GOLD PRICE CLOSED: DOWN $2.75 TO $1992.00
SILVER PRICE UP 24 CENTS TO $22.34
Gold ACCESS CLOSED 1990.45
Silver ACCESS CLOSED: 22.33
this week is China’s golden week so physical demand will be slow. It will dramatically pick up starting this Friday.
Bitcoin morning price:, 51,530 UP 2318 DOLLARS
Bitcoin: afternoon price: $51,805 UP 2593 dollars
Platinum price closing $892.40 UP $17.95
Palladium price; $940.00 UP $78.10
END
SHANGHAI GOLD PREMIUM 84 DOLLARS/COMEX GOLD
SHANGHAI GOLD (USD) FUTURES – QUOTES
Beginning Monday, April 1, 2024, CME Group settlement data will no longer be accessible through ftp.cmegroup.com and will have a delayed publication time of 12:00 a.m. CT on all cmegroup.com web pages. Learn about alternate ways to access the data in our FAQ.
Last Updated 14 Feb 2024 09:13:38 AM CT.
Market data is delayed by at least 10 minutes.
I will now provide gold in Canadian dollars, British pounds and Euros
4: 15 PM ACCESS
*CANADIAN GOLD: $2,695.95 DOWN 7.00 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 2,795.90 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//DEC 1 2023)
*BRITISH GOLD: 1584,42 UP 1.50 pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1655.17 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) OCT 2/2023
*EURO GOLD: 1855.76 DOWN 4.50 euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 1903.75 EUROS PER OZ//DEC 1.2023)
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EXCHANGE: COMEX
EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: FEBRUARY 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 1,992.900000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 02/13/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 02/15/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
167 C MAREX 1
363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 33
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 3
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 215
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 2
661 C JP MORGAN 12 5
686 C STONEX FINANCIA 3
690 C ABN AMRO 3 7
737 C ADVANTAGE 4
880 H CITIGROUP 96
905 C ADM 5
991 H CME 77
TOTAL: 233 233
MONTH TO DATE: 16,760
JPMorgan stopped 0/20 contracts.
FOR FEB.:
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR FEB/2024. CONTRACT: 213 NOTICES FOR 21300 OZ or 0.6625 TNNES
total notices so far: 16,760 contracts for 1,676,000 Oz (52.130 tonnes)
FOR FEBRUARY:
SILVER NOTICES 0 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR nil OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 1066 for 5,330,000 oz
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END
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL
GLD
WITH GOLD DOWN $2.75//
INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD/ : NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:
INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.92 TONNES
SLV//
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP 24 CENTS AT THE SLV//
NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV AGAIN:
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 437.615 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI ROSE BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 5782 CONTRACTS TO 152,544 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020 AND THIS FAIR SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR LOSS OF $0.60 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON TUESDAY. WE HAD ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AT THE COMEX SESSION AND LITTLE SHORT COVERING AS THE OPEN INTEREST ROSE HUGELY. WE HAD A MEGA HUMONGOUS 4237 T.A.S ISSUANCE AND THESE WILL BE USED FOR MANIPULATION LATER THIS MONTH/AS WELL AS TODAY. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CROOKS NEED A HIGHER SILVER T.A.S. TO CARRY ON THEIR CROOKED MANIPULATION.
CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE. THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS: 1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, MID MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON TUESDAY NIGHT: 4237 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 $0.60), BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A MEGA GIGANTIC SIZED GAIN OF 6734 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
WE MUST HAVE HAD:
A VERY STRONG SIZED 755 ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 3.535 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) ACCOMPANYING A STRANGE 89 CONTRACT ISSUANCE FOR EX. FOR RISK FOR 445,000 OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE/ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW TOTAL REMAINS THE SAME AT; 6.97 MILLION OZ
//NEW STANDING FOR SILVER IS THUS 6.97 MILLION OZ
/ HUGE SIZED COMEX OI GAIN/STRONG SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI) HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 4237 CONTRACTS)/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL -REMOVED A HUGE 197 CONTRACTS //
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS FEB. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF FEB
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 10 days, total 5165 contracts: OR 25.925 MILLION OZ (516 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 20.050 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. 66.140 MILLION OZ//
TOTAL 2023: 1,104.10 MILLION OZ/
JAN ’24 : 78.655 MILLION OZ//
FEB /2024 : 25.925 MILLION OZ.
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 5782 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//TUESDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A STRONG EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 755 ISSUED FOR MARCH 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 FEB. OF 3.535 MILLION OZ ACCOMPANIED BY FIRST DAY NOTICE OF 445,000 OZ EX. FOR RISK FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW TOTAL REMAINS THE SAME AT 6.97 MILLION OZ
NEW STANDING 6.97 MILLION OZ /// WE HAVE A MEGA HUMONGOUS GAIN OF 6537 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUMONGOUS SIZED 4237 CONTRACTS//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE TUESDAY COMEX SESSION/// WITH SOME SHORT COVERING FROM OUR SPEC SHORTS (OPEN INTEREST FELL) . THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE TUESDAY NIGHT (4237) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE//PROBABLY TODAY., .
WE HAD 0 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR nil OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 3514 CONTRACTS TO 420,812 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,733 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110.
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: – REMOVED 58 CONTRACTS
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI ( 3514 CONTRACTS) DESPITE OUR $20.15 LOSS IN PRICE//TUESDAY. WE ALSO HAD A RATHER LARGE INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR FEB. AT 49.773 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE ACCOMPANIED BY FIRST DAY NOTICE : 55,400 OZ EX. FOR RISK //THUS INITIAL STANDING FOR FEB: 51.494 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5500 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW TOTAL OF GOLD STANDING: 54.786 TONNES // ALL OF THIS HAPPENED DESPITE OUR $20.15 LOSS IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF 15,624 OI CONTRACTS (48.59) PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A POWERFUL SIZED 12,052 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 420,870
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 15,566 CONTRACTS WITH 3514 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A POWERFUL SIZED 12,052 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 15,566 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A STRONG SIZED 3001 CONTRACTS.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A POWERFUL SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (12,052 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI (3572) //TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 15,566 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE ( 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR FORMER FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING LONG AND SPECULATORS GOING SHORT ,2.) STRONG INITIAL STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR FEB. AT 49.773 TONNES PLUS FIRST DAY NOTICE OF 1.723 TONNE OZ EX. FOR RISK FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 5500 OZ QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING 54.786 TONNES. / 3) ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION // 4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAIN/ 5) FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///6: GOOD T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 3001 CONTRACTS
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2024 INCLUDING TODAY
FEB.
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF FEB. :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 34,311 CONTRACTS OR 3,431,100 OZ OR 106,72 TONNES IN 10 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3431 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 10 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 106.72 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2022, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 106.72/3550 x 100% TONNES 2.69% 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. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS 2578 TONNES LAST YEAR
JAN ’24: 291.76 TONNES (WILL BE MUCH GREATER THAN LAST MONTH.//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EX FOR PHYSICAL)
FEB’24: 106,72 TONNES (SHOULD BE A WEAKER ISSUANCE MONTH)
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF FEB. 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 (FEB), 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 ROSSE BY A GIGANTIC SIZED 5782 CONTRACTS OI TO 152,741 AND CLOSER TO THE 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 755 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MARCH 755 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 755 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON. IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI GAIN OF 5782 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 755 OI TRANSFERRED TO LONDON THROUGH EFP’S,
WE OBTAIN A MEGA HUMONGOUS GAIN OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 6537 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTAL 32.685 MILLION OZ
OCCURRED DESPITE OUR $.60 LOSS IN PRICE …..
END
OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY
1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT
(report Harvey)
b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES
(Peter Schiff)
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS//
WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED XXX //Hang Seng CLOSED XXX /The Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 260.65 PTS OR 0.69% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.73% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed XXXX
//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2264 /Oil UP TO 77.06 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 82.85/ Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING XXXX LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING XXXXX 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 ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 3514 CONTRACTS TO 420,812 DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $20.15 WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY TRADING.
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW IN THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB..… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A POWERFUL SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS 12,052 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : APRIL 12,052 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 12,054 CONTRACTS
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A HUGE SIZED TOTAL OF 15,566 CONTRACTS IN THAT 12,052 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN OF 3514 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $20.15 TUESDAY COMEX. AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT WAS A GOOD SIZED 3001 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/T.A.S. SPREAD WHICH WILL BE LIQUIDATED IN DAYS HENCE//.
// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: FEB (54.786 TONNES) ( ACTIVE MONTH)
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 24 MONTHS OF 2021-2023:
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. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 54.548 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT LOST $20.15 //// BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED GAIN OF 15,624 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE HAD A STRONG T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ON THE FRONT END OF TUESDAY’S TRADING . THE T.A.S. ISSUED ON TUESDAY NIGHT, WILL BE “PUT INTO THE BANK” TO BE USED AT A LATER DATE AT THE COLLUSIVE CHOOSING OF OUR BANKERS.
WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 48.59 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR FEB. (49.773 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE ALONG WITH AN EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 1.7235 TONNES. THIS WAS FOLLOWED WITH TODAY’S 5500 OZ QUEUE JUMP (.2799 TONNES//NEW TOTAL STANDING 54.786: ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $20.15
WE HAD -REMOVED 85 CONTRACTS TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 15,624 CONTRACTS OR 15,62400 OZ OR 48.59 TONNES.
estimated volume today 192,275 fair
final gold volumes/yesterday 233,456 fair
//speculators have left the gold arena
FEB 14 INITIAL FEB GOLD
/ /// THE FEB 2024 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 | nil |
| No of oz served (contracts) today | 213 notice(s) 21300 OZ 0.6625 TONNES |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 300 contracts 30,000 oz 0.93312 TONNES |
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month | 16,760 notices 1,676,000 oz 52.130 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 deposits:
total dealer deposits: nil oz
total customer withdrawals: 0
we had 0 customer deposits
Adjustments: 0
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR FEB.
For the front month of FEBRUARY we have an oi of 513 contracts having GAINED 35 contracts. We had 20 notices filed on Tuesday, so we gained 55 contracts or an additional 5500 oz will stand for delivery at the comex as they took delivery at the comex
We also had 554 notices filed under exchange for risk on first day notice for a total of 55,400 oz or 1.723 tonnes to which must be added to the delivery cycle.
Thus initial standing for gold for February is 50.136 tonnes + 1.723 tonnes = 51.859 tonnes. This was followed with today’s queue jump of 5500 oz for .1710 tonnes//New standing 53.063 tonnes + 1.723 tonnes = 54.786 TONNES
March gained 94 contracts to stand at 2219
APRIL GAINED 935 CONTRACTS FALLING TO 336,615.
We had 213 contracts filed for today representing 21,300 oz
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer account and 12 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 213 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 5 notice(s) was (were) stopped ( (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the FEB. /2024. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (16,760 x 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB. (513 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today 213 x 100 oz per contract equals 1,706,000 OZ OR 53.063 TONNES + 1.723 Ex for Risk/prior = 54.786 tonnes
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the FEB. contract month: No of notices filed so far (16,760) x 100 oz + (513) {OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (213) x 100 oz which equals 1,706,000 oz (53.063 TONNES) + 54,400 oz (1.723 TONNES) ex. for risk/prior// NEW total standing OR 54.786 TONNES
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR FEB: 54.786 TONNES WHICH IS GREAT FOR AN ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR.
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: 1,401,069.091 43.579 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD: 18,470,836.934 OZ
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 8,641,770.916 (268.795 tonnes).
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 9,829,066.018 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 7,240,780 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD) 225.21 tonnes
END
SILVER/COMEX
FEB 14/INITIAL
//2024// THE FEB 2024 SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | nil . |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | nil OZ |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | 1,216,017,520 oz Brinks |
| No of oz served today (contracts) | 0 CONTRACT(S) (nil OZ) |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 239 contracts (1,195,000 oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 1066 Contracts (5,330,000 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 1 deposits customer account:
i) Into Brinks: 1,216,017.520 oz
total customer deposits 1,216,017.520 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 129.806 million oz/278.787 million or 46.69%
adjustment: 0
Comex withdrawals: 0
total withdrawal: nil oz
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 42.873 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 278.7887 million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DECEMBER:
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF FEB. /2023 OI: 239 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 0 CONTRACT(S). WE HAD 0 NOTICES FILED ON TUESDAY SO WE LOST 0 CONTRACTS OR AN ADDITIONAL NIL OZ OF SILVER CONTRACTS WILL STAND FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX
MARCH LOST 1099 CONTRACTS TO 77,619
APRIL SAW A GAIN OF 9 CONTRACT TO STAND AT 28
MAY SAW A GAIN OF 6202 CONTRACTS UP TO 55,851
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 0 for NIL oz
Comex volumes// est. volume today 95,667 huge
Comex volume: confirmed yesterday 118,822 huge//gigantic
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in FEB. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 1066 x 5,000 oz = 5,330,000 oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB. (239) and the number of notices served upon today 0 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.
Thus the standings for silver for the FEB/2024 contract month: 1066 (notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of FEB. (239) – number of notices served upon today (0 )x 500 oz of silver standing for the FEB contract month equates to 6.5250 MILLION OZ. + .445 MILLION OZ EX. FOR RISK PRIOR//NEW TOTAL 6.9700 MILLION OZ
New total standing: 6.9700 million oz.
There are 42.873 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!
FEB14/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.75 TODAY NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.92 TONNES
FEB13/WITH GOLD DOWN $20.15 TODAY NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.92 TONNES
FEB12/WITH GOLD DOWN $4.80 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A STRONG WITHDRAWAL OF 1.74 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.92 TONNES
FEB9/WITH GOLD DOWN $8.60 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A STRONG DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.66 TONNES
FEB8/WITH GOLD DOWN $2.70 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.47 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.22 TONNES:
FEB7/WITH GOLD UP $0.40 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.04 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 847.69 TONNES:
FEB6/WITH GOLD UP $8.50 TODAY NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:/ / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 851.73 TONNES:
FEB5/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.85 TODAY SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF .58 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 851.73 TONNES:
FEB 2/WITH GOLD DOWN $17.95 TODAY SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF .58 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 851.15 TONNES:
FEB 1/WITH GOLD UP $5.00 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 851.15 TONNES:
JAN 31/WITH GOLD UP $16.40 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 852.88 TONNES:
JAN 30/WITH GOLD UP $6.50 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.16 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 854.89 TONNES:
TOTAL IN LAST 18 DAYS WITHDRAWAL OF 14.12 TONNES
JAN 29/WITH GOLD UP $8.70 TODAYHUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.88 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 856.05 TONNES
JAN 26/WITH GOLD DOWN $0.10 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 858.93 TONNES
JAN 25/WITH GOLD UP $2.50 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 858.93 TONNES
JAN 24/WITH GOLD DOWN $9.75 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: / //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 858.93 TONNES
JAN 23/WITH GOLD UP $3.95 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/ //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 858.93 TONNES
JAN 22/WITH GOLD DOWN $6.00 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/ //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 860.95 TONNES
JAN 19/WITH GOLD UP $8.15 TODAY:NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //://INVENTORY RESTS AT 862.10 TONNES
JAN 18/WITH GOLD UP $14.85 TODAY:HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.30 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//://INVENTORY RESTS AT 862.10 TONNES
JAN 17/WITH GOLD DOWN $23.25 TODAY: BIG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF .549 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.;//://INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.40 TONNES
JAN 12/WITH GOLD UP $31.65 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD; A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.61 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//://INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.99 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 841.92 TONNES
Now the SLV Inventory/( vehicle is a fraud as there is no physical metal behind them
FEB 14/WITH SILVER UP 24 CENTS TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 437.615 MILLION OZ
FEB 13/WITH SILVER DOWN 60 CENTS TODAY SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A SMALL WITHDRAWAL OF 0.504 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 437.615 MILLION OZ
FEB 12/WITH SILVER UP 14 CENTS TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.921 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 438.119 MILLION OZ
FEB 9/WITH SILVER DOWN 4 CENTS TODAY SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A SMALL DEPOSIT OF 600,000 OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.040 MILLION OZ
FEB 8/WITH SILVER UP 29 CENTS TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 439.994 MILLION OZ
FEB 7/WITH SILVER DOWN 18 CENTS TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.04 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV///INVENTORY RESTS AT 439.994 MILLION OZ//LAST 9 DAYS: 10.7598 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
FEB 6/WITH SILVER UP 11 CENTS TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: /INVENTORY RESTS AT 435.144 MILLION OZ//LAST 9 DAYS: 10.7598 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
FEB 5/WITH SILVER DOWN 32 CENTS TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.345 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 435.144 MILLION OZ//LAST 8 DAYS: 10.7598 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
FEB 2/WITH SILVER DOWN 50 CENTS TODAY SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.58 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 438.489 MILLION OZ//LAST 7 DAYS: 14.105 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
FEB 1/WITH SILVER UP 7 CENTS TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.19 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 438.947 MILLION OZ//LAST 6 DAYS: 10.3018 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
JAN 31/WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.7438 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 440.137 MILLION OZ//LAST 5 DAYS: 9.1118 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
JAN 30/WITH SILVER DOWN 5 CENTS TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.876 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 442.699 MILLION OZ//LAST 4 DAYS: 7.368 MILLION OZ WITHDRAWAL
JAN 29/WITH SILVER UP $.37 TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.105 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 444.575 MILLION OZ
JAN 26/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.03 TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.556 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /INVENTORY RESTS AT 446.680 MILLION OZ
JAN 25/WITH SILVER UP $0.03 TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.831 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // /
INVENTORY RESTS AT 448.236 MILLION OZ
JAN 24/WITH SILVER UP $0.44 TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ANOTHER DEPOSIT OF 1.375 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 450.067 MILLION OZ
JAN 23/WITH SILVER UP $0.21 TODAY MEGA CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 16.201 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV(FAIRY TALES) // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 448.694 MILLION OZ
JAN 22/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.45 TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 458,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 432.493 MILLION OZ
JAN 19/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.11 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 458,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 432.493 MILLION OZ
JAN 18/WITH SILVER UP $0.13 TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 432.951 MILLION OZ
JAN 17/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.38 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 779,000 OZ FROM THE SLV.: // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.500 MILLION OZ
JAN 16/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.08 TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.500 MILLION OZ
JAN 12/WITH SILVER UP $0.62 TODAY NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // //INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.500 MILLION OZ
CLOSING INVENTORY 437.616 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1:Peter Schiff/Mike Maharrey
2) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens/JIM RICKARDS
Rickards: Why Gold? Why Now?
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 01:20 PM
Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,
Despite the Wall Street happy talk about the Federal Reserve winning the battle against inflation, that battle has not been won.
Headline CPI (the kind Americans actually pay) was 3.1% in January – lower than December but notably above expectations. However, ‘core’ and ‘supercore’ were more problematic – up 3.9% YoY (flat from December) and up 4.4% YoY (highest since May 2023) respectively.
In other words, inflation is not gone and may even be on the rise with higher oil prices lately due to geopolitical concerns. The Fed will not raise rates, but they will not be quick to cut them given continued inflation.
Inflation has a way of sneaking up on investors in small increments and can do a lot of damage before investors see it for what it is. Sure, 3.4% inflation is a lot better than 9% inflation.
But a 3.4% inflation rate cuts the value of a dollar in half in 21 years and half again in another 21 years. That’s a 75% dollar devaluation in just 42 years or the course of a typical career from age 23 to age 65.
(By the way, I’ll be live tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. ET as part of the Zero Hedge debate series on the future of the U.S. dollar. If you want to check it out, go here to learn how.)
That’s one of the main reasons I recommend gold. Gold is priced in dollars. Inflation means the dollar is worth less in terms of purchasing power. That means it takes more dollars to buy gold, so the dollar price of gold goes up.
What you may lose in the rest of your portfolio in terms of dollar purchasing power is made up in part or all from the profits you make on the higher dollar price of gold. Owning gold will protect you from the ravages of inflation. You’ll have your inflation protection in place 24/7 and won’t be caught off-guard.
Get Diversified!
Geopolitical conflicts and political turmoil often result in unforeseen consequences. These consequences can include supply chain disruptions, economic sanctions, asset seizures and freezes, bond defaults, bank failures and inflation. Oil prices can spike if key waterways are closed, or a vessel is sunk.
Economic sanctions and financial warfare can cause recession or a banking crisis almost overnight. Assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate and alternative investments can be adversely affected by such changes without warning.
Gold tends to be insulated from such shocks because there is no issuer, no creditor and no country involved. It’s just gold. That means you can hold it safely and wait out the turmoil without adverse effects.
Gold prices do not correlate closely to stock prices. Gold and stocks are driven by separate factors. That makes gold a good diversification asset for portfolios that are heavily in stocks. When a portfolio is highly diversified, it can produce higher expected returns without adding risk.
The difficult part is finding asset classes that really are diversified. Buying 50 different stocks is not diversification since you only have one asset class — stocks — and the behavior of various shares will be highly correlated in times of stress. Gold is genuinely diversified from stocks and will improve portfolio returns.
Golden Tailwinds
Gold prices have been trending higher lately with some volatility along the way. Gold hit an interim bottom of $1,831 per ounce on Oct. 5, 2023, and then rallied to $2,089 per ounce on Dec. 1, close to an all-time high.
Gold retreated slightly and then hit another high of $2,093 on Dec. 27. The rally from Oct. 5 to Dec. 27 was a 14% gain in just under three months. That’s an excellent performance.
Today, gold is around $2,033 per ounce, still close to the recent highs. These trends toward higher prices have been driven by lower interest rates; continued inflation; geopolitical concerns about the Middle East; and continued buying by central banks, especially Russia and China.
All those trends will continue. One of the principal drivers of the gold price rally is the steep decline in interest rates in recent months. The interest rate (expressed as a yield-to-maturity) on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note plunged from around 5.0% to 4.0% in a matter of weeks at the end of 2023.
Don’t mistake a 1.0% move for something small. That’s an earthquake in bond markets, especially in such a short period of time (47 days). A 1.0% move in that short a period of time has only happened in the Treasury market six times in the past 30 years.
Rates have backed up slightly in the past month, but that’s to be expected. Nothing moves in a straight line. The decline in rates will resume in the months ahead as the U.S. economy moves into disinflation and recession. That will give a boost to the dollar price of gold since notes and gold compete for investor allocations. Lower interest rates generally make gold relatively more attractive since gold has no yield.
Meanwhile, Russia and China and other central banks have been adding to their gold reserves consistently since 2008. Total gold reserves have increased from about 600 metric tonnes to 3,000 metric tonnes in Russia, and over 2,000 metric tonnes in China (although there is good reason to believe that China’s gold reserves are much higher, perhaps double the official figures or more).
That increase in gold holdings will continue and probably accelerate as the U.S. threatens to seize Russian reserves in the form of Treasury securities and as progress is made on the new BRICS gold-linked currency.
The 10% Rule
Every investor should have an allocation to gold in her portfolio. It’s an excellent diversification and can be a powerful asset to have in the face of natural disaster, infrastructure collapse or social unrest.
I recommend a 10% allocation of investable assets to gold. In calculating investable assets, you should exclude home equity and the value of any private business. Don’t gamble with your house and livelihood.
Whatever is left (stocks, bonds, real estate, alternatives) are your investible assets. Allocate 10% of that amount to gold. That allocation is high enough that you’ll make significant profits (and protect against losses in the rest of your portfolio) if gold soars, but small enough that your overall portfolio won’t be hurt badly if gold goes down.
A 10% allocation is the sweet spot for both profits and downside protection. The bottom line is gold is like an anchor for the rest of a diversified portfolio. It is physical so it is not easily frozen by government fiat.
It offers diversification because it does not correlate to other asset performance (except Treasury notes on occasion). It is the best hedge against inflation.
Gold should not dominate any portfolio, but it should be part of every portfolio.
END
3. CHRIS POWELL//GATA GOLD COMMENTARIES: daily Dispatches
A must read: Macleod is perfectly correct in his analysis on the paper gold business
(Alasdair Macleod)
Alasdair Macleod: The paper gold shorts are desperate to go long
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-02-13 11:30 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Alasdair Macleod
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Today the U.S. consumer price indiex came in a little better than expected, not that a few decimals mean anything. Gold was marked down $35. So what was that about?
Quite simply, the bullion bank traders know that gold is going to go much higher and want to go long in the paper market. Physical supply is being cornered by central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and ultra-wealthy individuals, particularly in Asia.
The reason they can hit the price is that they are not being challenged in paper markets, where speculative interest has died. …
… For the remainder of the analysis:
https://alasdairmacleod.substack.com/p/the-paper-gold-shorts-are-desperate
end
This can hurt the mining industry big time
(Mining Technology)
Mexico’s president calls for ban on open-pit mining
Submitted by admin on Tue, 2024-02-13 11:46 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Alfie Shaw
Mining Technology, New York
Monday, February 12, 2024
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador proposed this month to modify Article 27 of the country’s Constitution to prohibit open-pit mining, as part of a range of constitutional reforms presented before parliament, citing concerns for excessive environmental damage.
The proposal calls for bans on open-pit mining concessions and activities relating to the exploration, exploitation, benefit, or use of minerals, metals, or metalloids using the open-pit method.
“It is clear that open-pit mining transgresses human rights by affecting the right to a healthy environment and good health. The most significant effects are evident in the communities and towns near project areas, placing them in a situation of vulnerability and inequality,” Obrador’s proposal states. …
… For the remainder of the report:
*
4. OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES/PODCASTS
END
5 a. IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES /
END
5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT
END
6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED
OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.2264
SHANGHAI CLOSED
HANG SENG CLOSED
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 260.65 OR .69%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 104.78 EURO FALLS TO 1.0706 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +.748 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 150.60/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 DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: XXX// 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 +2.3710***/Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.899* /SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.303…**
3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.353
3j Gold at $1991.45 silver at: 22.03 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $30.00
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 14 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 91.43//
3m oil into the 77 dollar handle for WTI and 82 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 150.60// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.748% 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 0.8866 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9494 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: 4.310 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.472 UP 1 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.631 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 30.75…(TURKEY SET TO BLOW UP FINANCIALLY)
GREAT BRITAIN/10 YEAR YIELD: UP 2 BASIS PTS AT 4.123
end
2.a Overnight: Newsquawk and Zero hedge
Futures Rebound After Biggest Rout Since March 2023; Bitcoin Soars
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 08:15 AM
After the worst rout for US stocks since March 2023, which followed hotter than expected CPI prints across the board andsparked fears the Federal Reserve may not cut interest rates as soon as expected, US equity futures and Treasuries rebounded with S&P 500 futures adding 0.6% and rising to 5,000 after the worst inflation-day drop for the index since September 2022, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.6% as JPM writes that “markets will see if yesterday was a blip and today’s relief rally is sustainable or if it is a deadcat bounce.” 10Y Treasury yields retraced some of the previous day’s surge, but held above 4.3% as traders trimmed bets for an early Fed rate cut. In a mirror image response, UK’s FTSE 100 jumped by almost 1% after the latest UK CPI print came in lower than expected; European bourses began the session on a mixed footing and trade was generally tentative, before eventually the Stoxx moved into the green. Oil prices are little changed, with WTI trading near $78. Spot gold falls 0.1%. Bitcoin gains over 3% and is back above $50,000. There are not notable data releases today; Thursday’s Retail Sales and Friday’s PPI have implications for the inflation outlook and yield curve. Today kicks off another day of Fedspeak with both Barr and Goolsbee.
In a hilarious screwup overnight, Lyft first exploded over 60% after the company “mistakenly” guided 500bps of EBITDA margin growth, adding more than $3BN in market cap, before the company admitted there was a typo and the real number was 50bps. Still, the stock jumped 22% this morning after the ride-sharing company’s results did beat expectations modestly on key metrics.
Here are some of the other most notable premarket movers:
- Airbnb falls 4% after suggesting that demand in the current quarter wouldn’t be as robust as the last.
- Cryptocurrency-linked stocks rally as Bitcoin shows resilience to the higher-than-expected US inflation print and advances beyond the $50,000 mark: Cleanspark (CLSK) +14%, Marathon Digital (MARA) +12%, Riot Platforms (RIOT) +9%
- GoDaddy slips 2% after revenue guidance missed estimates.
- Instacart drops 5% after the online grocery delivery firm reported fourth-quarter revenue that missed expectations.
- MGM Resorts falls 3% as a drop in revenue from regional business dragged on overall quarterly results.
- QuidelOrtho plummets 38% after the diagnostics company issued a full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast that missed expectations.
- Robinhood jumps 14% after the online brokerage firm reported fourth-quarter net revenue that beat estimates.
- Uber gains 6% after unveiling a buyback plan totaling as much as $7 billion in shares.
- Upstart drops 14% after its guidance for the first quarter disappointed.
Meanwhile, the surge in crypto continues with Bitcoin rising above $51,000, the highest since Dec 2021 as the relentless net inflows in bitcoin ETF hit a record high.
The CPI data came as a disappointment for investors pushing US stocks to a record, and European peers to just short of one, on mounting hopes for imminent rate cuts. Fed swaps shifted full pricing of a rate cut to July from June after the data and global bonds erased the last remnants of a rally that started in December.
Despite the setback, investors riding bets on an eventual Fed pivot to easier policy aren’t hitting the sell button. BlackRock Inc. portfolio manager Russ Koesterich sees the setback as temporary, with potential for further upside to US stocks of 6-8% this year and possibly four rate cuts still in the offing.
“Despite yesterday’s action in the stock market it’s probably going to to be a decent year for US equities,” Koesterich said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “There’s reason to stay long equities. I don’t think the narrative changes. We still think that the Fed will begin cutting late this spring or in the summer. We still think three, maybe four, cuts are likely.”
There was better news Wednesday for UK traders looking forward to policy easing by the Bank of England. Inflation in Britain came in lower than forecast in January, with underlying price pressures not rising as much as markets and the BOE feared. The pound reversed earlier gains after the data, while UK bonds rallied and UK stocks rallied as traders priced in deeper and earlier interest-rate cuts by the Bank of England after consumer prices rose less than expected in January. The jump in gilts saw UK 10-year yields fall 8bps to 4.07%. The FTSE 100 rose 0.8% and outperformed its European counterparts.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 began the session on a mixed footing and trade was generally tentative, before eventually moving into the green, rising 0.3% as the drug and grocery sector outperformed while miners lagged. ASML Holding NV said the semiconductor market has reached its nadir and there are now are signs of a rebound. Heineken NV shares slumped after the world’s second-biggest brewer warned that persistent inflation and economic worries will weigh on beer demand in 2024. ABN Amro Bank NV rallied after it unveiled a fresh share buyback with the Dutch state participating, as part of its planned sell down in the lender. Here are some of the most notable European movers:
- Capgemini shares gain as much as 4.2% after the French IT firm said its sales growth is expected to reach a trough in the first quarter as demand for tech projects recovers.
- Coca-Cola HBC shares rise as much as 6.5% after a yearly trading update, with analysts praising past investments and lower-than-expected cost guidance.
- ABN Amro shares jump as much as 6.3% after beating 4Q earnings estimates and announcing a €500 million share buyback. Analysts expect the bank’s targets to trigger consensus upgrades.
- Delivery Hero shares rise as much as 4.7% after issuing a trading update for the full year which soothed investor concerns, and achieved free-cash-flow breakeven in the 2H.
- Fresenius Medical Care shares rise as much as 5.2% after dialysis provider peer DaVita reported upbeat results for the fourth quarter.
- Bilfinger shares gain as much as 9.1% after the German industrial services firm forecast 2024 Ebita margin in the range of 4.9% to 5.2%, up from this year’s 4.3% level.
- ProSieben shares rise as much as 12% after the broadcaster reported preliminary Ebitda ahead of estimates and offered a more optimistic profit outlook compared with two months ago.
- Heineken shares fall as much as 6.5% in Amsterdam after the brewer reported full-year organic revenue that missed estimates.
- Norsk Hydro shares fall as much as 3.8% after the aluminum firm reported adjusted 4Q Ebit that missed estimates due to metal market costs.
- Castellum shares slide as much as 4.7% after the real estate investment company delivered mixed results. Morgan Stanley also highlighted the company’s elevated leverage.
- Thyssenkrupp shares fall as much as 10% after the steel company burnt through cash in the first quarter, casting doubt on its ability to deliver its full-year target.
- Entain shares fall as much as 5.2% after US joint-venture partner MGM Resorts reported falling revenue from its regional operations.
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks fell the most in four weeks, tracking an overnight selloff on Wall Street on tempered expectations for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts after hot US inflation data: traders slased expectations for a Fed cut before July after the latest CPI print. Hong Kong stocks erased early losses as the market reopened after holidays. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined as much as 1.1%, with Toyota, Samsung and Commonwealth Bank among the biggest drags. Key measures fell more than 1% in Japan and South Korea, with losses also notable in Australia and India. Markets remained shut for holidays in mainland China and Taiwan, while Indonesia was closed for its presidential election.
- Hang Seng conformed to the risk-off mood on return from the holiday and with mainland Chinese markets shut.
- Nikkei 225 retreated with the biggest stock movers influenced by earnings results, although further losses in the index were somewhat cushioned by the recent currency weakness.
- ASX 200 declined with underperformance in the top-weighted financial sector after Australia’s largest lender CBA reported a drop in H1 profit and warned of financial strain from higher rates in 2024.
- Indian stocks ended the day higher, erasing intraday losses, with state-owned enterprises leading the charge even as technology stocks dragged. The S&P BSE Sensex rose 0.4% to 71,822.81 in Mumbai, after falling as much as 1% earlier, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index advanced by a similar measure. The MSCI AC Asia Pacific index ended 0.4% lower.
“While a single data point does not make a trend, the relentless risk rally over the past months has left little room for error when it comes to the inflation fight,” said Jun Rong Yeap, a market strategist at IG Asia. “A surge in the US dollar and the negative handover from Wall Street offer reasons for some de-risking.”
In FX, the Bloomberg dollar index was slightly lower as the yen advanced after Japan’s currency officials warned authorities stood ready to take steps in the market if needed to curb rapid moves.
- USD/JPY slipped as much as 0.3% to 150.35, paring some of Tuesday’s 1% gain after Masato Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, said authorities are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and are always ready to take appropriate steps as needed.
- Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki reinforced the view, with the comments coming after hotter-than-expected US consumer inflation data boosted the dollar to the highest level against the yen since November
- “I would expect the weakness of the Japanese yen to probably last longer than we expected and most investors had hoped for,” Hebe Chen, analyst at IG Markets said on Bloomberg Television. The message from the Bank of Japan is that “they are still patient about their monetary policy”
- The Norwegian krone led currency gains, following data showing Norway’s economy expanded for a second quarter in a row at the end of last year
- The pound fell 0.4% versus the greenback and was the worst performing G-10 crrency after and traders priced in deeper and earlier interest-rate cuts by the Bank of England after inflation came in lower than expected
In rates, treasuries held a bull-steepening bias heading into early US session with front-end yields richer by around 5bp on the day. US 10-year yields around 4.29%, richer by ~3bp on the day. Front-end-led rally in Treasuries steepens 2s10s spread by 2.5bp, back toward middle of Tuesday range’s, while 5s30s widens 3bp, paring Tuesday’s aggressive flattening move. UK curve sees sharp steepening rally after a miss in UK CPI data prompted traders to price in deeper and earlier interest-rate cuts by the Bank of England. In 10-year sector gilts outperform by 5bp vs Treasuries; 2-year UK yields drop almost 10bp on the day. Move follows a front-end-led rally in gilts after UK consumer prices rose less than expected in January. US session includes two scheduled Fed speakers and no major economic data.
In commodities, oil steadied after a mixed US inventory report, while OPEC and the IEA offered contrasting outlooks for the global crude market. WTI traded near $78 while gold was locked in a narrow range after plunging below $2,000 an ounce for the first time in two months while Bitcoin traded near the $50,000 mark.
Looking to the day ahead, in terms of data releases, we have UK January CPI, RPI, PPI and December house price, Eurozone Q4 GDP, employment, December industrial production, and Canada January existing home sales. We will also be hearing from the Fed’s Goolsbee and Barr, and the ECB’s Vujcic, Nagel, and Guindos, and earnings from Cisco, Sony, Occidental Petroleum, Kraft Heinz, Barrick Gold, Albemarle, and Twilio.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures up 0.3% to 4,988.50
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.3% to 484.26
- MXAP down 0.4% to 167.42
- MXAPJ little changed at 510.82
- Nikkei down 0.7% to 37,703.32
- Topix down 1.1% to 2,584.59
- Hang Seng Index up 0.8% to 15,879.38
- Shanghai Composite up 1.3% to 2,865.90
- Sensex up 0.5% to 71,910.87
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.7% to 7,547.74
- Kospi down 1.1% to 2,620.42
- German 10Y yield little changed at 2.36%
- Euro little changed at $1.0705
- Brent Futures little changed at $82.73/bbl
- Brent Futures little changed at $82.72/bbl
- Gold spot down 0.1% to $1,990.46
- U.S. Dollar Index little changed at 104.89
Top overnight news
- Mike Gallagher, head of the US House China committee, will visit Taipei next week with a group of lawmakers in a show of support for Lai Ching-te ahead of his May inauguration as president of Taiwan. The hawkish Wisconsin Republican will arrive in Taiwan on February 21, according to three people familiar with his plan, including two Taiwanese officials who expect him to lead a delegation of seven US lawmakers. FT
- The yen weakened past 150 per dollar for the first time since November, prompting pushback from Japanese officials. The country’s top foreign exchange official Masato Kanda said speculative moves “aren’t desirable.” BBG
- Russian President Vladimir Putin’s suggestion of a ceasefire in Ukraine to freeze the war was rejected by the United States after contacts between intermediaries, three Russian sources with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. RTRS
- UK CPI for Jan modestly undershoots the Street in Jan (core +5.1% vs. the Street +5.2% and headline +4% vs. the Street +4.1%), a relief for markets after the US reading on Tues. RTRS
- The ECB requires additional evidence that inflation is returning to its goal before it can safely begin loosening monetary policy, according to Vice President Luis de Guindos. BBG
- US crude inventories gained by 8.5 million barrels last week, API data is said to show. That would be the biggest increase since mid-November if confirmed by the EIA. Distillate supplies fell for a fourth week and gasoline stockpiles also dropped. BBG
- Tom Suozzi, a former Democratic congressman, won a closely watched special House election in New York on Tuesday, narrowing the Republican majority in Washington and offering his party a potential playbook to run in key suburban swing areas in November. NYT
- CIA Director William Burns concluded negotiations with top Middle Eastern officials on Tuesday without making major strides toward a deal between Israel and Hamas that would free hostages and pause fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to officials familiar with the talks. WSJ
- Jeff Bezos offloaded more than $4 billion in Amazon stock over four trading days, less than two weeks after disclosing a plan to dispose up to 50 million shares. Bezos hasn’t explained why he’s selling now, but he may be hoping to save on taxes. BBG
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks declined amid headwinds from the US where hot inflation unwound Fed rate cut expectations. ASX 200 declined with underperformance in the top-weighted financial sector after Australia’s largest lender CBA reported a drop in H1 profit and warned of financial strain from higher rates in 2024. Nikkei 225 retreated with the biggest stock movers influenced by earnings results, although further losses in the index were somewhat cushioned by the recent currency weakness. Hang Seng conformed to the risk-off mood on return from the holiday and with mainland Chinese markets shut.
Top Asian News
- Japan’s top currency diplomat Kanda said recent yen moves are rapid and is watching FX moves with a high sense of urgency, while he said they will take appropriate actions if needed on forex and are ready to take action on FX anytime 24 hours all year round. Furthermore, Kanda said rapid FX moves could have an adverse impact on the economy and he suggested appropriate responses to the weak yen could include intervention.
- Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki said he is watching the FX market with even stronger urgency and that rapid FX moves are undesirable, while he won’t comment on the FX level and intervention.
- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi says will not comment on FX levels; important for currencies to move in stable manner reflecting fundamentals
European bourses, Stoxx600 (+0.3%) began the session on a mixed footing and trade was generally tentative, before eventually moving into the green. And love is in the air for the FTSE 100 (+0.8%), as weakness in the Pound (post-CPI) lifts the index off its feet. European sectors hold a mostly positive bias, with Media taking the spotlight, helped by significant post-earning strength in ProsibenSat (+9.2%). Basic Resources is hampered by broader losses in underlying base metal prices. US equity futures (ES +0.4%, NQ +0.6%, RTY +0.9%) are firmer across the board and attempting to pare back some of the prior day’s hefty losses, sparked by the hotter-than-expected CPI. The RTY outperforms after significant losses yesterday and as Bitcoin continues to advance past USD 50k.
Top European News
- ECB’s de Guindos says incoming data continues to signal weakness in the near term; some forward-looking survey indicators point to a pick-up in growth further ahead; deflationary process is continuing.
- ECB’s Vujcic says ECB seems to be getting the inflation fight right.
- German Economy Minister says German economic recovery may be delayed further by strikes, geopolitics, and weak foreign demand; inflation-dampening factors in Germany likely to persist over the rest of the year.
- German Direct Investments in China rose 4.3% Y/Y to a record high of EUR 11.9bln in 2023; investments in China as a share of overall German investments abroad rose to 10.3% – the highest level since 2014, according to IW Institute.
- UK ONS says UK House Prices -1.4% Y/Y in Dec (vs -2.1% in Nov)
Earnings
- Airbnb Inc (ABNB) – Q4 2023 (USD): Revenue 2.22bln (exp. 2.16bln), Gross booking value 15.5bln (exp. 15.2bln), Adj. EBITDA 738mln (exp. 643.5mln), Adj. EBITDA margin 33% (exp. 29.9%); to buy back up to 6bln of Class A common stock. Q1 revenue view 2.03-2.07bln (exp. 2.02bln). Shares -5.5% in the pre-market
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 8.18bln (exp. 8.8bln); cuts FY net profit guidance and now expects to break even (exp. +472mln; prev. “slight increase” ); Co. says the steel industry is currently facing a very challenging environment. COMMENTARY: Lower volumes of materials and raw materials had a negative impact. With lower volumes and prices overall, Materials Services posted a figure of EUR 2.9bln for both order intake and sales (prev. EUR 3.3bln and EUR 3.2bln, respectively) in a weak economic environment. Shipment volumes were stable compared with the prior year, order volumes decreased, mainly driven by lower demand from automotive customers. OUTLOOK: In a difficult market environment characterized by geopolitical and trade conflicts, ThyssenKrupp anticipates that macroeconomic development in the current fiscal year will be challenging overall. Shares -8.7% in European trade
- Capgemini (CAP FP) – FY23 (EUR): Net 1.66bln (exp. 2.15bln, prev. 1.55bln Y/Y), Revenue 22.5bln (exp. 22.6bln). To propose a renewal of Aiman Ezzat as CEO. Guides initial FY24 Revenue flat to +3%, Op margin 13.3-13.6%, Organic FCF 1.9bln. BoD has decided to recommend the payment of a dividend of EUR 3.4/shr. Shares +4.3% in European trade
- ProsiebenSat.1 (PSM GY) – Q4 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 335mln (exp. 311.8mln), Revenue 1.28bln (exp. 1.3bln). Prelim FY23 Adj. EBITDA 578mln (exp. 554.2mln), Guides initial FY24 Adj. EBITDA 575mln (exp. 558.6mln). Shares +7.5% in European trade
FX
- DXY is overall steady but the USD is showing varying performance vs. peers. DXY has eclipsed yesterday’s peak of 104.96 but is yet to print on a 105.00 handle. Above which, there is clean air until 105.73 which was the November 14th peak.
- EUR printed a fresh YTD trough as the post-US CPI pressure on the pair continued. 1.0696 is the low print thus far with downside targets including the 14th November low at 1.0692.
- GBP is bottom of the pile across the major following softer-than-expected UK inflation metrics which have put an August cut back on the table. Cable fell to a trough of 1.2544 after taking out yesterday’s low of 1.2573 and the 200DMA at 1.2563.
- JPY is attempting to claw back some lost ground vs. the USD after printing a 2024 high at 150.88 yesterday; remarks from MOF & others in focus, but USD/JPY remains well above 150.00.
Commodities
- Crude is incrementally firmer and little changed following the US CPI, but still underpinned by geopolitics. On that note, reports this morning suggested escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon, with one report stating “This morning’s attack on Safed by Hezbollah marked the most significant attack since the war’s onset.”
- Spot gold trade sideways and continues to hold beneath USD 2,000/oz, with the yellow metal awaiting impetus from geopolitics or Fed speak.
- Base metals are mixed but copper prices remain softer following the downbeat APAC mood, although newsflow remains quiet thus far and price volatility minimal.
- US Energy Inventory Data (bbls): Crude +8.5mln (exp. +2.6mln), Gasoline -7.2mln (exp. -1.2mln), Distillate -4.0mln (exp. -1.6mln), Cushing +0.5mln.
- EU Commission’s Sefcovic said after meeting White House officials that he understands the US pause in LNG export approvals will not affect US LNG shipments to Europe in the next two to three years.
- Citi says gold market seems biased to tactically correct to USD 1,925-50/oz at some point in the next 1-3 months
- Global LNG trade reached 404mln metric tons in 2023, according to Shell’s LNG outlook; China is likely to dominate LNG demand growth this decade; gas market remains structurally tight
Geopolitics: Middle East
- “Israeli media: Sirens sound for the third time in Safed”, according to Al Arabiya.
- Al Jazeera reporter notes “This morning’s attack on Safed by Hezbollah marked the most significant attack since the war’s onset.”
- “Israeli media: War Council discusses how to respond to heavy Hezbollah bombardment of Israel”, according to Al Jazeera.
- Israeli Minister of National Security Gvir calls on PM Netanyahu to hold an urgent meeting, says that “the shelling from Lebanon is not sporadic strikes but an actual war”, according to Al Jazeera
Geopolitics: Other
- North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, according to Yonhap.
US event calendar
- Nothing scheduled
Central Banks speakers
- 09:30: Fed’s Goolsbee Speaks in Q&A
- 16:00: Fed’s Barr Speaks at NABE Conference
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Happy Valentines’ Day to all our readers. The uneasy brokered agreement at home where we both agree not to give each other cards/gifts will be tested today as I have to work out whether I was actually expected to ignore that or not. I can guarantee that my wife will keep her side of the bargain!
US CPI certainly didn’t keep its side of the bargain yesterday as Cupid dropped his dovish arrows and instead delivered a red-hot inflation print. We’ll review it in more detail below but the print sent 10yr Treasury yields soaring up +13.5bps, the S&P 500 down -1.37%, the Russell 2000 (-3.96%) to its worst day since June 2022, and took out nearly a whole 25bps Fed cut by December.
Linked into this it’s fair to say my macro view has had to evolve over the last few months as a US recession around the end of 2023 looked less likely. First a reminder of the sequencing of my view in recent years to recap how I currently think about the macro world. In 2020/early 2021 when the money supply exploded at its strongest pace since WWII, it was pretty obvious that you would get high inflation that was far more than just supply side driven. As such we made an early, way out of consensus call that the Fed would have to raise rates to over 5% as we reached the start of their hiking cycle. From that point on it was pretty difficult to see how you could avoid a hard landing, given how far behind the curve the Fed was, albeit with an appropriate lag. I thought you would get a US recession by the end of 2023. However the GDP revisions last September did suggest that excess savings would now not run out until the end of 2024 rather than the end of 2023 and this was a little bit of a wakeup call for my view.
I started this year being most convinced that the combination of the perfect soft landing of the economy, with growth and inflation moving to trend and 6-7 cuts was unlikely. Although soft landing prospects had risen, the tails on either side of that remained elevated simply because the forces have been so big in either direction, especially alongside knowing that monetary policy lags are long and variable. We had the biggest increase in the US money supply since WWII and then the largest contraction since the 1930s, and the first since just after WWII. So to pad out the metaphor, to perfectly land the plane required you to program the steering wheel for landing, hours in advance, without knowing the exact nature of the very strong crosswind speeds at the airport. Once you got into your descent near the airstrip, your controls only helped you on your next take-off.
Of course it’s possible that everything can be perfectly calibrated, and the probabilities have gone up of late, but it still requires a huge amount of good fortune. Indeed the US CPI print hinted that there could be monetary overhang left in the system. This excess savings has helped the economy successfully survive over a year or so of very tight credit and lending standards. However does it also mean that inflation will struggle to make that final journey back to 2%? In conclusion while the soft landing outcome is still in the ascendancy, I would say a no landing scenario is under priced. It might not happen but the forces in both directions have been so big that the degree of certainty must be reduced as to which landing we get and therefore some hedging of bets is prudent.
Our US economics team’s reaction to the data is here but in brief we saw the headline CPI result come in at 0.3% month-on-month (vs 0.2% expected), with the year-on-year value at 3.1% (vs 2.9% expected). Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.4% month-on-month (vs 0.3% expected), its highest value since last May. This brought the core CPI up to 3.9% year-on-year (vs 3.7% expected), reducing the already slim chances that the Fed will be lowering rates in the near-term.
Shelter caught everyone by surprise and increased 0.6% in January, the largest factor in the monthly increase in the core index. If that was the only anomaly, the report might have been seen as a one-off. But we also saw ‘supercore inflation’, which covers core services ex housing, rise to 4.3% YoY, its highest level since last May and with the largest monthly increase (+0.85%) since April 2022. So a major blow to the disinflation narrative in US services. The measure had been stalling at just under 4% in the last few months. Together with the strong nonfarm payrolls for January, this CPI report will give the Fed less confidence of sustainably reaching 2% inflation. Attention will next shift to the PPI print on Friday and whether its signal for PCE inflation, which the Fed targets, is any more sanguine. Note that some of the strong services CPI drivers (healthcare, airfares) do not enter PCE, instead being taken from the PPI. So there is still some hope for the inflation doves later this week.
A March cut was largely taken out of play after the number, as the probability of a 25bps cut fell from 18% to 11%. A full 25bps cut is now only just priced in by the June meeting. Overall, the market took out -24.6bps of expected cuts in 2024, with 87bps priced in by the December meeting as of yesterday’s close. That is down from a peak of 168bps on January 12, and nearing the 75bps of cuts pencilled by the median FOMC member in the last SEP in December. The broad dollar index (+0.76%) benefitted from the rates repricing, rising to its highest level in three months.
10yr Treasury yields shot up by nearly 16bps from its intraday low just before the data and slightly extended this rise later on to close +13.5bps higher at 4.315%, its highest level since late November. 2yr yields climbed +18.3bps to 4.66%, their largest rise since last March. Europe was not spared, as investors took out -11.3bps of expected ECB cuts to the December meeting, sending 10yr bund yields +3.3bps higher on the day and more than 6bps above their levels before the US CPI print. 10yr Gilts (+9.3bps) underperformed after earlier seeing stronger-than-expected wage and unemployment numbers. Next stop is this morning’s UK inflation just as this appears in your inboxes.
Adding to overall inflationary worries, WTI crude prices rose +1.24% to $77.87/bbl, and Brent +0.94% to $82.77/bbl. This increase came even as a monthly report by OPEC showed that there has been uneven delivery of its new quarterly production cuts in the first month of its new agreement.
Equity markets inevitably suffered against the day’s inflationary backdrop. The S&P 500 fell -1.37% on the day, slipping back under the 5,000 level. Things had looked even bleaker, with the S&P rallying in the final half an hour, having been around -2% down on the day. The selloff was broad, hitting smaller US corporates hard. The Russell 2000 dropped -3.96%, its largest daily decline since June 2022, and moved back into the red in year-to-date terms (-3.10%). This volatility sent the VIX up +1.9 points on the day, its largest rise since October. Technology also struggled, with the NASDAQ down -1.80% and the Mag 7 down -1.54%, although with Nvidia (-0.17%) once again surpassing Amazon (-2.15%) in terms of market capitalisation. The STOXX 600 also retreated, falling -0.95%.
One tech sector that’s performed strongly this year is the semiconductor one which is up +7.01% in the US YTD even if it was -2.01% yesterday. Marion Laboure and Cassidy Ainsworth-Grace, alongside the DB company analysts, have just published a 2024 outlook for the sector where they analyse the top three trends of this year, AI demand, economic cycles, geopolitics, and our equity outlook. See more here.
In Asia, the sell-off is fairly measured and hasn’t accelerated overnight. The KOSPI (-1.04%) is leading losses followed by the S&P/ASX 200 (-0.96%) and the Nikkei (-0.90%). Meanwhile, the Hang Seng (+0.15%) is reversing opening losses of around -1.8% after returning to trade from the Lunar New Year holiday. Outside of Asia, US stock futures are flat but with 2yr yields -3.8bps after yesterday’s bond rout with 10yr yields -1.4bps.
In FX, the Japanese yen (+0.25%) is trading slightly higher again against the dollar after spiking weaker through 150 after the US CPI print yesterday. Masato Kanda, Japan’s top currency official, indicated that the authorities would take appropriate action if needed to stem the weakness in the currency while describing the recent currency movement as rapid and speculative. At the same time, the yield on 10-year JGBs (+3.1 bps) briefly touched 0.765%, the highest since mid-December, possibly highlighting that US CPI increased the chances of an early move by the BOJ to raise interest rates. Elsewhere we await the results of the Indonesian election.
Additional data releases from yesterday included US NFI small business optimism, which fell to 89.9 (vs 92.3 expected) from 91.9 in December. In Europe, the Germany ZEW investor expectations for February rose to 19.9 (vs 17.3 expected) but current assessment fell to a bleak -81.7 yesterday (vs -79.0 expected), its weakest since the early months of Covid. Our German economists see continued weakness for the near to medium term and published a report yesterday detailing the disappointing Q1 sentiment data and downside risk to their already below consensus GDP forecast. If the US data hadn’t improved of late, they may have cut their pessimistic -0.2% 2024 GDP forecast further. See their report here.
Finally, to the day ahead, in terms of data releases, we have UK January CPI, RPI, PPI and December house price, Eurozone Q4 GDP, employment, December industrial production, and Canada January existing home sales. We will also be hearing from the Fed’s Goolsbee and Barr, and the ECB’s Vujcic, Nagel, and Guindos, and earnings from Cisco, Sony, Occidental Petroleum, Kraft Heinz, Barrick Gold, Albemarle, and Twilio.
2 B) NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)
Equities firmer, Bonds bullish post-UK CPI which led the Pound lower; Fed, ECB and BoE speak due – Newsquawk US Market Open
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 06:06 AM
- European bourses are firmer, with outperformance in the FTSE 100 after softer-than-expected UK CPI; US futures are entirely in the green, with the RTY leading
- Dollar is around flat and just beneath 105.00, GBP underperforming post-CPI and Yen still holds above 150.00
- Bonds boosted in tandem with Gilt price action, which gapped up post-inflation data
- Crude is incrementally firmer, spot gold trades sideways and base metals mixed awaiting impetus from geopols and central banks speak
- Looking ahead, US PPI Seasonal Factor Revisions, Japanese GDP, Comments from ECB’s Cipollone, BoE’s Bailey hearing, Fed’s Goolsbee, Barr & BoC’s Mendes, Earnings from Cisco & Occidental Petroleum Corp.
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EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
- European bourses, Stoxx600 (+0.3%) began the session on a mixed footing and trade was generally tentative, before eventually moving into the green.
- And love is in the air for the FTSE 100 (+0.8%), as weakness in the Pound (post-CPI) lifts the index off its feet.
- European sectors hold a mostly positive bias, with Media taking the spotlight, helped by significant post-earning strength in ProsibenSat (+9.2%). Basic Resources is hampered by broader losses in underlying base metal prices.
- US equity futures (ES +0.4%, NQ +0.6%, RTY +0.9%) are firmer across the board and attempting to pare back some of the prior day’s hefty losses, sparked by the hotter-than-expected CPI. The RTY outperforms after significant losses yesterday and as Bitcoin continues to advance past USD 50k.
- Click here and here for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow.
- Click here for more details.
FX
- DXY is overall steady but the USD is showing varying performance vs. peers. DXY has eclipsed yesterday’s peak of 104.96 but is yet to print on a 105.00 handle. Above which, there is clean air until 105.73 which was the November 14th peak.
- EUR printed a fresh YTD trough as the post-US CPI pressure on the pair continued. 1.0696 is the low print thus far with downside targets including the 14th November low at 1.0692.
- GBP is bottom of the pile across the major following softer-than-expected UK inflation metrics which have put an August cut back on the table. Cable fell to a trough of 1.2544 after taking out yesterday’s low of 1.2573 and the 200DMA at 1.2563.
- JPY is attempting to claw back some lost ground vs. the USD after printing a 2024 high at 150.88 yesterday; remarks from MOF & others in focus, but USD/JPY remains well above 150.00.
- Click here for more details.
- Click here for the Option Expires for the NY Cut.
FIXED INCOME
- Gilts are boosted on the cooler-than-expected January CPI, though the uptick in All Services (albeit, shy of BoE estimates) means the Table Mountain approach is unlikely to be swayed just yet; Gilts gapped higher before printing a peak at 97.83, where it then traded within a tight range ahead of supply.
- USTs are in-fitting with the above and within Tuesday’s 101-29 to 102-11 extremes going into Fed speak & US PPI Seasonal Revisions. Any remarks from Fed’s Barr or Goolsbee around the CPI print will be sought given we are yet to hear from a FOMC member on it.
- Bunds are lifted as the region reacted to cooler than expected UK CPI, lifting Bunds from 133.00 to around 133.25. Thereafter, EGBs have continued to tick up gradually with a 133.54 peak printing alongside an escalation in geopols & remarks from ECB officials (who overall added little).
- Germany sells EUR 0.81bln vs exp. EUR 1.0bln 1.80% 2053 Bund and EUR 0.85bln vs exp. EUR 1.0bln 2.50% 2054.
- Click here for more details.
COMMODITIES
- Crude is incrementally firmer and little changed following the US CPI, but still underpinned by geopolitics. On that note, reports this morning suggested escalating tensions between Israel and Lebanon, with one report stating “This morning’s attack on Safed by Hezbollah marked the most significant attack since the war’s onset.”
- Spot gold trade sideways and continues to hold beneath USD 2,000/oz, with the yellow metal awaiting impetus from geopolitics or Fed speak.
- Base metals are mixed but copper prices remain softer following the downbeat APAC mood, although newsflow remains quiet thus far and price volatility minimal.
- US Energy Inventory Data (bbls): Crude +8.5mln (exp. +2.6mln), Gasoline -7.2mln (exp. -1.2mln), Distillate -4.0mln (exp. -1.6mln), Cushing +0.5mln.
- EU Commission’s Sefcovic said after meeting White House officials that he understands the US pause in LNG export approvals will not affect US LNG shipments to Europe in the next two to three years.
- Citi says gold market seems biased to tactically correct to USD 1,925-50/oz at some point in the next 1-3 months
- Global LNG trade reached 404mln metric tons in 2023, according to Shell’s LNG outlook; China is likely to dominate LNG demand growth this decade; gas market remains structurally tight
- Click here for more details.
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
- ECB’s de Guindos says incoming data continues to signal weakness in the near term; some forward-looking survey indicators point to a pick-up in growth further ahead; deflationary process is continuing.
- ECB’s Vujcic says ECB seems to be getting the inflation fight right.
- German Economy Minister says German economic recovery may be delayed further by strikes, geopolitics, and weak foreign demand; inflation-dampening factors in Germany likely to persist over the rest of the year.
- German Direct Investments in China rose 4.3% Y/Y to a record high of EUR 11.9bln in 2023; investments in China as a share of overall German investments abroad rose to 10.3% – the highest level since 2014, according to IW Institute.
- UK ONS says UK House Prices -1.4% Y/Y in Dec (vs -2.1% in Nov)
DATA RECAP
- UK CPI YY (Jan) 4.0% vs. Exp. 4.2% (Prev. 4.0%); All Services 6.5% (prev. 6.4%, BoE guided 6.6%).Weakness in GBP following the release. Click here for more details.
- UK Core CPI MM (Jan) -0.9% vs. Exp. -0.8% (Prev. 0.6%); Core CPI YY (Jan) 5.1% vs. Exp. 5.2% (Prev. 5.1%); CPI MM (Jan) -0.6% vs. Exp. -0.3% (Prev. 0.4%).
- UK PPI Output Prices MM NSA (Jan) -0.2% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.6%, Rev. -0.5%); PPI Output Prices YY NSA (Jan) -0.6% vs. Exp. -0.5% (Prev. 0.1%); PPI Input Prices MM NSA (Jan) -0.8% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. -1.2%, Rev. -0.4%); PPI Input Prices YY NSA (Jan) -3.3% vs. Exp. -3.0% (Prev. -2.8%, Rev. -2.1%)
- UK RPI MM (Jan) -0.3% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. 0.5%); RPI YY (Jan) 4.9% vs. Exp. 5.1% (Prev. 5.2%); RPIX YY (Jan) 3.8% (Prev. 4.0%); RPI-X (Retail Prices) MM(Jan) -0.4% (Prev. 0.4%)
- EU Employment Flash QQ (Q4) 0.3% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 0.2%); Employment Flash YY (Q4) 1.3% vs. Exp. 1.1% (Prev. 1.3%)
- EU GDP Flash Estimate QQ (Q4) 0.0% vs. Exp. 0.0% (Prev. 0.0%); GDP Flash Estimate YY (Q4) 0.1% vs. Exp. 0.1% (Prev. 0.1%)
- EU Industrial Production MM (Dec) 2.6% vs. Exp. -0.2% (Prev. -0.3%, Rev. 0.4%); Industrial Production YY (Dec) 1.2% vs. Exp. -4.1% (Prev. -6.8%, Rev. -5.4%)
- Norwegian GDP Month (Dec) 0.5% (Prev. 1.2%, Rev. 1.0%); GDP Month Mainland (Dec) -0.1% vs. Exp. -0.1% (Prev. -0.2%, Rev. -0.1%); GDP Growth Mainland (Q4) 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.1% (Prev. 0.1%); GDP Growth (Q4) 1.5% (Prev. -0.5%). Modest NOK strength following the firmer than expected Q4 growth figures.
EARNINGS
- Airbnb Inc (ABNB) – Q4 2023 (USD): Revenue 2.22bln (exp. 2.16bln), Gross booking value 15.5bln (exp. 15.2bln), Adj. EBITDA 738mln (exp. 643.5mln), Adj. EBITDA margin 33% (exp. 29.9%); to buy back up to 6bln of Class A common stock. Q1 revenue view 2.03-2.07bln (exp. 2.02bln). Shares -5.5% in the pre-market
- Thyssenkrupp (TKA GY) – Q1 (EUR): Revenue 8.18bln (exp. 8.8bln); cuts FY net profit guidance and now expects to break even (exp. +472mln; prev. “slight increase” ); Co. says the steel industry is currently facing a very challenging environment. COMMENTARY: Lower volumes of materials and raw materials had a negative impact. With lower volumes and prices overall, Materials Services posted a figure of EUR 2.9bln for both order intake and sales (prev. EUR 3.3bln and EUR 3.2bln, respectively) in a weak economic environment. Shipment volumes were stable compared with the prior year, order volumes decreased, mainly driven by lower demand from automotive customers. OUTLOOK: In a difficult market environment characterized by geopolitical and trade conflicts, ThyssenKrupp anticipates that macroeconomic development in the current fiscal year will be challenging overall. Shares -8.7% in European trade
- Capgemini (CAP FP) – FY23 (EUR): Net 1.66bln (exp. 2.15bln, prev. 1.55bln Y/Y), Revenue 22.5bln (exp. 22.6bln). To propose a renewal of Aiman Ezzat as CEO. Guides initial FY24 Revenue flat to +3%, Op margin 13.3-13.6%, Organic FCF 1.9bln. BoD has decided to recommend the payment of a dividend of EUR 3.4/shr. Shares +4.3% in European trade
- ProsiebenSat.1 (PSM GY) – Q4 (EUR): Adj. EBITDA 335mln (exp. 311.8mln), Revenue 1.28bln (exp. 1.3bln). Prelim FY23 Adj. EBITDA 578mln (exp. 554.2mln), Guides initial FY24 Adj. EBITDA 575mln (exp. 558.6mln). Shares +7.5% in European trade
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
- US Defense Secretary Austin was released from the hospital and resumed his duties, according to the Pentagon.
- Tesla (TSLA) CEO Musk is inviting Chinese suppliers to Mexico to replicate the local supply chain at his Shanghai gigafactory, Bloomberg sources say, concerning US officials
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
- “Israeli media: Sirens sound for the third time in Safed”, according to Al Arabiya.
- Al Jazeera reporter notes “This morning’s attack on Safed by Hezbollah marked the most significant attack since the war’s onset.”
- “Israeli media: War Council discusses how to respond to heavy Hezbollah bombardment of Israel”, according to Al Jazeera.
- Israeli Minister of National Security Gvir calls on PM Netanyahu to hold an urgent meeting, says that “the shelling from Lebanon is not sporadic strikes but an actual war”, according to Al Jazeera
OTHER
- North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, according to Yonhap.
CRYPTO
- Bitcoin (+3.5%) soars past USD 51k in what has been a strong session in the Crypto markets, with Ethereum (+4.7%) also surpassing USD 2.7k.
APAC TRADE
- APAC stocks declined amid headwinds from the US where hot inflation unwound Fed rate cut expectations.
- ASX 200 declined with underperformance in the top-weighted financial sector after Australia’s largest lender CBA reported a drop in H1 profit and warned of financial strain from higher rates in 2024.
- Nikkei 225 retreated with the biggest stock movers influenced by earnings results, although further losses in the index were somewhat cushioned by the recent currency weakness.
- Hang Seng conformed to the risk-off mood on return from the holiday and with mainland Chinese markets shut.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
- Japan’s top currency diplomat Kanda said recent yen moves are rapid and is watching FX moves with a high sense of urgency, while he said they will take appropriate actions if needed on forex and are ready to take action on FX anytime 24 hours all year round. Furthermore, Kanda said rapid FX moves could have an adverse impact on the economy and he suggested appropriate responses to the weak yen could include intervention.
- Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki said he is watching the FX market with even stronger urgency and that rapid FX moves are undesirable, while he won’t comment on the FX level and intervention.
- Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi says will not comment on FX levels; important for currencies to move in stable manner reflecting fundamentals
DATA RECAP
- New Zealand Elec Card Retail Sale MM (Jan) 1.7% (Prev. -2.0%, Rev. -1.7%); Elec Card Retail Sale YY (Jan) 1.6% (Prev. -0.6%)
- New Zealand Food Price Index (Jan) 0.9% (Prev. -0.1%)
- Indian WPI Inflation YY (Jan) 0.27% vs. Exp. 0.53% (Prev. 0.73%)
2C ASIA AFFAIRS
WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED XXX //Hang Seng CLOSED XXX /The Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 260.65 PTS OR 0.69% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.73% /Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed XXXX
//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2264 /Oil UP TO 77.06 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 82.85/ Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN// ONSHORE YUAN TRADING XXXX LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING XXXXX AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE WEAKER
2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/
NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
END
2e) JAPAN
JAPAN
END
3 CHINA
CHINA/
END
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
EU
SPECIAL THANKS TO ROBERT H FOR PROVIDING THIS FOR US;
A MUST VIEW:
 |
END
GERMANY
end
5 RUSSIA//UKRAINE AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/HAMAS/GAZA/RAFAH//
The Israel plan: move Rafah civilians to 15 tent cities
(Jerusalem Post)
Israel plans to move Rafah civilians to 15 tent cities along the coast – report
According to Wall Street Journal, Israel showed Egypt a proposal to get civilians out of Gaza’s southern city ahead of ground op; PM’s Office says several plans being discussed
By LAZAR BERMAN FOLLOW13 February 2024, 4:15 pm
Palestinians inspect the damage in the rubble of a building where two hostages were held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Amid growing international concern over the Israel Defense Forces’ plans to conquer the Gaza Strip’s southernmost city of Rafah, Israel has drawn up an evacuation plan for civilians along the coast, according to a Tuesday report.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the plan envisions 15 sites containing 25,000 tents each across Gaza, running from the southern edge of Gaza City down to the Al Mawasi area north of Rafah.
Israel has presented the plan to Egypt in recent days, the report said.
An official in the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel that there are several plans under discussion, none of which have been approved yet.
Rafah, which sits on the Gaza-Egypt border, is the target of the next IDF offensive, according to Israeli leaders. The US and regional allies have warned of the humanitarian dangers of the IDF moving into the city, in which more than 1 million Gazan refugees are sheltering.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to provide “safe passage” for civilians out of Rafah without specifying where the large number of people massed near the border with Egypt would go.
Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip set up a tent camp in the al-Mawasi area designated by the IDF as a humanitarian zone, December 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Citing Egyptian officials, the WSJ report said that Israel expects the camps, which would include medical facilities, to be funded by the US and Arab partners.
Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the UNs Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Tuesday that it had not been informed of any Israeli evacuation plan and was not a part of it.
“Where are you going to evacuate people to, as no place is safe across the Gaza Strip, the north is shattered, riddled with unexploded weapons, it’s pretty much unlivable,” she said.
“Enough is enough. Any further escalation would be absolutely apocalyptic.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet with the troops who participated in the hostage rescue operation in Gaza on February 12, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
The United Nations “will not be party” to any forced displacement of Palestinians currently living in Rafah, the spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the previous day.
Netanyahu reportedly believes that, in the face of international pressure, Israel only has one month left to complete its operation in Rafah, aimed at dismantling the Hamas terror group’s remaining operational battalions in Gaza.
According to a Channel 12 news report, the prime minister recently told the small war cabinet that the operation will need to be completed before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10.
Last week, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Netanyahu had directed the IDF to draft a plan for evacuating the civilians in Rafah so that the operation could move forward.
Israeli soldiers drive an tanks on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. The army is battling Palestinian militants across Gaza in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The PMO announcement came amid US warnings that Israel has not conducted the pre-operational planning necessary to ensure that civilians will be kept out of harm’s way and that failure to do so risks “disaster.”
On Tuesday German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who will visit Israel on Wednesday, voiced concern about the looming offensive. She said Israel had the right to defend itself against terrorism, but this did not mean the expulsion of the population.
The Canadian and British foreign ministers also expressed concern over a Rafah operation on Monday.
US President Joe Biden is coming under growing domestic pressure to push Israel on a ceasefire in its war with Hamas, now in its fifth month, though he and other US officials have continued to stand behind Israel’s right to defend itself in the wake of the terror group’s devastating October 7 offensive.
On Tuesday, Biden’s National Security spokesman, John Kirby, stressed that the US “never said that they can’t go into Rafah to remove Hamas. Hamas remains a viable threat to the Israeli people. And the Israelis and the IDF, absolutely, are going to continue operations against their leadership and their infrastructure, as they should. We don’t want to see another October 7.”
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the the White House in Washington, on January 31, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
Rather, Kirby continued, “What we’ve said is we don’t believe that it’s advisable to go in in a major way in Rafah without a proper, executable, effective, and credible plan for the safety of the more than a million Palestinians that are taking refuge in Rafah. They’ve left the north, and they certainly went south out of Khan Younis to try to get out of the fighting. So, Israel has an obligation to make sure that they can protect them.”
Palestinians at the site where two Israeli hostages rescued overnight in an Israeli operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 12, 2024. (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)
As Israel was making plans to evacuate civilians from Rafah, senior Israeli officials were in Cairo on Tuesday for talks on a framework that would see the release of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza and achieve an extended truce. Senior officials from the United States, Egypt, and Qatar are also in the Egyptian capital to resume negotiations on a three-phase deal that would include a six-week pause in fighting.
An agreement would see respite following four months of war in Gaza triggered by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, when terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253 hostages to Gaza while committing brutal atrocities.
In response, Israel launched an extensive military campaign aimed at eliminating the terrorist organization and returning the hostages.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll in the Strip since the start of the war has reached 28,064 people. The figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 10,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Reuters contributed to this report.
end
ISRAEL /HAMAS/RAFAH
Problem Of Rafah Is ‘Over A Million Civilians & 10,000 Hamas Operatives’; IDF Says
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 08:40 PM
China has continued showing its disapproval of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, which has also been consistent with Russian denunciations, and of course Iran’s position too.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday issued a scathing condemnation of the Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, and urged Tel Aviv to immediately halt all operations. It comes a day after an elite Israeli counterterror team was able to free two Israeli hostages during high-risk operations there.
“China is closely watching the developments in Rafah,” a foreign ministry spokesperson stated. “We oppose and condemn acts against civilians and international law. We call on Israel to stop military operations as soon as possible, do everything possible to avoid casualties among innocent civilians, and prevent a more devastating humanitarian disaster in Rafah.”
Regional reports say that Monday alone saw over 40 airstrikes on Rafah, which reportedly killed more than a hundred people. There are common estimates that over one million refugees have surged into the city bordering Egypt during the last months of intense fighting elsewhere in the Strip.
A Hamas statement had described the “The Nazi occupation army’s attack on the city of Rafah tonight … which [has] claimed the lives of more than a hundred martyrs so far, is considered a continuation of the genocidal war and the attempts at forced displacement it is waging against our Palestinian people.”
A bigger full ground invasion is still expected, with humanitarian groups also warning of a looming humanitarian catastrophe, already as the Palestinian death toll since Oct.7 is close to 30,000 – according to Gaza health ministry figures.
Israel, following recent days of pressure from Washington and other allies, has sought to assure that it will seek to evacuate those civilians willing to leave Rafah before the full assault begins. IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in a Tuesday press briefing said, “We know that it is more difficult for us to fight in an environment where there are over a million people and another 10,000 Hamas operatives.”
“In previous parts of the war, we sought to isolate the population. We have the capabilities to do it. We did it in Gaza City. We did it in Khan Younis. We did it in the central camps [of Gaza],” Halevi said.
Meanwhile an interesting new gaffe out of President Biden…
Biden refers to “our military operation in Rafah.” He corrects himself to say “the major military operation in Rafah”, but this is yet another occasion where his flubs reveal the truth. Every Israeli massacre in Gaza is a joint Genocide Joe production. Show more
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-
“I am saying here that the residents of Rafah will be allowed to evacuate the area. It is not right for the citizens, for the residents, for the families, to be in the area of fighting. When will it happen? How will it happen? We will decide when the time comes,” he added.
But some have accused Israeli officials of simply floating false hopes and rhetoric in order to calm Western allies, particularly the US. In Europe there’s a move to prevent more arms from reaching Israel amid accusations of mass human rights violations, also as the Netherlands has been forced by a court to temporarily halt transfers of F-35 parts.
END
ISRAEL/.HAMAS/RAFAH
Netanyahu says ‘powerful’ operation will take place in Rafah after civilian population exits
Today, 8:35 pm
Palestinians fleeing the Israeli offensive on Khan Younis arrive at Rafah, Gaza Strip, Feb. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hatem Ali)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will be moving its forces into Rafah after civilians sheltering in the southernmost city in Gaza are able to leave.
“We will fight until complete victory,” he writes on social media, “and this includes a powerful operation also in Rafah after we will allow the civilian population to leave battle zones.”
An excellent editorial
Jerusalem Post
Israel cannot worry about allies ‘hurt feelings’ in hostage negotiation policy – editorial
Instead of putting pressure on Israel to stop its campaign, the US and the rest of the world should be upping pressure on the genocidal terrorist group to release the hostages and surrender.
By JPOST EDITORIALFEBRUARY 14, 2024 00:03
https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?
There are a number of reasons that US President Joe Biden is likely annoyed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
For one, Netanyahu has distanced himself from Biden’s “day after” Gaza plan of linking Israeli normalization with Saudi Arabia, with a strengthened Palestinian Authority-granted control of Gaza, all leading toward an eventual two-state scenario.
Netanyahu’s insistence on keeping his far-Right partners Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich in the coalition must also rankle, as well as Biden’s perception that the Israeli government is doing little or nothing to rein in settler extremists in the West Bank, as evidenced by the president’s executive order last week against four settler offenders.
But above all, Netanyahu’s steadfastness about continuing the Gaza war to its ultimate conclusion of invading Rafah and eliminating Hamas’s remaining fighters and capabilities – without a clear-cut plan to provide safe passage for the more than a million Gazans who have converged on the beleaguered city during the war – is probably the latest issue that prompted Biden to reportedly talk about Netanyahu in meetings in, shall we say, undiplomatic terms.
To paraphrase an old joke: “You can’t call my prime minister an a-hole – only we can do that.” Surely, many people in Israel feel, like Biden reportedly does, that Netanyahu prefers to keep the war going for as long as possible, for his own political needs: keeping the coalition in place, and staving off the eventual state probe and the likely ruling for his dismissal.
And with every Gazan that is killed in the war, Biden is losing political support for his reelection campaign from the progressive side of his Democratic constituency.
While both men have their own motives for their actions, that shouldn’t get in the way of some irrefutable facts.Advertisement
Indeed, in its just and necessary war against Hamas, Israel has killed thousands of Palestinian residents of Gaza. It’s also true that a sizeable number of the victims are Hamas terrorists, a tidbit that’s never included when the “Gaza Health Ministry” – a transparent euphemism for Hamas – announces the number of those killed in Israeli attacks.
It’s also true that a major military operation in Rafah will put many more Gaza civilians in danger of injury or death, even if a plan of safe passage is implemented.
On the other side of the truth coin is that Hamas has, until now, not offered a reasonable formula for a ceasefire that would bring hostages back and not entail a total Israel withdrawal from Gaza – which in essence would mean the end of the war with the terror group still in charge and not decimated.
The working policy among Israel’s decision makers in government and the IDF is that only more military pressure on Hamas will force them to make concessions and agree to a deal that will free more hostages.
Israelis support Netanyahu’s plan
Biden may hold a grudge against Netanyahu, but the truth is that war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz – who some see as the great moderate alternative to Netanyahu – supports the broadening of fighting in southern Gaza and Rafah.
“There is no question about the need to act in any place in which there is terror. Broad action in Rafah, as we said in the past, is not in question,” Gantz said, hours after the brilliant and daring IDF rescue operation of hostages Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70, from Rafah.
That seems to be the consensus in Israel. We are now closing in on the last Hamas stronghold in Gaza, where its leadership and the remaining hostages are presumed to be.
Instead of putting pressure on Israel to stop its campaign, the US and the rest of the world should be upping pressure on the genocidal terrorist group to release the hostages and surrender – and those countries so concerned with the civilians in Rafah should be working with Israel to provide safe passage and shelter for them so that the IDF can do its job.
If there is a valid proposal on the table, like the one reported on Tuesday by Biden of a six-week lull in fighting and a partial hostage release that would put off the Rafah campaign, then Israel must consider it.
But ultimately, only Jerusalem can decide what the best policy to pursue is – even if it means annoying its best friend in Washington
END
ISRAEL/HAMAS/UNRWA
Israel blocks flour entering Gaza because it was going to UNRWA
(Jerusalem Post)
Israel Blocks Flour Bibi Promised Biden Would Enter Gaza, Latest In Growing Rift
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 07:20 PM
There are more problems than meets the eye between the Biden White House and the Israeli government, at a moment Biden continues losing his progressive base over what they see as his ‘blank check’ support to Israel, while civilian bodies pile up in Gaza.
A fresh Tuesday Axios report begins as follows: “Israeli ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is blocking a U.S.-funded flour shipment to Gaza because its recipient is the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), two Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.”
There are emerging reports of deep “frustration” in the White House in its dealings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He reportedly made a personal commitment to Biden in a phone call to allow in US humanitarian aid to the Strip unhindered, and in particular this flour shipment.
But Israel has accused external aid organizations, especially the UNRWA – which is the prime body distributing aid – of colluding with Hamas terrorists.
Ironically enough, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already “thanked” the Israeli government for giving the greenlight for the flour shipment, setting up the US for political embarrassment at a sensitive moment Biden is looking to ease the concerns of his domestic voting base over his Israel policy.
According to more from Axios, “Smotrich blocked the transfer of the flour after he was notified that it was destined for UNRWA, the primary aid group in Gaza. He ordered the Israeli customs service not to release the shipment as long as UNRWA is the recipient.”
At this point the flour is being held up by Israeli customs, upon direct orders from Smotrich’s office. Smotrich explained, “There is a consensus inside the Israeli cabinet of the need to prevent the aid from reaching Hamas and I will use my authority to make sure this is the case.”
The Biden administration has actually already backed the Israeli accusations against the UNRWA, having temporarily cut off aid to the UN organization, but this is yet another instance of the White House talking out of both sides of its mouth, evidenced especially in the following Monday exchange in a press briefing…
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Israel Blocks Flour Bibi Promised Biden Would Enter Gaza, Latest In Growing Rift
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 07:20 PM
There are more problems than meets the eye between the Biden White House and the Israeli government, at a moment Biden continues losing his progressive base over what they see as his ‘blank check’ support to Israel, while civilian bodies pile up in Gaza.
A fresh Tuesday Axios report begins as follows: “Israeli ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is blocking a U.S.-funded flour shipment to Gaza because its recipient is the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), two Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.”
There are emerging reports of deep “frustration” in the White House in its dealings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He reportedly made a personal commitment to Biden in a phone call to allow in US humanitarian aid to the Strip unhindered, and in particular this flour shipment.
But Israel has accused external aid organizations, especially the UNRWA – which is the prime body distributing aid – of colluding with Hamas terrorists.
Ironically enough, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already “thanked” the Israeli government for giving the greenlight for the flour shipment, setting up the US for political embarrassment at a sensitive moment Biden is looking to ease the concerns of his domestic voting base over his Israel policy.
According to more from Axios, “Smotrich blocked the transfer of the flour after he was notified that it was destined for UNRWA, the primary aid group in Gaza. He ordered the Israeli customs service not to release the shipment as long as UNRWA is the recipient.”
At this point the flour is being held up by Israeli customs, upon direct orders from Smotrich’s office. Smotrich explained, “There is a consensus inside the Israeli cabinet of the need to prevent the aid from reaching Hamas and I will use my authority to make sure this is the case.”
The Biden administration has actually already backed the Israeli accusations against the UNRWA, having temporarily cut off aid to the UN organization, but this is yet another instance of the White House talking out of both sides of its mouth, evidenced especially in the following Monday exchange in a press briefing…
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-
AP’s Matt Lee: What leverage is US using? State Dept spox Matt Miller: “The words of the President…matter” Lee: “Over the top?’ That’s leverage?” (2 days after Biden called Israel’s behavior “over the top,” it attacked the last refuge for 1.5 million Palestinians—killing 90+)
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President Biden has been attempting to simultaneously support America’s closest ally in the Middle East against Hamas while condemning the massive civilian casualties (which Palestinian sources say are in the multiple tens of thousands of dead). He’s seeking House approval for billions more in defense aid to Israel over the next year.
Last week Biden called Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip “over the top” – but has refused to attach conditions on the weaponry deployed in Gaza. The US has also of late sanctioned select Israeli settlers, a move which Israel has condemned. The US is under pressure internationally, being accused especially by European officials of aiding and abetting war crimes and mass civilian deaths.
President Biden has been attempting to simultaneously support America’s closest ally in the Middle East against Hamas while condemning the massive civilian casualties (which Palestinian sources say are in the multiple tens of thousands of dead). He’s seeking House approval for billions more in defense aid to Israel over the next year.
Last week Biden called Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip “over the top” – but has refused to attach conditions on the weaponry deployed in Gaza. The US has also of late sanctioned select Israeli settlers, a move which Israel has condemned. The US is under pressure internationally, being accused especially by European officials of aiding and abetting war crimes and mass civilian deaths.
END
ISRAEL HEZBOLLAH/LEBANON.
Rockets pound North Israel
One dead, several injured as rockets pound northern Israel
Netanyahu to Biden: I want a hostage deal, but Hamas’s demands are a non-starter • US ‘working intensely on Gaza hostage deal’ as Israeli delegation leaves Cairo
Hezbollah believes it has impunity to attack Israel and has launched more than 2,000 rockets at Israel.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANFEBRUARY 14, 2024 14:13
https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?
Deadly rocket fire targeting northern Israel on February 14 illustrates that Hezbollah is not deterred and is escalating attacks on Israel, seeking to target communities deeper inside Israel. Israel evacuated 80,000 people from northern communities in early October because of Hezbollah attacks.
Hezbollah believes it has impunity to attack Israel and has launched more than 2,000 rockets at Israel. Rockets fired by the Iranian-backed terrorist group wounded a woman and her son on February 13. So far, there has been no attempt to fully deter and prevent Hezbollah’s attacks. Instead, Israel prefers precision and proportional response.
Hezbollah gambled in early October that it could attack Israel with impunity and that Israel, focused on the war against Hamas, would not be willing to start a two-front war. Indeed, this is not the Israel of 1967 or 1973, when it successfully defeated multiple conventional armies on multiple fronts in a week or two of fighting, despite many obstacles.
Today, Israel is focused on Gaza and the slow grinding conflict there. It is a conflict in which there is no decisive victory so far. However, the IDF has said it believes the campaign in Gaza is successful, given the complexity of the fight in urban terrain with tunnels underground, and has exceeded expectations.
Hezbollah has been watching Israel’s responses closely. It knows that Israeli leaders have vowed to alter the situation in the north. What this means is that Israel has vowed to return residents to their homes and end the rocket fire that Hezbollah carries out daily. However, Hezbollah has not been deterred so far.
It has lost around 200 of its members to Israel’s retaliatory fire. But 200 members is apparently a number Hezbollah is willing to sacrifice. In addition, Hezbollah knows that proposals have been delivered to Beirut begging Hezbollah to remove a few hundred fighters from the border and make a tacit symbolic withdrawal so as to quiet the tensions in the north.
Hezbollah, like Hamas, has closely followed how to embed itself in the civilian population and tunnel under villages in southern Lebanon. Like Hamas, it uses civilians as human shields and has created an empire of terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon. As with Gaza, the international community enabled this.
A UN resolution that helped end the 2006 war was supposed to prevent Hezbollah from festooning the border with rockets and bunkers. Instead, Hezbollah has been put on steroids since 2006 and has exponentially expanded its arsenal. In Lebanon, Hezbollah has also expanded its political role and has come close to controlling the state itself.
As such, Hezbollah is now a very large organization with a lot on its plate. It was goaded into attacks on Israel after October 7. It has generally targeted areas close to the border. This has led to a kind of concept.
So long as Hezbollah only rains down missiles within a few kilometers of the border, then Israel will respond with precision strikes by artillery and warplanes. It’s a kind of gentleman’s agreement of how to wage this new normal war. As long as casualties are relatively low, apparently, this is fine.
Hezbollah has been slowly escalating, to test the red lines. In January, it targeted Safed and Meron, and it didn’t feel a major increased response. Now it has targeted Safed again, a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah had rejected a French proposal to reduce tensions. Nasrallah claimed that “hundreds of thousands” of “settlers” would not return to the north unless the Gaza war ends. Hezbollah calls Jews in Israel “settlers,” the same language Hamas uses and the same language that led Hamas to October 7.
Northern Israel is now clouded with the same concept that Gaza was clouded with on October 6, a concept that portrays Hezbollah as manageable and one where Hezbollah gets to decide where to attack and when to attack and civilians in the north have their lives put at risk.
end
end
ISRAEL/LEBANON/HEZBOLLAH
Israeli jets strike deep inside south Lebanon after deadly rocket attack on Safed
No plans to evacuate Galilee city, mayor says, as others push to boot Hezbollah away from border * Abbas urges Hamas to quickly agree to hostage deal as terror group heads to Cairo
The IDF says fighter jets are currently carrying out a “widespread” wave of airstrikes in Lebanon.
It says it will provide further details on the strikes soon.
The airstrikes come after rockets were fired at northern Israel, including an army base in Safed, killing an Israeli woman and injuring eight other people.
غارة حربية إسرائيلية استهدفت بلدة عدشيت #جنوب_لبنان
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Footage from Lebanon shared online shows a series of Israeli bombings in a number of towns in the south of the country, including areas in Nabatiyeh Governorate, deeper inside the country than most previous strikes.
Among the towns reported hit are Adchit, Chehabiyah, Bouslaiya, Kfar Dunin and Souneh.
From the strikes in Aadchit El Chqif #Israel #Lebanon
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END
ISRAEL/LEBANON/HEZBOLLAH
MORE STRIKES
Israel Launches Extensive Wave Of ‘Retaliatory’ Strikes On Lebanon
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 01:45 PM
On Wednesday Israel warplanes have been widely reported to be flying at low altitude over Beirut, which is a rarity, amid fears the conflict on the Israel-Lebanon border is about to expand into major war.
Israel’s Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Gen. Herzi Halevi, said Wednesday that “If a war breaks out in the north, the army will use all its tool and capabilities,” as cited in Al Arabiya.
Earlier in the day Sky News reported that an “extensive wave” of attacks were launched on southern Lebanon by Israel, in the latest salvo against Hezbollah. However at least three Lebanese civilians were reported dead in the aftermath: a woman and two children. The attacks resulted in fires erupting in area buildings.
An additional seven others were wounded in the large strikes which pounded villages across the south. Regional reports say that the Israeli strikes were retaliation for a presumed Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel which killed a woman and wounded several others. The location in question is eight miles from the Lebanese border. According to details in Israeli media:
An Israeli woman was killed and eight others were wounded as a barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon slammed into Safed and an army base in the northern city, the military and medical officials said.
In response to the attack, the IDF said it launched “widespread” airstrikes against targets belonging to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.
“Numerous launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the areas of Netua, Menara, and into an IDF base in northern Israel,” the military said, adding that it is hitting back from launch sides on the Lebanese side. Big explosions and casualties have also been reported in Haifa.
Meanwhile, while meeting with civilian leaders of communities in northern Israel in the aftermath of Wednesday’s violence, Gen. Halevi said “there is still a long way to go” in stopping the security threat from Hezbollah, which has resulted in dozens of Israeli towns remaining evacuated near the border.
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BREAKING| The Lebanese Civil Defense says the casualties of the Israeli strikes on several civilian areas across southern Lebanon rose to 4 victims, including a mother and two children, and 11 injuries.
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He told mayors from the region: “Thanks to you, the IDF can act decisively to change the security situation in the north. There are very great achievements in hitting Hezbollah in Lebanon, but we continue to act. This is not the point to stop. There is still a long way to go and we will walk it together.”
Kan News published this video of rockets pounding the base in northern Israel:
שלושה פצועים בינוני כתוצאה מהפגיעה באזור צפת | תיעוד רגע הפגיעה והבהלה
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https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-launches-extensive-wave-retaliatory-attacks-lebanon
On Tuesday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah gave a televised speech wherein he warned that his fighters will not stop its attacks on Israeli troops until the assault on Gaza is ended.
According to an Al-Manar correspondent…
The resistance in Southern Lebanon, has so far attacked:
- HQ of the Northern Region Command in Safad.
- Command HQ of the 91st Galilee Division in “Branit”
- HQ of the 769th Eastern Brigade in Kiryat Shmona.
- Meron Air command and control base
- Beit Hillel IOF base
- Training camp in Kela, in the occupied Golan Heights
- Ma’ale Golan IOF base on Mount Hermon
- Most artillery positions along the rear front and military concentrations
- Every single border military IOF sites
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Injured israelis were transferred to Rambam hospital, north of Haifa, due to the recent rocket barrage from Southern Lebanon
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Nasrallah has meanwhile additionally threatened the further displacement of residents of Northern Israel, according to Reuters. This has been a key issue for Israeli leadership, given that some 80,000 Israeli citizens have been forced out of their homes due to the Hezbollah rocket and mortar barrages, which have come daily.
END
ISRAEL/TEMPLE MOUNT AL AQSA MOSQUE
Israel should make this demand; return all hostages or they will blow up the mosque
US State Department says Hamas demands over Temple Mount are an ‘obvious nonstarter’
By JACOB MAGID
Palestinians attend Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrations by the Dome of the Rock shrine in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says Hamas’s demand for limitations of Israel’s sovereignty at the Temple Mount in the context of ongoing hostage negotiations was an “obvious non-starter.”
The demand was one of several Hamas made in the response it issued earlier this month to a hostage deal framework crafted by Qatari, Egyptian and American mediators. US President Joe Biden said some of Hamas’s demands were “over the top,” but this appears to be the first time that a US official specifies Washington’s issues with Hamas’s response.
“You saw a number of issues that were obvious non-starters, for example, the status of Al-Aqsa is not going to be resolved in negotiation of hostages,” Miller says during a press briefing.
He also notes that the Israeli government has taken steps to ensure that aid is delivered through the Kerem Shalom crossing by declaring the surrounding area a closed military zone to prevent access to far-right protesters seeking to block the assistance from reaching Gaza. Miller says the IDF has also moved its troops into the crossing to ensure that the aid is delivered, even though the protesters have still frequently managed to thwart the shipments.
“We think it is extremely unfortunate the times that the crossing has been blocked. We engage with the Israeli government and have made clear that the position of the United States is that the crossing ought to remain open and that they take whatever steps they can to make sure that it remains open,” Miller says.
END
(Times of Israel)
IDF says Al Jazeera reporter wounded yesterday is also a Hamas deputy commander
PM calls on Hamas to change ‘delusional’ demands to advance talks * Israel strikes Lebanon as IDF chief says there’s a ‘long way to go’ to secure quiet along northern border
END
HOUTHIS/THE WEST
end
RUSSIA/UKRAINE/
this is a good read.
(Jeffrey Sachs)
Jeffrey Sachs: The Biden-Schumer Plan To Kill More Ukrainians
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 05:00 AM
Authored by Jeffrey D. Sachs via Common Dreams,
President Joe Biden is refusing to fold a losing hand as he bets with Ukrainian lives and US taxpayer money. Biden and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer propose to squander the lives of tens of thousands more Ukrainians and $61 billions of federal funds to keep Biden’s disastrous foreign policy failure hidden from view until after the November election.
The $61 billion will make no difference on the battlefield except to prolong the war, the tens of thousands of deaths, and the physical destruction of Ukraine. It will not “save” Ukraine. Ukraine’s security can only be achieved at the negotiating table, not by some fantasized military triumph over Russia.
$61 billion is not nothing. This worse-than-useless outlay would exceed the combined budgets of the U.S. Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, and the Women, Infant, and Children nutrition program.
Almost exactly 10 years ago this month, Biden did much to put Ukraine on the path to disaster. This is well known to those who have looked carefully at the facts but is kept hidden from view by the White House, the Senate Democrats, and the mainstream media that back Biden. I have previously provided a detailed chronology, with hyperlinks, here.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush, Sr. and his German counterpart Chancellor Helmut Kohl promised Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand eastward if the Soviet Union accepted German reunification. When the Soviet Union disbanded in December 1991, with Russia as the successor state, American leaders decided to renege.
President Bill Clinton began NATO expansion over the vociferous opposition of top diplomats like George Kennan and the opposition of his own Secretary of Defense, William Perry. In 1997 Zbigniew Brzezinski upped the ante, with a plan for NATO to expand all the way to Ukraine. He famously wrote that without Ukraine, Russia would cease to be a great power.
Russian leaders have repeatedly made clear that NATO expansion to Ukraine is understandably the reddest of Russian redlines. In 2007, President Vladmir Putin stated that NATO enlargement to that date was a cheat on the 1990 promise, and that it must go no further. Despite these clear warnings, including by his own diplomats, George W. Bush Jr. committed in 2008 to expand NATO to Ukraine and Georgia in order to surround Russia in the Black Sea.
William Burns, now CIA director, and then the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, wrote a famous memo entitled “Nyet means Nyet,” explaining that Russia’s opposition to NATO enlargement was across Russia’s political spectrum. Most Ukrainians themselves were also firmly against the plan, favoring neutrality over NATO membership. The Ukrainian Rada declared Ukraine’s state sovereignty in 1990 on the basis of becoming “a permanently neutral state.” In 2009, the people of Ukraine elected Viktor Yanukovych, who ran on a platform of neutrality.
In early 2014, the U.S. decided to help bring down Yanukovych in a coup. This was standard U.S. deep-state operating procedure, one used on dozens of occasions around the world. The CIA, National Endowment for Democracy, USAID, and NGOs like the Open Society Foundation went to work in Ukraine. The point person was Victoria Nuland, who was first Richard Cheney’s principal deputy foreign policy advisor, then George Bush Jr.’s ambassador to NATO, then Hillary Clinton’s spokesperson, and by 2014 Assistant Secretary of State.
This time, the Russians caught the conspiracy on tape, in an intercepted call between Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt (now Assistant Secretary of State). Nuland explains to Pyatt that Vice President Joe Biden will help choose and cement the post-coup government. The 2014 Ukraine team, including Biden, Nuland, Jake Sullivan (then and now Biden’s national security advisor), Geoffrey Pyatt, and Antony Blinken (then the deputy national security advisor), remains the Ukraine team today.
It is a team of bunglers. They thought that Yanukovych’s overthrow would quickly usher in NATO expansion. Instead, ethnic Russians in Ukraine virulently rejected the Russophobic post-coup government that was installed by Nuland, and called for autonomy of the ethnically Russian regions. In a referendum, Crimea voted overwhelmingly to join Russia.
Obama, Biden, and their team armed the post-coup government to attack the ethnically Russian regions, thinking this would be the end of it. Yet the regions resisted. Ukraine and the breakaway regions signed the Minsk Agreements to bring an end to the fighting and give constitutional autonomy to the ethnically Russian Donbas. The Minsk II agreement was backed by the UN Security Council, but the U.S. privately agreed with the Ukrainian government that it was okay to ignore it.
In 2021, after 7 years of fighting and more than 14,000 deaths in the Donbas, Putin called on newly elected President Biden to stop NATO enlargement and engage in negotiations with Russia over mutual security arrangements. Biden rejected Putin’s call to end the gambit of NATO enlargement to Ukraine.
In February 2022, Putin launched the Special Military Operation (SMO) invasion to push Ukraine to the negotiating table. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky immediately called for negotiations based on Ukraine’s neutrality. Within a month, a framework agreement to end the fighting was reached between Ukraine and Russia, based on Ukraine’s neutrality and an end to NATO’s enlargement to Ukraine. Biden stepped in to stop the deal, with the U.S. informing Zelensky that the U.S. would not support neutrality.
Biden and team had still more failed tricks up their sleeve. They firmly believed that U.S. financial sanctions—freezing Russia’s assets and cutting it out of the SWIFT banking system—would cripple the Russian economy and cause Putin to relent. In fact, they expected that the ensuing economic crisis would topple him. Of course, nothing of the sort happened.
Then they expected that NATO weaponry would trounce Russia on the battlefield. That too did not happen. Then they expected that Ukraine’s “counter-offensive” in the summer of 2023, backed by Pentagon and CIA planners, would defeat Russia. Instead, Ukraine lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers dead and wounded—its military hardware destroyed.
The entire war, including the loss of Ukrainian territory, the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian casualties, and the utter waste of more than $100 billion of U.S. taxpayer money to date, could easily have been avoided.
Now, Biden and Schumer want to throw more Ukrainian lives and more tens of billions of dollars at this glaring failure. They want to do this in a rushed vote, without any Congressional let alone public oversight, without hearings, and without any strategy. The fact is they want to save Biden from the embarrassment of a decade of puerile and failed plotting, at least until the November election.
There remains one answer for Ukraine’s security: diplomacy and neutrality. That solution doesn’t cost lives or money. It was Ukraine’s choice before the 2014 coup and again in 2022 until stopped by Biden. It is the path that Biden and the Senate Democrats still refuse to take.
end
After Returning From Ukraine, US Lawmaker Springs ‘Imminent Threat’ Warning That Dems Admit Is Nothing New
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 12:45 PM
Update (1325ET): The market appears to have shrugged off seen through this latest distraction from Rep Mike Turner as more details are leaked.
First things first, Turner just returned from Ukraine (likely having promised to push for more billions for Zelenskyy).
Second, within an hour of the report, three Members of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee have told Politico that the National Security Threat caused by a New Russian Capability is “Disturbing” but that it is a Longer-Term Concern “Not a Today thing” and that, “It is a Serious Issue but not an Immediate Crisis.”
So, the question is – was this:
a) a distraction from Biden’s broken brain, or
2) a last desperate attempt to get more funding for anything-but-the-US-border, or
iii) a path to pitching Putin as the uber-bad-guy again after his interview with Tucker Carlson.
Either way – it seems like a nothing-burger (almost in their own leaked words).
* * *
6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES
Congenital Syphilis Rises 2,345 Percent in Ontario, Up 599 Percent in Canada, Reports Show
15
A close up photo of a premature baby’s foot in a file photo. Premature birth is one possible symptom of congenital syphilis. (Fred Dufour/AFP via Getty Images)
2/13/2024
Rates of syphilis during pregnancy have risen a whopping 2,345 percent in Ontario in just four years, according to recently released government data.
Cases of congenital syphilis—where the disease is passed to a baby during pregnancy or at birth—have increased substantially across Canada, rising 599 percent between 2018 and 2022, the last year for which figures are available.
While Ontario’s increase is far and away the largest of all of the provinces, Manitoba saw a 199 percent increase in cases while Alberta’s caseload shot up 420 percent, Health Canada stats show.
Figures released by Public Health Ontario (PHO) this year revealed this previously rare disease is now hitting numbers that haven’t been observed in decades.
Twenty-seven cases of early congenital syphilis were recorded in the province in 2022—up from five in 2020, according to a PHO report. Between 2014 and 2019, there were only one or two cases each year, with no cases at all in 2013.
GLOBAL ISSUES
END
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
end
DR PAUL ALEXANDER
You lost your damn mind! They told you that you would kill granny so you needed the Malone & Bourla mRNA technology vaccine to stop you from giving her it yet they lied to you, Malone, Fauci, Sahin
Walensky, Hahn, Kariko all of these beasts lied to you, the vaccine COULD NOT ever work as could NOT move systemically (IgG antibodies) to the nasal mucosa where it was needed (Sig IgA); they lied!
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERFEB 14 |
The vaccine could have never worked, never could have worked…and they knew it. There is and was no mechanism whereby that COVID vaccine introduced systemically could have arrived at the nasal mucosal layer where it was needed. So this was all a lie, bullshit lies and the vaccines never protected the upper airways. Circulating IgG and IgA induced systemically cannot arrive at the nasal mucosa. Do you understand how the vaccine could not work?
You are still in a stupor listening to CDC, FDA, Health Canada, PHAC, NIH etc. and Malone and Bourla, Bancel, Jha etc. they lied to you, they continue to lie, from the moment you masked up, you lost your minds and you need to fight this now for they are coming again with more fake fraud pandemics and fake deadly vaccine etc. I argue we did not even have a pandemic for 100 years, These beasts seek to mainstream mRNA to make designer vaccines to in their lunacy, fix everything yet they know will kill you…this is money making greed, this is culling depopulation. This is killing people!
end |
I call it as it is: POTUS Biden seems to be at a certain stage of senility, to even have advanced dementia. We cannot lie anymore, HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM! Biden is STUNNINGLY mentally disabled
We love America & I want to say nothing ill about Biden, I hate anyone making fun of sick and old persons, DO NOT on my watch, our elderly need grace, respect, decency! Let Biden retire now! EUGYPPIUS
DR. PAUL ALEXANDER
FEB 14
READ IN APP
See Eugyppius excellent stack here, I share, support them:
Joe Biden: Hoarder of Classified Documents, Dementia Patient, President of the United States of America
eugyppius: a plague chronicleJoe Biden: Hoarder of Classified Documents, Dementia Patient, President of the United States of America
Joseph R. Biden appears to have advanced dementia. Among the abundant evidence for his mental disabilities is now the report of special counsel Robert K. Hur, who recommended against charging Biden for mishandling classified documents, in part because Biden can’t remember anything…
Read more
end
You bandits in the US Senate, you high-crime bandits, you thieves, you filthy animals, during SUPERBOWL 2024 while people were drunk on NACHOS & BEER, pulled an OBAMA (Obama care vote), $95 billion US
to foreign wars, to pump wearing freak Zelenskyy, the penis piano playing cross-dresser killer, you take our tax money you lying evil Senators, we have 34 trillion $ US national debt & you do that?
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERFEB 14 |
What about our open borders as you Biden and the US senate for you are doing this US senate and yes, many Republicans in on that too, you allowing rapists, murderers, muslim islamic jihadists to pour in, to come lay in wait, to gang rape our daughters, to kill us (and its coming), to let Chinese nationals, all military-aged to enter (24,000 suddenly) and you give 95 billion to the penis piano player? when we have no borders, we have crime on our streets all over now out of control, we have Fentanyl and other drugs pouring in that kills us, we have so many without, desperate Americans who need help, people whose backs the nation was built on, whites, blacks, all types of Americans who put their blood and sweat in, who sacrificed on the battlefield and you do that? you filthy animals you US senators. Dogs.
You only focused on gender shit and tranny rights but not the American people?
end
Sorry Bobby Kennedy Jr., sorry about this but you can’t get that! You can’t get us to walk away and be silent, mistakes were not made, this was malice, a CRIME, we will not stop blaming, will not
seeking retribution, vengeance, using the courts, judges, juries to do it, we cannot, we just cannot; if you can, join us if you will! We have some COVID hangings to do with the blessings of courts
| DR. PAUL ALEXANDERFEB 14 |
SLAY NEWS
| The latest reports from Slay NewsWEF Announces ‘New World’ of AI-Led ‘Humanocracy’World Economic Forum (WEF) founder and chairman, Klaus Schwab, has just announced plans for a “new world” that will “transition humankind into a new era.”READ MOREBill Gates Launches Scheme to ‘Save Planet’ from ‘Climate Change’ by Chopping Down Millions of TreesMicrosoft co-founder Bill Gates has just launched his radical new scheme that promises to “save the planet” from “climate change.”READ MOREHunter Whistleblower Testifies: Joe Biden ‘Enabled’ Family to Sell Access to the ‘Most Dangerous Adversaries’Hunter Biden’s former business partner-turned-whistleblower is testifying against the president’s family before congressional lawmakers on Capitol Hill.READ MORETucker Carlson Responds to Hillary Clinton’s ‘Useful Idiot’ Smear: ‘She’s a Child’Independent journalist Tucker Carlson has issued a response to smears about him promoted by twice-failed Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.READ MORENikki Haley Implodes after Trump Asks Why Her Husband Is Missing from Campaign TrailPresident Donald Trump appeared to touch on a raw nerve when he recently asked why “Birdbrain” Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s husband has not been on the campaign trail with his wife. READ MOREBiden Bumps Head on Marine One as Concerns Mount over Mental FitnessDemocrat President Joe Biden appeared to bump his head while exiting Marine One before wobbling down the steps, video shows.READ MORESpecial Counsel Report on Biden Could Have ‘Significant’ Impact on Trump’s Classified Docs Case, Expert RevealsSpecial Counsel Robert Hur’s recently released report could have a “significant legal impact” on the classified documents case brought against President Donald Trump, according to a leading expert.READ MOREMultiple Whistleblowers Agree to Testify against Fani WillisMultiple whistleblowers are now preparing to testify against Georgia’s anti-Trump Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, according to reports.READ MOREHillary Clinton Admits Biden’s Age Is a ‘Legitimate Issue’Hillary Clinton has admitted that Democrat President Joe Biden’s age is a “legitimate issue.”READ MOREJoel Osteen’s Church Shooter Was Transgender Pro-Hamas ActivistA shooter opened fire at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, on Sunday, leaving a 5-year-old child in critical condition.READ MOREDeSantis: Biden Should Be Removed from Office with 25th Amendment If ‘Too Senile’ to Stand TrialFlorida’s GOP Governor Ron DeSantis has called for “senile” Democrat President Joe Biden to be removed from office using the 25th Amendment.READ MOREKamala Harris ‘Ready to Serve’ as Democrats Panic over Biden’s Age, Mental FitnessDemocrat Vice President Kamala Harris has asserted that she is “ready to serve” in the top job, according to a new report.READ MOREDemocrats Planning to Use Ukraine Aid Package as Trap to Impeach Trump, JD Vance WarGOP Senator JD Vance (R-OH) has warned Republicans that Democrats have planted a trap in the Ukraine aid package that they are planning to use to impeach President Donald Trump in 2025 if he’s re-elected in November.READ MORE |
The latest reports from Slay News
| EVOL NEWS: |
| LATEST NEWS: |
| EU Leader: Farming Must Be Eliminated to Make Food Supply ‘More Sustainable’The unelected leader of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, has declared that farming must be eliminated to “save the planet” from the “climate crisis.”READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Report: Elderly Citizens Euthanized to Boost ‘Covid Deaths,’ Push VaccinesTens of thousands of elderly citizens were secretly euthanized by their own government in order to boost “Covid death” rates, stoke fear in the public, and push more mRNA vaccines, an explosive new official report has revealed.READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Red Alert: Trump Impeachment “Time Bomb” Discovered In New Border BillSenator J.D. Vance (R-OH) expressed concern on Monday regarding the $95 billion Senate bill allocated for funding the Ukraine War. He highlighted the presence of an “impeachment time bomb” within the bill, which could potentially target former President Donald Trump if he secures reelection in November. Senator Vance urged his fellow Republican colleagues to oppose this bill and vote against …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Dozens of Government Employees In Major Bribery StingThe Justice Department recently carried out the largest number of arrests related to bribery and extortion in New York City, targeting numerous public housing employees. As reported by The New York Times, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have filed charges against 70 current and former employees of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). These individuals are accused of accepting cash …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Outrage: Another Male Athlete Just Destroyed Girls’ State RecordMaelle Jacques, a male student at Kearsarge Regional High School and a sophomore high jumper, emerged victorious in the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 state championship, competing in the girls’ category. Jacques not only secured the title but also shattered the existing girls’ high jump record, leaping at an impressive height of 5’1″, surpassing any other girl’s performance …READ THE FULL REPORT |
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK
END
7//OIL ISSUES//NATURAL GAS ISSUES//ELECTRICAL GRID ISSUES// RENEWABLE ENERGY ISSUES//USA AND GLOBE//GLOBAL SHIPPING
Why Austria is still importing 98% of its needs from Russia
(RemixNews)
98% Of Austria’s Gas Imports Still Come From Russia, An All-Time High Since War Began
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 02:00 AM
Authored by Denes Albert via ReMix News,
A lack of diversification has led to nearly all of Austria’s natural gas coming from just one source: Russia.
Despite an unusually mild winter, Austria continues to feature nearly no gas diversification whatsoever. Austrian Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler, a Green Party politician, intends to take legal action against this development if necessary, and has announced a package of measures to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas.
It was a “big mistake with serious consequences,” said Gewessler about the gas supply contracts concluded with Russia in 2018, which run until 2040. She said that Austria had thus placed itself in a position of dependency that “a sovereign state cannot accept.”
What makes Gewessler so angry is the data from December 2023: According to this, 98 percent of all gas imports came from Russia.
“That is an all-time high since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. This development proves that the players on the liberalized gas market are making too little effort to reduce our dependency,” said the green minister.
Another reason for this development is that a fixed purchase obligation (take-or-pay) was agreed in OMV’s supply contracts, according to Austrian newspaper Kurier. This means that payment must be made in any case, even if no Russian gas is purchased. As a result of these contracts, a higher proportion of Russian natural gas is being used while overall gas consumption is falling and import volumes remain the same. This is because gas consumption in Austria has fallen by a quarter, from 100.3 terawatt hours in 2021 to 75.6 terawatt hours in 2023.
Gewesler now wants to take legal action against the way these contracts are structured: On Monday, she announced a package of measures to reduce dependence on Russian natural gas, as the high level of this dependence poses “a major economic and security risk” for Austria.
“We are currently seeing a clear market failure. There is enough non-Russian natural gas, but the energy companies are not buying it. If the market fails, the state has to intervene. I am convinced of this: The time has come for a statutory diversification obligation. And I also appeal to all those responsible in parliament — let’s take the next step now,” she said.
Not all parties agree with this strategy, and the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which is currently polling in first place, has argued that sanctions against Russia must be dropped in order to ensure Austria continues to receive cheap energy for its industrial sector.
END
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
SHAMEFUL!
CANADA
END
Sharif’s PMLN may also be able to form a coalition with other parties and exclude the PTI from the government, Kugelman added.
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING 7;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0706 DOWN .0003
USA/ YEN 150.60 DOWN 0.163 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//
GBP/USA 1.2554 DOWN .0036
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3536 DOWN .0029 (CDN DOLLAR UP 29 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED
Hang Seng CLOSED
AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.73% // EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED
/SHANGHAI CLOSED
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.73%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 260.55 [TS OR 0.69%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 1990.40
silver:$22.02
USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY morning: 104.78 DOWN 7 BASIS POINTS FROM TUESDAY’s CLOSE.
WEDNESDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
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And now your closing WEDNESDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.047% DOWN 5 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.746% UP 0 AND 3//100 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.285 DOWN 5 in basis points yield
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.876 DOWN 5 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.3590 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS
END
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR WEDNESDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.0719 UP 0.0012 or 12 basis points
USA/Japan: 150.63 DOWN 0.097 OR YEN UP 10 basis points/
Great Britain/USA 1.2544 DOWN .0047 OR 47 BASIS POINTS //
Canadian dollar UP .0007 OR 7 BASIS pts to 1.3560
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The USA/Yuan, CNY: closed ON SHORE CLOSED
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. (7.2249)
TURKISH LIRA: 30.76 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +0.746…
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 3 in basis points from TUESDAY at 4.287% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.456 DOWN 1 in basis points /12.00 PM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.599 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 11;30 AM 1987,00
SILVER AT 11;30: 22.15
Your 12:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: WEDNESDAY CLOSING TIME 12:00 PM
London: CLOSED UP 56.12 PTS OR 0.75%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 64.65 PTS OR 0.38%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 52.04 PTS OR 0.68%
Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN 8.80 PTS OR 0.09%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 195.21 PTS OR 0.63%
WTI Oil price 77.36 12: EST
Brent Oil: 82.40 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 91.46; ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND 16//100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.3590 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.1025 DOWN 7 BASIS POINTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA: 1.0726 UP .0018 OR 18 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2564 UP .0026 or 26 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.067 DOWN 11 BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 0.747%
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 150.52 DOWN 0.205//YEN UP 20 BASIS PTS//
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3542 DOWN .0023 CDN dollar UP 23 basis pts)
West Texas intermediate oil: 76.48
Brent OIL: 81.45
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 5 BASIS pts to 4.272%
USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 2 BASIS PTS to 4.449%
USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 8 PTS AT 4.576%
USA dollar index: 104.61 DOWN 25 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 30.75 (GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 91.41 DOWN 0 AND 10/100 roubles
GOLD 1990.30 3:30 PM
SILVER: 22.33 3:30 PM
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 150.93 PTS OR 0.39%
NASDAQ UP 207,31 PTS OR 1.18%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 14.39 DOWN 1.46 PTS OR 9.21%
GLD: $184.42 DOWN 0.11 OR 0.06%
SLV/ $20.44 UP .21 OR 1.19%
end
USA AFFAIRS
TODAY’S TRADING IN GRAPH FORM
Traders Fall Bank In Love With Stocks & Bonds After Terrible-Tuesday, Bitcoin Breaks Above $50k
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 04:00 PM
A quiet macro day allowed a post-VIXperation market room to do what it does best, ‘sell-vol, and bid stocks’ as the US majors did their best to erase yesterday’s ugliness and VIX puked back to a 14 handle.
Because, well why not… love is in the air…
VIX actually began to puke right after the cash close last night…
The Nasdaq rallied back into the green post-CPI and the S&P 500 got close, Small Caps are still laggards but made up a lot of ground from Terrible Tuesday…
‘Most Shorted’ stocks recovered more than two-thirds of yesterday’s losses…
Source: Bloomberg
Magnificent 7 stocks rebounded but only modestly (only around 30% of the drop from Monday highs)…
Source: Bloomberg
Treasuries were bid today with the short-end outperforming (2Y -9bps, 30Y -2bps), recovering some of yesterday’s losses…
Source: Bloomberg
Given the exuberance in bonds and stocks, we note that rate-cut expectations barely budged with June still the most likely timing for the first rate-cut…and the market is still pricing in less than 4 rate-cuts this year.
Source: Bloomberg
The dollar gave back some of the gains from yesterday too…
Source: Bloomberg
Gold went nowhere today, stuck below $2000…
Source: Bloomberg
Oil slipped back after a large crude build reported today…
Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin soared back above $52,000 today for the first time since December 2021…
Source: Bloomberg
As Bitcoin ETF inflows hit a new high since inception (now almost $4 billion since inception)…
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, one more leg higher in NVDA?
Source: Bloomberg
And if NVDA goes, all the king’s horses and all the king’s men fall…
Source: Bloomberg
…that’s too easy, right?
MORNING TRADING//
end
MORNING TRADING
II USA DATA
END
TUCKER CARLSON
III USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES
this is a big story!
“Greatest Headwind” Facing US Office CRE Sector Is “Years Of Supply”
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 08:50 AM
There have been mounting concerns recently that the unfolding commercial real estate crash is accelerating and has rippled across the global financial system. From New York Community Bancorp to Japan’s Aozora Bank Ltd. and Germany’s Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, sizable credit losses and/or write-downs of US CRE debt have plunged some lenders into turmoil.
Lenders heavily invested in US CRE debt are facing significant challenges that will persist for a long time. Vishwanath Tirupattur, global head of Quantitative Research at Morgan Stanley, warned about this in a note last week.
Now Bloomberg reports brokers have begun to sell debt secured by office buildings in Manhattan, owned by Blackstone Inc., at a staggering 50% discount. A prime-time tower in Los Angeles was auctioned off in December, fetching 45% lower than its purchase price a decade ago. Additionally, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has recorded a 40% loss on $15 billion worth of loans it disposed of, secured by apartment buildings in New York City.
The fallout will worsen because the bubble unwinding in the CRE market is a byproduct of a decade of rock-bottom rates that forced investors out of safe assets like bonds into risky CRE debt.
Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said CRE losses are concerning but comforted investors with the understanding the situation is “manageable.” Meanwhile, real estate investor Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital, has a more dire outlook, warning about trillion-dollar office losses.
“The office market has an existential crisis right now… it’s a $3 trillion dollar asset class that’s probably worth $1.8 trillion [now].”
Scott Rechler, chief executive officer of New York landlord RXR, recently told Bloomberg:
“In 2024, we’re at that fifth stage of grief” for the CRE space, adding, “People are now in acceptance.”
CRE turmoil has rocked domestic and overseas banks:
- New York Community Bancorp Collapse Nears 27-Year-Lows After ‘Talks With Regulator’ Revealed
- CRE Crisis Goes Global: Shares Of Japan’s Aozora Bank Implode On Massive US CRE Exposure
- More Dominoes: US CRE Downturn Sends German Lenders Into Turmoil
As of December, offices accounted for 41% of the US’s nearly $86 billion worth of distressed properties, as per MSCI data. The term “potential distress,” indicating a decline in the financial health of assets, is approaching $235 billion across various types of properties.
Office and apartments account for the bulk of distressed US property.
Doom and gloom continued with a new CRE note from Morgan Stanley, warning that “years of supply” of office tower space will be the “greatest headwind” that will continue to exert downward pressure on prices.
Analysts led by Ronald Kamdem and Adam Kramer show years of supply for Class A and Class B offices are currently well above pre-Covid averages.
Our analysis suggests there is significant supply risk for the office sector in 4Q23 at the national level with current years of supply for both Class A and Class B/C (18 and 23 years, respectively) well above the pre-pandemic averages (13 and 19 years , respectively) — see Exhibit 5 . While the supply risk picture at the national level remains concerning and implies vacancy rates will likely remain under pressure, we acknowledge that REIT-specific takeaways remain more nuanced given substantive regional and market-specific differences
Considering the warnings from analysts regarding supply, the chaos in the CRE sector will persist. Recent information from Trepp indicates that over a trillion dollars in CRE loans are due for maturity by the end of next year.
END
House Democrats Eye ‘Back Door’ To Force Vote On Ukraine, Israel Funding
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 11:05 AM
After the Senate passed a $95 billion foreign aid package Tuesday morning, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) refused to hold a vote on it before Congress secures the southern US border first.
“We really do owe it to the American people to get control of that border,” said Johnson.
In response, House Democrats are laying the groundwork to force a vote on it anyway using a rare procedural move known as a discharge petition, which would require at least 218 signatures – and the support of some Republicans, to bring the legislation up for a vote.
The package allocates $60 billion to Ukraine support, $14 billion in military assistance to Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian aid to Gaza and elsewhere, and around $5 billion to defend Taiwan.
In a letter to his colleagues, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that the caucus would use “use every available legislative tool” to advance the bill, and called on “traditional Republicans” to support it.
“It’s not too much to ask in America’s national security that we get an up or down vote and let the House of Representatives actually work it’s will,” said Jeffries, without explaining how it’s a matter of America’s national security to defend Ukraine’s borders.
Johnson told reporters Tuesday that he would “certainly oppose” a discharge petition.
If it’s brought up, it will pass…
“If it were to get to the floor, it would pass — let’s just be frank about that,” said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who said he would personally be a “hard no” on the bill.
And Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-INO), a staunch Ukraine supporter (but not so much America’s borders), said “We’ve heard all kinds of rumors about whether the House supports Ukraine or doesn’t. It seems to me that the easy way to solve that would be to vote.”
https://players.brightcove.net/1155968404/r1WF6V0Pl_default/index.html?videoId=6345584922112
According to Jeffries, there are “more than 300 bipartisan votes” in the House for the foreign aid package.
As Axios notes further;
Between the lines: GOP hardliners repeatedly have defied Johnson over the last several months, but the appetite for rebellion among the moderate Republicans likely to support Ukraine aid remains untested.
- As the Government Affairs Institute’s Matt Glassman points out in a useful thread: “The gap between ‘what will you vote for if forced to vote’ and ‘what will you demand gets voted on’ is huge.”
- “This is what makes discharge so hard. … The problem is [the] cost of undermining the leadership agenda is so high that little rises to that level for most members,” Glassman said — especially on an issue like Ukraine aid, which Trump and the GOP base vocally oppose.
Ukraine is getting their (US Taxpayer) money either way?
“We have to get this done,” House Intel Chair Mike Turner (R-OH) told Politico. “This is no longer an issue of, ‘When do we support Ukraine?’ If we do not move, this will be abandoning Ukraine.“
Like Democrats have abandoned the southern border?
IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ and PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM/WOKISM…
END
FREIGHT ISSUES/USA
END
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
END
SWAMP STORIES
The House impeaches Mayorkas
(zerohedge)
House Impeaches Mayorkas In Historic Vote
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 07:27 PM
Exactly a week after a failed attempt, the House has impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, under whose tenure more than 10 million illegal immigrants have entered the US – doubling the existing population of migrants.
With a vote of 214-213, Mayorkas is the first cabinet official to be impeached since the 1870s.
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-
·
739.6K Views
Last week’s effort to impeach Mayorkas failed by one vote because three Republicans voted with all the Democrats against the move. The vote was made possible only by the return of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who missed last week’s vote while undergoing treatment for blood cancer, according to The Hill.
Mayorkas was accused of demonstrating a “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law,” and “breaching the public trust,” which Democrats suggested was nothing more than disagreements over policy or performance failings, but not impeachable crimes.
“Secretary Mayorkas is a danger to every American,” said Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) on X. “I’m voting to impeach him.”
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-
Secretary Mayorkas is a danger to every American. I’m voting to impeach him.
The GOP leaders moved to hold the vote before their majority potentially shrinks even further, with a closely watched special election Tuesday in New York to replace expelled Republican Rep. George Santos. The race is considered a tossup.
Republicans continued the impeachment effort after rejecting an effort in the Senate to craft a bipartisan border deal to address many of the same issues House conservatives are raising. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) called the Senate’s deal—which paired aid for Ukraine with changes to border policy—dead on arrival, eventually leading most Republicans in the House and Senate to criticize the bill as insufficient. On Tuesday morning, the Senate passed a $95.3 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan that excluded border-policy changes. –WSJ
Meanwhile, what’s this?
https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-
HUGE:
just found the documents showing Mayorkas PERSONALLY rejected Secret Service protection for
. This is simply despicable. That it took a federal FOIA lawsuit to force out this information speaks volumes. https://judicialwatch.org/rfk-jr-secret-service-protection/…
Quote
Tom Fitton
@TomFitton
·
Oct 4, 2023
Biden is letting @RobertKennedyJr hang out there with no Secret Service protection despite significant threats to his life. READ: https://judicialwatch.org/rfk-jr-denied-protection/…
·https://twitter.com/TomFitton/status/1757534288948404563
end
We suspected this!
(zerohedge)
ROBERT H ON THIS;
“And one wonders why the public is quickly losing all confidence in government? To allow such behavior to go unpunished when laws exist to prevent it leads to anarchy where no respect for such offices is left.
And to further incite war with external parties is sure to fail and cause social disintegration
In Ukraine in the western part it is the women who now rise to protect remaining men from combat challenging army recruiters and their so called spotters. We are watching a real life example of a society falling apart. And it is not a far step to see this within our own countries.”
CIA Had Foreign Allies Spy On Trump Team, Triggering Russia Collusion Hoax, Sources Say
TUESDAY, FEB 13, 2024 – 06:00 PM
Authored by Michael Shellenberger, Matt Taibbi, and Alex Gutentag via Public substack,
Last year, John Durham, a special prosecutor for the Department of Justice (DOJ), concluded that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) should never have opened its investigation of alleged collusion by then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and Russia in late July of 2016.
Now, multiple credible sources tell Public and Racket that the United States Intelligence Community (IC), including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), illegally mobilized foreign intelligence agencies to target Trump advisors long before the summer of 2016.
The new information fills many gaps in our understanding of the Russia collusion hoax and is supported by testimony already in the public record.
Until now, the official story has been that the FBI’s investigation began after Australian intelligence officials told US officials that a Trump aide had boasted to an Australian diplomat that Russia had damning material about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
In truth, the US IC asked the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance to surveil Trump’s associates and share the intelligence they acquired with US agencies, say sources close to a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HSPCI) investigation. The Five Eyes nations are the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
After Public and Racket had been told that President Barack Obama’s CIA Director, John Brennan, had identified 26 Trump associates for the Five Eyes to target, a source confirmed that the IC had “identified [them] as people to ‘bump,’ or make contact with or manipulate. They were targets of our own IC and law enforcement — targets for collection and misinformation.”
Unknown details about the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign and raw intelligence related to the IC’s surveillance of the Trump campaign are in a 10-inch binder that Trump ordered to be declassified at the very end of his term, sources told Public and Racket.
If the top-secret documents exist proving these charges, they are potentially proof that multiple US intelligence officials broke laws against spying and election interference.
…
“They were making contacts and bumping Trump people going back to March 2016,” a source close to the investigation said. “They were sending people around the UK, Australia, Italy — the Mossad in Italy. The MI6 was working at an intelligence school they had set up.”
The IC, a source said, considered the 26 Trump campaign people identified to “bump” or “reverse target,” or manipulate through confidential human sources (CHSs), to be easy marks because of their relative inexperience.
Doing so was illegal, both because US law prohibits such intelligence gathering unless authorized by a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant and because the weaponization of the IC for political purposes constitutes election interference.
…
Subscribers to Public substack can read the astonishing full report here..
END
“An Interesting Name”: Biden Associates Testify On The Influence Peddling Of The President And His Family
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 01:25 PM
Below is my column in the New York Post on the testimony of Biden associate Rob Walker, who confirmed details on President Joe Biden meeting with Chinese figures as well as the use of the Biden name to generate millions in foreign payments. Yesterday, the House heard from Tony Bobulinski who confirmed that Biden was the “Big Guy” who was referenced as receiving ten percent from a Chinese deal. He also confirmed that, despite the President’s denials, he met with Joe Biden to discuss these dealings.
Here is the column:
“An interesting name.”
Those three words by Biden family associate Rob Walker could well be the epitaph for Hunter Biden and his uncle James Biden.
Walker was explaining why Hunter was repeatedly pushed forward as the face of their pitches to the Chinese and other countries.
In his interview with House investigators, Walker struggled to protect President Biden while confirming critical aspects of earlier testimony from associates such as Devon Archer that they were selling the “Biden brand.”
That brand included Uncle James Biden, whom Walker described as “a snake.”
Walker and his associates had a letter to the Chinese come from Hunter because that is what he thought the Chinese expected.
He admitted that the Chinese were led to believe that they all worked for Hunter Biden.
After all, he “had an interesting last name that would probably get people in the door.”
That “interesting name” is how a Beltway bandit avoids saying “influence peddler.”
You are peddling the name — an effort that is reinforced when you repeatedly produce Joe Biden on speakerphone or he drops by lunches.
It’s also the same name dropped when Hunter wanted to make sure the Chinese paid up, as revealed in the infamous WhatsApp message:
“I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight. And, Z, if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang, or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.”
Yet whenever questions turned to the most incriminating messages, Walker shrugged.
When asked about a reference to “the big guy” receiving 10% of a deal (an apparent reference to Joe Biden), Walker declined to say who the big guy was.
When he was asked about Hunter’s repeated references to his father and calling his father “my chairman,” Walker insisted that “I don’t think that Hunter was healthy at the time.”
Likewise, when Hunter says his father “vetoed the deal” on a proposed SinoHawk deal structure, Walker again said Hunter was not well.
So Hunter was a legitimate businessman “with an interesting name” all the way up to the point that he made admissions on alleged influence peddling. He was then interesting but unhealthy.
Walker repeatedly emphasized that Joe Biden was not a direct part of these deals.
While that is a political defense, it is not a legal one.
As I have previously written, federal courts have long treated payments to family members as evidence of bribery and corruption.
Indeed, I was lead counsel in the last judicial impeachment trial in the Senate, when Democratic senators voted to convict a judge on payments and gifts going to the children of the judge.
Neither Hunter nor James Biden have demonstrated any particular skill beyond an absence of inhibition and an abundance of appetite.
What they have is “an interesting name,” and in Washington, that is enough.
Dems Flip Seat In Special Election To Replace Disgraced NY Rep. George Santos
WEDNESDAY, FEB 14, 2024 – 07:50 AM
The Republican Party’s numerical edge in the US House of Representatives just got even smaller, as New York Democrat Tom Suozzi has been declared the winner in a special election to fill the seat formerly held by disgraced GOP Rep. George Santos.
Suozzi will represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and Long Island. Suozzi, who represented the district before giving up his seat for a failed gubernatorial campaign, defeated Republican Mazi Pilip, a heavily-accented Israeli military veteran of Ethiopian descent with a Ukrainian-American husband. Pilip brought a lower profile to the race, having served in the Nassau County legislature. With 93% of votes counted, Suozzi led Pilip by a 53.9% to 46.1% margin.
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With the seat flipping from the GOP to the Democrats, the Republican margin in the House is now just 219-213. The thinner the margin, the fewer the number of Republican reps it takes to derail the agenda of House Speaker Mike Johnson, who just last week was humiliated in a rare defeat of a stand-alone bill to send more money to Israel. He faces skepticism about his seriousness about border security, and growing Republican reluctance to fund the proxy war in Ukraine.
The win for Democrats dents a winning streak that had the GOP sweeping major Long Island elections since 2020. Democrats in suburban districts across the country will be examining Suozzi’s winning campaign strategy, which relied on distancing himself from the Democratic Party.
For example, Suozzi took a relatively hard line on immigration, a topic of intense interest in the New York area, which is struggling to manage an influx of more than 170,000 migrants in New York City alone. Suozzi urged President Biden to seal the country’s borders, and called for the migrants who beat up cops in Times Square to be ejected from the country.
It’s not clear exactly how much of a bellwether this election was, in part because of a weather wild card: An Election Day snowstorm dumped six inches on the district. Since Democrats are more prone to avail themselves of early and absentee voting, the weather likely hurt the GOP more. Indeed, the New York Times reports that a Republican super PAC even hired private snow plows to minimize the damage.
After the race was declared for Suozzi, Donald Trump took to social media to call Pilip a “very foolish woman” who paid the price for not supporting him and appealing to his voters:
“In a race where she didn’t endorse me and tried to ‘straddle the fence’…she would have easily WON if she understood anything about MODERN DAY politics in America. MAGA, WHICH IS MOST OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, STAYED HOME — AND IT ALWAYS WILL, UNLESS IT IS TREATED WITH HE RESPECT THAT IT DESERVES.”
Suozzi will immediately jump back into election mode with an eye on November, since Tuesday’s special election only puts him in the seat until January. Meanwhile, Suozzi faces uncertainty about the future of his district, which could be redrawn when the state’s map is updated later this year pursuant to an order from New York’s highest court.
In December, the oddball Santos became just the sixth representative to be ousted from Congress by a vote of his peers — and the first who had neither fought for the Confederacy or been convicted of a crime. His career unraveled after he’d been caught stacking up a huge pile of lies about his background, and after he was indicted for, among other things, charging donors’ credit cards without consent, spending campaign money on personal expenses, and lying about his campaign fundraising.
KING REPORT
| The King Report June 25, 2018 Issue 5784 | Independent View of the News |
| Yesterday’s report: ESHs are -8.50 and USHs are -3/32 at 20:30 ET. Did someone get Jan CPI early? US January CPI 0.3% m/m and 3.1% y/y, 0.2% m/m and 2.9% y/y consensus; CPI Core 0.4% m/m & 3.9% y/y, 0.3% m/m and 3.7% y/y expected. Most alarming: Core CPI Services Ex-Shelter, Powell’s favorite CPI component, soared 0.7% m/m, the biggest increase since Sept 2022. The BLS: The index for shelter continued to rise in January, increasing 0.6 percent and contributing over two-thirds of the monthly all items increase. The food index increased 0.4 percent in January, as the food at home index increased 0.4 percent and the food away from home index rose 0.5 percent over the month.In contrast, the energy index fell 0.9 percent over the month due in large part to the decline in thegasoline index… (Full report at link) https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf Yellen Touts Inflation Progress Despite Stubborn January Gains – BBG 11:31 ET“We have made significant progress… overall inflation is down by around two-thirds since its peak.”…https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-13/yellen-touts-inflation-progress-despite-stubborn-january-gains Wall Street Breakfast Survey by Seeking Alpha (44.7% ‘Don’t trust these inflation numbers’)https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5gPN01ulEyDZrOHVyaekOky6nAK9c5vTmlc4xGd6dKftbpw/viewanalytics Fox Business News’ @CGasparino: Sources close to the @JoeBiden White House say the panic after the Hur report just went somewhat hyperbolic on the real possibility that Powell can’t cut rates or will be cutting them into an uptick of inflation which could be worse. Today’s inflation print could loom as among the biggest political stories of the year given the political implications, Wall Street CEOs tell me. Betting markets pout Biden’s chance of re-election at lowest level (27%) in a year – BBG 11:43 ET Yellen Says Biden ‘Very Effective’ in Summits with World Leaders – BBG 12:48 ET(The Big Guy had to miss dinner soirees with NATO officials more than once! The buffoonish Yellen keeps shredding what little credibility that she still possesses.) @zerohedge: You won’t get much “annualized CPI is plunging” commentary today. 3M annualized CPI 4%, up from 3.3%; 6M annualized CPI 3.7%, up from 3.2% Japan’s new bubble keeps inflating. The Nikkei soared 2.89% on Tuesday. Nikkei 225 Gains as Much as 3% on Strong Tech Numbers, Weak Yen – BBGTokyo Electron contributed the most to the Topix’s gain, increading 13% to reach a record high…https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nikkei-225-gains-much-3-061828411.html?.tsrc=fin-srch ESHs, which traded moderately lower BEFORE the release of the January CPI Report, commenced a tumble at 8:20 ET (2 minutes before the official release of the CPI report) that took ESHs to a daily low of 4961.75 (-78.25 from 5040.00 high) at 10:15 ET. Traders played for the 2nd Hour Reversal. ESHs bounced to 4988.25 at 11:37 ET. They then rolled over. The decline accelerated after 13:30 ET. ESHs sank to a new daily low of 4947.25 at 13:26 ET. After a modest bounce, ESHs headed south at 14:45 ET and made a new low of 4938.75 at 15:17 ET. The desperately needed late manipulation pushed ESHs to 4972.75 at 16:00 ET. USHs sank to a low of 117 30/32 at 15:00 ET, -2 30/32 from the 120 28/32 daily high. Economist @spomboy: It’s probably nothing… (Redbook Retail Sales y/y drop 3pp in latest week)https://twitter.com/spomboy/status/1757433923515064403 Positive aspects of previous sessionThe gratuitous NFL-Taylor Swift hype is winding downA blatant and desperate late manipulation pushed ESHs 34.00 points higher in 43 minutes Negative aspects of previous sessionStocks and bonds suffered severe technical damage as CPI destroyed rate cut delusionsDespite the manic ‘risk off’ theme, gasoline and oil rallied smartly Ambiguous aspects of previous sessionWhat will Democrats and Team Obama do about Biden? First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 4948.26Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 4971.30; 4920.31 Defiant White House says Biden won’t take cognitive test — despite damning Hur report and worried voters https://t.co/3YGqQrcRPi GOP Sen. Sen. Josh Hawley (MO): “Garland needs to either charge Biden, prosecute him, or go to the Cabinet under the 25th amendment… and remove him… The guy is not fit to be president. If the Democrats had any integrity, they would remove him…” https://www.foxnews.com/video/6346767855112 White House in turmoil over migrant crisis, with Biden Cabinet member mocked as ‘idiot’ and ‘b—h ass’ – Then-top Biden aide Susan Rice would privately slam fellow Cabinet member Xavier Becerra as a “b—h a–’’ and “idiot’’ over the migrant crisis…https://nypost.com/2024/02/12/news/biden-exploded-at-staff-over-handling-of-border-crisis-report/ Fox’s @BillMelugin_: Per CBP source, Border Patrol’s San Diego sector apprehended 269 Chinese nationals who crossed illegally yesterday. More than 20,000 Chinese nationals have now been encountered by CBP in FY’24 so far. For perspective, there were only 450 Chinese encountered in all of FY’21. (How many Chinese illegal immigrants are CCP agents or worse?) Bloodbath at CBS News claims senior correspondent embroiled in First Amendment case — and another who weathered HR probe – Catherine Herridge — an award-winning senior correspondent whose First Amendment case is being closely watched by journalists nationwide — was among the 800 employees at CBS parent Paramount Global who lost their jobs on Tuesday, sources told The Post. Sources said that Herridge had clashed with CBS News president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews — a sharp-elbowed executive who was investigated in 2021 over favoritism and discriminatory hiring and management practices, as revealed by The Post… (Herridge was one of the few MSM to go after Dems)https://nypost.com/2024/02/13/media/bloodbath-at-cbs-news-includes-reporter-fighting-first-amendment-case/ CIA Had Foreign Allies Spy on Trump Team, Triggering Russia Collusion Hoax, Sources SayNow, multiple credible sources tell Public and Racket that the United States Intelligence Community (IC), including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), illegally mobilized foreign intelligence agencies to target Trump advisors long before the summer of 2016… If the top-secret documents exist proving these charges, they are potentially proof that multiple US intelligence officials broke laws against spying and election interference.https://public.substack.com/p/cia-had-foreign-allies-spy-on-trump The House impeached Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas via a 214-213 vote, the first Cabinet Secretary to be impeached since Secretary of War William Belknap in 1876. Three Republicans voted ‘no’. Mayorkas faces a Senate trial – maybe. Dems have threatened to ignore the impeachment. @AndrewDesiderio: Schumer’s office previews impeachment trial: “The House impeachment managers will present the articles of impeachment to the Senate following the state work period. Senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tem Patty Murray will preside.” When the Senate returns from recess on Feb. 26, they’ll be just a few days away from the first government funding deadline — March 1. Jeff Bezos Unloads $2.1 Billion of Shares (12m shares) in Second Amazon Sale – BBG 16:49 ETBringing his total stock sold since last Wednesday to more than $4 billion… Today – On Friday, The Big Guy or the toady that manages his X account crowed, “The stock market going strong is a sign of confidence in America’s economy.” Tuesday’s lows MUST NOT BE BREACHED! Bulls know this and will do everything they can to halt the equity carnage and resume the stock market rally. The initial foray to save stocks occurred during the last hour of trading yesterday. What will Team Obama-Biden do now to boost stocks? Fed Speakers: Chicago Fed Pres Goolsbee 9:30 ET, Fed VCEO of Supervision Barr 16:00 ET S&P Index 50-day MA: 4787; 100-day MA: 4571; 150-day MA: 4542; 200-day MA: 4472DJIA 50-day MA: 37,584; 100-day MA: 35,774; 150-day MA: 35,471, 200-day MA: 35,021(Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope) S&P 500 Index – Trender trading model and MACD for key time framesMonthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4314.46 triggers a sell signalWeekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4690.11 triggers a sell signalDaily: Trender and MACD arepositive – a close below 4930.47 triggers a sell signalHourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5006.12 triggers a buy signal Putin’s suggestion of Ukraine ceasefire rejected by United States, sources say – ReutersPutin sent signals to Washington in 2023 in public and privately through intermediaries, including through Moscow’s Arab partners in the Middle East and others, that he was ready to consider a ceasefire in Ukraine, the Russian sources said. Putin was proposing to freeze the conflict at the current lines and was unwilling to cede any of the Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia, but the signal offered what some in the Kremlin saw as the best path towards a peace of some kind… A third source with knowledge of the discussions said: “Everything fell apart with the Americans.” The source said that the Americans did not want to pressure Ukraine…https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putins-suggestion-ukraine-ceasefire-rejected-by-united-states-sources-say-2024-02-13/ Senate passes $95.3 billion foreign aid package after all-night sessionThe vote came 70-29, with 22 Republicans voting with nearly all Democrats to pass the bill. https://justthenews.com/government/congress/senate-passes-953-billion-foreign-aid-package-after-all-night-session GOP Sen. @HawleyMO: Most Senate Republicans vote no. McConnell of course votes with the Democrats. He is Biden’s chief foreign policy supporter these days. That position is an island – and the gulf between it & the rest of America is only getting wider. @Eric_Schmitt: Nearly every Republican Senator under the age of 55 voted NO on this America Last bill. 15 out of 17 elected since 2018 voted NO. Things are changing, just not fast enough. Fox’s @ChadPergram: GOP TX Rep Roy on Fox on Senate passing foreign aid bill: I’ve never seen the nursing home known as the United States Senate work harder than when it comes to spending the American people’s money for foreign wars. Young Republicans slam Senate bill that ignores US migrant crisis, funds Ukraine https://t.co/4aDV4QnAh4 @EndWokeness: Mitt Romney on the $96 billion foreign aid package: “Most important vote we will ever take as US Senators.” https://t.co/wnoVubhJEC @bennyjohnson: Because Mitt’s own SONS are doing business in Ukraine — this is well established.The Romney family are as bad as the Bidens. Ronna used the RNC as her own personal checkbook.This is a massive SLUSH fund for these wealthy scum to get their families FILTHY rich. @seanmdav: Top Romney Adviser Worked with Hunter Biden on Board of Ukrainian Energy Company https://t.co/4bdWsmPUdK @elonmusk: There has been no change in the Russia-Ukraine border for a year, just lots of dead kids.What kind of psycho wants that to continue? Gen. @robert_spalding: As I said from the beginning. This is the Korean War all over again. It is the first proxy war of the second Cold War. Read history and see how it rhymes. Even ‘forever war’ GOP Sen Lindsey Graham has changed his tune (due to polling?) on Ukraine. Gop Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC: Helping Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan makes sense, but not this way. As Senator Schumer lauds this Senate supplemental bill, the Speaker has rightly chosen to say this bill goes nowhere in the House. America’s border is a disaster. We are $34 trillion in debt. It is time to help… @greg_price11: Biden: “For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable, history is watching. Failure to support Ukraine will never be forgotten.”https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1757484618058494434 McConnell calls on Johnson to bring up Ukraine votehttps://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/13/mcconnell-johnson-ukraine-aid-senate-00141201 ‘A Huge Blow’: Decline in White Recruits Fueling the Military’s Worst-Ever Recruiting Crisis, Data Shows – In fiscal year 2018, 44,042 new recruits to the Army — or 56.4% of the total — were white, according to data obtained by the DCNF. That number collapsed to a low of 25,070 — or 44.0% of the total — in fiscal 2023… https://dailycaller.com/2024/02/13/exclusive-a-huge-blow-decline-in-white-recruits-fueling-the-militarys-worst-ever-recruiting-crisis-data-shows/ Joe Biden considers going public with frustration over ‘a–hole’ Benjamin Netanyahuhttps://t.co/si2kt7SPbr Biden met with chairman of Chinese energy firm Hunter did business with in 2017, ex-associate testifies – The House Oversight Committee says it can ‘now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son’https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-met-chairman-chinese-energy-firm-hunter-did-business-2017-ex-associate-testifies @mirandadevine: From Tony Bobulinski’s opening statement to House Oversight and Judiciary:“From my direct personal experience… it is clear to me that Joe Biden was “the Brand” being sold by the Biden family. His family’s foreign influence peddling operaCon – from China to Ukraine and elsewhere – sold out to foreign actors who were seeking to gain influence and access to Joe Biden and the United States government. “Joe Biden was more than a participant in and beneficiary of his family’s business; he was an enabler, despite being buffered by a complex scheme to maintain plausible deniability. “The only reason any of these international business transactions took place – with tens of millions of dollars flowing directly to the Biden family – was because Joe Biden was in high office. The Biden family business was Joe Biden, period.” https://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1757439819347644583 @TomBevanRCP: This, from Tony Bobulinski’s testimony, is particularly damning. “United States law enforcement have been singularly unwilling to meet with me or to hear the facts we will be discussing…”https://twitter.com/TomBevanRCP/status/1757423965818044584 @GOPoversight: Rob Walker’s account, Robinson Walker LLC, received the $3 million payment from the CEFC entity on March 1, 2017. The next day he wired $1,065,000 to James Gilliar, a Biden family associate, and then over the course of several months wired incremental payments to the Bidens totaling around $1,065,000. Rob Walker told investigators Hunter asked him to send incremental payments to various Biden accounts, including Hallie Biden and James Biden, who were not affiliated with the CEFC deal. https://twitter.com/GOPoversight/status/1757390337406857600 @mirandadevine: And here it is, the “H to Zang” letter from March 22, 2016. Was an attachment on Hunter Biden’s laptop previously inaccessible, but now it has been produced to the House Judiciary Committee by Hunter ex-partner Rob Walker. Shows the relationship with CEFC began during Joe Biden’s vice presidency, as Tony Bobulinski always said. It’s just that Hunter, Uncle Jim, Hallie Biden and friends didn’t get paid until 6 weeks after Joe left office. Here is Hunter Biden’s letterhead being used for a draft letter to CEFC Director Zanghttps://twitter.com/mirandadevine/status/1757411743502897190?s=02 @JonathanTurley: Once again, what the Justice Department views as justice is at odds with the majority of citizens. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 53% of Americans believe Biden received special treatment. That includes roughly a third of Democrats. @Heminator: The Biden campaign sent out an appeal this morning signed by Jill Biden that was “how dare he make an issue of whether Joe remembers when his son died!” — followed by a DONATE button.Just gross. https://twitter.com/Heminator/status/1757433134826622977?s=02 @bennyjohnson: Democrat Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold says it would be “confusing and suppressive” to allow Donald Trump to appear on the ballot. (“1984” ‘Newspeak’!)https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1757464635970670689 @ABC: The former mother-in-law of the woman accused of opening fire at celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church told @ABC News she thinks the shooting was “predictable and preventable.”https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1757551978958168401 @MailOnline: Experts say Travis Kelce’s shove of 65-year-old coach Andy Reid shows he is ‘immature’ and ‘impulsive’ – traits that ‘do not bode well’ for his romance with Taylor Swifthttps://t.co/qSpCyF9Esn | |
GREG HUNTER INTERVIEWING WESTON WARREN
Evil Attacking the Air -Weston Warren
By Greg Hunter On February 13, 2024 In Political AnalysisNo Comments
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
Scientist and inventor Weston Warren says evil powers have plans to continue attacking the air you breath. The Deep State came up with this decades ago. To combat, these evil plans, Warren invented his germ killing and air purifying bi-polar ionization technology. As evil scientists made planes to poison humanity through the air, good scientists such as Warren perfected his air scrubbing technology that works to combat all airborne contaminants. Warren Explains, “You need information for you to come up with a strategy for you and your family. If you think someone else, ‘white hats,’ a government agency, if you think someone else is going to protect you and your family, I think you are sorely mistaken.”
What is coming down the road are vaccines that you can inhale according to Bill Gates. Warren says, “This is exactly what he is talking about. You have these dried vaccines that can be dispersed in the air. You have long shelf life and no refrigeration. . . . You don’t need any medical staff. You don’t need syringes and needles. . . . You can deliver technology without peoples permission.”
Before we get to the next vaccine, Warren says we will have the next pandemic, and that will also travel in the air. Warren says, “If I was thinking of a military strategy, I would want to weaken a population first. I would make sure I would decimate and damage your immune system. If I was successful in ruining the immune system, that would be the time to release a second or third engineered pathogen. . . . That’s what I think is the potential attack coming next.”
The bipolar ion technology invented by Warren is the perfect way to combat this threat. Warren has everything from the small but powerful CarryiOn, to big industrial units that can give you thousands of square feet of clean air and surfaces. This is one example, and this is another. You also have the 1500, 2700 standalone units, and a bipolar HVAC probe you can install in your heating and air-conditioning duct work for home or business. Warren says, “They have very low energy consumption and boy do they work on any kind of contaminant. It works on an engineered virus, it works on bacteria, mold, mildew or anything. You name it. . . .These bipolar ions act as scrubbing bubbles. When the ion clusters touch the surface of a contaminant, bacterium or virus . . . it instantly neutralizes or kills that contaminant. If it is a VOC (volatile organic compound) it will neutralize it. . . . The earth is able to produce these energized ion clusters and that is how the air and surfaces are cleaned. If that process did not happen, there would be no life on earth. So, all we are doing with this technology is duplicating nature. This is a thunderstorm without the rain.”
There is much more in the 45-minute interview. Deals at Weston Scientific were supposed to end on February first, and prices were supposed to go up with inflation. Warren is keeping the deals on and not going up on the prices for the next week or so. Warren says this will give everyone a second chance to get this life saving technology that can fight back against attacks on your air.
Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with Weston Warren, scientist and inventor of the “CarryiOn” air purifier and many other bipolar ion air purification products for 2.13.24.
After the interview:
For more information on any of the products Weston Scientific sells, feel free to call the company by phone at 573-469-5013.
SEE YOU ON THURSDAY
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