GOLD PRICE CLOSED DOWN $31.30 TO $2495.70 * ALL TIME HIGH CLOSING

SILVER PRICE DOWN $.42 TO $28.75

Gold ACCESS CLOSED $2502..60

Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $28.86

Friday is OTC/London LBMA options expiry which is much bigger than comex.

Bitcoin morning price:$59,574 DOWN 11 DOLLARS.

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $59,220 DOWN 385 DOLLARS

Platinum price closing  DOWN $16.95 TO $928.50

Palladium price; DOWN $17.15 TO $966.75

END

*CANADIAN GOLD: $3373/50 DOWN 28.88 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 3,431.95 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//AUG 16 2024)

*BRITISH GOLD: 1,905.43 DOWN 8.26 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///1937.75 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) AUGUST 16/2024

*EURO GOLD: 2,2693.93 DOWN 10.00 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2.276.65 EUROS PER OZ//AUGUST 29 //.2024)

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EXCHANGE: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: AUGUST 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,501.000000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 08/29/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 08/30/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

---

624 H BOFA SECURITIES 24
737 C ADVANTAGE 24

---

TOTAL: 24 24
MONTH TO DATE: 22,377

this completes August 2237700 oz or 69.602 tonnes

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: SEPTEMBER 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,525.700000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 08/29/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 09/03/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

---

118 C MACQUARIE FUT 303
132 C SG AMERICAS 52
190 H BMO CAPITAL 222

DLV615-T CME CLEARING
BUSINESS DATE: 08/29/2024 DAILY DELIVERY NOTICES RUN DATE: 08/29/2024
PRODUCT GROUP: METALS RUN TIME: 20:43:15
323 C HSBC 288
363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 1640
435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 946
555 C BNP PARIBAS SEC 10
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 1042
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 15 96
661 C JP MORGAN 497
661 H JP MORGAN 53
686 C STONEX FINANCIA 3
690 C ABN AMRO 3
726 C PLUS500US FINAN 1
737 C ADVANTAGE 80
905 C ADM 35

---

TOTAL: 2,643 2,643
MONTH TO DATE: 2,643

JPMorgan stopped 3/2643

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR SEPT/2024. CONTRACT: 2643 NOTICES FOR 264300 OZ  or  8.2208 TONNES

total notices so far: 264300 contracts for 264,300  Oz (8.2208 tonnes)

FOR  SEPT:

SILVER NOTICES: 5 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 25,000

OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 1035 for 5,175,000 oz

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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 $31.30 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL  (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD/ HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//

/ /INVENTORY RESTS AT 857.27 TONNES

INVENTORY RESTS AT 857.27 TONNES

SLV/

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $0.42 AT THE SLV

NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:

INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.

CLOSING INVENTORY: 464.693 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A MEGA MEGA GIGANTIC SIZED 3203 CONTRACTS TO 134,412 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS MEGA HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR STRONG  GAIN OF $0.37 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX ON THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE LOST ZERO LONGS WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE. WE HAD A HUGE LOSS OF 2778 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE HAD AGAIN A HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS AS WELL AS MONTH END SPREADERS DURING THURSDAY’S TRADING//. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE SHORT COVERING BY OUR SPECS WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE.  WE HAD ANOTHER  GOOD 425 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY ANOTHER GOOD 337 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST 2514 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE THE GAIN IN PRICE. ALL OF THE LOSS IN OI WAS DUE TO OUR TWO SPREADER LIQUIDATIONS.

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 OR RAID AS WHAT HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES LAST MONTH AND AGAIN YESTERDAY. THE ACCUMULATED T.A.S. IS BEING USED TO MANIPULATE PRICES AT THE COMEX NOW EVERY DAY..

CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE.  THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS:  1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, MID MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON THURSDAY NIGHT: 337 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 NOW SEEMS THAT THE OCC HAS ORDERED THE BANKS TO REDUCE ITS NEW LEVEL OF 1/2 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES AND THUS THE REASON FOR CONSTANT RAIDS BUT TO NO AVAIL. IT ALSO LOOKS LIKE THE FED (GOV’T) IS BEHIND EVERY DAY TRADING.

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 $0.37) AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING ZERO SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS DESPITE A STRONG LOSS OF 2514 TOTAL OI CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES , ALL OF THE LOSS WAS DUE TO T.A.S AND MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION.

WE HAD A GOOD 425 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 22.765 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE)

//NEW STANDING FOR SILVER//SEPT IS THUS 22.765 MILLION OZ

WE HAD:

/ MEGA HUGE SIZED COMEX OI LOSS //GOOD SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI)  GOOD SIZED NUMBER OF  T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 337 CONTRACTS)/

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

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 22 DAYS, total 19,948 contracts:   OR 99.740 MILLION OZ  (906 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  94.365 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 BE A WHOPPER OF ISSUANCE OF EFPS//3RDHIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR A MONTH)

MAY: 135.995 MILLION OZ  //WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

JUNE 110.575 MILLION OZ ( WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH ISSUANCE)

JULY: 108.870 MILLION OZ (WILL BE A STRONG ISSUANCE MONTH/ A TOUCH OVER 100 MILLION OZ/)

AUGUST; 99.740 MILLION OZ//THIS MONTH WILL PROBABLY BE STRONG FOR ISSUANCE BUT LESS THAN JULY.

RESULT: WE HAD A MEGA HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF  3203 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//THURSDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A GOOD EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 337 ISSUED FOR SEPT AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH  EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON  AS FORWARDS.  WE HAVE A GOOD INITIAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR AUGUST OF  22.765 MILLION  OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED

//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR SEPT 22.765 MILLION OZ 

WE HAVE A MEGA HUGE LOSS OF 2778  OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE THE GAIN IN PRICE…..THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A GOOD SIZED 337 CONTRACTS,//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE THURSDAY COMEX TRADING//// MASSIVE ATTEMPTED SHORT COVERING FROM OUR SPEC SHORTS WITH THE STRONG GAIN IN PRICE YESTERDAY/ AND ZERO LIQUIDATION OF LONGS. ALSO SOME OF OUR LONGS EXERCISED THEIR RIGHT AND TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL SILVER.

THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE THURSDAY NIGHT   (337) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE//AND FOR SURE TODAY., .

WE HAD 3830 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 19.150 MILLION OZ

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

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED 3400 OI CONTRACTS  TO 525,188 AND CLOSER TO 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 A MASSIVE 10,251 CONTRACTS//

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED INCREASE  IN COMEX OI (3400 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED DESPITE OUR GAIN OF $23.60  IN PRICE/THURSDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A HUGE INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR SEPT AT 12.885 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE

NEW STANDING BEGINS AT  12.885 TONNES

/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR  $23.60 GAIN IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN OF 5221 OI CONTRACTS (16.239 PAPER TONNES) ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES, WITH MANY LONGS, REMAINING AT THE END OF THE DAY, TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL GOLD VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE, MUCH TO THE ANGER AND HORROR EXHIBITED BY OUR MAJOR BANKER, THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 1821 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 525,188

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 5221 CONTRACTS  WITH 3400 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR SIZED 1821 EFP OI CONTRACTS WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 5221 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A SMALLISH 689 CONTRACTS,

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (1821 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI OF 3400 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 5221 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 SEPT AT 12.885 TONNES 

//NEW STANDING BEGINS AT: /SEPT 12.885 TONNES. 

 / 3) CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AND MONTH END SPREADER CONTRACT LIQUIDATION WITH ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED,

  4) VERY STRONG SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAIN 5)  FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///SMALL T.A.S.  ISSUANCE: 689 CONTRACTS

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

AUGUST

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 88,345 CONTRACTS OF 8,834,500 OZ OR 274.79 TONNES IN 22 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 4015 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 22 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  274.79 TONNES

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

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  269.13 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 7.74% 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/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD

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; 316.606 TONNES (WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH// 3RD HIGHEST RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE )// NOTICE THE HUGE INCREASES IN EX FOR PHYSICAL THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. THESE CONTRACTS ARE CIRCLED BACK FROM LONDON WHEREBY METAL IS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX.

JUNE 175.11 tonnes HEADING FOR A WEAKER MONTH AND MUCH LESS THAN THE THREE PREVIOUS MONTHS

JULY: 351. 65 TONNES (3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL AND THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED POST BASEL III) 

AUGUST: 274.79 TONNES//THIS MONTH WILL NO DOUBT BE A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EFP’S BUT MUCH LESS THAN LAST 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 AUGUST. 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 (AUG), 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 MEGA HUGE SIZED  3203 CONTRACTS OI  TO 134,412 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 425 CONTRACTS

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

SEPT 425  and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 425 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 3203 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 425 E.FP. ISSUED

WE OBTAIN A MEGA HUGE SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 2778 CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTALS 12.570 MILLION OZ OCCURRED DESPITE OUR $0.37 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//

FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 19.11 PTS OR 0.68% //Hang Seng CLOSED UP 202.75 PTS OR 1/14% // Nikkei CLOSED UP 285/22 OR .74%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.64%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7,0902 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.0800/ Oil UP TO 76.05 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 78.86 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN

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

A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE

3  CHINA
OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

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

7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A FAIR SIZED  3400 CONTRACTS TO 525,188 WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $23.60 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE LOST A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF FINAL SPREADER/T.A.S. CONTRACTS AS SHORTS TRIED TO,  THROUGHOUT THE SESSION, COVER WHAT THEY COULD AT MUCH HIGHER PRICES. THE FED IS THE MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 148 TONNES+ OF GOLD OWING TO THE B.I.S. THE FED NEEDS TO COVER AS THEY ARE VERY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO GOLD PRICES ONCE THE BRICS BEGIN THEIR INITIATIVE AND ABANDON THE US DOLLAR. THIS IS SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN LATE SEPT 2024.

OUR LONDONERS ALSO BOUGHT NEW MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF LONGS AT THESE HIGHER PRICES AND THIS GOLD BOUGHT WILL BE TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL ON A T + 1 BASIS. BECAUSE GOLD IS BASEL III COMPLIANT, GOLD MUST BE DELIVERED IN A VERY TIMELY ONE DAY. CENTRAL BANKS AROUND THE WORLD, BEING REPRESENTED BY OUR LONDONERS, ARE THE REAL PURCHASERS OF THIS GOLD.

WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ON THURSDAY’S  LOSS IN PRICE WITH ZERO LONGS WERE CLIPPED (AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW) BUT WE DID HAVE MAJOR SHORT COVERING. THE PROBLEM FOR THOSE PROVIDING THE SHORT PAPER IS THE SHOCK TO THEM ON RECEIVING NOTICE THAT THE LONGS WANT THE PHYSICAL GOLD AS THEY TENDER FOR THAT SHINY YELLOW METAL. THE HIGH LIQUIDATION OF THE SPREADERS AND T.A.S IS SURELY DISTORTING COMEX OPEN INTEREST.

EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

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

THAT IS A FAIR SIZED 1821 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: :  OCT/DEC 1821 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1821  CONTRACTS. THESE EFP;S CIRCLE AROUND LONDON ON A 13 DAY BASIS AND ARE NOW USED BY GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER BEING FORCED ONTO COMEX BANKS. THE GOLD DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 5221 CONTRACTS IN THAT 1821 LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR GAIN OF 3400 COMEX  CONTRACTS..AND THIS HUGE GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $23.60/THURSDAY COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AS MENTIONED ABOVE. THE RAID ON WEDNESDAY WAS ORCHESTRATED BY THE FRBNY AS WE NOW ENTER OPTIONS EXPIRY FOR THE OTC/LONDON LBMA BETS ENDING THIS MORNING. DESPITE THE FED’S HUGE SHORT PREDICAMENT THEY STILL HAVE TIME AND ENERGY TO RAID OUR PRECIOUS METALS. SUCH CROOKS! THE RAID ACCOMPLISHED NOTHING BUT GRIEF TO OUR CENTRAL BANKER, THE FRBNY, AS OTHER CENTRAL BANKS TOOK THE FED’S LARGESS OF SUPPLY TO OBTAIN CONSIDERABLE PHYSICAL GOLD.

AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT A SMALL  SIZED 689 CONTRACTS. ALMOST ALL OF THE TRADING AND SUPPLY OF CONTRACTS  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 (AND SPREADERS LATE IN THE MONTH). THE USE OF T.A.S. IS OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO OUR CROOKS IN LAST WEEK’S TRADING//RAIDS AS WELL AS THIS WEEK AND ESPECIALLY ON LAST THURSDAY.S HUGE /RAID AND LAST WEDNESDAY’S RAID.

// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING:   SEPT  (12.885 TONNES) WHICH IS HUGE FOR A NON DELIVERY MONTH.

HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 44 MONTHS OF 2021-2024:

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

2024

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 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR= 11.9325

JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022

JULY: 11.692 TONNES

AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING

SEPT. 12.885 TONNES.

THE SPECS/HFT WERE  UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY  $23.60 //// AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A HUGE GAIN IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE FINAL SPREADER LIQUIDATION. BUT CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, EXERCISED FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY. WE HAD BOTH CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AND FINAL SPREADER LIQUIDATION THURSDAY AT THE COMEX.

WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OI OF 16.239 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR SEPT (12.885 TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE

//NEW STANDING FOR SEPT TO: 12.885 TONNES.

NEW STANDING FOR SEPT: 12.885 TONNES 

ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR  STRONG GAIN IN PRICE  TO THE TUNE OF $24.60

WE HAVE REMOVED A MAMMOTH 10,251 CONTRACTS  FROM THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. THIS IS THE LARGEST ADJUSTMENT TO DATE.

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 5221 CONTRACTS OR 522,100 OZ (16.239

TONNES)

confirmed volume THURSDAY 177,111 contracts poor

//speculators have left the gold arena

END

AUGUST 30      SEPTEMBER  GOLD CONTRACT

/ /// THE SEPT 2024 GOLD CONTRACT

Gold	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz	nil
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz	97,199.270 oz Brinks 3.02 tones           .
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz	nil
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz	NIL oz
No of oz served (contracts) today	2643 notice(s) 264300 OZ 0.2364 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)	1499 contracts    149900 OZ 4.6625 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month	2643 notices 264300 oz 8.2208 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month	NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month	x

0 dealer deposits:

total dealer deposits:  nil oz

we have 0 customer deposits

total deposits NIL oz

withdrawals:1

i) Out of Brinks 97,199.270 oz (3.02 tonnes)

TOTAL WITHDRAWALS 97,199.270 oz

adjustments: 0

CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR SEPTEMBER

For the front month of SEPT. we have an oi of 4142 contracts having LOST 969 contracts.

Thus by definition, the initial amount of gold standing for delivery in this non active delivery month of September is as follows:

4143 notices x 100 oz per notice = 414,300 oz or 12.885 tones.

OCTOBER LOST 1183 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 45,676 CONTRACTS

DECEMBER, THE BIGGEST DELIVERY MONTH GAINED 5691 CONTRACTS TO 424,455.

We had 2647 contracts filed for today representing 264,700  oz  

This is a major assault on the comex for gold and this time it is physical that will be requested.

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notice issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 2643 contract(s) of which 0  notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 3 notice(s) was (were) stopped  (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account   

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for SEPT /2024. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (2643) x 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  SEPT 4142( CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today  (2643x 100 oz per contract( equals  414,200 OZ  OR 12.885 TONNES.

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the SEPTEMBER contract month:  No of notices filed so far (2643 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of SEPT  (4142 X// , OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (2643) x 100 oz which equals  414200 oz (12.885 TONNES) 

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR SEPT.: 12.885 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS  NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR. 

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COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC  5.94 TONNES

204,937.290 OZ 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: 1,770,778.600 oz 55.078 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD:  17,086,712,768 OZ  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 7,522,254.284 ( 233.97 tonnes). 

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 9,564,4458.484 OZ  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 5,751,476 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 178.89 tonnes //

END

SILVER/COMEX

AUGUST 30/2024

INITIAL

//2024// THE SEPT 2024  SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL

Silver	Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory	NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory	1,320782.180 OZ DELAWARE JPM Manfra .
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory	NIL
Deposits to the Customer Inventory	533,345.130 oz ASAHI Brinks
No of oz served today (contracts)	3830 CONTRACT(S)    (19.150 MILLION OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)	723 contracts  (3.615 million oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)	3830 Contracts  (19.150 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  2 customer deposits:

i) Into Delaware: 2909.73 oz

ii) Into Brinks 530,435.410 oz

total customer deposit 533,345.140 oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 134.834million oz/306,367 million  or 43.79%

adjustment:2

a) customer to dealer Brinks 4885.440oz

b) customer to dealer Manfra 421,392.132 oz

withdrawals: 3

i) Out of Delaware 213,079.38 oz

ii) Out of JPMorgan 501,406.200 oz

iii) Out of manfra: 606,296.600 oz

total customer withdrawals: 1,320,782.180 oz

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 76.942 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 306,367 million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR SEPTEMBER:

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF SEPT/2024 OI: 4553 CONTRACTS HAVING LOST 5043 CONTRACT(S). 

THUS BY DEFINITION, THE INITIAL AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING IN THIS VERY ACTIVE DELIVERY

MONTH OF SEPTEMBER IS AS FOLLOWS:

4553 NOTICES X 5000 OZ PER NOTICE = 22.765 MILLION OZ.

OCTOBER SAW ANOTHER GAIN OF 51 OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS AND THUS WE HAVE 1479 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR OCTOBER.

DECEMBER SAW A GAIN OF 1731 CONTRACTS UP TO 117,082.

.

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 3830 for 19.150 MILLION oz

CONFIRMED volume; ON THURSDAY 80,144 strong

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in SEPT. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 3830 x 5,000 oz = 19.150 MILLION oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of SEPT(4553) and the number of notices served upon today 3830 x (5000 oz) equals the number of ounces standing.

Thus the  standings for silver for the SEPT/2024 contract month:  3830 notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of SEPT (4553)x number of notices served upon today minus (3830)x 5000 oz of silver standing for the SEPT  contract month equates to 22.765 MILLION OZ. 

 New total standing: 22.765 million oz.

There are 76.942 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

BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE MASSIVE FRAUDS!

GLD AND SLV INVENTORY LEVELS//

GLD

AUGUST 30 WITH GOLD DOWN $31.30 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/:/ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 857.27 TONNES

AUGUST 29 WITH GOLD UP $23.50 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 856.12 TONNES

AUGUST 28 WITH GOLD DOWN $14.65 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 856.12 TONNES

AUGUST 27 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.65 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 856.12 TONNES

AUGUST 26 WITH GOLD UP $9.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR GOLD OUT OF THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 856.12 TONNES

AUGUST 23 WITH GOLD UP $29.70 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MONSTER WITHDRAWAL OF 8.88 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR GOLD OUT OF THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 857.85 TONNES

AUGUST 22 WITH GOLD DOWN $28.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 9.43 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR GOLD INTO THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 866.70 TONNES

AUGUST 21 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.80 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MONSTER WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 857.27 TONNES

AUGUST 20 WITH GOLD UP $9.40 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 4.03 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR INTO THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 859.00 TONNES

AUGUST 19 WITH GOLD UP $3.05 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 7.19 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR INTO THE GLD./ //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 854.97 TONNES

AUGUST 16 WITH GOLD UP $44.65 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: //////INVENTORY RESTS AT 847.78 TONNES

AUGUST 15 WITH GOLD UP $13,70 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.02 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//////INVENTORY RESTS AT 847.78 TONNES

AUGUST 14 WITH GOLD DOWN $26.20 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.03 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//////INVENTORY RESTS AT 845.76 TONNES

AUGUST 13 WITH GOLD UP $3.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.88 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//////INVENTORY RESTS AT 849.79 TONNES

AUGUST 12 WITH GOLD UP $30.00 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ////INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.91 TONNES

AUGUST 9 WITH GOLD UP $10.50 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.91 TONNES

AUGUST 8 WITH GOLD UP $31.50 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.02 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 844.04 TONNES

AUGUST 7 WITH GOLD UP $1.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.16 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 848.06 TONNES

AUGUST 6 WITH GOLD DOWN $13.10 ON THE DAY; SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD” A WITHDRAWAL OF .57 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD////INVENTORY RESTS AT 844.90 TONNES

AUGUST 2 WITH GOLD DOWN $9.95 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.58 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 845.47 TONNES

AUGUST 1 WITH GOLD UP $9.15 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.88 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//INVENTORY RESTS AT 846.05 TONNES

JULY 30 WITH GOLD UP $26.55 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// A /////INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.17 TONNES

JULY 29 WITH GOLD UP $27.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.98 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/////INVENTORY RESTS AT 843.17 TONNES

JULY 26 WITH GOLD UP $27.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// A DEPOSIT OF 3.45 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/////INVENTORY RESTS AT 845.19 TONNES

JULY 25 WITH GOLD DOWN $60.45 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.74 TONNES

JULY 24 WITH GOLD UP $12.75 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD//A DEPOSIT OF 1,73 TOONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 841.74 TONNES

JULY 23 WITH GOLD UP $12.75 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 840.01 TONNES

JULY 22 WITH GOLD DOWN $4.40 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 840.01 TONNES

JULY 19 WITH GOLD DOWN $56.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD;:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 840.01 TONNES

JULY 18 WITH GOLD DOWN $2.20 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD;: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.02 TONNES

JULY 17 WITH GOLD DOWN $6.60 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD;: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 5.49 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 842.02 TONNES

JULY 16 WITH GOLD UP $38.60 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD;: A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 836.53 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 857.27 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL

SILVER

AUGUST30//WITH SILVER DOWN $.42//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: .///./// /INVENTORY AT 464.693 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 29//WITH SILVER UP $.37//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.558 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 464.693 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 28//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.76//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A DEPOSIT OF 2.301 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.281 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 27//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.03//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.921 MILLION OZ OZ OUT OF THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 462.959 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 26//WITH SILVER UP $0.23//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 45,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.880 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 23//WITH SILVER UP $0.72//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.506 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.925 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 22//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.44//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.943 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 468.344 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 21//WITH SILVER $0.03//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A DEPOSIT OF 1..552 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 468.344 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 20//WITH SILVER $0.24//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A DEPOSIT OF 1.369 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 466.792 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 19//WITH SILVER $0.39//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.506 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV. .///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.423 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 16//WITH SILVER $0.49//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: .///./// /INVENTORY AT 466.929 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 15//WITH SILVER $1.14//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 1.186 MILLION ON INTO THE SLV.///./// /INVENTORY AT 466.929 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 14//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.40//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.743 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 13//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.19//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.743 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 12//WITH SILVER UP $.37//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.743 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 9//WITH SILVER DOWN $.03//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:///./// /INVENTORY AT 465.743 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 8//WITH SILVER UP $.70//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 3.241 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////./// /INVENTORY AT 462.502 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 7//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.27//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 4.552 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////./// /INVENTORY AT 462.502 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 6//WITH SILVER UP $0.05//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY:///./// /INVENTORY AT 458.851 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 2//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.01//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.243 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OUT OF THE SLV ///./// /INVENTORY AT 460.961 MILLION OZ

AUGUST 1//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.46//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 1.608 MILLION OZ OF SILVER VAPOUR INTO THE SLV///./// /INVENTORY AT 462.204 MILLION OZ

JULY 31//WITH SILVER UP $0.45//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: /./// /INVENTORY REMAINS AT 460.596 MILLION OZ

JULY 30//WITH SILVER UP $0.61//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.456 MILLION OZ OF SILVER VAPOUR INTO THE SLV/./// /INVENTORY RISES AT 460.596 MILLION OZ

JULY 29//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.07//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 4.382 MILLION OZ OF SILVER VAPOUR INTO THE SLV/./// /INVENTORY RISES AT 461.052 MILLION OZ

JULY 26//WITH SILVER DOWN $0.07//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY./// /INVENTORY REMAINS AT 456.670 MILLION OZ

JULY 25 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.37//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.124 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OUT OF THE SLV./// /INVENTORY FALLS TO 456.670 MILLION OZ

JULY 24 WITH SILVER UP 3 CENTS//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 15.880 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV./// /INVENTORY RISES AT 439.780 MILLION OZ

JULY 23 WITH SILVER UP 3 CENTS//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 15.880 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV./// /INVENTORY RISES AT 439.780 MILLION OZ

JULY 22 WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY: A DEPOSIT OF 3.920 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV./// /INVENTORY RISES AT 439.780 MILLION OZ

JULY 19 WITH SILVER DOWN 94 CENTS//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY/// /INVENTORY REMAINS AT 435.854 MILLION OZ

JULY 18 WITH SILVER DOWN 13 CENTS//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY” A DEPOSIT OF 2.374 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/// /INVENTORY RISES TO 435.854 MILLION OZ

JULY 17. WITH SILVER DOWN 75 CENTS//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY// /INVENTORY REMAINS AT 433.480 MILLION OZ.

JULY 16. WITH SILVER UP 30 CENTS//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY// /INVENTORY REMAINS AT 433.480 MILLION OZ.

CLOSING INVENTORY 464.693 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

2. ALASDAIR MACLEOD/JIM RICKARDS/PAM AND RUSS MARTENS/ JAMES RICKARDS/ VON GREYERZ//GOLD AND SILVER COMMENTARY//BILL HOLTER:

A Look At Income And Taxation Relative To Gold

FRIDAY, AUG 30, 2024 – 10:55 AM

Authored by Clint Siegner via Money Metals,

Gold and silver prices moved higher for a second week. The odds of a September rate cut by the Federal Reserve were bolstered by dovish comments from Chairman Jerome Powell, during the central bank’s annual meeting in Jackson Hole.

The odds of a rate cut also got a boost when the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced a massive downward revision of more than 800,000 jobs last week. Turns out the unbelievable jobs reports the BLS has been publishing month after month were just what skeptics thought they were… nonsense.

Stimulus addicted markets also got a boost from the terrible jobs news.

The S&P 500 closed back near all-time highs. The Federal Reserve note dollar, on the other hand, got clobbered,and bond yields fell.

It would be hard to overstate just how profound a couple of changes made to U.S. law in 1913 have been for American society.

That year brought both the ratification of the 16th Amendment to the constitution and a federal income tax as well as passage of the Federal Reserve Act which established the privately held central bank which has managed our money and markets with such disastrous effect.

Consider what has happened in income and taxation against the yardstick of gold.

Gold was valued at a fixed exchange rate of $20.67/oz in 1916. The average annual income was roughly $600. A single household earner was able to produce that income.

In other words, a typical husband earned 30 ounces of gold per year.

The income tax, which was sold to voters as a very modest tax on wealthy households, applied only to incomes over $3,000.00 at a rate of 1%. People who earned more than the equivalent of 150 ounces of gold per year paid 1% of income in excess of that amount.

Had incomes kept up with gold, those 30 ozs per year would translate to roughly $75,000 in today’s dollars with gold at $2,500/oz. Unfortunately, they have not kept up. The average salary today is roughly $60,000 or 24 ounces, i.e. 20% below what it was all those decades ago.

It now takes two earners in most households to produce the gold equivalent income that a single earner achieved in 1913. The picture gets dramatically worse after accounting for what has happened to income taxes.

If the IRS had indexed the original threshold income tax to gold, only those earners above $360,000/year would be paying income tax. The sad reality is that anyone with even a of adjusted gross income must pay, and the income tax rates begin at 10%. Those considered wealthy as defined in 1913 pay at least 35%.

And don’t forget that 43 U.S. states have their own income taxes also, compounding the burden.

Today’s system is far from what was sold to Americans. The past century has been an economic disaster for households.

If early 20th century Americans had some way of knowing the consequences for their descendants, they would never have supported the Federal Reserve or the 16th Amendment.

3.CHRIS POWELL AND DAILY GOLD/SILVER DISPATCHES

Stefan Gleason: Holding gold yields better returns than mining for it

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2024-08-29 13:39 Section: Daily Dispatches

By Stefan Gleason
Money Metals Exchange, Eagle, Idaho
Thursday, August 29, 2024

With spot gold prices at record highs, investors might expect that shares of precious metals mining companies are also trading at record highs.

By and large, that is not the case.

Mining stocks, as represented by the HUI Gold BUGS Index, are still under water by more than 40% compared to their 2011 highs. And that’s despite being pulled up significantly this year by soaring gold and silver prices.

There are a variety of reasons why most mining shares have lagged the metals. First and foremost, mining is a tough business that is fraught with risks. Even when the value of a mine’s end product goes up, the costs of getting it out of the ground can go up even faster.

During periods when market prices for metals fall below a mining company’s all-in sustaining costs, it may choose to sell at a loss. That’s because it would be impractical for a mine to lay off all its workers and let its expensive equipment sit idle while waiting for market conditions to improve.

But there is another option available to precious metals mining companies during times when their product is being undervalued.

If the CEOs of companies that have “gold” (or “silver”) in their name truly believe in their product — which is money itself — then why don’t they hold some of it on their books as a reserve asset instead of immediately exchanging it for dollars regardless of prevailing price? …

… For the remainder of the commentary:

https://www.moneymetals.com/news/2024/08/29/holding-gold-mining-003421

END

Ghana to launch ‘monster mines’ to boost gold production

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2024-08-29 19:35 Section: Daily Dispatches

By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila
Reuters
Thursday, August 29, 2024

ACCRA, Ghana — Africa’s top gold producer, Ghana, will commission its first large-scale greenfield mine in more than a decade in November, with expected annual production of more than 350,000 ounces, the head of its mining sector regulator told Reuters.

The Cardinal Namdini mine is owned by Cardinal Resources, a unit of Shandong Gold, which received a licence for the facility in 2020.

Ghana, the world’s No. 2 two cocoa producer, has seen gold exploration slump over the past decade, limiting new projects and lowering output from big miners. …

… For the remainder of the report:

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/ghana-launch-monster-mines-boost-gold-production-2024-08-29/

4. OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES/LIVE FROM THE VAULT: TODAY ANDREW MAGUIRE WITH BILL HOLTER

end

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

end

6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS

END

ASIA TRADING/FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 19.11 PTS OR 0.68% //Hang Seng CLOSED UP 202.75 PTS OR 1/14% // Nikkei CLOSED UP 285/22 OR .74%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.64%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7,0902 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.0800/ Oil UP TO 76.05 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 78.86 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN

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

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED UP TO 7.0902

OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.0800

SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 19.11 PTS OR 0.68 %

HANG SENG CLOSED UP 202.75 PTS OR 1/14%

2. Nikkei closed UP 285.22 PTS OR .74%

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL GREEN

USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO  101.12 EURO FALLS TO 1.1098 DOWN 26 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +0.893 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 145.27…… JAPANESE YEN NOW RISING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE COLLAPSING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AFTER DISASTROUS POLICY ISSUED BY UEDA

3c Nikkei now  ABOVE 17,000

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

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

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

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

3g Oil UP for WTI and UP FOR BRENT this morning

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +2.2570/Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.631 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.085%

3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.290

3j Gold at $2519.50//Silver at: 29.49  1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $34.40//AFTER 28.40

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 1 AND 35/ 100  roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 91.25

3m oil into the 76 dollar handle for WTI and  78 handle for Brent/

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

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 145.27/  10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 0.893 % STILL ON CENTRAL BANK (JAPAN) INTERVENTION//YEN CARRY TRADE IS NOW UNWINDING.

30 SNB (Swiss National Bank) still intervening again in the markets driving down the FRANC. It is not working: USA/SF this 0.8488 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF:   0.9406 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.

USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.855 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.136 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  3.902 UP 1 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 34.07…

10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.019 DOWN 3 PTS

10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.138 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

2a New York OPENING REPORT

Futures Rise Ahead Of Fed’s Favorite Inflation Print

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 07:40 AM

US equity futures were set for a stronger open to close the week after two days of wobbles, with tech stocks outperforming, paring back some of the NVIDIA-induced losses as confidence mounted that the Fed and ECB will cut interest rates in the coming months, after inflation in Europe continued to sink and with today’s core PCE expect to confirm a taming of US inflation. As of 730am, S&P futures rose 0.5% while Nasdaq 100 Index added 0.7% as traders waited to see if the Fed’s favorite inflation indicator, core PCE, confirms the picture of moderating prices. Europe’s main stock index rallied to a record high as euro-area inflation eased to a three-year low, cementing the case for the ECB to cut rates in September. The dollar was flat and 10Y yields were unchanged around 3.86% as treasuries were poised for their longest monthly winning streak in three years. Gold traded near record highs, oil was flat and bitcoin was also unchanged. Today’s macro calendar has Personal Income, Spending and core PCE as well as the UMich consumer sentiment on deck.

In premarket trading, Nvidia edged higher after tumbling 6% the previous day, while other tech names, including Marvell Technology and Dell were boosted by forecast-beating results. Here are some of the other notable premarket movers:

• Abercrombie & Fitch shares rise 2.3% after the apparel retailer was upgraded to buy from neutral at Citi, which sees several reasons as to why the investment story for the stock remains attractive.
• Autodesk shares are up 3.7% after the maker of engineering software reported second-quarter results that beat expectations. The firm raised its full-year forecast for both revenue and adjusted EPS, impressing analysts after coming under pressure from an activist investor.
• Dell Technologies shares rose 5.9% after the computer hardware company reported second-quarter results that beat expectations, with particular strength in orders for AI servers.
• Elastic shares are down 27% after the application-software company cut its full-year revenue forecast. Analysts say execution problems around sales changes made at the start of the quarter had a negative impact on the software company’s results.
• Intel shares rise 2.6% after Bloomberg News reported that the company is discussing various scenarios, including a split of its product-design and manufacturing businesses, as well as which factory projects might potentially be scrapped.
• Intuitive Machines shares soar 19% after the company said it received a $116.9 million contract from NASA to deliver six science and technology payloads, including one European Space Agency-led drill suite to the Moon’s South Pole.
• Lululemon shares rise 4.2% after the the activewear company reported second-quarter earnings. While the firm reported a top-line miss in the second quarter and reduced its full-year guidance, Morgan Stanley sees the revised guidance as achievable, noting that investors might have assigned a floor to its valuation.
• MongoDB shares rise 15.14% after the database software company reported second-quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast. Analysts say the results suggest that growth could accelerate with an improving underlying picture.
• Ulta Beauty shares drop 8.5% after the cosmetics retailer trimmed its sales forecast following weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. Analysts flagged the impact of competition as well as the softer macroeconomic environment.

Global stocks are on track for a fourth month of gains, with most data indicating the Fed has achieved a soft-landing, by taming inflation without tipping the economy into recession. While economists expect a slight pick-up in the year-on-year PCE reading later on Friday, that’s not expected to derail prospects for a September rate cut. Bloomberg Economics sees the inflation report reviving talk of a “Goldilocks” economy that allows the Federal Reserve to start cutting rates next month.

“When rates ease, it lifts all boats,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier Asset Management in Geneva. “Inflation is looking better and economic growth remains decent and that’s the environment we are in.”

No matter today’s PCE print, markets expect the Fed to cut rates next month by as much as 50 basis points (but more likely 25bps after yesterday’s hot GDP and initial claims reports), and by another half-point by year-end. Ielpo said that for traders watching for monetary-policy clues, the US monthly payrolls report due next week would be even more significant than today’s PCE reading. “Inflation is a done deal so markets are more likely to pay attention to what’s happening to employment and growth,” he added, just don’t forget to keep an eye on geopolitics and the price of oil which has resumed its latest ascent and may yet throw a wrench in the Fed’s easing plans.

Expectations for central bank easing saw investors pump $20.7 billion into global bond funds this past week, with Treasuries recording the largest inflow since last October, Bank of America said, citing EPFR Global data. Treasuries were on course for their longest monthly winning streak in three years. But the wagers have weighed on the dollar, which edged lower against a basket of currencies and was set for its worst monthly performance this year.

European stocks rise for a fourth session, taking the Stoxx 600 to another record intraday high as euro-area headline and core inflation slowed as expected in August. Real estate and consumer product shares are leading gains while technology is a drag. Here are some of the biggest movers on Friday:

• Chipmaker-machinery stocks decline in Europe after a Bloomberg report saying Intel is considering splitting the design and manufacturing businesses. BE Semi falls 2.5%, ASML -2.1%, ASMI -1.3%
• Ambu shares fall as much as 14%, the most since November 2022, after the Danish health-care equipment maker reported 3Q numbers that disappointed in its key endoscopy division. Analysts also said a correction was due after the shares gained 14% in July and August.
• BlueNord falls as much 6.1%, the most since July 8, after the Norwegian fossil-fuel exploration firm said operator TotalEnergies intends to implement measures that are expected to not allow maximum technical capacity at the Tyra II field to be reached until 4Q.

Earlier in the session, Asian equities cruised to a six-week high. Hang Seng Tech Index jumps more than 3% and CSI 300 climbs almost 2%. Japanese, South Korean and Australian indexes all firmly in the green.

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls 0.1% but is poised to snap its four-week declining streak ahead of US core PCE data, with it up 0.7% on week. Tthe euro is little changed around $1.1080. USD/JPY rose above 145 after dipping back under following a post-GDP spike on Thursday. GBP/USD hovers above mid 1.31-1.32. AUD/USD consolidates around 0.68. NZD/USD grinds higher but remains below Thursday’s peak of 0.6299.

In rates, treasuries are mixed with the yield curve flatter as US trading gets under way, led by similar price action in UK and German bonds after August euro-area headline and core inflation slowed as expected.  Long-end Treasury yields are richer by ~1bp curve with front-end and belly little changed, flattening 5s30s spread; the 10Y TSY yield traded 1bp lower to 3.85%. Long-end German yields richer by more than 2bps on the CPI data and held higher on the day with German 10-year yields down 2bps at 2.26%. UK’s by nearly 5bp, narrowing their curve spreads. Curve-flattening has support from anticipation of buying tied to month-end index rebalancing, which will extend the duration of the Bloomberg Treasury Index by an estimated 0.10 year as securities auctioned during the month are added to it. Also, traders anticipate flows tied to corporate bond offerings next week, a historically heavy issuance period

As noted earlier, treasuries are poised for their longest monthly winning streak in three years as traders look past US data on personal income and expenditure due Friday and prepare for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates. US government bonds returned 1.5% in August through Thursday, set for a fourth month of gains that would be the longest run since July 2021, according to the Bloomberg US Treasury Total Return Index. The gauge has been rallying since the end of April, extending this year’s gain to almost 3%, as investors have grown more confident in the case for lower US borrowing costs.

In commodity markets, oil was steady with WTI trading near $76 a barrel, though the main crude benchmark is set for its first back-to-back monthly loss this year on fears that slowing economic growth, especially in China, will impact demand. Iron ore futures pulled back slightly after jumping by about 10% in 10 days to breach $100 a ton.  Spot gold climbs $4 to around $2,525/oz.

Bitcoin is holding steady just above USD 59.5k, whilst Ethereum slips slightly. Elon Musk and Tesla win dismissal of lawsuit claiming they rigged Dogecoin.

The US economic data calendar includes July personal income and spending with PCE price indexes (8:30am), August MNI Chicago PMI (9:45am, several minutes earlier to subscribers) and August final University of Michigan sentiment (10am). Fed speaker slate empty for the session. Meanwhile in the Euro Area, there’s the flash CPI release for August and the unemployment rate from July. We’ll also get German unemployment for August, UK mortgage approvals for July, and Canada’s GDP for Q2. From central banks, we’ll hear from the ECB’s Schnabel, Rehn, Kazaks, Simkus and Muller.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures up 0.4% to 5,633.25
• STOXX Europe 600 up 0.3% to 526.32
• MXAP up 0.8% to 186.82
• MXAPJ up 0.6% to 577.85
• Nikkei up 0.7% to 38,647.75
• Topix up 0.7% to 2,712.63
• Hang Seng Index up 1.1% to 17,989.07
• Shanghai Composite up 0.7% to 2,842.21
• Sensex up 0.4% to 82,426.55
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.6% to 8,091.85
• Kospi up 0.5% to 2,674.31
• German 10Y yield down 1.6 bps at 2.26%
• Euro up 0.2% to $1.1094
• Brent Futures up 0.6% to $80.42/bbl
• Gold spot up 0.2% to $2,526.17
• US Dollar Index little changed at 101.26

Top Overnight News

• China could allow homeowners to refinance as much as $5.4T worth of mortgages months before the process typically occurs in January, and potentially with different banks. BBG
• Offices in China’s biggest cities are emptier than they were during stringent Covid-19 lockdowns in what analysts say is a sign of how the country’s economic slowdown has hurt business confidence. FT
• Russian companies are having an increasingly difficult time transacting w/partners in China as Chinese banks become worried about running afoul of int’l restrictions and being subject to sanctions. RTRS
• Eurozone CPI is inline w/the Street for Aug, including +2.2% for headline (down from +2.6% in Jul) and +2.8% core (down from +2.9% in Aug). BBG  
• Israel’s defense minister said the country should expand its war goals to ensure that the ~60K people displaced from the north by Hezbollah rocket attacks can return home. FT   
• Harris is up 1 point in a head-to-head contest vs. Trump and up 2 points if all candidates are included. WSJ
• Intel is working with advisors to explore options, including potentially splitting off its manufacturing operations. BBG
• Apple and Nvidia are in talks to invest in OpenAI, a move that would strengthen their ties to a partner integral to their efforts in the artificial-intelligence race. WSJ
• Recent US inflation readings are “still far” from the Fed’s 2% goal, Raphael Bostic said. He may take some confidence from July’s core PCE deflator, due later. Bloomberg Economics said it probably increased at an annualized pace consistent with target, while the savings rate may have slid further. BBG

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks traded higher across the board despite a lack of fresh catalysts following a mixed lead from Wall Street, and ahead of US PCE and the US long weekend. ASX 200 remained in a narrow range (8,045.10-8,085.00) but was propped up by its Industrials, Energy, and Gold names. Nikkei 225 traded firmer following a choppy start after August Tokyo core CPI surprisingly ticked higher, whilst the Japanese unemployment rate surprisingly rose. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened with modest gains and eventually soared despite a lack of newsflow, whilst Bloomberg suggested the CSI 300 rallied amid heavy volume. Sentiment in China could’ve also seen tailwinds from the PBoC yesterday suggesting it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments and will strengthen financial support to the real economy, whilst the mood was further lifted amid Bloomberg reports China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.

Top Asian News

• China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages, according to Bloomberg.
• Japanese government official on industrial output, said if output falls short of plans, August production could fall M/M. September is expected to fall M/M on lower production of semiconductor production equipment and electronic component devices, although the assessment is revised upward, need to be vigilant about the outlook. The official added that the impact of Typhoon Shanshan was not taken into account in August data.
• PBoC injected CNY 30.1bln via 7-day Reverse Repo at a maintained rate of 1.70%.
• China’s major state-owned banks seen buying USD in onshore foreign exchange market to prevent CNH from appreciating too fast, via Reuters citing sources.
• China’s FX Regulator to launch foreign currency non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) on 2nd September within the interbank market.
• PBoC purchased net CNY 100bln of gov’t bonds from dealers during August, via Bloomberg.

European bourses, Stoxx 600 (+0.3%) began the session with a mixed picture, and traded tentatively on either side of the unchanged mark. As the morning progressed, indices gradually picked up and edged towards session highs. European sectors hold a strong positive bias; Real Estate is found at the top of the pile, alongside Basic Resources. Tech is found at the foot of the pile, paring back the prior day’s advances and accounting for the post-earning losses in NVIDIA. US Equity Futures (ES +0.4%, NQ +0.6%, RTY +0.5%) are entirely in the green, with the NQ outperforming, paring back some of the NVIDIA-induced losses. The docket ahead includes the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, PCE (July).

Top European News

• ECB’s Schnabel: “while risks to growth have increased, a soft landing still looks more likely than a recession”; “Incoming data broadly confirm the baseline scenario”. “In particular, the closer policy rates get to the upper band of estimates of the neutral rate of interest – that is, the less certain we are how restrictive our policy is –, the more cautious we should be to avoid that policy itself becomes a factor slowing down disinflation.”; “In other words, the pace of policy easing cannot be mechanical. It needs to rest on data and analysis.”; “Wage pass-through may be stronger.”. In short, remarks from Schnabel are in-fitting with the data-dependent approach the ECB has been taking but with a slight hawkish skew from the ECB official, in-fitting with her general bias.
• ECB’s Kazaks says services inflation remains sticky. Open to a September discussion on policy easing.

FX

• The Dollar is broadly softer vs. peers in the run-up to US PCE metrics. DXY is currently contained within yesterday’s 100.88-101.57 range.
• EUR is steady post-EZ inflation data which was broadly in-line. However, greater concern could come via the services metric which rose to 4.2% from 4.0%. EUR/USD is contained just below the 1.11 mark and within yesterday’s 1.1055-1.1139 range.
• GBP is firmer vs. the USD but Cable is unable to reclaim the 1.32 handle with the current session high at 1.3198 and south of yesteday’s 1.3227 peak.
• JPY was a touch firmer vs. the USD following firm Tokyo inflation data overnight. In terms of price action for USD/JPY, the pair is back on a 144 handle but still some way north of yesterday’s 144.22 trough.
• AUD/USD is mildly extending on its recent uptrend which has seen the pair breach 0.68 to the upside with newsflow out of China providing support.
• USD/CNH has continued its recent move to the downside with the latest leg lower prompted by reporting from Bloomberg that China is mulling allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1124 vs exp. 7.1116 (prev. 7.1299)

Fixed Income

• USTs are flat ahead of monthly US PCE, afterwhich conditions will likely become thinner than normal on account of Monday’s US market holiday. A few fleeting ticks higher on EGB-drivers, but not sufficient to merit a range of more than a couple of ticks; additionally, yields are pivoting the unchanged mark but with an incremental flattening bias.
• Bunds were slightly firmer after French inflation metrics and climbed above 134.00 into the EZ-wide figures. Headline cooled to 2.2% Y/Y as expected, whilst Services rose to 4.2% (prev. 4%); no real reaction was seen in Bunds.
• Gilts are firmer and specifics quite light, though the UK Nationwide House Price index saw an unexpected drop for the month. Gilts at the top-end of the session’s range but shy of the 99.00 handle.
• China’s major state-owned banks seen buying USD in onshore foreign exchange market to prevent CNH from appreciating too fast, via Reuters citing sources.

Commodities

• Crude benchmarks began with a modest upward bias and have continued to inch higher throughout the European morning despite a lack of fresh drivers.
• Thus far, WTI & Brent have been as high as USD 76.53/bbl and USD 80.60/bbl respectively, just shy of Thursday’s USD 76.87bbl and USD 80.78/bbl best.
• Spot gold is essentially unchanged, in-fitting with the tentative performance of FX into monthly US PCE; in a relatively thin USD 2512-2523/oz band, which is towards the upper-end of yesterday’s parameters.
• LME Copper is firmer but around familar levels after a choppy and shortened week; upside being driven by the modestly constructive risk tone and USD pressure.
• Liberian Environmental Protection Agency said China Union’s iron ore Bong Mines is shut down for several environmental violations, according to Reuters.

Geopolitics

• “Lebanese sources: Israeli raids on different areas in southern Lebanon”, according to Sky News Arabiya.
• Missile attack launched on US military base in eastern Syria, according to IRNA.
• There is now a planned call at the theatre commander level between the US and China, according to Fox’s Heinrich. “It comes after China bristled at US Indo-Pacific Command’s Adm. Paparo suggesting this week US forces could escort Philippine ships through the South China Sea, following a months-long series of violent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships”.
• Israeli military says local Hamas commander in West Bank City of Jenin killed by Israeli police.

US Event Calendar

• 08:30: July Personal Income, est. 0.2%, prior 0.2%
  • July Personal Spending, est. 0.5%, prior 0.3%
  • July Real Personal Spending, est. 0.3%, prior 0.2%
• 08:30: July Core PCE Price Index MoM, est. 0.2%, prior 0.2%
  • July PCE Price Index YoY, est. 2.5%, prior 2.5%
  • July PCE Price Index MoM, est. 0.2%, prior 0.1%
  • July Core PCE Price Index YoY, est. 2.7%, prior 2.6%
• 09:45: Aug. MNI Chicago PMI, est. 44.8, prior 45.3
• 10:00: Aug. U. of Mich. Sentiment, est. 68.1, prior 67.8
  • U. of Mich. Current Conditions, est. 61.2, prior 60.9
  • U. of Mich. Expectations, est. 72.4, prior 72.1
  • U. of Mich. 1 Yr Inflation, est. 2.9%, prior 2.9%
  • U. of Mich. 5-10 Yr Inflation, est. 3.0%, prior 3.0%

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

Risk assets put in a decent performance over the last 24 hours, as solid US data outweighed investors’ disappointment about Nvidia’s latest results. It’s true that the S&P 500 was unchanged on the day, but the index was weighed down by the Magnificent 7 (-0.72%) and the equal-weighted S&P 500 (+0.37%) moved up to a new record, as did the Dow Jones (+0.59%) and Germany’s DAX (+0.69%). So in most places it was a pretty decent performance, and overnight the Hang Seng (+1.76%) is also on track to close at a 7-week high. Other risk assets were on the stronger side, with EUR HY spreads at their tightest level in over a month, whilst oil prices moved higher as well. The main exception were sovereign bonds however, which mostly lost ground as investors dialled back the chance of a 50bp rate cut from the Fed next month.

This positivity was driven by several US data releases that collectively pointed away from a recession, leading to a fresh bout of optimism about the outlook. The key headline came from the Q2 GDP numbers. They were actually the second estimates rather than the original release, but they painted an even more positive story than the first estimate released in late July. For instance, headline GDP was revised up to show an annualised growth rate of +3.0% (vs. +2.8% previous estimate). On a year-on-year basis, that leaves real GDP up +3.1%, so these are very good numbers that really don’t look like a recession. On top of that, the GDP release included downward revisions to PCE inflation in Q2, which is the measure the Fed officially targets. Headline PCE was revised down a tenth to an annualised +2.5% rate, whilst core PCE was also revised down a tenth to +2.8%. So a bit closer to the Fed’s 2% target than we previously thought. Today we’ll get the first look at PCE inflation for the month of July, so one to keep an eye on.

On top of the GDP release, yesterday also brought the weekly initial jobless claims, which were basically in line with expectations at 231k over the week ending August 24 (vs. 232k expected). That wasn’t a shock, but it helped to bring down the 4-week moving average as well, which now stands at a two-month low of 231.5k. So again, that’s another release pointing away from a recession, with the weekly claims looking in better shape than they did at the end of July.

With all that data in hand, the general perception was that the economy was doing better than thought, and that a larger 50bp cut from the Fed was now less likely. Indeed, futures lowered the chance of a 50bp move in September from 36% to 32%. And the number of cuts priced in by December also came down from 103bps to 100bps. In turn, that led to a selloff across US Treasuries, with the 2yr yield up +2.9bps to 3.90%, whilst the 10yr yield was up +2.6bps to 3.86%.

For equities, the stronger data initially pushed the S&P 500 nearly 1% higher intra-day, but those gains were pared back and the index ended the day unchanged. Even so, the overall performance still leaned on the positive side, with more than two thirds of the S&P 500 higher on the day, and the equal-weighted version of the index (+0.37%) actually hitting a new record. That came amid gains for more cyclical sectors including financials (+0.85%) and industrials (+0.70%), while energy stocks (+1.26%) led the way as oil prices rallied, with Brent crude up +1.64% to $79.94/bbl. The small cap Russell 2000 (+0.66%) also posted a solid gain. On the downside, the NASDAQ (-0.23%) and the Magnificent 7 (-0.72%) retreated, mostly due to a -6.38% loss for Nvidia after its results the previous evening. To be fair, 5 of the Magnificent 7 were higher on the day, but it is notable how the weakness among the Mag-7 group (which is now -11.7% beneath its peak) has been holding back the overall S&P 500 (-1.3% beneath its peak) from new all-time highs.

In Europe, the main story came on the inflation side, as the initial flash CPI releases came in softer than expected. In particular, Germany’s CPI fell to +2.0% on the EU-harmonised measure, which was the lowest since March 2021, and also beneath the +2.2% reading expected. Similarly in Spain, harmonised CPI was down to a one-year low of +2.4% (vs. +2.5% expected). So that added to investors’ confidence that the ECB were set to keep cutting rates over the coming months, with rising expectations that they might move to a more regular pace of cuts where they happen at every meeting, rather than every other meeting. In light of those releases, European sovereign bonds outperformed US Treasuries. Front-end yields declined, with those on 2yr German yields down -2.9bps, while 10yr yields saw only modest increases for bunds (+1.3bps), OATs (+0.5bps) and BTPs (+0.8bps).

It was a very strong day for European equities as well, with the STOXX 600 (+0.76%) closing just -0.03% beneath its all-time high from May. Tech stocks led the gains, and the advance was seen across the continent, with the DAX (+0.69%) closing at an all-time high, and other indices including the FTSE 100 (+0.43%) and the CAC 40 (+0.84%) posting gains.

Overnight in Asia, the positive sentiment among investors has continued, with gains across all the major indices. In Japan, both the Nikkei (+0.48%) and the TOPIX (+0.45%) are on track for their highest closing levels so far in August, moving past the turmoil from earlier in the month. Elsewhere, the Hang Seng (+1.76%), the CSI 300 (+1.72%) and the Shanghai Comp (+1.34%) have posted very strong gains, and the KOSPI is also up +0.59%. In the meantime, US equity futures are also pointing higher, with those on the S&P 500 up +0.16% this morning.

On the data side, we’ve had several releases from Japan overnight, including the Tokyo CPI reading for August. That showed CPI was stronger than expected at +2.6% year-on-year (vs. +2.3% expected), whilst the core measures were also above consensus. That said, the activity data in Japan was a bit weaker than expected, with retail sales only up +0.2% on the month in July (vs. +0.4% expected), whilst industrial production was only up +2.8% (vs. +3.5% expected). Moreover, the jobless rate ticked up to 2.7% in July (vs. 2.5% expected), which is the highest since March 2023.

To the day ahead now, and data releases from the US include the PCE inflation data for July, along with the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index for August. Meanwhile in the Euro Area, there’s the flash CPI release for August and the unemployment rate from July. We’ll also get German unemployment for August, UK mortgage approvals for July, and Canada’s GDP for Q2. From central banks, we’ll hear from the ECB’s Schnabel, Rehn, Kazaks, Simkus and Muller.

2B) European report

Equities gain whilst DXY & USTs hold flat ahead of US PCE; EZ-HICP cooled as expected, but Services rises – Newsquawk US Market Open

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 05:43 AM

• Equities are trading on the front foot; NVDA +1.6% pre-market
• DXY is flat, EUR unfazed by a slight pick up in Services inflation
• Bonds are incrementally firmer, Bunds climbed above 134.00 into the EZ-inflation metrics, but were unmoved by the release
• Crude holds a modest upward bias, XAU around flat while base metals gain
• Looking ahead, US PCE

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EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses, Stoxx 600 (+0.3%) began the session with a mixed picture, and traded tentatively on either side of the unchanged mark. As the morning progressed, indices gradually picked up and edged towards session highs.
• European sectors hold a strong positive bias; Real Estate is found at the top of the pile, alongside Basic Resources. Tech is found at the foot of the pile, paring back the prior day’s advances and accounting for the post-earning losses in NVIDIA.
• US Equity Futures (ES +0.4%, NQ +0.6%, RTY +0.5%) are entirely in the green, with the NQ outperforming, paring back some of the NVIDIA-induced losses. The docket ahead includes the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, PCE (July).
• Click for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow
• Click for the additional news
• Click for a detailed summary

FX

• The Dollar is broadly softer vs. peers in the run-up to US PCE metrics. DXY is currently contained within yesterday’s 100.88-101.57 range.
• EUR is steady post-EZ inflation data which was broadly in-line. However, greater concern could come via the services metric which rose to 4.2% from 4.0%. EUR/USD is contained just below the 1.11 mark and within yesterday’s 1.1055-1.1139 range.
• GBP is firmer vs. the USD but Cable is unable to reclaim the 1.32 handle with the current session high at 1.3198 and south of yesteday’s 1.3227 peak.
• JPY was a touch firmer vs. the USD following firm Tokyo inflation data overnight. In terms of price action for USD/JPY, the pair is back on a 144 handle but still some way north of yesterday’s 144.22 trough.
• AUD/USD is mildly extending on its recent uptrend which has seen the pair breach 0.68 to the upside with newsflow out of China providing support.
• USD/CNH has continued its recent move to the downside with the latest leg lower prompted by reporting from Bloomberg that China is mulling allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1124 vs exp. 7.1116 (prev. 7.1299)
• Click for a detailed summary
• Click for NY OpEx Details

FIXED INCOME

• USTs are flat ahead of monthly US PCE, afterwhich conditions will likely become thinner than normal on account of Monday’s US market holiday. A few fleeting ticks higher on EGB-drivers, but not sufficient to merit a range of more than a couple of ticks; additionally, yields are pivoting the unchanged mark but with an incremental flattening bias.
• Bunds were slightly firmer after French inflation metrics and climbed above 134.00 into the EZ-wide figures. Headline cooled to 2.2% Y/Y as expected, whilst Services rose to 4.2% (prev. 4%); no real reaction was seen in Bunds.
• Gilts are firmer and specifics quite light, though the UK Nationwide House Price index saw an unexpected drop for the month. Gilts at the top-end of the session’s range but shy of the 99.00 handle.
• China’s major state-owned banks seen buying USD in onshore foreign exchange market to prevent CNH from appreciating too fast, via Reuters citing sources.
• Click for a detailed summary

COMMODITIES

• Crude benchmarks began with a modest upward bias and have continued to inch higher throughout the European morning despite a lack of fresh drivers.
• Thus far, WTI & Brent have been as high as USD 76.53/bbl and USD 80.60/bbl respectively, just shy of Thursday’s USD 76.87bbl and USD 80.78/bbl best.
• Spot gold is essentially unchanged, in-fitting with the tentative performance of FX into monthly US PCE; in a relatively thin USD 2512-2523/oz band, which is towards the upper-end of yesterday’s parameters.
• LME Copper is firmer but around familar levels after a choppy and shortened week; upside being driven by the modestly constructive risk tone and USD pressure.
• Liberian Environmental Protection Agency said China Union’s iron ore Bong Mines is shut down for several environmental violations, according to Reuters.
• Click for a detailed summary

NOTABLE DATA RECAP

• EU HICP Flash YY (Aug) 2.2% vs. Exp. 2.2% (Prev. 2.6%); HICP-X F, E, A, T Flash MM (Aug) 0.3% (Prev. -0.20%); X F,E,A&T Flash YY (Aug) 2.8% vs. Exp. 2.8% (Prev. 2.9%); HICP-X F&E Flash YY (Aug) 2.8% vs. Exp. 2.7% (Prev. 2.8%)
• EZ Flash HICP Services (Aug) 4.2% Y/Y (prev. 4.0%)
• EU Unemployment Rate (Jul) 6.4% vs. Exp. 6.5% (Prev. 6.5%)
• French CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY (Aug) 2.2% vs. Exp. 2.1% (Prev. 2.7%); MM (Aug) 0.6% vs. Exp. 0.5% (Prev. 0.2%)
• French CPI Prelim YY NSA (Aug) 1.9% vs. Exp. 1.8% (Prev. 2.3%); MM NSA (Aug) 0.6% vs. Exp. 0.5% (Prev. 0.2%)
• German Unemployment Chg SA (Aug) 2.0k vs. Exp. 16.0k (Prev. 18.0k); Unemployment Rate SA (Aug) 6.0% vs. Exp. 6.0% (Prev. 6.0%)
• German Import Prices MM (Jul) -0.4% (Prev. 0.4%); YY 0.9% (Prev. 0.7%)
• UK Nationwide house price MM (Aug) -0.2% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 0.3%); YY 2.4% vs. Exp. 2.9% (Prev. 2.1%)
• UK BOE Consumer Credit (Jul) 1.215B GB vs. Exp. 1.3B GB (Prev. 1.162B GB, Rev. 0.869B GB); Mortgage Lending (Jul) 2.786B GB vs. Exp. 2.45B GB (Prev. 2.653B GB, Rev. 2.625B GB); Mortgage Approvals (Jul) 61.985k vs. Exp. 60.5k (Prev. 59.976k, Rev. 60.611k); M4 Money Supply (Jul) 0.3% (Prev. 0.5%)
• Swiss KOF Indicator (Aug) 101.6 vs. Exp. 100.6 (Prev. 101.0, Rev. 100.6)Italian Consumer Price Prelim YY (Aug) 1.1% vs. Exp. 1.2% (Prev. 1.3%); CPI (EU Norm) Prelim MM (Aug) -0.1% (Prev. -0.9%); Consumer Price Prelim MM (Aug) 0.2% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.4%); CPI (EU Norm) Prelim YY (Aug) 1.3% vs. Exp. 1.3% (Prev. 1.6%)

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

• ECB’s Schnabel: “while risks to growth have increased, a soft landing still looks more likely than a recession”; “Incoming data broadly confirm the baseline scenario“. “In particular, the closer policy rates get to the upper band of estimates of the neutral rate of interest – that is, the less certain we are how restrictive our policy is –, the more cautious we should be to avoid that policy itself becomes a factor slowing down disinflation.”; “In other words, the pace of policy easing cannot be mechanical. It needs to rest on data and analysis.”; “Wage pass-through may be stronger.”. In short, remarks from Schnabel are in-fitting with the data-dependent approach the ECB has been taking but with a slight hawkish skew from the ECB official, in-fitting with her general bias.
• ECB’s Kazaks says services inflation remains sticky. Open to a September discussion on policy easing.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• Intel (INTC) is said to mull splitting off foundry and scrapping factory projects; explores options with Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), according to Bloomberg sources. +2.3% in pre-market trade
• US Democratic Presidential Candidate Harris said prices are still too high and added she will not ban fracking as President, via CNN
• US Republican Presidential candidate Trump said he would make government or insurance companies pay for all costs associated with IVF treatments if elected, according to Reuters.

GEOPOLITICS

• “Lebanese sources: Israeli raids on different areas in southern Lebanon”, according to Sky News Arabiya.
• Missile attack launched on US military base in eastern Syria, according to IRNA.
• There is now a planned call at the theatre commander level between the US and China, according to Fox’s Heinrich. “It comes after China bristled at US Indo-Pacific Command’s Adm. Paparo suggesting this week US forces could escort Philippine ships through the South China Sea, following a months-long series of violent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships”.
• Israeli military says local Hamas commander in West Bank City of Jenin killed by Israeli police.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin is holding steady just above USD 59.5k, whilst Ethereum slips slightly.
• Elon Musk and Tesla (TSLA) win dismissal of lawsuit claiming they rigged Dogecoin (DOGE)

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks traded higher across the board despite a lack of fresh catalysts following a mixed lead from Wall Street, and ahead of US PCE and the US long weekend.
• ASX 200 remained in a narrow range (8,045.10-8,085.00) but was propped up by its Industrials, Energy, and Gold names.
• Nikkei 225 traded firmer following a choppy start after August Tokyo core CPI surprisingly ticked higher, whilst the Japanese unemployment rate surprisingly rose.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened with modest gains and eventually soared despite a lack of newsflow, whilst Bloomberg suggested the CSI 300 rallied amid heavy volume. Sentiment in China could’ve also seen tailwinds from the PBoC yesterday suggesting it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments and will strengthen financial support to the real economy, whilst the mood was further lifted amid Bloomberg reports China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages, according to Bloomberg.
• Japanese government official on industrial output, said if output falls short of plans, August production could fall M/M. September is expected to fall M/M on lower production of semiconductor production equipment and electronic component devices, although the assessment is revised upward, need to be vigilant about the outlook. The official added that the impact of Typhoon Shanshan was not taken into account in August data.
• PBoC injected CNY 30.1bln via 7-day Reverse Repo at a maintained rate of 1.70%.
• China’s major state-owned banks seen buying USD in onshore foreign exchange market to prevent CNH from appreciating too fast, via Reuters citing sources.
• China’s FX Regulator to launch foreign currency non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) on 2nd September within the interbank market.
• PBoC purchased net CNY 100bln of gov’t bonds from dealers during August, via Bloomberg.

DATA RECAP

• ANZ Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index (Aug) 92.2 (Prev. 87.9)
  • New Zealand Building Consents (Jul) 26.2% (Prev. -13.8%, Rev. -17.0%)
  • South Korean Industrial Output Growth (Jul) -3.6% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. 0.5%); marks the fastest fall since Dec 2022
  • South Korean Industrial Output YY (Jul) 5.5% vs. Exp. 7.0% (Prev. 3.8%)
  • Japanese CPI Tokyo Ex fresh food YY (Aug) 2.4% vs. Exp. 2.2% (Prev. 2.2%)
  • Japanese CPI, Overall Tokyo (Aug) 2.6% (Prev. 2.2%)
  • Japanese Unemployment Rate (Jul) 2.7% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 2.5%)
  • Japanese Jobs/Applicants Ratio(Jul) 1.24 vs. Exp. 1.23 (Prev. 1.23)
  • Japanese Retail Sales YY (Jul) 2.6% vs. Exp. 2.9% (Prev. 3.7%, Rev. 3.8%)
  • Japanese Industrial O/P Prelim MM SA (Jul) 2.8% vs. Exp. 3.3% (Prev. -4.2%)
  • Japanese IP Forecast 2 Mth Ahead (Sep) -3.3% (Prev. 0.7%)
  • Japanese IP Forecast 1 Mth Ahead (Aug) 2.2% (Prev. 6.5%)
  • Australian Retail Sales MM Final (Jul) 0.0% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.5%)
  • Australian Private Sector Credit (Jul) 0.5% (Prev. 0.6%)
  • Australian Housing Credit (Jul) 0.5% (Prev. 0.4%)

2C) ASIAN REPORT

APAC stocks firmer into US PCE, JPY incrementally outperforms – Newsquawk Europe Market Open

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 01:42 AM

• APAC stocks traded higher across the board despite a lack of fresh catalysts following a mixed lead from Wall Street, and ahead of US PCE and the US long weekend.
• DXY traded within a very narrow range, EUR and GBP were uneventful, while JPY held a firmer bias after the Tokyo CPI surprisingly ticked higher.
• Fixed income futures diverged slightly overnight, with USTs flat ahead of PCE, Bunds faded gains pre-EZ CPI, and JGBs softer after Tokyo CPI.
• European equity futures are indicative of a softer open, with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.2% after cash closed +1.1% on Thursday.
• Looking ahead, highlights include German Trade, Retail Sales, French CPI, Spanish Retail Sales, EZ CPI, Italian CPI, US PCE, and ECB’s Schnabel.

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US TRADE

EQUITIES

• US stocks closed mixed after a late-trade tech sell-off unwound earlier gains, with NVIDIA extending on losses while some of the large-cap names propping up the indices earlier (TSLA, GOOGL, MSFT) waned off highs.
• SPX flat at 5,592, NDX -0.13% at 19,325, DJIA +0.59% at 41,335, RUT +0.66% at 2,203
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• Apple (AAPL) is reportedly in talks to join the OpenAI funding round, according to WSJ citing sources. Nvidia (NVDA) has reportedly held discussions about joining the OpenAI funding round, according to Bloomberg.
• OpenAI (MSFT) said ChatGPT usage has doubled since last year, adding there are over 200mln weekly active ChatGPT users, according to Axios.
• Intel (INTC) is said to mull splitting off foundry and scrapping factory projects; explores options with Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS), according to Bloomberg sources.
• US Democratic Presidential Candidate Harris said prices are still too high and added she will not ban fracking as President, via CNN
• US Republican Presidential candidate Trump said he would make government or insurance companies pay for all costs associated with IVF treatments if elected, according to Reuters.
• Fitch affirmed US at AA+; Outlook stable

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks traded higher across the board despite a lack of fresh catalysts following a mixed lead from Wall Street, and ahead of US PCE and the US long weekend.
• ASX 200 remained in a narrow range (8,045.10-8,085.00) but was propped up by its Industrials, Energy, and Gold names.
• Nikkei 225 traded firmer following a choppy start after August Tokyo core CPI surprisingly ticked higher, whilst the Japanese unemployment rate surprisingly rose.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened with modest gains and eventually soared despite a lack of newsflow, whilst Bloomberg suggested the CSI 300 rallied amid heavy volume. Sentiment in China could’ve also seen tailwinds from the PBoC yesterday suggesting it will step up counter-cyclical adjustments and will strengthen financial support to the real economy, whilst the mood was further lifted amid Bloomberg reports China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.
• US equity futures held a mild upward bias amid light newsflow and in the run-up to the US PCE today, whilst US traders will be away on Monday on account of Labor Day.
• European equity futures are indicative of a softer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.2% after cash closed +1.1% on Thursday.

FX

• DXY traded within a very narrow range in quiet newsflow ahead of US PCE. The Dollar index resided within 101.31-41 bounds and well within yesterday’s 100.88-101.58 range.
• EUR/USD was uneventful in the run-up to EZ Flash CPI for August, although from a policy perspective, a September ECB rate cut is fully priced with a total of ~64bps of easing seen by year-end at the time of writing. EUR/USD traded in a narrow 1.1070-1.1083 range vs yesterday’s 1.1054-1.1139 parameter.
• GBP/USD saw sideways trade with little on the UK docket ahead to close the week. GBP/USD sat in a 1.3159-1.3171 range and inside yesterday’s 1.3142-1.3227 range.
• USD/JPY was slightly softer as the JPY saw incremental gains against G10 counterparts following the unexpected rise in Tokyo CPI. USD/JPY remained in a relatively narrow 144.65-145.07 parameter (vs 144.21-145.55 on Thursday).
• Antipodeans experienced a slight divergence with the Kiwi initially buoyed by data, albeit with modest gains which later faded. AUD/USD traded flat for most of the session with no reaction to the Aussie Retail Sales revision lower.
• Yuan saw modest late strength following reports that China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1124 vs exp. 7.1116 (prev. 7.1299)

FIXED INCOME

• 10-year UST futures saw horizontal trade in APAC hours after fading yesterday’s European strength on the upward US GDP revision and in-line Jobless Claims data, with traders looking ahead to PCE.
• Bund futures held a mild upward bias for most of the session ahead of EZ Flash CPI data – futures meandered just under 134.00 before encountering resistance, but the contract remained within yesterday’s 133.79-134.49 parameter.
• 10-year JGB futures were softer with weakness seen at the open in reaction to the above-forecast Tokyo CPI metrics.
• US sells USD 44bln in 7yr notes; Tail 0.9bps. High Yield: 3.770% (prev. 4.162%, six-auction average 4.386%); WI 3.761%. Tail: 0.9bps (prev. -0.4bps, six-auction avg. -0.1bps). Bid-to-Cover: 2.50x (prev. 2.64x, six-auction avg. 2.55x). Dealers: 13.72% (prev. 8.9%, six-auction avg. 13.3%). Directs: 11.19% (prev. 16.8%, six-auction avg. 17.4%). Indirects: 75.09% (prev. 74.4%, six-auction avg. 69.2%).

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures held a mild upward bias following yesterday’s gains facilitated by supply updates from Libya and Iraq, whilst updates during APAC hours were quiet.
• Spot gold was uneventful amid a steady Dollar and ahead of US PCE, with the APAC range between USD 2,514.96-2,521.58/oz (vs USD 2,503.43-2,528.55/oz on Thursday).
• Copper futures saw modest gains and within tight ranges amid a lack of newsflow and ahead of tier 1 data from the US and Eurozone, with 3M LME copper towards the upper end of a USD 9,256.50-9,308.50/t APAC range.
• Iraq’s PM stressed, in a meeting with OPEC Sec Gen, Iraq’s commitment to OPEC countries’ plans for oil output policies or what is determined within the framework of the OPEC+ agreement, according to Reuters.
• Libya’s NOC said total losses of oilfield closures in three days at 1.505mln bbls, worth around USD 120mln; the Country’s average oil output on Wednesday was at 591k BPD.
• OPEC Sec Gen concludes successful missions to Iraq and Kazakhstan; both reaffirmed their unconditional commitment to the compensation plans as agreed under the framework.
• Liberian Environmental Protection Agency said China Union’s iron ore Bong Mines is shut down for several environmental violations, according to Reuters.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin was steady overnight on either side of USD 59k.
• Elon Musk and Tesla (TSLA) win dismissal of lawsuit claiming they rigged Dogecoin (DOGE)

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• China reportedly mulls allowing refinancing on USD 5.4tln in mortgages, according to Bloomberg.
• Acer (2353 TW) reportedly plans to sharply increase shipments of computers equipped with AI features; will raise the share of copilot+ PCs among deliveries to 40% by Q3 2025, according to Nikkei.
• Japanese government official on industrial output, said if output falls short of plans, August production could fall M/M. September is expected to fall M/M on lower production of semiconductor production equipment and electronic component devices, although the assessment is revised upward, need to be vigilant about the outlook. The official added that the impact of Typhoon Shanshan was not taken into account in August data.
• PBoC injected CNY 30.1bln via 7-day Reverse Repo at a maintained rate of 1.70%.

DATA RECAP

• ANZ Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Index (Aug) 92.2 (Prev. 87.9)
• New Zealand Building Consents (Jul) 26.2% (Prev. -13.8%, Rev. -17.0%)
• South Korean Industrial Output Growth (Jul) -3.6% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. 0.5%); marks the fastest fall since Dec 2022
• South Korean Industrial Output YY (Jul) 5.5% vs. Exp. 7.0% (Prev. 3.8%)
• Japanese CPI Tokyo Ex fresh food YY (Aug) 2.4% vs. Exp. 2.2% (Prev. 2.2%)
• Japanese CPI, Overall Tokyo (Aug) 2.6% (Prev. 2.2%)
• Japanese Unemployment Rate (Jul) 2.7% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 2.5%)
• Japanese Jobs/Applicants Ratio(Jul) 1.24 vs. Exp. 1.23 (Prev. 1.23)
• Japanese Retail Sales YY (Jul) 2.6% vs. Exp. 2.9% (Prev. 3.7%, Rev. 3.8%)
• Japanese Industrial O/P Prelim MM SA (Jul) 2.8% vs. Exp. 3.3% (Prev. -4.2%)
• Japanese IP Forecast 2 Mth Ahead (Sep) -3.3% (Prev. 0.7%)
• Japanese IP Forecast 1 Mth Ahead (Aug) 2.2% (Prev. 6.5%)
• Australian Retail Sales MM Final * (Jul) 0.0% vs. Exp. 0.3% (Prev. 0.5%)
• Australian Private Sector Credit (Jul) 0.5% (Prev. 0.6%)
• Australian Housing Credit (Jul) 0.5% (Prev. 0.4%)

CENTRAL BANKS

• ECB’s Nagel said while the 2% target is in sight, we have not reached it. He noted there is a risk that a somewhat stronger economic recovery could further delay the return to target. Nagel said a timely return to price stability cannot be taken for granted, and the ECB needs to be careful, and must not lower policy rates too quickly.
• SNB’s Jordan said the mandate of the SNB is to maintain price stability, a crucial precondition for society and a good functioning country. He noted the weak Euro area is hurting demand for Swiss exports. The exchange rate makes the situation difficult for the Swiss industry, which is already dealing with weak demand in Europe, according to Reuters.

GEOPOLITICS

• “Lebanese sources: Israeli raids on different areas in southern Lebanon”, according to Sky News Arabiya.
• Missile attack launched on US military base in eastern Syria, according to IRNA.
• There is now a planned call at the theatre commander level between the US and China, according to Fox’s Heinrich. “It comes after China bristled at US Indo-Pacific Command’s Adm. Paparo suggesting this week US forces could escort Philippine ships through the South China Sea, following a months-long series of violent confrontations between Chinese and Philippine ships”.

2D JAPAN

3 CHINA

CHINA

China Shuts Down Speculation That It Has Reached Peak Emissions

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 04:15 AM

By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

China has yet to see its carbon dioxide emissions peak as it is a developing nation and has a massive population.

The message comes from the country’s National Energy Administration in response to speculation that China had achieved peak emissions before its own deadline.

“We should not forget that China is still a developing country, pursuing modernization for a huge population,” the head of law and institutional reform at the NEA, Song Wen, told media. “Great efforts are still needed to achieve the goals of peak carbon and carbon neutrality,” Song also said, as quoted by Bloomberg.

China has been at the forefront of the energy transition, accounting for most of the world’s total spending on things such as wind, solar, and EVs, and turning into the biggest producer of all three. However, this has not changed its status as one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide either.

Beijing is working to change this, however. Earlier this month media reported that the country planned to build 11 new nuclear reactors to boost the share of the zero-emission electricity source in its energy mix.

China is building more nuclear power plants than any other country in the world—just like its coal power plants—and based on those record approvals, it plans to build even more, becoming the world’s biggest nuclear generator by 2030, according to BloombergNEF.

There are 26 nuclear reactors under construction in the country, set to add over 30 GW in generation capacity to the country’s total when completed.

At the same time, Chinese authorities reduced significantly the number of approvals for new coal capacity. The total approved during the first half of the year was as much as 80% lower than the new coal capacity approved during the same period in 2023.

The question here, however, is whether the approvals are down because after last year’s push the country will have all the coal capacity it needs or because of efforts to reduce the dominance of coal in the energy mix.

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS

FRANCE

END

5/RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

ISRAEL//GAZA

Israel agrees to phased pauses to allow polio vaccination

(zerohedge)

Israel Agrees To Phased Pauses In Gaza Fighting To Allow Polio Vaccination

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 08:10 PM

It appears Israel has given into US and international pressure, including from global health organizations, to allow for a phased ‘pause’ it its military campaign in Gaza, in order to allow health workers to begin efforts to vaccinate over 600,000 of the Gaza Strip’s children.

Israel’s IDF military said it will start with a three-day pause in fighting only in central Gaza “as part of the routine humanitarian pauses that will allow the population to reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”

But then the pause will move to southern Gaza, and after that the north, according to published statements. Depending on its initial success it will move from zone to zone, but practical implementation in an intense war zone remains to be seen.

The UN and World Health Organization (WHO) have over 2,000 health workers ready to conduct a mass vaccination campaign, and the WHO has especially stepped up the pressure of late for this to happen.

The initiative is expected to go into full swing by Sunday:

An Israeli official confirmed to CNN that polio vaccinations will begin in Gaza on September 1. Each phase of the vaccination campaign is expected to take around seven hours, and during those hours, the vaccines will be able enter the area on “pause” and be distributed.

Presumably this will be aided by local Gazan health workers as well, given the huge numbers of children who will have to get vaccinated. 

Earlier this week, the Gaza Health Ministry  said that an 10-month-old infant in the central city of Deir al-Balah “who has not received any polio vaccine dose” tested positive for the virus. The baby has since reportedly been paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, which can be fatal. The ministry has since indicated that “a number of children” have presented with symptoms consistent with polio.

But given that an active war is on, and many families have already been displaced, the UN and WHO fears that many Palestinians who need it won’t get the vaccine.

“If you listen to the Palestinians on the ground, … they’re saying they’re terrified of being displaced because time and time again – it’s been documented – Israel orders the Palestinians to go to a particular location. They declare it a safe zone, and then they bomb it,” an Al Jazeera correspondent explained.

“My guess is Palestinians will be scared to even go [to] vaccinate their children,” he added.

There are reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken appealed directly to the Netanyahu government to allow for the polio pause in fighting. However, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is already pushing an expanse in the IDF’s operations in Gaza.

END

ISRAEL WEST BANK

West Bank unrest: The overlooked battle amid Gaza war – editorial

The IDF’s recent counterterrorism operations highlight the growing threat of terror cells in Palestinian areas, while the surge in Jewish violence presents a challenge for Israeli security forces.

By JPOST EDITORIALAUGUST 30, 2024 06:00

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fopinion%2Farticle-817019&unitId=2900003088&userId=0984023a-6fcf-4b29-a5e6-1be85cfd6d0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20240828_aa58502ae1cec0b423231b3c29f1de933d781cfc&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

As much as Israel’s – and the world’s – focus has been on the war in Gaza, it’s become apparent in recent months that the conflict is inseparable from what’s been taking place in the West Bank. Most of you have probably never heard of the fact that Mujahideen Brigades terrorists threw IEDs (improvised explosive devices) toward the settlement of Karmei Tzur in Gush Etzion on Wednesday. On Monday, armed Palestinian terrorists opened fire toward Israeli civilians in Mitzpe Yosef, near Nablus. These are just two of dozens of shootings, stabbing attempts, and terror acts against Israelis and IDF forces in the past week, as documented by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an American-based think-tank. 

According to Israel’s security establishment, Palestinian areas have become breeding grounds for terror cells. That’s why the IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) have been conducting a huge, complex counterterrorism operation this week, specifically around localities like Jenin and Tulkarm. The IDF called it the most extensive operation in the area in several months. 

The operation was in response to, among other acts of terror, an attempted terrorist attack in Tel Aviv on August 18, which was believed to have been planned out on Tulkarm. Post analyst Herb Keinon explained that the IDF’s operation was planned to prevent terrorist cells from entrenching themselves firmly under Israel’s nose in the West Bank, as Hamas and Hezbollah were able to do in Gaza and Lebanon before. 

According to data by FDD and the Shin Bet, 3,425 violent terrorist incidents occurred in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem during the first seven months of 2024. During August, an additional 145 terrorist incidents were reported, bringing the total to 3,570. In addition, since October 7, approximately 4,600 terrorist actions in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem accounted for 92% of all terror incidents in Israel during this period. In 2020, the lowest number of attacks was reported compared to recent years, with 1,320 incidents.

Let’s not forget that in 2023, 414 significant attacks occurred in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem, with 43 Israelis killed and 224 injured. In the first seven months of 2024, 685 significant attacks were thwarted.

Jewish terror in the West Bank

Against those numbers, while we cannot ignore the rise of Jewish terror, let’s also not go overboard; there is no comparison whatsoever.

Last week, Shin Bet director Ronen Bar criticized this phenomenon, noting that while in the past these acts of violence would be carried out with makeshift weapons and discreetly, now they were being done openly and with lethal arms. Bar added that the IDF is not trained or equipped to handle the size and scope of the expanding Jewish terror phenomenon.

One needs to look no further than the August 15 attack on the Palestinian village of Jit by 100 Jewish extremists, in which numerous homes and vehicles were burned, one Palestinian was killed, and many others attacked.

IDF Central Commander Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth referred to it on Wednesday as a very serious act of Jewish terrorism. Since the shocking attack, the Shin Bet has detained only four suspects who are currently being questioned. 

Most Jewish residents of the West Bank are peaceful and law-abiding. Can the same be said of the vast majority of Palestinians? Most aren’t directly involved in terror, but a vast majority supports it, according to the many surveys conducted in the past ten months. There is no doubt that it’s the incendiary minorities that are the problem, and it’s worthwhile to look at what’s fueling them. But they are also very different from their core. Both have external factors behind them: For Palestinian terrorism, there are several factors ranging from the influence of Hamas and Iran to socioeconomic conditions that drive people to join radical groups; for settlers, there is the influence of firebrand rhetoric by the Israeli far-right and other ideologues. 

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We should be proud of the IDF for not only cracking down on Palestinian terrorism but also fighting the extremists from the Israeli side. As a democratic country, we cannot tolerate violence of any kind. But make no mistake, the fringe of the settler movement isn’t the main problem –  it’s the thousands of Palestinian terrorists who would kill any Jew if they only had a chance.

END

ISRAEL/HAMAS

Cabinet approves IDF remaining in Philadelphi Corridor

The move was approved by a majority of eight, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant objecting and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir abstaining. 

By ANNA BARSKYAUGUST 30, 2024 06:09Updated: AUGUST 30, 2024 06:46

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fbreaking-news%2Farticle-817065&unitId=2900003088&userId=0984023a-6fcf-4b29-a5e6-1be85cfd6d0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20240828_aa58502ae1cec0b423231b3c29f1de933d781cfc&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

The Security cabinet approved the maps, determining the IDF would remain in the Philadelphi Corridor.

The move was approved by a majority of eight, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant objecting and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir abstaining. 

The maps were drawn by the IDF, and adopted by the US as part of a hostage deal proposal.

Cabinet ministers said during the meeting that the decision renders the possibility of a deal more feasible, clarifying to Hamas that it will have to compromise on the corridor, similar to its compromise in its demand to end the war. 

Controlling the Philadelphi Corridor 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarified that the October 7 massacre was made possible because Israel was not in control of the Philadelphia Corridor. According to him, a huge amount of weapons were transferred through the corridor, which were used by terrorist organizations in Gaza.

The prime minister further added that such a reality would not return and that Israel was determined to maintain this corridor in its control.

Netanyahu and cabinet ministers noted that security officials’ estimates as to Israel’s ability to deal with Hamas’s rocket fire even before the Israeli disengagement from Gaza were wrong, in addition to the forecast regarding the withdrawal from Lebanon, among other topics. 

END

ISRAEL/HAMAS

Hostages without vaccinations at risk due to infections in Gaza Strip

Recent reports from the WHO and UNICEF reveal that poor hygiene conditions have led to outbreaks of additional infectious diseases beyond polio in the Gaza Strip.

By DR. ITAY GALAUGUST 30, 2024 06:58

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fisrael-hamas-war%2Farticle-816989&unitId=2900003088&userId=0984023a-6fcf-4b29-a5e6-1be85cfd6d0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20240828_aa58502ae1cec0b423231b3c29f1de933d781cfc&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

Infectious diseases are spreading in the Gaza Strip, endangering the 108 hostages: Recent reports from health organizations reveal violent epidemics of bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections resulting from poor hygiene conditions in combat zones. One hostage is at the highest risk: toddler Kfir Bibas, who did not complete his infant vaccinations before his abduction.

In addition to the polio epidemic, bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections have spread in recent months, some of which are life-threatening. This severe infection situation was also observed in examinations of hostages who returned from captivity.

Data collected at Schneider Hospital shows that fecal bacteria were found in 19 children and seven women due to their severe hygiene conditions. Lice and skin infections resulting from insect bites were also detected while all the hostages suffered from severe malnutrition, which causes immune deficiency and increased risk of infections.

According to the latest data from the WHO obtained by Maariv, in addition to the spreading polio disease in the Strip which has already led to one case of a Palestinian girl suffering from paralysis, tens of thousands of cases of hepatitis, half a million cases of diarrhea, and around a million pneumonia cases have also been reported among the residents.

About 12,000 contracted chickenpox, over 100,000 cases of scabies and lice, and tens of thousands of skin infection reports have been recorded.

Due to the lack of healthcare services in the Gaza Strip, no organized vaccination program has been implemented in the past year. Therefore, international experts estimate that viral and bacterial infections that are usually prevented by routine vaccinations, including measles, rubella, whooping cough, diphtheria, and hepatitis caused by hepatitis viruses, have also spread.

Urgent call to action

The hostage most exposed to these infectious diseases is toddler Kfir Bibas, who was abducted at nine-months-old before he could complete his vaccination program. Maariv has learned of another hostage over the age of 18 who also did not receive all vaccinations and is likewise exposed to infectious diseases. Some hostages are also exposed to tetanus bacteria because they have not received a booster dose in the past ten years. Tetanus bacteria are transmitted through cuts in the skin, causing muscle spasms, respiratory obstruction leading to suffocation, heart rhythm disturbances, increased blood pressure, and, without urgent treatment, death within days.

“We are warning about the severe sanitary situation in Gaza that endangers the hostages and also our soldiers,” said Prof. Hagai Levin, head of the health division of the Hostages Families Forum and chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians. “The hostages are in poor hygiene conditions, severe malnutrition, lack of clean water and air, and their health status is unknown. Some hostages are elderly and suffer from chronic diseases that increase their risk with every minor infection, and two of the hostages are not adequately vaccinated.”

“The findings observed in the hostages who returned, along with information from health organizations, make it clear that this is a ticking time bomb,” adds Prof. Levin. “The hourglass is running out, and the danger is only increasing for the hostages, for the soldiers there, and eventually for the entire Israeli population, which could be exposed to the infection epidemic in Gaza. To save the hostages’ lives – the government must bring them back now.” 

END

ISRAEL/HAMAS

From Jerusalem to Washington: The implications of the stagnated hostage negotiations – analysis

A wider Middle East war at this time, a war that may necessitate the use of American force that is concentrated in the region, is not the way the Democrats want to go to the ballot box in November.

By HERB KEINONAUGUST 30, 2024 20:29Updated: AUGUST 30, 2024 21:07

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fisrael-hamas-war%2Farticle-817025&unitId=2900003088&userId=0984023a-6fcf-4b29-a5e6-1be85cfd6d0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20240828_aa58502ae1cec0b423231b3c29f1de933d781cfc&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

As August slips into September, a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas for nearly 11 months seems no closer than it was in July, June, or April. This is despite senior US officials saying just two weeks ago that such a deal was “imminent.”

The ongoing stalemate not only profoundly affects the hostages and their families but also has broader implications in various areas. Here is a look at a few of them:

Israeli politics

A prevailing view is that a hostage deal or ceasefire that would end the war and necessitate a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip would inevitably bring down the government. Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit have signaled their intent to oppose such a deal.

But would they leave the coalition?

Smotrich, currently in the powerful and influential position of finance minister, has to be taking note of the polls that show his party has a good chance of not getting past the electoral threshold and making it into the Knesset next time, or even if it does, at best only securing four seats (currently it has eight).

Ben-Gvir, too, is likely considering polls showing that a center-right government could be formed without his party, especially if a new right-wing party led by Naftali Bennett were to emerge.

If a hostage/ceasefire deal is signed, it is uncertain whether Ben-Gvir or Smotrich would choose to bring down the government, knowing that doing so could result in political isolation or relegation to the opposition.

Nevertheless, Ben-Gvir’s continuous posturing regarding the Temple Mount – setting himself up as the defender and fighter for Jewish rights on the Temple Mount despite the complications this creates for Israel in the Muslim world and on the international stage – appears to be a transparent effort to energize his base and appeal to those on the Right who in the last elections voted for other right-wing parties. His actions at such a sensitive time suggest a strategic move, possibly indicating that he anticipates new elections in the near future – new elections he may trigger.

It is for this reason that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s many detractors say that he is reluctant to sign any deal, because it would lead to the end of his government, new elections, and – if the polls are to be believed – an end to his long reign as prime minister. (On September 27, Netanyahu will have served as this country’s prime minister – over three different terms – for fully 17 years, or some 22% of the country’s entire history.)

Those saying that it is out of political expediency that Netanyahu is not signing a deal are attributing to him the absolute worst motivations: that he is willing to let his fellow citizens languish in Hamas’s tunnels and extend the war – meaning more Israeli soldiers will be killed – just so that he can cling to office.

The country’s polarization over Netanyahu makes those claims credible for a good part of the nation, and they dismiss the possibility that two other factors may be in play.

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One is that it is Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar – not Netanyahu – who is preventing a deal, making maximalist demands and aiming to hold on to a significant number of hostages as his personal human shields to prevent the IDF from killing him.

The second possible factor, largely dismissed by Netanyahu’s detractors, is that his standing firm on several conditions is not because of a desperate desire to stay in power (and even out of jail as a result of his ongoing legal problems) but, rather, out of a genuine concern for the country’s security.

Specifically, that Netanyahu might sincerely be concerned that withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor and allowing unfiltered access for Gazans back to northern Gaza across the Netzarim Corridor would enable Hamas to regroup, rearm, and recover to fight against Israel another day – maybe not next month or next year, but at some time in the future.

In recent weeks, various senior security officials and former generals have either been quoted as saying or said explicitly that Israel could address Netanyahu’s security concerns – that it could retake the Philadelphi Corridor if need be and neutralize any terrorist who may use northern Gaza as a staging ground for attacks against Israelis.

In the media’s general framing of this debate, what emerges – at least from watching Channels 11, 12, and 13 – is a belief in the generals and skepticism of Netanyahu and the politicians.

There is something ironic in this, in that this same group of generals and retired generals turned think tank fellows largely said before October 7 that the enemy was deterred. While October 7 should have created a degree of skepticism regarding what the generals and former generals say, when they are paired off against Netanyahu, they – at least in the media – are seen as much more credible.

The stagnation in the hostage talks has intensified these debates.

Tellingly, however, it has not led to a swelling of the ranks of those joining the protests in the streets, which continue at about the same level – and with the same organizations and personalities involved – as has been the case for months.

Often fiery rhetoric about the alleged callousness of Netanyahu and the government in not paying any price for a deal has not led to massive protests in the streets similar to those during the judicial reform debate last year. One possible reason is the binary framing of the issue – that an unwillingness to pay any price means a lack of concern for the hostages or the suffering of their families – has not resonated with the broader public.

US politics

US officials, not Israeli or even Hamas spokespeople, are the ones who drove the narrative earlier this month that the US had put forward a bridging proposal and that a hostage/ceasefire deal was just around the corner.

It wasn’t, but the fact that it was being discussed just before and during last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago was not without political significance.

It is no secret that Israel, in general, and the war in Gaza, in particular, are bones of contention inside the party. One way to skirt the issue, to avoid having to deal with it head-on, was to create the impression that a deal was nearly at hand and that all that was needed was for all parties involved to just make a little more effort, and it would materialize.

This way, the voices inside the party angry at US President Joe Biden for the administration’s unstinting support for Israel could be rebuffed by saying that the US was working around the clock to end the war and bring the hostages home. Likewise, the administration could gain points with the pro-Israel elements inside the party who want to see the hostages freed.

Politically, in terms of the convention, the buzz of an imminent deal was a win-win situation. How wonderful indeed would it be if the agreement occurred; but even if it did not, generating the impression that it might created a degree of political calm for the party at its marquee event – the quadrennial convention.

The current stalemate in the negotiations, however, is problematic for the administration and the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Beyond wanting a hostage release for the sake of the hostages, the administration – and Harris – would like to see it soon, as it could benefit the Democrats in the upcoming election. Securing a hostage deal and a ceasefire now would be an achievement they could brandish before the voters: “Look what our tireless efforts accomplished.”

A wider Middle East war at this time, a war that may necessitate the use of American force that is concentrated in the region, is not the way the Democrats want to go to the ballot box in November.

A hostage deal could stave off that eventuality; a lack of one – meaning no ceasefire – leaves the door open to a broader regional conflagration that could suck the Americans in at a most inopportune moment in the US political calendar.

Regional tensions

Israel embarked this week on two significant military actions.

The first action was the preemptive strike on Hezbollah early Sunday morning, targeting hundreds of rocket launchers that were prepared to fire thousands of rockets and missiles at Israel.

The second action was Operation Summer Camps, launched shortly after midnight on Tuesday at four locations in Samaria and the Jordan Valley. This operation aimed to degrade the developing terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank, which has been growing with Iran’s prompting and active assistance.

The first strike against Hezbollah targets likely would not have taken place had the hostage talks led to fruition, the hostages been released, and a ceasefire been called.

The prevailing assumption is if there is a ceasefire in Gaza, Hezbollah will stop firing on Israel – which it started doing on October 8 – and that Israel would respond to quiet with quiet of its own, while working through diplomatic means to move Hezbollah’s terrorists and rockets north of the Litani River.

There is a school of thought that maintains that Hezbollah actually held back its decision to fire rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of its chief of staff, Fuad Shukr, earlier this month until it was clear where the hostage talks were going. Once it appeared the talks were going nowhere, the terrorist organization planned to attack – an indication of how it is linking its fate with that of Hamas in Gaza. If Hamas fires, it fires; if Hamas stops, it will stop.

The other major action was in northern Samaria. While a ceasefire in Gaza would likely reduce the military activity in the north – at least temporarily, pending an appraisal of whether Hezbollah could be moved through diplomatic means out of southern Lebanon – the same is not true in the West Bank.

The IDF acted in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas, and the Jordan Valley refugee camp Far’a in a manner not seen since Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, in order to forestall the Gazafication of the West Bank.

Over the past several years, with Iran’s help, Hamas and other terrorist organizations have built a substantial terrorist infrastructure in the region. Iran has provided financial and material support, including smuggling cash and weaponry. This infrastructure includes labs for manufacturing improvised explosive devices, which can be used against both IDF troops and civilian targets.

In the West Bank, a ceasefire in Gaza is not expected to affect the IDF’s intensive activities to stamp out the terrorists’ capabilities before they metastasize into something far more harrowing. Even with a ceasefire in Gaza, these activities against the terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria are expected to continue apace.

Similar efforts to combat terrorist infrastructure in Judea and Samaria were less intense even a year ago due to concerns that they might provoke rocket and missile attacks from Hamas in Gaza. However, after nearly 11 months of significantly degrading the terrorist organization’s capabilities, this risk is no longer as great a concern.

END

HOUTHIS/ISRAEL/GLOBE

Please do not disturb Biden at the beach. He needs his sleep

Houthis Release New Footage On Tanker Explosion; Satellite Imagery Suggests Oil Leak Has Begun 

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 03:45 PM

Iran-backed Houthi militants published new footage showing rebel forces commandeering Greek-flagged oil tanker MV Sounion about 77 nautical miles west of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah. 

Yahya Saree, a spokesperson for the Houthis, posted the footage on X on Thursday, showing heavily armed masked men moving around the Suezmax tanker—the largest type of oil tanker capable of transiting the Suez Canal—and setting it ablaze.

“Scenes of the storming and burning of the Greek ship (SOUNION) in the Red Sea, whose owner company violated the decision to ban entry to the ports of occupied Palestine,” Saree wrote on X. 

مشاهد اقتحام وإحراق السفينة اليونانية (SOUNION) في البحر الأحمر والتي قامت الشركة المالكة لها بانتهاك قرار حظر الدخول إلى موانئ فلسطين المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/yGKgUNaIuh

— العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) August 29, 2024

It’s unclear when the footage was taken. The initial attack was on August 21, when missiles and drones paralyzed the tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude. 

X account Open Source Intel posted a Maxar satellite image from Thursday that shows Sounion ablaze. According to the account, the tanker “has begun leaking oil.”

Maxar Satellite Image from Aug 29th: The tanker Sounion, which was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea, has begun leaking oil. pic.twitter.com/eImeHNL8Eh

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) August 30, 2024

On Tuesday, US Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, warned about the risks of a major ecological disaster looming in the Red Sea with the tanker on fire. 

“These are simply reckless acts of terrorism which continue to destabilize global and regional commerce, put the lives of innocent civilian mariners at risk and imperil the vibrant maritime ecosystem in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Houthis’ own backyard,” Ryder said.

To put it in perspective, Sounion is hauling 150,000 tons of crude—a little more than four times the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in 1989. 

Another Houthi spokesperson, Mohammed Abdulsalam, was quoted by Reuters earlier this week as saying salvage efforts were underway, and tugboats and rescue ships were permitted into the region to support the crippled tanker. 

Abdulsalam noted there was no temporary truce and only agreed to allow salvage efforts to occur after talks with several international groups. 

Here’s the latest reporting on the Sounion crisis:

• Commercial Vessel “Not Under Command” After Red Sea Attack
• Suezmax Tanker Crew Forced To Abandon Ship After Missile Attack In Red Sea
• Red Sea Crisis: Footage Captures Suezmax Tanker Explosion After Houthi Missile Strike As West Fails To Secure Chokepoint
• US Warns Tanker Hit By Houthis Could Cause Largest Ship Oil Spill In History

All of this Red Sea chaos signifies one thing, as former Navy Seal and Blackwater founder Erik Prince recently explained on X: America’s “credibility and deterrence” are quickly eroding. 

Video released by the #Houthis seems to show the setting of explosive charges on the deck of the tanker #Sounion off the coast of Yemen in the #RedSea.

At 150k tons, this tanker is almost twice the size of Exxon Valdez and the environmental damage to the region will be massive. pic.twitter.com/EfUbg5o5j9

— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ (@mercoglianos) August 23, 2024

Great job, Biden-Harris. Your incompetence projects weakness to the world.

LIBYA

Libya central bank governor flees in fear for his life, FT says

The crisis over the control of the Central Bank of Libya creates yet another level of instability in the country, a major oil producer.

By REUTERSAUGUST 30, 2024 08:03Updated: AUGUST 30, 2024 08:28

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fbreaking-news%2Farticle-817069&unitId=2900003088&userId=0984023a-6fcf-4b29-a5e6-1be85cfd6d0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20240828_aa58502ae1cec0b423231b3c29f1de933d781cfc&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

Libya’s central bank governor Sadiq al-Kabir said he and other senior bank staff had been forced to leave the country to “protect out lives” from potential attacks by armed militia, the Financial Times reported on Friday.

“Militias are threatening and terrifying bank staff and are sometimes abducting their children and relatives to force them to go to work,” Kabir told the newspaper via telephone.

He also said attempts by interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah to replace him were illegal, and contravened U.N. negotiated accords on control of the central bank.

The crisis over the control of the Central Bank of Libya creates yet another level of instability in the country, a major oil producer that is split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Turkey and Russia.

UN response

The UN Support Mission in Libya early this week called for the suspension of unilateral decisions, the lifting of force majeure on oil fields, the halting of escalations and use of force, and the protection of central bank employees

END

HOUTHIS/ISRAEL/GLOBE

end

RUSSIA/UKRAINE/

Ukraine Says Its Biggest Problem Is Western Concern For Escalation

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 11:05 PM

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday that the biggest problem Kyiv has faced in its war against Russia is the Western concern for escalation and the risk of provoking Moscow.

“Ever since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the biggest problem Ukraine has been facing is the domination of the concept of escalation in the decision-making processes among our partners,” Kuleba said, according to Reuters.

The foreign minister’s comments come as Ukraine is pushing hard for the US to allow long-range strikes inside Russian territory using US-provided missiles. Russia has strongly warned against the move and suggested that it would risk World War III.

“The war is always about a lot of hardware: money, weapons, resources but the real problems are always here, in the heads,” Kuleba said. 

“Most of our partners are afraid of discussing the future of Russia… This is something that is very upsetting because if we do not speak about the future of the source of threat, then we cannot build strategy.”

Throughout the war, the US and NATO have taken steps that they previously ruled out over escalation concerns, such as providing tanks and fighter jets.

The most recent significant escalation was President Biden’s decision to give Ukraine the greenlight to use US weapons in attacks on Russian border regions. A few months later, Ukraine launched its invasion of Kursk.

Meanwhile Western main battle tanks continue to show up on Russian soil…

UK supplied Ukrainian Challenger 2 tanks rolling in Kursk region of russia. pic.twitter.com/t1DCtWICjO

— Neil Hawker 🇺🇦 (@NeilHawker2) August 25, 2024

Kuleba made the comments during a conversation with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who expressed support for allowing Ukraine to launch long-range strikes with NATO weapons. Sikorski said NATO should “let Ukraine fight with whatever it has, with whatever we have delivered them, and let’s deliver them more.”

RUSSIA//

END

UKRAINE/RUSSIA/EASTERN EUROPE

Ukraine and the West will now longer receive oil and natural gas from the Druzhba pipeline.

More ways to punish Russia. Czech Republic, Germany Poland, must find alternative supplies

(zerohedge)

Ukraine Says “Druzhba Pipeline Will Cease Operations” Of Russian Fuels This Winter

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 11:20 AM

Ukrainian media has reported that starting January 2025, the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline in the Eastern European country will be halted, along with the transit of natural gas. This is yet more geopolitical risk premium for European energy markets ahead of the Northern Hemisphere heating season. 

Ukrainska Pravda cited an interview with Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Ukrainian media outlet Novyny. Podoliak said, “In addition to gas, the Druzhba pipeline will also cease operations starting 1 January 2025.” 

BREAKING:

Ukrainian President's Office announces cessation of oil supplies through "Druzhba" pipeline from Russia, impacting Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary.

Ukrainian gas transit from Russia to stop in January 2025. pic.twitter.com/KxVVEODfPS

— GAMZIRI24 (@GAMZIRI24) August 30, 2024

Podoliak pointed out that countries like Slovakia, Czechia, and Hungary have received Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline for years.

The European Union has forced member countries to diversify their energy supplies and end the transit of Russian crude and NatGas through Ukraine.

Podoliak also mentioned that this applies to NatGas, with specific contracted volumes set to expire on January 1, 2025. However, he noted that Ukraine can facilitate the transit of fuels if European countries require Kazakh or Azerbaijani NatGas.

Responding to a Reuters question on Podoliak’s comments, Czech energy security czar Vaclav Bartuska said, “This is not the first time. This time maybe they mean it seriously—we shall see,” adding, “For the Czech Republic, it is not a problem.” 

FACE founder and geopolitical strategist Velina Tchakarova wrote on X that this development indicates “more geopolitical risk premium for Europe was added ahead of the third winter on both fronts—oil and gas. The EU still remains the largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, followed by China and India.” 

This move by Ukraine appears to be a much broader effort by the West in the attempt to weaken the Russian economy by ensuring hydrocarbon flows, the primary source of Moscow’s war funding, are halted by any means necessary. Ukraine has been chipping away at Russia’s energy complex, bombing refineries and storage facilities with kamikaze drones this year. 

In markets, Dutch TTF NatGas futures, the benchmark for Europe’s gas trading, have been moving higher since mid-February, now trading near 40 euros per megawatt-hour. 

Despite the ongoing risks to energy markets across the EU ahead of winter, storage levels are at elevated levels. 

end

RUSSIA UKRAINE/

How crazy is this: the Ukrainian army shoots down its own F 16 jet and the pilot was killed

(zerohedge)

Friendly Fire Fiasco: Ukrainian Army Shoots Down Its Own F16 Jet, Pilot Killed

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 08:45 PM

Update (5:15pm ET): It appears that the US-made F-16 fighter jet, which was handed over to Ukraine earlier this year, was downed by a Ukrainian Patriot air defense system in a friendly fire incident, Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya said cited by TASS.

“According to my information, the F-16 of the Ukrainian pilot Alexey ‘Moonfish’ Mes was shot down by the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to a lack of coordination between the [military] units,” she wrote on Telegram.

The lawmaker criticized the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for falsely describing the incident as “a crash.”

“The culture of lies in the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as in other higher military headquarters, leads to the fact that the system of managing military decisions does not improve on the basis of truthful, consistently collected analytics, but deteriorates and even collapses, as is happening in the other directions,” she wrote.

In her words, none of the generals was punished over the incident that led to the loss of both the aircraft and its pilot.

Earlier, an unidentified US official told the Wall Street Journal that Ukraine had lost a donated F-16 fighter jet in the first such case. According to the official, the jet was not shot down, and the crash was likely due to pilot error. Later, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the death of a Ukrainian F-16 pilot, Alexey Mes. The man was trained to fly F-16, according to CNN. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said the pilot was killed in an aerial fight, when his plane crashed on August 26.

* * *

US and Ukrainian officials have revealed to The Wall Street Journal that a F-16 fighter jet has crashed during combat in Ukraine’s skies – a significant first – which comes just weeks after an initial batch of some one dozen of the American-made aircraft were transferred to Kiev’s armed forces. 

“The pilot, Oleksiy Mes, died while helping to repel a massive Russian missile attack on Monday, the officials said,” WSJ writes. “Initial reports indicate the jet wasn’t shot down by enemy fire, U.S. officials said.”

That missile and drone attack had been one of the largest since the war’s start in Feb. 2022, targeting 15 out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts, and taking out vital energy structure nationwide.

The Pentagon was initially questioned about the crash, but when referred to Kiev officials, the Ukrainian Air Force belatedly acknowledged the crash and death of the pilot on Thursday.

Given Ukraine has lost one of the $30+ million jets so quickly after getting the first highly anticipated transfer, this could prove highly embarrassing given how publicly the program was touted as a “game-changer” by Zelensky government officials.

Other more realist outside observers have noted that it is too late for such aerial systems to significantly change Russia’s clear military, manpower, and aerial superiority.

According to more details of the circumstances of the aircraft downing: “A person close to the Ukrainian military said the cause of the crash was unknown and an investigation was under way,” WSJ continues. “The person described Mes as a hero who successfully shot down multiple Russian missiles on Monday before the crash.”

The report further indicates the pilot was key in helping spearhead Kiev’s public relations and lobbying efforts to get the F-16s for Ukraine program off the ground: 

Mes, call sign “Moonfish,” was one of Kyiv’s first pilots to be trained on the F-16. He was one of the better known Ukrainian pilots, appearing frequently in the media and visiting Washington to lobby the U.S. to send Ukraine the jet fighters. Mes met personally with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including in 2022 with then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.).

Mes often appeared with another prominent Ukrainian pilot, Andriy Pilshchykov, call sign “Juice,” who died in a training accident on Aug. 25, 2023. Two other pilots were killed in that incident, a midair collision.  

The WSJ further calls the crash and death “a major blow for Kyiv” following President Biden’s somewhat reluctant greenlight given for European allies to begin transferring the F-16s last year. A training program has been underway in Europe and on US soil for well over a year, including Ukrainian pilots receiving instruction in bases at San Antonio and in Arizona.

According to U.S. Defense Officials; during Monday’s Large-Scale Russian Missile Attack against Ukraine, a F-16 with the Ukrainian Air Force crashed in the West of the Country, resulting in the Death of its Pilot, known by his Callsign “Moonfish” but by others as Oleksiy Mes.… pic.twitter.com/vUcvWslIQx

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) August 29, 2024

end

.6.COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES//DRUG AND HEALTH ISSUE

UCSF Researchers Identify Major Driver Behind COVID and Long COVID, With Potential Treatment

Spike proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus increase the toxic effects of fibrin, researchers found

By Marina Zhang

8/28/2024Updated:8/30/2024PrintX 1

0:00

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco have identified fibrin, a natural protein involved in blood clotting, as a major driver of the COVID-19 disease, according to a new study.

Fibrin binds to proteins from the SARS-CoV-2 virus to form blood clots that are difficult to break down, the authors found. This clotting then drives the various inflammatory and neurological symptoms seen in COVID-19 and long COVID, the researchers found.

Previous studies have theorized that blood clotting is a consequence of inflammation. However, the new Nature study, published on Wednesday, shows the reverse: that the clotting comes first.

“We know of many other viruses that unleash a similar cytokine storm in response to infection, but without causing blood clotting activity like we see with COVID,” Dr. Warner Greene, senior investigator and director emeritus at Gladstone and co-author of the study, said in a press release.

“Our study is the first to report causality for fibrin as the root of inflammation and brain pathology after COVID infection,” Katerina Akassoglou, senior author and professor of neurology at UCSF, told The Epoch Times on email.

By blocking fibrin using a novel antibody, the researchers were able to reduce clotting and neurological symptoms, offering a new potential therapeutic for patients.

Furthermore, the new study offers an explanation for the increase in cancers following COVID-19 infections. The researchers found that the abnormal clotting between COVID-19 spike proteins and fibrins reduces cancer-fighting immune cells known as natural killer (NK) cells.

Abnormal Clots From Fibrin and Viral Proteins

Prior studies have shown that a type of COVID-19 viral protein, known as spike, can form irregular clots with other proteins involved in clotting, creating blood clots that are hard to break down.

“We showed that the binding of fibrin to spike forms clots that have very high inflammatory activity,” Akassoglou said.

Researchers tested their findings in mice, infecting them with COVID-19 Beta and Delta variants.

They found fibrin bound to COVID-19 spike proteins to form irregular amyloid-like clots that are difficult to break down using traditional therapies.

The researchers found that the spike and fibrin clots would be deposited in the blood vessels, lungs, and the brains of mice, leading to scarring and inflammation, potentially driving breathing and neurological problems seen in long COVID-19 patients.

In the brain, COVID-19 infection caused protein deposits to be formed in the mice brains, triggering inflammation in brain cells.

“Furthermore, we showed that fibrin induces toxic inflammation, while suppressing NK cells that clear the virus,” Akassoglou said.

Mice that were genetically modified to not produce the right fibrin proteins had less inflammation when infected with COVID-19, the authors found. Their cancer-fighting natural killer cells were also more active at clearing out COVID-19 spike proteins.

The authors wrote that the reduced NK activity may explain some of the cancer and autoimmune cases seen post-COVID-19.

Clots Without Infections

The researchers also showed that even when there are no infections, just introducing the spike proteins to the mice could cause the formation of these abnormal clots.

Researchers exposed mice to subunits of the spike protein rather than the complete virus and clots still formed. They suggest that in long COVID, it may be the remnant spike proteins driving the disease.

While COVID-19 mRNA and adenovirus vaccines cause the body to produce spike proteins, the authors said that the vaccines would not cause these clots. “In general, COVID-19 RNA vaccines lead to small amounts of spike protein accumulating locally […] and the protein is eliminated,” they wrote.

They also point to a study conducted in over 99 million vaccinated individuals, saying that it showed no safety signals for blood-related conditions.

The study, which was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found COVID-19 vaccines were linked to few adverse events. Though at certain doses, people who took the COVID-19 mRNA and/or adenovirus vaccines had a slightly increased odds of contracting various clotting diseases.

Other clinicians, including Dr. Keith Berkowitz of Centers for Balanced Health and nurse practitioner Scott Marsland at the Leading Edge Clinic, disagreed with the UCSF researchers’ statements in the study.

Marsland and Dr. Paul Marik, chairperson of Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, said that clotting is a common adverse reaction some people may experience following COVID-19 vaccination, though few studies have evaluated patients for such conditions.

Nonetheless, the clinicians said that they were pleased to see discussions opening up on the drivers of long COVID symptoms and possible harms from spike protein.

Therapeutics for Clotting

The researchers of the Nature study designed an antibody made to target fibrin and administered it to mice.

Mice that were previously infected with COVID-19 had an improvement in their inflammation, scarring, clotting, brain damage, and overall survival after being given the antibody.

Giving the antibody for prevention  similarly reduced inflammation and organ damage.

Common anticoagulants, which are medications that prevent blood clots, can increase bleeding risks while this antibody does not increase the risk of bleeding, the authors said. It is highly selective for the inflammatory form of fibrin and does not have the adverse effects like those observed with some anticoagulants, Akassoglou said.

A humanized version of Akassoglou’s fibrin-targeting immunotherapy is already in Phase 1 safety and tolerability clinical trials in healthy people funded by the biotechnology company Therini Bio.

Outside of the monoclonal antibody tested, Berkowitz, who has been treating clotting in long COVID patients, suggest anticoagulants like nattokinase which has been shown to break down spike protein in cell studies.

Research by Resia Pretorius, distinguished professor and head of the physiological sciences department at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, has shown that a combination of three different anticoagulant drugs, including aspirin, clopidogrel, apixaban, and a proton pump inhibitor, helped reduce abnormal clots and improved long COVID symptoms such as fatigue, joint pains, brain fog, and more.

Marsland said he found sulodexide, a drug not FDA-approved in the United States but approved in Europe, to be highly effective in treating clotting without increasing people’s risks of bleeding. Sulodexide is a drug that is used to treat thrombotic diseases and diabetic neuropathy

WORLD EVENTS NOTEWORTHY

END

MARK CRISPIN MILLER

DR PAUL ALEXANDER

WND; ‘Bone-chilling’: Data expert says COVID shots triggered explosive surge in kidney failures; Analysis shows 155,000 additional deaths reported after Malone Bourla Kariko mRNA shots were unleashed

on public; Beaudoin explained, in the report, his “investigations prove that only COVID mRNA shots, and possibly COVID-19 hospital protocols, could be responsible for the staggering excess deaths

Dr. Paul AlexanderAug 29

READ IN APP

‘Bone-chilling’: Data expert says COVID shots triggered explosive surge in kidney failures * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh (wnd.com)

‘A leading data expert has issued a “bone-chilling” warning after reviewing the numbers and causes of death across America since the COVID-19 pandemic and the mRNA shots – now proven to have many and dangerous side effects – hit Americans.

SLAY NEWS

Top Expert Warns of ‘Unprecedented’ Global Death Surge Among Covid-VaxxedA world-renowned researcher has issued a chilling warning to the public after analyzing government databases exposing the “unprecedented” surge in deaths among those who have received Covid mRNA shots.READ MORE

Canada Is Secretly Euthanizing Veterans, Government Documents ShowA trove of documents from the liberal Canadian government has revealed that federal officials have been covering up efforts to secretly euthanize military veterans.READ MORE

Nevada Democrat Found Guilty of Murdering Las Vegas ReporterA Democrat politician in Nevada has been found guilty of murdering longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German.READ MORE

Ted Cruz: Kamala Harris’ ‘Softball’ Interview with CNN’s Dana Bash Is ‘Propaganda’Republican Sen, Ted Cruz (R-TX) has blasted the Democrat presidential nominee for setting up a “softball” sitdown with CNN’s Dana Bash as her first interview with the media since launching her campaign.READ MORE

Republican States Call on Supreme Court to Block Biden-Harris ‘Methane Emissions’ RuleRepublican states have called the United States Supreme Court to block sweeping federal regulations limiting “methane emissions.”READ MORE

Kamala Harris Now Polling Worse than 2016 Loser Hillary ClintonDespite the constant Kamala Harris hype from the corporate media, the Democrat presidential nominee is continuing to sink in the polls.READ MORE

Federal Judge Blocks Biden’s Amnesty Plan as He Vows to ‘Fight’ for Illegal AliensLame-duck President Joe Biden vowed to keep “fighting” for illegal aliens after a federal judge blocked his sweeping amnesty plan.READ MORE

Federal Prosecutors Expected to Drop over 250 Jan 6 Cases after Supreme Court DecisionFollowing a recent landmark decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, federal prosecutors are now expected to drop charges for the cases of over 250 Jan. 6 defendants.READ MORE

Harris Slammed on CNN as ‘Incredibly Weak’ for Refusing to Do Solo InterviewDemocrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris has been met with a backlash after announcing that she will be joined by her running mate Tim Walz for her first interview since launching her campaign.READ MORE

Trump Accuses Biden-Harris DOJ of Trying to ‘Sabotage’ Democracy with New Indictment: ‘Election Interference’President Donald Trump has accused the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) of trying to rig the 2024 election by targetting him with fresh lawfare attacks.READ MORE

Kennedy’s Running Mate Nicole Shanahan Blasts Kamala Harris, Praises TrumpRobert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate Nicole Shanahan has issued a blistering rebuke of the Democrats and the party presidential nominee Kamala Harris.READ MORE

Jim Jordan Subpoenas Company Led by Anti-Trump New York Judge Juan Merchan’s DaughterHouse Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) has just dropped the hammer on the Democrat judge overseeing the so-called “hush money” case against President Donald Trump in New York.READ MORE

Video Shows BLM Activist Election Worker Destroying Trump Ballots in 2020A shocking video has just emerged online that shows an election worker destroying ballots that were cast for President Donald Trump in the 2020 race.READ MORE

EVOL NEWS

BREAKING: Venezuelan migrant gang takes over apartment complex in Aurora – EVOL READ MORE…

LATEST NEWS:

Oregon study shows thousands dead of drug overdose – EVOL Read more.. .Fox News Poll Shows Kari Lake Getting Absolutely Smoked in Arizona Senate Race – EVOL Read more… Woke Disney Fails Again: Cancels THIS Big Show After Only One Season – EVOL Read more. . .NEW FIND: Kamala’s digital team has over 175 pawns attacking Trump online – EVOL Read more. ..EXCLUSIVE: Gold Star Families Had Trouble Getting Trump Into Arlington Until House Speaker Intervened – EVOL Read more… CNN’s Scott Jennings mocks Kamala Harris for bringing ’emotional support’ Tim Walz to first interview – EVOL Read more.. .NEW: U.S. Attorney Forms Grand Jury, Mulls Charges In Connection With Trump Assassination Attempt – EVOL Read more. ..Vermont tells parents to call children ‘kids’ because son, daughter not ‘inclusive’ enough – EVOL Read more..

NEWS ADDICTS

Top Expert: Covid Vaxxed Are Dying of Kidney FailureA top expert is warning that kidney failure deaths among the Covid-vaccinated have now surged so dramatically that it’s become “the biggest killer.”READ THE FULL REPORT

JUST IN: Judge Rules Military CAN’T Deny HIV-Positive EnlisteesA Virginia court has ruled that the Department of Defense cannot bar individuals with HIV who have undetectable viral loads from enlisting in the military.READ THE FULL REPORT

WATCH: MSNBC’s Barnicle Claims ‘Trump Used Arlington National Cemetery as a Political Prop’On Wednesday’s episode of “Morning Joe,” MSNBC contributor Mike Barnicle accused former President Donald Trump of using Arlington National Cemetery as a “prop for a political campaign.”READ THE FULL REPORT

BREAKING NEWS: FBI Releases New Photos of Thomas Crooks’ Rifle and Explosives – Motive Remains UnknownThe FBI has released new photos of the gun used by Thomas Crooks to shoot President Trump, along with images of explosives discovered in his car at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.READ THE FULL REPORT

JUST IN: Texas Governor Greg Abbott Removes Over 1 Million Ineligible Voters from RollsTexas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has removed over one million individuals from the state’s voter rolls in an ongoing effort to prevent ineligible voters, including non-citizens, from participating on election day.READ THE FULL REPORT

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

7.OIL PRICES/GAS PRICES/OIL ISSUES

Oil Tumbles On Reuters Report OPEC+ Will Hike Output In October

FRIDAY, AUG 30, 2024 – 09:37 AM

With two months left until the election and amid growing speculation that the China/Russia axis may unleash an “October” surprise to make sure the belligerent deep state candidate does not win and send the price of oil higher, moments ago Reuters – a popular conduit for well-time market slam “breaking news”, reported that with oil just barely above 2024 lows, OPEC+ is already set to proceed with a planned oil output hike from October, because “Libyan outages and pledged cuts by some members to compensate for overproduction counter the impact of sluggish demand” which of course is idiocy as the only thing that matters for oil prices – a bump in Chinese demand – is missing. And yet, despite the lack of this clear catalyst, Reuters managed to round up no less than six anonymous sources from the Kamala Harris re-election committee OPEC+. Predictably, oil tumbled instantly.

As a reminder, eight OPEC+ members are scheduled to boost output by 180,000 barrels per day in October, as part of a plan to begin unwinding their most recent layer of output cuts of 2.2 million bpd while keeping other cuts in place until end-2025.

But that’s only if oil prices can remain sustainably higher and absorb the incremental output, something which has clearly not been the case in recent months, when Brent tumbled to 2024 lows.

As such, one can easily conclude that the Reuters “report” – which hilariously comes more than a month ahead of the October meeting – has just one goal: to slam oil prices and push them even lower, in what is either a trial balloon or intentional price manipulation on behalf of various pro-Harris interests.

A slowdown in demand growth, notably in China, has weighed on oil prices and prompted some analysts to doubt whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, will go ahead with the October increase.

But, according to Reuters, six OPEC+ sources – who almost certainly are being spoonfed what to tell Reuters by the Deep State which is scrambling to keep gas prices as low as possible ahead of the elections – the plan to increase production remains in place as the loss of Libyan output tightens the market and hopes build that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in mid-September. Which, again, is absolute idiocy, and we expect that OPEC+ will issue an official denial within minutes, especially since Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman previously said OPEC+ could pause or reverse the production hikes if it decides the market is not strong enough, which it clearly is not right now!

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

CANADA

end

Brazil/Elon Musk

Musk defends free speech in Brazil as he defies Darth Vader’s illegal orders

(zerohedge/Elon Musk)

X Warns Of Brazil Shutdown ‘Soon’ For Defying Judge’s “Illegal Orders To Censor Political Opponents”

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 09:31 PM

On Thursday night, X’s Global Government Affairs account posted a dire warning over service availability in Brazil, after dictatorial Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes punished them for not complying “with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” according to the post.

More:

When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.

We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States. The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that.

In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency.

Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders.

To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech.

Meanwhile, Musk says that SpaceX is going to continue to provide Starlink in Brazil to schools and hospitals for free…

Many remote schools and hospitals depend on SpaceX’s Starlink!

SpaceX will provide Internet service to users in Brazil for free until this matter is resolved, as we cannot receive payment, but don’t want to cut anyone off. https://t.co/BHlPpbsKR6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024

TO BE CONTINUED…

END

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

EURO VS USA DOLLAR:  1.1081 UP 0.0006

USA/ YEN 145.27 UP 0.012 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN  STILL FALLS//END OF YEN CARRY TRADE BEGINS JULY 2024/Bank of Japan raises rates by .15% to 1.15..UEDA END HIKING RATES AND NOW CARRY TRADES NO 2 DISINTEGRATES//YEN CARRY TRADE FINISHED

GBP/USA 1.3127 UP 0.0012

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.3477 DOWN .0012 (CDN DOLLAR UP 12 BASIS PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 19.11 PTS OR 0.68%

 Hang Seng CLOSED UP 202.75 PTS OR 1.14%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP .44%

 // EUROPEAN BOURSE:     ALL GREEN

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES:  ALL GREEN

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 202.23 PTS OR 1.14 %

/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 19.11 PTS OR 0.68%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP .64%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 285.22 PTS OR 0.74%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 2521.00

silver:$29.50

USA dollar index early FRIDAY  morning: 101.30 UP 4 BASIS POINTS FROM THURSDAY’s CLOSE.

FRIDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

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And now your closing  FRIDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 2.873%  UP 1 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +0.899% UP 0 AND 6/ 100   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.107UP 1 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.667 UP 1 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.2745 UP 1 BASIS PTS

END

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES FOR FRIDAY  

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

Euro/USA 1.1076 DOWN .0005 OR 5 basis points

USA/Japan: 145.56 UP 0.656 OR YEN IS DOWN 66 BASIS PTS//ROUND II OF ENDING YEN CARRY TRADE

Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.0290 DOWN 3 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar DOWN .0006 OR 6 BASIS pts  to 1.3483

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The USA/Yuan,  CNY ON SHORE CLOSED UP AT 7.0863 (ON SHORE)  

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE:    (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. (7.0791)

TURKISH LIRA:  34,07 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//ON DEATH WATCH

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +0.899

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 1 in basis points from THURSDAY at  3.864% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)

 USA 30 yr bond yield  4.148 DOWN 2 in basis points  /11:00 AM

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.923 UP 3 BASIS PTS.

GOLD AT 11;00 AM 2515.40

SILVER AT 11;00: 29.27

Your  11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates:  FRIDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//

London: CLOSED DOWN 3.01 PTS OR .04%

German Dax :  CLOSED DOWN 5.65 PTS OR 0.03%

Paris CAC CLOSED UP 10.00 PTS OR 0.13%

Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 43.30 OR 0.38%

Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 180.60 OR 0.53

WTI Oil price  76.34 12EST/

Brent Oil:  80.63 12:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE ///   AT:  90.64 ROUBLE UP 1 AND  35/100      

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.2745 UP 1 BASIS PTS.

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.0290 DOWN 2 BASIS POINTS

CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.152 UP 0 BASIS PTS.

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA 1.1053 DOWN 0.0028   OR 28 BASIS POINTS

British Pound: 1.3126 DOWN 0.0038 OR 38 basis pts

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  4.065 UP 5 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 0.905

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 146.09 UP 1.205 YEN DOWN 121 BASIS PTS//

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.348 DOWN 0.0005//CDN dollar UP 5 BASIS PTS

West Texas intermediate oil: 73.40

Brent OIL:  76.80

USA 10 yr bond yield UP 5 BASIS pts to 3.909

USA 30 yr bond yield UP 4 BASIS PTS to 4.194%

USA 2 YR BOND: UP 3 PTS AT  3.927

CDN 10 YR RATE 3.183 UP 5 BASIS PTS

USA dollar index: 101.62 UP 35 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 34.07 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  90.64 UP 1  AND  35/100 roubles

GOLD  2,502.00 3:30 PM

SILVER: 28.81 3;30 PM

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 227.50 PTS OR 0.55%

NASDAQ UP 249.18 PTS OR 1.29 %

VOLATILITY INDEX: 15.05 DOWN 0.60 PTS OR 3.83%

GLD: $231.29 DOWN 1.61 OR 0.71%

SLV/ $26.35 DOWN 0.46 OR 1.72%

end

USA AFFAIRS

TODAY’S TRADING IN GRAPH FORM

Stocks End August Flat After Early Collapse; Bonds & Gold Soar On Rate-Cut Hopes

by Tyler Durden

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 04:00 PM

The S&P 500 traded in a 500+ point band in August (about 10%) as investors first became very concerned that an imminent recession was being ignored by the Fed, before becoming more convinced that a recession may not be that imminent and the Fed is poised to cut rates at its September meeting.

Along the way, the Nikkei dropped 12% in one day (only to reclaim almost all the lost ground by today, Sep-30) and the VIX spiked above 60 before receding back to 15 as uncertainty receded…

Source: Bloomberg

August was a replay of July in terms of macro surprise data (early ugly, late recover)…

Source: Bloomberg

…but August really spooked the markets (after payrolls – recession concerns), sparking a bloodbath in stocks to start the month, stocks (broadly speaking) rallied back to unchanged-ish on the month (flat-ish on the week and the day) with the S&P 500 leading the month while Small Caps lagged…

Source: Bloomberg

Rate-cut expectations rose on the month – mostly driven by the early month panic…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasuries were aggressively bid on the month led by the short-end (2Y -33bps)…

Source: Bloomberg

…which steepened the curve significantly  (disinverting 2s30s)…

Source: Bloomberg

Bonds and stocks disagreed notably on the month and the recession odds…

Source: Bloomberg

Gold rallied to new record highs on the month after the early tumble…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil oscillated in a broad range but ended lower on the month…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar was down hard on the month but staged a decent comeback this week after testing near YTD lows…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin ended the month lower after recovering the early month losses and fading back…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, it was a big week for the world’s most important stock…

Source: Bloomberg

Can NVDA keep the recession risks away single-handedly?

MORNING TRADING/

AFTERNOON TRADING///

II USA DATA

Fed;s favourite inflation indicator in line or slightly less as savings rate plunges

(zerohedge)

Fed’s Favorite Inflation Indicator Unexpectedly Misses As Savings Rate Plunges To Multiyear Low

FRIDAY, AUG 30, 2024 – 09:09 AM

The broadly weak trend of US macro data was jolted yesterday by the hotter than expected GDP print (hilariously driven by a surge in personal consumption at the same time as Dollar General announced the time of death of the US consumer), which prompted a hawkish shift in rate-cut expectations. However, this morning, the doves get another chance for some ‘bad news’ (disinflation) to support their ‘we must cut in September” narrative, unveiled by Powell himself last week during Jackson Hole, when the Fed’s favorite inflation indicator – Core PCE – came in line with expectations, and even missed estimates on a core YoY basis. Starting with headline: 

• PCE 0.2% MoM (unrounded 0.155%), in line with estimates of 0.2% and up from the 0.1% (0.0788%) last month
• PCE 2.5% YoY, in line with estimates of 2.5%, and unchnaged from last month’s 2.5% YoY increase.

And here is core:

• Core PCE 0.2% MoM (unrounded 0.1611%), in line with estimates of 0.2%, and unchanged from last month’s 0.2% (0.1818%) MoM increase
• Core PCE 2.6% YoY, missing estimates of a 2.7% increase and unchanged from last month.

Here is the MoM headline change…

…and the annual:

Under the hood, durable goods deflation continues to drag Core PCE lower while Services costs continue to rise…

Even more notably, the so-called SuperCore PCE rose 0.2% MoM, the highest in 3 months, and which pushed YoY supecore to 3.25%, which remains awkwardly stagnant at elevated levels…

This was the 51st straight monthly rise in SuperCore prices with virtually all costs except transportation rising:

On A MoM basis, income growth was stronger than expected (+0.3% vs +0.2% exp), while spending came in line as expected at +0.5% as expected.

The problem, however, is that spending growth continues to tick far income growth, and on a YoY basis, spending continues to outpace incomes.

The result is another month of declining savings: in July, the US savings rate as a percentage of disposable personal income dropped below 3.0% for the first time since covid – 2.9% to be precise – from 3.1%. This was the lowest print since June ’22 and the second lowest of the post-QE era.

All of which takes place against a background of the eight straight month of rising government handouts (well it is an election year after all) which means the savings rate would have puked even more without it!

In other words, the consumer is now wiped out and yet inflation refuses to drop materially. So yes, the Fed will cut and then we can finally unleash the second coming of the Arthur Burns hyperinflation Fed.

end

III  USA ECONOMIC COMMENTARIES

It is getting quite ugly for the consumer: both Ulta and LuluLemon miss on their earnings report

(zerohedge)

Lulu Prints Lemons, Ulta Gets Ugly As Shawties Spend Less On Plumage

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 04:58 PM

In what should hardly be a surprise after today’s record plunge in Dollar General, which is where the lower, pardon Biden middle-class trades down to before it has to downgrade to Five Finger Discount General…

… moments ago two other discretionary consumer icons, Lululemon and Ulta Beauty, reported catastrophic results.

Starting with Ulta Beauty, that favorite every 20-something upwardly mobile (if not so much any more) single woman, not to mention Warren Buffet’s latest acquisition (Berkshire bought $267 million worth in Q2) the company reported Q2 results which missed across the board:

• EPS $5.30, down from $6.02 y/y, missing estimates $5.49
• Net sales $2.55 billion, +0.9% y/y, missing estimates of $2.61 billion
• Comparable sales -1.2% vs. +8% y/y, missing estimate +1.32%
• Gross margin 38.3% vs. 39.3% y/y, missing estimates of 38.8%
• Merchandise inventories $2.00 billion, +10% y/y, higher than estimates $1.92 billion

The 2025 forecast was even uglier:

• Sees net sales $11.0 billion to $11.2 billion, a big drop from the previous guidance of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion, and a huge miss to estimate $11.51 billion
• Sees EPS $22.60 to $23.50, also a huge cut to prior guidance of $25.20 to $26, and a huge miss to estimates of $25.42
• Sees comparable sales -2% to 0%, down sharply from +2% to +3%, and a huge miss to the consensus estimate +1.89%
• Sees operating margin 12.7% to 13%, down sharply from the 13.7% to 14% prior, and a huge miss to the estimate 13.7%
• Sees capital expenditure $400 million to $450 million, saw $415 million to $490 million, estimate $443.4 million

TL/DR: Ulta shares plunged as much as 8% in afterhours trading after the cosmetics retailer lowered its annual projections for comparable sales and profit following weaker-than-expected second-quarter results. Watch as Buffett bails out of the name as quickly as he got in.

But wait, there’s more because if ULTA was bad, LULU was just as ugly:

• Net revenue $2.37 billion, missing estimates of $2.41 billion
• Total comp sales +3%, missing estimate +5.63%
• EPS $3.15, beating estimate $2.95

The historicals were bad, but like LULU, guidance was even worse:

Q3 forecast:

• Sees net revenue $2.34 billion to $2.37 billion, missing the estimate $2.41 billion
• Sees EPS $2.68 to $2.73, missing the estimate $2.76

Full year forecast

• Sees net revenue $10.38 billion to $10.48 billion, down sharply from the $10.7 billion to $10.8 billion it saw previously, and also missing the estimate $10.62 billion (Bloomberg Consensus)
• Sees EPS $13.95 to $14.15, also below the previous guidance of $14.27 to $14.47, and vs the consensus estimate $14.00

As Bloomberg notes, the company lowered its sales and profit outlook for the year, adding to concerns on Wall Street that frugal consumers are no longer shelling out for pricey yoga pants and that increased competition is siphoning off customers.

The company now sees sales in a range of $10.38 billion to $10.48 billion this year, down from the previous view of as much as $10.8 billion, offered in early June. Comparable sales, a key retail metric, also missed expectations in the company’s second quarter. Lululemon’s sales growth in North America is slowing as shoppers contend with persistent inflation, higher interest rates and a cooling job market. Comparable store sales fell 3% in the US.

Chief Executive Officer Calvin McDonald’s team has been refining the company’s product assortment to meet demand as shoppers gravitate toward looser-fitting pants. But analysts have questioned some of the company’s product strategies, and noted that rivals such as Alo Yoga and Beyond Yoga appear to be gaining market share.

McDonald said on the call with analysts that he was “disappointed with the recent performance in women’s,” citing missed opportunities because the retailer didn’t offer enough new products in both core and seasonal styles.

According to Bloomberg, Wedbush Securities analyst Tom Nikic said ahead of the results that a guidance cut from Lululemon was “pretty much baked into buyside expectations” after the Vancouver-based company paused sales of its Breezethrough tights and shorts in July. The company said it would make adjustments to the clothes following poor reviews and shopper complaints about the fit. Analysts had seen Breezethrough as a key sales driver.

While the stock was mixed after hours, it had already plunged 50% YTD ahead of earnings, with much of the bad news already in the price. Then again, it appears that US consumers are finally hitting the brick wall, which means the much more downside may be in the near future.

end

Big Lots mulls bankruptcy// they have 1400 stores dealing with lower level consumer. Another indicator that the consumer is in trouble

(zerohedge)

Big Lots Reportedly Mulls Bankruptcy Amid Consumer Downturn

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 10:40 PM

The theme of a consumer downturn (mainly for low/mid-tier) remains strong.

On Thursday morning, Dollar General missed Wall Street’s profit and sales expectations and cut its full-year forecast, citing that core customers “feel financially constrained.” With this persisting trend, it’s unsurprising that home goods retailer Big Lots may be teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. 

Bloomberg reports that Ohio-based Big Lots, with about 1,400 stores nationwide, has mulled over whether a potential bankruptcy filing is the right move in the near term given the slide in sales, which resulted in a multi-year crash of shares trading in New York. 

The company is also seeking investors in a bid to avoid Chapter 11, according to one person familiar. The people asked not to be named sharing information about confidential matters. The plans aren’t final and Big Lots’ path may change. -BBG

***

Big Lots received a loan earlier this year to help it navigate its liquidity crunch. It has been seeking additional financing in recent weeks.

With liquidity drying up, Big Lots has experienced a sharp decline in sales over the last two years as elevated inflation and high interest rates depress demand for big-ticket discretionary purchases. 

Bloomberg noted, “The chain on Aug. 12 approved one-time retention bonuses for its top executives totaling over $5 million. Such payments often precede corporate restructurings, especially in Chapter 11, and serve to keep key management from jumping ship during the effort.” 

Shares have crashed nearly 99% since peaking above the $70 handle in mid-2021. Paging ‘Roar Kitty’ – it’s time for stock pump. Maybe he’s too busy Ryan Cohen’s lap dog. 

Troubled retailers hurt by a consumer slowdown are yet more evidence that the economy is trending in the wrong direction. Hence, the Fed will likely initiate an interest rate-cutting cycle on Sept. 18.

end

 You Had One Job: Kamala Blows Pre-Taped Interview Question With Walz Right Next To Her

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 08:35 PM

Kamala Harris had one job – don’t blow your first sit-down interview with the press. No word salad. No ‘unburdened by what has been’ mantra. Don’t cackle to cover up for a lack of brain cells.

She couldn’t even do that…

Sitting down with running mate Tim Walz for a pre-taped CNN interview set to air at 9 PM Thursday, a preview clip reveals she’s still an absolute moron.

Dana Bash (whose CIA ex-husband signed the Hunter Biden disinfo letter) tossed Harris what should have been a well-rehearsed softball; asking how voters should “look at some of the changes you’ve made.”

“Is it because you have more experience now and you’ve learned more about the information? Is it because you were running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?“

In other words, why shouldn’t you believe you’re full of shit over your dramatic shift in positions towards moderate policies?

There are a million ways to answer that spoon-fed question, but Harris chose more word salad.

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” she replied. “You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed – and I have worked on it – that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.“

Yes, deadlines around time.

Kamala: "The climate crisis is real that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time." pic.twitter.com/xjTVwcUfLZ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 29, 2024

The reactions were classic…

An 18 minute interview with an emotional support Governor…..That's beyond pathetic! 🤦‍♂️🤣😅😎 pic.twitter.com/lk2fXuqDL7

— Andre Nuta 🇺🇲 (@andre_nuta) August 29, 2024

So she's saying that her values haven't changed, just her policies now.

Kamala is a chameleon and a fraud.

— AmericanPapaBear (@AmericaPapaBear) August 29, 2024

Kamala Harris is her name and word salad is her game! pic.twitter.com/CAQMCd5gN5

— ProudPatriotUS🇺🇲 (@PrPatriotUS) August 29, 2024

At least the debate on the 10th should be entertaining, to say the least!

end

This may be troublesome to Kamala as here name is not yet on the ballot in 3 battleground states

(zerohedge/Ben Sellers)

As Dems Decry AI Over Ballot-Deadline ‘Misinfo’, 3 Key Battlegrounds May Still Omit Kamala

Friday, Aug 30, 2024 – 07:45 AM

Authored by Ben Sellers via Headline USA,

Earlier this month, leftist secretaries of state pounced at the opportunity to attack Trump-backing billionaire Elon Musk over allegations that his artificial intelligence chatbot had errantly suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris would not make the ballot in several states.

Curiously enough, the complaint appeared to ignore three major battleground states where the law still stipulates that President Joe Biden will appear on the ballot as the Democrat candidate, according to a leading conservative think-tank, which suggested that claims of Harris being eligible to appear in all 50 states may be the real disinformation.

Grok—which is available only to subscribers of the premium versions of X—debuted last year and was touted by Musk as a “rebellious” AI chatbot that would answer “spicy questions that are rejected by most other AI systems.”

However, not all of its responses may be entirely accurate.

Top election officials from Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Washington sent a letter to Musk on Aug. 5 complaining that the chatbot had produced false information about state ballot deadlines shortly after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

According to the letter, Grok had indicated that the deadline for replacing Biden had already passed in nine states states where it had not: Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

“In all nine states the opposite is true: The ballots are not closed, and upcoming ballot deadlines would allow for changes to candidates listed on the ballot,” the secretaries wrote.

Following the fix, the chatbot now says, “For accurate and up-to-date information about the 2024 U.S. Elections, please visit Vote.gov” before listing responses to election-related questions.

“We appreciate X’s action to improve their platform and hope they continue to make improvements that will ensure their users have access to accurate information from trusted sources in this critical election year,” the secretaries of state wrote.

Even while Biden was in the race, ballot eligibility in Ohio, Alabama and Washington was a source of concern since all three initially had ballot deadlines that took effect prior to last week’s Democrat convention in Chicago.

In each case, however, the state legislature or the secretary of state worked to resolve the loophole and ensure that the Democrat nominee would be on the ballot.

That nominee, of course, proved not to be Biden but rather Harris, his former running mate, after party elites forced the incumbent president out of the race.

To play it safe, Democrats conducted a virtual nominating process that took place prior to Harris’s ceremonial nomination and acceptance speech at last week’s convention.

Yet, despite the focus on states where Harris is now assured her spot on the ballot, major questions remain as to whether she will be eligible to appear in at least three other crucial swing states.

According to the Heritage Oversight Project, an election-integrity watchdog launched by prominent conservative think-tank the Heritage Foundation, the deadline for removing Biden from the ballot has already long since passed in Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada.

This is big. It's likely already too late to remove Joe Biden from the ballot.

WISCONSIN — It's already too late to remove Joe Biden from the ballot.

NEVADA—After tonight, the fourth Friday in June, it will be too late to remove Joe Biden.

GEORGIA—Only a few weeks remain…

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 28, 2024

Some have argued that the question may be moot since Harris absorbed Biden’s campaign into her own.

Under such circumstances, the Electoral College, which has been oft-reviled by the Left, may prove to be its savior.

The political parties’ “nominees for president and vice president are not the candidates who are elected on November 5th, the people running for presidential elector are,” explained Joel Watson Jr., Louisiana’s deputy secretary of state for communications, in a July article by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Those electors, like the ones pledged to Biden during the primary, would then exercise their discretion to cast a vote for Harris instead of Biden when they convene in December.

Additionally, the article, citing information from 39 state news bureaus, disputed the Heritage Oversight Project’s deadline claims and instead listed September deadlines for Georgia (9/17), Nevada (9/3) and Wisconsin (9/3) to finalize their ballots.

Yet, Mike Howell, the executive director of the Oversight Project, told Headline USA in an email that its researchers “were not mistaken at all” about their read on the state laws.

Democrats are “not out of the woods yet … and I’m wondering why no one with standing is suing,” Howell said.

“The DNC and Biden claimed that Biden was already the nominee before he was taken out, Howell added. “So now they have two nominees, without formally withdrawing and substi[tu]ting one of them, and I’m not sure why Secretaries of State are okay with that process.”

EDUCATIONAL REMINDER: the @DNC has TWO nominees for President right now, w/o having properly substituted or withdrawn the first one.

They jumped the gun and formally named Biden the nominee while coup was ongoing. Then they nominated Harris by Zoom post-coup to beat deadlines. https://t.co/EJ6fpEip6j

— Mike Howell (@MHowellTweets) August 27, 2024

Howell took credit for having forced the DNC’s pre-convention virtual-roll-call vote due to the prior threat of a lawsuit.

We have been preparing for this moment for months

Many in the media tried discrediting us

Who is laughing now?

No more “make it up as you go” elections

Stay tuned… https://t.co/eODcN7DpQP

— Oversight Project (@OversightPR) July 21, 2024

“The DNC admitted that it was a major legal problem so they moved up the DNC nomination process to a Zoom roll call vote in early [A]ugust without any citizen actually voting for Kamala Harris,” Howell said. “This is admitted in writing by the DNC and they reference us as the reason.”

As far as the three battleground states where Harris may be ineligible, it is not yet clear whether election officials will seek to swap out the nominee to accommodate Democrats—and avert a messy legal battle—or whether Republicans will press forward with any preemptive challenges.

Howell noted that a lawsuit from the Heritage Foundation inevitably would be dismissed due to its lack of standing, meaning it would likely fall on the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, or on a group of concerned voters in the state, to pursue litigation.

Complicating the matter may be the issue of whether plaintiffs could advance a case before the ballots were cast, or if it would be necessary to wait until after the grievance already had occurred—setting the stage for no-holds-barred courtroom brawls like the ones in 2020.

Not surprisingly, the Harris campaign has already secured a legion of lawyers, overseen yet again by prominent ‘electioneer’ Marc Elias.

Headline USA reached out to RNC co-chair Michael Whatley to inquire as to whether it had such a lawsuit planned; as well as to Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, to inquire whether Republican Secretary Brad Raffensperger would adhere to the law or seek a workaround to accommodate Harris.

Neither had responded as of Thursday morning.

Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/realbensellers. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

end

4 major diseases in the news:

1.Encephalitis

2.monkeypox

3. Polio

4. Covid resurgence

Just In Time, They Are Really Ramping Up The Fear For 3 Different Very Frightening Diseases

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 07:45 PM

Authored by Michael Snyder via The Most Important News,

Why are there suddenly so many stories about deadly diseases in the news?  We are just a little over two months away from November, and so this is a perfect time to deeply alarm the general public about a coming health crisis, right?  But this time around it isn’t just one major disease that is making news.  As you will see below, people are freaking out about 3 different very frightening diseases. 

Of course when people are afraid that they might die from some extremely deadly outbreak, they are far more likely to accept measures that they would usually not even consider during normal times.

In the Northeast, there is a tremendous amount of concern about the Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus right now.  People in Massachusetts have been instructed to “limit their time outdoors” due to a confirmed case in that state, and now confirmed cases have appeared in Vermont and New Hampshire…

Last week, it was reported that an 80-year-old man in Massachusetts tested positive for the rare virus, sparking public health concerns.

Officials then discovered the disease in mosquitoes across the state and warned residents to limit their time outdoors.

The virus then started appearing in neighboring states, with cases popping up in Vermont and New Hampshire, where the unidentified victim was pronounced dead.

It is being reported that this virus “has also been found in horses in eight New York counties”.

So this virus is already in at least four different states, and that is not good news at all, because it has a very high death rate in humans…

Approximately 30 percent of those infected with the virus die, and those who survive, are often left with neurologic problems. There are no vaccines or medicines to treat or prevent the disease.

Usually, cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis are quite rare.

But if hundreds of people start dying after catching this virus in the months ahead, we are going to see extreme panic.

Due to fears of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and an outbreak of West Nile virus, New York City is preparing “to spray pesticides to help prevent the spread of mosquitoes”…

New York City is planning to spray pesticides to help prevent the spread of mosquitoes, and potential diseases.

The announcement comes days after Dr Anthony Fauci, former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director and the government’s top infectious disease official during the pandemic, was hospitalized with West Nile virus.

Dr Fauci, 83, spent around a week in the hospital after developing fever, chills, and severe fatigue. He believes he contracted West Nile in the backyard of his Washington DC home, and is expected to make a full recovery, CBS News’ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jonathan LaPook tweeted on Saturday.

So now the entire Big Apple is going to be doused with dangerous chemicals in a desperate attempt to kill the mosquitoes that are carrying these diseases.

If you live in New York City, now may be a good time to take a vacation.

Meanwhile, scientists are warning that the new Monkeypox strain is mutating faster than they anticipated…

Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected, and often in areas where experts lack the funding and equipment to properly track it.

That means there are numerous unknowns about the virus itself, its severity and how it is transmitting, complicating the response, half a dozen scientists in Africa, Europe and the United States told Reuters.

So far they have had no luck fighting the outbreak that is absolutely ravaging the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Sadly, the number of cases and the total death toll both continue to rise…

Congo has had more than 18,000 suspected mpox cases and 615 deaths this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which declared an mpox health emergency this month after a new variant called clade Ib emerged.

There have now been confirmed cases in several neighboring countries, and travelers have brought it to Europe and Asia.

In 2022, a strain of Monkeypox that was being spread by sexual contact rapidly spread all over the globe.

Apparently this new strain often spreads without any sexual contact at all, and we are being told that children are being infected in very large numbers…

Children in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo are worst-affected by the current outbreak of mpox, which has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The country accounts for nearly all of this year’s recorded cases and more than 450 deaths.

“It began like a small, inflamed spot. The mother squeezed it and watery discharge came out. Then another developed, and after a short period, they were all over the body,” says Alain Matabaro, describing how mpox developed in his six-year-old son Amani.

At this point, the experts do not fully understand why so many children are being infected.

One theory that is being proposed is that it is because children have “less developed immune systems”…

Some 75% of the cases being seen by medics there are under the age of 10, according to Dr Pierre-Olivier Ngadjole who works for the charity Medair.

Young people seem to be particularly badly affected by the mpox outbreak because of their less developed immune systems.

If this new strain of monkeypox starts infecting children all over the western world, there will be widespread panic and we will likely see very harsh lockdowns.

Speaking of that, it is being reported that a school in Alabama and a school in Tennessee were just temporarily shut down because too many kids were catching COVID…

Schools in two states experiencing a rise in Covid cases announced they were closing facilities and switching to remote learning.

Alabama and Tennessee announced the closure of two schools — affecting more than a thousand children — just days into the new academic year, with officials saying the virus had forced them to shut and carry out a ‘deep clean.’

At one of the schools, children had to abandon their desks and revert to remote learning for two days — a move reminiscent of the early days of Covid.

Why is this happening?

I thought that we agreed that we weren’t going to do this anymore.

Right now there are lots of news stories about how COVID is making a major comeback, but most Americans are not buying it.

By now, just about everyone understands that it has an extremely low death rate.

However, it is just a matter of time before a horrifying worldwide pandemic that has a very high death rate comes along.

When that day arrives, the panic that we have seen during the past several years will pale in comparison to what we will witness.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

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

iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES/IMPORTANT MEDICAL ISSUES

end

END

FREIGHT ISSUES/USA/

END

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON OR NEWT GINGRICH/TUCKER CARLSON

SWAMP STORIES

“Living In Third World”: Armed Venezuelan Gang Members Roam Colorado Apartment Building

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 05:40 PM

Far-left lawmakers in sanctuary city Denver welcomed tens of thousands of illegal aliens who invaded the US southern border under the Biden-Harris administration’s watch. Now, the Denver suburb of Aurora is in turmoil as the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua roams the streets armed with rifles and pistols, transforming parts of the once peaceful metro area into a third-world-esque state. 

“There’s a huge increase in violence in these areas in Aurora, where these newly arrived foreign-born migrants, many of whom are Venezuelan, have started to grow,” former ICE field office director and Colorado GOP congressional candidate John Fabbricatore told Fox News earlier this week. 

Denver Democrats have welcomed over 42,000 illegal aliens since 2022, some of whom include members of Tren de Aragua. 

New footage has surfaced of alleged gang violence at The Edge at Lowry apartments in Aurora, which, according to local media KDVR, is a “hotspot” for migrant crime. 

In the video, men can be seen walking up a stairwell carrying weapons. They can be heard speaking Spanish.

The owners of the video said it was taken shortly before a shootout at the complex that left one person seriously injured. Several vehicles were also damaged by gunfire.

All of the people appear to be carrying rifles and handguns, except for one of the men who can be seen talking on a cell phone. They all then gather around a door and go in.

🚨BREAKING: Newly released video shows armed gang of Venezuelan illegals take over apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado.

Aurora, a quiet community with a population of 390,000 has become a base of operations for the brutal Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which already has… pic.twitter.com/mNW8FF5mXa

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) August 28, 2024

Meanwhile, Aurora Council Member Danielle Jurinsky has warned the Venezuelan gang is overrunning the metro area.

Jurinsky recently told Fox News, “Residents tell me they feel they are living in a third-world country at this point.” 

He pointed the finger at the Biden-Harris team, saying the people of Aurora are “suffering” at their “hands.”

Due to the Biden-Harris administration allowing millions of illegal migrants into our country, the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua is now taking over suburbs of Denver, CO.

"Parts of the city are absolutely under this gang control. The local media is downplaying this. I… pic.twitter.com/6ll4P7byIg

— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) August 29, 2024

Aurora police released a statement Wednesday afternoon:

The city and Aurora Police Department, as we previously stated, established a special task force in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal activity affecting migrant communities. We are grateful that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a valuable federal partner, has acknowledged its ongoing work into TdA across the metro and appreciate the additional resources it provides to combat this issue.

We are aware that components of TdA are operating in Aurora. APD has been increasingly collecting evidence to show the gang is connected to crimes in the area. However, as we have said previously and as the DEA similarly stated, it would be improper at this time for the city and APD to make any conclusory statements about specific incidents or provide details about law enforcement strategy and operations.

Based on our initial investigative work, we believe reports of TdA influence in Aurora are isolated. We urge all community members, including members of our migrant communities, to please report crimes committed against them to their local law enforcement agencies and not remain silent victims. Crime victims can report crimes anonymously by calling Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720.913.STOP (7867). 

As always, information could change as the investigations continue at the local, state and federal levels.

UPDATE: The city and Aurora Police Department, as previously stated, established a special task force in collaboration with other local, state and federal partners to specifically address concerns about Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) and other criminal activity affecting… pic.twitter.com/ytAhIcBxy0

— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) August 28, 2024

The Biden-Harris administration is complicit in the border chaos and importing the third world into the US. If the aim is to overwhelm local municipalities to trigger chaos and pave the way for some far-left “change,” then it certainly appears that this might be the objective. The situation will get much worse before it gets better.

END

Lawsuits Pile Up After Company Confirms Social Security Numbers Were Hacked

Thursday, Aug 29, 2024 – 05:15 PM

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

More lawsuits have been filed against background check company National Public Data (NPD) after it confirmed that a major data breach exposed Americans’ personal records, including Social Security numbers.

Earlier in August, the breach became more widely known after a class-action lawsuit was filed against the Florida-based company, alleging that 2.9 billion records that included Social Security numbers were leaked online and put up for sale for $3.5 million on the dark web.

Days later, NPD confirmed a data breach in a letter to the Maine attorney general’s office and in a statement on its website, although it said that only 1.3 million people’s records were leaked.

But this week and late last week, several more lawsuits were filed against the firm, including one filed by two women on Aug. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. So far, more than a dozen suits have been filed against NPD or its parent company, Jerico Pictures, since early August, according to a review of the Justia database.

NPD said that a “data security incident” from an attempted hack by a “third-party bad actor” led to the breach, according to a statement posted on its website last week.

There was an attempted hack of its systems in December 2023 and “potential leaks of certain data in April 2024 and summer 2024,“ the statement said. ”Additional security measures in efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of such a breach and to protect our systems,” it added.

The company said that if you were potentially affected by the breach you should “closely monitor your financial accounts and if you see any unauthorized activity, you should promptly contact your financial institution.”

Americans are being urged to contact the three largest credit reporting agencies—TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian—to get a free credit report or place a fraud alert on any potential lines of credit that were opened in an unauthorized manner, the company said.

A lawsuit filed on Aug. 1 by Christopher Hoffman, a California resident, alleged the company was hacked by USDoD, a cybercriminal organization, which then posted the database of Social Security numbers and other records on the dark web. His suit further alleged that hackers retrieved data about past addresses, relatives, and other information dating back three decades.

“The present and continuing risk to victims of the data breach will remain for their respective lifetimes,” his lawsuit said.

His lawsuit, as well as others that have been filed since then, accuse NPD of negligence and a breach of fiduciary duty. The firm has not responded to the allegations in court.

The allegations prompted a House committee to open an investigation into the firm, according to a letter sent to the company by several lawmakers.

If the lawsuit is accurate, the “data breach likely represents one of the largest cyberattacks ever in terms of impacted individuals,” the lawmakers wrote. “The Committee requests a briefing to confirm the veracity of the attack, and if accurate, assess the potential impacts of the breach to the U.S. government, businesses, and the American people, as well as National Public Data’s response to the attack.”

In the meantime, at least two websites have been set up to allow people to tell whether their data, including Social Security numbers, have been compromised.

One is operated by Pentester, a cybersecurity testing service, which allows a person to type his or her first name, last name, state, and date of birth. Another site that appeared in the past week or so is www.npdbreach.com, operated by Atlas Privacy, another cybersecurity company.

“We are displaying a redacted version for people to know if they were affected, and if so, is the information correct that was shown about them. Many times it is not. Also, we do not store their searches on npd.pentester.com,” Pentester spokesman Richard Glaser told The Epoch Times.

end

US Taxpayers Paid $150 Billion In 1 Year For Migrants: Report

FRIDAY, AUG 30, 2024 – 09:10 AM

In 2023, roughly $150 billion in US taxpayer money was doled out for government services and support to help the 20 million illegals in the country, according to a study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

Most of the money was borne by state and local governments, not the feds, the NY Post reports.

In Massachusetts, Republican leaders say there’s a $1 billion hole in state coffers — and they’re accusing the Democrat-controlled government of quietly siphoning off tax dollars to deal with the migrant crisis.

On Tuesday, the state’s Republican Party filed a Freedom of Information Act request demanding Gov. Maura Healey release Massachusetts’ full migrant budget, and alleging that the true cost has been hidden from the public. -NY Post

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration has shrouded nearly $1 billion spent in secrecy, leaving Massachusetts residents in the dark,” the party’s Amy Carnevale told Fox News. “They have withheld critical information on 600 incidents involving police, fire and EMT. Blocking journalists at every turn, the administration has obstructed the flow of information to the public.”

According to FAIR, in 2023, Massachusetts taxpayers paid closer to $3 billion in state services for illegals.

In New York, the comptroller estimated that the migrant crisis would cost roughly $4.3 billion through 2025, while NYC taxpayers will be on the hook for $3 billion this year.

According to the Post, while most states’ accounts of migrant expenses look mostly at emergency housing and aid, FAIR looked at the ‘full breadth’ of state services – including education, medical expenses, law enforcement, legal costs, and welfare.

They also included the costs of US-born children of illegal immigrants.

“As long as we keep allowing millions of people to come into the country illegally every year, it’s obviously going to continue to increase the costs,” spokesperson Ira Mehlman told The Post. “This seems to be just sort of basic, common sense. If you were going to be bringing in lots and lots of people, many of them working off the books for very low wages, that there are going to be enormous social costs incurred,” he added.

And Trump wanted $5 billion for his wall.

Read the rest of the report here…

end

Trump Warns Zuckerberg And Anyone Who Illegally Interferes In Election Will Be Jailed For Life

BY TYLER DURDEN

FRIDAY, AUG 30, 2024 – 08:45 AM

Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

Donald Trump has warned that Mark Zuckerberg and anyone else who illegally interferes in the election will be jailed for life is he wins the presidency.

The claim appears in a new book written by Trump called Save America that is due to be published next week.

Trump says that the Facebook founder will “spend the rest of his life in prison” if there is proven meddling.

Zuckerberg’s Facebook played a key role in censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story before the 2020 election based on fake claims that the story was a ‘Russian disinformation’ operation, when in fact it was completely true.

“Former President Donald Trump railed against Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in his upcoming book, accusing the tech tycoon of undermining him in the last election and warning of possible jail time.

Trump, 78, recounted meeting with Zuckerberg, 40, and seethed over the 2020 election… pic.twitter.com/XPMdIjeM6Y— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) August 28, 2024

Some observers say that the suppression of this story, along with a multitude of others, could have changed the outcome of the vote.

In the book, Trump says that he is “watching him [Zuckerberg] closely” ahead of the election in November.

While he was in office, Trump said that Zuckerberg would visit him and “bring his very nice wife to dinners, be as nice as anyone could be,” but was secretly mounting a “plot against the President”.

“He told me there was nobody like Trump on Facebook. But at the same time, and for whatever reason, steered it against me,” writes Trump.

“We are watching him closely, and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison – as will others who cheat in the 2024 presidential election.”

Trump’s Facebook account was suspended after the January 6 riot, despite the president telling protesters to remain peaceful and go home.

He was only reinstated to the social media platform at the start of this year.

As we previously highlighted, Zuckerberg sensationally admitted that the Biden White House pressured Facebook to censor content about COVID-19 and the Hunter Biden laptop story and that he now regrets it.

“I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it. I also think we made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today,” wrote Zuckerberg in a letter to the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee.

*  *  *

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

end

.

KING REPORT

U.S. pending home sales drop to an all-time low
Pending home sales fell 5.5% in July from the previous month, according to the monthly index released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). That pushed the index down to an all-time low. The index had hit an all-time low in May but bounced back in June.  Contract signings fell to a record low, the NAR said, since it began tracking sales data since 2001.
    The drop in the index in July was unexpected. Economists were forecasting pending home sales to rise 0.1%… Year-over-year, transactions were down 8.5%.  https://t.co/FTOtSP37HT

Dollar General shares slump as weak demand, stiff competition prompts forecast cut
Intense competition in the face of weakening demand for non-essential items… https://t.co/ETfslUrg2b

Ulta Beauty Cuts Sales Outlook on Slowing Consumer Demand – BBG

Q2 GDP Unexpectedly Revised Higher on Bizarre Surge in Personal Consumption
According to the BEA, Q2 GDP was revised to 3.0% from the 2.8%…more than double the 1.4%  growth reported in Q1, and was driven almost entirely by a bizarro surge in personal consumption, which jumped 2.9%, up from 2.3% in the first estimate, and smashed consensus estimates of a 2.2% print…  Personal consumption contributed 1.95% to the bottom line GDP, up from 1.57% in the first estimate.  Fixed Investment was revised modestly lower, to 0.64% in the second revision from 0.53% a month ago.
    The Change in private inventories was also revised modestly lower, from 0.82% to 0.78%.
    Net trade also ended up detracting more from the bottom-line print, with exports less imports reducing GDP by -0.77%, a modest deterioration from -0.71% originally reported.
    Finally, the contribution from government was also revised lower, to 0.46% from 0.53%…
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/q2-gdp-unexpectedly-revised-higher-bizarre-surge-personal-consumption

Full GDP Report: https://www.bea.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/gdp2q24-2nd.pdf

For the past few months, private industry has regularly warned that US consumers are under duress and are retrenching.  But the US BEA just reported that US consumers spent like crazy in Q2.  Is the BEA overstating US economic strength, ala the BLS?  Bidenomics!

The better-than-expected US Q2 GDP induced buying of stocks and commodities plus the selling of bonds – an unwind of the defensive asset allocation that has appeared on recession angst.

@PeterBerezinBCA: Are earnings estimates fake news?  Since December 2021, the S&P 500 has risen 25%, 12-month forward earnings estimate have risen 18%, operating earnings have risen 5%, but GAAP profits have increased less than 1%!https://x.com/PeterBerezinBCA/status/1828534055966777703

We regularly note that the peak of the manipulation to game performance tends to occur on the penultimate day of the marking period.  That was yesterday for August performance.  Unless July PCE data leaked early (and it shouldn’t matter now that the Fed and markets have a 25bp rate cut for September baked in and there is no way the Fed will cut 50bps in one meeting ahead of an election), this was the dynamic that drove the equity rally on Thursday.

While the general stock market rallied sharply on Thursday, Nvidia and Google sank.  This action pulled Mag 7 and related trading sardines lower. 

ESUs traded sharply lower in early Nikkei trading on Nvidia.  Traders bought the dip, which produced a daily low of 5561.25 at 18:45 ET.  ESUs then relentlessly rallied and hit a high of 5663.75 at 12:47 ET.
After a plodding 19-handle decline, ESUs sank on a WSJ report that Apple and Nvidia are in discussions about investing in a new funding round for OpenAI.  Google fell to 160.25 at 15:12 (165.97 high).

After hitting 5598.00 at 14:44 ET, ESUs jumped to 5626.50 at 15:36 ET; but they fell to 5602.75 at 15:54 ET.  ESUs were lifted to 5615.00 at 16:00 ET.

Judge blasts Google over ‘destroyed’ evidence as another DOJ antitrust case looms: ‘Clear abuse of privilege’ – Google committed “clear abuse of privilege” by implementing a policy that automatically deleted employee chat records… https://t.co/TbNi4zY3J3

X will close its San Francisco headquarters on September 13 – FORTUNE.

Positive aspects of previous session
US equities rallied sharply in the morning; the DJIA was the strongest index and hit a new all-time high.

Negative aspects of previous session
NVDA and Google let Mag 7 stocks lower and reversed the general equity rally in the afternoon
USUs were -10/32 at the NYSE close
Gasoline and oil rallied sharply, they should be declining on the looming end of Drive Season.

Ambiguous aspects of previous session
Have Mag 7 stocks made some type of top?

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

Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5607.54
Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5646.95; 5583.71

Chinese leader Xi meets US national security adviser as the two powers try to avoid conflict
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday as the latter wound up a three-day visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open in a relationship that has become increasingly tense in recent years…
Sullivan also met one of China’s vice chairs of the Central Military Commission, Gen. Zhang Youxia,on Thursday morning — a rare meeting with a visiting U.S. official… “China demands that the United States stop military collusion between the U.S. and Taiwan, stop arming Taiwan and stop spreading false narratives about Taiwan,” the statement said, without elaborating on what the false narratives are…https://apnews.com/article/china-us-sullivan-xi-jinping-military-f309d86175fe4ba4a70dc7792591a5a5

Iran further increases stockpile of highly enriched uranium: IAEA
https://insiderpaper.com/iran-further-increases-stockpile-of-highly-enriched-uranium-iaea/

FBI has mishandled reporting of child sexual abuse investigations, watchdog says (Reform a must!)
The FBI was aware of U.S. gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar molesting female athletes but did not act quick enough.  https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fbi-handling-child-sexual-abuse-investigations-must-improve-watchdog

@calleymeans: There cannot be enough attention drawn to these appalling graphics from Vani Hari.
(Fruit Loop ingredients in US vs. Germany) Our food system is compromised. https://t.co/vYUPNNGfQL

Fed Balance Sheet: -$16.714B, MBS -$14.281B; Reserves at Fed: +$75.221B (Restrictive my…!)

Today is the last Summer Friday and the end of August trading.  The markets will be thin due to absenteeism for the Labor Day Weekend; and the absenteeism will increase as the session progresses.
PS – Bulls are arduously trying to hold ESUs above 5600.

Look for the usual suspects to manipulate Mag 7 stocks and related trading sardines higher.  These issues are over-owned and have suffered lately.  ‘Need the marks’ for August performance gaming!”

NQUs are +18.75; ESUs are +1.50; and USUs are +3/32 at 20:22 ET. 

Expected Economic July Personal Income 0.2% m/m, Spending 0.5%, PCE Price Index 0.2% & 2.6% y/y, Core PCE 0.2% m/m & 2.7% y/y; Aug Chicago PMI 45.1; Aug UM Sentiment 68

S&P Index 50-day MA: 5500; 100-day MA: 5360; 150-day MA: 5270; 200-day MA: 5122
DJIA 50-day MA: 40,028; 100-day MA: 39,378; 150-day MA: 39,211; 200-day MA: 38,588
(Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)

S&P 500 Index (5591.96 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames
Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 4983.62 triggers a sell signal
Weekly: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 5544.00 triggers a sell signal
Daily: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5520.55 triggers a sell signal
Hourly: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 5589.70 triggers a sell signal

Harris had a Biden-like brain lock at a rally in Georgia on Thursday.

@TrumpWarRoom: KAMALA: “He even called for termination of the United States supreme, the c— the supreme land of our nation, the United States Constitution!” What? (And it’s a blatant lie!)
https://x.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1829271130248544278

@JasonMillerinDC: Hearing that CNN will NOT be releasing the full transcript of all 18-minutes (total) of the interview with Kamala Harris and… Coach Walz. What’s being cut out???

@charliekirk11: Kamala waited 40 days to give an interview, refused to do it live, needed her lapdog Tim Walz there as an emotional support animal, and now it’s reportedly just 18 minutes long with the transcript edited down for broadcast? Is this a joke?

@Geiger_Capital: There’s no way it’s a ~18 minute interview… If this is true, there is something seriously wrong. It would have been better for Kamala not to do it at all. This will only raise more questions, and rightfully so.

Harris explains in exclusive CNN interview why she’s shifted her position on key issues since her first run for president – Her values haven’t shifted but that her time as vice president provided new perspective on some of the country’s most pressing issues… (Sophistry & gaslighting!)
She brushed off her rival’s questioning of her racial identity…  the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time.” (Vintage Kamala word salad!) … “I believe it is important to build consensus, and it is important to find a common place of understanding of where we can actually solve problems.”…
https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/politics/kamala-harris-tim-walz-cnntv

@ChuckRossDC: These aren’t questions from Dana Bash; they’re answers. Insane (Disgraceful!)
Bash: “How should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made?” Bash asked Harris. “Is it because you have more experience now and you’ve learned more about the information?…

@MZHemingway: This is so embarrassing. For Kamala to survive, she had to have a chaperone and then a “journalist” so unbelievably sycophantic that she delivered the “question” with multiple choice answers. Lord, have mercy.

@JackPosobiec: This is so bad! In the first clip, Kamala just admitted that the Inflation Reduction Act was a backdoor way to get the Green New Deal passed.  She totally forgot the cover story they’ve been saying all along.https://x.com/JackPosobiec/status/1829252127757349196
     Listen to how Dana Bash is helping Kamala Harris here. She asks a question, then gives Kamala several possible example of answers before having Kamala speak.  This is called ‘leading the witness’

@seanmdav: CNN’s interviewer couldn’t keep herself from telling Harris how to answer the question while asking the question. And Harris still couldn’t manage to give a coherent answer.

At best, Harris delivered a nothing burger on CNN even after Dana Bash guided her to responses.  Trump should prepare for his debate with Harris by listening to recordings of Norm Cosby routines.

@charliekirk11: Kamala Harris tells CNN she would appoint a FORMER Republican to her Cabinet:
“I think it would be to the benefit of the American public to have a member of my Cabinet who was a Republican.” You don’t pander this hard unless your internal numbers say there’s a BIG problem.

CNN reportedly sent out a revised transcript of the Harris-Walz interview!

@ByronYork: CNN sends out another transcript of second Harris clip, now says ‘who is a Republican.’
https://x.com/ByronYork/status/1829276283890442541

Conservatives pounce on Kamala Harris for latest ‘word salad’ on climate change ‘deadlines’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/conservatives-pounce-kamala-harris-latest-word-salad-climate-change-deadlines

@LeeSmithDC: Optics are terrible, candidate is hunched over and from angle the #2 pick is a head taller. Doesn’t matter what she says, body language betrays her as weak and shrinking…
https://x.com/AlexThomp/status/1829249602542862757

Tallest Candidate Wins Majority (58%) of US Presidential Elections
https://www.voanews.com/a/tallest-person-wins-majority-of-us-presidential-elections–132610998/162773.html

Here’s why Team Obama-Harris is reluctantly exposing Kamala for an 18-minutes only interview:
@IAPolls2022: Latest @NateSilver538 forecast (chance of winning): August 14 Harris, 56.7%, Trump 42.7%; August 29 Trump 52.4%, Harris 47.3%

Fox News: WSJ editorial board says Harris is doing first interview with ‘crutch’ Tim Walz: ‘Insult to American voters’  https://www.foxnews.com/media/wsj-editorial-board-harris-doing-first-interview-crutch-tim-walz-insult-american-voters

James Carville says Kamala Harris has to answer for past far-left policies: ‘Bad answer would hurt her a lot’ – It is an absolute truism of American politics that anybody that ever listens to a single thing that the identity left ever said has lived to regret it…
https://www.foxnews.com/media/james-carville-has-answer-past-far-left-policies-cnn-interview-bad-answer-would-hurt-her-lot

ABC News rejects Kamala Harris last-minute bid to change Trump debate rules, will keep muted mics… including no audience, no pre-written notes, or props… Trump and Harris will be standing on stage and will only be allowed to have a pen, a pad of paper and a bottle of water… https://trib.al/hOSxjqN

Fox: Harris campaign refuses to sign off on muted mic debate rules: Still ‘in discussions’ with ABC
@TrumpWarRoom: Sad! (Harris’ hubbie trying to generate ‘USA’ chant) https://t.co/EuEUYH4PH

@PollWatch2020: Wisconsin 2020 Pollsters: In Wisconsin the official election result was Biden +0.6%  Big Media Polls: CNN/SSRS Biden +8% Ipsos Reuters B +10%   Morning Consult B +13%
ABC/Washington Post B +17%

Other pollsters: Trafalgar:  Biden +0.4%     Atlas/Intel:  B +1.9%     Big Data Poll (Baris):  B +2.7%
Susquehanna: B +3%

The latest Morning Consult/Bloomberg poll that has Harris 48% Trump 46%, oversamples women (53%, men 47%, women 50.4% of US population as of 2022, +2% vs. men registered voters), and blacks (15%; 12.1% of US population in 2021).
https://pro-assets.morningconsult.com/wp-uploads/2024/08/Bloomberg_Swing_States_Wave_11.pdf

Harris embellished her prosecutorial record when vying for DA in 2003, broke campaign finance ruleshttps://trib.al/8Tb5Do1

Snopes: In the 1980s, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris worked at McDonald’s while she got her undergraduate degree.  Harris has made this claim repeatedly over the years, and multiple reputable news outlets have reported on the story. But, aside from Harris’ testimony itself, there is no evidence (such as a photo, employment record, or confirmation from a friend or family member) to independently verify the claim. Though we’ve seen no reason to doubt its veracity, we’ve reached out to Harris’ campaign and McDonald’s for evidence to corroborate her claim and we’ll update this report when we learn more. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/harris-mcdonalds-college/

@CollinRugg: An armed illegal immigrant gang has reportedly taken over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. New footage obtained by @vicentearenastv shows an armed gang at a complex in Aurora. Aurora officials have been investigating a Venezuelan gang, the Tren de Aragua gang,… https://t.co/PBPILlyudk

@libsoftiktok: A group of illegals tried HIJACKING school buses carrying children on their way to school in California.  The school now says if migrants are spotted at bus stops, then the bus won’t stop.
https://t.co/wF2WbDsIXt

Army says Arlington National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” during dispute with Trump campaign – An Army spokesperson said Thursday that a female Army National Cemetery official was “abruptly pushed aside” during a dispute with the Trump campaign over political activity and photos on the grounds earlier in the week, but the employee has decided not to press charges…
    The Trump campaign said that they were explicitly granted permission to bring “campaign designated media” to Section 60 of the cemetery by the Gold Star families. Messages reviewed by CBS News confirmed that the campaign was given expressed permission by the families…
    Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told CBS News earlier this week there was “no physical altercation as described and we are prepared to release footage if such defamatory claims are made.”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arlington-national-cemetery-donald-trump-campaign-dispute/

@greg_price11: The media has decided that the biggest scandal of the last day is not that 13 Americans were killed in Afghanistan three years ago due to Biden and Kamala’s incompetence.
    It’s not that Biden was rude to the Gold Star families by checking his watch as their coffins came off the plane and by only wanting to talk to them about his own son who died of brain cancer.
    It’s not that Kamala Harris bragged about being the “last person in the room” making the decisions that led to their deaths, that she’s never once reached out to the Gold Star families…
    It’s not that on the anniversary of their deaths, Joe Biden was at the beach and Kamala Harris was doing nothing.  No. The media has decided that the biggest scandal is that Donald Trump showed up to Arlington Cemetery to honor 13 American heroes at the invitation of their families who gave him permission to take pictures of the event.

@MostlyPeacefull: “Can’t believe Trump took a photo at Arlington. Disgraceful.” (Pics of Obama and Biden at Arlington National Cemetery) https://t.co/g68GhCVZmu

Chicago faces 2025 budget shortfall of nearly a billion dollars – does not include the $175 million pension payment for non-teaching school employees…
https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2024/08/29/mayor-brandon-johnson-2025-budget-forecast-funding-gap-property-taxes-cps-pensions

Have a great Labor Day Weekend!

GREG HUNTER

SEE YOU ON TUESDAY//