GOLD CLOSED DOWN $20.50 TO $3015/5-

SILVER CLOSED DOWN $0.45 TO $32.91

 GOLD ACCESS CLOSED 3021.00

Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $33.03

Bitcoin morning price:$84,097 DOWN 337 DOLLARS.

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $84,073 UP 361 DOLLARS

Platinum price closing DOWN $7.40 TO $978.85

Palladium price; UP $7.20 TO $957.40

END

*CANADIAN GOLD: $4332.67 DOWN 30.93 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH 4361.64- CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//MARCH 19 2025)

*BRITISH GOLD: 2338.35 DOWN 11.31 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING//2,343.17 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) MARCH 19/2025

*EURO GOLD: 2,793.38 DOWN 13.34 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 2,819,78UROS PER OZ/FEB 24 //2025)

DONATE

Click here if you wish to send a donation. I sincerely appreciate it as this site takes a lot of preparation

END

EXCHANGE: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: MARCH 2025 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 3,040.000000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 03/20/2025 DELIVERY DATE: 03/24/2025
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

118 C MACQUARIE FUT 100
118 H MACQUARIE FUT 15
363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 39
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 23
661 C JP MORGAN 10
686 C STONEX FINANCIA 8 19
709 C BARCLAYS 1
737 C ADVANTAGE 3 1
905 C ADM 3

TOTAL: 111 111

JPMORGAN stopped 10/111 contracts

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR MARCH/2024. CONTRACT: 111 NOTICES FOR 11,100 OZ  0.3452 TONNES

total notices so far: 17,981` contracts for 1,798,100 Oz (55.928 tonnes)

FOR MARCH

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

SILVER NOTICES: 253 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 1.265 MILLION OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 15,187 for 75.935 million oz

Click here if you wish to send a donation. I sincerely appreciate it as this site takes a lot of preparation

END

GLD/

BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL

THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.

WITH GOLD DOWN $20.50 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL  (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:

HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//

INVENTORY RESTS AT 910.43 TONNES

SLV/

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $.45 AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.092 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//

CLOSING INVENTORY

CLOSING INVENTORY: 442.962 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUMONGOUS SIZED 1025 CONTRACTS TO 168,343 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR TINY LOSS OF $0,15 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A TINY LOSS OF 39 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR SMALL LOSS IN PRICE//THURSDAY’S TRADING.. WE HAD HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS ON THURSDAY 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 TO ABOVE $34.40 AND TO QUELL ADDITIONAL DERIVATIVE LOSSES TO OUR BANKERS’ MASSIVE TOTALS). THEY SUCCEEDED SLIGHTLY ON THURSDAY WITH SILVER’S SMALL LOSS IN PRICE.  WE HAD A HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION THURSDAY. BUT THIS WAS COUPLED WITH A SMALL T.A.S. ISSUANCE OF 282 CONTRACTS ISSUED BY THE CME AND THAT SIGNALS DEEP CODE RED THAT THE CROOKS ARE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING OVER THE 34.40 DOLLAR MARK. THUS OUR RAIDS ON OUR PRECIOUS METALS WILL COMMENCE AGAIN! WE HAVE A HUGE CONTANGO IN SILVER SPOT VS FRONT FEB OF AROUND 59 CENTS AND A LEASE RATE OF 7.3%. WE HAD A HUGE 1025 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR SMALL 282 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN TODAY’S TRADING/ AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A TINY 39 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES WITH OUR SMALL LOSS IN PRICE. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE TAS LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT THURSDAY’S COMEX TRADING SESSION WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR A HUGE PORTION IN THE LOSS OF OI ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

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 AND NOW TODAY TRYING TO KEEP THE SILVER PRICE BELOW $34.00 . THE KEY PRICE TO WATCH IS $34.40. IF IT BREAKS THAT PRICE, THEN WE HEAD FOR $50.00 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 THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING: A SMALL 282 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  $0.15 BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS WE HAD A SMALL LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 39 CONTRACTS WE HAD HUGE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS TRYING TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE AND THAT ACCOUNTS FOR LOTS OF OUR OPEN INTEREST FALL. HOWEVER THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MARCH, WE HAVE BEEN ISSUED 70 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 350,000 OZ. THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR REGULAR DELIVERY TOTALS FOR MARCH.

WE HAD A 1050 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 78.753 MILLION OZ (FIRST DAY NOTICE) FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.235 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP TO WHICH WE ADD .350 EXCHANGE FOR RISK

INITIAL STANDING FOR MARCH ADVANCES TO 80.985 MILLION OZ

WE HAD:

/ HUMONGOUS COMEX OI LOSS+// A HUGE SIZED  EFP ISSUANCE/ VI)   SMALL SIZED NUMBER OF  T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 282 CONTRACTS)/A 70 CONTRACT EX. FOR RISK FOR 350,000 OZ/SECOND WEEK OF MARCH

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 75 CONTRACTS.

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 14 DAYS, total 9654 contracts:   OR 48.270 MILLION OZ  (689 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  48.270 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. 58.260 MILLION OZ//EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE/FINAL

MARCH: 48.270 MILLION OZ///

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

RESULT: WE HAD A HUMONGOUS SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 1064 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF 15 CENTS IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// THURSDAY.,.  THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE 1050 CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 1050 ISSUED FOR MAY AND 1050 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 MARCH OF  78.455 MILLION  OZ ON FIRST DAY NOTICE, FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.235 MILLION OZ QUEUE JUMP/

/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 80.685 MILLION OZ + .350 EX. FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL 80.985 MILLION OZ.

WE HAVE 1). A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF 39 OI CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR LOSS IN  PRICE// 2.THE TOTAL OF TAS INITIATED CONTRACTS TODAY: A SMALL 282 CONTRACTS TRYING DESPERATELY TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE,//CONSIDERABLE FRONT END OF THE TAS CONTRACTS WERE LIQUIDATED DURING THE THURSDAY COMEX SESSION. HOWEVER THEY STILL NEED THESE ISSUANCES FOR REPLENISHMENT FOR FUTURE TRADING //3. ZERO NET LONG SPECULATORS WERE BURNED ON THURSDAY WITH OUR 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 THURSDAY NIGHT   (282 ) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE AND MOST LIKELY TODAY.

WE HAD  253 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 1.265 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 1768 OI CONTRACTS  TO 536,068 AND 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 HUGE SIZED 924 CONTRACTS//

WE HAD A STRONG SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI (5105 CONTRACTS) OCCURRED DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN OF $3.05 IN PRICE THURSDAY. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A HUMONGOUS INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR MARCH AT 31.757 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S STRONG 9600 OZ QUEUE JUMP (0.2986 TONNES), ////NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 57.810 TONNES + .4655 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR = 58.2765 TONNES

/NEW STANDING FOR MARCH; 57.810 TONNES + .4655 TONNES EX FOR RISK/PRIOR = 58/2765 TONNES.

/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $3.05 GAIN IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 4055 OI CONTRACTS (12.612 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 MARCH 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 1050 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 536,068

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4055 CONTRACTS  WITH 5105 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A FAIR SIZED 1050 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 4055 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A SMALL SIZED AND CRIMINAL 875 CONTRACTS ISSUED.

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (1050 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 5105 CONTRACTS/TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 4055 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 MARCH 31.757 TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 0.2986 TONNES QUEUE JUMP. TO WHICH WE MUST ADD OUR NEW .4655 TONNES OF EX FOR RISK/PRIOR

//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 57.810 TONNES + .4655 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 58.2765 TONNES 

//NEW STANDING MARCH: 58.2765 TONNES

.

 / 3) HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION TRYING TO LOWER GOLD’S PRICE THURSDAY WITH ZERO SUCCESS IN REMOVING ANY NET SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WE HAD 1)  $3.05 PRICE GAIN AND WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE HAD A STRONG LOSS OF 4055 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES (ALL DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION ) 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 HUGE TONNAGE STANDING FOR GOLD IN MARCH. ALL OF THE GAIN IN OI WAS DUE TO THE HUGE NUMBER OF T.A.S. LIQUIDATION THURSDAY.

  4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OPEN INTEREST DECREASE 5)  FAIR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER///SMALL T.A.S.  ISSUANCE: 282 T.A.S.CONTRACTS//

HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2025 INCLUDING TODAY

MAR

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 27,513 CONTRACTS OF 2,751,300 OZ OR 85.578 TONNES IN 14 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 1965 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 14 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  85.578 TONNES

TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2024, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  85.578 DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 2.42% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO 2023

JANUARY/2021: 265.26 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

 FEB  :  171.24 TONNES  ( DEFINITELY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN)..

MARCH:.   276.50 TONNES (STRONG AGAIN/

APRIL:      189..44 TONNES  ( DRAMATICALLY SLOWING DOWN AGAIN//GOLD IN BACKWARDATION)

MAY:        250.15 TONNES  (NOW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING AGAIN)

JUNE:      247.54 TONNES (FINAL)

JULY:        188.73 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST:   217.89 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE.

SEPT          142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_

OCT:           141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)

NOV:           312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP

DEC.           175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//

TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021

JAN:2022   247.25 TONNES //FINAL

FEB:           196.04 TONNES//FINAL

MARCH/2022:  409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.

APRIL:  169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY  LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)

MAY:  247.44 TONNES FINAL//

JUNE: 238.13 TONNES  FINAL

JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD

AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL

SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL

OCT:  177.57  TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)

NOV.  223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)

DEC:  185.59 tonnes // FINAL

TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022

JAN 2023:    228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!

FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL

MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)

APRIL: 197.42 TONNES

MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)

JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)

JULY:  151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)

AUGUST:  195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL

SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)

OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.

NOV.   239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,

DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//

TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS  2578 TONNES LAST YEAR

2024 AND 2025:

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: 207.21 TONNES//EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE (WILL BE A FAIR SIZED ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)

MARCH 85.578 TONNES

SPREADING OPERATIONS

(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS

SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED   AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE  NEW  ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF APRIL. 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 HUMONGOUS SIZED 1064 CONTRACTS OI  TO 168,343 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 1025 CONTRACTS

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

MAY 1025 and ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1025 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 1064 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1025 E.FP. ISSUED

WE OBTAIN A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 39  CONTRACTS

THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTALS 0.195 MILLION OZ OCCURRED DESPITE OUR SMALL $0.15 LOSS  IN PRICE  

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

b, ) Gold/silver trading overnight Europe,//GOLD COMMENTARIES

(Peter Schiff)

c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens

ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries

b. Other gold/silver commentaries

c. Commodity commentaries//

d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

2.ASIAN AFFAIRS  THURSDAY MORNING//WEDNESDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 44.12 PTS OR 1.29%

//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 530.23 PTS OR 2.17%

// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 74.22 OR .20%%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.12%

//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2483 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2513/ Oil UP TO 68.61 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 71.79 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED

ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING

WEAkER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN WEAKER

END

END

END

END

ASIA TRADING FRIDAY MORNING/THURSDAY  NIGHT

A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE

3  CHINA
OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

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

7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A STRONG SIZED 5105 CONTRACTS TO 532,731 DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $3.05 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING/. WE LOST ZERO NET LONGS WITH THAT PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD. BUT AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR GAIN IN PRICE ALSO HAD A FAIR NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (1050 ).

THE CME ANNOUNCED THURSDAY NIGHT, 0 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS FOR NIL OZ OR NIL TONNES. LAST THURSDAY WAS THE FIRST ISSUANCE FOR MARCH FOR .4665 TONNES

IN FEBRUARY: WE HAD FIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISKS IN GOLD, TOTALLING 18.4527 TONNES!. 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:

1. THE BANK OF ENGLAND
2. 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 STRONG SIZED LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 4055 CONTRACTS WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE. OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON THURSDAY NIGHT AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED RAID AS THEY 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 REVERTED BACK TO 1% BUT GOLD IN LONDON IS STILL 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 OF MARCH CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY AND IT SURELY WAS ON DISPLAY TODAY INCLUDING WITH OUR HUMONGOUS T.A.S. ISSUANCES AND HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION// THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. THEY ISSUED LAST NIGHT A SMALL SIZED 875 CONTRACTS. THE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION OF THESE T.AS. CONTRACTS IS WHY WE ARE HAVING A LOWER COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAINS AND LOSSES IN OI BUT THIS IS COUPLED WITH HUGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY TO CONFUSE THE ISSUE!!!!! AND THIS WAS SURELY ON DISPLAY THURSDAY.

THE FED IS THE OTHER MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 22+ 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 211 212 213 AND FRIDAY’S 215 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 SEVERAL 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 NON ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF MARCH .…  THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A FAIR SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,

THAT IS A FAIR SIZED 1050 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: :  /APRIL  1050 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1050 CONTRACTS. THESE EFP;S CIRCLE AROUND LONDON ON A 13 DAY BASIS AND ARE NOW USED BY GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER BEING FORCED ONTO COMEX BANKS. THE GOLD GENERALLY DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON BUT THEY ARE OUT!! THUS COMEX BECOMES THE MAJOR SOURCE FOR OUR CENTRAL BANKERS.

ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 4055 CONTRACTS IN THAT 1050 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A FAIR LOSS OF 5105 COMEX  CONTRACTS..AND THIS LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR GAIN IN PRICE OF $3.05 FOR THURSDAY/ COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AS MENTIONED  ABOVE. ALL OF THE TOTAL LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES WAS DUE TO THE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS.

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 SMALL SIZED 875 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 4 WEEKS AGO AND AGAIN LAST WEEK,, THE FED HAS BEEN 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. DURING OPTIONS EXPIRY WEEK, A HUGE RAID WAS ORDERED BY THE FED WITH END OF THE MONTH TRADING ( FEB 25 THROUGH FEB 28) AS THE GOLD PRICE GOT HAMMERED A BIT WITH ONLY THE PAPER PRICE OF GOLD LOWERING! . AND NOW ,THIS MONTH, WE HAD+ ANOTHER 5 DAY MEGA ISSUANCE BUT CORRESPONDING MEGA RAIDS FAILED TO MATERIALIZE. I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT LAST WEDNESDAY’S 38,393 T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE IS THE HIGHEST ON RECORD!

THE RAIDS ON OPTIONS EXPIRY DOES TWO IMPORTANT THINGS FOR OUR CROOKS:

1. STALLS THE ADVANCE IN PRICE
2. LOWERS THEIR ADVANCING DERIVATIVE LOSSES.

MECHANICS OF T.A.S CONTRACTS/DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH.

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 FEB 25, THEIR HUGE RAID TO LOWER THE PRICE OF GOLD TO MAKE THEIR COMEX BETS WHOLE ON OPTIONS EXPIRY WEEK AND THUS THE NEED FOR CONTINUAL STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE AND THEN LIQUIDATION. 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 JANUARY OPTIONS EXPIRY TRADING AND AGAIN WITH FEBRUARY OPTION EXPIRY MONTH. HALF WAY THROUGH THE JANUARY COMEX MONTH, THE CROOKS ISSUED FIVE CONSECUTIVE 30,000+ CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF T.A.S KNOWING THAT THEY WERE GOING TO INITIATE HUGE RAIDS ON OUR METALS. THEN THEY ISSUED IN LATE FEB, ANOTHER 5 CONSECUTIVE 30,000+ ISSUANCES.THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN COMEX HISTORY THAT WE WILL HAVE THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF MEGA HUGE T.A.S CONTRACT ISSUANCES: JANUARY, FEB AND MARCH

STANDING FOR GOLD FOR THE PAST 4 PLUS YEARS:

// WE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING:   MARCH (58.2765 TONNES) WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR NON ACTIVE MARCH DELIVERY MONTH / FEB HAD THE HIGHEST STANDING FOR GOLD EVER RECORDED FOR ANY MONTH.

YEAR 2025:

JAN 2025: 113.30 TONNES

FEB: 2025: 256.607 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES 18.4567 TONNES OF EX FOR RISK)

AND NOW MARCH:

STANDING FOR GOLD : 57.810 TONNES + .4665 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 58.2765 TONNES  WHICH IS EXTREMELY HIGH FOR A NON DELIVERY MONTH.

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

NOV: 18.7122 TONNES + 16.2505 EX. FOR RISK   = 34.9627 TONNES

DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK =  51.707 TONNES

TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES

2024

JAN ’24.      22.706 TONNES

FEB. ’24:  66.276 TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)

MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES

APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL

MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325

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

JULY: 11.692 TONNES

AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING

SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.

OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES

NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES

DEC: 80.4230 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:/NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 238.153TONNES +18.4527 EX FOR RISK

= 256.607 TONNES.

MARCH: 58.2765 TONNES (INCLUDES .4665 TONNES EX FOR RISK)

COMEX GOLD TRADING/MARCH CONTRACT MONTH

THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY $3.05/)/AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A STRONG SIZED LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. BUT AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD HUGE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION THURSAY/RIGHT AFTER FOMC AS THEY WERE TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S ATTEMPT AT FURTHER INCREASES ABOVE $3,000 AND STOP HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES FROM ALSO RISING AND THEY FAILED MISERABLY AS GOLD IS NOW WELL ABOVE THE $3,000 THRESHOLD AT 3030 PLUS.

LAST NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING

THE CROOKS HOWEVER COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL THURSDAY EVENING/FRIDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE 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) THIS PAST MONTH.

EXCHANGE FOR RISK EXPLANATION/FEB THROUGH MARCH TRADING

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,FEB 4 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 28 ZERO EXCHANGE FOR RISK WAS ISSUED.

EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS/MONTH FOR MARCH

EARLY IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD OUR FIRST EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACT ISSUANCE IN MARCH FOR 150 CONTRACTS REPRESENTING 15,000 OZ OF GOLD OR .46656 TONNES. THE BANK OF ENGLAND IS STILL NOT SATISFIED AS THEY NEED TO RETRIEVE ALL OF ITS LOST GOLD THROUGH LEASING! THE 15,000 OZ WILL BE ADDED TO TODAY’S NORMAL DELIVERY TOTAL.

TOTAL INITIAL DELIVERIES MARCH GOLD TRADING

MARCH: 57.810 TONNES + .46556 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 58.2765 TONNES

WE HAVE LOST A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 12.612 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR MARCH (31.753TONNES) ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S STRONG QUEUE JUMP OF 9600 OZ OR 0.2986 TONNES: NEW TOTAL STANDING 57.810 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD OUR .4665 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL: 58.2765 TONNES

ALL OF THIS WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $3.05

WE HAD 3337 CONTRACTS REMOVED TO THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL

NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 4055 CONTRACTS OR 405,500 0Z (12.612 TONNES)

confirmed volume THURSDAY 176,017 contracts: fair///

//speculators have left the gold arena

END

MARCH

// THE MARCH 2025 GOLD CONTRACT

MARCH 21

INITIAL

dealer deposits:

:

dealer deposits: 0

weight .0 tonnes

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

deposits customer

we have 4 customer deposits

i) Into Brinks 56,264.250 oz (1750 kilobars
ii) Into JPMorgan customer; 16,163.922 oz
iii) Into JPMorgan enhanced: 161,223.620 oz or 403 London good delivery bars of 400 oz each.
iv) Into Malca: 108,509.625 oz or (3375 kilobars)

total weight: 342,162.625 oz (10.642 tonnes)
total weight dealer and customer; 10.642 tonnes

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

withdrawals: 1

Out of Brinks 45,750.820 oz (1423 kilobars)

total withdrawal 45,750.820 oz

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

adjustments: customer to dealer:

i)Brinks 16,011.138 oz

dealer to customer

ii) JPMorgan 7919.620 ooz

AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR MARCH

THE FRONT MONTH OF MARCH HAD A LOSS OF 206 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 716. WE HAD 302 CONTRACTS SERVED ON THURSDAY SO WE GAINED 96 CONTRACTS FOR 9600 OZ (.2986 TONNES AS A PHYSICAL GOLD QUEUE JUMP. THIS IS CENTRAL BANKS LOOKING FOR BADLY NEEDED GOLD

APRIL HAD A LOSS OF 9658 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 242,769 CONTRACTS AS THIS MONTH BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH. APRIL IS STILL QUITE LOFTY AND NO DOUBT WE WILL HAVE A HUMONGOUS AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR THE APRIL DELIVERY MONTH!

MAY GAINED 31 CONTRACTS UP TO 1295.

We had 111 contracts filed for today representing 11,100oz  

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 111 contract(s) of which 0  notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 10 notice(s) was (were) stopped  (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account   

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for MARCH /2025. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (17,981 X 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  MARCH (716 CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today  (111 x 100 oz per contract) equals  1,859,600 OZ  OR 57.810 TONNES to which we add our .4665 tonnes exchange for risk//new total tonnage standing: 58.2765 tonnes

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the MARCH contract month:  No of notices filed so far (17,981x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of MARCH (716 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (111 x 100 oz) which equals  1,859,600 OZ OR 57.810 TONNES + .4665 ex for risk //new total 58.2765 tonnes

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR MARCH.: 58.2765 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS NON ACTIVE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR. FEBRUARY HAD THE HIGHEST DELIVERY FOR ANY MONTH AND MARCH IS FOLLOWING SUIT..

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC  5.94 TONNES

204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED  MANFRA 3.08 TONNES

83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1  1.690 tonnes

265,999.054, oz  JPM No 2 

1,152,376.639 oz pledged  Brinks/

Manfra:  33,758.550 oz

Delaware: 193.721 oz

International Delaware::  11,188.542 oz

total pledged gold: 1,972, 118.482 oz 61.34 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 41,891,156.382.oz  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 20,842,150.598 or 648.27 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD: 21,049,005.784 OZ  

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON: 18,870,032oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 586.93tonnes //

END

SILVER/COMEX

// THE MARCH 2025  SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL

MARCH 21

INITIAL

i)  0 entries

total dealer 0 oz

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

deposits customer side

3 entries

i) Into CNT 389,682.250 ooz
ii) Into ASAHI 322,679.3000 oz
iii) Into JPMorgan 1,195,087.300 oz


total weight 1,907,448.8500 oz

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

withdrawals 2

2 entries

i) Out of Brinks 304,488.02 oz

ii) Out of Ashai 1964.400 oz

total withdrawal 306,452.430 oz

xxx

ADJUSTMENTs 4 entries//all customer to dealer:

a) Brinks 1049,892.293 oz

b) Out of CNT 409,848.530 oz

c) Out of Delaware: 75,856.171 oz

d) Out of Manfra 575,202.750 oz

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 182.684million oz/458.086oz million  or 39.91%

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 156.439 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 458.086Million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR MARCH

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF MARCH /2025 OI: 1203 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 148 CONTRACTS.WE HAD 195 CONTRACTS SERVED ON THURSDAY SO WE GAINED 47 CONTRACTS OR 0.235 MILLION OZ UNDERWENT A STRONG QUEUE JUMP LOOKING FOR METAL OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND. WE MUST NOW ADD THAT CRAZY 70 CONTRACT EX FOR RISK/PRIOR FOR 350,000 OZ. THE BANK OF ENGLAND OR ANOTHER OFFICIAL ENTITY IS ASSUMING THE RISK OF DELIVERY AND THE COUNTERPARTY ARE BULLION BANKS WHO CANNOT GUARANTEE DELIVERY.

APRIL SAW A GAIN OF 3 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 2383

MAY SAW A LOSS OF 1193 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 126,961 CONTRACTS

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 253 or 1.265 MILLION oz

CONFIRMED volume; ON THURSDAY 55,421 small//

AND NOW MARCH DELIVERIES:

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in MARCH. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 15,187 X5,000 oz = 75.935 MILLION oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of MAR (716) AND the number of notices served upon today (253 )x (5000 oz)

Thus the  standings for silver for the MARCH 2025 contract month:  (15,187) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of MAR(716) minus number of notices served upon today (253)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the MARCH contract month equating to 80.685 MILLION OZ TO WHICH WE ADD .350 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL 80.985 MILLION OZ//

 New total standing:  80.895 million oz which is huge for this very active delivery month of March.

We must also keep in mind that there is considerable silver standing in London coming from our longs in New York that underwent EFP transfers.

There are 151.518million 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/

MARCH 21  WITH GOLD DOWN $20.50 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 910.43 TONNES

MARCH 20  WITH GOLD UP $3.05 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 909.28 TONNES

MARCH 19  WITH GOLD UP $0.45 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 907.27 TONNES

MARCH 18  WITH GOLD UP $34.05 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.86 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 907.27 TONNE

MARCH 17  WITH GOLD UP $34.05 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.64 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 906.41 TONNES

MARCH 14  WITH GOLD UP $9.75 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MONSTER DEPOSIT OF 7.17 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 905.81 TONNES

MARCH 13  WITH GOLD UP $42.85 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 3.44 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 898.64 TONNES

MARCH 12  WITH GOLD UP $22.10 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 3.90 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 895.20 TONNES

MARCH 11  WITH GOLD UP $21.20 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.45 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 891.30 TONNES

MARCH 10  WITH GOLD DOWN $12.45 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.30 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 894.317 TONNES

MARCH 7  WITH GOLD DOWN $12.00 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 898.64 TONNES

MARCH 6  WITH GOLD UP $2.10 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES TONNES OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 900.30 TONNES

MARCH 5  WITH GOLD UP $6.75 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.87 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 901.80 TONNES

MARCH 4  WITH GOLD UP $19.05 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.45 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 900.93 TONNES

MARCH 3  WITH GOLD UP $50.70 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 904.38 TONNES

FEB 28  WITH GOLD DOWN $44.70 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 904.38 TONNES

FEB 26  WITH GOLD DOWN $40,85 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 3.45 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 907.83 TONNES

FEB 25  WITH GOLD DOWN $40,85 TODAY HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 3.45 TONNES INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 907.83 TONNES

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

GLD INVENTORY: 910.43 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL

SILVER

MARCH 21 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.45 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.092 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 442.962 MILLION

MARCH 20 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.15 /NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 444.054 MILLION

MARCH 19 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.45 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.219 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 444.054 MILLION

MARCH 18 WITH SILVER UP $0.21 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 4.823 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 444.373 MILLION

MARCH 17 WITH SILVER UP $0.03 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 4.096 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 439.550 MILLION

MARCH 14 WITH SILVER UP $0.04 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.910 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435.454 MILLION

MARCH 13 WITH SILVER UP $0.46 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.774 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 434.544 MILLION

MARCH 12 WITH SILVER UP $0.57 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.032 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435.318 MILLION

MARCH 11 WITH SILVER UP $0.60 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.816 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 436.410 MILLION

MARCH 10 WITH SILVER DOWN 25 CENTS/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.276 MILLION OZ INTO THE THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 435.591 MILLION

MARCH 7 WITH SILVER DOWN 40 CENTS/HUGL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.184 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 434.317 MILLION

MARCH 6 WITH SILVER UP 16 CENTS//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.455 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 436.046 MILLION

MARCH 5 WITH SILVER UP 82 CENTS//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.172 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 436.501 MILLION OZ

MARCH 4 WITH SILVER UP 9 CENTS//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.82 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 436.673 MILLION OZ

MARCH 3 WITH SILVER UP $0.78//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.819 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 438.493 MILLION OZ

FEB 28 WITH SILVER DOWN 0.56//SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.819 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 438.493 MILLION OZ

FEB 26 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.90//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 6,245 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 441.4061MILLION OZ

FEB 25 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.90//HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 6,245 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV. //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 441.4061MILLION OZ

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

CLOSING INVENTORY 442.962 MILLION OZ//

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY

Alasdair Macleod..

Gold pauses, silver retreats

There is a Comex options contract expiry next week and 240,000 April contracts are yet to be sold, rolled, or stood for delivery. But after this disruption powerful bullish factors will return.

Gold rose this week, but silver declined. No doubt, the difference is that gold is being hoarded by central banks while silver is not. In this market report, we look at how this is affecting the two metals.

Gold rose this week, while silver declined moderately. In European trade this morning, gold was $3030, up $45 while silver was down 83 cents at $33. Comex trading in both were moderate, despite gold hitting new highs at $3057 yesterday morning (Thursday).

The charts of price and open interest put current market action in context.

Gold has seen some recovery in Open Interest which is beginning to drive current price performance. But silver, which has a relatively higher open interest position has yet to challenge the highs of last October. Normally, we would see silver moving up nearly twice as fast as gold, but as the headline chart illustrates, while silver has been more volatile than gold, it is only level-pegging this year so far, leaving the gold silver ratio at a high 91.5 times.

Silver requires long-suffering patience. But if gold continues its bull trend, we can expect silver to do better with some rapid catching up to do. It appears to depend on what is happening in gold.

There are a number of factors specific to gold, which we will consider in turn:

· The massive transfer of physical gold into Comex warehouses is to cover stand-for delivery commitments which have accumulated since the Covid crisis and accelerated in recent months to an annualised pace of about 1,700 tonnes. The threat of US tariffs making the importation of gold to cover these commitments more expensive was enough to trigger panic buying of Comex futures by bullion banks yet to honour deliveries.

· With gold hitting new highs and being the best performing asset class in the first quarter of 2025, investment managers and others are just beginning to realise they should readjust their portfolios by selling current poor performers such as techs and financials and reinvest in gold and related mines. This is a trend likely to build over the remainder of this year.

· While there is no verifiable evidence, it is logical to assume that central banks are withdrawing from leasing activities. It makes no sense for this community to be accumulating massive quantities of bullion and then to lose control of it by leasing. The current withdrawal of leased bullion from the Bank of England’s vault to disappear into the markets never to return underlines this point.

Withdrawing bullion supplies by refusing to roll over existing leases is sure to lead to significant market difficulties. The bullion bank establishment has relied on gold leasing to oil the wheels of the market and its ringmasters, the BIS, NY Fed, and Bank of England are running out of ways to persuade central banks to continue leasing their gold reserves.

In short, it looks like a perfect storm is brewing for gold, threatening to devastate long-standing paper market assumptions. But in the very short term, we have an option expiry next week, and the shorts will probably try hard to get the price below $3000 to make 6,700 Comex calls expire worthless.

2, EGON VON GREYERZ AND OTHER GOLD COMMENTARIES

3.. CHRIS POWELL AND DAILY GATA DISPATCHES

Silver price suppression, long obvious, starts to break through at Kitco

Submitted by admin on Fri, 2025-03-21 09:38 Section: Daily Dispatches

9:39a ET Friday, March 21, 2025

Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):

Market analyst and financial letter writer Jesse Colombo this week produced an excellent summary of silver price suppression. While nothing about it will be new to those who have followed GATA’s work, it is sensational all the same, insofar as it has been posted at Kitco.com, nearly the last monetary metals-oriented news organization to acknowledge the obvious, having long prohibited mention of monetary metals price suppression arising from government policy

Kitco’s new stance of “now it can be told” indicates that nearly everyone seriously involved with the monetary metals knows the score even if people are still reluctant to discuss it lest they risk aggravating governments and their agents in the financial industry.

The contest for free and transparent markets in the monetary metals and limited and accountable government generally isn’t over. It isn’t even won yet. But Kitco’s change of stance shows things are changing, even if they might change faster if financial journalism had the integrity and courage to stand up to power and tell the truth all along.

Colombo’s commentary is headlined “The Mechanics of Silver Price Suppression” and can be found at Kitco here:

CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc.
CPowell@GATA.org

END

UK regulator fines London Metal Exchange for nickel futures blowup

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2025-03-20 09:34 Section: Daily Dispatches

By Elliot Gulliver-Needham
City AM, London
via MSN, Redmond, Washington 
Thursday, March 20, 2025

The Financial Conduct Authority handed a landmark L9.2 million fine to the London Metal Exchange after it failed to prevent extreme volatility in the nickel market in March 2022.

In its first enforcement action against an investment exchange, the FCA criticised the exchange’s systems and controls that did not ensure “orderly trading under conditions of severe market stress.”

The London Metal Exchange decided to scrap billions in nickel trades in March 2022, after fears around the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent metal prices rocketing.

Prices more than doubled during the morning of March 8, 2022, to over $100,000 (£77,000), with most of the rise occurring in just an hour.

“These events undermined the orderliness of and confidence in the London Metal Exchange’s market,” the watchdog said, adding that the exchange’s processes for escalating unusual or hazardous market conditions to managers “were inadequate.”

During the exchange’s Asian trading hours, from 1 to 7 a.m. in the UK, the FCA said, only “relatively junior trading operations staff” were on duty and they had not been trained to recognise all potential causes of a disorderly market. …

… For the remainder of the report:

END

Fed says it will slow balance sheet runoff process

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2025-03-20 09:20 Section: Daily Dispatches

By Michael S. Derby
Reuters
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve said today that starting next month it will slow the pace of its balance sheet drawdown amid an ongoing impasse over lifting the government’s borrowing limit, a shift that will likely hold for the remainder of the process.

The announcement came as part of a Federal Open Market Committee meeting that left the central bank’s interest rate target unchanged, as officials deal with considerable uncertainty and a souring public mood around the economic outlook tied to aggressive and often chaotic policy changes by the Trump administration. …

Alasdair Macleod: The gold leasing scam is over

Submitted by admin on Thu, 2025-03-20 09:02 Section: Daily Dispatches

This analysis was published Wednesday in Alasdair Macleod’s financial letter at Substack and is republished here by his kind permission. Macleod’s letter is published every few days and a seven-day free trial subscription is available. Rates are $10 per month or $120 per year. To subscribe, please visit:

* * *

By Alasdair Macleod
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Before 2002 analyst Frank Veneroso estimated that between a third and half of all central bank gold had been leased or swapped, sold into the market and lost. 

More recently, leasing centres such as the Bank of England transferred ownership from lessor to lessee by book entry transfer, the gold not normally leaving the vault. That changed with the recent panic, with lessees queuing up to take gold out of the bank’s vault and ship it to New York

This article is about the gold leasing trade, and why the sudden return to conditions before the book-entry transfer system threatens a new liquidity crisis in spot markets.

… Gold leasing before 2002 …

Following the abandonment of Bretton Woods in 1971, the U.S. Treasury embarked on an anti-gold campaign. 

In the early days it was crude, consisting of anti-gold propaganda and very public auction sales into the market designed to kill investor appetite. The sales were swallowed up by eager buyers, so they were quickly stopped. 

We don’t know the extent of secret sales since then or if they even took place. The suspicion is that they did, and that the U.S. Treasury’s stock of gold is considerably less than the 8,133-odd tonnes consistently reported for at least the last 25 years.

Subsequent to the early auctions, there was no need for these sales when the Treasury or its Exchange Stabilisation Fund could deal in the paper markets instead. Perhaps the Treasury has been content to misdirect everyone’s attention away from the real trouble stored up for the future, which is the topic of this article.

Because of its consequences, the more serious manipulation is the additional physical supply into markets from gold leasing. It is serious because paper manipulation is short-term, while extra supplies of physical bullion are a long-term commitment, storing up trouble for the future when the truth is eventually revealed.

The evidence of this extra supply is unequivocal. Over 20 years ago, analyst Frank Veneroso reported:

“We estimated from BIS data that the total amount of the gross gold derivatives of the bullion bankers, all 37 of them, has been somewhat more than 40,000 tonnes. That would suggest something like 10.000 to 16,000 tonnes of gold have departed from the official sector as a result of official gold lending.”

See: https://www.gata.org/node/5275

In his article Veneroso went on to examine gold leasing/lending by central banks from different angles and came to similar conclusions every time: that by 2002 between one third and one half of the reported 33,000 tonnes of central bank gold had gone AWOL.

Gold leasing had been going on for some time. Originally, a user of gold such as a jewelry business would lease a quantity of gold based on its estimate of demand for fabrication for a given period. It would then buy it forward so that at the end of the lease he could deliver it back to the lessor. This meant that the jeweler didn’t have to buy the gold up front, and he effectively borrowed it.

In the early-1980s banks, shadow banks, and the emerging hedge fund industry got involved and the carry trade into high-yielding U.S. Treasury bills began. The London Bullion Market Association forward market rapidly expanded.

The attraction to hedge funds and shadow banks (such as Goldman Sachs, which was not a licenced bank in those days) was that they could lease gold at, say, 1%, and buy T-bills yielding considerably more, as this chart illustrates:

Particularly when leveraged, the returns over the lease rate were fantastic. It was the grandfather of all carry trades. But it required the leased gold to be sold to raise the dollars to buy the T-bills. Veneroso concluded that most of the leased gold sold was not repurchased and had disappeared into the market.

I do not see commercial banks necessarily being directly involved. They had no need to fund the liability side of their balance sheets by leasing gold because they merely created the credit to invest directly into U.S. T-bills. But gold leasing was a trade that gave impetus to the new hedge fund industry and other shadow banks not licenced to create bank credit. 

The role of commercial banks’ bullion bank subsidiaries was simply to make a market and trade in the over the counter forward contracts demanded by the shadow banks hedging their lease obligations.

Indeed, in this light the policies and attitudes of the LBMA can be better understood.

Like the jewelry trade pre-1980s, we can assume that these shadow banks would have bought contracts to cover their lease obligations. For example, if a hedge fund leases 10 tonnes of gold from a central bank for six months, it would be prudent to buy the same quantity of gold for forward settlement in six months’ time.

That doesn’t mean that on expiry of the lease the gold is delivered. With the agreement of the lessor, the lessee may be able to extend the lease, or it might sell the lease before it terminates. Or it could go to the Bank for International Settlements, the Bank of England, or the New York Fed, all of which managed lease contracts, to roll them over and not have to deliver. 

It was the birth of a new gold-derivative industry centred in London, and central banks were keen to support it, given its income generation for them.

… As gold price fell, leasing became more profitable …

The 1980-2002 period saw the gold price decline from the 1981 highs of over $800 to $250, adding to the general profitability of this lease trade and encouraging its growth. Importantly, it suited the U.S. Treasury, which was determined to remove gold from the international monetary system and replace it with the Fed’s dollar. By increasing the supply of gold into the market, gold leasing served this purpose and helped fund the U.S. budget at the same time.

Things probably changed from the mid-’90s onwards, with leased gold remaining in the BIS, Bank of England, and New York Fed vaults, the change of possession from lessor to lessee being evidenced by book-entry transfer and a vault confirmation of a lessee’s ownership. It meant that leased gold no longer needed to leave the vault where the original central bank owner had it stored. But it also meant that ownership of many of the bars recorded as the property of central banks were actually owned by commercial entities.

It probably explains why the New York Fed was reluctant to return Germany’s gold when the Bundesbank requested the repatriation of some of its gold from the New York Fed’s vaults. And more troublingly, it suggests that the New York Fed was leasing earmarked Bundesbank gold without the Bundesbank’s agreement, which would explain why the returned bars did not match Bundesbank records.

The book-entry transfer system doesn’t eliminate the earlier problem of gold disappearing from the system. It simply replaces it with dual ownership. Gold continues to be used for collateralised finance, particularly since Basel 3 classified it as a high-quality liquid asset for the purposes of bank balance sheet capital adequacy calculations.

This raises the question of what happens if for any reason the additional gold supply arising from dual ownership of central bank gold ceases and begins to reverse.

… As leased gold is returned, liquidity declines … 

This is particularly relevant because of the recent run on deliveries from the Bank of England’s vaults destined for New York and reported deliveries out of Switzerland, to the extent that they involve gold held by the Bank for International Settlements. We can be almost certain that these deliveries are of leased gold, temporarily possessed by shadow banks but due to be returned to the ownership of central banks on expiry of their leases.

It should be emphasised that leased gold is the property of the lessee for the duration of the lease. If the lessee wishes to withdraw it from, say, the Bank of England’s vault, it is free to do so. The recent significant premiums to spot on Comex was such a reason, creating a physical arbitrage sucking liquidity out of other gold trading centres as well as London. This chart shows the surge in stocks in Comex warehouses:

Since end-October, Comex warehouse stocks increased by 728.5 tonnes. The previous peak followed Covid lockdowns when a similar panic occurred. These are not normal levels.

Given the general lack of liquidity in global gold markets, the bulk of this is almost certainly central bank gold on lease. Indeed, according to Bank of England vault figures, between end-October and February, 260.4 tonnes were delivered out, and there will be more by the end of March. That probably leaves about half the surge in Comex warehouse stocks coming from elsewhere.

With gold surmounting $3,000 and foreign central banks becoming increasingly nervous of Trump’s trade and U.S. monetary policies, the lessors might decide not to renew leases. This will have the effect of withdrawing physical supply from global markets at a time when portfolio reallocations are likely to increase demand for physical gold. Only one thing can happen: Prices will go higher until a new balance between supply and demand is found.

A very real danger in this is that gold will behave like a Giffen good, and that balance not be found. Demand increases as the price increases, because the entire investment universe of nearly $300 trillion is underweight in gold, gold exchange-traded funds, and gold mines. Gold is the best-performing asset class in Q1 this year and is bound to lead to portfolio rebalancing as other investment sectors are sold down. The table below illustrates this point to March 13, after which gold has risen even further:

No fund manager will want to show no gold and gold-related positions at the quarter end, which is only days away.

In that event, short positions that are half the entire paper gold universe of many billions of dollars will rush to close. Gold could even go bid-only with no sellers, signaling that the paper market leasing scam is over.

—–

Alasdair Macleod began his career as a stockbroker at the London Stock Exchange in 1970. Since then he has been an investment manager and an executive director of an offshore bank in Guernsey.

END

Brown’s bottom!!

(Jeremy Warner)

Jeremy Warner: Pity Gordon Brown, who sacrificed Britain’s riches

Submitted by admin on Wed, 2025-03-19 10:14 Section: Daily Dispatches

By Jeremy Warner
The Telegraph, London
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Poor old Gordon Brown. There were many positives about his time as Chancellor, which compared with today seems like a golden age of above-trend growth, tame inflation and relative stability in the public finances.

He was also instrumental in keeping the UK out of the euro, and played a key role in galvanising a global response to the financial crisis, thereby arguably preventing the world economy from sliding into a second great depression.

But one thing he will also forever be remembered for was the wholly unnecessary, not to say completely unfathomable, decision to sell off nearly half of the nation’s gold reserves at a time when prices were near multi-decade lows.

He will no doubt have been reminded of this historic blunder on seeing the gold price surge to a new all-time high of more than $3,000 per troy ounce this week.

Between 1999 and 2002, the UK sold 395 tonnes of gold at an average price of $275 per ounce to realise a grand total — much of which was reinvested in euro and dollar-denominated securities — of L3.5 billion. Today, those same reserves would be worth $38.5 billion. By any measure, this must count as one of the worst investment decisions in British economic history.

What made the decision doubly worse is that the intention was pre-announced, causing the price to move violently against the seller. Overnight, it became a buyers’ market.

Over the years, numerous conspiracy theories have been advanced to explain the decision.

One was to bail out bullion banks, some of which had been borrowing or shorting gold to invest in higher yielding assets – the so-called “gold carry trade.” Another was to prop up the still nascent euro; an attempt, in other words, to demonstrate support for Europe’s monetary union even though Brown had little intention of joining it. …

… For the remainder of the commentary:

* * *

4. ANDREW MAGUIRE PODCAST

a must view…

Episode 215

5B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES: COMMODITY//eggs

the worst President in USA history!

Supply Chain Sabotage? Biden “Killed 8 Million Chickens” Right Before Trump Entered Office

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 08:30 PM

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posted an image showing that the Biden-Harris regime ramped up mass cullings of egg-laying hens nationwide due to “bird flu” ahead of President Trump taking office. Questions are swirling over whether the misguided cullings resulted from sheer incompetence or deliberate sabotage.

“The Biden Administration killed nearly 8 MILLION chickens ahead of President Trump’s Inauguration, leading to supply shortages and higher prices,” Leavitt wrote on X, adding, “The Egg Crisis is Biden’s Crisis — but President Trump and @SecRollins are fixing it!” 

Earlier this month, Elon Musk wrote on X, “It’s true. There was an insane slaughter of 150 million egg-laying chickens ordered by the Biden administration.” 

Democrats and the leftist corporate media cult tried to pin the egg crisis on Trump. 

However… 

• February 27: Trump’s Bold Plan: Boost Egg Imports To Reverse Biden’s Bird Flu Blunder That Tanked Nation’s Hen Population

And more countermeasures by Trump to resolve Biden’s crisis:

• March 7: US Scours World For Egg Supplies After Biden’s “Insane Slaughter Of 150 Million Chickens”

Last month, Dr. Robert Malone questioned Biden’s mass culling approach to limiting bird flu outbreaks.

https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1895099609334042772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1895099609334042772%7Ctwgr%5E0996b77fb75fcff3da93d9e58389babf7bdb6cf2%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fcommodities%2Fsupply-chain-sabotage-biden-killed-8-million-chickens-right-trump-entered-office

One can’t help but wonder whether the Biden-Harris regime intentionally disrupted food supply chains to sabotage Trump.

6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS

ASIA TRADING FRIDAY MORNING THURDAY  NIGHT

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 44.12 PTS OR 1.29%

//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 530.23 PTS OR 2.17%

// Nikkei CLOSED DOWN 74.22 OR .20%%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.12%

//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2483 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.2513/ Oil UP TO 68.61 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 71.79 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED

ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN/ONSHORE YUAN  TRADING

WEAkER AGAINST US DOLLAR/OFFSHORE YUAN WEAKER

END

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED DOWN AT 7.2483

OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.2531

SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 44.12 PTS OR 1.29%

HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 530.23 PTS OR 2.17%

2. Nikkei closed

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL RED

USA dollar INDEX UP TO  103.54// EURO FALLS TO 1.0844 DOWN 9 BASIS PT HEADING TO PARITY WITH USA

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.499//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 148.88…… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE RE EMERGING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AFTER DISASTROUS POLICY ISSUED BY UEDA

3c Nikkei now  ABOVE 17,000

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

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

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

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

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

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD DOWN TO +2.7495/Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.809 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.395

3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.571

3j Gold at $3012.50 Silver at: 32.94  1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 33 /100  roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 84.60

3m oil into the 68 dollar handle for WTI and  71 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 148.88 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.599 % 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 0.8806 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF:   0.9548 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: 4.212 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.536 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  3.936 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 38.01…

10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.7100 UP 6 PTS

10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.000 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.653 DOWN 2 PTS.

2a New York OPENING REPORT

Futures Drop Ahead Of $4.7 Trillion OpEx As Dismal Earnings Sour Sentiment

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 08:27 AM

US equity futures are lower, as are European and Asian markets, with sentiment after the latest batch of earnings after yesterday’s close were mostly mixed or negative (particularly Fedex and Nike, both of which guided lower again). S&P500 futs are down 0.2%, off session lows, with the index facing an additional test on Friday in the form of a huge option expiration quad-witching. Nasdaq futures dropped 0.3% with all Lag 7 names lower led by NVDA -1.2%, and TSLA -0.7%. Micron reversed an earlier gain after reporting earnings after hours and was down 3%-premarket amid margin weakness. 10Y Treasury yields are down 4bps while the dollar reversed an earlier gain. In commodities, oil markets are already feeling the effect of the first effort to target a vast private processing industry, with traders preparing for significant disruption after Washington’s move to sanction a Chinese refiner over its Iranian links. London’s Heathrow airport will be closed all day Friday and service interruptions are likely to continue for days after a nearby fire cut power to the hub and brought travel to a standstill. Today, the macro data calendar is largely quiet, with eyes on any additional headlines from the White House.

In premarket trading, TSLA stock was down even as Elon Musk sought to reassure Tesla employees that despite “rocky moments,” they should “hang onto” their stock. Other Mag 7 names were also mostly lower (Alphabet -0.2%, Amazon -0.2%, Apple -0.7%, Microsoft -0.2%, Meta +0.2%, Nvidia -0.7% and Tesla -0.1%). Nike tumbled 6% as the company signaled further declines in revenue and profitability due to an ongoing merchandise reset and the impact of US tariffs on products from China and Mexico. FedEx was just as ugly, sliding 7% after the parcel delivery company lowered its full-year guidance for a third consecutive quarter, citing inflation and uncertain demand for shipments. Here are some other notable premarket movers:

• Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALNY) gains 5% after the company won expanded approval for a heart drug that could be the biggest boon yet for the 23-year-old biotech and put it in competition with Pfizer Inc.
• Lennar Corp. (LEN) declines 4% after the homebuilder’s margin guidance came in below expectations amid a challenging US housing market.
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) inches 2% higher after Bloomberg reported the White House is poised to announce on Friday the winner of its contest to build the next-generation fighter jet, choosing between the aerospace giant and peer Boeing.
• Luminar (LAZR) climbs 8% after the automotive technology company reported revenue for the fourth quarter that beat the average analyst estimate.
• Nio Inc. (NIO) ADRs slip 4% after the Chinese electric vehicle maker now expects to deliver only as many as 43,000 cars in the three months that will end March 31; that’s short of the around 65,000 units the market was looking for.
• Ouster Inc. (OUST) rises 5% after the maker of sensors used in robotics posted 4Q revenue that increased 23% from the year-ago period and beat estimates.
• Planet Labs (PL) slides 9% after the Earth imaging company’s revenue outlook disappointed.

The S&P 500 is up slightly this week, following four weeks of losses. As previewed yesterday, stocks face a big test today in the form of another massive quad-witching , an event that can stoke volatility as options contracts worth $4.7 trillion head for expiry, including $2.8 trillion of S&P index and $645 billion of single stock options. Goldman doesn’t see the gamma picture getting meaningfully better as we continue to be well below most call overwriting strikes. Interesting to note that since the close on March 10, S&P is up 48pts, but VIX spot is down more than 8pts. This demonstrates the vol destruction the past week, even as the market itself has not recovered much. Further, we have seen fixed strike vol compression every day this week as vol supply has not let up for even 1 day

Not helping matters was the latest batch of dour earnings from FDX and NKE which added to concerns over a worsening global economic outlook, especially ahead of Trump’s April 2 deadline for a series of broad reciprocal tariffs. While the Federal Reserve has indicated it sees room to cut interest rates, many economists fear the inflationary impact of tariffs will hinder central banks from delivering support to slowing economies. 

“The Fed revised their growth forecast lower earlier this week, so the whole street is moving their forecast lower. But they could have further to go,” said Michael Metcalfe, head of macro strategy at State Street Global Markets. “We just need to see whether what we’ve seen so far this year is the start of something more serious in terms of slow growth.”

Despite the challenges, investors haven’t entirely given up on equities with US stock funds enjoying the largest weekly inflows this year on a view that the trade war won’t derail the economy or equity market, BofA’s Michael Hartnett said.

Meanwhile, the Turkish lira headed for its biggest weekly crash in nearly two years, shrugging off an emergency rate increase in the face of mounting political tensions. Istanbul stocks were halted again, after plunging as much as 7%, having shed $30 billion in value this week.

European stocks decline, with the Stoxx 600 down 0.7%. Regional airline stocks underperform after London’s Heathrow airport was shuttered by a major fire nearby.  Here are some of the biggest movers on Friday:

• Asos shares jump as much as 25%, their best day in nearly five years, after the online fashion retailer reiterated it expects a “significant improvement” in profitability in the first half.
• Energean shares rise as much as 5.8% after the oil and gas company said it has terminated a deal to sell natural gas assets to a unit of Carlyle Group.
• Tele2 shares gain as much as 3.4%, the most since January, after the Swedish telecommunications firm was upgraded to overweight from neutral at JPMorgan.
• IAG shares fall as much as 4.3% after British Airways hub Heathrow Airport was forced to close all day Friday after a nearby fire caused a power outage.
• Douglas shares fall as much as 23.5%, the most ever and to a record low, after the German beauty product retailer issued a profit warning.
• Wetherspoon shares slide as much as 12%, hitting a two-year low, after Shore Capital said it expects consensus estimates to fall after the pub chain’s results came in softer than anticipated in the first half.
• Amadeus Fire shares plunge as much as 13% after the German recruiter said it expects a significant fall in profit this year as the economic environment continues to deteriorate
• Ceres Power shares fall as much as 13% after the British fuel-cell technology company reported revenue that came in short of expectations and a guidance for 2025 that suggests no major commercial developments near term, according to RBC
• Polish Banks fall after Poland’s EU Funds Minister Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, member of junior coalition party, floated the idea of windfall tax for banks amid the industry’s record profit

Earlier in the session, Asian stocks fell as a selloff in Chinese shares extended amid a lack of catalysts, while traders braced for US President Donald Trump’s upcoming tariffs. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined as much as 0.7%, with Alibaba and TSMC among the biggest drags. Benchmarks in Taiwan, mainland China and Hong Kong declined, while South Korea gained. MSCI’s regional gauge is still headed for a nearly 2% advance this week. Chinese shares in Hong Kong posted their biggest two-day drop since October as traders digested earnings and awaited further policy catalysts.
“With the ‘Two Sessions’ now behind us, market attention has shifted to looming tariff risks set to take effect in less than two weeks, which may prompt investors to adjust their positioning amid the uncertainty,” said Jun Rong Yeap, market strategist at IG Asia. 

In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2% but was off session highs. The yen reversed a 0.3% drop against the greenback and was now higher. The pound and the euro lose 0.2% each. Spot gold drops $13 to around $3,032/oz. 

In rates, treasuries inch higher, pushing US 10-year yields down about 2 bps to 4.22%. Euro-area government bonds also advance with traders now pricing in two more quarter-point European Central Bank reductions this year.  Gilts fall, underperforming peers across the curve, after UK government borrowing topped estimates in February. UK 10-year yields rise 4 bps to 4.69%.

In commodities, European natural gas futures rise over 2% after an attack on a pumping station in Russia’s Kursk region. Oil prices dip, with WTI down 0.4% near $67.81 a barrel. Gold held near record highs, as several banks raised their price forecasts for the haven asset. Gold funds have seen the biggest four-week inflow ever, the BofA data showed. 

Looking to the day ahead, data releases include the UK GfK consumer confidence for March whilst in France there’s the manufacturing confidence for March and retail sales for February. Additionally, Eurozone consumer confidence for March and Italy’s current account balance for January will also be published. Outside of the Eurozone, we have Canada retail sales for January. Otherwise from central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Williams and the ECB’s Escriva.

Market Snapshot

• S&P 500 futures down 0.4% to 5,638.25
• STOXX Europe 600 down 0.9% to 548.14
• MXAP down 0.5% to 188.95
• MXAPJ down 0.8% to 588.93
• Nikkei down 0.2% to 37,677.06
• Topix up 0.3% to 2,804.16
• Hang Seng Index down 2.2% to 23,689.72
• Shanghai Composite down 1.3% to 3,364.83
• Sensex up 0.6% to 76,786.38
• Australia S&P/ASX 200 up 0.2% to 7,931.23
• Kospi up 0.2% to 2,643.13
• German 10Y yield little changed at 2.76%
• Euro down 0.2% to $1.0825
• Brent Futures up 0.2% to $72.14/bbl
• Gold spot down 0.4% to $3,031.74
• US Dollar Index up 0.21% to 104.07

Top Overnight News

• Britain’s Heathrow Airport was shut on Friday after a huge fire at a nearby substation knocked out its power, stranding passengers around the world and angering airlines who questioned how such crucial infrastructure could collapse
• Germany’s new era of big spending is pulling up borrowing costs across Europe, reigniting jitters around fiscal stability on the continent’s periphery.
• Trump posted “Egg prices are WAY DOWN from the Biden inspired prices if just a few weeks ago. “Groceries” and Gasoline are down, also. Now, if the Fed would do the right thing and lower interest rates, that would be great!!!”
• Trump posted “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!… STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”.
• Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth are to deliver remarks from the Oval Office today at 11:00EDT/15:00GMT, according to the White House.
• President Trump denied a report that the Pentagon was going to brief Elon Musk about the US military’s plan for any war with China.
• Elon Musk sought to reassure Tesla Inc. employees during what he referred to as “a little bit of stormy weather,” after the carmaker’s shares plunged more than 50% in just three months.
• White House has commenced a review of Federal Agency plans for a 2nd round of mass layoffs: RTRS
• The Israeli cabinet voted early on Friday to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet domestic intelligence service effective April 10, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, after three days of protests against the move.
• Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves is set to overshoot her borrowing forecasts significantly for the current fiscal year, highlighting the fragile state of the UK’s public finances ahead of a key economic statement next week.
• Germany’s move to unlock hundreds of billions of euros in debt-financed defense and infrastructure spending passed its final legislative hurdle on Friday when lawmakers in the upper house of parliament in Berlin approved the measures.
• The financial industry is abandoning caution and chasing the rally in European stocks, hiking their targets and looking to the upside.
• President Xi Jinping’s government is set to welcome a US senator close to Donald Trump for talks in China, as the world’s largest economies try to move forward trade negotiations that have stalled at lower levels. 
• China’s imports of US cotton, cars and some energy products all plunged in the first two months of the year after President Donald Trump started imposing tariffs and Beijing retaliated. In a prelude to what could be widespread disruption to global trade, Chinese purchases of cotton fell almost 80% from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg analysis of data released Thursday. Imports of large-engined cars were down nearly 70%, while purchases of crude oil and liquefied natural gas dropped more than 40%.

A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk

APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the choppy performance stateside in the aftermath of the Super Thursday deluge of central bank announcements and ahead of quad witching. ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by notable outperformance in Consumer Staples as shares of Coles and Woolworths rallied after a report by the competition regulator which noted the supermarket retailers along with discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world. Nikkei 225 initially traded higher on favourable currency moves but then reversed course after hitting resistance ahead of the 38,000 level and as the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data supported the case for the BoJ to continue policy normalisation in the future. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured despite the lack of fresh catalysts and as earnings results trickled in, while trade uncertainty continued to cloud over risk sentiment and NYT recently reported that Elon Musk is set to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China although President Trump later refuted this.

Top Asian News

• Elon Musk was initially reported to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China, according to the New York Times. However, President Trump later refuted the report which he said was fake news.
• Japan’s Rengo says second round data shows avg. wage hike of 5.4% for Fiscal 2025 vs 5.46% in the first-round data.
• Meituan (3690 HK) FY24 (CNH) Net Income 35.8bln (exp. 37.8bln), Revenue 337.6bln (exp. 337bln); Q4: Adj. Net Income 9.85bln (exp. 9.91bln), Revenue 88.5bln (exp. 87.9bln).
• Nio Inc (NIO) Q4 (CNY): EPS -3.17 (exp. -2.4) Revenue 19.7bln (exp. 20.07bln); sees Q1 total revenue 12.367-12.859bln

Top European News

• London’s Heathrow Airport said it is experiencing a significant power outage due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport and will be closed until 23:59 GMT today, while it stated significant disruption is expected over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens.
• Denmark is reportedly open to joint European projects and funding if required, via FT citing sources
• UK says it is pausing the publication of Service Producer Price Index and Producer Price Index; planning to recommence publication in the summer and will keep users informed of progress; CPI unaffected.
• German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, according to the vote tally cited by Reuters

FX

• USD is slightly firmer and trading within a 103.74-104.15 range in what has been a quiet session thus far – the US data docket remains light for the remainder of the. Focus however, will be on Fed speak from Williams, Waller and Goolsbee; the former will see the release of an accompanying text release and a Q&A thereafter. Elsewhere, US President Trump is to speak with Hegseth at 15:00GMT.
• EUR is a little lower and trades towards the bottom end of a 1.0820-35 range, continuing the losses seen this week. Aside from EZ Consumer Confidence, the docket remains light with no ECB speakers scheduled – though some focus will be on DBRS, who will review France’s credit rating today.
• USD/JPY has edged higher and reclaimed the 149.00 handle despite the cautiousness in the region and with the pair also unfazed by the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data.
• GBP is on the backfoot vs. the USD in an extension of yesterday’s downside. Despite yesterday’s mildly hawkish skew to the BoE announcement in which external member Mann reverted back to the unchanged camp, the pound has fallen victim to the broadly firmer USD. This morning’s public sector net borrowing data showed a further deterioration in the nation’s finances.
• Antipodeans are both struggling for direction after recent losses and with price action contained amid a quiet calendar and the mixed risk sentiment.

Fixed Income

• USTs are slightly firmer, in-fitting with action in Bunds as the risk tone remains under pressure this morning. US specifics a little light thus far though the docket ahead is packed. Firstly, POTUS is due to give remarks from the Oval Office at 15:00GMT alongside his Defence Secretary. Given Hegseth’s inclusion the remarks may be focussed on Iran, with rhetoric from the Supreme Leader this morning punchy. As it stands, USTs are at the upper-end of a 111-00 to 111-09 band, with yields softer across the curve which itself is incrementally steeper.
• Bunds are firmer and at the top-end of a 128.15-128.58 band. Strength this morning comes from the downbeat risk tone which broadly speaking appears to be a continuation of the recent narrative of taking risk off the table into the April 2nd tariff announcement. German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, as expected.
• Gilts gapped higher by a handful of ticks given the lead from EGBs but then succumbed to the morning’s borrowing data and slumped to a 91.73 trough. However, as the risk tone deteriorated, the benchmark lifted off worst and briefly got back to within reach of the 92.00 mark in a 91.73-92.12 band; though, ultimately, Gilts remain under notable pressure. PSNB showed a larger-than-expected borrowing figure alongside a downward revision to the prior which has taken borrowing for the 11-months of the current FY to the GBP 132bln mark, exceeding the GBP 127.5bln forecast by the OBR for the entire FY period.

Commodities

• Crude is incrementally lower, after spending the majority of the European morning around the unchanged mark; WTI’May now trades towards the lower end of a USD 67.80-68.65/bbl range. Energy-specific newsflow has been light today, whilst punchy rhetoric from Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei failed to lift prices.
• Natural gas prices have been boosted today after Kyiv Post reported “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. In response to this attack, Russia’s Kremlin said Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Precious metals are on the backfoot, with spot gold pulling back from best levels in overnight trade; into the European session, price action has been fairly contained and currently sits towards the mid-point of a USD 3,021.73-3,047.51/oz range.
• Base metals are entirely in the red given the downbeat risk tone and poor Chinese performance overnight. 3M LME Copper currently trades towards the lower end of a USD 9,842.2-10,001.8/t.
• China is to add cobalt and copper to its state metal reserves.

Geopolitics: Middle East

• Hamas says it is still studying the US proposal and the other proposed ideas in order to reach a deal that ensures hostage releases, the end of the war, and Israeli withdrawal.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei says the “US need to know if they mess around with Iran, it will receive a hard slap”; “has no proxies in the region, those groups act independently”.
• Israel’s cabinet voted to fire the head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar, according to AP.
• US National Security Adviser Waltz said Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists and the ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages, but they chose war instead.

Geopolitics: Ukraine

• Russia’s Kremlin says Russian President Putin’s order not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure remains in force; attack on Russian Gas transit station in Sudzha shows Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Kyiv Post reports “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.
• Explosions were reported in the sky of Ukraine’s capital and air defences were working to counter a large-scale attack with drones, while it was also reported that Russian drones hit civilian targets in Odesa on Thursday night.
• US reportedly seeks to reopen terms of a Ukraine minerals deal, according to FT.
• Germany, Italy, Poland, UK, and Canada leaders are to meet in Paris next week to discuss Ukraine, while French President Macron said the European meeting next week is to discuss ways to accelerate immediate military support for Ukraine and will discuss plans to strengthen the Ukrainian army if an agreement is reached with Russia.
• EU’s Costa said he believes EU member states will increase pledges of support to Ukraine.
• Russia’s presidential security adviser Shoigu arrived in North Korea and is to meet with North Korea’s leader.
• Russian Investigative Committee opens a case over explosion at Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region organised by Ukraine; station significantly damaged in a blast.

US Event Calendar

• Nothing scheduled

DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap

As London basks in temperatures warmer than Ibiza, a renewed focus on trade fears derailed a recovery in risk assets yesterday, with the S&P 500 closing -0.22% lower last night, though it’s still up +2.56% from last Thursday’s close, having so far only spent that one day in -10% correction territory. Yesterday was also the first day in a while where European stocks bore the brunt of the negativity with the FTSE-MIB (-1.32%) and the DAX (-1.24%) leading the declines. The Stoxx 600 (-0.43%) was helped by exposure to UK stocks with the FTSE (-0.05%) outperforming even after a slightly hawkish hold from the BoE (more later).

European markets had seen a sharp slide lower just before 9am GMT yesterday with no real explanation but by mid-morning they had stabilised and range traded into the close. There was no associated story but there was a lot of chatter about Mr Trump’s social media post from the early hours of the London morning that suggested the Fed should be cutting rates as “…. US Tariffs start to transition (ease!) their way into the economy. Do the right thing. April 2nd is Liberation Day in America!!!”. In an era of analysing every nuance of every post, the clear suggestion was that this implied that tariffs would cause some economic pain ahead. And while markets recovered during the US morning session, they then turned lower again with the S&P falling from +0.63% at the peak to close down -0.22%. So a modest but fairly broad-based decline, with 65% of the S&P lower on the day and the equal-weighted version of the index down -0.37%.

Bonds also had a topsy-turvy session, with 10yr Treasuries yields a mere -0.5bps to 4.24% by the close after having traded as low as 4.17% amid the earlier risk-off tone. The reversal of the bond rally was helped by a decent batch of US data. Existing home sales saw an unexpected acceleration in February (4.26m vs 3.95m expected and 4.08m previous), although there may be some residual seasonality in the data as sales have seen large February spikes for the past three years. Meanwhile, the latest initial jobless claims (223k vs 224k expected) painted a steady picture of the US labour market.

Looking forward to today, the vote on the debt brake reform in the Bundesrat starts at 9.30am CET this morning with news at the start of the week that Bavaria will support the bill meaning that its safe passage probability is even higher than it was in the Bundestag where it passed comfortably on Tuesday. Assuming it passes, it is theoretically possible that the AfD and the Left could seek an abstract judicial review at the Federal Constitutional Court as soon as the new Bundestag is constituted, which sits for the first time next Tuesday, but the Left have said they won’t file a complaint alongside the AfD. The potential legal challenges have steadily fallen away over the last couple of weeks and the story will likely move onto coalition talks next week with the expectations that this will be completed before the end of March and Friedrich Merz to be sworn in as chancellor shortly after Easter.

As for the BoE, our economist Sanjay Raja, believes the on-hold decision (at 4.5%) was on the hawkish side with the MPC’s vote tally and messaging highlighting growing concern around the disinflation progress in the midst of weaker demand. The biggest surprise was that only one member voted for a cut with 8 voting for unchanged. We thought there would be 2 doves. Sanjay still thinks there’ll be four 25bps cuts this year but his conviction levels have fallen. The risk is now that they could pause between May and November when CPI is expected to push up against 4% YoY. Ultimately, Sanjay thinks that beyond that the labour market will cool, pay settlements fall, tariffs will bite, and a terminal rate of 3.25% will be hit. See his report here. The hawkish lean left the probability of a cut in May at 64% down from 72% at the prior close. 10yr Gilts slightly underperformed, climbing +1.0bps with 2yr yields +3.5bps in contrast with German and French 2yr yields which were -2.3bps and -2.5bps lower, respectively.

Elsewhere in Europe, the SNB cut rates by 25bps as expected to 0.25%, their lowest since September 2022, but signalled that it doesn’t anticipate further easing as things stand. And in Sweden, the Riksbank kept rates on hold at 2.25% and also reiterated that it expects stable rates ahead. In other central bank news, Bank of Canada Governor Macklem said that the hotter inflation print the previous day “got our attention”.

Sticking with Canada, the Globe and Mail reported that new Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected this weekend to call a snap election for late April. An election is due by October at the latest. The former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor took over from Trudeau as the head of the Liberal party earlier this month, and while the Liberals had been more than 20pts behind the opposition Conservatives in opinion polls at the turn of the year, the latest polls now show them in a slight lead in a dramatic turnaround since Trudeau’s decision to step down and amid increased tensions with the US.

Turkish markets remained in the headlines yesterday as Türkiye’s central bank raised its overnight lending rate by 2pp to 46% in a surprise meeting. The Turkish lira saw modest rebound (+0.25%) and has been trading in a narrow range close to 38 on the dollar, hinting at a concerted effort to stabilise the currency after its initially sharp sell-off on Wednesday.
In commodities, Brent crude oil prices (+2.13%) rose to their highest level since the end of February at $72.29/bbl after the US for the first time sanctioned a Chinese refinery for allegedly buying Iranian oil, raising the prospect of stricter US sanctions enforcement against Iran. Meanwhile, copper (+0.03%) hovered within 1% of its record high from last May, after extending its YTD gains to +26% YTD on risks of US duties and stronger China data.

Asian equity markets are sharply lower in China but generally slightly higher elsewhere. The Hang Seng (-2.14%) is leading losses in the region followed by the CSI (-1.30%) and the Shanghai Composite (-1.06%). Elsewhere, the Nikkei (+0.17%) is trading slightly higher with the KOSPI (+0.06%) and the S&P/ASX 200 (+0.16%) also hanging on to gains. US stock futures are a fraction lower and 10yr US yields around a basis point higher.

Coming back to Japan, Japan’s core inflation came in at 3.0% y/y in February (v/s +2.9% expected) but lower than January’s figure of 3.2%. At the same time, headline inflation rose +3.7% y/y in February (v/s +3.5% expected) easing from a two-year high of+ 4.0% seen last month, thus staying above the BOJ’s 2% target for 35 straight months. The “core-core” inflation rate climbed to +2.6% y/y from +2.5% in the month before and maybe a touch above expectations especially as the print nearly rounded up to 2.7%. Following the data release, yields on the 10yr JGBs are +1.3bps higher trading at 1.52%. See our economist’s take on the inflation release here.

Now to the day ahead, the Bundesrat is voting today on the huge fiscal package ahead of the new Bundestag session starting next Tuesday. Data releases include the UK GfK consumer confidence for March whilst in France there’s the manufacturing confidence for March and retail sales for February. Additionally, Eurozone consumer confidence for March and Italy’s current account balance for January will also be published. Outside of the Eurozone, we have Canada retail sales for January. Otherwise from central banks, we’ll hear from the Fed’s Williams and the ECB’s Escriva.

2B) European opening report

US equity futures lower whilst USD gains ahead of Trump-Hegseth meeting – Newsquawk US Market Open

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 06:24 AM

• European indices hold a negative bias, airliners on the backfoot with Heathrow closed; US futures are also lower.
• USD is broadly firmer vs. peers with macro newsflow on the light side, but ahead of Trump-Hegseth meeting at 15:00GMT.
• Gilts underperform on more unfavourable developments for Reeves, Bunds bid.
• TTF ignites on Sudzha damage, base metals dented by the risk tone.
• Looking ahead, Canadian Retail Sales, EZ Consumer Confidence, CBR Policy Announcement, DBRS Credit Review on France, Quad Witching, Speakers including Fed’s Williams & Waller.

Newsquawk in 3 steps:

1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports

2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)

3. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days

TARIFFS/TRADE

• EU’s von der Leyen said the impact of postponed countermeasures to US tariffs will not change.

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.7%) opened lower despite a mixed session in APAC trade. The pressure accelerated throughout the morning, but has since stabilised a touch in recent trade; as it stands, indices reside just off worst levels.
• European sectors hold a strong negative bias, with only a couple of industries managing to stay afloat. Utilities take the top spot, joined closely by Telecoms. Travel & Leisure is the underperformer today; the sector has been hit after the UK’s Heathrow Airport announced a complete shutdown due a power outage, caused by a fire. Airliners are broadly lower; IAG (-3%) / Lufthansa (-1.5%). On this, insurance names move a little lower; Allianz (-0.8%), Swiss Re (-0.8%).
• US equity futures (ES -0.3%, NQ -0.3%, RTY -0.5%) are entirely in the red, with clear underperformance in the RTY, extending on the pressure seen on Thursday. There is no clear driver for the losses today, but comes in tandem with the downbeat mood in Europe and ahead of the looming April 2nd reciprocal tariffs.
• Click for the sessions European pre-market equity newsflow
• Click for the additional news
• Click for a detailed summary

FX

• USD is slightly firmer and trading within a 103.74-104.15 range in what has been a quiet session thus far – the US data docket remains light for the remainder of the. Focus however, will be on Fed speak from Williams, Waller and Goolsbee; the former will see the release of an accompanying text release and a Q&A thereafter. Elsewhere, US President Trump is to speak with Hegseth at 15:00GMT.
• EUR is a little lower and trades towards the bottom end of a 1.0820-35 range, continuing the losses seen this week. Aside from EZ Consumer Confidence, the docket remains light with no ECB speakers scheduled – though some focus will be on DBRS, who will review France’s credit rating today.
• USD/JPY has edged higher and reclaimed the 149.00 handle despite the cautiousness in the region and with the pair also unfazed by the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data.
• GBP is on the backfoot vs. the USD in an extension of yesterday’s downside. Despite yesterday’s mildly hawkish skew to the BoE announcement in which external member Mann reverted back to the unchanged camp, the pound has fallen victim to the broadly firmer USD. This morning’s public sector net borrowing data showed a further deterioration in the nation’s finances.
• Antipodeans are both struggling for direction after recent losses and with price action contained amid a quiet calendar and the mixed risk sentiment.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1760 vs exp. 7.2423 (Prev. 7.1754).
• Click for a detailed summary
• Click for NY OpEx Details

FIXED INCOME

• USTs are slightly firmer, in-fitting with action in Bunds as the risk tone remains under pressure this morning. US specifics a little light thus far though the docket ahead is packed. Firstly, POTUS is due to give remarks from the Oval Office at 15:00GMT alongside his Defence Secretary. Given Hegseth’s inclusion the remarks may be focussed on Iran, with rhetoric from the Supreme Leader this morning punchy. As it stands, USTs are at the upper-end of a 111-00 to 111-09 band, with yields softer across the curve which itself is incrementally steeper.
• Bunds are firmer and at the top-end of a 128.15-128.58 band. Strength this morning comes from the downbeat risk tone which broadly speaking appears to be a continuation of the recent narrative of taking risk off the table into the April 2nd tariff announcement. German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, as expected.
• Gilts gapped higher by a handful of ticks given the lead from EGBs but then succumbed to the morning’s borrowing data and slumped to a 91.73 trough. However, as the risk tone deteriorated, the benchmark lifted off worst and briefly got back to within reach of the 92.00 mark in a 91.73-92.12 band; though, ultimately, Gilts remain under notable pressure. PSNB showed a larger-than-expected borrowing figure alongside a downward revision to the prior which has taken borrowing for the 11-months of the current FY to the GBP 132bln mark, exceeding the GBP 127.5bln forecast by the OBR for the entire FY period.
• Click for a detailed summary

COMMODITIES

• Crude is incrementally lower, after spending the majority of the European morning around the unchanged mark; WTI’May now trades towards the lower end of a USD 67.80-68.65/bbl range. Energy-specific newsflow has been light today, whilst punchy rhetoric from Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei failed to lift prices.
• Natural gas prices have been boosted today after Kyiv Post reported “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”. In response to this attack, Russia’s Kremlin said Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Precious metals are on the backfoot, with spot gold pulling back from best levels in overnight trade; into the European session, price action has been fairly contained and currently sits towards the mid-point of a USD 3,021.73-3,047.51/oz range.
• Base metals are entirely in the red given the downbeat risk tone and poor Chinese performance overnight. 3M LME Copper currently trades towards the lower end of a USD 9,842.2-10,001.8/t.
• China is to add cobalt and copper to its state metal reserves.
• Click for a detailed summary

NOTABLE DATA RECAP

• UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Mar) -19.0 vs. Exp. -21.0 (Prev. -20.0)
• UK PSNB Ex Banks GBP (Feb) 10.71B GB vs. Exp. 6.6B GB (Prev. -15.442B GB, Rev. -13.321B GB); PSNB, GBP (Feb) 10.71B GB (Prev. -15.442B GB, Rev. -13.321B GB); PSNCR, GBP (Feb) 6.357B GB (Prev. -22.484B GB, Rev. -22.402B GB)
• French Business Climate Manufacturing (Mar) 96.0 vs. Exp. 97.0 (Prev. 97.0)

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

• London’s Heathrow Airport said it is experiencing a significant power outage due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport and will be closed until 23:59 GMT today, while it stated significant disruption is expected over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens.
• Denmark is reportedly open to joint European projects and funding if required, via FT citing sources
• UK says it is pausing the publication of Service Producer Price Index and Producer Price Index; planning to recommence publication in the summer and will keep users informed of progress; CPI unaffected.
• German Bundesrat has passed the debt reform bill and EUR 500bln fund, according to the vote tally cited by Reuters

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• US President Trump posted “Egg prices are WAY DOWN from the Biden inspired prices if just a few weeks ago. “Groceries” and Gasoline are down, also. Now, if the Fed would do the right thing and lower interest rates, that would be great!!!”
• US President Trump posted “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!… STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”.
• US President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth are to deliver remarks from the Oval Office today at 11:00EDT/15:00GMT, according to the White House.
• White House has commenced a review of Federal Agency plans for a 2nd round of mass layoffs, according to Reuters sources.

GEOPOLITICS

MIDDLE EAST

• Hamas says it is still studying the US proposal and the other proposed ideas in order to reach a deal that ensures hostage releases, the end of the war, and Israeli withdrawal.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei says the “US need to know if they mess around with Iran, it will receive a hard slap”; “has no proxies in the region, those groups act independently”.
• Israel’s cabinet voted to fire the head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar, according to AP.
• US National Security Adviser Waltz said Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists and the ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages, but they chose war instead.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Russia’s Kremlin says Russian President Putin’s order not to strike Ukrainian energy infrastructure remains in force; attack on Russian Gas transit station in Sudzha shows Ukrainian President Zelensky cannot be trusted.
• Kyiv Post reports “Putin’s forces shelled the Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region with artillery in order to blame Ukraine — the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces”.
• Explosions were reported in the sky of Ukraine’s capital and air defences were working to counter a large-scale attack with drones, while it was also reported that Russian drones hit civilian targets in Odesa on Thursday night.
• US reportedly seeks to reopen terms of a Ukraine minerals deal, according to FT.
• Germany, Italy, Poland, UK, and Canada leaders are to meet in Paris next week to discuss Ukraine, while French President Macron said the European meeting next week is to discuss ways to accelerate immediate military support for Ukraine and will discuss plans to strengthen the Ukrainian army if an agreement is reached with Russia.
• EU’s Costa said he believes EU member states will increase pledges of support to Ukraine.
• Russia’s presidential security adviser Shoigu arrived in North Korea and is to meet with North Korea’s leader.
• Russian Investigative Committee opens a case over explosion at Sudzha gas metering station in Russia’s Kursk region organised by Ukraine; station significantly damaged in a blast.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin is a little lower and trades just above USD 84k whilst Ethereum attempts to reclaim USD 2k.

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the choppy performance stateside in the aftermath of the Super Thursday deluge of central bank announcements and ahead of quad witching.
• ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by notable outperformance in Consumer Staples as shares of Coles and Woolworths rallied after a report by the competition regulator which noted the supermarket retailers along with discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world.
• Nikkei 225 initially traded higher on favourable currency moves but then reversed course after hitting resistance ahead of the 38,000 level and as the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data supported the case for the BoJ to continue policy normalisation in the future.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured despite the lack of fresh catalysts and as earnings results trickled in, while trade uncertainty continued to cloud over risk sentiment and NYT recently reported that Elon Musk is set to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China although President Trump later refuted this.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• Elon Musk was initially reported to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China, according to the New York Times. However, President Trump later refuted the report which he said was fake news.
• Japan’s Rengo says second round data shows avg. wage hike of 5.4% for Fiscal 2025 vs 5.46% in the first-round data.
• Meituan (3690 HK) FY24 (CNH) Net Income 35.8bln (exp. 37.8bln), Revenue 337.6bln (exp. 337bln); Q4: Adj. Net Income 9.85bln (exp. 9.91bln), Revenue 88.5bln (exp. 87.9bln).
• Nio Inc (NIO) Q4 (CNY): EPS -3.17 (exp. -2.4) Revenue 19.7bln (exp. 20.07bln); sees Q1 total revenue 12.367-12.859bln

DATA RECAP

• Japanese National CPI YY (Feb) 3.7% vs Exp. 3.5% (Prev. 4.0%)
• Japanese National CPI Ex. Fresh Food YY (Feb) 3.0% vs Exp. 2.9% (Prev. 3.2%)
• Japanese National CPI Ex. Fresh Food & Energy YY (Feb) 2.6% vs Exp. 2.6% (Prev. 2.5%)

2c) Asian opening report

APAC stocks mixed after a choppy handover; DXY extends past 104 & EUR subdued – Newsquawk Europe Market Open

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 02:55 AM

• A mixed session of APAC trade, US futures in-fitting after Thursday’s swings while European futures point to a softer open.
• DXY extended past the 104.00 mark, EUR remained subdued and GBP continued to slip, USD/JPY above 149.00
• Fixed benchmarks contained and lacked direction while crude extended on the prior sessions sanctions driven gains
• US President Trump signed an order to increase the production of critical minerals; POTUS to speak with Hegseth at 15:00GMT
• Looking ahead, highlights include UK PSNB, Canadian Retail Sales, EZ Consumer Confidence, CBR Policy Announcement, DBRS Credit Review on France, Quad Witching, Speakers including Fed’s Williams & Waller, Earnings from Nio & Carnival.
• Click for the Newsquawk Week Ahead.

1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports

2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)

3. Trial Newsquawk’s premium real-time audio news squawk box for 7 days

US TRADE

EQUITIES

• US stocks were choppy and settled lower after paring some of the strength seen in the wake of Wednesday’s FOMC and with a deluge of central bank updates on Super Thursday although the decisions generally failed to move the needle by much. The data releases were ultimately mixed as initial jobless claims printed largely in line with estimates but continued claims rose above forecast, while Philly Fed beat on the headline, but the internals were more varied.
• SPX -0.22% at 5,663, NDX -0.30% at 19,678, DJI -0.03% at 41,953, RUT -0.65% at 2,069.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

TARIFFS/TRADE

• EU’s von der Leyen said the impact of postponed countermeasures to US tariffs will not change.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US President Trump posted “Egg prices are WAY DOWN from the Biden inspired prices if just a few weeks ago. “Groceries” and Gasoline are down, also. Now, if the Fed would do the right thing and lower interest rates, that would be great!!!”
• US President Trump posted “Unlawful Nationwide Injunctions by Radical Left Judges could very well lead to the destruction of our Country!… STOP NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”.
• US President Trump signed an executive order aimed at abolishing the Department of Education and signed an order to increase the production of critical minerals, while the White House said the critical minerals order directs federal agencies to provide a list of all mineral production project applications within 10 days and officials are ordered to submit recommendations to clarify the treatment of waste rock, tailings, and mine waste disposal under the 1872 Mining Act. Furthermore, officials are directed to create a list of all federal lands with mineral deposits and reserves within 10 days, while the order lists copper and gold along with other critical minerals.
• US President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth are to deliver remarks from the Oval Office today at 11:00EDT/15:00GMT, according to the White House.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks ultimately traded mixed following the choppy performance stateside in the aftermath of the Super Thursday deluge of central bank announcements and ahead of quad witching.
• ASX 200 was just about kept afloat by notable outperformance in Consumer Staples as shares of Coles and Woolworths rallied after a report by the competition regulator which noted the supermarket retailers along with discount rival Aldi, were among the most profitable supermarket businesses in the world.
• Nikkei 225 initially traded higher on favourable currency moves but then reversed course after hitting resistance ahead of the 38,000 level and as the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data supported the case for the BoJ to continue policy normalisation in the future.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were pressured despite the lack of fresh catalysts and as earnings results trickled in, while trade uncertainty continued to cloud over risk sentiment and NYT recently reported that Elon Musk is set to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China although President Trump later refuted this.
• US equity futures traded rangebound after the prior day’s price swings and heading into the witching hour.
• European equity futures indicate a lower open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures down 0.2% after the cash market closed with losses of 1.0% on Thursday.

FX

• DXY eventually strengthened to extend on the prior day’s advances which had coincided with fluctuations in stocks and despite the mixed data releases stateside. Furthermore, the slew of central bank announcements from across the pond had little sway on the greenback, while the US calendar is fairly quiet for Friday although participants will be eyeing comments from Fed’s Williams and Waller, as well as remarks from President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth.
• EUR/USD remained subdued after the recent pullback from 1.0900 territory and with the recent slew of ECB speakers providing very little to support the currency.
• GBP/USD retreated further beneath the 1.3000 level amid dollar strength and the recent post-BoE indecision.
• USD/JPY edged higher and reclaimed the 149.00 handle despite the cautiousness in the region and with the pair also unfazed by the mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data.
• Antipodeans struggled for direction after recent losses and with price action also contained amid a quiet calendar and the mixed risk sentiment.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1760 vs exp. 7.2423 (Prev. 7.1754).

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr UST futures lacked firm direction and took a breather following yesterday’s early fluctuations amid mixed US data releases and a choppy risk environment.
• Bund futures were contained by a lack of pertinent drivers and after the muted reception to a slew of ECB rhetoric.
• 10yr JGB futures marginally softened on return from the holiday closure and after mostly firmer-than-expected Japanese inflation data.

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures marginally extended on the prior day’s advances after prices were underpinned following the announcement of fresh US sanctions targeting the network supporting Iran’s oil exports.
• Spot gold gradually declined following the recent pullback from record highs in the precious metal.
• Copper futures traded indecisively amid the flimsy risk environment and underperformance in China.
• China is to add cobalt and copper to its state metal reserves.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin ultimately gained on what was a choppy session amid the mixed overnight risk sentiment.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• Elon Musk was initially reported to get access to a top-secret US plan for a potential war with China, according to the New York Times. However, President Trump later refuted the report which he said was fake news.

DATA RECAP

• Japanese National CPI YY (Feb) 3.7% vs Exp. 3.5% (Prev. 4.0%)
• Japanese National CPI Ex. Fresh Food YY (Feb) 3.0% vs Exp. 2.9% (Prev. 3.2%)
• Japanese National CPI Ex. Fresh Food & Energy YY (Feb) 2.6% vs Exp. 2.6% (Prev. 2.5%)

GEOPOLITICS

MIDDLE EAST

• Israel’s cabinet voted to fire the head of Shin Bet Ronen Bar, according to AP.
• Israel and the US will hold strategic talks on the Iranian nuclear issue at the White House next week.
• US National Security Adviser Waltz said Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists and the ceasefire would have been extended if Hamas released all remaining hostages, but they chose war instead.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• Explosions were reported in the sky of Ukraine’s capital and air defences were working to counter a large-scale attack with drones, while it was also reported that Russian drones hit civilian targets in Odesa on Thursday night.
• US reportedly seeks to reopen terms of a Ukraine minerals deal, according to FT.
• Germany, Italy, Poland, UK, and Canada leaders are to meet in Paris next week to discuss Ukraine, while French President Macron said the European meeting next week is to discuss ways to accelerate immediate military support for Ukraine and will discuss plans to strengthen the Ukrainian army if an agreement is reached with Russia.
• EU’s Costa said he believes EU member states will increase pledges of support to Ukraine.
• Russia’s presidential security adviser Shoigu arrived in North Korea and is to meet with North Korea’s leader.

OTHER

• European military powers were reported to work on a 5-10 year plan to replace the US in NATO, according to FT.
• North Korean leader Kim oversaw a test-fire of an anti-aircraft missile system on Thursday, according to KCNA.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• London’s Heathrow Airport said it is experiencing a significant power outage due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the airport and will be closed until 23:59 GMT today, while it stated significant disruption is expected over the coming days and passengers should not travel to the airport under any circumstances until it reopens.
• Denmark is reportedly open to joint European projects and funding if required, via FT citing sources

DATA RECAP

• UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Mar) -19.0 vs. Exp. -21.0 (Prev. -20.0)

3 .ASIA

3A NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

3BJAPAN

3C. CHINA/

4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS

SWITZERLAND/UBS

UBS will probably go to Dubai!

(zerohedge)

UBS May Leave Switzerland Unless Regulators Reduce Capital Demands

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 04:15 AM

Union Bank of… Dubai?

That’s a very real possibility for the largest Swiss bank, one which after it was handed Credit Suisse on a silver platter is now several orders of magnitude bigger than its host nation, Switzerland. And the reason is that said host nation is starting to make UBS nervous with its capital demands, so it’s time UBS – or soon to be UBD – shows who’s boss.

According to Bloomberg, UBS Group is examining the potential relocation of its headquarters if Switzerland sticks to its demand that the bank hold an extra $25 billion in capital. 

Based on internal calculations showing that the bank’s key capital ratio – which got billions in taxpayer funds during the whole Credit Suisse bailout because Switzerland was smart enough to realize that giving UBS a few billion as M&A kicker would be much cheaper than sifting through the fallout from a Credit Suisse liquidation – would rise to around about 20% in the harshest scenario from around 14% now, executives believe that remaining in Switzerland would make the group uncompetitive relative to global rivals.

Which to the bank which is far, far bigger thanks to the generous taxpayers of its (perhaps soon former) host nation, is unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the Swiss government and regulators are pushing for the nation’s largest bank to fully deduct the value of its foreign subsidiaries from the capital of the parent bank, a step officials see as necessary to prevent a repeat of the 2023 collapse of Credit Suisse, a collapse which only happened because Switzerland allowed its two largest banks to become about 10x larger than its GDP. 

And while Switzerland wants to avoid the financial devastation that would ensue from UBS ever failing (as an aside, if UBS ever failed, it would take down not just Switzerland but all of Europe) the bank sees the plan as an unfair overreaction after it stepped in to rescue its former rival two years ago.

Meanwhile, realizing it has all the leverage in any showdown with a host nation that is entirely dependant on the bank’s goodwill, UBS now views the proposal as so detrimental that it would have no choice but to relocate its headquarters, with a Bloomberg source stressing that “a potential departure was not a threat but rather a reflection of the commercial impossibility of operating at such a high capital level.” Another person said the bank would face pressure from shareholders if it accepted a much higher capital requirement than normal in other regions. 

That said, before buying up property in Dubai in expectations of flipping it to Swiss high net worth managers in a few years, maybe wait a little first: Bloomberg reported that first the bank will step up lobbying efforts as the proposal begins its passage through the Swiss parliament. A draft is due to go before lawmakers in May, although any change would likely not be implemented before 2028. As such, UBS’s heightened, if largely performative, “concern” may not translate into any action, and the long timeframe for the discussion gives ample time for compromise to be reached.

“We will make our case until the last minute in making sure people understand not only the risk we may pose, but also the benefits we create for the country,” he said. Ermotti said that moving away was “not a topic” for him at that stage.

In recent days however the regulator Finma and the Swiss National Bank have reiterated their insistence that UBS should fully back its foreign units. Finma head Stefan Walter said in an interview with Bloomberg this week that he’d be open to allowing UBS to make the changes over a number of years.

That suggestion has been received at UBS with little enthusiasm, according to the BBG report. A phase-in would be only marginally helpful since investors tend to price in regulatory changes as soon as they are announced, even if they are not introduced for some time, two of the people said.

Moving its headquarters abroad would be a massive rupture for UBS, whose more-than-160-year history has been inextricably linked to the fortunes of the country, not to mention laundering money for countless criminal oligarchs, pardon “numbered accounts”, over the years and would likely face many obstacles. 

The lender’s brand heavily relies on Switzerland’s appeal as a haven for the money from the ultra rich. Then again, with Dubai enjoying an even greater appeal as such a haven, the odds of the bank moving to this particular Emirate are certainly non-zero.

Bloomberg’s sources declined to say what UBS’s alternative base would be. Its businesses include a Swiss domestic bank, firmly anchored in its home market, and a global wealth-management unit that has long benefited from its Swiss identity. UBS also operates an investment bank and an asset management division. 

The pushback by UBS against the state comes 16 years after the bank was bailed out by the Swiss government during the 2008 financial crisis. It appears to have forgotten that.

The Swiss government is now seeking to make their one remaining global bank both bulletproof and able to be wound down safely in the event of another Credit Suisse-like crisis. Earlier this week Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said that the government would not allow itself to be swayed by UBS’ efforts to push back.

end

EU/RUSSIA

European Chaos Is Back: EU Leaders Fail To Agree On Aid To Ukraine As German Debt Bonanza Blows Up PIGS Yields

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 01:47 PM

For a brief moment there, it seemed that the performative threat of an “imminent invasion” by Putin would make the European Union less dysfunctional than it always is (and indeed, when it comes to agreeing to have German debt fund everyone’s prosperity for a few years, if it meant agreeing that “Putin man bad”, with hundreds of billions in new debt issuance, there was shocking agreement across Europe). It didn’t last however, and on Thursday EU leaders tussled over weapons deliveries to Kyiv and who would represent them in US-led diplomacy as the bloc struggled to formulate a strategy on Ukraine.

As Bloomberg reports, an EU summit in Brussels was unable to agree on delivering €5 billion ($5.4 billion) to secure ammunition for Ukraine this year, as members including France and Italy balked at committing to specific financial volumes. A number of European leaders will meet again in Paris on March 27 to try to drive the process forward, but they too will fail to agree (unless Germany agrees to foot the entire bill).

“The objective for me on Thursday is first of all for there to be a renewed and explicit commitment, and perhaps one that is a little more specific, on short-term support for Ukraine,” French President Emmanuel Macron said late Thursday as leaders filed out, and Macron failed to achieve his objective.

Leaders have become increasingly alarmed about being kept out of Trump’s dealing with the Kremlin, and the risk of being unable to agree on how to help Ukraine defend itself. During the summit, they pored over the sequence of Trump’s phone diplomacy this week, which yielded an agreement to halt attacks on energy infrastructure, but fell well short of a ceasefire aimed at ending the three-year war.

EU leaders also sparred over the failure so far to put forward a senior figure as part of a bid to gain entry into the process and represent the 27-member bloc. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the EU needed a “negotiating team and a representative” to be at the table. 

Because nobody has accused a bunch of socialists to be able to agree. On anything. Ever.

It got funnier: so enamored is Europe with its performative “stand” against an imminent Russian invasion that people don’t even remember what their roles are, and instead rising tensions led to a heated exchange between Sanchez and the EU’s foreign policy chief and rabid Russophobe, Kaja Kallas. 

When the Spanish leader repeated his call for a special envoy in the closed-door meeting, Kallas took offense.

“What am I here for?” she said, according to accounts of multiple people briefed on the discussion. Insert anti-feminist joke here. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meanwhile did what he always does, and begged for another €5 billion for a few more villas in Dubai to purchase ammunition “as soon as possible,” making reference to a massive overnight drone strike over Ukraine (while ignoring the drone strike he ordered in Sudzha to make sure the war keeps going).

“It’s crucial that your support for Ukraine doesn’t decrease but instead continues and grows,” Zelenskiy said, according to a text of the speech. “And this is especially true for air defense, military aid, and our overall resilience.”

Of course he would say that.

Here, courtesy of Goldman’s Alberto Bacis, is a snapshot of all that happend, if not all that was agreed, since nothing was:

1. Strange summit. EU ReArm was created after the Munich conference and Trump-Zelensky fallout. Now the situation is completely different and that shifted the priorities.
2. Council was supposed to last 2 days. It was wrapped up tonight and tomorrow is free.
3. EU council struggled to formulate a single strategy on delivering military help to Ukraine and how to be represented in Us-led peace talks.
4. Kallas’ proposal of up to ¢5 bln for immediate help to Ukraine was stalled by France and Italy, who were reluctant to commit to a specific sum
5. Meloni (Italy): stressed the need to mobilize private capital and have real common funding for defense so as not to rely on countries’ national debt; Commission’s plan for defense funding is not enough as it’s based mainly on using national fiscal space that Italy does not have.
6. Fico (Slovakia): “We cannot stubbornly insist on sanctions at all costs. There may come a moment when we say that we disagree, because we believe it goes against the peace efforts that are currently being made. If we perceive an attempt for further sanctions as something that could undermine the peace process, we are ready to veto it,” He added that it would be “dangerous” for the image of the EU if the bloc remains “the only one that wants to fight.”
7. EPP. Open to debate EU Defense bonds if needed.
8. PES. published a long doc supporting Defense bonds but also widening the definition of Miliary investments: The progressive approach to European security is not just about arms – it is also about stability, welfare, cooperation and European cohesion.
9. Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland and the Baltic states are among those calling for grants, as the bloc did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
10. Lagarde: EU single financial market can attract investors searching for alternatives to the U.S. dollar. the central banker is eyeing an opportunity for the single currency and the bloc’s financial markets to gain ground, as investors are less keen to re-put their money on Treasury bonds when they reach maturity.
11. Next meeting: March 27, in Paris, “Coalition of the willing” will meet under Macro leadership.
12. Dinner menu: Salsify with mousseline sauce, Turbot with carrot reduction, Avocado with mango and lime, Moretti or Peroni to drink.

But just because yesterday was a disaster, it doesn’t mean that EU bureaucrats and socialists can’t meet again to enjoy some more fine taxpayer-funded dining: next week’s Paris meeting will address Europe’s position and demands on the peace process, according to people familiar with the plans. Germany, Italy and Poland will be some of the EU countries involved, as well as non-EU nations such as the UK and Canada. Yes… that Canada.

Kallas put forward a proposal earlier this year for EU members to deliver as much as €40 billion in military aid in 2025, stepping up after €20 billion flowed to Kyiv in 2024. Assistance would be voluntary, but participants would be encouraged to make contributions in cash or equipment in proportion to their respective economies.

That proposal went nowhere after it was revealed that the US isn’t actually footing the bill this time, and several countries demurred, at which point the debate was narrowed to focus on just the “much cheaper” ammunition component.

Italy and other nations are asking for more technical and financial details, and said the initiative was still being worked on, Italian diplomats said. French diplomats said that while they share the objectives of the effort, the priority is to implement the EU’s €18 billion portion of a Group of Seven loan package for Kyiv.

A spokesperson for the EU said the bloc doesn’t comment on closed meetings. A Spanish official said Madrid wasn’t ruling Kallas out and declined to comment on the summit discussions.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo threw his weight behind the initiative, and lamented the headwinds it faced from some EU capitals. Many countries are not “performing adequately” when it comes to arms deliveries to Ukraine, he said.  Still, others faulted the sequence of prematurely quantifying member states’ commitments before first securing backing. 

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said setting numbers first “was done backwards.”

“It may create an impression that someone doesn’t do enough — but readiness to support Ukraine is there, even if it is difficult to quantify it now,” Nauseda told reporters.

The EU and its member states have dispatched €50 billion in military support to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The US has committed $66.5 billion — or about €11 billion more — in that time frame.

Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintained its resistance to helping Ukraine. But efforts to win over Orban for an agreement of all 27 states, a familiar set piece for summits. were dropped. For the second straight meeting, leaders were resigned to move ahead without Budapest.

At the end of the day, in hopes of deflecting from the return of glorious European dysfunction, Macron turned attention to the common enemy and said that “Russia does not sincerely want peace at this stage,” lamenting Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire, one that he hopes is a “temporary refusal.”

And as always, everything Europe says is a projection, because while lamenting that Russia “does not want a ceasefire”, Europe is bracing for not one but two five-year plans in which to milk German debt capacity to the hilt, but not to steal and embezzle the funds, nooooo. It will all be used to fund “defense”. the only thing is Europe will need at least 5-10 years of solid German debt milking before it is content. And that very belligerent Vladimir Putin, who will not agree to a ceasefire and just can’t wait to invade Europe, will supposedly wait 5 to 10 years before he does invade Europe… just to give the ECB enough time to monetize the €1 trillion in debt that Germany is about to issue.

https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1902832460032836041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1902832460032836041%7Ctwgr%5E408cc380840bec56bd0e5204caabfa44dd24bb42%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zer

And speaking of German’s debt machine about to go into overdrive so its can print money that will be embezzled and grifted by corrupt “progressive” politicians be used to halt Putin, the party here is now over, and after German stocks soared in recent weeks on hopes the coming €1 trillion in debt proceeds will rise all boats, the hanogver has arrived, and as Bloomberg reports, Germany’s new era of big spending is pulling up borrowing costs across Europe, and reigniting jitters around fiscal stability on the continent’s periphery.

Yields on benchmark Italian, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese bonds are over 30 basis points higher compared to the start of the month. The four countries, also known as PIGS, which were bundled together during Europe’s sovereign debt crisis more than a decade ago, still have the highest debt loads on the continent, making them vulnerable to higher interest rates.

That’s understandable: after all, Germany had for long been the voice of fiscal discipline in the European Union, pushing for countries like Italy and Spain to tighten their purse strings and opposing the issuance of joint debt. But now that the formerly austere Germany is preparing to spend like a drunked Sturmtruppen, it no longer has any moral ground over the PIIGS. And indeed, Berlin’s new, far more relaxed approach to spending will certainly have negative implications of its own for Europe’s most indebted countries, and the market is starting to sniff it out.

“If Germany embraces deficit spending, other nations may follow suit, leading to a more relaxed approach to debt across Europe,” said Robert Burrows, a portfolio manager at M&G Investments, who says he has reduced his holdings of periphery debt. “This could weaken confidence in European government bonds, raising borrowing costs for highly indebted nations.”

In short, European sovereign debt crisis part deux, and the obligatory QE from the ECB, is just around the corner.

https://x.com/zerohedge/status/1893716791295193596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1893716791295193596%7Ctwgr%5E408cc380840bec56bd0e5204caabfa44dd24bb42%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F

While German yields have also jumped since the start of the month, market consensus is that Europe’s biggest economy can easily ramp up spending after years of austerity. Its plan to unlock hundreds of billions of euros in debt-financed defense and infrastructure spending got approval from lawmakers on Friday. 

The problem – and risk – is that the move will have repercussions beyond Germany’s borders, especially when European leaders are supporting a plan to loosen budget rules.

“Germany is one of the world’s strongest credits, it’s got so much fiscal headroom,” said Colin Finlayson, a fund manager at Aegon Asset Management. “If some of the other European countries attempt to try and follow Germany’s lead, I don’t think it would be as universally well accepted.”

But it’s not just the periphery that’s at risk. Indeed, one can now add F and B to the PIGS as debt levels in France and Belgium have ballooned in recent years, putting both countries ahead of Spain and Portugal in terms of debt-to-GDP. A blowout in French bonds last year showed just how quickly bond vigilantes can resurface when highly indebted countries announce plans to increase spending.

Recent analysis by Eurizon SLJ Capital Chief Executive Stephen Jen found that of the major 27 EU member countries, only Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Ireland have fiscal space to meaningfully increase fiscal spending. He argues that a rise in bund yields could lead to a widening of interest-rate spreads and greater financing burdens for other parts of Europe, with France, Spain and Greece amongst the most vulnerable.

“Germany stepping on the gas pedal will elevate the entire interest-rate spectrum in Europe,” Jen said in an interview. “We’ve witnessed what the bond vigilantes can do.”

EU finance ministers have also expressed concern that bond investors will be reluctant to finance more defense outlays and officials in Brussels said they fear a broader ramp up in spending would deepen the bond market selloff.

It’s so bad, some countries are going back to where Greece was, when it tried to cover up its massive debt load with various FX swaps before everything blew up and sparked the first European sovereign debt crisis. According to Bloomberg, countries are trying “creative” ways for more defense spending without irking investors. Belgium is reported to be considering the sale of a portion of its gold reserves to bolster its defense budget, while Italy presented a proposal to leverage private capital via a multi-layered structure of state and EU guarantees. The EU has also issued a proposal to extend €150 billion ($158 billion) in loans.

“Debt levels are extremely high and we spent most of last year talking about how to reduce them,” said Alex Everett, a fund manager at aberdeen group plc. “If we can avoid a situation where France, Italy and everyone else are being pushed that bit harder to borrow on their own, that would be preferable.”

In short, now that the giddy spending euphoria is over and it’s time to figure out where the money actually comes from, suddenly we right back at square one, where only the US – and its reserve currency – can pretend it can fund any extended military effort to contain Russia.

END

5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

ISRAEL HAMAS///

story of Eli Sharabi, Israeli hostage inside Gaza

(JerusalemPost)

Eli Sharabi tells UN Security Council: Hamas steals your aid while hostages starve

Released captive says Hamas guards laughed as they told him his brother was killed in captivity, describes being abandoned by international humanitarian organizations

By Nava Freiberg20 March 2025, 7:45

Eli Sharabi, a former hostage, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting recounting his time in Hamas captivity in Gaza on March 20, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP)

Released hostage Eli Sharabi on Wednesday addressed the UN Security Council, describing how the Hamas terror group stole humanitarian aid and withheld it from Israeli captives and Gazan civilians, and detailing the torture he experienced at the hands of his captors.

Sharabi, who was released from captivity on February 8, told members of the security council that, “Hamas eats like kings while hostages starve,” at a special session on the issue of the hostages.

“I know you discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza very often,” Sharabi said at the UNSC, which held a meeting on the topic of aid entering Gaza on Tuesday, “but let me tell you as an eyewitness, I saw what happened to that aid: Hamas stole it.

“I saw Hamas terrorists carrying boxes with the UN and UNWRA emblems on them into the tunnels, dozens and dozens of boxes, paid for by your government,” Sharabi continued.

“They would eat many meals a day from the UN aid in front of us, and we never received any of it,” Sharabi said.

According to Sharabi, hostages received “one bath a month” with a bucket of cold water, were fed “a piece of pita, maybe a sip of tea,” at best, and endured brutal beatings and ridicule at the hands of their captors.

Read full text: Freed hostage Eli Sharabi asks UN Security Council, ‘Where was the world?’

He described the psychological and physical torture he endured in captivity, including being held “50 meters underground” in “chains so tight they ripped my skin.”

Sharabi told the Security Council that just before his release, Hamas terrorists showed him a picture of his older brother, Yossi, laughing as they told him that he had been killed in captivity. “It was like they brought a massive hammer down on me,” said Sharabi.

Yossi’s body is still being held by Hamas in Gaza. An IDF probe said last year he was likely killed as the result of an airstrike, but could not rule out that he was murdered.

Sharabi also described to members how he was abandoned to his fate by international humanitarian organizations.

“Where was the UN? Where was the Red Cross? Where was the world?” Sharabi asked. “Every day [Hamas] told us: The world has abandoned you, no one is coming.”

Eli Sharabi, a former hostage, holds up a photo of his family’s grave as he speaks during a UN Security Council meeting concerning the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at the United Nations headquarters on March 20, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP)

Holding up a picture of his family members’ graves, Sharabi described the moment he discovered, after returning to Israel in February, that rather than waiting for him at home, his wife Lianne and their daughters, Noiya, 16, and Yahel 13, had been murdered by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023, in their home’s safe room at Kibbutz Be’eri.

He recalled the day they were murdered, saying “As they dragged me out, I called out to my girls, I will be back. I had to believe that. But that was the last time I ever saw them. I didn’t know I should have said goodbye, forever.”

“I’m here today because I survived and I prevailed,” Sharabi said, “but that is not enough…not when 59 hostages are still there.”

“I am not a diplomat. I am a survivor,” he told the UN officials, after the gruesome account.

“If you stand for humanity, prove it,” he concluded. “Bring them all home.”

He called for the UN to work tirelessly for the remaining 59 hostages in Gaza, who were being “chained, starved, beaten, and humiliated” in captivity.

“No more excuses, no more delays,” Sharabi said. “Bring them all home.”

Eli Sharabi, a former hostage speaks during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters on March 20, 2025 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP)

Speaking ahead of his address to the Security Council, Sharabi said he “was treated worse than an animal” while in captivity.

“No one in Gaza helped me. The civilians saw us suffering, and they cheered our kidnappers. They were definitely involved,” Sharabi said. “Where was the Red Cross? Where was the United Nations?”

“Now I will stand before the UNSC to say this: no more excuses, no more delays, no more moral blindness,” Sharabi added, just before entering the meeting.

Despite having lost roughly 30 kg (66 pounds) during his horrific captivity, Sharabi has quickly joined the campaign for the release of the remaining hostages, giving a harrowing interview with Channel 12’s “Uvda” investigative program late last month about his time in Hamas’s Gaza tunnels.

Sharabi then met with US President Donald Trump along with other hostages, as well as with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

ISRAEL/HAMAS

Rockets launched into Tel Aviv for the first time in several months

(zero hedge)

Hamas Launches Rockets On Tel Aviv For First Time In Months

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 02:45 AM

On Thursday Hamas for the first time in months launched a barrage of rockets toward Tel Aviv. There had been no such attacks out of Gaza since the last round of ceasefire took hold two months ago.

“The Qassam Brigades bombarded Tel Aviv with a barrage of rockets in response to the Zionist massacres against civilians,” the group’s armed wing announced on Telegram.

But despite alert sirens sounding in several districts, two of the projectiles fell in an open field, with one intercepted by anti-air defense measures.

Before the ceasefire, Hamas rocket attacks focused on southern Israel, however, Thursday’s rocket attack was “Hamas’s first on central Israel since October 7, 2024, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas-led onslaught that sparked the ongoing war,” Israeli media noted.

The salvo sent people across Tel Aviv scurrying into bomb shelters and basements. The Israeli military (IDF) subsequently warned Gazans, “Terror organizations are once again launching their rockets from within civilian areas. We have warned this area many times.”

Gaza health officials have said over 700 Palestinians were killed by renewed Israeli airstrikes only over the last two days.

Israel is once again facing war on multiple fronts. The Houthis on Thursday launched their second ballistic missile attack on central Israel since the Gaza war flared up again.

“The YAF missile force carried out a military operation targeting Ben Gurion Airport in the occupied Jaffa region with a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile. This operation successfully achieved its goal,” announced the Houthis.

The Houthis further claimed another attack on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, but there’s been no indication it was hit. This marks the Shia group’s fifth such attempted attack on the Truman carrier.

Meanwhile as deadly conflict is fast heating up in the region once again, President Trump has declared he “fully supports Israel, and the IDF, and the actions that they’ve taken in recent days.”

At this point the planned-for second phase of the ceasefire is dead. This would have seen the return of all the hostages, theoretically leading to a permanent peace.

end

ISRAEL/HAMAS/EGYPT

Interesting: now Egypt is willing to house 1/2 million Gazans

(JerusalemPost)

Egypt willing to temporarily absorb half a million evacuated Gazans – Lebanese report

According to the report, the Gazans would be allocated a city in the North of the Sinai Peninsula. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMARCH 21, 2025 07:53Updated: MARCH 21, 2025 09:19

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fbreaking-news%2Farticle-847000&unitId=2900003088&userId=1938e01a-2e38-4f76-9d42-6dd0304d8a0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20250225_eab6a653f4759423d63a849fb76f9f0d4185dca4&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that his country was ready to temporarily host half a million Gazans who would be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, according to a Friday report by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

According to the report, the Gazans would be allocated a city in the North of the Sinai Peninsula. 

The comment reportedly came during a conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the situation in the Middle East, in which the Egyptian leader was present, among other attendees. 

END

ISRAEL/HAMAS

This is a real threat to Hamas:

(JerusalemPost)

Katz Threatens To Annex Territory In Gaza, Implement Trump’s ‘Voluntary Migration’ Plan

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 10:00 AM

After days of a renewed aerial and (more recently) ground forces campaign in the Gaza Strip, which has already killed a reported nearly 600 Palestinians, Israel’s defense chief has warned Hamas that if it doesn’t immediately return the hostages the IDF military will beginning annexing the Gaza Strip.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Friday that the Israel Defense Forces would “seize additional territories [in Gaza], while evacuating the population” if Hamas doesn’t sign on to revised terms of a hostage-for-ceasefire deal. “The more Hamas continues its refusal, the more territory it will lose and be annexed to Israel,” Katz warned. He said it would start through the expansion of border “security zones” in order to bring them under “permanent Israeli control.”

Katz is demanding for the first time that Hamas “release all the hostages, both living and dead, in advance and in two stages, with a ceasefire in between.”

Hamas has blamed Israeli side for pulling out of the ceasefire which had been on for two months since January, before it was supposed to enter a phase two, with a path to permanent peace. The Israelis have grown impatient, and have sought to significantly alter the ceasefire plan.

Crucially, Katz has referenced Trump’s Gaza mass expulsion plan in announcing the potential for military annexation. He said the IDF will “intensify” operations against Hamas and use “all military and civilian pressure, including evacuation of the Gaza population south and implementing United States President Trump’s voluntary migration plan for Gaza residents.”

The army has been instructed “to seize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population, and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and [Israeli army] soldiers,” the defense chief was quoted in local media as saying further.

“The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel,” he warned.

It looks like Israeli leaders are seizing the opportunity and initiative to push Palestinians out in the wake of Trump’s previous comments on turning the enclave into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

But the administration has been somewhat quiet on the ultra-controversial plan of late, with Trump telling reporters most recently that “nobody is expelling any Palestinians” in response to a question on whether he still stands by his remarks which were tantamount to calling for ethnic cleansing of the enclave. “We’re working hard with Israel… to see [how] we can solve the problem,” Trump had explained in the mid-March exchange.

The White House position on Gazans being expelled to other countries is based on the prior explanation that “Gaza is currently uninhabitable and residents cannot humanely live in a territory covered in debris and unexploded ordnance,” in the earlier words of US National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes.

But even many Republicans see the plan as completely unrealistic and absurd, given that for starters it would ensure years more of brutal war, and the likelihood that conflict would spiral over into other Arab countries.

end

ISRAEL/SHIN BEIT (fbi)

Israel In Turmoil After Netanyahu Sacks Security Chief In Historic First

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 12:00 PM

Political turmoil has engulfed the Israeli government, and spilled into the streets as anti-Netanyahu protesters are once again outraged. But this time it’s over the unprecedented firing of the head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency, Shin Bet. It marks the first time in history that a government has fired the Shin Bet’s leader.

Starting a week ago Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had lost confidence in Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. And then by week’s end his shock firing with the following statement: “The Israeli government, which is in charge of the Shin Bet, has lost all confidence in Ronen Bar, who continues to cling to his seat while cynically using the families of the kidnapped and politically incorrect use of his position to fabricate futile, unfounded investigations.”

“Ronen had the opportunity to retire with honor after his searing failure on October 7 … But [he] preferred not to attend the government meeting dealing with his case,” the statement continued.

Bar’s supporters, who are demonstrating against his sacking in the thousands, believe he’s serving as a scapegoat for Netanyahu’s own policy failures.

But the prime minister’s office has followed with on Friday, “The government unanimously approved prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to end ISA [Israeli Security Agency] director Ronen Bar’s term of office.” Over all the PM’s office is citing lack of trust in Bar.

Bar too has described his dismissal as ultimately motivated by Netanyahu’s “personal interests”. In a letter he strongly suggested the problems which led to the security failures of Oct.7 originated from the top: “a policy of quiet had enabled Hamas to undergo massive military buildup” – he said of the lead-up to the terror attack on southern Israel.

He added: “The dismissal of the head of the service at this time at the initiative of the Prime Minister sends a message to all those involved, a message that could put the optimal outcome of the investigation at risk. This is a direct danger to the security of the State of Israel.”

Bar’s tenure was supposed to extend and end next year, and has been investigating Netanyahu’s close aides for alleged breaches of national security. This includes allegations of selective leaks given to the media in order to improve the Netanyahu government’s image.

Bar is charging that Netanyahu’s firing him is about covering up serious problems in the administration, including “prevent investigations into the events leading up to October 7 and other serious matters.”

All of this comes amid the backdrop of resumed aerial and ground military operations in the Gaza Strip, despite some 58 living and deceased hostages still remaining in Hamas captivity.

Netanyahu has justified the operations as putting pressure on the Palestinian militants to release the rest, but victims’ families are outraged, saying the government should opt to see the ceasefire through.

In the meantime, one veteran Middle East war correspondent poses the following question…

As of Friday afternoon (local), Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an injunction to prevent Netanyahu from firing Bar as head of the domestic security and intelligence agency.

US National Security Advisor Waltz: It’s Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas

By AMICHAI STEINMARCH 21, 2025 07:33Updated: MARCH 21, 2025 07:54

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fbreaking-news%2Farticle-846997&unitId=2900003088&userId=1938e01a-2e38-4f76-9d42-6dd0304d8a0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20250225_eab6a653f4759423d63a849fb76f9f0d4185dca4&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

US National Security Advisor Michael Waltz remarked on Friday about Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas, adding that the ceasefire with the terror group would have been extended if Hamas had agreed to release hostages.

“Israel has every right to defend its people from Hamas terrorists,” he wrote in an X/Twitter post

END

HOUTHIS/USA

US to Israel: Don’t strike Houthis in Yemen, ‘leave it to us’

Israeli officials are holding discussions on whether to respond to the recent missiles launched from Yemen.

By AMICHAI STEIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFFMARCH 20, 2025 20:56Updated: MARCH 20, 2025 21:36

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fbreaking-news%2Farticle-846958&unitId=2900003088&userId=1938e01a-2e38-4f76-9d42-6dd0304d8a0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20250225_eab6a653f4759423d63a849fb76f9f0d4185dca4&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

The US has asked Israel not to strike Houthi targets in Yemen, a source told the Jerusalem Post.

“Leave it to us” was the US request.

Israeli officials are holding discussions on whether to respond to the recent missiles launched from Yemen, but the assumption is that, at this point, Israel will accept the US request.

Two missiles were sent from Yemen to Israel on Thursday, marking the first time in two months the Houthis had targeted the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas. Both, however, were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems, and did not land in Israeli territory. 

Earlier in the day, the US struck Houthi targets in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. 

Sources told Ynet that the US requested that Israel refrain from airstrikes like those carried out in the past by the IAF on Houthi targets in Yemen.

The sources added that while the IAF strikes were carried out successfully in the past, the US believes it has greater capacity to conduct sustained attacks using aircraft stationed on its aircraft carriers.

US strikes in Yemen

The United States began striking Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday evening in a message to Iran, a US official told The Jerusalem Post at the time.

An official told Reuters that the air and naval strikes will last “days, possible weeks” and are focusing on the Houthis’ radars, air defenses, and missile and drone systems.

The US informed Israel in advance of the attacks on Yemen. 

Earlier in the day, the US struck Houthi targets in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah. 

Despite the US’s actions, the Houthis said they will not “dial down” their action against Israeli shipping in the Red Sea in response to US military pressure or appeals from the group’s allies such as Iran.

Jamal Amer spoke to Reuters late on Monday after the US launched a wave of strikes in areas of Yemen controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, who said last week they were resuming attacks on Red Sea shipping to support Palestinians in Gaza.

Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran had delivered a verbal message to the Houthi envoy in Tehran on Friday to cool tensions and that Iran’s foreign minister asked Oman, which has mediated with the Houthis, to convey a similar message to the group when he visited Muscat on Sunday. Both officials asked not to be named.

end

Houthis retaliate against US attacks with missile strikes on Israel – analysis

The attack on Israel is an attempt by the group to show that they can continue to target Israel, even under the watchful eyes of the US.

By SETH J. FRANTZMANMARCH 20, 2025 18:24Updated: MARCH 20, 2025 20:44

https://trinitymedia.ai/player/trinity-player.php?language=en&pageURL=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jpost.com%2Fmiddle-east%2Farticle-846922&unitId=2900003088&userId=1938e01a-2e38-4f76-9d42-6dd0304d8a0a&isLegacyBrowser=false&isPartitioningSupport=1&version=20250225_eab6a653f4759423d63a849fb76f9f0d4185dca4&useBunnyCDN=0&themeId=140&unitType=tts-player

The Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen are seeking to show they are not yet defeated by several days of American airstrikes. US President Donald Trump vowed that the Houthi rebels will be “completely annihilated” if they don’t yield.

The terrorist group launched a missile toward central Israel at around 4 a.m. Thursday morning. It fired a missile toward the Negev on Wednesday. It also targeted the Egyptian Sinai throughout the week.

What is it looking to do? It wants to show it still has some capabilities and is seeking to call what it may think is a bluff by the Trump administration.

Millions of Israelis were woken up by air-raid sirens on Thursday morning. This had been routine in December and early January, when the Houthis launched missiles every few nights.

The Houthis control a swath of Yemen and are equipped with long-range drones and ballistic missiles – mostly based on Iranian technology transfer. Iran could be held responsible for continued Houthi attacks, the White House warned.

Over the week, however, Tehran has tried to distance itself from the Houthis, claiming that they make their own decisions. The Houthis claimed they had targeted Ben-Gurion Airport, using “a ballistic missile known as Palestine 2.”

“The operation marked the fifth consecutive day of effective and responsible retaliation against US aggression, particularly following attacks on civilian infrastructure in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and several Yemeni provinces,” Houthi spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Yahya Saree said.

The group has “intensified their efforts to target enemy warships in the Red Sea, including the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman and its accompanying naval vessels,” he said, adding that the US would fail in its attempts to bomb the Houthis into submission.

‘Retaliation against US aggression’

The statement was made after the US carried out more airstrikes against the port city of Hodeidah and the city of Sa’ada. The US strikes had killed 53 people, the Houthis said.

The attacks on Israel are an attempt by the Houthis to show that Israel remains a reachable target – even under the watchful eyes of the new US administration. That means they feel they can still wheel out their missiles from hiding places, such as cave complexes, and launch them.

This poses a challenge for the US and Israel, as it shows that air power alone may not be able to stop the missiles.

During the Gulf War in 1991, the Saddam regime was able to launch Scud missiles at Israel from Iraq’s western Anbar province, despite the massive US-led coalition strikes on Iraq. This led to the “great Scud hunt,” where the US, UK, and others sought to find the Scuds.

The “hunt” was not very successful. It is hard to find ballistic missiles and their launch sites.

Technology has progressed since then, but it remains to be seen whether the US and Israel can put a stop to the Houthi aggression.

END

RUSSIA/UKRAINE

Huge Blast Rocks Russian Airbase In Largest Ever Drone Attack On Region

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 07:40 PM

On Thursday Russia’s southern Saratov region suffered its largest drone attack of the war from Ukraine, with the  Engels-2 airfield being impacted by another direct hit.

The base which is known for hosting Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear-capable strategic bombers has been targeted several times since the war began in 2022. Photos to emerge of the fresh attack show a large fireball lighting up the sky.

“Due to a fire at the [Engels] airfield, residents of a nearby farming co-op are being evacuated for safety reasons,” Saratov region Governor Roman Busargin announced.

Busargin further characterized it as the “largest ever” drone assault on the Saratov region since the war began. Other regions of Russia were also hit.

In total Russia’s defense ministry said the military intercepted 132 Ukrainian drones overnight across six regions and Crimea, also including shoot-downs of 54 over Saratov alone.

The overnight strikes happened not long after Presidents Zelensky and Trump help a phone call Wednesday, where in the Ukrainian leader said he’s open to a partial ceasefire. 

However, both sides are still accusing the other of stalling tactics at this point:

Mr. Zelensky has characterized some of the Kremlin’s proposals as stalling tactics to maneuver for military advantage and a better deal from Mr. Trump. On Thursday morning, he suggested the same in noting that Russian attacks had not stopped.

“Every day and every night up to a hundred drones and missile attacks also do not stop,” he wrote on Telegram. “With every such strike Russia shows the world its real attitude to peace.”

As for damage at Engels, the regional governor has described that 30 residential homes were damaged in the attack. The base and town are located some 500 miles southeast of Moscow. The damage is so significant as an ammunition depot was believed struck.

“Footage from the attack showed a huge plume of smoke rising from the base and an intense blaze,” Newsweek describes “Other footage showed that the blast completely destroyed some homes, tearing off roofs and blowing them across the street.”

END

RUSSIA/UKRAINE

What Ceasefire: European Gas Prices Jump After Ukraine Blows Up Key Gas Pumping Station In Russia In “Act Of Terrorism”

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 09:20 AM

So much for that ceasefire.

European natural gas prices jumped after an attack on a pumping station in Russia’s Kursk region (formerly held by Ukraine mercenaries until their recent hasty retreat), which formed part of a link that sent fuel to the continent until recently, and which Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking in an “act of terrorism”.

Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of deliberately blowing up the key gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border which was under the control of Ukrainian Armed Forces since last August before the area was reclaimed by Russian forces this month, in what it called “an act of terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine as always played the idiot card, and accused Russia of attacking its own energy facility: the country’s General Staff of the Armed Forces confirmed the Sudzha gas metering station was shelled, but said it was Russians who struck their own facility (just like Ukraine previously accused Russia of blowing up the Nord Stream), pointing to previous instances in which Russia appeared to send soldiers through a disused natural gas pipeline.

In a post on Facebook, the General Staff said the accusations were “baseless,” and part of a “discrediting campaign against Ukraine…The mentioned station was repeatedly shelled by the Russians themselves.”

The transit point is part of a Gazprom pipeline link that, until the start of this year, brought Russian gas to Europe. Some countries that previously depended on those flows had hoped they would eventually resume. NASA satellite imagery indicated wide-scale fires covered the gas-station area and the surrounding territory.

“Those in the gas market that hope Russian exports may resume along this transit line when the war ends will now be looking to gauge the extent of the damage to the infrastructure and crucially how quickly it could be repaired by Gazprom,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, an independent gas analyst.

Whoever was behind the attack, the damage will make the resumption of Russian gas supplies more unlikely, a prospect that was already in retreat after a 30-day ceasefire didn’t immediately emerge as a first step toward a peace deal. Russia and Ukraine’s leaders indicated they’d agree to a ceasefire on attacking energy infrastructure, but so far that has not led to a halt in attacks.

Dutch front-month futures (TTF), Europe’s gas benchmark, were 2.3% higher at €43.84 a megawatt-hour by 12:07 p.m. in Amsterdam. Earlier they rose as much as 6.2% in early trading on Friday. But price gains eased in the course of the morning as traders digested the limited short-term impact from the blast. In addition to the link not being used currently, damage could be repaired if there were a political decision to resume flows.

“A fix could range from weeks to a year or two, depending upon the availability of replacements and the severity of the damage,” said Ronald Smith from Emerging Markets Oil & Gas Consulting Partners LLC. 

“The major issue here remains one of finding a political resolution to the conflict and restarting full economic relations between Europe and Russia, not so much in the infrastructure.”

Yes, a simple fix.

That said, there could be multiple routes for Russia to send gas to Europe… if the political opportunity presents itself. The country used several cross-border points in the past, but their number fell to two by 2022 after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion. In May that year, supplies via the Sokhranivka point stopped after Ukraine said it can’t control the facility because of occupied forces.

Flows of Russian fuel through Ukraine ended at the start of this year when a transit agreement expired, and expensive liquefied natural gas cargoes – mostly from the US – leave Europe exposed to competition with other buyers. Soaring energy prices is also why Europe has been mired in a permanent recession since 2022 and no amount of German debt-issuance to “defend from Russia” can fix that. The continent faces a challenging stockpiling season after stronger-than-usual withdrawals this winter have left gas reserves at their lowest levels since 2022.

Friday’s market reaction suggests “at least a partial resumption of flows had been factored by the market,” said Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Patricio Alvarez. “Absent any geopolitical-driven supply shifts, European gas markets are poised to tighten this summer as the region works to plug a wider storage reinjection gap.”

END

As Losses Mount, Ukraine Deploys ‘Fury’ Battlebots To Front Line

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 05:45 AM

With losses stacking up — including the sudden forfeiture of 500 square miles of territory once held in Russia’s Kursk region — Ukraine’s military leadership announced on Tuesday that it’s deploying machine-gun-equipped robots to the front lines. “The main task of ground robots is to reinforce our units and replace soldiers in the most dangerous areas,” said the ministry.

News of the deployment of an unspecified number of these weapon platforms comes as Ukraine continues to struggle with recruiting and conscription. In February, Ukraine launched a new effort aimed at recruiting 18- to 24-year-olds. While it strikes Americans as odd, Ukraine does not draft those who are under age 25. The new recruiting campaign features bonuses roughly equivalent to $24,000, along with mortgage subsidies and free college education. Recruits also win the privilege of traveling abroad — something that’s currently denied to Ukrainian men between 18 and 60. Against the backdrop of the Ukrainian military’s ongoing manpower crisis, robots are understandably appealing. 

The Ukraine defense ministry touted the Lyut’s versatility. “It is designed to perform a wide range of tasks in difficult conditions. In particular, to conduct surveillance and fire support of the actions of our units,” the ministry said in its announcement, adding that the official adoption of the equipment comes after testing in “real combat conditions.” Specifically, the ministry said the testing took place in Kursk. With Ukraine’s diversionary gambit there having now evolved into a full-on failure, that isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring. 

Called the Lyut — the Ukrainian word for “fury” — the compact wheeled robot can fit in the bed of a military pickup truck, and is equipped with a single 7.62mm PKT machine gun and, reportedly, Class 4 armor.  It doesn’t have tires, but rather steel rims with rubber stretched over them. 

Lyut is powered by a “silent” electric motor. The ministry didn’t specify the battery life, only offering a vague boast that “the battery capacity is enough for a fairly long operating time.” The Ukrainian military-news website Militarnyi, however, was more forthcoming with specifications: “The drone has a battery life of up to 72 hours, a range of up to 20 kilometers, and a driving time of up to 3 hours. The gross weight… is 330 kilograms.” 

The bots are not autonomous — rather, a soldier operates it via remote control, with line-of-sight communication stretching up two 2 kilometers. A single operator can simultaneously maneuver the vehicle and fire its machine gun. 

Don’t expect this to turn the tide for the beleaguered Ukrainian military. 

END

UKRAINE/RUSSIA ODESA

Russia Pounds Ukraine’s Odesa As Czech President Visits City

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 03:25 PM

In the Thursday evening and overnight hours Russia continued to pound Ukraine’s key Black Sea port city of Odesa, which was widely described as one of the biggest single drone attacks visited on the city since the war’s start.

At least three locals were injured in the attack, and large fires resulted, importantly just as Czech President Petr Pavel was in Odesa on Thursday, after which he traveled back to Kiev.

Odesa’s regional governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram, “Significantly, it was during our meeting that the enemy once again massively attacked the Odesa region” – in reference to meeting with President Pavel.

“The long-range drones buzzed into the city in several waves, damaging infrastructure, residential houses and commercial buildings, and causing multiple fires, the interior ministry said,” as cited in Reuters. “Around 25 cars had been set ablaze at a car repair shop.”

The Czech president is in Ukraine where he’s presenting a deal to provide over one million artillery shells for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia.

Reuters has quoted one Ukrainian source who called the attack the “most massive” assault on Odesa since Russia invaded in February 2022: “It was intimidation. Terror against the civilian population.” And Oleksii Kuleba, Deputy Prime Minister for Ukraine’s Reconstruction wrote the following on Telegram:

“I am pleased to welcome Czech President Petr Pavel to Ukraine. We met in the city of Odesa, which is terrorised by Russia every night. It was during our meeting that the Russian Federation launched three groups of Shahed drones on the city. The entire civilized world must witness Russia’s crimes against Ukraine.”

While the key southern port city has come under occasional major missile attack since the war’s start, it has thus far been sparred of full-scale military invasion. But there might be preparations as the city has now been hit several times this week alone.

One year ago (in March of 2024), Elon Musk predicted that Odessa would become the next big city Russian forces would eye after solidification of their hold over the Donbass region.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO explained at the time that Ukraine’s position continued to weaken even as its leadership refused negotiations while pressing the West for more weapons. “Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question,” he stressed in his commentary posted on X.

“The longer the war goes on, the more territory Russia will gain until they hit the Dnepr, which is tough to overcome. However, if the war lasts long enough, Odessa will fall too,” Musk wrote at the time.

And that’s when he concluded, “Whether Ukraine loses all access to the Black Sea or not is, in my view, the real remaining question. I recommend a negotiated settlement before that happens.”

The White House now says it is busy working on that, with the next meeting between American and Russian negotiators set for Monday in Saudi Arabia.

END

Why Beijing Fears The US ‘Playing The Russian Card’

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 02:00 AM

Authored by James Gorrie via The Epoch Times,

Today, a significant part of China’s geopolitical calculus rests on its allegiance with Russia, a critical but by no means unbreakable ally. The war in Ukraine, now grinding through its third year, has exposed vulnerabilities in this partnership, as has the potential peace deal being brokered by the Trump administration.

A Global Strategy

In fact, the United States “playing the Russian card” should be viewed not just as an effort to stop the bloodshed in Ukraine but as a global strategy to undermine Beijing’s influence with Moscow and other countries worldwide. This bold move flips the script on the Nixon-era triangulation. Beginning in the early 1970s, the United States countered the Russian-led Soviet Union’s global influence by engaging China diplomatically and economically, which served to counterbalance the United States’ top global adversary.

The idea has merit. Russia’s economy is battered, its military stretched thin, and its global isolation is growing. Western sanctions have choked its access to technology and markets, leaving it desperate for a lifeline.

Furthermore, Moscow is now the weaker partner in its relations with Beijing, reliant on China for trade and diplomatic cover. If the United States flips Russia, China loses a counterweight to Western pressure, leaving it more isolated against a unified NATO and its Indo–Pacific allies.

Making Beijing Even More Vulnerable

As for China, it finds itself in a vulnerable position as well. Its dependence on Russia runs deep, especially for resources. For example, Russia supplies more than 15 percent of China’s crude oil imports and vast amounts of natural gas via pipelines like Power of Siberia. China also sees Russia’s freshwater reserves—Lake Baikal alone holds 20 percent of the world’s unfrozen freshwater—as a hedge against its own water scarcity.

Losing or even reducing access to Russia’s resources, including its arable land and timber, would put huge pressure on China to find alternatives at a much higher cost. But that could well be the outcome of a U.S.–Russia rapprochement.

A One-Sided Relationship

What’s more, trade with China—$240 billion in 2023—keeps Moscow afloat, but it’s a one-sided relationship. China buys cheap Russian energy while selling finished goods, leaving Russia a junior partner. Moscow is not comfortable and even resents playing second fiddle to Beijing.

On the other hand, the United States could offer a sweeter deal: access to global markets, investment in infrastructure, and a tech lifeline. For Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thrives on pragmatism, the allure of rebuilding Russia’s economy might outweigh ideological loyalty to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The potential for such a development is more than hypothetical. A negotiated settlement in Ukraine where Russia retains some territorial gains but withdraws from most of Ukraine could be framed as a “win” for domestic consumption. In return, the United States could push NATO to pull back from its easternmost footprint—perhaps even reverting to pre-1997 boundaries, as Russia has long demanded, or a planned return to prior agreed-upon limits along with an enforced neutrality for non-NATO nations bordering Russia, like Ukraine.

A New US–Russia Détente?

Such an arrangement wouldn’t dismantle NATO but could ease Moscow’s paranoia about encirclement, making a pivot away from China palatable. It’s a low-cost concession for the United States: NATO’s core remains intact, and Russia’s ties to China diminish.

Of course, it’s not yet a reality. Putin and Russia’s elite are wary of U.S./NATO promises. Plus, China could counter with sweeter deals—more loans, more weapons tech. But that remains to be seen.

The Ukraine leadership is also a wild card. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is proving himself to be less predictable and more capricious than the Trump administration anticipated. What’s more, Western European NATO members are all less inclined to seek a peace settlement with Putin.

Therefore, part of the Trump administration’s effort is to force Ukraine to the peace table, which is happening as I write this, and convince NATO members such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany to accept a peace deal. The United States must also find a way to meet Russia’s conditions while not losing Ukraine’s agreement to a cease-fire. Both should be achievable, but time will tell.

The US Has Better Cards Than China

However, as far as Moscow is concerned, Washington has better cards to play than Beijing in terms of market size, technological edge, and the relief of a powerful NATO backing off Russia’s border countries—all of those appeal to Moscow.

At the same time, such a deal would add salt to the wound of the Chinese regime, which already finds itself in the Trump administration’s crosshairs concerning the Panama Canal, rising trade tariffs, and the accelerating American economic decoupling from China.

At the moment, Trump is showing both a carrot and a stick to Putin. At the same time, China’s shrinking economy and growing diplomatic isolation from U.S. actions become a greater negative going forward.

This isn’t just a hypothetical for the Chinese regime—it’s a nightmare scenario that threatens its strategic depth, resource security, and regional dominance.

The stakes are high, and China has plenty to lose.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

END

.GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES/HEALTH ISSUES

MARK CRISPIN MILLER

Dying Charles III takes “partial break”; Paul Cauthen halts US tour; David Kushner cancels UK/Europe tour; Morgan …

Charles III takes “partial break”; Paul Cauthen halts US tour; David Kushner cancels UK/Europe tour; Morgan Wade cancels OH show; Fontaines DC cancel SA tour; Flogging Molly cancels 2025 tour

Columbia, SC news anchor JR Berry off the air (cancer); Denmark’s “Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (48) is sick and must cancel a TV appointment”

Further indications of the global toll of COVID “vaccination,” based on the reports collected by our worldwide team of researchers.

To help support our work: https://www.givesendgo.com/newsfromunderground

UNITED STATES

Country Star Paul Cauthen Reveals He Has Cancer: ‘Life Is Short, Precious’

March 13, 2025

Country singer-songwriter Paul Cauthen opened up about his recent cancer diagnosis in a video he posted on Instagram on Thursday (March 13). Cauthen, 39, acknowledged his recent absence on social media as he opened up about his health. The East Texas-born artist said he “had pneumonia on the road, and I was taking a bunch of steroids to get me through those shows.” His team posted a statement on February 6 to announce that Cauthen would take a break from touring “to take care of his mental and physical health.” Cauthen said in his update on Thursday that when he was on the road, “something woke me up and I was blue in my lips and white on my face. I flew home. I kind of shook myself, you know, and listened to myself for the first time in a long time,” Cauthen said. “I decided to go up to the Cooper Clinic in Dallas after getting healthy for a few weeks, and wanted to get my body checked out. So, I go up there and I get a bunch of scans done, and happened to be clear. Great heart, lungs, liver’s great. You know, (the doctor) said, ‘well, we do have this one little spot,’ what he called a ‘hot spot,’ and they found a mass in my right thyroid. And they told me that it is papillary carcinoma, and it’s cancer. I will tour again. I will sing on stage again. I’m not done by any means.”

Link

Upgrade to paid

David Kushner cancels tour following mental health struggles

March 11, 2025

David Kushner says he needs “to focus on getting better”

David Kushner has announced he is cancelling the remainder of his UK and Europe tour.

It follows the Daylight singer opening up about his mental health struggles which led to the 24-year-old scrapping his Manchester gig on Monday evening.

“I’ve done everything I can to keep going, but right now I need to step back and focus on getting better,” David has written on Instagram.

The artist, from Chicago, had performances lined up in Birmingham, Bristol, London and Dublin, before being due to go to Lithuania and Belgium.

Link

Popular punk band’s singer suffered brain hemorrhage, tour canceled as he recovers

March 19, 2025

Flogging Molly frontman Dave King is on the road to recovery from a brain hemorrhage he suffered on Jan. 24.

The band recently announced they were canceling their 2025 tour, citing King suffering “a very serious health condition.” On Monday, King’s wife and bandmate Bridget Regan released a full statement on Instagram concerning what her husband has been fighting through.

Link

Kyle Richards’ Friend Morgan Wade Gives Sad Health Update

March 14, 2025

Morgan Wade [30] is dealing with a health issue that has affected her ability to perform. Kyle Richards’ friend, who appeared last season on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, had to cancel a recent show due to the unfortunate issue. Morgan is a country music singer. Her friendship with the RHOBH star gave her a lot of exposure, especially after the decision to cast Kyle as her love interest in a music video. Morgan took to her Instagram Stories on March 12 to confirm that she has been dealing with vocal chord issues. Unfortunately, the singer had to cancel her show at the Agora Theatre and Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio.

Link

News19’s JR Berry shares cancer diagnosis, will be off-air for several weeks

March 14, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — News19 Anchor J.R. Berry has announced he has been diagnosed with a curable form of cancer but that his upcoming treatment will keep him off the air for several weeks. Berry issued a statement on social media Friday that said, “Hello friends. The docs tell me I have a very treatable, very curable form of cancer. I have a great team and we’re ready to tackle this head on. My treatment begins next week. As a result, I will be off the air for several weeks. Mrs. Berry and I appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers.”

Researcher's Note - WLTX is a television station in Columbia, South Carolina, affiliated with CBS. Owned by Tegna Inc. Tegna, Hearst, Scripps Require Employees To Be Vaccinated [sic]

Link

UNITED KINGDOM

King Charles Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer, Given Two Years to Live: Report

March 14, 2025

Buckingham Palace announced in February of last year that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, but officials did not offer any specifics with regard to the severity of his condition or the organs affected. However, insiders claim that Charles’ prognosis is an “open secret” among royal staffers, and that those closest to him know exactly what kind of cancer he’s battling. According to a report from In Touch, King Charles [76] was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given just two years to live. Charles reportedly received the diagnosis after undergoing surgery for an enlarged prostate earlier this year. We should note that the In Touch report has not been confirmed by either Buckingham Palace or any other media outlets. The report also claims that Charles plans to undergo treatment to “extend his life” and will continue to take a partial break from his royal duties. “Charles is keeping up with some appearances, not only to squash the wild conspiracy theories and false reports of his death, but to ensure people that he’s still able to perform his duties as king,” says one insider. Palace officials have confirmed that Charles has cancer and that he plans to continue working, but they’ve said little else about his condition. But keeping the nature of his cancer so hush-hush has caused concern now, nearly a year later, that same concern is mounting.

Link

IRELAND

Fontaines D.C. Cancel Mexico and South American Tour Dates Due to Medical Issues

March 18, 2025

Irish rockers Fontaines D.C. have been forced to cancel their upcoming run of dates throughout Mexico and South America after vocalist Grian Chatten suffered a herniated disc. [As in the world of sports, such injuries have spiked since 2020.]

Chaten announced the news via Fontaines D.C.’s Instagram Stories on Monday (March 17), revealing that the band will be cancelling their next five shows due to his own health condition.

Link

DENMARK

Troels Lund cancels: “Can barely keep up”

March 16, 2025

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (48) is sick and must cancel a TV appointment, he writes on Facebook: “I have a high fever and can barely keep up.” Specifically, his sick leave means that he will not participate in the live broadcast ‘Verden i opbrud – Danmark Samles’, which will air on TV 2 on Sunday evening. A cancellation he is “very sorry” to have to make. “But I don’t think I’ve ever been hit as hard as I am now,” he writes. Troels Lund Poulsen has been nominated and elected to the Danish Parliament in the Greater East Jutland constituency.

Link

DR PAUL ALEXANDER

Fwd: BOOM! On example of huge success by Musk/Trump I applaud! ‘Right now, the Bureaustate is fighting hard to maintain

On example of huge success by Musk/Trump I applaud! ‘Right now, the Bureaustate is fighting hard to maintain the constitutional abominations of “independent agencies.” It seems doubtful that

anyone will try to resurrect the FMSC, but it should be remembered always as a constitutional cautionary tale. Power corrupts, and a lack of accountability and transparency creates Bureaustate gods

DOGE Finally Shuts Down Bureaustate Elysium in K Street Palace – HotAir

and Elysiums from which they lord over what used to be a free people. It’s long past time to put an end to it — and them.’

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.

Upgrade to paid

A strong subscriber DUANE HAYES shared this, and I had to share for it reveals how Musk doomed this corrupted banal office (when you read as reported, this place was sheer corruption, this was like theft of tax-payer money) & this I applaud:

Start here:

‘Ever heard of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS)? Can you guess what it actually did? Ostensibly, it acted as a voluntary labor-relations mediator, although other private firms provide the same services. In reality, it became the Elysium for federal bureaucrats, one finally shut down by the US DOGE Service.

“Finally,” because the exalted status of the FMCS had been known for well over a decade. Luke Rosiak published a series of exposés at the Washington Examiner in 2014-15 that exposed the FMCS as a corrupt, do-nothing agency living high on the K Street hog. Rosiak returns now at the Daily Wire not to praise or mourn FMCS, but to ensure it remains buried:

The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) occupied a nine-story office tower on D.C.’s K Street for only 60 employees, many of whom actually worked from home, prior to the pandemic. Its managers had luxury suites with full bathrooms; one manager would often be “in the shower” when she was needed, while another used her bathroom as a cigarette lounge. FMCS recorded its director as being on a years-long business trip to D.C. so he could have all of his meals and living expenses covered by taxpayers, simply for showing up to the office.

This might be the way that readers believe all federal bureaucrats operate. That’s not accurate in the aggregate — many grind out their days behind painted windows and under fluorescent lights — but taxpayers shouldn’t be footing the bill for any bureaucrats to live this high on the hog. Even Fortune 100 corporate executives would face some harsh scrutiny from shareholders over this kind of wanton corruption.

How did this level of bureaucratic corruption happen? Like a significant number of agencies, it was largely set on autopilot. An “independent” agency, the president only had nominal authority, which went largely unexercised — until Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE:

FMCS is a 230-employee agency that exists to serve as a voluntary mediator between unions and businesses. As an “independent agency,” its director nominally reports to the president, but the agency is so small that in effect, there is no oversight at all — and it showed, becoming a real-life caricature of all the excesses that the Department of Government Efficiency has alleged take place in government.

This reporter spent a year investigating the agency a decade ago, and I found egregious and self-serving violations of hiring, pay, contracting, and purchase card rules. One thing I could not discover is why the agency actually existed, other than to provide luxurious lifestyles for its employees. Endless junkets to resort destinations, which employees openly used to facilitate personal vacations, were justified as building awareness of the agency in the hopes that someone would actually want to use its voluntary services.

FMCS seemed, quite clearly, to exist for the benefit of those on its payroll, and not much else.

Unfortunately, Rosiak’s earlier exposés at the WashEx are paywalled, so many of the details are not available. However, Rosiak recaps a few highlights in this Daily Wire report, including tidbits about how FMCS employees turned off protections on their government credit cards in order to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal purchases. They hired family members as contractors and employees, and in one memorable anecdote, bought art from a spouse to hang on the walls. Another top official listed his duty station in Iowa even though he lived in the DC area. That allowed him to expense six years of rent and meals “as if he was [sic] on a six-year-long business trip.” And be sure to read about the FMCS luxury digs, too.

How could it be that none of this came to light earlier? Well, it did, but no one did much about it after Rosiak’s series at the WashEx. Barack Obama talked about reforming government, Joe Biden promised to impose it, and neither of them meant it. And it’s not as though other parts of the government weren’t aware; at least one whistleblower came forward. However, the FMCS chief at the time forced the whistleblower to recant when she exposed these practices.

The FMCS should become the poster child in the effort to end the constitutional abomination that is the “independent agency.” Agencies that draw their authority and/or jurisdiction from the executive branch must be fully accountable to the office in which all executive authority constitutionally rests: the President. “Independent” agencies violate the clear lines of responsibility given to the co-equal branches, and largely operate outside the control of any of them. The level of impunity and accountability at FMSC might be an extreme example (although we hardly know whether it’s a unique example yet), but it demonstrates how such constructs lead to the Bureaustate and defeat the structure of rational self-governance through a constitutional republic resting on a federalist structure.

Right now, the Bureaustate is fighting hard to maintain the constitutional abominations of “independent agencies.” It seems doubtful that anyone will try to resurrect the FMSC, but it should be remembered always as a constitutional cautionary tale. Power corrupts, and a lack of accountability and transparency creates Bureaustate gods and Elysiums from which they lord over what used to be a free people. It’s long past time to put an end to it — and them.’

___

SLAY NEWS

NEWS ADDICS

EVOL NEWS

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

Higher For Longer With Tariffs, Port Fees, And German Spending

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 10:20 AM

By Maartie Wijffelaars, senior eurozone economist at Rabobank

As expected, the BOE left its policy rate unchanged at 4.5% yesterday. The guidance was left untouched as it continues to pursue a “gradual and careful” approach, taking a meeting-by-meeting approach. In May, the MPC will take a closer look at the balance of risks: to what extent is policy uncertainty weighing on demand, and is there risk of fresh inflation persistence due to the current rise in the headline rate. This will inform their decision. Our BoE watcher Stefan Koopman still forecasts a 25bp cut every quarter, focusing on the meetings with forecasts and a press conference. For more details please read his post-meeting comment.

In a hearing of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, yesterday, Lagarde also reiterated that the ECB will follow a meeting-by-meeting approach. Uncertainty over the trade policy environment makes it impossible to commit to a predetermined path. Nothing new here. She was more specific, however, about the possible impact of tariff hikes on GDP growth and inflation than before. She underscored the high uncertainty about how specific trade measures would look like, and about their impact on the inflation outlook. But she mentioned that ECB analysis tells that a 25% US import tariff on EU goods would lower Eurozone GDP growth by 0.3% in the first year. If the EU raises tariffs in response this would raise the impact to 0.5%. It could also lift inflation by about 0.5% in the short term, with the impact easing in the medium term, as lower economic activity would stem the inflationary impact. In a way, the view matches Powell’s base case that the inflationary impact would be transitory.

In a recent scenario analysis we also calculated that a 25% US import tariff hike on EU goods and partial retaliation by the EU, would lower Eurozone GDP growth by about 0.5% in two years. Although the negative impact would grow a few percentage points larger in the years thereafter. The risk, in our view, is to the downside, with the main wild card being the extent to which uncertainty would hurt investment decisions. The impact on inflation was much higher in our modelling exercise, at between 1.5 and 2 percentage points in two years. The inflationary impact clearly depends on the extent to which the EU would decide to react. In this scenario the average tariff hike in the EU on US goods was somewhat less than 10%.

The EU remains in favor to negotiate a deal, but it has said to take countermeasures if the US proceeds with unjustified tariffs. At the same time, it is mindful of the negative economic impact of higher import tariffs on its own economy and will continue to respect international trade rules. Altogether this likely implies that it would retaliate US tariffs with a relatively smaller package of rebalancing tariffs at first, threatening to do more if the US doesn’t halt the tariffs. Beyond increasing tariffs on US goods it has a broad range of other rebalancing measures at its disposable. It could for example implement or increase quotas and restrict trade through export bans, restrict access to EU public procurement rounds and in some cases foreign direct investment. In a nuclear option it could even suspend international property right obligations.

In a hearing at the European Parliament yesterday, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic said that the EU will delay the first part of its rebalancing package to the recent US steel and aluminium tariffs. The tariff hikes on Harley Davidsons and US bourbon were supposed to come into force on 1 April, but are now reviewed and delayed to mid-April, when the second and final part of the rebalancing package is planned to come into force. According to Sefcovic this provides time to “consult with member states on both lists simultaneously, and also give extra time for negotiations with our American partners.” He is “convinced that continued engagement and a positive approach is the best way forward.” Some might say that the move has something to do with the fact that governments of France, Italy and Ireland were scared by the threat of Trump to impose a 200% tariff on EU spirits, retaliating the EU’s hike on US bourbon.

But the delay surely didn’t mean cancellation, the Commission said. Moreover, Sefcovic also stated that the EC will prepare a “calibrated” response to any announcement that is expected on the 2nd of April. This arguably could involve a big as well as close to no response. Recall that on 2 April a report on trade relationships and security issues is due. Additional sectoral tariffs may follow immediately after that report, as well as broader “reciprocal tariffs.” This announcement may well change the entire game, again.

Next to goods tariffs, possible upcoming US port fees on China-linked shipping of up to USD 1.5 million, and obligations to use US flagged, operated and built ships for a certain share of US exports, also have the potential to create inflationary pressures and disrupt global supply chains. The consultation period on a draft executive order including these proposals will close next Monday, when a public discussion will be held at the International Trade Commission. The draft also includes that allies should work with the US and implement similar measures or risk retaliation.  

The plan could impose significant costs for ocean carriers, raising delivery costs of US coal by up to 35%, for example, according to Xcoal Energy & Resources CEO Ernie Thrasher. And it could also significantly limit US LNG exports, as there are currently no “US built, US flagged LNG carriers in operation nor on order”, according to BIMCO. Reuters reports that the plan is already “choking US coal and agricultural exports”, and rather than facing up to a 35% increase in costs, some carriers may cease carrying US exports entirely. Smaller carriers are seeing a drop-off in activity until the new maritime cost structure is clear. For more historical context, and insightful details and implications of the draft please read the piece of our global strategist Michael Every, In Deepest Ship.

7.OIL AND NATURAL GAS ISSUES/GLOBAL/ENERGY/

Burgum Orders Nearly 20 Million Acres In Alaska Opened For Oil, Gas Development

by Tyler Durden

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 12:20 PM

Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has directed the Bureau of Land Management to “pursue steps to expand opportunities for exploration and development” of oil, gas, and mineral resources across nearly 20 million previously off-limits acres within Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

The move was not unexpected after President Donald Trump issued a Jan. 20 ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential’ executive actions package mandating federal agencies “expedite permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects,” prioritize “development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential,” and expand fossil fuel development in the 23-million-acre NPR and 19.6-million acre ANWR.

Burgum followed through with a Feb. 3 order requiring the Bureau of Land Management to “exercise all lawful authority” in developing a plan to implement the president’s policy.

“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” Burgum said in a March 20 press release announcing the directive.

The sweeping actions by Trump and Burgum, who also chairs the National Energy Dominance Council, rescind “all regulations, orders, guidance documents, policies, and any other similar agency actions … promulgated, issued, or adopted between Jan. 20, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025,” essentially erasing dozens of actions related to Alaska by President Joe Biden and his administration.

During Trump’s first term, Congress directed the Department of Interior (DOI) to open a 1.56-million acre coastal plain area within ANWR’s Section 1002 to oil and gas drilling for the first time when it adopted the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the area could hold up to 11.8 billion barrels of oil.

However, the Biden administration auctioned only 400,000 acres in January 2025, drawing no bidders because “new severe restrictions” imposed in November 2024 made “any development economically and practically impossible,” Alaska argued in a Jan. 5 lawsuit that alleged DOI and the Bureau of Land Management were in violation of the TCJA.

Under the executive actions and Burgum’s directive, the bureau must now make the entire 1.56-million-acre ANWR coastal plain and 82 percent of NPR available for oil and gas leasing. More than 13 million of NPR’s 23 million acres had been off-limits to development for decades since at least 1980.

“For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential,” Burgum said.

Trump campaigned on a vow to “unleash American energy” to ignite economic development and pay down the national debt, something Burgum expounded upon during a March 12 discussion before global energy leaders at CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston.

“Our national assets far exceed the $36.5 trillion in debt,” he said, noting assets administered by DOI—500 million acres of public land, 700 million acres of subsurface mineral rights, 2.5 billion offshore acres—are long-mismanaged resources the Trump administration sees as debt-busting revenue generators.

Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) said in a March 20 statement that Oil and gas leases and the revenues they generate may not be the answer the president and his interior secretary are touting them to be.

The January 2021 ANWR lease sale authorized by the TCJA “yielded only $16.5 million in revenue, largely funded by the state-backed Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority,” the nonprofit said, citing its recently posted analysis of ANWR lease sales as a case-in-point.

Subsequent withdrawals and cancellations of leases “ultimately led to taxpayers receiving no new revenue from the sale” the Washington-based watchdog said.

The second lease sale, the January 2025 auction that spanned 400,000 acres, attracted no industry bids at all.

“ANWR lease sales were originally projected to generate $1 billion in federal revenue to offset the TCJA tax cuts, which Congress now seeks to make permanent,” the nonprofit said.

“Our examination, grounded in lease sale data spanning the past two decades, provides a rigorous, data-driven estimate of likely federal revenues,” it said, that “directly challenge overly optimistic revenue projections that have been used to justify recent fiscal policies, particularly using ANWR lease sales as revenue-raising offsets for the proposed $4.5 trillion in lost revenue as part of the budget reconciliation package.”

Burgum’s directive also calls for the land management bureau to “convey” federal lands framing Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River to the state, essentially tracing the proposed route of the 211-mile Ambler Road project proposed by the Alaska Industrial and Development Export Authority, and along the 807-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor.

The pipeline project, sponsored by the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, seeks to funnel about 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas a day (Bcf/d) from Prudhoe Bay above the North Slope to Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula, about 80 miles south of Anchorage. It would be the only LNG export terminal on the west coast of the United States.

The proposed pipeline/terminal project was initially submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2017 and received authorization to proceed in May 2020 under the Trump administration. It was reauthorized under the Biden administration in 2022.

Despite the re-authorization, nearly 80 Biden executive orders related to Alaska energy development had locked the LNG project in a regulatory limbo.

“It’s a very different world, right?” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said during a March 14 CERAWeek address, noting Trump’s Alaska executive actions don’t just untangle oil, gas, and the state’s LNG project from regulatory straitjackets, but clear away federal rules restricting access to critical minerals, timber, and other resources in the massive state.

“It’s an amazing executive order,” he said. “I mean, we’ll have that framed on our walls for decades” in the Alaska governor’s office in Juneau.

The governor has been on a sales trip to Japan, South Korea, and Thailand securing customers for when the state’s LNG pipeline/liquefaction plant begins producing in less than three years.

Dunleavy called Burgum’s directive “more great news for Alaska,” in a March 20 statement.

“The news today will provide more investment opportunities, more jobs, and a better future for Alaskans,” he said. “We look forward to our continued work with President Trump and his administration to move Alaska and our country forward.”

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

CANADA/TESLA

Canada’s Largest Tesla Showroom Hit By Attack, 80 Vehicles Damaged By Rogue Leftists

by Tyler Durden

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 05:20 PM

The wave of terrorism fueled by far-left groups aligned with the Democratic Party has spread internationally and is potentially linked to another incident in which dozens of Teslas were damaged at a showroom in Ontario, Canada, this week.

Canadian news channel CP24 reports that 80 Tesla vehicles in Hamilton, Ontario, were vandalized at Canada’s largest Tesla Service Center at CF Lime Ridge Mall, 999 Upper Wentworth Street.

Here’s more from the media outlet:

Hamilton police say they are investigating a “series of mischiefs” after dozens of Tesla vehicles were damaged at a local dealership this week.

According to police, officers were called to a Tesla dealership, located at 999 Upper Wentworth Street, on Wednesday for a report of damage to some of the store’s inventory.

Police arrived to discover that “upwards of 80” Tesla vehicles parked outside had sustained damage, including deep scratches and punctured tires.

“Police are currently reviewing CCTV camera footage and are asking the public for their assistance in solving this crime,” investigators said in a news release issued Thursday.

A separate report from Tesla blog Drive Tesla provided more color on additional Tesla attacks across Canada: 

While this is the largest incident of vandalism involving Tesla vehicles, it’s far from the first. In recent weeks, Teslas have increasingly become targets of vandalism and attacks. One of the most significant incidents occurred in Nanaimo, British Columbia where a Tesla Supercharger station was deliberately set on fire last week.

A similarly shocking event took place in London, Ontario, just a few days later when a Tesla Model S was intentionally set on fire at CF Masonville Mall.

Yesterday, climate activists targeted a Tesla store in Montreal, spray painting the facade of the building in a protest against Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

In the US, the unhinged Democratic Party has waged a massive assault on Tesla. Far-left anarcho-terrorists have firebombed Tesla vehicles and Supercharger networks, while leftist NGOs target showrooms with rent-a-protesters. 

Unhinged Radical Democrat Congresswoman Jasmine Crocket…

Soros is gearing up for color revolution operations.

Failed 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee wished death on the American company.

TDS infects Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson. 

Democrats are doubling down with Communist revolutionary tactics in their effort to try to kill an American company. It looks pretty miscalculated for the imploding party polling at record-low levels with voters. This type of revolutionary behavior by the left should further energize the common sense/center-right. 

What’s particularly alarming is the incident in Canada, which appears to be a foreign group inflicting harm on an American company. Unacceptable.

END

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

EURO/USA: 1.0844 DOWN 9 BASIS POINTS

USA/ YEN 148.88 UP 0.260 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 1.2944 DOWN 0.0002 OR 2 BASIS PTS

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.4345 UP 0.0021 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 21 BASIS PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 44.12 PTS OR 1.29%

 Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 530.23 PTS OR 2.17%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.12%

 // EUROPEAN BOURSE:     ALL RED

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES:  ALL RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 530.23 PTS OR 2.17%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 44.12 PTS OR 1.29%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.12%

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED DOWN 74.22 PTS OR 0.20%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE GREEN

Gold very early morning trading: 3034.40

silver:$33.20

USA dollar index early FRIDAY  morning: 103.54 UP 4 BASIS POINTS FROM  THURSDAY’s CLOSE.

FRIDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing FRIDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.275 % DOWN 2 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +1.4993% DOWN 0 FULL POINTS AND 60/100  BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.339 DOWN 2 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.814 DOWN 3 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.755 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES :  MID DAY THURSDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.0832 DOWN .0022 OR 22 basis points

USA/Japan: 148.88 UP 0.254 OR YEN IS DOWN 25 BASIS PTS//

Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.7257 UP 7 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar DOWN .0032 OR 32 BASIS pts  to 1.4356

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The USA/Yuan UP T0 7.2495,  CNY ON SHORE ..CHINA MUST DEVALUE TO GOLD  

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE UP TO 7.2569:    

TURKISH LIRA:  38.02 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +1.499

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 2 in basis points from WEDNESDAY at  4.215% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)

 USA 30 yr bond yield  4.557 DOWN 0 in basis points  /11:00 AM

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.923 DOWN 4 BASIS PTS.

GOLD AT 11;00 AM 3004.00

SILVER AT 11;00: 32.83

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

London: CLOSED DOWN 55.20pts or 0.63%

GERMAN DAX: DOWN 107.47PTS OR 0.47%

Paris CAC CLOSED DOWN 51.25 or 0.63%

Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 43.90PTS OR 0.33%

Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 152.44 PTS OR 0.39%

WTI Oil price  67.85 11 EST/

Brent Oil:  71.72 11:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE ///   AT:  84.60 ROUBLE UP 0 AND  33/ 100      

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.7555 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.7215 UP 7 BASIS POINTS

CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.007 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.655 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA 1.0818 DOWN 0.0034 OR 34 BASIS POINTS//HEADING TO PARITY WITH THE DOLLAR

British Pound: 1.2919 DOWN .0045 OR 45 basis pts/HEADING FOR PARITY /USA

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  4.7695 up 6 BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.502

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 149.25 UP 0.636 BASIS PTS// HEADING FOR 160 TO THE DOLLAR

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.4349 up 25 BASIS PTS CDN DOLLAR DOWN 25 BASIS PTS

West Texas intermediate oil: 68.25

Brent OIL:  72.08

USA 10 yr bond yield UP 2 BASIS pts to 4.247

USA 30 yr bond yield UP 4 BASIS PTS to 4.592%

USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 1 PTS AT  3.946

CDN 10 YR RATE 3.022 DOWN 0 BASIS PTS

CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.673DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

USA dollar index: 103.77 UP 28 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 37.82 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  84.50 UP 0 AND  42/100 roubles

GOLD  3021.30 (3:30 PM)

SILVER: 32.91 (3:30 PM)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 31.36 OR 0.08%

NASDAQ 100 UP 81.47 PTS OR 0.41%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 19.64 DOWN 0.16 PTS OR 0.18%

GLD: $ 278.49 DOWN 2.26 PTS OR 0.80%

SLV/ $30.02 DOWN 0.48 PTS OR OR 1.57%

TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED DOWN 104.84 OR 0.42%

end

TRADING today ZEROHEDGE/

ZEROHEDGE/HEADLINE CLOSING MARKETS/ZEROHEDGE

Stocks & Rate-Cut-Hopes Rebound As Tariff ‘Flexibility’ Trumps FedSpeak

USA DATA

This is a strong bellwether on the USA economy; Fedex. If earnings are strong so is the USA economy:

(zedrohedge)

Fedex Plunges After Earnings Miss, Slashes Guidance For 3rd Time

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 04:33 PM

FedEx stock tumbled after the company missed EPS expectations and lowered its full-year profit outlook for a third consecutive quarter as mounting economic uncertainty added to sputtering demand already squeezing the parcel company’s bottom line.

For fiscal Q3, the company reported a revenue beat but this was offset by a miss in both profit margins, operating income and EPS:

• Adjusted EPS $4.51, missing estimate $4.57
• Revenue $22.2 billion, beating estimate $21.91 billion
  • Federal Express revenue $19.18 billion, beating estimate $18.94 billion
  • FedEx Freight rev. $2.09 billion, beating estimate $2.07 billion
• Adjusted operating income $1.51 billion, missing estimate of $1.52 billion
• Adjusted operating margin 6.8%, missing estimates of 7.06%

But what really spooked investors and sent the stock plunging after hours, was the company’s guidance which was slashed for the third time in a row, sparking rumblings about a possible CEO change:

• Sees revenue flat to slightly down YoY, also a downgrade from the previous guidance of flat YoY
• Adjusted EPS now expected to be in the range of $18 to $18.60 per share this fiscal year, well below the company’s prior guidance of $19-20 and also below the consensus estimates of $18.95 on average.

The gloomier outlook shows how FedEx continues to wrestle with sputtering package demand amid mounting signs of economic slowdown. Weakness from industrial customers is weighing on its services that cater to businesses, CFO John Dietrich said in a statement Thursday announcing results.

Commenting on the quarter, CEO Raj Subramaniam said the company faced a “very challenging” operating environment in the period that included a shorter peak shipping season and severe weather. Subramaniam is working to transform the company by combining its Express unit that ships parcels by air with its Ground delivery network. The broader industry has been suffering from a prolonged period of weakness as cash-strapped customers spend on services rather than goods, and a growing preference for slower, cheaper delivery options instead of more profitable express shipping.

FedEx also made the following comments:

• Freight segment operating results decreased due to lower fuel surcharges, reduced weight per shipment, and fewer shipments, partially offset by higher base yield
• Federal Express segment operating results improved during the quarter, driven by cost reduction benefits from DRIVE, higher base yield, and increased U.S. and international export volume
• FedEx Freight segment operating results decreased during the quarter due to lower fuel surcharges, reduced weight per shipment, and fewer shipments, partially offset by higher base yield
• Progresses FedEx Freight Spin-Off Preparation
• Still Sees Cost Reductions of $2.2B

FedEx is the latest US company to sound the alarm over weakening consumer confidence and potential fallout from Trump’s escalating trade war, even though the company’s stated reason for the miss – lower fuel surcharges – goes directly opposite to what it is accusing Trump of doing, namely pushing prices higher. Maybe Fedex can

The parcel company is considered an economic bellwether because of its exposure to a broad swath of the global economy, from retail to manufacturing.

In kneejerk response, FDX stock tumbled 5% after hours, and is down 12% this year through Thursday’s close. It is now at levels last seen more than a year ago.

USA ECONOMIC NEWS

LOS ANGELES

The homeless problem: many fires created by the homeless:

(zerohedge)

How Los Angeles Is Getting Scorched by Its Homeless Problem

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 10:35 PM

Authored by Ana Kasperian via RealClearInvestigations,

Francesca Padilla was awakened by the sound of screaming people and breaking glass. Soon she could hear the tortured howls of her neighbor’s dog Togo as the bungalow right next to her Venice home was engulfed in flames.  

“It was yelping so loud–the sound isn’t the usual dog sound–it was suffering,” another neighbor told a local newspaper. “It was suffering.” The homeowner, Dr. Courtney Gillenwater, a pediatrician, was at work when the fire started around 3 a.m.  Her neighbors tried and failed to break into her bungalow to rescue Togo. But the Husky-mix ultimately died, and Gillenwater’s home in this Los Angeles neighborhood was destroyed.

Gillenwater suspected that drug addicts from the growing homeless encampment nearby started the April 2021 fire because she had asked city officials to remove a dumpster behind her house where they would congregate. 

Her neighbor, Padilla, also believes the homeless were the culprits. “Anyone can see the correlation between homeless encampments and the rise of fires,” she said. “We have people cooking drugs out in the open right across the street. Is that not a recipe for disaster?”

Initially, firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department also suspected arson, telling reporters candidly at the time that they believed someone threw something over Gillenwater’s fence to start the fire. But soon the department issued a statement declaring in euphemistic bureaucratese that “there is no evidence that indicates the involvement of a person experiencing homelessness.” Four years later, the cause of the blaze remains officially unsolved. 

The 2021 fire is now viewed by some Los Angeles residents as a symbol of the city’s failure to control the spread of homeless encampments that have become a major cause of fires in the city. While LA’s leaders have been quick to point to climate change and faulty power lines for the recent historic fires that razed large swaths of the city, critics say they have intentionally downplayed the role played by the city’s swelling homeless population.

A new investigation by KCAL News using LAFD data found that since 2019, the number of fires connected to a homeless person has increased by the thousands. In 2024 alone, there were nearly 17,000 such fires.

A separate investigation by NBC4’s I-Team tallied nearly 14,000 homeless fires a year earlier. The report found that some of the fires were sparked as a result of encampments illegally tapping into the city’s electrical system to power items in their tents. Regardless, the upward trend in these types of fires is clear. The 13,909 homeless fires in 2023 were nearly double the number in 2020 when 43% of all citywide fire incidents involved a homeless person. Today, more than half of the fires do, even as the homeless account for less than 1% of the city’s population.

Gigi Graciette, a reporter for Fox 11 television, says fire officials have been advised to evade questions about homeless fires from local journalists.  “Even when [high-ranking fire officials] know for a fact how a fire … was indeed connected to an encampment or to an unhoused individual, they are not to say that,” Graciette said during a February 21 broadcast. “They are just to say it’s under investigation,” she continued.

Graciette noted that “many chiefs, many battalion chiefs, many captains are extremely frustrated to see their men and their women risking their lives on fires” at the same encampments repeatedly, including one whose squatters have taken over an abandoned office building in the working class neighborhood of Van Nuys. “It was there that a battalion chief told me ‘we’ve been to this one building ten times and I’m not allowed to speak about it,’ “ Graciette said. “That’s just the politics at play here.”

Fire officials do speak up from time to time, as did Capt. Freddy Escobar, president of United Firefighters of Los Angeles City, last June after fire crews responded to a homeless encampment fire that has recurred at the same site in the Sepulveda Basin. In highlighting the department’s frustration with city leadership, Escobar described how fire crews were expected to respond to the same encampment fire over and over again. “It was caused by the homeless and we nearly lost a firefighter over this,” he said. “I’m asking the city of Los Angeles, where is the outrage for what’s happening in the city? Because what we’re doing today is not working.”

A dozen firefighters were injured due to a sudden explosion as they battled the blaze. One member of the fire crew sustained severe injuries, including head trauma and a severed ear, which had to be reattached by doctors after he was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that multiple suspicious devices were found at the encampment where the fire started, preventing fire crews from returning. Instead, a helicopter was used to douse the fire with water and extinguish the blaze.

Located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, the Sepulveda Basin is surrounded by parks, fields for competitive sports and a long bike path. The area is also home to the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve, a favorite among local birdwatchers due to its diverse variety of avian species. 

Last June, San Fernando Valley Audubon Society treasurer Pat Bates told the Los Angeles Daily News that her organization had been worried about the fire risk posed by the makeshift multi-story structures, propane tanks and construction materials they’ve discovered throughout the wildlife reserve. She and her colleagues estimated that roughly 150 people were living there, with some in desperate need of mental health treatment. 

The president of the SFV Audubon Society even recalled witnessing a screaming man waving a machete during a recent field trip for around a dozen third-grade students. No one was harmed. But the incident highlighted what Escobar put bluntly: what the city is doing is not working. Bates agrees. “We are very frustrated,” she said. “Why is anybody allowed to bring construction materials in and live there?”

Bates isn’t the only one asking such questions. Business owners and residents alike have been lobbying local leaders to be proactive and do something about the risks associated with the open fires commonly seen in encampments. Among the critics is commercial property owner John Alley, who is furious that open fires continue to be an issue in Santa Monica and Westlake, where the city’s notoriously crime-ridden MacArthur Park is located.

“Every night, on the sidewalks across MacArthur Park and in MacArthur Park, there’s two types of fires,” Alley says he told L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. “There’s the fires which are used to cook meth and the others are used to stay warm,” Alley continued. 

Bass called Alley on January 4, mere days before massive wind-fueled fires tore through and leveled the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. “I said [to Bass] there’s going to be a problem there, and if these fires burn buildings and people die, it’d be very embarrassing for you Mayor to have to come back early.”

Alley secretly recorded his exchange with Bass and felt justified in doing so because he “felt my life and the safety of my tenants and their hard-working employees were in danger.” Alley says the crime in the area, including drug trafficking, shootings and stabbings, has gotten so bad that police often refuse to escort firefighters in MacArthur Park for protection. “If firefighters don’t have their backs covered, they’re not going to be safe,” Alley asserted. “But the problem is the police … are staying two and three blocks away from the park at night. The police are afraid, not enough of them.”

Mayor Bass did not respond to RealClearInvestigations’ request for comment for this article.

Alley’s claims have been brushed off by anti-police activists as nothing more than paranoid musings. In reality, the gang MS-13 has had a foothold in MacArthur Park for years, and several transgender sex workers have been stabbed to death by gang members seeking to rid the area of them. But they’re not the only victims. For decades, gang members have been charging a weekly fee to street vendors, drug dealers, sex workers, homeless individuals and even legal business owners in the area. In 2021 the Los Angeles Times detailed a horrific incident involving the killing of a 3-week-old baby who was struck by gunfire after 18th Street gang members opened fire on a street vendor who refused to pay them $50. 

A 2023 report commissioned by the LAFD detailed the challenges facing the Fire Department in dealing with its the high volume of homeless-related calls. Aside from battling blazes, the LAFD also responds to medical emergencies throughout the city, which has proven to spread their resources thin in the context of an ever-expanding homeless population. 

“Over the course of late 2021 and into 2022, the City and County rolled out a pilot project for the delivery of alternative, non-urgent patient care—including mental health and homeless program diversion; however, this is not enough,” the report stated. “The alternative response program needs to scale massively and quickly to lower the workload placed on fire units back down to moderate and serious emergencies.”

Two Calls Per Hour

To highlight how homeless-related emergency calls were overburdening the LAFD, the report cited that “in 2020, Fire Station 9 in the east downtown area responded to 18,986 incidents—an average of 52 per day, or two per hour,” and recommended that the city “shift low-acuity EMS incidents from firefighter-staffed rescue ambulances in very high-incident-demand areas to non-firefighter-staffed, low-acuity units to include medical, mental health care, and homeless resources.” 

Further, the report recommended that “well over 100 new non-firefighter personnel must be hired” for homeless response measures. Two years later, data show that the LAFD continues to be more severely understaffed than almost any other major city, with only one firefighter for every 1,000 residents. By comparison, other major cities like Chicago, Dallas and Houston have closer to two firefighters per capita. 

“This is a woefully understaffed fire department,” Escobar said during a tearful interview with CNN last January. “We’re either going to have a fire department that’s going to reflect 2025, or we’re going to have a fire department that’s going to reflect the 1960s.” 

Ironically, data show that the LAFD was actually better-staffed back then. In a December 2024 memo that has since been deleted from the city’s website, former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley drew attention to the fact that the city has fewer fire stations today than it did in 1960 despite the population growing from 2.5 million to 4 million by 2020. 

Bass faced fierce backlash after having slashed more than $17.5 million from the Fire Department’s operational budget months before January’s devastating wildfires. But she still denies the cuts despite overwhelming evidence otherwise. 

In fact, the Mayor originally proposed trimming LAFD funding by $23 million for fiscal year 2024-2025. But that plan was never adopted. Later, a leaked memo City Hall sent to division fire chiefs and captains, following a tense meeting between Bass and Crowley one day before the fires, communicated that the Mayor was looking for an additional $49 million in cuts. The memo suggested that as many as 16 fire stations could shutter, but also clarified that “this is a worst-case scenario and is NOT happening yet.” 

Nevertheless, the eventual $17.5 million cut from the department’s operational budget did hamper the LAFD’s response to the fires. It resulted in firings of civilian workers, for example, including mechanics who repair fire trucks. In announcing Crowley’s demotion later, Mayor Bass claimed that “a thousand firefighters could have been on duty the morning the fires broke” but “were sent home.” Bass did not mention the department’s 75 fire trucks that were sitting idle because mechanics were not available to repair them. 

Burning Acreage, and Money for Homeless

The city has endured annual increases in both the number of fires and acres burned, but Bass has consistently dedicated more taxpayer resources to nonprofits serving the homeless than to the LAFD, which is tasked with protecting millions of people. While $837 million was budgeted for the fire department in fiscal year 2023-2024, $1.3 billion was allocated for the homeless. As with the fire budget, funding for homelessness was also reduced in the 2024-2025 budget, but its amount was still higher than that of the LAFD.

Also of concern is how the city’s homeless funding is being spent. A new audit commissioned by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter shows that the city has failed to track the performance of homeless programs that received a total of $2.4 billion in grants. Auditors argue that the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, which chooses grantees, lacked “uniform data standards and real-time oversight” and that “increased the risk of resource misallocation and limited the ability to assess the true impact of homelessness assistance services.”

The audit maintained that LAHSA’s missing data and lack of oversight “made it challenging” to determine how program funds were used and “whether they achieved the intended outcomes.”

One example highlighted in the audit was a nearly $2.1 million contract LAHSA head Va Lecia Adams Kellum approved for Upward Bound House’s housing assistance program. Adams Kellum breached ethics rules by approving the contract because her husband holds a senior position with the organization. But LAHSA made two amendments to the organization’s existing contracts to increase the grant amount to $2.4 million. The latest judge-mandated audit found that LAHSA had no performance reports for Upward Bound House.

Bass has little to show for the many billions she has poured into alleviating the homeless crisis. A federally mandated annual count found that 75,312 people were homeless on any given night across the county in January 2024. That represented a slight 0.3% improvement from the year before when the homeless tally totalled 75,518 people. And while the fire department was suffering from chronic underfunding, city comptroller Kenneth Mejia discovered that $513 million of the $1.3 billion in homeless funding was never spent. 

LAFD’s Honorary Fire Chief Paul Scrivano speculated that the city’s failed approach was not the bug but a feature of their leadership. “If the problem goes away, the money goes away,” Scrivano said on the Wisenuts Podcast. “So, the problem will never go away. This is an industry.”

A little over a year after the Venice fire took the dog Togo’s life, in October 2022, one hundred firefighters battled for more than 80 minutes to put out another fire in Venice that locals say was started by the homeless. A home that was under renovation was completely destroyed and five others sustained serious damage. Neighbor Glenn Searle says he personally witnessed several homeless individuals entering the property that was being renovated. “I can say that all day before there were homeless living in here and using the toilet all day,” he revealed to CBS. When asked if the Fire Department had any suspicion that the blaze was started by a homeless person, an LAFD spokesperson had “no comment.”

END

LOS ANGELES/DEBT CRISIS

LA Budget Crisis, Deficit Approaches $1 Billion, Layoffs ‘Nearly Inevitable’

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 03:05 PM

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

Union contracts are at the heart of the problem. Chicago coming up.

Full Blown Crisis

Please note L.A. city budget shortfall grows to nearly $1 billion, with layoffs ‘nearly inevitable’

L.A.’s financial problems exploded into a full-blown crisis on Wednesday, with the city’s top budget official announcing that next year’s shortfall is now just shy of $1 billion, making layoffs “nearly inevitable.”

City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed budget, which will be released April 21, will close that gap, but it will require difficult “cost-cutting decisions.” He warned that the severity of revenue declines and rising costs has created a budget gap that makes layoffs “nearly inevitable.”

Szabo, in his presentation to the council Wednesday, attributed the city’s financial woes, in part, to increased spending on legal payouts, which have ballooned over the last few years. Tax revenues have been coming in much weaker than expected — and are expected to soften further in the upcoming budget year, which starts July 1.

Pay raises for city employees that are scheduled to go into effect in the coming budget year are expected to consume an additional $250 million. On top of that, Szabo said, the city needs to put hundreds of millions into its reserve fund, which has been drained in recent months in an attempt to balance this year’s budget.

Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the budget committee, said the council will need to look at the possibility of asking unions representing city workers to defer the scheduled raises or make other concessions.

“I think everything needs to be on the table,” she said in an interview.

David Green, president and executive director of Service Employees International Union Local 721, called Szabo’s remarks “short-sighted and irresponsible.”

“There’s no question that all of us are in shock with this number,” said Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who sits on the council’s budget committee.

Blumenfield predicted that city leaders would need to seek financial concessions from the workforce.

“Eighty percent of our expenses is labor,” he said. “If we are short more than 10% of our budget, the ‘math doesn’t math’ without looking at labor costs.”

Over the last two years, Bass and the council have signed off on raises and increased benefits for an array of unions — first police officers, then civilian city workers, then firefighters.

Anyone Who Is Shocked Is Incompetent

What’s happening now has been obvious for years.

Corrupt mayors get into bed with corrupt unions leaders then use budget gimmicks to hide the results.

The city exhausted its reserve fund to make the budget look balanced.

Then the city got a reprieve as did all the corrupt blue cities by Biden giveaways, especially the third round of fiscal stimulus that temporally papered over fiscal issues while stimulating the most inflation since the 1970s.

In response to the inflation, unions demanded bigger and bigger pay hikes on top of preposterous benefits.

The Big S Has Finally Hit the Fan

And I am pleased to report Trump will not bail out these irresponsible cities.

As long as Republicans hold the Senate, the same applies regardless of who in in the White House.

Chicago On Deck

March 13, 2024: Chicago Teachers’ Union Seeks $50 Billion Despite $700 Million City Deficit

If you live in Illinois, get the hell out before unions take every penny you have.

July 2, 2024: In Chicago There’s Under a 50 Percent Chance Police Show Up If You are Shot

Good luck in Chicago getting the police to show up if you are shot, stabbed, a victim of domestic violence, or any number of other serious crimes.

August 30, 2024: The Pending Implosion of Chicago Public Unions, No City is More Deserving

Chicago has a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion. Tack on another $2.9 billion for a proposed teachers’ contract plus an unknown amount for firefighters.

December 23, 2024: The Corruption and Incompetence of Chicago’s Mayor Has No Bounds

Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson stepped to new lows when his hand-picked board fired Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez without cause.

It’s time for a Chicago update on union contracts and pension funding.

I am openly rooting for a big-city economic collapse because it’s the only chance at reform with these clearly corrupt mayors.

But If Trump really wants to fix this, he needs to lobby Congress to end collective bargaining for public unions.

Unfortunately, the facts show Trump also panders to unions, especially the police and dockworkers.

Addendum

Please note “L.A. spent $160 million last year to collect $100 million in parking tickets. If that isn’t the best metaphor for this town I don’t know what is. Do something everyone hates and do it poorly.”

H/T @adamcarolla

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON

USA/ANTISEMITISM//HAMAS// REPORT

KINGNEWS

SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT

Obama Judge Blocks DOGE From Social Security Records; Musk Team Deletes ‘Vampires’

Thursday, Mar 20, 2025 – 04:45 PM

A federal judge Thursday issued a two-week temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing personally identifiable information from the Social Security administration.

US District Judge Ellen Hollander of Maryland also ordered DOGE to delete any personally identifiable data they may possess. The ruling come after labor unions and retirees asked for an emergency order limiting DOGE access to the agency and its vast troves of personal data, AP reports.

“The DOGE Team is essentially engaged in a fishing expedition at SSA, in search of a fraud epidemic, based on little more than suspicion,” wrote Hollander, an Obama appointee.

The order still allows DOGE to access ‘redacted or anonymized data and records of SSA.’

According to the Trump administration, DOGE has a 10-person team of federal employees investigating the Social Security Administration, seven of whom have been granted read-only access to agency systems or personally identifiable information. The government has argued that DOGE access doesn’t significantly deviate from normal practices inside the agency whereby employees can search databases.

*  *  *

Down to our last few green Waxed Canvas Hats!

Established via executive order on January 20, 2025, DOGE aims to cut federal spending, reduce the size of the federal workforce, and modernize government technology.

In mid-February, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Michelle King, resigned after a standoff with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over access to sensitive government records.

Today’s ruling follows a string of judicial DOGE-blocking – as their access to records across the federal government have prompted disputes with senior officials at various agencies. Perhaps most prominently, the highest-ranking civil servant at the US Treasury Department quit after similarly refusing to grant Musk’s team access to the Bureau of Fiscal Service, which manages over $5 trillion in annual payments.

On February 8, 2025, Judge Paul A. Engelmayer in New York blocked DOGE from Treasury records after 19 states, led by NY AG Letitia James, sued over cybersecurity threats. Subsequent rulings, like Judge Deborah Boardman’s February 24 TRO on Education and OPM data, reinforced limits on DOGE’s reach. These cases established that DOGE’s “need-to-know” basis for PII access was unproven.

The same day that King quit, Musk posted what he says could be the ‘biggest fraud in US history‘ in which millions of ‘people’ over the age of 100 are collecting payments.

https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1891350795452654076&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com%2Fpolitical%2Fjudge-blocks-doge-accessing-social-security-records&sessionId=6a245156ff116ac52eba395e1c9ebbe39848a49b&siteScreenName=zerohedge&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px

King – who worked at the agency for over 30 years, left her position this weekend after refusing to give DOGE staffers access to sensitive information, such as the fraudulent payments to ‘vampires’ – with at least one recipient being older than the United States itself.

To that end, DOGE has removed the names of 3.2 million individuals from the Social Security database, many of whom were listed as 120 years of age or older. The agency has now marked them as deceased.

“For the past two weeks, @SocialSecurity has been conducting a major cleanup of its records. Approximately 3.2 million number holders, all listed as age 120+, have now been marked as deceased. More work remains to be done,” the agency posted on X.

Musk shared the post, responding “Cleaning up the dead people database.”

Developing…

END

Musk Tells Tesla Staff “Hang On To Stock” As Leftist NGOs Try Crashing It

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 09:05 AM

Elon Musk appeared in a Tesla all-hands meeting late Thursday on X, offering words of encouragement and a vision of a bright future for the most American-made car manufacturer—despite repeated domestic terrorism attacks by leftists aligned with the imploding Democratic Party, which have made it their clear mission to crash the stock. With Tesla shares down about 42% year-to-date, Musk told employees, “Hang on to your stock.”

Here are the highlights from Musk’s Q1 2025 Tesla All-Hands Meeting (list courtesy of X user Cern Basher):

• Have produced over 7 million vehicles globally
• Will surpass 10 million next year.
• At times there are rocky times, a little bit of stormy weather
• But the future is bright
• Tesla remains the company of choice for people to work for
• Lots of opportunity for upward mobility
• Tesla’s work related injury rate has declined over time
• Where does AI and robots fit into the sustainability picture?
• It’s about sustainable abundance for al
• Model Y became the best-selling vehicle on earth for two years in a row and will be again this year.
• Cybertruck became the best selling electric pick-up truck, instantly.
• On track to complete the Semi factory – will make millions of the Tesla Semi – will also have the ability to go autonomous down the road.
• Five years from now, autonomous Teslas will be everywhere – regulatory globally.
• The Megapack and Powerwall team is knocking it out of the park
• Cell manufacturing – we’re making the most efficient cell in the world – lowest cost per kWh
• Cortex 1 – used for AI training. Over 50,000 active GPUs – soon to be 100,000 GPUs – making it top five in the world
• Tesla self-driving will be 10x better than human drivers
• Optimus is going into production this year – the new 22 DOF hand is now in production
• Tesla is the leader in real-world AI – what we learned from the cars we transferred to the bot
• Optimus will be the biggest product of all time by far – nothing will be even close – I think it will be 10x bigger than any other product ever made

Full summary here:

“If you read the news, it feels like Armageddon,” Musk told workers, adding, “I understand if you don’t want to buy our product, but you don’t have to burn it down. That’s a bit unreasonable.”

This year, Tesla shares are down 42% (as of Thursday’s close) amid fears of weakening demand. Goldman laid this out the other week: 

• “Weak Demand”: Goldman Lowers Tesla Vehicle Delivery Estimate For Quarter

Musk also told workers: “What I’m saying is hang on to your stock.” 

Meanwhile, Democrats and their shady NGO allies have openly plotted—and stated explicitly—their plans to crash Tesla stock

Other Democrats have resorted to firebombing Tesla locations. 

And other Democrats have openly rooted for the death of the most made-in American car company. 

As soon as Democrats saw their USAID slush fund cut by Elon Musk’s DOGE and the Trump administration, they pivoted from trying to blame the Biden-Harris regime’s egg crisis on Trump to launching an effort to crash Tesla stock—while other leftist revolutionaries aligned with the party resort to domestic terrorism.

No wonder the Democratic Party is polling at record lows…

END

DOJ May Invoke State Secrets Privilege In Showdown With Federal Judge, Agency Says

by Tyler Durden

Friday, Mar 21, 2025 – 01:05 PM

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

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering invoking its state secrets privilege in its showdown with a federal judge over the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act and deportation of illegal immigrants, a high-ranking DOJ official said in a new court filing submitted Friday.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former criminal defense lawyer for President Donald Trump, confirmed a statement issued by Robert Cerna, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official, in court papers filed earlier this week in the case that Cabinet secretaries under Trump “are currently actively considering whether to invoke the state secrets privilege.”

“I attest to the accuracy of those statements based on personal knowledge of the events described by Mr. Cerna,” Blanche wrote, “including my direct involvement in ongoing Cabinet-level discussion regarding invocation of the state-secrets privilege.”

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg told government officials that they have a Friday deadline to submit a sworn declaration by a person “with direct involvement in the Cabinet-level discussions” about the state secrets privilege and to tell the court by next Tuesday whether the government will invoke it.

Invoking the state secrets privilege—an evidentiary rule used under U.S. legal precedent—means that government lawyers can assert that court proceedings may divulge sensitive state information that may endanger national security.

Boasberg this week ordered the government to explain why it did not turn around flights carrying deportees to El Salvador and to argue whether the move violated his court order blocking the Alien Enemies Act deportations of those individuals last week.

Boasberg had directed the government to return flights with Venezuelan illegal immigrants alleged to be members of the Tren de Aragua back to the United States.

The judge, who is based in Washington, had given the government until noon Thursday to either provide more details about the flights or make a claim that it must be withheld because it would harm “state secrets.” The government resisted the judge’s request, calling it an “unnecessary judicial fishing” expedition.

In a written order, Boasberg called government officials’ latest response “woefully insufficient” and said that the Trump administration “again evaded its obligations” by merely repeating “the same general information about the flights.”

The judge ordered the government to “show cause” as to why it didn’t abide by his court order to turn around the planes, increasing the prospect that he may consider holding government officials in contempt of court.

The order issued by Boasberg has drawn sharp condemnation from Trump and some Republicans, who have said the judge should be impeached. At least one Republican lawmaker introduced articles of impeachment targeting the judge, although it’s unclear whether GOP House leaders will pursue their usage.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) told news outlets that they may pursue an alternative legislative remedy other than impeachment but will hold hearings on Boasberg and other judges in the coming days.

Calls for impeachment, meanwhile, sparked a response from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who released a statement suggesting that it’s unprecedented to impeach a judge for issuing an order that the government disagrees with.

“Impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said in his statement.

While no other Supreme Court justices have publicly commented on the matter, retired Justice Stephen Breyer told CNN this week that he agrees with Roberts’s assertion and said that instead, the government should appeal the matter rather than focus on impeachment.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has said in court papers and in media appearances that she believes Boasberg is exceeding his authority by issuing a nationwide injunction blocking deportations under the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that typically is invoked in times of war.

While issuing the proclamation on the Act, Trump said that his administration believes that the United States is being invaded by Tren de Aragua, a transnational gang that was declared a foreign terrorist organization last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

GREG HUNTER