FEB 3//TARIFFS INITIATED BY TRUMP CREATES CHAOS ACROSS ALL MARKETS: PANAMA AND MEXICO BEND THE KNEW, WAITING FOR CANADA TO ALSO SUCCUMB//GOLD CLOSED UP $18.40 TO $2818.20 WHILE SILVER ROSE BY ONE CENT//PLATINUM CLOSED DOWN $17.85 TO $064.15 WITH PALLADIUM DOWN $6.85 TO $1017.15//GOLD COMMENTARIES TODAY FROM ALASDAIR MACLEOD//BIS REPORTS THAT THE FED ONLY REDUCES ITS DEFICIT BY ONLY 3 TONNES//ISRAEL VS HAMAS UPDATES/ISRAEL AND THE WEST BANK UPDATES//SYRIA UPDATES//RUSSIA VS UKRAINE UPDATES//COVID UPDATES/VACCINE INJURY REPORT//DR PAUL ALEXANDER/SLAY NEWS ETC//TARIFFS UPDATES//USA ECONOMIC NEWS: EXPANSION ON PMI’S//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT/…
072 C GOLDMAN 576 072 H GOLDMAN 3334 092 C DEUTSCHE BANK 45 099 H DB AG 4 104 C MIZUHO 14 118 C MACQUARIE FUT 230 118 H MACQUARIE FUT 428 132 C SG AMERICAS 56 159 C MAREX CAPITAL M 11 167 C MAREX 200 190 H BMO CAPITAL 304 323 C HSBC 1011 323 H HSBC 187 332 H STANDARD CHARTE 637 363 C WELLS FARGO SEC 100 363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 189 435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 667 523 C INTERACTIVE BRO 1 555 H BNP PARIBAS SEC 2000 624 C BOFA SECURITIES 89 624 H BOFA SECURITIES 1114 657 C MORGAN STANLEY 1037 657 H MORGAN STANLEY 834 661 C JP MORGAN 2900 2843 686 C STONEX FINANCIA 49 36 690 C ABN AMRO 10 8 709 C BARCLAYS 793 709 H BARCLAYS 433 730 C PTG DIVISION SG 22 732 C RBC CAP MARKETS 1026 732 H RBC CAP MARKETS 666 737 C ADVANTAGE 5 6 880 C CITIGROUP 187 905 C ADM 4
TOTAL: 11,028 11,028
JPMorgan stopped (received) 2843/11,028 contracts
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR FEBRUARY/2024. CONTRACT: 11,028 NOTICES FOR 1,102,800 OZ 34.30 TONNES
total notices so far: 40,649 contracts for 4,064,900 Oz (126.435 tonnes)
FOR FEB.
SILVER NOTICES:489 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 2,445,000 OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 1795 for 8.975 million oz
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END
GLD/
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL
THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.
WITH GOLD UP $18.40 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.58 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD./
INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.77 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER ONE CENT AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.55 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV///
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 446.331 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A MEGA HUGE SIZED2952CONTRACTS TO 167,551 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR SMALL LOSS OF $0,19 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A MEGA HUMONGOUS LOSS OF 1977 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE//FRIDAY’S TRADING.. WE HAD HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS ON FRIDAY COMEX TRADING ALONG WITH MONTH END SPREADERS AS THEY DESPERATELY TRIED TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE FOR THE PAST 4 WEEKS WHERE RAIDS ARE CALLED UPON AGAIN AND AGAIN TRYING TO STOP THE RISE IN SILVER’S PRICE AND TO QUELL ADDITIONAL DERIVATIVE LOSSES TO OUR BANKERS’ MASSIVE TOTALS. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION FRIDAY COUPLED WITH ANOTHER NEW HUGE T.A.S. ISSUANCE OF 905 CONTRACTS ISSUED BY THE CME AND THAT SIGNALS RED THAT THE CROOKS ARE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING OVER THE 34.00 DOLLAR MARK. THE FRONT MONTH OF FEB STILL HAS A HUGE CONTANGO TO SPOT (ALONG WITH GOLD) AS THE CROOKS NEED TO CASH SETTLE TO GET OUT OF THEIR CONTRACTS. THEY ARE PAYING A HUGE PRICE AS THEY ARE SHORT (AND THUS SUPPLIER TO OUR PATIENT- WAITING LONGS).
WE HAD A HUGE 975 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR HUGE 905 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN FUTURE TRADING AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A HUMONGOUS SIZED 1977 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE. WE HAD HUGE TAS LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT FRIDAY’S COMEX SESSION COUPLED WITH FINALIZATION OF MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION.
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 INITIATE A RAID AS WHAT HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES LAST MONTH AND AGAIN WITH YESTERDAY’S TRADING ON SILVER.
CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT THAT THE CROOKS USE THE MID MONTH FOR MANIPULATION AS THEY SELL THEIR BUY SIDE OF THE CALENDAR SPREAD FIRST AND THEN KEEP THE SELL SIDE TO LIQUIDATE AT A LATER DATE. THUS WE HAVE TWO VEHICLES THE CROOKS USE FOR MANIPULATION AND BOTH ARE SPREADERS: 1) AT MONTH’S END/SPREADERS COMEX AND 2/ TAS SPREADERS, MID MONTH. TOTAL TAS ISSUED ON FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING: A HUGE 905 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 OUR RAID ON JANUARY 13, JAN 23 AND JAN 24…. 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 SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.19 BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS DESPITE A MEGA HUMONGOUS LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1920 CONTRACTS ALL OF THAT LOSS WAS DUE TO FINALIZATION OF MONTH END SPREADERS!!
WE HAD A 905 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 10.105 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 95 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 475,000 OZ
// STANDING FOR SILVER//FEB ADVANCES TO 10.580 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ MEGA HUGE SIZED COMEX OI LOSS +// A HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI) HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 905 CONTRACTS)/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: removed 77 CONTRACTS.
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS FEB. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF FEB
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 1 DAYS, total 975 contracts: OR 4.875 MILLION OZ (975 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 4.875 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: 132.54 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A HUMDINGER FOR ISSUANCE BUT ISSUANCE SLOWED DRAMATICALLY THESE PAST FIVE DAYS/// WILL NOT EXCEED MARCH 2022 RECORD OF 209 MILLION OZ
YEAR 2024 TOTAL: 1363.84 MILLION OR 1.363 BILLION OZ
JANUARY 2025: 67.230 MILLION OZ///(THIS MONTH’S ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL WILL BE SMALL)
FEB. 4.875 MILLION OZ//
RESULT: WE HAD A MEGA HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2952 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR SMALL LOSS IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX/FRIDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 975 ISSUED FOR MARCH 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 10.105 MILLION OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE,FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 475,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 10.580
//NEW TOTAL STANDING FOR FEB INITIAL AT 11.580 MILLION OZ
WE HAVE 1. A MEGA HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF 2952 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE// 2.THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A HUGE 905, CONTRACTS TRYING DESPERATELY TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE,//HUGE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE FRIDAY COMEX SESSION ALONG WITH MONTH END SPREADERS. HOWEVER THEY STILL NEED THESE ISSUANCES FOR REPLENISHMENT FOR FUTURE TRADING //3. ZERO NET LONG SPECULATORS WERE BURNED ON FRIDAY WITH THE LOSS IN PRICE. ALSO 4. SOME OF OUR LONGS EXERCISED THEIR CONTRACTS AND TENDERED FOR PHYSICAL SILVER MUCH TO THE ANGER OF OUR BANKERS. SILVER IS NOT BASEL III COMPLIANT SO THE BANKERS CAN TAKE THEIR TIME WITH THE DELIVERY OF SILVER.
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE FRIDAY NIGHT (905) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE
WE HAD 489 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 2.445 million OZ
THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL.
GOLD//OUTLINE
IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 26,065 OI CONTRACTS TO 550,086 AND FURTHER FROM THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,105 AND PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110. (ALL TIME LOW OF 390,000 CONTRACTS.)
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: REMOVED A STRONG SIZED 1441 CONTRACTS//
WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI (26,065 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED DESPITE OUR GAIN OF $4.80 IN PRICE FRIDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A HUMONGOUS INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR FEB AT 184.40 TONNES FOLLOWED BY A FAIR 26 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP//2600 OZ (,0808 TONNES)
/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 184.580 TONNES
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $4.80 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A MEGA HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF 19,171 OI CONTRACTS (61.315 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! THE RESULT: A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOR THE FRONT FEBRUARY CONTRACT MONTH.
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A STRONG SIZED 6352 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 548,642
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 19,171 CONTRACTS WITH 26,065 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 6362 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 19.713 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A STRONG SIZED AND CRIMINAL 1486 CONTRACTS ISSUED.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (6352 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 26,065 CONTRACTS/TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 19,713 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 FEB 184.40 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S FAIR 26 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 2600 OZ (.0808 TONNES)
//NEW STANDING FEB: 184.580 TONNES WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER GOLD STANDING FOR A FEBRUARY DELIVERY MONTH. AND FOR ANY COMEX MONTH.
/ 3) HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION PLUS MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION TRYING TO LOWER GOLD’S PRICE FRIDAY WITH ZERO SUCCESS IN REMOVING SOME NET SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WITH OUR1) $4.80 PRICE GAIN , WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE HAD A HUGE TOTAL LOSS OF 19,713 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES )ALL DUE TO FINALIZATION OF SPREADER LIQUIDATION) ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED FRIDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL AND THUS OUR RECORD NUMBER OF GOLD TONNES STANDING FOR FEBRUARY.
4) HUGE SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST DECREASE 5) STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 1486 T.A.S.CONTRACTS//
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2024 INCLUDING TODAY
FEB
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF FEB :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 6352 CONTRACTS OF 635,200 OZ OR 19.75 TONNES IN 1 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 6352 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 1 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 19.75 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2023, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 19.75 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 0.556% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_
OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)
NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP
DEC. 175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//
TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021
JAN:2022 247.25 TONNES //FINAL
FEB: 196.04 TONNES//FINAL
MARCH/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.
APRIL: 169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)
MAY: 247.44 TONNES FINAL//
JUNE: 238.13 TONNES FINAL
JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD
AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL
SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL
OCT: 177.57 TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
NOV. 223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)
DEC: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022
JAN 2023: 228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!
FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL
MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)
APRIL: 197.42 TONNES
MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS 2578 TONNES LAST YEAR
JAN ’24: 291.76 TONNES (WILL BE MUCH GREATER THAN LAST MONTH.//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)
FEB’24: 201.947 TONNES
MARCH 2024: 352.21 TONNES//2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE.
APRIL: 267.05TONNES (WILL BE AN EXTREMELY STRONG MONTH BUT LESS THAN MARCH 2024)
MAY; 316.606 TONNES (WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH// 3RD HIGHEST RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE )// NOTICE THE HUGE INCREASES IN EX FOR PHYSICAL THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. THESE CONTRACTS ARE CIRCLED BACK FROM LONDON WHEREBY METAL IS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX.
JUNE 175.11 tonnes HEADING FOR A WEAKER MONTH AND MUCH LESS THAN THE THREE PREVIOUS MONTHS
JULY: 351. 65 TONNES (3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL AND THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED POST BASEL III)
AUGUST: 274.79 TONNES//THIS MONTH WILL NO DOUBT BE A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EFP’S BUT MUCH LESS THAN LAST MONTH.
SEPT: 335 .104 TONNES//IF THIS CONTINUES WE WILL HAVE A HUMDINGER OF AN EFP ISSUANCE. WE WILL PROBABLY END JUST SHORT OF THE 3RD HIGHEST ISSUANCE EVER RECORDED.
OCT. 277.71 TONNES (THIS WILL BE A GOOD ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
NOV: 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 360.03 TONNES THIRD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR EFP ISSUANCE
TOTAL 2024 YEAR. 3,597.846 TONNES
JAN. 2025: 257.919 TONNES (ISSUANCE WILL BE PRETTY GOOD THIS MONTH BUT MUCH LOWER THAN LAST MONTH)
FEB: 19.75 TONNES
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF 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 MEGA HUGE SIZED 2952 CONTRACTS OI TO 167,608 AND CLOSER TO 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 975 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 975 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 975 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 2952 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 975 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A MEGA HUGE SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1977 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS A HUGE 9.885 MILLION OZ OCCURRED WITH OUR $0.19 LOSS IN PRICE
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS MONDAY MORNING SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED
//Hang Seng CLOSED
// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 1082.40 OR 2.68%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 1.83%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED XXXX CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3381// Oil UP TO 74.44dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 76.87 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A MEGA GIGANTIC SIZED26,065 CONTRACTS TO 48,642 DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $4.80 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. WE LOST ZERO NET LONGS WITH OUR PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD AS WE HAD ALSO, AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, A HUGE NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (6352) . THE CME ANNOUNCED FRIDAY NIGHT, MUCH TO MY RELIEF 0 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS FOR NIL OZ. OR 0 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS MONTH OF JANUARY WE HAVE BEEN ISSUED THE HIGHEST NUMBER EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE AT 6 FOR 43.208 TONNES AND SO FAR IN FEBRUARY: ZERO!
THUS IN TOTAL WE HAD A HUGE LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 19,713 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE. OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON FRIDAY NIGHT AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED RAID AS THEY TRIED TO ABSORB 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. LONDON ANNOUNCED THURSDAY NIGHT THAT THEY WERE OUT OF GOLD. WRONGLY IT WAS ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR SHIPPING PHYSICAL GOLD TO COMEX FOR STORAGE DUE TO TRUMP’S INITIATION OF TARIFFS. THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT THIS GOLD LEFT LONDON TO CENTRAL BANKS AND COMEX BANKS HAVE BEEN PAPERING THEIR LOSSES (DERIVATIVE) WITH KILOBAR ENTRIES.
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THIS MONTH CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY AND IT SURELY WAS ON DISPLAY THIS ENTIRE WEEK INCLUDING THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH OUR STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCES AND STRONG T.A.S. LIQUIDATION DURING THE PAST FEW DAYS OF COMEX SESSIONS. LAST NIGHT THEY ISSUED A STRONG 1486 CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENT (FRIDAY NIGHT/SATDAY MORNING). THE COMEX WAS ALSO JOINED WITH MONTH END SPREADERS WHICH AMPLIFIED THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS. MONTH END SPREADERS ENDS WITH FRIDAY’S COMEX SESSION AND THIS LIQUIDATION SHOWS UP QUITE NICELY IN THE MAMMOTH LOSS IN OI!!
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 WAS SCHEDULED TO HAPPEN LATE OCT 2024/(AS OUTLINED IN OUR GOLD PHYSICAL COMMENTARIES//VIEW ANDREW MAGUIRE LATEST LIVE FROM VAULT PODCAST FRIDAY’S 197 , 199, 2001, 202, 203 , 204 ,205 206, 207 AND 208 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!IT SURE LOOKS LIKE THE BIS HAS GIVEN THE FED ITS MARCHING ORDERS TO COVER ITS PHYSICAL GOLD SHORT AS TRUMP CAME INTO OFFICE LAST MONDAY NOON JAN 20. TRUMP WILL PROBABLY BE FURIOUS WITH THE FED IF IT FINDS OUT THAT THEY (FRBNY) HAS BEEN MANIPULATING THE GOLD MARKET FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS.
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 OUR TWO SPREADERS: 1) THE MONTH END SPREADERS AND 2. T.A.S DURING THIS WEEK IS SURELY DISTORTING COMEX OPEN INTEREST BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP LONDON’S ACCUMULATION OF PHYSICAL! YOU CAN ALSO VISUALIZE THAT PERFECTLY WITH THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF QUEUE JUMPING ORCHESTRATED BY CENTRAL BANKERS BOLTING AHEAD OF ORDINARY LONGS AS THEIR NEED FOR PHYSICAL IS GREAT AS THEY SCOUR THE PLANET LOOKING FOR GOLD. QUEUE JUMPING WILL RESUME NEXT WEEK.
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW DEEP INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEBRUARY… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A HUGE SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS A HUGE SIZED 6352 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /FEB 4160 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 6352 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 GENERALLY DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON BUT THEY ARE OUT!! THUS COMEX BECOMES THE MAJOR SOURCE FOR OUR CENTRAL BANKERS.
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A HUGE SIZED TOTAL OF 19,713 CONTRACTS IN THAT 8352 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 26,065 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS STRONG LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $4.80 FRIDAY// COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AS MENTIONED ABOVE. THE ENTIRE LOSS OF COMEX OI WAS DUE TO FINALIZATION OF MONTH END SPREADERS!
T.A.S. ISSUANCE
AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS USUALLY DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), BUT NOW ON A DAILY BASIS, THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING WAS A STRONG SIZED SIZED 1486 CONTRACTS, AS AGAIN, ALL OF THE TRADING AND SUPPLY OF CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN ORCHESTRATED BY GOVERNMENT (FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK). AS PER THEIR MEGA 5 DAY ISSUANCE OF T.A.S OVER A WEEK AGO, THE FED WAS EXPERIMENTING WITH EINSTEIN’S DEFINITION OF INSANITY….TRYING TO DO THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN HOPING FOR A DIFFERENT RESULT. HIS DEFINITION STILL STANDS.. THE CROOKS ACCOMPLISHED LITTLE AS FEW LEFT OUR GOLD METAL ARENA. OUR HUGE RAID WAS ORDERED BY THE FED WITH LAST MONDAY’S TRADING (JAN 27) AS THE GOLD PRICE GOT HAMMERED A BIT WITH COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY. AS YOU SAW WITH TUESDAY’S TRADING IT HAS NO EFFECT ON GOLD AS IT SHOT UP AGAIN IN PRICE AND IT CONTINUED TO RISE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. LONDON’S ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THEY WERE OUT OF PHYSICAL GOLD SURELY HELPED TO PROPEL GOLD’S METEORIC RISE IN PRICE THESE PAST FEW DAYS PROPELLING IT THROUGH THE 2800 DOLLAR BARRIER.
MECHANICS OF T.A.S CONTRACTS
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 DEC. 27, 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. THIS WAS COUPLED WITH THE LIQUIDATION OF CALENDAR//MONTH END SPREADERS . THE USE OF OUR TWO SPREADER MECHANISMS WERE OF EXTREME IMPORTANCE TO OUR CROOKS IN LATE DECEMBER’S OPTIONS EXPIRY TRADING AND AGAIN WITH JANUARY OPTION EXPIRY MONTH. HALF WAY THROUGH THE JANUARY COMEX MONTH, THE CROOKS ISSUED FIVE CONSECUTIVE 30,000+ CONTRACT ISSUANCE. ALL OF THESE T.A.S. ISSUANCES WERE USED IN AN ATTEMPT TO THWART GOLD TRADING ESPECIALLY BEFORE TRUMP’S INAUGURATION AS THE FED MUST REDUCE ITS MASSIVE PHYSICAL GOLD SHORT OF 82 TONNES. THEY FAILED MISERABLY AS GOLD SKYROCKETED IN PRICE THIS WEEK AND NOW TO ALL TIME RECORD HIGHS IN USA DOLLAR TERMS AND OTHER CURRENCIES.
STANDING FOR GOLD FOR THE PAST 4 PLUS YEARS:
// WE HAD A STRONG AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: FEB (184.516 TONNES) WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR ACTIVE FEB DELIVERY MONTH AND THE HIGHEST STANDING FOR GOLD EVER RECORDED FOR ANY MONTH.
YEAR 2025:
JAN 2025: 113.30 TONNES
FEB: 2025: 184.516 TONNES (INITIAL)
HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 50 MONTHS OF 2021-2024:
DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES
NOV. 8.074 TONNES
OCT. 57.707 TONNES
SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES
AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES
JULY 7.2814 TONNES
JUNE: 72.289 TONNES
MAY 5.77 TONNES
APRIL 95.331 TONNES
MARCH 30.205 TONNES
FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES
JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.
TOTAL YEAR 2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES
YEAR 2022:
JANUARY 2022 17.79 TONNES
FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES
MARCH: 36.678 TONNES
APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.
MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL
JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL
JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL
AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL
SEPT. 38.1158 TONNES
OCT: 77.390 TONNES/ FINAL
NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL
Dec. 64.000 tonnes
(TOTAL YEAR 656.076 TONNES)
2023:
JAN/2023: 20.559 tonnes
FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes
MAR: 19.0637 TONNES
APRIL: 75.676 tonnes
MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk = 20.338
JUNE: 64.354 TONNES
JULY: 10.2861 TONNES
AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)
SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL
OCT. 35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
2025
January 2025: 70.102 TONNES + 43.208 EXCHANGE FOR RISK= 113.310 TONNES
FEBRUARY: 184.516 TONNES OF GOLD
COMEX GOLD TRADING
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $4.80)//AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. BUT AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY PLUS FINALIZATION OF MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION (OVER 18,000 CONTRACTS) AS THEY WERE TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S RISE AND HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES. THE BANKERS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN SLOWING THEIR DERIVATIVE LOSSES IN PRECIOUS METAL BETS WITH OPTIONS EXPIRY LAST MONDAY NIGHT AT THE COMEX. OUR TWO SPREADER LIQUIDATIONS THIS WEEK IS DISTORTING OPEN INTEREST AS I EXPLAINED ABOVE AND IS HAVING NO EFFECT ON GOLD’S METEORIC RISE IN PRICE. FRIDAY WAS OPTIONS EXPIRY FOR LONDON’S OTIC/LBMA OPTIONS AS OUR BANKER CROOK’S DESPERATELY TRY TO CONTAIN GOLD’S PRICE FROM ATTAINING THE 2800 DOLLAR LEVEL AND THEY FAILED. THEIR DERIVATIVE LOSSES WILL CONTINUE TO MOUNT
THE CROOKS HOWEVER COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL FRIDAY EVENING/SATURDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR RECORD NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX.
EXCHANGE FOR RISK EXPLANATION/DECEMBER AND JANUARYTRADING
DECEMBER MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK!
51 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 OF DEC TO 6 FOR 14.6836 TONNES A NEW RECORD. THE COMEX IS TOTALLY SHATTERED TO PIECES.
EXCHANGE FOR RISK // JANUARY MONTH!!
WE NOW BEGIN OUR NEW MONTH OF JANUARY AND LO AND BEHOLD, THE CROOKS ISSUED THEIR FIRST ISSUANCE A MONSTER 1700 CONTRACTS FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTALLING 170,000 OZ OR 5.28775 TONNES ON MONDAY JAN 6/2025. THEN TO MY HORROR, THEY ISSUED THEIR SECOND EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON JAN 8, TOTALLING 150 CONTRACTS FOR 15000 OZ OR .4665 TONNES. THIS TONNAGE WILL BE ADDED TO THE FIRST ISSUANCE. THUS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR OUR TWO EARLY JANUARY EX FOR RISK: 5.7533 TONNES. THEN MERCILESSLY THEY CONSUMMATED FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS MONTH 85 EXCHANGE FOR RISK LAST THURSDAY NIGHT (JAN 17) FOR 8500 OZ OR .2649 TONNES OF GOLD. THEN TO MY HORROR THEY ISSUED THEIR 4TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK THIS MONTH (JAN 22) FOR A MONSTER 5000 CONTRACTS OR 5,000,000 OZ.(15.562 TONNES).NOT TO BE UNDONE, THE CROOKS ISSUED THEIR FIFTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK LAST NIGHT FOR 500 CONTRACTS REPRESENTING 50,,000 OZ OR 1.555 TONNES OF GOLD. REMEMBER THAT THE BUYER ASSUMES THE RISK THAT HE WILL BE DELIVERED UPON WHICH IS TOTALLY ASININE!! THUS FOR THE 5 EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED THIS MONTH TOTALS 23.134 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS BRINGS US TO , JAN 25 WHERE THE CME ANNOUNCED ITS SIXTH MAJOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE OF 6454 CONTRACTS FOR 645,400 OZ OR 20.074 TONNES OF GOLD. THIS IS THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED ISSUANCE IN NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK, AT 6, AND FOR NEW TOTALS FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY: 43.208 TONNES!!! AND A NEW RECORD FOR ISSUANCE.
SOME COMMENTATORS ARE SENSING THAT THE BANK OF ENGLAND JOINED THE BIS IN LEASING THEIR GOLD. THE BANK OF ENGLAND WANTS ITS GOLD BACK AND MAYBE THE OWNERS OF THE EXCHANGE FOR RISK ARE OUR ENGLISH CENTRAL BANK!
FINAL STANDING FOR JANUARY
FINAL STANDING FOR JAN: 70.102TONNES + 43.206 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 113.310 TONNES (WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR VERY NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH) A NORMAL AMOUNT STANDING FOR A JANUARY IN EARLIER TIMES HAS BEEN GENERALLY AROUND 1/4 TONNE OF GOLD. HOWEVER THESE PAST 4 YEARS QUEUE JUMPING HAS BEEN VERY PRONOUNCED AND THUS STANDING INCREASES DRAMATICALLY.
TOTAL INITIAL DELIVERIES FEB TRADING
WE HAVE LOST A VERY STRONG TOTAL OF 61.315 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR FEB (184.40TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY A FAIR SIZED 26 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 2600 OZ. NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 184.516 TONNES OF GOLD.
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $4.80
WE HAD 1441 CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL
NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 19,713 CONTRACTS OR 1,971,300 OZ (61.315 TONNES)
ONE WITHDRAWAL 1. Loomis: 4216.23 oz (55 kilobars)
.
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz
i) Into Asahi dealer: 32,415.750 oz
ii) Into Brinks dealer: 437,850.018 oz (13,619 kilobars) total dealer weight 470,315.76 oz 14.62 tonnes of which we have 13.619 tonnes of “kilobars”
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
i)Into Brinks customer acct 212,196.60 oz (6600 kilobars) ii)into Malca: 43,018.038 oz 1338 kilobars iii into Manfra: 29,642.039 oz (922 kilobars) iv) Into Manfra 68,219.639 oz v) into Brinks enhanced: 66,973.375 OZ (167 LONDON good delivery bars) vi) JPMorgan: 32,151,000 oz (1000 kilobars)_ vii) Into Loomis 85,521.660 oz (2660 kilobars)
total customer weight: 508,080.312 oz 15.803 tonnes
total weight dealer and customer;: 30.423 tonnes
No of oz served (contracts) today
11,028 notice(s) 1,102,800 OZ 34.30 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)
18,673 contracts 1,867,300 OZ 58.080 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
40,649 notices 4,064,900 oz 126.435 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: 2
i) Into Asahi dealer: 32,415.750 oz
ii) Into Brinks dealer: 437,850.018 oz (13,619 kilobars) total dealer weight 470,315.76 oz 14.62 tonnes of which we have 13.619 tonnes of “kilobars”
we have 7 customer deposits
withdrawals: 1
ONE WITHDRAWAL 1. Loomis: 4216.23 oz (55 kilobars)
adjustments:3/customer to dealer
i) out of Brinks 266,756.847 oz
ii) out of JPMorgan 20,544.489 oz
iii) Out of Manfra: 67,631.300 oz
total adjusted customer to dealer 354,932.645 oz (11.039 tonnes)
thus basically what comes into eligible is transferred to dealer accounts and then out.
Inventory Pledged gold: 2.063 million oz or 6.6% of total inventory.
Inventory Enhanced gold: 5.661 million oz or 18.27% of total inventory
total gold inventory 30.980 million oz/
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR FEB.
For the front month of FEB: we have an oi of 29,701 contracts having LOST 29,595 contracts. Thus
strangely on day 2 of the delivery cycle, instead of having an EFP transfer to London to take immediate delivery over there, we had another queue jump. The reason of course is that London is out of gold and cannot deliver on their T plus one mantra. We had a fair 26 contract queue jump for 2600 oz or 0.0898 tonnes.
MARCH HAD A LOSS OF 158 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 11,620
APRIL HAD A GAIN OF 2861 CONTRACTS UP TO 404,538 CONTRACTS
We had 11,028 contracts filed for today representing 1,102,800 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 2900 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 11,028 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 2843 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for FEB /2025. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (40,649x 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB.(29,201 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (11,028 x 100 oz per contract) equals 5,933200 OZ OR 184.516 TONNES.
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the FEB contract month: No of notices filed so far (40,649 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of FEB (28,701 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (11,028 x 100 oz) which equals 5,933,200 oz (184.516 TONNES)
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR FEB.: 184.516 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR AND THIS IS THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR ANY FEBRUARY AND THE HIGHEST FOR ANY MONTH FOR THAT MATTER IN COMEX HISTORY!!
total pledged gold: 2,043,232.811 oz 63.553 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD: 32,290,384.489 oz
TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 14,971,216.996 or 465.66 tonnes
TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 17,319,167.492 OZ
REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 12,927,984 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 402.114 tonnes //
JPMorgan enhanced inventory is now down to 676,159 oz or 32.77% of entire enhanced inventory
total enhanced inventory; down to 2.063 million oz
END
SILVER/COMEX
FEB 3
INITIAL
// THE FEB 2025 SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL
Silver
Ounces
Withdrawals from Dealers Inventory
NIL oz
Withdrawals from Customer Inventory
i) out of Loomis; 50,870.800
total weight: 50,870.800 oz
Deposits to the Dealer Inventory
i) Into Brinks dealer 1,161,361.980 oz
Deposits to the Customer Inventory
5
i) Into Brinks 129,112.600 oz
ii) Into Delaware 10,182.779 oz iii) Into JPMorgan 1,154,824.900 oz iv Into Loomis 160,582.170 oz v) Into CNT 669,913.500 oz
total deposit 2,124,615.909 oz
No of oz served today (contracts)
489 CONTRACT(S) (2,445,000 OZ)
No of oz to be served (notices)
321 contracts (1.606 MILLION oz)
Total monthly oz silver served (contracts)
1795 Contracts (8.975 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) 1dealer deposit/
i) Into Brinks dealer 1,161,361.980 oz
total dealer 1161,361.980 oz
i) We had 0 dealer withdrawal
total dealer withdrawals: 0 oz
deposits:5//customer acct
i) Into Brinks 129,112.600 oz
ii) Into Delaware 10,182.779 oz iii) Into JPMorgan 1,154,824.900 oz iv Into Loomis 160,582.170 oz v) Into CNT 669,913.500 oz
total deposit 2,124,615.909 oz
withdrawals 1
i) out of Loomis; 50,870.800
total weight: 50,870.800 oz
ADJUSTMENTs 2
all customer to dealer:
i) Out of Brinks 1,804,233.120 oz
‘ii) Out of CNT 1,459,018.732 oz
iii) Out of JPMorgan 5,723,064.100 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 146,054million oz/359..059million or 40.66%
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 86,413 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 359.059 million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR FEBRUARY
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF FEB /2024 OI: 810 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 1211 CONTRACTS.
WE HAD 1306 NOTICES FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED A STRONG 95 CONTRACTS OR A STRONG QUEUE JUMP OF 475,000 OZ.
MARCH SAW A LOSS OF 1740 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 120,706. THE FRONT ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MARCH ALSO IS NOT DECLINGING MUCH AND WE SHOULD ALSO HAVE A HUMDINGER OF A DELIVERY MONTH FOR MARCH.
APRIL SAW ITS FIRST INITIAL OPENING OF 34 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 34
MAY SAW A GAIN OF 47 CONTRACTS UP TO 29,873 CONTRACTS
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 489 for 2.445 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON FRIDAY 74,597 good//
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in FEB. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 1795x 5,000 oz = 8.975 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB (810) and the number of notices served upon today (489)x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the FEB 2025 contract month: 1795 Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of FEB(810)minus number of notices served upon today (489)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the FEB contract month equating to 10.580 MILLION OZ.
New total standing: 10.580 million oz.
There are 81,988 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/
FEB 3 WITH GOLD UP $18.40 ON THE DAY; SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.58 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.77 TONNES
JAN 31 WITH GOLD UP $4.80 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
JAN 30 WITH GOLD UP $40.95 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.30 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 865.34 TONNES
JAN 29 WITH GOLD DOWN $6.25 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 861.04 TONNES
JAN 28 WITH GOLD UP $23.05 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.16 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD //
JAN 27 WITH GOLD DOWN $36.05 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.17 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///
JAN 24 WITH GOLD UP $16.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 5.17 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
JAN 23 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.00 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.30 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 869.36 TONNES
JAN 22 WITH GOLD UP $15.15 ON THE DAY; MEGA HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 7.46 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.66 TONNES
JAN 20 WITH GOLD UP $35.30 ON THE DAY; MEGA HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 10.34 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 879.12 TONNES
/JAN 17 WITH GOLD DOWN $9.50 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.74 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 868.78 TONNES
JAN 16 WITH GOLD UP $24.10 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
JAN 15 WITH GOLD UP $24.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
JAN 14 WITH GOLD UP $9.40 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.29 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 874.53 TONNES
JAN 13 WITH GOLD DOWN $27.75 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A DEPOSIT OF 5.74 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 876.82 TONNES
JAN 10 WITH GOLD UP $17.80 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.08 TONNES
JAN 9 WITH GOLD UP $13.85 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.08 TONNES
JAN 8 WITH GOLD UP $5.35 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD::A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 871.08 TONNES
JAN 7 WITH GOLD DOWN $14.50 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
JAN 6 WITH GOLD DOWN $4.90 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
JAN 3 WITH GOLD DOWN $14.00 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
JAN 2 WITH GOLD UP $29.40 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
DEC 31 WITH GOLD UP $20.60 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
DEC 30 WITH GOLD DOWN $11.95 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.28 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD : ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 872.52 TONNES
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
GLD INVENTORY: 864.77 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
FEB 3 WITH SILVER UP ONE CENT //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.550 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 446.331 MILLION OZ
JAN 31 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.19 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.369 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.881 MILLION OZ
jAN 30 WITH SILVER UP $0.76 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 2.003 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 451.249 MILLION OZ
jAN 29 WITH SILVER UP $0.34 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.639 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 453.252 MILLION OZ
jAN 28 WITH SILVER UP $0.34 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.821 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. /
OZ
jAN 27 WITH SILVER DOWN $.61 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.64 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 457.395 MILLION OZ
JAN 24 WITH SILVER DOWN $.21 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.64 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 457.395 MILLION OZ
JAN 23 WITH SILVER DOWN $.41 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.738 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 459.035 MILLION OZ
JAN 22 WITH SILVER UP $.08 //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A DEPOSIT OF 0.721 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 464.043 MILLION OZ
JAN 20 WITH SILVER DOWN $.09 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.568 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.315 MILLION OZ
JAN 17 WITH SILVER DOWN $.49 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.568 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.315 MILLION OZ
JAN 16 WITH SILVER UP $0.23 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 464.863 MILLION OZ
JAN 15 WITH SILVER UP $0.79 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 4.745 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 464.863 MILLION OZ
JAN 14 WITH SILVER UP $0.15 //SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.228 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 460.218 MILLION OZ
JAN 13 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.69 //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.637 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 459.990 MILLION OZ
JAN 10 WITH SILVER UP $0.19 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.484 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 459,353 MILLION OZ
JAN 9 WITH SILVER UP $0.08 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.484 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 459,353 MILLION OZ
JAN 8 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.01 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.484 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.837 MILLION OZ
JAN 7 WITH SILVER UP 48 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.709 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.837 MILLION OZ
JAN 6 WITH SILVER UP 38 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.709 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.837 MILLION OZ
JAN 3 WITH SILVER UP 17 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.709 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 463.837 MILLION OZ
JAN 2 WITH SILVER UP 45 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.616 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 462.128 MILLION OZ
DEC 31 WITH SILVER DOWN 14 CENTS //NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 460.512 MILLION OZ
DEC 30 WITH SILVER DOWN 39 CENTS //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: // A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.13 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 460.512 MILLION OZ
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
CLOSING INVENTORY 446.331 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY
END
2/ Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
On Friday, President Trump announced tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada warning that the EU was in line for them as well. The statement offered no clarity concerning gold and silver imports.
Markets will open on Monday uncertain about what Trump meant in the tariffs with respect to precious metals which he announced to start immediately. The common assumption is that it is a ploy to get the leaders of these nations to the negotiating table. But we can only assume that gold and silver are not exempted until we are told otherwise.
To say the least, if this is The Donald’s idea of negotiating, it is not the path to good trade relations. While the USA’s immediate neighbours might be scared stiff and beg forgiveness for imagined sins, China and the EU are unlikely to take it lying down, seeking out US goods to apply tariffs in response. And don’t be surprised if China extends the ban of exports to America indefinitely of rare earths and other scarce elements under her control.
That’s how trade wars begin, destroying everyone’s economic potential.
This danger is bad enough, but there is a far greater crisis likely to be triggered. Because Trump’s tariffs will drive US consumer prices higher, the Fed will be forced to increase interest rates. But if the Fed decides not to, the dollar will lose purchasing power more rapidly than it would otherwise. Bond yields along the curve will almost certainly trend higher either way, tripping up overvalued equities into a potential crash and intensifying the US’s debt trap.
In short, Trump’s policies threaten to bring forward the collapse of the mightiest credit bubble ever seen with catastrophic consequences. This will be the background to the gold/dollar exchange rate in the coming weeks.
So, what do we know about the effect of the tariff question on gold and silver?
Last week, gold stand-for-deliveries on Comex hit 110.15 tonnes, with Friday amounting to 29,621 contracts (92.13 tonnes) alone — an all-time record by far. Silver’s total for the week was 283.35 tonnes. Since 5 November, when Trump was elected, the numbers are 191.34 tonnes of gold and 2,042 tonnes of silver. These are substantial numbers being drained from Comex traders’ liquidity in just three months. Furthermore, because the rate of drainage continued to increase after the all-time high for gold on 30 October, these withdrawals are demonstrably not price sensitive.
Something more fundamental is happening, and I don’t think it can be put down to the possibility of Trump’s tariffs extending to precious metals, because these stands-for-delivery were even accelerating in quantity and frequency before last November. But clearly, liquidity is being drained out of the bullion bank system that uses gold for collateral. The ramifications could be enormous, with systemic implications.
There is little doubt that Asian and related foreign demand for bullion is increasing, and that the word is out about dollar credit risk and how the Trump presidency is likely to crash the global economy. This knowledge is at the top level comprised of central banks governments and their wealth funds, and ultra-high net worth individuals predominantly in Asia. It is a knowledge that is spreading down to lesser mortals, such as very few but growing numbers of investment professionals in the Western capitalist system. It is becoming unstoppable.
Meanwhile, the lack of detail in Trump’s statement is likely to continue to exacerbate the situation. Everyone thinks that the threat of tariffs is behind the current market disruption, and until the position is clarified they will continue to assume so. A lack of clarification will drive further speculative purchases of futures contracts, dragging London’s spot price even higher.
Alternatively, if the Trump team makes it clear that precious metals will not face tariffs, prices will immediately drop. However, that should be temporary because those stand-for-deliveries will almost certainly continue, which will ensure that futures premiums over spot continue. And the increasing numbers of investors with the sense to get out of destabilising credit, which includes fiat currencies from the dollar downwards, will grab the opportunity to do so.
end
3. CHRIS POWELL AND GATA DISPATCHES
London is out of gold because central banks desire to add to their reserves
(Vince Lanci)
Vince Lanci: It’s not tariffs — it’s that everybody, even the U.S., wants its gold back
Submitted by admin on Fri, 2025-01-31 19:26 Section: Daily Dispatches
7:26p ET Friday, January 31, 2024
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
Fund manager and market analyst Vince Lanci of Echo Bay Partners in Stamford, Connecticut, today examines the turmoil in the London gold market and concludes that it arises from far more than the fear of tariffs.
He construes the turmoil as signifying that many people around the world have figured out the fractional-reserve basis of Western gold price suppression policy and want to repatriate their gold — including people in the United States.
In commentary posted at the Scottsdale Mint internet site, Lanci writes:
“London’s role as the world’s gold hub is fading. The London Bullion Market Association has operated on the assumption that gold can always be leased. That model is breaking down. Basel III, de-globalization, and central bank accumulation are reshaping the market. Nations are preparing to use their gold and silver in trade once again. …
“The rapid outflow of gold has raised alarms. Critics of the LBMA, long suspicious of double claims and commingled metal, are seeing their concerns validated.
“We’re not saying London doesn’t have the gold. But the freely available supply looks much smaller than assumed.”
Could GATA have been right all along? Don’t let the Financial Times know. It might hurt their feelings, especially since GATA has been giving its documentation to the FT for many years and has even managed to get meetings with an editor and a reporter for the paper, though without sparking any interest after gaining a little recognition from the paper in 2011:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. CPowell@GATA.org
end
Alasdair Macleod on gold and the upcoming tariffs
(Alasdair Macleod)
Alasdair Macleod: Turmoil with gold is a lot more than tariffs
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2025-02-01 09:27 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Alasdair Macleod GoldMoney, Toronto Saturday, February 1, 2025
A Comex exchange-for-physical crisis is in progress, repeating the disruption during covid. The media story blames Trump’s potential tariffs. But is this the real reason gold is hitting new highs?
Gold and silver rose further this week, driven by continuing premiums on Comex futures over London spot. In European trading this morning, spot gold was $2794, up a further $24 from last Friday’s close. And silver was $31.60, up $1.25. The gold/silver ratio fell from 91.7 on Monday morning to 88.4. While silver is still well below recent highs, it has outperformed gold since the New Year as our headline chart shows.
The premiums on Comex futures are dragging the spot price higher and have generated a massive arbitrage, whereby gold futures are being sold through the exchange-for-physical facility. Bullion to settle is being airfreighted to New York from London. Since 1 January, Comex warehouse gold stocks have risen over 282 tonnes, and in addition it is certain that there have been inflows into JPMorgan’s and HSBC’s private vaults in New York.
Naturally, these flows have drained LBMA vaults of their liquidity, even forcing withdrawals from the Bank of England’s Threadneedle Street vault, leading to a wait for delivery of up to eight weeks, according to a Financial Times article on Thursday. The last time a dislocation of this sort occurred was during the covid crisis, when gold rose from $1460 to $2073, then an all-time high, a rise of 42%.
So what’s driving this new exchange-for-physical crisis? Are stories that Trump might bring in tariffs on gold and silver really credible? …
All schemes offered by the Indian government to cause the dishoarding of gold from its citizens fail.
Indian government discontinues sovereign gold bond scheme due to high cost of borrowing
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2025-02-01 14:40 Section: Daily Dispatches
What a pity. Indians will have to keep accumulating actual metal instead of government paper.
* * *
By Meghna Mittal Moneycontrol, Mumbai, India Saturday, February 1, 2025
India’s government has decided to discontinue the sovereign gold bond scheme, citing the high cost of borrowing associated with the instrument.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed the decision today during the post-budget media briefing when asked about the future of the scheme.
“Yes, in a way,” she said, acknowledging the discontinuation of the scheme, which was launched in 2015 to curb physical gold imports.
“These are the decisions which are taken with the purpose of raising borrowings from the market, for the purpose of financing the budget, and at some point of time, whether this asset class is to be supported or not. The recent past experiences have been that this has been a rather fairly high-cost borrowing for the government. As a result the government has chosen not to follow that path,” Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth explained at the briefing. …
Wyoming Senate approves bill to hold $10 million in physical gold
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2025-02-01 17:05 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Jp Cortez Money Metals Exchange, Eagle, Idaho Friday, January 31, 2025
CHEYENNE, Wyoming — With an overwhelming majority, the Wyoming state Senate has voted favorably on legislation that would establish a stockpile of gold for the Cowboy State.
Sponsored by sound-money champion Sen. Bob Ide and backed by Money Metals Exchange and the Sound Money Defense League, Senate File 96 mandates the state treasurer to invest $10 million of state funds in securely stored physical gold and silver.
The bill was widely supported, passing out of the chamber with a 25-6 vote.
Sen. Ide said, “I’m proud to have sponsored this important measure and to receive this favorable vote by the state Senate. Wyoming doesn’t own a single ounce of gold, putting our state’s finances and citizens at risk.” …
Submitted by admin on Sun, 2025-02-02 10:58 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Enda Curran Bloomberg News Friday, January 31, 2025
The 2008 financial crisis and its aftermath vaulted central bankers from obscure technocrats to leading actors in the global economy.
Institutions that had been known for a behind-the-scenes role mostly tweaking interest rates took on the mantle of Marvel-style first responders.
Policymakers such as Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi became household names, popping up on primetime television slots or taking center stage at major conferences. Mark Carney, former head of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England has launched a bid to replace Justin Trudeau as head of the Liberal Party of Canada. The current Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has even taken to TikTok to explain policy.
That’s quite a journey for institutions that as recently as the turn of the century were reluctant to issue press releases. But the newfound fame hasn’t come without controversy.
In the U.S., President Donald Trump has consistently criticized the Fed. He has said he should be allowed to influence Fed policy, then walked that back, claiming he merely has a right to say what he thinks interest rates should be. In his Davos address, he said he would “demand that interest rates drop immediately,” adding that “they should be dropping all over the world.”
Trump’s critics in turn have compared his approach to that of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has repeatedly intervened in the nation’s central bank. But it’s not just the political right that hopes to exert influence over central bankers.
Around the world, criticism emanates from across the political spectrum. Critics on the left contend that monetary policy has propelled inequality by fueling massive gains in financial markets and house prices for the benefit of those who already own assets — and at the expense of those who don’t.
Now, political theorists are getting in on the game, including the academic Leah Downey, whose recent book, “Our Money: Monetary Policy As If Democracy Matters,” questions the merits of central bank independence. For Downey, the question is “how the creation of money and monetary policy can be more democratic.” …
totally amazing; The FRBNY could only reduce their deficit in gold by 3 tonnes. What we now know is that the Bank of England has been leasing gold like crazy in support of the Fed. It also explains that the Comex exchange for risk has the Bank of England the owner of this “gold” contracts as they hope to recover what has already been leased.
absolute crooks!!!
(Robert Lambourne)
BIS December report appears belatedly, shows slight decline in gold swaps
Submitted by admin on Mon, 2025-02-03 11:37 Section: Daily Dispatches
11:37a ET Monday, February 3, 2025
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
The December statement of account of the Bank for International Settlements, due for publication last Friday, January 31, was posted at about 8:40a U.S. Eastern time today, showing, according to GATA consultant Robert Lambourne, a slight decline in the bank’s gold swaps over the November level, from 81 tonnes to 78 tonnes:
GATA wrote to the bank’s press office Sunday afternoon to ask for an explanation about the missing report but has received no reply.
Amid the gold shortage turmoil in the London gold market, it seemed fair to suspect that the BIS monthly report was being withheld for interventional reasons, what with the Bank of England busily leasing gold to keep the price of the monetary metal from rising, and with the London Bullion Market Association and the New York Commodities Exchange admittedly coordinating their responses to the shortage as if gold price management is part of their business too.
Will any of those financial analysts and gold industry leaders who long have denied that the gold price is being suppressed as a matter of government policy please step up and let the world know if they still think that the gold market is free and fair and that governments and central banks couldn’t care less about the once and perhaps future world reserve currency? We’d love to hear from them.
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. CPowell@GATA.org
* * *
GATA is grateful to these companies for their recent support:
Apollo Silver Corp. Barksdale Resources Dolly Varden Silver Corp. Dryden Gold Corp. Group Eleven Resources Guanajuato Silver IBK Capital Corp. Independent Trading Group Mining Discovery Power Nickel Silver North Strike Point Gold The National Investor The Prospector Western Alaska Minerals
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert’s “Rigged”
“Rigged” is a concise explanation of government’s currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA’s work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon:
* * *
end
4. ANDREW MAGUIRE A MUST MUST VIEW…YOUTUBE/KINESIS LIVE FROM THE VAULT 208
to me
—–
5 B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES: COMMODITY//
end
6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS
END
ASIA TRADING MONDAY MORNING SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED
//Hang Seng CLOSED
// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 1082.40 OR 2.68%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 1.83%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED XXXX CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3381// Oil UP TO 74.44dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP AT 76.87 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS /MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED
OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.3381
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED
2. Nikkei closed DOWN 1052.80 OR 2.66%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL RED
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 109.02 EURO FALLS TO 1.0276 DOWN 83 BASIS PT HEADING TO PARITY WITH USA
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.2450 Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 154.38…… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE RE EMERGING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AFTER DISASTROUS POLICY ISSUED BY UEDA
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold UP /JAPANESE Yen UP CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: XXX 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 DOWN TO +2.3820 Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.509 //SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.051
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.264
3j Gold at $2808.50 /Silver at: 31.30 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 1 AND 30/100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 99.87
3m oil into the 74 dollar handle for WTI and 76 handle for Brent/
3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China// huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/
JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 154.38 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.245% 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 0.9140 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9391 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: 4.5030 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.742. DOWN 7 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.249 UP 2 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 35.99…
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.503 DOWN 6 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.97 DOWN 14 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.619 DOWN 15 PTS.
2a New York OPENING REPORT
2B) EUROPEAN REPORT
USD surges and stocks dip after post-Trump actions; RTY underperforms – Newsquawk US Market Open
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 06:08 AM
Trump signed a tariff order that confirms 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional tariffs on top of existing levies for China.
Canada has announced retaliatory action, Mexico is expected to announce its measures later today, China is to challenge tariffs at the WTO.
European bourses sink as markets react to Trump tariffs and threatens the EU; RTY underperforms.
USD surges and Bonds gain post-Trump tariff actions, JPY bolstered by safe-haven appeal, EUR/USD sits on a 1.02 handle.
Crude firmer, precious metals subdued, but base metals slip on tariffs and Chinese PMI miss.
Looking ahead, US ISM Manufacturing, Fed SLOOS, OPEC+ JMMC Meeting Speakers including Fed’s Bostic & Musalem, Treasury Financing Estimates, Earnings from Tyson Foods & Palantir.
White House said US President Trump signed the tariff order effective February 4th which confirms 25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian imports to the US with the exception of a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products, while imports from China are subject to an additional 10% tariff on top of existing levies with no exclusions offered. The order stated the new tariffs don’t apply to goods loaded onto vessels or in transit before February 1st and stated the President can remove new Canadian tariffs if enough steps are taken to reduce the health crisis but also included a retaliation clause that calls for further action which would likely be increased tariffs.
US President Trump said tariffs will definitely happen with the EU, while he added the UK is out of line and the EU is really out of line but also noted that he is getting along well with UK PM Starmer, while he stated there are tremendous deficits with Canada, Mexico, China and the EU. Furthermore, Trump said he will be speaking with Canadian PM Trudeau on Monday morning and will also be speaking with Mexico on Monday.
Canadian PM Trudeau said the new US tariffs violate the USMCA trade agreement and Canada will impose 25% tariffs on CAD 155bln of US goods with CAD 30bln in tariffs to take effect on February 4th and the rest starting in 21 days. Furthermore, Trudeau said they are considering several non-tariff measures including those relating to minerals and energy procurement, while he added that Canada and Mexico are working together to face the US tariffs.
Canadian senior government official said the Canadian tariffs will not apply to goods in transit and that the actions of the US are a violation of the obligations of the free trade agreement, while the official added that Canada’s countermeasures will have an impact on the Canadian economy and the government has a plan to try to offset them.
Canadian Ambassador said she is hopeful that the Trump tariffs don’t come into effect on Tuesday and that US consumers should know retaliatory tariffs are not actions Canada wants to do.
Mexican President Sheinbaum ordered the start of a retaliatory tariff plan against the US and stated that tariffs will not fix problems but dialogue will, while it was separately reported that Mexico’s Economy Minister said ‘Plan B’ is underway in response to US tariffs. President Sheinbaum later commented that 25% tariffs will have a great impact on both the US and Mexico’s economies, while she added that they categorically reject the US statement that Mexico has ties to drug cartels and stated the US has done nothing to stop the illegal sale of drugs in its own country.
China’s Commerce Ministry said China will take necessary countermeasures to new US tariffs and that Fentanyl is America’s problem. Furthermore, it said China will challenge the new US tariffs under WTO and that there are no winners in a trade war, while it urged the US to engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation.
Goldman Sachs believes US tariffs on Mexico and Canada are to be short-lived.
JPMorgan said model estimates suggest that impact of a sustained 25% US tariff will be large enough to throw Mexican and Canadian economies into recession.
China is to renew a pledge not to devalue the yuan to help its exporters and it is to offer to reinstate the ‘Phase One’ deal as part of its opening bid for trade negotiations, while it plans to include an offer to make more investments in the US and is to treat TikTok largely as a commercial matter in negotiations, according to WSJ.
EU said it rejects US President Trump’s decision to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs and it would respond firmly if the US imposed tariffs on Europe, according to FT.
Yale’s non-partisan policy research centre Budget Lab preliminary estimates project US PCE prices to increase by 0.76% and household purchasing power to be reduced by an average of USD 1250, while US real GDP is projected to contract by 0.2% in the medium run, as an impact from US President Trump’s tariffs.
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
European bourses (Stoxx 600 -1.5%) opened lower across the board following a dire APAC session as risk is hit by US President Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, whilst also keeping the EU in its sight. Broad-based losses are seen across the majors. Sentiment has attempted to improve in today’s session but still reside firmly in the red.
European sectors are entirely in the red, with a clear defensive bias; Autos are by far the clear underperformer today, with Tech and Basic Resources following behind – all of which are digesting the Trump tariffs.
US equity futures are entirely in the red, with some underperformance in the economy-linked RTY (-2.1%) as traders weigh up the inflationary/economic impact on the US.
USD is firmer vs. all peers after US President Trump announced 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional tariffs on top of existing levies for China. The risk-aversion and potential ramifications for Fed policy are acting as the driving force for price action this morning. US ISM Manufacturing is due later.
EUR/USD has been hit after comments from US President Trump that tariffs will definitely happen with the EU. EU said it rejects US President Trump’s decision to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs and it would respond firmly if the US imposed tariffs on Europe, according to FT. ECB’s Villeroy noted that Trump’s tariffs will increase economic uncertainty and there will likely be further rate cuts”. Headline EZ HICP Y/Y printed just above expectations but had little impact on the Single-currency; currently around 1.0234.
JPY is marginally firmer vs. the USD on account of its safe-haven appeal. Macro drivers for Japan are lacking and therefore, global risk dynamics are likely to remain a key driver in the near-term. USD/JPY is back above its 50DMA at 154.87 with a current session peak at 155.88.
GBP is notably weaker vs. the USD but firmer vs. the EUR. US President Trump stated that the UK is also out of line but then suggested he is getting on well with PM Starmer. GBP is seeing shallower losses than some peers on account of its relatively smaller trade deficit.
Antipodeans are both markedly hit by the global growth impulse from Trump’s trade war as well as suffering from their direct exposure to the Chinese economy. Other macro drivers include mixed Australian data, disappointing Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI and wide expectations for cuts from both the RBA and RBNZ this month.
The Canadian Dollar and Mexican Peso have both been hit hard by US President Trump’s decision to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products). Canadian PM Trudeau said the US tariffs violate the USMCA trade deal. Canada considering non-tariff measures, including minerals & energy procurement.
USTs are a little firmer today, with the main focus on US President Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Seemingly the impact of inflation/economic headwinds has been outweighed by a flock to quality. The US curve is currently in bear-flattening mode with the 2s10spread narrowing by 6.9bps. The 10yr yield had been as low as 4.496% but has since stabilised around the 4.55% mark. Ahead, US ISM Manufacturing metrics.
Bunds gapped notably higher at the open with traders wary of the negative growth impulse from the ratcheting up of trade tensions over the weekend. For the EU specifically, US President Trump that tariffs will definitely happen with the EU. ECB’s Villeroy noted that Trump’s tariffs will increase economic uncertainty and there will likely be further rate cut. Headline EZ HICP Y/Y printed just above expectations, but had little impact on Bunds; Mar’25 Bund has been as high as 133.26, stopping shy of the YTD peak at 133.48.
Gilts are on a firmer footing, in-fitting with Bunds. US President Trump stated that the UK is also out of line but then suggested he is getting on well with PM Starmer. Mar’25 Gilt has hit a fresh YTD peak at 92.94. UK 10yr yield is just about holding above the 4.5% mark.
Choppy trade for crude prices thus far; the complex initially gapped higher when contracts opened, as traders digested a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products. Prices remain firmly in the green but have slipped off best levels, in-fitting with the risk-tone; action which continued into European morning. As it stands, WTI outperforms Brent by circa. USD 0.65/bbl – ING highlights that Canada is a key supplier of crude oil to the US and that many US refineries are configured to run on Canada’s “heavier crude”. WTI currently sits around USD 73.80/bbl within a USD 73.48-75.18/bbl range. OPEC+ JMMC Meeting is due at 13:00 GMT / 08:00 EST, but is unlikely to provide a meaningful recommendation.
Spot gold is a little lower in today’s session, and with price action fairly choppy; heading into the European morning, the yellow metal was considerably lower, but since pared in the European session, before falling back incrementally into the red. XAU/USD currently off by around USD 2.20/oz, trading in a USD 2772.20-2809.59/oz range.
Base metals are entirely in the red, in reaction to the Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China; latest tariff offensive and potential retaliation pose a risk to the global economy, while the red metal’s largest buyer also remained absent from the market for the Spring Festival. 3M LME copper resides in a USD 8,922.20-8,992.13/t range this morning – off worst levels seen in APAC hours.
OPEC+ JMMC meeting to be held at 13:00 GMT / 08:00 EST, according to Kepler’s Bakr.
Several OPEC+ sources suggested the group will not adjust its output plans for now since the crude market remains fragile and amid waning demand in China, according to Bloomberg sources.
Gas processing plant in Russia’s Astrakhan region suspended operation before drone attack, according to a Governor.
Russian oil product exports from Black sea port of Tuapse planned at 0.799mln T in Feb, vs 0.789mln T scheduled for Jan, according to Traders cited by Reuters.
Iraq’s parliament approved the compensation plan to resolve the Kurdistan oil dispute and seeks to expedite northern exports. It was separately reported that Iraq’s northern Khor Gas field was targeted by a drone attack although no damage was reported and production remained unaffected.
Alberta’s Premier called for an immediate effort to build oil and gas pipelines to Canada’s coast and stated that Trump’s tariffs will harm people and strain US-Canada ties.
Goldman Sachs said a potential tariff-driven decline in US natural gas imports from Canada is too small to significantly raise natural gas prices, while medium-run risks to oil prices are skewed downside because persistent broad tariffs would weigh and it expects limited near-term additional effects on global, Canadian, and Mexican crude prices.
Vitol said it expects global oil demand to peak at almost 110mln BPD at the end of the decade and then retreat to around the current levels of about 105mln BPD in 2040, according to FT.
JPMorgan said US tariffs keep them near-term bearish on base metals and reinforce their bullish gold view, while it added that LME base metals prices are likely to face stiff near-term bearish pressure on growth concerns, macro risk-off, and USD strength.
US President Trump’s advisers reportedly concede that US frackers won’t pump much more oil, according to WSJ sources. Trump’s best level to bring down oil prices would might be to persuade OPEC to add more barrels, but Saudi has told former US officials that it is unwilling to augment global oil supplies. Advisers told some oil-and-gas donors they understand the president can’t rely on US frackers to boost production in the short term. On Iranian sanctions, Trump’s team has estimated Iran’s exports could be reduced by 500-750k BPD from sanctions under consideration, sources added. Iranian sanctions discussed include targeting Chinese ports that import Iran’s oil, Iraqi oil deals with Iran and other places used to facilitate the transfer of Iranian oil.
Italian HCOB Manufacturing PMI (Jan) 46.3 (Prev. 46.2)
Swiss Manufacturing PMI (Jan) 47.5 (Prev. 48.4)
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
EU leaders to meet on Monday talk defence; no specific discussion on US tariffs expected but issue likely to be raised, according to an official cited by CNBC. “There’s a consensus in the European Union that one way to mitigate trade tensions with the US will be by increasing energy purchases.” Source added “there’s a realization that a trade confrontation with the EU is approaching.”
ECB’s Kazimir said last week’s 25bps rate cut moved the bank closer to its destination but is not there yet. Forecasts, services inflation and wage developments will help navigate what will happen in April and beyond.
ECB’s Knot expects US tariffs to lead to higher interest rates and a weaker euro, while he said the best response to US tariffs would be to do nothing although he expects retaliation.
ECB’s Villeroy said US President Trump’s tariffs will increase economic uncertainty, “it is a very worrying development”, “There will likely be further rate cuts”. Tariffs are brutal and will hit the autos sector. Everyone loses in this kind of protectionist trade war. Should not rule out any riposte from EU if Trump does impose tariffs on the bloc.
German Chancellor Scholz said EU can react with its own tariffs [against the US] but cooperation is more important.
UK Govt. Spokesperson said the UK and US have a fair and balanced trading relationship which benefits both sides of the Atlantic.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
Elon Musk’s team got access to the US Treasury Department’s payments system, according to NYT. It was separately reported that Elon Musk said they are in the process of shutting down the United States Agency for International Development and that it is beyond repair.
US Transport Secretary Duffy said the US pilot messaging system experienced a temporary outage on Sunday.
Wall Street is concerned about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s approach to government borrowing, WSJ reports. Investors credit a 2023 strategy of relying on short-term Treasurys with stabilising markets, but Bessent has criticised this method amid fears of increased borrowing under Trump’s administration, WSJ reports.
Russia’s Kremlin, on US President Trump, said talks and meetings are scheduled with Russia, apparently contacts are planned, “we have a planning process”.
Saudi Arabia could be seen as a possible venue for a Trump-Putin meeting, according to Russian sources cited by Reuters.
The US House Budget Committee is unlikely to mark up a budget resolution this week, according to GOP leadership sources and lawmakers, cited by Punchbowl.
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
“Hamas leader told Al-Sharq: According to the ceasefire agreement, negotiations on the second phase are supposed to begin today “, according to Asharq News.
“Iranian Foreign Ministry: We have not seen any sign of negotiation by the US government”, according to Sky News Arabia.
Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke on Saturday with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and then travelled to the US on Sunday for a meeting with US President Trump, while Witkoff will speak with Qatar’s PM and Egyptian representatives.
Israel’s military said its aircraft fired to repel a suspicious vehicle moving towards northern Gaza without passing through the inspection route, in violation of ceasefire terms, while it was separately reported that four Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli strike on a car on Gaza’s coastline.
ICRC announced 3 hostages were transferred out of Gaza to Israel and 175 Palestinian detainees were transferred from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank.
Qatar’s PM called on Israel and Hamas to immediately begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and said that Qatar is prepared to host released Palestinian prisoners if they choose to come but added there is no clear plan for when negotiations towards the second phase will begin.
US President Trump and Egyptian President Sisi discussed complicated issues and crises in the Middle East during a phone call, as well as discussed the need to strengthen economic and investment relations.
Hamas political bureau’s deputy head is to visit Moscow on Monday for talks scheduled at the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to RIA.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said a Russian aerial bomb destroyed a boarding school in Russia’s Kursk region even though dozens of civilians were there, while Ukraine’s military later stated that four died and dozens were injured in the Russian strike on the boarding school.
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s aide said calls by US President Trump’s aide for a truce followed by an election is a failed plan if that is all it consists of.
Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday morning that 40 drones were launched by Russia during an overnight strike, while Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russia shot down a HIMARS projectile and 44 Ukrainian drones over the prior 24 hours and that Russia hit military airfields and fuel storage facilities in Ukraine, according to TASS. It was also reported that Russia launched 165 missiles and drones at Ukraine during an attack on Saturday.
Russian aviation watchdog said it suspended flights at several airports to ensure safety and Russian officials said several Russian regions are under the threat of drone attacks. Furthermore, it was later reported that a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region although the fire has since been contained.
OTHER
North Korea said US Secretary of State Rubio’s comments do not help US interests and it warned that North Korea will respond strongly to hostile US provocations, while it noted that the US new missile defence system plan makes it necessary for North Korea to progress its nuclear deterrence, according to KCNA.
US President Trump ordered precision military air strikes on the senior ISIS planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.
US President Trump said Venezuela has agreed to receive all illegal migrants captured in the US, while it was later reported that the Trump administration moved to terminate protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US, according to NYT.
US President Trump said South Africa is treating certain classes of people very badly and he will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.
US Secretary of State Rubio called Chinese presence at the Panama Canal unacceptable and told Panamanian leaders that the US would protect its rights under the Panama Canal Treaty if Panama didn’t move to oust Chinese-connected companies near the canal, according to Bloomberg. Furthermore, Panama’s President Mulino said the meeting with Rubio was highly respectful and cordial, while Mulino added sovereignty over the Panama Canal is not up for discussion and that he will not renew the Panama-China agreement over the silk route.
Taiwan’s President said they welcome healthy exchanges with China and that there should be dialogue between Taiwan and China, with the aim of peace.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin (-3.7%) has sank amid the risk-off sentiment, sparked by Trump’s tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada; Ethereum (-16.5%) posts significantly deeper losses, and fell below USD 2.5k.
APAC TRADE
APAC stocks sold off as all focus was on US President Trump’s latest tariff action over the weekend in which he signed a tariff order which confirms 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional tariffs on top of existing levies for China.
ASX 200 declined with all sectors suffering firm losses while mixed data did little to spur demand.
Nikkei 225 slumped firmly beneath the 39,000 level with Japanese automakers notably spooked by tariff jitters.
Hang Seng conformed to the negative mood on return from the Chinese New Year holiday with demand constrained after disappointing Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI and amid the continued absence of mainland participants.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
BoJ January Meeting Summary of Opinions stated one member said Japan public’s inflation expectations are heightening as inflation exceeds 2% for four straight years and a member said raising rates at this timing would be sufficiently neutral when compared with average market expectations. It was also stated that Japan’s economy is resilient enough to absorb potential downside stress from the new US administration’s policies and that BoJ’s policy flexibility has increased as the Fed is likely to pause on rate hikes. Furthermore, a member said real interest rates remain deeply negative even after a rate hike and need to keep raising rates if the economy and prices are on track
DATA RECAP
Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI Final (Jan) 50.1 vs. Exp. 50.5 (Prev. 50.5)
Australian Building Approvals (Dec) 0.7% vs. Exp. 1.0% (Prev. -3.6%, Rev. -3.4%)
Australian Retail Sales MM Final (Dec) -0.1% vs. Exp. -0.7% (Prev. 0.8%)
Australian Retail Trade (Q4) 1.0% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.5%)
2C ASIAN REPORT
DXY firmer & Equities slip as Trump confirms 25% tariffs on neighbours – Newsquawk Europe Market Open
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 01:52 AM
Trump signed a tariff order that confirms 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional tariffs on top of existing levies for China.
Canada has announced retaliatory action, Mexico is expected to announce its measures later today, China is to challenge tariffs at the WTO.
APAC stocks sold off, US equity futures are lower (ES -1.9%, NQ -2.4%), European futures point to a notably lower cash open (Euro Stoxx 50 future -2.3%)
DXY is sharply higher and went as high as 109.88, EUR/USD is on a 1.02 handle, Cable is sub 1.23, JPY is more resilient than peers but ultimately weaker vs. USD.
Crude futures surged at the open, US 10 yr yield has pulled back but has stabilised above the 4.5% mark.
Looking ahead, highlights include EZ HICP, US ISM Manufacturing, Fed SLOOS, OPEC+ JMMC Meeting Speakers including Fed’s Bostic & Musalem, Treasury Financing Estimates.
SNAPSHOT
TRADE WAR
White House said US President Trump signed the tariff order effective February 4th which confirms 25% tariffs on all Mexican and Canadian imports to the US with the exception of a 10% tariff on Canadian energy products, while imports from China are subject to an additional 10% tariff on top of existing levies with no exclusions offered. The order stated the new tariffs don’t apply to goods loaded onto vessels or in transit before February 1st and stated the President can remove new Canadian tariffs if enough steps are taken to reduce the health crisis but also included a retaliation clause that calls for further action which would likely be increased tariffs.
US President Trump said tariffs will definitely happen with the EU, while he added the UK is out of line and the EU is really out of line but also noted that he is getting along well with UK PM Starmer, while he stated there are tremendous deficits with Canada, Mexico, China and the EU. Furthermore, Trump said he will be speaking with Canadian PM Trudeau on Monday morning and will also be speaking with Mexico on Monday.
Canadian PM Trudeau said the new US tariffs violate the USMCA trade agreement and Canada will impose 25% tariffs on CAD 155bln of US goods with CAD 30bln in tariffs to take effect on February 4th and the rest starting in 21 days. Furthermore, Trudeau said they are considering several non-tariff measures including those relating to minerals and energy procurement, while he added that Canada and Mexico are working together to face the US tariffs.
Canadian senior government official said the Canadian tariffs will not apply to goods in transit and that the actions of the US are a violation of the obligations of the free trade agreement, while the official added that Canada’s countermeasures will have an impact on the Canadian economy and the government has a plan to try to offset them.
Canadian Ambassador said she is hopeful that the Trump tariffs don’t come into effect on Tuesday and that US consumers should know retaliatory tariffs are not actions Canada wants to do.
Mexican President Sheinbaum ordered the start of a retaliatory tariff plan against the US and stated that tariffs will not fix problems but dialogue will, while it was separately reported that Mexico’s Economy Minister said ‘Plan B’ is underway in response to US tariffs. President Sheinbaum later commented that 25% tariffs will have a great impact on both the US and Mexico’s economies, while she added that they categorically reject the US statement that Mexico has ties to drug cartels and stated the US has done nothing to stop the illegal sale of drugs in its own country.
China’s Commerce Ministry said China will take necessary countermeasures to new US tariffs and that Fentanyl is America’s problem. Furthermore, it said China will challenge the new US tariffs under WTO and that there are no winners in a trade war, while it urged the US to engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation.
Goldman Sachs believes US tariffs on Mexico and Canada are to be short-lived.
China is to renew a pledge not to devalue the yuan to help its exporters and it is to offer to reinstate the ‘Phase One’ deal as part of its opening bid for trade negotiations, while it plans to include an offer to make more investments in the US and is to treat TikTok largely as a commercial matter in negotiations, according to WSJ.
EU said it rejects US President Trump’s decision to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs and it would respond firmly if the US imposed tariffs on Europe, according to FT.
Yale’s non-partisan policy research centre Budget Lab preliminary estimates project US PCE prices to increase by 0.76% and household purchasing power to be reduced by an average of USD 1250, while US real GDP is projected to contract by 0.2% in the medium run, as an impact from US President Trump’s tariffs.
US TRADE
EQUITIES
US stocks and bonds ended Friday’s session lower with a focus on tariffs as sentiment was initially boosted by reports that Trump was set to postpone the tariffs by 1 month to March 1st. However, the White House then announced this was false and that Canada and Mexico would be hit with 25% tariffs from Saturday, February 1st, while China would face 10% tariffs. This set the tone for the remainder of the session with CAD and MXN selling off while T-Notes were pressured into settlement, and bear steepening.
SPX -0.51% at 6,040, NDX -0.14% at 21,478, DJIA -0.75% at 44,544, RUT -0.97% at 2,285.
Elon Musk’s team got access to the US Treasury Department’s payments system, according to NYT. It was separately reported that Elon Musk said they are in the process of shutting down the United States Agency for International Development and that it is beyond repair.
US Transport Secretary Duffy said the US pilot messaging system experienced a temporary outage on Sunday.
Wall Street is concerned about Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s approach to government borrowing, WSJ reports. Investors credit a 2023 strategy of relying on short-term Treasurys with stabilising markets, but Bessent has criticised this method amid fears of increased borrowing under Trump’s administration, WSJ reports.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks sold off as all focus was on US President Trump’s latest tariff action over the weekend in which he signed a tariff order which confirms 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada (with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional tariffs on top of existing levies for China.
ASX 200 declined with all sectors suffering firm losses while mixed data did little to spur demand.
Nikkei 225 slumped firmly beneath the 39,000 level with Japanese automakers notably spooked by tariff jitters.
Hang Seng conformed to the negative mood on return from the Chinese New Year holiday with demand constrained after disappointing Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI and amid the continued absence of mainland participants.
US equity futures (ES -1.9%, NQ -2.4%) slumped as President Trump’s tariff order resulted in a blood bath for stocks.
European equity futures indicate a negative cash open with Euro Stoxx 50 future down 2.3% after the cash market closed higher by 0.1% on Friday.
FX
DXY strengthened after President Trump’s tariff order against Canada, Mexico and China which heavily weighed on CAD and MXN, while CNH was also pressured but to a lesser extent. Trump’s tariff order prompted Canadian PM Trudeau to announce 25% retaliatory tariffs on USD 155bln of US goods and Mexican President Sheinbaum also ordered the start of a retaliatory tariff plan against the US, while Trump announced that he will be speaking with Canadian PM Trudeau on Monday morning and will also be speaking with Mexico.
EUR/USD gapped beneath the 1.0300 level amid the surge in the greenback and with President Trump’s sight also set on Europe regarding tariffs as he noted that tariffs will definitely happen with the European Union and that the EU is really out of line.
GBP/USD retreated to sub-1.2300 territory as currencies gave way to the dollar strength, while Trump provided some mixed comments on the UK as he stated that the UK is also out of line but then suggested he is getting on well with PM Starmer.
USD/JPY gained amid the firmer buck although the upside is capped with Japan’s currency helped by haven demand.
Antipodeans suffered with AUD/USD at its lowest since early 2020 amid the broad risk-off mood, mixed Australian data, disappointing Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI and wide expectations for cuts from both the RBA and RBNZ this month.
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures were initially choppy but ultimately gained as the headwinds from the inflationary aspects of the latest tariff actions were counterbalanced by a flight to quality.
Bund futures rallied at the open and climbed above the 133.00 level as risk assets were spooked by Trump’s tariff order.
10yr JGB futures retreated early in the sessions as Japan’s 10yr yield rose to its highest since 2011 although JGBs gradually rebounded on haven demand.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures surged at the open following Trump’s tariff order to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico with the exception of 10% on Canadian energy products, although prices are well off today’s best levels amid the broad risk-off conditions and with demand also not helped by disappointing Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI data.
Iraq’s parliament approved the compensation plan to resolve the Kurdistan oil dispute and seeks to expedite northern exports. It was separately reported that Iraq’s northern Khor Gas field was targeted by a drone attack although no damage was reported and production remained unaffected.
Alberta’s Premier called for an immediate effort to build oil and gas pipelines to Canada’s coast and stated that Trump’s tariffs will harm people and strain US-Canada ties.
Goldman Sachs said a potential tariff-driven decline in US natural gas imports from Canada is too small to significantly raise natural gas prices, while medium-run risks to oil prices are skewed downside because persistent broad tariffs would weigh and it expects limited near-term additional effects on global, Canadian, and Mexican crude prices.
Vitol said it expects global oil demand to peak at almost 110mln BPD at the end of the decade and then retreat to around the current levels of about 105mln BPD in 2040, according to FT.
Spot gold was pressured and retreated beneath the USD 2,800/oz level as the dollar strengthened against its peers.
Copper futures retreated as Trump’s latest tariff offensive and potential retaliation pose a risk to the global economy, while the red metal’s largest buyer also remained absent from the market for the Spring Festival.
JPMorgan said US tariffs keep them near-term bearish on base metals and reinforce their bullish gold view, while it added that LME base metals prices are likely to face stiff near-term bearish pressure on growth concerns, macro risk-off, and USD strength.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin extended on the declines over the weekend with prices near to the USD 93,000 level and Ethereum suffered a double-digit percentage slump as risk assets took a hit.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
BoJ January Meeting Summary of Opinions stated one member said Japan public’s inflation expectations are heightening as inflation exceeds 2% for four straight years and a member said raising rates at this timing would be sufficiently neutral when compared with average market expectations. It was also stated that Japan’s economy is resilient enough to absorb potential downside stress from the new US administration’s policies and that BoJ’s policy flexibility has increased as the Fed is likely to pause on rate hikes. Furthermore, a member said real interest rates remain deeply negative even after a rate hike and need to keep raising rates if the economy and prices are on track
DATA RECAP
Chinese Caixin Manufacturing PMI Final (Jan) 50.1 vs. Exp. 50.5 (Prev. 50.5)
Australian Building Approvals (Dec) 0.7% vs. Exp. 1.0% (Prev. -3.6%, Rev. -3.4%)
Australian Retail Sales MM Final (Dec) -0.1% vs. Exp. -0.7% (Prev. 0.8%)
Australian Retail Trade (Q4) 1.0% vs. Exp. 0.8% (Prev. 0.5%)
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
Israeli PM Netanyahu spoke on Saturday with US special envoy Steve Witkoff and then travelled to the US on Sunday for a meeting with US President Trump, while Witkoff will speak with Qatar’s PM and Egyptian representatives.
Israel’s military said its aircraft fired to repel a suspicious vehicle moving towards northern Gaza without passing through the inspection route, in violation of ceasefire terms, while it was separately reported that four Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli strike on a car on Gaza’s coastline.
ICRC announced 3 hostages were transferred out of Gaza to Israel and 175 Palestinian detainees were transferred from Israeli detention centres to Gaza and the West Bank.
Qatar’s PM called on Israel and Hamas to immediately begin negotiations on the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire and said that Qatar is prepared to host released Palestinian prisoners if they choose to come but added there is no clear plan for when negotiations towards the second phase will begin.
US President Trump and Egyptian President Sisi discussed complicated issues and crises in the Middle East during a phone call, as well as discussed the need to strengthen economic and investment relations.
Hamas political bureau’s deputy head is to visit Moscow on Monday for talks scheduled at the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to RIA.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said a Russian aerial bomb destroyed a boarding school in Russia’s Kursk region even though dozens of civilians were there, while Ukraine’s military later stated that four died and dozens were injured in the Russian strike on the boarding school.
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s aide said calls by US President Trump’s aide for a truce followed by an election is a failed plan if that is all it consists of.
Ukrainian Air Force said on Sunday morning that 40 drones were launched by Russia during an overnight strike, while Russia’s Defence Ministry said Russia shot down a HIMARS projectile and 44 Ukrainian drones over the prior 24 hours and that Russia hit military airfields and fuel storage facilities in Ukraine, according to TASS. It was also reported that Russia launched 165 missiles and drones at Ukraine during an attack on Saturday.
Russian aviation watchdog said it suspended flights at several airports to ensure safety and Russian officials said several Russian regions are under the threat of drone attacks. Furthermore, it was later reported that a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at an oil refinery in Russia’s Volgograd region although the fire has since been contained.
OTHER
North Korea said US Secretary of State Rubio’s comments do not help US interests and it warned that North Korea will respond strongly to hostile US provocations, while it noted that the US new missile defence system plan makes it necessary for North Korea to progress its nuclear deterrence, according to KCNA.
US President Trump ordered precision military air strikes on the senior ISIS planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia.
US President Trump said Venezuela has agreed to receive all illegal migrants captured in the US, while it was later reported that the Trump administration moved to terminate protected status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in the US, according to NYT.
US President Trump said South Africa is treating certain classes of people very badly and he will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed.
US Secretary of State Rubio called Chinese presence at the Panama Canal unacceptable and told Panamanian leaders that the US would protect its rights under the Panama Canal Treaty if Panama didn’t move to oust Chinese-connected companies near the canal, according to Bloomberg. Furthermore, Panama’s President Mulino said the meeting with Rubio was highly respectful and cordial, while Mulino added sovereignty over the Panama Canal is not up for discussion and that he will not renew the Panama-China agreement over the silk route.
Taiwan’s President said they welcome healthy exchanges with China and that there should be dialogue between Taiwan and China, with the aim of peace.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
ECB’s Knot expects US tariffs to lead to higher interest rates and a weaker euro, while he said the best response to US tariffs would be to do nothing although he expects retaliation.
S&P affirmed Germany on Friday at AAA; Outlook Stable.
3B NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
end
3C JAPAN
end
3D. CHINA/
China Reportedly Preparing Trade Talks With Trump After Weekend Tariff Shock
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 07:20 AM
Just two weeks into his second term, President Trump announced the first round of tariffs on Saturday, marking the resumption of his trade war. The new measures impose a 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico and Canada—though energy imports from Canada will face a reduced rate of 10%—and a 10% tariff on imports from China. The weekend announcement surprised many world leaders and Wall Street but apparently captured Beijing’s attention.
The Wall Street Journal reports that China is preparing for trade talks with the Trump administration, aiming to restore a trade agreement with the US and reaffirm its pledge not to devalue the yuan for a competitive advantage in global trade. Based on unnamed sources, the report has not yet been officially confirmed.
Here’s more from the report:
As part of its effort to prepare for negotiations, according to the people, China’s initial proposal will center on restoring a trade agreement Beijing signed in early 2020 with the first Trump administration but didn’t implement.
The so-called Phase One deal required China to increase purchases of American goods and services by $200 billion over a two-year period. While Trump himself has described Phase One as the “greatest deal” ever made, many trade experts and business executives called it unrealistic to begin with.
Having failed to deliver on its pledge under the deal to increase US purchases, Beijing now is preparing to talk to the Trump administration about areas where China can buy more from the US, the people said.
Other parts of China’s plan, the people said, include an offer to make more investments in the US—in sectors such as batteries for electric cars, a renewed pledge by Beijing not to devalue the yuan to gain competitive advantage, and a commitment to reduce exports of fentanyl precursors.
Beijing views the 10% tariff as Trump’s way of bringing all parties to the negotiating table. Trump has threatened to impose maximum-pressure tariffs on China, potentially as high as 60%.
The initial reaction from Beijing has been muted, with the Commerce Ministry expressing strong “dissatisfaction” and vowing “corresponding countermeasures.”
Wang, UBS chief China economist, told clients earlier that Beijing would be willing to negotiate because of the negative impact the trade war could have on its economy. The 10% tariff, she said, would reduce the country’s GDP by .3 to .4 percentage points.
Goldman’s Dan Dooling (EMEA Head of FX HF Sales) provided clients with a great summary of the trade situation unfolding from Saturday:
Weekend Trump tariff announcements a surprise vs Friday’s close
US effective tariff rate rises +7% from from Mexico & Canada proposals with a further 1% from China proposals
2.5% GDP hit in Canada, 3.5% in Mexico under full 25% tariff
The 25% Canada and Mexico tariffs imply a 0.7% increase in US core PCE prices and 0.4% hit to GDP (US econ team had 0.3% core pce boost in their baseline)
Canada, Mexico, and China account for about half of all US goods imports.
Goldman’s Jack McFerran said weekend tariff shock would raise the US effective tariff rate meaningfully: “We had modeled a 7% overall increase from 25% tariffs on Canada/Mexico (though lower tariff on Canadian oil will lower this a bit). China would add another 1%.”
More context here:
Prediction markets early had a 30% probability of a major tariff increase in the first half of this year. The market-implied probability now – via Polymarket data – has jumped to 65%.
All in all, Trump’s weekend tariff shock announcement is to get major trading partners to the table to solve not just unfair trade – but also – stop fentanyl precursor chemicals from China, flowing into Mexico and Canada, then flowing into the US and killing 100,000 Americans per year.
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
ECB
5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/HAMAS/
Ex-hostages undergo medical exams, IDF warns against celebrations in West Bank for ex-prisoners
Yarden Bibas, Ofer Kalderon, and Keith Siegel return home after 484 days in Hamas captivity • IDF opens fire on armed group in Syrian Golan
Ofer Kalderon, Keith Siegel, and Yarden Bibas.(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT, MAAYAN TOAF/GPO
Freed hostages Yarden Bibas, Ofer Calderon, Keith Siegel reunite with relatives in Israel
Three men released at brief handovers, with many Hamas gunmen but no chaotic crowds * Gazans celebrate arrival of released prisoners * Israel seeks info on Bibas family from mediators
Hamas gunmen flank Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas on a stage before handing him over to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis on February 1, 2025, as part of a hostage-ceasefire deal. (Eyad BABA / AFP)
The Bibas family issues an emotional statement after the return of hostage Yarden Bibas from Hamas captivity without his wife Shiri and two sons Ariel And Kfir.
“Yarden is home. A quarter of our heart has returned to us after 15 long months. There are no words to describe the relief of holding Yarden in our hands, embracing him, and hearing his voice. Yarden has returned home, but the home remains incomplete,” the statement says.
“Yarden is a father who left his safe room to protect his family, bravely survived captivity, and returned to an unbearable reality,” it says.
At this time, we ask: Protect Yarden, Protect his soul. Please respect his privacy and give him the space he needs so that his body and soul can begin to recover,” the statement says.
Hamas has claimed that Shiri and the boys were killed in Gaza, but Israel has had no definite proof and has demanded information from Hamas through the mediators.
Yifat Zailer shows photos of her cousin, Shiri Bibas, center, her husband Yarden, left, and their sons Ariel, top right, and Kfir, who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, at her home in Herzliya, January 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
The Bibas’s also thank the people of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF.
“We will take a few days to reunite with Yarden, but we continue with hope and the call for the return of Shiri, the children and all the hostages. Please continue to make their voices heard and emphasize the urgency of their return.”
END
Emaciated American-Israeli & Other Hostages Released In Gaza As Truce Progresses
Saturday, Feb 01, 2025 – 01:25 PM
Three hostages abducted during the October 7, 2023 have been freed by Hamas on Saturday after 484 days in captivity as the ceasefire deal continues to hold and advance.
They were let go in a ceremony in Gaza’s Khan Younis, which has become a familiar scene – set up almost like a ‘graduation’ but with anti-Israeli banners set up behind the stage. They were released to the International Red Cross and then went back to Israel at the Gaza City port. Among the freed was 65-year old American-Israeli dual national Keith Siegel, as well as Ofer Calderon, 54, and Yarden Bibas, 35.
Various reports and eyewitnesses commented on Siegel’s significant weight loss during the lengthy captivity. But all hostages appeared generally in good health, and the handover took place without the chaos of the Thursday freeing of three Israelis and five Thai nationals.
Siegel is the first hostage with American citizenship to have been freed during this current ceasefire. He’s been living in Israel for four decades, and is originally from North Carolina. There were half a dozen dual US-Israeli nationals taken on Oct.7, as CBS reviews:
It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.
Siegel’s wife Aviva was also taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, but was released in an earlier hostage and prisoner swap in November 2023.
Speaking to CBS News about a year after her release, Aviva Siegel said there were moments as Hamas militants forced her and her husband through tunnels under the Gaza Strip that they felt “sure we were going to die.”
Strangely, Hamas has been issuing “gift bags” to each freed hostage, apparently containing photographs of the duration of their detention in Gaza.
Dual US-Israeli national Siegel was handed over at Gaza City’s port, paraded on a stage overlooking the sea as he carried two of the “gift bags” forced on the hostages by the terror group. According to the Walla news site, the second bag was for his wife Aviva, freed by Hamas in November 2023.
🇺🇸🇮🇱American citizen Keith Siegel appears frail after being starved during 15 months of captivity.
This latest, third round of exchanges included 183 Palestinians set free who were held in Israeli prisons. They returned to Gaza Strip and the West bank to scenes of jubilation.
Israel has been trying to prohibit and crackdown on these large Palestinian celebrations. Al Jazeera has meanwhile written that “As Palestinians are released from Israeli prisons as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal, many show signs of severe beatings inflicted before their release, a prisoner rights group says.”
END
ISRAEL/HAMAS/GAZA
Disillusioned Gazans return south after finding northern homes in ruins
Civilians furious at Hamas and Israel after finding the north of the Gaza Strip in ruins: “Where’s our home? Where’s our future?”
By OHAD MERLINFEBRUARY 1, 2025 22:22Updated: FEBRUARY 1, 2025 22:53
Displaced Palestinians make their way back to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on January 27, 2025.(photo credit: Ali Hassan/Flash90)
Following Hamas’s organized celebrations and encouragement to Gazans to go back to the northern Gaza Strip, many of those who made it there were forced to return southward after discovering their former houses in ruins.
Various viral videos, tweets, and posts have been circulating on social media, many brought by Israeli channels such as Khalifa Shrugged, Abu Ali Express, and Daniel Wachtel, which showed Gazan citizens who were eager to go north to where their homes were returning southward, disillusioned after seeing the immense destruction left by the war.
A Gazan citizen interviewed on the Qatari Al-Araby channel after coming back from Beit Hanun told the interviewer: “I couldn’t find anything… The house was located more toward the Jews, but I was scared to look more closely due to there being unexploded bombs or rockets. There’s no life, no nothing. Even if I bring my tent there – there’s no life there.
“I’m going back to Al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis, in the desert. It’s easier to find level ground there, you can sit there, there’s water… People are shouting and crying in their houses. This is indescribable… I’m not going back. I lost 20 years of my life. My house, my home, my farm… nothing left. There’s a pit instead of my house.”
After the Hamas-organized 'victory' celebrations & urging Gazans to go back north – some of those who made it there appear less enthusiastic about the said 'triumph'.
Here's a Gazan citizen cursing at Hamas leaders Hiyyah, Mardawi and Hamdan, shouting: 'where's our home, you… pic.twitter.com/MrJMfgTZ2m
Another Gazan woman who presented herself as a worker in the education sector was filmed saying: “May Allah have vengeance on the occupation. This war was uncalled for. They did not prepare us for it. Our homes are gone and our children are gone. Where are we going back? To the rubble? We didn’t benefit in anything… I hope someone takes us out of here. Two entire generations were destroyed… We were humiliated. I had a new villa worth $250,000; it was destroyed.
“I call on our President Mahmoud Abbas to save us, and I thank Turkiye for standing with us. I wish they would see this video and embrace us and take me and my girls. This is the suffering of after the war – if this war is even over.”
Likewise, during a live broadcast from Falasteen TV channel, an anchor noticed large groups of Gazans going back south after visiting the north, inquiring as to the reason for their return. The citizens answered: “It’s a complete destruction. Buildings have collapsed and the streets are filled with debris.”
“We want a solution,” said another one. “Everything is just mounds of sand. We want someone to find us a solution for this. We want to live and sleep and find refuge… no water and no food.”
The anchor kept pressing, asking if they were sure they made the right decision by going back south, when a donkey-drawn carriage carrying a family passed by, with one of them shouting: “Miss, there is no life. Only death in Gaza. We’re going back to the [Rafah] crossing. Open the crossings and let us pass!”
One video published on Al-Arabiya showed an old Gazan man standing on top of rubble in the northern Gaza Strip and cursing at leaders of Hamas and the IRGC: “Where is our house, Qassem Soleimani? Where is our house, [Khalil] al-Hayya, [Mahmoud] Mardawi, and Osama Hamdan? A curse be upon you, you spies, you mercenaries!”
Another blogger filmed a video in the southern part of the Gaza Strip showing debris and rubble, adding: “Did you see the change and reform of the ‘Godly’ movement? … This is what the ‘Godly movement’ did to us. They changed and reformed all of the contours of the country. May Allah curse your honor, Hamas!”
Others wrote similar messages on their social media accounts. One named Ahmed wrote: “I went back to Gaza and I’ve been sleeping for three nights in the streets. Thanks for the victory!” Another X/Twitter user from Gaza wrote: “The north is literally the Russians. I want someone to convince me what we gained from October 7th!”
Some tied the devastation in the Gaza Strip to the widespread reports of President Donald Trump’s immigration plan for Gazans.
One blogger, apparently a Gazan residing in Egypt, wrote: “The northern Gaza Strip alone needs 150,000 tents, so what about all of Gaza? Nothing arrived in northern Gaza – no fuel, no tents, no bulldozers, no excavators to clear the roads and open them to people. If you want to prevent immigration, then add these things in. If you are truly against immigration, you must not make life difficult for the residents of Gaza. Have you seen how simple it is? Do we need demonstrations in front of the Rafah crossing?”
Finally, one Gazan exploited the live broadcasting on Qatari Al Jazeera, where criticism of Hamas is usually not heard. When asked about his situation following what the interviewer claimed was “the end of the war,” the Gazan man answered: “Our situation is like ****.”
One of two Palestinian gunmen killed in an IDF drone strike in the West Bank city of Qabatiya this evening is identified by Palestinian media as Abd Issam Alawneh.
Alawneh had been previously detained by Israel, and was released in the November 2023 hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.
He is the fourth Palestinian released in the November 2023 deal to have been killed by Israel.
A separate drone strike in Jenin this evening killed three more Palestinians, according to media reports.
المقــاوم عبد عصام عــلاونة، أحد الأسرى الذين حررتهم المـــقاومة خلال اتفاق تبادل التهدئة بالحرب عام 2023، واستشـــهد قبل قليل بقصف طيران الاحتلال مركبة في بلدة قباطية جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/Ks6ROJjfXs
IDF opens fire on armed group in Syrian Golan, pro-Assad group claims responsibility
Early reports from media associated with the Axis of Resistance indicated that the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria claimed responsibility for the attack.
A huge 35 square meters Israeli national flag is raised on the eve of Yom Kippur to remember the fallen soldiers of the 1973 Kippur War in the Golan Heights, Tel Saki Memorial Site, Golan Heights, October 11, 2024.(photo credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90)
The IDF announced on Friday that it had opened fire on an armed group in the Syrian Golan.
No casualties were reported, and IDF troops are continuing to operate in the area.
Syrian media reported that the armed groups had fired on IDF troops operating near the village of Turnejeh.
The IDF said it was deployed to the area to eliminate threats and protect Israeli citizens.
Early reports from media associated with the Axis of Resistance indicated that the Islamic Resistance Front in Syria (IRFS) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Symbol of the ”Eagle of the Whirlwind,” the armed wing of the of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, 2019. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S OFFICE)
The IRFS was founded following the collapse of the Assad regime in early December by the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), according to findings by the Alma Research Center.
The SSNP announced the formation in response to “the silence of Syria’s new government and its inaction against Israel.”
Who is the SSNP?
The Alma Research Center notes that this is the first Islamic organization founded by the historically secular SSNP, which has engaged in military actions against Israel since the occupation of south Lebanon in the 1980s.
The center speculates that this may be an attempt by Iran to reestablish its legitimacy in the face of the total strategic collapse following Israeli military actions.
The SSNP was a strong supporter of the Assad regime and Hezbollah; it aligned with the latter during the Lebanese Civil War and the former during the later years of Hafez al-Assad, after it became solidified under Bashar.
The SSNP fought on the Assadist side of the Syrian Civil War but later had their importance diminished.
This is a developing story.
END
SYRIA
(THE CRADLE)
Syria’s De Facto Authorities Execute ‘Sweeping’ Neoliberal Reforms
The self-appointed transitional government in Syria is undertaking sweeping internal reforms, including privatizing state-run enterprises and laying off a third of the public sector, as authorities say they are shifting to “a competitive free-market economy.”
In an interview with Reuters, ex-officials of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who are serving as cabinet ministers for transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa – former ISIS and Al-Qaeda commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani – say they have a “wide scope” of plans to shrink the state, including removing thousands of “ghost employees.”
“The goal is to balance private sector growth with support for the most vulnerable,” interim Minister of Finance Basil Abdel Hanan told the British outlet.
Hanan previously served as economy minister in Idlib’s HTS-led administration. During this time, the group financed its operations by imposing high taxes on citizens, including taxes on humanitarian aid delivered by the UN. Reports from Arabic media in 2022 disclosed that HTS authorities funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into Turkiye by confiscating humanitarian aid shipments and subsequently selling them on the black market.
The Syrian officials also told Reuters that they want Syrian factories to “serve as a launchpad” for global exports.
Nonetheless, discontent is growing throughout Syria due to the layoffs, despite the assurances from western-backed officials. “My salary helps me manage basic needs, like bread and yogurt, to sustain the household. If this decision goes through, it will increase unemployment across society,” stated Adham Abu al-Alaya, one of the many public sector workers currently on a three-month paid leave while their job status is evaluated.
The reforms also come as the country is gripped by a wave of sectarian killings and executions carried out by armed groups under the command of the transitional government’s Military Operations Department.
“[The killings are] normal and may continue for two or three years,” Sharaa said behind closed doors, according to Syrian sources who spoke with The Cradle.
On Wednesday, the Military Operations Department dissolved Syria’s constitution, the People’s Assembly, the national army, security services, and all armed factions—including HTS—and named Sharaa president during a “transitional phase.”
CIA doc: “US interests would be best served by a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented moderates.”
CIA plan to overthrow Syria by provoking sectarian tensions (1986)
Sharaa and his acolytes are expected to hand over power to a new government in March, but it is unclear how the transition will happen. Moreover, in an interview with Al Arabiya last month, Sharaa said that holding elections could take up to four years, and rewriting the country’s constitution could take three.
Despite the uncertainty, western nations are moving ahead at full steam to lift economic sanctions that have devastated Syria’s economy for over a decade. “We are closely monitoring the situation, and we stand ready to support the international community’s efforts to assist serious reconstruction as needed and when conditions allow,” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last month, just days after the Turkish-backed coup ousted president Bashar al-Assad.
END
HAMAS/ISRAEL//
Hamas uses hostage exchanges to highlight its control over Gaza – analysis
The group mostly consists of armed gunmen, but it has lost a lot of its arsenal, which is why it must showcase its strength in numbers.
Hamas terrorists stand guard on the day of the release of Keith Siegel, a US-Israeli dual national hostage held in Gaza since the deadly October 7, 2023 attack, as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, February 1, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)
Hamas carried out another hostage release on February 1, in which they released Keith Siegel, Ofer Kalderon, and Yarden Bibas. This comes two days after it released Arbel Yehoud, Agam Berger, and Gadi Moses, along with five Thai nationals, Thenna Pongsak, Sathian Suwannakhan, Sriaoun Watchara, Seathao Bannawat, and Rumnao Surasak.
The hostage releases have now become normalized. When they began on January 19, it was not clear how Hamas would organize the handovers.
The first handover of Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, and Doron Steinbacher was done in an open lot behind some destroyed buildings. There was a crowd of hundreds who pushed around the Red Cross vehicles. Hamas appeared to try to showcase that it was in control, but the first hostage release was not well organized by Hamas.
The next hostage release was much more choreographed. For Hamas, the release of the IDF women Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag was a major production.
They set up a stage and made it seem like a major official ceremony. They handed out bags with certificates and had the Red Cross come up on stage with the women soldiers.
Four Israeli female soldiers, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, are released by Hamas terrorists as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, January 25, 2025.
Agam Berger was the fifth of this group of IDF women taken hostage on October 7 who had been held in Gaza. She was released several days later in a separate ceremony Hamas conducted in Jabaliya in northern Gaza.
Showcasing various aspects of Gaza
Hamas has shifted bit by bit during the hostage releases to try to showcase various aspects of Gaza. It has held events in different areas, such as Jabaliya and Khan Yunis, to showcase its increasing control as it returns to areas in Gaza. This is important for Hamas because when the ceasefire began, Hamas mostly controlled central Gaza, but it has much less control of northern Gaza and southern Gaza.
What is clear is that Hamas is using the period of the first phase of the ceasefire, around forty days, to rebuild itself.
It is distributing weapons and uniforms to its members. Some of these are commanders, but many of them are likely new recruits who were recruited during the war to replace losses.
Hamas is also showcasing its work with other groups in Gaza, such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The overall goal for Hamas is to present itself as in control and able to project power again. This is important not just to show Israel but also to show Gazans. Hamas wants Gazans to know that it has the manpower and weaponry to re-assert itself in Gaza.
Hamas is aware that Israel may want to return to fighting in Gaza after the first phase of hostage releases. It also knows that the Trump administration has floated the idea of Gazans leaving Gaza during a period of reconstruction. Hamas doesn’t want this to happen and is using the hostage exchanges to showcase that it can handle things in Gaza.
Of some particular interest, Hamas is not seeking to showcase all the destruction and challenges it will face ruling Gaza. It wants to present a unified front and a sense of victory without mentioning the road ahead. Hamas is also slowly admitting some of its losses over the last fifteen months of fighting. However, the group is seeking to cover the faces of those involved in the hostage releases.
It is choreographing every aspect to try to showcase some of the rifles it captured on October 7. However, it doesn’t have a lot to showcase.
The group mostly consists of armed gunmen, but it has lost a lot of its arsenal. That is why it has to showcase its overall strength in numbers during these hostage exchanges, to make up for the fact it doesn’t have the arsenal it had on October 6, 2023.
end
ISRAEL/HAMAS
Netanyahu To Discuss “Victory Over Hamas” With Trump In US Trip
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb. 2 that he plans to discuss several topics with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, including “victory over Hamas,” expanding diplomatic relations with Arab countries, and countering Iran.
When Netanyahu visits Trump at the White House on Feb. 4, it will be the president’s first meeting with a foreign leader since assuming office for the second time. Meanwhile, U.S. and Arab mediators are working toward the next phase of a fragile cease-fire deal to end fighting in the Gaza Strip and return dozens of captive hostages.
Hamas has refused to release additional hostages in the deal’s second stage without an end to the war and Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, where the Islamic terrorist group resumed control.
However, Netanyahu has been under pressure from governing partners to continue the war with Hamas after the cease-fire’s first phase ends in March. The prime minister has said that Israel remains committed to defeating Hamas and retrieving the remaining hostages captured in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack that sparked the war.
However, it is uncertain where Trump stands on the issue. While he has remained a steady supporter of Israel, he has also vowed to end wars in the Middle East while taking credit for the cease-fire deal, which put an end to the fighting and brokered the release of 18 hostages who Hamas had imprisoned for more than 15 months, as well as hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Before his Feb. 2 departure, Netanyahu said in a statement that he and Trump will discuss “victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all [Israeli] hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components,” describing Iran’s alliances with terrorist groups in the Middle East, including Hamas.
By working together, the United States and Israel can “strengthen security, broaden the circle of peace, and achieve a remarkable era of peace through strength,” the prime minister added.
Hamas triggered the war with Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, when its terrorists stormed into southern Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, while capturing roughly 250 hostages. More than 100 hostages were released during a November 2023 week-long cease-fire, and eight were rescued alive. Israeli forces also recovered dozens of bodies of hostages who had perished.
Local Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza claim that Israel’s air and ground war with Hamas has led to the deaths of more than 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children, but they have not said how many were militants. After more than a year of fighting, large portions of Gaza are in ruins, and roughly 90 percent of its 2.3 million people have been displaced.
During the first phase of the cease-fire deal, Hamas is supposed to release a total of 23 hostages, eight of whom have perished, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel’s forces have begun pulling out of most areas in Gaza and have allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to the region’s northern area.
Negotiations for the cease-fire deal’s second phase are set to begin on Feb. 3; in this phase, the war would end and the remaining 60 or so hostages would also be released. However, that war could resume in March if the United States, Qatar, and Egypt cannot bring about an agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Mideast envoy, joined in the negotiations last month and helped with the agreement. Witkoff met with Netanyahu last week and is expected to begin discussing the cease-fire deal’s second phase in Washington on Feb. 3.
Trump, following his efforts to reach agreements between Israel and four Arab nations during his first administration, is potentially seeking a much broader deal under which Israel would ally with Saudi Arabia.
However, Saudi Arabia has resisted similar attempts from the Biden administration and has said it would not accept that kind of deal unless the war ends and Palestinians can have a state in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, territories that Israel has controlled since the 1967 Mideast war.
Yet Netanyahu’s government is opposed to Palestinian statehood, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has threatened to leave Israel’s governing coalition if the nation does not resume the war in March. If that happens, early elections could see Netanyahu voted out of office.
END
ISRAEL/ARAB TOWNS INSIDE ISRAEL
this is not good. Abu Ghosh is a very friendly and thriving Israeli-Arab community and I visited this town on many occasions.
(JerusalemPost)
Five killed in last day brings Arab sector death toll to 28 in 2025
Some 230 Arab Israelis were murdered in 2024, according to Abraham Initiatives data. In comparison, in 2022, 116 Arabs were killed in Israel, while in 2021, 126 were killed.
By EVE YOUNGFEBRUARY 3, 2025 13:12Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2025 16:27
Three locals killed in Abu Sinan on February 2, 2025.(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)
A man was stabbed to death Monday morning in Abu Ghosh, Israel Police said Sunday, adding that a 31-year-old suspect was arrested. Also Sunday, a shooting in Lod left a 14-year-old dead and two injured, according to police.
Late Sunday, three men in their 20s and 30s were killed in a shooting in Abu Sinan, Israel Police said early Monday. A fourth person was also seriously injured in the shooting, which took place near a corner store, police added.
Following these murders, 26 Arab citizens have been killed in violent incidents since the start of 2025, according to Abraham Initiatives, a non-profit “working to advance social inclusion and equal rights for Israel’s Palestinian citizens by influencing public policy.”
The background for the incident in Abu Snan was criminal, according to police, who conjectured that the incident was likely a conflict “between criminals.”
The head of Abu Sinan’s local council, Sif Mashlab, told Kan Reset Bet that those killed in the shooting did not have a criminal background.
Police crime scene tape (credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Mashlab said Israel Police did not make sufficient use of intelligence in this situation and other similar incidents, saying, “I am in daily contact with police, and I want to tell them one thing they are not doing and need to do.”
“If police act based on [intelligence about an incident], they will manage to prevent many cases,” he said.
Urgent letter to Netanyahu
Abraham Initiatives sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday morning, demanding that he appoint a permanent minister of National Security.
The organization highlighted that under the former national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, many plans to combat violence in the Arab sector were stopped, and budgets were cut.
“Ben-Gvir’s tenure severely harmed the trust of the Arab sector in police and law enforcement, and the new minister will need to rehabilitate this trust,” the organization said.
“A permanent appointment of a national security minister should be made—one who is professional and serious—whose primary focus will be combating crime. Efforts should be carried out in cooperation with local Arab leadership, and the police should be strengthened to a degree that enables them to effectively address the scale of the phenomenon,” the organization added.
Some 230 Arab Israelis were murdered in 2024, according to Abraham Initiatives data.
This surpassed the previous year’s death toll in the sector due to crime, the highest since the state was founded, and over double the number of deaths compared to the previous year, at 224.
In comparison, in 2022, 116 Arabs were killed in Israel, while in 2021, 126 were killed; in 2020, 96 were killed, and in 2019, 89 were killed.
Only 10.5% of 2023’s murders were solved by the end of that year, and just 14.8% of the murders in 2024 were solved, Abraham Initiatives added.
END
WEST BANK/ ISRAEL
IDF destroys terror infrastructure in Jenin in Operation Iron Wall
Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly gave instructions to the IDF to destroy any building “incriminated” in terrorist activity.
The IDF destroyed several buildings in Jenin as part of Operation Iron Wall, launched to eliminate terrorists and their infrastructure in the West Bank, the IDF announced Sunday.
The IDF reportedly demolished 20 buildings, according to the Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news outlet.
There have been no reports of individuals wounded in the destruction of the buildings.
These buildings contained terrorist infrastructure, according to the Israeli military.
As part of Operation Iron Wall, Defense Minister Israel Katz reportedly gave instructions to the IDF to destroy any building “incriminated” in terrorist activity, according to N12.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) chief Ronen Bar carry out a situational assessment in Jenin. January 22, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Other operations ongoing
Concurrently, the IDF have been conducting ground operations, including in Tammun, where the IDF on Sunday announced the killing of at least 50 terrorists and the arrest of at least 100.
END
SYRIA/RUSSIA
end
RUSSIA/UKRAINE/USA
Russia May Lift Restrictions On Nukes If US Goes Through With Trump Missile Defense Order
Russia may expand its arsenal of nuclear weapons if the US goes ahead with a major missile defense program that’s been ordered by President Trump, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Thursday.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday to develop an “Iron Dome for America” that can intercept ballistic, hypersonic, and other types of advanced missiles, unlike Israel’s Iron Dome, which is designed to intercept short-range crude rockets. The order also calls for an improvement in missile defense to protect US troops deployed in other countries and the territory of US allies.
Writing in the Russian journal International Affairs, Grigory Mashkov, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special ambassador, said the US’s global missile defense posture was already a threat to Russia and said expanding it further “puts an end to the prospects of strategic offensive arms reduction and preservation of strategic stability on the previous terms.”
Mashkov said that it is “not ruled out that in the current conditions of confrontation with the West, with its policy of inflicting strategic damage on Russia, we may face the need for moving away from restrictions on nuclear and missile arsenals in favor of their quantitative and qualitative increase.”
He said one possible retaliatory measure Russia could take is adjusting its position on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other commitments Moscow has made related to the transparency of its nuclear stockpile.
“We will have to take a fresh look at all our commitments in the area of strengthening transparency and confidence-building measures, and suspend discussions on nuclear risks and threats, which are becoming empty talk in the context of growing efforts by the West to undermine strategic and non-strategic nuclear deterrent forces,” Mashkov said.
Trump’s executive order clashes with his recent comments about seeking “denuclearization” with Russia and China since it’s clear the development of a major new missile defense system would spark a new arms race.
Mashkov warned that an arms race was already underway. “A missile arms race is already in full swing. So is the large-scale modernization of nuclear arsenals and WMD delivery vehicles. The militarization of space is gaining momentum, which, in the near future, is likely to become another scene of military confrontation,” he said.
END
UKRAINE/RUSSIA/USA/ISRAEL
US Transfers 90 Patriot Missiles From Israel To Ukraine In Pivot
Saturday, Feb 01, 2025 – 07:35 AM
This week defense officials told Axios that the United States has begun transferring Patriot air defense interceptors from storage in Israel for eventual delivery to Ukraine.
Some 90 Patriot missiles will first be sent from Israel to Poland, after which they’ll go to Ukraine as part of stepped-up efforts of Washington to boost Ukraine’s air defenses. Russian missiles and drones have been pummeling Ukrainian cities, and especially power and energy infrastructure, on a near daily basis.
The Patriot system has become somewhat irrelevant or outdated in Israel since it was first introduced there some three decades ago. Israel is now reliant on the Iron Dome and its other domestically developed systems.
The Patriots have instead long been used for training purposes in Israel, with the bulk of the arsenal having been relegated to storage.
Axios notes that “Last April, the Israeli Air Force officiallydecommissioned the Patriot air defense system, more than 30 years after it was first given to Israel during the first Gulf War.”
From there, the prior Biden administration began working on a plan to refurbish the stored missiles and give them to Ukraine.
But Israel was deeply wary at the time of poking or crossing Russia:
For several months, Israel dragged its feet out of concern Russia would retaliate, perhaps by supplying sophisticated weapons to Iran.
A Ukrainian official tells Axios Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to take his calls on that issue for weeks.
But in late September, Netanyahu finally approved the idea, an Israeli official says.
Israel will no doubt be much more cooperative with the US on Ukraine in the wake of December 8. That’s when longtime leader Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, and with the end of his rule Iranian forces have pulled out of the country.
Additionally, Russia is busy packing up its two military bases on the Syrian coast. The bases’ ultimate status is anything but clear at this point, but much heavy equipment has been set up at a Libyan port.
While Assad was in power, and Russian presence inside Syria was significant, Israel had to maintain a delicate balance in its relations with Moscow and Washington. Throughout nearly three years of the Ukraine war, Israel has rebuffed calls from Kiev to send weaponry.
Ukraine has tried to argue that the presence of Iranian drones used by Russian forces is a threat which Israel can help counter. It’s looking like Israel may begin boosting some level of support to the Zelensky government in coordination with the US, also as the truce in Gaza is holding.
END
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
Ukraine’s Most Vital Port City Rocked By Russian Missile Attack
by Tyler Durden
Saturday, Feb 01, 2025 – 03:45 PM
The key and strategic southern port city of Odessa has throughout the nearly three-year long war with Russia remained in Ukrainian hands. This has been one of the country’s sole large shipping lifelines on the Black Sea and to the outside world.
This means that if Russia ever sought to besiege or take the city and its vital large port, the proverbial writing would immediately be on the wall for Kiev, as it would face devastating economic blockade. Throughout the conflict, Moscow has sporadically attacked Odessa, apparently reserving such strikes as severe punishment in response to growing missile and drone attacks on Russian territory.
This has happened again Friday evening, as a large Russian missile attack hit the center of the southern Ukrainian city, wounding at least seven people. Several historic buildings at the city center were also damaged. Such large-scale attacks on Odessa remain rare.
“Currently, seven people are known to have been injured in the attack by Russian terrorists on the historical center of Odesa,” the regional Governor Oleh Kiper stated, revealing that all are in “moderate” condition in area hospitals.
“There is a lot of damage and destruction in the UNESCO-protected area,” the city’s mayor also noted. “As a result of the explosions, a number of historical monuments, including the Literary, Historical and Local Lore, Archaeological Museums, Museum of Western and Eastern Art, and the Philharmonic, have had their windows smashed and their facades damaged.”
Surprisingly and thankfully, the large missile barrage resulted in no deaths. However, Norwegian diplomats may have been among the injured in the city.
“Among the people who were at the epicenter of the attack were Norwegian diplomatic representatives,” President Zelensky said, condemning what he called “absolutely deliberate attack by Russian terrorists.”
Russian military bloggers have meanwhile suggested that foreign military specialists were staying in the hotel, and that the strikes were primarily targeting these foreign entities. They are alleging that Norwegian military advisors were among them.
During the spring of last year, Elon Musk featured Odessa while commenting on what’s at stake for Ukraine, and why Kiev must quickly enter negotiations to salvage peace.
“There is no chance of Russia taking all of Ukraine, as the local resistance would be extreme in the west, but Russia will certainly gain more land than they have today,” Musk wrote on X last March.
“The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnepr, which is tough to overcome. However, if the war lasts long enough, Odessa will fall too,” the billionaire SpaceX founder continued.
He concluded, “Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question. I recommend a negotiated settlement before that happens.”
The Ukrainian army is struggling with mass desertions as soldiers grow tired of the war.
According to The Guardian, the exact number of desertions is a secret, but official authorities admit that the number is large.
One soldier told the British newspaper that at the beginning of the Russian invasion, he volunteered for the army and “was ready to give his life,” but over time his attitude changed.
The man, codename “Viktor,” recalled how the Russians were smashing Ukrainian military positions to smithereens, and commanders were issuing unrealistic orders. While defending one of the buildings, he was wounded. He was given only a pain-killing injection and then ordered to return to the fight.
“I realized that I’m nobody. Just a number,” he said. In May of this year, he left his post to undergo treatment and never returned.
“Everyone is tired. The mood has changed. People used to hug soldiers in the streets. Now, they are afraid of being drafted,” he says.
Another soldier said he took part in offensive operations in the south of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. In the winter of 2022, he quarreled with his new commander, unsuccessfully requested a transfer, and was later wounded.
“I reached a boiling point. And I decided to go where no one would find me,” he says.
He added that he would take up arms again if the Russians entered his city or if the Ukrainian army was truly reformed along NATO lines, with the best generals. Asked if he was happy, he replied: “I’m alive. The longer the war lasts, the more people like me there will be.”
A complex problem
Olga Reshetylova, Ukraine’s commissioner for the protection of soldiers’ rights, said she understands why some people behave this way.
“It’s natural when a major war has been going on for three years. People are exhausted. They want to see their families. Their children are growing up without them. Relationships are falling apart. Wives and husbands can’t wait forever. They feel lonely,” he notes.
According to her, many soldiers have unstable mental health, and a minor conflict with a senior officer can “provoke” them to flee the unit.
“It’s a complex and confusing problem. We can’t solve it with a criminal penalty. If the choice is between death and prison, of course at that point you choose the latter,” she said.
Andriy Hrebenyuk, staff sergeant of an infantry battalion fighting in the Donetsk regional city of Veliky Novosilka, said that soldiers escape from their units “quite often.”
“Some come back. Some don’t… It’s not so much about injuries as it is about morale. They need a psychological reset. They go to their families and reappear a few months later,” he said.
He acknowledged a severe shortage of infantry but said they had enough artillery and drones. Nevertheless, he said there are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers holding their positions.
Kash Patel vows expose Jeffrey Epstein’s associates to the publicPresident Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, Kash Patel, pledged on Thursday to work with lawmakers in making public the names of individuals connected to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking network. During Patel’s confirmation hearing, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) pressed him on his stance regarding the Epstein case. Blackburn, who has long advocated for the release of flight logs and other …READ MORE
First victims of American flight and helicopter crash revealedOfficials now believe there are no survivors from the devastating mid-air collision between American Airlines Flight 5342 and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday evening. The tragedy has claimed the lives of numerous individuals, including members of the U.S. figure skating community, a young professional returning from a work trip, a newly engaged pilot, and several others. According …READ MORE
FAA report reveals staffing at traffic control was ‘not normal’ at time of crashA preliminary safety report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed that staffing levels at the air traffic control tower at Reagan National Airport were “not normal” on the night of the fatal midair collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The internal FAA report, reviewed by the New York Times, indicated that …READ MORE
Pilots of helicopter and American airlines in deadly mid-air collision identifiedAuthorities have identified Ryan O’Hara as the crew chief aboard the U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter involved in the devastating mid-air collision near Washington, D.C. The crash, which occurred on Wednesday at approximately 9:00 PM local time, involved a military helicopter carrying three soldiers and a civilian aircraft with 60 passengers and four crew members. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided …READ MORE
wildfires erupt near North Carolina towns destroyed by Hurricane HeleneThree wildfires have ignited in North Carolina near towns that were severely impacted by Hurricane Helene last year. The first blaze, known as the Crooked Creek Fire, broke out in McDowell County on Wednesday. It has scorched nearly 250 acres and is currently 55% contained. A second wildfire, dubbed the North Fork Fire, ignited just hours later, burning 60 acres. …READ MORE
Watch: Tucker Carlson Uncovered Devastating FAA Emails in 2018Tucker Carlson had already unearthed proof back in 2018 that the Obama administration had placed a new emphasis on diversity over traditional hiring practices at the Federal Aviation Administration.President Donald Trump suggested during a news briefing Thursday that the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 with an Army Black Hawk helicopter in Washington, D.C., may have had something to do …READ THE FULL REPORT
Notorious DEI Center Shuts Down, Lays Off All EmployeesIbram X. Kendi, a prominent diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultant, announced that his controversial “Antiracism Center” at Boston University will be shutting down.Kendi is a self-styled “antiracist” activist and author who rose to prominence after the Black Lives Matter riots in 2020.Antiracism philosophy charges that all white people benefit from “racism and racist structures” and tells its adherents that …READ THE FULL REPORT
President Trump to fire tons of FBI agents by the end of the dayPresident Trump is set to fire tons of FBI agents who worked on the investigations of J6ers and those that targeted him with criminal investigations. Here’s the reporting from CNN: The Trump administration is set to expand a purge of career law enforcement officials, with dozens of FBI agents who worked on January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and Trump-related …READ THE FULL REPORT
Chuck Todd Leaving NBC News After Nearly 18 YearsChuck Todd, the former moderator of “Meet the Press,” is leaving NBC News.Todd, who has become a noticeably less visible presence on the network after he was replaced as “Meet the Press” moderator by Kristen Welker in 2023 after nine years in the chair, announced he would exit NBC on Friday.“Today is my last day… at NBC,” Todd said on …READ THE FULL REPORT
Reports Expose the Catastrophic Failures and Mistakes That Led to Deadly Midair CollisionReviews of the moments leading up to Wednesday’s fatal midair crash involving an Army helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet have revealed several failures and mistakes.In normal operating conditions, air traffic control for helicopters and planes at Reagan National Airport is handled by two operators. However, on Wednesday, the duties were combined, leaving just one person to handle both …READ THE FULL REPORT
BEAKING: Pete Hegseth just killed PRIDE MONTH at the PentagonPete Hegseth just killed Pride Month at the Pentagon, effectively immediately, along with a bunch of other DEI ‘identity’ celebrations. This guidance was just published on the DOD’s website: Guidance from the Secretary of Defense: “Identity Months Dead at DoD” Our unity and purpose are instrumental to meeting the Department’s warfighting mission. Efforts to divide the force – to put …READ THE FULL REPORT
Chuck Schumer Is Under Investigation for Threatening Supreme CourtInterim D.C. U.S. Attorney Ed Martin opened a preliminary investigation into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over threatening comments he made to Supreme Court justices in 2020.While speaking on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in March of that year, Schumer told Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorscuch that they will “pay a price” if they voted to …READ THE FULL REPORT
Musk Reveals Treasury Has Been Auto-Paying Everyone, ‘Even Known Terrorist Groups’Update:DOGE moves into the Treasury, triggering their longest-serving, highest-ranked career official to quit in a huff, and they find that department has essentially been auto-paying everyone, according to Elon Musk.“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” said Musk in a Friday …READ THE FULL REPORT
Watch: Karoline Leavitt Scolds CNN Reporter for Interrupting During Press ConferenceWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed a CNN reporter during Friday’s press briefing after he repeatedly talked over another reporter she called on.The moment happened when CNN Chief National Affairs Correspondent Jeff Zeleny interrupted another reporter that Leavitt called.“You’re interrupting your colleague, but sure,” Leavitt said. “I called on Lindsay.”Zeleny proceeded to ask his question about President Donald Trump’s …READ THE FULL REPORT
37-Year-Old New Mexico Democrat Indicted for Credible Threats Against TrumpTyler Miles Leveque, 37, of Albuquerque, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of interstate communications containing threats against President Donald Trump.Tyler Leveque was accused of making several threatening posts toward President Trump from January 2 to January 4, 2025, according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.Leveque …READ THE FULL REPORT
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK/
end
7.OIL AND NATURAL GAS ISSUES/GLOBAL/ENERGY/COAL
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
PANAMA/USA
Trump Effect Continues: Panama Bends The Knee, Will Not Renew “Silk Road” Deal With China After Rubio Visit
SUNDAY, FEB 02, 2025 – 07:15 PM
The Trump administration is not messing around.
Let’s review. In the past thirteen days;
Border crossings are down 94% after Trump declared a national emergency and sent US troops to the southern US Border
Elon Musk’s DOGE descended upon the US Treasury and revealed that we’ve been ‘auto paying’ all sorts of bad actors, including terrorist groups. DOGE then kicked the door down at Deep State slush fund USAID, where employees were placed on paid leave last week for trying to circumvent Trump’s orders, causing a massive Democrat freakout.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a worldwide cable announcing the end of DEI policies within State, prioritizing American interests,and told his Chinese counterpart that America is done kowtowing.
See below for more!
And now, Rubio has convinced Panama not to renew its deal with China’s Belt and Road economic program, after applying pressure to the Panamanian government to immediately take steps to address US concerns over Chinese businesses operating ports near the canal – which President Trump says represents a threat to US national security.
“Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal,” said US State Department spox Tammy Bruce.
Trump had also refused to rule out the use of military force over Panama, while US officials said in a senate hearing last week that fines and restrictions on Panamanian-flag vessels entering US ports could be imposed due to the dispute over the canal.
Now, Secretary of State Rubio has convinced Panama to reverse course on their deal with China – with President Jose Mulino making an announcement following a “respectful and cordial” meeting with Rubio in which Panama also agreed to expand a July MoUso that Venezuelans, Colombians and Ecuadoreans can be returned from the perilous Darien Gap at U.S. cost, through an airstrip in Panama, Reuters reports.
According to the PanAm Post, Panama will not renew the memorandum of understanding on the “Silk Road” signed with China.
“We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not. I think it is due for renewal in one or two years,” said Molino.
As one ZH reader, the esteemed Pooper Popper, noted earlier today…
All federal prosecutors handling January 6th cases fired, computers locked and marched out of their offices by security.
David Sundberg, the FBI Assistant Director at the helm of the January 6th investigations, has been fired.
20 leaders of FBI field offices have been escorted out of FBI buildings around the country
The 51 intelligence officers who spread misinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop and interfered in elections are now banned from entering federal properties.
Federal employees are now required to return to the office, with non-compliance leading to termination.
John Bolton and John Brennan have been permanently banned from government buildings.
Jarold Harold Rogers has been indicted for compromising U.S. trade secrets to China.
Ban on all use of pronouns in government communications.
All 2 million Feds sent a resignation offer.
At this rate both Canada and Greenland will be US territories by the end of the month.
end
MEXICO/USA
Mexico bends its knees as they state that the USA will delay their tariffs Mexico with the deployment of 10,000 troops. Mexico also delays the introduction of tariffs on the USA. We await Canada’s move as well as China. China must stop their manufacturing of Fentanyl and Fentanyl prototypes.
Trade War Over? Mexican President Says Tariffs Delayed For Month After Deploying 10,000 Troops To Border To Halt Fentanyl
“For three days a lot of the far left has actively rooted against America and argued we’d get nothing out of President Trunp’s demands that Mexico secure its country.
Well, how do you like them apples?”
Apples indeed! Now let’s see what Trudeau has to say later…
* * *
Late last night we said that it is very likely Trump’s trade war would be very short, after we pointed to better than evern Polymarket odds that the trade war with both Mexico and Canada would be over in the next month or two.
And trade war over
MEXICAN PRESIDENT SHEINBAUM SAYS MEXICO WILL DEPLOY 10,000 NATIONAL GUARD IMMEIDATLEY TO BORDER TO AVOID TRAFFICKING OF DRUGS TO U.S. https://t.co/A6LlS5zXHx
And then, just hours later, this appears to have been validated after Mexico’s president Scheinbaum said that after having a good conversation with Trump, Mexico is “pausing tariffs for a month for now” and that Mexico will promptly comply with Trump’s ask by reinforning the northern border with 10,000 national guard members to “prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, particularly fentanyl.”
Sostuvimos una buena conversación con el presidente Trump con mucho respeto a nuestra relación y la soberanía; llegamos a una serie de acuerdos:
1.México reforzará la frontera norte con 10 mil elementos de la Guardia Nacional de forma inmediata, para evitar el tráfico de drogas…
We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements:
1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.
2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.
3. Our teams will begin working today on two fronts: security and trade.
4. They are pausing tariffs for one month from now.
President Trump has confirmed the tariffs are paused for one month:
The Canadians were very busy scouring the Government’s tariffs site…
And now that trade war with Mexico appears to be over, Trump just has to repeat the same with Canada when he speaks to Trudeau at 3pm ET today.
As for China, we doubt that particular trade war will be as easy to win but who knows: Trump is certainly on a roll.
In any case, the market is certainly delighted with the outcome, and the Mexican peso is surging…
TSY yields are rising (shouldn’t they fall on non-inflationary, non-tariffs?)…
Oil prices have plunged, erasing overnight tariff-driven gains…
Bitcoin is ripping higher (as we suppose this means no large drop in global liquidity?)
And US equities are reversing the large losses overnight quite rapidly…
Now, what will the MSM say after doom-mongering all morning about Trump’s ‘catastrophic’ tariffs?
(zerohedge)
Seems Mexico got common sense.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reports publicly:
“We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements:
1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.
2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.
3. Our teams will begin working today on two fronts: security and trade.
4. They are pausing tariffs for one month from now.”
Trudeau has a conversation this morning with another one to take place at 3:00PM.
We will see what happens…. One USD=1.46 CAD today.
CONGO/RWANDA
The Congo Enters Chaos Spiral As Rwanda Backed Insurgents Invade
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 07:45 AM
After years of relative quiet, conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo and its much smaller neighbor Rwanda struck yet again in 2021 while the world was distracted by the global covid pandemic. Fighting has continued to escalate as an insurgent group called “M23”, which is backed by the government of Rwanda, continues cross-border raids and has expanded into the neighboring province of South Kivu. They now claim to have encircled and taken the key city of Goma.
Though Rwanda’s total population is 14 million compared to the DRC’s 102 million, Rwanda has been purchasing advanced weaponry from China since at least 2018, including man-portable anti-tank missiles, ground to air missiles, anti-ship missiles, armored vehicles and artillery. Congo rebels like the M23 group have been caught transporting such weapons and moving back and forth over the Rwandan border.
Though there are a host of ethnic and political grievances between the various tribes of the Congo region (the Rwandan genocide of 1994 still reverberates to this day), the current conflict appears to lean more towards control of resources. The Congo exports 40% of the global Coltan supply and is also suspected to have the world’s largest lithium deposits. Coltan is a Rare Earth metal vital in the production of high end electronics and weapons systems.
International interests including the UN assert that Rwanda is using the M23 rebels as a proxy to obtain mineral rich territory in the DRC. They estimate that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan army troops are on the ground in DR Congo in support of M23 – based on authenticated photographs, drone footage, video recordings, testimonies and intelligence.
Though it’s hard to take the UN seriously when it comes to any geopolitical conflict, there is evidence to suggest that Rwanda is stealing enough Coltan from the Congo to accrue nearly $1 million USD per month in taxes on production and trade. This might not seem like much to most westerners, but the average salary of a Rwandan citizen is only 600 USD per month. It would seem that the Rwandan government is interested in the vast untapped mineral wealth of their larger neighbor.
The war has triggered rioting and looting across the DRC. UN officials have reports of refugees caravans, starvation, indiscriminate rape and dead bodies in the streets in Goma perpetrated by invading insurgents. US citizens have been advised to leave the region after US and European embassies were attacked.
Many in the Congo are criticizing the inaction of the African Union and the international community, calling for an intervention and a ceasefire. As usual, the internal strife of Africa is rarely solved by Africans alone. But the key mineral resources of the Congo as well as the growing involvement of China on the continent may be more than enough to garner western interest.
M23 has pledged to continue their “march of liberation” across the whole of the DRC to the capital city of Kinshasa.
It should be noted that Rwanda receives extensive foreign aid from the US though the USAID, an agency which is now shut down and under intense investigation by the Trump Administration for potential corruption and mismanagement of US tax dollars. In 2024 alone, the USAID gave over $170 million to the Rwandan government.
Though the chaos in the DRC has been occurring sporadically for decades, the most recent events run in tandem with the destabilization of South Africa and parts of Northern Africa. The last thing anyone wants is another genocide, but the only permanent solution may be the kind of “colonial” intrusion that the west has spent the past several decades apologizing for. There is also the issue of western involvement leading to greater problems. Certainly, the antics of the USAID are an example of this.
In the long run it may be better to cut off funding to everyone and stay out of the conflict entirely.
end
SOUTH AFRICA/USA
about time
(JerusalemPost)
US President Donald Trump to cut off funding for South Africa
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
By REUTERSFEBRUARY 3, 2025 07:56Updated: FEBRUARY 3, 2025 14:32
(L-R) US President Donald Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa(photo credit: AMR ALFIKY/ REUTERS, BING GUAN/REUTERS, Canva)
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, without citing evidence, that “certain classes of people” in South Africa were being treated “very badly” and that he would cut off funding for the country until the matter is investigated.
U.S. President Donald Trump on cutting aid to South Africa: “It’s only South Africa, terrible things are happening in South Africa, the leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things… so that’s under investigation right now, we’re making determinations and until such… pic.twitter.com/CcLXXw6DDG— Ofentse Donald Davhie (@donalddavhie) February 3, 2025
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
“The United States won’t stand for it, and we will act. Also, I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” he said.
The United States obligated nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023, the most recent US government data showed.
Last month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill that would make it easier for the state to expropriate land in the public interest.
The law aims to address racial disparities in land ownership that persist three decades after apartheid’s demise in 1994.
South Africa is confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY. It is a bad situation that the Radical Left Media doesn’t want to so much as mention. A massive Human Rights VIOLATION, at a minimum, is happening for all to see. The United States won’t stand…— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 2, 2025
South Africa’s foreign ministry said in response to Trump’s post that “we trust President Trump’s advisers will make use of the investigative period to attain a thorough understanding of South Africa’s policies within the framework of a constitutional democracy.”
It added: “It may become clear that our expropriation act is not exceptional, as many countries have similar legislation.”
South Africa currently holds the G20 presidency, after which the US takes over.
US-South Africa relations
Last month, Ramaphosa said he was not worried about the country’s relationship with Trump. He said he had spoken to Trump after the latter’s election victory and looked forward to working with his administration.
During his first administration, Trump said the US would investigate unproven large-scale killings of white farmers in South Africa and violent takeovers of land. Pretoria, at the time, said Trump was misinformed. It is unclear whether the Trump administration carried out an investigation.
Trump’s close ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa. In 2023, Musk replied on X to a video of a far-left South African political party singing an old anti-apartheid song, “Kill the Boer (farmer),” by stating: “They are openly pushing for the genocide of white people in South Africa.”
“Cyril Ramaphosa, why do you say nothing?” Musk asked.
Musk met Ramaphosa in the US in September last year, and they discussed investment in South Africa.
end
CANADA
Robert H:
Taxpayers paid $224 per day to accommodate illegal border crossers | True North
Why are we doing this? These tariffs could have been avoided if Ottawa listened to US concerns and acted. Now Canadians will pay dearly for fools as politicians. It will be interesting to see if Ford gets blowback from his bluster to take on America. He is attracting the wrath of many US Governors now. First Columbia tried to reject receiving deportees and over the weekend Panama caved in to neutrality, what will Canada do?
Ontario Rips Up $100 Million Starlink Contract In Response To Trump’s Trade War Chaos
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 09:35 AM
Premier Doug Ford of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party announced on X that, in response to President Trump’s escalating trade war—including a 25% tariff on Canadian goods—the provincial government would be “ripping up” its contract with Elon Musk’s Starlink, which was set to provide high-speed internet to rural communities.
Ford’s statement on X:
Starting today and until U.S. tariffs are removed, Ontario is banning American companies from provincial contracts. Every year, the Ontario government and its agencies spend $30 billion on procurement, alongside our $200 billion plan to build Ontario. U.S.-based businesses will now lose out on tens of billions of dollars in new revenues. They only have President Trump to blame. We’re going one step further. We’ll be ripping up the province’s contract with Starlink. Ontario won’t do business with people hellbent on destroying our economy. Canada didn’t start this fight with the U.S., but you better believe we’re ready to win it.
The Starlink contract with the gov’t of Ontario was announced in late 2024 and would bring high-speed internet to thousands of homes in remote and rural communities across the region.
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO VS USA DOLLAR: 1.0276 DOWN83 BASIS PTS
USA/ YEN 154.38 DOWN .522 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 1.2346 DOWN .0032 OR 32 PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.4659 UP 0.0137 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 137 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED GOLDEN WEEK
Hang Seng CLOSED GOLDEN WEEK
AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 1.83%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL RED
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL RED
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED
/SHANGHAI CLOSED
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 1.83%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 1052.80 PTS OR 2.68%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED
Gold very early morning trading: 2802.40
silver:$31.27
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 109/01 UP 80 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE.
The USA/Yuan, CNY ON SHORE CLOSED XXXX (ON SHORE)..CHINA MUST DEVALUE TO GOLD
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE: (YUAN CLOSED (DOWN)…. (7.3390)
TURKISH LIRA: 35.99 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +1.244
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 1 in basis points from WEDNESDAY at 4.506% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 4.734 DOWN 8 in basis points /11:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.247 UP 2 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 11;00 AM 2823.80
SILVER AT 11;00: 31.40
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: MONDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//
London: CLOSED DOWN 90.40 pts or 1.04%
German Dax : DOWN 303.80 pts or 1.40%
Paris CAC CLOSED DOWN 8.53 pts or 0.11%
Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN 95.25 PTS OR 1.20%
Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 163.10 PTS OR 1.32%
WTI Oil price 71.99 11 EST/
Brent Oil: 75.46 11:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 99.75 ROUBLE DOWN 1 AND 17/100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.3761 DOWN 8 BASIS PTS.
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.526 DOWN 5 BASIS POINTS
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 2.914 DOWN 17 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.563 DOWN 17 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA 1.0295 DOWN 0.0063 OR 63 BASIS POINTS//HEADING TO PARITY WITH THE DOLLAR
British Pound: 1.2401 UP 0..0032 OR 32 basis pts/HEADING FOR PARITY /USA
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.4890 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.246
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 154.72 DOWN .188 OR 19 BASIS PTS// HEADING FOR 160 TO THE DOLLAR
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.4570 UP .0047 BASIS PTS CDN DOLLAR DOWN 47 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 72.89
Brent OIL: 75.81
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 4 BASIS pts to 4.532
USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 5 BASIS PTS to 4.763%
USA 2 YR BOND: UP 3 PTS AT 4.255
CDN 10 YR RATE 2.978 DOWN 13 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.634 DOWN 14 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 108.76 UP 55 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 35.96 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 99.76 UP 1 AND 18/100 roubles
GOLD 2,817.00 (3:30 PM)
SILVER: 31.56 (3:30 PM)
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 122.75 PTS OR 0.78%
NASDAQ 100 DOWN 180.46 PTS OR 0.84%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 18.44 UP 2.01 PTS OR 12.23%
GLD: $ 259.94 OR UP 1.38 PTS OR 0.73%
SLV/ $28.67 PTS OR UP 0.16 OR 0.56%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED DOWN 291.34 PTS OR 1.04%
end
TRADING today ZEROHEDGE
Stocks and Dollar chop to Trump tariff talk – Newsquawk US Market Wrap
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 04:16 PM
SNAPSHOT: Equities down, Treasuries flatten, Crude up, Dollar up
REAR VIEW: US to impose tariffs on Canada and China, but reaches deal with Mexico to delay imposition by one month; Considers 10% tariff on EU & EU warns of firm response; ISM Mfg tops exp. & into expansionary territory after 26 months; US President Trump to speak with China’s Xi over the next 24 hours; Fed’s Collins in no rush to lower rates again; Bostic voices patience for further easing; Trump signs executive order to create Sovereign Wealth Fund; OPEC+ JMMC meeting goes as expected.
COMING UP: Holiday: Chinese New Year (Market Holiday – Mainland Closed, Hong Kong Open). Data: US JOLTS Job Openings, NZ HLFS Jobs. Events: Riksbank Minutes. Speakers: Fed’s Bostic, Daly. Supply: Japan, UK.
2. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days
MARKET WRAP
US indices closed in the red, albeit well off worst levels, as Trump tariff talk dominated markets to start the week. The Dollar saw hefty gains to the detriment of G10 FX (ex- GBP and JPY), but saw a large range (108.57-109.88) amid mixed tariff talk. The week began with a gap lower in US equities and T-notes, a gap higher in the Dollar and notable strength in oil in the wake of Trump announcing 25% tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico, but Canadian energy products will face a 10% tariff. On China, there will be an additional 10% tariff on top of existing levies, with no exclusion. However, Mexican President Sheinbaum and Trump had a constructive debate whereby he agreed to delay tariffs a month, which saw a large paring of earlier moves with MXN wiping out all earlier losses. Nonetheless, tariffs on Canada and China are still due to come into effect tomorrow, but at the writing Trump and Trudeau are currently speaking so we await any readout. Elsewhere, ISM Mfg. was a strong report but took the backseat with focus on tariffs while the OPEC+ JMMC meeting was a non-event and went as expected. Ahead of QRA on Wednesday, the US Treasury announced it expects to borrow USD 815bln in privately-held net marketable debt in Q1 25, below the USD 823bln that was guided for Q1 25 in Q4 24. This is primarily due to a higher beginning-of-quarter cash balance but partially offset by lower net cash flows. On the Fed footing, Bostic and Collins spoke, both echoing Powell in not being in a hurry to cut rates again. Both also noted the uncertainty on US policies, with Collins suggesting tariffs should have an impact on prices. Bostic said there is an outcome where the Fed might look through tariff impact on prices, but also one where it could impact expectations and thus warrant a Fed response.
US
ISM MANUFACTURING: ISM Manufacturing rose back into expansionary territory in January for the first time in 26 months, as the headline printed 50.9, above the prior 49.2 and the expected 49.8. Within the release, the inflationary gauge of prices paid lifted to 54.9 from 52.5 (exp. 53.5), while employment and new orders soared to 50.3 (prev. 45.4) and 55.1 (prev. 52.1), respectively. Production, supplier deliveries, new export orders, and imports all lifted while the backlog of orders slightly declined. Despite a positive release, the big question is whether this upturn reflects a lasting improvement or a fleeting boost from purchases brought forward in anticipation of tariffs. Desks note pre-emptive purchases driven by worries about tariffs on imported goods from Canada, China, and Mexico surely will unwind sharply if extensive new tariffs are applied to those countries. Nonetheless, Pantheon Macroeconomics said it seems more likely that disruption to supply chains and a hit to demand from higher prices start to weigh heavily on US manufacturing soon. For the record, comments from panelists were also positive, though these would not include reactions to the recent tariff announcement.
CONSTRUCTION SPENDING: US Construction Spending for December rose 0.5%, above the prior and consensus for a 0.2% gain. However, given it is December data it is dated given we have already had Q4 GDP. Looking ahead, OxEco stresses that trade policy actions matter much more. The desk writes that they “modelled the new higher tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. Even if they are watered down this year and eventually lifted, new protectionist measures will cut growth in residential investment and business investment in structures by 1ppt and 1.6ppt, respectively, in 2025.” However, OxEco also add that no matter how the trade war unfolds, there will be pockets of resilience as spillovers from AI support data-centre construction and solid finances guard against the risks to state and local government investment.
Fed’s Collins (2025 voter), on US policies, said there is a lot of uncertainty, noting broad-based tariffs should have an impact on prices, adding the US has limited experience with large scale tariffs. She warned they would push up prices across production levels and have second round impacts. She acknowledged the Fed would try to look through one time price level increase, but also warned tariffs can have an impact on the demand side too. Collins echoed Fed Chair Powell, noting it is appropriate to be patient and careful on policy and that there is no urgency to change rates. She said the US economy is in a good place, and the Fed is well positioned to look holistically at the data, warning the Fed must weigh both sides of its dual mandate. She stressed there is still more work to do to lower inflation, but the underlying inflation trend has softened. She noted the labour market has been in good shape and near full employment, while there are several reasons why long-term rates are moving as they have been.
Fed’s Bostic (2027 voter) said the current degree of uncertainty has broadened considerably. Tariffs are an aspect of uncertainty, challenging to figure out how to incorporate them and tariffs are a type of a tax; impacts depend on details, application, and retaliation. Further, Bostic added there is an outcome where the Fed might look through tariff impact on prices, but also one where it could impact expectations and thus warrant a Fed response. On the labour market, said the US can support a much tighter one than was previously understood, and the outlook is for it to remain solid. The Atlanta Fed President said ‘compelling’ reason to expect housing inflation to fall. Looking ahead, Bostic is prepared to wait for a while to cut again and sees a nominal neutral rate at 3-3.5%. Bostic noted businesses are not confident in their outlook at this point, currently in wait-and-see mode. To cut again would want to see housing inflation begin to slow, and does not expect clarity on inflation enough by March to move.
FIXED INCOME
T-NOTE FUTURES (H5) SETTLED 3+ TICKS HIGHER AT 108-30+
T-Notes chop but ultimately flatter in response to Trump tariffs. At settlement, 2s +2.5bps at 4.263%, 3s +1.3bps at 4.292%, 5s -0.9bps at 4.355%, 7s -1.7bps at 4.454%, 10s -2.4bps at 4.543%, 20s -3.7bps at 4.830%, 30s -4.1bps at 4.771%.
INFLATION BREAKEVENS: 5yr BEI +4.6bps at 2.647%, 10yr BEI +2.1bps at 2.451%, 30yr BEI -0.2bps at 2.399%.
THE DAY: T-Notes gapped lower on the reopening of trade with markets reacting to the tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, as well as tariff threats/promises to the EU. T-Notes hit a low of 108-21+ before paring pretty swiftly overnight. Nonetheless, pressure was seen during the European session likely as European traders reacted to the tariff enactments, although T-Notes bottomed at 108-27+ before moving higher once again in US trade with T-Notes peaking at 109-15+ after the US and Mexico agreed to push back the tariff implementation by one month. Although at the time of writing, tariffs are still set to be implemented on Canada and China. Elsewhere, the ISM Manufacturing Data was strong, rising to 50.9 from 49.2, above the 49.8 expectation, supported by upside in New Orders while prices paid and the employment metrics rose, which saw a brief knock to UST’s but swiftly pared with focus on tariffs. After hitting the peaks on tariff optimism with Mexico, T-Notes reversed once again to c. 109-00 heading into settlement with attention turning to US financing estimates alongside the settlement, ahead of QRA on Wednesday. Data wise, focus lies on NFP on Friday with ISM Services on Wednesday. Elsewhere, Fed’s Bostic and Collins spoke, both echoing Powell in not being in a hurry to cut rates again. Both also noted the uncertainty on US policies, with Collins suggesting tariffs should have an impact on prices. Bostic said there is an outcome where the Fed might look through tariff impact on prices, but also one where it could impact expectations and thus warrant a Fed response.
FINANCING ESTIMATES: The US Treasury announced it expects to borrow USD 815bln in privately-held net marketable debt in Q1 25, below the USD 823bln that was guided for Q1 25 in Q4 24. This is primarily due to a higher beginning-of-quarter cash balance but partially offset by lower net cash flows. The borrowing forecast assumes an end-of-March cash balance of USD 850bln, in fitting with prior guidance. For Q2 25 (April-June), US Treasury expects to borrow USD 123bln in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming end of June cash balance of USD 850bln – the drop in borrowing expectations in Q2 is familiar for the period due to the influx of cash receipts from the April tax date. Meanwhile, looking back to Q4 24, the US Treasury announced it borrowed USD 620bln, USD 74bln above its USD 546bln guidance, largely because of lower net cash flows and a higher ending cash balance. It ended Q4 24 with a cash balance of USD 722bln, above the guidance of USD 700bln.
STIRS/OPERATIONS:
Market Implied Fed Rate Cut Pricing: March 3bps (prev. 4bps), May 10bps (prev. 12bps), June 19bps (prev. 23bps), Dec 42bps (prev. 45bps).
NY Fed RRP op demand at USD 98bln (prev. 188bln) across 39 counterparties (prev. 57).
SOFR at 4.38% (prev. 4.36%), volumes at USD 2.533tln (prev. 2.369tln).
EFFR at 4.33% (prev. 4.33%), volumes at USD 83bln (prev. 103bln).
US sold USD 90bln 3mth bills at high rate of 4.22%, B/C 2.65; sold USD 78bln 6mth bills at high rate of 4.155%; B/C 3.04x.
CRUDE
WTI (H5) SETTLED USD 0.63 HIGHER AT 73.16/BBL; BRENT (J5) SETTLED USD 0.29 HIGHER AT USD 75.96/BBL
The crude complex was a puppet to Trump tariffs and broader macro moves. WTI and Brent gapped higher at the open to peaks of USD 75.18/bbl and 77.34/bbl, respectively, after Trump announced tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China over the weekend, with a warning also issued to the EU. As part of the tariffs on Canada, US announced Canadian energy will face a 10% tariff, as opposed to a 25% tariff. However, WTI and Brent pared off peaks amid significant Dollar strength and broader risk aversion, but then took a notable leg lower in wake of positive commentary from Mexican President Sheinbaum. Benchmarks were already edging lower, but as Sheinbaum stated she had a good conversation with US President Trump, and announced the US delayed tariffs on Mexico by one month, seeing WTI and Brent fell to session lows of USD 72.05/bbl and 75.04, respectively. Ahead, Trump and Trudeau are to have another conversation imminently (20:00GMT/15:00EST) so participants will be on high alert to the readout. Elsewhere, OPEC+ JMMC meeting was a non-event and went as expected. Although, Russian Deputy PM Novak, following the OPEC+ JMMC meeting, said the current situation in the global oil market is stable, sees oil demand rising, and expects demand to lift by 1.4mln this year, adding that they will increase oil production from April (as scheduled), and on Trump’s comments about production increase, said this was touched upon. Meanwhile, WSJ sources reported that US President Trump’s advisers concede that US frackers won’t pump much more oil, noting Trump’s best level to bring down oil prices would might be to persuade OPEC to add more barrels, but Saudi has told former US officials that it is unwilling to augment global oil supplies.
EQUITIES
CLOSES: SPX -0.76% at 5,995, NDX -0.84% at 21,298, DJIA -0.28% at 44,422, RUT -1.28% at 2,258
SECTORS: Technology -1.80%, Consumer Discretionary -1.35%, Industrials -1.03%, Financials -0.43%, Real Estate -0.21%, Communication Services -0.06%, Materials +0.05%, Health +0.40%, Energy +0.42%, Utilities +0.46%, Consumer Staples +0.68%.
EUROPEAN CLOSES: DAX: -1.50% at 21,405, FTSE 100: -1.04% at 8,584, CAC 40: -1.20% at 7,855, Euro Stoxx 50: -1.26% at 5,220, AEX: -0.62% at 916, IBEX 35: -1.30% at 12,208, FTSE MIB: -0.69% at 36,219, SMI: -0.40% at 12,554, PSI: -0.89% at 6,467.
TARIFF EXPOSED NAMES:
Automakers: Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Tesla (TSLA).
Railroads: Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP), Canadian National Railway Company (CNI).
Transportation producers: FedEx (FDX).
Nuclear: GE Vernova (GEV), Constellation Energy (CEG).
Solar: Invesco Solar ETF (TAN).
STOCK SPECIFICS:
Softbank (SFTBY), OpenAI: Will establish a JV in Japan to provide AI services to corporate clients.
Apple (AAPL): Cancelled project to develop AR glasses that would connect to Macs.
United Airlines (UAL): Denied rumours of merger or acquisition talks with another carrier.
Triumph Group (TGI): To be acquired by affiliates of Warburg Pincus and Berkshire Partners in an all-cash deal valued at ~ USD 3bln.
Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM): Soon to begin laying off employees as part of efforts to reduce costs, impacted by low crop prices.
IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX): EPS and revenue beat.
Tyson Foods (TSN): Top and bottom line surpassed expectations.
Baxter International (BAX): Announced CEO retirement.
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF): Weak Q4 prelim numbers.
Northrop Grumman (NOC): Upgraded to ‘Peer Perform’ from ‘Underperform’ at Wolfe Research following its Q4 report which was “pretty clean” with its free cash flow outlook intact and downside risk abating.
Comcast (CMCSA): Downgraded at Scotiabank to ‘Sector Perform’ from ‘Outperform’ as broadband customer losses continue.
Tesla (TSLA): Will deliver large storage batteries to one of Japan’s largest power storage plants planned by Orix, via Nikkei.
US FX WRAP
The Dollar was broadly firmer against major peers ahead of the implementation of 25% US tariffs on Canada (only 10% on Canadian energy products) and 10% additional China tariffs on February 4th. DXY climbed to highs of 109.880, before trimming gains throughout the session, driven by Mexican President Sheinbaum saying US tariffs are delayed by one month as she will immediately supply troops to the border to avoid trafficking of drugs to the US. Thereafter, DXY was met with lows of 108.57, but remained well in the green as markets await the outcome of US President Trump’s meeting with Canadian PM Trudeau. Given the focus towards trade tensions between America and others, ISM Mfg. PMI was a non-event, despite the headline extending into expansion territory, after 26 months of contraction. For the remainder of the day, remarks continued from Trump concerning tariffs, noting he likes the idea of “reciprocal tariffs on more countries” and that China tariffs will go up if they cannot make a deal on the Panama Canal. Separately, Fed’s Collins echoed Powell’s recent remarks on approaching further cates with patience and Bostic is prepared to wait for a while to cut again. On Tuesday, the integration of US tariffs on Canada will be the highlight of the day. Also, US Factory Orders, Fed’s Bostic, and Fed’s Daly are due.
G10FX was hit by US President Trump’s announcement of US tariffs, with the EUR hurt by Trump noting tariffs will definitely happen with the EU. Later the FT reported that the EU rejected US President Trump’s decision to hit Canada, Mexico and China with tariffs and it would respond firmly if the US imposed tariffs on Europe. Afterwards, some relief was spread through the space upon the US and Mexico deal to delay US tariffs by one month, albeit most G10 (ex-GBP) remained in the red but EUR came under further short-lived pressure on Telegraph reports unveiled that Trump is considering plans to impose a 10% tariff on the EU. Ultimately, EUR/USD finished well in the red, heading into overnight trade at ~ 1.0290, albeit well of 1.0212 lows. G10 laggards included EUR, Antipodes, and the NOK, while CAD reduced the majority of losses, after hitting its lowest value since 2003 as positive remarks from Trump on his call with Trudeau (“had a good talk”) offered support for the currency ahead of the leaders’ second discourse in the US Monday afternoon.
JPY and GBP were the best-performing major peers against the Dollar, with the Yen helped by the risk-averse sentiment and lower US yields on the mid-to-longer end. Regarding GBP, strength was also seen vs the Euro, with EUR/GBP January lows of 0.82668 coming into view. Behind the Pound’s strength, was likely the UK having a relatively smaller trade deficit than its peers and the UK seemingly not being on Trump’s immediate tariff radar. Trump stated the UK is also out of line but then suggested he is getting on well with PM Starmer. By the end of the US session, USD/JPY was ~ 154.70 and Cable sat at ~ 1.24.
EMFX: MXN had an extremely volatile day, initially weakening to fresh yearly lows, on the announcement of US tariffs on Mexico, but later rallying on Mexican President Sheinbaum announcing she had agreed on a deal with Trump to delay US tariffs by one month by sending 10k national guard to the border to prevent trafficking of drugs to the US. Ahead of Banxico’s rate decision on Thursday (exp. to cut by 50bps to 9.5%) Sheinbaum nominated Jose Gabriel Cuadra Garcia (currently director of the economic studies department at Banxico) to the central bank’s board. Analysts said the nomination will be well received by markets; His appointment requires Senate approval. Elsewhere, Turkish inflation came in hotter than expected, but Capital Economics notes that it was largely driven by one-off factors, and “so long as the February CPI figures come in much softer (as we expect), we still think it’s most likely that the central bank opts for another 250bp rate cut (to 42.50%) at its meeting in March.”
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ZEROHEDGE/HEADLINE CLOSING MARKETS
Gold Hits New Record High As Tariff-ic Monday Sparks Tumult Across Markets
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USA DATA
expert Jeffry Tucker explains tariffs and the elimination of income tax and how governments will then react!
There was a time, before 1913, when you could keep every penny you earned. You did not have to file with the federal government, telling them what you earned and giving the feds their cut. Your finances were your business and no one else’s. You had the right to earn, own, and keep property, and it was sacrosanct, guaranteed by U.S. law and tradition.
There were no audits, investigations, account freezes, withholdings, or any other forms of payment. There was your productivity and you and that’s all.
How was the government funded? It earned revenue through tariffs. These are paid directly by importers and indirectly by producers and consumers if the costs can be passed through. As strategies for gaining revenue, this approach is relatively noninvasive. It left the population alone.
Back in those days, however, the federal government barely existed as compared with today. More precisely, in real terms, the federal government in 1885 spent in inflation-adjusted dollars about 0.05 percent of what it spends today. Even then, people believed that it was too big and wanted it cut back to size.
Donald Trump has recently been schooling people in the history of revenue strategies and he is teaching something that people have not known. He has explained how this period of American history saw the greatest amount of economic growth we’ve ever seen. He is correct about that and he is also correct that this was the period of the tariff.
The cause and effect, however, is murky. The main themes of this period were freedom and sound money. The dollar was governed by the gold standard and there was no central bank. The federal government itself had no presence in the life of the American family or typical American business. Those facts more than tariffs account for the difference between then and now.
As an aside, I cannot remember another U.S. president having as clear an opinion on 19th-century economic history. Most comments by presidents have been limited to pieties about the Founding Fathers or Lincoln but skip over details concerning revenue sources or controversies concerning national banks and the like. Trump is clearly different, highly confident in these details of history that are lost even on most economists.
Trump has explained that the income tax came along in 1913 as a replacement for the tariff. That is correct in design but the historical reality was slightly different. Tariffs were not abolished entirely. The income tax just became a second and additional source of revenue. Then the Great War came, financed in large part by the central bank (the Federal Reserve) that was created the same year.
The income tax and the Fed became the financial source of Leviathan power. Both came about in 1913, along with the direct election of Senators that blew up the bicameral structure of Congress and put the big cities in charge of America’s equivalent of the House of Lords.
Trump’s history lesson opens up the opportunity to examine all of this more closely. In 19th-century terms, he seems to be siding with the Hamilton faction inherited by Henry Clay, the Senator from Virginia who advocated what came to be called “the American System.” This was a policy of protective tariffs, a national bank, and federal subsidies for internal improvements to promote economic growth and national cohesion.
That’s a pretty good summary of what seems to be Trump’s position. In historical terms, the Clay view contrasted with the Jeffersonian view, which favored a tiny government, free trade, no national bank, no industrial subsidies, and a society of small farmers to serve as the economic engine.
These days, the debates between the Jeffersonians and Hamiltonians seem far less relevant to the current situation. Both Hamilton and Clay would be appalled by the size and scope of government power, and would happily link arms with Jefferson and John Randolph of Roanoke to cut the beast down to size. That seems to be the actual ambition of Trump, to be an agent of change that makes the federal government manageable again.
As part of this, Trump has floated the idea of abolishing the income tax. And all the people said: yes! But of course that would end in denying vast amounts of revenue to the federal government. No matter how you do the math, there is simply no way that the tariff can make up the difference. The only solution, then, is massive cuts in government spending, which people like Elon Musk have promised but we are waiting to see the plans.
Again, the last time government was funded entirely by tariffs, government spending was a mere 0.05 percent of what it is today. If we are going to cut it back that much, fantastic, but nothing like that has happened in American history, nothing even close to that. Usually what Washington calls cuts are really just cuts in the rate of increase of spending.
Without real cuts, and with a curbing or elimination of the income tax, the United States merely ends up with more debt that will be financed by the Federal Reserve and that results in more inflation. Inflation is nothing but a different and more surreptitious form of taxation. Instead of taking money out of your bank account directly, government simply reduces the purchasing power of the dollar itself.
Let’s return to this idea of abolishing the income tax. The best case for that idea ever made was written by a great journalist named Frank Chodorov (1887–1966) and his wonderful book “The Income Tax: Root of All Evil.” He wrote about the 16th Amendment to the Constitution:
“[It] puts no limit on governmental confiscation. The government can, under the law, take everything the citizen earns, even to the extent of depriving him of all above mere subsistence, which it must allow him in order that he may produce something to be confiscated. Whichever way you turn this amendment, you come up with the fact that it gives the government a prior lien on all the property produced by its subjects. In short, when this amendment became part of the Constitution, in 1913, the absolute right of property in the United States was violated.”
Further: “In name, it was a tax reform. In point of fact, it was a revolution. For the Sixteenth Amendment corroded the American concept of natural rights; ultimately reduced the American citizen to a status of subject, so much so that he is not aware of it; enhanced Executive power to the point of reducing Congress to innocuity; and enabled the central government to bribe the states, once independent units, into subservience. No kingship in the history of the world ever exercised more power than our Presidency, or had more of the people’s wealth at its disposal. We have retained the forms and phrases of a republic, but in reality we are living under an oligarchy, not of courtesans, but of bureaucrats.”
The abolition of the income tax would restore property rights, restore rights to enterprise, and restore the privacy of American citizens not to be spied on and pillaged by arbitrary government power.
The constituency that would favor such a thing in America is practically everyone. Why, then, has no president ever promoted such an idea? Precisely because doing so is incredibly enlightening and consciousness-raising. It forces the realization on the part of the American people that the government is living at their expense. For any political establishment, lording over a population that is newly aware of this is a dangerous proposition.
There is no getting around the math. If we really are talking about getting rid of income taxes, there is no tariff high enough to make up the difference. There is no choice but to cut spending dramatically. The budget freeze, the freeze on new hires, the freeze on outgoing grants—all of this point in the right direction. We cannot rule out the possibility that the Trump administration will take us to where we need to go.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.
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Trump Effect: US Manufacturing Surveys Signal ‘Expansion’ For First Time In 16 Mont
Monday, Feb 03, 2025 – 10:09 AM
For the first time since June 2024, the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI broke above 50 (expansion) in final January data (rising from 49.4 in Dec to 50.1 flash PMI for Jan to 51.2 final).
The ISM Manufacturing print for January also beat expectations, rising to 50.9 (into expansion for the first time since Sept 2022), better than the 49,.9 exp and the 49.2 prior.
Source: Bloomberg
All the underlying components for the ISM rose with Prices Paid at their highest since May 2024, New Orders highest since May 2022, and Employmenmt back into expansion for the first time since May 2024…
“A new year and a new President has brought new optimism in the US manufacturing sector.
Business confidence about prospects for the year ahead has leaped to the highest for nearly three years after one of the largest monthly gains yet recorded by the survey.
Over the past decade, only two months during the reopening of the economy from pandemic lockdowns have seen business sentiment improve as markedly as recorded in January.
As Bidenomics fades into oblivion:
“Manufacturers report that political uncertainty has cleared and the pro-business approach from the new administration has brightened their prospects.
Production has already improved after falling throughout much of the last half of 2024, amid rising domestic sales.
Factories have also stepped up their hiring to meet planned growth of production capacity.
However,
“…a rise in the rate of increase of both input costs and selling prices could become a concern if this intensification of inflationary pressures is sustained in the coming months, especially as the combination of higher price pressures alongside accelerating economic growth and rising employment is not typically conducive to cutting interest rates.”
We shall see…
III USA ECONOMIC NEWS
Six Feared Dead After Medical Jet Crashes In Northeast Philadelphia
A Learjet 55 operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance crashed into a shopping center in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday night, killing all on board. The impact triggered a massive fireball that set homes and vehicles ablaze.
The New York Times reported that the Learjet 55 had six people on board, all of whom perished upon impact:
The Learjet 55 was transporting a young female patient from Philadelphia, where she had completed treatment, to her home in Mexico, said Shai Gold, a spokesman for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which owns the plane. She was accompanied by her mother, and there were also two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic on board, he added. The patient had been treated at Shriners Children’s in Philadelphia, said the hospital’s spokesman, Mel Bower. All six people on the plane were Mexican, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said.
The twin-engine jet departed from Northeast Philadelphia Airport and was en route to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri when it crashed just minutes into the flight.
The cause of the mid-air incident remains unclear. Authorities are investigating what occurred in the skies over Philadelphia that led the pilots to become unresponsive with the Northeast Philadelphia Airport Tower before the aircraft entered a violent descent at 11,000 feet per minute, ultimately crashing into a city street.
Potential internal factors include an oxygen tank explosion or improper load balance. Externally, a loss of flight controls due to icing or a possible drone strike cannot be ruled out. However, these theories remain speculative, as authorities have yet to confirm any details while the investigation is ongoing.
Audio from Northeast Philadelphia Airport Tower could be heard: “We have a lost aircraft. We’re not exactly sure what happened, so we’re trying to figure it out.”
Philadelphia officials have yet to confirm any fatalities to passengers or bystanders who were on the ground.
* * *
Dramatic footage has surfaced on X showing a Learjet 55, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashing in Northeast Philadelphia.
“This evening, a Learjet 55 (XA-UCI) crashed shortly after takeoff from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The flight departed at 23:06 UTC, reaching a maximum altitude of 1,650 ft at 23:06:54. Granular ADS-B data shows the last message from the aircraft,” flight tracking website Flightradar24 wrote on X.
NYT, NBC, NPR, Politico Evicted From Pentagon Press Offices In Favor Of Trump-Friendly Outlets
Saturday, Feb 01, 2025 – 11:05 AM
The innumerable consequences of the 2024 election keep gushing forth at a pace that’s hard to keep up with. Here’s a new gem: On Friday evening, the Department of Defense told The New York Times, NBC News, National Public Radio and Politico that they have two weeks to vacate their long-held and treasured offices inside the Pentagon.
Three of their four replacements skew decidedly to the Trump-friendly sector of the political spectrum: the New York Post, One America News Network and Breitbart. Throwing a bone to leftists, HuffPost news snagged Politico’s old slot. The Pentagon Press Association said it was “greatly troubled by this unprecedented move by DOD to single out highly professional media.”
The short-notice evictions from the hallowed “Correspondents’ Corridor” spring from the launch of a “new annual media rotation program for [the] Pentagon Press Corps,” according to a memorandum sent by DOD spokesman John Ullyot on Friday and posted by CNN Pentagon correspondent Haley Britzky. The program seeks to “broaden access to the limited space…to outlets that have not previously enjoyed the privilegeand journalist value of working from physical office space in the Pentagon,” said Ullyot.
The booted outlets will retain their status as full members of the Pentagon Press Corps, entitled to attend briefings and be considered for travel with officials. “The only change will be giving up their physical workspaces in the building to allow new outlets to have their turn to become resident members of the Pentagon Press Corps,” wrote Ullyot.
Make no mistake: Those physical workspaces are a big deal. “Kicking out reporters HURTS coverage. If you can’t file your stories from inside the building you are disadvantaged. If you don’t have a work space you are disadvantaged,” wrote former Pentagon Press Corps VP Kevin Baron on X. That commentary was part of a thread condemning the development as “the erasure of journalism at the Pentagon.”
The Pentagon Press Corps comprises more than two dozen outlets. The program calls for one outlet from each press medium to rotate from the premises every year. As if Breitbart’s invitation into the Pentagon weren’t enough to outrage establishment media types, the fact that it’s taking the “radio” slot from NPR only compounded the indignation. In a Friday night article, CNN’s Brian Stelter called foul:
“Breitbart – a well-known web site for pro-Trump coverage and commentary – barely has a radio operation of its own. The word ‘radio’ doesn’t appear on its home page at all. The media outlet has a distribution deal with SiriusXM and one big podcast, Breitbart News Daily. Its footprint pales in comparison to NPR, which provides news coverage for local stations all across the country.”
In another hilarious, leftist-pummeling swap, One America News Network will be sliding into NBC’s slot. Expressing sympathetic disbelief, CNN’s Britzky emphasized that NBC “has an entire booth w/ cameras etc.” NBC News promised to soldier on, telling Reuters,
“We’re disappointed by the decision to deny us access to a broadcasting booth at the Pentagon that we’ve used for many decades. Despite the significant obstacles this presents to our ability to gather and report news in the national public interest, we will continue to report with the same integrity and rigor NBC News always has.”
For the many Americans who are still angry about legacy media’s aggressive role in working to derail Trump’s 2020 re-election bid, Politico’s punishment is perhaps the most satisfying. The outlet took the lead in spreading the consequential, Deep State lie that Hunter Biden’s “laptop from hell” — first reported by the New York Post — was part of a Russian misinformation scheme. That lie helped ignite unprecedented censorship of the Post’s coverage. Fittingly, the Post — the country’s longest-running newspaper — is among the outlets graduating to space in the Pentagon.
“The National Press Club is deeply concerned by the Defense Department’s decision to remove certain media organizations from their dedicated spaces in the Pentagon,” club president Mike Balsamo said in a statement. “Any action that restricts the ability of journalists to report on the operations of the U.S. government should alarm all who value transparency and press freedom.” Balsamo pointed to the Pentagon press corps’ history of “diversity,” yet the announced swaps inarguably increase viewpoint diversity.
The Pentagon’s shot across the bow of legacy media follows Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s announcement that the White House will significantly broaden media access, with an emphasis on alternative media. “The Trump White House will speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media that are seated in this room,” she said in her first press conference.
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Will The Fed Use The Excuse Of Tariffs For The Inflation They Create?
Inflation is rising, but it has nothing to do with tariffs. It has everything to do with the Fed’s policy and the Treasury’s uncontrolled spending.
The Core PCE Price Index, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2% this month and remains stubbornly high at 2.8% annualized. The headline PCE Price Index increased by 0.3%, the first 0.3% monthly increase in eight months. This has pushed the annualized increase to 2.55%, the highest in seven months.
Obviously, this inflation trend has nothing to do with tariffs but with the fact that government spending soared 10% in 2024, and money supply growth is at a two-year-high.
The Federal Reserve created inflation in 2020 when money supply growth rose at its fastest pace in decades to finance the enormous increase in government spending and perpetuated inflation, keeping an ultra-loose policy for two more years. Furthermore, in 2024 the Fed panicked and delayed its balance sheet reduction in June only to cut rates in September. All these measures, designed to hide the increasing unsustainability of government spending, have perpetuated inflation, reaching an accumulative inflation measured by CPI of almost 25% in four years.
The M2 money supply saw an unprecedented increase in 2020, with a year-over-year growth rate hitting over 23% by August 2020. This was the highest growth rate since records began in 1981.
From February 2020 to November 2024, the United States M2 money supply has soared from $15.4 trillion to $21.45 trillion, which is a cumulative growth of about 39.3%.
In the same period, cumulative inflation measured by CPI rose almost 25%, with some essential goods like gas or food rising more than 40%. The entire inflationary spiral is caused by the historic accumulation of newly created money looking to finance the rising excess in government spending, which stood more than $2 trillion above the 2019 level by 2024.
Tariffs may have plenty of consequences, but they do not cause inflation. Inflation is the erosion of the currency’s purchasing power, and it can only occur when money supply growth, almost always driven by much higher spending, exceeds private sector demand. Furthermore, there has never been an instance in history in which the money supply did not soar alongside government spending.
Tariffs may lead to increases in some individual prices if the goods affected are entirely produced abroad and demand is inelastic, but they do not increase aggregate prices, let alone create an annualized and constant increase, as measured by CPI. Only aggressive fiscal and monetary policies cause inflation. Furthermore, if the quantity of money in the system remains unchanged, tariffs would make prices drop because the units of currency available to purchase the rest of the goods and services would be significantly smaller.
Tariffs, like oil prices, may have relevant implications on numerous trade factors, but they do not cause inflation. If the money supply is unchanged and oil prices rise, the rest of the goods and services decline. Same with tariffs. Oil prices and tariffs are inherently deflationary unless newly created currency and money supply growth rise faster. Furthermore, oil and tariffs may have an impact in the short term, but they do not make aggregate prices go up, consolidate the increase, and continue rising, which is what annualized CPI and PCE measure.
Why is this important? Keynesians want to continue imposing inflationism and blaming external factors for the erosion of the purchasing power of the currency.
This week, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) talked about the possible implications of tariffs but refrained from making definitive statements on their immediate impact on interest rates.
Jerome Powell highlighted a “very, very wide range of possibilities” regarding the consequences of tariffs, indicating that the Fed is waiting to see what policies are enacted before assessing their impact on the economy. Powell emphasized that they need to see more data to evaluate how tariffs will affect consumers and the broader economic landscape, according to the FOMC minutes.
Thus, the narrative has already been created. If inflation continues to rise, the Federal Reserve will use the tariff excuse just as it used the “supply chain disruption” and “re-opening” fallacy in the past. However, the reality remains that an abrupt money surge always creates inflation, and the Fed is not fulfilling its mandate.
The excuse has been created. Governments will continue to spend and increase deficits and debt, central banks will continue to print, and they will blame tariffs just as they blamed supply chain disruptions.
The most important objective of Keynesians is to make you think that the consequences of inflation are the causes. Only rising money supply driven by soaring government spending, which makes money velocity increase, creates inflation.
IIIB USA COMMENTARIES RE ISRAEL/HAMAS WAR/ and PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM/WOKISM
iiiC USA COVID //VACCINE ISSUES/IMPORTANT MEDICAL ISSUES
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FREIGHT ISSUES/USA/
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VICTOR DAVIS HANSON OR NEWT GINGRICH/TUCKER CARLSON
VDH
VDH: Ten Problems With DEI That Frighten The Public
The diversity, equity, and inclusion project, often seen as a major element of the so-called “woke” creed along with green fanaticism, keeps popping up as a possible subtext in a variety of recent tragedies.
In the case of the Los Angeles fires, Mayor Karen Bass, who cut the fire department budget, was warned of the mounting fire dangers of the Santa Anna winds and parched brush on surrounding hillsides. No matter—she junketed in Uganda. When furor followed, on cue, her defenders decried a racialist attack on “a black woman.”
Her possible stand-in deputy mayor for “security” was under suspension for allegations that he called in a bomb threat to the Los Angeles city council—a factor mysteriously forgotten.
The fire chief previously was on record mostly for highlighting her DEI agendas rather than emphasizing traditional fire department criteria like response time or keeping fire vehicles running and out of the shop.
One of her deputies had boasted that in emergencies, citizens appreciated most of all that arriving first responders looked like them. (But most people in need worry only whether the first responders seem to know what they are doing.) She further snarked that if women allegedly were not physically able to carry out a man in times of danger, then it was the man’s fault for being in the wrong place.
The Los Angeles water and power czar—culpable for a needlessly dry reservoir that could have provided 117 million gallons to help save Pacific Palisades—was once touted primarily as the first Latina to run such a vital agency. But did that fact matter much to the 18 million people whose very survival depended on deliverable water in the otherwise desert tinderbox of greater Los Angeles?
In all these cases, the point is not necessarily whether the key players who might have prevented the destruction of some 25,000 acres of Los Angeles were selected—or exempted—on the basis of their race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Rather the worry is that in all these cases, those with responsibility for keeping Los Angeles viable, themselves eagerly self-identified first by their race, gender, or sexual orientation—as if this fact alone was synonymous with competence and deference.
In fact, racial or sex identity has nothing to do with whether a water and power director grasped the dangers of a bone-dry but vital reservoir; whether the fire department must know how many fire hydrants remain in working order; or whether a mayor understood that in times of existential danger she must stay on the job and not fly on an optional junket to Africa.
As of yet, we have no idea exactly all the mishaps that caused a horrific air crash at Reagan Airport in Washington.
The only clear consensus that has emerged is that the horrific deaths could have been easily preventable—but were not because, in perfect storm fashion, there were multiple system failures.
In that sense, both the Los Angeles and Washington, DC, disasters are alike.
When a military helicopter crashes into a passenger jet in Washington, DC, airspace—an area that has not seen such a disaster for 43 years—the likely cause is either wrongly altered protocols or clear human error, or both.
So, it is vital to discover what the causes of the disaster were to prevent such a recurrence. As in the Los Angeles cataclysm, the role of DEI—the method of hiring regulatory agency administrators, air traffic controllers, or pilots on bases other than meritocracy—becomes a legitimate inquiry.
To dispel such worries, authorities must disclose all the facts as they do when there are no controversies over DEI. Yet we never learned the name of the Capitol police officer who fatally shot unarmed Ashli Babbitt for months, nor received evidence of his spotty service record. The same initial hesitation in releasing information marked news about the ship that hit the Francis Scott Bridge near Baltimore and why traffic barriers were not up in the French Quarter before the recent terrorist attack in New Orleans.
In the Washington, DC, crash, two questions arise about the conduct of pilots, air traffic controllers, and the administrators responsible for hiring, staffing, and evaluating such employees.
The first issue is whether hiring, retention, and promotion in the airline industry or the military is not fully meritocratic. That is, were personnel hired on the basis of their exhibited superior education, practical experience, and superb scores on relevant examinations in matters relating to air travel? Or were they instead passed over because of their race, gender, or sexual orientation?
Was the shortage of controllers a direct result not of an unqualified pool of applicants but rather because of racial restrictions place upon it to reduce its size?
Second, were the promoters of DEI confident that they could argue that “diversity, equity, and inclusion” were as important criteria for the operation of a complex aircraft system as the past traditional criteria that had qualified air traffic controllers, pilots, and administrators?
Not only did DEI considerations often supersede past traditional meritocratic requirements for employment, but DEI champions had also argued that “diversity” was either as important to, or more important than, traditional hiring and retention evaluations.
The answers to these first two questions make it incumbent to ask further whether DEI played a role in the Washington, D.C., crash, similar to how it may have in the Los Angeles wildfires.
It is not racist, sexist, or homophobic to ask such legitimate questions, especially because advocates themselves so often give more attention and emphasis to their race, gender, and sexual orientation than their assumed impressive expertise, proven experience, and superior education.
In other words, had one’s race, sex, or orientation been incidental to employment rather than essential, such questions from the public might never have arisen.
Finally, what are the problems with DEI that have not just lost its support but put fear into the public that, like the Russian commissar system of old, it has the potential to undermine the very sinews of a sophisticated, complex society?
DEI is an ideology or a protocol that supersedes disinterred evaluation. In that regard, ironically, it is akin to the era of Jim Crow, when talented individuals were irrationally barred from consideration due to their mere skin color. Like any system that prioritizes identity over merit—whether Marist-Leninist credentials in the old Soviet Union or tribal bias in the contemporary Middle East—a complex society that embraces tribalism inevitably begins to become dysfunctional.
DEI does not end at hiring. Rather, once a candidate senses he is employed on the basis of his race, sex, or sexual orientation, then it is natural he must assume such preferences are tenured throughout his career. Thus, he will always be judged by the same criterion that led to his hiring. In other words, DEI is a lifetime contractual agreement, an insurance policy of sorts once DEI credentials are established as preeminent over all others.
The advocates of DEI rarely confess that meritocratic criteria have been superseded by considerations of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Instead, to the degree that they claim such criteria are not at odds with meritocracy, they argue that the methods of assessing talent and performance are themselves flawed. Tests then are unsound and systemically biased and therefore largely irrelevant. Few DEI advocates make the argument that diversity is so important that it justifies lowering the traditional standards of competence.
Once DEI tribal protocols are established, they are calcified and unchanged. That is when supposed DEI demographics are overrepresented in particular fields such as the postal service or professional sports, then such “disproportionality” is justified on “reparatory” grounds or ironically on merit. If other non-DEI groups, by DEI’s own standards, are deprived of “equity” and “inclusion” or “underrepresented,” it is irrelevant. DEI is, again, a lifetime concession, regardless of changes in status, income, or privilege. An Oprah Winfrey or a Barack Obama—two of the most privileged people on the planet—by virtue of their race, at least as it is defined in the Western world—are permanently deserving of deference.
DEI is also ossified in the sense that it makes no allowance for class. Asian Americans, when convenient, can be counted as DEI hires even though, in terms of per capita income, most Asian groups do better than so-called whites. Under DEI, the children of elites like Barack Obama or Hakim Jeffries will always be in need of reparatory consideration but not so the children of those in East Palestine, Ohio.
Because DEI is an ideology, a faith-based creed, it does not rely on logic and is thus exempt from charges of irrationality, inconsistency, and hypocrisy. The belief system feels no obligation to defend itself from rational arguments. For example, are not racially separate graduations or safe spaces contrary to the corpus of civil rights legislation of the 1960s? There is no such thing as DEI irony: the system contrived to supposedly remedy the de jure racism of some 60-70 years ago itself hinges on de jure racial fixations as the remedy—now, tomorrow, forever.
As in all monolithic dogmas such as Sovietism or Maoism, skeptics, critics, and apostates cannot be tolerated. So, in the case of DEI, logical criticism is preemptively aborted by boilerplate charges of racism, sexism, and homophobia. And the mere accusation is synonymous with conviction, thereby establishing DEI deterrence, under which no one dares to risk cancellation, de-platforming, ostracism, or career suicide by questioning the faith.
DEI is also incoherent. It is essentially a reversion to tribalism in which solidarity is predicated on shared race, sex, or sexual orientation, not through individual background, particular economic status, or one’s unique character. No DEI czar knows why in the pre-Obama era, East Asians did not qualify for DEI status, though they seem to now, or when and how the transgendered were suddenly not statistically still traditionally .01 percent of the population but, in some campus surveys, magically became 10-20 percent of polled undergraduates. No one understands what percentage of one’s DNA qualifies for DEI status, only that any system of the past that fixated on ascertaining racial essentialism, such as the one-drop rule of the old South or the multiplicity of racial categories in the former South Africa, or the yellow-star evil of the Third Reich, largely imploded, in part by the weight of its own absurd amorality.
DEI never explains the exact individual bereavement that justifies preferentiality. All claims are instead collective. And they are encased in the amber of slavery, Jim Crow, or homophobia or sexism of decades past. Social progress does not exist; the malady is eternal. The candidate for DEI consideration never must ascertain how, when, or where he was subject to serious discrimination or bias. And that may explain all the needed prefix adjectives that have sprouted up to prove these -isms and -ologies exist when they otherwise cannot be detected, such as “systemic,” “implicit,” “insidious,” or “structural” racism rather than just “racism.”
DEI never envisions its demise or what follows from it, much less whether there are superior ways to achieve equality of opportunity rather than mandated results. The beneficiaries of DEI seldom ponder its efficacy, much less whether resources would be better allotted to K-12 education during the critical years of development. And they certainly show little concern about those often poorer and more underprivileged who lack the prescribed race, gender, or orientation for special DEI considerations.
In sum, because of these inconsistencies, Donald Trump may well be able to end DEI with a wave of an executive order – simply because its foundations were always built of sand and thus any bold push would knock over the entire shaky edifice.
END
KING REPORT
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The King Report February 3, 2025 Issue 7422
Independent View of the News
@EricLDaugh (Thursday night): Trump issues a new threat to BRICS countries trying to “move away from the dollar.” “We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy.” “They can go find another sucker Nation.” “There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!”
US economic data released on Friday was as expected, except Dec Spending was 0.7% ().5% exp.) and the Chicago PMI for Jan was 3.95, 40 expected.
Q4 Employment Cost Index 0.9%; Dec Personal Income 0.4%, Spending 0.5%, PCE Price Index 0.3% m/m & 2.6% y/y, Core PCE 0.2% m/m & 2.8% y/y; Jan Chicago PMI 40
Though The Street ‘expected’ December Core PCE, the Fed’s professed favorite inflation metric, to be Core PCE 0.2% m/m & 2.8% y/y, it hoped for a softer reading. USHs fell from 114 18/32 to a daily low of 114 7/32 (-14/32) after the Core PCE was released. They later rebounded to a daily high of 114 27/32 on January performance gaming.
ESHs vacillated between small and moderate gains from the Nikkei opening until they jumped higher at 20:41 ET. A nine-handle rally ended at 21:00 ET. ESHs the did a slow rollover and went inert until they commenced a rally after the 1 ET Nikkei close.
The 11-handle rally ended just before the 3 ET European opening. ESHs slid 8 handles to 6116.50 at 3:55 ET. They then popped to 6128.50 at 4:30 ET. But again, there was no follow through. ESHs then traded sideways, in an 8-handle range until they broke down after the PCE Core was released.
After falling to 6117.00 at 9:13 ET, buying for the NYSE opening, The Friday Rally, and January performance gaming drove ESHs to a daily high of 6147.75 at 11:09 ET. ESHs then sank to 6127.75 at 12:08 ET. A Noon Balloon pop pushed ESHs to 6143.75 at 12:30 ET.
We warned in Friday’s missive that tariffs could destroy the upward equity biases on Friday; and that came to pass. WH Press Sec Karoline Leavitt said DJT would place 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Saturday to punish those nations for allowing drugs and illegal immigrants entry into the US. She added that a 10% tariff would be placed Chinese goods.
ESHs tumbled to a daily low of 6095.75 at 13:37 ET. USHs sank to a daily low of 114 5/32 (-16/32). Leavitt also said Trump has NOT yet made up his mind on a timeline for EU tariffs.
After a moderate rebound, ESHs broke down and sank to a new daily low of 6080.75 at 14:08 ET. After another moderate rally, ESHs sank to a new daily low of 6066.75 at 14:46 ET. USHs fell to a new daily low of 113 21/32 (-32/32). After another rally attempt, ESHs slid to another new low of 6057.75 at 15:43 ET. The blatant and illegal late manipulation to game January performance pushed ESHs to 6078.25 at 15:50 ET (21 handles in 7 minutes!). ESHs were 6067.50 at the NYSE. USHs were manipulated to 114 5/32 (-16/32) at 15:59 ET. This too is a blatant and illegal manipulation to game January performance.
New Report Debunks DeepSeek’s Supposed Cost Advantage Over ChatGPT According to SemiAnalysis, DeepSeek’s total server CapEx is around $1.3 billion, with a significant portion allocated to operating and maintaining its GPU clusters. This contradicts previous claims that suggested DeepSeek was developing cutting-edge AI at a fraction of the cost of its Western counterparts. The report further clarifies DeepSeek’s access to roughly 50,000 Hopper GPUs — but emphasizes that this does not mean 50,000 H100s, as some had assumed. Instead, the GPU fleet consists of a mix of: • H100s • H800s (a China-specific variant of the H100) • H20s (a lower-performance model NVIDIA designed for the Chinese market in response to U.S. exportcontrols)… https://medium.com/@fahey_james/new-report-debunks-deepseeks-supposed-cost-advantage-over-chatgpt-251461d17c0d
Wiz Research Uncovers Exposed DeepSeek Database Leaking Sensitive Information, Including Chat History – A publicly accessible database belonging to DeepSeek allowed full control over database operations, including the ability to access internal data. The exposure includes over a million lines of log streams with highly sensitive information.https://www.wiz.io/blog/wiz-research-uncovers-exposed-deepseek-database-leak
@StockMKTNewz: A 92-YEAR STREAK JUST CAME TO AN END – Walgreens WBA announced this week that it would stop paying its dividend for the first time since 1933 in a bid to conserve cash and save the business. https://x.com/StockMKTNewz/status/1885838625168068951
Positive aspects of previous session Blatant manipulation to game January performance produced a modest gain in the NY Fang+ Index.
Negative aspects of previous session Stocks and bonds declined sharply on DJT’s tariffs Blatant and illegal manipulations occurred in ESHs and USHs during late NYSE trading.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session Will the blatant late manipulation of ESHs ever be penalized?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Up; Last Hour: Down
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 6064.12 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 6120.91; 6030.93
@CollinRugg: Ukrainian President Zelensky says Ukraine has only received about $75 billion of the $177 billion in aid that was allegedly sent from the United States. “I don’t know where all this money is… we never received it.” What? (Threw Team Biden & Congress under the bus) https://t.co/1SdtHCzm31
@elonmusk: The DOGE team discovered, among other things, thatpayment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups. They literally never denied a payment in their entire career. Not even once.
@robbystarbuck: The highest-ranking Treasury official, David A Lebryk, is resigning rather than complying with a request by DOGE for access to audit where they’ve spent trillions of dollars a year. Why would career bureaucrats fear an audit by @elonmusk and doge to see where we can save money? That is absolutely insane. How many billions or trillions have they wasted in recent years?…
@amuse: DOGE: David Lebryk controlled the computerized payment system responsible for $6 trillion in Treasury payments before he refused to give Trump’s DOGE team access to the system. His manager was a Nigerian immigrant appointed by Biden. He quit two weeks ago. https://x.com/amuse/status/1885715410898559262
@realDonaldTrump on Sat: This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia…. These strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians…The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”
Fox’s @EdwardLawrence: White House Officials say the Executive Orders signed adding tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China have a retaliation clause. That means if the country retaliates, then there would be consequences. The Officials say likely increased tariffs.
The WH: The Mexican drug trafficking organizations have an intolerable alliance with the government of Mexico. The government of Mexico has afforded safe havens for the cartels to engage in the manufacturing and transportation of dangerous narcotics, which collectively have led to the overdose deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims. This alliance endangers the national security of the United States, and we must eradicate the influence of these dangerous cartels. There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitazene synthesis labs in Canada… While trade accounts for 67% of Canada’s GDP, 73% of Mexico’s GDP, and 37% of China’s GDP, it accounts for only 24% of U.S. GDP. However, in 2023 the U.S. trade deficit in goods was the world’s largest at over $1 trillion… https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-tariffs-on-imports-from-canada-mexico-and-china/
NYT: Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, rejected U.S. suggestions that her government is collaborating with drug traffickers, calling on the U.S. to curb demand for drugs internally. She says her government will introduce retaliatory measures, including tariffs, against the U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/01/us/trump-tariffs-news
@ABC: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to Trump’s tariffs Saturday evening by announcing the country will implement 25% tariffs on $155 billion worth of U.S. goods.
@EricLDaugh: After it came out that Canada plans to target red states with tariffs in response to Trump, TEXAS Governor Greg Abbott has responded. “Careful Trudeau. The Texas economy is larger than Canada’s. And we’re not afraid to use it!
@rawsalerts: British Columbia says it will no longer buy American liquor from red states…
@TheCalvinCooli1: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she is filing an official complaint against Google because they changed the name “Gulf of Mexico” to “Gulf of America.”
@still_boneless: Canada imports 77% of their goods from the US. The US imports 18% of their goods from Canada. I think we know how this is going to end.
@EndWokeness: 77% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. and 84% of Mexico’s exports go to the U.S.
The dopey socialists that run or want to run Canada are making the tariff fight personal. Big mistake! @TrumpDailyPosts (Sunday): We pay hundreds of Billions of Dollars to SUBSIDIZE Canada. Why? There is no reason. We don’t need anything they have. We have unlimited Energy, should make our own Cars, and have more Lumber than we can ever use. Without this massive subsidy, Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of Canada — AND NO TARIFFS!
@GuntherEagleman: JD Vance just perfectly explained why Trump is taking such drastic actions with tariffs! “The problem with this whole idea that they’re gonna retaliate is they have already been taking advantage of America for decades.” “The retaliation is Donald Trump saying, ‘no more’. “We’re not gonna be taken advantage of anymore, and I think it’s important the president is doing what he’s doing.” https://x.com/GuntherEagleman/status/1886078538484216123
@dlacalle_IA: If tariffs caused inflation and economic recession, China and India (two of the biggest tariff barrier countries in the world) would have been in recession and with hyperinflation for the past decade. Tariffs can be criticized for other reasons, but do not follow the Keynesian nonsense… https://x.com/dlacalle_IA/status/1885979453735449081
@TrumpDailyPosts: The “Tariff Lobby,” headed by the Globalist, and always wrong, Wall Street Journal, is working hard to justify Countries like Canada, Mexico, China, and too many others to name, continue the decades long RIPOFF OF AMERICA, both with regard to TRADE, CRIME, AND POISONOUS DRUGS that are allowed to so freely flow into AMERICA. THOSE DAYS ARE OVER! The USA has major deficits with Canada, Mexico, and China (and almost all countries!), owes 36 Trillion Dollars, and we’re not going to be the “Stupid Country” any longer. MAKE YOUR PRODUCT IN THE USA AND THERE ARE NO TARIFFS! Why should the United States lose TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SUBSIDIZING OTHER COUNTRIES, and why should these other countries pay a small fraction of the cost of what USA citizens pay for Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, as an example?… Anybody that’s against Tariffs, including the Fake News Wall Street Journal, and Hedge Funds, is only against them because these entities are controlled by China, or foreign or domestic companies…
@Pfeiffer47: The WSJ wrote in 1999 that China’s entry into the World Trade Organization was “worth celebrating.”Since China’s entry into the WTO, the U.S. lost 3.7 million jobs.The WSJ was wrong then and they are wrong now. https://t.co/9jMyETaDuy
@MichaelAArouet: Trump announcing that he will impose tariffs on the goods manufactured in the European Union is making big waves today… it will be mainly tariffs on the goods made in Germany. As if Germany wouldn’t have enough problems already.Chart @econovisuals https://t.co/irTQNu6z1p
@greg_price11: Chuck Schumer claims that President Trump’s tariffs will raise the price of beer because “most of it comes from Mexico“ while holding a can of corona. This might be the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen a politician do lmfao.https://x.com/greg_price11/status/1886209173743919468
@IsraelRadar_com: President Trump does not wish to launch joint US-Israeli strike on Iran, says former diplomat Yaki Dayan; but Trump is willing to supply Israel with military gear for attack and will exert maximal pressure on Tehran, including strict sanctions & military threats. via @N12News
@BarakRavid: Rubio presented an ultimatum to the President of Panama regarding the Panama Canal: “Absent immediate changes regarding Chinese influence, the US will take measures necessary to protect its rights under the Treaty.”
After Rubio left, Panama President José Raúl Mulino announced Panama will not renew the 2017 Chinese contracts on the Panama Canal that are part of the CCP’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Today – The usual suspects will play for the Monday Rally and buying to start February that typically occurs near and at the NYSE close. If US stocks get crushed early, be alert for some type of manipulation, official or unofficial. Reportedly, DJT will talk with Canada & Mexico about the tariffs on Monday. Ergo, a positive resolution of the tariff issue could unleash manic buying.
Expected economic data: Jan S&P Global US Mfg PMI 50.1; Jan ISM 49.3; Dec Construction Spending 0.2% m/m; Jan Wards Vehicle Sales 16.2m; Atlanta Fed Pres Bostic 11 ET, SF Fed Pres Daly 14 ET
ESHs -102.25; NQHs -486.00; and USHs are +23/32 at 20:15 ET. Peso -2%; Loonie lowest since 2003.
S&P Index 50-day MA: 5990; 100-day MA: 5881; 150-day MA: 5756; 200-day MA: 5630 DJIA 50-day MA: 43,694; 100-day MA: 43,058; 150-day MA: 42,105; 200-day MA: 41,283 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (6071.17 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5382.09 triggers a sell signal Weekly: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 5735.66 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5962.31 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 6106.12 triggers a buy signal
@KyleSeraphin: EXCLUSIVE: FBI Employees who were involved in the inappropriate actions against @realDonaldTrump have received this notice: Notice of Removal from Federal Service This letter provides official notice that you are being removed from your position at the Department of Justice, and from the federal service, effective immediately. As President Trump declared on his first day back in office, “[t)he American people have witnessed the previous administration engage in a systematic campaign against its perceived political opponents, weaponizing the legal force of numerous Federal law enforcement agencies… against those perceived political opponents in the form of investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions.” Nowhere was that effort more salient than in the unprecedented prosecutions the Department of Justice vigorously pursued against President Trump himself. You played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump. The proper functioning of government critically depends on the trust superior officials place in their subordinates. Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully… https://x.com/KyleSeraphin/status/1885772291973288351
@JohnStrandUSA: The weaponized Biden DOJ lied and illegally coerced hundreds of hapless non-violent protesters into fraudulent plea deals. They destroyed these people and it was all a partisan operation to sell their insurrection propaganda to the public. Despicable.
@susancrabtree: Up to 90 FBI agents are being told to resign, retire or be fired. Many are GS13s, who carried out work on order from senior executive service bosses, sources tell me.
NYT: Helicopter in Crash Near Washington Might Have Been Flying Higher Than Approved The pilot of the helicopter asked the air traffic controller for permission to use a specific, predetermined route that lets helicopters fly no higher than 200 feet and that hugs the bank on the east side of the Potomac River, a location that would have let it avoid the American Airlines plane… The helicopter was above 300 feet, not below 200 feet, and was at least a half-mile off the approved route when it collided with the jet… the Black Hawk’s pilots had flown this route before, and were well aware of the altitude restrictions and tight air corridor they were permitted to fly in near the airport… https://t.co/eyjvUr72Uj
@realDonaldTrump: The Blackhawk helicopter was flying too high, by a lot. It was far above the 200 foot limit. That’s not really too complicated to understand, is it???
Army helicopter was warned about American Airlines plane 2 minutes before DC crashhttps://t.co/vWvd2nJj2J
Two planes aborted landings at DCA due to helicopters in flight path in week before crash: report On Tuesday night, just one day before the collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter, a different plane alerted the air traffic control tower that it had to abort its landing to avoid collision with a helicopter, the Washington Post reported. Yet another plane arriving at DCA from Charlotte scrubbed its landing on Jan. 23, again because of a helicopter. https://t.co/tj579V0QfL
@Breaking911: TRUMP: “Birthright citizenship…was meant for the children of slaves. This was not meant for the whole world to come in & pile into the United States.”
Dem House titular leader Jeffries is calling for insurrection. Jeffries: We must fight President Trump’s agenda “legislatively… in the courts… in the streets” https://x.com/greg_price11/status/1885352385817489587
@WesternLensman: JD Vance just methodically scorched Hakeem Jeffries and his “Fight in the Streets” rhetoric: “These people remind me sometimes of the folks that were still fighting World War Two in an isolated island like 30 years later.”… “The American people have spoken. They are sick of the ridiculous performative politics.” “For Hakeem Jeffries to go out and say that you need to fight in the streets, it’s dangerous. It’s disgraceful rhetoric. And it’s not at all what the American people ask.” “Do you want a congressional Democratic leadership that fights in the streets or that makes your life better?” https://x.com/WesternLensman/status/1886077857274712318 @ DefiyantlyFree: President Trump won 7 swing states, the popular vote, the Senate and the House. The American people made their voices heard. Republican senators would be wise to listen. Only 9 cabinet appointees failed confirmation votes in American history and the last one was in 1989, John Tower. We gave President Trump 53 seats. The fact that we have to be worried about Republicans voting yes for his cabinet is patently ridiculous.
@julie_kelly2: Here is the letter Ed Martin sent to Chuck Schumerrelated to threats Schumer made to Kavanaugh and Gorsuch in 2020 as the court was hearing oral arguments in a high profile abortion case. (The DoJ notified Chuck that he is now under investigation for the threats.) https://t.co/H1trx7RvGQ
@realDailyWire: Trump is expanding his order that revoked the security clearance of the 50 intel officers who pushed the Russian disinformation lie about Hunter’s laptop. All 50 are now also banned from U.S. government buildings, per a WH memo obtained exclusively by The Daily Wire. https://x.com/realDailyWire/status/1885384747527922008
We don’t think Trump will remove PE Powell. DJT needs a patsy if the economy goes south. Jerome Powell is the perfect patsy. He has a history of meaningful mistakes and inane pronouncements.
The DoD has told The New York Times, NBC News, NPR, and Politico to vacate their offices in the Pentagon by Feb. 14. The New York Post, OANN, Breitbart and HuffPost will take over those offices. https://x.com/jenniferzeng97/status/1885540084914565368/photo/1
@Darin_M_Heath: As a former member of the Intel community, if you saw just 10% of what I’ve seen about USAID activities, you would be perplexed about such gross misconduct and ineptitude coupled with absolute acknowledgement why the Agency and particularly State Dept have such a vested interest. @elonmusk: USAID was a viper’s nest of radical-left Marxists who hate America… USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die… Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?
@RealPatrickWebb: Two top security officials at USAID have been placed on administrative leave for blocking Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency from accessing agency systems, according to CNN. (Obama’s mom worked at USAID, which is widely perceived to be a CIA front.)
@james_jinnette1: The USAID website has gone dark and staffers emails have been deactivated. It is rumored that President Trump may eliminate the agency completely as well. (Deep State being attrittted.)
@ShadowofEzra: RFK Jr. revealed that USAID was actually a CIA front, secretly funneling $5 billion in 2014 to ignite riots in Ukraine. According to him, these CIA-backed riots triggered a coup d’état that toppled Ukraine’s neutral, democratically elected government… https://t.co/alcyCYdwaf
@MikeBenzCyber: Why did USAID pay $20 million to hit piece journalists to dig up dirt on Rudy Giuliani and use that dirt as the basis to impeach the sitting US President in 2019? https://t.co/Ab8aQvJuF3
@DataRepublican: Senator Lindsey Graham, @LindseyGrahamSC, is a Director at the International Republican Institute, a nonprofit funded by USAID… @elonmusk: Interesting. Is this legal?
Trump asked VP Vance to oversea the reformation of USAID. Also on Sunday, DJT authorized the Texas National Guard to arrest illegal immigrants.
@PeterSweden7: Why did USAID give millions of dollars to George Soros Open Society Foundation?
@BillAckman: It should be illegal for the U.S. government (using taxpayer funds) to fund NGOs to do work that the government is not permitted to do directly. (Musk calls NGOs ‘hitmen for govt.)
@ScottPresler: BOMBSHELL: As many as 40% of the noncitizens present in Maine may have voted in the 2024 elections OR had voted cast in their names. This figure is based on data from Maine’s CVR (Central Voter Registration) & MaineCare. We need an IMMEDIATE audit of Maine’s voter rolls.https://t.co/RDO7S5lmlK
@DeAngelisCorey: Democrat Senator Heidi Campbell called school choice “an assault on the American dream.” She went to a private school. She sent her kids to private school. https://x.com/DeAngelisCorey/status/1885069782598222172
@ElectionWiz: Gun-control activist and past supporter of ‘defund the police’ and ‘abolish ICE,’ David Hogg (24-years old), elected vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.
DNC lambasted for ‘beyond parody’ leadership vote that included singing, gender rules: ‘Can’t stop laughing’https://t.co/E8GsbHLzfN
Dems obstinately refuse to recognize how and why they created Trump and his movement, as well as what most Americans believe on the critical issues. Incomprehensively, Dems are moving further to the left after their clubbing in 2024! Soon, they won’t have DJT as the major issue!
Chicago raids expose how leftist groups help criminals evade ICE: ‘Coached to fight back’https://trib.al/RBqWpsO
@The33rdTeamFB: The Chiefs have won an NFL record 17-straight one-possession games. The chances of Kansas City winning all 17 of those games based on their win probability entering the 4th quarter is just 0.02% (or about 1 in 4,480).
Bills fan goes all-out in latest social media Chiefs conspiracy theory An X user put together a five-minute video showing a series of questionable calls in Kansas City’s 32-29 win in the conference championship clash, which took place at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday… (Video shows refs often spotted ball blatantly against the Bills.) https://trib.al/ErWOJqV
How the Kansas City Chiefs became the most-hated team in the NFL This season, the narrative of the Chiefs being beneficiaries of favorable calls has taken on a life of its own to the point where nearly any penalty flag on the opposing team generates social media scorn. A perfect example came in Sunday’s AFC Championship game – when tight end Travis Kelce got in the face of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and mocked him. When one of Hamlin’s teammates came over to confront Kelce and headbutted him, the Bills player was flagged. Kelce was not. Add to that the tons of praise heaped upon quarterback Patrick Mahomes by multiple members of the media who cover Chiefs games (Cris Collinsworth and Tony Romo may be the biggest examples of this) and fans are tired of Kansas City (especially the over-hyped, childish Kelce)… https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/nfl/article-14343279/How-Kansas-City-Chiefs-hated-team-NFL.html
@jasrifootball: Troy Aikman says the NFL owes it to the fans who gamble on football to make sure the refs make the right calls, since money is on the table.“There’s a lot of money that’s changing hands with these calls. I think that we owe it to the fans that we get it right… https://t.co/oxxPSSD5ke
A few years ago, the NFL embraced gaming because it generates beaucoup bucks. When NFL players started making ‘big money,’ the threat of fixing games diminished because it was NOT worth the return for players. Now, large gambling pools (PE, hedge funds) bet huge money on games. Financially, there is no incentive to fix games. The NFL better check the refs and players.
@ProFootballTalk: Basketball at the pro and college level has a new gambling scandal, with Heat guard Terry Rozier among several players being investigated by the federal government. The NFL has avoided such issues, so far. https://t.co/g5UsNOVRW8
The history of the NFL shows that from its early days, some owners were gamblers, bookies, racetrack types, and this continued into the ‘70s.
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
Musk Reveals Treasury Has Been Auto-Paying Everyone, ‘Even Known Terrorist Groups’
Saturday, Feb 01, 2025 – 09:44 AM
Update (0942ET): Well, well, well – DOGE moves into the Treasury, triggering their longest-serving, highest-ranked career official to quit in a huff, and they find that department has essentially been auto-paying everyone, according to Elon Musk.
“The @DOGE team discovered, among other things, that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups,” said Musk in a Friday night tweet.
“They literally never denied a payment in their entire career.”
The Treasury Department’s highest-ranking career official quit after a clash with aides of Elon Musk over access to sensitive payment systems, according to the Washington Post, citing (of course), three anonymous sources.
David A. Lebryk, a decades-long Treasury official who President Trump named as acting secretary upon taking office last week, announced his retirement in a Friday email to colleagues. According to the report, Lebryk had a dispute with Musk surrogates over access to the US government’s payment system used to disburse trillions of dollars every year.
[Imagine Musk and team uncover decades of improper payments and shady dealings?]
The Musk surrogates are affiliated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and have been asking since the election for access to the system, according to the report. The requests were reiterated after Trump’s inauguration.
After Trump pick Scott Bessent was confirmed as Treasury Secretary on Monday, Lebryk ceased to be acting agency head.
The payment system in question is run by a handful of career officials within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service – which controls the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to households, businesses, and other entities nationwide – and includes Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries, payments to government contractors, tax refunds, grant recipients, and more.
The clash is the latest incident involving career ‘deep state’ bureaucrats vs. the Trump administration. And of course, WaPo, the CIA’s favorite tentacle, frames it as follows:
The clash reflects an intensifying battle between Musk and the federal bureaucracy as the Trump administration nears the conclusion of its second week. Musk has sought to exert sweeping control over the inner workings of the U.S. government, installing longtime surrogates at several agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, which essentially handles federal human resources, and the General Services Administration, which manages real estate. (Musk was seen on Thursday visiting GSA, according to two other people familiar with his whereabouts, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal matters. That visit was first reported by the New York Times.) His Department of Government Efficiency, originally conceived as a nongovernmental panel, has since replaced the U.S. Digital Service.
Translation:
Unfortunately for the career bureaucrats, Trump signed an executive order instructing all agencies to ensure DOGE has “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems,” which appear to include the Treasury payment systems.
Musk has previously slammed rising national debt as an existential threat to the country, while DOGE has already made progress in rooting out bullshit programs established by Democrat administrations.
harveyorganblog.com 
