the network’s part.

“This is a terrible move by Fox, and it’s a great thing for Tucker Carlson,” Kelly said during an episode of her podcast on Monday.

In a news release, Fox confirmed it is parting ways with Carlson, who was its most popular cable news host and a leading conservative voice. Carlson has not issued a public comment about the matter.

“I don’t know what drove Fox News to make this decision. And it was clearly Fox News’ decision because they’re not letting him say goodbye,” Kelly said. “That’s my supposition. That’s not inside knowledge … talk about misjudging your audience yet again.”

Carlson’s last broadcast was on Friday, April 21. During the final on-air segment, Carlson told his Fox viewers that he would be back on Monday.

Kelly added that the news was “Good for Tucker” and that “trust me, he doesn’t need them.”

A Fox anchor, Harris Faulkner, said Monday that the two sides had “mutually” decided to part ways. Few details about what happened have been revealed.

Fox has not issued any comment on Carlson’s leaving the channel beyond a statement stating that it wanted to “thank him for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor.” In an article reporting on his departure, Fox News turned off its comments section.

Kelly, too, was among the most popular Fox News personalities before she left the channel in 2017. Since leaving, she has become critical of the network and hosts a popular podcast.

After taking Fox News’ 8 p.m. ET timeslot in 2017, Carlson quickly became among the network’s most popular hosts and remained so up until the end. For the week ending April 16, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” was the most-watched cable news show, averaging 3.389 million viewers, while the next most popular show was “The Five” on Fox News, which averaged about 3 million, according to data from Nielsen.

The timing of Carlson’s departure also appears to be unusual. The Fox News host recently landed two high-profile interviews, including one with former President Donald Trump and another with Twitter and Tesla owner Elon Musk. Nielsen ratings show that the Carlson–Trump interview last week drew 6.7 million viewers.

Despite the reasons for Carlson’s exit, it signals the biggest shock to Fox News’s lineup since former top host Bill O’Reilly was booted from the channel in 2017. His “O’Reilly Factor”—a long mainstay on cable news—was Fox News’ highest-rated program at the time.

Read more here…

end

Disney Sues DeSantis After ‘Exhausting Options’ As Feud Over Political Retaliation Heats Up

WEDNESDAY, APR 26, 2023 – 02:25 PM

Walt Disney Co. sued Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, claiming he conducted a “relentless campaign to weaponize government power” against the company for speaking out about his controversial classroom bill and threatening billions of dollars in business. 

“A targeted campaign of government retaliation—orchestrated at every step by Governor DeSantis as punishment for Disney’s protected speech—now threatens Disney’s business operations, jeopardizes its economic future in the region, and violates its constitutional rights,” Disney alleged in the civil complaint filed in the US District Court in Northern Florida. 

Earlier today, DeSantis’ oversight board voted to void development contracts that Disney made in February that retained much of its control over the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a 25,000-acre compound that Disney self-governs near Orlando that houses its theme parks. Recall, Disney lost control of its development in February. 

“Today’s action is the latest strike,” the lawsuit read, saying the development contracts “laid the foundation for billions of Disney’s investment dollars and thousands of jobs.”

Disney alleged, “The government action was patently retaliatory, patently anti-business, and patently unconstitutional.”

“Having exhausted efforts to seek a resolution, the Company is left with no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect its cast members, guests, and local development partners from a relentless campaign to weaponize government power against Disney in retaliation for expressing a political viewpoint unpopular with certain State officials,” the lawsuit continued. 

For about a year, Disney and DeSantis feud has been stirring. It started when Disney criticized Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, also known as “Don’t Say Gay,” which limits discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in public school classes from K-12. 

Disney has said it would work to abolish the law and pledged to “stand up for the rights and safety” of the LGBTQ community.

A DeSantis spokeswoman told The Washington Post that Disney’s lawsuit was “another unfortunate example of their hope to undermine the will of the Florida voters” and circumvent state law.

“We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state,” said Taryn Fenske, communications director for the governor’s office.

The DeSantis versus Disney battle is heating up as the Florida governor is expected to become a top Republican contender for the 2024 presidential race.

THE KING REPORT

GREG HUNTER 

end

See you ON THURSDAY

H