GOLD PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $30.80 TO $1999.00
SILVER PRICE CLOSED: DOWN 80 CENTS AT $22.97
Access prices: closes 4: 15 PM
Gold ACCESS CLOSED 2003.10
Silver ACCESS CLOSED: 23.00
DEC 6
Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price
USD oz
AM2056.56
PM2056.25
SHANGHAI GOLD PREMIUM OVER NY: 26 DOLLARS
Bitcoin morning price:, 43,722 UP 541 DOLLARS
Bitcoin: afternoon price: $44,052 UP 377. dollars
Platinum price closing $914.00 UP $21.35
Palladium price; $975.75 UP $25.85
END
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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: $2,721.87 DOWN $38.20 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 2,795.90 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//DEC 1 272023)
*BRITISH GOLD: 1596.36 DOWN 15.97 pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1655.17 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) OCT 2/2023
*EURO GOLD: 1860.92 DOWN 13.66 euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 1903.75 EUROS PER OZ//DEC 1.2023)
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EXCHANGE: COMEX
EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: DECEMBER 2023 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,029.900000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 12/07/2023 DELIVERY DATE: 12/11/2023
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
661 C JP MORGAN 3
690 C ABN AMRO 2
737 C ADVANTAGE 1
TOTAL: 3 3
MONTH TO DATE: 12,433
JPMorgan stopped 3/3 contracts.
FOR DEC.:
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC/2023. CONTRACT: 3 NOTICES FOR 300 OZ or 0.00933 TONNES
total notices so far: 12,433 contracts for 1,243,300 oz (38.6718 tonnes)
FOR DEC:
SILVER NOTICES 35 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 175,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 2545 for 12,5725,000 oz
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END
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES
GLD
WITH GOLD DOWN $30.80 CENTS//
INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD/ : / SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .28 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/
INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.55 TONNES
SLV//
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN 80 CENTS AT THE SLV// HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.648 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 434.738 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 2,612 CONTRACTS TO 136,601 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR SMALL $0.15 LOSS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON THURSDAY. WE HAD A SMALL LONG LIQUIDATION AS WELL AS T.A.S. LIQUIDATION BUT CONSIDERABLE SHORT COVERING AT THE COMEX SESSION. WE HAD A GIGANTIC 931 T.A.S ISSUANCE AND 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 THURSDAY NIGHT: 931 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 WITH THE HELP OF SPECULATORS AND HIGH FREQUENCY TRADERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.15), AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING SOME SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED LOSS OF 2237 OI CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
WE MUST HAVE HAD:
A FAIR SIZED 375 ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 18.755 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 500 OZ E.F.P. JUMP TO LONDON + 200 CONTRACTS OF EX. FOR RISK FOR 1.00 MILLION OZ EX. FOR RISK //NEW TOTAL STANDING 18.395 MILLION OZ.+ 4.5 MILLION EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR= NEW TOTAL OF 22.895 MILLION OZ
//NEW STANDING FOR SILVER IS THUS 22.895 MILLION OZ
//HUGE SIZED COMEX OI LOSS/ FAIR SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/VI) HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 931 CONTRACTS)/
200 SIZED EX.FOR RISK =1.0 MILLION OZ//NEW TOTAL FOR EX. FOR RISK + 4.5 MILLION OZ.
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL – REMOVED 134 CONTRACTS (the cme will no longer provide preliminary no to be except through a paywall)
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS DEC. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF DEC:
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 6 days, total 4661 contracts: OR 23.305 MILLION OZ (776 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 23.305 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: 171.43 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE HUGE //2ND HIGHEST ON RECORD
SEPT: 72.705 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THIS MONTH)
OCT: 97.455 MILLION OZ
NOV. 50.050 MILLION OZ
DEC. 23.305 MILLION OZ//THIS IS GOING TO BE A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EFP’S FOR THIS MONTH.
RESULT: WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2612 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.15 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//THURSDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A FAIR EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 375 ISSUED FOR FEB AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. WE HAVE A GOOD INITIAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR DEC. OF 18.755 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5,000 OZ E.F.P. JUMP TO LONDON /NEW TOTAL STANDING 18.395 MILLION OZ//+ 1.0 MILLION EX. FOR RISK + 3.5 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK/PRIOR//NEW TOTAL 22.895 MILLION OZ.
NEW STANDING 22.895 million OZ /// WE HAVE A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 2237 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUGE SIZED 931 CONTRACTS//CONSIDERABLE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE THURSDAY COMEX SESSION. THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE THURSDAY NIGHT (931) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE., .
WE HAD 35 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 175,000 OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A FAIR SIZED 1845 CONTRACTS TO 485,111 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799733 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: – REMOVED 431 CONTRACTS
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI ( 1845 CONTRACTS) DESPITE OUR $0.20 LOSS IN PRICE//THURSDAY. WE ALSO HAD A RATHER LIGHT INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR DEC.. AT 44.914 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 500 OZ QUEUE JUMP + 0 ISSUANCE OF EX. FOR RISK CONTRACTS // TOTAL GOLD STANDING FOR DEC SO FAR DECREASES TO 46.189 TONNES // ALL OF..THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $0.20 LOSS IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN OF 2837 OI CONTRACTS (9.135) PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A STRONG SIZED 4782 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 485,111
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 2937 CONTRACTS WITH 1845 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 4782 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 2937 CONTRACTS OR 9.135 TONNES. WE HAD 0 CONTRACTS EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 0.0 TONNES/EX FOR RISK PRIOR = 4.634 TONNES//NEW TOTAL STANDING 41.55 TONNES + 4.634 TONNES= 46.189 TONNES.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A GIGANTIC 5265 CONTRACTS.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (4782 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI (1845) //TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 2937 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE ( 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR FORMER FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING LONG AND SPECULATORS GOING SHORT ,2.) FAIR INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR DEC. AT 44.914 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 500 OZ QUEUE JUMP + 4.634 TONNES EX. FOR RISK PRIOR//NEW STANDING 46.189 TONNES / / 3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AND SOME TAS LIQUIDATION BUT CONSIDERABLE SHORT LIQUIDATION 4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS/ 5) STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///6: HUGE T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 5265 CONTRACTS
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023 INCLUDING TODAY
DEC
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DEC. :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 28,027 CONTRACTS OR 2,802,700 OZ OR 87.17 TONNES IN 6 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 4671 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 6 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 87.17 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2022, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 87.17/3550 x 100% TONNES 2.45% 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: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 87.17 TONNES. THIS MONTH MAY TURN INTO A WHOPPER OF E.F.P. ISSUANCE
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 DEC. 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 NOV HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB., FOR GOLD: AND MARCH FOR SILVER
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (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 HUMONGOUS SIZED 2612 CONTRACTS OI TO 136,835 AND FURTHER 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 375 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MARCH 375 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 375 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 2612 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 375 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,
WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 2237 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTAL 10.515 MILLION OZ
OCCURRED WITH OUR SMALL $0.15 LOSS IN PRICE …..
END
OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY
1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT
(report Harvey)
b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES
(Peter Schiff)
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS//
FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 3.35 PTS OR 0.11% //Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 11.52 PTS OR 0.07% /The Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 550.45 PTS OR 1.68% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.28 % /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN AT 7.1614 /OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED DOWN TO 7.1726 /Oil UP TO 70.77 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 75.44/ Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER
a)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
outline
b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE
3 CHINA
OUTLINE
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES
OUTLINE
7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE
8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA
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1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A FAIR SIZED 1845 CONTRACTS TO 485,111 DESPITE OUR TINY LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.20 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY TRADING. WE MUST HAVE SOME SPEC LIQUIDATIONS IN THE SESSION
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW IN THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DEC..… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A STRONG SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS 4782 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : FEB 4782 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 4782 CONTRACTS
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 2,937 CONTRACTS IN THAT 4782 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS FORWARDS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR SIZED LOSS OF 1845 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR TINY LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.20//THURSDAY 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 THURSDAY NIGHT WAS A HUGE SIZED 5265 CONTRACTS. THROUGHOUT THE PAST SEVERAL 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 LIGHT AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: DEC (46.189 TONNES ( ACTIVE MONTH)
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: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
NOV: 18.7122 TONNES + 16.2505 EX. FOR RISK = 34.9627 TONNES
DEC. 41.555 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 46.189 TONNES
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT LOST ONLY $0.20) //// AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN OF 2937 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE HAD A SMALL T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ON THE FRONT END OF THURSDAY’S TRADING . THE T.A.S. ISSUED ON THURSDAY NIGHT, WILL BE “PUT INTO THE BANK” TO BE USED AT A LATER DATE AT THE COLLUSIVE CHOOSING OF OUR BANKERS. WE ALSO EXPERIENCED SOME SPECULATOR SHORT COVERING
WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 9.135 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR DEC. (44.914 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE, FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 500 OZ QUEUE JUMP (FOR 0.0169 TONNES)//NEW TOTAL STANDING FALLS TO 41.555 + 4.634 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK : NEW TOTAL 46.189 TONNES../ ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $0.20
WE HAD REMOVED –431 CONTRACTS TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 2937 CONTRACTS OR 293,700 OZ OR 9.135 TONNES.
Estimated gold volume today:// 173,986 poor
final gold volumes/yesterday 168,073 poor
//speculators have left the gold arena
DEC 8
/ /// THE DEC. 2023 GOLD CONTRACT
| Gold | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz | nil |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz | nil oz . |
| Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz | nil OZ |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz | 31,715.903 oz manfra |
| No of oz served (contracts) today | 3 notice(s) 300 OZ 0.00933 TONNES |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 927 contracts 92,700 oz 0.2883 TONNES |
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month | 12,433 notices 1,243,300 oz 38.6718 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: 1
i)Into Manfra; 31,715.903 oz
total customer deposits: 31,715.903 oz oz
we had 0 customer withdrawal
total withdrawals nil oz
Adjustments; 0
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DEC.
For the front month of DECEMBER we have an oi of 930 contracts having LOST 105 contracts. .We had 110
contracts served upon THURSDAY, so we GAINED or an additional 5 CONTRACTS OR 500 OZ (0.0155 tonnes) will stand for delivery at the comex
JAN. GAINED 4 contracts FALLING TO 3646 contracts.
FEB LOST 3276 CONTRACTS FALLING TO 388,180.
We had 3 contracts filed for today representing 300 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 3 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 3 notice(s) was (were) stopped ( received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account and 0 notice(s) received (stopped) by the squid (Goldman Sachs)
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the DEC. /2023. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (12,433 x 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (930 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 3 x 100 oz per contract equals 1,336,000 OZ OR 41.555 TONNES + 4.634 TONNES EX. FOR RISK ISSUED (FOR DELIVERY HERE) = 46.189 TONNES.
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DEC. contract month: No of notices filed so far (12,433) x 100 oz + (930) {OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (3) x 100 oz) which equals 1,336,000 oz standing OR 41.555 TONNES + 4.634 tonnes of ex. for risk = 46.189 TONNES
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR DEC: 46.173 TONNES WHICH IS LIGHT FOR THE BIGGEST ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR. THEY PROBABLY KNOW THAT NO REAL GOLD IS PRESENT AT THE COMEX.
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: 1,559,349,955 OZ 48.50 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD: 20,074,349.106 OZ
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 10,259,971.875 (319,128 tonnes).
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 9,814,377.231 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 8,700,622 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 270,62 tonnes
END
SILVER/COMEX
DEC 8
//2023// THE DEC 2023 SILVER CONTRACT
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | 0 oz . |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | nil oz |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | 603,213.150 oz CNT Loomis |
| No of oz served today (contracts) | 35 CONTRACT(S) (175,000 OZ) |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 1134 contracts (5.670,000 oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 2545 Contracts (12,725,000 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: nil oz
i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal
total dealer withdrawals: 0 oz
We had 2 deposits customer account:
i)Into CNT 599,379.010 oz
ii) Into Loomis: 3813.14 oz
total customer deposit 603,213.150 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 133.841 million oz/267,542 million or 49.81%
Comex withdrawals 0
total withdrawals nil oz
adjustments: 0
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 44.913 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 267.542 million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DECEMBER:
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF DEC /2023 OI: 1169 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 113 CONTRACT(S).
WE HAD 112 CONTRACTS SERVED ON THURSDAY, SO WE LOST 1 CONTRACT OR 5,000 OZ WERE
E,F,P, JUMPED TO LONDON WHERE THEY WILL TAKE DELIVERY OF SILVER ON A T + 2 BASIS OVER ON THAT SIDE OF THE POND.
JAN GAINED 137 CONTRACTS UP TO 1937 CONTRACTS
FEB GAINED 4 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 72
MARCH LOST 2953 CONTRACTS TO 116,426 .
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 35 for 175,000 oz
Comex volumes// est. volume today 57,493,// fair
Comex volume: confirmed yesterday 62,717 fair
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DEC. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 2545 x 5,000 oz = 12,725,000 oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC. (1169) and the number of notices served upon today 35 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the standings for silver for the DEC/2023 contract month: 2545 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of DEC. (1169) – number of notices served upon today (35 )x 500 oz of silver standing for the DEC contract month equates to 18.395 MILLION OZ. to which we add 1.0 million oz of exchange for risk today and then add prior exchange for risk of 3.5 million oz. New total standing: 22.895 million oz.
There are 44.913 million oz of 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//
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE MASSIVE FRAUDS!
DEC 8/WITH GOLD DOWN $30,80 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:. // / / // A WITHDRAWAL OF .28 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/// INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.55 TONNES
DEC 7/WITH GOLD DOWN $.20 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.83 TONNES
DEC 6/WITH GOLD UP $11.70 TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.29 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.83 TONNES
DEC 5/WITH GOLD DOWN $5.85 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.30 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 881.12 TONNES
DEC 4/WITH GOLD DOWN $43.15 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.31 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 878.82 TONNES
DEC 1/WITH GOLD UP $32.05 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.51 TONNES
NOV 30/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.70 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 878.53 TONNES
NOV 29/WITH GOLD UP $7.20 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.55 TONNES
NOV 28/WITH GOLD UP $26.45 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 882.28 TONNE
NOV 27/WITH GOLD UP $9,85 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: // / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 882.28 TONNES
NOV 24/WITH GOLD UP $11.20 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 882.28 TONNES
NOV 22/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.45 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.43 TONNES
NOV 21/WITH GOLD UP $21.65 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD / / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.43 TONNES
NOV 20/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.15 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A MAMMOTH DEPOSIT OF 12.98 TONNES INTO THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.43 TONNES
NOV 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.85 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.45 TONNES
NOV 16/WITH GOLD UP $22.70 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.45 TONNES
NOV 15/WITH GOLD DOWN $1.00 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.45 TONNES
NOV 14/WITH GOLD UP $16.35 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // //A DEPOSIT OF 2.3 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.45 TONNES
NOV 13/WITH GOLD UP $12.00 TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // //A DEPOSIT OF .87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// INVENTORY RESTS AT 868.15 TONNES
NOV 10/WITH GOLD DOWN $30.70 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 867.28 TONNES
NOV 9/WITH GOLD UP $12.50 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 867.28 TONNES
NOV 8/WITH GOLD DOWN $14.95 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.04 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 867.28 TONNES
NOV 7/WITH GOLD DOWN $14.70 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 4.33 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.24 TONNES
NOV 6/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.90 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.24 TONNES
NOV 3/WITH GOLD UP $5.75 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: / // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.51 TONNES
NOV 2/WITH GOLD UP $6.55 TODAY:BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.51 TONNES
NOV 1/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.15 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.49 TONNES
OCT 31/859.49 TONNES//
OCT 30/WITH GOLD UP $7.80 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.80 TONNES
OCT 27/WITH GOLD UP $1.20 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD // // INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.80 TONNES
OCT 26/WITH GOLD UP $2.90 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// // INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.80 TONNES
OCT 25/WITH GOLD UP $9.00 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/: //: // INVENTORY RESTS AT 860.07 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 880.55 TONNES
Now the SLV Inventory/( vehicle is a fraud as there is no physical metal behind them
DEC 8/WITH SILVER DOWN 80 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: A DEPOSIT OF 1.648 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 434.735 MILLION OZ
DEC 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 15 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: // //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.090 MILLION OZ
DEC 6/WITH SILVER DOWN 25 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: // //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.090 MILLION OZ
DEC 5/WITH SILVER DOWN 34 CENTS TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.305 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.090 MILLION OZ
DEC 4/WITH SILVER DOWN 90 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.7333 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.395 MILLION OZ
DEC 1/WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.923 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 434.128 MILLION OZ
NOV 30/WITH SILVER UP 20 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 436.051 MILLION OZ
NOV 29/WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV” A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.122 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 436.051 MILLION OZ
NOV 28/WITH SILVER UP 64 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.173 MILLION OZ
NOV 27/WITH SILVER UP 32 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV //:////A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,008,000 OZ FROM THE SLV. //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.173 MILLION OZ
NOV 24/WITH SILVER UP 70 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV //:////A WITHDRAWAL OF 549,000 OZ FROM THE SLV. //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.181 MILLION OZ
NOV 22/WITH SILVER DOWN 21 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV //://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.730 MILLION OZ
NOV 21/WITH SILVER UP 32 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.794 OZ FROM THE SLV//://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.730 MILLION OZ
NOV 20/WITH SILVER DOWN 26 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,824,000 OZ FROM THE SLV//://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 438.936 MILLION OZ
NOV 17/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,832,000 OZ FROM THE SLV//://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 437,104 MILLION OZ
NOV 16/WITH SILVER UP 38 CENTS TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 778,000 OZ FROM THE SLV//://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.768 MILLION OZ
NOV 15/WITH SILVER UP 39 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV://// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.587 MILLION OZ
NOV 14/WITH SILVER UP 78 CENTS TODAY:SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 183,000 OZ INTO THE SLV ////// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.587 MILLION OZ
NOV 13/WITH SILVER UP 5 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.364 MILLION OZ
NOV 10/WITH SILVER DOWN 59 CENTS TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF .733 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.364 MILLION OZ
NOV 9/WITH SILVER UP 17 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.631 MILLION OZ
NOV 8/WITH SILVER UP 13 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.631 MILLION OZ
NOV 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 59 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.631 MILLION OZ
NOV 6/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //// //INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.631 MILLION OZ
NOV 3/WITH SILVER UP 41 CENTS TODAY:BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.638 MILLION OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV///// /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.631 MILLION OZ
NOV 2/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY:BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.924 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV///// /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 439.993 MILLION OZ
NOV 1/WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS TODAY:BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 916,000 OZ OF SILVER FROM THE SLV///// /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.917 MILLION OZ
OCT 31/442.833 MILLION OZ///INVENTORY
OCT 30/WITH SILVER UP 46 CENTS TODAY:NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: /// /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 443.750 MILLION OZ
OCT 27/WITH SILVER UP 3 CENTS TODAY:BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 641,000 OZ FROM THE SLV/// /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 443.750 MILLION OZ
OCT 26/WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 444.391 MILLION OZ
OCT 25/WITH SILVER DOWN 6 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ /// /INVENTORY RESTS AT 444.391 MILLION OZ
CLOSING INVENTORY 434.738 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1:Peter Schiff/Mike Maharrey
Joe Biden: Economic Ignoramus
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 11:40 AM
Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,
Are “greedy” corporations driving inflation? Could taxing billionaires solve the federal government’s fiscal problems?
According to President Joe Biden, the answer to both questions is yes.
And the correct answer is no.
So, Biden is either economically ignorant or a liar. Or maybe both.
Biden put his economic ignorance on full display with a couple of comments last week.
Greedy Corporations Are Causing Inflation!
Biden made the first comment in a speech during the launch of a new White House supply chain initiative. It had to do with price inflation.
Any corporation that has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even as the supply chains have been rebuilt, it’s time to stop the price gouging. Give the American consumer a break.”
The general public eats this stuff. Blaming greedy corporations for rising prices plays to the president’s base.
The truth is that corporations don’t create price inflation. One simply has to reason through the claim to uncover the absurdity of the idea. If corporations can willy-nilly raise prices and enjoy “excessive” profits, why don’t they do it all the time? Did corporations suddenly get greedy in 2021? And why did the Federal Reserve spend a decade fretting about inflation being “too low” as it struggled to hit its 2% target? Was there not enough corporate greed before the coronavirus?
But government people like Biden can get away with this narrative because they have redefined inflation.
Historically, economists defined inflation as an increase in the amount of money and credit — or put another way, an expansion in the money supply. Over the years, the government, along with its apologists in the corporate media and academia, altered the definition to suit government purposes. Today, inflation just means “rising prices.”
But rising prices in and of themselves aren’t inflation. Prices can go up for all kinds of reasons. For instance, we might have higher demand or supply shortages.
Rising prices aren’t inflation, but they are a symptom of monetary inflation. When governments and central banks increase the money supply, ALL prices go up more than they otherwise would have.
Economist Ludwig von Mises explains the problem with this change in definitions.
“People today use the term `inflation’ to refer to the phenomenon that is an inevitable consequence of inflation, that is the tendency of all prices and wage rates to rise. The result of this deplorable confusion is that there is no term left to signify the cause of this rise in prices and wages. There is no longer any word available to signify the phenomenon that has been, up to now, called inflation. . . . As you cannot talk about something that has no name, you cannot fight it. Those who pretend to fight inflation are in fact only fighting what is the inevitable consequence of inflation, rising prices. Their ventures are doomed to failure because they do not attack the root of the evil. They try to keep prices low while firmly committed to a policy of increasing the quantity of money that must necessarily make them soar. As long as this terminological confusion is not entirely wiped out, there cannot be any question of stopping inflation.”
If we use the traditional definition of inflation as an “expansion of the supply of money,” the culprit becomes clear. Who expands the supply of money? It’s the Fed and the federal government. So, if you accurately define inflation, you know exactly who’s to blame. But if the government can fool people into believing that the effect of inflation is inflation, they can blame it on everybody but themselves.
Biden played it perfectly. It’s good politics, but it’s horrible economics.
The comment is even dumber than that. Biden implies that inflation “going down” means companies should lower their prices.
That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.
When we say inflation is “cooling,” we just mean that based on the CPI, prices aren’t rising as fast as they were earlier this year. But prices are still rising. Now granted, the CPI in October was flat. Prices didn’t rise during that month. But they didn’t fall either. So, why should corporations cut prices? They are still paying much more to produce goods and services than they were last year.
How much more?
Since January 2022, prices have gone up 9.7% based on the CPI. And you should know that the CPI is designed to understate rising prices. They changed the formula in the 1990s. If we were using the CPI formula they used back then, CPI would be double what it is today.
To sum it up, prices have gone up almost 10% in less than two years (based on questionable government numbers). They are still going up today, just not quite as fast. And Biden is finger-pointing at corporations. Meanwhile, his administration is borrowing and spending like a drunken sailor, which, by the way, is inflationary.
And that brings us to Biden’s second ignorant statement.
Taxing Billionaires Will Fix Everything!
You won’t be surprised to learn Joe Biden wants to tax billionaires more.
A billionaire minimum tax of just 25% would raise $440 billion over the next 10 years. Imagine what we could do if we just made billionaires pay their taxes like everyone else.”
This is typical left-wing class warfare stuff. I don’t even want to get into the value of billionaires to society. Let’s just take it at face value, pretend billionaires are evil parasites, and look at the math.
That $440 billion sounds like a lot of money. And it is to normal people. But in government accounting, it’s basically pennies.
The US government spends around $500 billion every single month. That means the amount of money Uncle Sam could collect with this proposed tax over 10 years wouldn’t fund the government for one single month.
Let’s look at it another way. The US government paid $879 billion in interest expense during fiscal 2023. That means this $440 billion windfall would only pay half of the interest expense for one year.
Out of curiosity, I did a little digging. Turns out there are 740 American billionaires with a collective net worth of $5 trillion. Keep in mind, it’s not like these people have $5 trillion in cash sitting in a vault somewhere. A lot of that wealth is in stocks and real estate. A bad week in the stock market could drastically lower that number very quickly.
But let’s pretend they have that much money in cash. If the government took all of it – every single penny – it wouldn’t fund the government for a single year.
Last year, the Biden administration spent $6.46 trillion. You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in math to realize that’s bigger than $5 trillion.
Democrats especially like to use billionaires as a scapegoat. They pretend that if we just taxed these people more, the government could do whatever it wants, solve world hunger, and give you a unicorn.
It’s just not true.
The truth is the government spends too much. It borrows too much. The Fed creates inflation to do it. You pay the inflation tax every time you go to the grocery or the gas station. The government is stealing your wealth every single day.
Here’s the truth – despite what Joe Biden tells you, none of your problems are because of a billionaire.
Your biggest problem is politicians and government people. And they’re playing you.
2,c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens, John Rubino
Gold: $2000 Might Still Be Resistance
Plus, some useful charts from Incrementum’s new “In Gold We Trust”
| JOHN RUBINODEC 8 |
One of the fun things about bull markets is watching resistance levels turn into support. Gold, for instance, spent three years banging into $2000/oz and recently broke through, touching $2125 on December 1.
Then the selling started, pushing the price down to, as this is written, $1997.
If the “$2000 is now support” thesis holds, buyers will enter at this level and stop the carnage. If not, then gold is still rangebound, the past week was just a head fake, and the battle for $2000 continues.
For stackers, this is of course irrelevant because gold and silver aren’t for trading. They’re insurance to be held for generations. And as Rick Rule likes to say, when something you want goes down, that’s good because you can buy it on sale.
New Incrementum Charts
On a related note, Incrementum just released another batch of charts that put the financial world in context. Some highlights:
Despite today’s downer, gold is having a good year in most developed countries.
The overall stock market is wildly overvalued according to Warren Buffett’s supposed favorite indicator, which compares equity market capitalization to GDP:
“Strong” fiat currencies are a myth. When priced in gold, they’re all falling. But lately, the Japanese yen has been leading the march into the abyss.
A lot of advisors now recommend commodities, and the next chart illustrates why. Supplies of uranium, copper, silver, etc., are inadequate for future demand while prices are barely above their depression-level lows. Future shortages = higher prices.
3. CHRIS POWELL//GATA GOLD COMMENTARIES:
This is awful: the Fed borrowed another 32 tonnes in November and their total short is 100 tonnes
There is no way that the Fed can find 100 tonnes of physical gold by year end. It looks like they will continue the short into 2024
(Robert Lambourne)
Robert Lambourne: BIS gold swaps rose 47% to 100 tonnes in November
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2023-12-08 14:45 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Robert Lambourne
Friday, December 8, 2023
Trading in gold swaps by the Bank for International Settlements, the central bank of the central banks, continued in November. From information in the BIS statement of account for the month, published recently —
— it is estimated that the volume of the bank’s gold swaps increased in the month by 32 tonnes, from 68 to 100 tonnes, up 47%.
The BIS’ gold swaps had fallen to zero as of December 31, 2022, and reached a peak for 2023 so far of 188 tonnes as of May 31.
There seem to be no recent reasons to alter the assumption that the BIS has entered these swaps on behalf of the U.S. Federal Reserve. There is no evidence to suggest that any other major central bank is actively trading this much gold, and so far in 2023 it has been clear that many central banks are simply accumulating physical gold.
The basic transaction that the BIS is believed to undertake is to swap dollars for gold transferred from a bullion bank, then to deposit this gold in a gold sight account at a central bank, presumed to be the Fed, but almost certainly being the central bank that is using the BIS to execute the gold swap on its behalf.
Given the recent volatility in the level of BIS gold swaps, it seems likely that most are of a short duration. Why a central bank needs the BIS to undertake gold swaps isn’t clear. The swaps are likely connected with short-term trading needs, like suppressing the gold price.
The gold price increased to $2,040 at November 30 from $1,984 at October 31 (per USAGold.com). The volatility in the volume of swaps is clear from a review of Table B below. Volumes of swaps in 2023 are well below the average seen in the preceding four years but remain significant.
Using the November 30 gold price of $2,040, the 100 tonnes of BIS gold swaps are valued at about $6.5 billion. (The corresponding value of the swaps in place at September 29 was around $4.3 billion.) So the recent trading in BIS gold swaps is of high monetary value and shows that gold remains a significant monetary asset still actively traded by central banks.
As ever with the BIS, it remains unlikely that more information about why it undertakes these transactions will ever be provided. This secrecy implies that central bank gold policy involves much deception — that it could even be currency or gold market intervention for one or more central banks for which the BIS provides camouflage.
For example, the most recent published BIS Annual Report does not provide any information on the gold swaps other than confirming that swaps covering 77 tonnes of gold were in place as of March 31, 2023, and the subsequent interim report for the six months to September 30 has no disclosures about the gold swaps.
… GATA research on gold price suppression
GATA’s research on gold price suppression indicates that an active policy of price suppression was implemented around 30 years ago and was primarily intended to suppress interest rates. Recent updates on this research is provided in the following links to presentations Chris Powell and Bill Murphy made in early November at the New Orleans Investment Conference.
https://www.gata.org/node/22886
https://www.gata.org/node/22889
This report from 2005 remains relevant and highlights work in this area by former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard University President Lawrence Summers:
https://goldensextant.com/gibsonsparadox/
It also remains relevant to highlight the following remarks made in a speech by Summers on September 8, 1999, as reported in the book “The Wealth of Progressive Nations: The Collected Lectures of Lawrence Summers.” The remarks below are an extract of a section of the speech titled “A New Economic Paradigm.”
“Most important of all, the Clinton-Gore administration has established a new paradigm for the management of our nation’s budget, with enormous cumulative benefits for our economy and our citizens. It has become a commonplace to remark on how exceptional today’s 4.2% unemployment rate is relative to any expectation at the beginning of the decade. It is no less remarkable that today, after 8.5 years of expansion, long-term interest rates are around 2 percentage points lower than they were at its start.”
From this it is reasonable to conclude that keeping interest rates “lower” was considered a priority and succeeding at it was “remarkable.” While this is not proof that gold price suppression was undertaken specifically to reduce interest rates, it highlights that in any case reducing interest rates was a priority.
Further evidence of this priority is provided by the following link to an interview with Robert Rubin about his time working in the Clinton administration from January 1993. In answer to a question on the initial decision to prioritize deficit reduction, Rubin remarks,
“On the other hand, if interest rates go down as a result, then that will stimulate growth, and we thought that the beneficial effect of lower interest rates would outweigh the contractionary impact of the deficit reduction.”
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/rubin.html
Hence there is plenty of evidence that keeping interest rates down was a key priority during the Clinton presidency. In the context of gold price suppression being used to assist efforts to reduce interest rates the following report issued by GATA in 2007 with an analysis of the gold market by Frank Veneroso is a notable reference as it confirms that GATA’s primary assertions about gold price suppression were plausible.
https://www.gata.org/node/5275
… More recent trends in U.S. government deficits
Reading the remarks of Rubin and Summers on the priorities in the 1990s is a reminder of how far the the fiscal positions of Western nations have worsened since then. This worsening trend for Western nations, especially the United States, probably reduces the appeal to the BIS of undertaking gold swaps on behalf of any central bank where the liability is to return gold. It possibly reduces the appeal of any such swaps to the central bank or banks for which the BIS has been acting. So a report issued by GATA in 2012 is worth revisiting as it highlights the acknowledgment of gold price suppression by a former chairman of the BIS, Jelle Zijlstra, a Dutch politician, economist, and central banker. It seems likely, therefore, that BIS management understands what the swaps are being used for and why they require camouflage:
https://www.gata.org/node/11304
The continuing conundrum facing the Federal Reserve about raising dollar interest rates again should reduce the appeal to the Fed of having to return swapped gold, especially if the report by Veneroso referred to above is correct about gold shortages.
Despite its rhetoric about pushing interest rates higher, the Fed needs to avoid more erosion of confidence in the U.S. Treasuries market when the U.S. government’s ever-increasing debt has been so controversial recently.
The Treasury Department’s September report can be adjusted to reveal an underlying cumulative deficit of around $2.1trillion in the year to September 30, 2023.
See Appendix A in the following link for an explanation of the $2.1 trillion deficit:
https://www.gata.org/node/22883
The trends behind the deficit are not positive with lower revenue, higher expenditures, and much higher interest costs. It seems that the run rate of interest costs in the last 12 months has now passed $1 trillion. The higher interest costs result from the higher interest rates set by the Fed gradually affecting existing debt levels as borrowings are refinanced and the debt caused by the deficits increases. The latest monthly report on the federal government’s finances covering October 2023 is relevant:
https://www.fiscal.treasury.gov/files/reports-statements/mts/mts1023.pdf
In these circumstances the room for the Fed to raise interest rates further seems restricted and hence it seems likely that the BIS and some of its shareholders might be questioning the role of the bank in these swaps and the obligation to make future deliveries of gold, since the Fed may be unable to move interest rates high enough to contain inflation. In this context the recently reduced prices for oil are relevant as it seems that strong forces want to keep oil prices subdued despite developments that might be expected to result in higher prices, such as production cuts by Russia and Saudi Arabia. With 2024 being a presidential election year in the United States there appear to be reasons to envisage that there are incentives to reduce oil prices and that even recent moves to consolidate the number of oil producers in the U.S. might be tacitly encouraged in return for keeping production high. The success or otherwise of such efforts might be a clue to the timing of a gold price reset as there appears little effort by the Fed and Treasury Department so far to accept that federal debt levels may be dangerously high now.
The report at the following link, which investigates the possible link between hedge funds basis trades in U.S. Treasuries and the Fed’s program of quantitative tightening could be read as another sign of how tight things are insofar as being able to locate willing purchasers of U.S. Treasuries at current prices:
https://www.gata.org/node/22873
Again, it seems appropriate to note that a report titled “Living with High Public Debt” authored by Serkan Arslanalp and Barry Eichengreen was published in August 2023 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. This report reinforces just how difficult it is to handle the present situation of high federal government debt with spending far in excess of revenue at this moment. The report can be found at the Kansas City Fed’s internet site here —
— and at GATA’s here:
Here is an excerpt from the conclusions:
“Looking forward, the challenges are daunting. Given aging populations, governments will have to find additional finance for healthcare and pensions. They will have to finance spending on defense, climate change abatement, and adaptation, and the digital transition. A growing number of low-income countries are already in debt distress.
“Living with high public debt therefore means avoiding steps that make a bad situation worse. This means minimizing unproductive public spending. It means targeting social transfers as a way of limiting pressures on the expenditure side. It means limiting contingent liabilities by, inter alia, adequately regulating banks and avoiding recapitalization costs.
“It means contemplating tax increases where revenues are low by international standards. It means further developing financial markets where markets are underdeveloped and where a diverse population of local investors in debt securities is absent. It means embracing legal and procedural changes that streamline and speed restructuring for countries whose debts are unsustainable.
“This modest medicine does not make for a happy diagnosis. But it makes for a realistic one.”
In the circumstances vividly described in the report it seems ridiculous that the price of gold has been falling during 2023. The report offers yet more reason to question whether the use of gold swaps by the BIS, probably on behalf of the Fed, is being done as part of an effort to suppress the dollar gold price.
Table A below highlights the level of gold swaps reported in the annual reports of the BIS back to 2010, when the bank’s use of gold swaps appears to have begun. At only one year-end since then, in March 2016, has the swap level been zero.
The BIS’ recently published interim report as of September 30, 2023, discloses that the BIS still holds 102 tonnes of its own gold and that few of its activities in derivatives involve central banks. An assumption that the gold held by the BIS remains at 102 tonnes has been used in this note to make the estimate of the bank’s gold swap level. The low level of derivatives reported by the BIS using central banks as counterparties at the year-end seems a sensible reason to assume that the swaps are almost certainly done with gold bullion banks rather than central banks. Historically, the first swaps described below were done with bullion banks.
* * *
… Historical context …
The BIS rarely comments publicly on its gold activities, but its first use of gold swaps was considered important enough to cause the bank to give some background information to the Financial Times for an article published July 29, 2010, coinciding with publication of the bank’s 2009-10 annual report.
The general manager of the BIS at the time, Jaime Caruana, said the gold swaps were “regular commercial activities” for the bank, and he confirmed that they were carried out with commercial banks and so did not involve central banks. It also seems highly likely that the BIS’ remaining swaps are still all made with commercial banks, because the BIS annual report has never disclosed a gold swap between the BIS and a major central bank.
The swap transactions potentially created a mismatch at the BIS, which may have ended up being long unallocated gold (the gold held in BIS sight accounts at major central banks) and short allocated gold (the gold required to be returned to swap counterparties). This possible mismatch has not been reported by the BIS.
The gold banking activities of the BIS have been a regular part of the services it offers to central banks since the bank’s establishment 90 years ago. The first annual report of the BIS explains these activities in some detail:
http://www.bis.org/publ/arpdf/archive/ar1931_en.pdf
A June 2008 presentation made by the BIS to potential central bank members at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, noted that the bank’s services to its members include secret interventions in the gold and foreign exchange markets:
https://www.gata.org/node/11012
The use of gold swaps to take gold held by commercial banks and then deposit it in gold sight accounts held in the name of the BIS at major central banks doesn’t appear ever to have been as large a part of the BIS’ gold banking business as it has been in recent years, although the recent declines suggest this is changing.
As of March 31, 2010, excluding gold owned by the BIS, there were 1,706 tonnes held in the name of the BIS in gold sight accounts at major central banks, of which 346 tonnes or 20% were sourced from gold swaps from commercial banks.
If the BIS was adopting the level of disclosure made by publicly held companies, such as commercial banks, some explanation of these changes probably would have been required by the accounting regulators. This irony may not be lost on those dealing with regulatory activities at the BIS. Presumably the shrinkage of the BIS’ gold banking business shows that even central banks now prefer to hold their own gold or hold it in earmarked form — that is, as allocated gold.
A review of Table B below highlights recent BIS activity with gold swaps, and despite the recent declines, the recent positions estimated from the BIS monthly statements have regularly been large, especially in early 2022, and the volume of trading has been significant.
No explanation for this continuing use of swaps has been published by the BIS. Indeed, no comment on the bank’s use of gold swaps has been offered since 2010.
This gold is supplied by bullion banks via the swaps to the BIS. The gold is then deposited in BIS gold sight accounts (unallocated gold accounts) at major central banks such as the Federal Reserve.
The reasons for this activity have never been fully explained by the BIS and various conjectures have been made as to why the BIS has facilitated it. One conjecture is that the swaps are a mechanism for the return of gold secretly supplied by central banks to cover shortfalls in the gold markets. The use of the BIS to facilitate this trade suggests of a desire to conceal the rationale for the transactions.
As can be seen in Table A below, the BIS has used gold swaps extensively since its financial year 2009-10. No use of swaps is reported in the bank’s annual reports for at least 10 years prior to the year ended March 2010.
The February 2021 estimate of the bank’s gold swaps (552 tonnes) was higher than any level of swaps reported by the BIS at its March year-end since March 2010. The swaps reported at March 2021 were at the highest year-end level reported, as is clear from Table A.
—–
Table A — Swaps reported in BIS annual reports
March 2010: 346 tonnes.
March 2011: 409 tonnes.
March 2012: 355 tonnes.
March 2013: 404 tonnes.
March 2014: 236 tonnes.
March 2015: 47 tonnes.
March 2016: 0 tonnes.
March 2017: 438 tonnes.
March 2018: 361 tonnes.
March 2019: 175 tonnes
March 2020: 326 tonnes
March 2021: 490 tonnes
March 2022: 358 tonnes
March 2023: 77 tonnes
—–
The table below reports the estimated swap levels since August 2018. It can be seen that the BIS is actively involved in trading gold swaps and other gold derivatives with changes from month to month reported in excess of 100 tonnes in this period.
—–
Table B — Swaps estimated by GATA from BIS monthly statements of account
Month ….. Swaps
& year … in tonnes
Nov-23 …./100
Oct-23 …./68
Sep-23 …./96
Aug-23 …./129
Jul-23 …. /103
Jun-23…. /87
May-23 …. /188
Apr-23 …. /135
Mar-23 …. /77*
Feb-23 … /136
Jan-23 … /103
Dec-22 … /0
Nov-22 … /105
Oct-22 ….. /7
Sep-22 …../57
Aug -22 ….. /75
Jul-22 ….. /56
Jun-22 ….. /202
May-22 ….. /270
Apr-22 ….. /315
Mar-22 …. /358
Feb-22 …. /472
Jan-22 ….. /501
Dec-21…. /414
Nov-21…. /451
Oct-21…. /414
Sep-21 …. /438
Aug-21 …. /464
Jul-21 …. /502
Jun-21 …./471
May-21 …./517
Apr-21 …. /472
Mar-21…. /490±
Feb-21 …../552
Jan-21 …. /523
Dec-20 …. /545
Nov-20 …. /520
Oct-20 …. /519
Sep-20…../ 520
Aug-20…../ 484
Jul-20 ….. / 474
Jun-20 …. / 391
May-20 …. / 412
Apr-20 …. / 328
Mar-20 …. / 326**
Feb-20 …. / 326
Jan-20 …. / 320
Dec-19 …. / 313
Nov-19 …. / 250
Oct-19 …. / 186
Sep-19 …. / 128
Aug-19 …. / 162
Jul-19 ….. / 95
Jun-19 …. / 126
May-19 …. / 78
Apr-19 ….. / 88
Mar-19 …. / 175
Feb-19 …. / 303
Jan-19 …. / 247
Dec-18 …. / 275
Nov-18 …. / 308
Oct-18 …. / 372
Sep-18 …. / 238
Aug-18 …. / 370
* The estimate originally reported by GATA was 78 tonnes, but the BIS annual report states 77 tonnes. It is believed that slightly different gold prices account for the difference.
± The estimate originally reported by GATA was 487 tonnes, but the BIS annual report states 490 tonnes, It is believed that slightly different gold prices account for the difference.
** The estimate originally reported by GATA was 332 tonnes, but the BIS annual report states 326 tonnes. It is believed that slightly different gold prices account for the difference.
GATA uses gold prices quoted by USAGold.com to estimate the level of gold swaps held by the BIS at month-ends.
– – – – –
As noted already, the BIS in recent times has refused to explain its activities in the gold market, nor for whom the bank is acting:
Despite this reticence the BIS has almost certainly acted on behalf of central banks in taking out these swaps, as they are the BIS’ owners and control its Board of Directors. Historically, the BIS has often acted on behalf of the Federal Reserve.
This refusal to explain prompts some observers to believe that the BIS acts as an agent for central banks intervening surreptitiously in the gold and currency markets, providing those central banks with access to gold as well as protection from exposure of their interventions.
As mentioned above, it is possible that the swaps provide a mechanism for bullion banks to return gold originally lent to them by central banks to cover bullion bank shortfalls of gold. Some commentators have suggested that a portion of the gold held by exchange-traded funds and managed by bullion banks is sourced directly from central banks.——
——
Robert Lambourne is a retired business executive in the United Kingdom who consults for GATA about the involvement of the Bank for International Settlements in the gold market.
* * *
END
4. OTHER GOLD/SILVER PODCASTS…ANDREW MAGUIRE INTERVIEWING CRAIG HEMKE
5 a. IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES
END
5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT
END
6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/
end
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS FRIDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED DOWN AT 7.1614
OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.1726
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 3.35 PTS OR 0.11%
HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 11.52 PTS OR 0.07%
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 580.45 PTS OR 1.68%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 103.76 EURO FALLS TO 1.0781 DOWN 9 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield:RISES TO. +.746 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 144.33/JAPANESE YEN NOW RISING AS WELL AS LONG TERM 10 YR. YIELDS RISING //EVENTUALLY THIS WILL BREAK THE JAPANESE CENTRAL BANK
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold DOWN /JAPANESE Yen UP CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: DOWN// OFFSHORE: DOWN
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN 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 +2.2390***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 4.018** /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.224…**
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.398
3j Gold at $2028.20 silver at: 23.78 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 0 AND 60 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 91.50//
3m oil into the 70 dollar handle for WTI and 75 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 144,33// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.770% 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 0.8750 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9433 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 4.181 UP 6 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.279 UP 3 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.633 UP 5 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 28.98…(TURKEY SET TO BLOW UP FINANCIALLY)
GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: UP 5 BASIS PTS AT 4.056
end
2.a Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge
Futures, Bonds Drop Ahead Of Jobs Report
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 08:16 AM
US equity futures and bonds both dropped after a tech-fueled advance in the previous session, while the dollar and oil gained in what were small moves ahead of the November jobs report while will provide more information on whether the labor market is cooling fast enough to bring the Federal Reserve closer to cut rates as soon as March (full payrolls preview here). As of 7:55am ET, S&P futures dropped 0.1%, erasing a part of Thursday’s rally while Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3%. Treasury 10-year yields approached 4.2%, rising for a second day. The dollar was little changed as the Japanese yen weakened, paring its biggest gain since January, while the Canadian dollar reversed four sessions of losses to edge higher. Oil futures rose 1.5% from the lowest closing level since July. In macro, the day’s big event is the jobs report where consensus expects a 183K print and unemployment remaining flat at 3.9%
In premarket trading, Broadcom shares edged 0.8% higher as analysts note that strength in AI computing is helping offset a slowdown in chips. The company, which supplies chips to Apple and other big tech companies, reported its slowest sales growth since since the early days of the pandemic, with corporate customers and telecom providers reining in their spending.
- Alcoa is down less than 1% after it was initiated at HSBC with a recommendation of hold and a target price of $29 on production growth prospects, profitability improvement initiatives, and continued progress on environmental, social and governance goals.
- Bluebird Bio shares rise 3.1% after Morgan Stanley upgrades the gene-therapy firm to equal-weight from underweight ahead of the likely approval of its Lovo-cel therapy to treat sickle cell disease.
- DocuSign shares edge 0.5% lower after the e-signature company gave a margin outlook that was seen as cautious, considering its strong third-quarter results.
- Eneti Inc. gains 9.5% after Cadeler A/S extended the expiration date for its share exchange offer to acquire all the outstanding shares of NETI.
- HashiCorp shares slump 24% as analysts cut their targets on the software company after results showed a slowdown in key metrics such as revenue from the previous quarter, stoking worries of muted growth, especially looking out to 2025.
- Hello Group ADRs are up 8.8%, after the China-based social networking platform reported third-quarter results that beat expectations and gave a forecast.
- Lululemon shares drop 2.7% after the activewear company’s fourth-quarter revenue guidance failed to meet consensus expectations. Jefferies said the results and guidance show a “peak has been reached,” while Wells Fargo noted the debate over demand trends in North America has not been resolved.
- Microsoft shares slip 0.7% after UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said it was seeking views on whether the software giant’s partnership with OpenAI should be probed.
- MBIA Inc. shares surge 60%, set for a record one-day gain, after the financial guarantee insurance provider declared an extraordinary cash dividend on MBIA common stock of $8.00 per share, which totals approximately $409 million.
- Smartsheet shares are up 3.8%, after the software company reported third-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast.
Friday’s payroll report will be crucial in determining whether bets on dramatic Fed policy easing next year are justified — or have gone too far. Buoyed by signs that inflation and wage growth are cooling, traders have ignited bets that cuts of 125 basis points are in store over the next 12 months. Conflicting data may raise doubts, and Fed officials are likely to keep reminding the market that they are in no hurry to ease. Economists’ median estimate for November nonfarm payrolls change is +183k, with crowd-sourced whisper number +175k; Citi strategists see the 10-year straddle priced for ~11bp move for the day. Our full preview of the jobs report can be found here, and here is what Wall Street banks expect today:
- 238,000 – Goldman
- 225,000 – Barclays
- 220,000 – UBS
- 215,000 – Wells
- 210,000 – SocGen
- 200,000 – BofA
- 200,000 – HSBC
- 200,000 – Morgan Stanley
- 195,000 – Citigroup
- 161,000 – Bloomberg Economics
- 150,000 – JP Morgan Chase
- 130,000 – Deutsche Bank
Below are some hot takes from Wall Street strategists:
- Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report newsletter:
“Keeping things simple, the key to today’s jobs report is whether it refutes the expectation for a March rate cut or reinforces it. A ‘too hot’ number will refute that March rate cut expectation and stocks and bonds will likely drop, while a ‘Goldilocks’ number will reinforce expectations for a March cut and stocks should rally.”
- Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi:
“It’s clear that things are turning in the labor market, even if only a little bit. There’s been a subtle, but noticeable turn upward in the unemployment rate, and a steady grind higher in continuing jobless claims. For now, we welcome the turn of events. The most important problem to solve, however, will be cooling it enough to balance things out, but not too much that it destroys the situation. Cool it off, but don’t freeze it.”
- Win Thin, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.:
“There should be some payback for the strike-depressed October reading but it’s not clear how much. While there have been some signs of softness in the labor market, it remains remarkably robust.”
- Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers:
“The jobs report is likely to provide additional indications of the labor market softening, a welcome sign for employers who have faced challenges with wage pressures and staffing with the right candidates. Its impact on markets, however, will depend on whether investors view the data as a stepping stone to a March rate cut and soft landing, or an adverse effect on consumer spending and a sharper economic slowdown.”
A survey by BMO strategists found investors inclined to take a more bearish view on Treasuries after the jobs report, with 38% disposed to sell on an upside surprise vs 22% long-term average, 43% to buy on a downside surprise vs 49% norm
Meanwhile, according to BofA’s Michael Hartnett, stock markets will suffer in the first quarter of 2024 as a rally in bonds would signal sputtering economic growth; he said lower yields were one of the main catalysts of equity gains in the current quarter. However, a further drop toward 3% would mean a “hard landing” for the economy. The narrative of “lower yields = higher stocks” would flip to “lower yields = lower stocks,” Hartnett wrote.
European shares advance and are on course for a fourth straight week of gains. The Stoxx 600 adds 0.6% and is within striking distance of the July highs, led by consumer product, travel and energy shares. Luxury stocks were among the best performing shares across European stock markets on Friday after China’s Politburo pledged to strengthen the government’s fiscal measures, bolstering efforts to stabilize growth in a key market for the sector. “Luxury goods are bouncing hard, helped by this morning’s absence of the usual daily sell-side bearish commentary plus Politburo’s fiscal support headline,” said Carl Dooley, head of EMEA trading at TD Cowen. “Our China exposed basket has been ripping over the past month, with European luxury goods now playing catch up,” Dooley added. Shares in LVMH, Richemont and Hermes contribute to over 12% of the rise of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index. Watches of Switzerland rises +4.7%, Salvatore Ferragamo +2.9%, Moncler +2.4%, Kering +2.7%, LVMH +2.4% and Richemont +1.7%. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
- Adyen and Nexi rise after Citi upgrades them to buy, having become constructive on the payments sector for the first time in two years, noting “undemanding” valuations for the companies
- J Sainsbury climbs as much as 3.7%, hitting its highest level since January 2022, after being upgraded to buy at Goldman Sachs, which said the grocer has improved its market share momentum
- Vivendi rises as much as 4.7% on Friday following the announcement that the French media conglomerate would rejoin Paris’s CAC 40 blue chip index, reaching May highs
- Anglo American falls as much as 7.3%, the most since March, after the miner gave volume guidance for 2024 to 2026 that analysts say missed consensus estimates across the board
- DNB falls as much as 3.2% and Handelsbanken as much as 1.9% after the lenders were downgraded to sell and neutral, respectively, at UBS in a review on the Nordic banking sector
- Imperial Brands shares fall as much as 2.6% after the tobacco company was downgraded to sector perform at RBC Capital Markets following a sizable outperformance relative to peer BAT
- Siemens Energy falls as much as 6.3% after JPMorgan cuts the German firm to underweight, seeing no clear way of realizing the premium implied by a sum-of-the-parts valuation of its diverse portfolio
- Epiroc falls as much as 3.2% after JPMorgan downgraded the Swedish mining equipment maker to underweight from neutral, citing elevated consensus estimates and overall valuation
- Alstom and Stadler Rail both drop after the rail equipment companies saw their respective ratings cut at JPMorgan, seeing unfavourable risk-reward ratio in the latter
Earlier in the session, Asian equities swung in a narrow range as major technology stocks rallied while Japan reeled from a strengthening in the yen. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was on track to end a streak of three weekly gains. Toyota and Sony were among the biggest drags Friday as chipmakers TSMC and Samsung gained. Japanese stocks slid after the yen surged by the most against the dollar in almost a year on bets the Bank of Japan will end negative interest rates as early as this month. The currency move soured the outlook for the nation’s exporters.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp just about shrugged off the early indecision amid a lack of fresh drivers with the downside cushioned after the PBoC conducted a net liquidity injection for the first time this week.
- Japan’s Nikkei 225 underperformed amid pressure from a firmer currency after speculation that the BoJ could exit NIRP sooner than thought with markets pricing around a 20% chance they could lift rates at the December meeting, while a downward revision in Japan’s Q3 GDP to a deeper annualised contraction of -2.9% also clouded over the risk tone.
- Australia’s ASX 200 finished marginally higher in choppy trade as weakness in financials and tech was offset by resilience in the commodity-related sectors including energy after confirmation of early merger talks between Woodside Energy and Santos to form an AUD 80bln Australian gas giant.
- Indian stocks posted their biggest weekly surge in 17 months as local shares climbed to new all-time highs after the nation’s central bank raised economic growth forecast. The S&P BSE Sensex Index rose 0.4% to close at record high of 69,825.60 in Mumbai on Friday, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced 0.3%. For the week, the gauges posted a rise of 3.5% each, their biggest weekly advance since July 2022. The Reserve Bank of India raised its growth projection for the fiscal year ending March to 7% from 6.5% — higher than most economists’ predictions.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index steadied and Treasury yields rose 2-3bps across the curve, as traders awaited key US labor market data for signs over when the Federal Reserve may start cutting rates. The kiwi is the worst performer among the G-10’s, falling 0.3% versus the greenback. USD/JPY is little changed at ~144.20.
- USD/JPY pared a fall to trade slightly higher at 144.43; Thursday saw the Japanese yen clinch its biggest one-day gain since January
- CAD/USD reversed four sessions of losses to rise as much as 0.2% to 0.7368, as the Canadian dollar led Group-of-10 gains against the greenback
- USD/SEK and EUR/SEK rose, after GDP data showed an unexpected uptick in Swedish economic activity in October
In rates, treasuries fall, with US 10-year yields rising 3bps to 4.18% and 10Y futures near session low and Thursday’s low ahead of November jobs report release at 8:30am New York time, 10-year note. Bunds and gilts have seen steeper declines. US yields higher by 2bp to 4bp across the curve with move led by belly, flattening 5s30s spread by around 1bp on the day; 10-year around 4.18% is ~3bp cheaper on the day, bunds and gilts by an additional 2.5bp and 3.5bp in the sector. US economic data includes November jobs report (8:30am) and December preliminary University of Michigan sentiment (10am)
In commodities, oil prices advanced, with WTI crude futures rising 1.4% from lowest closing level since July to trade near $70.30. iron ore rose to its highest since February as steel mills in China replenish depleted inventories in anticipation of stronger consumption next year. It’s been a wild week for lithium in China, as the country’s newest commodities exchange tried to quell a frenzy of speculation that’s fueling violent price swings for the battery material.
Bitcoin (-0.2%) and Ethereum (-0.4%) both traded marginally lower after both hitting 2023 highs overnight.
Looking to the day ahead now, and data releases include the US jobs report, along with the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for December. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the ECB’s Muller.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures little changed at 4,589.75
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.4% to 470.84
- MXAP down 0.2% to 161.19
- MXAPJ up 0.6% to 501.02
- Nikkei down 1.7% to 32,307.86
- Topix down 1.5% to 2,324.47
- Hang Seng Index little changed at 16,334.37
- Shanghai Composite up 0.1% to 2,969.56
- Sensex up 0.4% to 69,797.30
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% to 7,194.92
- Kospi up 1.0% to 2,517.85
- German 10Y yield little changed at 2.23%
- Euro down 0.2% to $1.0775
- Brent Futures up 2.2% to $75.68/bbl
- Gold spot up 0.0% to $2,028.65
- US Dollar Index up 0.24% to 103.79
Top Overnight News
- Stocks rose while bonds slipped Friday as traders awaited a pivotal US jobs report for more evidence of whether the labor market is cooling fast enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
- A monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics report due Friday is set to show the US unemployment rate edged higher in November as the economy began to slip into a recession, according to Bloomberg Economics.
- European Union finance ministers are still scrambling to find an agreement on new fiscal rules for the bloc.
- Market participants have overplayed recent comments by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda and his deputy, as there is no reason to believe the central bank will scrap its negative interest rate early, according to a former executive director.
- China funds accepted the lowest yields in at least a decade and a half in an auction of long-tenor government bonds, shrugging off Moody’s Investors Service decision to cut the country’s credit outlook.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks eventually traded mostly higher but with gains limited as sentiment remained cautious heading into the incoming US NFP jobs report and after the recent BoJ speculation. ASX 200 finished marginally higher in choppy trade as weakness in financials and tech was offset by resilience in the commodity-related sectors including energy after confirmation of early merger talks between Woodside Energy and Santos to form an AUD 80bln Australian gas giant. Nikkei 225 underperformed amid pressure from a firmer currency after speculation that the BoJ could exit NIRP sooner than thought with markets pricing around a 20% chance they could lift rates at the December meeting, while a downward revision in Japan’s Q3 GDP to a deeper annualised contraction of -2.9% also clouded over the risk tone. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp just about shrugged off the early indecision amid a lack of fresh drivers with the downside cushioned after the PBoC conducted a net liquidity injection for the first time this week.
Top Asian News
- Australia’s Treasurer announced a new policy statement with the RBA in which the RBA board and the government agreed that a flexible inflation target is an appropriate framework for achieving price stability with the goal for consumer price inflation kept between 2%-3%. RBA board will set monetary policy so that inflation is expected to return to the mid-point of the target with the appropriate timeframe for this to depend on economic circumstances, while the RBA will publish detailed forecast data and assumptions including the Cash Rate. Furthermore, once the new monetary policy board is operational, it will publish an unattributed record of votes and will convene and engage with an expert advisory group on monetary policy to provide the board with a wide range of external views.
- RBI kept the Repurchase Rate unchanged at 6.50%, as expected, while it maintained its stance of remaining focused on the withdrawal of accommodation in which 5 out of 6 members voted in favour of the policy stance. RBI Governor Das said the Indian economy is resilient and has momentum, while he noted broad-based easing in core inflation but added that inflation could see an uptick in November and December. Furthermore, he stated that the target of 4% CPI has yet to be reached and they have to stay the course on inflation, as well as noted that monetary policy has to stay alert about shocks getting generalised and has to remain actively disinflationary with the need to remain vigilant and ready to act.
- RBI’s Das says the MPC will be highly alter to any signs of derailing in the ongoing disinflation process, will take appropriate action to get inflation to target
- China’s Politburo says it will continue to implement proactive fiscal policy in 2024, and prudent monetary policy; will improve resilience and security of industrial supply chains, will expand domestic demand.
- China says monetary policy is to be flexible; drops the “forceful” wording, according to Bloomberg
- Fitch has upgraded Vietnam to BB+; outlook stable
European equities (Eurostoxx50 +0.5%) are on firmer footing with outperformance in the CAC 40 (+1.1%) with Luxury propping the index. European sectors are generally in the Green; Consumer Products & Services is the top performer, with Luxury names the main beneficiaries whilst Basic Resources lags following a trading update at Anglo American (-6.7%). US equity futures hold around the unchanged mark awaiting direction from the US NFP Report; though the Russell (+0.3%) is slightly firmer, following price action in Europe.
Top European News
- Fitch said major UK banks are resilient to the economic backdrop and underpinned by strong buffers, while it added that the performance of major domestically focused UK banks will remain sound over the next two years.
- Italy’s Treasury said it is to sell up to EUR 6bln in BTP bonds at auction on Dec 13th.
- EU Economic Commissioner Gentiloni says there is not fiscal deal despite progress, as some legal aspects need to be clarified. Confident an agreement can be reached.
- Spanish Finance Minister Calvino says they will convene an extraordinary EcoFin meeting to conclude a deal on EU fiscal rules
- French Finance Minister Le Maire says they now have an agreement rate of 95% on fiscal rules; on Thursday said they were around 90%
- Spain’s Economy Minister Calvino has been appointed as head of the EIB, via El Pais
- Bank of England/Ipsos Inflation Attitudes Survey – November 2023: Median expectations of the rate of inflation over the coming year were 3.3%, down from 3.6% in August 2023.
FX
- The Dollar remains within a tight range in the run-up to the day’s highlight, the US jobs report ahead of next week’s FOMC confab.
- The Yen has come off recent highs with USD/JPY back on a 144.00 handle at the time of writing (vs yesterday’s 141.70 trough).
- Antipodeans are mixed with the AUD and CAD narrowly outperforming amid the strength in oil and base metals whilst the NZD sits as the G10 laggard, although with no obvious catalyst aside from AUD/NZD flows.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1123 vs exp. 7.1427 (prev. 7.1176)
- Recent softness in consumption has presented itself as a source of concern for BoJ policymakers who are “eyeing” an exit from easy policy, according to Reuters sources
Fixed Income
- USTs are currently lower by 11 ticks with fresh macro drivers non-existent as participants position themselves for the November NFP report, ahead of Tuesday’s CPI and thereafter the FOMC meeting begins.
- Bunds fell to a 134.91 low which brings into play the 134.55 trough from Wednesday; a move without fresh catalysts.
- Gilt action is relatively pronounced, it remains well within recent bounds and as such the accompanying pressure to the SONIA strip has thus far only managed to bring December back to unchanged being fully priced.
Commodities
- WTI and Brent (+1.5%) futures are posting notable gains making back some of the losses seen this week; though the complex has come off best levels in recent trade with catalysts limited.
- Metals are mixed with precious metals flat pre-NFP with spot Gold around the USD 2,030/oz level; Base metals are firmer across the board amid improving demand from China following the recent PMI and trade data.
- Iraq’s oil minister said the country renewed its support for the OPEC+ agreement and commitment to voluntary cuts.
- EU is to give member states the power to block Russian gas imports, according to FT.
- Sanctions on ships with Russian oil will not affect Indian purchases; adequate vessel available to import Russian crude; dip in oil prices will help India buy more oil from Russia, according to an Indian government source.
- EU is said to be considering restarting the WTO case against the US over steel tariffs, according to Bloomberg sources; final decision yet to be taken.
- Russia’s Kremlin says Russian President Putin and Iranian President Raisi discussed integration and cooperation within OPEC+ on Thursday
Geopolitics
- Israel agreed to a US request to open the Kerem Shalom border crossing for screening and inspection of humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to a US official cited by Reuters.
- UAE asked the UN Security Council to vote on Friday morning on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.
- White House said they are not close to another deal for a pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict and the US is still trying to get more information on Hamas hostages.
- US Secretary of State Blinken said attacks in the Red Sea are unacceptable and they believe attacks are being carried out with the support of Iran, according to Al Jazeera via social media platform X.
- US State Department said it welcomes the release of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers, while it added that Secretary of State Blinken looks forward to hosting Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Washington for the next round of peace talks soon.
- At least three rockets targeting the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone were fired at dawn on Friday, landing on the outskirts of the district housing government and diplomatic buildings, according to an Iraqi security official cited by AFP
- “Israeli army: We hit several targets inside Syria after firing shells towards the Golan Heights”, according to Al Arabiya
- Kremlin when asked about idea US wants Russia to engage in peace talks with Ukraine on Kyiv’s terms in 2024, says it is “absolutely unrealistic”
US Event Calendar
- 08:30: Nov. Change in Manufact. Payrolls, est. 30,000, prior -35,000
- Nov. Change in Private Payrolls, est. 158,000, prior 99,000
- Nov. Change in Nonfarm Payrolls, est. 183,000, prior 150,000
- Nov. Unemployment Rate, est. 3.9%, prior 3.9%
- Nov. Labor Force Participation Rate, est. 62.7%, prior 62.7%
- Nov. Underemployment Rate, prior 7.2%
- Nov. Average Weekly Hours All Emplo, est. 34.3, prior 34.3
- Nov. Average Hourly Earnings YoY, est. 4.0%, prior 4.1%
- Nov. Average Hourly Earnings MoM, est. 0.3%, prior 0.2%
- 10:00: Dec. U. of Mich. Sentiment, est. 62.0, prior 61.3
- Dec. U. of Mich. Current Conditions, est. 68.5, prior 68.3
- Dec. U. of Mich. Expectations, est. 57.0, prior 56.8
- Dec. U. of Mich. 1 Yr Inflation, est. 4.3%, prior 4.5%
- Dec. U. of Mich. 5-10 Yr Inflation, est. 3.1%, prior 3.2%
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Risk assets put in a solid performance over the last 24 hours, with the S&P 500 (+0.80%) bouncing back after 3 consecutive declines, whilst US HY spreads reached their tightest levels in over 18 months. Those advances have helped to ease financial conditions considerably over recent weeks, and Bloomberg’s index for the US now stands at its most accommodative level since September. Nevertheless, we’re about to enter a pivotal week ahead, since the US jobs report is out today, and that’s being followed next week by the US CPI, as well as the final Fed and ECB decisions of 2023. So with speculation about rate cuts continuing to mount, we could soon have a much better sense of how likely those are to arrive.
In terms of today’s jobs report, our US economists are forecasting a +130k gain in nonfarm payrolls, which in turn would leave the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.9%. Both will be in focus, since nonfarm payrolls have slowed considerably since the start of the year, and last month saw the unemployment rate hit its highest since January 2022, so there’ve been several signals that the labour market is softening. See here for their full preview and details of how to sign up to the webinar after the report.
One thing to watch out for in the jobs report is what it means for the Sahm Rule. In previous cycles, the Sahm Rule signalled that a recession was underway if the three-month average of the unemployment rate was 0.5pts above its minimum over the previous 12 months. As of last month, that measure stood 0.33pts above its recent minimum of 3.5%, so is moving closer to levels that have previously been consistent with recessions, and is now two-thirds of the way to 0.5pts. However, since the measure is based on a 3-month average of the unemployment rate, it wouldn’t be triggered today even if the unemployment rate were to be at 4.0% in this month’s report. Another area we’ve been watching are the Temporary Help Services category of payrolls. That’s been on a broadly downward trajectory in recent months, and has a track record as a leading indicator in previous cycles.
Ahead of the report, yesterday we had the latest weekly jobless claims, which showed initial claims were at 220k over the week ending December 2. That was in line with expectations, and leaves the 4-week average broadly in line with recent levels, at 220.75k. Moreover, the continuing claims for the week ending November 25 were down to 1.861m (vs. 1.91m expected), which reverses most of the sharp uptick over the previous week.
In response to the jobless claims data, yields on US Treasuries initially spiked, but pared back some of that increase over the rest of the day. By the end of the US session, those on 10yr Treasuries were up +4.6bps to 4.15%, whilst the 2yr yield was flat at +0.3bps to 4.60%, with both closing 3-4bps below their peaks early in the day. This came as investors remained confident about the prospect of rate cuts next year, with futures pricing in a 66% chance of a cut by March as of this morning. It’s a similar story at the ECB as well, with investors pricing in a 75% chance of a cut by March. So next week’s meetings will be crucial to see if central bank officials push back on that assessment. Speaking of those meetings, one thing to keep an eye on today will be the University of Michigan’s survey, where long-term inflation expectations will be in focus after hitting a 12-year high of 3.2% last month .
For equities, there was a strong performance in the US, with the S&P 500 rising +0.80% as the Magnificent 7 (+2.13%) led the gains once again. The tech outperformance included a +2.79% gain for the Philadelphia semiconductors index and a +5.31% rise for Alphabet, amid renewed investor optimism over AI after Google’s release of its new AI model the previous day. However in Europe it was a different story, with the STOXX 600 (-0.27%), the DAX (-0.16%) and the CAC 40 (-0.10%) all posting modest declines. That risk-off tone in Europe was evident in sovereign bond markets too, and yields on 10yr bunds fell another -0.8bps to 2.19%, marking a fresh 7-month low, whilst yields on 10yr OATs (-1.1bps) fell to an 8-month low of 2.73% .
Overnight in Asia, the focus remains on Japan, and yesterday saw the Japanese Yen strengthen by +2.21% against the US Dollar as speculation mounted that the Bank of Japan could soon end its negative interest rate policy. That its biggest daily gain since January, and this morning it’s up another 0.22% to 143.84 against the dollar, despite the news that the Japanese economy contracted by more than previously thought in Q3. For instance, GDP contracted at an annualised pace of -2.9%, up from -2.1% in the preliminary reading, which marks the economy’s biggest quarterly contraction since Q2 2020 during the pandemic. Nevertheless, markets are pricing in a 29% chance that the BoJ will move away from negative interest rates at its meeting on December 19, and the Nikkei (-1.89%) has continued to lose ground.
Elsewhere in Asia, the picture is more positive overnight, with gains for the Hang Seng (+0.32%), the CSI 300 (+0.41%) and the Shanghai Comp (+0.36%), whilst the KOSPI (+1.02%) has seen an even larger advance. Looking forward, US equity futures are basically flat ahead of the jobs report, with those on the S&P 500 down -0.03%.
There was little other data yesterday, although we did get German industrial production for October, which fell by -0.4% (vs. +0.2% expected). That was the 5th consecutive monthly decline, which is the first time that’s happened since the height of the financial crisis in 2008-9. We also had the final print of euro area Q3 GDP confirm a -0.1% quarterly decline, with details of release pointing to slowing wage growth, as compensation per employee slowed to 5.2% year-on-year in Q3 from 5.4% in Q2 (with the latter revised down from 5.6% previously). So the print has added to signs of labour market moderation for the ECB.
To the day ahead now, and data releases include the US jobs report, along with the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for December. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the ECB’s Muller.
END
2 B) NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)
European bourses gain, US futures & DXY meander around the unchanged mark ahead of US NFP – Newsquawk US Market Open
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 06:01 AM
- European equities gain with outperformance in the CAC 40; US Futures meander around the unchanged mark ahead of NFP
- Dollar remains within a tight range whilst the Kiwi lags on cross-related flows, JPY off recent highs
- Fixed income retreats modestly ahead of payrolls, Gilts continue to modestly underperform
- Crude posts notable gains making back some of this week’s losses whilst spot Gold is around flat
- Looking ahead, US NFP, UoM Inflation Expectations Survey
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EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
- European equities (Eurostoxx50 +0.5%) are on firmer footing with outperformance in the CAC 40 (+1.1%) with Luxury propping the index.
- European sectors are generally in the Green; Consumer Products & Services is the top performer, with Luxury names the main beneficiaries whilst Basic Resources lags following a trading update at Anglo American (-6.7%).
- US equity futures hold around the unchanged mark awaiting direction from the US NFP Report; though the Russell (+0.3%) is slightly firmer, following price action in Europe.
- Click here and here for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow, including earnings.
- Click here for more details.
FX
- The Dollar remains within a tight range in the run-up to the day’s highlight, the US jobs report ahead of next week’s FOMC confab.
- The Yen has come off recent highs with USD/JPY back on a 144.00 handle at the time of writing (vs yesterday’s 141.70 trough).
- Antipodeans are mixed with the AUD and CAD narrowly outperforming amid the strength in oil and base metals whilst the NZD sits as the G10 laggard, although with no obvious catalyst aside from AUD/NZD flows.
- PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1123 vs exp. 7.1427 (prev. 7.1176)
- Recent softness in consumption has presented itself as a source of concern for BoJ policymakers who are “eyeing” an exit from easy policy, according to Reuters sources
- Click here for more details.
- Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.
FIXED INCOME
- USTs are currently lower by 11 ticks with fresh macro drivers non-existent as participants position themselves for the November NFP report, ahead of Tuesday’s CPI and thereafter the FOMC meeting begins.
- Bunds fell to a 134.91 low which brings into play the 134.55 trough from Wednesday; a move without fresh catalysts.
- Gilt action is relatively pronounced, it remains well within recent bounds and as such the accompanying pressure to the SONIA strip has thus far only managed to bring December back to unchanged being fully priced.
- Click here for more details.
COMMODITIES
- WTI and Brent (+1.5%) futures are posting notable gains making back some of the losses seen this week; though the complex has come off best levels in recent trade with catalysts limited.
- Metals are mixed with precious metals flat pre-NFP with spot Gold around the USD 2,030/oz level; Base metals are firmer across the board amid improving demand from China following the recent PMI and trade data.
- Iraq’s oil minister said the country renewed its support for the OPEC+ agreement and commitment to voluntary cuts.
- EU is to give member states the power to block Russian gas imports, according to FT.
- Sanctions on ships with Russian oil will not affect Indian purchases; adequate vessel available to import Russian crude; dip in oil prices will help India buy more oil from Russia, according to an Indian government source.
- EU is said to be considering restarting the WTO case against the US over steel tariffs, according to Bloomberg sources; final decision yet to be taken.
- Russia’s Kremlin says Russian President Putin and Iranian President Raisi discussed integration and cooperation within OPEC+ on Thursday
- Click here for more details.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
- Fitch said major UK banks are resilient to the economic backdrop and underpinned by strong buffers, while it added that the performance of major domestically focused UK banks will remain sound over the next two years.
- Italy’s Treasury said it is to sell up to EUR 6bln in BTP bonds at auction on Dec 13th.
- EU Economic Commissioner Gentiloni says there is not fiscal deal despite progress, as some legal aspects need to be clarified. Confident an agreement can be reached.
- Spanish Finance Minister Calvino says they will convene an extraordinary EcoFin meeting to conclude a deal on EU fiscal rules
- French Finance Minister Le Maire says they now have an agreement rate of 95% on fiscal rules; on Thursday said they were around 90%
- Spain’s Economy Minister Calvino has been appointed as head of the EIB, via El Pais
- Bank of England/Ipsos Inflation Attitudes Survey – November 2023: Median expectations of the rate of inflation over the coming year were 3.3%, down from 3.6% in August 2023.
DATA RECAP
- German CPI Final MM (Nov) -0.4% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. -0.4%); YY 3.2% vs. Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 3.2%)
- German HICP Final MM (Nov) -0.7% vs. Exp. -0.7% (Prev. -0.7%); YY 2.3% vs. Exp. 2.3% (Prev. 2.3%)
- Hungarian Core CPI YY (Nov) 9.1% vs. Exp. 9.1% (Prev. 10.9%); YY 7.9% vs. Exp. 8.1% (Prev. 9.9%)
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
- Nvidia (NVDA) CEO says not concerned over move to block US measures to speed up chip projects and is confidence chips supply chain will be important and safe.
- China’s CPCA says Tesla (TSLA) exported 16,928 China-made vehicles in November (prev. 43,489 in October)
- Click here for the US Early Morning Note.
GEOPOLITICS
- Israel agreed to a US request to open the Kerem Shalom border crossing for screening and inspection of humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to a US official cited by Reuters.
- UAE asked the UN Security Council to vote on Friday morning on a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.
- White House said they are not close to another deal for a pause in the Israel-Hamas conflict and the US is still trying to get more information on Hamas hostages.
- US Secretary of State Blinken said attacks in the Red Sea are unacceptable and they believe attacks are being carried out with the support of Iran, according to Al Jazeera via social media platform X.
- US State Department said it welcomes the release of Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers, while it added that Secretary of State Blinken looks forward to hosting Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers in Washington for the next round of peace talks soon.
- At least three rockets targeting the US embassy in Baghdad’s Green Zone were fired at dawn on Friday, landing on the outskirts of the district housing government and diplomatic buildings, according to an Iraqi security official cited by AFP
- “Israeli army: We hit several targets inside Syria after firing shells towards the Golan Heights”, according to Al Arabiya
- Kremlin when asked about idea US wants Russia to engage in peace talks with Ukraine on Kyiv’s terms in 2024, says it is “absolutely unrealistic”
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin (-0.2%) trades marginally lower, whilst Ethereum (-0.4%) posts losses to a slightly higher degree.
APAC TRADE
- APAC stocks eventually traded mostly higher but with gains limited as sentiment remained cautious heading into the incoming US NFP jobs report and after the recent BoJ speculation.
- ASX 200 finished marginally higher in choppy trade as weakness in financials and tech was offset by resilience in the commodity-related sectors including energy after confirmation of early merger talks between Woodside Energy and Santos to form an AUD 80bln Australian gas giant.
- Nikkei 225 underperformed amid pressure from a firmer currency after speculation that the BoJ could exit NIRP sooner than thought with markets pricing around a 20% chance they could lift rates at the December meeting, while a downward revision in Japan’s Q3 GDP to a deeper annualised contraction of -2.9% also clouded over the risk tone.
- Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp just about shrugged off the early indecision amid a lack of fresh drivers with the downside cushioned after the PBoC conducted a net liquidity injection for the first time this week.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
- Australia’s Treasurer announced a new policy statement with the RBA in which the RBA board and the government agreed that a flexible inflation target is an appropriate framework for achieving price stability with the goal for consumer price inflation kept between 2%-3%. RBA board will set monetary policy so that inflation is expected to return to the mid-point of the target with the appropriate timeframe for this to depend on economic circumstances, while the RBA will publish detailed forecast data and assumptions including the Cash Rate. Furthermore, once the new monetary policy board is operational, it will publish an unattributed record of votes and will convene and engage with an expert advisory group on monetary policy to provide the board with a wide range of external views.
- RBI kept the Repurchase Rate unchanged at 6.50%, as expected, while it maintained its stance of remaining focused on the withdrawal of accommodation in which 5 out of 6 members voted in favour of the policy stance. RBI Governor Das said the Indian economy is resilient and has momentum, while he noted broad-based easing in core inflation but added that inflation could see an uptick in November and December. Furthermore, he stated that the target of 4% CPI has yet to be reached and they have to stay the course on inflation, as well as noted that monetary policy has to stay alert about shocks getting generalised and has to remain actively disinflationary with the need to remain vigilant and ready to act.
- RBI’s Das says the MPC will be highly alter to any signs of derailing in the ongoing disinflation process, will take appropriate action to get inflation to target
- China’s Politburo says it will continue to implement proactive fiscal policy in 2024, and prudent monetary policy; will improve resilience and security of industrial supply chains, will expand domestic demand.
- China says monetary policy is to be flexible; drops the “forceful” wording, according to Bloomberg
- Fitch has upgraded Vietnam to BB+; outlook stable
DATA RECAP
- Japanese GDP Revised QQ (Q3) -0.7% vs. Exp. -0.5% (Prev. -0.5%); Annualised -2.9% vs. Exp. -2.0% (Prev. -2.1%)
- Japanese All Household Spending MM (Oct) -0.1% vs. Exp. -0.2% (Prev. 0.3%); YY -2.5% vs. Exp. -3.0% (Prev. -2.8%)
- Japanese Overall Labour Cash Earnings YY (Oct) 1.50% vs. Exp. 1.00% (Prev. 1.20%)
FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 3.35 PTS OR 0.11% //Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 11.52 PTS OR 0.07% /The Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 550.45 PTS OR 1.68% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.28 % /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN AT 7.1614 /OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED DOWN TO 7.1726 /Oil UP TO 70.77 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 75.44/ Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER
2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/
//
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
END
2e) JAPAN
end
3 CHINA
CHINA
end
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
EUROPE/
END
5 RUSSIA//UKRAINE AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/HAMAS/FRIDAY
Israel-Hamas War: IDF strikes 450 targets as Khan Yunis advance continues
The Navy struck several Hamas targets in the central and southern Gaza Strip in the past day.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFDECEMBER 8, 2023 09:33
The IDF struck about 450 targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, eliminating many Hamas terrorists in Khan Yunis as Israeli forces continued their advance in southern Gaza, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
In one incident, three terrorists were identified by soldiers from the 7th Brigade and struck by a UAV. Two of the terrorists were eliminated and the third revealed the location of other terrorists who were hiding in a military complex and planning to fire rockets at Israeli forces.
The forces on the ground, together with the air force, eliminated the terrorists.
Maj. N., the fire support commander of the 7th Brigade, stated that “The persistent and professional work of the fire support personnel in cooperation with the forces of the brigade in the field and the forces of the Air Force led to the closing of the circle quickly – we located and eliminated all the terrorists in the incident.”
Navy strikes Hamas targets along coast
The Navy also struck several Hamas targets in the central and southern Gaza Strip in the past day, using shells and precision weaponry to target Hamas military sites, outposts, observation posts, and weapons warehouses.
END
MASS SURRENDER OF HAMAS FIGHTERS IN JABILIA //THURSDAY
Images circulate of dozens of Hamas terrorists surrendering in Gaza
Photos and videos of Hamas detainees, stripped of their clothes, have been circulating on social media.
By SAM HALPERNDECEMBER 7, 2023 20:02Updated: DECEMBER 7, 2023 22:33
Images and videos of Hamas terrorists who have surrendered and been arrested by the IDF have been circulating online, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-777106
The reports came as the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah began in Israel.
A video revealing dozens of apprehended individuals stripped down to their undergarments as they sit in rows on the street exploded on platforms such as X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram.
Where were these pictures taken?
It is unclear where in Gaza these images were captured, but armed IDF soldiers are pictured next to the detainees as they wait, heads down, on rubble-strewn pavement in front of damaged buildings.
“Thank you Hashem for letting the Jewish people start Hanukah with a smile thanks to this mass surrender of Hamas terrorists in Gaza,” wrote Jewish activist Hillel Fuld on X. “This should be the first of many! Thank you, IDF!”
Captioning a photo on X of the detainees kneeling in a row on a sidewalk as their shoes litter the street in front of them, former director of speech writing at the Israel Mission to the United Nations and co-founder of Boundless Israel, Aviva Klompas described it as a “Mass surrender of Hamas terrorists.”
Another image published by the Israeli media outlet, Maariv shows the detainees crowded together in the back of an IDF military vehicle, again undressed, with their hands apparently secured behind their backs.
END
Is this where the Hamas prisoners are going?
(JerusalemPost)
Ben-Gvir: Nukhba terrorists should be held underground in minimal conditions
Ben-Gvir wrote to the Police Commissioner and admitted “It is true that this is an underground wing, the conditions in which are not among the best, but the conditions..comply…with the law.”
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFDECEMBER 8, 2023 02:33Updated: DECEMBER 8, 2023 02:39
National Security Minister Itamir Ben-Gvir ordered the utilization an underground prison wing, which has been out of use for an extended period of time, to house Nukhba prisoners in. Nukhba is considered to be an elite naval force of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in the Hamas terrorist organization.
Ben-Gvir insisted that Commissioner of Prison Services Katy Perry imprison the terrorists detained in the underground wing where the conditions of the prisoners would be minimal.
Earlier this week, the Director General of the Ministry of National Security, Dr. Elazar Ben Hash, and Attorney Hanmal Dorfman, visited the prison in question together with members of the police and inspected the wing to decide if the accommodations would appropriately house the terrorists.
The conditions of the prison
Ben-Gvir later wrote to Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, and admitted “it is true that this is an underground wing, the conditions in which are not among the best, but the conditions of incarceration there comply with the provisions of the law and the relevant regulations, and it has housed prisoners in the past.
“Given this, I would ask you to act for the use of the wing… for the benefit of the imprisonment of the Nukhba detainees or other mass-murdering terrorists who are a symbol of Hamas and its supporters.”
end
Hamas broke temporary truce in Gaza minutes after it began, senior IDF officer says
Speaking to ToI from wrecked town outside Jabaliya in northern part of Strip, commander of reserve battalion says ‘there isn’t a single house here without weapon
SALATIN, Gaza Strip — Two weeks have passed since a temporary truce between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas in the Gaza Strip began, and exactly a week since it ended.
Shortly after the terror group made clear that it was not abiding by the ceasefire agreement on December 1, the military resumed fighting in the Palestinian enclave.
But a senior officer now reveals that Hamas broke the truce much earlier, in fact just 15 minutes after it began, on November 24.
“We were here, well prepared,” said Lt. Col. (res.) Yisrael — his last name was withheld by the IDF for security concerns — the commander of the 261st Brigade’s 8717th “Alon” Battalion, to The Times of Israel and other reporters in the Palestinian town of Salatin, on the outskirts of Jabaliya, in northern Gaza.
“At 7 a.m. the ceasefire started, and at 7:15 a.m., dozens of terrorists ran toward us, from every direction. Some of them were opening fire, and our forces killed them. Between 7:15 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. we killed 20 terrorists. And then they realized they shouldn’t mess with us, and we stopped their assault,” Yisrael said.
Noting one specific incident, he said that at around 7:15 a.m. on November 24, a Palestinian family had attempted to return to their home in the area. As the family approached their building, shots were fired at Israeli troops from an adjacent home, he said.
“The troops returned fire, I don’t know if we hit [the operative], he likely fled,” Yisrael said. “The next morning we arrived [at the building] and found his Kalashnikov [assault rifle], his uniform. It just shows their method of operating. The terrorist had arrived under the auspices of the family. They have no mercy for their own families, for their children,” he said.
Smoke rises from Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Yisrael said the Hamas operatives are fighting like “cowards.”
“They don’t really try to face us, but to sting here and there. Their method of operating is fleeing in civilian clothes, leaving behind their uniform, their guns, anti-tank missiles, explosives, and they just run. After we leave the area, they return and attack the next forces,” he said.
Yisrael said the attacks on November 24 were a “cynical exploitation” of the ceasefire.
The IDF had reported other violations during the week-long truce. But the breaches within minutes of the ceasefire went unmentioned by the IDF, likely in a bid to uphold the agreement, which saw Hamas later release 105 civilian hostages, in exchange for a lull in fighting and Israel’s release of 240 Palestinian security prisoners. The ceasefire ended early on December 1 after Hamas failed to provide a new list of hostages for release that day, and fired rockets at Israel just before the 7:00 a.m. deadline.
‘In every house, there are weapons, tunnels’
“We are working hard here, every day, clearing the area. Wherever there are terrorists, we kill [them]. Wherever there is infrastructure, we take it out. We are turning every stone, clearing every house,” Yisrael said.
IDF soldiers operate in northern Gaza’s Salatin, close to Jabaliya, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
“There isn’t a single house here without weapons, there isn’t a house without [tunnel] infrastructure. It’s unbelievable. In dozens of yards of homes we found dozens of rocket launchers,” he said. “We found Kalashnikovs under mattresses, inside clothes closets. It wasn’t thrown there suddenly, they were hidden in the homes.”
He said Hamas’s placement of weapons and infrastructure within civilian sites was an attempt to “take advantage of the sensitivity we once had.”
“Schools, a cemetery near us, in a clinic… these are the places where they concentrated most of their tunnel shafts. They thought we wouldn’t strike there, and that’s where we found the enemy’s significant infrastructure,” Yisrael said.
A multiple rocket launcher system is seen after being destroyed by Israeli troops in northern Gaza’s Salatin, close to Jabaliya, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
He said his battalion is working to “deprive the enemy of its abilities” during its slow, but thorough operations in northern Gaza.
“The enemy has nothing to return to. It has no infrastructure here to return to, it has no weapons in the homes to return to and use against us,” he said.
As we tour the area, Yisrael shows us two multiple rocket launchers, as well as a mortar launcher that the troops had found adjacent to homes. One of the rocket launchers, partially blown up by the forces, still has cables running from it to the basement of one of the homes.
There were three massive craters between the homes, as a result of Israeli Air Force strikes. The mortar launcher, aimed at the Israeli border community of Netiv Haasara, was completely intact. One of the IAF strikes had missed the launch site by about a meter, highlighting the IDF’s need for boots on the ground.
Israeli troops stand near a crater caused by an airstrike, as smoke rises from Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Moving to another area in Salatin, Yisrael showed us a tunnel shaft located just outside a home. It goes down 15 meters, he said. Later in the day, the tunnel was destroyed.
Asked if he was concerned that the military may be missing tunnels that could be used to attack forces when they least expect, he responded: “There are tunnels everywhere in Gaza, it takes time.”
Reservists of all ages
The 261st Brigade is made up of reservists, mostly ex-members of the Givati Infantry Brigade, as well as cadets from the Bahad 1 IDF officers’ school. The 8717th Battalion lost two soldiers during the battles in northern Gaza — Sgt. Maj. (res.) Rani Tahan and Master Sgt. (res.) Yakir Biton — and two more reservists who were killed during the October 7 onslaught — Ariel Refael Guri, and Orel Alon.
A Hamas tunnel discovered by IDF troops in northern Gaza’s Salatin, close to Jabaliya, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
Back home, Yisrael has a wife and children waiting for him, much like the other troops in the battalion.
“It’s difficult, complex, very challenging, kids who haven’t seen their father [in two months]… but I think everyone understands that we have no choice,” Yisrael said.
For his soldiers, Yisrael said he is aware of their difficulties too. “I won’t say it isn’t challenging, it’s very difficult, people are struggling because of their jobs, it’s complex for their families. But whoever is here for the past 63 days, whoever is here fighting, has gone through the physical pain and mental pain, and is now here due to willpower, friendships, wanting to obtain the objectives,” he said.
“Nobody is here because I told them to be,” he said, noting that around 60 of the troops are volunteering, as they are old enough to be exempt from reserve duty.
Lt. Col. (res.) Yisrael, the commander of the 261st Brigade’s 8717th “Alon” Battalion, in northern Gaza’s Salatin, close to Jabaliya, December 7, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)
“The battalion is made up of reservists, veterans and young. Some are close to 50, even one or two who are older than 50. We have younger soldiers who were released [from active service] a year ago,” Yisrael said. “These are people sacrificing everything for the country, the best people in the country. They left behind everything, their families, their work, to fight here.”
“I feel we are finally eliminating Hamas. We saw the horrors of October 7, my battalion saw the bodies. We are not messing around, we know exactly what we are doing here,” he said.
“Our equipment might not be as good [as the standing army units], but we have spirit, and we are here to fight, to kill the enemy, to win, and go back home,” Yisrael added.
end
IDF winning in Khan Yunis, but facing high resistance
It is expected to take the IDF time to gain control of Khan Yunis due to the mix of terrain between built-up and agricultural areas and Hamas’s extensive tunnel network.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBDECEMBER 8, 2023 15:51Updated: DECEMBER 8, 2023 16:01
The IDF is steadily winning control of pieces of Khan Yunis away from Hamas, but is facing some of the toughest resistance of the war to date.
If on Monday night, the IDF caught Hamas by surprise by invading Khan Yunis from multiple directions and with creative maneuvers, as the week has dragged on, the terror organization regrouped, found its footing, and “is fighting over every centimeter.”
The IDF confirmed on Friday afternoon that after a prolonged raid, many weapons were found in the area of a school, including launchers, mortar barrels, RPGs, explosives and intelligence belonging to the Khan Yunis Brigade.
Information warfare
In parallel to unleashing a mix of massive fire power from the air, artillery, tanks and a range of infantry and commando units, the IDF is using information warfare to inject a wedge between the general Gazan population and Hamas.
The name in Arabic for the informational warfare campaign refers both to “opening the gates of hell” for Hamas as well as “a new horizon” for Palestinian civilians.
That means that there are both areas where Hamas forces are surrendering and areas where they are fighting with great intensity.
Insurgency tactics
It is expected to take the IDF time to gain control of Khan Yunis due to the mix of terrain between built-up and agricultural areas and Hamas’s extensive tunnel network.
There has also been an increase in using female lookouts and female Palestinians to try to attack IDF forces with improvised explosives.
The IDF is hoping to get more Palestinian civilians to move to Rafah and a humanitarian zone near Khan Yunis, but Hamas continues to use them as human shields, forcing the IDF to use creative tactics to mitigate harm to civilians, while making military progress.
Top defense officials during the ceasefire predicted that the main part of the war would go on until the end of January, followed by a three to nine month lower-grade insurgency.
end
ISRAEL HAMAS/FRIDAY NIGHT
Failed hostage rescue op leaves two IDF special forces soldiers wounded
The families of the wounded soldiers have been informed.
By YUVAL BARNEADECEMBER 8, 2023 20:33Updated: DECEMBER 8, 2023 21:30
IDF troops involved in a failed hostage rescue operation in the Gaza Strip were severely wounded on Friday night.
Special Forces raided a known Hamas compound and eliminated terrorists who took part in the kidnapping and holding of the hostages.
Intelligence led to a daring operation to rescue hostages in the Gaza Strip, who were ultimately not found at the location.
The families of the wounded soldiers have been informed.
“The IDF continues to operate in a variety of operational and intelligence ways, together with the other security organizations, to free the abductees and the abductees, and gather information about them,” an IDF spokesperson said.
“The terrorist organization Hamas is trying and will try to produce psychological terror. Spreading unverified rumors and facts should be avoided.”
Hamas confirms the operation’s failure
According to a Hamas announcement, special forces were discovered during the operation and there was an exchange of fire.
A Hamas statement published this morning stated that military aircraft “intervened and bombed the location”. Hamas also claimed that they obtained a rifle belonging to one of the soldiers and a special forces radio, but these claims have not been verified, according to N12.
END
TIMES OF ISRAEL
200 Hamas terrorists have already surrendered in the past 48 hours
It seems that Hamaz is breaking!
2 troops seriously hurt in failed Gaza hostage rescue; Gallant: signs Hamas is breaking
“Our troops are operating in the heart of Hamas’s strongholds in south and northern Gaza simultaneously, in Jabaliya, Shejaiya, and in the Khan Younis area,” he said
“We are engaged in fierce battles with Hamas terrorists, who hide underground. We are killing many terrorists, and seeing more and more terrorists surrendering in battle, and turning themselves into our forces,” Hagari said, adding that in the last 48 hours, the IDF had arrested more than 200 suspects in the Gaza Strip.
“Dozens of them have been handed over for interrogation by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 and Shin Bet in Israel, including Hamas commanders and Nukhba operatives,” Hagari said.
Israeli forces have encircled Gaza’s major urban centers as they seek to destroy Hamas over its unprecedented attack on October 7, when terrorists broke through Gaza’s border to kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians butchered in their homes and at a music festival, and seize some 240 hostages.
Troops of the LOTAR Unit battle Hamas operatives in a school in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, in a video published by the IDF on December 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military gave details of the battles, saying that it had carried out strikes on more than 450 targets in the Gaza Strip over the past day, including military compounds, observation posts and weapons depots.
The army said that the 98th Division continues to advance in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, which it said is a “main Hamas stronghold,” killing dozens of operatives and destroying tunnels in the process.
The IDF said the 7th Armored Brigade has launched an assault to break Hamas’s lines of defense in southern Gaza, striking dozens of anti-tank missile launch sites and observation posts. It said the forces raided a main outpost belonging to Hamas’s Deir al-Balah battalion, capturing weapons and intelligence materials.
Troops of the Givati Infantry Brigade, 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, and Kiryati Reserve Armored Brigade were surrounding Khan Younis and carrying out “targeted raids” against Hamas sites.
The IDF said that in one of the raids, the troops found Hamas weapons in a school, including rocket launchers, mortar launchers, explosives devices and other equipment.
The Kiryati Brigade troops also captured a Hamas command center inside a mosque, where a number of operatives were holed up, according to the IDF. It said the cell was killed, as was another group of Hamas gunmen that attempted to flee into a tunnel in the area.
The Commando Brigade also carried out raids against what the IDF calls Hamas “centers of gravity” in Khan Younis, including the homes of Hamas operatives. Inside the homes, troops found weaponry and intelligence materials, it said.
The IDF also released dramatic footage of troops of the elite LOTAR Unit battling Hamas operatives in a school in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood.
According to the IDF, troops of the 188th Armored Brigade’s 74th Battalion, along with the LOTAR soldiers, encountered a Hamas cell as they searched the school building.
“The terrorists tried to draw the forces into an ambush, with gunfire and explosives, and were eliminated by the troops of the LOTAR Unit and tank fire of the 74th Battalion,” the IDF said.
The IDF says the troops later searched the school and found a tunnel shaft inside one of the classrooms. It says the tunnel, used by the Hamas operatives, led to a nearby mosque.
IDF soldiers Naftali Yonah Gordon (L) and Omri Rot, who were both killed fighting in Gaza on December 8, 2023. (Courtesy)
The IDF also announced the deaths of two reserves soldiers killed Thursday while fighting in Gaza, raising the military death toll of the ground offensive against Hamas since late October to 91. They were Sgt. Maj. (res.) Kobi Dvash, 41, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 271st Battalion, from Tiberias; and Master Sgt. (res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz, 28, of the 551st Brigade’s 699th Battalion, from Jerusalem.
Dvash was killed in southern Gaza, while Berkowitz was killed in the Strip’s north. In addition, an officer from the Oketz canine special forces unit was seriously wounded during fighting in northern Gaza.
Despite the fighting, Hamas continued to fire rockets into Israel.
Hamas said shortly after noon it had fired rockets at Tel Aviv. No sirens sounded in the central city, although residents report hearing large blasts, as the projectiles apparently landed in the sea. Around 2:30 p.m. it fired another salvo, this time triggering sirens as Iron Dome intercepted the incoming projectiles. Shrapnel from a rocket fell on a parked vehicle in the coastal city. There were no reports of injuries.
A car damaged by rocket shrapnel in Tel Aviv on December 8, 2023. (Courtesy)
Palestinians reported dozens of casualties in the fighting.
Israeli troops have been battling Hamas fighters inside the southern city of Khan Younis, while strikes have continued to pound nearby Deir al-Balah. A strike Friday on a residential building in Zawaida, outside Deir al-Balah, killed at least 20 people from families sheltering there, according to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
The casualties could not be confirmed. The military says it makes every effort to spare civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields as the militants fight in dense residential areas.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the total death toll stood at over 17,000, mostly women and minors. The figures and their breakdown cannot be verified, but the total number is largely in line with an assessment by Israel, which said it believes more than 5,000 of those killed are Hamas operatives.
As the fighting intensified, so too did the warnings from international aid groups about the humanitarian situation inside Gaza.
The UN says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced and is facing dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine, along with the growing threat of disease.
On Friday, Hamas pointed the finger in part at UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing it of “humiliating” the population by not distributing flour in some areas, or too slowly in others.
Palestinians search through the rubble after an Israeli strike in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, early Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
“We have noticed a deliberate slowdown by UNRWA as if it does not want to put an end to the flour distribution crisis,” the terror group said.
The UN has also said that Palestinians are running out of safe places to shelter.
Tens of thousands of people displaced by the fighting have packed into Rafah, in the far south of the Gaza Strip, and al-Mawasi, a nearby patch of barren coastline. Israel has designated al-Mawasi as a safe zone. But the UN and relief agencies have called that a poorly planned solution.
“We do not have a humanitarian operation in southern Gaza that can be called by that name anymore,” the UN’s humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, said Thursday. The pace of Israel’s military assault has left no place safe in the south, where the UN had planned to aid civilians. “That plan is in tatters,” he said.
However, Israeli authorities have identified roughly 150 shelters in Gaza that it says will not be targeted by the IDF during its ongoing operations in Gaza, Col. Elad Goren, from Israel’s COGAT military liaison to the Palestinians told The Times of Israel.
These shelters are in addition to the al-Mawasi area, which Goren says has not been targeted by the IDF, even after terror groups fired rockets from within the 20-square-kilometer coastal safe zone.
The shelters are schools and other public infrastructure, whose coordinates have been passed along by the UN to Israel through the IDF’s recently beefed up deconfliction mechanism, Goren said.
Palestinians flee the Israeli ground offensive in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman, File)
The senior COGAT official says that the 150 buildings will remain safe for civilians pending changes in the IDF’s operations.
US officials have said in recent days that while Israel has expanded some of the safe zones, some Palestinians are still being targeted after fleeing to them.
Meanwhile, Yotam Shefer, the head of COGAT’s foreign relations department, told The Times of Israel that Jerusalem continues to encourage countries abroad and humanitarian organizations to set up field hospitals and floating hospitals in and around Gaza to treat the thousands of Palestinians wounded in the Israel-Hamas war.
Shefer said two field hospitals are currently operating in Gaza — one by the Jordanian government and another by the Emirati government.
Staff from the US-based International Medical Corps is en route to Gaza to set up a third field hospital there and COGAT is also in talks with the Red Cross and several other organizations about following suit, Shefer says.
Two hospital ships docked in the past two weeks off of the Egypt’s El Arish coast — one sent by France that arrived last week and one sent by Italy that arrived this week.
“We also facilitated the entrance of medical teams and medical supplies from various other organizations and countries,” the official from Israel’s COGAT military liaison to the Palestinians said.
WEST BANK/ISRAEL
Six Palestinians said killed as IDF arrests 2 terror suspects in northern West Bank
Military says soldiers exchanged fire with gunmen during operation; gunfire, blasts and smoke seen and heard in footage from village near Nablus
The Israel Defense Force said Friday it conducted an arrest operation in the northern West Bank in the morning, nabbing two terror suspects and exchanging fire with gunmen in the Far’a refugee camp north of Nablus. Palestinian authorities said six Palestinians were killed in the clashes.
The military said it arrested five suspects throughout the West Bank’s Jordan Valley region, confiscating weapons and ammunition.
It said that in Far’a troops came under fire and killed a number of gunmen.
The Palestinian Wafa news agency said an unspecified number of people were also injured.
Gunfire, blasts and smoke could be seen and heard in footage from the scene.
Violence has flared in the territory since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
ince the October 7 onslaught by Hamas against Israel, in which 3,000 terrorists slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, Israeli troops have arrested over 2,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,100 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, some 200 West Bank Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces, and in a few cases settlers.
Based on military estimates, the vast majority of the 200 Palestinians killed since October 7 were shot dead during clashes amid arrest raids. Around 60 percent of them, according to data seen by The Times of Israel, were armed with either a firearm or an explosive device.
The IDF is aware of at least three cases of uninvolved Palestinians being killed by troops in recent weeks, and a handful of cases of settlers killing Palestinians, that are still under investigation.
end
SYRIA/ISRAEL
Iranian operatives assassinated in a strike in Syria
(Jerusalem Post)
Sirens blare in northern Israel after alleged assassination reported in Syria
Rocket and drone infiltration alerts sounded in northern Israel shortly after the reported airstrike.
By TZVI JOFFREDECEMBER 8, 2023 14:18Updated: DECEMBER 8, 2023 14:55
Four people were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Madinat al-Baath in the Quneitra region of western Syria, just a few kilometers from the Syrian-Israeli border, on Friday afternoon, according to Syrian reports.
The airstrike targeted a vehicle in the area, according to the reports. Opposition-affiliated journalists in the area reported that the occupants of the car were affiliated with Iran-backed militias operating in the region.
According to the Assad-regime aligned Al-Watan newspaper, four bodies were brought to a nearby hospital, but were so burnt that they could not be identified.
Rocket sirens, drone alerts sound in Kiryat Shmona
Shortly after the airstrike was reported, rocket sirens and drone infiltration alerts sounded in the northern Galilee in and near Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
The reported airstrike came a day after two rockets were fired from Syria toward the Golan Heights. The IDF said it responded to the rocket fire with strikes on sites in Syria, with Syrian media reporting on Thursday evening that Israeli artillery targeted sites near the town of Hadar in Quneitra.
A little less than a week ago, two members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were killed in alleged Israeli airstrikes which targeted sites near Damascus early Saturday morning, according to the IRGC.
The two were identified as Mohammad Ali Ataee Shoorche and Panah Taqizadeh, with the IRGC saying they were carrying out an “advisory mission” in Syria.Advertisement
According to the Syrian Capital Voice news site, those alleged Israeli airstrikes targeted sites in Set Zaynab, Aqraba, and Hudzajra affiliated with Iranian and Iran-backed forces.
The Capital Voice reported at the time that one of the sites targeted was used by Iranian militias to store arms shipments from Iran which were on their way to militias in Syria and to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Another site targeted contained an advanced air defense system. A third site targeted was near an airbase in the Damascus area where Iranian military officials and weapons warehouses are located.
A series of alleged Israeli airstrikes have been reported in Syria since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The Syrian Capital Voice news site reported on Wednesday that the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, Esmail Qaani, had visited Syria three times since October 7, meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Vice President of Syria for Security Affairs Ali Mamlouk.
end
IRAQ/USA/
Do not worry, they will not wake up sleepy Biden with this news. They will not respond as well
(Jerusalem Post)
Explosions heard near US embassy in Baghdad overnight
By REUTERSDECEMBER 8, 2023 07:17
Explosions were heard near the US embassy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone early on Friday and sirens calling on people to “duck and cover” were activated, according to social media videos from the scene verified by an informed source.
Embassy spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It was not immediately clear whether the embassy’s air defense systems were activated or whether there was damage.
US forces at military bases in Iraq and Syria have faced more than 70 attacks since mid-October claimed by an umbrella organization of Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim armed groups, though diplomatic missions have been spared.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for any attack on the US embassy on Friday, which took place about 4 a.m.
end
RUSSIA
SCARY!
These missile systems are unstoppable
One might suggest the entire West has been defeated in Ukriane as it is clear the collective supplied both money and arms only to lose.
If the message is not clear that hegemony has changed then one should note this deployment.
https://youtu.be/qLIWSQnmWUM?si=WgVvDAYQ-SAYrSQh
end
Lt Col Richard Hecht
GLOBAL VACCINE/COVID ISSUES
ROBERT h TO US:
Canadian Government and Media Colluded to ‘Instill Fear,’ Coerce Citizens Into Taking Vaccines: Report | The Epoch Times
FYI and you wonder why so few people trust government
https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/canadian-government-and-media-colluded-to-instil-fear-coerce-citizens-into-taking-vaccines-report-5539453
DR PAUL ALEXANDER:
Did Claudio Rais, a personal trainer, swimming champion, and a man full of dreams, & who died at the age of 37, die due to the COVID mRNA technology gene based injections? Can we ask Weissman, Bourla,
Sahin, Kariko et al. what did they do to world with their deadly ‘invention’ and mRNA vaccine platform? What? Are we allowed to? Should we only hammer Fauci & Walensky & not Bourla & INVENTOR Kariko?
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 7 |
I believe 100% he died, he took his life due to severe mental trauma post COVID mRNA vaccine and his troubled mind given he could no longer compete…we have seen many instances of high-level people who are constrained from functioning take their lives now…the COVID mRNA people must be investigated and under oath called to account and punished if shown they knew of the harms yet ‘went’ along for fame and money…
TRAGIC: 37-Year-Old Italian Swimmer Reportedly Took His Own Life After a Long Period of Suffering Due to COVID Vaccine Reaction
Jim Hoft, Gateway Pundit did a terrific job here.
END
RFK Jr: “Tony Fauci Knew That Remdesivir Would Kill You”; yes, Kennedy said it and I say it, Fauci knew that sedation, Remdesivir & ventilators would kill already vulnerable high-risk persons, Fauci’s
FRAUD NIH study was used to set it as standard of care but the study was fraud! they manipulated the protocol I grew to learn; Fauci is a CRIMINAL with Birx & their lockdown lunacy, lied to Trump
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 8 |
end
New Zealand FOI request finding that 11,000 politicians, doctors, elites got COVID vaccine exemptions is no surprise, the same happened in US, Canada, UK…it was ‘we know its ineffective, deadly &
the pandemic is a fraud”, but we want your freedoms, liberties & we want you prostrated submitted to us so we will use threat of law and imprison you too e.g. Ford, Trudeau, Kenney, Biden etc.
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 8 |
end
Le Vu et al. reports on Age and sex-specific risks of myocarditis and pericarditis following Covid-messenger RNA vaccines; vaccination with both mRNA vaccines was associated with an increased risk of
myocarditis and pericarditis within the first week after vaccination. particularly pronounced after the second dose, and were evident in both males and females. increased risks towards younger ages
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 7 |
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31401-5
‘matched case-control studies and find increased risks of myocarditis and pericarditis during the first week following vaccination, and particularly after the second dose, with adjusted odds ratios of myocarditis of 8.1 (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.7 to 9.9) for the Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2) and 30 (95% CI, 21 to 43) for the Moderna (mRNA-1273) vaccine. The largest associations are observed for myocarditis following Moderna mRNA-1273 vaccination in persons aged 18 to 24 years. Estimates of excess cases attributable to vaccination also reveal a substantial burden of both myocarditis and pericarditis across other age groups and in both males and females.’
END
Did vaccination of expectant mothers before or during pregnancy FAIL to stop infection in babies/infants? McCullough tees up seminal paper by Goh et al. that says mRNA vaccine FAILED! Mothers LIED to
McCullough: “COVID-19 Vaccination Before or During Pregnancy Did not Influence Babies Testing Positive with Omicron”; study contradicts CDC guidance & as usual CDC is WRONG, behind the science
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERDEC 8 |
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37948079/
‘Objective: To investigate maternal vaccination against Omicron variants, including XBB, and the association of vaccination timing during pregnancy vs prior to pregnancy and risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection among infants aged 6 months or younger.
end
CRISPIN MILLER/VACCINE INJURIES
Pope Francis and Stephen Colbert are still sick; TV judge Frank Caprio has pancreatic cancer; Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-GA) has prostate cancer; Ken Hudson Campbell (“Home Alone”) has tumor in his mouth
Jesse Montana, friend of reality TV star Ariana Madix, has a brain tumor; “Former Fox 5 reporter [San Diego] battles rare cancer”
| MARK CRISPIN MILLERDEC 8 |
Pope Francis’ health improves but he does not pray the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square
December 4, 2023
News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Pope Francis’ illness revealed to be ‘very acute infectious bronchitis’
November 30, 2023
Pope Francis announced at a seminar this week that he was diagnosed with “very acute infectious bronchitis.”
The pontiff made the announcement at the Vatican’s “Ethics in Health Management” seminar on Thursday, joking to the audience, “As you can see, I am alive.”
“Thank God it wasn’t pneumonia. It is a very acute, infectious bronchitis. I do not have a fever anymore, but am still on antibiotics and such,” Pope Francis told the health care professionals in attendance.
https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/pope-franciss-illness-revealed-very-acute-infectious-bronchitis
Getting Covid jab is an ‘act of love’, says Pope Francis
August 18, 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/getting-covid-jab-is-an-act-of-love-says-pope-francis
The Late Show Canceled for Second Week as Stephen Colbert Recovers from Ruptured Appendix
December 4, 2023
The Late Show will remain on a hiatus as host Stephen Colbert continues to recover from a health-related issue.
“I’m listening to my doctors and continuing to rest and heal. Thank you for all your well wishes and I’ll see you soon,” Colbert wrote on Threads Sunday.
The schedule change comes after Colbert, 59, recently revealed that his appendix had ruptured.
“Sorry to say that I have to cancel our shows this week,” he said on Threads just after Thanksgiving. “I’m sure you’re thinking, ‘Turkey overdose, Steve? Gravy boat capsize?’ Actually, I’m recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix.”
https://people.com/the-late-show-canceled-again-stephen-colbert-recovers-ruptured-appendix-8410718
UNITED STATES
‘Home Alone’ Actor Diagnosed With Cancer, Set for Major Surgery
December 6, 2023
Home Alone actor Ken Hudson Campbell has been diagnosed with cancer. The actor, who portrayed Santa Claus in the popular 1990 Macaulay Culkin Christmas movie, was diagnosed in October after discovering a tumor in his mouth, which is set to be removed in an hours-long surgery later this week, it was revealed in a GoFundMe page seeking to raise funds to cover the cost of the actor’s medical expenses.
“You may know Ken from his roles as Santa in Home Alone, the guy Bill Murray kisses in Groundhog’s Day, or in Armageddon where his character loses his life saving the world from a giant asteroid. Now, we need the world’s help to save Ken,” a statement on the fundraiser page reads. “On October 27th, 2023, Ken was diagnosed with cancer, a tumor had elusively grown on the bottom of his mouth and it began encroaching on his teeth.”
Beloved TV judge Frank Caprio diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, asks for prayers in emotional plea
December 7, 2023
A beloved Rhode Island traffic judge, known for his unique, caring personality in the courtroom asked for prayers as he revealed he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Judge Frank Caprio, 87, star of the reality TV show “Caught in Providence,” said he wasn’t feeling good around the time of his birthday in November and went for a medical examination.
“The report was not a good one,” Caprio said in a video shared earlier this week. “I have been diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas, which is an insidious form of cancer.”
Pennsylvania Rep. Thompson diagnosed with cancer
December 5, 2023
Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) announced Tuesday he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, adding that he plans on continuing to represent his district in Pennsylvania.
“After a routine physical and subsequent tests, I was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer,” Thompson wrote in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. “While this diagnosis was a surprise, I feel well, and I will continue my work representing the people of Pennsylvania’s 15th District.”
Former FOX 5 reporter battles rare cancer
December 6, 2023
SAN DIEGO — After 35 proton cancer treatments, Jeff McAdam is technically cured of cancer, but not cancer free.
The 39-year-old former FOX 5 reporter was diagnosed with a cervical chordoma, a dangerous cancer threatening his mobility and his life.
“You’ve got this really rare one in a million-type cancer inside your body,” McAdam said.
https://fox5sandiego.com/news/health/former-fox-5-reporter-battles-rare-cancer/
Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix reveals her friend and guest star Jesse Montana has been diagnosed with a brain tumor
December 2, 2023
Ariana Madix revealed her friend, Jesse Montana, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
The Vanderpump Rules star, 38, took to Instagram to ask her fans to send their best wishes and help the musician, who has guest starred on the hit Bravo series before.
‘No one is cooler than my dear friend,’ she began in the caption of a post shared on Saturday. ‘Right now he needs our good thoughts and our help’.
END
SLAY NEWS
| The latest reports from Slay News |
| IMF Chief Calls for Public to Be Punished for Using EnergyAs part of a plan to supposedly “fight climate change,” the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on governments around the world to begin punishing members of the public for using energy.READ MORE |
| Prince Constantin Dies Suddenly at 51Prince Constantin of Liechtenstein has died suddenly at just 51 years old, a statement from the royal family has revealed.READ MORE |
| Biden Demands ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban after Attack at UNLV by Handgun-Armed ShooterDemocrat President Joe Biden is calling for a federal ban on so-called “assault weapons” in response to the fatal shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.READ MORE |
| Ramaswamy Schools CNN’s Dana Bash on New Jan 6 Footage Debunking Media NarrativeRepublican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy schooled CNN’s Dana Bash on how the recently released Jan. 6 footage debunks the anti-Trump narrative peddled by her network and other corporate media outlets.READ MORE |
| GOP Rep Jim Banks Unveils Bill to Protect Adoption Rights of Christian ParentsRepublican Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) has unveiled a new bill that seeks to protect the adoption rights of parents who are facing discrimination from Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration due to their Christian faith.READ MORE |
| Washington Post Staff Go on Strike amid Mass Layoffs as Outlet Suffers Major LossesAs the Washington Post suffers eye-watering losses, the embattled newspaper’s employees have just launched a major strike.READ MORE |
| Hunter Biden Claims Recurring Payments to His Dad Were ‘Car Payments’Attorneys for Hunter Biden have claimed that recently uncovered payments that funneled into his father’s bank account were payments for a car.READ MORE |
| Fulton County DA Fani Willis Accused of Colluding with Democrats on Jan 6 Committee to Target TrumpGeorgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been accused of colluding with the Democrats’ Jan. 6 House Select Committee in an effort to target President Donald Trump for prosecution.READ MORE |
| Jack Smith Asks Judge Chutkan for Permission to Smear Trump before JurySpecial Counsel Jack Smith has requested permission from the Obama-appointed judge overseeing his case to address the jury and smear President Donald Trump as an “election denier” and an “insurrectionist.”READ MORE |
| Speaker Johnson Blocks Reauthorization of FISA Surveillance Program from Defense Spending BillRepublic House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has blocked efforts to slip the reauthorization of the controversial FISA surveillance program into a defense spending bill.READ MORE |
| Republicans Threaten to Hold Hunter Biden in Contempt of Congress for Rejecting SubpoenaTop House Republicans are threatening to hold Democrat President Joe Biden’s son Hunter in contempt of Congress.READ MORE |
| Trump Predicts Biden Won’t Be the Democrat Nominee for 2024President Donald Trump has predicted that the 2024 election won’t be the rematch of the 2020 presidential race that most Americans are expecting.READ MORE |
| Democrat Dick Durbin Caught Lying When Confronted about Epstein’s Flight LogsDemocrat Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) was caught in a lie when he was confronted by a Fox News reporter over his refusal to subpoena the flight logs for Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious “Lolita Express” private jet.READ MORE |
EVOL NEWS
NEWS ADDICT
| LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES |
| UN Demands US Change Constitution to Limit Americans’ FreedomsThe United Nations (UN) is demanding that the U.S. government make changes to the sacred Constitution in order to strip Americans of their God-given freedoms.READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Canada Suffers 135% Spike in ‘Unspecified’ Deaths since Vaccine RolloutThe Canadian government is refusing to explain why unexplained deaths have spiked 135% since the Covid vaccine rollout.READ THE FULL REPORT |
| American Actress Angelina Jolie Claims: ‘Hollywood Is Not a Healthy Place Anymore’Hollywood superstar Angelina Jolie recently disclosed that she’s much done living in Los Angeles, stating, “Hollywood is not a healthy place.” In a chat with The Wall Street Journal, Angelina Jolie stated she is ready to leave Los Angeles, although she didn’t provide a specific timeframe. “It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Donald Trump Gets Another Huge Legal Victory in a Swing StateA federal judge in Arizona rejected another case challenging former President Donald Trump’s ability to run for president, delivering a big legal victory for the 2024 favorite. The action, brought by Republican primary presidential candidate John Anthony Castro, seeks to challenge Trump’s inclusion on Arizona’s Presidential Preference Election ballot. However, the court, presided over by United States District Judge Douglas …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| CNN Guest Humiliates Panel by Exposing Its ‘Out-of-Context’ Attack on Donald TrumpRepublican communications consultant Lee Carter brought to light the network’s inaccurate portrayal of former President Donald Trump in a recent CNN piece, after statements he made during Tuesday night’s town hall. Carter said that Trump’s words were taken out-of-context, causing CNN’s pile-on in the entire segment to come grinding to a halt. Trump was asked about the media’s tremendous dread …READ THE FULL REPORT |
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK
The EU-China Trade Relationship Is In The Balance
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 12:20 PM
By Teeuwe Mevissen of Rabobank
Yesterday the first in-person meeting between European and Chinese leaders in four years took place. Covid made an earlier summit like this impossible so it was about time that leaders of both blocks would meet to discuss a plethora of topics that currently define EU-Sino relations. Despite the necessity of talks and policy coordination on cross border challenges, expectations regarding the outcome of the summit were modest at best. According to a summit background document published by the European Commission, five major topics were on the agenda:
- EU-China relations including economic and trade,
- Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine,
- the situation in the Middle East,
- climate change,
- global health and pandemic preparedness.
While the EU will raise concerns about the current imbalance in EU-China trade relations, China reiterated that they want to be a key trading partner with the EU. This unfortunately does not solve EU’s increasing trade deficit with China and patience seems to be running out. In other words, EU-China’s trade relationship might be in the balance.
It is not expected that a ground-breaking resolution will be agreed upon. But aside from the economic and financial implications of EU-China trade relations, Covid – amongst others – also made clear that being over-reliant on certain key inputs from one or just a few countries leaves one vulnerable in times of crisis. Indeed, only yesterday we published a special report addressing EU’s vulnerabilities in an ever changing and increasingly fragmented world order. The low expectations that were voiced before the summit turned out to be a justified. While it is common that after summits like this a joint press statement is provided, none was given this time. Still it remains important that the EU and China continue to engage via top levels of government if only to cooperate on issues were both share common interests like climate change.
This morning saw a slew of data coming from Japan. This followed a major shift in market expectations regarding future monetary policy of the Bank of Japan (BoJ). BoJ President Kazuo Ueda addressed members of parliament yesterday with the message that his job will become more challenging next year indicating possible changes in its monetary policy stance i.e. a departure from Japan’s negative policy rate. Soon after his deputy Ryozo rushed in to calm down markets with the message that no significant adverse impact is to be expected from a rate hike. Needless to say that this actually seems to confirm market expectations that the era of negative rates in Japan might soon be over. But looking at the most recent data that came out this morning, the BoJ’s mission to normalize monetary policy could be in jeopardy already. This morning it became clear that in the third quarter Japan’s economy shrunk with an annualized 2.9%, more than expected in the first estimate. Private consumption declined 0.2% compared to the previous quarter so not exactly the window of opportunity that the BoJ was looking for, perhaps.
All of this resulted in considerable strengthening of the yen against the dollar. At one point yesterday the yen gained 4% against the dollar and bearish bets on the yen were quickly abandoned. Thin liquidity added to the large swings that were observed yesterday. However a former executive director of the BoJ – Hideo Hayakawa – warned that markets have overreacted on yesterday’s comments from Kazuo Ueda. According to Hideo Hayakawa “This is probably a temporary market phenomenon,”. He added that “Ueda is looking for evidence. There is no need to rush now after intentionally choosing to be behind in coming this far.” While we already expected an appreciation of the yen vis a vis the dollar, yesterday’s pace already breached our 6 month forecast of 148 and at the moment of writing USDJPY is still at a level of just below 144, as our currency watcher Jane Foley notes. Therefore we also think that USDJPY is oversold at this moment but we do continue to expect a level of 142 in 12 months from now.
END
7//OIL ISSUES//NATURAL GAS ISSUES//ELECTRICAL GRID ISSUES// RENEWABLE ENERGY ISSUES//USA AND GLOBE
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
VENEZUELA/GUYANA
Guyana Situation Rapidly Deteriorates As Maduro Arrests Opposition Figures Amid Joint Military Drills With US
THURSDAY, DEC 07, 2023 – 04:06 PM
Update (1600ET): The situation in Guayana is rapidly deteriorating, as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has issued arrest warrants for opposition politicians who are challenging his move to annex oil-rich Essequibo.
As Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com reports; Maduro has officially placed the disputed territory of oil-rich Essequibo under military jurisdiction, putting oil exploration and production operations of Exxon and Chevron at risk.
Following a Sunday referendum, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has declared the return of Essequibo, which represents some two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, to Venezuela.
According to T&T News, Venezuela’s Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants for a dozen opposition members, including former National Assembly head Juan Guaido and three members of staff of opposition presidential candidate Maria Corina Machado. The three are charged with conspiring against the Sunday referendum to annex Essequibo.
The recent temporary easing of U.S. oil sanctions on Venezuela were conditioned on the holding of free and fair elections in 2024.
.
While the U.S. has offered Guyana “unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty”, there has been no concrete talk of reversing the easing of sanctions based on Maduro’s actions.
Exxon, which is targeting 1.2 million barrels per day of crude output from Guyana’s offshore Stabroek oil block by the end of 2027, has refrained from commenting on the developing situation, telling journalists earlier this week only that it believes “border issues are matters for governments and appropriate international organizations to address”.
In a comment shared with IBT on Wednesday, Chevron said: “Chevron has a long history and excellent record of being a partner of choice in the countries in which we have operations. We always aim to be, and we are a constructive presence in the countries where we operate.”
A consortium controlled by ExxonMobil holds a 45% in the Stabroek block, with Chevron, which recently acquired Hess, holding a 30% stake and China’s CNOOC holding a 25% stake.
On Tuesday, Maduro vowed to begin handing out exploration and extraction licenses “immediately” and ordered full compliance from foreign oil companies operating in the area.
Both U.S. and Guyanese officials have shared their hopes for a peaceful resolution with Venezuela. Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, told CBS News in a Tuesday interview that the country would prepare military assets with its allies to ready itself for “the worst case scenario,” but said he hopes the conflict does not come to that.
“Our first line of defense is diplomacy,” Ali told CBS News, adding that Guyana has reached out to leaders abroad, including in the U.S., India and Cuba, hoping that “they can encourage Venezuela to do what is right, and ensure that they do not act in a reckless or adventurous manner that could disrupt the peace within this zone.” -CBS News
The Maduro administration, meanwhile, has blasted the drills as a “provocation.”
“This unfortunate provocation by the United States in favor… of ExxonMobil in Guyana is another step in the wrong direction. We warn that we will not be diverted from our future actions for the recovery of the Essequibo,” said Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez in a post to X.
* * *
Meanwhile, the United States announced joint military drills in Guyana on Thursday.
“In collaboration with the Guyana Defense Force, the U.S. Southern Command will conduct flight operations within Guyana on December 7,” the US Embassy in Guyana said in a statement, calling the flights part of “routine engagement and operations to enhance security partnership” between the US and Guyana and “to strengthen regional cooperation.”
“The U.S. will continue its commitment as Guyana’s trusted security partner and promoting regional cooperation and interoperability,” the statement continued.
* * *
To recap the rapidly evolving situation in Guyana…
- Neighboring Venezuela now considers around three-quarters of the oil-rich nation theirs – with President Nicolás Maduro presenting a map on television that shows Guyana’s Esequibo region as under the jurisdiction of Caracas.
- Maduro vowed to create a Venezuelan state known as Guyana Esequibo, for which he will grant Venezuelan citizenship to Guyanese residents there.
- Maduro will has granted licenses and ordered state oil company PDVSA and state metal conglomerate CVG to drill for oil in the area.
- A special military unit will be created for the territory.
- Energy companies in the Esequibo region such as Exxon Mobil will “have three months to withdraw.”
- Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said he would report the matter to the UN Security Council, saying in a late-night televised address “The Guyana Defense Force is on high alert,” adding “Venezuela has clearly declared itself an outlaw nation.”
- The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on the issue Friday, Bloomberg reports.
And last night, a Guyana army helicopter was reported missing near the border with Venezuela.
Now, the US State Department is involved.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Guyanese President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering support for Guyana’s sovereignty,” said the State Department in a late Wednesday news release.
Department spokesman Matthew Miller also told reporters that the Biden administration supports a peaceful resolution.
As we noted on Friday – why would Maduro do this now, when Caracas has for more than 200 years claimed rights over Esequibo, a vast swath of the territory Guyana? Simple: because as we said several days ago, it was only a few months ago that Maduro realized he has leverage over the US president of the “most powerful nation in the world” and get away with anything… even invading a sovereign nation.
Venezuela has long claimed the 61,000-square-mile region. Guyana has repeatedly rejected those claims, saying an 1899 international arbitration resolved the dispute. Venezuela has in turn questioned the validity of that ruling. Just last week, the International Court of Justice urged both sides to refrain from “any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute.” –WaPo
As Austin Bay writes at The Epoch Times, the region has a legacy of overlapping claims.
Spain claimed the Essequibo region was within the borders of Venezuela, but Great Britain and the Netherlands disputed that. Guyana was a British colony. In 1899 an arbitration tribunal in Paris, with the U.S. mediating, ruled that the region belonged to Britain.
Maduro portrays himself as a warrior seeking to right great historical wrongs. Well, playing drama king is easier than fixing a broken economy.
Maduro may be toying with a replay of 1982 when another shaky dictator thought a foreign war to distract his citizens was a dandy idea. The shaky dictator was Argentina’s Gen. Leopoldo Galtieri who proceeded to invade the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas). He bet seizing the islands from the British “imperialists”—“recovering” them Galtieri called it—would unite Argentinians.
Britain, led by Margaret Thatcher, counterattacked, Argentina lost, and Galtieri’s regime collapsed.
All bark, no bite?
Interestingly, oil is nonplussed by the recent moves. Maybe because Venezuela won’t be able to occupy the “new state?”
As WaPo further notes;
For now, Maduro’s rhetoric remains largely symbolic and political bluster. But his remarks have unsettled Guyana’s leader and attracted stern statements from the United States and Brazil urging Venezuela to refrain from using military force to enforce its territorial claim.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali said in a CNN interview this week that Maduro’s declaration was a “desperate attempt by Venezuela to seize” his country’s territories. “We are taking every precautionary measure,” he said, including appeals to the United States, Brazil and the United Nations for diplomatic and defense support to deter a Venezuelan invasion. -WaPo
Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods was similarly nonplussed. In a Thursday CNBC interview, he suggested that Maduro is going to have a fight on his hands.
“There’s concern that Venezuela is going to invade a certain part of the country,” said host David Faber.
“I’d put it in the context of what’s been happening for many, many years,” Woods responded. “It is a matter between nation states… I’m not sure Guyana is standing on its own, to tell you the truth. We’ve all seen what happens when nations’ sovereignties are challenged, and uniliteral action is taken. The world and the outside community is pretty sensitive to that, so my expectation is that there is more broad support in the international community to make sure that the right processes are followed to resolve this dispute.”
Neighboring Brazil, meanwhile, has reinforced its northern border in the state of Roraima, adding armored vehicles and more troops, according to Reuters.
END
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS FRIDAY MORNING 7;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0781 DOWN 0.0009
USA/ YEN 144.38 UP 0.138 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//
GBP/USA 1.2574 DOWN .0013
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3573 DOWN .0019 (CDN DOLLAR UP 19 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 3.35 PTS OR 0.11%
Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 11.52 PTS OR 0.07%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.28% // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG DOWN 11.52 PTS OR 0.07%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 3.35 PTS OR 0.11%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.28%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 550.45 PTS OR 1.68%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 2028.00
silver:$23.75
USA dollar index early FRIDAY morning: 103.76 UP 26 BASIS POINTS FROM THURSDAY’s CLOSE.
FRIDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
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And now your closing FRIDAY NUMBERS 11: 30 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.046% UP 7 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.773% UP 3 AND 4//100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.290 UP 9 in basis points yield
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 4.051 UP 10 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.2775 UP 7 BASIS PTS
END
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR FRIDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.0768 DOWN 0.0023 or 23 basis points
USA/Japan: 144.46 UP 0.212 OR YEN DOWN 21 basis points/
Great Britain/USA 1.2547 DOWN 0.0039 OR 39 BASIS POINTS //
Canadian dollar UP .0016 OR 16 BASIS pts to 1.3581
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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE CLOSED (DOWN) …7.1661
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (DOWN)…. (7.1783)
TURKISH LIRA: 28.98 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.772…VERY DANGEROUS
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield UP 12 in basis points from THURSDAY at 4.245% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.331 UP 8 in basis points ON THE DAY/12.00 PM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.704 UP 13 BASIS PTS.
Your 12:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: FRIDAY: CLOSING TIME 12:00 PM
London: CLOSED UP 42.93 POINTS or 0.57%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 130.23 PTS OR 0.28%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 100.14 PTS OR 1.35%
Spain IBEX UP 80.20 PTS OR 0.79%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 282.13 PTS OR 0.14%
WTI Oil price 71.34 12: EST
Brent Oil: 76,17 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 91.99; ROUBLE UP 0 AND 11//100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.2775 UP 5 BASIS PTS
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.052 UP 3 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA: 1.0764 DOWN 0.0025 OR 25 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2549 DOWN .0031 or 31 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.0600% UP 6 BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 0.767%
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 144.97 UP .726 //YEN DOWN 73 BASIS PTS//
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3582 DOWN 0.0015 CDN dollar UP 15 basis pts)
West Texas intermediate oil: 71.15
Brent OIL: 75.81
USA 10 yr bond yield UP 11 BASIS pts to 4.233%
USA 30 yr bond yield UP 7 BASIS PTS to 4.311%
USA 2 YR BOND: UP 14 PTS AT 4.723 %
USA dollar index: 103.95 UP 44 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 28.97 (GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 91.89 UP 0 AND 20/100 roubles
GOLD 2002.75 3:30 PM
SILVER: 23.02 3:30 PM
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 130.49 PTS OR 0.63%
NASDAQ UP 62.20 PTS OR 0.39%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 12.58 DOWN .55 PTS (.44)%
GLD: $185.64 DOWN 2.51 OR 1.33%
SLV/ $21.19 DOWN .69 OR 3.17%
end
USA AFFAIRS
USA TRADING IN GRAPH FORM
Cryptos Jump, Commodities Dump, & Yield-Curve Slumps In ‘Goldilocks’ Week
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 04:00 PM
Reality set in this week that the ‘goldilocks’ narrative is not compatible with the massive rate-cuts priced-in for next year.
As Goldman warned:
“…it may be hard to justify more than 75bp of cumulative easing without weaker growth. A recession could clearly motivate a much deeper easing cycle, but a high weight on that outcome is not consistent with other asset prices, or with our own central case.
…
For that reason, the market is moving into territory where we think it will become more difficult for US rates to rally unless the growth picture deteriorates more than we, and other markets, expect.”
Stocks mixed-ish, Bonds mixed-ish, Commodities down, Crypto up, & Dollar up as Rate-Cut hopes faded this week (from 140bps in 2024 to 112bps)…
Source: Bloomberg
On the macro side – it was all ‘soft’ with a little firming in ‘hard’ data: Inflation expectations (survey) down along with gasoline, Services (survey) data up, labor market mixed (JOLTS weak but unemployment lower), consumer sentiment (survey) soars, and geopolitical risk mixed (US pressures Israel for ceasefire but military action in Yemen looms).
Source: Bloomberg
Good news, bad news, no news; Didn’t matter as stocks chopped around wildly squeezing and un-squeezing this week. Small Caps and Mega-Cap tech outperformed while The S&P managed to get green for the week but The Dow struggled all week…
Every time The Dow got green on the week, selling pressure hit…
The S&P 500 closed at its highest since March 2022…
…and Nasdaq at its highest close since January 2022…
A chaotic week for ‘most shorted’ stocks, crashing up and down like a whore’s drawers…
Source: Bloomberg
After an ugly open on Monday, Magnificent 7 stocks soared 4.5% off the Monday lows, back up near record highs…
Source: Bloomberg
All of which meant hedge funds got it from both ends unable to escape from Friday’s carnage…
Source: Bloomberg
Energy stocks were the week’s biggest losers while tech and discretionary outperformed…
Source: Bloomberg
We couldn’t help but laugh at the surge in regional bank stocks – now back up near post-SVB highs – while their use of the expensive BTFP bailout facility at The Fed surged to a new record $122BN…
Source: Bloomberg
Treasuries were mixed on the week with the short-end underperforming. Only the long-bond managed to close the week higher in price (lower in yield)…
Source: Bloomberg
Which pushed the yield curve significantly flatter (more inverted). This was the biggest weekly flattening since Nov 2022 to its most inverted since Sept.…
Source: Bloomberg
The dollar surged higher this week (after three straight weeks down) …
Source: Bloomberg
Cryptos were all higher this week with Solana outperforming. BTC and ETH were each up around 13%…
Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin ripped up to $44,000 (its highest since April 2022)…
Source: Bloomberg
Ethereum neared $2400 (its highest since May 2022)…
Source: Bloomberg
Commodities were all lower with Silver clubbed like a baby seal, NatGas ugly, Oil & gold were sold, and copper was the least ugly horse in the glue factory…
Source: Bloomberg
Spot Gold fell back to $2000 today
Source: Bloomberg
Gold’s outperformance pushed the gold/silver ratio back to the upper end of its range this year (from the lower end)…
Source: Bloomberg
Oil prices rallied today, ending a 6-day losing streak. WTI found support at $70 (5-month lows)…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, which comes first – the equity market collapse or global central bank balance sheet explosion?
Source: Bloomberg
Our money’s on the former and then the latter and the two meeting in the middle before melting up.
MORNING TRADING: JOBS REPORT
US Jobs Rise 199K, Beating Estimates, As Unemployment Rate Pulls Back From Recession Trigger
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 08:41 AM
Ahead of today’s jobs report (which we previewed as being focused mostly on the unemployment rate), we said that the whisper was for a stronger report due to the mandatory political talking points for the White House taking credit for all those strikers coming back to work…
… and lo and behold, that’s precisely what happened, with the total number of job gains in November coming in at 199K, above last month’s 150K and, more importantly, well above the consensus forecast of 183K.
Of course, as has been the case every month this year, previous months’ data was revised lower, with September down by 35K from 297K to 262K and October remaining flat at 150K (the BLS is getting a little shy of all these downward revisions taking place the next month) and will instead be revised lower in January. So expect today’s “beat” to be revised to a miss next month… when it won’t matter.
Still, the number was solid especially when considering that the number of employed workers as counted by the Household survey surged by 747K to 161.969 million, following several months of disappointing prints, and rising to the highest on record.
But more importantly, recall that as we explained in our preview, a 4.0% unemployment rate after last month’s 3.9% would have triggered the popular “Sahm’s rule” recession indicator (which is why there was more attention on the unemp rate than even the NFP number), and sure enough the BLS reported that the unemployment rate actually dipped 3.7%, well below the estimate of 3.9%.
The drop in the unemp rate was thanks to the abovementioned jump in employed workers, which surged by 747K to 162 million, as well as the increase in the participation rate, which rose to 62.8%…
… while the number of unemployed workers actually dropped by 215K, to 6.3 million.
Developing.
END
INITIAL REACTION/MORNING TRADING
Confusion reigns supreme as markets do not what to make of the phony data
(zerohedge)
Market Confused By ‘Goldilocks’ Jobs Data
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 08:56 AM
Flat wage growth (hotter than expected MoM), lower unemployment rate (good news is bad news), more jobs added (good news is bad news)… but the narrative-delivers claim “goldilocks”.
This looks anything but goldilocks and the kneejerk reactions agreed with rates and the dollar higher (hawkish) and stocks lower.
But that has basically all been unwound now.
Dollar is down…
Gold is reversing higher,..
Bond yields are falling back from the kneejerk higher…
The payrolls print was right in the middle of Goldman Sachs’ sweet-spot for stocks and they are still holding on to post-payrolls gains (though only Small Caps are in the green)…
The odds of a rate-cut in March dropped from around 60% to around 50%…
Still a long way to go for these narratives to be rewritten today.
end
TUCKER CARLSON
“If People Think Things Are Bad Now…” Tucker And Alex Jones Talk Deplatforming, Depopulation, & The NWO
THURSDAY, DEC 07, 2023 – 07:20 PM
In a deep-dive on everything from ‘deplatforming’ to ‘depopulation’, Tucker Carlson sat down with Alex Jones.
Elon Musk said it best…
Dubbed “the most censored man in the world”, Jones began by discussing his (correct) prediction about 9/11.
As Tucker points out, “the 9/11 thing, you called it in public.”
But Jones says his most accurate prediction was around a decade ago when he read the “Rockefeller Foundation Operation Lockstep report,” which he says:
“described using a virus to bring in world government, a world medical ID, which they would then build a social credit score off of…
…that they would make people wear masks for fear, shut down sporting events and things like that… and basically phase in this new tyranny.“
These warnings, among other things, were the reason, Carlson argues, why Jones was so widely deplatformed.
“Fundamentally, Alex Jones is right about a lot of things. And in fact, that’s why they don’t like him.”
Deplatforming
“To this day, nobody has been more aggressively censored, I don’t think, than you… I read about it, and I felt that it was a major moment in the history of American media. I don’t think anybody defended you when that happened. Anybody, with any kind of audience,”
To which Jones replied:
“When Tim Cook admitted that he met on the weekend in August of 2017 with the other big tech heads, and they made the decision to “curate” like it’s a museum – and take me off, it was hundreds of platforms. It wasn’t just the big ones. Everything from LinkedIn, to our bank accounts being taken away, to everything ensuing over the next week and that month. And I knew I was a test case.”
“It was the questioning the school shooting thing that came later. They kind of dredged that up from my past, blew that up after I’d been deplatformed, and said I’d been deplatformed for that.
“Once they deplatformed me, it made the show in ways only get bigger… So then they panicked and said ‘okay, let’s look at his record and create more of a reason,’ so they took things out of context from 5-6 years before, blew em up as a current thing out of context, and deceptively reported on what I said to create a strawman argument to then facilitate the reason.”
The discussion turns to the current state of America with Jones laying the blame for the growing division of the nation by race squarely at the feet of China.
“The CCP, along with the SPLC and ADL, see America’s weakness and they are literally coming in and saying ‘white people are inherently bad because of the color of their skin…
…and then they organize all them into race-based groups under the Democratic party flag to attack who is left… which tends to be more conservative.”
Jones warns however that “they are panicking” because “more and more blacks and hispanics are voting Republican,” which, he explains is why the open border policy is being allowed.
“They are bringing in all these totally disenfranchised people from around the world… putting them in camps where they indoctrinated into a subdued political under-class… that’s then going to be turned loose on America.”
This is why Democrats are giving illegal immigrants drivers licenses, the right to vote in some cities, allowing them to become police officers “so they are importing a new enforcemen t class against the American people.”
The new class will allow them to bring home a New World Order.
NWO
Jones and Carlson also discussed the New World Order after Carlson noted that White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is an idiot.
“That’s it,” Jones replied. “We’re in a beautiful ball. It’s prom night. Everybody’s dressed great. There’s wonderful food, big delicious punch bowl, and then they say ‘what can we do?’ – well, just have Brian Stelter take a dump right in that. And then he’s there, laughing at you – they’re all there laughing at you, to make you feel small. To make you question reality – why is everything so ugly?“
Jones then explained that the elites demonize rural Americans in order to blame them for the ills of society.
“The reason you’re doing bad is not blackrock and the WEF and Bill Gates. It’s all those evil people in the countryside. They’re all white supremacists, terrorists and racists. Let’s go get ’em! Cause the last group they don’t control is rural people that are self-sufficient. And so I get going to the countryside, protecting your children. That’s the holy grail. The problem is, you gotta have one foot in each – you gotta go back and fight in the city for the infrastructure, for the government.”
“You gotta give people hope, while also building a backup operation of farming and ranching and self-sufficiency,” Jones continues.
“So that’s why the WEF and the UN are coming in in Ireland and in areas of Asia, and in the Netherlands, and saying ‘by 2030, 80% of your cows gotta be dead,’ and they just banned like 30% this year in the Netherlands.”
“They’re all WEF globalist alumni that the big banks, on record, brag – they’ve ‘penetrated the cabinets,’ to quote Klaus Schwab, they’ve put their operatives in to cut off our energy, demoralize us, release the hardened criminals, put the political activists in prison, continue to cut off the resources, to make an angrier world…
Klaus Schwab says, ‘we’re gonna make the world collapse, we’re gonna have everybody turn against each other, we’re going to blame the political classes that we own and control, and then when we’re done we’ll bring in our new solution. But first thing they have to demolish the cultures of societies that we had before, with the fentanyl, with the open borders, with the demoralization, and then they bring in their next phase, which is a high-tech cashless society. Robot drone-controlled nightmare. More than half of the US in their official UN maps, that they’ve had for more than 25 years, show half the US off-limits to humans.
All cars will have to have GPS, everyone by law will have to have a cell phone at all times…
And that’s the admitted global UN standardized plan, where you don’t leave your house without a cell phone.”
“So if people think things are bad now,” Jones continued, “the straight-jacket, the ball-and-chain is going on, and it’s all being militarily run. Our military is great men and women, but at the top, our military has been globalist Ukraine, New World Order people for at least 30-40 years.”
Jones also says that the NWO is pushing for:
- 15-minute cities
- Central bank digital currencies
- All of these systems that track and trace everything you do with the social credit scores
- The plan for the 99% is 250 square-foot coffin-apartments
- 5G bathing you
- Literally eating bug protein
Depopulation
The New World Order discussion leads Jones on to discuss the controversial topic of depopulation that seems at the end of every globalist policy delivered from on high.
“The Globalists have gone from testing-phase to fully operational now,” he warns, noting that “they say – read their writings – we are going to have a post-industrial world by 2030… and we will start the depopulation of 90% of the people by 2045.”
That, Jones explains is the official WEF/UN/Club of Rome plan.
A stunned Carlson asked “what do you mean ‘depopulation’?”
Jones replies: “they want to bring the world population down to 500 million.”
“We are told ‘do not have children, because it is bad for the earth’,” and points out that Elon Musk is a hero for pointing out that we need to have kids to save the world, “otherwise, society collapses.”
Carlson takes a moment to reflect on what he has heard and says poignantly, “I feel a little bit innervated and downbeat just hearing your dot-connecting… what’s that like to live with?”
Brian Stelter Prank
2024 election, WW3
The two also discussed the upcoming US election next year. According to Jones, both Biden and Trump are ‘liabilities’ for the deep state, so the plan is :
“They have a right winger, they’ll claim, assassinate Biden, and they’ll have a left-winger assassinate Trump…
…That then gets the country even in more of a fight against each other, and then they put in Gavin Newsom and, you know, somebody like Mike Pence or who knows. But I really think the next 13 months is the most critical time – not just in American history, but world history,” Jones continued.
Biden “doesn’t know who he is.”
Alex Jones says sources in the White House have told him that Biden “wanders around naked” and is on a constant cocktail of amphetamines and benzos.
Tucker says he knows someone who witnessed Biden taking amphetamines in 2020.
“Because if they can bring down America, they’re going to bring down the world. Then you’ve got the escalation,” he warns.
“Remember a year ago, Biden said, you can’t give F-16s and Abrams tanks and cruise missiles to the Ukrainians, that’s WW3. Now they’re doing it. So as Russia wins that war as Col. McGregor documented a few months ago with you, NATO is escalating. Well, that leads right to nuclear war.“
“Since when do Democrats love war?” Jones asked.
“Since when did Democrats love the intelligence agencies. They love them now. And so really, the Democrats, just like the Republican party is the beachhead for sanity and populism – it’s not perfect, but it’s a beachhead. The Democrat party is totally turned over to evil.”
Finally, Jones says he doesn’t expect Elon Musk to reinstate him on X:
“I understand that if he did that, the ADL and others would really be able to shut down Twitter”
Watch the full interview below:https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/if-people-think-things-are-bad-now-tucker-and-alex-jones-talk-deplatforming
- 2:46 Alex Jones predictions
- 15:07 Deplatforming
- 21:59 Dividing us on race
- 25:37 The border
- 28:09 Austin
- 32:12 New World Order
- 42:09 Brian Stelter demon video
- 50:57 Depopulation
- 1:07:51 Food
- 1:13:51 Whiskey
- 1:16:22 Presidential election
II USA DATA
SOFT DATA
UMich Inflation Expectations Collapsed In December; Republican’s Drive Surge In Sentiment
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 10:11 AM
UMich inflation expectations (one year ahead) collapsed to 3.1% in preliminary December data after soaring to 4.5% in November. Medium-term inflation expectations also tumbled from 3.2% to 2.8%.
That is the lowest one-year inflation expectation since March 2021.
Source: Bloomberg
Who could have seen that coming?
Back to reality…
Consumer sentiment soared 13% in December, erasing all declines from the previous four months, primarily on the basis of improvements in the expected trajectory of inflation.
The headline jumped from 61.3 to 69.4 with current conditions spiking from 68.3 to 74.0 and expectations jumping from 56.8 to 66.0…
Source: Bloomberg
Sentiment is now about 39% above the all-time low measured in June of 2022 but still well below pre-pandemic levels.
All five index components rose this month, led by surges of over 24% for both the short and long-run outlook for business conditions.
Source: Bloomberg
There was a broad consensus of improved sentiment across age, income, education, geography, and political identification.
A growing share of consumers – about 14% – spontaneously mentioned the potential impact of next year’s elections. Sentiment for these consumers appears to incorporate expectations that the elections will likely yield results favorable to the economy.
The index of economic news heard reached its most favorable reading since 2021, supported by huge improvements among higherincome consumers, college-educated consumers, and Republicans.
So sentiment up (Fed won’t want animal spirits) but inflation expectations collapsing (Fed mission accomplished?)
END
III USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES
ISRAEL/USA
US-Israel Rift Over Civilian Casualties Intensifies As ‘King Bibi’ Doubles Down
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 10:40 AM
With the 2024 election fast approaching and Democrat support for Israel’s war on Hamas waning, the Biden administration – which is also trying to sell Congress on handing $14.3 billion in aid to Israel – has been ratcheting up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties, recognize and work with the Palestinian Authority, resume peace talks, and commit to not reoccupying Gaza.
The chances of that happening are virtually nil, however, as Netanyahu’s government has made clear that Israel plans to destroy Hamas, retain an open-ended security presence in Gaza, impose a buffer zone to keep Palestinians away from the border, and never recognize the Palestinian Authority.
Despite the clear differences in vision for an endgame to this conflict, Israel knows the Biden administration is nothing more than a paper tiger in a dog mask, despite some 16,000 civilians reported dead by Gaza health authorities.
As the Washington Times notes;
But as the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, conditions deteriorate, and Biden enters an election year with significant portions of his Democratic base pushing for an end to Israel’s offensive, these differences are likely to grow in the absence of a clear endgame.
Shavit said that tensions could rise if the U.S. at some point concludes that Israel is dragging its feet or ignoring American demands. But for now, “the Americans want Israel to succeed,” he said.
Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator who is president of the U.S./Middle East Project, a policy institute that studies the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the Americans are unlikely to put their foot down.
He cited what he described as a tepid American response to heavy civilian casualties in southern Gaza as an indicator of what lies ahead.
“Israelis have a sense that their road to run is not endless, but they still feel they have lots of road to run,” he said.
As we noted over the weekend, Biden’s Defense Secretary, former Raytheon board member Lloyd Austin warned that Israel needs to be careful about civilian deaths.
“If you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat,” he said. “So I have repeatedly made clear to Israel’s leaders that protecting civilians in Gaza is both a moral responsibility and a strategic imperative.”
And on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a stern warning, that “civilian casualties remain too high and that Israel must step up its efforts to reduce them.”
Blinken has also called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN charger, which allows him to raise to the Security Council’s attention “any issue that may aggravate existing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security.”
The letter to the 15-member council – the seventh in the UN’s 78-year history in which Article 99 has been invoked – urged the body to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe,” and unite in a call for a full humanitarian ceasefire.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen flipped out – calling Guiterres’ tenure “a danger to world peace,” and that the call for ceasefire in Gaza amounted to supporting Hamas and their Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
The Security Council was expected to hold an emergency meeting at 10AM ET on Friday in New York, after the UAE on Thursday submitted a draft resolution calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire which has the support of Arab and Islamic nations.
Is ‘King Bibi‘ sacrificing Israel to save his political career?
As The Cradle noted on Tuesday, while Netanyahu faces international pressure from both allies and adversaries to rethink his strategy, he’s also trying to tamp down a domestic revolt withing his own Likud party – with reports circulating about deposing him through a Knesset vote of no confidence, after which another party member would be selected to lead the government.
Essentially, Netanyahu’s political survival strategy centers on portraying himself as the lone defender against shallow US rhetoric for a two-state solution. Attempting to sidestep responsibility for the occupation state’s failures, Netanyahu now faces a resurgent Benny Gantz in the opposition. Recent Israeli polls predict a significant shift among the wider public, favoring opposition and Arab parties over the current right-wing coalition. Per the polling, a new coalition could be expected to win 79 seats, compared to 41 seats for the parties of the current Likud-far-right government.
Israel’s precarious political situation has Netanyahu resisting any solution, settlement, or exit that could lead to legal consequences for him. He undermines his party by threatening immediate elections post-war if Likud’s internal machinations against him don’t stop – having already refused to step down from his post.
More worrisome yet is that despite Israel’s devastating past war experiences in Lebanon, Netanyahu may view a northern war as his only potential escape route – a way to reshuffle his political fortunes to avoid corruption charges and face his military failures. Why not play Russian roulette with Lebanon when the only other option is a long stretch in a prison cell?
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the 2024 US election, and then there’s the matter of the $14.3 billion courtesy (though not by choice) of the US taxpayer.
END
Brandon Smith..
excellent commentary..
The Financial Disaster No One Is Talking About
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 11:00 AM
Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,
Several years ago I predicted that the U.S. would ultimately be confronted with the debilitating economic conundrum of stagflation, something which the nation had not seen since the 1970s. I suggested that stagflation would become a household word again and that the majority of American concerns would revolve around rising prices coupled with stagnant wages and falling production.
In 2018 in my article Stagflationary Crisis: U.S.A.’s Ongoing Collapse, Understanding the Cause, I noted:
Years ago there was a rather idiotic battle between financial analysts over what the end result of the Fed’s massive stimulus measures would be. One side argued that deflation would be the outcome and that no amount of Fed printing would overtake the vast black hole of debt conjured by the derivatives implosion. The other side argued that the Fed would continue to print perpetually, resorting to QE4 or possibly “QE infinity” and negative interest rates as a means to stave off a market crash for decades (like Japan) while at the same time initiating a Weimar-style inflationary bonanza.
Both sides were wrong because they refused to acknowledge the third option – stagflation.
Sleepwalking into stagflation
The process of stagflation is difficult to track because there are multiple paths that it can take, many of them largely dependent on the whims of the central bank and its policy decisions. All we can really do is look back at the limited number of historic examples simply and guess what will happen next. In the 1970s stagflation nearly crushed the country, with inflation rising by 7% to over 14% per year for a decade.
When I hear Zennials complain about being born into the “worst economy ever,” I have to laugh because they really have no clue. The 1970s was far worse in terms of erosion of buying power as well as overall poverty. If you look at film footage and photos of urban areas from Los Angeles to New York to Philadelphia during that time, many parts of these cities looked like bombed-out war zones.
The country was truly on the edge of disaster.
In the early 1980s, under Paul Volcker’s leadership the Federal Reserve jacked interest rates up to over 20%. This stopped the inflation crisis but triggered a deflationary plunge that would sit like a giant boulder on the chest of the American consumer and small business owners for years to come. My own grandfather lost millions in his trucking and freight company during the rate spike; many people lost their businesses and homes.
In other words, as bad as the situation is now, we haven’t seen anything yet. Of course, we are quickly moving towards similar conditions and there is one thing we have today that the 1970s didn’t: A massive (and growing) national debt.
Currently, the U.S. national debt is $33.8 trillion and has a 120% debt-to-GDP ratio. In a single month, October 2023, the federal government added over $600 billion to the debt. At the current pace the total debt will breach $41 trillion in one year.
The speed of this accumulation is frightening. To put this in perspective, the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve added around $9 trillion to the debt in eight years with the corporate bailout spree of the Great Financial Crisis. Compared to the Biden administration, Obama’s spending looks absolutely miserly.
How is this possible?
The swirling debt spiral
As I have noted in the past, the U.S. economy rests on a foundation of intrinsically worthless currency – and so much debt that the slightest rise in interest rates causes huge ripple effects.
The 20% interest rate level of the early 1980s? Yes, it was worrisome, and led to not one but two grueling recessions. After 200 years of existence, the U.S. ended the decade of the 80s with just under $3 trillion in debt.
Today? Well, for comparison purposes, the Biden administration’s 2021 budget added $2.77 trillion to the national debt. In ONE YEAR! For comparison purposes, from 1776-1989, the federal government accumulated about $2.77 trillion in debt.
It’s impossible to overstate this point: The Biden regime saddled the nation with over 200 years’ worth of debt in just one year.
With a debt over $33 trillion, barely-above-historical-average 5.25% interest rates are catastrophic. Because of “compounding interest,” what Einstein called “the most powerful force in the Universe.” He called it one of the greatest “miracles” known to mankind – if you’re a creditor. If you’re a debtor, though? That miracle becomes a disaster…
Today, the U.S. government regularly borrows money just to make interest payments. The Treasury department also writes new IOUs to fund old IOUs that come due. Finally, the government borrows still more to fund all spending which exceeds tax collection (this is “deficit spending,” which increases the national debt – sometimes the two are conflated).
At higher interest-rate levels, borrowing enters a destructive spiral. There’s interest payments on debt, which was itself borrowed to make interest payments on debt. To put it in simple terms, it’s a bit like a broke person taking on a stack of new credit cards to make the interest payments on a stack of old credit cards. It’s financial suicide.
Eventually the avalanche of debt will stall inflation but it will also wreak havoc across the economy and trigger a deflationary crisis.
We’re seeing the beginning already… The crash across manufacturing and industrial sectors. Frozen wages. Layoffs and bankruptcies piling up in the freight sector.
These are all clear indicators of impending recession. Meanwhile, U.S. home sales have plunged to a 13 year low as prices continue to rise.
These are all red flags of an impending deflation event that is certain to cause massive unemployment, likely within the next year. It would seem the magic of the Covid-era money-printing spree is finally fading away – and we’re seeing the real economy underneath.
The expectation among investors is that the Fed is poised to cut rates or return swiftly to QE. This is not going to happen, at least not anytime soon. The Fed, I believe, wants a crash. After addicting markets to easy money for over a decade, the central bankers know exactly what will happen as they continue to cut off the drug supply.
I suspect we are about to see a major change in the behavior of the economy going into 2024. The stagflation phase is nearly over. The discussion around dinner tables across America will turn to the exploding national debt, and debt in general. The big debate will once again turn to this: Will the Fed keep rates steady, risking deflationary implosion and debt default, or, will they cut rates, return to stimulus to pay the debt, and risk double digit inflation? These are the two choices in front of the U.S. government – and either way, we lose.
That’s why it’s more urgent than ever to own financial assets that aren’t based on debt, that aren’t IOUs but actual, tangible things you can see and touch. There are only a few left in this globally-financialized world – and of them, only physical precious metals are also private, safe haven stores of value. If you don’t own real physical gold and silver soon, your financial future will be tied to the U.S. government’s financial future.
The U.S. economy will fail. Those who don’t ensure their financial independence will sink with the ship. You can take steps now to protect yourself and your family, but the opportunity won’t last forever. Once it’s obvious that the ship is sinking, it’s too late – the lifeboats will already be full.
Don’t go down with the ship.
end
This will prevent him from testifying in Washington. Then Biden Sr will pardon him
(zerohedge)
Hunter Biden Indicted On Multiple Felony Tax Charges Including ‘Office Expense’ Deductions For ‘Over-The-Hill Strippers’
THURSDAY, DEC 07, 2023 – 09:01 PM
On the same day as House Republicans formalize the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, the special counsel investigating Hunter Biden charged the president’s son late Thursday on nine counts stemming from his failure to pay his federal taxes on time on millions in income from foreign businesses.
A grand jury in the Central District of California (yes California!) charged Mr. Biden with three counts each of evasion of a tax assessment, failure to file and pay taxes, and filing a false or fraudulent tax return, according to the 56-page indictment (see below).
The situation is more serious now as the charges include three felony tax offenses and six misdemeanors.
“At times relevant to this Indictment, the Defendant served on the board of a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate and a Chinese private equity fund. He negotiated and executed contracts and agreements for business and legal services that paid millions of dollars of compensation to him and/or his domestic corporations, Owasco, PC and Owasco, LLC,” the indictment reads.
“The Defendant engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020,” the indictment adds.
As TechnoFog details on his Substack, the indictment is exacting and detailed, discussing Hunter’s various business entities, the millions he received from foreign nationals and/or foreign business entities (such as those in China, Romania, and Ukraine), as well as the income and support Hunter has received from his entertainment lawyer, who happens to have paid “over $1.2 million to third parties for [Hunter’s] benefit” in 2020.
It also makes the case – a case known to the public for this last year or so – that Hunter willingly engaged in this tax scheme. The indictment is replete with examples: he did not report his Burisma income in 2014; he was informed by accountants that he owed taxes; his ex-wife told him that his tax returns were not filed; and there are multiple times where he is discussing his outstanding tax obligations in various communications.
Despite all this, Hunter’s spent like a man who thought he operated under a different set of rules.
He had $1,664,004 in “ATM/Cash Withdrawals”, spent $683,212 in payments to “various women” (a new euphemism for hookers, apparently) and $188,960 on “adult entertainment”.
Ironically, Hunter’s own words from his memoir, for which he was paid a handsome sum, are coming back to haunt him. As his tax-avoidance scheme went on, he surrounded himself with, and paid for the company of:
thieves, junkies, petty dealers, over-the-hill strippers, con artists, and assorted hangers-on, who then invited their friends and associates and most recent hookups. They latched on to me and didn’t let go, all with my approval. I never slept. There was no clock. Day bled into night and night into day.
The indictment also details the “office expenses” or other deductions he used to lessen his tax burden, which included a $1,500 Venmo payment to an exotic dancer; $11,500 paid to an escort for two nights; and a $30,000 payment for his daughter’s law school tuition; $1,248 to fly an exotic dancer from Los Angeles to New York.
As you can read below, the indictment has many other juicy details regarding Hunter’s “deductions”.
This is the second indictment against him this year – the first of which related to alleged gun possession and false statements.
He has pleaded not guilty in the gun charges case.
As a reminder, the previous indictment culminated in a plea deal, which ultimately fell apart amid whistleblower allegations that Biden-appointed officials had worked to stifle the case.
Don Jr offered his perspective on the matter…
end
END
Restoration Hardware plunges on a big miss due to soaring mortgage rates and warns that the housing market remains frozen
RH Plunges After Big Miss On Soaring Mortgage Rates, Warns Housing Market Remains “Frozen”
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 02:40 PM
RH, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, tumbled a whopping 13% after the upscale home furnishings retailer blamed high mortgage rates in the US for a surprise net loss in its third quarter and cut its 2024 adjusted operating margin forecast, warning that promotions will pressure its bottom line amid a “frozen” housing market.
RH “experienced increased headwinds in early October when mortgage rates peaked above 8%” and the Israel-Hamas war started, it said in a letter to shareholders while warning that it continues “to expect the existing housing market to remain frozen until interest rates and/or home prices fall meaningfully.”
“Additionally, the home furnishings market has become increasingly promotional, and we believe that will create a mix shift toward clearance products, pressuring gross margins.”
The California-based company, which counted Berkshire as one of its largest shareholders until Q1 when the conglomerate dumped its entire position, said on Thursday its business was hurt by elevated mortgage rates that peaked at 8% in October. That has rendered the housing market “frozen” until rates fall and is and reducing opportunities for affluent consumers to furnish new homes (since they are stuck in their existing homes until rates drop enough to allow new mortgage aorigination).
RH also described the furniture market as “increasingly promotional,” a trend that could put pressure on its high-priced offerings and margins.
RH lost $2 million, or 12 cents a share, in Q3, swinging from earnings of $99 million, or $3.78 a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, the company lost 42 cents a share, a huge miss to consensus forecasts of 94 cents a share. Revenue fell to $751 million, from $869 million a year ago, also missing estimates of $757 million.
Operating margins were below expectations due to higher-than-expected expenses, including international store openings, costs related to the pending acquisition of the New York Guesthouse property and “unsuccessful efforts to secure the iconic One Ocean Drive Miami Beach location,” the company said. RH in September announced plans to “reimagine and restore” the public property.
In keeping with the often bizarre tone of its letter to shareholders, RH said it continues with its plans to “expand the RH ecosystem” where customers will be inspired “to dream, design, dine, travel and live in a world thoughtfully curated by RH, creating an emotional connection unlike any other brand in the world.”
“For the past 23 years we’ve heard others tell us what can’t be done, and for the past 23 years we’ve failed… to listen,” said the letter from eclectic CEO Gary Friedman. “Soon the world will be within our reach.”
end
IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ANTISEMITISM
Rabbi quits Harvard’s antisemitism committee, says system is evil
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFDECEMBER 8, 2023 07:32
Rabbi David Wolpe, the rabbinic fellow for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and a visiting scholar at Harvard Divinity School, announced that he had resigned from the antisemitism advisory committee at Harvard early Friday morning in a post on X.
“Without rehashing all of the obvious reasons that have been endlessly adumbrated online, and with great respect for the members of the committee, the short explanation is that both events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped,” wrote Wolpe.
The rabbi stressed that he still believes Claudine Gay is a “kind and thoughtful person” and that the university is “still a repository of extraordinary minds and important research.”
“However, the system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil. Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe. Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic, and evil,” wrote Wolpe.
The rabbi added that it would take more than a committee or a single university to battle the ideology in question. “It is not going to be changed by hiring or firing a single person, or posting on X, or yelling at people who don’t post as you wish when you wish, as though posting is the summation of one’s moral character.”
“This is the task of educating a generation, and also a vast unlearning,” wrote the rabbi. “Part of the problem is a simple herd mentality – people screaming slogans whose meaning and implication they know nothing of, or not wishing to be disliked by taking an unpopular position. Some of it is the desire to achieve social status by being the sole or greatest victim. Some of it is simple, old fashioned Jew hatred, that ugly arrow in the quiver of dark hearts for millenia.”
“In this generation, outside of Israel, we are called to be Maccabees of a different order. We do not fight the actual battle but we search for the cruse of oil left behind,” added Wolpe.
“Remember the oil was to last one night, but lasted eight – which means there were seven nights of miracle. But of course the first night was the greatest miracle — because the motivation to light the initial candle, to ensure the continuity and vitality of tradition in each generation, that is the supreme miracle. Dispute but also create. Build the institutions you value, don’t merely attack those you denigrate. We are at a moment when the toxicity of intellectual slovenliness has been laid bare for all to see. Time to kindle the first candle. Create that miracle for us and all Israel — Blessing to you and Hag Urim Sameach.”
END
Penn Trustees Call “Emergency” Meeting After Magill Testimony Meltdown
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 12:00 PM
After a smirking Penn president Liz Magill humiliated herself in front of Congress earlier this week, unable to clearly answer whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated Penn’s code of conduct or constituted bullying or harassment, the University of Pennsylvania’s board of trustees have started the process of panicking.
Perhaps it has something to do with $100 million worth of donations being pulled from the university in one fell swoop, the tip of a spear of outrage made up of numerous other prominent donors, alumni, university staff and generally anyone with half a brain that watched Magill’s testimony earlier in the week.
“Absent a change in leadership and values at Penn in the very near future, I plan to rescind Penn’s Stone Ridge shares to help prevent any further reputational and other damage to Stone Ridge as a result of our relationship with Penn and Liz Magill,” wrote Penn Alum Ross Stevens.
And so, as happens when large sums of money are involved, the board of trustees swiftly held an “emergency meeting” on Thursday and the Wharton Board of Advisors called for a change in leadership at the university, according to CNN.
“Magill faced a rebellion from Wharton’s Board of Advisors,” CNN reported on Thursday night.
The Wharton Board of Advisors wrote in a letter to Magill: “As a result of the University leadership’s stated beliefs and collective failure to act, our Board respectfully suggests to you and the Board of Trustees that the University requires new leadership with immediate effect.”
“In light of your testimony yesterday before Congress, we demand the University clarify its position regarding any call for harm to any group of people immediately, change any policies that allow such conduct with immediate effect, and discipline any offenders expeditiously,” it continues.
“Our board has been, and remains, deeply concerned about the dangerous and toxic culture on our campus that has been led by a select group of students and faculty and has been permitted by University leadership,” it adds.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told CNN: “I understand why the governor of Pennsylvania and so many of the trustees don’t have confidence in her. I don’t have confidence anymore that Penn is capable, under this leadership, of getting it right.”
“I am a Penn alum and this is indeed shameful,” Elon Musk said of the testimony on Wednesday on X.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand agreed, stating on Thursday: “Their statements were abhorrent. Trying to contextualize what constitutes harassment? Jewish students are terrified on these campuses.”
For now, though, it still appears that Magill has retained her job. “There is no board plan for imminent leadership change,” a board member told CNN.
END
Shots fired at Albany synagogue with on-site preschool; suspect in custody
By LUKE TRESS
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Shots were fired at Temple Israel in Albany tonight, the first night of Hanukkah, as US Jews grapple with a surge in antisemitism following Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli military response in Gaza.
There were no injuries in the shooting on the premises of the Conservative synagogue in New York’s capital, Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement, adding that she had spoken with the congregation’s rabbi. She said in a press briefing, however, that the synagogue has an on-site early learning center, “with at least two dozen children, preschoolers, who were on the premises.”
She added that the facility went into lockdown but that all children have been released safely to their parents.
A 28-year-old male is in custody, said Hochul’s press secretary, Avi Small.
The suspect shouted “Free Palestine” during the incident, Albany’s Times Union reported, citing police and another source.
Hochul said she had directed the New York State Police and the state’s national guard to be on high alert and step up patrols of at-risk sites for Hanukkah, such as synagogues, yeshivas and community centers throughout the state — including New York City, which is home to the largest Jewish population in the United States.
“Any act of antisemitism is unacceptable, and undermining public safety at a synagogue on the first night of Hanukkah is even more deplorable,” Hochul said. “We reject hate, antisemitism and violence in all forms.”
Hochul visited the synagogue on Oct. 7 in a show of solidarity amid Hamas’s attack.
The governor said that, following Thursday’s incident, she contacted Temple Israel’s Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson, and “assured her that the state of New York will do everything possible to restore the sense of security her congregation needs at this time,” adding that she plans to attend Shabbat services there this Friday evening.
In the briefing, Hochul noted that the synagogue had been one of several targeted with bomb threats in September.
There was no immediate public comment on the incident from the synagogue or the Albany police department.
Law enforcement and Jewish community security groups have reported a surge in antisemitism since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
In New York City, the NYPD reported 62 antisemitic hate crimes last month and 69 attacks in October, a steep increase. Anti-Jewish incidents made up 65% of all hate crimes reported to police last month. There is no comparable data available for antisemitic hate crimes in upstate New York.
Synagogues and other Jewish institutions have been targeted in the wave of hate crimes. On Friday, bomb threats were made against 15 synagogues in New York State, including five in upstate areas.
“The bottom line is this: The safety of Jewish New Yorkers is non-negotiable,” Hochul said in the briefing. “Every act, whether it’s verbal or physical, any act of antisemitism is unacceptable, and undermining the public safety at our synagogue, on the first night of Hanukkah, is even more deplorable.”
“I remind everyone: As New Yorkers, this is not who we are. This must stop, ” she added. “We reject hate, antisemitism, Islamophobia. All hate crimes must stop, and all violence in every form must cease. We have no tolerance for these acts of evil that have now permeated our society.”
end
White House slams US Muslim leader’s ‘shocking, antisemitic’ remarks on Oct. 7 Hamas attacks
By TOI STAFF
The White House says it condemns “in the strongest terms” the “shocking, antisemitic” remarks that surfaced earlier today by the founder and executive director of the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) following Hamas’s shock October 7 attacks on Israel.
Nihad Awad said in a speech during the American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) convention in Chicago last month that he was “happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land, and walk free into their land, which they were not allowed to walk in,” in reference to the unprecedented onslaught two months ago when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists burst through the enclave’s border with Israel and massacred 1,200 people and took another roughly 240 hostage.
“And yes, the people of Gaza have the right to self-defense, have the right to defend themselves, and yes, Israel, as an occupying power, does not have that right to self-defense.
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates says “the horrific, brutal terrorist attacks committed by Hamas on October 7th were, as President Biden said, ‘abhorrent’ and represent ‘unadulterated evil.’ October 7th was the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.”
“The atrocities of that day shock the conscience, which is why we can never forget the pain Hamas has caused for so many innocent people. There are families who are in agony mourning loves ones, and there are also families in agony as they do everything in their power to free loved ones being held hostage,” Bates says in a statement.
“Every leader has a responsibility to call out antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head,’ he says.
end
FREIGHT ISSUES/USA
END
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
end
USA// COVID//VACCINE/
end
SWAMP STORIES
Arizona Sheriff: Illegal Immigrants Being Handed $5,000 Visa Gift Cards, Cell Phones, And Plane Tickets
THURSDAY, DEC 07, 2023 – 11:00 PM
Authored by Matthew Lysiak via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Immigrants who illegally cross the border into Arizona are being handed $5,000 in good-as-cash gift cards, along with cell phones and costly plane tickets, all of which are being paid for by the American taxpayer, according to Arizona Sheriff Mark Lamb.
Mr. Lamb, sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, told The Epoch Times that he had been informed of the lucrative hand-out through his close sources working at the United States border.
“I was absolutely in shock when these agents came forward,” said Mr. Lamb. “I had known we handed out free cell phones and plane tickets, but to give out $5,000 Visa gift cards to people who break our laws and come into our country illegally when the average American is struggling to pay their bills is just tough to swallow.”
“People need to know the truth and let their representative lawmakers hear about it. This needs to end,” added Mr. Lamb.
Mr. Lamb, who in April became the first Republican to announce his candidacy to challenge Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) for the United States Senate, says that the high-end gift cards, in addition to the plane tickets and cell phones, are paid through American tax dollars funneled from government agencies.
“We know they’ve been giving illegal immigrants money for a long time,” said Mr. Lamb, who worked in the position of sheriff of Pinal County for seven years. “The government can make the claim that they aren’t directly paying for it, because each dollar first goes from the government to a non-government institution like a charity before it is used to pay for the illegals.”
“They are just moving the money around, but it all comes from the same place,” he added.
The Epoch Times reached out to a representative from Customs and Border Protection (CBP), who was not immediately available for comment.
Surge in Crossings
In recent years the nation has seen a large surge in illegal border crossings.
In October, CBP reported the highest number of illegal immigrant encounters for any October on record, with 240,988 encounters at the southern border. The agency also reported that 13 of the arrests it made during the month were of people on the FBI terror watchlist (12 from the southern border and one from the northern border). It is expected that the fiscal year total for 2023 will exceed 2.4 million, surpassing 2022’s record of 2.3 million, once the figures are finalized.
In Arizona, a record high of 17,500 illegal immigrants were arrested for unlawfully entering the southeast region of the state from Mexico between Nov. 24 and Nov. 30—up from approximately 15,650 the previous week.
On Monday, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border into Arizona had grown so large that the federal government shut down a port of entry in Lukeville, Arizona to pull those federal customs officers to manage the crisis.
In Tucson, Arizona, the surge has spiraled so far that there is no longer room to hold new arrivals, according to an email obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“As you are aware, Tucson Sector is experiencing an unprecedented surge of illegal entries in our [area of responsibility],” Tucson, Arizona, leadership wrote in an email to agents this afternoon, according to the Washington Examiner on Nov. 27. “This morning we had more than 5,000 people in custody—far more than our holding capacity.”
As the chaos at the border continues to spiral into an unmanageable crisis, the government needs to prioritize the growing number of struggling American families, according to Mr. Lamb.
“We got Christmas coming up,” said Mr. Lamb. “Families are finding it difficult to keep lights on and find a way to buy their kids a few presents for under the tree, and now the American taxpayer has to watch as their hard-earned money is being taken from them and handed to people who have broken the law?”
“It is infuriating. I know a lot of hard-working Americans who could use that money,” he added.
Mr. Lamb says in his role as sheriff—where he is tasked with enforcing existing law—his hands are tied. However, securing the border has become one of the main platforms, and reasons, for his current run for Senate.
The race to represent the GOP in the upcoming Senate race continues to be tight. Currently, Mr. Lamb is polling second in the GOP primary behind former television anchor and gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, according to a Noble Predictive Insights poll conducted between Oct. 25 and Oct. 31.
However, if he does go on to represent the people of Arizona in the Senate, Mr. Lamb says he will do “whatever it takes” to close the border and end the taxpayer-funded gifts being handed to those who come into the country illegally.
“The border is our greatest national security threat,” said Mr. Lamb. “I’m the guy who has the experience and knows how to finally do what it takes to secure it.”
end
Trump Witness Says He Valued Mar-a-Lago At More Than $1 Billion
THURSDAY, DEC 07, 2023 – 05:40 PM
Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
A Florida real estate agent this week testified in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial in New York that his Mar-a-Lago property is worth at least $1 billion.
Lawrence Moens, who was called as a witness by the defense, testified that the Florida property could be sold as a home, saying he would value it at over $1 billion as of 2021.
“It’s something breathtaking. It’s something amazing to see,” he said of Mar-a-Lago, adding that he had valued it at over $1.2 billion in 2021. He also told the court that President Trump’s company had actually undervalued Mar-a-Lago by about half.
Mr. Moens’s valuation assumes that Mar-a-Lago is a personal residence, a premise that a judge already has rejected in the ongoing civil fraud trial.
“I work very hard to sell rich people property in Palm Beach,” testified Mr. Moens. “I’m on the front lines every day of selling properties, and I have a pretty good handle on what’s happening in the market.”
Spanning 17 acres with waterfront on two sides, the Trump estate and social club is his home, a place where the former president and current Republican 2024 front-runner has conducted high-profile meetings while in and out of office, and the spot where federal special counsel Jack Smith alleges he improperly stashed classified documents, which President Trump denies.
Mar-a-Lago also is a key element of the current New York civil case. State Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit claims that the ex-president and his company deceived lenders and others by giving them financial statements that greatly overstated the values of some of his prime assets, including Mar-a-Lago.
Testifying for Trump’s defense, a Florida real estate attorney said the property could be sold as a home, notwithstanding decades-old legal documents in which Trump said he intended to forswear its use as anything but a club. Then a Palm Beach luxury real estate broker testified that he’d value the historic estate at over $1 billion as of 2021.
Judge Arthur Engoron, in a pretrial ruling declaring that Trump and his company engaged in fraud, found that he exaggerated Mar-a-Lago’s worth by as much as 2,300 percent, compared to the Palm Beach County tax appraiser’s valuations. They ranged from $18 million to $28 million.
However, some real estate professionals who aren’t involved in the case expressed concern about the judge’s ruling several months ago, suggesting that he made an error by relying solely on the tax appraiser’s valuations.
Some Palm Beach luxury real estate agents have told The Associated Press that the property would sell for $300 million to $600 million, and possibly $1 billion or more if it sparked a bidding war among uber-wealthy contenders.
During a short cross-examination Tuesday, state attorney Kevin Wallace asked whether he was a member of the Mar-a-Lago club. “I am,” Mr. Moens said, saying that he joined in 1995 or 1996. “I don’t go too often. I don’t like clubs,” he added.
“You’re not running a process that is re-creatable … is that fair?” Mr. Wallace asked about his valuations of Mar-a-Lago. “That’s fair,” Mr. Moens said.
In a pre-trial deposition over the summer, Mr. Moens had said that he “could dream up anyone from Elon Musk to Bill Gates and everyone in between” to purchase Mar-a-Lago. “Kings, emperors, heads of state.” “If they want the best house in the country, that would be one of the top two or three that would be available if they were for sale,” he added.
“I wish he’d let me sell it, but it’s not for sale,” he said.
Another defense witness, Miami-based real estate attorney John Shubin, also testified that “there is absolutely no prohibition on the use of Mar-a-Lago as a single-family residence.”
He noted that the property is simultaneously a club and President Trump’s residence. Mr. Shubin also pointed to a 1993 agreement between the former president and the city that said Mar-a-Lago would revert to private residential use if the club were “abandoned.”
This week, President Trump confirmed that he’ll return to the witness stand on Monday in the New York case.
“I will be testifying Monday in this shameful, NO JURY ALLOWED ‘TRIAL,’” he wrote Tuesday in a Truth Social post. Court was not in session Wednesday, and his son, Eric Trump, won’t be testifying.
“I told my wonderful son, Eric, not to testify tomorrow at the RIGGED TRIAL … Eric has already testified, PERFECTLY,” President Trump wrote Tuesday. “So there is no reason to waste any more of this Crooked Court’s time on having him say the same thing, over and over again.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
END
This would be great: Tucker Carlson as Trump’s running mate
Watson/Modernity.news
Melania Trump Floats Tucker Carlson As Don’s Running Mate; Report
FRIDAY, DEC 08, 2023 – 07:20 AM
Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,
Donald Trump could be considering asking Tucker Carlson to be his running mate, according to a report that claims a source close to the former President says his wife is pushing for it.
Axios claims that the ousted Fox News presenter, currently getting unprecedented traction with his show on X is a frontrunner for Trump on the 2024 ticket.
The source cited in the article claims that Melania Trump believes Carlson would be “a powerful onstage extension of her husband.”
Just last month Trump’s asked about potentially teaming up with Tucker, to which he responded “I like Tucker a lot. I guess I would. I think I’d say I would because he’s got great common sense. You know when they say that ‘you guys are conservative’ or ‘I’m conservative.’ It’s not that we’re conservative. We have common sense. We want to have safe borders. We want to have a wall because walls work.”
Carlson himself stated recently that he “became a Trump supporter” after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago last summer.
“That just can’t stand,” Carlson stated, adding “I agree with Trump on a lot, but even if I disagreed with Trump on a lot, I’d still be a Trump supporter because you cannot allow the regime, the President of the United States, to use the Justice Department to knock the frontrunner out of the race. You can’t do that.”
He continued, “It’s a question of, you know, do you want to live in a free country with a functioning justice system? So, I’m voting for Trump. And if they convict him, I will send him the max donations and I will lead protests.”
Meanwhile, Carlson just dropped a lengthy interview with Alex Jones, which has prompted Elon Musk to state he will “hear him out” and decide on whether Jones should be reinstated on X.
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THE KING REPORT
| The King Report December 8, 2023 Issue 7035 | Independent View of the News |
| BOJ lays groundwork for end of Japan’s negative rates (The yen roared; the dollar sank!) Policy board members’ comments indicate end to extreme easing on the horizon Deputy Gov. Ryozo Himino… said at a press conference following a meeting on Wednesday that exiting the negative rate policy would have relatively little impact on Japan’s economy. “We will carefully assess the situation and consider the timing and procedure of how to exit” negative rates, he said. A BOJ deputy governor commenting specifically on the impact of a potential exit from current policy is unprecedented… https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Bank-of-Japan/BOJ-lays-groundwork-for-end-of-Japan-s-negative-rates Globally, bonds sank on the BoJ’s warning that it would soon end its NIRP. Forget doom scrolling, Americans now doom spend to cope with stress – Intuit Credit Karma 96% of Americans are concerned about the current state of the economy… (Bidenomics!) https://www.creditkarma.com/about/commentary/forget-doom-scrolling-americans-now-doom-spend-to-cope-with-stress @WallStreetSilv: “This is what $70 gets you at Walmart.”… Everyone intuitively knows that inflation is WAY higher than what the government is reporting… https://t.co/cHhuyI7Wav Yes, Virginia, the US government issues bogus economic stats, just like the USSR did! Initial Jobless Claims 220k as exp.; Continuing Claims 1.861m, 1.910m exp.; Oct. Wholesale Trade Sales -1.3% m/m, +1.0% exp.; Inventories -0.4%, -0.2% exp.; Oct Consumer Credit $5.124B, $8.5B expected Google released ‘Gemini,’ a new AI product; it jumped as much as 6.5% on Thursday; Fangs soared; AMD closed +9.89%. There is too much liquidity in the system! How insouciantly exuberant are Street types? Tech Giants Lift Stocks as AI Euphoria Rages On “With no obvious risks on the horizon and third-quarter earnings season coming solid, the Santa Claus rally could continue.” – Jeff Schulze at Clear Bridge Investments (PS – The Santa Rally occurs during the last 5 sessions of Dec.) https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-sends-commodities-two-low-232932877.html ESZs traded mostly negative but sideways from the Nikkei opening until a rally commenced after the 8 ET US bond market opening. ESZs commenced a vertical rise at 8:35 ET on AI euphoria. The dump appeared one minutes after the 9:30 ET NYSE opening. ESZs slid from 4579.25 to 4569.75 at 9:48 ET. But the general euphoria for equities was supercharged by the most recent incantation of “AI.” So, ESZs zoomed to 4588.50 at 10:30 ET. After a slow rollover, ESZs sank to 4572.00 at 11:16 ET. Traders eagerly bought the sudden tumble. ESZs jumped to a new daily high of 4589.25 at 12:01 ET. They then plodded higher and peaked (4596.00) at 14:21 ET. ESZs retreated modestly and traded flat to 16:00 ET. Google peaked (138.56) at 12:30 ET and fell to 136.76 at 13:48 ET. It bounced modestly and went inert. What does Gemini do? “It will power Google’s Gen AI chatbot, Bard, which competes with Microsoft back OpenAI” per BBG. So, Fangs soared on a better chatbot?! There is too much credit in the system! Positive aspects of previous session Stocks rallied on renewed AI exuberance and general equity euphoria The DJIA is <2% from its all-time high (36,952, 1/5/22)! There is too much credit in the system! Negative aspects of previous session Bonds declined on the BoJ’s warning about ending NIRP Ambiguous aspects of previous session How long can AI euphoria last? 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]: 4580.58 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 4590.74; 4546.50 Facebook and Instagram content enabled child sexual abuse, trafficking: New Mexico lawsuit Facebook and Instagram created “prime locations” for sexual predators that enabled child sexual abuse, solicitation, and trafficking, New Mexico’s attorney general alleged in a civil suit filed Wednesday against Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg… The lawsuit argues that Meta’s algorithms allegedly promote sex and exploitation content to users and that Facebook and Instagram lack “effective” age verification… https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/06/facebook-content-enabled-child-sexual-abuse-new-mexico-lawsuit.html @elonmusk: Why no advertiser boycott, Bob Eiger? You are endorsing this material!… Bob Eiger thinks it’s cool to advertise next to child exploitation material. Real standup guy. Zelensky Will “Pay for His Mistakes” Says Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko Volodymyr Zelensky failed to prepare Ukraine properly for the war with Russia… https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-will-pay-his-mistakes-says-kiev-mayor-vitali-klitschko @DavidSacks: Former Zelensky adviser Arestovich says that “in the conflict of Globalists and Realists, we bet on the wrong side.” Globalists wanted NATO expansion. Realists advocated Ukrainian neutrality to avoid war. Ukraine bet on Globalists and got destroyed. https://t.co/Qa2ywxzf2O @TuckerCarlson: The Biden administration is openly threatening Americans over Ukraine. In a classified briefing in the House yesterday, defense secretary Lloyd Austin informed members that if they don’t appropriate more money for Zelensky, “we’ll send your uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia.” Pay the oligarchs or we’ll kill your kids. Fed Balance Sheet: -$58.76B, Treasuries -$30.354B, Loans -$26.499B; Reserves at Fed: +$71.793B Today – The November Employment Report could greatly impact trading. An inline report will probably be perceived as bullish because it won’t debunk the Fed pivot narrative. Bonds want an ugly employment report; equity bulls want a modestly disappointing report. However, Team Obama-Biden wants a strong employment report. It will be interesting to see if the BLS goes political with its computations. ESHs are -2.25; USHs are -10/32; and Feb AU is +2.50 at 20:05 ET. Japan Q3 GDP -2.9%, -2% exp. Expected economic data: Nov NFP 183k (Whisper # 170k), Mfg. 30k, Rate 3.9%, Wages 0.3% m/m & 4.0% y/y, Workweek 34.3, Labor Force Participation Rate 62.7%; Dec UM Sentiment 62, Current Conditions 68.5, Expectations 57, 1-yr Inflation 4.3%, 5-10 year Inflation 3.1% S&P 500 Index 50-day MA: 4381; 100-day MA: 4422; 150-day MA: 4382; 200-day MA: 4297 DJIA 50-day MA: 34,1495; 100-day MA: 34,494; 150-day MA: 34,250; 200-day MA: 33,956 (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 3919.56 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4281.91 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender is positive. MACD is negative – a close below 4515.65 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4555.62 triggers a sell signal First on CNN: Federal prosecutors file new criminal case against Hunter Biden The exact nature of the charges couldn’t immediately be learned because court documents have not been made public… https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/07/politics/hunter-biden-criminal-case/ @RNCResearch: BIDEN: “I wanted to play lacrosse, but you had to choose between lacrosse and football … I was the runner-up in the state scoring championship! Don’t laugh, man!” https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1732481482344526327 @AZachParkinson: Just another bizarre lie with zero basis in fact. Archmere Academy (Biden’s high school) didn’t have a boy’s lacrosse team until 1993, 32 years after he graduated. https://t.co/R1PeLJkWDm @charliekirk11: Trump reacts to Joe Biden saying “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running” at a fundraising event today in Boston: “Well I think somebody gave him a talking point. They thought that would sound good…that’s the only thing they’re good at, cheating at elections and… Axios: How Trump would build his loyalty-first Cabinet Trump would fill the most powerful jobs in government with men like Stephen Miller, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio and Kash Patel — with the possible return of Steve Bannon… This is very different from the early days of his first term, when he was restrained by more conventional officials, from John Kelly to James Mattis to Gary Cohn. This time, it’d be all loyalists… Melania Trump is an advocate for picking Tucker Carlson (for VP)… The idea of Tucker Carlson has been discounted by many people close to Trump because they assume he’d never pick someone who could outshine him. And Trump’s staff is convinced (correctly) that Carlson can’t be controlled. But the two men talk a lot… https://www.axios.com/2023/12/07/trump-loyalty-cabinet-2025-carlson-miller-bannon @AnnCoulter: Trump SAYS he’ll fill his admin with people like Stephen Miller, but the only way Miller kept his job in the Trump White House was by pretending to work on “Women’s Issues” for Ivanka. @VivekGRamaswamy: If you’d have told me nearly 3 years ago when I was just a CEO that Jan. 6 was an inside job, I would’ve said that’s crazy talk. It’s not. There is now clear evidence that there was at the very least entrapment of peaceful protestors, similar to the fake Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot & countless other cases. The FBI won’t admit how many undercover officers were in the field on Jan 6, Capitol police on one hand fired rubber bullets & explosives into a peaceful crowd who they then willingly later allowed to enter the Capitol… @VivekGRamaswamy: Nikki Haley calls Vivek dumb. MSM: Girl power! Yes Queen! Vivek shows Nikki Haley is clueless about Ukraine. MSM: This behavior is unbecoming!!! https://twitter.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1732896518938481106 @NvrBackDown24: Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford launched Nikki Haley’s political career. Tonight he says she lost the #GOPdebate and Ron DeSantis won. https://t.co/6jajL92WO0 Megyn Kelly and Chris Stirewalt agree: “This was Ron DeSantis’ best debate” https://t.co/dg9pIYYjsF @realchrisrufo: Nikki Haley coming out in support of Disney, BlackRock, ESG, and child sex-changes is just perfect: the right hand of the left. @elonmusk: “Her campaign is dead.” Ron DeSantis: “What Nikki has shown throughout her career is that when she gets pressure, whether it’s from the media, from the left, or big donors, she caves… If you want a policy that holds China accountable, that decouples our economy from them, I will get it done. She will not.” @DBashIdeas: Jewish woman refused entry into a bathroom… https://twitter.com/DBashIdeas/status/1732620308303991006 Arabic teacher in Madrid arrested for recruiting minors into jihadist ideology https://t.co/RH41idqPh4 White House dodges reporter’s question on Biden removing terrorist designation from Iran proxy group (Houthis) https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-dodges-reporters-question-biden-removing-terrorist-designation-iran-proxy-group Iran involved in planning, executing attacks by Yemen’s Houthis -White House aide “We believe that they are involved in the conduct of these attacks, the planning of them, the execution of them, the authorization of them and ultimately they support them,” deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told the Aspen Security Forum… https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/2739132-iran-involved-in-planning-executing-attacks-by-yemens-houthis–white-house-aide Biden team wary of retaliating against Houthi attacks at sea – Some current and former officials are frustrated with U.S. statements that they believe are downplaying the threat. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/12/06/biden-houthi-attacks-yemen-00130333 White House scrambles to distance itself from Islamic group after leader’s praise for Hamas’ Oct 7th slaughter – White House had listed the Council on American-Islamic Relations as a group committed to combating antisemitism https://www.foxnews.com/politics/white-house-scrambles-to-distance-itself-from-islamic-group-after-leaders-praise-for-hamas-oct-7th-slaughter ‘Squad’ Dems double down on ‘genocide’ accusations against Israel, say IDF is ‘targeting civilians’ https://t.co/1BpIDbJJRU Fox’s @ChadPergram: Dem Rep. Tlaib: President Biden… I hope you hear me. You must listen to the voices of the majority of Americans and the majority of Democrats who worked their butt off to get you elected. You have to represent all of us, Mr. President, not just some. Call for a cease fire now. @Susan32713089: Farley’s Coffee San Francisco…. They’ve issued an apology and on their Instagram account ….. not good enough they have to be sued for not allowing the woman into the bathroom … violation of Civil Rights law and commerce clause. https://twitter.com/Susan32713089/status/1732642541248336209 @JesseBWatters: At Harvard, calling a man a man is harassment, but if you say “kill all the Jews,” it’s not! Here’s a dirty little secret though- this isn’t about free speech at all, this is about money. The Ivy Leagues are flooded with cash from America’s enemies and now foreign donors, many of them foreign governments, want a return on their investments. https://twitter.com/JesseBWatters/status/1732622050454311254?s=02) Prominent rabbi quits Harvard anti-Semitism committee, brands college’s ideology ‘evil’ https://trib.al/BEpnFkJ @BillAckman: I learned from someone with first person knowledge of the @Harvard president search that the committee would not consider a candidate who did not meet the DEI office’s criteria. The same was likely true for other elite universities doing searches at the same time, creating an even more limited universe of DEI-eligible presidential candidates… I don’t think it will be long before we look back on the last few years of free speech suppression and the repeated career-ending accusations of racist for those who questioned the DEI movement. We are all shortly going to realize that the DEI era is the McCarthy era Part II. History rhymes, but it does not repeat. https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1732632488227303784?s=02 House Committee on Education & the Workforce @EdWorkforceCmte: The Committee is opening a formal investigation into the learning environments, policies, and disciplinary procedures at Harvard, UPenn, & MIT. This should be a notice to every university that the targeting of Jewish students… Bari Weiss: End DEI – It’s not about diversity, equity, or inclusion. It is about arrogating power to a movement that threatens not just Jews—but America itself. Twenty years ago, when I was a college student, I started writing about a then-nameless, niche ideology that seemed to contradict everything I had been taught since I was a child… What I saw was a worldview that replaced basic ideas of good and evil with a new rubric: the powerless (good) and the powerful (bad). It replaced lots of things. Color blindness with race obsession. Ideas with identity. Debate with denunciation. Persuasion with public shaming. The rule of law with the fury of the mob. People were to be given authority in this new order not in recognition of their gifts, hard work, accomplishments, or contributions to society, but in inverse proportion to the disadvantages their group had suffered, as defined by radical ideologues… https://www.thefp.com/p/end-dei-woke-capture How Were the Universities Lost? – Victor David Hanson After the George Floyd riots, reparatory admissions—the effort to admit diverse students beyond their numbers in the general population—increased. Elite universities like Stanford and Yale boasted that their so-called “white” incoming student numbers had plunged to between 20 and 40 percent, despite whites making up 68-70 percent of the general population… At the same time, the number of foreign students, especially from the oil-rich Middle East, has soared on campuses. Most are subsidized by their homeland governments… The Ivy league and their kindred so-called elite campuses may soon go the way of Disney and Bud Light… At the present rate, a Stanford law degree, a Harvard political science major, or a Yale social science BA will soon scare off employers and the general public at large… https://victorhanson.com/how-were-the-universities-lost/ @MZHemingway: Disgraced Democrat mayor of Nashville, who resigned after a scandal involving $175K in taxpayer money and an affair with a bodyguard — in a cemetery (!?!?) — is running for Congress. https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1732921142803832935 @RNCResearch: “IT’S STUNNING”: A taco stand owner in Washington, D.C., is spending $4,000/week — $450,000/year between locations — on private security because crime has gotten so bad in the Democrat-run city https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1732825848368013341 @ByronYork: DC arrests–and jails–a carjacker! All he had to do was carjack an FBI agent. Plus, he was already wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor when he did it, showing the sense of impunity DC criminals have. But this time, just hit the wrong car… Report: Illinois home to 2nd worst judicial hellhole in the country The American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) identified Illinois, specifically Cook County, as the second worst, the worst ranking in more than a decade… due to the state’s reputation for allowing no-injury lawsuits and plaintiff-friendly consumer protection laws. But also the state’s controversial Biometric Information Privacy Act or BIPA is a problem, it says. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that every individual biometric information scan counts as a separate violation, meaning a single instance of biometric data collection can result in thousands of distinct claims… https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_f48e9614-93ad-11ee-964f-ebf14935242a.html @illinoispolicy: Chicago Teachers Union chief @stacydavisgates owes $5,579 to the city in unpaid utilities. Her income is $289,000. Her CTU colleague @ChicagosMayor’s unpaid water bills were revealed in April. His first budget ironically relies on record high fines and fees. https://t.co/ZH3TphaBn8 Tucker Carlson interview with Alex Jones, who predicted 9/11 in July 2001, Covid, and other events by carefully reading reports from the elites: “I’m able to make predictions because they’ve given us a roadmap… They describe we really need big terror attacks, we really need Pearl Harbor events, to get Americans to give up their rights.” https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1732897835572461582 @CollinRugg: Alex Jones claims a White House source told him that President Joe Biden walks around naked in the White House and is drugged up on amphetamines and benzos. “He wanders around for the entire two and a half years, but it’s getting worse… naked in the White House… he doesn’t know who he is… They have to give him a bunch of drugs. A bunch of amphetamines in the morning.” Tucker Carlson: “He is on drugs… I know someone who personally witnesses him taking amphetamines… during the 2020 Election.” https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1732911690021495203 Happy Chanukah! | |
GREG HUNTER
Shunning US Dollar, Ukraine Kickbacks, CV19 Vax Cancers
By Greg Hunter On December 8, 2023 In Weekly News Wrap-Ups7 Comments
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (WNW 611 12.08.23)
Another huge story of yet another country shunning the US dollar. This story is going totally underreported by the Lying Legacy Media (LLM): United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced it is no longer using the dollar for oil trade. This is a monster shift that inches the US dollar to losing reserve currency status. The UAE recently joined the so-called BRICS economic alliance, and all the BRICS countries are either depending on the dollar less or doing away with it altogether in trade. If the trend continues, this could spell disaster for trillions of dollars in debt that need to be sold in the Treasury market to finance America.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is reported to have threatened lawmakers in a classified briefing over more war funding for Ukraine. Austin allegedly said if they did not give more money to Ukraine, “We’ll send your uncles, cousins and sons to fight Russia.” Many European leaders say Ukraine has already lost the war, and nobody wants to admit it. Could this really be just more money going for kickbacks in one of the most fraudulent countries on earth? I’d say yes.
The deaths and injuries are seemingly never ending with the CV19 bioweapon vax. New revelations are showing just how fraudulent and worthless the shots really are. Every week, new celebrities are coming down with weird cancers and sickness, but don’t you dare blame it on the CV19 vax. The Texas AG is currently suing Pfizer for fraud and lies. Pfizer had 63% of the CV19 vax market. The CV19 shots were touted as “safe and effective,” and that was just two of the many lies Pfizer sold to the public, according to AG Paxton. Could Pfizer be the first Big Pharma CV19 vax domino to fall? That is another resounding YES! It will surely fall hard with a possible $350 billion in fines.
There is much more in the 51-minute newscast.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he talks about these stories and more in the Weekly News Wrap-Up for 12.08.23.
(To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here)
After the Interview:
Precious metals and financial expert David Morgan will be the guest on the Saturday Night Post. Gold just hit record high prices. Are they going higher? Is the economy going higher with gold, or is it going to tank? Are interest rates headed higher or lower? We will get answers to all the economic questions you have from one of the best experts in the money business.
SEE YOU MONDAY
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