GOLD CLOSED DOWN $9.60 TO $3,388.40

SILVER CLOSED UP $0.67 TO $37.07

GOLD ACCESS CLOSED $3484.80

Silver ACCESS CLOSED: $37.10

Bitcoin morning price:$106,757 DOWN 1910 DOLLARS.

Bitcoin: afternoon price: $105,150 DOWN 3517 DOLLARS

Platinum price closing UP $10.25 TO $1265.05

Palladium price; UP $13.25 TO $1051.05

END

*CANADIAN GOLD: $4,616/60 UP 18.20 CDN dollars per oz( * NEW ALL TIME HIGH $4735.70 CDN DOLLARS PER OZ//APRIL 21 2025)

*BRITISH GOLD: 2519.34 UP 11.72 Pounds per oz// *(NEW ALL TIME HIGH//CLOSING//2,566.50 BRITISH POUNDS/OZ) MAY 6/2025

*EURO GOLD: 2947.60 UP 2.04 Euros per oz //* (ALL TIME CLOSING HIGH: 3018.80 EUROS PER OZ/ APRIL 21 //2025)

DONATE

EXCHANGE: COMEX

EXCHANGE: COMEX
CONTRACT: JUNE 2025 COMEX 100 GOLD FUTURES
SETTLEMENT: 3,396.400000000 USD
INTENT DATE: 06/16/2025 DELIVERY DATE: 06/18/2025
FIRM ORG FIRM NAME ISSUED STOPPED

118 H MACQUARIE FUTURES US 150
332 H STANDARD CHARTERED B 149
624 H BOFA SECURITIES 22
661 C JP MORGAN SECURITIES 389 313
686 C STONEX FINANCIAL INC 5
690 C ABN AMRO CLR USA LLC 20 7
709 C BARCLAYS 37
905 C ADM 26

TOTAL: 559 559
MONTH TO DATE: 26,900

JPMORGAN STOPPED 313/559

JUNE

GOLD: NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR JUNE/2024: 559 CONTRACTs NOTICES FOR 55,900 OZ  or 1.738 TONNES

total notices so far: 26,900 contracts for 2,690,000 OR 83.670 tonnes)

FOR JUNE

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SILVER NOTICES: 4 NOTICE(S) FILED FOR 20,000 OZ/

total number of notices filed so far this month : 3244 CONTRACTS (NOTICES) for 16.220 million oz

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

END

GLD/

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

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

WITH GOLD DOWN $9.60 INVESTORS SWITCHING TO SPROTT PHYSICAL  (PHYS) INSTEAD OF THE FRAUDULENT GLD:

HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD INVENTORY AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD

INVENTORY RESTS AT 941.93 TONNES

SLV/

WITH NO SILVER AROUND AND SILVER UP $0.67 AT THE SLV: HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ///A DEPOSIT OF 1.273 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//

CLOSING INVENTORY RESTS AT:

CLOSING INVENTORY: 473.096 MILLION OZ

Let us have a look at the data for today

SILVER//OUTLINE

SILVER COMEX OI ROSE BY A HUGE SIZED 627 CONTRACTS TO 180,582 AND CONTINUING ON ITS MARCH TO THE RECORD HIGH OI OF 244,710, SET FEB 25/2020, AND THIS  HUGE SIZED GAIN IN COMEX OI WAS ACCOMPLISHED DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN OF $0.11 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY’S TRADING AND WE FINALLY HAVE THE PIERCING OF $34.40 TO 34.50 SILVER PRICE BARRIER.  WE HAD A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF 1721 TOTAL CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES AS THE CME NOTIFIED US OF A 1094 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE.. WE HAD ZERO LIQUIDATION OF T.A.S. CONTRACTS COMEX TRADING WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY’S TRADING AS THEY DESPERATELY AGAIN TRIED TO CONTAIN SILVER’S PRICE RISE FOR THE PAST SEVERAL 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 MONDAY WITH SILVER’S GAIN IN PRICE. THE PRICE FINISHED MILES ABOVE THE MAGIC NUMBER OF $34.40 SILVER SPOT PRICE CLOSING AT $36.40. . BUT WE ENDED OUR MEGA MEGA HUGE T.A.S. ISSUANCE WITH MONDAY NIGHT’S  297 CONTRACTS ISSUED BY THE CME AND THAT SIGNALS DEEP CODE RED THAT THE CROOKS ARE DESPERATE TO STOP SILVER BREAKING WELL ABOVE THE 34.40 DOLLAR MARK!!. THE NEXT LINE IN THE SAND IS THE ORIGINAL HIGH POINT OF 50.00 DOLLAR SILVER. WE HAD A STRONG  1094 CONTRACT EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE ACCOMPANIED BY OUR FAIR SIZED 297 CONTRACT T.A.S ISSUANCE WHICH WILL BE USED IN TUESDAY’S TRADING/ AS THEY PLAY AN INTEGRAL PART IN OUR COMEX TRADING TRYING TO CONTAIN ANY SILVER PRICE RISE. IN ESSENCE WE GAINED A HUGE SIZED 1721 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.11. 

THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT FOR THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF THE MONTH OF MAY, WE HAD TWO CONSECUTIVE ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS OF 12.93 MILLION OZ. THESE EXCHANGE FOR RISKS WERE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE. THE RECIPIENT OF THIS LARGESS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA. LOGICALLY ONLY A CENTRAL BANK WOULD ACCEPT THIS CRAZY CONTRACT WHEREBY THE CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA TAKES THE RISK OF DELIVERY FROM A BULLION BANK WHO CANNOT GUARANTEE DELIVERY OF PHYSICAL SILVER TO THEM.

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 LAST WEEK’S TRADING ON SILVER AND NOW TODAY AS SILVER PRICE ROCKETED PAST THE $34.40 BARRIER! . THE PRICE OF SILVER FINISHED TRADING AT $36.56 AS WE WILL NOW HEAD FOR THE ALL TIME HIGH OF $50.00

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 MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING: A FAIR 297 CONTRACTS. DESPITE MANY COMPLAINTS THAT THE CROOKS HAVE VIOLATED POSITION LIMITS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE TAS ISSUED HAVE A VALUE  OF ZERO (AS TO POSITION LIMITS FOR OUR CROOKED BANKERS). THE PROBLEM OF COURSE IS THAT THE CROOKS DO NOT LIQUIDATE THE TAS TOGETHER BUT SELL THE BUY SIDE FIRST AND THEN LIQUIDATE THE SELL SIDE TWO MONTHS HENCE. IT IS OBVIOUS MANIPULATION TO THE HIGHEST DEGREE BUT IT NATURALLY FELL ON DEAF EARS WITH OUR REGULATORS (OCC) WHEN THEY RECEIVED OUR COMPLAINTS. IT NOW SEEMS THAT THE OCC HAS ORDERED THE BANKS TO REDUCE ITS NEW LEVEL OF 1 TRILLION DOLLARS IN GOLD/SILVER DERIVATIVES.

WE HAVE IN THE PAST YEAR SET ANOTHER RECORD LOW AT 114,102 CONTRACTS ///JULY 3.2023//  OUR BANKERS WITH THE HELP OF SPECULATORS AND HIGH FREQUENCY TRADERS WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING THE PRICE OF SILVER DOWN (IT ROSE BY  $0.11) AND WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY NET SILVER LONGS FROM THEIR PERCH AS WE HAD A HUGE GAIN OF 1830 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES.

WE HAD A 1094 CONTRACT ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS) iiii) AN  INITIAL SILVER STANDING FOR COMEX SILVER MEASURING AT 9.90 MILLION OZ FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 30,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP//NEW TOTAL STANDING ADVANCES TO 16.540 MILLION OZ!!

THUS:

INITIAL STANDING FOR JUNE: 9.90 MILLION OZ PLUS TODAY’S 20,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP = 16.540 MILLION OZ.

WE HAD:

/ HUGE COMEX OI GAIN+// A 1095 SIZED  EFP ISSUANCE (/ VI)  A FAIR NUMBER OF  T.A.S. CONTRACT ISSUANCE 297 CONTRACTS)

 I AM NOW RECORDING THE DIFFERENTIAL IN OI FROM PRELIMINARY TO FINAL: REMOVED A SMALL 109 CONTRACTS.

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

TOTAL CONTRACTS for 12 DAY(S), total 11,477 contracts:   OR 57.385 MILLION OZ  (956 CONTRACTS PER DAY)

TOTAL EFP’S FOR THE MONTH SO FAR:  57.385 MILLION OZ

LAST 24 MONTHS TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED  IN MILLIONS OF OZ:

MAY 137.83 MILLION

JUNE 149.91 MILLION OZ

JULY 129.445 MILLION OZ

AUGUST: MILLION OZ 140.120

SEPT. 28.230 MILLION OZ//

OCT:  94.595 MILLION OZ

NOV: 131.925 MILLION OZ

DEC: 100.615 MILLION OZ

YEAR 2022:

 JAN 2022-DEC 2022

JAN 2022//  90.460 MILLION OZ

FEB 2022:  72.39 MILLION OZ//

MARCH 2022: 207.140  MILLION OZ//A NEW RECORD FOR EFP ISSUANCE

APRIL: 114.52 MILLION OZ FINAL//LOW ISSUANCE

MAY: 105.635 MILLION OZ//

JUNE: 94.470 MILLION OZ

JULY : 87.110 MILLION OZ

AUGUST: 65.025 MILLION OZ

SEPT. 74.025 MILLION OZ///FINAL

OCT.  29.017 MILLION OZ FINAL

NOV: 134.290 MILLION OZ//FINAL

DEC, 61.395 MILLION OZ FINAL

TOTALS YR 2022: 1135.767 MILLION OZ (1.1356 BILLION OZ)

JAN 2023///   53.070 MILLION OZ //FINAL

FEB: 2023:       100.105 MILLION OZ/FINAL//MUCH STRONGER ISSUANCE VS THE LATTER TWO MONTHS.

MARCH 2023:  112.58 MILLION OZ//FINAL//STRONG ISSUANCE

APRIL  111.035 MILLION OZ(SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAN LAST MONTH)

MAY 66.120 MILLION OZ/INITIAL (MUCH SMALLER THIS MONTH)  

JUNE: 110.395 MILLION OZ//MUCH LARGER THAN LAST MONTH

JULY 85.745 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THAN LAST MONTH)

AUGUST: 171.43 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH IS GOING TO BE HUGE //2ND HIGHEST ON RECORD

SEPT: 72.705 MILLION OZ (SMALLER THIS MONTH)

OCT: 97.455 MILLION OZ

NOV.  50.050 MILLION OZ 

DEC. 66.140 MILLION OZ//

TOTAL 2023: 1,104.10 MILLION OZ/

JAN ’24 : 78.655 MILLION OZ//

FEB /2024 : 66.135 MILLION OZ./FINAL

MARCH: 143.750 MILLION OZ// 4TH HIGHEST ON RECORD.

APRIL: 161.770 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A WHOPPER OF ISSUANCE OF EFPS//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR A MONTH)

MAY: 135.995 MILLION OZ  //WILL BE A STRONG MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

JUNE 110.575 MILLION OZ ( WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH ISSUANCE)

JULY: 108.870 MILLION OZ (WILL BE A STRONG ISSUANCE MONTH/ A TOUCH OVER 100 MILLION OZ/)

AUGUST; 99.740 MILLION OZ//THIS MONTH WILL BE STRONG FOR ISSUANCE BUT LESS THAN JULY.

SEPT: 112.415 MILLION OZ//WILL BE A HUGE MONTH FOR EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE

OCT; 97.485 MILLION OZ (WILL BE SMALLER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH )

NOV. 115.970 MILLION OZ ( HUGE THIS MONTH)

DEC: 132.54 MILLION OZ (THIS MONTH WILL BE A HUMDINGER FOR ISSUANCE BUT ISSUANCE SLOWED DRAMATICALLY THESE PAST FIVE DAYS/// WILL NOT EXCEED MARCH 2022 RECORD OF 209 MILLION OZ

YEAR 2024 TOTAL: 1363.84 MILLION OR 1.363 BILLION OZ

JANUARY 2025: 67.230 MILLION OZ///(THIS MONTH’S ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL WILL BE SMALL)

FEB. 58.260 MILLION OZ//EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE/FINAL

MARCH: 67.020 MILLION OZ///QUITE SMALL AND BECOMING SMALLER EACH AND EVERY MONTH.

APRIL: 100.895 MILLION OZ///AVERAGE SIZE ISSUANCE

MAY: 28.975 MILLION OZ (ISSUANCE WILL BE QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH)

JUNE: 57.385 MILLION OZ (NOTICE EFP ISSUANCE GETTING LARGER

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

RESULT: WE HAD A HUGE SIZED INCREASE IN COMEX OI SILVER COMEX CONTRACTS OF 627 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.11 IN SILVER PRICING AT THE COMEX// MONDAY.,.  . THE CME NOTIFIED US THAT WE HAD A HUGE 1094 CONTRACT EFP ISSUANCE  CONTRACTS: 1094 ISSUED FOR JULY AND 0 CONTRACTS ISSUED FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS) WHICH  EXITED OUT OF THE SILVER COMEX TO LONDON  AS FORWARDS. 

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WE FINISHED APRIL WITH A STRONG SILVER OZ STANDING OF  16.050 MILLION  OZ NORMAL DELIVERY , PLUS OUR 4.00 MILLION EX FOR RISK

FINAL STANDING APRIL: 19.965 MILLION OZ

AND MAY:

NEW STANDING FOR MAY FINISHES AT: 75.615 MILLION OZ. (INCLUDES 5,000 OZ EFP TRANSFER TO LONDON + 12.93 MILLION OZ EXCHANGE FOR RISK ISSUANCE/PRIOR.//NEW TOTAL STANDING 88.540 MILLION OZ

AND NOW JUNE: INITIAL 9.90 MILLION OZ PLUS 20,000 OZ QUEUE JUMP = 16.540 MILLION OZ

THE NEW TAS ISSUANCE MONDAY NIGHT   (297 ) WILL BE PUT INTO “THE BANK” TO BE COLLUSIVELY USED AT A LATER DATE AND FOR SURE TODAY’S TRADING (MONDAY TRADING) AND BEYOND.

WE HAD 4 NOTICE(S) FILED TODAY FOR 20,000 OZ

THE SILVER COMEX IS NOW BEING ATTACKED FOR METAL BY LONDONERS ET AL. IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE FBI TO ENTER THE COMEX AND ARREST THESE CROOKS EVEN THOUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE TRADING IS GOVERNMENT. THE BANKERS ARE COMPLICIT

GOLD//OUTLINE

IN GOLD, THE COMEX OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A SMALL SIZED 353 OI CONTRACTS  TO 439,321 AND CLOSER TO THE RECORD (SET JAN 24/2020) AT 799,105  AND  PREVIOUS TO THAT: (SET JAN 6/2020) AT 797,110. (ALL TIME LOW OF 390,000 CONTRACTS.) THUS WE HAVE A 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 HUMONGOUS 1356 CONTRACTS //.

WE HAD A SMALL SIZED DECREASE  IN COMEX OI (353 CONTRACTS) . THIS OCCURRED DESPITE OUR HUGE LOSS OF $33.85 IN PRICE// MONDAY///.

MAY: SUMMARY FOR MAY TONNES WHICH STOOD FOR DELIVERY:

FINAL STANDING FOR MAY: 70.174 TONNES OF GOLD TO WHICH WE ADD 1. MONDAY’S (MAY 19) 6.221 TONNES EXCHANGE FOR RISK , 2. THEN WE ADD: 1.35 TONNES TO LAST WEEK”S. THEN WE ADD 3. 1.55 TONNES TO EQUAL 9.591 TONNES// NEW EXCHANGE FOR RISK = 9.591 TONNES WHICH MUST BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY SCHEDULE OF 80.644 TONNES. THUS STANDING FOR MAY INCREASES TO 90.235 TONNES OF GOLD

JUNE CONTRACT MONTH

/ WE HAD A  $33.85 LOSS IN PRICE  WITH RESPECT TO MONDAY’S COMEX ///. WE HAD A SMALL SIZED GAIN OF 222 OI CONTRACTS (0.6905 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 DURING THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF MAY, AND THROUGHOUT EACH AND EVERY DAY MAJOR TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL VIA THE EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ROUTE! THE RESULT: A SMALLER THAN EXPECTED INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR DELIVERY FOR THE JUNE CONTRACT MONTH….. A SMALLISH 62.534 TONNES TO WHICH WE ADD TODAY’S 1.306 TONNES OF A QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 86.023 TONNES!!. CENTRAL BANKERS ARE NOW WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THEIR DELIVERY OF GOLD VIA SLOW MOVING SHIPS.

E.F.P. ISSUANCE

THE CME RELEASED THE DATA FOR EFP ISSUANCE AND IT TOTALED A SMALL SIZED 575 CONTRACTS:

The NEW COMEX OI FOR THE GOLD COMPLEX RESTS AT 439,321/NOW AT THE LOW END OF THE SCALE DESPITE THE HIGH PRICE OF GOLD!!

SILVER ALSO HAS A LOW COMEX OI OF 180,582 CONTRACTS BUT GAINING RAPIDLY!!

IN ESSENCE WE HAVE A FAIR SIZED INCREASE IN TOTAL CONTRACTS ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1578 CONTRACTS  WITH 1003 CONTRACTS INCREASED AT THE COMEX// AND A SMALL SIZED 575 EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL OI CONTRACT ISSUANCE WHICH NAVIGATED OVER TO LONDON. THUS TOTAL OI GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES OF 1,578 CONTRACTS.. WE HAD THE FOLLOWING TAS CONTRACTS INITIATED (ISSUED): A FAIR SIZED AND CRIMINAL 964 CONTRACTS

CALCULATIONS ON GAIN/LOSS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES

WE HAD A SMALL SIZED ISSUANCE IN EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICALS  CONTRACT(575) ACCOMPANYING THE SMALL SIZED DECREASE IN COMEX OI OF 353 CONTRACTS/TOTAL GAIN FOR OUR THE TWO EXCHANGES: 222 CONTRACTS..WE HAVE 1) NOW RETURNED TO OUR FORMER FORMAT OF BANKERS GOING LONG AND SPECULATORS GOING SHORT  ,2.) WEAK INITIAL STANDING FOR GOLD FOR JUNE AT 62.524TONNES FOLLOWED BY TODAY’S 1.306 TONNES QUEUE JUMP //NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 85.023 TONNES./

NEW STANDING FOR GOLD, JUNE CONTRACT AT 85.023 TONNES OF GOLD.

.

 / 3) ZERO T.A.S. LIQUIDATION , AS WE HAD 1)A  $33.85 COMEX PRICE LOSS.. WE HAD 2) ZERO NET LONG SPECS BEING CLIPPED DESPITE THAT LOSS IN PRICE AS WE HAD A FAIR GAIN OF 1578 CONTRACTS ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES // /./ ALSO, 3)STICKY GOLD’S LONGS WERE REWARDED MONDAY EVENING AS THEY EXERCISED EFP’S FROM LONDON TO TAKE DELIVERY OF BADLY NEEDED PHYSICAL AND THUS OUR HUGE TONNAGE STANDING FOR GOLD FOR MAY BUT SMALLER FOR JUNE!

  4) SMALL SIZED COMEX OI GAIN// 5)  SMALL SIZED ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL PAPER (1550 CONTRACTS)/// FAIR T.A.S.  ISSUANCE: 964 T.A.S.CONTRACTS//

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

JUNE INITIAL

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

TOTAL EFP CONTRACTS ISSUED: 20,635CONTRACTS OR 2,063,500 OZ OR 64.18 TONNES IN 12 TRADING DAY(S) AND THUS AVERAGING: 1719 EFP CONTRACTS PER TRADING DAY

TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA AS TO THE  SIZE OF THESE EFP TRANSFERS :  THIS MONTH IN 12 TRADING DAY(S) IN  TONNES  64.18 TONNES

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

THUS EFP TRANSFERS REPRESENTS  64.18 TONNES DIVIDED BY 3550 x 100% TONNES = 1.80% OF GLOBAL ANNUAL PRODUCTION

ACCUMULATION OF GOLD EFP’S YEAR 2021 TO 2023

JANUARY/2021: 265.26 TONNES (RAPIDLY INCREASING AGAIN)

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

MARCH:.   276.50 TONNES (STRONG AGAIN/

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

MAY:        250.15 TONNES  (NOW DRAMATICALLY INCREASING AGAIN)

JUNE:      247.54 TONNES (FINAL)

JULY:        188.73 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST:   217.89 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE.

SEPT          142.12 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE ( LOW ISSUANCE)_

OCT:           141.13 TONNES FINAL ISSUANCE (LOW ISSUANCE)

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

DEC.           175.62 TONNES//FINAL ISSUANCE//

TOTALS: 2,578.08 TONNES/2021

JAN:2022   247.25 TONNES //FINAL

FEB:           196.04 TONNES//FINAL

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

APRIL:  169.55 TONNES (FINAL VERY  LOW ISSUANCE MONTH)

MAY:  247.44 TONNES FINAL//

JUNE: 238.13 TONNES  FINAL

JULY: 378.43 TONNES FINAL/SECOND HIGHEST ON RECORD

AUGUST: 180.81 TONNES FINAL

SEPT. 193.16 TONNES FINAL

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

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

DEC:  185.59 tonnes // FINAL

TOTAL: 2,847,25 TONNES/2022

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

FEB: 151.61 TONNES/FINAL

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

APRIL: 197.42 TONNES

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

JUNE: 172.667 TONNES (WEAKER ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)

JULY:  151.69 TONNES (WEAKER THAN LAST MONTH)

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

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

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

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

DEC. 213.704 TONNES. A STRONG MONTH//

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

2024 AND 2025:

JAN ’24:     291.76 TONNES (WILL BE MUCH GREATER THAN LAST MONTH.//3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL)

FEB’24: 201.947 TONNES

MARCH 2024: 352.21 TONNES//2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE.

APRIL: 267.05TONNES (WILL BE AN EXTREMELY STRONG MONTH BUT LESS THAN MARCH 2024)

MAY; 316.606 TONNES (WILL BE ANOTHER STRONG MONTH// 3RD HIGHEST RECORDED EFP ISSUANCE )// NOTICE THE HUGE INCREASES IN EX FOR PHYSICAL THESE PAST FEW MONTHS. THESE CONTRACTS ARE CIRCLED BACK FROM LONDON WHEREBY METAL IS REMOVED FROM THE COMEX.

JUNE 175.11 tonnes HEADING FOR A WEAKER MONTH AND MUCH LESS THAN THE THREE PREVIOUS MONTHS

JULY: 351. 65 TONNES (3RD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL AND THE HIGHEST EVER RECORDED POST BASEL III) 

AUGUST: 274.79 TONNES//THIS MONTH WILL NO DOUBT BE A STRONG ISSUANCE OF EFP’S BUT MUCH LESS THAN LAST MONTH.

SEPT: 335 .104 TONNES//IF THIS CONTINUES WE WILL HAVE A HUMDINGER OF AN EFP ISSUANCE. WE WILL PROBABLY END JUST SHORT OF THE 3RD HIGHEST ISSUANCE EVER RECORDED.

OCT. 277.71 TONNES (THIS WILL BE A GOOD ISSUANCE THIS MONTH)

NOV: 393.875 TONNES ( A HUGE MONTH////NOW SURPASSED THE PREVIOUS 3RD AND 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED EX FOR PHYSICAL ISSUANCE TO BECOME THE 2ND HIGHEST EVER RECORDED

DEC 360.03 TONNES THIRD HIGHEST EVER RECORDED FOR EFP ISSUANCE

TOTAL 2024 YEAR. 3,597.846 TONNES

JAN. 2025: 257.919 TONNES (ISSUANCE WILL BE PRETTY GOOD THIS MONTH BUT MUCH LOWER THAN LAST MONTH)

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

MARCH 130.84 TONNES//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH.

APRIL; 208.57 TONNES. STILL A SMALL TO FAIR ISSUANCE FOR THE MONTH.

MAY: 113.499 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE//QUITE SMALL THIS MONTH

JUNE: 64.18 TONNES OF GOLD EFP ISSUANCE/EXTREMELY SMALL

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 ROSE BY A HUGE SIZED 627 CONTRACTS OI  TO 180,582 AND CLOSER TO THE COMEX HIGH RECORD //244,710( SET FEB 25/2020).  THE LAST RECORDS WERE SET  IN AUG.2018 AT 244,196 WITH A SILVER PRICE OF $14.78/(AUGUST 22/2018)..THE PREVIOUS RECORD TO THAT WAS SET ON APRIL 9/2018 AT 243,411 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS WITH THE SILVER PRICE AT THAT DAY: $16.53). AND PREVIOUS TO THAT, THE RECORD  WAS ESTABLISHED AT: 234,787 CONTRACTS, SET ON APRIL 21.2017 OVER  7 YEARS AGO.  HOWEVER WE HAVE NOW SET A NEW RECORD LOW OF 114,102 CONTRACTS JULY 3.2023

EFP ISSUANCE 1094 CONTRACTS

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

JULY 1094 and 0 ALL OTHER MONTHS: ZERO. TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 1094 CONTRACTS. EFP’S GIVE OUR COMEX LONGS A FIAT BONUS PLUS A DELIVERABLE PRODUCT OVER IN LONDON.  IF WE TAKE THE COMEX OI GAIN OF 627 CONTRACTS AND ADD TO THE 1094 E.FP. ISSUED

WE OBTAIN A HUGE SIZED GAIN OF OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 1721  CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR SMALL GAIN IN PRICE OF $0.11 THE RATS ARE FLEEING THE ARENA.

THUS IN OUNCES, THE GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES  TOTALS 8.605 MILLION PAPER OZ

 OCCURRED DESPITE OUR SMALL  $0.11 GAIN  IN PRICE.

OUTLINE FOR TODAY’S COMMENTARY

1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

1a/COMEX GOLD AND SILVER REPORT

(report Harvey)

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

Peter Schiff)

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

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

b. Other gold/silver commentaries

c. Commodity commentaries//

d)/CRYPTOCURRENCIES/BITCOIN ETC

2.ASIAN AFFAIRS

ASIAN MARKETS THIS MORNING:

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 1.32 PTS OR 0.04%

//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 87.82 PTS OR 0.37%

// Nikkei CLOSED UP 225.41 PTS OR 0.59% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.04%

//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN AT 7.1825 OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN AT 7.1845/ Oil UP TO 72.71 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 74.18 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED

ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING :/ONSHORE YUAN UP TRADING AT 7.1825 AND WEAKER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.1845 AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS WEAKER

END

A)NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

outline

b) REPORT ON JAPAN/
OUTLINE

3  CHINA
OUTLINE

4/EUROPEAN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS
OUTLINE

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

7. OIL ISSUES
OUTLINE

8 EMERGING MARKET ISSUES
9. USA

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

GOLD

 LET US BEGIN:

THE TOTAL COMEX GOLD OPEN INTEREST FELL BY A SMALL SIZED 353 CONTRACTS TO A STILL LOW NUMBER OF 439,321 OI DESPITE OUR HUGE LOSS IN PRICE OF $33.85 WITH RESPECT TO FRIDAY’S // TRADING. WE LOST ZERO NUMBER OF NET LONGS WITH THAT PRICE LOSS FOR GOLD. AND AS YOU WILL SEE BELOW, OUR GAIN IN PRICE ALSO HAD A SMALL NUMBER OF EXCHANGE FOR PHYSICAL ISSUED (575 ). WE HAD LITTLE IF ANY T.A.S. LIQUIDATION

THE CME ANNOUNCED MONDAY NIGHT,  A ZERO EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACT ISSUANCE FOR 0 OZ OR NIL TONNES. TOTAL ISSUANCE FOR MAY WAS RECORDED AT 9.591 TONNES OF GOLD AND THIS TOTAL WAS ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERIES. THE BANK OF ENGLAND MUST BE GETTING QUITE ANTSY OF GETTING ITS GOLD BACK.

IN THE MONTH OF APRIL 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 MONTH OF APRIL STOOD AT 8.3571 TONNES OF GOLD WHICH WERE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL APRIL GOLD DELVERIES.

HISTORY: LAST FIVE 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:

1. THE BANK OF ENGLAND
2. 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 !!.(DEC THROUGH APRIL)

IN APRIL:

WE CONCLUDED APRIL WITH 7 ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR A TOTAL TONNAGE OF 8.3571 TONNES.

IN MAY:

MAY: 3 EX. FOR RISK ISSUED SO FAR FOR 3025 CONTRACTS OR 302,500 OZ OR 9.4054 TONNES. THIS WILL BE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY TO GIVE US TOTAL STANDING FOR MAY!THIS IS THE 6TH CONSECUTIVE MONTH FOR ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK//NEW TOTAL EX FOR RISK IS 9.591 TONNES FOR THE 3 ISSUANCE!

IN JUNE

JUNE: ZERO ISSUED SO FAR!!

DETAILS ON JUNE COMEX MONTH//INITIAL

IN TOTAL WE HAD A SMALL SIZED GAIN ON OUR TWO EXCHANGES OF 222 CONTRACTS DESPITE OUR HUGE LOSS 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 LAST MONTH OF MAY, AND JUNE CONTINUES TO DISTORT OPEN INTEREST NUMBERS GREATLY ALTHOUGH THE T.A.S. ISSUANCES IN GOLD HAVE GENERALLY BEEN ON THE LOW SIDE COMPARED TO SILVER WHICH HAVE BEEN HUGE. TODAY’S NUMBER HOWEVER IS FAIR AS THE CME NOTIFIES US THAT THEY HAVE ISSUED 964 T.A.S.

THE T.A.S. LIQUIDATION OF THESE T.AS. CONTRACTS(ALONG WITH MONTH END SPREADERS) 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 AND THIS CONTINUED INTO MAY WITH FINAL STANDING AT 90.23 TONNES. HOWEVER JUNE WHICH IS NORMALLY A HUGE DELIVERY MONTH , INITIAL STANDING IS RECORDED AT 62.534 TONNES PLUS TODAY’S 1.306 TONNES QUEUE JUMP = 85.023 TONNES. (IS THE COMEX RUNNING OUT OF GOLD?)//TOTAL NET QUEUE JUMPING FOR THE MONTH FOR THE MONTH: 22.488 TONNES

NEW TOTAL TONNES STANDING JUNE: 85.023 TONNES

THE FED IS THE OTHER MAJOR SHORT OF AROUND 32+ 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 225 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

 THE CME REPORTS THAT THE BANKERS ISSUED A SMALL SIZED TRANSFER THROUGH THE EFP ROUTE AS THESE LONGS RECEIVED A DELIVERABLE LONDON FORWARD TOGETHER WITH A FIAT BONUS.,

THAT IS A SMALL SIZED 575 EFP CONTRACT WAS ISSUED: :  /AUGUST  575 & ZERO FOR ALL OTHER MONTHS:

TOTAL EFP ISSUANCE: 575 CONTRACT. 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.

WE HAD :

1. ZERO LIQUIDATION OF OUR T.A.S. SPREADERS
2. ZERO NET SPEC LIQUIDATION WITH OUR HUGE GAIN IN PRICE

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 TUESDAY MORNING//MONDAY NIGHT WAS A SMALL SIZED, 964 CONTRACTS.  

THE RAIDS WHETHER ON OPTIONS EXPIRY MONTH OR OTHERWISE LIKE TODAY, ACCOMPLISHES TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS FOR OUR CROOKS:

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

MECHANICS OF T.A.S CONTRACTS/DECEMBER THROUGH MARCH, APRIL MAY AND JUNE

THROUGHOUT THE FEW YEARS, 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.THIS WAS SURELY IN EVIDENCE IN TRADING THURSDAY WITH THE SMALL GAIN IN PRICE!

STANDING LAST 6 MONTHS OF 2025: STANDING FOR GOLD

YEAR 2025:

JAN 2025:

113.30 TONNES (WHICH INCLUDES 43.408 TONNES EX FOR RISK)

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:

FINAL STANDING FOR GOLD: 201.573 TONNES + 8.3571 TONNES EX FOR RISK = 209.953 TONNES

MAY: FINAL STANDING 90.235 TONNES WHICH INCLUDES QUEUE JUMPING AND 9.591 TONNES EX FOR RISK.

JUNE: INITITAL STANDING 62.534 TONNES PLUS 0.8802 TONNES OF QUEUE JUMP EQUALS 83.716 TONNES

THIS IS CENTRAL BANKS STANDING FOR PHYSICAL GOLD!!

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HERE ARE THE AMOUNTS THAT STOOD FOR DELIVERY IN THE PRECEDING 52 MONTHS OF 2021-2025:

DEC 2021: 112.217 TONNES

NOV.  8.074 TONNES

OCT.    57.707 TONNES

SEPT: 11.9160 TONNES

AUGUST: 80.489 TONNES

JULY 7.2814 TONNES

JUNE:  72.289 TONNES

MAY 5.77 TONNES

APRIL  95.331 TONNES

MARCH 30.205 TONNES

FEB ’21. 113.424 TONNES

JAN ’21: 6.500 TONNES.

TOTAL  YEAR  2021 (JAN- DEC): 601.213 TONNES

YEAR 2022: STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX

JANUARY 2022  17.79 TONNES

FEB 2022: 59.023 TONNES

MARCH: 36.678 TONNES

APRIL: 85.340 TONNES FINAL.

MAY: 20.11 TONNES FINAL

JUNE: 74.933 TONNES FINAL

JULY 29.987 TONNES FINAL

AUGUST:104.979 TONNES//FINAL

SEPT.  38.1158 TONNES

OCT:  77.390 TONNES/ FINAL

NOV 27.110 TONNES/FINAL

Dec. 64.000 tonnes

(TOTAL  YEAR 656.076 TONNES)

2023:STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX

JAN/2023:    20.559 tonnes

FEB 2023: 47.744 tonnes

MAR:  19.0637 TONNES

APRIL: 75.676  tonnes

MAY: 19.094 TONNES + 1.244 tonnes of exchange for risk =  20.338

JUNE: 64.354 TONNES

JULY: 10.2861 TONNES

AUGUST: 38.855 TONNES(INCLUDING .6842 EXCHANGE FOR RISK)

SEPT: 15.281 TONNES FINAL

OCT.    35.869 TONNES + 1.665 EXCHANGE FOR RISK =37.0355 tonnes

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

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

TOTAL 2023 YEAR : 436.546 TONNES

2024/STANDING FOR GOLD/COMEX

JAN ’24.      22.706 TONNES

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

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

APRIL: 2024: 53.673TONNES FINAL

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

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

JULY: 11.692 TONNES

AUGUST 69.602 TONNES//FINAL STANDING

SEPT. 13.164 TONNES.

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

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

DEC: 80.4230 TONNES PLUS DEC MONTH EXCHANGE FOR RISK TOTAL 14.6836 TONNES  EQUALS 95.1066 TONNES

total year 2024: 540.30 tonnes

COMEX GOLD TRADING/JUNE CONTRACT MONTH

THE SPECS/HFT WERE SUCCESSFUL IN LOWERING GOLD’S PRICE( IT FELL BY $33.85/ /) BUT THEY WERE UNSUCCESSFUL IN KNOCKING OFF ANY APPRECIABLE NET SPECULATOR LONGS AS WE DID HAVE A SMALL SIZED GAIN IN OI FROM TWO EXCHANGES. AND AS EXPLAINED ABOVE WE HAD LITTLE IF ANY T.A.S. SPREADER LIQUIDATION  ////MONDAY AS THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO QUELL GOLD’S ATTEMPT AT FURTHER INCREASES ABOVE THE MAGIC $3,400 BARRIER AND STOP HUGE COMEX/OTC DERIVATIVE LOSSES FROM EXPLODING

TUESDAY MORNING//MONDAY NIGHT

THE CROOKS HOWEVER COULD NOT STOP CENTRAL BANK LONGS, SEIZING THE MOMENT, THEY EXERCISED AGAIN FOR PHYSICAL IN A BIG WAY TENDERING FOR PHYSICAL MONDAY EVENING/TUESDAY 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

EXCHANGE FOR RISK EXPLANATION/FEB THROUGH /JUNE TRADING

EXCHANGE FOR RISK CONTRACTS/MONTH FOR FEBRUARY://FINISHES AT 4 ISSUANCES

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.

APRIL, ISSUED ITS 7TH EXCHANGE FOR RISK: 187 CONTRACTS OR 18,700 OZ OR 0.5816 TONNES

SUMMARY EXCHANGE FOR RISK FOR THE MONTH OFAPRIL//TOTAL ISSUANCES 7 FOR 8.3571 TONNES OF GOLD!:

ISSUANCE FOR EXCHANGE FOR RISK ON FIRST DAY NOTICE//APRILL MONTH// 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 FINAL 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 WERE ADDED TO OUR NORMAL DELIVERY CYCLE.

MAY ISSUANCE OF EXCHANGE FOR RISK NOW TOTALS 3 ISSUANCES FOR 308,350 OZ. THIS TOTALS 9.591 TONNES OF GOLD WHICH WILL BE ADDED TO OUR REGULAR DELIVERY SCHEDULE. THE RECPIENT OF THIS LARGESS IS THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

JUNE ISSUANCE: SO FAR ZERO

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ANALYSIS JUNE DELIVERY MONTH GOING FROM FIRST DAY NOTICE// JUNE COMEX CONTRACT

WE HAVE GAINED A FAIR SIZED TOTAL OF 0.6905 PAPER TONNES FROM OUR TWO EXCHANGES, ACCOMPANYING OUR INITIAL  GOLD TONNAGE STANDING FOR JUNE FIRST RECORDED AT 62.534 TONNES ON FIRST DAY NOTICE/MAY 30. TO THIS WE ADD MONDAY NIGHT’S QUEUE JUMP OF 42,000 OZ OR 1.306 TONNES OF GOLD//NEW STANDING FOR JUNE GOLD ADVANCES TO 85.023.

ALL OF THIS QUITE SMALL STANDING FOR JUNE WAS ACCOMPLISHED WITH OUR HUGE LOSS IN PRICE TO THE TUNE OF $33.85

WE HAD A HUGE 1,356 CONTRACTS REMOVED TO THE  COMEX TRADES TO OPEN INTEREST (CROOKS)//PRELIMINARY TO FINAL. AND THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE AS WELL.

NET GAIN ON THE TWO EXCHANGES 222 CONTRACTS OR 22,200 0Z (0.6905 TONNES)

confirmed volume MONDAY 200.506. contracts: huge volume////

//speculators have left the gold arena

END

INITIAL

JUNE CONTRACT MONTH

JUNE 17/2025

dealer deposits: 1 entry

i) into Delaware dealer::

1543.248 oz 48 kilobars

total dealer deposit 1543.248 oz

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DEPOSITS/CUSTOMER

we have 0 customer entries

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withdrawals:

1 ENTRY


i) Asahi: 12,424.219 oz

total withdrawal weight: 12,424.219 oz

adjustments: 0//

AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING FOR JUNE

THE FRONT MONTH OF JUNE STANDS AT 994 CONTRACTS FOR A GAIN OF 406 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 14 CONTRACTS SERVED ON MONDAY SO WE GAINED 420 CONTRACTS FOR 42000 OZ OR 1.306 TONNES OF GOLD WHICH UNDERWENT A STRONG QUEUE JUMP WHERE THESE BOYS DECIDED TO TAKE IMMEDIATE DELIVERY ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND. THIS TOTAL WILL BE ADDED TO OUR INITIAL AMOUNT OF GOLD STANDING AT 62.534 TONNES//NEW STANDING ADVANCES TO 85.023 TONNES

JULY GAINED 12 CONTRACTS TO STAND AT 6916

AUGUST LOST 859 CONTRACTS UP TO 333,117

We had 559 contracts filed for today representing 55,900 oz  

Today, 0 notice(s) were issued from J.P.Morgan dealer and 387 notices issued from their client or customer account. The total of all issuance by all participants equate to 559 contract(s) of which 0  notices were stopped (received) by  j.P. Morgan dealer and 313 notice(s) was (were) stopped  (received) by J.P.Morgan//customer account 

To calculate the INITIAL total number of gold ounces standing for JUNE /2025. contract month, we take the total number of notices filed so far for the month (26,900 X 100 oz ) to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of  JUNE (994 CONTRACTS)  minus the number of notices served upon today  (559 x 100 oz per contract) equals  2,733,600 OZ  OR 85.023 TONNES to which we add 0 tonnes of gold issued under exchange for risk// total standing 85.023 tonnes

thus the INITIAL standings for gold for the JUNE contract month:  No of notices filed so far (26,900 x 100 oz +we add the difference for front month of JUNE (994 OI} minus the number of notices served upon today (559 x 100 oz) which equals  2,733,600 OZ OR 85.023 TONNES + 0 tonnes EX FOR RISK = 85.023 tonnes

TOTAL COMEX GOLD STANDING FOR JUNE.: 85.023 TONNES WHICH IS SMALL FOR THIS NORMALLY ACTIVE ACTIVE DELIVERY MONTH IN THE CALENDAR. FEBRUARY HAD THE HIGHEST DELIVERY FOR ANY MONTH AND APRIL WAS SECOND..JUNE DID NOT FOLLOW FEB AND APRIL’S LEAD!!

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COMEX GOLD INVENTORIES/CLASSIFICATION

NEW PLEDGED GOLD:

241,794.285 oz NOW PLEDGED /HSBC  5.94 TONNES

204,937.290 OZ PLEDGED  MANFRA 3.08 TONNES

83,657.582 PLEDGED JPMorgan no 1  1.690 tonnes

265,999.054, oz  JPM No 2 

1,152,376.639 oz pledged  Brinks/

Manfra:  33,758.550 oz

Delaware: 193.721 oz

International Delaware::  11,188.542 oz

total pledged gold: 2,187,988.142 oz 68.05 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL GOLD ELIGIBLE AND REGISTERED GOLD 37,784,468.992 oz  

TOTAL REGISTERED GOLD 20,335,585.483: or 632.522 tonnes

TOTAL OF ALL ELIGIBLE GOLD 17,948,803.509 OZ  

END

REGISTERED GOLD THAT CAN BE SERVED UPON 18,147,589 oz (REG GOLD- PLEDGED GOLD)= 564.44 tonnes //

SILVER/COMEX

THE JUNE 2025  SILVER CONTRACT//INITIAL

JUNE 17

INITIAL

1 deposits into dealer accounts

0 entry

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1 DEPOSIT ENTRY/CUSTOMER ACCOUNT

1 DEPOSIT ENTRY

i) into Loomis: 1,199,797,400 oz

total deposit: 1,199,797.400 oz

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withdrawals: customer side/eligible

4 withdrawals:
i) Brinks 1200,739.460 oz
ii) Delaware: 5121.960 oz
iii) HSBC 321,442.400 oz
iv) Loomis 599,898.700 oz
total weight; 2,127,207.540 oz

ADJUSTMENTs 0

JPMorgan has a total silver weight: 214.820million oz/496.583 oz million  or 43.17%

TOTAL REGISTERED SILVER: 161.938 MILLION OZ//.TOTAL REG + ELIGIBLE. 496.583 Million oz

CALCULATIONS FOR THE NEW STANDING FOR SILVER FOR JUNE

silver open interest data:

FRONT MONTH OF JUNE /2025 OI: 66 OPEN INTEREST CONTRACTS FOR A LOSS OF 38 CONTRACTS. WE HAD 44 CONTRACTS SERVED ON MONDAY SO WE GAINED 6 CONTRACTS OR 0.300 MILLION OZ UNDERWENT A QUEUE JUMP IN ORDER TO TAKE DELIVERY OF PHYSICAL SILVER OVER ON THIS SIDE OF THE POND.

JULY LOST 922 CONTRACTS DOWN TO 84,818

AUGUST LOST 9 CONTRACTS TO 666

TOTAL NUMBER OF NOTICES FILED FOR TODAY: 4 or 20,000 oz

CONFIRMED volume; ON MONDAY 58,387 huge//

AND NOW MAY DELIVERIES:

To calculate the number of silver ounces that will stand for delivery in JUNE. we take the total number of notices filed for the month so far at 3244 X5,000 oz = 16.220 MILLION oz 

to which we add the difference between the open interest for the front month of JUNE (66) AND the number of notices served upon today (4 )x (5000 oz)

Thus the  standings for silver for the JUNE 2025 contract month:  (3244) Notices served so far) x 5000 oz + OI for the front month of JUNE(66) minus number of notices served upon today (4)x 5000 oz equals silver standing for the JUNE contract month equating to 16.540 MILLION OZ .

 New total standing:  16.540 million oz which is huge for this NON active delivery month of JUNE.

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 167.862million 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

JUNE 17  WITH GOLD DOWN $9.60 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 1.44 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 941.93 TONNES

JUNE 16  WITH GOLD DOWN $33.85 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 1.758 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 940.49 TONNES

JUNE 13  WITH GOLD UP $53.40 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.38 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 932.91 TONNES

JUNE 12  WITH GOLD UP $55.75 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 934.19 TONNES

JUNE 11  WITH GOLD UP $1.10 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.31 TONNEES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 935.91 TONNES

JUNE 10  WITH GOLD DOWN $11.80 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A DEPOSIT OF 2.02 TONNEES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 936.22 TONNES

JUNE 9  WITH GOLD UP $10.00 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.45 TONNEES OF GOLD FROM THE GLD//: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 934.20 TONNES

JUNE 6  WITH GOLD DOWN $28.00 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 935.65 TONNES

JUNE 5  WITH GOLD DOWN $23.10 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 935.65 TONNES

JUNE 4  WITH GOLD UP $22.30 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 2.58 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 935.65 TONNES

JUNE 3  WITH GOLD DOWN $19.85 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 2.87 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD. /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 933.07 TONNES

JUNE 2  WITH GOLD UP $80.90 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: /// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.20 TONNES

MAY 30  WITH GOLD DOWN $27.10 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 4.59 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 930.20 TONNES

MAY 29  WITH GOLD UP $22.35 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 3.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/// ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.71 TONNES

MAY 28  WITH GOLD DOWN $5.30 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 925.61 TONNES

MAY 27  WITH GOLD DOWN $63.50 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.43 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 922.46 TONNES

MAY 23  WITH GOLD UP $69.70 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 4.01 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 923.89TONNES

MAY 22  WITH GOLD DOWN $15.50 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.72 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 919.88 TONNES

MAY 21   WITH GOLD UP $28.75 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 0.57 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 921.60 TONNES

MAY 20   WITH GOLD UP $51.40 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 2.30 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 921.03 TONNES

MAY 19   WITH GOLD UP $46.65 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.89 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 918.73 TONNES

MAY 16   WITH GOLD DOWN $38.90 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.30 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 927.62 TONNES

MAY 15   WITH GOLD UP $38.80 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 4.53 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 931.92 TONNES

MAY 14   WITH GOLD DOWN $40.35 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.43 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 936.51 TONNES

MAY 13   WITH GOLD UP $19.85 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.71 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.94 TONNES

MAY 12   WITH GOLD DOWN $115.00 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.71 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.94 TONNES

MAY 9   WITH GOLD UP $37.50 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A DEPOSIT OF 2.01 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 939.68 TONNES

MAY 8   WITH GOLD DOWN $82.60 TODAY// SMALL CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD:A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.23 TONNES OF GOLD WITHDRAWN FROM THE GLD/ ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.67 TONNES

MAY 7   WITH GOLD DOWN $30.30 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.96 TONNES

MAY 6   WITH GOLD UP $101.55 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 6.32 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 937.96 TONNES

MAY 5   WITH GOLD UP $77.95 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.13 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 944.28 TONNES

MAY 2   WITH GOLD UP $ 18.40 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 1.15 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 945.41 TONNES

MAY 1   WITH GOLD DOWN $ 92,45 TODAY// HUGE CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A WITHDRAWAL OF 2.87 TONNES OF GOLD OUT OF THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 944.26 TONNES

APRIL30   WITH GOLD DOWN $14.05 TODAY// NO CHANGES IN GOLD AT THE GLD: A DEPOSIT OF 0.86 TONNES OF GOLD INTO THE GLD ///INVENTORY RESTS AT 947.13 TONNES

GLD INVENTORY: 941.93 TONNES, TONIGHTS TOTAL

SILVER

JUNE 17 WITH SILVER UP $0.67/ HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:. A DEPOSIT OF 1.273 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV..////INVENTORY RESTS AT 473.096 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 16 WITH SILVER UP $0.18/ HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:. A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.727 MILLION OZ FROM THE SLV..////INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.823 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 13 WITH SILVER UP $0.11/NO CHANGES AT THE SLV:.////INVENTORY RESTS AT 473.550 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 12 WITH SILVER UP $0.11/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1.276 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 473550 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 11 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.45/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1.046 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 472.274 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 10 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.16/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1.182 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.232 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 9 WITH SILVER UP $0.69/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1.182 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 472.914 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 6 WITH SILVER UP $0.63/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 3.863 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 471.732 MILLION OZ. (A TOTAL DEPOSIT OF 11.856 MILLION PHANTOM OZ IN THE LAST 4 DAYS)

JUNE 5 WITH SILVER UP $1.14/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 4.364 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 467.869 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 4 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.01/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 2.084 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 463.505 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 3 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.02/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 1.545 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV/ ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 461.421 MILLION OZ.

JUNE 2 WITH SILVER UP $1.58/NO CHANGES AT THE SLV: ././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 459.876 MILLION OZ.

MAY 30 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.36/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.773 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV././///INVENTORY RESTS AT 459.876 MILLION OZ.

MAY 29 WITH SILVER UP $0.29/NO CHANGES AT THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 457.103 MILLION OZ.

MAY 28 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.18/NO CHANGES AT THE SLV////INVENTORY RESTS AT 457.103 MILLION OZ.

MAY 27 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.34/HUGE CHANGES AT THE SLV//A DEPOSIT OF 2.728 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV//INVENTORY RESTS AT 457.103 MILLION OZ.

MAY 23 WITH SILVER UP $0.38/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.5 MILLION OZ OF SILVER INTO THE SLV/: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 454.375 MILLION OZ

MAY 22 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.27/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 451.875 MILLION OZ

MAY 21 WITH SILVER UP $0.35/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.091 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 451.875 MILLION OZ

MAY 20 WITH SILVER UP $0.65/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A DEPOSIT OF 2.41 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV// ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.784 MILLION OZ

MAY 19 WITH SILVER UP $0.17/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: A WITHDRAWAL OF 1.819 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV// ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 447.193 MILLION OZ

MAY 16 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.24/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.193 MILLION OZ

MAY 15 WITH SILVER UP 0.04/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.909 MILLION OZ OUT OF SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 449.193 MILLION OZ

MAY 14 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.39/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A WITHDRAWAL OF 0.682 MILLION OZ OUT OF SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 450.102 MILLION OZ

MAY 13 WITH SILVER UP $0.44/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.001 MILLION OZ INTO SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 450.7845 MILLION OZ

MAY 12 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.30/HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV A DEPOSIT OF 2.001 MILLION OZ INTO SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 450.7845 MILLION OZ

MAY 9 WITH SILVER UP $0.31/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.783 MILLION OZ

MAY 8 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.16/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:NO CHANGE IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.783 MILLION OZ

MAY 7 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.54/NO CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV: ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.783 MILLION OZ

MAY 6 WITH SILVER UP $0.92 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A HUG WITHDRAWAL OF 2.818 MILLION OZ OUT OF THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 448.783 MILLION OZ

MAY 5 WITH SILVER UP $0.08 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A SMALL DEPOSIT OF 0.117 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 450.602 MILLION OZ

MAY 2 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.19 /MASSIVE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A HUGE WITHDRAWAL OF 4.545 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 450.424 MILLION OZ

MAY 1 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.43 /SMALL CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 0.683 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 454.972 MILLION OZ

APRIL30 WITH SILVER DOWN $0.65 /HUGE CHANGES IN SILVER INVENTORY AT THE SLV:A DEPOSIT OF 2.364 MILLION OZ INTO THE SLV ////: //INVENTORY AT SLV RESTS AT 454.289 MILLION OZ

CLOSING INVENTORY 473.096 MILLION OZ//

SINGAPORE VOLUMES AND VOLUMES FOR JUNE 16

SHANGHAI VOLUMES FOR JUNE 17

PHYSICAL GOLD/SILVER COMMENTARIES

1/ PETER SCHIFF/SCHIFF GOLD/MIKE MAHARRY

PETER SCHIFF

MATHEW PIEPENBERG

Gold: The Global Financial System’s Lie-Detector?

Monday, Jun 16, 2025 – 08:55 PM

Authored by Matthew Piepenburg via vongreyerz.gold,

Is gold calling out a broken global financial system?

One Big…Lie?

Earlier this year, I was asked to give my most “heretic” opinion about the global financial system.

This was an unusual yet bold question, and after a brief pause, I answered that the entire system was…, well:

“A lie.”

This may seem like a sensational response in an industry sometimes prone to the sensational; however, if we look at stubborn facts, the answer is truer than it is extreme.

When it comes to a financial system rotting from within, the Botox-like beauty of our ballooning S&P and centralized credit market hides an aging and decrepit disease.

That is, policy lies, like Botox, can’t hide reality forever, and the evidence of a fatally debt-sick system hiding financial truths behind forked tongues and euphemistic lingo is literally all around us.

A Long List of Truth-Stretching…

From the very era of my birth, the list of lies is almost comical.

Nixon:

In 1971, for example, when Nixon decoupled the dollar from gold [thereby allowing his own and future administrations the unfettered luxury (and sickness) of expanding (debasing) the money supply], he promised the measure would be “temporary” and that “our dollar would be worth just as much tomorrow as it is today.”

Both statements, of course, were open lies.

54 years later, the dollar remains un-chaperoned to gold, and when measured against a milligram of that same precious metal, the USD (and other major Fiat currencies) has lost 99% of its purchasing power.

Meanwhile, gold is rising faster against the USD and other world currencies as their purchasing power is diluted by desperate policies to inflate away their debt with debased currencies.

Lying to Our Founding Fathers:

It’s also worth noting that our fiat paper Dollar, un-backed by gold, is a direct contradiction to our Constitution, and in my mind, is itself just another, well…Lie.

Wilson’s Fed:

But long before the lies of 1971, let us not forget the lie of 1913, when Wilson signed an equally unconstitutional Federal Reserve into law, a so-called “independent” bank which is anything but independent (it’s effectively a fourth branch of government) and is neither “Federal” nor a “Reserve.”

Larry Summers:

Fast forward to the great financial crisis of 2008, which was effectively a mortgage—backed-security credit implosion driven by an unregulated derivatives market, and we see even more staggering dishonesty.

A decade before this levered credit implosion, Assistant Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was called to Congress to answer Brooksley Born’s concerns (as head of the CFTC) that these derivative instruments, if left unregulated, would destabilize markets.

Summers publicly embarrassed Born and then told the world that the bankers in charge of these OTC instruments of levered destruction were more than sophisticated enough to manage the risks.

Of course, by the 2008 market implosion, we all knew that assertion was a lie.

Bernanke, Yellen & Powell:

We also know that when the markets tanked in 2008 (thanks largely to Mr. Summers’ deregulation fiasco), Bernanke’s subsequent promise that the money printing which followed (counterfeiting euphemistically called “Quantitative Easing”) would only be a “temporary” measure was just another lie.

QE1 was soon followed by QE 2,3,4 “Operation Twist” and then “Unlimited QE” by 2020.

But such lies are nothing new to central bankers. Remember Yellen?

And let us not forget Powell’s 2021 promise that the inflation (a direct result of the very money printing Bernanke promised would be “temporary” in 2010) facing the USA would only be “transitory.”

We knew then, as we still know today, that transitory inflation, like the very scale which measures CPI, were just more lies.

In fact, lies, like the euphemisms from on top, are almost standard policy from our so-called policy makers.

MMT:

“Modern Monetary Theory,” or “MMT,” for example, is neither modern, nor monetary, nor a theory.

The fantasy of believing a nation can solve a debt crisis via more debt, which is then monetized by creating fake money, has been tried from ancient Rome and 1789 France to 1990’s Yugoslavia.

But as history confirms, it has failed EVERY time.

Other Lies…

Other such lying euphemisms, from the “Patriot Act” and the “Department of Homeland Security” to the “safe and effective” of our now-pardoned “trust the science” leadership may be less economic, but they are no less dishonest—being far more about centralization than anything “patriotic” or “security” driven…

In sum, so many lies, so many examples.

And the fact that 99% of our nation’s now openly distrusted (by greater than 40% of the US population) media outlets are owned by just five mega-corporations, is it any wonder that such lies, as Mark Twain quipped, “can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”?

But as introduced above, eventually the lies can no longer hide what our eyes, intuition, and wallets can see, touch or feel.

Gold: The Ultimate Lie Detector

Toward this end, we clearly know we are reaching an inflection point in the global financial system when even the liars have started to confess the truth, and much of this truth is golden.

As I noted elsewhere, a group of European Central Bank economists have just said the quiet part out loud.

In a recent report, they warned that rising demand for physical gold (over 2000 tons from London to NYC in 2025) could send the European Union into collapse.

Why?

Because the Eurozone, already teetering on skyrocketing debts and rising bond yields (and hence interest rates), doesn’t have the money nor the gold to meet their 100:1 levered gold derivative contracts hitherto floating on the London and NY Gold Exchanges with a gross exposure of over $1T.

Yes, One TRILLION.

Sadly, we’ve been warning of this derivative time bomb and Comex insanity for years, yet only now the ECB is confessing its trillion-dollar problem out loud.

These metals exchanges, which rolled over and extended paper gold contracts since the 1970s to artificially short (i.e., price control) the gold price, were basically credit exchanges, not gold storage providers…

But now they are seeing counterparties wanting the physical gold itself rather than just their extended paper contracts.

Unfortunately, the Eurozone doesn’t have the gold their contracts promised.

In short, they are caught in a lie.

The other lie is trying to “blame” this leverage trap on gold while failing to confess that counterparties are seeking actual gold delivery to cover their own past sins.

That is, they need the gold because they trust this hitherto “pet rock” analog asset as a far, far superior store of value and reserve asset than the sovereign bonds and paper currencies they’ve been destroying for decades—something we have also been forewarning for years.

In other words, gold is no longer just a hedge or matter of speculation, it’s THE emerging global Tier-1 asset which even those folks at the BIS and IMF (notorious for “bending” truths) now openly recognize as THE reserve asset in a world openly losing confidence in the debased paper money and distrusted IOUs from a world falling off a $300T global debt cliff.

In short: Gold is calling BS on an entire global financial system whose dishonest fantasy policies of thinking they could take sovereign debt levels to unprecedented/historical and drunken levels to buy time, votes and wealth inequality without a hangover.

Or stated more simply, gold is unmasking the lie of deficits without tears, money printing without currency debasement and debt without destruction.

When I think of such “leaders” and financial policies, I am again reminded of Mark Twain, who observed: “I sometimes wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.”

No Surprise at All

But such imbecility (or dishonesty) is no surprise to those who understand math, history and sound money—i.e. those who understand gold.

For years, family offices, private wealth advisors at lofty bank X, Y&Z and even RIA A, B&C have been telling themselves (and you) that gold is just too “volatile.”

Gold has been less than a 1% allocation for most family offices and an even lesser allocation for all other investors for years and years.

But gold has outperformed the S&P (at even a total return basis) for TWENTY years, and is the highest performing asset of 2025.

Under NO stretch of the imagination (or even objective math) is this asset even close to being “too volatile” of late.

Far more importantly, gold’s real secular move has yet to even begin, despite over two (largely ignored) decades of outperforming traditional risk assets.

Meanwhile, the so-called “smart money” – from the Harvard Endowment to Family Office A, B&C–are stuck in private credit pools (what Jeffrey Gundlach described as the new “weapons of mass destruction”) and other non-marked-to-market PE timebombs whose hey days are about to become dark days in the illiquidity that defines all credit cycle implosions, toward which we are marching at top speed.

And in this very strange backdrop, the very central bankers who have downplayed, ignored, and intentionally misrepresented gold, are now buying it at record levels.

In short, even the liars are now stacking the hidden truth.

The ironies. They do abound.

END

JOHN RUBINO…

Evaporating Silver

All those missiles…

The world is riveted to middle-of-the-night images of Tel Aviv, as missiles rain down from the sky and buildings explode. This is horrifying in terms of human suffering. And it’s exhausting, watching humans find yet another reason to kill each other.

Butit’s validating for us cynical stackers, as all the silver in those missiles is reduced to its molecular components and scattered in the wind.

Everyone Wants Missiles Now

As the world discovers how well missiles work even against advanced defensive arrays, pretty much every national military budget is being amended to include massively increased numbers of cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic variants, most of which will contain some silver.

Meanwhile, the metal is already in deficit, as mines can’t produce enough to satisfy demand:

Bullion Banks Prepare for a Smackdown

Over in the paper markets (yes, they still exist), silver is being shorted aggressively by the big banks, which might portend a near-term price correction. Here’s how that works:

Different groups of futures contract traders play games with each other on exchanges like the Comex. One group — the commercials — prefers cheap silver because they use it to make things. Another group — traders — likes momentum, and tends to pile into silver when it’s rising. So the commercials, via big “bullion” banks that they employ, push the silver price up, sucking traders into aggressive long positions. Then they pull out the rug, dropping the price and forcing traders to panic-sell. The commercials then step in to buy their year-ahead silver quotas at bargain prices.

They may be doing this again. Note the high commercial net short position. That kind of extreme positioning frequently precedes a price decline.

Be Aware, and Prepare

If this pattern repeats and silver corrects, ignore the price action and focus on geopolitics. Barring a nuclear holocaust, the world’s militaries will be massive buyers of missiles, and therefore silver, for years to come. The silver deficit will continue to expand until the paper games end and physical panic buying sends the price into triple-digits. So keep stacking, no matter what happens in the next few months.

2.ALASDAIR MACLEOD

\nterest on reserves —fallacy and fact

The UK’s Reform Party says that the Bank of England should not pay interest on reserves, potentially saving £30 billion a year. The BoE resists it. Which is right?

Richard Tice, Reform’s Deputy Leader accused the Bank of England of enriching City institutions to the tune of billions of pounds at the taxpayers’ expense. But this is typical political-speak, designed to appeal to the masses with a simple argument. Naturally perhaps, The Bank of England has rejected Tice’s proposal.

This was not an issue until the BoE, under pressure from the government of the day and the actions of its central bank group-thinking peers, started to buy up its government’s bonds in the market — otherwise known as quantitative easing (QE).

The objective was to stimulate the economy by creating extra credit. The way QE worked was that pension funds and insurance companies holding gilts would be offered attractive bids for their holdings to encourage them to sell. Those which sold would then reinvest the proceeds, created out of nothing, into other bonds or equities to offer them a better return over the whole transaction.

Because these non-bank institutions do not have accounts with the BoE, the transactions are handled through their commercial banks. Therefore, payment for the QE bonds is credited to the selling institution’s bank. And the selling institution’s bank account is credited to match.

The key to understanding the transaction is that the BoE operates in the same way as any commercial bank. In return for delivery of the QE bonds, the BoE enters into a credit obligation in favour of the pension fund’s banker, on which interest is paid just as if it was a transaction between two commercial banks.

What would happen if the BoE didn’t pay the prevailing rate of interest, as Tice demanded?

Remember that the correct definition of a bank is that it is a dealer in credit, creating credit under loan contract for a higher interest rate than it pays to its depositors. That is the core reason for any bank’s existence, the rest being just bells and whistles.

If a central bank refused to pay interest, commercial banks would be reluctant to act for clients selling bonds to the central bank because it is not in their interest to do so. A possible remedy is that a central bank could force commercial banks to hold an increased portion of their assets in required reserves. But this is turning the clock back to pre-Basel 3 days, when credit creation was regulated by managing the level of required reserves instead of the Basel 3 risk-based approach.

Furthermore, there is a wider operational consideration. When management of required reserves was in the monetary toolbox, if it became known that a bank was obtaining extra credits from its central bank it was suspected to have liquidity issues. Consequently, banks avoided what was known as the discount window, which was the source of this additional credit and the same thing as a short-term deposit. Basel 3 changed that by listing deposits at a central bank as Level 1 zero-weighted high quality loan assets.[i]

The change in emphasis meant that the Bank of England could operate freely in money markets without creating stigmas for their counterparties. It was then able to influence wholesale rates directly, preventing rate spikes in times of stress. It has been the principal reason behind money market rate stability in recent years. All this is permitted because the BoE pays interest on its liabilities to commercial banks: in other words, their reserve accounts.

Clearly, political populist commentary over interest payments on bank reserves, “enriching City institutions to the tune of billions of pounds at the taxpayers’ expense” is based on ignorance of the way things actually work. There is much else to blame the BoE for, but paying interest on reserves is not one of them.

[i] See Basel III: The Liquidity Coverage Ratio and liquidity risk monitoring tools (https://www.bis.org/publ/bcbs238.pdf)

DR DANIELLE LECALLE

Only Bitcoin & Gold Can Stop Governments From Destroying The Currency

by Tyler Durden

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 07:45 AM

Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

Allow me to remind you of a few uncomfortable truths.

Government spending is out of control in developed nations. Furthermore, no interventionist government wants to cut spending or balance the budget. Government spending empowers politicians, and reducing it means losing the grip on the economy.

Interventionist governments aren’t concerned about debts, deficits, or inflation. Inflation is a deliberate policy, and interventionist governments seek to nationalize the economy while imposing total control over productive sectors by issuing continuously devalued currencies.

Government spending is printing money. Politicians are happy to promise more free stuff by endlessly spending because they know they won’t pay for it and that it will make citizens and businesses more dependent and submissive to political power. No government can truly reduce debt without cutting spending.

Inflation is evidence of the loss of solvency for the issuer of money. It is a de facto slow default. Inflation serves as a policy that justifies and perpetuates significant government imbalances, shifting the financial burden onto real wages and deposit savings.

The fallacy of balancing the budget through higher taxes leads to economic stagnation and more debt. High taxes are not a tool to reduce debt but to justify high indebtedness. Tax receipts are cyclical whereas government expenditures are consolidated and annualised.

No interventionist government is going to willingly act to reduce debt and spending because they can always tax more and blame others for their problems. Furthermore, central banks have stopped playing the essential role of curbing fiscal excess to become enablers of rising fiscal imbalances.

Central banks play a crucial role in the fiat world due to the intertwining of monetary and fiscal policy. The system will gradually collapse if central banks do not stop the growth of government fiscal imbalances.

However, the independence of central banks is diminishing daily, and their policies tend to conceal excessive government spending and debt. Meanwhile, governments ignore the fact that they have surpassed the three limits of government debt: economic, fiscal, and inflationary. More government debt means lower growth, more taxes generate weaker receipts, and more government spending perpetuates inflation.

Now that central banks have stopped being the essential limit to government excess, there are only two alternatives: gold and Bitcoin.

Gold has already overtaken the euro as the second largest asset after the US dollar in global central banks. In a few months, it will be the largest asset. Global central banks have lost confidence in sovereign debt from developed countries as a reserve asset. Thus, developed nations’ long-term bond yields rise above inflation rate expectations.

Bitcoin, on the other hand, has shown investors and citizens that a decentralised currency can gradually become a low-volatility reserve asset, a generalised means of payment, and a unit of measurement. As global citizens see Bitcoin as an increasingly viable alternative to fiat money, more are using it to store value and protect themselves against inflation.

Investors do not trust developed economies to maintain their solvency. Gold and Bitcoin are now playing the role that central banks have abandoned: reminding governments that they cannot spend and print currency forever. Bitcoin may be a teenager and more volatile, but the powerful message to the world is clear: the years of uncontrolled government spending and printing are over.

Obviously, governments do not like this. And central banks that have stopped being as independent as they should be, like the ECB, are looking to eliminate the risk of independent currencies taking away the monopoly of money by issuing a legally imposed central bank digital currency (CBDC). Interestingly, the U.S. administration is doing the opposite, banning CBDCs and embracing crypto as the next monetary revolution.

The ECB is admitting the euro’s enormous loss of utilisation in global transactions and panicking by issuing a surveillance tool disguised as money, the CBDC. The US administration wants to cement the dollar’s reserve status by attracting global investment in crypto.

Bitcoin and gold are now playing the essential role that independent central banks should be enforcing. Central banks are unnecessarily dovish and continue to disguise bloated government imbalances. Gold and Bitcoin are essential parts of the answer to the inflationary temptations of governments. The only things that will save us from government excesses are decentralisation and independent money.

3. CHRIS POWELL AND HIS DISPATCHES

“Worst Case Outcome”: Mali Places Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto Mine Into State Control

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 02:00 PM

A Malian court has ordered Barrick Gold Corp.’s Loulo-Gounkoto mine into six months of provisional administration, transferring control of one of the Canadian firm’s key assets to a state-appointed manager. Judge Issa Aguibou Diallo said Soumana Makadji, an accountant and former health minister, will oversee operations, according to Bloomberg.

The ruling follows months of tensions. In January, Barrick suspended operations after authorities blocked exports over a tax and royalty dispute. Though the company agreed to a resolution in February, it says Malian officials have yet to act. Meanwhile, exports from the mine—responsible for 723,000 ounces of gold last year—have been halted since November.

Mali’s junta, facing financial strain, demands back taxes and adherence to laws that would grant the state a larger stake and higher royalties. In October, Barrick paid $85 million as part of ongoing negotiations. The government has since seized 3 tons of gold and detained four Barrick employees.

Bloomberg writes that Barrick called the court move illegal and a breach of its contractual rights. “While the company has made a number of good faith concessions in the spirit of partnership, it cannot accept terms that would compromise the legal integrity or long-term viability of the operations,” it said in a Monday statement.

Last month, the company turned to the World Bank’s arbitration tribunal to block the provisional administration. A legal representative for Mali’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

Mali defends the takeover as necessary “to ensure the continuity of operations and protect its national interests.”

“This scenario [is] the worst-case outcome for Barrick,” said RBC analyst Josh Wolfson. “In our view, it is most appropriate to assume zero go-forward production for Barrick, while some partial value recovery could be possible through a protracted arbitration process on a longer-dated basis.”

lIVE FROM THE VAULT 227

Episode 227

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

6 CRYPTOCURRENCY NEWS

ASIAN MARKETS THIS MORNING:

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 1.32 PTS OR 0.04%

//Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 87.82 PTS OR 0.37%

// Nikkei CLOSED UP 225.41 PTS OR 0.59% //Australia’s all ordinaries CLOSED DOWN 0.04%

//Chinese yuan (ONSHORE) CLOSED DOWN AT 7.1825 OFFSHORE CLOSED DOWN AT 7.1845/ Oil UP TO 72.71 dollars per barrel for WTI and BRENT UP TO 74.18 Stocks in Europe OPENED ALL RED

ONSHORE USA/ YUAN TRADING ABOVE LEVEL OF OFFSHORE YUAN TRADING :/ONSHORE YUAN UP TRADING AT 7.1825 AND WEAKER//OFF SHORE YUAN TRADING UP TO 7.1845 AGAINST US DOLLAR/ AND THUS WEAKER

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

ONSHORE YUAN:   CLOSED DOWN TO 7.1825 (CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY MANIPULATED)

OFFSHORE YUAN: DOWN TO 7.1845 (CCP MANIPULATED)

SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 1.32 PTS OR 0.04%

HANG SENG CLOSED DOWN 87.82 PTS OR 0.37%

2. Nikkei closed UP 225.41 PTS OR 0.59%

3. Europe stocks   SO FAR:  ALL RED

USA dollar INDEX DOWN TO  97,72// EURO RISES TO 1.1555 UP 1 BASIS PTS

3b Japan 10 YR bond yield: RISES TO. +1.475//Japan buying 100% of bond issuance)/Japanese YEN vs USA cross now at 144.69…… 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: DOWN OFFSHORE: DOWN

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

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

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

3h European bond buying continues to push yields lower on all fronts in the EMU. German 10yr bund YIELD UP TO +2.5460/Italian 10 Yr bond yield UP to 3.5160 SPAIN 10 YR BOND YIELD UP TO 3.235%

3i Greek 10 year bond yield UP TO 3.325

3j Gold at $3384.50 Silver at: 36.41  1 am est) SILVER NEXT RESISTANCE LEVEL AT $50.00//AFTER 28.40

3k USA vs Russian rouble;// Russian rouble DOWN 0 AND 35 /100  roubles/dollar; ROUBLE AT 78.97

3m oil into the 72 dollar handle for WTI and  74 handle for Brent/

3n Higher foreign deposits moving out of China//  huge risk of outflows and a currency depreciation. This can spell financial disaster for the rest of the world/

JAPAN ON JAN 29.2016 CONTINUES NIRP. THIS MORNING RAISES AMOUNT OF BONDS THAT THEY WILL PURCHASE UP TO .5% ON THE 10 YR BOND///YEN TRADES TO 144.69// 10 YEAR YIELD AFTER FIRST BREAKING .54% LAST YEAR NOW EXCEEDS THAT LEVEL TO 1.475% 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 0.8122 as the Swiss Franc is still rising against most currencies. Euro vs SF:   0.9387 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: 4.439 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS…

USA 30 YR BOND YIELD: 4.954 UP 0 BASIS PTS/

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD:  3.956 DOWN 1 BASIS PTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 39.37

10 YR UK BOND YIELD: 4.5710 UP 4 PTS

10 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 3.399 UP 3 BASIS PTS

5 YR CANADA BOND YIELD: 2.992 UP 3 PTS

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2a New York OPENING REPORT

2b European Opening report

Crude bid and stocks hit after Trump comments & continued strikes, DXY flat into Retail Sales – Newsquawk US Market Open

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 05:48 AM

• US President Trump says he wants “a real end,” with Iran “giving up entirely” on nukes”, via CBS’s Jacobs.
• US President Trump says the EU is not yet offering a fair deal, there is a chance of a deal with Japan but they are “tough”. Pharma tariffs coming soon.
• Stocks hit as Iran-Israel strikes continue and Trump posts that “everyone” should evacuate Tehran.
• FX markets in narrow ranges awaiting US Retail Sales; incremental strength in JPY post-BoJ, but Ueda sparked some weakness thereafter.
• Two-way action for JGBs; USTs just about firmer while EGBs & Gilts reside in the red.
• Crude moves higher as Trump cuts his G7 trip short and now awaiting developments from the situation in Iran.
• Looking ahead, US Export/Import Prices, Retail Sales, Industrial Production, BoC Minutes, G7 Leaders’ Summit.

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TRADE/TARIFF

• US President Trump said he signed a document finalising a trade deal with Britain (as expected). US President Trump said the UK is protected (regarding tariffs) because he likes the UK. US tariff on UK steel to remain at 25% for now, according to Bloomberg citing a UK official. Imports of automobiles within tariff-rate quota that would otherwise be subject to a 25% tariff shall instead be subject to a combined tariff of 10%. The US and UK committed to strengthening aerospace and aircraft manufacturing supply chains by establishing tariff-free bilateral trade in certain aerospace products. The US intends to promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles and certain derivative steel and aluminium articles that are products of the UK. The US and UK committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes on pharmaceuticals and ingredients of the UK, contingent on findings of an investigation. The US intends to create an annual quota of 100,000 vehicles for United Kingdom automotive imports at a 10 per cent tariff rate.
• US President Trump says the EU is not yet offering a fair deal, there is a chance of a deal with Japan but they are “tough”. Could do a separate deal with Canada on the Golden Dome. Pharma tariffs are coming “very soon”.
• US President Trump met with European Commission President von der Leyen per her request, according to CBS’ Jacobs.
• EU and US leaders reportedly instructed teams to accelerate work on trade, according to Bloomberg citing European Commission President von der Leyen
• Canadian PM Carney and US President Trump agreed to pursue negotiations toward a new economic and security relationship within the coming 30 days, according to the Canadian PM’s office.
• Japanese PM Ishiba and US President Trump did not reach a tariff agreement; but confirmed they are to continue tariff talks, according to Fuji TV. Japan Finance Minister Kato said no fixed plan right now to hold further talks with US Treasury Secretary Bessent.
• White House said, concerning steel and aluminium, Secretary Lutnick will determine the quota of products that can enter the US without being subject to 25% Section 232 tariffs, according to Reuters.
• FBN’s Gasparino posted ““As of today Xi and Trump have not talked about the fate of TikTok US. It’s last on the list. Most likely get punted for another 75 days on June 19th. The AI chip sales to China are emerging as a much bigger issue”.

EUROPEAN TRADE

EQUITIES

• European bourses (STOXX 600 -0.8%) opened lower across the board and sentiment continued to wane as the morning progressed; the complex currently just off worst levels. Sentiment today has been hit amid the currently tumultuous geopolitical environment in the Middle East. Iran and Israel have continued to strike each other overnight and US President Trump said “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”, while also cutting his G7 trip short.
• European sectors hold a strong negative bias with only handful of sectors in positive territory. Unsurprisingly, Energy takes the top spot with the complex boosted by the ongoing strength in oil prices amid geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. Banks sit at the foot of the pile, joined closely by Telecoms and then Media.
• US equity futures (ES -0.6% NQ -0.6% RTY -0.8%) are lower across the board in-fitting with the downbeat risk tone seen in the European session. Focus now turns to US Retail Sales, Exports/Imports and Industrial Production.
• Click for the European Equity news
• Click for the additional news
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FX

• DXY is flat and trading in a tight 98.06-98.21 range. The news cycle remains fixated on the ongoing conflict between Iran-Israel. However, the latest reporting suggests that the US is looking to make a deal with Iran and will not be joining the Israeli offensive. Those hoping for a breakthrough on trade at the G7 summit have been left disappointed after Trump cut his visit short to head back to Washington. Albeit, Treasury Secretary Bessent is staying behind at the summit. Now focus turns to US Retail Sales later.
• EUR is flat vs. the USD as the pair struggles to hold above the 1.16 mark. In terms of recent newsflow, traders await any progress on the trade front between the EU and US after reports that leaders instructed teams to accelerate work on trade. However, in recent trade, US President Trump has stated that the EU is not yet offering a fair deal.
• USD/JPY was initially lifted during APAC trade with haven flows from geopolitics short-lived as Japanese PM Ishiba and US President Trump failed to reach a tariff agreement. Additionally, Japanese Finance Minister Kato added that there is no fixed plan right now to hold further talks with US Treasury Secretary Bessent. Thereafter, the pair saw downticks on the BoJ decision which saw the Bank stand pat on policy (as expected) and announce a reduction in the amount of monthly JGB purchases by about JPY 200bln each quarter from April 2026 onward. Some drew attention to the hawkish dissent from Tamura as well as a near-term increase in the taper of short-term JGBs. During Ueda’s press conference, JPY strength faded with the CB head stating that the Bank judged that downside risks are bigger for the economy and prices. USD/JPY currently sits towards the middle of its 144.41-145.11 range.
• GBP is fractionally softer vs. the USD and EUR after seeing some choppy price action following the US and the UK formally signing their trade agreement. The details of which mean that the US tariff on UK steel is to remain at 25%, for now. Inflation data for May hits on Wednesday and is expected to show headline Y/Y CPI hold steady at 3.5%, with the services component set to decline to 5.0% from 5.4%. GBP/USD is currently contained within Monday’s 1.3535-1.3622 range.
• Fell overnight on the BoJ which was largely as expected, with rates left unchanged and the taper pace trimmed to JPY 200bln a quarter (currently JPY 400bln) from April 2026 onwards. and at the top of the G10 leaderboard in an extension of the price action with both risk-sensitive currencies overlooking the downside in stocks.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1746 vs exp. 7.1820 (prev. 7.1789); strongest CNY fix since March 19.
• Click for a detailed summary
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FIXED INCOME

• JGBs fell overnight on the BoJ which was largely as expected, with rates left unchanged and the taper pace trimmed to JPY 200bln a quarter (currently JPY 400bln) from April 2026 onwards. The hawkish impulse came from Tamura’s dissent, who favoured maintaining the old pace of tapering until end-Q1 2027.
• USTs are firmer, but only modestly so. In a relatively thin 110-15+ to 110-23 band. Overnight, the 20yr auction was better than the prior, but roughly in-line with the six auction average. More recently, USTs saw some modest movements alongside JGBs. Overall, the benchmark is awaiting US data and clarity on a number of moving parts.
• Bunds are also contained, but with a modest bearish bias in play. A bias which potentially comes ahead of supply, though the German outing today is small and size and thus shouldn’t be exerting too much influence. Initially saw some pressure on the lack of EU-US progress at the G7. However, the subsequent meeting between Trump and Commission President von der Leyen, and then von der Leyen posting that on trade they “instructed the teams to accelerate their work to strike a good and fair deal.”, offset some pressure.
• Gilts are trading in tandem with Bunds, but with the benchmark under slightly more pressure. But, as above, today’s range is limited and Gilts have been a little choppy within it, though the bias is more bearish than peers. A direction potentially exacerbated by the morning’s supply as the DMO is set to sell GBP 4.5bln 4.375% 2030 Gilt. The auction was well received, featuring a better b/c and smaller tails than the prior, but failed to spur any upside.
• Saudi National Bank is “teeing” up a USD-denominated debt sale, according to Bloomberg; said to be a 10yr with IPTs circa 235bps over USTs.
• UK sells GBP 4.5bln 4.375% 2030 Gilt: b/c 3.26x (prev. 3.23x), average yield 4.06% (prev. 3.977%) & tail 0.2bps (prev. 0.4bps).
• Germany sells EUR 0.988bln vs exp. EUR 1.0bln 2.10% 2029 and EUR 0.497bln vs exp. EUR 0.5bln 2.30% 2033 Green Bund.
• Click for a detailed summary

COMMODITIES

• Crude is higher by around USD 1.10/bbl with the complex continuing to remain bid given the continued Iran-Israel strikes and hawkish comments via US President Trump. Most pertinently, he posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” – later he posted that he has “not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form”. Brent Sep’25 currently trades around USD 74.50/bbl.
• Spot gold is flat on the day, with Trump’s Tehran warning and the CBS interview failing to boost haven demand, and amid a flat Dollar.
• Copper trades indecisively amid the broader cautious risk tone following Israel-Iran updates.
• Russia’s Novak, on the need to change OPEC+ decision on oil production increase, says the world needs new volumes, but OPEC+ is ready to be flexible, via RIA. Global oil prices are not appropriate for most of the key oil producers.
• IEA OMR: World Oil Supply to rise by 1.8mln bpd in 2025 (prev. forecast rise of 1.6mln bpd); 2025 oil demand growth forecast to 720k bpd (prev. forecast 740k)
• Click for a detailed summary

NOTABLE DATA RECAP

• German ZEW Economic Sentiment (Jun) 47.5 vs. Exp. 35.0 (Prev. 25.2); ZEW says confidence is picking up in June 2025 and the indicator sees another tangible improvement; recent growth in investment and consumer demand have been contributing factors; ZEW Current Conditions (Jun) -72.0 vs. Exp. -75.0 (Prev. -82.0)
• EZ ZEW Survey Expectations 35.3 (prev. 11.6)

NOTABLE EUROPEAN HEADLINES

• ECB President Lagarde, in an FT Opinion piece, said Europe faces structural challenges. Its growth remains persistently low.
• ECB Stournaras says the ECB has reached a “first point of equilibrium” and any further rate cuts depend on data, speaking to Greek media.
• EU has refused to hold a flagship economic meeting with Beijing ahead of a leaders’ summit next month, according to FT.
• UK Chancellor Reeves is exploring reversing a decision to charge UK inheritance tax on the global assets of non-doms, according to FT.

NOTABLE US HEADLINES

• US Senate Finance Republicans release revised tax portion of US President Trump’s reconciliation bill; ” It includes major tax overhaul and Medicaid cuts”, according to CNN’s Raju. Senate Republican Tax and Budget Bill would end the USD 7,500 electric vehicle tax credit 180 days after signed into law. (of note for EV stocks). Proposes full phase-out of solar and wind energy tax credits by 2028, extends to 2036 for hydro, nuclear and geothermal.
• OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT) tensions are reaching a boiling point, via WSJ; “The startup, growing frustrated with its partner, has discussed making antitrust complaints to regulators”. OpenAI seeks new financial concessions from Microsoft (MSFT), according to The Information. OpenAI wants to modify existing clauses in the contract with Microsoft that give the Co. exclusive rights to host OpenAI models in its cloud. OpenAI wants Microsoft to have a roughly 33% stake in reshaped units in exchange for foregoing its rights to future profits.
• Final Senate passage vote on the GENIUS Act scheduled for Tuesday at 16:30 EDT.

GEOPOLITICS

EUROPEAN SESSION

• CBS’s Jacobs writes US President Trump said “I didn’t say I was looking for a ceasefire,” he said on AF1. He said he wants “a real end,” with Iran “giving up entirely” on nukes.” On any threat to US interests, he said Iran knows not to touch our troops. US would “come down so hard if they do anything to our people,” he said. Asked his thinking on calling for Tehran to evacuate, he told me he wants “people to be safe.” Asked if US involvement would destroy Iran nuclear program, hope their program “is wiped out long before that.” Trump sounded undecided about sending Witkoff and/or VP Vance to meet with Iran. “I may,” he said. But “it depends what happens when I get back,” he said. Trump declined to say if the chairman of joint chiefs and SecDef have provided him with planning options should Iran attack U.S. bases in Middle East. “I can’t tell you that,” he told me. The Israelis aren’t slowing up their barrage on Iran, he predicted. “You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.”
• Israeli officials tell Axios that regime change isn’t an official war aim, discussions about it are getting louder and more overt, via Axios.
• Politico Reports: US President Trump will convene his closest military advisers in the Situation Room this morning, where he weighs “whether to join Israel’s bombardment of Iran”.
• US President Trump says he is “looking for better than a ceasefire in Iran”, “not too much in the mood to negotiate with Iran”.
• US President Trump says he has “not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form”.
• Senior Iranian Army Commander says attacks against Israel will intensify in the next hours, new wave of drones will hit Israel, via IRNA.
• CNN, citing sources, reports that Iran was up to three years away from being able to produce a nuclear bomb, via Sky News Arabia; US official cited adds that they believe recent Israeli strikes have pushed this back by only a few months.

STRIKES

• Iranian ballistic missiles reported over Tel Aviv, via Fox correspondent.
• Iranian media reported several explosions and heavy air defence fire in the capital Tehran; Several explosions east of Tehran amid air defence fire, according to Fars.
• Reports of multiple explosions in Ahvaz – in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran, according to Iran International.
• Unconfirmed reports noted that three ships are on fire in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, according to several social media accounts. Ambrey later said it is aware of an incident 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in UAE (close to the Strait of Hormuz). Incident in Khor Fakkan near the Strait of Hormuz seemingly was caused by two vessels colliding, according to Kpler’s Bakr citing their terminal
• IAEA Director Grossi said the damage recorded at Fordow was very limited, underground spaces at the Isfahan facility do not appear to have been affected.

DIPLOMACY

• US President Trump directed members of his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible, according to CNN sources.
• Trump team proposes Iran talks this week on nuclear deal and ceasefire, according to Axios. The White House is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to four sources briefed on the issue.
• Israeli media reports that Trump is preparing to make a ‘final offer’ to Iran in the coming days, according to Spectator Index.
• US President Trump said Iran should have signed the deal, Iran wants to make a deal, according to Reuters.
• French President Macron said Americans have made an offer to meet with Iranians, now will see what happens. Macron said European partners are ready to take part in serious Iran nuclear negotiations if a ceasefire is reached. Macron said Trump told G7 leaders there were discussions to obtain a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

TRUMP

• US President Trump posted “Iran should have signed the “deal,” I told them to sign…IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON… Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
• US President Trump posted “AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
• “President Trump is leaving the G7 summit EARLY and will return to DC tonight.”, according to CNN reporter; Bloomberg suggests due to the Middle East crisis.
• US President Trump requested the National Security Council be prepared in the Situation Room, according to reports citing Fox.
• “US is NOT joining Israel offensively in its military operation, per US officials. Despite reports that President Trump asked the NSC and Situation Room to be readied,” according to CBS’ Jacobs.
• CBS’ Jacobs posted “Trump isn’t leaving [right now] because of discussions for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, I’m told…He is leaving G7 halfway through. Not entirely clear why”.
• US President Trump posts that his return to Washington had nothing to do with a ceasefire.

ALLIES

• Trump admin reportedly told several Middle Eastern allies on Sunday that it doesn’t plan to get actively involved in the war between Israel and Iran unless Iran targets Americans, according to Axios sources
• US is sending another aircraft carrier, and more warships to the Middle East, according to NBC.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said over the weekend he directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the US CENTCOM; additional deployments are intended to enhance the defensive posture in the region, according to Reuters.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said US President Trump still aims for a nuclear deal with Iran, via Fox News; assets in the region will be defended.
• White House aide said it is not true that the US is attacking Iran; says American forces are maintaining their defensive posture.
• “This may really be the last chance for the Iranians before the US actively joins”, according to journalist Stein citing a US source.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin is a little lower and trading just above the USD 106k mark; Ethereum holds around USD 2.5k.

BOJ

POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT

• BoJ maintained its interest rate at 0.5% as expected through a unanimous vote. The Bank has also decided to reduce the amount of its monthly JGB purchases by about JPY 200bln each quarter starting from April 2026, in line with source reports.
• The decision on the bond taper plan was made with an 8-1 vote, with Board member Tamura dissenting. Tamura dissented, arguing that the Bank should allow long-term interest rates to be determined by the market and its participants. He proposed that the Bank reduce its monthly outright purchases of JGBs by about 400bln yen each calendar quarter until January-March 2027 in principle, but this proposal was defeated by a majority vote.
• As part of the taper plan, Japan will continue to reduce JGB purchases by JPY 400bln per month until March 2026. From April 2026 onwards, the amount of monthly JGB purchases will be reduced by about JPY 200bln per quarter, with the total monthly purchases expected to be around JPY 2tln by January-March 2027. An interim assessment of the bond taper plan for the period starting in April 2026 will take place at the June 2026 policy meeting, and Japan is prepared to amend the taper plan at future policy meetings if necessary. The BoJ’s holdings of JGBs are expected to decrease by roughly 16-17% by March 2027 compared to June 2024 levels.
• BoJ said the frequency of auctions will be changed from four times a month to three times a month in principle for JGBs with shorter maturities; the frequency of auctions for JGBs with longer maturities has been maintained.
• Regarding economic conditions, Japan has maintained its economic assessment, noting that the economy has recovered moderately despite some areas of weakness. However, uncertainty remains high, particularly over the impact of trade policies, which are a key focus. The BoJ emphasised the necessity of paying attention to the potential effects of trade policies on financial and foreign exchange markets. Inflation expectations have risen moderately, but it remains extremely uncertain how global trade policies will evolve and how overseas economic activities will respond.

UEDA

• BoJ Governor Ueda says it is too quick tapering of bonds could result in unexpected effects in the market. Do not see much negative impact of reducing tapering on the economy. Judged that downside risks are bigger for the economy and prices. Inflation expectations are still not anchored to 2% in Japan. Expects the impact of trade policies to become more evident. Will not rule out any tools, when questioned on YCC. Click for BoJ Ueda’s full press conference..

APAC TRADE

• APAC stocks traded mixed/mostly lower with the region failing to coattail on Wall Street’s gains, as geopolitical angst kept risk subdued, namely after US President Trump posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” before cutting his G7 trip short, stoking fears of a US military offensive. Sentiment later stabilised after CBS reported that the US is not joining Israel offensively in its military operations against Iran, with US officials also backing a defensive stance amid assets in the region.
• ASX 200 traded slightly softer and in a narrow range, with upside in gold miners cushioning losses for the index.
• Nikkei 225 was kept afloat amid the softer JPY after the US and Japan failed to reach an agreement. The index saw a modest hawkish reaction to the BoJ decision which reduced the pace of JGB purchases as telegraphed.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened flat before tilting lower in overall uneventful trade across the Chinese bourses amid the cautious risk tone with the immediate focus largely on geopolitics.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• PBoC injected CNY 197.3bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 1.40%.

DATA RECAP

• New Zealand Food Price Index (May) 0.5% (Prev. 0.8%)

2c Asian opening report

Trump tells “everyone” to evacuate Tehran, leaves G7 for something “bigger than” brokering a ceasefire; BoJ’s Ueda up next – Newsquawk Europe Market Open

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 01:11 AM

• APAC stocks traded mixed/mostly lower with the region failing to coattail on Wall Street’s gains, as geopolitical angst kept risk subdued.
• US President Trump posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” before cutting his G7 trip short, stoking fears of a US military offensive. Sentiment later stabilised after CBS reported that the US is not joining Israel offensively in its military operations against Iran.
• BoJ maintained its rate at 0.5% as expected via unanimous vote, and is to reduce the amount of monthly JGB purchases by about JPY 200bln each quarter from April 2026 onward (as telegraphed); Tamura dissented on the taper plan.
• Japanese PM Ishiba and US President Trump did not reach a tariff agreement, but confirmed they are to continue tariff talks, according to Fuji TV.
• European equity futures are indicative of a softer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.6% after cash closed with gains of 1.0% on Monday.
• Looking ahead, highlights include German ZEW, US Export/Import Prices, Retail Sales, Industrial Production, BoJ Press Conference, BoC Minutes, G7 Leaders’ Summit, IEA OMR, Supply from UK, Germany & US.

SNAPSHOT

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1. Subscribe to the free premarket movers reports

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

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

US TRADE

EQUITIES

• US stocks were bid across the board on Monday, with notable outperformance in the Nasdaq and the majority of sectors in the green.
• In terms of sectors, Energy, Health Care and Utilities were hit, with energy stocks tracking crude prices lower.
• Risk on trade was seen despite the continued conflict in the Middle East, but reports in WSJ suggested Iran wants to de-escalate, which took crude prices to session lows and stocks to highs but ultimately finished off best levels as the two sides continued with the missile exchanges.
• SPX +0.95% at 6,034, NDX +1.42% at 21,938, DJI +0.75% at 42,515, RUT +1.15% at 2,125.
• Click here for a detailed summary.

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• US Senate Finance Republicans release revised tax portion of US President Trump’s reconciliation bill; ” It includes major tax overhaul and Medicaid cuts”, according to CNN’s Raju. Senate Republican Tax and Budget Bill would end the USD 7,500 electric vehicle tax credit 180 days after signed into law. (of note for EV stocks). Proposes full phase-out of solar and wind energy tax credits by 2028, extends to 2036 for hydro, nuclear and geothermal.
• OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT) tensions are reaching a boiling point, via WSJ; “The startup, growing frustrated with its partner, has discussed making antitrust complaints to regulators”. OpenAI seeks new financial concessions from Microsoft (MSFT), according to The Information. OpenAI wants to modify existing clauses in the contract with Microsoft that give the Co. exclusive rights to host OpenAI models in its cloud. OpenAI wants Microsoft to have a roughly 33% stake in reshaped units in exchange for foregoing its rights to future profits.
• Final Senate passage vote on the GENIUS Act scheduled for Tuesday at 16:30 EDT.

TRADE/TARIFF

• US President Trump said he signed a document finalising a trade deal with Britain (as expected). US President Trump said the UK is protected (regarding tariffs) because he likes the UK. US tariff on UK steel to remain at 25% for now, according to Bloomberg citing a UK official. Imports of automobiles within tariff-rate quota that would otherwise be subject to a 25% tariff shall instead be subject to a combined tariff of 10%. The US and UK committed to strengthening aerospace and aircraft manufacturing supply chains by establishing tariff-free bilateral trade in certain aerospace products. The US intends to promptly construct a quota at most-favoured-nation rates for steel and aluminium articles and certain derivative steel and aluminium articles that are products of the UK. The US and UK committed to negotiate significantly preferential treatment outcomes on pharmaceuticals and ingredients of the UK, contingent on findings of an investigation. The US intends to create an annual quota of 100,000 vehicles for United Kingdom automotive imports at a 10 per cent tariff rate.
• US President Trump met with European Commission President von der Leyen per her request, according to CBS’ Jacobs.
• EU and US leaders reportedly instructed teams to accelerate work on trade, according to Bloomberg citing European Commission President von der Leyen
• Canadian PM Carney and US President Trump agreed to pursue negotiations toward a new economic and security relationship within the coming 30 days, according to the Canadian PM’s office.
• Japanese PM Ishiba and US President Trump did not reach a tariff agreement; but confirmed they are to continue tariff talks, according to Fuji TV. Japan Finance Minister Kato said no fixed plan right now to hold further talks with US Treasury Secretary Bessent.
• White House said, concerning steel and aluminium, Secretary Lutnick will determine the quota of products that can enter the US without being subject to 25% Section 232 tariffs, according to Reuters.
• FBN’s Gasparino posted ““As of today Xi and Trump have not talked about the fate of TikTok US. It’s last on the list. Most likely get punted for another 75 days on June 19th. The AI chip sales to China are emerging as a much bigger issue”.

APAC TRADE

EQUITIES

• APAC stocks traded mixed/mostly lower with the region failing to coattail on Wall Street’s gains, as geopolitical angst kept risk subdued, namely after US President Trump posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” before cutting his G7 trip short, stoking fears of a US military offensive. Sentiment later stabilised after CBS reported that the US is not joining Israel offensively in its military operations against Iran, with US officials also backing a defensive stance amid assets in the region.
• ASX 200 traded slightly softer and in a narrow range, with upside in gold miners cushioning losses for the index.
• Nikkei 225 was kept afloat amid the softer JPY after the US and Japan failed to reach an agreement. The index saw a modest hawkish reaction to the BoJ decision which reduced the pace of JGB purchases as telegraphed.
• Hang Seng and Shanghai Comp opened flat before tilting lower in overall uneventful trade across the Chinese bourses amid the cautious risk tone with the immediate focus largely on geopolitics.
• US equity futures were subdued with the initial dip seen after US President Trump’s aforementioned post, but contracts then found a floor following clarity that the US was not joining Israel on a military offensive.
• European equity futures are indicative of a softer open with the Euro Stoxx 50 future -0.6% after cash closed with gains of 1.0% on Monday.

FX

• DXY was choppy within tight ranges despite the myriad of geopolitical updates. DXY traded in a narrow 98.07-98.28 range vs Monday’s 97.69-98.37 parameter.
• EUR/USD was overall uneventful, with the pair in a 1.1543-67 range with a lack of newsflow for the region, although reports suggested US President Trump and European Commission President von der Leyen spoke, but details were light.
• GBP/USD similarly uneventful, although GBP experienced some choppiness shortly after the US and the UK formally signed their trade agreement, with volatility stemming from US President Trump stating he likes the UK. Nonetheless, the US tariff on UK steel is to remain at 25% for now, according to Bloomberg citing a UK official.
• USD/JPY was initially lifted with heaven flows from geopolitics short-lived as Japanese PM Ishiba and US President Trump failed to reach a tariff agreement, with Japan Finance Minister Kato adding that there is no fixed plan right now to hold further talks with US Treasury Secretary Bessent. The pair then saw downticks on the BoJ announcement which saw a hawkish dissent on the bond taper plan.
• Antipodeans traded between modest gains and losses as the high-beta currencies largely tracked risk.
• PBoC set USD/CNY mid-point at 7.1746 vs exp. 7.1820 (prev. 7.1789); strongest CNY fix since March 19

FIXED INCOME

• 10yr UST futures held an upward bias, with upticks seen amid haven flows from the aforementioned geopolitical developments. Monday’s 20-year bond auction sparked little reaction in futures.
• Bund futures were softer with the German benchmark playing catchup to some of the losses stateside, alongside the lack of progress between the EU and the US at the G7 on tariffs.
• 10yr JGB futures initially played catchup with the selling across Western counterparts. Contracts then saw a leg lower on the BoJ announcement which saw a hawkish dissent on the bond taper plan.
• US sold USD 13bln of 20-year bonds; Tail: 0.0bps (prev. 1.2bps, six-auction average 0.1bps); WI: 4.942%. High Yield: 4.942% (prev. 5.047%, six-auction average 4.818%). B/C: 2.68x (prev. 2.46x, six-auction average 2.59x). Dealer: 13.4% (prev. 16.9%, six-auction average 14.8%). Direct: 19.9% (prev. 14.1%, six-auction average 18.1%). Indirect: 66.7% (prev. 69.0%, six-auction average 67.2%)
• Australia sold AUD 300mln 4.75% 2054 bond; b/c 2.84x (prev. 2.48x), average yield 4.9497% (prev. 4.9633%)

COMMODITIES

• Crude futures were boosted by geopolitics, with the first leg higher seen as US President Trump posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”, shortly after, a further uptick was seen after Iranian media reported several explosions and heavy air defence fire in the capital Tehran, whilst Trump also cut his G7 trip short. Thereafter, oil prices trimmed gains after several US officials clarified that the US would not join Israel offensively in its military operation, easing fears of the US joining the war.
• Spot gold was initially buoyed by haven flows amid the aforementioned geopolitical updates, with some downticks seen following several US officials clarifying that the US will not join Israel offensively in its military operation. Spot gold hit resistance just above USD 3,400/oz before gradually warning to session lows.
• Copper futures were pressured amid the broader cautious risk profile following Israel-Iran updates alongside a subdued tone across Chinese markets.

CRYPTO

• Bitcoin saw modest gains overnight and briefly topped the USD 107,500 mark.

BOJ

• BoJ maintained its interest rate at 0.5% as expected through a unanimous vote. The Bank has also decided to reduce the amount of its monthly JGB purchases by about JPY 200bln each quarter starting from April 2026, in line with source reports.
• The decision on the bond taper plan was made with an 8-1 vote, with Board member Tamura dissenting. Tamura dissented, arguing that the Bank should allow long-term interest rates to be determined by the market and its participants. He proposed that the Bank reduce its monthly outright purchases of JGBs by about 400bln yen each calendar quarter until January-March 2027 in principle, but this proposal was defeated by a majority vote.
• As part of the taper plan, Japan will continue to reduce JGB purchases by JPY 400bln per month until March 2026. From April 2026 onwards, the amount of monthly JGB purchases will be reduced by about JPY 200bln per quarter, with the total monthly purchases expected to be around JPY 2tln by January-March 2027. An interim assessment of the bond taper plan for the period starting in April 2026 will take place at the June 2026 policy meeting, and Japan is prepared to amend the taper plan at future policy meetings if necessary. The BoJ’s holdings of JGBs are expected to decrease by roughly 16-17% by March 2027 compared to June 2024 levels.
• BoJ said the frequency of auctions will be changed from four times a month to three times a month in principle for JGBs with shorter maturities; the frequency of auctions for JGBs with longer maturities has been maintained.
• Regarding economic conditions, Japan has maintained its economic assessment, noting that the economy has recovered moderately despite some areas of weakness. However, uncertainty remains high, particularly over the impact of trade policies, which are a key focus. The BoJ emphasised the necessity of paying attention to the potential effects of trade policies on financial and foreign exchange markets. Inflation expectations have risen moderately, but it remains extremely uncertain how global trade policies will evolve and how overseas economic activities will respond.

NOTABLE ASIA-PAC HEADLINES

• PBoC injected CNY 197.3bln via 7-day reverse repos with the rate maintained at 1.40%.

DATA RECAP

• New Zealand Food Price Index (May) 0.5% (Prev. 0.8%)

GEOPOLITICS

IRAN-ISRAEL

Strikes

• Iran said they will continue to strike Israel until it stops its attacks, via Al Hadath. Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman says Iran’s strikes against Israel will continue until morning.
• Iran is preparing for the ‘largest and most intense missile attack in history on Israeli soil’, according to Iranian state media.
• Iranian air defence activated at Isfahan nuclear facilities against ‘hostile target’, Iran state media reported. “Iranian media: Activating air defences in Natanz”, according to Al Arabiya.
• Iran intercepted drones targeting the South Pars gas field, according to Mehr.
• Key Israeli and intelligence centres including Ramat David airbase near Haifa are on Iran’s list of targets; “proportionate response” in the coming hours, via Iran’s Student News Network. Iran tells the UN that any cooperation by third countries in Israel’s strikes makes them complicit in the legal responsibility and consequences of the crisis.
• Iranian ballistic missiles reported over Tel Aviv, via Fox correspondent.
• Iranian media reported several explosions and heavy air defence fire in the capital Tehran; Several explosions east of Tehran amid air defence fire, according to Fars.
• Reports of multiple explosions in Ahvaz – in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran, according to Iran International.
• Unconfirmed reports noted that three ships are on fire in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, according to several social media accounts. Ambrey later said it is aware of an incident 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in UAE (close to the Strait of Hormuz). Incident in Khor Fakkan near the Strait of Hormuz seemingly was caused by two vessels colliding, according to Kpler’s Bakr citing their terminal
• IAEA Director Grossi said the damage recorded at Fordow was very limited, underground spaces at the Isfahan facility do not appear to have been affected.

Diplomacy

• US President Trump directed members of his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible, according to CNN sources.
• Trump team proposes Iran talks this week on nuclear deal and ceasefire, according to Axios. The White House is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to four sources briefed on the issue.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu said he is not interested in peace talks with Iran, according to an ABC News reporter.
• US official to Al Jazeera said the Pentagon is considering sending additional reinforcements to the Middle East, but a decision has not yet been made.
• Israeli political source said they do not know how interested Iran is in talks now, according to Al Arabiya; Will not stop for any talks and are seeking a final agreement to dismantle the Iranian nuclear project.
• US President Trump said Iran is not winning this war; they should talk before it’s too late; Iranians want to talk about de-escalation.
• Oman and Qatar are leading the effort to get Iran and the United States back to the negotiating table and end the conflict in Iran, according to a European official cited by the Washington Post. Iranian leaders have said they are open to resuming nuclear talks, but they want Israel to stop its attacks first, the official said.
• Israeli media reports that Trump is preparing to make a ‘final offer’ to Iran in the coming days, according to Spectator Index.
• US President Trump said Iran should have signed the deal, Iran wants to make a deal, according to Reuters.
• French President Macron said Americans have made an offer to meet with Iranians, now will see what happensMacron said European partners are ready to take part in serious Iran nuclear negotiations if a ceasefire is reached. Macron said Trump told G7 leaders there were discussions to obtain a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Targets

• Israeli Foreign Minister told EU’s Kallas that Israel has not finished its operation in Iran and Israel will act to complete it, according to Reuters.
• Israeli PM Netanyahu on the possibility of assassinating Iran Supreme Leader Khamenei said “I will not detail our plans publicly, but we will do whatever it takes”, according to Reuters.

Trump

• US President Trump posted “Iran should have signed the “deal,” I told them to sign…IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON… Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
• US President Trump posted “AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
• “President Trump is leaving the G7 summit EARLY and will return to DC tonight.”, according to CNN reporter; Bloomberg suggests due to the Middle East crisis.
• US President Trump requested the National Security Council be prepared in the Situation Room, according to reports citing Fox.
• “US is NOT joining Israel offensively in its military operation, per US officials. Despite reports that President Trump asked the NSC and Situation Room to be readied,” according to CBS’ Jacobs.
• CBS’ Jacobs posted “Trump isn’t leaving [right now] because of discussions for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, I’m told…He is leaving G7 halfway through. Not entirely clear why”.
• US President Trump posts that his return to Washington had nothing to do with a ceasefire.

Allies

• A US official tells i24 news that preparations are being made to allow joining the attack – if Trump gives the green light. US Central Command thinks it is necessary to join, but other senior administration officials are against it.
• Trump admin reportedly told several Middle Eastern allies on Sunday that it doesn’t plan to get actively involved in the war between Israel and Iran unless Iran targets Americans, according to Axios sources
• US is sending another aircraft carrier, and more warships to the Middle East, according to NBC.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said over the weekend he directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the US CENTCOM; additional deployments are intended to enhance the defensive posture in the region, according to Reuters.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said US President Trump still aims for a nuclear deal with Iran, via Fox News; assets in the region will be defended.
• White House aide said it is not true that the US is attacking Iran; says American forces are maintaining their defensive posture.
• “This may really be the last chance for the Iranians before the US actively joins”, according to journalist Stein citing a US source.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE

• US President Trump, when asked why he waits to sanction Russia, said sanctions are expensive.
• Journalists on X noted a huge explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine.

EU/UK

NOTABLE HEADLINES

• ECB President Lagarde, in an FT Opinion piece, said Europe faces structural challenges. Its growth remains persistently low.
• EU has refused to hold a flagship economic meeting with Beijing ahead of a leaders’ summit next month, according to FT.
• UK Chancellor Reeves is exploring reversing a decision to charge UK inheritance tax on the global assets of non-doms, according to FT.

3 .ASIA

3A NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA

3B JAPAN

With BOJ On Deck, The Yen’s Moment To Shine… Or Fade, Is Here

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 12:30 AM

By Vassilis Karamanis, Bloomberg FX reporter and strategist

This could be a defining week for the yen. The macro and geopolitical backdrop is supportive of yen strength — at least on paper. But if the currency fails to gain traction here, the bearish dollar-yen narrative that’s persisted all year may face a serious credibility test.

Technically, USD/JPY remains on a long-term downtrend, but cracks are forming. Daily charts show hesitation, and the broader market is circling a clear inflection point. Between central bank meetings, key data from the US and Japan, and ongoing geopolitical risks, the stage is set for the yen. But a supportive setup isn’t the same as a true catalyst.

The yen’s knee-jerk strength last week during the Israel-Iran flare-up looked like classic risk aversion. Until it fizzled. The dollar reversed losses quickly, buoyed by rising oil prices. That bounce wasn’t a haven bid; it was commodity-driven. The Swiss franc also gave up gains, further weakening the idea that haven flows drove the dollar higher.

The biggest risk this week still lies in geopolitics. If tensions in the Middle East persist or escalate, flows may reverse toward the dollar again, sidelining the yen in its traditional haven role. That’s the key asymmetry yen bulls are wrestling with: oil prices versus demand for tail-risk hedging or carry-trade unwinds. As veteran trader and president of Spectra FX Solutions LLC. Brent Donnelly puts it:

The longer you are in the business of financial markets, the less sensitive you become to geopolitical news because most of it is noise that creates temporary risk premium and then a reversal of that risk premium.

It’s also central bank week. We don’t expect much from the Bank of Japan — no policy shift, just reaffirmed flexibility and some language to keep traders guessing. But that’s not enough to force the market’s hand. The bar for the BOJ to deliver a surprise is high.

Expectations for the Federal Reserve matter more. Investors have priced in two 25bps rate cuts by year-end, driven by softening US data, and some traders say that the market may overreact on a dovish pivot. That dynamic can keep USD/JPY under pressure, even though the FX-rates correlation has been weak lately. If US data continues to disappoint and Japanese inflation shows resilience, the dollar could weaken further and give yen longs a much-needed jolt.

Options gauges tell the story. Despite the pair’s rebound in the spot market, risk reversals are consolidating as haven weightings play their role. There’s also demand reported for downside protection near 140. If that level breaks, we could see a rush toward stop-loss territory and more aggressive yen strength.

If the Fed stays cautious, the BOJ fails to deliver a spark and geopolitics remain largely an oil trade, the dollar is expected to extend its recent rebound. The big alarm for yen longs will ring if one or more of these factors doesn’t materialize, and the Japanese currency is still unable to gain traction.

If central banks support a narrowing of US-Japan yields, geopolitics favor the havens and the yen still can’t rally, then yen longs may capitulate in size. With summer volatility compression ahead, this may be the last clean setup for a while. For yen bulls, it’s shaping up to be one of those “now or never” moments.

3C CHINA

4.European affairs

EUROPE/RUSSIA

EU Aims To Cut All Russian Gas Imports By 2027

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 06:30 AM

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

As the European Union seeks to end its dependency on Russian energy, the European Commission is set to propose this week a ban on new contracts for natural gas supply with Russia on the basis of trade law, which needs a majority vote approval instead of a unanimous EU call. 

EU companies will be banned from signing new contracts for Russian gas, based on trade law, which is aimed at sidestepping vetoes from Hungary and Slovakia, the Financial Times reported on Monday, quoting a summary of the proposals it had seen.  

Hungary and Slovakia, which continue to receive Russian gas via a pipeline through Balkans, have pledged to veto an outright ban in a sanctions package. Passing sanctions needs unanimous approval from all EU member states, but the use of trade law would require only an approval from the majority of the countries. 

Yet, the EU will grant exemptions to Hungary and Slovakia to phase out current Russian gas contracts by 2027, officials familiar with the Commission’s plan told FT. 

The phase-out of Russian energy imports is part of the EU’s roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy unveiled last month. 

The roadmap calls for the EU to stop all imports of Russian gas by the end of 2027 by improving the transparency, monitoring, and traceability of Russian gas across the EU markets.

New contracts with suppliers of Russian gas will be prevented and spot contracts (for immediate payment) will be stopped by the end of 2025, the European Commission said last month. 

As part of the EU’s efforts to halt imports of Russian natural gas, the bloc will require EU companies to disclose details of their contracts to buy Russian gas, according to an internal European Commission document seen by Reuters last week. 

The EU will demand from EU companies to disclose many details of the deals, including duration, annual contracted volumes, date of conclusion of the contracts, and destination clauses, per the internal documents seen by Reuters. 

5. RUSSIAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN AFFAIRS

ISRAEL IRAN

Iranian missiles trigger sirens across Beersheba, Tel Aviv and central Israel

Sirens sound in Israel amid Iranian missile barrage

ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Rocket sirens sounded in Beersheba and across Tel Aviv and central Israel late on Monday night amid another ballistic missile barrage from Iran, the IDF confirmed

END

IRAN/USA

“Everyone Should Immediately Evacuate Tehran!”, Trump Warns

Monday, Jun 16, 2025 – 06:45 PM

Update (1840ET): President Trump just posted an ominous warning on his social media platform TruthSocial

Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign.

What a shame, and waste of human life.

Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON.

I said it over and over again!

Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!

A rather worrying shift from optimism today that peace (or not war_ was closer…

Stock futures (and crypto) are down on the post and gold and oil are stronger.

Update(1422ET): Iran is warning of a ‘more painful response’ if the US fails to rein in Israel, IRNA News is reporting, as more major explosions have been observed in Tehran and across part of Iran. The last 48 hours saw things escalate into sustained daytime strikes, including on Iranian state TV and radio headquarters buildings.

Importantly the Iranian government is now expressly denying the accuracy of an earlier Wall Street Journal report saying that Tehran is seeking to get to the negotiating table again with the Trump administration. Iran is also claiming its forces shot down an Israeli F-35 stealth fighter near Tabriz, Iran’s state-run Nour news claims, but this has been met by a swift rejection by the IDF, which called it “fake news”. 

According to breaking Israeli media reports, PM Netanyahu now says Israel won’t rule out killing Khamenei: ‘It would end the conflict’ – TOI says. Netanyahu is giving his first official full press conference since the start of the air war four days ago. “I will not detail our plans publicly, but we will do whatever it takes,” he said. Importantly, a big claim was made…

Netanyahu says Israel ‘well coordinated’ with US during Iran campaign

The entire morning drop in oil prices has been erased on these latest escalatory headlines:

And more per Israeli media:

An Israeli Air Force drone struck and destroyed two Iranian F-14 fighter jets at an airport in Tehran, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin reveals in a press conference.

The US-made F-14 Tomcats were supplied to Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and are believed to be the last ones still in operation.

The IDF publishes footage of the strike.

A veteran Mideast war correspondent who has contacts in the Iranian government has this to say:

Iranian state assets on fire during the day Monday…

Another US carrier is en route to the region and there’s no off-ramp as of yet.

* * *

ISRAEL IRAN

Explosions seen across Tehran after Trump warns Iranians to evacuate

At the same time as explosions were being reported, US President Donald Trump called on Iranian civilians to “immediately evacuate Tehran.”

Fire of Israeli attack on Sharan Oil depot is seen following the Israeli strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025(photo credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 02:08Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 02:26

Iranian media reported several explosions and heavy air defense fire in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday.

Explosions were reported in Tehran’s east and southeast, witnesses told Iranian dissident media site Iran International.

Iran International further reported on X/Twitter that witnesses reported multiple explosions in Ahvaz, in Iran’s Khuzestan province in southwest Iran.

Additionally, according to the Iranian news website Asriran, air defense systems have been activated at the Iranian nuclear facility in the city of Natanz.

Trump calls for Tehran evacuation

At the same time as explosions were being reported, US President Donald Trump called on Iranian civilians to “immediately evacuate Tehran” in a post on Truth Social.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” Trump wrote. “I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”

This is a developing story. 

END

ISRAEL IRAN

Mossad Spent Eight Months Preparing Surprise Attack On Iran: Report

Monday, Jun 16, 2025 – 05:40 PM

Via The Cradle

The Israeli military operation launched against Iran on June 13, striking nuclear facilities, missile sites, and senior leadership targets follows eight months of covert planning by Israeli intelligence and military agencies, Axios reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the goal of the operation is to “eliminate” Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. “This operation will continue as long as necessary, until we complete the mission,” he said.

According to Axios, the opening wave of attacks targeted around 25 nuclear scientists, killing at least two, and included the assassination of Iran’s top military leaders, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the military chief of staff. Residential areas in Tehran were also bombed, causing extensive damage and civilian casualties.

Israeli warplanes carried out large-scale bombing raids across Iran, while Mossad operatives on the ground allegedly conducted sabotage missions at key missile and air defense facilities.

Axios claims the strikes were prompted by a combination of factors: rising concerns over Iran’s growing missile stockpile, intelligence indicating active nuclear weaponization research, and the imminent activation of a new underground enrichment facility that Israeli intelligence deemed invulnerable to conventional airstrikes.

“This was arguably the biggest single blow to the Iranian regime since 1979,” Axios wrote, citing Israeli officials who expect the operation to last days or even weeks.

In the lead-up to the operation, Israeli forces rehearsed the strike under the guise of standard military exercises and amid ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program.

Behind the scenes, the Israeli government claims it received tacit approval from the US, despite public opposition from US President Donald Trump. While Trump repeatedly warned that any Israeli action that could “blow up” the nuclear negotiations, two Israeli officials told Axios that Washington had in fact given Tel Aviv private approval for the attack. “We had a clear US green light,” one said.

Trump, speaking after the strikes, confirmed he had prior knowledge of the attack but claimed the US played no active role. “I gave Iran chance after chance to make a deal,” Trump claimed. “They chose confrontation.”

“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,” Trump threatened.

During the negotiations, Iran has insisted on its right under international law to enrich uranium for peaceful energy and research purposes. The US has insisted that Iran halt enrichment on its own soil, claiming the Islamic Republic seeks a nuclear weapon.

The US administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has officially distanced itself from the operation, calling it “unilateral.” However, questions remain about the extent of US logistical and intelligence support.

Israel now braces for Iranian retaliation. Tehran has vowed a severe response, threatening to target both Israeli and US military assets in the region in response to Israel’s aggression.

“The Zionist regime has committed a crime in our dear country today at dawn with its satanic, bloodstained hands. It has revealed its malicious nature even more than before by targeting residential areas,” Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated after the attack.  

“The [Zionist] regime should anticipate a severe punishment. By God’s grace, the powerful arm of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces won’t let them go unpunished,” he warned.

ISRAEL IRAN/TUESDAY MORNING

THEY ARE KNOCKING THEM OFF LIKE FLIES:

(JERUSALEM POST)

IDF kills Iranian general Ali Shademani days after striking predecessor

Shademani, as Khatam al-Anbiya chief was Iran’s “War-Time Chief of Staff, the most senior military commander, and the closest figure to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,” the IDF stated.

Former commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Ali Shademani, killed by IDF strikes on June 17, 2025(photo credit: OFFICIAL KHAMENEI WEBSITE/KHAMENEI.IR)ByYONAH JEREMY BOB, JERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 09:26Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 09:43

The IDF on Tuesday assassinated the replacement Iranian Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters commander Maj.-Gen. Ali Shademani only days after it assassinated his predecessor, Gholam Ali Rashid, this past Friday.

Shademani’s position made him Iran’s “War-Time Chief of Staff, the most senior military commander, and the closest figure to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,” the IDF stated.

Khatam al-Anbiya is “responsible for managing combat operations and approving Iran’s firepower plans. In his various roles, he directly influenced Iran’s operational plans targeting the State of Israel,” they added.

Israel’s success in killing Shademani so soon after its initial successes in killing dozens of Iranian commanders on the first day of the current Israel-Iran War showed that despite the Islamic Republic trying to adjust and outfox Jerusalem, that the Jewish state still has an overwhelming upper hand in intelligence and war capabilities.

Iran has already had top officials get rid of their cellphones in order to avoid fears of being tracked that way by Israel.

Foreign reports have said that the Mossad and IDF intelligence used these and other techniques to track top Iranian commanders movements leading up to the launching of the war this past Friday.

Despite Iranian adjustments, the IDF and the Mossad seem to have sufficient assets and strategies in place to continue to kill top Iranian commanders regardless of where they are hiding and how they try to hide themselves.

Prior to being appointed Iran’s new Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters commander over the weekend, Shademani, who was close to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had been deputy chief of all emergency national defense operations and chief of military operations.

Other Iranian military leaders killed since Operation Rising Lion began

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)’s commander Maj.-Gen. Hossein Salami and Iranian Armed Forces chief of staff, Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Bagheri were killed in the opening strike of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion early Friday morning.

The IDF later confirmed the killing of IRGC air force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, along with other senior IRGC air force officials as they met in an underground command center on Friday. This included IRGC’s UAV Force commander, Taher-pour, and IRGC aerial command chief, Davoud Shaykhian.

IRGC Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani was later confirmed as having been killed in the strikes.

END

ISRAEL IRAN/TUESDAY THE DAYS EVENTS!

Israel kills Iran’s new war chief days after taking out predecessor, as strikes continue

Maj. Gen.Ali Shadmani was considered closest surviving adviser to leader Ali Khamenei; IAF attacks reported in Tehran, Natanz and elsewhere

By Emanuel Fabian, Follow
Agencies and ToI StaffToday, 12:27 pm

This handout picture released by the Iranian Red Crescent on June 17, 2025, shows members of rescue teams searching the debris inside a building in Tehran targeted by Israeli strikes (Iranian Red Crescent / AFP)

Israel killed a senior Iranian general overnight, just days after eliminating his predecessor, the Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday morning, as the campaign against Iran’s nuclear program and Iran’s retaliatory missile barrages at Israel entered their fifth day.

Israel launched its campaign early Friday, asserting an imminent existential threat from the regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Explosions and air defense fire were reported Tuesday in Tehran. Air defenses were reportedly also activated in Natanz, home to a major uranium enrichment plant that was seriously damaged in Israel’s opening attack, and satellite images showed extensive damage at a missile base.

An airstrike Monday night killed Maj. Gen. Ali Shadmani, the new head of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters, also known as Iran’s military emergency command. He had only been on the job for some four days, having replaced Maj. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid, who was killed on Friday in Israel’s opening strikes against Iran.

The IDF said Shadmani was de facto Iran’s most senior military commander, the “war chief of staff,” and was considered the closest remaining military figure to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Shadmani “commanded both the [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps] and the Iranian Armed Forces” amid the conflict, the IDF said.

x.com/khamenei_ir/status/1933460440836620631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1933460440836620631%7Ctwgr%5Edde1188ff97e1b1508639b6cabf773219dd8d2c5%7Ctwcon%

The IDF said that under Shadmani’s command, the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters “was responsible for managing combat operations and approving Iran’s attack plans.

“In his various roles, he had a direct influence on Iran’s offensive plans targeting the State of Israel,” the military added.

Shadmani previously served as deputy of the Khatam-al Anbiya HQ and as chief of operations in Iran’s armed forces, the IDF said.

Further strikes in Tehran, Natanz

Iranian media, meanwhile, reported explosions and heavy air defense fire in Tehran early on Tuesday, with smoke rising in the city’s east after an explosion of suspected Israeli projectiles.

Air defenses were also activated in Natanz, home to key nuclear installations, 320 km (200 miles) away, the Asriran news website reported.

Iranian state-linked news outlets also reported that three people were killed and four injured in an Israeli attack on a checkpoint near the central city of Kashan, without specifying if they were civilians or military.

Smoke billows from an explosion in southwest Tehran on June 16, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

State broadcaster IRIB said three people were killed in an Israeli attack on its Tehran headquarters, and others wounded. Israel bombed the state broadcaster building Monday, after issuing an unprecedented evacuation warning for one of the capital’s most central districts.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said shortly before the strike that “the Iranian propaganda and incitement mouthpiece is on its way to disappearing,” while the IDF itself said the building was “used by the armed forces to advance military operations under civilian cover.”

Iranian officials have reported 224 deaths, mostly civilians, since the start of open fighting with Israel.

Israel has said it has been targeting Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists, as well as military and nuclear facilities. It has also struck oil and gas sites. Jerusalem leaders have said repeatedly that they are not at war with the Iranian people, only Tehran’s regime, and that strikes are carried out in a targeted manner to minimize civilian casualties.

IDF hits missile launchers, drones

Overnight Monday-Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force carried out several waves of strikes in western Iran, destroying anti-aircraft launchers, ballistic missile launchers, and drones, the IDF said.

“As part of the waves of strikes, the air force targeted dozens of infrastructure sites used for storing and launching surface-to-surface missiles, UAV storage sites, and surface-to-air missile launchers in western Iran,” the military said.

Satellite imagery from Monday published by Planet Labs showed heavy damage to buildings at a missile base north of the Iranian city of Tabriz, where Israel has been carrying out airstrikes.

SkySat imagery of Tabriz North missile base, captured June 16, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC)

Pictures showed buildings and vehicles destroyed, with evidence of wide swaths of burnt vegetation. In one picture, the remains of three destroyed missile launchers can be seen.

The IDF said Monday that it had destroyed about a third of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers, estimated to total around 400.

In a press conference Tuesday, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin revealed that Iranian soldiers who fired anti-aircraft missiles at an Israeli Air Force drone over Iran were killed in a strike on Sunday.

Defrin said the drone identified the Iranian soldiers preparing to launch additional missiles and struck the launcher and killed the soldiers.

The military released footage of the strike.

Rescuers killed in strike

The Iranian Red Crescent said Monday that three of its rescue workers were killed by an Israeli airstrike in northwest Tehran.

“This incident is not only a crime against international humanitarian law but also a blatant attack on humanity and morality,” the organization said in a statement, adding that the three workers were aiding the wounded in the capital’s Shahid Bagheri district.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, and the circumstances and target of the strike in question were unclear.

‘Stay tuned’

US President Donald Trump sparked panic in Iran Monday night with an impromptu evacuation call for the entire city of Tehran, citing what he said was the country’s rejection of a deal to curb nuclear weapons development, as the conflict between Israel and the Islamic Republic appeared poised for further escalation.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform, without elaborating on the reason that Iran’s capital city of 10 million people needed to be evacuated.

Shortly after the post went live, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Trump would be departing early from the G7 leaders summit in Canada in order to huddle with his advisers at the White House regarding the Israel-Iran conflict, as it wrapped up its fifth day.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he attends a group photo session during the G7 Summit, in Kananaskis, Alberta on June 16, 2025. (Suzanne Plunkett/Pool Photo via AP)

The developments led to speculation that the US had decided to join Israel in the conflict against Iran, but administration spokespeople downplayed that possibility.

“American forces are maintaining their defensive posture, and that has not changed. We will defend American interests,” White House deputy communications director Alex Pfeiffer tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump’s early departure from the G7 was positive, given the immediate objective was to get Israel and Iran to agree to a ceasefire that the US had proposed. “There is an offer that has been made, especially to have a ceasefire and to initiate broader discussions. And I think this is a very good thing,” Macron told reporters. “So now we need to see what the stakeholders will do.”

But Trump denied he had left to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, blaming Macron for the misconception.

“Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

The president did not say what he was in fact working on, but teased that it was “much bigger than that.”

“Whether purposely or not, Emmanuel always gets it wrong,” Trump wrote. “Stay Tuned.”

Washington held negotiations with Iran for some two months on the subject of its nuclear program before Israel attacked, and Trump has noted that the Jewish state’s strikes came on “day 61” following a two-month deadline he delivered to the Islamic Republic to reach a deal.

Iran, which regularly calls for Israel’s destruction, insists that its nuclear program is peaceful; however, it has been enriching uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and has greatly expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.

END

ISRAEL IRAN

A HIT ON AN EMPTY BUS: THEY ARE NOW ONLY FIRING 20 DOWN FROM 50!!

Sirens sound across Israel following Iranian missile attack, direct hit reported in central Israel

Few injuries reported as Iran barrages central Israel with ballistic missiles

Morning volley causes fires but no reports of major casualties * Fusillade comes after Iran appeared to scale back attacks overnight * IDF says it killed top Iranian military commander, days after predecessor assassinated in opening salvo * Trump denies leaving G7 summit early to discuss Iran ceasefire

Footage shared on social media showed an empty bus parked at a bus depot that was heavily damaged, with a pillar of smoke seen.

Smoke rises from an empty bus damaged by a missile in central Israel, June 17, 2025.(photo credit: Via section 27a of copyright act)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 09:00Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 09:58

Around 20 missiles fired from Iran on Tuesday triggered sirens across Israel, including northern and southern areas, as well as central Israel, Jerusalem, and the West Bank.

Reports indicated that there was a direct hit in central Israel, but authorities have not yet confirmed this. There was damage to property in central Israel, Israel Police added.

Magen David Adom paramedics were dispatched to the site.

MDA later confirmed that no injuries were caused directly due to missile fire, however paramedics were treating 10 for light injuries caused while seeking shelter.

Heavy damage to empty bus in central Israel 

Footage shared on social media showed an empty bus parked at a bus depot that was heavily damaged, with a pillar of smoke seen.

The IDF’s Home Front Command requested that the public enter protected spaces and remain there until further notice, later lifting the guideline. 

This is a developing story.

END

IRAN TABRIZ/ISRAEL

Two explosions reported minutes apart in Iran’s Tabriz, Iranian media report

ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Two explosions were heard minutes apart in Tabriz, northwest Iran, on Tuesday morning, according to pro-regime outlet Nournews

END

ISRAEL/TEHRAN

Tehran empties out as several reported killed in Israeli attacks

By AgenciesToday, 10:08 am

Smoke billows from a site near the Azadi Tower in central Tehran on June 16, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Downtown Tehran appears to be emptying out, with many shops closed, including in the city’s ancient Grand Bazaar, something that has only happened in the past during anti-government demonstrations or at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

On the roads out of Tehran to the west, traffic still stands bumper to bumper. Many appear to be heading to the Caspian Sea area. Long lines can also be seen at gas stations in Tehran.

Authorities within Iran’s government continue to insist everything is under control and do not offer any guidance for the public on what to do.

Iranian state-linked news outlets report that three people were killed and four injured in an Israeli attack on a checkpoint near the central city of Kashan, without specifying if they were civilians or military.

State broadcaster IRIB, meanwhile, says three people were killed in an Israeli attack on its Tehran headquarters a day ago.

“Three of the TV station’s employees were killed and others were wounded in the Israeli attack” on Monday, the channel announces.

END

IRAN/USA

it looks like the USA/ISRAEL is going to bomb Fordow!! it will be wild if that happens

Trump Swipes At Tulsi On Iran Nuke Contradictory Intel: ‘I Don’t Care What She Said’

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 11:40 AM

President Trump while on his way back from the G7 summit in Canada, which he cut short short due to the Middle East situation, said to reporters aboard Air Force One Tuesday morning that he wants “a real end” to Iran’s nuclear problem. He expressed his assumption that Iran is “very close” to having nuclear weapons.

He asserted this means nothing less than Tehran “giving up entirely” its enrichment activities. “I didn’t say I was looking for a ceasefire,” he said. This was in follow-up to a scathing message he wrote on Truth Social, saying that French President Emmanuel Macron had “mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a ‘cease fire’ between Israel and Iran. Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that.”

Late yesterday Trump had issued an unprecedented written message telling some ten million Iranian inhabitants to “immediately evacuate” Tehran amid ongoing Israeli strikes, suggesting that a much bigger assault is coming – a warning made much more ominous by the open secret that Iran possesses nukes.

“You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far,” Trump said further, hours after the evacuation warning – which came just before 3am local time.

But he also caveated that “I may” send US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance to meet with Iranian officials to seek de-escalation and negotiations. “It depends what happens when I get back,” he added.

What made the whole exchange even more interesting is that all of this was partially in response to a question regarding director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s March testimony that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. Here’s the exchange:

CNN: You’ve always said you don’t believe Iran should have a nuke. Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon.

Trump: I don’t care what she said. They were very close to getting a nuke.

It’s also the case that the CIA’s latest assessment maintains that the Islamic Republic is likely not seeking a nuclear weapon. Crucially this was part of the DNI’s annual threat assessment.

Gabbard had previously firmly stated before the Senate Intelligence Committee that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” 

And yet currently, a second US aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, is en route to Mideast waters, and US Air Force fuel tankers are being positioned in Europe – all for the Pentagon to ready more ‘options’ for President Trump should military action be initiated (Congress might want a word…).

While the tempo of the exchange of strikes have slowed, the exchange of missile fire has persisted…

Gabbard has in hours following Trump’s comments insisted she and Trump are “on the same page” over Iran’s nuclear weapon timeline. “President Trump was saying the same thing that I said in my annual threat assessment back in March in Congress. Unfortunately, too many people in the media don’t care to actually read what I said,” Gabbard told reporters as she arrived on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Meanwhile, at the G7 which Trump left, a joint statement stress that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapons” while also urging de-escalation of the conflict. It added that Israel has a “right to defend itself” – however, made no mention of the Iranians being able to defend themselves (of course, this new war began with an Israeli aerial attack on the country).

* * *

A note on the latest from Deutsche Bank:

Yesterday became steadily more risk-on with extra momentum from a WSJ report, just under 90 minutes after the US open, which said that Iran was signalling it wanted to end hostilities and restart nuclear talks. So that led to a significant easing of the broad market stress, with the S&P 500 (+0.94%) recovering the vast majority of Friday’s -1.13% decline. Similarly, gold fell -1.37%, reversing the spike that saw it post a new record high on Friday. And in line with that theme, some of the assets most affected by the conflict did very well, with the Israeli shekel seeing its biggest daily gain against the US Dollar (+3.49%) since 1998, with Israel’s TA-35 index (+1.82%) closing at an all-time high.

However, just as markets were getting more comfortable, we’ve seen a bit of a reversal overnight after Trump left the G7 meeting a day early with reports that he has requested the National Security Council to convene on his return to Washington. He posted that “Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” There was no extra context. In fact, as DB‘s Michael Hsueh has pointed out, the G7 leaders’ statement was only 121 words, compared with June 2024’s statement of 19,834 words, and Dec 2023’s statement of 5,108 words. It also only discussed the Israel/Iran conflict whereas normally a whole host of topics are covered.

So we’re all in a bit of a limbo in terms of whether anything substantive came out of the summit and whether Trump was alluding to new information with his post and his early G7 meeting departure.  Before his post, that WSJ headline was backed up elsewhere. For instance, Reuters reported shortly afterwards that Iran had asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to ask President Trump to get Israel to agree to a ceasefire, in return for more flexibility from Iran in the nuclear talks. And Trump himself later said at the G7 summit that Iran would “like to talk, but they should have done that before”.

There are still big questions as to whether Israel would be receptive to a ceasefire, given that it is seeking to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. Moreover, the public rhetoric hasn’t leant that way either, and Iran’s Mehr News Agency cited a senior security official saying that it is prepared to deliver a “major blow” to Israel after its strikes. So there is maybe diplomatic movement behind the scenes but not yet in the open.

Below are more developing events & the latest via Newsquawk

Geopolitics: Latest

• CBS’s Jacobs writes US President Trump said “I didn’t say I was looking for a ceasefire,” he said on AF1. He said he wants “a real end,” with Iran “giving up entirely” on nukes.” On any threat to US interests, he said Iran knows not to touch our troops. US would “come down so hard if they do anything to our people,” he said. Asked his thinking on calling for Tehran to evacuate, he told me he wants “people to be safe.” Asked if US involvement would destroy Iran nuclear program, hope their program “is wiped out long before that.” Trump sounded undecided about sending Witkoff and/or VP Vance to meet with Iran. “I may,” he said. But “it depends what happens when I get back,” he said. Trump declined to say if the chairman of joint chiefs and SecDef have provided him with planning options should Iran attack U.S. bases in Middle East. “I can’t tell you that,” he told me. The Israelis aren’t slowing up their barrage on Iran, he predicted. “You’re going to find out over the next two days. You’re going to find out. Nobody’s slowed up so far.”
• Israeli officials tell Axios that regime change isn’t an official war aim, discussions about it are getting louder and more overt, via Axios.
• Politico Reports: US President Trump will convene his closest military advisers in the Situation Room this morning, where he weighs “whether to join Israel’s bombardment of Iran”.
• US President Trump says he is “looking for better than a ceasefire in Iran”, “not too much in the mood to negotiate with Iran”.
• US President Trump says he has “not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form”.
• Senior Iranian Army Commander says attacks against Israel will intensify in the next hours, new wave of drones will hit Israel, via IRNA.
• CNN, citing sources, reports that Iran was up to three years away from being able to produce a nuclear bomb, via Sky News Arabia; US official cited adds that they believe recent Israeli strikes have pushed this back by only a few months.

Strikes

• Iranian ballistic missiles reported over Tel Aviv, via Fox correspondent.
• Iranian media reported several explosions and heavy air defence fire in the capital Tehran; Several explosions east of Tehran amid air defence fire, according to Fars.
• Reports of multiple explosions in Ahvaz – in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan in southwest Iran, according to Iran International.
• Unconfirmed reports noted that three ships are on fire in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, according to several social media accounts. Ambrey later said it is aware of an incident 22 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in UAE (close to the Strait of Hormuz). Incident in Khor Fakkan near the Strait of Hormuz seemingly was caused by two vessels colliding, according to Kpler’s Bakr citing their terminal
• IAEA Director Grossi said the damage recorded at Fordow was very limited, underground spaces at the Isfahan facility do not appear to have been affected.

Diplomacy

• US President Trump directed members of his team to attempt a meeting with Iranian officials as quickly as possible, according to CNN sources.
• Trump team proposes Iran talks this week on nuclear deal and ceasefire, according to Axios. The White House is discussing with Iran the possibility of a meeting this week between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to four sources briefed on the issue.
• Israeli media reports that Trump is preparing to make a ‘final offer’ to Iran in the coming days, according to Spectator Index.
• US President Trump said Iran should have signed the deal, Iran wants to make a deal, according to Reuters.
• French President Macron said Americans have made an offer to meet with Iranians, now will see what happens. Macron said European partners are ready to take part in serious Iran nuclear negotiations if a ceasefire is reached. Macron said Trump told G7 leaders there were discussions to obtain a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.

Trump

• US President Trump posted “Iran should have signed the “deal,” I told them to sign…IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON… Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!”
• US President Trump posted “AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
• “President Trump is leaving the G7 summit EARLY and will return to DC tonight.”, according to CNN reporter; Bloomberg suggests due to the Middle East crisis.
• US President Trump requested the National Security Council be prepared in the Situation Room, according to reports citing Fox.
• “US is NOT joining Israel offensively in its military operation, per US officials. Despite reports that President Trump asked the NSC and Situation Room to be readied,” according to CBS’ Jacobs.
• CBS’ Jacobs posted “Trump isn’t leaving [right now] because of discussions for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, I’m told…He is leaving G7 halfway through. Not entirely clear why”.
• US President Trump posts that his return to Washington had nothing to do with a ceasefire.

Allies

• Trump admin reportedly told several Middle Eastern allies on Sunday that it doesn’t plan to get actively involved in the war between Israel and Iran unless Iran targets Americans, according to Axios sources
• US is sending another aircraft carrier, and more warships to the Middle East, according to NBC.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said over the weekend he directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the US CENTCOM; additional deployments are intended to enhance the defensive posture in the region, according to Reuters.
• US Defense Secretary Hegseth said US President Trump still aims for a nuclear deal with Iran, via Fox News; assets in the region will be defended.
• White House aide said it is not true that the US is attacking Iran; says American forces are maintaining their defensive posture.
• “This may really be the last chance for the Iranians before the US actively joins”, according to journalist Stein citing a US source.
• ENDI

IISRAEL/IRAN

Israel’s plan to strike Fordow nuclear facility ready if order is given – IDF

Fordow is the most important Iranian nuclear facility, which the IDF has not yet touched, but it poses unique challenges, being that it lies underneath a mountain.

A handout satellite image shows a general view of the Natanz nuclear facility after a fire, in Natanz, Iran July 8, 2020(photo credit: MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)ByYONAH JEREMY BOBJUNE 17, 2025 19:00Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 19:33

The IDF on Tuesday said that it has a ready plan for striking Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility the moment that the political echelon gives the order.

Until now, IDF officials have been evasive when asked about when they would attack Fordow, though there were a few open denials that the IDF had already attacked Fordow, when such false reports came out over the weekend.

Fordow is the most important Iranian nuclear facility, which the IDF has not yet touched, but it poses unique challenges, as it lies underneath a mountain.

Since the IDF lacks a mega 30,000 bunker buster bomb, which the US possesses, Israel has been trying to convince Washington to take out the facility.

However, despite lacking that bomb, the air force has other techniques for damaging or causing cave-ins at Fordow, such as repeatedly dropping 5,000-pound or 2,000-pound bombs over and over again in the same spots.

IDF may finish eliminating most important nuclear sites

Besides Fordow, the IDF said that it may finish eliminating the most important Iranian nuclear sites within one more week.

The IDF divided Iran’s nuclear program into three sets of targets: scientists, enrichment facilities, and other nuclear tasks and command facilities.

To date, the IDF has hit dozens of nuclear sites, including the large facilities at Natanz and Isfahan, two of the most prominent facilities besides Fordow.

IRAN/USA

Trump demands unconditional surrender from Khamenei, knows his secret location

Trump has threatened to eliminate the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, if Iran does not submit to unconditional surrender.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and US President Donald Trump (illustrative)(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 19:34Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 20:30

US President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday, saying that the US knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding, but that they won’t “take him out” yet.

“We know exactly where the so-called “Supreme Leader” is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump hints US wants Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’

Trump, minutes later, posted “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” 

This came as American air and seacraft began arriving at US bases across Europe and the Middle East.

Some of the planes include F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s as well as a significant number of air tankers.

This comes only hours after Trump announced that the US had control of Iranian skies, something the IDF had announced a few days prior.

“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American-made, conceived, and manufactured “stuff.”  Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”

This is a developing story.

END

US official to ‘Post’: It’s clear what Trump wants, he won’t hesitate to do what’s needed

Senior Israeli officials speaking with The Jerusalem Post believe Trump has decided that the US will strike Iran if it refuses a deal that includes dismantling its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump gestures after returning early from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Canada, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, June 17, 2025(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)ByAMICHAI STEINJUNE 17, 2025 20:58Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 21:03

US President Donald Trump is convening a meeting on Tuesday to discuss whether the US administration should actively join Israel in taking action against Iran’s nuclear program.

Sources familiar with internal US discussions told The Jerusalem Post that “if the administration joins in, it won’t be a symbolic move, it will be a significant operation, with the primary target being the uranium enrichment facility in Fordow.”

The meeting is expected to include Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and other senior officials.

Senior Israeli officials speaking with The Jerusalem Post believe Trump has made a decision: The US will strike Iran if it refuses a deal that includes dismantling its nuclear program.

On Tuesday evening, Trump posted on Truth Social demanding an “unconditional surrender.” A US official told The Jerusalem Post, “There’s no doubt about what Trump wants, and he won’t hesitate to do what’s necessary to achieve that goal.” Trump also told reporters, “I’m not interested in negotiations with Iran. I want a real end to Tehran’s nuclear program.”

US mobilizes additional forces in the Middle East

As part of preparations for a potential strike, the US military is deploying additional defense systems to the region to protect American bases and assets in Arab countries.

Heavy bombers are stationed both at Diego Garcia and the US base in Qatar, capable of carrying out significant operations against the Fordow facility, which lies tens of meters underground. Reuters reports that the US is also sending additional F-35, F-22, and F-16 fighter jets to the region, along with the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier.

Behind the scenes, diplomatic efforts are underway to ease tensions. Oman and Qatar are mediating between Iran and the US in an attempt to facilitate a meeting between senior officials from both sides.

IRAN

IRGC’s Shahed 107 ‘suicide drone’ appears to not be new or unique – analysis

Iran has likely launched several hundred drones at Israel over the past five days since Operation Rising Lion began.

Iran’s Shahed 107 drone on display, June 2025.(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/VIA SECTION 27A OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT)BySETH J. FRANTZMANJUNE 17, 2025 11:09Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 11:26

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Monday unveiled a new “suicide drone” which it calls the Shahed 107.

It appears to be the latest in the Shahed line of “suicide drones.” Iran’s Shahed 136 has become a popular export to Russia for use in attacks on Russia. Iran makes other Shahed drones, such as the Shahed 131. Both the Shahed 131 and 136 are shaped like a flying triangle, with a warhead at the front.

By contrast photos online of the new Shahed 107 appear to show a drone that looks more traditional, with a long tube-like fuselage and a simple rectangular wing. It is not clear from the images online if this is the final version of the drone.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Aerospace Force unveiled its newest suicide drone, dubbed Shahed-107, on Monday,” Iran’s Mehr News reported, noting that the drone or UAV will be used for “suicide operations against hostile targets.”

The report went on to say that the drone has a piston engine and a range of around 1,500 kilometers, adding that “the employment of a swarm of Shahed-107 drones can cause significant harm to the Zionist regime’s air defense capabilities.”

This drone doesn’t appear particularly new or unique. Iran and its proxies in the region have relied on similarly designed drones for years.

This drone has actually already been transferred to Russia in 2024 by Iran for use against Ukraine, according to Militarnyi. “At that time, it was noted that the aircraft was about 2.5 meters long and had a wingspan of up to 3 meters. Its flight range was estimated to be the same — up to 1,500 kilometers,” Militarnyi reported.

This drone is likely launched from a catapult or with some kind of fuel accelerator, “with these parameters and flight range, the drone’s warhead is unlikely to be very heavy,” Militarnyi’s report added.

Hundreds of Iranian drones launched amid Operation Rising Lion

Iran has likely launched several hundred drones at Israel over the past five days since Operation Rising Lion began.

However, the drones have not been successful. On June 15, for instance, the IDF said that around 100 Iranian drones had already been intercepted. The Israeli navy has downed drones that tried to attack Israel from the direction of the Red Sea.

Iranian drones are relatively slow because they use a propeller. In addition they can be detected by air defenses and shot down. Iranian drones likely do not have a “man in the loop” guiding them. Instead they fly a pre-programmed path without a communication link. This makes them harder to jam, but it also means they cannot maneuver. 

END

STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Tanker Collision Near Strait Of Hormuz Amid GPS Signal Degradation

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 07:20 AM

In the early morning hours of Tuesday, crude oil tankers Adalynn and Front Eagle collided in the Gulf of Oman, about 24 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, just outside the critical Strait of Hormuz chokepoint. The maritime incident occurred amid ongoing regional instability and increased GPS signal degradation, most likely linked to broader electronic warfare surrounding the Israel-Iran conflict. 

According to a report from Bloomberg, maritime security firms Vanguard Tech and Ambrey have assessed the tanker collision as a navigational accident with no indications of foul play or links to the ongoing regional conflict. Both firms have classified the incident as non-hostile in nature, downplaying initial speculation of an attack. 

https://x.com/mercoglianos/status/1934811914246181260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1934811914246181260%7Ctwgr%5Eb79a1a081c40d5894b5d219444b3e3b65de7f7fd%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zerohedge.com

The Adalynn, a 23-year-old Antigua and Barbuda-flagged tanker with no known insurance and a history of Russia-India sailing routes, may be part of Moscow’s ‘dark fleet.’ All 24 crew members aboard were safely evacuated by the UAE National Guard. The Front Eagle, owned by Frontline Plc and flagged in Liberia, also reported no injuries and is cooperating in the investigation.

While traders initially feared a security-related event, which spooked oil and shipping markets, preliminary assessments so far indicate otherwise and likely just a navigational incident. 

Ambrey analyst Daniel Smith stated, “At the time of writing, we can only confirm that it is not a security incident. We continue to investigate the cause.”

Possible visual evidence of the incident, reportedly showing at least one of the involved tankers engulfed in flames, was circulated on X. The footage remains unverified but has been widely shared. 

The maritime incident comes one day after widespread GPS jamming was reported across the Strait of Hormuz, scrambling navigation for more than 900 vessels. 

GPSJam—a site that publishes daily heat maps of GPS/GNSS disruptions affecting aircraft—shows multiple “high-interference” zones clustered around the Strait of Hormuz.

The broader concern is that critical maritime chokepoints—including the Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and the Suez Canal—remain highly vulnerable to disruption should the Israel-Iran conflict escalate or proxy groups tied to Tehran become further entangled. 

These corridors are essential to global energy flows and commercial shipping, and any kinetic spillover or asymmetric activity in these waterways could have immediate consequences for energy prices and global supply chains. 

end

Israel’s plan to strike Fordow nuclear facility ready if order is given – IDF

Fordow is the most important Iranian nuclear facility, which the IDF has not yet touched, but it poses unique challenges, being that it lies underneath a mountain.

A handout satellite image shows a general view of the Natanz nuclear facility after a fire, in Natanz, Iran July 8, 2020(photo credit: MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)ByYONAH JEREMY BOBJUNE 17, 2025 19:00Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 19:33

The IDF on Tuesday said that it has a ready plan for striking Iran’s underground Fordow nuclear facility the moment that the political echelon gives the order.

Until now, IDF officials have been evasive when asked about when they would attack Fordow, though there were a few open denials that the IDF had already attacked Fordow, when such false reports came out over the weekend.

Fordow is the most important Iranian nuclear facility, which the IDF has not yet touched, but it poses unique challenges, as it lies underneath a mountain.

Since the IDF lacks a mega 30,000 bunker buster bomb, which the US possesses, Israel has been trying to convince Washington to take out the facility.

However, despite lacking that bomb, the air force has other techniques for damaging or causing cave-ins at Fordow, such as repeatedly dropping 5,000-pound or 2,000-pound bombs over and over again in the same spots.

IDF may finish eliminating most important nuclear sites

Besides Fordow, the IDF said that it may finish eliminating the most important Iranian nuclear sites within one more week.

The IDF divided Iran’s nuclear program into three sets of targets: scientists, enrichment facilities, and other nuclear tasks and command facilities.

end

Trump demands unconditional surrender from Khamenei, knows his secret location

Trump has threatened to eliminate the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, if Iran does not submit to unconditional surrender.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and US President Donald Trump (illustrative)(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 19:34Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 20:30

US President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday, saying that the US knows where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding, but that they won’t “take him out” yet.

“We know exactly where the so-called “Supreme Leader” is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.”

“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Trump hints US wants Iran’s ‘unconditional surrender’

Trump, minutes later, posted “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” 

This came as American air and seacraft began arriving at US bases across Europe and the Middle East.

Some of the planes include F-16s, F-22s, and F-35s as well as a significant number of air tankers.

This comes only hours after Trump announced that the US had control of Iranian skies, something the IDF had announced a few days prior.

“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American-made, conceived, and manufactured “stuff.”  Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA.”

This is a developing story.

END

Middle Eastern media reports that three tankers are allegedly burning in the Strait of Hormuz

end

the options laid out;

Iran’s nuclear program has been hit hard, but won’t be knocked out if Fordo remains

Trump is convening his national security team to decide whether to take out key enrichment facility; but even if he opts against it, Israel still has options

By Lazar Berman FollowToday, 9:11 pm

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters while flying aboard Air Force One en route from Calgary, Canada, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on June 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Taking the podium at his first press conference since deciding to strike Iran’s nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday read out Israel’s achievements in Operation Rising Lion.

The list is impressive. Israeli forces have taken out Iran’s military leadership, hit hundreds of ballistic missiles and dozens of launchers, wiped out half of Iran’s UAVs, and established air superiority in western Iran.

On the nuclear front, Netanyahu also has much he can point to. Israel has killed 10 senior nuclear scientists, and promises to reach more. It has caused extensive damage to key nuclear sites as well.

But – as Israel has learned in Gaza – impressive tactical achievements do not automatically amount to operational success, and damage to some core elements of Iran’s nuclear program does not necessarily mean Israel has set it back very far.

‘The blow is not yet critical,” said Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran and the Shiite Axis research program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Success aboveground

By design, at the outset, the campaign had to place a significant emphasis on targets not directly connected with Iran’s nuclear program.

What was in effect an aerial breaching operation focused on taking out enemy air defenses in its first stage to allow the air force to operate freely in much of Iran’s skies.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference on June 16, 2025. (Screencapture/GPO)

“We dismantled the air defense envelope very well, and now we are operating there almost freely,” said Yaakov Amidror, former national security adviser to Netanyahu.

Another focus was on ballistic missile stores and launchers, to curtail the damage Iran could incur on Israel. As of Tuesday, the IDF said, it had destroyed some 40 percent of Iran’s ballistic missile launchers.

“We probably haven’t done too badly there,” said Amidror. “They promised to fire six times as much.”

While those efforts continue, the operation is, at its core, about Iran’s nuclear program, and Israel has already made strides in its goal of seriously damaging it.

A plume of heavy smoke and fire rises from an oil refinery in southern Tehran, Iran, after it was hit in an overnight Israeli strike, on June 15, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

It is very likely that all the roughly 15,000 centrifuges operating at Iran’s biggest uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, including those underground, were badly damaged or destroyed, whether directly or indirectly, due to a power cut caused by an Israeli strike, the IAEA has said.

Israel bombed Natanz early Friday during the first wave of major strikes that started its shock campaign against Iranian military and nuclear sites, in a move it says was needed to thwart an immediate existential nuclear threat.

It also targeted the Isfahan uranium conversion facility, which turns raw mined uranium into uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a feed gas for centrifuges.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi elaborated on the damage to four buildings at Isfahan: “The central chemical laboratory, a uranium conversion plant, the Tehran reactor fuel manufacturing plant and the UF4 [uranium tetrafluoride] to EU [enriched uranium] metal processing facility, which was under construction.”

However, the job at Isfahan is far from complete.

“What is not as successful is that there just does not appear to be any damage to any of the underground facilities,” Jeffrey Lewis, a nonproliferation scholar at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, told The Times of Israel.

Iran’s underground Fordo nuclear facility outside of Qom, Iran, October 23, 2021. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)

And then there is the Fordo plant, built into a mountain near the holy central city of Qom.

Initially describing it as an “emergency” facility built underground to protect it from potential air attacks, Iran later indicated Fordo was an enrichment plant capable of housing about 3,000 centrifuges.

“There is very limited, if any, damage registered [there],” said Grossi.

An Israeli military official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the Israeli Air Force has not targeted the Fordo facility, but said that it still might happen.

Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter appears on the PragerU “Real Talk” broadcast in an interview released on May 22, 2025. (YouTube screenshot)

Israel’s ambassador in Washington was more emphatic. “This entire operation… really has to be completed with the elimination of Fordo,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News on Friday.

“If you leave infrastructure like Fordo in place,” Lewis cautioned, “there’s just really no point.”

Delay

Israel’s goal, despite what Netanyahu might say, is not the total, permanent annihilation of Iran’s nuclear program.

It’s actually much more modest, and attainable — a tighter nuclear agreement between Iran and Western powers, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

Israel is aiming to “cause enough damage [to the nuclear program] to revert to diplomacy and get a good agreement,” the official said.

If that is not possible, the hope is to push back the program for several years.

Israeli Air Force F-35I fighter jets depart for strikes in Iran, June 13, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

That has not yet been accomplished, Zimmt cautioned.

“For now, it’s half a year or a year, but definitely not more than that,” he said.

“It’s still concerning that you have highly enriched uranium stock likely still present at Isfahan underground, as well as the Fordo enrichment facility,” said Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

“As long as Iran retains the ability to make weapons from uranium, there is more work ahead,” she said.

The Trump factor

The most straightforward way to knock out a nuclear facility is from the air. But Fordo sits up to 90 meters under a mountain, rendering that task nearly impossible.

Israel’s conventional munitions can’t come even close. The BLU-109s it likely used to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah — who was hiding 20 meters underground — can only penetrate 2-3 meters of reinforced concrete. It took dozens of such bombs dropped in rapid succession to reach Nasrallah.

People check a damaged building at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut, September 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The only munition that can reach Fordo’s underground facility is the American 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator. It is believed to be able to penetrate about 200 feet (61 meters) below the surface before exploding, and the bombs can be dropped one after another, effectively drilling deeper and deeper with each successive blast.

Israel doesn’t have the option of buying it from Washington, as the only plane that can carry it is the US B-2 bomber.

So if Fordo is to be attacked from the air, it will take a decision from US President Donald Trump to jump into the fray.

The president seems undecided, but increasingly open to the possibility.

A US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber performs a flyover at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, October 25, 2015.(Mark Almond/AP)

Trump was slated to convene his national security team on Tuesday to make a decision on US involvement, Axios reported, citing three US officials.

He is “seriously considering” launching a US strike, according to the outlet.

If Vice President J.D. Vance and the isolationist wing of his coalition win the day, Israel still has options.

Israel could theoretically use a nuclear weapon to destroy Fordo. But the first battlefield use of a nuclear bomb since 1945 would undermine Israel’s legitimacy in its campaign to prevent Iran from attaining such a weapon.

Members of the IAF’s Shaldag unit carry out a raid against an Iranian missile factory near Masyaf, Syria, September 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

It could also carry out a commando raid, similar to the special forces operation that destroyed Syria’s underground missile production facility at Masyaf in September 2024.

Leiter seemed to tease that possibility in an interview with ABC News.

“We have a number of contingencies… which will enable us to deal with Fordo,” he said. “Not everything is a matter of, you know, taking to the skies and bombing from afar.”

SRAEL HAMAS

At least 51 Palestinians killed in mass casualty event near Gaza food site, medics say

Medics said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, at least 20 of them in critical condition.

A Palestinian man carries aid supplies, in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, June 16, 2025; illustrative.(photo credit: REUTERS/DAWOUD ABU ALKAS)ByREUTERSJUNE 17, 2025 14:04Updated: JUNE 17, 2025 14:36

Medics said on Monday that Israeli tanks fired into a crowd trying to get aid from trucks in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 51 people.

Video shared on social media showed around a dozen mangled bodies lying in a street in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. The Israeli military acknowledged firing in the area and said it was looking into the incident.

Eyewitnesses interviewed by Reuters said Israeli tanks had fired at least two shells at a crowd of thousands, who had gathered on the main eastern road through Khan Yunis in the hope of getting food from aid trucks that use the route. Gaza’s health authorities are wholly controlled by Hamas and cannot be verified by a third, independent party.

“All of a sudden, they let us move forward and made everyone gather, and then shells started falling, tank shells,” said Alaa, an eyewitness, interviewed by Reuters at Nasser Hospital, where wounded victims lay sprawled on the floor and in corridors due to the lack of space.

“No one is looking at these people with mercy. The people are dying, they are being torn apart, to get food for their children. Look at these people, all these people are torn to get flour to feed their children.”

Medics said at least 51 people were killed and 200 wounded, at least 20 of them in critical condition. Casualties were being rushed into the hospital in civilian cars, rickshaws, and donkey carts.

In a statement, the IDF said: “Earlier today, a gathering was identified adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Yunis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area.

“The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach. The details of the incident are under review. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals and operates to minimize harm as much as possible to them while maintaining the safety of our troops.”

Medics said at least 14 other people were also killed in separate gunfire and airstrikes elsewhere in the enclave, taking Tuesday’s death toll to at least 65.

Hundreds of Palestinians reportedly killed trying to reach GHF sites

Since Israel partially lifted the blockade on the enclave, it has been channeling much of the aid it is now allowing into Gaza through a new US and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which operates a handful of distribution sites in areas guarded by Israeli forces.

The United Nations rejects the system as inadequate, dangerous, and a violation of humanitarian impartiality rules. Israel says it is needed to prevent Hamas fighters from diverting aid.

Gaza authorities say hundreds of Palestinians have been killed trying to reach the GHF’s sites, including 23 people killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The GHF said in a press release late on Monday that it had distributed more than three million meals at its four distribution sites without incident.

Sarah Ben-Nun contributed to this report.

end

IDF destroys Hamas terror tunnel where Mohammed Sinwar’s body was found

The IDF said this area was where the body of assassinated Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Sinwar was found earlier in June, along with at least 10 other terrorists.

IDF soldiers work to seal a Hamas terror tunnel under Khan Yunis’s European Hospital, June 2025.(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFJUNE 17, 2025 10:58

The Golani Brigade’s engineering battalion, with assistance from soldiers from the elite Yahalom Unit, mapped out and sealed a Hamas terror tunnel near Khan Yunis’s European Hospital in the south Gaza Strip, the military confirmed on Tuesday.

Sealing the tunnel involved using trucks and cement mixers to pour 250 cubic meters of concrete, the military added, noting that the operation was “carried out with precision and care to avoid damaging the hospital building.”

This followed two weeks of operations by the Golani Brigade soldiers, who, along with IDF special forces and intelligence, conducted the operations to locate and map out a “large-scale underground Hamas infrastructure” near the European Hospital.

https://player.jpost.com/public/player.html?player=jpost&media=3912821&url=www.jpost.comIDF footage of combat engineers sealing a Hamas terror tunnel near Khan Yunis’s European Hospital in the south Gaza Strip, June 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)The IDF also noted that this area was where the body of assassinated Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Sinwar was found earlier in June, along with at least 10 other terrorists.

Who was Mohammed Sinwar?

Mohammed Sinwar was killed in an Israeli airstrike on May 13, the IDF confirmed on May 31.

He was the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the architect of Hamas’s October 7 Massacre, who was killed by IDF personnel in October 2024.

END

RUSSIA VS UKRAINE

Largest Russian Strikes In Months Hit Ukrainian Capital, Killing 15 & Wounding Over

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 10:25 AM

Russia overnight unleashed one of its largest and sustained attacks on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in recent months, resulting in 15 people killed and over one hundred wounded.

The assault, which lasted some ten hours, involved a coordinated barrage of drones, ballistic, and cruise missiles – and severely impacted residential areas, including a direct hit on a nine-story apartment building in the city’s Solomyanskyi district.

Part of the building collapsed after being struck by Shahed drones and a ballistic missile. Emergency crews were responding to the smoke-filled scene through the morning hours.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “every minute the number of injured and dead is increasing, we cannot say for certain how many casualties there have been.”

Speaking to journalists at the scene, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that “every minute the number of injured and dead is increasing, we cannot say for certain how many casualties there have been.” 

The aftermath of the attack has been documented at two dozen separate sites across Kyiv’s Solomianskyi, Sviatoshynskyi, Darnytskyi, Dniprovskyi, Podilskyi and Obolonskyi districts.

City authorities indicated fires raged into Tuesday in at least to locations of the capital, and further described:

“Today, the enemy spared neither drones nor missiles,” Klymenko said, describing the attack as one of the largest against Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.

Thirty apartments were destroyed in a single residential block, and emergency services were searching through the rubble for possible survivors, Klymenko added.

Attempting to get Washington’s attention, Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha suggested the “massive and brutal strike” was deliberately timed and so is a serious insult to President Donald Trump.

“Putin does this on purpose, just during the G7 summit. He sends a signal of total disrespect to the United States and other partners who have called for an end to the killing,” he stated on social media. There are reports that an American citizen died in the attack.

“During the attack on Kyiv, a 62-year-old U.S. citizen died in a dwelling in the Solomianskyi district opposite where medics were providing assistance,” Klitschko said. “Medics noted his clinical, biological death.”

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

MARK CRISPIN MILLER

Rod Stewart cancels more shows, ESPN’s Jay Harris takes “time off” for prostate cancer; UK: Kylie Minogue postpone…

Rod Stewart cancels more shows, ESPN’s Jay Harris takes “time off” for prostate cancer; UK: Kylie Minogue postpones 4 shows, Peter Murphy cancels summer shows; NO: rocker Morton Harket has Parkinson’s

UK: TV star Sally Bretton rushed to hospital for emergency surgery during filming for new series; singer Jessie J “disappear[ing] for a bit” to deal with “early” breast cancer; and more

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

To help support our work, consider subscribing or making a donation.

UNITED STATES

‘Devastated’ music legend cancels more shows due to health issues

June 9, 2025

Persistent health issues have led Rod Stewart to canceling more shows on his current tour.

“I have to cancel and reschedule my next six concerts in June as I continue to recover from the flu,” the 80-year-old singer wrote in an Instagram post on Friday, June 6.

Link

Upgrade to paid

ESPN anchor Jay Harris announces prostate cancer diagnosis

June 5, 2025

ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor Jay Harris [60] is battling prostate cancer, he announced Thursday on “Good Morning America.” “My doctor is quite optimistic,” Harris said of his prognosis. “Per my last scan, nothing has spread, so once we, you know, take out the prostate, hopefully that will be it. That’s the goal.” Harris said he plans to undergo surgery on June 10, and then will take time off from “SportsCenter” to recover. “[I] will be away from ‘SportsCenter’ for about a month to recover and then I’m coming back better than ever,” said Harris, who joined ESPN in 2003.

Researcher's Note – ESPN Employees Must be Vaccinated [sic]

Link

UNITED KINGDOM

Kylie Minogue postpones four European tour shows due to illness, says ‘I have no choice but to…’

June 15, 2025

Pop icon Kylie Minogue has been forced to postpone four of her upcoming Tension Tour shows after falling ill with laryngitis. The singer, who recently wrapped up the UK leg of her first global tour in seven years, shared the news with fans on Friday through a heartfelt message on social media.

In her post on X (formerly Twitter), Minogue explained that while she was able to complete 14 shows across the UK — including four nights at London’s O2 Arena — she has now been struck by a viral infection. “Hello laryngitis,” she wrote, confirming the diagnosis and expressing disappointment over the unexpected pause.

She wrote, “Hi Lovers, as some of you may know, a week ago we finished the UK leg of the Tension Tour. I made it over the finish line (yay) but unfortunately have succumbed to a viral infection (Hello laryngitis). I’ve tried my best to recover fast to start our next run on Monday but I’m afraid it will take me some days to be well enough to get back on stage and perform the best for you. I’m so, SO sorry! I have no choice but to postpone the shows in Berlin, Lodz, Kaunas and Tallinn as scheduled. Please keep hold of your tickets, we’re doing our very best to reschedule the dates and will update you very soon on that. Thank you for understanding – you know I love you all. And I LOVE THIS SHOW! And I’ll miss you next week, and I can’t wait to see you all. Love Kylie xx (sic).”

Link

Kylie Minogue was one of many rockers who took part in this global jamboree to help “end COVID,” etc.:

Global Citizen Live: Everything You Need to Know

This 24-hour global broadcast event is uniting the world to defend the planet and defeat poverty [by getting everybody “vaccinated”]:

August 26, 2021

Link

What Minogue, or her doctors, call “laryngitis” may actually be vocal fold injury, which, symptom-wise, is very similar to laryngitis, and which was identified as a common consequence of “vaccination” a few years ago:

Vocal Fold Paralysis Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Query of VAERS Database

January 24, 2022

Link

Peter Murphy cancels summer shows due to “recent health issues”

June 2, 2025

Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy [67] released his first album in 11 years, Silver Shade, last month, and while he hadn’t announced a full tour for it, he was scheduled to play a couple of festivals in Europe and the UK, Forever Now and M’era Luna. He’s now cancelled his appearances at both. “It is with regret that, due to recent health issues, I will be unable to perform for you this summer,” he writes. “I am very much saddened by this news. This situation is hopefully temporary, and we will be able to announce shows in support of Silver Shade at some point in the near future. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding. Love Peter x”. Back in December, the UK/European Celebrating David Bowie tour scheduled for January of this year was cancelled after Murphy had “suddenly taken ill.” He had dropped off the 2023 North American leg, which had already been postponed, due to “ill health and doctor’s orders to rest and recover.” Bauhaus also cancelled their 2022 tour when Murphy entered rehab.

Link

Sally Bretton: Not Going Out star rushed to hospital for emergency surgery during filming for new series

June 4, 2025

Not Going Out star Sally Bretton was reportedly rushed to hospital after experiencing a medical emergency while filming the series in front of a live studio audience. The actress, 45, was on set filming for the new series of Not Going Out, which premieres on BBC One later this month, when she was struck by a medical emergency. Sally and her co-star Lee Mack were filming for an upcoming episode titled ‘Oasis’, in which married couple Lucy (Sally Bretton) and Lee (Lee Mack) argue over who lost them their place in the ticket queue for the 90s band. Lee revealed that the Beyond Paradise star began experiencing pain while on the set of the episode, which was being filmed in front of a live studio audience. He confirmed that after being rushed to hospital, production on the series was halted for two weeks. Lee told The Mirror: “There was a moment in that Oasis episode when we were filming it, when Sally said to me – she looked a bit in pain, ‘Do you know what appendicitis feels like?’ “I said, ‘I have no idea but I can tell you now you haven’t got appendicitis, otherwise you wouldn’t be here filming’. The next day she had her appendix out.”

Researcher's Note – Appendicitis has been suggested as an adverse event of special interest post-vaccination [sic] against COVID-19 after a numerical increase in the vaccine [sic] arm of a clinical trial 

An Israeli team have done a good study here on "vaccine" side effects. They found the following increased risk 42 days post vax: 40% Appendicitis increase.

Link

Jessie J Diagnosed with ‘Early’ Breast Cancer: ‘I Am Going to Disappear for a Bit’

June 4, 2025

Jessie J [37] has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The singer provided an update on her health in a candid video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, June 3, expressing that it was something she was “going back and forth” on revealing. “I want to share it with my fans and the people that care about me, and also I’m a sharer. I’ve always shared everything that I go through in my life. Before ‘No Secrets’ came out, I was diagnosed with early breast cancer,” she said. The English pop star released her song, “No Secrets” in April. “I’m highlighting the word early. Cancer sucks in any form, but I’m holding on to the word early,” she continued. “I have been in and out of tests throughout this whole period.” Noting that her diagnosis was not something she planned, she added that she is “getting to keep [her] nipples,” which is “good.”

Researcher's Note – Dec 15, 2021: The news of Jessie J's positive COVID-19 diagnosis comes a little more than a month after she revealed she suffered a miscarriage, penning an emotional message on Instagram at the end of November merely hours after she was told the heartbreaking news

Link

BBC Radio Scotland presenter to take break after being diagnosed with ‘incredibly rare’ cancer

June 5, 2025

BBC Radio Scotland presenter Bryan Burnett has announced he is to take a break from his show after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. The 59-year-old, who hosts the early evening Get it On programme, told his listeners he requires treatment for appendiceal cancer, which was discovered after having his appendix taken out earlier this year. He made an emotional announcement to the audience during his show on Thursday, June 5. He reassured that, although his cancer is “incredibly rare”, it is expected he will make a full recovery following complex abdominal surgery and chemotherapy.

Link

Popular councillor resigns after being diagnosed with a brain tumour

June 5, 2025

A popular councillor has resigned due to ill health after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. Dawn Wood served as the RCT councillor for Pontypridd Town ward and Pontypridd Town councillor, but had been absent from her roles since December 2024 for “medical reasons”. She was elected as the Plaid Cymru councillor for Pontypridd Town in May 2022. Cllr Wood will be stepping down from both her roles with immediate effect. She said that it “was not an easy decision to make”, adding that she was “devastated” to be making the announcement. Cllr Ward explained that she had come to the difficult decision because of her “poor” prognosis. “Unfortunately, all avenues for treatment have been explored and my prognosis now is unfavourable, and is especially poor, if I were to continue in this role,” she said.

No age reported.

Link

NORWAY

A-ha front man Morten Harket diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease

June 4, 2025

OSLO – Morten Harket, the lead singer of Norwegian band A-ha, whose “Take On Me” track remains one of the most popular songs from the 1980s, said on Wednesday that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. In a statement on the band’s website, and confirmed by record label Sony Music, Harket, 65, said he had undergone several rounds of brain surgery and that he was managing the symptoms of the disease. Harket said he last year underwent neurological procedures to have electrodes implanted inside his brain and that this had reduced the symptoms. Known for the wide range of his voice, Harket said he did not know if he would be able to perform again. “I’ve got no problem accepting the diagnosis,” he said, adding that it was difficult to balance medication and managing side effects of the treatment.

Researcher’s note - 2022 was a busy year for Morten Harket and a-ha. In recent years, heavily affected by the pandemic, they have traveled around the world with the "Hunting High and Low" tour. In 2022, they visited the USA, South America and Europe, among other places - which strongly implies they took the jab 

Link

DR PAUL ALEXANDER

NEWS ADDICTS

NEWSWIZE

EVOL NEWS

MIKE EVERY/OR PICTON OR RABOBANK EXECUTIVE/COMMENTARY ON WORDLY AFFAIRS

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

8. EMERGING MARKETS//AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND ISSUE

CANADA

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

EURO/USA: 1.1555 UP 0.00401 PTS OR 1 BASIS POINTS

USA/ YEN 144.68 UP 0.0060 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 1.3564 DOWN .0004 OR 4 BASIS PTS

USA/CAN DOLLAR:  1.3568 DOWN 0.0005 (CDN DOLLAR UP 5 BASIS PTS)

 Last night Shanghai COMPOSITE DOWN 1.32 PTS OR 0.05%

 Hang Seng CLOSED DOWN 87.82 PTS OR 0.37%

AUSTRALIA CLOSED DOWN .04%

 // EUROPEAN BOURSE:    ALL RED

Trading from Europe and ASIA

I) EUROPEAN BOURSES:  ALL RED

2/ CHINESE BOURSES / :Hang SENG CLOSED DOWN 87.82 PTS OR 0.37%

/SHANGHAI CLOSED DOWN 1.32 PTS OR 0.04%

AUSTRALIA BOURSE CLOSED DOWN 0.04 %

(Nikkei (Japan) CLOSED UP 225.41 PTS OR 0.59%

INDIA’S SENSEX  IN THE RED

Gold very early morning trading: 3386.20

silver:$36.48

USA dollar index early TUESDAY  morning: 97.715 UP .16 BASIS POINTS FROM MONDAY’s CLOSE

.TUESDAY  MORNING NUMBERS ENDS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And now your closing TUESDAY NUMBERS 1: 30 AM

Portuguese 10 year bond yield: 3.039% UP 1 in basis point(s) yield

JAPANESE BOND YIELD: +1.481% UP 2 FULL POINTS AND 50/100   BASIS POINTS /JAPAN losing control of its yield curve/

SPANISH 10 YR BOND YIELD: 3.212 UP 6 in basis points yield

ITALIAN 10 YR BOND YIELD 3.500 UP 6 points in basis points yield ./ THE ECB IS QE’ ING ITALIAN BONDS (BUYING ITALIAN BONDS/SELLING GERMAN BUNDS)

GERMAN 10 YR BOND YIELD: 2.5266 UP 1 BASIS PTS

IMPORTANT CURRENCY CLOSES :  MID DAY TUESDAY

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

Euro/USA 1.1561 UP 0.0008 OR 8 basis points

USA/Japan: 144.84 UP 0.167 OR YEN IS DOWN 17 BASIS PTS//

Great Britain 10 YR RATE 4.5360 UP 1 BASIS POINTS //

Canadian dollar UP .0008 OR 8 BASIS pts  to 1.3581

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The USA/Yuan CNY DOWN AT 7.1818,  CNY ON SHORE ..

THE USA/YUAN OFFSHORE UP TO 7.1841

TURKISH LIRA:  39.39 EXTREMELY DANGEROUS LEVEL/DEATH WATCH/HYPERINFLATION TO BEGIN.//

the 10 yr Japanese bond yield  at +1.456

Your closing 10 yr US bond yield DOWN 3 in basis points from MONDAY at  4.419% //trading well ABOVE the resistance level of 2.27-2.32%)

 USA 30 yr bond yield  4.926 DOWN 3 in basis points  /11:00 AM

USA 2 YR BOND YIELD: 3.956 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

GOLD AT 11;00 AM 3394.00

SILVER AT 11;00: 37.00

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

London: CLOSED DOWN 41.19 PTS OR 0.46%

GERMAN DAX: CLOSED DOWN 264.47 pts or 1.12%

FRANCE: CLOSED DOWN 42.45 pts or 0.74%

Spain IBEX CLOSED DOWN 199.10pts or 1.41%

Italian MIB: CLOSED DOWN 541.56 or 1.36%

WTI Oil price  73.03 11 EST/

Brent Oil:  74.42 11:00 EST

USA /RUSSIAN ROUBLE ///   AT:  78.62 ROUBLE UP 0 AND  1/ 100      

CDN 10 YEAR RATE: 3.375 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS.

CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.974 DOWN 2 BASIS PTS

CLOSING NUMBERS: 4 PM

Euro vs USA 1.1482 DOWN 0.0071 OR 71 BASIS POINTS//

British Pound: 1.3428 DOWN .0139 OR 139 basis pts/

BRITISH 10 YR GILT BOND YIELD:  4.5420 DOWN 1 FULL BASIS PTS//

JAPAN 10 YR YIELD: 1.474 UP 2 FULL BASIS PTS

USA dollar vs Japanese Yen: 145.33 UP 0.647 BASIS PTS

USA dollar vs Canadian dollar: 1.3644 UP 0.0071 BASIS PTS CDN DOLLAR DOWN 71 BASIS PTS

West Texas intermediate oil: 74.93

Brent OIL:  76.93

USA 10 yr bond yield DOWN 7 BASIS pts to 4.385

USA 30 yr bond yield DOWN 7 PTS to 4.986%

USA 2 YR BOND: DOWN 2 PTS AT  3.952%

CDN 10 YR RATE 3.375 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS

CDN 5 YEAR RATE: 2.966 DOWN 3 BASIS PTS

USA dollar index: 98.38 UP 82 BASIS POINTS

USA DOLLAR VS TURKISH LIRA: 39.39 GETTING QUITE CLOSE TO BLOWING UP/

USA DOLLAR VS RUSSIA//// ROUBLE:  78.51 UP 0 AND 11/100 roubles

GOLD  $3384.70 (3:30 PM)

SILVER: 37.10 (3:30 PM)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE: DOWN 299.29 OR 0.70%

NASDAQ 100 DOWN 215.20 PTS OR 0.98%

VOLATILITY INDEX: 21.02 UP 1.96 PTS OR 7999%

GLD: $ 311.94 UP 0.71 PTS OR 2.15%

SLV/ $33.74 UP .71 PTS OR OR 2.15%

TORONTO STOCK INDEX// TSX INDEX: CLOSED DOWN 42.91 OR 0.16%

end

TRADING today ZEROHEDGE 4 PM: HEADLINE NEWS/TRADING

Threats From Trump & Hard-Data Dump Sink Stocks & Crypto; Bonds & The Dollar Bid

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 08:00 PM

Today’s market was brought to you by the words “we” and “solar” and the number ‘-0.9%’…

“We” appear to be at war, the American Consumer is slowing spending, and the Senate GOP’s Bill caused some chaos… sparking the biggest gain the dollar in six weeks…

Hard data was hammered today (retail sales -0.9% and industrial production -0.2% ugly) as the gulf between the real economy and the imagined one (soft data) is narrowing…

Source: Bloomberg

Trump’s comments on “we” being involved in the Iran attacks prompted selling pressure in stocks around 1200ET and the market never recovered. Nasdaq was the laggard but all the majors moved in sync… down…

Under the hood, Renewables were slammed following Senate Republican’s bill ending solar/wind tax credits early (Nuclear better and weighing most heavily on solar)…

Source: Bloomberg

After some serious weakness recently, hedge funds (proxied generally by Goldman’s VIP Longs vs Most Shorted basket) had their best day in over a month…

Source: Bloomberg

Retail favorites were mullered today…

Source: Bloomberg

‘Most Shorted’ stocks puked (worst day in a month), giving back yesterday’s squeeze gains…

Source: Bloomberg

Finally, Goldman’s trading desk noted that their floor was just a 4 on a 1-10 scale in terms of overall activity levels. Flow wise we 660bps better for sale, led by LO supply in Macro Expressions, Info Tech, and HC

• LOs showing a 32% sell skew (buying Comm Svcs and Cons Staples vs selling Macro Expressions, Info Tech, and HC)
• HFs 310bps better for sale (buying Cons Staples, Materials, and Energy vs Selling Comm Services, Industrials, and Utes).

VIX spiked back above 21, notably decoupled relative to spot with VVIX at its highest since April…

Source: Bloomberg

…as downside protection is bid – skew rising…

Source: Bloomberg

Treasury yields were lower across the curve with the long-end outperforming…

Source: Bloomberg

The dollar surged by the most in six weeks today as a potential squeeze begins…

Source: Bloomberg

Despite the surge in the dollar, gold was flat on the day…

Source: Bloomberg

…but silver soared…

Source: Bloomberg

…erasing all of gold’s relative gains since Liberation Day…

Source: Bloomberg

Bitcoin was clubbed like a baby seal before bouncing off $104,000 late on…

Source: Bloomberg

Oil prices pushed higher on the building Iran tensions…

Source: Bloomberg

Goldman trading desk noted: 

Oil vs. Energy: Our desk continued to face demand for energy and oil-related exposures, with buyers active across XLE and XOP. The spot oil ETF (USO) out-traded XLE on the tape by notional volume… something we haven’t seen since oil briefly went negative in 2020…

Source: Goldman Sachs

Finally, the market is pricing in a zero possibility of The Fed surprising investors tomorrow with a rate-cut. Overall, rate-cut expectations for 2025 are back at recent lows (just 45bps)…

Source: Bloomberg

…but 2026 rate-cut expectations are considerably higher than at the last FOMC meeting (from 40bps to 63bps)

BIG MORNING NEWS

USA DATA RELEASES

US Homebuilder Confidence Tumbles Near 13-Year-Lows

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 10:05 AM

Confidence among US homebuilders fell to the lowest level since December 2022 in June, with potential buyers deterred by high mortgage rates and anxiety about tariffs and the economy.

A gauge of market conditions from the NAHB slipped 2 points to 32 this month (well below the 36 exp), back near 13 year lows…

Source: Bloomberg

All three of the overall index’s components declined, with a measure of present sales falling to the lowest level since 2012.

Gauges of traffic of prospective buyers and expected sales over the next six months are both at the lowest point in more than a year, NAHB data show.

The trade association is forecasting a decline in single-family starts this year, given weakening conditions, NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz said in a prepared statement.

o entice reluctant buyers, builders have increasingly relied on sales incentives and discounts. The share of respondents reporting cutting prices in June rose to 37%, the highest since NAHB started tracking it monthly in 2022.

“Rising inventory levels and prospective home buyers who are on hold waiting for affordability conditions to improve are resulting in weakening price growth in most markets and generating price declines for resales in a growing number of markets,” Dietz said.

Finally, homebuilder sentiment has a long way to go to catch down to homebuyer confidence…

Source: Bloomberg

…and don’t expect a Fed rate-cut to help (as the curve is steepening).

END

US Retail Sales Tumbled In May As Gas Prices Fell, Car-Buying Stalled

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 08:43 AM

BofA’s omniscient analysts warning ahead of this morning’s retail sales data from the US is simple: Brace!

And after the small 0.1% MoM rise the prior month was revised to a 0.1% MoM decline, BofA was right again with Retail Sales tumbling 0.9% MoM in May – the biggest drop since March 2023…

Source: Bloomberg

The big driver of downside was a drop in Gasoline Station sales – which makes some sense as gas prices have tumbled – and an even bigger drop in Auto Sales (as the tariff front running surge evaporates)…

The tariff front-running hangover hits…

Source: Bloomberg

Ex Autos and Gas, sales fell 0.1% MoM (worse than the +0.3% expected) and Ex-Autos sales dropped 0.3% MoM (worse than the +0.2% MoM expected).

So an ugly set of data reflecting sentiment’s slump?

“There was front running in autos because of tariffs in recent months and now we’re getting payback,” said David Russell, head of market strategy at TradeStation. 

“Data centers and tech investment are driving the economy now. Consumers are on the sidelines as the job market weakens and Americans grapple with higher prices. It could be a pause before confidence rebounds, or a warning before a broader slowdown.”

As a reminder, this data is nominal, so adjusting (very roughly) for inflation, retail sales rose 0.9% YoY, back to its lowest since Oct 2024… but still positive…

While the seasonally-adjusted sales print was down, unadjusted sales were higher in May (as they have been seasonally for years)…

However, there is a silver lining as the Control Group – which feeds directly into GDP – rose 0.4% MoM (better than expected) and considerably stronger than the upwardly revised 0.1% MoM decline in April…

So, the bad news is Americans seem to be spending less… but top-down GDP will be positively impacted in Q2.

USA ECONOMIC NEWS

Illegal Alien Economy: How Foreign Nations Exploit US Borders For Profit

Monday, Jun 16, 2025 – 10:35 PM

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

Well, the tensions over mass illegal immigration in the US are finally coming to a boil after 4 years of open borders under the Biden Administration and six months of obstruction by Democrat politicians and judges interfering with deportations.

The progressive establishment position on illegals is clear: Make it as easy as possible for anyone to enter the country and make it as difficult as possible to kick them out.

I published a comprehensive overview on the riots in California last week, but I also want to examine how we got here in the first place and why many foreign governments are so intrusive when it comes to US immigration policies.

Think about it for a moment and ask yourself: Why is the rest of the world in our business? Why do they care if we have tighter controls on borders and stricter vetting for immigration? Why don’t foreign governments also complain about Chinese immigration standards, or Saudi Arabia’s standards, or even Australia’s standards? Why does everyone else think they have a say in how America handles immigration?

There are, of course, ideological agendas at play here, but I believe the primary reason for foreign meddling is economic, specifically when it comes to Central America and South America.

I’ve covered these issues briefly in the past but I think it bears repeating that the US is widely considered a kind of global buffet or a wounded gazelle – The entire jungle shows up to take a bite. We’re the cash cow of the planet ready to be milked. The exposure of organizations like USAID proved beyond a doubt that Americans pay for the ENTIRE WORLD. Not only that, but we get to pay for the inflation that is created for every dollar printed and circulated to fill the pockets of foreign interests.

This is the enduring curse attached to any country “lucky” enough to maintain world reserve currency status. When the Bretton Woods agreement was put in place after World War II there was an unspoken but clear trade-off, a devil’s bargain attached to the dollar’s ascension.

First, Americans were going to have to pay the vast majority of defense spending in the new international order (which would ultimately become NATO). Second, America was gifted the ability to print dollars with wild abandon while mitigating hyperinflation by exporting dollars overseas to foreign banks and corporations. However, the expectation was that the US would have to spread the fiat wealth and feed the coffers of other countries through various subsidies, foreign aid and perhaps even open immigration.

The question is, how does mass immigration play into this arrangement?

The Economic And Social Steam Valve

Using Mexico as an example, we can see some obvious economic advantages for foreign governments if US immigration policies remain unenforced. Mexico has enjoyed an exceedingly low unemployment rate for several years, not just because untold numbers of US manufacturing jobs have been outsourced to the south, but because Mexico has the option of encouraging poverty stricken citizens who can’t get jobs to sneak into the US.

This serves a couple of purposes – It allows Mexico to maintain low unemployment stats. It saves them loads of cash when it comes to social welfare programs (they can send their poor to the US where American taxpayers foot the welfare bill). And, in terms of crime and civil unrest, Mexico is able to relocate their own discontented rabble over the border and let the US deal with those people instead.

The same goes for most of Central and South America. The benefits are just too numerous to ignore. The more open the US border is, the more every third world country near us has to gain.

Immigration Extortion

Most readers might not remember, but under the Biden Administration there was a concerted effort to spin the immigration crisis as a problem of financial instability and humanitarian response. Kamala Harris, the supposed “border czar”, spent years avoiding a visit to the southern border to witness the migrant surge first hand. Instead, she claimed that her energies were better spent on trips to other countries where she could “solve the problem at the source”.

This meant that the Biden Administration would not close the border, but they would pay off foreign governments with billions of dollars in subsidies that would theoretically trickle down to third world populations and keep them at home. These payoffs were also designed to make South American and Central American politicians stop encouraging their people to enter the US illegally.

Of course, Democrats didn’t really want the migrant caravans to stop, but this was a way for them to pretend as if they were taking action.  Meanwhile, foreign leaders were licking their chops; the more migrant mobs tried to force their way across the US border, the more subsidies they could extort from the progressive controlled US government. The incentives for them to continue sending migrant trains north were overwhelming.

The Golden River Of Remittances

While scrolling through Mexican news sources I came across the story that inspired this article: Last week Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum seemingly threatened the US over a proposed tax on “remittances”. If you are not familiar with remittances, they are basically any monies earned (or stolen) within the US by non-citizens and transferred to their home countries.

I have related my own experiences with this issue in past articles – As a construction worker and contractor in Florida in my early 20s I witnessed extensive hiring of illegals who were paid around 30% less than American workers. Most of those guys would end up at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket every payday to cash their checks and wire money to Mexico through Western Union. There would be a long line of them around the front of the store, all of them sending money outside the US.

Now imagine this is happening in every town in the US with illegals, and you’ll start to understand the sheer scale of remittances. The tax on remittances that is currently under review is only around 3%, but some law makers want to the tax closer to 15% or more.  In response Sheinbaum has turned hostile, arguing that Mexicans would “mobilize” in reaction to any fees.

“If necessary, we’ll mobilize. We don’t want taxes on remittances from our fellow countrymen. From the US to Mexico…”

The socialist president did not specify what she meant by “mobilize”, but many commentators assert that this is a threat to mobilize unrest among migrants already within US borders. As we have seen in Los Angeles in the past few days, the threat is not idle. It seems like madness, until we look at how much US cash is actually transferred outside the US by migrants.

Mexico alone received at least $65 billion in remittances from the US last year. In other words, the Mexican economy enjoys a yearly boost of around $65 billion just by encouraging illegals to cross the border. To put this in perspective, Mexico’s entire social welfare budget each year is around $30 billion; less than half of what the country gets through remittances from the US.  Mexico’s tourism industry generates around $32 billion annually; again, less than half of what remittances generate.

Total foreign remittances to Mexico make up around 5% of their annual GDP and it is the largest single source of income from foreign sources.

Also keep in mind that a dollar buys a lot more in Mexico than it does in the US. Want to buy a house in the US? The median price for a three bedroom home is $320,000. In Mexico, a three bedroom home goes for $100,000 (often less). This is yet another reason why illegals march across the border; even when working for 30% less wages they still earn triple the buying power or more in their own country by wiring dollars back home.

Sheinbaum understands full well that her country is highly dependent on the underground cash flows from the US through illegal workers. The same goes for numerous Central and South American countries.  The expectation attached to the current financial order is that Americans get the world reserve currency, but Americans must foot the bill for nearly every other allied nation. This dynamic is changing and the parasitic feeder nations don’t like it. They’ve become so dependent on easy cash from the US they don’t know how to function any other way.

Panic is certain. The economics of illegal immigration are ugly. Some progressives will argue that open borders are “good for America” because remittances and cash outflows help reduce inflation. Obviously that’s not the case, otherwise inflation would have been non-existent under the Biden Administration with its unprecedented migrant invasion.

Not only that, but the mere presence of millions of illegals creates a massive demand spike in goods, services and housing which drives up prices. Add to this the billions of dollars spent every year on subsides for migrants collecting welfare (around 60% of all migrants collect from one or more welfare programs upon entering the US), and you have am undeniable inflationary burden that does not need to be here.

Foreign governments want illegals here because they are yet another tool for bleeding the US for extra funds. They believe they are entitled to this money, but this methodology is about to change. They simply aren’t ready for what is about to happen.

END

Senate Version Of ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Sets Up Showdown With House Over Taxes, Medicaid And SALT

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 10:00 AM

Senate Republicans on Monday unveiled the final and most contentious component of President Trump’s sweeping legislative package, the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The Finance Committee’s long-awaited text – covering tax policy, Medicaid, and energy provisions – sets the stage for difficult negotiations between the Senate and the narrowly Republican-controlled House.

The Senate proposal scales back or reconfigures several measures passed by the House last month, particularly around health care funding and green energy. It also reveals stark policy divides that could derail GOP unity in the upper chamber.

Making the 2017 Tax Cuts Permanent – with Limits

A core pillar of the Senate’s bill is the permanent extension of key provisions from the 2017 tax overhaul. The legislation would lock in current federal tax brackets, boost the standard deduction, and continue the repeal of personal exemptions — all without expiration dates.

However, the Senate scaled back additional cuts proposed by House Republicans. Notably, the child tax credit would rise to $2,200 per child, short of the $2,500 outlined in the House bill.

New Deductions for Workers, with Caps

The bill introduces targeted deductions for tipped workers, overtime earners, and car owners — a nod to priorities championed by President Trump during his re-election campaign. But the deductions are temporary and capped.

• Tips: Deductible up to $25,000 through 2028
• Overtime Pay: Deductible up to $12,500 (or $25,000 for joint filers) through 2028
• Auto Loan Interest: Deductible up to $10,000 through 2028

While the House bill sought broader relief, Senate Republicans opted for a more measured approach.

A Sharper Knife to Medicaid

In a significant departure from the House version, the Senate bill aggressively targets Medicaid financing, particularly in states that expanded the program under the Affordable Care Act.

The legislation would reduce the allowable provider tax rate – a key funding mechanism for state Medicaid programs – from 6 percent to 3.5 percent by 2031. This reduction, phased in beginning in 2027, would apply only to expansion states.

Meanwhile, non-expansion states would be barred from introducing new provider taxes, though existing rates would be preserved. Nursing homes and intermediate care facilities are exempt from the cuts.

Unlike the House version, which protected existing hospital payment arrangements, the Senate bill eliminates some current state-directed payments altogether. The move drew immediate criticism from rural-state Republicans. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), whose state relies heavily on provider taxes, expressed concern about the impact on hospitals.

Work Requirements, With Tighter Conditions

Both chambers support requiring certain Medicaid recipients to meet work requirements, but the Senate version goes further. Adults with children over the age of 14 would now be required to work, attend school, or perform community service at least 80 hours a month.

The House version would exempt all parents of dependent children — a difference likely to stir debate during reconciliation talks.

Green Energy Credits Rolled Back, but Less Harshly

The Senate’s approach to green energy tax credits appears less stringent than the House’s, though it still represents a rollback of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Under the Senate bill:

• Projects must begin construction in 2025 to qualify for full credits.
• Projects starting in 2026 would receive 60 percent of the credit.
• Those beginning in 2027 would receive 20 percent.
• After 2028, no credit would be available.

Unlike the House version, the Senate bill removes a requirement that projects produce electricity by 2028. It also extends eligibility to hydro, nuclear, and geothermal projects starting before 2034 — additions not included in the House’s text.

SALT Deduction Fight Reignited

The Senate text would make permanent the existing $10,000 cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions, a dramatic rollback of a compromise secured by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) with blue-state Republicans to raise the cap to $40,000 for households earning under $500,000.

Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged that the $10,000 figure is a negotiation starting point. But House moderates are not budging.

“This proposal is DEAD ON ARRIVAL,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) posted on X, adding that “$40,000” is what was agreed upon after ‘good faith negotiations.’ 

A Larger Debt Ceiling Hike Triggers Backlash

Perhaps the most contentious provision of all: the Senate bill would increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, surpassing the House’s proposed $4 trillion hike.

The move drew immediate opposition from fiscal conservatives. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he had informed Senate leadership he could not support the bill with the current debt ceiling language.

Section 899

As Goldman Sachs notes, the Senate version of the “Section 899” provision to impose taxes on certain foreign individual, corporations, and governments makes four important changes from the House version:

1. The application of higher US taxes would be delayed one year until the start of 2027.
2. The same 5pp increase in tax rates but explicitly limit the total increase to 15pp after 3 years.
3. The “portfolio interest exception” would exclude individual and corporate holders from increased tax withholding on interest payments.
4. Small technical change that should result in the exclusion of foreign governments including central banks from interest withholding along with corporate and individual holders of US debt.

Collision Course Ahead

With the Senate bill now public, Republicans face an uphill climb in reconciling the two chambers’ positions. Deep ideological divisions remain on Medicaid reform, tax relief structure, and the scale of federal borrowing.

Negotiations are expected to intensify in the coming weeks as Republicans seek to deliver on Trump’s legislative priorities while avoiding a GOP family feud that could fracture the party ahead of November.

The US Fertility Rate Is At All-Time Low

Tuesday, Jun 17, 2025 – 05:45 AM

For over a century, the fertility rate in the United States has reflected sweeping demographic and societal changes.

This dataset, visualized by USAFacts using data from the CDC, captures the trend from 1909 through 2023.

The data shows the U.S. general fertility rate peaked in 1957 at 122.9 births per 1,000 women aged 15–44.

By 2023, that rate had fallen to 54.5—less than half the mid-century high. The sharpest declines came post-1960s, but the downward trend continues in the modern era.

Why Are Fertility Rates Falling?

Declining fertility rates are tied to a range of factors: economic pressures, access to contraception, shifts in social norms, delayed marriage and childbirth, and more women pursuing higher education and careers.

This broader trend reflects a transformation in how, when, and if Americans choose to have children.

Births Are Shifting to Older Age Groups

An important dynamic behind this trend is the shifting age profile of new mothers.

As of 2005, women aged 25–29 had the highest birth rates, at 116.5 births per 1,000 women. By 2023, the peak had shifted to the 30–34 age group, which logged 95.1 births per 1,000 women.

Between 2005 and 2023, fertility declined for women under 35, while increasing for those 35 and older. This demographic shift reflects later-life planning and improvements in maternal health options for older women.

Want to dive deeper? Check out the companion piece showing how fertility rates have changed across all 50 states: Fertility Rates Decreased Nationwide from 2005 to 2022.

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON/

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