Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price

USD AM $1940.24

PM $1942.10

Historical SGE Fix

New York price at the time: $1890.00

premium $50,00

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Bitcoin morning price:, $25,993 DOWN 104 Dollars

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $26,080 DOWN 17 dollars

Platinum price closing $914.60 UP $2.20

Palladium price; $1239.60 down $14385

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: $2,565.84 UP 6.10 CDN dollars per oz (ALL TIME HIGH 2,775.35)

BRITISH GOLD: 1483.88 UP 1.90 pounds per oz//(ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1630.29)

EURO GOLD: 1738.98 UP 1.10 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: 1,886.100000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 08/18/2023 DELIVERY DATE: 08/22/2023
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED ___________________________________________________________________________________435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 5

737 C ADVANTAGE 2 3

991 H CME 4 ___________________________________________________________________________________ TOTAL: 7 7 MONTH TO DATE: 10,847

JPMorgan stopped 0 /7 contracts.

FOR AUGUST:

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR AUGUST/2023. CONTRACT: 7 NOTICES FOR 700 OZ or 0.02177 TONNES

total notices so far: 10,847 contracts for 1,084,700 oz (33.738 tonnes)

FOR AUGUST:

SILVER NOTICES: 0 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR nil OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 950 for 4,750,000 oz

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END

GLD

WITH GOLD UP $7.15

INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD//HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.60 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD

INVENTORY RESTS AT 890.10 TONNES

Silver//

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP 59 CENTS AT THE SLV// HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 917,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV//

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 451.373 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 789 CONTRACTS TO 136,351 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS STRONG SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR $0.04 GAIN IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON FRIDAY. TAS ISSUANCE WAS A RATHER SMALL SIZED 618 CONTRACTS. THESE WILL BE USED FOR MANIPULATION LATER THIS MONTH/AS WELL AS 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 FRIDAY NIGHT: 618 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 UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY $0.04). AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OF ANY SILVER CONTRACTS AS WE HAD A TINY SIZED LOSS OF 30 CONTRACTS ON BOTH EXCHANGES ALONG WITH CONSIDERABLE T.A.S.LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT THE COMEX SESSION.

WE MUST HAVE HAD:

A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS( 643 CONTRACTS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 3.105 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S NIL OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING REMAINS AT 4.655 MILLION OZ + OUR NEW CRIMINAL 550 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 2.75 MILLION OZ + 2.45 MILLION OZ EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR//NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 5.20 MILLION OZ/// NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR SILVER: 9.955 MILLION OZ/// // // STRONG SIZED COMEX OI LOSS/ STRONG SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/VI) SMALLER BUT STILL STRONG SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE (618 CONTRACTS)/550 EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED FOR 2.750 MILLION OZ//

I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL -116 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 16 days, total 18.455 contracts: OR 92.275 MILLION OZ (1230 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 89.069 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 2022: 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: 92.275 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE VERY STRONG

RESULT: WE HAD A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 673 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.04 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//FRIDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A STRONG EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 673 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 0 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING 4.755 MILLION OZ+ 5.20 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK NEW TOTALS 9.955 MILLION OZ//// WE HAVE A TINY SIZED LOSS OF 146 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A SMALLER BUT STILL STRONG 618 CONTRACTS//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE FRIDAY COMEX SESSION . THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE FRIDAY NIGHT (618) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE., .

WE HAD 0 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR nil OZ

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A SMALL SIZED 381 CONTRACTS TO 433,441 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,541 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.

THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: – REMOVED: 1161 CONTRACTS

WE HAD A SMALL SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI ( 381 CONTRACTS) WITH OUR $1.15 GAIN IN PRICE//FRIDAY. 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 300 OZ E.FP. JUMP TO LONDON + PRIOR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = (.684 TONNES) //NEW STANDING 33.860 TONNES + .684 EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 34.544/ + /A FAIR (AND CRIMINAL) ISSUANCE OF 1197 T.A.S. CONTRACTS /// ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED DESPITE OUR $1.15 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING.WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN OF 3451 OI CONTRACTS (10.734 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3070 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 433,441

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3451 CONTRACTS WITH 381 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR 3070 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3451 CONTRACTS OR 10.734 TONNES. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR 1197 CONTRACTS)

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3070 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE SMALL SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI (381) //TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 3451 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 300 OZ E.F.P. JUMP TO LONDON //NEW STANDING 33.860 TONNES + .684 TONNES (EXCHANGE FOR RISK//PRIOR) NEW TOTALS: 34.544 TONNES/// 3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION WITH CONSIDERABLE TAS LIQUIDATION DURING THE COMEX SESSION //4) SMALL SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAIN/ 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///6: FAIR T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 1191 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: 42,573 CONTRACTS OR 4,257,300 OZ OR 132.419 TONNES IN 15 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 2838 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 15 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 132.419 TONNES

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

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 132.419/3550 x 100% TONNES 3.72% 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/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( 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: 132.419 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)

SPREADING OPERATIONS

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

SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF SEPT. 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 (SEPT), 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 STRONG SIZED 789 CONTRACTS OI TO 136,851 AND CLOSER TO OUR COMEX HIGH RECORD //244,710(SET FEB 25/2020). THE LAST RECORDS WERE SET IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD TO THAT WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER 5 YEARS AGO. HOWEVER WE HAVE NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023

EFP ISSUANCE A STRONG 643 CONTRACTS

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

SEPT 643 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 653 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 789 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 643 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,

WE OBTAIN A TINY SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 146 CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTAL 0.730 MILLION OZ

OCCURRED DESPITE OUR $0.04 GAIN 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//

MONDAY MORNING//SUNDAY NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 38.97 PTS OR 1.24% //Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 327.56 PTS OR 1.82% /The Nikkei CLOSED UP 114.88 PTS OR 0.37% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN .41 % /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP 7.2392 /OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN UP TO 7.2920 /Oil UP TO 82.40 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 85.68 / 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 ROSE BY A SMALL SIZED 381 CONTRACTS UP TO 433,441 WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.15 ON FRIDAY.

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 3070 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : DEC 3070 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3070 CONTRACTS

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A GOOD SIZED TOTAL OF 3451 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3070 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A SMALL SIZED GAIN OF 381 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.15//FRIDAY 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 FRIDAY NIGHT WAS A FAIR 1191 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)//

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: AUGUST (34.542) ( 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: 34.542 TONNES (INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)

THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT GAINED $1.15) //// BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A GOOD GAIN OF 4612 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE HAD SOME T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ON THE FRONT END OF YESTERDAY’S TRADING. THE T.A.S. ISSUED ON FRIDAY NIGHT WILL BE “PUT INTO THE BANK” TO BE USED AT A LATER DATE AT THE COLLUSIVE CHOOSING OF OUR BANKERS.

WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 10.734 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 300 OZ E.F.P.JUMP TO LONDON //NEW STANDING DROPS A BIT TO 33.860 TONNES + .6842 (PRIOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK) //NEW TOTAL 34.542 TONNES // ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $1.15.

WE HAD – REMOVED 1161 CONTRACTS TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 3451 CONTRACTS OR 345,100 OZ OR 10.734 TONNES.

Estimated gold volume today:// 138,349 awful

final gold volumes/yesterday 123,263 awful//speculators have left the gold arena

//AUGUST 21/ FOR THE AUGUST 2023 GOLD CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory in oz*	nil
Withdrawals from Customer* Inventory in oz*	46,030.341 OZ HSBC JPM Malca .
Deposit to the Dealer* Inventory in oz*	nil
Deposits to the Customer* Inventory, in oz*	nil OZ
No of oz served (contracts) today	7 notice(s) 700 OZ 0.02177 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	39 contracts 3900 oz 0.1213 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	10,847 notices 1,084,700 OZ 33.738 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 3 customer withdrawals

i) Out HSBC: 5662.729 oz

ii) Out of JPMorgan 23,566.950 oz

iii) Out of Malca: 17,801.741 oz

total withdrawals 46,070.341 oz

Adjustments; 1 dealer to customer account and a doozy

i) Out of JPMorgan: 381,823.266 oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR AUGUST.

For the front month of AUGUST we have an oi of 46 contracts having LOST 106 contracts. We had 103 contracts filed

on Friday, so we lost 3 contracts or an additional 300 oz will not stand at the comex, as they were EFP’d to London to take immediate delivery over there.

Sept gained 166 contracts to 3144.

Oct gained 162 contracts to 33,331 contracts.

We had 7 contracts filed for today representing 700 oz

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer account and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 7 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped received by J.P.Morgan//customer account and 0 notice(s) received (stopped) by the squid (Goldman Sachs)

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

we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (10,847 x 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of AUGUST (46 CONTRACT) minus the number of notices served upon today 7 x 100 oz per contract equals 1,088,600 OZ OR 33.860 TONNES the number of TONNES standing in this active month of AUGUST. + .684 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/prior = 34.544 tonnes

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the AUGUST contract month: No of notices filed so far (10,847) x 100 oz + (46) {OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (7) x 100 oz) which equals 1,088,600 oz standing OR 33.860 TONNES + .684 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/prior = 34.544 TONNES

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING: 34.544 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: 2,110,978.535 OZ 65.66 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED: 21,752,764.760 OZ

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD: 11,121,509.498 (345,92 tonnes)..

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 10,631,255.262 OZ

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 9,010,531 OZ (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 280.26 tonnes//dropping rapidly/

END

SILVER/COMEX

AUGUST 21

//2023// THE AUGUST 2023 SILVER CONTRACT

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers* Inventory*	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	1,123,664.951 oz CNT Delaware .
Deposits to the Dealer* Inventory*	nil oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	nil
No of oz served today (contracts)	0 CONTRACT(S) (nil OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	1 contracts (5000 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	950 Contracts (4,750,000 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: 139.276 million oz/278.573 million =49.69% of comex .//

Comex withdrawals 2

i) Out of CNT 49,779.799 oz

ii) Out of Delaware 1073,885.152 oz

total: 1,123,664.951 oz

adjustments: 0

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 27.604 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 278.532 million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR JULY:

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF AUGUST /2023 OI: 1 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 20 CONTRACT(S). WE HAD

20 NOTICES FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED 0 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL NIL OZ WILL STAND IN THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF AUGUST.

SEPT HAS A LOSS OF 3176 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 50.978

OCT GAINED 6 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 496.

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 0 for NIL oz

Comex volumes// est. volume today 79,105 good

Comex volume: confirmed yesterday: 63,759 fair

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 950 x 5,000 oz = 4,750,000 oz

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of AUGUST (1) and the number of notices served upon today 0 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the standings for silver for the AUGUST/2023 contract month: 950 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of AUGUST (1) – number of notices served upon today (0 )x 500 oz of silver standing for the AUGUST contract month equates to 4.755 million oz.+ 2.75 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED TODAY+ 2.45 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK PRIOR//NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 5.2 MILLION OZ//NEW SILVER STANDING: 9.955 MILLION oz.

There are 27.604 million oz of registered silver.

Thus if we take today’s standing at 9.955 and add last month’s 30.9 million oz we have 40.855 million oz against only 27.604 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 21/WITH GOLD UP $7.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 2.60 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 890.10 TONNES

AUGUST 18/WITH GOLD UP $1.15 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.92 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: //: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 887.50 TONNES

AUGUST 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $12.80 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: //: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 894.42 TONNES

AUGUST 16/WITH GOLD DOWN $7.00 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES FORM THE GLD//: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 894.42 TONNES

AUGUST 15/WITH GOLD DOWN $7,45 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.76 TONNES FORM THE GLD//: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 895.87 TONNES

AUGUST 14/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.10 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.75 TONNES FORM THE GLD//: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 899.63 TONNES

AUGUST 11/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.10 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .31 TONNES FORM THE GLD//: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.31 TONNES

AUGUST 10/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.00 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: /// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 903.69 TONNES

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.

GLD INVENTORY: 890.10 TONNES

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

AUGUST 21/WITH SILVER UP 59 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 917,0000 OZ FROM THE SLV//.////INVENTORY RESTS AT 451.373 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 18/WITH SILVER UP 4 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//.////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.290 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 17/WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//.////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.290 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 16/WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.275 MILLION OZ INTOTHE SLV/: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.290 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 15/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.275 MILLION OZ INTOTHE SLV/: / .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.290 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 14/WITH SILVER DOWN 3 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 0.459 MILLION OZ INTOTHE SLV/: //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.565 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 11/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 1.926 MILLION OZ INTOTHE SLV/: // OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// .////INVENTORY RESTS AT 452.106 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 10/WITH SILVER UP 6 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 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

CLOSING INVENTORY 451.373 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

1:Peter Schiff/Mike Maharrey

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/peter-schiff-fed-no-win-situation

Peter Schiff: The Fed Is In A No-Win Situation

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 10:40 AM

Via SchiffGold.com,

Most people now seem to think the Federal Reserve can beat price inflation and guide the economy to a soft landing. In his podcast, Peter Schiff explains why most people are wrong. The Fed is actually in a no-win situation. And if the Fed can’t win, gold can’t lose.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes from the July FOMC meeting last week. They revealed that many of the FOMC members still think the inflation fight is far from over.

With inflation still well above the Committee’s longer-run goal and the labor market remaining tight, most participants continued to see significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy.”

Peter said they should be worried about an upside surprise with inflation.

I’ve been saying to take your eyes off the rearview mirror and look at everything that’s happening in the windshield. Forget about the fact that the CPI has gone down from new to three. We’re now going back up.”

During his press conference after the July meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell gave markets some hope that rates could come down next year — even before the central bank hit its 2% target. But as Peter pointed out, if the FOMC members are still concerned about upside inflation, that means the Fed will have to reassess cutting rates next year.

In fact, the Fed might actually have to raise rates more than they thought. In other words, it might not just be one more rate hike. Maybe the Fed has got to go up to 6%. Maybe they’ve got to go higher than that.”

This spooked the markets last week, and we saw a pretty significant selloff in both stocks and bonds. Gold also fell below $1,900 an ounce. Peter called it a “buy area.”

Bond yields have risen close to the high point in this cycle. And as Peter pointed out, they should be higher given the amount of debt in the economy.

Tax hikes can’t make it through Congress. Nobody wants to cut spending. So, the fiscal situation that we’re in is far more precarious than it was back then [the last time yields were this high]. Rates should be higher.”

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Fed recently raised its GDP forecast for Q3 to 5.8%.

“I can’t even remember the last time we had a 5.8% quarter,” Peter said, pointing out this doesn’t look like a “soft landing.”

That isn’t landing at all. That’s the plane still up there in the air, right? You’re not landing at 5.8%. You’re not even close to the runway. Now, a lot of people would think if the economy is this strong, well, the Fed can’t cut. In fact, the Fed has to hike. We’re going to have more inflation. Because you still have all these Keynesians out there who think that inflation is a byproduct of economic growth, and if we’re going to have this booming economy, well, then we’re going to have the trade-off of higher inflation.”

Peter said that’s the messaging he hears coming from the mainstream financial media.

As if slowing the economy is what’s going to bring down inflation. It’s not. The truth is if they really want to bring down inflation, the consequence is going to be that the economy weakens. It has to, because we have a bubble economy that is based on debt. Everybody is loaded up with debt and it’s all based on excess consumption. The American economy is about spending more than you earn. We have elevated that to an art form.”

Americans have a comparative advantage in shopping.

That’s the easy part. The hard part is making all the stuff. Working in the factories; that’s the hard part. Anybody can go to a store and bring stuff home.”

Peter said the only way to fight inflation is to reduce spending.

You’re not trying to weaken the economy. You’re trying to stop the spending.”

In reality, we don’t want to put people out of work. Working people add productivity.

Remember, inflation is about too much money chasing too few goods. So, the more people who are working, the more goods they are producing. So, we want people to work. We just don’t want them to spend. We want them to take what the earn and save it. That’s how you bring down inflation. You get more production and you get less consumption. So, you get more goods and less money.”

Meanwhile, you want fiscal responsibility. You want the government to cut its spending so demand goes down.

You don’t want the government to give people money to go out and buy stuff.”

You also need consumers to quit borrowing. That’s the whole point of rate hikes. You want borrowing to be too expensive.

It’s all about more savings and less spending. That’s how we bring down inflation. Well, the Fed is not accomplishing that at all because the rate hikes have been too little too accomplish that, and they’ve had no help from the government because the government is spending and borrowing like there’s no tomorrow.”

When you boil it all down, it’s clear that the Fed needs to initiate much bigger rate hikes.

Since the narrative is we just need a weaker economy, positive economic data is viewed as bad news. Peter said that’s because Wall Street has one thing right: interest rates need to come down. This economy can’t function long-term in a high interest rate environment.

But the way people perceive the Fed’s outlook is the main thing driving the markets right now.

Everybody just cares what these guys think. If they’re scared of inflation, which they should be – they should be a lot more afraid of it than what they’re publicly admitting – it’s a game-changer for the markets. And the markets are already skating on thin ice. The markets were already ignoring all kinds of bad news and shrugging it off because they were looking for these rate cuts to bail them out. Well, maybe the bailout isn’t going to come as soon as they think.”

Peter said this is why he’s patient with gold.

We can’t go on for many more years. The numbers at this point are just so astronomically big. And again, the only thing that’s keeping gold from exploding is this idea that the Fed is going to succeed in bringing inflation back to 2% and a soft landing. They’re not going to do either, but they have to do both. But the markets are confident that the Fed is going to pull this off. It’s not going to happen. The markets are completely wrong. And so gold is priced for something that is not going to happen.”

Even if price inflation does come back down and there is a recession. The Fed will cut rates. The budget deficits will keep getting bigger. The central bank will go back to QE.

That’s bullish for gold. Even if inflation comes down with a weak economy that’s bullish for gold. But if inflation goes up, that’s bullish for gold too, as long as the Fed stops fighting it, which eventually they have to do. Because if inflation keeps going up, the economy is going to collapse. The Fed can’t keep raising rates. It’s like a game of chicken. At some point, the rate hikes are too much for this overly indebted economy to bear. We are all levered to the max. It can’t happen. The Fed is in a no-win position. And when the Fed can’t win, gold can’t lose.”

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

end

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

Chris Powell…..

Dollarizing would re-enslave Argentina, not liberate it

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2023-08-18 20:50Section: Daily Dispatches

8:54p ET Friday, August 18, 2023

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:

Since there does not seem to have been much news or commentary about gold and silver worth bothering you with for a few days and you might think that GATA was falling asleep at the switch or giving up, maybe you will tolerate some brief commentary from your secretary/treasurer.

You may have noted with some satisfaction that the winner of Argentina’s presidential primary, Javier Milei, a self-proclaimed libertarian, says he wants to burn down the country’s central bank. (It’s not yet clear whether he would let the bank’s occupants leave the building first.)

Yes, modern central banking is a largely totalitarian system for determining the value of all capital, labor, goods, and services and defeating free markets without any democratic accountability, and Argentina, once a wealthy country whose name derives from the foremost monetary metal — silver — long has suffered high inflation and now faces an inflation rate beyond 100% annually, inflation being a major consequence of central banking’s merger with corrupt politics.

But Milei wants to burn down the Banco Central de la Republica Argentina only to replace Argentina’s pathetic peso with the U.S. dollar — that is, to replace the peso with the currency of a foreign central bank, a currency that is also wildly inflationary but endures as the world reserve currency in large part because of surreptitious currency market manipulation, backed up with the threat of military intervention, and because of the cowardly subservience most of the rest of the world.

Bad as it is, tyranny by domestic oppressors is better than tyranny by foreign oppressors, since overthrowing domestic oppressors is easier.

Milei won’t be much of a libertarian until he acknowledges that there are practical alternatives not just to the peso but to the dollar as well — that there are currencies harder to corrupt than the peso and the dollar — if people want more honest and stable currencies. The old land of silver still has plenty of that monetary metal to mine, and plenty of gold as well, money whose creation would put to work many more Argentines than are employed by the creation of pesos or would be employed by the country’s dollarization, alternative money whose inflation likely would be far lower than that of the peso and the dollar.

Really, what’s the point of trading enslavement to a domestic central bank for enslavement to a foreign one?

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

end

4, OTHER IMPORTANT GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

5 a. IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES:

end

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

END

6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/

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

ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP TO 7.2392

OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.2920

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 38.97 PTS OR 1.24%

HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 327.56 PTS OR 1.82%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 114.88 OR 0.37%

3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN

USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 103.12 EURO RISES TO 1.0910 UP 47 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.643 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 145.80/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 UP /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 +2.6650***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield RISES to 4.354*** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD RISES TO 3.7110…**

3i Greek 10 year bond yield RISES TO 3.938

3j Gold at $1894.50 silver at: 23.18 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 41 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 94.75//

3m oil into the 82 dollar handle for WTI and 85 handle for Brent/

3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// 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 145.80// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.643% 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 0.8792 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF 0.9593well 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: 4.299 UP 5 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.435 UP 6 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.964 UP 5 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 27.17…(TURKEY SET TO BLOW UP FINANCIALLY)

GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: UP 5 BASIS PTS AT 4.7250

end

2.a Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge:

US Futures, Global Stocks Rebound Even As Yields Jump

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 08:15 AM

US equity futures and global stocks are solidly higher to start the new week after a bruising August so far for investors, whose attention now turns to the week’s Jackson Hole symposium (which last year set off a powerful selloff that sent stocks into a painful bear market). Risk is on despite global bonds broadly weaker, with 10Y TSYs rates rising above the 4.25% level that had acted as strong near-term support. As of 7:45am ET, emini S&P futures were 0.5% higher at 4,405, well above Friday’s multi-month lows of 4,350, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.6%. Europe is also solidly in the green, with major markets such as Italy/France/SX5E up more than 1%. Asian stocks were little changed, steadying after six-straight daily losses, even as stocks slumped in Hong Kong and mainland China after Chinese banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to the one-year prime lending rate, confusing markets and traders after last week’s unexpected rate cut.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged lower, lifting most G10 currencies and helping boost commodities which are seeing all 3 complexes rallying with Ags outperforming. Treasury yields edged higher in quiet trading, with the 10-year rates touching the highest since November 2007. Gold traded near a five-month low just below $1,885, while oil climbed and Bitcoin slid 0.8%. This week’s focus is on Flash PMIs, NVDA earnings, and Jackson Hole. Given low liquidity we may see some outsized moves as technicals/positioning have outsized influence.

In premarket trading, tech megacaps were poised for a relief rally with NVDA earnings this week: NVDA +2% and TSLA +2.8% pre-mkt. Palo Alto Networks Inc. rallied in premarket trading after the cybersecurity company’s billings forecast beat estimates and offset weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results (peers also rose: CrowdStrike +3.1%, Fortinet +1.6% and SentinelOne +2.9%). Here are some other notable premarket movers:

Napco Security Technologies fell 34% after the electronic security devices maker said it would have to restate its financial statements for the first three fiscal quarters.
XPeng’s ADRs gain 6.5% after Bank of America upgraded the Chinese EV maker to buy from neutral on expectation that stronger cost controls and a pact with Volkswagen can enable the company to turn a profit in 2025.
Kenvue gains 2.01% after Johnson & Johnson said about 23.8% of tendered J&J shares will likely be swapped for Kenvue shares. This so-called preliminary proration rate is closely followed by investors, especially arbitragers who seek to take profit from the split-off event.
XPeng’s ADRs (XPEV) gain 5.5% after Bank of America upgrades the Chinese EV maker to buy from neutral on expectation that stronger cost controls and a pact with Volkswagen can enable the company to turn a profit in 2025.

The upturn for stocks follows a run of sharp losses, with the S&P 500 down 4.8% this month as investors brace for the potential of interest rates remaining higher for longer. The next clues on the policy outlook will come from this week’s annual gathering of central bankers at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell due to speak Friday.

Confusion over China’s approach to stemming the nation’s property slump kept the more positive mood in check. Chinese lenders on Monday cut their one-year loan prime rate by 10 basis points and kept the five-year prime loan rates unchanged, even after policymakers called for more lending. Traders had expected a 15-basis-point cut on both rates.

“I do think there is more volatility ahead as the market is not happy with the lack of stimulus in China and especially credit availability for consumers,” said Evgenia Molotova, senior investment manager at Pictet Asset Management. “The narrative in the US is more and more toward a soft-landing. The risk to this is potential inflation resurgence due to strong consumer spending and salary growth.”

When he speaks Friday, Powell is expected to strike “a more balanced tone in Wyoming, hinting at the tightening cycle’s end while underscoring the need to hold rates higher for longer,” according to Anna Wong at Bloomberg Economics. “The Fed have done almost everything they need to do to get inflation down to target and it would surprise me if there was a lot more rate rises to come,” said David Henry, investment manager at Quilter Cheviot.

On the earnings front, the week’s key event is Wednesday’s report from Nvidia, whose blowout revenue forecast last quarter helped ignite this year’s rally in artificial intelligence-linked stocks.

Meanwhile, two of Wall Street’s top strategists are at odds about the outlook for US stocks following as debate rages over whether the economy can avoid a recession. Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson — a stalwart equity bear — says sentiment is likely to weaken further if investors are starting to “question the sustainability of the economic resiliency.” But his counterpart at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., David Kostin, says there’s room for investors to further increase exposure if the economy stays on course for a soft landing.

Wilson said stock investors had now become too optimistic about a soft landing, while cooling inflation has crimped Corporate America’s ability to raise prices. Kostin said a recent decline in a Goldman equity sentiment indicator could turn out to be short lived if market conditions continue to improve.

European stocks are on course to snap a four-session losing streak as investors await comments from key central bankers at Jackson Hole later this week. Major markets are higher with Italy/France/SX5E up more than 1%, while the Stoxx 600 is up 0.7% with the energy, health care, consumer products and auto sectors leading gains; higher energy prices buoyed oil producers like TotalEnergies SA and Shell Plc. Italian Banks were among best performers as the gov’t looks to reimburse the windfall tax via a tax credit. Here are the biggest European movers:

Energy stocks outperform Monday as oil rises for a third day amid signs of market tightening. Natural gas prices also jump as workers serving a key export project in Australia prepare for a strike
Demant gains as much as 4.5% after being upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan, with the broker seeing the Danish hearing-aid maker’s strong momentum continuing in 2024
Indivior rises as much as 3.5% after the drugmaker announced it has reached a settlement in a case alleging the company ran a scheme to extend a monopoly over its addiction treatment Suboxone
Corbion gains as much as 7.6%, the most in more than seven months, after Berenberg upgrades the Dutch ingredients maker to buy, highlighting its multi-year PE discount to consumer chemicals peers
Adyen fell as much as 7.8%, extending its decline into a seventh session and hitting its lowest level since April 2020. Citi analyst Pavan Daswani projects further declines after management did little to alleviate investor concerns on competition

Earlier in the session, a key Asian equity gauge was little changed, steadying after six-straight daily losses, as China continued to try and boost its flagging economy and markets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index swung between a loss of 0.5% and gain of 0.2%. Stocks slumped in Hong Kong and mainland China after Chinese banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to the one-year prime lending rate. Benchmarks climbed in Japan and South Korea.

China’s financial stocks including China Merchants Bank dropped after banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to their benchmark lending rate, a move that is seen to reflect their rising concerns over margin pressure. Orient Overseas plunged after reporting an 80% year-on-year drop in its first-half earnings. Deepening economic concerns over China have coupled with expectations of higher-for-longer rates in the US to dent investor appetite for risk assets like stocks. The MSCI Asian equity measure has fallen nearly 8% so far in August, erasing the previous two months’ gains and paring its gain for the year to a little more than 1%.

Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured as China’s recent support efforts, including the PBoC and financial regulators’ meeting with bank executives where they told lenders to boost loans to support the economic recovery, were nullified by a narrower-than-expected cut to the PBoC’s 1-year Loan Prime Rate and the surprise decision to keep the 5-year LPR unchanged which is the reference rate for mortgages.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was underpinned after Japan announced to raise the minimum hourly wage by the most on record, although the index briefly wobbled in reaction to China’s benchmark rates before returning to session highs.
ASX 200 was lacklustre with price action contained amid a busy week of earnings and as weakness in financials and defensives offset the gains in energy and tech.

“Sentiment is certainly pretty bad,” Redmond Wong, market strategist for Greater China at Saxo Bank told Bloomberg Television. Highly anticipated big bang stimulus for the Chinese economy is unlikely to arrive, leaving investors “waiting for the mysterious Godot,” he said.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index is little changed:

The Japanese yen is the weakest of the G-10 currencies, falling 0.2% versus the greenback.
The yuan weakened after China’s lenders unexpectedly left a key lending rate that guides mortgages unchanged, a move seen as “puzzling“ after larger cuts by the PBOC last week. Flows are on the low side in the major currencies, with yuan options being active once again, according to three Europe-based traders
The Aussie fell after Chinese banks made a smaller-than-expected cut to their benchmark lending rate despite the central bank putting pressure on them to boost loans; AUD/USD down as much as 0.2% to 0.6393

In rates, treasuries fell, led by the long end, with US 30-year yields rising 5bps to 4.43%, while two-year yield rose 1bp to 4.95%. US 10-year yields near highs of the day into early US session, trading around 4.30% with bunds lagging by additional 1bp in the sector, gilts outperforming by 3.5bp; long-end-led losses steepen 2s10s, 5s30s spreads by 2bp and 3bp on the day. Gilts are rallying as UK home prices fall that most since summer 2018; high frequency data point to a slowing labor market. Bunds lag slightly while gilts outperform in early London session. Focus this week is on the Jackson Hole economic policy symposium, where Fed Chair Powell is scheduled to speak Friday.

In commodities, crude futures advance, with WTI rising 0.7% to trade near $81.80. European benchmark gas prices soared as much as 18% as traders priced in the possibility of supply disruptions from a potential strike in Australia. Oil rose for a third day as signs the physical market is tightening offset growing demand risks in China and the US. Global benchmark Brent traded above $85 a barrel and is up more than 2% since last Wednesday’s close.

Bitcoin is under modest pressure this morning with newsflow light and the agenda ahead sparse as we look towards the main events at the tail-end of the week. Action which occurs despite modest downside in the USD; though, this hasn’t picked up much steam in European hours as the overall risk tone becomes increasingly constructive.

It is a quiet start to the week, with no notable economic news, earnings or Fed speakers scheduled; Fed’s Powell is due to speak at Jackson Hole on Friday at 10:05am, with text release expected

Market Snapshot

S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 4,398.00
MXAP down 0.5% to 156.88
MXAPJ down 0.7% to 492.65
Nikkei up 0.4% to 31,565.64
Topix up 0.2% to 2,241.49
Hang Seng Index down 1.8% to 17,623.29
Shanghai Composite down 1.2% to 3,092.98
Sensex up 0.6% to 65,308.33
Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.5% to 7,115.47
Kospi up 0.2% to 2,508.80
STOXX Europe 600 up 0.7% to 451.50
German 10Y yield little changed at 2.64%
Euro up 0.1% to $1.0886
Brent Futures up 0.6% to $85.34/bbl
Brent Futures up 0.6% to $85.35/bbl
Gold spot down 0.1% to $1,888.11
U.S. Dollar Index little changed at 103.37

Top Overnight News

Chinese banks kept a key interest rate that guides mortgages on hold and made a smaller-than-expected cut to another rate, surprise moves that reflect Beijing’s difficult choice between boosting confidence and safeguarding the banking system’s stability
The Bank of Japan is purchasing government bonds at a record pace this year, a factor that likely prompted its recent move to allow larger yield movements to reduce the strain on its control of longer-term interest rates
European natural gas prices jumped as workers serving a key export project in Australia prepare for a strike that could put a significant dent in global supplies in the run-up to winter
The world’s leading emerging market powers have complained for years about being sidelined by wealthy nations. Now they are mounting their most ambitious challenge yet to the status quo

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newquawk

APAC stocks traded mixed as the disappointment with China’s decision on its Loan Prime Rates overshadowed China’s recent support efforts. ASX 200 was lacklustre with price action contained amid a busy week of earnings and as weakness in financials and defensives offset the gains in energy and tech. Nikkei 225 was underpinned after Japan announced to raise the minimum hourly wage by the most on record, although the index briefly wobbled in reaction to China’s benchmark rates before returning to session highs. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured as China’s recent support efforts, including the PBoC and financial regulators’ meeting with bank executives where they told lenders to boost loans to support the economic recovery, were nullified by a narrower-than-expected cut to the PBoC’s 1-year Loan Prime Rate and the surprise decision to keep the 5-year LPR unchanged which is the reference rate for mortgages.

Top Asian News

PBoC Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Aug) 3.45% vs. Exp. 3.40% (Prev. 3.55%); 5Y (Aug) 4.20% vs. Exp. 4.05% (Prev. 4.20%)
PBoC and regulators met with bank executives and told lenders to boost loans to support the economic recovery, according to Bloomberg. PBoC said it will better implement prudent monetary policy in a precise and powerful manner, while it will keep credit growth stable and guide smooth credit function, as well as coordinate on resolving local government debt risks and will adjust and optimise credit policies for the property sector, according to Reuters.
China is to push for the BRICS to become a geopolitical rival to the G7 with leaders from across developing nations to meet this week, according to FT.
US President Biden is to sign a strategic partnership deal with Vietnam in the latest bid to counter China in the region, according to Politico.
Singapore PM Lee said during an annual policy address that Singapore is keeping up economically and expects positive growth this year, while he hopes they will avoid a recession and said inflation is coming down but will stay higher than what they are used to. Furthermore, he said there will be financial support for workers who lose jobs and announced a SGD 7bln package for ‘young’ seniors to help with retirement.
Japan’s MOF raises the assumed long-term interest rate to 1.5% in FY24/25 (prev. record low 1.1% in FY23/24), via Kyodo; raises the assumed rate due to rising yields after BoJ policy tweak.

Sentiment has gradually improved since the relatively modest European cash open despite a lack of fundamental developments, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.1%. Sectors are primarily in the green though Real Estate is lagging and resides in the red following updates from Crest Nicholson and the latest Rightmove data. At the other end of the spectrum, Energy outperforms given supply-side risks from Australia and the Gulf of Mexico. Stateside, futures were initially around the unchanged mark but have picked up in tandem with the above action with specifics light as we look towards the Jackson Hole symposium, ES +0.5%.

Top European News

UK PM Sunak is to spend GBP 100mln of taxpayer money on thousands of high-powered AI chips in an effort to catch up in the race for computing power, according to The Telegraph.
Italy is reportedly to propose ex-economy minister Franco as their candidate for the ECB executive board in October when Panetta steps down to govern the Bank of Italy, via Reuters citing sources. Contrasts with sources in July that Italy was going to propose Cipollone
UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly is to visit China at the end of August, via Reuters citing sources.
Fitch affirmed Netherlands at AAA; Outlook Stable on Friday.

Dollar drifts in low key start to the week, but DXY holds above 200 DMA within 103.470-270 confines.
Franc firmer and probing 0.8800 vs Buck as weekly Swiss sight deposits drop, Euro eyes option expiries on either side of 1.0897-70 range and Sterling capped amidst upside in EUR/GBP, with Cable capped between 1.2750-11 bounds and the cross near the top of a 0.8562-34 range.
Yen undermined by a bounce in US Treasury yields as USD/JPY climbs towards 145.75 from 145.15.
CNY and CNH were unimpressed with limited PBoC LPR easing, but off lows after major Chinese state banks absorbed offshore Yuan liquidity.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1987 vs exp. 7.2893 (prev. 7.2006)
Turkish Central Bank ended implementation that stipulates a target for conversion from foreign currency deposits to FX-protected deposits and ended securities maintenance and reserve requirement practice based on the Turkish lira share of FX-protected deposits, while it stated that regulations were aimed to increase Turkish lira deposits while decreasing FX-protected deposits.
China’s major state-owned banks were reportedly seen mopping up offshore Yuan liquidity on Monday, via Reuters citing sources.
Indian Foreign Secretary says BRICS discussing trade in national currencies, and not common currencies.

Fixed Income

Debt divergent amidst a dearth of data and events.
Bunds hover near 131.00 after filling the gap within a 131.41-130.97 Eurex range.
Gilts outperform between 92.20-91.58 parameters after weak UK data and survey releases.
T-note under par and closer to 101-09 trough than 109-22 peak and curve steeper.

Commodities

Crude benchmarks are bolstered with multiple supply-side updates in focus, firstly the NHC said the system within the Gulf of Mexico has a high chance of formation.
WTI October resides around USD 81.10/bbl while its Brent counterpart holds between USD 85.00-85.50/bbl; both of best levels but still firmer on the session.
Additionally, the complex is perhaps deriving support from Australian LNG (see below), with Dutch TTF surpassing the EUR 40 mark in an initial move, while off best it still posts upside of circa. 6%.
Unions at Woodside Energy’s (WDS AT) North West Shelf offshore gas platforms “unanimously endorsed” giving 7 working days’ notice to strike if bargaining claims are not met by Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The Offshore Alliance, consisting of two key unions, will also finalise a strike vote at Wheatstone and Gorgon LNG ventures (operated by Chevron) by Thursday (August 24th); sources at the two LNG companies, cited by Reuters, believe some form of industrial action is likely in coming weeks.
Spot gold is little changed and benefitting incrementally from the USD’s downside but the overall risk tone keeps the yellow metal ear last week’s USD 1886/oz low, while base metals have trimmed from initial best.

Geopolitics

Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands for a meeting with Dutch PM Rutte, while it was also reported that Netherlands and Denmark committed to delivering F-16s to Ukraine with the first deliveries due around the new year, according to Reuters.
Ukraine is nearing a deal with global insurers to cover grain ships, according to FT.
Russian President Putin met high-ranking military commanders in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, according to RIA citing a Kremlin statement which did not specify the reason for the meeting.
Russia conducted a missile strike on Ukraine’s Chernihiv which killed 5 and wounded 37.
Russian Defence Ministry said anti-aircraft defences prevented an attack on the Belgorod region by two drones and that Russia destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region early on Sunday, while Russia briefly halted flights to Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports although all Moscow airports are now operating normally.
China’s military said it held a joint naval and air combat readiness patrol around Taiwan on Saturday and that this is a serious warning to Taiwan independence separatist forces, while Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said early on Sunday that 25 Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during the prior 24 hours, according to Reuters.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office said China is ignoring their international responsibilities, increasing military threats and undermining regional stability, while it added that transits of Taiwanese leaders should not be an excuse for China to pick quarrels. It was also reported that the US State Department urged China to cease military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan.
Russia-China naval drill in the Pacific Ocean has finished, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry cited by Interfax.
North Korean leader Kim inspected a cruise missile test and navy unit, according to Yonhap.
South Korean President Yoon said a new chapter of South Korea-US-Japan cooperation opened up after the Camp David summit, while he added the trilateral cooperation will grow stronger as North Korean threats increase and will develop into a strong forum along with AUKUS and the Quad.
China’s Foreign Ministry said after China’s dialogue with Iran and Saudi Arabia that both countries have continued to improve relations leading to the formation of a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East, while China appreciates the correct decision made by the Iranian side and will continue to support Middle Eastern countries in exploring the road of development in line with their own national conditions.
Iran summoned the Swedish and Danish Charges d’affaires over Koran desecration in the two countries, according to IRNA.

US Event Calendar

Nothing major scheduled

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

For those returning to work after some time away, it’s undoubtedly been a challenging few weeks for global markets after the optimism of the early summer. In aggregate, global bonds have now lost ground for 5 weeks running, and US Treasuries are back in negative YTD territory. At the same time, global equities are now down for 3 weeks running, with last week marking the worst performance for equities since SVB’s collapse in March.

In large part, those moves have been driven by the growing realisation that interest rates are set to remain higher for longer. For instance, as recently as early June, futures were still expecting a rate cut from the Fed by the end of 2023. But they now don’t see a full 25bp cut priced in until the May 2024 meeting. That’s a big shift in just over a couple of months, and alongside the reassessment of the long-term rates outlook, it’s meant that longer-dated government bond yields have hit their highest level in several years.

So far we’ve had a fairly light calendar over the summer, but this week that should change with the Fed’s Jackson Hole Economic Symposium. The overall title this year is “Structural Shifts in the Global Economy”, and Chair Powell’s speech on Friday is simply given the heading “Economic Outlook”. Our US economists don’t expect Powell to send strong signals about the near-term policy path. However, recent years have seen Powell deliver some important longer-term policy messages. In particular, last year saw him deliver a fairly short and direct message on the importance of price stability, which left little doubt as to the Fed’s resolve to return inflation to target.

This year’s conference comes at an interesting moment. On the one hand, nominal and real yields have risen substantially. But some other measures of overall financial conditions are still not particularly tight, and Bloomberg’s index of US financial conditions right now is more accommodative than its historical average. Moreover, the resilient economic data out of the US over recent weeks has helped to bolster the soft-landing case. However, the risk is that with the data coming in so strong, real yields keep pressing higher, which raises the chance that something ends up breaking, as has usually occurred during previous Fed hiking cycles through history.

Apart from Jackson Hole, another important focus this week will be China’s economy. On Sunday, the People’s Bank of China encouraged banks to boost lending to support growth. And this morning, banks have cut the one-year loan prime rate by 10bps to 3.45%. However, Chinese equities have still fallen this morning, since that was smaller than the 15bps cut expected. Furthermore, the 5-year loan prime rate was left unchanged, contrary to the 15bps cut that was expected there too.

Against that background, the Hang Seng (-1.38%) is trading sharply lower this morning, whilst the CSI 300 (-0.52%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.38%) have also lost ground. However, Japan’s Nikkei (+0.73%) and South Korea’s KOSPI (+0.51%) have both advanced. Meanwhile, US equity futures are pointing slightly higher, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.05%, whilst the 10yr Treasury yield (+2.2bps) is back up again this morning to 4.276%.

Looking forward to the week ahead, there are several other events to look out for. On the data side, the flash PMIs for August are coming out on Wednesday, which will offer an initial indication as to how the major economies have been faring this month. Separately, another important release that day in the US will be the Q1 Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). That provides a benchmark for employment data, so it means we’ll also get some revisions to nonfarm payrolls over previous months. Our US economists have some more details on the release here.

When it comes to earnings, the bulk of this season is over now, so there’s not much left to come out. That said, one remaining highlight will be Nvidia on Wednesday. Readers might recall that their outlook back in late-May was far above expectations thanks to demand for AI processers, and it helped kick off a significant equity rally that continued into June and July. So that’s definitely one to watch out for.

On the rates side, this week’s US Treasury auctions include 20yr Treasuries (Tuesday) and 30yr inflation-protected Treasuries (Wednesday), which will be interesting with yields having risen to multi-year highs. Otherwise from central banks, there are plenty of speakers apart from Fed Chair Powell, including ECB President Lagarde on Friday.

Lastly in the political sphere, there’ll be some more action on the 2024 US Presidential race over the week ahead. In particular, the first Republican primary debate is taking place on Wednesday. But yesterday, former President Trump confirmed that he wouldn’t be doing the debates. President Trump remains the polling frontrunner for the Republican nomination by a substantial margin, and FiveThirtyEight’s average gives him 54.3%, which is well ahead of the next-placed candidate, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on 14.8%. No other candidate is in double-digits.

Recapping last week now, markets struggled as they grappled with rising risks from the Chinese property sector, as well as strong US data that fanned concerns over persistent inflationary pressures. That triggered a global sell-off across both equities and bonds. For instance, the S&P 500 retreated for a third week in a row, with a -2.11% decline (-0.01% on Friday) that brings its losses for the month to nearly 5%. The NASDAQ similarly declined, slipping -2.59% week-on-week (and -0.20% on Friday). European equities also fell, and the STOXX 600 shed -2.34% (-0.61% on Friday).

With the latest US data speaking to a still-resilient economy, markets priced in interest rates that would remain higher-for longer. Expectations for rate cuts by the Fed in 2024 were pared back, with the anticipated rate for the December 2024 meeting was up by +9.7bps over the week to 4.28%. Off the back of this, US Treasuries sold off, and the 10yr yields was up +10.1bps in weekly terms to 4.255%, hitting their highest level since 2007 on Thursday. However, bonds did manage to recover some of the week’s earlier losses on Friday, with the 10yr yields down -2.2bps on Friday.

Elsewhere, a renewed sell-off in JGBs added to the global pressure on bonds, with the 10yr yield up +5.1bps to 0.63% (-1.1bp Friday). Over in Europe, German bunds did see a rally on Friday, erasing earlier losses, meaning that the 10yr bund yield actually fell -0.3bps week-on-week (and -8.8bps on Friday). Back in the UK, however, gilts significantly underperformed after strong wage growth data on Tuesday. That meant 10yr UK gilt yields rose +14.8bps last week, reaching their highest level since August 2008 before a partial reversal on Friday, when yields fell -7.1bps.

In commodities, oil prices posted a weekly loss after a run of 7 consecutive gains, as China growth concerns dominated. Brent Crude fell back -2.32% (despite a +0.81% rise on Friday) to $84.80/bbl. Lastly, cryptocurrencies were also impacted by the sell-off, with Bitcoin falling –10.78% over the seven days to Sunday, which is its worst weekly performance so far this year.

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

EUROPE/ASIA

Sentiment gradually improves after mixed APAC, energy bolstered on supply-side – Newsquawk US Market Open

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 06:16 AM

Equity bourses/futures have gradually improved throughout the morning after a contained European open
Action which occurs in limited newsflow and follows mixed APAC on a disappointing LPR adjustment which overshadowed support measures
Crude and nat gas are bolstered by supply-side updates via the NHC and on Australian LNG
USD drifts in a contained start to the week, EUR eyes OpEx while the JPY is undermined by upside in US yields
EGBs and USTs slip though Gilts remain relatively resilient, US yields steeper
Looking ahead highlights include the Bundesbank Monthly Report. Earnings from Zoom Video Communications.

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EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

Sentiment has gradually improved since the relatively modest European cash open despite a lack of fundamental developments, Euro Stoxx 50 +1.1%.
Sectors are primarily in the green though Real Estate is lagging and resides in the red following updates from Crest Nicholson and the latest Rightmove data. At the other end of the spectrum, Energy outperforms given supply-side risks from Australia and the Gulf of Mexico.
Stateside, futures were initially around the unchanged mark but have picked up in tandem with the above action with specifics light as we look towards the Jackson Hole symposium, ES +0.5%.
Click here for more detail.
Click here and here for a recap of the main European equity updates.

FX

Dollar drifts in low key start to the week, but DXY holds above 200 DMA within 103.470-270 confines.
Franc firmer and probing 0.8800 vs Buck as weekly Swiss sight deposits drop, Euro eyes option expiries on either side of 1.0897-70 range and Sterling capped amidst upside in EUR/GBP, with Cable capped between 1.2750-11 bounds and the cross near the top of a 0.8562-34 range.
Yen undermined by a bounce in US Treasury yields as USD/JPY climbs towards 145.75 from 145.15.
CNY and CNH were unimpressed with limited PBoC LPR easing, but off lows after major Chinese state banks absorbed offshore Yuan liquidity.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1987 vs exp. 7.2893 (prev. 7.2006)
Turkish Central Bank ended implementation that stipulates a target for conversion from foreign currency deposits to FX-protected deposits and ended securities maintenance and reserve requirement practice based on the Turkish lira share of FX-protected deposits, while it stated that regulations were aimed to increase Turkish lira deposits while decreasing FX-protected deposits.
China’s major state-owned banks were reportedly seen mopping up offshore Yuan liquidity on Monday, via Reuters citing sources.
Indian Foreign Secretary says BRICS discussing trade in national currencies, and not common currencies.
Click here for more detail.
Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.

FIXED INCOME

Debt divergent amidst a dearth of data and events.
Bunds hover near 131.00 after filling the gap within a 131.41-130.97 Eurex range.
Gilts outperform between 92.20-91.58 parameters after weak UK data and survey releases.
T-note under par and closer to 101-09 trough than 109-22 peak and curve steeper.
Click here for more detail.

COMMODITIES

Crude benchmarks are bolstered with multiple supply-side updates in focus, firstly the NHC said the system within the Gulf of Mexico has a high chance of formation.
WTI October resides around USD 81.10/bbl while its Brent counterpart holds between USD 85.00-85.50/bbl; both of best levels but still firmer on the session.
Additionally, the complex is perhaps deriving support from Australian LNG (see below), with Dutch TTF surpassing the EUR 40 mark in an initial move, while off best it still posts upside of circa. 6%.
Unions at Woodside Energy’s (WDS AT) North West Shelf offshore gas platforms “unanimously endorsed” giving 7 working days’ notice to strike if bargaining claims are not met by Wednesday, according to Reuters.
The Offshore Alliance, consisting of two key unions, will also finalise a strike vote at Wheatstone and Gorgon LNG ventures (operated by Chevron) by Thursday (August 24th); sources at the two LNG companies, cited by Reuters, believe some form of industrial action is likely in coming weeks.
Spot gold is little changed and benefitting incrementally from the USD’s downside but the overall risk tone keeps the yellow metal ear last week’s USD 1886/oz low, while base metals have trimmed from initial best.
Click here for Newsquawk analysis on the Australian LNG talks.
Click here for more detail.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

WSJ’s Timiraos wrote in an article over the weekend that higher productivity and increased deficits could raise the neutral rate of interest rates, limiting Fed cuts, and suggested the era of historically low interest rates could be over.
Tropical storm Hilary moved towards the Baja California peninsula and the southwestern US, while a tornado warning was issued for southern California.
The system in the Gulf of Mexico has a high chance of formation. Tropical storm watches or warnings may be necessary on Monday, according to the NHC.
Click here for the US Early Morning Note.

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

UK PM Sunak is to spend GBP 100mln of taxpayer money on thousands of high-powered AI chips in an effort to catch up in the race for computing power, according to The Telegraph.
Italy is reportedly to propose ex-economy minister Franco as their candidate for the ECB executive board in October when Panetta steps down to govern the Bank of Italy, via Reuters citing sources. Contrasts with sources in July that Italy was going to propose Cipollone
UK Foreign Secretary Cleverly is to visit China at the end of August, via Reuters citing sources.
Fitch affirmed Netherlands at AAA; Outlook Stable on Friday.

EUROPEAN DATA RECAP

UK Rightmove House Price Index MM (Aug) -1.9% (Prev. -0.2%); YY (Aug) -0.1% (Prev. 0.5%)
German Producer Prices YY (Jul 2023) -6.0% vs. Exp. -5.1% (Prev. 0.1%); MM (Jul 2023) -1.1% vs. Exp. -0.2% (Prev. -0.3%)

GEOPOLITICS

Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived in the Netherlands for a meeting with Dutch PM Rutte, while it was also reported that Netherlands and Denmark committed to delivering F-16s to Ukraine with the first deliveries due around the new year, according to Reuters.
Ukraine is nearing a deal with global insurers to cover grain ships, according to FT.
Russian President Putin met high-ranking military commanders in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, according to RIA citing a Kremlin statement which did not specify the reason for the meeting.
Russia conducted a missile strike on Ukraine’s Chernihiv which killed 5 and wounded 37.
Russian Defence Ministry said anti-aircraft defences prevented an attack on the Belgorod region by two drones and that Russia destroyed a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region early on Sunday, while Russia briefly halted flights to Moscow’s Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports although all Moscow airports are now operating normally.
China’s military said it held a joint naval and air combat readiness patrol around Taiwan on Saturday and that this is a serious warning to Taiwan independence separatist forces, while Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said early on Sunday that 25 Chinese air force planes crossed the Taiwan Strait median line during the prior 24 hours, according to Reuters.
Taiwan’s Presidential Office said China is ignoring their international responsibilities, increasing military threats and undermining regional stability, while it added that transits of Taiwanese leaders should not be an excuse for China to pick quarrels. It was also reported that the US State Department urged China to cease military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan.
Russia-China naval drill in the Pacific Ocean has finished, according to Russia’s Defence Ministry cited by Interfax.
North Korean leader Kim inspected a cruise missile test and navy unit, according to Yonhap.
South Korean President Yoon said a new chapter of South Korea-US-Japan cooperation opened up after the Camp David summit, while he added the trilateral cooperation will grow stronger as North Korean threats increase and will develop into a strong forum along with AUKUS and the Quad.
China’s Foreign Ministry said after China’s dialogue with Iran and Saudi Arabia that both countries have continued to improve relations leading to the formation of a wave of reconciliation in the Middle East, while China appreciates the correct decision made by the Iranian side and will continue to support Middle Eastern countries in exploring the road of development in line with their own national conditions.
Iran summoned the Swedish and Danish Charges d’affaires over Koran desecration in the two countries, according to IRNA.

CRYPTO

Bitcoin is under modest pressure this morning with newsflow light and the agenda ahead sparse as we look towards the main events at the tail-end of the week. Action which occurs despite modest downside in the USD; though, this hasn’t picked up much steam in European hours as the overall risk tone becomes increasingly constructive.

APAC TRADE

APAC stocks traded mixed as the disappointment with China’s decision on its Loan Prime Rates overshadowed China’s recent support efforts.
ASX 200 was lacklustre with price action contained amid a busy week of earnings and as weakness in financials and defensives offset the gains in energy and tech.
Nikkei 225 was underpinned after Japan announced to raise the minimum hourly wage by the most on record, although the index briefly wobbled in reaction to China’s benchmark rates before returning to session highs.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured as China’s recent support efforts, including the PBoC and financial regulators’ meeting with bank executives where they told lenders to boost loans to support the economic recovery, were nullified by a narrower-than-expected cut to the PBoC’s 1-year Loan Prime Rate and the surprise decision to keep the 5-year LPR unchanged which is the reference rate for mortgages.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

PBoC Loan Prime Rate 1Y (Aug) 3.45% vs. Exp. 3.40% (Prev. 3.55%); 5Y (Aug) 4.20% vs. Exp. 4.05% (Prev. 4.20%)
PBoC and regulators met with bank executives and told lenders to boost loans to support the economic recovery, according to Bloomberg. PBoC said it will better implement prudent monetary policy in a precise and powerful manner, while it will keep credit growth stable and guide smooth credit function, as well as coordinate on resolving local government debt risks and will adjust and optimise credit policies for the property sector, according to Reuters.
China is to push for the BRICS to become a geopolitical rival to the G7 with leaders from across developing nations to meet this week, according to FT.
US President Biden is to sign a strategic partnership deal with Vietnam in the latest bid to counter China in the region, according to Politico.
Singapore PM Lee said during an annual policy address that Singapore is keeping up economically and expects positive growth this year, while he hopes they will avoid a recession and said inflation is coming down but will stay higher than what they are used to. Furthermore, he said there will be financial support for workers who lose jobs and announced a SGD 7bln package for ‘young’ seniors to help with retirement.
Japan’s MOF raises the assumed long-term interest rate to 1.5% in FY24/25 (prev. record low 1.1% in FY23/24), via Kyodo; raises the assumed rate due to rising yields after BoJ policy tweak.

DATA RECAP

New Zealand Trade Balance (NZD)(Jul) -1107.0M (Prev. 9.0M)
New Zealand Exports (NZD)(Jul) 5.45B (Prev. 6.31B); Imports (NZD)(Jul) 6.56B (Prev. 6.3B)

2 c. ASIAN AFFAIRS

ASIAN AND AUSTRALIAN CLOSINGS//EUROPE OPENING TRADING:

MONDAY MORNING/SUNDAY NIGHT

2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/

////SOUTH KOREA/NORTH KOREA/

END

2e) JAPAN

JAPAN

3 CHINA /

CHINA/

Huge losses for China’s housing sector and this will spread to the local governments that loaned the money to these developers

(zerohedge)

China’s Housing Slump Far Worse Than Reported; Half Of State-Owned Builders Warn Of “Widespread” Losses

FRIDAY, AUG 18, 2023 – 08:00 PM

Earlier today, Goldman’s head of hedge fund sales Tony Pasquariello observed that “to this point in the sequence, I’d argue the slowdown in China had been a net positive for US equities — with specific regard to the disinflationary impulse and the flow of capital. That said, coming out of a week that featured another disappointing set of data — and another dose of CNH weakness — it now feels like China growth fears can provoke a more global risk-off dynamic.“

Well, if Tony is right, then watch out below, because the bad news out of China has become a firehose that is only getting more powerful with every passing day, especially if one ignores the fake official data and looks at the truth beneath the surface.

Consider China’s official housing market statistics, which despite falling sequentially for the first time in 2023 in July, have first been remarkably resilient in the face of tepid economic growth and record defaults by developers. New-home prices have slipped just 2.4% from a high in August 2021, government figures show, while those for existing homes have dropped 6%.

Of course, China’s official data is almost as credible as that of the Biden Department of Labor; and indeed, the picture emerging from property agents and private data providers is far more dire.

As Bloomberg notes, these figures show existing-home prices falling at least 15% in prime neighborhoods of major metropolitan areas like Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as in more than half of China’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Existing homes near Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou have dropped about 25% from late 2021 highs, according to local agents.
In Lianyang, a downtown area popular with expats and financiers in Shanghai, residential prices have slid 15% to 20% from record highs in mid-2021.

Even as of March, before the latest property market crisis, more than half of tier-2 and tier-3 cities saw existing-home prices fall more than 15% from peaks, Guolian Securities economists wrote in a report citing data by existing housing transaction services provider KE Holdings Inc. Actual declines from peaks could be sharper, as the agency only compiles data starting November 2018, the economists cautioned

Top-tier cities, once considered resilient against a housing downturn, are also not immune. Prices of existing homes in at least five popular districts of Shenzhen have slumped 15% in the past three years, according to a July report by property research institute Leyoujia. The southern hub is the country’s least affordable housing market.

It’s hardly rocket science what is going on here: industry insiders and economists say China’s official home-price indexes are understating the depth of the downturn (by a lot) in part because of longstanding methodologies that struggle to capture market turning points, in part because – well – all of China’s data is propaganda.

That’s heightening concern among investors about the availability of timely economic data in China, where access to some information has become increasingly restricted under the government of President Xi Jinping. It also raises questions about whether policy makers themselves have an accurate understanding of the market as they devise measures to prop up demand. Another risk is that wary homebuyers stay on the sidelines, waiting for price declines to show up in the data before they step in.

Analysts say the methodology, which partly relies on surveys rather than price data from transactions, helps authorities to smooth the trend and to avoid large swings. By contrast, in the US, the widely cited S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indexes use home-price data collected at local deed recording offices across the country.

For Henry Chin, who’s spent more than 20 years researching global real estate markets, the data’s source and accuracy are critical.

“Home-price data in many countries are based on total market transactions, yet China uses selective samples,” said Chin, the head of research for Asia Pacific at CBRE Group Inc. “When a market goes down, the true market condition is hard to be reflected in such data.”

China’s statistics bureau has said in an online explanation that raw data on new-home prices is based on all sales and purchases registered in local housing transaction bodies. Existing-home prices, though, are based on both sales of key projects and surveys, it said. The NBS uses the Laspeyres price index, a common formula used worldwide, to calculate its 70-city home-price gauge, the statistics bureau told Bloomberg. Market watchers say the methodology on sampling and index calculation remain ambiguous.

Survey-based data “serves a purpose avoiding extreme fluctuation,” said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis SA in Hong Kong. “But when people are wary that prices are falling even more, thus not buying, such data defeats its own purpose.”

This partly explains why home price changes implied by official and private sources appear inconsistent with market perceptions on some occasions, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economists said in a July report called “Understanding differences in China’s home price measures.”

Translation: nobody believes Chinese data any more.

Which is very bad for Beijing, since nobody will buy real estate – China’s biggest asset by orders of magnitude – if there is zero confidence in what the accurate price is, and until there is some comfort that the price drops are over.

What is worse is that even China’s state-owned property developers are now warning of widespread losses, fueling concerns that the housing crisis is expanding from the private sector to companies with government backing.

In a separate Bloomberg report, we learn that 18 out of 38 state-owned enterprise builders listed in Hong Kong and the mainland reported preliminary losses in the six months ended June 30, up from 11 that warned of full-year losses in 2022, according to a Bloomberg tally based on corporate filings. Two years ago, only four firms with controlling or major state shareholdings posted losses.

Some of the state-owned developers have cited declining profit margins and heavier provisions to write down asset values stemming from the housing woes. Companies seeing losses include some of the biggest developers owned by the central government. Shenzhen Overseas Chinese Town warned of a loss of as much as 1.7 billion yuan ($233 million), partly due to a marketing strategy to speed up home sales. That followed a loss in the second half of last year, which was its first since its 1997 listing.

Players in economically stronger cities are also suffering. Everbright Jiabao Co., operated by a local state asset manager in Shanghai’s Jiading district, said it expects its first ever half-year loss since its listing.

The warnings signal state builders are no longer immune from the two-year housing slump that has weakened the economy and triggered dozens of defaults by private peers, with speculation that Country Garden Holdings may be next, a collapse which would be more devastating than the Evergrande collapse two years ago. Authorities have in recent weeks stepped up pledges to support the property sector, though analysts are skeptical that the measures will be enough to revive the market anytime soon.

“China’s property slowdown is already hurting all developers, including the large government-linked ones,” said Zerlina Zeng, senior credit analyst at CreditSights Singapore. “We do not expect the situation to materially improve in the second half.”

That said, according to Bloomberg Intelligence credit analyst Andrew Chan, the loss warnings aren’t necessarily all doom and gloom for state developers – it’s natural that they would write down their inventories to reflect the slump in values, he notes.

“SOEs could be kitchen-sinking their results for better years ahead,” Chan said. “The key is whether they can still receive liquidity support from banks. For smaller SOE developers, it will be a case-by-case situation.”

But losses will reduce their scope to take on unfinished projects left by defaulted private-sector firms, further denting homebuyer sentiment. Chinese regulators see asset sales as a key step to easing the debt crisis, as President Xi Jinping’s government largely steers clear of direct bailouts.

“Sector consolidation anyhow takes time,” CreditSights’ Zeng said. “Especially in a property downturn when acquirers, such as SOEs and asset management firms, are demanding better valuations and sellers are not willing to dispose at a deep discount.”

One policy tool being used to revive the housing market and the broader economy is interest-rate cuts. In a surprise move, the People’s Bank of China on Tuesday made the steepest cut in three years on the rate on its one-year loans. The central bank has also encouraged lenders to lower mortgage rates, Jingyang Chen, Asia FX strategist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said earlier this month.

As of June, 100 out of 343 Chinese cities have lowered the rate floor of new-home mortgages or removed the minimum required, the PBOC said in its quarterly monetary policy report on Thursday. That has brought the nation’s average mortgage rate to 4.11% in June, down 0.51 percentage point from a year earlier.

END

CHINA

China’s Shadow Bank Crisis Stokes Fear Of Housing Spillover

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 11:30 PM

By Charlie Zhu, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

Three things we learned last week:

1. One of China’s shadow banking giants fell into a liquidity crisis, showing how contagion from the troubled real estate industry is spreading and raising questions of how far the crunch will now go. Trust companies linked to Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co., which has assets of more than 1 trillion yuan, missed payments on dozens of products, many of which may have been backed by real estate projects real estate projects.

“Markets still underestimate the aftermath of the significant collapse in China’s property sector,” Lu Ting, chief China economist at Nomura Holdings Inc., wrote in a report. China’s trust wealth management industry is set to face turbulence in coming months, which is likely to cause further headwinds to its already weakening economic momentum, according to the report.

Zhongzhi’s troubles have already sparked protests, leading the police to clamp down on unhappy clients. It has 270 products totaling 39.5 billion yuan due this year, according to data provider Use Trust.

While the reported Zhongrong Trust defaults don’t yet appear to be of systemic concern, a disorderly wind-up of any large trust or wealth management company could test near-term financial stability, Zerlina Zeng, CreditSights senior research analyst, wrote in a note.

2. Fallout from Country Garden is spreading to investment-grade names as China’s property downturn deepens. Dollar bonds from units of Gemdale Corp. and Seazen Group Ltd. — developers that were also among those chosen to sell state-guaranteed local notes like Country Garden did — accelerated declines last week. Notes issued by Longfor Group Holdings Ltd. and China Vanke Co., two of the country’s few private-sector investment grade developers, suffered the same fate.

Country Garden’s delayed payment is likely already exacerbating a loss of confidence and a default would only worsen matters, S&P Global Ratings analysts led by Edward Chan wrote in a report. They said an “L”-shaped national sales recovery seems increasingly likely to shift into a “descending staircase” figure.

3. The central bank stepped up to deliver unexpected rate cuts, and vowed to maintain financial stability. The People’s Bank of China lowered the cost of its one-year and seven-day loans to financial institutions, before the release of data that showed weak consumer spending growth, sliding investment and rising unemployment in July.

In its second-quarter monetary policy implementation report, the PBOC vowed to “step up macroeconomic policy adjustment” and “resolutely prevent excessive correction in the exchange rate,” as the yuan slid toward its weakest level since 2007.

It’s an age-old dilemma for central banks faced with a weakening economy — control the interest rate or the currency? Attempting to do both, as Bank of Japan recently tried, frequently fails to sway traders who see an opportunity.

“If markets are convinced that property sector could be stabilized and the downward spiral is resolutely curbed,” sentiment toward the yuan could improve, said Zhi Xiaojia, head of research at Credit Agricole CIB.

END

CHINA/VIET NAM/USA

More trouble as China builds airstrips in disputing islands (Paracel Islands). Biden is too weak to do anything

(zerohedge)

China Rapidly Building Airstrip On Disputed Island Close To Vietnam

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 06:00 PM

China is continuing to militarize disputed islands it has long exercised effective control over in the South China Sea, according to new satellite images.

The images, taken by Planet Labs PBC in early August, show fresh construction on the westernmost island of the Paracel Islands close to Vietnam (and which are claimed by both Vietnam and Taiwan). What has regional and US officials alarmed is the large airstrip which appears to be progressing at rapid pace.Disputed islands of the South China Sea

The apparent Chinese military build-up of the island can be seen by comparing these latest satellite images (below) to prior ones.

The Drive was the first to report on and analyze the images, with the publication writing:

The sudden development on the Chinese-controlled Triton Island is revealed in satellite imagery. Clearly, work is still at an early stage, but it’s startling just how rapid the progress has been so far. Construction of this airstrip only began a few weeks ago at the most. The War Zone examined imagery from Planet Labs from mid-July showing no such activity.

The new airstrip appears to be over 2000 feet in length according to analysis of the images.

The Drive continues, “As well as the airstrip, satellite imagery reveals a huge new work area, including a cement plant. This has all sprung up within the last month.”

“Previously, this Chinese outpost was home to an observation station with two radomes and some big Chinese flags, but not much more. The island was previously served by a small harbor and a helipad,” the report added. Chinese state-run Global Times has rejected the allegations.

China has over the past years used both artificial islands as well as expanding military bases on the tiny land masses in the waters to extend its maritime claims, butting up against that of American allies in the region like the Philippines or unrecognized Taiwan.

The Chinese military has also repeatedly charged that the US Navy has ‘frequently’ deployed warships in the South China Sea to “show off its force and severely infringe upon China’s sovereignty and security interests.”

The Pentagon response has typically been that it’s conducting peaceful ‘freedom of navigation’ operations to ensure adversaries adhere to international law for open waters.

The US also rejects Chinese claims of ownership over disputed island chain which are now becoming de facto PLA military outposts. Many of the islands have been under Chinese military control since at least the 1970s.

end

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDAVIAN AFFAIRS

Nobody bidding for subsidies for renewable energy due to its higher cost

(zerohedge)

UK Annual Renewable Energy Auction May Go “No Bid” For Offshore Wind Power

SATURDAY, AUG 19, 2023 – 08:45 AM

It isn’t just the Chinese stock market that’s going “no bid” this week, it’s also offshore wind power at the UK’s annual renewable energy auction.

For the first time since the UK’s annual renewable energy auction began almost 10 years ago, the system for awarding subsidies is seeing no developers bid for offshore wind power this year as a result of rising costs, according to a new report by Bloomberg.

In the past, offshore wind farms have been a success, with farms along the UK coastline benefitting from state financing. But supple bottlenecks and rising costs are now forcing companies to submit lower bids, pushing down the maximum price they can offer.

The results of the auction will be announced next month, but Bloomberg writes that “the funding on offer this year may be too little to attract any bidders”. A lack of bidders for offshore wind could, in turn, “pose a major setback” for the government’s climate targets. Faisal Wahid, a senior consultant at LCP Delta, a clean energy consultancy, told Bloomberg: “If we see a situation with no offshore wind clearing this year, that’s a very serious signal for the government to act and redesign the auction for next year. If the government doesn’t change it, that’s a signal of a shift in green policies.”

“However, we understand there are supply chain pressures for the sector globally, not just in the UK, and we are listening to the sector’s concerns,” a spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero added.

The winner of last year’s auction, Vattenfall AB, has shelved a project for a 1.4 gigawatt UK wind farm claiming that “the development is no longer viable after costs for the technology soared 40%”. They would have provided power to 1.5 million UK homes, the report says.

Rob Anderson, project director of Vattenfall’s Norfolk Zone, said: “Conditions are extremely challenging across the whole industry right now.”

Eirik Hogner, partner and deputy portfolio manager at hedge fund Clean Energy Transition LLP, said of the auction: “For offshore wind it’s truly horrendous and our view is that no offshore project should win in this round. From an energy security and a 2030 climate target perspective, if offshore is zero, you have a huge problem.”

Recall, just days ago we published an article called “There Is A Financial Crisis Brewing In Offshore Wind Energy”, which laid out the distress the industry is in. In that article by Felicity Bradstock, via OilPrice.com, we noted:

The costs associated with U.S. offshore wind projects have risen by 57% since 2021 due to inflation in components and labor costs, as well as rising interest rates, leading to a large number of canceled or renegotiated deals.
The recent cancellations of major offshore wind projects have erased billions of dollars in planned spending and put at least 9.7 additional gigawatts of offshore wind projects in the U.S. at risk.
Despite the financial crisis in offshore wind energy, the Biden administration is persevering with its goal of achieving 30 GW of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030.

Put simply, the issue we laid out was that offshore wind currently costs about two to five times more than onshore wind.

“The expense associated with a typical US offshore project, before bonus tax credits related to the Inflation Reduction Act, has increased by 57% since 2021,” Bloomberg recently reported, citing figures from BloombergNEF.

“Inflation in the cost of components and labor explain about 40% of that and the rest is tied to rising interest rates.”

This means that any developers who signed long-term development contracts before the sharp increase in costs must now either re-negotiate their deals or walk away from them entirely.

“Energy coming from these projects is desperately needed,” Helene Bistrom, the head of Vattenfall’s wind business, was recently quoted by Fortune.

But, she continued, “with new market conditions, it doesn’t make sense to continue.”

This month has seen a disastrous number of canceled and abandoned offshore wind deals which “erased billions of US dollars in planned spending” in the final week of July alone, according to Fortune. Spanish utility Iberdrola SA agreed to pay $48.9m in fines to cancel a wind power contract off the coast of Massachusetts. In Rhode Island, Danish developer Orsted A/S’s bid to produce offshore wind power was rejected due to rising operational and development costs.

END

5 RUSSIA//UKRAINE AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

RUSSIA/UKRAINE

New York Times quotes USA official that total Ukraine war troop deaths and injured approaching 500,000

my goodness!! how awful

(zerohedge)

Total Ukraine War Troop Deaths, Injuries Approaching 500,000: US Officials

FRIDAY, AUG 18, 2023 – 09:20 PM

A surprisingly blunt and revealing Friday report in The New York Times cites US officials who estimate that total war casualties in Ukraine among both sides are at nearly 500,000 dead and wounded.

“The number includes as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injured troops,” the Times wrote based on the unnamed officials. “The Russian numbers dwarf the Ukrainian figures, which the officials put at close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.”

To put these grim and tragic figures in perspective, the United States military involvement in Vietnam over the course of a nearly two-decade period resulted in about 58,000 Americans killed.Via AP

Given Kiev doesn’t release official casualty numbers, the US officials cited in the Times report are estimating, but it generally lines up with the immense numbers of Ukrainian losses the Kremlin has presented in evaluating the counteroffensive. But Western sources have consistently said that Russian losses are more staggering.

The NY Times has characterized the now largely stalemated conflict as a war of attrition, with Russia having the manpower and supply lines keep the upper-hand and to far outlast:

Ukraine has around 500,000 troops, including active-duty, reserve and paramilitary troops, according to analysts. By contrast, Russia has almost triple that number, with 1,330,000 active-duty, reserve and paramilitary troops — most of the latter from the Wagner Group.

As for Russia, the West has accused it of habitually undercounting its own casualty rates. Last January, US Chief of the Joint Staff Mark Milley asserted that Russian forces had suffered losses at “significantly well over 100,000”.

Likely many of the recent casualties on each side were from the months-long battle for the city of Bakhmut. President Zelensky has come under recent criticism for pouring so many resources and manpower into what was a losing battle. That’s when many reports emerged of large amounts of completely untrained and underequipped Ukrainians being shipped to the frontlines.

The military analysis source 19fortyfive.com has assessed that the defense of Bakhmut was an incredible risk and gamble which didn’t pay off, and led to a very poor start to the now faltering counteroffensive:

However, Zelensky chose to press the fight anyway. For months, senior U.S. leaders warned the Ukrainian president the battle was unwinnable and to move to other defensive positions. Not only did he refuse to withdraw to a superior fighting position, he ordered his men not to give up so much as a single building, forcing them to fight to the death. Month after month, Zelensky sent brigade after brigade to reinforce Bakhmut in an effort to reverse the tide.

Not only was it painfully obvious that military fundamentals made clear there was little rational hope of stopping Wagner’s drive to capture Bakhmut, but many of those brigades Zelensky sent in futile aid to help Bakhmut were also urgently needed in the upcoming spring and summer offensive. Two days after Bakhmut’s fall, Zelensky was still defiant, claiming the city had not fallen. In 2022, Zelensky’s tenacity and unwillingness to compromise resulted in blunting Russia’s invasion and then inflicting two major operational defeats.

While Ukrainian forces held out for longer than most predicted, it was a very costly loss, and at the same time it’s anything but clear that it put a significant dent in Russian force strength.

19FortyFive concludes that it’s certainly not Washington’s fault (despite the persistent complaint to this end of Zelensky officials)… “No one can claim the United States didn’t give Ukraine every chance to find out if it could succeed on the battlefield, as we provided literally thousands of armored vehicles, millions of shells, missiles, and bombs, and training and intelligence support – along with scores of billions in other aid.” And the publication emphasizes, “But that help did not produce a Ukrainian victory.”

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SEYMOUR HERSH…

“The End Is Nearing” – Seymour Hersh Slams The White House’s “Wishful Approach” To Ukraine War

FRIDAY, AUG 18, 2023 – 11:00 PM

Authored by Seymour Hersh via Substack

It’s been weeks since we looked into the adventures of the Biden administration’s foreign policy cluster, led by Tony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, and Victoria Nuland. How has the trio of war hawks spent the summer?

Sullivan, the national security adviser, recently brought an American delegation to the second international peace summit earlier this month at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The summit was led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, who in June announced a merger between his state-backed golf tour and the PGA. Four years earlier MBS was accused of ordering the assassination and dismemberment of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, for perceived disloyalty to the state.Via Associated Press

As unlikely as it sounds, there was such a peace summit and its stars did include MBS, Sullivan, and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. What was missing was a representative of Russia, which was not invited to the summit. It included just a handful of heads of state from the fewer than fifty nations that sent delegates. The conference lasted two days, and attracted what could only be described as little international attention.

Reuters reported that Zelensky’s goal was to get international support for “the principles” that that he will consider as a basis for the settlement of the war, including “the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the return of all Ukrainian territory.” Russia’s formal response to the non-event came not from President Vladimir Putin but from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov. He called the summit “a reflection of the West’s attempt to continue futile, doomed efforts” to mobilize the Global South behind Zelensky.

India and China both sent delegations to the session, perhaps drawn to Saudi Arabia for its immense oil reserves. One Indian academic observer dismissed the event as achieving little more than “good advertising for MBS’s convening power within the Global South; the kingdom’s positioning in the same; and perhaps more narrowly, aiding American efforts to build consensus by making sure China attends the meeting with . . . Jake Sullivan in the same room.”

Meanwhile, far away on the battlefield in Ukraine, Russia continued to thwart Zelensky’s ongoing counteroffensive. I asked an American intelligence official why it was Sullivan who emerged from the Biden administration’s foreign policy circle to preside over the inconsequential conference in Saudi Arabia.

“Jeddah was Sullivan’s baby,” the official said. “He planned it to be Biden’s equivalent of [President Woodrow] Wilson’s Versailles. The grand alliance of the free world meeting in a victory celebration after the humiliating defeat of the hated foe to determine the shape of nations for the next generation. Fame and Glory. Promotion and re-election. The jewel in the crown was to be Zelensky’s achievement of Putin’s unconditional surrender after the lightning spring offensive. They were even planning a Nuremberg type trial at the world court, with Jake as our representative. Just one more fuck-up, but who is counting? Forty nations showed up, all but six looking for free food after the Odessa shutdown”—a reference to Putin’s curtailing of Ukrainian wheat shipments in response to Zelensky’s renewed attacks on the bridge linking Crimea to the Russian mainland. Via AFP

Enough about Sullivan. Let us now turn to Victoria Nuland, an architect of the 2014 overthrow of the pro-Russian government in Ukraine, one of the American moves that led us to where we are, though it was Putin who initiated the horrid current war. The ultra-hawkish Nuland was promoted early this summer by Biden, over the heated objections of many in the State Department, to be the acting deputy secretary of state. She has not been formally nominated as the deputy for fear that her nomination would lead to a hellish fight in the Senate.

It was Nuland who was sent last week to see what could be salvaged after a coup led to the overthrow of a pro-Western government in Niger, one of a group of former French colonies in West Africa that have remained in the French sphere of influence. President Mohamed Bazoum, who was democratically elected, was tossed out of office by a junta led by the head of his presidential guard, General Abdourahmane Tchiani. The general suspended the constitution and jailed potential political opponents. Five other military officers were named to his cabinet. All of this generated enormous public support on the streets in Niamey, Niger’s capital—enough support to discourage outside Western intervention.

There were grim reports in the Western press that initially viewed the upheaval in East-West terms: some of the supporters of the coup were carrying Russian flags as they marched in the streets. The New York Times saw the coup as a blow to the main US ally in the region, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who controls vast oil and gas reserves. Tinubu threatened the new government in Niger with military action unless they returned power to Bazoum. He set a deadline that passed without any outside intervention. The revolution in Niger was not seen by those living in the region in east-west terms but as a long needed rejection of long-standing French economic and political control. It is a scenario that may be repeated again and again throughout the French-dominated Sahel nations in sub-Saharan Africa.

…

So the White House’s wishful approach to the war, when it comes to realistic talk to the American people, will continue apace. But the end is nearing, even if the assessments supplied by Biden to the public are out of a comic strip.

Read the full post at Seymour Hersh’s Substack and subscribe to it here.

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The US Has No Clear, Achievable Goal In Ukraine, Nor Does Anyone Else

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 04:15 AM

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

What’s the US goal in Ukraine? Is it doable? What about Russia’s goal? Ukraine’s?

The lead image is from the BBC article ‘People call us t he Ghosts of Bakhmut’

Minus the troops, the setup in Ukraine is starting to look like the US fiasco in Vietnam, in Afghanistan, and Iraq.

None of hose actions had a clearly defined mission that was remotely achievable. Ukraine doesn’t either.

What is the US Mission?

Stop Russia?
Win back all the territory Ukraine lost?
Get Ukraine in NATO?

If the mission is for Ukraine to win back all lost territory, then progress is torturously slow and haphazardly thought out.

Supplying more weapons could help. But the expense could be a nuclear response by Putin.

Is the mission to stop Russia’s advance? If so, that is not compatible with Ukraine’s goal of winning back 100% of the territory it lost.

To what extent is the US willing to keep paying for Ukraine’s goal if the US goal is not the same?

Russia’s initial thrust was to put a puppet regime in Kyiv, but that failed. Does anyone know what Russia’s goal is at this point?

Perpetual War

After many months and at great cost Russia finally captured the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. The city was totally destroyed in the process. Now Ukraine is struggling to win it back.

This reminds me of fighting over meaningless hills just like the US did in Vietnam.

Journalist Peter Arnett’s Vietnam dispatch for the Associated Press: “It became nece ss ary to destroy the town to save it.”

On Feb. 10, an Oregon newspaper rendered it “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” Two weeks later the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on a group of protesters carrying a banner that read, “It Was Necessary to Destroy the Village in Order to Save It.” In whatever form, the words had become a mantra of the anti-war movement, a quick and simple summary of what was wrong with the entire Vietnam adventure.

Arnett has always been adamant that he got the quote right, and I have no reason to doubt him. Still, I would be remiss if I failed to note that there are skeptics.

Peace for Territory?

Any time the US or EU brings up the notion of peace for territory, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy goes off the rails, frequently accompanied by the battle cry, “We cannot reward Putin”.

At best, there are three conflicting goals, none of which is clearly defined other than Ukraine’s.

Complicating matters, Ukraine’s goal is not remotely achievable without massive US spending and risk of a nuclear confrontation with Putin.

Meanwhile, a stalemate can go on for quite a while, perhaps with a debate over the shape of the negotiating table.

That may sound ridiculous, but a lengthy debate over the shape of the table happened in the Vietnam War Peace Negotiations

Vietnam Peace Talks

One of the largest hurdles to effective negotiation was the fact that North Vietnam and the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (NLF, or Viet Cong) in the South, refused to recognize the government of South Vietnam; with equal persistence, the government in Saigon refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the NLF. Harriman resolved this dispute by developing a system by which North Vietnam and U.S. would be the named parties; NLF officials could join the North Vietnam team without being recognized by South Vietnam, while Saigon’s representatives joined their U.S. allies.

A similar debate concerned the shape of the table to be used at the conference. The North favored a circular table, in which all parties, including NLF representatives, would appear to be “equal”‘ in importance. The South Vietnamese argued that only a rectangular table was acceptable, for only a rectangle could show two distinct sides to the conflict. Eventually a compromise was reached, in which representatives of the northern and southern governments would sit at a circular table, with members representing all other parties sitting at individual square tables around them.

Can’t Leave Now

This takes me back to 7th grade memories when our teacher, Harry Don Wirth left mid-year for Vietnam. I recall him saying something to the effect “I don’t think we should be there, but we can’t leave now.”

The war was still going on when I graduated high school and two more years on top of that.

The US was in Vietnam for 8 years and Afghanistan for 20 years. What good became of either of them?

Eventually, the US left both countries, humiliated .

In this case, we don’t have troops in Ukraine, but we happily supply missiles. Importantly, it was US meddling in Ukraine in 2014, led by Senator John McCain and the CIA, that led to the mess we are involved in now.

That does not excuse Putin, but history is clear. US meddling in foreign affairs of other nations never leads to anything good.

Prolonged War is Inflationary

Ukraine in not in any position to be demanding anything from us. But without clearly defined goals, we keep cruising down the path of a prolonged if not perpetual war, with escalating costs.

It’s yet another inflationary aspect of US policy.

Also see Yet Another Biden Regulation Will Increase Costs and Promote More Inflation and my follow-up post The Cost of Soup is About to Increase, Thank President Biden

* * *

Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

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6.GLOBAL ISSUES//MEDICAL ISSUES

Most Intensive Ivermectin Use Had 74 Percent Reduction in Excess Deaths in Peru: New Study

People are going to become much more anger in days ahead over government indifference and Big Pharma profiteering at the expense of the public.
Many people have lost loved ones or seen acquaintances needlessly suffer consequences from the so called vaccines. Fortunately many people have been able to motor through. Ivermectin use would simply have reduced profits and prevented needless deaths. What price is there when one is robbed of time with a loved one or a friend?
When songs by unknown people sing songs like “men north of Richmond” become #1 hits on Apple one realizes the undercurrent of unrest is rising quickly. With the next quarter teh cushion of cash many Americans had will be exhausted by rising daily costs. Then what? For many a year the #1 reason for American Express card defaults has been medical expenses incurred and unable to be paid.
Sadly, as fall approaches times will worsen. And liquidity is being stretched globally as parties fall short of meeting expenses. The pressure today on Price is one of collapsing demand caused by a lack of liquidity. And the push on inflation in many countries is directly attributed to out of control government spending. Foolish attempts at things like Neocon war lust has caused America to suffer a $5.9 trillion loss of wealth while Russia has been boosted by $600 billion. Who is winning is clear while the public sees the price of such folly.
Unless the stoppage of momentum occurs soon, we can expect a continued down ward spiral of asset value caused by a lack of liquidity. And this coming week will bring news of a stronger BRICS momentum leaving the West to chart its’ own course without Western dominance. Even in Niger war mongering Nuland is stymied by a choice of reality where a declaration of a coup would cut off American aid would also boot out 1,000 American soldiers and close to 2 bases leaving the door wide open for Russia and China’s hegemony. The days of American unipolar hegemony are ending swiftly and are out the grasp and control of America as more headwinds beckon.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/most-intensive-ivermectin-use-had-74-percent-reduction-in-excess-deaths-in-peru-new-study-5470885

article in full below

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Real reason: the vaccine!

Researchers Discover Concerning Cancer Trend In Young Adults

FRIDAY, AUG 18, 2023 – 09:40 PM

Authored by Mary Gillis via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The number of people under 50 getting cancer is on the rise, leaving scientists puzzled about the concerning uptick, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.(Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock)

After analyzing a diverse group of 562,142 people between 2010 and 2019, data showed the rise in overall early-onset cancer was most pronounced in young people between the ages of 30 and 39. Other groups affected were women and several ethnic groups, with Asian or Pacific Islander people being affected the most, followed by Hispanic and American Indian or Alaska Native people.

Gastrointestinal cancers grew the fastest, averaging a 2.6 percent increase in incidence rate per study year. When gastrointestinal cancers were teased out and analyzed by type, data showed appendix, bile duct, and pancreatic cancer increased by 15 percent, 8.1 percent, and 2.5 percent, respectively. Incidence refers to the measure of the number of new cases that develop in a population over a specific period.

Additional analyses revealed breast cancer made up the highest number of early-onset disease cases, followed by thyroid and colon cancer.

In contrast, rates decreased among black and white people during the same 10-year period. Rates also declined in older adults over 50—a group typically hit hardest by cancer.

“This nationwide study provides updated evidence that the incidence of early-onset cancers in the U.S. is increasing and highlights several disparities,” the authors wrote in the paper.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2023. Breast cancer is the No. 1 cancer affecting women. An estimated over 300,000 women will be diagnosed this year. Prostate cancer is the leading cancer diagnosis among men. Similarly, the NIH estimates nearly 300,000 cases. Cancer costs the United States more than $156 billion annually, and the total cost of cancer globally is on pace to reach $25.2 trillion by 2050.

Risk Factors

Up to 50 percent of all cancers are preventable. Several lifestyle risk factors for preventable cancers include the following:

Smoking.
Being overweight or obese.
Drinking too much alcohol.
Eating a poor diet.
Lacking physical activity.
Being stressed.
Exposures to radiation.
Infections.

“There is a need to inform health care professionals about the increasing incidence of early-onset cancer, and investigations for possible tumors need to be considered when clinically appropriate, even in patients younger than 50 years,” the authors continued in the paper. “These data will be useful for public health specialists and health care policy makers and serve as a call to action for further research into the various environmental factors that may be associated with this concerning pattern.”

The authors pointed out the possibility that cancer statistics are underreported, and study results may not apply to other areas outside the United States. Therefore, they should be interpreted with caution.

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ANOTHER ONE?

Another One? Boeing Dreamliner Pilot Suffers “Fatal Cardiac Arrest” Shortly After Takeoff

FRIDAY, AUG 18, 2023 – 08:40 PM

In late January, US Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Billy Nolen and Office of Aerospace Medicine Federal Air Surgeon Susan Northrup shedding light on a concerning trend of individuals in the aviation industry who experienced medical events after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

“What steps has FAA taken or will FAA take to investigate whether Cody Flint, Hayley Lopez, Greg Pierson, Bob Snow, Wil Wolfe, and other pilots experienced COVID-19 vaccine adverse events?” Johnson asked.

The senator wrote, “Based on data from the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database, the whistleblower reported that the total number of diseases and injuries in pilots across DoD was 265 in 2016; 252 in 2017; 164 in 2018; 223 in 2019; 2,194 in 2020; 2,861 in 2021; and 4,059 in 2022. These increases in disease and injuries in pilots across the DoD over the last three years, and particularly over the last year, raise questions as to whether FAA has seen similar increases in disease and injuries in individuals in the aviation industry.”

This leaves us with the latest incident: a pilot in command of a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in the bathroom of a commercial flight from Miami to Chile on Monday.

“Flight LA505 (Miami – Santiago) diverted to Tocumen International Airport in Panama due to a medical emergency of one of the three members of the crew in command,” according to CBS News, which obtained a statement from LATAM Airlines.

The airline continued, “Unfortunately, after landing and receiving further medical assistance, the pilot passed away.”

… and remember this?

Here are the latest headlines of pilots suffering medical emergencies:

In Feb., Captain Robert Snow revealed he suffered a cardiac arrest on the final approach of an American Airlines flight. He said he was vaxxed in order to maintain his employment status with the airlines.

Will the FAA or the Biden administration even be willing to investigate the surge in disease and injuries in pilots after the Covid shot?

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Is This The Real Reason “Eris” Cases Are Spiking?

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 08:10 AM

Via Off-Guardian.org,

Eris – the most recent “Covid variant” – is supposedly causing spikes in cases all over the world.

The story goes that England, Ireland and US are all being hit hard, it’s reached Australia too.

In yet another blow to the “BRICS will save us” crowd, India and China are playing along.

“Scientists” are even clamoring for the return of masks.

We’ve already been over everything you need to know about “Eris” here. Long story short, “Covid” is just another made up name for the flu, and the “variants” are coats of paint they slap on the narrative to try and keep it looking fresh.

In that same article I theorised Eris’ existence was a need to keep Covid alive, and that is part of it…but I also missed something obvious: The next round of Covid “vaccines” hits the shelves next month.

For those who have lost count, I think we’re up to six or seven shots now.

This “updated vaccine” is nothing to do with Eris, of course, as much as the language in the headlines implies it’s been “adapted” for the latest variant, it hasn’t.

It was in the works before Eris was even said to exist.

Moderna had the brass neck to claim that they did a “trial” showing their updated vaccine protects against Eris. Considering Eris first hit the headlines just a few weeks ago it looks like Moderna may have broken their own record in terms of speedy “trials”.

It’s just the same old slop it always was.

Hell, let’s be honest, it could be water. It could be ANYTHING.

The content of the syringe was never the important part.

After all, what you were being injected with wasn’t the point, the point was that you got injected because they told you to.

It was about forcing obedience, setting the vaccine mandate precedent and seeing how effectively people could be gaslit into taking a shot that they’d already been told they don’t need and doesn’t work.

Well, that and governments handing over VAST amounts of cash to pharmaceutical companies, obviously.

But they already have the money, and most people (allegedly) took the vaccine…so why are they still going?

You have to appreciate the huge amount of effort that went into hypnotizing millions – maybe billions – of people into acting against their own best interests, it’s a spell that’s easier to maintain than restart.

If they start letting people forget, then soon they’ll have to begin the ritual all over again.

And the magic is already wearing off.

Consider that, allegedly, over 200 million Americans took the first dose in 2021, and that by the time boosters were coming out in the fall of 2022 it was down to 50 million. That’s a 75% drop-off in only a year.

The power is slipping away, and as they scramble to get it back you can probably expect “Eris” to get a lot worse.

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Take a look at this peer reviewed study on ivermectin:

(EpochTimes)

Most Intensive Ivermectin Use Had 74% Reduction In Excess Deaths In Peru: New Study

SATURDAY, AUG 19, 2023 – 02:30 PM

Authored by Megan Redshaw, JD via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

According to a new peer-reviewed ecological study, a natural experiment occurred when the government of Peru authorized ivermectin for use during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in evidence of the drug’s effectiveness and ability to reduce excess deaths.(Carl DMaster/Epoch Times)

The paper’s results, published August 8 in Cureus, found a 74 percent reduction in excess deaths in 10 states with the most intensive ivermectin use over a 30-day period following peak deaths during the pandemic. When analyzing data across 25 states in Peru, researchers found these reductions in excess deaths correlated closely to ivermectin use during four months in 2020.

When ivermectin was available without restriction, there was a fourteenfold reduction in nationwide excess deaths. Once access to ivermectin was restricted by the government, a thirteenfold increase in excess deaths was observed in the two months following the limitation of its use. The findings align with summary data from the World Health Organization for the same time period in Peru.

Ivermectin is a widely-known and inexpensive treatment against parasitic diseases. Scientists believe the drug can also bind to the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, limiting its morbidity and infectivity.

Peru Promoted Then Restricted Access to Ivermectin

Before Peru implemented COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the country relied on mitigation strategies such as lockdowns and therapeutics to control the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19, as did many other nations.

The Peruvian Ministry of Health, on May 8, 2020, approved ivermectin widely for use prompting 25 states in Peru to implement inpatient and outpatient treatments with ivermectin to different extents and in different time frames. Additionally, through the Mega-Operación Tayta (MOT)—a national program led by the Ministry of Defense—Peru’s government began distributing ivermectin on a wide scale.

Through a partnership with 11 other government agencies, MOT aimed to reach every targeted region with rapid response teams to detect COVID-19 cases, administer ivermectin, and provide food to encourage people to isolate for 15 days. Shortly thereafter, MOT began distributing the therapeutic to everyone identified as high-risk, regardless of whether they tested positive or were symptomatic for COVID-19.

The government of Peru independently tracked daily COVID-19 deaths and all-cause deaths through numerous Peruvian national health databases, allowing researchers to calculate excess deaths. Additionally, they extensively tracked data for deaths and other public health parameters allowing analysis of the potential efficacy of interventions such as ivermectin during the pandemic.

When President Francisco Sagasti took office on Nov. 17, 2020, the government stopped distributing ivermectin and made it available only by prescription. This made the drug significantly more difficult for people to obtain and allowed researchers to see nationwide changes in daily excess all-cause deaths before and after restrictions went into place.

Impact of Ivermectin on Excess Deaths

Excess all-cause deaths were calculated from the total deaths recorded for January through February 2020. During this period, monthly all-cause deaths fluctuated with a mean value of 5.2 percent and a standard deviation of 3.8 percent. By May 2020, total deaths fluctuated by more than double the baseline value calculated in January through February.

An analysis of excess all-cause deaths was performed state-by-state for those aged 60 years and older to establish the date of peak excess deaths during the pandemic’s first wave. Decreases in excess deaths from the peak date of death to 30 and 45 days afterward were tracked. The 25 states were then grouped by the extent of ivermectin distribution: maximal distribution—occurring through operation MOT, medium, and minimal.

Results showed that the 10 MOT states had a sharp decrease in excess deaths after reaching peak values—with a 74 percent drop at 30 days and an 86 percent drop at 45 days after the date of peak deaths. For 14 states that locally administered ivermectin, excess deaths dropped by 53 percent at 30 days and 70 percent at 45 days.

In Lima, where ivermectin treatments were delayed until August—four months after its initial pandemic surge in April—excess deaths only dropped by 25 percent at 30 days and 25 percent at 45 days after peak deaths on May 30.

According to the study, mean reductions in excess deaths 30 days after peak deaths were 74 percent, 53 percent, and 25 percent, respectively, for the maximal, medium, and minimal states that distributed ivermectin. Forty-five days after peak deaths, mean reductions were 86 percent, 70 percent, and 25 percent.

The researchers noted that ivermectin distribution may have yielded such positive numbers due to the drug’s ability to both prevent and treat COVID-19 when distributed to an at-risk population on a greater scale.

NFL news…BREAKING: AGAIN: NFL preseason game suspended after player immobilized…New England rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden immobilized…why? is it the hit? did the mRNA vaccine play a role or

pure hit? reminds us of what happened to Damar Hamlin last season, when the Buffalo Bills cornerback suffered cardiac arrest on the field during “Monday Night Football.”; vaccine-induced myocardits

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAUG 21

READ IN APP

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38224585/patriots-packers-suspended-cb-isaiah-bolden-carted-off

in this era of COVID lies and obfuscation, will we ever know the truth?

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‘Iranian drones & speedboats swarm US warship in chilling clash in Strait of Hormuz’; did I not write about this prior that Biden & Obama gave Iran the Air Force drone & then the 2 naval gunboats, did

I not? it was to develop the technology just for this, to attack the US and Israel…I warn Iran, by air, by land, or by sea, by any means necessary we will punish you…papa Trump is coming again!

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAUG 21

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https://www.the-sun.com/news/8883363/iran-drones-us-warship-helicopters/

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The COVID fraud & lies continue as the lockdown lunatics are at it again! “Media sounds alarm over new Eris COVID variant, pushes for Americans to mask up”; these beasts & scientists & doctors know

that the surgical masks, the cloth masks, not one, none worked, all failed, would have never worked! will always fail! see my huge seminal writing showing failure of masks and harms…

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAUG 21

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https://www.theblaze.com/news/new-covid-variant-eg5-eris-masks?utm_source=theblaze-dailyPM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily-Newsletter__PM%202023-08-20&utm_term=ACTIVE%20LIST%20-%20TheBlaze%20Daily%20PM

‘The media is sounding the alarm over the newest COVID variant – Eris or EG.5. The mainstream media is already making a push for Americans to mask up as the new variant begins to spread.’

‘It is not unreasonable to conclude that surgical and cloth masks, used as they currently are being used (without other forms of PPE protection), have no impact on controlling the transmission of Covid-19 virus. Current evidence implies that face masks can be actually harmful. The body of evidence indicates that face masks are largely ineffective.

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In Canada, an Ottawa detective (police) was disciplined because she was alarmed by the huge spike in baby deaths & was looking at the vaccine status of the mothers, wanted to talk to her boss! She was

reprimanded. This is how it goes in Canada. Kanadistan! where terrorists have more rights than law abiding Canadians and where the Prime Minister rules with no checks & balances

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAUG 18

READ IN APP

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Crisis in the Cockpit: Three Airline Pilots ‘Die Suddenly’ in a Week!

Five cases of cardiac arrest among pilots this month! Four of them mid-flight.

DR PANDAAUG 20

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Good Morning! — This post is too long for email! — If viewing from email please click ‘view online’ at the top of the email or click here. You can also download the Substack app! (not sponsored)

Three pilot deaths in three days!

Last week we witnessed **3** major airline pilots “die suddenly” — two of them mid flight.

August 17, 2023 – An IndiGo pilot suffers cardiac arrest minutes before operating a flight.

August 16, 2023 – Qatar Flight QR 579 — Pilot suddenly fell ill and passed away 30 minutes before scheduled landing — flight was diverted to Dubai.

“He was very fit and his untimely demise has come as a big shock for everyone who knew him.”

The pilot was traveling ‘off duty.’

August 14, 2023 — LATAM Flight LA505 Miami to Santiago, Chile — Captain collapses 2 hours into flight and dies in lavatory — copilot diverts to Panama City.

Back to back pilots dropping dead suddenly! But those weren’t the only pilot emergencies this month. We had two more in-flight health emergencies in August 2023. This is UNPRECEDENTED in aviation history.

August 9, 2023 — United Airlines flight UAL1309 from SRQ to EWR — the pilot suffered a heart attack and lost consciousness in-flight.

August 7, 2023 — TigerAir flight IT237 Japan to Taiwan — Immediately after landingthe co-pilot suddenly felt ill and collapsed

What? We are going there? So soon, I knew its coming but so quick? ‘Russia Accuses U.S. of Creating Biological Weapons, Linking them to Global Pandemics, Including COVID-19’; credibility to this!

we will come to learn that US (dark people) had a larger hand in COVID than you care to believe…it may well be that the US was the first nation to deliver a biological attack on another….????

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAUG 18

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Russia Accuses U.S. of Creating Biological Weapons, Linking them to Global Pandemics, Including COVID-19 (Video)

In a recent report from Russia’s Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, Chief of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops, has made pointed claims regarding the U.S. and its allies’ military and biological activities in Ukraine and other countries.

The Ministry notes, “U.S. military-biological activity pose a security threat to many nations around the world.”

They allege that the U.S., despite proclaiming to “monitor disease incidence and provide assistance to developing countries,” is instead seen to be “conducting uncontrolled dual-use research in circumvention of international obligations under the BTWC.”

One of the major contentions raised is the accusation that American military projects “are primarily aimed at studying potential agents of biological weapons — anthrax, tularemia, coronavirus, as well as pathogens of economically significant infections — pathogenic avian influenza and African swine fever.”

The release further suggests a pattern, stating, “There is a clear trend: pathogens that fall within the Pentagon’s area of interest, such as COVID-19, avian influenza, African swine fever, subsequently become pandemic, and American pharmaceutical companies become the beneficiaries.”

Linking the current COVID-19 pandemic to U.S. activities, the press release mentions, “Earlier, we informed about the possible involvement of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the emergence of the new coronavirus.”

It points to the EcoHealth Alliance as a “key” organization in studying the coronavirus since 2015, “searching for new strains of coronavirus and mechanisms of their transmission from animals to humans.”

Drawing further connections, the Ministry recalls, “on 18 October 2019, two months before the first official reports about the emergence of the new coronavirus infection in China, John Hopkins University conducted Event 201 exercise in New York.”

The exercise, they claim, mimics the real-world transmission of the virus “from bats to humans via a porcine organism, the intermediary virus carrier,” raising “questions about the possible intentional nature of COVID-19 and U.S. involvement in the incident.”

Moreover, the establishment of the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy by the U.S. on 21 July 2023 has drawn scrutiny.

The Russian Ministry warns, “We do not rule out that the United States will use of so-called defensive technologies for offensive purposes, as well as for global governance by creating crisis situations of a biological nature.”

Highlighting the role of the U.S. Army Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, currently headed by Colonel Constance Jenkins, the release states that the institute, established at “Fort Detrick at a bioweapons development facility,” is directly involved “in the collection of dangerous pathogens in various regions of the world, testing of unregistered drugs, as well as the implementation of dual-use programmes.”

Lastly, the press release unveils the names of individuals linked to alleged “U.S. military-biological programmes on the territory of Ukraine.”

They include Natalia Dudko, who “coordinated more than 250 STCU projects in various scientific fields”; Lyudmila Chernenko, General Director of the Centre for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine; and Aleksandr Matskov, who “oversaw the overall implementation of a U.S.-funded dual-use project on COVID-19.”

The Russian Defence Ministry asserts it will continue its investigation, promising to “publish the names of officials of biotechnology corporations and other Pentagon contractors” linked to these programs.

I want to learn more.

END

Fake vaccine cards? remember the doctor whistle blowers in Texas who came forward late 2022 advising us that they were offered fake vaccine cards as they refused the mRNA vaccine & CEOs did not want

to lay them off, take them off strength so they were offered fake fraud cards; they refused! a huge scam and criminality will be uncovered, you wait…

Is the Biden administration with the crooked corrupted inept CDC, NIH, FDA officials moving to reimplement COVID restrictions etc.? Yes, it is & was only option they have e.g. lockdown, jail Trump 45

SLAY NEWS

The latest reports from Slay News

WEF Professor: Declining Birth Rates Will Fight ‘Climate Change’A World Economic Forum-linked professor has declared that the declining birth rates recorded in countries around the world are actually a “good thing” because the issue will help to fight “climate change.”READ MORE

Twitter’s Partnership with Anti-Conservative Pro-Censorship Group Raises Free Speech Concerns Twitter has recently partnered with a radical anti-conservative group that’s campaigning for more censorship online.READ MORE

Ex-AG Alberto Gonzales Calls for Trump to ‘Serve Time’ in Prison over Jan 6 Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has called for President Donald Trump to “serve time” in prison over Jan. 6.READ MORE

Country Music Sensation Tells Hollywood To Pound Sand: “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers”Country music sensation Oliver Anthony broke his silence after his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” became an overnight worldwide phenomenon. He said: “People in the music industry give me blank stares when I brush off 8 million dollar offers. I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet. I don’t want to play stadium shows, I …READ MORE

Twitter Hiring New Staff to Censor ‘Election Disinformation’Elon Musk’s social media company Twitter, now known as X, is hiring new staff members who will be tasked with censoring “election disinformation.”READ MORE

Jake Tapper Stuns CNN’s Audience: “Trump was right and Joe Biden was wrong”CNN’s Jake Tapper came clean and admitted that Trump was right and Joe Biden was wrong about Hunter Biden’s shady dealings in China. TAPPER: Let’s turn to the Biden administration because Jeff you have some new reporting that President Biden might have a blind spot, according to people around him when it comes to his son Hunter Biden’s legal troubles …READ MORE

Ramaswamy Surges Past DeSantis to Take Second Place Behind Trump Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has surged past his GOP rival Gov. Ron DeSantis to take second place in the primary race polls.READ MORE

Oliver Anthony Turns Down $8 Million Deals from Corporate Music Executives Music sensation Oliver Anthony revealed that he has turned down a whopping $8 million in recording deals from corporate music industry executives.READ MORE

Trump & Tucker Carlson to Team Up and Sabotage Fox News’ Big Night President Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson are teaming up to sabotage Fox News’s big night covering the Republican debate, according to reports.READ MORE

Larry Elder Dooms Biden by Exposing ‘Monstrous’ Racially Charged Past Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder turned the tables on “The Breakfast Club” when he told host, Charlamagne Tha god, who Democrat President Joe Biden really is.READ MORE

Texas Store Owner Shoots & Kills Two Armed Thugs during Failed Robbery A pack of armed thugs’ “jugging” attempt failed miserably when a Texas store pulled his own gun and defended himself during a botched robbery attempt.READ MORE

Bill Barr Changes Tune, Tells Fani Willis to Pound Sand: ‘I’m Not Happy with the Georgia Case’Former Attorney General Bill Barr changed his tune and slammed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s indictment of President Donald Trump as “too sweeping” and “too broad.”READ MORE

Megyn Kelly Shames ‘Dishonest Broker’ Hillary Clinton for Sending ‘Us Down This Disgusting Path We’re Now On’Former Fox News star Megyn Kelly has shamed twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for celebrating the indictments against President Donald Trump.READ MORE

The latest reports from Slay News14 U.S Cities Planning to Ban Meat, Dairy, Private Cars by 2030 14 American cities have set a “target” to comply with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) green agenda goals by banning meat, dairy, and private car ownership by 2030.READ MORE Viral Video Shows 10 Minutes of Democrats Denying Election Results A video has gone viral this week that shows footage of several top Democrats denying the results of various elections.READ MORE Hunter’s Biden’s Lawyer Threatened A “Constitutional Crisis” By Making Joe Biden Testify At His Trial Hunter Biden’s lawyer told prosecutors that if Hunter Biden was charged with a gun crime, Hunter would trigger a “Constitutional crisis” and put President Joe Biden on the witness stand according to a shocking new report from Politico. Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Chris Clark, told DOJ prosecutors: “President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any …READ MORE James Woods Issues Heartbreaking Statement About Lifelong Stunt Double: “I am in a state of shock and utter despair, just devastated”Hollywood legend James Woods issued a heartbreaking statement after learning about the death of a close friend and lifelong stunt double passed away. Woods knows loyalty is rare in Hollywood but Steve Lambert always had is back. James said: “I was just informed that my lifelong stunt double and dear friend, Steve Lambert has passed away. No words can express …READ MORE GOP Congressman’s Emails Hacked by Chinese Communist Party Republican Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) has revealed that his emails have been hacked b the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).READ MORE Target’s Sales Plummet after ‘Pride Month’ Backlash Target’s sales figures have plummeted following the widespread backlash against the retail giant’s “woke” merchandise push.READ MORE Mexico Overtakes China as America’s New Manufacturing Base As U.S. relations with China have fractured over the years, Mexico has emerged as the new manufacturing base for America.READ MOREThe latest reports from Slay NewsRFK Jr Shreds ‘Experts’ Claiming Vaccines Are ‘Unequivocally Safe’Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired back at a group of “experts” for claiming that vaccines are “unequivocally safe.”READ MORE John Podesta Blames ‘Global Warming’ for Maui Fires, Claims Biden’s Legislation Will ‘Stop Climate Crisis’Democrat President Joe Biden’s climate chief John Podesta has told the corporate media that “global warming” is to blame for the recent wildfires in Maui, Hawaii.READ MORE James Woods Issues Warning: Kevin McCarthy ‘Reshaped the Republican Party as the Democrats’ Handmaidens’Hollywood legend James Woods has slammed Kevin McCarthy for being a “catastrophe” in his role as House speaker.READ MORE James Woods Asks Million-Dollar Question about Biden: ‘Why the Screeching Every Time He’s Caught Nimble-Fingered with the Truth?’James Woods has called out Democrat President Joe Biden for continuously refusing to answer critical questions from the media. READ MORE Ex-CIA Officer Reviews Evidence against Biden: ‘There’s No Doubt This Is Money Laundering’A former CIA has reviewed the mounting evidence against Democrat President Joe Biden and his family and stated on Joe Rogan’s hugely popular podcast that “there’s no doubt” that it proves “money laundering.”READ MORE Jim Jordan Issues Subpoenas After Judge Finds Biden “Very Likely Violated Americans’ First Amendment Rights”House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) issued subpoenas to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland of the Department of Justice (DOJ) related to the Committee’s ongoing censorship investigation. READ MORE ‘Sanctuary City’ Chicago Mulls Plan to Bus Illegals to Suburbs Chicago is currently considering plans to bus illegal border crossers out of the so-called “sanctuary city,” according to reports.READ MORE Matt Gaetz Calls on Congress to Investigate Political Bias of Trump Judge Tanya Chutkan Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is calling on his colleagues in Congress to investigate the judge presiding over President Donald Trump’s case, Tanya Chutkan.READ MORE Vivek Ramaswamy Warns America on ‘Cusp of Chaos’: ‘A 1776 Moment’Rising Republican 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has warned that America is “on the cusp of chaos” and heading for “a 1776 moment.”READ MORE 9/11 Architect and 4 Other Terrorists Behind Attack May Have Death Penalties Overturned, Pentagon Reveals A terrorist identified as the architect of the 9/11 attacks, along with four other co-conspirators, may have their death penalties overturned, the Pentagon has revealed.READ MORE Tom Fitton Sues CIA over Role in Intel Letter Attacking Hunter Biden Laptop Story Just before Election Tom Fitton’s Judicial Watch has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the CIA for its role in the infamous intelligence community letter that claimed the Hunter Biden laptop story was “Russian disinformation” in the run-up to the 2020 election.READ MORE RFK Jr Warns Biden: ‘Excuse the White House Has Given Is Just Specious, Dishonest, Not True’Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has slammed Democrat President Joe Biden after accusing him of lying about his security situation.READ MORE CNN Turns on Biden: ‘Cannot Stop Himself, He Told at Least Two Lies That Have Already Been Debunked’CNN has turned on Democrat President Joe Biden with a brutal fact check on live television. READ MORE

EVOL NEWS

Whistleblowers: Biden Bringing Back FULL Covid Restrictions, Lockdowns Starting Next MonthREAD MORE… LATEST NEWS:Investigators: ‘Climate Change’ Activists Started Hawaii WildfiresRead more…‘A League of Their Own’ Canceled as Amazon Flips on Abbreviated Final SeasonRead more…Idaho Mom Exposes Graphic Sexual Content in School LibrariesRead more…WATCH: Leftist Finds Common Ground With Trump Voters At Erie RallyRead more…Incoming DOJ Official Pressured Twitter To Remove Tweets About GA Election Irregularities, Emails ShowRead more…O’Keefe: Biden’s No. 3 DOJ Pick Demanded Twitter Censor Project Veritas’s Undercover Reporting on Illegal Voter Registration in Fulton CountyRead more…James Buckley, conservative ex-senator, dies at 100Read more…Oliver Anthony Turns Down $8 Million Deals from Corporate Music ExecutivesRead more…

NEWS ADDICTS

LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES

Ukrainian Government Preparing to Legalize Porn Production to Help Raise Funds for the Military On Friday, legislators in the Ukrainian Parliament, known as the Verkhovna Rada, revealed that they’ve gathered enough signatures for a bill that would decriminalize the production of pornography. The main advocate behind the proposal, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, has argued that the existing laws foster corruption, and he contends that legalizing pornography could potentially generate financial support for the military. Measure 9623 …READ THE FULL REPORT

Donald Trump Applauds GA State Senator Colton Moore for Standing Up to Fani Willis and the ‘Radical Left Lunatics’Donald Trump posted to Truth Social about Georgia State Sentator Colton Moore’s request for an emergency session to investigate the actions taken by Fani Willis against former President Donald Trump: “Highly respected Georgia State Senator Colton Moore deserves the thanks & congratulations of everyone for having the courage & conviction to fight the Radical Left Lunatics who are so badly …READ THE FULL REPORT

Fulton County Sheriff Threatens President Donald Trump: ‘We Will Have a Mugshot Ready For You’Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat promised that former President Donald Trump would have a mugshot if indicted in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willi’s investigation. “Unless somebody tells me differently, we are following our normal practices, and so it doesn’t matter your status, we’ll have a mugshot ready for you,” Sheriff Labat said. The 98-page, 41-count indictment, released late Monday …READ THE FULL REPORT

Adam Schiff Claims Fulton County DA Was Correct in Indicting Trump; Criticizes Federal Prosecutors for Taking ‘So Long’Adam Schiff: ‘Georgia Fully Within Its Rights to Move Forward Because the Federal Government Took So Long’ On Tuesday, Representative Adam Schiff stated during an appearance on CNN’s “The Source” that he believes Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was correct in indicting former President Donald Trump. He argued that federal prosecutors took “so long.” “I was listening to your …READ THE FULL REPORT

Small City in Minnesota Left Without a Police Department After the Entire Force Recently Resigned A pay dispute led to the resignation of the entire police department in a small town located in southeastern Minnesota. The entire Goodhue Police Department, including its police chief, resigned over issues with pay. “Since the resignations have been handed in by our police department, it has been recommended by our city attorney that at this point we need to …READ THE FULL REPORT

end

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

Gone Fishing In Jackson Hole

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 12:40 PM

By Bas van Geffen of Rabobank

The Fed’s annual economic symposium could not have been in a more appropriate place this year. Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a great fly fishing spot. And there will probably be some fishing expeditions later this week.

First and foremost, market participants have been looking at the central banks for a bit more guidance after the latest data releases have traders concerned about the inflation outlook –and potential hikes being tacked on– once more. Yet, both Powell and Lagarde will probably tell markets to go fish, and refrain from giving clearer guidance into the September meeting as they await the final pieces of evidence regarding the economic and inflation outlook.

Meanwhile, central bankers themselves are busy trying to figure out just how much tightening the economy still needs, as economists are still clutching at straws where the neutral interest rate lies. Arguably, both Powell and Lagarde are currently quite happy with the odds that markets attach to another rate hike in the near future as long as it keeps traders from pricing in rate cuts that would effectively soften the monetary policy stance. There’s still the risks of both doing too much or too little in the fight against inflation, and the more traders price rate cuts, the bigger the risk that central bankers will have to raise rates further than they intend.

While the full agenda of the conference is kept secret until Wednesday, the title of this year’s symposium, “Structural Shifts in the Global Economy”, covers all of the risk factors. Domestically, the resilience of the labor market continues to puzzle many, and ageing could keep labor in relative short supply in many economies.

More disruptive shifts could follow from the further decoupling of the world’s major economies, and the developments on that front are once again not looking pretty. China will urge the BRICS countries to become a rival of the G7, as the bloc of emerging markets gathers in Johannesburg to discuss a potential expansion. This could chip away at the West’s global power through the IMF and the US dollar’s status as reserve currency. Brazil has reportedly been lobbying to require new members to join the New Development Bank, and the bloc may seek to reduce the use of dollars in trade flows between its members. Moreover, BRICS expansion could cover some countries that are vital to the West’s interests in decoupling from China, either because they are locations for re-shoring production, or because they possess key raw materials used in e.g. Europe’s green ambitions.

That said, getting so many countries with different economic and political systems aligned is always easier said than done. As an example, even the European project –with stringent accession criteria– has only achieved so much in its attempt to get a bigger global economic and political footprint since its inception. And the EU, to all intents and purposes, has been a relative success.

In addition to this soft power, China has also been showing its military teeth. Beijing launched joint air and see patrols around Taiwan. The military exercise came as the Western alliance held a summit at Camp David, and only a week after Taiwan’s Vice President Lai had angered China by traveling to Panama via the United States.

But Beijing may also be stepping up its global game to distract from the domestic issues. The struggling real estate sector and a high debt burden continue to depress the economic outlook. And in another sign that broad-based stimulus is probably not forthcoming, China’s banks left the 5-year loan prime rate unchanged, despite widespread expectations that this rate was going to be lowered by 15bp following the 15bp cut in the PBOC’s 1y medium term lending facility rate last week.

The absence of a cut in the banking sector’s key benchmark rate for mortgages may have been driven out of concerns over a narrowing interest margin for banks, especially as non-performing loans are rising. Yet, this impairment of monetary transmission will put an even bigger focus on non-monetary stimulus measures going forward.

Indeed, worried about potential spill-over effects into the broader financial system, local governments have reportedly increased their support for small to midsize banks. Between January and July, local governments have issued $20.3 billion in special bonds of which the proceeds were injected into some 125 different regional banks.

That makes the Chinese risks to the European and US economies harder to gauge. A decoupling could clearly be inflationary, especially if China manages to lure a bigger part of the world to their side of the divide. But as long as that does not materialize, the weakness of the Chinese economy could become a drag on the US and Europe too. While the risks of global financial contagion are probably a lot smaller than when the US real estate bubble burst, the impact on global demand and supply for goods would be far from negligible.

end

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

8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES

ARGENTINA

Newcomer Melei is not the problem: it is socialism for the past 80 years in ArgentinA

Dr Lacalle

Milei Is Not Argentina’s Problem, Socialism Is…

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 05:30 PM

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

Argentina’s problem is not Milei.

The Central Bank of Argentina does not have to devalue the peso due to the victory of Javier Milei in the primaries.

The Central Bank of Argentina and the Peronist government have been devaluing the peso and sinking the currency for years. It must devalue because the central bank has run out of reserves.

Argentina is not facing an “anti-system” or “far-right” threat. They already have a far-left and anti-system government.

The extractive and confiscatory monetary and fiscal policies of the XXI Century Socialism championed by Peronist Fernandez de Kirchner.

The so-called “Inclusive” monetary policy, as Axel Kicilloff, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s ex economy minister, denominated it.

The Peronist policy of maximum interventionism as well as fiscal and monetary irresponsibility has destroyed Argentina and left the central bank without reserves.

The peso has lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar since Alberto Fernández took office, and inflation in Argentina already exceeds 110% annualized, with 39% of the population living in poverty.

In the years of the “XXI Century Socialism” governments of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Alberto Fernández, a completely uncontrolled increase in the monetary base obliterated the local currency. The center-right Macri government, which took office briefly between Kirchner and Fernandez, made the mistake of thinking that gradual and soft measures could curb the inflationary spiral, especially because he did not consider the evidence of the time bomb left by Fernandez de Kirchner in future monetary issuance commitments via short-term debt at very high rates accumulated at the central bank (the Leliq, Lebac, and Pases). This central bank remunerated debt grew by 22 billion equivalent US dollars during the years of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. The Macri government reduced it by $26 billion. These issuances of “remunerated” central bank debt are future monetary base increases and guaranteed inflation.

The government of Alberto Fernández has left a timebomb of Leliq and Pases that exceed 12% of GDP. Thus, a gigantic devaluation of the peso is guaranteed since the central bank’s liabilities exceed its reserves by several times. This is why the central bank must devalue.

According to data published by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic in August 2023, Argentina has carried out the largest monetary experiment in the region, second only to Venezuela. The Monetary Base increased by 46.2% annually, 117.2% in two years, and 172% in three years. However, the monetary base, including deposits and the aforementioned Leliq, has soared by 392.6% in three years. This disaster is the legacy left by the Fernandez government.

Peronism embraced “XXI century socialism” and implemented the most damaging “exchange clamps” (cepo cambiario) that drain exporting sectors of reserves and force them to convert their dollars at fictitious exchange rates. This is state-sponsored theft that has destroyed the entry of new reserves to the country. Instead of maximizing reserves, this policy stopped export growth.

With the recent creation of the so-called “soybean dollar” (dólar soja), an artificial rate for agricultural producers to liquidate their foreign currency, in Argentina there are more than ten exchange rates.

How can a country have ten exchange rates against one currency? The answer is simple. All those exchange rates imposed by the government are forms of expropriation of wealth to confiscate the dollars of exporters and citizens at an unrealistic rate.

The government expropriates the recipients of US dollars with an exchange against the peso that the government itself would not find in any transaction on the open market.

This monetary madness finances uncontrolled political spending, as the Argentine state cannot be financed via debt as there is no confidence in its solvency as an issuer since it has defaulted on several occasions.

There is no real local or global demand for pesos, as investors and citizens know that the government will continue to print currency without control.

In Argentina, in 57% of the provinces, state employment is greater than private employment. The state increases public spending more than tax receipts and inflation, financing it by printing more pesos, which creates more poverty and higher inflation. Meanwhile, the taxation implemented by the Peronist governments is one of the most confiscatory in the region, reaching 106% of its profits for a Small and Medium Enterprise that pays all its taxes, according to the Doing Business report.

Thus, the government promises huge subsidies in a currency that is constantly losing value and presents itself as the solution to the problem created by its own fiscal and monetary policies. Peronism “gives away” money that is printed massively and has no value. The result, eighteen million poor citizens.

Many great Argentine economists have analyzed in detail the importance of dollarizing to end this spiral of perverse incentives that leads the government to make citizens more dependent by issuing a currency without value or demand. From Nicolas Cachanosky to Steve Hanke and many others, they remind us that Ecuador, Panama, or El Salvador successfully dollarized.

Argentina’s problem is not dollarization, but the evidence that they have an unviable and failed currency. Argentina is already dollarized in large part because citizens are fleeing the local currency.

Why is the Peso a worthless currency?

Because the government and the central bank have been implementing their own Modern Monetary Theory under the idea that the country’s problems can be solved by issuing more currency. After years of monetary destruction, global and national demand for the peso is at historical lows.

The peso is, again in 2023, one of the worst currencies in the world against the US dollar, while the increase in the monetary base of the central bank of Argentina is an insane 46% year-to-date. And some people wonder why inflation is over 100%.

No, Argentina does not face an abyss if Milei becomes president. Argentina, a rich country with enormous potential, is already in the abyss.

Just like Chavismo in Venezuela, the Peronist governments have destroyed the currency and the productive fabric to boost political spending and turn the country into an economic wasteland where the salaries and savings of citizens are confiscated via high direct and indirect taxes as well as the inflationary tax.

Milei wants to end this monetary and fiscal insanity with policies that are not radical but logical. Stop the insane monetization of government spending, end the central bank’s dangerous inflationary measures, dollarize, cut excessive political expenditure, reduce taxes, open the economy, and allow free trade and investment to flow back to Argentina.

Something is very wrong in the developed world when some consider Milei a dangerous radical and say nothing about the radicalism implemented in the Fernandez-Kirchner years.

Argentina must implement serious fiscal and monetary policies to reach its enormous potential. Milei’s proposals are not anti-system, they are pro-logic.

Argentina’s problem is not Milei. The problem is that they have implemented point by point the fiscal and monetary policies that many so-called “progressive” parties demand.

END

PANAMA/PANAMA CANAL

“Big Mess”: Panama Canal Hit By 200 Ship Bottleneck

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 10:05 AM

A parking lot of vessels has formed on either side of the Panama Canal as a worsening drought in the Central American country has reduced the number of ships able to sail through one of the world’s most important trading routes.

The Wall Street Journal counts more than 200 vessels “currently waiting to transit, a figure that has been climbing since the canal capped daily transits to 32 last month from an average 36 under normal conditions.”

Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the critical waterway are dotted with vessels. WSJ said some ships are waiting “more than 20 days” for access to the canal, forcing some carriers to reroute because of the bottleneck.

“The delays are changing by the day. Once you make a decision to go there is no point to return or deviate, so you can get stuck,” said Tim Hansen, chief commercial officer at Dorian LPG, which operates more than 20 large LNG carriers.

Since our May 22 report Panama Canal Hit By Shipping Restrictions As Water Crisis Set To Worsen, the draft restriction on the canal appears to have remained at 44 feet. For some context, a 50-foot draft is considered average for the canal during normal weather conditions, though a recent drought has left Lake Gatun, the largest of two lakes that feed the canal, with extremely low water levels. Source: Bloomberg

Around 6% of all global maritime traffic passes through the canal, mainly from the US, China, and Japan. During the 2016 and 2019 droughts, the draft limit went as low as 43 feet.

Retailers and energy companies use the canal for extensive trade between China and the rest of Asia and the US. The restrictions have led to a bottleneck on the waterway that forced some ship operators to reroute:

“Waiting time is one thing, but it’s also the uncertainty,” said Øystein Kalleklev, the CEO of Oslo-based Avance Gas.

Kalleklev added:

“The Panama Canal is a big mess these days.

“Twenty days in a queue is unprecedented at this time of the year.”

Climate alarmists in the mainstream press have conveniently blamed ‘climate change’ for Panama’s drought while ignoring El Niño, a weather pattern that brings drier conditions across much of Central America.

Dear Greta, Panama could use some of that polar ice you claim is melting at a “record rate.”

END

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

EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0910 UP 0.0044

USA/ YEN 145.80 UP 0.628 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//

GBP/USA 1.2761 UP 0.0068

USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3502 DOWN .0028 (CDN DOLLAR UP 28 BASIS PTS)

Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 38.97 PTS OR 1.24%

Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 327.56 PTS OR 1.82%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.41 % // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG DOWN 327.56 PTS OR 1.82%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 38.97 PTS OR 1.24%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.41%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 114.88 PTS OR 0.37

INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 1892.25

silver:$22.98

USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 103.12 DOWN 15 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE.

MONDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

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And now your closing MONDAY NUMBERS 11: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.425% UP 9 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.643% UP 2 AND 5//100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.756 UP 1 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 4.403 UP 7 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.7080 UP 10 BASIS PTS

END

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR MONDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.0885 UP 0.0022 or 22 basis points

USA/Japan: 146.35 UP 1.186 OR YEN DOWN 119 basis points/

Great Britain/USA 1.2727 UP 0.0034 OR 34 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar DOWN .0017 OR 17 BASIS pts to 1.3564

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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE CLOSED (UP) …7.2498

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. (7.2942)

TURKISH LIRA: 27.16 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.643…VERY DANGEROUS

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 11 in basis points from FRIDAY at 4.351% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

USA 30 yr bond yield 4.476 UP 12 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 MONDAY: CLOSING TIME 12:00 PM

London: CLOSED DOWN 4.61 POINTS or 0.06%

German Dax : CLOSED UP 29.02 PTS OR 0.19%

Paris CAC CLOSED UP 33.95 PTS OR 0.47%

Spain IBEX DOWN 4.90 PTS OR 0.05%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 224.94 PTS OR 0.81%

WTI Oil price 81.76 12: EST

Brent Oil: 85.28 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 93.48; ROUBLE UP 0 AND 21//100

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.7080 DOWN 10 BASIS PTS

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.791 UP 7 BASIS PTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA: 1.0898 UP 0.0034 OR 34 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2761 UP .0069 or 69 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.7785 % UP 5 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: .641%

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 146.19 UP 1.033 //YEN DOWN 103 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3544 UP .0013 CDN dollar, DOWN 13 basis pts)

West Texas intermediate oil: 80.64

Brent OIL: 84.35

USA 10 yr bond yield UP 9 BASIS pts to 4.336%

USA 30 yr bond yield UP 10 BASIS PTS to 4.460%

USA 2 YR BOND:UP 5 PTS AT 4.990%

USA dollar index: 103.26 DOWN 7 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 27.16 (GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 93.65 UP 0 AND 10/100 roubles

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 36.25 PTS OR 0.11%

NASDAQ 100 UP 241.85 PTS OR 1 .65%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 16.93 DOWN 0.37 PTS (2.14)%

GLD: $175.81 UP 0.48 OR .027%

SLV/ $21.36 UP ,48 OR 2.32%

end

USA AFFAIRS

USA TRADING IN GRAPH FORM:

Soaring Tech Stocks Shrug Off Sky-Rocketing Treasury Yields… For Now

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 04:00 PM

No US macro today but China’s disappointingly smaller-than-expected cut to the one-year prime lending rate, confused markets and traders after last week’s unexpected rate cut.

Europe saw sentiment suddenly improve (for no good reason).

One thing of note was Jason Furman and Paul Krugman both pushing for The Fed to raise its inflation target (an arguably bullish – less higher for longer – policy shift). Who could have seen that coming…

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1539242414698909703&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fmarkets%2Fsoaring-tech-stocks-shrug-sky-rocketing-treasury-yields-now&sessionId=a082a2445ac0b0ae5664e985f4d3bf292ceec4e0&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=aaf4084522e3a%3A1674595607486&width=550px

Interestingly though, market expectations for The Fed continued to drift hawkishly…

Source: Bloomberg

…and then the US cash open – juiced by several NVDA upgrades – saw growth explode higher relative to growth… and keep going.

Today was the biggest ‘growth’ outperformance of ‘value’ since March 2023…

Source: Bloomberg

NVDA rallied back near recent record highs – ripping 7.5% on the day – after getting three more upgrades (BMO upped Px target from $450 to $550/share, KeyBanc raise to $620 from $550; HSBC raises to $780). This was NVDA’s best day since the earnings-day surge in May…

The options-tail wagged the NVDA dog’s body today with what looks like a ‘gamma squeeze’ engineering a constant bid. However, we do note that options traders were also buyers of puts in modest size…

Source: SpotGamma

Bear in mind that this bounce is ‘right on cue’…

Source: Bloomberg

All of which meant that Nasdaq outperformed dramatically. Dow and Small Caps lagged with the S&P managing decent gains…

Interestingly, UBS traders noted that:

The desk continues to see outflows in Mega Cap Tech (excluding Nvidia and Microsoft) into strength today as investors worry that Tech is broadly overvalued.

Nvidia has taken a recent leg higher on renewed faith that company beats on Wednesday’s print, driven by Data Center revenue.

Positioning is max long though the desk is not yet seeing investors cutting there or in Meta.

0-DTE traders pushed the market lower into lunch then tried to fade the bounce… and failed. Which led to 0-DTE call-buyers (not put unwinds) sending stocks soaring…

Source: SpotGamma

While VIX fell back below 17 today (and vol of vol collapsed)…

Source: Bloomberg

…traders remain anxious in the short-term for this week’s ‘events’ – NVDA on Weds night and Powell at Jackson Hole Friday morning…

Source: Bloomberg

Nasdaq completely decoupled from bond yields today…

Source: Bloomberg

Bonds were sold across the whole curve today with the longer-end lagging (10Y +8bps, 2Y +5bps). Most of the selling pressure occurred between the US open and European close but we also note selling at China’s open and China’s post-lunch open (selling TSYs for USDs to buy yuan?)

Source: Bloomberg

The 2Y Yield ripped right back up to 5.00% but failed to break it – on 3 attempts…

Source: Bloomberg

10Y Treasury yields broke above the Oct ’22 highs, back to its highest yield since Oct 2007…

Source: Bloomberg

Real rates (10Y) hit 2.00% for the first time since March 2009…

Source: Bloomberg

And growth stocks have completely decoupled from real yields…

Source: Bloomberg

And the S&P 500 is trading 5 turns too rich compared to real yields…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar went nowhere on the day.

Crypto was modestly lower but no major pukes.

Oil prices fell, with WTI finding support at $80…

Gold tried – and failed – to get back up to $1900 (spot)…

Finally, the last time 10Y yields were this far above dividend yields was sept/oct 2007 – BNP Paribas funds liquidate, Fed slashes rates, market peaks…

Source: Bloomberg

It’s different this time though.

AFTERNOON TRADING//

Treasury Yields Soar To 16 Year High As 30Y Mortgage Rates Near 21st Century High

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 03:05 PM

The selloff in the bond-market resumed with a vengeance on Monday, pushing 10-year yields to a 16-year high, as traders dumped duration ahead of Friday’s Jackson Hole meeting where concerns are rising that – in a repeat of last year’s shock and awe – Powell may warn more work needs to be done to contain inflation.

The selloff pushed up yields on nominal Treasuries as well as on inflation-protected paper, or TIPS, suggesting that investors are bracing for the risk that monetary policy will remain elevated.

Yields on 10-year TIPS jumped over 2% for the first time since 2009, extending its ascent from year-to-date lows near 1%. Not long after, the yield on 10-year Treasuries without that protection surpassed October’s peak, climbing as much as 9 basis points to 4.35%, a level last seen in late 2007.

The 10-year real yield has risen sharply from around 1.5% in mid-July and just above 1% earlier this year. On Monday, the 30-year real yield rose 6 basis points to 2.15%. Treasury market volume was 75% of usual activity and was potentially exacerbating the price action.

The ongoing sharp repricing in duration is extending the major shift that has raced through the bond market over the past two weeks as the odds of a recession seemingly recede amid such ludicrous economic reading as an Atlanta Fed GDPNow which pointed to Q3 GDP growth of 5.8%, coupled with the trademark of “Bidenomics”: war-level budget deficits which have pushed the supply of Treasury debt in Q3 to a near-record $1 trillion, the second highest on record after the $2.8 trillion sold in Q2 2020 to offset the global Covid lockdowns.

That’s driven investors to sharply push up rates on longer-term debt, which had tumbled deeply below short-term ones on fears that the economy was poised for a contraction.

“The move higher across the curve over the last few weeks has really been all on the real-yield side,” Zachary Griffiths, senior fixed-income strategist at CreditSights, told Bloomberg citing a “higher Fed policy rate or better growth expectations, with little shift in breakeven inflation expectations.”

According to Bloomberg, the movements have fanned expectations that the US bond market is closing the door on the post-financial crisis era of ultra-low rates, anticipating that the Fed will hold interest rates elevated for longer than markets had expected. The movement has come even as the swaps market is still pricing in that the Fed is likely done with its rate hikes and will be easing policy next year.

“The continued better-than-expected economic data has made it like we are almost contemplating a new reality that we haven’t had for quite some time, where rates could potentially be quite higher for quite longer,” Griffiths said. “That’s the big thing driving real yields.”

Of course, as always happens on Wall Street, once everyone believes something the opposite happens, and with the help of a deflationary shockwave about to erupt from China, the $1 trillion the US is about to spend on debt interest…

… not to mention the inevitable Housing crash, because a housing market can only sustain these mortgage rates for so long, it’s only a matter of time before rates crash.

And speaking of mortgage rates, after briefly dipping at the end of 2022, the eruption in 10Y yields has pushed the 30Y Mortgage rate to a mindblowing 7.6%, the highest level since 2001 and just shy of the the highest in the 21st century. As a reference, mortgage rates hit a record low just over 2 years ago, when they troughed at 2.80% in Feb 2021.

There is little hope of immediate respite: bond investors are bracing for upcoming auctions of 20-year bonds and 30-year TIPS, that have smaller investor bases than other Treasury products. Demand will be closely followed for any hint the current rout is nearing an end, or perhaps has further room to run, according to Bloomberg’s Michael Mackenzie.

The debt sales arrive before the Fed’s annual gathering at Jackson Hole, with the market anticipating a hawkish tone from Chair Jerome Powell when he speaks Friday.

“The technicals are with the bond bears,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance Securities. But, he added, “in a slow August, illiquid holiday week, they have nothing to fear as the world expects Powell to be hawkish.”

II) USA DATA/

end

III) USA ECONOMIC STORIES

FRIDAY/NIGHT

Deposit outflows re accelerate

(zerohedge)

Large Bank Loan Volumes Shrank Last Week As Deposit Outflows Re-Accelerated

With money-market fund assets hitting new highs, and banks’ usage of The Fed’s emergency funds facility at record highs, we wonder how much longer The Fed can keep the dream of rising deposits alive (after last week’s massive NSA inflows).

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, The Fed says that total deposits dropped $11BN last week (the first decline in 4 weeks). We also note that the prior week’s inflow was revised higher…

Source: Bloomberg

After last week’s enormous $121BN NSA deposits inflow, last week saw an $11BN outflow (on a non-seasonally-adjusted basis)…

Source: Bloomberg

The divergence between money-market fund assets and bank deposits remains extreme…

Source: Bloomberg

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, Small Banks saw $5.6BN deposit inflows last week while Large Banks suffered $28.7BN outflows (with foreign bank inflows of $12BN making up the difference)…

Source: Bloomberg

And so, for a nice change, everything is tidy with domestic US banks seeing deposit outflows on an SA and NSA basis…

Source: Bloomberg

On the other side of the ledger, small banks continued to pump out loans (+$3.56BN, sixth straight week of increases), while large banks saw a $7.4BN contraction in loan volumes…

Source: Bloomberg

So, if The Fed’s data is to be believed, Small banks are ‘winning’ – deposit inflows and making loans; while large banks are leaking – deposit outflows and shrinking loans. All while Treasury prices tumble, stressing small bank balance sheets…

END

HAWAII/MAUI

Hawaii State Government Attempts Information Blackout On Maui Fire – Refuses Media Access

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 02:00 PM

The West Maui disaster is becoming less about the fire and more about the government’s bizarre response to the aftermath. Independent media sources and some mainstream media sources have confirmed multiple instances of the Democrat controlled government’s mismanagement that led to the escalation of the tragedy. The circus included a woke water management bureaucrat who believes water is “godlike” and that it must be distributed according to the rules of “equity; the same official withheld vital firefighting resources for a day while Maui burned. The state government has been thoroughly embarrassed, but instead of responding with humility, they have doubled down and gone on the attack.

The Governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, took a wild swing at independent reporting, telling people not to listen to information from social media and “influencers.” It’s hard to say what his definition of an “influencer” is, only that he is clearly hostile to anyone reporting news outside of the government narrative. Green’s disapproval of media reporting is not limited to alternative journalists, however. It appears that there is now an information blackout being instituted by the state. Corporate journalists are also being denied access to the area of the fire damage path as well as access to any details surrounding the investigation into how the fires may have started.

The lockdown is reminiscent of the state’s recent draconian covid response and has undertones similar to the Hurricane Katrina calamity in 2005. It is possible that the Hawaiian government got a taste of ultimate power over the past few years and now they think that 1st Amendment rights no longer apply. The editor of the Maui Times reiterates that the government is shutting out all media inquiries and they are not to blame for the lack of confirmed updates on the situation.

There are a few possible takeaways to be gathered here: First, it’s clear that independent reporting is having an effect in exposing state mismanagement, which is why they are attacking “influencers” and putting access on ice. Second, public pressure must be immense, because even the local media is trying to stave off the torches and pitchforks by reiterating that they have no access. When was the last time you saw the mainstream media calling out information controls instead of working in direct lockstep with officials? Third, there is something going on in Maui beyond bureaucratic hubris.

Why block the media from going to the site of the fire? Why try to inoculate the public to any information outside of government sources? Is there something they are trying to hide beyond incompetence? There is evidence to suggest that a major land grab is already in progress, with wealthy interests as well as state interests circling the charred Maui carcass ready to feed. There are also questions as to the true source of the fires.

Frankly, if government policy decisions led to the deaths of hundreds of people then they should pay the price for their blunders. If other shady activities are afoot, then the public has a right to know. The state is not given license to deny media examination of the event. Democrats in Hawaii are trying to turn the tables and make the calamity about who deserves to report the news, when they should be scrambling to save their own skins in the face of intense public scrutiny. These people deserve to be placed under a very large and uncomfortable microscope.

end

Now canned soups and anything in a can will rise in price

(Mish Shedlock)

The Cost Of Soup Is About To Soar Even Higher; Thank President Biden

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 07:20 AM

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

President Biden accuses China, Germany, and Canada of dumping steel used to package canned goods. The result will be higher prices for everything canned including soup, sauces, and vegetables.

New Tariffs on Food-Can Metal From China, Germany and Canada

Please expect the price of all canned goods to rise due to New Tariffs on Food-Can Me tal Fr om China, Germany and Canada.

The Biden administration on Thursday announced new tariffs on can-making metal imported from China, Germany and Canada, a move that food companies say could lead to higher prices for some canned foods.

Chinese products would be subject to the highest tariffs of the three countries—a levy of 122.52% of their import value. That rate partly reflects Chinese companies’ refusal to cooperate with the investigation to prove their independence from the Chinese Communist Party, an administration official said.

The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group representing companies such as Campbell Soup and Fresh Del Monte Produce, estimated new tariffs, if applied aggressively, could raise the prices of canned food by up to 30%.

[ZH: It’s not like the price of Campbell’s Soup is not exploding higher already…]

Source: Political Calculations

Assume for a minute that China, Germany, and Canada are dumping soup cans in the US.

What’s the Correct Response?

Complain
Increase tariffs
Cheer

The answer, of course, is number three. If China, Germany, and Canada are indeed dumping steel bellow cost, then the nations are giving US consumers a break at their expense.

Moreover, I assure you, not a single job will return to the US as a result. US steel corporations are not about to go on a hiring spree to produce more soup cans. The only thing that will happen is the cost of all canned goods will rise.

Solar Panels

The same applies to solar panels, but even more so. Solar panels are one aspect of clean energy that makes sense at the right price. But the US has stiff tariffs making sure the price is not right. Instead of doing something for the environment, solar panels are just to expensive.

If instead we allowed cheap panels from wherever, we would create thousands of jobs installing them, trucking them, wiring homes for them, and putting in the needed battery systems.

All of that economic activity does not take place because of US tariffs. Some companies learned way to way to skirt the tariffs, but Biden is after them too.

US Slaps New tariffs on Solar Panel Companies

Please consider US Slaps Tariffs on Solar Pane l Companies Dodging China Duties.

The United States on Friday will finalize a decision to impose import duties on solar panel makers who finished their products in Southeast Asian nations to avoid tariffs on Chinese-made goods, according to a senior Commerce Department official.

The Commerce probe found that units of Chinese companies BYD, Trina Solar, Longi Green Energy and Canadian Solar were dodging US tariffs on Chinese solar cells and panels by conducting minor processing to finish their products in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam before shipping them to the US market.

Other companies operating in those nations have the ability to pursue a certification process to show that they are not circumventing tariffs. To become certified, solar cells and panels must contain non-Chinese wafers and three other key components.

Unintended Consequences

N P R confirms my take on solar panel use.

The Commerce Department’s investigation began in March 2022 in response to a complaint from a small U.S. manufacturer, Auxin Solar. It has been a major source of friction inside President Biden’s administration.

The department’s inquiry contributed to a major drop in solar installation forecasts, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, as installers worried that their projects would become cost-prohibitive if the government imposed retroactive taxes or if the cost of future purchases increased.

“Worst-case scenario, you can think about retroactive tariffs of up to 240%,” Leo Azevedo, a solar procurement manager, told NPR in May 2022. “There’s just too much risk to order panels right now and that’s just the end of it.”

“The U.S. Department of Commerce is out of step with the administration’s clean energy goals, and we fundamentally disagree with their decision,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, head of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “It will take at least three to five years to ramp up domestic solar manufacturing capacity and the global supply chain will be vital in the short-term.”

Auxin Solar

This solar panel mess all started with Auxin Solar. Please consider A look at the mysteri ous company causing a big trade mess.

Auxin Solar, the tiny company whose trade petition is rattling the whole U.S. solar industry, produces solar panels of questionable quality in volumes that appear to be lower than claimed, sources tell Canary Media.

I have spoken with a solar installer who has used Auxin panels, examined data on deployment of those panels in key U.S. markets, and again visited the site of Auxin’s sole factory, camera in hand. Here’s what I’ve learned about this little company that’s causing a big ruckus.

Northern California solar installer Barry Cinnamon of Cinnamon Energy Systems was previously an Auxin customer — but not a happy one.

“They were our [original equipment] manufacturer at one point. Their quality was terrible,” he told Canary Media. There were “many module failures from their own manufacturing, and we were unable to get any warranty service. Broken glass, half output of panels, burn marks on the back. They sourced almost all of their components from overseas, some likely from China.”

As we’ve said before, import tariffs are a blunt instrument and have a track record littered with unintended consequences. Trump-era tariffs on Chinese modules (which the Biden administration opted to extend) have contributed to the U.S. having some of the world’s highest utility-scale solar costs, and there’s little evidence that the tariffs have “leveled the playing field” in any meaningful way or spurred domestic panel production.

Bottom Line is More Inflation

Not only does Biden demand more clean energy, he also demands consumers pay the maximum amount for it, despite that being counterproductive to the main goal.

Yesterday I commented Yet Another Biden Regulation Will Increase Costs and Promote More Inflation

My post yesterday involved a new Biden regulation that will increase the price of all government projects. Click on the link for details.

Today we can add solar panels and soup to the list.

* * *

Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

USA// COVID//VACCINE/

SWAMP STORIES

this will be very interesting!! Just this judge? how about all the other democratic appointed judges?

(zerohedge)

Rep. Gaetz Introduces Bill To Censure, Investigate Judge In Trump 2020 Election Case

SUNDAY, AUG 20, 2023 – 09:30 PM

Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is introducing a resolution to censure U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan and open an investigation into her “for showing open bias and partisanship in her official duties on the bench.”Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) delivers remarks in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 6, 2023. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Judge Chutkan is overseeing a case against former President Donald Trump, brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for conspiracy in his challenge of the 2020 election results. She has already overseen many other cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol protest, which is being investigated by special counsel Jack Smith. About 1,000 people have already been sentenced for crimes related to the day’s events, and Judge Chutkan has been known to hand down harsh prison sentences.

“Judge Tanya Chutkan’s extreme sentencing of January 6th defendants, while openly supporting the violent Black Lives Matter riots of 2020, showcases a complete disregard for her duty of impartiality and the rule of law,” Mr. Gaetz said.

He appeared to be referring to remarks the judge made in one Jan. 6-related sentencing.

“People gathered all over the country last year to protest the violent murder by the police of an unarmed man,” she said, referencing violent riots that erupted after the death of George Floyd. “To compare the actions of people protesting, mostly peacefully, for civil rights, to those of a violent mob seeking to overthrow the lawfully elected government is a false equivalency and ignores a very real danger that the January 6 riot posed to the foundation of our democracy.”

Mr. Gaetz’s resolution points to a few other cases of “open partisanship,” including the fact that the Obama-appointed district judge had donated thousands of dollars to his presidential campaign, and that during another Jan. 6-related sentencing she “lamented” that President Trump “remains free to this day.”

“Such partisan commentary by Judge Chutkan has been ongoing and calls into question her fitness as a judge and … Chutkan’s comments and activities on and off the bench violate all 5 canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges,” the resolution reads (pdf).

The canons are that a judge should uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary; avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities; perform the duties of the office fairly, impartially, and diligently; engage in extrajudicial activities that are consistent with the obligations of judicial office, and refrain from political activity.

“It is deeply concerning that a United States District Court judge would exhibit such blatant political bias from the bench,” he said in a press release. “Justice may be blind, but the American people are not—we see Judge Chutkan for her actions, and we rebuke them in the greatest possible sense.”

Mr. Gaetz is proposing Judge Chutkan be censured and condemned via the resolution, and to have the House Committee on the Judiciary, on which he sits, launch an investigation seeking evidence showing that she should be removed from office on impeachment or other misdemeanors.

The Epoch Times reached out to Judge Chutkan’s office for comment.

Trump on Chutkan

President Trump has been critical of Judge Chutkan in multiple social media posts given her earlier remarks.

“She obviously wants me behind bars,” he wrote, describing her as “highly partisan” and “very biased and unfair.”

A day after President Trump pleaded not guilty to the felony charges filed by Mr. Smith, he made a social media post: “If you go after me, I’m coming after you!” He later posted a campaign ad that claimed election interference on the part of the Biden administration.

In response, Mr. Smith’s office filed a motion pointing to the initial social media post as evidence a protective order was needed. He requested the judge issue an order barring President Trump from sharing information about the case.

“Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him,” Mr. Smith wrote in a filing (pdf).

President Trump responded on social media yet again. “No, I shouldn’t have a protective order placed on me because it would impinge upon my right to free speech,” he wrote.

His legal team filed an opposing motion arguing public speech was not grounds for a gag order.

Judge Chutkan ended up issuing a limited protective order, which bars President Trump from releasing information the prosecutors label sensitive, not all information.

The prosecution has also requested a Jan. 2, 2024, trial date, with jury selection to begin as early as Dec. 11.

On Thursday, President Trump’s legal team proposed a April 2026 trial date, arguing that the prosecution was rushing the case.

“The government’s objective is clear: to deny President Trump and his counsel a fair ability to prepare for trial,” the lawyers wrote. “The Court should deny the government’s request.”

They cited a number of reasons an extension was required, including the 11.5 million pages of discovery Mr. Smith’s office has already provided.

“That is the entirety of Tolstoy’s War and Peace, cover to cover, 78 times a day, every day, from now until jury selection.”

END

‘Quid-Pro F-You Dad’: Hunter’s Lawyers Threatened To Force Joe To Testify Unless Plea Deal Reached

MONDAY, AUG 21, 2023 – 11:00 AM

Hunter Biden’s lawyers played heavy with the Department of Justice, effectively threatening to force President Joe Biden to testify in any criminal trial against the First Son if a plea agreement wasn’t reached over his multiple alleged crimes.

“President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” wrote Hunter Biden attorney Chris Clark in a 32-page letter last fall, Politico reports, calling the news that there was enough evidence to charge Hunter an “illegal” leak.

That letter, along with more than 300 pages of previously unreported emails and documents exchanged between Hunter Biden’s legal team and prosecutors, sheds new light on the fraught negotiations that nearly produced a broad plea deal. That deal would have resolved Biden’s most pressing legal issues — the gun purchase and his failure to pay taxes for several years — and it also could have helped insulate Biden from future prosecution by a Republican-led Justice Department.

The documents show how the deal collapsed — a sudden turnabout that occurred after Republicans bashed it and a judge raised questions about it. The collapse renewed the prospect that Biden will head to trial as his father ramps up his 2024 reelection bid. -Politico

According to Clark, putting Joe Biden on the stand would create political and constitutional chaos by pitting Joe Biden against his own DOJ.

“This of all cases justifies neither the spectacle of a sitting President testifying at a criminal trial nor the potential for a resulting Constitutional crisis,” reads the letter, which was shared with Politico along with several other documents.

Backstory

In the spring of 2022, Hunter Biden’s legal team was on the war path – using a PowerPoint presentation that invoked the looming ghost of Trump right from their opening slide. Their point was clear: Trump’s ceaseless haranguing of Hunter makes any charges against the younger Biden appear as yielding to political pressure, thus damaging the integrity of the Justice Department.

Of course, Hunter put himself in the spotlight by taking tens of millions of dollars from Ukraine, China and Russia in exchange for zero identifiable benefit aside from access to his father.

While initial concerns surrounded possible charges of influence peddling or money laundering, the actual case circled around late tax payments from 2014 to 2019. Biden’s lawyers argued that charging Hunter with tax crimes would make the DOJ look like they had capitulated to Trump’s call for an investigation.

Fast-forward to later in 2022, and we discover that Hunter could also face federal gun charges, traced back to 2018 when he was deeply hooked on crack cocaine. As things escalated, Hunter’s attorneys sought meetings with the highest echelons of the DOJ. These were not mere fishing expeditions but highly strategic maneuvers designed to corner the department into a position where it had to make a call: either it would take a reputation hit for being “politically influenced” or face accusations of providing “preferential treatment” to the President’s son.

By spring 2023, it seems the DOJ was looking for an exit strategy, and were open to cutting a deal that would save face for everyone involved – especially the department itself. The proposed agreement doesn’t require a guilty plea from Hunter but has its own laundry list of requirements.

From the fall of 2022 through the spring of 2023, Clark sought meetings with people at the highest levels of the Justice Department — almost entirely without success. In multiple emails, he asked to meet with the head of the Criminal Division, the head of the Tax Division, the Office of Legal Counsel, the Office of the Solicitor General, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and the attorney general himself. On Feb. 21, 2023, Clark’s team reached out to multiple officials at Main Justice, who passed his request from one person to the next.

The search ended when Clark sent Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer an exasperated email, saying he had asked the government over and over to tell him who at headquarters they could appeal to if Weiss decided to charge their client. -Politico

“Please advise whether you would be the appropriate person to hear our client’s appeal, in the event that the U.S. Attorney’s Office decides to charge Mr. Biden,” wrote Clark.

Weinsheimer caved, meeting with Clark and Weiss on April 26. While it’s not clear what happened during the meeting, the Wall Street Journal reported that an IRS supervisor was prepared to testify that there was internal political pressure to slow walk and stonewall the investigation. Unlike Biden’s lawyers who argued that their client was being treated too harshly because of politics, the IRS supervisor was set to testify that Hunter was receiving “preferential treatment.”

After that, a deal emerged in May which would see Hunter admit to filing taxes late in 2017 and 2018, that he owned a gun while using drugs, and that he would both pay back-taxes and never own a gun again. If Hunter could stick to these basic agreements until January 2025, the DOJ would promise not to prosecute him for anything they’d investigated thus far.

“The Department of Justice agrees not to criminally prosecute Robert Hunter Biden and the affiliated businesses (namely: Owasco P.C.; Owasco LLC; and Skaneateles LLC): (a) for any federal crimes arising from the conduct generally described in the attached Statement of Facts (Attachment A); or (b) for any other federal crimes relating to matters investigated by the United States,” reads the now-dead plea deal.

Then, IRS investigator Gary Shapley testified that the DOJ had “slow-walked” the investigation.

Within days of the interview airing, Justice Department prosecutors made clear to Biden’s lawyers that the deal would have to change and that Biden would need to plead guilty to tax charges, according to two people familiar with the talks who were granted anonymity to share sensitive details.

Biden’s team acceded to the new demand, agreeing he would plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to pay his taxes. But he wouldn’t plead guilty to the gun charge; instead, that issue would be resolved through a pretrial diversion agreement that could result in withdrawal of charges after a few years. -Politico

Then, on the evening of June 2, Clark emailed Wolf to say that immunity from prosecution was vital to the deal – sending language to include saying that the US would not prosecute Hunter Biden for “any federal crimes arising from the conduct generally described” in the two documents that would be included in the final deal.

“This language or its functional equivalent is very critical to us,” Clark added.

Reading between the lines – the deal would protect Hunter from a potential Trump administration, or that of another Republican who might win the 2024 election. The language Clark insisted on would have immense consequences:

“The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute Biden, outside of the terms of this Agreement, for any federal crimes encompassed by the attached Statement of Facts (Attachment A) and the Statement of Facts attached as Exhibit 1 to the Memorandum of Plea Agreement filed this same day. This Agreement does not provide any protection against prosecution for any future conduct by Biden or by any of his affiliated businesses.”

Then, after a judge asked several questions about the deal at a hearing last month, the deal completely unraveled – and the prosecutor overseeing the probe has been made a special counsel, who says that the case is heading to trial.

On Thursday, the judge greenlighted a motion by prosecutors to withdraw the tax charges so they can be filed elsewhere. She also approved Clark’s request to leave Biden’s legal team because he may be called as a witness at a potential trial.

Whether Joe Biden could become a witness is now the big question.

end

THE KING REPORT

The King Report June 25, 2018 Issue 5784

Independent View of the News

ESUs declined moderately during early Nikkei trading on Friday. After the first hour, ESUs commenced a 15-handle rally that persisted until 22:15 ET. ESUs then rolled over into a decline that lasted until after the Nikkei’s 1 ET close. After a modest rally into the European opening at 3 ET, ESUs and stocks headed south. The decline accelerated after the US bond market opening at 8 ET.

ESUs hit a bottom of 4350.00 at 9:27 ET. The usual suspects then poured into ESUs and stocks for the expected Friday rally and a hope that there still might be an upside expiry squeeze. The rally persisted until Noon ET; ESUs rallied 35.75 from their low.

Sellers returned; ESUs slid 18.50 by 13:22 ET. It was time for the usual suspects to force stuff higher to salvage losing long positions. The rally ended at 14:42 ET. ESUs slid 14 handles by 15:12 ET. After a modest rally, someone juiced ESUs 17 handles from 15:39 ET to 15:46 ET! But there are too many long! So, ESUs sank 18 handles into the NYSE close.

Positive aspects of previous session
Upward expiry pressure generated a modest rally

Negative aspects of previous session
Fangs declined despite the modest equity rally; too many traders were long for expiration
Bonds rallied sharply (+1 7/32 peak) early, but closed at +18/32

Ambiguous aspects of previous session
Will a rebound equity rally appear after the end of August expiration pressures?

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

Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 4362.28
Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 4381.82; 4335.31

Yardeni, Economist Who Cried ‘Bond Vigilantes,’ Spots Them Again
“Usually supply and demand don’t really matter that much because federal deficits tend to widen during recessions when the Fed is lowering interest rates,” Yardeni said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s Surveillance. “This time we have federal deficits widening when the economy is doing well. I think the bond vigilantes are quite concerned about that. There’s way too much supply.”…
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yardeni-economist-cried-bond-vigilantes-140000840.html

Ed Yardeni makes a few trenchant points. Bond prices can FALL (Yields rise) during a recession. This occurred during the 1980-1982 double dip recessions. Also, bonds can rally sharply during a robust economic expansion, which occurred after the early 80’s double recession session.

While the supply of US bonds tends not to be a concern, at critical points, supply of US debt can break the camel’s back. The distinguishing dynamics are inflation, inflation expectations, and political perceptions.

The linear thinking of buy bonds for a recession destroyed beaucoup money managers in late 1979 to early 1980. Similarly, ‘don’t own bonds in a robust economy’ was nuked in the Eighties.

US 10-Year Yield – Decades of conventional bond market wisdom were debunked.

@RMConservative: During the 130 years from 1784 until the creation of the Federal Reserve, price levels were essentially flat. During the past 109 years since 1914, however, there has been 3,000% inflation, with most of it occurring since the 1970s, when Nixon took our fiat system off the gold…

Horowitz: Record debt and inflation from the ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’
Inflation is back with a vengeance, despite the quickest rise in interest rates ever and despite the choking off of the M2 money supply. What gives?… With federal spending outpacing the rate of inflation, it is now creating hyperinflation itself for the first time…
    @charliebilello: US Federal Government Spending has increased 234% since 2000 versus a 74% increase in overall inflation (CPI). That’s an annualized increase in spending of 5.5% per year, more than double the 2.5% annualized increase in CPI…
    Headed into the future with $2 trillion annual deficits forever, our government will have to borrow close to $5.5 billion every single day in perpetuity… Meanwhile, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have a combined 12-month revenue of $1.42 trillion. That is a record for the four largest U.S. companies and is larger than the GDP of all but 15 countries…
    This is the legacy of venture socialism, defined as politicians, bureaucrats, and the Federal Reserve using government printing presses and regulatory authority to advance the fortunes of a small number of corporate entities at the expense of most American workers. This is the result of gradual policies of debt, regulation, and Federal Reserve monetary morphine for several decades but rapidly accelerating during the 2008 financial collapse and permanently cemented during the COVID policies. It’s a form of neo-fascism without the nationalism.  https://twitter.com/RMConservative/status/1692151203453411638?s=02

US Consumers near Day of Reckoning as Pandemic Cash Stash Wanes
Over the past two years, consumers have drawn down the more than $2 trillion in extra savings they accumulated during the pandemic… San Francisco Fed researchers… said in an Aug. 16 blog post that the extra savings built up during the pandemic will probably be exhausted this quarter.
    Citigroup senior global economist Robert Socking argues that’s too pessimistic. He said that Fed researchers are overestimating how much money Americans want to regularly sock away in savings. By his reckoning, households still have some $1.4 trillion in (savings)…
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-19/us-consumers-near-day-of-reckoning-as-pandemic-cash-stash-shrinks

@RadicalAdem: According to the updated JPM research, excess savings ran out (now -$9B as of June/23 vs pre-pandemic). There’s a lot of mixed data over this, but one thing is clear is the trend is declining as excess savings evaporate. This savings drawdown subsidized spending/debt servicing
https://twitter.com/RadicalAdem/status/1692951552472863001

“42 Warplane Incursions after Launch of China Military Drills”: Taiwan
Eight vessels also participated in the drills, which Chinese state media said were intended to simulate “real combat conditions”… https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/42-warplane-incursions-after-launch-of-china-military-drills-taiwan-4310809

There is beaucoup Street jabberwocky that people should NOT sweat the current 5% ‘drawdown’ in the S&P 500 Index because ‘5% drawdowns’ occur a few times each year. This MIGHT be true. But barring a tank shot from here, the most probable course of events is for a rebound rally to materialize soon.

THEN the stock market will get tres interesting. First there’s the seasonality. We warned back in March that history shows that after the Fed bails out some bank or banks, there is a robust rally into the summer. However, if things get too jiggy, the Fall Classic appears – and it often is hellacious.

The key for stocks for this quarter: (Barring a tank from here): If the low of this current decline is violated after a meaningful rebound rally, “LOOK OUT BELOW!” This is the dynamic that ignited the 1987 Crash – and this technical trigger has appeared in other tumbles and other vehicles’ plunges.

Today – After ugly expiration weeks, there is usually a relief rally on the ensuing Monday. BBG’s Trender has issued a weekly ‘sell’ signal on the S&P 500 Index for the first time since September 2022.

This is Jackson Hole Week. KC Fed: The 2023 Economic Policy Symposium. “Structural Shifts in the Global Economy,” will be held Aug. 24-26. Traders normally want to be long for this summit.
https://www.kansascityfed.org/research/jackson-hole-economic-symposium/about-jackson-hole-economic-symposium/

ESUs are +3.75 at 20:15 ET; USUs are -3/32.

S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 4453; 100-day MA: 4297; 150-day MA: 4202; 200-day MA: 4130
DJIA 50-day MA: 34,630; 100-day MA: 34,042; 150-day MA: 33,761; 200-day MA: 33,687
(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 negative – a close above 4618.60 triggers a buy signal
Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 4470.16 triggers a buy signal
Hourly: Trender is negative; MACD is positive – a close above 4394.54 triggers a buy signal

Three More Hunter Biden Attorneys Quit, Bringing Total to Five
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/three-more-hunter-biden-attorneys-quit-bringing-total-five

@ggreenwald: Two new reports — one from NYT, the other from POLITICO — report the Biden DOJ was eager to drop the Hunter Biden investigation entirely without even misdemeanor charges. Only the 2 IRS whistleblowers prevented this. Now, Biden’s lawyers want the 2 whistleblowers prosecuted:

In talks with prosecutors, Hunter Biden’s lawyers vowed to put the president on the stand
“President Biden now unquestionably would be a fact witness for the defense in any criminal trial,” Clark wrote in a 32-page letter reviewed by POLITICO… (Threatened to create a Constitutional crisis?)
    In light of Trump’s ceaseless demands for an investigation of the first son… Biden’s lawyers argued that the political pressure was itself a compelling reason not to bring any charges…
    Clark sent Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer an exasperated email, saying he had asked the government over and over to tell him who at headquarters they could appeal to if Weiss decided to charge their client… (Wait! AG Garland said Weiss had total control!)
    It’s not clear what happened in the meeting, which came at a sensitive moment for the probe. A few days beforehand, The Wall Street Journal reported that an IRS supervisor was ready to tell Congress that political calculations were infecting the investigation. But unlike Biden’s lawyers, who argued their client was being treated too harshly because of politics, the IRS supervisor would testify that the first son was getting “preferential treatment” from a Justice Department run by his father’s appointees…
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/19/hunter-biden-plea-deal-collapse-00111974

@mirandadevine: And this curious fact: Hunter was involved in the Trump impeachment over Ukraine. In the summer of 2019, he tells an adviser he has an all-day meeting “with impeachment lawyers”. After 5 years, he still has not been interviewed by Weiss’ team or testified before the grand jury.
https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1693104537492472025

@erasmuse: (1)”May 18, another lawyer for Biden sent two Delaware prosecutors… the first draft of a proposed deal, structured so it wouldn’t need a judge’s sign-off and wouldn’t require a guilty plea from Biden. (2) Contrary to what Hunter’s lawyer said at the hearing, the plea deal was basically written by him, not by Justice. The Politico article goes on to explain this in detail.

NYT: Inside the Collapse of Hunter Biden’s Plea Deal
Earlier this year, The Times found, Mr. Weiss appeared willing to forgo any prosecution of Mr. Biden at all…. his position, relayed through his staff, changed in the spring, around the time a pair of I.R.S. officials on the case accused the Justice Department of hamstringing the investigation. Mr. Weiss suddenly demanded that Mr. Biden plead guilty to committing tax offenses…
    Mr. Clark began by telling Mr. Weiss that his legacy would be defined by how he handled this decision.
    When investigators went to interview Hunter Biden, they were told they couldn’t approach the house. An attempt to serve a search warrant on Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s guesthouse? Denied. The request to search a storage unit belonging to Hunter Biden? Derailed…
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/19/us/politics/inside-hunter-biden-plea-deal.html

@JsnFostr: More chilling threats against our client. @nytimes again reporting Biden family attorneys lobbying @TheJusticeDept to prosecute IRS whistleblowers instead of the President’s son.
https://twitter.com/JsnFostr/status/1693120581137215875

@tristanleavitt: These stories show this case is so much worse than we thought. Hunter’s attorneys bullied their way through every stage, threatening Joe Biden’s involvement. After saying Weiss was independent, MAIN JUSTICE INTERVENED to make a deal happen… Having read the Politico and NYT stories that came out tonight thanks to Hunter Biden’s legal team handing all their emails over to the press, I have several thoughts. (Long thread at link)
    First and foremost, it’s shocking on its face that prosecutors were willing to let Hunter Biden off scot free…But in addition to the conflict of Delaware having to work through other Biden-appointed U.S. attorneys (hardly the independence Garland implied), Hunter’s team was working ALL the refs–and making everything about Hunter Biden’s tax crimes a political issue re: Donald Trump…
        Prosecutors waited for Biden appointee Martin Estrada to be confirmed as U.S. Atty for the Central District of CA in September before presenting the 2016-2019 charges there. But early the next month Weiss told investigators DC wasn’t partnering and CA might not either…
    Did Clark also meet with U.S. Atty Martin Estrada in the Central District of California just to make sure he was on the same page or knew President Biden might testify in the case? We don’t know, but Estrada declined charges that same month, in Jan. 2023…
    At the same time AG Garland testified to Senator Grassley on March 1, 2023 about USA Weiss’s independence and not having heard of problems in Delaware, Main Justice had been passing around Chris Clark’s emails asking who he could appeal to over Weiss’s head…
    The rest of the timeline is just wild. Main DOJ tells Clark the “next steps” would come in Delaware. Four days later the IRS whistleblowers were removed. The same day the “familiar figure” of AUSA Wolf proposed the UBER-sweetheart deal with no charges or plea whatsoever…
https://twitter.com/tristanleavitt/status/1693106123983736954
    What possible legitimate reason was there for Weiss’s office to remove the IRS investigators on the EXACT SAME DAY AUSA Lesley Wolf proposed a sweetheart plea deal? The case clearly wasn’t going to trial. Was it purely to keep the plea negotiations quiet?..

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley’s lawyers say latest Hunter Biden probe reports confirm his testimony – “This is exactly the sort of preferential treatment these IRS agents blew the whistle on to begin with, and highlights why someone independent needs to be appointed special counsel rather than David Weiss,” Shapley’s attorneys also said.
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/irs-whistleblower-gary-shapleys-lawyers-say-latest-hunter-biden-probe-reports

@Cernovich: Hunter Biden’s lawyers leaked the entire case file to make DOJ look bad. It worked.

Before investigating Hunter Biden, prosecutor worked with brother Beau – WaPo
David Weiss, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden, has long targeted Delaware’s powerful interests. His onetime experience with Beau Biden potentially complicates the probe.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/20/hunter-biden-david-weiss-special-prosecutor-delaware/

Judge dismisses Hunter Biden tax charges in Delaware, allowing Weiss probe to advance
U. S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika on Thursday dismissed two misdemeanor tax charges against first son Hunter Biden that were to be part of his abandoned plea deal, paving the way for special counsel David Weiss to potentially bring other charges…
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/judge-dismisses-hunter-biden-tax-charges-delaware-allowing-weiss-probe

President Biden ‘very obsessed’ with coverage of Hunter, but aides afraid to bring him up in meetings: Report – “he’s very obsessed with the negative coverage of Hunter. He’s concerned about it, it’s an irritant. But not one that allies around him want to raise because it will derail a conversation…”
https://www.foxnews.com/media/president-biden-very-obsessed-coverage-hunter-aides-afraid-bring-him-meetings-report

Pseudonym Joe: How Biden used personal email to share some government business with son Hunter  https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/ukraine-turkey-joe-biden-used-personal-email-share-some-government

President Biden refused to comment on the wildfire tragedy in Maui as the death toll on the Hawaiian island climbed to 111. https://trib.al/rG3IKHZ

@RNCResearch: ANNOUNCER: “Ladies and gentleman, the prime minister of Japan.” BIDEN: “President.” No, that’s Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1692620440735514837

@TheFirstonTV: Ol’ Joe has absolutely no idea what’s going on… CONFUSED BIDEN to HANDLERS: “Now, I uh… yield to… uh, who am I yielding to?”  https://twitter.com/TheFirstonTV/status/1692621135769186737

@mirandadevine: We reported on Joe Biden’s pseudonyms in @nypost two years ago. “Robin Ware,” “Robert L. Peters”, “67stingray” and “JRB Ware” were pseudonyms VP Biden used on emails that mixed official and family business. In a four-week period in 2016, for instance, John Flynn, who worked in the Office of the Vice President, sent Joe his official daily schedule to his private email address Robert.L.Peters@pci.gov and copied Hunter. There were 10 such emails copied to Hunter between May 18 and June 15, 2016… https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1693021068720476297 (Long thread)
https://nypost.com/2021/07/23/vp-joe-biden-skirted-no-see-mail-law-with-private-accounts-devine/

@Chadwick_Moore: It’s now been revealed Biden used the alias “Robert L. Peters” in his business dealings with Ukraine while Vice President.
    @TuckerCarlson: Why does Joe Biden’s family privately refer to him as “Pedo Peter”?
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1547242777993482241

Biden quietly sells off border wall parts to thwart GOP push to use them
Since April, GovPlanet, an online auction house specializing in military surplus, has sold 81 lots of steel “square structural tubes” — intended for use as vertical bollards in the border barrier’s 30-foot-tall panels — hauling in about $2 million…
https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/biden-sells-border-wall-parts-to-thwart-gop-push-to-use-them/

Trump calls off press conference he claimed would offer ‘irrefutable’ proof of election fraud https://trib.al/jGp9y9T

@AlexThomp: 73% of Trump supporters say his “legal fights” are a reason they are supporting him
https://twitter.com/AlexThomp/status/1693256916187640135

@charliekirk11: Speaker Newt Gingrich joined me this morning and shared a remarkable story. If true, someone from DC called Fani Willis and demanded she indict Trump on Monday. Why? To cover up for the Weiss “screw up.” This would explain the late night press… https://t.co/wgHSbsA8Bf

Blinken omitted key docs related to Afghan withdrawal in response to House Foreign Affairs chair
The Needle and the Haystack: Though the State Department provided about 300 docs to House Foreign Affairs Committee it didn’t include eight potentially critical documents that Chairman McCaul requested in his August 9 letter to Secretary Blinken
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/blinken-omitted-key-docs-related-afghan-withdraw-response-house-foreign-affairs

Rogers Park (Chicago) group calls on gang members to cease fire from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
(This is NOT a parody!) https://cbsnews.com/chicago/news/rogers-park-group-gang-members-cease-fire-day/

@JonathanTurley: My family home in Chicago is in an area controlled by the VC under an agreement among the gangs. Now, city leaders are calling for gangs to confine shootings to non-school hours. I am just hoping that the Vice Lords are not given actual tax authority as Chicago devolves into a balkanized gangland. I cannot express my sadness in watching the destruction of my home city.

@DrEliDavid: John Kerry in 2009: “In 5 years we will have the first ice free Arctic summer”
https://twitter.com/DrEliDavid/status/1692715144529289271

Energy group drops study on how Inflation Reduction Act has benefited Communist China
Biden, the group laments, “is dangerously increasing America’s dependence on China.”
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/energy-group-drops-study-how-inflation-reduction-act-has-benefited-communist

Hawaii official concerned with ‘equity’ delayed releasing water for more than 5 hours as wildfires raged: report https://nypost.com/2023/08/19/hawaii-official-worried-about-equity-over-water/

@TheBabylonBee: Hilary Makes Landfall, Destroying Over 30,000 Emails https://buff.ly/3KPC3J8

END

GREG HUNTER.INTERVIEWING DANE WIGINGTON

Lahaina Incineration is Deadly Weather Warfare – Dane Wigington

Home

Political Analysis

Lahaina Incineration is Deadly Weather Warfare – Dane Wigington

By Greg Hunter On August 19, 2023 In Political Analysis62 Comments

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Saturday Night Post)

Climate engineering researcher Dane Wigington says the total incineration of Lahaina in Hawaii was caused by man-made weather modification called geoengineering. Wigington says this is really an attack using “weather warfare.” According to Wigington, they used climate engineering to create a “wind tunnel effect right over Lahaina” with wind speeds up to 100 miles per hour to superheat the fire. Wigington explains, “This creates a bellows effect, and that escalates temperatures exponentially over what they would have otherwise been. They have been melting steel around the world by exactly that manner for thousands of years by feeding air in. That’s the bellows effect. This is the same as an acetylene torch. If you burn just the acetylene, you have 1,500 degrees. When you add oxygen, now you get 6,000 degrees. People are not considering this. They don’t need Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs). . . . There is a 140-page U.S. military document that we found and posted at GeoEngineeringWatch.org. It is titled “Wildfires as a Military Weapon.”It describes surface preparation . . . prior to their commencement of the surface firestorm incineration. That’s exactly what we saw in that region of Hawaii. . . .We cannot prove the source of ignition in Lahaina, but what we can say is the template for this event to happen cannot be separated from climate engineering operations.”

Wigington says weird and deadly weather events are going to intensify. Wigington points out millions of acres are burning in Northern Canada, while California and the Western U.S. brace for a huge hurricane coming from the Pacific Ocean. It looks like somebody wanted Lahaina burned to the ground no matter how many people had to die. Wigington contends, “We have the disaster capitalists trying to profit off any cataclysm, but I would argue the stakes are much, much more grave. These people know that the planet’s life support system is failing. They should know because they are a party to bringing us to this dark place. There are much bigger powers in play. . . .Climate engineering is a covert weapon because they can bring populations to their knees without the population ever realizing they are under assault. They mire populations in difficulty, and that makes them easier to control. . . . Climate engineering is far to dignified a term. This is weather warfare. We at GeoEngineeringWatch.org are focused on the biggest hole in the bottom of the boat. Whatever people are worried about, political theater or whatever concern they have, none of it will matter if we continue on the current course. I mean, in the very near term, none of it will matter.”

Wigington says more and more people are waking up to the dire problems that weather engineering is causing. If there is a critical mass of awakening, many lives could be saved, and at least part of the planet’s life support system can be salvaged. Wigington says, “It’s far easier to kill a million people that to control them. The U.S. population especially is a rapidly increasing liability to those in power. Many U.S. citizens are armed, and they are not happy about what’s going on. Those in power don’t want to get to a point that these citizens take to the street with their proverbial pitchforks and torches looking for them. So, they are going to debilitate, control and reduce that population as fast as they can. Anyone who can’t see that at this point has their eyes wide shut. So, of course, they are using weather as a weapon. Why wouldn’t they?”

There is much more in the 55-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with climate researcher Dane Wigington, founder of GeoEngineeringWatch.org for 8.19.23.

(https://usawatchdog.com/lahaina-incineration-is-deadly-weather-warfare-dane-wigington/)

After the Interview:

There is vast and totally free data and scientific information on GeoEngineeringWatch.org.

To see how the U.S. military uses wildfires for weather warfare, click here.

To see the popular movie called “The Dimming,” click here.

SEE YOU TUESDAY