NOV 25/YOUR USUAL AND CUSTOMARY CRIMINAL RAID ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY TODAY: GOLD CLOSED DOWN $91.60 TO$2617.85 WHILE SILVER CLOSED DOWN $0.96 TO $30.24//PLATINUM CLOSED DOWN $27.70 TO $940.65 WITH PALLADIUM DOWN $42.80 TO $979.05//GOLD COMMENTARY TONIGHT FROM ALASDAIR MACLEOD//SWEDEN’S NORTHVOLT GOES BELLY UP TODAY//FRANCE STUPIDLY SAYS OK FOR UKRAINE TO FIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS INTO RUSSIA//ISRAEL VS HAMAS/ISRAEL VS HEZBOLLAH: CEASEFIRE BETWEEN LEBANON AND ISRAEL LOOKS ASSURED/IRAN VS EVERYBODY UPDATES//RUSSIA VS UKRAINE AND USA UPDATES//RIOTS IN MONTREAL ON FRIDAY NIGHT: FRANCHISE OWNER OF 2 SECOND CUP OPERATIONS TERMINATED BY THE COMPANY FOR HER HITLER SALUTE AND ACTIVITIES DURING THE PROTEST//RABBI KOGAN FOUND MURDERED IN U.A.E. AND ALREADY THEIR 3 ALLEGED KILLERS EXTRADITED FROM TURKEY//COVID REPORTS ON THE ORIGINS OF THE VIRUS PLUS INJURIES FROM THE VACCINE//DR PAUL ALEXANDER/SLAY NEWS ETC//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT//
We have now entered options expiry week. Comex expiry ends tonight and OTC LBMA options expiry ends this Friday so expect whacking throughout the week
Bitcoin morning price:$97,908 DOWN 921 DOLLARS.
Bitcoin: afternoon price: $974,992 DOWN 3837 DOLLARS
Platinum price closing DOWN $27.65 TO $940.65
Palladium price; DOWN $42.80 TO $979.05
END
*CANADIAN GOLD: $3673.56 DOWN 118.09 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 3,872.51 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//OCT 30 2024)
*BRITISH GOLD: 2090.05 DOWN 75.87 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///2161.00 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) NOV 22/2024
*EURO GOLD: 2,503.41 DOWN 101.39 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2600.25 EUROS PER OZ//NOV 22 //.2024)
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END
EXCHANGE;
JPMorgan stopped 0/0
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR NOV/2024. CONTRACT: 0 NOTICES FOR 0 OZ 0. TONNES
total notices so far: 2723 contracts for 272300 Oz (8.4696 tonnes)
FOR NOV
SILVER NOTICES: 1 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 5,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 923 for 4.615 million oz
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END
GLD/
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL
THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.
WITH GOLD DOWN $91.60 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
NO CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD:
INVENTORY RESTS AT 877.97 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $.96 CENTS AT THE SLV
NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 475.841 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI SURPRISINGLY FELL BY A HUGE SIZED 1404 CONTRACTS TO 139,104 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR STRONG GAIN OF $0.40 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A HUGE LOSS OF 804 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR GAIN OF $0.40 IN PRICE. WE HAD HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS ON FRIDAY COMEX TRADING AS THEY DESPERATELY TRIED TO CONTAIN SILVER’S CONTINUAL PRICE RISE FOR THE PAST 2 WEEKS AND FINALLY FAILED ON FRIDAY WITH SILVER’S STRONG RISE. HOWEVER WITH OPTIONS EXPIRY WEEK, THEY REALLY WHACKED THE PRICE DOWN MONDAY.
WE HAD A STRONG 400 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY A HUGE 1008 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BEING USED IN FUTURE TRADING AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART DURING RAIDS(ESPECIALY TODAY) TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A STRONG SIZED 804 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE. WE HAD MAJOR TAS LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT FRIDAY’S COMEX SESSION.
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 ON LAST WEEK. THE ACCUMULATED T.A.S. WAS BEING USED TO MANIPULATE PRICES AT THE COMEX BUT THAT ENDED MONDAY..
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 FRIDAY NIGHT: A HUGE 1008 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 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES AND THUS THE REASON FOR CONSTANT RAIDS BUT TO NO AVAIL TODAY. 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 $0.40) BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH. WE DID HAVE A LOSS OF 493 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES BUT ALL OF THAT LOSS WAS DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION
WE HAD A HUGE 400 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 2.810 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING REMAINS AT 4.687 MILLION OZ
// STANDING FOR SILVER//NOV AT 4.675 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ HUGE SIZED COMEX OI LOSS (ALL DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION)//HUMONGOUS SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI) HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 1008 CONTRACTS)/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 512 CONTRACT.
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS NOV. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF NOV
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 18DAYS, total 20,544 contracts: OR 102.720 MILLION OZ (1141 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 102.720 MILLION OZ
LAST 24 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//3RD HIGHEST 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 BE STRONG FOR ISSUANCE BUT LESS THAN JULY.
SEPT: 112.415 MILLION OZ//WILL BE A HUGE MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
OCT; 97.485 MILLION OZ (WILL BE SMALLER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH )
NOV. 102.72 MILLION OZ (WILL BE HUGE THIS MONTH)
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 1404 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN OF $0.40 IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//FRIDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 400 ISSUED FOR DEC AND 400 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 NOV OF 2.810 MILLION OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0 OZ QUEUE JUMP
//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR NOV AT 4.675 MILLION OZ
WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 804 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE…..THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUMONGOUS 1008 CONTRACTS TRYING DESPERATE TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE,//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE FRIDAY COMEX SESSION THUS THE NEED FOR REPLENISHMENT /THE STRONG TA.S. ISSUANCE//LIQUIDATION DISTORTS THE TOTAL OI CONTRACTS STANDING AT THE COMEX AND LOSS IN OI. NO SPECULATORS WERE BURNED ON FRIDAY
/ ZERO NET SHORT COVERING FROM OUR SPEC SHORTS WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE FRIDAY/ . ALSO SOME OF OUR LONGS EXERCISED THEIR RIGHT AND TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL SILVER MUCH TO THE ANGER OF OUR BANKERS. SILVER IS NOT BASEL III COMPLIANT SO THE BANKERS CAN TAKE THEIR TIME WITH THE DELIVERY OF SILVER.
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE FRIDAY NIGHT (1008) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE AND LATELY ON A DAILY BASIS INCLUDING YESTERDAY AND TODAY.
WE HAD 1 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 0.005 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 STRONG SIZED 7712 OI CONTRACTS TO 503,904 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: REMOVEDA HUGE 1470 CONTRACTS//
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI (7712 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED WITH OUR HUGE GAIN OF $37.80 IN PRICE FRIDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A GOOD INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR NOV AT 2.488 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 400 OZ QUEUE JUMP. BUT WE HAD ANOTHER OF THAT CRAZY ISSUANCE OF 1000 CONTRACTS LAST FRIDAY NIGHT FOR DELIVERY OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK OR 3.11 TONNES OF GOLD//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 11.10 TONNES + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 14.22 TONNES
NEW STANDING FOR NOVEMBER: 14.22 TONNES
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $37.80 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A VERY STRONG GAIN OF 13,379 OI CONTRACTS (41.61 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. THE HORROR INTENSIFIED ONCE LONDON STARTED TO TRADE LAST WEEK, AND THROUGHOUT THIS WEEK WITH MAJOR TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE! YOU CAN VISUALIZE THIS WITH THE DAILY QUEUE JUMPING WE ARE WITNESSING (AND TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 400 OZ)
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A STRONG SIZED 5667 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 505,374
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A VERY STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 13,379 CONTRACTS WITH 7712 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 5667 EFP OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 13,379 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR SIZED BUT CRIMINAL 1786 CONTRACTS ISSUED. WE HAD A FAIR LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S CONTRACTS WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE FRIDAY AS THE NEED FOR REPLENISHMENT WAS STILL IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT ITS PRICE CONTAINMENT STRATEGY. THEY FAILED MISERABLY ON FRIDAY WITH GOLD’S PRICE ATTACK OF $2700 PRICE LEVEL BUT SUCCEEDED TODAY ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (5667 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI OF 7712 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 13,379 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 NOV 2.488 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 400 OZ QUEUE JUMP BUT WE MUST ADD THE NEW AND CRIMINAL ISSUANCE OF 1000 CONTRACTS OF EX. FOR RISK ISSUED LAST FRIDAY NIGHT WHERE BY THE BUYER ASSUMES RISK FROM THE SELLER THAT THAT CONTRACT WOULD BE DELIVERED TO HIM. WHAT A JOKE!
//NEW STANDING NOVEMBER: 11.110 TONNES + 3.11 TONES EX FOR RISK = 14.22 TONNES.
/ 3) SOME T.A.S. LIQUIDATION (TRYING TO CONTAIN GOLD’S HUGE PRICE RISE WITH ZERO SUCCESS FRIDAY AS WE HAD A STRONG $37.80 PRICE RISE. WE HAD ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED. STICKY GOLD’S LONGS HOWEVER ARE NOT FOOLED BY THE RAID AS THEY WERE REWARDED MONDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL.
4) STRONG SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST INCREASE 5) STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///FAIR T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 1796 T.A.S.CONTRACTS
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2024 INCLUDING TODAY
NOV
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF NOV :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 107,330 CONTRACTS OF 10,733,000 OZ OR 333.84 TONNES IN 18 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 5962 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 18 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 333.84 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2023, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 333.84 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 9.40% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
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.
SEPT: 335 .104 TONNES//IF THIS CONTINUES WE WILL HAVE A HUMDINGER OF AN EFP ISSUANCE. WE WILL PROBABLY END JUST SHORT OF THE 3RD HIGHEST ISSUANCE EVER RECORDED.
OCT. 277.71 TONNES (THIS WILL BE A GOOD ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
NOV: 333.84 TONNES (WILL PROBABLY BE A HUGE MONTH/MAYBE A RECORD ISSUANCE MONTH//PREVIOUS RECORD ISSUANCE MARCH 2022 OF 409 TONNES.)
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF SEPTEMBER. 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 (OCT), 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 HUGE SIZED 1404 CONTRACTS OI TO 139,104 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 7 YEARS AGO. HOWEVER WE HAVE NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023
EFP ISSUANCE 400 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
DEC 400 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 400 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 892 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 400 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 804 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 4.020 MILLION OZ OCCURRED DESPITE OUR $0.40 GAIN IN PRICE
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//
MONDAY MORNING SUNDAY NIGHT
ASIA TRADING MONDAY MORNING/SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 3.43 PTS OR 0.10%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 78.98 PTS OR 0.41%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 496.29 OR 1.30%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.33%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2434 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2465// Oil UP TO 71.14 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UIP AT 75.14 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL MIXED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN STRONGER
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST ROSE BY A STRONG SIZED7712 CONTRACTS TO 503,904 WITH OUR STRONG GAIN IN PRICE OF $37.80 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. , WE LOST ZERO NET IN NUMBER LONGS WITH OUR MUCH HIGHER PRICE FOR GOLD AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW. WE HAD A HUGE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (5667).
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT LAST MONTH CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY AND IT SURELY WAS ON DISPLAY THIS ENTIRE WEEK AND ESPECIALLY DURING YESTERDAY’S HUGE GAIN IN PRICE. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE TA.S. LIQUIDATION.
THE FED IS THE MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 93+ 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 OCT 2024/(AS OUTLINED IN OUR GOLD PHYSICAL COMMENTARIES//VIEW ANDREW MAGUIRE LATEST LIVE FROM VAULT PODCAST 197 , 199, AND FRIDAY NIGHTS 200 AS HE TACKLES THIS IMPORTANT TOPIC). THE FOUR OR FIVE BANKS ARE ALSO WORRIED ABOUT THEIR HUGE PRECIOUS METAL DERIVATIVE EXPOSURE (NORTH OF ONE TRILLION DOLLARS) AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE MAJOR REASON FOR GOLD/SILVER’S RISE THESE PAST TWO MONTHS. THEY ARE TOTALLY TRAPPED., AND THEIR FAILURE TO STOP CENTRAL BANK PURCHASES OF PHYSICAL GOLD IS THE MAJOR ISSUE OF THE DAY! ACTUALLY THE FED HAS COAXED THE SPECULATORS TO GO MASSIVELY SHORT WHILE THEY TAKE THE LONG SIDE AFTER THEY COMMENCE THE AVALANCHE IN LOWERING THE PRICE OF GOLD. THIS EPISODE ENDED LAST FRIDAY AND GOLD HAS BEEN ON A TEAR EVER SINCE.
OUR PHYSICAL LONDONERS BOUGHT NEW MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF LONGS AT ANY PRICE 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 A STRONG T.A.S. LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT LAST WEEK’S TRADING AND AGAIN TODAY.
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 // T.A.S DURING LAST WEEK AND THIS WEEK IS SURELY DISTORTING COMEX OPEN INTEREST BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP LONDON’S ACCUMULATION OF PHYSICAL! YOU CAN ALSO VISUALIZE THAT PERFECTLY WITH THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF QUEUE JUMPING ORCHESTRATED BY CENTRAL BANKERS BOLTING AHEAD OF ORDINARY LONGS AS THEIR NEED FOR PHYSICAL IS GREAT AS THEY SCOUR THE PLANET LOOKING FOR GOLD
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW ENTERING INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF NOV.… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A HUGE SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS A HUGE SIZED 5667 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /DEC 5667 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 56677 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 GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 13,379 CONTRACTS IN THAT 5667 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A STRONG SIZED GAIN OF 7712 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS EVERY LARGE GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED WITH OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $37.80 FRIDAY// COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AS MENTIONED ABOVE. HOWEVER I AM SAD TO REPORT THAT THE CROOKS ISSUED ANOTHER STUPID EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF A GIANT 1,000 CONTRACTS NOV 15 (FRIDAY NIGHT) OR IN OTHER WORDS A BUYER IS TAKING THE RISK THAT THEY WILL DELIVER TO HIM 3.110 TONNES OF GOLD (311,000 OZ). WE WISH THE BUYER ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD.
AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS USUALLY DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), BUT NOW ON A DAILY BASIS, THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR FRIDAY WAS A NORMAL SIZED SIZED 1796 CONTRACTS, AND THESE WILL BE USED TO REPLENISH SUPPLIES.. 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 (T.A.S.) 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 CONTINUAL 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 AND MONDAY’S RAID
// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: NOV (14.22 TONNES) WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR NON ACTIVE NOV DELIVERY MONTH.
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 47 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
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: 66.276TONNES (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/= 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. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.110 TONNES + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 14.22 TONNES
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY A $37.80/)//AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A HUGE GAIN IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES, WE DID HAVE SOME T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY AND THIS MAGNIFIED TODAY WITH BOTH MONTH END SPREADER AND T.A.S. LIQUIDATION. WE ALSO HAD A NORMAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE AS THE NEED FOR REPLENISHMENT WAS STILL PRESENT. THIS COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL MONDAY EVENING
WE HAVE GAINED A TOTAL OF 41.61 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR NOV (2.488TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S GOOD SIZED QUEUE JUMP OF 4 CONTRACTS OR 400 OZ (0.01244 TONNES). THESE GUYS UNDERWENT A QUEUE JUMP BOLTING AHEAD OF OTHER LONGS TO OBTAIN BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL GOLD. MOSTLY LIKELY THIS IS THE FRBNY DESPERATELY TRYING TO EXTINGUISH ITS MASSIVE PHYSICAL SHORT FALL OF 93 TONNES. HOWEVER WE MUST ADD THAT CRAZY “DELIVERY” OF 1000 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK OR 311,000 OZ OR 3.11 TONNES OF GOLD ISSUED ON FRIDAY NIGHT.
//NEW STANDING FOR NOV 11.110 TONNES + 3.11 TONNES EX FOR RISK PRIOR= 14.22 TONNESES
NEW STANDING FOR NOVEMBER: 14.22TONNES (WHICH FOR A NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH)
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $37.80
WE HAD 1470 CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL.
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 13,379 CONTRACTS OR 1,337,900 OZ (41.64 TONNES)
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
2723 notices 272300 oz 8.4696 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
dealer deposits: 0
total dealer deposits: 1 oz
we have 0 customer deposits
total deposits nil oz
withdrawals: 1
Out of ASAHI: 225.057 oz
(7 kilobars)
TOTAL WITHDRAWALS: 225.057 oz
adjustments: 0
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR NOV.
For the front month of NOV: we have an oi of 849 contracts having GAINED 4 contracts. We had 0 contracts served on FRIDAY so we gained A SMALL 4 contracts as these guys underwent a queue jump of 400 oz (0.01244 TONNES OF GOLD) to which we add the 3.11 tonnes of exchange for risk delivery/PRIOR.
DECEMBER, THE BIGGEST DELIVERY MONTH LOST 28,418 CONTRACTS TO 131,763.. WE HAVE 3 MORE READING DAYS BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE FRIDAY NOV 29, THE OPEN INTEREST DESPITE THE HUGE TAS LIQUIDATION IS STILL HIGH. WE MAY HAVE A HUMDINGER OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR DELIVERY ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.
JANUARY GAINED 30 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 676
FEBRUARY GAINED 33,824 CONTRACTS TO 280,861 .
We had 0 contracts filed for today representing 0 oz
This is a huge 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 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 0 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 0 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for NOV /2024. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (2723 x 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of NOV(849 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (0 x 100 oz per contract( equals 357,200 OZ OR 11.110 TONNES.+ to which we add 3.11 tonnes of exchange for risk delivery//PRIOR //new totals 14.22 tonnes
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the NOV contract month: No of notices filed so far (2723 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of NOV (849 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (0 x 100 oz which equals 357,200 oz (11.110 TONNES) +3.11 tonnes (ex. for risk/PRIOR) = 14.22
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR NOV.: 14.22 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR.
total pledged gold: 1,749,209.388 oz 54.407 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD: 17,546,491.243 OZ
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 7,784,655.342/// 242.13tonnes).
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 9,762,335.901 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 6,035,446 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 187.73 tonnes //
END
SILVER/COMEX
NOV 25. 2024
INITIAL
//2024// THE NOV 2024 SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
1,200,090.280 oz
Loomis ASAHI
.
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
nil oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
1,200,415.880 oz Loomis
No of oz served today (contracts)
1 CONTRACT(S) (5,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)
12 contracts (60,000oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
923 Contracts (4.615 MILLION oz)
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of silver from the Customer inventory this month
i) 0 dealer deposit/
total dealer deposit : NIL oz
i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal
total dealer withdrawals: 0 oz
We had 1 customer deposits
i) Into Loomis: 1,200,416,880 oz
total customer deposits 1,200,416.880 oz
We had 2 withdrawals
i) Out of Loomis: 600,428.080 oz
ii) Out of Asahi: 599,662.200 oz
total withdrawal 1,200,090.280 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 134.401million oz/307.548million or 43.57%
adjustment 0
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 77.826MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 307.548 million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR NOV
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF NOV /2024 OI: 13 OPEN INTEREST FOR A LOSS OF 16 CONTRACTS
WE HAD 16 NOTICE(S) FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED 0 CONTRACTS OR 0 OZ UNDERWENT A QUEUE JUMP
DECEMBER SAW A LOSS OF 6842 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 39,287 CONTRACTS. WE HAVE 3 MORE READING DAYS BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE. TAS ISSUANCE HAS BEEN HIGH ALL WEEK AND THUS IT IS TOO DIFFICULT TO SAY HOW MANY WILL REMAIN TO STAND ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.
JANUARY SAW A GAIN OF 112 CONTRACTS UP TO 1456
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 1 for 0.005 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON FRIDAY 91,380- huge// t.a.s. enhanced
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in NOV we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 923x 5,000 oz = 4.615 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of NOV (13) and the number of notices served upon today (1)x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the NOV 2024 contract month: 923 Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of NOV(13) number of notices served upon today minus (1)x 5000 oz of silver standing for the NOV contract month equates to 4.675 MILLION OZ.
New total standing: 4.675 million oz.
There are 77.825 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//
NOV 25 WITH GOLD DOWN $91.60 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD :. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 877.97 TONNES
NOV 21 WITH GOLD UP $23.85 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 3.16 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 875,39 TONNES
NOV 20 WITH GOLD UP $22.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 0.58 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.23 TONNES
NOV 19 WITH GOLD UP $13.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.65 TONNES
NOV 18 WITH GOLD UP $44.20 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 2.56 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 869.93 TONNES
NOV 15 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.25 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 867.37 TONNES
NOV 14 WITH GOLD DOWN $12.90 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.91 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 868.62 TONNES
NOV 13 WITH GOLD DOWN $19.30 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.63 TONNES
NOV 12 WITH GOLD DOWN $11.40 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.88 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871,97 TONNE
NOV 11 WITH GOLD DOWN $75.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.74 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.85 TONNES
NOV 8 WITH GOLD DOWN $11.85 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.87 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.46 TONNES
NOV 7 WITH GOLD UP $30.50 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.45 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.46 TONNES
NOV 6 WITH GOLD DOWN $72.80 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/:. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 886.91 TONNES
NOV 5 WITH GOLD UP $4.05 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 888.63 TONNES
NOV 4 WITH GOLD DOWN $2.45 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.16 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 888.63 TONNES
NOV 1 WITH GOLD UP 0.15 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.86 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 891 TONNES
OCT 31 WITH GOLD DOWN $49.55 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 892.65 TONNES
OCT 30 WITH GOLD UP $20.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 889,78 TONNES
OCT 29 WITH GOLD UP $25.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 891.50 TONNES
OCT 28 WITH GOLD UP $1.50 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.02 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD.// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 889.78 TONNES
OCT 25 WITH GOLD UP $6.40 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 893.80 TONNES
OCT 24 WITH GOLD UP $19.60 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES // // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 893.80 TONNES
OCT 23 WITH GOLD DOWN $29.40 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.45 TONNES // // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 895.24 TONNES
OCT 21 WITH GOLD UP $9.30 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.277 TONNES // // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 888.63 TONNES
OCT 18 WITH GOLD UP $22.30 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD // // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 884.59 TONNES
OCT 17 WITH GOLD UP $17.30 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD // // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 884.59 TONNES
OCT 16 WITH GOLD UP $13.60 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD //A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 4.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 884.59 TONNES
OCT 15 WITH GOLD UP $2.85 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD //A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 4.31 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD.; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 880.57 TONNES
OCT 11 WITH GOLD UP $36.55 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.26 TONNES
OCT 10 WITH GOLD UP $14.50 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.26 TONNES
OCT 9 WITH GOLD DOWN $8.50 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.26 TONNES
OCT 8 WITH GOLD DOWN $28,.95 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; // . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.26 TONNES
OCT 7 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.85 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.26 TONNES
OCT 4 WITH GOLD DOWN $11.20 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD; A DEPOSIT OF 12.57 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD// . // .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 877.41 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 877.97 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
NOV 25 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.96 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:. . /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.841 MILLION OZ
NOV 22 WITH SILVER UP $0.40 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:. . /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.841 MILLION OZ
NOV 21 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.06 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.729 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV. . /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.841 MILLION OZ
NOV 20 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.22 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: . /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.572 MILLION OZ
NOV 19 WITH SILVER UP $0.10 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 5,742,000 OZ INTO THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477..572 MILLION OZ
NOV 18 WITH SILVER UP $0.68 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1,277,000 OZ INTO THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 471,830 MILLION OZ
NOV 15 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.09 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3,100,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 471,830 MILLION OZ
NOV 14 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.07 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,504,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 473.653 MILLION OZ
NOV 13 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.16 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,274,000 OZ OUT OF THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.157 MILLION OZ
NOV 12 WITH SILVER UP $0.16 //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 576,000 OZ INTO THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 476.000 MILLION OZ
NOV 11 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.79 //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A WITHDRAWAL OF 374,000 OZ INTO THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.527 MILLION OZ
NOV 8 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.43 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 2.005 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.846 MILLION OZ
NOV 7 WITH SILVER UP $0.11 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.841 MILLION OZ
NOV 6 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.41 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.692 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.841 MILLION OZ
NOV 5 WITH SILVER UP 0.18 :SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.109 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 479,533 MILLION OZ
NOV 4 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.08 :SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 547,000 OZ.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 480.642 MILLION OZ
NOV 1 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.10 : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 481.189 MILLION OZ
OCT 31 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.26 : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 3.647 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV//.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 481.189 MILLION OZ
OCT 30 WITH SILVER DOWN 38 CENTS : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV.//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.542 MILLION OZ
OCT 29 WITH SILVER UP 49 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.628 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.542 MILLION OZ
OCT 28 WITH SILVER UP 15 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.431 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 478.180 MILLION OZ
OCT 25 WITH SILVER DOWN $0,02 : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A DEPOSIT OF 3.06 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 480.281 MILLION OZ
OCT 24 WITH SILVER UP $0,01 : SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.684 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OUT OF THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477.177 MILLION OZ
OCT 23 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.15 : SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.228 MILLION OZ OF SILVER OUT OF THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 477,861 MILLION OZ
OCT 22 WITH SILVER $0.93 : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV’ A DEPOSIT OF 3.329 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV..//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 478.089 MILLION OZ
OCT 18 WITH SILVER $1.46 : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 473.483 MILLION OZ
OCT 17 WITH SILVER DOWN 18 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//A DEPOSIT OF 3.419 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 473.483 MILLION OZ
OCT 16 WITH SILVER UP 25 CENTS : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 470.064 MILLION OZ
OCT 15 WITH SILVER DOWN 2 CENTS : SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 456,,000 OZ FORM THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 470.064 MILLION OZ
OCT 11 WITH SILVER UP 53 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 932,000 OZ FORM THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 470.520 MILLION OZ
OCT 9 WITH SILVER UP 7 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.964 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV..: /INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 471.432 MILLION OZ
OCT 8 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.41 : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.007 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV..: /INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 468.468 MILLION OZ
OCT 7 WITH SILVER DOWN 39 CENTS : HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 684,000 OZ FORM THE SLV..: /INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 466.461 MILLION OZ
OCT 4 WITH SILVER UP 0 CENTS : NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV.: /INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 465.777MILLION OZ
CLOSING INVENTORY 475.841 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY
2. ALASDAIR MACLEOD/JIM RICKARDS/PAM AND RUSS MARTENS/ JAMES RICKARDS/ VON GREYERZ//GOLD AND SILVER COMMENTARY//BILL HOLTER:
3. CHRIS POWELL AND GATA DISPATCHES
Wyoming’s only gold mine gets green light from state
Submitted by admin on Wed, 2024-11-20 22:55 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Renee Jean Cowboy State Daily, Cheyenne, Wyoming Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Wyoming’s prospective new gold mine has just cleared state regulatory hurdles and is moving ahead with a feasibility study, one stop closer to actually pulling gold out of the ground.
Turns out there really is gold “in them thar hills” — the hills past Curt Gowdy State Park.
“We received a mine operating permit in April/May of this year, but it was conditional,” U.S. Gold CEO George Bee told Cowboy State Daily this week. “It was conditional on getting awarded a discharge permit, and that we put up a bond for reclamation for our initial disturbances, which we did in May.
“We were then just waiting on the air-quality permit, and we were just granted that, so that frees us up now to finalize all our studies and move forward to development.”
The feasibility study will be the last step before actual development and will be used to secure financing for the CK Gold Project that U.S. Gold is developing about 20 miles west of Cheyenne. And it could be a lucrative venture. The company has said there could be 1 million ounces of gold there. …
China reports discovery of ‘massive’ gold deposit in Hunan
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2024-11-22 10:20 Section: Daily Dispatches
By He Huifengin South China Morning Post, Hong Kong Friday, November 22, 2024
China has discovered a “massive” new goldfield containing reserves worth tens of billions of dollars in the central province of Hunan as it steps up efforts to boost domestic reserves of strategic minerals.
Geologists identified more than 40 new gold veins located less than 2,000 meters (6,560 feet) underground at the Wangu gold mine in Pingjiang county, bringing the total gold resources in the mine’s core area to 300.2 tonnes, the Hunan Provincial Geological Institute said in an online statement Thursday.
The new find is classified as a “massive” reserve, with its more than 1,000 tonnes of gold deposits estimated to be worth about 600 billion yuan (US$82.8 billion) based on current market prices, it said.
Liu Yongjun, the institute’s vice-president, said the discovery was a major achievement for China’s mineral exploration strategy.
The statement also claimed that the find was “significant in helping safeguard the country’s resource security.” …
Recent conditions have clearly been of a bear squeeze on the paper shorts. Overnight trading today has seen gold and silver marked down sharply. So what’s going on?
The chart above is hourly gold trading bars from 14 November to now, putting this overnight action in context. As a correction, it looks perfectly reasonable, with perhaps another $50—$60 downside. But that’s forgetting an important factor: this run has been on a mega-bear squeeze, which saw Comex Open Interest unusually decline by 45,000 contracts, while the price climbed from $2540 to $2670 last Thursday. The additional rise on Friday (+$45 to $2715) was driven by hedge funds seeing the squeeze, driving Comex Open Interest up 9,182 contracts on provisional estimates.
Clearly, the bullion banks are synchronising a hit to take out hedge fund stops while their managers are tucked up in bed. We have seen this before, most notably the attack on silver in April 2011 when it challenged $50. Only this time, the degree of speculation in gold is relatively insignificant, and we can expect the squeeze to continue even without hedge fund participation.
But there are bigger tectonic plates shifting in the background. We face a period of heightened tension between America and Russia in the dying days of the Biden administration. The provision of cruise missiles and American guidance systems to Ukraine appears to be the neocons’ last gasp before they face a new Trump administration set to abandon support for Ukraine. The question arises as to what Russia will do to counter this new aggression. The neocons appear to be gambling on Putin restraining his nuclear options.
But the quantity of cruise missiles supplied to Ukraine is very limited in numbers, and Russia shoots most of them down. Putin might be patient. But we should look at this from Putin’s viewpoint.
Other than exercising patience, which he is proven to do, he has more aggressive options to deploy. At this stage I think we can rule out direct attacks on NATO territory as too escalatory. Instead, he has other alternatives to make the Biden administration’s life difficult:
· Russia can step up its support for Iran in her undeclared war against Israel.
· Encourage China to step up pressure over Taiwan.
· Step up financial pressure on the dollar.
If I was Putin, I would probably squeeze Biden with all three, as well as increasing pressure on Ukraine as a prelude to negotiating with Trump.
What is relevant with respect to gold is the financial pressure on the dollar. I notice that the rouble has weakened significantly against the dollar (and more so against gold). The chart below is of roubles per dollar, inverted.
The reason for the rouble’s weakness is said to be relaxation by Russia of capital controls. Could this be a prelude to Putin announcing some sort of link between the rouble or the price of Russian oil and gold? If so, a deliberate weakening of the rouble ahead of an announcement makes sense.
The other side of this story would be the undermining of the dollar, which more than anything would strengthen Russia’s position vis-à-vis America.
We shall see. But anyone tempted to sell physical gold at this juncture could be making an enormous mistake, and that’s even without factoring in the deteriorating value of the fiat dollar which is the principal reason for getting out of all fiat credit.
4. OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES//LIVE FROM THE VAULT/no 200 ANDREW MAGUIRE
WITH ANDY SCHECHTMAN, CRAIG HEMKE AND ROB KIENTZ
LIVE FROM THE VAULT/ANDREW MAGUIRE KINESIS 199
5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES:EGGS
6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS
ASIA TRADING MONDAY MORNING/FRIDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 3.43 PTS OR 0.10%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 78.98 PTS OR 0.41%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 496.29 OR 1.30%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.33%///Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2434 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2465// Oil UP TO 71.14 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UIP AT 75.14 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL MIXED
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE 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 MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP AT 7.2334
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.2465
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 3.43 PTS OR 0.10%
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 78.98 PTS OR 0.41%
2. Nikkei closed UP 496.29 PTS OR 1.30%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL MIXED
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 106.99 EURO FALLS TO 1.0477 DOWN 73 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +1.062 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 154.41…… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE RE EMERGING 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 +2.2406 Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.513 //SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 2.977
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.111
3j Gold at $2681.20 /Silver at: 30.77 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 1 AND 31/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 104.00
3m oil into the 71 dollar handle for WTI and 75 handle for Brent/
3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/
JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 154.41 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.062% 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 0.8889 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9326 well above the floor set by the Swiss Finance Minister. Thomas Jordan, chief of the Swiss National Bank continues to purchase euros trying to lower value of the Swiss Franc.
USA 10 YR BOND YIELD: 4.353 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.544 DOWN 7 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.356 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 34.59…
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.4255 DOWN 1 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.409 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.273 DOWN 5 PTS.
2a New York OPENING REPORT\
Futures Jump, Dollar Dumps As Markets Cheer Bessent Pick
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 08:30 AM
US equity futures jumped, led by a rally in small caps, as Wall Street cheered Trump’s selection of Scott Bessent as the next Treasury Secretary. As of 8:00am ET, S&P 500 futures rose 0.5% to trade at 6,016, while Nasdaq 100 futs gained 0.6% with all Mag 7 stocks higher led by the +2.0% gain in TSLA; Russell 2000 futures benefited the most rallying over 1%. Traders bet that Bessent, who manages macro hedge fund Key Square Group, will follow through on the Trump’s initiatives to lower taxes but also instill a sense of stability into financial markets (a two-pronged task which some say is a Catch 22). 10-year TSY yields dropped by five basis-points to 4.35% (but were off session lows), as Bessent’s nomination eased fears about persistent inflation under Trump’s protectionist policies. The dollar declined while Bitcoin rebounded from a weekend drop. There was also broad weakness in commodities: oil, base metals, precious metals (gold -1.7% pre-market) are all lower. It is a holiday-shortened week due to Thanksgiving holidays (US markets will close on Thursday and will close at 1:00pm on Friday) with light catalysts: we will receive the FOMC Minutes on Tuesday and October PCE on Wednesday.
Quantum-computing stocks gained in premarket trading after Amazon Web Services announced a program to help customers get ready for the technology. Macy’s dropped 2% after saying it would delay the release of its third-quarter earnings after an investigation revealed an employee hid tens of millions of dollars of expenses. Here are some of the other notable movers before the opening bell:
Bath & Body Works gains 13% after the retailer boosted its earnings per share forecast for the full year.
Rigetti Computing rises 40%, gaining with other other quantum-computing stocks, after Amazon Web Services announced a program to help customers get ready for quantum computing. D-Wave Quantum +12%, Quantum Computing +15%
Rocket Lab rises 8% after the satellite company said it successfully launched its 56th electron missile.
US Bancorp rises 1% after Citi upgraded its rating to buy, saying the bank is trading at a “fairly large” discount.
M&A also caught traders’ attention on Monday morning after Italy’s UniCredit launched a €10 billion ($10.6 billion) all-share offer for domestic rival Banco BPM, opening a second major takeover front as it also pursues Commerzbank AG. Banco BPM shares surged 8.5%. Commerzbank slumped 7.2%, while UniCredit shares were 2.5% lower.
Stocks rebounded last week as data and corporate results pointed to continued resilience in the US economy; another day in the green would extend S&P 500’s winning streak to six days, its longest since September. And they are likely to get that as Bessent’s nomination eased concerns over the incoming president’s inflationary agenda, which had sparked a selloff in government bonds that drove the benchmark Treasury yield to a four-month high. The fund manager and former Soros partner indicated he’ll back Trump’s tariff and tax cut plans but investors expect him to prioritize economic and market stability.
“Markets can now map a road ahead for policies,” said Colin Graham, head of multi-asset strategies at Robeco, who’s positions are overweight on both US stocks and Treasuries. Bessent is “seen as more moderate on tariffs so could be perceived as bond positive.”
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bessent said his first priority will be to deliver on Trump’s various tax-cut pledges. Putting forward tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus, he said.
“He obviously has promised Trump he’s going to implement the tariffs, but I think it’s going to be in a much more grown-up way, not just sound bites that scare the market,” said Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer of Plurimi Wealth Management Group. “I think there would be fiscal discipline.”
The recent market moves mark a reversal of some elements that define the so-called Trump Trade, including a surging dollar and rallying Bitcoin. The cooling enthusiasm about these assets comes as traders trim expectations for the president-elect to lower taxes and boosts tariffs, policies that may keep interest rates elevated and support the greenback.
The “secret sauce” for the S&P 500 is a decrease in bond yields, Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett said on Friday; hopes for further gains have helped US stock funds attract record inflows this year, annualized at $448 billion, on the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts while the economy continues to grow at a healthy clip. The main US equity index has rallied 25% in 2024.
RBC Capital Markets strategist Lori Calvasina tipped the S&P 500 to reach the 6,600 level by the end of 2025, an advance of about 11%, propelled by solid economic and earnings growth. It would only be a fitting end to a bull market that started at 666 in 2009. By contrast, a surge in bond yields would sink stock-market buoyancy and high valuations, according to Plurimi Wealth Management Group Chief Investment Officer Patrick Armstrong.
“There will come a point where multiples just aren’t sustainable if you’ve got 5% Treasuries,” Armstrong said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “Unexpected inflation is what kills Treasuries and big cap tech at the same time.”
In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rose 0.1%, with consumer products, technology and mining shares leading gains, while retail and the personal care, drug and grocery sectors are the biggest laggards. Here are the biggest movers Monday:
ITV shares rise as much as 9.5%, the most since March, following a Sky News report that the company is drawing interest from potential buyers for all or parts of the business
Nibe shares gain as much as 5.3%, after Marta Schorling Andreen and Sofia Schorling Hogberg, whose family owns a significant stake in the Swedish heat-pump firm, acquired 2.94m B shares each in the company on Nov. 22
Anglo American shares rise as much as 2.9% after the miner agreed to sell its steelmaking coal business in Australia to Peabody Energy for up to $3.8 billion in cash
Banco BPM advances as much as 8.5% after receiving a €10 billion all-share offer from domestic rival UniCredit, which declines 3% in Milan. Commerzbank, which has also been a recent acquisition target for UniCredit, slumps as much as 7.2%
Luxury stocks including Kering, LVMH and Richemont rise after news that China is expanding its visa-waiver program to citizens from several countries, raising hopes that an increase in travel could also boost shopping activity among tourists.
Thales drops as much as 2.7%, while major stockholder Dassault Aviation also falls as Kepler Cheuvreux cuts both French defense firms to hold. The downgrades follow news last week that Thales is under investigation by UK and French prosecutors for suspected bribery and corruption
Kingfisher slides as much as 14%, the most since March 2020, after the UK home-improvement retailer lowered the top end of its full-year adjusted pretax profit forecast, with budget-related uncertainty in the UK and France weighing on consumer sentiment
Renk shares drop as much as 9.5% after the German gearbox maker announced Chief Executive Officer Susanne Wiegand is stepping down for personal reasons, with Chief Operating Officer Alexander Sagel to take her place at the start of February
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks advanced as tech heavyweights gained and traders cheered Donald Trump’s pick of Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. Chinese shares struggled to regain ground after Friday’s losses. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose as much as 1.2%, with Samsung Electronics among the biggest contributers following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s remarks on AI chip certification. Exporters lifted Japanese equities higher amid expectations that corporate activity in the US may expand under Trump’s incoming administration. Sentiment in the Asian region got a boost after news of the nomination of Bessent, who is seen as market friendly given his Wall Street background. Also helping risk appetite was a report last week showing business activity in the US expanded at the fastest pace since April 2022.
In FX, the Bloomberg dollar index fell by the most in over two weeks. Traders betting on Trump’s fiscal policies had pushed the dollar up for eight straight weeks through Friday. The euro rose against the greenback, after ECB governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau said ECB policy will develop regardless of what happens at the Federal Reserve.
In rates Treasuries remain higher after mostly erasing Monday’s opening gap up in response to President-elect Trump’s pick of Bessent to head the department, a choice viewed as promoting stability in the US economy and financial markets. Yield curve is flatter ahead of this week’s auctions of 2-, 5- and 7-year notes Monday through Wednesday. US yields remain richer by 1bp-4bp across maturities with 2s10s and 5s30s spreads tighter by ~2bp. 10-year is around 4.35% vs session low 4.324% reached during European morning; bunds and gilts in the sector lag by 5bp and 3bp. In Europe, shorter-dated German government bonds fell as traders trimmed their bets on ECB interest-rate cuts, reversing some of Friday’s post-PMI moves. German two-year yields rose 5 bps, providing a tailwind to EUR/USD which adds 0.7%.
In commodities, oil prices decline, with WTI falling 0.6% to $70.80 as Israel said it’s potentially days away from a cease-fire deal with Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Gold also fell $45 to $2,670/oz after jumping the most in 20 months last week. Bitcoin climbs back above $98,000.
Today’s economic data calendar includes October Chicago Fed national activity index (8:30am) and November Dallas Fed manufacturing activity (10:30am). The Fed speaker slate empty for the session. Looking ahead, traders will closely parse the Federal Reserve’s November meeting minutes Tuesday, consumer confidence Wednesday and personal consumption expenditure data on Friday to help assess the outlook for rate cuts next year. Key earnings include Dell, Crowdstrike and Workday.
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 futures up 0.4% to 6,013.75
STOXX Europe 600 up 0.3% to 509.96
MXAP up 0.7% to 183.49
MXAPJ up 0.5% to 580.51
Nikkei up 1.3% to 38,780.14
Topix up 0.7% to 2,715.60
Hang Seng Index down 0.4% to 19,150.99
Shanghai Composite down 0.1% to 3,263.76
Sensex up 1.1% to 79,968.77
Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.3% to 8,417.64
Kospi up 1.3% to 2,534.34
German 10Y yield little changed at 2.24%
Euro up 0.6% to $1.0478
Brent Futures down 0.3% to $74.94/bbl
Gold spot down 1.6% to $2,671.70
US Dollar Index down 0.47% to 107.04
Top Overnight News
China’s central bank injected 900 billion yuan ($124.3 billion) into the banking system on Monday via one-year policy loans, as local governments step up selling bonds to ease debt burdens. Reuters
G7 allies are set to step up pressure on China while offering Kyiv “unwavering commitment” amid accusations that Beijing has increased support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. BBG
Beijing is hoping for Elon Musk to play a major role in defusing tensions between the incoming Trump administration and China. WSJ
Israel is potentially days away from a cease-fire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Israeli ambassador to the US said, following a new round of shuttle diplomacy by a senior envoy for the outgoing Biden administration. BBG
ECB’s Phillip Lane says there is still some way to go before euro zone inflation is sustainably back at 2% but ECB policy should not remain restrictive for too long, otherwise price growth could fall below target. Reuters
German bund yields climb as investors anticipate the upcoming election could lead to reform of the country’s “debt break” and more sovereign issuance. FT
Trump named several new senior officials and cabinet nominees including hedge fund CEO Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, while he was also reported to pick Brooke Rollins to be Agriculture Secretary and nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labor Secretary.
In his first interview following his selection, Bessent said his policy priority will be to deliver on Trump’s various tax-cut pledges along with enacting tariffs and cutting spending. WSJ
Intel will see Washington reduce the preliminary $8.5B CHIPS grant to <$8B as a result of the company’s various business setbacks and investment delays. WSJ
Trump to confront IEA over focus on green energy; plans to lift pause on new LNG export permits and move swiftly to approve pending permits. Plans to seek money from congress to replenish strategic petroleum reserve.
Amazon is building its own chip-making operation to turn data centers into humongous AI machines and reduce its reliance on Nvidia. BBG
We are entering what has historically been the best seasonal period of the year for US equities. Last week’s consolidation in US equities has been typical going back to 1928.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks began the week mostly higher following last Friday’s gains stateside and as markets reacted to news over the weekend that President-elect Trump picked hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary which is seen as a nod to Wall Street and could potentially reduce the chances of severe tariffs with Bessent seen to have a gradual approach on tariffs. ASX 200 was led by outperformance in real estate and consumer-related sectors amid lower yields which saw financials lag. Nikkei 225 surged and briefly reclaimed the 39,000 level following the Japanese Cabinet’s stimulus package approval and as equity markets saw a relief rally on the US Treasury Secretary nomination, although the Japanese benchmark moved off today’s highs owing to yen strength. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were indecisive in a tight range with headwinds following the PBoC’s CNY 550bln drain through its Medium-term Lending Facility operations and amid expectations of further US export restrictions on China, while automakers were supported by reports that the EU is said to be close to an agreement with China to abolish EV import tariffs.
Top Asian News
PBoC conducted a CNY 900bln 1-year MLF operation (vs CNY 1.45tln maturing) with the rate maintained at 2.00%.
White House said the National Security Adviser Sullivan and other senior officials met with telecom executives to share intelligence and discuss China’s cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector.
China Premier Li says China’s economic operation has been generally stable with progress amid stability; adds China will continue to strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments.
European bourses have kicked the week off on the front foot with reports suggesting that the better mood is partly a function of Scott Bessent’s nomination as US Treasury Secretary; Euro Stoxx 50 +0.4%. Within Europe, sectors are now mixed. Opened with a strong positive bias but this has dissipated somewhat throughout the morning. Basic Resources outperform, with Real Estate cheering lower yields though Banks in turn are pressured. Stateside, futures in the green, ES +0.5%, following the Bessent nomination; Bessent is expected to prioritise delivering Trump tax cuts and maintaining the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency, while he said enacting tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus. On tariffs, Bessent is seen as more of a gradualist.
Top European News
UK PM Starmer said in an op-ed in the Mail on Sunday that the government will set out “radical reforms” in the coming week to tackle the rising outlays on benefits and will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill.
Economists revised their forecasts for German economic growth in 2025 to 0.6% from 1.2% which is the largest growth forecast downgrade for the period in any major industrial economy as the Trump tariff threat rattles exporters, according to FT citing a Consensus Economics survey.
ECB’s Lane says monetary policy should not remain restrictive for too long, via Les Echos; rapid rises in rates have further slowed the housing sector and investment. Also, encouraged saving over consumption. A large part of getting inflation back to 2% will be completed next year. Restrictive policy is probably no longer needed in 2025.
French Budget Minister says the aim for next year’s budget deficit is to come as close as possible to 5%; “aiming for savings of EUR 60bln in the budget next year, may be a little below”.
National Rally’s Le Pen repeats her red lines to French PM Barnier, says “nothing has changed so far”. With the budget bill in it’s current form, “we would not support Barnier”
BoE’s Lombardelli says the economy has made good progress on disinflation. There are some signs that the wage disinflation may be slowing. Views the probabilities of downside and upside risks to inflation as broadly balanced. Too early to declare victory on inflation. PMIs may suggest some slowing in the UK but “I don’t take a strong signal from one event”.
BoE’s Dhingra says recent CPI outturns show no asymmetry in inflation unwinding. Fall in services PPI appears to be slowing but probably due to erratic components. UK no longer looks like an outlier for inflation among advanced economies
FX
USD has been pressured and the index below 107.00 in reaction to the nomination of Bessent to the Treasury. Lifted off a 106.79 overnight base but remains in the red.
Peers benefitting as a function of this, EUR made a brief foray onto a 1.05 handle, topping out at 1.0501. If the pair is able to gain a footing above this level, the 21st November peak sits @ 1.0555.
USD/JPY down to a 153.56 base overnight (19th November low sits at 153.28). JPY supported overnight by the retreat in UST yields and the Japanese Cabinet’s stimulus package approval.
GBP firmer with specifics focussed on BoE speak as Lombardelli reiterated the MPC consensus while Dhingra has been her usual dovish self thus far. Cable briefly surpassed 1.26, currently holding some 30 pips shy of the mark.
Barclays month-end rebalancing model shows strong USD selling against all majors.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1918 vs exp. 7.2257 (prev. 7.1942).
Fixed Income
USTs outperform following US President-elect Trump selecting Scott Bessent as the next Treasury Secretary, an update which has sparked pronounced bull-flattening.
USTs towards the top-end of a 109-28+ to 110-05 parameter, surpassing last week’s best by half a tick.
Bunds and Gilts are both firmer in tandem with the above, though they have been gradually pulling off best as the tone remains constructive and as the latest German Ifo has some possible glimmers of optimism for the future.
Bunds remain in the green, but at the lower-end of a 133.15-57 band. Gilts firmer but in a relatively thin range, have been pulling back but remain comfortably clear of Friday’s 94.48 close.
Commodities
Crude benchmarks are in the red by around USD 0.40/bbl despite the relatively robust risk tone and pressure in the USD. Downside which emerged on reports that Israel and Lebanon are close to an agreement.
Pressure also a function of Bessent’s aim to lift US oil production by 3mln BPD. More recently, another bout of downside came on the Iranian Oil Minster’s remarks. Benchmarks at the low-end of c. USD 1/bbl parameters.
XAU in the red, downside which comes as markets welcome the nomination of Bessent; XAU fell from a USD 2720/oz peak early-doors to just below the 2.7k mark before briefly recovering. Thereafter, as the risk tone continued to improve, the yellow metal slipped back below the figure to a USD 2658/oz low.
Base metals bolstered by the risk tone, gains somewhat tempered by the relatively poor performance of China overnight though. 3M LME Copper above USD 9k, but only modestly so.
Gas outperforms on the below updates and the overall risk tone.
Nominations for gas flows from Slovenia into Czech Republic on Monday -5% W/W, according to EuroStream data
Iraq said a 15-day halt in Iranian gas due to maintenance is cutting 5.5GW from the national grid.
Iran’s Oil Minister says Iran will strive not to accept limits on oil production quota.
Kazakhstan Energy Minister says “due to expectations of a shortage of light oil products in 2036, it will be necessary to start designing a new oil refinery with capacity of 10 million tonnes per year no later than in 2030”.
Geopolitics: Middle East
Senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said Iran is preparing to respond to Israel, according to Tasnim.
Iran will hold nuclear talks with the UK, France and Germany on Friday regarding nuclear and regional issues, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson cited by Reuters.
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack on Israel’s Ashdod Naval Base for the first time. It was also reported that Hezbollah announced 50 attacks on Sunday against bases, towns and gatherings of soldiers in Israel, according to Sky News Arabia.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell said they are ready to devote EUR 200mln to the Lebanese armed forces, while he added that they must pressure Israel and Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire.
Israel’s ambassador to the US said Israel and Hezbollah are nearing a truce agreement, according to Bloomberg.
Israeli senior official said Israel’s direction is to move towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while Israeli and US officials stated that Israel and Lebanon are on the cusp of a ceasefire agreement, according to Axios. It was separately reported by Asharq News that Israeli media stated Israel agreed in principle to the proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel Broadcasting Corporation initially stated the green light has not yet been given on the Lebanon agreement and there are still issues that need to be resolved but it later cited an Israeli source stating the green light was given to complete a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and they hope to announce it within two days.
Israel recommended avoiding non-essential travel to the UAE after the body of Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan was found. Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the murder was a heinous anti-Semitic terrorist act and PM Netanyahu said Israel will take all measures to hold accountable the murderers and those who sent them.
Iran’s Embassy in the UAE said it categorically rejects allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of Israeli rabbi Kogan in the UAE, according to a statement cited by Reuters.
Geopolitics: Other
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Saturday that Russian drones and missiles have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July 2023 and 20 civilian ships from other countries were damaged by Russian strikes.
Ukraine launched a mass attack on Russia’s Kursk region with foreign-made missiles, according to a military analyst via Reuters.
A fire broke out at an industrial enterprise after Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Kaluga, according to the regional governor.
Ukraine’s air force said air defences downed 50 out of 73 Russian drones, while Russian air defence reportedly destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones, according to a report on Sunday via Reuters.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan discussed trade and economic cooperation during a phone call.
Russia is likely to name Alexander Darchiev as ambassador to Washington, according to Kommersant citing unidentified sources.
North Korea condemned US military drills as provocative and strongly warned the US to stop hostile activity in the region, while North Korea’s military will keep all options open and if necessary, take pre-emptive actions to defend the state, according to KCNA.
US Event Calendar
08:30: Oct. Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index, est. -0.20, prior -0.28
10:30: Nov. Dallas Fed Manf. Activity, est. -2.4, prior -3.0
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
As we start what is likely to be another relatively quiet week ahead with Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, I hope those of you in the UK survived storm “Bert” without incident. My golf ball wasn’t a big fan of the 50-60mph gusts. As the wind dies down expect whatever action we have this week to be packed into the early part of it. On that front US core PCE on Wednesday will be the highlight with durable goods the same day. The minutes of the last FOMC come out the night before so that will also be interesting given the meeting started the day after the election with the result known. On the same day November US consumer confidence will also be interesting given the election. It is expected to climb but the UoM consumer sentiment reading on Friday dipped a little although the headline stat from the report was that 5-yr inflation expectations hit 3.2%, only matched in one month since the pandemic (November 2023), and before that you’d need to go back to 2011 to see the last time we were at 3.2%. The other main global highlights are the flash November CPIs in Europe on Thursday/Friday and the Tokyo CPI in Japan the day before.
Looking at more detail into the core US PCE deflator, DB expect +0.29% vs. +0.25% last month which if correct would take the YoY rate from 2.65% to 2.81%. The second print of Q3 GDP (no change at 2.8% expected) on the same day could risk some revisions to PCE inflation, so there is some uncertainty. Clearly this release will have implications for what is proving to be a tight decision in December as to whether the Fed will cut. At the moment the market is pricing in a 60% probability.
Linked into Fed pricing, the market in Asia this morning is reacting constructively to the nomination of Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary. This was announced late on Friday (after the US close) and basically takes us back to the direction of travel just over a week ago before various other candidates skipped ahead in the market’s pricing. On Polymarket.com he was as high as a 89% probability on November 12th and as low as 11% last Wednesday and still 14% at the lows on Friday. Bessent, a hedge fund CEO, is known to be a fiscal hawk so this should ease some of the more extreme deficit fears as he has advocated a 3% deficit by 2028. In practise that will be extremely tough but for now the market can be a bit relieved. He is also thought to be less extreme on trade policy than some of his rivals for the job. He has recently been quoted in the FT suggesting Trump’s tariff policy position could be changed after negotiations with various countries, and he has previously told CNBC that “I would recommend that tariffs be layered in gradually”. We will see how influential his views will be on this front. Remember a week ago Elon Musk suggested that appointing Bessent would be a disappointment as it would amount to “business-as-usual”. The market will probably be more appreciative of this trait for now. This morning yields on the 10yr US Treasuries are -5.1bps lower, while S&P and Nasdaq futures are +0.45% and 0.54% higher respectively. The dollar is around -0.6% lower and base metals are generally higher although gold (-1.6%) has lost some of its risk premium after a good rebound last week.
Asian equities have generally started the week well with the Nikkei (+1.51%) and the KOSPI (+1.41%) outperforming and with the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.28%) also trading higher. Bucking the trend are Chinese stocks with the Hang Seng (-0.32%) and the Shanghai Composite (-0.32%) lower.
Reverting back to the other highlights this week. For the flash European inflation prints for November, which start on Thursday with Germany, with the French, Italian and Eurozone-level print following on Friday, our European economists detail their expectations and recent trends in data here. They see Euro Area HICP accelerating to 2.27% YoY (2.0% in October), with country-level forecasts including 2.63% for Germany, 1.66% for France and 1.27% for Italy. Other notable data in key Eurozone economies includes the Ifo survey (today) and retail sales in Germany (Friday) as well as consumer confidence in Germany and France on Wednesday. Q3 GDP numbers are also due in Canada, Sweden and Switzerland on Friday. In Asia, indicators to watch include industrial profits in China and October CPI in Australia (DB forecast 2.4% YoY vs 2.1% in September) on Wednesday. The rest of the day-by-day calendar is at the end as usual.
Looking back at last week now, there were significant moves on Friday after the flash PMIs came in beneath expectations across Europe. That led investors to dial up the likelihood of a 50bp ECB rate in December, with the probability nearly tripling from 17% on Thursday to 49% by the close on Friday. In turn, that meant sovereign bonds rallied across the continent, with the 10yr German bund ending the week -11.4bps lower (-7.6bps Friday) at 2.24%. In addition, the euro fell significantly against the US Dollar, falling another -1.16% (-0.53% Friday) to $1.042, which is its weakest closing level since November 2022.
The US saw a different pattern however, as investors dialled up their hawkish expectations in response to economic data. That followed some strong PMI numbers, whilst the University of Michigan’s long-term inflation expectations series rose to 3.2% as we discussed earlier. So that meant the rate priced in for the Fed’s December 2025 meeting was up another +9.4bps last week to 3.926%, its highest level in four months. And with investors pricing in a more hawkish profile, the 2yr Treasury yield moved up for a 5th consecutive week, rising +7.0bps (+2.4bps Friday) to 4.37%. That said the 10yr yield was slightly lower over the week, falling -3.9bps (-2.2bps Friday) to 4.40%.
Equities generally had a better time across the board, with the S&P 500 recovering from the previous week’s losses with a +1.68% advance (+0.35% Friday). Similarly in Europe, the STOXX 600 ended a run of 4 consecutive weekly declines to rise +1.06% (+1.18% Friday). However, there was more weakness in Asia, where the Nikkei fell -0.93% (+0.68% Friday) and posted a second consecutive weekly loss.
Finally, several other assets had a strong week, with gains for several commodities including Brent crude oil (+5.81%), copper (+0.53%) and gold (+5.97%). Indeed for gold, It was the strongest weekly performance in the last year. It was shaping up to be a decent week for HY credit on both sides of the Atlantic but a late sell-off in Europe created some divergence. US HY spreads tightened -8bps (unchanged Friday), but Euro HY spreads saw their largest 1-day move wider on Friday (+7bps) since late September. That move left the index +6bps wider on the week, and can be partially attributed to the weaker than expected PMI numbers even if European equities rallied on the news.
2B) European report.
Stocks firm, USD pressured & USTs bid on Trump’s Treasury appointment – Newsquawk US Market Open
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 05:16 AM
European bourses & US futures begin the week on the front-foot, as markets welcome the nomination of Scott Bessent as Trump’s Treasury Secretary.
USD pressured and USTs bid following this, with the DXY sub-107.00 and the US yield curve bull-flattening
FX peers generally benefit from the USD pressure, JPY outperformed overnight on favourable yield action and approval of Japanese stimulus
Crude in the red on Bessent, Israel-Lebanon and Iranian updates, Gas outperforms. XAU slipped below USD 2700/oz before recovering while base metals follow the tone though China performance capped
Looking ahead, highlights include ECB’s Lane & Makhlouf, Supply from the US. Earnings from Bath & Body Works, AutoZone & Zoom
European bourses have kicked the week off on the front foot with reports suggesting that the better mood is partly a function of Scott Bessent’s nomination as US Treasury Secretary; Euro Stoxx 50 +0.4%.
Within Europe, sectors are now mixed. Opened with a strong positive bias but this has dissipated somewhat throughout the morning. Basic Resources outperform, with Real Estate cheering lower yields though Banks in turn are pressured.
Stateside, futures in the green, ES +0.5%, following the Bessent nomination; Bessent is expected to prioritise delivering Trump tax cuts and maintaining the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency, while he said enacting tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus. On tariffs, Bessent is seen as more of a gradualist.
USD has been pressured and the index below 107.00 in reaction to the nomination of Bessent to the Treasury. Lifted off a 106.79 overnight base but remains in the red.
Peers benefitting as a function of this, EUR made a brief foray onto a 1.05 handle, topping out at 1.0501. If the pair is able to gain a footing above this level, the 21st November peak sits @ 1.0555.
USD/JPY down to a 153.56 base overnight (19th November low sits at 153.28). JPY supported overnight by the retreat in UST yields and the Japanese Cabinet’s stimulus package approval.
GBP firmer with specifics focussed on BoE speak as Lombardelli reiterated the MPC consensus while Dhingra has been her usual dovish self thus far. Cable briefly surpassed 1.26, currently holding some 30 pips shy of the mark.
Barclays month-end rebalancing model shows strong USD selling against all majors.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1918 vs exp. 7.2257 (prev. 7.1942).
USTs outperform following US President-elect Trump selecting Scott Bessent as the next Treasury Secretary, an update which has sparked pronounced bull-flattening.
USTs towards the top-end of a 109-28+ to 110-05 parameter, surpassing last week’s best by half a tick.
Bunds and Gilts are both firmer in tandem with the above, though they have been gradually pulling off best as the tone remains constructive and as the latest German Ifo has some possible glimmers of optimism for the future.
Bunds remain in the green, but at the lower-end of a 133.15-57 band. Gilts firmer but in a relatively thin range, have been pulling back but remain comfortably clear of Friday’s 94.48 close.
Crude benchmarks are in the red by around USD 0.40/bbl despite the relatively robust risk tone and pressure in the USD. Downside which emerged on reports that Israel and Lebanon are close to an agreement.
Pressure also a function of Bessent’s aim to lift US oil production by 3mln BPD. More recently, another bout of downside came on the Iranian Oil Minster’s remarks. Benchmarks at the low-end of c. USD 1/bbl parameters.
XAU in the red, downside which comes as markets welcome the nomination of Bessent; XAU fell from a USD 2720/oz peak early-doors to just below the 2.7k mark before briefly recovering. Thereafter, as the risk tone continued to improve, the yellow metal slipped back below the figure to a USD 2658/oz low.
Base metals bolstered by the risk tone, gains somewhat tempered by the relatively poor performance of China overnight though. 3M LME Copper above USD 9k, but only modestly so.
Gas outperforms on the below updates and the overall risk tone.
Nominations for gas flows from Slovenia into Czech Republic on Monday -5% W/W, according to EuroStream data
Iraq said a 15-day halt in Iranian gas due to maintenance is cutting 5.5GW from the national grid.
Iran’s Oil Minister says Iran will strive not to accept limits on oil production quota.
Kazakhstan Energy Minister says “due to expectations of a shortage of light oil products in 2036, it will be necessary to start designing a new oil refinery with capacity of 10 million tonnes per year no later than in 2030”.
German Ifo Business Climate New (Nov) 85.7 vs. Exp. 86.0 (Prev. 86.5); Current Conditions New (Nov) 84.3 vs. Exp. 85.4 (Prev. 85.7); Expectations New (Nov) 87.2 vs. Exp. 87.0 (Prev. 87.3)
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
UK PM Starmer said in an op-ed in the Mail on Sunday that the government will set out “radical reforms” in the coming week to tackle the rising outlays on benefits and will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill.
Economists revised their forecasts for German economic growth in 2025 to 0.6% from 1.2% which is the largest growth forecast downgrade for the period in any major industrial economy as the Trump tariff threat rattles exporters, according to FT citing a Consensus Economics survey.
ECB’s Lane says monetary policy should not remain restrictive for too long, via Les Echos; rapid rises in rates have further slowed the housing sector and investment. Also, encouraged saving over consumption. A large part of getting inflation back to 2% will be completed next year. Restrictive policy is probably no longer needed in 2025.
French Budget Minister says the aim for next year’s budget deficit is to come as close as possible to 5%; “aiming for savings of EUR 60bln in the budget next year, may be a little below”.
National Rally’s Le Pen repeats her red lines to French PM Barnier, says “nothing has changed so far”. With the budget bill in it’s current form, “we would not support Barnier”
BoE’s Lombardelli says the economy has made good progress on disinflation. There are some signs that the wage disinflation may be slowing. Views the probabilities of downside and upside risks to inflation as broadly balanced. Too early to declare victory on inflation. PMIs may suggest some slowing in the UK but “I don’t take a strong signal from one event”.
BoE’s Dhingra says recent CPI outturns show no asymmetry in inflation unwinding. Fall in services PPI appears to be slowing but probably due to erratic components. UK no longer looks like an outlier for inflation among advanced economies
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
Fed’s Bowman voter said must avoid the temptation to limit the use of AI in finance which could chill innovation in the banking system, while she added AI has the potential to improve the reliability of economic data and can be a strong anti-fraud tool in the finance sector.
US President-elect Trump named several new senior officials and cabinet nominees including hedge fund CEO Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, while he was also reported to pick Brooke Rollins to be Agriculture Secretary and nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labour Secretary.
US Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent prioritises policy of delivering Trump tax cuts and maintaining the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency, while he said enacting tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus. Bessent’s policy priorities include making first-term cuts permanent, as well as eliminating taxes on tips, Social Security benefits, and overtime pay. Furthermore, he suggested pursuing 3% US GDP growth, aims to reduce US budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2028 and seeks an additional 3mln bpd of US oil production, according to WSJ.
US President Elect Trump to confront IEA over focus on green energy; plans to lift pause on new LNG export permits and move swiftly to approve pending permits. Plans to seek money from congress to replenish strategic petroleum reserve.
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
Senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said Iran is preparing to respond to Israel, according to Tasnim.
Iran will hold nuclear talks with the UK, France and Germany on Friday regarding nuclear and regional issues, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson cited by Reuters.
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack on Israel’s Ashdod Naval Base for the first time. It was also reported that Hezbollah announced 50 attacks on Sunday against bases, towns and gatherings of soldiers in Israel, according to Sky News Arabia.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell said they are ready to devote EUR 200mln to the Lebanese armed forces, while he added that they must pressure Israel and Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire.
Israel’s ambassador to the US said Israel and Hezbollah are nearing a truce agreement, according to Bloomberg.
Israeli senior official said Israel’s direction is to move towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while Israeli and US officials stated that Israel and Lebanon are on the cusp of a ceasefire agreement, according to Axios. It was separately reported by Asharq News that Israeli media stated Israel agreed in principle to the proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel Broadcasting Corporation initially stated the green light has not yet been given on the Lebanon agreement and there are still issues that need to be resolved but it later cited an Israeli source stating the green light was given to complete a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and they hope to announce it within two days.
Israel recommended avoiding non-essential travel to the UAE after the body of Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan was found. Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the murder was a heinous anti-Semitic terrorist act and PM Netanyahu said Israel will take all measures to hold accountable the murderers and those who sent them.
Iran’s Embassy in the UAE said it categorically rejects allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of Israeli rabbi Kogan in the UAE, according to a statement cited by Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Saturday that Russian drones and missiles have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July 2023 and 20 civilian ships from other countries were damaged by Russian strikes.
Ukraine launched a mass attack on Russia’s Kursk region with foreign-made missiles, according to a military analyst via Reuters.
A fire broke out at an industrial enterprise after Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Kaluga, according to the regional governor.
Ukraine’s air force said air defences downed 50 out of 73 Russian drones, while Russian air defence reportedly destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones, according to a report on Sunday via Reuters.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan discussed trade and economic cooperation during a phone call.
Russia is likely to name Alexander Darchiev as ambassador to Washington, according to Kommersant citing unidentified sources.
OTHER
North Korea condemned US military drills as provocative and strongly warned the US to stop hostile activity in the region, while North Korea’s military will keep all options open and if necessary, take pre-emptive actions to defend the state, according to KCNA.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin is in the red with the 100k mark proving elusive thus far. Printed a 98.9k peak before fading to a 95.8k low, currently holding closer to the high but remains off best and ultimately lower.
APAC TRADE
APAC stocks began the week mostly higher following last Friday’s gains stateside and as markets reacted to news over the weekend that President-elect Trump picked hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary which is seen as a nod to Wall Street and could potentially reduce the chances of severe tariffs with Bessent seen to have a gradual approach on tariffs.
ASX 200 was led by outperformance in real estate and consumer-related sectors amid lower yields which saw financials lag.
Nikkei 225 surged and briefly reclaimed the 39,000 level following the Japanese Cabinet’s stimulus package approval and as equity markets saw a relief rally on the US Treasury Secretary nomination, although the Japanese benchmark moved off today’s highs owing to yen strength.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were indecisive in a tight range with headwinds following the PBoC’s CNY 550bln drain through its Medium-term Lending Facility operations and amid expectations of further US export restrictions on China, while automakers were supported by reports that the EU is said to be close to an agreement with China to abolish EV import tariffs.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
PBoC conducted a CNY 900bln 1-year MLF operation (vs CNY 1.45tln maturing) with the rate maintained at 2.00%.
White House said the National Security Adviser Sullivan and other senior officials met with telecom executives to share intelligence and discuss China’s cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector.
China Premier Li says China’s economic operation has been generally stable with progress amid stability; adds China will continue to strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments.
DATA RECAP
New Zealand Trade Balance (Oct) -1.5B (Prev. -2.1B, Rev. -2.2B)
New Zealand Retail Sales Volumes QQ (Q3) -0.1% (Prev. -1.2%)
New Zealand Retail Sales YY (Q3) -2.5% (Prev. -3.6%)
2C ASIAN REPORT
APAC markets open higher as Trump continues cabinet picks, China lagged – Newsquawk Europe Market Open
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 01:47 AM
APAC stocks began the week mostly higher following last Friday’s gains stateside; Nikkei 225 boosted by stimulus approval
President-elect Trump picked hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary; seen as a more market-friendly option
European equity futures are indicative of a positive cash open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.7% after the cash market closed higher by 0.7% on Friday
USD is softer vs. all major peers, DXY sits just below the 107 mark, EUR/USD failed to move back onto a 1.05 handle
Reports note Israel and Lebanon are close to an agreement which a source hopes will be announced within a couple of days
Looking ahead, highlights include German Ifo, BoE’s Lombardelli & Dhingra, ECB’s Lane & Makhlouf, Supply from EU & US
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US TRADE
EQUITIES
US stocks gained on Friday in which all major indices closed in the green and notable outperformance was seen in the small-cap Russell 2000 index, while sentiment was underpinned following encouraging US data as US PMI’s beat forecasts thanks to a gain in the services sector and although the UoM Consumer Sentiment survey was revised down in November, it still topped the October level. Data also dictated treasury trade as the upside occurred in the morning after soft European and UK data releases before reversing course to reach session lows after the US PMI report.
SPX +0.35% at 5,969, NDX +0.17% at 20,776, DJIA +0.97% at 44,297, RUT +1.80% at 2,407.
Fed’s Bowman voter said must avoid the temptation to limit the use of AI in finance which could chill innovation in the banking system, while she added AI has the potential to improve the reliability of economic data and can be a strong anti-fraud tool in the finance sector.
US President-elect Trump named several new senior officials and cabinet nominees including hedge fund CEO Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, while he was also reported to pick Brooke Rollins to be Agriculture Secretary and nominated Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Labour Secretary.
US Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent prioritises policy of delivering Trump tax cuts and maintaining the dollar’s position as the global reserve currency, while he said enacting tariffs and cutting spending will also be a focus. Bessent’s policy priorities include making first-term cuts permanent, as well as eliminating taxes on tips, Social Security benefits, and overtime pay. Furthermore, he suggested pursuing 3% US GDP growth, aims to reduce US budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2028 and seeks an additional 3mln bpd of US oil production, according to WSJ.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks began the week mostly higher following last Friday’s gains stateside and as markets reacted to news over the weekend that President-elect Trump picked hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary which is seen as a nod to Wall Street and could potentially reduce the chances of severe tariffs with Bessent seen to have a gradual approach on tariffs.
ASX 200 was led by outperformance in real estate and consumer-related sectors amid lower yields which saw financials lag.
Nikkei 225 surged and briefly reclaimed the 39,000 level following the Japanese Cabinet’s stimulus package approval and as equity markets saw a relief rally on the US Treasury Secretary nomination, although the Japanese benchmark moved off today’s highs owing to yen strength.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were indecisive in a tight range with headwinds following the PBoC’s CNY 550bln drain through its Medium-term Lending Facility operations and amid expectations of further US export restrictions on China, while automakers were supported by reports that the EU is said to be close to an agreement with China to abolish EV import tariffs.
US equity futures (ES +0.4%) were boosted at the open as risk assets cheered US President-elect Trump’s Treasury Secretary nomination.
European equity futures are indicative of a positive cash open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future +0.7% after the cash market closed higher by 0.7% on Friday.
FX
DXY was pressured and the DXY slipped beneath the 107.00 level in reaction to the nomination of billionaire hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary who is seen as a fiscal hawk and has advocated for tax reform and deregulation, while there are several key announcements for the US leading into the Thanksgiving holiday including US GDP, Core PCE and FOMC Minutes.
EUR/USD took advantage of the weaker dollar but with upside capped by resistance at the 1.0500 level and amid quiet EU newsflow.
GBP/USD briefly reclaimed the 1.2600 status as all major currencies benefitted from the weaker dollar, while PM Starmer noted in an op-ed that the government will set out “radical reforms” to tackle the rising outlays on benefits and will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill.
USD/JPY extended on opening losses and retreated to sub-154.00 territory amid a flattening of US yields but later bounced off lows.
Antipodeans gained amid the broad dollar selling but have since eased back from their intraday highs and New Zealand Trade Data and Retail Sales largely ignored, while participants await the RBNZ Rate Decision on Wednesday with the Shadow Board recommending a 50bps cut.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1918 vs exp. 7.2257 (prev. 7.1942).
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures gapped above the 110.00 level at the reopen following the news that Scott Bessent was nominated for Treasury Secretary, with the pick seen to potentially reduce the chances of severe tariffs and is seen as likely to cap US yields.
Bund futures remained afloat after climbing above the 133.00 level and with a recent survey showing economists lowered their forecasts for German economic growth in 2025 to 0.6% from 1.2% which was the largest forecast downgrade for any major industrial economy in the survey.
10yr JGB futures conformed to the gains in global peers but with upside capped by a quiet calendar and outperformance in Japanese stocks.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures were rangebound in the absence of major energy-specific catalysts and following mixed geopolitical headlines but then mildly retreated with reports noting Israel and Lebanon are close to an agreement which a source hopes will be announced within a couple of days.
Nominations for gas flows into Slovakia from Ukraine and flows from Slovakia into Austria and the Czech Republic on Sunday were in line with levels seen in the previous days.
Iraq said a 15-day halt in Iranian gas due to maintenance is cutting 5.5GW from the national grid.
Spot gold fluctuated with early pressure seen as asset classes reacted to Trump’s Treasury Secretary pick which saw prices dip beneath the USD 2,700/oz level although prices then fully recovered shortly after, before a bout of more aggressive selling ensued.
Copper futures benefitted alongside the mild relief rally overnight but with further upside capped as sentiment in China lagged.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin was choppy overnight but reclaimed the USD 98,000 level.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
PBoC conducted a CNY 900bln 1-year MLF operation (vs CNY 1.45tln maturing) with the rate maintained at 2.00%.
White House said the National Security Adviser Sullivan and other senior officials met with telecom executives to share intelligence and discuss China’s cyber espionage campaign targeting the sector.
DATA RECAP
New Zealand Trade Balance (Oct) -1.5B (Prev. -2.1B, Rev. -2.2B)
New Zealand Exports (Oct) 5.8B (Prev. 5.0B, Rev. 4.9B)
New Zealand Imports (Oct) 7.3B (Prev. 7.1B, Rev. 7.1B)
New Zealand Retail Sales Volumes QQ (Q3) -0.1% (Prev. -1.2%)
New Zealand Retail Sales YY (Q3) -2.5% (Prev. -3.6%)
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
Senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said Iran is preparing to respond to Israel, according to Tasnim.
Iran will hold nuclear talks with the UK, France and Germany on Friday regarding nuclear and regional issues, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson cited by Reuters.
Hezbollah said it launched a drone attack on Israel’s Ashdod Naval Base for the first time. It was also reported that Hezbollah announced 50 attacks on Sunday against bases, towns and gatherings of soldiers in Israel, according to Sky News Arabia.
EU Foreign Policy Chief Borrell said they are ready to devote EUR 200mln to the Lebanese armed forces, while he added that they must pressure Israel and Hezbollah to accept the US proposal for a ceasefire.
Israel’s ambassador to the US said Israel and Hezbollah are nearing a truce agreement, according to Bloomberg.
Israeli senior official said Israel’s direction is to move towards a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, while Israeli and US officials stated that Israel and Lebanon are on the cusp of a ceasefire agreement, according to Axios. It was separately reported by Asharq News that Israeli media stated Israel agreed in principle to the proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel Broadcasting Corporation initially stated the green light has not yet been given on the Lebanon agreement and there are still issues that need to be resolved but it later cited an Israeli source stating the green light was given to complete a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon and they hope to announce it within two days.
Israel recommended avoiding non-essential travel to the UAE after the body of Israeli rabbi Zvi Kogan was found. Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the murder was a heinous anti-Semitic terrorist act and PM Netanyahu said Israel will take all measures to hold accountable the murderers and those who sent them.
Iran’s Embassy in the UAE said it categorically rejects allegations of Iran’s involvement in the murder of Israeli rabbi Kogan in the UAE, according to a statement cited by Reuters.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said on Saturday that Russian drones and missiles have damaged 321 Ukrainian port infrastructure facilities since July 2023 and 20 civilian ships from other countries were damaged by Russian strikes.
Ukraine launched a mass attack on Russia’s Kursk region with foreign-made missiles, according to a military analyst via Reuters.
A fire broke out at an industrial enterprise after Ukraine’s drone attack on Russia’s Kaluga, according to the regional governor.
Ukraine’s air force said air defences downed 50 out of 73 Russian drones, while Russian air defence reportedly destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones, according to a report on Sunday via Reuters.
Russian President Putin and Turkish President Erdogan discussed trade and economic cooperation during a phone call.
Russia is likely to name Alexander Darchiev as ambassador to Washington, according to Kommersant citing unidentified sources.
OTHER
North Korea condemned US military drills as provocative and strongly warned the US to stop hostile activity in the region, while North Korea’s military will keep all options open and if necessary, take pre-emptive actions to defend the state, according to KCNA.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
UK PM Starmer said in an op-ed in the Mail on Sunday that the government will set out “radical reforms” in the coming week to tackle the rising outlays on benefits and will get to grips with the bulging benefits bill.
Economists revised their forecasts for German economic growth in 2025 to 0.6% from 1.2% which is the largest growth forecast downgrade for the period in any major industrial economy as the Trump tariff threat rattles exporters, according to FT citing a Consensus Economics survey.
ECB’s Lane says monetary policy should not remain restrictive for too long, via Les Echos; rapid rises in rates have further slowed the housing sector and investment. Also, encouraged saving over consumption. A large part of getting inflation back to 2% will be completed next year.
3B NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
NORTH KOREA/RUSSIA/UKRAINE
END
3C JAPAN
3D. CHINA/TAIWAN/INDO PACIFIC
CHINA
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
FRANCE
THIS IS SUICIDE
France Backs Ukraine Firing Its Long-Range Missiles At Russia
Sunday, Nov 24, 2024 – 08:25 PM
This weekend France has belatedly made clear that it has joined allies Britain and US in authorizing Ukraine to use long-range missile for strikes on targets in Russian territory.
The past week has witnessed significant escalation after Ukraine used both UK-made Storm Shadow missiles and US-supplied ATACMS in at least two separate cross-border assaults. And now:
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the BBC that Ukraine can shoot French longer-range missiles into Russia in the “logics of self-defense.” The French Scalp missiles are the same as the UK’s Storm Shadow missiles, which Ukraine had already used in attacks on Russia.
“The principle has been set… our messages to President Zelensky have been well received,” he said in the Saturday interview, however without disclosing whether French Scalp missiles have already been used in such a way.
He argued that the Western allies should not put any limits on supporting Ukraine’s effort fighting back Russia. He called for the West to “not set and express red lines.“
After saying this, he was then pressed by interviewer Laura Kuenssberg over if that could even mean sending French troops into the war. “We do not discard any option,” he responded.
The top French diplomat continued, “We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometer, the threat gets one square kilometer closer to Europe.”
On the question of Zelensky’s push to join NATO, Barrot strongly hinted that Paris considers it as a possibility: “We are open to extending an invitation, and so in our discussions with friends and allies, and friends and allies of Ukraine, we are working to get them to closer to our positions,” he said.
“Of course we will have to spend more if we want to do more, and I think that we have to face these new challenges,” he said of broader French and European defense spending.
The Kremlin’s response to all of this was swift, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova declaring that FM Barrot’s comments are “not support for Ukraine, but rather a death knell for Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Russia and Ukraine have continued exchanging drones over each other’s territory at an intense pace. “Ukraine’s air force said that at least 73 Russian attack drones entered the country’s airspace on Saturday into Sunday morning, after a week in which both sides made battlefield history with new advanced weapons systems,” ABC reports.
And Russia’s defense ministry said during the same period its military downed a reported 36 Ukrainian drones. Russia further described that in Ukraine it targeted “military airfields, production facilities and storage sites for drones, as well as concentrations of enemy manpower and military equipment.”
END
EUROPE//SWEDEN
The Poster Child Of Europe’s Electric Car Future Just Filed For Bankruptcy After Burning Through Billions
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 04:15 AM
It was supposed to be the poster child of Europe’s electric car future. Instead, it filed for bankruptcy this week, a poetic end to a company which has become synonymous with Europe’s “green” debacle.
For Swedish startup Northvolt AB, the route to collapse started in June when BMW AG canceled a multi-billion order. Back then, few saw the significance of the move, which effectively started a countdown that would culminate in a Chapter 11 filing less than six months later.
As Bloomberg details, Northvolt scrambled to keep the financing flowing, but as Germany’s car industry fell deeper into a historic crisis, precipitated by a flood of cheap Chinese EV imports in the past three years…
… it became clear orders would dry up.
Setting off the infamous death spiral, the company responded to the lost revenue by retrenching expansion plans and slashing jobs. By the time the last attempt at an emergency plan failed, investors who had poured in $10 billion discovered only $30 million cash was left.
Northvolt’s filing for bankruptcy protection in the US, announced Thursday, marks one of the highest-profile setbacks for European industry against cheaper and nimbler Chinese and South Korean competition. The following day, co-founder and CEO Peter Carlsson, who only a year ago had been trumpeting Northvolt as a possible IPO candidate, resigned and warned the European Union risks falling behind on green projects.
The company needs as much as $1.2 billion to finance its new business plan, Carlsson said, telling reporters that “we’ll regret it in 20 years if we’re not driving transition” to clean technologies. Translation: I already spent all the money, but if European taxpayers don’t pony up to maintain my spending habits, they will regret it.
In addition to BMW and Volkswagen, Northvolt’s top investors included Goldman Sachs’s asset management arm, Denmark’s biggest pension fund ATP, Baillie Gifford funds and a number of Swedish entities.
On Saturday, the Financial Times reported that funds run by Goldman Sachs Asset Management are set to write down almost $900 million at the end of the year. The total loss is a sharp contrast to the bank’s bullish prediction just seven months ago which told investors that its investment in Northvolt was worth 4.29 times what it had paid for it, and that this would increase to six times by next year. Spoiler Alert: it would decrease by 100%.
One fund representative who spoke to Bloomberg said they were shocked at the speed with which Northvolt blew through its billions. As recently as July, the investor was confident of getting a return, but that changed in early August after getting a call from one of Northvolt’s owners, who warned that the battery maker could run out of cash by September.
The scale of the delays, and how bad things were with building budgets and construction projects remained hidden, the investor said, recounting how excel models and slide decks were used to conceal how empty the coffers had become.
The Swedish company now faces a task of restructuring, with a more focused operation set to emerge from the Chapter 11 process. Unless of course there is no value left to salvage and the bankruptcy process becomes a liquidation.
“From the get-go, they had to announce very large-scale plans in order to be attractive for financiers,” said Robert Heiler, senior manager at Porsche Consulting, part of the sportscar unit of Volkswagen, Northvolt’s top investor. “But it’s really difficult to scale up” various operations “all at the same time,” he said.
Just how badly Northvolt and its financiers misjudged the situation a year ago has now become evident. As the FT then reported, last fall, the company invited investment banks to pitch for roles in an initial public offering that could have valued the battery maker at a $20 billion. Then, a little over six months later, Bloomberg reported that the IPO was pushed back from 2024. Soon after that, VW’s truck unit Scania complained after Northvolt had trouble ramping up production volumes, and then BMW pulled its €2 billion ($2.1 billion) contract to equip electric vehicles such as the i4 sedan and iX sports utility vehicle.
After repeated delays, the battery maker was unlikely to be able to produce the volumes BMW needed before 2026 — a year after predecessor models were set to be gradually phased out and almost three years after the original target date, a person familiar with the matter said, declining to be named discussing private information.
Adding insult to injury, around that time a failure to close on an equity funding round meant that a $5 billion green loan that was announced in January remained frozen.
But even then, there was still a chance for Northvolt to continue with plans for new battery plants in Germany, Sweden and Canada. In late June, Volkswagen, which owns 23% of Northvolt, was prepared to step in. But then the German auto giant faced a major crisis of its own. By late summer, with EV sales stagnant in Europe and its lucrative Chinese business flagging, VW called for unprecedented factory closures in Germany. Against the backdrop of potentially tens of thousands of layoffs at VW, Northvolt funding was off the table, and in August, VW withdrew from the equity plan.
The German automaker, which had valued its Northvolt holding at the equivalent of more than $730 million as of the end of 2023, then balked at committing to more battery purchases, Bloomberg reports citing people familiar with the matter.
Still, work on a bridge funding deal continued, with an agreement coming close to fruition as recently as October. The $300 million in emergency aid would have involved lenders, creditors and customers, but talks fell short. “In this latest funding round, VW basically told us that they are not able to continue to capitalize us,” Carlsson said on Friday.
Northvolt’s debts include a $330 million convertible loan from Volkswagen that’s due in December 2025, according to the bankruptcy court filing.
In its desperate attempts to reassure financiers, Northvolt canceled a planned expansion of its main plant in Skelleftea in northern Sweden and, in October, replaced the factory’s manager. But Carlsson acknowledges that he acted too slowly. “I should have probably pulled the brake earlier on some of the expansion paths,” he said, realizing after the fact that if your company is burning through billions and is losing key clients then, yes, you may want to slow down the spending.
While Northvolt’s big-swing approach will be second-guessed for years to come it won’t disappear in the immediate future. In its filing, the company said finding a strategic or financial partner is an overarching goal as it seeks to restructure the balance sheet and continue operations.
However, in a post-Trump world where the only remaining greater “green” fools are European socialist regimes, governments from Stockholm to Berlin have rebuffed suggestions they’d spend taxpayer funds on a rescue. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who had in June suggested Northvolt should build a second factory in his home country, on Saturday told DPA that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the company’s future. Of course, nobody is cautiously optimistic about Habeck’s political fate: a few weeks ago German’s government collapsed spectacularly, and one of the reasons was populist pushback against continued idiotic “green” spending.
Still, the relationship with Volkswagen continues even if greatly truncated. Scania also remains a key Northvolt customer… and will provide $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing at a hefty interest rate of 16%. Northvolt will also have access to about $145 million in cash collateral. Battery plants under construction in Germany and Canada were left out of the bankruptcy, though the company said these projects will be postponed.
For once, Northvolt is making preparations in case it fails to raise funds for the future. Documents filed with the US court show that it plans to “assess potential opportunities for a sale of some or all assets and has engaged Hilco Global to assist with an orderly liquidation process if necessary.”
Spoiler alert: Hilco will be very busy soon as yet another core pillar of Europe’s “green” dream liquidates in bankruptcy.
end
LITHIUNIA/KALINIGRAD//GERMANY
“Accident Or Hybrid Incident”: Berlin Comments On DHL Cargo Plane Crash
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 11:16 AM
Update (1116ET):
AFP News reports that Berlin said the DHL cargo plane crash in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, could have been either an “accident or a hybrid incident.” No other additional details were given.
Separately, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports that German logistics giant DHL said there was no evidence of suspicious packages on board the cargo plane.
A Swift Air Boeing 737-476, operating on behalf of DHL, crashed into a residential area in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, killing one person on board and injuring three others.
The cargo plane was on final approach to Vilnius International Airport when it crashed about a mile short of the runway.
“A DHL cargo plane flying from Leipzig, Germany, to Vilnius Airport crashed in Liepkalnis at around 5:30 a.m. City services are currently on-site, along with a fire truck and a command team from Vilnius Airport. Airport operations are not disrupted at this time,” Lithuanian Airports wrote on X.
Lithuania’s national police force told NBC News in an emailed statement, “According to preliminary data, a cargo aircraft carrying 4 people crashed near the Vilnius International airport at 5.30 a.m. local time. 1 person was declared dead, 3 injured.”
X account Breaking Aviation News & Videos posted a video of the Boeing cargo jet on final, then crashing one mile short of the runway…
One OSINT account on X, who goes by “auonsson,” alleges, “DHL/Swift flight BCS18D was jammed as it
crashed. Might not be related. Vid on the other site.”
ATC audio captures the cargo plane on approach.
The investigation into the crash is just beginning. Speculation will likely focus on whether GPS jamming caused the pilots to miss the runway on final – or possibly human error… However, nothing is conclusive yet.
This incident comes weeks after Western security officials made new bombshell allegations of a Russian plot aimed at bringing down cargo and passenger planes in Europe.
END
Starmer’s days are numbered!
(remix)
Viral Petition Demanding UK General Election Hits 2 Million Signatures In Under A Week
A petition demanding a new general election in the United Kingdom has surpassed 2 million signatures, piling pressure on Keir Starmer’s Labour government, whose popularity has plummeted since it gained power in July.
The petition, launched late last week on the U.K. parliament’s website, calls for another public vote due to the left-wing government having “gone back up on the promises it laid out in the lead-up to the last election.”
Parliament is obliged to debate all petitions that surpass 100,000 signatures.
The petition recorded the fastest growth to 1 million signatures in history, reflecting the widespread public dissatisfaction toward the current government and the desire for a renewed mandate.
Michael Westwood, the man behind the viral petition, told the Express news website that he, like many of the British public, is feeling “betrayed with the promises we were told” during the election campaign, and claimed the reality “looks nothing like what was promised.”
“I think people have had enough, people have seen what’s happened over in America as well, and I think that’s had a knock-on effect. If people stand together and vote, then we can make a change,” he added.
The Labour Party’s ascent to power in the United Kingdom was significantly bolstered by pledges to shield working individuals from tax hikes and to uphold key social benefits. However, recent policy decisions, particularly those unveiled in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s budget, have sparked widespread criticism and allegations of broken promises.
Having vowed not to increase the record-high tax burden on “working people,” the left-wing government has, within just four months, announced a £25 billion rise in employers’ national insurance contributions, the cost of which many believe will affect wage rises and drive up costs for consumers.
Additionally, Reeves announced increases in capital gains tax to 18 percent for basic rate taxpayers and 24 percent for higher rate taxpayers, slashed Winter Fuel Payments designed to help the elderly manage heating costs during the colder months, and introduced inheritance tax rules for farmers that could see a majority of family-owned farms have to sell productive land to meet tax obligations.
Asked about the petition on Monday, government minister Jess Phillips dismissed the concerns of the signatories.
“I make no bones about the fact that we will have to make difficult decisions and some people won’t like that. I didn’t come into politics to please everybody all the time,” she told LBC.
When asked why she believed the petition was gaining such unprecedented traction, she replied: “You’ll have to ask the petitioners.”
The prime minister’s office has yet to comment on its rapid growth.
11 killed in Israeli strike on central Beirut said to target top Hezbollah commander
Muhammad Haydar’s fate unclear; overnight strike not preceded by evacuation orders, comes as rockets trigger sirens around Haifa, with impact in Kiryat Ata
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, November 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A large-scale Israeli airstrike conducted without warning on a central Beirut building killed at least eleven people and wounded scores more, Lebanese officials said, with media reports indicating that the strike targeted a top Hezbollah leader.
The strike was an attempt to kill top Hezbollah commander Muhammad Haydar, the al-Arabiya news site reported. The report was later confirmed by an Israeli defense source to the Kan public broadcaster.
The strike on central Beirut, which appeared to have used bunker-buster bombs, came as the Israeli Air Force conducted several waves of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Hezbollah’s Dahiyah stronghold in Beirut’s south. The Israel Defense Forces issued evacuation warnings ahead of those strikes.
Haydar’s fate was not immediately clear, and neither the IDF nor Hezbollah have commented on the strike.
Similar strikes carried out without warning outside of the Dahiyah have tended to target high-level Hezbollah members.
Haydar is a member of Hezbollah’s top military body, the Jihad Council, though his exact current position in the Iran-backed terror group is currently unknown. According to Kan, Haydar and another top Hezbollah commander, Haytham Ali Tabataba’i, have been Hezbollah’s de-facto military leaders since Israel killed the terror group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, along with most of the group’s top military brass in a wave of recent strikes.
A Hezbollah parliamentarian between 2005 and 2009, Haydar had been a close advisor to Nasrallah until the latter was assassinated in September. In 2019, the United States listed Haydar as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” for his role in Hezbollah.
The strike said to have targeted Haydar came as a rocket barrage from Lebanon triggered sirens in Haifa and surrounding communities. The IDF said that the barrage comprised five rockets, several of which were intercepted by air defenses.
One of the rockets impacted an industrial zone in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Ata, causing slight damage to nearby buildings.
The Beirut strike, which rocked the working-class neighborhood of Basta at about 4 a.m. local time, destroyed an eight-story building, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said. The Lebanese civil defense agency reported at least 11 people were killed and 23 injured.
Israeli air defenses intercept rockets launched from Lebanon toward the area of Haifa in northern Israel early on November 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.
Israel used bunker-buster bombs in the strike, leaving a deep crater, the NNA said. Security sources said at least four bombs were dropped in the attack. Beirut smelled strongly of explosives hours after the attack.
It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut. The bulk of Israel’s attacks on the capital have targeted Hezbollah’s Dahiyeh.
A later strike, which was preceded by an evacuation order, hit the neighborhood of Hadath in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Rescuers sift through the rubble of a leveled building in search of victims or survivors, following an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s Basta neighborhood on November 23, 2024. (AFP)
Also on Saturday a drone strike killed one person and injured another on a beach in the southern port city of Tyre, according to the National News Agency.
The people killed and injured in Tyre were fishermen, the NNA said. An Associated Press journalist, who saw the strike from a nearby hotel overlooking the beach, said he had watched the fishermen set up their nets beforehand and they appeared to both be young teenagers.
An Israeli military source told The Times of Israel that the strike in Tyre had targeted Hezbollah operatives. The IDF did not immediately issue a statement on the strike.
On Friday, two waves of Israeli airstrikes on the coastal city targeted Hezbollah’s Aziz regional division, responsible for rocket fire on Israel from the western sector of southern Lebanon.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Burj al-Shamali, on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 22, 2024. (Kawnat Haju/AFP)
Over the past day, the IDF said Saturday, Israel’s fighter jets have struck several Hezbollah command rooms, weapons storehouses, and other terror infrastructure sites in the Dahiyeh. The military released footage of the strikes.
The IDF said the targets were embedded in civilian areas, and that it took steps to limit harm to the population during the strikes.
The strikes came as heavy ground fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah continued in southern Lebanon, with Israeli troops pushing farther from the border.
The IDF said that over the past week, the elite reserve Alpinist Unit, under the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, had located an Iranian-made recoilless rifle, an artillery piece, during an operation on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov, along the border.
The troops found rocket launchers and other projectiles at the same Hezbollah site, the military said.
An Iranian-made recoilless rifle is found by troops on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov, in a handout photo published on November 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Meanwhile, the IDF blamed Hezbollah for a Friday rocket barrage that lightly wounded four Italian soldiers from UNIFIL, the international observer force in southern Lebanon.
The IDF said the projectiles, which hit a UNIFIL base near southern Lebanon’s Chamaa, were launched from the village of Deir Qanoun al-Nahr.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had also said initial evidence indicated the terror group was behind the “unacceptable” incident.
Italy and other European allies have accused Israel of targeting UNIFIL and rejected Jerusalem’s demand that the peacekeeping force vacate its positions while the IDF pursues Hezbollah.
Israel, in turn, has accused UNIFIL of failing to prevent Hezbollah from building terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, forcing Israel to act.
A UNIFIL armored vehicle drives through Beirut as part of a UN peacekeeping convoy heading toward south Lebanon, on November 12, 2024. (Patrick Baz/AFP)
Hezbollah-led forces have attacked northern Israel from Lebanon on a near-daily basis since October 8, 2023 — a day after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Fearing Hezbollah would invade the north, Israel evacuated towns along the Lebanese border. Some 60,000 northerners remain displaced amid relentless rocket fire by Hezbollah, which says its attacks are in support of Gaza.
Hezbollah has also expanded its attacks to target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on the border, though in recent days the IDF has seen a decrease in the number of attacks.
The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 44 civilians. In addition, 71 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September. Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
The IDF estimates that some 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
END
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Overnight Beirut strike targeted Hezbollah operations head Muhammad Haydar – report
At least four people were killed and 23 wounded in the attack in Beirut’s Basta neighborhood, the Lebanese health ministry reported. The assassination attempt on Haydar reportedly failed.
Illustrative image of the head of Hezbollah’s operations department, Muhammad Haydar(photo credit: Canva, REUTERS/ALI HASHISHO, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
Israel targeted the head of Hezbollah’s operations department, Muhammad Haydar, in a Friday night airstrike on Beirut, Israeli sources told KAN and Sky News Arabia on Saturday. Israeli security sources told the Saudi media source Al-Hadath that Haydar reportedly survived the attack.
Haydar, who is also referred to by his alias ‘Abu Ali,’ is the commander of Hezbollah’s 910 unit, according to Maariv. He is considered to be Hezbollah’s most senior remaining figure after Israel eliminated the terror organization’s leaders.
The United States Federal Register lists Haydar as a specially designated global terrorist wanted by the States. Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hadath reported that he has a $7 million bounty on his head.
US State Department records show Haydar was designated on September 10, 2019.
Haydar, a senior member of the Jihad Council, was responsible for the military networks operating for Hezbollah outside Lebanon, according to the Alma Research and Education Center.
Before the reports of Haydar’s targeting, security sources told Reuters that a powerful Israeli airstrike targeted central Beirut on Saturday, shaking the Lebanese capital as Israel pressed its offensive against Hezbollah.
Haydar had acted as a member of the Lebanese parliament from 2005-2009, N12 reported. He later reportedly became responsible for the group’s activities in Lebanon, including the transfer of weapons from Iran to Damascus.
Israel allegedly attempted to assassinate Haydar in 2019 but was unsuccessful.
At least four people were killed and 23 wounded in the attack in Beirut’s Basta neighborhood, the Lebanese health ministry reported.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said early on Saturday that the attack resulted in a large number of fatalities and injuries and destroyed an eight-story building. Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.
The blasts shook the capital around 4 a.m. (0200 GMT), Reuters witnesses said. Security sources said at least four bombs were dropped in the attack.
It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel’s attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.
The strikes follow earlier evacuation warnings posted by IDF Arabic Spokesman Avichay Adraee to X/Twitter on Friday night. In it, he called for the evacuation of certain neighborhoods in Beirut, including Haret Hreik and Al-Ghobeiry.
Adraee warned residents that they were located near Hezbollah facilities and that the IDF would soon operate in these areas.
He told residents to evacuate at least 500 meters away from these areas.
Fourth strike this week
Israel has killed several leaders of its long-time foe Hezbollah in air strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by the Gaza war, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.
The conflict began when Hezbollah opened fire in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas after it launched the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
A US mediator traveled to Lebanon and Israel this week in an effort to secure a ceasefire. The envoy, Amos Hochstein, indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.
ISRAEL// HEZBOLLAH//OPINION//SATURDAY
Airstrike signals new strategy against Hezbollah – analysis
Israeli airstrikes target central Beirut, hitting areas beyond Hezbollah strongholds to further pressure the terrorist organization.
By SETH J. FRANTZMANNOVEMBER 23, 2024 12:53Updated: NOVEMBER 23, 2024 14:49
Smoke rises over Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, after overnight Israeli air strikes, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 3, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH)
A major airstrike in central Beirut at four in the morning is raising eyebrows.
Locals described the attack as hitting the Basta area of central Beirut. A large building was destroyed. People initially suspected a high death toll due to the presence of people sheltering in the area who had fled other parts of Lebanon. However, initial reports say four were killed and two dozen injured. More updates will come out as the rubble is cleared.
What is important in this strike is that there was no call for evacuation. It also is increasingly part of a pattern of strikes on areas outside of the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh.
“It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel’s attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut,” Ynet noted.
It’s possible that Hezbollah leaders are now fleeing Dahieh and other Hezbollah strongholds. Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was eliminated earlier this week also outside of the Hezbollah stronghold. Hezbollah may feel it must hide out in other areas of Beirut.
People stand on the rubble after an Israeli strike on a building that according to security sources killed Hezbollah’s media relations chief Mohammad Afif in Ras Al- Nabaa, in Beirut, Lebanon November 17, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Adnan Abidi TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
Hezbollah exploits civilian areas
This aids Hezbollah because any airstrikes also harm communities that are not loyal to Hezbollah, such as Christians, Sunnis, or others. Hezbollah has always sought to exploit civilian areas of Lebanon; however, it has had difficulties penetrating or making inroads outside of Shi’ite areas.
Hezbollah is now being pressured in Beirut and also in southern Lebanon. The IDF continues to advance against the group in the south. Reports in local media and online say that the IDF is pressuring Hezbollah along the coast near Naqoura and also near Khiam and Marjayoun.
These are key areas for the group. Hezbollah continues to fight and fire rockets. This shows that Hezbollah continued to have a large number of weapons. The group, however, may lack some command and control as many of its leaders and commanders have been killed.
The strikes in Beirut are important. Hezbollah is seeking to find a way to survive for a long war. It has said as much in recent statements. It wants to survive this round and keep part of itself intact.
To do this, it will have to improvise, and it will need better operational security. The recent strike in Beirut and other operations are clearly having an effect on Hezbollah. It remains to be seen what effect this has on ceasefire talks and other activities of the Iranian-backed proxy groups that have been attacking Israel.
Following IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee’s evacuation warning to civilians in the Hadath and Choueifat-Al-Omrousiya areas in Lebanon on Saturday morning, the Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar reported strikes in the Hadath, a municipality bordering Dahiyeh, in southern Beirut.
The IDF later confirmed that the IAF had conducted morning strikes on Hezbollah targets in the Dahieh area.
Dahiyeh is a Hezbollah stronghold and has been the target of the bulk of Israeli strikes in Beirut.
Adraee’s warning noted that the area housed Hezbollah facilities and that the IDF was set to target these sites.
The spokesperson instructed civilians to move at least 500 meters from the area as they were currently located near Hezbollah facilities and interests.
Smoke rises over Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, after overnight Israeli air strikes, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, October 3, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/AMR ABDALLAH DALSH)
The targets for the round of strikes included several Hezbollah command centers and additional terrorist infrastructure.
Earlier strikes
Earlier, the IDF reported that the air force had been conducting strikes on terrorist targets in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh.
The strikes targeted Hezbollah command centers, weapons storage facilities, and additional infrastructure intentionally embedded by the Lebanese terror organization in civilian areas in an effort to use the populace as a human shield, the IDF added.
Israel targeted the head of Hezbollah’s operations department, Muhammad Haydar, in a Friday night airstrike on Beirut, Israeli sources told KAN and Sky News Arabia on Saturday. It is yet unclear if the elimination attempt was successful.
Haydar is the commander of Hezbollah’s 910 unit, and is considered to be Hezbollah’s most senior remaining figure, according to Maariv.
Prior to the airstrikes, the Israeli military took a number of precautionary measures, it noted, including collecting intelligence, using aerial surveillance, and issuing warnings before striking targets.
Haydar is wanted by the United States and is listed in the United States Federal Register as a specially designated global terrorist. He reportedly has a $7 million bounty on his head, according to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hadath.
At least four people were killed and 23 wounded in the attack in Beirut’s Basta neighborhood, the Lebanese health ministry reported.
Lebanon’s National News Agency said early on Saturday that the attack resulted in a large number of fatalities and injuries and destroyed an eight-story building. Footage broadcast by Lebanon’s Al Jadeed station showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.
END
ISRAEL/IRAN/UAE
Mossad investigating missing Chabad emissary in Abu Dhabi, may have been under Iranian surveillance
There is growing suspicion that the Chabad emissary, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, may have been kidnapped or murdered by terrorists, Israeli media stated.
By MAYA GUR ARIEHNOVEMBER 23, 2024 16:31Updated: NOVEMBER 23, 2024 17:35
A person rides a scooter with the skyline visible in the background, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, September 27, 2023.(photo credit: Amr Alfiky/Reuters)
The disappearance of a Chabad emissary, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, in Abu Dhabi is being investigated by the Mossad and United Arab Emirates intelligence agencies, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced in a statement on Saturday evening.
“Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen and Chabad emissary residing in the United Arab Emirates, has been missing since Thursday afternoon (November 21, 2024),” the PMO wrote.
“Since his disappearance, and based on information indicating a potential terror incident, an intensive investigation has been launched in the country.”
PMO says Israeli intelligence security agencies working to locate Kogan
“Israeli intelligence and security agencies are working tirelessly out of concern for Zvi Kogan’s safety and well-being.”
“It should be noted that the National Security Council has previously issued a Level 3 travel warning (moderate threat) for the United Arab Emirates, advising against non-essential travel to the destination and recommending heightened precautions for those staying there,” the PMO concluded.
UAE and Jordanian flags flutter ahead of the preparations for US President Joe Biden’s visit, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia July 14, 2022. (credit: MOHAMMED SALEM/REUTERS)
There is growing suspicion that Kogan may have been kidnapped or murdered by terrorists, as he has been missing since Wednesday, Israeli media stated. His family stated that he had not made any contact in recent days since his disappearance, N12 reported.
Information in Israel’s possession indicates that the Kogan may have been under Iranian surveillance, Israeli media noted.
The Prime Minister’s Office confirms that the Mossad spy agency is investigating the disappearance of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan in Abu Dhabi.
Kogan disappeared on Thursday, the PMO says, and the incident is being treated as terrorism.
The PMO reminds citizens that the National Security Council advises Israelis to only travel to the United Arab Emirates for essential reasons.
end
ISRAEL /ICC COURT/SAURDAY MORNING/EDITORIAL
ICC warrants are binding, European Union cannot pick and choose, EU’s Borrell says
Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country.
By REUTERSNOVEMBER 23, 2024 17:01
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell attends a press conference on the day of EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)
European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday.
The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri (Mohammad Deif) for alleged crimes against humanity.
All EU member states are signatories to the ICC’s founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.
Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.
“The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It’s not optional,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.
THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court in The Hague. (credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)
Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.
“It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don’t fulfill,” he told Reuters.
While Borrell welcomes ICC ruling, US rejects decision
The US rejected the ICC’s decision, and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.
“Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government – (they are) being accused of antisemitism,” said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.
“I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That’s enough.”
In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza.”
The warrant for Mohammad Deif lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Deif.
END
Berlin won’t arrest Netanyahu due to Germany’s Nazi history, officials estimate
German officials suggested the country would not comply with the arrest warrant as a “consequence” of the Holocaust.
People attend the rally “Against terror and antisemitism! Solidarity with Israel” organised by Germany’s Central Council of Jews, political parties, unions and civil society, at Brandenburg Gate, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berlin, Germany.(photo credit: REUTERS/ANNEGRET HILSE)
German officials alluded that the country would not arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu per the International Criminal Court ruling due to the country’s Nazi history, The Telegraph reported on Friday.
Several countries, including the United Kingdom, Italy, and the Netherlands, implied that they would arrest Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant after the ICC issued warrants for the two’s arrest on Thursday.
All EU countries are court members, meaning they are mandated to enforce ICC warrants.
However, because of Germany’s complex relationship with Israel and antisemitism, German officials said that they found it difficult to believe that the country would carry out the warrant.
“I find it hard to imagine that arrests could be carried out in Germany on this basis,” said Steffen Hebestreit, a spokesman for German chancellor Olaf Scholz, The Telegraph reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers his speech after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Jerusalem, March 17, 2024. (credit: Leo Correa/Pool via REUTERS)
Germany is ‘examining’ its next steps
Hebestreit reportedly did not answer the reporter’s questions about whether Netanyahu is welcome to visit Germany but noted that his government was examining legal questions on how to comply with the warrant. However, he did not say what the questions entailed.
“At the same time, it is a consequence of German history that we share unique relations and great responsibility with Israel,” The Telegraph quoted Hebestreit as saying. “We will carefully examine the domestic steps. Any further action would only be taken when a visit [to Germany] by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant is foreseeable.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock emphasized that her country complies with the ICC at every level on the sidelines of the COP29 conference in Baku earlier this month, Reuters reported.
“Whether the Israeli prime minister will enter the European Union is a hypothetical question. But we are now examining exactly how we will deal with it,” she told broadcaster RTL/ntv in an interview.
The German government said in a statement that it was one of the ICC’s largest supporters, which it claims is also a result of its complex history in the 20th century.
Netanyahu maintains that the arrest warrants are an “antisemetic step with one goal—to deter me, to deter us [Israel]—from exercising our right to defend ourselves.”
end
ISRAEL/HEZBOLLAH/sunday
Latest Beirut strikes hit Hezbollah unit in charge of smuggling arms from Iran — IDF
Hezbollah unit responsible for smuggling weapons from Iran targeted in latest Beirut strikes — IDF
The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against 12 Hezbollah command centers in Beirut’s southern suburbs a short while ago.
According to the military, the command rooms belonged to Hezbollah’s intelligence division, coast-to-sea missile unit, and Unit 4400, the latter of which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran to Lebanon.
The Hezbollah sites were located “in the heart of a civilian population,” the IDF says, accusing the terror group of using human shields.
Before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the area.
END
ISRAEL//HAMAS/HEZBOLLAH/MONDAY
Netanyahu approves ceasefire with Lebanon ‘in principle’ – report
CNN reported that several details are still being negotiated, and the agreement will not be solidified until every issue is resolved.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a Memorial Ceremony for people who were murdered during the October 7th Massacre, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, October 28, 2024.(photo credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly approved a ceasefire with Lebanon “in principle” while meeting with Israeli officials on Sunday evening, a source told CNN on Monday.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon would hinge on enforcement that would keep Hezbollah disarmed and away from the border.
“The test for any agreement will be one, not in words or phrasing, but in enforcement only of the two main points. The first is preventing Hezbollah from moving southward beyond the Litani (River), and the second, preventing Hezbollah from rebuilding its force and rearming in all of Lebanon,” Saar said in Knesset, in broadcast remarks.
The source said that Israel still has reservations about certain details, which will reportedly be transferred to the Lebanese government on Monday.
CNN reported that several details are still being negotiated, and the agreement will not be solidified until every issue is resolved.
Israel’s motivation to finalize ceasefire
Overnight, reports from international media suggested significant American guarantees were on the table. Other sources pointed to Israel’s motivation to finalize the ceasefire at this specific time.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US envoy Amos Hochstein meet in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 17, 2024 (credit: AMOS BEN GERSHOM/GPO)
Israeli state broadcaster KAN cited Israeli sources saying that an agreement with Lebanon may already be reached this week.
This is a developing story.
END
ISRAEL SYRIA/HEZBOLLAH
Report: Recent IDF strike in Syria killed senior Hezbollah commander behind deadly 2007 attack on US troops
22 November 2024, 11:53 pm
A recent IDF airstrike in Syria killed a senior Hezbollah commander who helped plan a deadly attack on US soldiers in Iraq in 2007, NBC News reports, citing a senior US defense official.
Ali Mussa Daqduq played a key role in the Karbala raid in which terrorists disguised as an American security team entered a base before opening fire and killing five US soldiers.
He was subsequently captured by US forces but later released by the Iraqi government following the American military withdrawal.
NBC says it’s not clear yet when the IDF strike that killed Daqduq took place.
‘Hamas is under pressure’: Security official says potential hostage deal closer than ever
According to recent assessments by security officials, out of the 101 hostages, approximately 50 are believed to still be alive, including some foreign workers.
The military pressure placed on Hamas and its allies has brought the possibility of achieving a deal to return the hostages closer than ever before, according to a senior security official.
According to recent assessments by security officials, out of the 101 hostages, approximately 50 are believed to still be alive, including some foreign workers. The IDF is conducting sensitive operational activities and maneuvers to minimize harm to the hostages.
Security officials believe Hamas is under immense pressure as it can no longer coordinate efforts with Hezbollah, which is increasingly engaged in clashes with the IDF, or with Iran, which is currently preoccupied with its own issues, including its involvement in Iraq and support for the Houthis.
Hamas is reportedly interested in a deal
Hamas is reportedly interested in a deal and willing to compromise on its previous demand for a complete cessation of the war. The possible relocation of senior Hamas officials to Turkey has further facilitated a potential compromise. However, any agreement is expected to come at a significant cost to Israel, likely requiring the release of high-profile security prisoners with blood on their hands.
Based on discussions with Egypt and Qatar, as well as on signals from Turkey, there is a possibility of reaching a phased agreement over the next 42 days, prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration. A senior security official stated on Thursday that Israel is closer than ever to a hostage release deal, mainly due to the pressure being exerted in Gaza.
One key condition under discussion is the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza. Israel’s challenge in negotiations will be securing the release of as many hostages as possible in the first phase. Efforts are also underway, through a Russian-Palestinian channel, to secure the release of hostages with Russian citizenship.
“There is a chance for a deal. Hamas is under pressure and willing, and so are we,” said a senior security official. “There are discussions about specific terrorists’ names, and we won’t hesitate to make decisions.”
The official also noted that Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman and division commanders informed Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz this week that Jabalya is on the verge of collapse. Its fall would intensify pressure, as it is a significant symbol in Palestinian society.
The security official clarified that the Philadelphi Corridor is not a central issue in the negotiations with Hamas, adding that “the conditions are more favorable than ever.”
He emphasized that the discussions do not involve ending the war but rather a temporary pause to facilitate the deal.
According to the official, Maj. Gen. Finkelman and division commanders assured that they would be prepared to resume fighting if the deal proceeds. He also stressed that the Israeli government will not agree to any form of Hamas governance—civilian or military—in Gaza and that the IDF will maintain operational freedom in Gaza, similar to its approach in the West Bank.
The reelection of Donald Trump has sent ripples across terror-supporting and anti-Israel regimes. In the Middle East, Qatar claimed it would rescind its longtime asylum for Hamas leadership, and Iran is reportedly recalibrating its retaliation for Israel’s recent airstrikes. But the new Trump Administration should also be focusing on Latin America, where complicit nations have enabled Hezbollah to thrive. The U.S. must curtail Hezbollah’s active regional fundraising which not only supports attacks against Israel but transnational criminal activity, including bringing drugs and potential terrorists across America’s southern border.
Both Luis Arce, socialist president of Bolivia, and Nicolas Maduro, the authoritarian president of Venezuela, have not only made horrifically antisemitic comments, but completely severed diplomatic ties with Israel. Maduro mourned the death of terrorist and Hezbollah founding member, Hassan Nasrallah, expressing support for the terror group while condemning Israel.
In the early 90’s, Hezbollah bombed the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires and two years later the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish cultural center. In November of 2023, police in Brazil foiled plans for a major terrorist attack on multiple Jewish targets in the country—home of Latin America’s second largest Jewish population second only to Argentina.
Hezbollah’s patron, the Islamic Republic of Iran, facilitates Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America by building advantageous relationships with authoritarian-leaning countries in the region.
In July of 2023, the BBC reported that Iran and Bolivia signed a bilateral agreement to expand “cooperation in the fields of security and defense.” The Iranian defense minister, Mohamed Reza Ashtiani, acknowledged that the deal involved “the sale of equipment and the training of personnel,” including the purchase of Iranian drones by Bolivia. Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year cooperation agreement in 2022 to increase ties in the oil, petrochemical, economic, and military sectors.
Bolivia and Venezuela are rich in uranium and other resources. In 2009, Iran helped Venezuelan engineers with “geophysical aerial probes and geochemical analyses (to find) uranium deposits” as reported by EcoAmericas. By contrast, while the presence of uranium deposits is known in Bolivia, the government has labeled information on the topic as ”reserved”, meaning the location, size, and potential for mining are not publicly disclosed. Around the same time Venezuela and Bolivia had discovered uranium deposits in their regions, a secret Israeli government report obtained by AP news found that: “Venezuela and Bolivia are supplying Iran with uranium for its nuclear program.” In fact, in late October 2024, Bolivia produced its first nuclear fuel for a research reactor.
Furthermore, both countries are linked with narcotrafficking markets, in which Hezbollah and other terrorist groups are involved. Historically, Bolivia is one of the largest producers of the coca leaf. Due to its abundance, Bolivia naturally played a large role in the Latin America drug trade and supplied an estimated 15% of the cocaine market in the United States during the 1980’s. According to a 2022 White House press release, Bolivia’s steadily growing cocaine production poses a public health threat to the U.S. due to increasing cocaine related overdoses. As of 2009, Bolivia’s president at the time Evo Morales, expelled the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) from the country after nearly three decades of maintaining a presence.
Venezuela is also involved in the cocaine market. Through collaboration with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a known Hezbollah ally, Venezuela serves as a main export hub for cocaine into the United States and Europe. Early in the Biden Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice announced several narcoterrorism indictments against the Maduro regime, including Nicolás Maduro himself, for conspiring with FARC to facilitate and profit from the cocaine trade.
In March of 2020, former Venezuelan-Syrian politician, Adel El Zabayar, was indicted by the Justice Department for conspiring with Nicolas Maduro and other regime leaders in a narcoterrorism plot involving Colombian FARC dissidents, Mexican drug cartels, and operatives from Iran, Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah to carry out planned attacks on the United States. Last month, Mijal Gur Aryeh, Israel’s Ambassador to Costa Rica, condemned Venezuela and Bolivia for hosting Hezbollah and Iranian terrorists. Earlier this year, Patricia Bullrich, the Security Minister of Argentina, also made the claim that “Bolivia hosts hundreds of members of the Quds Force,” a branch of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
People on terrorist watchlists have been apprehended at the southern border of the United States, and at least one Hezbollah operative attempting to enter the country illegally. Since the October 7th attack on Israel, Hezbollah has launched over 8,000 rockets at the Jewish state, causing “over 70,000” Israeli’s to evacuate their homes.
Hezbollah’s presence in Latin America should alarm Western defense officials. While the terrorist organization continues to volley missiles at Israel daily, it is also increasing its involvement in transnational criminal activity, as its financiers the Islamic Republic of Iran increases its influence in the region. The incoming Trump Administration, with newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio—an unyielding opponent of repressive regimes—should work closely with its Latin American allies and Israel to destroy Hezbollah’s fundraising in the region which not only enables terrorist activity in the Middle East, but also threatens the southern border with illicit drugs and potential terrorism.
Matias Ahrensdorf – Data Analyst for Policy and Research in New York City.
Santiago Vidal Calvo– Tech and Public Policy Scholar and master’s student at Georgetown University.
American jurist Alan Dershowitz sits for a photo during a visit to Israel, whose leaders he met to discuss proposed reforms to the country?s Supreme Court, in Tel Aviv, Israel December 8, 2022.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Dershowitz noted that the case would be tried in the court of public opinion as well as in The Hague.
“For that reason, I am assembling a team of world-class lawyers from around the globe to help defend Israeli leaders against the false charges,” Dershowitz wrote.
Various countries, such as the Netherlands, France, and Ireland, have announced they would uphold the ICC decision and arrest Netanyanhy and Gallant if they chose to land in those countries.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (credit: ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS)
However, the United States rejected the ICC decision.
“The United States fundamentally rejects the Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. We remain deeply concerned by the Prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” a government spokesperson said.
In the WSJ op-ed, Dershowitz added that several prominent lawyers have already promised to join the legal battle, including multiple former US attorneys and a former FBI director.
No jurisdiction against Israel
“We will argue that the ICC has no jurisdiction against Israel, not only because it isn’t a member, but also because the treaty that established that court precludes it from considering cases against any country with a valid judicial system that is willing and able to investigate the alleged crimes,” he wrote.
“We will also demonstrate that Israel’s actions in Gaza don’t violate any international law or laws of war over which the ICC has jurisdiction.”
Germany, which supplies 30% of Israel’s military equipment, expressed criticism of the petition for arrest warrants, saying that the court had no jurisdiction since Israel has not signed the Rome Statute. Nevertheless, Germany has made clear in the past that it will respect the ICC’s decisions.
Dershowitz continued, “By issuing arrest warrants… the court is seeking to equate the terrorism of Hamas, which murdered, raped, and kidnapped approximately 1,450 Israelis, mostly civilians, with the self-defense efforts of Israel to prevent a promised recurrence of Oct. 7.”
Netanyahu responded publicly on Thursday evening, condemning the decision that ruled for his arrest. “This is a moral bankruptcy that undermines the natural right of democracies to defend themselves against murderous terrorism,” he said.
Israel’s President Isaac Herzog similarly noted that the decision reflects the choice to side with “terror and evil over democracy and freedom” and that it turned the justice system into a human shield for Hamas’s crimes against humanity.
Dershowitz concluded, “Our group of lawyers hopes to bring justice to Israel and its leaders, as well as the rule of international law, which is being disgraced and destroyed by the ICC. We welcome others to join in this endeavor.”
end
ISRAEL./HEZBOLLAH/FRIDAY EVENING
IDF pounds Hezbollah sites across Lebanon; 80 rockets, UAVs target northern Israel
South Lebanon strikes said to kill 5 Hezbollah-linked medics; Nahariya factory hit; no injuries reported in fresh attacks; Italy blames terror group after rockets hurt 4 UNIFIL troops
A ball of fire erupts at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs on November 22, 2024. (Fadel Itani/AFP)
Israeli fighter jets carried out two waves of airstrikes on Lebanon’s coastal city of Tyre, and further sorties on the country’s south and Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut on Friday, as the Israel Defense Forces said some 80 rockets and several drones were launched at northern Israel throughout the day.
The Lebanese health ministry said airstrikes on two villages in southern Lebanon killed five medics from a rescue force affiliated with Hezbollah. AFP reported that an airstrike in Beirut toppled an 11-story building.
The IDF said targets included command centers, intelligence infrastructure, weapon depots and observation posts belonging to Hezbollah. Before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the area.
Many of the sites belonged to Hezbollah’s Aziz regional division, responsible for rocket fire on Israel from the western sector of southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
Hezbollah said it had targeted with rockets and artillery Israeli ground troops who had encroached on the southern Lebanese towns of Khiyam and Deir Mimas, respectively located some 6 kilometers (4 miles) and 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) north of the border with Israel.
“Enemy reconnaissance aircraft” were flying over Deir Mimas, which has been largely emptied of residents, warning people “not to leave their homes,” Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported, adding that it was the first time Israeli troops had reached the village.
A portrait of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stands on a billboard as people check the destruction after an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern Shayah neighborhood, November 22, 2024. (AFP)
In the latest attacks on northern Israel on Friday evening, the IDF Home Front Command said a drone from Lebanon exploded in the Western Galilee area, without causing any injuries.
Drone infiltration warning sirens sounded for around half an hour in northern communities including Nahariya, Acre and the Krayot area north of Haifa amid the incident.
Earlier, the IDF said that air defenses shot down some of the barrage of rockets fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee and Haifa areas, while others impacted.
Police said a factory in Nahariya was damaged by a rocket. Footage posted to social media showed smoke rising from an industrial area, along with interceptions over the northern coastal city.
The barrage came as the IDF said it had shot down two drones from Lebanon before they entered Israeli airspace in the afternoon, and five projectiles from Lebanon set off sirens in Haifa overnight before being intercepted.
There were no reports of injuries in the latest attacks from Lebanon, which came as Israeli and American officials expressed optimism about securing a ceasefire with Hezbollah to end the cross-border hostilities raging since the day after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre that sparked the war in Gaza.
The White House said Friday evening that United States President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed efforts to secure a ceasefire in Lebanon during a phone call earlier in the day.
On Friday afternoon, Channel 12 published details on what it said were the remaining points of contention between Israel and Hezbollah to reach a ceasefire in the north.
One issue, according to the report, was Israel’s insistence that France can not be part of the agreement, or be a member of the international committee that will monitor a deal’s implementation. This is due to its perceived hostility toward Israel in recent months under Macron’s administration. Macron has recently repeatedly called for an arms embargo on Israel, characterizing it as the path toward ending the war, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
The second issue cited in the report was 13 land points along the Israel-Lebanon border that are disputed due to boundary demarcation issues. The network said Israel was demanding language in the agreement that would allow it to unilaterally choose not to engage in negotiations over disputed points.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Burj al-Shamali, on the outskirts of Tyre, on November 22, 2024 (Kawnat Haju / AFP)
Channel 12 reported that Lebanon had accepted that the US would issue a letter that supports Israel’s freedom to act in Lebanon against “imminent threats,” but that final wording on the issue of arms transfers within Lebanon had not been finalized.
A senior official told Channel 12: “Most of the details have been agreed upon, but what remains open is very sensitive and could still derail the agreement.”
The report came after Washington’s envoy Amos Hochstein discussed the ceasefire with senior Lebanese, Hezbollah and Israeli officials over the past week, touting progress in the talks. A senior Israeli defense official also said there was a high likelihood of a deal.
IDF finds Russian-made anti-tank missiles at Hezbollah post
In southern Lebanon’s eastern sector, meanwhile, troops of the 7th Armored Brigade found several Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile launching post they had discovered after an operative had been killed there in a recent airstrike, the IDF said on Friday.
The brigade, operating under the 98th Division, has been raiding what the army calls “an area that serves as a significant terror stronghold for Hezbollah.”
Troops have located several Hezbollah fighting positions, weapon depots, bunkers and other infrastructure amid the ongoing operation, the army said.
Over the past week, the military said it had destroyed some 45 Hezbollah rocket launchers in airstrikes in southern Lebanon. According to the IDF, some of the launchers were used in previous rocket attacks on Israel, and others were primed for future attacks.
Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo issued on November 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Meanwhile, four Italian troops were lightly hurt in an apparent Hezbollah rocket barrage on the UN observer mission in Lebanon, Rome said on Friday, as Israel’s ground troops pushed on in southern Lebanon.
Italy’s Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said four Italian soldiers in UNIFIL, the international peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, “were slightly injured following the explosion of two 122 mm rockets that hit the UNP 2-3 base in Chamaa,” a southwestern Lebanese village some seven kilometers (4.3 miles) north of the Israeli border.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed “deep indignation and concern” over the incident, without attributing blame, though European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the UNIFIL observers were “wounded following the launch of two rockets by Hezbollah.”
“I will try to speak with the new Israeli minister of defense, which has been impossible since he took office, to ask him to avoid using UNIFIL bases as a shield,” he said.
“Even more intolerable is the presence of terrorists in South Lebanon who are endangering the safety of the blue helmets and the civilian population,” he added.
Members of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force enter a bus at the site of an Israeli strike at the northern entrance of the southern city of Sidon, on November 7, 2024. (Mahmoud Zayat/AFP)
Some European allies, including France and Italy, have accused Israel of targeting UNIFIL, and rejected Jerusalem’s demand that the peacekeeping force vacate its positions while the IDF pursues Hezbollah.
Israel has accused UNIFIL of failing to prevent Hezbollah from building terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, forcing Israel to act.
Israel invaded Lebanon in late September to stem the relentless Hezbollah rocket fire that has prevented some 60,000 northern residents from returning home.
Fearing a Hezbollah invasion of the north, Israel evacuated the residents soon after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
Starting the next day, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
Israeli security forces and emergency personnel at an apartment building hit by rockets fired from Lebanon, in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona on November 20, 2024. (Jalaa Marey / AFP)
Hezbollah has since expanded its attacks to also target cities in central and northern Israel with rockets, in addition to the attacks on the border, though in recent days the IDF has seen a decrease in the number of attacks.
The attacks on northern Israel since October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of 44 civilians. In addition, 71 IDF soldiers and reservists have died in cross-border skirmishes and in the ensuing ground operation launched in southern Lebanon in late September. Two soldiers have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
The IDF estimates that some 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the conflict. Around 100 members of other terror groups, along with hundreds of civilians, have also been reported killed in Lebanon.
Jacob Magid contributed to this report.
END
ISRAEL/USA ICC/FRIDAY EVENING
GOP Sen. Graham threatens to sanction US allies if they enforce ICC arrest warrants on Netanyahu, Gallant
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham threatens to sanction US allies if they enforce the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as many of them have pledged to do.
“To any ally, Canada, Britain, Germany, France, if you try to help the ICC, we’re going to sanction you,” Graham tells Fox News in an interview.
“If you are going to help the ICC as a nation enforce the arrest warrant against Bibi and Gallant… I will put sanctions on you,” adds Graham, who has turned on the court after backing its decision to issue an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘Enemy forces retreating’: 7th Brigade guards North from inside southern Lebanon, commander says
Over the past year and two months, the 7th Brigade has added another impressive chapter to its legacy as the IDF’s first armored brigade.
By AVI ASHKENAZINOVEMBER 25, 2024 08:44Updated: NOVEMBER 25, 2024 12:23
IDF reserve Infantry and Merkava Tank soldiers train in a military exercise in the Golan Heights on October 23, 2023(photo credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)
The operational activities of the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade continue to achieve significant results, uncovering vast troves of Hezbollah weaponry in southern Lebanon, the brigade’s commander, Colonel Elad Zuri, said in a recent interview.
Over the past year and two months, the brigade has added another impressive chapter to its legacy as the IDF’s first armored brigade. Since October 7, they have not stopped for a moment, participating in battles in Gaza and, for the past two months, engaging in three rounds of fighting in Lebanon.
“Our home is the State of Israel, and it must be defended both in the south and in the north,” said Zuri.
The brigade’s fighters have been operating for over a week in the northern region overlooking the town of Metulla and the Hula Valley.
“We are finding significant amounts of weaponry. When we were fighting in Gaza, I said it was hard to imagine the sheer number of tunnels. Here, I say—it’s hard to imagine the quantity of weapons Hezbollah has accumulated and hidden. Almost every house we enter to search reveals weaponry. Some are wrapped in plastic and stored in homes converted into emergency depots for the organization, but we’ve also found launchers with missiles ready to fire at Israel,” Zuri said.
Tank crews from the Seventh Brigade’s 75th Battalion train with their new Merkava Mk. 4 tanks (credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
“When you look southward, you see Israel, the northern communities. At a moment like this, my soldiers and I are filled with a sense of purpose. We stand here defending northern Israel—Metulla, the Hula Valley, and its communities.”
According to Zuri, Hezbollah is in distress.
“I have no doubt the rocket fire shakes the public. However, our strikes against Hezbollah, at least on the ground, are highly effective. We clear structures, operate in complex terrain, and expose Hezbollah’s assets. In recent days, there has been a decrease in the volume of rocket fire into Israel. The goal of our operations deep in the territory is to eliminate Hezbollah’s threat and capabilities in the area.”
Is it time to end the fighting in Lebanon?
“A diplomatic move always complements a military one. Generally, that’s how wars end. The decision on when the military campaign has reached its conclusion lies with the policymakers. Our role is to provide tools and expand the operational boundaries to maximize achievements.”
The 7th Brigade now faces the challenge of operating in the winter. Heavy rain fell on Sunday morning in the area where the brigade was fighting, and by evening, the temperatures had dropped to freezing.
“We are well-prepared, but it’s still very cold,” Zuri said.
Zuri also mentioned that the brigade constantly evaluates the routes used by their tanks and engineering vehicles to prevent them from sinking or slipping in the mud.
“The Merkava tank has incredible resilience. Do we sometimes get stuck in the mud? Absolutely. Do we sometimes slip? Certainly. Do we occasionally tip over when a route collapses? It’s a challenge. Due to the weather, we strive to assess the routes and plan our movements in advance. Some anti-tank missiles were fired at the tanks, but the ‘Trophy’ defense system worked well. Nonetheless, the weather remains a significant challenge.”
Regarding Hezbollah’s combat capabilities, Zuri commented, “We encounter many enemy forces retreating. Northern Command has done a good job this year in striking Hezbollah’s formations. At the same time, we face an entrenched enemy operating from houses and underground. We also encounter them in difficult face-to-face combat scenarios. In Gaza, we dealt with drones and trajectory-dependent fire.”
Although the 7th Brigade is a regular unit, it relies heavily on reserve forces.
“Reservists are incredible people, and the State of Israel owes them a great deal. We are not a reserve brigade, but many of my forces are reservists. We aim to provide clarity to the reservists—if we call them up for three weeks, we strive to stick to that timeline and not extend it unnecessarily. Managing reservist fatigue is a significant challenge, but we are handling it well. At the brigade level, we’ve improved in our treatment of reservists, but is it sufficient? No. There’s still work to be done.”
Last Friday, the next commander of the 7th Brigade was named. In a few months, Colonel Zuri will complete one of the most combat-intensive tenures for a 7th Brigade commander since its establishment. He has expressed his desire to take a year to study before pursuing another challenging position within the IDF’s combat framework.
END
ISRAEL.HEZBOLLAH/MONDAY EVENING
IAF conducts second wave of strikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut
These strikes follow earlier evacuation warnings issued to residents of southern Beirut neighborhoods.
The Israel Air Force conducted a second round of intelligence-based strikes on several Hezbollah command centers in Dahiyeh, Beirut, on Monday evening, following IDF Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee’s evacuation warning to the residents of Al-Ghobeiry and Haret Hreik municipalities on X/Twitter.
“For your safety and the safety of your family members, you must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them for a distance of no less than 500 meters,” Adraee wrote.
Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
The three alleged perpetrators of the murder of Chabad emissary to the UAE Rabbi Zvi Kogan, Olimpi Tohirovic, Makhmudjon Abdul Rahim, and Azizi Kamilovic.(photo credit: UAE Interior Ministry/Screenshot)
The suspects arrested in the alleged killing of Rabbi Zvi Kogan were from Uzbekistan, the UAE’s interior ministry stated on Monday.
Kogan was a Chabad emissary to the United Arab Emirates. He was initially reported missing by his family on Thursday, but his body was recovered on Sunday in the Emirati city of Al Ain, about an hour and a half from Dubai.
“The murder of the late Zvi Kogan is a criminal antisemitic terrorist attack,” the PMO said. “The State of Israel will act by all means and bring the criminals responsible for his death to justice.”
Shortly after Kogan’s body was recovered, the UAE arrested three suspects believed to be the main perpetrators behind the kidnapping and murder.
‘Terrorist incident’
The Mossad and authorities in the UAE opened the investigation based on information that Kogan’s murder might be related to “a terrorist incident.”
A United Arab Emirates (UAE) flag waves alongside an Israeli flag (credit: REUTERS/CHRISTOPHER PIKE)
“The one enemy [Israel has] today is terrorism, and Iran that supports the terrorism,” said Kara, a Druze who works to promote economic relations between Israel and the Arab world. “The indication that we have now is this is the direction of the investigation.”
Kogan’s body would be sent to Israel for burial after the UAE finished investigating, Kara said.
Israeli officials had suspected Iran’s involvement in the murder of Rabbi Kogan and are now concerned about whether Tehran intends to deploy similar methods in other countries, including Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, and parts of Europe.
end
ISRAEL HEZBOLLAH/MONDAY NIGHT/OUTLINE OF THE CEASEFIRE
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a final version of a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Israel’s freedom to act in Lebanon is guaranteed by a letter with the US, says the official. The IDF will be able to operate not only against those trying to attack Israel, but also against Hezbollah’s attempts to build up its military power.
“It’s a Mabam [war between the wars] in Lebanon,” claims the official, referencing the decade-long Israeli effort to keep Iranian weapons from reaching proxies by airstrikes and intelligence operations, primarily in Syria.
“We will act,” the official promises, noting that Israel is accepting a ceasefire, not an end to the war.
“We don’t know how long [the ceasefire] will last,” the official says. “It could be a month, it could be a year.”
Netanyahu decided Israel had no choice but to accept a ceasefire out of a fear that the Biden administration could punish Israel with a United Nations Security Council resolution in its final weeks, asserts the official, though the US has not given any indication that it would do so.
Israel is also missing capabilities it needs from the US, including 130 D9 bulldozers, says the official.
The agreement stipulates that the Lebanese Army will enter southern Lebanon over a 60-day period, while the IDF withdraws.
Coordination with the Lebanese side will take place through the office of US Central Command head General Michael E. Kurilla, who met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi earlier this week.
The coordinating body will include France, says the official, explaining that both the US and Lebanon demanded that the French be involved. Once France indicated it was not committing to the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of the ICC arrest warrants issued against him, Israel was willing to accept French involvement.
The ceasefire will ultimately be approved, says the official: “There are ministers who speak to their base, and we take it into consideration. But [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir understands the importance. It’s in Israel’s interest.”
The official argues that it will help reach a successful end to the war in Gaza. “What Hamas wanted was support from Hezbollah and others. Once you cut the connection, you have the ability to reach a deal.”
“It’s a strategic achievement,” says the official. “Hamas is alone.”
Israel will also be able to send more troops to Gaza if the ceasefire holds, the official notes.
IRAN/
Similar to the abduction of Rabbi Kogan.
Iranian activist Gazelle Sharmahd speaks out on her dissident father’s kidnapping
Jamshid Sharmahd’s abduction highlights Iran’s use of state-sponsored kidnappings to silence dissent.
“For most people, Dubai is a vacation destination, but for us, it’s always been a place where anti-regime dissidents disappear,” explained Gazelle Sharmahd, an anti-Islamic Republic activist whose father was kidnapped from Dubai four years ago, strikingly resembling the kidnapping and murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan from the UAE.
“I was originally a nurse,” Sharmahd explained, “but when my father was kidnapped, I became a hundred percent dedicated to fighting for him and others like him. This has become my life’s mission.”
Gazelle’s father, Jamshid Sharmahd, had left Iran for Germany at age seven, before the Islamic Revolution – described by Gazelle as an Islamo-Marxist coup. He later went back to Iran and got married, only to return to Germany after witnessing the regime’s brutality. “He saw the country being taken by jihadists,” she explained. “There were executions in the streets, there was much chaos. The atmosphere was terrible, so he took his family and left.”
Later on, the Sharmahd family moved from Germany to Los Angeles, but despite leaving the homeland behind, Jamshid was always outspoken against the Islamic Republic’s regime, which plausibly led to his name being on the regime’s “blacklist.”
“We’re strong believers in democracy and human rights,” Sharmahd continued. “Unfortunately, the Islamic regime makes it clear that we are not wanted there.”
Gazelle Sharmahd with her father, Jamshid, before he was kidnapped in Dubai. (credit: Courtesy)
Tracked to Oman, kidnapped to Iran
Gazelle’s father, Jamshid, was kidnapped by the Islamic Republic in 2020 and was announced as executed by the regime on October 28, on what should have been a routine business trip to India. “The last time we spoke to him was July 28, 2020, from his hotel in Dubai. His connecting flight was delayed so he stayed there. We haven’t heard of him since,” she said.
Jamshid had been wearing a Google tracker, which allowed the family to follow his abduction in real time. At first, the family had hoped that the detour was due to a rerouted flight, and they even got a message from Jamshid saying that all was in order, a message which turned out to be dictated by his kidnappers.
“Then sometime later we received the news: the Islamic Republic had published pictures of him arrested with handcuffs and his eyes covered,” she recalled. “We knew nothing about his condition or whereabouts. He wasn’t even held in the infamous Evin prison, where families at least know where their loved ones are. He was simply kept in an unknown location.”
Once this footage of Jamshid emerged, the family started calling everyone: embassies of Oman, UAE, Germany, and the US, the Interpol – but to no avail. “Who do you even call when states become kidnappers? There’s no playbook for this,” Sharmahd said.
The Islamic Republic’s international operations are no shock to her. “In the 90s, there were hundreds of cases of the regime assassinating its enemies abroad. And it now looks like they’re returning to these tactics of terror,” she explained. “They attempted to assassinate my father in 2009, and they’ve tried to kill others – Trump, Irwin Cotler, Masih Alinejad, all across the world. They hunt anyone they consider an enemy of jihadism. This is not a state, this is a predator.”
However, if Gazelle had expected that a personal story of her father’s kidnapping would garner any empathy, nothing could prepare her for the frustrating uphill battle her family and she had to wage against traditional media and international organizations.
“When my father was first taken and I started to speak out, I felt like I was blocked by the media. We saw the regime’s narrative being repeated worldwide, calling my father a ‘terrorist’ as if he had been arrested in Iran. We were going crazy, sending emails to The New York Times, The Washington Post, asking why they were publishing the regime’s narrative when the Islamic regime were the ones who had violated international law.”
Sharmahd and her family refused to remain silent. “We started a YouTube podcast named ‘War & Freedom: Insight Talks,’” speaking with Iranian exiles, with minorities in the Middle East who are oppressed under these evil regimes,” she explained. “These are the ‘bad people’ according to the regime.”
The family ended up spending two years fighting for a UN investigation. “Even after our stories were verified by the UN and other human rights organizations such as Amnesty [International], the media still repeated the regime’s propaganda,” Sharmahd said. “They copy-paste whatever the regime says. Just like what they’re doing with Gaza now. We must remember that these are terrorists, and lying is what they do.”
Between Gaza and Iran
Sharmahd drew alarming parallels between various hostage situations in the Middle East, including the Hamas attacks against Israel last year. “Hamas didn’t just kill; they deliberately took 250 hostages because they saw it was good business,” she explained.
“Only a couple of weeks prior to that, the Biden Administration had released $6 billion to the Islamic regime in Iran through Qatari banks. When a regime can kidnap German American citizens such as my father without any consequences, they see it as a green light to continue targeting activists and journalists.”
Sharmahd emphasized the need for international solidarity.
“The people in Israel and Iran understand each other. We’re not enemies – we’re all victims of jihadist regimes that oppress our people, the native populations throughout the Middle East,” she said. “We need to unite and tell these stories. I have friends among Israeli hostage families and among hostage families held by other regimes.
What’s crucial is that we need an international task force dealing with hostages. These regimes use hostages to extort governments. This is the regime’s business model ever since the 1979 American embassy crisis, and for them, it pays off. Instead of wide international pressure, each country negotiates its own small ‘deal,’ only feeding the regime more.”
In this context, Sharmahd further called for a united international response to state-sponsored kidnapping.
“Why is all the pressure on Israel? We have 45 countries whose citizens were kidnapped or hurt in some way on October 7. Why aren’t they all pushing together?” she asked. “Instead, we’re paralyzing Israel, the only people actually doing something to return the hostages!
“My father didn’t need to speak out. He had all his rights in Germany and the US. He was a software engineer; he could have lived like any European or American,” she said. “But because of his connection to people in Iran, he saw the threat. He decided he had a responsibility to act toward justice in the world. If you think for a moment that you don’t have responsibility, you’re wrong. Silence helps the oppressors.”
Sharmahd concluded with an urgent plea to support “the freedom fighters” in Iran. “Freedom fighters in Iran are facing genocide – the regime kills a freedom fighter every six hours because they’re a threat to the jihadists,” she warned.
“If we don’t pressure Western governments, they’ll be eliminated like other peoples in the Middle East. We must protect them. People like my father are rare in the Middle East, but they exist, and we must help them. We must protect them and amplify their voices.”
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
ROBERT H TO US:
Hazelnut and more
The use of a continental ballistic missile is a GLOBAL FIRST by Russia the other day.
It is similar in magnitude of importance to America dropping a Nuclear bomb on Hiroshima during WWII. Why? Simply because no one had a similar weapon at the time and dominance of America was on full display for the world to see.
This is what happened this week. It is not just the West put on notice but the rest of the world. And the whole paradigm of the use of Nuclear weapons has been shifted. More over Russia has demonstrated the use of restraint in its attitude to Ukraine and Western Europe. Because clearly if Russia was interested in a Westward conquest of Europe they could do so with no defense by any European country that could stop such weapons. Russia has no interest or want in the West at all. Russia has turned Eastward.
Think about this. Midst all the sanctions and heaps of abuse put upon Russia they remain restrained in their action in what they call a SMO in Ukraine. While it is a failure of Western Intelligence not to have known this. It is in keeping with the balderdash about the world we are fed daily. There is a reason why politicians are discouraged from talking to countries like Russia to allow desired narratives to be used upon an unaware misinformed public.
With the demonstration this past week, all the Russia focus is on display for everyone to see as it is, and not as it is told. THE WEST HAS ZERO CHANCE OF CONQUERING RUSSIA AND UKRAINE NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO DO MORE THAN IT IS DOING WHICH FIND DEATH! While the war machine profits and politicians line their pockets while lying about the true state of economies. Is it not a time for Countries like Germany to realize and reexamine their policies and face problems? Why is a western world focusing on a war with Russia or China when clearly it will lose. Perhaps better to rebuild economies and live in harmony in a changing world than find destruction.
As for this new ballistic missile, rumor is 50 are ready to be launched upon a call and the missile has been in serial production since last summer. And there are other surprises not known that await the uninformed, still delusional.
The danger for the West is now what flushed out realities are dealt with by current political folks who have had their plans cancelled.
This morning in Russia the Federation Council met with Putin very early behind closed doors. Why is not known but the reaction is. It caused the deployment of 3 large nuclear missiles. The TOPOL-M carries only ONE warhead: a One-Megaton Nuclear bomb.These types of missiles are city killers at this size. One can only wonder what escalation has occurred that the Russians know and now have responded that they can ratchet up the price of escalation. We can only pray and hope that reason and sanity prevails because one wins with further escalation.
END
RUSSIA/UKRAINE/YUZHMASH
This is the Yuzhmash complex that was destroyed and turned into dust
This area which you find on google maps even had it’s own bus routes. It was so big. Buildings near by have cracks in their walls. People say it was like an earthquake. Will it take another strike to accept the reality? As it is a number of military targets have been identified with their own missile in European countries. Apparently a new Strike by Ukraine under NATO instructions has taken place tonight. If true Russia will respond.
One attachment • Scanned by Gmail
Russia strikes Yuzhmash plant in Ukraine with experimental RS-26 missile
On November 21, 2024, the Russian Armed Forces attacked the Yuzhmash plant in Dnipro, Ukraine, with six experimental RS-26 intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The strikes reportedly used a nuclear missile carrier with its nuclear part removed, potentially replaced with high-explosive warheads. This would be the first time Moscow has used such a weapon in the conflict.
RUSSIA/UKRAINE/USA/EUROPE
Ukraine’s Former Top Military Commander Claims ‘World War 3 Has Officially Begun’
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 07:45 AM
Former military Commander-in-Chief and Ukraine’s current ambassador to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, has warned that World War Three is already underway in a recent interview published by Politico.
“I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun,” he said. He referenced the greater internationalization of the war with the presence of North Korean troops, and Iranian technology on the battlefield, as well as Chinese support to Moscow.
“It is obvious that Ukraine already has too many enemies. Ukraine will survive with technology, but it is not clear whether it can win this battle alone,” he explained, also on the heels of Western allies approving Kiev’s long-range strikes against Russian territory with US, UK, and French missiles.
Zaluzhny claimed in the interview that Chinese weapons are being injected into the conflict alongside Iranian and North Korean arms. “Because in 2024, Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine. Let’s be honest. Already in Ukraine, the Iranian ‘Shahedis’ are killing civilians absolutely openly, without any shame.”
“It is still possible to stop it here, on the territory of Ukraine. But for some reason our partners do not want to understand this. It is obvious that Ukraine already has too many enemies. Ukraine will survive with technology, but it is not clear whether it can win this battle alone,” he said.
But it’s certainly not merely the Russian side which has had outside assistance. The West’s support to Ukraine has been much more direct, including billions of dollars in weaponry. F-16 fighter jets, anti-air systems, and medium and long-range missiles have been given to Ukraine, along with training for all of these systems.
Western advisers have without doubt also long been on the ground assisting Ukrainian intelligence and military officers. Moscow has cited all of this as what’s driving escalation.
Meanwhile, Rob Magowan, the deputy chief of the British defense staff, told the House of Commons defense committee last week, “If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight.”
He added, “I don’t think anybody in this room should be under any illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, then we would meet them in that fight.”
At the same time Washington has also been escalating, seeking to send as much in the way of arms and money to Kiev as the Biden administration can before Trump takes office on Jan.20. Critics have blasted this as reckless and an obvious recipe for runaway escalation.
* * *
The Economist in a recent piece is essentially calling it, saying things are looking nearly impossible for Ukraine’s chances on the battlefield…
end
RUSSIA.UKRAINE/USA
Locations Of US & Russian Warships As World War III Threats Soar
Sunday, Nov 24, 2024 – 02:35 PM
Last week’s “major shift” in policy, which allowed the Biden-Harris team to green-light Ukraine’s attacks deep within Russian territory using US-made ATACMS and British-made Storm Shadow missiles, has forced Russia to lower its threshold for using nuclear weapons against Ukraine while also launching new hypersonic weapons.
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin issued a stern warning that Ukraine launching long-range missile strikes on Russia’s territory utilizing newly approved US and UK long-range missiles risks transforming the modern battlefield in Ukraine into a global war.
“A regional Ukraine conflict instigated by the West has acquired elements of a global one,” Putin spelled out and noted that these missiles cannot be used without the direct operational involvement of Western military specialists.
No one genuinely anticipated that the outgoing Biden-Harris regime would escalate the war in Ukraine with Putin to the brink of a major broadening conflict. This suggests that the Biden-Harris team and the Military-Industrial Complex seek to broaden conflict before Trump takes office in late January.
Days ago, Ukraine’s former military Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny was quoted by Politico as saying: “I believe that in 2024 we can absolutely believe that the Third World War has begun.”
“Because in 2024, Ukraine is no longer facing Russia. Soldiers from North Korea are standing in front of Ukraine. Let’s be honest. Already in Ukraine, the Iranian ‘Shahedis’ are killing civilians absolutely openly, without any shame,” Zaluzhny continued, adding that North Korean and Chinese weapons are flying on the modern battlefield in Ukraine.
With the elevated risk of the war broadening, this new round of tension in Eastern Europe draws attention to the approximate positions of US Navy and Russian Navy assets worldwide.
As of November 18, the US Naval Institute showed the approximate positions of the US Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world…
Here’s more color on US naval asset positions worldwide:
Ships Underway
In Japan
Amphibious warship USS America (LHA-6) is in port in Sasebo, Japan.
In the Pacific
Amphibious warship USS Boxer (LHD-4) departed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Friday, according to ship spotters.
Boxer has elements of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked.
Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) continues on its way to its new homeport of Yokosuka, Japan, as the Navy’s forward-deployed carrier assigned to US 7th Fleet.
In Eastern Atlantic
Aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) is transiting en route to the Mediterranean after completing operations with allies and partners in the Norwegian Sea.
Carrier Strike Group 8
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Carrier Air Wing 1
The “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Oceana, Va.
The “Pukin’ Dogs” of VFA 143 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Sunliners” of VFA 81 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Knighthawks” of VFA 136 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Oceana.
The “Main Battery” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 144 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
The “Seahawks” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 126 – E-2D – from Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
The “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40 Det. – C-2A – from Naval Station Norfolk.
The “Proud Warriors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 72 – MH-60R – from Naval Station Norfolk.
The “Dragonslayers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11 – MH-60S – from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla.
Cruiser
USS Gettysburg (CG-64), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
Destroyer Squadron 28
Destroyer Squadron 28 is based in Naval Station Norfolk, Va., and is embarked on Harry S. Truman.
USS Stout (DDG-55), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk.
The Wasp Amphibious Ready Group with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit embarked deployed from the East Coast on June 1. The ARG consists of Wasp, USS New York (LPD-21) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51).
The 24th MEU is composed of a command element, Battalion Landing Team 1/8, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 365 (Reinforced) and Combat Logistics Battalion 24 as the Logistics Combat Element.
In the Eastern Mediterranean
The Navy has two independently deployed guided-missile destroyers to the Eastern Mediterranean.
USS Bulkeley (DDG-84), homeported at Naval Station Rota, Spain. The destroyer is in port in Souda Bay, Greece
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), homeported at Naval Station Rota.
In the Red Sea
Navy Quartermaster folds the national ensign aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) in the Central Command area of responsibility on November 13, 2024. US Navy Photo
US ships continue to patrol the Red Sea as part of Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led multinational effort to protect merchant vessels moving through the region. Houthi forces in Yemen continue to attack merchant shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, while US naval forces in the region have continued strikes against Houthi weapons that US Central Command says are a threat to naval and merchant ships. Houthi forces say they are targeting ships with connections to the United Kingdom, the US and Israel or visit Israeli ports.
Guided-missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729) is operating in the Middle East. The Ohio-class submarine carries 154 Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles as well as special operations forces.
As of Monday, the Navy has two independently deployed guided-missile destroyers in the Red Sea.
USS Cole (DDG-67), homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Va.
USS Jason Dunham (DDG-109), homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Fla.
In the Persian Gulf
US Coast Guard Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters are forward-deployed to the region under Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA). PATFORSWA deploys Coast Guard personnel and ships with US and regional naval forces throughout the Middle East. Initially deployed in 2003 to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, PATFORSWA is now a permanent presence based out of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In the Indian Ocean
The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is operating in the Indian Ocean. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered Abraham Lincoln and its attached destroyers to remain in the region as regional conflict intensified, according to a Pentagon statement.
Carrier Strike Group 3
Carrier
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), homeported at San Diego, Calif.
Carrier Air Wing 9
The “Tophatters” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 14 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
The “Black Aces” of VFA 41 – F/A-18F – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
The “Black Knights” of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 314 – F-35C – from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif.
The “Vigilantes” of VFA 151 – F/A-18E – from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
The “Wizards” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133 – EA-18G – from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash.
The “Wallbangers” of Airborne Command and Control Squadron (VAW) 117 – E-2D – from Naval Air Station Point Mugu, Calif.
The “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Squadron (VRC) 40 Det. – C-2A – from Naval Station Norfolk.
The “Raptors” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71 – MH-60R – from Naval Air Station North Island, Calif.
The “Chargers” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 14 – MH-60S – from Naval Air Station North Island.
Cruiser
The carrier strike group did not deploy with a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser. Instead, USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121) assumed the cruiser role in the strike group, USNI News learned. USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112) is currently operating with the strike group but is an independent deployer.
Destroyer Squadron 21
Destroyer Squadron 21 is based in San Diego and is embarked on Abraham Lincoln.
USS O’Kane (DDG-77), homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif.
USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
USS Frank E. Petersen, Jr. (DDG-121), homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.
USS Spruance (DDG-111), homeported at Naval Station San Diego.
USS Stockdale (DDG-106), homeported at Naval Station San Diego.
In Eastern Pacific
On Monday afternoon, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), with the Carrier Air Wing 2 embarked, departed for a deployment from California.
Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) departed to San Diego, Calif., on Monday, according to ship spotters.
Amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7) departed San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday, according to ship spot
Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) arrived in Bremerton, Wash., on Tuesday, according to ship spotters.
In the Western Atlantic
Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is underway conducting routine operations in the Western Atlantic.
Amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) returned to Norfolk, Va., on Friday, according to ship spotters.
Aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) returned to Norfolk, Va., on Saturday, according to ship spotters.
As for Russian naval assets, OSINT researcher Frederik Van Lokeren shared a map on X on Saturday. It highlights the locations of Russian warships across the Mediterranean (as of November 23).
“A period of heightened activity has ended with the vessels all present in the port of Tartus. The exception being Stereguschy class corvette Merkury which was reported in the Skagerrak between Denmark an Norway. The vessel most likely departed the Mediterranean directly following her port visit at Algiers, Algeria, during the previous week. Her passage at the Strait of Gibraltar went unnoticed by OSINT sources,” he wrote on his website “Russian Navy – News and Analysis.”
President-elect Trump’s victory signals one critical mandate the American people have with Washington elites is no more wars. Yet, the outgoing administration is doing everything possible to derail Trump’s move once in the White House to end the war.
END
VERY VERY IMPORTANT:
ROBERT H TO US:
Oreshnik – The 3 Km per Second Plot Twist – Global South
The reality is the WEST cannot stop any hypersonic weapon! > So imagine if such missiles as Hazelnut were equipped with nuclear MIRV’s. Yes nuclear because there are some already in wait. > If an escalation and buildup of NATO forces takes place ( always needed ) to invade. What if simply a 2nd demonstration comes calling? How would one account for say a division of men lost in one strike? Or how about the SCALP factory in France being completely erased? > With no such defense to these types of weapons the sane would back off. Sadly, i doubt sanity has yet to sink in. We live in perilous times closer to WWIII than ever before. Even the Cuban missile crisis was not as close as this is. Do not think that the Topol-M missiles being deployed was a random act. Each one with a one megaton warhead will destroy a city in a blink. Is anyine paying attention to the message? > Let Ukraine and its hopeless leadership sink into history without a greater war. No one wants it or needs further escalation not even NEOCONS, assuming they can still think. > > https://globalsouth.co/2024/11/22/oreshnik-the-3-km-per-second-plot-twist/ >END
US Officials Discussed Giving Nuclear Weapons To Ukraine
According to the New York Times, US and European officials have discussed a range of options they believe will deter Russia from taking more Ukrainian territory, including providing Kiev with nuclear weapons. The outlet reports that Western officials believe the Kremlin will not significantly escalate the war before Donald Trump is sworn in as President in January.
Following the election of Trump earlier this month, the US and its NATO allies began taking steps to rush weapons to Ukraine and give Kiev the ability to strike targets inside Russian territory with long-range weapons.
American officials who were briefed on the intelligence community’s assessments told the Times that weapons will not alter the challenging situation that Kiev is currently facing. “US spy agencies have assessed that speeding up the provisions of weapons, ammunition and matériel for Ukraine will do little to change the course of the war in the short term,” the Times reports.
Desperate to bolster Ukraine’s standing in the war before the transition of power on January 20, the Biden administration is looking at a range of serious escalations. “US and European officials are discussing deterrence as a possible security guarantee for Ukraine, such as stockpiling a conventional arsenal sufficient to strike a punishing blow if Russia violates a cease-fire.”
The article continues, “Several officials even suggested that Mr. Biden could return nuclear weapons to Ukraine that were taken from it after the fall of the Soviet Union.”
According to some officials who spoke with the Times, the administration believes that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t significantly escalate the war until Trump returns to the Oval Office.
“But the escalation risk of allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with US-supplied weaponry has diminished with the election of Mr. Trump,” the report says, adding, “Biden administration officials believe, calculating that Putin of Russia knows he has to wait only two months for the new administration.”
That assessment is based on the belief that Trump and his incoming Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, will take a more favorable stance on Russia. However, Trump proved to be a Russia-hawk during his first administration by ramping up sanctions on Moscow, providing lethal arms to Ukraine, and expelling a large number of Russian diplomats from the US.
In September, Putin said he preferred Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House. “Trump has imposed as many sanctions on Russia as any president has ever imposed before, and if Harris is doing well, perhaps she will refrain from such actions,” he explained.
US officials actually discussed a nuclear option, via the NY Times report:
Much of the American political class has cast Trump and Gabbard as agents of Russia. However, extensive investigations into Trump’s ties to the Kremlin have come up empty. Additionally, the Times reported last week that there was no evidence Gabbard was in any way an asset of Putin.
END
RUSSIA/UKRAINE/YEMEN
Russia Reportedly Recruited Hundreds Of Yemeni Mercenaries To Fight In Ukraine
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 02:45 AM
A Saturday report in Financial Times has claimed that Russia has recruited hundreds of mercenaries from Yemen to fighting against Ukraine. It comes amid recent Washington allegations that Moscow is increasingly looking abroad to bolster depleting troop ranks.
Some of the Yemeni recruits were cited in the FT report as saying they were initially promised jobs with “high salaries” and eventual Russian citizenship, but after a Houthi-linked company got them to Russia they were “forcibly inducted into the Russian army and sent to the front lines in Ukraine.”
The FT characterized it as a “shadowy trafficking operation” which is an extension of illicit arms dealing between Russia and Yemen, something which has been alleged by Western sources for months now.
On Moscow’s developing closer relations with the Iran-backed Houthis, who are currently waging a war against Israel and international shipping in the Red Sea, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking told FT that Russia is “actively pursuing contacts.”
He alleged that Russian personnel have been in the capital of Sana’a facilitating this dialogue. “The kinds of weapons being discussed are very alarming and would enable the Houthis to better target ships in the Red Sea and potentially beyond,” Lenderking said to FT.
The FT says it has proof, having published a purported contracted between the Russian armed forces and a Yemeni recruit:
Contracts signed by the Yemenis, seen by the FT, listed a company founded by Abdulwali Abdo Hassan al-Jabri, a prominent Houthi politician. Registered in Salalah, Oman, the Al Jabri company’s registration documents identify it as a tour operator and retail supplier of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
The recruitment of Yemeni soldiers appears to have begun as early as July. One enlistment contract seen by the FT was dated July 3, and was countersigned by the head of a selection center for contract soldiers in the city of Nizhnii Novgorod.
The report further says this highlights Russia’s serious manpower needs, also at a time that the presence of some 10,000 North Korean troops has been prominent in headlines.
Russia has apparently recruited people from India, Nepal, and some other countries. FT suggests that luring mercenaries from these places, and countries like Yemen, is somewhat easy as they are impoverished and so men will jump at the contracts.
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
ROBERT H TO US:
Russia’s final warning to NATO – you’ll get your war, but it’ll be over in 15 minutes – VT Foreign Policy
A very accurate writing worth taking the time to read. OUN in Ukraine should have died with WWII. As we watch how matters are escalating. We can be sure the drama unfolding is far from over. Capital flows are already changing in light of anticipated actions which suggests Capital Controls on the horizon as this situation plays out. Currency values will also be impacted as escalation occurs.
6.COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES//DRUG AND HEALTH ISSUE
the world is now understanding how the whole Covid charade begin.
(zerohedge)
Bombshell Fauci Documentary Nails The Whole COVID Charade
Sunday, Nov 24, 2024 – 01:25 PM
With the changing of the guard, it’s time for long-promised accountability over the unprecedented COVID scam. Not only has Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) promised to hold feet to the fire as the head of the Senate’s government oversight panel, we may actually have a shot at a special counsel investigation and more with Trump’s incoming Attorney General pick, Pam Bondi – a loyalist who’s on record supporting the lab-leak hypothesis.
As regular readers vividly recall, ZeroHedge paid a hefty price for our early reporting on the pandemic, after we suggested that a Chinese lab playing weaponized God with bat COVID might have “something to do” with the COVID outbreak across town.
Millions in ad revenue evaporated. Corporate media (brought to you by Pfizer!) penned numerous hit-pieces, and various companies such as PayPal, Amazon and Mailchimp dropped us like a hot rock; other outlets suffered similarly. However brave reporting from journalists like Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, Paul Thacker and Lee Fang – armed with factual evidence from Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter (now X) and various FOIA lawsuits, has provided more than just breadcrumbs.
Now, four years later, the entire charade has been exposed piece by piece.
A new must-watch documentaryby two-time Peabody Award-winning and four-time Emmy nominated director Jenner Furst, a self-described progressive who has broken with the Democratic party, ties it all together.
Thank You, Dr. Fauci
In early 2020, Furst was contacted to direct a puff piece on former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Dr. Anthony Fauci. The project was scrapped, however three years later, Furst began investigating what actually happened and created “Thank You, Dr. Fauci” –a project which has received virtually no press coverage, and even Rotten Tomatoes critics won’t touch.
If you’re like Elon Musk and you believe that ‘Prosecute / Fauci’ should be your pronouns, this is what you need to watch to understand why we should prosecute Fauci.
Heavily Censored
While it’s difficult enough to find “Thank You, Dr. Fauci” thanks to search engine shadowbans and downrankings, perhaps the most notable form of censorship is the ongoing media blackout of the film according to Furst – whose previous work has been heavily reviewed, critically acclaimed, and streamed across Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Paramount.
But not this one.
“The media blackout of the film just proves that the real Covid story is still highly censored,” Furst told ZeroHedge, adding “Journalists still can’t cover Covid truthfully at major outlets, and the problem is way bigger than them or their editors. The most powerful lobbies on the planet, and the weight of the US government is still sitting on the free press like an 800 pound gorilla.”
Elon to the rescue?
Given the level of censorship the film has been subject to, Furst firmly believes that a massive free speech platform such X would be ideal to get the word out – if even for a couple of days.
“I feel like Elon could change this conversation overnight, the country is divided only due to the success of propaganda on the left. No democrat can sit thru this movie and see Fauci or the pandemic the same way again. That’s why MSM doesn’t want to acknowledge this,” Furst told ZeroHedge.
The documentary features notable figures at the heart of the pandemic response, including Dr. Robert Redfield – the former director of the CDC during the outbreak – who was completely shut out of Anthony Fauci’s inner circle while the NIAID boss and top virologists conspired via secret back channels to shape the narrative around COVID origins. Also featured are former State Department COVID investigator David Asher, and Richard Ebright – a Rutgers molecular biologist who’s spent years pushing back against the Fauci wagon-circling by the scientific community.
As the pandemic gripped headlines around the world, the scientific community positioned Fauci – and eventually the Covid vaccines themselves – against Donald Trump, who was open to both the lab-leak theory and alternative treatments such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
‘Thank You, Dr. Fauci’ details the scramble at the highest levels to come up with a narrative that wouldn’t implicate Fauci – or the US Government, for funding decades of research dedicated to enhancing deadly viruses.
Fauci’s top advisors – who initially believed the virus looked manmade, crafted and promoted the narrative that COVID-19 most likely jumped from bats to humans through an intermediary species, “probably at a wet market,” Fauci repeatedly insisted.
The lab-leak theory was condemned as a conspiracy theory by the very scientists conducting gain-of-function research, completely ignoring the fact that the virus emerged across town from an NIH-funded facility in Wuhan, China that was creating chimeric bat COVID, where several workers fell ill with a mysterious respiratory virus weeks before the disease spread like wildfire.
HIV Insertions and DEFUSE
‘Thank You Dr. Fauci’ highlights a preprint study from India which found HIV-like insertions in COVID-19which appeared manmade (and which got ZeroHedge kicked off of Twitter after Fauci’s damage control ‘conclave’ freaked out).
While the Indian preprint was retracted amid immense political pressure to push the ‘natural origin’ hypothesis and ‘conspiricize’ the lab-leak theory, a leaked proposal known as “DEFUSE” – to create an aerosolized chimeric bat COVID that could infect humans, could potentially explain what the Indian researchers observed.
While DEFUSE was ultimately rejected by DARPA, it’s entirely possible that Ecohealth Alliance – the nonprofit which received NIH contracts to conduct GoF research after the Obama admin banned it in 2014 – simply went ahead with it anyway.
‘Thank You, Dr. Fauci’ raises many critical questions that will come into focus next year under the gavel of Rand Paul:
Was the pandemic that killed millions and cost trillions of dollars the consequence of scientific arrogance and spy games?
How did the Anthrax hoax of 2001 create unchecked power for Anthony Fauci?
Why hasn’t Fauci ever acknowledged that hoax, which resulted in then-Vice President Dick Cheney giving him billions to fund perhaps the most dangerous research on the planet?
What is the real purpose of Gain-of-Function research?
Are past outbreaks potentially scientific accidents which were covered up?
What is Long Covid, and why are people suffering vaccine injuries with similar symptoms?
Will a lab-generated Bird Flu be the next chapter?
Are nameless scientists – in the US, China or elsewhere – quietly working on a new global pandemic?
Meanwhile, the intelligence community continues to cover up the origins of the pandemic, which is why widespread distribution of this work is that much more important.
Putting it all together, once the general public comes to understan that Covid was likely the product of US research offshored to a French-built lab in Wuhan, China, which resulted in millions of deaths and trillions in debt, not to mention runaway inflation which has crushed incumbent political powers around the globe, the charade will finally be over and the era of accountability must begin.
Malone Bancel Weissman et al. mRNA vaccine is useless, worthless, ineffective and deadly, but why must new residents have to get a mRNA shot when illegals do not? Do not need medicals etc…how come?
Marty Makary (FDA comm) I were asked to go onto FOX several times to talk natural immunity & omicron variant which had just emerged; I had just published the seminal natural immunity paper see below
Russia; Russia has demonstrated its capabilities & the contours of further retaliatory actions; Ukraine’s firing of ATACMS & Storm Shadow missiles into Russia as proof direct of US & UK involvement
“The Russian side has clearly demonstrated its capabilities, and the contours of further retaliatory actions in the event that our concerns are not taken into account have been quite clearly outlined,” he said.
Moscow has said it regards Ukraine’s firing of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles into Russia as proof of direct U.S. and British involvement in the war. It says satellite targeting data and the actual programming of the missiles’ flight paths must be done by NATO military personnel because Kyiv does not have the capabilities itself.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after President Vladimir Putin said Moscow had fired the new missile – the Oreshnik or Hazel Tree – at a Ukrainian military facility in response to Kyiv striking Russia with U.S.-made and British-made missiles this week for the first time after the U.S. granted its approval.
“The main message is that the reckless decisions and actions of Western countries that produce missiles, supply them to Ukraine, and subsequently participate in strikes on Russian territory cannot remain without a reaction from the Russian side,” Peskov told reporters.
WATCH: Dana Loesch raises RED FLAG about Pam Bondi nominationDana Loesch just raised a red flag about Pam Bondi’s Attorney General nomination with regard to gun rights and red flag laws. Here’s what she posted: This is VERY concerning. Pam Bondi is seen here advocating for red flag law — a complete obliteration of due process. Removing natural rights requires a process of adjudication that red flag denies.pic.twitter.com/lO8YpFGLSM — …READ THE FULL REPORT
Trump Clinches Another Win in Hush Money Case. How Some Libs Reacted.We all knew the hush money trial was in trouble since Donald J. Trump won the 2024 election. The now-president-elect wouldn’t be sentenced to jail if he beat Kamala Harris, and Judge Juan Merchan made a series of moves before Election Day to ensure that sentencing could go either way. We all know this case was a political hack job, …READ THE FULL REPORT
GOP Senators Hand McConnell Power to Derail Trump’s Agenda with Two Key Senate RolesSenate Republicans have once again enabled RINO Mitch McConnell, gifting him the chairmanships of the Senate Rules Committee and the powerful Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense for the 119th Congress. Despite concerns over McConnell’s mental acuity, his new roles position him to obstruct President Trump’s conservative agenda from within. McConnell will now chair both the Senate Rules Committee and the …READ THE FULL REPORT
Gaetz Reveals If He Will Come Back to CongressFormer Rep. Matt Gaetz said he is not planning on returning to his seat in the House of Representatives next year, clearing up some speculation about his future without answering all the questions. President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general last week, but he withdrew his name from consideration on Thursday. Without a job in the Trump administration, it …READ THE FULL REPORT
Elon Musk Floats Idea of Buying MSNBCX owner and tech billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of buying out MSNBC when the topic came up on social media. A post from Musk about the topic comes as the left-wing media outlet has hit some tough times as ratings have plummeted after the election. Additionally, Comcast is looking to spin off the network to a different publicly …READ THE FULL REPORT
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK/
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approved of an emerging ceasefire deal with Hezbollah “in principle” during a Sunday night meeting with top security officials. Sources are making clear it is not ‘final’.
Israel is expected to send its review of the deal on the table, including its reservations on some key details, to the Lebanese government on Monday. Any implementation of a ceasefire would need to the approval of Israeli cabinet, according to government protocols. The breaking headlines have once again caused oil prices to slide…
…and gold prices to recede…
Axios detailed Sunday that the draft ceasefire agreement includes “a 60-day transition period during which the Israeli military would withdraw from southern Lebanon, the Lebanese army would deploy in areas close to the border and Hezbollah would move its heavy weapons north of the Litani River.”
But Israel’s military has still made clear that it will directly respond to any continued Hezbollah attacks, even should a deal be implemented. A key interesting detail includes a US-led oversight committee which would monitor implementation of the ceasefire’s terms and address violations.
Hezbollah is unlikely to see a US-led oversight committee as a neutral outside party given Washington is Israel’s main backer and provider of heavy arms. According to more via Axios:
The U.S. has agreed to give Israel a letter of assurances that includes support for Israeli military action against imminent threats from Lebanese territory, and for action to disrupt things like the reestablishment of a Hezbollah military presence near the border or the smuggling of heavy weapons, Israeli and U.S. officials say.
Under the agreement, Israel would take such action after consultations with the U.S., and if the Lebanese military did not deal with the threat.
CNN reports Monday that “Sources familiar with the negotiations said talks appear to be moving positively toward an agreement, but acknowledged that as Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire, one misstep could upend the talks.”
Last week Biden’s envoy to the region Amos Hochstein said a deal between Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon was “within our grasp” and that its success will be based on “the decision of the parties.”
“We have a real opportunity to bring conflict to an end,” Hochstein had said. “The window is now.” He also described his current trip to Israel as part of efforts to bring the deal “to a close.”
But one thing that negotiators fear could derail a final agreement is last Thursday’s arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his former defense minister issued by The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC). The prime minister was reportedly outraged upon hearing the news.
Hezbollah continued to publicize their stepped-up advance drone attacks on Israel:
The weekend into Monday has still seen heavy fighting. Israeli Army Radio has said Hezbollah fired 340 missiles and drones at Israel – while Israeli warplanes have continued to hit Beirut, Tyre, and parts of Lebanon’s east hard.
Lebanon’s health ministry has counted at least 3,754 people killed and 15,626 wounded in Israeli attacks since the conflict began; however, it doesn’t distinguish between armed combatants and civilians in its official figures.
end
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
CANADA/ MONTREAL QUEBEC
Justin Trudeau Watches Taylor Swift While Riots Erupt in Montreal
Saturday, Nov 23, 2024 – 11:05 AM
Riots erupted overnight in parts of Montreal after pro-Palestinian, anti-NATO protesters clashed with police officers, smashed windows of businesses, and even set vehicles ablaze in the downtown area.
Canadian English-language daily newspaper The Gazette, also known as the Montreal Gazette, reported that the protests coincided with the 70th Annual Session of NATO in Montreal, which kicked off on Friday and lasts through Monday. About 300 delegates from NATO member states and partner countries are expected to attend the weekend high-level event.
Here’s more from the local paper about the overnight chaos:
An initial group of protesters gathered at Émilie-Gamelin Parc downtown at around 4:30 p.m. before marching toward the Quartier des Spectacles, according to Manuel Couture, a spokesperson for the Montreal police. By 5:30 p.m., another group had converged at Place des Arts, and the two demonstrations merged.
The protesters then marched down St-Urbain St. At 6:10 p.m., tensions escalated as demonstrators set an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on fire in the middle of the crowd. As the march continued, objects — including small explosive devices and metal items — were hurled into the street, targeting police officers. By 6:40 p.m., protesters had smashed shop windows near St-Urbain and René-Lévesque Blvd., and set two vehicles ablaze.
Couture said police deployed chemical irritants and conducted crowd-dispersal manoeuvres to regain control. Three protesters were arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers and obstructing police work.
Montreal coffee chain terminates contract with woman videoed doing Hitler salute
Second Cup – a Montreal coffee chain – said it was “terminating their franchise agreement” after it found that its franchisee made “hateful remarks and gestures.”
A keffiyeh-clad franchisee of Second Cup had her contract with the Montreal coffee shop terminated after she was captured on camera performing a Hitler salute in footage taken from Montreal pro-Palestine protests this week.
Second Cup—a Canadian coffee chain—said it was “terminating their franchise agreement” after it found that its franchisee made “hateful remarks and gestures.”
Second Cup said it had “zero tolerance for hate speech.”
The woman, who ran a franchise café at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, was videoed making a Heil Hitler during mass Quebec protests.
“This franchisee’s actions are not only a breach of our franchise agreement, but they also violate the values of inclusion and community we stand for at Second Cup.”
Leo Housakos, the Senator for Quebec, said, “This great Canadian, Montreal-owned company has taken this principled stand at risk to their own business.”
“In so doing, they are showing the courage and leadership Canada needs right now but is so desperately lacking from these in the highest of public offices,” he added.
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0477 DOWN 73
USA/ YEN 154.41 DOWN 0.246 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 AGAIN OCT 2024/Bank of Japan raises rates by .15% to 1.15..UEDA ENDS HIKING RATES AND NOW CARRY TRADES RE INVENTS ITSELF//
GBP/USA 1.2559 UP .0035
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3983 UP 0.0019 (CDN DOLLAR UP 19 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 3.43 PTS OR 0.10%
Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 78,98 OR 0.41%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP .33%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL MIXED
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL MIXED
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 78.98 PTS OR 0.41%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 3.43 PTS OR 0.10%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP .33%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 496.29 PTS OR 1.30%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 2683.60
silver:$30.74
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 106.99 DOWN 52 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE.
The USA/Yuan, CNY ON SHORE CLOSED UP 7.2385(ON SHORE)
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (UP)…. (7.2419)
TURKISH LIRA: 34.60 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +1.06
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 12 in basis points from FRIDAY at 4.294% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.487 DOWN 11 in basis points /11:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.305 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 11;00 AM 2640,20
SILVER AT 11;00: 30.33
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: MONDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//
London: CLOSED UP 29.60 PTS OR 0.36%
German Dax : CLOSED UP 82.61 OR 0.43%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 2.46 PTS OR 0.03%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 55.20 OR 0.47%
Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 67.11 OR 0.21%
WTI Oil price 69.93 12 EST/
Brent Oil: 73.65 12:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 104.15 ROUBLE DOWN 0 AND 45/100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.2045 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS.
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.374 DOWN 8 BASIS POINTS
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.359 DOWN 15 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.234 DOWN 12
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA 1.0502 UP 0.0098 OR 98 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2575 UP 0.0050 OR 50 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.340 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.059
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 154.09 DOWN .573 BASIS PTS// HEADING FOR 160 TO THE DOLLAR
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3977 UP 0.0013 CDN dollar DOWN 13 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 69.09
Brent OIL: 73.14
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 15 BASIS pts to 4.269
USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 14 BASIS PTS to 4.454%
USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 10 PTS AT 4.271
CDN 10 YR RATE 3.344 DOWN 12 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.210 DOWN 9 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 106.81 DOWN 70 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 34.57 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 104.00 UP 0 AND 31/100 roubles
GOLD 2,627.30 3:30 PM
SILVER: 30.34 3:30 PM
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 440.06 PTS OR 0.99%
NASDAQ UP 28.66 PTS OR 0.14%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 14.76 DOWN 0.48 PTS OR 3.15%
GLD: $242.47 DOWN 7.37 3.18 OR 3.04%
SLV/ $27,63 DOWN 0.84 OR .295%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX:UP 67.11 PTS OR 0.26%
end
USA AFFAIRS
USA TRADING TODAY IN GRAPH FORM
‘Peace’ Prompts Panic-Selling In Gold, Oil, & Crypto; Yield-Curve Re-Inverts
MORNING TRADING
II USA DATA
“Delighted At Election Outcome” – Dallas Fed Respondents “Optimistic, Encouraged” As Current National Activity Index Droops
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 11:05 AM
Current US national economic activity fell in October for the fifth straight month, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
The Chicago Fed national index, which draws on 85 economic indicators, was -0.4 in October (the weakest since January) versus -0.27 in September.
According to the report, three of the four broad categories of indicators used to construct the index – production, employment, and personal consumption/housing – decreased from September.
Under the hood, only 30 of the 85 monthly individual indicators made positive contributions; while 55 made negative contributions.
Amid all the month-to-month noise, the three-month moving average of the CFNAI has been negative for two straight years (since Oct 2022)…
Source: Bloomberg
On a more local level, the Dallas Fed Manufacturing index rose to -2.7 (from -3.0) – although that was worse than the -1.8 expected. The headline index has now been negative (contracting) for 31 straight months…
Source: Bloomberg
However, the index is at its least bad since April 2022 and on a forward-looking basis, optimism is soaring (as it did into the 2020 election, only to be dashed by Bidenomics)…
Hallelujah, the election is over, the results were unquestionably solid, work can be done, and attitudes are seemingly much improved. I do believe that six months from now we will prove to be at full throttle. We’ve held on the past year. We still have some rough water to navigate in the near term, but long term, things look mighty rosy in many areas of our marketplace. We’re optimistic, we’re encouraged, and we feel very blessed. [Machinery manufacturing]
We are delighted at the election outcome and expect this to be very good for our business. [Computer and electronic product manufacturing]
Short-term, fourth-quarter raw material prices have increased, and the continuing decline in economic demand related to the automotive industry and building trades has created a large reduction in orders/volume. Longer term, the outcome of the election should benefit all U.S. businesses once policy is corrected and consumer confidence increases. [Chemical manufacturing]
We are in a period of a bit of stagflation. It is compounded by the regime change. We do think the Trump administration will be healthy, particularly after the cabinet heads settle in, and free enterprise supported by domestic tranquility and the common defense become the norm. [Food manufacturing]
Now that the election is over, we believe business will pick back up due to a more pro-business environment. [Machinery manufacturing]
There are things to work out nationally, but [we are] getting poised for growth. [Transportation equipment manufacturing]
And we given the last words to a representative of the wood-product manufacturing industry:
“Things are good.”
…presumably they mean, now that Trump has complete the Red Sweep.
END
III USA ECONOMIC NEWS
Trump Taps COVID-Contrarian, Staunch Public Health Critic Makary For FDA
Saturday, Nov 23, 2024 – 12:15 PM
In another appointment with potential to shake up the federal health regime, Donald Trump on Friday nominated Dr. Martin Makary to lead the Food & Drug Administration. Makary, a Johns Hopkins University pancreatic surgeon and author of three New York Times bestsellers, has been critical of the government’s role in health care. The role requires Senate confirmation.
Declaring that the FDA has “lost the trust of Americans,” Trump said Makary will “course-correct and refocus the agency,” to include “properly evaluat[ing] harmful chemicals poisoning our nation’s food supply and drugs and biologics being given to our nation’s youth, so that we can finally address the childhood chronic disease epidemic.”
Makary grew to national notoriety as one of several highly-credentialed physicians who pushed back on many elements of the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Testifying before Congress, Makary said:
“The greatest perpetrator of misinformation during the pandemic has been the United States government. Misinformation that Covid was spread through surface transmission, that vaccinated immunity was far greater than natural immunity…that myocarditis was more common after the infection than the vaccine…that young people benefit from a booster…”
Makary also ridiculed fear-mongering about the Omicron variant as “fueling…a pandemic of lunacy,” and urged a rollback in Covid testing in low-risk situations, saying, “If you test everyone in the United States, you will find a virus particle in the nose of some fraction of Americans forever.”
That said, some feel Makary was too slow to question some elements of the Covid regime, and was initially too credulous about the benefits of vaccination. In June 2020, he touted the “liberating” qualities of “universal masking.” In March 2021, he tweeted, “The data show that vaccines confer near perfect protection against death and hospitalization from Covid.”
With a $7 billion budget and 18,000 employees, the FDA has enormous influence over Americans’ lives, with regulatory influence over products that account for about a fifth of all US consumer spending. Makary, who has degrees from Bucknell University, Thomas Jefferson and Harvard, would report to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr — if the controversial Kennedy is confirmed by the Senate or manages to achieve a recess appointment to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has said the FDA is in need of a major trimming. “There are entire departments, like the nutrition department at the FDA … that have to go—that are not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids,” Kennedy said earlier this month. In a more aggressive post to X in October, Kennedy said “FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” and said that, for employees who were part of corruption that serves the pharmaceutical industry to the detriment of the public’s health, “I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
The Washington Post reports that Kennedy was influential in Makary’s selection, as Kennedy urged Trump to favor candidates that are not tightly linked to either the health care industry or government. Kennedy is said to consider Makary as a likeminded reformer. Much like Kennedy, Makary has harshly criticized the federal government’s approach to food and health, saying root causes of serious conditions are ignored in favor of simply prescribing drugs:
“We are right now witnessing the largest uncontrolled experiment in modern health history…we have introduced tons of chemicals, pesticides, micro-plastics, ultra-processed foods, seed oils into the modern diet, altering the microbiome and no one talks about it. They’re too busy demonizing saturated fat and trying to defend the old food pyramid. They just replaced it with a food compass that’s almost worse…it says Lucky Charms is healthier than a steak.”
Makary’s new book is “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health.” Makary makes a case that government malpractice has been at the root of many modern health crises, from opioid addiction to peanut allergies to obesity and drug-resistance bacteria. Here he is recounting how the National Institutes of Health, on the basis of its own profoundly flawed study, wrongly discouraged doctors from prescribing hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women, creating a reluctance that still persists today:
However tardy Makary may have been in challenging some public health approaches to the Covid-19 pandemic, it seems clear he is poised to shake things up at the all-too-powerful FDA. January 20 can’t come quickly enough.
END
MACY’S
Macy’s in trouble
(zerohedge)
“Erroneous Accounting Accrual Entries”: Macy’s Worker Hid $154 Million In Expenses, Forcing 3Q Earnings Delay
Monday, Nov 25, 2024 – 08:40 AM
Shares of Macy’s fell in premarket trading after the company revealed that an independent investigation and forensic analysis found an employee hid over $100 million in expenses. This news ultimately delayed Macy’s release of its third-quarter earnings.
In a preliminary third-quarter 2024 update, Macy’s wrote that “an independent investigation and forensic analysis” found that a “single employee with responsibility for small package delivery expense accounting intentionally made erroneous accounting accrual entries to hide approximately $132 to $154 million of cumulative delivery expenses from the fourth quarter of 2021 through fiscal quarter ended November 2, 2024.”
“During this same time period, the company recognized approximately $4.36 billion of delivery expenses. There is no indication that the erroneous accounting accrual entries had any impact on the company’s cash management activities or vendor payments. The individual who engaged in this conduct is no longer employed by the company,” Macy’s noted.
The largest US department store retailer said, “The investigation has not identified involvement by any other employee.”
Preliminary third-quarter results showed revenues of $4.74 billion, slightly exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.72 billion. Comparable sales declined by 2.4% on an owned basis and down 1.3% on an owned-plus-licensed-plus-marketplace basis.
Sales growth at Macy’s First 50 locations, Bloomingdale’s, and Bluemercury was offset primarily by weakness in Macy’s other non-First 50 locations as well as its digital channel and cold weather categories.
Macy’s shares fell 3.5% in premarket trading in New York.
The stock has lost nearly 19% since Friday’s close, and it is on the cusp of a bear market. If losses hold in the premarket through the cash session, Macy’s shares will enter a bear market.
END
Not surprising
57% Of Americans Approve Deportation Of All Illegal Immigrants; CBS News Poll Admits
As was the case with voters throughout the campaign, most Americans would, in principle, approve of a new mass deportation program.
If the Trump administration does start a mass deportation program, most of the public would have it carried out by law enforcement or current immigration agencies — most would not have the U.S. military do it.
If Trump really does decide to go after “all” illegal immigrants, the economy will suffer and he will regret it.
Excited About Trump
Overall, Republicans today are more excited about what Trump will do as president now than they were in 2016 when he was first elected.
Exhaustion to Oppose Trump Sets In
Democrats say they feel more scared about what Trump might do than they did in 2016, and a large majority of Democrats think as president he will threaten their rights and freedoms. But at the same time, there seems to be a sense of exhaustion, as fewer than half of Democrats feel motivated to oppose Trump right now.
Food and Grocery Prices
This one is clear. Optimism is totally unwarranted.
Tariffs will increase prices and deportations may cause shortages of farm workers.
Confirmation Hearings
This one is interesting and surprising to me.
Not even Republicans support a blanket approval of Trump’s cabinet picks.
Tariffs
More tariffs were coming no matter who won. This is the most protectionist the nation has been since the Great Depression.
I am surprised that 48 percent are thinking clearly.
Republicans used to be the free trade advocates. What a reversal.
Elections and Democracy
This is another interesting result.
Not even a majority of Republicans feel secure.
Looking ahead, each side fears the other.
Surprise, Surprise
There are many more questions in the poll for inquiring minds, especially on cabinet picks. But many of those were “I don’t know enough”, a very reasonable answer.
I was surprised by many of the answers. How about you?
A goal of $2 trillion of budget savings is crucial to the very future of constitutional democracy and capitalist prosperity in America. In fact, the soaring public debt is now so out-of-control that the Federal budget threatens to become a self-fueling financial doomsday machine.
So more power to the DOGE of Musk & Ramaswamy. In spades!
For want of doubt, just recall this sequence. When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 on a call to bring the nation’s inflationary budget under control, the public debt was $1 trillion.
By the time Donald Trump was elected the first time it had erupted to $20 trillion, which has now become $36 trillion. And under current built-in spending and tax policies it will hit $60 trillion by the end of the current 10-year budget window.
Thereafter, however, soaring interest expense will ignite a veritable fiscal wildfire. On paper the public debt would power upward unabated to $150 trillion by mid-century under CBO’s latest projection. Yet even the latter is based on a Rosy Scenario budget model that assumes Congress never again adopts a single new tax cut or spending program and that the US economy steams along without a recession, inflation recurrence, interest flare-up or other economic crisis during the entirety of the next quarter-century!
Of course, long before the public debt actually hits $150 trillion or 166% of GDP per CBO’s current long-term projection, the whole system would implode. Every remnant of America as we now know it would go down the tubes.
So we need be clear that the team of Musk & Ramaswamy is talking about savings of $2 trillion per year and relatively soon, too. We make this clarification because we see the usual clueless commentators on bubblevision saying, “oh, they must be talking about $2 trillion over 10-years or at least a multi-year period of time”.
But we don’t think they meant that at all because Elon’s statement on the matter at the Madison Square Garden rally was very clear, and, quite frankly, if realized over 10-years or even 5 years it would be hardly worth the bother. That because the nation’s fiscal doomsday machine will be accumulating interest expense so fast as to make $2 trillion of savings spread over a decade little more than a rounding error. To wit, Federal interest expense has already passed the $1 trillion per year mark, which figure will hit $1.7 trillion by 2034 according to CBO and would top $7.5 trillion per year at minimum by our calculations by mid-century.
That is, if something drastic is not done now—like a $2 trillion annual budget savings soon—America will be paying more interest on the public debt within 25 years than the entirety of the Federal budget —Social Security, defense, Medicare, education, highways, interest and the Washington Monument— today.
So, yes, Musk surely did mean $2 trillion per year in this interchange:
“How much do you think we can rip out of this wasted, $6.5 trillion (annual) Harris-Biden budget?” Howard Lutnick, a Wall Street CEO and Trump’s transition team co-chair, asked Musk at the former president’s recent rally held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Without offering specifics, Musk said in response that he thinks “at least $2 trillion” in a brief moment that has since gained widespread attention online and drawn mixed reactions from budget world.
Obviously, the sprawling Federal government and its prodigious expanse of spending and debt literally defies easy comprehension and graspable solutions. After all, the current annual budget of $7 trillion amounts to Federal spending of nearly $20 billion per day and $830 million per hour. And when you talk about the 10-year budget outlook, comprehension literally fades away completely: The current CBO spending baseline for 2025-2034 amounts to $85 trillion or just shy of the annual GDP of the entire planet this year.
So based on experience we suggest building the $2 trillion case around a target year and several big buckets of savings by type. The latter can then be used to build a detailed but comprehensible plan for arraying and conveying the desperately needed house-cleaning of the Federal budget.
In that context, FY 2029 makes the most sense as a target year since it would represent the 4th and outgoing Trump budget; and also one which would give sufficient time for phasing-in some of the sweeping cuts that will be needed, but not so far in the distant future as to be largely irrelevant to the here and now of fiscal governance during Donald Trump’s second term.
We’d also suggest three big buckets of savings, which we would short-hand as follows:
Slash the Fat….by eliminating unnecessary and wasteful agencies and bureaucrats wholesale.
Downsize the Muscle… by curtailing national security capacities and functions not needed for an America First policy.
Cut the Bone… by reducing low priority entitlements and subsidies that the nation cannot afford, and which a reasonable view of societal equity does not require.
Needless to say, when it comes to the vast wasteland of the Federal budget there are innumerable ways to skin the cat. But based on our own experience of more than a half-century of familiarity with the Federal budget as both a participant and an informed observer, we judge the following mix to be the most plausible and balanced way to get to the $2 trillion of annual savings by FY 2029.
To be sure, even this relatively judicious mix is sure to ignite firestorms on the banks of the Potomac like never before, but it can be strongly justified and defended for the reasons we will lay-out in several subsequent installments.
Slash the Fat: $300 billion or 15%.
Downsize the Muscle: $500 billion or 25%.
Cut the Bone: $1.2 trillion or 60%.
Suffice here to say that even the first bucket would leave them screaming to high-heaven in the Swamplands of DC. But even that $300 billion savings could be accomplished only by eliminating entirely the estimated $50 billion annual cost of Biden’s misguided Green New Deal, including all EV credits and subsidies, and $150 billion per year of other forms of corporate welfare and subsidies embedded in the budget and tax code.
But suffice it here to say that attacking the usual shock effect lists of outrageous studies, stupid foreign aid projects or even payments to dead people, as is often used to illustrate wasteful spending, will get you barely a fractional decimal point of the savings target, as desirable as eliminating this nonsense might be in its own right.
For instance, the savings from eliminating “Dr. Fauci’s Monkey Business on NIH’s Monkey Island” from the list below would amount to just 0.002% of the $2 trillion target, while eliminating the “USAID Fund to Boost Egyptian Tourism” would save just o.0003% of the target.
Even some of the larger ideas of this sort, such as more timely elimination of dead people from the Social Security rolls, would not get you very far, either. That’s because 1.1 million Social Security recipients pass-on to their rewards each year, which departing beneficiaries would be receiving an average benefit currently of $1,907 per month. So one-month of dead people on the rolls costs the not inconsiderable sum of $2.1 billion.
At the present time, however, that does not actually happen. The rolls are purged every month based on newly filed death certificates, and this encompasses the termination of payments to anyone who died during the month, including the last day. So the average duration on the rolls of Social Security decedents is 15 days, which computes to $1.050 billion of payments.
Thus, the average duration of dead people on the rolls might well be cut by two-thirds if the Musk & Ramaswamy team could come up with some more efficient software to monitor, report, recalculate last month benefits and then terminate decedents. In turn, that means getting the dead people off Social Security 10 days faster would amount to a savings of $700 million per year or about 0.04% of the $2 trillion target. That is to say, there is undoubtedly room for efficiency improvements and elimination of outright waste and stupidity everywhere in the Federal budget, but it unfortunately adds up to rounding errors.
Stated differently, if it doesn’t “scream and bleed” politically it won’t likely make a dent in achieving the $2 trillion goal. There is just plain nothing antiseptic about slashing the Federal budget.
In this regard, it would take an average 47% cut in the current nondefense Federal headcounts of 1.343 million, including the elimination of a dozen or more agencies entirely, to achieve the balance of $100 billion of savings in the Slash the Fat category.
And that’s a comprehensive figure based in an average cost per Federal employee of $100,000 in pay per year plus $44,000 in average benefits and fringes—-escalated to $160,000 per bureaucrat by FY 2029.
IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ and PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM/WOKISM
Man charged with shooting Chicago Orthodox Jew had map of potential Jewish targets
His phone also had over 100 “antisemitic and pro-Hamas” videos and images, the prosecutor added.
The man charged with shooting an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to synagogue in Chicago last month had mapped out the locations of several synagogues and Jewish schools shortly before the attack, prosecutors revealed on Friday, according to Chicago news outlets.
At a detention hearing in Leighton Criminal Courthouse, Chicago, prosecutors revealed that Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, 22, had researched potential targets on his cellphone in the days before the shooting, including a synagogue near to where the shooting took place.
Two weeks before the shooting, his Google history also showed he had looked up “Jewish Community Center” as well as a gun store, according to Assistant State Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers.
His phone also had over 100 “antisemitic and pro-Hamas” videos and images, the prosecutor added.
The hearing marked the first time Abdallahi, an immigrant from Mauritania, had appeared in court, after he was hospitalized with gunshot wounds following a shootout with police on the day of the attack.
Police officers block a street on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024 (credit: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters)
McCord Rodgers said “This was not anything but a planned attack … an attempted assassination of these people.”
“This was a calculated plan, on a public street… and an attempted slaughter of that person and law enforcement officers.”
Judge Susana Ortiz ordered that he be detained on multiple accounts including attempted murder and hate crime.
The shooting
Abdallahi had allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” before shooting at police responding to the initial shooting of a 39-year-old Jewish man.
Police had initially not filed hate crime charges, citing a lack of evidence, but subsequently discovered new information, leading Police Supt. Larry Snelling to announce the hate crime charge at the end of October.
Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois posted a midday statement via X showing deep compassion for the Jewish people: “This attack on a Jewish man in Chicago during the Jewish holidays is unacceptable. Antisemitism is on the rise in America, and we must remain laser-focused on rooting it out. I stand with the Jewish community in Chicago and across the country.”
end
iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES/IMPORTANT MEDICAL ISSUES
END
FREIGHT ISSUES/USA/
END
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON OR NEWT GINGRICH/TUCKER CARLSON
KING REPORT
The King Report November 25, 2024 Issue 7377
Independent View of the News
Chinese stocks got hammered on Friday: CSI 300 -3.10%, Hang Seng -1.89%, Shanghai Comp -3.06%, Shenzhen Composite -3.54%
Chinese Stocks Slump on Tech Earnings, Geopolitical Tensions – BBG The retreat extends the market’s slide since an October peak, underscoring growing frustration over the pace of Beijing’s fiscal stimulus rollout and jitters over a potential escalation in US-China tensions. The disappointing earnings from consumption bellwether PDD Holdings Inc. and online search company Baidu Inc. have further dented confidence, with the latter’s shares briefly plunging 10% in Hong Kong following a decline in revenue. Traders also pointed to statement by Texas Governor Greg Abbott dated Nov. 21, which prohibited state agencies from putting new money into investments originating from China and urged a divestment of previous holdings. That worsened fears that some of the largest US funds may avoid investing in China as part of political considerations… https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-stocks-slump-weak-tech-065536919.html
Russia threatens to attack new US base in Poland with ‘advanced weapons’https://t.co/xVojBYoziR
@TheBabylonBee In Last-Ditch Attempt to Prevent Trump From Taking Office, Democrats Start World War 3https://buff.ly/4fwRKSD
ESZ traded mostly lower, but in a 17-handle range, from the Nikkei opening on Friday until they broke down after 4:23 ET. ESZs hit their daily low of 5940.75 at 5:08 ET. Traders then aggressively bought ESZs for the expected Friday Rally. ESZs soared to 5993.35 at 9:48 ET. A ‘dump’ then commenced; ESZs sank to 5962.75 at 10:26 ET. Dip buyers, emboldened by the certainty of the Friday Rally, eagerly bought. ESZs jumped to 5990.75 at 10:57 ET. Sellers reappeared; ESZs fell to 5968.75 at 11:19 ET.
The manipulation for the 11:30 ET European close and the Noon Balloon took ESZs to 5990.75 at 12:21 ET. After a modest retreat, ESZs plodded to a daily high of 5993.50 at 13:11 ET. ESZs then waffled in a 20-handle range into the close. ESZs traded at 5989 and change at the NYSE close.
On Friday, Elon Musk said he and DJT Jr. might team up to buy MSNBC. (real or trolling libs?)
Positive aspects of previous session The DJIA and the DJTA rallied sharply on the rotation out of Fangs and into industrial-related stocks)
Negative aspects of previous session Fangs could only muster a modest rally when the DJIA was up over 370 points at 14:50 ET. Gold and Bitcoin ($99.7k) rallied sharply, again – even though the dollar rallied sharply (ugly geopolitics) Oil and gasoline rallied robustly.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session USZs were +4/32 at the NYSE close.
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Up; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5962.20 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5972.90; 5944.36
Elon Musk Responds as British Government “Summons” Him to ‘Disinformation’ Hearing GB News reports that “An inquiry in the House of Commons is meaning to investigate the rise of ‘harmful’ AI content online by calling tech heavyweights to probe the ‘spread of content that can mislead and harm.’”…Musk responded in typical fashion on X, writing that British MPs “will be summoned to the United States of America to explain their censorship and threats to American citizens.’”… Musk commented “I don’t think anyone should go to the UK when they’re releasing convicted pedophiles in order to imprison people for social media posts!”… https://modernity.news/2024/11/22/elon-musk-responds-as-british-government-summons-him-to-disinformation-hearing/
Numerous pundits believe that DJT did a ‘bait & switch’ AG scheme. Gaetz was toxic and a divisive showboat. He led the revolt against GOP House Speaker McCarthy and was a bombastic troll. Pam Bondi is far more qualified to be AG; and she is a woman with a great resume and steely resolve.
On Friday, Gaetz said he would NOT attempt to rejoin the House. Gaetz said he will now spend his time exposing corruption, treason, and questionable stock trading by Congress.
Gaetz’s threat harkens an LBJ story concerning J. Edgar Hoover. When LBJ took over the presidency after the JFK assassination, his aides asked if he would remove J. Edgar Hoover as FBI Director. After pondering the ramifications of firing Hoover, LBJ reportedly stated, “I would rather have Hoover inside the tent pissing out than outside the tent pissing in.” Gaetz is now outside the DC tent.
@FmrRepMattGaetz: The Biden Administration has filled hundreds of pages of briefs in federal court claiming that Special Counsels do not require Senate confirmation. In case anyone was wondering… (Is Gaetz suggesting that he will be made a Special Counsel to go after The Deep State?)
Trump nominations on Friday nightScott Bessent for Treasury SecretaryGOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (OR), who just lost her seat, to be Secretary of Labor.Russel Vought to head Office of Management & Budget (OMB).Janette Nesheitwat to be US Surgeon General.Dave Weldon as CDC Director, and Marty Makary for FDA Commissioner.Scott Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. DJT selected Sebastian Gorka to be deputy assistant to the POTUS & senior director of counterterrorism, and Alex Wong to be Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor.
Sen. Joni Ernst to helm Senate DOGE Caucus, huddles with Ramaswamy to slash governmenthttps://trib.al/XH4SizL
@VivekGRamaswamy: Most federal workers don’t physically show up, yet the cost of maintaining & providing energy for govt office buildings is $15BN/year (not counting billions more spent on office furnishings). The government owns 7,967 vacant buildings. This is nuts. Sounds like a job for DOGE.
Judy Shelton @judyshel: Proposal for a 50-year Treasury bond convertible into gold issued at the initiative of President Trump on July 4, 2026.
On Saturday, France said Ukraine can use French SCALP missiles against Russia.
FT:Huawei to launch smartphone with own software in latest sign of China-US splintering Tech giant’s homegrown alternative to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android is evidence sanctions have boosted company https://www.ft.com/content/cf6bbaed-00f3-4e7c-a932-4a4382e9751e
Today – Traders will play for the Monday Rally and the upward bias of Thanksgiving Week. The markets will be thin due to holiday travel. So, a determined few can more easily manipulate stuff. Due to the short week and high absenteeism, traders and PMs could start their November performance gaming today or tomorrow.
ESZs are +27.00; NQZs are +112.00; and USZs are +26/32 at 20:52 ET on the upward seasonal bias.
Big Caveat: Thanksgiving Week often creates peaks or troughs. So, if things get even more insane this week than usual, a trading top could form on Friday or at the first session of Expected economic data and Fed speakers: Nov Dallas Fed Mfg. Activity -1.8
S&P Index 50-day MA: 5810; 100-day MA: 5660; 150-day MA: 5540; 200-day MA: 5435 DJIA 50-day MA: 42,687; 100-day MA: 41,532; 150-day MA: 40,670; 200-day MA: 40,205 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (5969.34 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5218.49 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5589.84 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 5850.21 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5912.46 triggers a sell signal
@RyanAFournier: Michael Byrd, the officer who killed Ashli Babbitt, failed an FBI background check to purchase a firearm. Very telling…
@data_depot: Exodus of some on the left from Twitter consistent w/ surveys showing large partisan differences in social tolerance. E.g. In surveys of college students, Dems were 7x more likely than Reps to avoid using a business owned by someone who voted differently than them. @elonmusk: Democrats are intolerant meanies
“Because we ask so little from the law — only justice — the socialists thereby assume that we reject fraternity, unity, organization, and association. The socialists brand us with the name individualist. “But we assure the socialists that we repudiate only forced organization, not natural organization. We repudiate the forms of association that are forced upon us, not free association. We repudiate forced fraternity, not true fraternity. We repudiate the artificial unity that does nothing more than deprive persons of individual responsibility. We do not repudiate the natural unity of mankind under Providence.” — Frederic Bastiat, The Law, 1850
Alex Newman, author of the popular book “Deep State” and the recent best-selling book called “Indoctrinating Our Children to Death,” has just returned from the UN’s COP 29 in Baku, Azerbaijan (Conference of the Parties and the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference). Newman says the UN’s COP 29 is not about fixing so-called climate change at all. Newman, who is an award-winning journalist, says it’s really a total rip-off of the West and will lead to the destruction of the middle-class. By the way, there is a near blackout of reporting on this global conference where the UN wants to take total control of everything. Newman explains, “The climate scam underpins the entire project to build this New World Order: the one world political system, the one world technocratic economic system and even the one world religious system. So, this all rolls into the climate scam. If the climate scam falls apart, all of the other pillars of this machine fall apart. This is huge news. This is front page news all over the world. BBC, 24/7 this is huge news in every part of the world except the United States. This is because they have done the polling, and they know the majority of Americans don’t believe the man-made global warming. . . . They know that if Americans know this is going on and they are planning to transfer trillions of dollars from what’s left of the middle-class to the third world kleptocracy, undermine our economy and reshape the world order, Americans would be on the phone to their congressman, and this whole charade would come to a screeching halt. That’s why Americans don’t know this is one of the most important stories happening anywhere in the world.”
In President Trump’s first Administration, he took a wrecking ball to the climate scam and got America out of the Paris Climate Accord. Is Trump coming back to the White House causing angst at this year’s COP29? Newman says, “There was angst like you would not believe. It was almost funny to watch it. . . . Most of the people were horrified. We heard people saying we’re terrified, we’re frightened because of Donald Trump. He doesn’t care about climate change. We also heard a surprising number of people who really, really liked him. But the overall sentiment among governments, the cronies that are hoping to profit from this and the UN officials was Trump is going to be a total disaster for our climate agenda. Keep in mind that we have these Republicans in Congress who are embracing this man-made global warming theory.”
Newman says the UN is really after the children, to capture them early and brainwash them. Newman says, “We need to protect our children who are being indoctrinated into this hoax. We need to educate our lawmakers. We need to let our elected officials know we will not tolerate them playing along with this hoax, redistributing our money, shutting down our energy systems and giving handouts to their cronies. . . . Ultimately, if we don’t deal with the systematic indoctrination and dumbing down of our children, we are going to lose every single one of these battles over the long term without exception. . . . We’ve got to get this issue right. I believe it is the single most important issue.”
There is much more in the 44-minute interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with hard-hitting journalist Alex Newman, founder of LibertySentinel.org and author of the runaway best-selling new book called “Indoctrinating Our Children to Death,” for 11.22.24.
harveyorganblog.com 
