FEB 24/GOLD CLOSED UP $7.65 TO $2947.05 WHILE SILVER FELL $0.15 TO $32.41//PLATINUM CLOSED DOWN $5.10 TO $965,70 WHILE PALLADIUM CLOSED DOWN $32.75 TO $943.70/GOLD COMMENTARY TONIGHT FROM PETER SCHIFF AND EPOCH TIMES//TRUMP WANTS AN AUDIT OF GOLD AT FORT KNOX/ISRAEL VS HAMAS: HAMAS RELEASES 6 HOSTAGES AND 4 BODIES//ISRAEL AND THE WEST BANK//RUSSIA VS UKRAINE//COVID UPDATES/VACCINE INJURY REPORTS/MARK CRISPIN MILLER: VACCINE INJURY REPORTS//SLAY NEWS ETC//NATURAL GAS PRICES ON THE RISE: REPORT//LEFTIES GO BESERK ON DAN BONGINO NOMINATION FOR DEPUTY TO KASH PATEL/SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT//
013 H JUMP TRADING 1 118 H MACQUARIE FUT 3 132 C SG AMERICAS 1 323 C HSBC 239 363 C WELLS FARGO SEC 1 435 H SCOTIA CAPITAL 23 555 C BNP PARIBAS SEC 331 661 C JP MORGAN 73 686 C STONEX FINANCIA 29 8 690 C ABN AMRO 20 40 709 C BARCLAYS 14 737 C ADVANTAGE 10 905 C ADM 10 5
TOTAL: 404 404
MONTH TO DATE: 74,518
JPMorgan stopped (received) 73/494
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR FEBRUARY/2024. CONTRACT: 404 NOTICES FOR 40,400 OZ 1.2566 TONNES
total notices so far: 74,515 contracts for 7,451,500 Oz (231.776tonnes)
FOR FEB.
SILVER NOTICES: 0 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 0.0 MILLION OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 4493 for 22.415 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 $7,65INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 20.66 TONNES
INVENTORY RESTS AT 904,38 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN 15 CENTS AT THE SLV: NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:
INVESTORS ARE SWITCHING SLV TO SPROTT’S PSLV.
CLOSING INVENTORY: 435,161MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUGE SIZED2299 ONTRACTS TO 169,006 AND CONTINUING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS OF $0,40 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A HUMONGOUS LOSS OF 1989 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/ 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). THEY SUCCEEDED ON FRIDAY WITH SILVER’S FALL IN PRICE BY 40 CENTS. WE HAD A HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION FRIDAY COUPLED WITH ANOTHER NEW STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE OF 967 CONTRACTS ISSUED BY THE CME AND THAT SIGNALS DEEP CODE RED THAT THE CROOKS ARE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING OVER THE 34.00 DOLLAR MARK. WE HAVE A HUGE CONTANGO IN SILVER SPOT VS FRONT FEB OF AROUND 95 CENTS AND A LEASE RATE OF 6%. WE HAD A 310 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR STRONG 967 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 HUGE SIZED 2156 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE. WE HAD HUGE TAS LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT FRIDAY’S COMEX TRADING SESSION/
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CROOKS NEED A HIGHER SILVER/GOLD T.A.S. TO CARRY ON THEIR CROOKED MANIPULATION ON A DAILY BASIS BUT DEMAND IS JUST TOO HIGH FOR THEM. THE HIGHER ISSUANCE OF T.A.S. IS NOW USED TO TEMPER OUR SILVER/GOLD PRICE RISE OR INITIATE A RAID AS WHAT HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES LAST MONTH AND AGAIN WITH THIS WEEK’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 STRONG 967 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
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 $0.40 AND WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF SOME NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS WE HAD A HUGE LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 2156 CONTRACTS WE HAD A MASSIVE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS TRYING TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE AND THAT ACCOUNTS OF ALL OF OUR OPEN INTEREST FALL.
WE HAD A 310 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 70 CONTRACT E,F,P, TRANSER TO LONDON FOR 350,000 OZ
// STANDING FOR SILVER//FEB INCREASES TO 22.990 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ HUGE SIZED COMEX OI GAIN+// A GOOOD SIZED EFP ISSUANCE/ VI) STRONG SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 910 CONTRACTS)/
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: ADDED 167 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 15 DAYS, total 10,277ontracts: OR 51.385 MILLION OZ (685 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 51.385 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. 51.385 MILLION OZ//EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 2299 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// FRIDAY.,. THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A 310 CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 310 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 350,000 OZ EQUEUE JUMP TRANSFER TO LONDON//NEW STANDING ADVANCESTO 22.990 MILLION OZ
WE HAVE 1). A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 1989 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE// 2.THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A STRONG 967 CONTRACTS TRYING DESPERATELY TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE,//MONSTER FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE FRIDAY COMEX SESSION. HOWEVER THEY STILL NEED THESE ISSUANCES FOR REPLENISHMENT FOR FUTURE TRADING //3. ZERO NET LONG SPECULATORS WERE BURNED ON THURSDAY 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 (967 ) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE
WE HAD 0 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 0.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 FAIR SIZED 1304 OI CONTRACTS TO 525,321AND CLOSER TO 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 3686 CONTRACTS//
WE HAD A FAIR SEIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI (1,304 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED WITH OUR LOSS OF $1.35 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 HUGE 396 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP//39,600 OZ (1.232 TONNES)
/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 232.932TONNES +18.4527
= 251.3827 TONNES.
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $1.35 LOSS IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN OF 1871 OI CONTRACTS (5.819 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. CENTRAL BANKERS ARE NOW WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THEIR DELIVERY OF GOLD VIA SLOW MOVING SHIPS.
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A FAIR SIZED 3175 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 525,321
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1871 CONTRACTS WITH 1304 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR SIZED 3175 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1871 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A SMALL SIZED AND CRIMINAL 1022 CONTRACTS ISSUED.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3175 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 1304 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 1871 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 QUEUE JUMP OF 396 CONTRACTS FOR 39,600 OZ( 1.232 TONNES). AND THEN WE ADD OUR 5 EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTALS OF 18.4527 TONNES//NEW TOTAL OF GOLD STANDING AT THE COMEX ADVANCES TO 251.3827 TONNES
.
NEW STANDING FOR FEB ADVANCES TO:
232.932 NORMAL DELIVERY + .18,4527 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK/PRIOR
EQUALS 251.3827 TONNES
//NEW STANDING FEB: 251.3827 TONNES WHICH IS THE HIGHEST EVER GOLD STANDING FOR A FEBRUARY DELIVERY MONTH. AND FOR ANY COMEX MONTH.
/ 3) HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION TRYING TO LOWER GOLD’S PRICE FRIDAY WITH LITTLE SUCCESS IN REMOVING ANY NET SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WITH OUR1) $1.35 PRICE LOSS WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE HAD A FAIR GAIN OF 1871 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES ) ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED THURSDAY 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) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST DECREASE 5) STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///FAIR T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 1072 T.A.S.CONTRACTS//
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2025 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: 60,311 CONTRACTS OF 6,031,100 OZ OR 187.592 TONNES IN 15TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 4020 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN 15 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 187.592 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2024, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 187.592 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 5.26% 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: 187.592 TONNES//EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE (WILL BE A GOOD SIZED ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF FEB. WE ARE NOW INTO THE SPREADING OPERATION OF GOLD
HERE IS A BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF HOW THE CROOKS FLEECE UNSUSPECTING LONGS IN THE SPREADING ENDEAVOUR ;MODUS OPERANDI OF THE CORRUPT BANKERS AS TO HOW THEY HANDLE THEIR SPREAD OPEN INTERESTS:HERE IS HOW THE CROOKS USED SPREADING AS WE ARE NOW INTO THE NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF NOV HEADING TOWARDS THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEB., FOR GOLD: AND MARCH FOR SILVER
YOU WILL ALSO NOTICE THAT THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST STARTS TO RISE BUT SO IS THE OPEN INTEREST OF SPREADERS. THE OPEN INTEREST IN WILL CONTINUE TO RISE UNTIL ONE WEEK BEFORE FIRST DAY NOTICE OF AN UPCOMING ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH (OCT), AND THAT IS WHEN THE CROOKS SELL THEIR SPREAD POSITIONS BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME OF THE DAY. THEY WILL USE THE SELL SIDE OF THE EQUATION TO CREATE THE CASCADE (ALONG WITH THEIR COLLUSIVE FRIENDS) AND THEN COVER ON THE BUY SIDE OF THE SPREAD SITUATION AT THE END OF THE DAY. THEY DO THIS TO AVOID POSITION LIMIT DETECTION. THE LIQUIDATION OF THE SPREADING FORMATION CONTINUES FOR EXACTLY ONE WEEK AND ENDS ON FIRST DAY NOTICE.”
WHAT IS ALARMING TO ME, ACCORDING TO OUR LONDON EXPERT ANDREW MAGUIRE IS THAT THESE EFP’S ARE BEING TRANSFERRED TO WHAT ARE CALLED SERIAL FORWARD CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS AND THESE CONTRACTS ARE LESS THAN 14 DAYS. ANYTHING GREATER THAN 14 DAYS, THESE MUST BE RECORDED AND SENT TO THE COMPTROLLER, GREAT BRITAIN TO MONITOR RISK TO THE BANKING SYSTEM. IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE, THEN THIS IS A MASSIVE CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD AS WE NOW WITNESS A MONSTROUS TOTAL EFP’S ISSUANCE AS IT HEADS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE.
The crooks also use the spread in the TAS account (trade at settlement). They buy the spot TAS (e.g. June) and sell the future TAS two months out (e.g. August). Then they unload the front month (i.e. unload the buy side first so the price of gold/silver falls. This occurs in the middle of the front delivery month cycle. They unload the sell side of the equation, two months down the road. The crooks violate position limits as the OCC refuse to hear our complaints.
First, here is an outline of what will be discussed tonight:
1.TODAY WE HAD THE OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX IN SILVER FELL BY A HUGE SIZED 2299 CONTRACTS OI TO 168,066 AND FURTHER FROM THE COMEX HIGH RECORD //244,710( SET FEB 25/2020). THE LAST RECORDS WERE SET IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD TO THAT WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER 7 YEARS AGO. HOWEVER WE HAVE NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023
EFP ISSUANCE 310 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAR 310 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 310 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 2299 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 310 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1871 CONTRACTS
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 9.945 MILLION OZ OCCURRED WITH OUR $0.40 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 DOWN 6.08 PTS OR 0.18%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 13.87 PTS OR 0.06%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 96.90 OR 0.26%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.13%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2510HINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2480// Oil DOWN TO 70.34 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN TO 74.36Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL MIXED
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A FAIR SIZED1,377 CONTRACTS TO 525,321 DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $1.35 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING/. WE LOST ZERO NET LONGS WITH THAT PRICE LOSS FOR GOLD. BUT AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR GAIN IN PRICE ALSO HAD A FAIR NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (3175 ).
THE CME ANNOUNCED FRIDAY NIGHT, ZERO EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS FOR NIL OZ OR 0 TONNES.
AND SO FAR IN FEBRUARY: WE HAVE HAD FIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISKS NOW TOTALLING 18.4527TONNES!. THE RECIPIENT OF THESE EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS IS THE BANK OF ENGLAND WHO DESPERATELY WANT THEIR LEASED GOLD BACK. THUS WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE ENTITIES (CENTRAL BANKS) DEMANDING THEIR GOLD BACK:
THE BANK OF ENGLAND
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK
THE COUNTERPARTY TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND’S EXCHANGE FOR RISK ARE BULLION BANKS THAT CANNOT VERIFY THAT THEIR GOLD IS UNENCUMBERED AND THUS THE BUYER, THE CENTRAL BANK OF ENGLAND, ASSUMES THE RISK OF THAT DELIVERY.
THUS IN TOTAL WE HAD A FAIR SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1871 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE. OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED RAID AS THEY 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 LATE (JAN 30) 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. DELIVERY OF GOLD CONTRACTS ARE NOW TAKING SEVERAL WEEKS. NO DEFAULT HAS BEEN INITIATED AS DEALERS ARE AFRAID OF LOSS OF THEIR JOBS. SO THIS FRAUD CONTINUES. THE LEASE RATES IN LONDON HAVE NOW CLIMBED TO 10% AS GOLD IN LONDON IS NOW EXTREMELY SCARCE. WE CAN NOW SAFELY SAY THAT THERE IS A RUN ON A BANK AND THAT BANK IS THE BANK OF ENGLAND!!!
THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS THROUGHOUT THIS MONTH CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY AND IT SURELY WAS ON DISPLAY TODAY INCLUDING WITH OUR STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCES AND STRONG T.A.S. LIQUIDATION. THURSDAY NIGHT, THEY ISSUED A STRONG 700 CONTRACT ANNOUNCEMENT (THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING).
THE FED IS THE OTHER MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 16+ 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, , 203 , ,205 , 207 209 AND TODAY’S 210 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 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 + ???? BASIS. BECAUSE GOLD IS BASEL III COMPLIANT, GOLD IS SUPPOSED 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 THESE PAST FEW WEEKS IS SURELY DISTORTING COMEX OPEN INTEREST BUT THAT DOES NOT STOP LONDON’S ACCUMULATION OF PHYSICAL! YOU CAN ALSO VISUALIZE THAT PERFECTLY WITH THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF QUEUE JUMPING ORCHESTRATED BY CENTRAL BANKERS BOLTING AHEAD OF ORDINARY LONGS AS THEIR NEED FOR PHYSICAL IS GREAT AS THEY SCOUR THE PLANET LOOKING FOR GOLD.
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW DEEP INTO THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF FEBRUARY… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A FAIR SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS A STRONG SIZED 3175 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /FEB 3175 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3175 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 GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 1,871 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3175 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR LOSS OF 1304 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $1.35 FOR FRIDAY/ COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AS MENTIONED ABOVE.
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 THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING WAS A FAIR SIZED SIZED 1072 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 FEW WEEKS 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. A HUGE RAID WAS ORDERED BY THE FED WITH END OF THE MONTH TRADING ( MONDAY TRADING// JAN 27) AS THE GOLD PRICE GOT HAMMERED A BIT WITH COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY. AS YOU SAW WITH LAST TUESDAY’S TRADING// JAN 28 IT HAS NO EFFECT ON GOLD AS IT SHOT UP AGAIN IN PRICE AND IT CONTINUED TO RISE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. LONDON’S ANNOUNCEMENT LAST THURSDAY THAT THEY WERE OUT OF PHYSICAL GOLD SURELY HELPED TO PROPEL GOLD’S METEORIC RISE IN PRICE THESE PAST SEVERAL DAYS PROPELLING IT THROUGH THE 2900 DOLLAR BARRIER TO THE LEVEL IT IS NOW TRADING READY TO CLOSE IN ON THE 3000 DOLLAR LEVEL.
MECHANICS OF T.A.S CONTRACTS/DECEMBER 2024
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 79 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 (251.3827TONNES) 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: 251.3827 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES 18.4567 TONNES OF EX FOR RISK)
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: 232.934TONNES OF GOLD+ + 18.4527 TONNES EX FOR RISK PRIOR=//NEW TOTAL STANDING 251.3827TONNES
COMEX GOLD TRADING/FEB CONTRACT MONTH
THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT FELL BY $1.35/)/BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A FAIR SIZED GAIN IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. BUT AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY AS THEY WERE TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S RISE AND STOP HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES FROM ALSO RISING. THE BANKERS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN SLOWING THEIR DERIVATIVE LOSSES IN PRECIOUS METAL BETS WITH OPTIONS EXPIRY JAN 28 AT THE COMEX. OUR T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATIONS THIS 3RD WEEK OF FEB, WERE DISTORTING OPEN INTEREST AS I EXPLAINED ABOVE, BUT IS HAVING NO EFFECT ON GOLD’S METEORIC RISE IN PRICE. PRIOR TO FRIDAY . THE RAIDS ON FRIDAYS,INCLUDING YESTERDAY WERE NEEDED TO QUELL PRICE RISES IN GOLD AND SILVER,. SILVER IS A BIG HEADACHE FOR OUR CROOKS AS THE PHYSICAL METAL IS BASICALLY UNATTAINABLE. DERIVATIVE LOSSES ON BOTH GOLD AND SILVER ARE HUGE!
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. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD TO ARRIVE BY BOAT. IT IS NOW TAKING SEVERAL WEEKS TO DELIVER AND THUS THE REASON FOR THE HUGE LEASE RATE AT 10% (SCARCITY OF GOLD)
EXCHANGE FOR RISK EXPLANATION/DECEMBER AND JANUARYTRADING
DECEMBER MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK!
78 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!!
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.
EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS/MONTH FOR FEBRUARY:
THE CME ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD THAT ON FEB 4 THEY ISSUED 100 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND.THEN A FEW NIGHTS AGO, THEY ISSUED THEIR SECOND CONSECUTIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 500 CONTRACTS FOR 50,000 OZ (1.555 TONNES OF GOLD. FEB 6 WAS THE THIRD ISSUANCE FOR A HUGE 2400 CONTRACTS, 240,000 OZ OR 7.465 TONNES. AND THEN FINALLY FRIDAY NIGHT, THE 4TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK WAS ISSUED REPRESENTED BY 2834 CONTRACTS OR 283400 OZ OR 8.8149 TONNES OF GOLD WITH THE OWNER OF THOSE CONTRACTS BEING THE BANK OF ENGLAND. THE BANK OF ENGLAND WANTS THEIR GOLD BACK. THIS NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK WILL BE ADDED TO PREVIOUS EXCHANGE FOR RISK OF 9.3264 TONNES TO A NEW TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 18.1413 TONNES. IN MID WEEK WE HAD ANOTHER .3114 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCED//NEW TOTAL 18,4527 TONNES!..FINALLY THIS TOTAL WILL NOW BE ADDED TO OUR REGULAR DELIVERIES THROUGH THE MONTH. FOR FRIDAY FEB 21 ZERO EXCHANGE FOR RISK WAS ISSUED.
FINAL STANDING GOLD/COMEX 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 GOLD TRADING
WE HAVE GAINED A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 5.819 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR FEB (184.40TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY A STRONG SIZED 396 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 39,600 OZ. NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 232.934ONNES OF GOLD. TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 18.4527TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW TOTALS STANDING 251.3827TONNES
ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $1.35
WE HAD 3689CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL
NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 1871 CONTRACTS OR 187,100OZ (5.819 TONNES)
i) into ASAHI 32,527,000 oz ii) into Brinks 48,226.500 oz (1500 KILOBARS) iii) Into JPMorgan 160,755.000 oz 5,000 kilobars) iv) Into Manfra: 15,961M418oz v) Into Loomis: 27,360.500 oz (861 kilobars)
total 284,830,509 oz 8.859
total dealer and customer 11.859 tonnes
No of oz served (contracts) today
404 notice(s) 40,400 OZ 1.2566ONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)
369 contracts 36900OZ 1.147TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
74,518 notices 7,451,800 oz 231.776 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
1 ENTRY
i) Brinks dealer 96,453,000oz (3000 KILOBARS)
3.000tonnes
we have 5 customer deposits:
5 ENTRIES
i) into ASAHI 32,527,000 oz ii) into Brinks 48,226.500 oz (1500 KILOBARS) iii) Into JPMorgan 160,755.000 oz 5,000 kilobars) iv) Into Manfra: 15,961M418oz v) Into Loomis: 27,360.500 oz (861 kilobars)
total 284,830,509 oz 8.859
total dealer and customer 11.859 tonnes
withdrawals: 1
1 entry
i) Out of JPMorgan 160,690.695 oz
4,998 kilobars
4.998 tonnes
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
adjustments:2/comex is in chaos
a)customer to dealer
a) Loomis 15,112.935 oz
dealer to customer
b) ASAHI 160,639,907 oz
thus basically what comes into eligible is transferred to dealer accounts and then out.
CALCULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR FEB
FEB HAD A LOSS OF 94 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 773 WE HAD 490 CONTRACTS SERVED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED A HUGE 396 CONTRACTS OR A 39,600OZ QUEUE JUMP OR 1.232TONNES,.( THURSDAY, FEB 13 WE WITNESSED THE HIGHEST EVER QUEUE JUMP RECORDED AT THE COMEX AT 12.12 TONNES)
MARCH HAD A LOSS OF 110 CONTRACTS UP TO 15,063
APRIL HAD A LOSS OF 2082 CONTRACTS UP TO 385,959 CONTRACTS
MAY GAINED 4 CONTRACTS UP TO 12.
We had 404 contracts filed for today representing 40,400oz
This is a huge major assault on the comex for gold and this time it is physical that will be requested.
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 490 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 208 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 (74,518 X 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB.(773CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (404 x 100 oz per contract) equals 7,488,700 OZ OR 232.930TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK 18.4527 TONNES//NEW TOTAL STANDING 251.3827TONNES
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the FEB contract month: No of notices filed so far (74,518 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of FEB ( 773 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (404x 100 oz) which equals 7,488,700Oz (232.930TONNES + 18,4527 tonnes ex for risk PRIOR = 251.3827 tonnes
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR FEB.: 251.3827 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!!
i) Out of Delaware 1,031.00 oz ii) OUT OF LOOMIS 926,929.950 oz
total 927,960.500 oz
nil
ADJUSTMENTs 2customer to dealer:
i) ASAHI 3,334,700.800 oz
ii)JPMorgan 9,769,340.240 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 157.800million oz/392,364million or 40.25%
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 115,680MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 392.364 Million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR FEBRUARY
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF FEB /2025 OI: 115 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 34 CONTRACTS.
WE HAD 104 NOTICES FILED ON FRIDAY SO WE GAINED 70 CONTRACTS OR WE EXPERIENCED A 350,000 OZ EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER AS THESE GUYS WILL TRY THEIR LUCK LOOKING FOR SILVER IN NEW YORK,
MARCH SAW A LOSS OF 12,743 CONTRACTS UP TO 52,997 THE FRONT ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MARCH ALSO IS NOT DECLINING MUCH AND WE SHOULD ALSO HAVE A HUMDINGER OF A DELIVERY MONTH FOR MARCH.
APRIL SAW ANOTHER GAIN OF 349 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 1201
MAY SAW A GAIN OF 9470CONTRACTS UP TO 91,163CONTRACTS
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 0 or 0.MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON FRIDAY 97,024huge//
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 4483 X5,000 oz = 22.415MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of FEB (115 AND the number of notices served upon today (0 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the FEB 2025 contract month: 4483 Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of FEB(115)minus number of notices served upon today (0)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the FEB contract month equating to 22.990 MILLION OZ.
New total standing: 22.990 million oz which is huge for a non active delivery month of February
There are 97.0438million 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
0 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 24 WITH GOLD UP 7,65 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 20.66 TONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 904.38TONNES
FEB 21 WITH GOLD DOWN $1.35 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 5.77ONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 883.72TONNES
FEB 20 WITH GOLD DOWN $10.40 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 8.51TONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 877,95TONNES
FEB 19/ WITH GOLD DOWN $10.40 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 6.38TONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 869.44TONNES
FEB 18/ WITH GOLD UP $43.00 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.14TONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.06TONNES
FEB 13/ WITH GOLD UP 11.00 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.901 TONNES FROM THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 866.50TONNES
FEB 12 WITH GOLD DOWN $3,40ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
FEB 10 WITH GOLD UP $10.75 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
FEB 7 WITH GOLD UP $10.75 ON THE DAY; NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
FEB 6 WITH GOLD DOWN $18.15 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 1.14 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 864.19 TONNES
FEB 5 WITH GOLD UP $27.10 ON THE DAY; HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 863.05 TONNES
FEB 4 WITH GOLD UP $25.00 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
GLD INVENTORY: 904.33 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
FEB 24WITH SILVER DOWN $0.15//NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435.171MILLION OZ
FEB 21WITH SILVER DOWN $0.40//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.456MILLION OZ/. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435,171MILLION OZ
FEB 20WITH SILVER UP $0.29//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.547 MILLION OZ/. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435,171MILLION OZ
FEB 19WITH SILVER DOWN $0.16//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.276 MILLION OZ/. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 436.717MILLION OZ
FEB 18WITH SILVER UP $.56//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : NO CHANGES AT THE SLX/. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 438.994MILLION OZ
FEB 14WITH SILVER UP $.01//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A DEPOSIT OF 1.593 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 437.401 MILLION OZ
FEB 12WITH SILVER UP $.01 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A DEPOSIT OF 8 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 437.401 MILLION OZ
FEB 10 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.26 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 428.66 MILLION OZ
FEB 7 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.26 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.73 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 428.66 MILLION OZ
FEB 6 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.17 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 12.383 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 430.39 MILLION OZ
FEB 5 WITH SILVER UP $0.45 //HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV : A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.285 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV./. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 442.773 MILLION OZ
FEB 4 WITH SILVER UP $0.81 //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
FEB 4 WITH SILVER UP $0.81 //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
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./. /
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
CLOSING INVENTORY 435.171MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY
Peter Schiff: The Government Should Fear The Public
Last week Peter joined Aaron Hoddinott on the Pinnacle Digest YouTube channel for an interview on Peter’s career, why the Fed can’t get anything right, the perennial gold vs. Bitcoin debate, and Aaron’s disagreements with Peter on the dollar. If you missed it, be sure to check out Peter’s podcast from Sunday!
To kick off the discussion, Peter reflects on how the Federal Reserve’s mistake early in his career motivates his thoughts today:
I’ve had my economic understanding and my suspicions with respect to government and the Fed since as long as I can remember. Obviously, the biggest mistakes that I saw the Fed make first was the Greenspan response to the 1987 stock market crash, which I found problematic….
The Fed just repeats its mistakes over and over. It’s hard for me to understand to what degree the Federal Reserve knows they’re making mistakes.
I always have a hard time trying to discern whether or not they’re dishonest or ignorant. It’s one or the other. Or maybe it’s just predecessors who’ve been running the Fed for decades – they went down this path after 1971 and they can’t get off it. They made their bed a long time ago, and this is where we are. Once you go down this path, it’s very difficult to get off it because you have to admit the mistakes, but rather than do that, they just compound them by repeating them.
I would disagree with your position on gold. I think gold is a viable competitor to the dollar. I think that central banks have a choice as to what asset they’d prefer to hold as a reserve to back up their own currency. And I think that gold, hands down, is a better place for central banks to put their trust than the U.S. dollar because foreign central banks don’t use dollars as a payment mechanism – they’re holding them in reserves. Now as far as what other currency private companies could choose to trade in, I think gold also works a lot better than the dollar.
Aaron asks Peter about Bitcoin’s capped supply. Peter points out that this limit only applies to Bitcoin, while other cryptos may not have the same feature:
I’ve never bought into the finite supply argument of Bitcoin because it’s a finite supply of something of which there is an infinite supply of alternatives. Gold is in finite supply because it’s scarce in the earth. But gold has properties that are unique to it. … You know, we decided arbitrarily, somebody decided to limit the supply of Bitcoin. You know, it’s not that there’s some other factor other than a self-imposed limit, but there is no limit to the number of cryptos that can be created.
Expanding on his view of Bitcoin, Peter dismisses its role as money. It is not generally used as a medium of exchange. Instead, it operates more like other speculative financial assets:
To the extent that it’s used today, it [Bitcoin] is more as barter. I mean, yeah, there could be individuals that are accumulating Bitcoin that might accept it as payment because they want the Bitcoin. … I look at Bitcoin more as a collectible than anything. … But what excites people about a collection of Bitcoins is this prospect that it’s going to make them rich because Bitcoin is going to be a million.
There’s a famous quote that when the people fear the government, it’s tyranny; when the government fears the people, you have freedom. You know, we need to turn the table so that the government is afraid of us, not the other way around. They’ve gotten so big. That’s why they’re able to steal from us with impunity. That’s why these government agencies can get away with all this waste, fraud, and abuse – because they haven’t feared the public in the Constitution.
2/ Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
STIEBER (EpochTimes)
Trump Says ‘We’re Going to Go Into Fort Knox to Make Sure the Gold Is There’
Elon Musk recently suggested auditing the gold reserves, while a congressman has said he was denied access.
President Donald Trump on Feb. 19 backed Elon Musk’s plan to audit the gold reserves at Fort Knox.
“We’re going to go into Fort Knox to make sure the gold is there,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “You know that we’re going to go into Fort Knox? Did you know about that?”
Billionaire Elon Musk, one of Trump’s advisers, recently suggested verifying that Fort Knox still holds the gold that officials say it does.
“This gold is the property of the American people. I sure hope it’s still there!” Musk wrote recently on social media platform X, which he owns.
Musk has been helping lead the Trump administration’s efforts to review government spending and possible fraud.
Fort Knox holds 147.3 million ounces of gold, according to the U.S. Mint. That’s about half of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s gold reserves.
Gold is currently selling at roughly $3,000 an ounce.
The U.S. Mint said that no visitors are permitted at the facility, which is in Kentucky.
Some members of Congress have said that they have tried visiting the fort to look at the gold but were denied.
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X: “Fort Knox: ‘You can’t come to Fort Knox.’ Me: ‘Why?’ Fort Knox: ‘It’s a military installation.’ Me: ‘I’m a senator; I go to military bases all the time.’ Fort Knox: ‘You still can’t come. Because, you can’t.’”
Fort Knox and the U.S. Mint did not return requests for comment.
“We hope everything’s fine with Fort Knox, but we’re going to go to Fort Knox … to make sure the gold is there,” Trump told reporters. “If the gold isn’t there, we’re going to be very upset.”
Some outside groups have been advocating for an audit of the gold reserves. The Sound Money Defense League, for instance, says that the reserves at Fort Knox and other facilities should be audited.
“There are legitimate questions about the status of America’s gold holdings,” Jp Cortez, executive director of the organization, told The Epoch Times.
Journalists have not been allowed into Fort Knox since 1974. The only other time since then that “non-authorized personnel” have visited the vaults was in 2017, when then-Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Kentucky’s governor, and members of Congress toured the facility.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on a radio show on Feb. 19 that an audit of the gold is conducted every year.
“All the gold is present and accounted for,” he told Dan O’Donnell, the host.
This year has started off with a golden hue. Gold and silver have been among the best-performing asset classes in 2025, up 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively, year-to-date. Over the past two months, these precious metals have outperformed bitcoin, which was the best performing asset in 2024, and equity markets around the world. Gold looks positioned to easily top $3,000 in coming weeks, with silver similarly hitting all-time highs.
There are many reasons to believe that gold prices have further to run from here. Some of the biggest factors supporting a higher gold price include the ongoing accumulation of gold by central banks, persistent inflation, and a global supply shortage of physical gold.
Central banks, which hold as much as 20 percent of total global gold reserves, are key to the long-term growth in demand for the metal. In recent years, central banks around the world have been accumulating substantial quantities of gold. Net central bank acquisitions of gold topped 1,045 metric tons in 2024, marking the third year in a row of purchases above 1,000 metric tons. These figures reflect the publicly disclosed amounts; many observers believe that China and other countries are secretly acquiring gold well in excess of reported volumes. Most of the buying has come from outside of the United States and Western Europe. The four largest sovereign holders, the United States, Germany, France, and Italy, have been the exception to the gold rush led by the BRICS and other developing nations, and have not acquired additional reserves.
The reason for the failure of the United States and “Old Europe” nations to acquire more gold is simple. Most of them do not have the money. The United States, Italy and France are each deeply indebted, with debt to gross domestic product well in excess of 100 percent. These countries are forced to use proceeds of issuance of government securities to fund ever-growing government deficits, not to acquire gold or other valuable assets.
The rise in gold prices coincides with the decline in influence of the global reserve currency. The weaponization of the U.S. financial system which began in earnest in 2022 motivated many nations to diversify their sovereign holdings away from the U.S. dollar. Gold has been the primary beneficiary. The inverse is also true. Central bank purchases of gold have come at a cost to the U.S. dollar. For several years, countries around the world have been selling U.S. Treasuries held in their foreign reserve accounts to fund their gold purchases. This has made borrowing by the U.S. Treasury more expensive. Tying alternative payment mechanisms to gold collateral has put pressure on the U.S. dollar’s role in world markets.
Inflation has proven more persistent than central bankers are willing to admit. In the United States, January’s CPI reading came in above expectations at 3 percent, and core inflation (excluding food and energy prices) was even higher at 3.3 percent. Inflation has now run hot for over three years, with the general price level up over 20 percent since 2021. Over a longer run, the U.S. money supply has trebled since the global financial crisis of 2008, while the gold supply has grown by only 1 percent to 2 percent per year. Gold prices, which are expressed in dollar terms, have thus tripled alongside the money supply, suggesting that gold has been a more honest representation of purchasing power than the depreciating dollar.
Investment markets are speculating that the U.S. government will revalue its gold holdings, still held on the books at a historical cost of just over $42 per ounce, to the current market value of nearly $3,000. This would instantly plug a portion (potentially nearly $1 trillion) of the gaping hole in the nation’s balance sheet. President Trump has committed to auditing the U.S. government’s gold stockpile, officially on the books at 8,133 metric tons, for the first time in half a century. A successful physical audit would boost confidence in the financial position of the United States, while a shortfall would shock global financial markets and further denigrate the credibility of not just the United States but governments around the world.
There is a shortage of physical gold. The London Bullion Market Association is the center of gold trading around the world. Many nations have historically held their gold reserves with the Bank of England, but in recent years have been repatriating their holdings. This has disrupted the London markets and put pressure on prices.
In recent weeks, demand for delivery of physical gold has skyrocketed. Geopolitical concerns have led to a massive movement of physical gold out of the UK and Europe into vaults in New York and elsewhere. This has led to shortages and speculation of price manipulation. European markets have been spooked by President Trump’s saber-rattling over tariffs, and price differentials have opened up between gold markets across the Atlantic, accelerating the movement of bullion into the United States.
This spike in demand for physical gold, and resulting logistical bottlenecks, are not only pressuring gold prices but potentially creating a demand spiral. Analogous to a deposit run on a bank, gold customers concerned about the security of their holdings may accelerate demands to withdraw them. This could further squeeze physical supply and quickly boost prices. Many gold derivative contracts are linked to underlying physical collateral. If this collateral can’t be secured, the contracts can fail. This is one reason why holding physical gold is vastly superior to exchange-traded funds or other investment contracts that can’t guarantee delivery of the collateral on demand.
Some gold industry observers have argued that there is evidence that the handful of large banks that issue most of the gold derivatives contracts have acted in concert to manipulate the price of gold. An illegal pricing cartel among the banks would not be unprecedented. The public discovered similar practices in the mortgage securities fraud leading up to the global financial crisis and in the manipulation of LIBOR (the interest rate at which banks lend to one another) uncovered a few years later.
The recent sharp rise in gold prices may put pressure on these banks and lead to instability in any price fixing arrangement. If the cartel unwinds, it could come quickly and violently. There would be winners and losers, and potential contagion into other markets. In other words, gold derivatives may become the epicenter of the next financial crisis. In such an event, demand for physical gold would spike further, as would prices.
Topics like bond yields, dollar debates, or yield curves can be admittedly, well, boring.
And things like politics can be, well… emotional at best or divisive at worst.
Shared Concern Among So Much Division?
In the current Zeitgeist, it’s hard to get through the fog of market complexity or the self-censorship of political polarization to arrive at anything even resembling a shared concern.
And when it comes to the water over-filling the air-tight compartments of the U.S. debt Titanic, we need to look soberly at what the Trump America is facing.
Toward this end, let’s be blunt.
Can’t We All Agree that America is Broke?
Public debt – $37T, unfunded liabilities at $190T. A debt/GDP ratio above 120%, etc.
The USA is in an unprecedented debt trap/spiral, the math, details, history and consequences of which we have been tracking for years.
And history (ignored) tells us an even darker yet simpler truth: debt destroys nations.
Every time and without exception.
Boring Bond Yields
Given that the USA in particular (and the world in general) is witnessing the greatest debt crisis of human history, should we not be equally concerned rather than politically divided when it comes to such boring things like bond yields (which reflect the very cost of debt)?
As for those boring bond yields, let’s just keep it broad and simple.
Yields on the 10-year U.S. Treasury represent the cost of money/debt for nearly everyone on the globe, in general and Uncle Sam in particular.
This means that when those yields start to climb too high, just about everything and everyone (including the country you reside in) starts to fall deeper into “uh-oh.”
And those yields rise when demand (i.e., purchasing) of those bonds starts to fall.
Read that last line again. Let it sink in.
When trust, love and/or demand and price for UST’s falls, pain for just about everything but the USD (and now gold) spikes.
Boring? Yes.
But relevant?
Absolutely.
From Boring Bonds to Just About Everything
So, what does such boring bond/UST talk have to do with your currency, your wealth or your lives?
And what does such boring bond talk have to do with market risk, gold prices, BTC’s direction or the fate of Trump’s America or even world trade and peace?
A lot.
Trump Change
Trump is a disruptor. A political outsider to a DC setting for which the term “swamp” is probably too kind.
He’s making bold statements and directives on everything from tariffs and immigration to JFK’s assassination (no great mystery there…) and DOGE spending cuts.
Love or hate him – he’s certainly busy making change…
And although he may know far more about real estate capitalism than he does about government debt or US history, his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, knows a heck of a lot about the latter – which means he’s dealing with a lot of contradictions coming out of today’s White House.
No Change Without Consequence or Contradiction
Trump’s administration is making headlines, for example, about a stronger USD, ending inflation, optimizing tariff revenues, saving big oil and getting those boring UST yields down.
But there’s just one catch – no one, not even Trump or Santa Clause, can do all that without radically re-shaping the prior notion of American exceptionalism.
And ironically, no one knows this better than Trump’s own Treasury Secretary.
Why?
It’s simple – and even a bit “boring” – but the forces at play will directly impact YOU, so it’s worth a few reality checks and simple fact-reminders here.
It All Starts (and Ends) with the Dollar
If Trump, for example, pushes for a stronger dollar and aggressive tariffs (love or hate em), such a policy would not only create a drag on the global economy (which owes over $14T in USD-denominated debt), it would also be knife wound to Uncle Sam, oil production and the very yields the Trump White House wants to reduce.
That is, a rising dollar forces foreigners (and nations) to sell/dump USTs to get more liquidity to pay debts.
And if USTs continue to sell off, then prices fall, and yields rise; and when yields rise, even Uncle Sam reaches a point where he can’t afford his own bar tab.
See the paradox? The trap? The boring yet incredibly important relationship between bonds, currencies and economic life itself?
The USD: Weaker By Necessity
This relationship between a strong dollar and UST yields is clear and direct, and although the headlines and consensus still see a strong dollar ahead, I’ve longargued the oppositefor the simple reason that America itself can’t afford a strong dollar.
And deep down, Scott Bessent (a private gold buyer) knows this, too.
He’s openly admitted to the “counterparty” risk of a strong USD, but he won’t publicly confess that one of those counterparties at risk is the U.S. itself.
So, what is to be done?
How can Trump afford short-term tariff costs, cut spending/waste in DC (via DOGE), pay for the needed re-shoring of American jobs, or even win the war on inflation without risking debt issuance to the moon and hence bond yields even higher (which recently rose from 4.3% to 4.65% in just three trading days)?
Well, as even his own Treasury Secretary knows under his breath, the answer is simple: he can’t.
Unless…
Unless …an already openly declining, and hence openly desperate, debt-soaked nation does what all desperate individuals or nations do: resort to desperate measures.
Only Desperate Options Left
Bessent knows that for anything Trump wants to enact to grow the American economy; he must first get Uncle Sam’s debt to GDP levels to a place where growth is even mathematically feasible.
For that to happen, we’d need years of inflation and negative real rates at well over 15% to even come close to “inflating away” such debt.
This would not only be fatally painful for U.S. citizens but also political suicide for Trump.
2) Play the Yellen Card?
Bessent could try his predecessor’s playbook of just issuing more UST’s (IOUs) from the short end of the yield curve or emptying the reverse repo market and TGA accounts to buy more time/liquidity and create more debt.
But with the world dumping USTs and bracing itself for more tariff and trade wars, there just isn’t enough love, trust or buyers for those American IOUs anymore…
More importantly, such wimpy measures can no longer save a nation whose bar tab (interest expense on outstanding debt, entitlements and defence) is 140% of its tax receipts.
That, folks, is neon-flashing evidence of desperation, which means we are now at an inflection point where the only measures left are entirely emergency measures – and they come with a cost. A serious cost.
3) Create BTC Bubble?
The U.S. could also help pay down some debt by speculating in a politicized BTC bubble, and then use the speculation proceeds (not actual BTC “currency”) to pay down debt in an emerging-market-desperation play akin to El Salvadore?
This is desperation at its highest, yet masquerading as “tech” nirvana to the rescue…
I’ve written and spoken about this option at greater length here and here.
4) Revaluing Gold?
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the topic of gold revaluation is also ripping through the precious metal pundit circles at a galvanic pace, and for good reason.
Based upon “reported” U.S. gold holdings, if gold were politically re-priced to just $4000 per ounce, that would create an additional $1.2T of instant liquidity (i.e. inflationary M2), which the Treasury Department could then direct deposit into an ever-drying TGA.
(This direct deposit is made legal under Section 2.10 of the Financial Accounting Manual for Federal Reserve Banks.)
Such a gold revaluation policy would take a lot of pressure off Bessent’s Treasury Department and buy the U.S. more time and money for the aforementioned Trump policies to “Make America Great Again.”
But could a potential series of gold revaluations to inject new money into the TGA piggy bank truly make America, well… great?
Or would it just save the U.S. economy from crumbling to the ground?
Kissinger’s Ghost
In the 1970s, Kissinger was very concerned when Europe, which collectively owned more gold than the U.S., wanted to revalue their gold to similarly cover their own debt disasters at home.
This would mean the U.S. would have to do the same, thereby playing its last Trump card (pun intended) of desperation (reverting to its gold vaults) in 1974.
And why was Kissinger so terrified of having to resort to the ultimate “red button” act of desperation in the form of revaluing its last real form of sound money/wealth?
Because Kissinger knew then what many of us know.
That is, if the USA shows its hand and starts revaluing gold to higher and higher levels to pay down higher and higher levels of debt (to keep politicians in power and the masses free of pitchforks), this would mean the end of American supremacy, hegemony and/or the Pax Americana.
Why?
Because he who has the most gold wins, and despite what the World Gold Council reports, it’s an open secret that America does not have the most gold (in a world of central banks stacking gold at record levels and COMEX revolving doors).
The Dilemma: Greatness or Survival?
Trump, Bessent, and the USA itself thus face a debt trap and, hence, a sovereign dilemma of historical import.
Yes, certainly, the U.S. can and may revalue its gold holdings to dig itself partially out of debt and hence spur more growth.
But once/if the U.S. revalues, the rest of the world will naturally follow, and that will make the US just one more economically average nation among many, but certainly not the strongest anymore.
Kissinger knew this.
Do Bessent and Trump?
Either Way, Gold Wins
Regardless of whether such a formal gold revaluation occurs from the top down in DC, the gold price will continue to rise (re-value itself) naturally from the bottom up for the simple reason that debt-soaked nations = debased currencies.
Gold, which only rises because fiat money inevitably suffocates under debt, sits at a different kind of historical moment.
It gets the last laugh because sovereign debt, led by sovereign mismanagement, has killed its sovereign currency in a death by a thousand cuts.
So, yes, gold gets the last laugh – but the circumstances couldn’t be sadder.
5B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES: COMMODITY//COCOA
Cocoa Slides To Multi-Month Low As Demand Destruction Fears Overshadow Tight Supplies
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 02:45 AM
Cocoa futures in New York tumbled to a two-and-a-half-month low last week as demand destruction concerns continue to flourish this month, overshadowing concerns about poor output in West Africa.
Bloomberg reported Thursday that the top bean growers in the Ivory Coast had a very slow start to next season’s harvest, which begins in October. The slow start has been blamed on pricier hedges for traders, with prices hovering over $10,000 a ton for the last few months. Higher bean prices and increased volatility also forced the exchange to raise margin costs.
Executives from Hershey and Mondelez warned last week that bean prices could move higher amid emerging signs of demand destruction for their sugary products.
Earlier this month, Piper Sandler analyst Michael Lavery asked Hershey CEO Michele Buck about the consumer environment for chocolate…
Mondelez CFO Luca Zaramella recently said, “We are seeing signs, particularly in parts of the world like North America, where cocoa consumption is coming down.”
To close the week, demand destruction fears drove cocoa futures in New York down to $8,934 per ton, a two-and-a-half-month low. However, prices remain extraordinarily elevated compared to early 2023 levels.
Judy Ganes, president of New York-based J. Ganes Consulting, explained to Bloomberg that traders were operating under the assumption that chocolate demand would hold up through the holiday season into the first quarter. Yet she pointed out that does not appear to be the case.
Traders were wrestling between structural output challenges in the West African cocoa market while weighing news concerns over demand destruction.
We wonder if Goldman’s commodity derivatives analyst Hugo Fuentes is still “go long cocoa” based on “structural supply deficits, under-hedged consumers, and historically low warehouse stocks.”
What about Pierre Andurand, founder of Andurand Capital Management LLP? Is he still cocoa’s biggest bull?
6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS
END
ASIA TRADING MONDAY MORNING SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 6.08 PTS OR 0.18%
//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 13.87 PTS OR 0.06%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 96.90 OR 0.26%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.13%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2510HINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2480// Oil DOWN TO 70.34 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN TO 74.36Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL MIXED
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS /MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP AT 7.2510
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.2480
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 6.08 PTS OR 0.18%
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 13.87 PTS OR 0.06%
2. Nikkei closed UP 96.90OR 0.26%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL MIXED
USA dollar INDEX UP TO 106.84// EURO RISES TO 1.0507 UP 60 BASIS PT HEADING TO PARITY WITH USA
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: FALLS TO. +1.411 //Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 149.43…… 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: UP OFFSHORE: UP
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil DOWN for WTI and UP FOR DOWN this morning
3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +2.4895/Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.571 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.159
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.326
3j Gold at $2940.00/Silver at: 32.80 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 13 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 88.63
3m oil into the 70 dollar handle for WTI and 74 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 149,48 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.411% 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 0.8967 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9422 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: 4.444 UP 2 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.696 UP 3 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 4.224 UP 3 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 36.43…
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.5715 DOWN 4 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.105 DOWN 10 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.805 DOWN 9 PTS.
2a New York OPENING REPORT
Futures Rebound From Biggest Drop Of 2025
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 07:59 AM
US equity futures are higher, European bourses are mixed and Asian market are red following the worst session of the year for US stocks, as the S&P tumbled 1.7% leaving it about 2% below its ATHs. As of 7:30am, S&P futures are up 0.5% and Nasdaq futures rise 0.4%, with Mag7 names mixed as Nvidia rises in early trading; the Russell outperforms while Fins/Banks are bid this morning pointing to a rebound in Value/Cyclicals. Bond yields are 1-2bps higher with a flat USD. Commodities are mostly lower with WTI still above $70/bbl and precious metals with a slight bid sending gold to a new all time high. Weekend trade news was muted with the German election and the war in Ukraine in focus. Today’s macro data focus is on regional activity indicators.
In premarket trading, Berkshire Hathaway shares were up in the premarket on solid results boosted by a strong jump in insurance underwriting. Apple shares slid after it said it plans to spend $500 billion domestically over the next four years to hire workers and build out AI capacity. Nvidia and Amazon are leading premarket gains among the Magnificent Seven stocks on Monday; NVDA is up as much as 1.5% in early trading, days before its earnings release. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
Hawaiian Electric which has signed settlement agreements tied to the wildfires in Maui, slips 4.6% after posting a net loss in its fourth-quarter report.
Nike shares advance 2.5% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy from hold, seeing the sportswear company being positioned for a strong recovery over the next two years.
Twilio shares rise 3.6% as Morgan Stanley upgrades to overweight from equal-weight, saying the software firm’s execution should help with growth and margin re-acceleration.
US stocks looked set to claw back ground after Friday’s sharp selloff, with Nvidia Corp. rising in early trading. German stocks gained after conservatives led by Friedrich Merz emerged as the winners in a weekend vote.
All eyes now turn to what may be the most important earnings release of the quarter when NVDA reports earnings on Wednesday: the result will be a key test of demand for US megacap stocks and the artificial intelligence frenzy that’s powered them. With recent advances in AI by China’s DeepSeek, Nvidia is under pressure to deliver blockbuster results to reassert its leadership.
“Markets are in wait-and-see mode until we see those bellwether AI earnings as that could be a key turning point,” Laura Cooper, head of global investment strategy at Nuveen, said in an interview.
Meanwhile, doubts are starting to creep again that the exponential capex hockeystick forecast will fall well short. Last night we first reported that according to TD Cown, Microsoft has begun canceling leases for a substantial amount of datacenter capacity in the US, a move that may indicated the Mag7 giant is building more AI computing than it will need over the long term (see full report her). OpenAI’s biggest backer has voided leases totaling “a couple of hundred megawatts” of capacity, the US brokerage wrote Friday, citing channel checks or inquiries with supply chain providers. Microsoft has also stopped converting so-called statement of qualifications, which are agreements that usually lead to formal leases, TD Cowen said. That was a tactic rivals such as Meta Platforms employed previously, when it decided to cut back on capital spending, the brokerage wrote.
A potential pullback by Microsoft on spending and datacenter construction raises questions about whether the company — one of the frontrunners among Big Tech in AI — is growing cautious about the outlook for demand. If so, then much of the AI thesis – which is based on the chart below – will go down in flames.
But even without a Mag 7 wipeout, the S&P 500 Index is trailing international peers in 2025 after years of outperformance, as investors are put off by uncertainty from President Trump’s policies on tariffs and their potential to rekindle inflation. Friday’s tumble left the S&P 500 1.7% lower on the week. That said, top Wall Street strategists say the underperformance is unlikely to last long given the robust outlook for US economic growth.
“We’ve seen a lot of inflation fears, but now markets are shifting focus back to the potential growth effects of these US policies,” Nuveen’s Cooper said.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 Index, and the euro, fluctuated as initial enthusiasm about Germany’s election gave way to concern the new government may lack a consensus to push through much-needed economic reforms, preventing bond yields from rising and keeping the bid in stocks in place. The DAX rises 0.9% after German conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s federal election. Mid-cap stocks outperform, with the MDAX up 2.8%. Merz emerged as the winner in Sunday’s election, but the results gave his Christian Democrat-led bloc just one clear path to power and they face intense pressure to move quickly to form a government and rally support for measures including potentially looser borrowing rules. “Centrist parties failed to retain a constitutional majority, complicating the prospects of decisive fiscal regime change,” said Apolline Menut, an economist at Carmignac. “Tricky political compromises would be required, as well as fiscal creativity.” Electrification stocks, including Siemens Energy AG, ABB Ltd and Schneider Electric SE, fell as concerns grew around data centers spending after the abovementioned report that Microsoft has begun canceling leases for a substantial amount of datacenter capacity. Here are some other notable movers:
European food-delivery stocks rise strongly after Prosus agreed to buy Just Eat Takeaway.com for €4.1 billion. Analysts at Bryan Garnier note this will raise speculation about bids for other firms in the sector
Subsea 7 rises after announcing it agreed in principle to create a combined oil services company with Saipem, with an order backlog of €43 billion and expected revenue of about €20 billion. Analysts are positive
Shares in German companies most exposed to hopes of higher government spending gain on Monday after conservative leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after he won Sunday’s election
Almirall shares advance as much as 8.1%, the best performer on the Madrid Stock Exchange General Index, after the Spanish pharmaceutical company forecast Ebitda for 2025 of €220 million to €240 million
Bank of Ireland shares rise as much as 3.7% to the highest since March 2023 after analysts at Barclays said the firm’s “strong” new guidance should lift earnings estimates. Analysts noted 2H profits were better than anticipated
Shares of gym group Basic-Fit and food services stocks Elior and Sodexo all rise as Citi resumes coverage with buy ratings on each; Elior’s stock “does not look expensive” according to the broker
Centrica shares rise as much as 3.6% after Jefferies raised its price target on the UK energy company’s shares, highlighting the strength of its balance sheet and possible increases to consensus earnings estimates
National Grid shares rise as much as 1.5% after agreeing to sell its US onshore renewables unit to Brookfield Asset Management for $1.7 billion. Morgan Stanley analysts say that the deal will allow the UK electricity supplier to reinvest
Naspers is the biggest drag by index points on South Africa’s benchmark on Monday, falling as much as much as 7.8%, the most since Jan. 7, after Prosus agreed to buy Just Eat Takeaway.com for €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion)
B&M European shares fall as much as 6.8% after the retailer cut its earnings guidance and said CEO Alex Russo is retiring. Analysts said the weaker guidance and last year’s trading performance are disappointing
Earlier in the session, Asian equities fell, weighed by Chinese technology shares after Trump stepped up curbs on the world’s second largest economy. The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan Index slipped as much as 0.7%, with TSMC, Tencent and Alibaba among the biggest drags. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Sentiment was cautious after US stocks had their worst session so far in 2025 following weaker-than-expected economic data and a surge in consumers’ long-run inflation views. Sino-American tensions flared up again, as Trump moved to restrict Chinese investment in some strategic US industries, while also considering further restrictions on outbound investment to Beijing in sectors including semiconductors and artificial intelligence. A selloff in India continued on Monday even as Citigroup Inc. upgraded the country’s stocks to overweight from neutral, citing a “meaningful upside” amid less demanding valuations. In South Korea, the top financial regulator said the nation is on track to lift its ban on short selling across all stocks starting March 31. A complete resumption of short selling is necessary and any market impact is expected to be short-lived, a top official said at a regular briefing.
China’s top leaders are expected to convene next week at the annual legislative meeting to lay out the economic blueprint for this year. Investors are closely watching for any new stimulus measures. Equities in Hong Kong and mainland China slipped after fluctuating in early trading.
In FX, the EUR/USD rallied by as much as 0.7% to 1.0528, only to pare the advance and trade around 1.0470; the currency was supported after the Asia open on relief that Germany’s far right party didn’t show up much stronger than expected. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls as much as 0.4% to the lowest since December, before erasing losses. USD/JPY reverses losses to rise 0.3% to 149.66; it earlier fell to 148.85, lowest since Dec. 3
In rates, US Treasury curve bull-steepens modestly; Treasuries trade cheaper across the curve, unwinding a portion of Friday’s steep flight-to-quality gains. Front end leads losses with yields ~2bp higher on the day, ahead of $29b 2-year note auction at 1pm New York time. 10-year yield rises 1bp to 4.44% while two-year yield is 2bps higher at 4.22%; German counterpart more than 2bp higher; Treasury 2s10s curve is ~1bp flatter on the day. Longer-dated German yields are higher after conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move quickly to form a new government after winning Sunday’s federal election. This week’s Treasury auction cycle begins with 2-year notes and includes $70b 5-year and $44b 7-year note sales Tuesday and Wednesday. WI 2-year yield near 4.21% is close to January’s 4.211% result, 0.1bp higher than its WI at the bidding deadline.
In commodities, oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.1% to $70.50 a barrel. Spot gold climbs $7 to around $2,943/oz. Bitcoin is flat near $95,700.
Looking at today’s calendar, we get the January Chicago Fed national activity index (8:30am) and February Dallas Fed manufacturing activity (10:30am). Fed speaker slate empty for Monday. Logan, Barr, Barkin, Bostic, Schmid, Bowman, Hammack, Harker and Goolsbee are scheduled to appear later this week.
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 futures up 0.6% to 6,067.25
STOXX Europe 600 up 0.2% to 554.98
MXAP down 0.4% to 189.89
MXAPJ down 0.5% to 598.74
Nikkei up 0.3% to 38,776.94
Topix little changed at 2,736.53
Hang Seng Index down 0.6% to 23,341.61
Shanghai Composite down 0.2% to 3,373.03
Sensex down 1.1% to 74,501.68
Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.1% to 8,308.24
Kospi down 0.4% to 2,645.27
German 10Y yield little changed at 2.47%
Euro up 0.1% to $1.0473
Brent Futures little changed at $74.48/bbl
Gold spot up 0.3% to $2,945.02
US Dollar Index little changed at 106.57
Top Overnight News
Microsoft is canceling leases for AI data centers in the US, potentially reflecting concerns about overcapacity. ZH
President Trump said Elon Musk is doing a good job but he would like to see him get more aggressive. It was separately reported that Elon Musk said consistent with President Trump’s instructions, all federal employees will receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week and a failure to respond will be taken as a resignation, although some agencies told workers not to reply to Musk’s email.
Trump nominated Air Force Lt General Dan Caine as the next Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff to replace General Brown, while several other top officials were also pushed out.
Trump reportedly told CEOs of pharmaceutical companies during a meeting to move their production to the US.
American Airlines (AAL) flight was diverted to Rome over ‘possible security issue.” However, the airline later stated that the flight landed safely in Rome and after inspection by law enforcement was cleared to re-depart with the issue determined to be non-credible: ABC
America’s economy is more dependent on the wealthy than ever before (the top 10% of earners, or households earning $250K+ per year, now account for nearly 50% of all spending, the highest percent ever. WSJ
US Republican email systems were reportedly breached by Chinese hackers in summer 2024; hackers reportedly had access “for months” – WSJ
US Senator Warren has reportedly sent a letter to the White House requesting that Trump’s nominee to Chair the Council of Economic Advisers commits to Fed independence, via FT
Apple plans to invest $500 billion in the US over the next four years, hiring 20,000 workers and producing AI servers as it seeks relief from Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China. AAPL -1% in pre. BBG
ECB official Pierre Wunsch warns that the Eurozone risks “sleepwalking” into making too many interest rate cuts and needs to stand ready to stop lowering bowering costs soon. FT
Europe envisions sending ~30K of its troops into Ukraine to help preserve any peace deal struck with Russia, with the US providing technical, logistics, and weapons support (but no American troops would be involved). ABC
Germany’s conservative leader Friedrich Merz said he’ll move to form a coalition government within two months after winning yesterday’s election. He pledged to strengthen Europe to achieve “real independence” from the US. The DAX rose and the euro strengthened. BBG
China’s local governments are set to issue an unprecedented $233 billion of bonds in the first two months of the year, exacerbating a cash squeeze in the financial system. BBG
Alibaba said on Monday it plans to invest at least 380 billion yuan ($52.44 bn) in its cloud computing and artificial intelligence infrastructure over the next three years. RTRS
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will meet Scott Bessent in Washington as he seeks tariff exemptions. South Korea’s industry minister will visit the US as soon as this week for trade talks. BBG
German Election
Prelim. Final Results: CDU/CSU 28.6%, AFD 20.8%, SPD 16.4%, Greens 11.6%, Die Linke 8.8%, FDP 4.3% & BSW 4.9%. This means that FDP and BSW are below the 5% threshold and as such will not be entering the Bundestag. However, given their proximity to the 5% threshold BSW will almost certainly call for a recount.
Seat Distribution: CDU/CSU 208, AfD 152, SPD 120, Greens 85, Die Linke 64, SSW 1. (316 needed for a majority government)
CDU/CSU leader Merz will become the next Chancellor. However, he will need to form a coalition to govern. Mathematically, the options are a Grand coalition (CDU/CSU + SPD), Kenya (CDU/CSU + SPD + Greens) or a Midnight coalition (CDU/CSU + AfD). AfD’s Weidel has said that she is open to being in the coalition but expected-Chancellor Merz has made clear this is not an option.
The most likely outcome is a Grand coalition, though the SPD has made clear that the onus is on Merz to begin talks and find compromises for the government to work.
Pertinently, the results mean that AfD and Die Linke command a blocking minority with over 1/3 of the Bundestag’s seats. This means that the prospects of debt brake reform are reduced, though Merz may be able to come to a deal with Die Linke for non-defense spending related reform.
Merz has said he ideally wants a functioning government by Easter. However, this is somewhat unlikely given the tense election campaign and political differences between the groups.
Tariffs/Trade
US President Trump’s team is reportedly pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump said on Friday that the US will establish new rules to stop US firms from investing in industries that advance China’s national military-civil fusion strategy and will establish rules to stop China-affiliated people from buying critical US businesses and assets.
US House Chair Jordan criticised EU tech fines and European taxes on US companies and wants the European Commission to brief the judiciary committee by March 10th and called for EU antitrust chief Ribera to clarify rules reining in big tech.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks began the week mixed after last Friday’s sell-off on Wall St and amid holiday-quietened trade with Japanese markets closed for the Emperor’s Birthday, while participants also reflected on the results from Sunday’s German election. ASX 200 traded little changed as gains in financials and the defensives were counterbalanced by losses in tech and the commodity-related sectors, while there was also another deluge of earnings updates. KOSPI underperformed amid ongoing economic concerns and ahead of tomorrow’s BoK rate decision. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were choppy but were ultimately pressured amid ongoing trade-related frictions, with the US said to be pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports. Nonetheless, there were some encouraging reports with Chinese state-backed developers beginning to buy land at a premium again, while agricultural stocks were supported after China pledged to deepen rural reforms as part of efforts to revitalise the agricultural sector and bolster food security in the State Council’s annual rural policy blueprint.
Top Asian News
China is to further deepen rural reforms and advance rural revitalisation, while it will monitor and regulate pig production capacity to promote steady growth and will consolidate the results of soybean expansion, and expand rapeseed and peanut production. China is to improve the reward and subsidy systems for major grain-producing and increase support for large grain-producing counties. Furthermore, China will support the development of smart agriculture and expand application scenarios of technologies, while it will use monetary tools to encourage financial institutions to increase funding for rural revitalisation and will encourage local governments to pilot special loan interest subsidies for grain and oil crop cultivation, according to Xinhua.
Chinese state-backed developers are beginning to buy land at a premium again after the government eased limits on home prices as the number of land parcels that sold for at least 20% above the asking price accounted for 37% of deals this year vs 14% for last year, according to a Bloomberg analysis of transactions worth at least CNY 1bln.
Shein’s profit slumped in a fresh challenge to long-planned London IPO with its 2024 net profit down almost 40% to USD 1bln although FY sales rose 19% Y/Y to USD 38bln, according to FT.
A report on Friday stated that a new coronavirus with pandemic potential was discovered in China, according to Daily Mail.
UK and India relaunch trade talks in bid to boost investment opportunities, according to FT.
China’s economic growth target is expected to be set at about 5% for 2025, while CPI will probably be lowered to 2% from 3% for previous years, according to a report in Securities Times on Monday, citing economists.
European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.2%) opened modestly, and on either side of the unchanged mark (though the DAX 40 outperformed after the German election). At the cash open, some pressure was seen, which then exacerbated in the hour following. Thereafter, a considerable bounce was seen across the complex; as it stands, indices are mostly firmer. European sectors are mixed; initially opened with a narrow breadth, but performance is now varied. Utilities takes the top spot, lifted by renewable names after the German Election; Merz has previously favoured their use. Strength in German auto names have lifted the Autos sector. Basic Resources is the laggard thus far, with downside attributed to mostly lower metals prices.
Top European News
ECB’s Escriva said monetary policy must be approached with caution given the current extraordinary uncertainty.
ECB’s Villeroy reaffirmed that the ECB’s Deposit rate should be at 2% by this coming summer and said that European banking sector consolidation is generally speaking, necessary to have European banks that can compete at a global level.
ECB’s Wunsch said the ECB faces the risk of ‘sleepwalking’ into too many rate cuts, while he feels “relatively comfortable” with market expectation of 2% rates by year-end “give or take 50 basis points”, according to FT.
Hungary’s PM Orban said they are to exempt mothers of two or three children from income tax and said this will be a huge expense but the budget deficit and debt will decline, while he added the government is ready to impose food price caps unless talks with retailers on keeping prices under control succeed.
Austria’s biggest centrist parties in parliament hinted they were on the verge of agreeing to form a coalition government which would bring together Austria’s conservatives, socialists and liberals, while it would sideline the far-right Freedom Party which won the election in September, according to euro news.
EU Foreign Representative Kallas to meet with the US Foreign Secretary Rubio on Tuesday within the US.
FX
DXY is a touch lower and showing a diverging performance vs. peers (softer vs. cyclicals, firmer vs. havens) following a shaky performance last week as soft US data points acted as a drag on the USD. In terms of US newsflow, tariff actions remain in focus with President Trump’s team reportedly pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports. However, markets place greater weight on the April 1st tariff report deadline. Geopolitical headlines remain aplenty with Ukrainian President Zelensky stating he is willing to quit the presidency if it means peace in Ukraine which he said could be exchanged for NATO membership. DXY printed a fresh YTD low overnight at 106.12 but has since returned within Friday’s 106.38-106.74 range.
EUR is one of the better performers across the majors in the wake of the German election which will likely deliver a Grand Coalition (CDU/CSU + SPD). However, such an outcome would deliver a slim majority of 328/630 seats (316 required) and fall short of the Bundestag’s two-thirds majority which is required for constitutional reform (i.e. the debt brake). EUR/USD ventured as high as 1.0528 but stopped shy of the 1.0532 YTD peak and eventually returned to a 1.04 handle.
USD/JPY printed a fresh YTD low overnight at 148.85 but has since struggled for direction amid the mixed risk appetite in Asia and the absence of Japanese participants for a holiday. To the upside, focus is on a potential reclaim of 150 to the upside.
GBP is a little firmer vs. the USD but softer vs. the EUR. UK-specific newsflow has been light over the weekend and this week’s UK data calendar is a particularly slim one. However, today sees a busy speaker slate with BoE’s Lombardelli, Pill, Ramsden and Dhingra all due on the docket and speaking at the Bank of England’s 2025 BEAR Conference. Cable printed a fresh YTD peak overnight at 1.2690 before fading upside.
Antipodeans are both a touch higher with not much in the way of fresh newsflow for either of the antipode nations. That being said, some positivity surrounding the Chinese property market overnight (Chinese state-backed developers beginning to buy land at a premium again) is helping to underpin sentiment.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1717 vs exp. 7.2495 (prev. 7.1696).
Barclays FX Month-End rebalancing: Weak USD buying vs. most peers, with moderate signal against the EUR and JPY, via Barclays.
Fixed Income
Bunds opened lower by a handful of ticks after the initial election results, (details on the German Election above) before falling further to a 132.02 low on confirmation that CDU/CSU is the largest party and that both FDP and BSW will not meet the 5% threshold to enter the Bundestag. However, as the full results were released (though likely subject to a recount given BSW coming in just below the 5% threshold) a bounce was seen in Bunds, taking them from the above low to a 132.50 peak and briefly back into the green on the session. A bullish move likely driven by the presence of a blocking minority in the Bundestag, with CSU’s stance against Greens being involved in the coalition also a factor.
USTs were slightly quieter overnight owing to the absence of cash trade as Japan was on holiday. Broadly speaking, USTs have been following their German counterpart but with magnitudes more contained and the early-morning bounce not occurring to quite the same degree with USTs remaining just in the red at all times. The docket ahead is headlined by USD 69bln of 2yr supply, potential remarks from Fed’s Barr (voter) and the January National Activity Index. Currently, USTs are in the red in a narrow 109-16 to 109-21 band.
Gilts are directionally in-fitting with Bunds though, as with USTs, magnitudes are a little more contained but with Gilts managing to hold in the green for much of the morning. Gapped higher by 18 ticks from Friday’s 92.41 close, as the mentioned bounce in Bunds had already occurred by the time Gilts commenced trade, and then extended to a 92.66 peak. Since, the benchmark has reverted back towards opening levels as we await commentary from the numerous BoE speakers at today’s conference on “The Future of the Central Bank Balance Sheet”. Pill, Ramsden, Lombardelli and Dhingra all scheduled at different points today.
EU sells EUR 2.392bln vs exp. EUR 2.5bln 2.875% 2027 and EUR 2.277bln vs exp. EUR 2.5bln 3.375% 2039
Commodities
Crude is a little firmer after initially trading sideways for most of the morning; traders are awaiting further updates on geopolitics and OPEC+ amid growing noise surrounding a potential delay to the unwind of voluntary cuts. In recent trade, a slight bounce has been seen in the complex, taking Brent May to a session high of USD 74.35/bbl.
Mixed trade across precious metals with little in terms of fresh fundamentals driving price action, although spot palladium could be lagging after US President Trump reiterated the auto tariff set to kick in on April 2nd. Spot gold resides in a USD 2,921.47-2,948.88/oz range thus far.
Subdued trade across base metals as the Dollar recovered and sentiment waned in early European trade, with tariff woes still in the background amid Trump’s reiterations. Prices were unfazed by the encouraging reports overnight suggesting Chinese state-backed developers beginning to buy land at a premium again. 3M LME copper trades on either side of USD 9,500/t in a current USD 9,485.00-9,558.55/t range.
Iraq’s Oil Minister said all procedures for exporting oil through the Turkey pipeline have been completed. It was separately reported that Kurdistan authorities agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, while Iraq denied reports that it would face US sanctions if oil exports from Kurdistan were not resumed. Furthermore, Iraq is to receive 185k BPD from the Kurdistan region in the first phase after the resumption of oil exports.
Iraqi oil minister said exports from the Kurdish region will resume in a week. Iraq Oil Minister said they are waiting for Turkey’s approval to restart oil flow, Kurdish oil exports will “hopefully be ready” in two days. Iraqi Oil Minister, when questioned if resumption of Kurdish oil exports will affect Iraq’s OPEC compliance, said Iraq is committed to OPEC+ decision and exported volumes under control of ministry.
BofA forecasts Brent crude at USD 75/bbl in 2025 and USD 73/bbl in 2026 with oil markets set to remain in a modest surplus in the near term. BofA said over the medium term, Brent should average between USD 60-80/bbl to keep the global oil market in balance.
Geopolitics: Middle East
Israel sent tanks into the West Bank and told troops to prepare for an extended stay, according to Reuters.
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the release of Palestinian prisoners planned for Saturday was delayed until the release of the next hostages is secured with the delay due to Hamas’s repeated violations.
Hamas strongly condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and said Israel’s claim that a handover ceremony is humiliating is false and a pretext to evade its obligations.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
Ukraine Deputy PM said Ukrainian and US teams are in the finally stages of negotiations on the minerals deal; Kyiv is committed to complete the deal “as swiftly as possible”.
Russia’s Kremlin said “we welcome and support new US approach to dialogue with Russia”. Russian President Putin is to make an international phone call this morning as part of informing partners about talks with the US. Further talks with US this week will focus on eliminating irritants in ties and on work of foreign missions. “Don’t see any possibility to renew dialogue with Europe at the moment; European approach contrasts with the effort we are making with the US”
Ukrainian President Zelensky said the issue of elections is a step to apply pressure on Ukraine and he is willing to quit the presidency if it means peace in Ukraine which he said could be exchanged for NATO membership, but also commented that false statements about his ratings and the amount of US aid are dangerous steps to weaken Ukraine. Zelensky said he sees Turkey as an important security guarantor for Ukraine and that Ukraine is working on Patriot system alternatives, as well as noted if the US strikes a deal with Russia to end the war, it won’t be successful if Ukraine does not agree to its conditions.
Ukrainian President Zelensky commented that Ukraine-US talks on a minerals deal are moving forward and all is okay, while he stated that the minerals deal draft said Ukraine should return two dollars for each dollar of aid supplied by the US. Zelensky also said the USD 500bln figure is not being considered in the minerals deal anymore and a top aide said he had a constructive new round of talks with the US on the minerals deal. It was also reported that the US could cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink internet services over minerals, according to sources cited by Reuters.
US President Trump said he thinks the US is pretty close to a minerals deal with Ukraine and that they are asking for rare earth, oil and anything they can get from Ukraine to recoup the money the US put into Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Rubio told Ukraine’s Foreign Minister that US President Trump remains committed to ending the conflict in Ukraine.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said an economic partnership will protect the Ukrainian people and the US taxpayer, while he added that Ukraine’s economic future in peace can be more prosperous than at any other point and a partnership with the US will ensure this prosperity. Furthermore, Bessent said the US-Ukraine partnership proposal is for revenue received by Ukraine from natural resources, infrastructure and assets to be allocated to a fund focused on reconstruction which the US will have the rights over investments, according to FT. It was separately reported that Bessent said he is quite hopeful when asked if he expected a minerals deal with Ukraine this week.
US President Trump’s envoy Witkoff said there be an expectation that US companies may do business in Russia if a peace deal is reached in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to CBS News.
Russian President Putin convened a meeting of his security council and discussed relations with post-Soviet states at the meeting, while he received reports from Foreign Minister Lavrov’s recent trips and asked him to share them with the security council, according to TASS. It was also reported that Putin said boosting Russia’s armed forces and meeting the needs of troops fighting in Ukraine are key strategic priorities.
Russian sovereign wealth fund chief Dmitriev was appointed Special Envoy on International Economic Cooperation and his new mandate will include ties with the US.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said a second meeting between representatives of Russia and the US is planned for the next two weeks and said that Russia will hold talks with the US to address irritants in bilateral relations, according to TASS. It was separately reported that Ryabkov said the US wants to achieve a quick ceasefire in Ukraine without long-term settlement and he explained to the US that a sole ceasefire in Ukraine is unacceptable, according to RIA.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov is to visit Turkey on Monday and will discuss a range of topics including recent US talks on the Ukraine war and how Turkey can contribute.
Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured the villages of Ulakly and Novoandriivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Greek PM Mitsotakis told Ukrainian President Zelensky that it is up to Ukraine to decide on the peace framework acceptable to it and nothing can be decided without Ukraine.
Poland’s President Duda told US President Trump that US presence in Poland and central Europe should be boosted.
Hungary’s PM Orban said Ukraine will never be a member of the EU against Hungary’s interests.
EU Council President Costa said they decided to convene a Special European Council regarding Ukraine and EU defence on March 6th.
Canadian PM Trudeau and US President Trump spoke on Saturday in which they discussed the war in Ukraine and combating fentanyl.
Two EU Diplomats say EU Foreign Ministers approve 16th sanctions package against Russia.
Geopolitics: Other
China defended its recent naval drills in the Tasman Sea and accused Australia of ‘deliberately hyping’ military exercises.
US Event Calendar
08:30: Jan. Chicago Fed Nat Activity Index, est. -0.05, prior 0.15
10:30: Feb. Dallas Fed Manf. Activity, est. 6.4, prior 14.1
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Five years ago today, global markets first began to panic after a weekend that saw 11 Italian towns emerge from it in Covid lockdown. Five years later we had a mini panic on Friday as attention focused on a report earlier in the week about a new coronavirus discovery in bats, from the infamous Wuhan lab, with similar properties to Covid-19. Note there has been no reported transmission to humans as yet and as far as we know it’s just been found in a lab. We’re all probably paranoid and it’s difficult to know what to do with that information but ahead of a weekend, and with memories of that fateful weekend five years ago, it was no surprise people wanted to lighten up with the S&P 500 (-1.71%) seeing its worst day of the year so far, extending declines after earlier stagflationary data that we’ll discuss at the end. In overnight trading, US stock futures are back up with those on the S&P 500 (+0.49%) and NASDAQ 100 (+0.48%) higher.
Talking of five years, will the German election be seen as a pivotal moment when we look back on it in 2030? For financial markets the make-up of the Bundestag was probably as important as the overall results and the one line summary is that the centre-right and centre-left should have sufficient seats to form a grand coalition but overall the centrist parties are short of a two-thirds majority. This latter means that any future reforms of the debt break will be challenging and may require compromise and horse trading.
In terms of the details, the provisional results confirm a victory for the centre-right CDU/CSU (28.6%), followed by the far-right AfD (20.8%), centre-left SPD (16.4%) and Greens (11.6%). Of the smaller partis, the leftist Linke (8.8%) comfortably exceeded the 5% threshold, but the far-left BSW (4.97%) and liberal FDP (4.3%) fell short. BSW’s narrow failure to enter the Bundestag, which may take a few days to be definitively confirmed, has the important consequence of leaving the CDU/CSU and SPD combined with a projected 52% of the seats. That leaves the grand coalition as the most likely outcome, being the only option to avoid the need for three-party coalition given that mainstream parties have ruled out partnering with the AfD. Our Germany economists see the prospect of a two-party coalition led by a strong CDU/CSU as a positive for Germany’s corporate sector, promising less policy gridlock and uncertainty than under the outgoing government. See their reaction here for more. Earlier in the night, CDU leader Merz said he wanted to form a coalition within the next two months.
While the outcome may reduce the risks of particularly fractious coalition talks, it still confirms an ongoing anti-establishment trend that has been visible both in Germany and Europe as a whole. The result marks the lowest ever vote share for the two major parties, even as the turnout (82.5%) was the highest since at least 1990. And it leaves the centrist parties short of a 2/3rds constitutional majority, with the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens jointly at just under 66% of seats. That means any debt brake reform, including for defence spending, would require support from one of the fringe parties. This may not be impossible, but it would require significant political compromises.
After a nervy night, European assets gained traction as the likelihood of simple ‘grand coalition’ majority emerged. The euro is trading +0.58% higher this morning, touching a one-month high against the dollar, while DAX futures are up just over a percent and Euro Stoxx 50 futures are +0.46% higher. Meanwhile Bund futures are slightly down as I check my screens.
In terms of other events this week, Nvidia’s earnings on Wednesday could be the biggest mover of markets. Interestingly of the 62 analysts who cover the stock on Bloomberg, 56 have a buy rating with only one sell. DB are currently one of only 5 with a hold rating. Outside of that inflation takes centre stage with US core PCE, German, French and Italian flash CPI, as well as Tokyo CPI all out on Friday with Spain’s equivalent coming out on Thursday. In terms of the rest of the main global releases, the German Ifo survey today will be less relevant given the election but later we have the Dallas and Chicago Fed manufacturing surveys. Tomorrow sees the US Conference Board consumer confidence release which will be interesting after Friday’s weak UoM equivalent. Wednesday sees US new home sales and Australian inflation. Thursday sees US durable goods and the ECB account of their January meeting and Friday sees US personal income and spending data and the ECB consumer expectations survey. There are also lots of central bank speakers through the week, including at the G20 central bankers and finance minister meeting in Cape Town on Wednesday and Thursday. You can see the main ones detailed in the day-by-day calendar at the end as usual, along with key earnings releases and all the other data.
Digging into the main US data this week now. According to our economists, Friday’s personal income (+0.3% forecast vs +0.4% previously) and consumption (+0.2% vs. +0.7%) will likely be softer due to the LA wildfires and poor weather with the all-important core PCE deflator (+0.27% vs. +0.16%) higher but not as extreme as CPI due to softer subcomponents in the subsequent PPI. This would lower the YoY core PCE two tenths to 2.6%. In the US consumer confidence tomorrow, the jobs-plentiful / jobs hard-to-get series is important as a good proxy for the unemployment rate. For claims on Thursday our economists are looking to the DC area in particular given press reports of substantial federal government layoffs. Around 20% of the ~2.3mn federal government employees live in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Our estimates are that there have been roughly 14k potential federal layoffs since the Trump Administration took office with another 12k pending the resolution of court cases. Clearly this is just within the first month.
Asian equity markets are mostly drifting lower at the start of the week following Friday’s significant losses on Wall Street. Across the region, the Hang Seng (-0.64%) with the Shanghai Composite (-0.26%) is also down. The KOSPI is -0.42% lower. Japanese markets are closed for a public holiday but Nikkei futures are around a percent lower. With this holiday there is no cash Treasuries trading in Asia.
Now recapping last week, which ended with a big risk-off move on Friday following more stagflationary US data alongside some scares around the reporting of the new coronavirus discovered by researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. On the fifth anniversary of the first proper slump in markets associated with Covid that’s the last thing the world wanted to hear. According to the journal that reported the story as long ago as last Friday the virus hasn’t been detected in humans yet but this virus apparently enters cells using the same gateway as the Covid-19 virus. So that scared markets a bit and led to a spike in vaccine stocks like Moderna (+5.34% on Friday) just around the time Europe closed for the day.
However, the earlier data started the softness. First were the February flash PMIs, which saw the headline services reading (49.7 vs 53.0 expected) slump into contractionary territory for the first time in 13 months. At the same time, the PMI manufacturing input prices soared to their highest since October 2022 (+6.1pts to 63.5). Then 15 minutes later, the final University of Michigan consumer survey showed 5-10 year median inflation expectations spiking to a post-1995 high of 3.5% (up from 3.3% in the flash release), even as headline consumer sentiment slumped to a 15-month low. So that added to concerns over the US consumer that had emerged with a weak January retail sales print the previous Friday and Walmart’s disappointing results on Thursday morning. As ever we note that for long-term inflation expectations, the results are extreme along party lines with Democrat supporters expect 4.2% and Republicans 1.5%.
Nevertheless the overall backdrop weighed on risk assets, with the S&P 500 (-1.71%) posting its worst day of 2025 so far, leaving it -1.66% lower on the week. Most affected were small caps, with the Russell 2000 slumping -2.94% on Friday (-3.71% on the week), as well as tech stocks, with the Mag-7 down -2.51% (-3.52% on the week). Both indices fell into negative territory YTD. By contrast, in Europe equity markets closed before the worst of the US slump with the Stoxx 600 (+0.52% Friday) just about posting a ninth consecutive weekly gain (+0.26%).
Other risk assets also suffered on Friday, with US high yield credit spreads seeing their biggest daily spike YTD (+10bps to 271bps). And in the commodity space, Brent crude saw its largest decline since October (-2.97%), leaving it -0.71% down on the week to $74.21/bbl. However, gold advanced +1.86% on week to $2,936/oz despite a marginal retreat on Friday (-0.10%) from Thursday’s all-time high.
Bonds rallied amid Friday’s risk-off environment, with 10yr Treasury yields falling -7.4bps to 4.43% and posting a sixth consecutive weekly decline (-4.5bps). Over in Europe, 10yr bund yields also fell -6.4bps on Friday, but were still +3.7bs higher on the week to 2.47% after an earlier rise amid increased expectations of higher European defence spending.
2B) EUROPEAN REPORT
3C) ASIA REPORT
Dax futures surge and Bunds slip as CDU/CSU win the election but need a coalition, as expected – Newsquawk Europe Market Open
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 01:30 AM
APAC stocks began the week mixed after last Friday’s sell-off on Wall St and amid holiday-quietened trade with Japanese markets closed for the Emperor’s Birthday, while participants also reflected on the results from Sunday’s German election.
DAX futures rallied by 1%, Bund futures marginally softened, EUR/USD outperformed and reclaimed the 1.0500 handle as Germany’s CDU/CSU won the election on Sunday with a Grand coalition possible; far-right AfD came second.
US President Trump said on Friday that he spoke with Chinese President Xi on fentanyl. US President Trump’s team is reportedly pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports, according to Bloomberg.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said the issue of elections is a step to apply pressure on Ukraine and he is willing to quit the presidency if it means peace in Ukraine which he said could be exchanged for NATO membership.
European equity futures indicate a higher cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.7% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.3% on Friday.
Looking ahead, highlights include German Ifo Expectations, US National Activity Index, Speakers including BoE’s Lombardelli, Pill, Ramsden, Dhingra & BoC’s Gravelle, Supply from the EU & US, Earnings from Domino’s Pizza, Him & Hers, Riot Platforms, Tempus AI, Cleveland Cliffs & Zoom.
US stocks tumbled on OpEx Friday and T-notes rallied across the curve in which the pressure in US stocks began in the morning amid the backdrop of the deterioration of Ukraine relations with the US and lingering tariff deadlines, while the attention was on weak US PMI data and reports of a potentially pandemic-inducing Coronavirus being found in China.
SPX -1.71% at 6,013, NDX -2.06% at 21,614, DJI -1.69% at 43,428, RUT -2.94% at 2,195.
US President Trump’s team is reportedly pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump said on Friday that the US will establish new rules to stop US firms from investing in industries that advance China’s national military-civil fusion strategy and will establish rules to stop China-affiliated people from buying critical US businesses and assets.
US President Trump said on Friday that he spoke with Chinese President Xi on fentanyl. It was also reported on Friday that a White House official said President Trump is to sign a national security memorandum aimed at promoting foreign investment while protecting US national security interests from threats posed by foreign adversaries like China.
US House Chair Jordan criticised EU tech fines and European taxes on US companies and wants the European Commission to brief the judiciary committee by March 10th and called for EU antitrust chief Ribera to clarify rules reining in big tech.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
Fed’s Goolsbee (2025 voter) downplayed a report from last week which showed an increase in consumers’ expectations for future inflation whereby he stated that it wasn’t a great number but added it is only one month of data and at least two or three months for it to count, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump said Elon Musk is doing a good job but he would like to see him get more aggressive. It was separately reported that Elon Musk said consistent with President Trump’s instructions, all federal employees will receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week and a failure to respond will be taken as a resignation, although some agencies told workers not to reply to Musk’s email.
US President Trump nominated Air Force Lt General Dan Caine as the next Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff to replace General Brown, while several other top officials were also pushed out.
US President Trump reportedly told CEOs of pharmaceutical companies during a meeting to move their production to the US.
American Airlines (AAL) flight was diverted to Rome over ‘possible security issue’, according to ABC News. However, the airline later stated that the flight landed safely in Rome and after inspection by law enforcement was cleared to re-depart with the issue determined to be non-credible.
GERMAN ELECTION
Europe Elects reported the preliminary result showed CDU/CSU-EPP at 29% (+5), AfD-ESN at 21% (+11), SPD-S&D at 16% (-10), GRÜNE-G/EFA at 11% (-4), LINKE-LEFT at 9% (+4), BSW-NI at 5% (+5) and FDP-RE at 4% (-7) with 260 out of 299 constituencies declared.
As it stands, CDU will need to form a coalition to govern. The most likely option is a Grand coalition with the SPD, though a three-way coalition remains possible but is somewhat dependent on the final results for the smaller parties.
German CDU party leader Merz said they have won the election and are aware of the scale of the challenge ahead, while he added that it is important to create a government as soon as possible and that Germany must be present in Europe again. Merz also commented that he will try to form a government that represents the whole country and has always said no question of a coalition with AfD, as well as noted that forming a government will be difficult but he still hopes they will have formed a government by Easter. Furthermore, Merz said the priority is that the EU stand together and become independent from the US, as well as noted it is clear that the future of Europe is a matter of indifference to US President Trump.
Market Reaction: DAX futures rallied by 1%, Bund futures marginally softened, EUR/USD outperformed and reclaimed the 1.0500 handle.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks began the week mixed after last Friday’s sell-off on Wall St and amid holiday-quietened trade with Japanese markets closed for the Emperor’s Birthday, while participants also reflected on the results from Sunday’s German election.
ASX 200 traded little changed as gains in financials and the defensives were counterbalanced by losses in tech and the commodity-related sectors, while there was also another deluge of earnings updates.
KOSPI underperformed amid ongoing economic concerns and ahead of tomorrow’s BoK rate decision.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were choppy but were ultimately pressured amid ongoing trade-related frictions, with the US said to be pushing Mexico towards tariffs on Chinese imports. Nonetheless, there were some encouraging reports with Chinese state-backed developers beginning to buy land at a premium again, while agricultural stocks were supported after China pledged to deepen rural reforms as part of efforts to revitalise the agricultural sector and bolster food security in the State Council’s annual rural policy blueprint.
US equity futures were mildly higher in a partial rebound following Friday’s sell-off.
European equity futures indicate a higher cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.7% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.3% on Friday, while DAX futures rallied by 1.1% following the German conservatives’ election win with CDU leader seeking to form a government as quickly as possible.
FX
DXY weakened which was largely a function of the gains in its transatlantic counterparts, while there were recent comments from Fed’s Goolsbee who downplayed a report from last week that showed an increase in consumers’ expectations for future inflation in which he stated that it wasn’t a great number but is only one month of data and need at least two or three months for it to count. Furthermore, the main events for the greenback are towards the latter part of the week with GDP revisions on Thursday and PCE data on Friday.
EUR/USD outperformed and reclaimed the 1.0500 handle following the German election in which the German conservatives CDU/CSU won with around 29% of votes followed in second place by the far-right AfD at around 21% of votes and with German Chancellor Scholz’s SPD in third place with over 16% of the votes. Nonetheless, the preliminary result was in line with what polls had suggested ahead of the election and CDU leader Friedrich Merz hopes they will have formed a government by Easter.
GBP/USD edged closer towards the 1.2700 territory as the major currencies took advantage of the softer dollar, while UK-specific newsflow was light although a recent note from TD Securities warned the BoE could cut rates more aggressively than the market expects.
USD/JPY struggled for direction amid the mixed risk appetite in Asia and the absence of Japanese participants for a holiday.
Antipodeans gained amid dollar weakness and strength in the yuan after some positive signals from China’s property market.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1717 vs exp. 7.2495 (prev. 7.1696).
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures pulled back from around a 2-week peak after rallying on Friday amid the sell-off in stocks, while demand was also hampered by the closure of overnight cash treasuries trade due to the Tokyo holiday.
Bund futures marginally softened following the German election on Sunday where voters shifted to the right as expected in which Germany’s conservatives won the election and with CDU leader Merz calling for a quick government coalition.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures traded marginally lower after reports over the weekend Iraqi Kurdistan authorities agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, while Iraq’s Oil Minister announced that all procedures for exporting oil through the Turkey pipeline have been completed. However, the downside in oil was limited with the losses stemmed by a weaker dollar.
Iraq’s Oil Minister said all procedures for exporting oil through the Turkey pipeline have been completed. It was separately reported that Kurdistan authorities agreed with the federal oil ministry to restart Kurdish crude exports based on available volumes, while Iraq denied reports that it would face US sanctions if oil exports from Kurdistan were not resumed. Furthermore, Iraq is to receive 185k BPD from the Kurdistan region in the first phase after the resumption of oil exports.
Spot gold was indecisive in the absence of any pertinent catalysts and following the choppy performance seen late last week.
Copper futures traded rangebound near Friday’s trough with price action not helped by the mixed risk appetite in Asia.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin steadily declined throughout the session with prices retreating beneath the USD 96,000 level.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
China is to further deepen rural reforms and advance rural revitalisation, while it will monitor and regulate pig production capacity to promote steady growth and will consolidate the results of soybean expansion, and expand rapeseed and peanut production. China is to improve the reward and subsidy systems for major grain-producing and increase support for large grain-producing counties. Furthermore, China will support the development of smart agriculture and expand application scenarios of technologies, while it will use monetary tools to encourage financial institutions to increase funding for rural revitalisation and will encourage local governments to pilot special loan interest subsidies for grain and oil crop cultivation, according to Xinhua.
Chinese state-backed developers are beginning to buy land at a premium again after the government eased limits on home prices as the number of land parcels that sold for at least 20% above the asking price accounted for 37% of deals this year vs 14% for last year, according to a Bloomberg analysis of transactions worth at least CNY 1bln.
Shein’s profit slumped in a fresh challenge to long-planned London IPO with its 2024 net profit down almost 40% to USD 1bln although FY sales rose 19% Y/Y to USD 38bln, according to FT.
A report on Friday stated that a new coronavirus with pandemic potential was discovered in China, according to Daily Mail.
UK and India relaunch trade talks in bid to boost investment opportunities, according to FT.
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
Israel sent tanks into the West Bank and told troops to prepare for an extended stay, according to Reuters.
Israeli PM Netanyahu’s office said the release of Palestinian prisoners planned for Saturday was delayed until the release of the next hostages is secured with the delay due to Hamas’s repeated violations.
Hamas strongly condemned Israel’s decision to postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners and said Israel’s claim that a handover ceremony is humiliating is false and a pretext to evade its obligations.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukrainian President Zelensky said the issue of elections is a step to apply pressure on Ukraine and he is willing to quit the presidency if it means peace in Ukraine which he said could be exchanged for NATO membership, but also commented that false statements about his ratings and the amount of US aid are dangerous steps to weaken Ukraine. Zelensky said he sees Turkey as an important security guarantor for Ukraine and that Ukraine is working on Patriot system alternatives, as well as noted if the US strikes a deal with Russia to end the war, it won’t be successful if Ukraine does not agree to its conditions.
Ukrainian President Zelensky commented that Ukraine-US talks on a minerals deal are moving forward and all is okay, while he stated that the minerals deal draft said Ukraine should return two dollars for each dollar of aid supplied by the US. Zelensky also said the USD 500bln figure is not being considered in the minerals deal anymore and a top aide said he had a constructive new round of talks with the US on the minerals deal. It was also reported that the US could cut Ukraine’s access to Starlink internet services over minerals, according to sources cited by Reuters.
US President Trump said he thinks the US is pretty close to a minerals deal with Ukraine and that they are asking for rare earth, oil and anything they can get from Ukraine to recoup the money the US put into Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Rubio told Ukraine’s Foreign Minister that US President Trump remains committed to ending the conflict in Ukraine.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said an economic partnership will protect the Ukrainian people and the US taxpayer, while he added that Ukraine’s economic future in peace can be more prosperous than at any other point and a partnership with the US will ensure this prosperity. Furthermore, Bessent said the US-Ukraine partnership proposal is for revenue received by Ukraine from natural resources, infrastructure and assets to be allocated to a fund focused on reconstruction which the US will have the rights over investments, according to FT. It was separately reported that Bessent said he is quite hopeful when asked if he expected a minerals deal with Ukraine this week.
US President Trump’s envoy Witkoff said there be an expectation that US companies may do business in Russia if a peace deal is reached in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to CBS News.
Russian President Putin convened a meeting of his security council and discussed relations with post-Soviet states at the meeting, while he received reports from Foreign Minister Lavrov’s recent trips and asked him to share them with the security council, according to TASS. It was also reported that Putin said boosting Russia’s armed forces and meeting the needs of troops fighting in Ukraine are key strategic priorities.
Russian sovereign wealth fund chief Dmitriev was appointed Special Envoy on International Economic Cooperation and his new mandate will include ties with the US.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said a second meeting between representatives of Russia and the US is planned for the next two weeks and said that Russia will hold talks with the US to address irritants in bilateral relations, according to TASS. It was separately reported that Ryabkov said the US wants to achieve a quick ceasefire in Ukraine without long-term settlement and he explained to the US that a sole ceasefire in Ukraine is unacceptable, according to RIA.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov is to visit Turkey on Monday and will discuss a range of topics including recent US talks on the Ukraine war and how Turkey can contribute.
Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured the villages of Ulakly and Novoandriivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Greek PM Mitsotakis told Ukrainian President Zelensky that it is up to Ukraine to decide on the peace framework acceptable to it and nothing can be decided without Ukraine.
Poland’s President Duda told US President Trump that US presence in Poland and central Europe should be boosted.
Hungary’s PM Orban said Ukraine will never be a member of the EU against Hungary’s interests.
EU Council President Costa said they decided to convene a Special European Council regarding Ukraine and EU defence on March 6th.
Canadian PM Trudeau and US President Trump spoke on Saturday in which they discussed the war in Ukraine and combating fentanyl.
OTHER
China defended its recent naval drills in the Tasman Sea and accused Australia of ‘deliberately hyping’ military exercises.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
ECB’s Escriva said monetary policy must be approached with caution given the current extraordinary uncertainty.
ECB’s Villeroy reaffirmed that the ECB’s Deposit rate should be at 2% by this coming summer and said that European banking sector consolidation is generally speaking, necessary to have European banks that can compete at a global level.
ECB’s Wunsch said the ECB faces the risk of ‘sleepwalking’ into too many rate cuts, while he feels “relatively comfortable” with market expectation of 2% rates by year-end “give or take 50 basis points”, according to FT.
Hungary’s PM Orban said they are to exempt mothers of two or three children from income tax and said this will be a huge expense but the budget deficit and debt will decline, while he added the government is ready to impose food price caps unless talks with retailers on keeping prices under control succeed.
Austria’s biggest centrist parties in parliament hinted they were on the verge of agreeing to form a coalition government which would bring together Austria’s conservatives, socialists and liberals, while it would sideline the far-right Freedom Party which won the election in September, according to euro news.
3 .ASIA
3A NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
end
3BJAPAN
end
3C. CHINA/
CHINA
CHINA/RUSSIA
Xi & Putin Hold Call On Ukraine War Anniversary Amid Signs Of Peace Talks
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 06:55 AM
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone on Monday, according to Chinese state media, as the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is today. The conversation occurred just a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reached out to President Donald Trump, requesting a meeting to secure a mineral deal amid increasing prospects for a peace deal.
Bloomberg cited state broadcaster China Central Television, which said that Xi and Putin spoke via telephone on Monday afternoon “at the request of the latter.”
CCTV quoted Xi as saying that China and Russia share a “unique strategic value” that is “not aimed at any third party or influenced by any third party.”
Recall that China and Russia formed a “no limits” partnership in the days before Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Xi considers Putin an “ally,” and the two have met dozens of times over the past decade.
The call comes one day after Zelensky spoke at a forum in Kyiv about Ukraine’s future. He called for Trump to solidify a mineral deal with his country. The Ukrainian president would step down if a peace deal materializes or his country is accepted into NATO.
Zelensky also demanded that Trump visit Kyiv first before meeting with Putin. If Trump were to meet with Putin first, Zelensky cautioned, “there would be disbelief in the United States… It would be bad for US society.”
With preparations underway for a face-to-face meeting between Trump and Putin, this would mark a massive shift from warmongering Western officials who have attempted to isolate Moscow from the world’s global economy over its invasion of Ukraine. And these officials were hellbent on sparking World War III.
“The question is about starting to move toward normalizing relations between our countries, finding ways to resolve the most acute and potentially very, very dangerous situations, of which there are many, Ukraine among them,” Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters on Saturday.
Bloomberg noted, “The readout of Monday’s call said Beijing was happy to see the efforts made by Moscow to resolve the war in Ukraine.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters over the weekend that Beijing would welcome direct communications between Putin and Trump and that the “window for peace is opening up.”
The “no limits” partnership between China and Russia remains a significant concern for the West, as the Biden-Harris regime’s weak foreign policy only pushed the two great powers closer, economically and militarily.
end
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
FRANCE/RUSSIA
Terrorist Attack’ Rocks Russian Consulate In France On 3-Year Ukraine War Mark
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 09:30 AM
A suspected terror attack has taken place against the Russian consulate in the French city of Marseille on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has confirmed, after explosions erupted inside the consulate’s walls. Three explosive devices were thrown onto the grounds of the consulate which detonated, resulting in damage but no casualties. The diplomatic compound has subsequently been sealed off by police pending an investigation.
The attack corresponded to the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Army poured across the borders from Russia and staging grounds in Belarus on February 24, 2022.
There are reports that one of the devices failed to detonate, and the building in the southern port city is swarming with police and firefighters, as “around thirty units” were dispatched to the scene, AFP describes. The device that did not explode was later detonated by a police-operated robot.
“The explosions on the territory of the Russian Consulate General in Marseille have all the signs of a terrorist attack,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing.
“We demand that the host country undertake exhaustive and speedy investigative measures, as well as steps to strengthen the security of Russia’s foreign missions,” she said. This isn’t the first time explosives have been ‘randomly’ hurled at Russian diplomatic compounds in Europe, but this one clearly planned and timed to mark the day of Feb.24.
The Associated Press has some further details as follows:
A second device, which was also thrown against the consulate’s outer wall, did not explode and fell to the sidewalk. A bomb disposal expert was called to the scene.
The suspect fled and an investigation has been launched, an official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to be publicly named by national police policy. Authorities did not provide details on the suspect or a motive.
For its part the French government has “condemned any attack on the security of diplomatic compounds. The inviolability, protection and integrity of diplomatic and consular premises, as well as their personnel, are fundamental principles of international law” in a statement.
Russian embassies and consulates are on high alert worldwide, given the potential for more attacks marking three years since the invasion.
Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador at Large Rodion Miroshnik has highlighted that the constant anti-Russia rhetoric coming out of European and French leadership helped set the stage for Monday’s consulate bombing.
After repeating that it has “all the signs of a terrorist act” – Miroshnik leveled the charge: “It seems that the hostile rhetoric of the French leadership is not just hot air, but also contributes to terrorist acts on French territory,” he wrote on Telegram.
END
EUROPE/UKRAINE/RUSSIA
this is nuts
Europe Working On Plans To Send 30,000 Troops To Ukraine As Trump Talks Drawdow
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 01:00 PM
European leaders have been urging that the United States must backstop any Ukraine peace deal to prevent the country from ever being attacked by Russia again. Of course, this means a military backstop; however, all signs point to Trump wanting to reduce the American troop presence in Europe, in favor of the Europeans doing more to provide for their own security.
Some European officials have already attacked this policy as the US signing off on Ukraine’s “surrender” to Moscow. For example, days ago Finnish MEP member Mika Aaltola of the European People’s Party claimed that the Trump administration “has given us three weeks to agree on terms for Ukraine’s surrender.” Aaltola added: “If we don’t, the United States will withdraw from Europe.“
These words also came around the time of an NBC News report which cited US officials who said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth privately informed Ukrainian officials that Washington may significantly reduce its troop presence in Europe.
This as President Zelensky has been urging against this, recently asserting that over 100,000 European troops could be needed in Ukraine to prevent another future war. He’s described that this would be necessary in the scenario that Ukraine doesn’t get a path to NATO membership.
Weekend reports indicate that Europe is readying a proposed plan to send at least 30,000 of its troops to Ukraine in a peacekeeping capacity in the wake of any truce deal. The report says this would be “with the US providing technical, logistics, and weapons support” – but crucially no American boots on the ground, as Trump has repeatedly promised. Meanwhile:
TRUMP: US BACKING OF SOME KIND FOR EUROPEAN TROOPS IN UKRAINE
The NY Times reports Monday of a European scramble to fill the US void as Trump signals draw back from Europe:
European leaders are racing to try to figure out how to fill a potential void — in Ukraine and in continental security as a whole — as President Trump’s White House talks of dialing back American support and troop numbers in Europe.
…At the same time, European foreign ministers will be meeting in Brussels, where they are expected to debate how much to send to Kyiv in their next support package.
That plan could end up totaling more than 20 billion euros, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Currently France and the UK under Starmer are leading the way in advancing such plans to send European troops to Ukraine.
NBC has more details on what this might look like practically in the following:
But Western officials say what’s being discussed is a “reassurance force,” not an army of peacekeepers posted along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line in Ukraine’s east.
The proposal supported by the United Kingdom and France would see fewer than 30,000 European troops on the ground in Ukraine — away from the front line at key infrastructure sites such as nuclear power plants — backed by Western air and sea power.
Under the plan, the front line would largely be monitored remotely, with drones and other technology. Air power based outside Ukraine — perhaps in Poland or Romania — would be in reserve to deter breaches and reopen Ukrainian airspace to commercial flights.
The report adds, “That could include American air power.” But European planners are dreaming if they think Moscow would actually go for this.
Some have suggested this is all about sabotaging efforts at quick negotiated peace…
x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1892573166070833663
From the start of the Kremlin contemplating negotiations, President Putin has made clear that Russia will not tolerate Western armies on the ground in Ukraine. Moscow has rejected as a non-starter any plans which put NATO forces along its border. This is especially given Russia is in the driver’s seat regarding the war in Donbass, and will be able to dictate terms… at least much more so than the West.
5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL
Hamas slated to release six living hostages from two locations in Gaza this morning
The IDF expects Hamas to release the six Israeli hostages from two separate locations in the Gaza Strip starting from 9 a.m., a defense official says.
Hamas will first release hostages from southern Gaza’s Rafah and afterward from Nuseirat in the Strip’s center.
The official says there could be delays.
The six hostages — Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed — will be taken by the Red Cross to IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
From there, the troops will escort them to an army facility near Re’im for an initial checkup and to meet with family members before they are airlifted to Sourasky and Rabin hospitals in central Israel.
Al Jazeera reports that Shoham and Mengistu will be freed in Rafah, while the other four will be released in Nuseirat.
END
Hamas frees final 6 living hostages in phase 1 of deal; all reunite with family in Israel
October 7 captives Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen back after over 500 days in Hamas captivity; Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed return after decade in Gaza
Israeli hostages Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu seen on stage flanked by Hamas terrorists in Rafah, February 22, 2024 (Reuters/STRINGER/AFPTV/AFP); Shoham and Mengistu’s relatives react to their release (IDF); Israelis react in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv (Edrien Esteves/AFPTV/AFP); hostages Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert wave on stage in Nuseirat (Reuters), as their families view their release from an IDF base near the Gaza border (IDF); Top row, from left: Omer Shem Tov, Tal Shoham, Eliya Cohen. Bottom row, from left: Avera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed, Omer Wenkert (Courtesy)
Hostages Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed were released from Hamas captivity and returned to Israel on Saturday, in the largest single day of releases since the current hostage-ceasefire deal took effect. They are believed to be the final living hostages scheduled for release in the current first phase of the deal, with only four more hostages, all believed to be dead, set for release on Thursday.
The terror group paraded five of the six freed hostages on stages in propaganda-filled ceremonies in two locations in Gaza, handing them over to the Red Cross, while al-Sayed was released separately to the humanitarian organization later in the day, without a ceremony.
The men all looked frail and many had noticeably suffered dramatic weight loss.
Shoham, Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were all taken captive on October 7, 2023 during the Hamas-led attacks and massacres, and had been held as hostages in Gaza for over 500 days.
Mengistu and al-Sayed both entered Gaza on their own accord in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and had been held captive by terror groups in Gaza for around a decade each.
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The releases came hours after Hamas finally returned the body of Shiri Bibas; Israel said she had been brutally murdered by her captors along with her two small sons, Ariel, 4, and baby Kfir, whose bodies were returned on Thursday.
Israeli hostages Tal Shoham left, and Avera Mengisto are flanked by Hamas gunmen before being handed over to the Red Cross in Rafa, southern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The first of three handovers took place on Saturday morning in Rafah, the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip, during which the terror group handed Shoham and Mengistu over to the Red Cross after parading the two on a stage decorated with a propaganda poster featuring images of terror leaders and Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and whose body is held by Hamas.
There was also a display of weapons Hamas said had been taken from Israel on October 7.
Shoham and Mengistu were then taken by the Red Cross to Israeli forces inside Gaza, who escorted them to an IDF facility inside Israel, near the border.
At a hostage handover, a display of military equipment Hamas claims were stolen on October 7, 2023. The strap of one of the guns is branded with the word ‘Ravshatz,’ the Hebrew acronym for the head of a community’s local security team, in Rafah, February 22, 2025 (Saeed Mohammed/Flash90)
After brief medical checks and reunions with family members, the two men were taken via helicopter to hospitals in central Israel.
Civilians in uniforms
Later in the morning, at a second Hamas ceremony in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, Shem Tov, Wenkert and Cohen were paraded on stage holding certificates and gift bags, and wearing approximations of IDF uniforms as if they were soldiers.
The three civilians were kidnapped from the Nova music festival, and are not active members of the military. Hamas considers Israeli men under 50 to be soldiers.
Eliya Cohen (left), Omer Shem Tov (center) and Omer Wenkert, flanked by armed fighters, on stage at a Hamas propaganda ceremony for their release in Gaza on February 22, 2025 (Eyad BABA / AFP)
It appeared that Cohen was made to wave by the gunmen flanking him, while Shem Tov seemed to be directed by a Hamas cameraman to also kiss two of the masked gunmen on their heads.
They, too, were taken by the Red Cross to Israeli troops before they were brought to the IDF facility near Re’im for medical checks and emotional reunions with close family members before they were transported to hospitals.
Family and friends of hostage Omer Shem Tov in Tel Aviv watch and celebrate his release, February 22, 2025. (Dana Reany / Hostages Families Forum)
Later on Saturday afternoon, the Red Cross notified the IDF that Hamas had handed over the sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed.
He was released by the terror group without a ceremony, which Hamas said was out of “respect” for the Arab community in Israel, despite having held him for nearly a decade, as well as murdering and abducting several Arab Israelis during the October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Al-Sayed was then handed over to Israeli forces inside Gaza.
Hostage Hisham al-Sayed is handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Gaza City, February 22, 2025. (Hamas media office)
Avera Mengistu, 37, spent 3,821 days in captivity before his release.
Mengistu, who suffers from mental illness, crossed into northern Gaza from the beach at Zikim in September 2014.
The then-28-year-old was spotted by IDF security cameras but made it through the fence before troops could reach the scene. He was picked up by a Hamas patrol and was not heard from until the terror group released a video of him in early 2023.
Israeli hostage Averu Mengistu being handed over to the Red Cross during his release in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Mengistu’s family has struggled over the years to rally public support or pressure the government to negotiate his release, with some relatives alleging racism.
Reports following the October 7, 2023, massacre indicated that one of the ways Hamas lulled Israel into complacency ahead of the onslaught was by feigning serious interest in a deal for Mengistu and al-Sayed.
Released hostage Tal Shoham embracing his son Naveh — who was also taken hostage on October 7, 2023, but was freed by Hamas in November 2023 — arrives at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, February 22, 2025 (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
Tal Shoham, 39, a dual Israeli-Austrian citizen from the northern town of Maale Tzviya, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7 while visiting his wife’s family on Kibbutz Be’eri for the Simhat Torah holiday.
His wife, Adi Shoham, his daughter, Yahel, 3, and son, Naveh, 8, as well as his mother-in-law Shoshan Haran, his wife’s aunt Sharon Avigdori and her daughter Noam, 12, were also taken hostage, but released in November 25, 2023.
Hostage Tal Shoham, surrounded by armed fighters, stands on a stage in Rafah as he is released by the Hamas terror group in Rafah on February 22, 2025 (Screen grab/YouTube)
His father-in-law Avshalom Haran was killed during the attack, as were his wife’s aunt and uncle Eviatar and Lilach Kipnis, who lived next door in Be’eri.
The extended family had been hiding in the Haran family home but were forced to flee after Hamas terrorists set it on fire.
There had been no sign of life from him ahead of his release. It was not known if he was aware his wife and children had also been taken hostage, or that they had survived.
Eliya Cohen, 27, was with his fiancé, Ziv Aboud, at the Nova desert rave when Hamas gunmen attacked.
The two tried to escape but were chased by terrorists and both were shot.
They sought safety at a roadside bomb shelter, but it was attacked by terrorists and Aboud later said she felt Cohen being pulled up and then placed on a pickup truck and driven away. He was taken along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy and Alon Ohel.
Israeli civilian hostage Eliya Cohen, center, wearing an approximation of an IDF uniform, is flanked by armed Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in a propaganda ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Earlier this month, the family said they heard from recently released captives that Cohen has been chained up throughout his time in captivity and gets very little food or daylight.
A bullet wound in his leg has yet to be properly treated, the freed hostages said.
Omer Wenkert, 23, was also taken captive by Hamas terrorists at the Nova festival on October 7.
He was in touch with his parents that morning, telling them he was “scared to death.” Their last communication with him was at 7:50 a.m.
Israeli civilian hostage Omer Wenkert, center, wearing an approximation of an IDF uniform, is flanked by armed Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in a propaganda ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip,Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
They later saw a Hamas video of Omer, tied up on the flatbed of a white pickup truck, in his underwear, confirming that he had been taken hostage in Gaza.
Omer Shem Tov, 22, from Herzliya was at the Nova festival with his friends Itay and Maya Regev, who were also taken hostage but were freed in November 2023.
Israeli civilian hostage Omer Shem Tov, center, wearing an approximation of an IDF uniform, is flanked by armed Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in a propaganda ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
He last spoke to his parents around 10 a.m. on October 7, as he sounded increasingly panicked about what was happening around him while Hamas terrorists shot hundreds and abducted dozens.
After getting into a friend’s car, he sent his family his live location, but they eventually noticed that it was headed toward Gaza, and contact with him was lost.
Hisham Al-Sayed, a 37-year-old Bedouin Israeli from the village of Hura in the Negev desert, entered the Strip near the Erez Crossing in April 2015.
Manal al-Sayed holds up a picture of her son Hisham, held captive in Gaza by the Hamas terrorist group, in 2016. (Yoav Lemmer/AFP)
Like Mengistu, al-Sayed suffers from mental illness.
According to his father, this was not his first time going into Gaza, but in this case, he was stopped by Hamas and taken into its custody.
By the time he was released on Saturday, he spent nearly 3,600 days in the hands of the terror group.
According to Human Rights Watch, in the years prior to his entering Gaza, al-Sayed was “diagnosed with schizophrenia and a personality disorder, among other conditions” and was repeatedly institutionalized.
Al-Sayed was not heard from until 2022, when Hamas released a video showing him looking sick and depleted in a bed and hooked up to an oxygen tank.
In a statement Tuesday, al-Sayed’s family said they had been waiting for him for a decade, and added that their happiness would not be complete until all hostages returned home.
“It cannot be that the fate of other hostages will be a decade in captivity,” they said.
Armed Hamas fighters ahead of the planned release of four Israeli hostages set to be handed over to the Red Cross in Nuserait, Gaza Strip, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The six hostages released Saturday were the final living hostages slated for release under phase one of the deal. The last four phase one hostages are set to be freed on Thursday.
Of the four, only one has been confirmed by Israel as dead, Shlomo Mantzur, but it is believed that the other three, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat and Tsahi Idan were also killed.
Top row (L-R) Tsahi Idan and Ohad Yahalomi; Bottom row (L-R) Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mantzur (Courtesy)
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 63 hostages, including 62 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 36 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of four slain Israeli captives — Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, and Oded Lifshitz — during a ceasefire that began in January. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war.
Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.
The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas, and is counted among the 63 hostages.
END
ISRAEL/HAMAS
Netanyahu Vows Revenge On Hamas for Returning Wrong Body: ‘Unspeakably Cynical’
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025 – 04:20 PM
One of the four deceased hostages handed over by Hamas on Thursday was the wrong body, according to an Israeli government forensics investigation. As part of phase one of the ceasefire deal several rounds of hostage releases have occurred successfully.
Hamas agreed to release the body of slain hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young deceased children. “Following the identification process at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, we received this morning the news we had dreaded — our Shiri was murdered in captivity and has now returned home to her sons, husband, sister, and all her family for rest,” the family said in an initial statement.
However, outrage in Israel has ensued after it was revealed that the casket marked with Shiri’s remains was actually an unidentified deceased person.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday that Israel would make Hamas pay for failing to return Shiri’s remains.
“We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages — both living and dead — and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement,” he said in a video statement.
Israel says the body is likely that of an unidentified Palestinian woman, after the two young sons, Kfir and Ariel were handed over and identified.
Netanyahu blasted Hamas for acting “in an unspeakably cynical manner” by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Shiri. Her husband Yarden had also been kidnapped from a kibbutz in southern Israel on Oct.7 – but was released in the first exchange of this current truce deal.
NBC details, “Hamas leader Mahmoud Mardawi told media outlet Al Arabiya that Bibas’ remains had now been returned, and the International Red Cross said that it has received a set of human remains and transferred them to Israeli officials.”
In announcing that testing showed the first remains were not that of Shiri Bibas, the IDF said the remains also did not match any other hostage held by Hamas. “It is an anonymous body without identification,” it said.
Hamas has not commented on the charge, but did follow through with the agreed upon Saturday exchange, which saw the release of the last six living Israeli hostages in return for Israel freeing nearly 500 Palestinians from Israeli prisons.
The ceasefire will ender phase two, but it’s anything but certain whether the truce will hold, given the growing accusations. Hamas has said the Israel has killed some 100 Palestinians even while the ceasefire was on.
ISRAEL VS HAMAS
Netanyahu: Israel delays prisoners’ release until Hamas agrees to free more hostages
“It has been decided to delay the release of the terrorists planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages is ensured,” the PMO announced.
Vehicles move outside the Israeli military Ofer Prison on the day Israel is expected to release Palestinian prisoners as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, February 22, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD)
Israel will postpone the release of Palestinian prisoners until additional Israeli hostage releases are secured, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced on Saturday night.
The PMO cited Hamas’s repeated violations of the ceasefire-hostage deal as the reason for the postponement.
Hamas on Sunday condemned Israel’s decision, saying its claim that the hostages’ handover ceremonies are “humiliating” was false and a pretext to evade Israel’s obligations under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The release of Palestinian prisoners is expected to take place when the next round of hostages are released.
The PMO announcement came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting in Jerusalem with Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Shas Chair Arye Deri, and Defense Ministry senior officials.
Decision comes due to Hamas’s ‘repeated violations’
“Due to Hamas’ repeated violations—including ceremonies that disgrace our hostages’ dignity and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda purposes—it has been decided to delay the release of the terrorists planned for yesterday until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the degrading ceremonies,” the PMO said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2025. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Israel wants Hamas to release the bodies of the next four hostages earlier than Thursday when they are set to be released and the extension of the first phase of the hostage deal to include further releases of hostages.
Israel says that since Hamas violated the agreement when it didn’t return Shiri Bibas‘s body, the four bodies of slain hostages should have been returned earlier.
Reuters contributed to this report.
ISRAEL AND WEST BANK
Katz admits IDF has evacuated 40,000 Palestinians from West Bank homes
In response, the IDF told The Jerusalem Post that only 13,500 Palestinians have been evacuated.
By YONAH JEREMY BOBFEBRUARY 23, 2025 10:32Updated: FEBRUARY 23, 2025 15:41
DEFENSE MINISTER Israel Katz appears before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last month.(photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday gave a stunning admission and appeared to brag that the IDF has evacuated around 40,000 Palestinians from the northern West Bank during its operation dating back to January 21 – the largest number of such evacuees in the area in decades.
Katz’s admission was a stunning turnaround after the IDF had repeatedly denied the 40,000 number following separate reports by the New York Times and CNN in recent weeks.
In fact, even on Sunday, IDF sources contradicted Katz, telling The Jerusalem Post that he was using unreliable UNRWA data.
Further, IDF sources gave the Post the first actual IDF estimate, which the military had failed to share in recent weeks despite repeated requests, saying that around 13,000-14,000 Palestinians have been evacuated during the operation centering around Jenin, Tulkarem, Nur Shams, Tubas, Kabatia, and other parts of northern Samaria.
Unlike the IDF, which had said that the Palestinian civilians were not forced to leave and would be allowed back to their homes soon, Katz said that Israel “will not allow the return of the [Palestinian] residents or to terror to return to flourish.”
Reported photo of IDF tanks operating in the Jenin area of the West Bank, Feburary 22, 2025. (credit: Screenshot/Telegram)
The defense minister’s statement comes only days after a Thursday night attempt by Palestinian terrorists, likely from the Tulkarem area, to blow up five buses in the Bat Yam area, with various smart moves and luck leading to preventing the attacks from going off as planned and no loss of life.
Katz appeared to be trying to impress the more right-wing side of the Israeli public with how tough Israel is on the Palestinians in the West Bank following the attempted Bat Yam terror attacks.
Tanks in West Bank
His statement came shortly after the IDF confirmed that it is using tanks in larger amounts and more aggressive ways in the West Bank than it has done in decades.
However, whereas using tanks is an aggressive move that could potentially lead to more explosive battles between the IDF and Palestinian terrorists, it in no way inherently violates international law.
In contrast, many observers claim that if Israel in fact, has evacuated 40,000 Palestinians and prevented them from returning to their homes for any significant period of time, this could constitute a new large war crime before the International Criminal Court, which already issued arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant relating to the conduct of the Gaza war.
end
IDF deploys tanks in West Bank for first time since 2002, sending 3 to Jenin as it expands op
Defense minister says he instructed army to stay ‘for coming year’ in West Bank refugee camps and not allow 40,000 displaced Palestinians home
Israeli tanks are seen near the West Bank city of Jenin, February 23, 2025. (Social media used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Israeli tanks deployed to the West Bank on Sunday morning for the first time in over 20 years, as the Israel Defense Forces said it was expanding an ongoing counter-terrorism operation in the north of the territory.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, meanwhile, said he had instructed the IDF to stay for at least the next year in West Bank refugee camps that have been cleared of terror operatives and civilians, and not allow some 40,000 displaced Palestinians to return.
Palestinian media outlets published images showing three Merkava tanks near the West Bank city of Jenin.
The IDF confirmed the reports a short while later, saying that a platoon from the 188th Armored Brigade was preparing to operate in Jenin “as part of the offensive effort.” An Armored Corps platoon normally consists of two or three tanks.
It marked the first time since the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield that IDF tanks were operating in the West Bank.
The military said the tank deployment came as it expanded its ongoing major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, which was launched on January 21.
sraeli soldiers take up a position during a military raid in the al-Fara camp for Palestinian refugees, south of Jenin in the West Bank on February 2, 2025. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
As part of the expanded activity, troops of the Nahal Infantry Brigade and the Duvdevan Commando Unit began operations in several villages near Jenin, the military said.
The deployment of tanks and expanded operations come after three empty buses exploded in quick succession in parking lots in the Tel Aviv suburbs of Bat Yam and Holon on Thursday night and the discovery of two more unexploded devices on additional buses in Holon. No casualties were reported as a result of the explosions. According to officials, the botched attack originated from the West Bank.
In a written statement Sunday, Katz said: “40,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, and are now empty of residents. UNRWA activity in the camps has also been stopped.”
He said the IDF was clearing “nests of terror” and destroying infrastructure and weapons “on an extensive scale.”
“I instructed the IDF to prepare for a long stay in the camps that were cleared, for the coming year, and not allow residents to return and the terror to return and grow,” Katz said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz is seen with troops in the West Bank’s Tulkarem refugee camp, February 21, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
“We will not return to the reality that was in the past. We will continue to clear refugee camps and other terror centers to dismantle the battalions and terror infrastructure of the extreme Islam that was built, armed, funded, and supported by the Iranian evil axis, in an attempt to establish an eastern terror front,” he added.
The IDF’s crackdown on terror groups began days after a ceasefire agreement was reached in the Gaza Strip, and following recent activity against the groups by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
The operation began in the terror hotbed of Jenin, which has seen dozens of raids since the Hamas October 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel from Gaza, which sparked the ongoing war in that territory, as well as a renewed effort to combat terror groups in the West Bank. Israeli forces have since pushed into several other nearby towns, including Tulkarem.
A Palestinian woman walks along a destroyed road following an Israeli military operation in Jenin, in the West Bank, February 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
More than 40,100 Palestinians have left their homes since the launch of Operation Iron Wall, according to UNRWA.
Humanitarian officials say they haven’t seen such displacement in the West Bank since the Six Day War, when Israel — under threat from Jordan, Egypt, Syria and other Arab countries — captured the West Bank, along with East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, displacing 300,000 Palestinians.
Troops have killed more than 70 Palestinian terror operatives and detained some 300 amid the major ongoing counter-terrorism operation, according to the IDF.
The IDF has acknowledged mistakenly killing several civilians during the operation, including a toddler and a pregnant woman.
end
LEBANON
Hours before Nasrallah’s funeral: IDF strikes Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon
The terror group’s 32-year-long chief was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, hours before the funeral of the terror group’s former secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, February 22, 2025.(photo credit: Screenshot/Telegram, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
The IDF carried out a precise strike on Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon which posed a threat to Israeli civilians, the military said on Sunday.
The military said it had also struck a site within Lebanon in which were rocket launchers and weapons and in which Hezbollah activity was identified.
“These activities of the Hezbollah terrorist organization are in violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon and pose a threat to the State of Israel and its civilians,” the military noted.
According to Channel 12, Israeli drones were reportedly seen flying above the Lebanese capital amid preparations for the event.
A person walks past a banner with a picture of Hassan Nasrallah, during preparations ahead of his public funeral ceremony, in Beirut, Lebanon. February 22, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
The terror group’s chief of three decades was killed in an Israeli airstrike on September 27 when fighter jets dropped some 100 bombs on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the heart of Beirut.
The funeral ceremony is set to be held at the country’s largest sports arena – Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium where thousands are expected to be in attendance.
Deputy to be buried in South
Nasrallah’s deputy and replacement, Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, who was killed the following month, is set to be buried on Monday in the southern part of Lebanon.
Yonah Jeremy Bob and Reuters contributed to this report.
END
ISRAEL/HAMAS EDITORIAL
Evil neighbors like Hamas cannot be tolerated – editorial
What is shattering is not Hamas’ depravity. What is shocking, and disheartening, is that this inhumanity has cheerleaders in major cities and at elite universities in the US and around the world.
By JPOST EDITORIALFEBRUARY 24, 2025 05:53Updated: FEBRUARY 24, 2025 06:45
Pictures of Shiri Bibas and her children Kfir and Ariel, in Jerusalem, February 20, 2025(photo credit: FLASH90/CHAIM GOLDBERG)
Last Thursday, Hamas staged a ghoulish spectacle in which it paraded the coffins of four Israelis – among them an infant and a four-year-old child – as Gazan onlookers, including mothers and children, cheered.
On Friday, it became clear that one of the bodies returned was not that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of the two little boys in the other coffins.
On Saturday, it was revealed that Palestinian terrorists brutally murdered the two little boys.
That same day, Hamas staged two more grotesque displays. As it released the final six living hostages in the first phase of the current ceasefire, it forced one of them to kiss the heads of two of his captors. Meanwhile, two other hostages, Eviatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, were made to watch the ceremony from a van before being dragged back down into Hamas’s dungeons.
One of the most striking aspects of those three days was how many of us – both in Israel and the West – were still shocked by Hamas’s cruelty. Many people asked, incredulously, how they could be so disrespectful to the dead. Many were stunned at the glee with which Hamas tormented both the hostages they freed and those they still hold.
The convoy carrying possible remains of Shiri Bibas arrives at Abu Kabir Forensic Institute on February 22, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI)
Many decent people asked: Who could do such a thing? Who is capable of such monstrous barbarism? But after Hamas’s atrocities during the October 7 massacre – murdering, raping, mutilating, kidnapping, burning entire families alive, and then boasting of it in videos back home – should anyone still be surprised?
And yet, time and again, we are. This speaks more to our own decency – our minds struggle to imagine such cruelty, because it is not in our nature to behave this way, making it difficult for us to comprehend that others could – than to our naivety.
We are continuously shocked that such people exist. But we shouldn’t be.
This brutality will not go unanswered. A price will be exacted. A reckoning will come.
Hamas, with its grotesque parades and ceremonies, seems to believe time is on its side. But it isn’t.
At some point in time – it is not exactly clear when or even how – Hamas will no longer be holding hostages. At some point, it will have played its last card. This could be in a month or three months, or even a year or three years. But that day will come. And when it does, Israel will act against it with all its current pent-up wrath.
Not out of revenge, though there are those demanding it. Not out of outrage, though that is certainly justified. But out of the realization that it is impossible – simply impossible – to live alongside such evil.
Evil neighbors cannot be tolerated
Bad neighbors are one thing. But evil neighbors who seek and work toward your destruction are something else entirely. That cannot be tolerated.
As US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz said in a US media interview on Thursday: “Hamas has got to go. We stand with Israel in that Hamas, which is no different than ISIS, al-Qaeda, or any of the other of the world’s worst terrorist organizations, cannot be allowed to rule Gaza, cannot be allowed to do another October 7.”
When reminded in the interview that Gazans, young and old, cheered Hamas’s macabre parade, Waltz said: “To be objective, not all Palestinians are Hamas. However, you are speaking to the radicalization that has occurred.”
While all Palestinians may not be Hamas, Waltz certainly understands that a large percentage of them are, and that even more Palestinians inside Gaza and Judea and Samaria – if not card-carrying members – support Hamas’s ideology and methodology. Hamas’s ideology has millions of supporters across the Arab and Muslim world – and millions more in the West.
What is shattering is not Hamas’s depravity; we are used to that. What is shocking – and disheartening – is that this inhumanity has cheerleaders in major cities and at elite universities in the US and around the world.
Hamas’s cruelty no longer surprises us – we know it all too well. But what we do hope is that the organization’s recent grotesqueries will, at the very least, open the eyes of some around the world to reality: that when people chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they are not calling for justice, but encouraging a baby-killing organization to continue slaughtering innocents – like Shiri Bibas and her two small sons.
ISRAEL/SYRIA
RUSSIA VS UKRAINE
REUTERS: Zelenskyy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in Ukraine
Sure, and you start WWIII!
If ever one should understand that this Clown is a Neocon puppet wanting WAR and serves his master. He has ruined Ukraine and now seeks to ruin Europe.
A war is the last thing Europe needs. And it will be a war the US will sit out.
Germany is demented to think that the Americans will let them use American nukes in Germany to wage war.
Look for an American pullback from Europe.
The middle of May looks like a possible start to a wider conflict which Europe will lose.
When the first shot is fired expect Capital Controls in Europe. As it is Capital is leaving.
Zelenskyy says he is willing to give up presidency if it means peace in Ukraine Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday he was willing to give up his position if it meant peace in Ukraine, adding that he could exchange his departure for his country’s entry into the NATO military alliance.
Zelensky Says $350 Billion in Frozen Russian Assets are “Our Money, Not Ours with Our Partners” – Says $100 Billion Given by Biden to Ukraine Was a “Grant and Not a Loan”
President Zelensky says Russia’s $350 billion in frozen assets belong to Ukraine and no one else.
Trump was right. This little madman will only get in the way of peace negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to a gathering in Kiev on Sunday. The speech took place as President Trump and the Trump White House prepare to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss peace negotiations with Ukraine.
Zelensky told the “Ukraine. Year 2025” forum that he was not recognizing any debt to the US.
Speaking at the ‘Ukraine. Year – 2025’ forum in Kiev on Sunday, Zelensky stated that “Ukraine received $100 billion [in aid] from the US, not $350, not $500, not $700,” stressing that he was “not ready to recognize even $100 billion” as debt. He claimed that he had reached an agreement with former US President Joe Biden that the money was being provided as a grant, and that no repayment had been expected.
Zelensky also announced that the frozen $350 billion in Russian assets by the West belong to Ukraine and no one else.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that frozen Russian assets should belong solely to Ukraine, not Kyiv’s international partners.
“Frozen Russian assets are our money. It is our money, not shared with our partners,” Zelensky said during a press conference at the “Ukraine. The Year 2025” forum in Kyiv.
Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries have used sanctions and other financial mechanisms to freeze between $300 billion and $350 billion of Russian sovereign assets, mostly government bonds held in the EU, the US, and the UK.
It’s unlikely Russia or the West will agree to that.
Yale research validates spike protein persistence from COVID vaccines as injury visibility rises
Snopes tried to discredit research as a “rumor” when journalist received early results from conference call between researchers and study participants. Spike still detectable in some participants 600-700 days later.
If a writer for the Fox medical-mystery drama House had developed a plotline in which a nebulous illness credited to a novel virus turned out to be caused by the vaccine for the virus, it would have been deemed too cliched to make it out of the writers’ room.
Sometimes reality is more banal than fiction.
Yale University immunobiologists concluded that COVID-19 vaccination is responsible for some cases of so-called long COVID purportedly caused by infection, adding a pharmacological wrinkle to earlier international research that attributed wearing higher-quality masks, loneliness and physical inactivity to symptoms mistaken for post-infection conditions.
Federal public health authorities long denied the vaccine-specific spike protein “lingers” in the body or is toxic, as a Food and Drug Administration spokesperson told the self-proclaimed fact-checker PolitiFact in summer 2023.
“Labs have shown I continue to have high levels of spike protein in my blood, yet a negative nucleocapsid [antibody from the virus itself], which is a hallmark signature of this vaccine mRNA gene therapy,” vaccine-injury victim Robert Fusaro told The New American in 2022.
Earlier this month, Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee Chair Ron Johnson, R-Wis., demanded Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg turn over all records of Facebook’s censorship of vaccine injury groups and even private messages, citing AstraZeneca trial victim Brianne Dressen – a coauthor of the new Yale study.
Podcast titan Joe Rogan’s pre-election interview with then-vice presidential nominee JD Vance recirculated online this week, in which Vance said COVID vaccination made him “the sickest that I have been in the last 15 years,” stuck in bed for two days with a racing heart, and “I’ve had COVID at this point five times.”
While he said it wasn’t a “serious injury,” Vance marveled that “we’re not even allowed to talk about that,” while “the worst COVID experience I had was, like, a sinus infection.”
X owner Elon Musk boosted the interview, saying his own COVID infection was “nothing” and his Johnson & Johnson adenovirus-based vaccine “hurt my arm” but “the mRNA booster hit extremely hard,” nearly sending Musk, to the hospital with “massive chest pain.”
The pileup of indisputable injuries from COVID vaccines comes as boosters retroactively distance themselves from previous mainstream narratives.
Birx waited more than a year after the widely observed phenomenon of breakthrough infections, when boosted President Biden got COVID yet again, to claim that she knew COVID vaccines wouldn’t stop infection.
A severe nerve condition developed by Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., following a mandatory swine flu vaccine, Guillain-Barré is also an unexpectedly common adverse event from adenovirus-based COVID vaccines and has cropped up in trials for Pfizer’s Abrysvo and GSK’s Arexvy RSV vaccines, Fierce Biotech reported.
“It’s corroborated by multiple prior survey studies that suggested that indeed, shedding happens, whether that be the spike protein or messenger RNA,” McCullough said. “I think it’s more likely spike protein in exhaled exosomes that others breathe in. And the woman’s menstrual cycle is one of the most sensitive biological processes we have.”
Snopes, which also identifies as a fact-checker, tried to discredit the Yale research as a “rumor” after former New York Times drug industry reporter Alex Berenson shared the spike-protein results shortly before Christmas, two months before the preprint’s release.
He said they came from a conference call between the researchers and participants in the Yale School of Medicine LISTEN Study, shared “independently” by a participant and “a scientist who is in contact with multiple members of the team.”
Berenson emphasized the pedigree of lead author Akiko Iwasaki, a former president of the American Association of Immunologists who favored COVID vaccine mandates and had called safety concerns about mRNA vaccines “absurd” in 2021.
Former Senate Finance Committee investigator Paul Thacker contrasted the $1.6 billion the National Institutes of Health has poured into long COVID research compared to peanuts for vaccine victims, which he credited in part for presumed long COVID sufferer and Hollywood screenwriter Heidi Ferrer committing suicide.
Thacker posted a video he obtained from patient groups featuring Ferrer’s husband, Nick Guthe, who blamed Moderna’s COVID vaccine for sending his wife spiraling down, causing her to “develop tremors and then internal vibrations when she lay down for bed, so that even prescription sleeping pills would not allow her to sleep.”
The science journalist gave a lengthy examination of the new paper contrasted with what he called “fake fact checks” in the media on the vaccine spike protein.
Now published with a full dataset, the Yale preprint’s authors are largely from its Department of Immunobiology, Center for Infection and Immunity and School of Public Health. Non-Yalies include New York’s Icahn School of Medicine and suburban D.C.’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
While it starts with the obligatory and unsourced assertion that “COVID-19 vaccines have prevented millions of COVID-19 deaths,” the paper acknowledges “a small fraction of the population reports a chronic debilitating condition” known as post-vaccination syndrome.
They launched a “decentralized, cross-sectional study involving 42 PVS participants and 22 healthy controls” from the LISTEN study, collecting blood samples between December 2022 and November 2023. Half received Moderna’s Spikevax and 14, Pfizer’s Comirnaty.
The researchers found the PVS participants had different immune profiles, including “significantly higher” circulating spike protein compared to healthy controls, though the spike was found in “only a subset of participants with PVS at varying concentrations.” Detectable spike was found from 26 to 709 days after the most recent known exposure.
“Notably, we observed that the highest levels of detectable S1 [spike] in the PVS-I [no history of infection] group were the furthest away from the last known exposure and ranging between greater than 600-700 days,” which suggests “prolonged antigen persistence might be associated with PVS in a subgroup of patients,” they wrote.
All but two PVS participants with infection history had breakthrough infections, “indicating that PVS symptoms started prior to infection.”
“Given the striking similarities between long COVID and PVS symptoms, there has been speculation regarding the potential causal role of the persistent presence of spike protein driving the chronic symptoms,” the paper says.
A writeup by Berenson translated some of the paper’s jargon. PVS participants had low levels of “helper” CD4 T-cells and some of their CD8 “killer” T-cells showed immune “exhaustion.”
While the researchers didn’t have pre-jab T-cell data from participants, “so for now they cannot prove the jabs caused any immune dysfunction,” Berenson said Pfizer and Moderna might have “sequential” T-cell data from their clinical trials that would enable study of “how T-cell levels in those patients have changed over time.”
end
SPECIAL THANKS TO CHRIS POWELL FOR SENDING THIS TO US:
When a new Yale University study identified a debilitating syndrome linked to Covid vaccines, Lindy Ayers breathed a sigh of relief.
The 31-year-old Army veteran, from Arkansas, has been wheelchair-bound since she took her second Pfizer shot in 2021 as part of the government’s military mandate.
For years she was told her extreme fatigue, sickness and heart palpitations were anxiety. Then doctors said it was long Covid. She was branded an antivaxxer for suggesting it could have been the vaccine.
Thousands of Americans have reported similar stories. After the study news dropped, DailyMail.com spoke to dozens of Americans, including those in healthcare, law, and the military, who said they felt a sense of validation after years of being dismissed as crazy.
Dr Trevor Keyler, a 39-year-old biology professor from Minnesota who describes himself as ‘pro-vaccine’ and ‘pro-science’, has been forced to cut his work hours after suffering extreme tremors and fatigue following his Moderna vaccine.
For years doctors told him his symptoms were not related to the vaccine and were probably Covid itself or long Covid. The doctor, who said he used to be a ‘very healthy’ and outdoorsy person, now has more trouble staying active with his wife and their two children.
But experts have said the push to quell damaging anti-vax misinformation has left those with genuine post-vaccination injuries treated like outcasts.
Lindy Ayers, 31, is wheelchair bound after doctors diagnosed her with a Covid vaccine injury, she told DailyMail.com
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Mrs Ayers had just completed a triathalon (she is seen biking at left) months before passing out and becoming paralyzed. She is seen at right after her injury
In the small study, Yale researchers found patients with previously unknown ‘post-vaccination syndrome’ show distinct biological changes.
The most common symptoms appear to be brain fog, dizziness, tinnitus and exercise intolerance, a feeling of exhaustion after limited exercise.
In patients with the syndrome, the vaccine also appears to awaken a dormant virus known as Epstein–Barr and interfere with people’s immune systems in complicated ways still being studied.
The Yale experts emphasized the results ‘are still a work in progress’ (for example, it’s not clear how common the condition is) but they highlighted a need for further studies.
Mrs Ayers believes she has the syndrome. She was at peak physical performance when she received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in September 2021.
Two months later, she was reliant on a wheelchair.
Doctors dismissed the symptoms as anxiety and prescribed antidepressants, but Mrs Ayers told DailyMail.com her condition soon started ‘rapidly declining.’
Her regular 10-mile runs and 20-mile bike rides quickly dwindled, and she suffered muscle tears, including in her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
During an art class, Mrs Ayers passed out. She said: ‘I couldn’t see. I couldn’t hear. I’ve been in a wheelchair ever since.’
For a year and a half, doctors assumed she had long Covid due to elevated levels of spike proteins.
SEE DAILY MAIL FOR CONTINUED REPORT
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
UNITED STATES
Teddi Mellencamp rushed to hospital for emergency surgery after ‘multiple tumors’ are found on her brain
February 13, 2025
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February 15, 2025
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The Scarlet Opera bass player Daniel Zuker reveals cancer diagnosis
February 15, 2025
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WYFF News 4’s Nigel Robertson shares his journey after cancer diagnosis
February 11, 2025
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Researcher's Note - NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News, is requiring U.S.-based workers returning to the office to be fully vaccinated [sic], Executive Vice President Adam Miller told employees in an email on Aug. 11. Employees will also be required to provide details about their vaccination status. Link
Former Chicago White Sox World Series Hero Battling Stage 4 Stomach Cancer
February 15, 2025
In a heart-wrenching story put out by MLB.com on Saturday, it was revealed that former Chicago White Sox pitcher Bobby Jenks is battling stage four stomach cancer down in Portugal. Per Scott Merkin: During a 20-minute interview with MLB.com Saturday morning from his hospital bed in Portugal — the family moved there to be closer to his wife’s family — Jenks detailed these brutally tough last five months. Now 43, Jenks spent seven years in the big leagues with the White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
Steer Wrestler Kyle Callaway Determined To Win Grueling Cancer Battle
February 15, 2025
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Gardnerville, NV – Last week, the family of Julie Hardt has started a GoFundMe page to help support the medical costs for Hardt. Hardt was diagnosed with a cavernous malformation located in the midbrain of her brain stem. The group of blood vessels has caused bleeding and stroke-like symptoms that have worsened to the point of “needing an intensive, invasive and risky surgery.” Hardt is prepping for surgery on Feb. 24 at UCSF. According to the GoFundMe page, Hardt started with mild symptoms before discovering the issue.
Accenture CEO’s Cancer Diagnosis Gives Insight Into How Execs Divulge Illness
February 14, 2025
Accenture CEO Julie Sweet was praised this week for her openness regarding a breast cancer diagnosis, which also gave rare insight into how executives disclose their life-altering health news. Sweet, 57, announced her diagnosis in a staff-wide memo that was followed by an official 8K filing—used to announce significant events to the Securities and Exchange Commission—that alerted shareholders to her situation. The diagnosis is not all doom and gloom for the executive, who has battled breast cancer before. She told staff, “the prognosis from my doctor is excellent; the cancer was caught early, and my condition is curable.” She added in her 8K filing that the cancer is not present anywhere else in her body.
Chillicothe Councilman Proehl Returns After Heart Attack
February 12, 2025
Chillicothe, OH — Councilman Dustin Proehl [52] finally returned to council Monday, after suffering a heart attack just before New Years. He said if he had rolled over in bed like he wanted to – with all the pain shooting through his chest – he would have died. Instead, he said his wife and daughters convinced him to go to the hospital immediately…which caught his heart attack just before it caused permanent damage. He said the heart attack caught him off guard – he had had a stress test and echocardiogram a few months before that gave no warning of an upcoming 100% blockage of one of his arteries, and 60% blockage of another.
TV star Danielle Lloyd, 41, breaks down in tears while revealing shock cancer diagnosis
February 14, 2025
TV star and model Danielle Lloyd has revealed she’s been diagnosed with skin cancer at the age of 41. The former beauty pageant star took to social media and revealed the devastating news in an emotional video. ‘Today I have been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer. And I just want to raise awareness for anyone who might think they’ve got something funny on their body, they see a mole that’s growing that’s not normal – please please please go to your doctor. In July 2023, the mum-of-five revealed she was rushed to A&E after experiencing heavy bleeding, saying she initially believed this was due to a miscarriage. However doctors informed the star that they had discovered cysts on both ovaries, one of which was the size of a tennis ball, as well as thickening in the lining of her womb. After six weeks, she was given the all-clear but was told she had adenomyosis, a condition which causes endometrial tissue in the lining of the uterus to grow into the muscular wall.
BBC star Janice Forsyth confirms she has early-onset Alzheimer’s
February 17, 2025
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The Wanted’s Max George Reveals He Underwent Second Heart Surgery: ‘A Pretty Rough Time’
February 17, 2025
The Wanted’s Max George has revealed that he recently underwent a second heart surgery after having a pacemaker fitted in December 2024. “It’s been a setback, but it’s just one of those things,” George, 36, wrote via his Instagram account on Monday, February 17. George previously confirmed that he’d spent Christmas in the hospital after his doctors discovered “some issues with [his] heart.” The former boyband star assured his concerned fans that, although his latest procedure was a “setback,” he is now on the road to recovery.
Ben Verse delivers update following acute leukaemia diagnosis
February 17, 2025
The drum & bass MC has been admitted from hospital and will undergo one final round of chemotherapy. Ben Verse [47] has been admitted from hospital after undergoing chemotherapy following an acute leukaemia diagnosis. The London-born MC shared an update on Instagram yesterday, February 17th, confirming that he will undergo one final round of chemotherapy. “If I get the all clear, I can then get on with my life,” he said.
LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIESWatch: Javier Milei Gives Elon Musk ‘Chainsaw for Bureaucracy’Elon Musk has defended himself against accusations of echoing Kremlin propaganda, saying he is too expensive to be an asset of Putin’s.The world’s richest man made a surprise appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Thursday, drawing huge cheers from the crowd as a picture of his face was projected onto a giant screen behind the main stage.“People …READ THE FULL REPORT70 Christians Beheaded in Church, Media SilentSeventy Christians were found dead in a church in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week — reportedly beheaded at the hands of radical Islamic terrorists.Christian group Open Doors, which supports persecuted Christians around the world, said that terrorists from the rebel Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which has ties to the Islamic State, surrounded a village in Mayba in …READ THE FULL REPORTBIG Kash Patel CONFIRMED as FBI Director despite Republican defectionsPresident Trump’s nominee for Director of the FBI was just confirmed by the US Senate despite several Republican defections. Patel was narrowly confirmed by a vote along party lines. The vote was 51-49. Among the Republican defections were Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. GOP AK Sen Murkowski and GOP ME Sen Collins vote nay on Patel — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) …READ THE FULL REPORTVaccine Victims Left Disabled After Taking Covid Jab Speak OutWhen a new Yale University study identified a debilitating syndrome linked to Covid vaccines, Lindy Ayers breathed a sigh of relief.The 31-year-old Army veteran, from Arkansas, has been wheelchair-bound since she took her second Pfizer shot in 2021 as part of the government’s military mandate.For years she was told her extreme fatigue, sickness and heart palpitations were anxiety. Then doctors …READ THE FULL REPORTMitch McConnell Announces Retirement from the SenateSen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the longest-serving majority leader in Senate history, just made a massive announcement during a speech in the upper chamber.One week after being badly dissed by President Donald Trump, the Kentucky Republican announced on Thursday he will be retiring from the Senate at the end of his term. His decision to not seek reelection caps a 40+ …READ THE FULL REPORT
Senate Judiciary Committee advances Kash Patel as FBI director, will face vote in closed Senate executive sessionThe Senate took a key procedural step on Tuesday toward confirming Kash Patel as the next FBI director, voting 48-45 along party lines to advance his nomination for debate. A final confirmation vote is expected later this week. Republican senators have strongly backed Patel, 44, highlighting his experience as a prosecutor and national security adviser in the first Trump administration. …READ MORE
Judge Chutkan denies request from Dem AGs for restraining order blocking DOGE’s access to federal dataJudge Tanya Chutkan, an Obama appointee, denied a request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Tuesday, rejecting an emergency motion filed by 14 Democrat state attorneys general seeking to block Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The attorneys general, representing blue states such as Arizona, Michigan, Rhode Island, New Mexico, California, Massachusetts, and others, filed a …READ MORE
US-Russia peace deal demands Ukraine hold new election: reportU.S. and Russian officials have reportedly reached a tentative agreement on a framework that could bring an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. However, this potential resolution comes with significant political consequences for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose leadership and future may be at stake. According to U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, discussions have resulted in the formation …READ MORE
Head of FDA food division resigns in protest of mass firings at HHSJim Jones, head of the FDA’s food division, has resigned in protest following mass firings carried out by the Trump administration. His departure comes after thousands of employees within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including many in the FDA’s food program, were dismissed over the weekend. Jones, who had served as FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, …READ MORE
LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIES2 Dead After Breaking Into Wrong Home, Meeting Teen Rambo Who Took No PrisonersA young Kentucky resident was more than a match for two men who broke into a home on Saturday.Shortly before 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, Kentucky State Police were informed of a shooting that took place in Manchester after the Manchester Police Department wanted assistance, according to a news release from the Kentucky State Police.The news release said two men forced …READ THE FULL REPORTNew Coronavirus with Potential to Cause Pandemic Discovered in ChinaAnother coronavirus feared to be powerful enough to spread through humans has been discovered in China. In scenes eerily reminiscent of the beginnings of Covid, researchers at the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology detected the new strain living within bats. HKU5-CoV-2 is strikingly similar to the pandemic virus, sparking fears that history could repeat itself just two years after the …READ THE FULL REPORTFederal judge allows Trump to continue firing USAID employeesIt’s just breaking that a federal judge has sided with the Trump administration, lifting his temporary injunction so they can continue firing USAID employees. Trump has said USAID needs to be dismantled and this will allow him to do it. Here’s more via Newsweek: A federal judge on Friday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with its plan to …READ THE FULL REPORTICE Director Out Amid Reports Trump Unhappy with Pace of DeportationsActing ICE Director Caleb Vitello has been removed from his position amid reports President Trump is unhappy with the pace of deportations, according to The Wall Street Journal.Earlier this month it was reported that President Trump and border czar Tom Homan were reportedly unhappy with the current number of deportations.According to a report by NBC, Trump and Homan were disappointed …READ THE FULL REPORTEx-Proud Boys Leader Arrested at Celebration for Jan. 6 PardonsA former Proud Boys leader who was pardoned for his actions at the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioting was arrested for an assault on a protester during a celebration of the pardons.Video captured the moment Enrique Tarrio was confronted by a woman who was shoving her cell phone in his face.He reacted by slapping the phone out of her hand, …READ THE FULL REPORT
AP sues Trump admin after Oval Office banishment over ‘Gulf of America’The Associated Press filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Trump administration, challenging the banishment of its reporters from the White House after refusing to adopt the administration’s newly designated name, “Gulf of America,” instead of the traditional “Gulf of Mexico.” The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., accuses the administration of attempting to control speech …READ MORE
Biden judge refuses to dismiss Eric Adams’ case, orders investigation into DOJ for dropping chargesA federal judge on Friday refused to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and announced an independent investigation into the Trump administration’s Justice Department for its decision to drop the charges. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, a Biden appointee, ruled that the case would not be immediately dismissed and appointed outside counsel to review the …READ MORE
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ defense lawyer quits: ‘Under no circumstances can I continue’One of Sean “Diddy” Combs’ defense attorneys, Anthony Ricco, has filed a motion to withdraw from the embattled music mogul’s high-profile criminal sex-trafficking case, court records show. Ricco submitted his request on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, stating, “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs.” He urged the judge to grant his withdrawal, …READ MORE
LATEST REPORTS FOR NEWS JUNKIESWisconsin Governor Wants Insane Replacement for the Word ‘Mother’Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, recently introduced a budget recommendation that changes the word “mother” to “inseminated person,” and “paternity” to “parentage” in some official government documents and portions of state law.The Evers administration’s budget recommendation for the 2025-2027 fiscal period calls for a number of additional “gendered” terms to be retired as well.References to “wife” or “husband” were …READ THE FULL REPORTThis is damn impressive…A South African high school performed a remarkable show at an inter-school spirit event, according to Colin Rugg. He writes, “The performance was a part of the Curro Schools ‘Spirit Cup.’ Today was a true goosebump moment at CuRRo High School’s inter-school sports event, with the Spirit Cup opening setting the tone for an unforgettable day,” said the woman who …READ THE FULL REPORTMexico President Warns Against US Military Strikes on CartelsIn the wake of President Trump’s designation of several Latin American drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday warned the White House against military action inside her country.“This cannot be an opportunity for the U.S. to invade our sovereignty,” she told reporters. “With Mexico, it is collaboration and coordination, never subordination or interventionism, and even …READ THE FULL REPORTCPAC Straw Poll Reveals Who Conservatives Believe Will Be 2028 NomineeConservative voters believe Vice President JD Vance will become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in the 2028 election cycle, a straw poll conducted at the 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) found.“You guys are the conservative movement, you guys are the thought leaders, the opinion leaders. We asked folks who they thought would be the Republican nominee, who they preferred …READ THE FULL REPORTWatch: Trump Rocks CPAC 2025Conservative politicians and pundits speak on the final day of activities of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2025 on Saturday, February 22.Scheduled to speak on Saturday are Trump border czar Tom Homan, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Trump nominee for U.N. Ambassador Elise Stefanik, and more.President Donald Trump will close the conference as the keynote speaker on Saturday …READ THE FULL REPORT
A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to pull thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers off the job. DOGE marches on
Alexander News Network (ANN): Trump’s War 2.0 for America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
His ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by unions on behalf of workers. They say the rush to dismantle the agency had cut off some staffers overseas from emergency communications systems, including some in danger of political violence in Congo.
The Trump administration and the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency tied to billionaire Elon Musk have moved swiftly to shutter USAID, asserting that its work is wasteful and out of line with the president’s agenda.’
Bourla Pfizer et al. mRNA transfection LNP vaccines, now say that the mRNA shot was NOT designed to stop infection? Not? Should NOT have been given to children & low risk? Start minute 18:25
This woman and all like her, all in the Trump administration, all in Biden’s who partook in all and any aspect of COVID and the mRNA vaccine, must stand trial and placed under oath. Do not let her get away with trying to re-write the history that she created, one of death and destruction.
These beasts like Birx should be in jail. Caused many deaths. They are trying to create a fraud fake avian bird flu pandemic out of NOTHING, they have NOTHING just like in COVID…but using fear and hysteria and lies. They have zero human to human transmission, no clear evidence of anything, and causing egg prices to escalate by killing the damn chickens when one bird has some symptoms. The morons also causing humans to get some symptoms in terms of those who physically kill the infected birds and animals. There is no spread in humans. Only when they go play with sick animals. It is so transparent. All this to drive you to take mRNA vaccine. Make more money.
This is where we need leadership from Trump. We continue to wait, for him to end this mRNA madness. mRNA technology never worked and will never work. not even in cancer. It must be stopped, and we need decades of research to prove this out. Stop it now!
end
———-
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK
7.OIL AND NATURAL GAS ISSUES/GLOBAL/ENERGY/COAL
Global Gas Prices Surge Anticipating Summer Scramble To Refill Storag
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 03:30 AM
By John Kemp, energy analyst and founder of JKempEnergy
Spot market gas prices around the world have doubled over the last twelve months as reported inventories in all the major consuming regions have fallen to multi-year lows, signalling the refill season will be much tougher in 2025.
Sharply higher prices will encourage electricity generators to switch to alternative fuels and force energy-intensive industries in Europe and price-sensitive utilities in South and Southeast Asia to cut use wherever possible.
Combined inventories across the European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and the United States are 400 terawatt-hours (1,446 billion cubic feet or 32 million tonnes of LNG) lower than they were a year ago:
EU and UK inventories were 266 TWh (961 bcf or 21 million tonnes) below prior-year levels on February 19.[1]
Ukraine’s inventories were 28 TWh (103 bcf or 2 million tonnes) below year-ago levels on the same date.[2]
U.S. inventories were 106 TWh (386 bcf or 8 million tonnes) below prior-year levels on February 14.[3]
Japan’s inventories were also 6 TWh (22 bcf or 0.5 million tonnes) below prior-year levels at the end of October, the most recent data available, and have likely remained below year-ago levels since then.[4]
Since the second quarter of 2024, consumption has grown faster than production as a result of record gas-fired generation and lower drilling in the United States, a colder winter in North America and Northwest Europe, and sanctions on Russia.
As a result, surplus gas inventories carried over from a mild winter in North America and Northwest Europe in 2023/24 have been entirely used up over the course of winter 2024/25.
But the rapid emptying of storage has become unsustainable and prices have climbed steeply to rein in consumption and encourage more drilling to conserve the remaining stocks.
Front-month futures prices have doubled over the last year in North America and Northwest Europe and are up by 75% in Northeast Asia compared with the same point in 2024.
The biggest increases have come in near-dated futures contracts to conserve the remaining stocks as much as possible and curb consumption over the summer of 2025 to enable stocks to be rebuilt ahead of winter 2025/26.
With the United States, the European Union, Ukraine and Japan all needing to rebuild inventories faster-than-average over the summer of 2025 there will be fierce competition for gas over the eight months to October.
Energy-intensive industrial users in Europe and price-sensitive buyers in South and Southeast Asia are likely to be priced out, as they were during the first summer after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In the event of a persistent summer heatwave over North America, Northwest Europe, Northeast or South and Southeast Asia driving higher-than-normal airconditioning loads, the scramble for gas could become intense.
Anticipating tight supplies and a tough refill season, portfolio investors have alreadyamassed exceptionally large bullish positions in futures and options based on gas prices in both North America and Northwest Europe.
In North America, hedge funds and other money managers have accumulated a net long position equivalent to 2,975 billion cubic feet, the highest for more than three years and in the 91st percentile for all weeks since 2010.
In Northwest Europe, investment funds had amassed a near-record bullish net long position equivalent to 292 TWh by the first week of February, before selling 34 TWh to realise some profits in the second week of the month.
Fund buying has anticipated, accelerated and amplified market tightness and price rises this summer, enforcing an early adjustment by encouraging fuel switching in favour of coal and fuel oil and compelling more industrial closures.
Europe’s policymakers, facing another year of painfully high prices for households and industry, will be tempted to blame hedge funds and other speculators (as is always the case when prices escalate rapidly).
But the reality is that the global market will be much tighter this summer than it was in 2024 and 2023 and prices have to rise to restore balance by curbing consumption and encouraging a return to production growth in the United States.
[1] Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (Gas Infrastructure Europe, February 21, 2025). [2] Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (Gas Infrastructure Europe, February 21, 2025). [3] Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (U.S. Energy Information Administration, February 20, 2025). [4] Trend of Natural Gas and LNG Prices (Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security, January 30, 2025).
END
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES//
CANADA FRANCE
CEO sites socialism in both Canada and France for shuttering its operations there
(zerohedge0
GameStop Shuttering Canadian And French Locations, Citing “High Taxes, Liberalism, Wokeness And DEI”
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 04:15 AM
GameStop Corp. announced last week it will divest its Canadian and French operations, citing political correctness in both regions as part of a broader review of its international assets.
CEO Ryan Cohen criticized the “sociopolitical climates” of both countries and took to Twitter (“X”) to invite buyers, adding: “High taxes, Liberalism, Socialism, Progressivism, Wokeness and DEI included at no additional cost if you buy today!”
GameStop’s decision to exit Canada and France aligns with CEO Ryan Cohen’s strategy to streamline operations, cut costs, and boost long-term profitability. Since taking over in 2023, Cohen has focused on downsizing the company’s physical store presence, acknowledging the decline of physical game sales, much like the fate of VHS retailers such as Blockbuster, according to Western Standard.
Before the announcement, GameStop operated 203 stores in Canada and 647 across Europe.
The company’s financial performance remains under scrutiny. In its third quarter, it reported a $17.4 million net income, reversing a prior-year loss, but sales fell to $860.3 million, reflecting ongoing retail challenges.
Cohen’s remarks also echo a growing sentiment among business leaders who see progressive policies and DEI initiatives as harmful to corporate efficiency and shareholder value.
The Western Standard report says that Canada accounted for about 5% of GameStop’s revenue ($46.3 million), while Europe contributed around 20% ($173 million). The company has not disclosed the potential value of these operations or its asking price.
GameStop gained notoriety in early 2021 during the meme stock frenzy, when Reddit-driven retail investors sent its stock soaring past $500 per share, at one point doubling within 90 minutes.
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: 1.0507 UP 60 BASIS PTS
USA/ YEN 149.48 UP 0.373 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 1.2658 UP 0.0041 OR 41 PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.4189 DOWN 0.0017(CDN DOLLAR UP 17 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 6.08 PTS OR 0.18%
Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 13.87 PTS OR 0.06%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN 0.13%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL MIXED
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL MIXED
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 13.87 PTS OR 0.06%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 6.08 PTS OR 0.18%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.13%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 96.90 TS OR 0.26%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED
Gold very early morning trading: 2940.00
silver:$32.80
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 106.24 UP 3 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE.
Newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel is on fire.
After his swearing-in, he gave a not-so-subtle speech, showing that he’s ready to handle the media’s smears.
“I know the media’s in here, and if you have a target, that target’s right here,” he said, pointing to himself.
“It’s not the men and women at the FBI.”
“You’ve written everything you possibly can about me that’s fake, malicious, slanderous, and defamatory,” he continued.
“Keep it coming — bring it on. But leave the men and women, the FBI out of it. They deserve better.”
He also promised that a new day at the FBI has started.
“I promise you the following, there will be accountability within the FBI and outside of the FBI, and we will do it through rigorous constitutional oversight — starting this weekend.”
Kash continued, “I am living the American dream, and anyone that thinks the American dream is dead, just look right here. You’re talking to a first-generation Indian kid who’s about to lead the law enforcement community, the greatest nation on God’s green earth.”
He wasted no time turning his bold rhetoric into action. Following his blistering speech on Friday, he ordered the transfer of 1,500 agents and staff from the bureau’s Washington, D.C., headquarters to field offices across the country.
Roughly 1,000 will be sent to high-crime cities that the Trump administration designated, where they can focus on fighting crime instead of political games. Another 500 will be reassigned to Huntsville, Ala., which is widely seen as D.C.’s version of exile.
This is just Patel’s first move, and if any Democrats want to shed a bunch of tears over the move, they can, but they can’t claim they shouldn’t have expected it. As the Washington Post reported, Patel made this plan known during his confirmation hearings.
Patel, in his 2023 book, vowed to shutter the Hoover headquarters building and turn it into a “museum to the Deep State.” He’s made similar recommendations at his confirmation hearing and in appearances on conservative TV news shows.
“One of my biggest personal recommendations is … you send those 7,000 agents in the headquarters building down range to chase down rapists, to chase down murderers, to chase down drug traffickers and let the cops be cops on the streets across America,” Patel said during an August appearance on “Stinchfiled Tonight.”
During his confirmation hearing last month, Patel was asked about his previous comments suggesting he wanted the FBI’s headquarters emptied out and shuttered. His responses did not directly address whether he would actually shut the building down or seek to transform it into a museum, but suggested that he believes the FBI’s workforce in Washington should go out into the country.
“A third of the workforce for the FBI works in Washington, D.C.,” Patel said. “I am fully committed to having that workforce go out into the interior of the country, where I live west of the Mississippi, and work with sheriff’s departments and local officers.”
It’s day one and he’s already making changes. It’s glorious to see.
end
FBI Freak Out As Dan Bongino Named Deputy Director
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 11:20 PM
On Sunday evening, President Donald Trump announced that former Secret Service agent and conservative talk show host Dan Bongino will become the new deputy director of the FBI – the agency that helped Obama and Hillary Clinton set Donald Trump us with the Russia Collusion hoax – which included leaks to the press, fabricating evidence, and die-hard deep state servants who vowed to destroy our president.
And now – Bongino and newly minted FBI Director Kash Patel are in charge…
.xcom/dbongino/status/1893839865864745168
…which is not sitting well with current and former agency officials – or deep state journalists like NBC‘s Ken Dilanian, who reports that the FBI Agents Association struck out against Bongino’s selection.
Without naming Bongino directly, the Association lashed out over the fact that the Deputy Director has typically been an active Special Agent.
“The FBI Deputy Director should continue to be an on-board, active Special Agent—as has been the case for 117 years for many compelling reasons, including operational expertise and experience, as well as the trust of our Special Agent population,” reads a memo obtained by WNBC‘s Jonathan Dienst.
The announcement sent shock waves through the FBI, whose new director Kash Patel had offered Republican senators private assurances that he would name a special agent with bureau experience to be his deputy, rather than a political outsider. Patel was sworn in at the White House on Friday.
Leaders of the FBI Agents Association, who met with Patel in January, said the new director had agreed that the deputy should be a current special agent…
Ken Dilanian echoed this sentiment, complaining on X that Bongino “has never spent a day working at the FBI, but he has spent many hours spouting baseless falsehoods about the bureau.”
US Border Czar: “We’re Going To Wipe Drug Cartels Off The Face Of Earth
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 07:35 AM
US Border Czar Tom Homan told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that President Donald Trump intends to dismantle the command and control centers of Mexican drug cartels, vowing to “put them out of business” and “wipe them off the face of the Earth.” These are strong words against cartels that have fueled a drug overdose crisis responsible for the deaths of 100,000 Americans each year.
Watters asked Homan how cartels have adapted in the last 30 days since Trump’s ‘America First’ border policies of placing the military by the thousands on the southern border…
Homan responded: “Look, they’re going maritime. We knew they would. That’s why Coast Guard patrols increased by three times. So we’re going to shut them down maritime too.”
“We’re going to put them out of business. President Trump does not mess around with criminal terror organizations. These cartels have killed more Americans than every terror organization combined,” the official said.
He continued: “President Trump will end up wiping the cartels off the face of the Earth – putting them out of business. If you put them out of business – you take their money away – they can’t buy or bribe Mexican officials. Without money, they have no power.
“We’re not just going to attack in Mexico, the Jalisco cartel. We’re going to attack them in the 43 countries they have operations currently. We’re going to attack them worldwide,” the border emphasized.
Watters ended with, “That’s a bold statement.” …
Catching up with the latest ‘America First’ headlines on the border crisis:
Readers should understand that the disrupt-and-dismantle strategy is broad, targeting not only Mexican cartels but also transnational criminal organizations spanning from Canada to China.
This is what ‘America First’ looks like. It’s time to stop the drug death overdose crisis in America that kills 100,000 per year.
We must caution that the fight against cartels could get messy, considering the Biden-Harris regime intentionally flooded the nation with thousands of Tren de Aragua terrorists.
end
“They Are Covering Immense Fraud”: Musk Says Surprise Fed Emails Meant To Uncover ‘Non-Existent Or Dead People’ Collecting Paychecks
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 11:18 AM
Update (1118ET): After panic swept through Washington over Elon Musk’s email requiring all federal employees to send an email by Monday at midnight with five bullet points explaining what they got done last week, Musk explained the reasoning behind the last minute demand: “immense fraud.”
“The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all!” Musk wrote on X. “In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud.”
You can support ZeroHedge by purchasing one of these high-quality, sharp, kickass ZeroHedge Multitoolswhich comes with belt pouch. On sale until Monday!
Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.
end
Maryland Democrats’ ‘Extremist’ Green Agenda Sparks Power Bill Crisis Crippling Household
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 09:00 PM
Apocalyptic environmentalism by Maryland’s far-left Democratic leadership in Annapolis has plunged the state into a severe energy crisis, with power bills doubling in some cases and 20% of households in Central Maryland now behind on payments.
The takeaway is that Maryland’s far-left leadership is more focused on apocalyptic environmentalism—inherently de-growth and pro-inflation in nature—while also prioritizing illegal aliens over their citizens. This represents a major violation of their oath of office, which requires them to uphold the general welfare of citizens.
Marylanders are quickly learning that local elections matter. Electing far-left activists into positions of power who have no business being in managerial roles has severe consequences, and the most immediate one is the pocketbook.
1.3 million BGE electric customers in Central Maryland, just over half of them also paying for natural gas, and more than 264,000 of them are behind on their bills
Last August, Goldman Sachs warned clients about Maryland’s deteriorating power grid situation: “After a series of auction delays and relatively low clears (see chart below), PJM capacity prices appear to have finally caught up with the generative AI data center load growth story that has been central to parts of PJM.”
The headlines from local media outlets capture the power crisis of exploding power bills, which is not just figuratively crushing pocketbooks but also resulting in anger and disgust for Democrats who have failed the state.
If you search “Maryland power bill” on Facebook, you’ll find many frustrated residents voicing their outrage …
“Energy Bills are ballooning out of control due to EXTREMIST ENVIROMENTAL MANDATES!” Republican Delegate Brian Chisholm wrote on Facebook.
Resident Ronald Coster said: “The reason why our electricity bills are going so high,Maryland has to buy 40%of the power needed from surrounding states. Gov. Moore and the Democrat politicians will not allow new power plants.”
Marylanders must discuss with their neighbors whether Annapolis lawmakers are incompetent or deliberately sabotaging the state by bankrupting their residents with toxic green inflationary policies.
A recent conversation with a major asset management firm in the region revealed that Maryland’s financial situation is so dire that they no longer recommend the state’s municipal bonds to their clients—and have even advised some clients to leave due to fears of out-of-control tax hikes.
On top of this all, Democrats and Gov. Wes Moore have placed the state in a death spiral with a budget crisis that has arrived and risks a “deep recession.”
x.com/zerohedge/status/1862068968967606775
All you need to know about Wes Moore. Agent of Soros?
Maryland’s financial troubles were festering under the surface well before Trump. The state’s economy doesn’t produce much but relies heavily on government services. Now, with DOGE draining the swamp and hundreds of thousands of federal workers being laid off, a perfect storm of pain has unfolded.
X.com/zerohedge/status/1891139259253277093
Maryland’s conservatives in the House of Delegates have jumped into action to protect residents while Democrats are still focusing on making sure ICE doesn’t arrest illegal alien criminals.
Can’t make this up. Maryland Democrats are focusing on condoms for kindergarteners rather than tackling the power crisis.
Marylanders are in for a period of pain—but that may be just enough to fuel grassroots efforts over the next election cycle or two to elect common-sense lawmakers who put “Maryland First.”
END
KING NEWS
The King Report February 24, 2025 Issue 7436
Independent View of the News
UnitedHealth Shares Puke as DoJ Launches Medicare Billing Practice Probe UnitedHealth shares tumbled nearly 10% in premarket trading in response to WSJ’s report. Shares are down nearly 25% since Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in early December in Manhattan… In December, the Journal reported that its analysis of billions of Medicare records showed that patients examined by UnitedHealth-employed doctors had huge increases in lucrative diagnoses after joining the company’s Medicare Advantage plans…Last summer, the Journal also reported that UnitedHealth added diagnoses to patients’ records for conditions that no doctor treated, which triggered an extra $8.7 billion in federal payments in 2021… https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/unitedhealth-shares-puke-doj-launches-medicare-bill-fraud-probe
University of Michigan inflation expectations are troubling. The 100bp jump in 1-year Inflation expectations for January did not ebb in February. 5-10-year Inflation increased 0.2 to 3.5%.
UM Sentiment for February declined to 64.7 from 68.7; 68.5 was expected. Expectations retreated to 64 from 67.3; 67.4 was consensus.
The unexpected 3.2 decline in the S&P Global US Services PMI created a jump in USHs (from 115 4/32 to a daily high of 115 23/32). It caused ESHs to tumble to a daily low of 6087.50 at 10:42 ET. The ESH daily high of 6142.50 appeared at 9:16 ET, 29 minutes before the S&P Global PMI release. Others are discovering what we noted about the UM survey: It oversamples Democrats.
@RealEJAntoni: Consumer sentiment survey from U-Mich has become a joke at this point – by oversampling Dems, inflation expectations have exploded to highest level in almost 30 years while those same inflation expectations among Reps have plunged; when data is politicized, it becomes useless https://x.com/RealEJAntoni/status/1892966360746958872
The 2nd-Hour Rebound and the manipulation for the European close took ESHs to 6105.25 at 11:38 ET. ESHs then resumed their descent. After hitting a low of 6024.50 at 14:42 ET, the afternoon rally began.
After a modest rally, ESHs traded in a 12-handle range until they inched higher after 15:30 ET. After hitting 6039.00 at 15:30 ET, ESHs rolled over. ESHs traded sideways into the close.
An estimated $2.7 trillion of February options expired on Friday. Because beaucoup small traders are typically long expiring calls, this put pressure on stocks during Thursday and Friday’s sessions.
@libsoftiktok: Zelensky agreed to something in a meeting then publicly rejected it and lied about it (mineral rights deal with US). He lied to Marco Rubio and JD Vance. (Rubio explains at link) https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1892962237968527760 @JDVance: What Secretary Rubio is saying here is exactly right.
Trump on Zelensky: “I’ve seen him negotiating with no cards… you get sick of it. You just get sick of it. I’ve had it. He then made a deal with us for rare earth minerals… then, they couldn’t get the deal done. We wasted time.” https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1892987618628878590
Positive aspects of previous session The dollar rallied moderately.
Negative aspects of previous session Economic ebbing against generated defensive asset allocation Stocks and commodities sank; bonds rallied; the DJTA got hammered At a technical inflection point, major US equity indices broke down.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session Is another yen carry trade unwind developing? Was the manipulation to game the VIX Fix on Tuesday & Wed. for Feb expiry bulls last gasp?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 6045.50 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 6114.82; 6008.56
Hackers steal $1.5 billion from exchange Bybit in biggest-ever crypto heist Analysts at Elliptic later linked the attack to North Korea’s Lazarus Group, a state-sponsored hacking collective notorious for siphoning billions of dollars from the cryptocurrency industry. The group is known for exploiting security vulnerabilities to finance North Korea’s regime, often using sophisticated laundering methods to obscure the flow of funds… https://x.com/CNBC/status/1893066829246915011
@trailofbits: The $1.5B Bybit hack marks a new era in cryptocurrency security. Attackers have moved beyond technical exploits to sophisticated operational attacks. Read our initial analysis of this historic breach and its industry-wide implications: https://t.co/JVdABKdD4q
German Conservatives Seal Election Win, Seeking Coalition Talks Merz’s CDU/CSU bloc won 28.8% of the votes, followed by 20.2% for the far-right Alternative for Germany, according to estimates from public broadcaster ARD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats finished third with 16.2%, the party’s worst result since World War II… https://finance.yahoo.com/news/german-conservatives-seal-election-win-212135329.html
Today – We have regularly noted that when beaucoup expiring options weigh on stocks and produce ugly Thursdays and Fridays ahead of expiry, there is usually a relief rally on Monday. Traders are playing for this dynamic. That’s why ESHs are +24.50 and NQHs are +93.75 at 20:05 ET. USHs are -9/32.
Despite the probability of a pattern rally for Monday, the severe technical damage that occurred late last week could induce institutions and large hedge funds to liquidate stuff in coming sessions.
PS – Germany’s turn right is abetting European equities, ESHs and NQHs.
Expected economic data: Jan Chicago Fed National Activity Index -0.05; Feb Dallas Mfg. Index 64
S&P Index 50-day MA: 6010; 100-day MA: 5942; 150-day MA: 5803; 200-day MA: 5702 DJIA 50-day MA: 43,715; 100-day MA: 43,460; 150-day MA: 42,548; 200-day MA: 41,726 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (6013.13 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 5807.26 triggers a sell signal Daily: Trender is positive; MACD is negative – a close below 6010.20 triggers a sell signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 6080.52 triggers a buy signal
DOGE sent an email to all federal workers that requested an emailed report on 5 tasks accomplished last week. The usual suspects went berserk over this request, which had a hidden purpose.
@elonmusk: The reason this matters is that a significant number of people who are supposed to be working for the government are doing so little work that they are not checking their email at all! In some cases, we believe non-existent people or the identities of dead people are being used to collect paychecks. In other words, there is outright fraud.
Rep. James Comer wants to know if government worked with Epstein to blackmail key peoplehttps://t.co/25We74Q0bd
Clue: Epstein got off easy in Florida after ‘pressure from above.’
US Attorney Alex Acosta showed ‘poor judgment’ when giving Jeffrey Epstein state-based plea deal in 2008: DOJ – “What jumped off the page to everybody today is that there was a line prosecutor who drafted the indictment and tried to fight for the victims all along,” Edwards said. “And above her, there were superiors, including Alex Acosta, that fought against her and fought on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein to keep victims in the dark and to ensure that the non prosecution agreement was put in place.”… https://abcnews.go.com/US/us-attorney-alex-acosta-showed-poor-judgment-giving/story?id=74178029
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyer quits sex-trafficking case: ‘Under no circumstances can I continue’https://t.co/bRPaX5HRNi
@WCdispatch_: Jeffery Sachs was the mastermind behind the invasion of the Southern Border, crafted the idea of using Catholic Charities (USAID funded)to support migrants. In his book “Ethics in Action,” which includes a foreword by Pope Francis, Sachs lays out a plan to use Catholic Charities and taxpayer funds to fuel the crisis… https://x.com/WCdispatch_/status/1892996672977866811
(Dem Pres candidate) Rep. Jasmine Crockett ‘rooting’ for Mexico and Canada amid tariff war with Trumphttps://t.co/LUavKm75rH
GOP Rep. @mtgreenee: MSNBC just canceled Joy Reid’s show. The ad execs and the board finally figured out that racism, lies, and Trump derangement syndrome will put them out of business.
@visegrad24: This photo from 2024 is perhaps the perfect visual representation of Germany: A police officer subduing the victim of an Islamist attack while the Islamist, who had been detained by patriotic citizens, broke free and stabbed the police officer in the back, killing him. https://x.com/visegrad24/status/1893657100858827134
Scientists discover shocking find where Bible says Moses parted Red Sea Scientists who have been exploring the Red Sea have discovered natural death traps in the region now believed to be the location where Moses parted the waters. The brine pools were found 4,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Aqaba, where the water is estimated to be up to 10 times saltier than normal seawater and a lack of oxygen causes the pools to kill or stun all marine life that enters it, according to a study published in Nature Communications… https://nypost.com/2025/02/21/world-news/scientists-discover-shocking-find-where-bible-says-moses-parted-red-sea/
SWAMP STORIES
Chilean Migrants Charged In String Of Multi-Million Dollar NFL Player Heists
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 02:35 PM
We wonder if Taylor Swift still has Travis Kelce voting Democrat…
After all, it is now being reported that Chilean migrants were at the center of a string of heists that stung NFL players like Kelce, along with Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes.
A newly unsealed federal complaint reveals that since October 2024, a South American Theft Group (SATG) has been breaking into the homes of NFL and NBA players while they were away for games, according to Fox News.
The complaint says: “In many circumstances, professional sports teams will publicize their schedules and locations of their games, making it easy for the SATG to know when a particular athlete on a particular professional sports team will be away from his residence.”
The Fox News report says that newly unsealed federal complaint adds four more suspects to a group accused of nationwide burglaries targeting professional athletes.
Authorities say the suspects, part of a South American Theft Group (SATG), conducted extensive surveillance on their targets, sometimes posing as groundskeepers or delivery workers. A photo released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office shows them posing with stolen goods, with one suspect wearing Kansas City Chiefs gear.
The complaint details burglaries of multiple NFL and NBA players, including Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce on Oct. 5 and 7, 2024, as well as Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis on Nov. 2, 2024. “This is a place I’ve considered home,” Portis posted after the burglary. “While I was at my game yesterday, I had a home invasion, and they took most of my prized possessions.”
Three of the suspects have also been charged in the December burglary of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s home. The complaint mentions similar incidents involving a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player, a Cincinnati Bengals player, and a Memphis Grizzlies player, though their names were not disclosed.
All seven defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.
Following the arrests, the NFL issued a security alert warning players that professional athletes have become “increasingly targeted for burglaries by organized and skilled groups.” The memo advised players to enhance home security and avoid sharing real-time updates or displaying valuables online.
END
Illegal Aliens Loot US Trains In Mojave Desert For High-Value Nike Sneakers
Monday, Feb 24, 2025 – 07:45 AM
Organized criminal gangs have carried out a series of sophisticated train heists targeting BNSF freight trains in the Mojave Desert along the California-Arizona corridor. The thieves have targeted double-stack container cars, specifically containers carrying high-value Nike sneakers.
Los Angeles Times reported thieves stealthily boarded eastbound freight trains in the lonely stretches of the Mojave Desert at least ten times and stole millions of dollars in sneakers and other goods since last March. Nike sneaker thefts have topped $2 million.
Here’s more from the report:
New sneaker releases may have touched off at least some of the recent incidents. In Perrin, Ariz., thieves allegedly cut an air brake hose on a BNSF freight train on Jan. 13 and unloaded 1,985 pairs of unreleased Nikes worth more than $440,000, according to a criminal complaint filed in US District Court in Phoenix. Many were Nigel Sylvester x Air Jordan 4s, which won’t be available to the public until March 14 and are expected to retail at $225 per pair, the complaint states.
Keith Lewis, vice president of operations at Verisk’s CargoNet and a deputy sheriff in Arizona, explained to the newspaper how the whole theft operation works:
Theft crews typically scout high-value merchandise on rail lines that parallel Interstate 40 by boarding slow-moving trains, such as when they are changing tracks and opening containers.
Lewis said the thieves are sometimes tipped off to valuable shipments by confederates working at warehouses or trucking companies. Other times they simply look for containers with high-security locks, which they cut with reciprocating saws or bolt cutters, a Homeland Security Investigations special agent said in affidavits filed in federal court.
Once the desired loot is found, the thieves alert “follow vehicles,” which track the train. The stolen goods are tossed off the train after it comes to a halt — either for a scheduled stop or because an air hose has been cut or control wires inside signal boxes have been sabotaged, said the federal agent, Brynna Cooke.
The cargo is then loaded into box trucks, or hidden in nearby brush until they arrive — provided the surveillance crews that are following the train don’t detect law enforcement, Cooke said. These tactics are often employed by transnational criminal groups that consist primarily of Mexican citizens from Sinaloa, she said.
The latest figures from the Association of American Railroads show that railroad thefts surged to 65,000 in 2024, a 40% increase from the previous year, costing major railroads $100 million.
Criminal organizations that specialize in stealing from trains, which consist primarily of Mexican citizens with connections to the Mexican State of Sinaloa…
In other words, cartels…
President Trump and Border Czar Tom Homan have made it clear that they will not tolerate cartels that jeopardize national security. Deploying US military forces to secure the border is the first line of defense in restoring law and order.
END
More USAID Fraud? Billions Of US Tax Dollars Are Missing From Haiti Relief Project
Sunday, Feb 23, 2025 – 04:55 PM
There are those that say all government aid is a scam in one way or another, and so far the revelations surrounding USAID are proving those people right daily. Democrats and the establishment media, in a bid to muddy the waters and save face, continue to claim that there was never any fraud at USAID and that the Trump Administration is simply labeling projects they “disagree with” as suspect.
Of course, spending American tax dollars on projects the public never asked for and were never told about is the epitome of fraud, and waste is never a good thing. Beyond that, the question of billions in missing funds certainly falls into the category of criminality.
Trump has taken a lot of heat from the media with the shut down of USAID and much of the criticism suggests that without US funds people in third world countries will fall back into desperation. The Washington Post recently claimed that Trump’s cuts to USAID are a “gift to Haitian gangs” terrorizing the locals; a typical leftist appeal to emotion that assumes most of the funds were getting to the Haitians in the first place.
Yet another example of this problem has been revealed in a New York Post expose on the audit of USAID which shows a disturbing shortfall in funds surrounding ongoing relief projects in Haiti. The Post notes:
“Since the 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed as many as 300,000 people, the US government has disbursed around $4.4 billion in foreign assistance to the small island nation.
At least $1.5 billion was disbursed for immediate humanitarian aid, while another $3 billion went to recovery, reconstruction and development.
Of the at least $2.13 billion in contracts and grants for Haiti-related work, less than $50 million, or 2% went to Haitian organizations or firms. By comparison, $1.3 billion, or 56%, has gone to firms located in or near the US capitol. Little wonder USAID is so threatened by the sudden scrutiny.
It remains unclear how exactly the billions have been spent and whether US tax dollars have had a sustainable impact. USAID and its vendors have generally failed to make such data public…”
The exposure of USAID by DOGE actually confirms long running suspicions of mishandled aid. Some Haitian reporters warned about this disappearing money years ago under the Obama Administration. USAID funds to Haiti were dispersed in part through the Clinton Foundation.
The lack of funding transparency was also noted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2023. Though, not surprisingly, the impotent agency did nothing about it. The GOA stated in their analysis of USAID activities in Haiti:
“The USAID mission in Haiti does not fully track data on its local partnerships, or its activities to strengthen local organizational capacity, which limits institutional knowledge about these efforts and understanding of results and lessons learned to inform future activities.”
“The Administrator of USAID should ensure that USAID/Haiti develops a process to track and assess consistent and complete results information for infrastructure activities, such as the final outputs, outcomes, costs, time frames, and lessons learned.”
“The Administrator of USAID should ensure that USAID/Haiti establishes a process to completely and consistently track and analyze data on awards made to local organizations, such as the amount and percent of total funding awarded and the percent of total awards provided to these organizations.”
Of the five “recommendations for executive action” put forward by the GAO for USAID, two are marked as “completed”. Transparency was never achieved and no one was held accountable. The question is, if only 2% of the $4.4 billion allotted for Haitian relief was actually used in Haiti, where did the rest of the money go?
As the New York Post points out, 56% went to firms located in or near the US capitol, and apparently the money stayed there. A comprehensive forensic accounting of these funds (along with all other missing funds) needs to be undertaken and tracked to the recipients. Not just because it is is politically advantageous for the Trump Administration, but because justice needs to be served for once in the case of government fraud. Americans are tired of seeing bureaucratic conmen get away with it.
The public is welcome to debate whether or not any American taxes should be spent in Haiti (proximity to the US does not mean they are entitled), but if the money was already sent and it never arrived, then whoever took it stole from both sides of the equation – Americans and Haitians.
Financial writer and precious metals broker Bill Holter is back with a new warning on the effects of the Trump DOGE team (Department of Government Efficiency). Everyone now knows of the huge unfolding fraud and waste being uncovered in federal government audits. It simply has to be done for the nation to survive, but what many are missing are the consequences of these audits that are unavoidable. Holter and his former business partner Jim Sinclair (RIP) laid out the US bankruptcy scenario nearly five years ago on USAW. The post was titled “Trump Win Offers a Way Forward After US Bankruptcy – Holter & Sinclair.” Of course, Donald Trump “lost” in 2020, and the bankruptcy button was not pushed. Back then, Holter and Sinclair said the US was going to go bankrupt. The only question was, would America get financially reorganized “under the rule of law or the rule of chaos?” The voters chose the rule of law in 2024 with the Trump landslide. Holter goes on to explain, “Mathematically, this is going to go down one way or the other. Either it’s going to go down through nonpayment or going to go down when they blow up the value of the dollar. They cannot pay the interest and debt back in current terms. . . . They would have to create more dollars, diluting the value of each dollar in order to pay the dollars back. The question is, does this go down under the rule of law or does it go down under the rule of complete fraud and corruption. . . . Look at the last days of the Biden Administration. Hundreds of billions of dollars going out the back door. All I can say is when this is over, people better be going to jail; otherwise, you are not looking at a true rule of law.”
Holter goes on to say, “DOGE is uncovering all kinds of fraud. This is what you see at the end of empires and even businesses. You see fraud at the very end when empires go under. The scope of what they are uncovering, just at this point, has been mind blowing. . . . The more DOGE digs up, the more the truth is going to come out and the more confidence is going to break. When confidence breaks with foreigners, that’s a big problem. Just this year alone, we have about $10 trillion in Treasuries rolling over. It’s $28 trillion in the next four years. There has to be an appetite for our Treasuries, and DOGE uncovering the truth is counterproductive to that. They are uncovering the truth, but truth hurts confidence. . . .DOGE, by doing what should have been done 50 years ago, and had we had real accounting, we would not have a problem. Now, you’ve got the system absolutely addicted to this cash flow coming out of USAID and all these different programs, and that is going to get shut off. It’s like throwing sand into a gear box. The system is going to grind to a halt, and that is going to lead to ‘The Great Taking.’”
Holter predicts, “When the system grinds to a halt, you see derivatives collapse, you see financial institutions collapse. Then, guess what, they take all your stuff. Under today’s laws, they do it legally.”
Five years ago on USAW, Holter and Sinclair predicted gold would be going much higher. Gold standing at more than $2,900 per ounce shows they were correct, but Holter says you ain’t seen nothing yet, “Gold is a thermometer that tells the health of currencies and regimes. At $2,950, gold is flashing the alarm now. The average person is not equating that to an alarm bell, but it is an alarm bell. People are using gold to get out of the system. When all is said and done, you are going to find out there was fraud everywhere. You are also going to find out that all these crypto currencies are the perfect accounting system for digital air.”
In closing, Holter says that when you consider the massive amounts of trillions of dollars of unpayable debt, gold could easily be revalued to more than $100,000 per ounce in a reset of the financial system. Holter says, “This would reliquefy central banks all over the world. I don’t think you would have central banks all over the world complaining about that.” Holter says silver could be revalued upward to thousands of dollars per ounce in a financial reset as well.
There is much more in the 61-minute interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with financial writer and precious metals expert Bill Holter for 2.22.25.
Others are discovering what we noted about the UM survey: It oversamples Democrats.
harveyorganblog.com 
