APRIL 14/GOLD CLOSED DOWN $16.90 TO $3210.40 WHILE SILVER CLOSED UP $0.23 TO $32.24//PLATINUM WAS UP $16.10 TO $956.00 WHILE PALLADIUM WAS UP $41.00 TO $959.75//GOLD COMMENTARIES TONIGHT FROM JOHN RUBINO AND ALASDAIR MACLEOD//CHINA RETALIATES AGAINST THE USA’S 125% TARIFFS WITH A BAN ON SELLING THEIR RARE EARTHS//ISRAEL VS HAMAS UPDATES/HEZBOLLAH UPDATES/SYRIA AND TURKEY VS ISRAEL COMMENTARY/HOUTHIS UPDATES//COVID UPDATES/VACCINE INJURY REPORTS/MARK CRISPIN MILLER/DR PAUL ALEXANDER./SLAY NEWS ETC//JPMORGAN REPORTS THAT THE USA MAY HAVE A LIQUIDITY CRISIS//TRUMP TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS COMPUTER AND CHIPS TARIFFS//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT//
167 C MAREX 7 323 C HSBC 14 363 H WELLS FARGO SEC 150 523 H INTERACTIVE BRO 2 624 H BOFA SECURITIES 1 661 C JP MORGAN 5 686 C STONEX FINANCIA 95 10 690 C ABN AMRO 14 5 709 C BARCLAYS 65 905 C ADM 6
TOTAL: 187 187 MONTH TO DATE: 60,909
JPMORGAN stopped 5/187
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR APRIL/2024. CONTRACT: 187 NOTICES FOR 18,700 OZ 0.5816 TONNES
total notices so far: 60,909 contracts for 6,090,900 OR 189.45 tonnes)
FOR APRIL
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SILVER NOTICES: 23 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 0.115 MILLION OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 2733 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 13.665 million oz
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END
GLD/
BOTH GLD AND SLV ARE FRAUDULENT VEHICLES//THEY ARE NOW RAIDING GLD AND SLV FOR PHYSICAL
THE CROOKS ARE STEALING GOLD AND SILVER FROM THE GLD/SLV AND REPLACING THE PHYSICAL WITH PAPER DOLLARS.
WITH GOLD DOWN $16.90 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
MEGA HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 3.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//
INVENTORY RESTS AT 953.15 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP $0.23 AT THE SLV: SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.273 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//
CLOSING INVENTORY RESTS AT:
CLOSING INVENTORY: 449.241 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A MEGA HUGE SIZED 5513 CONTRACTS TO 145,155 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH GAIN OF $1.17 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A MEGA HUGE SIZED LOSS OF 5463 TOTAL CONTRACTS AS THE CME NOTIFIED US OF A TINY 50 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE.. WE HAD A CONSIDERABLE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS COMEX TRADING FRIDAY 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 FAILED ON FRIDAY WITH SILVER’S GAIN IN PRICE BUT THE PRICE IS STILL WELL BELOW THE MAGIC NUMBER OF $34.40 SILVER SPOT PRICE. . BUT THIS WAS COUPLED WITH A MEGA HUMONGOUS T.A.S. ISSUANCE OF 4141 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 CONTINUE UNTIL SILVER BREAKS $34.40. WE HAD A TINY 50 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR HUMONGOUS 4141 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN MONDAY’S TRADING/ AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A HUGE SIZED 5463 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.17. WE HAD CONSIDERABLE TAS LIQUIDATION/ THROUGHOUT FRIDAY’S COMEX TRADING SESSION. TODAY, THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD 0 CONTRACTS OF THOSE CRAZY EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR 0 OZ (0 MILLION OZ). THESE EXCHANGE FOR RISKS ARE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE. THUS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 4.0 MILLION OZ OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED ON TWO OCCASIONS. THE RECIPIENT OF THIS LARGESS IS PROBABLY THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA.
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 $34.40 . 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 FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING: A HUMONGOUS 4141 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 UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY $1.17) AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS WE HAD A STRONG GAIN IN PRICE AND WE LOST A HUGE 5463 CONTRACTS IN OPEN INTEREST FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES ALL DUE TO T.A.S LLIQUIDATION.
WE HAD A HUGE 50 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 13.735 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 115,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP FOR PHYSICAL TRANSFER TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 4.00 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK
STANDING FOR APRIL DECREASES TO 18.265 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ HUGE COMEX OI LOSS+// A SMALL SIZED EFP ISSUANCE (50 CONTRACTS)/ VI) HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 4141 CONTRACTS)
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 491 CONTRACTS.
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS MAR. ACCUMULATION FOR EFP’S SILVER/JPMORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES/STARTING FROM FIRST DAY/MONTH OF APRIL
TOTAL CONTRACTS for 10 DAYS, total 13,537 contracts: OR 67.668 MILLION OZ (1353 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 67.668 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: 67.020 MILLION OZ///QUITE SMALL AND BECOMING SMALLER EACH AND EVERY MONTH.
APRIL: 67.668 MILLION OZ/// THIS IS HUGE AND THIS MONTH WILL PROBABLY BE A HUMDINGER OF ISSUANCE.
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RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 5513 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.17 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// FRIDAY.,. (DUE TO T.A.S. ISSUANCE). THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE 50 CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 50 ISSUED FOR MAY AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON AS FORWARDS. WE HAVE A STRONG SILVER OZ STANDING FOR APRIL OF 14.150 MILLION OZ , PLUS OUR 4.00 MILLION EX FOR RISK
NEW STANDING APRIL: 18.265 MILLION OZ
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE THURSDAY NIGHT (4141 ) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE AND MOST LIKELY TODAY.
WE HAD 23 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 0.115 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 1701 OI CONTRACTS TO 457,803 AND FURTHER FROM 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.) THUS WE HAVE A PRETTY LOW OI IN COMEX WITH AN EXTREMELY HIGH PRICE OF GOLD. THE SHORT RATS ARE ABANDONING THE SHIP.
THE DIFFERENTIAL FROM PRELIMINARY OI TO FINAL OI IN GOLD TODAY: ADDED A TINY 3 CONTRACTS CONTRACTS//.
WE HAD A VERY FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI (1701 CONTRACTS) . THIS OCCURRED WITH OUR MAMMOTH GAIN OF $67.70 IN PRICE FRIDAY. THURSDAY WAS ALSO THE HIGHEST EVER SINGLE NOMINAL GAIN IN COMEX GOLD PRICING HISTORY AT EXACLY $100.00 GAIN.. THE FRBNY SUPPLIED THE NECESSARY SHORT PAPER.. WE ALSO HAD A HUMONGOUS INITIAL STANDING IN GOLD TONNAGE FOR APRIL AT 164.7185 TONNES (CME CORRECTED// MAYBE?) TO WHICH WE ADD FOR APRIL ITS INITIAL 700 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR 70,000 OZ OR 2.177 TONNES AND FRIDAY APRIL 4: 250 CONTRACT ISSUANCE FOR .777 TONNES + MONDAY APRIL 7 NEW ISSUANCE OF .8709 TONNES/ + APRIL 9 ‘S TOTAL OF 484 EX. FOR RISK FOR 48,400 OZ OR 1.5054 TONNES/NEW TOTAL AND FINALLY APRIL 14 EX FOR RISK OF 30,000 OZ OR.6220 TONNES// ;NEW EX FOR RISK 5.912 TONNES TO WHICH WAS ADDED TO OUR NEW QUEUE JUMP OF 53 CONTRACTS OR 5300 OZ (0.1648 TONNES). THUS INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD/APRIL DELIVERY MONTH IS 192.840 TONNES NORMAL DELIVERY(INCLUDES OF QUEUE JUMP) + 5.912 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 198.752 TONNES
/NEW STANDING FOR APRIL; 192.940 TONNES + 5.912 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 198.752 TONNES
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR HUMONGOUS $67.70 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD ONLY A FAIR SIZED LOSS OF 1509 OI CONTRACTS (4.693 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 MARCH CONTRACT MONTH AND NOW FOR OUR FRONT MONTH OF APRIL. CENTRAL BANKERS ARE NOW WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THEIR DELIVERY OF GOLD VIA SLOW MOVING SHIPS. WE HAVE A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF TONNES STANDING FOR GOLD IN APRIL.
E.F.P. ISSUANCE
THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A VERY STRONG SIZED 3210 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 457,803
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1509 CONTRACTS WITH 1701 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A VERY STRONG SIZED 3210 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1,509 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A STRONG SIZED AND CRIMINAL 2785 CONTRACTS ISSUED.
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A VERY STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3210 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE FAIR SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 1,701 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 1,509 CONTRACTS..WE HAVE 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR FORMER FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING LONG AND SPECULATORS GOING SHORT ,2.) STRONG STANDING AT THE GOLD COMEX FOR APRIL 192.840 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES OUR HUGE 0.1648 TONNES QUEUE JUMP) AND THIS FOLLOWS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE ON 5 OCCASIONS FOR 5.912 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 198.840 TONNES.
//NEW STANDING APRIL: 192.840 TONNES + 5.912 TONNES EX FOR RISK ON 5 OCCASIONS = 199.752 TONNES
.
/ 3) CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION + ZERO SUCCESS IN REMOVING ANY NET SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WE HAD: 1) $67.70 COMEX PRICE GAIN AND WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE HAD A FAIR 1509 CONTRACT GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED FRIDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL AND THUS OUR HUGE TONNAGE STANDING FOR GOLD IN APRIL.
4) FAIR SIZED COMEX OI LOSS// 5) VERY STRONG ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER (3210 OI GAIN)///STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 2785 T.A.S.CONTRACTS//
HISTORICAL ACCUMULATION OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS IN 2023-2025 INCLUDING TODAY
APRIL
ACCUMULATION OF EFP’S GOLD AT J.P. MORGAN’S HOUSE OF BRIBES: (EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL) FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL :
TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 39,080 CONTRACTS OR 3,908,000 OZ OR 121.58 TONNES IN 10 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3908 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN10 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 111.59 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2024, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 121.58 TONNES DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 3.43% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION
SEPT 142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_
OCT: 141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)
NOV: 312.46 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE//NEW RECORD!! (INCREASING DRAMATICALLY)//SIGN OF REAL STRESS//SURPASSING THE MARCH 2021 RECORD OF 276.50 TONNES OF EFP
DEC. 175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//
TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021
JAN:2022 247.25 TONNES //FINAL
FEB: 196.04 TONNES//FINAL
MARCH/2022: 409.30 TONNES //FINAL( THIS IS NOW A RECORD EFP ISSUANCE FOR MARCH AND FOR ANY MONTH.
APRIL: 169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)
MAY: 247.44 TONNES FINAL//
JUNE: 238.13 TONNES FINAL
JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD
AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL
SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL
OCT: 177.57 TONNES FINAL ( MUCH SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)
NOV. 223.98 TONNES//FINAL ( MUCH LARGER THAN PREVIOUS MONTHS//comex running out of physical)
DEC: 185.59 tonnes // FINAL
TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022
JAN 2023: 228.49 TONNES FINAL//HUGE AMOUNT OF EFP’S ISSUED THIS MONTH!!
FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL
MARCH: 280.09 TONNES/INITIAL (ANOTHER STRONG MONTH FOR EFP ISSUANCE)
APRIL: 197.42 TONNES
MAY: 236.67 TONNES (A VERY STRONG ISSUANCE FOR THIS MONTH)
JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)
JULY: 151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)
AUGUST: 195.28 TONNES (A STRONGER MONTH)//FINAL
SEPT: 254.709 TONNES (WILL BE LARGER THAN LAST MONTH AND A STRONG MONTH)
OCT. 248.09 TONNES. LIKE SILVER, THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE A STRONG E.F.P. ISSUANCE.
NOV. 239.16 TONNES//WILL BE STRONG THIS MONTH,
DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//
TOTAL FOR YEAR 2023: 2,569.57 TONNES VS 2578 TONNES LAST YEAR
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 130.84 TONNES//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH.
APRIL; 121.58 TONNES. STILL A SMALL TO FAIR ISSUANCE FOR THE MONTH.
SPREADING OPERATIONS
(/NOW SWITCHING TO GOLD) FOR NEWCOMERS, HERE ARE THE DETAILS
SPREADING LIQUIDATION HAS NOW COMMENCED AS WE HEAD TOWARDS THE NEW ACTIVE FRONT MONTH OF 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 MEGA HUGE SIZED 5513 CONTRACTS OI TO 145,645 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 50 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAY 50 and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 50 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 5463 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 50 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A HUMONGOUS SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 5463 CONTRACTS DESPITE THE MAMMOTH GAIN IN PRICE OF $1.17. THE RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 24.865 MILLION PAPER OZ
c) Commentaries from: Egon von Greyerz///Matthew Piepenburg via GoldSwitzerland.com, Pam and Russ Martens
ii a) Chris Powell of GATA provides to us very important physical commentaries
b. Other gold/silver commentaries
c. Commodity commentaries//
d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC
2.ASIAN AFFAIRS MONDAY MORNING//SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 24.58 PTS OR 0.76%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 502.71 PTS OR 2.40 PTS
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 396.78 OR 1.18%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 1.35%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3127 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3133/ Oil UP TO 62.44 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 65.60 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL ALL GREEN.
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A FAIR SIZED1,701 CONTRACTS TO 457,803 DESPITE OUR HUMONGOUS GAIN IN PRICE OF $67.70 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S // TRADING. WE LOST ZERO NUMBER OF NET LONGS WITH THAT HUGE PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD. AND AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR GAIN IN PRICE ALSO HAD A STRONG NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (3210 ).
THE CME ANNOUNCED FRIDAY NIGHT, 200 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS FOR 20,000 OZ OR 0.5816 TONNES. SO FAR THIS MONTH WE HAD RECORDED 5 ISSUANCES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK AS THE BANK OF ENGLAND IS GETTING VERY ANTSY ABOUT GETTING ITS GOLD BACK. THUS OUR TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE FRONT MONTH OF APRIL STANDS AT 5.912 TONNES OF GOLD WHICH MUST BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL GOLD DELVERIES.
HISTORY: LAST TWO PRIOR MONTH’S EXCHANGE FOR RISK
IN MARCH:
THE TOTAL NO. OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH (3 NOTICES) EQUALED: 7.6179 TONNES OF GOLD WHICH WAS ADDED TO OUR MARCH DELIVERY TOTALS.
IN FEBRUARY:
WE HAD A HUGE FIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISKS ISSUANCES FOR GOLD, TOTALLING 18.4527 TONNES!.
THE RECIPIENT OF ALL OF THESE EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS IS THE BANK OF ENGLAND WHO DESPERATELY WANT THEIR LEASED GOLD BACK. THUS WE HAVE TWO SEPARATE ENTITIES (CENTRAL BANKS) DEMANDING THEIR GOLD BACK:
THE BANK OF ENGLAND
THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF NEW YORK (NEED TO RETRIEVE THEIR LEASED GOLD FROM THE BIS)
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. THIS IS THE 5TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH FOR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK !!.
DETAILS ON APRIL COMEX MONTH
IN TOTAL WE HAD A FAIR SIZED LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1509 CONTRACTS WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE. HOWEVER, OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON FRIDAY NIGHT AS THEY WERE READY FOR THE FRBNY.S CONTINUED ORCHESTRATED ATTEMPTED AND FAILED RAID VERY EARLY IN THE COMEX SESSION 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 APRIL CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY AND IT SURELY WAS ON DISPLAY FRIDAY INCLUDING WITH OUR STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCES AND HUGE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.
THE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION OF THESE T.AS. CONTRACTS IS WHY WE ARE HAVING DISTORTED COMEX OPEN INTEREST GAINS AND LOSSES IN OI BUT THIS IS COUPLED WITH MEGA HUGE AMOUNTS OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY TO CONFUSE THE ISSUE!!!!! AND THIS WAS SURELY ON DISPLAY WITH FIRST DAY NOTICE TOTALS WITH GOLD TONNES STANDING FOR APRIL AT 186 + TONNES COUPLED WITH MANY MASSIVE QUEUE JUMPS.
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 NOW THAT THEY MUST BECOME COMPLIANT TO BASEL III RULES JULY 1/2023 AS OUTLINED IN ANDREW MAGUIRE’S LATEST LIVE FROM THE VAULT 217 EPISODE. 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 THREE 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. 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.
EUROPE IS NOW BASEL III COMPLIANT. THE WEST (FED AND COMEX) MUST BE COMPLIANT BY JULY 1.2025.
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, AND THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING EACH AND EVERY MONTH INCLUDING FIRST DAY NOTICE OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING. IT IS SURELY ON DISPLAY FRIDAY AND DURING THIS MONTH OF APRIL.
EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE
WE ARE NOW INTO THE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH OF APRIL .… THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A STRONG SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,
THAT IS A STRONG SIZED 3210 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /APRIL 3210 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3210 CONTRACTS. THESE EFP;S CIRCLE AROUND LONDON ON A 13 DAY BASIS AND ARE NOW USED BY GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER BEING FORCED ONTO COMEX BANKS. THE GOLD GENERALLY DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON BUT THEY ARE OUT!! THUS COMEX BECOMES THE MAJOR SOURCE FOR OUR CENTRAL BANKERS.
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE GAINED THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 1509 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3210 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A LOSS OF A HUGE 1701 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS FAIR LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR GIGANTIC GAIN IN PRICE OF $67.70 FOR FRIDAY/ COMEX. THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS WILL BE USED BY CENTRAL BANKS, TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD AT THE COMEX AS MENTIONED ABOVE. LOOKS LIKE THE SHORT RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA!
T.A.S. ISSUANCE
AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS USUALLY DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), BUT NOW ON A DAILY BASIS, THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY MORNING WAS A VERY STRONG SIZED 2785 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 THESE PAST FEW MONTHS,, 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 NOTHING AS NOBODY 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 ,FOR MARCH, WE HAD+ ANOTHER 5 DAY MEGA ISSUANCE BUT CORRESPONDING MEGA RAIDS FAILED TO MATERIALIZE. I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT WEDNESDAY MARCH 17, THE 38,393 T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE WAS THE HIGHEST ON RECORD!
THE RAIDS ON OPTIONS EXPIRY ACCOMPLISHES TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS FOR OUR CROOKS:
STALLS THE ADVANCE IN PRICE
LOWERS THEIR ADVANCING DERIVATIVE LOSSES.
MECHANICS OF T.A.S CONTRACTS/DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH AND APRIL.
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. AND THEN, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN COMEX HISTORY WE WITNESSED THREE CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF MEGA HUGE 30,000 + T.A.S CONTRACT ISSUANCES: JANUARY, FEB AND MARCH. WE HAVE YET TO EXPERIENCE A MEGA CONSECUTIVE 30,000 CONTRACT T.A.S FOR APRIL.
STANDING FOR GOLD APRIL
// WE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: APRIL (198.752 TONNES//.CME CORRECTED//) WHICH IS HUGE FOR OUR ACTIVE APRIL DELIVERY MONTH. FEB HAD THE HIGHEST STANDING FOR GOLD EVER RECORDED FOR ANY MONTH AT 256.607 TONNES
AND NOW LAST 4 MONTHS OF 2025:
YEAR 2025:
JAN 2025:
113.30 TONNES
FEB: 2025:
256.607 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES 18.4567 TONNES OF EX FOR RISK)
MARCH:
STANDING FOR GOLD : 60.33 TONNES + 7.6179 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 67.9479 TONNES WHICH IS EXTREMELY HIGH FOR A NON DELIVERY MONTH.
APRIL:
STANDING FOR GOLD: 192,840 TONNES + 5.912 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 198.752 TONNES
DEC. 47.073 + 4.634 TONNES OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 51.707 TONNES
TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES
2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
JAN ’24. 22.706 TONNES
FEB. ’24: 66.276TONNES (INCLUDES 1.723 TONNES EX. FOR RISK)
MARCH: 18.8398 TONNES + 1.1695 EX FOR RISK = 20.093 TONNES
APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL
MAY/ 2024 8.5536 TONNES + 3.3716 TONNES EX FOR RISK/= 11.9325
JUNE; 95.578 TONNES. + 1.045 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =96.623 THIS IS THE HIGHEST RECORDED GOLD STANDING SINCE AUGUST 2022
JULY: 11.692 TONNES
AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING
SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.
OCT 39.474 TONNES + + 20.917 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK =60.391 TONNES
NOV . 11.265 TONNES +4.665 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK/TUESDAY + 3.11 TONNES OF EX. FOR RISK/PRIOR = 19.0425 TONNES
DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES
total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes
2025 STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX
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. THIS IS THE HIGHEST EVER MONTH FOR GOLD STANDING IN COMEX HISTORY
MARCH: 67.9479 TONNES (INCLUDES 7.6179 TONNES EX FOR RISK)
APRIL: 198.840 TONNES (INCLUDES 5.912 TONNES EX FOR RISK)
COMEX GOLD TRADING/APRIL CONTRACT MONTH
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY A $67.70/ /)/AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A FAIR SIZED LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. AND AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD SOME T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION FRIDAY AS THEY WERE STILL TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S ATTEMPT AT FURTHER INCREASES ABOVE $3,200 AND STOP HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES FROM ALSO RISING AS THEY FAILED MISERABLY IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO HOLD THE $3,200 DOLLAR BARRIER AS IT IS NOW TRADING AT 3243.
FRIDAY NIGHT/SATURDAY 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 FRIDAY EVENING/SATURDAY 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/APRIL TRADING
EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS/MONTH FOR FEBRUARY://FINISHES AT 4 ISSUANCE
THE CME ANNOUNCED TO THE WORLD THAT ON FEB 4 THEY ISSUED 100 CONTRACTS OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND.THEN ,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 WAS 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 WAS ADDED TO OUR REGULAR DELIVERIES THROUGH THE MONTH.
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 WAS STILL NOT SATISFIED AS THEY NEED TO RETRIEVE ALL OF ITS LOST GOLD THROUGH LEASING! THE 15,000 OZ WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TOTAL.
MARCH ISSUES IT’S THIRD EXCHANGE FOR RISK: TOTAL FOR THE MONTH FINISHED AT 3
TOTAL ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK MARCH 28 TOTALS 2200 CONTRACTS FOR 6.8429 TONNES OF GOLD. PRIOR ISSUANCE: .7775 TONNES. THUS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR MARCH : 7.6179 TONNES OF GOLD. MARCH BECOMES THE 4TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE.
NOW APRIL, ISSUES ITS 5TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 200 CONTRACTS OR 20,000 OZ OR 0.5816 TONNES
SUMMARY EXCHANGE FOR RISK/APRIL
ISSUANCE FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON FIRST DAY NOTICE WAS 700 CONTRACTS FOR 70,000 OZ OR 2.177 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD (APRIL 4) : 250 CONTRACTS FOR 25,000 OZ OR .777 TONNES, APRIL 7 ISSUANCE OF 280 CONTRACTS FOR 28,000 OZ OR .8709 TONNES THEN APRIL 9 484 CONTRACTS FOR 48400 OZ OR 1.5054 TONNES AND FINALLY MONDAY MORNING APRIL 14 AT 200 CONTRACTS FOR 20,000 OZ OR .5816 TONNES//NEW TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR APRIL: 5.912 TONNES!!. APRIL ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK MEANS WE NOW HAVE 5 CONSECUTIVE MONTHS FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE. THESE DELIVERIES WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY CYCLE.
STANDING NOW FOR APRIL:
APRIL: 192.840 TONNES +(5.912 EX FOR RISK// FOR APRIL DELIVERY MONTH =198.752 TONNES OF THE GOLD. THIS IS THE 2ND HIGHEST AMOUNT OF DELIVERY GOLD WHICH FOLLOWS THE HIGHEST EVER ON AN ACTIVE MONTH GOLD DELIVERY BEING FEB 2025 AT 256.607 TONNES..
ANALYSIS APRIL DELIVERY MONTH AFTER FIRST DAY NOTICE;
WE HAVE LOST A FGAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 1509 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR APRIL FIRST RECORDED AT 166.964 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE FOLLOWED BY 5 CONSECUTIVE EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACT ISSUANCES FOR 5.912 TONNES.
ALSO TODAY WE RECORD ANOTHER 53 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 5300 OZ OR 0.1648 TONNES. WE MUST NOW ADD OUR 5.912 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK TO OUR NEW NORMAL DELIVERY OF 192.840 TONNES AND THUS STANDING FOR GOLD FOR APRIL IS NOW 198.752 TONNES, THE 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED!
ALL OF THIS HUGE STANDING WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $67.70,
WE HAD 3 CONTRACTS ADDED TO THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL.
NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 1509 CONTRACTS OR 150,900 0Z (4.693 TONNES)
SEEMS THAT THE RATS ARE LEAVING THE DERIVATIVE SHIP!!
1 ENTRIES: i) Out of Brinks customer: 72,429.411 oz
total withdrawal 72,429.411 oz in tonnes; 2.2 tonnes
.
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz
0 ENTRIES
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
we have 1 customer entries
TOTAL CUSTOMER DEPOSITS: 1 ENTRY i) Into Loomis: 8037.750 oz (250 kilobars) weight: .25 tonnes
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No of oz served (contracts) today
187 notice(s) 18700 OZ 0.5816 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)
1007 contracts 100700 OZ 3.132 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
60,909 notices 6,090,900 oz 189.452 TONNES
Total accumulative withdrawals of gold from the Dealers inventory this month
NIL oz
Total accumulative withdrawal of gold from the Customer inventory this month
dealer deposits: 0 entry
TOTAL WEIGHT; 0 TONNES
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we have 0 customer entries
we have 1 customer entries
TOTAL CUSTOMER DEPOSITS: 1 ENTRY i) Into Loomis: 8037.750 oz (250 kilobars) weight: .25 tonnes
TOTAL CUSTOMER AND DEALER WEIGHT .25 TONNES
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withdrawals: 1//customer account
1 ENTRIES:
1 ENTRY: i) Out of Brinks customer: 72,429.411 oz
total withdrawal 72,429.411 oz in tonnes; 2.2 tonnes
adjustments: 5 of which 4 aredealer to customer
a) Brinks 312,589.531 oz
ii) Loomis 10,868.897 oz
iii) Malca 10,127.565 oz
iv) Manfra 4015.308 oz
and one customer to dealer JPMorgan
i) 85,071.546 oz
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AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL
THE FRONT MONTH OF APRIL HAD A LOSS OF 1068 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 1194. WE HAD 1121 CONTRACTS FILED THURSDAY. THUS WE GAINED A SMALL 53 CONTRACTS OR 5300 OZ (0.1648TONNES) AS WE EXPERIENCED ANOTHER QUEUE JUMP WHERE THESE BOYS DESIRED TO TAKE PHYSICAL DELIVERY OVER HERE. THIS IS CENTRAL BANKERS STANDING FOR PHYSICAL GOLD. FRIDAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 6.1619 TONNES REPRESENTED THE HIGHEST EVER QUEUE JUMP IN COMEX HISTORY SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST RECORDED YESTERDAY AT 5.90 TONNES.
MAY GAINED 109 CONTRACTS UP TO 5237 CONTRACTS
JUNE LOST 1571 CONTRACTS TO 349,819. JUNE WILL STILL BE A WHOPPER OF A DELIVERY MONTH
We had 187 contracts filed for today representing 18,700 oz
This is a huge major assault on the comex for gold and this time it is physical that will be requested.
Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 0 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 189 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 5 notice(s) was (were) stopped (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account
To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for APRIL /2025. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (60,909 X 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL (1194 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (189 x 100 oz per contract) equals 6,191,600 OZ OR 192.840 TONNES
to which we add our 5 exchange for risk issuances for April of 5.910 tonnes
= 198.752 tonnes
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the APRIL contract month: No of notices filed so far (60,909 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of APRIL (1194 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (189 x 100 oz) which equals 6,191,600 OZ OR 192.840 TONNES + 5.912 tonnes ex for risks = 197.742 tonnes
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL.: 198.752 TONNES WHICH IS HUGE FOR THIS ACTIVE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR. FEBRUARY HAD THE HIGHEST DELIVERY FOR ANY MONTH AND APRIL IS FOLLOWING SUIT..
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 199.954million oz/498.195oz million or 40.27%
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 159.602 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 498.195Million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR APRIL
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF APRIL /2025 OI: 143 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 167 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 190 NOTICES FILED FRIDAY SO WE GAINED 23 CONTRACTS WHICH UNDERWENT A SMALL QUEUE JUMP OF 115,000 OZ AS THESE BOYS WERE WILLING TO WAIT FOR DELIVERY OF SILVER OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND.
MAY SAW A LOSS OF 10,477 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 64,952 CONTRACTS.
JUNE SAW A GAIN OF 76 CONTRACTS UP TO 1489 CONTRACTS.
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 23 or 0.1150 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON FRDAY 120,659 mega huge//
AND NOW APRIL DELIVERIES:
To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in APRIL. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 2733 X5,000 oz = 13.665 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL (143) AND the number of notices served upon today (23 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the APRIL 2025 contract month: (2733) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of APRIL(143) minus number of notices served upon today (23)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the APRIL contract month equating to 14.265 MILLION OZ . WE MUST NOW ADD OUR 4.0 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED ON MONDAY MARCH 31 AND TODY APRIL 4/NEW STANDING INCREASES TO 18.265 MILLION OZ
New total standing: 18.265 million oz which is huge for this NON active delivery month of APRIL.
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 159.602million 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
APRIL14 WITH GOLD DOWN $16.90 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 953.15 TONNES
APRIL11 WITH GOLD UP $67.70 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 13.48 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 949.71 TONNES
/APRIL10 WITH GOLD UP $100.00 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.86 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.09 TONNES
APRIL9 WITH GOLD UP $83.50 TODAY// MEGA HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 11.171 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 936.23 TONNES
APRIL8 WITH GOLD UP $17.50 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.02 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 926.78 TONNES
APRIL3 WITH GOLD DOWN $27.85 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.57 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 931.94 TONNES
APRIL2 WITH GOLD UP $10.00 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 931.37 TONNES
APRIL1 WITH GOLD DOWN $3.55 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 933.38 TONNES
MARCH 31 WITH GOLD UP $31.60 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 2.29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 931.94 TONNES
MARCH 28 WITH GOLD UP $31.60 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 929.65 TONNES
MARCH 27 WITH GOLD UP $31.60 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF .29 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 929.65 TONNES
MARCH 26 WITH GOLD UP $31.60 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 929.36 TONNES
MARCH 25 WITH GOLD UP $13.90 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 929.07 TONNES
MARCH 24 WITH GOLD DOWN $6.10 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 20.08 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD///INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.51 TONNES
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: 963.15 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
APRIL14 WITH SILVER UP $0/23 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.273 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.241 MILLION
APRIL11 WITH SILVER UP $1.18 /BIG CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 1.911 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.71 MILLION
APRIL10 WITH SILVER UP $0.18 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDDRAWAL OF 0.501 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447.603 MILLION
APRIL9 WITH SILVER UP $0.96 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 0.683 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.104 MILLION
APRIL8 WITH SILVER UP $0.35 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 1.137 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447,421 MILLION
APRIL3 WITH SILVER DOWN $1.84 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.138 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 446.830 MILLION
APRIL2 WITH SILVER UP 0.15 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF .364 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447.968 MILLION
APRIL1 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.36 /NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.332 MILLION
MARCH 31 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.28 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A STRONG DEPOSIT OF 0.91000 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.332 MILLION
MARCH 28 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.21 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV” A STRONG WITHDRAWAL OF 1.092 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447.422 MILLION
MARCH 27 WITH SILVER UP $.60 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV” A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 6.369 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.514 MILLION
MARCH 26 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.21 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV” A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 6.369 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV//// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.514 MILLION
MARCH 25 WITH SILVER UP $0.63 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 13.649 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 454.883 MILLION
MARCH 24 WITH SILVER UP $0.04 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.728 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV// //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 441.234 MILLION
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
Suddenly, gold miner shareholders have the problem everyone wants: They’ve made fairly serious recent money and now must decide whether to convert some of their paper profits to cash. Anyone who’s been round-tripped in a big position understands how serious this question is.
Jim Rickards, author of a series of best-selling investment books, just weighed in with the observation that for gold — and by implication the miners — the risks and potential rewards aren’t well-balanced. Here’s an excerpt:
Talk about cross-currents. Oil, which affects the cost of pretty much everything, is down about 15% so far this month. That’s extremely deflationary.
Housing, meanwhile, is right up there with oil for its impact on the cost of living. And home price inflation is rapidly headed for zero overall, with many formerly hot markets already falling at double-digit annual rates.
Last but not least, industrial commodities prices declined in March.
Add it all up, and it looks like we’re headed for a deflationary downturn — not surprising after the longest credit expansion/equities bull market on record.
And yet…inflation expectations just spiked
And long-term interest rates, which also measure inflation expectations, are rising. The most important long rate — on 10-year Treasuries — has spiked so far in April.
Obviously, It’s the Tariffs
A trade war is inflationary if it drives up import prices, but deflationary if it slows economic growth. And no one knows which way the current turmoil is going to break.
That’s why gold, which preserves wealth in chaotic times, is way up while oil, which depends on cyclical demand, is down.
How do we play this? As always: cautiously. Even without a trade war, chaotic times were imminent. See the Recession Watch series of the past couple of years. Further out, a currency crisis is virtually guaranteed (hence this newsletter’s focus on safe haven assets like gold and silver).
So, slowly and steadily, continue to add to positions in high-quality precious metals and energy stocks while sprinkling in some short bets as insurance. And let the world go where it goes. Whatever happens this year or next, barring a nuclear war we’re headed for a currency reset that will be bad for financial assets and great for real things.
There are signs that more realistic tariff policies are emerging. This should lead to a relief rally in US securities and take some short-term pressure off the dollar.
Clearly, the quiet exemption from Trump’s tariffs of electronic goods manufactured in China is excellent news and will lead to a rally in US tech stocks led by Apple when markets open tomorrow. Additionally, signs that Russian-American negotiations over Ukraine are progressing out of the public eye illustrate that Trump may say one thing, but his officials are now finding ways to pursue more realistic policies.
But will this be enough to persuade foreign holders of US financial assets and dollars to stop selling?
The chart below graphically illustrates the problem:
Until two weeks ago, the yield on the treasury note correlated with the dollar’s trade weighted index. When one rose, the other did as well and they would decline together. Obviously, this reflected the consequences of changes in bond yields for marginal demand for the dollar. A higher yield attracted foreign buyers of both, while declining yields were less attractive.
After Trump’s “liberation day”, this changed. Bond yields which had been declining began to shoot up higher (the blue line) while the dollar sank. In fact, it threatened key levels just below 100 breaking below the August/September sell-off.
It is the clearest evidence of foreign liquidation.
This is why it was important for Trump to back down over tariffs. If he persists, the dollar will be overwhelmed by crisis and the Treasury unable to fund its deficit. This is why his Treasury officials must have threatened him with this reality. That he is now partially backing down should lead to a relief rally in the dollar, bonds, and equities. At the same time, a pause in the headlong rush into gold is on the cards.
However, big questions remain over the outlook for the dollar, interest rates, and bond yields after the short-term market responses. In large measure, this depends on changes in foreign dollar balances rather than domestic investor considerations. So, we should look at it from a foreigner’s viewpoint.
Trump’s vacillations over trade were tolerated until his liberation day announcement. It united economists of all persuasions in condemnation, pointing out the consequences for consumer price inflation at a time when the US economy already appeared to be stalling. The 90-day suspension was the first climbdown, but not enough to stop foreign dollar-selling.
The suspension was only temporary. The disruption to supply chains was still on and bound to send the US and global economy into recession. And it is the worst possible outcome for intensifying the Federal Government’s debt trap at a time of a falling purchasing power for the currency.
The increase in US M2 money supply was only 4.3% in the year to February, which given the 6%+ stimulus of the budget deficit is evidence that credit available for the productive private sector is in decline. In other words, foreign portfolios are exposed to equities whose profits are sure to be downgraded.
Nearly all other major economies are similarly stagnating, which means that too many dollars are held for international trade purposes. And then there is the overall level of exposure to underlying financial assets. The most recent figures according to the US Treasury TIC figures show the breakdown of foreign investments in dollars as follows:
This total of nearly $40 trillion compares with US GDP of about $28 trillion. Foreigners are definitely overinvested in dollars on this basis, let alone for an economy with a subdued global economic outlook and whose government finances are in a mess.
This year, the US Treasury needs to roll over some $3 trillion of maturing debt and add a further $2 trillion to cover the deficit. Even if foreign investors just sit on their hands, it is likely to drive bond yields higher unless portfolio reallocations by domestic investors from equities to bonds make up the difference.
In the short term, an equity bear market should lead to support for bonds, but probably at the short end of the yield curve. But that’s a one-off effect. Equally, it would cause foreign investors to sell equities, and they would likely sell some or all of their dollars raised.
Pressure on the dollar from equity positions being sold is bound to spill over into foreign holdings of US bonds because no one wants to take currency losses in a foreign currency. Furthermore, Trump is seen as a loose cannon by foreign investors so they are unlikely to keep ploughing in additional funds to fund the budget deficit. Therefore, the rally we can expect from the climbdown on Chinese electronic goods is unlikely to go far before we return to bear market conditions, a falling dollar, and rising gold and silver values.
I
end
3. C Powell and Gata dispatches
On LFTV, Alasdair Macleod explains why China may be behind silver price suppression
Submitted by admin on Sat, 2025-04-12 22:42 Section: Daily Dispatches
10:43p ET Saturday, August 31, 2024
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold (and Silver):
Market analyst and economist Alasdair Macleod, this week’s guest with London metals trader Andrew Maguire on Kinesis Money’s “Live from the Vault” program, explains why he believes that China has been the instigator of silver price suppression and will terminate the scheme soon.
Macleod adds that markets and governments around the world are losing faith in the dollar and U.S. assets and that the only refuge is gold
Gold leasing by central banks, Macleod says, long has enabled multiple counting of world gold reserves, and the closing of those leases is reducing liquidity for paper gold and constricting the financial derivatives system.
The program is 57 minutes long and can be seen at YouTube here:
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. CPowell@GATA.org
* * *
4. ANDREW MAGUIRE PODCAST
LIVE FROM THE VAULT/ANDREW MAGUIRE WITH ALASDAIR MACLEOD
5B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES:COMMODITY//ROLEX
END
6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS
ASIA TRADING MONDAY MORNING SUNDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 24.58 PTS OR 0.76%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 502.71 PTS OR 2.40 PTS
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 396.78 OR 1.18%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 1.35%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3127 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3133/ Oil UP TO 62.44 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 65.60 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL ALL GREEN.
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS /MONDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED DOWN TO 7.3127
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.3133
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED UP 24.58 PTS OR 0.76%
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED UP 502.71 OR 2.40%
2. Nikkei closed UP 396.78 PTS OR 1.18%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 99.17// EURO RISES TO 1.1395 UP 84 BASIS PT HEADING TO PARITY WITH USA
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.342//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 143.14…… 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 +2.5250/Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.712 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.230
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.431
3j Gold at $3225.00 Silver at: 32.31 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble UP 0 AND 80 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 82.44
3m oil into the 62 dollar handle for WTI and 65 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 143.14// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.342% 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 0.8187 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9329 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: 4.438 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.863 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.914 DOWN 4 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 38.05
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.7405 DOWN 1 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.204 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.828 DOWN 5 PTS.
2a New York OPENING REPORT
Futures Rise, Dollar Slides After Tech Tariff
Monday, Apr 14, 2025 – 08:25 AM
US equity futures are higher, part of a global risk-on rally, after President Trump paused import duties on a range of consumer electronics over the weekend (even as he clarified on several occasions the pause is only temporary). As of 8:00am, S&P 500 futures are up 1.5% while Nasdaq 100 contracts climb 1.9% with Mag7 names are all higher led by AAPL (+4.9%); Semis and Cyclicals outperforming, too; Goldman Sachs was 2.7% higher after its first-quarter earnings. The global risk on rally has meant a broadly positive European and Asian session as well. That said, volatility remains front and center among asset classes, with the VIX holding around 33 and similar gauges for bond and currency swings also staying elevated. The dollar fell for a fifth day as Trump warned that a specific levy for electronics will be announced later; DXY remains at the 100 level, aiding international indices in outperforming the S&P. US bonds retraced some of last week’s losses, pushing 10-year yields down to 4.43% in a bull-steepening move. Commodities are mixed with Energy/Base Metals higher, precious lower, and Ags mixed. Trump is set to give more color on tariffs later today but markets like the delayed implementation at a time when positioning is cleaner. Macro data this week is focused on Retail Sales and Housing data, plus today’s NY Fed Inflation Expectations.
Phone, computer and chip stocks rallied in premarket trading after the tariff reprieve, with Apple gaining more than 5.5% and Nvidia rising about 3%. Other Mag-7 members also edged higher. Shares of semiconductor companies although President Trump subsequently said it is a temporary measure. Analysts see the exemptions as a relief, but caution the situation remains extremely volatile (Advanced Micro Devices +3.8%, Broadcom +2%, Qualcomm +2%). Here are some other notable premarket movers:
Shares of US obesity drug developers are extending gains in after Pfizer (PFE) said it will stop developing its obesity pill due to a potentially drug-related liver injury. (Eli Lilly +1.9%, Viking Therapeutics +13%, Structure Therapeutics +13% Pfizer shares are about flat).
Goldman shares were 1% higher after the bank’s stock traders posted their highest quarterly revenue haul on record, riding a wave of volatility triggered by an emerging global trade war that’s roiled financial markets.
DuPont de Nemours (DD) rises 2.8% as KeyBanc turns bullish on the chemical company, with analysts saying that the firm’s strong balance sheet should allow it to weather a possible downturn in the economy.
Intel Corp. (INTC) rises 3% as the company is nearing an agreement to sell a stake in its programmable chips unit, Altera, to Silver Lake Management.
TMC the Metals Co. (TMC) climbs 18% and rare earths miner MP Materials (MP) gains 13% following a report President Trump is planning an order to enable the stockpiling of critical metals.
The late-Friday reprieve – exempting a range of popular electronics from the 145% tariffs on China and a 10% flat rate around the globe – is temporary and a part of the longstanding plan to apply a different, specific levy to the sector, the White House said. Still, a pause in the duties indicates a willingness by Trump to compromise on a deal, according to some analysts.
While the possibility of a softer policy toward technology companies was enough to lift shares, which have been some of the hardest hit this year, Wall Street strategists continued to warn clients about the troubles ahead. Citigroup Inc.’s Beata Manthey cut her view on US equities, and Morgan Stanley lowered its outlook for earnings.
“Consumer electronics is one of the largest portions of total imports from China to the US and will ease considerably the impact on companies like Apple,” said Derek Halpenny at MUFG. “But this will hardly help restore investor confidence much and the angst in the markets last week over confidence in the US Treasury bond market and the dollar is likely to continue.”
Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson slashed his 2025 earnings estimates for the S&P 500 to $257 from $271, joining a wave of Wall Street banks warning that tariffs will curb profit growth. Citi’s Scott Chronert lowered his prediction for the S&P 500 to 5,800, from 6,500. Goldman’s strategists cautioned that liquidity has deteriorated sharply, contributing to the spike in volatility.
Citigroup strategists led by Manthey wrote that cracks in “US exceptionalism” will persist with the emergence of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence model, Europe’s fiscal expansion and rising trade tensions that will hit American companies harder than peers in Japan and Europe. They downgraded US equities to neutral from overweight. “The drivers of exceptionalism are fading, both from a gross domestic product and earnings-per-share perspective,” the strategists wrote. “The US market remains relatively expensive, while EPS downgrades are intensifying.”
“Extreme risk levels have fallen, but there is still no visibility on the end situation, and there is a risk that the twists and turns as countries try to negotiate will mean no end to volatility,” said Benjamin Melman, global chief investment officer at Edmond de Rothschild AM.
As earnings season is kicking into full swing, Goldman’s first-quarter figures also benefited from the same trading boost that peers reported on Friday, with volatility driving stock-trading revenue to a record at JPMorgan. Sure enough, the bank reported stronger than expected Equity S&T data, even as FICC missed. Later in Europe, analysts will focus on the potential fallout from US tariffs when LVMH reports revenue numbers.
Against a backdrop of volatile markets, investors will be seeking clues from Fed policymakers on their appetite for lower interest rates. Neel Kashkari on Sunday signaled confidence that markets will remain orderly as investors sort through shifting trade policies and said the central bank must stay focused on keeping inflation expectations anchored. Christopher Waller will speak about the economic outlook later on Monday.
The upbeat market mood is evident elsewhere as havens slip. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 rises more than 2% with energy and banking shares the best-performers, while real estate and utilities stocks are the biggest laggards. Here are the biggest movers Monday:
European chip stocks rally on Monday after the Trump administration exempted smartphones and other electronics from reciprocal tariffs, offering a major albeit temporary relief to the semiconductor sector
IHG shares gain as much as 2% after Deutsche Bank upgrades the hotels operator to hold from sell, describing tourism as “a structural growth sector” that had almost fully recovered last year from the Covid crisis
Ageas shares rise as much as 3.1% after the Belgian insurer reached an agreement with Bain Capital to acquire Esure for £1.295 billion in cash. The deal will allow Ageas to diversify its business and lessen its reliance on Asia
Convatec gains as much as 5% in London after the advanced wound care company lifted its sales outlook for the year, following the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ postponement of local coverage determinations
Kainos Group shares rise as much as 12% after the IT services provider reported an improved performance in the last quarter. Analysts said this suggests the firm is finally emerging from a tough patch
SoftwareOne shares rise as much as 11% after they resumed trading following a suspension imposed last Friday while investors voted on proposals at an extraordinary annual general meeting
Wood Group shares surge as much as 32% to trade at 32.92p, after the UK engineering company received a possible offer from Sidara for 35p per share in cash, according to a statement
Ashmore shares drop as much as 4.9% after analysts at Citi said assets under management came in lower than expected at the end of the third quarter, which is set to lead to sharp cuts to consensus
Asian stocks rose, led by gains in Hong Kong, as risk sentiment rebounded after the US announced a pause in tariffs on a range of consumer electronics. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained as much as 1.9%, with major Chinese technology shares including Alibaba and Tencent among the biggest contributors. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index climbed as much as 2.7%. Singapore’s benchmark rose as much as 2.3% after its central bank eased monetary policy settings for a second straight review. Key gauges climbed in Japan, South Korea and Australia. A gauge of Asian health-care stocks was the best performing subgauge on the broader MSCI regional index, with analysts expectations that the pharmaceutical sector could receive similar tariff exemptions to the ones applied to consumer electronics. Markets in India and Thailand were shut for holidays Monday. Key points to watch this week include TSMC earnings and South Korean monetary policy on Thursday.
“Trump’s latest move is seen as a concession in his trade tariff policy,” said Belle Liang, chief investment officer for investment and wealth solutions at Hang Seng Bank. “This will likely ease the market’s recent risk-aversion sentiment, and stabilize global markets, including mainland and Hong Kong stock markets.”
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index sank as much as 0.5% to hit its lowest since Oct. 2, before paring some of the losses to trade 0.1% lower on the day; the Swiss franc is the weakest of the G-10 currencies, falling 0.3% against the greenback. China sets the daily reference rate for the yuan at 7.2110 per dollar on Monday, the weakest level since September 2023. While the greenback struggled, yen optimism is spreading among hedge funds and asset managers as US tariffs drive haven demand at a time when traders are reassessing the Bank of Japan’s interest rate hike path. The yen appreciated as much as 0.9% to levels last seen in September. Meanwhile, the euro is emerging as a prime beneficiary of greenback weakness as investors reassess the dollar’s role in the global financial system. Europe’s common currency gained 0.3% on Monday, adding to its fastest rally in a decade and a half.
“Some people believe that rule of law is being degraded in the US and your investment is not that safe in the US,” said Michael Kelly, head of global multi asset at PineBridge Investments. “That could over the long term temper the willingness to invest in the US.”
In rates, treasuries advance, with US 10-year yields falling 4 bps to 4.45%. Treasury yields are 2bp-7bp lower across maturities led by intermediates, steepening 5s30s spread by more than 5bp; US 10-year around 4.435% is down about 5bp with bunds in the sector lagging by 2.5bp and gilts outperforming by 2.5bp. German government bonds also gain although Italian debt outperforms, narrowing the 10-year yield spread by 5 bps after S&P Global Ratings upgraded Italy to BBB+, three notches above junk.
In commodities, Oil prices advance, with WTI rising 0.6% to $61.80 a barrel as traders weighed the latest US moves. Goldman Sachs said the global oil market faces “large surpluses” this year and next as the trade war weighs on demand.
Spot gold drops $16 as Bitcoin rises 1.5% toward $85,000. Remarkably, gold is now outperforming the S&P since the covid crash.
The US economic calendar includes March New York Fed 1-year inflation expectations at 11am. Retail sales, industrial production, housing starts and building permits are ahead this week. Fed speaker slate includes Waller (1pm), Harker (6pm) and Bostic (7:40pm). Chair Powell speaks Wednesday to the Economic Club of Chicago about the economic outlook
Market snapshot
S&P 500 futures rose 1.6% as of 7:30 a.m. New York time
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.8%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1%
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.2%
The MSCI World Index rose 0.6%
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined four basis points to 4.45%
Germany’s 10-year yield declined four basis points to 2.53%
Britain’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 4.68%
West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.4% to $62.37 a barrel
Spot gold fell 0.4% to $3,223.30 an ounce
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1391
The British pound rose 0.8% to $1.3196
The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 143.17 per dollar
Bitcoin rose 1.6% to $84,839.59
Ether rose 5.4% to $1,675.71
Top Overnight News
President Donald Trump pledged he will still apply tariffs to phones, computers and popular consumer electronics, downplaying a weekend exemption as a procedural step in his overall push to remake US trade. “NOBODY is getting ‘off the hook,’” the president said in a social post. BBG
China’s exports surged in Mar beyond expectations (+12.4% vs. the Street +4.6%) as companies rushed orders to get ahead of Trump’s tariffs. WSJ
China’s Xi embarks on a tour of Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia, warning that Trump’s trade war will “lead nowhere” and produce “no winners”. FT
China imposes restrictions on daily net equity sales by hedge funds and large retail investors. RTRS
Brazil will be a major beneficiary of the US-China trade war, as Beijing substantially increases purchases of agricultural products from the country. FT
Iran said the first round of negotiations with the US, held over the weekend, were “constructive”, and that additional meetings will take place. BBG
Neel Kashkari downplayed suggestions the Fed will step in to calm markets. “Investors in the US and around the world are trying to determine what is the new normal in America” and the Fed has “zero ability to affect that,” he said. BBG
Argentina’s $20 billion IMF rescue program represents a bet that Javier Milei’s cost-cutting will avoid the debacles of the past. As part of the reforms, the peso will be allowed to trade within a range from this week. Scott Bessent will meet Milei in Buenos Aires today. BBG
META will face off against the FTC in an antitrust case on Monday, the latest indication that Trump 2.0 isn’t taking an easier regulatory approach to the tech industry. NYT
The dollar weakened to a six-month low on concern that the confusion around the Trump administration’s tariff policy will drive traders away from US assets.
Treasuries may have hit the bottom for now amid signs of robust foreign demand and expectations for the Federal Reserve to support US government debt when needed, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.
Some of the world’s largest pension funds from Canada and Denmark are reportedly halting or reassessing their private market investments in the US due to President Trump’s erratic policy blitz: to FT.
Tariffs/Trade
US President Trump’s administration exempted items from reciprocal tariffs including smartphones, storage devices and some other electronics. However, Trump posted on Sunday that there was no tariff exception announced on Friday and that these products are subject to the existing 20% fentanyl tariffs and are just moving to a different tariff bucket, while he stated that “NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”.
US President Trump said he is to announce the tariff rate for semiconductors over the next week and that semiconductor tariffs will be in place in the not-distant future, while he added there will be some flexibility on some companies on semiconductor tariffs but it is not clear. Furthermore, Trump responded that they will be announced soon but there has to be some flexibility when asked about tariffs on Apple (AAPL) iPhones.
US President Trump said the bond market is going good and had a little moment but he solved that problem very quickly. Trump added that the 10% tariff is a floor or pretty close and that it doesn’t matter if the dollar went down as he thinks it will go up and will be stronger than ever.
US President Trump’s administration is reportedly prioritising trading partners that are strategic to China with the US in talks with Japan, South Korea, India and Vietnam, according to Politico.
White House spokesperson said US President Trump made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops, while President Trump is to issue a Section 232 study on semiconductors soon and said he will have more information on semiconductors on Monday. Furthermore, Trump said that autos, steel, pharmaceuticals, chips and other specific materials will be included in specific tariffs to ensure tariffs are applied fairly and effectively.
US Commerce Secretary Lutnick said President Trump plans a separate levy on exempted electronics amid a trade war with electronics products to be part of upcoming sectoral tariffs and that semiconductor and electronic tariffs will come in a month or so, while he added that pharmaceutical tariffs will be coming in the next month or two and that the US had “soft entrees” through intermediaries with China on tariffs.
USTR Greer said there are no plans yet for President Trump to speak with Chinese President Xi and stated electronic exemptions reflect a move from reciprocal tariffs to national security tariffs. Greer said they have to be much more deliberate about the semiconductor supply chain and he believes the US will have meaningful tariff deals with several countries in the next few weeks.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks began the week on the front foot after reports of a tariff reprieve for smartphones and other electronic goods but with gains capped by President Trump’s walk-back regarding this, while participants also digested somewhat mixed Chinese trade data. ASX 200 advanced at the open with real estate, health care and tech leading the broad gains seen in nearly all sectors. Nikkei 225 climbed above the 34,000 level with notable strength in pharmaceuticals and electronic goods/component manufacturers. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp conformed to the positive risk environment amid some tariff-related reprieve with Chinese consumer electronic goods currently 20% fentanyl tariffs instead of the 145% reciprocal tariffs, although President Trump said he would be announcing the tariff rate for semiconductors over the next week and semiconductor tariffs will be in place in the not distant future. Furthermore, participants digest stronger lending data from China and mostly better-than-expected trade figures in which Trade Balance and Exports topped forecasts but Imports showed a wider-than-expected contraction.
Top Asian News
China’s auto sales surged 11.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 7.47 million vehicles; growth was driven by strong domestic demand, supported by expanded trade-in subsidies incentivising consumers to upgrade vehicles, via Caixin.
China Customs said at present, China’s exports are facing a complex and severe external situation, but added the sky will not fall and China is actively building a diversified market and deepening cooperation with all parties in the supply chain. Furthermore, it stated that importantly, China’s domestic demand is broad and the import decline in the first quarter was mainly due to the decline in international product prices and fewer working days.
China is to roll out more monetary easing steps with China to ramp up counter-cyclical policy adjustments and implement various monetary policy measures in the future, according to Shanghai Securities News.
China may cut rates and RRR if the trade war hurts the economy, according to PBoC-backed Financial News citing former PBoC adviser Yu Yongding.
Japanese senior LDP official Onodera said a weak yen has caused higher domestic living costs and Japan must strengthen the yen by making its companies stronger, while Onodera said that Japan, as a US ally, shouldn’t think about using its US treasury holdings as a negotiating tool in bilateral trade talks.
Taiwan’s Financial Regulator announced short-selling stock curbs will be extended for another week.
Monetary Authority of Singapore announced it will continue with the policy of a modest and gradual appreciation but slightly reduced the slope of the SGD NEER policy band as expected, while it maintained the width and level where the band is centred. MAS said imported and domestic cost pressures will remain low and its core inflation is forecast to stay well below 2%, while risks to inflation are tilted towards the downside.
European bourses (STOXX 600 +2%) are entirely in the green, following a mostly positive APAC session as traders react to the latest trade-related updates, which included an “exemption” of some electronic-related goods. European sectors hold a strong positive bias, in-fitting with the risk tone; some of the sectoral movers today are attributed to the weekend’s tariff updates. Tech is one of the best performing sectors today, lifted by a number of semi-conductor names after US President Trump’s administration exempted items from reciprocal tariffs including smartphones, storage devices and some other electronics. The likes of Infineon (+1%) and ASML (+3%) both gain.
Top European News
UK reportedly races to secure coal required to keep British steel furnaces, according to FT.
S&P raised Italy’s sovereign rating by one notch to BBB+ from BBB; Outlook Stable.
FX
Another downbeat session for the Dollar and currently trading in a 99.20-99.91 range. Price action this morning has been rather horizontal amid eerily quiet newsflow. US trade policy continues to appear disorderly, with temporary exemptions for some Chinese electronic exports (about 20% of China’s exports to the US) followed by expectations of new tariffs on semiconductors and potentially pharma over the next month or two.
EUR is modestly firmer this morning as a function of the softer Dollar coupled with some reprieve from US President Trump classifying semiconductor tariffs under a separate basket instead of reciprocal tariffs. EUR/USD resides in a current 1.1280-1.1424 range and well within the 1.1188-1.1473 parameter set on Friday.
USD/JPY retreated to a sub-143.00 level owing to the weaker dollar and in a continuation of last week’s downward bias, but is off worst levels given the broad positive risk environment across Asia-Pac and then Europe. USD/JPY trades within a 142.23-144.30 range, contained in Friday’s 142.05-144.60 parameters.
GBP is again, posting gains as a function of the Dollar, with Cable rising to an overnight peak of 1.3174 as it eyes the peak from the 3rd of April at 1.3207.
Gains across the antipodeans amid the broader constructive tone across the markets after US President Trump watered down his semiconductor tariffs, clarifying that it is separate from the basket of reciprocal tariffs. Aussie continues to be slightly more restricted than the Kiwi, with sub-par Chinese import data overnight likely hampering gains.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2110 vs exp. 7.3251 (Prev. 7.2087).
Fixed Income
USTs are firmer but much more modest than has been the case in recent days. As it stands, USTs are rangebound just below the 110-00 mark and well within Friday’s 109-08 to 110-21 band. Focus this morning is, as usual, on tariffs. Risk sentiment has been supported by the announcement of some tariff exemptions for smartphones etc, however, Trump clarified this weekend that there are no exemptions with the measures just moved into different categories i.e. fentanyl.
Bunds are in the red but, as with USTs, rangebound throughout the European morning and comfortably within Friday’s 129.92-131.42 band. Specifics for the bloc light this morning, attention in Europe is of course on trade/tariffs (EU negotiator Sefcovic to meet US officials) but earnings season is getting underway and macro commentary from LVMH after the cash equity close could be pivotal for the region.
A firmer start as Gilts gapped higher by 38 ticks. A move that acknowledged the action seen late-doors on Friday and is also a function of Gilts finding some reprieve from recent marked selling pressure. However, like its peers, the benchmark remains well within Friday’s 90.47-91.75 band. After gapping higher at the open Gilts extended a touch to a 91.24 high, but have seen reverted back to and remain at opening levels just above 91.00.
Commodities
Crude futures trade towards the top of their narrow intraday parameters, with Brent and WTI each up around 0.40/bbl as tailwinds from the mostly positive risk appetite are being offset following “very positive and constructive” talks between the US and Iran over the weekend.
Mostly softer trade across precious metals with spot gold and silver unwinding some of their risk premium after US President Trump watered down his semiconductor tariffs, clarifying that it is separate to the basket of reciprocal tariffs, whilst US-Iran talks also went ahead over the weekend, with a second round planned. Spot gold resides in a USD 3,213.35-3,245.84/oz parameter vs Friday’s 3,177.26-3,245.49/oz. Bloomberg reported that the PBoC has allocated fresh gold import quotas for banks; limited reaction following this news.
Mostly firmer across base metals following the tariff clarification on Friday and over the weekend, whilst overnight, reports pointed to more imminent Chinese stimulus.
PBoC has allocated fresh gold import quotas for banks, according to Bloomberg; to meet increased demand from institutional and retail investors amid the escalating trade war.
US Energy Secretary Wright said the US and Saudi Arabia will sign an agreement on energy investments and civilian nuclear technology, while he stated there will be lower average oil prices over the next four years under the Trump administration and he expects long-term cooperation between the US and Saudi to develop the civilian nuclear industry in the kingdom.
Iraq signed an undersea oil exports pipeline deal with Italy’s Micoperi and Turkey’s Esta which will have a 2.4mln bpd capacity.
US President Trump plans to stockpile deep sea metals to counter China, according to FT.
Geopolitics: Middle East
Israel bombed a Gaza hospital as its military expanded its offensive, according to FT.
Israeli military said sirens sounded in several areas in Israel and interception attempts were made after two missiles were launched from Yemen.
US President Trump said Iran talks are going well and that Ukraine-Russia talks might be going okay but added there is a time when you have to put up or shut up. Furthermore, Trump separately commented that they will be making a decision on Iran shortly, while the White House said Iran discussions were very positive and constructive, as well as noted that the sides agreed to meet again next Saturday and US special envoy Witkoff underscored to Iran’s Foreign Minister that he had instructions from President Trump to resolve differences through dialogue and diplomacy if possible.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi said both sides want an agreement in the short-term and not ‘talks for talks’, while he added the second round of talks will probably be next Saturday.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday morning that Russia launched 88 drones in an overnight attack and announced on Sunday that Russia launched 55 drones targeting Ukraine, while the mayor of Ukraine’s Sumy said over 20 were killed after a Russian missile strike on the city.
Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured Yelyzavetivka in eastern Ukraine and Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukraine F-16 jet, according to Interfax. It was also reported that Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its energy infrastructure on several occasions over the weekend.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said they have been keeping their word on a 30-day energy strikes moratorium and there were no direct or indirect contacts between Russia and Ukraine at the Antalya Forum. It was also reported that Turkish and Russian Foreign Ministers discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia’s Kremlin said relations with the US are moving ahead very well and mutual visits by Russian and US envoys are very good reliable channels for communicating positions to each other.
Military representatives from Turkey and foreign nations are to meet in Turkey on April 15th-16th to discuss Black Sea security after a possible ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, according to the Turkish Defence Ministry.
German Chancellor-in-waiting Merz said Germany is willing to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, according to FT.
US Event Calendar
NY Fed 1-Yr Inflation Expectations (prev 3.13%)
Central Banks
1:00 pm: Fed’s Waller Speaks on Economic Outlook
6:00 pm: Fed’s Harker Speaks on Role of Fed
7:40 pm: Fed’s Bostic Speaks in Fireside Chat on Policy
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
As we enter a shortened week for markets ahead of Easter, most investors will surely be hoping for an easing of the turmoil that has embroiled markets since the US reciprocal tariffs announcement on April 2. Over the weekend, Henry published a note reviewing the key market moves over this period (see here), which by several metrics has been the most volatile outside the peak of the GFC and the initial Covid shock.
Even as US equities recovered last week after President Trump’s 90-day pause for reciprocal tariffs on non-retaliating countries, Treasuries massively underperformed with the 30yr Treasury yield seeing its largest weekly increase (+46bps) since 1987 and the 10yr Treasury-bund spread seeing its biggest weekly widening on record in data back to German reunification (+50bps). Despite higher US yields, the dollar lost ground with the dollar index touching a three-year low this morning as volatile tariff headlines have driven reallocation away from US assets.
Tariffs continued to dominate headlines over the weekend, starting with news late on Friday that smartphones, computers and some other electronics would be exempt from US reciprocal tariffs, including the 125% rate on China. These categories make up about 12% of all US imports and about 20% of US imports from China, so it’s a significant exclusion. US officials later played down this exemption, with Commerce Secretary Lutnick saying that it was temporary with these goods would be covered by a forthcoming levy on semiconductors. On Sunday evening, President Trump reiterated that electronics from China would still face earlier 20% tariffs over fentanyl and indicated that tariffs on semiconductors will be announced in the coming week. That said, he also signaled some openness on the scope of tariffs on electronics, saying “We’ll be discussing it, but we’ll also talk to companies”. Earlier on the weekend, China’s commerce ministry described the electronics exclusion as a “small step by the US toward correcting its wrongful action of unilateral ‘reciprocal tariffs’”, while encouraging Washington to fully remove the levies.
Markets have taken a positive spin on the electronics exemption news, with futures on the S&P 500 (+0.98%) and NASDAQ 100 (+1.45%) moving higher this morning. STOXX 50 futures (+2.41%) are posting a larger advance, having closed before Friday’s recovery in US markets fully played out. Asian equities have also started the week on a strong footing, with the Hang Seng index on course for its best performance in nearly four weeks (+2.41%), driven by tech companies, especially those exporting to the US. Japan’s Nikkei (+1.80%) and Topix (+1.55%) have also rallied, while the KOSPI (+0.88%) and S&P/ASX 200 (+1.42%) are both rebounding from a volatile week. Mainland China indices are seeing more modest gains, with the Shanghai Composite up +0.86% and the CSI +0.47%. Meanwhile, 10yr Treasury yields are -3.0bps lower at 4.46% in Asia trading as we go to print.
However, the US dollar has extended its decline, trading -0.47% lower this morning and having now fallen by -4.01% since April 2. In comments on Friday evening, President Trump insisted that the dollar would always remain “the currency of choice” and that “If a nation said we’re not going to be on the dollar, I would tell you that within about one phone call they would be back on the dollar”.
Turning to the week ahead, while tariffs will remain the center of attention, investors will also be keeping an eye on incoming US data with the March retail sales and industrial production prints on Wednesday. For the retail print, our economists expect a strong headline (+0.8% mom vs. +0.3% previous) supported by frontloading of car purchases, with a slower but still solid growth in retail control (+0.3% vs +1.0% prev.). Amid increased fears of a US recession, markets and the Fed will be watching whether hard data start to catch down to the sharp weakening in surveys seen over the past couple of months. Weaker US sentiment was seen again in the University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer survey for April last Friday. The main sentiment index fell back to 50.8 (vs. 53.8 expected), its weakest since June 2022, while inflation expectations continued to climb, with the 1yr measure up to +6.7%, the highest since 1981. And the 5-10yr measure jumped to +4.4%, the highest since 1991.
It will be another busy week for Fedspeak, with Chair Powell’s speech on Wednesday the main event (see the full day-by-day week ahead at the end). Recent rhetoric from Fed officials has focused more on risks of a persistent inflation shock, with tariffs raising the bar for rate hikes unless evidence of weaker growth becomes more prevalent. Given the growth risks and rise in yields, there will also be increasing focus on the upcoming budget reconciliation process. Detailed work will now begin after the House passed the budget blueprint last week, but it will likely take at least a few weeks before we get a clear sense of the key details of the upcoming tax bill.
Over in Europe, the latest ECB meeting (Thursday) is widely expected to deliver another 25bps cut. Our economists see the ECB maintaining its open-ended guidance but think that the risks of disinflation are being underestimated, given the recent moves in FX and energy prices and risks of trade diversion (see their full preview here). The ECB will also publish its quarterly bank lending survey on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, we will see decisions from two other central banks exposed to the US trade war, namely the Bank of Canada (Wednesday) and the Bank of Korea (Thursday), while data highlights will include CPI prints in the UK (Wednesday) and Japan (Friday) as well as the Q1 GDP and March activity data in China (Wednesday).
Lastly, the earnings season will gather steam with more US bank results, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Bank of America. Other notable US corporates reporting include UnitedHealth, Johnson & Johnson and American Express, while in the tech space we will hear from Netflix in the US, ASML in Europe and TSMC in Asia.
Early morning data showed that China’s exports rebounded +12.4% y/y last month (v/s +4.6% expected; -3.0% in February) as businesses kept frontloading outbound shipments to avoid prohibitive US tariffs. At the same time, imports slipped -4.3% y/y in March (v/s -2.1% expected), suggesting still soft domestic demand. Separately, on Sunday, the PBOC showed that China’s aggregate social financing flows totalled a stronger-than-expected 15.2trn yuan in March (vs. 14.3trn expected), pointing to ongoing flows of stimulus to support the real economy.
Reviewing last week’s seismic market moves in more detail, US equities actually recovered some ground, as the S&P 500 rose +5.70% (+1.81% Friday), recovering about half of its -10.73% decline in the two days after April 2 reciprocal tariff announcements. That recovery was mainly because of President Trump’s decision to delay most reciprocal tariffs by 90 days, which led to a huge +9.52% surge on Wednesday. So all-in-all, the S&P 500 ended up posting its best week since November 2023, albeit having come off the back of its 9th-worst weekly performance since WWII.
However, even as equities recovered some ground, US Treasuries reversed course, with the 10yr yield moving up every single day last week. In fact, the rise in the 10yr yield of +49.5bps (+6.4bps Friday) was the biggest weekly rise since 2001, taking it back up to 4.49%. And the 30yr yield (+46.2bps to 4.87%) saw its biggest rise since 1987, with the 30yr real yield rising +41.4bps to 2.69%, its highest level since 2008.
Outside the US, equities struggled a lot more last week. For instance, Europe’s STOXX 600 fell -1.92% (-0.10% Friday), and Japan’s Nikkei fell -0.58% (-2.96% Friday). And emerging markets struggled in particular, with the MSCI EM index down -3.90% (+1.59% Friday). Conversely, sovereign bonds put in a much better performance outside the US, with yields on 10yr bunds coming down -0.9bps (-1.0bps Friday). One asset that did particularly well was gold, rising +6.56% last week (+1.93% Friday) to a record high of $3,238/oz
2c European Opening Report
Sentiment boosted by tariff exemptions, with NQ +1.7%, but USD extends losses – Newsquawk Europe Market Open
Monday, Apr 14, 2025 – 05:21 AM
US President Trump’s administration exempted items from reciprocal tariffs including smartphones, storage devices and some other electronics.
However, Trump posted on Sunday that there was no tariff exception announced on Friday and that these products are subject to the existing 20% fentanyl tariffs and are just moving to a different tariff bucket.
European bourses open higher as markets digest exemptions on smartphones/electronics; US futures also gain.
DXY on the backfoot once again and G10s broadly supported with newsflow on the quiet end.
Bonds diverge once again but are contained with specifics light thus far; USTs a little firmer whilst Bunds dip.
Crude contained, gold wanes, base metals supported given the positive risk tone.
Looking ahead, US NY Fed SCE, Speakers including RBNZ’s Conway, Fed’s Waller & Harker, Earnings from Goldman Sachs & LVMH.
2. Listen to this report in the market open podcast (available on Apple and Spotify)
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TRADE/TARIFFS
US
US President Trump’s administration exempted items from reciprocal tariffs including smartphones, storage devices and some other electronics. However, Trump posted on Sunday that there was no tariff exception announced on Friday and that these products are subject to the existing 20% fentanyl tariffs and are just moving to a different tariff bucket, while he stated that “NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst!”.
US President Trump said he is to announce the tariff rate for semiconductors over the next week and that semiconductor tariffs will be in place in the not-distant future, while he added there will be some flexibility on some companies on semiconductor tariffs but it is not clear. Furthermore, Trump responded that they will be announced soon but there has to be some flexibility when asked about tariffs on Apple (AAPL) iPhones.
US President Trump said the bond market is going good and had a little moment but he solved that problem very quickly. Trump added that the 10% tariff is a floor or pretty close and that it doesn’t matter if the dollar went down as he thinks it will go up and will be stronger than ever.
US President Trump’s administration is reportedly prioritising trading partners that are strategic to China with the US in talks with Japan, South Korea, India and Vietnam, according to Politico.
White House spokesperson said US President Trump made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones and laptops, while President Trump is to issue a Section 232 study on semiconductors soon and said he will have more information on semiconductors on Monday. Furthermore, Trump said that autos, steel, pharmaceuticals, chips and other specific materials will be included in specific tariffs to ensure tariffs are applied fairly and effectively.
US Commerce Secretary Lutnick said President Trump plans a separate levy on exempted electronics amid a trade war with electronics products to be part of upcoming sectoral tariffs and that semiconductor and electronic tariffs will come in a month or so, while he added that pharmaceutical tariffs will be coming in the next month or two and that the US had “soft entrees” through intermediaries with China on tariffs.
USTR Greer said there are no plans yet for President Trump to speak with Chinese President Xi and stated electronic exemptions reflect a move from reciprocal tariffs to national security tariffs. Greer said they have to be much more deliberate about the semiconductor supply chain and he believes the US will have meaningful tariff deals with several countries in the next few weeks.
OTHER
China said the US tariff exclusion is a small step for the US to correct its wrong practice and called for the US to completely cancel the levies.
UK government announced that prices were slashed on 89 foreign products ranging from pasta, fruit juices and spices to plastic and gardening supplies over the next two years, while it stated the UK global tariff will be temporarily suspended on 89 products saving UK businesses at least GBP 17mln a year.
UK retail bosses raised fears of Chinese product ‘dumping’ into the UK and European markets through platforms such as Temu, Shein and Amazon (AMZN) amid Trump tariffs, according to FT.
Spain’s Economy Minister said the pause in US tariffs is an opportunity for dialogue.
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
European bourses (STOXX 600 +2%) are entirely in the green, following a mostly positive APAC session as traders react to the latest trade-related updates, which included an “exemption” of some electronic-related goods.
European sectors hold a strong positive bias, in-fitting with the risk tone; some of the sectoral movers today are attributed to the weekend’s tariff updates. Tech is one of the best performing sectors today, lifted by a number of semi-conductor names after US President Trump’s administration exempted items from reciprocal tariffs including smartphones, storage devices and some other electronics. The likes of Infineon (+1%) and ASML (+3%) both gain.
US equity futures (ES +1.5%, NQ +1.7%, RTY +1%) are entirely in the green, benefiting from the risk tone. In the pre-market; Apple (+5%) amongst a number of other large-cap tech stocks are moving higher after Trump’s latest electronics-related “exemptions”.
Citigroup downgrades US equities to Neutral from Overweight; upgrades Japanese equities to Overweight from Underweight; downgrades EM equities to Underweight from Neutral.
Barclays European Equity Strategy: Quality stocks upgraded to positive; Value stocks downgraded to neutral from positive
Another downbeat session for the Dollar and currently trading in a 99.20-99.91 range. Price action this morning has been rather horizontal amid eerily quiet newsflow. US trade policy continues to appear disorderly, with temporary exemptions for some Chinese electronic exports (about 20% of China’s exports to the US) followed by expectations of new tariffs on semiconductors and potentially pharma over the next month or two.
EUR is modestly firmer this morning as a function of the softer Dollar coupled with some reprieve from US President Trump classifying semiconductor tariffs under a separate basket instead of reciprocal tariffs. EUR/USD resides in a current 1.1280-1.1424 range and well within the 1.1188-1.1473 parameter set on Friday.
USD/JPY retreated to a sub-143.00 level owing to the weaker dollar and in a continuation of last week’s downward bias, but is off worst levels given the broad positive risk environment across Asia-Pac and then Europe. USD/JPY trades within a 142.23-144.30 range, contained in Friday’s 142.05-144.60 parameters.
GBP is again, posting gains as a function of the Dollar, with Cable rising to an overnight peak of 1.3174 as it eyes the peak from the 3rd of April at 1.3207.
Gains across the antipodeans amid the broader constructive tone across the markets after US President Trump watered down his semiconductor tariffs, clarifying that it is separate from the basket of reciprocal tariffs. Aussie continues to be slightly more restricted than the Kiwi, with sub-par Chinese import data overnight likely hampering gains.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2110 vs exp. 7.3251 (Prev. 7.2087).
USTs are firmer but much more modest than has been the case in recent days. As it stands, USTs are rangebound just below the 110-00 mark and well within Friday’s 109-08 to 110-21 band. Focus this morning is, as usual, on tariffs. Risk sentiment has been supported by the announcement of some tariff exemptions for smartphones etc, however, Trump clarified this weekend that there are no exemptions with the measures just moved into different categories i.e. fentanyl.
Bunds are in the red but, as with USTs, rangebound throughout the European morning and comfortably within Friday’s 129.92-131.42 band. Specifics for the bloc light this morning, attention in Europe is of course on trade/tariffs (EU negotiator Sefcovic to meet US officials) but earnings season is getting underway and macro commentary from LVMH after the cash equity close could be pivotal for the region.
A firmer start as Gilts gapped higher by 38 ticks. A move that acknowledged the action seen late-doors on Friday and is also a function of Gilts finding some reprieve from recent marked selling pressure. However, like its peers, the benchmark remains well within Friday’s 90.47-91.75 band. After gapping higher at the open Gilts extended a touch to a 91.24 high, but have seen reverted back to and remain at opening levels just above 91.00.
Crude futures trade towards the top of their narrow intraday parameters, with Brent and WTI each up around 0.40/bbl as tailwinds from the mostly positive risk appetite are being offset following “very positive and constructive” talks between the US and Iran over the weekend.
Mostly softer trade across precious metals with spot gold and silver unwinding some of their risk premium after US President Trump watered down his semiconductor tariffs, clarifying that it is separate to the basket of reciprocal tariffs, whilst US-Iran talks also went ahead over the weekend, with a second round planned. Spot gold resides in a USD 3,213.35-3,245.84/oz parameter vs Friday’s 3,177.26-3,245.49/oz. Bloomberg reported that the PBoC has allocated fresh gold import quotas for banks; limited reaction following this news.
Mostly firmer across base metals following the tariff clarification on Friday and over the weekend, whilst overnight, reports pointed to more imminent Chinese stimulus.
PBoC has allocated fresh gold import quotas for banks, according to Bloomberg; to meet increased demand from institutional and retail investors amid the escalating trade war.
US Energy Secretary Wright said the US and Saudi Arabia will sign an agreement on energy investments and civilian nuclear technology, while he stated there will be lower average oil prices over the next four years under the Trump administration and he expects long-term cooperation between the US and Saudi to develop the civilian nuclear industry in the kingdom.
Iraq signed an undersea oil exports pipeline deal with Italy’s Micoperi and Turkey’s Esta which will have a 2.4mln bpd capacity.
US President Trump plans to stockpile deep sea metals to counter China, according to FT.
UK House Price Rightmove MM (Apr) 1.4% (Prev. 1.1%); YY 1.3% (Prev. 1.0%)
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
UK reportedly races to secure coal required to keep British steel furnaces, according to FT.
S&P raised Italy’s sovereign rating by one notch to BBB+ from BBB; Outlook Stable.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
Some of the world’s largest pension funds from Canada and Denmark are reportedly halting or reassessing their private market investments in the US due to President Trump’s erratic policy blitz, according to FT.
GEOPOLITICS
Israel bombed a Gaza hospital as its military expanded its offensive, according to FT.
Israeli military said sirens sounded in several areas in Israel and interception attempts were made after two missiles were launched from Yemen.
US President Trump said Iran talks are going well and that Ukraine-Russia talks might be going okay but added there is a time when you have to put up or shut up. Furthermore, Trump separately commented that they will be making a decision on Iran shortly, while the White House said Iran discussions were very positive and constructive, as well as noted that the sides agreed to meet again next Saturday and US special envoy Witkoff underscored to Iran’s Foreign Minister that he had instructions from President Trump to resolve differences through dialogue and diplomacy if possible.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Araqchi said both sides want an agreement in the short-term and not ‘talks for talks’, while he added the second round of talks will probably be next Saturday.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Ukraine’s air force said on Saturday morning that Russia launched 88 drones in an overnight attack and announced on Sunday that Russia launched 55 drones targeting Ukraine, while the mayor of Ukraine’s Sumy said over 20 were killed after a Russian missile strike on the city.
Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces captured Yelyzavetivka in eastern Ukraine and Russian air defence systems shot down a Ukraine F-16 jet, according to Interfax. It was also reported that Russia accused Ukraine of attacking its energy infrastructure on several occasions over the weekend.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said they have been keeping their word on a 30-day energy strikes moratorium and there were no direct or indirect contacts between Russia and Ukraine at the Antalya Forum. It was also reported that Turkish and Russian Foreign Ministers discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Russia’s Kremlin said relations with the US are moving ahead very well and mutual visits by Russian and US envoys are very good reliable channels for communicating positions to each other.
Military representatives from Turkey and foreign nations are to meet in Turkey on April 15th-16th to discuss Black Sea security after a possible ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, according to the Turkish Defence Ministry.
German Chancellor-in-waiting Merz said Germany is willing to send Taurus missiles to Ukraine, according to FT.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin is essentially flat and trading just shy of USD 85k; Ethereum currently above USD 1.6k.
Binance seeks to curb US oversight while in deal talks with Trump’s crypto company and has been in discussions to list a new dollar-pegged cryptocurrency from World Liberty Financial, according to WSJ.
2c) Asia Opening report
3 .ASIA
3A NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
3B JAPAN
CHINA/USA
SPECIAL THANKS TO KEVIN W. FOR SENDING THIS TO US:
China Halts Critical Rare Earth Exports as Trade War Intensifies – Th…
April 13, 2025, 1:29 p.m. ET
Beijing has suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world’s car, semiconductor and aerospace industries.
A mine for heavy rare earth metals on the outskirts of Longnan, China. The country’s suspension of exports of the metals and magnets is part of its retaliation for President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs.Keith Bradsher/The New York Times
Keith Bradsher, who has covered the rare earth metals industry since 2009, reported from mines and factories in Longnan and Ganzhou, China.
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China has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world.
Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors.
The official crackdown is part of China’s retaliation for President Trump’s sharp increase in tariffs that started on April 2.
On April 4, the Chinese government ordered restrictions on the export of six heavy rare earth metals, which are refined entirely in China, as well as rare earth magnets, 90 percent of which are produced in China. The metals, and special magnets made with them, can now be shipped out of China only with special export licenses.
But China has barely started setting up a system for issuing the licenses. That has caused consternation among industry executives that the process could drag on and that current supplies of minerals and products outside of China could run low.
If factories in Detroit and elsewhere run out of powerful rare earth magnets, that could prevent them from assembling cars and other products with electric motors that require these magnets. Companies vary widely in the size of their emergency stockpiles for such contingencies, so the timing of production disruptions is hard to predict.
A plant in Changshu, China, where chemicals containing heavy rare earth metals are roasted for use in light-emitting diodes. The metals also go into chemicals for manufacturing jet engines, lasers, car headlights and certain spark plugs.Ryan Pyle for The New York Times
The so-called heavy rare earth metals covered by the export suspension are used in magnets essential for many kinds of electric motors. These motors are crucial components of electric cars, drones, robots, missiles and spacecraft. Gasoline-powered cars also use electric motors with rare earth magnets for critical tasks like steering.
The metals also go into the chemicals for manufacturing jet engines, lasers, car headlights and certain spark plugs. And these rare metals are vital ingredients in capacitors, which are electrical components of the computer chips that power artificial intelligence servers and smartphones.
Michael Silver, the chairman and chief executive of American Elements, a chemicals supplier based in Los Angeles, said his company had been told it would take 45 days before export licenses could be issued and exports of rare earth metals and magnets would resume. Mr. Silver said that his company had increased its inventory last winter in anticipation of a trade war between the United States and China, and could meet its existing contracts while waiting for the licenses.
Daniel Pickard, the chairman of the critical minerals advisory committee for the Office of the United States Trade Representative and Department of Commerce, expressed concern about the availability of rare earths.
“Does the export control or ban potentially have severe effects in the U.S.? Yes,” he said. Mr. Pickard, leader of the international trade and national security practice at the Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney law firm,said a swift resolution of the rare earths issue was necessary because a sustained disruption of exports could hurt China’s reputation as a reliable supplier.
China’s most famous factory for rare earth magnets is operated by the JL Mag Rare-Earth Company, whose headquarters are in Ganzhou.Keith Bradsher/The New York Times
In a potential complication, China’s Ministry of Commerce, which issued the new export restrictions jointly with the General Administration of Customs, has barred Chinese companies from having any dealings with an ever-lengthening list of American companies, particularly military contractors.
One American mining leader, James Litinsky, the executive chairman and chief executive of MP Materials, said that rare earth supplies for military contractors were of particular concern.
“Drones and robotics are widely considered the future of warfare, and based on everything we are seeing, the critical inputs for our future supply chain are shut down,” he said. MP Materials owns the sole rare earths mine in the United States, the Mountain Pass mine in the California desert near the Nevada border, and hopes to start commercial production of magnets in Texas at the end of the year for General Motors and other manufacturers.
A few Japanese companies keep rare earth inventories of more than a year’s supply, having been hurt in 2010, when China imposed a seven-week embargo on rare earth exports to Japan during a territorial dispute.
But many American companies keep little or no inventory because they do not want to tie up cash in stockpiles of costly materials. One of the metals subject to the new controls, dysprosium oxide, trades for $204 per kilogram in Shanghai, and much more outside China.
Rare earth magnets make up a tiny share of China’s overall exports to the United States and elsewhere. So halting shipments causes minimal economic pain in China while holding the potential for big effects in the United States and elsewhere.
Chinese customs officials are blocking exports of heavy rare earth metals and magnets not just to the United States but to any country, including Japan and Germany. Enforcement of the new export license requirement, though, has been uneven so far among different Chinese ports, rare earth industry executives said.
Most but not all rare earth magnets include heavy rare earths, which are needed to prevent magnets from losing their magnetism at high temperatures or in some electrical fields. Some rare earth magnets are made only from light rare earths, and are not subject to export restrictions. Customs officials at a few Chinese ports are tolerating exports of magnets if they have only tiny traces of heavy rare earth metals in them, and if the magnets are not going to the United States.
Officials at other Chinese ports are taking a more stringent stance, however, demanding that exporters run tests to prove that any batch of magnets does not have heavy rare earth metals in them before the magnets can be loaded on a ship for export.
The Chinese export restrictions began taking effect before the Trump administration announced on Friday night that it would exempt many kinds of consumer electronics from China from its latest tariffs. Magnet exports continue to be blocked this weekend, five rare earth industry executives said.
Like most goods from China, the magnets are also subject to President Trump’s latest tariffs when they arrive at American ports.
A factory making rare earth magnets in Ganzhou. China produces 90 percent of the world’s nearly 200,000 tons a year of rare earth magnets, which are far more powerful than conventional iron magnets. Keith Bradsher/The New York Times
Until 2023, China produced 99 percent of the world’s supply of heavy rare earth metals, with a trickle of production coming out of a refinery in Vietnam. But that refinery has been closed for the past year because of a tax dispute, leaving China with a monopoly.
China also produces 90 percent of the world’s nearly 200,000 tons a year of rare earth magnets, which are far more powerful than conventional iron magnets. Japan produces most of the rest and Germany produces a tiny quantity as well, but they depend on China for the raw materials.
China’s Ministry of Commerce did not reply to a request for comment.
The world’s richest deposits of heavy rare earths lie in a small, forested valley on the outskirts of Longnan in the red clay hills of Jiangxi Province in south-central China. And most of China’s refineries and magnet factories are in or near Longnan and Ganzhou, a town about 80 miles away. Mines in the valley ship ore to refineries in Longnan, which remove contaminants and send the rare earths to magnet factories in Ganzhou.
China’s most famous factory for these magnets is operated by the JL Mag Rare-Earth Company, whose headquarters are in Ganzhou.
The factory supplies the world’s top two electric car producers, Tesla and China’s BYD, with the magnets that power their cars, rare earth industry executives said. BYD has said that it buys some of the world’s latest, most powerful magnets from JL Mag, with 15 times the magnetic force per cubic inch of volume as a conventional iron magnet.
Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, made a special inspection visit to JL Mag’s factory in Ganzhou in 2019, during heightened trade tensions in President Trump’s first term.Xie Huanchi/Xinhua, via Getty Images
Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, made a special inspection visit to JL Mag’s factory in Ganzhou in 2019, during heightened trade tensions in Mr. Trump’s first term. The trip was interpreted as a hint that China was ready to use its control over the materials to disrupt American supply chains, a step it did not take then but is doing now.
China paused the mining of heavy rare earths near Longnan a few years ago because it was causing severe chemical pollution.
On Friday, at the site of one mine near Longnan, a diesel generator was humming and liquids were gurgling through plastic pipes, indicating that at least some mining operations had probably resumed. Heavy rare earths are mined by dumping strong chemicals into holes dug in the top of a hillside. The chemicals dissolve the ore and dribble out of the base of the hill, where they can be pumped to nearby pits for initial processing.
Li You contributed research.
Keith Bradsher is the Beijing bureau chief for The Times. He previously served as bureau chief in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Detroit and as a Washington correspondent. He has lived and reported in mainland China through the pandemic.
A great read…
ROBERT h”
Shocking if true because everything assumed about China from debt to consumer capacity is wrong. And it would make India the real market to be pursued based on population. And it it reinforces the reasoning behind Russia’s recent moves with India on energy and trade.
Lei’s Real Talk: China’s Population Is “Somewhere Between 300 and 400 Million”
RUSSIAN STUDY: CHINA’S 2018 POPULATION WAS BETWEEN 500-800M, BASED ON 1945 POPULATION OF 490M, PRIOR TO GREAT CHINESE FAMINE, CULTURAL REVOLUTION, ONE CHILD POLICY – MINUS 400-500M FROM COVID
According to Lei’s Real Talk, the CCP’s claim that China’s population is 1.4 billion is a lie.
Lei says the country’s population is drastically declining, due to the “Demographic Cliff” caused by an aging population after decades of the CCP’s “One Child” policy, plus her estimated 400-500 million COVID deaths since the end of 2019, which she says the CCP is covering-up.
On March 12, Lei said she believed China’s actual population was somewhere below 900,000,000, noting four key pieces of evidence:
In the image above, Lei composed an Excel spreadsheet from official Chinese government data, which showed that 5% of the Chinese population aged 35-44 had vanished since 2019. This is the most economically-productive demographic of any population.
What’s very interesting here, is that the Chinese government data for their 35-44 demographic jibes with the findings of the Society of Actuaries Research Institute’s 2022 report on Group Life Insurance Excess Mortality, which revealed a spike of 100% in excess mortality among working Americans in the 35-44 demographic. This is only among those who had good jobs and whose employers actually provided life insurance to them.
At the time, former Wall Street securities analyst, Edward Dowd reported that these excess deaths occurred in the US during Q3 of 2021 through Q2 of 2022 and was confirmed to him by his personal source at the Society of Actuaries. But this was only the excess deaths among Millennials with good jobs!
Dowd’s continued investigations, as of May 2024 revealed that, “About 33 million Americans have been injured, disabled, or died from this vaccine, in our estimate.”
• 1.1 million excess deaths • 4 million people disabled • 28.6 million vaccine-injured people often missing work, due to chronic illness
Lei ascribes this contemporaneous spike of deaths in China, within the 35-44 demographic – in the prime of their lives – to the “COVID pandemic”, however, Edward Dowd correlates the US excess deaths, disability and injuries to the COVID injections, which he calls “The largest global crime against humanity ever seen.”
Lei has a background in finance and numbers and – as is true for all of us – the enormity of these crimes has been hard for her to confront.
In a video from March 27th, Lei stated that, based on additional data, China’s real population is not anywhere near 800 million and that, “It’s somewhere between 300 and 400 million,” saying, “This isn’t a sensational claim, but a sober examination of two critical factors: the Chinese Communist Party’s decades-long manipulation of demographic data to project a false image of a massive consumer market and the catastrophic, underreported death toll from COVID-19.”
Lei refers to a 2018 Russian study that estimated China’s population at the time was probably between 500 million and 800 million. This was based on China’s 1945 recorded population being 490 million, prior to the CCP’s implementation of the Great Leap Forward, which resulted in the Great Chinese Famine and the subsequent Cultural Revolution, causing tens of millions of deaths (~60-100 million), followed by decades of the One Child Policy.
Lei states Russian experts determined that it was impossible that China’s population ever surged to 1.4 billion, saying:
“Other Russian experts added-up the publicly-available urban population of every Chinese city and county and got only 280 million people and based on the traditional urban-rural population ratio of 1-to-1, they estimated China’s actual population being around 560 million.”
According to Lei’s own reckoning, which includes data since 2012 of ~400 million fraudulent Chinese households and university enrollments being removed from government databases, that prior to COVID, China’s population was between 695 million to 890 million.
By Lei’s estimates, since 2019, China has sustained a catastrophic population decline of between 400 and 500 million, which is how she arrives at her estimation that China’s current population is between 300-400 million, which is confirmed by another Chinese émigré YouTuber, Li Muyang:
The question now remains, as to whether a similar fudging of US population data has been perpetrated by the US Census Bureau – all the more confused by the tens of millions of undocumented migrants having arrived in the US since 2021 and shipped deep into the US interior by NGOs, the US military, etc – all on the US Taxpayers’ dime during the Biden administration.
4.EUROPEAN AFFAIRS//UK /SCANDINAVIAN AFFAIRS
SWEDEN
Sweden: The Number Of Mosques Has Surged Nearly 4,200% In Just 25 Years
Sweden has seen massive demographic changes over the last 25 years, and this is not only reflected in the demographic composition, but also the religious composition of the country. While churches continue to close their doors, the country went from approximately seven mosques in 2000 to now 300 in 2025.
The exact figures are difficult to ascertain, however, the 300 mosques refers to permanent prayer places built for Muslim worship, which often feature a minaret and a dome. If unofficial places of Muslim worship are factored in, such as converted shops or basements, the number would likely be far higher, according to Swedish newspaper Samnytt.
“If by mosque you mean a Muslim place of worship, the number may be close to 300,” said Frederic Brusi, the knowledge officer of the Swedish Agency for Support to Religious Communities.
As in other European countries, many of these mosques receive funding from abroad, and overall, the finances behind many of them remain murky.
“In several cases, Swedish mosque construction has been partially or completely financed with money from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar or Turkey. In the case of Saudi Arabia alone, there is talk of billions. There is also information in the media that every fourth Swedish mosque is financed by the Sunni Muslim and Wahhabi kingdom,” writes Samnytt.
Keeping track of the growth in mosques is very difficult due to a lack of public statistics, with the Swedish paper pointing to mosques like Masjid Aysha, which is run by the non-profit association Scandinavian Islamic Organization (SIO) based out of Stockholm. While the mosque has been operating for 20 years, it remains unclear if it is even registered as an official mosque in the country, as there is no public list of registered mosques.
More and more mosques are in the pipeline as well, with construction taking place across the country. In one city, Helsingborg, a mosque being billed as “Scandinavia’s largest mosque” has so far raised 68 million kroner (€6.3 million) for its construction.
The money has been collected through influencers and social media campaigns on TikTok and Instagram, but money is also flowing from international locations. Due to the huge sum the mosque has raised, questions are being asked about where the money is actually coming from. In one video clip posted by the mosque, recipients chant “Allahu Akbar” when their funding reached 10 million kronor.
Another mosque, which organizers are billing as the largest mosque in all of Northern Europe, is under construction in Skärholmen, a neighborhood in Stockholm. The money is not only financed by Swedish taxpayers but also foreign donors, which has sparked controversy within the country.
“According to information from the local newspaper Mitt i, the association behind the construction of the Skärholmen mosque has chosen to hire the Turkish construction company EMUG, which is linked to the Islamist movement Milli Görüs. The organization has previously been criticized for anti-democratic values and anti-Semitism, as well as for working to replace the Western social model with an Islamic social order,” writes Samnytt.
Government officials also say more mosques are on the way.
“We have freedom of religion in this country, we have countless churches and not nearly as many mosques, so of course we need to build more mosques as long as it takes for people to be able to practice their religion,” said Karin Wanngård, Stockholm’s finance mayor.
Certainly, the country’s demographic picture has been radically transformed, with Muslims making up a significant voting bloc, especially in the country’s cities.
Last year, Remix News reported that Yasir Qadhi, a Pakistani-born American theologian, predicted that in just one generation, half of Malmö’s population would be Muslim.
“Walking through the streets of Malmö is like walking through Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, or Damascus, the capital of Syria,” said Yasir Qadhi, a Pakistani-born American theologian, as reported in the Swedish newspaper Samnytt.
He also shared his theory with the world that the towns he mentioned would become Muslim towns because while Swedes have few children, it is not uncommon for a Muslim family to have five or six. In a generation’s time, Malmö will not be dominated by Swedes, according to the Muslim theologian.
As Remix News previously reported, ethnic Swedish children are already a minority in the school system of Malmö, with one Swedish academic reacting to the massive demographic transformation known as the Great Replacement by claiming that schools should be taught in Arabic, as Swedish is now a minority language.
Data also shows that migrants and those of a migrant background are responsible for the vast majority of murders, shootings, gang rapes, and robberies in Sweden. Unfortunately, many of these killings are perpetrated by members of the Middle Eastern community, which is predominantly Muslim.
In 2023, the leader of the right-wing Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Åkesson, said many mosques need to be torn down. He says that Islamic places of worship in Sweden are a breeding ground for radicalized thought and the anti-West propaganda that is infiltrating the country’s social fabric and sowing discord in Swedish communities.
“It is not a right to come to our country and build monuments to a foreign and imperialist ideology,” Åkesson told his party’s faithful. “In the long term, we need to start confiscating and demolishing mosque buildings where anti-democratic, anti-Swedish, homophobic, or anti-Semitic propaganda or general misinformation about Swedish society is spread.”
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) pledged to send 21 billion euros ($23.7 billion) in future military aid for Kiev. Under the Joe Biden administration, Washington led the UDCG and was the largest contributor to the Western proxy war in Ukraine.
Following a meeting of the UDCG on Friday, the bloc announced the new military aid for Kiev. The majority of the aid was pledged by Berlin and London. Germany agreed to send Ukraine €11 billion over the next four years. The UK plans to send £4.5 billion this year.
The UDCG was formed and led by the US to facilitate Western support for the proxy war in Ukraine. After Trump returned to the White House, the US stepped back as the group’s leader. London and Berlin are now co-heads of the organization. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attended Friday’s summit remotely.
Discussing Berlin’s pledge, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius argued, “Given Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede (that) peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.” He added, “We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support.”
President Trump is making a major push to bring the war to an end with a diplomatic settlement. US and Russian officials met in Turkey on Thursday, with both sides describing the talks as positive. On Friday, Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to St. Petersburg to meet with President Valdimir Putin.
UK Defence Secretary John Healey accused Putin of misleading the US about Russia’s interest in ending the war. “Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine,” he said.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who attended Friday’s summit, explained that Europe was now “taking the lead in security assistance for which we are thankful to the UK and Europe.” He noted that Washington has continued to send Kiev military aid.
Pistorius said Berlin’s pledge to send billions in weapons to Kiev over the next four years is because “Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting, and we will support it.”
According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the German pledge includes 4 IRIS-T air-defence systems with 300 guided missiles, 300 reconnaissance drones, 120 MANPADS, 25 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 15 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 14 artillery systems, 100 ground surveillance radars, 30 PATRIOT guided missiles, and 100,000 rounds of artillery ammunition.
Berlin’s pledge notably does not include Patriot launch systems, just interceptors. Ukrainian President Zelesnky has recently made several appeals to allies for more air defense systems. Pistorius said Germany was unable to send a Patriot system to Ukraine as Berlin is waiting for deliveries of the platform for its defenses.
“Air defence is a problem all over the world – we are doing as much as we can as fast as we can,” said Pistorius. Most of Britain’s military aid will come as radar systems and air defenses. “In our calculations, 70% to 80% of battlefield casualties are now caused and inflicted by drones,” Healey explained.
5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/HAMAS/
IDF establishes Morag Corridor, separating Khan Yunis and Rafah
The IDF has completed the encirclement of Rafah in southern Gaza, establishing control over the Morag Axis to separate Rafah from Khan Younis.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERSAPRIL 12, 2025 12:21Updated: APRIL 12, 2025 16:42
IDF soldiers operate in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 12, 2025(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
The IDF has completed the encirclement of Gaza’s Rafah, the Israeli military said on Saturday, part of an announced plan to seize more areas of the Gaza Strip, accompanied by large-scale evacuations of the population.
The IDF has issued repeated evacuation warnings to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians across Rafah since it resumed operations in Gaza on March 18, forcing them into a diminishing space limited by the sea.
Israel said on April 2 that troops had begun seizing an area it called the Morag Corridor, a reference to a former Israeli settlement once located between the cities of Rafah and Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.
JPost Videos
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have since fled Rafah, a 60 square km area that borders Egypt to the south.
“Over the past 24 hours, the 36th Division’s troops completed the establishment of the Morag route, separating Rafah and Khan Yunis,” the military said on Saturday.
IDF soldiers operate in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 12, 2025 (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
Following the IDF’s takeover of the Morag Corridor, Defense Minister Israel Katz addressed Gaza residents, stating: “This is the final opportunity to dismantle Hamas, release all the hostages, and bring the war to an end.”
“The IDF will soon intensify its operations across most of Gaza. Those who are interested will also be able to voluntarily move to various countries in the world in accordance with the vision of the US President, which we are working on,” he added.
Bring them back home
The Israeli offensive in Gaza was launched after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel restarted the offensive in March after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January. The campaign will continue, it says, until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Hamas is stamped out of Gaza.
Hamas says it will free hostages only as part of a deal that will end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms. A Hamas delegation was expected in Cairo over the weekend to discuss new truce proposals, according to a source in the terror group.
ISRAEL HAMAS
IDF orders evacuation of Khan Yunis’s south after Gaza rocket launch
The demand evacuations from Khan Yunis neighborhoods was announced by IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee.
The IDF called for the immediate evacuation of the southern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis following the interception of three rockets launched from the southern Gaza city on Saturday morning.
The IDF’s Iron Dome air defense system intercepted three rockets launched after sirens sounded in the Nir Yitzhak, Sufa, and Holit areas.
‘Final warning’ on evacuations
The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, issued on Saturday a “final warning” of evacuation for the Khan Yunis neighborhoods of Qizan al-Najjar, Qizan Abu Rashwan, al-Salam, al-Manara, al-Qurain, Maan, al-Batn al-Sameen, Jurt al-Lot, and al-Fakhar.
JPost Videos
“We will attack with great force every area from which rockets are launched,” Adraee posted on X/Twitter.
#عاجل ‼️ إلى جميع سكان قطاع غزة المتواجدين في مناطق خان يونس وفي الأحياء: قيزان النجار، قيزان ابو رشوان، السلام، المنارة، القرين، معن، البطن السمين، جورت اللوت، الفخاري وأحياء بني سهيلا الجنوبية 🔴هذا انذار مسبق وأخير قبل الهجوم!🔴 ⭕️سنهاجم بقوة شديدة كل منطقة يتم إطلاق قذائف… pic.twitter.com/350ljlC0Wr
“Once again, Palestinian terrorist organizations are launching their senseless rockets among civilians and bear full responsibility for their suffering.
Rocket sirens are seen the Israeli border with Lebanon, northern Israel, March 22, 2025 (credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)
“For your safety, you must move immediately west to the known shelters in Al-Mawasi.”
This is a developing story.
END
ISRAEL HAMAS
Israeli Military Admits Hamas Still Has 75% of Tunnels Intact & 40,000 Fighters
Israeli military sources speaking to the press revealed the lack of progress Tel Aviv has made toward one of its core goals in Gaza: eliminating Hamas. The armed wing of the Palestinian group reportedly retains 75% of its tunnel network, 40,000 fighters and the ability to produce its own weapons.
According to Haaretz, an Israeli defense official explained that Hamas still has significant military capabilities despite 18 months of fighting in the Strip. Israeli military analysts now estimate that Hamas has 40,000 fighters.
Before October 7, 2023, Hamas was estimated to have between 20,000 and 30,000 fighters under arms. Near the end of the Joe Biden administration, the US intelligence community estimated the group had lost 15,000 men during the Israeli onslaught, but had recruited the same number of new troops.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that one of his top goals in Gaza is to eradicate Hamas. However, the war has decimated the civilian population of Gaza.
Most Gazans have been displaced multiple times, at least 50,000 have been killed – per Palestinian health sources – and countless deaths of deprivation have been reported.
Tel Aviv and Washington maintain that all of the fatalities caused by the Israeli war and blockade are the responsibility of Hamas.
The Israeli defense officials reported that despite some protests, Hamas retains its popularity and is firmly in charge of Gaza. Its armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, still has the capability to produce arms and rockets.
Last week, Hamas fired several rockets into Israel, leaving one person injured.
While Hamas has a significant fighting force, Israeli officials said the militants have not been engaging with Israeli troops. Tel Aviv says the fighters are hiding among civilians or in tunnels.
Hamas also retains a significant portion of its tunnel network. The officials said the IDF has onlymanaged to destroy 25% of the group’s underground facilities so far. Defense Minister Israel Katz explained that some of the tunnels connecting Gaza with Egypt remain intact.
END
ISRAEL HAMAS
IDF strikes Hamas command center inside Al Ahli Hospital, patients evacuated
The Hamas-run Health Ministry has not reported any casualties thus far.
By REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFAPRIL 13, 2025 03:56Updated: APRIL 13, 2025 16:22
amas Command and Control Center 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 Al Ahli Hospital(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) struck a Hamas command and control center located within the Al Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza on Sunday, the military announced.
The center was reportedly used to plan and coordinate attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Medics claimed that two Israeli missiles hit a building inside a main Gaza hospital, destroying the emergency and reception department and damaging other structures.
Health officials at the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital evacuated the patients from the building after one person said he received a call from someone who identified himself with the Israeli security shortly before the attack took place.
Measures were taken to minimize civilian harm, including advance warnings, precise munitions, and aerial surveillance, the IDF claimed.
Palestinians assist a wounded man to Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City April 9, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)
The IDF emphasized that Hamas continues to violate international law by operating within civilian infrastructure and using the population as human shields. Military officials reiterated their demand for an end to terrorist activity in Gaza’s medical facilities and stated their operations against Hamas would continue to protect Israel.
Hamas condemns attacks
Images circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately authenticate, showed dozens of displaced families leaving the place. Some of them dragging sick relatives on hospital beds.
In its statement, the Hamas-run government media office condemned the attack as a “heinous and filthy crime,” saying that Israel “deliberately destroyed and rendered out of service 34 hospitals as part of a systematic plan to dismantle what remains of the healthcare sector in the Gaza Strip.”
In October 2023, an attack on the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital killed hundreds of people. Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli air strike for the blast. Israel said the blast was caused by a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which denied blame.
British foreign minister David Lammy condemned the strike in a post on social media.
“Israel’s attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza,” Lammy said.
“Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace.”
WEST BANK
HOUTHIS
SUNDAY…
Yemen’s Houthis launch missile, triggering sirens from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem
Sirens last sounded across Israel due to Houthi missiles at the end of March.
Houthi terrorists in Yemen launched one missile, triggering sirens across central Israel, the IDF announced on Sunday.
Attempts were made to intercept the missile, and the missile was “likely intercepted,” the IDF said. Authorities have not reported any injuries.
Two interceptor missiles were launched at the Houthi missile—first a Hetz (Arrow) missile and simultaneously an American THAAD missile, according to Maariv.
Police have begun conducting searches to locate areas where shrapnel has fallen.
The military had reported earlier that two missiles had been launched.
A boy holds a pistol and a dagger as protesters, mainly Houthi supporters, rally to mark the annual al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Sanaa, Yemen March 28, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
Houthi missiles last triggered sirens in central Israel at the end of March.
Houthi missiles fall in Saudi Arabia
In early April, a ballistic missile launched from Yemen fell in Saudi Arabia as it was en route to Israeli territory.
The price of US dollar today, Saturday 12 April 2025, is in the 951,500 Rial market, which has decrease 58,500 Rials (5.79 percentage) compared to the previous day. Each unit of US dollar is sold at the price of 1,010,000 Rials.
Purchase price in US dollars
946,000 IRR
4.71%
Selling price in US dollars
951,500 IRR
4.71%
1 US dollar is equal to 951500 Iranian RIALS
THE COUNTRY IS TOTALLY BROKE:
Iranian officials urge Khamenei to negotiate with US, claim that war could topple regime – NYT
Officials warned in the case of negotiations falling through, the US would strike Natanz and Fordow, which are two Iranian nuclear sites.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting with Iranian students in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2025.(photo credit: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS)
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly told by two of his senior officials to enter nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration, saying that not doing so could risk war with Washington and could lead to the fall of the regime, TheNew York Times reported Friday, citing the senior officials.
Khamenei eventually heeded the officials’ warnings and granted permission for talks with Washington, according to the report, which would first be indirect negotiations through an intermediary and then evolve into direct talks between the two countries. The NYT report comes a day before the two countries will meet in Oman for the indirect talks.
Officials told the supreme leader that, in the case of negotiations falling through, the US military would strike Natanz and Fordow, which are two nuclear sites of the Islamic Republic. US President Donald Trump also said this week that “Iran would be in great danger” if talks failed between the two countries. The NYT also cited the officials as saying that a war with Israel would also be detrimental to the regime.
Talks between Khamenei and the heads of the country’s judiciary and parliament, which reportedly lasted hours, were held in March in response to Trump’s letter seeking nuclear negotiations, to which the Islamic Republic gave an official response confirming their participation in negotiations, the officials told the NYT.
Iran’s economic crisis
Iranian officials added that the country’s economic crisis, which would be further damaged in a potential war with Israel and the US, would also contribute to the toppling of the Islamic Republic, the report noted. Last month, the Iranian parliament impeached Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati, with the parliament’s speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, saying the decision was driven by widespread dissatisfaction with the handling of the economy that was suffering from international sanctions.
A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the U.S. and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/DADO RUVIC/ILLUSTRATION/FILE PHOTO)
How talks in Oman will play out
The Saturday talks in Oman, which will also act as a mediator, will see the Islamic Republic represented by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the United States represented by Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
As the talks will be indirect, the report stated that officials from the two sides will sit in separate rooms while Omani officials will deliver messages from the two sides to one another.
Amichai Stein, The Media Line Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.
END
SYRIA/HEZBOLLAH/LEBANON
The war to cut off Hezbollah: HTS battling against Iran-backed smuggling routes – Washington Post
Syrian armed forces and patrols are facing frequent fire from Hezbollah terrorists seeking to rearm after its war against Israel.
Search and sweep operations are being expanded to track down remnants of the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime after recent security tensions in the coastal region, where ousted regime elements attacked security patrols and checkpoints, resulting in casualties on March 07, 2025 in Latakia, Syria.(photo credit: Izettin Kasim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Deadly clashes have broken out between the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and Syrian armed forces as the latter attempted to destroy smuggling routes used during the Assad regime, the Washington Post reported on Saturday after speaking with a number of soldiers involved in the operations.
The terror group has reportedly attempted to tighten its grip on previous routes as a way to rearm following its war with Israel, which saw much of Hezbollah’s arsenal and senior leadership destroyed in strikes and a limited land operation.
Syrian patrol cars have come under frequent fire, and the patrolmen shot, according to the report. Last month, three soldiers were reportedly killed in the conflict.
While Syrian forces are attempting to guard the 233-mile border with Lebanon, Iran has reportedly begun expanding its smuggling contacts in Syria – allegedly trying to destabilize the new HTS government, which replaced Bashar al-Assad’s regime. European officials reportedly denied knowledge that Iran was directly trying to destabilize the country’s new leadership, in contrast with statements given by Syrian authorities.
Syrian troops sit atop a tank as they head towards the Syrian-Lebanese border following clashes with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups, in Qusayr, Syria, March 17, 2025. (credit: REUTERS)
Behind Hezbollah’s smuggling
“They are trying to open gaps,” Maher Ziwani, the Syrian army commander, said, speaking on the recent border clashes.
Despite his efforts, the Syrian commander told the American newspaper that he didn’t trust the border’s security “even 1%.”
“It’s quite difficult to draw a clear line between the clans and Hezbollah. There’s clear and strong cooperation between the two,” said Haid Haid, a Syria analyst with Chatham House who tracks transnational smuggling routes, told the Washington Post.
Ahmed Adbelhakim Ammar, the head of security for Qusayr, claimed the new Syrian government had halted more than a dozen shipments to Hezbollah.
“There is a huge stockpile in Syria that Hezbollah is trying to move out of Syria,” Haid said. “They know where those weapons are, and they are working with Syrian networks to get them out.”
Beyond Syrian efforts, the IAF has frequently targeted Hezbollah strongholds around the border. Despite this, the Washington Post reported local officials finding stockpiles of Iranian weapons in Qusayr, just six miles from the Lebanese border.
Sharing photographs of the weapons, Samer Abu Qassim, head of general security for Qusayr, said all the local shops had been used as a storage facility for Tehran. A nearby school had also been used as a training base for Hezbollah, according to the source, who claimed boxes of munition were discarded in the building’s stairwell.
END
LEBANON/HEZBOLLAH
Lebanese Army takes control of most of Hezbollah bases in south Lebanon, some sites in north
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the civil war, the Lebanese Army has begun dismantling Hezbollah bases across Lebanon without resistance.
By YUVAL BARNEAAPRIL 13, 2025 03:14Updated: APRIL 13, 2025 05:3
Members of the Lebanese army stand at the entrance of Deir Mimas, after an Israeli military spokesperson said on Monday that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past a February 18 deadline for them to withdraw, in Deir Mimas, Lebanon February 18, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/KARAMALLAH DAHER)
The Lebanese Army has taken control of most Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon and has begun to take control of sites north of the Litani river, according to reports in Lebanese media on Saturday.
Sources close to Hezbollah told AFP early on Saturday that the terror group had handed control of most of its military sites in southern Lebanon over to the Lebanese Army, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement that required only Lebanese Army and UN forces to be present south of the Litani.
Hezbollah is reported to have surrendered control of 190 of the 265 military positions it held south of the Litani. Lebanese media widely reported that the army had nearly completed the dismantling of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in the south.
Sources close to the Lebanese Presidency and Premiership told French-language newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour that the Lebanese Army had begun entering Hezbollah military camps north of the Litani river, but provided few details.
L’Orient reported that no clashes had occurred, indicating that the handover of Hezbollah sites was happening peacefully and that further agreements were expected to formalize the handover process.
Lebanese army members place razor wires in Burj al-Muluk, near the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, where Israeli forces remained on the ground after a deadline for their withdrawal passed as residents sought to return to homes in the border area, Lebanon January 26, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/KARAMALLAH DAHER)
Marking 50 years
President Joseph Aoun marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the Lebanese Civil War on Saturday night by denouncing the launching of rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel, saying that they were not serving Lebanese interests.
“These actions provide an additional pretext for Lebanon’s enemies to launch aggression against it, and the Lebanese must agree to condemn and reject them.”
Aoun, who was elected following Hezbollah’s defeat last year, has been a consistent force pushing for the dismantling and disarming of Hezbollah and restoring full security control to the Lebanese state.
Lebanese MP and Kateb Party leader Samy Gemayel called on Hezbollah to disarm and hand security control over to the Lebanese state. Gemayel was joined by Lebanese Forces Party leader Samir Geagea, who gave Hezbollah a six-month ultimatum to complete the transfer of control.
Hezbollah was the only militia permitted to maintain its weapons following the end of the Lebanese civil war in 1990, under the condition that it was exclusively dedicated to fighting Israel.
TURKEY/ISRAEL
turkey wants a caliphate and Israel will not let him obtain one
should be a very volatile Syria
(Korybko)
Can Israel & Turkiye Manage Their Escalating Rivalry In Syria
The “deconfliction mechanism” that they’re reportedly discussing would likely be insufficient for resolving their security dilemma and might thus only delay what could be an inevitable clash.
Israel and Turkiye held talks in Azerbaijan last week on the creation of a so-called “deconfliction mechanism” for preventing an accidental conflict between them in Syria. No details were disclosed but it might resemble the one that Israel and Russia agreed upon in September 2015 and which is still in use. Unlike its precedent, however, this new one that’s reportedly in the works has much higher stakes given the escalating Israeli-Turkish rivalry in Syria since the fall of the Assad Government last December.
Israel never regarded post-Soviet Russia as a threat, and in fact, relations between them are closer than ever under Putin due to his lifelongpassionatephilo-Semitism. Their “deconfliction mechanism” therefore wasn’t all that difficult to negotiate and maintain since Russia had no ideological or strategic reason to interfere with Israel’s regular bombing of the IRGC and Hezbollah in Syria. Israeli-Russian relations sharply contrast with Israeli-Turkish ones, however, in the ways that’ll now be explained.
Israel and Turkiye’s mutual threat perceptions worsened after October 7th. Turkiye believes that Israel’s military operation in Gaza is a genocide that could one day be replicated against Muslims everywhere and can only be averted by restoring a regional balance of power. Israel suspects that Turkiye might try to achieve the aforesaid by ordering its Syrian clients to host ideologically aligned Hamas militants who’d be defended from Israeli airstrikes by Turkish air defense systems (even if they’re only Syrian-manned).
Turkiye abuts Syria so it can bolster its new authorities’ military capabilities and those of their shared Hamas allies much easier and quicker than Iran was able to bolster the Assad Government’s and their shared “Resistance Axis” allies’. This represents a much greater national security threat than the one that Israel earlier mitigated via its “deconfliction” mechanism with Russia, not least because Turkish systems might be used to defend Hamas, while Russian ones were never used to defend the “Resistance Axis”.
The potential downing of an Israeli jet by Turkish air defense systems (even if they’re only Syrian-manned) during an anti-Hamas bombing mission in the Arab Republic could spark a regional crisis that they want to avoid for now. Neither can be sure whether the US would take their side against the other, both over that hypothetical incident and whatever they choose to do afterwards, and the worst-case scenario of a direct Israeli-Turkish clash – let alone a conventional war – is fraught with uncertainties.
At the same time, such a scenario could become more likely if the newly exacerbated Israeli-Turkish security dilemma in Syria isn’t responsibly managed, but the root cause is arguably more connected to regional leadership aspirations than it is to Hamas. Israel and Turkiye are vying to fill the void left by the unexpected expulsion of Iran’s on-the-ground influence in Syria, which both envisage achieving via a hybrid approach, but their methods differ.
Israel wants to retain its freedom to bomb whoever it wants there together with strengthening the Druze and Kurds in order to facilitate the creation of a decentralized Syria that could be more easily divided-and-ruled for thwarting latent threats. Turkiye wants military bases and Hamas militants in a centralized Syria, which are tangible returns on its 14-year-long investment into regime change there, and to symbolically lead the Ummah by positioning its forces to strike Israel from Syria (even if it never does).
Each is convinced that their national security interests can only be ensured by filling the void left by Iran in Syria through their respective abovementioned methods, which they consider to be a zero-sum competition, but one that doesn’t have to lead to an accidental war if it’s responsibly managed. To that end, they might agree to a compromise whereby Turkiye entrenches itself in the north while Israel maintains freedom of action in the south, but such an arrangement would likely prove unsustainable.
Israel would feel uncomfortable with Hamas possibly operating training camps in Turkish-defended northern Syria while Turkiye would feel uncomfortable with Israel holding the Damocles’ sword of airstrikes above the head of Syria’s new authorities in Damascus. Turkish air defense systems could also secretly be deployed in proximity to the Golan Heights for defending Hamas militants that might launch missiles against Israel from there. A regional crisis might therefore only be delayed instead of averted.
As such, whatever imperfect “deconfliction mechanism” might be agreed to between Israel and Turkiye would be insufficient for responsibly managing their escalating rivalry, thus perpetuating regional instability as they continue vying for leadership in Syria. These dynamics raise the risk of a direct Israeli-Turkish clash that could quickly spiral into a conventional war unless creative diplomacy succeeds in reshaping them. It’s here where Syria, Russia, and the US could possibly play positive roles.
To explain, Syria wants to replace some of its military equipment that Israel destroyed right after Assad’s fall, which Russia could help it do in exchange for privileged economic (reconstruction, resource, etc.) contracts and so long as this is within Israeli-approved limits. Israel doesn’t regard post-Soviet Russia as a threat and has a decade-long history of successfully interacting with it in the context of their “deconfliction mechanism” so Israel would accordingly prefer for Russia to rearm Syria than for Turkiye.
This accounts for why Israel is reportedly lobbying the US to keep Russia’s bases in Syria as a way for Moscow to help West Jerusalem balance Turkish influence there through these means. Damascus would have to agree, however, but it would do well to go along with the abovementioned arrangement since this is the only realistic pathway for partially rearming, liberating itself from Turkish tutelage, and eliminating the pretext for more Israeli bombings. It’s unclear how interested it is in this though.
The new authorities came to power due to the leading role that their Turkish patron played in the 14-year-long rolling regime operation in Syria so they’re indebted to Ankara and trust it a lot too. These factors reduce the likelihood that they’d agree to rely on Russia instead of Turkiye for (at least partially) rearming, not to mention within Israeli-approved limits that would amount to tacitly subordinating themselves to its interests, though the US could offer phased sanctions removal as an incentive.
The problem though is that Turkiye wants tangible returns on its lengthy investment in overthrowing Assad, so it probably won’t accept not being able to at least set up a few bases in Syria and secure the right to use its airspace for military purposes, both of which Israel doesn’t want Damascus to provide. Just like the US could offer incentives to Syria for agreeing to this, so too could it offer some to Turkiye after Trump volunteered to mediate between it and Israel, though it’s unclear what he might propose.
All in all, the insight that was shared in this analysis suggests that more than a “deconfliction” mechanism is required for responsibly managing the escalating Israeli-Turkish rivalry in Syria, with the most effective solution being the proposal that was just forth with regard to Russia. Damascus might not agree, however, while Turkiye could unilaterally establish more bases in Syria even if it does. Trump might therefore try to broker a deal, but if he fails, then an Israeli-Turkish clash might be inevitable.
RUSSIA VS UKRAINE
Three Arguments For & Against Russia Extending Its “Energy Ceasefire” With Ukraine
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will have the final say on whether Russia extends its 30-day moratorium on strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure that’ll expire on Friday. He also noted that “the moratorium has essentially not been observed by the Ukrainian side”, which is true, but the US hasn’t pressured Ukraine to comply with its part of the agreement. Here are three respective arguments for and against Russia extending its “energy ceasefire” with Ukraine:
———-
1. Maintain Positive Diplomatic Dynamics With The US
Talks with the US are generally going well so Russia might want to maintain these positive diplomatic dynamics with a view towards making tangible progress on normalizing ties and ending their proxy war. To that end, Putin could once again opt for patience and restraint since the threats posed by Ukraine’s continued violation of their “energy ceasefire” remain manageable, thus enabling Russia to possibly obtain more of its goals through diplomacy than if it reverted to relying solely on military means.
2. Dispel The Neocons’ Claims About Russia’s Intentions
Warmongering forces within the American Establishment and among their media allies have claimed that Russia is untrustworthy, and this perception could be lent false credence if Putin declines to extend the “energy ceasefire”, thus potentially adding unbearable pressure upon Trump to end their talks. The neocon faction might then command more influence over the administration with all that entails for a dangerous escalation with Russia if they then convince Trump to double down on support for Ukraine.
3. Incentivize The US To Finally Apply Pressure On Ukraine
Part of the Russian-US talks concern strategic resource cooperation, which understandably takes a long time to negotiate due to the nitty-gritty details, so maintaining positive diplomatic dynamics in spite of Ukraine’s continued violation of the “energy ceasefire” could raise the odds of a major deal. Should one be clinched, then the US might then be much more incentivized to finally apply pressure on Ukraine, both with regard to respecting this moratorium and conceding to more of Russia’s demands for peace.
—–
1. Show That Putin Won’t Be “Led By The Nose” Again
On the other hand, deciding against extending the “energy ceasefire” that Ukraine never abided by would show Trump that Putin won’t be “led by the nose” again, which refers to how the Russian leader characterized former German Chancellor Merkel’s manipulation of him through the Minsk Accords. Putin could calculate that this would uphold his personal reputation, make Trump respect him more as a leader, and therefore raise the odds of the US pressuring Ukraine to comply with any future deals.
2. “Escalate To De-Escalate” On Better Terms For Russia
By resuming attacks against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, perhaps dramatically so through the use of more hypersonic medium-range Oreshniks, Russia could “escalate to de-escalate” with the intent of achieving better terms for itself through whatever subsequent deals the US might broker with Ukraine. This strategy would amount to giving the US a dose of its own medicine that Biden applied to Russia, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll have the intended effect with the much more differently wired Trump.
3. Decisively Exploit Perceived American Weaknesses
Be that as it may, Putin’s calculation could be that the US has become so weak over the past few months due to Trump’s eagerness to “Pivot (back) to Asia”, the resultant rift that this created with Europe, and his global trade war that Russia would be foolish not to exploit this by pulling out all the stops in Ukraine. This thinking takes for granted that the US couldn’t or wouldn’t rally the West to “escalate to de-escalate” in kind but would meekly withdraw from the conflict instead, which can’t be known for sure.
———-
Both scenarios entail considerable risks, with another extension possibly leading to Trump manipulating Putin just like Merkel did while rejecting an extension could result in a serious Russian-US escalation, though their respective benefits could potentially be the diplomatic or military resolution of this conflict. Putin is very cautious and averse to escalations, however, so he might be inclined to extend Russia’s de facto unilateral compliance with this lopsided “energy ceasefire” unless “hardliners” dissuade him.
GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES/HEALTH ISSUE
Get jabbed, get infected: New flu vaccine study appears to validate RFK Jr. skepticism
The study, which has yet to be peer reviewed, was conducted by the Cleveland Clinic on its own employees.
Less than 100 days into the second Trump administration, the Department of Health and Human Services’ newfound skepticism of vaccine claims under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seems to be prescient, notwithstanding media hand-wringing.
The current flu vaccine, whose effectiveness is a tossup every year, in fact makes infection substantially more likely than not getting jabbed, according to the latest Cleveland Clinic study of its own employees. The study has yet to be peer-reviewed, which means it’s new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.
Nearly 44,000 of its 53,000 employees for whom age and sex data were recorded received the flu vaccine during the 25-week study, a research feat made possible by the Cleveland Clinic’s free, mandatory vaccination for employees without a medical or religious exemption.
About 2% got infected, according to the Cleveland Clinic research team led by infectious diseases physician Nabin Shrestha, also a professor in its medical college.
“The cumulative incidence of influenza was similar for the vaccinated and unvaccinated states early” but “increased more rapidly” for the former as the study went on through March 26, eventually reaching negative effectiveness of 27%, the researchers found.
“Notably, this was a relatively young population, with a mean age of 42 years, and 75% were female,” the paper says. “About 20% had a clinical nursing job.”
While the vaccinated were “more likely to be tested than the unvaccinated on any given day,” it does not appear the vaccinated had a “higher propensity to get tested” but rather had a “higher number of infections itself,” they said.
The limitations of the study are that it misses infections diagnosed solely by home testing kits, it couldn’t compare “the risk of influenza-associated hospitalization or mortality, or to examine if the vaccine decreased severity of illness,” and the population was mostly “individuals who were healthy enough to be employed,” with few elderly and no children.
The acclaimed medical center’s research has seesawed between undermining the public health establishment’s portrayal of COVID-19 vaccines as modern miracles with negligible adverse events and burying adverse events through selective presentation of data.
Peer-reviewed journals rejected their followup study on the 2023-2024 formulation of mRNA vaccines against the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2, which found their “low level of protection” was offset by the higher risk of infection among the more-vaccinated in working-age adults.
This is despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s even earlier research, from November 2022, finding sub-50% absolute vaccine effectiveness from bivalents in every age group, worst in age 65 and up, and the strongest “relative” VE in recipients who stopped at the primary series of two mRNA doses and waited the longest between doses.
CDC researchers also found negative VE nearly a year earlier, in a peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association study, among unboosted adults compared to unvaccinated peers. Soon after the New York Health Department found negative VE from Pfizer’s COVID vaccine just six weeks after it took full effect in children 5-11, but buried it in a graph.
Yet the Cleveland Clinic touted a peer-reviewed study last fall by a different team that found a doubling of risk for heart attack, stroke and death after COVID infection, but the researchers buried figures showing the increased risk applied only to hospitalized patients.
“The COVID vaccines have caused a massive loss of trust of [sic] the routine vaccine schedule,” which “wasn’t a big issue a few years ago,” cardiologist and chief scientific officer of the Wellness Company Peter McCullough, who favors COVID vaccine removal from the market, told Just the News No Noise last week.
He said the Cleveland Clinic flu vaccine study builds on a 2012 peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial by University of Hong Kong public health researchers that found a 4.4-fold increased risk of non-flu infection for nine months after children received a flu vaccine, who speculated those kids “may lack temporary non-specific immunity” to other viruses.
While he took flu vaccines for “over 40 years” and stopped in the early 2020s, McCullough now thinks they should have a “reduced and narrowed use for those who are at the greatest risk and can derive the benefit,” not the general population.
Senator Tommy Tuberville looking to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and privatize airline securitySenator Tommy Tuberville looking to abolish the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and privatize airline security
Using its own editorial voice, Citeline – which rebranded from “Pharma Intelligence” – said Makary adviser Tracy Beth Hoeg “has a track record of spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines” in a story about the FDA delaying full approval of Novavax’s COVID vaccine from emergency use authorization.
An anonymous source claimed the agency’s principal deputy commissioner, Sara Brenner, asked Hoeg to review the application, prompting Citeline to quote public health figures who still support the early COVID conventional wisdom trashing Hoeg for allegedly “misinterpret[ing] data” such as the rate of vaccine-induced myocarditis and efficacy of vaccines.
Mainstream media touted Kennedy’s endorsement of the MMR vaccine against measles in an interview with CBS chief medical correspondent Jon LaPook on Tuesday without noting he challenged LaPook’s claim that unvaccinated 8-year-old Daisy Hildebrand, who lived in a Mennonite community, died of measles.
While the Texas Department of State Health Services claimed the second child “had no reported underlying conditions” and died of “measles pulmonary failure,” citing the girl’s doctors, Kennedy said Hildebrand was “hospitalized three times for other illnesses.”
She had “extreme tonsillectomy,” mononucleosis that “she could not kick” and measles from which she recovered, Kennedy said, citing her parents. He said her medical report blamed a “bacteriological infection” for her death, which LaPook retorted was how people die of measles – increased susceptibility to secondary infections.
Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense reported that Hildebrand died of “acute respiratory distress syndrome due to hospital-acquired pneumonia,” based on her hospital records that were given to Hildebrand’s parents by University Medical Center.
Robert Malone, the mRNA vaccine pioneer-turned-critic, posted a lengthy essay alleging UMC ignored the express directives of her parents and “appear[s] to have treated her as if she was suffering from COVID rather than ARDS,” giving her steroids that “suppress the immune system’s ability to fight bacterial infections.”
He pointed to CHD’s analysis of the first unvaccinated Texas child’s death attributed to measles based on the child’s records from her family, which also blamed medical error by Covenant Children’s Hospital – delaying the “correct antibiotic” for more than two days.
The essay attributes the claims to a “Licensed Texas Physician with significant experience successfully treating measles during the current outbreak,” who told Malone the second child was “chronically ill” and “previously infected with measles in a Texas hospital.”
Malone told Just the News that a physician “is involved in the case but he is worried about the impacts of being named.” UMC and Covenant Children’s did not respond to queries for their response to the allegations of medical error.
MARK CRISPIN MILLER
UK: Dame Esther Rantzen dying of lung cancer, DJ Chris Stark has testicular cancer; BR: singer Netinho has lymphat…
Dutch singer Ria Valk has cancer (again); Colombian footballer Oswaldo Balanta has cardiac arrest; German F1 legend Jochen Mass has “medical emergency”: Portugal’s PM in hospital with arrhythmia; more
San Lorenzo Trialist Oswaldo Balanta Stable After Suffering Cardiac Arrest
March 27, 2025
Colombian forward Oswaldo Balanta, currently on trial with San Lorenzo’s reserve squad, is in stable condition after suffering a cardiac arrest during training. The23-year-old collapsed during the session but was revived through CPR and the use of a defibrillator by the club’s medical staff. He was immediately transported to Hospital Piñero, where he remains under mechanical respiratory assistance. Further evaluations are scheduled for Thursday, according to TyC Sports. Although Balanta was still on trial with the club, San Lorenzo stated that he had successfully passed medical tests and had been training regularly with the rest of the squad led by coach Damián Ayude.
Cantor Netinho is diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system
March 23, 2025
The 58-year-old singer Netinho was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system. The 58-year-old artist — who has had three brain surgeries in the past [2013] and underwent four stents placement — had to be hospitalized after feeling severe back pain and could no longer walk. The statement, signed by the medical board of the Hospital Aliança Star, in Salvador, details that after the discovery of Netinho’s lymphoma is with “onco-hematological accompaniment”, under the coordination of the doctor Glória Bonfim, and continues with specialized medical support. The note does not inform the stage of the disease, nor how the treatment will be done.
Dame Esther Rantzen ‘no longer responding to new medication’, daughter reveals
March 27, 2025
Dame Esther Rantzen is no longer responding to her medication, her daughter has revealed. The broadcaster, campaigner and journalist is battling terminal lung cancer. Initially, Dame Esther found a lump under her armpit after feeling tired over the Christmas period in December 2022. Weeks later, a biopsy confirmed she had stage four cancer. Since her diagnosis, Dame Esther, 84, has spoken openly about the Assisted Dying Bill, which is currently being debated by Parliament.
Radio DJ Chris Stark reveals he has been diagnosed with testicular cancer
March 24, 2025
Capital Breakfast presenter Chris Stark has revealed he has been diagnosed with testicular cancer. The 38-year-old, who previously worked as a co-host on Scott Mills’ BBC Radio 1 show until 2022, urged men to check themselves while announcing the news in a post on Instagram.
Roy Keane, 53, shows his softer side during rare joint interview with his daughter Caragh, 29, after she revealed her life-changing lupus diagnosis
March 27, 2025
Roy Keane, 53, shows his softer side during rare joint interview with his daughter Caragh, 29, after she revealed her life-changing lupus diagnosis. The pair appeared on the Stick To Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, where Caragh opened up about life with her famous father. Caragh recently shared that she was diagnosed with lupus, and credited her father with helping her to come to terms with having the disease. Carah was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes joint pain, skin rashes and tiredness, four years ago when she was just 25.
Carl Mullan issues warning after sore throat turned into sepsis: ‘I was in so much pain’
March 26, 2025
Carl Mullan [35] has issued a warning after his sore throat turned into sepsis. The 2FM radio presenter was diagnosed with glandular fever, but after a few days of continued pain, he returned to the doctor, who sent him straight to A&E. He recalled how the hospital doctor “audibly gasped” after seeing the back of his throat and told him he was lucky to catch it in time. Carl shared a video advising people to familiarise themselves with the symptoms of sepsis, as something as simple as a sore throat can quickly become far more serious.
Ria Valk, who has had skin and breast cancer in the past, was once again given a huge fright at the beginning of this year. “In January, I suddenly felt a hard lump under my skin again. I could hardly believe it, because everything had been removed, hadn’t it? But that turned out not to be the case,” the 84-year-old singer candidly tells ‘De Telegraaf’. Investigations were started immediately, but initially nothing was found. Ria: “But a few more investigations later it was clear that it had returned.” Ria underwent surgery on January 31 and this went well. “They even reconstructed my breast again with my own fatty tissue, which they did very well.” However, Ria is not there yet: she also has to undergo radiation. Despite everything, Ria remains level-headed and positive. “I don’t think each radiation treatment itself takes very long, so it’s over quickly. I get one every day from Monday to Friday and then I hope that I won’t have to go to the hospital for a while.”
F1 legend Jochen Mass suffers ‘medical emergency’ as family issue emotional statement
March 30, 2025
The family of Formula 1 icon Jochen Mass have released a statement confirming that the 78-year-old will be taking a step back while he recovers from a medical emergency. Mass’ family released the statement on his social media pages, though the nature of his medical issue has been kept private. They confirmed that the former McLaren driver is now in a stable condition following the emergency. Mass, who has been a brand ambassador for Mercedes in recent years, went on to enjoy a fine career in motorsports after stepping away from Formula 1.
Prime Minister Hospitalized with Arrhythmia After Days of Discomfort and Fatigue
March 29, 2025
On March 28, 2025, Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro [52] was hospitalized due to an episode of cardiac arrhythmia. After experiencing discomfort and fatigue, he sought medical attention at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon. Fortunately, he was discharged the same day with a positive prognosis. How does this health scare affect his leadership and upcoming agenda?
Runner-up of Miss Warmia and Mazury is fighting a dramatic battle for her health. “She suspected she had the flu”
March 26, 2025
Natalia Lewandowska (27) from Olsztyn captivated with her beauty and energy. Now she is fighting a dramatic battle for her life. The beautiful woman, winner of the title of runner-up of Miss Warmia and Mazury in 2019, is lying on a ventilator in the Intensive Care Unit after a serious illness. “My daughter was not feeling well, she suspected she had the flu. She had photophobia and her back and legs were hurting terribly,” says Natalia’s mother, Barbara Lewandowska (65). “It lasted for three days. She wanted to go to the doctor, she went out into the street and fell. We took her to the hospital, the first day she was still walking, the second day her legs were failing,” says Barbara. The doctors did all the tests and it turned out that Natalia had been attacked by a rare disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome. “We are facing a slow process of recovery, there is a slight improvement, she is conscious and alert, but she cannot speak.”
Veep Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang flown abroad for treatment after cardiac arrest
March 30, 2025
Asaase News sources close to the office of the Vice President, Professor Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, have disclosed that she has been flown abroad for urgent treatment after suffering a cardiac arrest. Following this health challenge, the Vice President was rushed to the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC), around 01:00 in the morning, where specialists made frantic efforts to stabilize her. A statement dated Sunday, 30 March 2025, issued and signed by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, noted that the Vice President was taken ill after work on Friday, 28 March 2025. The statement further indicated that she has received initial treatment at UGMC, and on the advice of her medical handlers, she will travel out of the jurisdiction for further treatment. Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang (73) is the first female to occupy the high office of Vice President of the Republic of Ghana.
Aasif Sheikh faints on Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain set, rushed to hospital
March 24, 2025
Aasif Sheikh, who is currently essaying the role of Vibhuti Narayan Mishra in the TV show Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain, fainted during the shoot of the serial today, March 24. A source told Screen that the actor was instantly rushed to the hospital and received medical attention. A source close to the development told us that the 60-year-old is feeling better now. “He fainted on the sets due to exhaustion and is doing fine now. He was quickly rushed to the doctor for proper medical attention.” Further information about his health update is still awaited.
Brit influencer seriously ill after mysteriously being found unconscious in her South Korean apartment
March 25, 2025
A Brit influencer is seriously ill in hospital after being found unconscious in her apartment. Ashley Surcombe, 29, was found by cops in Seoul, South Korea, severely dehydrated – but it’s a mystery how she ended up in that state. Ashley – originally from Evesham, Worcestershire – had lived in Seoul for five years. The alarm was raised by the content creator’s parents, Nigel and Karen, after their daughter stopped replying to them. Cops broke into the home where Ashley lived alone and found the Brit unconsciouson the bathroom floor on Monday. Paramedics rushed her to hospital in Seoul where she remains in intensive care, and Nigel has flown out to be with her. Kat Surcombe, the sister of the critically ill influencer, set up a GoFundMe appeal to cover Ashley’s medical bills and bring her home. “She’s currently in the ICU with severe dehydration and multiple organ damage. We don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, but we do know it’s serious.” The sister told the Mail: “We just don’t know what happened and we are trying to find out exactly, but it’s been difficult, and we have had to rely on contacts out there.”
Researcher’s note - Update on April 5: Ashley Surcombe: British influencer hospitalised in Seoul has ‘heartbreaking’ health setback. A British influencer fighting for her life in a Seoul hospital after being found unconscious in her apartment has had a “heartbreaking” health setback, and is now on a ventilator. Her sister Kat said, “They have done an X-ray on her and she does have pneumonia and she had an MRI scan and she did have a small bleed on the brain.”
Footy great Danielle Laidley reveals she has a brain tumour after shock diagnosis that hit her ‘like a sledgehammer’
March 30, 2025
Former North Melbourne star and coach Danielle Laidley has revealed she needs urgent surgery to deal with a rare brain tumour after receiving a shock diagnosis she says hit her ‘like a sledgehammer’. The 58-year-old said she was recently diagnosed with a subependymoma, a type of benign tumor that develops in fluid-filled spaces in the brain. Laidley’s tumour is also on her spinal cord, with the delicate location meaning she requires an operation to remove it as soon as possible. ‘I started getting headaches back around about October last year, and so I went to the doctors and had scans and CTE cans and MRIs and all that sort of stuff, and they found a brain tumour at the bottom of the back of my skull, on my spinal cord,’ Laidley told The Imperfects podcast. ‘[It’s a] very rare tumour. I can sit here today and use a quote from my surgeon: It’s not going to kill me, but being on my spinal cord, it has to come out.’
deep into the earth and take out its nuclear program? POTUS Trump has basically said it again today that this is imminent & Israel coming to WH was to discuss this…Ken Klippenstein’s writing is good
Is this just saber rattling? Is this the reason why Bibi came to the WH again? Is the die set and we may well see an incident as pretext e.g. a Gulf of Tonkin sometime this year? Trump ran as the ‘peace’ POTUS America First and not war…hhhmmm…
“The B-2 was first designed during the Cold War to penetrate deep into Russian territory for a nuclear attack. The aircraft’s stealth features (making it all but “invisible” to conventional radar) allow it to evade even the most sophisticated air defenses. Subsequent to its deployment, the bomber was modified so that it could take on unique conventional roles as well, especially in attacking underground facilities.
Though the U.S. has a variety of long-range fighters in the region — F-16s, F/A-18s, F-15Es, and F-35s — deployed on aircraft carriers and based in countries like Jordan and the UAE, the B-2s also allow the Trump administration to carry out unilateral strikes. That is, without the permission or involvement of any other Middle East countries. (Diego Garcia continues to be militarily controlled by the U.K.)”
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In the largest single deployment of stealth bombers in U.S. history, the Pentagon has sent six B-2 “Spirit” aircraft to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The long-range bombers, which are uniquely suited to evade Iranian air defenses and can carry America’s most potent bunker busting weapons, flew in from Missouri last week in a little noticed operation.
The B-2s carry not just bombs, but a message for Iran: “do you see our sword?,” as one retired general told Newsmax this week.
President Donald Trump hasn’t been shy in threatening Iran, saying that if Tehran doesn’t close the door on a nuclear capability they will experience “bombing the likes of which they haven’t seen.”
“Hell” will “rain down” on the country, Trump has also said. Just today, amidst the stock market meltdown Trump again reiterated his threat, saying that “doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious” — which to the president is undertaking a massive strike.
Blatant as the threat is, the U.S. government has not otherwise publicly acknowledged the bomber buildup. Though B-2 bombers were used to carry out strikes on underground Houthi facilities in Yemen (both under the Biden and Trump administration), the forward deployment of the bombers to the island of Diego Garcia was only reported when commercial satellite images of the airbase there revealed the six on the runway.
Satellite image of six B-2s in Diego Garcia | Planet Labs Inc.
“To my knowledge, this is the largest B-2 deployment to a forward location,” Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists told me. Kristensen is the world’s leading tracker of nuclear comings and goings.
“All the bombers, they’re not in hangers, they’re underneath satellites where they can be photographed and seen; and the idea is, do you see our sword?” retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt, who served as Deputy U.S. Military Representative to NATO, said in an interview with Newsmax last week. Holt also said that the B-2 deployment “gives the president a military option that he can actually use these weapons against Iran if needed.”
This is a highly visible threat to Tehran, but at least one party isn’t supposed to notice: the American people.
The Pentagon refuses to acknowledge that the deployment is even happening. Trump’s new Pentagon Press Secretary Sean Parnell has only vaguely alluded to “other air assets” being deployed it has announced that two aircraft carriers will stay in the region, the result of a delay in sending one home after its current deployment.
According to Google Trends, searches for terms like “B-2” and “war with Iran” have only modestly increased, indicating that public curiosity has been suppressed despite Donald Trump’s many threats to attack his enemies.
Google searches for “B-2” (blue) and “War with Iran” (red) | Google Trends
Why B-2s?
The B-2 was first designed during the Cold War to penetrate deep into Russian territory for a nuclear attack. The aircraft’s stealth features (making it all but “invisible” to conventional radar) allow it to evade even the most sophisticated air defenses. Subsequent to its deployment, the bomber was modified so that it could take on unique conventional roles as well, especially in attacking underground facilities.
Though the U.S. has a variety of long-range fighters in the region — F-16s, F/A-18s, F-15Es, and F-35s — deployed on aircraft carriers and based in countries like Jordan and the UAE, the B-2s also allow the Trump administration to carry out unilateral strikes. That is, without the permission or involvement of any other Middle East countries. (Diego Garcia continues to be militarily controlled by the U.K.)
Affording a unilateral option, the bombers also fulfill one of the priorities of the Pentagon and the administration in undertaking any use of force: making sure that the risk to U.S. personnel is minimal. Though they are much more expensive to operate and even deploy, the risk of one of the B-2s getting shot down is lower than that of fighters.
As I’ve already written, the Pentagon has been developing a new Iran war plan in recent months. That even includes options for the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, which I’ve also written about.
Assuming the B-2 bombers are directly connected to a full-fledged war decision would be a mistake. They are tools much better suited to a single demonstration strike. Note that from Diego Garcia, a round trip flight to Tehran exceeds 6,000 miles (more than 10 hours of flying), thus limiting how many of the bombers could be used in a sustained operation.
Assessing the likelihood of war with Iran requires understanding three distinct parts:
Intelligence assessments;
Public muscle flexing (of which the B-2 bombers are part); and
War planning.
Each of these three elements exists in separate stovepipes and each proceeds along their own timelines and separate approaches to the problem. It is when the three are in sync that the moment of maximum danger emerges. We’re not yet there, but let’s take a look at each of the three.
Intelligence
Intelligence assessments fall into two categories, the big picture and the day-to-day. I recently wrote about the intelligence community’s latest long view of Iran; that is, its assessment of Iran’s overall condition and Tehran’s worldview. That intelligence assessment does not scream war, but again, that’s the intelligence community’s view, not that of the White House.
Day-to-day (or crisis) intelligence — an assessment that Iranian forces are on the move, that Iran is readying an attack, that a terrorist strike is imminent — doesn’t necessarily have to jive with the long-term prognosis as seen by the eggheads in Washington. Crisis intelligence is more of an operational matter.
Though mostly operational in nature, crisis intelligence is also the kind of “intelligence” that leaders at the top have to monitor. Think of it as cable news or some viral social media frenzy. It sucks all of the oxygen out of the brain and there is a tendency to lose touch with the big picture. A contributing factor of crisis intelligence in Trump’s mind is also what’s on Fox or Newsmax — which is to say that’s what this president sees.
Flexing
Which brings us to public muscle flexing of the B-2 deployments. I say flexing because what follows isn’t “war,” not full scale war as people think of war. It is more the preamble of the government or the military taking action to “defend” itself, or an occasion by which the Pentagon expresses anger or frustration, or wants to send a signal, even by bombing.
This is the realm where Donald Trump’s stream of consciousness or Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s need to stick one of his tattoos in someone’s face plays an outsize role. What the boss says in this world is crucially important, even if it is ridiculous, because the war machine has to know at what speed to operate and what thing it should produce. And it needs to know right now, tonight, which is why the B-2s are there in the region in such large numbers.
When Trump spews, even his tone influences the military “posture,” as those who are out “in the field” seek to gauge what the White House is planning so that they can anticipate what’s coming. (It is hardly ever organized or clear under any administration.) Thus Trump’s bombast and his body language influences U.S. moves, which influence how the Iranians see the dangers, which can provoke Tehran to flex its own muscles, which then triggers the crisis intelligence alerts, which makes Trump and company speak more loudly which pushes the U.S. military to make moves to get ready, which the Iranians see, which we see and which starts a never-ending cycle.
You get the idea.
War Planning
Behind all of this is war “planning.”
A common misconception is that the Pentagon has contingency plans for everything, a belief that overlooks how time consuming and irregularly they are produced. War planning is the realm of what’s possible, not just what the president says.
Moving B-2s to Diego Garcia or increasing the number of aircraft carriers in the region, or bringing in more squadrons of aircraft — all of these are muscle flexing actions. Sustained military action with national objectives (e.g. defeat the Iranian military, achieve regime change, eliminate Iran’s nuclear capabilities), are a whole other dimension. This is the world of placing and sustaining troops, not just airplanes, and making sure that they have sufficient supplies, everything from ammunition to meals to medical care.
In the world of war planning, when Trump says “I want X,” the order goes down the chain of command through a mind-boggling number of levels, broadening in scope the further the order goes down the chain until someone (and many someones) say ‘We can’t do it.’ That someone could be anyone, but for simplicity’s sake, think of the ultimate someone as “the Pentagon.” The Pentagon says this and the Pentagon says that.
If the Pentagon wants to do X, they can move mountains to get it done. And that takes time, and lots of resources.
If the Pentagon doesn’t really want to do X, because it thinks the risks are too high or because it thinks the order ill-considered, it has an arsenal of passive aggressive ways of gumming up the works to make sure it doesn’t happen except as it wants. ‘What do you actually mean, Mr. President, sir, that you want to end Tehran?’ the Pentagon asks. ‘Nukes?’ ‘Covert action?’ ‘World War III?’ ‘That looks a lot like Ukraine, or worse, sir. Are you sure?’
You can think of this as calmer heads prevailing, but it is also a game that the Pentagon plays, either to shift responsibility for the outcome to the politicians or as to guide the president’s order so that it ends up looking like it’s asking for what the Pentagon wants, what the Pentagon thinks is possible and will allow it — that is, the Pentagon, not America — to declare victory.
Over the past 24 years, the Pentagon has perfected this game of executing the play it wants to run, not what the coach wants. That’s why the U.S. has become very good at bombing targets and conducting aerial assassinations, and in keeping the ball in play.
The military has grown highly proficient at executing a strike (or defending against one). To those sitting at their desks in Washington, the risk factors of sending off the B-2s to rain down hell seem minor: no American (and even relatively few Iranian civilians) are going to die, world markets aren’t going to be roiled by an oil crisis, and the public isn’t going to much notice. Trump can thus push the button and activate those who are pulling the triggers with relative ease. That’s why these days we see so many instances of one-off bomb strikes. Donald Trump doesn’t seem capable of changing any of this.
But he can yell louder and be more offensive and threaten more. When it comes to Iran, he is revving himself up. It’s not war that the B-2s are threatening. It’s worse than that. This is preparation for reckless action that, from the Pentagon’s perspective, carries little risk. That’s dangerous and is also why the public must to involve itself. But it can’t do that when the Pentagon refuses to publicly acknowledge what it’s doing.
That’s why I do these stories.
I’ve written over a dozen articles over the past year about war with Iran, trying to make the point that it is already here; that the endless tit-for-tat strikes we’ve seen is “war.” We might get to the point where all three elements of the war-making process sync together and ground troops get involved, but in the interim, we are just one or two steps below maximum danger.’“
The U.S. military shifted a Patriot battalion from the Indo-Pacific to the Middle East, requiring at least 73 flights; The air defenses are a high-profile resource, capable of intercepting missiles
“The airlift is essential to protect key U.S. bases and partners in the Middle East, which otherwise are much more vulnerable than Israel to Iran’s shorter-range missiles,”
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.
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Some traditional U.S. energy buyers, such as Japan, South Korea, and the EU, have signaled that they may be willing to buy more American oil, LNG, or coal.
Higher energy imports from the trade partners could dent some of the U.S. trade deficits, but they will by no means fix or erase these.
Commitments and contracts to buy more U.S. energy will not necessarily spare any buyer from tariffs.
U.S. President Donald Trump insists that American buyers boost purchases of U.S. energy goods to reduce their large trade surpluses with America.
Some traditional U.S. energy buyers, such as Japan, South Korea, and the EU, have signaled that they may be willing to buy more American oil, LNG, or coal to appease the President who has fixated on fixing the massive trade deficits America runs with most countries.
Higher energy imports from the trade partners could dent some of the U.S. trade deficits, but they will by no means fix or erase these.
For most countries, energy is the only viable increase in imports from the United States. Japan, South Korea, and the EU, for example, have expressed readiness to boost their LNG or oil imports from America.
They did so immediately after President Trump’s inauguration. Nonetheless, tariffs followed. They are now paused, but the threat of more rounds of tariffs across the board is still very much present—just look at the whiplash trading and carnage on Wall Street.
Even if buyers commit to significantly boosting their imports of U.S. oil and gas, the deficits will remain. On the other hand, U.S. exporters cannot provide the energy commodities needed to significantly reduce America’s trade deficits.
A case in point is President Trump’s idea that the European Union should pledge to buy $350 billion worth of energy from the United States if it wants tariff relief.
The European Union is ready to commit to buying more liquefied natural gas from the United States if that would appease President Trump and make him reconsider tariffs, the EU’s energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen said this week.
However, $350 billion worth of LNG is roughly equal to some 40 million tons of the super-chilled fuel. That’s more than half of the EU’s total LNG imports last year of some 75 million tons, much of which came from America anyway, per the bloc’s statistics agency, Eurostat.
Commitments and contracts to buy more U.S. energy will not necessarily spare any buyer from tariffs. Taiwan, traditionally strongly supported by the U.S. in its quest to shake off Chinese influence and continue to be a democracy, saw this firsthand.
Taiwan was slapped with a 32% tariff, which has been halted for 90 days, although it had just made some big commitments to invest in the U.S., including in U.S. energy projects. Last month, Taiwan’s state-held oil and gas company CPC Corporation signed a letter of intent to invest in the $44-billion Alaska LNG export project and buy LNG from it as part of a move to bolster its gas supply and energy security.
Unfortunately for Taiwan, in any negotiations with deficit-fixated President Trump, the value of its exports to the U.S. – predominantly semiconductors – vastly outstrips the value of the goods it imports from America.
Taiwan wasn’t spared from one of the highest now-suspended tariffs despite being the only early committed investor in the huge Alaska LNG project, while Japan and South Korea are hesitating.
This doesn’t give much assurance to other energy buyers that their commitments would satisfy President Trump.
And even if Japan, for example, were to dramatically raise its oil exports from the U.S. to account for 10% of all its crude imports, up from 1.6% last year at WTI at $60 per barrel, the volumes would be worth about $4.8 billion, Reuters columnist Clyde Russell estimates. But Japan’s trade surplus with the U.S. was more than 14 times higher than this—at $68 billion in 2024, he notes.
Moreover, Japan already imports U.S. LNG, representing nearly 10% of all its LNG purchases. It isn’t easy to increase this amount due to Japan’s long-term supply deals with other LNG exporters and the simple logistics and availability of U.S. LNG exports.
U.S. trade partners will now look to negotiate their way out of hefty tariffs during the 90-day pause. They can only hope for reasonable talks and deals, and that the U.S. and the world will avoid recession in the escalating U.S.-China trade war that could crush global energy demand and the U.S. ability to sustain its oil production at current levels.
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES/
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS MONDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO/USA: 1.1395 UP 0.0054 PTS OR 54 BASIS POINTS
USA/ YEN 143.14 DOWN 0.247 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 1.3197 UP .01304 OR 130 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3848 up 0.0006 (CDN DOLLAR DOWN 6 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED UP 24.58 PTS OR 0.76%
Hang Seng CLOSED UP 502.71 PTS OR 2.40%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 1.35%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 502.71 PTS OR 2.40%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED UP 24.58 PTS OR 0.76%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 1.35%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 396.78 PTS OR 1.18%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE GREEN
Gold very early morning trading: 3223.60
silver:$32.38
USA dollar index early MONDAY morning: 99.17 DOWN 73 BASIS POINTS FROM FRIDAY’s CLOSE.
The USA/Yuan 7.3127, CNY ON SHORE ..CHINA MUST DEVALUE TO GOLD
THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE UP TO 7.3122:
TURKISH LIRA: 38.06 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//
the 10 yr Japanese bond yield at +1.344
Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 9 in basis points from THURSDAY at 4.403% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)
USA 30 yr bond yield 4,810 DOWN 7 in basis points /11:00 AM
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.899 DOWN 6 BASIS PTS.
GOLD AT 11;00 AM 3206.25
SILVER AT 11;00: 32.00
Your 11:00 AM bourses for Europe and the Dow along with the USA dollar index closing and interest rates: MONDAY CLOSING TIME 11:00 AM//
London: CLOSED UP 170.16 PTS OR 2.14%
GERMAN DAX:UP 580.73 PTS OR 2.85%
Paris CAC CLOSED UP 168.32 or 2.38%
Spain IBEX CLOSED UP 323.80 PTS OR 2.64%
Italian MIB: CLOSED UP 979.31 PTS OR 2.88%
WTI Oil price 61,79 11 EST/
Brent Oil: 64,93 11:00 EST
USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE /// AT: 82.41 ROUBLE UP 0 AND 83/ 100
GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD; +2.5085 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.
UK 10 YR YIELD: 4.7100 DOWN 4 BASIS POINTS
CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.201 DOWN 7 BASIS PTS.
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.834 DOWN 5 BASIS PTS
CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM
Euro vs USA 1.1366 UP 0.0024 OR 24 BASIS POINTS//HEADING TO PARITY WITH THE DOLLAR
British Pound: 1.3197 UP .01310 OR 131 basis pts/HEADING FOR PARITY /USA
BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD: 4.6635 DOWN 9 FULL BASIS PTS//
JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.341
USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 142.89 DOWN 0.448 BASIS PTS// HEADING FOR 160 TO THE DOLLAR
USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3867 UP 24 BASIS PTS CDN DOLLAR DOWN 24 BASIS PTS
West Texas intermediate oil: 61.63
Brent OIL: 64.93
USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 12 BASIS pts to 4.374
USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 7 BASIS PTS to 4.802%
USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 11 PTS AT 3.847%
CDN 10 YR RATE 3.163 DOWN 10 BASIS PTS
CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.783 DOWN 11 BASIS PTS
USA dollar index: 99.36 DOWN 53 BASIS POINTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 38.04 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/
USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE: 82.25 DOWN 0 AND 99/100 roubles
GOLD 3211.20 (3:30 PM)
SILVER: 32.34(3:30 PM)
DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: UP 304.81 OR 0.76%
NASDAQ 100 UP 100.56 PTS OR 0.54%
VOLATILITY INDEX: 29.88 DOWN 7.70 PTS OR 10.50%
GLD: $ 296,25 DOWN 1.68 PTS OR 1.68%
SLV/ $29.38 UP 0.19 PTS OR OR 0.65%
TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED UP 334.52 OR 1.42%
end
TRADING today ZEROHEDGE Trump’s tariffs: 4PM
ZEROHEDGE/HEADLINE CLOSING MARKETS/ZEROHEDGE
Treasury Yields Tumble As S&P Suffers ‘Death Cross’, Dollar Decline Continues
MIDDAY NEWS
USA DATA
USA ECONOMIC NEWS
JPMorgan Responds To The Fed: There Is A Liquidity Crisis Right Now
Saturday, Apr 12, 2025 – 07:16 AM
Earlier this morning Apollo’s Torsten Slok laid out the following three reasons why bond yields are soaring:
With the yen, euro, and Canadian dollar strengthening at the same time, this could be foreigners selling US Treasuries.
With the VIX at elevated levels around 50, there is a lot of hedging activity going on, and it could, therefore, be risk reduction among large asset managers managing rates, credit, and equities.
With almost $1 trillion in the basis trade, it could be an unwinding of the basis trade among levered hedge funds.
We have discussed 2, and especially 3, quite extensively before, and while 1 is certainly realistic we will have to wait for counterparty data from China (and everyone knows how credible Chinese data is) to get confirmation. But, we agree with Slok that selling by foreign powers, especially China, is likely. It certainly is likely on Friday when, as the chart below shows, the move in the swap spread (i.e., basis unwind) is insufficient to explain the move higher in yields, which means at least part of the move can be attributed to China selling.
Which brings up an interesting point: we already discussed how China’s central bank, the PBOC (which of course is joined at the hip with the CCP) is doing everything in its power to bolster Beijing in its trade war, be it propping up the market by purchasing record amounts of ETFs/stocks, to making sure the yuan doesn’t crater, and is actively buying the currency (through intermediary banks) while selling the dollar. And, by extension, China is securing the funds it needs to support the currency by selling US treasuries it holds in its reserve, whether domestically or in Belgium via Euroclear… where it appears total TSY holdings are now where they were just before China devalued the yuan in 2015 and liquidated its US paper to contain the subsequent yuan collapse. Expect a similar collapse if and when China devalues this time as Beijing will again scramble to avoid a much worse liquidation in the yuan.
Why does all of that matter?
Simple: at least on China’s side, it is clear that the central bank is doing everything in its power to prop up the government in its trade war with the US and give the impression that China is not getting crushed by the trade war through such primary indicators as the stock market and the currency. We discussed this two days ago in “Beijing Unleashes Record “Plunge Protection” Buying To Prop Up Stocks, Avoid Signaling Weakness In Trade War.”
Surprisingly, the Fed has so far refused to even consider doing the same on the US side. Quite the contrary, as NY Fed president John Williams said…
*FED’S WILLIAMS SAYS CURRENT RATE STANCE REMAINS APPROPRIATE
Which is amusing considering the Fed was “jumbo” cutting last September when financial conditions were massively looser and when forward inflation expectations were much higher than they are now.
So why is the Fed not cutting now? This is also simple: the Fed, which has become extremely political – recall former NY Fed president Bill Dudley penned an op-ed during the peak of the first Trump trade war with China – in which he urged his former Fed colleagues not to stimulate and to crash the economy, in order to destroy Trump (no we aren’t joking).
But an unconditional denial of easing to Trump would be too obvious (especially one which is based on something as flimsy as UMichigan inflation expectations, the very same thing that Fed Chair Powell said during his last FOMC meeting to completely ignore), especially if and when the market went haywire and people start asking questions why the Fed is refusing to move as things start to break (like the basis trade for example).
Which brings us to escape clause: moments ago, the FT published an interview with Boston Fed president Susan Collins in which she said that “The Federal Reserve “would absolutely be prepared” to deploy its firepower to stabilise financial markets should conditions become disorderly, according to one of the central bank’s top officials” adding that the Fed “does have tools to address concerns about market functioning or liquidity should they arise”.
Great…. but – there is of course a but – Collins also said “markets are continuing to function well” and that “we’re not seeing liquidity concerns overall”.
In other words, the Fed has a liquidity put… there is just no liquidity crisis.
Only – even if one ignores the blow up of the basis trade which as we explained previously has soaked up all the market’s available liquidity – there is a liquidity crisis according to JPMorgan.
Below we excerpt from a note published this morning by JPMorgan’s Market Intel team, which quotes trader Marissa Gitler, in which she said that liquidity is now gone and that what happens next could be ugly.
While it’s important to take a fundamental stance on the macro environment, the declining liquidity picture is an important piece of the puzzle and it’s worth flagging. To put statistics around it: Top-deck bid-ask for ESM5 and TYM5 are both roughly -80% worse than the 20d market average. These are historically two of the most liquid contracts in global macro markets. The top-deck in UX1 is roughly -95% worse. There appears no recovery this morning either.
De-leveraging and deterioration of macro sentiment has morphed into a situation in which liquidity dynamics are now meaningfully impaired in liquid markets. The lack of liquidity could result in price moves that are outsized relative to the amount of flow that is actually going through. This is in BOTH directions – significant bounces can take place ‘on air’ while it could similarly lead to unruly market outcomes to the downside. This is important context as we head into risk events such as UST auctions, the FOMC Minutes, CPI, and, realistically, just every minute of the trading day now as we are subject to Tariff tape bombs.
She concludes as follows:
Equity turmoil has been fairly transparent via the selloff in indexes globally, but yesterday [April 8] the conversation rapidly flipped from equities back into the fixed income world as UST yields surged meaningfully led by the long end. It’s pretty impossible for anyone to predict where we go from here (myself included), but deterioration of the broader liquidity framework is never a great setup for risk markets.
So while the Fed may ignore warnings by entities – such as this website – that liquidity is gone, imagine a world where there is a full-blown funding crisis, banks are failing and the Fed is blamed for ignoring not just the all too clear signs, but also ignoring a warning from the largest US bank, JPMorgan.
That is not a world that Jerome Powell, no matter how much he wants to listen to Bill Dudley and crush Donald Trump, would want to be in.
Trump exempts these high ticket items from the extended reciprocal tariff tax. However the original 20% tax still holds:
Trump Exempts Computers, Handsets, Chips From Reciprocal Tariff Blitz, Still Subject To Original 20%
Saturday, Apr 12, 2025 – 12:55 PM
Update (1255ET): As Trump adviser Stephen Miller points out, the products are still “subject to the tariff under the original IEEPA on China of 20 percent.”
Washington Post: maybe your reporters should try reading before posting. These products are subject to the tariff under the original IEEPA on China of 20 percent. https://t.co/MI4oDEb8S3
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an updated guidance late Friday night on product exclusions from President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, imposed under Executive Order 14257 and its amendments (EO 14259). The exclusions cover a wide range of electronic devices, including smartphones, laptops, and related components.
First, President Trump paused reciprocal tariffs for non-retaliating countries (e.g., China) for 90 days last week. Now, updated guidance from CBP reveals that some of the highest-value trade—particularly a wide range of electronics—is excluded from the reciprocal tariffs.
Among the 20 tariff codes listed for exemption, three stand out in particular:
8471 – Automatic data processing machines and units thereof (e.g., laptops, desktops, servers).
8517.13.00 – Smartphones and other telecommunication apparatus for cellular networks.
To close out the week, the U.S.–China trade war escalated in a highly predictable tit-for-tat fashion. The U.S. now imposes a 145% effective tariff rate on Chinese goods, while Beijing has retaliated with a 125% rate on American products.
Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts have already trimmed sales estimates for U.S. companies with Chinese exposure, including Apple and Tesla, as economic storm clouds gather over global trade.
Notably, most of the products now exempt from reciprocal tariffs are those the U.S. lacks the capacity to produce at scale—highlighting the need for significant reshoring, investment, and supply chain restructuring.
Many of these products are also consumer essentials—items Americans couldn’t live without, such as smartphones and computers—making them politically sensitive. The Trump administration likely chose not to risk upsetting consumers ahead of the Midterms.
In markets, this news will be fuel to stage a further recovery…
Nasdaq Breadth…
As Wedbush’s Dan Ives notes, Big Tech and investors ‘got the dream news’. . .
Not So Fast: Lutnick Says Semiconductor Tariffs Coming “In Month Or Two”, Exemption Is Only “Temporary”
by Tyler Durden
Sunday, Apr 13, 2025 – 10:59 AM
Update (1059 ET):
U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told ABC’s This Week host Jonathan Karl that smartphones, computers, chips, and other consumer electronics may soon be subject to separate tariffs in a month or so, suggesting that the exemptions announced Friday evening are only temporary.
“All those products are going to come under semiconductors, and they’re going to have a special focus type of tariff to make sure that those products get re-shored. We need to have semiconductors, we need to have chips, and we need to have flat panels — we need to have these things made in America. We can’t be reliant on Southeast Asia for all of the things that operate for us,” Lutnick told Karl.
When Karl asked to clarify whether tariffs on Apple iPhones and other smartphone devices might “come back on in a month or so,” Lutnick replied, “Correct. That’s right: We need our medicines, semiconductors, and electronics to be built in America.”
Lutnick’s comments came after Customs and Border Protection posted updated guidance late Friday night on product exclusions from President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, imposed under Executive Order 14257 and its amendments (EO 14259). The exclusions cover a wide range of electronic devices, including smartphones, laptops, and related components.
Lutnick also said that Trump would implement “a tariff model to encourage” the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries to re-shore supply chains back to the Heartland.
“We can’t be beholden and rely upon foreign countries for fundamental things that we need,” Lutnick said, adding, “So this is not like a permanent sort of exemption. He’s just clarifying that these are not available to be negotiated away by countries. These are things that are national security that we need to be made in America.”
After Pres. Trump exempts tech like phones, computers and chips from new tariffs, Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick tells @JonKarl they will be included in semiconductor tariffs to be released in coming months.
It appears that the yen carry trade blew up some entities on Friday. The yen rallied more than 1% vs the dollar. The Nikkei plunged 5%. US financial futures got hammered during early Asian trading. The euro surged 1.6%! Gold jumped to another record high!
The unwinding of the yen carry trade exacerbated the unwinding of the ‘basis trade.’ Thus, bonds got crushed globally. ESMs declined sharply during early Asian trading but rescinded the decline by 1:27 ET. While bonds experienced feverish selling, ESMs liquidation was relatively mild. This implies Friday’s action was levered bond traders unwinding stuff.
US Treasuries Slide with Selloff Worst Since 2019 Repo Blowout – BBG The slide extended Friday, lifting yields on benchmark 10-year notes as much as 10 basis points to the highest level since February, surpassing the previous tariff-induced peak. US government debt lost more than 2% this week as of Thursday’s close, the biggest drop since a liquidity crisis broke out in the market for repurchase agreements, or repos, in September 2019…
The US 10-year hit 4.6%; the 30-yeat hit 4.961%.
USMs hit a high of 114 4/32 (+8/32) at 6:50 ET. When the US cash bond market opened at 7 ET, all hell broke loose. USMs relentlessly tumbled to a low of 111 21/32 (-2 7/32) at 11:05 ET. The forced selling appeared to be completed; so, USMs zoomed to 13 26/32 at 12:52 ET and traded sideways thereafter.
ESMs hit a daily low of 5206.00 at 20:44 ET. They rallied with only one minor retreat to a daily high of 5379.00 at 2:09 ET. After a retreat to 5257.25 at 4:42 ET, ESMs traded sideways until the broke higher at 12:24 ET. ESMs hit a new daily high of 5418.25, +212.25 from low, at 13:54 ET. After a modest retreat ESMs traded sideways into the close on very low activity.
Dimon Predicts Treasury Market ‘Kerfuffle’ Where Fed Steps In – BBG “There will be a kerfuffle in the Treasury markets because of all the rules and regulations,” Dimon said Friday on an earnings call. When that happens, the Fed will step in – but not until “they start to panic a little bit,” he added… “These rules effectively discourage banks from acting as intermediaries in the financial markets – and this would be particularly painful at precisely the wrong time; when market get volatile,” Dimon wrote (in annual shareholder letter)… (Dimon is calling out the Fed and their TDS!)
Zero Hedge implies that the Fed is intentionally allowing bonds and stocks to tank (due to TDS).
@zerohedge: Dear @federalreserve can you please discuss where China is getting the funds to prop up its currency (selling USD, TSY yields surging), and at what point is it the US central bank’s responsibility to take the other side. (In the past, the Fed has facilitated China Treasury selling.)
ZH: JPMorgan Responds to Complacent Fed: There Is a Liquidity Crisis Right Now So why is the Fed not cutting now? This is also simple: the Fed, which has become extremely political – recall former NY Fed president Bill Dudley penned an op-ed during the peak of the first Trump trade war with China – in which he urged his former Fed colleagues not to stimulate and to crash the economy, in order to destroy Trump… https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/jpmorgan-responds-complacent-fed-there-liquidity-crisis-right-now
Trump is engaged in the biggest fight for the US economy and national security since Reagan went after the USSR in the early ‘80s. DJT does NOT need a fight with the Fed now; that will come later.
With Dimon & JPM slamming the Fed for its inaction, Boston Fed President Collins ran to the FT and WSJ to do a CYA for the Fed re: the bond debacle. PS – Bonds bottomed & bounced 2 hours earlier!
Federal Reserve ‘absolutely’ ready to help stabilise market if needed, top official says 13:37 ET US central bank prepared to act with ‘various tools’, Susan Collins says “we’re not seeing liquidity concerns overall… (She’s a liar or an idiot or has acute TDS!) https://www.ft.com/content/0273371d-b90c-43e4-845a-e51982dd4fdf
The innocuous Collins to the WSJ: “Markets continue to function well… there are other tools, of course, to address concerns about market function issues, and we would be prepared to step in to address those if they developed. But again, that’s not something we’re seeing right now.”
NY Fed President Williams also criticized DJT’s tariffs, stating Trump’s tariffs could send inflation sharply higher, push up unemployment and significantly weaken the country’s economic growth.
Collins also took shots at Trump: ‘Inflation could rise significantly above 3% (even though CPI and PPI are tumbling?!?!); Can’t rule out a scenario of a more substantial downturn’,,,
When the looney leftists of Team Obama-Biden advocated spending trillions of dollars and imposing beaucoup rules and regulations on Americans and US companies for their climate change scheme, the politically biased Fed supported and politicked for it. The scheme would have sent inflation to the moon and crushed the economy. The Fed teems with leftists academics!
For many moons, many pundits warned that the mind-addling leverage in the debt markets would keep producing crises, like what has transpired over the past few decades. But avarice and arrogance are always in Grand Super Cycle Bull Market on The Street and in London. So, ‘they’ convinced., threatened, and bribed duly elected officials, regulators, etc. to ignore the leverage.
Of course, the levered community’s most effective argument for ignoring the system-busting leverage is that ‘they’ are warehousing the titan government debt that keeps politicians in office.
Treasury Market Dysfunction and the Role of the Central Bank – Brookings March 27-28, 2025 The incentives and constraints facing three key types of market players—broker-dealers, hedge funds, and asset managers—interact to create a heightened level of fragility in the Treasury market… When hedge funds engage in the basis trade, their long positions in cash Treasuries are financed almost entirely by borrowing using them as collateral in the market for repurchase agreements, or repos—they are, in other words, highly levered. This arrangement is inherently fragile. Any exogenous shock that reduces the wealth of the hedge funds or impairs their access to funding can lead to sharp unwinds… ttps://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/4_Kashyap-et-al.pdf
Most pundits and Sino experts are adamant that Xi cannot and will not ‘call Trump.’ If true, this stuff will continue until someone capitulates.
On Friday, China hiked its tariffs on US goods to 125% from 84% and said it would no longer respond to US tariffs schemes. China also begged the EU to join with the CCP and fight the ‘bullying’ of Trump.
Desperate China Pleads with E.U. to ‘Jointly Resist Unilateral Bullying’ of Trump Tariffshttps://t.co/bbH13p7YZV
@DawnsMission: China has been destroying small startup businesses in the United States for years by copying their products and undercutting their prices and there is nothing they can do about it. President Trump wants this to end, why would anyone not support his efforts?
For decades, ‘they’ vehemently averred that something must be done about US spending, the budge deficit, debt, and the ruinous trade deficit, particularly with China. But ‘they’ did NOT have the courage to do what is necessary. ‘They’ only want to maintain their lofty positions.
The patron saint of Dems and leftists, FDR, ushered ever-increasing socialism and dependency in the US. Everyone knows that it must eventually collapse. However, when someone tries to do something substantive about wanton US spending or the pernicious trade deficit, ‘they’ have quickly backed down or been stymied due to beaucoup whining, gnashing of teeth, and venom from those that profit from or depend on government.
Batya Ungar-Sargon on CNN: “I’ve been thinking a lot about the 10 million Americans who lost their homes in the 2008 financial crisis, and how President Obama’s first act in office was to give $700 billion to the banks that caused it, including $30 billion in bonuses to the crooks who organized it. And I’m thinking about how those very Americans saw a president pick Wall Street over main street and what they saw this whole week was a President willing to go out there and fight for the forgotten men and women of this heartland and take on the entire international global order for them.” https://x.com/ThomasMHern/status/1910561055488475401
@DavidZhang360: The tragic irony: Americans can shill for the CCP and get paid while still maintaining their US citizenship. If a Chinese person tries to do that in the US, the CCP will try to extradite them to a Chinese gulag.
US March PPI -0.4% m/m & 2.7% y/y; +0.2% m/m & 3.3% y/y expected Core PPI 0.1% m/m & 3.3% y/y; 0.3% m/m & 3.6% y/y consensus
April University of Michigan Sentiment 50.8, 53.5 expected, 57 prior Current Conditions 56.5, 60.8 expected, 63.8 prior Expectations 47.2, 50.7 consensus, 52.6 prior 1-year Inflation 6.7%, 5.2% expected, 5.0% prior 5-10yr Inflation 4.4%, 4.3% consensus, 4.1% prior
@Mayhem4Markets: The share of consumers expecting higher unemployment has been up for five straight months. Now at the highest level since the Great Financial Crisis in 2009. https://t.co/C38ZzRIlFT
We worked in NYC for the largest and 3rd largest brokerage firms in the world during the glorious ‘80s. They were both Japanese. We were inundated by the financial media, including the top magazines, for interviews. They were frightened that Japan would do to Wall Street what they did to Detroit. And their questions and stories reflected that. Their fear did not materialize. If Japanese firms had succeeded in taking over The Street, the usual suspects would have inveighed against globalism.
If large hedge funds, money management firms, and brokers feared that foreign firms could supplant them, ‘they’ would have condemned globalization and called in their expensive markers at Congress!
Riddle me this, Batman! If the US-China tariff tiff doesn’t get resolved soon, doesn’t China have to dump beaucoup goods into the EU? What happens to EU companies then? Cheaper goods but…
Positive aspects of previous session Bonds and stocks rebounded sharply after early forced liquidation in bonds.
Negative aspects of previous session Physical Gold exploded to new all-time high of 3245.48 (+69.25) as the dollar sank again. The Fed’s leftist and anti-Trump bias is increasingly clear. DJT will address this at the proper time. Dimon issued a thinly veiled rebuke to the Fed for its reluctance to halt the bond debacle. Fed officials are in open warfare against DJT and are undermining his fight vs China! Powell and the leftists at the Fed have destroyed all notions and pretense that the Fed is apolitical.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session When will Trump dismiss certain Fed officials for cause and reform the Fed!
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Down; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5321.86 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5381.46; 5220.77
Dems and the media have TDS that is so acute they will undermine and hurt US interests to vex Trump.
MI Gov Gretchen Whitmer angers Dems with Trump meeting at White House ‘F—ing disaster’ President Trump and Governor Whitmer have been working together on keeping Selfridge Air Force Base, outside Detroit, open and funded. They’ve also vowed to tackle an invasive fish posing a danger to the ecosystem of the Great Lakes. During the signing session, Trump called the issues “bipartisan” and joked about standing alongside the Michigan Democrat when the initiatives were completed, saying “we’ll all stand there together and cut a ribbon. Okay, Gretchen?”… https://trib.al/eDRh285
@libbyemmons: Gretchen Whitmer hides her face rather than be seen in the president’s office.https://t.co/XPLCizrd9c
@Be_Believing: Bank Of America called the Police on a 93 yr old man, who wanted to make a money withdrawal with an expired identification. Bank refused! Officer Robert Josett took the man to the DMV, helped him get his identification renewed, then took him back to the bank to get his money.
Basis Trade story time: When the Hunt Brothers and their allies were aggressively buying silver in the late ‘70s, metal dealers made double digit returns on the silver basis trade. Silver went from $6 early in 1979 to a top of $50 on January 21, 1980. After exchanges hiked silver margins in 1979, Mocatta Metals reportedly didn’t have the cash to meet the margin. Mocatta Metals chief Henry Jarecki cleverly arranged an exchange of futures for physicals (EFP) with the Hunts. Mocatta sold 23 million ounces of silver to the Hunts who sold Mocatta silver futures contracts that Mocatta was short. This kept Mocatta from crushing the cash silver market had they been forced to sell the silver in the market.
AFP on Sunday: China asks US to ‘completely abolish’ reciprocal tariffs “We urge the United States (…) to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely abolish the wrong practice of reciprocal tariffs and return to the right path of mutual respect,” a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman said in a statement… (Did China issue an opening to negotiate?) https://voz.us/en/economy/250413/23415/china-asks-u-s-to-completely-abolish-reciprocal-tariffs.html
Trump on Sunday: NOBODY is getting “off the hook” for the unfair Trade Balances, and Non Monetary Tariff Barriers, that other Countries have used against us, especially not China which, by far, treats us the worst! There was no Tariff “exception” announced on Friday.These products are subject to the existing 20% Fentanyl Tariffs, and they are just moving to a different Tariff “bucket.” The Fake News knows this, but refuses to report it. We are taking a look at Semiconductors and the WHOLE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CHAIN in the upcoming National Security Tariff Investigations. What has been exposed is that we need to make products in the United States, and that we will not be held hostage by other Countries, especially hostile trading Nations like China, which will do everything within its power to disrespect the American People. We also cannot let them continue to abuse us on Trade, like they have for decades, THOSE DAYS ARE OVER! The Golden Age of America, which includes the upcoming Tax and Regulation Cuts, a substantial amount of which was just approved by the House and Senate, will mean more and better paying Jobs, making products in our Nation, and treating other Countries, in particular China, the same way they have treated us. The bottom line is that our Country will be bigger, better, and stronger than ever before. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
If countries can impose tariffs on the US and the tariffs have NO adverse effects, why would US imposed tariffs cause a worldwide recession? Doesn’t this logic imply the world lives off Americans?
Babylon Bee: Apple Warns China Tariffs Could Negatively Impact Child Slave Employment Opportunitieshttps://t.co/B9QZSlMbaN
@Shawn_Farash: The fact that Xi Jinping looks just like Winnie the Pooh is hilarious. The fact that Xi banned it in China because of it is even funnier. https://t.co/adlkhYfgFh
Today – The S&P 500 Index rallied 5.7% last week (best since 11/23) despite all the Dem, Fed, and Establishment fear mongering. S&P Group weekly gains: Info Tech +9.67, Industrials +6.53%, Comm Services +6.36%, Financials +5.64%; Losing S&P Groups: Energy -0.39%, Real Estate -0.16%
TLT, the 20-year Treasury ETF, declined 6.47% for the week. June Gold was +7.19%.
With the USM bottom appearing about 25 minutes before the European close and the manic selling commencing when the US cash bond market opened at 7 ET, it’s a reasonable assumption that a European entity dumped Treasuries until they liquidated enough to be healthy and safe. Traders must watch to see if this dynamic appears today when the US cash bond market opens.
This is Expiry Week, the first full week of Q1 results, and Easter Week. All have upward season bias, as do the days after Tax Day (Tues). Expiry is Thursday, due to Good Friday. Passover began Sunday.
On Sunday, DJT haters on the Street and in the media proclaimed that DJT’s remarks on Sunday would doom stocks and the US economy. ESMs opened on Sunday night at 5474.75 +83.50; NQMs opened at 19250.00, +442.50. ESMs are +45.50; NQMs +246.00; and USMs -2/32 at 20:22 ET.
The key question: Did China create an opening to negotiate in its statement on Sunday? The action on Sunday in the futures market suggests that ‘they’ believe so.
S&P Index 50-day MA: 5761; 100-day MA: 5874; 150-day MA: 5837; 200-day MA: 5754 DJIA 50-day MA: 42,551; 100-day MA: 43,112; 150-day MA: 42,861; 200-day MA: 42,190 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (5363.36 close) – BBG trading model Trender and MACD for key time frames Monthly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 6306.68 triggers a buy signal Weekly: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5987.57 triggers a buy signal Daily: Trender and MACD are negative – a close above 5645.69 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5187.69 triggers a sell signal
@visegrad24: Italy PM Meloni on the Russian ballistic missile attacks against Sumy that killed 34 Ukrainian civilians: “On this holy day of Palm Sunday, a new horrible and cowardly Russian attack took place in Sumy, once again killing innocent civilian victims, including, unfortunately, children.”
GOP Sen @LindseyGrahamSC: Putin and peace apparently do not fit in the same sentence. Russia’s barbaric Palm Sunday attack on Christian worshippers in Ukraine seems to be Putin’s answer to efforts to achieve a ceasefire and peace. My new bill to impose sanctions and secondary tariffs against Russia now has 55 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate. Unless there is a dramatic change soon, it is obvious to me that the only hope of ending this war is to continue to cripple Russia’s economy and punish those who prop up Putin.
@DC_Draino: President Trump just authorized the Dept of Defense to militarize the “Roosevelt Reservation” along the US border in CA, AZ, and NM. This means the 60 foot buffer zone on a 700 mile stretch of our border will now be considered military property and troops can seize illegals to hand to Border Patrol. Translation: He just activated the military to completely shut down the invasion on our southern border https://x.com/DC_Draino/status/1910835049978528172
@LauraLoomer: STOP SUPPORTING THE FEDERALIST SOCIETY Did you know that the “New Civil Liberties Alliance”, a so called “Conservative libertarian group” with ties to the @FedSoc Federalist Society filed a lawsuit earlier this month to kneecap President Trump from being able to impose tariffs and negotiate reciprocal trade agreements with foreign countries? They are arguing that Trump’s tariffs are unlawful and unconstitutional. Who funds the New Civil Liberties Alliance? Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society, & Trump hater Charles Koch: Two very pro-China donors! The Koch brothers also donated heavily to Club for Growth, which President Trump likes to call “Club for China Growth”…
Space Force Commander in Greenland Sent Out Email Breaking with Vance After His Visit Col. Susan Meyers, the commander of the 821st Space Base Group who also oversees the Pentagon’s northernmost military base, sent a March 31 message to all personnel at Pituffik seemingly aimed at generating unity among the airmen and Guardians, as well as the Canadians, Danes and Greenlanders who work there, following Vance’s appearance… “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.” https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/04/10/space-force-commander-greenland-sent-out-email-breaking-vance-after-his-visit.html
GOP Sen. @Eric_Schmitt: If this is true, it is direct insubordination — and Colonel Meyers needs to be relieved of duty immediately. I’m demanding a full investigation. Now. (She was canned on Thursday) I’m calling on the Acting Secretary of the Air Force to immediately conduct a full investigation. Read here: https://x.com/Eric_Schmitt/status/1910492195724964157
NSA director told FBI Pulitzer-winning WaPo story on Russian collusion hoax was ‘wrong’ The Washington Post and New York Times won Pulitzer Prizes for their numerous stories on false claims of Trump-Russia collusion. Declassified interview notes from Crossfire Hurricane now show Admiral Mike Rogers shot down one of those stories behind closed doors. https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/wrong-trump-nsa-director-shot-down-wapo-story-russian-collusion-hoax
Newly declassified FBI memos detail concerns, payments to Russia collusion informant Newly declassified documents show informant Stefan Halper was motivated in part by “monetary compensation” and was paid nearly $1.2 million from FBI over three decades… The memos confirm Halper was the source of one of the most sensational bogus claims to land in the FBI’s probe in summer 2016: that Flynn had left a 2014 foreign meeting alone with Russia scholar Svetlana Lokhova when he was a three-star general leading the Defense Intelligence Agency. FBI agents ultimately deemed Halper’s account to be “not plausible” and “not accurate”, but the bureau proceeded to investigate Flynn, kept paying Halper and continued to vouch for his veracity as a confidential human source codenamed “Mitch,” the memos show… https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/fbi-kept-defending-crossfire-hurricanes-stefan-halper-after-his-mike
@JamesMelville: King Charles went to Rome to express his concerns about climate change. He had his Bentley transported over for it. (Hypocritical virtue signaling) https://t.co/GydoAffywd
@visegrad24: British police tell an elderly man that it has been alleged that he told a migrant, “speak English.” They warn the elderly man that it could be perceived as a hate crime. Watch people’s reactions when he says, “hate crime.” https://t.co/8kVH9pyEBI
Two states and the largest cities within them had nearly opposite reactions after President Trump reiterated his plans to withhold all federal funds from areas in the country that have policies limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Illinois went on offense, while California opted to tread lightly.
Trump, who has repeatedly promised to conduct the largest mass deportation of illegal immigrants in U.S. history, on Thursday pledged to put an end to these states’ and localities’ “sanctuary policies.”
“No more Sanctuary Cities! They protect the Criminals, not the Victims. They are disgracing our Country, and are being mocked all over the World,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Working on papers to withhold all Federal Funding for any City or State that allows these Death Traps to exist!!!” he added.
That same day, the GOP-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee called on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to testify on Capitol Hill about the state’s sanctuary policies, along with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“Harboring aliens is a federal crime. Sanctuary policies championed by these governors jeopardize the safety of Americans and defy U.S. immigration laws,” Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the panel, said in an X.com post.
Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson immediately pushed back. In 2021, Pritzker signed a bill into law that expanded the state’s existing sanctuary law, known as the TRUST Act.
“Let’s call this what this is: another partisan dog and pony show,” a Pritzker spokesman said. “Illinois’ Trust Act – which was signed into law by a Republican – is fully compliant with federal law and ensures law enforcement can focus on doing their actual jobs while empowering all members of the public – regardless of immigration status – to feel comfortable calling law enforcement to seek help, report crimes, and cooperate in investigations.”
The spokesman said the governor is evaluating whether he should take the time to “educate the House GOP on these matters.”
A spokesman for Johnson pledged that the mayor’s administration would “vigorously defend Chicagoans from any unconstitutional or unlawful attempts to strip residents of the funding they are entitled to.”
The city is set to receive $3.5 billion in federal grants this year, as well as $1.97 billion to subsidize the CTA’s Red Line Extension Project bus and subway project.
“The Department of Law will continue to assess any correspondence from the Trump administration that may impact Chicagoans in any way,” the spokesman added.
Trump has leveraged federal dollars for universities and law firms to produce policy changes, but it’s unclear whether he’ll prevail over state and local governments on immigration policy. A similar attempt to use an executive order to withhold federal funds from sanctuary cities was blocked in court during Trump’s first term.
While city and state attorneys general across the country ready their legal challenges, Trump’s Justice Department has already asked a federal judge to strike down sanctuary policies in Chicago.
More than 1,700 miles away, California leaders reacted to Trump’s latest shot across the bow with silence. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is facing a recall over her mishandling of the most deadly and destructive wildfires in the city’s history, on Thursday remained focused on wildfire rebuilding. She spent the day announcing a new partnership to rebuild a Palisades Recreation Center alongside Lakers Coach JJ Redick and her onetime political foe, Rick Caruso.
As Bass struggles to maintain her hold on power, the city is also facing budget woes. The deadly wildfires that ripped through Los Angeles erupted as city officials were struggling to close a $600 million budget gap. This month, the deficit was updated to nearly $1 billion.
Bass’ silence was particularly notable after her vocal support for sanctuary policies following Trump’s victory last fall. In November, Bass pushed for a City Council vote that formally designated Los Angeles as a sanctuary city even though the state already had the sanctuary protections in place for illegal immigrants charged with crimes.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also remained mum on the topic Thursday. His office didn’t respond to RealClearPolitics’ request for comment on Trump’s threat to withhold federal funds, and his California governor X.com account reminded LA residents about an April 15 deadline for a free debris removal program and touted a “Cutting Green-Tape program” aimed at expediting environmental restoration programs.
A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the office is “monitoring this issue closely, and we won’t hesitate to respond if the Trump administration attempts to delay or unlawfully condition funding to our states or cities.”
The timing of Trump’s latest attack on sanctuary city and state policies comes at a particularly awkward time for California’s top politicians. Police last week found the body of 13-year-old Oscar “Omar” Hernandez, who went missing last month, on the side of the road in Oxnard, California. The suspect, Mario Edgardo Garcia-Aquino, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was already under investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for allegedly sexually assaulting at least two other teen boys.
In 2022, the Los Angeles Police Department investigated Garcia-Aquino for suspected sexual assault of a minor, but he was never charged because the alleged victim declined to testify against him. Both of Garcia-Aquino’s victims were connected to his soccer coaching, law enforcement authorities have said.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on X describing Garcia-Aquino as a “depraved illegal alien who should never have been in this country.”
13 year-old Oscar "Omar" Hernandez was an innocent child who was exploited and killed by this depraved illegal alien who should have never been in this country.
Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, child predators, pedophiles and murderers will be hunted down… https://t.co/Rl3DnOSgrV
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, child predators, pedophiles, and murderers will be hunted down and removed from America’s communities,” the statement said.
Bass and Newsom are particularly reliant on federal aid in the aftermath of the Los Angeles wildfires, which has attracted national scrutiny to their management records. Earlier this year, the Trump administration vowed to place “strings” on the wildfire recovery assistance provided to California. Trump special envoy Richard Grenell, who is weighing a run for California governor, cited the state’s politics related to water and forestry. Trump previously had said assistance could depend on the state’s water, forestry, immigration, and voter ID policies.
Yet, in late March, Newsom touted continued federal support for disaster survivors and small businesses. He announced that aid from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency had exceeded $2 billion.
“This federal disaster aid brings much-needed relief for impacted homeowners, renters, and businesses grappling with loss and damage,” Newsom said in a press release. “California is grateful to President Trump and our federal partners for making this recovery a priority.”
In February, Newsom asked Congress for nearly $40 billion in aid to help the Los Angeles area recover. Newsom and local officials are still waiting to see how Congress will respond and whether the aid will come with conditions.
Newsom’s office told Spectrum News this week that a bipartisan, multi-state disaster supplemental aid bill is expected to be introduced in Congress later this spring or early summer to support impacted homeowners and renters, businesses, health and human services, and wildfire and watershed resilience.
The White House declined to say exactly what federal funds Trump was referring to in his social media post and whether he would try to withhold California wildfire rebuilding dollars in response to the state’s sanctuary laws.
Meanwhile, Trump installed California Assemblyman Bill Essayli earlier this month as the new U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. The office is the largest U.S. attorney’s office outside the nation’s capital, with 250 attorneys at his disposal covering a wide swath of Southern and Central California.
Within days of assuming the post, Essayli, 39, launched an investigation into fraud and corruption in Los Angeles’ homeless programs after an audit found $2 billion unaccounted for in the county. He also pledged that one of his top priorities will be “prosecuting violent criminal illegal immigrants and those that aid and support them.”
“The days of sanctuary protections for criminals are over in California,” he pledged.
Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.END
END
Good for him as Ek Salvador’s President Bukele refuses to return Ms 13 terrorist to the USA
(zerohedge)
“I’m Not Going To Do It”: El Salvador Refuses To Return Alleged MS-13 “Terrorist” To US
by Tyler Durden
Monday, Apr 14, 2025 – 12:39 PM
Update (1235ET): El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele will not return an El Salvadorian citizen mistakenly deported from the United States, suggesting that to return the man would be to smuggle a terrorist into the United States.
“Well, I’m supposed to have suggested that I smuggle a terrorist into the United States, right?” Bukele said when pressed on returning the man to the US. “Return him to the United States. I smuggle him into the United States. I’m not going to do it.”
🚨 #BREAKING: President Bukele says he will REFUSE to send MS-13 gang members back to the United States from El Salvador
BUKELE: “How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States? Of course I'm not going to do it. The question is preposterous!”
Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran national, was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration, after which the US Supreme Court ruled that the administration must facilitate his return.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also chimed in, saying: “So it’s very arrogant, even for American media to suggest that we would even tell El Salvador how to handle their own citizens. As a starting point, as two immigration courts found that he was a member of MS-13,” adding “When President Trump declared MS-13 to be a foreign terrorist organization, that meant that he was no longer eligible under federal law… for any form of immigration relief in the United States.”
“So he had a deportation order that was valid, which meant that, under our law, he’s not even allowed to be present in the United States and had to be returned because of the foreign terrorist designation,” Miller added. “This issue was then by a district court judge completely inverted, and a district court judge tried to tell the administration that they had to kidnap a citizen of El Salvador and flying back here. That issue was raised to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said the district court order was unlawful and its main components were reversed.”
President Donald Trump is opening the doors of the White House to Nayib Bukele, the president of El Salvador, on April 14 to talk about the use of Bukele’s Terrorism Confinement Center to house illegal immigrants deported from the United States.
“Our nations are working closely together to eradicate terrorist organizations, and build a future of prosperity,” Trump wrote April 12 on his Truth Social platform.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a press briefing April 11 that the Central American nation’s leader is visiting “to talk about the cooperation that is at an all-time high, and we very much appreciate President Bukele and El Salvador’s cooperation and the repatriation of El Salvadorian gang members who the previous administration allowed to infiltrate our country.”
Officials point to an agreement between the two nations to incarcerate Tren de Aragua and MS-13 gang members in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center as a positive move based on mutually beneficial collaboration.
The high-profile meeting comes on the heels of a unanimous April 10 Supreme Court decision regarding a Maryland court filing that orders the federal government to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 29-year-old Salvadoran illegal immigrant and alleged gang member, who was deported to El Salvador despite a previous court ruling preventing his deportation to that country after determining it would impact his safety.
Attorneys for the federal government blamed an “administrative error” for Abrego Garcia’s deportation, according to the court ruling.
Leavitt told reporters that interpreting the language of the decision is important to understand the role the government is expected to play in assisting Abrego Garcia.
“The Supreme Court made their ruling last night very clear that it’s the administration’s responsibility to facilitate the return, not to effectuate the return,” Leavitt said.
She deferred inquiry to the Department of Justice’s newly filed brief challenging the matter in a lower court.
The deportee’s future remains unclear, with Trump suggesting El Salvador will decide his fate.
“President Bukele has graciously accepted into his nation’s custody some of the most violent alien enemies of the world and, in particular, the United States,” Trump wrote.
“These barbarians are now in the sole custody of El Salvador, a proud and sovereign nation, and their future is up to President [Bukele] and his government. They will never threaten or menace our citizens again!”
Abrego Garcia’s attorney said the government’s tactic of quickly deporting suspected illegal immigrants puts the judicial system’s reputation for fairness in question.
“The government can deport whomever they want, wherever they want, and call it a mistake later,” Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, the man’s attorney, told reporters after the Supreme Court found in his client’s favor.
Abrego Garcia was arrested on March 12 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Baltimore.
His wife, U.S. citizen Jennifer Vasquez Sura, later identified him in a photo of shackled deportees seen entering the terrorism center and subsequently challenged the deportation in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis on April 4 ordered the federal government to return Abrego Garcia, calling the deportation “wholly lawless” in her ruling.
Abrego Garcia remains in Salvadoran custody, where he has resided for just over a month.
Prior court filings say Abrego Garcia fled gang threats in his home country as a teenager. He has no criminal record in the United States and denies the federal immigration authorities’ allegations that he is affiliated with the notorious MS-13 transnational gang.
Here’s Stephen Miller to clarify a few things…
🚨 BOOM! Top Trump advisor Stephen Miller just went BERSERK for 3 minutes straight on Fox over the media narrative that Trump must bring home Kilmar Abrego Garcia from El Salvador.
Miller perfectly debunked this ENTIRE claim that Garcia's deportation was an "error." This entire… pic.twitter.com/TfGa1VjvpS
harveyorganblog.com 
