GOLD PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $8.35 TO $1917.45

SILVER PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $0.07 AT $22.69

Access prices: closes 4: 15 PM

Gold ACCESS CLOSE 1914,40

Silver ACCESS CLOSE: 22.65

Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price

USD oz AM1961.08

PM1961.39

Historical SGE Fix

New York price at the time: 1925.00

premium $36.00

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Bitcoin morning price:, $29,905 UP 838 Dollars

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $29,498 UP 431 dollars

Platinum price closing $894.25 DOWN $9.70

Palladium price; $1236,85 UP $12.75

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: $2,570.00 DOWN 18.50 CDN dollars per oz (ALL TIME HIGH 2,775.35)

BRITISH GOLD: 1505,32 DOWN5,71 pounds per oz//(ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1630.29)

EURO GOLD: 1744.42 DOWN 15.37 euros per oz //(ALL TIME HIGH/CLOSING//1861.21)//

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EXCHANGE: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: AUGUST 2023 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,924.100000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 08/08/2023 DELIVERY DATE: 08/10/2023
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

118 C MACQUARIE FUT 33
132 C SG AMERICAS 6
323 C HSBC 231
323 H HSBC 1
357 C WEDBUSH 1
363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 25
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 111
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 46
661 C JP MORGAN 1
690 C ABN AMRO 30 16
737 C ADVANTAGE 21
905 C ADM 38

TOTAL: 280 280
MONTH TO DATE: 10,240

JPMorgan stopped 16/280 contracts.

FOR AUGUST:

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR AUGUST/2023. CONTRACT: 280 NOTICES FOR 28,000 OZ or 0.8709 TONNES

total notices so far: 10,240 contracts for 1,024,000 oz (31.850 tonnes)

FOR AUGUST:

SILVER NOTICES: 4 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 20,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 896 for 4,480,000 oz

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END

GLD

WITH GOLD DOWN $8.35

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

NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:

INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.69 TONNES

Silver//

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN 7 CENTS AT THE SLV// HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: WITHDRAWAL OF 1.193 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 450.180 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 3886 CONTRACTS TO 137,631 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR $0.40 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON TUESDAY. TAS ISSUANCE WAS ANOTHER JUPITER SIZED 9444 CONTRACTS. THESE WILL BE USED FOR MANIPULATION LATER THIS MONTH/AND TODAY. CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE. THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS: 1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, MID MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON TUESDAY NIGHT: 9444 CONTRACTS. DESPITE MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THE CROOKS HAVE VIOLATED POSITION LIMITS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE TAS ISSUED HAVE A VALUE OF ZERO (AS TO POSITION LIMITS FOR OUR CROOKED BANKERS). THE PROBLEM OF COURSE IS THAT THE CROOKS DO NOT LIQUIDATE THE TAS TOGETHER BUT SELL THE BUY SIDE FIRST AND THEN LIQUIDATE THE SELL SIDE TWO MONTHS HENCE. IT IS OBVIOUS MANIPULATION TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE BUT IT NATURALLY FELL ON DEAF EARS WITH OUR REGULATORS (OCC) WHEN THEY RECEIVED OUR COMPLAINTS. IT THUS LOOKS LIKE THE FED (GOV’T) IS BEHIND ALL OF THESE TRADES.

WE HAVE NOW SET ANOTHER RECORD LOW AT 114,102 CONTRACTS ///JULY 3.2023// OUR BANKERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.40). BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OF ANY SILVER CONTRACTS AS WE HAD OUR SMALL GAIN OF 211 CONTRACTS ON BOTH EXCHANGES WITH CONSIDERABLE T.A.S.LIQUIDATION.

WE MUST HAVE HAD:

AN ULTRA GIGANTIC ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS( 4097 CONTRACTS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 3.105 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 15,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING RISES AT 4.480 MILLION OZ + OUR NEW CRIMINAL 0 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 0.00 MILLION OZ + 1.45 MILLION OZ EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR/// NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR SILVER: 5.930 MILLION OZ/// // // GIGANTIC SIZED COMEX OI GAIN/ ULTRA HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/VI) JUPITER SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE (9944 CONTRACTS)/ZERO EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED

I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL 659 CONTRACTS

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 7 days, total 10,556 contracts: OR 52.780 MILLION OZ (1508 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 52.780 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

YEAR 2022:

JAN 2022-DEC 2022

JAN 2022// 90.460 MILLION OZ

FEB 2022: 72.39 MILLION OZ//

MARCH: 207.140 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

TOTALS YR 2022: 1135.767 MILLION OZ (1.1356 BILLION OZ)

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 118.035 MILLION OZ(SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAN LAST MONTH)

MAY 66.120 MILLION OZ/INITIAL (MUCH SMALLER THIS MONTH)

JUNE: 110.395 MILLION OZ//MUCH LARGER THAN LAST MONTH

JULY 85.745 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)

AUGUST: 52.780 MILLION OZ

RESULT: WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 3886 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.40 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//TUESDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD AN ULTRA HUGE EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 4097 ISSUED FOR SEPT 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 AUGUST OF 3.105 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 15,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING 4.480 MILLION OZ+ 1.45 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK NEW TOTALS 5.930 MILLION OZ//// WE HAVE A SMALL SIZED GAIN OF 211 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUGE 9944//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE TUESDAY COMEX SESSION . THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE TUESDAY NIGHT (9444) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE., PROBABLY TOMORROW.

WE HAD 4 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 20,000 OZ

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A FAIR SIZED 3675 CONTRACTS TO 427,759 AND CLOSER TO TO THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,541 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.

THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: – REMOVED: 448 CONTRACTS

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI ( 3675 CONTRACTS) WITH OUR $9.60 LOSS IN PRICE//TUESDAY. WE ALSO HAD A RATHER SMALL INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR AUGUST. AT 30.656 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 28,000 OZ QUEUE.JUMP + PRIOR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = (.684 TONNES) //NEW STANDING 32.510 TONNES + .684 EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 33.194/ + /A FAIR (AND CRIMINAL) ISSUANCE OF 1744 T.A.S. CONTRACTS /// ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH A $9.60 LOSS IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S TRADING.WE HAD A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF 1253 OI CONTRACTS (3.897 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 1744 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 427,759

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A SMALL SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1253 CONTRACTS WITH 3657 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR 2422 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1253 CONTRACTS OR 3.897 TONNES. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR 1744 CONTRACTS)

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (2422 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (3675) //TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 1253 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE ( 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR NORMAL FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING SHORT AND SPECULATORS GOING LONG ,2.) FAIR INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR JULY AT 30.656 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 28,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING 32.510 TONNES + .684 TONNES (EXCHANGE FOR RISK//PRIOR) NEW TOTALS: 33.194 TONNES/// 3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION WITH HUGE TAS LIQUIDATION //4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS/ 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///6: FAIR T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 1744 CONTRACTS

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023 INCLUDING TODAY

AUGUST

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 19,881 CONTRACTS OR 1,988,100 OZ OR 61.838 TONNES IN 7 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2840 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 7 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 61.838 TONNES

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

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 61.838/3550 x 100% TONNES 1.74% 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//

TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021

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

TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022

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: 197.42 TONNES

MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)

JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)

JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)

AUGUST: 61.838 TONNES

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 JUNE. 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 MAY HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF JUNE., 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 (JUNE), 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.

The crooks also use the spread in the TAS account (trade at settlement). They buy the spot TAS (e.g. June) and sell the future TAS two months out (e.g. August). Then they unload the front month (i.e. unload the buy side first so the price of gold/silver falls. This occurs in the middle of the front delivery month cycle. They unload the sell side of the equation, two months down the road. The crooks violate position limits as the OCC refuse to hear our complaints.

First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:

1.Today, we had the open interest at the comex, in SILVER FELL BY A HUGE SIZED 3886 CONTRACTS OI TO 137,431 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 NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023

EFP ISSUANCE AN ULTRA HUGE 4097 CONTRACTS

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

SEPT 2062 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 4097 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 3886 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 4097 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,

WE OBTAIN A SMALL SIZED GAIN OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 211 CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTAL 1.035 MILLION OZ

OCCURRED DESPITE OUR $0.40 LOSS IN PRICE …..

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 16.13 PTS OR 0.49% //Hang Seng CLOSED UP 61.86 PTS OR 0.32% /The Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 172.96 PTS OR 0.32% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.31 % /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP 7.2056 /OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 7.2210 /Oil UP TO 83.86 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 86.86 / Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE STRONGER

a)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/

OUTLINE

3 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 FAIR SIZED 3675 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 427,759 WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $9.60 ON TUESDAY.

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

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

THAT IS 2422 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : DEC 2422 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 2422 CONTRACTS

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A SMALL SIZED TOTAL OF 1253 CONTRACTS IN THAT 2422 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR SIZED LOSS OF 3675 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $9.60//TUESDAY COMEX. AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT WAS A FAIR 1744 CONTRACTS. THROUGHOUT THE PAST WEEKS, THE BANKERS SOLD OFF THE LONG SIDE OF THE SPREAD WHICH OF COURSE CONTINUES TO MANIPULATE THE PRICE OF GOLD SOUTHBOUND. (THEY KEEP THE SHORT SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD WHICH WILL BE LIQUIDATED TWO MONTHS HENCE)//THE HUGE NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS INITIATED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS SPELLS TROUBLE FOR THE GOLD/SILVER MARKET AS RAIDS WILL SURELY BE UPON US TRYING TO CONTAIN OUR PRECIOUS METALS RISE IN PRICE.

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: AUGUST (33.194) ( 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. 64.000 tonnes

(TOTAL YEAR 656.076 TONNES)

2023:

JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes

FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes

MAR: 19.0637 TONNES

APRIL: 75.676 tonnes

MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338

JUNE: 64.354 TONNES

JULY: 10.2861 TONNES

AUGUST: 33.194 TONNES (INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)

THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT LOST $9.60) //// BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A SMALL LOSS OF 1253 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH ALL OF THE LOSS COMING FROM T.A.S. LIQUIDATION. THE T.A.S. ISSUED ON TUESDAY NIGHT WILL BE “PUT INTO THE BANK” TO BE USED AT A LATER DATE AT THE COLLUSIVE CHOOSING OF OUR BANKERS.

WE HAVE LOST A TOTAL OI OF 3.897 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR AUGUST. (30.656 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 28,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 32.510 TONNES + .6842 (PRIOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK) //NEW TOTAL 33.194 TONNES // ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $9.60.

WE HAD – REMOVED 448 CONTRACTS TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST

NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 1253 CONTRACTS OR 125,300 OZ OR 3.897 TONNES.

Estimated gold volume today:// 132,005 awful

final gold volumes/yesterday 152,550 awful

//AUGUST 9/ FOR THE AUGUST 2023 GOLD CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory in oz*	nil
Withdrawals from Customer* Inventory in oz*	53,663.338 Malca 1638 kilobars .
Deposit to the Dealer* Inventory in oz*	nil
Deposits to the Customer* Inventory, in oz*	57,488.988 OZ HSBC
No of oz served (contracts) today	280 notice(s) 28000 OZ 0.8709TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	212 contracts 21200 oz 0.6594 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	10,240 notices 1,024,000 OZ 31.850 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

0 dealer deposit:

total dealer deposits: NIL oz

customer deposits: 0

total customer deposits: nil oz

we had 1 customer withdrawals

i) Out of Malca 53,663.338 oz 1638 kilobars)

Adjustments; 1//dealer to customer JPMorgan:

385.812 oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR AUGUST.

For the front month of AUGUST we have an oi of 492 contracts having LOST 1913 contracts. We had 2193 contracts filed

on Tuesday, so we gained 280 contracts or an additional 28,000 oz will stand at the comex

Sept gained 59 contracts to 2726.

Oct gained 40 contracts to 32,983 contracts.

We had 280 contracts filed for today representing 28000 oz

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer account and 1 notice was issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 280 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 16 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 AUGUST /2023. contract month,

we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (10,240 x 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of AUGUST (492 CONTRACT) minus the number of notices served upon today 280 x 100 oz per contract equals 1,045,200 OZ OR 32.510 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this active month of AUGUST. + .684 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/prior = 33.194 tonnes

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the AUGUST contract month: No of notices filed so far (10,240) x 100 oz + (492) {OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (280) x 100 oz) which equals 1,045,200 oz standing OR 32.510 TONNES + .684 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/prior = 33.194 TONNES

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 33.194 TONNES WHICH IS SMALL FOR AN ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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 oz

total pledged gold: 2,083,941.636 OZ 64.82 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED: 22,207,661.667 OZ

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD: 12,037,550.164 (374,44 tonnes)..

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 10,170,111.150 O Z

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 9,953,609 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 309.59 tonnes//

END

SILVER/COMEX

AUGUST 9

//2023// THE AUGUST 2023 SILVER CONTRACT

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory*	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	92,402,985 oz Brinks Loomis .
Deposits to the Dealer* Inventory*	nil oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	nil
No of oz served today (contracts)	4 CONTRACT(S) (20,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	0 contracts (nil oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	896 Contracts (4,480,000 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 deposit: 0 oz

i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal

total dealer withdrawals: 0 oz

We had 0 deposits customer account:

total customer deposits: nil oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 140.471 million oz/281.306 million =49.92% of comex .//

Comex withdrawals 2

i) Out of Loomis 19,178.843 oz

ii) Out of Brinks 73,229.150 oz

adjustments: 0

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 31.066 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 281.306 million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR JULY:

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF AUGUST /2023 OI: 4 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 41 CONTRACT(S). WE HAD

44 NOTICES FILED ON TUESDAY SO WE GAINED 3 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL 15,000 OZ WILL STAND IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF AUGUST.

SEPT HAS A LOSS OF 9063 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 83,452

OCT GAINED 101 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 209.

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 4 for 20,000 oz

Comex volumes// est. volume today 77,787 strong/t.a.s.induced /

Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 104,783 strong/t.a.s induced

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in AUGUST. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 896 x 5,000 oz = 4,480,000 oz

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of AUGUST (4) and the number of notices served upon today 4 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the standings for silver for the AUGUST/2023 contract month: 896 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of AUGUST (4) – number of notices served upon today (4 )x 500 oz of silver standing for the AUGUST contract month equates to 4.480 million oz.+ 0.0 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED TODAY+ 1.45 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK PRIOR//NEW TOTALS: 5.930 MILLION oz.

There are 31.066 million oz of registered silver.

Thus if we take today’s standing at 5.930 and add last month’s 30.9 million oz we have 36.830 million oz against only 31.066 million registered silver.

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

AUGUST 9/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.75 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.69 TONNES

AUGUST 8/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.60 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.31 TONNES FORM THE GLD /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.69 TONNES

AUGUST 7/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.45 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.00 TONNES

AUGUST 4/WITH GOLD UP $7.25 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.18 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/// .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.00 TONNES

AUGUST 3/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.25 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 909.18 TONNES

AUGUST 2/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.45 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.75 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 909.18 TONNES

AUGUST 1/WITH GOLD DOWN $28.45 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.89 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.93 TONNES

JULY 31/WITH GOLD UP $9.50 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.89 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.93 TONNES

JULY 28/WITH GOLD UP $14.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 915,82 TONNES

JULY 27/WITH GOLD DOWN $21.80 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.74 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.26 TONNES

JULY 26/WITH GOLD UP $6.35 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 919.00 TONNES

JULY 25/WITH GOLD UP $2.45 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: //: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 919.00 TONNES

JULY 24/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.65 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 5.20 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 919.00 TONNES

JULY 21/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.80 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.80 TONNES

JULY 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.70 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.73 TONNES FROM THE GLD/ .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 913.80 TONNES

JULY 19/WITH GOLD UP $0.65 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .86 TONNES FROM THE GLD/ .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.07 TONNES

JULY 18/WITH GOLD UP $23.45 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.93 TONNES

JULY 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.60 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD.////INVENTORY RESTS AT 912.93 TONNES

JULY 14/WITH GOLD UP $0.75 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 914.66 TONNES

JULY 13/WITH GOLD UP $3.30 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.29 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 914.66 TONNES

JULY 12/WITH GOLD UP $24.50 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.31 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 914.95 TONNES

JULY 11/WITH GOLD UP $6.15 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.0 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 915.26 TONNES

JULY 10 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.35 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.60 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 916.26 TONNES.

JULY 7 WITH GOLD UP $16.80 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.86 TONNES.

JULY 6/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.90 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.04 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 917.86 TONNES

JULY 5/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.20 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD; A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.6 TONNES FROM THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 921.90 TONNES

JULY 3/WITH GOLD UP $1.90 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD/INVENTORY RESTS AT 924.50 TONNES//

JUNE 30/WITH GOLD UP $10.00 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.31 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 924.50 TONNES

JUNE 29/WITH GOLD DOWN $3.20 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.26 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 926.81 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 903.69 TONNES

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

AUGUST 9/WITH SILVER DOWN 7 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 8,807 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV/: // OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 450.180 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 8/WITH SILVER DOWN 40 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 458.987 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 46 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 458.987 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 4/WITH SILVER UP 1 CENT TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.294 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 458.987 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 3/WITH SILVER DOWN 16 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 189,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.281 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 2/WITH SILVER DOWN 43 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 275,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.471 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 1/WITH SILVER DOWN 61 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 184,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.746 MILLION OZ

JULY 31/WITH SILVER UP 45 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 184,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.746 MILLION OZ

JULY 28/WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 550,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.930 MILLION OZ

JULY 27/WITH SILVER DOWN 59 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.480 MILLION OZ

JULY 26/WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.480 MILLION OZ/

JULY 25/WITH SILVER UP 24 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A SMALL WITHDRAWAL OF 826,000 OZ FROM THE SLV..////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.480 MILLION OZ/

JULY 24/WITH SILVER DOWN 23 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 453.306 MILLION OZ/

JULY 21/WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.101 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 453.306 MILLION OZ/

JULY 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 38 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.468 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 454.107 MILLION OZ/

JULY 19/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 455.875 MILLION OZ/

JULY 18/WITH SILVER DOWN 19 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 455.875 MILLION OZ/

JULY 17/WITH SILVER UP 25 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.856 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////////INVENTORY RESTS AT 455.875 MILLION OZ/

JULY 14/WITH SILVER UP 27 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.21 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV////////INVENTORY RESTS AT 455.875 MILLION OZ/

JULY 13/WITH SILVER UP 64 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//////INVENTORY RESTS AT 462.941 MILLION OZ/

JULY 12/WITH SILVER UP $1.00 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.881 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 462.941 MILLION OZ/

JULY 11/WITH SILVER DOWN 5 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF .020 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 464.822 MILLION OZ/

JULY 10/WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.672 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 464.802 MILLION OZ

JULY 7/WITH SILVER UP 42 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 466.474 MILLION OZ

JULY 6/WITH SILVER DOWN 50 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.667 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 466.474 MILLION OZ//

JULY5/WITH SILVER UP 30 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 468.141 MILLION OZ//

JULY 3/WITH SILVER UP 7 CENTS TODAY; NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 468.141 MILLION OZ//

CLOSING INVENTORY 450.180 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

1:Peter Schiff/Mike Maharrey

end

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

RUSS AND PAM MARTENS:

Jamie Dimon Faces an Uphill Battle Convincing a Jury He Didn’t Know that Child Sex-Trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, Was Financing His Operation Out of JPMorgan JPMorgan Chase and Jeffrey Epstein

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: August 9, 2023 ~

Jamie Dimon is between a rock and a hard place. He is either going to have to convince a jury come October that he was left in the dark by the bank’s general counsel, his compliance and money laundering executives, and the heads of his investment bank and asset and wealth division about the fact that notorious child molester Jeffrey Epstein was a client at the bank for more than a decade – which would make Dimon sound so isolated as to be unfit to be running the bank – or Dimon is going to have to admit that he lied under oath in his federal court deposition. Neither is a comfortable proposition to be facing for a jury trial currently scheduled for October 23.

JPMorgan Chase is currently facing off against three federal lawsuits before Judge Jed Rakoff in the Southern District of New York that charge the bank with facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking operation, which included dozens of underage school girls. One lawsuit was brought by Epstein’s victims; another by the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands where Epstein owned an island compound; and a third by shareholders of the bank, which name the bank, Dimon, another bank executive and specific Board Members as defendants.

It is the lawsuit brought by the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands that is currently scheduled for trial on October 23 that poses a significant amount of legal peril for Dimon. That lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan Chase not only “facilitated” Epstein’s crimes against women and girls but “actively participated in Epstein’s sex trafficking venture.”

According to the transcript of Dimon’s deposition conducted on May 26, his position is this:

“I don’t recall knowing anything about Jeffrey Epstein until the stories broke sometime in 2019. And I was surprised that I didn’t even — had never even heard of the guy, pretty much, and how involved he was with so many people.”

Dimon’s reference to stories breaking in 2019 is because the U.S. Department of Justice, which had cut Epstein a notorious sweetheart deal in 2007 that provided him a non prosecution agreement and allowed him to plead to two counts of procuring prostitution (instead of multiple counts of rape and sexual assaults of underage schoolgirls) finally got around to bringing federal sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019 – after Epstein and his wealthy pals had raped and sexually assaulted hundreds of other girls.

The details of that 2007-2008 sweetheart deal had been making headlines for years – headlines that Dimon somehow missed, despite testifying in his deposition that he read multiple newspapers daily. In addition to newspaper headlines, bestselling author, James Patterson’s book, “Filthy Rich,” covering Epstein’s sexual assaults of young girls had been released in 2016 and Julie Brown’s blockbuster series on Epstein’s crimes in the Miami Herald in 2018 had caused a viral media storm. But Dimon somehow missed it all.

Dimon’s general counsel from 2007 to 2015 was Stephen Cutler, the former Director of the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cutler stepped down as General Counsel in 2015 to become Vice Chairman at JPMorgan Chase and a senior advisor to Dimon and the bank’s Board of Directors. He served in that position until 2018 when he left the bank to join the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. It is almost inconceivable that in all those years Cutler would not have brought the reputational risk that Epstein posed to the bank to the attention of Dimon or the Board.

According to emails obtained by the U.S. Virgin Islands in discovery, Cutler was aware of Epstein’s history and the existence of his accounts at the bank from at least 2011. Cutler reported directly to Dimon and his office was located next door to Dimon’s office. The emails show that Cutler was against keeping Epstein as a client. It is only common sense that someone higher up than Cutler would have had to overrule him. That suggests some interference by Dimon or the Board of Directors to keep Epstein and his accounts at the bank.

In addition, dozens of internal emails show that a multitude of the bank’s compliance personnel and anti-money laundering staff were holding “Rapid Response” team meetings as each scandalous newspaper article about Epstein appeared.

The U.S. Virgin Islands has produced extensive evidence that the motive for keeping Epstein as a client at JPMorgan Chase, despite his ongoing sex trafficking, was the revenues his accounts were generating for the bank and the ultra wealthy clients he was referring to the bank.

In a court filing on July 26, the U.S. Virgin Islands lists the following individuals as people Epstein referred as clients to the bank: Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates; Google co-founder and billionaire Sergey Brin; the Sultan of Dubai, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem; media and real estate billionaire Mort Zuckerman; former U.S. Treasury Secretary and former Harvard President Larry Summers, and numerous others.

Another big hurdle for Dimon before a jury is a smoking gun email raised during Dimon’s deposition by well-known attorney, David Boies, of law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. (Dimon’s deposition was conducted jointly by lawyers for the U.S. Virgin Islands and lawyers for Epstein’s victims. Boies is representing the victims.)

Boies introduced an email directly referring to a planned Epstein meeting with Dimon in 2010. The exchange between Boies and Dimon went as follows:

Boies: “On February 26, 2010, Lesley Groff [Epstein’s assistant] writes Mr. Epstein on the subject of, Jes [Staley] and Jamie. ‘Shall I have Lynn prepare heavy snacks for your evening appointments with [redacted], Jes Staley and Jamie Dimon? Or is this to be a nice, sit-down dinner at 9 p.m.?’ And Mr. Epstein replies, ‘Snacks.’ “

Dimon responds:

“I have never had an appointment with Jeff Epstein. I’ve never met Jeff Epstein. I never knew Jeff Epstein. I never went to Jeff Epstein’s house. I never had a meal with Jeff Epstein. I have no idea what they’re referring to here.”

Boies points out that there is no followup email between Epstein and Groff where Epstein tells her she is misinformed and Dimon is not going to be at the meeting.

Jes Staley testified in his deposition that he had discussions with Dimon about Epstein in 2006, thus refuting Dimon’s narrative of what he knew and when he knew it.

There is no dispute that Epstein had accounts at JPMorgan and its successor, JPMorgan Chase, from at least 1998 to 2013. (A former FBI agent retained as an expert witness by the U.S. Virgin Islands is prepared to testify that the account relationship dates back to 1985.) According to transaction documents obtained in discovery by the U.S. Virgin Islands, JPMorgan Chase handled 9,000 transactions payable to Epstein-related individuals (which included his accomplices and recruiters of underage girls) between 2005 and 2019, and “had a combined value of over $2.4 billion.”

In addition, without filing the legally-required Suspicious Activity Reports for a Level 3 Registered Sex Offender who had been chronicled in dozens of newspaper reports as paying his victims in cash, JPMorgan Chase allowed Epstein or his representative to withdraw the following sums in hard cash from his accounts at the bank according to a court filing made by the U.S. Virgin Islands:

“In the year 2003, Epstein was able to withdraw highly suspicious amounts of cash totaling $175,311. In 2004, he withdrew $840,000. In 2005, he withdrew $904,337. In 2006, he withdrew $938,625. In 2007, he withdrew $526,000. In 2008, he withdrew $469,000. In 2009, he withdrew $165,011. In 2010, he withdrew $253,397. In 2011, he withdrew $260,000. In 2012, he withdrew $290,000. In 2013, he withdrew $197,152.”

According to internal documents produced in discovery, Epstein was allowed to withdraw in hard cash as much as $40,000 to $80,000 per month in some years without the mandated filings of Suspicious Activity Reports by the bank.

Adding to the stench around Epstein’s long-term relationship with JPMorgan Chase is the question as to how the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI investigated this case from 2007 to at least 2019 and never discovered that JPMorgan Chase was at the center of handling the financing for this international sex ring with 9,000 transactions of over $2.4 billion.

When the U.S. Department of Justice learned in 2014 that JPMorgan Chase had been the bank handling Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi account for decades, it charged the bank with two felony counts and imposed massive fines. Why aren’t we hearing a peep from the U.S. Department of Justice now about JPMorgan Chase – especially after its disgrace in letting Epstein off the hook in 2007-2008?

Equally troubling, the Epstein-related lawsuits before Judge Rakoff against JPMorgan Chase have been making headlines in major U.S. newspapers for months now. Why hasn’t the U.S. Senate Banking Committee or the Senate Finance Committee convened hearings?

On August 11 of last year, President Biden’s Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, Merrick Garland, told the American people this:

“Faithful adherence to the rule of law is the bedrock principle of the Justice Department and of our democracy. Upholding the rule of law means applying the rule of law evenly, without fear or favor.”

Garland’s credibility on that issue hinges on how JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, and its billionaire Chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, are treated in the Epstein matter.

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

Turkey continues to import high amounts of gold (and silver) in the form of bullion and jewelry. Now the Turkish authorities want to impose extra charges on gold that arrives from countries that do not have a free trade agreement with it

(Reuters)

Turkey imposes extra charge on some gold imports

Submitted by admin on Tue, 2023-08-08 14:26Section: Daily Dispatches

By Ezgi Erkoyun
Reuters
Tuesday, August 8, 2023

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/turkey-imposes-extra-charge-some-gold-imports-2023-08-08/

ISTANBUL — Turkey has introduced a 20% additional charge for some gold imports, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette early today, in an effort to curb the negative impact on the current account balance.

The decision said that gold imports originating from countries that are without a free trade agreement and not in the European Union will be charged an additional fee on top of existing import and other duties.

The gold imports that will be charged the extra fee as part of the decision include gold jewellery products and parts, and some base metal products plated with precious metals.

Turkey’s current account deficit widened mainly due to high gold and energy imports and stood at $37.7 billion in the first five months of the year, widening some 44% when compared to the same period last year.

On Monday the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported citing an unnamed source that Turkey plans to impose a quota on imports of unprocessed gold.

end

END

4, OTHER IMPORTANT GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES/SILVER

5 a. IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES: RICE

Thai rice up a huge 13% this week and over 50% since 2022, hitting 648 dollars per ton, its highest level since Oct 2008

(zerohedge)

Rice Crisis Sends Prices To Highest Levels Since 2008

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 06:55 AM

On Wednesday, the Thai Rice Exporters Association revealed that the price of Thai white rice 5% broken, a key Asian benchmark, reached the highest level since Great Financial Crisis. This surge is mainly attributed to increasing fears of a global shortage due to the damaging effects of the El Nino weather phenomenon on Asian farmlands and India’s recent decision to restrict certain rice exports.

Thai white rice 5% broken hit $648 per ton this week, the highest level since October 2008. Prices are up over 50% since the start of 2022.

The weekly change in rice prices is about a 13% surge, the largest since the index began in the summer of 2008.

We provided readers with enough understanding that rice, which is critical to the diets of billions of people worldwide, was headed for a shortage:

Sept. 2022: The Stage Is Being Set For A Massive Global Rice Shortage
May 2023: Global Rice Shortage Looms, Set To Be The Biggest In Decades
May 2023: Thai Rice Crop In Crosshairs Of El Nino As Farmers Are Warned About Water Shortages

And now comes the panic:

July 2023: “So It Begins”: US Supermarkets Hit With Buying Panic As India Bans Rice Exports

India’s move to ban some rice exports sent shockwaves worldwide and was to ensure domestic supplies were adequate to prevent a hyperinflationary spike in food prices that would ultimately spark social unrest. Also, Thailand, the second-biggest shipper, has asked farmers to switch to crops that use less water due to arid conditions.

India’s export restriction applies to shipments of non-basmati white rice.

The latest report on global food prices from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations showed the global food index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of globally-traded food commodities, jumped the most in 18 months.

Last month, Bloomberg quoted Peter Timmer, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, who warned: “There is considerably more reason for concern now that rice prices in Asia could spiral out of control pretty quickly.”

end

5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT

END

6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/

END

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

ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP TO 7.2010

OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.2256

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 16.13 PTS OR 0.49%

HANG SENG CLOSED UP 61,86 PTS OR 0.32%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 172,96 PTS OR 0.53%

3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN

USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 102.31 EURO RISES TO 1.0973 UP 14 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +.562 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 142.97/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 DOWN CHINESE ON SHORE YUAN: UP// OFF- SHORE: UP

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 UP for WTI and UP FOR Brent this morning

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund UP TO +2.4614***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield RISES to 4.120*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD RISES TO 3.510…**

3i Greek 10 year bond yield RISES TO 3.769

3j Gold at $1923.30 silver at: 22.68 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 1 AND 10 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 96.38//

3m oil into the 83 dollar handle for WTI and 85 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 143.42// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.562% 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 0.8773 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9626 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: 4.027 UP 1 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.192 UP 0 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.781 UP 2 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 27.03…(TURKEY SET TO BLOW UP FINANCIALLY)

GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: UP 5 BASIS PTS AT 4.4375

end

2.a Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge:

Futures Rise On Hope China’s Deflation Will Lead To More Policy Easing

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 08:18 AM

S&P futures point to a higher open after China officially entered into deflation with -0.4% CPI print, continuing the buying momentum from the second half of yesterday’s session while European stocks rebound sharply from yesterday’s rout led by a rebound in Italian banks after the government backtracked on part of its new windfall tax on lenders. As of 7:45am ET, both S&P and Nasdaq 100 futures are 0.2% higher with other global markets also in risk-on mode, with the euro strengthening, copper rebounding, 10Y TSY yields rising to 4.03% ahead of another closely watched bond auction later today (US government is selling $38 billion of new 10-year notes, $3 billion larger than the last 10-year note debut in May) and oil rising by $1, just inches away from 2023 highs. Rice in Asia soared to its highest level since 2008.

China’s CPI – coming one day before the US inflation number – printed negatively for the first time in two years which is likely to produce a deflationary impulse on core goods inflation, and which according to JPM’s trading desk could prove useful to the Fed (and markets) if we see the US Consumer shift back from Services demand to Goods demand this year (more in the full JPM trading desk note this morning available to pro subs). Today’s macro data and earnings focus is on mortgage applications (down 3.1% after sliding 3.0% last week) and DIS earnings. Homebuilders have outperformed the SPX by 23% YTD.

In premarket trading, all the megacap techs are higher, with both KRE and XLF indicated marginally higher. Commodities are higher led by Energy, which also saw a late day rally. WeWork shares crashed 17% after the co-working business said there is “substantial doubt” about its ability to continue operating. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

Lyft falls as much as 8% after the ride-hailing company reported its slowest revenue growth since the pandemic.
Penn Entertainment shares rise 9.6% after the sports-entertainment company announced a long-term exclusive partnership with Disney’s ESPN.
DraftKings fell as much as 6.7% on concern the tie-up between Penn Entertainment and Disney’s ESPN will increase competition.
Rivian shares rise as much as 2.2% after the electric-vehicle startup raised its full-year production forecast to 52,000 vehicles from 50,000. The company also reported better-than-expected second-quarter results.
Twilio shares rise as much as 7.9% after the software company reported second-quarter results that beat analysts’ expectations and raised its profit outlook for the year.
Marqeta jumps 17% after second-quarter revenue at the commerce payments platform beat analyst estimates and analysts flagged the renewal of the Cash App contract with Block (SQ US) as a positive.
Tango Therapeutics jumps as much as 80%, on track for its biggest rise on record if gains hold, after data was published on competitor Mirati Therapeutics Inc.’s cancer drug candidate MRTX1719.
Coupang gains 4% after the online retailer reported second-quarter earnings per share that beat estimates. Citi said the company had a “solid” beat on the top-line and Ebitda.

The tentative improvement in sentiment faces a test on Thursday when the latest US CPI data is published. It takes place as a closely watched bond-market gauge of inflation expectations is rising back toward a nine-year high, signaling elevated price pressures for years. The US five-year inflation breakeven – which basically is a proxy for oil prices – has risen to around 2.5%, just shy of the peak in April 2022, when it reached the highest since 2014.

The “inflation report will be key if today’s rally is to be sustained.” said Lewis Grant, a senior portfolio manager at Federated Hermes. “Investor risk aversion has started to wane but remains volatile and investors are anxiously searching for the next signal.”

European stocks are ahead, led by a rebound in Italian banks after the government backtracked on part of its new windfall tax on lenders. The Stoxx 600 is up 1% while the Euro Stoxx Banks Index adds 1.7% after falling 3.5% on Tuesday. UniCredit SpA and Intesa Sanpaolo SpA, at the center of Tuesday’s declines when the new tax was unveiled, became some of Wednesday’s biggest gainers, boosting the Stoxx Europe 600 as much as 1% Wednesday. Here are some of Europe’s top movers:

Delivery Hero gains as much as 10% after the food delivery company demonstrated its path to profitability with a positive adj. Ebitda in the first half
Vestas Wind Systems rises as much as 3.8% after it published earnings analysts said showed a stronger-than-expected performance for the firm’s Services business
Sampo shares rise as much as 5.9%, the most since March 2022, after the insurance company owner’s second-quarter earnings came in better than feared
Italian banks rebound from Tuesday’s slump after the government issued a clarification of its new tax on banks’ windfall profits, saying it will be capped
Fraport rises as much as 5.2% after Morgan Stanley boosted its price target for the German airport operator as second- quarter earnings provided much-wanted relief
E.On gain as much as 2.3% after the German energy networks operator reported first- half results in line with an earlier update
TP ICAP surges as much as 16%, the most since 2020, after the financial services firm delivered results which Canaccord says “give comfort,” and announced a buyback
Hill & Smith rises as much as 10% as analysts highlights good first-half results and balance sheet strength for the infrastructure and transport company
Flutter Entertainment drops as much as 6.1% as a new partnership between Penn Entertainment and Disney’s ESPN stoked concern over rising competition
Ahold Delhaize shares slip as much as 3.6% in early trading after revenue and adjusted operating profit in the US came in below expectations

Asian stocks were mixed after two days of declines, weighed by losses in some Chinese stocks as latest economic data showed further acceleration of deflationary pressures in the economy. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was up 0.1% for the day. “Investors are clamoring for broad-based stimulus in China. I don’t think we are going to get that,” David Chao, strategist at Investec Asset Management, said on Bloomberg Television. Chao sees China moving ahead with piecemeal measures to support consumption and private investment that may result in “a pop in Chinese equities later this year.”

Chinese stocks in Hong Kong erased a drop of as much as 0.9%, while the CSI-300 was down about 0.2%, as markets reflected on the mixed inflation data from China which showed CPI Y/Y slipped into deflation territory, albeit at a narrower-than-expected drop in prices, while factory gate prices continued to fall at a steeper than forecast pace. Property stocks in the mainland rebounded after a report said that tier-1 cities are discussing potential measures to ease the malaise in the sector. Property stocks have taken a beating this week over potential default at Country Garden Holdings.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 weakened with trade initially indecisive amid an influx of earnings releases and with the biggest winners and losers all driven by corporate results including SoftBank which was near the bottom end of the spectrum after its surprise loss.
Meanwhile, Korean stocks were set to snap a five-day selling spree, with retail and foreign investors nibbling in the market. An EV-led selloff in the market has sapped risk sentiment this week, but technology stocks are leading the rebound.
Indian stocks reversed earlier losses and closed higher on Wednesday, helped by advances in shares of automobile and metal producers. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.2% to 65,995.81 in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.3% to 19,632.55. Technology stocks and Reliance Industries also helped benchmarks reverse earlier losses as they recovered in late buying by investors. The BSE IT index closed 0.3% higher.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Index falls 0.1%. The Swedish krona and Norwegian krone are the best performers among the G-10 currencies. The Aussie climbed as much as 0.3% to 65.64 US cents after the People’s Bank of China set the dollar-yuan rate at 548 pips below traders’ estimate, signaling it’s in no rush to withdraw support for the currency. China’s state-owned banks were also seen selling dollars, according to Asia-based FX traders.

In rates, 10-year Treasury yields ticked up ahead of another closely watched bond auction later today, while the treasuries curve was flatter with front-end yields modestly cheaper and long-end little changed vs Tuesday’s closing levels, outperforming bunds and gilts. The US government is expected to sell $38 billion of new 10-year notes, $3 billion larger than the last 10-year note debut in May. Treasury 10-year yields around 4.03%, marginally cheaper on the day with bunds and gilts lagging by additional 2.5bp and 1.5bp in the sector; long-end outperforms ahead of 10- and 30-year supply over Wednesday and Thursday, with 2s10s and 5s30s spreads flatter by 1bp and 1.5bp on the day. Japan bonds drew support during Asia session from data showing China experiencing deflation. Focal point of US session is upsized 10-year note auction, following strong demand for Tuesday’s 3-year note sale. The Treasury auction cycle resumes with $38b 10-year new issue at 1pm New York time and concludes with $23b 30-year bond sale Thursday. WI 10-year at around 4.03% is ~17bp cheaper than July’s stop-out and above auction stops since November.

The week’s debt auctions will gauge how concerned investors are about a rising US budget deficit, a week after Fitch Ratings decided to strip the US of its top credit rating. Tuesday’s $42 billion sale of three-year notes had a lower-than-expected yield, a sign that demand was stronger than anticipated.

In crypto, the Fed announced the creation of an activities supervision program to oversee bank tech initiatives which will focus on activities related to crypto, blockchain tech and non-bank tech partnerships, while the Fed said state member banks should receive written non-objection from the Fed before issuing, holding or transacting in dollar tokens, according to Reuters.

In commodities, US crude futures advance, with WTI rising 1% to trade near $83.70. Spot gold adds 0.1%. Bitcoin is down 0.6%.

Looking ahead to today, it will be quiet in terms of data, with weekly mortgage applications in the US and Canada’s monthly building permits. Meanwhile, as the earnings season starts to wind down, we will hear from the likes of Walt Disney, Sony, Vestas and Illumina.

Market Snapshot

S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 4,533.75
MXAP up 0.1% to 165.09
MXAPJ up 0.5% to 522.35
Nikkei down 0.5% to 32,204.33
Topix down 0.4% to 2,282.57
Hang Seng Index up 0.3% to 19,246.03
Shanghai Composite down 0.5% to 3,244.49
Sensex down 0.3% to 65,640.89
Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.4% to 7,337.96
Kospi up 1.2% to 2,605.12
STOXX Europe 600 up 0.9% to 462.95
German 10Y yield little changed at 2.47%
Euro up 0.2% to $1.0975
Brent Futures up 0.3% to $86.41/bbl
Gold spot up 0.2% to $1,929.02
U.S. Dollar Index down 0.12% to 102.40

Top Overnight News

A US plan to restrict investment in China will probably only apply to companies that get at least half their revenue from sectors such as quantum computing and AI, people familiar said, allowing PE and VC firms to still put money into bigger conglomerates. The proposal, expected in coming days, will take about a year to go into force. BBG
China’s CPI falls into deflation in Jul (it came in at -0.3% vs. flat in June but not as bad as the Street’s -0.4% forecast) while the PPI sank 4.4% (better than -5.4% in June, but worse than the Street’s -4% forecast). BBG
Italy backtracks on its planned bank windfall tax as the gov’t looks to calm market jitters, stating that the levy would be capped at 0.1% of RWAs, much smaller than some analysts had feared (the tax will only raise about EU1.8B). FT
Talks are ongoing to restart the deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain via a safe corridor on the Black Sea, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Tuesday after speaking with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. BBG
US banks suffered almost $19bn of losses on soured loans in the second quarter, the highest level in more than three years as lenders contend with rising defaults among credit card and commercial real estate borrowers. FT
The CBO paints a challenging fiscal picture for the US and now expects that the total deficit for 2023 will be $1.7 trillion, or about $200 billion larger than the estimate it published in May. CBO
New contract demands made by the United Auto Workers union would add more than $80 billion to each of the biggest US automakers’ labor costs, according to people familiar with the companies’ estimates. BBG
WeWork on Tuesday raised doubt about its ability to stay in business as the co-working space provider faces losses and a dwindling cash pile amid major changes in the way people work. WSJ
Amazon is in talks to join other tech companies as an anchor investor in the Arm IPO, a person familiar said. The offering is expected next month and may raise $10 billion. Amazon is already one of Arm’s biggest clients. BBG

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks traded mixed as participants digested a deluge of earnings releases and the latest inflation data from China which was mixed but showed consumer prices in deflationary territory for the first time in more than two years. ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by the outperformance in its top-weighted financial sector after Australia’s largest lender CBA posted a record FY profit. Nikkei 225 ultimately weakened with trade initially indecisive amid an influx of earnings releases and with the biggest winners and losers all driven by corporate results including SoftBank which was near the bottom end of the spectrum after its surprise loss. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were subdued as markets reflected on the mixed inflation data from China which showed CPI Y/Y slipped into deflation territory, albeit at a narrower-than-expected drop in prices, while factory gate prices continued to fall at a steeper than forecast pace.

Top Asian News

US is set to limit the scope of the China investment ban with a revenue rule and the order limiting investments is expected in the approaching days, according to Bloomberg.
US lawmakers asked the FCC to address potential threats from Chinese cellular Internet of Things modules in US networks.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the Y/Y decline in consumer prices is only temporary.
China government considering holding leaders with Japan on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Indonesia, according to Kyodo.

European bourses are firmer across the board, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.4%, with newsflow light and the main mover being banks clawing back downside from the Italian windfall tax following an adjustment. As such, the FTSE MIB +1.9% outperforms while the OMX Copenhagen +0.4% is the relatively underperformer as Novo Nordisk pares some of Tuesday’s pronounced gains. Stateside, futures are on the front foot and making up for some of the prior session’s downside, ES +0.3%, as risk sentiment improves and was further assisted by Fed’s Harker.

Top European News

UK government is pushing back against attempts by some members of the House of Lords for tighter corporate transparency and warned that publishing all trust data could be problematic, according to FT.
Cap on Italy bank windfall tax halves the estimated hit on average CET1 to 30bps with Fineco (FBK IM) and Bper (BPE IM) among banks benefiting the most, according to Jefferies; elsewhere, cap at 0.1% of assets for new Italian bank tax equates into an aggregate total impact of EUR 1.9bln for banks/asset gatherers, via UBS.
Swedish NIER Forecasts (July): economy heading for a downturn. Riksbank Rate, end-2023: 4.0% (prev. 3.75%)

DXY dips under 102.50 to a 102.29 session trough, but price action overall remains contained in quiet trade and newsflow.
Yuan was in focus during APAC hours given Chinese inflation, with the CNH benefitting post-release and spurred further by reports China’s major state-owned banks are seen selling dollars to buy Yuan.
Antipodeans are the relative outperformers given the week’s hefty losses thus far, as sentiment improves slightly and the USD pulls back as mentioned.
EUR and GBP are both benefiting from the tone/broader USD action, with specifics limited and EUR perhaps deriving support from the Italian government altering its windfall tax.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1588 vs exp. 7.2198 (prev. 7.1565)
China’s major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the onshore spot FX market.

Fixed Income

Core benchmarks are relatively contained and yet to deviate much from the unchanged mark in limited newsflow ex-supply; though, there is a minor discrepancy between the performance of core and periphery EGBs.
Gilts have been the relative outperformers throughout the session with specifics limited though it is worth highlighting that UK debt didn’t benefit quite as much from the week’s initial bullish price action; the 10yr DMO outing was well received and spurred a fresh session high.
Bunds have been in-fitting but came under some pressure following a relatively tepid German sale, though it is worth caveating that summer conditions apply and desks point out the timing coincided with large volumes going through, which are likely sell orders.
Stateside, USTs are in-fitting and given the action, there is little of note occurring across the curve where yields are under very modest pressure.

Commodities

Energy tilts firmer after an overnight session of sideways trade, complex continuing to derive support from Saudi commentary earlier in the week.
Crude benchmarks are currently above the USD 83.00/bbl and USD 86.50/bbl marks for WTI Sep’23 and Brent Oct’23 respectively.
Spot gold sees marginal gains, albeit as a function of the softer USD with the yellow metal in a tight range.
LME copper trades with modest gains but remains under the USD 8,500/t mark in a USD 8,487.50-347.50/t range.
Iranian oil official says Iran is to produce an extra 250k BPD of oil by the end of summer, according to Tasim.
India Food Secretary says India has adequate stocks of rice and wheat. Follows on from rice prices within Asia lifting to their highest since 2008.

Geopolitics

Russia’s Defence Minister says Russia is to build up forces at the Western borders, according to Tass.
Russia shot down two combat drones that were headed towards its capital, according to AFP News Agency citing the Moscow Mayor.
Polish Deputy Interior Minister says 2k troops to be sent to the Belarus border, via PAP.

US Event Calendar

07:00: Aug. MBA Mortgage Applications -3.1%, prior -3.0%

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

In what is proving to be a volatile August so far, with negative headlines outpacing positive ones, yesterday saw a return to risk-off leaving the S&P 500 down -0.42% on the day, and -1.95% for the month so far. This occurred on the back of weaker Chinese trade data we reported yesterday coupled with negative news on both sides of the Atlantic for the banking sector. However, sentiment improved during the US session, with S&P 500 recovering after being -1.2% down at the lows, in part following a strong 3yr Treasury auction. China has slipped into deflation this morning as expected but the data was broadly inline so there been no additional sell-off momentum so far, with fresh stimulus hopes still in the background.

In the US, the regional banking story reappeared in the headlines after Moody’s downgraded ten small and midsize banks and put a number of larger firms on review or negative outlook. 29 banks in total saw some kind of action. The US regional bank index traded more than -4% lower following the news but recovered to close at -1.38%. The broader banking sector also underperformed, with S&P 500 banks down -1.07%. The regional banking index had reached a post-SVB high the previous day, with a +34% increase since its low in mid-May, having reversed about two thirds of the post-SVB decline. Moody’s cited higher funding costs, potential regulatory capital weakness and increasing commercial real estate risks. In my mind, until we truly know where CRE will bottom its impossible to call the all clear for this cycle. This story won’t fully play out for some time though.

Over in Europe, Italian banks saw a sharp decline (-8.27%) after the Italian government announced a one-off windfall tax of banks that will amount to 40% of the excess net interest margin earned in 2023 (or 2022 if that is higher). However, in the evening the government issued a clarification that the levy would not exceed 0.1% of a firm’s assets. In an update published overnight, our European bank analysts estimate that such a cap would reduce the overall size of the tax by over 40%, though it would still take more than 10% from 2023 profits. See here for more. So this adjustment should improve sentiment today. The broader European banking index had declined -3.54% yesterday, though it is still up +13.6% year-to-date (versus + 7.93% ytd for the broader STOXX 600). The Italian FTSE-MIB (-2.12%) led the declines in Europe with the DAX and CAC -1.10% and -0.69% respectively. Beyond the immediate market impact, the story is a reminder that the burden-sharing of the costs and benefits from higher rates has a habit of becoming a political issue.

The risk-off mood led a decline in long-term yields, with 10yr treasuries down -6.7bps and 30yr -6.3bp (4-5bps up from the day’s lows though). The 2yr had seen a modest sell-off earlier in the day, but ended up closing -1.3bp lower, falling a few bps after a strong 3yr Treasury auction. This saw $42bn of 3yr notes issued at 4.398%, nearly 2bps below its pre-auction trading, with strong indirect demand and record low primary dealer take down. So a successful start to the increased refunding supply of Treasuries. This will be tested more with the 10yr auction today and 30yr auction tomorrow. Yesterday, our US rates strategists published a chart that nicely visualises the large increase in supply that’s due in the coming months – see here for more.

Back in Europe, yields saw an even stronger bull flattening rally. 2yr bund yields were down -6.9bps, while the 10yr yield declined by -13.3bps, its sharpest daily fall since mid-June as the China and banking story dominated.

As discussed earlier, it was a bad day for US equities, but better than it might have been, with the S&P 500 closing -0.42% down. Financials (-0.88%) led the decline. Tech also had a bad day, with the NASDAQ down -0.79% and tech mega caps underperforming, although Apple managed to stem its losses (+0.53%) after five days of decline. A notable outperformer was healthcare, led by a positive reaction to Eli Lilly & Co results the previous evening, which saw its shares jump up by +14.9%. Energy also gained (+0.49%), as oil moved higher during the day (WTI crude +1.20% to $82.92/bl). Comments by Ukraine’s President Zelensky warning that it could target Russian ports if Russia continues to block Ukrainian waters added to oil supply concerns.

In Fed speak, we heard from Philadelphia Fed President Harker. For someone generally perceived to be around the median on the FOMC (and a voter this year), his comments leaned dovish, noting that “we may be at the point where we can be patient and hold rates steady and let the monetary policy actions we have taken do their work”. He also spoke in favour of a soft landing path, saying that “I expect only a modest slowdown in economic activity to go along with a slow but sure disinflation”. Meanwhile, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin (non-voter) gave little colour on the policy front, saying he was “leaning toward waiting until September to decide” if another hike is appropriate. In terms of Fed fund expectations, the market continued to see a 34% chance of a hike across the next two meeting but moved to price slightly more cuts for 2024, with end-24 pricing down -2.6bps to 3.97%, its lowest in nearly three weeks.

Overnight, Chinese annual CPI fell in July for the first time in 28 months, slipping -0.3% y/y (v/s -0.4% expected), having flatlined in the previous month. Additionally, PPI extended its decline for the 10th straight month, down -4.4% y/y in July following a -5.4% drop in June as against a market forecast for a -4.0% fall. With CPI and the PPI both falling simultaneously for the first time since 2020, it confirms economy wide deflation which will increase the drumbeat for more stimulus.

Given the inflation data was pretty much inline, Asian equities are more playing catch down to the US move rather than starting a fresh sell-off. The Nikkei (-0.42%), Hang Seng (-0.12%), CSI (-0.19%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.36%) are seeing losses whilst the KOSPI (+1.08%) is actually higher. S&P 500 (+0.08%) and NASDAQ 100 (+0.18%) futures are trading slightly higher. Meanwhile, yields on the 10yr USTs (-0.6bps) are broadly steady, trading at 4.02% as we go to press.

Looking back at the data yesterday, US data was sparce. The NFIB small optimism ticked up to 91.9 in July (91.3 exp, 91.0 prev.), its highest since last autumn. On the other hand, wholesale trade sales saw a larger-than-expected decline in June (-0.7% vs -0.2% exp).

Over in Europe, we had the ECB’s latest consumer expectations survey. This showed a further moderate decline in inflation expectations in June. However, our economists’ dbDIG consumer survey shows inflation expectations stabilising in July, suggesting that yesterday’s print may mark the end of the decline in the ECB survey. Elsewhere, Germany’s July CPI print was confirmed at +6.2% yoy.

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

EUROPE

Sentiment inches higher in light newsflow, US 10yr due – Newsquawk US Market Open

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 06:19 AM

European bourses are firmer as the tone improves while US futures attempted to claw back recent downside
DXY dips under 102.50, Yuan in focus during APAC hours given Chinese inflation; Antipodeans lead
Core fixed benchmarks are relatively contained, Gilts bid and Bunds pressured post supply, US 10yr due
Crude benchmarks inch higher, with focus on earlier Saudi updates while metals derive support from the USD
Chinese inflation data was mixed but showed consumer prices in deflationary territory for the first time in more than two years
Looking ahead, highlights include EIA Weekly Energy Inventories, Supply from the US, Earnings from Walt Disney.

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EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

European bourses are firmer across the board, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.4%, with newsflow light and the main mover being banks clawing back downside from the Italian windfall tax following an adjustment.
As such, the FTSE MIB +1.9% outperforms while the OMX Copenhagen +0.4% is the relatively underperformer as Novo Nordisk pares some of Tuesday’s pronounced gains.
Stateside, futures are on the front foot and making up for some of the prior session’s downside, ES +0.3%, as risk sentiment improves and was further assisted by Fed’s Harker.
Click here for more detail.
Click here and here for a recap of the main European equity updates.

FX

DXY dips under 102.50 to a 102.29 session trough, but price action overall remains contained in quiet trade and newsflow.
Yuan was in focus during APAC hours given Chinese inflation, with the CNH benefitting post-release and spurred further by reports China’s major state-owned banks are seen selling dollars to buy Yuan.
Antipodeans are the relative outperformers given the week’s hefty losses thus far, as sentiment improves slightly and the USD pulls back as mentioned.
EUR and GBP are both benefiting from the tone/broader USD action, with specifics limited and EUR perhaps deriving support from the Italian government altering its windfall tax.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1588 vs exp. 7.2198 (prev. 7.1565)
China’s major state-owned banks were seen selling dollars to buy yuan in the onshore spot FX market.
Click here for more detail.
Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.

FIXED INCOME

Core benchmarks are relatively contained and yet to deviate much from the unchanged mark in limited newsflow ex-supply; though, there is a minor discrepancy between the performance of core and periphery EGBs.
Gilts have been the relative outperformers throughout the session with specifics limited though it is worth highlighting that UK debt didn’t benefit quite as much from the week’s initial bullish price action; the 10yr DMO outing was well received and spurred a fresh session high.
Bunds have been in-fitting but came under some pressure following a relatively tepid German sale, though it is worth caveating that summer conditions apply and desks point out the timing coincided with large volumes going through, which are likely sell orders.
Stateside, USTs are in-fitting and given the action, there is little of note occurring across the curve where yields are under very modest pressure.
Click here for more detail.

COMMODITIES

Energy tilts firmer after an overnight session of sideways trade, complex continuing to derive support from Saudi commentary earlier in the week.
Crude benchmarks are currently above the USD 83.00/bbl and USD 86.50/bbl marks for WTI Sep’23 and Brent Oct’23 respectively.
Spot gold sees marginal gains, albeit as a function of the softer USD with the yellow metal in a tight range.
LME copper trades with modest gains but remains under the USD 8,500/t mark in a USD 8,487.50-347.50/t range.
Iranian oil official says Iran is to produce an extra 250k BPD of oil by the end of summer, according to Tasim.
India Food Secretary says India has adequate stocks of rice and wheat. Follows on from rice prices within Asia lifting to their highest since 2008.
Click here for more detail.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

Click here for the US Early Morning note.

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

UK government is pushing back against attempts by some members of the House of Lords for tighter corporate transparency and warned that publishing all trust data could be problematic, according to FT.
Cap on Italy bank windfall tax halves the estimated hit on average CET1 to 30bps with Fineco (FBK IM) and Bper (BPE IM) among banks benefiting the most, according to Jefferies; elsewhere, cap at 0.1% of assets for new Italian bank tax equates into an aggregate total impact of EUR 1.9bln for banks/asset gatherers, via UBS.
Swedish NIER Forecasts (July): economy heading for a downturn. Riksbank Rate, end-2023: 4.0% (prev. 3.75%)

GEOPOLITICS

Russia’s Defence Minister says Russia is to build up forces at the Western borders, according to Tass.
Russia shot down two combat drones that were headed towards its capital, according to AFP News Agency citing the Moscow Mayor.
Polish Deputy Interior Minister says 2k troops to be sent to the Belarus border, via PAP.

CRYPTO

Fed announced the creation of an activities supervision program to oversee bank tech initiatives which will focus on activities related to crypto, blockchain tech and non-bank tech partnerships, while the Fed said state member banks should receive written non-objection from the Fed before issuing, holding or transacting in dollar tokens, according to Reuters.

APAC TRADE

APAC stocks traded mixed as participants digested a deluge of earnings releases and the latest inflation data from China which was mixed but showed consumer prices in deflationary territory for the first time in more than two years.
ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by the outperformance in its top-weighted financial sector after Australia’s largest lender CBA posted a record FY profit.
Nikkei 225 ultimately weakened with trade initially indecisive amid an influx of earnings releases and with the biggest winners and losers all driven by corporate results including SoftBank which was near the bottom end of the spectrum after its surprise loss.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were subdued as markets reflected on the mixed inflation data from China which showed CPI Y/Y slipped into deflation territory, albeit at a narrower-than-expected drop in prices, while factory gate prices continued to fall at a steeper than forecast pace.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

US is set to limit the scope of the China investment ban with a revenue rule and the order limiting investments is expected in the approaching days, according to Bloomberg.
US lawmakers asked the FCC to address potential threats from Chinese cellular Internet of Things modules in US networks.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the Y/Y decline in consumer prices is only temporary.
China government considering holding leaders with Japan on the sidelines of the ASEAN meeting in Indonesia, according to Kyodo.

DATA RECAP

Chinese CPI MM (Jul) 0.2% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.2%); YY (Jul) -0.3% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. 0.0%)
Chinese PPI YY (Jul) -4.4% vs. Exp. -4.1% (Prev. -5.4%)
New Zealand 1yr Inflation Expectations (Q3) 4.2% (Prev. 4.3%); 2yr Inflation Expectations (Q3) 2.83% (Prev. 2.79%)

2 c. ASIAN AFFAIRS

ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN CLOSINGS//EUROPE OPENING TRADING:

WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT

2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/

////SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA/

END

2e) JAPAN

JAPAN

3 CHINA /

CHINA/

As promised to you, China enters the deflation world as CPI plummets to -.4%. China will now undergo conditions exactly the same as Japan

(zerohedge0

China Slides Into Deflation, Despite Jump In Core Print And Unexpected Rebound In Sequential CPI

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 10:24 PM

China has found itself in a bit of a quandary: on one hand, as we reported moments ago, in its zeal to portray the economy as the second coming of that brilliant vision and magnificent execution of economic utopia that is “Bidenomics”, Beijing barred not only all bearish commentary in financial and economic circles, but also any mention of “deflation”; on the other hand China is – well – deflating: stuck between a collapsing property sector, deleveraging consumers, crashing stock market, slumping exports, and accelerating deglobalization, the only place where Chinese prices can go up is the same imaginary socialist utopia where Bidenomics is actually something different than a drunken sailor’s deficit-busting spending spree.

Then things got especially complicated because just days after China banned the use of deflation, it was set to report its latest July CPI and PPI… which it did moments ago.

And as a reminder, in our preview of today’s CPI print we said that “odds are that CPI will come in just barely positive and all shall be well… or else we are about to see a whole lot of imprisoned Chinese economists, analysts and strategists.”

Well, we can now say that we were half right. Yes, on one hand, China has no choice but to admit ~~deflation~~, pardon disinflation (we don’t want the Chinese secret police knocking on our door at 3am) had arrived, and sure enough the National Bureau of Statistics, the greatest congregation of goalseek scientists ever gathered, just announced that in July CPI dipped -0.3% Y/Y, down from June’s unchanged print but just slightly stronger than the -0.4% Y/Y estimate. At the same time PPI also dropped for the 10th consecutive month, but it appears to have finally hit a bottom and after sliding -5.4% Y/Y in June it dropped ever so slightly less, or -4.4%.

In other words, this was the first time since Nov 2020 that both Chinese CPI and PPI printed negative.

But wait, there’s more. Because while China did indeed enter deflation, pardon, disinflation on an annual basis, the sequential number is where the real goalseeking action was: with consensus expecting a drop of -0.1% which would have marked the sixth consecutive monthly decline and the longest stretch on record, after last month’s 0.2% decline, Beijing reported that for the first time since February, China experienced sequential inflation of 0.2%.

Still, that would hardly quiet the inflation hawks and Beijing had to engage in aggressive damage control; sure enough, statistics bureau attributed the decline in consumers prices to the high base of comparison with last year, saying the contraction is likely to be temporary and consumer demand continued to improve in July.

“With the impact of a high base from last year gradually fading, the CPI is likely to rebound gradually,” Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the NBS, said in rare additional comments to accompany the official data. Needless to say, he didn’t use the dreaded D-word which would have bought him an immediate one way ticket to deflation-reeducation camp.

There was better news in the latest core inflation print, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, and which doubled to 0.8% from 0.4%, a sign of “underlying, although subdued, demand in the economy” according to Bloomberg.

Similar to the US, a breakdown of the consumer inflation figures showed prices for household goods, food and transport contracted, while prices of services spending, like recreation and education, climbing.

Of course, all of the above “data” is just theatrics as everyone knows the true plight of China’s economy. Using the GDP deflator — a measure of economy-wide prices — China was in deflation in the first half of the year. The International Monetary Fund defines deflation as “a sustained decline in an aggregate measure of prices,” such as the CPI or the GDP deflator.

And while deflation boosts the case for more monetary and fiscal stimulus, the central bank is facing several constraints that’s making it cautious, including a weaker yuan and record debt levels in the economy. Analysts expect the PBOC to take moderate steps to ease monetary policy for the rest of this year. It is unclear what incremental fiscal stimulus measures Beijing will undertake, but one thing is clear: it has to do something or else that record youth unemployment rate will soon transform into the one thing every Chinese leader fears the most: a middle-class insurrection.

The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index trimmed an earlier loss of as much as 0.9% to trade 0.3% lower as of 9:50 a.m., while the onshore benchmark CSI 300 Index of stocks traded little changed.

END

CHINA

China bans economists from mentioning the word “deflation”

(zerohedge)

China Bans Negative Economic Commentary, Mentions Of “Deflation”

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 09:28 PM

The last time China threatened its analysts and reporters against being “bearish” on the economy and “at odds with the government’s bullish statements” was in early 2016 when China had just suffered through a historic devaluation and capital flight which drained over $1 trillion in Chinese reserves, and when fears that failing to short-circuit the capital flight (which would soon launch Bitcoin off from its base around $400 to the then-cycle high of $20,000) could lead to full-blown economic collapse.

As the WSJ reported at the time, the “stepped-up censorship” was an effort by Beijing to “quell growing concerns about the country’s economic prospects as it experiences a prolonged slowdown in growth,” and that to stem what earlier this year was a flood of money leaving the country, Chinese regulators and censors are trying to create a climate dubbed “zhengnengliang,” or “positive energy”, said the newspaper.

In short: Beijing realized that it was of critical importance to preserve confidence in the economy, no matter how fake, and it resorted to the ultimate step indicating that a collapse was nigh.

Well, China is doing it all over again, which in keeping with this mornings catastrophic Chinese trade data, confirms just how close to the edge China once again is.

As the FT reports, Chinese authorities are (again) putting pressure on, which is a polite way of saying barring, prominent local economists to “avoid discussing negative trends such as deflation, as concerns mount about Beijing’s ability to boost a flagging recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.”

According to the report, “multiple local brokerage analysts and researchers at leading universities as well as state-run think-tanks said they had been instructed by regulators, their employers and even domestic media outlets to avoid speaking negatively about topics ranging from fears of capital flight to softening prices.”

Seven well-regarded economists told the Financial Times that their employers had told them some topics were off-limits for public discussion. The China Securities and Regulatory Commission, the stock regulator, has accused brokerage analysts of playing up risks facing the economy, which is suffering from weak consumer demand, declining exports and an ailing property sector.

Two think-tank scholars and two brokerage economists, all of whom serve as government advisers, said there was pressure to present economic news positively in order to increase public confidence. “The regulator doesn’t want to hear negative comments about the economy in public,” said an adviser to the central bank. “They wanted us to interpret bad news from a positive light.”

Needless to say, but the FT says so anyway, analysts noted that growing self-censorship among economic research professionals, on whom investors often rely in a market where reliable data is difficult to come by, underscored Beijing’s efforts to control the flow of information.

“You’ve got an economic slowdown that would worry any country, coupled with a China that always likes to put on a brave face to the world and a leadership that is particularly image-conscious,” said Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong. “Put those three factors together and it’s the recipe for a very non-transparent economy.”

The clampdown of negative economic commentary follows a barrage of dismal economic data that has undermined investor confidence and hindered Beijing’s efforts to spur a robust post-Covid rebound. Gross domestic product expanded just 0.8 per cent in the second quarter against the previous three months. Last month, the Communist party’s politburo admitted the recovery was making “tortuous progress”.

More awkwardly, with Beijing seeking to restore faith with limited stimulus measures, certain subjects are taboo, such as deflation.

China’s producer price index has declined for eight straight months since October, while annual consumer inflation hit a two-year low of zero growth in June. Citigroup economists said core goods prices, which strip out volatile food and energy costs, had already entered a “deflationary zone” thanks to weak consumer demand.

Yet senior officials from the country’s official statistics bureau and the central bank have ruled out the possibility of deflation. “Deflation does not and will not exist in China,” Fu Linghui, a National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson, said last month.

In response to this bizarre crackdown, Albert Edwards correctly pointed out that “When this happens it screams crisis” and reminds readers of his recent article discussing precisely this: that China is now in deflation.

And what makes it even more awkward is that in just a few minute, (western) economists expect that China will report that it is officially in deflation when it reveals that its CPI for the month of July dropped negative after printing at 0.0% last month, the lowest level in over two years…

… although since this is China, odds are that CPI will come in just barely positive and all shall be well… or else we are about to see a whole lot of imprisoned Chinese economists, analysts and strategists.

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDAVIAN AFFAIRS

EUROPE/NATURAL GAS

Possible strikes at some lNG plants in Australia may threaten global supply of natural gas. It exploded 40% higher today.

(zerohedge)

European NatGas Prices Explode 40% Higher

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 09:53 AM

In a stunning move, reminiscent of the first few months of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, European NatGas prices exploded a stunning 40% higher today (oil and coal prices are also rising) as the possibility of worker strikes at some LNG plants in Australia threatens global supply….

US NatGas is also getting dragged higher…

For context, here is EU NatGas (energy equiv) compared to WTI and US NatGas…

As Bloomberg reports, workers at Chevron Corp. and Woodside Energy Group Ltd. facilities in Australia voted to strike, which has the potential to affect liquefied natural gas exports from the country, tightening the global market for the fuel. The exact timing of the industrial action – if it goes ahead – wasn’t immediately clear.

Asian buyers “are likely to bid up LNG imports” to replace Australian volumes if there are disruptions, which would affect Europe as well, said Nick Campbell, a director at consultant Inspired Plc.

“LNG has become a baseload supply in the European gas supply mix, therefore any signs that this flow is at risk leads to support in price.”

The US-EU Nattie Arb is widening out again, back above its historical range…

Additionally, potential delays in Norway’s seasonal maintenance, a drop in LNG imports to Europe last month, increased flows from the region to Ukraine, and the weather are all factors in the price jump:

“Strength appears to be driven largely by a further extension of hot temperature forecasts well into the 3rd week of this month as well as by a broadening of hot temps across a larger portion of the US than had been expected at the start of this week,” says Ritterbusch & Associates in a note.

“As the heat continues with the associated warming of water temperatures across the Atlantic heightening concerns over hurricane activity, the speculative shorts appear to be scrambling to cover positions.”

It’s also possible that this week’s price surge caused a wave of position-covering by investors who previously bet on further declines in gas. Similar moves caused an extreme volatility in June.

More problematically, winter gas contracts also gained, albeit at a lower pace, as German utility EON SE warned of more risks during the upcoming heating season.

“The crisis is not over,” though the likelihood of a repeat of last year has diminished, Chief Executive Officer Leonhard Birnbaum said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

Winter is coming… and so is re-inflation.

end

ITALY

Italy backtracks on the stupid windfall bank tax proposal

(zerohedge)

Italy Backtracks On Windfall Bank Tax To Prevent Further Market Turmoil

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 07:50 AM

Italy was forced to water down its new windfall tax on excessive banking profits after the surprise Tuesday announcement spooked capital markets and wiped out $10 billion from banks’ market value.

The finance ministry said Tuesday night the new levy won’t exceed .01% of the lender’s assets, and financial institutions that have already increased the interest rates offered to depositors “will not have a significant impact as a consequence of the rule.”

The backtrack was enough to send shares of Italian lenders higher on Wednesday, recouping some losses after shares tumbled on Tuesday.

Shares of UniCredit SpA were up 4%, Banco BPM +4%, Intesa Sanpaolo +3%, and Finecobank +7.5%. The FTSE Italia All-Share Banks Index was up nearly 4%. Italian banks recovered more than $4.2 billion in market capitalization today.

Mission accomplished?

Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti spent Tuesday trying to extinguish the fire after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s surprise bank tax sent shockwaves across markets, according to Bloomberg, citing a person familiar with the discussions. A watered-down version of the tax was the best way to mitigate the fallout and prevent further deterioration in bank stocks.

Gianmarco Rania, head of equities at Banor Capital, told CNBC that he was surprised about how badly the government communicated the new fiscal measure and that the government “did not really make the right calculation”:

“Initially, right after the announcement of the windfall tax on Monday evening, the government reiterated that they were expecting to raise around 3 billion euros in tax, but then the market realized that the numbers didn’t add up,” Rania explained.

“During yesterday’s session, analysts started to make their own calculations and realized that if the measure was to be fully impacted, the actual proceeds for the Italian government would have been well in excess of 3 billion [euros] — around 4.5, 5 billion.”

Realizing it could obtain the 3 billion euros required to enable it to cut taxes and offer financial support to mortgage holders, the finance ministry then introduced the cap — which will mean a significantly lower negative impact on 2023 earnings, Rania said.

“If fully applied under the initial government conditions, we would have between 20% and 25% impact on 2023 earnings for small and mid-cap banks, and between 8% and 15% for the large banks,” Rania estimated.

“With these changes, now we are talking about numbers which are less considerable, more under control, so we are talking about 10, 12% earnings impact for the small, mid banks on 2023 earnings, and something not really meaningful for the large banks in the area of 3-5%.”

Rania noted that much of the downward momentum of Tuesday in the stock prices of banks was down to concerns about shareholder remuneration, which has long been a draw for investors looking for consistent returns.

“The Italian banking system on average returns to shareholders in the area of 11, 12% yield if you include dividends and buybacks, so clearly yesterday this was heavily under scrutiny,” he said.

“After the adjustment of last night in the cap, most of the banks are confirming their shareholder distribution policies, in particular the larger banks — UniCredit and Intesa.” –CNBC

Italy’s move could spur other countries to impose bank taxes to claw back profits made in a high-rate environment. This could be an emerging headwind for European equities.

end

5 RUSSIA//UKRAINE AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

RUSSIA/UKRAINE/WAGNER GROUP//USA/NIGER

Blinken states that the Wagner group of taking advantage of Niger instability. It is the instability of the USA that is causing the problems

(zerohedge)

Wagner “Taking Advantage” Of Niger Instability, Blinken Charges

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 11:05 PM

After Victoria Nuland’s Monday visit to Niger didn’t bear much fruit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Wagner group of seeking to take advantage of the instability in the West African country to spread its and Russia’s influence.

“I think what happened, and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but… they tried to take advantage of it,” he told BBC Tuesday.Image via Italy24 News

“Every single place that this Wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed,” Blinken added. “Insecurity has gone up, not down”.

As we detailed earlier, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Nuland attempted to warn Niger’s junta leaders not to cooperate with Wagner for the same reasons.

Blinken further stressed that the instability in Niger and the region is a “repeat of what’s happened in other countries, where they brought nothing but bad things in their wake.”

The comments come after multiple international reports said that Niger’s coup leaders are in talks with Wagner, amid fears that a Western-friendly African bloc of neighboring countries (ECOWAS) could intervene militarily to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest.

According to a recent CFR briefing, Wagner has an extensive presence across Africa, helping various governments chiefly with security and counter-terrorism operations and training:

The Wagner Group has established operations in several African countries, where many of its operations focus on security issues. It has often provided security services and paramilitary assistance and launched disinformation campaigns for troubled regimes in exchange for resource concessions and diplomatic support. Wagner is most active in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali, and Sudan, all of which have a tenuous relationship with the West due to colonial legacies and inherent political differences.

Demonstrators in favor of the coup in Niger have of late been frequently seen waving Russian flags, as an indicator of deep anti-Western sentiment.

Alarmingly, while both French and American troops are in the region, Wagner mercenaries are just next door from Niger in Mali. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had positively celebrated the coup and blasted past French and Western colonialism in Africa:

In a long message posted to social media, Prigozhin blamed the situation in Niger on the legacy of colonialism and alleged, without evidence, that Western nations were sponsoring terrorist groups in the country. Niger was once a French colony and, before this week’s putsch, it had been one of the few democracies in the region.

From the West’s perspective, looming large in the background is expanding Russian influence in Africa.

But those African leaders who are currently standing with Niger’s coup leaders warn of NATO influence instead, remembering the disastrous legacy of US-NATO intervention in Libya in 2011…

There have recently been hyped headlines claiming Putin is eyeing extending his influence to Niger and across West Africa. But the reality also is that US AFRICOM has long had a significant military presence in the form of drone and special operations bases across the continent.

END

ROBERT H. TO US;

Crash and Collapse: Ukrainian Army Evacuates NE Kharkiv – Russian 6th Army Advances 11km – Breaks Ukrainian Defense Line – WarNews24

Two months ago, it was already known that the Ukrainian forces would lose their offensive ability to accomplish strategic wins by August 5th. One only needs to do the math and ignores the hype or illusions propagated by Neocons too blind to see their own failures.
This no amount of money being sent to Ukraine that will change the outcome..
Yes there maybe blockades of Russian interests however this too is in vain. America is out of time and readily availed capital as Basel 3 looms. We here does capital come from?

https://warnews247.gr/syntrivi-kai-katarrefsi-oi-oukranoi-egkataleipoun-to-va-charkovo-i-6i-rosiki-stratia-proelase-11-chlm-dielyse-tin-amyntiki-grammi-ton-oukranon/

END

ISRAEL/LEBANON/GOLAN HEIGHTS

Israel made a huge discovery of gas/oil many years ago and Lebanon wants part of that. Lebanon has a maritime dispute with Israel. Lebanon fires upon Israeli boats/rigs trying to extract the gas. Very explosive

(zerohedge)

Israel Threatens To Strike “Every Meter” Of Lebanon Amid Maritime Dispute

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 06:45 PM

Via The Cradle,

Israel’s Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said Tuesday in a message addressed to both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, that Tel Aviv is prepared to strike “every meter” of the country.

“Do not make a mistake, we do not want war, but we are ready to defend our citizens, our soldiers, and our sovereignty,” the minister said. “We will not hesitate to employ all of our power and to attack every meter of Hezbollah and of Lebanon … and return Lebanon to the stone age,” he added.Via AFP: Israeli navy vessel is pictured off the coast of the Rosh Hanikra border area.

Gallant said that Hezbollah “might mistakenly think that they can test Israel” due to the deep internal crisis it is facing, and the vow made by many of its army reservists to boycott military service protests against the government’s judicial reform program.

He affirmed, however, that Israel would not be divided in the event that Hezbollah threatened it with war. Gallant’s threats came just hours after the Lebanese army mobilized its naval forces in response to Israeli boats that violated Lebanese sovereignty on Tuesday.

Al-Mayadeen news outlet observed the Israeli boats entering Lebanon’s territorial waters via a camera located in the Naqoura area while the Lebanese army was escorting a tour of dozens of journalists to the southern borders.

Recently, there has been a series of Lebanese responses to ongoing Israeli violations of the country’s sovereignty. These violations include excavations on Lebanon’s side of the border, which serve as the basis for an Israeli plan to build a defensive wall.

Most recently, in early July, Israel annexed the northernmost part of the already occupied southern border village of Ghajar – which is internationally recognized Lebanese territory. The move drew widespread condemnation and has exacerbated the existing tensions on the border.

As a result of constant Israeli incursions, the Lebanese and Israeli militaries came close to facing off on the border last month. The tensions also relate to an outpost erected by Hezbollah earlier this year in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms area – which has been under occupation since 1967.

Despite Israeli threats, complaints to the UN, and pressure from Washington, the Hezbollah outpost remains in place. Last week, Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said that there is a “weakening in the policy of self-restraint” by Hezbollah on the border.

END

ISRAEL/SAUDI ARABIA

This came out of the blue!

Saudis Tentatively Agree To US Plan For Peace With Israel

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 11:25 AM

After Israel-Saudi normalization efforts based on the US-brokered Abraham Accords appeared stalled for the past several months, The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday has reported an apparent breakthrough.

“U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help, according to U.S. officials,” the report says.

Two weeks ago Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Biden’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan in Jeddah. These efforts to mend rocky US-Saudi ties of late have been ongoing, as Riyadh has failed to cooperate with the White House’s energy and oil production demands.

Additionally, the Saudis have reportedly pressed for their own nuclear energy program and domestic uranium production, reportedly having told Washington that approval is key if the Abraham Accords are to ever extend to the kingdom.

Progress in this arena has been largely stalled against the backdrop of escalating violence between Israeli security forces and the Palestinians.

But the WSJ report indicates this and other geopolitical points of tensions will be what is hammered out over the course of the coming nine to twelve months:

The Saudis are also seeking significant concessions from Israel that would help promote the creation of a Palestinian state. In return, the U.S. is pressing Saudi Arabia to impose limits on its growing relationship with China

“There’s a work plan to explore the elements of what this would be and test the boundaries of what’s possible,” said one senior U.S. official.

But crown prince MbS has been unpredictable of late, sometimes issuing seemingly contradictory statements on the prospect of peace for Israel. This could be in part because his domestic audience – and that of the broader Arab public – is set against any peace or normalization with the Jewish state.

The Saudis have also made peace with Iran, which could also be a source of tensions with Tel Aviv. The Israelis see Tehran as a perpetual enemy and existential threat which should not be negotiated with. During the height of the war in Syria, the Saudis and Israelis cooperated behind the scenes on intelligence-sharing as both spearheaded efforts to overthrow President Assad.

But China’s inroads and success in brokering the Iran-Saudi détente is surely driving this latest White House effort to secure a Saudi-Israel deal. As China moves in, Washington will try and bolster its influence, to ensure a Mideast political order on its own terms.

6.GLOBAL ISSUES//MEDICAL ISSUES

Kids Almost Never Transmitted COVID In Schools; Major New Study Finds

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 03:45 PM

Authored by Alex Berenson via ‘Unreported Truths’ Substack,

The research should end what’s left of the pathetic rear-guard effort to defend school closures – or any mitigation measures like making kids wear masks…

Children almost never passed Covid infections in school, a study published Friday reveals.

In fall 2021, in four Massachusetts school districts with 18,000 children, researchers found 44 potential cases of in-school transmission.

You read that right.

18,000 students. 34 schools. Four months. And 44 Covid infections – including no infections of teachers or other staff members.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, as parents pressed with increasing urgency to reopen classrooms, teachers unions and Democratic politicians warned in-school Covid transmission would lead to waves of death. “Teachers are so worried about returning to school that they’re preparing wills,” CNN infamously wrote on July 16, 2020.

In reality, schools were among the safest possible places for students and teachers during Covid, this study suggests.

The study, which ran in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Health Forum, is both nearly useless and vital.

It’s nearly useless in advancing our actual knowledge about Covid- because serious researchers have known since 2020 that children spread Covid much less frequently than adults and that schools and camps were likely to be major sources of new Covid cases.

As early as April 11, 2020, French researchers published a paper showing that an infected nine-year-old child had not transmitted the disease “despite close interactions within schools.” By August 2020, researchers in Spain and Sweden had confirmed that finding on a much larger scale.

The reason is obvious too, since it is the same reason kids get much less sick than adults. They have lower viral loads and clear the infection more quickly. For many healthy children, Covid is barely even a cold.

(Just another good reason to hate CNN)

Yet the new paper is also vital.

Why? Because it covers American schools and was published in an American journal. And the American Covid-political-medical complex has had the habit for three-plus years of simply ignoring any research from outside the United States, especially if it includes inconvenient data and facts.

And so having concrete American evidence that schools were not in any way meaningful vectors for Covid transmission can only help to make sure the colossal mistake of mass school closures never happens again.

Too bad it comes far too late to matter to the kids in blue states who in some cases were denied over a year of in-person education.

* * *

Subscribe to Unreported Truths

END

GLOBAL ECONOMIC ISSUES//

END

GLOBAL VACCINE/COVID ISSUES“

DR PAUL ALEXANDER..

SLAY NEWS

The latest reports from Slay News

Long-Term Heart Damage Found in Vaxxed Children, Study Shows Children have been found with damaged hearts several months after receiving Covid vaccines, an extended new study shows.READ MORE

Major Australian Banks Phase Out Cash in Preparation for ‘Cashless Societies’Several major Australian banks are phasing out the use of physical cash as they prepare for the coming “cashless societies.”READ MORE

Chris Christie Issues Warning to Trump about Mark Meadows: ‘He Has All the Looks of a Cooperating Witness’Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has claimed that Mark Meadows has flipped on President Donald Trump.READ MORE

Elise Stefanik Moves to End Biden’s ‘Un-American’ Censorship Agenda: ‘This Is Unconstitutional, a Violation of Our First Amendment’Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and other House Republicans are supporting a multistate lawsuit that seeks to end Democrat President Joe Biden’s efforts to censor the American people.READ MORE

Elon Musk: George Soros ‘Hates Humanity’Elon Musk slammed George Soros for “arbitraging politics” and warned the public that the leftist billionaire “hates humanity.”READ MORE

Bill Maher Slams ‘Barbie’ Movie: ‘Preachy, Man-Hating Zombie Lie’Liberal talk show host Bill Maher has slammed the new Barbie” movie as “preachy, man-hating, and a Zombie Lie.”READ MORE

Gold Star Father of Marine Killed in Kabul Demands Biden Resigns Immediately: ‘Admit Your Mistakes’Members of the Gold Star families of some of the U.S. service members killed during the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan spoke at a public forum in California on Monday.READ MORE

Sen John Kennedy Exposes ‘Washington Managerial Elite’: They ‘Think the American People Don’t See They’re Covering Up’Republican Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) has dropped the hammer on the “Washington managerial elite” during a new interview.READ MORE

Jonathan Turley Warns Jack Smith Is Trying to ‘Bulldoze the First Amendment’Legal scholar Jonathan Turley has warned that Special Counsel Jack Smith is trying to “bulldoze the First Amendment” in his efforts to take down President Donald Trump.”READ MORE

San Francisco Woman Exposes Pelosi’s Failure: ‘I’m Literally Shaking Right Now, I Don’t Feel Safe, Ever’A terrified woman has exposed Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) failures by warning the public about violent crime levels in the Democrat former speaker’s San Francisco district.READ MORE

Road Rage Driver Shot and Killed after Attacking Lone but Armed Woman in Parking Lot A driver made a fatal mistake when he tried to unload his road rage on a lone woman in a North Carolina parking lot.READ MORE

Renowned Evolutionary Biologist Debunks Gender Ideology: ‘Sex Really Is Binary’Dr. Richard Dawkins, the renowned evolutionary biologist, has debunked the radical Left’s ideology regarding gender.READ MORE

FBI Agent Who Played Key Role in Trump-Russia Probe Changes Tune, Will Plead Guilty over Work for Oligarch Charles McGonigal, an FBI agent who “investigated” the false claims that President Donald Trump’s campaign had ties to Russia in 2016, is changing his tune.READ MORE

EVOL NEWS

NEWS ADDICTS

LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES

WEF Demands Ban on Public Driving Cars to Stop ‘Global Boiling’The World Economic Forum (WEF) is demanding that governments around the world begin prohibiting members of the public from driving cars in order to stop so-called “global boiling.”READ THE FULL REPORT

FBI Agent is Exposed for Lying Under Oath to Congress About Knowledge of Hunter Biden Laptop House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) stated on Monday that FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan provided “false statements” while under oath concerning the Hunter Biden laptop case. FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan, who has been identified as a key link between the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF) and major tech companies, was present at a pivotal meeting on …READ THE FULL REPORT

Nancy Pelosi Weighs in on ‘Beautiful and Intricate’ Trump Indictments Former House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) lauded the indictments against ex-President Trump, describing them as “beautiful and intricate” and believed they stand a good chance for convicting the former president. In a detailed conversation with New York Magazine published on Monday, Pelosi discussed the implications of Trump potentially securing another term. Pelosi commented, “The indictments against the president are …READ THE FULL REPORT

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: ‘If Trump Wins in 2024, It Would Be Like the World Being On Fire’Former House Speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), praised the indictments brought against former President Trump, describing them as “beautiful and intricate” and said they have a solid chance of resulting in conviction.

Pelosi made the comments in a comprehensive interview with New York Magazine that was published on Monday, also discussing the prospect of Trump securing a second term in the White House.

“The indictments against the president are exquisite,” Pelosi said.

“They’re beautiful and intricate, and they probably have a better chance of conviction than anything that I would come up with,” she continued

The interview then switched its focus to the 2024 presidential election and Trump’s re-election campaign, in which Pelosi spoke in dire terms.

“Don’t even think of that,” she said of Trump winning the White House again.

“Don’t think of the world being on fire. It cannot happen, or we will not be the United States of America,” Pelosi continued.

“If he were to be president, it would be a criminal enterprise in the White House,” she added.

At the moment, Trump is facing three indictments for charges relating to hush money payments to a porn star, mishandling classified documents, and attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Special Counsel Jack Smith handed down the last of those last week. Trump also faces another potential indictment in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the state’s election results.

Trump’s legal team has responded to Smith’s indictment by arguing that his efforts in 2020 were protected by the First Amendment.

Share your thoughts by scrolling down to leave a comment.READ THE FULL REPORT

“Of Course He Lost. Joe Biden is the President”: DeSantis Stirs Controversy by Saying Trump is No Longer President Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has sparked controversy by acknowledging in an NBC interview that former President Donald J. Trump lost the 2020 election. “Of course he lost,” DeSantis stated in a clip from the forthcoming airing of the interview. “Joe Biden’s the president.” These comments come in the wake of DeSantis, who trails significantly behind Trump in Republican presidential nomination …READ THE FULL REPORT

VACCINE IMPACT/

end

MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK

Security And Prices

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 10:05 AM

By Jane Foley, Senior FX Strategist at Rabobank

The market received the news that it has been preparing for, namely that China has succumbed to deflationary pressures. The release of the July CPI inflation data recorded a fall of -0.3% y/y, a touch better than expected. The PPI inflation number hit a softer than expected -4.4% y/y.

The data failed to provide a huge market reaction. It was, after all, well billed. It also followed yesterday’s shockingly weak Chinese import and export data. Additionally, there is speculation that the economic importance of China has slipped. Last month, the US Commerce department indicated that both Mexico and Canada now send more goods into the world’s biggest economy than China. This data suggested that US imports from China between January and May dropped around 25% y/y. Within that, imports of semi-conductors plunged by around 50%. Reports suggest that the Biden administration is today expected to announce new restrictions on US investments in certain advanced industries in China. This will reportedly include investments in quantum computing, AI and advanced semi-conductors.

Looking ahead, some commentators have warned of a prolonged Japan style period of deflation in China. Others remain hopeful that, with more concentrated stimulus, the government can still promote a quick return to inflation. The latter view will be more difficult to hold on to in the wake of the latest news from Chinese property Developer Country Garden, the country’s largest by sales. Reflecting the difficulties faced by the sector amid falling property prices, it has not yet paid interest payments on two international bonds, due August 6. Both bonds are already trading at distressed levels. Shares of the developer plunged on the news, but contagion into the rest of the sector is a bigger concern for investors. Last week Moody’s downgraded Country Garden to B1, citing continued constrained funding access and a sizable amount of naturing debt over the next 12 to 18 months.

While equity futures are mostly pointed higher this morning, Moody’s announcement at the start of the week to cut the ratings of 10 small to mid-sized US banks continued to reverberate yesterday. The agency also warned that it had placed six large US banks on review for potential downgrades. US equity indices were dragged lower yesterday by bank stocks in the wake of the news and commentators started to question the implications for the broader US economy. Moody’s had cited a slowdown in deposits, higher funding costs and asset quality risks, particularly in the commercial real estate sector. The news rekindled some of the fears sparked earlier in the year by the collapse of three regional US lenders.

Financials were also under pressure in Europe in the back of this week’s announcement from the Italian government of a 40% windfall tax on banks that have profited from higher interest rates. Ministers followed the initial announcement with clarification that the impact may be limited for some banks and the levy will not exceed 0.1% of a firm’s assets. The government has pledged to use the extra revenue to help families and small businesses. A few other European countries, including Spain, have already introduced a windfall tax on banks. Fears have heightened that similar action will spread through the region.

The US Treasury likely breathed a sigh of relief on the back of yesterday’s 3-year refunding auction. The stellar results helped dampen some of the recent concerns about US supply stemming from the Fitch downgrade of the US credit rating, concerns that the Fed’s rate hiking cycle may not be over and the possibility of reduced overseas interest on the back of higher JGB yields in Japan. The volumes of the August supply have been increased in tune with the worsening US budget deficit. Although the solid results of the 3 year auction are encouraging, demand for longer dated paper is more likely to be impacted by the concerns over the US fundamental backdrop. As a result, the 7yr and 10 yr auctions will still be closely watched this week.

Comments from the Fed’s Harker yesterday that the FOMC may be able to cease interest rate increases, barring any surprises to the economy, provided some reassurances following the more hawkish sounding commentary from Fed officials over the weekend. The Fed’s Barkin argued that it was too soon to say whether another rate hike in September would be appropriate.

end

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

WTI extends gains. USA production surges as Biden last week refilled 995,000 barrels of its SPR

(zerohedge)

WTI Extends Gains Despite Crude Production Surge, Biden Admin Begins ‘Refilling’ SPR

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 10:38 AM

Oil prices are higher (again) this morning, with WTI testing $84 – 2023 highs – as fears of global markets tightening continues. European NatGas prices are also pulling oil (and coal) higher and a weaker dollar is helping.

“There is no doubt that there is plenty of momentum here, and traders are really ignoring all the bad news that is embedded in the Chinese data, which many analysts are trying to drum as loud as they can,” Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets, said in a note.

“Oil traders are feeling highly comfortable with their approach when it comes to trading oil prices, and the clear trend seems to be skewed to the upside,” he wrote.

After last week’s record-breaking drawdown, all eyes will be on the crude inventory report for a bounce (or follow through).

API

Crude +4.067mm (+1.3mm exp)
Cushing -112k
Gasoline -413k (-300k exp)
Distillates -2.093mm (+200k exp)

DOE

Crude +5.85mm (+1.3mm exp)
Cushing +159k
Gasoline -2.66mm (-300k exp)
Distillates -1.71mm (+200k exp)

US Crude inventories rose more than expected last week, but products saw bigger than expected draws…

Source: Bloomberg

The Biden administration actually added 995k barrels to the SPR last week – the largest weekly build since June 2020

Source: Bloomberg

US Crude production surged by 400k b/d to a new post-COVID-lockdown high, despite the ongoing slump in the rig count…

Source: Bloomberg

WTI was trading around $84 ahead of the official data and extended gains after the print…

“Amid a steady rally dating back to late June, fundamentals continue to skew supportive,” said Robbie Fraser, manager of global research and analytics at Schneider Electric, in a note.

And that means Biden has a problem…

Source: Bloomberg

However, clear indications of a global economic slowdown are emerging, yet these signals are conveniently being disregarded by oil bulls.

For instance, the US non-manufacturing PMI dropped from 53.9 to 52.7 in June. Concurrently, the manufacturing PMI has sustained a nine-month downward trajectory – a streak of losses unseen since the 2008 Financial Crisis. The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) accentuates this downturn, recently sliding from 106.9 in May to 106.1 in June – an unprecedented 15-month consecutive decline, marking the lengthiest continuous decline since 2009. Economic activity in the Eurozone is similarly facing a decline. China, the world’s second-largest economy, has consistently disappointed investors and analysts as its post-COVID reopening failed to gain momentum.

In light of these compelling indicators, it becomes evident that the global economy is treading toward a recession. Given these circumstances, the production cuts should not be interpreted as a sign of supply shortage; rather, they underscore the concerns that contribute to an imminent decline in demand.

Consequently, OilPrice.com’s Osama Rizvi warns that the ongoing oil price rally is likely temporary.

end

8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES

AZERBAIJAN/ARMENIA/NAGORNO-KARABAKH

The conflict continues as Azerbaijan blocks food and fuel to Nagorno. Azerbaijan wants the corridor

This will no doubt erupt again in war

(zerohedge)

The Road That Could Ignite A War In The Caucasus

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 03:30 AM

Authored by Conor Gallagher via NakedCapitalism.com,

Azerbaijan has been blockading the lone road that leads to the region of Nagorno-Karabakh for more than seven months. Residents are reportedly running out of fuel and food. Ever since the breakup of the USSR, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave recognized as Azerbaijani territory by the international community but mostly populated by ethnic Armenians.

They fought a war there three years ago when Azerbaijan grabbed land in a six-week conflict that led to roughly 7,000 deaths. There have been periodic skirmishes ever since. While Nagorno-Karabakh is important to both sides, I don’t believe it is the primary reason Azerbaijan continues the blockade. The real reason is that Baku wants a peace deal that includes the opening of the Zangezur corridor – which would connect Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan exclave wedged between Armenia, Turkiye, and Iran. The problem for Azerbaijan and Turkiye, which also wants the corridor, is that it risks a wider war. Iran has said such a corridor is a red line. Such a corridor would mean goods and energy could flow freely between Azerbaijan and Turkiye without having to be rerouted through Iran, thereby eliminating the lucrative fees Tehran charges for such transfers. This is part of the reason Iran is so opposed to such a plan and has beefed up its presence along its border with Armenia.

The nine-point ceasefire agreement signed under Russian mediation that ended the 2020 war included a stipulation that Armenia is responsible for ensuring the security of transport links between the western regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic, facilitating the unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions. Azerbaijan and Turkiye have latched onto that point, insisting they have the right to set up transportation links through southern Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is demanding that the corridor be opened as part of any lasting peace. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated that point on July 31, according to Hurriyet. Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the same. According to Asbarez:

“The road to regional stability is through a comprehensive peace agreement. For this, the opening of the ‘Zangezur corridor’ is of great importance,” Fidan said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has conceded on the issue of Nagorno, accepting that it is part of Azerbaijan. That was more than two months ago, and yet the blockade continues because what Baku really wants is the corridor, and it is willing to starve the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and risk war to get it.

Both Azerbaijan and Turkiye have proceeded since the 2020 war as if the corridor is on the verge of becoming a reality. Both have been working on highways and rail lines where the only missing link is the roughly 10-mile stretch through Armenia. Back in January Aliyev declared that the project “will happen whether Armenia wants it to or not.”

It remains to be seen if he will be so confident going against Iran’s wishes. Tensions have been steadily rising between Tehran and Baku in recent months. Azerbaijan and Israel are now alleging that Armenia is using Iranian Shaheed drones, which would mark a major increase in Tehran’s support for Yerevan and the latest escalation over the Zangezur issue. Armenia has denied using Iranian drones.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced the creation of a “united front against Iran” during a press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov in Jerusalem for the opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tel Aviv at the end of March. The close ties between the two are nothing new (Azerbaijan is Israel’s largest energy provider and the latter supplies the large majority of weapons to the former), but have ratcheted up in recent months.

In addition to escalating military exercises on their common border, Baku and Tehran are increasingly at odds over a range of other incidents. On Jan. 27, an attack by a gunman carried out at Baku’s embassy in the Iranian capital left the head of the embassy’s security services dead and two security guards injured. Azerbaijan quickly evacuated the diplomatic post.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry in late March accused Iran of being behind the shooting attack near Baku that left a member of parliament wounded. Azerbaijani media have speculated that some of the six individuals detained in the shooting lived or traveled to Iran at various times and that the primary attacker received training from Iranian special forces. Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on April 6 also expelled four Iranian Embassy employees after declaring them persona non grata. Shortly after reports emerged about Azerbaijan arresting hundreds more while the media labeled them Iranian spies. Cohen was recently in Azerbaijan to open Israel’s first embassy in the country, which is located just 12 miles from the Iranian border.

The Zangezur issue is also causing friction between Ankara and Tehran, with Erdogan recently criticizing Iran for its opposition. India, too, is being drawn into the fray. Worried that a Turkiye-Azerbaijan-Pakistan alliance would upset the regional power dynamics and have repercussions for Kashmir, New Delhi is also sending arms to Yerevan.

If all of that doesn’t create enough of a powder keg, there’s also Washington neocons sticking their noses in.

Russia has long been the dominant player in the South Caucasus. Moscow put an end to the 2020 conflict by essentially telling Azerbaijan, which enjoyed an overwhelming advantage thanks to military support from Turkiye and Israel, to knock it off. Moscow mediated a peace and has had peacekeepers in the region, but Russia’s preoccupation with Ukraine and fending off efforts from the West at regime change has created a bit of a power vacuum. The US is now trying to play a central role in finding a solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan disagreements in an effort to diminish Russian influence in the region (or stir up trouble).

Neocons in Washington have long dreamed of using Azeris to destabilize Iran. There is no indication this would work, nor are the wider repercussions of such an effort clear, but that will not stop the neocons running the US State Department from trying. The Middle East Media Research Institute, which is run by Israeli and American spooks, wrote as recently as November about using Azerbaijanis in Iran to further their goal of regime change:

In order to bring about regime change at home and contain Iranian expansionism abroad, Iran needs to be weakened from within. The international community therefore must engage Iran more effectively inside its borders through pursuing a “periphery strategy,” i.e., supporting the ethnic minorities found in its border regions. This will achieve two goals. First, ethnic minorities would finally enjoy the freedom and human rights they have been deprived of since the early 20th century. Second, this would deprive Iran of human and natural resources it needs to perpetrate its malign expansionism in the Middle East.

An array of democratic ethno-nations in the periphery of Iran would create a “great wall” around the country. This “wall” would stretch from the Kurdish areas of Northern Khurasan to the Persian gulf in the west including Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and Khuzistan as well as Balochistan in the southeast and would limit Iran’s access to the outside world and consequently end its geostrategic importance regionally and internationally.

Eldar Mamedov has written at Responsible Statecraft about what a stupid and reckless idea this is, but again, has that ever stopped the neocons before? For Washington, the Armenia-Azerbaijan tensions are an opportunity to get more of a foothold in the region dominated by Russia. Any conflict would create quite the headache for Moscow as it would be forced to try to balance the interests of not only Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also Iran, Turkiye, Israel and India.

For an inside look at the line of thinking from The Blob we can turn to Michael Doran, director of the Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East. In a recent piece for the Wall Street Journal, he weeps for the suffering of the Azeris, and despite Russia previously providing more of a stabilizing force in the region, Doran blames all the South Caucasus problems on Putin. Here’s Doran writing in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Putin also has been hosting talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia, apparently playing at peacemaking while keeping the dispute on a low burn. A true resolution of the conflict would obviate the need for Russian forces in Karabakh, one of his two major tools for forcing Baku to respect his will.

Meanwhile, Russia has an unassailable military position in Armenia, home to at least three Russian bases. Russian soldiers patrol key segments of Armenia’s borders, and Russian military officers entirely control Armenian air space.

By contrast, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has been remarkably successful at wiggling free of Moscow’s control—more successful than almost all other leaders of former Soviet republics. While fostering strong economic ties with Europe, to which Azerbaijan supplies oil and gas, Mr. Aliyev has simultaneously developed deep and enduring defense ties with Turkiye and Israel.

The ironic aspect of this argument that Russia is fully behind Armenia and bullying around Azerbaijan is twofold:

1. Azerbaijan has enjoyed the overwhelming military advantage in recent years due to support it receives from Turkiye and Israel. Armenia has not enjoyed similar support from Moscow.

2. Armenians have been furious with Russia for its lack of support and for being too accommodating of Azerbaijan. Essentially, Russia has tried to mediate the conflict as even handedly as possible and is now getting criticized from both sides for it.

Not to worry, though; Doran eventually gets around to the whole point of US involvement in the affair:

Mr. Blinken now recognizes that the American track offers the only viable path to coaxing Armenia to make peace and, thereby, limit the forms of cooperation with the Russian-Iranian alliance that threaten U.S. interests.

Washington is freaking out over the burgeoning sanction-busting Russia-Iran relationship and is struggling to find a way to counter. The neocons at the Heritage Foundation sum it up this way:

Considering their regional and global geopolitical ambitions, the deepening strategic partnership between Iran and Russia poses a rising threat to the U.S., its allies, and partners in Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Failing to quickly address these troubling ties—and the multiple threats that arise from them—will only lead to more international instability, including in the war in Ukraine. Washington and like-minded countries urgently need to take steps now to undermine and counter the anti-American Russo–Iranian axis before additional damage is done.

The Zangezur corridor is indeed one area where Moscow and Iran diverge. While Iran views such an initiative as a major threat, Russia is more concerned with maintaining economic ties and transit options with Azerbaijan and Turkiye. Therefore any conflict in the South Caucasus is a win-win for Washington as it could allow the neocons to try out their theory that such a conflagration would destabilize Iran while also potentially creating a rift between Moscow and Iran if they don’t see eye to eye on the solution.

The RAND Corporation, too, has written about how the Caucasus is but one area on Russia’s periphery where conflict would weaken Moscow. With that in mind, officials in Azerbaijan and Armenia should be very cautious accepting help at finding a peace solution from Blinken and company, as peace is the last thing they’re worried about.

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: 1.0973 UP 0.0014

USA/ YEN 143.42 UP 0.160 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//

GBP/USA 1.2735 DOWN 0.0009

USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3435 UP .0009 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 9 BASIS PTS)

Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 16.13 PTS OR 0.49%

Hang Seng CLOSED UP 61.86 PTS OR 0.32%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.31 % // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG DOWN UP 61.86 PTS OR 0.32%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 16.13 PTS OR .49%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.31%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 172.86 PTS OR 0.53%

INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 1922.85

silver:$22.71

USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY morning: 102.31 DOWN 3 BASIS POINTS FROM TUESDAY’s CLOSE.

WEDNESDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing WEDNESDAY NUMBERS 11: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.210% UP 3 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.563% DOWN 4 AND 1//100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.525 UP 2 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 4.134 UP 0 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.4695 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 1.0978 DOWN 0.0009 or 9 basis points

USA/Japan: 143.58 UP 0.322 OR YEN DOWN 32 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.2717 DOWN 0.0026 OR 26 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar DOWN .0028 OR 28 BASIS pts to 1.3446

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE CLOSED (DOWN) …7.2102

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (DOWN)…. (7.2330)

TURKISH LIRA: 27.03 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.563…VERY DANGEROUS

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 2 in basis points from TUESDAY at 4.005% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

USA 30 yr bond yield 4.165 DOWN 3 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: CLOSING TIME 12:00 PM

London: CLOSED UP 51.93 points or 0.69%

German Dax : CLOSED UP 61.89 PTS OR 0.39%

Paris CAC CLOSED UP 49.22 PTS OR 0.68%

Spain IBEX UP 45.10 PTS OR 0.48%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 345.83 PTS OR 1.24%

WTI Oil price 81.79 12: EST

Brent Oil: 85.26 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 97.19; ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND 19//100

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.4695 UP 1 BASIS PTS

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.4125 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA: 1.0981 UP 0.0022 OR 22 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2730 DOWN .0013 or 13 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.4135 % DOWN 1 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: .568%

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 143.68 UP 0.419 //YEN DOWN 42 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3412 DOWN .0014 CDN dollar, UP 14 basis pts)

West Texas intermediate oil: 84,35

Brent OIL: 87,43

USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 2 BASIS pts to 4.007%

USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 3 BASIS PTS to 4.165%

USA 2 YR BOND: UP 4 PTS AT 4.800%

USA dollar index: 102.26 DOWN 8 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 27.02 (GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 97.20 DOWN 0 AND 10/100 roubles

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 191.13 PTS OR 0.54%

NASDAQ 100 DOWN 171.34 PTS OR 1.12%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 16.00 UP 0.01 PTS (0.06)%

GLD: $177.79 DOWN 0.88 OR 0.48%

SLV/ $20.80 DOWN ,10 OR 0.48%

end

USA AFFAIRS

USA TRADING IN GRAPH FORM:

Big-Tech, Banks, Bitcoin, & Bullion Breakdown Ahead Of CPI; Bonds Bid

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 04:00 PM

China deflation, Italian authorities watering down bank-tax threats, and fears about the AI Boom’s reality (SMCI’s comments dragged down NVDA) were the headline narrative-shapers of the day… but all anyone cares about is the giant event risk mountain that tomorrow’s CPI print represents.

Futures drifted gently higher overnight but started to stall into the open and then a wave of selling hit until the European close. That BTFD bounce lasted until 1430ET (margin-call time?) when The Dow and S&P briefly got back to even, and then stocks faded aggressively into the close

The Dow dropped to its 50DMA for the first time since early March…

Italian authorities appeared to chicken out and watered-down their bank windfall tax plans, which sent Italian bank stocks surging (but still down on the week)…

Source: Bloomberg

But US banks didn’t bounce, ending lower again (Regionals)…

VVIX remains stressed ahead of tomorrow’s CPI (although we saw a fade in VIX)…

Source: Bloomberg

Bonds were mixed on the day with 5Y and shorter higher in yields and anything beyond 5Y lower (30Y -4bps, 2Y +4bps)…

Source: Bloomberg

Strong 10Y auction dragged its yield back to 4.00%…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar was flat on the day, holding around the pre-payrolls level…

Source: Bloomberg

The Ruble’s recent collapse accelerated today and prompted the Bank of Russia to halt FX purchases until the end of 2023 (to prop up the Ruble)…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold dropped to its lowest close since March, heading back towards $1900 and $1893 support…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices broke out to new 2023 highs today, with WTI back above $84.50…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, this just made us laugh and we pre-emptively apologize to those whose feelings are hurt. Goldman Sachs unveiled their so-called Obesity Index to track a basket of companies that are benefiting from the recent rage of GLP-1 agonist weight-loss drugs.

Source: Bloomberg

The Index ticker is GSHLCBMI – which we assume stands for Huge-Lardass-Chubby Body Mass Index – and it is outperforming.

But, there is something a little more serious happening with the AI Boom…NVDA is back at one-month lows, down over 12% from the highs in mid-July…

Source: Bloomberg

It’s not really as easy as that is it?

b) THIS MORNING TRADING//

end

II) USA DATA/

Credit card balances hit a new record high above $1 trillion and now we witness a surge in new delinquencies

(zerohedge)

Credit Card Balances Hit Record Above $1 Trillion, Suffer “Pronounced Worsening” Amid Surge In New Delinquencies

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 07:05 PM

Once a quarter, the Fed publishes its Household Debt and Credit report which provides a (lagging) snapshot of household finances in the previous quarter. And while the report gives little incremental data to those who follow the Fed’s monthly Consumer Credit (G.19) statement, which just yesterday revealed the first decline in credit card debt since April 2021…

… it does provide a convenient snapshot of recent trends in Household balance sheets.

With that in mind, here is the punchline of the latest report: as of June 30, the Fed found aggregate household debt balances increased by $16 billion in the second quarter of 2023, a modest 0.1% rise from 2023Q1. Balances now stand at $17.06 trillion and have increased by $2.9 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.

Taking a closer look at the types of consumer credit balances:

Mortgage balances were largely unchanged from the previous quarter, during the second quarter of 2023 and stood at $12.01 trillion at the end of June, in large part due to declining mortgage originations and slowing home prices.
- Mortgage originations, which include refinances, stood at $393 billion in the second quarter, representing a $70 billion increase from the first quarter. Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, increased by $15 billion.
Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were essentially flat as well; the outstanding HELOC balance stands at $340 billion.
Credit card balances increased by $45 billion, a 4.6% quarterly increase, and stood at $1.03 trillion, a record high.
- Credit card accounts expanded by 5.48 million to 578.35 million; that’s roughly 2 credit cards for every adult.
- Aggregate limits on credit card accounts increased by $9 billion and now stand at $4.6 trillion.
Auto loan balances increased by $20 billion, continuing the upward trajectory that has been in place since 2011.
Student loans balances declined by $35 billion. Student loan balances now stand at $1.57 trillion.
Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, increased by $15 billion.
In total, non-housing balances grew by $45 billion.

And in table format:

As noted above, mortgage originations, measured as appearances of new mortgages on consumer credit reports and including both refinance and purchase originations, remained a very subdued $393 billion in 2023 Q2 (reflecting a modest increase in purchase originations as refinance originations have collapsed) which however was the first uptick after two years and a rebound from the 9-year low observed in the previous quarter.

The chart above also shows that the median credit score for newly originated mortgages increased by 4 points, to 769. The median credit score on newly originated auto loans declined by 5 points, after a transitory uptick in the first quarter.

At the same time, the volume of newly originated auto loans, which includes leases, was $179 billion, largely reflecting high dollar values of originated loans even as the number of newly opened loans remains below pre-pandemic levels.

Think about that for a second: the above charts show that while the Fed crushed mortgage originations with the highest interest rates in 40 years, it has had zero impact on auto loan originations. In fact, after peaking at 9 two years ago, the ratio of new mortgages to new auto loans has collapsed to a near record low 2.2. It does beg two questions: i) where are Americans still getting the money to fund all those near record auto loans, and ii) what happens to all those auto loans on various bank books once the payments stop.

The New York Fed also issued an accompanying Liberty Street Economics blog post examining trends in credit card lending and repayment. The blog found that, despite the toll inflation has taken on consumers, there is little evidence of widespread distress on households for now; that’s however is about to change…

Going down the list, aggregate limits on credit cards were increased by $90 billion in the second quarter, a 2.0% increase from the previous quarter. As noted above, credit card accounts expanded by 5.48 million to 578.35 million, or roughly 2 credit cards for every adult.

What we found most interesting is that aggregate limits on credit cards increased by $9 billion and now stand at $4.6 trillion. That means that – if Americans decide to “F**k it all” and max out their credit cards, we are looking at another $3 trillion in debt-funded buying power, or as it is called under Bidenomics, “growth”

And while it is relatively modest, and well below the total credit card debt oustanding, limits on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were up by $6 billion, or a 0.7% increase.

Finally, turning to delinquency rates, in Q2 these were roughly flat, with just 2.7% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency, 2 percentage points lower than the last quarter of 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the US.

That’s the good news: the bad news is that the share of debt newly transitioning into delinquency increased for credit cards and auto loans has been quietly surging with increases in transition rates of 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

As shown below, the Fed notes that “credit cards balances saw the most pronounced worsening in performance in Q2 after a period of extraordinarily low delinquency rates during the pandemic, in large part due to the student loan repayment moratorium.”

In the most concerning twist, transition rates for credit cards and auto loans are now slightly above pre-pandemic (2019 Q4) levels. Meanwhile, student loan performance was unchanged, with reported delinquency rates at historic lows as the federal repayment pause remains in place until August 31, 2023. That, however, is about to end and we expect that student loan delinquencies will soar in just weeks…

…. which will also crush the debt repayments plans across all other debt categories, which is also why the Fed tried to quickly brush it away: “credit card balances saw brisk growth in the second quarter,” said Joelle Scally, Regional Economic Principal within the Household and Public Policy Research Division at the New York Fed. “And while delinquency rates have edged up, they appear to have normalized to pre-pandemic levels.”

Let’s check back in 2-4 quarters when student loans are back in the picture.

Some other delinquency notes:

Early delinquency transition rates for mortgages edged up by 0.1 percentage point but remain well below its pre-pandemic level.

About 114,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports in 2023Q2, slightly more than in the previous quarter.

Approximately 4.6% of consumers have a 3rd party collection account on their credit report, with an average balance of $1,555, up from $1,316 in the first quarter, reflecting composition changes in 3rd party collections amid new credit reporting regulations.

The NY Fed’s full Household Debt and Credit presentation deck is below (pdf link):

end

III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES

end

USA// COVID//VACCINE/

This should destroy any chance for Newsom to run for President; he funded those crazy Chinese COVID labs found in California

(zerohedge/Mark Pellin/Headline USA)

Newsom Funded Chinese COVID Lab Known To Biden’s FDA

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 08:25 PM

Authored by MarkPellin via Headline USA,

The discovery last month of a Chinese COVID biolab in California shocked the nation, but likely came as no surprise to the state’s Democrat governor, Gavin Newsom.Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden share a moment. / PHOTO: AP

He helped fund it.

The now-notorious secret facility, which contained a massive stockpile of “infectious agents,” including coronavirus, and nearly a thousand dead lab mice and vials of unidentified biological fluids, also likely came as no surprise to the Biden administration.

The FDA last year issued a recall warning for nearly 54,000 COVID rapid tests manufactured by the company that owned the lab.

Fresno County officials discovered the “unlicensed laboratory” in a warehouse owned by Prestige Biotech, which has ties to multiple Chinese pharmaceutical firms and a president who lives in China and can only be reached by email.

The company’s CCP links extend to Barry Zhang, who is listed as Prestige BioTech’s registered agent by the Nevada secretary of state. Zhang reportedly was a leader of the Chinese-American Society of CPAs and its work with China’s United Front espionage and propaganda network.

The founder of the law firm representing Prestige BioTech, Michael M Lin, is reportedly “a regular sponsor of CCP’s United Front events in Nevada.”

Prestige Biotech took over the lab from Universal Meditech, after that company went bankrupt following a series of fires. Universal Meditech, a company that also has strong CCP ties, received nearly $400,000 in tax credits from Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

Before going bankrupt, Universal Meditech was awarded its business license from the Newsom administration, “exactly one year to the day before Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of Emergency Order locking down the entire state over the COVID-19 virus.”

Universal Meditech continued operations under its new owner Prestige Biotech, which didn’t have a state business license and was only outed when someone noticed a garden hose illegally attached to the bio-lab’s building.

The nearly 1,000 dead mice found at the Prestige Biotech lab, “were genetically engineered to catch and carry the Covid-19 virus,” Wang Zhaolin, a spokesman for Prestige Biotech, told the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

“This is an unusual situation,” said Nicole Zieba, a city official with the town of Reedley, where the lab was found.

“I’ve been in government for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Zieba told local news outlet KTLA. “There was a special room that was built housing about 1,000 white lab mice.”

Those would be the same lab mice that “were genetically engineered to catch and carry the Covid-19 virus” housed in a secret warehouse owned by reported CCP United Front agents. The same company that manufactured 54,000 FDA-flagged COVID rapid tests and received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Newsom’s office a year before he put California on a lockdown enforced by his and the Biden administration’s tyrannical mandates.

“Allowing a Chinese company to practice gain-of-function research on our shores is like inviting biological warfare into our backyard,” said Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.

Based on legal filings, business reports and court documents, it appears that the CCP’s United Front accepted the invitation. Meanwhile, with his entourage of CCP connections funded by his administration in line, Newsom reportedly is raising millions to back a potential 2024 presidential run, even as he continues to publicly back Biden.

END.

Maui island has an out of control wildfire:

(zerohedge)

“Apocalyptic Scene”: Out-Of-Control Wildfire Spreads On Hawaii’s Maui Island

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 12:05 PM

Shocking footage of an out-of-control wildfire burning in Hawaii has been shared on Twitter, showing the devastation.

The epicenter of the destruction is in the Hawaiian town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. CBS News said, “People were jumping into the water to escape flames and smoke from a wind-fueled wildfire.”

Strong wind and dry conditions have been fueling the fire. As of early Wednesday local time, fires were active in Lahaina, Kula, North Kohala, and South Kohala.

Acting governor Sylvia Luke declared an emergency on Tuesday and activated the National Guard to help with evacuation efforts.

Here’s footage from Lahaina:

*https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/apocalyptic-scene-out-control-wildfire-spreads-hawaiis-maui-islandDeveloping

SWAMP STORIES

Republicans release bank records showing over $20 million in payments to Biden family and associates.

(zerohedge)

House Republicans Release Bank Records Showing Over $20 Million In Payments To Biden Family, Associates

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 01:05 PM

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday revealed over $20 million in payments they claim foreign actors from places like Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan sent the Biden family and their associates while Joe Biden was vice president.

Hunter specifically received millions from Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, Ukrainian energy giant Burisma, and Kazakh oligarch Kenes Rakishev while father Joe was VP, the committee found.

The records show Baturina wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca Thornton, a shell company belonging to Hunter and Archer, in February 2014.

Three-quarters of a million dollars was then transferred directly to Archer, and the rest was used to fund a new company, Rosemont Seneca Bohai.

The bank record shows a transfer of $3.5 million on February 14, 2014 and a transfer of $2.7 million to Rosemont Seneca Bohai on March 11, 2014. –Daily Mail

“During Joe Biden’s vice presidency, Hunter Biden sold him as ‘the brand’ to reap millions from oligarchs in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine. It appears no real services were provided other than access to the Biden network, including Joe Biden himself. And Hunter Biden seems to have delivered,” said committee chairman James Comer (R-KY).

“It’s clear Joe Biden knew about his son’s business dealings and allowed himself to be ‘the brand’ sold to enrich the Biden family while he was Vice President of the United States.”

In one instance, Kazakh oil oligarch Kenes Rakishev wired $142,000 to Hunter Biden‘s shell corporation to buy a new Porsche (which Hunter bought the next day), before a dinner was set up between the oligarch and Joe Biden, bank records show.

And on March 25, 2014, there were two separate transfers for $2.2 million and $200,000 respectively into the Rosemont Seneca Bohai account, which Hunter and Devon Archer used to receive other personal payments such as those from Burisma. The committee says Hunter then transferred the money into another Rosemont Seneca Bohai account that he and Archer were able to access.

After this, then-VP Joe Biden attended a dinner with Baturina, Hunter, Archer and others at Cafe Milano in Washington DC.

And guess who was left off Biden’s list of sanctioned Russian oligarchs? Baturina.

The committee also says they have proof that Archer and Biden were paid $1 million each for their role on Burisma’s board, or $83,333 per month.

Nothing to see here, just energy expert Hunter Biden raking it in from the company has father would later protect by forcing Ukraine to hire its head prosecutor.

The committee has subpoenaed records from six different banks and have received thousands of records regarding the shell corps, but have not ‘yet’ subpoenaed bank records for the Biden family.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called on President Biden to “give us his bank statements.”

Third Bank Records Memorand… by James Lynch

END

It sure looks like Trump will put the election on trial

(Simon EpochTimes)

Did Jack Smith Open The Door On The 2020 Vote?

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 05:25 PM

Authored by Roger L. Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Special counsel Jack Smith made a lot of noise on Aug. 4 by requesting a “protective order” against big, bad Donald Trump because the former president posted “If you go after me, I’m coming after you” on Truth Social.

While the request sounds like the usual grandstanding, Smith may actually have something to fear from our 45th president, although it may not be exactly what he intends to convey here.

Indeed, it may be far more significant than mere social media puffery in the end.

The actual 2020 presidential vote results, in which fewer and fewer of our citizens have confidence, have been called to question.

Given the nature of his indictment of Mr. Trump related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, it seems the special counsel has opened the door to putting the 2020 presidential election on trial. Mr. Smith’s indictment depends on proving that Mr. Trump was lying when he said the vote was fraudulent. Well, we’ll see.

The mainstream media and their new best friend, former Attorney General William Barr, assure us these same charges will finally be the end for Mr. Trump. (Other legal minds—notably Jonathan Turley, Alan Dershowitz, and Andrew C. McCarthy—differ.)

At the same time, regarding Jan. 6 itself, a hitherto-unseen Tucker Carlson interview with former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund has surfaced. Mr. Sund was fired shortly after Jan. 6 by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mr. Sund told Mr. Carlson that the supposed insurrection was “crawling with feds” to a degree he had never seen in more than 30 years as a police officer—18 FBI undercover personnel, plus an additional 20 agents from the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition, Ms. Pelosi had already refused Mr. Trump’s offer of 10,000 National Guard troops.

What may lie ahead of us, however, through these Jan. 6-related charges, is finally achieving some understanding of what actually happened in 2020, finally getting to a truth that would be accepted, if not by all, by enough of our citizens to move forward as a nation without thinking we’ve become a banana republic.

That’s the best-case scenario. The worst case, of course, is continued omertà—code of silence—from the Department of Justice and its media allies.

The one most responsible for that omertà, or at least the one to give it credence, is arguably the aforementioned Mr. Barr. It was he who less than a month after Election Day 2020 announced that his Justice Department hadn’t found sufficient evidence of fraud to have affected the election.

How did he know that in such a short time in a country with a population of more than 330 million divided among 50 states, each of which, according to its Constitution, controlled its own election laws through its state legislature and many of which have totally different voting systems?

He didn’t tell us then and he still hasn’t.

At the same time, Conservative Treehouse is reporting that Mr. Barr has refused to say whether he’s been helping Mr. Smith with his indictment.

As the Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko put it, “When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.”

END

Awful!

Independent Journalist Receives Jan. 6 Grand Jury Subpoena

TUESDAY, AUG 08, 2023 – 10:05 PM

Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Independent journalist Steve Baker says he was served a subpoena signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve, demanding all of the video he shot at and near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He said the subpoena likely means the DOJ is investigating him for alleged felony crimes.D.C. Metropolitan Police Department riot officers clash with protesters on the west front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Courtesy of Steve Baker)

“They want to silence me,” Mr. Baker said during an Aug. 7 Spaces broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Mr. Baker said he was told to show up in Washington on Aug. 16 to turn over his material. He was given an alternative: to surrender his video to the FBI in his home state of North Carolina. He told The Epoch Times that he plans to appear in person in Washington.

Mr. Baker said he believes his work covering Jan. 6 unrest at the Capitol is protected by the First Amendment. He said he didn’t damage property, encourage anyone to enter the building, or participate in chants or actions by protesters.

It’s the second time in 2023 that Mr. Baker has called for public attention to what he believes could be DOJ prosecution of him for his work on Jan. 6, 2021.

In March, he said a high-profile journalist called him at 6:30 a.m. one day with a warning from a DOJ insider. “‘Your friend in Raleigh, tell him to be careful,’” the message said. “‘He has awakened a couple of people’s attention to his work, and they’re not happy about it at all.’”

Mr. Baker has been a frequent, vocal critic on social media regarding the DOJ’s handling of Jan. 6 cases, citing his observations of the events on Jan. 6, 2021. He has criticized Congress for not aggressively investigating the issues ignored by the original anti-Trump Jan. 6 Select Committee.

It’s the second time since Jan. 6, 2021, that Mr. Baker has been in the crosshairs of the FBI and DOJ. He said he was threatened in 2021 with a charge of interstate racketeering for licensing his Jan. 6 video footage to HBO and other media outlets.

Mr. Baker showed up for an interview with the FBI in August 2021, but that meeting was delayed because of a federal rule that requires the attorney general to sign off on interviewing any member of the press, he said. In November 2021, Mr. Baker was told he would be charged “within the week.”

“The interstate racketeering charge was just absurd on its face,” Mr. Baker said.

The 2021 investigation hasn’t resulted in charges.

“We never heard from them again for over 20 months, until Friday,” Mr. Baker said.

Mr. Baker said he believes what triggered the current DOJ investigation was a story about the U.S. Capitol Police that he has been developing for 10 months. That story is close to fruition but still requires more video research in Washington, he said.Paramedics from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department perform CPR on protester Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police near the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021. (Courtesy of Steve Baker)

“Fact is … ‘they’ know the story I’ve been working on for ten months and am about to drop,” Mr. Baker wrote on X. “They are not going to stop it from coming out. Their timing for this action is fully transparent.

“I will not go gentle into that good night.”

He declined to share more details on the Capitol Police story.

Mr. Baker also published a recent story on social media about U.S. Army special forces at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A special unit from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, had soldiers on Capitol grounds that day for as yet undefined purposes, he wrote.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

END

Trump Rages After Jan 6th Committee ‘Illegally Destroyed Records And Documents’

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 02:25 PM

Former President Trump took to social media on Tuesday to blast the “January 5th Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs,” who “illegally destroyed their Records and Documents,” following comments by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), who told Fox News that the January 6th committee failed to adequately preserve documents, data and video depositions.

The committee also failed to provide any evidence that it investigated Capitol Hill security failures on the day of the riot, Loudermilk added.

“Nothing was indexed. There was no table of contents index. Usually when you conduct this level of investigation, you use a database system and everything is digitized, indexed. We got nothing like that. We just got raw data,” he said. “So it took us a long time going through it and one thing I started realizing is we don’t have anything much at all from the Blue Team.”

The “Blue Team,” as described by Loudermilk, represents the group within the J6 committee that was directed to investigate security failures at the Capitol. Loudermilk explained that sources have told him the Blue Team was essentially “shut down” by the committee in order to focus on placing the blame on former President Trump. -Fox News

“We’ve got lots of depositions, we’ve got lots of subpoenas, we’ve got video and other documents provided through subpoenas by individuals. But we’re not seeing anything from the Blue Team as far as reports on the investigation they did looking into the actual breach itself,” he added. “What we also realized we didn’t have was the videos of all the depositions.”

According to Loudermilk, the Jan. 6 committee was required by law and House rules to preserve and turn over all data related to their investigation.

And now that Trump has subpoena power due to the multiple government cases against him, he’s enraged.

“The system is Rigged & Corrupt, very much like the Presidential Election of 2020. We are a Nation in Decline!” Trump said on Truth Social.

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/110857162338915853/embed

According to Loudermilk, he’s been contacted by a defense attorney who needed access to key information contained in one of the video depositions – which the committee doesn’t have.

J6 committee chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) replied to Loudermilk’s claims, and says the committee followed the rules and turned over more than “4 terabytes” of data.

Loudermilk says that his committee has only received 2.5 terabytes of data, and that the first footnote in Thompson’s letter to him acknowledges that he didn’t keep what they were supposed to.

The footnote reads:

“Consistent with guidance from the Office of the Clerk and other authorities, the Select Committee did not archive temporary committee records that were not elevated by the Committee’s actions, such as use in hearings or official publications, or those that did not further its investigative activities. Accordingly, and contrary to your letter’s implication, the Select Committee was not obligated to archive all video recordings of transcribed interviews or depositions. Based on guidance from House authorities, the Select Committee determined that the written transcripts provided by nonpartisan, professional official reporters, which the witnesses and Select Committee staff had the opportunity to review for errata, were the official, permanent records of transcribed interviews and depositions for the purposes of rule VII.”

In response, Loudermilk told Fox News Digital: “He’s saying they decided they didn’t have to,” adding “It was clear in law they had to especially and, I mean, if there was any question, the fact that they used the videos in the hearings would dictate that it had to be preserved. The more we go in the more we’re realizing that there’s things that we don’t have. We don’t have anything about security failures at the Capitol, we don’t have the videos of the depositions.”

Rand Paul got zero attention on his criminal referral of Fauci, he is sending to DC Attorney General.

He should send it to all red states

(zerohedge)

Rand Paul Slaps Fauci With DC Criminal Referral Over Perjury Allegations

WEDNESDAY, AUG 09, 2023 – 12:45 PM

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has filed a criminal referral against Dr. Anthony Fauci for allegedly lying under oath about the origins of Covid-19.

In a Tuesday letter to DC US Attorney Matthew Graves, Paul demanded an investigation into Fauci for allegedly perjuring himself during a 2021 congressional hearing in which he said COVID-19 couldn’t have come from a Chinese lab he was funding.

“Dr. Fauci testified that ‘the NIH has not ever and does not now fund gain-of function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.’ In a subsequent hearing, I warned Dr. Fauci of the criminal implications of lying to Congress and offered him an opportunity to recant his previous statements,” Paul wrote in the letter obtained by the Daily Mail.

“In response, Dr. Fauci stated that he had ‘never lied before the Congress’ and ‘d[id] not retract that statement,'” adding “Dr. Fauci’s testimony is inconsistent with facts that have since come to light.“

The move comes weeks after Paul submitted an ‘official criminal referral’ to the Justice Department, which a Paul aid told the Mail, never responded.

“Since AG Garland doesn’t appear to want to do his job, I’ve today sent evidence for a criminal referral for Anthony Fauci to the US Attorney in DC,” Paul said in another tweet.

“Before Congress, Dr. Fauci denied funding gain-of-function research, to the press he claims to have a dispassionate view on the lab leak hypothesis, and in private he acknowledges gain-of-function research at WIV to his colleagues His own colleagues have acknowledged Dr. Fauci’s inconsistency,” the letter to Graves continues. “A congressional hearing, however, is not the place for a public servant to play political games – especially when the health and well-being of American citizens is on the line.”

Paul previously wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland on July 14 and July 23 calling for an investigation into whether Fauci lied under oath over his knowledge of dangerous virus research that was taking place at the Wuhan lab, in China.

In July 2021, Dr Fauci testified how his former department ‘has not ever and does not now fund gain-of-function research in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.’

Gain-of-function research refers to a type of scientific investigation conducted on viruses, with the purpose of enhancing their transmissibility or virulence.

The aim is to understand how viruses evolve and potentially predict and prepare for future disease outbreaks, but also raises concerns regarding biosafety and biosecurity. -Daily Mail

Earlier this month, Paul said he had Fauci ‘dead to rights’ over lying during testimony.

Meanwhile, journalist Hans Mahncke has an interesting thought for Rand… send the referral to AGs in red states.

As Summit News notes, Earlier this week, Paul shared a link to an article in the Free Press, outlining how Fauci is “guilty as charged.“

end

Quite a story! Proof on the massive voter fraud in Michigan

(GatewayPundit)

NOW WE HAVE PROOF! TGP EXCLUSIVE: Massive 2020 Voter Fraud Uncovered in Michigan – Police Find: TENS OF THOUSANDS of Fake Registrations, Bags of Pre-Paid Gift Cards, Guns with Silencers, Burner Phones, and a Democrat-Funded Organization with Multiple Temporary Facilities in Several States

By Benjamin Wetmore And Patty McMurrayAug. 8, 2023 7:30 am2656 Comments

An exclusive Gateway Pundit report by Benjamin Wetmore and Patty McMurray

Special Thanks to Phil O’Halloran and Lori Skibo for their contributions and assistance with this story. The two election integrity activists obtained a copy of the State Police report and began investigating the story in June. Phil O’Halloran, now Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party’s Election Integrity Committee and Lori Skibo, Director of the MI GOP’s Poll Challenger Program, brought it to our attention and are assisting with our research of this story.

* * * * * * * * * *

On October 8, 2020. only one month before the 2020 general election, Muskegon, MI City Clerk Ann Meisch noticed a black female (whose name was redacted from the police report), dropping off between 8,000-10,000 completed voter registration applications at the city clerk’s office.

The Muskegon Police Department was contacted and asked to investigate. On 10/21/20 First Lieutenant Mike Anderson was contacted by Tom Fabus, Chief of Investigations for Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Office. According to the MI State Police report, Mr. Fabus asked for Michigan State Police assistance with a joint investigation of alleged voter fraud being conducted by the Muskegon Police Department and the AG.

An investigative task force was formed, and an investigation was initiated.

The following is from the MI State Police report:

On 10/16/20 Muskegon City Clerk Ann Meisch and Deputy Clerk Kimberly Young contacted the Muskegon Police Department after noticing irregularities in voter registration applications received both in person and by mail.

The Muskegon city clerk became suspicious when the female, (whose name is redacted in the first part of the police report, but then later, is unredacted), hand-delivered thousands of voter registrations to her office, many of them in the same handwriting.

On 10/20/20 (deadline day for in-person voter registration applications) the suspect retumed to the *Muskegon City Clerk’s office to deliver additional registration forms in person. Meisch estimated that (suspect) brought an additional 2500 forms. Meisch contacted the Muskegon Police Department and Detective Logan Anderson and Captain Shawn Bride conducted a non-custodial interview with the suspect.

Meisch stated that in her opinion a quantity of the voter registration forms were highly suspicious and possibly fraudulent.

Meisch’s opinion was based on the fact that numerous forms appeared to have been completed by the same writer and upon initial examination, addresses on multiple forms were invalid or non-existent.

Meisch investigated further and found that phone numbers on multiple forms were erroneous and signatures on multiple forms didn’t appear to match signatures on file with the Department of Secretary of State. Examples included an address in the and another in the [REDACTED]

Those addresses do not exist in the Muskegon City house numbering system. Another form listed 80 W. Southern Ave which is the address for Muskegon High School and is clearly not a residence.

Later in the report, the name of the female suspect was unredacted.

The MI State Police investigator assigned to the case spoke with the female suspect who explained that she was being paid $1150/week “to find un-registered voters and provide them with a form so they can get registered to vote or obtain their absentee ballot.” The only problem is, the handwriting on the voter registrations was the same on several of the registrations and many of the addresses were non-existent or fake.

MI Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is currently attempting to prosecute 15 senior citizens and the former MI GOP co-chair for casting an alternate set of electoral votes in the 2020 election, asked the MI State Police to join the Muskegon Police and AG’s investigation of the potentially massive, multi-city voter fraud operation.

Two members of AG Dana Nessel’s Criminal Investigation Division were assigned to the operation, yet curiously, she failed to mention the investigation to the public. To this day, Dana Nessel is still claiming there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Michigan, despite the fact that she knew her office and the office of her friend, Michigan’s crooked SOS Jocelyn Benson, were involved with the MI State Police in a large scale investigation that took place across the state before it was taken over by the FBI.

Corey Ames, a MI SOS analyst CONFIRMED “a quantity of the forms they found in their investigation “are clearly fraudulent.” MI SOS Jocelyn Benson also claimed there was no widespread voter fraud in Michigan and neglected to mention the investigation to the public.

Today, The Gateway Pundit and our close friends from Michigan are exposing this damning report. The evidence from this investigation exposes criminal election fraud involving thousands of fraudulent ballots in Michigan by an organization that set up temporary offices in several swing states prior to the 2020 election.

This explosive investigation was covered up and buried from the public, until today.

It should be noted that after documenting these crimes and investigating for weeks, the Michigan police turned their investigation over to the FBI who promptly buried the findings. Once again, the FBI apparently took no action—more on that in an upcoming report.

The police in Muskegon were investigating voter fraud in October 2020, a month prior to the general election. The FBI failed to follow-up on the alleged election crimes according to Michigan election investigator Phil O’Halloran. O’Halloran is now the Election Integrity Chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

The police report has redactions throughout, but not all names were redacted. The police report names ‘GBI Strategies‘ as the organization running the scheme. The Tennessee-based group is heavily connected to the Biden campaign and various Democrat campaign committees. The released report also names “Brilus” as a primary person involved.

The police report from 2020 revealed that GBI Strategies has been in operation since 2014. And, the investigators found that GBI Strategies was paid $1,571,386 by the Doug Jones for Senate campaign back in 2018. That was just one race they were involved in.

The investigators also found that GBI Strategies was paid $188,000 by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2018. (paragraph 11)

The employees at GBI Strategies were being paid $15 an hour or $120 a day. (paragraph 8)

A woman interviewed by police said she was paid $1150 per week and given a rental car. She said she was given a “reloadable pay card.” (paragraph 3)

Police reported that hundreds of pre-paid cards from “different” companies, along with “dozens of new (burner?) phones were found in the Southfield raid in Michigan.

The police report noted that there were numerous job openings listed in Flint, Michigan and Regional Field Manager postings in Washington DC and Chicago, Illinois. This group had branches across the nation.

During their investigation, the police also found partially completed voter registration forms and police found “pelican cases in the room with semi-automatic rifles joined with suppressors and optics and customized pistols.” One case had “4 rifles and 4 pistols.”

The police report claims these weapons were determined to be legal and lawful after calling in the ATF to inspect the weapons.

The affiant (witness who filled out the affidavit) first witnessed minivans moving from a hotel in Grand Haven to the location of the business, a former California Eyecare location. The next day Detective Luker was notified. He went to the address where he found a bag of trash filled with information on employee agreements.

The affiant believed the records found at the location were crucial to determining the crime of Election Fraud Forgery and determining who may be criminally liable and who may have profited from the fraud.

The affiant later obtained a copy of the Mukegon PD Report 2020-19124 authored by Officer Foster with a supplemental report by Detective Logan Anderson along with a copy of the search warrant of the business location.

This next paragraph from the police document reveals that Muskegon City Clerk Ann Meisch and Deputy Clerk Kimberly Young first contacted the police on October 16, 2020.

Meisch and Young contacted police after receiving multiple “State of Michigan Voter Registration Application” forms which in their opinion appeared to be fraudulent. According to the report, Meisch based her opinion on the fact that some of the addresses on the applications appeared to be invalid or non-existent. Also, some of the phone numbers were invalid and some signatures did match those on file.

Meisch also noted that the handwriting on the ballots appeared to be the same with a similar signature and ALL OF THE BALLOTS appeared to come from the same company with two locations in Southfield and Auburn Hills.

Meisch told police some of the forms were dropped off in person to the Muskegon City Clerk’s office by a black female who identified herself as Brianna Hawkins. Miss Hawkins said her employment entailed registering voters and helping them obtain absentee ballots.

Meisch estimated that the leftist organization delivered approximately 8,000-10,000 voter registration forms to the Muskegon City Clerk’s office and provided a sampling of 42 suspected fraudulent applications to Officer Foster for examination. Meisch stated they identified by viewing her Facebook profile.

Employee Brianna Hawkins dropped off between 8K -10K registrations in ONE day!

The investigators found that “a number of voter applications forms were clearly fraudulent.”

The report notes that police found, “Dozens of new phones” and “Hundreds of pre-paid payment cards” – these items were clearly considered suspicious by the police in the report.

Also in the report: the left-wing ballot organizing group had suppressors (Silencers) and automatic weapons for some odd reason.

Nearly three years later, President Trump faces multiple prosecutions because he ‘fraudulently’ pursued ‘baseless’ claims of voter fraud according to prosecutors and the mainstream media. Trump won the Michigan vote in 2016 by 15,000 votes but suspiciously lost to Joe Biden by 150,000 votes four years later, despite increasing his vote share in neighboring Ohio. 16 Trump Presidential electors in Michigan are being prosecuted by far-left Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, because, according to Dana Nessel the controversial Michigan AG, they ‘fraudulently’ believed that there was systemic voter fraud that was not being properly investigated.

The released police report has redactions throughout, but not all names were redacted. The police report names ‘GBI Strategies‘ as the organization engaged in what the report suggests is widespread, systemic, voter fraud in multiple locations around the state. The Tennessee group is heavily connected to the Biden campaign and various Democrat campaign committees. The released report also names “Brilus” as a primary person involved.

The police report also notes that the organization used rental cars around the state as part of its deployments, naming several of the field locations for their operations. On election night, a suspicious 3:30 AM van delivering the Biden Ballot Dump in Detroit at the facility formerly known as the TCF Center was accompanied by a vehicle registered to a rental car company.

The Gateway Pundit previously obtained the video and broke the story.

NOW WE HAVE PROOF! TGP EXCLUSIVE: Massive 2020 Voter Fraud Uncovered in Michigan – Including Estimated “800,000 Ballot Applications Sent to Non-Qualified Voters” – Bags of Pre-Paid Gift Cards, Guns with Silencers, Burner Phones, and a Democrat-Funded Organization with Multiple Temporary Facilities in Several States

The Gateway Pundit has always reported that there were unanswered statistical anomolies within the absentee data. Repeated trends across the state of Michigan that appear to show systemic voter fraud among absentee ballots.

Michigan State Senator Ruth Johnson, who is a former Secretary of State, told the Gateway Pundit: “My estimate is over 800,000 ballot applications were sent to non-qualified voters in Michigan, including many individuals who moved or died, and even some individuals who were underage or non-citizens. Many were sent to people who had moved out of state.” These ballot applications, if turned back in, would cause a live ballot to then be sent to that address by the clerk. Both the ballot applications and the live ballots were not seriously checked for a ‘signature match’ because Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson purposefully advised clerks to illegally assume and presume the signatures were a match.

This tip from Muskegon clerk Ann Meisch, who has been the City Clerk of Muskegon since 2007, was referred to the FBI. Clerk Meisch has been a City Clerk for other Michigan cities for 17 years before that. There’s no evidence the FBI did anything with this investigation. And in fact, the Bill Barr appointed DOJ attorney overseeing election fraud cases was notorious for political persecution against conservatives.

We have more coming on our investigation. Stay tuned.

Again, special thanks to Phil O’Halloron and Lori Skibo for their help with this repor

THE KING REPORT

The King Report August 8, 2023 Issue 7050

Independent View of the News

China’s trade slumps, threatening recovery prospects
Imports dropped 12.4% in July year-on-year, customs data showed on Tuesday, missing a forecast fall of 5% in a Reuters poll and off a 6.8% decline in June. Meanwhile, exports contracted 14.5%, steeper than an expected 12.5% decline and the previous month’s 12.4% fall…
     The pace of export decline was the fastest since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 and the tumble in imports was the biggest since January this year, when COVID infections shut shops and factories…
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-july-exports-imports-fall-much-faster-than-expected-2023-08-08/

US Bank Shares Drop as Moody’s Cuts Ratings, Warns on Risks
US bank stocks declined after Moody’s Investors Service lowered its ratings for 10 small and midsize lenders and said it may downgrade major firms including U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., State Street Corp., and Truist Financial Corp.
    Higher funding costs, potential regulatory capital weaknesses and rising risks tied to commercial real estate are among strains prompting the review, Moody’s said late Monday…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/moody-more-gloomy-view-us-000356251.html

Italy slaps 40% one-off windfall tax on its banks
Sharply higher official interest rates have yielded record profits for banks, as the cost of loans soared while lenders held off paying more on deposits.   European bank shares tumbled on Tuesday. A gauge of euro zone banks fell 4.5%, and was set for its biggest daily drop since the turmoil in the banking sector in March, when Credit Suisse collapsed… https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/08/investing/italy-bank-windfall-tax/index.html

@patrick_saner: The chart captures daily activity at US Amazon facilities based on satellite imageries. Current 2023 activity is unusually low. https://t.co/igLPzlBgqR

BBG: Fed Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said despite the efforts, inflation still remains too high. His Philadelphia counterpart Patrick Harker said the Fed may be able to cease rate hikes, barring any surprises in the economy, though rates would need to stay at their current elevated levels for some time… https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/bloomberg/stocks-drop-as-bank–economic-worries-lift-bonds–markets-wrap/48718778

NY Fed: Total Household Debt Reaches $17.06 trillion in Q2 2023; Credit Card Debt Exceeds $1 Trillion – Credit card balances… (rose) by $45 billion to a series high of $1.03 trillion. Other balances, which include retail credit cards and other consumer loans, and auto loans, increased by $15 billion and $20 billion, respectively. Student loan balances fell by $35 billion to reach $1.57 trillion, while mortgage balances were largely unchanged at $12.01 trillion… (US public and private debt to the moon, Alice!) https://www.newyorkfed.org/microeconomics/hhdc.html

ESUs vacillated between small gains and losses from the Nikkei opening until they broke lower near 21:00 ET on the Chinese trade news. The decline persisted, with two minor reprieves – from 2 ET until 5 ET and from the US bond market opening at 8 ET until the NYSE opening [usual pre-NYSE buying]. ESUs then sank, hitting a daily low of 4482.00 at 11:05 ET.

NVIDIA ANNOUNCES NEW GH200 GRACE HOPPER SUPER CHIP – BBG 11:29 ET
NVIDIA SAYS NEW CHIP TO BE IN PRODUCTION IN 2Q 2024 – BBG 11:29 ET

Nvidia reveals new AI chip, says costs of running LLMs will ‘drop significantly’
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/08/nvidia-reveals-new-ai-chip-says-cost-of-running-large-language-models-will-drop-significantly-.html

NVDA jumped from 445.88 to 451.3725 in four minutes. But the high for the day, 452.42, appeared at 9:35 ET. ‘Informed’ traders dumped into the GH200 announcement. NVDA sank to a daily low of 440.56 by 11:49 ET. Obviously, the NVDA new chip news was leaked before the NYSE open.

The Cleveland Fed Inflation Now Forecast has August CPI at .79% m/m. Is Harker unaware of this?
https://www.clevelandfed.org/en/indicators-and-data/inflation-nowcasting

A Noon Balloon developed, abetted by Philadelphia Fed President Harker’s dovish remarks.
Harker: Don’t want to overdo it with Fed tightening – BBG 12:19 ET
Harker: Sometime probably next years we’ll start cutting rates – BBG 12:20 ET.

The Harker rally trudged higher until 15:50 ET. ESUs and stocks retreated modestly into the close.

We have been rolling T-Bills with short durations since the Fed started hiking rates. A few weeks ago, we decided to extend the maturing T-Bills to 1 year and to buy an equal amount of 2-year notes. We also bought some 6-month T-Bills. Our rationale behind the short-term laddering: Team Obama has laced the Fed with obedient leftists. Most of the other Fed Presidents are feckless or want to be politically correct. So, barring a meaningful surge in CPI, which is a possibility, Fed leftists will do whatever is necessary to get Biden re-elected (If he is the Dem candidate). This means rate cuts are possible in 2024.

If the Fed goes accommodative for Biden, inflation could become viral. After the 2024 Election, the Fed could once again be far behind the Inflation/Rate Hike Curve. So, the Fed might have to hike more aggressively than expected. We want to have max flexibility after November 2024.

USUs rallied on the return of defensive asset allocators and were +29/32 at the NYSE close.

CBO: The federal budget deficit was $1.6 trillion in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2023, the
Congressional Budget Office estimates—more than twice the shortfall recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were 10 percent lower and outlays were 10 percent higher from October through July than they were during the same period in fiscal year 2022.
    Outlays in fiscal year 2023 were reduced by the shifting of certain payments—totaling $63 billion—from October 1, 2022 (the first day of fiscal year 2023), into fiscal year 2022 because October 1 fell on a weekend. If not for those shifts, the deficit through July would have been $1.7 trillion…
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-08/59377-MBR.pdf

Positive aspects of previous session
Philly Fed President Harker generated an equity rally with some dovish comments

Negative aspects of previous session
Gasoline rallied sharply, again
Defensive asset allocators ruled the US markets until Harker spoke
The US budget deficit is soaring! The Big Guy is too addled or too venal to stop lying about it.

Ambiguous aspects of previous session
Bonds rallied on defensive asset allocation, again

First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up

Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 44489.02
Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 4503.31; 4464.39

Organized cargo theft has surged as thieves target Nike supply chain
Cargo theft has surged up 57% compared to 2022, with industry leaders calling thieves “emboldened.”…
    Retailers continue to navigate a… landscape with more buyers turning toward e-commerce, and some are closing their doors entirely to try to mitigate loss… (A consequence of leftists’ soft on crime polices) https://www.businessinsider.com/organized-cargo-retail-theft-surged-thieves-target-nike-supply-chain-2023-8

Anheuser-Busch Selling Off Eight Craft Beer Brands as Bud Light Boycott Continues
Tilray Brands, the largest cannabis company in the world, will be purchasing the beer brands, which include Red Hook, Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, and HiBall Energy. The company is reportedly paying Anheuser-Busch $85 million in cash…
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/anheuser-busch-selling-eight-craft-beer-brands-as/

America First Legal sues Target for allegedly misleading shareholders
“Target’s management has misled investors, assuring them that the corporation oversees social and political issues and risks to protect shareholders,” AFL stated. “Behind closed doors, Target works for its extremist hard-left ‘stakeholders’ at the expense of its customers and shareholders.. This reckless move predictably caused more than a $12 billion collapse in share value — its largest loss in over 20 years,” AFL asserted… https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/america-first-legal-sues-target-allegedly-misleading-shareholders

Today – Harker saved equities from negative fundamental developments on Tuesday. Traders realize that the window for a rally is open until the release of July CPI at 830 ET on Thursday. So, bulls will be aggressive until saner angels liquidate late in the session to avoid a negative CPI surprise.

The S&P 500 Index got above 4500 near the final 15 minutes of trading but closed at 4499.35. Traders will try to ascertain ASAP if the S&P 500 Index struggles to stay above 4500 today.

China July CPI -0.3% y/y (-0.4% exp.), PPI -4.4% y/y (4.0% exp.); Expected China Economic Data: July Aggregate Financing CNY 1100.0B, New Yuan Loans 780.0B; July M2 11.0%

ESUs are +4.00 and USUs are +10/32 at 21:35 ET. After the close; DIS is expected to report 1.00 EPS.

S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 4422; 100-day MA: 4259; 150-day MA: 4174; 200-day MA: 4105
DJIA 50-day MA: 34,372; 100-day MA: 33,824; 150-day MA: 33,686; 200-day MA: 33,560
(Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)

S&P 500 Index – Trender trading model and MACD for key time frames
Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 3752.81 triggers a sell signal
Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4372.50 triggers a sell signal
Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4581.52 triggers a buy signal
Hourly: Trender is negative; MACD is positive – a close above 4526.16 triggers a buy signal

White House cocaine belonged to ‘Biden family orbit’ member (Not Hunter) https://trib.al/8KAC2WM

Massive 2020 Voter Fraud Uncovered in Michigan – Police Find: TENS OF THOUSANDS of Fake Registrations, Bags of Pre-Paid Gift Cards, Guns with Silencers, Burner Phones, and a Democrat-Funded Organization with Multiple Temporary Facilities in Several States
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/now-we-have-proof-tgp-exclusive-massive-2020/

Biden claims Grand Canyon is one of the ‘nine’ wonders of the world in latest gaffe
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-claims-grand-canyon-nine-wonders-world-latest-gaffe

Biden’s speech was full of gaffes, lies, and bizarre stories. Biden once again told a bizarre story about a little girl who approached him and begged him to “take care” of Bears Ears National Monument. He even used a creepy baby-like voice as he told the tall tale.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/hes-shot-joe-biden-spins-around-circle-salutes/

@greg_price11: Multiple Gold Star families whose sons died during the Afghanistan withdrawal testified yesterday that Joe Biden was incredibly rude to them and only wanted to talk to them about his own son.
You won’t find that on the front page of any of America’s newspapers this morning.

@TheFirstonTV: Biden -AGAIN- implies his son Beau was killed in Iraq (Big Lie!). GOLD STAR MOM: “When he approached me, his words to me were, ‘I know how you feel. We lost our son as well and brought him home in a flag draped coffin… How could someone be so heartless?
https://twitter.com/TheFirstonTV/status/1688940077987364864

Marine who survived Afghanistan explosion describes awkward encounter with Biden after losing arm and leg – “I told them, I was like, hold all of my opioids, like hold all of my narcotics and stuff. Like I want to be coherent when I meet him,” Vargas-Andrews recalled as he awaited a visit from Biden. “They held all my pain meds.”… it’s like four hours at this point. My mom’s furious. She’s like ‘what the f—. Where is this guy?’… I remember him coming up to me trying to shake my hand, shake my right hand, and I look at him, and I’m like ‘I don’t have an arm… I’m completely immobile. All I can do is move my head.”… Vargas-Andrews said the Bidens “almost immediately starts talking about how their son served in the military. [He] doesn’t say anything about what happened, just starts talking about how their son served in the military.” “My mom’s furious at this point and they’re like taking pictures and stuff,” he said of the encounter…
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/marine-survived-afghanistan-explosion-describes-awkward-encounter-biden-losing-arm-leg

Hemingway: Biden Needs To Stop Lying To Gold Star Families That His Son Died in Iraq
https://thefederalist.com/videos/hemingway-joe-biden-needs-to-stop-lying-to-gold-star-families-that-his-son-died-in-iraq/

NBC, ABC, CBS newscasts ignore Gold Star families’ testimony on Kabul attack
https://www.foxnews.com/media/nbc-abc-cbs-newscasts-ignore-gold-star-families-testimony-kabul-attack

@RNCResearch: Flashback to 2021, when Joe Biden repeatedly praised the EV company Proterra — in which his own energy secretary was heavily invested — as “getting us in the game,” “owning the future,” and making “a lot of difference.”  Yesterday, Proterra declared bankruptcy.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1688948197870252038

NYC officials expect ‘thousands’ of migrant students to arrive in next couple weeks: source https://trib.al/KBOGjkO

Mayor’s office demanded fewer white men, military in Seattle police recruitment
Joshua Brittingham, a labor & employment attorney with Carney Badley Spellman, said the memo could haunt the city of Seattle should anyone make a legal claim of discrimination… employment laws prohibit refusing to hire, terminating, or discriminating against any person in wages or in other terms or conditions of employment based on race and veteran/military status…
https://mynorthwest.com/3914010/rantz-mayors-office-demanded-fewer-white-men-military-in-seattle-police-recruitment/

END

GREG HUNTER..

SEE YOU TOMORROW