GOLD PRICE CLOSED DOWN $12.00 TO $2422.00

SILVER PRICE DOWN $0.41 TO $31.89

Gold ACCESS CLOSED $2421.60

Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $32.01

Bitcoin morning price:$71,007 UP 1424 DOLLARS.

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $69,209 DOWN 374 dollars

Platinum price closing  DOWN $0.70 TO $1055.60

Palladium price; DOWN $1.30 AT $1029.95

END

SHANGHAI GOLD PREMIUM 36 DOLLARS/COMEX GOLD

SHANGHAI GOLD

SHANGHAI GOLD (USD) FUTURES – QUOTES

Last Updated 21 May 2024 12:39:03 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		–	–	2456.4	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
JUN 2024 SGUM4		2453.3	-17.2 (-0.70%)	2470.5	2472.0	2474.2	2441.4	906	12:09:08 CT 21 May 2024
JUL 2024 SGUN4		–	–	2484.6	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
AUG 2024 SGUQ4		2469.9	-14.9 (-0.60%)	2484.8	2469.9	2469.9	2469.9	60	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
OCT 2024 SGUV4		–	–	2509.1	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
DEC 2024 SGUZ4		–	–	2509.7	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
FEB 2025 SGUG5		–	–	2510.3	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024
APR 2025 SGUJ5		–	–	2510.9	–	–	–	0	10:50:01 CT 21 May 2024

About this Report

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

4: 15 PM ACCESS

*CANADIAN GOLD: $3305,30 UP 1.90 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 3,305.30 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//MAY 20 2024)

*BRITISH GOLD: 1905.30 DOWN 3 48 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1933.24 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) APRIL 19/2024

*EURO GOLD: 2230/73 DOWN 3.21 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2248.89 EUROS PER OZ//APRIL 16.2024)

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END

EXCH: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: MAY 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,433.900000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 05/20/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 05/22/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

---

435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 1
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 30
661 C JP MORGAN 5
686 C STONEX FINANCIA 2
726 C PLUS500US FINAN 2
737 C ADVANTAGE 12
905 C ADM 10

---

TOTAL: 31 31

JPMorgan stopped 0/31

FOR MAY2024 

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR MAY/2024. CONTRACT: 31 NOTICES FOR 3,100 OZ  or  0.0944 TONNE

total notices so far: 2200 contracts for 220,000  Oz (6.942 tonnes)

FOR  MAY:

SILVER NOTICES: 60 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 300,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 5978 for 29.890 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 DOWN $12.00

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

HUGE

NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:

/ /INVENTORY RESTS AT 838.54TONNES

INVENTORY RESTS AT 838.54 TONNES

SLV//

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $0.41 AT  THE SLV//

HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 3.792 M,ILLION OZ FROM THE SLV

// INVENTORY LOWERS TO 422.227 MILLION OZ/

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 422.227 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY STRONG SIZED 800 CONTRACTS TO 188,345 AND STALLING FROM ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE GAIN OF $1.28 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON MONDAY. WE HAD ZERO LONG LIQUIDATION AT THE COMEX SESSION WITH AGAIN SHORT COVERING BY OUR SPECS WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE.  WE HAD ANOTHER HUMONGOUS SIZED 833 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. THE HIGHER ISSUANCE OF T.A.S. IS NOW USED TO TEMPER OUR SILVER/GOLD PRICE RISE

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 MONDAY NIGHT: 833 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 UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY $1.28 AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SILVER LONGS AS WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED GAIN OF 1100 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.28.

WE  MUST HAVE HAD:

A HUGE SIZED 1700 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 STRONG QUEUE JUMP OF 310,000 OZ

//NEW STANDING FOR SILVER//MAY IS THUS 30.245 MILLION OZ 

WE HAD:

/ STRONG SIZED COMEX OI GAIN //HUMONGOUS SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI)  HUMONGOUS SIZED NUMBER OF  T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 833 CONTRACTS)/

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL -REMOVED  1317  CONTRACTS //

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 15 DAYS, total 19,402 contracts:   OR 97.010 MILLION OZ  (1293 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  88.510 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: 161.770 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL PROBABLY BE A WHOPPER OF ISSUANCE OF EFPS//3RDHIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR A MONTH)

MAY: 97.01 MILLION OZ  //WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

RESULT: WE HAD A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 800 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//MONDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 833 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  29.345 MILLION  OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 310,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP

//NEW TOTAL STANDING AT 30.245 MILLION OZ 

WE HAVE A HUMONGOUS SIZED GAIN OF 1100  OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE. THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUMONGOUS SIZED 833 CONTRACTS,//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE MONDAY COMEX SESSION/// WITH MAJOR SHORT COVERING FROM OUR SPEC SHORTS 

THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE MONDAY NIGHT   (833) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE//AND MOST LIKELY TODAY., .

WE HAD 60 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 300,000 OZ

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A VERY STRONG SIZED 11,008 OI CONTRACTS  TO 528,211 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: REMOVED 479 CONTRACTS

WE HAD A VERY STRONG SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI (11,008 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED WITH OUR GAIN OF $21.30  IN PRICE/MONDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER TRYING TO CONTAIN GOLD’S PRICE RISE. 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 2900 OZ QUEUE JUMP PLUS WE MUST ADD THAT DUBIOUS ISSUANCE OF 1084 OI EX FOR RISK CONTRACTS ISSUES ON FRIDAY WHEREBY THE BUYER ASSUMES RISK OF 3.3716 TONNES OF GOLD//NEW STANDING INCREASES TO  6.911 TONNES PLUS THE DUBIOUS 3.3716 ECH FOR RISK!

NEW STANDING 10.2826 TONNES// ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR  $21.30 GAIN IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 8133 OI CONTRACTS (25.29 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A STRONG SIZED 2825 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 527,782

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 8133 CONTRACTS  WITH 11,008 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 2825 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 7704 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR SIZED 1946 CONTRACTS,,

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (2825 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE  STRONG LOSS IN COMEX OI 11,008/TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 8133 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 4.684 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY;S 2900 OZ QUEUE JUMP PLUS 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK//PRIOR

//NEW STANDING /MAY 10.2826 TONNES. 

 / 3) MASSIVE LIQUIDATION OF CONTRACTS MOSTLY DUE TO SPREADERS WITH THE LARGE GAIN IN PRICE.

//  4)  STRONG SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST LOSS 5)  STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///FAIR T.A.S.  ISSUANCE: 1946 CONTRACTS//

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

MAY

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: 62,330 CONTRACTS OR 6,233,000 OZ OR 193.87 TONNES IN 15 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 4155 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 15 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  193.87 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2023, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  193.87 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 5.46% 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; 193.87 TONNES (WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH)

SPREADING OPERATIONS

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

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

HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE  NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF 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 STRONG SIZED  800 CONTRACTS OI  TO 189,662 AND FURTHER FROM 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 1700 CONTRACTS

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

JULY 1700  and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1700 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 800 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1700 E.FP. ISSUED

WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1100 CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE HUGE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTALS 5.500 MILLION OZ 

OCCURRED WITH OUR HUGE  $1.28 GAIN IN PRICE …..

END

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES

(Peter Schiff)

c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens

ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries

b. Other gold/silver commentaries

c. Commodity commentaries//

d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

2.ASIAN AFFAIRS//

TUESDAY MORNING/MONDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 13.18 PTS OR 0.42% //Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 415.60 PTS OR 2.12%// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 122.75 OR 0.31%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.15%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 7,2350 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2431/ Oil DOWN TO 78.51 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 82.34 /Stocks in Europe OPENED MOSTLY GREEN

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

A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE

3  CHINA
OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

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

7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A VERY STRONG SIZED 11,008 CONTRACTS  TO 528,211 DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $21.30 WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY TRADING. WE HAD A HUMONGOUS T.A.S. LIQUIDATION MONDAY AS WELL AS SHORTS, DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET OUT OF THEIR NAKED SHORTS WITH GOLD’S RAPID RISE!

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 STRONG SIZED 2825 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: :  JUNE 2825 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE:2825 CONTRACTS.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 8133 CONTRACTS IN THAT 2825 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A VERY STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 11,008 COMEX  CONTRACTS..AND THIS LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $21.30// MONDAY 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 MONDAY NIGHT WAS A GOOD SIZED 1946 CONTRACTS. MOST OF THE TRADING AND SUPPLY OF CONTRACTS ON FRIDAY 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  (6.911 TONNES+ 3.3716 EX FOR RISK/PRIOR) = 10.2826 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

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/ 2024 6.911 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR= 10.2826

THE SPECS/HFT WERE  UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY A $31.70 //// AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE HAD A VERY STRONG LOSS OF 7704 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES. ALL OF THE LOSS WAS DUE TO SPREADER LIQUIDATION GOING BAD FOR THEM AS GOLD ZOOMED MUCH HIGHER. THE T.A.S. ISSUED ON MONDAY NIGHT WILL BE “PUT INTO THE BANK” TO BE USED AT A LATER DATE AT THE COLLUSIVE CHOOSING OF OUR BANKERS AND MOST LIKELY ON TODAY’S TRADING.

WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 25.29 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR MAY (4.684 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 29 CONTRACTS OR 2900 OZ ( .0900 TONNES) PLUS 3.3716 TONNES OF EX FOR RISK/PRIOR

NEW STANDING: 6.911 TONNES PLUS 3.1716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR = 10.2826

ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE GAIN  IN PRICE  TO THE TUNE OF $21.30

WE HAVE REMOVED 1235 CONTRACTS  FROM THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL

NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 7704 CONTRACTS OR 770,400 (23.96 TONNES)

confirmed volume MONDAY 339,590 contracts// fair

//speculators have left the gold arena

MAY 21 MAY  GOLD

/ /// THE MAY 2024 GOLD CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz	nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz	204.55 OZ DELAWARE           .
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz	00 oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz	32,335.930 oz hsbc
No of oz served (contracts) today	31 notice(s) 3100 OZ 0.0944 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	22 contracts    2200 OZ 0.0864 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	2200 notices 22000 oz 6.842 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month	NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month	x

0 dealer deposits:

total dealer deposits:  0 oz

we have 0 customer deposit:

total deposit nil oz

total customer withdrawals: 1

i) Out of Delaware 204.55 oz

TOTAL WITHDRAWALS 204.55 0z

Adjustments: 1 jpm///dealer to customer; 7716.240 oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR MAY

For the front month of MAY we have an oi of 53 contracts having LOST 181 contracts.

We had 210 contracts served on MONDAY, so we gained 29 contracts or 2900 oz (0.090 Tonnes).

JUNE DECREASED ITS OI BY WHOPPING 31,731 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 207,262 CONTRACTS.

JULY GAINED 200 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 542

We had 31 contracts filed for today representing 3100  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 31 contract(s) of which 0  notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped  (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account   

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 (2200) x 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  MAY ( 53 CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today  (31 x 100 oz per contract( equals  222200 OZ  OR 6.911 TONNES. PLUS THE 3.3716 OF EX FOR RISK/PRIOR = 10.2826

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the MAY contract month:  No of notices filed so far (2200x 100 oz +  (53 OI for the front month} minus the number of notices served upon today (31 x 100 oz which equals  222200 oz (6.911 TONNES) PLUS 3.3716 EX FOR RISK/PRIOR = 10.2826 TONNES.

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR MAY: 10.2826 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: 1,548,842.069  48.17 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD:  17,491,493.367 OZ  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 7,320,357.462 ( 227.93 tonnes).

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 10,163,215.615 OZ  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 5,771,515 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 179.518 tonnes //dropping like a stone

END

SILVER/COMEX

MAY 21

INITIAL

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

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	717,578.270 oz brinks jpmorgan hsbc .
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory	nil OZ
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	nil
No of oz served today (contracts)	60 CONTRACT(S)    (300,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	71 contracts  (0.355 million oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	5978 Contracts  (29.890 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  0 deposits customer account:

total customer deposit nil oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 128.997million oz/297.668 million  or 43.24%

adjustment: 1

dealer to customer //hsbc….2,316,934.385 oz

Comex withdrawals: 3

i) out of brinks 622,516.650 oz

ii) out of JPMorgan 4,961,090 oz

iii) OUT OF HSBC; 90,100.530 oz

total withdrawal 717,578,270 oz

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 62.513MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 297.668 million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DECEMBER:

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF MAY/2024 OI: 131 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 97 CONTRACT(S). 

.

We had 159 notices served on MONDAY so we GAINED 62 contracts or 310,000 oz underwent a STRONG QUEUE JUMP AS THEY WERE SET TO TAKE DELIVERY ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND.

JUNE SAW A LOSS OF 12 CONTRACTS RISING TO 1491

JULY SAW A LOSS OF 1351 CONTRACTS UP TO 151,374

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 60 for 300,000 oz

CONFIRMED volume; ON MONDAY 171,118 mammoth plus PLUS 855 MILLION OZ 1.074% OF ANNUAL SILVER PRODUCTION

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 5978 x 5,000 oz = 29.890 MILLION oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAY (121 and the number of notices served upon today 60x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the  standings for silver for the MAY/2024 contract month:  5978 notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of MAY (121 number of notices served upon today minus (60x 5000 oz of silver standing for the may  contract month equates to 30.245 MILLION OZ.  

 New total standing: 30.245 million oz.

There are 65.149 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.

Now that we have surpassed $28.40 the next big line in the sand for silver is $34.76. After that the moon

END

GLD AND SLV INVENTORY LEVELS//

BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE MASSIVE FRAUDS!

MAY 21 WITH GOLD DOWN $12,00 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: //NEW TOTAL TONIGHT 838.54 TONNES

MAY 20 WITH GOLD UP $21.30 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 5.10 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//NEW TOTAL 838.54 TONNES

MAY 17 WITH GOLD UP $31.70 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//NEW TOTAL 833.36 TONNES

MAY 16 WITH GOLD DOWN $7.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A DEPOSIT OF 1.43 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//NEW TOTAL 833.36 TONNES

MAY 15 WITH GOLD UP $34.90 ON THE DAY; SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A DEPOSIT OF .600 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD

///INVENTORY RISES TO 831.93 TONNES

MAY 14 WITH GOLD DOWN $17.10 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//

///INVENTORY RISES TO 831.33 TONNES

MAY 13 WITH GOLD DOWN $31.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF .600 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RISES TO 831.93 TONNES

MAY 10 WITH GOLD UP $34.65 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD////INVENTORY REMAINS CONSTANT AT 830.47 TONNES

MAY 9 WITH GOLD UP $18.25 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD////INVENTORY REMAINS CONSTANT AT 830.47 TONNES

MAY 8 WITH GOLD DOWN $0.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RISES AT 830.47 TONNES

MAY 7 WITH GOLD DOWN $6.40 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RISES AT 832.19 TONNES

 MAY 6WITH GOLD UP $21.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF .55 TONNES IF FGOLD FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY FALLS AT 831.64 TONNES

MAY 2 WITH GOLD UP $0.20 ON THE DAY; SMAKK CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.17 TONNES IF FGOLD FROM THE GLD//INVENTORY FALLS AT 830.47 TONNES

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

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

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

APRIL 15 WITH GOLD DOWN $. 80 TODAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD //A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.80 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ INVENTORY FALLS AT 824.84 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

GLD INVENTORY: 838.54 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL

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

MAY  21 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.41  TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/A DEPOSIT OF 3.792 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// INVENTORY INCREASES TO 422.227 MILLION OZ

MAY  20 WITH SILVER UP $1.28  TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.005 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// INVENTORY LOWERS TO 418.435 MILLION OZ

MAY  17 WITH SILVER UP $1.37  TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/A WITHDRAWAL OF 868,000 OZ FROM THE SLV// INVENTORY LOWERS TO 419.440 MILLION OZ

MAY  16 WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ INVENTORY REMAINS AT 420.308 MILLION OZ

MAY  15 WITH SILVER UP 101 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV;; A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.919 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV

INVENTORY RESTS AT 420.308 MILLION OZ

MAY  14 WITH SILVER UP 25 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV;;

INVENTORY RESTS AT 422.227 MILLION OZ

MAY  13 WITH SILVER DOWN 4 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV;;

INVENTORY RESTS AT 422.227 MILLION OZ

MAY  10 WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV;; A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.,828 MILLION OZ//INVENTORY RESTS AT 422.227 MILLION OZ

MAY  9 WITH SILVER UP 78 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.055 MILLION OZ

MAY  8 WITH SILVER DOWN 11 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.055 MILLION OZ

MAY  7WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS TODAY: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.055 MILLION OZ

 MAY  6 WITH SILVER DOWN 12 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A DEPOSIT OF 0.338 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.055 MILLION OZ

MAY 3 WITH SILVER DOWN 12 CENTS TODAY: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A DEPOSIT OF 0.338MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.695 MILLION OZ

MAY 2WITH SILVER UP 0.12 TODAY: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/ A WITHDRAWALOF 4.471 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV INVENTORY RESTS AT 424.695 MILLION OZ

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 $0.88 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

CLOSING INVENTORY 422.227 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

PETER SCHIFF SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRAY

3. CHRIS POWELL//GATA DISPATCHES

CHRIS POWELL…

---

4. OTHER MAJOR GOLD COMMENTARIES/PODCASTS /

5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT//COPPER AND GOLD

6.CRYPTOCURRENCY//DIGITAL CURRENCY// COMMENTARIES/

END

ASIA TRADING//TUESDAY MORNING/MONDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 13.18 PTS OR 0.42% //Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 415.60 PTS OR 2.12%// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 122.75 OR 0.31%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.15%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) closed DOWN TO 7,2350 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2431/ Oil DOWN TO 78.51 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 82.34 /Stocks in Europe OPENED MOSTLY GREEN

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

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2350

OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.2431

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 13.18 PTS OR 0.42 %

HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 415.60 PTS OR 2.12%

2. Nikkei closed DOWN 122.75 PTS OR 0.31 %

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL RED

USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO  104.42 EURO RISES TO 1.0867 UP 7 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +.968 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 156/31 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 DOWN /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: DOWN OFFSHORE: DOWN

3f Japan is to buy INFINITE  TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA

Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.

3g Oil 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 DOWN TO +2.5190/Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.816 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.281%

3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.504

3j Gold at $2424.65//Silver at: 31.78  1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $34.40//AFTER 28.40

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 0 AND 34 100        roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 90.43

3m oil into the 78 dollar handle for WTI and  82 handle for Brent/

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

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 156.31/  10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.968% 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 0.9095 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF:   0.9883well 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: 4.426 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.564 DOWN 0 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  4.829 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 32.19…(TURKEY)

10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.190 UP 1 PTS

2a New York OPENING REPORT

Futures Flat As Investors Wait For Nvidia Earnings; Ethereum Soars

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 08:05 AM

US futures are flat, reversing earlier losses, with European bourses and Asian markets all lower as the international risk-off tone carries over to the US pre-mkt, likely driven by a desire to see the NVDA print before determining near-term direction. Until then, markets are hunting for catalysts and drifting as they wait, with US stock futures unchanged as of 7:00am, and Nasdaq futures down 0.1%. Bonds caught a bid with yields down 2-3bps across the curve, pressuring USD. Commodities are also lower with weakness across all three complexes but with some safety being found in base metals: oil prices are a little lower, while copper and gold prices have slipped a little from the records they notched up.The macro focus will be on Fedspeak with yesterday’s batch of Fed speakers, not market-moving. From a micro perspective, Day 2 of the JPM TMT Conference will be the focus.

In premarket trading, NVDA was +36bps higher ahead of its earnings tomorrow, while Mag7 names are mostly lower and Semis are trading slightly lower. Palo Alto Networks shares dropped 7.9% after the security software company issued a disappointing forecast for 4Q billings. The company also reported 3Q results, which were in line with consensus, but below the higher buyside expectations, according to Morgan Stanley. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Global-e Online shares gain 2.3% after the application software company was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley, which expressed optimism on the firm’s ability to execute on a planned acceleration in the second half of the year.
• Larimar Therapeutics shares jump 18% after the biotech company said the FDA has removed a partial clinical hold on its nomlabofusp program. The drug is a treatment for patients with Friedreich’s ataxia, a neurological disorder. William Blair analysts called the removal “great news.”
• Zoom Video Communications shares decline 2.0% after the video-conferencing software company gave a second-quarter forecast for adjusted earnings that was weaker than expected. Additionally, the firm also reported first-quarter results that beat expectations.

Before tomorrow’s Fed minutes – which will be the day’s other main event aside from Nvidia – there are still plenty of speakers from the central bank to come. Yesterday, Loretta Mester said that three interest rate cuts in 2024 is no longer appropriate and reiterated that policymakers need more data before making a decision, even adding she’d be open to a rate hike if warranted. Raphael Bostic, Thomas Barkin, John Williams and Christopher Waller continue the run of speakers on Tuesday.

And speaking of inflation, investors continued to monitor commodity prices, after the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index reached its highest level since January 2023, while gold, silver and copper changed hands near records. However, the commodity surge has so far failed to derail conviction that inflation will keep easing, allowing the Federal Reserve and other major central banks to cut interest rates this year.

“The latest batch of growth, inflation, and Fed data has provided the macro support for the markets to keep grinding higher. Nvidia’s 1Q24 earnings this week could boost the micro AI tailwind,” Jason Draho at UBS Financial Services Inc. said in a note.

European equities dropped Tuesday, pulling back from recent record highs, as investors retreated to the sidelines to await results this week from Nvidia Corp. The Stoxx 600 index slipped 0.4%, with drugmaker GSK Plc among the losers as it faced a whistleblower lawsuit that could cost it billions of dollars.

Earlier, Chinese shares slipped and a broader Asian equity gauge fell after seven days of gains with Hong Kong stocks leading declines as Tencent suspended a new game within hours of its China debut. Hong Kong’s tech subindex slides more than 3% while the benchmark gives up 2%. Data also showed little sign of a turnaround in China’s debt-plagued property sector, with local governments reaping the least revenue in eight years through land sales.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index erases an earlier advance to fall about 0.1% with NOK and SEK outperforming; investors are focusing on the US interest-rate differential relative to the rest of the developed world. “This may have to do with lackluster trading in the absence of fresh catalysts — some dollar shorts were taken off the table,” said Christopher Wong, strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “Further USD weakness would require softer US data and there isn’t much tier-1 data this week.”

In rates, bonds rise, with 10-year gilts outperforming comparable Treasuries and bunds. US yields richer by 1.5bp to 2.5bp across the curve with belly-led gains steepening 5s30s spread by almost 1bp on the day; 10-year yields around 4.425% with bunds lagging slightly and gilts mildly outperforming in the sector. US sales this week include $16b 20-year bonds Wednesday and a $16b 10-year TIPS reopening Thursday. US session lacks scheduled data, leaving focus on another heavy dose of Fed speakers.

Commodities consolidate with gold and copper trading lower after recent highs; the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index reaches highest level since January 2023. Spot gold falls roughly $7 to trade near $2,418/oz. Brent and WTI test support from short-term moving averages as they decline. Base metals are mixed; LME nickel falls 0.4% while LME aluminum gains 1.5%.

In crypto, Crypto prices surged on signs of momentum toward US approval of exchange-traded funds investing directly in second-largest token Ether. CoinDesk reported that exchanges that want to list spot Ether ETFs are abruptly being asked by regulators to update key filings related to these products, according to three people familiar with the matter which suggests regulators may be moving to approve these applications ahead of Thursday’s deadline.

Looking to the day ahead, US economic data this session includes May Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing activity at 8:30am. Central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, the Fed’s Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr, Collins and Mester, along with BoE Governor Bailey.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures little changed at 5,331.25
• STOXX Europe 600 down 0.4% to 521.77
• MXAP down 0.7% to 181.07
• MXAPJ down 0.9% to 566.85
• Nikkei down 0.3% to 38,946.93
• Topix down 0.3% to 2,759.72
• Hang Seng Index down 2.1% to 19,220.62
• Shanghai Composite down 0.4% to 3,157.97
• Sensex up 0.1% to 74,081.70
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.2% to 7,851.68
• Kospi down 0.7% to 2,724.18
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.51%
• Euro little changed at $1.0861
• Brent Futures down 0.9% to $82.99/bbl
• Gold spot down 0.4% to $2,416.23
• US Dollar Index little changed at 104.59

Top Overnight News

• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. slashed prices for a clutch of artificial intelligence services by as much as 97%, spurring an immediate response from Baidu Inc. in potentially the start of a price war in China’s nascent AI market. BBG
• ASML and TSMC reassured US officials they have ways to disable the world’s most sophisticated chipmaking machines remotely should China invade Taiwan, people familiar said. The Dutch company can activate a shut-off that would act as a kill switch for its EUVs. BBG
• Apple challenged a €1.8 billion fine levied by the EU for thwarting fair competition from music-streaming rivals including Spotify, people familiar said. BBG
• UK grocery inflation fell to near its historical average in May, bringing some relief to consumers hit by the cost of living crisis since 2021, according to sector data. Grocery price annual inflation dropped to 2.4 per cent in the four weeks to mid-May, down from 3.2 per cent last month and the lowest since October 2021, research company Kantar said on Tuesday. The figure was also only 0.8 percentage points higher than the average of 1.6 per cent in the 10 years to 2021, which is just before prices began to climb. FT
• Iran’s aerospace infrastructure has been hobbled by decades of sanctions, making its helicopters increasingly precarious. FT
• Fed officials acknowledged the progress in Apr’s CPI but warned against reading too much into a single number and said the battle against elevated inflation still has a ways to go. RTRS  
• The Trump campaign and RNC reported that they jointly raised $76 million in April, about $25 million more than the Biden campaign said it raised across all its committees over the same period. Trump’s reported fundraising haul came as the former president was personally contacting high-dollar donors and encouraging them to give the maximum amount of more than $800,000 to the Trump 47 Committee, which he formed in March to merge fundraising forces with the RNC. WaPo
• Tencent suspended its hotly anticipated Dungeon & Fighter Mobile game within an hour of its China debut due to server glitches. Nintendo bought Shiver studio to help add games for its next Switch console. BBG
• MSFT may be closely aligned with ChatGPT, but the software giant is working on myriad AI initiatives both internally and with a slew of non-OpenAI external partners because at the end of the day it doesn’t necessarily care which model customers select, so long as they’re being run on Azure. Fortune

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks were subdued following the somewhat indecisive performance on Wall St where price action was choppy amid a lack of catalysts and as participants await this week’s key risk events. ASX 200 was lower as losses in materials and mining stocks offset the tech outperformance. Nikkei 225 was lifted at the open owing to recent currency weakness but then steadily gave back all of its initial gains alongside the downbeat risk appetite across most of its regional peers. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp declined with underperformance in Hong Kong amid tech losses and with Li Auto shares down nearly 20% on weak earnings, while the mainland also conformed to the risk-averse mood albeit with downside limited by quiet newsflow.

Top Asian News

• Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki said a weak yen has positive and negative aspects, while he noted that at this point, they are concerned about the negative aspects of a weak yen and closely watching FX moves. Furthermore, Suzuki said they will deal appropriately as needed on forex and that it is desirable for forex to move in a stable manner, according to Reuters.
• RBA Minutes from the May 6th-7th meeting stated they considered whether to raise rates but judged the case for steady policy was the stronger one and the Board agreed it was difficult to either rule in or rule out future changes in the Cash Rate. RBA stated the flow of data had increased risks of inflation staying above target for longer and the Board expressed limited tolerance for inflation returning to target later than 2026, while a rate rise could be appropriate if forecasts proved overly optimistic and risks around forecasts were judged to be balanced.
• Carlyle has launched a new Japanese fund worth JPY 430bln (it’s largest ever), according to the Nikkei

European bourses, Stoxx600 (-0.4%) opened on a softer footing and continued to trundle lower throughout the European morning. European sectors are mostly lower; Healthcare takes the top spot, led higher by gains in AstraZeneca (+1.5%) after outlining its 2030 plan, while giants Novo Nordisk, Roche, and Novartis resume trade after the Whit Monday holiday. US Equity Futures (ES U/C, NQ -0.1%, RTY -0.2%) are flat/modestly lower amid a lack of catalysts and after yesterday’s indecisive Wall Street session.

Top European News

• EU’s von der Leyen suggested making access to EU subsidies conditional on economic reforms as a potential method to improve the bloc’s competitiveness, according to FT.
• Kantar UK Grocery Market Share: Grocery price inflation has also fallen for the fifteenth month in a row to 2.4%, the lowest level since October 2021.
• ASML (ASML NA) and TSMC (2330 TT) can disable chip machines if China invades Taiwan, according to Bloomberg

FX

• USD is incrementally softer vs. peers with DXY respecting yesterday’s 104.39-79 range. A slew of Fed speakers may help to guide further price action.
• EUR is slightly firmer vs the Dollar, due to broader Dollar weakness rather than fresh EZ catalysts. After failing to recently launch a test of 1.09, the pair has since drifted lower with today’s 1.0852 trough.
• GBP gains modestly vs. the USD. Focus for the GBP remains on Wednesday’s inflation metrics, which could sway pricing for the June meeting. For now, Cable remains contained within yesterday’s 1.2690-1.2726 range.
• USD/JPY near the unchanged mark after a bout of selling pressure in early European trade (not driven by any obvious catalyst) dragged the pair back from its overnight peak at 156.54. The pair is currently consolidating on a 156 handle awaiting fresh impetus.
• Antipodeans are both flat vs. the USD in quiet newsflow. AUD/USD unfazed by RBA minutes overnight but has made a fresh low at 0.6647 following yesterday’s session of losses.
• CAD steady vs. the USD ahead of upcoming inflation data. ING posits that if the BoC’s preferred core gauge (“median”) came in below 3.0%, that would “place all key inflation measures, core and headline, within the 1-3% inflation target band.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1069 vs exp. 7.2366 (prev. 7.1042).

Fixed Income

• USTs are flat trade with the recent slew of Fed speakers unable to have any meaningful sway on price action in what has been a quiet start to the week. For now, the Jun’24 contract is holding above the 109 mark and within yesterday’s 108.30+-109.09 range.
• Bunds are leading peers in the wake of slightly softer-than-expected German PPI metrics. Price action could also be seen as an inevitable bounce following losses endured since last Thursday. Jun’24 Bund has recovered to circa 130.86 after basing out yesterday at 130.47. Modest downticks were seen on the Q1 EZ labour cost increase, with no reaction seen to the Bund auction.
• Gilts are firmer on the session but to a lesser extent than its German peer, and overall unreactive to a well-received Gilt auction. For now, Gilts are tucked within yesterday’s 97.50-98.01 range.
• UK sells GBP 2.25bln 4.75% 2043 Gilt: b/c 3.67x (prev. 3.67x), average yield 4.580% (prev. 4.495%) & 0.4bps (prev. 0.1bps tail).
• Germany sells EUR 3.33 vs exp. EUR 4bln 2.10% 2029 Bobl: b/c 2.8x (prev. 2.6x), average yield 2.56% (prev. 2.41%) & retention 16.75% (prev. 18.25%)

Commodities

• Another downbeat session for the crude complex after July futures settled lower by around USD 0.30/bbl apiece in choppy trade; Brent July resides towards to bottom end of a current USD 82.81-83.76/bbl intraday range.
• Downbeat trade across precious metals as prices continue to pull back despite quiet newsflow but amid a lack of major geopolitical updates/escalations. XAU trades in the middle of a USD 2,406.16-2,433.14/oz intraday band.
• Base metals are mixed after the complex extended its rally yesterday, with copper prices breaking above USD 11,000/t and hitting record highs.
• Chinese April crude iron output +11.5% Y/Y at 87.90mln metric tons, according to the stats bureau; refined copper output +9.2%, lead +1.1% Y/Y, zinc -0.8% Y/Y

Geopolitics

• Israeli media on a source said National Security Advisor “Sullivan after meeting Netanyahu felt there was no strategy to end the war”, via Al Arabiya
• “Israel has decided to shelve plans for a major offensive in the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, and will act in a more limited manner in the city, after discussions with the US on the matter”, via Times of Israel citing WaPo analyst’s sources.
• Yemen’s Houthis said they have downed a US drone over the Baydaa Province, according to a statement
• US President Biden said what’s happening in Gaza is not genocide and the US wants Hamas beaten, according to Reuters and Times of Israel.
• Deputy US Representative said the US proposed alternatives to a major ground offensive in Rafah and believes it will better advance Israel’s goal, according to Al Jazeera.
• US top general said they are confident Ukraine has not used long-range US weaponry inside of Russia.

Econ Data

• 08:30: May Philadelphia Fed Non-Manufactu, prior -12.4

Central Bank speakers

• 04:00: Yellen, ECB’s Lagarde, Germany’s Lindner Speak
• 09:00: Fed’s Barkin Gives Welcome Remarks
• 09:00: Fed’s Waller Discusses US Economy
• 09:05: Fed’s Williams Gives Opening Remarks
• 09:10: Fed’s Bostic Offers Brief Welcome Remarks
• 11:45: Fed’s Barr Speaks in Fireside Chat
• 19:00: Fed’s Bostic Moderates Panel with Collins and Mester

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

In 16 plus years of writing the EMR it’s usually finished off in the dark and with a very strong coffee. Today is one of those rare occasions where I hand over the reins whilst looking out over the ocean and with a cold refreshing drink.

Markets have started the week as becalmed as the Pacific Ocean looks as I type this, with the S&P 500 (+0.09%) consolidating less than a thousandth of a percent below last week’s all-time high ahead of Nvidia’s results tomorrow. Investors have grown more positive about a soft landing in the last couple of weeks, after having some doubts in April when the S&P 500 fell -4.16%. So far in May the index is up +5.41% (+11.29% YTD), with Nvidia’s +91.4% gain accounting for a quarter of its YTD rise. So as it stands, the S&P is on track for its strongest monthly gain since November. Markets are seemingly satisfied that inflation isn’t continuing to accelerate even if it’s notably higher than expected at the start of 2024. For example, back at the start of January the Bloomberg consensus for Q2 2024 headline US CPI inflation was at 2.7%. That forecast is now 3.4%. Q4 forecasts have gone up half a percentage point to 2.9%.

The market has instead focused on accommodative financial conditions, broadly resilient growth, a decent earnings season, inflation trending lower (even if not nearly as much as thought at the start of the year), and Fed cuts just being delayed rather than not happening. It would have been interesting to poll investors at the start of the year as to where they would have thought markets would be today had they known where inflation would have printed so far in 2024. So that combination probably would have been predicted by very few.

The rouge inflation prints haven’t dented the soft landing optimism and this got some support from Fed speakers yesterday. In particular, Vice Chair Jefferson described the April inflation data as “encouraging”, and Vice Chair for Supervision Barr said that “I think we are in a good position to hold steady and closely watch how conditions evolve.” Such patience was also visible from San Francisco Fed President Daly who noted there was no “urgency” to adjust rates, while Cleveland Fed President Mester stated that “It’s too soon to tell what path inflation is on”. So similar to Powell’s recent comments, senior Fed officials are in no rush to think about rate cuts but are certainly not reacting that hawkishly to the latest inflation data either. Pricing of Fed rate cuts by year end fell by -3.1bps to 41bps yesterday, back to levels seen early last week before the April CPI print (having peaked at 52bps after the release). The next important date in the diary is on May 31, when we’ll get the full PCE inflation numbers for April, which is what they officially target.

There is another big round of central bank speakers today including the ECB’s President Lagarde, the Fed’s Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr, Collins and Mester, along with BoE Governor Bailey.

With Fed officials sounding patient yesterday, it was a slower but generally positive day for equities. The S&P 500 (+0.09%) finished the day a hair’s breadth below last week’s record high, having traded above it for much of the session. Tech outperformance did see the NASDAQ (+0.65%) and the Magnificent 7 (+0.43%) close at record highs, with Nvidia (+2.49%) leading the way ahead of its announcement tomorrow. Banks (-2.53%) underperformed within the S&P 500, led by JPMorgan (-4.50%) following comments by CEO Jamie Dimon that “We’re not going to buy back a lot of stock at these prices” and that a succession plan is “well on the way”.

Over in Europe it was a similar story, with the STOXX 600 (+0.18%) closing just shy of its record high from last week. Italy’s FTSE MIB index underperformed (-1.62%) but much of its decline came due to ex dividend date effects. The story was one of moderate gains elsewhere on the continent, including from the DAX (+0.35%), the CAC 40 (+0.35%) and the IBEX 35 (+0.10%).

Although most equities generally just missed out on new highs, gold prices (+0.47%) closed at a record high of $2,427/oz as investors continued to anticipate rate cuts this year. Separately, the iTraxx Crossover in Europe (-3.0bps) closed at its tightest level in over two years.

That sense that rate cuts were coming closer into view was evident from central bank speakers in Europe. For instance, BoE Deputy Governor Broadbent said in a speech that “ it’s possible Bank Rate could be cut some time over the summer.” And at the ECB, Latvia’s Kazaks said that “it’s quite likely June is going to be the time when we start the rate cuts”, although he did warn that the “process needs to be cautious, gradual and we should not rush.” Collectively, this supported the idea that the global monetary policy cycle was shifting towards an easing mode, although it had limited impact on market pricing. By the close overnight index swaps were pricing in a 96% chance of an ECB cut in June, and a 55% chance of a BoE cut in June (slightly down from 58% on Friday).

With this backdrop, sovereign bonds saw a modest sell off on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, yields on 10yr Treasuries were up +2.3bps to 4.445%, and those on 2yr Treasuries were up +2.4bps to 4.85%. High corporate issuance levels may have played a part. Meanwhile in Europe, yields on 10yr bunds (+1.3bps), OATs (+0.4bps) and BTPs (+0.3bps) all moved a little higher, whilst gilts saw the biggest underperformance despite Broadbent’s comments, with the 10yr yield up +4.1bps on the day.

Overnight in Asia, equity markets have lost ground across the region, with the Hang Seng (-2.05%) as the biggest underperformer amidst a decline in EV and tech stocks. Indeed, the Hang Seng TECH Index is down -3.18% this morning, putting it on track to end a run of 7 consecutive gains. Otherwise, the KOSPI (-0.58%), the Shanghai Comp (-0.41%) and the CSI 300 (-0.39%) are all negative, whilst the Nikkei (-0.04%) has also given up its earlier gains to move slightly lower. Sovereign bonds have also lost ground overnight, with the 2yr Japanese government bond yield (+0.6bps) at a post-2009 high of 0.34%. Australian government bonds lost ground as well after the minutes of the latest RBA meeting showed they had considered a rate hike. Looking forward, US equity futures are fairly stable though, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.02%.

To the day ahead now, and central bank speakers include ECB President Lagarde, the Fed’s Barkin, Waller, Williams, Bostic, Barr, Collins and Mester, along with BoE Governor Bailey. Otherwise, data releases include Canadian CPI and German PPI for April.

2B EUROPE OPENING/TRADING

APAC stocks were subdued following the somewhat indecisive performance on Wall St – Newsquawk Europe Market Open

NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

END

2e) JAPAN

JAPAN

end

3 CHINA

Taiwan’s New President Sworn In, Calls On Chinese Regime To Stop Intimidation

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 11:05 AM

By Frank Fang of Epoch Times

Taiwan’s new president has been sworn into office, calling on the Chinese regime to stop its military and political intimidations in a speech unlikely to deter the communist regime’s ambition to seize control of the self-ruling island.

In his 30-minute inaugural speech on May 20, Lai Ching-te, from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said that Taiwan is a “sovereign and independent country,” and that the island nation and the communist regime in mainland China “are not subordinate to each other.”

“I also want to call on China to cease their political and military intimidations against Taiwan, and share with Taiwan the global responsibility of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, as well as the greater region, and to ensure the world is free from the fear of war,” Mr. Lai said.

Mr. Lai said his administration aims to “further entrench Taiwan’s democracy” and “maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific.”

“I have always believed that if the leader of a country puts people’s welfare above all, then peace in the Taiwan Strait, mutual benefits, and prosperous coexistence would be common goals,” he said. “I hope that China will face the reality of the Republic of China’s existence.”

Mr. Lai won January’s presidential election by a margin of about 7 percentage points over second-place Hou Yu-ih, a candidate of the Kuomintang Party (KMT). His victory gave the DPP an unprecedented third consecutive term, after eight years with Tsai Ing-wen at the helm.

The DPP’s win is considered a setback for the CCP, which has traditionally favored KMT political candidates because of their friendly view of the communist neighbor. In contrast, the Chinese regime has labeled Mr. Lai as a “troublemaker” and “separatist.”

The CCP often slaps the “separatist” label on any Taiwanese who defends the island’s sovereignty and rejects the communist regime’s territorial claim over the island. China’s communist regime is preparing its military to seize Taiwan, even though the island is a de facto independent nation with its own military, constitution, and currency.

Mr. Lai reminded the Taiwanese people that they shouldn’t harbor any delusions about China.

“So long as China refuses to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, all of us in Taiwan ought to understand that even if we accept the entirety of China’s position and give up our sovereignty, China’s ambition to annex Taiwan will not simply disappear,” he said.

Strengthening Democratic Resilience

As for international affairs, Mr. Lai said he will work with “other democratic nations to form a democratic community,” working together on issues such as combatting disinformation and strengthening democratic resilience.

China’s efforts to influence Taiwan’s elections have been well-documented, with tactics including promoting disinformation via social media platforms and using financial incentives to sway Taiwanese voters.

A declassified U.S. intelligence report has shown that China interfered in the U.S. 2022 midterm elections, and there are increasing concerns that the CCP will try to influence the outcome of the November elections.

Before his speech, Mr. Lai accepted congratulations from about 200 foreign politicians and delegates at Taiwan’s Presidential Office on May 20. The visiting dignitaries included those from the nations that currently maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan, as well as those from Japan, Australia, Canada, the United States, and several European nations.

Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and former top White House economic aide Brian Deese were among a U.S. bipartisan delegation that met with Mr. Lai on May 20. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also made the trip to Taiwan to congratulate Mr. Lai.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement congratulating Mr. Lai, while applauding Ms. Tsai for “strengthening ties between the United States and Taiwan over the past eight years.”

“We look forward to working with President Lai and across Taiwan’s political spectrum to advance our shared interests and values, deepen our longstanding unofficial relationship, and maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Mr. Blinken stated.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he looks forward to “working with the Lai Administration to continue strengthening the U.S.–Taiwan relationship through expanding our economic, security, and people-to-people ties,” according to a statement.

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a global coalition of lawmakers, issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, to congratulate Mr. Lai on his inauguration.

‘Trusted Industry Sectors’

Mr. Lai also spoke about the importance of Taiwan’s tech industries to the world.

“Taiwan has already mastered advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and we stand at the center of the AI revolution,” he said. “We are a key player in supply chains for global democracies.”

Taiwan produces about 90 percent of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, which are tiny chips that power everything from computers and smartphones to missile systems. As a result, China’s ambition to seize Taiwan is also driven in part by the goal of taking control of the island’s semiconductor sector.

Under his administration, Mr. Lai said he aims to develop “five trusted industry sectors”: semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), military, security and surveillance, and next-generation communications.

Before the May 20 inauguration, China was already taking steps to put pressure on Mr. Lai.

Continue reading at Epoch Times

END

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS

SLOVAKIA

Slovakia Probing Broader Conspiracy In Assassination Attempt On PM Fico

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 02:45 AM

The Slovak police are investigating a possible broader criminal conspiracy surrounding the May 15 attempted assassination of Prime Minister Robert Fico.

He was shot multiple times, and has survived his wounds, by what authorities initially said was a “lone-wolf” shooter who was immediately taken into custody. That official narrative appears to quickly be shifting, however.

The 71-year old attacker fired five shots while Fico greeted supporters in the street outside a government building, sustaining life-threatening injuries.

Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak announced over the weekend of Fico, “He has emerged from the immediate threat to his life, but his condition remains serious and he requires intensive care.“

“We can consider his condition stable with a positive prognosis,” Kalinak said outside the hospital where the prime minister is expected to remain likely for an extended period of time. “We all feel a bit more relaxed now.”

Concerning the shooter’s motives, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok has said in a fresh briefing that “the suspect was angered by the government’s Ukraine policy” and that he may not have been a lone wolf. According to Bloomberg:

On Sunday, authorities said that cooperation with domestic and foreign intelligence services had led to a broadening of the probe, to include a version in which a group – which wasn’t identified – may have been linked to the crime.

According to more details from Estok, “A potential broader assassination plot is supported by the fact that the assailant’s social media communications were erased by another person about two hours after the shooting.”

The Interior Minister explained, “we added a version that it wasn’t only a lone-wolf attacker, but that the crime may have been conducted by a certain group of people.”

There hasn’t been an assassination attempt on a head of state in Europe for some two decades, international reports have underscored. 

Globe Eye News

@GlobeEyeNews

Slovak Prime Minister Fico was shot in an armed attack 3 days after meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev. The Iranian President’s helicopter crashed hours after his meeting with Ilham Aliyev.

10:18 AM · May 20, 2024

·

Slovak Prime Minister Fico was shot in an armed attack 3 days after meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev.

The Iranian President's helicopter crashed hours after his meeting with Ilham Aliyev. pic.twitter.com/2m6Ad1ARCO

— Globe Eye News (@GlobeEyeNews) May 20, 2024

Fico had long been outspoken against deepening Western involvement in the Ukraine war, for which he’s made many enemies and critics among Western allies, and of course within Ukraine itself.

For example, here’s how CNN last October described his ascendancy to prime minister and leader of the small NATO member state… “A party headed by a pro-Kremlin figure came out top after securing more votes than expected in an election in Slovakia, official results show, in what could pose a challenge to NATO and EU unity on Ukraine.”

While in the hospital fighting for his life, Fico’s top officials have at times lashed out at Western media, telling reporters to ‘reflect’ on the way they cover the populist prime minister and his policies

END

IGOR CHUDOV again striking fear into the hearts of the malevolents in COVID & this deadly Malone Bourla vaccine, deep into enemy territory ~”Leader of Slovakia FICO Shot Dead After Demanding

Investigation Into COVID Vaccines” Shot by a Progressive Party Operative; Igor remains one of the smartest people in stack, I admire greatly, we all learnt from him…very humbled by you Igor; SUPPORT

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERMAY 21

READ IN APP

Leader of Slovakia Shot After Demanding Investigation Into COVID Vaccines (igor-chudov.com)

Start Igor’s substack in full here, I embed full, support Igor…

Alexander COVID News_a PCR manufactured fake COVID pandemic is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Subscribed

‘Slovakia, a nice country in the heart of Europe, is unique in one important respect: it is the only country, out of the whole world, whose leader denounced COVID vaccines and announced a COVID inquiry into excess deaths, corrupt influence of Pfizer, and ill effects of COVID vaccines.

ht tps://twitter.com/SaiKate108/status/1751552779045552521

Many of us were wondering what would the outcome of this investigation be. Will excess deaths be finally correctly attributed? Will the cozy relationships between Pfizer and the media it sponsored be disclosed? What answers can we finally get, when a government is led by an honest man wanting to get to the bottom of the “pandemic response”?

Today, we have the answer.

https://apnews.com/article/slovakia-prime-minister-shooting-robert-fico-handlova-bdaaf0bba01035a700145a67d871a482

Robert Fico was shot and is now “fighting for his life” after multiple bullet wounds. Here’s a short video of the shooting:

The assassin, Juraj Cintula, is an operative of “Progressive Slovakia.” He is also the founder of the “Rainbow Literary Club”.

Juraj Cintula is a 71-year-old civilian. Was he capable of planning an assassination by himself? Was it possible for him to penetrate the state leader’s security and get to the right place at the right time, without help? In my opinion, that would be quite unlikely. He was probably not acting alone.

Did he get any help or money? If so, from whom? What are the interests whom Mr. Cintula served? I cannot speak with certainty. My guess would be as good as yours.

All we know is that the state-level investigation into COVID, possibly the only honest country-level inquiry, will likely be “postponed.”

Are you surprised?

end

GREECE/RUSSIA

The west continues to thwart Russian oil activities

(zero hedge)

During ‘War Drill’, Greek Navy Chases Russian Tankers Out Of Oil Transfer Hotspot

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 02:05 PM

The Greek Navy has established a temporary obstacle in the Laconian Gulf, approximately 110 miles southwest of Athens, to disrupt a ‘floating oil base’ used by Russian tankers for ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil and related products. These products are then loaded onto other tankers and transported to Asia. This action is part of the West’s strategy to curtail Moscow’s ability to supply energy to customers evading Western sanctions, thereby limiting funding for the special operation in Ukraine. 

Bloomberg reported that the Greek Navy has “re-issued a notice that it would carry out exercises” in the Laconian Gulf area. These previously announced exercises have been extended through June 3. Each notice forces vessels in the region to exit under maritime law. 

This month though, the Greek Navy started carrying out exercises in the area in a bid to halt an activity that helps Moscow’s export machine to keep functioning. -BBG

Here’s a map of where the military exercises will be held. 

“There is a gap between the Laconian Gulf and the newly-added area where a lot of the tankers are now clustered,” Bloomberg noted. 

Greek officials have not publicly stated they are using military exercises against Russia’s commercial tanker fleet to deter STS transfers of crude and related products in the sheltered Laconian Gulf area. 

We reported earlier this month that the website TankerTrackers reported tankers conducting STS transferred abruptly left the Laconian Gulf for “reasons that were unknown.”

STS Russian transfers from the Laconian Gulf have ended up thousands of miles away in Asia. However, according to the Black Sea Group, some of it ended up at European ports because of Brussels’ poor sanction management: 

“68% of the oil was brought to the Laconian Gulf in Greece for transshipment, while the rest was directly exported to the EU ports amid poor sanctions management,” researcher Bohdan Ben wrote in a note. 

In a separate Bloomberg report, they noted STS transfers of Russian crude could shift to the Red Sea:

“There are other signs of change in how Russian oil is moving. One tanker also flipped a cargo of crude onto another vessel in the Red Sea last month. The Panta Rei 1 transfered its cargo onto the Odysseus, which then transported its consignment to India. That’s the first ever switch observed in that location in ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.” 

This is a new development in how the West fights Moscow. What could possibly go wrong? 

5. RUSSIA AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS.

ISRAEL/HAMAS//USA

GOP Rep Slams Biden, Praises Trump, In Fiery Speech At Israel’s Knesset

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 – 07:40 PM

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) delivered a speech at the Israeli Knesset on Sunday where she slammed President Biden and called for unconditional military support for Israel to support the slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

Stefanik and other Republicans have been furious with President Biden for putting a pause on one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs and threatening to withhold heavy weapons if Israel launched a major attack on “population centers” in Rafah, although he hasn’t taken any action as Israel continues to escalate in the city.

“I have been clear at home and I will be clear here: There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel — aid that was duly passed by the Congress — or to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives,” Stefanik told the Knesset’s Caucus for Jewish and Pro-Israel Students on Campuses Around the World.

She was referencing a prisoner swap deal the US made with Iran before October 7, under which Tehran was granted access to $6 billion of its own frozen funds that were transferred from South Korea to Qatar.

Republicans claim that President Biden gave $6 billion to Iran, but it’s unclear if Tehran ever had access as the US and Qatar agreed to freeze them again in October 2023, not long after the deal was made.

Stefanik declared that the US should provide Israel with “what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions to achieve total victory in the face of evil.” Despite the Republican outrage at President Biden, his administration has promised that Israel will get every penny of the $17 billion in new military aid that was recently authorized by Congress.

Stefanik praised former President Donald Trump for his “historic support for Israeli independence and security.” Trump has been running on an extremely pro-Israel platform and claimed President Biden “abandoned” the country by issuing a warning about Rafah.

“Today, I stand before you not just as a leader in the United States Congress, but as a lifelong admirer, supporter, and true friend of Israel and the Jewish people. You see I am lucky enough to have had the privilege of traveling here many times before, but I must confess that this time feels different. The stakes are higher. Our sense of moral, patriotic duty feels heightened, renewed.”

WATCH my address today at the Knesset:

9:36 AM · May 19, 2024

·

148.1K Views

“Today, I stand before you not just as a leader in the United States Congress, but as a lifelong admirer, supporter, and true friend of Israel and the Jewish people.

You see I am lucky enough to have had the privilege of traveling here many times before, but I must confess that… pic.twitter.com/uvoMWOvFiu

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) May 19, 2024

Stefanik also slammed American college students who are protesting the unrelenting Israeli assault in Gaza, as she has been leading the charge in Congress in making accusations of antisemitism despite the fact that many Jewish students are participating in the protests.

“I led the charge to expose this moral rot of antisemitism infecting our supposed most elite higher education institutions,” she said.

END

Biden not expected to oppose limited Israeli operation in Rafah – WaPo columnist

As Israel ramps up a more limited ground operation in Rafah, US President Joe Biden addresses US Jews, telling them that he rejects the ICC’s allegations of genocide.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMAY 21, 2024 07:47Updated: MAY 21, 2024 08:40

US President Joe Biden is not expected to oppose the updated Israeli ground operation in Rafah, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius predicted on Tuesday.

Ignatius’s prediction comes as Israel prepares for a ground operation in Rafah, which American officials believe will be limited in scope.

Biden addressed Jewish community leaders and other elected officials at the White House on Monday to commemorate Jewish American Heritage Month. 

Biden spoke of the various challenges facing American Jews, along with addressing Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel. He also rejected labeling Israel’s operations in the Gaza Strip as genocide.

“Let me be clear: we reject the ICC’s application for arrest warrants,” Biden said. “There’s no equivalence between Israel and Hamas. Contrary to allegations against Israel made by the International Court of Justice, what’s happening is not genocide. We reject that.”

IDF evacuates Rafah civilian population 

These reports come amid the IDF’s evacuation of nearly 1 million Palestinian civilians from Rafah in just two weeks, with 30-40% of Rafah now under the IDF control. 

The US had formerly predicted that the civilian population of Rafah would not be able to evacuate without a significant death toll or the evacuation taking months to complete. Much of the evacuated population moved to northwest and central Gaza, including a smaller portion of people returning to Khan Yunis.

END

UN Report Clearing UNRWA Of Terror Ties A “Whitewash”, Witnesses Tell Congress

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 02:00 AM

Authored by Dan Berger via The Epoch Times,

Three expert witnesses testifying before a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on May 17 said a recent U.N. investigation into its troubled agency assisting Palestinians in Gaza was a whitewash.

They told the Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), that the Colonna Report was released by a committee stacked with agency supporters handpicked by the agency’s director.

The agency, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has overseen relief distribution and other services to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank since 1949.

Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna led the U.N. investigation. It included representatives of three institutions that witnesses said were regarded as pro-UNRWA: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Sweden, the Christian Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The nine-week investigation began in response to Israeli allegations of the deep entanglement of UNRWA with Hamas, the terror group controlling Gaza.

Those allegations have already had an effect: $450 million in foreign aid was halted, and President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan foreign aid bill halting all aid to UNRWA until at least March 25, 2025. The United States had been providing a third of UNRWA’s billion-dollar budget.

Ms. Colonna’s committee began work a week after the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 30–19 to halt UNRWA’s funding.

The Colonna Report “was set up solely to whitewash UNRWA’s record,” according to Mr. Smith. The House subcommittee wanted to examine that, he said, as well as “U.S. funding to organizations other than UNRWA, which are affiliated to terrorists or otherwise promote violence against Israelis.”

Ms. Colonna’s panel released a 54-page report of dense bureaucratic language obscuring the gravity of Israel’s charges: that at least a dozen UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, that 1,200 UNRWA employees belong to the banned terrorist organization controlling Gaza, and that 6,000 of its 13,000 employees have family members in Hamas.

Israel has stated that Hamas arms have been found in or under some of the 2,000 buildings that the agency controls in Gaza, that a Hamas spy computer center tapped the UNRWA building above it for electric power, and that at least two hostages were held in the homes of likely UNRWA staffers, including a teacher and a doctor.

Ms. Colonna “has a long history of support for UNRWA and hostility to Israel,” according to Mr. Smith. All three organizations tapped to work with her have similar histories, he said.

“Senior officials connected to the report repeatedly stated that their goal was to, quote, reassure donors and to provide donors with further cover,” he said.

Several nations, including Australia, Canada, and Sweden, resumed funding UNRWA even before the Colonna Report was published.

One of the witnesses, Hillel Neuer, spoke of UNRWA’s refusals to appear with him or debate him. On May 13, he was disinvited from a panel discussing UNRWA at the Stimson Center in Washington after, he was told, UNRWA’s representative refused to participate if he was there.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) near the U.S. Capitol on March 22, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

“[The Colonna Report] is, we’re told, an independent audit that has given UNRWA a clean bill of health exonerating the agency of all charges of its ties with terrorism. This headline was repeated around the world and used by several countries to reinstate funding,” Mr. Neuer said.

“There’s one problem, though, Mr. Chairman. These claims are completely false.”

The investigators were not impartial, he said. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini had denounced Israel’s charges of terror ties as a disingenuous, politically motivated, and a smear campaign, according to Mr. Neuer.

“In doing so he irreparably tainted the credibility of the inquiry,” Mr. Neuer said.

Mr. Lazzarini picked Ms. Colonna to head it a few weeks after she had posted her backing of UNRWA on social media. She had done that, Mr. Neuer said, after his own group, U.N. Watch, had exposed a social media group in which 3,000 UNRWA employees had celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch, speaks at the 2015 Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy. (Courtesy Hillel Neuer)

“He chose someone who he knew very well was sympathetic to UNRWA, to say the least,” Mr. Neuer said.

And France is UNRWA’s fourth-largest donor. A former UNRWA spokesman subsequently told the Al Jazeera television network that “the report by the former French foreign minister, quote, will provide the donors with further cover.”

“The report says the following: UNRWA, quote, ’remains pivotal in providing life saving humanitarian aid. UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable, [a] humanitarian lifeline.’ Mr. Chairman, we didn’t need to have an independent review group of the French foreign minister and three Scandinavian institutes to produce those lines. Those words are the official UNWRA talking points,” Mr. Neuer said.

He derided the report for its proclamation that “UNRWA has established a significant number of policies and mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with a more developed approach to neutrality than any other similar U.N. or NGO entities.”

“The truth is the complete opposite,” Mr. Neuer said.

He compared the report to the Soviet Union’s Stalin-era constitution, a soaring statement of human rights—guaranteeing direct elections, freedom of conscience, and other liberties. The Soviet dictator proclaimed it the most democratic constitution in the world.

“The reality was the complete opposite,” Mr. Neuer said, noting that the constitution came into play in 1936, just before the Great Purge began, a terror resulting in the arrest and then execution or deportation to Siberia of millions of citizens.

Displaced Palestinian people sit on benches as they wait outside a clinic of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)

Yona Schiffmiller, research director for NGO Monitor, a group watchdog nonprofit group, said Hamas’s coercion makes accountability and oversight of UNRWA unlikely. U.S. law bans funding groups that promote violence, terrorism, anti-Semitism, or the employment of individuals espousing those.

James G. Lindsay, former general counsel for UNRWA, former Justice Department criminal lawyer, and author of a 2009 report on the group, told the committee that he walked away from it when it became apparent that while it stated that it was vetting staff members for terror ties, it wasn’t doing it.

He saw a quote from the UNRWA commissioner-general in the Canadian media saying, “Yes, I know we have Hamas people working for us, but it’s not something we worry about.”

He objected to UNRWA’s management, “and I was rebuffed.”

“And so I moved on,” Mr. Lindsay said.

The Colonna Report itself documents indirectly how incompetent the agency is, he said. Of its 50 recommendations, he said, about 37 “reflect obvious management deficiencies, things like the need for training, better coordination with other agencies, better enforcement of rules, employing more women as managers, that any competent management team would have long ago addressed with prodding from an independent review.”

He noted that of the 5.9 million Palestinians UNRWA designates as “refugees,” 1.8 million don’t meet the legal definition because they are citizens of and live in Jordan. Someone can’t be a citizen and a refugee at the same time, he said. Others should be stricken from the assistance rolls for their criminal records or support of terrorism, he said.

The hearing was slightly disrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Several had “FREE GAZA” written on their arms. They held their arms up in the air and checked the monitors of the hearing’s cameras to make sure the messages were showing. One wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt.

At one point, Mr. Smith stopped the hearing to admonish them, noting that showing signs was illegal. Some shouting broke out off camera, and he then had police clear them from the hearing chamber.

HOUTHIS

END

IRAN

Israel Fuming At UN’s Moment Of Silence For Iran Leader: ‘What’s Next? A Moment Of Silence For Hitler?’

RUSSIA/CHINA/IRAN

ROBERT H TO US

This could be a flash point very quickly without much notice

“Eurasia integration and the drive towards multipolarity is being fundamentally conducted by three major STATE ACTORS!

Russia, China – and Iran. India is following and catching up to the pace quickly as a 4th equal partner. 

Right now it happens the three top “existential threats” to Exceptionalism  are these 3 STATE ACTORS. 

Di you note that Putin essentially invited Iranian ambassador to Russia, Jalali, to be on the table at an impromptu Sunday, 10 pm meeting of the cream of the crop of Russia’s Defense Team? 

That reaches way beyond the realm of discussion between “accidental crash” or targeted downing of the Iranian presidential  helicopter. 

Everyone was there: Defence Minister Belousov; Secretary of the Security Council Shoigu; Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov; Emergencies Minister Kurenkov; Special Assistant to the President, Levitin.

The message: Russia’s got Iran’s back. 

We are deep into total Hybrid War mode, bordering on Hot War!

Three civilization-states shaping a new world could not be more clear. 

Interlinked as they are via bilateral strategic partnerships, plus membership of BRICS and SCO, and following up on Putin-Xi in Beijing last week, none of the three STATES  will allow the other partners to be destabilized by the usual suspects.

There will be real conclusive evidence brought forth before action is taken. This we can be sure of. In the interim the direction will continue to turn away from the Western world for trade and commerce. As Lavrov has said Russia has already excluded Europe from thought for a generation. It says something about where they see Europe going. And as for Ukraine and its sponsors expect Russia to turn up the pain dial. Both BlackRock and JP Morgan are starting to worry about the money pit called Ukraine that may well suck them into the black hole of corruption and loss.

As stagflation floods the West much of the world will not have remorse for the dilemmas and tears that will be shed. “

RUSSIA UKRAINE

Russia Launches Tactical Nuclear Drills Near Ukraine In Response To ‘Western Threats’

BY TYLER DURDEN

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 12:45 PM

Russia on Tuesday confirmed that its forces have kicked off tactical nuclear weapons drills in its southern military district, which is near the Ukrainian border, in what the Kremlin has described as a response to “threats” by the West.

The defense ministry (MoD) announced that the exercises aim to test the “readiness” of its “non-strategic nuclear weapons … to ensure the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian state.”

The MoD specified that this is in “response to provocative statements and threats by certain Western officials.”

“Under the order of the commander-in-chief, a military exercise involving practice of preparation and use of tactical nuclear weapons started in the Southern military district under the supervision of the General Staff,” the ministry said.

First unveiled in early May, the date and location of the exercises at that early preview phase were unknown. The Foreign Ministry had warned at the time that NATO’s own “Steadfast Defender” drills are possible preparations for war with Russia.

And more recently some US and UK officials have been pressing for more Ukrainian attacks directly on Russian soil, with Washington officials now openly debating whether to allow pro-Kiev forces to utilize US-supplied missiles to attack inside Russian territory. Zelensky has meanwhile launched a new aggressive lobbying campaign to push deepened Western involvement: 

Western allies are taking too long to make key decisions on military support for Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters in an exclusive interview in Kyiv on Monday.

He also said he was pushing partners to get more directly involved in the war by helping to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine and allowing Kyiv to use Western weapons against enemy military equipment amassing near the border.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has finally released a video showing the tactical nuke drills it announced a couple of weeks back. And they’ve blurred out the warheads. But just the tips.

10:53 AM · May 21, 2024

·

58.7K Views

Another among the ‘threats’ emanating from the West is the possibility of deploying NATO troops in Ukraine. The idea has gained steam ever since Frances Emmanuel Macron first proposed it months ago a security conference in Paris. Lithuania is the latest to recently back the idea.

According to more details of Tuesday’s non-strategic nuclear forces drills via state media:

“As part of this stage, the personnel of the missile formations of the Southern Military District are completing combat training tasks for obtaining special ammunition for the Iskander operational and tactical missile system, equipping them with launch vehicles and covertly advancing to the designated positional area to prepare for missile launches,” the ministry explained, adding that the Russian aviation is training with the equipment of special combat units of aircraft destruction, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

Russia’s military has issued several videos and images of the drills in progress, which will also be monitored closely from Western capitals and the Pentagon. The situation is ominous to say the least…

https://www.rt.com/russia/598001-russia-tactical-nuclear-drills/video/664cbb1985f5405f974b1401

end

UKRAINE

ROBERT H TO US

Hal Turner Radio Show – Guess Who’s **NOT** President of Ukraine Anymore . . 

“The sooner this fool is tossed the more likely there will be a country left of sorts, otherwise it will be destroyed completely.

My question is who will bailout BlackRock and JP Morgan ? They have lost and will lose billions.

And if NATO gets in, China will respond with participation. One can be sure of this. And Estonia is up for destruction then so be it. The gloves are coming off quickly in days ahead as the reality of an ill thought through plan based on illusions is seeing the reality of the day. Russia is far more advanced in weaponry than it was given credit for. It is the West who needs to rethink everything going forward because in a full hot war it will lose decisively.”

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/news-selections/world-news/guess-whos-not-president-of-ukraine-anymore

COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES//DRUG AND HEALTH ISSUES

WORLD EVENTS NOTEWORTHY

Klaus Schwab Steps Down As World Economic Forum Executive Chairman

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 08:40 AM

‘You’ll own nothing in retirement and be happy’…

Wit the organization he founded 50 years ago bringing in nearly $500 million in revenue in the year ending March 2023 (and sitting on a neat pile of 200 million Swiss francs cash), Klaus Schwab will own some things as he reportedly steps back from his role running the World Economic Forum has has headed since 1971.

Semafor reports that Schwab announced his intentions to step down as executive chairman in an email to staff on Tuesday that was shared with Semafor by a person connected to the organization.

The change in his role is pending approval by the Swiss government but should be finalized ahead of the WEF’s annual meeting in 2025.

Schwab, now 86, will be transitioning to a role as non-executive chairman.

But Globalists should not worry about their agenda as Semafor reports that Schwab has seeded his organization with various family members to take up the tyrannical new world order torch – Schwab’s children appointed to high-ranking positions and his wife Hilde heading the organization’s foundation and awards ceremonies in Davos.

Will Schwab and Soros retire on a deserted island together to watch the end of the chaotic world they enabled from a distance?

END

WORLD HEALTH ISSUES

Imported malaria. vaccinated in trouble

Southern US Border Sees 143% Jump In Imported Malaria: CDC

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 01:45 PM

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Imported malaria cases in three southern border jurisdictions more than doubled in 2023 from the year prior, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“During January–December 2023, a total of 68 imported malaria cases were identified from reportable disease surveillance systems in Pima, Arizona (18), San Diego, California (27), and El Paso, Texas (23),” the CDC said in a May 9 report.

This is 143 percent higher than the 28 cases in 2022 when there were three in Pima, 12 in San Diego, and 13 in El Paso.

“Because malaria case counts were higher than expected, enhanced case investigations were initiated,” said the agency.

The CDC found that 15 out of 68 cases occurred among U.S. residents. Two were found in newly arrived refugees and two among travelers with unknown immigration status. The majority, 49 cases, were identified among “other newly arrived migrants,” including asylum seekers.

Imported malaria cases in 2023 increased correspondingly to the entry of asylum seekers and other “migrants” into the United States via the southern land border, the CDC said.

The agency advised healthcare professionals to “obtain a complete travel history, consider malaria among symptomatic patients with recent travel through areas where malaria is endemic, and initiate prompt testing and, if indicated, treatment.”

Before arriving in the United States, the U.S. residents and refugees had traveled through other nations infected with the disease.

“Among the 49 other newly arrived migrants, 46 (94 percent) had traveled through one or more countries with endemic malaria.”

Out of the 68 cases, 63 were hospitalized, with almost a third experiencing severe disease. The agency noted that severe malaria was more common among “other newly arrived migrants” than among American residents. No deaths have been reported.

“Approximately 2,000 malaria cases are imported into the United States annually, mostly among U.S. residents with recent travel to areas with endemic malaria.”

Malaria used to be a leading cause of death in the United States before being eradicated in the 1950s.

Last June, five cases of malaria infection on U.S. soil were reported—four in Florida and one in Texas. This was the first local spread of the infectious disease in two decades.

Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, emergency medicine physician at Staten Island University Hospital and vice president of Global Health, told The Epoch Times last year that “malaria is a serious disease that can be fatal, and its presence within the U.S. is a cause for concern.”

He attributed the spread in the country to the “importation of the disease by travelers returning from regions where malaria is prevalent.”

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), patrol agents encountered 2.47 million illegal immigrants at the southwest land border in fiscal 2023, up from 1.73 million in fiscal 2021.

“While it’s possible for malaria to become endemic again (in America), it’s too early to make definitive predictions,” Dr. Cioe-Pena stated.

“Nevertheless, the situation serves as a reminder of the need for continuous vigilance against infectious diseases, even those considered eradicated, and for ongoing investments in public health infrastructure.”

Tuberculosis Reported

In addition to malaria, illegal aliens have brought other illnesses into the United States. Last year, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that thousands of illegal immigrant children with tuberculosis were released from government custody.

The CDC states that people with tuberculosis are infectious and can transmit it. In the report, Aurora Miranda-Maese, an HHS official, said that if tuberculosis were to become active, it would become “a threat to both the individual’s and the public’s health.”

Last month, officials at Chicago’s Health Department said a few cases of tuberculosis were identified among recently arrived illegal immigrants. The agency insisted there was no cause for concern.

In an April 3 X post, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez said he had warned the city for months about such a situation but that no action was taken due to “performative politics & hurt feelings.”

“Anyone who demanded action to protect our residents was called racist, xenophobic, and anti-immigrant by fringe politicians,“ he wrote. ”And now here we are: measles, now tuberculosis both ‘confirmed’ in Chicago. Shame on every mouthpiece that worked so hard to keep this secret.

“Everyday Chicagoans MUST demand @ChicagosMayor & his cronies take this seriously, demand American immunization standards for all asylum seekers & their children within @ChiPubSchools , and stop muting the truth.”

Malaria Infection and Symptoms

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite carried by Anopheles mosquitoes. If the mosquitoes bite a person with malaria, the individual can become infected.

According to CDC, the “risk of malaria in the United States is very low. People do not spread malaria to other people like the common cold or the flu.”

Symptoms range from very mild illness to death. Early symptoms include fever and flu-like illness: chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness, plus nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

If left untreated, the condition can become severe. Severe malaria can cause kidney failure, mental confusion, seizures, and coma.

CDC recommends that people see a healthcare provider “as soon as possible” if they experience any symptoms of malaria or traveled to a region where the illness is known to occur.

Once the disease is confirmed, prescription drugs are given to treat and cure the illness.

The type of drugs and the length of the treatment depend on the type of malaria infecting a person, the geographical location where the person was infected, and how sick the individual was when they started treatment. Age and pregnancy are other key factors when considering treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 249 million malaria cases in 2022 globally and 608,000 deaths from the disease.

The WHO African Region accounted for 94 percent of malaria cases and 95 percent of deaths. Children under the age of five years made up roughly 80 percent of all deaths in the region.

Meanwhile, the CDC urges travelers from the United States to exercise caution when visiting nations prone to malaria.

The agency maintains a webpage detailing malaria risk across countries.

CRISPIN MILLER

DR PAUL ALEXANDER

‘Staggering 84 percent of measles cases in major Chicago outbreak linked to Venezuelan migrants, CDC report shows’; but DO NOT stop POTUS Biden & Obama, DO NOT, just keep bringing them in, to fuck up

our nation, our American people, bring them please, hurry, so that they can go about raping, stabbing, murdering our American people, we WANT this, we beg, bring all the islamic JIHADISTS to kill us

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERMAY 20

READ IN APP

Staggering 84 percent of measles cases in major Chicago outbreak linked to Venezuelan migrants, CDC report shows | Daily Mail Online

Some 84 percent of deadly measles cases in a recent major outbreak at a migrant center in Chicago are linked to Venezuelan immigrants, a new CDC report shows.’

The 6-foot social distancing rule we know conclusively was MADE up, arbitrary, bullshit, I did not lie when I TOLD the world Bob Redfield informed me at HHS it was made up; yet I was attacked in media

Gotlieb said it was made up, Fauci recently said same, now Francis Collins of NIH, the GUITAR man, under oath, says NO science, it was arbitrary. So what do we do with Collins? What punishment?

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERMAY 20

READ IN APP

This one rule screwed us, many businesses closed, owners committed suicide…children died, committed suicide when schools were closed…

people died, people must be accountable and if judges and courts say these and those who made these policies that caused deaths, then we must hang them…hang them high!

end

Is this POTUS Biden? 20 people turned up when Trump has 100,000 & it is clear, watch this video, Biden is senile, dementia-ered, he does not know where he is, look at his walk, & still they can’t 25th

him with Madame VP Giggle and cackles for she will wipe out the democrat party at the polls…democrats are in trouble, America is in trouble, & Republicans and its Speaker Johnson are FRAUDS corrupt

DR. PAUL ALEXANDERMAY 21

READ IN APP

beelzebubs to let this madness continue…you mean to say you have control of the CONGRESS House and sit back as this unfolds? If the situation was reversed, that senile US Republican POTUS would be in an infirmary; you see, democrats know how to win and gain power, Republicans only want to be invited to wine and cheeses and get a token chairmanship here and there and to be able to walk about congress…not to govern and make no responsible decisions. Just walk about and let MTG bitch…she maybe is the only one doing any lifting, the rest are babies playing with themselves in congress…America is in serious trouble. They host dog and pony congressional hearings to make us think they are getting accountability for the COVID and Malone vaccine fraud when they are basically stroking each other in the House only going as far as to embarrassing each other…

Biden exists in a state of perpetual confusion 😬 pic.twitter.com/IQxLGtoxkc

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 18, 2024

SLAY NEWS

The latest reports from Slay News

Harvard Study: Covid Shots Cause Sudden Deaths, StrokesA damning new study from some of America’s most well-respected researchers has determined that Covid mRNA shots are causing surging cases of strokes and sudden deaths.READ MORE

Rising Rugby Star Son of Top New Zealand Lawmaker Dies Suddenly at 22Brody Cameron, a rising star in New Zealand rugby, has tragically died suddenly at just 22 years old, according to his family.READ MORE

Democrat Megadonor Dumps Biden, Donates $1 Million to Trump InsteadA wealthy Democrat megadonor has announced that he will not be donating any more money to President Joe Biden.READ MORE

Biden Slammed for ‘Race-Baiting’ Morehouse College Speech: ‘Biggest Racist on the Planet’Democrat President Joe Biden has triggered a widespread backlash over a speech that many have condemned as “race-baiting.”READ MORE

Illegal Daycare Employees Arrested for Spiking Children’s FoodFour people have been arrested and charged after they were caught dosing children with melatonin at an illegal New Hampshire daycare.READ MORE

Democrat Ex-Baltimore Prosecutor Marilyn Mosby Begs for Pardon Ahead of Sentencing on Federal Fraud ConvictionA Democrat former top prosecutor is begging President Joe Biden for clemency while awaiting sentencing on perjury and mortgage fraud convictions.READ MORE

Biden Admin Moves to Bolster Deep State to Prepare for Trump WinPresident Joe Biden’s administration is moving to bolster the bureaucratic deep state in preparation for the likely event that the Democrats will lose control of the White House after the November election.READ MORE

Comer Announces New Subpoena for Several Biden Family Members’ Bank AccountsHouse Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has announced a new subpoena for the bank accounts of several members of Democrat President Joe Biden’s family.READ MORE

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi Confirmed Dead after Helicopter CrashIran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been confirmed dead after the helicopter he was traveling crashed in the mountains, Iranian state media is reporting.READ MORE

LATEST EVOL NEWS:

California Governor Joins Pope Francis for Vatican Climate Summit – EVOLREAD MORE…

LATEST NEWS:

Trump Confident in Taking Minnesota, Takes Jabs at Biden: He’ll Be “Jacked Up” – EVOLRead more…Health Officials Warn 90% of Population Suddenly Has Deadly Heart Syndrome – EVOLRead more…Mitt Romney: Biden ‘Made an Enormous Mistake’ by NOT Pardoning Trump after Taking Office – EVOLRead more…Ireland: Nearly 80 Legal Cases Emerge Due to Purported Adverse Effects of COVID Vaccines – EVOLRead more…Trump Judge Hit With Devastating Corruption Allegation – EVOLRead more…This Bizarre Chris Christie Video Is Going Viral – EVOLRead more…Pope Francis Attacks Conservatives – EVOLRead more…RINO Mitt Romney Gives Conservatives The Middle Finger – EVOLRead more…

LATEST NEWS:NEWS ADDICTS

end

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

The Wrath Of Khan… Or Why At Some Point The Lack Of Global Rule Of Law Will Matter Mightily

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 01:05 PM

By Michael Every of Rabobank

Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has announced he is applying for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant, the first time leaders of a Western democracy have been accused. Sadly, however, this does not signal a new era of global adherence to the rule of law, but rather the ICC’s likely self-evisceration.

Khan wants to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant, as a start, for “causing extermination, starvation as a method of war, including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, [and] deliberately targeting civilians in conflict” within “the territory of the state of Palestine” (which is not a state), and perhaps even for before October 7. Balancing this, though not his CNN speech or media headlines, Khan is also applying for arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Sinwar, Deif, and Haniyeh –two hiding in Gaza, one lounging in Qatar– for extermination, murder, hostage taking, rape, and sexual assault in detention. Even so, Khan is equating an elected Western leader –albeit one Gallant himself last year implied is demagogic, and last week accused of dragging the war out because he can’t make a political decision on what happens next– to terrorists.

So, some celebrate. Others despair and argue the evidence against Israel is clearly biased while that against Hamas is from its own bodycams; the ‘controversial’ phrase Netanyahu used, “Remember what Amalek did to you,” is written on the wall at Yad Vashem and in The Hague Holocaust memorial; the allegation Israel closed all crossings into Gaza includes Rafah, which it did not control until very recently; Hamas steals most incoming aid and resells it at vastly inflated prices; Hamas just hugely reduced the casualty figures Western media, politicians, and the ICC repeat; Israel’s judiciary hold its leaders to account; and testimony from Western military experts on the exemplary way Israel carries out the (awful) business of urban combat was ignored. As such, Israelis across its political spectrum are calling this a “blood libel”, as from Europe’s past and today’s US campuses; Hamas complains it should be allowed to do anything as “resistance”; and others point out the ICC hasn’t dived in against clear-cut abuses in many other locales. In short, this is all controversial and divisive rather than lining us up behind the rule of law.

Indeed, the ICC decision can be seen as neutering the right to self-defence it professes to support: what Israeli military action would the Court allow vs. tens of thousands of heavily armed terrorists in a crowded urban area if Israel was, as it strongly claims, simply obeying the existing laws of war? (Which, to be clear, are like calorie-free double chocolate fudge cake: more about psychological than physical comfort or health.) If nothing effective, Israel’s and the West’s enemies will take note and heart. “They knew exactly where to hit us,” says Spock in Star Trek II.

Israel is not a signatory to the ICC so can simply ignore any arrest warrants like Russia’s President Putin, though he travels in the BRICS when Israel is part of the West, even if parts of the West no longer seem to want it. Indeed, it’s within the West where rifts will be felt most. Non-signatory US senators had lobbied the Court to back off, but Khan publicly told them to – no repeat of his dropping investigations into war crimes committed by the US in Afghanistan, and secret CIA prisons, “because of the limited financial means of the ICC.” However, that means defunding the ICC is likely back on the US agenda for Republicans: revenge is a dish best served cold in 2025. And while progressive Democrats cheer, President Biden has called the arrest warrant requests “outrageous.”

Even Europe won’t be spared this polarization: Belgium has backed the ICC, Czechia has already called its action “appalling”, Austria “non-comprehensible”, the UK government which appointed Khan, “unhelpful”, and how will Wilders or Meloni react? So, does the West back the Court or not?

More specifically, can the West still send arms to Israel? If so, what does the ICC step really mean? If not, even with a shift to self-reliance and/or non-ICC India, where does this leave Israel vs. Iranian proxies and Iran close to a nuke? And as Hal Brands notes in ‘Ukraine Is Now a World War. And Putin Is Gaining Friends’, where does this leave Western economies vs. the joint threat of Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea?

The Court therefore stirs the pot in a troubled Middle East already seeing unrest in Israel, where unpopular PM Netanyahu is if anything strengthened by the ICC move, as Trump has been with his court cases; the current Israel-Hamas war, which can still grow to encompass Hezbollah more fully, and where any ceasefires now look more difficult to achieve; an ongoing Houthi blockade maybe to expand to the Mediterranean; Sudanese starving because of it, when not fleeing a civil war led by Islamists; the Saudi King gravely ill; Kuwait cancelling its experiment with democracy because people vote for parties like Hamas; the sudden death of Iran’s President Raisi in a helicopter crash; and the US still trying to achieve Israel-Saudi normalisation under a US (and Israeli) defence umbrella.

What might the Saudis — not charged by the ICC for the war they carried out vs. the Houthis in Yemen — think of that proposed defence guarantee when it knows US and Israeli hands are tied against the kind of foes it faces? Or maybe the US will just push even harder for the deal to be done now as a result: we shall soon see.

Meanwhile, showing how far we are from a world of justice, or even basic truth, Iran’s Raisi was known as ‘The Butcher of Tehran’ because of his responsibility for many thousands of deaths in the 1980s, and he also helped with multiple human rights abuses since, with no charges leveled by the ICC for either. Instead, while some Iranian youth openly celebrated his death, Raisi got a minute’s silence at the UN Security Council and official condolences from NATO, the EU, and the US State Department, even as Iran arms Russia vs. Ukraine, the Houthis vs. EU shipping, and the proxies which kill US soldiers. It’s as bad a joke as the Israeli social media quip that Raisi was killed by a Mossad agent named Eli Kopter, which some in Hamas thought was real for a while.

To summarise, some may think The Wrath of Khan is the genesis of a new ideal world of the rule of law. Sadly, we can’t be Reliant on such utopianism in a realpolitik world where Western Enterprise is being struck violently, including from within its own team.

As Spock says, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. But which few, or one, will it be?

I suspect the ICC. If so, another pillar of the international liberal order’s architecture joins those already seen as impotent (i.e., the WTO and UN), irrelevant (i.e., the IMF and World Bank), or completely incompetent (i.e., The Ivy League, but also pick your acronym).

That backdrop may not vex overexcited markets much. However, it’s another sign of what The Economist just bewailed, echoing my warning from January 2016: that the international liberal order is at risk of collapse, or at least fragmentation.

At some point the lack of a global rule of law, or clashing global rules of law, matters mightily.

END

7.OIL PRICES/GAS PRICES/OIL ISSUES

THIS IS AWFUL//THE DRAINING OF OIL RESERVES

Biden Drains Entire Northeast Gasoline Reserve In Bid To Lower Gas Prices As He Trails Trump By Double Digits

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 02:45 PM

Back in March, when reading the mammoth, 1050-page bill that was meant to avert government shutdown, but was yet another pork filled free-for-all bonanza authorizing $1.7 trillion in in discretionary spending, we stumbled upon something that was truly shocking: after Biden singlehandedly drained half of the US strategic petroleum reserve to avoid obliteration for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, Congress has snuck in a provision that would sell off and shutter the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, a move that while perhaps keeps gas prices lower for a day or two, would also leave the entire continental northeast defenseless to any true environmental catastrophe or shock. We were so dismayed by the inclusion of this particular text, we wondered if it hadn’t been put there solely for the benefit of America’s enemies…

The entire US 1 million barrel Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve will be required to be sold and closed in fiscal 2024, according to bill text of government funding legislation unveiled Sunday Did China write this bill? https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20240304/HMS31169.PDF…

5:42 PM · Mar 3, 2024

·

835.9K Views

… because surely nobody in their right mind, not even the illegitimate senile occupant of the White House, would ever pursue such short-term gains at the expense of potentially disastrous long-term consequences to the entire nation.

We were wrong: earlier today, just two months after the bill was signed by Biden into law, the panicking administration announced that it would sell the nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline in the US managed stockpile in northeastern states, the Department of Energy said, effectively closing the reserve.

The department created the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) in 2014 after Superstorm Sandy left motorists scrambling for fuel. But, according to some megabrains hoping to justify the dumping of gas so its price drops for a few weeks ahead of the summer and avoid even more anger aimed at the president, storing refined fuel is costlier than storing crude oil, so closing the reserve was included in U.S funding legislation signed by President Joe Biden in March.

Bids to buy the gasoline located at the two NGSR storage sites in Port Reading, NJ (900,000 bbl) and South Portland, ME (98,824 bbl), are due on May 28 and the Treasury Department’s general funds gets proceeds from the sale. Incidentally, the proceeds from the reserve liquidation – which will amount to roughly $125 million gross (and far less net) – is roughly how much the government spends every 15 minutes!

So is it better to have a gasoline reserve for unexpected events, or to fund a quarter hour of US government’s spending? Don’t answer that. Of course, the answer is neither – the whole point of selling the gasoline is to depress prices at the pump if only for a few days to help Americans forget about the great inflationary nightmare they have been in for the past 3 years.

The volumes will be allocated in quantities of 100,000 barrels with each barrel containing 42 gallons, the department said and said it would require that fuel is transferred or delivered no later than June 30. That will ensure the gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the Fourth of July holiday and that it will be sold at competitive prices. Translation: Biden just drained the Northeast strategic gasoline reserve to push gas lower by a few cents on July 4.

For context, gas prices at the pump this Memorial Day will be the second most expensive in a decade – dramatically above the ten-year average of $2.91…

“By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the … northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a release.

“The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,″ Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in the statement. “By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state (area) and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said release of gas from the Northeast reserve builds on actions by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “to lower gas and energy costs — including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest-ever investment in clean energy.″

Biden significantly drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dropping the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s after selling about 280 million barrels to keep prices low. The election year move helped stabilize gasoline prices that had been rising in the wake of the war in Europe but drew complaints from Republicans, and frankly anyone with half a brain, that the Democratic president was playing politics with a reserve meant for national emergencies.

The Biden administration has since very theatrically begun refilling the oil reserve, which had more than 364 million barrels of crude oil as of last month, by purchasing a couple million barrels every other month or so, setting it on pace for refilling some time in the 2100s.

“While congressional Republicans fight to preserve tax breaks for Big Oil at the expense of hardworking families, President Biden is advancing a more secure, affordable, and clean energy future to lower utility bills while record American energy production helps meet our immediate needs,” Jean-Pierre said.

As for the real reason behind the latest myopic decision by the Biden admin, today we learned that Trump’s lead over Biden has widened to 13pp in the betting market, the largest difference since mid-March. Meanwhile, political event prediction website PredictIt places higher betting odds on Trump than Biden for the first time since March.

Trump is also leading in the latest polls of all swing states.

Trump is leading by 2% in the latest polls in Pennsylvania. If Biden loses Pennsylvania but wins Wisconsin and Michigan, he then at least needs to win one state from Georgia and North Carolina in addition to one state from Arizona and Nevada to secure a second term.

Meanwhile, closing arguments in Trump’s “hush money” case in New York are set to being on May 28. If the jury finds Trump guilty, it is possible for the former president to receive prison time, and judging by how weaponized the “legal system” of the current fascist regime has become, we would not be surprised if Biden goes there.

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

VENEZUELA

END   

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

EURO VS USA DOLLAR:  1.0867 UP .0007

USA/ YEN 156.31 DOWN 0.082 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN  STILL FALLS//

GBP/USA 1.2719 UP .0009

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.3623 UP .0001 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 1 BASIS PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 13.18 PTS OR 0.42%

 Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 415.60 PTS OR 2.12%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.15 %

 // EUROPEAN BOURSE:     ALL RED

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES:  ALL RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 415.60 OR 2.12%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 13.18 PTS OR 0.42%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.15%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 122.75 PTS OR 0.31%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 2420.80

silver:$31.71

USA dollar index early TUESDAY  morning: 104.42 DOWN 5 BASIS POINTS FROM MONDAY’s CLOSE.

TUESDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing  TUESDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.135% DOWN 1 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.968% DOWN 0 AND  3/ 100   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.280 DOWN 0 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.802 DOWN 2 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.507 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS

END

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR  TUESDAY  

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

Euro/USA 1.0861 DOWN  0.0000 OR 0 basis points

USA/Japan: 155.93 DOWN .462 OR YEN IS UP 46 BASIS PTS

Great Britain/USA 4.1810 DOWN 2 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar DOWN .0016 OR 16 BASIS pts  to 1.3634

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The USA/Yuan,  CNY ON SHORE CLOSED DOWN AT 7.2340 (ON SHORE)  

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE:    (YUAN CLOSED (DOWN)…. (7.2468)

TURKISH LIRA:  32.20 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +0.968…

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 2 in basis points from FRIDAY at  4.415% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)

 USA 30 yr bond yield  4.549 DOWN 2 in basis points  /12.00 PM

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.822 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

GOLD AT 11;30 AM 2431.00

SILVER AT 11;30: 32.14

Your  12:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates:  TUESDAY CLOSING TIME 12:00 PM//

London: CLOSED DOWN 7.75 PTS OR 0.09%

German Dax :  CLOSED DOWN 42.20 PTS OR 0.22%

Paris CAC CLOSED DOWN 54.51 PTS OR .67 %

Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN 4.60 OR 0.06%

Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 221.40 PTS OR 0.64 PTS

WTI Oil price  80.84 12EST/

Brent Oil:  83.90 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE ///   AT:  90.07 ROUBLE UP 0 AND  68/100      

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.507 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS.

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.1810 UP 4 BASIS POINTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA 1.0855 DOWN 0.0005    OR 5 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.2714 UP 0.0005 OR 5 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  4.169 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: .968%

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 156.17 DOWN 0.232/ YEN UP 23 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3650 UP 0028 //CDN dollar DOWN 28 BASIS PTS

West Texas intermediate oil: 79.06

Brent OIL:  82.81

USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 2 BASIS pts to 4.413

USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 2 BASIS PTS to 4.553%

USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 1 PTS AT  4.832

USA dollar index: 104.52 UP 7 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 32. 19 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  90.09 UP 0  AND  66//100 roubles

GOLD  2,424.15 3:30 PM

SILVER: 32.04 3;30 PM

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 66.22 PTS OR 0.17 %

NASDAQ UP 39.61 PTS OR 0.21 %

VOLATILITY INDEX: 11.88 DOWN 0.27 PTS OR 2.22%

GLD: $224.23 DOWN 0.33 OR 0.15%

SLV/ $29.27 UP .29 OR 1.00%

end

USA AFFAIRS

TODAY’S TRADING IN GRAPH FORM

Stocks Inch Higher As Fearless Vol-Sellers Continue To Push Ahead Of NVDA/FOMC Mins

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 04:00 PM

It’s quiet… too quiet…

Small Caps lagged on the day but the rest of the majors struggled to gain any momentum as long gamma and low vol compressed the ranges. Some early hawkish (though nothing new) remarks from Fed’s Waller (“…in the absence of a significant weakening in the labor market, I need to see several more months of good inflation data before I would be comfortable supporting an easing in the stance of monetary policy…”) sparked a little risk-off but as soon as cash markets opened, BTFDers resumed their game – but could not push ahead of unch.

A late lift flattered an otherwise ‘meh’ day…

As Goldman’s Chris Hussey notes, a peak under the surface of the S&P 500 reveals a somewhat defensive tilt with Pharma, Staples and Utilities outperforming, and Consumer Discretionary, Semis, Transport and Builders lagging the index. Consumer discretionary is particularly underperforming, being dragged down by negative reactions to earnings from AZO and LOW.

Source: Bloomberg

Anemic implied vols persist – despite the event risk catalysts this week – with VIX pushing a 11 handle…

Source: Bloomberg

…and bond vol also compressed…

Source: Bloomberg

We note there is some anxiety on the very short-end… but still a 13 handle is not exactly ‘risk averse’…

Source: Bloomberg

The risk, as SpotGamma explained earlier, in these very low IV’s, are the very low IV’s themselves.

If traders are pricing in 30bps of movement for a given trading day, any move that pushes the market past 30bps (up or down) could lead to a short vol cover and a jumpy stock move. This suggests to us that while you maybe can’t find a reason to buy short dated SPX options, shorting them at these IV levels seems like a poor risk-reward (we’re looking at you 0DTE traders!).

On that note we think that a cleaner way here for basic “short vol” trades may be owning puts/short call spreads in VXX/UVXY or long SVXY calls/short put spreads. This is because you catch some of the roll decay, and you don’t have the strike-risk in 0DTE.

0DTE vols are extremely low but we would expect a jump (as we saw around last week’s CPI)…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields slipped lower today, erasing most of yesterday’s spike higher with the short-end lagging (2Y -2bps, 30Y -4bps)…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar pushed higher again, erasing Friday’s losses…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin slipped back from its overnight surge back up near $72,000 to end basically flat on the day…

Source: Bloomberg

…which follows the sixth day on net inflows to BTC ETFs (and fourth day of inflows in a row to GBTC)…

Source: Bloomberg

Ethereum outperformed once again as ETH ETF hopes continued to build amid an apparent about-face from the Biden admin’s anti-crypto army…

Source: Bloomberg

For context, ETH is now at its strongest relative to BTC since mid-March..

Source: Bloomberg

Gold chopped around and ended flat today…

Source: Bloomberg

Silver continues to outperform gold, now at its strongest relative to the yellow metal since Dec 2022…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, wholesale gasoline prices fell today after the Biden admin announced a release of its strategic gas reserve (not for political reasons of course)…

Source: Bloomberg

Which is noteworthy because gas prices going into Memorial Day are at their second most expensive in a decade…

Source: Bloomberg

…and as we noted earlier, Biden is behind Trump bigly…

END

MORNING TRADING//

AFTERNOON TRADING/

II USA DATA

TUCKER CARLSON…

END

III  USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES

Court Ruling Means California Schools Can Violate Students’ Rights When Following Public Health Orders

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 – 08:40 PM

Authored by Kristin Lang via The Epoch Times,

As we near the end of the school year, a new court ruling may have some parents rethinking whether they want to enroll their children in California’s public schools this fall.

Those of you living in Southern California will likely remember the case of Aidan Palicke. An academically-gifted Yorba Linda High School student and captain of the track team, Aidan was forced to take his exams outside in 40-degree weather wearing only a t-shirt. School officials singled out Aidan for wearing a formerly acceptable mesh face mask to school during the COVID era.

“I was freezing, and all of the other students were looking at me through the window,” Aidan told me.

“My fingers were in so much pain from the cold that it was hard to concentrate on my exam.”

Aidan said some teachers encouraged his fellow students to ridicule him for not conforming to the mid-year change in masking policy. Aidan said he was hauled into the principals’ office repeatedly, removed from campus, and ultimately forced into a home-based study program against his wishes.

Aidan’s family sued the Placentia Yorba Linda School District (PYLUSD) in March 2022, arguing that some PYLUSD board members colluded to change masking policy mid-year to punish “conservative” students or students whose parents were vocal in opposing various COVID measures at the school.

(L-R) Shari, Aidan, and Chris Palicke. (Courtesy of the Palicke Family)

According to evidence presented in court, confusion ensued across the school district as teachers and school officials selectively enforced this policy, allegedly allowing favored students to wear any mask, or no mask at all. Some school board members testified that they wanted to stop the chaos the new masking policy was creating but were blocked from voting on it by other members of the school board.

“After two years of litigation, an Orange County Superior Court judge who had been ruling in favor of the Palicke family and against dismissal suddenly reversed course and ruled that school officials were immune from liability for their admittedly illegal and abusive actions to students during the COVID era—setting a dangerous precedent,” said Rita Barnett-Rose, an attorney for the Palicke family during a press conference in Orange County on May 13.

“Specifically, Judge Deborah Servino determined that, even though the facts of the case undeniably showed that certain PYLUSD school officials violated their students’ constitutional and civil rights, they were nevertheless entitled to legislative immunity because they were enforcing public health orders.”

Judge Servino further ruled that because the school district has since withdrawn their mask mandate, and Aidan Palicke has already been forced out of the school district, all claims against school officials are “moot,” and Aidan is no longer entitled to be compensated for the harm inflicted on him.

At the PYLUSD board meeting on May 7, school board member Marilyn Anderson, a defendant in the case, announced to a smattering of applause, “The Palicke lawsuit, it’s not in the agenda anymore because it was dismissed by the judge!”

However, the Palicke family is getting some surprising and much-needed support from the new PYLUSD superintendent of schools, Alex Cherniss. In an open letter to the Palicke family on May 8, he called Ms. Anderson’s statement “abhorrent” and “shameful,” writing:

“Dear Mr. and Mrs. Palicke …

“As an educational leader, I have spent years pushing back against uninformed and overly punitive Covid restrictions that truly damaged our kids. …

“I found the actions taken by Ms. Marilyn Anderson at the Board of Education meeting last night to be abhorrent. … Clearly, the announcement of a case dismissal in her board comments violated the Brown Act. …

“I have no doubt that the purpose of her public statement … was her way of gloating at the fact that your case was no longer relevant to her or to the school district. Her statement, and the subsequent applause at the expense of your son was truly shameful.”

I reached out to Marilyn Anderson for comment. As of the time this article was published, she had not responded.

The Palicke family is appealing the case despite having used up significant family savings in their quest to seek justice for their child. The Palickes are getting some financial support from non-profit Free Now Foundation, where, in full transparency, I work as editor-in-chief.

The Palicke family and attorneys at a press conference in Orange County, Calif., on May 13, 2024. (Courtesy of Judy Julin)

This week, at the press conference in Orange County, Aidan’s father Chris Palicke vowed to fight on.

“The granting of this motion [to dismiss] was appalling,” said Mr. Palicke. “This means that all schools in California are allowed to abuse and hurt children. We need to fight this and do what’s right not just for my family but for all children.”

END

How Lawfare Turned Trump Into A Superhero

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 – 08:20 PM

Authored by Frank Miele via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Last week, President Biden raised the white flag of surrender to Donald Trump when he offered to debate the presumptive GOP nominee in June and September.

No one saw this coming. Trump had been taunting Biden with his offer to debate “anytime, anywhere, any place,” but it was assumed that Biden and his handlers would shy away from the challenge, both because it represented a significant risk that Biden would implode onstage and also because it would give Trump bragging rights.

Naturally, Trump accepted Biden’s offer immediately, and then at nearly the speed of light, it was announced just minutes later that both candidates would debate on CNN on June 27 and on ABC on Sept. 10.

Until then, it was not even certain that debates would take place at all this year, let alone as early as June. Both candidates had grudges against the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the Democrats apparently thought they could avoid the risk of traditional debates as part of their plan to keep his opponent tied up in court throughout the campaign season.

But that scheme was proving to be an albatross. Despite their success at keeping Trump tied down in court, the results have proven less than optimal for Team Biden. The Georgia prosecution for election interference was undermined by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ predilection for highly paid boyfriends and cash-only getaways. The two federal prosecutions by Special Counsel Jack Smith have been stymied in one case by the Supreme Court of the United States doing its job and in the other by District Judge Aileen Cannon doing hers. Neither case has any realistic chance of going to trial before Election Day.

That leaves the New York State prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who accused Trump of recording legal expenses as legal expenses and claimed without evidence that the legal expenses were somehow fraudulently recorded to cover up some never-disclosed crime that the jury was meant to somehow intuit outside the court record.

After four weeks, we are close to a verdict in that case, and though there is a chance that the Democrat-heavy jury will return a guilty verdict, it seems increasingly unlikely. Star witness Michael Cohen was proven by the defense in cross-examination to be a self-serving, Trump-hating liar whose testimony, even if believed, didn’t prove that Trump committed any crime. I’m betting on a hung jury, with a reasonable chance for an outright acquittal, but even if Trump were convicted it is likely his poll numbers would rise once again.

Face it, the Democrats who threw everything they had at Donald Trump in four courthouses must have been shocked to see him emerging Rambo-like from the smoking wreckage of our justice system. But if they underestimated Trump, it is their own fault.

In fact, the persecution of Trump for his role as the leader of a populist political movement has so angered Republican and independent voters that instead of destroying him, his opponents have elevated him into a superhero – someone virtually impervious to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

If you don’t believe me – or the polls – then watch the video of Trump’s campaign rally in Wildwood, N.J., where he drew a huge crowd three weeks into his so-called “hush money” trial. That’s New Jersey, where no Republican has won the presidential race since Ronald Reagan! But in the most recent polling, Trump is only seven points behind Biden in a state that the Democrat won by 20 points in 2020.

Moreover, the seeming injustice of Trump being turned into a political martyr by his opponents has resonated with the black community. Minority voters and young voters are turning to Trump in part because they see him as the victim of a rigged system, just as many of them have been. If blacks and Hispanics propel Trump to victory, that will be further proof of his superpowers.

Obviously, the Biden campaign has been well aware of the collapse of their party’s blue wall of Democratic prosecutions, and with Hunter Biden going on trial in two separate federal cases in June, it was time to change the narrative. That’s why Biden blinked and unceremoniously agreed to debate Trump practically immediately.

We learned two things from that development. One is predictable: It is a rule of thumb that the candidate who is most anxious to debate is the one who is losing. Joe Biden seems to fit the bill.

But the other lesson surprised some White House watchers. By agreeing to a primetime debate where he will have to respond to difficult questions without a teleprompter, President Biden showed himself for once to be making decisions on his own. It seems unlikely that his so-called handlers would have allowed their candidate to put himself in harm’s way, so the probable explanation is that Biden went rogue.

And so now, for once, the American public will be able to see the president thinking on his feet, and can assess whether he has his full faculties or not. But standing next to Donald Trump, who is on target to escape his scheduled martyrdom, it’s going to be hard for Joe Biden to look like anything except an afterthought.

END

BOEING

One Dead After Boeing 777 Hit By ‘Severe Turbulence’ On London-Singapore Flight

BY TYLER DURDEN

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 07:25 AM

A Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER was hit by ‘severe turbulence’ on a London to Singapore flight on Tuesday, forcing an emergency diversion to Bangkok. Tragically, one passenger has been confirmed dead. This incident raises fresh concerns about the safety of air travel of Boeing jets amid a series of mid-air mishaps.

Aviation sleuths on X are citing website flight tracking data from Flightradar24, which shows that Flight SQ 321 abruptly dropped 6,000 feet ‘due to an air pocket’, but nothing has been confirmed. 

Ambulances heading to Suvarnabhumi Airport to assist and transport those injured on board Singapore Airlines flight SQ 321 from London shortly after 4pm Tuesday. #Thailand #singaporeairlines #SQ321 #Suvarnabhumi

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ระดมเข้าช่วยเหลือ เหตุเครื่องบิน #สิงคโปร์แอร์ไลน์ ลงจอดฉุกเฉิน #สนามบินสุวรรณภูมิ วันที่ 21 พฤษภาคม 67 รายงานข่าวจาก #สนามบินสุวรรณภูมิ ระบุว่า เที่ยวบิน SQ321 ของ #สิงคโปร์แอร์ไลน์ เส้นทางลอนดอน-สิงคโปร์ ทำการบินด้วยโบอิ้ง 777-300ER

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“We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on board the Boeing 777-300ER,” Singapore Airlines wrote in a statement published on Facebook, adding there were a total of 211 passengers and 18 crew on board. 

“Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 2024,” the airlines added. 

END

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

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iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES

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FREIGHT ISSUES/USA

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VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

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SWAMP NEWS

Conservative Group Files Emergency Court Motion To Get Biden–Hur Audio Tapes

BY TYLER DURDEN

MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024 – 10:20 PM

Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has filed an emergency motion in a Washington court seeking to accelerate the release of audio tapes of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur, over which the White House recently asserted executive privilege.

The emergency motion, filed on May 17 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to modify the court’s briefing schedule for three pending Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits that seek the audio recordings of roughly five hours of interviews that President Biden had with the special counsel in relation to a classified documents mishandling probe.

The motion seeks to speed up the court battle over the release of the tapes, with The Heritage Foundation arguing in the filing that President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over the tapes on May 16 adds urgency to the FOIA lawsuits and that the Department of Justice (DOJ) didn’t need as much time to prepare its response to the FOIA requests as it previously claimed.

“The Department’s asserted time constraints were misleading,” The Heritage Foundation attorneys wrote in the motion. “The Department did not need the time to prepare a position and declarations it twice told the Court it did. A formal assertion of Executive Privilege is an extraordinary undertaking.”

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has set a schedule for the FOIA lawsuits that gives the DOJ until May 31 to submit filings in support of withholding the tapes. It also allows various other filings to be made through July 29. In their emergency motion, Heritage Foundation attorneys asked that the schedule be modified to give the DOJ until May 27 to make their arguments and that the deadline for all other filings be set at July 1.

The tapes are at the center of a dispute between House Republicans and Attorney General Merrick Garland, who has defied a subpoena for them and faces contempt proceedings.

House Republicans have said that they want to obtain the recordings to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions that President Biden couldn’t recollect certain facts during the interview. They have alleged that a two-tiered justice system exists because Mr. Hur opted to not charge President Biden while former President Donald Trump faces multiple charges in connection with his own classified documents probe.

“At trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” the special counsel wrote in his 388-page report, which found that President Biden “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” when he was a private citizen after the end of his term as vice president during the Obama administration.

Mr. Hur, who faced criticism from Democrats and the White House for remarks on the president’s cognitive capacity in his report, didn’t recommend charges against President Biden, in part because of his ailing memory.

While Republicans have said that they want the tapes to verify Mr. Hur’s assertions, Democrats have argued that Republicans want to use the tapes in campaign ads to portray President Biden as a frail leader with a poor memory who’s too old to serve another term in the Oval Office.

Mr. Hur revealed in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in March that White House officials sought to soften his report’s characterizations of President Biden’s ailing memory.

More Details

President Biden on May 16 asserted executive privilege over the interview tapes, with the White House counsel’s office notifying House Republicans of the move just hours before they were expected to recommend holding Mr. Garland in contempt for refusing to hand them over.

Mr. Garland and White House Counsel Ed Siskel defended the executive privilege assertion as necessary because it could affect future investigations. In a May 15 letter to the president, Mr. Garland said that the “committee’s needs are plainly insufficient to outweigh the deleterious effects that the production of the recordings would have on the integrity and effectiveness of similar law enforcement investigations in the future.”

President Biden’s counsel accused House Republicans of wanting the tapes to craft political attack ads.

“The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal—to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” Ed Siskel, President Biden’s counsel, wrote to Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in a May 16 letter. “Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate.”

Still, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Mr. Comer, and the House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Mr. Jordan, both voted on May 16 to hold Mr. Garland in contempt of Congress despite President Biden’s executive privilege intervention.

In their court filing, Heritage Foundation attorneys argued that the fact that the House committees voted to recommend holding Mr. Garland in contempt “adds to the compelling and already extraordinary interest in the disclosure of the audio recording.”

The contempt measure would still need to pass the House before a referral is made to the DOJ, and it remains unclear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would bring a resolution to the floor.

Mr. Johnson has been critical of efforts to block the release of the tapes.

“President Biden is apparently afraid for the citizens of this country and everyone to hear those tapes,” he said at a press conference.

END

“Are You Staring Me Down?”: Judge Merchan Becomes An Oddity In His Own Courtroom

TUESDAY, MAY 21, 2024 – 09:00 AM

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

Below is my column in the New York Post on the meltdown of Michael Cohen on the stand in the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump.  In a trial careening out of control, Judge Juan Merchan seemed to be furiously working to just get the matter to the jury as fast as possible. Judge Merchan seems in open denial of the legal farce playing out in his courtroom. He is only the latest person pulled into the vortex of the swirling corruption around Michael Cohen.

Here is the column:

The completion of the testimony of Michael Cohen left the prosecution of Donald Trump, like its star witness, in tatters.

In the final day of cross-examination, Cohen admitted to committing larceny in stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his client.

Even more notably, he admitted to the larceny on the stand — after the statute of limitations had passed. There will be no dead felony zapped back into life against Cohen, as it was for Trump.

Cohen clearly has found a home for his unique skill as a convicted, disbarred serial perjurer. 

It was not the first time that prosecutors looked the other way as Cohen admitted to major criminal conduct: In a prior hearing, Cohen admitted under oath that he lied in a previous case where he pleaded guilty to lying.

If that is a bit confusing, it was just another day in the life of Michael Cohen, who appears only willing to tell the truth if he has no other alternative.

The result is truly otherworldly. You have a disbarred lawyer not only casually discussing lies and uncharged crimes, but prosecutors who proceeded to get him to remind the jury that he is not facing any further criminal charges.

If any one of those jurors had stolen tens of thousands of dollars, they would be given a fast trip to the hoosegow.

Yet Cohen then matter-of-factly said he plans to run for Congress due to his “name recognition” — the ultimate proof that it does not matter whether you are famous or infamous, so long as they spell your name right.

As a legislator, Cohen would have the unique ability to say he will not be corrupted by Congress — because he came to Congress corrupted.

While most members wait to take office to commit felonies, Rep. Cohen would show up with a self-affirming criminal record.

He could then take one of the few oaths that he has not previously violated as the Honorable Rep. Michael Cohen.

At the end of the day, Cohen is the ultimate shining object for prosecutors to use as a distraction from the glaring omissions in their case.

Prior witnesses testified that Trump’s payments to Cohen were  designated as “legal expenses” not by Trump but by his accounting staff.

Moreover, Cohen admitted that he worked for Trump for years in his murky capacity as a fixer. References to payments as a retainer were approved by Allen Weisselberg, a retired executive with the Trump Organization.

The “legal expense” label was a natural characterization for a lawyer who was paid monthly and was on-call as Trump’s personal counsel.

In any other district, this case would never have been allowed in trial. It certainly now should be facing a directed verdict by the court.

Indeed, with any other defendant, a New York jury would be giving a Bronx cheer in derision.

Even CNN hosts and experts have admitted that this case would never have been brought against another defendant or in another district.

That is what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is counting on.

The biggest problem facing the defense is not the evidence, but the judge: Judge Juan Merchan seems to be channeling George Patton’s warning, “May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won’t.”

Merchan has not given any indication that he is seriously considering a directed verdict, which he should clearly grant before this goes to the jury.

Merchan’s rulings have largely favored the prosecution, including some rulings that left some of us mystified.

Judge Merchan continues to allow the jury to hear references to campaign-finance violations that do not exist.

After gutting any use of a legal expert to testify on the absence of any such violations, the judge allowed the jury to hear Michael Cohen state that the payments to Stormy Daniels were clearly campaign violations.

All that Merchan would offer is a weak instruction telling jurors not to take such statements as proof of a violation.

The alleged campaign-finance violations allowed Cohen to try to implicate Trump. However, it is doubtful that Trump could have been convicted on such a charge in any other venue.

It is precisely what the Justice Department tried and failed to do with John Edwards, a Democratic candidate.

After that unmitigated failure, the Justice Department dropped this theory of hush money as a campaign contribution.

Indeed, after reviewing the Trump payments, not only did the Justice Department decline any charges but the Federal Election Commission did not even seek a civil fine.

On Monday, Judge Merchan’s orders became even more inexplicable when Cohen’s former attorney Robert Costello took the stand.

Merchan immediately started to sustain a flurry of prosecutors’ objections as Costello basically accused Cohen of multiple acts of perjury.

At one point, Costello — one of the most experienced lawyers in New York and a former prosecutor — exclaimed that one of the judge’s rulings was “ridiculous.”

The judge chastised Costello and even challenged him:

“Are you staring me down?”

In fact, it was hard not to stare.

What is happening in the courtroom of Judge Juan Merchan is anything but ordinary.

END

KING REPORT

The King Report May 20, 2024 Issue 7246

Independent View of the News

Trump, GOP Reps and others have the Fed in their crosshairs.  For 40 years, the Fed remedied economic and financial problems by pumping an increasing amount of credit and reserves, sometimes with novel facilities.  The Fed’s preferred tool to save the economy, big banks, Wall Street, etc. is to inflate assets.   The bursting of the 40-year Grand Supercycle Bull Market in bonds ended the inflate assets or die scheme for the Fed.  While the Fed and US deficit spending generated an ever-increasing wealth and income gap, those not enriched by the asset inflation still enjoyed comfortable lifestyles.  The Biden Inflation ended that.  Now, the populace is suffering from and angry about general inflation.    If the Fed screws up and inflation increases, there will be severe consequences for the Fed, and rightly so.  Political pressure will be severe, and politicians will name a scapegoat, which is likely to be the Fed.  Past decades of Fed sins will be re-adjudicated, specifically the massive bailout of The Street in 2008-2009 and the Fed and its private equity allies’ roles in inflating housing costs.   Powell has clearly demonstrated that he is dying to cut rates to keep Trump away from the White House.  He is loath to acknowledge that CPI bottomed in June 2023 because Jay would have to hike rates and/or reduce reserves.  This would doom Biden and Powell.  The alternative is to allow inflation to run hot, which will inflame the populace and foment civil unrest and a huge political problem.  Checkmate!   Some ‘name’ strategists are proffering the notion that the Fed should cut rates to tame inflation.  This appears to be sophistry to get the Fed to inflate assets.  This linear thinking believes that cutting interest income will slow the economy and inflation.  They ignore the fact that stocks and copper are at all-time highs while precious metals are zooming higher on the prospects of rate cuts.   Mr. Bond is debunking their rate-cut belief.  TLT, the 20+ years US Treasury ETF hit its all-time high of 172.25 on 8/7/2020.  It closed on Friday at 91.39.  Its most recent high was 100.57 on 12/29/2023.   Too many bond kings do not understand the ramifications of a 40-year Grand Supercycle Bull Market for bonds or the consequences of its demise.  Something, something about confusing brains and a 40-year Grand Supercycle Bull Market.   For decades the Fed could cut rates and bonds would soar.  Big brokers and big hedge funds, operating at 10 to 20 leverage on bond positions, benefited when their financing costs fell.  They could warehouse more bonds.  This was the basis for Greenspan’s widely heralded ‘carry trade’ from the early ‘90s.   But the inflation genie is out of the bottle now.  Mr. Bond is deeply concerned about inflating commodities and stocks as well as the mushrooming US debt.  Rate cuts could harm notes and bonds.   @KobeissiLetter: Supercore inflation CPI jumped AGAIN in April to 4.9%, the highest in 12 months. Core services less housing inflation is a key metric followed by the Fed, also known as Supercore inflation. Last month’s surge has been largely due to a 22.6% spike in auto insurance, contributing 2.3% to the jump in Supercore. Supercore CPI has been now above the Fed’s 2% target for over three years. Yet another sign that key inflation metrics are back on the rise.  The fight against inflation is far from over.  https://x.com/KobeissiLetter/status/1791865347617730684   @RealEJAntoni: Health insurance costs are way above where they were 8 years ago but, according to the bean counters at BLS, the price is almost exactly the same as this time in ’16 – absolutely incredible how bad this component of CPI is at capturing the cost to American families: https://t.co/nIPmKMKWnl   @Mayhem4Markets: The median mortgage payment in the US just hit a record high of $2,894/month. https://x.com/Mayhem4Markets/status/1791947247917178975   As we have harped for decades, US CPI is constructed to NOT show inflation, so the Fed can paper over the US Congress’s wanton spending and help Wall Street finance stuff.   Fed Chair Powell tests positive for COVID-19, working from home https://t.co/G297EagNAY   Precious metals and gasoline soared on Friday.  Silver jumped as much as 6.1%; copper rallied 4.1%; physical gold rallied as much $42.40; WTI rallied as much as 1.2% gasoline jumped as much as 1.6%.   ESMs traded in a megaphone formation, oscillating between gains and losses, from the Nikkei opening until they broke lower near 14:10 ET.  ESMs eventually hit a daily low of 5305.75 at 14:21 ET.  A blatant manipulation to rig May expiration took ESMs to a daily high of 5328.75 at 15:59 ET.  Where’s the SEC?   Positive aspects of previous session The DJIA and the S&P 500 Index rallied   Negative aspects of previous session Money is moving back to precious and industrial metals plus gasoline. The DJTA declined, again, and is diverging sharply with the DJIA.  Dow Theory anyone? Nasdaq and the Ny Fang+ Index declined modestly. USMs were -19/32 at the NYSE close.   Ambiguous aspects of previous session Will stocks now retreat and retrench?   First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up   Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5297.44 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5305.45; 5283.59   NIH official finally admits taxpayers funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan— after years of denials https://trib.al/JmBV6nT   Ex-CDC Director Says It’s High Time to Admit ‘Significant Side Effects’ of COVID-19 Vaccines “Those of us that tried to suggest there may be significant side effects from vaccines … we kind of got canceled because no one wanted to talk about the potential that there was a problem from the vaccines, because they were afraid that that would cause people not to want to get vaccinated,” Dr. Redfield said… https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/ex-cdc-director-says-its-high-time-admit-significant-side-effects-covid-19-vaccines   @ImtiazMadmood: Israel has found 70 tunnels in Rafah so far, 50 of which cross the border into Egypt. That’s what Egypt was hiding. These tunnels were used to smuggle arms and ammunition to Gaza. Mystery solved. No wonder Egypt and Joe Biden were against Rafah invasion.  One can speculate that Yahya Sinwar with other Hamas militants together with some hostages are already in Egypt.   @ABC: The bodies of three Israeli hostages have been recovered, according to the IDF. The bodies of Shani Lok, Yitzhak Gelanter and Amit Buskila were recovered in an operation.  https://t.co/P4YXFjOrSc   @BarakRavid: The IDF announced it has retrieved the body of another hostage from Gaza. Ron Benjamin’s body was brought back together with the bodies of the three other hostages but it was only identified today. Benjamin was murdered by Hamas terrorists while riding his bicycle near the Gaza border on the morning of October 7… There are now 128 hostages left in Gaza   @GOPIsrael: It is now official: 40 of the hostages who were being held by Hamas in Gaza are no longer alive.  — Doron Kadosh   Sinwar in Exchange for Rafah Why is the Biden administration dangling the Hamas chief in exchange for stopping the Gaza war? Because the terror group’s survival is key to the administration’s larger project in the Middle East.     The Biden administration is making the offer because all its efforts to end Israel’s war have failed and if Rafah falls, Hamas is likely to fall, too. It seems there’s no other way to preserve a pillar of what the White House calls “regional integration”—a euphemism for the U.S.-Iran alliance system that Barack Obama has tried to impose on the Middle East for the last decade…      If Israel finishes off Hamas, the Biden administration’s efforts to complete Obama’s Middle East security architecture will collapse. From that perspective, Team Biden prefers to sacrifice Sinwar and save Obama’s most important strategic initiative, which aims to override the traditional U.S.-led order of the Middle East and give birth to a new and unholy anatomy, tying America to an anti-American terror-state that embodies Jew hatred…     Were it not for Biden’s repeated interventions, Hamas might have been destroyed months ago—and many lives on both sides might have been saved… https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/sinwar-exchange-rafah-biden-gaza   Apparently the Obamaites in the Biden Administration tried to euchre Israel on Sinwar’s location.   US focused on hunting down Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, in bid to end Gaza war – Officials say Biden administration is roughly one month behind on last known location of Hamas’s Gaza chief     Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who also advised four US presidents on national security, told MEE that the lack of clarity surrounding Sinwar’s last location was “pretty bad.” When asked about the timeframe, he said: “One month means you aren’t even close to real-time information.”… https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-focus-tracking-yahya-sinwar-bid-end-gaza-war#   But wait, there’s more.  CBS reports that Obama-Biden are trying to force an agreement on Israel, as part of a US-Saudi Arabia scheme, that would create a Palestinian state.  Obama-Biden is hastily trying to complete the agreement before Congress goes into recess to campaign for the Election of 2024 – so Trump cannot crow about his Abram Accord deal with Saudi Arabia and Israel.   U.S. and Saudi Arabia near potentially historic security deal… would forge a pathway to a Palestinian state… https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-saudi-arabia-near-potentially-historic-security-deal/?s=02   @CBSNews: Benny Gantz, a centrist member of Israel’s three-person War Cabinet, threatened on Saturday to resign from the government if it doesn’t adopt a new plan in three weeks’ time for the war in Gaza. (Some pundits aver that the Obamaites’ fingerprints are on this scheme to pressure Bibi.)   Scoop: U.S., Iran held indirect talks this week on avoiding more attacks – Axios Two top Biden administration officials held indirect talks with Iranian officials in Oman this week… McGurk and Paley arrived in Oman on Tuesday and met with Omani mediators, the sources said.  It’s unclear who represented Iran at the talks…     “The Biden administration continues to assess that Iran is not currently undertaking the key activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device,” he said… (Bullschiff!) https://www.axios.com/2024/05/17/biden-us-iran-regional-attacks   @BarakRavid: White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and briefed him and his team on his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman about the “Mega Deal” that could include normalization with Israel, the WH said…   @breeadail: Iranians are reportedly celebrating throughout the country, as news confirm the death of (Iran President) @raisi_com —known as the “Butcher of Tehran”—and at least three others in a helicopter crash this morning. What will this mean for the country? https://x.com/breeadail/status/1792304332190240900   @PeterMallouk: How an economy begins to self-implode, in one graph. (Self-employed collapse and flatline, government jobs soar since Covid.  https://x.com/PeterMallouk/status/1787455772773003268   Expect Rate Cuts, Not Recession: Fund Managers Most Bullish on Stocks in Over 2 Years The report, released Tuesday, shows optimism in the stock market at its highest level since November 2021 buoyed by expectations that inflation will decrease, and short-term interest rates will get cut… https://finance.yahoo.com/news/expect-rate-cuts-not-recession-172248758.html   Today – The usual suspects will play for the Monday Rally.  Plus, Nvidia reports results on Wednesday, so the usual suspects will pour into NVDA and Fangs.  Barring news, the odds are high that a short-term top appears on or after Nvidia’s results.   NQMs are +31.50; ESMs are +7.50; USMs are +6/32; and Gold is -+17.20 at 21:45 ET.     Fed Speakers: Atlanta Fed Pres Bostic 8:45 ET, Fed Gov Barr 9 ET   S&P Index 50-day MA: 5157; 100-day MA: 5037; 150-day MA: 4847; 200-day MA: 4738 DJIA 50-day MA: 38,842; 100-day MA: 38,543; 150-day MA: 37,357, 200-day MA: 36,611 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)   S&P 500 Index (5303.27) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4619.92 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 5018.14 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5194.95 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5308.29 triggers a buy signal   Joe Biden is carrying debt of up to $815,000, financial records show, as it’s revealed he and First Lady Jill also failed to net royalties from three of their book titles due to lackluster sales https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13426227/joe-biden-debts-book-sales-financial-records.html   So, the guy that garnered a record 81 million votes for president cannot generate enough interest in his books to qualify for royalties!?!?!    Biden mocked for apparent small showing of supporters in Dem city (Atlanta): ‘Nobody cared’ https://trib.al/y63WZIs   @RNCResearch: BIDEN (confused): “My administration’s taken the most significant action, notwithstanding the Supreme Court tried to stop me, to provide student debt relief. Most supreme ever!” https://t.co/BwOfjVbLhM   USA Today: Biden’s poll numbers are awful. America, brace for a Trump victory in November. The hard reality is that the Southern and Western swing states won by the president in 2020 are drifting further into the former president’s column. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/05/17/trump-wins-biden-swing-state-polls/73683544007/   Dem Rep. Dean Phillips: It Would Be in The Best Interest Of Democrats to Forego The Convention, It’s Looking Like 1968 (Plus Joe cannot handle the load or the scrutiny.) https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/05/15/dem_rep_dean_phillips_it_would_be_in_the_best_interest_of_democrats_to_forgo_the_convention_its_looking_like_1968.html   Politico: The criticism that DONALD TRUMP got rolled by President JOE BIDEN in the first round of the debate about debates might have struck a nerve…     The expectations game … Trump also returned to another golden oldie last night: proposing a drug test for his debate opponent. He used this tactic in 2016 against Clinton. The gist is that if his opponent looks good at a debate, it’s only the result of illegal substances.     “I don’t want him coming in like the State of the Union,” Trump said. “He was high as a kite. I said, ‘Is that Joe up there, that beautiful room? And by the end of the evening, he’s like” — Trump made a guttural sound — “He was exhausted, right? No, we’re going to demand a drug test.”   RON KLAIN, who runs the Biden debate camp, did not respond to a question about whether any illegal substances are used as part of Klain’s debate prep..   Donald Trump accuses Joe Biden of being ‘higher than a kite’ (for SOTU speech) as he demands drug test before debates  https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/world-news/donald-trump-accuses-joe-biden-32840521   Legal Boomerang? Biden attempt to hide tapes to collide with precedent from past Democratic probes – President Biden’s assertion of executive privilege could face legal obstacles established by his own party’s pursuit of Trump records… https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/legal-boomerang-joe-bidens-attempt-shield-tapes-could-face-precedents   Biden Faces Pro-Palestinian Silent Protest at Morehouse Graduation – BBG     Morehouse College speech takes place amid a season of protest     Black men’s support for Biden may not be as strong as in 2020   Biden Claps as Morehouse Valedictorian Calls For Gaza Cease-Fire in Commencement Speech As Biden addressed graduates, their friends, families and educators, some students turned their backs toward him, and at least one held up a Palestinian flag, according to Axios… https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-claps-morehouse-college-valedictorian-192054231.html   Biden tells black graduates Republicans ‘don’t see you in the future of America’ in fiery speech slamming right-wing ‘extremists’ https://t.co/UjWX8xpPv2   Biden reaches out to Morehouse grads on Gaza to muted applause https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-speaks-morehouse-grads-season-100442385.html   Top moments from Biden’s Morehouse commencement address Racial accusation – He said students there have to “be 10 times better than anybody else just to get a fair shot” and that Republicans are not accepting of Black people. (The “Unity POTUS” goes divisive again!) Biden demands a cease-fire in Gaza Biden revives old, misleading Georgia elections claim (can’t provide water to waiting voters) Some students turned their backs on Biden (Joe panders further for little of nothing!) https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-moments-bidens-morehouse-commencement-address?intcmp=tw_pols   @libsoftiktok: Joe Biden inspires Black graduates at Morehouse College by telling them that they’re victims and America hates them.  https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1792231594801201289   @RNCResearch: Biden — pandering in Atlanta: “I got more Morehouse men (o) in the White House telling me what to do than I know what to do! You all think I’m kidding, don’t you?” https://t.co/XTWlDxJDTO     The Big Guy got confused at the Morehouse graduation and didn’t know what to do or where to go. https://t.co/k8JjpgY4JB   Biden bails on the rest of the ceremony after he finishes his incoherent pandering at Morehouse College https://t.co/3m8xXh3qVL   Biden’s pandering tour took him to an NAACP dinner in Detroit on Sunday evening.  The Big Guy issued the most despicable and disgraceful comments that a POTUS has spewed in decades.   Biden conflated lies, race-baiting, and condescension in a transparent attempt to incite hatred and resentment.  This is the first step in Dems’ long-time Messianic Politics scheme.    @RNCResearch: BIDEN: “I never imagined in the 2024 there’d be folks waiting to ban books in America! What in God’s name is that about? Not only that, they’re trying to erase black history! Literally!”  None of that is true — literally! https://t.co/Zebkr6X4s1     BIDEN (pandering): “I got involved in civil rights when I was 15!” There is absolutely no evidence Biden was ever involved in the civil rights movement as a kid. https://t.co/vr37p7kIop   @SteveGuest: A cognitively declining Joe Biden says he was VP during the COVID pandemic: “When I was vice president, things were kinda bad during the pandemic...” https://t.co/M2rVdkJx00   @RNCResearch: Biden said he “never thought” there’d be a “national effort” to restrict sexually explicit content from elementary schoolers https://t.co/qOOY6I8iEP   Jewish doctors launch group to combat antisemitism in medicine: ‘It’s Nazi Germany all over again’ https://t.co/aCojKBXt9G   How the secret room hidden behind this bookcase reveals the fear gripping America’s wealthiest homeowners – It comes as the rich and famous hide from dangerous criminals in New York City https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13393041/NYC-wealthy-build-panic-rooms-crime-rises.html   @JoeBiden: All Donald Trump can see from Park Avenue is Wall Street. He thinks the economy is doing well if the Dow Jones is doing well. Believe it or not, Mr. President, most Americans don’t live off the stock market.  9:00 PM · Oct 22, 2020   @BidenHQ: Fox: The Dow just hit 40,000 for the first time ever in history. Markets are way up.  5/16/24   Chicago mom left waiting hours for help after 911 call for home invasion: ‘We have no units to send you’  https://nypost.com/2024/05/18/us-news/chicago-mom-left-waiting-hours-for-help-after-two-masked-bandits-break-into-her-home/?s=02

GREG HUNTER  I

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