GOLD PRICE CLOSED UP $7.60TO $2300.60

SILVER PRICE UP $0.99 TO $26.47

Gold ACCESS CLOSED $2315.30

Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $26.63

The defense of $2300 gold is now upon us and surpassed. Next up $2400 gold//Silver’s next line is $28.42. Then $34.76 …

Today the Fed basically stated that interest rates are too high and that they must somehow lower them, However inflation is not cooling. We are heading for stagflation and gold/silver will be huge winners

Bitcoin morning price:$57,565 DOWN 2653 DOLLARS.

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $58,031 DOWN 2187dollars

Platinum price closing  UP $10.00TO $946,40

Palladium price; DOWN $12.00 AT $945.15

END

SHANGHAI GOLD PREMIUM 55 DOLLARS/COMEX GOLD

SHANGHAI GOLD…

SHANGHAI GOLD (USD) FUTURES – QUOTES

Last Updated 01 May 2024 12:36:26 PM CT.

Market data is delayed by at least 10 minutes.

MONTH	CHART	LAST	CHANGE	PRIOR SETTLE	OPEN	HIGH	LOW	VOLUME	UPDATED
MAY 2024 SGUK4		–	–	2345.3	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
JUN 2024 SGUM4		–	–	2359.4	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
JUL 2024 SGUN4		–	–	2373.5	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
AUG 2024 SGUQ4		–	–	2373.7	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
OCT 2024 SGUV4		–	–	2388.9	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
DEC 2024 SGUZ4		–	–	2389.5	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
FEB 2025 SGUG5		–	–	2390.1	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024
APR 2025 SGUJ5		–	–	2390.7	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 01 May 2024

About this Report

I will now provide gold in Canadian dollars, British pounds and Euros

4: 15 PM ACCESS

*CANADIAN GOLD: $3183.20 UP 36.50 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 3,301.52 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//APRIL 16 2024)

*BRITISH GOLD: 1851.28 UP 21.20 pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1933.24 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) APRIL 19/2024

*EURO GOLD: 2164.30 UP 18.20 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2248.89 EUROS PER OZ//APRIL 16.2024)

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END

EXCGE: COMEX

XCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: MAY 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,291.400000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 04/30/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 05/02/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

---

190 H BMO CAPITAL 4
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 19
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 36
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 1
661 C JP MORGAN 11
690 C ABN AMRO 16
737 C ADVANTAGE 90 11
880 C CITIGROUP 24

---

TOTAL: 106 106

JPMorgan stopped 11/106

FOR MAY2024 

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR MAY/2024. CONTRACT: 106 NOTICES FOR 10600 OZ  or  0.3297 TONNES

total notices so far: 1541 contracts for 154,100   Oz (4,7932 tonnes)

FOR  MAY:

SILVER NOTICES: 1563 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 7,815,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 4077 for 20.385 million oz

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END

GLD/

BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL

THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.

WITH GOLD UP $7.60

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

NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:

/ /INVENTORY RESTS AT 832.19 TONNES

INVENTORY RESTS AT 832.19 TONNES

SLV//

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND

SILVER UP 9 CENTS AT  THE SLV//

HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.098 MILLION OZ

// INVENTORY INCREASES T0 427.072 MILLION OZ/

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 429,174MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 3143 CONTRACTS TO 166,596 BUT STALLS ON CLOSING IN ON THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE LOSS OF $0,99 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON TUESDAY. WE HAD HUGE LONG LIQUIDATION AT THE COMEX SESSION WITH AGAIN SHORT COVERING BY OUR SPECS WITH THE HUGE PRICE LOSS IN PRICE.  WE HAD A GIGANTIC SIZED 1427 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/GOLD T.A.S. TO CARRY ON THEIR CROOKED MANIPULATION ON A DAILY BASIS BUT DEMAND IS JUST TOO HIGH FOR THEM.

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: 1427 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 IN THE PAST YEAR 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 $0.99 AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING CONSIDERABLE SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 1343 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH THE LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.99

WE  MUST HAVE HAD:

A HUMONGOUS SIZED 1800 CONTRACT  ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 28.130MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S HUGE E,F,P, JUMP TO LONDON OF 2,105,000 OZ

//NEW STANDING FOR SILVER//MAY IS THUS 26.035 MILLION OZ 

WE HAD:

/ HUMONGOUS SIZED COMEX OI LOSS HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI)  HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF  T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 1427 CONTRACTS)/

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL -REMOVED   A STRONG 281 CONTRACTS //

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 1 DAYS, total 1800 contracts:   OR 9.0 MILLION OZ  (1800CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  9.000 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  111.035 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 : 66.135 MILLION OZ./FINAL

MARCH: 143.750 MILLION OZ// 4TH HIGHEST ON RECORD.

APRIL: 161.770MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL PROBABLY BE A WHOPPER OF ISSUANCE OF EFPS//3RDHIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR A MONTH)

MAY: 9.00 MILLIONOZ

RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 3424 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//TUESDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUMONGOUS EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 1800 ISSUED FOR JULY 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 MAY OF  28.130 MILLION  OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOED BY TODAYS HUGE 2,105,000 OZ E,F,P, JUMP TO LONDON AS NO SILVER COULD BE FOUND BY OUR BANKERS OVER HERE

//NEW TOTAL STANDING AT 26.035 MILLION OZ 

WE HAVE A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 1624  OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES WITH THE LOSS IN PRICE. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUGE SIZED 1427 CONTRACTS,//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE TUESDAY  COMEX SESSION/// WITH MAJOR SHORT COVERING FROM OUR SPEC SHORTS 

THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE TUESDAY NIGHT   (1427 WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE//PROBABLY TODAY., .

WE HAD 1563 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 7.815 million OZ

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 5061 OI CONTRACTS  TO 519,791 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,733  AND  PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110, BUT WE ARE NOW MUCH FURTHER FROM OUR ALL TIME LOW OF 390,000 CONTRACTS.

THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: ADDED 35 CONTRACTS

WE HAD A STRONG SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI (5061 CONTRACTS) WITH OUR $53.75 LOSS IN PRICE//TUESDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER TO WHACK GOLD’S PRICE. WE ALSO HAD A RATHER LARGE INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR MAY AT 4.684 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE  FOLLOWED BY TODAY;S 10,600 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING 5,.001 TONNES

NEW STANDING 5.001 TONNES// ALL OF THIS HAPPENED DESPITE OUR $53.75 LOSS IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A FAIR SIZED LOSS OF 1624 OI CONTRACTS (5.237 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A STRONG SIZED 3377 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 519,791

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1684  CONTRACTS  WITH 5061 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 3377 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1684 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A STRONG SIZED 2655 CONTRACTS,

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3377 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI 5061TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 1684 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 MAY AT 4.684TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY;S 10,600 OZ QUEUE JUMP 

//NEW STANDING /MAY 5.001 TONNES. 

 / 3) CONSIDERABLE LONG LIQUIDATION WITH THE LOSS IN PRICE.

//  4) STRONG SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS/ 5)  STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///6: STRONG T.A.S.  ISSUANCE: 2655 CONTRACTS/ HUGE SHORT COVERING BY OUR WRONG FOOTED SPECS WITH THE FED’S CONTINUAL RAID ON THE COMEX GOLD.

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2024 INCLUDING TODAY

APRIL

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 3377CONTRACTS OR 337,700OZ OR 10.503 TONNES IN 1TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3902 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 1 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  10.503 TONNES

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

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  10.503 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 0.295% 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 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)

FEB’24: 201.947 TONNES

MARCH 2024: 352.21 TONNES//2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE.

APRIL: 267.05TONNES (WILL BE AN EXTREMELY STRONG MONTH BUT LESS THAN MARCH 2024)

MAY; 10.503 TONNES

SPREADING OPERATIONS

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

SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED   AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE  NEW  ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF APRIL. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF  GOLD

HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE  NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF 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 (APRIL), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY.  THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END  OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSITION LIMIT DETECTION. THE LIQUIDATION OF THE SPREADING FORMATION CONTINUES FOR EXACTLY ONE WEEK AND ENDS ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.”

WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS.  ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM.  IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.

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

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

1.Today, we had the open interest at the comex, in SILVER FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 3424 CONTRACTS OI  TO 166,596 AND FURTHER FRIM 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  6 YEARS AGO.  HOWEVER WE HAVE NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023

EFP ISSUANCE 1800 CONTRACTS

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

JULY 1800  and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1800 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI LOSS OF 3143CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1800 E.FP. ISSUED

WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1624 CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTALS 8.120MILLION OZ 

OCCURRED WITH OUR  $0.99 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

REPORT

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 //Hang Seng CLOSED// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 181.61PT OR 0.34% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.34%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP 7.2411//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED UP TO 7.2470//Oil DOWN TO 80.79dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 85.17 Stocks in Europe OPENED MOSTLY RED

ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN STRONGER

A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE

3  CHINA
OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

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

7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 5061 CONTRACTS  TO 519,791 WITH OUR HUGE LOSS IN PRICE OF $53.75 WITH RESPECT TO TUESDAY TRADING. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AS WELL AS SHORTS, DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET OUT OF THEIR NAKED SHORTS.

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

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

THAT IS A HUGE 33377 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: :  JUNE 3373 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE:3373 CONTRACTS

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 1624 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3377 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 5061 COMEX  CONTRACTS..AND THIS STRONG LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR LOSSIN PRICE OF $53.75 TUESDAY COMEX.  AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT WAS A FAIR SIZED 2655 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 0 EX FOR RISK ISSUANCE. MOST OF THE TRADING AND SUPPLY OF CONTRACTS ON TUESDAY WAS ORCHESTRATED BY GOVERNMENT (FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK)

THROUGHOUT THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, THE BANKERS CONTINUE TO SELL 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//. IT SEEMS THAT OUR CROOKS ARE HAVING A HARD TIME TRYING TO CONTROL THE PRICE OF GOLD AND THUS THE NEED FOR STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE.

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING:   MAY  (5.001 TONNES)  (   NON 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

REPORT THIS AD

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 =  51.707 TONNES

TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES

JAN ’24.      22.706 TONNES

FEB. ’24:  66.276 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)

MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES

APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL

MAY/ 2023 5.001TONNES

THE SPECS/HFT WERE  SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT FELL A HUGE $53.75 //// AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING SOME SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD ONLY A FAIR SIZED LOSS OF 1684 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH LOSS IN PRICE 0F $53.75

WE HAD A FAIR 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 LOST A TOTAL OI OF 5.237 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR MAY (4.684 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 106 CONTRACTS OR 10600 OZ ( .3217BTONNES)

NEW STANDING: 5.001 TONNES

ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS  IN PRICE  TO THE TUNE OF $53.75

WE HAD ADDED 35 CONTRACTS  TO THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)

NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 1684 CONTRACTS OR 168400 (5.237 TONNES)

confirmed volume TUESDAY 247,763contracts//fair

//speculators have left the gold arena

MAY 1//  MAY  GOLD

/ /// THE MAY 2024 GOLD CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz	nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz	nil           .
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz	1736.154 oz Brinks enhanced
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz	65,826.694oz int. Delaware HSBC includes 17 kilobars
No of oz served (contracts) today	106 notice(s) 10600OZ 0.3297TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	67 contracts    6700 OZ 0.2083ONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	1541notices 154,100 oz 4.7932TONNES
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

1 dealer deposits:

i) Into Brinks enhanced: 1,736,154 oz

total dealer deposits: 1736.154 oz

we have 2 customer deposits:

i)Into HSBC: 65,280.127 oz

ii) Into Int Delaware 546,567 oz 17 kilobars

total deposit 65,826.694 oz

total customer withdrawals: 0

Adjustments: 0

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL.

For the front month of MAY we have an oi of 173contracts having LOST 1333 contracts.

We had 1439 contracts served on Tuesday, so we immediately gained 106 contracts or 10,600 oz (,3217 tonnes). Thus the raid on gold only caused more gold to be sought over on this side of the pond.

JUNE DECREASED ITS OI BY 6682 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 398,672 CONTRACTS.

JULY GAINED 131 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 131

We had 106 contracts filed for today representing 10,600   oz  

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notices were issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 106contract(s) of which 0  notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 11 notice(s) was (were) stopped  (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account   

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for the MAY /2024. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (1541 100 oz ), to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  MAY ( 173 CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today  (106x 100 oz per contract( equals  160,800OZ  OR 5.001 TONNES.

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the MAY contract month:  No of notices filed so far (1541 x 100 oz +  (173 )OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (106 x 100 oz which equals  160,800oz (5.001TONNES) 

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR MAY: 5.001 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR.  

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX84XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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: 1,582,520,883  49.223tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD:  17,720,683.679 OZ  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 7,533,615.645( 234.327 tonnes).

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 10,187,767.594 OZ  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 5,951,095 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)

185.10 tonnes/dropping like a stone

END

SILVER/COMEX

MAY 1

INITIAL

//2024// THE MAY 2025  SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	707,773.791oz CNT ASAHI Delaware .
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory	00OZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	1069,123.160 oz Brinks
No of oz served today (contracts)	1563 CONTRACT(S)    (7.815 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	1130 contracts  (5650 oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	4077 Contracts  (20.385 MILLION 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 1069,123.160 oz

total customer deposits 1069,123.160 oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 129,598million oz/294.970million  or 43.87%

adjustment: 2

customer to dealer Brinks 370,128.940 oz

dealer to customer Delaware 9718,327 oz

Comex withdrawals: 3

i) CNT 89,707.690 oz

ii) ASAHI 602m450,670 oz

iii) Delaware 15,615.431 oz

total withdrawal 707,773,791 oz

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 62.6249MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 294.970million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DECEMBER:

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF MAY/2024 OI: 2693 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 2935 CONTRACT(S). 

.

We had 2514 notices served on Tuesday so we lost an enormous 421 contracts or 2.105,000 oz were EFP’d to London to take immediate delivery over there as no silver could be found over here,

JUNE SAW A GAIN OF 289 CONTRACTS RISING TO 1838

JULY SAW A LOSS OF 1635 CONTRACTS DOWNTO 135,729

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 1563 for 7.815 million oz

CONFIRMED volume; ON TUESDAY 96,035 huge

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in MAY we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 4077 5,000 oz = 20,385 MILLION oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAY (2693 and the number of notices served upon today 1563x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the  standings for silver for the MAY/2024 contract month:  4077 notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of MAY (2693 number of notices served upon today (1563x 500 oz of silver standing for the APRIL  contract month equates to 26.035 MILLION OZ.  

 New total standing: 26.035 million oz.

There are 62.299 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!

 MAY 1 WITH GOLD UP $7.80 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:INVENTORY RISES AT 832.19 TONNE

APRIL 29WITH GOLD UP $10,55TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:INVENTORY RISES AT 832.19 TONNES

APRIL 26WITH GOLD UP $5.40TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.54 TONNES FROM THE GLD /INVENTORY RISES AT 832.19 TONNES

APRIL 25WITH GOLD UP $5.05 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD /INVENTORY RISES AT 833,63 TONNES

APRIL 19 WITH GOLD UP $15.00 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.32 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISES AT 831.91 TONNES

APRIL 18 WITH GOLD UP $11.30 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.59 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY FALLS AT 827.59 TONNES

APRIL 17 WITH GOLD DOWN $17.60 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 1,73 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISES AT 830;18 TONNES

REPORT

APRIL 16 WITH GOLD UP $23.10 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 1,73 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISES AT 828.45 TONNES

REPORT THIS AD

APRIL 15 WITH GOLD UP $9.30 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.03 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY FALLS AT 826.72 TONNES

APRIL 12 WITH GOLD UP $2.80 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A DEPOSIT OF 2.29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISESS AT 830.75 TONN

APRIL 10 WITH GOLD DOWN $14.60 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A DEPOSIT OF 0.86 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISES AT 828.71 TONNES

APRIL 9 WITH GOLD UP $11.35 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY RISES AT 827,85 TONNES

APRIL 8 WITH GOLD UP $7.10 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY REMAINS AT 826.41 TONNES

APRIL 5 WITH GOLD UP $38.65 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A DEPOSIT OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY REMAINS AT 832.45 TONNES

APRIL 4 WITH GOLD DOWN $3.35 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A DEPOSIT OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY REMAINS AT 830.73 TONNES

APRIL 3 WITH GOLD UP $33,85 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD // INVENTORY REMAINS AT 829.00 TONNES

APRIL 2 WITH GOLD UP $23.90 TODAY; HUG CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A WITH DRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD.:// INVENTORY REMAINS AT 829.00 TONNES

APRIL 1 WITH GOLD UP $18.70 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:// INVENTORY REMAINS AT 830.15 TONNES

MARCH 28 WITH GOLD UP $26.30 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:// INVENTORY REMAINS AT 830.15 TONNES

MARCH 27 WITH GOLD UP $15.00 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 5.18 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// INVENTORY FALLS TO 830.15 TONNES

MARCH 26 WITH GOLD UP $1.40 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD INVENTORY RISES TO 835.33 TONNES

MARCH 25 WITH GOLD UP $17.05 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD INVENTORY RISES TO 838.50 TONNES

MARCH 22 WITH GOLD DOWN $23.75 TODAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD INVENTORY RISES TO 838.50 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 832.19TONNES,

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

 MAY 1 WITH SILVER UP 0.09 TODAY: SMALLCHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A DEPOSIT OF ,457 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 429.814 MILLION OZ

 APRIL 29WITH SILVER UP $0.13 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 429.814 MILLION OZ

APRIL 26WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.097 MILLION OF SILVER INTO THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 429.814 MILLION OZ

 APRIL 25WITH SILVER UP $.05 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 1.534 MILLION OF SILVER OUT OF THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 428.717 MILLION OZ

APRIL 24/WITH SILVER DOWN $.05 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 11.904MILLION OF SILVER INTO THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 428.280 MILLION OZ

APRIL 23/WITH SILVER UP $0.11TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV / :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 416.376 MILLION OZ

APRIL 22/WITH SILVER DOWN $1.51 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.194 MILLION OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 416.376 MILLION OZ

APRIL 19/WITH SILVER UP 42 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.657 MILLION OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 418.570 MILLION OZ

APRIL 18/WITH SILVER DOWN $.04TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.977 MILLION OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 422.227 MILLION OZ

APRIL 17/WITH SILVER UP $0.10 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF .868 MILLION OF SILVER FROM THE SLV// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 426/204 MILLION OZ

APRIL 16/WITH SILVER DOWN $0.46 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF NON EXISTENT SILVER// :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 427.072 MILLION OZ

APRIL 15/WITH SILVER UP $0.46 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.929 MILLION OZ

APRIL 12/WITH SILVER UP $0.10 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.069 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.929 MILLION OZ

APRIL 11/WITH SILVER UP $0.23 TODAY: STRANGE INDEED! HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.931 MILLION OZ :SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 437.998 MILLION OZ

APRIL 10/WITH SILVER UP $0.04 TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.929 MILLION OZ

APRIL 9/WITH SILVER UP $0.15 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.549 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.929 MILLION OZ

APRIL 8/WITH SILVER UP $0.33 TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.320 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.328 MILLION OZ

APRIL 5/WITH SILVER UP $0.61 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 3.748 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 441.060 MILLION OZ

APRIL 4/WITH SILVER UP $0.20 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 3.671 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 437.312 MILLION OZ

APRIL 3/WITH SILVER UP $1.14 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.835 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 433.641 MILLION OZ

APRIL 2/WITH SILVER UP 84 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 6.721 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 430.806 MILLION OZ

APRIL 1/WITH SILVER UP 14 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV// SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.085 MILLION OZ

MARCH 28/WITH SILVER UP 20 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 1.005 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.085 MILLION OZ

MARCH 27/WITH SILVER UP 14 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A A DEPOSIT OF 1.691 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 423.079 MILLION OZ

MARCH 26/WITH SILVER DOWN 24 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A A DEPOSIT OF 0.366 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 421.388 MILLION OZ

MARCH 25/WITH SILVER UP 8 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.887 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 421.022 MILLION OZ

MARCH 22/WITH SILVER DOWN  9 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A HUGE DEPOSIT OF 1.1899 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV: SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.909 MILLION OZ

CLOSING INVENTORY 429.174MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFFGOLD/MIKE MAHARRAY

3. CHRIS POWELL//GATA DISPATCHES

4. OTHER MAJOR GOLD COMMENTARIES/PODCASTS 

South Korea’s Central Bank Says May Buy Gold In The Mid To Long-Term

TUESDAY, APR 30, 2024 – 07:20 PM

Back in 2011, around the time gold hits its previous cycle high, South Korea surprised the fiat world when it revealed that it had spent more than a billion dollars in its first gold purchase in more than a decade, as uncertainty about global growth and sovereign debt push central banks around the world to diversify foreign reserves. It then proceeds to buy a lot more gold (relatively speaking) for the next year and a half before halting purchases indefinitely once again in 2013. It now holds 104.4 tonnes of gold in its foreign exchange reserves, or $4.8 billion, accounting for 1.1% of its total $419.3 billion in reserves at the end of March.

That may change soon, however, because with gold hitting a new all time high in recent weeks, South Korea’s central bank may consider buying more gold in the mid- to long-term, even if it is not thinking of immediately buying more after a recent surge in prices of the precious metal, a bank official said on Tuesday.

The bank’s rare comments come after this month’s record high of $2,431.29 an ounce in spot gold as growing Middle East tension drove investors to seek safe-haven assets. The metal has risen 13% this year, building on a gain of 13% in 2023.

“We don’t have any immediate plans to buy gold now,” Kwon Min-soo, head of the Bank of Korea’s reserve management group told Reuters, adding that numerous factors needed to be weighed to ensure the right circumstances for such purchases.

“Foreign exchange reserves must be on a sufficiently increasing trend, and the foreign exchange market must be stable in order to ‘consider’ purchasing additional gold as an asset, which is why we would consider them only in the mid- to long-term,” he said.

Translation: South Korea will buy more gold, but only after spot prices have jumped another several hundred dollars.

In a blog post earlier, the bank’s Reserve Management Group said it needed to be cautious when investing in gold, but advantages offered by the precious metal included its role as a hedge against inflation and an alternative to the US dollar.

Recent gains in gold prices were due mostly to purchases by central banks of countries such as China, Russia and Turkey, which are trying to become less dependent on the US currency or guard against war, the bank said.

The thaw in sentiment toward gold is a reversal from the BOK’s June 2023 position when the central bank said it was more desirable to maintain dollar liquidity than boost its gold holdings, after its first inspection of gold holdings at the Bank of England.

end

5 a. IMPORTANT COMMENTARIES ON COMMODITIES/

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

REPORT THIS AD

END

6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/

END

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED UP 7.2411

OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.2470

SHANGHAI CLOSED

HANG SENG CLOSED

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 181,61 PTS OR 0.34%

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL MOSTLY RED

USA dollar INDEX UP TO  106.18 EURO RISES TO 1.0672 UP 86BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.888 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 157.89 JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WELL AS LONG TERM 10  YR. YIELDS RISING //EVENTUALLY THIS WILL BREAK THE JAPANESE CENTRAL BANK

3c Nikkei now  ABOVE 17,000

3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning

3e Gold UP /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: UP/  OFFSHORE: UP

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 DOWN for WTI and DOWN FOR Brent this morning

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD UPTO +2.5825/Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.878SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.348

3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWNTO 3.454

3j Gold at $2295.00 //Silver at: 26.48  1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $34.40//AFTER 28.40

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 0 100        roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 93.05/

3m oil into the 80 dollar handle for WTI and  85 handle for Brent/

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

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 157.89/  10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.889% 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 0.9205 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF:   0.9923well 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: 4.682 DOWN 1BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.784 DOWN 1BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  5.035 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 32.46…(TURKEY)

10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.4270 UP 8 PTS

2a New York OPENING REPORT

Future Slide In Damp Start To New Month As Fed Decision Looms

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 08:13 AM

US equities were set for a second day of losses, as investors weighed disappointing tech earnings and braced for today’s Quarterly Refunding Announcement and Fed rate decision and Powell press conference where the Fed chair is expected to signal a delay to rate cuts. S&P 500 futures slid 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped 0.8% as of 7:40 a.m. in New York, extending losses from Tuesday with markets digesting the surge the employment cost index, a measure of wages and benefits, driven by soaring union and government wages as well as the drop in US consumer confidence to its lowest since level 2022. Europe’s Stoxx 600 gauge edged lower in holiday-thinned trading. The Bloomberg dollar index was little changed, while the two-year Treasury yield held near a six-month high. Gold rebounded from yesterday’s rout but bitcoin did not and instead tumbled deeper below $60,000 driven by European selling. It’s a busy calendar and besides the FOMC, we also get the April ADP employment change (8:15am), April US manufacturing PMI (9:45am), March construction spending and JOLTS job openings and April ISM manufacturing (10am).

In premarket trading, AMD shares slipped after the chipmaker issued a disappointing forecast for artificial intelligence processors as it attempts to make inroads into the lucrative market dominated by Nvidia. Super Micro Computer also dropped despite beating forecasts. Starbucks slumped after quarterly sales fell for the first time since 2020. In contrast, Amazon.com shares rose in premarket trading after the e-commerce and cloud computing company reported first-quarter results that beat expectations. Pinterest jumped after the social media company’s better-than-expected results and outlook prompted analysts to raise their price targets on the stock. Here are the biggest premarket movers:

2 B) NOW NEWSQUAWK (EUROPE/REPORT)

US equity futures in the red, USD flat ahead of key US data & FOMC, Crude sinks lower – Newsquawk US Market Open

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 05:54 AM

• European bourses are closed for Labour Day, with the exception of the UK’s FTSE 100, which is incrementally firmer; US equity futures are entirely in the red
• Dollar is flat with G10 peers also holding pattern awaiting a slew of US data and the FOMC
• USTs are unchanged ahead of today’s key events, with QRA also in focus; Gilts subdued
• Crude sinks lower, XAU is incrementally firmer and base metals are lower across the board
• Looking ahead, US Manufacturing PMI, ISM, US ADP, JOLTS, FOMC Announcement, Treasury QRA, Fed Chair Powell, BoC’s Macklem & Rogers. Earnings from CVS, Qualcomm, MetLife, Pfizer, ADP, Marriott, Estee Lauder, Mastercard & eBay

More Newsquawk in 3 steps:

1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports

2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)

3. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days

EUROPEAN TRADE – All major European markets (ex-UK) are closed for Labour Day

EQUITIES

• European bourses are closed for Labour Day, with the exception of the UK’s FTSE 100 and Denmark’s Nasdaq Copenhagen.
• The FTSE 100 (+0.1%) is incrementally firmer, though has come under slight selling pressure in recent trade. GSK (+1.9%) gains post-earnings after beating on top/bottom lines, and raising guidance.
• US Equity Futures (ES -0.3%, NQ -0.6%, RTY -0.3%) are entirely in the red, with clear underperformance in the NQ, hampered by chip-led weakness. Amazon (+2.3%) firmer pre-market on its results, whilst dire Starbucks (-12.1%) earnings have led to pre-market pressure.
• Click here and here for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow, including notable earnings/updates from: GSK, Haleon & Aston Martin
• Click here for more details.

FX

• USD is steady vs. peers after yesterday’s buying momentum followed through into the early stages of today’s trading with the index topping out just shy of the YTD peak at 106.51. A slew of US data and the FOMC thereafter will decide direction.
• EUR is flat vs. the USD with European markets closed for Labour Day. EUR/USD did drift as low as 1.0650 before staging a marginal pick up.
• JPY is trivially softer vs. the USD (compared to recent moves) with the pair briefly eclipsing the 158 mark. Focus is on today’s busy US data/FOMC docket and whether a hawkish outturn could see a revisit to 160.
• Antipodeans are both relatively steady vs. the USD after yesterday’s pronounced selling. AUD/USD marginally extended on yesterday’s low with the session trough at 0.6466 before picking up a touch.
• Click here for more details.
• Click here for OpEx for today’s NY Cut

FIXED INCOME

• USTs are flat ahead of a packed US session, holding at 107-14 which is 10 ticks above the contract low from last week. Alongside this, Quarterly refunding is due after Monday’s estimates were above exp., though coupon sizes seen unch. Q/Q with the extra need to be filled by bills.
• Gilts are softer as the benchmark catches up to the continued late-doors downside in benchmarks on Tuesday. Catalysts light thus far given the mass-European market closure for Labour Day. Gilt auction was incrementally softer than the prior but still solid overall with a few fleeting downticks to a 95.44 base.
• Click here for more details.

COMMODITIES

• A downbeat session for the crude complex thus far amid the broader risk aversion in APAC hours coupled with the surprise large build in crude stockpiles and the “positive” atmosphere in efforts to reach an Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Brent July slipped from a USD 85.88/bbl high to a trough at USD 85.22/bbl.
• A flat session for spot gold but mixed for the overall complex with spot silver posting mild gains and spot palladium in the red. Price action in the yellow metal has been minimal thus far amid the aforementioned mass closures and upcoming risk events state-side; Spot gold is currently confined to a USD 2,281-2,293.oz.
• Base metals are lower across the board amid the negative APAC sone coupled with low demand amid mass market closures. On that note, Chinese markets will remain closed for the rest of the week.
• US Energy Inventory Data (bbls): Crude +4.9mln (exp. -1.1mln), Gasoline -1.5mln (exp. -1.1mln), Distillate -2.2mln (exp. -0.2mln), Cushing +1.5mln.
• US and Philippines reportedly eye a partnership to cut China’s nickel dominance, according to Bloomberg.
• Click here for more details.

DATA RECAP

• UK S&P Global Manufacturing PMI (Apr) 49.1 vs. Exp. 48.7 (Prev. 48.7)
• UK Nationwide House Price MM (Apr) -0.4% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. -0.2%); YY (Apr) 0.6% vs. Exp. 1.2% (Prev. 1.6%)

EARNINGS

• Amazon (AMZN) Q1 EPS 0.98 (exp. 0.83), Q1 revenue USD 143.31bln (exp. 142.5bln); North America net sales USD 86.34bln (exp. 85.55bln), International net sales USD 31.94bln (exp. 32.47bln); Q1 AWS net sales ex-FX +17% (exp. +14.5%); Q1 operating margin 10.7% (exp. 7.63%); Q1 North American retail operating margin 5.8% (exp. 5%). Sees Q2 net sales between USD 144-149bln (exp. 150.13bln), sees Q2 operating income of USD 12bln (exp. 12.7bln). Shares +2.4% pre-market
• Starbucks (SBUX) Q2 adj. EPS 0.68 (exp. 0.79), Q2 revenue USD 8.56bln (exp. 9.13bln); Q2 comp. sales -4% (exp. +1.46%), North America comps -3% (exp. +2.05%), US comps -3% (exp. +2.31%), International comps -6% (exp. +1.36%), China comps -11% (exp. -1.62%) Shares -12.1% pre-market
• Super Micro (SMCI) Q3 adj. EPS of 6.65 (exp. 5.78), Q3 revenue of USD 3.85bln (exp. 3.95bln); Q3 gross margin 15.6% (exp. 15.34%) Shares -9% pre-market
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Q1 adj. EPS 0.62 (exp. 0.61), Q1 revenue USD 5.47bln (exp. 5.46bln). Sees Q2 revenue between USD 5.4-6bln (exp. 5.72bln), sees Q2 adj. gross margin of about 53% (exp. 53%), and sees AI chips sales of about USD 4bln (prev. saw USD 3.5bln). Shares -6.3% pre-market
• GSK (GSK LN) Q1 (GBP): Revenue 7.363bln (exp. 7.067bln). EPS 0.431 (exp. 0.360). Adj. Operating Profit 2.443bln (exp 2.096bln). Sees FY adj. EPS +8-10% (prev. +6-9%) and sees Adj. FY operating profit +9-11% (prev. +7-10%). Shares +1.6% in European trade

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• WSJ’s Timiraos wrote “It’s another wait-and-see meeting for the Fed, but this time, the questions are likely to be tilted in the direction of filling out the Fed’s reaction function for upside risks on inflation and wages rather than downside risks or benign inflation”, via social media platform X.
• Brazil’s Embraer is said to be plotting a new 737-sized jet to rival Boeing (BA), according to WSJ citing sources

GEOPOLITICS

• Walla’s Elster citing a senior Egyptian source who told local media that efforts to reach a truce agreement continue in a “positive atmosphere”
• Hamas official says the group still studying recent ceasefire offer
• Philippines Coast Guard official said China’s Coast Guard has elevated the tension and level of aggression, while the official added the Chinese Coast Guard’s use of a water cannon is still not an armed attack but is using higher water pressure, according to Reuters.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin (-4.3%) sank briefly below USD 57k after hefty selling pressure; currently holds just above the aforementioned level; Crypto stocks sink lower.

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks took their cues from the losses on Wall St amid a hawkish impulse owing to the firmer-than-expected Employment Cost data heading into today’s FOMC and with trade mired by mass holiday closures.
• ASX 200 was pressured as gold miners led the declines after the precious metal slid beneath the USD 2,300/oz level, with underperformance also seen in rate-sensitive sectors.
• Nikkei 225 slipped at the open but held on to 38,000 status and briefly clawed back all of its losses with the downside cushioned by a weaker currency and as participants digested another batch of earnings releases, while it was also reported that Japan could provide tax breaks for companies repatriating foreign profits into the JPY.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• NDRC said China will promote the development and growth of leading companies in the NEV industry, as well as accelerate the exit of lagging enterprises and capacities. Furthermore, China will lift foreign investment access restrictions in the manufacturing industry and it welcomes global automotive companies to deeply integrate into China’s market and industrial chain system.
• Japan may introduce measures to provide tax breaks for companies repatriating foreign profits into the JPY and include it in the government’s annual mid-year policy blueprint, according to Sankei.
• RBNZ Financial Stability Report stated New Zealand’s financial system remains strong and rising nominal incomes are helping many households navigate the transition onto higher interest rates, while it added some are doing it tough and reducing their spending or extending their repayment timelines. RBNZ also stated that although non-performing loans to businesses have increased, they remain low by historical standards and there remains a risk that new or persistent inflation pressures could mean global interest rates remain restrictive for longer.
• RBNZ Deputy Governor Hawkesby said New Zealand’s employment data is confirmation of the trend they were expecting to see and higher interest rates will involve a cooling of the labour market.
• Japan’s Government is considering laws and regulations for AI development and obligatory reporting to large-scale business, via Nikkei

APAC DATA RECAP

• Japanese Manufacturing PMI (Apr F) 49.6 (Prelim. 49.9)
• Australian Manufacturing PMI (Apr F) 49.6 (Prelim. 49.9); AIG Manufacturing Index (Apr) -13.9 (Prev. -7.0); Construction Index (Apr) -25.6 (Prev. -12.9)
• New Zealand HLFS Job Growth QQ (Q1) -0.2% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.4%); HLFS Unemployment Rate (Q1) 4.3% vs. Exp. 4.2% (Prev. 4.0%); Participation Rate (Q1) 71.5% vs. Exp. 71.9% (Prev. 71.9%)
• New Zealand Labour Cost Index QQ (Q1) 0.8% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 1.0%); YY (Q1) 3.8% vs. Exp. 3.8% (Prev. 3.9%)

3C ASIA AFFAIRS/

WEDNESDAY MORNING/TUESDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED //Hang Seng CLOSED// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 181.61PT OR 0.34% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.34%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed UP 7.2411//OFFSHORE CHINESE YUAN CLOSED UP TO 7.2470//Oil DOWN TO 80.79dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 85.17 Stocks in Europe OPENED MOSTLY RED

ONSHORE YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN STRONGER

2 d./NORTH KOREA/ SOUTH KOREA/

NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

END

2e) JAPAN

JAPAN

3 CHINA

CHINA/UKRAINE

China Crossed Biden’s Red Line On Ukraine, So What?

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 03:40 PM

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

It’s ridiculous to have red lines if you are not going to do anything when they are crossed. So what should Biden do?

END

CHINA

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS

END

5. RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS.

ISRAEL/HAMAS

HEZBOLLAH/SOUTH LEBANON

Hezbollah has destroyed South Lebanon, says BBC report

Beautiful Southern Lebanon could have been tourist center, like Italy or Greece, but Hezbollah destroyed it.

By SETH J. FRANTZMANMAY 1, 2024 14:13Updated: MAY 1, 2024 14:2

The BBC recently reported on southern Lebanon where it said it saw “air strike destruction in deserted towns.” The report sought to downplay the role Hezbollah has had in bringing this disaster on southern Lebanon. However, reading between the lines, one can get a sense of how Hezbollah’s thousands of attacks on Israel since it joined the war in support of Hamas on October 8 have harmed civilian life in Lebanon.

Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed terrorist group that illegally occupies southern Lebanon and has illegally stockpiled more than 150,000 missiles and rockets. It has also acquired anti-tank missiles in the thousands and several thousand attack drones in recent years, as well as precision guided munitions. Some of its weapons are developed locally, while other are trafficked from Iran.

Hezbollah has festooned southern Lebanon with weapons, moving them into villages and building networks of bunkers, observation posts, launch sites and other illegal terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon. After the 2006 war the UN and Lebanon were supposed to keep Lebanon from creating a state within a state in southern Lebanon, and returning to the border, however, the group is exponentially more powerful today than in 2006. Similar to Hamas, the international community has sought to enable Hezbollah’s threats, or pretend not to notice them.

END

GAZA/USA

Just what the USA needs!!

Biden Considering Bringing Some Refugees From Gaza To The US

the Biden administration appears to have gotten its Soros marching orders to pour gasoline into the fire, with CBS reporting that the White House is considering bringing “certain Palestinians” to the U.S. as refugees, a move that would offer a permanent safe haven to some of those fleeing war-torn Gaza, and would also drastically escalate what has already been the 2024 equivalent of the 2020 BLM summer of violence, only this time with spoiled, rich Marxist kids pretending they live in the 1960s and their actions can stop the war in Vietnam Middle East.

According to the report, in recent weeks senior officials across several federal U.S. agencies have discussed the practicality of different options to resettle Palestinians from Gaza who have immediate family members who are American citizens or permanent residents.

One of those proposals involves using the decades-old United States Refugee Admissions Program to welcome Palestinians with U.S. ties who have managed to escape Gaza and enter neighboring Egypt, according to the inter-agency planning documents.

Top U.S. officials have also discussed getting additional Palestinians out of Gaza and processing them as refugees if they have American relatives, the documents show. The plans would require coordination with Egypt, which has so far refused to welcome large numbers of people from Gaza.

Those who pass a series of eligibility, medical and security screenings would qualify to fly to the U.S. with refugee status, which offers beneficiaries permanent residency, resettlement benefits like housing assistance and a path to American citizenship.

While the eligible population is expected to be relatively small, the plans being discussed by U.S. officials could offer a lifeline to some Palestinians fleeing the Israel-Hamas war, which local public health authorities say has claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Needless to say, this comes from the same admin which a few days ago decided against a ban of menthol cigarettes over fears it would alienate the black vote, and today targeted the pot-smoking voters with a report the DEA was preparing to reclassify marijuana to a less dangerous drug category. The same admin which in the past 2 years has welcomed over 20 million illegals with the hope that they will illegally vote for Biden and the Democrats, and thus enshrine the current kleptofascist regime in perpetuity. So it is hardly a surprise that Biden, desperate to avoid losing the vote of the ultra-left progressive wing of the Democrat party which just happens to sympathize with Hamas, will pander to this group whose votes may end up deciding the November election.

Naturally, news of the proposal spread like wildfire with prominent republicans slamming the idea…

Tom Cotton

@TomCottonAR

Biden wants to bring to America the same Gazans who elected and support Hamas? This may be his worst idea yet.

7:27 PM · Apr 30, 2024

·

74.9K Views

he Biden Administration is considering bringing in Palestinians from Gaza as refugees into the US. But not a single Arab nation is welcoming their own brothers from Gaza. Why is that? Let’s find out.

3:54

From

Bree A Dail

7:01 PM · Apr 30, 2024

·

640.6K Views

TUESDAY, APR 30, 2024 – 11:20 PM

With scenes like this spreading across the country, as standoffs at various liberal campuses turn increasingly more violent

ISRAEL//GAZA

end

ISRAEL/HAMAS

Israel Won’t End War On Hamas As Part Of Hostage Deal, Bibi Tells Blinken

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 12:45 PM

It seems like once again that the Biden White House has almost zero sway, and that Israel is going to do whatever it is going to do, despite continued Washington pressure to halt and avoid the planned Rafah ground assault, with over a million refugees in harm’s way.

A deal is still reportedly on the table, with with no breakthrough being reported amid negotiations mediated by Qatar and Egypt. The deal would reportedly see less than 40 Israeli hostages freed but Hamas wants a permanent, lasting truce that would involve an IDF troop withdrawal from Gaza while Tel Aviv only envisions a temporary pause in fighting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has blamed Hamas for lack of a breakthrough in achieving a deal, saying alongside Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on Wednesday, “No delays, no excuses.” He added: “The time is now.”

Gaza’s terror group is “the only reason that that wouldn’t be achieved,” he emphasized. It may not happen “because of Hamas” Blinken stressed. However, Axios’ Israel correspondent Barak Ravid has reported that Blinken has conveyed to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu that the US still stands against an IDF operation in Rafah “without a credible plan for protecting civilians.”

Axios cited Blinken further as saying the Biden administration “thinks there are a better options to deal with the Hamas battalions in the city other than a full scale military operation,” according to a US diplomatic source.

But importantly Netanyahu responded in the Wednesday meeting that he does not intend to accept any deal that includes ending the war. “He said if Hamas doesn’t drop this demand there will be no deal and Israel will invade Rafah, per Israeli and U.S. officials,” Ravid reports.

This is similar to what Netanyahu said the day prior: “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.” Blinken is likely trying to get him to backdown from this hardline stance. But even as diplomacy and negotiations intensify, it could yet take several more days to reach a truce or ceasefire deal:

Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official, has told the AFP by phone that the group will issue a clear response to Israel’s ceasefire proposal “within a very short period”.

Al-Hindi did not provide a specific timeline for Hamas’s response, but another source told the AFP a reply is anticipated within the next day or two.

According to the source, Israel’s proposal includes “real concessions”, yet the question of its complete withdrawal from the Strip remains a likely sticking point.

Complicating things for Israel is the International Criminal Court (ICC) case hanging over Netanyahu and top Israeli officials. 

Herzog addressed the potential for arrest warrants to be issued from the Hague-based court: “Our enemies and other elements are trying to undermine the entire process by using international legal forums that were established in order to have a world order that pursues peace, and pursues the values and norms that we all believe in in the modern world.” said the Israeli president. “Especially the efforts done at the International Criminal Court.”

“Israel has a very strong legal system, very strong adjudication and law enforcement system, and it has pursued legal steps from the highest authorities in this land [against] any other citizen,” said Herzog.

Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו

@netanyahu

Israel expects the leaders of the free world to stand firmly against the ICC outrageous assault on Israel’s inherent right of self-defense. We expect them to use all the means at their disposal to stop this dangerous move.

0:30 / 1:38

7:19 AM · May 1, 2024

·

218.8K Views

Twitter.com/netanyahu/status/1785630225197384000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1785630225197384000%7Ctwgr%5E7301c78728a40a26be121b6574b0e79b9

Netanyahu the day prior issued a video address condemning the action. While it would be largely symbolic, as the World Court doesn’t have an enforcement arm, it would be a reputational black eye for Israel at a sensitive moment it faces immense criticism on a global stage for the soaring Gaza death toll and reports of famine. 

As for the impending Rafah operation, Netanyahu has been consistent for the past two months that Israel will go into the southern city “no matter what the US says.” There’s been no wavering on this point, however there does appear to have been a delay.

IRAN/

IRAN/ISRAEL

end

RUSSIA/UKRAINE/

This is why Russia and China are buying gold hand over fist

Tom Luongo

It’s The End Of The Foreign Exchange Reserves As We Know It… Don’t Feel Fine About It

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 06:30 AM

Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

“Birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, Boom!”
— R.E.M.

The world we’ve known is over. The US Congress finally pushed the big red button. When the West froze around $300 billion of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves in March 2022 it was the first step in breaking down the system of foreign exchange reserves that makes up the global economy.

Freezing assets of countries they are mad at isn’t new behavior from the locusts that run the G-7 countries. We still have to listen to conservatards whine about Obama giving Iran back “pallets of cash” for signing the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal) in 2015, when all he did was unfreeze assets we’d frozen in 1979…

… 1979, folks. Seriously. Get a grip on reality. Obama gave Iran back their money. I’m no Obama fan, far from it, but as payments go, it was really nothing.

Freezing assets, however, isn’t really theft, it’s just the tip.

The money frozen in 2022 was supposed to operate the same way. It was supposed to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin into ending the war in Ukraine. The theory being that the oligarchs whose money that represented would push Putin out of power to get that money back.

Theories, by the way, speaking as a scientist, mostly suck.

Putin used this to his advantage, rallying the world around him and to the burgeoning BRICS Alliance. It worked a treat and here we are with $90 per barrel oil, raging inflation and a shattered Ukraine.

Typically, the British call this, “money well spent.”

Overall, it was a statement by the G-7 that no one’s money is safe. Look, no offense to Iran (or Venezuela or anyone else who previously ran into this problem), but cutting them out of the global economy was an effective piece of intimidation of everyone else.

It had it’s limits, however. And the increasingly common usage of sanctions while possibly effective in enforcing the rules based order demanded by the G-7, only decreased the cost/benefit analysis of playing by those rules in the future. Eventually someone would turn what was supposed to be a weakness into a strength.

No self-proclaimed ‘serious person’ in DC, London and/or Brussels thought that doing something so arrogant (and stupid) to one of the most important commodity-producing countries in the world would backfire on them. When you stop to think about it we’re talking about a country, Russia, that in 2023 exported more wheat than the 3rd largest producer (the US) harvested — approx. 60 million tonnes exported (RUS) vs. 47 million tonnes produced (US).

So, like the hubristic morons they are, our leadership thought this would work. It didn’t.

Or was their plan even dumber?

Because the recent actions by the US vis a vis Russia and China is so dumb it defies description. Congress has authorized President Joah Bii-DEN! to seize Russia’s foreign exchange reserves as they have threatened to do for the past six months and hand the money to Ukraine.

This isn’t the tip anymore, this is just outright theft.

And they call this #winning.

Leaving aside the inconsolable butthurt this move implies, it really signifies that this may have actually been the plan all along.

In their April 26th livestream, the Alexes at The Duran brought up the brilliant point that the real target of this move to seize Russia’s forex reserves wasn’t Russia, but China. (START AT the 3:00)

By all accounts the US has frozen a small portion of the $300 billion of Russia’s money sitting around now collecting interest because of Jerome Powell. But in the Age of Bii-Den! no foreign policy blunder is too small, no shakedown attempt to brazen, and no act of diplomatic vandalism too destructive.

Sec. of State Antony Blinken’s ‘performance’ in Beijing was nothing short of a declaration of war, as Alex Mercouris put it, and he’s absolutely right. It’s good to see both of them come to the same conclusion I reached during the first days of the Bii-Denn! Junta…

… that they are trying to destroy the United States.

So, all in all, the threat hangs out there that the G-7 stands ready to seize Russia’s forex reserves, which is an implicit threat to China that the US will cancel all outstanding debts owed to China because we are at war with them.

Because this is exactly where this leads.

Russia famously sold all of their US Treasury reserves in 2021 in preparation for war with NATO over Ukraine. There were no CUSIPs to cancel unilaterally by the US. As always, Vlad is one step ahead of the predictably brutish neocons at the US Dept. of State.

Even though Vicky the Hutt is gone and the US is offering a few fig leaves to Russia here and there to simulate attempts at opening up a diplomatic end to Ukraine, Russia is looking at Blinken, David Cameron (UK), Josep Borrell (EU) and the rest of the Gang that Can’t Sanction Straight and calmly saying, “Nyet. Fuck you, pay me.”

And, by all accounts, the EU is paying Russia while Bii-Denn! tries to open up global oil markets in a desperate bid to bring oil prices down because “Our Money, Your Problem” is now “Our Commodities, Your Political Unrest” or something like that.

This speaks to the heart of this matter, there is no trust left between these ‘combatants’ and, by extension, the rest of the world. Global trade rests on trust. Trust that if you do business in one country, what you’ve personally earned is considered your property. If that trust is broken it’s not likely not coming back anytime soon.

Seizing those assets is simply spitting in the eye of the very ideas on which Pax Americana was built. You can say it was always a lie and that’s your prerogative, but the key to continuing any good racket is not to shake down the mark to the point where he sees the grift.

I guess they no longer teach that at Globalist Central.

The saddest part about this is that, truly, the target of this insanity isn’t even China or Russia or Iran… the real target is us, the people who are responsible for the debt their inanity represents. The real problem is that they are broke, are about to break all of the promises of the past two generations, and want you to believe it was Russia and China’s fault.

But these people are simple, garden variety narcissistic abusers, who sit there in their ivory towers nursing the holes where their hearts are supposed to be, screaming, “Why are you making me beat you like this!”

Why indeed?

BOOM!

I was contacted by Sputnik News for comments on this issue which were far more professional than those I just typed. As always, in the interests of transparency, I publish the full comments for your confirmation of whatever you think of me. 🙂

The US House passed legislation that would give Biden the legal authority to confiscate frozen Russian financial assets and transfer to them to Ukraine. 

1. If the US really does pull the trigger and confiscates Russia’s financial assets, what are some of the potential consequences for the hegemony of the US dollar and financial system? 

I could write a book on this issue, to be honest. But, in short, nothing good.  What this would do is ensure the US is no longer a place where trade and business are protected by law.  Congress is literally throwing the entire concept of foreign exchange into the trash can and lighting it on fire by giving President Biden this power, which no one should have.

This isn’t about Russia or anyone’s opinion about what they are doing in Ukraine.  This is about the US as a bastion for the rule of law as it pertains to business and banking.  Now, we’ve been trending towards this moment for the past two decades, but this would be a move from which the current US government cannot and will not recover from.

It will signal to the rest of the world that their money is no longer safe from confiscation if it is held in US banks.  That at any time if someone in Congress has a grudge against you, they can just seize it and move on.  We Americans have lived under the spectre of ‘asset forfeiture’ laws for years as a consequence of our “War on Drugs” during the Reagan administration.  The corruption it created is legendary. 

Every country looking to do business with the US in the future now lives with that.  This one act is what signals the end of the modern era of finance and trade.  From here the world will fracture and the US will lose trillions in future trade.  This confirms my argument that US leadership are vandals intent on the collapse of the US rather than having any allegiance whatsoever to the people or what’s left of the ideals on which the country was founded. 

2. How are other countries likely to react to such a move? Are there any other alternatives to the US dollar and financial system that they could turn to?

This move will not have immediate effects that we’ll see play out in capital markets beyond accelerating trends already in place.  As of right now there is no alternative to the US dollar because of its primacy in settling global trade.  The euro gave up that potential role when they went to negative interest rates last decade.

The Chinese yuan is not ready for this role either.  But with this move by the US, it will now gain momentum towards fulfilling that role. And, believe me, the Chinese government is fully aware of this.

In the short run, paradoxically, it will cause a run into the US dollar, as people who need them to service debt will hoard them, but with the intention of paying those debts off.  This will put upward pressure on the dollar making our sovereign debt that much harder to service.  The vandals of the Biden administration are fully aware of this, and if anything, are cheering it on. 

But once trust is broken it is nearly impossible to regain it.  Capital flows to where it is treated best.  This was the US’s real super-power for all of these years.  We treated capital well.  It’s what drove our banking dominance.  That dominance will fade and the world, in the short term, will turn to gold until a new system emerges.

3. US lawmakers are constantly saying that giving more money to the US military industrial complex via Ukraine spending is great for the economy, creates jobs. Is that actually the case?

Yes, most of the money isn’t actually going to Ukraine.  I suspect that most of it is going to replace what we’ve already stripped from ours and the rest of NATO’s stores.  This money is just ensuring that the war wanted so desperately by the people who stand behind our politicians is fully funded.

War is not good for the economy, it diverts precious capital from productive innovation into weapons and bombs.  As always, all they sell us on is the stuff that is seen, the jobs for making bombs.  What they ignore are the costs to that, the unseen things we didn’t build with that same money that would alleviate future needs.  It’s just pathetic grandstanding and it’s why representative Republics always fail the same way. 

Creating jobs is a politician’s priority, but it isn’t in the people’s priority.  What the people want is to not be looted and create their own opportunities. But that implies we don’t need the politicians, which we don’t, and we can’t have that gaining traction, now can we? 

6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES

COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES//DRUG ISSUES

end

MARK CRISPIN MILLER

Argie footie Carlos Tevez in hospital w/ chest pains; Rod Stewart collab’s heart attack “shatters face”; Irish radio host Jesper Dein reveals heart failure; Danish radio host has heart haemorrhage

Barcelona major Xavier García Albiol in hospital with arrhythmia; Italian city councillor Luigi Urciuoli in coma after stroke; Indian insurance firm denies coverage for ex-journo’s healthcare; & more

MARK CRISPIN MILLERAPR 30

READ IN APP

ARGENTINA

Argentine footy Carlos Tevez admitted to hospital with chest pains

April 24, 2024

Argentine footy Carlos Tevez admitted to hospital with chest pains

News from Underground by Mark Crispin Miller is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Upgrade to paid

UNITED KINGDOM

Rod Stewart collaborator shares surgery update after ‘shattering face’ during heart attack

April 24, 2024

Award-winning music producer and composer Nitin Sawhney [59] has given fans a health update following his third surgery after his recent heart attack. The acclaimed musician was forced to cancel a string of upcoming dates after being rushed to hospital for emergency surgery in early March. The star, who produced three tracks on Rod Stewart and Jools Holland’s number one album, Swing Fever, had blacked out after a getting a terrifying pain in his chest, only to wake up bleeding heavily after smashing his face into a coffee table. He appeared to be doing well in his latest update just seven weeks after the incident.

Link

‘Get checked’ – Ex-footballer Darren Oxbrow’s message after diagnosis

April 19, 2024

A former professional footballer diagnosed with blood cancer has urged people to get checked if they spot unusual symptoms. Darren Oxbrow, 54, formerly of Ipswich Town, Maidstone United and Colchester United, found out he had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2022. Mr Oxbrow said feeling “not himself” on holiday was the first time he realised something was wrong. Mr Oxbrow underwent chemotherapy from September to February and said he was making a “good recovery”.

Link

Weymouth Esplanade medical emergency during Anzac memorial

April 25, 2024

Safety patrol staff leapt into action to help a woman in need of medical attention. It is understood the woman had been a spectator at this morning’s Anzac memorial service on Weymouth seafront when she collapsed. Town council community safety patrol officers rushed to the woman’s aid as calls for a ‘medic’ could be heard as the service came to an end. Within 10 minutes an ambulance was on the scene and paramedics started to treat the woman who was laying on her side on the beach next to the promenade.  The woman’s condition is not known.

No age reported.

Link

British man, 53, rushed to hospital after being resuscitated by holiday pool in Lanzarote

April 25, 2024

Link

Burnham-on-Sea RNLI paged at 00.28 am, to support a medical evacuation

April 24, 2024

Link

Man found in ‘critical condition’ as two air ambulances land in park

April 24, 2024

Link

Man critical after incident in tree on Swindon housing estate

April 21, 2024

Link

‘Superhero’ teen helping others through cancer treatment

April 19, 2024

Link

Mum has just two weeks to live after finding lump in her breast

April 26, 2024

Link

IRELAND

Galway Bay FM presenter Ollie Turner bravely reveals heart failure diagnosis

April 25, 2024

Galway Bay FM presenter Ollie Turner has bravely revealed he was diagnosed with Heart Failure last year. Heart Failure is said to impact one in five people, and occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t pump blood as well as it should. It usually happens because the heart has become too weak or stiff. Sports presenter Ollie began to suffer from breathlessness in February 2023, before going on to show his symptoms to medics in June. ‘The most important moment in my journey was when I underwent an assessment at Westdoc in Tuam. The results of an ECG showed I had a fast irregular heartbeat and this put to bed any notions that my symptoms were simply down to stress or lack of fitness. I was sent to UHG where blood tests prompted an echocardiogram, which picked up a drop in my pump function, as the heart was struggling to keep up with the fast beat. I was diagnosed with heart failure. Up to that point heart failure had not been detected despite a number of visits to the GP but I knew myself that there was more going on than anxiety,’ he said. Ollie added: ‘I would encourage anyone with concerning symptoms to insist on getting a full assessment from their GP.’

No age reported.

Link

DENMARK

Emil Midé Erichsen needs to return home with sinus infection

April 25, 2024

Copenhagen – A bad sinus infection has sent sailor, lecturer and author Emil Midé Erichsen home to Denmark from a trip with his family on the ship “Havana” in the Caribbean. He states this on Instagram. “My options to be treated in the Caribbean ran out, and in consultation with a sinus expert and our insurance, it has been decided that I will have surgery at home. Because to walk around being sick is no longer a tenable situation,” writes Emil Midé Erichsen in the post. At the same time, he emphasizes that the situation is temporary, and that he and his wife, Louise, and the couple’s two young sons will set course for the Caribbean when his body is ready again. “Our journey has taken an unexpected turn, but the adventure is not over. We just went on ‘holiday’ in Denmark. As soon as I’m back on top again, we’ll travel home to ‘Havana’ and continue where we left off,” writes Emil Midé Erichsen.

No age reported.

Link

A radio host has had a brain haemorrhage

April 23, 2024

Link

SPAIN

Xavier García Albiol, hospitalized for arrhythmia

April 23, 2024

The mayor of Badalona (Barcelona), Xavier García Albiol, was admitted to the city’s Municipal Hospital this Monday as a result of an arrhythmia, although he is expected to be discharged today. Albiol has stated that he will cancel some of the activities he had planned over the next few days to complete his recovery: “I have to slow down because they tell me I’m going at a hectic pace and can’t go to all the places I’m going to and those that I want to continue to go to.”

No age reported.

Link

ITALY

41-year-old resuscitated after falling ill on the way to wine festival

April 25, 2024

Link

Violent quarrel and a man suffering from a heart attack

April 25, 2024

Link

Sudden illness, 30-year-old woman in hospital

April 24, 2024

Link

Sudden illness, cardiac arrest, 60-year-old in serious condition

April 22, 2024

Link

Worker faints on scaffolding: saved by firefighters

April 22, 2024

Link

Former councilor Luigi Urciuoli suffered a stroke and is in a coma

April 22, 2024

Link

He feels bad, asks some passers-by for help, but they believe it is a scam: saved by the local police

April 22, 2024

Link

END

DR PAUL ALEXANDER

Was the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago over ‘classified markings’ a set up by Biden? Were they looking for Crossfire Hurricane? Judge Aileen Cannon shows some leg & opens this up; what? an ‘FBI agent who

testified that the General Services Administration (GSA) had been in possession of Trump’s boxes in Virginia before ordering Trump’s team to come get them.’ so the GSA sent the docs to Mar-a-Lago?

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERAPR 30

READ IN APP

‘Among the documents unsealed were extensive exhibits, motions, and other filings shedding light on the intricate web of communication between the Biden White House and the National Archives and Records Administration in the lead-up to Trump’s indictment.’

hhhmmm, this stinks to high heavens and more to come…

SLAY NEWS

he latest reports from Slay News

Top Molecular Geneticist: Covid Spike Protein Is a ‘Bioweapon’A world-renowned molecular geneticist has warned the public that the spike protein found in the COVID-19 virus and the mRNA vaccines “is a bioweapon.”READ MORE

Top UK Lawmaker: Up to ’20 Million People Have Been Killed’ by Covid Shots ‘Worldwide’A British politician has blown the whistle to warn the public that “between 10 and 20 million people” have now been killed by Covid mRNA shots around the world.READ MORE

Pelosi Accuses MSNBC Host of Being a Trump ‘Apologist’ for Adding Context to Claimed Job NumbersDemocrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) blasted an MSNBC host for attempting to add context to skewed claims about job numbers under Democrat President Joe Biden.READ MORE

Ron Klain: Biden Doesn’t Need a Major Strategy for 2024 Because Trump Is ‘Self-Destructing’Former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has argued that his old boss, Democrat President Joe Biden, doesn’t need to roll out a major strategy to win in November.READ MORE

Leftist Newsweek: Trump’s Presidential Immunity Necessary to Protect ‘Democracy’Leftist publication Newsweek has declared in an opinion piece that protecting President Donald Trump is necessary to “protect democracy.”READ MORE

Ex-Chief of Staff Ron Klain Says Biden Will Debate If ‘Rules’ Are ‘Enforced’ to ‘Control’ TrumpDemocrat President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain is adding pressure on his former boss to take part in presidential election debates.READ MORE

Trump Hints at Looming Biden Prosecutions if Supreme Court Rules against Presidential ImmunityPresident Donald Trump has made it clear what he thinks will happen if the Supreme Court rules that he doesn’t have immunity from prosecution for acts he performed while in the White House.READ MORE

Supreme Court Will Not Ban Governments from Dismantling Homeless Encampments, Former Official SaysA former top U.S. federal official has asserted that the Supreme Court won’t rule that local governments can’t dismantle homeless encampments.READ MORE

Presidential Election Forecaster with Near-Perfect Record Makes Prediction for 2024A forecaster with a near-perfect record in predicting every presidential election since 1984 has announced who he believes will win in November.READ MORE

Kamala Harris: ‘Apparently, Some People Love to Talk about the Way I Laugh’Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris has revealed that her handlers told her that “some people love to talk about the way I laugh.”READ MORE

Equal Employment Commissioner Goes Rogue: New Federal Transgender Rules Place Women’s Workplace Rights ‘Under Attack’The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has warned that new federal transgender rules mean companies could be found liable for harassment if they require an employee to use a bathroom that corresponds with their biological sex.READ MORE

George Alan Kelly’s Defense Blasts ‘Political Prosecution’ of Arizona Rancher by ‘Ethically Bankrupt’ OfficialsA criminology expert who has been working on the legal team for George Alan Kelly has blasted the “ethically bankrupt” officials behind the “political prosecution” of the Arizona rancher.READ MORE

Firefighter Dies Suddenly at 36 after Being Fired by FDNY to Fund NYC’s Illegal ‘Newcomers’A New York City firefighter has tragically died suddenly of a heart attack at just 36 years old, shortly after FDNY fired him as a cost-cutting measure so NYC could fund the illegal alien “newcomer” crisis.READ MORE

EVOL NEWS

NEWS ADDICT

LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIESBig Pharma Admits Covid Shots Cause ‘Severe Blood Clots’Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has admitted that its Covid mRNA shots cause “severe blood clots” that can impact anyone who received them.READ THE FULL REPORTCourt Sets Precedent for Forced Mandatory COVID Vaccination of ChildrenA recent court case in North Carolina has set a precedent for the forced vaccination of school children with the experimental gene therapy Covid-19 shot.READ THE FULL REPORTCanadian Soldiers Who Refused COVID Shots Still Face Barriers to Re-Enrolment (VIDEO)The Department of National Defence in Canada has lifted the requirement for soldiers who were previously expelled for refusing COVID-19 vaccination to wait five years before re-enrolling.READ THE FULL REPORTProminent EU Leader: COVID Vaccinations Are ‘Biggest Crime Ever Committed on Mankind’ (VIDEO)In a shocking statement, Christine Anderson, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Germany, has condemned the global mass COVID mRNA vaccination campaign as “the biggest crime to ever have been committed on mankind.”READ THE FULL REPORTALERT: Rioters Push to BURN Down UniversityProtesters at Columbia University, who were against Israel, refused to comply with the directive issued by the university administration to vacate the encampment.READ THE FULL REPORT

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

Markets Are Very, Very Nervous Going Into The FOMC Decision

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 10:55 AM

By Michael Every of Rabobank

Higher for Longer Anxiety

Markets are very, very nervous going into the FOMC decision. The Wall Street Journal’s Timiraos tells us the Fed’s message will be “higher for longer”, language that had been dumped in December.

twitter.com/NickTimiraos/status/1785412777705611318?

ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1785412777705611318%

Nick Timiraos

@NickTimiraos

It’s another wait-and-see meeting for the Fed, but this time, the questions are likely to be tilted in the direction of filling out the Fed’s reaction function for upside risks on inflation and wages rather than downside risks or benign inflation.

Quote

Mornings with Maria

@MorningsMaria

·

Apr 30

Fed rate cuts are on pause ‘indefinitely’: Nick Timiraos

4:55 PM · Apr 30, 2024

·

198.2K Views

Moreover, if the Fed sees more hot data –following a jump in the Employment Cost Index, US house price inflation rising again, and a New York Fed wage tracker showing pay hikes staying around 5% y-o-y– then while they may not raise rates again, they will certainly remove some of the implied cuts in the next dot plot; in his words, that would force yields higher along the curve in order to tighten financial conditions. So, higher yields anxiety.

Meanwhile, former President Trump give an interview to Time magazine that underlines how remarkably different, and radical, a ‘Trump 2’ would be. In particular, markets should note:  

Let’s shift to the economy, sir. You have floated a 10% tariff on all imports, and a more than 60% tariff on Chinese imports. Can I just ask you now: Is that your plan?

It may be more than that. It may be a derivative of that. A derivative of that. But it will be somebody – look when they come in and they steal our jobs, and they steal our wealth, they steal our country.

When you say more than that, though: You mean maybe more than 10% on all imports?

More than 10%, yeah. I call it a ring around the country. We have a ring around the country. A reciprocal tax also, in addition to what we said. And if we do that, the numbers are staggering. I don’t believe it will have much of an effect because they’re making so much money off of us. I also don’t believe that the costs will go up that much. And a lot of people say, “Oh, that’s gonna be a tax on us.” I don’t believe that. I think it’s a tax on the country that’s doing it…

Mr. President, most economists—and I know not all, there isn’t unanimity on this—but most economists say that tariffs increase prices.

Trump: Yeah.

Are you comfortable with additional inflation?

Trump: No, I’ve seen. I’ve seen – I don’t believe it’ll be inflation. I think it’ll be lack of loss for our country. Because what will happen and what other countries do very successfully, China being a leader of it. India is very difficult to deal with. India – I get along great with Modi, but they’re very difficult to deal with on trade. France is frankly very difficult on trade. Brazil is very difficult on trade. What they do is they charge you so much to go in. They say, we don’t want you to send cars into Brazil or we don’t want you to send cars into China or India. But if you want to build a plant inside of our country, that’s okay and employ our people. And that’s basically what I’m doing. And that’s – I was doing and I was doing it strongly, but it was ready to really start and then we got hit with COVID. We had to fix that problem.

So, higher tariffs and, for some, higher inflation anxiety. And it’s not just from Trump: following yesterday’s Global Daily title of ‘Beg, Borrow, or Steel’, Treasury Secretary Yellen flagged higher US tariffs are needed vs. Chinese steel dumping; and the White House wants ethanol aviation fuel subsidies which will boost corn prices – you can tell it’s a US election year.  

Meanwhile, Trump may want to end Fed independence (vs. telling the world rate cuts are coming by end year, and placing doves, not hawks, on the FOMC after a series of scandals). Would this imply “bigly” rate cuts, or open the door to the hybrid higher-rates-for-some/lower-for-others monetary/fiscal/industrial policy I have hypothesized as the only logical solution to the mess we are in? Either way, it would be “bigly” for all asset classes; more so when another headline suggests Trump wants to punish the BRICS who try to dedollarise with high tariffs.

Meanwhile other things are likely seeing central banks reach for their Valium:

• The West has K-shaped, unequal, unhappy, stagflationary, more emerging-market economies with too much debt and too few good options.
• Not only the yield curve, but an entire generation is lying flat or inverted in calling for violent revolution or communism in the US; and, at elite universities, to the approval of faculty, administrators, and authorities. As legitimate protest metastasizes into a ‘tentifada’ or, as Alan Dershowitz calls it, “Mein Kampus”, a Harvard-Harris poll shows 43% of US 18-24 year-olds support Hamas over Israel, and a majority want *Iran* to have a nuclear weapon.
• High geopolitical tensions mean protectionist, inflationary, Hamiltonian rearmament; yet the West currently can’t get the Suez Canal open to its maritime commerce again because of the Houthis; and Poland confirms it’s asked the US to let it host nuclear weapons, which could lead to an EU Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 2019, I suggested we were on the cusp of an ‘Age of Rage’ that risked injecting politics into central banks: within 2 years, the Fed was talking about social justice, which some think perhaps played a partial role in the FOMC’s delayed recognition that rate hikes were necessary. In 2024, a former ECB president is calling for “radical” change, a US presidential candidate may back the end of Fed independence, and the Wall Street elite’s kids want global revolution. Where will things sit in another five years? “25bps lower” is not an answer that captures the real tail risks. However, not many want to ‘go there’, which leads me to high anxiety.

In Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety, psychologist Richard Thorndyke and belle Victoria Brisbane must pass through San Francisco Airport, where the police are looking for them. To hide, they wear clothes from charity and do an impression of many grandparents, as Thorndyke urges Victoria: “Be loud and annoying. Psychologically, when you are loud and annoying, people don’t notice you.” Indeed, when the metal detector is triggered by a forgotten gun, Thorndyke avoids arrest thus:

Thorndyke: “What is this, a gameshow? What did I win, a Pinto?”

Security: “I’m sorry sir, we’re going to have to search you.”

Thorndyke: “Please Sir, what did I do? What did I do? What’s to my crime?”

Security: “You beeped.”

Thorndyke: “I beeped! I beeped! Take me away! Take me back to Russia! Put me in irons! I beeped! The mad beeper is loose! Take away the beeper! Take me away!”

Security: “It’s alright! It’s alright, please go! Please go!”

We are now living that movie. Tipping-points loom in our ecology, economy, society, theology, psychology, demography, national security – and, yes, markets. Yet many ignore those “loud and annoying” messages right up until the likes of Timiraos spell it out for them. As such, aren’t those focused solely on the next rate cut the real “mad (25) beepers”?

Our Australia/New Zealand strategist Ben Picton will make some very, very nervous: he’s revised his RBA policy rate forecast to include two further 25bps hikes (in August and November) to reach a terminal rate of 4.85%, and has removed future cuts in accordance with our house view that Trump will win the US election and enact tariffs. Those not prepared to make those kind of tough market calls may react as in the High Anxiety shower scene, where the attached clip misses the punchline: “That kid gets no tip.” But I think Ben just gave you a great tip.

7.OIL PRICES/GAS PRICES/OIL ISSUES

end

8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//

END   

YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS WEDNESDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING

EURO VS USA DOLLAR:  1.0672 UP .0006

USA/ YEN 157.89 UP 0.156 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN  STILL FALLS//

GBP/USA 1.2480 DOWN.0008

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.3766 DOWN .0010(CDN DOLLAR UP 10 BASIS PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED

 Hang Seng CLOSED

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 1.26

 // EUROPEAN BOURSE:     ALL MOSTLY RED

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES:  ALL MOSTLY RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED

/SHANGHAI CLOSED

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 1.26%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 181.61 PTS OR .34%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE RED

Gold very early morning trading: 2295.90

silver:$26.49

USA dollar index early WEDNESDAY  morning: 106.18 UP 8 BASIS POINTS FROM MONDAY’s CLOSE.

WEDNESDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

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And now your closing  WEDNESDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.194% UP 0 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.887% UP 1 AND  2/ 100   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.348 UP 0 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.877 UP 0 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.5825 UP 0 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 1.0678 UP  0.0012 OR 12 basis points

USA/Japan: 157.65 DOWN 0.091OR YEN IS UP 9 BASIS PTS

Great Britain/USA 1.2487 DOWN .0002 OR 2 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar UP 17 OR 17 BASIS pts  to 1.3762

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The USA/Yuan,  CNY: closed UP    ON SHORE  CLOSED UP AT 7.24101   

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE:    (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. (7.2438)

TURKISH LIRA:  32.49 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +0.887…

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 3 in basis points from TUESDAY at  4.659% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%) very problematic

 USA 30 yr bond yield  4.754 DOWN 4 in basis points  /12.00 PM

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 5.012 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS.

GOLD AT 11;30 AM 2305,40

SILVER AT 11;30: 26.47

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 DOWN 22.89 PTS OR 0.28

German Dax :  CLOSED

Paris CAC CLOSED

Spain IBEX CLOSED

Italian MIB: CLOSED

WTI Oil price  79.2012EST/

Brent Oil:  83.59 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE ///   AT:  93.05 ROUBLE UP 0 AND  0/100      

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.5825 UP 30 BASIS PTS.

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.4130UP 4 BASIS POINTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA 1.0700 UP 33     OR 33 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2509 UP 0.0021 Or 21 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  4.4020 UP 0 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: .887

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 157.40 DOWN 0.326YEN UP 33 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3742 DOWN.0036 CDN dollar UP 36 BASIS PTS

West Texas intermediate oil: 79.19

Brent OIL:  83.59

USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 6 BASIS pts to 4.626 

USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 5 BASIS PTS to 4.739%

USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 9 PTS AT  4.952

USA dollar index: 105.91 DOWN 19 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 32. 47 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  93.05 DOWN 0  AND  0/100 roubles

GOLD  2,320.00 3:30 PM

SILVER: 26.74 330 PM

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 85.70 PTS OR 0.23 %

NASDAQ DOWN 122.14 PTS OR 0.70 %

VOLATILITY INDEX: 14.95 DOWN 0.70 PTS OR 4.47%

GLD: $213.79 UP 1.92 OR 0.91%

SLV/ $24.27 UP 0,722OR 0.96%

end

USA AFFAIRS

TODAY’S TRADING IN GRAPH FORM

Taper ‘Tantrum-ette’ – Stocks Pump’n’Dump As Fed ‘Eases’ Balance-Sheet Pressure

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 04:00 PM

Powell to traders today…

h/t @ForexLive

The bigger than expected QT taper announcement juiced markets (stocks and bond prices up, dollar down) into Powell’s press conference, then got spooked lower as he admitted “inflation has shown a lack of further progress… and gaining confidence to cut will take longer than thought.”

But that dip didn’t last long and yields puked, stocks soared, gold rallied and the dollar puked…

Source: Bloomberg

The market shrugged off Powell’s comments about “whether rates are at their peak will depend on data” which opened up the path of possible rate-hikes, but he dd add that “he doubts next move will be a hike.”

CNBC’s Steve Liesman asked the big question that everyone should be asking: you are ‘sort of easing’ by reducing QT while holding rates flat because you’re not confident that inflation is under control – wassup with dat?

Powell replied with some words that meant nothing, stating that they have long planned on tapering QT and claimed that ‘reduction in balance sheet run-off is not policy-easing’.

“This is not the easing you’re looking for…”

By the close, all of Powell’s pig-kissing lipstick had been wiped off (see below for the coordinated crypto/nasdaq take-down) as stocks saw solid gains erased in the hour after Powell stopped speaking… Small Caps and The Dow managed to hold on to the gains but Nasdaq and S&P closed nearer the day’s lows…

‘Most Shorted’ stocks saw a massive squeeze (+5%) on the FOMC headlines, before the late day selling pressure hit…

Source: Bloomberg

MAG7 stocks ended the day unchanged after giving back their post-Powell gains…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields plunged 6-8bps across the curve on the day, with the short-end outperforming, dragging all yields lower on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

The 2Y Yield snapped back below 5.00% once again…

Source: Bloomberg

The yield curve (2s30s) jerked flatter initially, then steepened dramatically back to flat on the week…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar tumbled on the non-easing ‘easing’ (but bounced back a bit after Powell finished speaking)…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold surged back above $2300 on the non-easing…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin bounced back on the FOMC statement, recovering some of last night’s bloodbathery, but somebody did not want it back to $60,000 and that smackdown dragged stocks down with it…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices ignored all the fuss around The Fed and fell for the third day in a row (its biggest daily drop since early Jan) with WTI back below $80 at six-week lows…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, rate-cut expectations (hawkishly) rose on the day with one-or-two cuts in 2024 now 50-50 and two-or-three cuts more in 2025 around 50-50 also…

Source: Bloomberg

And, also Powell explained that he “doesn’t see the stag or the ‘flation” in markets… well this should help Jay…

Source: Bloomberg

We can’t help but feel like Powell is awfully eager to ‘loosen’ policy… but he made it clear that the 2024 election “just isn’t a part of the Fed’s thinking.”

So, that’s that then!

END

MORNING TRADING/

AFTERNOON TRADING/FOMC

FOMC Leaves Rates Unch, Says (Bigger Than Expected) QT Taper To Start In June

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 02:00 PM

Tl;dr: The Fed just told the market that ‘yields are too damn high‘.

*  *  *

Since the last FOMC meeting, on March 20th, gold has been the biggest outperformer (interesting along with dollar strength), while stocks, bonds, and crude (and crypto) have all been sold (with bonds and oil equally ugly)…

ource: Bloomberg

And since March 20th, US macro data has serially disappointed…

Source: Bloomberg

More problematically, since the last FOMC meeting, inflation data has dramatically surprised to the upside and growth data to the downside – screaming stagflation in the face of the Fed…

Source: Bloomberg

Rate-cut expectations (for 2024 and 2025) have plunged significantly since the last FOMC (that is now just one 25bps rate-cut priced in for 2024)…

Source: Bloomberg

Expectations are fully priced for a nothing-burger today on rates…

Source: Bloomberg

… with a slight hawkish bias in the language-changes in the statement (and the possibility of QT-taper signaling). But it will be Powell’s press conference that everyone will be focused on.

So what did The Fed say?

Rates unchanged…

• *FED HOLDS BENCHMARK RATE IN 5.25%-5.5% TARGET RANGE

Key statement changes

Fed adds following sentence:

“In recent months, there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.”

Fed also replaces

“The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are moving into better balance“

with

“The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals have moved toward better balance over the past year.

And the QT Taper is here – and its bigger than expected (-$35BN/mth vs -$30BN expected):

Beginning in June, the Committee will slow the pace of decline of its securities holdings by reducing the monthly redemption cap on Treasury securities from $60 billion to $25 billion.

The Committee will maintain the monthly redemption cap on agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities at $35 billion and will reinvest any principal payments in excess of this cap into Treasury securities

This means $105BN less gross issuance needed in Q3, with The Fed implicitly saying ‘yields are too high’.

Just as we said…

Read the full redline below:

What happens next (on average)?

END

Wall Street Reacts To Powell Unleashing His Inner Dove

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 02:51 PM

Ahead of today’s FOMC statement and Powell presser, we said that the bogey for a dovish interpretation today will come not from the Fed’s rate decision, which we knew would be unchanged, but the QT tapering decision…

The big question for today: how much will Fed taper QT by?

If Taper goes to $30BN (from $60BN/month), that means less funding needed in Q3 (most likely from Bills), and means less pressure on issuance. Yields should slide— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2024

… and sure enough, the fact that the Fed announced an accelerated QT tapering and it was bigger than expected ($35BN vs $30BN) is why the market is viewing the Fed announcement as dovish and futures are now soaring.

And while we wait for Powell’s presser to conclude, here are some other hot takes from Wall Street strategists and thinkers:

David Russell, head of market strategy at TradeStation

“The Fed is still in wait-and-see mode before they get dovish. But the data hasn’t been cooperating. This statement keeps investors data dependent and focused on April numbers like CPI two weeks from now.”  

Audrey Childe-Freeman, chief G-10 FX strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence

“A first glance at the statement brings dollar bears some breathing space as the language adjustment is not as hawkish as may have been feared, though the reference about underwhelming inflation progress entertains a potential new layer of hawkishness at a later stage that could contain dollar downside ahead of the press conference. Muted dollar reaction so far captures this well.

“The language embraced thus far does not signal that the narrative has shifted back to new rate-hike debates, but rather to pushing back the timing on a rate cut. This is probably good enough for near-term euro-dollar relief given the feared hawkish pivot.”

Brian Coulton, chief economist at Fitch Ratings

“With unemployment still low and the labor market still tight, there is only a limited risk to the Fed’s employment mandate from waiting longer before embarking on rate cuts. On the other hand the risk of failing to get inflation down on a sustained basis seems to be rising as each week goes by. Patience is the watchword now for the Fed and the risk of fewer or no rate cuts this year is growing.”

Erica Adelberg, Bloomberg Intelligence’s mortgage-backed securities strategist:

“Making it explicit that any surplus MBS paydowns will be reinvested into Treasuries could adversely affect the MBS/Treasury basis, but at this point MBS paydowns are projected to be about half of the $35 monthly cap on average for the foreseeable future. The average loan rate backing the Fed’s MBS holdings is more than 300 bps below current mortgage rates, so it would take a significant interest rate rally to hit the MBS cap.”

Kathy Bostjancic, Chief Economist at Nationwide:

“We expect Chairman Powell will underscore this hawkish pivot in his press conference and emphasize that the timing of pace of rate cuts will depend highly on the future path of inflation. He likely will indicate the Fed is on an extended pause until inflation resumes its disinflationary trend.”

Ira Jersey, Bloomberg rates strategist:

“His lack of comment about the possibility of a hike is interesting, and I’d be surprised if he’s not asked about the potential for hikes in the press conference. But it seems that ‘on hold’ is his base case for now.”

Bloomberg Economics’ Anna Wong and Stuart Paul:

“For anyone wondering if this year’s hot inflation readings were just a blip, the May 1 FOMC meeting offered a clear answer: Hawkish tweaks to the statement show policymakers have lost confidence that inflation is moving in the right direction. At the same time, the Fed announced it would start tapering its balance-sheet run off in June – a month earlier than we expected — and will reduce the runoff cap by a bit more than we foresaw. That initially comes across as dovish, but the motivation here is key. If it turns out the Fed wants the run-off process to last longer — ultimately boosting the chance that its balance sheet will return to pre-pandemic size – that actually would be hawkish.”

Developing

II USA DATA

ADP employment reports strong gains in April. However the tech sector lost jobs. No doubt the gain in employment was from the migrant influx

(ADP)

ADP Employment Report Strong In April, But Tech Sector Lost Jobs

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 08:27 AM

Thanks to an upward revision in March (from +184k to +208k), April’s ADP print was lower at +192k (beating expectations of +183k)…

Under the hood, practically everything was solid, with only the Information sector losing jobs…

“Hiring was broad-based in April. Only the information sector – telecommunications, media, and information technology – showed weakness, posting job losses and the smallest pace of pay gains since August 2021,” said Nela Richardson Chief Economist, ADP.

Wage growth slowed for both Job-Changers and Job-Stayers (but the former remains elevated)…

Finally, as a reminder, the ADP headline data has under-estmated the BLS magical print for eight straight months ahead of Friday’s data…

So, with this kind of labor market, can The Fed maintain the illusion of any rate-cuts at some point this year? What will Powell say today?

end

This is where we are heading: stagflation. PMIs are showing soaring prices with orders tumbling

(zerohedge)

More Stagflation Signals As Manufacturing Surveys Show Soaring Prices, Orders Tumble

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 10:07 AM

While ‘hard’ data has been improving recently (albeit then downwardly revised a month later), it is the ‘soft’ survey data that has collapsed amid Bidenomics.

Source: Bloomberg

And this morning continued that trend as S&P Global’s US Manufacturing PMI (survey) fell from 51.9 in March to 50.0 as the final print for April (49.9 flash). ISM’s Manufacturing survey also missed, dropping from 50.3 to 49.2 (contraction).

Source: Bloomberg

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said:

“Business conditions stagnated in April, failing to improve for the first time in four months and pointing to a weak start to the second quarter for manufacturers. Order inflows into factories fell for the first time since December, meaning producers had to rely on orders placed in prior months to keep busy.

“However, there are some encouraging signs. The drop in orders appears to have been largely driven by reduced demand for semi-manufactured goods – inputs produced for other firms – as factories adjust their inventories of inputs. In contrast, consumer goods producers reported a further strengthening of demand, hinting that the broader consumer-driven economic upturn remains intact.

“Producers on the whole also seem confident enough in the business outlook to continue adding to payroll numbers at a pace that compares well with the average seen over the past two years, investing further in operating capacity.

But, under the hood it was not pretty – ISM New Orders tumbled, Employment rose modestly, but Prices Paid soared (to their highest since June 2022)…

Source: Bloomberg

Prices charged for goods rose at a slower rate than the 11-month high seen in March. But, as S&P Global notes, the rate of increase nevertheless remains elevated by historical standards – and well above the average seen in the decade prior to the pandemic – as firms continued to pass higher commodity prices on to customers.

However, input costs increased sharply, with the rate of inflation quickening for the second consecutive month. Higher prices for oil and metals were mentioned in particular.

So, stagnating growth and sharply rising input costs… Stagflation signals everywhere.

TUCKER CARLSON…

END

III  USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES

Generally Starbucks rarely mises on its earnings, They just reported a stunning earning misses

(zerohedge)

Starbucks On Brink Of Worst Crash Since Dot Com After “Stunning” Earnings Miss 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 03:25 PM

Starbucks shares plummeted by 16% during the early cash session, approaching the -16.2% level last seen during the Covid crash. If intraday losses surpass 16.2% and remain above this level at closing, it would mark the company’s worst single-day loss since the Dot Com crash in early 2000.

“Starbucks reported what’s perhaps the worst set of results of any large company so far” this quarter, analyst Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge wrote in a note. William Blair downgraded the coffee chain, citing last quarter’s “stunning across-the-board miss on all key metrics.”

Starbucks reported a 4% drop in same-store sales in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, while analysts tracked by Bloomberg were expecting growth. In China, same-store sales plunged 11%. The company’s top geographic segments are showing a pullback in consumer spending. 

On Tuesday evening, CEO Laxman Narasimhan started the earnings call with investors by clarifying his unhappiness with last quarter’s results. 

“Let me be clear from the beginning. Our performance this quarter was disappointing and did not meet our expectations,” Narasimhan said. 

He said major headwinds originate from a “cautious consumer,” adding, “A deteriorating economic outlook has weighed on customer traffic and impact felt broadly across the industry.” 

Here’s a snapshot of the second quarter’s earnings results (list courtesy of Bloomberg):

• Comparable sales -4%, estimate +1.46% (Bloomberg Consensus)
• North America comparable sales -3%, estimate +2.05%
• US comparable sales -3%, estimate +2.31%
• International comparable sales -6%, estimate +1.36%
• China comparable sales -11%, estimate -1.62% 
• Adjusted EPS 68c, estimate 80c 
• Net revenue $8.56 billion, estimate $9.13 billion
• Operating income $1.10 billion, -17% y/y, estimate $1.35 billion
• Adjusted operating margin 12.8%, estimate 14.5%
• Operating margin 12.8%, estimate 14.4%
• North America operating margin +18%, estimate +19.5%
• International operating margin 13.3%, estimate 15.2% 
• Channel development operating margin 51.7%, estimate 43.6%
• Average ticket +2%, estimate +2.41% 
• North American average ticket price +4%, estimate +4.15%
• International avg. ticket -3%, estimate +0.1%
• North America net new stores 134, estimate 144.33
• International net new store openings 230, estimate 429.23
• Comparable transactions -6%, estimate -0.27% 
• North America comparable transactions -7%, estimate -1.86%
• International comparable transactions -3%, estimate +1.37%

Goldman analysts Eric Mihelc and Scott Feiler told clients, “Expectations were for a clear sales miss and a modest EPS miss, but both came worse than the lowered bar.” 

They added, “The miss was across geography and was as bad, if not worse, than worst fears.” 

Other Wall Street analysts shared the same gloom and doom about the coffee chain (list courtesy of Bloomberg): 

Deutsche Bank analyst Lauren Silberman cuts Starbucks to hold from buy 

• Says the “challenging” results was a sign “headwinds are more pervasive and persistent than we expected, and we have limited visibility into the pace and magnitude of a recovery”
• Had thought comparable sales deceleration in the US was more transitory and isolated to a specific cohort
•  However, with the decline in 2Q traffic and what seems to be limited improvement from Lavender and Spicy Refreshers, Silberman sees it being difficult to “underwrite a meaningful reacceleration,” which is key to the bull case

William Blair, Sharon Zackfia (cuts to market perform from outperform)

• After healthy demand over the past three years, Zackfia says the “tide has turned quickly,” with Starbucks posting the weakest traffic performance outside the pandemic or Great Recession
• China now “looks more fragile,” with comparable sales down 11%, and even Starbucks Rewards members “took a rare dip,” she adds

Jefferies, Andy Barish (hold)

• There was a “notable” miss on US and international comparable sales as well as EPS, and Barish says there is “no easy fix in sight to reaccelerate SSS near-term”
• Notes that international comparable sales was “similarly weak,” with traffic and comparable transactions both declining; China’s comparable sales miss and Middle East volatility more than offset positive comps seen in Japan, APAC and Latin America
• PT cut to $84 from $94

Citi, Jon Tower (neutral) 

• Starbucks is “putting a lot of oars in the water to try and paddle” its way back to a stable comparable sales outlook that investors would be willing to underwrite
• However, Tower expresses concern that there is not enough “coxswain keeping oarsmen working in unison/with accountability”; adds that it ignores the “true leak in the bottom of the boat,” flagging broad consumer pushback to cumulative transaction growth and the value equation
•  Notes China store margins are still in the double digits and the segment is profitable despite top-line declines
•  PT cut to $85 from $95

Cowen, Andrew Charles (hold)

•  “We believe 2024 guidance has been derisked as we model 0% NA comps & 3% EPS growth, the high end of the range”
• Expects shares to be in a “holding pattern” as Starbucks restores credibility while competition and tough macroeconomic conditions present headwinds
• PT cut to $85 from $100

Bloomberg Intelligence, Michael Halen and Jennifer Bartashus

• “Starbucks slashed fiscal 2024 same-store sales, revenue and EPS guidance and lacks a cogent plan to boost demand”
• “We believe several initiatives, including targeting overnight sales, dozens of new products and a four-week mobile- app upgrade cycle are overkill — a distraction unlikely to boost traffic”

On Tuesday, a similar story occurred at McDonald’s when the burger chain reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales growth. 

Notably, working-poor consumers are pulling back spending in a period of stagflation (read here & here). 

end

IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ and  PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM/WOKISM

Chaos at Columbia University! NYPD raids the University as protesters are arrested

(zerohedge)

NYPD Raids Columbia, Protesters Arrested

Around 50 students were arrested and moved out of Hamilton Hall after activists took it over nearly 24 hours earlier amid two weeks of campus protests over the Israel-Gaza war. 

Columbia officials said that the hall was “occupied, vandalised and blockaded,” and that “we were left with no choice.”

Some of the kids are being a tad dramatic…

Dozens of Columbia University students broke into Hamilton Hall on the New York campus early Tuesday and barricaded themselves inside, hours after the school began suspending students who violated a deadline to disperse from a pro-Palestinian encampment.

“The safety of every single member of this community is paramount,” said Ben Chang, vice president for communications at Columbia University, in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, adding “In light of the protest activity, we have asked members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus to do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy.”

As the Epoch Times‘ Katabella Roberts notes further;  According to The New York Times, the students began occupying the hall at around 12:35 a.m.

The protesters linked arms and blocked off the main entrance to the building at the Ivy League institution after previously marching around campus to chants of “free Palestine,” according to the publication.

A statement shared on the social media platform Instagram by student groups said the protesters had “taken matters into their own hands,” and would remain in the building until the university “divests from death.” Protesters have been urging the university to pause its investments in companies that, they claim, are profiting from Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The statement included video footage that appeared to show the students carrying metal barricades into Hamilton Hall as other students cheered them on.

“This escalation is in line with the historical student movements of 1968, 1985, and 1996 which Columbia repressed then and celebrates now,” the statement read. “This action will force the university to confront the blood on its hands.”

In the statement, the student group further accused the university of having been “complicit” in “Israel’s ongoing genocidal assault on the Gaza strip” for the past seven months.
“The students are on the right side of history,” the statement continued. “We know that the university will remember them as anti-apartheid, anti-genocide activists with moral clarity.”

Protesters Make Demands

According to Politico, protesters hung a sign reading “intifada,” which is Arabic for uprising, from the front of the building.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department told Politico that law enforcement officers were outside the university campus as of Tuesday; however, they declined to elaborate further on exactly how many officers were on site or whether they had authorization to enter the school grounds.

The Epoch Times has contacted a spokesperson at Columbia University and the New York Police Department for further comment.

The takeover of Hamilton Hall occurred just hours after the university confirmed that it had begun suspending some students. The pro-Palestinian students failed to disband before Monday’s 2 p.m. deadline.

Students have occupied the lawn in the middle of campus—in which graduation ceremonies are scheduled to take place for roughly 15,000 students on May 15—for nearly two weeks while calling on the university to disclose and divest from any of its financial ties to Israel.

They are also calling for an end to alleged “land grabs” in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City and Palestine, no more policing on the university campus, and no academic ties with Israeli universities.

However, negotiations between university officials and student protest leaders broke down earlier in the day when the university rejected their demands, prompting officials to issue the 2 p.m. deadline.
In a statement, Minouche Shafik, Columbia’s president, said that ultimately, the university will not divest from Israel, adding that the school is committed to maintaining its core principles and shared values, which include ensuring no students suffer from harassment and discrimination and no anti-Semitic language is used.

School, Students Fail to Reach Agreement

“Both sides in these discussions put forward robust and thoughtful offers and worked in good faith to reach common ground,” Ms. Shafik said. “We thank them all for their diligent work, long hours, and careful effort and wish they had reached a different outcome.”

While the University will not divest from Israel, it has offered to “develop an expedited timeline for review of new proposals from the students by the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing, the body that considers divestment matters,” Ms. Shafik noted.

“The University also offered to publish a process for students to access a list of Columbia’s direct investment holdings, and to increase the frequency of updates to that list of holdings,” she added.

Ben Chang, vice president for communications at Columbia University, confirmed the suspensions had begun in a press conference late Monday, USA Today reports.

He added that students had been notified in advance that they would face disciplinary action, including suspension if they did not vacate the encampment by 2 p.m. ET and sign a form committing to abide by student politics until either June 30, 2025, or until their graduation, whichever came first.

The site of the protests has created an unwelcoming environment for many Jewish students and faculty members, he said. It has also been a source of loud noise.

“We’ve been suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on campus,” Mr. Chang said.

Mr. Chang did not provide further details regarding how many students from Columbia and its affiliate Barnard College have been disciplined. However, he confirmed that those suspended would not be able to finish the semester or graduate, Axios reports.

They will also be banned from entering any campus housing or academic buildings, he added.

Juliette Fairley contributed to this report.

END

TUESDAY, APR 30, 2024 – 11:34 PM

Update (2335ET):

The NYPD stormed Columbia University Tuesday evening at around 9pm local time, where they began arresting students occupying Hamilton Hall and cleared a nearby protest encampment on the college’s lawn.

end

Now it is UCLA! Chaos at this University after Pro Gaza activists refuse entry to non allied students.

Shades of Germany 1938- 1939

(zerohedge)

Chaos Erupts At UCLA After Pro-Gaza Activists Refuse Entry To Non-Allied Students

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 08:35 AM

It’s like the Seattle CHAZ encampment all over again.  Far-left activists have declared the UCLA campus a “liberated zone” and are refusing entry for many students not affiliated with the pro-Gaza protests.  They have erected barriers and placed guards, creating makeshift checkpoints which require a special wrist band in order to gain passage.

In other words, if you aren’t an “ally” then you don’t get to attend classes, or, if you’re lucky you are allowed to take a longer route around the barricades.  Keep in mind, this is not a protected form of protest or free speech, which explains why many college campuses have chosen to have protesters removed by police.  UCLA so far appears to be supporting the activists and has allowed them to take control. 

Though considerable criticism has been aimed at the police response to similar encampments at universities in other states and no doubt some of those actions will be reviewed in civil courts, there has been very little sympathy from the general public when it comes to woke protesters.  After years of cancel culture and the threat of Antifa and BLM mobs, we are now seeing the same exact people pummeled by law enforcement and kicked out of the tent cities choking college grounds.  Questions of free speech fall by the wayside when activists try to physically block other students from exercising their right to access public property and educational facilities.

A police response to clear UCLA of protesters is widely expected within the next couple of days.

Leftists have a tendency to hijack the causes of other movements as a way to elevate their own agendas, and this is exactly what is happening in the west with the Gaza issue.  It is rather revealing that these protesters aren’t amassing on Joe Biden’s doorstep or the halls of Congress. The people most directly responsible for the funding of Israel for some reason get a pass while US colleges with no power to change anything in the Middle East are overrun.  

Is this simply a matter of what is easy?  Or, is there another motive at play?  Is this about speaking out about Gaza, or is it about radicalizing an ever growing mob that can be manipulated by progressive gatekeepers, just as we witnessed with the BLM riots?   

end

NOW NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IN CHICAGO

The Path Of Least Resistance: Northwestern Reaches Controversial Settlement With Pro-Palestinian Protesters

Previously, protesters had reportedly prevented some students and faculty from entering buildings and engaged in property damage.

The Daily Northwestern reported the details of the deal and noted

“the University has committed to provide a conduit for students to engage with the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees. It will also re-establish an Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility this fall, which will include students, faculty and staff.

…

In addition, the University committed to some support for Palestinian students and faculty in the agreement. NU will ‘support visiting Palestinian faculty and students at risk,’ and will provide the cost of attendance for five Palestinian undergraduates to attend Northwestern.

…

The University also committed to providing an ‘immediate temporary space for MENA/Muslim students’ — a longtime demand from students on campus — and will provide and renovate a house for MENA/Muslims students as soon as possible. The final house is expected to come in 2026.”

It also includes a commitment of the university to intervene with employers to guarantee that students suffer no consequences for participating in protests in their jobs and internships.

Northwestern (my alma mater) has always chosen the path of least resistance when it comes to protesters, including at times surrendering core academic functions. I have been particularly critical of the loss of freedom of speech and academic integrity on campus.

Students previously succeeded in cancelling a speech by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Student Zachery Novicoff embodied the rising intolerance to free speech on campus. He is quoted as saying “There’s a limitation to free speech. That ends at overtly racist old white dudes.”

I criticized former Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro for his lack of support for free speech on campus. Schapiro denounced what he called “absolute” free speech positions and endorsed speech sanctions, including treating speech as a form of assault.

During his tenure, the university often seemed a mere pedestrian to mob action taken against dissenting voices. For example, we previously discussed a Sociology 201 class by Professor Beth Redbird that examined “inequality in American society with an emphasis on race, class and gender.”  To that end, Redbird invited both an undocumented person and a spokesperson for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  It is the type of balance that is now considered verboten on campuses.

Members of MEChA de Northwestern, Black Lives Matter NU, the Immigrant Justice Project, the Asian Pacific American Coalition, NU Queer Trans Intersex People of Color and Rainbow Alliance organized to stop other students from hearing from the ICE representative.  However, they could not have succeeded without the help of Northwestern administrators (including  Dean of Students Todd Adams).  The protesters were screaming “F**k ICE” outside of the hall.  Adams and the other administrators then said that the protesters screaming profanities would be allowed into the class if they promised not to disrupt the class.  Really?  They were screaming profanities and seeking to stop the class but would just sit nicely as the speaker answered questions?

Of course, that did not happen. As soon as the protesters were allowed into the classroom, they prevented the ICE representative from speaking.  The ICE official eventually left and Redbird canceled the class to discuss the issue with the protesters that just prevented her students from hearing an opposing view.

The comments of the Northwestern students were predictable after being told by people like Schapiro that some offensive speech should be treated as a form of assault.  SESP sophomore April Navarro rejected that faculty should be allowed to invite such speakers to their classrooms for a “good, nice conversation with ICE.” She insisted such speakers needed to be silenced because they “terrorize communities” and profit from detainee labor. Here is the face of the new generation of censors being shaped by speech-intolerant academics like Schapiro:

“We’re not interested in having those types of conversations that would be like, ‘Oh, let’s listen to their side of it’ because that’s making them passive rule-followers rather than active proponents of violence. We’re not engaging in those kinds of things; it legitimizes ICE’s violence, it makes Northwestern complicit in this. There’s an unequal power balance that happens when you deal with state apparatuses.”

Last year, the Northwestern student body banned press from meetings to protect students from the harm of media coverage. The students also have previously frozen funds of conservative groups.

The Northwestern journalism faculty is little better.  Steven Thrasher, the Daniel H. Renberg Chair of social justice in reporting at Northwestern, who trashed a reporter who waited for the facts before reporting on a police shooting.

Of course, it is not just conservative speakers that the students want to ban. In 2021, they called for the removal of the President of the Board of Trustees. Despite being a major donor and supporter of the school, J. Landis Martin was denounced as a Republican who donated money to former President Donald Trump.

The university issued a statement that “This path forward requires the immediate removal of tents on Deering Meadow, cessation of non-approved use of amplified sound and a commitment that all conduct on Deering and across campus will comply with all University rules and policies. Compliant demonstration can continue at Deering Meadow through June 1.”

The university has long lacked the fortitude to stand up to students engaging in disruptive protests.

The danger of such passivity is evident on our campuses. As Henry David Thoreau warned, “all rivers and most corrupt men follow the path of least resistance.”

Here is the Northwestern agreement.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 03:05 PM

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Northwestern University has agreed to a controversial settlement with pro-Palestinian protesters encamped on its campus this week, including a commitment for scholarships for Palestinians, Palestinian faculty appointments, and special housing for Muslim students.

The protesters will also be allowed to continue their protests while agreeing to stay in a particular area of campus.  It will also put the students and supporting faculty on bodies to review any university investments and purchases, a major demand from supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES

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FREIGHT ISSUES/USA

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VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

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SWAMP STORIES

Robert Mueller’s Right Hand Man Warns SCOTUS: You’re “One Vote Away From… The End Of Democracy”

WEDNESDAY, MAY 01, 2024 – 01:25 PM

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

When Robert Mueller appointed Andrew Weissmann as one of his top advisers, many of us warned that it was a poor choice. Weissmann seemed intent to prove those objections correct in increasingly unhinged and partisan statements.

This week, he ratcheted up the rhetoric even further in claiming that the nation is “one vote away” from the end of democracy if the Supreme Court does not embrace the sweeping claims of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

At the time of his appointment, many Republicans objected to Weissmann’s status as a democratic donor, including his reported attendance of the election night party for Hillary Clinton in 2016. My objection was not to his political affiliations but to his professional history, which included extreme interpretations that were ultimately rejected by courts. Weissmann was responsible for the overextension of an obstruction provision in a jury instruction that led the Supreme Court to reverse the conviction in the Arthur Andersen case in 2005.

Weissmann then became a MSNBC analyst and a professor at New York University. In his book, he attacked prosecutors for refusing to take on his extreme views. Weissmann called on prosecutors to refuse to assist John Durham in his investigation.

Now he is predicting the end of democracy if the Court remand the immunity case for further proceedings.

Weissmann told MSNBC anchor Jen Psaki on Sunday:

I think that it’s important to remember that at the outset, the court had already given Donald Trump the win that he was seeking, which is the delay of the DC trial.

So going into this, this was all upside for him. I mean, I think he had to be thinking, I’m making this really outlandish argument, with ramifications that couldn’t possibly be squared with the text and history. The text of the Constitution or the history of the presidency? So it’s all upside if the court would actually bite on this. And so what was surprising is that there were justices who actually were taking this seriously. And it just was, frankly, shocking.

Remember, going into this, the given was that private conduct was certainly not, immunized from criminal liability. What everyone’s talking about now is, hey, maybe they think that some of this is private and they can go forward, but that was what was given going into this. And the reason people are thinking that is because there seem to be four justices who were really taking Donald Trump’s claim of criminal immunity seriously. And we are.

I mean, I know it sounds like hyperbole, but I think your opening is so correct that we are essentially, as Neil put it, one vote away from sort of the end of democracy as we know it with checks and balances. And to say it’s an imperial presidency that would be created is, it’s frankly saying it would be a king, he would be criminally immune. And that that is what is so shocking is how close we are.

And we are really on the razor’s edge of that kind of result. But for the chief justice.

Just for the record, it sounds less “like hyperbole” than hysteria. The justices were exploring the implications of the sweeping arguments on both sides of the immunity question. What they were not willing to do (as does Weissmann) is simply dismiss any arguments of official status on the part of the accused.  That would establish a dangerous ambiguity for the future as prosecutors claim that political statements are private matters for the purpose of prosecution.

Ironically, Weissmann’s lack of concern for the implications of such an interpretation is reminiscent of his prior sweeping arguments as a prosecutor that led to the stinging defeat in the Anderson case.

Of course, there is another possibility is that the justices were not seeking the end of democracy. The Court was honestly trying to get this standard correct not just for this case but future cases. To do so, it will require a record on the underlying actions rather than the categorical threshold judgment made by the district court. The argument showed justices exploring how to avoid a parade of horribles on either extreme with a more moderate approach.

As I previously noted, it has been almost 50 years since the high court ruled presidents have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits in Nixon v. Fitzgerald. That protection applied to acts taken “within the ‘outer perimeter’ of his official responsibility.”

Apparently, that immunity did not endanger democracy.

In United States v. Nixon, the court also ruled a president is not immune from a criminal subpoena. Nixon was forced to comply with a subpoena for his White House tapes in the Watergate scandal from special counsel Leon Jaworski.

Since then, the court has avoided any significant ruling on the extension of immunity to a criminal case — until now.

There are cliffs on both sides of this case. If the court were to embrace special counsel Jack Smith’s arguments, a president would have no immunity from criminal charges, even for official acts taken in his presidency.

It would leave a president without protection from endless charges from politically motivated prosecutors.

If the court were to embrace Trump counsel’s arguments, a president would have complete immunity. It would leave a president largely unaccountable under the criminal code for any criminal acts.

The first cliff is made obvious by the lower-court opinion. While the media have largely focused on extreme examples of president-ordered assassinations and coups, the justices are clearly as concerned with the sweeping implications of the DC Circuit opinion.

Chief Justice John Roberts noted the DC Circuit failed to make any “focused” analysis of the underlying acts, instead offering little more than a judicial shrug.

Roberts read its statement that “a former president can be prosecuted for his official acts because the fact of the prosecution means that the former president has acted in defiance of the laws” and noted it sounds like “a former president can be prosecuted because he is being prosecuted.”

The other cliff is more than obvious from the other proceedings occurring as these arguments were made. Trump’s best attorney proved to be Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — the very personification of the danger immunity is meant to avoid..

Weissmann is not concerned with the clear politicization of the criminal justice system by Bragg just before one of the most consequential elections in our history.

No, the threat is that justices may want to balance the interests over immunity by rejecting the extreme arguments on both sides. They may try to pursue a course that allows for immunity for official acts or functions while rejecting immunity for non-official acts. Some or all of Trump’s actions or statements could well fall into the unprotected category.

The sense of alarm expressed by legal experts is that the Court would not simply sign off on the absolutist arguments of Smith and, most importantly, allow for a trial before the election.

So how will democracy end if the Court adopts a middle road on immunity? It appears to come down to the loss of a possible conviction to influence the outcome of the election.

At the same time, MSNBC guests are also calling, again, for the packing of the Supreme Court. While conservative justices have repeatedly voted with the Biden Administration, it does not matter. They want the Court packed to guarantee outcomes with the appointment of reliable liberal justices. All of this is being defended in the name of democracy, as was ballot cleansing.

The problem with the escalating rhetoric is that there is not much room for further hysterics. Where does Weissmann and others go from here after predicting the imminent death of democracy?

Pundits have now predicted the creation of camps for democrats, killing journalists and homosexuals, the death of the free press, and tyranny. That leaves only systemic mutilations and Roman decimation.

For lawyers to fuel this hysteria is a sad commentary on the state of our country. Whether a true crisis of faith or simple opportunism, it disregards centuries of constitutional history in overcoming every threat and obstacle. We have the oldest and most stable constitutional system in the world. To suddenly embrace tyranny would require all three branches, and the citizens as a whole, to shred an elaborate system of checks and balances.

We are better than that . . . and these inflammatory predictions.

KING REPORT

The King Report May 1, 2024 Issue 7233

Independent View of the News

In Tuesday report we wrote, “The yen/$ sank to 106 for the first time since 1990.”  It should have been 160, not “106.”  Thanks to the readers that alerted us to the error.   US consumer confidence deteriorates in April The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index fell to 97.0 this month, the lowest level since July 2022, from a downwardly revised 103.1 in March (from 104.7; Bidenomics). Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index little changed at 104.0 from the previously reported 104.7… https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-consumer-confidence-deteriorates-april-142547668.html   April Conference Board Present Situations142.9, prior revised to 146.8 from 151 (Bidenomics!); Expectations 66.4, prior 74 revised up from 73.8 (reverse Bidenomics)   @bespokeinvest: The expectations component of the Consumer Confidence report has only been lower than its current level (66.40) two other times in the last ten years (June and July 2022).   Q1 Employment Cost Index 1.2%, 1.0% expected; 0.9% prior   Stocks & Bonds Slammed After Unionized & Govt Workers Send Employment Costs Soaring in Q1 Government… compensation is up 4.8% YoY… Services Providing in a union +5.9% YoY… Manufacturing nonunion 3.7% YoY… https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/stocks-bonds-slammed-after-q1-employment-costs-rise-more-highest-forecast   Other US Economic Data Released on TuesdayFeb FHFA House Price Index 1.2% m/m, 0.2% expected, prior -0.1%Feb S&P CoreLogic 20-city house prices 0.61% m/m, 0.1% exp., prior to 0.17% from 0.14%Feb S&P CoreLogic 20-city house prices 7.29% y/y, 6.7% exp., prior to 6.58% from 6.59%April Chicago PMI 37.9, 45 expected, prior 41.4April Dallas Fed Services Activity -10.6, -5.5 prior  Home prices post largest gain in more than a year: S&P – Price appreciation continues to defy expectations in the face of high mortgage rates and declining affordability     The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index posted a 6.4% annual gain in February, up from a 6% gain in January, according to the newest report released Tuesday.  It was the largest annualized increase recorded since November 2022. On an annual basis, the 10-city composite index grew by 8%, up from 7.4% the previous month. The 20-city composite posted a year-over-year gain of 7.3%, up from 6.6% the previous month…      San Diego (11.4%), Chicago (8.9%) and Detroit (8.9%) posted the biggest year-over-year price gains among the 20 cities tracked by S&P. Meanwhile, Portland, Oregon, saw the slowest growth with a yearly price gain of 2.2% in February. (Why are Chitown and Motown house prices soaring?) https://www.housingwire.com/articles/home-prices-post-largest-gain-in-more-than-a-year-sp/   ZH: Dallas Fed’s Services survey (which compliments yesterday’s Dallas Fed Manufacturing meltdown). The headline print dropped from -5.5 to -10.6. That is the 23rd straight month of contraction in the survey (one more month equals the span of contraction around Lehman’s collapse)… https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/verge-panic-dallas-fed-services-survey-suffers-longest-slump-lehman   What’s worse than stagflation?  An inflationary recession, which is a characteristic of socialism!   The US economic data released yesterday was awful: much larger-than-expected increases in wage and housing inflation, plus stunning declines in the Chicago PMI and Dallas Fed Services Activity for April.   The ugly US economic data felled stocks and bonds on the last day of April in the morning.   ESMs traded a tad higher when the Nikkei opened but quickly retreated into negative territory.  ESMs traded moderately lower, but sideways, until they sank two minutes before the US Employment Cost Index appeared at 8:30 ET.  After hitting 5120.50 at 8:38 ET, ESMs surged higher on pump & dump buying.  ESMs hit 5141.25 at 9:45 ET.  After some chopping at lower levels, ESMs commenced a tumble near 10:00 ET that took ESMs to a daily low of 5091.50 at 13:11 ET.   ESMs rallied to 5110.25 at 14:03 ET, abetted by April performance gaming.  Sellers returned; ESMs sank to a new daily low of 5086.75 at 15:23 ET.  ESMs then vacillated in an 8-handle range until they began a tumble at 15:50 ET that took ESMs to a daily low of 5061.75 at 16:01 ET.   Here’s a, if not ‘the,’ reason for the late ESM plunge:  At 16:00 ET, Amazon reported EPS of .98, .84 expected; revenue of $143.3B, $142.55B exp.; projected Q2 net sales at $144.0B to $149.0B, $150.21B consensus; Amazon sank to 165.32 (175 close) but quickly soared to 186.43 because AWS (cloud) hit a $100B annual revenue run rate (straw grasping?). AMZN then vacillated between 175 and 181.   Yellen’s comments at the House Ways and Means Committee Yellen: Concerned about ‘Where We’re Going’ With US Deficit – BBG 10:40 ET Yellen: US Needs ‘Significant Steps’ to Reduce Budget Deficit – BBG 10:41 ET Yellen: Home Market ‘Almost Impossible for First-Time Buyers – BBG 13:09 ET “People are generally better off despite price growth, but still have more work to do.” – BZG 12:00 ET   Mondelez CEO keeps it real on inflation as earnings trounce estimates “The inflationary environment is not easing at all,”… The rising costs put the company in the unenviable position of pushing through more price increases on shoppers. Van de Put says the company may be forced to keep raising prices in 2024 to counteract inflationary forces… https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mondelez-ceo-keeps-it-real-on-inflation-as-earnings-trounce-estimates-213225438.html   Positive aspects of previous session Commodities sank on the prospect of ‘higher for longer’ & fear of rate hikes   Negative aspects of previous session Stocks and bonds sank on the final day of April; USMs were -27/32 at the NYSE close US economic data indicates an inflationary recession is germinating The yen/$ sank to a low of   Ambiguous aspects of previous session What happens to stocks after Apple reports results on May 2?   First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Down   Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5060.61 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5110.83; 5035.31   White House considers welcoming some Palestinians from war-torn Gaza as refugees (To protest in the US?  Obamaites must hate the USA!) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/palestinian-refugees-us-gaza-white-house/     Nick Freitas explains why surrounding Arab nations won’t accept Palestinians. https://twitter.com/breeadail/status/1785450313433919605   Columbia University Pro-Palestine Protesters … Take Over Building (Hamilton Hall), Chaos Ensues https://www.tmz.com/2024/04/30/columbia-university-palestine-protesters-take-over-hamilton-hall-gaza-campus/   Columbia students describe night of terror as protesters occupy building (“smash windows”) “And again, there’s utter silence from public safety, from NYPD, so we feel alone on this campus.”… https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/april-29-campus-protest-antiemitism-israel-us-columbi?   @NoahPollak: The press conference jihadist is a PhD student named Johannah King-Slutzky (really) and this is what she’s working on (Marxist stuff). Dying. Absolutely dying. Beyond parody. @TheBabylonBee couldn’t top this if they tried.  https://twitter.com/NoahPollak/status/1785420015963103580   Hamilton Hall occupiers have demanded that Columbia U bring food to those that have a food plan. https://twitter.com/ClayTravis/status/1785412348246655113   Columbia University suspends press access on campus amid pro-Palestine protests https://justthenews.com/world/middle-east/columbia-university-suspends-press-access-campus-amid-pro-palestine-protests   Texas cops arrest 79 at latest protest – while elite NYC university (Columbia) refuses to call in the cops on mob that smashed buildings and stage   https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13367563/Texas-cops-arrest-79-latest-protest-elite-NYC-university-refuses-call-cops-mob-smashed-buildings-staged-sit-in.html   University of Florida Comes Down Hard on Protesters: ‘Not A Day Care’ https://www.newsweek.com/pro-palestinian-protests-university-florida-response-not-daycare-1895434   @visegrad24: A young Jewish woman was beaten unconscious by pro-Hamas students at the UCLA campus in California today.  Will mainstream media tell their viewers and readers about it? Or do we have to do all the work here on X?  https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1785453442883797276   Several US universities claim most campus protestors are NOT students.  It’s ‘60s redux!   AstraZeneca admits its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effect in court documents for first time https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/28/astrazeneca-admits-covid-vaccine-causes-rare-side-effect/#Echobox=1714330418   After the close, Starbucks reported Q2 Adj. EPS of .68, .80 exp.; Comp Sales -4%, +1.465 exp.; Revenue of $8.56B, $9.13B exp.  SBUX tumbled as much as 11.5% on its first sales miss since the Covid 19 panic.   Today is Fed Day.  Usually, stocks rally into the FOMC Communique release. Then traders react to it and the Chair’s ensuing press conference.  Given the greatly disappointing inflation data that has recently appeared and the past several months of worse-then-expected inflation readings, there is no honorable way for the Fed and Powell to profess anything but concern and disappointment about inflation.    An honest and honorable Fed and Fed Chair should squash any projections of rate cuts for this year and indicate that rate hikes are back on the table.  However, the leftist Fed needs Biden to keep his position.  Trump and his coterie have already signaled that if DJT is elected, there will be broad changes proposed for the Fed – in both personnel and policy.   ESMs are -9.50; NQMs (Naz 100) are -64.75; USMs are +3/32; and Gold is -3.30 at 19:34 ET.     Expected Earnings: DD .65, PFE .52, ADP 2.79, MA 3.23, YUM 1.21, CVS 1.71, AFP 1.58, ALL 3.88, MRO .55, CHRW .62, MET 1.79, AIG 1.67, MAA 2.22   Expected economic data: April ADP Employment Change 180k; April S&P Global US Mfg. PMI 49.9; April ISM Mfg. 50.1, Prices Paid 55.4, New Orders 51, Employment 48.2: March Construction Spending 0.3% m/m; March JOLTS Job Openings 8.675m; FOMC Communique 14:00 ET, Powell 14:30 ET   S&P Index 50-day MA: 5127; 100-day MA: 4970; 150-day MA: 4770; 200-day MA: 4696 DJIA 50-day MA: 38,766; 100-day MA: 38,248; 150-day MA: 36,863, 200-day MA: 36,358 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)   S&P 500 Index (5035.69 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4638.30 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5271.99 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5126.43 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5094.65 triggers a buy signal   Federal Agency Had ‘Pallets’ of Documents Sent to Mar-A-Lago One Year Before DOJ Raid “NARA was harassing Trump throughout 2021 for what they insisted were government records apparently WITHOUT contacting GSA to search dozens of boxes in their possession,”… (Blatant setup!) https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/30/federal-agency-had-pallets-of-documents-sent-to-mar-a-lago-one-year-before-doj-raid/   @seanmdav: The corrupt Biden administration sent Trump documents he didn’t ask for, then prosecuted him for having those documents.   #3 House Republican, Elise Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), has filed an ethics complaint against special counsel Jack Smith.  Stefanik writes, “It is obvious to any reasonable observer that Jack Smith is trying to interfere with the 2024 Election… At every turn, he has sought to accelerate his illegal prosecution of President Trump for the clear (if unstated) purpose of trying him before the November election…” https://twitter.com/EliseStefanik/status/1785282244493357291   House Judiciary investigates Bragg prosecutor who held senior role in Biden DOJ Matthew Colangelo, a leading prosecutor on Bragg’s team, worked as a senior Biden DOJ official       “Accordingly, given the perception that the Justice Department is assisting in Bragg’s politicized prosecution, we write to request information and documents related to Mr. Colangelo’s employment.”     Jordan claims that Colangelo’s employment history “demonstrates his obsession with investigating a person rather than prosecuting a crime.”…     “That a former senior Biden Justice Department official is now leading the prosecution of President Biden’s chief political rival (At a STATE level) only adds to the perception that the Biden Justice Department is politicized and weaponized.”… https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-judiciary-investigating-bragg-prosecutor-senior-role-biden-doj   Fox’s @willcain: Howard Stern refers to Joe Biden as the “Father of the Country.”  Drew Barrymore says Kamala needs to be our “Momala”. Who exactly is in a cult? These people aren’t looking for a leader they’re looking for surrogate parents.  https://twitter.com/willcain/status/1785047254698545348   UK’s National Health Service to declare sex a biological fact, major shift from gender ideology Women’s rights advocates welcomed the change, following years of accusations that the health service had been captured by “gender ideology.” https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/health/uks-national-health-service-declare-sex-biological-fact-major-shift-gender   Charlotte shooting: 4 law enforcement officers killed, 4 injured as US Marshals Task Force served warrant – two shooters may have been involved as they question two persons of interest (Media is ignoring for obvious reasons) https://www.foxnews.com/us/charlotte-shooting-law-enforcement-officers-killed-injured-marshals-task-force-served-warrant

GREG HUNTER 

SEE YOU ON WEDNESDAY