GOLD PRICE GOLD DOWN $17.10 TO $2617.25
SILVER PRICE DOWN $0.24 TO $29.38
Gold ACCESS CLOSED $2615.90
Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $29.34
Bitcoin morning price:$96,535 UP 895 DOLLARS.
Bitcoin: afternoon price: $94,640 DOWN 1000 DOLLARS
Platinum price closing DOWN $16.85 TO $921.60
Palladium price; DOWN 9.30 TO $915.60
END
*CANADIAN GOLD: $3771.63 DOWN 21.57 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 3,872.51 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//OCT 30 2024)
*BRITISH GOLD: 2079,42 DOWN 21.57 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING///2161.00 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) NOV 22/2024
*EURO GOLD: 2,508.23 DOWN 16.67 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2600.25 EUROS PER OZ//NOV 22 //.2024)
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END
EXCHANGE;
EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: DECEMBER 2024 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 2,638.800000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 12/26/2024 DELIVERY DATE: 12/30/2024
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED
363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 64
657 C MORGAN STANLEY 12
737 C ADVANTAGE 71 1
905 C ADM 5
991 H CME 13
TOTAL: 83 83
JPMorgan stopped 0/83
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR DEC/2024. CONTRACT: 83 NOTICES FOR 8300 OZ 0.2582 TONNES
total notices so far: 25,753 contracts for 2,575,300 Oz (80.102 tonnes)
FOR DEC
SILVER NOTICES: 10 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 50,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 9086 for 45.430 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 $17.10 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/
INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.80 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $0.24 AT THE SLV: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 461.651 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 492 CONTRACTS TO 145,126 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS STRONG SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR TINY GAIN OF $0,06 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A STRONG LOSS OF 482 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN IN PRICE//THURSDAY’S TRADING.. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS ON THURSDAY COMEX TRADING AS THEY DESPERATELY TRIED TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE FOR THE PAST 2 WEEKS WHERE THE RAIDS WERE CALLED UPON AGAIN TO QUELL MASSIVE DERIVATIVE LOSSES BY OUR BULLION BANKS. THEY FAILED A BIT WITH //THURSDAY PRICING AS ZERO LONGS WERE KNOCKED OFF BUT DERIVATIVE LOSSES CONTINUE TO MOUNT. ALL OF THE LOSS IN OI IS DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AND MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION.
WE HAD A 10 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY A FAIR 225 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN FRIDAY;S TRADING AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A STRONG SIZED 482 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR TINY GAIN IN PRICE. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE TAS LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT THURSDAY’S COMEX SESSION COUPLED WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION. THREE WEEKS AGO, WE RECEIVED NOTICE OF .5000 MILLION OZ ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/ THIS WILL BE ADDED TO THE PREVIOUS EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF .66 MILLION OZ/NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTALS FOR THE MONTH: 1.16 MILLION OZ.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CROOKS NEED A HIGHER SILVER/GOLD T.A.S. TO CARRY ON THEIR CROOKED MANIPULATION ON A DAILY BASIS BUT DEMAND IS JUST TOO HIGH FOR THEM. THE HIGHER ISSUANCE OF T.A.S. IS NOW USED TO TEMPER OUR SILVER/GOLD PRICE RISE OR RAID AS WHAT HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES LAST MONTH AND AGAIN YESTERDAY.
CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE. THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS: 1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, MID MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON THURSDAY NIGHT: A FAIR 225 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 ESPECIALLY WITH YESTERDAY’S TRADING. 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 $0.06) AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS WE HAD A SMALL GAIN IN PRICE WITH THE LOSS IN OI DUE TO SPREADER/TAS LIQUIDATION.
WE HAD A 10 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 40.435 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) TO WHICH WE MUST ADD THOSE STUPID “DELIVERIES” CALLED EXCHANGE FOR RISK , TOTALLING 1.16 MILLION OZ. WE ALSO HAD A GOOD 23 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 0.115 MILLION OZ AS THESE BOYS WILL TRY THEIR LUCK IN TAKING DELIVERY OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE PLANET.
// STANDING FOR SILVER//DEC INCREASES TO 45.750 MILLION OZ + 1.16 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK = 46.910 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ STRONG SIZED COMEX OI LOSS +// SMALL SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI) FAIR SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 225 CONTRACTS)/ TO WHICH WE ADD 1.16 MILLION OZ EX. FOR RISK //
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 51 CONTRACTS.
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS DEC. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF DEC
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 19DAYS, total 25,980 contracts: OR 129.900 MILLION OZ (1367 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 129.9000 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. 115.970 MILLION OZ ( HUGE THIS MONTH)
DEC: 129.900 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A HUMDINGER FOR ISSUANCE BUT ISSUANCE SLOWED DRAMATICALLY THESE PAST THREE DAYS/// WILL NOT EXCEED MARCH 2022 RECORD OF 209 MILLION OZ)
RESULT: WE HAD AN STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 492 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR TINY GAIN IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX//THURSDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A 10 EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 10 ISSUED FOR DEC AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. WE HAVE A GOOD INITIAL SILVER OZ STANDING FOR DEC OF 40.435 MILLION OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE, FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 115,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP TO WHICH WE ADD 1.16 MILLION OZ OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/PRIOR EQUALS 46.910 MILLION OZ
//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR DEC AT 46.910 MILLION OZ
WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 481 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE…..THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A FAIR 225 CONTRACTS TRYING DESPERATELY TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE,//CONSIDERABLE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE THURSDAY COMEX SESSION ALONG WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIIQUIDATION// . BUT THEY STILL NEED THESE ISSUANCE FOR REPLENISHMENT FOR FUTURE TRADING /THE STRONG TA.S. ISSUANCE//LIQUIDATION DISTORTS THE TOTAL OI CONTRACTS STANDING AT THE COMEX. NO NET LONG SPECULATORS WERE BURNED ON THURDAY WITH THE GAIN IN PRICE. 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 THURSDAY NIGHT (225) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE, AND PROBABLY NOT TODAY.
WE HAD 10 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 50,000 OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 4059 OI CONTRACTS TO 450,587 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,733 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110, BUT WE ARE NOW MUCH FURTHER FROM OUR ALL TIME LOW OF 390,000 CONTRACTS.
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: REMOVED A HUGE SIZED 539 CONTRACTS//
WE HAD A GOOD SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI (4059 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED DESPITE OUR GAIN OF $17.55 IN PRICE THURSDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A GOOD INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR DEC AT 57.284 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE. FOLLOWED BY A 70 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 7000 OZ ( 0.2177 TONNES). WE MUST NOW ADD 14.6836 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED ON 6 OCCASIONS IN THIS ACTIVE DECEMBER CONTRACT MONTH.
/NEW STANDING 94.7916 TONNES
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $17.55 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A FAIR LOSS OF 3752 OI CONTRACTS (11.670 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 THE WEEK WITH MAJOR TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE! YOU CAN VISUALIZE THIS WITH THE VIOLENT ACTION AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO A 70 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP TODAY (7000 OZ) ALONG WITH THE 14.6836 EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE THIS MONTH //NEW TOTAL TONNES OF DELIVERY: 94.7916 TONNES
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A SMALL SIZED 307 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 454,646
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3732 CONTRACTS WITH 4059 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A SMALL SIZED 307 EFP OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 3752 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR SIZED BUT CRIMINAL 968 CONTRACTS ISSUED. WE HAD A STRONG LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE THURSDAY AS THE NEED FOR REPLENISHMENT WAS STILL IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT ITS PRICE CONTAINMENT STRATEGY IN FUTURE TRADING. WE ALSO HAD STRONG MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE LOSS IN OI.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A SMALL SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (307 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 4059 CONTRACTS/TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 3752 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 DEC 55.117 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY.S 7000 OZ QUEUE JUMP TO WHICH WE ADD THOSE CRAZY EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON 6 PRIOR OCCASIONS OF 14.6836 TONNES//NEW STANDING 94.7916 TONNES
//NEW STANDING DECEMBER: 94.7916 TONNES
/ 3) STRONG T.A.S. LIQUIDATION TRYING TO LOWER GOLD’S PRICE TUESDAY WITH NO SUCCESS IN REMOVING SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WE HAD A 1) $17.55 PRICE GAIN, AND THUS 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE ALSO HAD STRONG MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION. HOWEVER, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS ARE NOT FOOLED BY THE RAID IN PRICE AS THEY WERE REWARDED THURSDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL.
4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST DECREASE 5) SMALL ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///FAIR T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 968 T.A.S.CONTRACTS// 6.) 70 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP OR AN ADDITIONAL 7000 OZ WILL STAND FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX.
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2024 INCLUDING TODAY
DEC
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF DEC :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 111,302 CONTRACTS OF 11,130,200 OZ OR 346.195 TONNES IN 19 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 5858 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 19 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 346.195 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2023, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 346.195 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 9.88% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO 2023
JANUARY/2021: 265.26 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)
FEB : 171.24 TONNES ( DEFINITELY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN)..
MARCH:. 276.50 TONNES (STRONG AGAIN/
APRIL: 189..44 TONNES ( DRAMATICALLY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN//GOLD IN BACKWARDATION)
MAY: 250.15 TONNES (NOW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING AGAIN)
JUNE: 247.54 TONNES (FINAL)
JULY: 188.73 TONNES FINAL
AUGUST: 217.89 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE.
SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_
OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)
NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP
DEC. 175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//
TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021
JAN:2022 247.25 TONNES //FINAL
FEB: 196.04 TONNES//FINAL
MARCH/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.
APRIL: 169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)
MAY: 247.44 TONNES FINAL//
JUNE: 238.13 TONNES FINAL
JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD
AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL
SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL
OCT: 177.57 TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
NOV. 223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)
DEC: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022
JAN 2023: 228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!
FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL
MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)
APRIL: 197.42 TONNES
MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS 2578 TONNES LAST YEAR
JAN ’24: 291.76 TONNES (WILL BE MUCH GREATER THAN LAST MONTH.//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)
FEB’24: 201.947 TONNES
MARCH 2024: 352.21 TONNES//2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE.
APRIL: 267.05TONNES (WILL BE AN EXTREMELY STRONG MONTH BUT LESS THAN MARCH 2024)
MAY; 316.606 TONNES (WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH// 3RD HIGHEST RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE )// NOTICE THE HUGE INCREASES IN EX FOR PHYSICAL THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. THESE CONTRACTS ARE CIRCLED BACK FROM LONDON WHEREBY METAL IS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX.
JUNE 175.11 tonnes HEADING FOR A WEAKER MONTH AND MUCH LESS THAN THE THREE PREVIOUS MONTHS
JULY: 351. 65 TONNES (3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL AND THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED POST BASEL III)
AUGUST: 274.79 TONNES//THIS MONTH WILL NO DOUBT BE A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EFP’S BUT MUCH LESS THAN LAST MONTH.
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: 393.875 TONNES ( A HUGE MONTH////NOW SURPASSED THE PREVIOUS 3RD AND 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE TO BECOME THE 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED
DEC 346.195 TONNES (we will also have a humdinger of an exchange for physical issuance for this month
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF FEB. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF GOLD
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF NOV HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB., FOR GOLD: AND MARCH FOR SILVER
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (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 STRONG SIZED 492 CONTRACTS OI TO 145,126 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 10 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
DEC 10 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 100 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 492 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 10 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 482 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS A FAIR STRONG 2.410 MILLION OZ OCCURRED DESPITE OUR TINY $0.06 GAIN IN PRICE
OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY
1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT
(report Harvey)
b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES
(Peter Schiff)
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS/FRIDAY MORNING THURSDAY NIGHT
ASIA TRADING FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 2.07 PTS OR 0.06%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 7.83 PTS OR 0.04%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 713.10 OR 1.80%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.57%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3055 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3053// Oil DOWN TO 70.39 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 73.83 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING AT LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN WEAKER
A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
outline
b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE
3 CHINA
OUTLINE
4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE
6.Global Issues//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES
OUTLINE
7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE
8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA
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1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A GOOD SIZED 4059 CONTRACTS TO 450,587 DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $17.55 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE LOST FEW NET LONGS WITH OUR PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD. WE HAD, AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, A SMALL NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (307). THUS WE HAD A FAIR LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 3732 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE. OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED RAID AS THEY ABSORBED EVERYTHING IN SIGHT FROM THE DAILY ATTACKS WITH THE CONTINUAL LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS. LONDONERS EXERCISED THEIR BOUGHT CONTRACTS FOR PHYSICAL GOLD VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE AND THANKED THE FRBNY FOR THE THOUGHTFULNESS.
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 PAST WEEK ESPECIALLY WITH THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ALL THIS WEEK AT THE COMEX AND THIS WAS COUPLED WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION.
THE FED IS THE MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 82+ 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, 2001, AND FRIDAY NIGHTS 202, 203 AND 204 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 LIKE THESE PAST 5 DAYS OF RAIDS.
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.
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 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 DEEP INTO THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER.… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A SMALL SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS A SMALL SIZED 310 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /DEC 310 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 310 CONTRACTS. THESE EFP;S CIRCLE AROUND LONDON ON A 13 DAY BASIS AND ARE NOW USED BY GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER BEING FORCED ONTO COMEX BANKS. THE GOLD DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON.
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 3752 CONTRACTS IN THAT 310 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR LOSS OF 3520 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS FAIR LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR STRONG GAIN IN PRICE OF $17.55 THURSDAY// COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AS MENTIONED ABOVE.
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 THURSDAY NIGHT WAS A SMALL SIZED SIZED 968 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 ORCHESTRATED, ON MONDAY NOV 25, THEIR HUGE RAID TO LOWER THE PRICE OF GOLD TO MAKE THEIR COMEX BETS WHOLE ON OPTIONS EXPIRY WEEK AND THUS THE NEED FOR CONTINUAL STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE AND THEN LIQUIDATION (COUPLED WITH THE LIQUIDATION OF CALENDAR SPREADERS ). THE USE OF OUR TWO SPREADER MECHANISMS WERE OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO OUR CROOKS IN LATE NOVEMBER’S OPTIONS EXPIRY TRADING. WE HAD CONTINUAL T.A.S. AND FINAL MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION ESPECIALLY ON FRIDAY NOV 29 .THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. SUBSIDED QUITE DRAMATICALLY DURING THE FIRST WEEK AND A HALF OF DECEMBER BUT THAT DRAMATICALLY CHANGED THIS WEEK WITH CONSIDERABLE LIQUIDATION ALL WEEK COUPLED WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION.
// WE HAVE A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: DEC (94.7916 TONNES) WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR ACTIVE DEC DELIVERY MONTH.
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 48 MONTHS OF 2021-2024:
DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES
NOV. 8.074 TONNES
OCT. 57.707 TONNES
SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES
AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES
JULY 7.2814 TONNES
JUNE: 72.289 TONNES
MAY 5.77 TONNES
APRIL 95.331 TONNES
MARCH 30.205 TONNES
FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES
JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.
TOTAL YEAR 2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES
YEAR 2022:
JANUARY 2022 17.79 TONNES
FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES
MARCH: 36.678 TONNES
APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.
MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL
JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL
JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL
AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL
SEPT. 38.1158 TONNES
OCT: 77.390 TONNES/ FINAL
NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL
Dec. 64.000 tonnes
(TOTAL YEAR 656.076 TONNES)
2023:
JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
NOV: 18.7122 TONNES + 16.2505 EX. FOR RISK = 34.9627 TONNES
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 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 . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.108 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 94.7916 TONNES
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $17.55/)//BUT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF A FEW NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A SMALL LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION THURSDAY COUPLED WITH MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION. WE ALSO HAD A SMALL T.A.S. ISSUANCE THURSDAY NIGHT (FRIDAY MORNING), AS THE NEED FOR REPLENISHMENT WAS STILL EVER PRESENT. THIS COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL THURSDAY EVENING.
EXCHANGE FOR RISK
19 DAYS AGO, FRIDAY NIGHT (EARLY SATURDAY MORNING NOV 30) THE CME ANNOUNCED ANOTHER OF THOSE CRAZY DELIVERIES: THE ISSUANCE OF 250 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS WHICH TOTAL 25000 OZ (.7776 TONNES. HERE THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK THAT HE WILL BE DELIVERED UPON IN PHYSICAL METAL. THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE AND A HUGE VIOLATION OF THE TRUE DISCOVERY PRICE MECHANISM WHICH IS THE COMEX MANTRA!. AND THEN GUESS WHAT? THE CME ANNOUNCED ANOTHER EXCHANGE FOR RISK, LATE TUESDAY EVENING/ EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING, (DEC 5) OF 617 CONTRACTS FOR 61,700 OZ OR GOLD (1.919 TONNES). THEN MUCH TO MY ANGER, THE CME ANNOUNCED A THIRD ISSUANCE FRIDAY NIGHT DEC 7 FOR A MONSTROUS 2254 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS OR 225,400 OZ OR 7.0108 TONNES. NOT TO BE UNDONE, THE CROOKS CONTINUED WITH THEIR NONSENSE WITH ANOTHER 50 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK THE MORNING OF DEC 12 FOR 5000 OZ OR .1555 TONNES. AND THIS BRINGS US TO THIS EARLY FRIDAY MORNING (DEC 13) WHERE I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE FOR THE FIFTH TIME THIS MONTH AN ENTRY FOR 250 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 25000 OZ OR .7776 TONNES.THUS ALL FIVE OF THESE ISSUANCES WILL BE ADDED TO THE TOTAL GOLD BEING “DELIVERED UPON”. THIS BRINGS US TO EARLY SATURDAY MORNING DEC 21 WHERE TO MY SHOCK AGAIN WE HAD OUR 6TH ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTALLING 1300 CONTRACTS FOR AN ASTOUNDING 4.043 TONNES. THIS BRINGS THE TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR THE MONTH TO 14.6836 TONNES. THE COMEX IS TOTALLY SHATTERED TO PIECES.
TOTAL DELIVERIES
WE HAVE LOST A TOTAL OF 11.670 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR DEC (55.167TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 8700 OZ OR 0.2768 TONNES, TO WHICH WE MUST ADD OUR 6 ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR A TOTAL OF 14.6836 TONNES. THUS TAKEN TOGETHER,, THE TOTAL GOLD STANDING FOR THIS VERY ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF DECEMBER IS:
80.108 TONNES (NORMAL DELIVERY) +
14.6836 TONNES (EX FOR RISK)
EQUALS: 94.7916 TONNES
/ STANDING FOR DEC INCREASES TO 94.7916 TONNES
NEW STANDING FOR DECEMBER: 94.7916 TONNES (WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR VERY ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH)
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $17.55
WE HAD 414 CONTRACTS ADDED TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL.
NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 3752 CONTRACTS OR 375200 OZ (11.67 TONNES)
confirmed volume THURSDAY 85,,508 contracts: extremely weak ////
//speculators have left the gold arena
END
/ /// THE DEC 2024 GOLD CONTRACT
DEC 27
| Gold | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory in oz | nil |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory in oz | nil oz . |
| Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz | nil |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz | a)Into JPMorgan 159,950.000 (4975.00 kilobars) total deposit 159,950.000 oz 4,975 kilobars 4.975 tonnes |
| No of oz served (contracts) today | 83 notice(s) 8300 OZ 0.2582 TONNES |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 2 contracts 200 OZ 0.0622 TONNES |
| Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month | 25,753 notices 2,575,300 oz 80.102 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: nil kilobars
we have 1 customer deposit
a)Into JPMorgan 159,950.000 (4975.00 kilobars)
total deposit 159,950.000 oz 4,975 kilobars
4.975 tonnes
strictly a paper gold entry.
total for the last 4 days; north of 58 tonnes of kilobars
withdrawals: 0
adjustments: nil
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DEC.
For the front month of DEC: we have an oi of 103 contracts having GAINED 61 contracts. We had 28 contracts served on THURSDAY, so we GAINED a STRONG 89 contracts or 8900 oz (0.2768 TONNES) underwent a queue jump bolting ahead of others to take delivery of gold over on this side of the planet.
JANUARY LOST 153 CONTRACT(S) TO STAND AT 3851
FEBRUARY LOST 5297 CONTRACTS TO 330,530 .
We had 83 contracts filed for today representing 8300 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 83 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 DEC /2024. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (25,783 x 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC(85 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (83 x 100 oz per contract( equals 2,575,500 OZ OR 80.108 TONNES. to which we add 14.6836 tonnes of exchange for risk WHICH EQUALS 94.5716 TONNES
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the DEC contract month: No of notices filed so far (25,753 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of DEC (85 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (83 x 100 oz which equals 2,568.400 oz (79.888 TONNES) + 14.6836 tonnes of ex. for risk MONTH OF DEC //new total GOLD STANDING 94.7916 TONNES
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR DEC.: 94.7916 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR.
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COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION
NEW PLEDGED GOLD:
241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC 5.94 TONNES
204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED MANFRA 3.08 TONNES
83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1 1.690 tonnes
265,999.054, oz JPM No 2
1,152,376.639 oz pledged Brinks/
Manfra: 33,758.550 oz
Delaware: 193.721 oz
International Delaware:: 11,188.542 oz
total pledged gold: 2,101,424.137 oz 65.36 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD: 21,372,920.661 OZ
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 8,687,165.908/// 270.20 tonnes).
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 12,685,754.756 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 6,585,741 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 204.84 tonnes //
JPMorgan enhanced inventory is 3.592 million oz/1,877,000 oz = 19.15% of entire inventory..
END
SILVER/COMEX
DEC 27. 2024
INITIAL
//2024// THE DEC 2024 SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL
| Silver | Ounces |
| Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory | NIL oz |
| Withdrawals from Customer Inventory | 1892.106 oz Delaware . |
| Deposits to the Dealer Inventory | NIL |
| Deposits to the Customer Inventory | 129,049.646 oz Delaware |
| No of oz served today (contracts) | 10 CONTRACT(S) (50,000 OZ) |
| No of oz to be served (notices) | 64 contracts (0.320 MILLION oz) |
| Total monthly oz silver served (contracts) | 9086 Contracts (45.430 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
a) Into Delaware: 1892.106 oz
total customer deposit 1892.106 oz
We had 1 withdrawals
a) Out of Delaware 129,049.646 oz
total withdrawal 129,049.646 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 135.532million oz/316.032million or 42.86%
adjustments:
a) customer to dealer Delaware: 14,869.630 oz
next two dealer to customer
b) Loomis: 304,500.905 oz
c) Manfra: 2,302,061.078 oz
net to the customer account 2.59 million oz
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 72.031MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 316.032 million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR DEC
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF DEC /2024 OI: 74 OPEN INTEREST FOR A LOSS OF 5 CONTRACT(S). WE HAD
28 CONTRACTS ISSUED ON THURSDAY SO WE HAD A GAIN OF 23 CONTRACTS AND THIS QUEUE JUMP I.E. 115,000 ADDITIONAL OZ WILL STAND AT THE COMEX WHERE THESE BOYS WILL TRY THEIR LUCK AND TAKE DELIVERY OF PHYSICAL SILVER OVER HERE.
JANUARY SAW A LOSS OF 250 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 1816
FEBRUARY SAW A GAIN 0F 84 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 519
MARCH SAW A GAIN OF 33 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 116,487
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 10 for 50,000 oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON THURSDAY 18,146 awful//
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in DEC we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 9086x 5,000 oz = 45.430 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of DEC (74) and the number of notices served upon today (10)x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the DEC 2024 contract month: 9086 Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of DEC(74) minus number of notices served upon today (10)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the DEC contract month equating to 45.750 MILLION OZ. + to which we add 1.16 million oz of exchange for risk PRIOR////new total 46.910 MILLION OIOZ
New total standing: 46.910 million oz.
There are 72.031 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//
DEC 27 WITH GOLD DOWN $17.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD : ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.80 TONNES
DEC 26 WITH GOLD UP $17.55 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: : ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 873.95 TONNES
DEC 24 WITH GOLD UP $6.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.45 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD. / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 873.95 TONNES
DEC 23 WITH GOLD DOWN $13,75 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 16.66 TONNES OF GOLD VAPOUR GOLD INTO THE GLD. / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 877.40 TONNES
DEC 20 WITH GOLD UP $29,75 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.16 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 860.74 TONNES
DEC 19 WITH GOLD DOWN $45.00 ON THE DAY; SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF .29 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD. / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.90 TONNES
DEC 18 WITH GOLD DOWN $8.40 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
DEC 17 WITH GOLD DOWN $6.85 ON THE DAY; SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.23 TONNES INTO THE GLD / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
DEC 16 WITH GOLD DOWN $2.80 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.70 TONNES INTO THE GLD / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.90 TONNES
DEC 13 WITH GOLD DOWN $24.55 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.78 TONNES INTO THE GLD / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 868.60 TONNES
DEC 12 WITH GOLD DOWN $34.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.59 TONNES INTO THE GLD / // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 873.38 TONNES
DEC 11 WITH GOLD UP $29.75 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 870.79 TONNES
DEC 9 WITH GOLD UP $31.10 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD. // : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.94 TONNES
DEC 6 WITH GOLD UP $6.60 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD. A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.71 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD// : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.94 TONNES
DEC 5 WITH GOLD DOWN $26.80 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD./ : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 873.65 TONNES
DEC 4 WITH GOLD UP $6.15 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.31 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD./ : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 873.65 TONNES
DEC 3 WITH GOLD UP $10.30 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.59 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD./ : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 875.96 TONNES
DEC 2 WITH GOLD DOWN $20.20 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD : .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 878.55 TONNES
NOV 29 WITH GOLD UP $16.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD : Z WITHDRAWAL OF .86 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD . .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 878.55 TONNES
NOV 27 WITH GOLD UP $18.05 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD : . .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 879.41 TONNE
NOV 26 WITH GOLD UP $3.80 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD : A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLDINTO THE GLD. .///INVENTORY RESTS AT 879.41 TONNES
GLD INVENTORY: 87280 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
DEC 27 WITH SILVER DOWN 24 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 461.651 MILLION OZ
DEC 24 WITH SILVER UP 2 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.747 MILLION OZ
DEC 23 WITH SILVER UP 19 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/////A DEPOSIT OF 6.15 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.747 MILLION OZ
DEC 20 WITH SILVER UP 43 CENTS //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV/////A DEPOSIT OF 183,000 OZ INTO THE SLV //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 457.597 MILLION OZ
DEC 19 WITH SILVER DOWN 25 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV///// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 457.414 MILLION OZ
DEC 18 WITH SILVER DOWN 19 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.094 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 457.414 MILLION OZ
DEC 17 WITH SILVER DOWN 12 CENTS //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 0.456 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 458.052 MILLION OZ
DEC 16 WITH SILVER DOWN 0 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.84 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 458.052 MILLION OZ
DEC 13 WITH SILVER DOWN 46 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF .536 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 462.892 MILLION OZ
DEC 12 WITH SILVER DOWN 94 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.787 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.428 MILLION OZ
DEC 11 WITH SILVER UP 10 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.597 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 469.215 MILLION OZ
DEC 10 WITH SILVER DOWN 8 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.868 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 471.812 MILLION OZ
DEC 9 WITH SILVER UP $0.91 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.367 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 473.680 MILLION OZ
DEC 6 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.00 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.329 MILLION OZ/// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 475.047 MILLION OZ
DEC 5 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.23 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV” /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 470.718 MILLION OZ
DEC 4 WITH SILVER UP 26 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV”: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.206 MILLION OZ FORM THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 470.718 MILLION OZ
DEC 3 WITH SILVER UP 59 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 472.924 MILLION OZ
DEC 2 WITH SILVER DOWN 19 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV. A WITHDRAWAL OF 1,458,000 OZ FROM THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 472.924 MILLION OZ
NOV 29 WITH SILVER UP 51 CENTS //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV. A WITHDRAWAL OF 365,000 OZ FROM THE SLV. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 474.382 MILLION OZ
NOV 27 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.25 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV.. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 474.747 MILLION OZ
NOV 26 WITH SILVER UP $0.10 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:.A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.094 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV./.. /// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 474.747 MILLION OZ
CLOSING INVENTORY 461.651 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY
The Red Sea Crisis Remedy: A Private Sector Approach To Maritime Security
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 06:30 AM
The ongoing crisis in the Red Sea has thrust maritime security into the global spotlight, exposing vulnerabilities in our international shipping lanes and threatening the stability of global trade. Since November 2023, Houthi forces in Yemen have conducted over 100 attacks against commercial ships and warships, creating an unprecedented challenge for the maritime industry. This escalation has not only disrupted vital trade routes but also sent ripples through the global economy, affecting everything from shipping costs to consumer prices.
The scale of this crisis is significant. Transit through the Suez Canal, a critical chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, has plummeted by over 50% compared to the previous year. This has caused the canal’s revenue to decrease by 60%, painting a stark picture of the crisis’s impact on global commerce.
The economic ramifications are equally severe. As ships are forced to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, journey distances are increased, transit times are lengthened, and fuel consumption is boosted. Specifically, this detour adds approximately 4,000 miles to shipping journeys, resulting in 30% longer transit times and additional lead times of up to two weeks for shipments between Asia and Europe. The ripple effects are felt across industries, particularly those relying on just-in-time delivery systems.
While military intervention has been the go-to response for such crises, it’s time we considered a more sustainable, market-driven approach to maritime security. The private sector, with its capacity for innovation and efficiency, could offer solutions that are both more effective and economically viable in the long term.
One potential avenue is the expansion of Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs). These entities have already proven their worth in combating piracy, having been employed by numerous shipping companies. By creating a competitive market for maritime security services, we could drive innovation in threat detection and deterrence while potentially reducing costs through market efficiencies.
Insurance companies could play a pivotal role in this market-driven approach. By offering reduced premiums to vessels that implement enhanced security measures, they could create a financial incentive for ships to invest in their own protection. This approach aligns security interests with economic ones, hopefully leading to a more widespread adoption of security measures.
Technological innovation, spurred by market demand, could also revolutionize maritime security. The maritime security market, valued at $32.67 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to $49.49 billion by 2032. This growth potential could attract significant investment in developing advanced technologies for threat detection and response. The collaboration between BlackSky Technology and Spire Global to create a real-time marine tracking service capable of monitoring over 270,000 vessels worldwide is a perfect example of the potential for the private sector to find innovative solutions in maritime security.
Some critics have argued that a private sector solution to the Red Sea Crisis might lead to a fragmented approach to maritime security. However, this concern can be addressed through proper regulation and international cooperation. This approach is not about completely privatizing maritime security, but rather about using the strengths of both public and private sectors. Government oversight and international cooperation remain crucial, but it needs to be complemented by policies that encourage and facilitate private sector involvement in maritime security.
The challenges are significant, but so are the potential rewards. The fallout surrounding the Red Sea crisis has shown that a secure maritime domain is essential for global prosperity, and by harnessing the power of the market, we can work towards achieving this goal. It’s time for policymakers and industry leaders to come together and chart a new course for maritime security which embraces the private sector while maintaining the necessary oversight and coordination of governmental bodies.
The Red Sea crisis is a wake-up call. Let’s not just weather this storm, but use it as an opportunity to build a stronger, more secure maritime future for all.
END
2/ Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
Alasdair Macleod
A year in review
Gold and silver performed well in 2024. But what are the prospects for 2025?
| Alasdair MacleodDec 27∙Paid |
Gold rose and silver rose moderately in quiet trading during Christmas week. In early morning European trading today, spot gold was $2627, up $34 from last Friday’s close and silver at $29.70 was up 20 cents. Close examination of price timelines during the week showed a tendency for both metals to rise modestly during Asian trading hours, with a loss of direction in European and American hours. This suggests that Asians are still quietly accumulating physical bullion if it becomes available over the Christian holiday season.
One surprise is that option expiry for Comex January contracts passed with barely a ripple. The explanation surely is that the decline in prices during December conveniently made calls with strikes above $2600 for gold and $29.50 for silver worthless, benefiting establishment sellers. This pressure is now behind us and all else being equal we can reasonably expect prices to rebound in January.
For the record, gold rose 26.5% and silver 25.25% since 1 January, which compares with the S&P 500 Index which rose 26.6%. These are the comparisons likely to be made by investment allocators, who will probably conclude dismissively that there was little advantage in increasing allocations towards precious metals. That could turn out to be complacent with respect to 2025.
2024 saw record stand-for-deliveries in both metals. In gold, 485.5 tonnes were stood for delivery of which nearly 80 tonnes have been since Thanksgiving. In silver, these figures are 6,378 tonnes, and 1,410 tonnes respectively. They are enormous numbers and the acceleration of deliveries in the last month is simply staggering. Furthermore, this doesn’t include Exchange for Physical numbers which are far larger, some of which would have involved taking delivery in London and shipping physical metal on to Asia.
Withdrawals of gold by the public from the Shanghai Gold Exchange vaults in the first eleven months of 2024 totalled 1,333.7 tonnes, predominantly supplying the jewellery trade. This is almost 40% of expected global mine output over the same period. Crucially, this does not include gold accumulated by the state and its central bank. Nor does it include additional gold acquired by banks and institutions choosing not to take delivery from SGE vaults. Increases in this hidden total back gold accounts and other Chinese investment media.
Prospects for 2025
Establishment predictions for gold in 2024 proved wide of the mark. Here is a selection listed at Bullion By Post:
- ABN Amro – $2,000
- AG Thorson for FX Empire – Target of $3,000
- Natixis – $1,920 average
- UBS – $2,250
- BMI – $1,850
- Trading Economics – $2,016
- Commerzbank – $2,050
AG Thorston’s forecast was an outlier, but the others severely underestimated the outcome. For 2025, the establishment cohort appears to be predicting anything between $2,300 and $3,000. Will it underestimate outcomes again?
There is a vested interest in expecting prices not to rise significantly, given that bullion banks tend to trade with short books which they expect to recover on price dips. In the past, they have often been right in their expectations with gold bugs being excessively bullish. But these successful predictions were at times of greater currency stability. That is no longer the case, as 2024 demonstrated.
My experience of bullion bank traders and analysts is that they are clueless about money, credit, and economics. For them gold is a trading chip which is no longer a part of the monetary system. If they know the legal position of gold as money — and I’ve yet to meet an analyst who does — they would dismiss it as irrelevant.
Asians and most central banks take a different view, seeing increasing risk to the purchasing powers of western currencies. Rapidly industrialising Asian nations are creating massive wealth. And the savers amongst them see physical gold and perhaps silver as a core element in their savings. That will surely continue and perhaps accelerate during 2025.
This view of gold differs fundamentally from that taken in western capital markets. Almost all involved see gold as an investment — something to buy if it is expected to rise and sell if it is likely to fall. Behind this attitude is an accounting for profits in dollars, euros, or pounds and not realising that their currencies are declining rather than gold rising.
I analyse money, credit, and economic prospects in other articles for my Substack followers, so I won’t repeat their conclusions here. Suffice to say, gold’s technical chart offers a strong possibility that gold will rise beyond $3,000, the highest of the establishment estimates noted above.
Gold appears to be finding support at the 55-day moving average, but a dip towards the 12-month can never be ruled out. However, the shortage of physical gold in western markets, continuing Asian demand, and an understanding that this is actually a measure of declining international confidence in the dollar all suggest that a significant dip is unlikely. And that it is only a matter of not much time before gold trades significantly higher.
Inverting the gold chart to reflect what’s happening to the dollar’s purchasing power makes this point.
Furthermore, gold futures are now oversold, as Comex open interest demonstrates.
As a rough indication, open interest at or below 450,000 contracts tells us that on balance active traders are no longer bullish as a cohort, and that they have the headroom to buy up to 150,000 contracts before this contract becomes overbought. It confirms that the downside is limited, while the upside is potentially far greater.
I wish all my followers a happy and successful New Year.
3. CHRIS POWELL AND GATA DISPATCHES
4. OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES/
END
ANDREW MAGUIRE AND ALASDAIR MACLEOD//LIVE FROM THE VAULT 204
end
5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES: COMMODITY’: DIAMONDS
De Beers Diamond Inventory Soars To Highest Since 2008 Financial Crisis As Prices Plummet
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 05:45 AM
Three weeks ago the diamond industry, one of the world’s most conservative and boring, was shocked by news that diamond giant De Beers (which accounts for 30% of global diamond production market share) was forced into a rare 10-15% price cut, taking wholesale diamond prices a stunning 40% lower in the past 2 years. That was the first major price cut since the start of the year and a “historically large reduction”, according to Bloomberg.
Unfortunately, it is going from bad to worse for the diamond price setter, which in an attempt to keep demand artificially high has throttled supply, and the FT reported that De Beers has amassed its largest diamond stockpile since the 2008 financial crisis.
The company, which dominates the $80 billion diamond jewelry industry, has seen inventory levels hover around $2 billion throughout 2024.
The slump in demand has been attributed to weak sales in China, growing competition from lab-grown alternatives, and the lingering impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted global marriage rates.
“It’s been a bad year for rough diamond sales,” CEO Al Cook said.
To mitigate the downturn, De Beers has cut production by around 20% compared to last year and reduced prices at its most recent auction of rough diamonds. These auctions involve selling uncut stones to a select group of certified buyers, known as sightholders, who are pivotal players in the diamond trade.
Still, even after the steep cut in prices, the company’s stones are still more expensive than the going rate in the secondary market. The company also removed some of the flexibility it had offered at previous sales, according to Bloomberg.
Revenue for De Beers fell to $2.2 billion in the first half of 2024, down from $2.8 billion in the same period of 2023. The decline comes as De Beers prepares to be spun off by its parent company, Anglo American, which promised to divest the diamond producer following a thwarted takeover bid by BHP. Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad has warned that the weak market complicates potential sale or public offering plans.
In response to market pressures, primarily the result of explosive sales from cheap lab-grown diamonds, De Beers launched a marketing campaign in October highlighting the unique appeal of natural diamonds. Cook outlined plans for the company to invest in advertising and retail, expanding its network of global stores from 40 to 100.
Competition from lab-grown diamonds, which cost a fraction of natural stones, has intensified, particularly in the US, the world’s largest diamond market. However, Cook expressed optimism for a global recovery in 2024, citing recent credit card data showing increased US purchases of jewelry and watches in October and November.
Industry analyst Paul Zimnisky projected a 6% rise in global diamond jewelry sales to $84 billion in 2025, offering hope for an eventual market rebound.
6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS
END
ASIA TRADING FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 2.07 PTS OR 0.06%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 7.83 PTS OR 0.04%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 713.10 OR 1.80%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.57%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3055 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3053// Oil DOWN TO 70.39 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN AT 73.83 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING AT LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN TRADING WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN WEAKER
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS FRIDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED DOWN AT 7.3055
OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.3053
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED UP 2.07 PTS OR 0.06%
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 7.83 PTS OR 04%
2. Nikkei closed UP 713.10 PTS OR 1.0%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 107.72 EURO RISES TO 1.0432 UP 11 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.10 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 157.77…… 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 DOWN /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: DOWN OFFSHORE: DOWN
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil UP for WTI and DOWN FOR UP this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD UP TO +2.3760 Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.535 //SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.064
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.224
3j Gold at $2616.30/Silver at: 29.44 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 5 AND 25/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 105.00
3m oil into the 70 dollar handle for WTI and 73 handle for Brent/
3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/
JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 157.77 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.10% 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 0.9004 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9397 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: 4.603 UP 3 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.798 UP 4 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.330 UP 0 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 35.14…
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.6630 UP 7 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.336 UP 4 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.092 UP 3 PTS.
2a New York OPENING REPORT
US Stock Futures Drop As 10Y Yield Trades Near 2024 High
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 08:28 AM
US equity futures declined after Thursday’s muted session on Wall Street, while markets in Europe and Asia advanced in muted holiday trading as the year draws to a close. As of 8:00am, S&P futures were down 0.3%, after ending Thursday flat, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2% in quiet post-holiday session as mixed jobless claims data did little to change bets on the Fed’s policy outlook. The 10-year Treasury yield hovered near a seven-month high around 4.60%, and the dollar was steady, on track for its best year since 2015. Oil reversed Thursday’s losses and was set to gain. The macro calendar is quiet: we get the advance goods trade balance, as well as wholesale and retail inventories.
In premarket trading, Arena Group climbed 18% after the company said it was notified by NYSE American that its plan to regain compliance with continued listing standards had been accepted. SES AI soared 64% and is set to extend gains for a fifth session after shares of the EV battery maker climbed as much as 168% on Thursday.
With the economy remaining resilient, investors are concerned President-elect Donald Trump’s policies, which could include tariffs and tax cuts, will stoke price rises, forcing a more hawkish stance from the central bank.
“The most important move in this year-end is the rise of the US 10-year bond; this shows how much everybody is waiting for Trump’s inauguration and its impact on inflation,” said David Kruk, head of trading at La Financiere de L’Echiquier in Paris.
“Other than that, most of the trades are technical ones, short-covering and profit taking but there’s no big trend going on as is typical during this time of the year.”
Europe’s Stoxx index climbed 0.5% as trading resumed after a two-day break, with volumes at about 60% of the 20-day average for the time of day, and were poised for modest weekly gains. Novo Nordisk shares extended their rebound into a second session. Delivery Hero shares drop as much as 9% after Taiwan blocked the sale of its subsidiary there to Uber Technologies.
Earlier in the session, the MSCI Asia Pacific index climbed for the fifth straight day, its longest such streak since July. Shares in Tokyo jumped after the yen dropped to a five-month low of 158 per dollar in the previous session, following Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s comments Wednesday that avoided giving a clear signal on interest rates next month. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese shares fluctuated. Equities rose in Australia, with their South Korean counterparts declining as the country’s political turmoil continued.
In FX, the Bloomberg dollar index was steady, on pace for its best year since 2015.
The yen rebounded slightly Friday, after Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said the government will take appropriate steps against excessive movements in the foreign exchange market. Data released Friday also showed inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month, with retail sales also beating estimates. Bank of Japan board members held mixed views when they discussed the timing of an interest-rate hike at last week’s meeting, according to minutes released on Friday. A summary of opinions from the central bank’s December meeting showed mixed views among its board members on the timing of another rate hike partly due to uncertainties over the US economy. USD/JPY traded 0.2% lower at 157.75, having fallen as low as 157.51 in Asian trade; the pound drifted higher against the dollar while the euro held its ground at $1.0421.
In rates, treasuries are under pressure as US trading gets under way, trailing steeper declines for European bond markets, many of which are reopening after a two-day holiday. US yields remain inside ranges from Thursday, the 10-year Treasury yield rising 3bps to 4.61%, near the May high of 4.64% hit on Thursday. Traders are betting that the Fed will deliver less than two rate cuts by end-2025. 5- to 30-year yields have risen more than 15bp since Dec. 17, the day before the Fed, while cutting interest rates for the third straight time, signaled a slower pace for future moves. Bloomberg Treasury Index lost 1.7% this month through Thursday, paring its YTD gain to less than 0.5%; index may benefit next week from month-end rebalancing that will extend its duration by an estimated 0.07 year
In commodity markets, iron ore sank to the lowest in more than five weeks, falling below $100 a ton, as poor industrial profits in China highlighted the nation’s economic weakness. Oil gained while gold was steady.
Bitcoin edged higher after the cryptocurrency’s rally showed signs of fizzling Thursday.
The US economic data calendar includes November advance goods trade balance and November preliminary wholesale inventories at 8:30am. Fed speaker slate is blank until Jan. 3.
Market Snapshot
- S&P 500 futures down 0.4% to 6,073.75
- STOXX Europe 600 up 0.3% to 505.34
- MXAP up 0.4% to 182.70
- MXAPJ down 0.2% to 573.66
- Nikkei up 1.8% to 40,281.16
- Topix up 1.3% to 2,801.68
- Hang Seng Index little changed at 20,090.46
- Shanghai Composite little changed at 3,400.14
- Sensex up 0.3% to 78,727.26
- Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.5% to 8,261.80
- Kospi down 1.0% to 2,404.77
- German 10Y yield up 6 bps at 2.39%
- Euro little changed at $1.0412
- Brent Futures up 0.2% to $73.42/bbl
- Gold spot down 0.3% to $2,625.09
- US Dollar Index little changed at 108.17
Top Overnight News
- The Bank of Japan signaled that a rate hike next month still remains on the table even as cautious views among the majority swayed the stand-pat decision at a policy meeting last week.
- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament and set the country’s snap election for Feb. 23, formally endorsing a timetable proposed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz after he pulled the plug on his ruling coalition last month.
- A Bitcoin rally is fizzling in the final days of a record-breaking year for the digital asset, as investors assess the remaining impetus from President-elect Donald Trump’s embrace of the cryptocurrency sector.
2B) EUROPEAN REPORT
2C ASIAN REPORT
3B NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
this is the second South Korean President to be impeached in two weeks: escalating political crisis here
(zerohedge)
South Korean Parliament Impeaches Acting President Han Duck-Soo Amid Escalating Political Crisis
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 09:45 AM
South Korea plunged deeper into political chaos on Friday as parliament voted to impeach Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo, just two weeks after impeaching President Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived emergency martial law stunt.
South Korea’s parliament voted with 192 lawmakers to impeach Han, exceeding the critical 151-vote majority in the 300-member legislature. This now means Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok will serve as acting president.
“I announce that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s impeachment motion has passed. Out of the 192 lawmakers who voted, 192 voted to impeach,” said National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-Shik.
Han’s sudden ouster comes several weeks after Yoon’s December 3 martial law decree, which lasted only six hours—one of the shortest martial law periods in the country’s history. Nevertheless, it sparked mass protests and now worsening political turmoil.
Reuters noted the imposition of martial law earlier this month “sent shockwaves through Asia’s fourth-largest economy, and drew concerns from allies in the United States and Europe who had seen Yoon as a key partner in efforts to counter China, Russia and North Korea.”
Finance Minister Choi released this statement: “The government must do its best to ensure that the people do not become anxious, or the security of the country and people’s daily lives are not shaken.”
Goldman previously told clients that the Constitutional Court has six months to uphold or reject the impeachment vote. The court has stated that Yoon’s case will be a “top priority,” along with other impeachment cases.
On Friday, Goldman’s David Kim and Chris Cha provided clients with a market wrap of how the latest political turmoil impacted domestic markets:
KOSPI traded lower as the index saw joint net foreign & local insto selling. The index saw deeper losses as the session progressed and at one point dropped below 2,400 following the sharp mid-day KRW depreciation to as low as W1,485 due to more political instability after the Democratic party reinforced their decision to impeach the interim president / PM Han Duck Soo after he declined to appoint 3 judges to the Constitutional Court. Outflows were scattered across sectors today on year end ex-div for some names as well, but foreigners ended the day as main net buyers of KOSPI Tech & Service (Internet). Turnover was -29% vs the recent 20 day average.
The KOSPI is attempting to hold support. A failure at this level would likely result from escalating political turmoil combined with mounting economic headwinds.
Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told Reuters that South Korea could plunge into an economic crisis comparable to the one in the late 1990s on top of its ongoing political turmoil.
end
3C JAPAN
end
3D. CHINA/
END
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
UK
Nigel Farage will win the next election
(zerohedge)
Nigel Farage Cheers “Historic Moment”, As UK’s Reform Party Overtakes Tory’s Public Membership
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 02:45 AM
“The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world.”
That is the shocking, but true, statement issued by Nigel Farage (on X) as a digital counter on the Reform website showed its membership tally before lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Tories during their leadership election earlier this year.
Farage went to describe this as a “historic moment”:
“Reform U.K. are now the real opposition.”
He also shared a video of him celebrating the news at a Boxing Day hunt yesterday morning.
As The Daily Mail reports, the result comes off the back of a successful year for Reform with the party claiming five seats in the General Election in July, including Mr. Farage taking Clacton.
The party also finished in second place in a whopping 98 seats and played a key role in splitting the Conservative vote.
Responding to the surge in membership numbers, Party chairman Zia Yusuf said:
“History has been made today, as the centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics by the Tories has finally been broken.
“Nigel Farage will be the next prime minister, and will return Britain to greatness.”
There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in autumn.
The figure, revealed as Kemi Badenoch was announced leader on November 2nd, was the lowest Tory level on record and a drop from the 2022 leadership contest when there were around 172,000 members.
A Conservative Party spokesman said:
“Reform has delivered a Labour Government that has cruelly cut winter fuel winter payments for 10 million pensioners, put the future of family farming and food security at risk, and launched a devastating raid on jobs which will leave working people paying the price.
“A vote for Reform this coming May is a vote for a Labour council – only the Conservatives can stop this.”
Reform’s overtake of the Conservative Party’s membership numbers comes amid claims that Elon Musk is poised to donate $100 million to the party.
Mr Farage revealed that “money was discussed” in his meeting with Mr Musk, telling The Times: “We are in negotiations about whether he can help. He is fully behind this.”
END
EUROPE/LUXURY GOODS
Luxury Bear Market Crushes Wealth Of French Billionaires
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 11:05 AM
The slowdown in the global personal luxury goods market resulted in a year of record wealth losses for France’s top billionaires.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Bernard Arnault, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, and François Pinault had $71 billion erased from their collective wealth this year.
The three French billionaires are in the index’s top five for largest wealth losses (in dollar amount) on the year.
These billionaires also control LVMH, L’Oréal SA and Kering SA. It was a bloodbath for the industry…
Gucci-owner Kering tumbled 41% on the year, L’Oréal SA -24%, and LVMH -13.5%.
A recent note by Bain & Company, in partnership with Italy luxury goods manufacturers’ industry association Altagamma, showed that the personal luxury goods market entered its first slowdown since the Great Recession.
Global luxury spending is expected between -1% and 1% in year-over-year growth in 2024, reaching 1.5 trillion euros, or approximately $1.6 trillion, as cash-strapped consumers from China to Europe to the US continue dialing back on discretionary items.
Looking ahead, Bain forecasts a slight improvement in luxury spending in 2025 but anticipates a shaky industry through the decade’s end.
LVMH is the world’s largest luxury goods company, and in its latest earnings report, it warned about an “uncertain economic and geopolitical environment” denting global sales.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk remains firmly at the top of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Is rocket man set to become the world’s first trillionaire by the end of the decade?
Building rockets is a much better business than selling purses made in sweatshops.
END
ITALY/IRAN/USA
it was stupid for her to go into Iran
(reuters/jerusalempost)
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala arrested in Iran, Italy says
Cecilia Sala, 29, works for newspaper Il Foglio and for podcast company Chora Media. She was arrested by police in Tehran on Dec. 19.
By REUTERSDECEMBER 27, 2024 13:42Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 15:30
An Italian journalist has been under arrest in Iran for more than a week, Italy’s foreign ministry said on Friday, adding it was following the case with the “utmost attention”.
Cecilia Sala, 29, works for newspaper Il Foglio and for podcast company Chora Media. She was arrested by police in Tehran on Dec. 19, the ministry said in a statement.
Italy’s government “has worked with Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala’s legal situation and verify the conditions of her detention”, the statement said.
Chora Media said in a separate statement that Sala was being held in solitary confinement in the Evin prison in Tehran and that no reason had been given for her arrest.
There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest by Iranian officials.
It was not clear whether it might be linked to tensions between Rome and Tehran after Iran last week summoned a senior Italian diplomat and the Swiss ambassador, who represents US interests in the country, over the arrest of two Iranian nationals. One of the men was arrested in Italy at Washington’s request.
Chora Media said Sala had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist visa and had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her “Stories” podcast. She had been due to fly back to Rome on Dec. 20.
Attempts to secure her release
The Italian ambassador to Iran visited Sala in prison on Friday, the ministry and Chora said. The journalist has also been in phone contact with her family, they said.
Chora said news of her arrest was not immediately made public as her family and Italian authorities had hoped that keeping it quiet could help secure her swift release.
The foreign ministry urged the media to exercise “maximum discretion” over the case, while Chora launched a #FreeCecilia hashtag.
“Her free voice has been silenced, and neither Italy nor Europe can tolerate this arbitrary arrest. Cecilia Sala must be freed immediately,” Chora said.
end
5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL///USA/YEMEN
5th day in a row
They need an amphibian landing and knock them all out
(JerusalemPost)
Sirens sound across central Israel after projectile launched from Yemen
A missile launched from Yemen triggered sirens across central Israel and diverted multiple flights early Friday morning, with the IDF confirming interception before it crossed the border.
By SHIR PERETSDECEMBER 27, 2024 03:41Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 04:37
Sirens sounded across central Israel following a projectile launched from Yemen, the IDF announced early Friday morning.
According to the IDF, the missile was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.
While no debris injuries have been reported, 18 people were injured on their way to safe rooms, and two people have been treated for anxiety, Magen David Adom announced.
Multiple flights on their way to Israel were diverted due to the missile, Israeli media reported.
״Houthis in sandals sent an entire country to shelters in the middle of the night,” MK Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) posted on X/Twitter.
“If Bibi had not abolished the missile force that I established, this threat would not exist today.”
Israeli – Houthi conflict
This latest attack comes just hours after the IAF targeted a host of Houthi infrastructure near the airports of Hodeidah and the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, marking the largest strike on Houthi targets since the beginning of the war.
Three people were killed and 16 were injured at the airport in Sana’a following the attack, Houthi-owned TV channel Al-Masirah reported.
This is a developing story.
END
IDF: One missile fired from Yemen, intercepted outside Israeli airspace
The IDF says the alerts that sounded across central Israel, sending millions to bomb shelters in the middle of the night, were triggered by a single missile fired from Yemen.
The projectile was intercepted outside Israel’s airspace, and the alarms were activated for fear of falling debris, the military says.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says 18 people were lightly hurt while rushing to a bomb shelter, and two people suffered acute anxiety attacks.
No immediate reports of casualties in latest apparent Houthi attack
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it hasn’t received reports of injuries in the latest apparent Houthi attack on central Israel.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Service also says it hasn’t received reports of unusual incidents.
Explosions were heard shortly after the sirens in central Israel and as far as Jerusalem.
end
USA THAAD air defense system worked to perfection today
(Jerusalempost)
US THAAD air defense system intercepted Friday morning Houthi missile
Lockheed Martin developed THAAD, and its primary purpose is to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, AVI ASHKENAZIDECEMBER 27, 2024 17:40Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 19:14
The US Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) air defense system intercepted the Friday morning Houthi missile from Yemen along with the Israeli Arrow system, Israeli media reported Friday evening.
The THAAD system was deployed to Israel in October along with its 100-member crew, as part of preparations for another Iranian attack. This interception against the Houthi missile was the first time the THAAD defense system was used in Israel.
In a video published to social media, one of the American soldiers can be heard saying, “I’ve waited 18 years for this.”
Lockheed Martin developed THAAD, and its primary purpose is to intercept and destroy short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in the final stages of their flight. It is comparable to Israel’s Arrow 3 defense system.
It operates using a “hit-to-kill” method without a warhead, relying on the kinetic energy generated by the collision with the threatening missile. The system’s radar can detect and track missiles and aircraft at distances of over 2,000 kilometers, enabling the interception of missiles within a range of up to 200 kilometers and at altitudes of up to 150 kilometers.
The Houthi missile that was fired in the early hours of Friday morning was intercepted before it crossed Israeli territory.
A multi-billion-dollar arms deal
The United States has signed multi-billion-dollar arms deals with Israel and plans to upgrade military infrastructure in the country, including a base in southern Israel and aviation facilities.
“This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran,” the Pentagon said in its announcement that it was deploying the THAAD system to Israel. The announcement came nearly two weeks after Iran attacked Israel with a ballistic missile on October 1.
“It is part of the broader adjustments the US military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” the Pentagon stated.
END
ISRAEL/USA/HOUTHIS//YEMEN/THURSDAY
The idiot Tedros was in Yemen at the time of the strike. He condemned the attack and yet says nothing of the missile strikes on Tel Aviv.
(JERUSALEMPOST)
IAF conducts largest strike on Houthi targets since outbreak of war
World Health Organization director Tedros Ghebreyesus was present at time of strike • Three killed, 16 injured as per Houthi reports
By YUVAL BARNEA, AMICHAI STEIN, YONAH JEREMY BOBDECEMBER 26, 2024 15:53Updated: DECEMBER 26, 2024 20:08
Israeli airstrikes targeted a host of Houthi infrastructure near the airports of Hodeidah and the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
The strikes targeted Sana’a International Airport’s main runway, control tower, and aircraft, some of which subsequently caught fire.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said he was at the airport during the strikes. He was in Yemen to negotiate the release of UN staff who had been detained there.
Three people were killed and 16 injured at the airport in Sana’a following the Israeli attack, according to Houthi-owned TV channel Al-Masirah.
The IDF confirmed that they had targeted Houthi military infrastructure, the Sana’a International Airport, the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, and Al-Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Kanatib ports on the western coast.
The targets were used to smuggle weapons from the Iranian regime into Yemen.
Seven strikes were reported in Sana’a and three in Hodeidah, and dozens of aircraft were spotted in the air.
The strikes were carried out as Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi was delivering a ‘victory’ speech nearby, local sources said.
Al-Houthi was railing against the “failure” of Tel Aviv to challenge Yemen and said Israel had failed to obtain intelligence in the country right before the strikes hit.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdel Salam called the attack a “crime against the Yemeni people.”
Ramping up the attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to keep attacking the “terror arm” of Iran until “we complete the job.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “We will hunt down all the Houthi leaders – no one will be able to evade Israel’s long arm.”
“The Houthi terrorist regime is a central part of the Iranian axis of terror, and their attacks on international shipping vessels and routes continue to destabilize the region and the wider world. The Houthi terrorist regime operates as an autonomous terrorist group while relying on Iranian cooperation and funding to carry out its attacks,” the IDF said following the strikes.
“The IDF will not hesitate to operate at any distance against any threat to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
These strikes come after persistent missile attacks on Tel Aviv, during which one missile impacted, causing damage and injuries to over 30 people.
Both the United States and Israel vowed to ramp up attacks on the Houthis, who began launching raids on trade flowing through the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea in “solidarity” with Hamas.
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi has ordered the Air Force to begin upgrading its early detection and warning systems to prepare for possible attacks, such as those from ballistic missiles or drones.
“The attacks against the Houthis will continue as long as necessary, and each time, they will pay a heavier price,” an official added. “This is much more significant than the previous strikes.”
According to the IDF, the Houthis have fired over 200 ballistic missiles and over 170 drones at Israel, with most being shot down by the US or Israel but 22 having penetrated Israel.
The IDF has attacked the Houthis three prior times, in July, September, and on December 19.
On December 19 the IDF attacked in Hodeidah, Ras Isa, other coastal areas, and many smaller ports, such as Al-Salif. Each target area had dozens of targets, especially Sana’a, regarding Houthi electricity and oil.
In addition, eight special large tugboat ships were attacked.
Destroying those ships could shut down those ports because these ships can block certain areas and also are often required to pull in other ships to port.
The IDF said that it could take time for the Houthis to find replacements for such unique ships.
END
TIMES OF ISRAEL (EARLY FRIDAY MORNING)
Israeli jets hit Sanaa , its airport and other Houthi sites along the coast
(SAME STORY AS ABOVE)
Israeli jets hit Sanaa airport and Houthi sites along Yemen coast after missile attacks
IDF confirms strikes on capital, port infrastructure in response to recent assaults on Israel, as PM vows to keep up attacks; WHO chief, in the country, says he was nearly struck
By Emanuel Fabian, Follow
Reuters and ToI Staff26 December 2024, 8:58 pmUpdated at 1:05 am
Israeli warplanes struck Houthi forces in Yemen Thursday in response to repeated ballistic missile and drone attacks on Israel which have ramped up in recent weeks, the military said.
The strikes — a mission that some 25 jets took part in, including refueling, cargo and intelligence-gathering planes — followed days of increasingly bellicose threats from Israeli leaders vowing to decimate the Iran-backed terror group after near-daily attacks.
Following Thursday’s strikes, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz promised to keep pounding the group and “hunt down” its leaders.
“We are determined to cut off this terror arm of the Iranian axis of evil. We will persist in this until we complete the job,” Netanyahu said in a pre-recorded statement.
The Israel Defense Forces said that during the sortie, fighter jets struck Houthi targets along Yemen’s western coast and deeper within the country.
The targets included “infrastructure used by the Houthi terror regime for its military activities” at Sanaa International Airport, and the Hezyaz power plant just outside the Houthi-controlled capital. Planes also hit infrastructure at the Hodeida, Salif and Ras Qantib ports on the coast, including another power plant.
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike against Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled capital, in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Screenshot: X)
“These infrastructures were used by the Houthi terror regime to transfer Iranian weapons to the region and for the entry of senior Iranian officials,” the IDF said.
The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said that six people were killed in the strikes — three at the airport and three in Hodeida — while 40 others were wounded in the attacks.
Video published by Houthi-run Al Masirah TV showed extensive damage to the airport, including windows blown out in terminals and blood on the floor. The control tower appeared to have been reduced to a concrete shell.
The strikes came as Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi gave a televised speech.
Later on Thursday, the Houthis said they were ready to respond quickly to the attack and meet “escalation with escalation,” Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported.
Houthi official Hezam al-Asad tweeted that Israel’s strikes “reflect the state of weakness and bankruptcy that afflicts this defeated entity.”
The Houthi leadership has stepped up attacks in recent weeks following the exit of fellow Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah from the battlefield.
Following the strikes, several Israeli reports said air defenses were being put on high alert in anticipation of a potential Houthi retaliation within hours.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s director-general, said the bombardment occurred as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa, injuring a crew member.
“The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” he said on X, adding that he and WHO colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.”
The military said the airstrikes were approved by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, as well as by Netanyahu and Katz. According to Channel 12 news, Jerusalem updated the United States ahead of time on the targets it was about to hit.
“We saw precise action by the Israeli Air Force, hitting strategic Houthi targets in Yemen, at the airport and at the port,” Katz said in a pre-recorded message from the IAF’s underground command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“As we said, whoever strikes Israel, we will strike them. We will also hunt down all the Houthi leaders, hit them as we have done elsewhere,” he added.
IDF chief Herzi Halevi (L to R), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IAF chief of staff Omer Tischler at the IAF’s underground command center at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 26, 2024. (IDF)
Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar told officers at the IAF’s underground command center: “We have just seen a tangible demonstration of what we are capable of, and we are capable of much more.”
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a “violation” of peace and security.
“These aggressions are a clear violation of international peace and security and an undeniable crime against the heroic and noble people of Yemen, who have not spared any effort to support the oppressed people of Palestine against the occupation and genocide,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a statement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claimed Thursday’s airstrikes were “especially alarming” after “a year of escalatory actions by the Houthis,” according a UN spokesperson.
Guterres is concerned about the risk of further escalation, and is calling for all parties concerned to cease military actions and exercise utmost restraint, the spokesperson said, adding: “He also warns that airstrikes on Red Sea ports and Sanaa airport pose grave risks to humanitarian operations at a time when millions of people are in need of life-saving assistance.”
Thursday’s strikes marked the fourth time Israeli jets have attacked the Houthis in Yemen. It came nearly a week after Israeli jets carried out intense strikes along the Yemen coast and hit Sanaa for the first time.
An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes of for airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, December 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Since December 16, the Houthis have launched five ballistic missiles and at least five drones at Israel, in what the terror group says is a campaign in support of Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing war there against the Hamas terror group. Many of the attacks occurred in the middle of the night, forcing millions in the Tel Aviv area to rush for shelter. A number of people have suffered injuries while trying to reach safety.
The Houthis, a rebel group that is dedicated to the destruction of Israel and Jews, have launched more than 200 missiles and 170 drones at Israel in the past year, according to the IDF.
The vast majority did not reach Israel or were intercepted by the military or Israel’s allies in the region, the army says.
A mock missile bearing a portrait of former Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah is placed in front of demonstrators during a rally by university students and faculty denouncing strikes on Yemen and in solidarity with Palestinians, in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa on December 25, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
On Saturday, air defenses failed to stop a Houthi missile that struck a park in Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, lightly injuring 16 people in surrounding buildings. Days earlier, a ballistic missile fired toward Tel Aviv hit a school in the suburb of Ramat Gan, destroying it. The building was empty at the time.
The Iran-backed group has also carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on some 100 merchant vessels attempting to traverse the Red Sea, forcing many carriers to avoid the key waterway and hamstringing global shipping. The Houthis initially said they were going to attack Israel-linked ships but few of the vessels targeted had ties to Israel.
An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet takes of for airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, December 26, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The Houthis have vowed to keep up the attacks until the end of the war in the Gaza Strip that began on October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage to Gaza. Israel is battling to destroy Hamas in Gaza and save the hostages.
The US military has recently targeted the Houthis in Yemen.
Reports in Israel in recent days have indicated widespread pessimism among defense officials and others that the strikes will have an effect on halting the Houthi attacks without joint action from the US or other major allies. According to several reports, Mossad chief David Barnea and other senior security officials have pushed in recent meetings for Israel to instead strike Iran, which supplies the Houthis with weapons and other support.
END
ISRAEL HOUTHIS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT/BRITAIN/USA
Fresh airstrike hits Yemen’s capital, with Houthis blaming US and UK
By AFPToday, 9:00 pm
An airstrike has hit Yemen’s capital, a day after deadly Israeli raids, according to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who are blaming the US and Britain for the latest attack.
A Houthi statement cites “US-British aggression” for the new attack, as witnesses in the capital also report the blast. There is no immediate comment from Israel, the United States or Britain.
END
ISRAEL//HAMAS/WEST BANK/PALESTINIANS/BRITISH PETROLEUM
How stupid of them!
(ARAB NEWS/JERUSALEM POST)
Palestinians sue oil giant BP for supplying Israel during Gaza war
By ARAB NEWS/TNSDECEMBER 24, 2024 18:31
Palestinians affected by the Israel-Hamas War have initiated legal action against British oil giant BP, alleging its involvement in supplying crude oil to Israel facilitates human rights abuses.
The claimants submitted a legal notice accusing the company of violating international human rights laws and its own corporate policies, the Guardian reported on Monday.
At the heart of the dispute is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, operated by BP, which carries oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia and Turkey to Israel. It reportedly supplies 28 percent of Israel’s crude oil, a critical resource for its military operations.
According to the claim, oil refined from the pipeline is being used to fuel jets, tanks, and bulldozers.
“Israel relies heavily on crude oil and refined petroleum imports to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks, and other military vehicles and operations, as well as the bulldozers implicated in clearing Palestinian homes and olive groves to make way for unlawful Israeli settlements,” the notice claimed.
Case alleges BP complicity
“Some fuel from refineries goes directly to the armed forces, while much of the rest appears to go to ordinary gas stations where military personnel can refuel their vehicles under a government contract.”
The claimants want to take the case to a British court, citing BP’s UK headquarters and the claimants’ British ties.
The legal action argues that BP’s operations breach the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which require companies to avoid contributing to human rights violations.
It also accuses BP of complicity in alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, drawing attention to claims by a UN commission that Israel has committed war crimes during the conflict in Gaza.
The lead claimants include Palestinians who have suffered devastating personal losses during the war, including a British citizen who has lost 16 family members in airstrikes. Others face dire humanitarian conditions, displacement and lack of access to essential medical care.
The legal team stressed the physical and psychological harm endured by the claimants, including amputations and loss of loved ones and said they hoped the case would set a precedent for corporate accountability in conflict zones.
BP has not issued a public response to the claims or responded to media requests for comment.
END
ISRAEL/
How awful an 80 year plus nursing home woman murdered by a Palestinian from Tukaram. It does that Israel cannot live beside these animals whose ideology does not conform to anybody’s
(JERUSALEMPOST)
Elderly woman murdered in Palestinian terror stabbing attack in Herzliya
MDA and Israel Police rushed to scene, and security guards neutralized the terrorist before arresting him.
By SAM HALPERN, MATHILDA HELLERDECEMBER 27, 2024 09:52Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 11:13
https://player.jpost.com/public/player.html?player=jpost&media=3822394&url=https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-835105MDA EMT Kobi Avriel speaks at scene of terror stabbing attack in Herzliya, 27 December 2024 (MDA)
An elderly woman, around 70 or 80 years old, was murdered in a terror stabbing attack outside a nursing home in Herzliya on Friday morning. Security guards neutralized the attacker before arresting him.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv confirmed that the woman was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Israel Police designated the incident as a terror attack after officers, along with MDA paramedics, arrived at the scene.
An initial investigation revealed that the terrorist was a Palestinian resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarm who had previously served a prison sentence in Israel.
According to Israeli media, the investigation, which is being conducted along with the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), is working to ascertain how he managed to enter Israel.
The commander of Tel Aviv district police, Superintendent Haim Sargaroff, said that the security guards at the scene lept into action after they heard the terrorist shout “Allahu Akbar.”
Details of the attack
MDA Paramedic Idan Shina and MDA EMT Elon Boaron, who were the first to arrive at the scene, said teams arrived to find the elderly woman lying unconscious with stab wounds. The paramedics stopped the bleeding, resuscitated her, treated her with medication, and evacuated her.
The incident occurred on Herzliya’s Kdoshei Hashoah Street [Holocaust Martyrs Street].
“Aside from the woman, there were no other casualties,” said MDA spokesperson Zachi Heller after paramedics arrived at the scene.
The Israel Police said that forces located and arrested the suspect and that Police Commissioner Danny Levy then arrived at the scene.
“The circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” the Police added.
END
Elderly Holocaust survivor murdered in terror stabbing attack by former Shin Bet aide
MDA and Israel Police rushed to scene, and security guards neutralized the terrorist before arresting him.
By MATHILDA HELLER, SAM HALPERNDECEMBER 27, 2024 09:52Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 13:30
Eighty-three-year-old Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovsky was murdered in a terror stabbing attack outside her nursing home in Herzliya on Friday morning. Security guards neutralized the attacker before arresting him.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv confirmed that Lipovsky was pronounced dead on arrival.
The Israel Police designated the incident as a terror attack after officers, along with MDA paramedics, arrived at the scene.
An initial investigation revealed that the terrorist was a Palestinian resident of the West Bank city of Tulkarm who had previously served a prison sentence in Israel. The Shin Bet added that the suspect was a former Shin Bet aide who had helped thwart terrorism in the West Bank.
The suspect’s collaboration with the Shin Bet was later exposed and he was transferred for rehabilitation in Israel. He has now been transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning.
The commander of Tel Aviv district police, Superintendent Haim Sargaroff, said that the security guards at the scene leapt into action after they heard the terrorist shout “Allahu Akbar.”
The Jerusalem Post found on Yad Vasehem’s database that Ludmila Lipofsky was born in Buy, Russia on 11 November 1941, and was in Samarkand, Uzbekistan during the war. After the war, she was registered as being in Israel. She was registered as being born during evacuation.
Michael Dickson, the director of Stand With Us tweeted that the Holocaust survivor was waiting for her daughter to take her to the doctor when she was killed.
Yisrael Beyteinu chair Avigdor Liberman said “there are no words to describe the pain and sorrow in this shocking case.”
Details of the attack
MDA Paramedic Idan Shina and MDA EMT Elon Boaron, who were the first to arrive at the scene, said teams arrived to find the elderly woman lying unconscious with stab wounds. The paramedics stopped the bleeding, resuscitated her, treated her with medication, and evacuated her.
The incident occurred on Herzliya’s Kdoshei Hashoah Street [Holocaust Martyrs Street].
“Aside from the woman, there were no other casualties,” said MDA spokesperson Zaki Heller after paramedics arrived at the scene.
The Israel Police said that forces located and arrested the suspect and that Police Commissioner Danny Levy then arrived at the scene.
“The circumstances of the incident are being investigated,” the Police added.
end
ISRAEL HAMAS
The big operation against Hamas in the Kamal Adfwan hospital in Jabalya Gaza begins
(JerusalemPost)
IDF begins operation against Hamas in area of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalya, Gaza
Officials in the Hamas-run Gaza health authority admitted that they ignored calls on Monday night to evacuate the Kamal Adwan hospital ahead of IDF operations.
By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARDDECEMBER 27, 2024 13:41Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 16:30
IDF soldiers from the 401st Brigade, under the command of the 162nd Division, began operations in the area of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalya, Gaza, the military confirmed on Friday morning.
The Kamal Adwan Hospital has served as a Hamas stronghold in northern Gaza, the IDF claimed, noting Hamas’s presence in the institution since the onset of the war.
As part of the IDF’s operations, the military announced troops were conducting targeted operations in the area. The IDF stressed these operations were being carried out with significant efforts being made to mitigate potential harm to patients, medical staff and civilians.
These efforts included coordinating the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), local health officials and international bodies to evacuate civilians from the hospital. Patients were evacuated by ambulance to other hospitals through a secured and defined route, the military said.
In addition, Munir Al-Bursh, director of the Hamas-run health ministry, confirmed that the IDF gave notice to the hospital on Monday night to evacuate hours before troops entered the facility on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
Hussam Abu Safiya, director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, said they resisted a new order by the army to evacuate hundreds of patients, their companions and staff, adding that the hospital has been under constant Israeli fire that damaged generators, oxygen pumps and parts of the building.
Hamas’s violation of international law
The IDF stressed that, despite repeated calls for Hamas to refrain from exploiting Gaza’s hospitals for terror activities, the Iran-backed terror group has continued to violate international law by abusing civilian infrastructure and by using Gazans as human shields. This is despite repeated calls by the IDF to refrain from exploiting the hospital for military activities.
Last month, terrorists detonated an explosive device near a humanitarian convoy evacuating civilians from the hospital grounds. While no medical staff or patients aboard the convoy were wounded in the attack, the IDF reported that six children at the hospital were harmed by the explosion and the hospital building was damaged.
Hamas’s hold on the hospital has previously been reported on by the IDF, which published footage in October 2024 of a staff member at the hospital confirming, “Hamas military operatives are present; they are in the courtyards, at the gates of the buildings, in the offices of Kamal Adwan Hospital. They operate ambulances to transport their wounded military operatives, and to transport them for their missions, and this is instead of using the ambulances for the benefit of civilians.”
In previous operations at the hospital, the IDF located weapons, money used for terror purposes, Hamas intelligence documents and arrested some 100 terrorists.
Last month, 60 terrorists surrendered outside the hospital after failing to flee during an IDF operation, which saw the medical institute and surrounding areas encircled by troops. At least one of the terrorists detained posed as a staff member and was found to have participated in the October 7 massacre, the IDF reported.
END
‘Houthis are simply insane’: In Tel Aviv, Yemeni activist explains current conflict
Luai Ahmed fled Yemen for Sweden after rebels rose to power, becoming an activist against Islamic fundamentalism; after Oct. 7, he joined the social media fray against antisemitism
a must view….
end
This is now all out war: Houthis target Ben Gurion Airport
(zerohedge)
Houthis Target Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport In Overnight Ballistic Missile Attack
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 02:20 PM
Despite yesterday’s wide-ranging Israel aerial assault on Yemen, the Houthis have hit back – showing they remain undeterred in their willingness to attack Israel – having launched an overnight ballistic missile on Tel Aviv.
The missile was reportedly intercepted by air defenses before it entered Israeli airspace, but a Houthi spokesman claimed that Ben Gurion international airport was targeted in a significant escalation. The Houthis even claim it was hit.
Times of Israel notes that the population of central Israel has been on edge: “For the fifth night in the last eight days, sirens sounded in large swathes of central Israel overnight Thursday-Friday, after another ballistic missile attack by Yemen’s Houthis.”
The same report indicated that some 20 people were hurt amid the panic and evacuations, with 18 of those slightly injured while rushing to bomb shelters and two suffering anxiety attacks.
The Houthi statement said that “the missile succeeded in reaching its target despite the enemy’s censorship, and the operation resulted in casualties and the cessation of navigation at the airport.”
But the Israeli military confirmed that there were no strikes which hit the airport or its vicinity. A drone was also reportedly sent from Yemen but didn’t appear to cause damage.
Despite Israel stepping up its attacks on Yemen, including Netanyahu’s recent vow to hunt down Houthi leadership, the Houthis have vowed to not stop the attacks “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”
Days ago, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that the leaders of the Yemeni group have made themselves targets. Taking them out will now be a top priority for the Israeli military.
“Just as we took care of Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz has said in the Tuesday comments, making reference to the slain leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.
“We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he pledged while inspecting an Arrow air defense system battery which just intercepted the latest Houthi missile attack.
He also again called out Iran, warning that “whoever sponsors the Houthi terror in Hodeida or Sana’a will pay the full price.” Washington has for years documented Tehran’s support to the group, which has included advanced missiles and drone technology. This has allowed the threat out of Yemen to grow significantly.
Last Saturday saw one of the biggest Houthi strikes to date, coming in the form of a reported hypersonic ballistic missile which hit Tel Aviv, leaving 16 people injured. And Tuesday morning saw another Houthi missile launch on Israel, which at that point had marked the third such attack in less than a week.
HAMAS/ISRAELI HOSTAGES
STORY OF HANUKKAH:
It shouldn’t take a miracle for the hostages to come home – comment
This year, the lights on the menorah shine alongside yellow ribbons, posters of the hostages’ faces, and the empty seats left for them.
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIDECEMBER 27, 2024 09:20
The Jewish people have faced many existential threats. One of the more poetic ones is the story of Hanukkah, which has some parallels with the painful struggle our state is facing today.
Antiochus’s empire had taken control of Judea and Jerusalem. Like the families today who wake each morning not knowing if their loved ones held in Gaza still live, abandoned by those who promised to protect them, the Jews of ancient Jerusalem lived under a shadow of fear and uncertainty.
Antiochus banned Jewish practices and desecrated the Holy Temple, much as terrorists on October 7 violated the sanctity of Israeli homes and communities in Israel’s South. His empire, the Seleucids, took Jewish children as hostages to ensure their parents’ compliance with Greek customs. I need not make the clear comparison here.
But in ancient times, a small group refused to accept this reality. Led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers, they launched a resistance against overwhelming odds. Today, the families of hostages show similar resolve.
They refuse to let their loved ones be forgotten, stage protests that fall on deaf ears, and demand action from a government that seems more concerned with political maneuvering than bringing their people home.
The Maccabees’ guerrilla warfare campaign lasted three years. Through strategic attacks, they gradually weakened the mighty Seleucid army, and their dedication to freeing their people never wavered. Like the families today who refuse to accept empty promises and bureaucratic excuses, who camp outside government offices, and carry photos of their captured relatives, the Maccabees understood that time was of the essence.
Each day meant more suffering for their people.
Time is of the essence
We, unlike the Maccabees, don’t have three years. Every single hour, minute, and second that has gone by without our hostages returning home is another hour, minute, and second that they are being held in horrible conditions with no access to medical resources, suffering in unmentionable ways, and enduring unspeakable trauma.
When the Maccabees finally recaptured Jerusalem and the Temple, they found it in ruins. But amid the devastation, they discovered one sealed jar of pure olive oil bearing the seal of the High Priest.
Though it contained only enough oil for one day’s lighting of the menorah, the small vessel burned for eight days – just long enough to prepare new oil under conditions of ritual purity.
If only today’s leaders showed such dedication to purity of purpose.
This miracle of light amid darkness resonates today with the families who cling to hope, who light candles at rallies, and who refuse to let the light of hope for the return of their loved ones be extinguished – even as their government seems to prioritize everything else.
Like the Maccabees, who wouldn’t accept defeat despite overwhelming odds, these families persist in their demands for action, for negotiation, and for the return of their people, even as weeks turn to months of anguished waiting.
Just as that small cruse of oil defied expectations to keep the Temple’s light burning, the families of hostages keep their own flame of hope alive, pressing for negotiations despite the endless stream of excuses and delays, refusing to let the world forget those who remain in captivity.
Each Hanukkah, when Jews light the menorah, they place it in their windows as a public declaration of the miracle of light overcoming darkness.
This year, those lights shine alongside yellow ribbons, posters of the hostages’ faces, and the empty seats left for them. Each flame is a bitter reminder of government inaction, each candle an accusation against those who could do more but choose not to.
The miracle of Hanukkah came from divine intervention – but today’s families shouldn’t have to wait for a miracle when human action could bring their loved ones home.
The writer is deputy editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post.
END
ISRAEL HAMAS
end
ISRAEL/HAMAS
ISRAEL/WEST BANK/
THE EVOLUTION OF DRONE WARFARE BY ISRAEL
(Yonah Bob/JerusalemPost)
The revolutionary path of the IDF’s West Bank drones – interview
The Post interviewed Air Force Drone Commander Maj. “N,” about the revolution in drone use in the West Bank.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBDECEMBER 26, 2024 18:58Updated: DECEMBER 26, 2024 20:22
The IDF has undergone a drone revolution in the West Bank.
From the end of the Second Intifada in 2005 until the summer of 2023, there were no drone or airstrikes of any kind in the West Bank.
That changed around the time of the IDF’s large Jenin operation in the summer of 2023, when the IDF started to deploy drones to attack Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank once more.
But it radically changed with the start of the ongoing war, with drones and other air support now becoming a regular part of IDF operations against West Bank terrorists.
Recently, The Jerusalem Post interviewed Judea and Samaria Chief Targeting Officer Col. “M” and Air Force Drone Commander Maj. “N,” 35, about the revolution in drone use, which they have been at the forefront of in the area.
M told the Post, “We work hand in hand with the different security forces, focused on Judea and Samaria as opposed to Gaza and Lebanon. There are also military altercations in the West Bank.”
“We connect the different staff groups so that our drone staff feels like they are with the combat fighters in the alleys of the West Bank,” said the IDF’s West Bank targeting chief.
He added, “We get precise information. Maybe one hour before, the drone and the targeting team carried out an operation in the North or the South, and now they are shifting to the West Bank, so we need to give them all of the information that they need about the incriminated targets as well as where our forces are maneuvering. This has had great results.”
“There are lots of activities in the West Bank, especially on the borderline with the Palestinian areas. But the area is an inseparable part of the drone team mission – we can act anywhere and everywhere,” he added.
At the brigade level, “we carry out operations even in the Tulkarm refugee camp. We do not hide from any refugee camp. Also, recently we acted in Nur Shams. There was a cell which was attacking our forces,” and the IDF attacked it.
“After an attack by our forces on the terrorists, they moved their wounded and bodies to a hospital. We learned about this from the air and followed them to the hospital. They had smuggled their weapons into the hospital, a lot of weapons. This gave us the feeling that they were using the local population to shield them, said M.
Weapons transfer to terror groups
Further, he said that various enemies (Israel has repeatedly publicly accused Iran) are “trying to send the terror groups weapons. We are combating this phenomenon [and its impact on] terror attacks in the West Bank.”
N SAID he is a reservist drone operator commander in the Air Force.
“I am in the Air Force’s targeting command cell. We are maneuvering seven days a week, 24 hours a day, to keep the pressure on West Bank terror groups. Israel’s citizens do not realize how many operations we carry out – we are involved in all of the fronts,” said N.
These interviews took place by telephone and to underline the complexity of the operations, although the Post spoke to these officers at the same time, they were not in the same places themselves, given that M generally resides in various West Bank offices, and N generally resides in various air force bases, not in the West Bank.
“In a recent operation with the Shin Bet Shabak, we eliminated a terror cell in Jenin who were planning to carry out an immediate attack on IDF forces and Israeli civilians,” said N.
Moreover, he said, “We had a feeling of tremendous satisfaction and a feeling of pride to defend our country from these dangerous terrorists.”
“Later, we also understood that they had carried out a recent terror attack in the Jordan Valley against Yonatan Deutsch. So, this was closing a circle that our enemies could not escape quietly. This was very important for me,” he said.
A previous IDF statement identified Wail Lachloach, 31, from Qabatiya, as Deutsch’s killer on August 11. The IDF also noted that Lachloach continued recruiting new terrorists and planning new attacks in Jenin after killing Deutsch.
N added, “All of this year since last year in October – the cursed Shabbat – we have worked very hard for the state’s security – it’s us, our friends, our neighbors, and our nation. I am very proud to be a part of this. Some say we are being worn down after confronting this for a whole year. I don’t feel worn down.”
When to use a drone in the West Bank
The drone operator commander was asked about how they measure when to use a drone in the West Bank versus on another front, and he responded, “We take into account how pressing a situation is” on the disparate fronts.
ISRAEL HAS been heavily criticized for killing a high number of alleged Palestinian civilians. The two IDF officers were asked how they handled the challenge of Hamas using human shields.
M said, “We are meticulous to remain professional, and we only attack targets that are unambiguously declared hostile. If there is doubt, then there is no doubt – meaning we don’t attack.”
“There have been many attacks where terrorists should be thankful they kept their lives when we chose not to fire because there were civilians close by,” he said.
He added, “Terrorists exploit this. They move around and carry out both attacks and plant weapons like improvised explosives with children alongside them. They carry out lots of their planning in hospitals and mosques.”
“During an operation not long ago in Jenin, there was a terror cell which we couldn’t eliminate because there were children with them,” M said.
Describing the situation, he stated, “The terrorists went into a civilian house with weapons and then left the house without the weapons [having left the weapons inside]. They also take off their bulletproof vests, and the children hide everything in other places.”
“This disrupts us a lot, but we don’t give up,” said M.
“This happens a lot. We have to track people for many hours with lots of patience. But eventually, we can declare them an incriminated target and attack. We have undertaken 70 attacks and killed 150 terrorists.
In total, the IDF recently updated that there have been around 100 air strikes in the West Bank since the start of the war.
He noted, “Our team and the air force work together with maneuvering forces in the field, but since this is not a battlefield, we encounter many more civilians.”
“It is more challenging, but we are professional and make decisions in coordination with commanders in the field, the Operations Command at headquarters, the targeting command cells, and the air force.”
N added, “We follow international law. We are also morally committed to ethics in combat. And it is also in our interest. Unlike our enemy, we do everything we can to avoid harming civilians, all the way from the planning to the operations stages.”
Like M, N said that sometimes an attack must be delayed, but he said that the drone team almost always eventually, with patience, “gets their man.”
Ultimately, M said, “We built up faith among the different officials: the field commanders, all of the elements of Israeli ground firepower, and the air force, and this has led to great results.
Using airpower is a force multiplier for our forces. Field commanders now take this into account in their planning, and we are happy that these commanders count on us to help remove threats.”
“The air force has accomplished unprecedented things – there is nothing like this anywhere in the world in terms of integrated air and ground forces warfare. We are there for them for whatever they need,” concluded N.
end
ISRAEL//LEBANON
Hezbollah never learn: Israeli air force takes out Hezbollah terrorist trying to infiltrate back into the south
(JerusalemPost)
Israeli air force carries out strikes in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon – report
Israel reportedly targeted the outskirts of Qousaya with two missiles.
By SAM HALPERN, JERUSALEM POST STAFFDECEMBER 27, 2024 08:31Updated: DECEMBER 27, 2024 09:17
The Israeli air force reportedly struck the Bekaa Valley region of Lebanon, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese media outlet Al Akhbar reported on Friday morning.
According to the report, Israel targeted the outskirts of Qousaya with two missiles.
Al Akhbar added that echoes were heard across the Bekaa valley.
These are the second reported attacks on the region since a ceasefire was reached between Hezbollah and Israel in November, Israeli public broadcaster KAN News noted.
On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, claimed that Israel had violated the ceasefire agreement.
Violation of 1701
The recent US-brokered ceasefire agreement called for an IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon along with a Hezbollah withdrawal north of the Litani River, upholding the 2006 UNSC Resolution 1701, which ended the previous Israel-Lebanon conflict.
“There is concern at continuing destruction by the IDF in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon, UNIFIL wrote. “This is in violation of resolution 1701.”
The IDF, however, disputes the charge and has reported a number of instances of Hezbollah members operating in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
On December 17, the IDF reported that it had identified a Hezbollah terrorist loading weaponry onto a vehicle “in violation of the ceasefire agreements between Israel and Lebanon.”
The IAF subsequently struck the vehicle.
“The IDF is operating in accordance with the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said at the time. “The IDF remains deployed in southern Lebanon and will operate against any threat posed to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
Additionally, other terror elements, aside from Hezbollah, have been identified recently in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
Last week, Hezbollah-affiliated news outlet Al Mayadeen reported that the Lebanese Armed Forces took control of a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine command site in the Bekaa Valley’s Sultan Yacoub.
Reuters contributed to this report.
END
SYRIA/ISRAEL
This is good! Damascus governor: we have no fear toward Israel. Here exists a people who want coexistence
(Times of Israel)
Damascus governor: ‘We have no fear toward Israel… there exists a people who want coexistence’
In an interview with NPR said to be on behalf of Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the governor of Damascus says the newly-installed government wants to have good relations with Israel.
Maher Marwan says that Israel’s initial trepidation after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad was “natural.”
“Israel may have felt fear,” he says. “So it advanced a little, bombed a little, etc.”
“We have no fear towards Israel, and our problem is not with Israel,” he says. “There exists a people who want coexistence. They want peace. They don’t want disputes.”
“We want peace, and we cannot be an opponent to Israel or an opponent to anyone,” he says.
END
SYRIA///inside the country now!
Welcome to the New Syria:
Clashes Erupt In ‘The New Syria’ After Locals Ambush & Kill HTS Fighters
Thursday, Dec 26, 2024 – 06:30 PM
Clashes raged in Syria on Thursday between the remnants of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the currently-ruling Hayat Tahrir-Sham (HTS) extremist group several hours after over a dozen HTS militants were killed in the western Tartous governorate.
Violent armed clashes were recorded by citizens in Tartous on Thursday. Video footage also showed positions of the SAA’s 25th Division stationed in the Latakia mountains in western Syria.
HTS-led authorities announced on Thursday that they confiscated weapons belonging to former government soldiers in the Damascus countryside.
HTS’s Military Operations Administration has launched a security operation to confiscate SAA weapons and arrest “those who incite” sedition, according to a source from Syria’s new Ministry of Interior cited by Al-Watan newspaper.
Fourteen HTS militants and three armed men were killed in combat Wednesday evening in Tartous, in what was initially reported as an ambush by former government loyalists and soldiers.
Syria’s Interior Minister Mohammad Abdul Rahman confirmed on Thursday the killing of 14 HTS security personnel and the injury of 10 others carried out by “remnants of the former regime.”
According to UK-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the HTS militants were killed while trying to arrest an officer linked to the former government-run Sednaya prison – where thousands of prisoners were released after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government on December 8.
The incident came as unrest quickly spread across Syria in the past 24 hours after protests by Alawite citizens erupted across the country due to the emergence of a video showing the burning and desecration of an Alawite shrine by extremist militants.
Some reports said the undated video is new, while others said it dates back to the start of the 11-day offensive that began late last month and resulted in the collapse of the Assad government.
The video shows the resting place of Hassan bin Hamdan al-Khusaibi, a highly revered Alawite figure, on fire. The militants reportedly killed several people present inside the shrine. Their bodies can be seen in the footage.
Protests also stemmed from the killing of five Alawite judges in the Hama countryside on December 24. Syrian Christians have been protesting as well, triggered mainly by the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama days ago by foreign militants under HTS’s command.
A curfew was imposed by authorities in Homs in response to the Alawite demonstrations, in which protestors were reportedly attacked by security forces of the new government, causing deaths and injuries.
Clashes between locals and HTS-led authorities have left around nine dead.
Alawite demonstrators have been detained and humiliated on camera.
…welcome to the ‘new Syria’ after its ‘liberation’ following a decade plus long NATO-Gulf backed proxy war.
end
SYRIA
The new regime’s crackdown in the coastal region , a stronghold of former leader Assad
(JerusalemPost)
New Syrian regime declares crackdown in coastal region after 14 policemen killed
Security forces launch operation in Alawite-majority Tartus region, erstwhile stronghold of fallen Assad government, after attack on police blamed on Assad supporters
By Reuters26 December 2024, 4:52 pm
Security forces deploy outside the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St George during the Christmas morning mass in Syria’s western coastal city of Latakia on December 25, 2024. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP)
DAMASCUS — Syria’s new authorities on Thursday launched a security crackdown in a coastal region where 14 policemen were killed a day before, vowing to pursue “remnants” of the ousted Bashar al-Assad government accused of the attack, state media reported.
The violence in Tartus province, part of the coastal region that is home to many members of Assad’s Alawite sect, has marked the deadliest challenge yet to the Sunni Islamist-led authorities that swept him from power on December 8.
The new administration’s security forces launched the operation to “control security, stability, and civil peace and to pursue the remnants of Assad’s militias in the woods and hills” in Tartus’s rural areas, state news agency SANA reported.
Members of the Alawite minority, an offshoot of Shia Islam, wielded huge sway in Assad-led Syria, dominating security forces he used against his opponents during the 13-year-long civil war as well as to crush dissent during decades of bloody oppression by his police state.
Reflecting tensions with a sectarian edge, protesters chanted “Oh Ali!” during a rally outside local government headquarters in Tartus, images posted on social media Wednesday showed. Reuters verified the location of the images.
The chant was a reference to Ali ibn Abi Talib, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who is revered by Muslims but held in especially high regard by Alawites and Shiites, who believe Ali and his descendants should have led the Islamic community.
Syrian security forces, affiliated with the transitional government, stands guard in a street in the capital Damascus on December 24, 2024. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the former al-Qaeda affiliate that led the rebel campaign that toppled Assad, has repeatedly vowed to protect minority religious groups, who fear the new rulers could seek to impose a conservative form of Islamist government.
SANA reported that Mohammed Othman, the newly appointed governor of the coastal Latakia region that adjoins the Tartus area, met Alawite sheikhs to “encourage community cohesion and civil peace on the Syrian coast.”
Unrest in Homs
The Syrian information ministry declared a ban on what it described as “the circulation or publication of any media content or news with a sectarian tone aimed at spreading division” among Syrians.
The Syrian civil war took on sectarian dimensions as Assad drew on Shiite militias from across the Middle East, mobilized by his ally Iran, to battle the insurgency dominated by members of the Sunni Muslim majority, many of them Islamists.
Dissent has also surfaced in the city of Homs, 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Damascus. State media reported that police imposed an overnight curfew on Wednesday night, following unrest linked to demonstrations that residents said were led by members of the Alawite and Shiite religious communities.
This aerial picture shows destroyed buildings near the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in the center of Homs on December 20, 2024. (Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
Footage posted on social media on Wednesday from Homs showed a crowd of people scattering and some of them running as gunfire was heard. Reuters verified the location. It was not clear who was firing.
Assad’s longtime Shiite regional ally Iran has criticized the course of events in Syria in recent days.
On Sunday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to “stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity.”
Khamenei forecast “that a strong and honorable group will also emerge in Syria because today Syrian youth have nothing to lose,” calling the country unsafe.
Syria’s newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, said in a social media post on Tuesday that Iran must respect the will of the Syrian people and Syria’s sovereignty and security.
This aerial view shows a man crossing a road near defaced billboard atop a building depicting Syria’s ousted president Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 24, 2024. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
“We warn them against spreading chaos in Syria and we hold them accountable for the repercussions of the latest remarks,” he said.
Lebanon said on Thursday it was looking forward to having good neighborly relations with Syria, in its first official message to the new administration in Damascus.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group played a major role in propping up Assad during the civil war, before bringing its fighters back to Lebanon over the last year to fight in a bruising war it initiated with Israel — a redeployment that weakened Syrian government lines.
end
SYRIA,CHINA, IRAN/RUSSIA
(EPOCHTIMES)
Assad’s Downfall May Disrupt Strategic Interests Of China, Russia, Iran
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 02:00 AM
Authored by Alexander Liao, Olivia Li and Sean Tseng via The Epoch Times,
The fall of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria could destabilize the partnerships between China, Russia, and Iran – a loose coalition driven by shared opposition to Western powers.
For starters, the three countries have been key backers of the al-Assad regime. Their weakened support significantly contributed to Assad’s collapse of power.
Russia, where Assad is in exile, has been a major supporter, providing military aid and deploying mercenaries to bolster the regime.
Yet more than two years of war in Ukraine have strained Russian resources. Although Russia still held naval and air bases in Syria, its ability to assist Assad was limited.
Iran, too, has played a vital role by giving direct financial and military help. But Iran has been hit hard by sanctions and its proxies have been incapacitated by Israel, reducing its capacity to aid Syria.
Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas have been impaired by Israel after Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel in October last year. In September, Israel’s alleged detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah in Lebanon severely impaired confidence in the group’s leadership.
China has backed Assad by vetoing United Nations resolutions against his regime and by offering investments and aid, and no direct military assistance has been reported. The Chinese Communist regime has historically been opportunistic in backing anti-Western regimes. When the strategic or economic costs became too high, Chinese support tended to shift.
The opposing forces in today’s world echo the arguments of the late Harvard Professor Samuel Huntington, who wrote “The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order,” published in 1996.
The scholar predicted two major global blocs: one led by the United States and its Western allies and the other by China, supported by Russia and several Islamic countries. Although his description of post-Cold War conflicts seemed remotely possible when his book was published, today’s global geopolitical landscape resonates with his vision.
Syria’s future is still uncertain. Should it descend into a failed state, it could mirror a post-2001 Afghanistan or present-day Yemen characterized by lawlessness, internal conflict, and lack of central governance.
This scenario would disrupt the strategic interests of Russia, Iran, and China. For instance, Russia has already begun large-scale withdrawal from Syria. At the same time, Iran is seeing its land corridor to Lebanon compromised, a route crucial for the movement of military personnel, weapons, and resources to Hezbollah. Communist China sees a setback in its political influence in Syria, which joined Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, or global infrastructure investment program, in 2022—not a single project has been announced.
The international landscape could shift again after Donald Trump returns to the White House. His administration might quickly seek to end conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. Wrapping up the Russia–Ukraine war would also terminate the “no limits friendship” between China and Russia, drastically changing their relationship. A more hawkish U.S. administration might concentrate on confronting the Chinese regime, which it sees as a chief rival. Such a move would strike a heavy blow to the anti-Western bloc of China, Russia, and their Middle East allies.
* * *
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
end
6.GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES/HEALTH ISSUES
END
GLOBAL ISSUES//
Exactly what I have been telling you for the past 10 years. There is no global CO 2 global warming. Now we see that the Arctic ice data is 26% larger
(zerohedge)
“Doesn’t Fit MSM Narrative”: Latest Arctic Ice Data Shows 26% Larger Than 2012
Thursday, Dec 26, 2024 – 05:00 PM
Climate realist Tony Heller took to X to highlight the climate misinformation and disinformation campaigns waged by far-left corporate media on the global public.
Heller referenced a 2007 BBC News article titled “Arctic summers ice-free ‘by 2013’,” which warned readers of the supposed threat that “latest modeling studies indicate northern polar waters could be ice-free in summers within just 5-6 years.”
The BBC article’s baseless claim was designed to instill climate fears across the public to ram through a radical de-growth climate agenda across the Western world.
Heller then cited NOAA Sea Ice Extent data of the Arctic from Sept. 16, 2012, and Sept. 7, 2024, and found:
“This year’s minimum Arctic sea ice extent was 26% larger than 2012. @BBCNews said the Arctic would be ice-free by 2013.”
“They keep this info out of the news because it doesn’t serve the narrative…,” one X user commented.
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
DR PAUL ALEXANDER
EVOLS NEWS
| LATEST NEWS: |
SLAY NEWS
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| Covid ‘Vaccines’ Trigger Spontaneous Abortions & Still Births in Pregnant Mothers, Study FindsA study has revealed the alarming impact of Covid mRNA “vaccines” on pregnant mothers and their unborn children.READ MORE |
| Biden-Harris Admin Spent $1 Billion in Taxpayer Money to Push False Propaganda on Covid ‘Vaccines’ & MasksThe outgoing administration of President Joe Biden and VP Kamala Harris pumped huge sums of taxpayer money into false propaganda to persuade the public to comply with the government’s pandemic agenda.READ MORE |
| Study Finds Zero ‘Global Warming’ Increases in 50 Years of DataA leading group of environmental researchers has debunked a key narrative of the green agenda after proving that Earth has not recorded any “global warming” increases over the past 50 years.READ MORE |
| EV Owners Have Larger ‘Carbon Footprint’ Than Regular Car Drivers, Study FindsA major new study has dealt a blow to virtue-signaling “eco-warriors” by confirming that electric vehicle (EV) owners have a higher “carbon footprint” than those who drive regular gas-powered cars.READ MORE |
| Canadian Farm Producing Insects for ‘Human Consumption’ Lays Off Two-Thirds of EmployeesA Canadian farm producing insects for the nation’s human food supply has been forced to slash its workforce due to low demand for its products.READ MORE |
| Scientists Develop New Method to Detect ‘Nanorobots’ in Covid-VaxxedScientists have revealed that they have developed a new novel detection method for the nanotechnology in Covid mRNA “vaccines.”READ MORE |
NEWS ADDICTS
| Watch: JD Vance Shares Sweet Family TraditionVice President-elect JD Vance took some time away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and from his exhaustive efforts to prepare to take office to save our nation and to share a treasured family tradition with his family.Vance, joined by the “world’s best three-year-old sous chef,” daughter Mirabel, made a batch of biscuits just like Mamaw taught …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Here’s the Final Tally on How Much Money Trump Raised for Hurricane VictimsIn the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which left parts of North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee completely devastated, the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to provide stranded Americans with basic needs.On Christmas, many towns are still struggling to get by with residents sleeping in tents.My buddy Dave sent some photos from a visit this week to North Carolina and Tennessee. People …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| A second Navy fighter jet nearly shot down in friendly fire incident in Red SeaIt’s just being reported that a second Navy fighter jet was nearly shot down in the friendly fire incident in the Red Sea that happened earlier this week. The Navy only disclosed the fighter jet that was struck down, not the other which had to take evasive maneuvers to avoid being hit. Here’s more from Fox News: On the same …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Newly Released Photos Show Hunter and Joe Biden with Chinese Officials in 2013The National Archives has released photos of Hunter and Joe Biden meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese high-ranking officials in 2013 during the Obama-Biden administration.The photos were obtained by the conservative legal foundation, America First Legal.The president had long insisted that he never had any involvement in Hunter’s business dealings.In another photo, Biden is seen presenting Hunter …READ THE FULL REPORT |
| Dead Body Found in Wheel Well of United Plane from Chicago to MauiA tragic discovery was made on a flight from Chicago to Maui on Christmas Eve.A spokesperson for United Airlines confirmed to Fox News Digital that upon arrival at Kahului Airport in Maui on Tuesday, a body was found in the wheel well of one of the main landing gears on a United aircraft.Flight 202 departed O’Hare Airport at 9:30 a.m. …READ THE FULL REPORT |
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK/
7.OIL AND NATURAL GAS ISSUES/GLOBAL
First LNG Cargo Departs Plaquemines To Germany In Race To Replace Russian Gas
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 11:45 AM
Exports from America’s eighth liquefied natural gas facility began this week, highlighted by an LNG carrier departing for Europe. This reinforces the US’ position as the world’s leading LNG exporter and provides tailwinds for President-elect Donald Trump as he urges Europe to increase US energy product purchases in his upcoming second term.
Venture Global, one of the largest US LNG developers, shipped its inaugural cargo of LNG from its Plaquemines export facility in Louisiana via a company-owned carrier named “Venture Bayou.”
According to Bloomberg ship tracking data, the newly built carrier is en route to deliver the first LNG cargo from Plaquemines to the German utility company EnBW. The shipment is expected to arrive in early January.
More details on the vessel via Bloomberg…
Venture Global wrote in a statement cited by Bloomberg that the Plaquemines will “produce and export LNG while construction and commissioning continue for the remainder of the project’s 36 trains and associated facilities.”
Plaquemines has several long-term customers, including European utility Electricite de France SA, Polish energy firm Orlen SA, China’s Sinopec and Cnooc Ltd., and Shell plc.
When the Plaquemines LNG facility becomes fully operational, expected in late 2025 or early 2026 according to Venture Global’s project timeline, it will rank among the world’s largest LNG export plants, further securing the US’ position as the world’s top LNG exporter. This development is pivotal, as US LNG has been offered to Brussels as a replacement for Russian piped NatGas.
Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel wrote in a statement: “In just five years, Venture Global has built, produced and launched exports from two large-scale LNG projects which has never been done before in the history of the industry.”
The potential LNG export boom will likely please President-elect Trump, who recently threatened Europe with tariffs unless it increased its purchase of US energy products next year.
Also, Venture Global has filed for an initial public offering, with JPMorgan analysts estimating the enterprise value is around $100 billion.
In response to Trump’s comments about the US-EU LNG trade, Goldman analysts said US LNG could “theoretically” replace piped Russian NatGas to the EU.
END
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
CUBA
Would you believe that Cuba has now resorted to importing sugar!! At 25$ per pound.
Socialism (communism) never works
(zerohedge)
Cuban Communists Fumble Economy So Badly That They Now Import Sugar… At $25 Per Pound
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 10:05 AM
Authored by Olivia Murray via AmericanThinker.com,
For the better part of a century, Cuba has been under the control of communists and their ideologies, and the previously inconceivable has finally happened – they’ve run out of sugar.
Like John Hinderaker at Powerline quipped, “This is like Libya running out of sand.”
Or…like Alabama running out of cotton.
Like Costa Rica running out of pineapples.
Like Russia running out of vodka.
Like Saudi Arabia running out of oil.
Like China running out of rice.
Like the Midwest running out of corn.
Like Afghanistan running out of opium.
How is this even possible? Do you really even have to do anything to get a tropical crop to grow on an island nation with a literal year-round growing season?
According to a new report from CiberCuba, the communists are now importing sugar at about $25 a pound, and have stopped exporting entirely, after a number of “failures” over the years.
NEWS FLASH: Communism never works, and it is always a failure.
If anyone needs a refresher as to what happens to a plot of land after communists take over and try to grow something, look no further than the CHAZ community garden in Seattle from the summer of 2020:
(They immediately went online to solicit food donations, like vegan hotdogs, becuase they were “starving” a mere 6 hours into the garden-growing experience.)
Anyway, here is the story from the CiberCuba article:
The Cuban government acknowledged that it is ‘shameful’ for the island, traditionally one of the leading sugar producers in Latin America, to be forced to import this product.
Despite efforts to revive the sugar industry, the sector continues to face serious challenges, including failures in the last harvest.
During the session of the National Assembly of People’s Power, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz recalled when Raúl Castro remarked that ‘it would be an embarrassment to have to import sugar.’ He then stated, ‘and well, we are experiencing that embarrassment because we are importing sugar.’
He emphasized that the crisis in the sector is such that the country has also stopped exporting sugar, which was a key component of the economy.
Everything about communism is shameful and an embarrassment—how do you take a flourishing crop and turn it into a liability? How do you look at a hundred-million-dead-in-one-hundred-years record, a death rate rivaled only by global abortion, and consider it a success?
Here’s what Russian-born Michael Malice recently said, via John Stossel:
‘One thing that drives me crazy,’ says Malice, ‘is when people say, ‘Communism works in theory.’ … Everything works in theory. Reality is how you determine how something works or not!’
I built a flying car, but it only flies…in theory.
I made an invisibility cloak, but it only hides a person…in theory.
I invented anti-gravity boots, but they only float…in theory.
I created a weight loss pill that makes the pounds just fly off a person, but it only works…in theory.
Stupid, right? Yes, and that’s exactly how asinine the “in theory” claim sounds.
END
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS FRIDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0432 UP 11 BASIS PTS
USA/ YEN 157.77 UP 0.012 NOW TARGETS INTEREST RATE AT 1.00% AS IT WILL BUY UNLIMITED BONDS TO GETS TO THAT LEVEL…//YEN STILL FALLS//END OF YEN CARRY TRADE BEGINS 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 1.2554 UP .0027 OR 27 PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.4380 DOWN 0.0029 (CDN DOLLAR UP 29 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 2.07 PTS OR 0.06%
Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 7.83 PTS OR .04%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP .57%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 7.83 PTS OR ,04%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 2.07 PTS OR 0.06%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP .57%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 474.63 PTS OR 1.12%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 2626.95
silver:$29.53
USA dollar index early FRIDAY morning: 107.72 DOWN 17 BASIS POINTS FROM THURSDAY’s CLOSE.
FRIDAY MORNING NUMBERS ENDS
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
And now your closing FRIDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM
Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 2.848% UP 5 in basis point(s) yield
JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +1.097% UP 1 AND 5/ 10 BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/
SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.060 UP 4 in basis points yield
ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.523 UP 3 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.3775 UP 5 BASIS PTS
IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES : THURSDAY
Closing currency crosses for day /USA DOLLAR INDEX/USA 10 YR BOND YIELD/1:00 PM
Euro/USA 1.0425 UP .0003 OR 3 basis points
USA/Japan: 157.81 UP 0.042 OR YEN IS DOWN 4 BASIS PTS//
Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.6655 UP 7 BASIS POINTS //
Canadian dollar DOWN .0006 OR 6 BASIS pts to 1.4416
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The USA/Yuan, CNY ON SHORE CLOSED DOWN 7.3030 (ON SHORE)
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (DOWN)…. (7.3020)
TURKISH LIRA: 35.22 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +1.097
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 4 in basis points from THURSDAY at 4.578% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.773 DOWN 3 in basis points /11:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.304 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 11;00 AM 2613.60
SILVER AT 11;00: 29.37
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: FRIDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//
London: CLOSED up 12.79 pts or .16%
German Dax : up 135.55 pts or .68%
Paris CAC CLOSED up 76.68 pts or 1.00%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 57.70 PTS OR .50%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 421.07 PTS OR 1.25%
WTI Oil price 70.12 11 EST/
Brent Oil: 73.68 11:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 102.70 ROUBLE DOWN 2 AND 94/100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.3775 UP 5 BASIS PTS.
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.6655 UP 4 BASIS POINTS
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.295 DOWN 0 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.036 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 1 PM
Euro vs USA 1.0424 UP 0.0002 OR 2 BASIS POINTS
British Pound: 1.2575 up 0.0047 OR 47 basis pts
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.685 UP 9 BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.092
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 157.92 UP 0.001 BASIS PTS// HEADING FOR 160 TO THE DOLLAR
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.4419 UP 9 CDN DOLLAR DOWN 9 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 70.26
Brent OIL: 73.75
USA 10 yr bond yield UP 5 BASIS pts to 4.621
USA 30 yr bond yield UP 5 BASIS PTS to 4.813%
USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 1 PTS AT 4.326
CDN 10 YR RATE 3.326 UP 3 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 3.054 UP 1 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 107.82 DOWN 7 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 35.18 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 105.75 DOWN 5 AND 99/100 roubles
GOLD 2,614.20 3:30 PM
SILVER: 29.34 3:30 PM
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 333.59 PTS OR 0.77%
NASDAQ DOWN 295.30 PTS OR 1.36%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 16.59 UP 1.86 PTS OR 12.63%
GLD: $241.40 DOWN 1.67 OR 1.40%
SLV/ $26.76 DOWN 38 OR 1.40%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED DOWN 60.17 PTS OR 0.24%
end
USA AFFAIRS
ZEROHEDGE HEADLINE/TODAY’S TRADING
Santa Rally Stalls As Mega-Caps Dump, Bond Yields Jump To End Holiday Week
II USA DATA
US Retail Sales Surge Over Holiday Season As Retailers Ramp Up Promotions, Says Mastercard
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 01:05 PM
Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,
Retail sales rose by nearly 4 percent year over year across the United States this holiday season as more Americans sought bargains during the November and Black Friday shopping period, according to new data from Mastercard SpendingPulse.
Mastercard analyzed in-store and online retail sales across the country from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24, with the company tracking all payment types, including cash and debit cards.
The data has not been adjusted for inflation and excludes automotive sales.
According to Mastercard, overall retail sales were up 3.8 percent this holiday season from 2023, when they increased by 3.1 percent from the previous year. The last five days of the holiday season this year accounted for 10 percent of all holiday spending, it said.
The growth was partly driven by consumers responding to promotions during the November and Black Friday shopping period, along with more spending leading up to Christmas Eve, Mastercard said.
Major retailers, including Walmart and Amazon.com, ramped up promotions to entice shoppers during this year’s shorter-than-usual holiday season.
According to Mastercard, shoppers splurged mostly on jewelry, which saw sales rise by 4 percent, followed by electronics (3.7 percent) and apparel (3.6 percent) from last year.
Additionally, consumer demand for experiences such as dining out saw a marked increase this holiday season, with restaurant spending growth increasing by 6.3 percent year on year, Mastercard found.
Shoppers also appeared to prefer making purchases online this year, according to the preliminary insights. The data show that online retail sales grew by 6.7 percent from November to December this year from 2023, while in-store sales increased by 2.9 percent.
Notably, most Americans who shopped online purchased apparel, and that sector saw a 6.7 percent increase in online purchases from last year.
Shoppers Searching for Bargains
Mastercard found that some cities—particularly Tampa and Phoenix—emerged as leaders in e-commerce during the 2024 holiday season, with a 10.6 percent and 10 percent growth in e-commerce sales, respectively, compared to 2023.
Minneapolis, Dallas, Charlotte, Orlando, and Houston also came in well above the national total for e-commerce sales compared to last year, Mastercard said.
Rising retail sales occurred even though consumers faced higher prices this year amid lingering inflation, suggesting that budget-conscious shoppers are still willing to part with their cash as long as they can get a bargain.
Michelle Meyer, chief economist at Mastercard Economics Institute, said the holiday shopping season “revealed a consumer who is willing and able to spend but driven by a search for value,” as seen by concentrated online spending during the biggest promotional periods.
“Solid spending during this holiday season underscores the strength we observed from the consumer all year, supported by the healthy labor market and household wealth gains,” Meyer said.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, and the latest data highlight a resilient consumer despite economic uncertainty.
A broader picture of how Americans are spending their money will be available in January when the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group, releases its two-month sales figures from the Commerce Department.
The latest data come shortly after the Federal Reserve announced its third consecutive interest rate cut of 2024, lowering the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent.
However, the central bank also said it expects just two rate cuts in 2025, half a percentage point less than it forecasted in September, suggesting officials are opting for a more conservative approach to loosening monetary policy.
III USA ECONOMIC NEWS
21 Quotes About Central Banking That Show Why The Fed Must Be Shut Down
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 10:45 AM
Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,
We have come to accept that we are permanently trapped in an endless cycle of debt and money creation. But the only reason why debt and money grow at an exponential rate is because that is what our system was designed to do. The Federal Reserve and other central banks around the globe were created with a purpose. The goal was to get humanity into as much debt as possible, and those holding that debt just keep getting wealthier and wealthier. Unfortunately, we have been trained to not even question this deeply insidious arrangement.
Over the past several decades, our money supply has been growing at a pace that we have never seen before.
And once the pandemic hit, the growth of the money supply went into overdrive.
This is why the cost of living is so oppressive today.
There is simply way too much money floating around.
Over the past several decades, our national debt has also been growing at an exponential rate.
The system is designed to produce debt faster than it produces money.
That is why it will never be possible for us to pay off the national debt.
Sadly, most Americans don’t even understand what the Federal Reserve is.
One thing that the Federal Reserve is NOT is a government agency. In fact, it is about as “federal” as Federal Express. It is a private central bank designed to make money for the people who created it. In fact, the Federal Reserve was the culmination of an effort by the international banking elite to force a permanent private central bank on the American people that began all the way back during the days of our Founding Fathers.
But don’t just take my word for it.
The following are 21 quotes about central banking from past presidents, congressmen and other notable historical figures…
#1 John Adams, the second president of the United States: “All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.”
#2 James Madison: “History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling money and it’s issuance.”
#3 Thomas Jefferson: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.”
#4 Abraham Lincoln: “The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, and more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces as public enemies all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes. I have two great enemies, the Southern Army in front of me and the bankers in the rear. Of the two, the one at my rear is my greatest foe.”
#5 James A. Garfield: “Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.”
#6 Woodrow Wilson: “A great industrial nation is controlled by it’s system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world–no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men.”
#7 Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild: “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws”
#8 Horace Greeley: “While boasting of our noble deeds were careful to conceal the ugly fact that by an iniquitous money system we have nationalized a system of oppression which, though more refined, is not less cruel than the old system of chattel slavery.”
#9 Sir Josiah Stamp, the former President of the Bank of England: “Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money and control credit, and with a flick of a pen they will create enough to buy it back.”
#10 Rothschild Brothers of London, 1863: “The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from it’s profits or so dependent on it’s favors, that there will be no opposition from that class.”
#11 Charles A. Lindbergh Sr. in 1913: “This [Federal Reserve Act] establishes the most gigantic trust on earth. When the President [Wilson} signs this bill, the invisible government of the monetary power will be legalized….the worst legislative crime of the ages is perpetrated by this banking and currency bill.”
#12 Charles A. Lindbergh Sr. in 1923: “The financial system has been turned over to the Federal Reserve Board. That Board administers the finance system by authority of a purely profiteering group. The system is Private, conducted for the sole purpose of obtaining the greatest possible profits from the use of other people’s money”
#13 Congressman Louis T. McFadden: “The Federal Reserve banks are one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever seen. There is not a man within the sound of my voice who does not know that this nation is run by the International bankers.”
#14 Congressman Louis T. McFadden in 1932 just before FDR began his first term: “We have, in this country, one of the most corrupt institutions the world has ever known. I refer to the Federal Reserve Board. This evil institution has impoverished the people of the United States and has practically bankrupted our government. It has done this through the corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it.”
#15 Franklin Delano Roosevelt: “The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the large centers has owned the government of the U.S. since the days of Andrew Jackson.”
#16 Eustace Mullins: “As soon as Mr. Roosevelt took office, the Federal Reserve began to buy government securities at the rate of ten million dollars a week for 10 weeks, and created one hundred million dollars in new [checkbook] currency, which alleviated the critical famine of money and credit, and the factories started hiring people again.”
#17 Congressman Wright Patman, Congressional Record, Sept 30, 1941: “The Federal Reserve bank buys government bonds without one penny…”
#18 Senator Barry Goldwater: “Most Americans have no real understanding of the operation of the international money lenders. The accounts of the Federal Reserve System have never been audited. It operates outside the control of Congress and manipulates the credit of the United States.”
#19 Henry Ford: “It is well that the people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.”
#20 Lewis vs. United States, 680 F. 2d 1239 9th Circuit 1982: “The regional Federal Reserve banks are not government agencies. …but are independent, privately owned and locally controlled corporations.”
#21 Boston Federal Reserve Bank: “When you or I write a check there must be sufficient funds in our account to cover the check, but when the Federal Reserve writes a check there is no bank deposit on which that check is drawn. When the Federal Reserve writes a check, it is creating money.”
Why isn’t this one of the biggest political issues in the country today?
The Federal Reserve is at the center of a controversy over central banking that has been around since the very beginning of the United States. Unfortunately, the Federal Reserve system is so incredibly complex and the American people have been so “dumbed down” that the vast majority of the population literally has no idea how our system really works.
If we do nothing, things will continue to get even worse for ordinary Americans.
In 2001, 17 million people were on food stamps.
Today, more than 42 million people are on food stamps…
Food stamp enrollment has increased significantly in recent decades.
In fiscal year 2023, 42.1 million Americans received food stamps. This is 2.4 times the 17.3 million who were enrolled in FY 2001.
As the number of people receiving food stamp benefits has increased, the percentage of the U.S. population enrolled has also increased.
In fiscal year 2023, 12.6 percent of the total U.S. population received food stamp benefits. This is more than double the 6.1 percent in FY 2001.
One out of every four children in America now gets assistance from food stamps each month. In fact, it is projected that half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some point in their lives.
Our entire system is designed to funnel wealth to those at the very top of the pyramid at the expense of everyone else.
I have been writing about the evils of the Federal Reserve system for more than a decade, but sometimes it feels like I am banging my head into a wall.
What will it take for the American people to finally wake up?
* * *
Michael’s new book entitled “Why” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ and PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM/WOKISM
end
iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES/IMPORTANT MEDICAL ISSUES
END
FREIGHT ISSUES/USA/
END
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON OR NEWT GINGRICH/TUCKER CARLSON
TUCKER CARLSON INTERVIEWING
KING REPORT
| The King Report December 27, 2024 Issue 7399 | Independent View of the News |
| On Thursday, Mr. Bond, who has been angry with the Fed since it started cutting rates in September (2 months before a general election, halted the latest US stock bubble. The US 10-year hit 4.63% and appears to be breaking out to the upside.  Generic US 10-yYar Note yieldESHs vacillated between modest gains and losses during early Nikkei trading. ESHs spurted higher at 22:15 ET, but the rally was modest and quickly halted. ESHs traded sideways until they broke lower when Europe opened. The persistent decline ended at 6:15 ET (6067.50). After a rebound to 6080.25 at 7 ET, ESHs traded sideways until the rallied at the NYSE opening. The rally was modest and ended within 15 minutes. ESHs sank to a daily low of 6063.25 at 9:52 ET. The usual suspects then aggressively bought, despite Mr. Bond’s displeasure. ESHs jumped to 6087.25 at 10:02 ET. Who cares about dangerously rising debt yields when there is an upward seasonal bias (The Santa Rally) to exploit? After an 11-handle retreat, ESHs headed higher on the standard manipulation for the 11:30 ET European close. The ESH rally went parabolic; ESHs hit a daily high of 6107.50 at 12:18 ET. ESHs then sank to 6085.75 at 12:48 ET. The afternoon rally took ESHs to 6100.75 at 13:18 ET. After a slow rollover, ESHs fell to 6088.50 at 14:15 ET. The last-hour rally took ESHs to 6104.00 at 15:08 ET. ESHs then traded sideways until they broke down at 15:58 ET. ESHs fell to 6092.25 at 16:02 ET. Holiday sales jump more than expected as retailers slash prices Spending during the holiday shopping period of Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 rose 3.8% over 2023, said a Mastercard SpendingPulse report, compared to a previously forecast rise of 3.2% and topping the 3.1% increase during the same period last year… apparel, jewelry and electronics categories up 3.6%, 4% and 3.7%… Online sales of apparel, in particular, grew a healthy 6.7%, compared to 0.7% in stores, as shoppers scoured for deals on multiple websites… The data excludes automotive sales and is not adjusted for inflation. https://trib.al/r9KPf4p US Continuing Jobless Claims hit 1.91m (1.881m exp.) for the week ended Dec. 14, the highest level since November 2021. Initial Jobless Claims (Dec. 21) fell to 219k from 220k; 223k was consensus. Positive aspects of previous session The DJIA and DJTA rallied modestly. After early declines, equities and bonds rallied with USHs hitting a high of +6/32). Commodities, ex-copper (China influence), retreated. Negative aspects of previous session USHs fell as much 25/32; the 10-year hit 4.63%. Precious metals rallied moderately. Fangs/Mag 7 lagged behind the DJIA and DJTA and closed a tad lower. Ambiguous aspects of previous session Is an end of the year rotation out of Mag 7 beginning? Will an end of the year rotation out of equities and into bonds occur? 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]: 6031.57 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 6049.75; 6007.37 @visegrad24: Russia shot down the Azeri passenger plane, killing 38. Euronews has received a confirmation from Azerbaijani government sources that a Russian surface-to-air missile caused yesterday’s Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash. The missile was fired at Flight 8432 during a Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny… Russia didn’t allow the damaged aircraft to land at any Russian airports despite the pilots’ requests for an emergency landing, and it was ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea towards Aktau in Kazakhstan. Russia also jammed the plane’s GPS navigation systems with electronic warfare systems throughout the flight over the Caspian Sea… Russia shot down the plane by accident, mistaking it for a military target. Just like with MH17 in 2014… Russia has shot down 3 passenger jets in the past 40 years and killed 605 people… Undersea power cable linking Finland and Estonia hit by outage, prompting investigation Germany’s defense minister said officials had to assume the incident was “sabotage,”… The remark came during a speech in which he discussed hybrid warfare threats from Russia… https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/undersea-power-cable-linking-finland-estonia-hit-outage-117108348 @JerryDunleavy: New revelations by WSJ on how Biden-Harris Admin covered up COVID-19’s origins, including spy leaders excluding the FBI (at the time allegedly the only U.S. intel agency that had assessed Covid likely came from a Wuhan lab) from the 2021 briefing of Biden. But that’s not all. https://x.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1872277029321937148/photo/2 Scientists at DIA’s National Center for Medical Intel concluded COVID-19 had lab origin — but that was allegedly at odds with DIA’s assessment… https://x.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1872277036380938564/photo/2 State Dept official who served as consultant to WHO was opposed to lab leak hypothesis & thought WHO’s CCP-influenced inquiry should be taken seriously. She was made director for Global Health Security for National Intel Council — which had sway over Covid origins investigation… https://x.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1872283545449947617/photo/2 The report on COVID-19’s origins put together by the Office of the Director of National Intel under Avril Haines & by the National Intel Council included info pushing natural origin that the FBI didn’t believe had scientific merit & excluded some info on the lab leak hypothesis… https://x.com/JerryDunleavy/status/1872289188999209444/photo/1 Fed Balance Sheet: -$3.369B; Reserves at Fed: -$34.847B BOJ board divided on how soon to hike rates, December summary shows http://reut.rs/4gvQxM1 Today – Bonds stymied equity bulls on Thursday. Nevertheless, they will play for the Friday and Santa Rallies. Absenteeism will be high; a determined few can easily manipulate stuff. It appeared that there was a rotation out of Fangs/Mag7 an into economically sensitive stocks. There were also subtle hints that someone did a careful rotation out of stocks and into bonds. These are two portfolio adjustments that might occur during the final session of 2024. ESHs are -8.50; NQHs -35.25; and USHs -3/32 at 20:03 ET. Expected Economic Data: Nov Advance Goods Trade Balance -$101.3B; Nov Wholesale Inventories 0.1% m/m, Retail Inventories 0.3% m/m S&P Index 50-day MA: 5938; 100-day MA: 5773; 150-day MA: 5664; 200-day MA: 5540 DJIA 50-day MA: 43,479; 100-day MA: 42,382; 150-day MA: 41,402; 200-day MA: 40,776 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope) S&P 500 Index (6037.59 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5304.59 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5735.66 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 6129.70 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 6004.21 triggers a sell signal @FoxNews: Dem lobbyist calls out Biden for the way he’s handling the end of his presidency, saying “everybody’s ready” for it to be over. https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1872326567491228076 Joe Biden has been president-in-name-only since he was inaugurated Now we learn that Joe Biden forced grieving military families to wait for hours on the tarmac of Dover Air Force Base while he took a nap on Air Force One… Now that he is no longer powerful, his bumbling, stumbling, mumbling senility is suddenly newsworthy… The worst scandal in White House history is the worst held secret in Washington…The mendacious minders around Biden, including his ambitious wife, were having too much fun abusing the powers of his presidency…the media and the Democrats were complicit in hiding Biden’s obvious cognitive decline… https://nypost.com/2024/12/22/opinion/joe-biden-has-been-president-in-name-only-since-he-was-inaugurated/ @VivekGRamaswamy: The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture… Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG… https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/1872312139945234507 Two famed NYC eateries were just named among the ‘most legendary’ restaurants in the world Katz’s Delicatessen, right on the Houston Street edge of the Lower East Side, was named the most iconic restaurant in the Big Apple — and eighth in the world… Peter Luger Steak House, located just across the bridge in Williamsburg, is ranked the city’s second most legendary eatery — and the 15th in the world… https://nypost.com/2024/12/25/lifestyle/katzs-and-peter-luger-named-among-best-restaurants-in-the-world/ When we want a special treat, we order whole pastramis from Katz and perform the 3-hour cooking. @WhitlockJason (Black columnist): Kwanzaa is a fake holiday started by a felon convicted of torturing and kidnapping women. Dr. Maulana Karenga, the founder of Kwanzaa, was likely a CIA operative. Kwanzaa is a bogus “religious” holiday intended to push black people away from Christianity. | |
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
Court Blocks Chicago Mayor From Firing Chicago Public Schools CEO
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 12:05 PM
Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,
In a temporary victory for common sense, a Cook County Judge acted in the best interest of the City…
Story Background
On December 20, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand-picked school board voted unanimously to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez without cause.
Johnson’s entire board resigned unanimously in November when Johnson told them to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. Johnson sought to terminate Martinez because Martinez didn’t support Johnson’s push to take out a high-interest loan to cover CPS’ $300 million shortfall.
The Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) proposal includes annual raises of 10-12 percent after factoring in cost-of-living adjustments. And the union demands 13,000 new positions despite falling school enrollment.
Martinez filed suit on his removal from the CTU negotiations because his contact calls for 180 days extension if he is fired without cause.
Martinez Wins Temporary Restraining Order
Yahoo!Finance reports Pedro Martinez Wins Temporary Restraining Order Against School Board After Ouster.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board was blocked from modifying Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez’s duties by a Cook County Judge on Tuesday, giving the embattled schools chief a victory as he battles with City Hall over the district’s future.
Judge Joel Chupack granted Martinez a temporary restraining order against CPS board members after hearing arguments that they obstructed Martinez’s performance of his job duties.
The Tuesday hearing — which lasted over an hour and a half — included an assertion by Martinez’s lawyer William J. Quinlan that CPS board members appointed by Johnson met with the teachers union but not their own team while negotiating the teachers contract Monday.
“They’re not shy about the interference. They’re brazen. They’re bullish. And they’ll tell you that,” said Martinez’s attorney Quinlan of Quinlan Law Firm LLC before the judge.
Quinlan filed a lawsuit in the Cook County Court last Friday to prevent the board from firing the CEO, and then amended the complaint early Tuesday morning.
“The CEO, is the ‘sole representative of the Board’ authorized to conduct such negotiations,” according to the complaint.
“(The board) didn’t even go to my team. They went directly to CTU, and even went after to strategize,” Martinez told the judge. “They feel empowered … They have the mayor and the board. And so they’re telling my team to agree.”
The conflict dates back to September when the mayor asked CPS CEO Martinez to take out a $300 million high-interest loan to cover a new proposed teachers contract and a pension payment previously paid for by the city. Facing deficits of around $500 million in each of the next five years, Martinez said the loan would be fiscally irresponsible.
Johnson then gave directives for Martinez to resign, according to an internal memo obtained by the Tribune. The mayor’s board resigned in October around the dispute, and Johnson — a former teacher and union organizer — appointed a new board.
Quinlan handwrote an injunction that he handed to the judge before signing off for the holidays. A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 3:15 p.m.
The corrupt CTU will no doubt take this up with the equally corrupt Illinois Supreme Court that is continually in bed with unions.
Would the higher court be willing to do the right thing? I suspect we will find out.
Conceivably, the US Supreme Court could eventually get involved. But such maneuvers can only last for 180 days.
Eventually, the CTU is likely to get what it wants despite the fact there is no way to pay for it.
The CPS Budget
The district’s budget is about $10 billion. It’s up nearly 30% increase in five years while serving fewer students.
By 2029 or 2030, the deficit is projected to be $4 billion per year on a $10 billion budget.
The city is broke.
The Corruption and Incompetence of Chicago’s Mayor Has No Bounds
For further discussion, please see The Corruption and Incompetence of Chicago’s Mayor Has No Bounds
I can’t help but think Johnson will eventually find jail because history suggests corrupt Illinois politicians eventually get there.
Meanwhile, the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent kids are destroyed in a worst in the nation public school system.
Meanwhile, please note that In Chicago There’s Under a 50 Percent Chance Police Show Up If You are Shot
Good luck in Chicago getting the police to show up if you are shot, stabbed, a victim of domestic violence, or any number of other serious crimes.
But hey, Chicago hired 179 new community services administrators. How’s that working for you?
If you voted for Johnson, you got what you deserve. Unfortunately, it’s not what the city deserved.
end
She is an idiot! She actually believes this garbage?
(zerohedge)
New York To Charge Fossil Fuel Companies Billions For Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 01:25 PM
Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,
The state of New York will charge carbon-emitting companies an estimated $75 billion in climate damage they allegedly caused between 2000 and 2018 under a law enacted on Dec. 26.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law on Thursday. The law is certain to be challenged in court as a state preemption of federal regulatory oversight.
Adopted by lawmakers in June, the law—which goes into effect in 2028—will annually assess large companies’ carbon emissions across those first 19 years of the 21st century to “repair damage caused by extreme weather” they said aggravated by greenhouse gas emissions.
“New York has fired a shot that will be heard round the world: the companies most responsible for the climate crisis will be held accountable,” said Democratic state Sen. Liz Krueger, a lead sponsor of the New York Climate Change Superfund Act.
The bill estimates compliance will cost about three dozen of the state’s largest carbon-emitting companies about $3 billion collectively each year for the next 25 years—$75 billion in total. That would be 15 percent of the $500 billion the Fiscal Policy Institute estimates the law could actually end up costing by 2050.
“With nearly every record rainfall, heat wave, and coastal storm, New Yorkers are increasingly burdened with billions of dollars in health, safety, and environmental consequences due to polluters that have historically harmed our environment,” Hochul said in a Dec. 26 statement released by her office, noting that $500 billion equates to “more than $65,000 per household.”
The money will go into a Climate Change Adaptation Cost Recovery Program to restore and protect coastal wetlands, and upgrade roads, bridges, and stormwater systems, among other infrastructure resiliency projects and programs.
New York’s law is modeled after the 1980 federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund law, which requires companies responsible for pollution to pay for cleanup and remediation of polluted land, water, and air.
New York is the second state to adopt a “polluter pays” liability law. Vermont lawmakers earlier in 2024 adopted its law that was enacted July 1 without Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s signature.
It requires the state treasurer to calculate damages from “climate change-caused disasters,” as well as the expenses the state is incurring to adapt to changing conditions such as increasing precipitation in assessing carbon emitters.
Once those calculations are tabulated, Vermont will assess companies responsible for more than 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past 30 years, levied as a “proportional to its share of global emissions.”
New Jersey lawmakers, in recess from an underway 2024–2025 session, are likely to adopt in early 2025 Senate Bill 3545, the Climate Superfund Act, which would be similar to New York’s law.
It was introduced in the Senate in September, advanced through a Senate Environment and Energy Committee hearing on Dec. 12, and has been referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.
This year, “polluter pays” bills were also introduced in Massachusetts, California, Maryland, and Minnesota that are likely to be reintroduced when 2025 state legislative sessions convene.
Advocates such as 350 Mass, an environmental nonprofit, say adopting a 2025 version of 2024 SB 481 is a top priority in Massachusetts.
California’s SB 1497, the Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act of 2024, passed through Senate appropriations, judiciary, and environmental quality committees and died on the Senate’s “inactive file” in November.
Maryland’s RENEW Act of 2024 seeks to levy penalties on the 40 biggest greenhouse gas emitters over the past two decades to generate $900 million a year in revenues.
New York State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) and members of Met Council on Housing, Common Cause, and the Fair Elections Coalition on Aug. 12, 2013, at the REBNY headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Ivan Pentchoukov/The Epoch Times
‘New Horizons’
The mushrooming number of “polluter pays” state liability laws is a way for states to establish stable regulatory standards in a time of federal upheaval, economists suggest.
As documented in a Columbia University Law School Sabin Center for Climate Change Law March 2024 analysis by Martin Lockman and Emma Shumway, and in a July 2024 National Law review analysis by Aliza R. Cinamon, state Superfund laws are a “new horizon” in shielding taxpayers from costs imposed by polluters.
The state Superfund bills, including New York’s, have drawn heated opposition and rebuke from businesses and industry that coalesced as the Better Plan, No Bans coalition.
Also among opponents are the National Fuel Gas Co., New York Farm Bureau, National Mining Association, New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, and the American Petroleum Institute.
“An ‘all-of-the-above’ approach that uses renewables, natural gas, and current delivery systems can help New York State reach emission mandates while prioritizing energy affordability and reliability,” National Fuel Gas Co. in a Dec. 10 X post appealed to Hochul to veto the bill.
The New York Business Council, a statewide association of 3,200 employers, maintains local governments and states should not be making federal energy policy, saying “polluter pays” concepts “unjustly focus on the energy sector,” damaging an industry that every segment of the economy benefits from.
Krueger said New York state and corporate accountability advocates are ready to defend the law in the courts and in legislative chambers nationwide.
“Too often over the last decade, courts have dismissed lawsuits against the oil and gas industry by saying that the issue of climate culpability should be decided by legislatures,” she said in the Dec. 26 statement.
“Well, the Legislature of the State of New York—the 10th largest economy in the world—has accepted the invitation.”
end
Alexander Downer Exposes FBI’s Deceit In Opening Russia Investigation
by Tyler Durden
Friday, Dec 27, 2024 – 08:45 AM
Authored by Jeff Carlson & Hans Mahncke via Truth Over News,
A few days ago, our friend Stephen McIntyre, one of the original Russiagate investigators, sent a tweet to revisit a question that many of us have pondered for years but which has never been fully resolved. As a result, we finally now have the answer. That is because, in response to McIntyre’s tweet, the key figure has come forward to confirm what many of us have suspected all along.
McIntyre’s tweet highlighted that, according to the FBI, it was Australian diplomat Alexander Downer who initiated the inception of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. However, the narratives surrounding this event differ significantly between Downer’s account in Special Counsel John Durham’s report and the FBI’s version. Downer has now stepped forward to affirm Durham’s version with a three-word tweet: “Durham is right”. This development carries substantial implications for the entire Russiagate saga, particularly regarding its fraudulent origins.
Downer’s confirmation represents a significant breakthrough in unraveling the final puzzle pieces of Russiagate, not necessarily because the information is new or surprising, but rather because it confirms that the FBI was aware from the outset that its justification for initiating the Trump-Russia investigation was phony.
The two competing versions of the Crossfire Hurricane origin story can be summarized as follows: According to the FBI, Trump campaign advisor George Papadopoulos met with Australia’s ambassador in London, Alexander Downer, and Downer’s assistant, Erika Thompson. During this meeting, Papadopoulos is supposed to have “suggested the Trump team had received some kind of suggestion” that Russia might assist the Trump campaign by anonymously releasing damaging information about Hillary Clinton prior to the 2016 election.
Robert Mueller went one step further, claiming that what Papadopoulos had talked about was “that the Russian government had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails.”
Downer’s account, as detailed in the Durham report, states, “Papadopoulos made no mention of Clinton emails, dirt or any specific approach by the Russian government to the Trump campaign team with an offer or suggestion of providing assistance. Rather, Downer’s recollection was that Papadopoulos simply stated “the Russians have information” and that was all.”
Notably, the day before Papadopoulos met with Downer and Thompson, Andrew Napolitano shared a nearly identical account on Fox News, raising the distinct possibility that Papadopoulos was simply reiterating what he had heard on TV, as opposed to any secret plot. In fact, we would argue that this is almost certainly what occurred: Papadopoulos enthusiastically repeated a story he had encountered on Fox News.
So, how did everything get blown out of proportion? This is where Downer’s confirmation of Durham’s account comes into play and why it is so important.
According to the Durham report, the FBI utilized a cherry-picked portion of a report written by Thompson regarding their meeting with Papadopoulos to justify the initiation of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into alleged collusion between Trump and Russia. Thompson’s report, which was a standard post-meeting document, was submitted to the Australian government in Canberra shortly after Thompson and Downer met with Papadopoulos on May 10, 2016.
The snippet relied on by the FBI stated:
“[Papadopoulos] commented that the Clintons had “a lot of baggage” and suggested the Trump team had plenty of material to use in its campaign. He also suggested the Trump team had received some kind of suggestion from Russia that it could assist this process with the anonymous release of information during the campaign that would be damaging to Mrs[.] Clinton (and President Obama). It was unclear whether he or the Russians were referring to material acquired publicly of [sic] through other means. It was also unclear how Mr[.] Trump’s team reacted to the offer. We note the Trump team’s reaction could, in the end, have little bearing of [sic] what Russia decides to do, with or without Mr[.] Trump’s cooperation.”
In late July 2016, Downer gave the meeting report, which included the cherry-picked snippet, to the U.S. Embassy in London after hearing Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook on CNN assert that Russia had hacked the DNC to assist Trump. As we later found out, the so-called experts Mook supposedly relied on in making his claim were Clinton campaign operatives, such as Christopher Steele. Although Downer could not have known this, his actions in going to the U.S. Embassy with two-and-a-half-month-old meeting notes were highly unusual. Perhaps he was caught in the moment of widespread hysteria. Or perhaps he was cajoled into doing what he did. Be that as it may, to the extent that he could be criticized for acting prematurely or misunderstanding the situation, he promptly clarified the matter.
The reason for this is that after the FBI initiated its Crossfire Hurricane investigation on July 31, 2016, allegedly based on the snippet from Thompson, FBI chief investigator Peter Strzok and his associate Joe Pientka traveled to London to interview Downer and Thompson regarding their encounter with Papadopoulos. Setting aside the fact that an honest investigator would have waited to speak with the witnesses before launching a comprehensive investigation into a presidential campaign, it is what Downer conveyed to Strzok—now confirmed—that demonstrates the entire investigation was founded on a deliberate misunderstanding, in other words, a lie.
Downer told Strzok that the substance of the snippet that Thompson had drafted was “purposely vague” because “Papadopoulos left a number of things unexplained.” Downer also clarified that Papadopoulos “did not say he had direct contact with the Russians.” Downer further said that “there were reasons to be unsure about what to make of the information from Papadopoulos,” and that he “did not get the sense Papadopoulos was the middle-man to coordinate with the Russians.”
Notably, this is not what Downer later told Durham with the benefit of hindsight, it is what Downer told Strzok at the time.
Downer later informed Durham that he would have characterized the statements made by Papadopoulos differently than Thompson did in the snippet relied on by the FBI. It is unclear to what extent Downer communicated this to Strzok in August 2016, but based on the available information, it should have been evident to Strzok that the snippet should not under any circumstances have been taken at face value.
While the report of Strzok’s meeting with Downer remains under lock and key, based on Durham’s statements, we know that, contrary to Thompson’s vague notes, Downer made it clear to Strzok that Trump’s team had not received any offers from Russia, at least not that anyone was aware of, and Papadopoulos did not claim or suggest that they had received any offers.
What is more, even if Strzok, for whatever reason, had taken Thompson’s loosely worded meeting report at face value, it clearly indicated that any information the Russians possessed might have been publicly available. In other words, based on the actual wording in the snippet that the FBI used to initiate Crossfire Hurricane, whatever Papadopoulos may have meant could have been public knowledge—such as Napolitano’s comments on Fox News. This puts to rest the FBI’s fraudulent narrative that the Papadopoulos-Downer meeting had something to do with Clinton’s emails, a claim that both men have always strenuously denied.
But it gets worse. While in London, Strzok confessed to Pientka and the FBI’s London representative that “there’s nothing to this, but we have to run it to ground.”
Then, shortly after the London trip, Pientka, who is referred to as “Supervisory Special Agent-1” in Durham’s report, had the following text exchange with the FBI’s London representative:
FBI’s Assistant Legal Attache in London: “Dude, are we telling them [British Intelligence Service-1] everything we know, or is there more to this?”
Pientka: “That’s all we have. Not holding anything back.”
FBI’s Legal Attache in London: “Damn that’s thin.”
Pientka: “I know. It sucks.”
British Intelligence officials also told the FBI’s Legal Attache in London that they “could not believe the Papadopoulos bar conversation was all there was” and suggested that the FBI should, as a first step, talk to Papadopoulos.
But Strzok had different plans. Immediately following his trip to London, during which Downer made it abundantly clear that Papadopoulos had said nothing of significant importance and that the entire matter was likely a misunderstanding, Strzok initiated full investigations into three additional members of the Trump campaign team: Carter Page, Paul Manafort, and Michael Flynn.
That Downer has now confirmed Durham’s version of events is highly significant because it proves that Strzok was fully aware that the snippet from Thompson’s report should not have been relied upon. Downer explicitly informed Strzok that the snippet was phrased loosely and that Papadopoulos had said nothing inappropriate. Downer, who witnessed the events firsthand, also disagreed with how the snippet was worded.
To summarize, FBI leadership selectively chose a vaguely worded paragraph from a meeting report to initiate an enterprise investigation into the Trump campaign regarding alleged collusion with Russia. A few days later, when Downer, the principal witness to the meeting, informed the FBI that the entire situation was essentially much ado about nothing, his statement was disregarded.
We all remember that when Strzok’s interview notes with Michael Flynn were finally released, they proved that Flynn had told the truth and that the entire case against him was fabricated. When Strzok’s interview notes with Downer are eventually released, we will discover the same: that Downer told the truth and that the initiation of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation was based on a big, fat lie.
A Personal Note: The person who prompted Alexander Downer to finally clear things up, Runyonesque, is currently facing significant medical challenges and is raising funds to cover treatment costs. If you’d like to support, please consider donating.
END
GREG HUNTER INTERVIEWING
SEE YOU ON MONDAY
harveyorganblog.com 
