APRIL 25/GOLD CLOSED DOWN $49.95 ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY..FINAL PRICE: $3287.15//SILVER FELL BY 44 CENTS TO $33.05//PLATINUM CLOSED DOWN $550 TO $971.15 WHILE PALLADIUM CLOSED DOWN $10.30 TO $941.70//GOLD COMMENTARY TONIGHT FROM ALASDAIR MACLEOD AND PETER SCHIFF//GOLD/SILVER PODCAST FROM ANDREW MAGUIRE INTERVIEWING ZANG//MORE UPDATES ON THE TARIFFS BETWEEN CHINA AND THE USA//GERMANY DOWNGRADES ITS GROWTH RATE//ISRAEL VS HAMAS//USA AND THE HOUTHIS//SYRIA UPDATES//EGYPT FORMULATES A NEW PLAN FOR GAZA//RUSSIA VS UKRAINE UPDATES RUSSIAN GENERAL ASSASINATED///COVID UPDATES/VACCINE INJURY REPORTS//MORE UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN// USA DATA RELEASES//SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT///
118 C MACQUARIE FUTURES US 14 363 H WELLS FARGO SECURITI 52 624 H BOFA SECURITIES 71 661 C JP MORGAN SECURITIES 69 686 C STONEX FINANCIAL INC 20 40 690 C ABN AMRO CLR USA LLC 3 709 C BARCLAYS 130 737 C ADVANTAGE FUTURES 78 905 C ADM 15
TOTAL: 246 246 MONTH TO DATE: 64,514
jpmorgan stopped: 0/246
GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR APRIL/2024. CONTRACT: 246 NOTICES FOR 24,600 OZ 0.7652 TONNES
total notices so far: 64,514 contracts for 6,451,400 OR 200.665 tonnes)
FOR APRIL
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SILVER NOTICES: 63 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 0.315 MILLION OZ/
total number of notices filed so far this month : 3192 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 15.966 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 $49.95 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:
HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 3.911 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD
INVENTORY RESTS AT 948.56 TONNES
SLV/
WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER DOWN $0.44 AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.639 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV//
CLOSING INVENTORY RESTS AT:
CLOSING INVENTORY: 448.832 MILLION OZ
Let us have a look at the data for today
SILVER//OUTLINE
SILVER COMEX OI FELL BY A HUGE SIZED 737 CONTRACTS TO 152,592 AND STALLING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS HUGE SIZED LOSS IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR TINY LOSS OF $0.01 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S TRADING. WE HAD A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF 89 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AS THE CME NOTIFIED US OF A HUGE 648 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE.. WE HAD A CONSIDERABLE LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS COMEX TRADING THURSDAY SPRINKLED WITH SOME MONTH END SPREADERS AS THEY DESPERATELY AGAIN 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 THURSDAY WITH SILVER’S TINY LOSS IN PRICE BUT THE PRICE IS STILL WELL BELOW THE MAGIC NUMBER OF $34.40 SILVER SPOT PRICE. . BUT THIS WAS COUPLED WITH A HUGE T.A.S. ISSUANCE OF 586 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 SILVER METAL WILL CONTINUE UNTIL SILVER BREAKS $34.40. WE HAD A HUGE 648 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR HUGE 586 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN FRIDAY’S COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY RAID/ AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE LOST A SMALL SIZED 89 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR TINY LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.01.
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 ESPECIALLY SILVER IS NOW USED TO TEMPER OUR SILVER 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 THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING: A HUGE 586 CONTRACTS. DESPITE MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THE CROOKS HAVE VIOLATED POSITION LIMITS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE TAS ISSUED HAVE A VALUE OF ZERO (AS TO POSITION LIMITS FOR OUR CROOKED BANKERS). THE PROBLEM OF COURSE IS THAT THE CROOKS DO NOT LIQUIDATE THE TAS TOGETHER BUT SELL THE BUY SIDE FIRST AND THEN LIQUIDATE THE SELL SIDE TWO MONTHS HENCE. IT IS OBVIOUS MANIPULATION TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE BUT IT NATURALLY FELL ON DEAF EARS WITH OUR REGULATORS (OCC) WHEN THEY RECEIVED OUR COMPLAINTS. IT NOW SEEMS THAT THE OCC HAS ORDERED THE BANKS TO REDUCE ITS NEW LEVEL OF 1 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES
WE HAVE IN THE PAST YEAR SET ANOTHER RECORD LOW AT 114,102 CONTRACTS ///JULY 3.2023// OUR BANKERS WITH THE HELP OF SPECULATORS AND HIGH FREQUENCY TRADERS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT FELL BY $0.01) BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH ASDESPITE HAVING A TINY LOSS IN PRICE, WE GAINED A HUGE 488 CONTRACTS IN OPEN INTEREST FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES.
WE HAD A HUGE 648 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 13.735 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 170,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP TO WHICH WE ADD OUR 4.00 MILLION OZ EX FOR RISK
STANDING FOR APRIL INCREASES TO 19.960 MILLION OZ
WE HAD:
/ HUGE COMEX OI LOSS+// A HUGE SIZED EFP ISSUANCE (648 CONTRACTS)/ VI) HUGE SIZED NUMBER OF T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 586 CONTRACTS)
I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED 577 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 20 DAYS, total 18,351 contracts: OR 91.755 MILLION OZ (917 CONTRACTS PER DAY)
TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR: 91.755 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: 91.755 MILLION OZ///
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 737 CONTRACTS WITH OUR LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.01 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// THURSDAY.,. . THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE 648 CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE CONTRACTS: 648 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 15.960 MILLION OZ NORMAL DELIVERY , PLUS OUR 4.00 MILLION EX FOR RISK
NEW STANDING APRIL: 19.960 MILLION OZ
THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE THURSDAY NIGHT (586 ) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE AND FOR SURE WEDNESDAY TRADING.
WE HAD 63 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 0.315 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 STRONG SIZED 12,036 OI CONTRACTS TO 446,637 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: REMOVED A MONSTROUS 7276 CONTRACTS //.
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI (12,036 CONTRACTS) . THIS OCCURRED DESPITE OUR HUGE GAIN OF $54.90 IN PRICE THURSDAY. LAST WEDNESDAY/APRIL 17 WE HAD THE HIGHEST EVER SINGLE NOMINAL GAIN IN COMEX GOLD PRICING HISTORY AT $106.35 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 AND THEN APRIL 24: 600 CONTRACTS FOR 60,000 OZ OR 1.866 TONNES AND THEN FINALLY TODAY’S 187 CONTRACT EX FOR RISK FOR 18700 OZ OR .5816 TONNES// ;NEW EX FOR RISK 8.3571 TONNES TO WHICH WAS ADDED TO OUR NEW QUEUE JUMP OF 436 CONTRACTS OR 43,600 OZ (1.356 TONNES). THUS STANDING FOR GOLD/APRIL DELIVERY MONTH IS 201.262 TONNES NORMAL DELIVERY(INCLUDES OF QUEUE JUMP) + 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 209.619 TONNES
/NEW STANDING FOR APRIL; 201.262 TONNES + 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 209.619 TONNES
/ ALL OF THIS HAPPENED WITH OUR $54.90 GAIN IN PRICE WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 9005 OI CONTRACTS (28.000 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 STRONG SIZED 3031 CONTRACTS:
The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 458,913//NOW AT THE LOW END OF THE SCALE DESPITE THE HIGH PRICE OF GOLD!!
IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 9005 CONTRACTS WITH12,036 CONTRACTS DECREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A STRONG SIZED 3031 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 9005 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A SMALL SIZED AND CRIMINAL 626 CONTRACTS ISSUED. ALL OF THE LOSS IN OI COMEX AND TOTAL OI WAS DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION!AND MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION
CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES
WE HAD A STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS (3031 CONTRACTS) ACCOMPANYING THE STRONG SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 12.036 CONTRACTS/TOTAL LOSS FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 9005 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 201.262 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES OUR 1.356 TONNES QUEUE JUMP) AND THIS FOLLOWS TOTAL EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE ON 7 OCCASIONS FOR 8.3571 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 209.619 TONNES.
//NEW STANDING APRIL: 201.262 TONNES + 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK ON 7 OCCASIONS = 209.619 TONNES
.
/ 3) CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AND MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION+ ZERO SUCCESS IN REMOVING ANY NET SPECULATOR LONGS, AS WE HAD 1)A HUGE $54.90 COMEX PRICE GAIN.. WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED AS WE HAD A STRONG LOSS OF 9005 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES ALL OF IT DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION//MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION /./ ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED THURSDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL AND THUS OUR HUGE TONNAGE STANDING FOR GOLD IN APRIL.
4) STRONG SIZED COMEX OI LOSS// 5) STRONG SIZED ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER (3031 CONTRACTS)///STRONG T.A.S. ISSUANCE: 586 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: 63,364 CONTRACTS OR 6,336,400 OZ OR 197.08 TONNES IN 20 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 3168 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY
TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS : THIS MONTH IN20 TRADING DAY(S) IN TONNES 197.08 TONNES
TOTAL ANNUAL GOLD PRODUCTION, 2024, THROUGHOUT THE WORLD EX CHINA EX RUSSIA: 3555 TONNES
THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS 197.08 TONNES DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 5.54% 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; 197.08 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 HUGE SIZED 737 CONTRACTS OI TO 152,592 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 648 CONTRACTS
OUR CUSTOMARY MIGRATION OF COMEX LONGS CONTINUE TO MORPH INTO LONDON FORWARDS AS OUR BANKERS USED THEIR EMERGENCY PROCEDURE TO ISSUE:
MAY 648 and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 648 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 737 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 648 E.FP. ISSUED
WE OBTAIN A SMALL SIZED LOSS OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 480 CONTRACTS WITH THE LOSS IN PRICE OF $0.01 THE RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA.
THUS IN OUNCES, THE LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES TOTALS 0.445 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 FRIDAY MORNING//THURSDAY NIGHT
SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 2.23 PTS OR 0.07%
//Hang Seng CLOSED UP 70.98 PTS OR 0.37%
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 666.59 OR 1.90%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.61%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2883 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2873/ Oil DOWN TO 62.01 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN TO 65.67 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN.
1. COMEX DATA//AMOUNTS STANDING//VOLUME OF TRADING/INVENTORY MOVEMENTS
GOLD
LET US BEGIN:
THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A STRONG SIZED12,036 CONTRACTS TO 446,637 DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH GAIN IN PRICE OF $54.90 WITH RESPECT TO THURSDAY’S // TRADING. WE LOST ZERO NUMBER OF NET LONGS WITH THAT PRICE GAIN FOR GOLD. AND AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR LOSS IN PRICE ALSO HAD A STRONG NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (3031 ).
THE CME ANNOUNCED THURSDAY NIGHT,MUCH TO MY ANGER, A 187 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACT ISSUANCE FOR 18,700 OZ OR .5816 TONNES. SO FAR THIS MONTH WE HAD RECORDED A NEW RECORD 7 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 8.3571 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 STRONG SIZED LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 9003 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH GAIN IN PRICE. HOWEVER, OUR FRIENDLY PHYSICAL LONDON BOYS HAD ANOTHER FIELD DAY AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY 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 ALTHOUGH THE T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN GOLD HAVE BEEN ON THE LOW SIDE COMPARED TO SILVER WHICH HAVE BEEN HUGE. TODAY’S NUMBER IS A LOT SMALLER THAN FROM OUR PREVIOUS FEW DAYS AT 626 CONTRACTS
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 209 + TONNES INCLUDING 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 219 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.
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 3031 EFP CONTRACTS WERE ISSUED: : /APRIL 3021 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:
TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 3021 CONTRACTS. THESE EFP;S CIRCLE AROUND LONDON ON A 13 DAY BASIS AND ARE NOW USED BY GLOBAL CENTRAL BANKS TO EXERCISE FOR PHYSICAL GOLD WITH THE OBLIGATION TO DELIVER BEING FORCED ONTO COMEX BANKS. THE GOLD GENERALLY DELIVERED COMES FROM LONDON BUT THEY ARE OUT!! THUS COMEX BECOMES THE MAJOR SOURCE FOR OUR CENTRAL BANKERS.
ON A NET BASIS IN OPEN INTEREST WE LOST THE FOLLOWING TODAY ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES: A STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 9005 CONTRACTS IN THAT 3031 CONTRACT LONGS WERE TRANSFERRED AS EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS TO LONDON AND WE HAD A STRONG SIZED LOSS OF 12,036 COMEX CONTRACTS..AND THIS LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES HAPPENED DESPITE OUR MAMMOTH GAIN IN PRICE OF $54.90 FOR THURSDAY/ 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 AS EVIDENCED BY THE LOWER OPEN INTEREST AT THE COMEX!
THE ENTIRE LOSS IN OI AT THE COMEX WAS DUE TO:
INITIATION OF MONTH END SPREADERS
LIQUIDATION OF OUR T.A.S. SPREADERS
T.A.S.SPREADER ISSUANCE
AS PER OUR NEWBIE TRADE AT SETTLEMENT (TAS) MANIPULATION OPERATION (WHICH CRAIG HEMKE HAS POINTED OUT HAPPENS USUALLY DURING MID MONTH IN THE DELIVERY CYCLE), BUT NOW ON A DAILY BASIS, THE CME REPORTS THAT THE TOTAL T.A.S. ISSUANCE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING WAS A SMALL SIZED 626 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. (AND MONTH END SPREADERS)
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. HOWEVER WE ARE NOW FACING FRIDAY ON COMEX OPTIONS EXPIRY (APRIL 25) AS THESE GUYS JOIN THE T.A.S. SPREADERS TO WHACK GOLD’S PRICE SOUTHBOUND WHICH WE ARE WITNESSING TODAY.
STANDING FOR GOLD APRIL
// WE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF GOLD TONNAGE STANDING: APRIL (209.619 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: STANDING FOR GOLD
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: 201.262 TONNES + 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 209.619 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: 209.619 TONNES (INCLUDES 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK/AND ALL MONTHLY QUEUE JUMPING)
COMEX GOLD TRADING/APRIL CONTRACT MONTH
THE SPECS/HFT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT ROSE BY A HUGE $54.90/ /)/AND THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A STRONG SIZED LOSS IN OUR TWO EXCHANGES. AND AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD CONSIDERABLE T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION THURSDAY COUPLED WITH INITIATION OF MONTH END SPREADER LIQUIDATION AS THEY WERE STILL TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S ATTEMPT AT FURTHER INCREASES ABOVE $3,400 AND STOP HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES FROM EXPLODING AS THEY SUCCEEDED IN THEIR ATTEMPT TO STOP THE PENETRATION OF OUR $3,400 DOLLAR GOLD BARRIER AS IT IS NOW TRADING WELL BELOW THAT AT $3309 PER OZ AS I WRITE THIS. ALL OF THE LOSS IN OI WAS DUE TO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION AND NOW MONTH END COMEX SPREADER LIQUIDATION.
THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY MORNING
THE CROOKS HOWEVER COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL THURSDAY EVENING/FRIDAY MORNING AND THUS OUR HUGE NUMBER OF GOLD CONTRACTS STANDING FOR DELIVERY AT THE COMEX. CENTRAL BANKERS WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE GOLD TO ARRIVE BY BOAT. IT IS NOW TAKING SEVERAL WEEKS TO DELIVER AND THUS THE REASON FOR THE HUGE LEASE RATE AT 10% (SCARCITY OF GOLD) THIS PAST MONTH.
EXCHANGE FOR RISK EXPLANATION/FEB THROUGH /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 7TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 187 CONTRACTS OR 18,700 OZ OR 0.5816 TONNES
SUMMARY EXCHANGE FOR RISK/APRIL//TOTAL ISSUANCES 7 FOR 8.3571 TONNES OF GOLD!
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 AND NOW APRIL 24: 600 CONTRACTS FOR 60,000 OZ OR 1.866 TONNES AND NOW APRIL 25 187 CONTRACTS FOR 18700 OZ OR .5816 TONNES//NEW TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR APRIL: 8.3571 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 FOR GOLD NOW FOR APRIL:
APRIL: 201.262 TONNES +(8.3571 EX FOR RISK// FOR APRIL DELIVERY MONTH =209.619 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 STRONG SIZED TOTAL OF 28.000 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 7 EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACT ISSUANCES FOR 8.3576 TONNES.
ALSO TODAY WE RECORD ANOTHER 436 CONTRACT QUEUE JUMP FOR 43600 OZ OR 1.356 TONNES. WE MUST NOW ADD OUR 8.3576 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK TO OUR NEW NORMAL DELIVERY OF 201.262 TONNES AND THUS STANDING FOR GOLD FOR APRIL IS NOW 209.619 TONNES, THE 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED!
ALL OF THIS HUGE STANDING WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR GAIN IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $54.90
WE HAD A MONSTROUS 7,276 CONTRACTS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL.
NET LOSS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 9005 CONTRACTS OR 900,500 0Z (28.00 TONNES)
3 entries a) Out of Brinks 36,169.875 oz (1125 kilobars) b) Out of JPMorgan enhanced: 159,650.875 oz (399 London good delivery bars) c) Out of Loomis: 48,226.500 oz 1500 kilobars)
total withdrawal: 244,047.250 oz (7.59 tonnes )
Deposit to the Dealer Inventory in oz
0 ENTRIES
Deposits to the Customer Inventory, in oz
we have 0 customer entries
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No of oz served (contracts) today
246 notice(s) 24,600 OZ 0.7652 TONNES
No of oz to be served (notices)
192 contracts 19,200 OZ 0.5972 TONNES
Total monthly oz gold served (contracts) so far this month
64,514 notices 6,451,400 oz 200.665 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 0 customer deposit entry
0 ENTRIES: 0 DEPOSIT
total deposit 0 OZ nil tonnes
NIL
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withdrawals:
3 entries a) Out of Brinks 36,169.875 oz (1125 kilobars) b) Out of JPMorgan enhanced: 159,650.875 oz (399 London good delivery bars) c) Out of Loomis: 48,226.500 oz 1500 kilobars)
total withdrawal: 244,047.250 oz (7.59 tonnes )
adjustments: 2
a)Loomis: dealer to customer: 96,453.000 oz 3000 kilobars
b) JPMorgan: customer to dealer 11,,574.360 oz (360 kilobars)
total NET of gold transferred out of dealer to customer: 84,878.640 oz or 2.64 tonnes
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AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL
THE FRONT MONTH OF APRIL HAD A GAIN OF 287 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 438. WE HAD 149 CONTRACTS FILED YESTERDAY. THUS WE GAINED 436 CONTRACTS OR 43,600 OZ (1.356 TONNES) AS WE EXPERIENCED ANOTHER QUEUE JUMP WHERE THESE BOYS DESIRED TO TAKE PHYSICAL DELIVERY OVER HERE. THIS IS CENTRAL BANKERS STANDING FOR PHYSICAL GOLD. LAST FRIDAY’S QUEUE JUMP OF 6.1619 TONNES REPRESENTED THE HIGHEST EVER QUEUE JUMP IN COMEX HISTORY SURPASSING THE PREVIOUS HIGHEST RECORDED WAS AT 5.90 TONNES.
MAY GAINED 1004 CONTRACTS UP TO 7407 CONTRACTS WHICH IS A SHOCKER AS NOBODY LEFT THE GOLD ARENA AND WE ARE LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE???. MAY BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH AND WE WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE A WHOPPER OF A DELIVERY MONTH EVEN THOUGH IT IS AN OFF MONTH!
JUNE LOST 14,789 CONTRACTS TO 327,650. JUNE WILL STILL BE A WHOPPER OF A DELIVERY MONTH
We had 246 contracts filed for today representing 24600 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 246 contract(s) of which 0 notices were stopped (received) by j.P. Morgan dealer and 69 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 (64,514 X 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL (438 CONTRACTS) minus the number of notices served upon today (246 x 100 oz per contract) equals 6,470,600 OZ OR 201.262 TONNES
to which we add our 7 exchange for risk issuances for April of 8.3576 tonnes
= 209.619 tonnes
thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the APRIL contract month: No of notices filed so far (64,514 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of APRIL (438 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (246 x 100 oz) which equals 6,470,600 OZ OR 201.262 TONNES + 8.3576 tonnes ex for risks = 209.619 tonnes
TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR APRIL.: 209.619 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..
i) out of Delaware: 9022.680 oz ii) Out of HSBC 308,082.900 oz
total withdrawal: 317,105.580 oz
ADJUSTMENTs 1 custome to dealer account:
Asahi: 3,577,402.500 oz
JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 199.954million oz/497.908oz million or 40.16%
TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 163.205 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 497.908Million oz
CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR APRIL
silver open interest data:
FRONT MONTH OF APRIL /2025 OI: 63 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 29 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 32 NOTICES FILED ON THURSDAY SO WE GAINED 61 CONTRACTS WHICH UNDERWENT A QUEUE JUMP OF 305,000 OZ AS THESE BOYS WERE WILLING TO WAIT FOR DELIVERY OF SILVER OVER HERE
MAY SAW A LOSS OF 2210 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 34,152 CONTRACTS. MAY BECOMES THE FRONT MONTH AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE WILL HAVE A DANDY AMOUNT OF SILVER STANDING THIS MONTH.
JUNE SAW A GAIN OF 104 CONTRACTS UP TO 2935 CONTRACTS.
JULY GAINED 6,953 CONTRACTS UP TO 95,524
TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 63 or 0.315 MILLION oz
CONFIRMED volume; ON THURSDAY 86,115 strong//
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 3192 X5,000 oz = 15.960 MILLION oz
to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of APRIL (63) AND the number of notices served upon today (63 )x (5000 oz)
Thus the standings for silver for the APRIL 2025 contract month: (3192) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of APRIL(63) minus number of notices served upon today (63)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the APRIL contract month equating to 15.960 MILLION OZ . WE MUST NOW ADD OUR 4.0 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUED ON MONDAY MARCH 31 AND APRIL 4/NEW STANDING INCREASES TO 19.960 MILLION OZ
New total standing: 19.960 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 163.205million 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
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
APRIL25 WITH GOLD DOWN $49.95 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVEV WITHDRAWAL OF 3.911 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 948.56 TONNES
APRIL24 WITH GOLD UP $54.90 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 952.471 TONNES
APRIL23 WITH GOLD DOWN $124.55 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 9.47 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 949.70 TONNES
APRIL22 WITH GOLD DOWN $7,75 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 6.89 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 957.17 TONNES
APRIL21 WITH GOLD UP $98.70 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.88 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 952.28 TONNES
APRIL17 WITH GOLD DOWN $14.85 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4.02 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 957.17 TONNES
APRIL16 WITH GOLD UP $12.90 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 953.15 TONNES
APRIL15 WITH GOLD UP $106.35 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 953.15 TONNES
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
GLD INVENTORY: 948.56 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL
SILVER
APRIL25 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.44 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A MASSSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 3.639 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.832 MILLION OZ
APRIL24 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.01 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A MASSSIVE DEPOSIT OF 4.771 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 452.471 MILLION OZ
APRIL23 WITH SILVER UP $0.65 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A MASSSIVE WITHDRAWAL OF 6.27 MILLIO9N OZ FROM THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447.70 MILLION OZ
APRIL22 WITH SILVER UP $0.15 /NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 453.426 MILLION
APRIL22 WITH SILVER UP $0.30 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.545 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 453.426 MILLION
APRIL21 WITH SILVER UP $0.15 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 0.545 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 453.426 MILLION
APRIL17 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.56 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 1.183 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 453.426 MILLION
APRIL16 WITH SILVER UP $0.70 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A MASSIVE DEPOSIT OF 3.002 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 452.243 MILLION
APRIL15 WITH SILVER UP $0.07 /NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV//: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.241 MILLION
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
CLOSING INVENTORY 448.832 MILLION OZ//
PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES
1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY
PETER SCHIFF
Peter Schiff: Gold’s Rise Is A Warning Everyone Ignores
In Friday’s episode of The Peter Schiff Show, Peter sets his sights on the market’s astonishing complacency in the face of gold’s surge, the misplaced confidence in U.S. trade policy, and the broader implications of America’s debt addiction. He makes the case that the real warning signals aren’t flashing on Wall Street or Capitol Hill, but embedded in the price of gold—while few seem willing to pay attention.
But you know, what’s more significant even than the increase in the price of gold is the fact that nobody cares. Nobody pays attention. You know, I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. When you don’t know there’s a bubble, you don’t see the pin. And that is something that I came up with during the housing crisis. Because a lot of people, even after 2007, after the subprime market really started to collapse, most people just shrugged it off. They didn’t care. They thought it was nothing.
What’s even more significant is that this is happening during a time of turmoil. Trump basically started it with these tariffs, launched this global trade war, created all this economic uncertainty. No one knows what the hell is going on. Trade is a big part of the global economy. And again, remember, all of these so-called experts predicted that tariffs would cause the dollar to go up. That’s why the dollar rallied right after Trump won, because the markets were saying, oh, we’re going to get tariffs, that’s good for the dollar.
I’ve got to counter all the nonsense that I’m hearing… Trump or one of his advisors said that China is desperate to make a deal. … China needs to make a deal because China wants what we have, the American consumer. China wants consumers. There’s a billion Chinese. Why would they need consumers? They got more consumers in China than we got in America. What’s so special about the American consumer that China needs us?
Reinforcing the theme of economic misunderstanding, Peter spotlights a fundamental error in how government officials—particularly at the Treasury—think about abundance and scarcity. He uses a simple analogy to question why policymakers seem to prefer an economy of limits, rather than one of overflow:
What is better if you can make more than you need, or you can’t make as much as you need, right? If you make too much food, what’s the worst thing that’s going to happen? Some of it’s going to rot. If you don’t make enough food, you could starve to death, right? So what do you want to have, a surplus? Do you want to have abundance or do you want to have scarcity? See, according to the Secretary of the Treasury … scarcity is better than abundance.
Peter wraps his analysis by returning to the heart of the issue: the United States’ addiction to debt and the inevitable consequences of monetary intervention. He warns that we’re heading toward not just another crisis, but a distinctly American reckoning—one that might spare the rest of the world for once:
I mean, that is the bottom line, right, massive QE. We are heading to another financial crisis, only it’s not a global crisis, it’s going to be a U.S. crisis. We’re going to liberate the world, because they’re not going to be dragged down, they’re not going to be buying our dollar and buying our debt. They’re going to be taking their money home, keeping their goods for themselves. And so the world is going to be better off keeping its stuff and investing its savings in their own economies rather than giving us their stuff and investing their money here in America.
Not only has the US dollar embarked on a new bear market versus currencies, but the best way to play it is by selling dollars for gold. PBOC actions appear to confirm this view.
After gold’s dramatic run to $3500 on Tuesday, gold has backed off on profit-taking. This morning in European trade gold was $3300, down a net $25 from last Friday’s close and up 27% this year so far. Silver was $33.35, up 85 cents from last Friday and up 15% this year so far.
Early markdowns in both metals this morning coincide with China winding down for its weekend. Understandably, the shorts are grabbing the opportunity to shake out any flaky longs by triggering their stop-losses. But both metals are far from overbought on Comex, and gold’s open interest is not too far from rock bottom:
However, Comex and London are becoming less relevant. The reality is that pricing is moving away from western capital markets to Shanghai.
All too often Europe awakens to Asian trade having driven gold prices higher. This was particularly acute until President Trump backed off from attacking the Fed’s Jay Powell and from further tariff threats against China.
This change in tone was reflected in all capital markets. US equities stopped falling, Treasury yields eased, and after its recent collapse the dollar’s trade weighted index stabilised:
After the recent disruptions a pause in all markets is understandable. But does a volte face on Powell and tariffs mark the start of more realistic and less unsettling US monetary and trade policies? It seems unlikely. Importantly, it is what the Chinese think that matters.
Inscrutable as ever, they simply continue to let the Americans make the mistakes. But China recognises that problems for the dollar continue to mount and will be reflected in gold — even threatening to undermine their own currency.
According to the South China Morning Post (23 April), as part of a drive to increase international usage of the yuan and reduce dependence on the dollar the SGE and other institutions will build additional gold storage vaults abroad. In a statement jointly issued by several government authorities, they stated, “We will explore the internationalisation of physical delivery for specific products traded on the Shanghai Gold Exchange by establishing offshore delivery and storage facilities”.
Why?
This is a first. China is taking steps to accelerate the replacement of the dollar, and gold is now central to this policy. It ties in neatly with Xi’s recent tour of his ASEAN neighbours to secure trade relations with them in light of America’s destabilising tariff policies. We can draw some important conclusions from these events:
· China is inching towards international control of gold pricing and moving at least part of it from dollars to yuan.
· The network of SGE vaults will probably be in ASEAN countries. And
· This could be the start of a gold standard for the international yuan initially focusing on ASEAN trade. Yuan could be bought and sold against gold stored in SGE vaults outside China.
This answers a question posed above: Has the dollar now stabilised or are the developments in the last week merely a pause in the dollar’s downward rush?
The Chinese authorities appear to think it’s time for their Plan B: to protect themselves and their currency from the dollar’s seemingly inevitable collapse.
Returning to current markets, silver is now beginning to outperform gold, with the ratio this week dropping from 107 to 98.8 this morning. Is that canary in the goldmine sneezing? I finish with the silver chart for readers to make up their own minds
:
3. C Powell and Gata dispatches
Jim Rickards: Gold is the everything hedge
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2025-04-24 19:12 Section: Daily Dispatches
By James G. Rickards The Daily Reckoning, Baltimore Thursday, April 24, 2025
It’s a subject we analyze continually, and we have recommended gold as part of a sound investment portfolio for years. Today the dollar price of gold is hovering near all-time highs over $3,300 per ounce.
Gold has been on a tear lately. It was $1,830 as of October 5, 2023. At today’s prices, that marks a 75% surge in just 18 months. Gold has outperformed stocks by a wide margin this year, but it has also outperformed stocks for the past 25 years. Gold was around $250 per ounce in 1999. The gain since then is 1,180% or almost 12 times the starting price.
.
This is not the first bull market for gold.
In the gold bull market of 1971 to 1980, gold rose 2,185%. In the gold bull market of 1999 to 2011, gold rose 670%. There were notable gold bear markets from 1981 to 1999 and again from 2012 to 2015.
There were no bull or bear markets before 1971 because the world was on a gold standard and the price was fixed at $35.00 per ounce from 1944 to 1971.
Still, the upward trend in gold prices is relentless and undeniable. Taking the entire period from 1971 until today including bull and bear markets gold has risen over 9,000%. Not bad. …
Submitted by admin on Thu, 2025-04-24 19:19 Section: Daily Dispatches
By Jennifer Zabasajja and David Herbling Bloomberg News Thursday, April 24, 2025
Kenya is considering adding gold to its reserves to diversify its foreign exchange holdings beyond the U.S. dollar and other currencies, according to the country’s central bank governor.
“We have basically a group that is looking at the feasibility of doing it and yes, that’s something that we’re actively considering,” Governor Kamau Thugge said today in an interview with Bloomberg TV in Washington, on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings. “I wouldn’t want to put a time-line to it.” …
GATA needs your help, and there’s silver in it for you
Submitted by admin on Wed, 2025-04-23 18:44 Section: Daily Dispatches
6:43p ET Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Dear Friend of GATA and Gold:
We are so close to victory now. Gold is all over mainstream financial news organizations now even as they strive not to expose the real reasons for the monetary metal’s spectacular rise: the collapse of the derivatives-based gold price suppression system.
Gold price suppression is almost a respectable topic now, even if GATA is still not respectable enough to get mentioned by mainstream financial news organizations even as we pummel them every day with evidence of their dishonesty.
…
So please help us stay in the fight all the way to victory: free and transparent markets in the monetary metals and limited and accountable government.
Our friends at Money Metals Exchange in Eagle, Idaho, support our struggle so much that they have minted a beautiful 1-ounce silver round honoring GATA — and they want you to have at least one.
On the front of the round is an engraving copied from the GATA painting by Alain Despert, depicting GATA as a modern-day Don Quixote leading a march of gold and silver advocates on the U.S. Treasury Department building in Washington:
The back of the round shows the torch of liberty breaking the chains of price suppression and recognizing gold and silver as the crucial defenders of liberty:
You can purchase the GATA commemorative silver round from Money Metals Exchange for around $34 here:
But if you’d like to help GATA directly, each donation of $250 to GATA will entitle the donor to one of these silver rounds, which GATA will arrange to have shipped to the donor from Money Metals Exchange, which is now the operator of the largest precious metals depository in the United States west of New York, a depository larger than even Fort Knox.
Your gift today will propel GATA’s important work, and we’ll be very grateful for it.
We just need to remind donors that the metal value of each of the rounds they receive as thanks for their donation must be subtracted from federal tax-deductibility of their contribution to GATA. For example, with the silver round priced at $34, a $250 donation made to GATA would be federally tax-deductible for $216.
Of course these silver rounds are likely to increase in value along with the silver price in the years ahead — another reason to consider supporting GATA this way.
So please consider making a donation to GATA tonight, especially now that this special 25th anniversary GATA silver round is available to memorialize it.
To donate, please mail a check payable to GATA to:
Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. c/o Chris Powell, Secretary/Treasurer 7 Villa Louisa Road Manchester, Conn. 06043-7541 USA
Please include your e-mail address so we can thank you without incurring the time and expense of surface mail. And if you’re donating $250 or more, please let us know your shipping address so we can speed the silver round on its way to you.
CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. CPowell@GATA.org
END
4. ANDREW MAGUIRE PODCAST 220
5B GLOBAL COMMODITY ISSUES/FOOD IN GENERAL//FREIGHT/COMMODITIES:COMMODITY//RARE EARTHS
US Can Produce Rare Earths If China Stops Exports – But There’s A Catch
It could take up to five years to develop a domestic supply chain to supplant China’s global monopoly in processing rare earths into materials needed to produce everything from iPhones to F-35 fighter jets.
While the United States has most of the 17 rare earth elements and 50 critical minerals underground, it has no industrial capacity to refine them into processed metals and magnets, according to Melissa “Mel” Sanderson, American Rare Earths board member and Critical Minerals Institute co-chair.
“Currently in the United States, we have zero magnet manufacturers,” Sanderson told The Epoch Times.
She said that’s why China imposed export restrictions on seven “heavy” rare earth elements on April 4 in response to President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariff announcement that boosted levies on China imports. After tit-for-tat tariff hikes, the United States is currently levying Chinese imports for 145 percent, with electronics exempted for now.
“I certainly hope, as the administration is working through this critical area—no pun intended, it’s a critical area—they realize there’s this vulnerability gap, a four to five year gap, no matter how you look at it, in terms of ramping up domestic production,” Sanderson said.
Trump’s April 2 order gives Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 180 days to suggest how the federal government can help develop a “circular” domestic rare earth supply chain.
The president is also pondering an order allowing deep-sea mining and commercial stockpiling.
Whatever the administration does, with enough permit reform, deregulation, and public-private incentivizing, industry will respond, economist Antonio Graceffo told The Epoch Times.
“The short answer is if China bans the sale of rare earth minerals to the United States” permanently, “that’s a positive thing because it’s going to force the United States to find a solution,” he said.
An analyst who writes about U.S.–China trade relations for The Epoch Times, Graceffo said there are “tons of solutions” to building a domestic rare earth supply chain, including the ongoing negotiations with Ukraine.
“Absolutely, we can overcome the problem,” he said. “In the long run, it’s going to be much better if China cuts us off. [Industry] will definitely find a way.”
Colorado School of Mines economics professor Ian Lange agrees. “I’m on the optimistic side,” he said.
Lange said there are substitute materials for the seven restricted rare earths, and some manufacturers are telling him they’ll survive without them.
He questioned if China can sustain its rare earth export restrictions because American industries are their biggest market.
“We’ll see if this is a real or just another hoop to jump through,” Lange told The Epoch Times. “And we have been slowly building up the supply chain over the last couple years.
“We’re getting close to having something here in the United States.”
But “close” is a relative term when it comes to mining and refining, where proposed projects can routinely take 10 to 20 years to be approved.
‘Long Way Off’
Australian-based American Rare Earths is among a wave of start-ups in the United States engaged in rare earth and critical mineral mining.
It will also process dysprosium and terbium, two of the seven restricted “heavies,” by building a refinery near its Halleck Creek mine outside Wheatland, Wyoming. Dysprosium is used in magnets incorporated in motors and generators for wind turbines, electrical vehicles, and nuclear reactor control rods. Terbium compounds are used in electronics, semiconductors, and fluorescent lighting.
The company, which also has a mine in Arizona, secured a $7.1 million grant from Wyoming and a Letter of Interest for up to $456 million in debt financing from the United States Export-Import Bank to produce what it says is a 20-year supply of key rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium.
Also in Wyoming, Ramaco Resources is breaking ground on an estimated 1.5 billion-ton rare earth deposit and pilot processing plant at its Brook Mine, while Rare Element Resources has started “proprietary processing and separation operations” at its Bear Lodge demonstration plant in Upton.
Oklahoma-based USA Rare Earths, which is opening a “neo-magnet” factory this year, produced its first sample of dysprosium oxide from its Round Top, Texas, mine this year and processed it at its research plant in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.
Ucore Rare Metals is developing the Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex in Alexandria with $20 million in state incentives, and Energy Fuels, a uranium mining company, is processing monazite sands to extract rare earths at its White Mesa Mill in Utah.
Both are Canadian-owned corporations.
The two most prominent rare earth operators in the United States are Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths, the world’s largest rare earth developer outside China, and Las Vegas-based MP Materials Corp.
Both are crucial in processing rare earths for the U.S. Department of Defense, which is midway through a five-year plan to build a “sustainable mine-to-magnet supply chain” to support its needs by 2027.
Lynas Rare Earth subsidiary Lynas USA was awarded $258 million in 2023 to build a 150-acre commercial separation plant in Seadrift, Texas, to process heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium.
The Pentagon said in January it doubled its initial project request beyond military requirements to “strengthen supply chain resilience for … burgeoning high-tech industry as well as … national security needs.”
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded MP Materials $35 million to build a processing plant at Mountain Pass in California.
And, in 2024, it received a $58.5-million federal tax credit to build the nation’s first fully integrated rare earth magnet manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas, for GM electric vehicle motors.
In 2024, MP Materials achieved an all-time U.S. high output at Mountain Pass, delivering more than 45,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides and refined products.
The output included a U.S. record of 1,300 tons of neodymium-praseodymium oxide, key elements in “permanent magnets,” which retain their magnetic strength for decades.
“This milestone marks a major step forward in restoring a fully integrated rare earth magnet supply chain in the United States,” MP Materials CEO and founder James Litinsky said in a January statement.
“We have reached a significant turning point for MP and U.S. competitiveness in a vital sector.”
Yet, both Lynas Rare Earth and MP Materials produce more rare earth ore than they can process. To sustain operations, they must export much of what they excavate.
“MP is basically China’s largest offshore supplier” of rare earth ore, Critical Minerals Institute Executive Chair Jack Lifton said, noting China-based Shanghai Resources Industrial & Trading Co. bought 32,000 tons worth $350 million from MP Materials in 2024.
MP Materials did not return phone calls or email interview requests.
// Nikkei CLOSED UP 666.59 OR 1.90%//Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED UP 0.61%
//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED UP TO 7.2883 CHINESE YUAN OFFSHORE CLOSED UP TO 7.2873/ Oil DOWN TO 62.01 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT DOWN TO 65.67 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL GREEN.
1.YOUR EARLY CURRENCY VALUES/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN AND EUROPEAN BOURSE MOVEMENTS/AND INTEREST RATE SETTINGS /FRIDAY MORNING.7:30 AM
ONSHORE YUAN: CLOSED UP TO 7.2883 (CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY MANIPULATED)
OFFSHORE YUAN: UP TO 7.2873 (CCP MANIPULATED)
SHANGHAI CLOSED CLOSED DOWN 2.23 PTS OR 0.07%
HANG SENG CLOSED CLOSED UP 70.98 PTS OR 0.37%
2. Nikkei closed UP 666.59 PTS OR 1.90%
3. Europe stocks SO FAR: ALL GREEN
USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO 99.36// EURO FALLS TO 1.1362 DOWN 11 BASIS PTS
3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.349//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 143.49…… JAPANESE YEN NOW FALLING AS WE HAVE NOW REACHED THE RE EMERGING OF THE YEN CARRY TRADE AGAIN AFTER DISASTROUS POLICY ISSUED BY UEDA
3c Nikkei now ABOVE 17,000
3d USA/Yen rate now well ABOVE the important 120 barrier this morning
3e Gold DOWN /JAPANESE Yen DOWN CHINESE ONSHORE YUAN: UP OFFSHORE: UP
3f Japan is to buy INFINITE TRILLION YEN worth of BONDS. Japan’s GDP equals 5 trillion USA
Japan to buy 100% of all new Japanese debt and NOW they will have OVER 50% of all Japanese debt.
3g Oil DOWN for WTI and DOWN 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 +2.4658/Italian 10 Yr bond yield DOWN to 3.575 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD DOWN TO 3.117%
3i Greek 10 year bond yield DOWN TO 3.308
3j Gold at $3292.50 Silver at: 33.27 1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40
3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 81 /100 roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 82.38
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 143.29// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.349% 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 0.8286 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF: 0.9416 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: 4.283 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS…
USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.779 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS/
USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.797 UP 1 BASIS PTS
USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 38.42
10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.5430 DOWN 4 PTS
10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.185 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS
5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.795 DOWN 1 PTS
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2a New York OPENING REPORT
Futures Slide After Trump Interview Reverses Boost From China Tariff Cut Reports
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 08:29 AM
US equity futures are mixed after three days of gain, with tech leading, highlighted by GOOG (+5.6% amid strong earnings results last night), META (+3.5%), and TSLA (+1.6%). S&P futures first rose to session highs during the Asian session, when sentiment was first buoyed by dovish remarks from Fed officials Christopher Waller and Beth Hammack, which bolstered expectations for a potential interest-rate cut as soon as June; but the session highlight was a Bloomberg report that China was considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports including plane leases, indicating a shift in the game theoretical “game of chicken” balance and suggesting a deal may come sooner than expected as pain levels are rising for Beijing. Later, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated that China is not in talks with the US over tariffs, contradicting Trump and underscoring the complexities for investors tracking headlines out of Washington and Beijing. Futures then slumped to session lows just after 6am ET after Time published an interview with Trump (which took place on April 22) in which the president said China’s President Xi has called him (something China denies), said he would not call XI himself, and when asked if high tariffs are still present a year from now, Trump said that would be a “total victory” adding that he expects trade deals in the next 3-4 weeks. In other words, if China may have been offering an olive branch before the interview, those hopes were dashed after its publication and S&P futures reflected that, sliding to session lows down about 0.4% after earlier they rose by the same amouint.
The dollar strengthened, while the yen and Swiss franc retreated as investor demand for non-US haven assets waned. Gold slid 1.5%. Treasuries extended their gains from Thursday; Bond yields dropped (2-, 5-, 10-yr yields are 0.8bp, -0.2bp, -1.6bp lower). Commodities were mixed with Base Metals higher and Precious Metals lower. The US session includes revised April University of Michigan sentiment gauges, and Fed’s external communications blackout ahead of the May FOMC meeting starts Saturday.
In premarket trading, Alphabet shares jumped as much as 5% after posting first-quarter revenue and profit that exceeded analysts’ expectations, buoyed by continued strength in its search advertising business. Alphabet was the top gainer in the Magnificent Seven stocks (Alphabet +4.9%, Meta +3.2%, Amazon +0.5%, Tesla +0.9%, Nvidia +0.4%, Microsoft -0.2%, Apple -0.8%; Alphabet rises 4.9%). Intel tumbled 7% as CEO Lip-Bu Tan gave investors a stark diagnosis of the chipmaker’s problems, along with the sense that it will take a while to fix them. Gilead drops 3.9% after the biopharmaceutical company posted 1Q revenue that fell short of estimates as sales of Trodelvy and Veklury disappointed. Here are some other notable premarket movers:
Eastman Chemical Co. (EMN) falls 2.3% after the chemicals and plastics maker provided a disappointing second-quarter profit forecast, citing factors including tariffs between the US and China.
Hasbro rises 1.0% as Citi upgrades to buy, citing underlying momentum of the toymaker’s business.
Ironwood Pharmaceuticals climbs 9.3% after the company reaffirmed its revenue forecast for the full year.
Sphere Entertainment rises 13% after its wholly-owned unit MSG Networks reached a deal to restructure the debt of its subsidiaries and amend the media rights agreements with the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.
T-Mobile falls 5.7% after the company reported fewer new wireless phone subscribers than analysts expected in the first quarter.
Skechers USA slides 6.9% after the footwear company said it’s not providing financial guidance and withdrawing its previous annual outlook due to macroeconomic uncertainty.
On the trade front, Bloomberg News reported that China is considering suspending its 125% tariff on some US imports. Later, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun reiterated that China isn’t in talks with the US over tariffs, contradicting President Donald Trump and underscoring the complexities for investors tracking headlines out of Washington and Beijing.
“We are currently in tariff purgatory,” said Joachim Klement, strategist at Panmure Liberum. “There is no fundamental change to the outlook, so markets latch on to noise and get constantly whipsawed by the ever-changing utterances of Donald Trump and his cabinet.”
Confirming that, in an interview Time published with Trump just after 6am ET, and which took place on April 22, Trump said China’s President Xi has called him even though China has denied this; when asked if high tariffs are still present a year from now, Trump said that would be a “total victory.”
In the interview, Trump said tariffs are still necessary.
“If we still have high tariffs, whether it’s 20% or 30% or 50%, on foreign imports a year from now, will you consider that a victory?”, he responded, “Total victory”
When asked if he would call Xi (if Xi did not call him), Trump replied “No”.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Secretary of Commerce Lutnick “did not tell me” to do a 90-day pause.
”1 certainly don’t mind having a tax increase” on millionaires
Being serious when talking about acquiring the Panama canal, Greenland, and making Canada the 51st state
Trade deals expected in the next 3-4 weeks
More recently, on Thursday, Trump said his administration was talking with China, even as Beijing denied the existence of negotiations and demanded the US revoke all unilateral tariffs. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea could reach an “agreement of understanding” on trade as soon as next week, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Traders also took some early comfort from hopes that the Fed may reduce interest rates earlier than expected. Markets currently favor a quarter-point cut in June and a total of three such reductions by year-end. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he’d support rate cuts in the event aggressive tariffs under President Trump’s trade policies hurt the jobs market, speaking on Bloomberg Television. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack told CNBC the central bank could move on rates as early as June if it has clear evidence of the economy’s direction.
While the dollar was on course for its first weekly gain in a month, Bank of America strategists said investors should sell into rallies in US stocks and the greenback, cautioning that the conditions for sustained gains are missing. The dollar is in the midst of a longer term depreciation while the shift away from US assets has further to go, according to the BofA team led by Michael Hartnett. The trend would continue until the Fed starts cutting rates, the US reaches a trade deal with China and consumer spending stays resilient. The depreciation of the dollar is the “cleanest investment theme to play,” according to Hartnett.
The Stoxx 600 rises 0.3%, on track for a fourth day of gains as worries about trade tensions between China and the US subsided, with most significant moves triggered by a continued deluge of earnings, including from Saab and Safran. Alten and Hemnet are among the biggest laggers. Here are the biggest movers Friday:
IMCD shares rise as much as 8.5% after the chemicals maker’s earnings met expectations, which analysts said was a relief given yesterday’s plunge on the shock news its CEO was leaving
Saab shares gain as much as 4.3%, reversing earlier declines of 5.2%. The Swedish defense firm’s 1Q earnings beat expectations, though their order intake missed
Safran shares rise as much as 4.8% after the French aerospace and defense firm reported adjusted revenue for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate
Yara shares rise as much as 5.7% after the Norwegian agricultural chemicals firm reported adjusted Ebitda for the first quarter that beat the average analyst estimate
Accor shares rise as much as 5.6% to the highest level this month. Analysts say the French hotel operator’s results are favorable, noting positive demand commentary and expectations for net unit growth throughout the year
Saint-Gobain rises as much as 4.3% after the construction materials producer’s 1Q. Analysts are generally positive on the results, with Morgan Stanley praising the firm’s consistent delivery
Alten shares slide as much as 12% after the French IT firm reported a 5.5% drop in organic sales in 1Q, warning that some of its major clients are freezing or postponing projects due to tariff uncertainties
Hemnet shares drop as much as 11%, their worst drop since October, after the Swedish property platform missed expectations in the first quarter, giving up gains leading into the results
Kemira shares fall as much as 15%, the steepest drop in almost 14 years, after the Finnish chemicals company warned over the impact on end-markets of increased economic uncertainty
Mobico Group shares plunge as much as 11% after the company announced it is selling its school bus business in North America. Analysts said the price tag is disappointing
Asian equities also advanced after a Bloomberg report said Beijing is weighing a suspension of its 125% tariff on some US imports, though the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun later denied that they’re in talks with the US.
Earlier in the session, Asian stocks gained as signs of progress in trade negotiations boosted sentiment, with a major regional benchmark erasing all losses driven by Trump’s April 2 Liberation Day announcement of reciprocal tariffs. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9%, with TSMC and Tencent among the biggest contributors. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea all advanced. The key MSCI Asian index joins benchmarks in India, Korea, Australia and Indonesia in recouping losses from this month’s tariff selloff. The regional gauge is on track to cap its second-straight week of gains. Meanwhile, stocks and bonds tumbled in India, as traders braced for a potential worsening of the geopolitical situation with neighboring Pakistan. Indian shares were the worst performers in Asia on Friday, while the rupee and the nation’s bonds also slid, indicating growing angst among traders over any further ramping up of tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations. Markets are closed in Australia and New Zealand for holidays Friday. Key events to watch next week include rate decisions in Japan and Thailand as well as China PMI data.
In FX, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose as much as 0.4% and is set to notch its first weekly gain in a month. The greenback gained versus all G-10 currencies; The Japanese yen is among the weakest of the G-10 currencies, falling 0.5% against the greenback; USD/JPY rises 0.8% to 143.85.
In rates, Treasury futures rose to session highs in early US trading, with yields 1bp-4bp richer across a flatter curve, outperforming European bonds after stronger-than-expected UK retail sales data. The 10-year yield near 4.29% was ~3bp richer on the day, outperforming German counterpart by 5bp, UK by 2bp. Among US yield-curve spreads, 2s10s and 5s30s are 1bp-2bp flatter. Shorter-dated maturities also underperform in Germany where two-year borrowing costs rise 4 bps.
In commodities, WTI falls 0.5% to $62.50 a barrel. Bitcoin rises 2% to just shy of $95,000. Haven assets underpeform, with gold falling nearly $50 to below $3,300/oz.
Looking at today’s calendar, the US session includes revised April University of Michigan sentiment gauges, and Fed’s external communications blackout ahead of the May FOMC meeting starts Saturday.
Market Snapshot
S&P 500 mini -0.2%
Nasdaq 100 mini -0.3%
Russell 2000 mini -0.5%
Stoxx Europe 600 +0.1%
DAX +0.4%
CAC 40 +0.7%
10-year Treasury yield -3 basis points at 4.28%
VIX +0.4 points at 27
Bloomberg Dollar Index +0.3% at 1227.23,
euro -0.3% at $1.1353
WTI crude -0.3% at $62.6/barrel
Top Overnight News
China has exempted some U.S. imports from its 125% tariffs and is asking firms to identify critical goods they need levy-free, according to businesses notified, in the clearest sign yet of Beijing’s concerns about the trade war’s economic fallout. RTRS
Apple plans to import most of the iPhones it sells in the US from India by the end of next year, accelerating a shift beyond China, people familiar said. The goal will require Apple to double its India capacity. BBG
President Trump signed an executive order boosting the deep-sea mining industry, while the order instructs the Commerce Secretary to expedite permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resource Act, as well as instructs the Commerce and Interior Departments to issue a report on opportunities for seabed mineral exploration on the US outer continental shelf.
China aims to implement more growth-supporting measures amid rising challenges from hefty U.S. tariffs. The government will seek to coordinate policy measures to support domestic economic aims amid external economic and trade struggles. the government intends to cut interest rates and the amount of cash banks are required to set aside at the central bank, while making full and effective use of existing fiscal and monetary policies, the Politburo said. WSJ
Bessent says South Korea trade negotiations are moving along at a faster pace than anticipated. Nikkei
US Republicans in Congress are to unveil a $150bln defense spending package including $27bln for Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense and $29bln for shipbuilding.
Japan is considering a proposal that would see it boost purchases of US soybeans to compensate for a drop in China demand. Nikkei
Tokyo inflation picked up to 3.4% in April, its fastest in two years and supporting the BOJ’s rate-hike stance. BBG
A US-India trade agreement under discussion will cover 19 categories, including greater market access for farm goods, e-commerce, data storage and critical minerals, people familiar with the matter said, the first step toward a deal that may help the South Asian nation evade higher tariffs on its goods. BBG
UK retail sales unexpectedly rose for a third straight month in March, helped by record-breaking sunshine. But GfK data showed consumer confidence slid to the weakest level in 17 months in April. BBG
Russia’s oil producers are drilling at the fastest pace in at least five years, preparing for potential OPEC+ output hikes and possible sanction relief. Activity is more than a third above pre-war levels. BBG
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said a resolution of trade frictions would relieve uncertainty and would be optimistic, while he is worried that businesses will resort to layoffs amid uncertainties and noted some businesses say they are scenario planning for potential layoffs if uncertainty lasts although he is not seeing an uptick in layoffs yet. Furthermore, Kashkari said the frequency of announcements out of Washington has created a challenge for policymakers and for everybody.
Trade/Tariffs
China held a meeting on responding to trade frictions, according to the Commerce Ministry; said Trade frictions enter a high-intensity phase and are facing difficulties and challenges China said to stay confident in handling trade tension; adopt strategic approaches. To focus on preventing and resolving trade risks. Trade frictions enter a high-intensity phase and are facing difficulties and challenges. Cultivate new opportunities in crisis.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it is not having any consultations or negotiations with the US on tariffs; on tariff exemptions, said not familiar with specifics
China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter. It was also reported that several Chinese tech companies confirmed that eight tariff codes related to semiconductors and integrated circuits are now exempt from additional tariffs, according to Caijing.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said he had a good meeting with South Korea and they are moving faster than thought, while they will talk technical terms and could get to terms next week.
South Korea’s Trade Minister said South Korea and the US agreed in principle on the framework for trade talks. It was also reported that South Korea’s Finance Minister said they will try their best to produce meaningful results by July 8th and that autos were in focus during talks, while the two countries reached common ground on discussing measures on tariffs and non-tariff barriers, economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy. Furthermore, technical-level talks between South Korea and the US will be held in Seoul on May 15th-16th and South Korea’s Industry Minister said they reached a common ground on shipbuilding cooperation with the US.
Japanese Finance Minister Kato met US Treasury Secretary Bessent and told him that US tariffs are deeply regretful, while they agreed the FX rate should be set by markets and that excessive volatility has an adverse effect on the economy. It was also reported that Japan is weighing buying more US soybeans as part of a tariff deal and is also considering boosting US corn imports.
Canadian Finance Minister Champagne said they need to fight against the US tariffs, which are still affecting a large portion of Canadian goods. Furthermore, he said the scheduling was too tight for a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Bessent but they did interact at the G7 meeting in Washington.
US reportedly seeks India trade deal on e-commerce, crops, and data storage, according to Bloomberg sources.
A more detailed look at global markets courtesy of Newsquawk
APAC stocks mostly gained as the region took impetus from the rally on Wall St amid trade-related optimism after President Trump suggested that the US and China held talks despite a denial by the latter. However, conditions were somewhat quieter for most of the session with the absence of markets in Australia and New Zealand for a holiday, although there was a slight boost on reports that China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs. Nikkei 225 rallied at the open but with further gains initially capped as participants digested firmer-than-expected Tokyo CPI before the China tariff story provided a late tailwind. Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were somewhat varied as the Hong Kong benchmark rallied amid strength in property, tech and casino stocks, while the mainland lagged following the conflicting statements by the US and China on whether trade talks took place.
Top Asian News
China’s Politburo said China’s fiscal policy will be more proactive, economic recovery needs to be further reinforced; China to cut RRR and rates when needed and in a timely manner; Vows to fully prepare emergency plans for external shocks. Use well moderately loose monetary policy China to cut RRR and rates when needed and in a timely manner. To create new structural monetary tools Vows to fully prepare emergency plans for external shocks. Improve policy toolbox for stabilising employment and the economy. Implement established policies early. Will speed up issuance of ultra-long bonds.
PBoC Governor Pan affirmed monetary policy is to be moderately loose and said they will defend global economic stability, while he vowed to drive the Chinese economy and said China’s economy is off to a good start, continues to rebound positively, and the financial market is running smoothly.
China’s Finance Minister attended the G20 meeting in Washington and said the current world economic growth momentum is insufficient and tariff wars and trade wars have further affected economic and financial stability.
Japanese PM Ishiba said he decided on a package of measures to deal with US tariffs and instructed cabinet members to do the utmost to aid small and medium-sized enterprises that will be affected.
Donald Trump Jr is to meet South Korean business leaders on April 30th, according to Yonhap.
PCA sees China’s April car sales up 14.4% to 1.75mln Units, via Bloomberg
European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.4%) opened entirely in the green with sentiment boosted by positive trade updates from China, and following a stellar Alphabet earnings report. However, around the time of the European cash open, sentiment waned a touch – but this ultimately proved fleeting. European sectors opened with a strong positive bias but is a little more mixed now. Travel & Leisure takes the top spot, with the sector propped up by post-earning strength in Accor (+4%) and Evoke (+1%). The former topped Q1 revenue expectations and highlighted that it saw “no cracks in demand” so far (re. hotels).
Top European News
SNB Chairman Schlegel said the main instrument is interest rate, but forex interventions can also be used to influence monetary conditions. Trade policy situation is creating high uncertainty for all countries, including Switzerland; could fragment the global economy Economic slowdown in Switzerland cannot be ruled out. Price stability cannot prevent trade policy-related uncertainty, but remains very important.
UK will reportedly be expected to pay a fee to guarantee UK companies access to a EUR 150bln EU weapons fund, according to the FT citing diplomats.
FX
DXY is nursing some of its recent losses after retreating amid the broad risk-on sentiment on Wall St. Price action during the European morning has been rather contained, with the index in a 99.43-99.89 range at the time of writing. Sentiment today has been boosted by reports that China is considering exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase.
EUR gave back some of the prior day’s gains after hitting resistance just shy of the 1.1400 handle as the greenback regained composure. EUR/USD resides in a 1.1315-1.1394 intraday range.
JPY breached the 143.00 level to the upside which was facilitated by a rebound in the dollar and the positive risk appetite, while there were also some suggestions of Gotobi demand, whilst a flight out of safe-havens were seen on reports that China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. Tokyo CPI data saw an acceleration, but failed to lift the JPY.
GBP faded some of Thursday’s advances and eventually gave up the 1.3300 status as the Dollar picked up. Little reaction was also seen this morning to the substantial beat in UK Retail Sales, which was stronger-than-expected. On the trade front, UK Chancellor Reeves said she understands US concerns on trade imbalances, especially in China and they don’t always agree with the US on policy prescriptions but is confident a trade deal can be done.
Antipodeans are both subdued amid the upticks in the Dollar and overall cautious risk tone amid the uncertain trade environment, whilst markets were closed on both sides of the Tasman for ANZAC Day.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2066 vs exp. 7.2898 (Prev. 7.2098).
Fixed Income
USTs are flat in what has been a rangebound morning thus far as traders digest the latest Bloomberg reports on China, which suggest China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. UST futures rate in a narrow 111.02+ to 111.09 range at the time of writing; docket ahead is thin.
German debt is taking a breather after steadily climbing to just shy of the 132.00 level, whilst a slew of ECB commentary failed to trigger much price action. In terms of a recent ECB commentary on tariffs, ECB rhetoric leans towards an initial disinflationary narrative around tariffs, with Lagarde calling them a negative demand shock and noting the net inflation impact remains unclear. Knot flagged that a 25% US tariff could shave 0.3ppts off EZ growth.
Gilts are conforming to price action across peers despite little notable move seen from the above-forecast UK retail sales metrics. On the trade front, UK Chancellor Reeves said she understands US concerns on trade imbalances, especially in China and they don’t always agree with the US on policy prescriptions but is confident a trade deal can be done. Gilt Jun’24 futures currently reside around the middle of a 92.90-93.14 range.
Commodities
The crude complex has been choppy, trading on either side of the unchanged mark. Early morning sentiment was boosted by reports that China is to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. Around the European cash open, some modest pressure was seen in the complex, but the downside has since stabilised. Brent’Jun 25 currently trading within a USD 66.48-67.11/bbl range.
Precious metals hold a negative bias, with losses in spot gold more pronounced vs peers, due to the positive risk tone and relatively stronger Dollar. XAU currently towards the lower end of a USD 3,287.16-3,370.79/oz range.
Base metals are entirely in the red, with losses driven by the relatively stronger Dollar and potentially due to the conflicting commentary of US-China trade talks. 3M LME Copper currently trading in a USD 9,359.5-9,458.8/t range.
UK’s Unite said TotalEnergies (TTE FP) workers balloted for strike action and that around 50 Unite members based on the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms are involved.
Iranian oil minister said Tehran will sign USD 4bln agreement with Russian companies to develop seven oil fields, via state TV.
“Haaretz citing sources: No significant progress in the negotiations of the exchange deal between Hamas and Israel so far”, according to Al Jazeera
China, Russia, and Iran IAEA representatives met with the IAEA Director General on Thursday and had in-depth communication on how the IAEA can play its role in serving the political and diplomatic settlement process of the Iranian nuclear issue.
US is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an over USD 100bln arms package during President Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.
Geopolitics: Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the US and Russia are moving in the right direction towards the deal.
NATO Secretary General Rutte said he had a good meeting with US President Trump and discussed Ukraine, while he does not know if Russian President Putin wants peace but added that something is on the table for Russia-Ukraine and the ball is in Russia’s court. Furthermore, Rutte said it is not accurate that the US pressured Ukraine to accept a deal that favours Russia.
Geopolitics: Other
“AFP quotes Pakistani official: overnight exchange of fire on border with India”, via Sky News Arabia.
US Event Calendar
10:00 am: Apr F U. of Mich. Sentiment, est. 50.5, prior 50.8
DB’s Jim Reid concludes the overnight wrap
Back from Luxembourg and last night stayed up late to watch the final episode of the latest series of “The White Lotus”, one of the most famous dramas of the last few years. If you ever think your life is going through a tough patch please watch this program as many of these guys have some serious issues!!!
At times the series was so uncomfortable that it was a relief to get back to markets and to trade wars. However for now markets continue to recover with US assets in particular catching up on lost performance after the recent normalisation of policy from the US administration. My view is that the damage to US exceptionalism will be longer lasting but that it’s understandable that there’ll be a relief recovery after the US has come back from the brink policy wise. It’s also worth noting that before Liberation Day the Mag-7 were notably underperforming, especially since DeepSeek’s arrival onto the scene and a generally disappointing Q4 earnings season for the group. See my CoTD from yesterday here for more on this. How the Mag-7 perform from here will dictate a lot of the US exceptionalism trade.
We had the latest taste of this with Alphabet’s earnings yesterday evening. Google’s parent delivered a decent revenue and earnings beat, mostly driven by its search advertising business, and announced a 5% dividend increase. Its shares rose by close to 5% in post-market trading, following on a +2.37% gain in the regular session. S&P 500 (+0.51%) and NASDAQ 100 (+0.62%) futures are trading higher overnight helped by these results. Next stop for the Mag-7 will be the releases from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and Apple on Wednesday and Thursday next week. So a big couple of days ahead next week. Interestingly the FT have just broken a story as we go to print saying that Apple plans to shift the assembly of all US-sold iPhones to India as soon as next year. This is a big move away from China and shows how the geopolitics are shifting. It’s a big win for India.
As trade and geopolitics are reshaping, for now investors are becoming more relaxed about the near-term outlook with few signs of deteriorating data as yet and some dovish comments from Fed officials yesterday, which reassured investors that the Fed would still cut rates if the labour market deteriorated. So collectively, that helped the S&P 500 (+2.03%) to post a third consecutive gain for the first time since Liberation Day. And in another sign that market stress was easing, the VIX index (-1.98pts) fell to its lowest since the April 2 tariff announcements, closing at 26.47pts.
Those comments from Fed officials really helped to support the market yesterday, as they were notably more dovish than Chair Powell, who’d sounded a lot more concerned about inflation. For instance, Fed Governor Waller repeated his previous view that tariffs just represented a one-time price effect, and said that if he saw “a significant drop in the labor market, then the employment side of the mandate, I think, is important that we step in.” Earlier, we also heard from Cleveland Fed President Hammack, who said that if they had “clear and convincing data by June, then I think you’ll see the committee move if we know which way is the right way to move at that point in time”. So that was seen as opening the possibility of a rate cut sooner than expected, and futures moved to price in 85bps of cuts by the December meeting, up +6.0bps on the day. And in turn, Treasuries saw a strong rally, with the 10yr yield (-6.7bps) falling back to 4.32%, marking its third consecutive decline.
Aside from those remarks, the other good news yesterday was that the labour market appeared to remain in decent shape for the time being. For instance, the weekly initial jobless claims were at 222k over the week ending April 19, in line with expectations. Moreover, that was completely in line with where they’ve been over recent weeks, having oscillated between 216k-225k for the last 8 consecutive weeks now. So yet again, there was no obvious sign that layoffs were increasing, and we even saw continuing claims (for the week ending April 12) fall back to 1.841m (vs. 1.869m expected), which was their lowest since late-January.
All that helped to spur a strong market rally, with most US assets continuing to unwind their post-Liberation Day moves. For instance, the S&P 500 (+2.03%) posted a third consecutive gain, and it was actually the first time since February 2023 that the index has managed three consecutive gains of more than +1% a day. Tech stocks led the advance, with the Magnificent 7 (+2.94%) now up by +9.67% over the last three sessions.
When it came to the latest on tariffs, the most notable headline was Trump suggesting that his administration has been talking with China on trade. This came in contrast to comments from China officials earlier in the day, who said that there were no trade negotiations currently happening and that the US should revoke its unilateral tariffs if they wanted to start trade talks. Overnight Bloomberg are reporting that China is considering carving out exemptions to its tariffs on US goods given the stress it’s causing in some areas. So whatever officials say there seems to be movement on both sides to pull back from the most extreme position of the last few weeks.
In terms of other trade talks, Treasury Secretary Bessent said that the US and South Korea could reach an “agreement of understanding” as soon as next week. This followed similar comments earlier in the week on progress in talks with India and added to the sense that the US is keen to announce some agreements soon, even if these represent only rough outlines of the eventual deals.
Back in Europe, markets also put in a decent performance for the most part, which was similarly supported by more robust data than expected. In particular, the Ifo’s business climate indicator from Germany unexpectedly rose to a 9-month high of 86.9 in April (vs. 85.2 expected). Fiscal expansion plans must be helping. Moreover, the expectations component only saw a modest pullback to 87.4 (vs. 85.0 expected), thus avoiding the sharp drop that was widely expected.
That backdrop helped to support European assets across the board, with the STOXX 600 (+0.36%) posting a modest gain by the close. It also meant that the index is now up just over 10% from its low on April 9, just before Trump announced the 90-day tariff extension. In the meantime, sovereign bonds also put in a strong performance, with yields on 10yr bunds (-5.0bps), OATs (-7.2bps) and BTPs (-8.4bps) all coming down. And that got further support from ECB officials, particularly as Olli Rehn said that they shouldn’t rule out a larger cut, and chief economist Philip Lane said “there’s no reason to say we’re always going to do the default 25”.
In Asia, Japanese markets are the best performers with the Nikkei (+1.83%) and the Topix (+1.37%) trading sharply higher after the Japanese government unveiled a package of emergency measures to counter the impact of tariffs. Elsewhere, the Hang Seng (+1.36%) and KOSPI (+1.02%) are performing well. Mainland Chinese stocks are a little more subdued with the CSI (+0.30%) and the Shanghai Composite (+0.15%) only a touch higher. Even with the Apple news mentioned above, Indian stocks (-0.90%) are lower as tensions are very elevated with Pakistan at the moment around Kashmir. Meanwhile, Australian markets are closed for a holiday.
Early morning data showed that Tokyo CPI grew more than expected, rising to a two-year high of +3.5% y/y in April (v/s +3.3% expected) amid a recovery in private spending. It followed a +2.9% increase the prior month. Core CPI rose +3.4% y/y in April (v/s +3.2% expected) after advancing +2.4% the previous month thus increasing speculation over more interest rate hikes by the BOJ.
To the day ahead now, and US data releases include the University of Michigan’s final consumer sentiment index for April. Elsewhere, we’ll get UK retail sales for March. Otherwise, central bank speakers include the BoE’s Greene.
2b European opening report
Positive China trade reports boost sentiment, GOOGL +5% post-earnings – Newsquawk US Market Open
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 05:51 AM
China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
China’s Foreign Ministry says it is not having any consultations or negotiations with the US on tariffs; on tariff exemptions, says not familiar with specifics.
European bourses edge higher on positive Chinese trade reports; US futures mixed, GOOGL +5.5% pre-market after strong Q1 results.
DXY recovers amid trade hopes, JPY weakens amid outflows from haven FX and despite hotter Tokyo CPI.
Bonds trade rangebound as participants await further tariff updates.
Crude modestly firmer, XAU slips given the positive risk tone and stronger USD.
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TRADE
TARIFFS/TRADE
China held a meeting on responding to trade frictions, according to the Commerce Ministry; said Trade frictions enter a high-intensity phase and are facing difficulties and challenges China said to stay confident in handling trade tension; adopt strategic approaches. To focus on preventing and resolving trade risks. Trade frictions enter a high-intensity phase and are facing difficulties and challenges. Cultivate new opportunities in crisis.
China’s Foreign Ministry said it is not having any consultations or negotiations with the US on tariffs; on tariff exemptions, said not familiar with specifics
China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter. It was also reported that several Chinese tech companies confirmed that eight tariff codes related to semiconductors and integrated circuits are now exempt from additional tariffs, according to Caijing.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said he had a good meeting with South Korea and they are moving faster than thought, while they will talk technical terms and could get to terms next week.
South Korea’s Trade Minister said South Korea and the US agreed in principle on the framework for trade talks. It was also reported that South Korea’s Finance Minister said they will try their best to produce meaningful results by July 8th and that autos were in focus during talks, while the two countries reached common ground on discussing measures on tariffs and non-tariff barriers, economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy. Furthermore, technical-level talks between South Korea and the US will be held in Seoul on May 15th-16th and South Korea’s Industry Minister said they reached a common ground on shipbuilding cooperation with the US.
Japanese Finance Minister Kato met US Treasury Secretary Bessent and told him that US tariffs are deeply regretful, while they agreed the FX rate should be set by markets and that excessive volatility has an adverse effect on the economy. It was also reported that Japan is weighing buying more US soybeans as part of a tariff deal and is also considering boosting US corn imports.
Canadian Finance Minister Champagne said they need to fight against the US tariffs, which are still affecting a large portion of Canadian goods. Furthermore, he said the scheduling was too tight for a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Bessent but they did interact at the G7 meeting in Washington.
US reportedly seeks India trade deal on e-commerce, crops, and data storage, according to Bloomberg sources.
EUROPEAN TRADE
EQUITIES
European bourses (STOXX 600 +0.4%) opened entirely in the green with sentiment boosted by positive trade updates from China, and following a stellar Alphabet earnings report. However, around the time of the European cash open, sentiment waned a touch – but this ultimately proved fleeting.
European sectors opened with a strong positive bias but is a little more mixed now. Travel & Leisure takes the top spot, with the sector propped up by post-earning strength in Accor (+4%) and Evoke (+1%). The former topped Q1 revenue expectations and highlighted that it saw “no cracks in demand” so far (re. hotels).
US equity futures are mixed, with very modest outperformance in the NQ, boosted by post-earning strength in Alphabet. The Co. beat on both top- and bottom-lines, with other inner-metrics such as Search advertising also strong; the Co. also lifted its dividend by 5% – shares currently trade higher by 5.5% in pre-market trade.
T-Mobile US (TMUS) Q1 2025 EPS 2.58 (exp. 2.48), Rev. 20.89bln (exp. 20.61bln). Shares +5.5% in pre-market trade
FX
DXY is nursing some of its recent losses after retreating amid the broad risk-on sentiment on Wall St. Price action during the European morning has been rather contained, with the index in a 99.43-99.89 range at the time of writing. Sentiment today has been boosted by reports that China is considering exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase.
EUR gave back some of the prior day’s gains after hitting resistance just shy of the 1.1400 handle as the greenback regained composure. EUR/USD resides in a 1.1315-1.1394 intraday range.
JPY breached the 143.00 level to the upside which was facilitated by a rebound in the dollar and the positive risk appetite, while there were also some suggestions of Gotobi demand, whilst a flight out of safe-havens were seen on reports that China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. Tokyo CPI data saw an acceleration, but failed to lift the JPY.
GBP faded some of Thursday’s advances and eventually gave up the 1.3300 status as the Dollar picked up. Little reaction was also seen this morning to the substantial beat in UK Retail Sales, which was stronger-than-expected. On the trade front, UK Chancellor Reeves said she understands US concerns on trade imbalances, especially in China and they don’t always agree with the US on policy prescriptions but is confident a trade deal can be done.
Antipodeans are both subdued amid the upticks in the Dollar and overall cautious risk tone amid the uncertain trade environment, whilst markets were closed on both sides of the Tasman for ANZAC Day.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2066 vs exp. 7.2898 (Prev. 7.2098).
USTs are flat in what has been a rangebound morning thus far as traders digest the latest Bloomberg reports on China, which suggest China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. UST futures rate in a narrow 111.02+ to 111.09 range at the time of writing; docket ahead is thin.
German debt is taking a breather after steadily climbing to just shy of the 132.00 level, whilst a slew of ECB commentary failed to trigger much price action. In terms of a recent ECB commentary on tariffs, ECB rhetoric leans towards an initial disinflationary narrative around tariffs, with Lagarde calling them a negative demand shock and noting the net inflation impact remains unclear. Knot flagged that a 25% US tariff could shave 0.3ppts off EZ growth.
Gilts are conforming to price action across peers despite little notable move seen from the above-forecast UK retail sales metrics. On the trade front, UK Chancellor Reeves said she understands US concerns on trade imbalances, especially in China and they don’t always agree with the US on policy prescriptions but is confident a trade deal can be done. Gilt Jun’24 futures currently reside around the middle of a 92.90-93.14 range.
The crude complex has been choppy, trading on either side of the unchanged mark. Early morning sentiment was boosted by reports that China is to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase. Around the European cash open, some modest pressure was seen in the complex, but the downside has since stabilised. Brent’Jun 25 currently trading within a USD 66.48-67.11/bbl range.
Precious metals hold a negative bias, with losses in spot gold more pronounced vs peers, due to the positive risk tone and relatively stronger Dollar. XAU currently towards the lower end of a USD 3,287.16-3,370.79/oz range.
Base metals are entirely in the red, with losses driven by the relatively stronger Dollar and potentially due to the conflicting commentary of US-China trade talks. 3M LME Copper currently trading in a USD 9,359.5-9,458.8/t range.
UK’s Unite said TotalEnergies (TTE FP) workers balloted for strike action and that around 50 Unite members based on the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms are involved.
Iranian oil minister said Tehran will sign USD 4bln agreement with Russian companies to develop seven oil fields, via state TV.
UK Retail Sales MM (Mar) 0.4% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. 1.0%, Rev. 0.7%); ONS said Retail Sales will contribute 0.08ppts to GDP in Q1 2025.
UK Retail Sales Ex-Fuel YY (Mar) 3.3% vs. Exp. 2.2% (Prev. 2.2%, Rev. 1.8%); Retail Sales Ex-Fuel MM (Mar) 0.5% vs. Exp. -0.4% (Prev. 1.0%, Rev. 0.7%); Retail Sales YY (Mar) 2.6% vs. Exp. 1.8% (Prev. 2.2%)
UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Apr) -23.0 vs. Exp. -22.0 (Prev. -19.0)
French Business Climate Overall (Apr) 96 (Prev. 97); EU Data French Business Climate Mfg (Apr) 99.0 vs. Exp. 96.0 (Prev. 96.0)
NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES
SNB Chairman Schlegel said the main instrument is interest rate, but forex interventions can also be used to influence monetary conditions. Trade policy situation is creating high uncertainty for all countries, including Switzerland; could fragment the global economy Economic slowdown in Switzerland cannot be ruled out. Price stability cannot prevent trade policy-related uncertainty, but remains very important.
UK will reportedly be expected to pay a fee to guarantee UK companies access to a EUR 150bln EU weapons fund, according to the FT citing diplomats.
NOTABLE US HEADLINES
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said a resolution of trade frictions would relieve uncertainty and would be optimistic, while he is worried that businesses will resort to layoffs amid uncertainties and noted some businesses say they are scenario planning for potential layoffs if uncertainty lasts although he is not seeing an uptick in layoffs yet. Furthermore, Kashkari said the frequency of announcements out of Washington has created a challenge for policymakers and for everybody.
US President Trump signed an executive order boosting the deep-sea mining industry, while the order instructs the Commerce Secretary to expedite permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resource Act, as well as instructs the Commerce and Interior Departments to issue a report on opportunities for seabed mineral exploration on the US outer continental shelf.
US Republicans in Congress are to unveil a USD 150bln defence spending package including USD 27bln for President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence and USD 29bln for shipbuilding.
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
“Haaretz citing sources: No significant progress in the negotiations of the exchange deal between Hamas and Israel so far”, according to Al Jazeera
China, Russia, and Iran IAEA representatives met with the IAEA Director General on Thursday and had in-depth communication on how the IAEA can play its role in serving the political and diplomatic settlement process of the Iranian nuclear issue.
US is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an over USD 100bln arms package during President Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the US and Russia are moving in the right direction towards the deal.
NATO Secretary General Rutte said he had a good meeting with US President Trump and discussed Ukraine, while he does not know if Russian President Putin wants peace but added that something is on the table for Russia-Ukraine and the ball is in Russia’s court. Furthermore, Rutte said it is not accurate that the US pressured Ukraine to accept a deal that favours Russia.
OTHER
“AFP quotes Pakistani official: overnight exchange of fire on border with India”, via Sky News Arabia.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin is on a firmer footing, in-fitting with the risk tone; currently trading above USD 93.5k.
US Federal Reserve withdrew guidance requiring banks to seek advance notice before pursuing crypto activities and with the FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, withdrew 2023 statements urging banks to exercise vigilance around crypto activities.
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said crypto is useless in an advanced economy and it has been 15 years, and a use-case hasn’t been demonstrated, while he added it is up to Congress to regulate crypto.
APAC TRADE
APAC stocks mostly gained as the region took impetus from the rally on Wall St amid trade-related optimism after President Trump suggested that the US and China held talks despite a denial by the latter. However, conditions were somewhat quieter for most of the session with the absence of markets in Australia and New Zealand for a holiday, although there was a slight boost on reports that China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs.
Nikkei 225 rallied at the open but with further gains initially capped as participants digested firmer-than-expected Tokyo CPI before the China tariff story provided a late tailwind.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were somewhat varied as the Hong Kong benchmark rallied amid strength in property, tech and casino stocks, while the mainland lagged following the conflicting statements by the US and China on whether trade talks took place.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
China’s Politburo said China’s fiscal policy will be more proactive, economic recovery needs to be further reinforced; China to cut RRR and rates when needed and in a timely manner; Vows to fully prepare emergency plans for external shocks. Use well moderately loose monetary policy China to cut RRR and rates when needed and in a timely manner. To create new structural monetary tools Vows to fully prepare emergency plans for external shocks. Improve policy toolbox for stabilising employment and the economy. Implement established policies early. Will speed up issuance of ultra-long bonds.
PBoC Governor Pan affirmed monetary policy is to be moderately loose and said they will defend global economic stability, while he vowed to drive the Chinese economy and said China’s economy is off to a good start, continues to rebound positively, and the financial market is running smoothly.
China’s Finance Minister attended the G20 meeting in Washington and said the current world economic growth momentum is insufficient and tariff wars and trade wars have further affected economic and financial stability.
Japanese PM Ishiba said he decided on a package of measures to deal with US tariffs and instructed cabinet members to do the utmost to aid small and medium-sized enterprises that will be affected.
Donald Trump Jr is to meet South Korean business leaders on April 30th, according to Yonhap.
PCA sees China’s April car sales up 14.4% to 1.75mln Units, via Bloomberg
DATA RECAP
Tokyo CPY YY (Apr) 3.5% vs Exp. 3.4% (Prev. 2.9%)
Tokyo CPY Ex. Fresh Food YY (Apr) 3.4% vs Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 2.4%)
Tokyo CPY Ex. Fresh Food & Energy YY (Apr) 3.1% vs Exp. 2.8% (Prev. 2.2%)
2c) Asian opening report
European equity futures higher after sentiment boosted on trade updates & Alphabet earnings – Newsquawk Europe Market Open
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 01:12 AM
China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
US President Trump said either countries negotiate a deal or they will set a deal and some will be tariffed, at some point, while they will set prices for deals.
US President Trump reiterated that he hopes the Fed lowers interest rates and they should, while he reiterated criticism that the Fed is late.
US equity futures slightly extended on the prior day’s gains after reports of China flinching on tariffs; Alphabet shares rose 6.4% after market.
European equity futures indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.5% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.3% on Thursday.
Looking ahead, highlights include UK Retail Sales, Speakers including SNB’s Schlegel & Steiner, BoE’s Greene, ECB’s Nagel, Rehn & Cipollone, Earnings from Safran, SLB, AbbVie, Phillips 66 & Centene.
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US TRADE
EQUITIES
US stocks continued to move higher with sentiment supported by trade optimism after US President Trump hinted at talks with China and although China denied such talks were occurring, President Trump still noted that they had a meeting with China that morning. Furthermore, the Trump administration was said to be considering exceptions for some Chinese auto parts, while reports also noted that talks were going well with India and Treasury Secretary Bessent said things were moving quicker than thought with South Korea.
SPX +2.03% at 5,485, NDX +2.79% at 19,214, DJI +1.23% at 40,093, RUT +2.00% at 1,958.
China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs as costs increase with Chinese authorities considering removing additional levies for medical equipment and some industrial chemicals like ethane, according to Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter. It was also reported that several Chinese tech companies confirmed that eight tariff codes related to semiconductors and integrated circuits are now exempt from additional tariffs, according to Caijing.
US President Trump said either countries negotiate a deal or they will set a deal and some will be tariffed, at some point, while they will set prices for deals. Trump also said he will meet with world leaders in Rome and that leaders want to meet on trade. Furthermore, Trump insisted that they had a meeting with China on Thursday morning despite China’s denial but didn’t disclose who was involved.
US posted a notice on some China tariff levels notice applies to ‘low-value imports’ from China and Hong Kong which eliminates the de minimis exemption, according to Bloomberg.
US President Trump said he had talks with Norway about war and trade, while they made a lot of progress and the next few days will be very important. Furthermore, Trump said he and the Norwegian PM get along well on trade and have no problem with Norway on trade.
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said he had a good meeting with South Korea and they are moving faster than thought, while they will talk technical terms and could get to terms next week.
South Korea’s Trade Minister said South Korea and the US agreed in principle on the framework for trade talks. It was also reported that South Korea’s Finance Minister said they will try their best to produce meaningful results by July 8th and that autos were in focus during talks, while the two countries reached common ground on discussing measures on tariffs and non-tariff barriers, economic security, investment cooperation, and currency policy. Furthermore, technical-level talks between South Korea and the US will be held in Seoul on May 15th-16th and South Korea’s Industry Minister said they reached a common ground on shipbuilding cooperation with the US.
Japanese Finance Minister Kato met US Treasury Secretary Bessent and told him that US tariffs are deeply regretful, while they agreed the FX rate should be set by markets and that excessive volatility has an adverse effect on the economy. It was also reported that Japan is weighing buying more US soybeans as part of a tariff deal and is also considering boosting US corn imports.
Canadian PM Carney said regarding US President Trump’s comments in not wanting Canada’s cars that “we decide what happens here” and the remarks are more proof that Canada’s old relationship with the US is over.
Canadian Finance Minister Champagne said they need to fight against the US tariffs, which are still affecting a large portion of Canadian goods. Furthermore, he said the scheduling was too tight for a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Bessent but they did interact at the G7 meeting in Washington.
UK Chancellor Reeves said she understands US concerns on trade imbalances, especially in China and they don’t always agree with the US on policy prescriptions but is confident a trade deal can be done.
German Finance Minister Kukies said there is a willingness on both US-EU sides in a trade deal and that Germany avoiding a recession is the biggest hurdle this year. Furthermore, he said the EU will implement countermeasures if there is no trade deal with the US and stated that zero-zero tariffs would be the most efficient outcome.
NOTABLE HEADLINES
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said a resolution of trade frictions would relieve uncertainty and would be optimistic, while he is worried that businesses will resort to layoffs amid uncertainties and noted some businesses say they are scenario planning for potential layoffs if uncertainty lasts although he is not seeing an uptick in layoffs yet. Furthermore, Kashkari said the frequency of announcements out of Washington has created a challenge for policymakers and for everybody.
US President Trump reiterated that he hopes the Fed lowers interest rates and they should, while he reiterated criticism that the Fed is late.
US President Trump signed an executive order boosting the deep-sea mining industry, while the order instructs the Commerce Secretary to expedite permits under the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resource Act, as well as instructs the Commerce and Interior Departments to issue a report on opportunities for seabed mineral exploration on the US outer continental shelf.
US Republicans in Congress are to unveil a USD 150bln defence spending package including USD 27bln for President Trump’s Golden Dome missile defence and USD 29bln for shipbuilding.
AFTER-MARKET EARNINGS
Alphabet (GOOGL) Q1 2025 EPS 2.81 (exp. 2.00), Rev. 90.23bln (exp. 89.28bln), Co. authorised USD 70bln buyback of shares and raised dividend by 5%. Shares rose 6.4% after market.
T-Mobile US (TMUS) Q1 2025 EPS 2.58 (exp. 2.48), Rev. 20.89bln (exp. 20.61bln). Shares fell 5.5% after market.
APAC TRADE
EQUITIES
APAC stocks mostly gained as the region took impetus from the rally on Wall St amid trade-related optimism after President Trump suggested that the US and China held talks despite a denial by the latter. However, conditions were somewhat quieter for most of the session with the absence of markets in Australia and New Zealand for a holiday, although there was a slight boost on reports that China is said to consider exempting some US goods from tariffs.
Nikkei 225 rallied at the open but with further gains initially capped as participants digested firmer-than-expected Tokyo CPI before the China tariff story provided a late tailwind.
Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp were somewhat varied as the Hong Kong benchmark rallied amid strength in property, tech and casino stocks, while the mainland lagged following the conflicting statements by the US and China on whether trade talks took place.
US equity futures slightly extended on the prior day’s gains after reports of China flinching on tariffs.
European equity futures indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.5% after the cash market closed with gains of 0.3% on Thursday.
FX
DXY nursed recent losses after retreating amid the broad risk-on sentiment on Wall St and with the DXY not helped by mixed data releases, as well as dovish comments from Fed officials including Hammack who noted the Fed could move in June if data is clear about the economy’s state which spurred money markets to price a 75% chance of a 25bps cut in June vs. 60% prior to the comments. Nonetheless, the rebound in the dollar was further helped by reports of China considering exempting some US goods from higher tariffs.
EUR/USD gave back the prior day’s gains after hitting resistance just shy of the 1.1400 handle as the greenback regained composure, while there were comments from ECB’s Rehn who noted it is way too early to take a position if June is a cut or a hold.
GBP/USD failed to sustain the 1.3300 status as the dollar rebounded, while there was little reaction seen to recent BoE rhetoric and participants now look ahead to UK Retail Sales data.
USD/JPY reclaimed the 143.00 level to the upside which was facilitated by a rebound in the dollar, China tariff headlines, the positive risk appetite and some suggestions of Gotobi demand.
Antipodeans were uneventful amid the market closures on both sides of the Tasman for ANZAC Day.
PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.2066 vs exp. 7.2898 (Prev. 7.2098).
FIXED INCOME
10yr UST futures were ultimately flat but held on to most of the prior day’s gains after prices were supported by dovish comments including from Fed’s Waller who continued to suggest he is willing to look through price increases and warned that data focus brings a risk of being late on policy action, while Fed’s Hammack said it is too early to consider a move at the May FOMC but opened the door to a cut in June.
Bund futures mildly pulled back after climbing to just shy of the 132.00 level yesterday despite stronger-than-expected German IFO data and the slew of central bank rhetoric including from ECB’s Holzmann who said rate cuts must wait for some more tariff certainty.
10yr JGB futures gapped lower following the acceleration in Tokyo CPI data which serves as a leading indicator for national price trends and supports the case for the BoJ to continue with its policy normalisation once trade and tariff uncertainty dissipates.
COMMODITIES
Crude futures eked mild gains but with the upside limited following yesterday’s choppy performance and ahead of US-Iran technical nuclear talks on Saturday.
Ecopetrol said Shell (SHEL LN) pulled out of joint offshore projects and it is evaluating the strategy to ensure continuity of gas projects in the Southern Caribbean after Shell’s exit.
UK’s Unite said TotalEnergies (TTE FP) workers balloted for strike action and that around 50 Unite members based on the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms are involved.
Spot gold pulled back overnight as the dollar strengthened amid reports that China is considering exempting some US goods from additional tariffs.
Copper futures traded indecisively following the recent price swings and as Chinese markets lagged following conflicting statements from the US and China on whether they conducted trade talks.
CRYPTO
Bitcoin mildly retreated overnight after failing to sustain a brief return above the USD 94,000 level.
US Federal Reserve withdrew guidance requiring banks to seek advance notice before pursuing crypto activities and with the FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, withdrew 2023 statements urging banks to exercise vigilance around crypto activities.
Fed’s Kashkari (2026 voter) said crypto is useless in an advanced economy and it has been 15 years and a use-case hasn’t been demonstrated, while he added it is up to Congress to regulate crypto.
NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES
PBoC Governor Pan affirmed monetary policy is to be moderately loose and said they will defend global economic stability, while he vowed to drive the Chinese economy and said China’s economy is off to a good start, continues to rebound positively, and the financial market is running smoothly.
China’s Finance Minister attended the G20 meeting in Washington and said the current world economic growth momentum is insufficient and tariff wars and trade wars have further affected economic and financial stability.
Japanese PM Ishiba said he decided on a package of measures to deal with US tariffs and instructed cabinet members to do the utmost to aid small and medium-sized enterprises that will be affected.
Donald Trump Jr is to meet South Korean business leaders on April 30th, according to Yonhap.
DATA RECAP
Tokyo CPY YY (Apr) 3.5% vs Exp. 3.4% (Prev. 2.9%)
Tokyo CPY Ex. Fresh Food YY (Apr) 3.4% vs Exp. 3.2% (Prev. 2.4%)
Tokyo CPY Ex. Fresh Food & Energy YY (Apr) 3.1% vs Exp. 2.8% (Prev. 2.2%)
GEOPOLITICS
MIDDLE EAST
US President Trump said they are having very serious meetings with respect to Iran and thinks they are doing well with Iran.
US State Department Director of Policy Planning Anton and Special Envoy Witkoff will be in Oman for a technical meeting with Iran on Saturday, while the IAEA plans to send a team to Iran this week.
China, Russia, and Iran IAEA representatives met with the IAEA Director General on Thursday and had in-depth communication on how the IAEA can play its role in serving the political and diplomatic settlement process of the Iranian nuclear issue.
US is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an over USD 100bln arms package during President Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE
US President Trump said he thinks Russian President Putin will listen to him on stopping strikes in Ukraine, while he added that Ukraine and Russia both have to come to the table and both sides want to make peace. Trump also commented that he has his own deadline and after the deadline, there will be a different attitude.
US President Trump repeated he was not happy with the Russia strike and is putting a lot of pressure on both sides, while he would prefer to answer questions about Russia sanctions in a week and thinks it will be very difficult for Ukraine to get Crimea back. Furthermore, Trump said that both sides want peace now and he doesn’t think Russia is an obstacle to peace.
US is to demand Russian President Putin accept Ukraine’s right to military force, according to Bloomberg.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said the overnight Russian strike that hit a residential building in Kyiv used a North Korean missile. Zelensky also quoted a Ukrainian top commander who stated Russians tried to use cover from their airstrikes to intensify ground attacks but were repelled.
Ukraine’s Finance Minister Marchenko said the US and Ukraine made progress on the critical minerals deal, but won’t seal a deal this week, while it was also reported that US Treasury Secretary Bessent wants the issue of frozen Russian assets to be part of broader discussions.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the US and Russia are moving in the right direction towards the deal.
NATO Secretary General Rutte said he had a good meeting with US President Trump and discussed Ukraine, while he does not know if Russian President Putin wants peace but added that something is on the table for Russia-Ukraine and the ball is in Russia’s court. Furthermore, Rutte said it is not accurate that the US pressured Ukraine to accept a deal that favours Russia.
OTHER
India reportedly cancelled the ceasefire with Pakistan with immediate effect.
EU/UK
NOTABLE HEADLINES
BlackRock (BLK) CEO Fink said he’s buying up ‘undervalued’ UK assets and is more confident about the investment prospects for the UK than this time last year, according to The Times.
ECB’s Knot said the medium-term impact of tariffs on inflation is unclear and it is way too early to take a position if June is a cut or a hold, according to CNBC.
ECB’s Rehn said tariffs have a dampening effect on inflation in the short and medium term, while fiscal spending will only have an effect from 2026 onwards.
DATA RECAP
UK GfK Consumer Confidence (Apr) -23.0 vs. Exp. -22.0 (Prev. -19.0)
3 .ASIA
3A NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA
3B JAPAN
3C CHINA
CHINA/USA
Who Blinks First? China May Exempt Tariffs On US Ethane & Other Goods
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 07:20 AM
By now it’s become increasingly clear that both the U.S. and China are eager to de-escalate the trade war, yet neither is willing to make the first move. In China, export orders are drying up, and factories are shutting down. Meanwhile, across the Pacific Ocean in the U.S., containerized cargo volumes through the Port of Los Angeles are teetering on the edge of a very sharp decline, threatening to send shockwaves through Southern California’s economy and beyond.
Early Friday, several media outlets reported that China’s government has either considered or exempted some U.S. imports from a 125% tariff rate.
Let’s begin with Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter who said Beijing is considering removing tariffs on medical equipment and certain industrial chemicals, including ethane.
As we noted earlier this week, the U.S. is a major supplier of ethane—a petrochemical feedstock and component of natural gas. Ethane is a critical input for China’s plastics industry, with few alternative suppliers outside the U.S. Needless to say, any disruption to ethane shipments would severely impact China’s plastics sector.
Those sources continued down Beijing’s laundry list of potential tariffs to be removed, including waiving the tariff for plane leases… Boeing has caught a sigh of relief.
“It’s another step toward a de-escalation of the trade war,” said Kok Hoong Wong of Maybank Securities, adding that a trade deal might not be imminent, but certainly, “it would appear the worst may truly be over.”
Bloomberg Economics analysts Chang Shu and Eric Zhu commented on the BBG headline:
“Exempting critical, hard-to-replace U.S. products from tariffs would be a pragmatic approach that could ease tensions with the U.S. and serve the interests of Chinese industry. Anything that helps lower the temperature in the trade war is also beneficial from the perspective of avoiding broader clashes with the U.S.”
In a separate report, Reuters stated that instead of merely considering exemptions, Beijing has already “exempted” certain U.S. imports from the 125% tariff, citing businesses that were notified by authorities about the change.
“As a quid-pro-quo move, it could provide a potential way to de-escalate tensions,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, a senior adviser to the Conference Board’s China Center.
Montufar-Helu warned: “It’s clear that neither the U.S. nor China want to be the first in reaching out for a deal.”
Earlier in the week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned a US-China trade deal could take 2 to 3 years to finalize.
Bessent emphasized at a closed-door investor meeting on Tuesday: “No one thinks the current status quo is sustainable, at 145% and 125%, so I would posit that over the very near future, there will be a de-escalation. We have an embargo now on both sides.”
Both sides may want a deal to avoid further tariff fallout in their respective economies, but neither wants to appear desperate on the global stage. China is grappling with shuttered factories and possible ethane supply woes that threaten to roil its core manufacturing economy, while in the U.S., containerized volumes through the Port of Los Angeles are poised for a steep decline in the coming week
China, despite repeated warnings from Washington, is helping the Yemen-based Houthi militia try to kill American sailors. Pictured: Houthi soldiers on a missile carrier during a military parade in Sanaa, on September 21, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images)
“We can confirm the reporting that Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. (CGSTL) is directly supporting Iran-backed Houthi terrorist attacks on U.S. interests,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on April 17th at her regular press briefing
Specifically, CGSTL has been providing targeting data and probably raw satellite imagery to the Houthis for their attacks on U.S. Navy vessels in the Red Sea.
China did not issue a clear official denial of the State Department charge.
By now, one thing is clear: China’s regime, despite repeated warnings from Washington, is helping the Yemen-based militia try to kill American sailors.
The Trump administration should designate the Chinese regime as an enemy and impose costs accordingly.
CGSTL is a commercial venture owned in part by the Jilin provincial government and the Jilin-based Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, a part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is a state research institution.
CGSTL has, it says, the mission of “serving 7 billion people on the globe with the remote sensing information product integrating sky, space, and ground.”
Its customers include the worst elements in the world. In December 2023, for instance, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the company, along with Beijing Yunze Technology Co., for providing “high-resolution observation satellite imagery to U.S.-designated Private Military Company ‘Wagner'” — the infamous paramilitary Wagner Group of Russia.
No state-controlled enterprise such as CGSTL, in China’s near-total surveillance state, could provide such data or imagery without the knowledge and approval of China’s Communist Party.
This means the Chinese regime was deliberately aiding attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, including U.S. Navy ships. “Beijing’s support, by the way, of that company, the satellite company, even after we’ve engaged in discussions with them about this — the fact that they continue to do this is unacceptable, certainly contradicts their claims of being peace supporters,” Bruce said.
The Houthis began attacking shipping in the Red Sea in October 2023 in support of Hamas’s assault on Israel. The United States, Bill Gertz of the Washington Timesreports, “initially sought Chinese help in organizing an international coalition to protect shipping and counter the attacks.”
Beijing refused the request and tried to come to terms with the militant group in a side agreement. Nonetheless, the Houthis attacked a Chinese ship last year. “Providing satellite data that is being used to identify U.S. and other ships in the Red Sea for missile strikes appears to be part of a deal between Beijing and the Houthis that would end attacks on Chinese shipping,” reports Gertz.
The U.S. did not announce sanctions on CGSTL when Bruce made her comments, so imposing those measures is the first thing to be done.
Yet China has insulated its companies from Washington’s measures. “It is time for attribution,” Blaine Holt, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, told Gatestone. “Look for Chang Guang’s ‘Center of Gravity.'”
“Where do they bank?” Holt, who has participated in numerous Sino-U.S. Track II dialogues and lectured in China at universities and think tanks, asked. “Where is the management team? Do they have kids studying in the U.S.? What other business lines do they have?”
“Continued Communist Party aggression must inform U.S. government policy about permitting American businesses to continue ties with China,” he says. “We must show strength when they are so weak.”
Sanctions, however, should hit more than CGSTL.
For one thing, the Communist Party of China, which should also be sanctioned, runs a unitary state and demands absolute obedience from all parties in society. Businesses and state research institutions may operate as separate entities and may have separate controlling institutions, but they are not separate. Washington must stop assuming that Chinese society is organized the same way as America’s.
All Chinese entities should, therefore, be treated as one single organization. It is time for American officials to stop playing what has become sanctions whack-a-mole.
“The United States will not tolerate anyone providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, such as the Houthis,” Bruce said on the 17th.
Unfortunately, the United States has in fact long tolerated Beijing’s support to such groups, which means it is time to change course and now go after the Chinese regime hard. Among other things, President Donald Trump should invoke the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917 and end trade and investment ties with China. China’s regime, by its actions and its words, is America’s enemy.
“We have to stop China before they sink an American ship,” says Holt, reminding us of what is at stake. “The time to act is now.”
Gordon G. Chang is the author of Plan Red: China’s Project to Destroy America, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.
END
LATE IN THE DAY: TRUMP TELLING THE TRUTH
Chinese Delegation Spotted Entering Treasury Department, Demands Photos Be Deleted: Repor
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 03:01 PM
There has been lots of confusion over the past week whether Trump has – or has not – spoken to Xi Jinping, to set trade negotiation talks in motion. According to Trump, he has and more than once…
Reporter: Have you spoken to President Xi since the tariffs?@POTUS: “I don’t want to comment on that but I’ve spoken to him many times.” pic.twitter.com/TAkK0EjXhA
… while China has repeatedly denied it has had any contact with its US counterparts, which is to be expected: admitting it is negotiating would be seen as a carte blanche for other countries to do the same, ending any attempts at negotiation “cartelization” Beijing may have tried to impose.
Unfortunately, the problem is that both sides tend to…. exaggerate reality, which makes a definitive conclusion either way challenging. And absent 3rd party confirmation either way, the market is forced to flip a coin to decide who is telling the truth. Unless, of course, there was 3rd party confirmation, which now appears to be the case.
According to an overnight report in The JoongAng, one of the three biggest newspapers in South Korea, and the newspaper of record for South Korea, it was “confirmed that the United States and China have begun behind-the-scenes contacts in relation to the ‘tariff war’ waged by US President Donald Trump.”
Again, as noted above, after Trump said he had been in contact with China every day, the Chinese side, through a Foreign Ministry spokesperson briefing, said that Trump was effectively lying: “we have never had any consultations or negotiations with the United States, and (the related remarks) are all fake news.” The Chinese Ministry of Commerce also denied this, saying, “Economic and trade negotiations (with the United States) are not underway.”
However, in its overnight report, JoongAng Ilbo confirmed that at around 7 am ET on the 24th, a high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance entered the Treasury building located right next to the White House in Washington D.C. accompanied by about 10 attendants.
According to the report, the exact identities of the senior officials leading the dozen or so entourage have not been confirmed, “but they were all wearing the identification required for entry into the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting currently taking place in Washington.” It was the same type of identification worn by Lan Poan, China’s Minister of Finance, when he met with Choi Sang-mok, the Minister of Strategy and Finance, who visited the U.S. the day before.
The Korean newspaper adds that “Chinese officials strongly blocked the press from taking photos of high-ranking officials entering the U.S. Treasury building this morning.”
The Chinese officials then reportedly said that “we have no authority to block the freedom of the press,” but added “we have the right to refuse to allow our personnel to be photographed,” and demanded that the press delete all photos taken on their smartphones.
When the press asked him to reveal the identity of the person who had blocked the interview, he refused, saying, “I have no obligation to reveal my identity.” However, the ID card he was wearing had his name, photo, and nationality written as “China.”
The ‘Treasury Department Meeting’ between the US and China on this day began at around 7:00 AM, about an hour before Deputy Prime Minister Choi and Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duck-keun began the ‘2+2 Trade Consultation’ with US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent and US Trade Representative (USTR) Jamison Greer. As a result, the Korea-US tariff negotiations were conducted following the US-China backroom contacts.
A diplomatic source told JoongAng Ilbo, “The fact that the treasury channels of both the U.S. and China are actually operating means that both countries have reached a critical point under domestic and international pressure due to the current retaliatory tariffs,” and predicted that “the results of the backroom negotiations between the two sides could be a major turning point in the tariff war.”
As for why China has been extremely secretive about the process, the source told the South Korean outlet that “since this tariff war is unfolding as a battle of pride with the leaders of both countries directly appearing, it may not be easy to create some kind of ‘win-win structure.” He added that “the fact that China visited the U.S. Treasury Department in person could be an extremely sensitive issue for China.“
Remarkably, Trump may have been telling the truth… again.
A new proposal from the Swedish government would dramatically raise financial incentives for migrants to return to their countries of origin, with individuals eligible to receive up to SEK 350,000 (€32,000) and families up to SEK 600,000 (€55,000) as part of a broader effort to curb immigration and address integration challenges.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell confirmed the agreement among the coalition parties and emphasized that the program would include strong oversight mechanisms, telling Swedish news agency TT that the government wants to minimize the risk of people exploiting the allowance by coming to Sweden solely to claim the payment.
As reported by the Samnytt news outlet, the proposal also includes a clause requiring full repayment of the grant if the recipient returns to Sweden, regardless of the time elapsed.
The remigration proposal is the latest in a series of measures aimed at reshaping Sweden’s migration and integration policies. It comes amid growing public concern over violent crime, particularly gang-related violence involving individuals with migration backgrounds. Reports have highlighted a surge in homicides and increasingly brazen criminal activity in Swedish cities. Sweden now reportedly records 50 percent more homicides than El Salvador, a country once plagued by gang violence until a sweeping crackdown by President Nayib Bukele.
The Swedish government has framed its remigration policy as one response to what it describes as a decline in social cohesion and the failure of decades of integration efforts.
In March, the Swedish Ministry of Justice also introduced a proposal to tighten citizenship eligibility by raising the minimum income threshold for applicants. Under the draft, migrants applying for citizenship would need to demonstrate an annual income equivalent to three income base amounts, amounting to a gross monthly income of approximately SEK 20,000, or around €1,820.
“Being granted Swedish citizenship is something you should feel proud of. We are tightening the requirements to make it more meaningful and to ensure that those who become citizens have made an effort to become part of our society,” said Forssell at the time.
If approved, the new citizenship rules will take effect on June 1, 2026.
Despite the tough rhetoric from the ruling coalition, which is propped up with votes from the right-wing Sweden Democrats, skepticism persists about the government’s follow-through.
Remix News reported in March how Sweden granted citizenship to 60,000 foreign nationals in 2023, a number that has raised eyebrows among conservative commentators and immigration critics.
In an editorial last month, the newspaper Expressen warned that many of the new citizens had not sufficiently proven their identities, writing, “It is dangerous. Especially considering that citizenship cannot be revoked.”
WHO Announces ‘Significant’ Layoffs Three Months After Trump Halts US Funding
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 02:45 AM
Three months after President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) – they’re now suffering from a ‘large salary gap’ and have ‘no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce’ with ‘significant’ layoffs, according to AFP, citing director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Of note, the WHO has received over $3.5 billion from US taxpayers since 2010.
In Trump’s Jan. 20 order halting US funding from the United Nations body, the president cited WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China,” as well as other global health concerns. It was Trump’s second attempt to withdraw from the WHO – the first being in 2020 over the WHO’s complicity in China’s coverup of details surrounding the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to praising Beijing for its response to Covid, recommending against travel restrictions over “stigma,” flip-flopping on the use of masks during the pandemic and claiming asymptomatic spread of COVID was ‘highly unlikely’, the WHO halted a 2020 study on the effect of Hydroxychloroquine on coronavirus.
In a May 2020 letter to Tedros, Trump listed several claims from the WHO about the coronavirus “that were either grossly inaccurate or misleading,” including:
• On January 14, 2020, the World Health Organization gratuitously reaffirmed China’s now-debunked claim that the coronavirus could not be transmitted between humans, stating: “Preliminary investigations conducted by the Chinese authorities have found no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) identified in Wuhan, China.” This assertion was in direct conflict with censored reports from Wuhan.
• On January 21, 2020, President Xi Jinping of China reportedly pressured you not to declare the corona virus outbreak an emergency. You gave in to this pressure the next day and told the world that the coronavirus did not pose a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Just over one week later, on January 30, 2020, overwhelming evidence to the contrary forced you to reverse course.
• On January 28, 2020, after meeting with President Xi in Beijing, you praised the Chinese government for its “transparency” with respect to the coronavirus, announcing that China had set a “new standard for outbreak control” and “bought the world time.” You did not mention that China had, by then, silenced or punished several doctors for speaking out about the virus and restricted Chinese
According to Tedros, “The refusal of the US to pay its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, means we are facing a salary gap for the 2026–27 biennium of between $560 and $650 million.”
The lower end of that spectrum “represents about 25 percent of staff costs,” he continued, adding that “that doesn’t necessarily mean a 25-percent cut to the number of positions.”
As such, “we will be saying goodbye to a significant number of colleagues.”
Tedros insisted that the most significant impact would likely be felt at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva. “We are starting with reductions in senior management,” he said.
“We are reducing the senior leadership team at headquarters from 12 to seven, and the number of departments will be reduced by (more than) half, from 76 to 34,” Tedros said.
WHO’s regional offices would meanwhile be affected “to varying degrees”, he said, adding that some country offices in wealthier countries would likely be closed.
“These are very painful decisions for all of us,” Tedros said.
The WHO chief insisted the situation could have been worse.
WHO member states agreed in 2022 to significantly increase membership fees and reduce the portion of WHO’s budget covered by less reliable and often earmarked voluntary contributions. -AFP
The WHO employs more than 8,000 people worldwide.
END
EUROPE/USA
The American Menace: Leading Liberals Call Upon Europeans To Resist The United States
In his historic speech in Munich this year, Vice President J.D. Vance confronted the Europeans over their attacks on free speech, declaring “If you are running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you.” That is manifestly true, but it appears that there is something that certain Americans can still do for Europe. As the European Union ramps up its long-standing campaign against free speech, it is increasingly calling upon Americans to make the case against both free speech and the United States.
The Europeans and globalists see the Trump Administration as a threat in the effort to create transnational governance systems. German diplomat Christoph Heusgen became emotional in responding to Vance, declaring “It is clear that our rules-based international order is under pressure. It is my strong belief that this more multipolar world needs to be based on a single set of norms and principles.”
American politicians and journalists quickly added their voices of condemnation. CBS anchor Margaret Brennan confronted Secretary of State Marco Rubio to suggest that Vance’s support for free speech was outrageous because he was “standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to conduct a genocide.” Brennan’s bizarre suggestion that free speech contributed to the death camps was amplified by Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) who accused Vance of using “some of the same language that Hitler used to justify the Holocaust.”
After the Munich speech, some of the leading anti-free speech figures in the world gathered at the World Forum in Berlin. I was one of the few speakers from the free speech community at the conference that declared “A New World Order with European Values.” Various Americans were present to reaffirm the worst about the United States as a nation descending into tyranny.
The two most celebrated figures were Bill and Hillary Clinton, who also criticized the current Administration.
The appearance of Hillary Clinton was particularly chilling for the free speech community at the Forum. Clinton has been unrelenting in her attacks on free speech and is a favorite of globalists who want to create this new world order. After Musk bought Twitter with the intention of restoring free speech protections, Clinton called upon the European Union to use its infamous Digital Services Act to make Musk censor her fellow Americans. She has also suggested arresting those spreading disinformation.
The EU did precisely that and is now threatening Musk with confiscatory fines unless he resumes the censorship of Americans and others.
After returning from Berlin, I testified in the Senate Judiciary Committee and warned about the building threat to free speech from the use of the DSA.
Since then, the EU has moved forward with its aggressive campaign against U.S. companies and figures who are not yielding to their expansive censorship demands.
They continue to rely on Americans to make the case against the United States and they are finding a long list of eager experts.
Many are disgruntled Democrats after the election or “disinformation experts” left without positions or grants after the start of the Trump administration. Unemployed censors now roam the Earth like rōnin, or masterless disgraced samurai. They are finding opportunities in Europe where free speech in a virtual free fall.
It was not surprising, therefore, that Nina Jankowicz, the former head of Biden’s infamous Disinformation Governance Board, appeared this week before the European Parliament. She called upon the 27 EU countries to fight against the United States, which she called a world threat.
How the “Mary Poppins of disinformation” came to alight upon the European Union is little surprise. Appealing before one of the most anti-free speech bodies in the world. The “New World Order with European Values” notably does not include robust protections for free speech.
I have been a long critic of Jankowicz. After the Biden Administration reluctantly disbanded her board, she later moved to join a European group as a foreign agent to continue her work to block views that she considers disinformation.
Jankowicz fed the anti-American fervor sweeping over Europe. While she was called to address Russian disinformation, she went out of her way to attack the United States as a global menace: “Before I describe the details of Russia’s recent online influence campaigns, I would like to call upon you to stand firm against another autocracy: The United States of America.”
The false portrayal of the United States as a lawless, autocratic nation no doubt thrilled the Europeans. In announcing her heading a private disinformation group called the American Sunlight Project, Jankowicz used the same hysteria to attract donors, insisting that “Disinformation knows no political party. Its ultimate victim is our democracy.”
The ultimate irony is that Jankowicz knows that she can count on many of us in the free speech community to support her right to spread such sensational and inflammatory information. She has every right to trash this country and the results of the election.
Jankowicz has clearly found a home with globalists in Europe where our “Mary Poppins of Disinformation” is “practically perfect in every way.”
Of course, these “defenders of democracy” are advocating for precisely what they are condemning in seeking greater state controls over speech and individual rights.
The new diasporaof disgruntled American liberals and censors will find eager European audiences to hear their tales of woe.
Germany Downgrades Growth Outlook, Now Expects Recession For Record 3rd Year, Blames T
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 06:55 AM
Entering 2025, Germany’s economic situation had never been worse: following a 6th consecutive GDP contraction in Q4, the country which was once Europe’s growth dynamo, has contracted for 6 consecutive quarters, the longest recessionary stretch in modern German history (since its 1989 reunification).
But if anyone had hoped that the recent German pro-debt “revolution” in which Berlin eliminated its long-standing “debt brake” and unleashed an unlimited, debt-funded “defense” spending spree courtesy of an anti-democratic, fiscal stimulus putsch, which was rammed through in the final days of the outgoing government (even as the top political party in the new government campaigned on precisely the opposite plaform) meant that Germany would finally record some modest growth, will be very disappointed.
Earlier today, the German government slashed its economic growth forecast yet again, and now sees stagnation in 2025 instead of a 0.3% expansion as its had previously. The reason: why blame Trump of course, or as Reuters put it, “uncertainty from global trade disputes is set to hobble growth and dampen investment.”
Exports are expected to fall by 2.2% this year, following a 1.1% decline in 2024. Next year, exports are expected to rise by 1.3%, but they won’t since by then most German export markets will be in an even worse recession. Earlier this month, German economic institutes cut their growth forecast for this year to 0.1% from the 0.8% expected in September, taking into consideration initial U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars.
Germany was the only G7 economy that failed to grow for the last two years, and the tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump could put Europe’s largest economy on track for a third year without growth for the first time in history.
Only, it’s not really Trump. Germany’s energy intensive, export-driven economy was already struggling with high energy costs and weak global demand for its products as foreign companies – mostly China – chipped away at its competitiveness, and destroyed demand for German cars.
And while the US may or may not have stagflation (spoiler alert: it won’t), Germany is now in it, with the government forecasting sticky inflation falling to 2% this year and then to 1.9% next year, down from 2.2% last year, at a time when the economy is contracting. At the same time, economic weakness will take its toll on the labour market, with the unemployment rate expected to go up to 6.3% this year from 6.0% last year, before falling to 6.2% in 2026.
In other words, the definition of stagflation.
While announcing the figures, Economy Minister Robert Habeck called for the European Union and the U.S. to find a solution on trade but also for the EU to prepare countermeasures if needed.
“Now the German economy is once again facing major challenges due to the unpredictable trade policy of the United States,” Habeck said in a written statement.
“Given the German economy’s close integration into global supply chains and our high level of foreign trade openness, the new US protectionism could have significant direct and indirect effects on our economic growth,” he said.
For 2026, the government now expects growth of 1%, down slightly from its January forecast of 1.1%, expecting some uptick under the incoming government of chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz. Spoiler alert: expect yet another downward revision, and a record 4th year of contraction in about a year’s time.
And the cherry on top: just as Germany desperately needs a much weaker euro, the concurrent collapse in the dollar – which will unleash a surge in US exports just as the Mar-A-Lago accord had stipulated – means the euro will stay strong and only a fresh NIRP cycle by the ECB, one which sends the deposit rate from 2% currently back to sub zero, has any hope of kickstarting growth in what was once Europe’s strongest economy and is now officially the sick man of Europe.
5 RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
ISRAEL/HAMAS
IDF strikes tent in Khan Yunis, killing five Gazans – Palestinian report
The IDF conducted a strike on a terrorist target in a tent complex adjacent to Khan Yunis’s al-Aqsa University early on Friday morning, Palestinian media reported.
The strike killed five Gazans, according to Palestinian sources
END
ISRAEL HAMAS/OPINION
Netanyahu’s sins: Peace plan rejection leading Israel to strategic dead end in Gaza – opinion
MIDDLE ISRAEL | Netanyahu is not prepared to admit that his big gamble – invest in Hamas, pit it against the PA, and rule the Palestinians – has failed.
It’s too late. Humility – the readiness to say “I am only that big, only that smart, and only that right’’ – will never penetrate Bibi Netanyahu’s mind.
The prime minister’s response to his chief spook’s accusations under oath – “lies” – means King Bibi will never in his life say what King David said after his own sins were laid bare: “I sinned.”
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s charges, that Netanyahu asked him to surveil demonstrators, obstruct the PM’s trial, and oppose the High Court in case of a constitutional crisis – are part of a 12-year moral slide that began when this column warned against Netanyahu’s granting of a cabinet seat to a convicted bribe taker (“Strategic threat looming,” November 2, 2012).
Morally, that was Netanyahu’s original sin as prime minister, but his premiership was marred by two other original sins as well – one political, the other strategic.
The political sin, as argued here in the past (“Netanyahu’s last opportunity,” February 14, 2024) came in 2014, when Netanyahu divorced the political Center, ultimately pawning his future, and ours, with ultra-Orthodoxy and the far Right.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a map of Gaza (illustration). (credit: FLASH90/CANVA, REUTERS, SHUTTERSTOCK)
The third original sin concerns the Palestinian problem, the predicament Netanyahu has misread for more than half a century and now leads him, and us, into a strategic dead end.
At this writing, the IDF is reportedly preparing a grand attack on Gaza, an assault that will presumably involve scores of aircraft, hundreds of tanks, and thousands of troops. Just what that assault’s exact purpose will be is unclear, but some of its results can already be assumed.
First, the IDF will lose soldiers, possibly many. Second, our troops will return to patrol Gaza’s angry streets. And third, Hamas, though decimated, will survive. To these, one might add the low likelihood that a ground attack will liberate our hostages.
The kind of decisive victory the IDF achieved in Lebanon is not at stake in Gaza – not because of the military difference between the two arenas, daunting though it is, as Gaza is a densely built urban thicket, whereas south Lebanon is a disjointed and mostly rural countryside.
The difference is political. Hezbollah was part of a sovereign country with a complex society that could potentially confront the minority that had hijacked it. That, in fact, is what is happening there now, following Iran’s effective eviction, and its Shi’ite proxy’s consequent loss of clout.
Gaza, by contrast, is not heterogeneous and not a country. It’s a political no-man’s land populated by Sunni Muslims and fully conquered by jihadists. There is no equivalent there of Lebanon’s sectarian mosaic of Christian, Druze, Shi’ite, Sunni, Armenian, and other tribes and sects. That is why any change in Gaza will have to involve some kind of political reengineering.
Military action, no matter how imaginative and brave, will not deliver this change. For Gaza to change politically, its government must be redesigned not by Israelis, but by Arabs.
The good news is that a blueprint for such an Arab redesign has emerged. The bad news is that Netanyahu, in line with his time-honored Palestinian strategy, and despite his strategy’s manifest collapse, has already rejected that Arab plan.
Egypt’s plan for Gaza reconstruction and management backed by Arab allies
The plan, introduced in Cairo on March 4 by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, was vague on details but clear on one thing: Hamas would cease to rule, and the Palestinian Authority would not take over immediately. Instead, a government of non-political experts would oversee reconstruction, which would be financed and managed by Arab governments.
Anyone familiar with Middle Eastern dynamics understood the subtext. The governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – all of which endorsed the plan – would join Egypt in overseeing Gaza’s reconstruction.
Is this a panacea? Of course not. Is this a wholesome plan? It isn’t. It is, however, the potential beginning of an Arab alternative to Hamas. Underpinning that thinking is the Egyptian, Saudi, Emirati, and Jordanian fear of the Islamist scourge. They care about it greatly, and want it defeated no less than Israel, maybe even more.
Israel could therefore have said about that plan, “We have our reservations, but this is a beginning, let’s talk.” Instead, Netanyahu ignored the plan. Netanyahu did not bother explaining his rejection, but its two parts – what he doesn’t want and what he does want – are clear.
What Netanyahu doesn’t want is any form of Palestinian statehood, an aim that Sisi’s plan indeed recommends. Netanyahu also doesn’t want any role for the Palestinian Authority, which the plan does offer, albeit in a delayed, conditional, and piecemeal way.
What, then, does Netanyahu want? Well, he wants to continue riding the Islamist tiger.
People don’t change at age 75, and Netanyahu is not prepared to admit that his big gamble – invest in Hamas, pit it against the PA, and rule the Palestinians – has failed. That is why he – alone among Israel’s relevant policymakers in recent years – resists the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry.
Such a panel would prove that Netanyahu consciously cultivated Hamas as the ruler of Gaza, hoping it would divide the Palestinians nationally and marginalize them internationally.
It should be said in Netanyahu’s favor that this quest, to sweep the Palestinian problem under the rug, did not begin with him. Rather, it is part of Revisionist Zionism’s attitude since well before he was born.
What began with Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s dismissal of the partition idea in 1937 was followed by Menachem Begin’s refusal to include a Palestinian deal in the Camp David Accords in 1979, and by Yitzhak Shamir’s rejection of Shimon Peres’s London Agreement with Jordan’s King Hussein in 1987.
At some point, the ostrich will have to take its head out of the sand. Yes, Hamas and any other Palestinian out to kill us deserve death. The rest, however, exactly like us, deserve a life. http://www.MiddleIsrael.net
The writer, a Hartman Institute fellow, is the author of Ha’Sfar Ha’Yehudi Ha’Aharon (The Last Jewish Frontier, Yediot Sefarim, 2025), a sequel to Theodor Herzl’s The Old New Land.
END
HOUTHIS/USA
US says blast near Yemen UNESCO world heritage site caused by Houthi missile
The Houthi-run health ministry said a dozen people were killed in the US strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa.
By REUTERSAPRIL 25, 2025 05:37
Dust rises from the site of strikes in Sanaa, Yemen March 15, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
The US military said on Thursday a blast on Sunday near a UNESCO world heritage site in Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa was caused by a Houthi missile and not an American airstrike.
The Houthi-run health ministry said a dozen people were killed in the US strike in a neighborhood of Sanaa. The Old City of Sanaa is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site.
President Donald Trump ordered the intensification of US strikes on Yemen last month, with his administration saying they will continue assaulting Iran-backed Houthi rebels until they stop attacking Red Sea shipping.
Damage caused by a Houthi missile
A US Central Command spokesperson said the damage and casualties described by Yemen’s Houthi officials “likely did occur” but they were not caused by a US attack. The closest US strike that night was more than three miles (5 km) away, the spokesperson said.
US strike on Houthi targets against backdrop of American flag (illustration). (credit: Photo by Handout/Houthi Media Center via Getty Images, pixelshot/canva)
The US military assessed that the damage was caused by a “Houthi air defense missile” based on a review of “local reporting, including videos documenting Arabic writing on the missile’s fragments at the market,” the spokesperson said, adding the Houthis subsequently arrested Yemenis. He did not provide evidence.
A Houthi official was quoted by the New York Times as saying the American denial was an attempt to smear the Houthis.
Recent US strikes have killed dozens, including 74 at an oil terminal on Thursday in what was the deadliest strike in Yemen under Trump so far, according to the local health ministry.
The US military says the strikes aim to cut off the Houthi terrorist group’s military and economic capabilities.
Rights advocates have raised concerns about civilian killings and three Democratic senators, including Senator Chris Van Hollen, wrote to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Thursday demanding accounting for loss of civilian lives.
The Houthis have taken control of swathes of Yemen over the past decade.
Since November 2023, they have launched drone and missile attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting ships linked to Israel.
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages.
SYRIA
Global Silence As HTS & Allies Take Alawite Women As Sex Slaves In Syria
Since December, when the former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), toppled the government of Bashar al-Assad, Syria has witnessed a chilling wave of mysterious kidnappings of young women, predominantly from the Alawite community.
Evidence continues to emerge that these women, primarily from the Alawite religious sect, have been abducted and taken to live as sex slaves in Idlib governorate, the traditional HTS stronghold, by armed factions affiliated with the new Syrian government.
Shockingly, the mass kidnapping and enslavement of Alawite women now being carried out by HTS-affiliated factions mirrors the enslavement of the thousands of Yezidi women by ISIS during the 2014 genocide in Sinjar, Iraq.
The activist who spoke out
In a now deleted Facebook post, Hiba Ezzedeen, a Syrian activist from Idlib, described her encounter with a woman she believes was captured and taken to the governorate as a sex slave during the wave of massacres carried out by government-affiliated factions and security forces against Alawites in the country’s coastal areas on March 7.
“During my last visit to Idlib, I was at a place with my brother when I saw a man I knew with a woman I had never met before,” Hiba explained.
“This man had been married multiple times before and is believed to currently have three wives. What caught my attention was the woman’s appearance – specifically, it was clear she didn’t know how to wear a hijab properly, and her scarf was draped haphazardly.”
After inquiring further, Ezzedeen learned that the woman was from the coastal areas where the March 7 massacres, in which over 1,600 Alawite civilians were killed, took place. “This man had brought her to the village and married her, with no further details available. No one knew what had happened to her or how she got there, and naturally, the young woman was too afraid to speak,” Ezzedeen added.
Because the situation was so strange and alarming to her, she began asking everyone she knew, “rebels, factions, human rights activists,” about the abduction of Alawite women from the coast. “Unfortunately, many confirmed that this had indeed happened, and not just by one faction. Based on what friends said, accusations point to factions of the National Army and some foreign fighters, with varying motives,” she reported.
Syria’s new HTS-led security forces have incorporated armed extremist groups, including Uyghurs from the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) and Syrian Turkmen from factions of the Turkish-intelligence-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), into their ranks since coming to power in Damascus.
Various SNA commanders and foreign extremists have been appointed to top positions in the Syrian Ministry of Defense.
While the HTS-dominated General Security units participated in the March 7 massacres in many areas, former SNA and foreign fighter factions are believed to have led the campaign. Militants went door to door in Alawite villages and neighborhoods, executing all military-aged men they could find, looting homes, and at times killing women, children, and the elderly.
Ezzedeen concluded her post by stating, “This is a serious issue that cannot be ignored. The government must immediately reveal the fate of these women and release them.”
Rather than investigate the issue and seek to rescue the captive women, the HTS-appointed governor of Idlib issuedan order for Ezzedeen’s arrest, claiming she had “insulted the hijab.”
Ezzedeen’s courageous revelation shed light on the fate of many young women from minority communities who had mysteriously disappeared in recent months, after self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and HTS toppled Assad and took power in Damascus.
A pattern of abductions
In one of the earliest cases, a young Druze woman from the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, Karolis Nahlah, disappeared on the morning of February 2, 2024, while on her way to university in the Mezzeh area. The case was strange because no ransom was demanded, and nothing was heard of her again.
Over time, information began to trickle out that young women like Karolis were being kidnapped and taken to Idlib as slaves, as Hiba Ezzedeen finally confirmed.
Above: Screenshot of a Facebook post inquiring about the whereabouts of the missing Karolis Nahla. The caption reads: “Karolis Nahla has been missing since yesterday. She is a second year university student studying French Literature. She had class at 9:00 am. At 12:00 pm we lost contact with her. Please, if anybody knows anything about her or has seen her, inform us.”
On March 21, Bushra Yassin Mufarraj, an Alawite mother of two, went missing from the bus station in Jableh. Her husband later posted a video appeal stating she had been abducted and taken to Idlib. “My wife was taken captive in Idlib. Is there anything more cruel that could happen to a man in the world? That his wife and the mother of his children be in such circumstances,” he stated in a video appeal for help published on social media 10 days later.
Bushra’s disappearance was followed by a wave of kidnappings in the following days and weeks. The Kurdish Jinha Agency reported on 25 March, citing local reports, that more than 100 people were kidnapped by armed groups in Syria’s coastal regions over the previous 48 hours, including many women.
On April 5, 21-year-old Katia Jihad Qarqat went missing. The last contact with her was at 9:20 am near a shop at the Bahra circle in Jdeidat Artouz in the Damascus countryside. Her family pleaded that anyone who had seen or had any information about her should contact them.
Above: A screenshot of a social media post inquiring about the whereabouts of the missing Katia Jihad Qarqat. The caption reads: “A girl has gone missing in the Damascus countryside. The young woman, Katia, was last seen yesterday Friday, at 9:20 AM near a shop at the Bahra circle in Jdeidat Artouz. She is from the village of Hina and is a third-year university student. Anyone who has seen her or has any information is kindly asked to contact the following number 0994479206.”
On April 8, 17-year-old Sima Suleiman Hasno went missing at 11:00 am after leaving her school in the village of Qardaha in the Latakia countryside. Sima was released four days later in Damascus, where she was handed over to her aunt by members of the HTS-led Syrian government. Surveillance footage from shops near the abduction site circulated widely on social media, sparking widespread outrage.
On April 11, at 4:00 pm, contact was lost with 22-year-old Raneem Ghazi Zarifa in the Hama countryside, in the city of Masyaf. “We are extremely worried about her. We ask that anyone with information about her, no matter how small, please contact us immediately,” her family said in a social media post.
On April 14, Batoul Arif Hassan, a young married woman with a three-year-old child from Safita, disappeared after visiting family in the village of Bahouzi. Contact was lost with her around 4:00 pm as she was traveling in a public minibus on the Homs–Safita Road. Her family asked in a social media post for anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact her brother by phone.
On the morning of April 16, Aya Talal Qassem, 23, was kidnapped after leaving her home in the coastal city of Tartous. Three days later, Aya’s kidnapper freed her and sent her to Tartous on the Homs highway, only for the HTS-led General Prosecution Service to detain her.
Aya’s mother posted a video to social media explaining that her family was not allowed to be with her in detention and that her father was arrested when he insisted on seeing her. The mother said that the General Prosecution Service tried to force Aya to give testimony, saying that she was not kidnapped but had instead run away with a lover. The mother added that she was pressured to tell such a story despite the presence of bleeding cuts and wounds on her body.
A video was posted online of the moment of her emotional return home to eagerly awaiting family and relatives. On April 21, 26-year-old Nour Kamal Khodr was abducted with her two daughters, 5-year-old Naya Maher Qaidban and 3-year-old Masa Maher Qaidban.
Nour and her daughters left their home in the village of Al-Mashrafa in rural Homs at noon, heading toward a neighbor’s house. Witnesses saw a masked group affiliated with the HTS-led General Security abduct them, placing them in a vehicle marked with the group’s emblem before fleeing.
Echoes of Sinjar
By April 17, Iraqi media outlet Al-Daraj reported on ten confirmed kidnappings of Alawite women from the coastal regions. According to one survivor, pseudonym Rahab, she was abducted in broad daylight and held in a locked room with another woman.
One woman who spoke to Al-Daraj under the pseudonym Rahab was released after the kidnappers allegedly feared a raid by General Security. She said she was kidnapped in broad daylight and held in a room with another woman, stating:
“They tortured and beat us. We weren’t allowed to speak to each other, but I heard the kidnappers’ accents. One had a foreign accent and the other a local Idlib accent. I knew this because they were cursing us because we were Alawites.”
The other woman, held with her, pseudonym Basma, remains in captivity. She was forced to call her family to tell them she was “fine” and to assure them that “they should not publish anything” about her abduction.
Al-Daraj also documented the case of an 18-year-old girl who was also kidnapped in broad daylight, from the countryside of a coastal city in Syria. Her family later received a text message warning them to remain silent about her abduction or else she would be sent back dead. The girl later sent the family a voice recording from a phone number registered in the Ivory Coast, saying she was fine and unsure where she had been taken.
The Iraqi media outlet compared these cases to the ISIS genocide of Yezidis in Sinjar. Over 6,400 Yezidis were enslaved by ISIS in 2014. Thousands were trafficked into Syria and Turkiye, sold as domestic or sex slaves, or trained for battle. Many remain missing.
HTS: The ideological continuity of ISIS
That Alawite women are now appearing in Idlib is unsurprising given HTS’s ideological lineage. HTS, which seized Idlib in 2015 with CIA-supplied TOW missiles, shares the same genocidal worldview as ISIS. It was founded by ISIS and led by Sharaa – then known as Abu Mohammad al-Julani, who was dispatched to Syria in 2011 by the late “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to establish the Nusra Front, forerunner to HTS.
In 2014, Syria analyst Sam Heller therefore described Nusra’s clerics as promoting “toxic – even genocidal – sectarianism,” towards Alawites, based on the teachings of the medieval Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah.
Though HTS and ISIS clashed in 2014, their ties endured. When Baghdadi was killed in 2019, he was hiding in Barisha, just outside HTS-held Sarmada. At the time, numerous enslaved Yezidis were also in Idlib.
The Guardianconfirmed this, quoting Abdullah Shrem, a Yezidi rescuer, and Alexander Hug of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), who said missing persons were often held “in areas beyond government control.”
In 2019, Ali Hussein, a Yezidi from Dohuk, toldNPR journalist Jane Arraf of his attempt to purchase the freedom of an 11-year-old Yezidi girl who had been abducted by ISIS but was “sold to an emir of an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria – Jabhat al-Nusra [Nusra Front] – [and] that she’s no longer a virgin.”
“I told you $45,000 from the beginning. I know what they pay in Raqqa. I told you, in Turkiye, they would pay $60,000 or $70,000 and take out the girl’s organs. But I don’t want to do that,” the ISIS contact threatened during the negotiation.
Reuters reported the rescue of a young Yezidi boy, Rojin, who had been captured and enslaved by ISIS along with his brother in 2014. At 13 years old, Rojin was taken to the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in eastern Syria. He was held there alongside thousands of ISIS families and supporters after the organization’s final defeat in the Syrian border town of Baghouz in 2019.
The Saudi ISIS fighter who had purchased Rojin then arranged for him to be smuggled from Al-Hol to Idlib. He was freed five years later, in November 2024, as HTS was preparing its lightning assault on Aleppo.
Reuters reported that in another case, a 21-year-old Yezidi named Adnan Zandenan received a Facebook message from a younger brother he presumed was dead, but who also had been trafficked to Idlib.
“My hands were trembling. I thought one of my friends was messing with me,” Zandenan recalled. However, Zandenan’s euphoria quickly turned to despair when his brother, now 18 years old and thoroughly brainwashed by extremist Salafi ideology, refused to leave Idlib and return to the Yezidi community in Sinjar.
The repackaged caliphate
In December 2024, just one day after Julani’s HTS entered Damascus to topple Assad, Rudaw reported that a 29-year-old Yezidi woman had been rescued from slavery in Idlib. The Iraqi Kurdish outlet stated that many Yezidi women have been rescued from the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp.
However, others “have been found in areas of Syria controlled by rebels [HTS] or Turkish-backed armed groups [SNA], and some have been located in third countries,” it added.
In the days following Assad’s fall, jubilant crowds took to city squares, chanting in support of Julani, now rebranded as Ahmad al-Sharaa. Yet as western diplomats scrambled to meet the new ruler, the meaning of his “freedom” quickly became clear. The abductions of Alawite women – mirroring the Yezidi tragedy –signaled that Julani had simply repackaged the ISIS model.
Under the guise of liberation, a brutal system of sectarian violence, enslavement, and rape was unleashed upon those now under his rule. In response to growing denial, genocide expert Matthew Barber warned of the same pattern that surrounded the initial days of the Yezidi genocide: disbelief, dismissal, and derision – until the truth proved far worse.
“No one believed it could be happening … Even Western analysts and journalists did not believe our claims,” Barber said. “The reality was even worse than what we were claiming.”
The victims’ silence is not voluntary – it is coerced. And as this campaign of gendered terror continues, the question remains: How long will the world avert its gaze?
END
IRAN
Trump: I didn’t stop Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear sites
In a TIME interview, Trump predicted Saudi Arabia would join the Abraham Accords and discussed the possibility of military action against Iran.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, REUTERSAPRIL 25, 2025 13:38Updated: APRIL 25, 2025 14:34
U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain’s King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025.(photo credit: REUTERS/KEVIN LAMARQUE)
US President Donald Trump denied recent reports that he had prevented Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, saying “that’s not right,” in an interview with TIME magazine on Friday.
When asked for clarification, he explained, “No, it’s not right. I didn’t stop them [Israel]. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, because I think we can make a deal without the attack. I hope we can. It’s possible we’ll have to attack because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. But I didn’t make it comfortable for them, but I didn’t say no. Ultimately, I was going to leave that choice to them, but I said I would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped.”
In the interview with TIME, Trump was asked about his direct talks with Iran and whether he would be open to meeting with Iran’s President or Supreme Leader. He responded affirmatively, stating, “Sure.”
Trump also said he believes “Saudi Arabia will go into the Abraham Accords,” adding “that will happen.”
TIME reported that Trump takes pride in having encouraged European nations to invest more in their security and in promoting peace between Israel and several Arab neighbors during his first term.
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shaking hands while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on (illustrative). (credit: BANDAR ALGALOUD/COURTESY OF SAUDI ROYAL COURT/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS, Canva, REUVEN KASTRO, SHUTTERSTOCK)
Trump discusses Netanyahu, Ozturk case
Regarding concerns that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu might drag him into a war with Iran, Trump expressed no worry, stating simply, “No.”
On March 25, Rumeysa Ozturk, a Ph.D. student at Tufts University, was detained by ICE agents while heading to an Iftar dinner. She was taken to a facility in Louisiana, and her bond was denied. The government has not provided evidence of her support for Hamas or charged her with a crime.
A DHS official cited an op-ed she co-wrote criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as a reason for her detention. Trump stated he was unaware of her case but would consider reviewing any evidence against her.
Kremlin Issues Nuclear Warning Aimed At West As Ukraine Peace Efforts Stall
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025 – 05:00 PM
Russia has issued a fresh nuclear warning aimed at the West at an ultra-sensitive moment that diplomatic engagement with the US on efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine are stalling.
Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu laid out in fresh comments that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons if under direct aggression from Western nations, which includes close ally Belarus coming under threat.
Shoigu reminded the world that new amendments made to Russia’s nuclear doctrine back in November means Russian leaders can “use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against it or the Republic of Belarus, including with the use of conventional weapons.”
He further warned nuclear doctrine can be activated “in the event of foreign states committing unfriendly actions that pose a threat to the sovereignty and territory integrity of the Russian Federation, our country considers it legitimate to take symmetric and asymmetric measures necessary to suppress such actions and prevent their recurrence.”
There was a carrot-and-stick aspect to the fresh warning, given that Shoigu pivoted to saying Russia is ready to forge a new nuclear pact with Washington, despite soaring tensions centered on Ukraine.
“Russia is prepared to resume talks on nuclear arms control with the US, two years after suspending the last accord limiting their atomic arsenals,” he has been further quoted in international reports as saying.
“The administration of Donald Trump is currently demonstrating a readiness to resume dialogue on the issue of strategic stability,” Shoigu told TASS in an interview published Thursday. “We are ready for such work.”
The hope is that some kind of new strategic pact could come out of recent efforts of US and Russian delegations to normalize diplomatic relations during bilateral talks.
Both sides have by now recognized that the conflict in Ukraine is a proxy war pitting NATO against nuclear-armed Russia. Russia increasingly has international backers too, and is reportedly using Iranian and North Korean advanced weapons.
Prior to the war’s start, one activist group and nuclear monitor, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), estimated that a nuclear war between the US and Russia would see nearly 100 million casualties in just the first few hours of nuclear warhead exchanges alone.
“34.1 million people could die, and another 57.4 million could be injured, within the first few hours of the start of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States triggered by one low-yield nuclear weapon, according to a new simulation by researcher’s at Princeton‘s Science and Global Security program,” the group said.
END
RUSSIA/USA ET AL
Trump: Russia’s Concession To Ukraine Is Not Taking Over The Entire Country
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025 – 04:50 PM
Update(1650ET): Reporters in the White House press pool challenged President Trump over some of his latest remarks regarding Ukraine and the possibility of peace.
While in the Oval Office sitting across from Norway’s prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump was asked what concessions Russia has “offered up thus far to get to the point where you’re closer to peace.” He quipped somewhat sarcastically, “Stopping the war, stopping from taking the whole country” — which he called a “pretty big concession.”
Trump says that Russia’s concession to Ukraine is not taking over the entire country pic.twitter.com/n6NbQArmP6
Zelensky has made clear over the last few days that he’s not on board with Trump’s strategy, which has featured offering recognition of Russian ownership of Crimea as a key concession. These latest words from the US President yet again illustrate that he believes Ukraine has no chance of winning the war, and that he’s being a pragmatist and realist in seeking substantial concessions by Kiev.
When asked about whether the US might (again) cut weapons to Kiev and intelligence-sharing, Trump responded, “Let’s see what happens; I think we’re going to make a deal; ask that question in two weeks.”
But Trump apparently plans to keep up the pressure on Moscow. A Thursday Bloomberg report says the US will push Russia to acknowledge Ukraine’s right to maintain its military and defense sector as part of any future peace deal.
Steve Witkoff is expected to present the demand to Putin in the next upcoming round of negotiations. Among Putin’s key objectives in the war remains the ‘demilitarization’ of Ukraine.
* * *
Amid stalled US-led peace talks, Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine, including raining down ballistic missiles on the center of Kiev, unleashing large-scale death and destruction.
At least nine people have been reported killed and over 70 injured in the capital city, in what was one of the largest and deadliest missile strikes on Ukraine in months. Some other cities, including Kharkiv, were also hit.
Anti-aircraft systems began engaging inbound missiles and drones at about 1am local time. But after drones and missiles were able to make it through, several buildings – including a factory – and a house, as well as cars, were set on fire.
BBC writes, “An apartment block was completely flattened during the attack and the windows of surrounding buildings were blown out and balconies ripped down.”
“Russia has launched a massive combined strike on Kyiv,” Ukraine’s state emergency service announced on Telegram. “According to preliminary data, nine people were killed, 63 injured.”
President Trump early Thursday condemned the attack, saying he’s “not happy” with the Russian move. “Vladimir, STOP!” he wrote on Truth Social. “5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”
A large rescue effort has been underway given a missile head a densely populated area, with Ukraine’s interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, saying of Svyatoshinsky district of Kiev, “Mobile phones can be heard ringing under the ruins. The search will continue until everybody is got out. We have information about two children who cannot be found at the scene of the incident.”
Ukrainian officials have cited that some 70 missiles and up to 150 drones were used against several cities in the devastating overnight attack.
BBC footage from the Russian attack in Kyiv last night.
According to available information, at least 8 people were killed during the strikes in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian Air Force informed that Russia launched 11 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, 37 Kh-101… pic.twitter.com/zucVYlpWi9
This new Thursday attack on the capital was the deadliest since last year’s July 8 attack on Kiev, which left 34 people dead and 121 injured.
It comes after the Zelensky government has expressed frustration that the White House should be more concerned and standing by Ukraine’s side, instead of holding bilateral talks toward diplomatic normalization with Russia.
The latest Trump and Zelensky back-and-forth has focused on Crimea. Trump on Wednesday slammed the Ukrainian leader for rejecting a US proposal that would see Kiev give up all claims on Crimea. Trump pointed out that Crimea “was lost years ago” and that Zelensky has “no cards to play”.
Zelensky then cited the 2018 “Crimea declaration” by Trump’s then secretary of state Mike Pompeo, which laid out that the United States “rejects Russia’s attempted annexation”.
Emotions have run high today. But it is good that 5 countries met to bring peace closer. Ukraine, the USA, the UK, France and Germany. The sides expressed their views and respectfully received each other’s positions. It’s important that each side was not just a participant but… pic.twitter.com/lDFV5WK8tw
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 23, 2025
“There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine,” Zelensky had initially told reporters of the question of giving up Crimea permanently.
But Vice President JD Vance had also articulated while traveling in India, “We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process.”
Kyiv is under Russian attack. 21 people are hospitalized, including a pregnant woman and three children. pic.twitter.com/IQZw9TkV8I
He emphasized “The only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine.”
Freezing the war now would certainly give Russian forces a huge advantage, given the immense territory in the East they now hold, and this is in large part why Zelensky is refusing such a deal.
end
RUSSIA/UKRAINE
Not good for peace
(zerohedge)
Senior Russian General Assassinated In Car Blast Just Ahead Of Witkoff-Putin Meeting
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 08:45 AM
A top Russian general has been assassinated in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities have confirmed. The city lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow.
The deceased has been identified as Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, who died when a “homemade” explosive device detonated under his Volkswagen Golf, according to TASS. Shrapnel ripped through the area and what appears to be a residential neighborhood.
Crucially news of the blast and killing was breaking just prior to President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
The two sides are trying to find a way forward toward Ukraine peace settlement, which President Zelensky has clearly not been on board with.
Witkoff was in his meeting with Putin at the Kremlin by early Friday afternoon, during which time news of Gen. Mokalik’s assassination, accompanied by shocking video of the event, was spreading around the world. Witkoff also met with senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev.
An initial investigation at the scene has resulted in authorities describing that the improvised explosive device was packed with shrapnel.
The Guardiandescribes that “A video circulating on Russian social media captured the moment the car exploded, while additional images showed the vehicle completely burnt out.” Ukrainian leaders have yet to comment on the bombing.
“The latest apparent Ukrainian operation is unlikely to sit well with the Trump administration, which has been desperate to show tangible progress on peace before Trump’s 100th day in office next week,” The Guardian continues.
Videos of the car bombing suggest the person(s) behind clips like the below knew of the attack ahead of time…
Another Russian General assassinated in Moscow via car bomb. The war is only going to become more and more asymmetrical with time. pic.twitter.com/qemmLN8G9v
The Friday meeting and visit to Moscow was Witkoff’s fourth trip and meeting with Putin, at a moment Moscow says it’s “ready” for peace, but has called for Ukrainian forces’ exit from the four annexed territories, and insisted that Crimea belongs to Russia forever.
Given the timing, was this Ukrainian or other European intelligence services sending a message?
💥 Explosion in Moscow — Russian Army General Moskalyuk has been killed.
– just in time as Trump’s envoy Witkoff arrives in Moscow for Peace Talks with Putin pic.twitter.com/5xREq3y3uL
Throughout the course of the war there’s been a string of similar high profile assassinations involving car and cafe bombs.
The August 2022 killing of Darya Dugina, daughter of ultranationalist political commentator Alexander Dugin, is among the most well known. Her vehicle exploded while it traveled in a Moscow suburb, in assassination likely meant for her father. Also, the Ukrainians owned up to killing senior Russian general Igor Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpovwho. They died in a December 2024 scooter blast outside Kirillov’s apartment. He headed Russia’s Radiological, Biological, Chemical Defense Forces.
6. GLOBAL ISSUES//COVID ISSUES/VACCINE ISSUES/HEALTH ISSUE
RFK Jr. Responds To Report He’s Considering Removing COVID-19 Vaccines From CDC Schedule
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 23 did not deny that he’s considering removing COVID-19 vaccines from the childhood vaccination schedule.
“We need to ask questions and we need to consult with parents, we need to give people informed consent, and we shouldn’t be making recommendations that are not good for the population,” Kennedy said during an appearance on Fox News.
Politico, citing anonymous sources, reported this week that Kennedy is mulling the removal of COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s schedule for children.
An official with the Department of Health and Human Services, which Kennedy heads, told The Epoch Times in an email that “no final decision has been made.”
The CDC, which is part of the department, did not return an inquiry.
Kennedy said on Fox that President Donald Trump does not believe that any person should be required to receive a vaccine, and noted that all vaccines carry risks.
“The COVID vaccine, the recommendation for kids was always dubious,” Kennedy said.
“And it was dubious because kids had almost no risk for COVID-19. Some kids—certain kids that had very profound morbidities—may have a slight risk. Most kids don’t, so why are we giving this to tens of millions of kids? Because the vaccine itself does have profound risks.”
Kennedy noted that established side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include a form of heart inflammation called myocarditis and a related condition called pericarditis. He also pointed out that 15 vaccinated participants in Pfizer’s clinical trial died, compared with 14 participants who did not receive the company’s vaccine.
Three COVID-19 vaccines are currently available for use in the United States: one from Pfizer, one from Moderna, and one from Novavax.
Advisers to the CDC recommended in 2022 that the agency add COVID-19 vaccines to the schedule, concluding that the benefits of the shots outweighed the risks. The CDC in 2023 added them to the schedule.
According to the schedule, all children who have never received a COVID-19 vaccine should receive at least one dose, depending on their age, while those who have received a vaccine in the past should receive at least one additional dose. Unlike many vaccines on the schedule, the COVID-19 vaccine has not been made compulsory for school attendance in states.
Kennedy said during his confirmation hearings, “I recommend that children follow the CDC schedule, and I will support the CDC schedule when I get in there if I’m fortunate enough to be confirmed.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, who had been considering voting against Kennedy, said in a speech on the Senate floor that Kennedy committed to maintaining the vaccine schedule without changes. Cassidy later wrote on social media platform X that the commitment “never precluded him from conducting sound scientific research” and that he was “confident any reputable review will further confirm settled science of the safety and efficacy of the childhood vaccine schedule.”
Only 13 percent of children have received one of the COVID-19 vaccines with the 2024–2025 formula, according to CDC data.
Children could still get a COVID-19 vaccine if it is removed from the schedule, but insurance may not pay for it if the removal happens.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), also a physician, wrote on X, “Secretary Kennedy would be well within his right to reverse the CDC’s Covid-19 vaccine recommendation for children.”
Harris said he has been concerned that the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children “were based on politics rather than science.”
The CDC’s advisers recently discussed telling the agency to narrow its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. The advisers plan to convene again over the summer to weigh the matter.
Jessica Adams, a former officer with the Food and Drug Administration, said on X that she supports updating the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations but that having the advisers back a change “would be helpful for the full public to embrace this move.”
This looks really bad. Media finally doing its job. How will his robo-boomer voters respond to dishonesty so flagrant even his media fan club is asking tough questions?
When in doubt trot Trump out is wearing thin….and Carney seems frantic.
The people behind him look like they are into full-scale trauma mode.
MICHAEL EVERY/PHIL MAREY/OR OTHER EXECS //RABOBANK
7.OIL AND NATURAL GAS ISSUES/GLOBAL/ENERGY/
8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUES/
INDIA PAKISTAN
RE: ESCALATION AFTER 26 TOURISTS MURDERED IN KASHMIR
India, Pakistan Trade Gunfire & Build-Up Militaries After Kashmir Terror Attack
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 12:00 PM
Tensions between historic nuclear-armed enemies Indian and Pakistan are soaring, with Western officials closely watching amid fears they are barreling toward a new war along the border. The United Nations is desperately urging ‘maximum restraint’.
Indian officials have confirmed Friday that Indian and Pakistani soldiers briefly exchanged fire along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, according to The Associated Press.
Small arms were used by both sides in the gunfight, and no casualties have as of yet been reported, a briefing by an Indian official indicated, in the first such live-fire incident since 2021. It also violates a pledge from the same year for the two nations to observe a ceasefire along the disputed Line of Control between Indian and Pakistani controlled areas of Kashmir.
Widely circulating videos suggest that India has been rushing troops and military equipment to the border in readiness for potential escalation or any scenario.
No details have been issued as to the precise location of the new exchange of gunfire:
Indian army sources told Al Jazeera on Friday that the Pakistani side initiated the shooting. A government official in Pakistan-administered Kashmir also confirmed to the AFP news agency on Friday that troops exchanged fire, but did not say who started the exchange.
“There was no firing on the civilian population,” Syed Ashfaq Gilani, the Pakistani official, told AFP.
A war of words and accusations have broken out between Pakistani and Indian officials after India on Tuesday suffered one of its worst terror attacks in recent years. Islamist gunmen conducted mass killings in a picturesque and tourist-poplar spot in the disputed and Indian-administered region of Kashmir.
BREAKING: Pakistan’s military armoured brigades are now being deployed towards the Indian border. pic.twitter.com/5oYI0BYJGR
26 people were killed, and nearly all of the dead were travelers visiting a popular tourist destination in the Baisaran Valley, which is only accessible by foot or horseback. A huge military rescue operation and search for victims ensued.
Indian leaders and media have been charging that Pakistan had harbored and backed the militant group that committed the atrocities. But Islamabad has shot back with accusations that India orchestrated a false flag.
Pakistani Defesce Minister Khawaja Asif claimed in a Thursday interview with Al Jazeera that the attack was “orchestrated” and rejected India’s claims that Pakistan was involved.
India is booting out all Pakistanis, canceling their visas and sealing the border, while both sides have effectively closed their airspace to the other. Crucially Indian has also canceled a landmark water treaty which determines usage of several rivers which crisscross both countries.
Indian shares were the worst performers in Asia on Friday amid the soaring tensions…
🇮🇳🇵🇰INDIAN MARKETS SINK AS PAKISTAN TENSIONS SPIKE
Stocks, bonds, and the rupee all tumbled as fears of conflict with Pakistan rattled traders.
The Nifty 50 dropped 1.5%, small- and mid-caps plunged over 3%, and the rupee hit a two-week low.
The water issue will could impact hundreds of millions of people on both sides of the border, as the 1960 Indus Water Treaty delineates how water is distributed and used from six rivers that flow through both countries, starting in disputed regions of the Himalayas in the north.
Pakistan’s National Security Committee has declared that if India moves forward with suspending the Indus Water Treaty, which was carefully mediated by the World Bank, it “will be considered as an Act of War.”
Meanwhile, India’s Prime Minister Modi has pledged to hunt the gunmen to the “ends of the earth”, after a little-knowns group calling itself “The Resistance Front” claimed responsibility for the attack in a social media post.
/INDIA/USA
India Throws Trump A Harley-Davidson Olive Branch In Trade Talks
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 04:15 AM
President Donald Trump hinted overnight at a potential easing of the trade war with Beijing, suggesting that the current 145% tariffs on Chinese goods “could come down substantially”—though he added, “but it won’t be zero.” The trade news extended beyond China as Vice President Vance continued his four-day visit to India, raising new hopes for a swift trade agreement.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources, the Narendra Modi-led administration may have extended an olive branch to the Trump administration by potentially lowering trade barriers for U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson, specifically for motorbikes with engine capacities over 750cc or more in India.
Here’s more color on the Harley-Davidson olive branch:
The offer aims to tear down tariff barriers largely for the iconic American bike maker Harley-Davidson Inc. and will expand on India’s budget-time concessions when duties on motorcycles up to 1600cc were slashed to 40% from 50% earlier. The market for such high-capacity motorcycles in India is a tiny fraction of the nearly 16 million units sold every year, making this concession relatively painless for the local industry.
India is also willing to extend a similar zero-for-zero duty arrangement to auto parts, another category where it sees export competitiveness and minimal domestic resistance, people familiar said.
The Harley-Davidson olive branch also comes after Trump slapped 26% reciprocal tariffs on India, but soon after, paused for 90 days so both sides could hammer out trade deals. Still, the baseline 10% tariff remains.
On Monday, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and VP Vance said trade talks between both countries made “significant” progress.
On Tuesday, VP Vance also touted progress toward a U.S.-India trade deal while speaking in the northwestern Indian city of Jaipur.
“Both of our governments are hard at work on a trade agreement built on shared priorities, like creating new jobs, building durable supply chains and achieving prosperity for our workers,” VP Vance said, adding, “In our meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Modi and I made very good progress on all of those points, and we’re especially excited to formally announce that America and India have officially finalized the terms of reference for the trade negotiations. I think this is a vital step toward realizing President Trump and Prime Minister Modi’s vision because it sets a roadmap toward a final deal between our nations. I believe there is much America and India can accomplish together.”
VP Vance also noted: “Americans want further access to Indian markets. This is a great place to do business, and we want to give our people more access to this country. And Indians, we believe, will thrive from greater commerce in the United States. This is very much a win-win partnership. It certainly will be far into the future.”
YOUR EARLY CURRENCY/GOLD AND SILVER PRICING/ASIAN CLOSING MARKETS AND EUROPEAN BOURSE OPENING AND CLOSING/ INTEREST RATE SETTINGS FRIDAY MORNING 6;30AM//OPENING AND CLOSING
EURO/USA: 1.1362 DOWN 0.0011 PTS OR 11 BASIS POINTS
USA/ YEN 143.29 UP 0.440 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 1.3313 DOWN.0014 OR 14 BASIS PTS
USA/CAN DOLLAR: 1.3891 UP 0.0025 (CDN DOLLAR UP 25 BASIS PTS)
Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE CLOSED DOWN 2.23 PTS OR 0.07%
Hang Seng CLOSED UP 70.98 PTS OR 0.37%
AUSTRALIA CLOSED UP 0.61%
// EUROPEAN BOURSE: ALL GREEN
Trading from Europe and ASIA
I) EUROPEAN BOURSES: ALL GREEN
2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED UP 70.98 PTS OR 0.37%
/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 2.23 PTS OR 0.07%
AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED UP 0.61%
(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 661.59 PTS OR 1.90%
INDIA’S SENSEX IN THE RED
Gold very early morning trading: 3298.50
silver:$33.33
USA dollar index early FRIDAY morning: 99.36 UP .28 BASIS POINTS FROM THURSDAY’s CLOSE.
As a reminder, Goldman explained that the Michigan measure has been especially susceptible to the tariff news recently for three reasons.
First, inflation expectations in the survey have become extremely partisan.
Second, the share of respondents in the Michigan survey who are Democrats has always been consistently higher than the share of respondents who are Republicans
Third, switching from a phone-based to an online-based data collection process has led to more extreme answers on inflation expectations.
These three issues together have boosted short-term inflation expectations in the Michigan survey by about 1.3pp and long-term inflation expectations by 0.5pp since 2024Q4. In particular, the change in distribution across political parties and increased partisanship together generated an outsized 1.0pp boost to the 1-year inflation expectation in February.
So, with all that in mind, let’s see what the final data looks like – did it get even crazier?
The short answer is – YES!
UMich 1Yr inflation expectations rose to 6.5% (slightly lower than the 6.8% expected but still the highest since Nov 1981) while the 5-10Y expectations jumped to 4.4% – the highest since June 1991…
Source: Bloomberg
The gaping chasm of propaganda-driven fear is evident below the surface with Republicans expected 0.4% inflation while Democrats expect – wait for it – 8.0% price rises in the next year (Independents also saw inflation expectations rising)…
Source: Bloomberg
Source: Bloomberg
Bear in mind that Democrat’s 1Yr inflation expectations are now more than 2 times higher than they were in June 2021 when inflation would actually rise to 9%. Back then the Democrats were only off by a factor of 3x.
The final April sentiment index declined to 52.2 from 57 a month earlier, but this was considerably better than the 50.8 preliminary number and the median estimate of 50.5 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
“While this month’s deterioration was particularly strong for middle-income families, expectations worsened for vast swaths of the population across age, education, income, and political affiliation,” Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.
“ Consumers perceived risks to multiple aspects of the economy, in large part due to ongoing uncertainty around trade policy and the potential for a resurgence of inflation looming ahead.”
The survey showed the expectations index plunged 11.4 points, the sharpest drop since 2021, to 52.6 this month. The current conditions gauge decreased to a six-month low of 63.8.
Source: Bloomberg
After five straight months of disappointments, April saw the biggest beat for headline UMich sentiment since June 2024…
Source: Bloomberg
“ Labor market expectations remained bleak,’’ Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement.
“ Even more concerning for the path of the economy, consumers anticipated weaker income growth for themselves in the year ahead. Without reliably strong incomes, spending is unlikely to remain strong amid the numerous warnings signs perceived by consumers.”
Compare UMich’s survey for the longer-term inflation expectations, according to Democrats, to what the market is pricing in…
Source: Bloomberg
Is it really any surprise that even Fed Chair Jay Powell dismisses this survey’s farcical numbers as a partisan outlier.
USA ECONOMIC NEWS
LOS ANGELES
First Tariff Shock Set To Hit Port Of Los Angeles, With Ripple Effects Across The Broader Economy
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025 – 10:35 PM
Ocean freight transit times from Shanghai to Los Angeles typically range from 14 to 40 days, with faster services—such as CMA CGM’s expedited routes—delivering containers in as little as three weeks. With 145% tariffs now applied to most Chinese imports, the full economic impact will likely emerge with a lag of about a month or more as reduced import volumes and supply chain disruptions begin to take effect. Early high-frequency indicators already suggest those disruptions are imminent.
Let’s review the key trade war developments since President Trump, following “Liberation Day” on April 2, announced a tsunami of tariff hikes on Chinese imports to 145% on April 11.
On Wednesday, new data from Port Optimizer, a tracking system for vessel operators, showed that scheduled import volumes into the Port of Los Angeles are set to decline sharply beginning on Sunday.
Adding to the conversation, FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller posted on X that trucking activity at the LA Port, the largest container port in the Western Hemisphere, has just plunged …
“Year-over-year trucking activity out of Los Angeles down 23%. It will likely drop to 50% in the coming weeks if there isn’t trade war resolution,” Fuller said.
Year-over-year trucking activity out of Los Angeles down 23%.
It will likely drop to 50% in the coming weeks if there isn't trade war resolution.
He warned: “Massive layoffs coming to the West Coast trucking sector.”
The incoming disruption at Port LA will soon result in sliding containerized flows from China, which will ripple through the Southern California economy.
Here’s how the disruption could unfold:
Plunging Container Volumes
Volume Drop: A decline in imports would slash throughput at the port, disrupting operations that rely on consistent traffic for profitability.
Revenue Hit: The Port of LA, which generates revenue through container handling fees, leases, and other port services, would face a significant decline in income.
Job Losses
Dockworkers & Terminal Staff: ILWU labor hours would be cut; possible layoffs or furloughs.
Truckers & Warehouse Workers: Major layoffs in the Inland Empire’s massive logistics hub (Ontario, Riverside, etc.)—home to over 200 million square feet of warehousing.
Broader Economic Fallout (Southern California)
The logistics sector is the largest private employer in the Inland Empire. A large drop in volume could collapse parts of the warehouse economy.
Retail & Consumer Ripple Effects
Higher costs and shortages for imported goods would pressure retailers and consumers alike.
Port Diversions
Shippers would increasingly reroute to Mexican and Canadian ports, bypassing LA entirely.
Companies could shift sourcing to Mexico or other non-tariffed nations, reducing LA’s role as a China-facing import hub.
While the first wave of disruptions is materializing at Port LA and could soon ripple across the Inland Empire and then the Heartland, across the Pacific, high tariffs on Chinese goods have already sent factories in the world’s second-largest economy into a tailspin, as per a new Financial Times report:
Wang Xin, head of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association, an industry group representing more than 2,000 Chinese merchants, said many of them were “extremely anxious” and had told factories and suppliers to halt or delay deliveries. This had prompted some factories to suspend production for one to two weeks, she said.
. . .
It is unclear how widespread the factory suspensions are, said Han Dongfang, founder of China Labour Bulletin, which closely tracks Chinese manufacturing and labor. “The rearrangement of China’s manufacturing sector will be a long-term process and workers will be sacrificed,” he said.
What’s telling is that the Trump administration is bracing for impact and has likely viewed this port data as new signs emerge of possible de-escalation of the trade war with China.
“There will be a short term interruption… I don’t think it’s going to be big.” “There will be disruption”… Is President Trump preparing us for the Mass Start Awakening? pic.twitter.com/UfQX2ehiFG
The adjustment period seems imminent. Even before it fully arrives, Americans are already panic-searching for “USA products.”
It’s time to break the nation’s addiction to cheap Chinese goods and restore critical supply chains—an essential step to securing economic dominance in 2030 and beyond. Without these supply chains to produce drones, smartphones, chips, electric vehicles, and humanoid robots (all under similar ecosystems of production), it will be impossible to compete with China in the decades ahead. The adjustment period nears.
END
NEW YORK//COVID
‘Cuomo Lied, New Yorkers Died!’ – Protesters Storm Stage At Mayor Candidate Forum
Thursday, Apr 24, 2025 – 06:25 PM
As he continues his bid for the New York City mayor’s office, scandal-plagued former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was accosted by storm-staging protesters at a candidate forum on Wednesday evening. The young throng hurled profane insults at him, and condemned him for his deadly and dishonest mishandling of the Covid pandemic. Afterward, the organizer of the “Black Agenda for NYC” forum said it was a particular “disgrace” that some of the disrupters were white people.
Cuomo was in mid-sentence on the stage at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn when the group of perhaps 10 protesters stormed the stage, some shouting “Fuck you, Cuomo!” They tried but failed to unfurl a long banner — as NYPD officers wearing “Community Affairs” shirts quickly moved to intercept them.
It appears at least one of the prominent words on the banners was “KILL.” As they were ushered out of the auditorium, some of the protesters chanted “Cuomo Lied, New Yorkers Died!” That line of attack almost certainly refers to Cuomo’s catastrophic bungling of New York’s response to Covid-19, which struck during his tenure as governor. His administration was widely condemned for ordering nursing homes to accept Covid-positive patients who were discharging from hospitals — a mandate linked to upwards of 15,000 deaths. The Cuomo regime was also accused of deliberately understating the number of those long-term-care-resident deaths by some 50%.
Cuomo barely budged as the mayhem broke out and then engulfed him. When it subsided he said, “That’s part of the problem in this system, right? Too much politics, not enough substance, not enough discussion.” Later, he said, “If I don’t get protested about something, it’s a slow day…A lot of these issues are contentious. People have different opinions and God bless.” Speaking of God, Cuomo resigned his governorship in August 2021 after at least 11 women filed various accusations of unwelcome sexual advances by the now-67-year-old — from kisses to groping to creepy comments.
At the podium, Henry Butler, the vice chair of the Brooklyn Democrats and organizer of the event — and an endorser of Cuomo — expressed disgust that white people would attempt to affect black people’s opinions:
“The clown show is over. One of the issues and problems with the Democratic Party, who claim to be a big tent party, is that if you don’t have a certain view, then they try to shout you down. And I think it’s a disgrace when I see a bunch of young, WHITE progressives trying to tell black people who we should vote for. Do not tell us who we should vote for — we are educated, we know how to think for ourselves. We don’t need you here telling us what we should be doing and how we should vote!”
Contrary to Butler’s characterization, it appeared most of the protesters were black — including the first ones to mount the stage. If he’s blaming the white protesters for the actions of the black ones, that would seemingly contradict his assertion that black people “don’t need [whites]…telling us what we should be doing.” Regardless, his denunciation of the white presence predictably elicited loud cheers and applause from the crowd:
“I think it’s a disgrace when I see a bunch of young, white, progressives trying to tell Black people who we should vote for,” Brooklyn Dems Vice Chair Henry Butler, who’s endorsed Cuomo for mayor, said after the protesters were walked out. “We know how to think for ourselves.” pic.twitter.com/qPRDKXh227
It’s been a rough couple weeks for Cuomo. First, auditors reported that, under Cuomo, the state government poured $453 million into building an enormous stockpile of medical equipment essentially that went unused: Out of 247,343 medical devices purchased, the state wound up using only three pieces of equipment — then left it to decay in warehouses the state rented to hold the horde. It’s still sitting there five years after the pandemic arrived.
On Monday, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent a letter to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, renewing his committee’s criminal referral urging that Cuomo be investigated for making false statements to Congress — about the deadly nursing home scandal. The previous referral was ignored by the Biden administration.
Several candidates are running for the Democratic nomination, but a recent poll has Cuomo well out in front at 45%, leading Socialist, Muslim, ethnic-Indian, Uganda-born, New-York-raised, failed rapper and Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who’s the choice of 22% of likely voters. However, he’s surged from just 9% in January on a campaign centered on rent-freezes, free buses and free childcare funded in part by higher corporate taxes. Consistent with the messaging of the stage-stormers, he’s also attacked Cuomo on his handling of Covid-19.
"We will tax the most profitable corporations at the same rate as the radical socialist utopia of New Jersey and use those taxes to pay for things that'll improve the lives of every New Yorker."
If you enjoyed Wednesday night’s spectacle, there’s ample opportunity for more: The Democratic primary isn’t until June 24; the general election is on Nov. 4.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON
USA/ANTISEMITISM//HAMAS// REPORT
KING NEWS
The King Report April 25, 2025 Issue 7479
Independent View of the News
China Says US Should Revoke Unilateral Tariffs, Denies Talks – BBG 6:33 ET “The US should respond to rational voices in the international community and within its own borders and thoroughly remove all unilateral tariffs imposed on China, if it really wants to solve the problem,” Commence Ministry spokesman He Yadong said…
“Rational voices… within its own borders…” China is counting on the Fed, Dems, and the Establishment to undermine Trump’s tariff negotiations. ‘Capitalists will fight among themselves to sell us the rope that we will use to hang them!’
@RapidResponse47: REPORTER: Can you clarify with whom the U.S. is speaking with China? They’re saying it’s fake news that trade talks are happening. Trump: “Well, they had a meeting this morning… we may reveal it later, but they had meetings this morning, and we’ve been meeting with China.”.”” https://t.co/ZYkwgj7Hcx
German Finance Minister Joerg Kukies said in Washington that an agreement between the European Union and the US is possible in the 90-day period given by President Donald Trump: Reuters
Trump isn’t done criticizing Powell On Wednesday evening in the Oval Office, Trump said, “I might call” Powell — even though he hasn’t yet —and again repeated his criticism that “I believe he’s making a mistake by not lowering interest rates.” “He’s keeping rates too high,” Trump added as he argued the central bank chair didn’t act fast enough to push down inflation earlier this decade. “He historically has been late … he was recommended by a certain person I’m not particularly happy with.” https://t.co/YO6ZGSUiO1
Powell is Trump’s pinata, his fall guy for when the economy recedes.
Fed Gov Waller, who is friendly with DJT: “The president is free to say whatever he wants.” Waller added: Tariffs may have a one-time price effect and he supports rate cuts if unemployment rises.
Waller: Fed Can ‘Look Through’ One-Time Price Increases “The question is, what are the things that would cause this inflation to persist though the initial tariff increase? And I have a hard time seeing exactly what that would be.”… (On DJT’s Powell bashing) “Criticism of what we do, that’s the job. If you don’t like being criticized, don’t take the job.”
ESMs rallied moderately during early Nikkie trading on Thursday; but they hit a peak of 5421.00 at 20:09 ET. A persistent but orderly decline took ESMs to a daily low of 5355.25 at 4:44 ET. ESMs then rallied robustly, hitting 5409.75 at 6:53 ET. After a retreat to 5380.00 at 7:39 ET, ESMs commenced a rally that went nearly vertical at 9:34 ET.
After the surge ended at 10:37 E T, ESMs relentlessly plodded higher, with the only significant interruption being a 24-handle retreat from 14:50 ET TO 15:13 ET ESMs then spiked to 5541.50, the daily high, at 16:01 ET.
USMs rallied as much as 1 3/32 and closed +26/32. June Gold closed +66.20.
Positive aspects of previous session Stocks and bonds rallied sharply during early US trading. The NY Fang+ Index soared 5.14% on pattern buying for coming Mag 7 results.
Negative aspects of previous session The dollar declined moderately; gold rallied sharply.
Ambiguous aspects of previous session Has the rally for Q1 results finally commenced?
First Hour/Last Hour Action [S&P 500 Index]: 1st Hour from NYSE Open: Up; Last Hour: Up
Pivot Point for S&P 500 Index [above/below indicates daily trend to traders]: 5448.71 Previous session S&P 500 Index High/Low: 5489.40; 5371.96
@townhallcom: TRUMP: “We’ve been ripped off for many, many years…and countries have gotten rich by doing that with the United States...and I don’t blame those countries, I blame the people that sat that beautiful desk right behind you because those people didn’t do the job for this country. They let us lose $4 billion a day on trade…Disgraceful.”https://x.com/townhallcom/status/1915474463497609440
RUSSIA’S LAVROV SAYS ‘SEVERAL SIGNS’ MOVING TOWARD DEAL: CBS
Trump: Harvard a ‘threat to democracy’ “Harvard is an Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution, as are numerous others, with students being accepted from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart… The place is a Liberal mess, allowing a certain group of crazed lunatics to enter and exit the classroom and spew fake ANGER AND HATE. It is truly horrific! Now, since our filings began, they act like they are all ‘American Apple Pie,’” he added. https://www.wric.com/news/u-s-world/trump-harvard-a-threat-to-democracy/
After the NYSE close, Google (Alphabet) reported Sales ex-partner payout of $76,.5B, $75.4B expected; Net income 2.81, 2.01 consensus; dividend hiked .01 to .21; authorized $70B in buybacks; GOOGL jumped 6.5% in after-hour trading.
Today – The 5.14% in the NY Fang+ Index strongly suggests that the rally for Q1 results, which is usually led by Fangs/Mag7, has commenced. Google’s great results and massive share buyback should help today – unless the massive Mag 7/Fang rally was due to inside info on Google. The fear of tariffs and Powell’s dismissal have dissipated. Plus, today is Friday. So, traders will be bullish.
ESMs are +17.00; NQMs are + 95.00; and USMs are -7/32 at 20:15 ET.
Expected economic data: April UM Sentiment 50.6, 1-yr Inflation 6.8%, 5-10-yr Inflation 4.4%
S&P Index 50-day MA: 5647; 100-day MA: 5825; 150-day MA: 5825; 200-day MA: 5747 DJIA 50-day MA: 41,756; 100-day MA: 42,766; 150-day MA: 42,783; 200-day MA: 42,204 (Green is positive slope; Red is negative slope)
S&P 500 Index (5484.77 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 arenegative– a close above 5987.57 triggers a buy signal Daily: Trender is negative; MACD is positive – a close above 5645.69 triggers a buy signal Hourly: Trender and MACD are positive – a close below 5329.92 triggers a sell signal
New Poll Data Confirms the Democrats’ Worst Fears Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik didn’t sugarcoat the situation during a conversation with Mark Halperin on 2WAY. The latest poll numbers, he explained, confirm what many on the Left have feared for months: the Democratic Party is in serious trouble… First, Sosnik pointed to the seismic shift in party affiliation. “The electorate in 2024 was 6% less Democratic than compared to four years ago,” Halperin noted, asking if that level of movement was historically significant. Sosnik didn’t mince words: “The shift is significant, but more importantly… I can’t remember the last time that people who voted on Election Day — the majority, uh, plurality of them — were Democrats.”… https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2025/04/23/new-poll-data-confirms-the-democrats-worst-fears-n4939151
@RealAmVoice: THIS IS THE “MOST CONSERVATIVE GENERATION IN 50 YEARS” @Peoples_Pundit says “it is not a bad thing to be party of younger, less white people…you are reacting to negative sentiment!” @JackPosobiechttps://t.co/vdxVVGnbJZ
@WallStreetApes: Barack Obama: 75% of illegals deported received NO Due Process Bill Clinton: 90% of illegals deported received NO Due Process. All the sudden Democrats in 2025 want 100% of illegals to receive Due Process BECAUSE NOW IT’S ABOUT VOTES Barack Obama “If you’re a criminal, you’ll be deported. If you plan to enter The US illegally, your chances of getting caught and sent back just went up. The actions I’m taking are not only lawful, they’re the kinds of actions taken by every single Republican president and every single Democratic president for the past half century.”https://x.com/WallStreetApes/status/1915459109497036953
@EricLDaugh: Obama federal Judge William Orrick stops Trump from defunding sanctuary cities, which harbor and protect illegal aliens. Yet again, a single leftist judge is dictating policy. Specifically, protecting jurisdictions who harbor illegal alien invaders.
@ABC: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. https://t.co/mg8vJZON77
WH Deputy COS @StephenM: It is a CRIME for non-citizens to vote but a single federal judge says President Trump cannot enforce this law. An act of pure sabotage against citizenry and democracy.
@DefiyantlyFree: 18 U.S.C. § 611 makes it a federal crime for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. Why would a judge issue an injunction stopping President Trump from requiring proof of citizenship before casting your ballot? Does the judge not know the law. Can this judge not read?
@ScottJenningsKY: Federal judge has blocked President Trump’s efforts to require proof of citizenship to register to vote. The objective is clear: nullify the election results and stall Trump until 2028. This is the REAL constitutional crisis.
Judge bars Trump from denying federal funds to ‘sanctuary’ cities that limit immigration cooperationhttps://t.co/GiEVA2k127
Ex-Gorsuch clerk @mrddmia: Dear Commanding General John Roberts: When does the President of the United States have your permission to resume his military operation to deport the most dangerous terrorists in the Western Hemisphere? Or do you want the President to ship them to the Chevy Chase Country Club? The Chief Justice has disastrously failed to supervise activist judges on lower courts. Not only have these judicial saboteurs created a constitutional crisis with the presidency, they have created a crisis of public confidence in the federal judiciary. Congress must act now.
@GuntherEagleman: Activist judges are running this country, not We the People.
@Jules31415: JD Vance nails the Abrego Garcia issue in one minute: “I just disagree with the idea that he hasn’t been offered due process. He had a couple of immigration hearings; he had a valid deportation order….I think there’s actually a deeper issue going on, which is that you see some radical judges at the district court level who are trying to layer so much “process” on top of the immigration system that it makes it impossible to function. We have over 20 million illegal aliens in the United States of America—are we not allowed to deport them? Because if we’re not allowed to deport them, then what these district courts are saying is fundamentally, they reject the will of the American people as it was expressed in November 2024.”https://x.com/Jules31415/status/1915227991606530493
@DefiyantlyFree: This thread shows how $4 Trillion in Federal Funds Were Funneled Through Leftist NGOs to Enrich Activists, Mobilize Voters, and Power Anti-Trump Protests—With Receipts… The Center for American Progress (CAP), founded by Clinton ally John Podesta, is more than a think tank—it’s the strategic command center for the modern Left. Under Biden, CAP helped orchestrate the biggest activist cash grab in U.S. history: $4 TRILLION… https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1915447060439945518
@RapidResponse47: North Carolina teacher delivers remarks in support of @POTUS’ Executive Order: “This has been an 8-year journey for me, to raise awareness to the violence that’s in public schools… most administrations like to keep the violence hidden.” https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1915162148663107871
@RepPatHarrigan: A North Carolina teacher stood up and said what too many won’t. Our schools are in crisis, and it’s time to stop pretending otherwise. This is exactly the kind of leadership our state voted for!
@libsoftiktok: ELON MUSK SAYS DECLINING BIRTH RATES KEEPS HIM UP AT NIGHT “The birth rate is very low in almost every country. Unless that changes, civilization will disappear.” In 2023, the number of births in the US fell to the lowest level in over 40 years
Musk has stridently and publicly advocated increasing the US birth rate. However, the low birth rate is a symptom of much greater problem: the disintegration of US families. And Musk is part of the bigger problem.
Everyone is familiar with the demise of black families in the US. However, few realize: 1) The magnitude of destruction in black families; and 2) white families are also disintegrating due to a collapse in marriage and birth rates; and economics. White males living with parents are at Depression levels.
The Decline of the African-American family March 29, 2014 • In the 1890s, there were four public high schools in Washington D.C.; one black, the M Street School/Dunbar High School, and three white. In 1899, Dunbar averaged higher standardized test scores than students in two of the three white schools. From 1870 to 1955 Dunbar repeatedly equaled or exceeding performance on national standardized tests. • As late as 1910 more than two-thirds of the black population of Chicago lived in neighborhoods where most residents were white. • In 1950, 72 percent of all black men and 81 percent of black women had been married. • Every census from 1890 to 1950 showed that black labor force participation rates were higher than those of whites. • Prior to the 1960’s the unemployment rate for black 16 and 17-year olds was under 10 percent. • Before 1960, the number of teenage pregnancies had been decreasing; both poverty and dependency were declining, and black income was rising in both absolute and relative terms to white income… https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2014/03/the_decline_of_the_africanamerican_family.html
U.S. Department of Labor: Chapter II. The Negro American Family This historic and controversial report was prepared in 1965 by the Department’s Office of Policy Planning and Review. The principal author was Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who later served as a United States Senator from New York. Both white and Negro illegitimacy rates have been increasing, although from dramatically different bases. The white rate was 2 percent in 1940; it was 3.07 percent in 1963. In that period, the Negro rate went from 16.8 percent to 23.6 percent… The Breakdown of the Negro Family Has Led to a Startling Increase in Welfare Dependency… At present, 14 percent of Negro children are receiving AFDC assistance, as against 2 percent of white children… The AFDC program, deriving from the long established Mothers’ Aid programs, was established in 1935 principally to care for widows and orphans, although the legislation covered all children in homes deprived of parental support because one or both of their parents are absent or incapacitated…In the beginning, the number of AFDC families in which the father was absent because of desertion was less than a third of the total. Today it is two thirds… https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/webid-moynihan/moynchapter2
SWAMP STORIES FOR YOU TONIGHT
What on earth is this world becoming? Wisconsin judge accused of helping illegal immigrant hide from iCE!
FBI Arrests Wisconsin Judge Accused Of Helping Illegal Immigrant Hide From ICE: Patel
Friday, Apr 25, 2025 – 10:40 AM
FBI Director Kash Patel announced Friday that the bureau has arrested Judge Hannah Dugan out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on charges of obstruction, accusing the Dugan of obstructing an arrest of illegal immigrants last week.
“We believe Judge Dugan intentionally misdirected federal agents away from the subject to be arrested in her courthouse, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, allowing the subject — an illegal alien — to evade arrest,” Patel said in a brief statement shared on X. “Thankfully our agents chased down the perp on foot and he’s been in custody since, but the Judge’s obstruction created increased danger to the public.”
The bombshell arrest comes after radio host Dan O’Donnell reported that a federal investigation had been launched Dugan, who was said to have assisted an illegal alien evading FBI and ICE agents attempting an arrest at the courthouse. The alleged incident occurred after a clerk was notified of federal agents’ arrival to apprehend the illegal alien.
She then allegedly allowed the illegal migrant to hide in her jury room, which traditionally is not open for defendant use.
Chief Judge Carl Ashley allowed the agents to enter Dugan’s courtroom after he was presented with a warrant to enter the building and arrest the suspect, which led them to learning of Judge Dugan’s alleged obstruction.
The sources told O’Donnell that Chief Ashley sent an email to his fellow judges explaining the incident and said, “All of the agents’ actions were consistent with our draft policies, but we’re still in the process of conferring on the draft,” to which Judge Dugan responded by claiming that a warrant wasn’t “presented in the hallway of the 6th floor,” where her courtroom is located.
Obstructing federal officers or providing false information in an investigation carries serious penalties. Under 18 USC § 1001, such actions are felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison, or eight if terrorism is involved, WSAU reports.
This incident follows a memo from Gov. Tony Evers’s Department of Administration, advising state employees they can avoid cooperating with federal agents by declining to answer questions or provide access to files or systems without legal counsel, even when presented with a warrant, according to the local news outlet.
Dugan’s arrest follows the arrest of a former New Mexico judge, who is accused of having an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member as a tenant.
Former Doña Ana County Magistrate Joel Cano and his wife, Nancy Cano, were arrested this week at their North Reymond Street home.
The arrests stem from the couple’s ties to Cristhian Ortega-Lopez, an alleged member of the notorious Tren de Aragua gang. As reported by NewsNation affiliate KTSM, Cano rented out a casita on his property to Ortega-Lopez at his wife’s urging last year after she hired the suspect for household chores, the criminal complaint reads.
harveyorganblog.com 
